bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Course of distress and quality of life in testicular cancer patients before, during, and after chemotherapy: Results of a pilot study
Authors: Trask Peter C. , Paterson Amber G. , Fardig Judith , Smith David C. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractTesticular cancer is the most common cancer in white males between the ages of 15 and 45 years. Treatment may include the administration of chemotherapy which has been associated with changes in emotional distress, quality of life, and symptom distress in other cancers. The current study was designed to evaluate the course of these constructs in a sample of testicular cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Patients completed measures of emotional distress and quality of life prior to, during, and after chemotherapy, with symptom distress measured during chemotherapy. Thirty percent of patients reported moderate to high levels of distress at pre‐treatment baseline that was associated with worse quality of life. Initial anxiety and distress decreased and stayed low through chemotherapy and post‐treatment follow‐up. There were no significant changes in fatigue, nausea or change in appearance during chemotherapy. The results suggest that some patients evidence pre‐treatment anxiety and distress that appears to be primarily anticipatory, decreases over the course of chemotherapy, and occurs in the context of improved quality of life and reduced symptom severity. Deleterious changes in emotional distress, quality of life, and symptom distress seen in other cancer populations were not apparent in our sample of testicular cancer patients. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Perception of breast cancer risk and surveillance behaviours of women with family history of breast cancer: A brief report on a Spanish cohort
Authors: Gil Francisco , Méndez Ignacio , Sirgo Agustina , Llort Gemma , Blanco Ignacio , Cortés‐Funes Hernán 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWomen with a family history of breast cancer (FHBC) are at increased risk for developing this disease. In this study, we have investigated the differences between two groups of women; those with family history of breast cancer (N=42) and women at population risk (N=42) in a Spanish cohort. Questionnaires assessed distress, perception of breast cancer risk, screening behaviours, coping skills, personality and quality of life. Neither group received genetic counselling before or after this study. Women with FHBC overestimated their risk of developing breast cancer. They report a subjective risk of developing breast cancer of 50%, with their actual risk, using the risk tables elaborated by Claus et al. (Cancer 1994, 73: 643), being only 15% (p<0.05). Discriminant function analysis revealed the patients' information about breast cancer, worries about breast cancer, perception of risk based on family history, perception of lifetime risk of breast cancer and quality of life were the five variables that distinguished between both groups. Only 34% of women in the FHBC group performed monthly breast self‐examination, 24% (10 subjects) had never attended previously for clinical breast examination and 45% (19 subjects) had never undergone a mammogram. This group of women had a significantly lower level of general satisfaction (p<0.05), an indicator of Quality of Life. The results support the need for developing psychological intervention for women with family history of breast cancer in order to increase adherence to surveillance behaviours, reduce distress, improve quality of life, and assure the earliest detection of breast cancer. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Receiving a screen‐detected diagnosis of cancer: The experience of participants in the UK flexible sigmoidoscopy trial
Authors: Miles Anne , Wardle Jane , Atkin Wendy 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThe experience of receiving a screen‐detected diagnosis of colorectal cancer was explored using open‐ended interviews. Twenty four people who had been diagnosed with cancer at flexible sigmoidoscopy screening were interviewed at their homes over the telephone. Thematic analysis of the transcripts showed that the experience of gaining a diagnosis of cancer through screening was characterised by a lack of prior expectation that cancer would be detected and feelings of shock. This was largely because of the absence of symptoms and current feelings of well‐being. Some interviewees expressed feelings of relief and gratitude at having cancer diagnosed at an early enough stage that ‘something could be done about it’. The experience of receiving a screen‐detected diagnosis could be summarised as one of ‘moderated shock’ whereby the shock of the unexpected diagnosis was often moderated by the news that the cancer had been caught early.Whilst these screen‐detected cancers were diagnosed relatively rapidly, a significant number of interviewees had a period in which they were effectively ‘symptomatic’ (e.g. knew they had an adenoma but did not know whether it was malignant or benign). However, they did not use this period to prepare themselves for a possible cancer diagnosis. Raising awareness of the adenoma–carcinoma sequence may help reduce the shock of a screen‐detected diagnosis. However, any interventions aimed at reducing the distress of a screen‐detected cancer would need to consider the overall benefit to screening attenders, most of whom will have benign polyps detected. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The CARES‐SF used for prospective assessment of health‐related quality of life after stem cell transplantation
Authors: Hjermstad Marianne J. , Evensen Stein A. , Kvaløy Stein O. , Loge Jon H. , Fayers Peter M. , Kaasa Stein 
Published: December 2003

AbstractObjective: By employing the Cancer Rehabilitation and Evaluation System short form (CARES‐SF) prospectively we wanted to focus on the rehabilitation needs after high‐dose chemotherapy (HDC) and stem cell transplantation, in order to identify problems that should be addressed by health‐care professionals during the course of disease and treatment.Methods: The CARES‐SF was administered before and at 2, 6 and 12 months post‐transplant to 130 cancer patients treated with HDC and allogeneic (SCT) or autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Physical function scale scores were compared with the corresponding scale of the EORTC QLQ‐C30.Results: The SCT group reported significantly better physical function than the ASCT group before transplant on both the CARES‐SF (p<0.0001) and the EORTC QLQ‐C30 (p<0.01). Almost identical mean CARES‐SF scores across groups (SCT: 0.7–1.4, ASCT: 0.8–1.3) were found at the subsequent assessments, consistent with the QLQ‐C30 data. Correlations between CARES‐SF and QLQ‐C30 Physical Function Scales ranged from 0.45 to 0.65.The SCT group had better psychosocial subscale scores (mean 0.4 and 0.5 versus ASCT: 0.7 and 0.8, p < 0.01) at the 6 and 12‐month assessments, as well as better satisfaction on the marital subscale ( p=0.01) 6 months post‐transplant.Few patients requested specific help: 19% at baseline with ‘fear of the cancer progressing’ and 9% with ‘reduction in physical energy’ after 6 and 12 months.Conclusion: The CARES‐SF detected differences across groups of patients as well as within‐patient changes over time. The possibility for patients to express their need for professional assistance renders the CARES‐SF appropriate after SCT/ASCT. The sexual, marital and medical interaction subscales in particular address specific issues of relevance for follow‐up care, compared with more traditional questionnaires assessing health related quality of life (HRQOL). Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Terrain analyses and surface velocity measurements of the Hiorthfjellet rock glacier, Svalbard
Authors: Ødegård Rune S. , Isaksen Ketil , Eiken Trond , Ludvig Sollid Johan 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThe morphology and dynamics of the Hiorthfjellet rock glacier, Svalbard, are investigated based on analyses of (1) a digital terrain model and (2) surface velocity measurements during the time period 1994 to 2002. The Hiorthfjellet rock glacier is particularly suited for the interpretation of rock‐glacier dynamics from surface morphology since the surface is smooth with homogenous rock size minimally influenced by debris flows. Surface velocity measurements give good evidence of surface strain rate on the order of 4×10−5 year−1 to 8×10−5 year−1. The upper and frontal zones of the rock glacier have extending flow, the central zone compressive flow. There are small deviations between the gradient of the surface velocity vector and the surface gradient of the rock glacier. Observed surface velocity vectors are within the range of 9.5 cm year−1 to 10.8 cm year−1. The DTM analyses clearly show a small‐scale ridge‐and‐furrow surface, most likely attributed to active‐layer processes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Snow cover and soil moisture controls on solifluction in an area of seasonal frost, eastern Alps
Authors: Jaesche Philipp , Veit Heinz , Huwe Bernd 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis paper presents multi‐year measurements of solifluction, frost heave and the concurrent thermal and hydrological regimes at two solifluction lobes with seasonal frost in the eastern Alps, Austria. The monitoring system included a new solifluction meter and time‐domain‐reflectometry (TDR) probes to measure the unfrozen water content of the soil. Three phases of ground thermal and hydrological conditions were identified, each with distinct consequences for soil movements. Rapid frost heave occurred during initial ground freezing in early winter. Freezing intensity and maximum frost penetration are strongly influenced by snow drifting in that period. Another period of marked heaving during spring snowmelt is attributed to meltwater infiltration into the frozen ground. Solifluction commenced at high water contents with the beginning of thaw settlement and was enhanced by daily fluctuations of snowmelt and lateral influx of meltwater. Slow movements continued, or even started, after complete thawing of the ground as long as lateral runoff from snow patches upslope elevated soil water contents. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Theoretical Studies on PNMFIW by AM1 and PM3 Methods
