bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A REVIEW OF GHEMAWAT'S COMMITMENT: THE DYNAMIC OF STRATEGY
Authors: Peteraf Margaret A.
Published: January 2005

Commitment: The Dynamic of Strategy, by Pankaj Ghemawat.

Ghemawat's Commitment makes recent results in game‐theoretic industrial organization accessible and useful to practitioners in the field of strategic management. This book contributes to the management strategy literature on two levels. On a conceptual level, Ghemawat strives to isolate “commitment” as the sole explanation of persistent differences in firm performance. On a more pragmatic level, he provides a framework intended to aid managers in making commitment‐intensive decisions. It is with respect to how well he achieves these two distinct goals that I evaluate Ghemawat's contribution. In addition, I review briefly the book's content, and I compare Ghemawat's approach to some alternative approaches familiar to scholars and practitioners of strategic management.
Competing Research Joint Ventures
Authors: Kamien Morton I. , Zang Israel
Published: January 2005

Research and development (R&D) competition among firms has recently been extended to R&D competition involving research joint ventures. It was previously shown that in an industry conducting cost‐reducing R&D followed by competition in the product market, if all firms both fully share R&D information and coordinate investments to maximize pint profits, final products prices are lower, and firms' profits are higher than with information shriving alone, joint profit maximization alone, or no cooperation. In this paper we question whether a single research joint venture (RJV) cartel is the best form of industry R&D coordination. We show that there are circumstances in which splitting a single RJV cartel into several competing ones yields lower product prices. Moreover, we show that in these circumstances, splitting the industry into exactly two competing RJV cartels would be best.
Commitment to aProcessInnovation: Nucor, USX,andThin‐SlabCasting
Authors: Ghemawat Pankaj
Published: January 2005

This paper studies the order of adoption of a process innovation, thin‐slab casting, by U.S. steel makers. A game‐theoretic model of technology adoption with capacity constraints indicates that incumbents are likely to trail entrants in adopting process technologies that reduce the minimal scale required to compete. Evidence from the case study also indicates, however, that the sorts of interactive effects emphasized by game‐theoretic models may be dominated by the effects of competitors' heterogeneous precommitments.
Advertising as Information: Matching Products to Buyers
Authors: Bagwell Kyle , Ramey Garey
Published: January 2005

We consider communication of quality via cheap talk and dissipative advertising expenditures, when consumers have heterogeneous tastes for quality, and price information must be acquired through costly search. For search pods, cheap talk communicates quality when fixed costs are roughly constant across quality levels, while if fixed costs vary greatly with quality, then firms having the higher fixed‐cost quality level use dissipative advertising. For experience goods, quality can be communicated by cheap talk in a range where low‐quality firms have greater fixed costs, and low‐quality firms use dissipative advertising if their fixed costs are greater still.
The Future of the Accounting Profession
Authors: Cook J. Michael
Published: January 2005

The litigation crisis in this country is a subject of great importance to the chief executive officers of public uccounting firms. 1 will first address the problem's magnitude and its source and then speculate on the developments we might expect in the future. Like all forecasts, mine will certainly be wrung. I hope that my degree of error on the pessimistic side will be considerable.
Collusive Bidding in Hostile Takeovers
Authors: McAfee R. Preston , Vincent Daniel , Williams Michael A. , Williams Havens Melanie
Published: January 2005

Bidders in hostile takeovers have colluded in five separate instances. It is found that these collusive agreements did not affect the target's price significantly. A model is developed to explain this observation. A welfare analysis indicates that a positive probability of cartel formation can be socially beneficial and may or may not be beneficial to the target's shareholders, depending on the process generating takeover attempts. This sheds light on the existing policy debate concerning regulations of collusive agreements. An analysis of the existing case law is provided, which indicates that such collusive arrangements are legal at present.
Eastern European Economic Integration and Foreign Direct Investment
Authors: Norman George , Motta Massimo
Published: January 2005

Economic transition in Eastern Europe should generate market growth. In addition, current discussions on economic integration and the development of a free‐trade area in Eastern Europe will improve market accessibility. These two forces will significantly affect the strategies by which external firms will choose to supply markets in Eastern Europe. This paper examines the ways in which supply strategy is likely to change. We show that both market growth and improved market accessibility will lead the external firms to switch from exporting to foreign direct investment. However, market growth is likely to lead to dispersed investment in the growing economies, whereas increased market accessibility, by establishing an integrated regional bloc in Eastern Europe, is more likely to lead to concentrated investment plus infra‐regional exports to the remainder of the regional bloc. The switch from exporting to local production through foreign direct investment will favor consumers through lowered prices but will harm national producers by depressing profit margins.
Issues in the Industrial Organization of the Market for Physician Services
Authors: Gaynor Martin
Published: January 2005

