The second edition of An Introduction to Efficiency and Productivity Analysis is designed to be a general introduction for those who wish to study efficiency and productivity analysis. The book ...provides an accessible, well-written introduction to the four principal methods involved: econometric estimation of average response models, index numbers, data envelopment analysis (DEA), and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). For each method, a detailed introduction to the basic concepts is presented, numerical examples are provided, and some of the more important extensions to the basic methods are discussed. Of special interest is the systematic use of detailed empirical applications using real-world data throughout the book. In recent years, there have been a number of excellent advance-level books published on performance measurement. This book, however, is the first systematic survey of performance measurement with the express purpose of introducing the field to a wide audience of students, researchers, and practitioners. Indeed, the 2nd Edition maintains its uniqueness: (1) It is a well-written introduction to the field. (2) It outlines, discusses and compares the four principal methods for efficiency and productivity analysis in a well-motivated presentation. (3) It provides detailed advice on computer programs that can be used to implement these performance measurement methods. The book contains computer instructions and output listings for the SHAZAM, LIMDEP, TFPIP, DEAP and FRONTIER computer programs. More extensive listings of data and computer instruction files are available on the book's website: (www.uq.edu.au/economics/cepa/crob2005).
Synergistic multimodality therapy is needed for breast cancer. Breast cancer frequently has p53 mutations that result in cells less likely to undergo apoptosis when exposed to DNA damaging therapies. ...Taxol (paclitaxel) is more effective in the presence of mutant p53.90Y-labeled DOTA-peptide-ChL6 (90Y-ChL6, where ChL6 is chimeric L6 antibody and DOTA is 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N′ ′,N′ ′ ′-tetraacetic acid) is a novel radioimmunoconjugate for targeting radiation to cancer. It has a stable metal chelator and a peptide linker that can be catabolized by hepatic lysozymes. This study was designed to assess potential synergism between Taxol and90Y-ChL6 in a highly anaplastic breast cancer model, HBT 3477. There was no tumor response in mice receiving ChL6 or Taxol alone. In mice receiving90Y-ChL6 alone, 79% (15 of 19) of tumors responded although none were cured. If Taxol was administered 24-72 hours before90Y-ChL6, again, 79% (23 of 29) of tumors responded but 21% were cured. When Taxol was administered 6 or 24 hours after90Y-ChL6, 100% (46 of 46) of tumors responded and 48% were cured. Taxol given with90Y-ChL6 did not substantially increase toxicity. Enhancement of the therapeutic effect when Taxol was added to90Y-ChL6 therapy for HBT 3477 xenografts was striking. The synergistic therapeutic effect of Taxol with90Y-ChL6 may relate to the p53 mutant status and BCL2 expression in HBT 3477 cells, observations that increase the likelihood that the results of this study are relevant to therapy for breast cancer in patients. In conclusion, Taxol seemed to be synergistic with90Y-ChL6 in this human breast cancer model. Up to 50% of these anaplastic breast cancer xenografts were cured by combined modality therapy.
Thalidomide has been reported to be an effective agent for treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (CGVHD). To determine the efficacy of this agent in patients with refractory CGVHD a total of ...80 patients who failed to respond to prednisone (PSE) or PSE and cyclosporine (CSA) were treated with thalidomide. Sixteen patients (20%) had a sustained response, 9 with a complete remission and 7 with a partial response. Twenty-nine patients (36%) had thalidomide discontinued because of side effects, which included sedation, constipation, neuritis, skin rash, and neutropenia. Side effects were reversible with drug discontinuation except for mild residual neuritis in one case. Rashes and neutropenia have not previously been reported as thalidomide side effects when used for CGVHD treatment. We conclude thalidomide is immunosuppressive and active in the treatment of CGVHD. A high incidence of reversible side effects limited dose intensity and reduced the number of patients who could benefit from treatment.
In this review, antimicrobials from a range of plant, animal, and microbial sources are reviewed along with their potential applications in food systems. Chemical and biochemical antimicrobial ...compounds derived from these natural sources and their activity against a range of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms pertinent to food, together with their effects on food organoleptic properties, are outlined. Factors influencing the antimicrobial activity of such agents are discussed including extraction methods, molecular weight, and agent origin. These issues are considered in conjunction with the latest developments in the quantification of the minimum inhibitory (and noninhibitory) concentration of antimicrobials and/or their components. Natural antimicrobials can be used alone or in combination with other novel preservation technologies to facilitate the replacement of traditional approaches. Research priorities and future trends focusing on the impact of product formulation, intrinsic product parameters, and extrinsic storage parameters on the design of efficient food preservation systems are also presented.
We describe a compact, ultra-clean device used to deploy radioactive sources along the vertical axis of the KamLAND liquid-scintillator neutrino detector for purposes of calibration. The device ...worked by paying out and reeling in precise lengths of a hanging, small-gauge wire rope (cable); an assortment of interchangeable radioactive sources could be attached to a weight at the end of the cable. All components exposed to the radiopure liquid scintillator were made of chemically compatible UHV-cleaned materials, primarily stainless steel, in order to avoid contaminating or degrading the scintillator. To prevent radon intrusion, the apparatus was enclosed in a hermetically sealed housing inside a glove box, and both volumes were regularly flushed with purified nitrogen gas. Finally, an infrared camera attached to the side of the housing permitted real-time visual monitoring of the cable’s motion, and the system was controlled via a graphical user interface.
The removal of radioactivity from liquid scintillator has been studied in preparation of a low background phase of KamLAND. This paper describes the methods and techniques developed to measure and ...efficiently extract radon decay products from liquid scintillator. We report the radio-isotope reduction factors obtained when applying various extraction methods. During this study, distillation was identified as the most efficient method for removing radon-born lead from liquid scintillator.
