bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A COMPARISON OF EFFORT ESTIMATION METHODS FOR 4GL PROGRAMS: EXPERIENCES WITH STATISTICS AND DATA MINING
Authors: RIQUELME JOSE C. , POLO MACARIO , AGUILAR–RUIZ JESUS S. , PIATTINI MARIO , FERRER–TROYANO FRANCISCO J. , RUIZ FRANCISCO
Published: March 2006

This paper presents an empirical study analysing the relationship between a set of metrics for Fourth–Generation Languages (4GL) programs and their maintainability. An analysis has been made using historical data of several industrial projects and three different approaches: the first one relates metrics and maintainability based on techniques of descriptive statistics, and the other two are based on Data Mining techniques. A discussion on the results obtained with the three techniques is also presented, as well as a set of equations and rules for predicting the maintenance effort in this kind of programs. Finally, we have done experiments about the prediction accuracy of these methods by using new unseen data, which were not used to build the knowledge model. The results were satisfactory as the application of each technique separately provides useful perspective for the manager in order to get a complementary insight from data.
Who Leads the Australian Interest Rates in the Short and Long Run? An Application of Long Run Structural Modelling
Authors: Mansur M. Masih A. , Winduss Trent
Published: March 2006

The focus of this paper is to test the cointegrating and Granger-causal relationships between Australian short-run interest rate securities and those of the UK, US, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand. A relatively new methodology known as Long Run Structural Model (LRSM) (Pesaran and Shin, 2002) followed by vector error-correction model, generalized variance decompositions, generalized impulse response, and persistence profile have been used. The findings tend to suggest that Australia's short-term interest rates are cointegrated with those of its major trading partners. The results of this paper indicate that the ability of Australian policy makers to target and manipulate domestic interest rates may be limited and that they should look to the policy decisions of the US and Japan in particular when setting domestic policy.
A Model for a Fair Exchange Rate
Authors: Aries Morgan , Giromini Gianfranco , Meissner Gunter
Published: March 2006

Financial markets have developed formulas and models to derive fair values for bonds, futures, swaps, options and other securities. This model derives a fair value of an exchange rate, which might be used as a benchmark for a long-term equilibrium level to stabilize currency markets. The model is based on the value-added tax adjusted purchasing power parity exchange rate. This rate is then modified by five components: the macro-economic component, the foreign currency reserve component, the debt component, the interest rate component, and the political stability/leadership component. With respect to the American dollar, the model shows that the Euro and the Japanese Yen are overvalued compared to its current exchange rate, while the Brazilian Real, the Russian Ruble, the Chinese Yuan and the Australian dollar are currently undervalued.
Transparency — An Empirical Study Using Taiwan Stock Exchange Data
Authors: Lin Chiou-Fa
Published: March 2006

Understanding the impacts of transparency in capital markets is important for determining the trading mechanism and for evaluating market efficiency and market fairness. The recent reforms covering trade transparency on the Taiwan Stock Exchange give us an opportunity to address and examine the relevant arguments. Evidence from this study indicates that increasing trade transparency may create a more efficient market due to decreased effective spreads compared with before the event. Asymmetric information also declines after transparency is liberalized. However, the movement direction of the realized spread does not seem obvious or pronounced. The implication from our results is that the exact effects from trade transparency may be dependent on the stock market's structure itself.
Postischemic Brain Injury Is Exacerbated in Mice Lacking the Kinin B2 Receptor
Authors: Xia Chun-Fang , Smith Robert S. , Shen Bo , Yang Zhi-Rong , Borlongan Cesar V. , Chao Lee , Chao Julie
Published: March 2006

Kallikrein cleaves low molecular weight kininogen to generate vasoactive kinins, which bind to the kinin B2 receptor, triggering a host of biological effects. Kallikrein gene delivery has been shown previously to reduce ischemia/reperfusion-induced cerebral infarction. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the kinin B2 receptor plays a protective role in ischemic brain injury using kinin B2 receptor gene knockout (B2R-KO) mice subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The mortality rate and neurological deficit scores of B2R-KO mice (n=48) after MCAO were significantly increased compared with wild-type (WT) mice (n=40) when examined over a 14-day period. In addition, the infarct volume in B2R-KO mice was significantly larger than in WT mice at days 1 and 3 after MCAO. Similarly, apoptotic cells, detected by TUNEL labeling counterstained with propidium iodide, and caspase-3 activity in the ischemic brain increased significantly in B2R-KO mice at days 1 and 3 after MCAO. Furthermore, the accumulation of neutrophils in the ischemic brain of B2R-KO mice after MCAO increased when compared with WT mice and was associated with elevated tumor necrosis factor α expression. These alterations in B2R-KO mice correlated with decreased NO levels, Akt, and glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation and increased nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide oxidase activity. These results indicate that the kinin B2 receptor promotes survival and protects against brain injury by suppression of apoptosis and inflammation induced by ischemic stroke.
Safety of Coronary Sirolimus-Eluting Stents in Daily Clinical Practice
Authors: Urban Philip , Gershlick Anthony H. , Guagliumi Giulio , Guyon Philippe , Lotan Chaim , Schofer Joachim , Seth Ashok , Sousa J. Eduardo , Wijns William , Berge Claude , Deme Monika , Stoll Hans-Peter
Published: March 2006

Background—

The expanding indications for sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) include increasingly complex coronary lesions and populations with clinical profiles markedly different from those of early pivotal controlled studies. The e-Cypher registry monitored the safety and efficacy of SES currently implanted worldwide in daily practice.