What is the nature of the industrial organization of the market for physician services? Is the market “competitive?” Are there pareto‐relevant market failures, such that there is room for welfare‐improving policies? Economists have devoted a great deal of attention to this market, but it remains relatively poorly understood. The key features of this market are that the product being sold is a professional service, and the pervasive presence of insurance for consumers. A professional service is inherently heterogeneous, nonretradable, and subject to an asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers. These characteristics are what bestow market power on sellers, further strengthened by the fact that consumers face only a small fraction of the price of any service due to insurance. This paper considers the implications of these characteristics for agency relationships between patients and physicians, and insurers (both private and public) and physicians. Agency relationships within physician firms are also considered. Both theoretical and empirical modeling of contracting between insurers and physicians and of the joint agency problems between patient and physician and insurer and physician are recommended as areas for future research. Because failures in this market are seen to derive largely from the structure of information, the potential gains from government intervention may be sharply circumscribed. Nonetheless, careful consideration of the competitive implications of contracting between physicians, insurers, and other health care providers is an important area for antitrust policy.
Compensation Schemes and Labor Market Competition: Piece Rate versus Wage Rate
Authors: Matutes Carmen , Regibeau Pierre , Rockett Katharine
Published: January 2005

We investigate the choice of compensation scheme by firms. Our basic model shows that the unique equilibrium choice for profit maximizing duopsonists in a labor market is for one firm to offer a wage rate and for the other to offer a piece rate. This result arises because the firms recognize that, by offering different compensation schemes, they induce self‐selection among workers, which thereby decreases the intensity of competition in the labor market. We find this asymmetry to be robust to allowing for firing, free entry, and a class of more general compensation schemes. When we broaden our model to permit firms to be differentiated in the eyes of workers (either geographically or by “other working conditions,” e.g.), we find that our results are preserved when differentiation is low, but that both firms choose to offer a piece rate when differentiation is high.
Random Advertising and Monopolistic Price Dispersion
Authors: Bester Helmut
Published: January 2005

We investigate the role of price advertising in a market where consumers are imperfectly informed about prices. We consider a monopolist whose demand depends on price and advertising expenditure. This demand function is derived from optimizing behavior of consumers. Uninformed consumers may pay a cost to visit the seller and obtain price information. Advertising enables the monopolist to increase the number of informed consumers. In equilibrium the uninformed consumers form rational price expectations, and the seller necessarily adopts a random pricing and advertising strategy.
Empirical Analysis of a Dynamic Duopoly Model of Competition
Authors: Chintagunta Pradeep K. , Jain Dipak C.
Published: January 2005

Empirically validating and testing the specification of game theoretic models has received limited attention in the marketing literature. The authors provide an econometric framework for estimating the parameters of response functions when the observed data in the market place are the Nash equilibrium outcomes of an underlying dynamic duopoly game specification. Specifically, the estimation procedure accounts for the joint endogeneity of market shares and marketing efforts of market rivals using a system of simultaneous equations that included the market response function and the Nash equilibrium conditions. A formal statistical test is used to detect model misspecification. The empirical analysis is carried out using data from four product markets: pharmaceutical, soft drink, beer, and detergent. Comparisons are provided with conventional estimation of the response function parameters in which the equilibrium conditions are ignored in the estimation. Managerial implications of the empirical results are discussed.
Explaining the Choice Among Regulatory Plans in the U.S. Telecommunications Industry
Authors: Donald Stephen G. , Sappington David E. M.
Published: January 2005

We investigate why different states in the United States choose different regulatory plans in their telecommunications industry. We present a simple theoretical model and an empirical analysis of the issue. We find that a state is more likely to replace rate‐of‐return regulation with incentive regulation when: (1) residential basic local service rates have historically been relatively high; (2) allowed earnings under rate‐of‐return regulation in the state have been either particularly high or particularly low; (3) the state's leaders tend to come from both major political parties, rather than from a single party; (4) the state's urban population is growing relatively rapidly; and (5) the bypass activity of competitors in the state is less pronounced.
Horizontal integration for bargaining Power: Evidence from the Cable Television Industry
Authors: Chipty Tasneem
Published: January 2005

This paper studies the hypothesis that large firms have more bargaining power with suppliers than do small firms, using data from the cable television industry. Employing techniques from the “new empirical lo,” the effect of owner size on marginal costs is inferred from the effect of owner size on observable product market choices. In the cable industry, the downstream firms decide how many subscriptions of cable to sell and how many channels to offer in the cable package. lf large firms have lower costs than small firms, then large firms should be willing to supply more than small firms, at all prices. The effects of bargaining power are identified separately from the effects of scale economies by exploiting the structure of the cable industry. Scale economies, in the cable industry, are likely to stem from regional size, while bargaining power is likely to stem from national size. By controlling for regional size, estimates of the effect of owner national size on the willingness to supply cable subscriptions and to offer channels indicate that large downstream firms offer significantly more subscriptions and channels at all prices than do small downstream firms. These results provide some of the first systematic, industry‐specific, evidence consistent with the bargaining‐power hypothesis.
Managerial Incentives Based on Acquisition of Information
Authors: Caillaud Bernard , Jullien Bruno
Published: January 2005

