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Valuable
Kinds of Valuable Terms modified by Valuable Selected Abstracts"Cultivating Children as You Would Valuable Plants:" The Gardening Governmentality of Child Saving, Toronto, Canada, 1880s,1920s1JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Xiaobei Chen An analysis of gardening metaphors contributes to understanding mechanisms of bio-power on the site of child saving. This paper argues that the child saving movement attempted to install a mode of proper parental control that can be described as "the gardening governmentality", it was primarily positive/productive (yet without excluding repressive elements), individualized, intelligent, and localized. [source] Key tree species for the golden-headed lion tamarin and implications for shade-cocoa management in southern Bahia, BrazilANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 1 2010L. C. Oliveira Abstract The golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas occurs in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, where shade-cocoa agroforestry (known as cabruca) predominates. The economic decline of the cocoa industry has caused many landowners to convert cabruca into cattle pasture or diversify their plantations with other crops. These and prior anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat fragmentation are threatening lion tamarin persistence. For some lion tamarin groups, cabruca comprises a large part of their home range. Considering these factors, the maintenance of the biological diversity in cabruca favorable to golden-headed lion tamarins is of considerable interest to their long-term survival. Here we identify plant species that provide food and sleeping sites for the lion tamarins and examine their occurrence in cabruca plantations, in order to investigate alternatives for conservation management practices that benefit both lion tamarins and cabruca. We determined the total number of trees and the frequency of individuals and species used for food and sleeping sites by lion tamarins in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, from 1998 to 2006. We used this information to compare the richness and frequency of use across habitats (cabruca, mature and secondary) and to create a ranking index considering various components of a tree species' utility to the lion tamarins. Lion tamarins used 155 tree species, 93 for food and 93 for sleeping sites. Fifty-five species were ranked as ,Extremely Valuable,' eight as ,Valuable' and 92 as ,Of Interest.' Of 48 families, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae were used the most. Cabruca contained fewer individual trees used by lion tamarins, but the highest frequency of use per tree compared with other habitats, indicating the large influence of single trees in these plantations. Using the key tree species identified in our study in the management of cabruca would be of considerable benefit to the long-term survival of lion tamarins [source] Breast Self-Exam is too Valuable to DiscardCA: A CANCER JOURNAL FOR CLINICIANS, Issue 5 2001Article first published online: 31 DEC 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Key tree species for the golden-headed lion tamarin and implications for shade-cocoa management in southern Bahia, BrazilANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 1 2010L. C. Oliveira Abstract The golden-headed lion tamarin Leontopithecus chrysomelas occurs in the Atlantic forest of southern Bahia, Brazil, where shade-cocoa agroforestry (known as cabruca) predominates. The economic decline of the cocoa industry has caused many landowners to convert cabruca into cattle pasture or diversify their plantations with other crops. These and prior anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat fragmentation are threatening lion tamarin persistence. For some lion tamarin groups, cabruca comprises a large part of their home range. Considering these factors, the maintenance of the biological diversity in cabruca favorable to golden-headed lion tamarins is of considerable interest to their long-term survival. Here we identify plant species that provide food and sleeping sites for the lion tamarins and examine their occurrence in cabruca plantations, in order to investigate alternatives for conservation management practices that benefit both lion tamarins and cabruca. We determined the total number of trees and the frequency of individuals and species used for food and sleeping sites by lion tamarins in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, from 1998 to 2006. We used this information to compare the richness and frequency of use across habitats (cabruca, mature and secondary) and to create a ranking index considering various components of a tree species' utility to the lion tamarins. Lion tamarins used 155 tree species, 93 for food and 93 for sleeping sites. Fifty-five species were ranked as ,Extremely Valuable,' eight as ,Valuable' and 92 as ,Of Interest.' Of 48 families, Myrtaceae and Sapotaceae were used the most. Cabruca contained fewer individual trees used by lion tamarins, but the highest frequency of use per tree compared with other habitats, indicating the large influence of single trees in these plantations. Using the key tree species identified in our study in the management of cabruca would be of considerable benefit to the long-term survival of lion tamarins [source] From Model to Forecasting: A Multicenter Study in Emergency DepartmentsACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 9 2010Mathias Wargon MD ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:970,978 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives:, This study investigated whether mathematical models using calendar variables could identify the determinants of emergency department (ED) census over