bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A guide to multi‐centre ethics for surgical research in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Boult Maggi , Fitzpatrick Kate , Maddern Guy , Fitridge Robert
Published: October 2010

Background:  This paper describes existing inconsistencies as well as the disparate processes and logistics required when obtaining ethics approval in Australia and New Zealand in order to initiate a multi‐centre bi‐national surgical trial.

Methods:  The endovascular aortic aneurysm repair trial is a large multi‐centre trial that aims to obtain pre‐ and post‐operative data from patients in hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. As the trial was research based, ethics applications were submitted to all hospitals where surgeons wished to be involved in the trial.

Results:  Few ethics committees have embraced attempts to simplify the application process for multi‐centre trials. There was limited mutual review between Human Research Ethics Committees necessitating the submission of multiple applications. Though the use of the National Ethics Application Form in ethical review is increasing, some Human Research Ethics Committees do not accept it in its entirety; many require site‐specific applications or sections of the Common Application Form modules.

Conclusions:  Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand were the easiest systems to prepare, submit and lodge ethics applications because of their understanding and accommodation of reviewing multi‐centred trials. The time, expense and complexity of obtaining ethics approval for multi‐centre research projects are impediments to their establishment and reduce the time available for research. Australia is working to implement a system named the Harmonisation of Multi‐centre Ethical Review to ease the process of obtaining multi‐centre ethics clearance. Our experience suggests there will be some teething problems with implementation and acceptance.
Randomized, crossover study evaluating patient preference and the impact on quality of life of urisheaths vs absorbent products in incontinent men
Authors: Chartier‐Kastler Emmanuel , Ballanger Philippe , Petit Jacques , Fourmarier Marc , Bart Stéphane , Ragni‐Ghazarossian Evelyne , Ruffion Alain , Le Normand Loïc , Costa Pierre
Published: October 2010

Study Type – Therapy (RCT)

Level of Evidence 1b

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of urisheaths vs absorbent products (APs) on quality of life (QoL) in men with moderate to severe urinary incontinence (UI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A randomized, controlled, crossover trial in 61 outpatient adult men with stable, moderate to severe UI, with no concomitant faecal incontinence, was conducted from June 2007 to February 2009 in 14 urology centres.

Participants tested Conveen Optima urisheaths (Coloplast, Humlebaek, Denmark) with collecting bags and their usual AP in random order for 2 weeks each.

The impact of each on QoL was measured using the King’s Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and the short form‐12 acute questionnaire, and each patient’s preference was recorded.

A 10‐item patient questionnaire was also used to assess the product main advantages on an 11‐point scale (0: worst; 10: best). A 72‐h leakage diary was used to record the number and severity of leaks and daily product consumption. Safety was measured as the number of local adverse events.

RESULTS

All dimensions of the KHQ were scored lower with urisheaths, indicating an improvement in QoL. The greatest mean score reductions were in Limitations of Daily Activities (−10.24, P= 0.01) and Incontinence Impact (−7.05, P= 0.045).

The majority (69%) of patients preferred Conveen Optima urisheaths to their usual AP (P = 0.002).

Urisheaths scored significantly higher for all categories in the patient questionnaire (efficacy, self‐image, odour management, discretion, skin integrity) except ease of use.

Safety was considered to be good.

CONCLUSIONS

Conveen Optima urisheaths showed a positive impact on QoL (according to the KHQ results) in moderate to severe incontinent men, who were long‐term users of APs, and participants largely preferred urisheaths.

Conveen Optima urisheaths should be recommended to incontinent men in preference to APs.
Bayesian Non-Parametric Hidden Markov Models with Applications in Genomics
Authors: Yau C. , Papaspiliopoulos O. , Roberts G. O. , Holmes C.
Published: October 2010

We propose a flexible non-parametric specification of the emission distribution in hidden Markov models and we introduce a novel methodology for carrying out the computations. Whereas current approaches use a finite mixture model, we argue in favour of an infinite mixture model given by a mixture of Dirichlet processes. The computational framework is based on auxiliary variable representations of the Dirichlet process and consists of a forward–backward Gibbs sampling algorithm of similar complexity to that used in the analysis of parametric hidden Markov models. The algorithm involves analytic marginalizations of latent variables to improve the mixing, facilitated by exchangeability properties of the Dirichlet process that we uncover in the paper. A by-product of this work is an efficient Gibbs sampler for learning Dirichlet process hierarchical models. We test the Monte Carlo algorithm proposed against a wide variety of alternatives and find significant advantages. We also investigate by simulations the sensitivity of the proposed model to prior specification and data-generating mechanisms. We apply our methodology to the analysis of genomic copy number variation. Analysing various real data sets we find significantly more accurate inference compared with state of the art hidden Markov models which use finite mixture emission distributions.
Inference on the Primary Parameter of Interest with the Aid of Dimension Reduction Estimation
Authors: Li Lexin , Zhu Liping , Zhu Lixing
Published: October 2010