Maintaining the genetic diversity of populations is important in conservation because it strongly influences the ability to adapt to changing environments. We characterised the genetic structure of ...the endemic and endangered New Zealand (NZ) long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) in two valleys in Fiordland, NZ. Fiordland is one of the last strongholds of the species, which has drastically declined throughout NZ. C. tuberculatus has suffered from recent habitat fragmentation and episodic predation by exotic mammals over the last 150 years. Gene flow and structuring were measured using nine nuclear microsatellite loci. In addition, the hyper-variable domain HVI of the mitochondrial control region was sequenced to analyse population structure at the maternal level. Our results show that the nine colonies studied have retained high genetic diversity, with moderate signs of genetic bottlenecks. Furthermore, low F ST and F IS values indicated that all colonies are still connected by gene flow and do not show signs of inbreeding. Substantial gene flow among colonies was also demonstrated by Bayesian clustering and PCA analysis. At the mitochondrial level, substantial differentiation between colonies has resulted from strong natal philopatry in females. Overall, our results indicate that genetic diversity is maintained in the Fiordland population of C. tuberculatus despite regular population crashes and habitat fragmentation. Management should ensure that remaining habitat linkages are preserved and further predator-induced population bottlenecks are prevented so that current genetic diversity is maintained in the long-term.
Context.—In some individuals, chronic tension‐type headache fails to respond to tricyclic antidepressant medications that often serve as first‐line therapy.
Objective.—To evaluate the clinical ...efficacy of paroxetine hydrochloride for chronic tension‐type headache not responding to amitriptyline hydrochloride.
Design and Setting.—Open‐label trial of paroxetine conducted at 2 outpatient sites in Ohio.
Participants and Intervention.—Thirty‐one adults (mean age, 37 years; 20 women) with chronic tension‐type headache (mean, 25 headache days per month) who had failed to respond (less than 30% improvement) to treatment with either amitriptyline (n = 13) or matched placebo (n = 18). All participants were treated with paroxetine (up to 40 mg per day) in a 9‐month protocol.
Outcome Measures.—Monthly headache index calculated as the mean of pain ratings (0 to 10 scale) recorded by participants in a diary 4 times per day, number of days per month with at least moderate pain (pain rating of 5 or greater), and analgesic medication use.
Results.—In patients who had not responded to amitriptyline, paroxetine failed to reduce chronic tension‐type headaches or analgesic medication use. In patients who had not responded to placebo, paroxetine produced modest reductions in chronic tension‐type headaches and analgesic use.
Conclusions.—We found no evidence that chronic tension‐type headaches that failed to respond to tricyclic antidepressant therapy with amitriptyline improved when subsequently treated with paroxetine. More support was found for the efficacy of paroxetine in patients with chronic tension‐type headaches who had failed to respond to placebo.
In this study, we characterized the gut microbiota in six healthy Irish thoroughbred racehorses and showed it to be dominated by the phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, ...Actinobacteria, Euryarchaeota, Fibrobacteres and Spirochaetes. Moreover, all the horses harboured Clostridium, Fibrobacter, Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus, Eubacterium, Oscillospira, Blautia Anaerotruncus, Coprococcus, Treponema and Lactobacillus spp. Notwithstanding the sample size, it was noteworthy that the core microbiota species assignments identified Fibrobacter succinogenes, Eubacterium coprostanoligenes, Eubacterium hallii, Eubacterium ruminantium, Oscillospira guillermondii, Sporobacter termiditis, Lactobacillus equicursoris, Treponema parvum and Treponema porcinum in all the horses. This is the first study of the faecal microbiota in the Irish thoroughbred racehorse, a significant competitor in the global bloodstock industry. The information gathered in this pilot study provides a foundation for veterinarians and other equine health‐associated professionals to begin to analyse the microbiome of performance of racehorses. This study and subsequent work may lead to alternate dietary approaches aimed at minimizing the risk of microbiota‐related dysbiosis in these performance animals.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Although Irish thoroughbreds are used nationally and internationally as performance animals, very little is known about the core faecal microbiota of these animals. This is the first study to characterize the bacterial microbiota present in the Irish thoroughbred racehorse faeces and elucidate a core microbiome irrespective of diet, animal management and geographical location.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Although Irish thoroughbreds are used nationally and internationally as performance animals, very little is known about the core faecal microbiota of these animals. This is the first study to characterize the bacterial microbiota present in the Irish thoroughbred racehorse faeces and elucidate a core microbiome irrespective of diet, animal management and geographical location.
The authors examined word recall of patients with schizophrenia by using an experimental paradigm generated from connectionist models of memory.
Schizophrenic patients and normal comparison subjects ...first studied and then recalled a list of 32 words of equal difficulty. Both the connectivity (associative strength) and the network size (number of associates) of the words varied in such a way that the list contained equal proportions of four types of words: 1) high connectivity-small network size, 2) low connectivity-small network size, 3) high connectivity-large network size, and 4) low connectivity-large network size.
The schizophrenic patients recalled fewer words and showed a particularly pronounced effect of the connectivity of the to-be-remembered words. For the patients, regardless of network size, recall improved substantially for words of high connectivity and declined dramatically for words of low connectivity. By contrast, the comparison subjects showed the expected effects, with the best recall for words of high connectivity-small network size, followed by words of low connectivity-small network size, then by words of high connectivity-large network size, and finally by words of low connectivity-large network size.
Schizophrenia may be characterized by faulty modulation of associative links within a putative lexicon that is thought to be widely distributed across frontal and temporal lobes.
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