time in geographically close EDs and assessed the performance of long-term forecasts. Methods:, Daily visits in four EDs at academic hospitals in the Paris area were collected from 2004 to 2007. First, a general linear model (GLM) based on calendar variables was used to assess two consecutive periods of 2 years each to create and test the mathematical models. Second, 2007 ED attendance was forecasted, based on a training set of data from 2004 to 2006. These analyses were performed on data sets from each individual ED and in a virtual mega ED, grouping all of the visits. Models and forecast accuracy were evaluated by mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Results:, The authors recorded 299,743 and 322,510 ED visits for the two periods, 2004,2005 and 2006,2007, respectively. The models accounted for up to 50% of the variations with a MAPE less than 10%. Visit patterns according to weekdays and holidays were different from one hospital to another, without seasonality. Influential factors changed over time within one ED, reducing the accuracy of forecasts. Forecasts led to a MAPE of 5.3% for the four EDs together and from 8.1% to 17.0% for each hospital. Conclusions:, Unexpectedly, in geographically close EDs over short periods of time, calendar determinants of attendance were different. In our setting, models and forecasts are more valuable to predict the combined ED attendance of several hospitals. In similar settings where resources are shared between facilities, these mathematical models could be a valuable tool to anticipate staff needs and site allocation. [source] Horizontal Roadway Curvature Computation Algorithm Using Vision TechnologyCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2010Yichang (James) Tsai However, collecting such data is time-consuming, costly, and dangerous using traditional, manual surveying methods. It is especially difficult to perform such manual measurement when roadways have high traffic volumes. Thus, it would be valuable for transportation agencies if roadway curvature data could be computed from photographic images taken using low-cost digital cameras. This is the first article that develops an algorithm using emerging vision technology to acquire horizontal roadway curvature data from roadway images to perform roadway safety assessment. The proposed algorithm consists of four steps: (1) curve edges image processing, (2) mapping edge positions from an image domain to the real-world domain, (3) calibrating camera parameters, and (4) calculating the curve radius and center from curve points. The proposed algorithm was tested on roadways having various levels of curves and using different image sources to demonstrate its capability. The ground truth curvatures for two cases were also collected to evaluate the error of the proposed algorithm. The test results are very promising, and the computed curvatures are especially accurate for curves of small radii (less than 66 m/200 ft) with less than 1.0% relative errors with respect to the ground truth data. The proposed algorithm can be used as an alternative method that complements the traditional measurement methods used by state DOTs to collect roadway curvature data. [source] Long-Term Monitoring and Identification of Bridge Structural ParametersCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2009Serdar Soyoz This three-span 111-m long bridge is instrumented with 13 acceleration sensors at both the superstructure and the columns. The sensor data are transmitted to a server computer wirelessly. Modal parameters of the bridge, that is, the frequencies and the modal shapes were identified by processing 1,707 vibration data sets collected under traffic excitations, based on which the bridge structural parameters, stiffness and mass, and the soil spring values were identified by employing the neural network technique. The identified superstructure stiffness at the beginning of the monitoring was 97% of the stiffness value based on the design drawings. In the identified modal frequencies, a variation from ,10% to +10% was observed over the monitoring period. In the identified stiffness values of the bridge superstructure, a variation from ,3% to +3% was observed over the monitoring period. Based on the statistical analysis of the collected data for each year, 5% decrease in the first modal frequency and 2% decrease in the superstructure stiffness were observed over the 5-year monitoring period. Probability density functions were obtained for stiffness values each year. Stiffness threshold values for the collapse of the bridge under the operational loading can be determined. Then the number of years can be assessed for which the area under the proposed probability density functions is greater than the threshold value. So the information obtained in this study is valuable for studying aging and long-term performance assessment of similar bridges. [source] One-Dimensional Model for Multi-Barge Flotillas Impacting Bridge PiersCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2008Peng Yuan This article introduces an elastoplastic spring-mass model for the analysis of multi-barge flotillas colliding with bridge piers at zero angle of attack. The model accounts for the essential factors pertaining to barge/flotilla impacts, such as pier geometry and stiffness, and dynamic interaction between barges. A method to identify the elastoplastic behavior of barge crushing is also presented. The proposed method generates impact force time-histories for a multitude of flotilla configurations in a matter of minutes, which is especially valuable in probabilistic analysis requiring many collision simulations. The results from this study are compatible with the respective impact time-histories produced by exhaustive finite element simulations. A bridge pier impacted by a three-barge and