bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Patterns of flowering and sex‐ratio variation in the Mediterranean shrub Phillyrea angustifolia (Oleaceae): implications for the maintenance of males with hermaphrodites
Authors: Pannell J.R. , Ojeda F.
Published: September 2010

The Mediterranean shrub Phillyrea angustifolia is one of the few plants that display androdioecy, a rare breeding system in which males co‐occur with hermaphrodites. However, it has been difficult to account for male frequencies previously documented for this species, which have frequently been higher than 0.5. Here we present sex‐ratio data from 13 sites in Spain and Portugal that throw further light on the maintenance of androdioecy in P. angustifolia. The inferred proportion of males in these populations was around 0.3, substantially lower that 0.5 and concurring with theoretical predictions for androdioecy. Differences in the proportion of hermaphrodites in flower between “stressed” and “nonstressed” sites suggest the existence of an important life‐history trade‐off between fruit production and the rate at which plants recover from recurrent disturbances such as fire. The reduced frequency of flowering by hermaphrodites relative to males may help to explain the maintenance of androdioecy in this long‐lived, woody species.
Habitat subdivision causes changes in food web structure
Authors: Holyoak M.
Published: September 2010

Theory suggests that the response of communities to habitat subdivision depends on both species’ characteristics and the extent to which species interact. For species with dynamics that are independent of other species, subdivision is expected to promote regional extinction as populations become small and isolated. By contrast, intermediate levels of subdivision can facilitate persistence of strongly interacting species. Consistent with this prediction, experimental subdivision lengthened persistence of some species, altering the extent of food web collapse through extinction. Extended persistence was associated with immigration rescuing a basal prey species from local extinction. As predicted by food web theory, habitat subdivision reduced population density of a top predator. Removal of this top predator from undivided microcosms increased the abundance of two other predator species, and these changes paralleled those produced by habitat subdivision. These results show that species interactions structured this community, and illustrate the need for investigations of other communities.
Effects of dispersal on local population increase
Authors: Kean J.M. , Barlow N.D.
Published: September 2010

Work to date on biological invasions and the spread of biological control agents has been focused on the explicitly spatial aspects, such as rate of spread and shape of the wave front. There has been relatively little attention paid to the influence of dispersal on the rate of increase of local populations. We use a simple general model for logistic local growth and one‐dimensional diffusive dispersal to show that dispersal can act as a substantial drain on local populations. Local increase at a site of introduction is always slower than would be expected in the absence of dispersal, while the rate of increase of other populations is initially enhanced, then reduced by dispersal. This may have an important effect when estimating population parameters for invading organisms or biological control agents during the initial stages of their spread, and helps explain the “latent period” typically observed in biological invasions.
Global variation in diversification rates of flowering plants: energy vs. climate change
Authors: Jansson Roland , Davies T. Jonathan
Published: September 2010

We used the largest DNA‐based phylogeny of flowering plants to date to evaluate the importance of energy vs. past climate change in predicting global patterns in diversification. Relative diversification rates increased towards the equator, suggesting that differences in per‐lineage net diversification may be an important component of the latitudinal diversity gradient. The amplitude of Quaternary climate oscillations experienced by families explained variation in diversification equally well compared to contemporary energy measures, and energy and climate change measures were intercorrelated, making it difficult to reject either as a causal mechanism. Many putative mechanisms linking diversification to energy availability do not apply to plants, whereas the climate change mechanism has more support. We also present the first global map of angiosperm diversification, showing that, after correcting for family range‐size, tropical diversification rates were fastest for clades currently in regions with high endemic species richness outside the main lowland rainforest areas.
CASE REPORT: Unilateral eyelid lesion and ophthalmologic findings in an aardvark (Orycteropus afer): case report and literature review
Authors: Matas Màrian , Wise Innes , Masters Nicholas J. , Stewart Jennifer , Holloway Andrew , Donaldson David , Hartley Claudia
Published: September 2010

Objective  To summarize the medical knowledge surrounding aardvarks to date, to describe the ophthalmic examination of a specimen with a chronic history of an upper eyelid lesion, of an assumed blind left eye, and to detail the anesthesia procedure performed.

Procedure  A 23‐year‐old aardvark was examined under general anesthesia and multiple ocular abnormalities were detected in the left eye (globe deviation, corneal opacities, iridodonesis, and aphakia). A thickening of the palpebral conjunctiva affecting the medial upper eyelid with erosion of the normal eyelid margin anatomy was identified. The adnexal lesion was resected by a wedge resection and histopathology was performed. Suture breakdown 3 days postoperatively required a second surgery, where buried sutures were used. The surgical techniques and postoperative care are discussed.

Results  The histopathology revealed mucosal hyperplasia and moderate neutrophilic and lymphoplasmacytic blepharitis. No causal organisms were identified. Following initial wound dehiscence and a modified surgical technique, the upper eyelid healed without complication and retained complete function.