As high dimensional data become routinely available in applied sciences, sufficient dimension reduction has been widely employed and its research has received considerable attention. However, with the majority of sufficient dimension reduction methodology focusing on the dimension reduction step, complete analysis and inference after dimension reduction have yet to receive much attention. We couple the strategy of sufficient dimension reduction with a flexible semiparametric model. We concentrate on inference with respect to the primary variables of interest, and we employ sufficient dimension reduction to bring down the dimension of the regression effectively. Extensive simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the method proposed, and a real data analysis is presented for illustration.
UVB 308‐nm excimer light and bath PUVA: combination therapy is very effective in the treatment of prurigo nodularis
Authors: Hammes S. , Hermann J. , Roos S. , Ockenfels H.M.
Published: October 2010

Background  Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with nodular itching lesions. UV therapy – both PUVA and NUVB – are known to clear up PN temporarily due to the antipruritic effect of UV light. However, relapse after treatment is common in PN, which means that either long‐term therapy is necessary or the treatment protocols have to be optimized to minimize side‐effects.

Objective  The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect that combining bath PUVA and targeted UVB 308 nm excimer radiation has on recalcitrant nodular prurigo.

Methods  In a prospective trial, 22 patients with PN were treated with either PUVA alone or with a combination of PUVA and excimer UVB. The end point was complete or almost complete remission of PN.

Results  Adding a 308‐nm excimer UVB to the treatment of the pruritic nodules sped up the healing process; 30% less PUVA radiation was needed.

Conclusion  The combination of PUVA and excimer UVB in PN appears to be very efficacious. Reducing psoralen UVA doses by 30% offered long‐term benefits in phototherapy of chronic recalcitrant diseases like PN.
Human microvascular lymphatic and blood endothelial cells produce fibrillin: deposition patterns and quantitative analysis
Authors: Rossi Antonella , Gabbrielli Erica , Villano Marilisa , Messina Mario , Ferrara Francesco , Weber Elisabetta
Published: October 2010

Fibrillin microfibrils constitute a scaffold for elastin deposition in the wall of arteries and form the anchoring filaments that connect the lymphatic endothelium to surrounding elastic fibers. We previously reported that fibrillin is deposited in a honeycomb pattern in bovine arterial endothelial cells, which also deposit microfibril‐associated glycoprotein (MAGP)‐1, whereas thoracic duct endothelial cells form an irregular web. The present immunohistochemical study was designed to verify whether lymphatic and blood human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMECs) isolated from human foreskin by the sequential use of a pan‐endothelial marker, CD31, and the lymphatic specific marker, D2‐40, deposit fibrillin and MAGP‐1. In both cell types, fibrillin and MAGP‐1 co‐localized and were deposited with different patterns of increasing complexity co‐existing in the same culture. Fibrillin microfibrils formed a wide‐mesh honeycomb leaving fibrillin‐free spaces that were gradually filled. This modality of fibrillin deposition, similar to that of bovine large artery endothelial cells, was basically the same in blood and lymphatic HDMECs. In some lymphatic HDMECs, fibrillin was initially deposited as uniformly scattered short fibrillin strands probably as a result of anchoring filaments carried over from the vessels of origin. Our findings show that blood and lymphatic endothelial cells participate in fibrillin deposition in human skin.
Distribution of VGF peptides in the human cortex and their selective changes in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases
Authors: Cocco Cristina , D’Amato Filomena , Noli Barbara , Ledda Antonella , Brancia Carla , Bongioanni Paolo , Ferri Gian‐Luca
Published: October 2010

VGF mRNA and its precursor‐derived products are selectively expressed in certain neurons and promptly respond to neurotrophins and to neural/electrical activity. Proteomic studies have previously revealed a reduction in some VGF peptides in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions, suggesting their potential diagnostic and clinical significance. As the presence of VGF peptides within the human cortex has been somewhat elucidated, they were studied postmortem in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex areas of control subjects and patients affected by Parkinson’s disease, and in parietal cortex samples from patients with Alzheimer’s disease. We raised antibodies to the C‐/N‐terminal portions of the proVGF precursor protein, to the TPGH and TLQP sequences and to the neuroendocrine regulatory peptide (NERP)‐1, all used for enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay coupled with gel chromatography and for immunohistochemistry. In the control brain samples, the levels of TPGH and C‐terminus peptides were about 130–200 and 700–2000 pmol g−1, respectively, the N‐terminus and NERP‐1 peptides were less represented (about 10–30 and 4–20 pmol g−1, respectively), and the TLQP peptides were below detection limits. Upon gel chromatography, the VGF antisera mainly revealed small molecular weight forms (i.e. about 0.8–1.3 kDa), whereas VGF immunolocalisation was found within different types of neuron in rat and bovine brain cortices. In the Parkinson’s disease samples, a clear‐cut decrease was revealed in the parietal cortex only, exclusively for TPGH and NERP‐1 peptides, whereas in the Alzheimer’s disease samples, a reduction in all of the VGF peptides was shown. The results suggest the involvement of VGF in the physiological or pathophysiological mechanisms occurring in the parietal cortex of patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Astrocytes in injury states rapidly produce anti‐inflammatory factors and attenuate microglial inflammatory responses
Authors: Kim Jong‐hyeon , Min Kyoung‐Jin , Seol Wongi , Jou Ilo , Joe Eun‐hye
Published: October 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 1161–1171.

