bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An off‐line design method of compensation law for constrained linear systems
Authors: Hara Naoyuki , Kojima Akira 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThis paper deals with a design method of compensation law for linear constrained systems. By employing singular value decomposition of linear systems, we provide a design method of compensation law which fulfils system constraints. The feature of resulting compensation law is illustrated with numerical examples. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Control of nonholonomic systems with uncertainties via second‐order sliding modes
Authors: Ferrara Antonella , Giacomini Luisa , Vecchio Claudio 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe problem of controlling a class of nonholonomic systems affected by uncertainties is addressed in this paper. The idea is to apply the so‐called second‐order sliding mode control methodology. The crucial point is the necessity of reformulating the system model so as to make the uncertain terms appear in matched form. To this end, a suitable change of coordinates is performed and a peculiar sliding manifold is designed upon which a second‐order sliding mode is enforced. Apart from the robustness features, typical of the sliding mode approach, the proposed law has the advantage of being continuous, thus more acceptable in some applications such as those of mechanical nature. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unconditional efficient one‐sided confidence limits for the odds ratio based on conditional likelihood
Authors: Lloyd Chris J. , Moldovan Max V. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractWe compare various one‐sided confidence limits for the odds ratio in a 2 × 2 table. The first group of limits relies on first‐order asymptotic approximations and includes limits based on the (signed) likelihood ratio, score and Wald statistics. The second group of limits is based on the conditional tilted hypergeometric distribution, with and without mid‐P correction. All these limits have poor unconditional coverage properties and so we apply the general transformation of Buehler (J. Am. Statist. Assoc. 1957; 52:482–493) to obtain limits which are unconditionally exact. The performance of these competing exact limits is assessed across a range of sample sizes and parameter values by looking at their mean size. The results indicate that Buehler limits generated from the conditional likelihood have the best performance, with a slight preference for the mid‐P version. This confidence limit has not been proposed before and is recommended for general use, especially when the underlying probabilities are not extreme. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Late Quaternary and current deformation in the western Tunka system of basins: evidence from structural geomorphology and seismology
Authors: Arzhannikova A.V. , Melnikova V.I. , Radziminovich N.A. 
Published: April 2007

Abstract
Integrated seismological and structural geomorphological studies of the western Tunka system of basins in the southwestern Baikal rift show that the historic seismicity reflects the general Late Quaternary evolution trend of structures. Crustal deformation occurs mainly as transpression. Compression follows block boundaries and the northern mountainous borders of basins, whereas extension acts upon basin inner parts which remain in “tectonic shadow” during left-lateral strike-slip motions on W-E faults. Principal stresses inferred from earthquake mechanisms are most often a combination of horizontal NW extension and oblique or vertical compression in the basins and vertical extension with horizontal NE compression in the bordering ridges and along block boundaries. The general deformation style in the region is dominated by strike-slip faulting, and compression (shortening) dominates over extension.
Estimating under-reporting of energy intake in dietary surveys using an individualised method
Authors: Rennie Kirsten L. , Coward Andy , Jebb Susan A. 
Published: April 2007

Under-reporting (UR) of energy intake (EI) by self-reported dietary methods is well-documented but the methods used to estimate UR in population-based studies commonly assume a sedentary lifestyle. We compared estimated UR using individualised estimates of energy requirements with a population cut-off based on minimum energy needs. UR was estimated for 1551 adults aged 19–64 years enrolled in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Physical activity diaries and 7 d weighed dietary records were completed concurrently. Mean daily EI (kJ/d) was calculated from the dietary records. Reported physical activity was used to assign each subject's activity level, and then to calculate estimated energy requirements (EER) from published equations. UR was calculated both as EER – EI with an adjustment for daily EER and EI variation, and also by a population method. By the individual method UR was approximately 27 % of energy needs in men and 29 % in women, with 75 % of men and 77 % of women classified as under-reporters; by the population method 80 and 88 % were classified as under-reporters respectively. When subjects who reported their eating being affected by dieting or illness during dietary recording were excluded, UR was 25 % of energy needs in both sexes. UR was higher in overweight and obese men and women compared with their lean counterparts (P < 0·001). UR of EI must be considered in dietary surveys. The EER method allows UR to be quantified and takes into account an individual's activity level. Measures of physical activity and questions to identify under-eating during dietary recording may help to evaluate secular trends in UR.
God, pilgrimage, and acknowledgement of place
Authors: WYNN MARK 
Published: April 2007