Conclusions  The eyelid lesion involved a benign inflammatory and hyperplastic pathology of unknown etiology. Adjusting routine ophthalmic surgical techniques to wildlife and zoo animals can be challenging and complicated. It is important to understand the nature of the animals being managed, their circadian cycle, and habitat, to adjust and individualize the surgical approach, instrumentation, suture material, and perioperative treatment.
Induction chemotherapy for unresectable urothelial carcinoma of the bladder
Authors: Ghadjar Pirus , Burkhard Fiona C. , Gautschi Oliver , Thalmann George N. , Studer Urs E.
Published: September 2010

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4

What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add?

In resectable muscle‐invasive bladder cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical cystectomy confers to a significant 5% overall survival benefit. Less is known about induction chemotherapy followed by radical cystectomy in initially unresectable patients. Our retrospective analysis of a selected patient cohort suggests that patients with initially unresectable bladder cancer may benefit from this combined treatment approach.

OBJECTIVE

• To analyse the outcome in selected patients with initially unresectable or minimally metastatic muscle‐invasive urothelial bladder cancer who underwent induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by radical cystectomy (RC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• Thirty patients with initially unresectable, locally advanced or minimally metastatic bladder cancer underwent platinum‐based IC followed by RC with curative intent at our institution from 2000 to 2007.

• They received a median of four cycles (range 2–6 cycles) of cisplatin and gemcitabine (n= 19), carboplatin and gemcitabine (n= 9) or other platinum combinations (n= 2).

• We retrospectively analysed all 30 patients for complete pathological remission (pT0), disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Chi‐square tests, Kaplan–Meier analyses, and Cox univariate modelling were used.

RESULTS

• Before IC, 30 patients were deemed unresectable because of locally advanced tumour classification (cT4, 18/30) and/or clinically suspected lymph node (LN) metastasis (21/30) or suspected distant metastasis (3/30).

• At re‐staging after IC there was a complete regression of all enlarged LN in 16/21 patients, a partial LN response in one patient or stable LN size in the remaining four patients.

• After RC, 9/30 (30%) of patients had attained pT0.

• The median follow‐up was 28 months (range 4–97 months). The 5‐year DFS and OS rates were 42% and 46%, respectively, for all patients.

• In the pT0 patients, the DFS (83%) and OS (71%) rates were significantly higher than in non‐pT0 patients.

CONCLUSION

• Patients undergoing IC followed by RC showed encouraging response and survival rates, suggesting that selected patients with initially unresectable bladder cancer benefit from this combined regimen.
Is radical prostatectomy a viable therapeutic option in clinically locally advanced (cT3) prostate cancer?
Authors: Xylinas Evanguelos , Daché Arnaud , Rouprêt Morgan
Published: September 2010

According to the literature, the current preferred treatment for T3 prostate cancer is a combination of radiotherapy and extended hormone therapy. The preoperative staging based on digital rectal examination results alone now appears obsolete from the investigated series, in which 20% of T3 prostate cancer is over‐staged during physical examination. Prostatic magnetic resonance imaging is becoming increasingly necessary to evaluate extraprostatic extension during the preoperative evaluation. European Association of Urology guidelines recommend the use of radical prostatectomy only in selected patients with cT3a who have a PSA <20 ng/mL and a biopsy Gleason score ≤8. The cancer control obtained after the implementation of radical prostatectomy is variable from one series to another, with PSA‐free survival rates at 5, 10 and 15 years ranging from 45 to 62%, 43 to 51% and 15 to 49%, respectively. The specific survival rates at 5, 10 and 15 years are between 84 and 98%, 84 and 91% and 76 and 84%, respectively. The surgical margins rate varies from 22% to 61% depending on the specific operative technique used and the surgeon’s own experience level. Regarding urinary continence, functional outcomes are in line with those of prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. Upon consideration of erectile dysfunction, the rates are linked with the type of surgery performed, which can at times be fairly extensive. There is no impact on the overall or specific survival rate of neoadjuvant treatments. One of the problems currently depends on the efficacy of early adjuvant treatment after prostatectomy, especially regarding the use of adjuvant external beam radiotherapy. Radical prostatectomy can be considered in selected cases as a viable alternative to the first‐line treatment option. However, patients must be counselled that they may undergo complementary treatments during the postoperative course of the disease.
Forming a national multicentre collaboration to conduct clinical trials: Increasing high‐quality research in the drug and alcohol field
Authors: SANSON‐FISHER ROB , BRAND MATTHEW , SHAKESHAFT ANTHONY , HABER PAUL , DAY CAROLYN , CONIGRAVE KATHERINE , MATTICK RICHARD , LINTZERIS NICHOLAS , TEESSON MAREE
Published: September 2010