Microglia are known to be a primary inflammatory cell type in the brain. However, microglial inflammatory responses are attenuated in the injured brain compared to those in cultured pure microglia. In the present study, we found that astrocytes challenged by oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD) or H2O2 released soluble factor(s) and attenuated microglial inflammatory responses. Conditioned medium prepared from astrocytes treated with OGD (OGD‐ACM) or H2O2 (H2O2‐ACM) significantly reduced the levels of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ)‐induced microglial inflammatory mediators, including inducible nitric oxide synthase, at both the mRNA and protein levels. The anti‐inflammatory effect of astrocytes appeared very rapidly (within 5 min), but was not closely correlated with the extent of astrocyte damage. Both OGD‐ACM and H2O2‐ACM inhibited STAT nuclear signaling, as evidenced by a reduction in both STAT‐1/3 binding to the IFN‐γ‐activated site and IFN‐γ‐activated site promoter activity. However, both phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of STAT‐1/3 was unchanged in IFN‐γ‐treated microglia. The active component(s) in OGD‐ACM were smaller than 3 kDa, and displayed anti‐inflammatory effects independent of protein synthesis. These results suggest that, in the injured brain, astrocytes may act as a controller to rapidly suppress microglial activation.
Locus‐wide identification of Egr2/Krox20 regulatory targets in myelin genes
Authors: Jang Sung‐Wook , Srinivasan Rajini , Jones Erin A , Sun Guannan , Keles Sunduz , Krueger Courtney , Chang Li‐Wei , Nagarajan Rakesh , Svaren John
Published: October 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 1409–1420.

Myelination of peripheral nerves by Schwann cells depends upon a gene regulatory network controlled by early growth response Egr2/Krox20, which is specifically required for Schwann cells to initiate and maintain myelination. To elucidate the mechanism by which Egr2 regulates gene expression during myelination, we have performed chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis on myelinating rat sciatic nerve in vivo. The resulting samples were applied to a tiled microarray consisting of a broad spectrum of genes that are activated or repressed in Egr2‐deficient mice. The results show extensive binding within myelin‐associated genes, as well as some genes that become repressed in myelinating Schwann cells. Many of the Egr2 peaks coincide with regions of open chromatin, which is a marker of enhancer regions. In addition, further analysis showed that there is substantial colocalization of Egr2 binding with Sox10, a transcription factor required for Schwann cell specification and other stages of Schwann cell development. Finally, we have found that Egr2 binds to promoters of several lipid biosynthetic genes, which is consistent with their dramatic up‐regulation during the formation of lipid‐rich myelin. Overall, this analysis provides a locus‐wide profile of Egr2 binding patterns in major myelin‐associated genes using myelinating peripheral nerve.
Neuronal hyperexcitability and seizures are associated with changes in glial–neuronal interactions in the hippocampus of a mouse model of epilepsy with mental retardation
Authors: Melø Torun , Bigini Paolo , Sonnewald Ursula , Balosso Silvia , Cagnotto Alfredo , Barbera Sara , Uboldi Sarah , Vezzani Annamaria , Mennini Tiziana
Published: October 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 1445–1454.

Hippocampal excitability and the metabolic glial–neuronal interactions were investigated in 22‐week‐old mice with motor neuron degeneration (mnd), a model of progressive epilepsy with mental retardation. Mnd mice developed spontaneous spikes in the hippocampus and were more susceptible to kainate‐induced seizures compared with control mice. Neuronal hyperexcitability in their hippocampus was confirmed by the selective increase of c‐Fos positive nuclei. Glial activation and pro‐inflammatory cytokines over‐expression were observed in the hippocampus of mnd mice, even in the absence of marked hippocampal neurodegeneration, as suggested by unchanged amounts of neuroactive amino acids and N‐acetyl aspartate. Concentration of other amino acids, including GABA and glutamate, was not changed as well. However, ex vivo13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy, after simultaneous injection of [1‐13C]glucose and [1,2‐13C]acetate, followed by decapitation, showed decreased [1,2‐13C]GABA formation from hippocampal astrocytic precursors and a marked reduction in [4,5‐13C]glutamate derived from glutamine. We suggest that astrocyte dysfunction plays a primary role in the pathology and that mnd mice are of value to investigate early pathogenetic mechanism of progressive epilepsy with mental retardation.
Mass‐spectrometry based oxidative lipidomics and lipid imaging: applications in traumatic brain injury
Authors: Sparvero Louis J. , Amoscato Andrew A. , Kochanek Patrick M. , Pitt Bruce R. , Kagan Valerian E. , Bayır Hülya
Published: October 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 1322–1336.

