bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthetic Floating‐Rate Debt: An Example of an Asset‐Driven Liability Structure
Authors: Adams James , Smith Donald J.
Published: October 2015

An asset‐driven liability (ADL) structure is analogous to a liability‐driven investment (LDI) strategy. In both cases, the intent is to reduce the risk arising from a mismatch of assets and liabilities by aligning the interest rate sensitivity of cash flows on both sides of the balance sheet. Increasingly, defined‐benefit pension plans have adopted LDI strategies that reduce their equity assets and increase the average duration of their debt assets to better match the typical long duration of their retirement obligations to its employees. To illustrate the concept of ADL, the authors use the example of a corporate issue of traditional fixed‐rate debt that is transformed into synthetic floating‐rate debt using an interest rate swap (in which the corporation receives the fixed rate on the swap and pays at money market reference rate like three‐month LIBOR). The use of such long‐term, floating‐rate debt reduces interest rate risk when the firm has operating revenues that are positively correlated to the business cycle.

However, a problem arises in that there is limited demand for such debt securities from institutional investors, many of which, because of LDI guidelines, prefer long‐term, fixed‐rate securities. Derivatives provide a way of resolving this mismatch between issuer and investor interests. In the article, the authors present a detailed example of the cash flows on the “receive‐fixed” interest rate swap (and its valuation for financial reporting) to show how the synthetic ADL debt structure obtains the desired outcome.
Another Look at Bookbuilding, Auctions, and the Future of the IPO Process
Authors: Chen Zhaohui , Morrison Alan , Wilhelm William J.
Published: October 2015

In an earlier series of articles published in this journal, one of the three authors of this article predicted the rise of auction IPOs, possibly to the point of displacing the traditional bookbuilding process for pricing and allocating IPOs, only to find himself forced to explain in later articles the continuing preference of issuers for the conventional IPO process. In a 1999 article, for example, this author cited WR Hambrecht as posing a serious challenge to bookbuilding. And in a 2005 article, shortly after Google used an auction for its IPO, he suggested that the time was ripe for change.

In this article the authors revisit the debate, taken up most recently in a 2012 exchange between Congressman Darrell Issa and the SEC. They begin by discussing why bookbuilding persists before focusing on several recent developments that could undermine the case for bookbuilding. The authors point out that bookbuilding rests on banks' discretion in allocating IPO shares and, critically, on both issuers and investors trusting that it will be deployed appropriately. After discussing developments that have undermined trust in the financial markets, the authors suggest that, when combined with recent regulatory changes intended to streamline public offerings by small firms, such changes have created opportunities for auctions to gain traction in the U.S. IPO market.
A South African Success Story: Excellence in the Corporate Use of Capital and Its Social Benefits
Authors: Kantor Brian , Holland David
Published: October 2015

South African companies have made great progress in improving corporate profitability since the nation became a full democracy in 1994. Using the “Cash Flow Return on Investment” (CFROI) method, the authors demonstrate that South African listed companies have been generating world‐beating levels of inflation‐adjusted return on capital over the past decade.

But not all parts of the South African economy have benefited from this corporate success. Despite the impressive corporate returns, economic growth remains lackluster, constrained by confused labor and government policies. The authors recommend that South African policy makers aim to minimize uncertainty for the private sector by refraining from interventions with agendas that have little to do with expanding output or employment growth. Using terminology borrowed from Thomas Piketty's recent book, the two authors argue that what South Africa needs is not some way to limit investors' return on capital (r) but rather sound economic approaches to liberate growth (g). The authors would like to see the country's companies continue to generate high “r” while reinvesting their profits to produce more wealth‐creating “g.”
Do Bond Covenants Affect Borrowing Costs?
Authors: Fridson Martin , Xu Xiaoyi , Liu Ruili , Yin Yinqiao
Published: October 2015

High yield bond investors spend a great deal of time studying covenants. They even hire specialized consultants to help them interpret the dense language of indentures. But for all that, does a company's decision to offer strong rather than weak covenants—or to offer covenants at all—have a measurable impact on its borrowing costs?

There is surprisingly little evidence that variation in credit risk premiums reflects the presence or absence of covenants. Taking advantage of a newly available kind of data—Moody's Investors Service's Covenant Quality (CQ) ratings, which were initiated in 2011—the authors studied each newly issued U.S. high yield bond beginning in 2011 using Moody's CQ ratings, where a rating of “1” represents the strongest covenant rating and “5” the weakest. The authors hypothesize that if investors are willing to pay for covenant protection, bonds with weak CQ scores should have spreads that are higher, on average, than the medians of the bonds in their rating group. What they found, however, was that even bonds rated CQ5, indicating negligible protection, had spreads that were only 9.54 basis points higher than the median of companies with the same credit rating. The authors also found, contrary to their initial supposition, that higher yields were associated with stronger covenants, suggesting that investors demand more protection on issues they view as having greater credit risk than other equivalently rated issues.
Motives for Mergers and Acquisitions: Ex‐Post Market Evidence from the US
Authors: Nguyen Hien Thu , Yung Kenneth , Sun Qian
Published: October 2015