Issues. There is a shortage of high‐quality intervention‐based evidence in the drug and alcohol misuse field. That is, evidence based on replicated effects using rigorous methodology, to establish a causal knowledge base around ethical, cost‐effective methods relevant to clinical practice. The knowledge base in this field is limited participant recruitment challenges; difficulty generalising results from single‐centre studies; lack of research culture; issues in managing research teams; incentives for descriptive research; and limited expertise in research design and working in multidisciplinary teams. Approach. An Australian national multicentre collaboration is proposed to overcome these barriers, and reduce the burden of drug and alcohol misuse by increasing the number of high‐quality clinical trials in this field. It would involve: selecting a representative sample of centres nation‐wide with expertise in specific drug and alcohol issues; creating an expert multidisciplinary team to facilitate clinical trials; simultaneous recruitment and implementation of clinical trials across centres; establishing a virtual infrastructure; forming an independent data‐integrity and methodology review panel; and attracting and allocating funding for clinical trials. Implications. The ability to allocate funding, the involvement of multidisciplinary experts in drug and alcohol research, and the establishment of infrastructure and procedures are likely to result in the national multicentre group's capacity to prescribe the type of research conducted under its auspices. Conclusion. The proposed initiative is likely to increase the volume of high‐quality clinical trials in the Australian drug and alcohol field, a key step towards reducing the burden of drug and alcohol misuse.[Sanson‐Fisher R, Brand M, Shakeshaft A, Haber P, Day C, Conigrave K, Mattick R, Lintzeris N, Teesson M. Forming a national multicentre collaboration to conduct clinical trials: Increasing high‐quality research in the drug and alcohol field. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010;29;469–474]
Enhancing clinical research with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis problems and dependence
Authors: ALLSOP STEVE , CARTER OWEN , LENTON SIMON
Published: September 2010

Issues. A strong body of evidence guides clinical responses to alcohol and tobacco dependence and there is an emerging evidence base informing responses to cannabis dependence. Nevertheless, there are still important gaps in the evidence base. Approach. Three researchers, with backgrounds in alcohol, tobacco and cannabis research examine current clinical research and practice to identify potential future priorities for clinical research. Key Findings. Clinical outcomes will be improved by research that enhances engagement and retention of a broader range of consumers, especially underrepresented and disadvantaged populations who may not respond as well to mainstream interventions. Research might focus on innovative client recruitment approaches, varying treatment intensity, use of new technology and assertive outreach. Assessment of treatment outcome will be enhanced by strategies that facilitate longer‐term follow up of participants, adoption of shared measures of non‐abstinent outcomes and extending the focus and outcome measures beyond drug use. Translation of research into clinical strategies will be enhanced by improving links between theory and interventions, increased attention on factors that influence treatment fidelity, designing treatment studies that are relevant to a variety of clinical settings, focussing on clinician characteristics as treatment variables and developing methodologies that address the capacity of participants to discriminate between placebo and pharmacotherapy. Implications. A range of future research priorities have been identified that have the potential to better engage and retain clients in a range of treatment settings and enhance translation of research findings into improved treatment outcomes.[Allsop S, Carter O, Lenton S. Enhancing clinical research with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis problems and dependence. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010;29;483–490]
EMPLOYMENT AND DEADWEIGHT LOSS EFFECTS OF OBSERVED NONWAGE LABOR COSTS
Authors: AGUILAR GIOVANNA , RENDON SíLVIO
Published: September 2010

To assess the employment effects of labor costs, it is crucial to have reliable estimates of the labor cost elasticity of labor demand. Using a matched firm‐worker data set, we estimate a long‐run unconditional labor demand function, exploiting information on workers to correct for endogeneity in the determination of wages. We evaluate the employment and deadweight loss effects of observed employers' contributions imposed by labor laws (health insurance, training, and taxes) as well as of observed workers' deductions (social security and income tax). We find that nonwage labor costs reduce employment by 17% for white collars and by 53% for blue collars, with associated deadweight losses of 10% and 35% of total contributions, respectively. Since most firms undercomply with mandated employers' and workers' contributions, we find that full compliance would imply employment losses of 4% for white collars and 12% for blue collars, with respective associated deadweight losses of 2% and 6%. (JEL J23, J32)
THE EFFECT OF HOUSE PRICE ON FERTILITY: EVIDENCE FROM HONG KONG
Authors: YI JUNJIAN , ZHANG JUNSEN
Published: September 2010

This article extends a standard Beckerian model of fertility behavior to formulate the effect of house price (HP) on fertility. The simple model predicts a negative effect of HP on the number of children for a representative household not only through the income effect but also through the compensated substitution effect. The prediction is confirmed by a cointegration analysis applied to the annual data at the aggregate level covering the period from 1971 to 2005 in Hong Kong. It is found that a 1% increase in HP is significantly related to a 0.45% decrease in total fertility rates (TFRs), which is robust in sensitivity tests with an alternative model specification and alternative measures of TFRs. This implies that high HP inflation can account for about 65% of the fertility decrease in Hong Kong in the past four decades. (JEL J13, J11, C32)
DOES RAIDING EXPLAIN THE NEGATIVE RETURNS TO FACULTY SENIORITY?
Authors: BRATSBERG BERNT , RAGAN JAMES F. , WARREN JOHN T.
Published: September 2010