Methods and Results—

Between April 2002 and September 2005, data were collected on 15 157 patients who underwent implantation of ≥1 SES at 279 medical centers from 41 countries. An independent endpoint review committee adjudicated all reported major adverse cardiovascular events, stent thromboses, and target-vessel revascularizations. Data were managed and analyzed by independent organizations. Predictors of adverse clinical events were identified by regression analysis. The mean age of the sample was 61.7±11.4 years; 77.7% were men, and 28.6% were diabetics. A total of 18 295 lesions were treated (20 503 SES) during the index procedure. The cumulative rates of major adverse cardiovascular events were 1.36% at 30 days, 3.38% at 6 months, and 5.80% at 1 year. The rates of acute, subacute, and late stent thrombosis were 0.13%, 0.56%, and 0.19% of patients, respectively, representing a 12-month actuarial incidence of 0.87%. Insulin-dependent diabetes, acute coronary syndrome at presentation, and advanced age were clinical predictors, whereas TIMI flow grade <3 after the index procedure, treatment of multiple lesions, a prominently calcified or totally occluded target lesion, and multivessel disease were the angiographic or procedural predictors of stent thrombosis at 12 months.

Conclusions—

This analysis of 1-year data collected by the e-Cypher registry suggests a high degree of safety of SES, with a rate of stent thrombosis similar to that observed in randomized trials.
Estradiol Enhances Recovery After Myocardial Infarction by Augmenting Incorporation of Bone Marrow–Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells Into Sites of Ischemia-Induced Neovascularization via Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase–Mediated Activation of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9
Authors: Iwakura Atsushi , Shastry Shubha , Luedemann Corinne , Hamada Hiromichi , Kawamoto Atsuhiko , Kishore Raj , Zhu Yan , Qin Gangjian , Silver Marcy , Thorne Tina , Eaton Liz , Masuda Haruchika , Asahara Takayuki , Losordo Douglas W.
Published: March 2006

Background—

Recent data have indicated that estradiol can modulate the kinetics of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) via endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)–dependent mechanisms. We hypothesized that estradiol could augment the incorporation of bone marrow (BM)–derived EPCs into sites of ischemia-induced neovascularization, resulting in protection from ischemic injury.

Methods and Results—

Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced by ligation of the left coronary artery in ovariectomized mice receiving either 17β-estradiol or placebo. Estradiol induced significant increases in circulating EPCs 2 and 3 weeks after MI in estradiol-treated animals, and capillary density was significantly greater in estradiol-treated animals. Greater numbers of BM-derived EPCs were observed at ischemic sites in estradiol-treated animals than in placebo-treated animals 1 and 4 weeks after MI. In eNOS-null mice, the effect of estradiol on mobilization of EPCs was lost, as was the functional improvement in recovery from acute myocardial ischemia. A decrease was found in matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression in eNOS-null mice under basal and estradiol-stimulated conditions after MI, the mobilization of EPCs by estradiol was lost in MMP-9–null mice, and the functional benefit conferred by estradiol treatment after MI in wild-type mice was significantly attenuated.

Conclusions—

Estradiol preserves the integrity of ischemic tissue by augmenting the mobilization and incorporation of BM-derived EPCs into sites of neovascularization by eNOS-mediated augmentation of MMP-9 expression in the BM. Moreover, these data have broader implications with regard to our understanding of the role of EPCs in post-MI recovery and on the sex discrepancy in cardiac events.
Important Role of Endogenous Erythropoietin System in Recruitment of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Mice
Authors: Satoh Kimio , Kagaya Yutaka , Nakano Makoto , Ito Yoshitaka , Ohta Jun , Tada Hiroko , Karibe Akihiko , Minegishi Naoko , Suzuki Norio , Yamamoto Masayuki , Ono Masao , Watanabe Jun , Shirato Kunio , Ishii Naoto , Sugamura Kazuo , Shimokawa Hiroaki
Published: March 2006

Background—

Recent studies have suggested that endogenous erythropoietin (Epo) plays an important role in the mobilization of bone marrow–derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). However, it remains to be elucidated whether the Epo system exerts protective effects on pulmonary hypertension (PH), a fatal disorder encountered in cardiovascular medicine.

