bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seasonal water availability predicts the relative abundance of C3 and C4 grasses in Australia
Authors: Murphy Brett P. , Bowman David M. J. S. 
Published: December 2006

ABSTRACTAim  Numerous studies have examined the climatic factors that influence the abundance of C4 species within the grass flora (C4 relative species richness) in various regions throughout the world, but very few have examined the relative abundance of C4 vs. C3 grasses (C4 relative abundance). We sought to determine the climatic factors that influence C4 relative abundance throughout Australia.Location  Australia (including Tasmania).Methods  We measured C4 relative abundance at 168 locations and measured δ13C (the abundance of 13C relative to 12C) of the bone collagen of 779 kangaroos collected throughout Australia, as bone collagen δ13C was assumed to be proportional to the relative abundance of C4 grasses in the diet.Results  Both C4 relative abundance and kangaroo bone collagen δ13C were found to have a strong positive relationship with seasonal water availability, i.e. the distribution of rainfall in the C4 vs. C3 growing seasons (76% and 69% of deviance explained, respectively). There was clear evidence that seasonal water availability was a better predictor of both C4 relative abundance and bone collagen δ13C than other climate variables such as mean annual temperature and January daily minimum temperature. However, seasonal water availability appeared to be a relatively poor predictor of C4 relative species richness, which was most closely related to January daily minimum temperature (90% of deviance explained).Main conclusions  Our results highlight the relatively poor relationship between C4 relative abundance and C4 relative species richness, and suggest that these two variables may be related to different climatic factors. They also suggest that caution is required when using C4 relative species richness to infer the relative biomass and productivity of C4 grasses on a global scale.
The NHF‐NRG In Balance‐project: the application of Intervention Mapping in the development, implementation and evaluation of weight gain prevention at the worksite
Authors: Kwak L. , Kremers S. P. J. , Werkman A. , Visscher T. L. S. , Van Baak M. A. , Brug J. 
Published: December 2006

SummaryVery few examples of theory‐driven and systematically developed weight gain prevention interventions for adults have been described in the literature. The present paper systematically describes the development, implementation and evaluation framework of a weight gain prevention programme directed at young adults at the worksite, namely the NHF‐NRG In Balance‐project. It not only can be used as a guide to systematically develop weight gain prevention interventions, but also gives an overview of the current theoretical and empirical knowledge‐base in the field of obesity prevention. The outline of the paper follows the Intervention Mapping protocol, which includes a systematic inventory of important health issues, their risk behaviours and determinants of these risk behaviours, and specification of the proximal objectives of the programme directed at both energy intake and energy expenditure. The objectives are translated into behaviour change methods and strategies, which are combined in a stepwise intervention programme, and used for a detailed evaluation plan (process and effect evaluation). The NHF‐NRG In Balance‐project combines mass media and individually tailored communications with worksite environmental changes to raise awareness, to motivate and to enable energy balance behaviour changes. A quasi‐experimental pre‐test‐multiple post‐test control group design was applied in 12 worksites (>500 employees).
THE ERRANT IMAGE: ROGIER VAN DER WEYDEN'S DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS AND ITS COPIES
Authors: POWELL AMY 
Published: December 2006

This article is an account of the copies made during the fifteenth and sixteenth century of Rogier van der Weyden's Deposition from the Cross (c. 1430–35), as that altarpiece migrated from the chapel of Our Lady Outside the Walls in Louvain to the monastery of El Escorial in Spain. My primary concern in describing the journey of the Deposition from the Netherlands to Spain and the copies that it left in its wake is to show how these events and images bear on the concept of originality, and on the art‐historical practice of reconstructing what is commonly designated as original context – a practice that, I use this material to argue, is more problematic than it is sometimes taken to be. Amy Powell is a Mellon postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in art history at Columbia University. She is working on a book about northern European images of Christ's deposition from the cross, made on the eve of the Protestant Reformation, and the ways in which those images picture their own disappearance.
Universal Portfolios
Authors: Cover Thomas M. 
Published: December 2006

We exhibit an algorithm for portfolio selection that asymptotically outperforms the best stock in the market. Let xi= (xi, xi2,…, xim)t denote the performance of the stock market on day i, where xii is the factor by which the jth stock increases on day i. Let bi= (bi1 bi2, bim)t, b;ij≫ 0, bij= 1, denote the proportion bij of wealth invested in the j th stock on day i. Then Sn= IIin= bitxi is the factor by which wealth is increased in n trading days. Consider as a goal the wealth Sn*= maxb IIin=1 btxi that can be achieved by the best constant rebalanced portfolio chosen after the stock outcomes are revealed. It can be shown that Sn * exceeds the best stock, the Dow Jones average, and the value line index at time n. In fact, Sn* usually exceeds these quantities by an exponential factor. Let x1, x2, be an arbitrary sequence of market vectors. It will be shown that the nonanticipating sequence of portfolios db yields wealth such that , for every bounded sequence x1, x2…, and, under mild conditions, achieve
image

where J, is an (m ‐ 1) x (m ‐ I) sensitivity matrix. Thus this portfolio strategy has the same exponential rate of growth as the apparently unachievable S*n.
Martingale Measures For A Class of Right‐Continuous Processes
Authors: Lakner Peter 
Published: December 2006