We track faculty for 30 yr at five PhD‐granting departments of economics. Two‐thirds of faculty who take alternative employment move downward; less than one‐quarter moves upward. We find a substantial penalty for seniority, even after richly controlling for faculty productivity, and the penalty is little changed when we allow wages and returns to seniority to differ by mobility status. Faculty who end up moving to better or comparable positions were penalized as severely for seniority while they were in our sample as faculty who stay. These results are incompatible with the raiding hypothesis. Faculty from top 10 programs are also punished for seniority but to a lesser degree than other faculty, which could reflect reduced monopsony power against such faculty if they are more marketable. All results persist when we control for prospective publications and allow lower returns for older publications. Match‐quality bias has dissipated in the post‐internet period, which may be the consequence of greater availability of information. (JEL J62, J44, J42)
FINANCIAL FRICTIONS AND THE CHOICE OF EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES
Authors: FAIA ESTER
Published: September 2010

This article provides a quantitative assessment of the role of financial frictions in the choice of exchange rate regimes. I use a two‐country model with sticky prices to compare different exchange rate arrangements. I simulate the model without and with borrowing constraints on investment, under monetary policy and technology shocks. I find that the stabilization properties of floating exchange rate regimes in face of foreign shocks are enhanced relative to fixed exchange rate in presence of credit frictions. In presence of symmetric and correlated shock, fixed exchange rates regimes can perform better than floating. This analysis can have important policy implications for accession countries joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II system and with high degrees of credit frictions. (JEL E3, E42, E44, E52, F41)
WORKFORCE COMPOSITION AND FIRM PRODUCTIVITY: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN
Authors: LIU JIN‐TAN , TSOU MENG‐WEN , WANG PING
Published: September 2010

We study the relationship between workforce composition and firm productivity based on a new employee‐employer‐matched data set, using an array of workforce characteristics and three alternative measures of firm productivity. While firm age is not essential for the performance of firms, those of smaller size and those in the steel and transportation industries outperform others. Moreover, labor quality, particularly the middle‐aged with higher education, contributes significantly to firms' productivity. Furthermore, economic incentives and market competition both play important roles in the performance of firms. Finally, there is an employer‐size premium with larger firms paying higher wages and nonwage benefits. (JEL C33, D20, J30)
EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS AND MILITARY SERVICE: AN ANALYSIS OF ENLISTMENT, REENLISTMENT, AND VETERANS' BENEFIT USAGE 1991–2005*
Authors: SIMON CURTIS J. , NEGRUSA SEBASTIAN , WARNER JOHN T.
Published: September 2010

Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) educational benefits are a prime recruiting tool in today's all‐volunteer military. This paper studies the effects of changes in education benefits using data of the period 1990–2005. Higher benefits lead to higher separation due to both pure incentive effects and by attracting more college‐oriented youth into military service. We deal with potential selection issues by distinguishing between anticipated and unanticipated benefit changes. Higher education benefits are associated with higher separation from the Army and Air Force, but not the other services. A $10,000 increase in MGIB benefits is estimated to increase usage by about 5 percentage points, but the duration of usage is estimated to be insensitive to benefit levels. (JEL H52, I21, J24)
AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF IDENTITY AND CAREER CHOICE*
Authors: HUMLUM MARIA K. , KLEINJANS KRISTIN J. , NIELSEN HELENA S.
Published: September 2010

Standard economic models tend to be more specific about pecuniary payoffs than nonpecuniary payoffs to education. Based on the ideas of Akerlof and Kranton, we consider a model of career choice and identity where individuals derive nonpecuniary identity payoffs. Using factor analysis on a range of attitude questions, we find two factors related to identity (career orientation and social orientation), which are important for planned educational choices and for observed gender differences. The implication is that policy makers and institutions of higher education need to focus on identity‐related issues rather than just improved financial incentives if they aim at attracting high‐ability youths to certain careers. (JEL I21, J24)
REAL COSTS OF NOMINAL GRADE INFLATION? NEW EVIDENCE FROM STUDENT COURSE EVALUATIONS
Authors: BABCOCK PHILIP
Published: September 2010