Methods and Results—

A mouse model of hypoxia-induced PH was used for study. We evaluated right ventricular systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary vascular remodeling in mice lacking the Epo receptor (EpoR) in nonerythroid lineages (EpoR
−/−
rescued mice) after 3 weeks of exposure to hypoxia. Those mice lack EpoR in the cardiovascular system but not in the hematopoietic system. The development of PH and pulmonary vascular remodeling were accelerated in EpoR
−/−
rescued mice compared with wild-type mice. The mobilization of EPCs and their recruitment to the pulmonary endothelium were significantly impaired in EpoR
−/−
rescued mice. By contrast, reconstitution of the bone marrow with wild-type bone marrow cells ameliorated PH in the EpoR
−/−
rescued mice. Hypoxia enhanced the expression of EpoR on pulmonary endothelial cells in wild-type but not EpoR
−/−
rescued mice. Finally, hypoxia activated endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the lungs in wild-type mice but not in EpoR
−/−
rescued mice.

Conclusions—

These results indicate that the endogenous Epo/EpoR system plays an important role in the recruitment of EPCs and prevents the development of PH during chronic hypoxia in mice in vivo, suggesting the therapeutic importance of the system for the treatment of PH.
Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs, Acetaminophen, and the Risk of Cardiovascular Events
Authors: Chan Andrew T. , Manson JoAnn E. , Albert Christine M. , Chae Claudia U. , Rexrode Kathryn M. , Curhan Gary C. , Rimm Eric B. , Willett Walter C. , Fuchs Charles S.
Published: March 2006

Background—

Although randomized trials of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors have shown increased cardiovascular risk, studies of nonselective, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen have been inconsistent.

Methods and Results—

We examined the influence of NSAIDs and acetaminophen on the risk of major cardiovascular events (nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal coronary heart disease, nonfatal and fatal stroke) in a prospective cohort of 70 971 women, aged 44 to 69 years at baseline, free of known cardiovascular disease or cancer, who provided medication data biennially since 1990. During 12 years of follow-up, we confirmed 2041 major cardiovascular events. Women who reported occasional (1 to 21 d/mo) use of NSAIDs or acetaminophen did not experience a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular events. However, after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, women who frequently (≥22 d/mo) used NSAIDs had a relative risk (RR) for a cardiovascular event of 1.44 (95% CI, 1.27 to 1.65) compared with nonusers, whereas those who frequently consumed acetaminophen had a RR of 1.35 (95% CI, 1.14 to 1.59). The elevated risk associated with frequent NSAID use was particularly evident among current smokers (RR=1.82; 95% CI, 1.38 to 2.42) and was absent among never smokers (
P
interaction
=0.02). Moreover, we observed significant dose-response relations: Compared with nonusers, the RRs for a cardiovascular event among women who used ≥15 tablets per week were 1.86 (95% CI, 1.27 to 2.73) for NSAIDs and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.10 to 2.58) for acetaminophen.

Conclusions—

Use of NSAIDs or acetaminophen at high frequency or dose is associated with a significantly increased risk for major cardiovascular events, although more moderate use did not confer substantial risk.
A Monte Carlo Comparison of Measures of Relative and Absolute Monitoring Accuracy
Authors: Nietfeld John L. , Enders Craig K. , Schraw Gregory
Published: March 2006

Researchers studying monitoring accuracy currently use two different indexes to estimate accuracy: relative accuracy and absolute accuracy. The authors compared the distributional properties of two measures of monitoring accuracy using Monte Carlo procedures that fit within these categories. They manipulated the accuracy of judgments (i.e., chance level or 60% and above) and the number of items per test (i.e., 20, 50, or 1,000) using 10,000 computer-generated cases. Gamma, an estimate of relative accuracy, yielded a skewed, leptokurtic distribution under the 50-item, 60% accuracy conditions. The Hamann coefficient, an estimate of absolute accuracy, yielded a normal distribution under the same conditions. Both statistics yielded normal distributions under the 1,000item, 60% conditions, although parameter estimates differed widely. The two statistics were similar, and normally distributed, under the 50and 1,000-item, chance conditions. Recommendations are made regarding the use of each measure in applied monitoring accuracy research.
Averaging Internal Consistency Reliability Coefficients
Authors: Feldt Leonard S. , Charter Richard A.
Published: March 2006

Seven approaches to averaging reliability coefficients are presented. Each approach starts with a unique definition of the concept of “average,” and no approach is more correct than the others. Six of the approaches are applicable to internal consistency coefficients. The seventh approach is specific to alternate-forms coefficients. Although the approaches generally produce unequal averages, a Monte Carlo study found little difference among the average reliabilities calculated by the first six approaches. The first three approaches may be especially useful for reliability generalization studies.
Improving Municipal Governance in China
Authors: Foster Kenneth W.
Published: March 2006