Lipids, particularly phospholipids, are fundamental to CNS tissue architecture and function. Endogenous polyunsaturated fatty acid chains of phospholipids possess cis‐double bonds each separated by one methylene group. These phospholipids are very susceptible to free‐radical attack and oxidative modifications. A combination of analytical methods including different versions of chromatography and mass spectrometry allows detailed information to be obtained on the content and distribution of lipids and their oxidation products thus constituting the newly emerging field of oxidative lipidomics. It is becoming evident that specific oxidative modifications of lipids are critical to a number of cellular functions, disease states and responses to oxidative stresses. Oxidative lipidomics is beginning to provide new mechanistic insights into traumatic brain injury which may have significant translational potential for development of therapies in acute CNS insults. In particular, selective oxidation of a mitochondria‐specific phospholipid, cardiolipin, has been associated with the initiation and progression of apoptosis in injured neurons thus indicating new drug discovery targets. Furthermore, imaging mass‐spectrometry represents an exciting new opportunity for correlating maps of lipid profiles and their oxidation products with structure and neuropathology. This review is focused on these most recent advancements in the field of lipidomics and oxidative lipidomics based on the applications of mass spectrometry and imaging mass spectrometry as they relate to studies of phospholipids in traumatic brain injury.
Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids are endogenous regulators of vasoactive neuropeptide release from trigeminal ganglion neurons
Authors: Iliff Jeffrey J. , Fairbanks Stacy L. , Balkowiec Agnieszka , Alkayed Nabil J.
Published: October 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 115, 1530–1542.

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are bioactive eicosanoids produced from arachidonic acid by cytochrome P450 epoxygenases. We previously described the expression of cytochrome P450‐2J epoxygenase in rat trigeminal ganglion neurons and that EETs signaling is involved in cerebrovascular dilation resulting from perivascular nerve stimulation. In this study, we evaluate the presence of the EETs signaling pathway in trigeminal ganglion neurons and their role in modulating the release of calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) by trigeminal ganglion neurons. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry identified the presence of each of the four EETs regio‐isomers within primary trigeminal ganglion neurons. Stimulation for 1 h with the transient receptor potential vanilloid‐1 channel agonist capsaicin (100 nmol/L) or depolarizing K+ (60 mmol/L) increased CGRP release as measured by ELISA. Stimulation‐evoked CGRP release was attenuated by 30 min pre‐treatment with the EETs antagonist 14,15‐epoxyeicosa‐5(Z)‐enoic acid (14,15‐EEZE, 10 μmol/L). K+ stimulation elevated CGRP release 2.9 ± 0.3‐fold above control levels, whereas in the presence of 14,15‐EEZE K+‐evoked CGRP release was significantly reduced to 1.1 ± 0.2‐fold above control release (p < 0.01 anova, n = 6). 14,15‐EEZE likewise attenuated capsaicin‐evoked CGRP release from trigeminal ganglion neurons (p < 0.05 anova, n = 6). Similarly, pre‐treatment with the cytochrome P450 epoxygenase inhibitor attenuated stimulation‐evoked CGRP release. These data demonstrate that EETs are endogenous constituents of rat trigeminal ganglion neurons and suggest that they may act as intracellular regulators of neuropeptide release, which may have important clinical implications for treatment of migraine, stroke and vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Why a Child Needs a Critical Eye, and Why the Art Classroom is Central in Developing it
Authors: Knight Linda
Published: October 2010

It is a common acceptance that contemporary schoolchildren live in a world that is intensely visual and commercially motivated, where what is imagined and what is experienced intermingle. Because of this, contemporary education should encourage a child to make reference to, and connection with their ‘out‐of‐school’ life.

The core critical underpinnings of curriculum‐based arts appreciation and theory hinge on educators and students taking a historical look at the ways artists have engaged with, and made comment upon, their contemporary societies. My article uses this premise to argue for the need to persist with pushing for critique of/through the visual, that it be delivered as an active process via the arts classroom rather than as visual literacy, here regarded as a more passive process for interpreting and understanding visual material.

The article asserts that visual arts lessons are best placed to provide fully students with such critique because they help students to develop a ‘critical eye’, an interpretive lens often used by artists to view, analyse and independently navigate and respond to contemporary society.
Motherhood, Sexuality, and Pregnant Embodiment: Twenty-Five Years of Gestation
Authors: Oliver Kelly
Published: October 2010

My essay is framed byHypatia's first special issue on Motherhood and Sexuality at one end, and by the most recent special issue (as of this writing) on the work of Iris Young, whose work on pregnant embodiment has become canonical, at the other. The questions driving this essay are: When we look back over the last twenty-five years, what has changed in our conceptions of pregnancy and maternity, both in feminist theory and in popular culture? What aspects of feminist debates from the 1970s and 1980s are still relevant today? And, how might what appear to be radical shifts in popular perceptions of pregnancy actually continue traditional values that objectify and “abjectify” the maternal body?