College grade point averages in the United States rose substantially between the 1960s and the 2000s. Over the same period, study time declined by almost a half. This paper uses a 12‐quarter panel of course evaluations from the University of California, San Diego to discern whether a link between grades and effort investment holds up in a micro setting. Results indicate that average study time would be about 50% lower in a class in which the average expected grade was an “A” than in the same course taught by the same instructor in which students expected a “C.” Simultaneity suggests estimates are biased toward 0. Findings do not appear to be driven primarily by the individual student's expected grade, but by the average expected grade of others in the class. Class‐specific characteristics that generate low expected grades appear to produce higher effort choices—evidence that nominal changes in grades may lead to real changes in effort investment. (JEL I21, J22, J24)
SKILLED‐UNSKILLED WAGE INEQUALITY AND URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT
Authors: BELADI HAMID , CHAKRABARTI AVIK , MARJIT SUGATA
Published: September 2010

The impact of trade liberalization on the labor market in the North has drawn tremendous attention in the face of the growing skilled‐unskilled wage gap but in the South it has been somewhat neglected. One of the key structural differences between the North and the South is that the South experiences a pronounced rural‐urban migration in the presence of urban unemployment. We introduce this feature in the structure of a simple general equilibrium model to analyze the effects of trade liberalization and fragmentation on employment and the skilled‐unskilled wage differential in the South. In particular, we show that while fragmentation necessarily improves the unskilled wage and the skilled wage, more lucrative global opportunities for the skilled final product, in the absence of fragmentation, can reduce the rural wage and increase urban unemployment. The effect of fragmentation, ceteris paribus, on the skilled‐unskilled wage gap is sensitive to the degree of substitutability between land and unskilled labor. As such, fragmentation can magnify the increase in the skilled‐unskilled wage gap resulting from an improvement in the terms of trade. It is also shown that a technological progress in the intermediate goods sector increases the skilled‐unskilled wage gap and raises urban unemployment.(JELF1, O1, F11, F12)
EMERGENT EXTREMISM IN A MULTI‐AGENT MODEL OF RELIGIOUS CLUBS
Authors: MAKOWSKY MICHAEL D.
Published: September 2010

This paper extends the club model of religion to better account for observed patterns of extremism. We adapt existing models to a multi‐agent framework and analyze the distribution of agents and clubs. We find that extremism is more successful when religious groups are able to produce close substitutes for standard goods and that increased access to publicly provided goods can reduce the extremist population share. Quantile regression modeling of data from a multi‐nation survey and institutional indices corresponds to the model's key results. Our findings offer a potential theoretical mechanism behind research linking terrorist origination to civil liberties. (JEL C63, Z12, H56, D71)
ON THE VALUE OF A LARGE CUSTOMER BASE IN MARKETS WITH SWITCHING COSTS*
Authors: Schmidt Robert C.
Published: September 2010

It is usually acknowledged that firms benefit from a large customer base in markets with switching costs. However, Klemperer [1995] argues that this may not be true if an increase in the size of a firm's customer base induces fierce price competition, making the firm worse off. This paper shows that such an outcome can be obtained under standard assumptions, such as homogeneous goods and uniformly distributed switching costs. In the model, firms have very limited incentives to fight for market shares, and the notion that switching costs make markets less competitive is stronger than previously shown.
Global Development Goals: The Folly of Technocratic Pretensions
Authors: Reddy Sanjay , Heuty Antoine
Published: September 2010

This article argues that, although effective strategic choices for achieving global development goals need to be based on assessments of the costs and benefits of alternative approaches, existing methods of arriving at such assessments are highly unreliable, in particular deriving from implausible and restrictive assumptions and often depending on data of poor quality, and on the pretence that the future can be adequately known. Such weaknesses can be mitigated, but not easily overcome, without abandoning deeply held technocratic presumptions.
TWO‐PASS CUSUM TO IDENTIFY AGE‐CLUSTER OUTBREAKS
Authors: Sparks Ross
Published: September 2010

The paper introduces a two‐pass adaptive cumulative sum (CUSUM) statistic to identify age clusters (age grouping) that significantly contribute to epidemics or unusually high counts. If epidemiologists know that an epidemic is confined to a narrow age group, then this information not only makes it clear where to target the epidemiological effort but also helps them decide whether to respond. It is much easier to control an epidemic that starts in a narrow age range of the population, such as pre‐school children, than an epidemic that is not confined demographically or geographically.
Renewing State Theory
Authors: Konings Martijn
Published: September 2010

The role of the state in recent years has demonstrated the continued need for the insights of Marxist state theory. Yet this should not blind us to the reasons why the latter became discredited. This article seeks to rescue the key insights of Marxist state theory from the clutches of its structuralist legacy. It discusses contributions that successfully avoided the conceptual problems of structuralism and proposes that we re-energise state theory by building on these and proceeding to branch out and engage related fields of scholarship.
Existence of a Condorcet Winner When Voters Have Other‐Regarding Preferences
Authors: DHAMI SANJIT , AL‐NOWAIHI ALI
Published: September 2010