a 15-barge flotilla is studied. [source] A Probabilistic Framework for Bayesian Adaptive Forecasting of Project ProgressCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2007Paolo Gardoni An adaptive Bayesian updating method is used to assess the unknown model parameters based on recorded data and pertinent prior information. Recorded data can include equality, upper bound, and lower bound data. The proposed approach properly accounts for all the prevailing uncertainties, including model errors arising from an inaccurate model form or missing variables, measurement errors, statistical uncertainty, and volitional uncertainty. As an illustration of the proposed approach, the project progress and final time-to-completion of an example project are forecasted. For this illustration construction of civilian nuclear power plants in the United States is considered. This application considers two cases (1) no information is available prior to observing the actual progress data of a specified plant and (2) the construction progress of eight other nuclear power plants is available. The example shows that an informative prior is important to make accurate predictions when only a few records are available. This is also the time when forecasts are most valuable to the project manager. Having or not having prior information does not have any practical effect on the forecast when progress on a significant portion of the project has been recorded. [source] Maximum likelihood constrained deconvolution.CONCEPTS IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE, Issue 2 2003II: Application to experimental two-, three-dimensional NMR spectra Abstract The maximum likelihood method (MLM) and related protocols were applied to the experimental 2-D nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectrum of a 24-nucleotide RNA hairpin loop molecule. The output becomes more valuable when diagonal symmeterization is followed by MLM. This symmeterized maximum likelihood (SML) protocol restores the original spectral information with high fidelity by accurately partitioning components from overlapped peaks and provides substantial improvements in line shape and spectral resolution, in particular in the F1 dimension. These advantages lead to a simpler interpretation of the resonance frequencies, intensities, multiplet fine structure, and J -coupling values from a heavily overlapped peak region. This promises a more effective tool for peak picking, assignment, and integration. Also, application of MLM and related protocols to the 2-D NOE proton spectrum of a 24-mer RNA dramatically increases the number of NOE-based distance constraints that can be used for determination of its 3-D molecular structure. By application of 3-D MLM to a simple 3-D spectrum, the spectral resolution and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was greatly improved by effective line sharpening and reduction of cross-talk between planes. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson 18A: 146,156, 2003 [source] Applying content management to automated provenance captureCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 5 2008Karen L. Schuchardt Abstract Workflows and data pipelines are becoming increasingly valuable to computational and experimental sciences. These automated systems are capable of generating significantly more data within the same amount of time compared to their manual counterparts. Automatically capturing and recording data provenance and annotation as part of these workflows are critical for data management, verification, and dissemination. We have been prototyping a workflow provenance system, targeted at biological workflows, that extends our content management technologies and other open source tools. We applied this prototype to the provenance challenge to demonstrate an end-to-end system that supports dynamic provenance capture, persistent content management, and dynamic searches of both provenance and metadata. We describe our prototype, which extends the Kepler system for the execution environment, the Scientific Annotation Middleware (SAM) content management software for data services, and an existing HTTP-based query protocol. Our implementation offers several unique capabilities, and through the use of standards, is able to provide access to the provenance record with a variety of commonly available client tools. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On the Compatibility of a Conservation Ethic with Biological ScienceCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2007MARK SAGOFF Darwinismo; estética; ética de conservación; teología Abstract:,If value entails or implies purpose, it follows that natural objects (e.g., endangered species) lack value and thus cannot be worth protecting except for a purpose they may serve,either the end for which God created the world (according to natural theology) or some use to which human beings may put them (according to a consequentialist or utilitarian ethic). If value requires purpose, the refutation of natural theology after Darwin implies that humanity has no obligation to respect or preserve the natural world except insofar as it is economically efficient to do so. Drawing on the distinction between explanation and communication found in Calvinist theology, I argue that value does not entail purpose. The expressive, aesthetic, or communicative aspects of nature may be valuable or endow natural objects with value apart from any use or purpose these objects may serve. The crucial distinction between explanation and communication,one scientific, the other aesthetic,offers a rationale for an obligation to protect the natural world that may appeal to members of faith communities and to biologists and other scientists. This approach also helps resolve the "lurking inconsistency" some scholars see in the