Here, I will focus on three central elements of the revaluation of pregnancy and maternity as they show up in feminist philosophy and in popular culture: 1. The relationship between pregnancy and sexuality, both in terms of pregnant sexuality and in terms of the pregnant body as sexual object; 2. The “choice” to become a mother as a “feminist choice”; 3. The temporality of pregnancy and birth as marking something like “women's time.”
Abstraction and Justification in Moral Theory
Authors: Stark Cynthia A.
Published: October 2010

Ethicists of care have objected to traditional moral philosophy's reliance upon abstract universal principles. They claim that the use of abstraction renders traditional theories incapable of capturing morally relevant, particular features of situations. I argue that this objection sometimes conflates two different levels of moral thinking: the level of justification and the level of deliberation. Specifically, I claim that abstraction or attention to context at the level of justification does not entail, as some critics seem to think, a commitment to abstraction or attention to context at the level of deliberation. It follows that critics who reject a theory's use of abstraction at the level of justification have not shown that the theory recommends abstraction at the level of deliberation. It follows that critics who reject a theory's use of abstraction at the level of justification have not shown that the theory recommends abstraction at the level of deliberation and that it, therefore, compels the deliberating agent to overlook morally salient details.
What Lies Ahead: Envisioning New Futures for Feminist Philosophy
Authors: Intemann Kristen , Lee Emily S. , McCartney Kristin , Roshanravan Shireen , Schriempf Alexa
Published: October 2010

Thanks in large part to the record of scholarship fostered byHypatia, feminist philosophers are now positioned not just as critics of the canon, but as innovators advancing uniquely feminist perspectives for theorizing about the world. As relatively junior feminist scholars, the five of us were called upon to provide some reflections on emerging trends in feminist philosophy and to comment on its future. Despite the fact that we come from diverse subfields and philosophical traditions, four common aims emerged in our collaboration as central to the future of feminist philosophies. We seek to: 1) challenge universalist and essentialist frameworks without ceding to relativism; 2) center coloniality and embodiment in our analyses of the intermeshed realities of race and gender by shifting from oppression in the abstract to concrete cosmologies and struggles, particularly those of women of color and women of colonized communities across the globe; 3) elaborate the materialities of thought, being, and community that must succeed atomistic conceptions of persons as disembodied, individually constituted, and autonomous; 4) demonstrate what is distinctive and valuable about feminist philosophy, while fighting persistent marginalization within the discipline. In our joint musings here, we attempt to articulate how future feminist philosophies might advance these aims, as well as some of the challenges we face.
A ONE‐SHOT SOLUTION TO BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL CONTAMINATION IN THE GREEN ALGA CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII CULTURE BY USING AN ANTIBIOTIC COCKTAIL1
Authors: Kan Yinan , Pan Junmin
Published: October 2010

Keeping sterile stocks or cultures of microalgae is fundamental to microalgae biotechnology as well as basic scientific research. However, contamination by bacteria and/or fungi in microalgae cultures or stocks is often a problem. Here, we have developed a strategy for reducing or eliminating bacterial and fungal contamination by using a cocktail of antibiotics. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii P. A. Dang., a widely used unicellular green alga, has been used as a testing organism. A combination of ampicillin, cefotaxime, and carbendazim removed or reduced contamination by three different bacteria and two different fungi tested. A step‐by‐step procedure is provided, which is simple, economical, and effective.
Scenario Analysis
Authors: Erdmann Lorenz , Hilty Lorenz M.
Published: October 2010

During the past decade, several macroeconomic studies on the potentials of information and communication technology (ICT) to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been published. The mitigation potentials identified in them vary to a high degree, mainly because they are not consistently defined and diverse methodologies are applied. The characteristics of ICT—exceptional dynamics of innovation and diffusion, social embedment and cross‐sector application, diverse and complex impact patterns—are a challenge for macroeconomic studies that quantify ICT impacts on GHG emissions.

This article first reviews principal macroeconomic studies on ICT and GHG emissions. In the second part, we reconsider our own study on this topic and present an in‐depth scenario analysis of the future impacts of ICT applications on GHG emissions. We conclude that forthcoming macroeconomic studies could strengthen the state of the art in environmental ICT impact modeling (1) by accounting for the dynamics of new ICT applications and their first‐, second‐, and third‐order effects on a global scale, (2) by reflecting the error margins resulting from data uncertainty in the final results, and (3) by using scenario techniques to explore future uncertainty and its impacts on the results.
New Product Development 2.0: Preference Markets—How Scalable Securities Markets Identify Winning Product Concepts and Attributes*
Authors: Dahan Ely , Soukhoroukova Arina , Spann Martin
Published: October 2010

Preference markets address the need for scalable, fast, and engaging market research in new product development. The Web 2.0 paradigm, in which users contribute numerous ideas that may lead to new products, requires new methods of screening those ideas for their marketability, and preference markets offer just such a mechanism. For faster new product development decisions, a flexible prioritization methodology is implemented for product features and concepts, one that scales up in the number of testable alternatives, limited only by the number of participants. New product preferences for concepts, attributes, and attribute levels are measured by trading stocks whose prices are based upon share of choice of new products and features. A conceptual model of scalable preference markets is developed and tested experimentally. Benefits of the methodology are found to include speed (less than one hour per trading experiment), scalability (question capacity grows linearly in the number of traders),  flexibility (features and concepts can be tested simultaneously), and respondent enthusiasm for the method.
Benefits of Aesthetic Design as an Element of New Service Development*
Authors: Candi Marina
Published: October 2010