In standard political economy models, voters are “self‐interested” that is, care only about “own” utility. However, the emerging evidence indicates that voters often have “other‐regarding preferences” (ORP), that is, in deciding among alternative policies voters care about their payoffs relative to others. We extend a widely used general equilibrium framework in political economy to allow for voters with ORP, as in Fehr and Schmidt (1999). In line with the evidence, these preferences allow voters to exhibit “envy” and “altruism,” in addition to the standard concern for “own utility.” We give sufficient conditions for the existence of a Condorcet winner when voters have ORP. This could open the way for an incorporation of ORP in a variety of political economy models. Furthermore, as a corollary, we give more general conditions for the existence of a Condorcet winner when voters have purely selfish preferences.
Regular Distributive Efficiency and the Distributive Liberal Social Contract
Authors: MERCIER YTHIER JEAN
Published: September 2010

We consider abstract social systems of private property, made of n individuals endowed with nonpaternalistic interdependent preferences, who interact through exchanges on competitive markets and Pareto‐improving lump‐sum transfers. The transfers follow from a distributive liberal social contract defined as a redistribution of initial endowments such that the resulting market equilibrium allocation is both: (i) a distributive optimum (i.e., is Pareto‐efficient relative to individual interdependent preferences) and (ii) unanimously weakly preferred to the initial market equilibrium. We elicit minimal conditions for meaningful social contract redistribution in this setup, namely, the weighted sums of individual interdependent utility functions, built from arbitrary positive weights, have suitable properties of nonsatiation and inequality aversion; individuals have diverging views on redistribution, in some suitable sense, at (inclusive) distributive optima; and the initial market equilibrium is not a distributive optimum. We show that the relative interior of the set of social contract allocations is then a simply connected smooth manifold of dimension n − 1. We also show that the distributive liberal social contract rules out transfer paradoxes in Arrow–Debreu social systems. We show, finally, that the liberal social contract yields a norm of collective action for the optimal provision of any pure public good.
ROADS TO RECONCILIATION: AN EMERGING PARADIGM OF AFRICAN THEOLOGY
Authors: CARNEY J. J.
Published: September 2010

The heart of contemporary African Christian theology is the notion of “reconciliation.” Contextualizing this movement, the article begins by surveying the three major theological paradigms—inculturation, liberation, and reconstruction—that shaped post‐colonial African theology. Drawing on the writings of Desmond Tutu, John Rucyahana and Emmanuel Katongole and three grassroots reconciliation ministries, I delineate four principles of African reconciliation theology: interdependence, prophetic advocacy, holistic transformation, and alternative Christian community. The article concludes by addressing outstanding challenges of memory, justice, brokenness, and pluralism and considers how the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation could offer further theological resources for the emerging paradigm.
MODERN SOVEREIGNTY IN QUESTION: THEOLOGY, DEMOCRACY AND CAPITALISM
Authors: PABST ADRIAN
Published: September 2010

This essay argues that modern sovereignty is not simply a legal or political concept that is coterminous with the modern nation‐state. Rather, at the theoretical level modern sovereign power is inscribed into a wider theological dialectic between “the one” and “the many”. Modernity fuses juridical‐constitutional models of supreme state authority with a new, “biopolitical” account of power whereby natural life and the living body of the individual are the object of politics and are subject to state control (section 1).

The origins of this dialectic go back to changes within Christian theology in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. In particular, these changes can be traced to Ockham's denial of the universal Good in things, Suárez's priority of the political community over the ecclesial body and Hobbes's “biopolitical” definition of power as state dominion over life (section 2).

At the practical level, modern sovereignty has involved both the national state and the transnational market. The “revolutions in sovereignty” that gave rise to the modern state and the modern market were to some considerable extent shaped by theological concepts and changes in religious institutions and practices: first, the supremacy of the modern national state over the transnational papacy and national churches; second, the increasing priority of individuality over collectivity; third, a growing focus on contractual proprietary relations at the expense of covenantal ties and communal bonds (section 3).

By subjecting both people and property to uniform standards of formal natural rights and abstract monetary value, financial capitalism and liberal secular democracy are part of the “biopolitical” logic that subordinates the sanctity of life and land to the secular sacrality of the state and the market. In Pope Benedict's theology, we can find the contours of a post‐secular political economy that challenges the monopoly of modern sovereignty (sections 4–5).
“Peace Is the Concern of Every Mother”: Communist and Social Democratic Women’s Antiwar Activism in British Columbia, 1948–1960
Authors: Thorn Brian T.
Published: September 2010

