bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CLINICAL AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DONEPEZIL, RIVASTIGMINE, AND GALANTAMINE FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Authors: Clegg Andrew , Bryant Jackie , Nicholson Tricia , McIntyre Linda , De Broe Sofie , Gerard Karen , Waugh Norman 
Published: October 2003

Objectives: Systematic review of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine for people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.Methods: Sixteen electronic databases (including MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and Embase) and bibliographies of related papers were searched for published/unpublished English language studies, and experts and pharmaceutical companies were consulted for additional information. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and economic studies were selected. Clinical effectiveness was assessed on measurement scales assessing progression of Alzheimer's disease on the person's global health, cognition, functional ability, behavior and mood, and quality of life. Cost-effectiveness was presented as incremental cost per year spent in a nonsevere state (by Mini Mental Health State Examination) or quality-adjusted life-year.Results: Twelve of 15 RCTs included were judged to be of good quality. Although donepezil had beneficial effects in Alzheimer's patients on global health and cognition, rivastigmine on global health, and galantamine on global health, cognition, and functional scales, these improvements were small and may not be clinically significant. Measures of quality of life and behavior and mood were rarely assessed. Adverse effects were usually mild and transient. Cost-effectiveness base case estimates ranged from £2,415 savings to £49,476 additional cost (1997 prices) per unit of effect for donepezil and a small savings for rivastigmine. Estimates were not considered robust or generalizable.Conclusions: Donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine appear to have some clinical effect for people with Alzheimer's disease, although the extent to which these translate into real differences in everyday life remains unclear. Due to the nature of current economic studies, cost-effectiveness remains uncertain and the impact on different care sectors has been inadequately investigated. Further research is needed to establish the actual benefits of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEls) for people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers, the relationship of these changes to clinical management, and careful prospective evaluation of resource and budgetary consequences.
STATUS AND POTENTIAL OF GENE THERAPY IN CLINICAL MEDICINE
Authors: Lyngstadaas Anita 
Published: October 2003

Objective: Somatic gene therapy is a new method in the rapidly expanding field of molecular medicine. Due to recent encouraging results and the promising prospect for some disease groups, Norwegian health authorities wanted to assess somatic therapy with evidence-based standards for strategic use. This article presents the results of this assessment, discussed in the context of the policy-making process in Norway, including ethical and legislational considerations.Methods: Clinical gene therapy protocols, ongoing or completed with published results, where available, were identified through a systematic survey of descriptive protocols and publications. Preclinical literature was also reviewed.Results: Gene therapy is dominated by preclinical and clinical research. Most of the gene therapy protocols identified are in early phases (phases I and II) with only a few patients in each study. Of the protocols included in the assessment, only three phase III studies are represented. Except for the use of soluble antisense oligonucleotides against cytomegalovirus eye infection, gene therapy is presently not an established treatment modality. Promising results have been observed in treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases and, most recently, in inherited severe combined immunodeficiency and hemophilia. Several interesting principles addressing a large panel of conditions are currently being developed and tested.Conclusions: Gene therapy is developing into an important medical concept that needs to be included within the Norwegian healthcare system. It is recommended that the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs fund a national program to boost infrastructure in selected scientific groups both in preclinical and clinical research. The national procedures regulating approval of gene therapy trials should be made more efficient while at the same time allowing for proper control and ethical considerations. It is emphasized that gene therapy trials should be carefully monitored for side effects.
THE ACCURACY OF SELF-REPORTED HEALTHCARE RESOURCE UTILIZATION IN HEALTH ECONOMIC STUDIES
Authors: Petrou Stavros , Murray Lynne , Cooper Peter , Davidson Leslie L. 
Published: October 2003

Objective: Individuals' recollections of the number and type of health service encounters are frequently required for health economic studies. We sought to establish whether the accuracy of self-reported healthcare resource utilization is a function of the duration of the recall period and the saliency of the health service encounter.Methods: Patient recollections of a range of community services (general practitioner visits, community midwifery visits) and hospital services (accident and emergency attendances, hospital outpatient attendances, inpatient admissions) over 4-month and 8-month time periods were obtained from women participating in a randomized controlled trial. Comparisons were made with healthcare resource utilization data extracted from medical records. Where significant differences were identified between the self-reported and medically recorded data, a multivariate linear regression model was constructed to identify the factors associated with underreporting and overreporting of healthcare resource utilization.Results: The study revealed a tendency to underreport community service utilization, which appears to be exacerbated when the recall period is extended. A number of sociodemographic and clinical factors significantly associated with this tendency to underreport community service utilization were identified. The self-reporting of hospital service utilization over varying periods of recall was found to be more accurate.Conclusion: It is important that economic analysts establish optimal methods for estimating resource utilization quantities within health economic analytical designs. In particular, greater emphasis should be placed on extracting information on community service utilization from medical records or routine health service information systems.
CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-QUALITY GUIDELINES
Authors: Burgers Jako S. , Cluzeau Françoise A. , Hanna Steven E. , Hunt Claire , Grol Richard 
Published: October 2003

Objectives: To identify predictors of high-quality clinical practice guidelines.Methods: A total of 86 guidelines from 11 countries were assessed by four independent appraisers per guideline using the AGREE instrument (23 items). Six aspects of guideline development were considered to explain the variation in quality scores: care level (primary/secondary care), scope (diagnosis/treatment), type of guideline (new/update), year of publication, type of agency (governmental/professional), and whether the guideline was produced within a structured and coordinated program.Results: Guidelines produced within a guideline program and by governmental agencies had higher scores than their counterparts. Differences in the applicability of the guidelines could not be explained by the variables studied.Conclusions: To ensure high quality, clinical guidelines should be produced within a structured and coordinated program. Professional organizations or specialist societies that aim to develop guidelines may adopt quality criteria from leading guideline agencies.
FAST SIMULATION OF A QUEUE FED BY A SUPERPOSITION OF MANY
(HEAVY-TAILED) SOURCES
Authors: Boots Nam Kyoo , Mandjes Michel 
Published: October 2003

We consider a queue fed by a large number, say n,
on–off sources with generally distributed on- and off-times.
The queueing resources are scaled by n: The buffer
is B ≡ nb and the link rate is C
≡ nc. The model is versatile. It allows one to model
both long-range-dependent traffic (by using heavy-tailed
on-periods) and short-range-dependent traffic (by using
light-tailed on-periods). A crucial performance metric in this model
is the steady state buffer overflow probability.This probability decays exponentially in n. Therefore,
if n grows large, naive simulation is too time-consuming
and fast simulation techniques have to be used. Due to the exponential
decay (in n), importance sampling with an exponential change of
measure goes through, irrespective of the on-times being heavy or light
tailed. An asymptotically optimal change of measure is found by using
large deviations arguments. Notably, the change of measure is not
constant during the simulation run, which is different from
many other studies (usually relying on large buffer asymptotics).Numerical examples show that our procedure improves considerably
over naive simulation. We present accelerations, we discuss
the influence of the shape of the distributions on the overflow
probability, and we describe the limitations of our technique.
The tensor product theorem for &∇tilde;-nilpotence and the dimension of unstable modules
Authors: POWELL GEOFFREY M. L. 
Published: October 2003

Let [Fscr ] be the category of functors from the category of finite-dimensional [ ]2-vector
spaces to [ ]2-vector spaces. The concept of &∇tilde;-nilpotence in the category [Fscr ]
is used to define a ‘dimension’ for the category of analytic functors which has good
properties. In particular, the paper shows that the tensor product F [otimes ] G of analytic
functors which are respectively &∇tilde;s and
&∇tilde;t nilpotent is &∇tilde;s+t − 1-nilpotent.The notion of &∇tilde;-nilpotence is extended to define a dimension in the category
of unstable modules over the mod 2 Steenrod algebra, which is shown to coincide
with the transcendence degree of an unstable Noetherian algebra over the Steenrod algebra.
Estimates for complete exponential sums of special types
Authors: YU HONG BING 
Published: October 2003

This paper is concerned with the exponential sums(formula here)and with Heilbronn's type exponential sums(formula here)where (and below) p is prime, m, n, a and b are
integers with m > n > 0 and p [nmid ] ab,
and er(x) = exp(2πix/r) as usual.
Euler characteristics for orbifold generalized triangle groups
Authors: WILLIAMS ALUN G. T. 
Published: October 2003

A generalized triangle group is a group with a presentationGT(l, m, n; w) = 〈a, b | al = bm = wn = 1〉;where l, m, n [ges ] 2, and w is a cyclically reduced word in the free product on {a, b}.
In the setting of one-relator products of cyclic groups, Fine et al. [3] calculated their
Euler characteristics for n [ges ] 3 under certain conditions on the defining word w.
Maritime DGPS: Ensuring the Best Availability and Continuity
Authors: Moore Terry , Sardinha Monteiro Luís , Hill Chris 
Published: October 2003

This paper was first presented at GNSS 2002 – European Navigation Conference – held in Copenhagen, 28th to 30th May, 2002. At the 5th GNSS Symposium, held in Seville in 2001, the authors presented a paper entitled ‘The Portuguese DGPS network’, which began by addressing the current need for a DGPS service, given the removal of Selective Availability (Moore et al., 2001). In that paper, the benefits of DGPS for mariners, namely in terms of accuracy and integrity, were discussed and presented, in order to show that the option to embrace DGPS was, and is, still valid because it can provide the best accuracy and integrity at sea. However, the accuracy advantage afforded and the integrity check performed by DGPS are only useful if the DGPS service reaches very high standards of availability and continuity. It would be almost useless to have a DGPS service with low availability and continuity, because it could mean a ship losing the differential corrections in restricted waters, where the service is most needed. In summary, the level of benefit gained from DGPS is directly proportional to the user availability of the service and to its continuity. Having discussed accuracy and integrity last year, this paper covers issues related to availability and continuity (continuity replaced the previously used concept of reliability). The availability and continuity requirements recently adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) are presented, as well as the ways by which DGPS services can meet the very high requirements for the harbour entrance and approach phase of navigation. The concepts used in the Portuguese DGPS network to minimize downtime and ensure the highest reliability and availability, are presented as an example.
Epidemiol. Infect.127 (2001), 221–7 An outbreak of diarrhoea due to multiple antimicrobial-resistant
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26: H11 in a nursery
Authors: HIRUTA N. , MURASE T. , OKAMURA N. 
Published: October 2003

Page 223, Table 1. ‘V2 GACTGCGTCAGTGAGGTT’Should read ‘V5 GACTCTTCCATCTGCCG’Page 226, Reference 1. ‘1997’ should read ‘1977’Page 227, Reference 17. Replace with ‘Kobayashi K. Detection of
enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli using PCR. J Clin Microbiol
1991; 18: 507–13.’
Broad versus narrow auditory tuning and corresponding bat‐evasive flight behaviour in praying mantids
Authors: Triblehorn Jeffrey D. , Yager David D. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractMost praying mantids possess a single tympanal ear located in the ventral midline between the metathoracic legs. The auditory system is generally most sensitive to ultrasound in the 25–50 kHz range. Flying males exhibit a short‐latency, stereotyped, multi‐component response to ultrasound that allows them to escape from attacking bats. This study describes a small subset of species that differs in three major respects from the majority of mantis species: (1) their auditory tuning is 1.5–2 times broader; (2) they are sensitive to frequencies above 60 kHz (up to 130 kHz in some species) with thresholds as low or lower than at 25–50 kHz; (3) the behavioural response of the broadly tuned (BT) species includes 10–50 times more flight cessations and can be far less stereotyped, i.e. more ‘evitable’, than that of narrowly tuned (NT) species. However, BT species do not differ from NT species in overall sensitivity. Two species from one subfamily, the Amelinae (family Mantidae), stand out because they are among the least sensitive of any hearing mantids so far tested. Although the two amelines differ from one another in tuning curve shape, they are both more broadly tuned than most mantids. The occurrence of BT species does not follow any obvious phylogenetic pattern; they are patchily distributed among the mantis families, and both BT and NT species can be found in the same subfamily or tribe. We suggest that BT species are responding to a shared ecological pressure. Based on their tuning, the nature of their behavioural response, and their geographic distribution, we hypothesize that high duty cycle (HDC) bats (Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae) pose a special danger to BT mantids in addition to the threat that all flying mantids face from the more common and widely distributed low duty cycle (LDC) bats.
Chummidae, a new spider family (Arachnida, Araneae) from South Africa
Authors: Jocqué Rudy 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe paper reports on a new family of spiders from the eastern Cape region in South Africa. Chummidae, new family, are small, three‐clawed spiders, recognized by the abdomen with strong dorsal scutum, provided with a frontal field of stiff macrosetae in large sockets. Further apomorphies are the absence of a fovea, the reduction of posterior and median spinnerets, the absence of major ampullate gland spigots, and the presence of branched lateral tracheae and of a hair‐basket around the cheliceral fang. The type genus Chumma, is represented by two species, both known from male and female – the type species C. inquieta sp. nov. and C. gastroperforata sp. nov. The males of the latter species are remarkable for having two pairs of abdominal pockets, which play a role during mating.
Evolutionary rates and stabilizing selection in large‐bodied opossum skulls (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)
Authors: Lemos Bernardo , Marroig Gabriel , Cerqueira Rui 
Published: October 2003

AbstractPhenotypic evolutionary rates are reported for cranial characters of eight species of large‐bodied Neotropical marsupials: Didelphis aurita, D. marsupialis, D. albiventris, Philander opossum, P. frenata, Lutreolina crassicaudata, Chironectes minimus, and Metachirus nudicaudatus. These rates were found to be lower than expected if cranial diversification in these opossums had occurred by mutation and genetic drift only, and it is clear that a greater diversification was prevented. As all parameters used in estimating rates were very conservative, the conclusion that stabilizing selection has predominated during the evolution of the skull of large‐bodied opossums is fairly robust. We also show that directional selection sustained for 150 generations (158 years) or less is capable of producing differences of the same magnitudes as those found between various pairs of species. Therefore, we conclude that even where a particular differentiation has been caused by directional selection, neutral rate tests are unlikely to infer it. This is because following a morphological shift, stabilizing selection will progressively erase evidences of directional selection.
Female genital dimorphism in a spider (Araneae: Pholcidae)
Authors: Huber Bernhard A. , González Abel Pérez 
Published: October 2003

AbstractDiscontinuous individual variation among members of the same sex, in the same life stage, within a population, is an important phenomenon for our understanding of more fundamental issues in evolutionary biology. One set of morphological characters is conspicuously rare in the literature on intrasexual polymorphisms: genitalia. In this paper we report the first case of female genital polymorphism, the first not only for spiders but apparently for animals in general. We argue that the overwhelming use of genitalia in species identification practiced by many invertebrate taxonomists presents a strong bias against discovering polymorphisms in genitalia. Further methodological and practical aspects of invertebrate taxonomy are discussed that, taken together, make the discovery of genital polymorphisms unlikely, no matter whether or not the phenomenon is rare.
Maternal care and infant behaviour of the bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata)
Authors: Fisher D. O. , Goldizen A. W. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractBridled nailtail wallabies Onychogalea fraenata are endangered, medium‐sized, nocturnal macropodids that persist at only one location in central Queensland, Australia. Characteristics of juvenile development, shelter use, anti‐predator behaviour and maternal care were investigated in the wild using trapping, radio‐tracking and spotlighting observations. Timing of developmental stages was identical to the pattern previously found in captivity, except for age at weaning which was much earlier in the wild. After young had left the pouch permanently at 17 weeks of age and weighing c. 800 g, they always spent the day concealed in dense cover, generally >200 m from their mothers. Juveniles were also alone in >50% of observations at night, and stayed closer to cover than did adult females. Young became independent of their mothers 7–8 weeks after permanent exit from the pouch and weighing c. 1800 g. Females with dependent juveniles changed their behaviour in ways likely to reduce predation on young. They reduced their home ranges, stayed closer to cover and became more wary than other females. Juveniles differed from adult females in their habitat use, anti‐predator behaviour and shelter site preferences. Juveniles were more likely than adults to respond to threats by standing still or lying flat on the ground, whether or not they were in concealing cover. Juveniles used a wider range of smaller shelters than adults, and were less likely to use solid shelters such as hollow logs during the day. Because bridled nailtail wallabies have a ‘hider’ strategy of maternal care and the young rely on crypsis, successful breeding in the wild requires dense vegetation cover.
Habitat use by wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) in a changeable arable landscape
Authors: Tattersall Françoise H. , Macdonald David W. , Hart Barbara J. , Manley Will J. , Feber Ruth E. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractWood mice Apodemus sylvaticus are potentially useful indicators of change in arable ecosystems. Here we focus on changes resulting from removal of land from arable production under the set‐aside scheme. Wood mice were radio‐tracked to compare: (a) their use of set‐aside, crop and hedgerow before and after harvest; (b) set‐aside configured as margins and as a 3 ha block; (c) cut and uncut 20‐m wide set‐aside margins. Males had larger home ranges, and were more mobile than females. Ranges were larger, and animals more mobile, before harvest than afterwards. There were no differences in range sizes of breeding and non‐breeding animals after harvest, suggesting that changes in habitat use were not a function of cessation of breeding. Before harvest, wood mice used habitats within their ranges at random, and their ranges contained a high proportion of cropped area. After harvest they preferred hedgerow and avoided margin set‐aside within their ranges, but did not similarly avoid the set‐aside block. The proportion of cropped area within their ranges decreased after harvest, and the proportion of margin increased. Our evidence suggests wood mice avoided using the area adjacent to the hedgerow, perhaps to avoid predators. Uncut set‐aside patches were favoured and cut patches avoided, possibly in response to differences in food availability and levels of protection from predators. These results confirm that wood mice are useful indicators of change in arable landscapes.