Abstract:  Despite extensive research, merger motivation is largely inconclusive. Incomparable methodologies further exacerbate debates in the extant literature. This study uses a recently developed technique to examine post‐acquisition evidence as to the motives behind merger and acquisition activity. Using a sample of 3,520 domestic acquisitions in the United States, we find that 73% are related to market timing; 59% are related to agency motives and/or hubris; and 3% are responses to industry and economic shocks. Our results also show that about 80% of the mergers in our sample involved multiple motives. Thus, in general it is very difficult to have a clear picture of merger motivation because value‐increasing and value‐decreasing motives may coexist.
Managers: Their Effects on Accruals and Firm Policies
Authors: Dejong Douglas , Ling Zhejia
Published: October 2015

This paper investigates whether top executives have significant individual‐specific effects on accruals that cannot be explained by firm characteristics. Exploiting individual executive and firm data from a period of 37 years, we find that individual executives play a significant role in determining firms’ accruals. We examine whether executives’ effects on accruals are related to their personal styles on firm policies, investment, financing and operating decisions. Our results show that individual executives’ effects on accruals are more correlated with their operating decisions than investment and financing decisions. We next investigate whether managers themselves also have a personal style for directly affecting accruals. We compare effects exerted by CEOs to CFOs. We find CEOs are more likely to affect accruals through firm policy decisions and CFOs are more likely to affect accruals through accounting decisions. CFOs tend to report more ‘solid’ earnings than CEOs, i.e., CFOs are more likely to push accruals to zero.
The Differential Value Relevance of S&P's Core Earnings Versus GAAP Earnings: The Role of Stock Option Expense
Authors: Wieland Matthew M. , Dawkins Mark C. , Dugan Michael T.
Published: October 2015

In 2002, Standard & Poor's (S&P) introduced Core Earnings as a proprietary, uniform earnings metric, with the goal of improving financial reporting. The distinguishing feature of Core Earnings is its consistent treatment of seven adjustments to GAAP earnings for which there is no consensus adjustment by managers and analysts. We use stock price and return data to assess whether investors perceive Core Earnings to be more value relevant than GAAP earnings. The implementation of FASB 123R changed the calculation of GAAP and Core Earnings. This change allows us to assess the role of stock option expense in the valuation of earnings numbers by partitioning the sample into pre‐ and post‐FASB 123R periods and creating consistent measures of GAAP and Core Earnings. Our price results indicate that Core Earnings is more value relevant than GAAP earnings in the pre‐period after controlling for stock option expense, and in the post‐FASB 123R periods. The price results provide empirical evidence consistent with S&P's expectation that a uniformly calculated earnings measure is a more consistent and useful indicator of current performance and future earnings.
Meeting or Missing Earnings Benchmarks: The Role of CEO Integrity
Authors: Jia Yuping
Published: October 2015

This paper examines the role of CEO integrity in determining whether a company's earnings benchmarks will be met, beaten or missed. Prior literature provides evidence that managers have incentives for meeting or beating earnings benchmarks and are rewarded by the market for doing so (Lopez and Rees, 2002; and Skinner and Sloan, 2002). Managers also have incentives to miss their earnings targets for the benefit of a lower strike price on subsequent option grants (McAnally et al., 2008). A CEO's involvement in backdating is taken here as a measure of his or her integrity. This paper shows that CEO integrity significantly influences whether benchmarks are met or beaten. In other words, backdating CEOs are more likely to meet or narrowly beat all three earnings benchmarks examined in the paper: positive earnings, last year's earnings and analysts’ forecasts. At the same time, they are also less likely to narrowly miss a zero‐earnings benchmark. The results presented in this paper further validate the use of benchmark meeting/beating as a measure of earnings manipulation.
Mitochondrial DNA variation of indigenous goats in Narok and Isiolo counties of Kenya
Authors: Kibegwa F.M. , Githui K.E. , Jung'a J.O. , Badamana M.S. , Nyamu M.N.
Published: October 2015

Phylogenetic relationships among and genetic variability within 60 goats from two different indigenous breeds in Narok and Isiolo counties in Kenya and 22 published goat samples were analysed using mitochondrial control region sequences. The results showed that there were 54 polymorphic sites in a 481‐bp sequence and 29 haplotypes were determined. The mean haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were 0.981 ± 0.006 and 0.019 ± 0.001, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis in combination with goat haplogroup reference sequences from GenBank showed that all goat sequences were clustered into two haplogroups (A and G), of which haplogroup A was the commonest in the two populations. A very high percentage (99.90%) of the genetic variation was distributed within the regions, and a smaller percentage (0.10%) distributed among regions as revealed by the analysis of molecular variance (amova). This amova results showed that the divergence between regions was not statistically significant. We concluded that the high levels of intrapopulation diversity in Isiolo and Narok goats and the weak phylogeographic structuring suggested that there existed strong gene flow among goat populations probably caused by extensive transportation of goats in history.
Trends in Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control of Blood Pressure Recorded From 2004 to 2014 During World Hypertension Day in Italy
Authors: Tocci Giuliano , Muiesan Maria L. , Parati Gianfranco , Agabiti Rosei Enrico , Ferri Claudio , Virdis Agostino , Pontremoli Roberto , Mancia Giuseppe , Borghi Claudio , Volpe Massimo ,   the Working Group of the Italian Society of Hypertension (SIIA) and SIIA Foundation.
Published: October 2015