This article discusses the antiwar activism of Canadian women within two left‐wing political movements: the revolutionary Communist Party of Canada and the social democratic Co‐Operative Commonwealth Federation. The piece focuses on the period from 1948 to 1960, which is often seen as a time of retreat for the feminist movement in North America. This article engages in a critical dialogue with the concept of “maternalism,” the notion that women had a special responsibility to speak out against wars and international conflicts that threatened the lives of the world’s children and the husbands, brothers, and sons who would be killed in future wars. Maternalist ideology represented a double‐edged sword for these left‐wing women and for feminism. On one hand, it offered them a route into radical protest against war and capitalism. On the other hand, in its portrayal of women as “natural” wives and mothers, maternalism, at least in the short term, failed to advance women’s equality. Nonetheless, this article concludes that, given the conservative context of the time, maternalism was a useful strategy for the left as well as for feminism.
Investing in private higher education in developing countries: recent experiences of the International Finance Corporation
Authors: van Lutsenburg Maas Jacob
Published: September 2010

Higher education, which provides mainly‘private goods,’is being opened to private investment in many parts of the world. The paper describes the pioneering efforts of the International Finance Corporation in this field. The IFC has approved investments in nine universities, two specialised training centres and two student loan programmes. It is too early to draw firm conclusions about the case for this form of investment, but the paper deals with some of the issues which have arisen and provides some‘guideposts’for evaluating future investments.
RETHINKING PROFESSIONAL REGULATION
Authors: Seibert Christian
Published: September 2010

Market forces could deliver improved outcomes in the case of professional regulation by removing the monopoly status of professional regulators. A framework of competitive regulation could involve multiple professional regulatory bodies regulating a profession and would maintain quality standards whilst lowering fees for professional services.
The Maastricht‐Urteil: Sovereignty Now
Authors: MacCormick Neil
Published: September 2010

Abstract: The sovereignty issue in European law, which was recently raised again before the highest national courts, poses a challenge to legal theory. The supremacy of EC law should not be regarded as imposing a strict hierarchy within a monistic legal system. A pluralistic and interactive analysis of the relations between the legal systems of the Member States and their common system of EC law suggests instead that the highest court within each system retains interpretative competence‐competence. Although pluralist legal theory therefore supports the claim that sovereignty has not passed to the organs of the Union, the same analysis confirms that sovereignty has not remained with the individual Member States either: a more subtle understanding of the meaning of sovereignty and its locus is necessary.
Striking issues: from labour process to industrial dispute at Grunwick and Gate Gourmet
Authors: Pearson Ruth , Anitha Sundari , McDowell Linda
Published: September 2010

This article applies a feminist intersectionality approach to analysing the dynamics of the labour process and labour in two workplaces where Asian women workers were in the forefront of resistance. It stresses the importance of understanding the links between different aspects of workers' identities.
Psoriasis and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Wenk KS , Arrington KC , Ehrlich A
Published: September 2010

Several recent studies have found an increased prevalence of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease within psoriasis patients. The exact pathophysiological mechanisms behind these observations are unclear, but are likely related to the high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome within this patient population. Chronic inflammation, mediated by either proinflammatory adipokines or skin‐derived cytokines, may contribute to fatty liver disease development by increasing insulin resistance which in turn promotes hepatic lipid accumulation. These same adipokines in addition to hepatic cytokines may act on the skin to influence psoriasis disease severity.
Envy and difference
Authors: West Marcus
Published: September 2010

Abstract:  This paper explores five examples of envy, examining the similarities and differences between the clinical situations. The theory relating to envy is extensively reviewed and a critique of the Kleinian position is offered, suggesting that the aversion to separation and difference is not only prior to, but also has explanatory precedence over, the functioning of envy. Kleinian examples are explored in this light. The experience of separateness and difference is understood to lead to a number of outcomes: envy, admiration, competitiveness, a sense of low self‐esteem and inadequacy, or a fear of being envied. It is argued that the individual's particular personality organization and their associated relational pattern will determine their experience of envy. Examples of schizoid, borderline, narcissistic and hysteric functioning in relation to envy are examined in some depth. The link between these phenomena and the death instinct is touched on.
Power cut in the countertransference
Authors: Cavalli Alessandra
Published: September 2010

Abstract:  This paper is an attempt to describe and understand a certain type of defence that I shall call a ‘power cut’ because of its crippling and anti‐relational nature. I will take extracts from a baby observation to show how this type of defence can be adopted from the beginning of life, followed by vignettes from my work with a young child and an adult patient which addresses the particular kind of difficulty the analyst has to face with patients who resort to such a defence. I am arguing that while defending from another, the patient is able to destabilize not only the connection between himself and this other, the analyst, but also that between the analyst and the analyst's internal world. I understand this as the violent re‐enactment of the patient's uncontained and split off primitive experience. I see recovery from ‘power cuts’ as the main challenge for the analyst who is helping the patient to recover from an early failure in containment which has led to defective splitting. Only when the unthinkable experience of ‘power cut’ can become an experience that can be lived through and converted into a deintegrate, may integration be achieved.
The Landau-Kleffner Syndrome
Authors: Pearl Phillip L. , Carrazana Enrique J. , Holmes Gregory L.
Published: September 2010

Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS), or acquired epileptiform aphasia, is an epilepsy syndrome involving progressive neuropsychological impairment related to the appearance of paroxysmal electroencephalograph (EEG) activity. LKS appears to share a common pathophysiologic mechanism with continuous spike-wave of sleep (CSWS), acquired epileptic opercular syndrome (AEOS), and even benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS), with differentiating factors including age of onset, area of primary epileptogenicity, and severity of clinical presentation. This article covers the clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic features of LKS. In a child with autistic spectrum disorder, the presence of a fluctuating clinical course or regression should raise suspicion for the presence of associated epilepsy.
Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals?
Authors: Price J. S. , Allen S. , Faucheux C. , Althnaian T. , Mount J. G.
Published: September 2010

Many organisms are able to regenerate lost or damaged body parts that are structural and functional replicates of the original. Eventually these become fully integrated into pre‐existing tissues. However, with the exception of deer, mammals have lost this ability. Each spring deer shed antlers that were used for fighting and display during the previous mating season. Their loss is triggered by a fall in circulating testosterone levels, a hormonal change that is linked to an increase in day length. A complex ‘blastema‐like’ structure or ‘antler‐bud’ then forms; however, unlike the regenerative process in the newt, most evidence (albeit indirect) suggests that this does not involve reversal of the differentiated state but is stem cell based. The subsequent re‐growth of antlers during the spring and summer months is spectacular and represents one of the fastest rates of organogenesis in the animal kingdom. Longitudinal growth involves endochondral ossification in the tip of each antler branch and bone growth around the antler shaft is by intramembranous ossification. As androgen concentrations rise in late summer, longitudinal growth stops, the skin (velvet) covering the antler is lost and antlers are ‘polished’ in preparation for the mating season. Although the timing of the antler growth cycle is clearly closely linked to circulating testosterone, oestrogen may be a key cellular regulator, as it is in the skeleton of other male mammals. We still know very little about the molecular machinery required for antler regeneration, although there is evidence that developmental signalling pathways with pleiotropic functions are important and that novel ‘antler‐specific’ molecules may not exist. Identifying these pathways and factors, deciphering their interactions and how they are regulated by environmental cues could have an important impact on human health if this knowledge is applied to the engineering of new human tissues and organs.
Neuroimaging of cortical development and brain connectivity in human newborns and animal models
Authors: Lodygensky Gregory A. , Vasung Lana , Sizonenko Stéphane V. , Hüppi Petra S.
Published: September 2010

Significant human brain growth occurs during the third trimester, with a doubling of whole brain volume and a fourfold increase of cortical gray matter volume. This is also the time period during which cortical folding and gyrification take place. Conditions such as intrauterine growth restriction, prematurity and cerebral white matter injury have been shown to affect brain growth including specific structures such as the hippocampus, with subsequent potentially permanent functional consequences. The use of 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dedicated postprocessing tools to measure brain tissue volumes (cerebral cortical gray matter, white matter), surface and sulcation index can elucidate phenotypes associated with early behavior development. The use of diffusion tensor imaging can further help in assessing microstructural changes within the cerebral white matter and the establishment of brain connectivity. Finally, the use of functional MRI and resting‐state functional MRI connectivity allows exploration of the impact of adverse conditions on functional brain connectivity in vivo. Results from studies using these methods have for the first time illustrated the structural impact of antenatal conditions and neonatal intensive care on the functional brain deficits observed after premature birth. In order to study the pathophysiology of these adverse conditions, MRI has also been used in conjunction with histology in animal models of injury in the immature brain. Understanding the histological substrate of brain injury seen on MRI provides new insights into the immature brain, mechanisms of injury and their imaging phenotype.
Early history of subplate and interstitial neurons: from Theodor Meynert (1867) to the discovery of the subplate zone (1974)
Authors: Judaš Miloš , Sedmak Goran , Pletikos Mihovil
Published: September 2010

In this historical review, we trace the early history of research on the fetal subplate zone, subplate neurons and interstitial neurons in the white matter of the adult nervous system. We arrive at several general conclusions. First, a century of research clearly testifies that interstitial neurons, subplate neurons and the subplate zone were first observed and variously described in the human brain – or, in more general terms, in large brains of gyrencephalic mammals, characterized by an abundant white matter and slow and protracted prenatal and postnatal development. Secondly, the subplate zone cannot be meaningfully defined using a single criterion – be it a specific population of cells, fibres or a specific molecular or genetic marker. The subplate zone is a highly dynamic architectonic compartment and its size and cellular composition do not remain constant during development. Thirdly, it is important to make a clear distinction between the subplate zone and the subplate (and interstitial) neurons. The transient existence of the subplate zone (as a specific architectonic compartment of the fetal telencephalic wall) should not be equated with the putative transient existence of subplate neurons. It is clear that in rodents, and to an even greater extent in humans and monkeys, a significant number of subplate cells survive and remain functional throughout life.