In recent years, a serious effort to remake the Chinese administrative system has accelerated. This article explores the dynamics of reforms aimed at improving the bureaucracy's effectiveness in providing services to the public. To illuminate key features of the process of local-level administrative reform, it examines in detail the pathbreaking Service Promise System experiment carried out in the city of Yantai. This case study shows how useful innovative ideas about reform filter into China and then diffuse across organizational and administrative boundaries. It sheds light on the role played by “entrepreneurial executives” (local bureaucrats) in promoting innovative policies and on the features of the Chinese administrative system that shape how reforms are implemented. Drawing on the New Public Management approach to administration, the Service Promise System represented a serious attempt to make the bureaucracy more customer-oriented and professional. The analysis presented in this article highlights the difficulty of achieving these aims while the Chinese Communist Party remains averse to being bound by clear rules and by public opinion.
Virtue in Organizations: Moral Identity as a Foundation for Moral Agency
Authors: Weaver Gary R.
Published: March 2006

Framing issues of organizational ethics in terms of virtues and moral agency (rather than in terms of rules and ethical behavior) has implications for the way social science addresses matters of morality in organizations. In particular, attending to matters of virtue and moral agency directs attention to the moral identity, or self-concept, of persons, and to the circumstances that influence self-identity. This article develops parallels between philosophical theories of virtue and the concept of moral identity as developed in social cognitive identity theory. Explicating notions of virtue and moral agency in terms of social cognitive identity theory, in turn, helps direct attention to a range of factors—including both organizational and extraorganizational, macro-cultural ones—that can foster or inhibit moral agency in organizations.
Ethics Blind Spots in Organizations: How Systematic Errors in Person Perception Undermine Moral Agency
Authors: Moberg Dennis J.
Published: March 2006

Moral agency in work organizations is vulnerable to systematic patterns of person perception. Employing cognitive structuralism and drawing upon cases of corporate wrongdoing, it is argued that common perceptual frames create ethics blind spots that undermine moral agency. By focusing on the possibility of others’ moral transgressions, employees overlook virtuous acts and morally admirable propensities. Their frame makes them especially critical of the morality of organizational officials. Exacerbating this tendency are the blind spots evident among officials who disregard the need to communicate their moral priorities and who pay little attention to the moral actions of their subordinates. Since perceptual frames are shaped in part by volition, ethics blind spots can be corrected by a self-improvement regimen.
Meeting the Needs of Students With Disabilities: Experience and Confidence of Principals
Authors: Lasky Beth , Karge Belinda D.
Published: March 2006

The purpose of this article is to examine the formal training of 205 principals in a variety of school districts in southern California. The data clearly define a need for increased training of principals in the area of special education during enrollment in preservice administration programs and while on the job. Preparation programs and school districts will find this information useful in establishing areas of training needs for their principals.
Reliability of salivary cortisol assessments in cocaine dependent individuals
Authors: Fox H. C. , Wilker E. H. , Kreek M. J. , Sinha R.
Published: March 2006

The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of salivary cortisol as a measure of hypothalmic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis function in cocaine dependent individuals. Saliva and total plasma samples were collected from 49 abusers on 3 testing days in the morning, across eight time points per day. Significant associations between saliva and plasma cortisol were observed across all time points collapsed across 3 days in both men and women. These moderately significant correlations suggest that salivary measurements represent a stable, non-invasive and broad indicator of HPA axis functioning in cocaine dependent individuals.
Can Cities Sustain Life in the Greenhouse?
Authors: Byrne John , Hughes Kristen , Toly Noah , Wang Young-Doo
Published: March 2006

Data from the Global Environmental Monitoring System indicate that pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and total suspended particulate routinely appear in the lower atmosphere of major cities at concentrations well above health guidelines set by the World Health Organization. As well, cities are major contributors to the build-up of greenhouse gases which now threaten climate change. These findings underscore the detrimental relation that has evolved between urban industrial society and the atmosphere. If this peculiar civilization is to be changed, three principles—equity, sustainability and peaceful development—must guide the reevolution of urban life. The paradigm of commodification needs to be replaced with a model of a commons of life. The article provides a theoretical framework and strategy for reforming global climate policy and urban sustainability planning in a manner consistent with life in the commons.
On souvenirs and metonymy
Authors: Morgan Nigel , Pritchard Annette
Published: March 2006

This article scrutinizes souvenirs as highly significant, but underexplored material objects of contemporary travel and tourism. It adopts a reflexive interpretive approach to explore the relationship between materiality, tourism and constructions of self-identity and examines how individuals reflexively use souvenirs as touchstones of memory, (re)creating polysensual tourism experiences, self-aware of their roles of ‘tourists’. It pays particular attention to the ways in which souvenirs are objects mediating experiences in time and space and argues for more experiential and reflexive study of the roles of materiality and memory in the construction of tourist identities and performances. It concludes by suggesting how further interpretive studies could offer unique insights into how the absorption of souvenirs into the realm of the mundane and the domestic transforms the home space, fusing tourism and contemporary everyday life.
The Association between Social Capital and Juvenile Crime
Authors: Salmi Venla , Kivivuori Janne
Published: March 2006