In a moral hazard setting, we model the fact that the agent may get private signals about the final outcome of his effort before the public realization of this outcome. Actions affect both the distribution of the outcome and the quality of the agent's private information. We compare simple contracts, based on output only, with revelation contracts, based on output and messages about signals. Revelation contracts give the agent some discretionary power during the course of the relationship; they are optimal if and only if lowering effort does not increase the quality of private information in the sense of Blackwell (1953). In the context of managerial compensation schemes, the revelation contracts we analyze can be viewed as allowing the agent to exercise an option on the final profits before the realization of these profits. The theory thus provides an alternative justification of the widespread use of stock options in managerial compensation schemes, as opposed to compensation schemes that rely only on salary, bonus, and (restricted) stock plans.
Incentive Contracting Under Limited Liability
Authors: Park Eun‐Soo
Published: January 2005

We examine the nature of incentive schemes between the principal and the risk‐neutral agent in the presence of the agent's limited liability and ex ante action choice. We consider alternative schemes when a simple rental contract is infeasible due to the limited liability of the agent and study the effectiveness of a performance bonus scheme in achieving the first‐best outcome. We also discuss some implications of such schemes in real practices.
Reputation, Product Quality, and Warranties
Authors: Al‐Najjar Nabil Ibraheem
Published: January 2005

This paper studies the firm's choice between implicit and explicit contracts as alternative methods of assuring product quality. The relationship between these two contractual forms is studied using a dynamic model with imperfect monitoring and team moral hazard where both the firm and the consumer take unobservable actions that affect product performance. The firm chooses the contractual arrangement that maximizes expected profit. Identified are conditions on the primitive attributes of the transactions and on the firm's environment that can help explain why firms might decide to use explicit contracting, implicit contracting, or a combination of the two. I also show that there are conditions under which the introduction of reputation causes explicit contracts to be more uniform and less sensitive to the details of the transaction than implied by static models.
Rendering Alternative Offerings Less Profitable with Resale Price Maintenance
Authors: Shaffer Greg
Published: January 2005

When it was legal, resale price maintenance (RPM) was commonly observed on items such as aspirin, pens, pencils, toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, and milk. In providing a theory that is based on compensating retailers for their opportunity cost of shelf space, and that does not hinge on the existence of externalities in nonprice competition, this article explains why a manufacturer might impose RPM on these and many other products. By contrast, the use of RPM on food, grocery, and drug store items is not easily explained by standard theories such as free riding on presale services and quality certification by high‐priced retailers.

The typical supermarket has room for fewer than 25,000 products. Yet there are some 100,000 available, and between 10,000 and 25,000 items aye introduced each year.1
Stable R&D Cooperation with Spillovers
Authors: Kesteloot Katrien , Veugelers Reinhilde
Published: January 2005

The literature on the incentives for R & D cooperation with spillovers typically deals only with the factors affecting cooperative profits. This paper focuses on the incentives to cheat and the stability of such cooperative agreements in a repeated game framework. It is shown that the stability of cooperation is influenced by the nature and magnitude of spillovers, relative to the nature and degree of product market competition. While cooperative profits are higher with large positive (exogenous, unintended) know‐how spillovers, such as in fundamental research, our anslysis shows that it may be easier to sustain cooperation in areas with lower spillovers, such as applied research, because of the smaller incenfives to cheat on the initial agreement, at least when firms produce substitutes. Alternatively, the possibility of technology sharing (i.e., intended or endogenous spillovers), besides R&D coordination, not only increases cooperative profits but also reduces the incentives to defect from a cooperative equilibrium.
Competitive Advantage and Internal Organization: Nucor Revisited
Authors: Ghemawat Pankaj
Published: January 2005

Why does the cost of organizing particular activities differ across competitors? This article explores in detail the organization of Nucor, a steel minimill that has sustained a significant cost advantage over its competitors. Nucor's past success highlights the complementarities among organizational policies and competitive advantage as well as barriers to the imitation of apparently superior organizational arrangements. The case study also suggests avenues for additional empirical and theoretical research.
Damaged Goods
Authors: Deneckere Raymond J. , Preston McAfee R.
Published: January 2005

Manufacturers may intentionally damage a portion of their goods in order to price discriminate. Many instances of this phenomenon are observed. It may result in a Pareto improvement.
R&D, Investment, and Industry Dynamics
Authors: Lach Saul , Rob Rafael
Published: January 2005

We present a model of industry evolution where the dynamics are driven by a process of endogenous innovations followed by subsequent embodiments in physical capital. Traditionally, the only distinction between R&D and physical investment was one of labeling: the first process accumulates an intangible stock, knowledge, while the second accumulates physical capital. Both stocks affect output in a symmetric fashion. We argue that the story is not that simple, and that there is more to it than differences in the object of accumulation. Our model stresses the causal relationship between past R&D expenditures and current investments in machinery and equipment. This causality pattern, which is supported by the data, also explains the observed higher volatility of physical investment relative to that of R&D expenditures.
Product Range and Interfirm Competition
Authors: Dobson Paul W. , Waterson Michael
Published: January 2005