Estimates of blood pressure (BP) control in real life are not systematically collected in Italy. We evaluated trends in systolic/diastolic BP levels, as well as prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates of hypertension among adult individuals visiting open checkpoints during the 2004 to 2014 annual editions of World Hypertension Day. Hypertension was defined as BP level ≥140/90 mm Hg or use of antihypertensive medication, whereas BP control was defined as BP level <140/90 mm Hg. We included 10,051 individuals (53.2% female, age 56.2±16.8 years, body mass index 25.7±7.6 kg/m2, systolic/diastolic BP 131.9±18.6/79.1±10.5 mm Hg). Hypertension prevalence and treatment were substantially unchanged, whereas awareness appears to increase over time. Controlled hypertension in diagnosed treated patients increased from 50.0% in 2004–2010 to 55.5% in 2011–2012 towards 57.6% in 2013–2014. This analysis provides real‐life snapshots of hypertension over the years in the occasion of World Hypertension Day, showing increased awareness and improved control rates among treated hypertensive patients attending open checkpoints during 2004 to 2014 in Italy.
Risks, Costs and Labour Markets: Explaining Cross‐National Patterns of Far Right Party Success in European Parliament Elections
Authors: Halikiopoulou Daphne , Vlandas Tim
Published: October 2015

Does the economy affect patterns of far‐right party support across countries? This article reconceptualizes micro‐level analyses that focus on the effect of unemployment through a framework of costs, risks and the mediating role of labour market institutions. It then derives several hypotheses and tests them on the results of the previous three EP elections in all EU Member States. Findings from multiple regression analyses indicate that unemployment, real GDP growth, debt and deficits have no statistically significant effect on far‐right party support at the national level. By contrast, labour market institutions influence costs and risks: where unemployment benefits and dismissal regulations are high, unemployment has no effect, but where either one of them is low, unemployment leads to higher far‐right party support. This explains why unemployment has not led to far‐right party support in some European countries that experienced the severity of the 2008 eurozone crisis.
High‐Technology Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley
Authors: Fairlie Robert W. , Chatterji Aaron K.
Published: October 2015

The economic expansion of the late 1990s created many opportunities for business creation in Silicon Valley, but the opportunity cost of starting a business was also high during this period because of the exceptionally tight labor market. A new measure of entrepreneurship derived from matching files from the Current Population Survey (CPS) is used to provide the first test of the hypothesis that business creation rates were high in Silicon Valley during the “Roaring 90s.” Unlike previous measures of firm births based on large, nationally representative datasets, the new measure captures business creation at the individual‐owner level, includes both employer and nonemployer business starts, and focuses on only hi‐tech industries. Estimates indicate that hi‐tech entrepreneurship rates were lower in Silicon Valley than the rest of the United States during the period from January 1996 to February 2000. Examining the post‐boom period, we find that entrepreneurship rates in Silicon Valley increased from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Although Silicon Valley may be an entrepreneurial location overall, we provide the first evidence that the extremely tight labor market of the late 1990s, especially in hi‐tech industries, may have suppressed business creation during this period.
Selection and Serial Entrepreneurs
Authors: Chen Jing
Published: October 2015

There is substantial evidence that serial entrepreneurs outperform de novo entrepreneurs. But is this positive association between prior experience and performance the result of learning by doing or of selection on ability? This paper proposes a strategy that combines the fixed‐effects model and IV estimations to distinguish empirically selection effects from learning. Using panel data from the NLSY79, I find that selection on ability is the more important determinant of serial business formation and the early performance of new businesses. In contrast, the effects of learning by doing are apparent only when the analysis focuses on founding new startups in sectors closely related to entrepreneurs’ previous ventures.
Multidivisional Strategy and Investment Returns
Authors: Natividad Gabriel
Published: October 2015

This paper studies the influence of multidivisional structure on investment returns using a large database of projects in the U.S. film distribution industry, a setting in which divisionalization exists without horizontal diversification—all divisions of multidivisional distributors release feature films. The findings are consistent with a positive effect of multidivisional strategy on investment returns, even if total investment need not increase. Multidivisional strategies are more consequential for higher profitability when firms share key human talent across their divisions.
Equilibrium Principal‐Agent Contracts: Competition and R&D Incentives
Authors: Etro Federico , Cella Michela
Published: October 2015

We analyze competition between firms engaged in R&D activities and market competition to study the choice of the incentive contracts for managers with hidden productivity. Oligopolistic screening requires extra effort/investment from the most productive managers: under additional assumptions on the hazard rate of the distribution of types we obtain no distortion in the middle rather than at the top. The equilibrium contracts are characterized by effort differentials between (any) two types always increasing with the number of firms, suggesting a positive relation between competition and high‐powered incentives. An inverted U curve between competition and absolute investments can emerge for the most productive managers.
Meta‐Analysis of Salivary Flow Rates in Young and Older Adults
Authors: Affoo Rebecca H. , Foley Norine , Garrick Rushlee , Siqueira Walter L. , Martin Ruth E.
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To determine whether salivary flow decreases as a function of aging.