Social capital has emerged as a widely used concept both in empirical studies and in theoretical debate in social science. In the field of criminology, several studies have found support for the association between various forms of social capital and criminal behaviour. This study examines the association between social capital and self-reported delinquency when structural and individual-level factors are controlled. Indicators of social capital, family structure, economic situation, self-control, cognitive ability and participation in delinquent behaviour are explored in a nationally representative sample of 15-16-year-old Finnish adolescents ( N = 5142). The results of the multivariate analysis indicate that (as indicators of social capital) low parental support, low teacher control and low interpersonal trust are associated with delinquent behaviour when structural and individual-level variables, including self-control, are controlled. Parental control, teacher support and intergenerational closure are associated with delinquency only in bivariate models. It seems that parents’ weak ties connecting the adolescent to the part-time labour market do not protect him or her from the risk of delinquency. Compared with social capital and structural indicators, the level of self-control seems to have a stronger association with the risk of delinquent behaviour. Cognitive ability also emerges as a robust correlate of delinquency. The article concludes by discussing the need to take individual-level propensities into account when examining the effects of social capital.
The Substantial Service Demands of Offenders and Frequent Offenders
Authors: Rodriguez Jorge , Keene Jan , Li X.
Published: March 2006

This study analyses new data on the service demands of gender and age subpopulations of occasional and frequent offenders shared by health, social care and criminal justice agencies in the UK. Using a case-linkage methodology borrowed from health studies, we tracked the population of offenders across multiple agencies within a Health Authority jurisdiction in an English county over a three-year period. We show that offenders and frequent offenders demanded services in larger proportions than non-offenders and occasional offenders, particularly drug and alcohol services. We find that overrepresentations of males and youngsters among offenders were more marked among frequent offenders. Using categorical principal component analyses, we identify three typologies of frequent offenders making heavy demands on public services, and detect key discrepancies between their problems and levels of service provision. Our findings indicate the need to devise inter-agency strategies for the treatment and care of different groups of offenders, while providing useful data on their characteristics so as to make these strategies more effective.
If ‘Something Works’ is the Answer, What is the Question?
Authors: Israel Mark , Chui Wing Hong
Published: March 2006

The aims of the paper are to present the argument for pluralistic evaluation, by outlining and assessing the various measures that have been and might be used in the United Kingdom, and to question the value of relying on reconviction rates. Most evaluation studies of offender programmes in the community and in prison have been based on single measures, mostly the recidivism rate. Some studies have evaluated the effectiveness of particular programmes in terms of the costs or of changing the attitudes or addressing the needs and problems of offenders. However, no single measurement can reveal the full picture of the effectiveness of a particular correctional programme. This paper criticizes current evaluation-driven practice - only do things that can be measured and divert resources from delivery to fairly unimaginative evaluation. It concludes that commitment to pluralistic evaluation in principle is often compromised in practice.
Commitment to Crime
Authors: Clark Marilyn
Published: March 2006

Commitment is an important contingency in the criminal career and signifies a refutation by the offender of other possibilities of action. It is often facilitated by the perception on the part of the offender that little is to be gained by abandoning the criminal career. This perception is strengthened by a number of processes, including contact with the criminal justice system. This paper adopts a symbolic interactionist framework and explores how 41 incarcerated young offenders in Malta perceived their contact with the police, the courts and the prison as having influenced their involvement in crime. These young people were interviewed in depth, and their biographies were then used to develop grounded theory. The findings show how interventions by the criminal justice system were interpreted by young offenders as an intrusion that contributes to a reduction in their status. Offenders did not view themselves as locked into a deviant career; they regarded themselves as having chosen such a career after consideration of the costs and benefits. The paper concludes that commitment to criminality is not a passive process. Rather, commitment grows out of offenders’ interpretations of the contingencies encountered along the career path. Contacts with the police, the courts and the prison often solidify commitment because they are perceived as reducing the offender’s opportunities in the conventional world.
A nonsense polymorphism in the protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor increases the risk for venous thrombosis
Authors: Corral Javier , González-Conejero Rocio , Soria Jose Manuel , González-Porras Jose Ramón , Pérez-Ceballos Elena , Lecumberri Ramón , Roldán Vanessa , Souto Juan Carlos , Miñano Antonia , Hernández-Espinosa David , Alberca Ignacio , Fontcuberta Jordi , Vicente Vicente
Published: March 2006