We develop a simple model in which there is both interfirm (or intraproduct) and intrafirm (or interproduct) competition. The purpose is to develop a classificatoy framework in order to understand product‐range or diversification decisions alongside conventional competition. The equilibrium outcomes commonly involve a limited range of the available goods being produced. Deterrence equilibria and other strategic actions are also examined.
The Role of Debt in Procurement Contracts
Authors: Spiegel Yossef
Published: January 2005

This paper develops a theory of capital structure based on the attempts of a firm to alleviate a holdup problem that arises in its bilateral relationship with a buyer. It is shown that by issuing debt to outsiders, the firm can improve its ex post bargaining position vis‐a‐vis the buyer and capture a larger share of the ex post gains from trade. Debt, however, is costly because the buyer may find the required price too high and refuse to trade. Since debt raises the payoff of claimholders, it strengthens the firm's incentive to make relationship‐specific investments, and therefore alleviates the well‐known underinvestment problem. A comparative static analysis yields a number of testable hypotheses regarding the firm's financial strategy.
Vertical Integration, Foreclosure, and profits in the Presence of Double Marginalization
Authors: Gaudet Géarard , Van Long Ngo
Published: January 2005

Whether vertical integration between a downstream oligopolist and an upstream oligopolist is profitable for an integrated pair of firms is shown to depend on whether one means by this that profits increase no matter what other firms do, that all integrated firms are better off when all firms are integrated than when none are, or simply that no downstream‐upstream pair of firms has an incentive to deviate from a situation where all firms are integrated. It is also shown to depend on the number of firms in each oligopoly and on the type of interaction that is assumed between firms that are integrated and firms that are not. In particular, it is shown that if no restriction is put on trade between integrated and nonintegrated firms, integrated firms may continue to purchase inputs from the nonintegrated upstream firms, with the goal of raising their downstream rivals' costs. Furthermore, even though firms are identical, asymmetric equilibria, where integrated and nonintegrated firms coexist, may actually arise as an outcome of the integration game.
Termination Clauses in Long‐Term Contracts
Authors: Sen Arijit
Published: January 2005

Many long‐term contracts incorporate a termination clause. This paper argues that when agents have hidden information, such a clause has a beneficial incentive effect—it enables a principal to screen agents' private information at a lower cost. In a two‐period model, this paper characterizes the optimal long‐term contract with a termination clause, which specifies that the principal will switch agents in the second period when the first‐period cost is high. The analysis delineates how the optimality of this clause depends on the intertemporal cost correlation structure, on the limits to agents' liability, and on the principal's degree of commitment.
Managerial Incentives for Takeovers
Authors: Faulí‐Oller Ramon , Motta Massimo
Published: January 2005

The paper studies managerial incentives in a model where managers choose product market strategies and make takeover decisions. The equilibrium contract includes an incentive to increase the firm's sales, under either quantity or price Competition. This result contrasts with previous findings in the literature, and hinges on the fact that when managers are more aggressive, rival firms earn lower profits and thus are willing to sell out at a lower price. However, as a side effect of such a contract, the manager might undertake unprofitable takeovers.
Bankruptcy, Takeovers, and Wage Contracts
Authors: Brusco Sandro
Published: January 2005

Takeovers give raiders the opportunity of breaking implicit contracts inside the firm. If implicit contracts are adopted by workers and management to reach more efficient outcomes, then the possibility of takeovers may cause a welfare loss. We show that, under some conditions, this argument can go through even if the firm and the workers can write explicit and complete contracts. The crucial assumption is that the profitability of the firm is linked to its financial situation, in the sense that a firm which has a high probability of bankruptcy will face fewer opportunities than a financially solid firm. In this framework, the possibility of takeovers imposes constraints on the set of feasible employment contracts, leading to inefficient outcomes.
Post‐natal Changes of Cyclin‐dependent Kinase 5 Activator Expression in the Developing Rat Cerebellum
Authors: Jeong Y. G. , Lee K. Y. , Lee B. C. , Lee N. S. , Lee K. Y. , Won M. H. , Fukui Y.
Published: January 2005

cDNA of cyclin‐dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) was cloned based on its primary sequence homology to Cdc2 and Cdk2. Cdk5 requires the neuronal Cdk5 activators such as p35 or p39nck5ai (p39) for its activity. In this study, we examined post‐natal changes in the p39 expression pattern during the development of the rat cerebellum. p39 began to express in somata and dendrites of Purkinje cells at post‐natal day 3 (PD3). In particular, at PD12, parasagittal bands (stripes) with p39 immunoreactivity were weakly observed. At PD21, p39‐immunoreactive stripes were developed when compared with the PD12 group. At this age stage, p39 immunoreactivity became weak in somata of Purkinje cells, not forming stripes. At PD28, a series of parasagittal bands were more distinct than those of the PD21 group, and p39 immunoreactivity disappeared in Purkinje cells, not forming p39 immunoreactive stripes. In the adults, p39 immunoreactivity in Purkinje cells was similar to that found in the PD28 group which showed that parasagittal bands were very narrow, and became progressively more slender. Therefore, we suggest that the post‐natal changes of p39 expression in Purkinje cells in the cerebellum is an autonomous characteristic of Purkinje cells with a role of Cdk5 activators.
Nerve Fibres in the Parathyroid Gland of the Golden Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus): Immunohistochemical and Ultrastructural Investigations
Authors: Chen H. , Shoumura S. , Emura S.
Published: January 2005