The subject of the present paper is the following. Suppose that W is a class of adapted, right‐continuous processes on the continuous time horizon [0, 1], and for every stopping time and W, () is bounded below. A necessary and sufficient condition will be given for the existence of a probability measure Q which is equivalent to the original measure and such that each process in W is a martingale under Q. If the processes in W represent the discounted prices of available securities, then the condition given here for the existence of a martingale measure can be interpreted as absence of “free lunch” in the securities market. This is a familiar kind of theorem from the finance literature; the novelty of this paper is that the security prices are not required to be in LP for some 1 p, nor are they assumed to be continuous. Also, the concept of free lunch is invariant under the substitution of the original probability measure by an equivalent probability measure. the assumption that () is bounded below for every W and stopping time is quite natural since prices are nonnegative.We shall define a class of admissible subjective probability measures and assume that each agent in the economy has selected a subjective probability measure from (hat class. Subjective free lunch for an agent will be defined using his or her subjective probability measure. It will be shown that under an additional condition the existence of free lunch is equivalent to the existence of a common subjective free lunch simultaneously for all possible agents in the economy.
The Challenge of European Union Security Governance*
Authors: KIRCHNER EMIL J. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe central aim of this article is to explore whether or not the EU is an effective security actor. To assess the strengths and weaknesses of the EU, three security functions (conflict prevention, peace‐enforcement/peace‐keeping and peace‐building) and three core components of governance (co‐ordination, management and regulation) are applied. Security governance is seen as a helpful framework for studying the interactions between a diverse number of actors and for conceptualizing EU security policy‐making in a meaningful way.
Evaluating Presidencies of the Council of the EU: Revisiting Nice*
Authors: SCHOUT ADRIAAN , VANHOONACKER SOPHIE 
Published: December 2006

AbstractJudging presidencies is easy, evaluating them is not. Evaluations are rare and often superficial. This article provides a theoretical framework for such evaluations. Using contingency theory, it develops hypotheses about the demand for, and supply of, presidency roles. It offers a structured analysis by linking behaviour to the specificities of the actual negotiations. The framework is then applied to the performance of the French presidency during the IGC in 2000. The analysis shows, that apart from the complaints relating to some embarrassing failures, not all the criticism levelled at the French was justified.
Reactive Identity versus EU Integration*
Authors: VETIK RAIVO , NIMMERFELFT GERLI , TARU MARTI 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThis article discusses public opinion of EU integration in Estonia in a comparative perspective. It introduces the concept of ‘reactive identity’ and finds that, instead of the internal politics and socio‐economic factors put forward in previous research, identity is the key factor in explaining euroscepticism in the countries of central and eastern Europe (CEE).
Reactive changes of retinal astrocytes and Müller glial cells in kainate‐induced neuroexcitotoxicity
Authors: Chang Min‐Lin , Wu Ching‐Hsiang , Jiang‐Shieh Ya‐Fen , Shieh Jeng‐Yung , Wen Chen‐Yuan 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate reactive changes of astrocytes and Müller glial cells in rats subjected to kainate treatment, which leads to neuronal degeneration in the ganglion cell layer and the inner border of the inner nuclear layer as confirmed by labelling with Fluoro‐Jade B, a marker for degenerating neurons and fibres. Both the astrocytes and the Müller glial cells reacted vigorously to kainate injection as shown by their up‐regulated expression of nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein and glutamine synthetase. A major finding was the induced expression of nestin together with glial fibrillary acidic protein beginning at 1 day post‐injection of kainate. The marked nestin expression appeared to be most intense at 1 day and was sustained till 2 weeks as compared with the untreated/normal retina. Western blotting analysis confirmed a marked increase in expression of nestin, glial fibrillary acidic protein and glutamine synthetase as compared with untreated/normal retina. Double labelling study revealed that astrocytes and Müller glial cells expressed the radial glia marker nestin, and incorporated bromodeoxyuridine to re‐enter into their cell cycle. The induced expression of these proteins in astrocytes and Müller glial cells indicated an induction of gliotic responses and de‐differentiation that may be associated with regenerative efforts after kainate‐induced injury. Indeed, with the acquisition of an immature molecular profile as manifested by the induced expression of brain lipid‐binding protein and doublecortin in astrocytes and Müller glial cells, the potential of these cells to de‐differentiate in retinal neurodegeneration is greatly amplified.
Maternal pseudo primary hyperaldosteronism in twin‐to‐twin transfusion syndrome
Authors: Gussi IL , Nizard J , Yamamoto M , Robyr R , Ville Y 
Published: December 2006

Objective  To monitor changes in the maternal renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system following laser therapy and amnioreduction in severe twin‐to‐twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).Design  Observational prospective study.Setting  Single university hospital in Poissy, France.Population  Sixty cases of TTTS at 16–26 weeks of gestation.Method  Maternal blood sampling before, 6 and 24 hours following the procedure.Main outcome measures  Plasma levels of aldosterone, renin, angiotensin II (AII), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), vasopressin, sodium, potassium and plasma proteins together with full blood count were measured before, 6 and 24 hours following the procedure.Results  TTTS is associated with maternal hyperaldosteronism dissociated from renin–angiotensin changes. Correcting TTTS by placental surgery and amnioreduction triggers incomplete correction of hyperaldosteronism, as early as 6 hours following the procedure, without changes in AII but an increase in the levels of ANP in plasma. Electrolyte concentrations remained stable despite haemodilution, while vasoactive hormone levels such as that of vasopressin remained unchanged.Conclusion  Mechanisms involved in marked fluid retention in TTTS are rapidly corrected by laser therapy followed by amnioreduction while maintaining electrolyte homeostasis.
Feasibility of screening for ovarian cancer using symptoms as selection criteria*
Authors: Rufford BD , Jacobs IJ , Menon U 
Published: December 2006

Objective  Retrospective studies have reported that 95% of women with ovarian cancer have symptoms prior to diagnosis and that women with these symptoms are at an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Failure to recognise these symptoms may result in a delay in referral and diagnosis. We assess the feasibility of screening for ovarian cancer using symptoms as selection criteria.Design  A randomised controlled trial.Setting  General practices in East London.Population  Three hundred and ninety GPs.Methods  GPs were randomised by practice, and those in the study group were given rapid access to ultrasound and CA125 test for women, >45 years, suffering from symptoms that may be caused by ovarian cancer.Main outcome measures  Symptoms leading to referral, ultrasound and CA125 results and ovarian cancer diagnosis.Results  Seventy nine practices containing 197 GPs were randomised to the study arm. Three hundred and seventeen women were referred, of which 315 were eligible. Women reported the following symptoms: abdominal 87%, gastrointestinal 41% and constitutional 29%. Twenty‐three women had abnormal findings on ultrasound: 20 were managed conservatively and 3 surgically. Histology revealed a mucinous cystadenoma, a Brenner tumour and a serous cystadenoma. Incidental findings included endometrial pathology in 13 women and bladder pathology in 2. Ninety five percent of CA125 results were <35 units/ml.Conclusions  This pilot study confirms the feasibility of screening for ovarian cancer using symptoms as selection criteria. Specificity was high and patient compliance good. Initial concerns about referral volumes and additional investigations and referrals generated were not confirmed. No ovarian cancers were detected in this pilot study, and this may be due to the size of the cohort.
Women with peritoneal carcinomatosis of unknown origin: efficacy of image‐guided biopsy to determine site‐specific diagnosis
Authors: Hewitt MJ , Anderson K , Hall GD , Weston M , Hutson R , Wilkinson N , Perren TJ , Lane G , Spencer JA 
Published: December 2006

Objectives  To evaluate the use of image‐guided biopsy (IGB) in routine clinical practice to obtain site‐specific diagnoses in women presenting with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC).Study design  Retrospective case study.Setting  Tertiary referral centre.Population  A total of 149 consecutive women with PC who underwent IGB.Methods  Biopsy was performed in women considered unsuitable for primary surgery because of poor performance status or disease unlikely to be optimally debulked, with a prior history of malignancy or where there was clinicoradiological uncertainty about primary tumour site. Standard haematoxylin–eosin histological analysis was supplemented with immunohistochemistry.Main outcome measures  The rate of site‐specific diagnosis.Results  A total of 149 women underwent IGB using computed tomography or ultrasound over a 6‐year period. The only complication was one rectus sheath haematoma. In 138 (93%) women, a site‐specific cancer diagnosis was made on the IGB (including 111 müllerian tract, 8 gastrointestinal tract, 4 breast and 3 lymphoma); in ten women, a repeat biopsy was necessary, giving an overall failure rate of 7%. In a further six women, malignancy was confirmed but a site‐specific diagnosis could not be made, and in four women, biopsy showed benign tissue. A site‐specific diagnosis was obtained in 29 of the 32 women (94%) with previous malignancy, of which 18/32 (56%) showed a new primary cancer.Conclusions  IGB is a safe and accurate technique for providing site‐specific diagnoses in women with PC in routine clinical practice, including those with a previous relevant malignancy. IGB can replace laparoscopic or open biopsy in defining primary therapeutic options. The data would suggest that the biopsy should be performed with ultrasound where feasible.
Extracting photogrammetric ground control from lidar DEMs for change detection
Authors: James Timothy D. , Murray Tavi , Barrand Nicholas E. , Barr Stuart L. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractResearch has shown the importance of measuring topography for surface change detection and that the use of remote sensing methods is ideal for this application. A prerequisite for measuring change is a historical data‐set that covers the time period of interest. Many remote methods of topographic data collection such as lidar are relatively recent developments and therefore cannot provide records longer than about a decade. Alternatively, aerial photography has been in common use since the early 20th century and archives upwards of 50 years are therefore not uncommon. While photogrammetry is dependent on well distributed, high quality ground control points (GCPs), such data has been successfully applied retroactively. Therefore, contemporary lidar data, which requires little ground‐truth data, should be an ideal source of GCPs for controlling historical aerial photographs. This study aims to evaluate the success with which GCPs can be extracted from a high‐resolution lidar data‐set for controlling aerial photography for digital elevation model (DEM) production. Using a data‐set collected in Upper Wharfedale, northern England, GCPs were measured both by means of a lidar data‐set and by using traditional field‐based methods. The results showed that while the use of lidar‐derived ground control produced a DEM of inferior quality, increasing the number of GCPs used in the model produced results comparable to the GPS‐controlled DEM. These results are significant especially for surface change detection research in remote areas where high quality ground control is difficult to secure.
Automated correction of surface obstruction errors in digital surface models using off‐the‐shelf image processing
Authors: James Timothy D. , Barr Stuart L. , Lane Stuart N. 
Published: December 2006

AbstractAirborne topographic data collection requires removal of errors that arise due to surface features that obstruct the ground from the sensor. Typically, this has been based on manual correction and/or automated filtering. To some degree, the latter has provided a method for identifying and removing unwanted surface obstructions in large topographic data‐sets. However, the algorithms used are unintelligent in that they cannot reliably differentiate between the various types of obstructions and the ground. If coincident optical support imagery is available, the use of intelligent correction routines becomes possible. This paper describes an automated approach for removing obstruction errors using optical support imagery and simple image processing routines. Orthorectification and classification of support imagery enable obstruction errors to be identified in the digital surface model (DSM) and corrected intelligently to produce a digital terrain model (DTM). The results show that support imagery can be used with basic image processing routines to remove obstructions intelligently and automatically from large topographic data‐sets. Since the approach can differentiate between types of obstructions, the removal of each type of error can be customised, making this a very flexible approach to topographic data correction.
Determination of Exterior Orientation Using Linear Features from Vector Maps
Authors: Karjalainen Mika , Hyyppä Juha , Kuittinen Risto 
Published: December 2006

AbstractThis paper presents a procedure for the determination of the exterior orientation (EO) of images using existing digital vector maps. The most important characteristic is that there is no need for signalised ground control points (GCPs), because the EO is carried out solely using ground control lines (GCLs) acquired from the geographical information system (GIS). Although the proposed EO procedure could be fully automated, a small amount of operator guidance is needed in the adjustment of the initial EO, which should be moderately accurate prior to automating the EO procedure. However, adjusting the initial EO parameters is fairly easy, because the projected locations of the map vectors on the image are updated in real time on the computer monitor. Ultimately, the final EO is determined by using an automatic method that uses a local line scanning technique that attempts to locate the linear features from the image. The final EO is calculated using the line photogrammetry method. The EO procedure was implemented as software running in a Microsoft Windows environment and, although the software is able to process only one image at a time, it provides a way to determine the EO that is both reliable and rapid. The test results showed that the accuracy achieved depends on the positional accuracy of the linear features used. Therefore, 2D coordinate shifts in the vector maps will be directly passed to the EO parameters without other control.
Local accuracy measures for digital terrain models
Authors: Kraus Karl , Karel Wilfried , Briese Christian , Mandlburger Gottfried 
Published: December 2006

AbstractAirborne laser scanning and image matching can today form the basis for the generation of digital terrain models (DTMs). In addition to the DTM, quality parameters are needed that describe the accuracy at a high level of detail, at best for every interpolated DTM point. Furthermore, other parameters are of interest, for example, the distance from each DTM point to the data point next to it. This paper presents a method to derive accuracy measures from the original data and the DTM itself. Its application is demonstrated with an example. The quality measures are suitable for informing users in detail about DTM quality and warning them of weakly determined areas.