bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electric Braking Performance of Multiple-Unit Trains
Authors: Wilkinson D T
Published: April 2010

The paper describes the many interrelationships of the various factors and types of braking techniques including the partially contradictory relationship between maximizing the use of the electric braking effort capability and maximizing the electrical regeneration capability and in the frequently misunderstood terms of maximum demand and peak demand. Various braking techniques from the past, present and looking towards the future are described which minimize the overall energy consumption and thus the operating costs of an electric railway system.
We're Getting There—Too
Authors: Hafter G H
Published: April 2010

The 1985 Railway Division Chairman reviews developments on metropolitan railways during his career, with particular reference to the effects of external social and political pressures on these developments.
Predicting in vivo binding sites of RNA-binding proteins using mRNA secondary structure
Authors: Li Xiao , Quon Gerald , Lipshitz Howard D. , Morris Quaid
Published: April 2010

While many RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) bind RNA in a sequence-specific manner, their sequence preferences alone do not distinguish known target RNAs from other potential targets that are coexpressed and contain the same sequence motifs. Recently, the mRNA targets of dozens of RNA-binding proteins have been identified, facilitating a systematic study of the features of target transcripts. Using these data, we demonstrate that calculating the predicted structural accessibility of a putative RBP binding site allows one to significantly improve the accuracy of predicting in vivo binding for the majority of sequence-specific RBPs. In our new in silico approach, accessibility is predicted based solely on the mRNA sequence without consideration of the locations of bound trans-factors; as such, our results suggest a greater than previously anticipated role for intrinsic mRNA secondary structure in determining RBP binding target preference. Target site accessibility aids in predicting target transcripts and the binding sites for RBPs with a range of RNA-binding domains and subcellular functions. Based on this work, we introduce a new motif-finding algorithm that identifies accessible sequence-specific RBP motifs from in vivo binding data.
A versatile ribosomal protein promoter-based reporter system for selective assessment of RNA stability and post-transcriptional control
Authors: Hitti Edward , Al-Yahya Suhad , Al-Saif Maher , Mohideen Peer , Mahmoud Linah , Polyak Stephen J. , Khabar Khalid S.A.
Published: April 2010

Assessment of post-transcriptional control relies on use of transcriptional inhibitors and is masked by copious and cryptic transcriptional induction. We screened several cellular promoters that are constitutively active yet noninducible to external stimuli. The ribosomal protein RPS30 promoter was chosen; its TATA signal and sp1 site location were optimized. The modified promoter (RPS30M) is selective to post-transcriptional effects of AU-rich elements (ARE) in the 3′UTR, while it is not transcriptionally responsive to a wide variety of agents including pro-inflammatory cytokines and RNA-binding proteins. Specificcis-acting elements can be appended to RPS30M by a cloning-free approach to allow coupled transcriptional/post-transcriptional assessment, as demonstrated with NF-κB and β-catenin/wnt signaling experiments. Moreover, efficient tetracycline-regulated RPS30M was created for quantitative assessment of the half-lives of mRNAs containing AREs. The described approach provides enhanced versatility and suitability for selective post-transcriptional assessment with or without transcriptional induction.
Assessing Joint Distributions with Isoprobability Contours
Authors: Abbas Ali E. , Budescu David V. , Gu Yuhong (Rola)
Published: April 2010

We present a new method for constructing joint probability distributions of continuous random variables using isoprobability contours—sets of points with the same joint cumulative probability. This approach reduces the joint probability assessment into a one-dimensional cumulative probability assessment using a sequence of binary choices between various combinations of the variables of interest. The approach eliminates the need to assess directly the dependence, or association, between the variables. We discuss properties of isoprobability contours and methods for their assessment in practice. We also report results of a study in which subjects assessed the 50th percentile isoprobability contour of the joint distribution of weight and height. We use the data to show how to use the assessed contours to construct the joint distribution and to infer (indirectly) the dependence between the variables.
Effects of Litigation Risk on Board Oversight and CEO Incentive Pay
Authors: Laux Volker
Published: April 2010

Various commentators have praised the WorldCom and Enron settlements for holding outside directors personally liable, arguing that heightened director liability will induce greater board oversight. This paper shows that the connection between director liability and board behavior is more subtle, because directors have multiple means to respond to an increase in liability exposure: They can increase oversight to prevent accounting manipulation and/or reduce performance-based CEO pay to mitigate the CEO's ex ante incentive to engage in manipulation. These two decisions are interrelated, implying that the effects of director liability on board oversight and CEO incentive pay are ambiguous. In particular, the model predicts that, for firms in which board oversight is difficult and costly (e.g., large firms with complex business operations), a stricter legal environment for directors leads to a lower level of board oversight, lower CEO incentive pay, and lower shareholder value.
The Auditor's Slippery Slope: An Analysis of Reputational Incentives
Authors: Corona Carlos , Randhawa Ramandeep S.
Published: April 2010

