bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Utilizing simple rules to enhance performance measurement competitiveness and accountability growth
Authors: Dwyer Rocky J. 
Published: January 2007

PurposeThis article aims to outline and discuss how to incorporate simple rules to guide strategic processes to enhance competitiveness and growth, while improving performance measurement and accountability of organizations.Design/methodology/approachAn examination of the theorists' perspectives was undertaken to determine the relevancy of the theory to guide business flexibility and decision‐making to enhance competitiveness and growth, in a changing business environment.FindingsUnderstanding the importance of flexibility, strategic processes would enable individuals and organizations to better respond to factors associated with changing business opportunities and customer demands.Practical implicationsThe article advocates that an understanding of the simple rules concept can enable business leaders to create practical business strategies to build organizational flexibility, which in turn will lead to enhanced competitiveness and growth opportunities.Originality/valueThis article presents an overview of the literature which both enhances personal knowledge and understanding at the theoretical and practical levels enabling business leaders to gain insight on the inherent factors that may be influenced to advance organizational goals and objectives.
The nematode–arthropod clade revisited: phylogenomic analyses from ribosomal protein genes misled by shared evolutionary biases
Authors: Longhorn Stuart J. , Foster Peter G. , Vogler Alfried P. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractPhylogenetic analysis of major groups of Metazoa using genomic data tends to recover the sister relationships of arthropods and chordates, contradicting the proposed Ecdysozoa (the molting animals), which group the arthropods together with nematodes and relatives. Ribosomal protein genes have been a major data source in phylogenomic studies because they are readily detected as Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) due to their high transcription rates. Here we address the debate about the recovery of Ecdysozoa in genomic data by building a new matrix of carefully curated EST and genome sequences for 25 ribosomal protein genes of the small subunit, with focus on new insect sequences in addition to the Diptera sequences generally used to represent the arthropods. Individually, each ribosomal protein gene showed low phylogenetic signal, but in simultaneous analysis strong support emerged for many expected groups, with support increasing linearly with increased gene number. In agreement with most studies of metazoan relationships from genomic data, our analyses contradicted the Ecdysozoa (the putative sister relationship of arthropods and nematodes), and instead supported the affinity of arthropods with chordates. In addition, relationships among holometabolan insects resulted in an unlikely basal position for Diptera. To test for biases in the data that might produce an erroneous arthropod–chordate affinity we simulated sequence data on tree topologies with the alternative arthropod–nematode sister relationships, applying a model of amino acid sequence evolution estimated from the real data. Tree searches on these simulated data still revealed an arthropod–chordate grouping, i.e., the topologies used to simulate the data were not recovered correctly. This suggests that the arthropod–chordate relationships may be obtained erroneously also from the real data even if the alternative topology (Ecdysozoa) represents the true phylogeny. Whereas denser taxon sampling in the future may recover the Ecdysozoa, our analyses demonstrate that recent phylogenomic studies may be affected by as yet unspecified biases in amino acid sequence composition in the model organisms with available genomic data.© The Willi Hennig Society 2007.
Biogeographical patterns of the avifaunas of the Caribbean Basin Islands: a parsimony perspective
Authors: Vázquez‐Miranda Hernán , Navarro‐Sigüenza Adolfo G. , Morrone Juan J. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractWe analyzed the avifaunas of the Caribbean islands and nearby continental areas and their relationships using Parsimony Analysis of Endemicity (PAE), in order to assess biogeographical patterns and their concordance with geological and phylogenetic evidence. Using distributional information of birds obtained from published literature, a presence/absence matrix for 695 genera and 2026 species of land and freshwater birds was constructed and analyzed. Three different analyses were performed: for species, for genera, and for species and genera combined. In the combined analysis, the Lesser Antilles appear paraphyletic at the base of the cladogram. Then, two major clades are identified: South America (Andes, Venezuelan lowlands, Dutch West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago) and North America, including the Greater Antilles in a clade that is the sister area to Yucatan and the Central American countries nested from north to south. PAE results support Caribbean vicariant models and cladistic biogeographical hypotheses on area relationships, and show relative congruence with available phylogenetic data. Bird biogeography on the Caribbean islands appears to have been caused by both vicariance and dispersal processes.© The Willi Hennig Society 2007.