The goal of this research is to investigate the benefits that may be gained from using aesthetic design in new service development. The research is performed in two phases. In the first phase, case research examining the use of aesthetic design in 16 new service development projects in new technology‐based firms is used to determine the objectives underlying managers' decisions to use aesthetic design in new service development. The results of the case research suggest that the objectives underlying managers' decisions to use aesthetic design in new service development are attracting new customers, creating and fostering a positive image of their firm in their market, retaining existing customers, and doing so at lower cost. In the second phase, the results of the case research are used to generate hypotheses that are tested using longitudinal survey data collected in 98 new technology‐based firms. The findings suggest that by and large the benefits expected by managers are realized. The practitioner implications of this research are that new technology‐based firms that emphasize the use of aesthetic design in new service development can expect to have a greater proportion of sales from new customers, be less dependent on a few large customers, be more successful in entering new markets, have a more favorable firm image, and enjoy higher turnover growth from existing customers and higher profits than comparable firms not using aesthetic design. The data do not provide support for the hypothesis that firms using aesthetic design in new service development will have customers that are less inclined to switch their allegiance to competitors, whereas it does support the hypothesis that firms using aesthetic design will enjoy higher turnover growth from existing customers than others. This could indicate that, although firms cannot expect to retain customer loyalty based on aesthetic design, they can expect to earn greater revenues from customers who do remain loyal if they emphasize aesthetic design.
Exchange‐Traded Fund Introductions and Closed‐End Fund Discounts and Volume
Authors: Barnhart Scott W. , Rosenstein Stuart
Published: October 2010

Exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), like closed‐end funds (CEFs), are managed portfolios traded like individual stocks. We hypothesize that the introduction of an ETF in an asset class similar to an existing CEF results in a substitution effect that reduces the value of the CEF's shares relative to that of its underlying assets. Our event studies show that upon the introduction of a similar ETF, CEF discounts widen significantly and relative volume declines significantly. Single‐equation and systems estimation models show that the widening in discounts and reduction in volume are related to returns‐based measures of the substitutability of ETFs for CEFs.
Oil and the Stock Market: An Industry Level Analysis
Authors: Gogineni Sridhar
Published: October 2010

I investigate the impact of daily oil price changes on the stock returns of a wide array of industries. I find that in addition to the stock returns of industries that depend heavily on oil, stock returns of some industries that use little oil also are sensitive to oil prices perhaps because their main customers are impacted by oil price changes. In addition, I present robust estimates of industries’ cost‐side and demand‐side dependence on oil. These measures can serve as reliable benchmarks when classifying industries into oil‐intensive and non–oil‐intensive groups, a distinction widely used in studies and media without any quantitative justification so far. Further, I find that the sensitivity of industries’ returns to oil price changes depends on both the cost‐side and demand‐side dependence on oil and that the relative effects of these factors vary across industries.
Using Four‐Moment Tail Risk to Examine Financial and Commodity Instrument Diversification
Authors: You Leyuan , Daigler Robert T.
Published: October 2010

We consider the effect of higher moments on diversification, since most assets possess a potential for tail losses. In particular, we examine higher‐moment Value‐at‐Risk measures for individual instruments and diversified portfolios. We find that a naïve futures portfolio is consistently superior to common stock indexes. As few as ten randomly chosen instruments diversify away 85% of the unsystematic four‐moment tail risk. We also compare the two‐ and four‐moment tail risks for different size portfolios. Finally, the tail risk for naïve portfolios varies much less over time than other portfolios.
Baseline Heart Rate Variability Predicts Clinical Events in Heart Failure Patients Implanted with Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Validation by Means of Related Complexity Index
Authors: Molon Giulio , Solimene Francesco , Melissano Donato , Curnis Antonio , Belotti Giuseppina , Marrazzo Natale , Marczyk Jacek , Accardi Francesco , Raciti Giovanni , Zecchi Paolo
Published: October 2010

Background: Studies on the physiology of the cardiovascular system suggest that generation of the heart rate (HR) signal is governed by nonlinear dynamics. Linear and nonlinear indices of HR variability (HRV) have been shown to predict outcome in heart failure (HF). Aim of the present study is to assess if a HR‐related complexity predicts adverse clinical and cardiovascular events at 1 year in patients implanted with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods: In sixty patients implanted with CRT (Renewal), 24‐hour HR data were retrieved at patient discharge and 1‐year follow‐up. A set of linear indices of HRV were considered: mean HR, standard deviation of normal beat to normal beat (SDANN), and HR footprint. Two novel nonlinear indices were calculated by means of a specific algorithm (OntoSpace): HR‐complexity (HR‐Co) and HR‐entropy (HR‐En). Predictors of adverse clinical outcome (functional class deterioration or major hospitalizations for cardiovascular causes or all‐cause mortality) and of HRV recovery were sought by means of multivariate analysis.

Results: HR‐Co and HR‐En were found to be highly correlated with the other traditional indices of HRV. Lower baseline values of complexity were associated with adverse clinical outcomes (hazard ratio [HR] 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54–0.95; P < 0.02).

Conclusion: Complexity and entropy indices, calculated from 24‐hour normal beat to normal beat (RR) intervals well represent patient's autonomic function. In this limited set of data, HF patients with lower baseline complexity‐related indices, representing a more compromised autonomic function, present worse clinical outcome at 1‐year follow‐up.