Design

Meta‐analysis.

Setting

Literature review.

Participants

Individuals aged 18 and older reported to be free of major systemic disease.

Measurements

Relevant studies were identified through a literature search of several databases, from their inception to June 2013. Studies were included if saliva had been collected on at least one occasion in subjects aged 18 and older and if the data were presented in a manner that enabled comparisons of younger and older participants. Differences in salivary flow rates between age groups were calculated for each salivary source and condition and reported as standardized mean differences (SMDs), standard errors (SEs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The results were pooled using a random effects model. A separate analysis examining medication use was also conducted.

Results

Forty‐seven studies were included. Whole (SMD = 0.551, SE = 0.056, 95% CI = 0.423–0.678, P < .001) and submandibular and sublingual (SMSL) (SMD = 0.582, SE = 0.123, 95% CI = 0.341–0.823, P < .001) salivary flow rates were reduced significantly in older participants and in unstimulated and stimulated conditions. In contrast, parotid and minor gland salivary flow rates were not significantly reduced with increasing age. Additionally, unstimulated and stimulated SMSL, and unstimulated whole salivary flow rates were significantly lower in older adults, regardless of medication usage.

Conclusion

The aging process is associated with reduced salivary flow in a salivary‐gland–specific manner; this reduction in salivary flow cannot be explained on the basis of medications. These findings have important clinical implications for maintaining optimal oral health in older adults.
Association Between Cognitive Impairment and Chronic Kidney Disease in Mexican Americans
Authors: Szerlip Harold M. , Edwards Melissa L. , Williams Benjamin J. , Johnson Leigh A. , Vintimilla Raul M. , O'Bryant Sid E.
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To analyze the association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Mexican Americans and to determine whether there is a blood‐based proteomic profile linking CKD to MCI.

Design

Retrospective analysis of cohort study.

Setting

Health and Aging Brain among Latino Elders study.

Participants

Mexican Americans (N = 437, 105 men, 332 women).

Measurements

Data were analyzed to examine the link between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and detailed neuropsychological functioning. Serum proteomic markers were also examined.

Results

Lower eGFR levels were associated with significantly poorer neuropsychological functioning across multiple domains. After adjusting for age, sex, education, and diabetes mellitus, participants with an eGFR less than 45 mL/min per 1.73 m2 performed significantly worse than those with an eGFR from 45 to 59 mL/min per 1.73 m2 or 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 and higher in processing speed (F = 14.1, P < .001), executive functioning (F = 4.5, P = .01), visuospatial skills (F = 4.8, P = .009), and global cognitive functioning (F = 6.2, P = .002). Participants with an eGFR less than 45 mL/min per 1.73 m2 also performed significantly worse than those with an eGFR of 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 or greater on delayed memory (F = 3.8, P = .02). There was a trend toward lower eGFR levels being associated with greater risk of MCI (odds ratio (OR) = 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.91–6.1, P = .07), which was stronger for men (OR = 9.6, 95% CI = 1.3–74.3, P = .03). A serum proteomic profile consisting of Factor VII, interleukin‐10, C‐reactive protein, and fatty acid binding protein was 93% accurate in detecting CKD‐related MCI.

Conclusion

Lower eGFR was associated with significantly poorer neuropsychological functioning in Mexican Americans. A blood‐based profile was generated that was highly accurate in detecting CKD‐related MCI. A blood profile capable of predicting CKD‐related cognitive impairment would be of benefit for the design of clinical interventions.
Mortality and Readmission After Cervical Fracture from a Fall in Older Adults: Comparison with Hip Fracture Using National Medicare Data
Authors: Cooper Zara , Mitchell Susan L. , Lipsitz Stuart , Harris Mitchel B. , Ayanian John Z. , Bernacki Rachelle E. , Jha Ashish K.
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To examine the prevalence of cervical spine fractures after falls in older Americans, to show changes in recent years, and to compare 12‐month outcomes between individuals with cervical and hip fracture after falls.

Design

Retrospective study of Medicare data from 2007 to 2011.

Setting

Acute care hospitals.

Participants

Individuals aged 65 and older with cervical or hip fracture after a fall.

Measurements

Cervical fracture rate, 12‐month mortality, and readmission rate after injury.