We investigated the morphology and the distribution of the nerve fibres in golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) parathyroid glands using antibodies to calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and substance P, and electron microscopy. CGRP‐immunoreactive nerve fibres were densely distributed in the interstitial tissues and the capsules of the hamster parathyroid glands. Some nerve fibres were detected in close proximity of the parathyroid chief cells. The distribution pattern for substance P‐immunoreactive nerve fibres was roughly the same as for CGRP‐immunoreactive fibres. Ultrastructurally, we found numerous nerve fibres joining the blood vessels. Axon bundles were located adjacent to the smooth muscle cells of the arterioles. The axons formed structurally specialized neuromuscular junctions with the vascular smooth muscle cells. Some axons were in close vicinity to the parathyroid chief cells. These findings indicate that the hamster parathyroid gland contain CGRP and substance P, which may regulate the blood flow and the secretory activity of the gland.
Foraging Decision Rules and Prey Species Preferences of Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus)
Authors: O'Brien Erin L. , Burger Alan E. , Dawson Russell D.
Published: January 2005

Categorization of similar prey types and the application of decision rules by dietary generalists can enhance the efficiency of foraging decisions and facilitate the inclusion of novel prey types in the diet. While considerable research attention has been directed toward investigation of these concepts in invertebrates, few have assessed categorization and decision rules used by generalist vertebrate predators. In this study, we experimentally investigated decision rules and prey preferences of northwestern crows (Corvus caurinus) feeding on littleneck clams (Tapes philippinarum) and whelks (Nucella lamellosa). We presented crows with three species‐size combinations: small clams (2.0–2.9 cm length) paired with large whelks (4.0–4.9 cm), small clams paired with medium whelks (3.0–3.9 cm), and large clams (4.0–4.9 cm) with large whelks. Profitability estimates based on observations of crows feeding on these prey species indicated that clams were always the more energetically profitable option; however, in prey choice trials crows consistently selected the heavier prey species, regardless of differences in profitability. These results show that crows apply a general decision rule according to which they select heavier prey items when feeding on hard‐shelled prey requiring similar handling techniques, and that while such decision rules may approximate optimal choices they may not always follow predictions based solely on prey profitability. We discuss these results in the context of behavioural flexibility of generalist predators, and predicting impacts of intertidal avian predators on prey populations.
Dominance, Status Signals and Coloration in Male Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)
Authors: Setchell Joanna M. , Jean Wickings E.
Published: January 2005

Where individuals contest access to a resource, escalated physical fighting presents a risk to all involved. The requirement for mechanisms of conflict management has led to the evolution of a variety of decision rules and signals that act to reduce the frequency of aggression during competitive encounters. We examined strategies of conflict management in male mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) living in two semi‐free‐ranging groups in Gabon. Adult male mandrills are large (31 kg), with long canines, making the costs of conflict potentially very high. We found that males formed dominance hierarchies, but that male–male relationships were characterized by avoidance, appeasement and ignoring. Fights were rare, but could result in death. Examination of the relationship between dominance and signaling showed that males use facial and gestural signals to communicate dominance and subordinance, avoiding escalated conflict. Male mandrills also possess rank‐dependent red coloration on the face, rump and genitalia, and we examined the hypothesis that this coloration acts as a ‘badge of status’, communicating male fighting ability to other males. If this is the case, then similarity in color should lead to higher dyadic rates of aggression, while males that differ markedly should resolve encounters quickly, with the paler individual retreating. Indeed, appeasement (the ‘grin’ display), threats, fights and tense ‘stand‐off’ encounters were significantly more frequent between similarly colored males, while clear submission was more frequent where color differences were large. We conclude that male mandrills employ both formal behavioral indicators of dominance and of subordination, and may also use relative brightness of red coloration to facilitate the assessment of individual differences in fighting ability, thereby regulating the degree of costly, escalated conflict between well‐armed males.
Effect of dietary vitamin E and partial replacement of poly‐ with monounsaturated fat on fatty acid patterns of backfat and intramuscular fat in heavy pigs (Iberian × Duroc)
Authors: Daza A. , Rey A. I. , Isabel B. , Lopez‐Bote C. J.
Published: January 2005