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2010;15(4):301–307
Is “Hyper Response” to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients with Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy a Recovery, a Remission, or a Control?
Authors: Castellant Philippe , Orhan Erwann , Bertault‐Valls Valerie , Fatemi Marjaneh , Etienne Yves , Blanc Jean‐Jacques
Published: October 2010

Background and Objectives: Some patients treated by cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) recover “normal” left ventricular (LV) function and functional status. However, whether this “normalization” persists or reverts over time remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long‐term outcomes of LV function in patients hyper responder to CRT.

Methods: Eleven consecutive patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, sinus rhythm, left bundle branch block (LBBB), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV, and optimal pharmacological treatment were hyper responder as they fulfilled concurrently the two following criteria: functional recovery (NYHA class I or II) and normalization of LV ejection fraction (LVEF).

Results: After a mean follow‐up of 65 ± 30 months between CRT implantation and last evaluation LVEF improved from 26 ± 9 to 59 ± 6% (P < 0.0001). One patient died from pulmonary embolism 31 months after implantation. Three patients exhibited LVEF ≤ 50% at their last follow‐up visit (two at 40% and one at 45%). In eight patients, brief cessation of pacing was feasible (three were pacemaker‐dependent). Mean QRS duration decreased from 181 ± 23 ms to 143 ± 22 ms (P = 0.006). In one patient, pacing was interrupted for 2 years and LVEF decreased markedly (from 65% to 31%) but returned to normal after a few months when pacing was resumed.

Conclusion: In hyper responder patients, “normalization” of LV function after CRT persists as long as pacing is maintained with an excellent survival.

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2010;15(4):321‐327
P‐Wave Indices: Derivation of Reference Values from the Framingham Heart Study
Authors: Magnani Jared W. , Johnson Victor M. , Sullivan Lisa M. , Lubitz Steven A. , Schnabel Renate B. , Ellinor Patrick T. , Benjamin Emelia J.
Published: October 2010

Background: P‐wave indices, an electrocardiographic phenotype reflecting atrial electrophysiology and morphology, may be altered in multiple disease states or by cardiovascular risk factors. Reference values for P‐wave indices, providing cut points for their classification and interpretation, have not yet been established and are essential toward facilitating clinical application and comparison between studies.

Methods: We randomly selected 20 men and 20 women from 10‐year age intervals between <25 years to 76–85 years from the Framingham Heart Study Original and Offspring Cohorts, excluding subjects with prevalent cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes or obesity. The total included 295 subjects; eligibility in women >75 years was limited by exclusion criteria. We used a digital measurement technique with demonstrated intrarater reproducibility to determine P‐wave indices. P‐wave indices examined included the maximum, mean, lead II and PR durations, dispersion, and the standard deviation of duration.

Results: All P‐wave indices were significantly (P < 0.0001) correlated with advancing age. Means of all P‐wave indices were lower in women as compared to men. PR‐interval duration was strongly correlated with maximum, mean, and lead II mean P‐wave durations. In multivariable models adjusting for significant anthropometric and clinical associations risk factors, significant differences persisted by age and sex in P‐wave indices.

Conclusions. In our healthy sample without cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, or obesity, men and older subjects had longer mean P‐wave indices. Our description of P‐wave indices establishes reference values for future comparative studies and facilitates the classification of P‐wave indices.

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2010;15(4):344‐352
Family with Suspect LQTS
Authors: Goldenberg Ilan , Huang David T. , Balakrishnan Sangeetha , Viskin Sami
Published: October 2010

Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2010;15(4):384‐386
Nucleomorph Ribosomal DNA and Telomere Dynamics in Chlorarachniophyte Algae
Authors: SILVER TIA D. , MOORE CHRISTA E. , ARCHIBALD JOHN M.
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT. Chlorarachniophytes are enigmatic marine unicellular algae that acquired photosynthesis by secondary endosymbiosis. Chlorarachniophytes are unusual in that the nucleus of the engulfed algal cell (a green alga) persists in a miniaturized form, termed a nucleomorph. The nucleomorph genome of the model chlorarachniophyte, Bigelowiella natans CCMP621, is 373 kilobase pairs (kbp) in size, the smallest nuclear genome characterized to date. The B. natans nucleomorph genome is composed of three chromosomes, each with canonical eukaryotic telomeres and sub‐telomeric ribosomal DNA (rDNA) operons transcribed away from the chromosome end. Here we present the complete rDNA operon and telomeric region from the nucleomorph genome of Lotharella oceanica CCMP622, a newly characterized chlorarachniophyte strain with a genome ∼610 kbp in size, significantly larger than all other known chlorarachniophytes. We show that the L. oceanica rDNA operon is in the opposite chromosomal orientation to that of B. natans. Furthermore, we determined the rDNA operon orientation of five additional chlorarachniophyte strains, the majority of which possess the same arrangement as L. oceanica, with the exception of Chlorarachnion reptans and those very closely related to B. natans. It is thus possible that the ancestral rDNA operon orientation of the chlorarachniophyte nucleomorph genome might have been the same as in the independently evolved, red algal‐derived, nucleomorph genomes of cryptophytes. A U2 small nuclear RNA gene was found adjacent to the telomere in Gymnochlora stellata CCMP2057 and Chlorarachnion sp. CCMP2014. This feature may represent a useful evolutionary character for inferring the relationships among extant lineages.
Ultrastructure and Large Subunit rDNA‐Based Phylogeny of Sphaerodinium cracoviense, an Unusual Freshwater Dinoflagellate with a Novel Type of Eyespot
Authors: CRAVEIRO SANDRA C. , MOESTRUP ØJVIND , DAUGBJERG NIELS , CALADO ANTÓNIO J.
Published: October 2010