AbstractThe paper seeks to address three objections to pilgrimage practices – they are tied to superstitious beliefs (except where they are seen as simply an aid to the imagination), imply a crude experiential or emotional understanding of the nature of faith, and rest upon a primitive conception of divine localizability. In responding to these objections, I argue that the religious significance of places is not reducible to their contribution to religious imagination, experience or understanding. In this sense, relationship to God is not just a matter of thought, but of location.
Salvation without belief
Authors: SPEAK DANIEL 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn the Christian tradition, it is rather natural to assume that a person can receive salvation only if she believes that certain crucial and relevant propositions are true. Louis Pojman has, however, attacked this assumption. He has formulated what I call the ‘ethics’ argument against the claim that belief is necessary for salvation. After explicating this argument, I complain that it is based on an unnecessarily controversial premise and that it proves too little. I then construct a parallel argument to the same conclusion that avoids the concerns I raise against Pojman. This new argument depends principally on two intuitive ideas: that ‘ought’ implies ‘can’ and that belief is not subject to direct voluntary control.
Cost analysis of home monitoring in lung transplant recipients
Authors: Adam Terrence J. , Finkelstein Stanley M. , Parente Stephen T. , Hertz Marshall I. 
Published: April 2007

Objectives:The University of Minnesota has maintained a home monitoring program for over 10 years for lung and heart–lung transplant patients. A cost analysis was completed to assess the impact of home monitoring on the cost of post-transplant medical care.Methods:Clinical information gathered with the monitoring system includes spirometry, vital signs, and symptom data. To estimate the impact of this system on medical costs, we completed a retrospective analysis of the effects of home monitoring on the cost of post-lung transplant medical care. The cost analysis used multivariate linear regression with inpatient, outpatient, and total medical care costs as the dependent variables. The independent variables for the regression include home monitoring adherence, underlying disease, ambulatory diagnostic group mapping variables, transplant type, and patient demographics.Results:The multivariate regression of the overall cost results predicts a 52.4 percent reduction in total costs with 100 percent patient adherence; this rate includes a 72.24 percent reduction in inpatient costs and a 46.6 percent increase in outpatient costs. The actual first year average patient adherence was 74 percent.Conclusions:Adherence to home monitoring increases outpatient costs and reduces inpatient costs and provides an overall cost savings. The break-even point for patient adherence was 25.28 percent, where the net savings covered the cost of home monitoring. This is well within the actual first year adherence rates (74 percent) for subjects in the lung transplant home monitoring program, providing a net savings with adherence to home monitoring.
United Kingdom cervical cancer screening and the costs of time and travel
Authors: Woolley Claire , Philips Zoë , Whynes David K. , Cotton Seonaidh C. , Gray Nicola M. , Sharp Linda , Little Julian , Waugh Norman R. ,   On behalf of the TOMBOLA Group
Published: April 2007