The protein Z-dependent protease inhibitor (ZPI) is a hemostatic serpin with anticoagulant activity. As for antithrombin, deficiency of ZPI could have relevant thrombotic consequences. We have studied 6 genetic modifications affecting the ZPI gene, identifying 5 haplotypes. Haplotype H5 is featured by a stop codon at position 67. The relevance of these genetic modifications and haplotypes in venous thrombosis was evaluated in a case-control study including 1018 patients and 1018 age- and sex-matched controls. Surprisingly, the H5 haplotype was found in 0.9% of controls, supporting that the Arg67Stop change is a low frequency nonsense polymorphism. The prevalence of this haplotype increased significantly in patients (3.0%), one of whom was in a homozygous state. Multivariate analysis confirms that carriers have a 3.3-fold risk of developing venous thrombosis (P = .002; 95% CI: 1.5-7.1). Moreover, we observed a significant association of this polymorphism with familial history of thrombosis (P < .001). Our study supports that the ZPI Arg67Stop nonsense polymorphism might be an independent genetic risk factor for venous thrombosis. This polymorphism has slightly lower prevalence but similar thrombotic risk than the FV Leiden or prothrombin 20210A. Although further studies are required, all available data support that the ZPI is a candidate to play a significant role in thrombosis and should be evaluated in thrombophilic studies. (Blood. 2006;108:177-183)
MYC levels govern hematopoietic tumor type and latency in transgenic mice
Authors: Smith Darrin P. , Bath Mary L. , Metcalf Donald , Harris Alan W. , Cory Suzanne
Published: March 2006

Deregulated MYC expression has been implicated in the etiology of many human cancers, including hematopoietic malignancies. To explore the impact of widespread constitutive MYC expression in the hematopoietic compartment, we have used a vector containing regulatory elements of the Vav gene to generate transgenic mice. VavP-MYC mice are highly tumor-prone and the level of MYC was found to influence both the kinetics and nature of the malignancies that developed. Whereas aggressive T-cell lymphomas rapidly overwhelmed the highest-expressing line, late-onset monocytic tumors greatly predominated in 2 low-expressing lines. These monocytic tumors most likely arise from abnormal macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)–dependent progenitor cells having enhanced self-generative capacity. There appears to be a sharp threshold for MYC-induced T-cell lymphomagenesis because merely doubling the MYC level in a low-expressing line by breeding homozygous transgenic animals switched the phenotype from primarily monocytic tumors to exclusively T-cell tumors. Even the low level of MYC, however, clearly affected T-cell cycling, size, and sensitivity to apoptosis, and coexpression of a BCL2 transgene promoted efficient T-cell lymphomagenesis. The implication is that MYC level affects the spontaneous acquisition of synergistic oncogenic mutations.
The use of extracorporeal life support in the treatment of influenza-associated myositis/rhabdomyolysis
Authors: Augustin Simon L , Horton Stephen , Thuys Clarke , Bennett Martin , Claessen Catie , Brizard Christian
Published: March 2006

A 13-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with fatigue, headaches and muscle stiffness after returning from a family camping trip. Within 24 h, she was transferred to ICU with general oedema and low saturations, where she had a cardio-respiratory arrest and was placed on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The patient was successfully supported with ECMO for profound myocardial dysfunction and haemofiltration for rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure.

Patients who present with profound myocardial dysfunction and myoglobinuria as a consequence of viral infection can be successfully supported with ECMO.
Cardiac organ donor management
Authors: Ullah Sana , Zabala Luis , Watkins Bryan , Schmitz Michael L
Published: March 2006

There is a critical shortage of donor organs. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 20% of organs are discarded after procurement. Many of these may be potentially salvageable. Brain death is particularly detrimental to cardiac function. The initial sympathetic storm can produce direct myocardial injury. The ensuing spinal shock reduces global oxygen delivery. There is a change to anaerobic metabolism due to global mitochondrial dysfunction. Diabetes insipidus worsens hypovolemia and thyroid deficiency impairs cardiac function. Inadequate replacement of blood loss from trauma and coagulopathy worsens anemia and oxygen delivery. In the mid-1990s, the Papworth Hospital group in the UK advocated early invasive hemodynamic monitoring and administration of a ‘hormonal cocktail’, consisting of triiodothyronine (T3), vasopressin, methylprednisolone and insulin. This has been widely accepted and is endorsed by UNOS. Ventricular function, volume status and adequacy of resuscitation should be guided by invasive monitoring and serial echocardiography. Dopamine or epinephrine is used for inotropic support. If hypotension persists, vasopressin should be added which may allow reduction of inotropes. Donor lung function and ventilation should be optimized. Recently, two large retrospective studies have shown that, with aggressive pharmacological and hormonal resuscitation, a significant increase in the number and quality of organs harvested can be achieved.
Left-right lineage analysis of the embryonicXenopusheart reveals a novel framework linking congenital cardiac defects and laterality disease
Authors: Ramsdell Ann F. , Bernanke Jayne M. , Trusk Thomas C.
Published: March 2006