relationship between a deterministic biological science and a conservationist ethic. Resumen:,Si el valor conlleva o implica propósito, se entiende que los objetos naturales (e.g., especies en peligro) carecen de valor y por lo tanto no merecen ser protegidos excepto porque pueden servir para el fin por el que Dios creó al mundo (de acuerdo con la teología natural) o para algún uso asignado por humanos (de acuerdo con la ética consecuentalista o utilitaria). Si el valor requiere propósito, la refutación de la teología natural después de Darwin implica que la humanidad no tiene obligación para respetar o preservar el mundo natural excepto si es económicamente eficiente hacerlo. Con base en la distinción entre explicación y comunicación encontrada en la teología Calvinista, argumento que el valor no implica propósito. Los aspectos expresivos, estéticos o comunicativos de la naturaleza pueden ser valiosos o proveer valor a los objetos naturales independientemente de cualquier uso o propósito que puedan tener estos objetos. La distinción crucial entre explicación y comunicación,una científica y la otra estética,ofrece un fundamento para la obligación de proteger el mundo natural que pueda interesar a miembros de comunidades religiosas, a biólogos y otros científicos. Este método también ayuda a resolver la "inconsistencia al acecho" en la relación entre una ciencia biológica determinista y una ética conservacionista que algunos académicos ven. [source] The Northwest Forest Plan as a Model for Broad-Scale Ecosystem Management: a Social PerspectiveCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006SUSAN CHARNLEY conservación y desarrollo; comunidades rurales; gestión forestal; monitoreo socioeconómico Abstract:,I evaluated the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management to achieve social and economic goals in communities located around federal forests in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. My assessment is based on the results of socioeconomic monitoring conducted to evaluate progress in achieving the plan's goals during its first 10 years. The assessment criteria I used related to economic development and social justice. The Northwest Forest Plan incorporated economic development and social justice goals in its design. Socioeconomic monitoring results indicate that plan implementation to achieve those goals met with mixed success, however. I hypothesize there are two important reasons the plan's socioeconomic goals were not fully met: some of the key assumptions underlying the implementation strategies were flawed and agency institutional capacity to achieve the goals was limited. To improve broad-scale ecosystem management in the future, decision makers should ensure that natural-resource management policies are socially acceptable; land-management agencies have the institutional capacity to achieve their management goals; and social and economic management goals (and the strategies for implementing them) are based on accurate assumptions about the relations between the resources being managed and well-being in local communities. One of the difficulties of incorporating economic development and social justice goals in conservation initiatives is finding ways to link conservation behavior and development activities. From a social perspective, the Northwest Forest Plan as a model for ecosystem management is perhaps most valuable in its attempt to link the biophysical and socioeconomic goals of forest management by creating high-quality jobs for residents of forest communities in forest stewardship and ecosystem management work, thereby contributing to conservation. Resumen:,Evalué el Plan Forestal del Noroeste como un modelo para la gestión de ecosistemas para alcanzar metas sociales y económicas en comunidades localizadas alrededor de bosques federales en el Pacífico Noroeste de E.U.A. Mi evaluación se basa en los resultados del monitoreo socioeconómico desarrollado para evaluar el progreso en el logro de las metas del plan durantes sus 10 primeros años. Los criterios de evaluación que utilicé se relacionan con el desarrollo económico y la justicia social. El diseño del Plan Forestal del Noroeste incorporó metas de desarrollo económico y de justicia social. Sin embargo, los resultados del monitoreo socioeconómico indican que éxito en la implementación del plan para alcanzar esas metas fue combinado. Postulé la hipótesis de que hay dos razones importantes por las que las metas socioeconómicas del plan no se cumplieron totalmente: algunas de las suposiciones clave en las estrategias de implementación fueron deficientes y la capacidad institucional de la agencia para alcanzar las metas era limitada. Para mejorar la gestión de ecosistemas a gran escala en el futuro, los tomadores de decisiones deberán asegurarse que las políticas de gestión de recursos naturales sean aceptables socialmente; que las agencias de gestión de tierras tengan la capacidad institucional para cumplir sus metas de gestión; y que las metas de gestión sociales y económicas (y las estrategias para su implementación) se basen en suposiciones precisas de las relaciones entre los recursos a gestionar y el bienestar de las comunidades locales. La manera de vincular comportamiento de conservación y actividades de desarrollo es una de las dificultades para la incorporación de metas de desarrollo económico y de justicia social en las iniciativas de conservación. Desde una perspectiva social, el Plan Forestal del Noroeste como modelo para la gestión de ecosistemas quizás es más valioso por su intento de vincular las metas biofísicas y socioeconómicas de la gestión forestal mediante la creación de empleos de alta calidad para residentes de las comunidades en labores de regulación y supervisión forestal y de gestión de ecosistemas, por lo tanto contribuye a la conservación. [source] Influence of Temporal Scale of Sampling on Detection of Relationships between Invasive Plants and the Diversity Patterns of Plants and ButterfliesCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2004RALPH MAC NALLY But monitoring is often neglected because it can be expensive and time-consuming. Accordingly, it is valuable to determine whether the temporal extent of sampling alters the validity of inferences about the response of diversity measures to environmental variables affected by restoration actions. Non-native species alter ecosystems in undesirable ways, frequently homogenizing flora and fauna and extirpating local populations of native species. In the Mojave Desert, invasion of salt-cedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) and human efforts to eradicate salt-cedar have altered vegetation structure, vegetation composition, and some measures of faunal diversity. We examined whether similar inferences about relationships between plants and butterflies in the Muddy River drainage (Nevada, U.S.A.) could have been obtained by sampling less intensively (fewer visits per site over the same period of time) or less extensively (equal frequency of visits but over a more limited period of time). We also tested whether rank order of butterfly species with respect to occurrence rate (proportion of sites occupied) would be reflected accurately in temporal subsamples. Temporal subsampling did not lead to erroneous inferences about the relative importance of six vegetation-based predictor variables on the species richness of butterflies. Regardless of the temporal scale of sampling, the species composition of butterflies was more similar in sites with similar species composition of plants. The rank order of occurrence of butterfly species in the temporal subsamples was highly correlated with the rank order of species occurrence in the full data set. Thus, similar inferences about associations between vegetation and butterflies and about relative occurrence rates of individual species of butterflies could be obtained by less intensive or extensive temporal sampling. If compromises between temporal intensity and extent of sampling must be made, our results suggest that maximizing temporal extent will better capture variation in biotic interactions and species occurrence. Resumen:,El monitoreo es un componente importante de los esfuerzos de restauración y de manejo adoptivo. Pero el monitoreo a menudo es desatendido porque puede ser costoso y consume tiempo. En consecuencia, es valioso determinar si la extensión temporal del muestreo altera la validez de inferencias sobre la respuesta de medidas de diversidad a variables ambientales afectadas por acciones de restauración. Las especies no nativas alteran a los ecosistemas de manera indeseable, frecuentemente homogenizan la flora y fauna y extirpan poblaciones locales de especies nativas. En el Desierto Mojave, la invasión de Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. y los esfuerzos humanos para erradicarla han alterado la estructura y composición de la vegetación y algunas medidas de diversidad de fauna. Examinamos si se podían obtener inferencias similares sobre las relaciones entre plantas y mariposas en la cuenca Muddy River (Nevada, E.U.A.) muestreando menos intensivamente (menos visitas por sitio en el mismo período de tiempo) o menos extensivamente (igual frecuencia de visitas pero sobre un período de tiempo más limitado). También probamos si el orden jerárquico de especies de mariposas con respecto a la tasa de ocurrencia (proporción de sitios ocupados) se reflejaba con precisión en las submuestras temporales. El submuestreo temporal no condujo a inferencias erróneas acerca de la importancia relativa de seis variables predictivas basadas en vegetación sobre la riqueza de especies de mariposas. A pesar de la escala temporal del muestreo, la composición de especies de mariposas fue más similar en sitios con composición de especies de plantas similar. El orden jerárquico de ocurrencia de especies de mariposas en las muestras subtemporales estuvo muy correlacionado con el orden jerárquico de ocurrencia de especies en todo el conjunto de datos. Por lo tanto, se pudieron obtener inferencias similares de las asociaciones entre vegetación y mariposas y de las tasas de ocurrencia relativa de especies individuales de mariposas con muestreo temporal menos intensivo o extensivo. Si se deben hacer compromisos entre la intensidad y extensión de muestreo temporal, nuestros resultados sugieren que la maximización de la extensión temporal capturará la variación en interacciones bióticas y ocurrencia de especies más adecuadamente. [source] Accounting Recognition, Moral Hazard, and Communication,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 3 2000PIERRE JINGHONG LIANG Abstract Two complementary sources of information are studied in a multiperiod agency model. One is an accounting source that partially but credibly conveys the agent's private information through accounting recognition. The other is an unverified communication by the agent (i.e., a self-report). In a simple setting with no communication, alternative labor market frictions lead to alternative optimal recognition policies. When the agent is allowed to communicate his or her private information, accounting signals serve as a veracity check on the agent's self-report. Finally, such communication sometimes makes delaying the recognition optimal. We see contracting and confirmatory roles of accounting as its comparative advantage. As a source of information, accounting is valuable because accounting reports are credible, comprehensive, and subject to careful and professional judgement. While other information sources may be more timely in providing valuation information about an entity, audited accounting information, when used in explicit or implicit contracts, ensures the accuracy of the reports from nonaccounting sources. [source] DOES SMALL DAM REMOVAL AFFECT LOCAL PROPERTY VALUES?CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 2 2008AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS This paper uses hedonic analysis to examine the impact of small dam removal on property values in south-central Wisconsin. Data on residential property sales were obtained for three categories of sites: those where a small dam remains intact, those where a small dam was removed, and those where a river or stream has been free-flowing for at least 20 yr. The primary conclusions that emerge from the data are that shoreline frontage along small impoundments confers no increase in residential property value compared to frontage along free-flowing streams and that nonfrontage residential property located in the vicinity of a free-flowing stream is more valuable than similar nonfrontage property in the vicinity of a small impoundment. (JEL Q2, Q25, Q5, Q51) [source] Diagnostic pitfalls in the evaluation of fine needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid: correlation with histopathology in 260 casesCYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009A. N. Haberal Objectives:, Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the thyroid is a non-invasive, cost-effective screening procedure that is valuable for distinguishing neoplastic lesions from non-neoplastic nodules. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNACs performed at our institution by correlating FNAC results with histopathological diagnoses. Methods:, Two hundred and seventy-one aspiration cytology specimens followed by thyroidectomy were included in the study, and the results of 260 adequate FNACs were compared with their histological diagnoses. Results:, The sensitivity and specificity of thyroid FNAC for detecting neoplasia were 92.6% and 91.6%, respectively. There were 15 (5.7%) false positives and six (2.3%) false negatives. Conclusions:, The results showed that follicular cells that exhibit some of the features of papillary carcinoma could be observed in a cytology slide of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, leading to a diagnostic pitfall. In addition, cellularity and overlapping cytological criteria in hyperplasia might lead to a false diagnosis. [source] Multilevel Social Dynamics Considerations for Project Management Decision Makers: Antecedents and Implications of Group Member Tie DevelopmentDECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2010Elliot Bendoly ABSTRACT Successful projects represent the effective culmination of management skills, planning, and individual project member strengths. In operations management, such strengths are often viewed predominantly from the perspective of skill base. However, it has become increasingly evident that behavioral traits associated with individuals play a very significant, if not ultimately dominating, role in the effectiveness of certain group projects. Our aim in this study is to look into how certain individual attributes viewed as relevant to these project contexts may lead to social networking decisions that have impacts spanning multiple levels of analysis. Such insights are likely to prove valuable to decision makers managing project teams as well. We employ a controlled 4-month investigation of multiple projects, for which we are able to consider both objective, and subjective pre-, in situ, and postproject data. Our results demonstrate that the issues of perceived control, confidence, and conscientiousness are relevant not only in driving individual perceptions of the value of within-group interactions, and hence the development of associated ties, but are also ultimately relevant in helping to drive higher levels of group performance. [source] The Impact of Forecast Errors on Early Order Commitment in a Supply Chain,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2002Xiande Zhao ABSTRACT Supply chain partnership involves mutual commitments among participating firms. One example is early order commitment, wherein a retailer commits to purchase a fixed-order quantity and delivery time from a supplier before the real need takes place. This paper explores the value of practicing early order commitment in the supply chain. We investigate the complex interactions between early order commitment and forecast errors by simulating a supply chain with one capacitated supplier and multiple retailers under demand uncertainty. We found that practicing early order commitment can generate significant savings in the supply chain, but the benefits are only valid within a range of order commitment periods. Different components of forecast errors have different cost implications to the supplier and the retailers. The presence of trend in the demand increases the total supply chain cost, but makes early order commitment more appealing. The more retailers sharing the same supplier, the more valuable for the supply chain to practice early order commitment. Except in cases where little capacity cushion is available, our findings are relatively consistent in the environments where cost structure, number of retailers, capacity utilization, and capacity policy are varied. [source] An Exploratory Analysis of the Value of the Skills of IT Personnel: Their Relationship to IS Infrastructure and Competitive AdvantageDECISION SCIENCES, Issue 1 2001Terry Anthony Byrd Abstract Determining and assessing the requisite skills of information technology (IT) personnel have become critical as the value of IT has risen in modern organizations. In addition to technical skills traditionally expected of IT personnel, softer skills like managerial, business, and interpersonal skills have been increasingly cited in previous studies as mandatory for these employees. This paper uses a typology of IT personnel skills,technology management skills, business functional skills, interpersonal skills, and technical skills,and investigates their relationships to two information systems (IS) success variables, IS infrastructure flexibility and the competitive advantage provided by IS. The study investigates these relationships using the perceptions of chief information officers (CIOs) from mostly Fortune 2000 companies. The contributions of this study are: IT personnel skills do affect IS success, technical skills are viewed as the most important skill set in affecting IS infrastructure flexibility and competitive advantage, and modularity is viewed as more valuable to competitive advantage than integration. Several explanations are offered for the lack of positive relationships between the softer IT personnel skills and the dimensions of IS success used in this study. [source] Using Quality Management Tools to Enhance Feedback from Student EvaluationsDECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2005John B. Jensen ABSTRACT Statistical tools found in the service quality assessment literature,the T2 statistic combined with factor analysis,can enhance the feedback instructors receive from student ratings. T2 examines variability across multiple sets of ratings to isolate individual respondents with aberrant response patterns (i.e., outliers). Analyzing student responses that are outside the "normal" range of responses can identify aspects of the course that cause pockets of students to be dissatisfied. This fresh insight into sources of student dissatisfaction is particularly valuable for instructors willing to make tactical classroom changes that accommodate individual students rather than the traditional approach of using student ratings to develop systemwide changes in course delivery. A case study is presented to demonstrate how the recommended procedure minimizes data overload, allows for valid schoolwide and longitudinal comparisons of correlated survey responses, and helps instructors identify priority areas for instructional improvement. [source] Cervicomental "Turkey Gobbler": A New Source for Full-Thickness GraftsDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 4 2002FIACS, Lawrence M. Field MD A LARGE NUMBER of sources for full-thickness grafts have been described. The concepts of adapting liposuction techniques from cosmetic surgery to reconstructive surgery, especially with flap reconstructions, have been well documented by this author and others in many forums over many years.1,7 However, obtaining the excess skin of the lower neck in those patients with "turkey gobbler" deformities utilizing liposuction aspiration and dissection techniques has not been previously documented. This same approach might at times be valuable in very obese necks with excessively redundant skin as well. [source] A Skin Surgery FableDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 3 2001Daniel A. Gross MD A fable is presented to inform the reader of the existence of a valuable, but under-utilized educational resource that might be utilized in the teaching of dermatologic surgery. [source] Packaging design, consumer research, and business strategy: The march toward accountabilityDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 4 2002Scott Young It may not be science, but there are research techniques to measure the effectiveness and leverage the results of package designs. Scott Young articulates the possibilities, the limits, and the best uses of this type of design research. Perhaps more valuable, he recommends specific steps managers can take to build collaborative and productive relationships among designers, experts in research, and decision makers in marketing and sales. [source] Cnidarians and the evolutionary origin of the nervous systemDEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION, Issue 3 2009Hiroshi Watanabe Cnidarians are widely regarded as one of the first organisms in animal evolution possessing a nervous system. Conventional histological and electrophysiological studies have revealed a considerable degree of complexity of the cnidarian nervous system. Thanks to expressed sequence tags and genome projects and the availability of functional assay systems in cnidarians, this simple nervous system is now genetically accessible and becomes particularly valuable for understanding the origin and evolution of the genetic control mechanisms underlying its development. In the present review, the anatomical and physiological features of the cnidarian nervous system and the interesting parallels in neurodevelopmental mechanisms between Cnidaria and Bilateria are discussed. [source] Markets, Institutions and Technology: Missing Links in Livelihoods AnalysisDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 3 2003Andrew Dorward The benefits of livelihoods thinking and approaches are widely recognised. This article focuses on an important gap in much of the conceptualization and application of ,livelihood approaches', a lack of emphasis on markets and their roles in livelihood development and poverty reduction. The omission is important, as it can lead to failure to identify and act on a wider range of market, institutional and technological opportunities and constraints. An alternative conceptualisation is proposed, with markets as one particular set of institutional mechanisms for co-ordination and exchange in an economy. It is argued that more explicit attention to interactions between institutions, technology and assets in livelihood analysis may be valuable in conceptualising and managing programmes for livelihood development and poverty reduction. [source] Endothelium-specific Cre recombinase activity in flk-1-Cre transgenic miceDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 2 