Reputational concerns have commonly been perceived to have a positive effect on auditing firms' execution of their monitoring and attesting functions. This paper demonstrates that this need not always be the case by studying a two-period game of repeated interaction between a manager and an auditor under the assessment of the market for audit services. Regarding reputation as the sole motivator for the auditor, we illustrate how reputational concerns induce an auditing firm to misreport. We investigate the reasons and circumstances under which such misreporting takes place. In particular, a strategic manager can induce the audit firm down a slippery slope, wherein the managerial fraud increases as the tenure of the audit firm progresses, whereas the auditor's fraud reporting probability decreases.
Is Noise Trading Cancelled Out by Aggregation?
Authors: Yan Hongjun
Published: April 2010

Conventional wisdom suggests that investors' independent biases should cancel each other out and have little impact on equilibrium at the aggregate level. In contrast to this intuition, this paper analyzes models with biased investors and finds that biases often have a significant impact on the equilibrium even if they are independent across investors. First, independent biases affect the equilibrium asset price if investor demand for the asset is a nonlinear function of the bias. Second, even if the demand function is linear in the bias, it may still have a significant impact on the equilibrium because of the fluctuation of the wealth distribution. An initial run-up of the stock price makes optimistic investors richer, which then further pushes the stock price up and leads to lower future returns. This effect can lead to price overshooting, i.e., a negative expected future return. Similarly, an initial drop of the stock price leads to higher future returns. Simple calibrations show that a modest amount of biases can have a large impact on the equilibrium.
Efficient Structures for Innovative Social Networks
Authors: Lovejoy William S. , Sinha Amitabh
Published: April 2010

What lines of communication among members of an organization are most productive in the early, ideation phase of innovation? We investigate this question with a recombination and selection model of knowledge transfer operating through a social network. We find that ideation is accelerated when people in the organization dynamically churn through a large (ideally the entire population) set of conversational partners over time, which naturally begets short path lengths and eliminates information bottlenecks. Group meetings, in which the content of conversations is available to all for consideration, are another way to learn in parallel and accelerate the ideation process, although for complex problems they may not offer significant advantages over the best decentralized networks. The idealized core-periphery graphs emerge as an important family on the time–cost efficient frontier. New sociometrics for the analyses of innovation processes emerge from this investigation.
The Value of Flexibility in Make-to-Order Systems: The Effect of Demand Correlation
Authors: Chod Jiri , Pyke David , Rudi Nils
Published: April 2010

We consider a manufacturer of mass-customized modular products who orders components under demand uncertainty, and sets prices, produces to order, and trades excess components in a secondary market after this uncertainty is resolved. The sequence of events reflects, in a parsimonious fashion, the considerable reduction in demand uncertainty between the procurement stage and the selling season, typical of industries with long supply lead times and short product life cycles.

We prove that, in contrast to conventional wisdom, the value of production flexibility and expected profit increase with demand correlation if, and only if, commonality between the corresponding products does not exceed a threshold. We also prove that the value of flexibility and expected profit may each increase or decrease with demand variability, depending on demand correlations and component commonalities across the entire product line. Finally, we prove that when demand shocks are independent, the optimal product prices are positively correlated if, and only if, the degree of commonality between the corresponding products exceeds a threshold.
Coordinated Multistage Scheduling of Parallel Batch-Processing Machines Under Multiresource Constraints
Authors: Jula Payman , Leachman Robert C.
Published: April 2010

Motivated by scheduling challenges of burn-in ovens in back-end semiconductor manufacturing, we propose a linear-programming-based algorithm, an integer-programming-based algorithm, and a heuristic-based algorithm to schedule nonhomogenous parallel batch machines with nonidentical job sizes and incompatible job families. We consider the common scheduling of consecutive steps that are linked together through secondary scarce resources. Our approach addresses the availability and compatibility of several resources required to make each process possible. The algorithms strive to meet short-term production targets expressed by product and step. The algorithms are shown to be effective and computationally efficient for this purpose. Taken together with previously developed methodology for the practical translation of target output schedules into short-term local production targets, this article suggests how a complex supply chain manufacturing system can be efficiently and effectively managed by decentralized local scheduling algorithms striving to meet short-term production targets that in turn ensure maintenance of an appropriate dynamic profile across production steps for work-in-process.
Distributionally Robust Optimization and Its Tractable Approximations
Authors: Goh Joel , Sim Melvyn
Published: April 2010