Authors: Yukai Wu , Yuxiang Ou , Zhiguo Liu , Boren Chen 
Published: December 2003

AbstractAM1 and PM3 semi‐empirical methods were used to conduct theoretical studies on possible polymorphs of pentanitromonoformylhexaazaisowurtzitane (PNMFIW), and a close link between PNMFIW and Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (HNIW), especially in sensitivity, is shown. The optimized geometries of possible polymorphs of PNMFIW are similar to those of HNIW. PNMFIW in ε‐HNIW prepared from tetraacetyldiformylhexaazaisowurtzitane is predicted to have a D‐form. The average NN bond lengths of PNMFIW computed by AM1 and PM3 methods are shorter than those of HNIW. The differences in energy and thermochemistry values between PNMFIW and HNIW are insignificant except molecular energies 255.75 kJ⋅mol−1 for D‐form PNMFIW and 460.36 kJ⋅mol−1 for ε‐HNIW. Based on a Mulliken population analysis of the NN bonds, the impact sensitivities of A‐, B‐, C‐ and D‐forms of PNMFIW are estimated to be lower than those of the corresponding polymorphs of HNIW. Taking into account all NN bond lengths and overall molecule size, the shock sensitivities of all forms PNMFIW are predicted to be almost the same, and lower than those of HNIW.
Combustion Model for Pyrophoric Metal Foils
Authors: Wilharm Caroline K. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractA model for the combustion of pyrophoric metal foils has been developed. The diffusive mass transport, heat transport, and chemical reactions of porous iron foils have been described. The temperature and radiated energy of these materials has been predicted as a function of the physical characteristics of the material (porosity, pore size, specific surface area) for different atmospheric conditions (temperatures and oxygen concentrations varied with altitude and wind velocity).
Feedback stabilization via designed planar centre manifold
Authors: Dong Yali , Cheng Daizhan , Qin Huashu 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis paper addresses the problem of local state feedback stabilization of a class of nonlinear systems, which have planar centre manifold. A new technique for designing centre manifold has been developed. Using this approach, a sufficient condition for stabilization of a class of nonlinear system is obtained. The approach has been specified for two particular critical cases: ‘zero centre’ with zero eigenvalue of multiplicity 2 and ‘oscillatory centre’ with a pair of pure imaginary eigenvalues. The control law, which stabilizes the overall system, is also presented. Some examples are presented to indicate how the present theorem may be implemented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nonlocal stabilization via delayed relay control rejecting uncertainty in a time delay
Authors: Fridman L. , Strygin V. , Polyakov A. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractSufficient conditions for a robust relay delayed non‐local stabilization of linear systems are found, which relate the upper bound of an uncertainty in a time delay and the maximum of the real part of system spectrum. Algorithm of delayed relay control gain adaptation for non‐local stabilization is suggested. The proposed algorithm suppresses bounded uncertainties in the time delay: once this relay delayed control law for the upper bound of uncertainty in the time delay for given system is designed, we ensure non‐local stabilization for all values of the time delay less than the upper bound even in the case of a variable delay. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Time‐steppers and ‘coarse’ control of distributed microscopic processes
Authors: Armaou Antonios , I. Siettos Constantinos , G. Kevrekidis Ioannis 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe present an equation‐free multiscale computational framework for the design of ‘coarse’ controllers for complex spatially distributed processes described by microscopic/mesoscopic evolution rules. We illustrate this framework by designing discrete‐time, coarse linear controllers for a Lattice–Boltzmann (LB) scheme modelling a reaction–diffusion process (a kinetic‐theory based realization of the FitzHugh–Nagumo equation dynamics in one spatial dimension). Short ‘bursts’ of appropriately initialized simulation of the LB model are used to extract the stationary states (stable and unstable) and to estimate the information required to design the coarse controller (e.g. the action of the coarse slow Jacobian of the process). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reduction and identification methods for Markovian control systems, with application to thin film deposition
Authors: Gallivan Martha A. , Murray Richard M. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractDynamic models of nanometer‐scale phenomena often require an explicit consideration of interactions among a large number of atoms or molecules. The corresponding mathematical representation may thus be high dimensional, nonlinear, and stochastic, incompatible with tools in nonlinear control theory that are designed for low‐dimensional deterministic equations. We consider here a general class of probabilistic systems that are linear in the state, but whose input enters as a function multiplying the state vector. Model reduction is accomplished by grouping probabilities that evolve together, and truncating states that are unlikely to be accessed. An error bound for this reduction is also derived. A system identification approach that exploits the inherent linearity is then developed, which generates all coefficients in either a full or reduced model. These concepts are then extended to extremely high‐dimensional systems, in which kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations provide the input–output data. This work was motivated by our interest in thin film deposition. We demonstrate the approaches developed in the paper on a KMC simulation of surface evolution during film growth, and use the reduced model to compute optimal temperature profiles that minimize surface roughness. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Distributed nonlinear control of diffusion–reaction processes
Authors: Dubljevic Stevan , Christofides Panagiotis D. , Kevrekidis Ioannis G. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractIn this work, we focus on distributed control of quasi‐linear parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) and address the problem of enforcing a prespecified spatio‐temporal behaviour in the closed‐loop system using nonlinear feedback control and a sufficiently large number of actuators and sensors. Under the assumption that the desired spatio‐temporal behaviour is described by a ‘target parabolic PDE’, we use a combination of Galerkin's method and nonlinear control techniques to design nonlinear state and static output feedback controllers to address this problem. We use examples of diffusion–reaction processes to demonstrate the formulation of the control problem and the effectiveness of our systematic approach to creating prespecified spatio‐temporal behaviour. Using these illustrative examples, we demonstrate that both (a) a sufficiently large number of actuators/sensors, and (b) nonlinear control laws are needed to achieve this goal. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dissipative systems: from physics to robust nonlinear control
Authors: A. Alonso Antonio , V. Fernandez Carlos , R. Banga Julio 
Published: December 2003

AbstractIn this paper, we explore connections between the underlying physics of dissipative systems and nonlinear robust control. In particular, we concentrate on the problem of stabilizing stationary solutions of nonlinear dissipative systems with states distributed in space. Dissipative systems are equipped with an entropy function which we employ to relate dissipation with the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation. This relation allows us to establish formal links between the dynamic properties of dissipative systems, passivity and optimal stabilizing control, as it is understood in systems theory. Robustness issues in controller design, are also discussed in the context of front or pulse spatial pattern stabilization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Compensation of spatiotemporally varying disturbances in nonlinear transport processes via actuator scheduling
Authors: A. Demetriou Michael , Kazantzis Nikolaos 
Published: December 2003

AbstractA new systematic framework is developed that allows the integration of a comprehensive actuator scheduling policy and a robust feedback controller synthesis method to be realized for the compensation of spatiotemporally varying disturbances for nonlinear transport processes modelled by parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs). It is assumed that the process of interest has either multiple actuators and the desirable arrangement is to activate only one during a given time‐interval, or there is a single actuator capable of moving ata prioriselected positions within the spatial domain. Local feedback controller synthesis methods based on linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques are developed and realized through the linearization of a nonlinear finite‐dimensional approximation of the original distributed parameter system obtained via a Galerkin discretization scheme. Furthermore, additional conditions are derived that ensure robustness with respect to a certain class of physically meaningful spatiotemporally varying disturbances. The value of an appropriately selected quadratic performance functional is then explicitly calculated by solving an actuator location‐parameterized family of Lyapunov matrix equations, and subsequently optimized with respect to the set of admissible actuator locations. Finally, in order to illustrate the proposed method a typical nonlinear transport process modelled through Burgers' equation is considered, and its performance is evaluated through simulation studies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hybrid predictive control of nonlinear systems: method and applications to chemical processes
Authors: El‐Farra Nael H. , Mhaskar Prashant , Christofides Panagiotis D. 
Published: December 2003

AbstractA hybrid control structure that unites bounded control with model predictive control (MPC) is proposed for the constrained stabilization of nonlinear systems. The structure consists of: (1) a finite‐horizon model predictive controller, which can be linear or nonlinear, and with or without stability constraints, (2) a family of bounded nonlinear controllers for which the regions of constrained closed‐loop stability are explicitly characterized and (3) a high‐level supervisor that orchestrates switching between MPC and the bounded controllers. The central idea is to embed the implementation of MPC within the stability regions of the bounded controllers and employ these controllers as fall‐back in the event that MPC is unable to achieve closed‐loop stability (due, for example, to infeasibility of a given initial condition and/or horizon length, or due to computational difficulties in solving the nonlinear optimization). Switching laws, that monitor the closed‐loop state evolution under MPC, are derived to orchestrate the transitions in a way that guarantees asymptotic closed‐loop stability for all initial conditions within the union of the stability regions of the bounded controllers. The proposed hybrid control scheme is shown to provide a paradigm for the safe implementation of predictive control algorithms to nonlinear systems, with guaranteed stability regions. The efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated through applications to chemical reactor and crystallization process examples. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Distributed, asynchronous and hybrid simulation of process networks using recording controllers
Authors: Garcia‐Osorio Vianey , Ydstie B. Erik 
Published: December 2003

AbstractIn this paper we propose a novel approach for distributed process simulation which does not need synchronization by a central coordinator, nor does it require an iterative procedure to ensure stability and boundedness of the simulation error. Instead we rely on inherent passivity properties of process networks and recording‐controller (RC) devices to develop a hybrid representation of the underlying continuous dynamics. The RCs are added to the original process system where there are interconnections between different computational agents. RCs accumulate the simulation error between communication intervals, perform error checking, control information flow and update the interconnection variables at discrete intervals so that the errors remain bounded. The distributed simulation framework is used to develop two different simulation strategies: In one case we use distributed simulation with fixed time horizons. In the other case we use update on demand and adapt the time horizons so that the error satisfies pre‐specified tolerances. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comments on ‘Sufficient conditions for the synthesis of H∞ fixed‐order controllers’
Authors: Feng Zhengping , Allen Robert 
Published: December 2003

AbstractThis note points out that both theorems in Mattei (Int. J. Robust Nonlinear Control 2000; 10: 1237–1248) are incorrect for a general plant model. Additionally, it presents the corrections of them. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reply to comments on ‘Sufficient conditions for the synthesis of H∞ fixed‐order controllers’
Authors: Mattei Massimiliano 
Published: December 2003

AbstractIn this brief note Theorems 1 and 2 (Int. J. Robust Nonlinear Control 2000; 10:1237–1242) are discussed in the light of the observations raised in Feng and Allen (Int. J. Robust Nonlinear Control). A simple correction to the proof of these theorems allows to keep the hypothesis on the possible rank deficiency of the system matrices B and Cy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.