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the time and travel costs generated by women when attending for Papanicolaou (Pap) smear tests or colposcopy appointments in the United Kingdom, both absolutely and relative to the health service cost of the national cervical cancer screening programs.Methods: Data were obtained from questionnaires completed by two samples of women participating in a three-center trial of management of low-grade abnormalities detected by screening (n = 1,106 for Pap smears and n = 1,203 for colposcopy appointments). Women were 20 to 59 years of age and resident in Grampian or Tayside, Scotland, or Nottingham, England. Questionnaire data were supplemented with sociodemographic information previously collected at the time of recruitment to the trial.Results: The mean total time and travel costs per attendance at a smear test and at a colposcopy appointment were estimated to be £9.2 and £27.4, respectively, averaged across the three trial areas (valued at 2002 prices). Statistically significant intercenter disparities in time and travel costs were identified, particularly with respect to colposcopy appointments. For these, time and travel costs in Nottingham were substantially less than those in Grampian and Tayside (£22.9, £30.2, and £32.1, respectively). Time and travel costs amount to 26 and 33 percent, approximately, over and above the direct health service costs of the English and Scottish screening programs, respectively.Conclusions: The time and travel costs associated with participation in the UK cervical cancer screening programs are substantial and are not spatially uniform across the country.
Linking evidence from health technology assessments to policy and decision making: The Alberta Model
Authors: Borowski Henry Z. , Brehaut Jon , Hailey David 
Published: April 2007

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop and implement a decision-making process for public funding of health services that links policy areas with health technology assessment and input from interested parties.Methods: Health authorities, assessment organizations, and healthcare professionals were consulted as a follow-up to recommendations of an expert panel established by the Alberta government. The methods involved formulation of an eight-stage, collaborative process that incorporates identification through the health ministry of health technologies requiring review, assessment of the technologies using expert groups in Alberta, and consultation and formulation of advice within the ministry to inform ministerial funding decisions.Results: All components of the decision process have been put in place and have collaborated to provide advice to inform policy on provincial health services. Of nineteen technologies selected for review, five have been completed and decisions made: laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, fetal fibronectin assay for premature labor, newborn screening for cystic fibrosis, newborn screening for inborn errors of metabolism, and gastric electrical stimulation. A further six reviews are in progress, and reviews of the remaining technologies are planned for 2007.Conclusions: Bridging the evidence-to-policy gap is more likely to succeed when the policy community is actively engaged and an explicit model is used to put health technology assessment into practice.
Cost-utility of a disease management program for patients with asthma
Authors: Steuten Lotte , Palmer Stephen , Vrijhoef Bert , van Merode Frits , Spreeuwenberg Cor , Severens Hans 
Published: April 2007

Objectives:The long-term cost-utility of a disease management program (DMP) for adults with asthma was assessed compared to usual care.Methods:A DMP for patients with asthma has been developed and implemented in the region of Maastricht (The Netherlands). By integrating care, the program aims to continuously improve quality of care within existing budgets. A clinical trial was performed over a period of 15 months to collect data on costs and effects of the program and usual care. These data were used to inform a probabilistic decision-analytic model to estimate the 5-year impact of the program beyond follow-up. A societal perspective was adopted, with outcomes assessed in terms of costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY).Results:The DMP is associated with a gain in QALYs compared to usual care (2.7±.2 versus 3.4±.8), at lower costs (€3,302±314 versus €2,973±304), thus leading to dominance. The probability that disease management is the more cost-effective strategy is 76 percent at a societal willingness to pay (WTP) for an additional QALY of €0, reaching 95 percent probability at a WTP of €1,000 per additional QALY.Conclusions:Organizing health care according to the principles of disease management for adults with asthma has a high probability of being cost-effective and is associated with a gain in QALYs at lower costs.
Comparing the clinical and economic effects of clinical examination, pulse oximetry, and echocardiography in newborn screening for congenital heart defects: A probabilistic cost-effectiveness model and value of information analysis
Authors: Griebsch Ingolf , Knowles Rachel L. , Brown Jacqueline , Bull Catherine , Wren Christopher , Dezateux Carol A. 
Published: April 2007

Objectives: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are an important cause of death and morbidity in early childhood, but the effectiveness of alternative newborn screening strategies in preventing the collapse or death—before diagnosis—of infants with treatable but life-threatening defects is uncertain. We assessed their effectiveness and efficiency to inform policy and research priorities.Methods: We compared the effectiveness of clinical examination alone and clinical examination with either pulse oximetry or screening echocardiography in making a timely diagnosis of life-threatening CHD or in diagnosing clinically significant CHD. We contrasted their cost-effectiveness, using a decision-analytic model based on 100,000 live births, and assessed future research priorities using value of information analysis.Results: Clinical examination alone, pulse oximetry, and screening echocardiography achieved 34.0, 70.6, and 71.3 timely diagnoses per 100,000 live births, respectively. This finding represents an additional cost per additional timely diagnosis of £4,894 and £4,496,666 for pulse oximetry and for screening echocardiography. The equivalent costs for clinically significant CHD are £1,489 and £36,013, respectively. Key determinants of cost-effectiveness are detection rates and screening test costs. The false-positive rate is very high with screening echocardiography (5.4 percent), but lower with pulse oximetry (1.3 percent) or clinical examination alone (.5 percent).Conclusions: Adding pulse oximetry to clinical examination is likely to be a cost-effective newborn screening strategy for CHD, but further research is required before this policy can be recommended. Screening echocardiography is unlikely to be cost-effective, unless the detection of all clinically significant CHD is considered beneficial and a 5 percent false-positive rate acceptable.
Resource use and costs associated with different states of breast cancer
Authors: Lidgren Mathias , Wilking Nils , Jönsson Bengt , Rehnberg Clas 
Published: April 2007

Objectives: This study investigated the direct medical resource use and cost, informal care cost, and indirect cost associated with breast cancer in different states of the disease in normal clinical practice.Methods: A retrospective database analysis was used to estimate direct medical resource use and cost, and a patient questionnaire was used to evaluate informal care and work capacity in different states of breast cancer.Results: For patients younger than 65 years of age, the first year after a primary diagnosis total cost amounted to 280,000 SEK ($39,000) and the first year after a local or contralateral recurrence total cost was 351,000 SEK ($48,900). The second and following years after primary breast cancer or recurrence had substantially lower total cost, amounting to 94,000 SEK ($13,000). For patients with metastatic disease, the annual total cost was estimated to 334,000 SEK ($46,500). For patients older than 65 years of age, the total cost for the first year after a primary diagnosis amounted to 80,000 SEK ($11,200) and the total cost for the first year after a local or contralateral recurrence was 92,000 SEK ($12,900). The total cost for the second and following years after primary breast cancer or recurrence was estimated to 18,000 SEK ($2,600), and the total annual cost for patients with metastatic was 122,000 SEK ($17,000).Conclusions: Both direct medical costs and indirect cost vary substantially between disease states. For patients under 65 year of age, indirect costs accounted for more than 50 percent of the total cost.
Implications of learning effects for hospital costs of new health technologies: The case of intensity modulated radiation therapy
Authors: Bonastre Julia , Noël Eric , Chevalier Julie , Gerard Jean Pierre , Lefkopoulos Dimitri , Bourhis Jean , Bensadoun Rene Jean , de Pouvourville Gerard ,   The STIC IMRT 2002 Investigators
Published: April 2007

Objectives: The impact of learning effects on the variability of costs of new health technologies in a prospective payment system (PPS) through the case of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) was studied.Methods: A series of consecutive patients treated in nine medical centers was enrolled in a prospective study. Direct costs were assessed from the perspective of the healthcare providers. We used a two-level model to explain the variability of costs: patients nested within centers. Learning effects at the center level were considered through a fixed effect (the learning curve slope) and a random effect (the initial cost level). Covariates were introduced to explain the patterns of variation in terms of patient characteristics.Results: The mean direct cost of IMRT was €5,962 (range, €2,414–€24,733). Manpower accounted for 53 percent of this cost. Learning effects explained 42 percent of the variance between centers (which was 88 percent of the total variance) and were associated with a substantial decrease in treatment costs. The mean initial treatment direct cost was €6,332 in centers with a previous experience of IMRT, whereas it was €14,192 in centers implementing IMRT for the first time. Including logistics costs and overhead, the full cost of IMRT was €10,916. Average reimbursement was €6,987.Conclusions: Learning effects are a strong confounding factor in the analysis of costs of innovative health technologies involving learning effects. In a PPS, innovative health technology involving learning effects necessitates specific reimbursement mechanisms.
Measles outbreaks affecting children in Jewish ultra-orthodox communities in Jerusalem
Authors: STEIN-ZAMIR C. , ZENTNER G. , ABRAMSON N. , SHOOB H. , ABOUDY Y. , SHULMAN L. , MENDELSON E. 
Published: April 2007

