This paper discusses recent research on methods for estimating configuration parameters for the Matrix Comparator used for linking unstandardized or heterogeneously standardized references. The matrix comparator computes the aggregate similarity between the tokens (words) in a pair of references. The two most critical parameters for the matrix comparator for obtaining the best linking results a...

background: the present study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of dynamic interspinous spacer (coflex®) and static spacer (x-stop ®) compared to laminectomy (lami) in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.   methods: a decision-analysis model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness. the effectiveness parameters were obtained from a systematic literature review in relevant databas...

BACKGROUND An understanding of the characteristics of smokers who have never tried to quit may be useful to help identify and target these individuals and encourage them to attempt to give up smoking. Using national survey data we investigated variables associated with smokers reporting never having tried to quit. METHODS Using data from the 2007 and 2009 UK Office for National Statistics Opi...

Fail-stop signatures can briefly be characterized as digital signatures that allow the signer to prove that a given forged signature is indeed a forgery. After such a proof has been published, the system can be stopped. This type of security is strictly stronger than that achievable with ordinary digital signatures as introduced by Diffie and Hellman in 1976 and formally defined by Goldwasser, ...

The attrition of both new and experienced teachers is a great challenge for schools and school administrators throughout the United States, particularly in large urban districts. Because of the importance of this issue, there is a large empirical literature that investigates why teachers quit and how they might be better induced to stay. Here we build upon this literature by suggesting another ...

The OSGiTM Service Platform is becoming the de facto standard for modularized Java applications. The market of OSGi based COTS components is continuously growing. OSGi specific problems make it harder to validate such components. The absence of separate object spaces to isolate components may lead to inconsistencies when they are stopped. The platform cannot ensure that objects from a stopped c...

Ochre is the common archaeological term for prehistoric pigments. It is applied to a range of uses, from ritual burials to cave art to medications. While a substantial number of Palaeolithic paint mining pits have been identified across Europe, the link between ochre use and provenance, and their antiquity, has never yet been identified. Here we characterise the mineralogical signature of core-...