The significant morbidity and mortality associated with laterality disease almost always are attributed to complex congenital heart defects (CHDs),reflecting the extreme susceptibility of the developing heart to disturbances in the left-right (LR) body plan. To determine how LR positional information becomes `translated' into anatomical asymmetry, left versus right side cardiomyocyte cell lineages were traced in normal and laterality defective embryos of the frog, Xenopus laevis. In normal embryos, myocytes in some regions of the heart were derived consistently from a unilateral lineage,whereas other regions were derived consistently from both left and right side lineages. However, in heterotaxic embryos experimentally induced by ectopic activation or attenuation of ALK4 signaling, hearts contained variable LR cell composition, not only compared with controls but also compared with hearts from other heterotaxic embryos. In most cases, LR cell lineage defects were associated with abnormal cardiac morphology and were preceded by abnormal Pitx2c expression in the lateral plate mesoderm. In situs inversus embryos there was a mirror image reversal in Pitx2c expression and LR lineage composition. Surprisingly, most of the embryos that failed to develop heterotaxy or situs inversus in response to misregulated ALK4 signaling nevertheless had altered Pitx2c expression, abnormal cardiomyocyte LR lineage composition and abnormal heart structure, demonstrating that cardiac laterality defects can occur even in instances of otherwise normal body situs. These results indicate that: (1) different regions of the heart contain distinct LR myocyte compositions; (2) LR cardiomyocyte lineages and Pitx2c expression are altered in laterality defective embryos; and(3) abnormal LR cardiac lineage composition frequently is associated with cardiac malformations. We propose that proper LR cell composition is necessary for normal morphogenesis, and that misallocated LR cell lineages may be causatively linked with CHDs that are present in heterotaxic individuals, as well as some `isolated' CHDs that are found in individuals lacking overt features of laterality disease.
Vascular wall resident progenitor cells: a source for postnatal vasculogenesis
Authors: Zengin Elvin , Chalajour Fariba , Gehling Ursula M. , Ito Wulf D. , Treede Hendrik , Lauke Heidrun , Weil Joachim , Reichenspurner Hermann , Kilic Nerbil , Ergün Süleyman
Published: March 2006

Here, we report the existence of endothelial precursor (EPC) and stem cells in a distinct zone of the vascular wall that are capable to differentiate into mature endothelial cells, hematopoietic and local immune cells, such as macrophages. This zone has been identified to be localized between smooth muscle and adventitial layer of human adult vascular wall. It predominantly contains CD34-positive (+) but CD31-negative (-) cells, which also express VEGFR2 and TIE2. Only few cells in this zone of the vascular wall are positive for CD45. In a ring assay using the fragments of human internal thoracic artery (HITA), we show here that the CD34+ cells of the HITA-wall form capillary sprouts ex vivo and are apparently recruited for capillary formation by tumor cells. New vessels formed by these vascular wall resident EPCs express markers for angiogenically activated endothelial cells, such as CEACAM1, and also for mature endothelial cells, such as VE-cadherin or occludin. Vascular wall areas containing EPCs are found in large and middle sized arteries and veins of all organs studied here. These data suggest the existence of a `vasculogenic zone' in the wall of adult human blood vessels,which may serve as a source for progenitor cells for postnatal vasculogenesis,contributing to tumor vascularization and local immune response.
The New York Times and the Market for Local Newspapers
Authors: George Lisa M , Waldfogel Joel
Published: March 2006

Recent technological advances have dramatically lowered the cost of transmitting information over large distances. In the late 1990s, the New York Times implemented a national distribution strategy, expanding delivery in over 100 cities. Using cross-sectional and longitudinal data on local newspaper circulation, Times penetration, and local newspapers characteristics, we find that as Times circulation grows in a market, local newspaper circulation declines among college-educated readers. Local newspapers reposition toward local and away from national coverage, raising circulation among individuals without a degree. Availability of national newspapers in local markets changes the relationship between local preferences and local products.
Benefit-Cost in a Benevolent Society
Authors: Bergstrom Theodore C
Published: March 2006

How should benefit-cost analysis account for the value that benevolent individuals place on others' enjoyment of public goods? When adding up the benefits to be compared with costs, should we sum the private valuations, the altruistic valuations, or something else? This paper argues that private valuations are appropriate if concern for the well-being of others respects their private preferences. The discussion has implications for family decision-making, welfare economics, and the design of applied contingent valuation studies.
The Evolution of Managerial Expertise: How Corporate Culture Can Run Amok
Authors: Bernhardt Dan , Hughson Eric , Kutsoati Edward
Published: March 2006

This paper investigates how noisy evaluation of worker skills affects human capital investments and hiring. Individuals distort investments toward skills that most managers can evaluate. Dynamically, when workers become managers, managerial expertise can become increasingly skewed over time, raising investment distortions and reducing output. If firms select managerial expertise strategically, efficient investments can be retrieved when (a) identifying whether workers' skills matter more than distinguishing among skilled workers, and (b) initial investment distortions are small. Otherwise, such strategic design worsens long-run outcomes. Finally, we determine when short-run affirmative action policies are effective.
Odious Debt
Authors: Jayachandran Seema , Kremer Michael
Published: March 2006

Trade sanctions are often criticized as ineffective because they create incentives for evasion or as harmful to the target country's population. Loan sanctions, in contrast, could be self-enforcing and could protect the population from being saddled with “odious debt” run up by looting or repressive dictators. Governments could impose loan sanctions by instituting legal changes that prevent seizure of countries' assets for nonrepayment of debt incurred after sanctions were imposed. This would reduce creditors' incentives to lend to sanctioned regimes. Restricting sanctions to cover only loans made after the sanction was imposed would help avoid time-consistency problems.
Information Gathering, Transaction Costs, and the Property Rights Approach
Authors: Schmitz Patrick W
Published: March 2006

The property rights approach to the theory of the firm suggests that ownership structures are chosen in order to provide ex ante investment incentives, while bargaining is ex post efficient. In contrast, transaction cost economics emphasizes ex post inefficiencies. In the present paper, a party may invest and acquire private information about the default payoff that it can realize on its own. Inefficient rent seeking can overturn prominent implications of the property rights theory. In particular, ownership by party B may be optimal, even though only the indispensable party A makes an investment decision.
The Long-Term Impact of Military Service on Health: Evidence from World War II and Korean War Veterans
Authors: Bedard Kelly , Deschênes Olivier
Published: March 2006

During the World War II and Korean War era, the U.S. military freely distributed cigarettes to overseas personnel and provided low-cost tobacco products on domestic military bases. In fact, even today the military continues to sell subsidized tobacco products on its bases. Using a variety of instrumental variables approaches to deal with nonrandom selection into the military and into smoking, we provide substantial evidence that cohorts with higher military participation rates subsequently suffered more premature mortality. More importantly, we show that a large fraction, 35 to 79 percent, of the excess veteran deaths due to heart disease and lung cancer are attributable to military-induced smoking.
National Treatment in the GATT
Authors: Horn Henrik
Published: March 2006

The National Treatment (NT) clause is the first-line defense in the GATT (and in most other trade agreements) against opportunistic exploitation of the inevitable incompleteness of the agreement. This paper examines the role of NT as it applies to internal taxation under the GATT. It is shown that despite severely restricting the freedom to set internal taxes, NT may improve government welfare, but it will not completely solve the incomplete contract problem it is meant to remedy. Furthermore, it requires a high degree of economic sophistication on behalf of trade negotiators in order for this beneficial effect to materialize.
The Great Escape: A Review of Robert Fogel's The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700–2100
Authors: Deaton Angus
Published: March 2006

In this essay, I review Robert Fogel's The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700–2100, which is concerned with the past, present, and future of human health. Fogel's work places great emphasis on nutrition, not only for the history of health, but for explaining aspects of current health, not only in comparing poor and rich countries, but in thinking about rich countries now and in the future. I discuss Fogel's analysis alongside alternative interpretations that place greater emphasis on the historical role of public health, and on the current and future role of improvements in medical technology.
On Doctors, Mechanics, and Computer Specialists: The Economics of Credence Goods
Authors: Dulleck Uwe , Kerschbamer Rudolf
Published: March 2006

Most of us need the services of an expert when our apartment's heating or our washing machine breaks down, or when our car starts to make strange noises. And for most of us, commissioning an expert to solve the problem causes concern. This concern does not disappear even after repair and payment of the bill. On the contrary, one worries about paying for a service that was not provided or receiving some unnecessary treatment. This article studies the economics underlying these worries. Under which conditions do experts have an incentive to exploit the informational problems associated with markets for diagnosis and treatment? What types of fraud exist? What are the methods and institutions for dealing with these informational problems? Under which conditions does the market provide incentives to deter fraudulent behavior? And what happens if all or some of those conditions are violated?
Who do we think we are? The effects of social context and social identification on in‐group stereotyping
Authors: van Rijswijk Wendy , Haslam S. Alexander , Ellemers Naomi
Published: March 2006

In this study, in‐group stereotyping was examined as a function of variations in social context and perceiver factors. The social context consisted of different comparison groups and different domains of comparison. Comparison group and comparative domain were expected to interact in determining the content of the in‐group stereotype. This prediction was confirmed with in‐group stereotyping being strongest in conditions where the combination of comparison group and comparative domain made the in‐group seem most similar to an out‐group. The perceiver's level of in‐group identification was also positively related to the level of in‐group stereotyping. Moreover, the level of identification was shown to be dependent on the immediate social context and mediated the relationship between social context and in‐group stereotyping. This pattern is explained in terms of a search for in‐group distinctiveness.
The focus effect and self‐positivity in ratings of self‐other similarity and difference
Authors: Pahl Sabine , Eiser J. Richard
Published: March 2006

We conducted 2 studies investigating comparative ratings of similarity or difference and the thoughts underlying these ratings. Participants compared either the self with others (self→other focus) or others with the self (other→self focus). People expressed higher distinctiveness under self→other focus than under other→self focus (focus effect) when rating difference in Studies 1 and 2, and when rating similarity in Study 1. Analyses of verbal reports showed that people mentioned the self more than others under self→other focus, but mentioned self and others to the same extent under other→self focus. Moreover, Study 2 showed that participants spontaneously made more positive statements for the self under self→other focus than under other→self focus. This effect was significantly mediated by the number of self‐references made. Implications for recent models of social judgment are discussed.