2004Alexander H. Licht Abstract The use of the Cre-loxP recombination system allows the conditional inactivation of genes in mice. The availability of transgenic mice in which the Cre recombinase expression is highly cell type specific is a prerequisite to successfully use this system. We previously have characterized regulatory regions of the mouse flk-1 gene sufficient for endothelial cell-specific expression of the LacZ reporter gene in transgenic mice. These regions were fused to the Cre recombinase gene, and transgenic mouse lines were generated. In the resulting flk-1-Cre transgenic mice, specificity of Cre activity was determined by cross-breeding with the reporter mouse lines Rosa26R or CAG-CAT-LacZ. We examined double-transgenic mice at different stages of embryonic development (E9.5,E16.5) and organs of adult animals by LacZ staining. Strong endothelium-specific staining of most vascular beds was observed in embryos older than E11.5 in one or E13.5 in a second line. In addition, the neovasculature of experimental BFS-1 tumors expressed the transgene. These lines will be valuable for the conditional inactivation of floxed target genes in endothelial cells of the embryonic vascular system. Developmental Dynamics 229:312,318, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Death and survival of heterozygous Lurcher Purkinje cells In vitroDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2009Hadi S. Zanjani Abstract The differentiation and survival of heterozygous Lurcher (+/Lc) Purkinje cells in vitro was examined as a model system for studying how chronic ionic stress affects neuronal differentiation and survival. The Lurcher mutation in the ,2 glutamate receptor (GluR,2) converts an orphan receptor into a membrane channel that constitutively passes an inward cation current. In the GluR,2+/Lc mutant, Purkinje cell dendritic differentiation is disrupted and the cells degenerate following the first week of postnatal development. To determine if the GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cell phenotype is recapitulated in vitro, +/+, and +/Lc Purkinje cells from postnatal Day 0 pups were grown in either isolated cell or cerebellar slice cultures. GluR,2+/+ and GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells appeared to develop normally through the first 7 days in vitro (DIV), but by 11 DIV GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells exhibited a significantly higher cation leak current. By 14 DIV, GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cell dendrites were stunted and the number of surviving GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells was reduced by 75% compared to controls. However, treatment of +/Lc cerebellar cultures with 1-naphthyl acetyl spermine increased +/Lc Purkinje cell survival to wild type levels. These results support the conclusion that the Lurcher mutation in GluR,2 induces cell autonomous defects in differentiation and survival. The establishment of a tissue culture system for studying cell injury and death mechanisms in a relatively simple system like GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells will provide a valuable model for studying how the induction of a chronic inward cation current in a single cell type affects neuronal differentiation and survival. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009 [source] Liposome-mediated transfection of mature taste cellsDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Ana Marie Landin Abstract The introduction and expression of exogenous DNA in neurons is valuable for analyzing a range of cellular and molecular processes in the periphery, e.g., the roles of transduction-related proteins, the impact of growth factors on development and differentiation, and the function of promoters specific to cell type. However, sensory receptor cells, particularly chemosensory cells, have been difficult to transfect. We have successfully introduced plasmids expressing green and Discosoma Red fluorescent proteins (GFP and DsRed) into rat taste buds in primary culture. Transfection efficiency increased when delaminated taste epithelium was redigested with fresh protease, suggesting that a protective barrier of extracellular matrix surrounding taste cells may normally be present. Because taste buds are heterogeneous aggregates of cells, we used ,-gustducin, neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), and neuronal ubiquitin carboxyl terminal hydrolase (PGP9.5), markers for defined subsets of mature taste cells, to demonstrate that liposome-mediated transfection targets multiple taste cell types. After testing eight commercially available lipids, we identified one, Transfast, that is most effective on taste cells. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of two common "promiscuous" promoters and one promoter that taste cells use endogenously. These studies should permit ex vivo strategies for studying development and cellular function in taste cells. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Neurobiol, 2005 [source] Effects of oestrogen receptor-active compounds on lipid metabolismDIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 5 2005Susan G. Lakoski Abstract:, Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) have been used successfully in the treatment of breast cancer and osteoporosis while Tibolone has been used extensively in Europe for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Limited data is available on the effect of these agents on the cardiovascular system. Traditional and novel lipid markers are valuable in determining patients at increased cardiovascular risk. The purpose of this article is to discuss the mechanism of action of Tamoxifen, Raloxifene and Tibolone and their effects on lipid metabolism. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||