ABSTRACT. Sphaerodinium cracoviense was collected near Cracow, Poland, and analysed by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and serial‐section transmission electron microscopy. Thecae showed a peridinioid type of plate arrangement with unusual numbers in the anterior intercalary and postcingular plate series: 4 and 6, respectively. The apical pore of S. cracoviense differed from the typical arrangement seen in many thecate forms and included a furrow with knob‐like protuberances reminiscent of the apical area of some woloszynskioids. The flagellar apparatus included the three microtubular roots that extend to the left of the basal bodies and a striated root connective between the transverse striated root and the longitudinal microtubular root. Both the single‐stranded root that associates with the right side of the longitudinal basal body in peridinioids and gonyaulacoids, and the layered connective typical of peridinioids were absent. The eyespot was formed by a layer of vesicle‐contained crystal‐like units underlain by layers of variably fused globules not bounded by membranes, and represents a novel type. The pusular system included a long canal with a dilated inner portion with radiating tubules. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses based on large subunit rDNA placed Sphaerodinium as a sister taxon to a group of woloszynskioids and relatively far from Peridinium and its allies.
Phonological Abstraction in Processing Lexical‐Tone Variation: Evidence From a Learning Paradigm
Authors: Mitterer Holger , Chen Yiya , Zhou Xiaolin
Published: October 2010

There is a growing consensus that the mental lexicon contains both abstract and word‐specific acoustic information. To investigate their relative importance for word recognition, we tested to what extent perceptual learning is word specific or generalizable to other words. In an exposure phase, participants were divided into two groups; each group was semantically biased to interpret an ambiguous Mandarin tone contour as either tone1 or tone2. In a subsequent test phase, the perception of ambiguous contours was dependent on the exposure phase: Participants who heard ambiguous contours as tone1 during exposure were more likely to perceive ambiguous contours as tone1 than participants who heard ambiguous contours as tone2 during exposure. This learning effect was only slightly larger for previously encountered than for not previously encountered words. The results speak for an architecture with prelexical analysis of phonological categories to achieve both lexical access and episodic storage of exemplars.
Iconic Gestures Prime Words
Authors: Yap De‐Fu , So Wing‐Chee , Melvin Yap Ju‐Min , Tan Ying‐Quan , Teoh Ruo‐Li Serene
Published: October 2010

Using a cross‐modal semantic priming paradigm, both experiments of the present study investigated the link between the mental representations of iconic gestures and words. Two groups of the participants performed a primed lexical decision task where they had to discriminate between visually presented words and nonwords (e.g., flirp). Word targets (e.g., bird) were preceded by video clips depicting either semantically related (e.g., pair of hands flapping) or semantically unrelated (e.g., drawing a square with both hands) gestures. The duration of gestures was on average 3,500 ms in Experiment 1 but only 1,000 ms in Experiment 2. Significant priming effects were observed in both experiments, with faster response latencies for related gesture–word pairs than unrelated pairs. These results are consistent with the idea of interactions between the gestural and lexical representational systems, such that mere exposure to iconic gestures facilitates the recognition of semantically related words.
Simulation Center Accreditation and Programmatic Benchmarks: A Review for Emergency Medicine
Authors: Fernandez Rosemarie , Wang Ernest , Vozenilek John A. , Hayden Emily , McLaughlin Steve , Godwin Steven A. , Griswold‐Theodorson Sharon , Davenport Moira , Gordon James A. ,   for the Simulation Accreditation and Consultation Work Group on behalf of the SAEM Technology in Medical Education Committee
Published: October 2010

Simulation‐based education has grown significantly over the past 10 years. As a result, more professional organizations are developing or implementing accreditation processes to help define minimum standards and best practices in simulation‐based training. However, the benefits and potential pitfalls of sponsoring and implementing such programs have yet to be fully evaluated across specialties. The board of directors of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) requested an evaluation of the potential to create an emergency medicine (EM)‐based Simulation Consultation and Accreditation Service. In response to this request, the Simulation Accreditation and Consultation Work Group, a subgroup of the Committee on Technology in Medical Education (now Simulation Academy), was created. The work group was charged with: 1) reviewing current benchmarks and standards set by existing simulation accreditation programs; 2) analyzing current EM simulation program structures, including leadership, administrative, and financial components; and 3) proposing a potential model for EM‐based simulation accreditation. This article outlines currently existing and proposed accreditation models and identifies components that support best practices. It then goes on to describe three general programmatic models to better understand how simulation training can be operationalized in EM. Finally, the work group uses this collective information to propose how an accreditation process, in concert with the SAEM Simulation Consultation Service, can enhance and advance EM simulation training.

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:1093–1103 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine