bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Texture descriptor based on local combination adaptive ternary pattern
Authors: Sandid Faten , Douik Ali
Published: June 2015

Material recognition has several applications, such as image retrieval, object recognition and robotic manipulation. To make the material classification more suitable for real‐world applications, it is fundamental to satisfy two characteristics: robustness to scale and to pose variations. In this study, the authors propose a novel discriminant descriptor for texture classification based on a new operator called local combination adaptive ternary pattern (LCATP) descriptor used to encode both colour and local information. They start by building the LCATP descriptor using a combination of three different adaptive thresholding techniques. Moreover, they present a novel operator, mean histogram (MH), used jointly with the LCATP in order to incorporate colour information into the descriptor. This approach is then extended to four different colour spaces: LC1C2, I1I2I3, LSHuv and O1O2O3. The final descriptor, LCATP fusion (LCATP_F), is produced by fusing the basic histogram (H) and MH extracted from the different colour spaces. Finally, the LCATP_F descriptor properties, such as the robustness to scale and pose changes are evaluated using the challenging KTH‐textures under varying illumination, pose and scale (TIPS2b) dataset along with the least squares support vector machines classifier. The obtained experimental results, using the LCATP_F descriptor, show a significant improvement with respect to the state‐of‐the‐art results.
Vessel transform for automatic optic disk detection in retinal images
Authors: Muangnak Nittaya , Aimmanee Pakinee , Makhanov Stanislav , Uyyanonvara Bunyarit
Published: June 2015

Precise localisation of an optic disk (OD) in the retinal images is one of the most important problems in the ophthalmic image processing. Although a considerable progress has been made towards a computerised solution of the problem, the numerical algorithms often fail on retinal images characterised by poor quality. Therefore, the authors propose a new method suitable for low‐quality images based on exploiting the convergence of the blood vessels to the OD. The novelty of the proposed techniques includes clustering the vessels endowed with a novel correction procedure and the vessel transform (VT) which measures the distance to the main clusters. The algorithm is integrated into the scale‐space (SS) analysis to detect the boundary of the OD. The integrated method is called SS algorithm with VT (SSVT). SSVT has been tested on retinal images from two databases with fair and poor images against the fuzzy convergence (FC) method and a modification of the circular transform proposed by Lu. The absolute improvement on sensitivity of SSVT against FC and Lu's are up to 12.37% and 8.18%. Bigger improvements of SSVT in terms of positive predictive value are up to 37.46% and 30.84% against FC and Lu's, respectively.
Improving Cycling Performance of LiMn2O4 Battery by Adding an Ester-Functionalized Ionic Liquid to Electrolyte
Authors: Dong Tao , Zhang Suojiang , Zhang Liang , Chen Shimou , Lu Xingmei
Published: May 2015

Addressing capacity fading during electrochemical cycling is one of the most challenging issues of lithium-ion batteries based on LiMn2O4. Accordingly, in this work, an ester-functionalized ionic liquid, N-methylpyrrolidinium-N-acetate bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([MMEPyr][TFSI]), was designed as an additive to the electrolyte employed for Li/LiMn2O4 batteries to improve their electrochemical performance. A systematic comparative study was carried out using the LiTFSI-based electrolyte with and without [MMEPyr][TFSI] additive. After 100 cycles, the Li/LiMn2O4 half-cells retained 94 % of their initial discharge capacity in the electrolyte containing 10 wt-% [MMEPyr][TFSI]. However, the cycling capacity of the half-cells in the electrolyte without [MMEPyr][TFSI] decreased considerably to ~21 mAh g–1 within the first 10 cycles. One of the main reasons for the decrease is the stabilization of the Al current collector by the [MMEPyr][TFSI] additive, as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the Li/LiMn2O4 cells in the electrolyte containing [MMEPyr][TFSI] displayed high-rate performance, whereby ~90 % of the cell initial discharge capacity was retained at 2.5C.
Influence of plant growth stage on resistance to anthracnose in Andean lupin (Lupinus mutabilis)
Authors: Falconi Cesar E. , Visser Richard G. F. , van Heusden Sjaak
Published: May 2015

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum acutatum, is the most destructive fungal disease of Andean lupin (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet) in Ecuador and of other lupin species around the world. Symptoms of necrotic spots occur throughout the main stem, and infection progresses to cause bending of the main stem and lateral branches, resulting in yield loss. Although there is no known anthracnose resistance, this study aims to assess tolerance of Andean lupin and investigate lupin–C. acutatum interactions. Two Andean lupin genotypes, I-450 Andino and I-451 Guaranguito, were inoculated on the meristematic section of the main stem, either by spraying or by pipetting C. acutatum spores on to an artificial wound. Although the two methods gave similar results, spraying is the preferred method because it mimics natural pathogen infection. Plant-pathogen interactions were assessed at five different phenological stages (leaf stages 2–3, 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, and 10–11) with three C. acutatum isolates by using a 0–5 scale to assess disease symptoms. In both genotypes, anthracnose symptoms were greater at early seedling stage (2–3-leaf stage), decreasing significantly in early vegetative phase (6–7-leaf stage) and increasing again when the flower stage began (10–11-leaf stage). However, the tolerance of these two Andean lupin genotypes to anthracnose was not equally expressed at all developmental stages. We recommend, in a breeding program, that screening for anthracnose first occurs at the 6–7-leaf stage (6 weeks old) and again when flowering starts at the 10–11-leaf stage (10 weeks old) so that the overall tolerance can be determined. This method could be used in lupin breeding programs for improving resistance to anthracnose.
Dynamic response of plant chlorophyll fluorescence to light, water and nutrient availability
Authors: Cendrero-Mateo M. Pilar , Carmo-Silva A. Elizabete , Porcar-Castell Albert , Hamerlynck Erik P. , Papuga Shirley A. , Moran M. Susan
Published: May 2015

Chlorophyll molecules absorb photosynthetic active radiation (PAR). The resulting excitation energy is dissipated by three competing pathways at the level of photosystem: (i) photochemistry (and, by extension, photosynthesis); (ii) regulated and constitutive thermal energy dissipation; and (iii) chlorophyll-a fluorescence (ChlF). Because the dynamics of photosynthesis modulate the regulated component of thermal energy dissipation (widely addressed as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ)), the relationship between photosynthesis, NPQ and ChlF changes with water, nutrient and light availability. In this study we characterised the relationship between photosynthesis, NPQ and ChlF when conducting light-response curves of photosynthesis in plants growing under different water, nutrient and ambient light conditions. Our goals were to test whether ChlF and photosynthesis correlate in response to water and nutrient deficiency, and determine the optimum PAR level at which the correlation is maximal. Concurrent gas exchange and ChlF light-response curves were measured for Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz and Triticum durum (L.) Desf plants grown under (i) intermediate light growth chamber conditions, and (ii) high light environment field conditions respectively. Plant stress was induced by withdrawing water in the chamber experiment, and applying different nitrogen levels in the field experiment. Our study demonstrated that ChlF was able to track the variations in photosynthetic capacity in both experiments, and that the light level at which plants were grown was optimum for detecting both water and nutrient deficiency with ChlF. The decrease in photosynthesis was found to modulate ChlF via different mechanisms depending on the treatment: through the action of NPQ in response to water stress, or through the action of changes in leaf chlorophyll concentration in response to nitrogen deficiency. This study provides support for the use of remotely sensed ChlF as a proxy to monitor plant stress dynamics from space.
Sexual behaviours, sex toy and sexual safety methods reported by women who have sex with women and men
Authors: Schick Vanessa , Dodge Brian , Van Der Pol Barbara , Baldwin Aleta , Fortenberry J. Dennis
Published: May 2015

Background
Relative to women who engage in sex with exclusively men or women, women who have sex with women and men (WSWM) are more likely to report a history of sexually transmissible infections. Knowledge of the diversity and specificity of the sexual behaviours in which they engage may provide insight into the behavioural modes of infection. The present study sought to document a range of behaviours including concurrent multi-person sexual activity (e.g. orgy, threesome), anal sexual activity and sex toy use. Barrier use methods during specific behaviours were also assessed. Methods: Eighty women who reported recent genital contact with at least one man and one woman were recruited via targeted Internet, venue-based and snowball sampling methods. Consenting participants were directed to an online survey. During an in-person timeline follow-back interview (the SEQUENCE© calendar method), a subset of participants (n = 53) provided detailed sexual behaviour data for each sexual partner over the previous 12 months. Results: Almost three-quarters of the sample reported at least one concurrent multi-person sexual activity. Nearly two-thirds of participants reported engaging in sexual behaviour that involved their own (66.7%) or their partner’s (49.4%) anus in the past year. Barrier use for sexual behaviours other than penile-vaginal intercourse was uncommon. Behaviours and safety strategies were similar with men and women regardless of partner gender. Conclusions: The sexual repertoires reported by participants in this study were diverse. Understanding the range of diverse sexual behaviours of the participants may enable the construction of tailored recommendations for sexual health maintenance among WSWM.
Local environmental covariates are important for predicting fire history from tree stem diameters
Authors: Lazzari J. , Yoon H. J. , Keith D. A. , Driscoll D. A.
Published: May 2015

In fire-prone landscapes, knowing when vegetation was last burnt is important for understanding how species respond to fire and to develop effective fire management strategies. However, fire history is often incomplete or non-existent. We developed a fire-age prediction model for two mallee woodland tree species in southern Australia. The models were based on stem diameters from ~1172 individuals surveyed along 87 transects. Time since fire accounted for the greatest proportion of the explained variation in stem diameter for our two mallee tree species but variation in mean stem diameters was also influenced by local environmental factors. We illustrate a simple tool that enables time since fire to be predicted based on stem diameter and local covariates. We tested our model against new data but it performed poorly with respect to the mapped fire history. A combination of different covariate effects, variation in among-tree competition, including above- and below-ground competition, and unreliable fire history may have contributed to poor model performance. Understanding how the influence of covariates on stem diameter growth varies spatially is critical for determining the generality of models that predict time since fire. Models that were developed in one region may need to be independently verified before they can be reliably applied in new regions.
Accurate secondary structure prediction and fold recognition for circular dichroism spectroscopy
Authors: Micsonai András , Wien Frank , Kernya Linda , Lee Young-Ho , Goto Yuji , Réfrégiers Matthieu , Kardos József
Published: June 2015

Significance

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is widely used for protein secondary structure analysis. However, quantitative estimation for β-sheet–containing proteins is problematic due to the huge morphological and spectral diversity of β-structures. We show that parallel/antiparallel orientation and twisting of β-sheets account for the observed spectral diversity. Taking into account the twist of β-structures, our method accurately estimates the secondary structure for a broad range of protein folds, particularly for β-sheet–rich proteins and amyloid fibrils. Moreover, the method can predict the protein fold down to the topology level following the CATH classification. We provide a general tool for a quick and reliable structure analysis using conventional or synchrotron radiation CD spectroscopy, which is especially useful when X-ray or NMR techniques fail.
HIF-1α-induced microRNA-210 reduces hypoxia-induced osteoblast MG-63 cell apoptosis
Authors: Sun Guanwen , Peng Hao
Published: June 2015

To better understand the ischemic-hypoxia-induced fracture healing impairment, we determined in this study the microRNA-210 expression in broken bone specimens and in osteoblasts under hypoxia and then determined the influence of microRNA-210 overexpression on the osteoblast cell proliferation and apoptosis. Results demonstrated that microRNA-210 expression was upregulated with an association with HIF-1α overexpression in clinical human catagmatic tissues and was upregulated HIF-1α-dependently in response to hypoxia in osteoblast MG-63 cells. CCK-8 assay indicated that microRNA-210 upregulation by microRNA-210 mimics reduced the chemotherapeutic 5-FU-induced osteoblast cell death, and colony formation assay demonstrated that microRNA-210 mimics promoted osteoblast cells growth. Moreover, the microRNA-210 mimics transfection inhibited the hypoxia-induced MG-63 cell apoptosis via inhibiting the activation of caspase 3 and caspase 9. Therefore, our research indicated a protective role of microRNA-210 in response to hypoxia. And microRNA-210 might serve as a protective role in bone fracture healing.
A proof of the Howe duality conjecture
Authors: Gan Wee Teck , Takeda Shuichiro
Published: June 2015

We give a proof of the Howe duality conjecture in the theory of local theta correspondence for symplectic-orthogonal or unitary dual pairs in arbitrary residual characteristic.
lpNet: a linear programming approach to reconstruct signal transduction networks
Authors: Matos Marta R. A. , Knapp Bettina , Kaderali Lars
Published: May 2015

Summary: With the widespread availability of high-throughput experimental technologies it has become possible to study hundreds to thousands of cellular factors simultaneously, such as coding- or non-coding mRNA or protein concentrations. Still, extracting information about the underlying regulatory or signaling interactions from these data remains a difficult challenge. We present a flexible approach towards network inference based on linear programming. Our method reconstructs the interactions of factors from a combination of perturbation/non-perturbation and steady-state/time-series data. We show both on simulated and real data that our methods are able to reconstruct the underlying networks fast and efficiently, thus shedding new light on biological processes and, in particular, into disease’s mechanisms of action. We have implemented the approach as an R package available through bioconductor.

Availability and implementation: This R package is freely available under the Gnu Public License (GPL-3) from bioconductor.org (http://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/lpNet.html) and is compatible with most operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS) and hardware architectures.

Contact:  bettina.knapp@helmholtz-muenchen.de

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
RPdb: a database of experimentally verified cellular reprogramming records
Authors: Shen Yi , Gao Fan , Wang Minghui , Li Ao
Published: May 2015

Summary: Many cell lines can be reprogrammed to other cell lines by forced expression of a few transcription factors or by specifically designed culture methods, which have attracted a great interest in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research. Plenty of cell lines have been used to generate induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) by expressing a group of genes and microRNAs. These IPSCs can differentiate into somatic cells to promote tissue regeneration. Similarly, many somatic cells can be directly reprogrammed to other cells without a stem cell state. All these findings are helpful in searching for new reprogramming methods and understanding the biological mechanism inside. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is still no database dedicated to integrating the reprogramming records. We built RPdb (cellular reprogramming database) to collect cellular reprogramming information and make it easy to access. All entries in RPdb are manually extracted from more than 2000 published articles, which is helpful for researchers in regenerative medicine and cell biology.

Availability and Implementation: RPdb is freely available on the web at http://bioinformatics.ustc.edu.cn/rpdb with all major browsers supported.

Contact:  aoli@ustc.edu.cn

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
DisVis: quantifying and visualizing accessible interaction space of distance-restrained biomolecular complexes
Authors: van Zundert G.C.P. , Bonvin A.M.J.J.
Published: May 2015

Summary: We present DisVis, a Python package and command line tool to calculate the reduced accessible interaction space of distance-restrained binary protein complexes, allowing for direct visualization and quantification of the information content of the distance restraints. The approach is general and can also be used as a knowledge-based distance energy term in FFT-based docking directly during the sampling stage.

Availability and implementation: The source code with documentation is freely available from https://github.com/haddocking/disvis.

Contact:  a.m.j.j.bonvin@uu.nl

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Smartphone-based diagnostic for preeclampsia: an mHealth solution for administering the Congo Red Dot (CRD) test in settings with limited resources
Authors: Jonas Stephan Michael , Deserno Thomas Martin , Buhimschi Catalin Sorin , Makin Jennifer , Choma Michael Andrew , Buhimschi Irina Alexandra
Published: May 2015

Objective Morbidity and mortality due to preeclampsia in settings with limited resources often results from delayed diagnosis. The Congo Red Dot (CRD) test, a simple modality to assess the presence of misfolded proteins in urine, shows promise as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for preeclampsia. We propose an innovative mobile health (mHealth) solution that enables the quantification of the CRD test as a batch laboratory test, with minimal cost and equipment.

Methods A smartphone application that guides the user through seven easy steps, and that can be used successfully by non-specialized personnel, was developed. After image acquisition, a robust analysis runs on a smartphone, quantifying the CRD test response without the need for an internet connection or additional hardware. In the first stage, the basic image processing algorithms and supporting test standardizations were developed using urine samples from 218 patients. In the second stage, the standardized procedure was evaluated on 328 urine specimens from 273 women. In the third stage, the application was tested for robustness using four different operators and 94 altered samples.

Results In the first stage, the image processing chain was set up with high correlation to manual analysis (z-test P < 0.001). In the second stage, a high agreement between manual and automated processing was calculated (Lin’s concordance coefficient ρ c = 0.968). In the last stage, sources of error were identified and remedies were developed accordingly. Altered samples resulted in an acceptable concordance with the manual gold-standard (Lin’s ρc = 0.914).

Conclusion Combining smartphone-based image analysis with molecular-specific disease features represents a cost-effective application of mHealth that has the potential to fill gaps in access to health care solutions that are critical to reducing adverse events in resource-poor settings.
Voice
Authors: Grover-Friedlander Michal
Published: June 2015

Opera’s aesthetic foundation is to be sought in the singing voice that is unique and unlike any other. In the writings of Cavell and Abbate, for instance, we find discussions of the voice’s mode of signification and its ways of constructing meaning. Distinctions have been drawn between “realistic” and “operatic” singing, between “singing” and “speaking,” between “voice” and “body,” as well as between phenomenological and psychoanalytical approaches to the voice of opera. The idea of opera that endows voices with unique powers can be traced back to the myth of Orpheus. That myth articulates the phenomenon of the voice as hovering between worlds, as having the power to overturn death. The voice of opera is thereby specifically theorized with respect to the death and the afterlife of the voice. Two case studies are discussed in these terms: Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Hindemith’s Hin und Zurück.
Acting
Authors: Williams Simon
Published: June 2015

Acting and singing have often been considered incompatible activities, but most successful operatic performances depend in part on successful acting. Acting in opera is, however, different from acting in spoken drama. Realistic characterization is often difficult to achieve when acting with music, and often the formal gestures of a more rhetorical representation are more appropriate. A more vivid style of acting was initiated with the bel cantoopera early in the nineteenth century, and later verismoopera required acting that brought out the unconscious motivation of characters. Wagner, Stanislavski, and Felsenstein all developed a style of acting that reflected the psychology of the character and encouraged ensemble. Modern operatic performance incorporates a variety of styles, but a combination of realism and minimalism may be most effective on stage. Callas’s performance in Act 2 of Toscaand Nicholas Lehnhoff’s production of Parsifalare analyzed.
The Orchestra
Authors: Di Profio Alessandro
Published: June 2015

This chapter shows how variable the makeup of the opera orchestra has been throughout the history of opera from the seventeenth century to the present day. This variability cannot be explained only by historical evolution. Rather, the changes in the constitution of the orchestra were influenced by geography (local traditions), repertoire, performance space, and organology. The transmission of works, the movement of conductors from one country to another, and the increasing complexity of instrumental language in opera contributed to the standardization of the orchestra that was achieved only after World War II on a model established in the 1870s. Recent interest in historically informed performance tends to put forward old peculiarities that had been erased with time. Four main cases are discussed: (1) the orchestra at the time of Monteverdi and the heritage of the Renaissance, (2) the Paris Opéra and the French tradition, (3) La Scala and the reforms encouraged by Verdi, and (4) Wagner and the search for an ideal orchestra.
Costumes
Authors: Isaac Veronica
Published: June 2015

This chapter discusses the role of costume in opera. It is intended as an initial introduction to the topic and as such not only outlines key examples of existing scholarship, but also endeavors to illustrate the scope that exists for further research into this area of opera history. The 1881 production of Patienceby W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan is employed as a case study through which to demonstrate potential modes of analysis, to explore the connections between contemporary fashions and stage costume, and to illustrate the crucial role these garments play in communicating meaning.
Patronage
Authors: De Lucca Valeria
Published: June 2015

The history of opera, one of the most expensive of the performing arts to produce, is inextricably intertwined with the history of its patrons, who not only sustained it financially, but also shaped its form and content in profound and persistent ways. By looking at two case studies from early modern Italy—one from the Medici court of Florence and one from the Venetian commercial theaters—this chapter discusses the double nature of patronage: (1) a process through which composers, poets, and performers helped patrons build a public image that would reflect their social and political agenda; and (2) a form of managerial and financial contribution to the production of opera in the context of public theaters.
Politics
Authors: Weiner Marc A.
Published: June 2015

Chapter 32 discusses various methodologies—culture studies, deconstruction, Ideologiekritik, New Historicism—used in analyzing the intersections of opera and politics, including the political affiliations of composers, the context in which operas are performed, the dramatic portrayal of political history, sexual politics, political ideology, the political implications of musical discourse, and others. Following a description of such approaches, the chapter analyzes Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde as an example of a work that can be viewed through consideration of its political content, even when that content is intentionally only implied. Although this music drama is traditionally understood as exemplifying a rejection of politics, careful analysis reveals myriad political dimensions, in terms of the work’s text and of the means by which its music bears political significance. Thus, it can be shown to demonstrate approaches associated with a variety of methodologies employed in the discussion of opera and politics.
Editing Opera
Authors: Brauner Patricia B.
Published: June 2015

Editing older music enables its performance, analysis, and assessment. Although there are various approaches to editing, such as the classic and copy-text methods and Lachmannian stemmatics, the goal should always be to present the musical text in a form that is true to its author and its interpreters. Digital technology can augment the editor’s work. The case study of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia illustrates the many decisions—varying according to the circumstances of the music’s composition and transmission—that an informed editor must make when working with a composer’s autograph score; when there is no autograph, as is the case with the overture to Barbiere, the editor’s task is even more complex. Supplementary materials are provided by the Barbierecritical edition to assist singers in understanding early nineteenth-century Italian opera performance conventions.
1900–1945
Authors: Calico Joy H.
Published: June 2015

This chapter considers three trends evident in recent research on opera in the period 1900–1945. Scholars tend to situate the genre, as well as individual works and composers, in relation to Wagner’s influence; they challenge and expand received wisdom about modernism, either admitting previously marginalized repertoire to that canon or proposing multiple modernisms; and they pursue nuanced analyses of the relationship between opera and Nazi/Fascist regimes. Precisely how one might define opera in a period of such great experimentation is also discussed. Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny is presented as a case study in which all of these approaches are fruitful.
Introduction
Authors: Greenwald Helen M.
Published: June 2015

This introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Opera provides a summary to the main themes of the volume: opera as a genre, the balance of words and music, performance history, cultural history, transmission and reception, and contemporary opera. The themes are discussed as questions: what is opera? How does the fluidity of the art form play out in productions and in the physical reproductions of the scores and libretti? How does a creator of opera balance the words, the music, and the stagecraft? Why do Italians and Italian operas still dominate the conversation? The introduction lays out the topics of the fifty essays contained in this volume, capturing the highly charged dynamic between opera and its audience.
A Framework for the Economic Analysis of Exclusionary Conduct
Authors: Bernheim B. Douglas , Heeb Randal
Published: June 2015

This chapter provides a unified framework for conducting a rule-of-reason investigation into the competitive effects of various exclusionary practices, including pricing conduct such as predation and bundling, as well as “exclusionary conditions” such as exclusive dealing and other restrictions on customers’ interactions with rivals. The precedential legal cases governing a wide range of exclusionary practices are compatible with the economic logic upon which the framework is built. By focusing on the most common and important mechanism through which exclusionary conduct might harm competition, namely by weakening a rival and thereby diminishing its threat as a future competitor, the chapter identifies tractable strategies for determining whether such conduct is anticompetitive or procompetitive.
Squeeze Claims
Authors: Orbach Barak , Avraham Raphael
Published: June 2015

A “squeeze” is an increase in costs that cannot be passed on to consumers. A firm or a group of firms that dominates and that supplies intermediate inputs—credit, goods, or services used for the production of other goods and services—may have the power to impose restrictions on their supply, which in turn could squeeze other firms. Squeeze claims take the position that, by imposing restrictions on the supply of intermediate inputs, the defendant violated antitrust law. The three traditional antitrust squeeze claims are refusal to deal, essential facility, and price squeeze claims. Several old antitrust doctrines, not all of which are valid today or consistent with modern antitrust, supposedly offer remedies to squeeze claims. By contrast, the US Supreme Court is largely reluctant to recognize squeezing as an antitrust violation. This chapter studies and clarifies the law and economics of antitrust squeeze claims.
Franchising and Exclusive Distribution
Authors: Lafontaine Francine , Slade Margaret
Published: June 2015

This chapter examines vertical restraints and restrictive contract clauses in franchising and distribution agreements. First it briefly outlines the history of franchising and presents some data on franchising in the United States. It then discusses the extent to which franchise and distribution relationships rely on specific vertical restraints and the evidence regarding the efficiency, or lack thereof, of those arrangements. It next describes how changes in the antitrust treatment of some practices are affecting franchise contracts and franchise relationships today. It concludes with some comments on the contractual nature of distribution and franchise relationships and the need for different jurisdictions to reach a consensus concerning the role of, and harmonize the treatment of, restrictive contract clauses in distribution and retailing.
Screening for Collusion as a Problem of Inference
Authors: Froeb Luke , Sibley David , Doane Michael , Pinto Brijesh P.
Published: June 2015

This chapter characterizes screening for collusion as a problem of inference whose essential elements include competitive null hypothesis (H0), a collusive alternative (H1), and an empirical indicator (X) to differentiate between them. Using this framework, the chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical efforts to design screens and finds that screens fail for one of three reasons: (1) the empirical indicator cannot distinguish between H0 and H1; (2) H0 is not indicative of competition or H1 is not indicative of collusion; or (3) the world is neither H0 nor H1. The often underappreciated, second and third conditions imply that before using a screen, the practitioners should make sure that the industry in question “fits” the theoretical model or assumptions on which the screen is based.
Corporate Governance in Banking
Authors: Hagendorff Jens
Published: June 2015

Banks differ from non-financial firms. These differences affect the manner of agency conflicts between the various bank stakeholder groups compared with non-financial firms. However, the main corporate governance arrangements used in the banking industry to mitigate these agency conflicts are largely similar to those of non-financial firms. A case in point is executive compensation. No other major industry has less equity on the balance sheet than banking. However, executive pay in banking is linked to shareholder wealth just as in other industries, thus exacerbating existing incentives for bank managers to shift risk. This chapter reviews the literature on corporate governance in banking with a focus on those aspects of corporate governance in which banks (should) differ from non-financial firms, that is, executive compensation, the composition of the board of directors, ownership, and risk management. The chapter encourages a profound rethink of the corporate governance of banks.
Diversification in Banking
Authors: Stiroh Kevin J.
Published: June 2015

Over the last few decades, US commercial banks have expanded dramatically by entering new geographic markets and offering a wider array of financial products. As a result, they are more diversified, but does this diversification improve performance and reduce risk? I begin by discussing the various market frictions that might make internal diversification efficient and optimal for financial institutions. I then review the large and growing literature on diversification in banking, with particular attention to the most recent studies that examined the performance of financial firms in both the US and Europe over the 2007–08 crisis. I conclude with some observations from the financial crisis and a discussion of some of the outstanding issues that deserve further scrutiny by policymakers and academic researchers.
Small Business Lending by Banks
Authors: Berger Allen N.
Published: June 2015

The research model for analyzing bank small business lending has evolved considerably since the early 1990s, when the focus was primarily on the use of relationship lending to finance informationally opaque small businesses. The model has been broadened to include many more lending technologies that may be used to lend to opaque small businesses, each based on a different combination of “hard” (quantitative) and “soft” (qualitative) information. These technologies form the basic building blocks of the modern research model of small business lending. Virtually all of the analyses of credit availability, contract terms, and type of bank that provides the funding revolve around the lending technologies employed in the underwriting process. This chapter covers some of the issues regarding bank lending to small businesses. We discuss the lending technologies and the effects of banking industry consolidation and technological progress on the use of the lending technologies and their effects on small business credit.
Central Banking
Authors: Aglietta Michel , Mojon Benoît
Published: June 2015

This chapter describes the emergence of central banks and the evolution of their functions as responses to the monetary and financial crises of the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. First, central banks have become bankers’ banks to facilitate the settlement of inter-bank payments. Central bank money is the legal tender of all debts, including bank-issued debts that are used as means of payment by non-financial agents. Second, the repetition of liquidity crises has led central banks to regulate and supervise the banking system. These policies aim to prevent excessive risk-taking by one bank threatening the integrity of the payment system. However, because crises cannot always be avoided, central banks stand ready to lend as a last resort if need be. Finally, central banks conduct monetary policy, that is, they supply money to stabilize the unit of account and thereby provide a nominal anchor to the economy.
Deposit Insurance Issues in the Post-2008 Crisis World
Authors: Kaufman George G. , Eisenbeis Robert A.
Published: June 2015

History and recent experience demonstrate that the effectiveness of deposit insurance depends on how it is designed and implemented. The chapter proposes key features that well-functioning and efficient guarantee systems should have if they are to be an effective part of a country’s broader financial safety net system in non-crisis periods. It should be emphasized that an effective system includes a credible deposit insurance with a process that empowers supervisors to both intervene effectively before a troubled institution becomes insolvent and legally close them before their capital is fully depleted. Moreover, the structure should provide for quick resolution when failure occurs. Efficient resolution of insolvent and near-insolvent banks can be achieved when (1) an insolvent institution that cannot be recapitalized should be legally closed when its equity-capital-to-asset ratio declines to a pre-specified and well-publicized positive minimum, (2) once closed, recovery values should be estimated quickly and any losses from closure allocated to de jure uninsured in-the-money bank counterparties according to ex ante legal priorities, (3) the institutions should be reprivatized and re-opened as soon as possible, and (4) the institution should be re-privatized with adequate capital so that it does not quickly fall into insolvency again
Market Discipline in Financial Markets
Authors: Bliss Robert R.
Published: June 2015

Market discipline, as the term is used in financial regulation, refers to the prevention or remediation of excessive risk-taking by banks either directly by market participants themselves or indirectly by regulators using market prices as signals of developing problems. Numerous papers have investigated whether or not market discipline obtains. After critiquing this evidence, this chapter explores the implicit assumptions underlying the idea that security holders can discipline firms and that security prices provide useful information to supervisors. It then employs arguments from corporate governance and the behavioral finance literature to arrive at a less optimistic perspective of what should be expected from market participants.
Bank Failures, the Great Depression, and Other “Contagious” Events*
Authors: Calomiris Charles W.
Published: June 2015

This chapter reviews the history of banking crises, with particular emphasis on the experience of the United States during the Great Depression. It considers the perspectives historical experience provide regarding the relevance of different theories of the origins of such crises, their consequences for the economy, their changing frequency over time, the potential role for lender-of-last resort assistance to ameliorate crises, and differences across countries in the propensity for crises.
Banking Globalization
Authors: Buch Claudia M. , Delong Gayle L.
Published: June 2015

The 2007–09 financial crisis has renewed interest in the causes of consequences of international bank mergers. While it is too early to assess the effects of recent developments on financial markets, there is a rich literature on international mergers and acquisitions in banking, which this chapter surveys. We focus on three main questions. First, what are the determinants of cross-border acquisitions of commercial banks? Second, do cross-border acquisitions affect the efficiency of banks? Third, what are the risk effects of international bank acquisitions? We begin with a brief summary of the stylized facts, and we conclude with implications for policymakers.
Revisiting the State’s Role in Finance and Development
Authors: Demirgüç-Kunt Asli , Cihak Martin
Published: June 2015

Financial systems underpin economic development. This chapter reviews the role of the state in finance and economic development, based on evidence from both before and during the global financial crisis. The crisis has given greater credence to the idea that active state involvement in the financial sector can help maintain economic stability, drive growth, and create jobs. There is evidence that some interventions may have had an impact in the short run. But there is also strong evidence on longer-term negative effects. This suggests a need to adjust the role of the state from direct interventions to less direct involvement. But the state still has a very important role, especially in supervision, competition, and financial infrastructure. The challenge of financial sector policies is to better align private incentives with public interest without taxing or subsidizing private risk-taking.
Banking and Real Economic Activity
Authors: Cetorelli Nicola
Published: June 2015

The role of banks in real economic activity has been discussed at length, with arguments over whether bank development is merely a consequence of a growing economy, which simply demands a growing flow of intermediated funds, or whether instead banks themselves can spur further real economic activity. Both theory and empirical advances in recent years have put this causality debate to rest. Not only does banking matter but we now know better how. This chapter provides a panoramic view of the literature on this topic, from the earlier emphasis on causality, to its further investigation of the specific mechanisms through which banks affect the real economy and open issues on the table to carry research activity going forward.
Banking in the United States
Authors: DeYoung Robert
Published: June 2015

The past 20 years have witnessed a transformation of the US banking industry, as well as a near total disaster. Mergers and acquisitions halved the population of commercial banks and the largest banks increased in size tenfold. The regulatory framework established during the Great Depression was dismantled, new technologies revolutionized how banks produce and distribute financial services, and dramatic increases in competition pressured banks to operate more efficiently. A strategic dichotomy has emerged, with small “community” banks providing person-to-person retail and small business banking services, and large commercial banks providing high-volume retail banking services in domestic markets and corporate and investment banking services world-wide. These changes have brought great efficiencies to the banking industry and its customers, but also introduced new instabilities. A decade of high profits was followed by large investment losses and government bailouts during the financial crisis of 2008–09. A partial re-regulation of the industry has followed
Banking in the Developing Nations of Asia
Authors: Klapper Leora , Soledad Martínez Pería María , Zia Bilal
Published: June 2015

Developing economies in East and South Asia have seen their banking sectors go through important transformations. Pressures induced by the 1997 East Asian crisis and the global trend toward increasing financial integration have resulted in significant reforms and structural changes. In particular, countries in East and South Asia have embarked on efforts to clean up their banking systems, reduce state ownership, and allow greater foreign participation. This chapter describes recent changes in bank ownership structure in Asia, offering a detailed account of the reform process in the main economies in the region and evaluating the implications of these changes before and during the global financial crisis. In light of the recent global financial turmoil, the chapter also discusses the impact of the crisis on the banking sectors in Asia and empirically analyzes the behavior of foreign bank lending in the region during the crisis.
Sensitivity of Erysiphe necator and Plasmopara viticola in Virginia to QoI Fungicides, Boscalid, Quinoxyfen, Thiophanate Methyl, and Mefenoxam
Authors: Colcol Jeneylyne F. , Baudoin Anton B.
Published: June 2015

The sensitivity of downy mildew (DM, Plasmopara viticola) and powdery mildew (PM, Erysiphe necator) of grape (Vitis sp.) to commonly used nondemethylation inhibitor, single-site fungicides in and near Virginia was determined from 2005 to 2007, with more limited additional sampling in subsequent years. In grape leaf disc bioassays, 92% of the P. viticola isolates were quinone outside inhibitor (QoI, azoxystrobin) resistant but none were resistant to mefenoxam. In all, 82% of the E. necator isolates were QoI resistant. Most of the QoI-resistant P. viticola and E. necator isolates contained >95% of the G143A point mutation, which confers high levels of QoI resistance. In contrast, QoI-sensitive P. viticola isolates contained less than 1% of G143A. In total, 1 of 145 and 14 of 154 QoI-resistant P. viticola and E. necator isolates (able to grow on azoxystrobin concentration ≥1 μg/ml), respectively, contained <1% G143A. In total, 61 E. necator isolates from 23 locations were tested against thiophanate methyl, and the majority grew well on leaf tissue treated with 50 and 250 μg/ml. Through 2012, none of the E. necator isolates were resistant to boscalid and quinoxyfen. However, in 2013, quinoxyfen-resistant E. necator was detected in one vineyard experiencing difficulties with powdery mildew control. No 50% effective concentration value could be calculated but these isolates tolerated labeled rates with only limited inhibition. QoI (E. necator and P. viticola) and benzimidazole (E. necator) resistance were widespread in Virginia, rendering these materials inadvisable for control of these diseases. The practical importance and current distribution of quinoxyfen resistance needs further investigation.
Biological and Molecular Characterization of Five Phomopsis Species Associated with Pear Shoot Canker in China
Authors: Bai Qing , Zhai Lifeng , Chen Xiaoren , Hong Ni , Xu Wenxing , Wang Guoping
Published: June 2015

In recent years, a widespread canker disease that infects the branches of pear trees has been observed in many provinces in China; it kills the branches and results in high losses in fruit production. Symptomatic branches were collected for etiological isolation from 11 varieties of three pear species and from Malus pumila. Samples were collected from six provinces in China. In total, 143 Phomopsis isolates were obtained from 181 samples and these were identified as belonging to five species: Phomopsis fukushii (n = 69 isolates), Diaporthe eres (n = 31), P. amygdali (n = 22), P. longicolla (n = 13), and D. neotheicola (n = 8). Pathogenicity tests showed that only the first three species induced lesions on nonwounded branches of Pyrus pyrifolia var. Cuiguan. All the fungal species induced branch cankers following wound inoculations, and tests with additional pear varieties showed significantly higher virulence levels for the first three species than the latter two. A host range evaluation suggested that the five species could infect most fruit trees belonging to the Rosaceae family as well as some non-Rosaceous species. Virulence varied depending on the species of both host and pathogen. Isolates of Phomopsis amygdali had significantly higher virulence in all the tested Rosaceae plants. Correlations among the host, pathogen, and sampling regions were noted, and the morphology, growth rate, and sporulation of these species in varied media were also characterized. This study presents the first attempt to perform a broad survey and characterization of the Phomopsis spp. associated with the pear shoot cankers in China. This study shows that D. eres and P. amygdali are just as responsible for the pear shoot canker diseases as P. fukushii, and it expands the host and geographic ranges of the five species. This report provides useful information for understanding and improving management strategies for controlling this economically important disease.