What do we get for our money? Cost‐effectiveness of adding contingency management
Authors: Sindelar Jody , Elbel Brian , Petry Nancy M. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTAims To assess the relative cost‐effectiveness of lower versus higher cost prize‐based contingency management (CM) treatments for cocaine abuse.Design Cost‐effectiveness analyses based on resource utilization, unit costs and outcomes from a previous CM efficacy trial.Setting Two community‐based treatment centers.Participants Patients (n = 120) enrolled in out‐patient treatment for cocaine abuse.Intervention Random assignment to one of three 12‐week treatment conditions: standard treatment (STD) alone or two variants of STD combined with prize based CM. In CM, drawing for prizes was available to those submitting drug‐free urine samples and completing goal‐related activities. There were two levels of pay‐out (referred to as $80 versus $240) based on the potential value of prizes won.Measurements Costs per participant associated with counseling utilization, urine and breathalyzer testing, and operation of the prize‐drawing procedure were derived from a survey conducted at 16 clinics that had participated in CM studies. The three measures of effectiveness were: (1) longest duration of consecutive abstinence; (2) percentage completing treatment; and (3) percentage of samples drug‐free.Findings The higher magnitude CM produced outcomes at a lower per unit cost than did the lower magnitude prize CM treatment. This was the case for all three outcome measures examined and held across various assumptions in the sensitivity analysis.Conclusions Cost‐effectiveness analyses can inform policy decisions regarding selection of one treatment model over another. Decisions on adoption of new evidence‐based treatments would be aided by more information on society's willingness to pay for incremental gains in effectiveness.
Prevalence and socio‐economic distribution of hazardous patterns of alcohol drinking: study of alcohol consumption in men aged 25–54 years in Izhevsk, Russia
Authors: Tomkins S. , Saburova L. , Kiryanov N. , Andreev E. , McKee M. , Shkolnikov V. , Leon D. A. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTAim  To estimate the prevalence of hazardous drinking and its socio‐economic distribution among Russian men.Design  Participants were an age‐stratified, population‐based random sample of men aged 25–54 years living in Izhevsk, a city in the Urals, Russia. Interviewers administered questionnaires to cohabiting proxy respondents about behavioural indicators of hazardous drinking derived from frequency of hangover, frequency of drinking beverage spirits, episodes in the last year of extended periods of drunkenness during which the participant withdraws from normal life (zapoi), consumption of alcoholic substances not intended to be drunk (surrogates) and socio‐economic position. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between socio‐economic position and indicators of hazardous drinking in the past year.Findings  Of 1750 men, 79% drank spirits and 8% drank surrogates at least sometimes in the past year; 25% drank spirits and 4% drank surrogates at least weekly and 10% had had an episode of zapoi in the past year. After adjustment for other socio‐economic factors, education was strongly associated with indicators of hazardous drinking. Men with the lowest level of education compared to the highest level of education had an odds ratio of surrogate drinking of 7.7 (95% CI 3.2–18.5), of zapoi of 5.2 (2.3–11.8) and of frequent hangover of 3.7 (1.8–7.4). These indicators of hazardous drinking were also independently strongly associated with being unemployed (versus employed) and with levels of household wealth/amenities. Associations of all these variables with daily consumption of beverage spirits were weaker.Conclusion  Using a novel range of indicator variables of hazardous drinking, this paper shows that the prevalence of these behaviours is high among working‐age men in this Russian city. Moreover, these hazardous behaviours show very clear socio‐economic patterns, with particularly high prevalence among those who have had the least education and are not in employment. In contrast, more conventional measures of heavy drinking, based on frequency of consumption of beverage spirits, are less prevalent and show much weaker associations with socio‐economic position.
Exploring the relationship between genetic and environmental influences on initiation and progression of substance use
Authors: Fowler Tom , Lifford Kate , Shelton Katherine , Rice Frances , Thapar Anita , Neale Michael C. , McBride Andrew , Van Den Bree Marianne B. M. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTAims  To examine the genetic and environmental contributions to the initiation of use and progression to more serious use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana during adolescence, and to examine the relationship between initiation and progression of substance use.Design  The study used a twin‐based design and a new theoretical model, the causal–common–contingent (CCC) model. This allows modelling of the relationship between initiation of use and progression to heavier use as a two‐stage model and the examination of genetic and environmental influences on both stages, while taking into account their relationship.Participants  The participants consisted of 1214 twin pairs (69% response rate) aged 11–19 years sampled from the UK population‐based Cardiff Study of All Wales and North‐west of England Twins (CaStANET).Measurements  Data on adolescent initiation and progression to more serious use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana were obtained using self‐report questionnaires.Findings  Initiation of alcohol and progression to heavier alcohol use had separate but related underlying aetiologies. For cigarette and marijuana use the relation between initiation and progression to heavier use was stronger, suggesting greater overlap in aetiologies. For all three substances, environmental influences that make twins more similar (common environment) tended to be greater for initiation, while genetic influences were stronger for heavier use.Conclusions  These findings have implications for policy decisions aimed at an adolescent and early adult age group. Specifically, these findings suggest that it may be more efficacious to focus alcohol interventions on risk factors for the development of heavier use rather than initiation of use. In contrast, interventions aimed at reducing the initiation of cigarettes and marijuana use may be more appropriate.
Harm minimization among teenage drinkers: findings from an ethnographic study on teenage alcohol use in a rural Danish community
Authors: Jørgensen Morten Hulvej , Curtis Tine , Christensen Pia Haudrup , Grønbæk Morten 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTAim To examine strategies of harm minimization employed by teenage drinkers.Design, setting and participants Two periods of ethnographic fieldwork were conducted in a rural Danish community of approximately 2000 inhabitants. The fieldwork included 50 days of participant observation among 13–16‐year‐olds (n = 93) as well as 26 semistructured interviews with small self‐selected friendship groups of 15–16‐year‐olds (n = 32).Findings The teenagers participating in the present study were more concerned about social than health risks. The informants monitored their own level of intoxication, but in order to reduce alcohol consumption they depended upon support from their peers. The informants preferred drinking in the company of well‐known and trusted peers, and during drinking episodes they supervised and intervened in each others' drinking to the extent that they deemed it necessary and possible. In regulating the social context of drinking they relied on their personal experiences more than on formalized knowledge about alcohol and harm, which they had learned from prevention campaigns and educational programmes.Conclusions In this study we found that teenagers may help each other to minimize alcohol‐related harm, and teenage peer groups should thus be considered a resource for health promotion.
A randomized controlled trial of Minnesota day clinic treatment of alcoholics
Authors: Grønbæk Morten , Nielsen Bent 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTAim  To compare the Minnesota day clinic treatment with the traditional public psychosocial treatment.Design  Randomized controlled trial.Setting  Public out‐patient alcohol clinic and privately funded Minnesota day clinic in Denmark.Participants  A total of 148 individuals with alcohol dependence were included in a 1‐year clinical trial.Measurements  Self‐reported drinking pattern and the seven composite scores from the addiction severity index (ASI).Findings  A total of 42 (57%) and 45 (61%) patients (P > 0.05) completed the Minnesota treatment and public treatment, respectively. Throughout the whole 12‐month follow‐up period, 35% of the patients treated at the Minnesota day clinic were abstainers, while this was the case for 20% of the patients treated in the public out‐patient alcohol clinic (P = 0.043). During the last month before the end of the 1‐year follow‐up, 53% of the patients treated according to the Minnesota model were abstainers, while this was the case for 43% of the patients treated in the public out‐patient alcohol clinic (P = 0.249). There were insignificant differences in the seven ASI scores.Conclusions  Twelve months after onset of treatment, the Minnesota day clinic treatment does not differ in effect from the much cheaper ‘standard’ public treatment. However, patients in Minnesota treatment were total abstainers throughout a longer period.
Sediment compaction rates and subsidence in deltaic plains: numerical constraints and stratigraphic influences
Authors: Meckel T. A. , Ten Brink U. S. , Williams S. J. 
Published: January 2007

ABSTRACTNatural sediment compaction in deltaic plains influences subsidence rates and the evolution of deltaic morphology. Determining compaction rates requires detailed knowledge of subsurface geotechnical properties and depositional history, neither of which is often readily available. To overcome this lack of knowledge, we numerically forward model the incremental sedimentation and compaction of stochastically generated stratigraphies with geotechnical properties typical of modern depositional environments in the Mississippi River delta plain. Using a Monte Carlo approach, the range of probable compaction rates for stratigraphies with compacted thicknesses <150 m and accumulation times <20 kyr. varies, but maximum values rarely exceed a few mm yr−1. The fastest compacting stratigraphies are composed primarily of peat and bar sand, whereas the slowest compacting stratigraphies are composed of prodelta mud and natural levee deposits. These results suggest that compaction rates can significantly influence vertical and lateral stratigraphic trends during deltaic evolution.
Pharmacodynamics of T‐cell function for monitoring immunosuppression
Authors: Barten M. J. , Tarnok A. , Garbade J. , Bittner H. B. , Dhein S. , Mohr F. W. , Gummert J. F. 
Published: January 2007

Abstract. Objectives: Recent studies show that measuring pharmacodynamic (PD) effects offers a unique possibility to predict immunosuppression. Thus, in this study we have monitored the PD properties of immunosuppressants on diverse T‐cell functions in heart transplant (HTx) recipients.Materials: PDs and blood concentrations (PK) of three different basis‐immunosuppressive drugs were studied: cyclosporin A (CsA); tacrolimus (TRL) and sirolimus (SRL). T‐cell function was analysed by expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labelling, expression of cytokines (IL‐2, IFN‐γ) and surface antigen (for example, CD25) by FACS analysis.Results: In group I, at time points C0 and C2, increased CsA‐PK significantly inhibited expression of IL‐2, IFN‐γ, PCNA and CD25 (P < 0.05). Correlations (r2) at C2 between inhibition of T‐cell functions (PD) with PK and with drug doses were: CsA‐PK: 0.71–0.91 and CsA‐dose: 0.73–0.87. In group II, increased TRL‐PK over time did not further inhibit expression of CD25, but inhibited PCNA expression more on day 3, and IL‐2 and IFN‐γ expression was significantly higher on days 2 and 3 compared to PD effects of CsA (P < 0.05). Blood SRL concentrations in C0 group III, increased on day 1 and remained stable at days 3 and 4. Expression of PCNA was not altered in the SRL‐PK category, whereas expression of CD25 was higher and expression of cytokines was lower than PD effects of CsA.Conclusions: Our results show that PD effects on T‐cell function can be used to monitor immunosuppression bringing potential to increase the efficacy and safety of immunosuppressive therapy after HTx.
Progression of astrocytomas and meningiomas: an evaluation in vitro
Authors: Maes L. , Kalala J. P. O. , Cornelissen M. , De Ridder L. 
Published: January 2007

Abstract.  Objectives/Background: In biological terms, progression means that malignancy increases as genetic mutations accumulate leading to increased proliferation and invasion capacity. By verifying the proliferation capacity, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression and in vitro invasion, in a group of highly malignant glioblastomas, benign meningiomas and astrocytomas, at the initial stage of progression, we have analysed putative progression in vitro for proliferation and telomerase expression. Materials and Methods: The relative proliferation status (visualized with Ki‐67 antibodies) and presence of hTERT protein was analysed in 27 intracranial tumours (6 astrocytomas, 8 glioblastomas and 13 meningiomas) by immunohistochemistry on paraffin‐embedded biopsy tissue, as well as on primary tumour‐derived cell cultures. A confrontation model was used to analyse invasiveness in vitro. Results: The mean proliferation indices were 22.3 (SD = 18.1) for glioblastomas and 2.1 (SD = 1.9) for low‐grade (LG) astrocytomas. The group of benign meningiomas had a labelling index of 2.2 (SD = 2.7). Mean percentages of staining for hTERT varied between 36.5 (SD = 28.4) for glioblastomas and 10.2 (SD = 8.6) for LG astrocytomas. The group of benign meningiomas had a labelling index of 12.4 (SD = 19.2) for hTERT. A significant difference was seen for Ki‐67 (P < 0.05) and hTERT (P < 0.001) in vivo versus in vitro. No difference was seen between the group of invasive and non‐invasive tumour‐derived cell cultures for the histopathological markers Ki‐67 and hTERT (P > 0.05) in vitro. Conclusions: The elevated expression of hTERT and Ki‐67 in vitro provides a potential prognostic tool for early detection of the progression of brain tumours. As tumour cells require telomerase for continued proliferation, the expression of hTERT may mark immortality, leading to indefinite life span. On the other hand, hTERT expression and cell proliferation are not linked directly to invasion in vitro.
Photodynamic therapy combined with a cysteine proteinase inhibitor synergistically decrease VEGF production and promote tumour necrosis in a rat mammary carcinoma
Authors: Zsebik B. , Symonowicz K. , Saleh Y. , Ziolkowski P. , Bronowicz A. , Vereb G. 
Published: January 2007

Abstract.  Objectives: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and inhibition of cathepsin B proteases by cystatin (cysteine proteinase inhibitor, CPI) are potential new tumour treatment modalities. We have investigated the efficacy of PDT and CPI alone and in combination on a solid mammary carcinoma transplanted into Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Intraperitoneally injected single doses of chlorine e6 or HpD as photosensitizers were excited at 630 nm (90 J/cm2). CPI (500 µg per animal) was injected around the tumour daily during the 8‐day treatment. Inoculation of tumour was either on day 1 of the protocol, or 8 days before. On day 8, tumour size was measured, tumour necrosis and vascularization were determined based on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)‐stained sections and serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels measured using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay kit. Results: No differences (two‐way anova) were found for treatments started with various time lags. At doses where CPI or PDT alone had no or negligible effect, their combination caused a marked (P < 0.001) decrease in serum VEGF, paralleled by a significant decrease in tumour size and number of capillary vessels, and a significant increase in necrosis (up to 80% of the tumour tissue). Conclusions: The combination of PDT and CPI could be a useful approach in tumour therapy as the two agents appear to be synergistic and probably decrease VEGF production by the tumour tissue.
Congenital anomalies in Iran: a cross‐sectional study on 1574 cases in the North‐West of country
Authors: Dastgiri S. , Imani S. , Kalankesh L. , Barzegar M. , Heidarzadeh M. 
Published: January 2007

AbstractBackground  At least one congenital anomaly is present in between 1% and 6% of all infants throughout the world. The aim of this study was to document some epidemiological features of congenital anomalies in the North‐West of Iran.Methods  The study cases (n = 1574) comprised all births registered/notified to three university‐hospitals of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from 2000 to 2004.Results  Total prevalence of congenital anomalies was 165.5 per 10 000 births [95% confidence interval (CI): 157–174]. Genito‐urinary tract and kidney defects, anomalies of nervous system and limb anomalies accounted proportionally for more than 65% of anomalies in the region. The total prevalence of congenital anomalies in the study area increased from 104.6 per 10 000 births in 2000 (95% CI: 90–119) to 170.1 per 10 000 births in 2004 (95% CI: 152–189).Conclusions  It is concluded that the data from this cross‐sectional study of congenital anomalies in the North‐West of Iran may be used as the baseline information to establish a population‐based registry of birth defects in the area for health care and research purposes.