In this paper we focus on a linear optimization problem with uncertainties, having expectations in the objective and in the set of constraints. We present a modular framework to obtain an approximate solution to the problem that is distributionally robust and more flexible than the standard technique of using linear rules. Our framework begins by first affinely extending the set of primitive uncertainties to generate new linear decision rules of larger dimensions and is therefore more flexible. Next, we develop new piecewise-linear decision rules that allow a more flexible reformulation of the original problem. The reformulated problem will generally contain terms with expectations on the positive parts of the recourse variables. Finally, we convert the uncertain linear program into a deterministic convex program by constructing distributionally robust bounds on these expectations. These bounds are constructed by first using different pieces of information on the distribution of the underlying uncertainties to develop separate bounds and next integrating them into a combined bound that is better than each of the individual bounds.
Intertemporal Pricing and Consumer Stockpiling
Authors: Su Xuanming
Published: April 2010

We study a dynamic pricing problem for a class of products with stable consumption patterns (e.g., household items, staple foods). Consumers may stock up the product at current prices for future consumption, but they incur inventory holding costs. We model this situation as a dynamic game over an infinite time horizon: in each period, the seller sets a price, and each consumer chooses how many units to buy. We develop a solution methodology based on rational expectations. By endowing each player with beliefs, we decouple the dynamic game into individual dynamic programs for each player. We solve for the rational expectations equilibrium, where all players make optimal dynamic decisions given correct beliefs about others' behavior. In equilibrium, the seller may either charge a constant fixed price or offer periodic price promotions at predictable time intervals. We show that promotions are useful when frequent shoppers are willing to pay more for the product than are occasional shoppers. We also develop several model extensions to study the impact of consumer stockpiling on the seller's inventory, production, and rationing strategies.
A Single-Settlement, Energy-Only Electric Power Market for Unpredictable and Intermittent Participants
Authors: Pritchard Geoffrey , Zakeri Golbon , Philpott Andrew
Published: April 2010

We discuss a stochastic-programming-based method for scheduling electric power generation subject to uncertainty. Such uncertainty may arise from either imperfect forecasting or moment-to-moment fluctuations, and on either the supply or the demand side. The method gives a system of locational marginal prices that reflect the uncertainty, and these may be used in a market settlement scheme in which payment is for energy only. We show that this scheme is revenue adequate in expectation.
Reduction of Earth Pressure on Buried Pipes by EPS Geofoam Inclusions
Authors: Kim H. , Choi B. , Kim J.
Published: April 2010

This paper presents the experimental study that investigated the applicability of compressible inclusion, expanded polystyrene (EPS) Geofoam panels, placed over a buried pipe. A series of model tests was conducted to identify the optimal EPS geometry. The tests employed multiple sections of EPS for imperfect ditch condition. Full-scale tests were also performed to calibrate the reduction in earth pressure due to the placement of double layers of EPS. In the model tests, one layer of EPS Geofoam reduced the vertical earth pressure acting on the pipe up to 73 % depending on the width of EPS. Double layers of EPS could induce the reduction of vertical earth pressure on the pipe as much as 71 % and horizontal earth pressure on the pipe about 60 % depending on the spacing between Geofoam inclusions. The full-scale test results indicated that the magnitude of the vertical pressure decreased by about 31 %–36 %. In case of horizontal pressure, 37 % reduction was observed for double layers of EPS while only 5 % reduction was found for a single layer of EPS. This study demonstrates that multiple layers of EPS provide better solutions in reducing the earth pressure on a pipe.
Modified Null Pressure Plate Apparatus for Measurement of Matric Suction
Authors: Power Kenton C. , Vanapalli Sai K.
Published: April 2010

The null pressure plate apparatus is conventionally used in the measurement of matric suction of fine-grained unsaturated soil specimens applying the axis-translation technique. This apparatus is typically used to measure the matric suction in the range of 50–500 kPa in a laboratory environment. This paper provides design and construction details of the modifications and improvements to the conventionally used null pressure plate apparatus to promote the accuracy and repeatability of matric suction measurements. Several test results of matric suction measurements on compacted Indian Head till specimens over a suction range of 30–300 kPa are reported using both the modified null pressure plate and the contact filter paper technique. The results indicate that there is a good comparison between these two techniques on identically prepared specimens.
Surprising Fitness Consequences of GC-Biased Gene Conversion: I. Mutation Load and Inbreeding Depression
Authors: Glémin Sylvain
Published: April 2010

GC-biased gene conversion (gBGC) is a recombination-associated process mimicking selection in favor of G and C alleles. It is increasingly recognized as a widespread force in shaping the genomic nucleotide landscape. In recombination hotspots, gBGC can lead to bursts of fixation of GC nucleotides and to accelerated nucleotide substitution rates. It was recently shown that these episodes of strong gBGC could give spurious signatures of adaptation and/or relaxed selection. There is also evidence that gBGC could drive the fixation of deleterious amino acid mutations in some primate genes. This raises the question of the potential fitness effects of gBGC. While gBGC has been metaphorically termed the “Achilles' heel” of our genome, we do not know whether interference between gBGC and selection merely has practical consequences for the analysis of sequence data or whether it has broader fundamental implications for individuals and populations. I developed a population genetics model to predict the consequences of gBGC on the mutation load and inbreeding depression. I also used estimates available for humans to quantitatively evaluate the fitness impact of gBGC. Surprising features emerged from this model: (i) Contrary to classical mutation load models, gBGC generates a fixation load independent of population size and could contribute to a significant part of the load; (ii) gBGC can maintain recessive deleterious mutations for a long time at intermediate frequency, in a similar way to overdominance, and these mutations generate high inbreeding depression, even if they are slightly deleterious; (iii) since mating systems affect both the selection efficacy and gBGC intensity, gBGC challenges classical predictions concerning the interaction between mating systems and deleterious mutations, and gBGC could constitute an additional cost of outcrossing; and (iv) if mutations are biased toward A and T alleles, very low gBGC levels can reduce the load. A robust prediction is that the gBGC level minimizing the load depends only on the mutational bias and population size. These surprising results suggest that gBGC may have nonnegligible fitness consequences and could play a significant role in the evolution of genetic systems. They also shed light on the evolution of gBGC itself.
Ritual Genital Cutting of Female Minors
Authors:   Committee on Bioethics
Published: April 2010

This Policy Statement was retired May 2010.

The traditional custom of ritual cutting and alteration of the genitalia of female infants, children, and adolescents, referred to as female genital mutilation or female genital cutting (FGC), persists primarily in Africa and among certain communities in the Middle East and Asia. Immigrants in the United States from areas in which FGC is common may have daughters who have undergone a ritual genital procedure or may request that such a procedure be performed by a physician. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that pediatricians and pediatric surgical specialists should be aware that this practice has life-threatening health risks for children and women. The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes all types of female genital cutting that pose risks of physical or psychological harm, counsels its members not to perform such procedures, recommends that its members actively seek to dissuade families from carrying out harmful forms of FGC, and urges its members to provide patients and their parents with compassionate education about the harms of FGC while remaining sensitive to the cultural and religious reasons that motivate parents to seek this procedure for their daughters.
A szervtranszplantációt követő non-melanoma bőrtumorok klinikai vizsgálata
Authors: Fekecs Tamás , Kádár Zsolt , Battyáni Zita , Kalmár-Nagy Károly , Szakály Péter , Wéber György , Horváth Örs Péter , Ferencz Andrea
Published: April 2010

Absztrakt

Bevezetés: Transzplantációt követően kialakuló leggyakoribb tumorok a non-melanoma bőrtumorok (Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer, NMSC). Klinikai kollaboráció keretein belül – Magyarországon elsőként – bevezettük a transzplantált betegek rendszeres bőrgyógyászati szűrővizsgálatát, valamint vizsgáltuk kialakulásuk gyakoriságát és kiváltó tényezőit. Betegek és módszerek: A pécsi Sebészeti Klinika gondozásában álló vese- és hasnyálmirigy-vese transzplantáción átesett betegek közül 2008 szeptemberétől 116 beteget (70 férfi, 46 nő) vontunk be. Ez a beteg teljes testfelületének bőrgyógyászati vizsgálatából és a rizikófaktorokat felmérő kérdőív kitöltéséből állt. Eredmények: A szűrővizsgálat során 11 betegnél 16 NMSC-t találtunk (13,8%, átlagéletkor: 49,3 év, férfi : nő = 1 : 1), melyek kialakulásának átlagideje a transzplantációt követően 4,1 év volt. A szövettani vizsgálat 13 basocellularis carcinomát (BCC) és 3 squamocellularis carcinomát (SCC) igazolt. A tumorok BCC : SCC aránya 4 : 1 volt. A NMSC-ok előfordulása szignifikánsan magasabb volt azoknál a betegeknél, akik cyclosporint szedtek, valamint akiknek életük során 2-nél több napégésük volt, vagy tartósan kültéri munkát végeztek (p < 0,05). Következtetések: Eddigi adataink igazolják a transzplantált betegek rendszeres bőrgyógyászati szűrésének jelentőségét, valamint a szorosabb együttműködés fontosságát a transzplantációs sebészek és bőrgyógyászok között. Eredményeink a nemzetközi adatoknak megfelelnek, kivéve a BCC : SCC arányt. Ennek a különbségnek a tisztázásához további vizsgálatokat tervezünk.
Succinate dehydrogenase gene mutations are strongly associated with paraganglioma of the organ of Zuckerkandl
Authors: Lodish Maya B , Adams Karen T , Huynh Thanh T , Prodanov Tamara , Ling Alex , Chen Clara , Shusterman Suzanne , Jimenez Camilo , Merino Maria , Hughes Marybeth , Cradic Kendall W , Milosevic Dragana , Singh Ravinder J , Stratakis Constantine A , Pacak Karel
Published: April 2010