The effects of partial replacement of dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) with monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) on fatty acid profiles of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat and rheological properties of fat were studied in heavy pigs. No effect of dietary fat was observed on total saturated fatty acids proportion in outer and inner backfat layers or intramuscular neutral and polar lipids. The partial substitution of dietary PUFA by MUFA produced a rise in MUFA of intramuscular polar lipids (p < 0.01) but neutral lipids were not affected. Moreover, it also decreased (p < 0.01) the n‐6 proportion of outer and inner backfat layers and intramuscular polar lipids, but no effect was observed for the n‐6 in the intramuscular neutral lipids. No significant effect of dietary fat treatment was observed on n‐3 fatty acids in outer and inner backfat layers, but the partial substitution of PUFA by MUFA increased (p < 0.01) the n‐3 proportion of intramuscular lipid fractions and the consequent decreased in the n‐6/n‐3 ratio in all lipid location. Significant effects of dietary vitamin E were observed on springiness, cohesiveness and adhesiveness of backfat inner layer. However, consistency was not affected by dietary fat. Further research is needed to establish the effects of different ranges of dietary oil combination in the feeding of heavy pigs.
Growth performance and body composition of goat kids fed milk replacers with increasing levels of linoleic acid
Authors: Yeom K.‐H. , Schonewille J. Th. , Everts H. , Lee K.‐W. , Van Trierum G. , Beynen A. C.
Published: January 2005

Twenty, 1–2‐day‐old goat kids were used in a feeding trial to investigate the effect of linoleic acid (LA) (C18:2n‐6) intake on weight gain and carcass composition. Eight animals were selected randomly and killed at the start of the trial to determine initial body composition. The other animals were assigned to the three dietary treatments and were fed milk replacers with varying LA concentrations (low: 5.5%; medium: 11.2% and high: 17.1% LA of total fatty acids) for 5 weeks. There was no systematic effect of LA intake on body composition. The average retentions of fat, protein, ash and energy were 46.3%, 61.2%, 42.2% and 37.4% respectively. Increased intakes of LA caused a significant increase in LA content of the carcass and of the weight gain, whereas there was a simultaneous decrease in fatty acids with 16 carbon atoms or less. The incorporation of LA into carcass was directly related to intake, but the percentage retention of LA remained constant. The data indicate that in goat kids the intake of extra LA raises the amount of LA in carcass but does not affect the total fat content.
Nitric oxide influences the meiotic maturation of porcine oocytes cultured in hypoxanthine‐supplemented medium
Authors: Tao J.Y. , Fu Z. , Zhang M.L. , Xia G. , Lei L. , Wu Z.L.
Published: January 2005

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in many pathological processes. The present investigation was undertaken to ascertain the effects of NO at high level on porcine oocyte meiotic development. Cumulus‐enclosed oocytes (CEOs) and denuded oocytes (DOs) were obtained from the follicles (2–6 mm diameter). Exogenous NO was provided with sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Control (0 mm), 0.1 mm, 1 mmor 10 mmSNP was introduced to the medium. Meanwhile, 0.1 mm, 1 mmand 10 mmpreincubated SNP was also added to the medium respectively. The cumulus expansion, cumulus cells DNA fragmentation, oocyte meiotic maturation and degeneration were determined 44 h after incubation. SNP inhibited cumulus expansion and cumulus cells DNA fragmentation in a dose‐dependent manner. Significantly fewer CEOs treated by any level of SNP resumed meiosis than control (p < 0.05) and more CEOs exposed to 0.1 mmor 1 mmSNP were arrested at GV stage. Moreover, SNP increased the percentage of CEOs at metaphase I (MI) stage but decreased the percentage of CEOs at metaphase II (MII) stage. 0.1 mmor 1 mmSNP showed no influence on the proportion of germinal vesicle breakdown of DOs and only 10 mmSNP reduced the proportion. SNP accelerated degeneration of both CEOs and DOs, especially at higher concentrations. DOs were more sensitive to SNP toxicity. Preincubated SNP showed no effect on cumulus expansion, cumulus cells DNA fragmentation, oocyte meiotic maturation or degeneration at lower concentration, but higher concentrations had effect, especially on the viability of porcine oocytes. Taken together, high level of NO inhibits porcine oocyte meiotic maturation, especially the transition from MI to MII, by mediating the functions of cumulus cells.
Effect of linseed oil supplementation on concentrations of (n‐3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in liver phospholipids of rats fed diets containing either an oil rich in conjugated linoleic acids, sunflower oil or high‐oleic acid sunflower oil
Authors: Eder K. , Slomma N. , Becker K. , Brandsch C.
Published: January 2005