SUMMARYIn 2003 and 2004 two measles outbreaks occurred in Jewish ultra-orthodox communities in Jerusalem. The index case of the first outbreak (March 2003) was a 2-year-old unvaccinated child from Switzerland. Within 5 months, 107 cases (mean age 8·3±7·5 years) emerged in three crowded neighbourhoods. The first cases of the second outbreak (June 2004) were in three girls aged 4–5 years in one kindergarten in another community. By November 2004, 117 cases (mean age 7·3±6·5 years) occurred. The virus genotypes were D8 and D4 respectively. Altogether, 96 households accounted for the two outbreaks, with two or more patients per family in 79% of cases. Most cases (91·5%) were unvaccinated. Immunization coverage was lower in outbreak than in non-outbreak neighbourhoods (88·3% vs. 90·3%, P=0·001). Controlling the outbreaks necessitated a culture-sensitive approach, and targeted efforts increased MMR vaccine coverage (first dose) to 95·2%. Despite high national immunization coverage (94–95%), special attention to specific sub-populations is essential.
Randomised algorithms for isomorphisms of simple types
Authors: GIL JOSEPH (YOSSI) , ZIBIN YOAV 
Published: April 2007

We give the first linear time (randomised) algorithm for thefirst order isomorphism problem, that is, the isomorphism of non-recursive types involving product- and function-type constructors, under the axioms of commutativity and associativity of products, currying and distributivity of functions over products. This problem can also be thought of as the problem of formal equality-testing of multi-variate expressions involving only multiplications and exponentiation. Previous work gave a deterministicO(nlog2n) time andO(n) space algorithm for the problem (nbeing the input size). Our specific contribution includes two randomised algorithms for the problem:(i)anO(n) timeMonte Carloalgorithm (that is, with a small probability it may decide erroneously that the two types are isomorphic), and(ii)anO(nlogn) expected time andO(n) spaceLas Vegasalgorithm (that is, with a small probability it may execute long).The algorithms rely on a preprocessing stage, which computes the sequence of the firstnprimes inO(nlogn/log logn) time and space.
War, Industrial Mobilisation and Society in Northern Ireland, 1939–1945
Authors: OLLERENSHAW PHILIP 
Published: April 2007

AbstractArchive-based regional studies can contribute much that is new to the economic, political and social history of the Second World War. This paper considers the process of industrial mobilisation in Northern Ireland, a politically divided region which was part of the United Kingdom but which had its own government. It examines the changing administrative framework of war production, the debate on military and industrial conscription, the role of women and the economic implications of geographical remoteness from London. The paper adds to our limited knowledge of regional mobilisation and contributes to a neglected aspect of the history of Northern Ireland.
Vladko Maček and the Croatian Peasant Defence in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Authors: RAMET SABRINA P. 
Published: April 2007

AbstractIn the years 1936–41, the Croatian Peasant Party, led by Vladko Maček, operated two militias – the Croatian Peasant Defence (HSZ) in the villages and the Croatian Civil Defence in the cities. The HSZ was intended to protect Croatian peasants from attacks by Serb Chetniks as well as by communists, and was thus itself a symptom of the lawlessness prevailing in the interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The HSZ also formed part of Maček's efforts to compete with the fascistic Ustaša movement, an armed organization behind the so-called ‘Velebit uprising’ of 1932.