Results

Rates of cervical fracture increased from 4.6 per 10,000 in 2007 to 5.3 per 10,000 in 2011; rates of hip fracture decreased from 77.3 per 10,000 in 2007 to 63.5 per 10,000 in 2011. Participants with cervical fracture with and without spinal cord injury (SCI) were more likely than those with hip fracture to receive treatment at large hospitals (59.4% and 54.1% vs 28.1%, P < .001), teaching hospitals (49.3% and 40.0% vs 13.4%, P < .001), and regional trauma centers (46.3% and 38.5% vs 13.0%, P < .001). Participants with cervical fracture without (24.7%) and with SCI (41.7%) had greater risk‐adjusted mortality at 1 year than those with hip fracture (22.7%) (P < .001). By 1 year, 73.4% of participants with cervical fracture with and 59.5% without SCI and 59.3% of those with hip fracture had died or were readmitted to the hospital (P < .001).

Conclusion

Cervical spinal fractures occur in one of every 2,000 Medicare beneficiaries annually and appear to be increasing over time. Participants with cervical fracture had greater mortality than those with hip fracture. Given the increasing prevalence and the poor outcomes in this population, hospitals need to develop processes to improve care for these vulnerable individuals.
Five‐Year Risk of Mechanical Ventilation in Community‐Dwelling Adults: The Framingham–Intermountain Anticipating Life Support Study
Authors: Walkey Allan J. , Pencina Karol M. , Knox Daniel , Kuttler Kathryn G. , D'Agostino Ralph B. , Benjamin Emelia J. , Brown Samuel M.
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To develop a quantitative tool for identifying outpatients most likely to require life support with mechanical ventilation within 5 years.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Framingham Heart Study (FHS) 1991 to 2009 and Intermountain Healthcare clinics 2008 to 2013.

Participants

FHS participants (n = 3,666; mean age 74; 58% female) in a derivation cohort and Intermountain Healthcare outpatients aged 65 and older (n = 88,302; mean age 73, 57% female) in an external validation cohort.

Measurements

Information on demographic characteristics and comorbidities collected during FHS examinations to derive a 5‐year risk score for receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit, with external validation using administrative data from outpatients seen at Intermountain Healthcare. A sensitivity analysis investigating model performance for a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or death was performed.

Results

Eighty (2%) FHS participants were mechanically ventilated within 5 years after a FHS examination. Age, sex, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, alcohol use, chronic pulmonary disease, and hospitalization within the prior year predicted need for mechanical ventilation within 5 years (c‐statistic = 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.68–0.80). One thousand seven hundred twenty‐five (2%) Intermountain Healthcare outpatients underwent mechanical ventilation. The validation model c‐statistic was 0.67 (95% CI = 0.66–0.68). Approximately 1% of individuals identified as low risk and 5% to 12% identified as high risk required mechanical ventilation within 5 years. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated a c‐statistic of 0.75 (95% CI = 0.75–0.75) for risk prediction of a composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or death.

Conclusion

A simple risk score using clinical examination data or administrative data may be used to predict 5‐year risk of mechanical ventilation or death. Further study is necessary to determine whether use of a risk score enhances advance care planning or improves quality of care of older adults.
The Role of Law in Ameliorating Global Inequalities in Indigenous Peoples' Health
Authors: MacIntosh Constance
Published: October 2015

State and international laws have often been instruments of oppression against Indigenous peoples, enabling and casting a veil of legitimacy over state actions that dispossess, assimilate, and discriminate. In the contemporary setting such law has, at times, come to be harnessed to support or protect Indigenous interests, including addressing Indigenous health deficits and associated injustices.
Evaluating Equity Critiques in Food Policy: The Case of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Authors: Barnhill Anne , King Katherine F.
Published: October 2015

As concerns about the negative health effects of unhealthy eating and overweight/obesity increase, so too do efforts to combat obesity. Both the federal government, as well as state and local governments, have proposed and implemented a variety of healthy eating and obesity prevention policies. Many of these policies are controversial, facing objections that range from the practical (e.g., the policy will not succeed at improving people's diets) to the ethical (e.g., the policy is paternalistic or inequitable). In this paper, we consider one such policy — restrictions on food assistance programs that are meant to improve participants’ diet — and one criticism of these policies, that they are inequitable. We take as our primary example the recent, unsuccessful effort by New York State to exclude sweetened beverages from the items eligible for purchase in New York City with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps).
A New Approach for Regulating Bisphenol A for the Protection of the Public's Health
Authors: Barraza Leila
Published: October 2015

BPA Production and Associated Health Risks Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical agent found in many everyday products, including canned goods and plastic food containers. BPA exposure is linked to a variety of adverse health effects, such as obesity and diabetes. To protect the public's health — especially the health of vulnerable fetuses, infants, children, and pregnant women — BPA regulations should encompass products intended specifically for these populations. Even with tremendous public outcry against the use of BPA, current federal restrictions do not reach far enough. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently banned the use of BPA in children's sippy cups and baby bottles, but failed to address its inclusion in canned infant formula or plastic tableware.

BPA production began in the 1950s to make epoxy resins and was later employed to create polycarbonate plastic products.
Institutional Corruption of Pharmaceuticals and the Myth of Safe and Effective Drugs
Authors: Light Donald W. , Lexchin Joel , Darrow Jonathan J.
Published: October 2015

Institutional corruption is a normative concept of growing importance that embodies the systemic dependencies and informal practices that distort an institution’s societal mission. An extensive range of studies and lawsuits already documents strategies by which pharmaceutical companies hide, ignore, or misrepresent evidence about new drugs; distort the medical literature; and misrepresent products to prescribing physicians. We focus on the consequences for patients: millions of adverse reactions. After defining institutional corruption, we focus on evidence that it lies behind the epidemic of harms and the paucity of benefits.
Curbing Misconduct in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Insights from Behavioral Ethics and the Behavioral Approach to Law
Authors: Feldman Yuval , Gauthier Rebecca , Schuler Troy
Published: October 2015

To sell a new drug, pharmaceutical companies must discover a compound, run clinical trials to test its efficacy and safety, get it approved by regulatory bodies, produce the drug, and market it. As this process brings the drug through so many hands, there are risks of many kinds of corruption. The pharmaceutical industry has recently gone from being one of the most admired industries to being described by the majority of Americans as “dishonest, unethical, and more concerned with profits than with individual and public health.” Legal scholar Marc Rodwin suggested that the pharmaceutical industry can be viewed through the lens of institutional corruption as defined by legal scholar Lawrence Lessig, whereby widespread or systemic practices undermine the main purposes of drug therapy — healing illness, preventing medical problems, and alleviating suffering. Many drugs do serve these goals, yet a significant number of drugs churned out by pharmaceutical companies are ineffective or have dangerous side effects that could have been predicted had the companies conducted the appropriate research.
Key Opinion Leaders and the Corruption of Medical Knowledge: What the Sunshine Act Will and Won’t Cast Light on
Authors: Sismondo Sergio
Published: October 2015

In 2010, in connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), the United States Congress passed the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. This legislation requires pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and other manufacturers of medical supplies to collect information on their payments to physicians, beginning on August 1, 2013, and to annually report this information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), beginning on March 31, 2014. All payments of over $10 are to be reported and aggregate payments of more than $100 to a single physician in a single year must also be reported.
“Something of an Adventure”: Postwar NIH Research Ethos and the Guatemala STD Experiments
Authors: Spector-Bagdady Kayte , Lombardo Paul A.
Published: October 2015

Since their revelation to the public, the sexually transmitted disease (STD) experiments in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 have earned a place of infamy in the history of medical ethics. During these experiments, Public Health Service (PHS) researchers intentionally exposed over 1,300 non-consenting Guatemalan soldiers, prisoners, psychiatric patients, and commercial sex workers to gonorrhea, syphilis, and/or chancroid under conditions that have shocked the medical community and public alike. Expert analysis has found little scientific value to the experiments as measured by current or contemporaneous research standards.

Such an obvious case of research malfeasance, which violated research norms in place both in the past and now, has been uniformly repudiated. The Guatemala STD experiments were labeled “clearly unethical” by President Barack Obama and “reprehensible” by the Secretaries of State and Health and Human Services.
TarasoffDuties after Newtown
Authors: Rothstein Mark A.
Published: October 2015

After recent tragedies involving mass murders on a college campus in Virginia, an Army base in Texas, a congressional constituent event at a shopping center in Arizona, and a movie theater in Colorado, one might have assumed the public had become numb to horrendous and senseless acts of killing. If so, one would have been wrong. The public was not prepared for the brutal and cold-blooded murder of 20 first-grade school children and six teachers and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012.

Following the all-too-familiar emotional stages of shock, grief, and anger, many members of the public and elected officials turned to the issue of how to prevent such tragedies in the future. Two main questions quickly became the focus of policy makers.
Selective Reduction: “A Soft Cover for Hard Choices” or Another Name for Abortion?
Authors: Rao Radhika
Published: October 2015

Selective reduction, also known as multifetal pregnancy reduction (MFPR), is the practice of terminating one or more fetuses to reduce a multiple pregnancy, e.g., from quadruplets to twins or a singleton. Selective reduction and abortion both involve the destruction of fetal life, but they are classified by different designations to underscore the notion that they are regarded as fundamentally different medical procedures: the two are performed using distinct techniques by different types of physicians, upon women under very different circumstances, in order to further dramatically different objectives. For these reasons, the two procedures appear to call for a distinct moral calculus, and they have traditionally evoked contradictory reactions from society — sympathetic responses towards selective reduction, which is perceived as a difficult but “responsible” choice vs. stigmatizing or even punitive approaches towards abortion, which is deemed an immoral action.
Selection against Disability: Abortion, ART, and Access
Authors: Ouellette Alicia
Published: October 2015

A decade ago, Adrienne Asch asked: “Is it possible for the same society to espouse the goals of including people with disabilities as fully equal and participating members and simultaneously promoting the use of embryo selection and selective abortion to prevent the births of those who would live with disabilities?”1 She concluded that informed reproductive choice, including the use of pre-implantation genetic screening and selective abortion, could potentially coexist with respect for current and future people with disabilities, but that achieving such a balance would require substantial clinical and cultural changes in light of the social context in which decisions about disability-based selection are made.
How to Escape the Doctor's Dilemma?: De-Medicalize Reproductive Technologies
Authors: Lombardo Paul A.
Published: October 2015

Kara Swanson has painted a textured portrait of Alan Guttmacher, showing the tension between his embrace of medical paternalism and simultaneous rejection of the legal paternalism that regulated women’s access to abortion before Roe v. Wade. Swanson explains Guttmacher’s route, navigating the troubled waters between “what was medically indicated and what was legally permissible” in the realm of reproductive medicine, the path that Guttmacher identified as the “doctor’s dilemma.” She takes us from his 1930s practice, creatively assisting in his patient’s use of reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, to the era post Roe v. Wade, after which he seems to have come to terms with a fuller commitment to autonomous reproductive choices. We learn that Guttmacher’s early career provided opportunities to exercise some of his prerogatives as a doctor in the absence of clear legal constraints. By the end of his life, the Supreme Court came close to having endorsed his preference, as Swanson notes, “privileging the doctor/patient relationship and medical expertise.”
Membership Has its Privileges?: Life, Personhood, and Potential in Discussions about Reproductive Choice
Authors: Will Jonathan F.
Published: October 2015

In 1973 the Supreme Court of the United States established that women have a constitutionally protected right to choose whether to terminate their pregnancies. The right, however, is not absolute. It must be weighed against competing State interests. As the title of Dov Fox’s excellent essay points out, one of the primary competing interests asserted inRoewasThe State’s Interest in Potential Life. But the Roe Court determined that this interest in potential life alone was insufficient to justify regulation of the procedure pre-viability. Then, 17 years later, the Court stated inCaseythatRoe’sframework “undervalue[d] the State’s interest in potential life,” and instead of just discussing potential life, the Court also referenced the State’s “legitimate interest from the outset of pregnancy in protecting…the life of the fetus that may become a child.”
What Will it Take to Address the Global Threat of Antibiotic Resistance?
Authors: Hoffman Steven J. , Outterson Kevin
Published: October 2015

Of the many global health challenges facing the world today, only a small number require global collective action. Most health challenges can be fully addressed through action at local, regional or national levels.

What kind of actions must be taken to address the global threat of antibiotic resistance (ABR)? What legal, political and economic tools might be needed to achieve this level of action?

In March 2015 the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation convened a workshop in Uppsala, Sweden to address these questions in partnership with the Global Strategy Lab, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (JLME), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and ReAct — Action on Antibiotic Resistance. Eleven concise articles were commissioned to explore whether ABR depended on global collective action, and if so, what tools could help states and non-state actors to achieve it.
Evaluation of ophthalmic and hemodynamic parameters in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus sp.) submitted to dissociative anesthetic protocols
Authors: Raposo A.C.S. , Ofri R. , Schaffer D.P.H. , Gomes Júnior D.C. , Libório F.A. , Martins Filho E.F. , Oriá A.P.
Published: October 2015

Background

Dissociative drugs are used for chemical restraint in monkeys. The aim was to evaluate muscle relaxation, recovery, and ophthalmic and hemodynamic parameters in 24 capuchin monkeys subjected to four dissociative anesthesia protocols.

Methods

Animals were anesthetized with tiletamine–zolazepam (TZ), ketamine–xylazine (KX), ketamine–midazolam (KM), or ketamine–dexmedetomidine (KD). Muscle relaxation, digital reflex, lacrimal production, intraocular pressure (IOP), heart and respiratory rates, oxygen saturation (SpO2), rectal temperature, non‐invasive arterial blood pressure, palpebral and pupillary reflexes, and eyeball positioning were evaluated every 5 minutes for 20 minutes.

Results

Muscle relaxation was highest in KM and KD. At 5‐minute post‐injection, IOP was higher in TZ than in all other groups. There was a significant difference between groups and times in heart and respiratory rates and temperature. There were no significant differences in SpO2, arterial blood pressure, and lacrimal production between groups.

Conclusions

The established parameters may help in clinical and ophthalmic examinations of primates.
Exploring Women's Values, Choices, Expectations, and Outcomes for Birth After Cesarean
Authors: Shorten Allison , Shorten Brett , Kennedy Holly Powell
Published: October 2015

Purpose/Aim

To explore women's values and expectations about birth after cesarean during decision making to better inform the design of strategies to support women to achieve consistency between their values, birth expectations, and birth experiences.

Research Questions

What reasons underpin the choices women make about method of birth after cesarean? What do women value and expect from their birth choices after cesarean? What factors influence consistency between choice and outcome?

Significance/Background

Shared decision making around birth after cesarean necessitates shared understanding of individual values and expectations of women. Reduction in dissonance between providers and women is needed to achieve high‐quality health decisions and outcomes.

Methods

One hundred and eighty‐seven women participating in a decision‐aid trial for birth after cesarean wrote about their choices for birth at 36 to 38 weeks’ gestation. At 6 to 8 weeks after the birth, 168 also wrote about their experiences of birth, satisfaction with the decision process, and health after the birth. Narrative analysis identified values and expectations underpinning birth decisions and the extent to which these were realized.

Findings

Decision making was difficult for many women, and emotions such as fear and anxiety were expressed as women explained their different birth choices. Avoidance of the previous cesarean experience, an expectation of a “better” or “faster” recovery, and issues around “safety” for the baby, were common reasons given for trial of labor as well as for elective repeat cesarean. Provider preferences were influential, and women's need for information about their options underpinned levels of confidence and certainty during decision making. Satisfaction with the birth experience and adherence to choice largely depended on practice patterns of the birth setting, commitment by providers to support choice, and women's strength of preference or commitment to their birth choice.

Discussion

Women do not always choose the mode of birth that providers expect them to. Greater understanding and support of individual values and expectations of women is needed to effectively support shared decision making for birth after cesarean.
The Impact of Venture Capital Monitoring
Authors: BERNSTEIN SHAI , GIROUD XAVIER , TOWNSEND RICHARD R.
Published: October 2015

We show that venture capitalists' (VCs) on‐site involvement with their portfolio companies leads to an increase in both innovation and the likelihood of a successful exit. We rule out selection effects by exploiting an exogenous source of variation in VC involvement: the introduction of new airline routes that reduce VCs' travel times to their existing portfolio companies. We confirm the importance of this channel by conducting a large‐scale survey of VCs, of whom almost 90% indicate that direct flights increase their interaction with their portfolio companies and management, and help them better understand companies' activities.
Trade Credit and Industry Dynamics: Evidence from Trucking Firms
Authors: BARROT JEAN‐NOËL
Published: October 2015

Long payment terms are a strong impediment to the entry and survival of liquidity‐constrained firms. To test this idea and its implications, I consider the effect of a reform restricting the trade credit supply of French trucking firms. In a difference‐in‐differences setting, I find that trucking firms' corporate default probability decreases by 25% following the restriction. The effect is persistent, concentrated among liquidity‐constrained firms, and not offset by a decrease in profits. The restriction also triggers an increase in the entry of small trucking firms.
Drug‐Eluting vs. Conventional Balloon for Side Branch Dilation in Coronary Bifurcations Treated by Provisional T Stenting
Authors: HERRADOR JUAN A. , FERNANDEZ JUAN C. , GUZMAN MANUEL , ARAGON VICTOR
Published: October 2015

Objective

The origin of the side branch (SB) is the most common site for restenosis in coronary bifurcations. The end‐point is to compare the results of SB dilation with drug‐eluting balloon (DEB group) versus conventional balloon (BAL group) in bifurcations treated with provisional T stenting.

Methods and Results

Each group included 50 patients. In DEB, the origin of SB was dilated with a Sequent® Please balloon. In both groups, a Taxus Liberté® stent was implanted in the main vessel, with kissing balloon postdilation. If the outcome for the SB was suboptimal, a Taxus stent was implanted in BAL and a bare stent in DEB group. An angiographic follow‐up and IVUS were scheduled for 12 months later. Adverse events (MACE) were 24% in BAL versus 11% in DEB (P = 0.11), with greater revascularization (TLR) in the BAL group (22% vs. 12%, P = 0.16). At angiographic follow‐up, there was a lower percentage of SB restenosis in the DEB group (20% vs. 7%, P = 0.08), with less late loss (0.40 mm vs. 0.09 mm, P = 0.01).

Conclusion

Side branch dilation with a drug‐eluting balloon resulted in better angiographic outcomes than with a conventional balloon, with less late loss and restenosis at the 12‐month follow‐up. (J Interven Cardiol 2013;26:454‐462)
No Cardioprotective Benefit of Ischemic Postconditioning in Patients With ST‐Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Authors: DWYER NATHAN B. , MIKAMI YOKO , HILLAND DARLENE , ALJIZEERI AHMED , FRIEDRICH MATTHIAS G. , TRABOULSI MOUHIEDDIN , ANDERSON TODD J.
Published: October 2015

Background

Postconditioning is a potential cardioprotective strategy that has demonstrated conflicting and variable reductions in infarct size in human trials.

Objectives

To determine whether postconditioning could increase the extent of myocardial salvage in patients with acute ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI).

Methods

One hundred two patients (aged 57 ± 11 years; 88% male) were randomly assigned to a postconditioning or standard protocol. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was performed 3 days after PPCI to measure the volumetric extent of myocardial necrosis and the area at risk.

Results

With similar time‐to‐reperfusion (170 ± 84 minutes in the postconditioning group vs. 150 ± 70 minutes in the standard group, P = 0.22), the myocardial salvage index was not significantly different between the postconditioned group and the control group, averaging 42 ± 22% vs. 33 ± 21%, respectively (P = 0.08). Furthermore, postconditioning was not associated with a smaller infarct size compared to controls (13 ± 7 g/m2 vs. 15 ± 8 g/m2, respectively, P = 0.18).

Conclusions

Postconditioning does not significantly increase myocardial salvage or reduce infarct size in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. However, the possibility of a more modest impact of postconditioning cannot be excluded with our sample size. (J Interven Cardiol 2013;26:482‐490)