This study investigated the metabolism of α‐linolenic acid and the formation of eicosanoids in rats fed diets with three different dietary fats (30 g/kg diet): either a conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) preparation with a high concentration of cis‐9, trans‐11 CLA (32.2 g/100 g) and trans‐10, cis‐12 CLA (33.3 g/100 g) and a low concentration of linoleic acid (0.5 g/100 g), sunflower oil (SFO) with a high concentration of linoleic acid or high‐oleic acid sunflower oil (HO‐SFO) with a high concentration of oleic acid. Basal diets with those oils were fed for 4 weeks. In the fifth week, the same diets supplemented with 50 g of linseed oil/kg as a source of α‐linolenic acid were fed. To study the effect of the oils on the metabolism of α‐linolenic acid, the amounts of individual (n‐3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in liver phospholipids (phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine) were determined; to study the effect on eicosanoid formation, the concentrations of various two‐series eicosanoids in liver and plasma, the activity of the secretory phospholipase A2 and the relative mRNA concentrations of cyclooxygenases‐1 and 2 in the liver were measured. Rats fed the CLA diets had the highest concentrations of long chain (n‐3) PUFA deriving from Δ6, Δ5 and Δ4‐desaturation of α‐linolenic acid in liver phospholipids; rats fed the SFO diet had the lowest concentrations of those fatty acids. The concentration of arachidonic acid in liver phospholipids and the concentrations of eicosanoids in liver and plasma were lowest in rats fed the CLA diet and highest in the rats fed the SFO diet. Moreover, rats fed the CLA diet had a higher gene expression of Δ6‐desaturase in the liver than the other two groups of rats. The results show that feeding the CLA oil reduced the formation of arachidonic acid and eicosanoids but enhanced the formation of long chain (n‐3) PUFA and their incorporation into tissue lipids when compared with feeding SFO or HO‐SFO.
Haemopoietic stem cell transplantation in Australia and New Zealand, 1992–2001: progress report from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry
Authors: Nivison‐Smith I. , Bradstock K. F. , Dodds A. J. , Hawkins P. A. , Szer J.
Published: January 2005

Background:  Bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantation is now used as curative therapy for a range of haematological malignancies and other conditions. The Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR) has recorded transplant activity in Australia since 1992; transplant centres in New Zealand have corresponded with the Registry since 1998.

Aim:  To describe allogeneic and autologous bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantation activity and outcomes in Australia and New Zealand from 1992 to 2001.

Methods:  Each haemopoietic stem cell transplant centre in Australia and New Zealand contributes information to the Registry via a single information form compiled when a transplant is performed. An annual follow‐up request is then sent from the Registry to the contributing centre at the anniversary of each individual transplant.

Results:  Haemopoietic stem cell transplants in Australia have increased in number from 478 in 1992 to 937 in 2001, whereas in New Zealand the number has grown from 91 in 1998 to 105 in 2001, mainly as a result of an increase in autologous blood stem cell transplants. The number of hospitals contributing to the ABMTRR has grown from 20 in 1992 to 37 in 2001. The most common indication for autologous transplantation in 2001 was non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma, whereas for allogeneic transplants it was acute myeloid leukaemia. The 9‐year actuarial disease‐free survival probability for patients aged 16 and above between 1992 and 2000 was 37% for autologous, 39% for allogeneic related donor and 30% for allogeneic unrelated donor transplants. Recurrence of the underlying disease was the main cause of death post‐transplant after both allogeneic (26.3% of deaths in the first year and 68.0% of deaths in the second year) and autologous transplants (59.0% and 86.2%). Treatment‐related mortality was 16.9% after allogeneic transplantation and 2.1% after autologous transplantation in 2000.

Conclusions:  The ABMTRR provides a comprehensive source of information on the use of bone marrow transplant, and allows for continuing analysis of changes in the application of this high‐cost technology and the outcome of patients undergoing these procedures. Registry data provide a means for directing future clinical research into perceived areas of priority for improvement of outcome, such as the reduction in the risk of disease recurrence post‐transplant. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 18–27)
Prospective audit of short‐term concurrent ketamine, opioid and anti‐inflammatory (‘triple‐agent’) therapy for episodes of acute on chronic pain
Authors: Good P. , Tullio F. , Jackson K. , Goodchild C. , Ashby M.
Published: January 2005

Aim:  This prospective audit was undertaken in order to document the analgesic response and adverse effects of concurrent short‐term (‘burst’) triple‐agent analgesic (ketamine, an opioid and an anti‐inflammatory agent – either steroidal or non‐steroidal) administration, for episodes of acute on chronic pain. The clinical hypothesis in this study is that better pain control may be obtained by simultaneous multiple target receptor blockade.

Method:  The response of 18 patients is reported. The pain and analgesic requirement data for the 24 h before starting triple‐agent therapy were compared with the last 24 h on the triple‐agent therapy. Patients were then classified as responders or non‐responders.

Results : According to stringent clinical criteria, 12 out of the 18 patients were classified as responders. The response rate was highest for somatic pain (7/9) and appeared to decrease with duration of prior uncontrolled pain. Only four out of the 18 patients reported adverse effects and all of these were minor.

Conclusions : The results suggest that this ‘burst’ triple‐agent approach is safe and effective in an inpatient palliative care population during episodes of poorly controlled acute on chronic pain, and warrants further investigation to ascertain whether it gives superior results compared to the ‘gold‐standard’ WHO ladder approach. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 39–44)
Scleroderma in Australian Aborigines
Authors: Zurauskas J. , Beroukas D. , Walker J. G. , Smith M. D. , Ahern M. J. , Roberts‐Thomson P. J.
Published: January 2005

Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis) has not been reported before in Australian Aborigines. We describe in detail a community middle‐aged Aboriginal woman whose diffuse scleroderma terminated fatally with a renal crisis. Moreover, we have identified a further five Aboriginal patients on the South Australian Scleroderma Register (two with diffuse, two with limited and one with overlap scleroderma), a number consistent with that expected from the 2001 census data for our state. However, an analysis of all antinuclear antibody (ANA) requests from the Top End of Australia over a 6‐year period revealed only two Aborigines with low titre anticentromere antibody (despite frequent occurrence of ANA with other specificities). Neither of these Aborigines had features of scleroderma. In conclusion, scleroderma does occur in indigenous Australians but further studies are needed to confirm the apparent infrequency of centromere‐associated limited scleroderma (which is the commonest form of scleroderma in our Caucasian population). (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 60–62)
Radiocontrast anaphylaxis with failure of premedication
Authors: Worthley D. L. , Gillis D. , Kette F. , Smith W.
Published: January 2005

Radiocontrast media (RCM) is used commonly in clinical practice, and can be associated with significant adverse effects. We report a patient who experienced severe anaphylaxis after being given multiple drugs. Challenge testing established allergy to both RCM and ceftriaxone. Premedication did not prevent recurrence of anaphylaxis on repeat challenge with RCM. The haemodynamic and serum tryptase consequences of the challenges are discussed, and a summary of RCM allergy is provided. (Intern Med J 2005; 35: 58−60)
Accuracy of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation by obstetricians using the criteria of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development compared with computer‐aided interpretation
Authors: Tongsong Theera , Iamthongin Arunsri , Wanapirak Chanane , Piyamongkol Wirawit , Sirichotiyakul Supatra , Boonyanurak Pongrak , Tatiyapornkul Teerapong , Neelasri Chanthawat
Published: January 2005

Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of fetal heart rate variability interpretation by obstetricians using the criteria of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), compared with computer‐aided analysis as a gold standard.

Methods: One hundred and fourteen panels of fetal heart‐rate tracings derived from electrocardiogram via scalp electrodes obtained from women with high‐risk pregnancies during the intrapartum period. The tracings were interpreted using computer analysis and recorded as a gold standard. The same tracings were distributed to six observers: three residents in the third year of training and three faculty members. All observers blindly interpreted the fetal heart‐rate variability without the knowledge of the computer analysis. The main outcome measures were: (i) the accuracy of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation by obstetricians using the NICHD criteria compared with computer‐aided analysis was presented as a percentage value; and (ii) the agreement of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation between the obstetricians and the computer analysis using the NICHD criteria was presented as a κ‐value.

Result: When using the computer analysis as a gold standard, the accuracy of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation in the residents group was 81.58%, 86.84% and 82.46%, respectively, with a mean of 83.62%, whereas the accuracy of the faculty members was 79.82%, 67.54% and 79.82%, respectively, with a mean of 75.73%. κ‐values, representing the agreement of interpretation, were 0.70, 0.78 and 0.72, with a mean of 0.73 ± 0.04 among the residents, and 0.67, 0.50 and 0.68, with a mean of 0.62 ± 0.10 among the faculty members. Agreements in the two groups were not significantly different (Student's t‐test, P = 0.14).

Conclusion: Using the NICHD criteria, the accuracy and agreement of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation in the third‐year residents and faculty members are substantial. There was no difference between the groups with regard to the agreement of fetal heart‐rate variability interpretation.
Cervical Ureaplasma urealyticum colonization might be associated with increased incidence of preterm delivery in pregnant women without prophlogistic microorganisms on routine examination
Authors: Mitsunari Masahiro , Yoshida Souichi , Deura Imari , Horie Sayako , Tsukihara Satoru , Harada Tasuku , Irie Takashi , Terakawa Naoki
Published: January 2005

Aim: We examined whether the detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum DNA in the cervix is associated with preterm labor and delivery.

Methods: Eighty‐two women (23 preterm labor cases and 59 controls) with no evidence of prophlogistic microorganisms on routine microbiologic examination were enrolled for this study. U. urealyticum colonization was examined using polymerase chain reaction of cervical swabs.

Results: The positivity rate of U. urealyticum DNA in preterm labor cases was significantly higher than that in the controls (87.0%vs 45.8%, P = 0.0007). Women in the U. urealyticum‐positive group more frequently delivered preterm compared with those in the negative group (36.2%vs 11.4%, P = 0.0111). In five cases that delivered preterm with histologically confirmed chorioamnionitis, U. urealyticum DNA was detected in the placenta.

Conclusions: Cervical U. urealyticum colonization might be associated with preterm labor and delivery.