Organ of Zuckerkandl paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors that are derived from chromaffin cells located around the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery extending to the level of the aortic bifurcation. Mutations in the genes encoding succinate dehydrogenase subunits (SDH) B, C, and D (SDHx) have been associated with PGLs, but their contribution to PGLs of the organ of Zuckerkandl PGLs is not known. We aimed to describe the clinical presentation of patients with PGLs of the organ of Zuckerkandl and investigate the prevalence of SDHx mutations and other genetic defects among them. The clinical characteristics of 14 patients with PGL of the organ of Zuckerkandl were analyzed retrospectively; their DNA was tested for SDHx mutations and deletions. Eleven out of 14 (79%) patients with PGLs of the organ of Zuckerkandl were found to have mutations in the SDHB (9) or SDHD (2) genes; one patient was found to have the Carney–Stratakis syndrome (CSS), and his PGL was discovered during surgery for gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Our results show that SDHx mutations are prevalent in pediatric and adult PGLs of the organ of Zuckerkandl. Patients with PGLs of the organ of Zuckerkandl should be screened for SDHx mutations and the CSS; in addition, asymptomatic carriers of an SDHx mutation among the relatives of affected patients may benefit from tumor screening for early PGL detection.
A phosphorylation code for oestrogen receptor-α predicts clinical outcome to endocrine therapy in breast cancer
Authors: Skliris Georgios P , Nugent Zoann J , Rowan Brian G , Penner Carla R , Watson Peter H , Murphy Leigh C
Published: April 2010

To determine the relationship of the multiple sites of oestrogen receptor α (ERα) phosphorylation to clinical outcome after tamoxifen therapy, sections from tissue microarrays representing over 300 ER+ breast cancers from patients who were treated with surgery+radiation and then tamoxifen were used for immunohistochemical determination of total ERα, p-S104/106-ERα, p-S118-ERα, p-S167-ERα, p-S282-ERα, p-S294-ERα, p-T311-ERα and p-S559-ERα. Relationships of phosphorylated ERα to overall and relapse-free survival (RFS; breast cancer death or recurrence) were tested using single (univariate) and multiple (multivariate) predictor statistical models. Large tumour size, node positivity, high grade, progesterone receptor (PR) negative status and low levels of p-S282-ERα were significantly associated with reduced overall survival (OS). Along with tumour size and node status, a novel phosphorylation score (P7 score ≥3), taking into account all seven p-ERα sites, was significantly associated with reduced OS in univariate and multivariate analyses (hazard ratio (HR)=2.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–4.34, n=335; P=0.018). Along with tumour size, node status, grade and PR status, a high P7 score (≥3) was significantly associated with reduced RFS in univariate and multivariate analyses (HR=1.71, 95% CI 1.03–2.86, n=332; P=0.039). Since ERα is the site at which integration of diverse signals occurs to regulate breast cancer growth and survival, the ERα phosphorylation score may be a surrogate marker of the balance between oestrogen-dependent and crosstalk-dependent receptor activity, and is potentially a prognostic marker of clinical outcome in a tamoxifen-treated population of patients.
Sedimentary architecture of the Loire River drowned valleys of the French Atlantic shelf
Authors: Proust Jean-Noël , Renault Mathieu , Guennoc Pol , Thinon Isabelle
Published: April 2010

The analysis of a dense grid of high resolution seismic profiles collected offshore the present day Loire River estuary indicates the presence of a thick and complex Pleistocene coastal wedge between the coast and 50 meters water depth. Most of this coastal wedge is preserved in a fossil valley network starting 10 km off the coast on the “Precontinent Breton” topographies and wedging out progressively 50 km in the offshore where the shelf flattens. This system is comprised of three main valleys 30 km long, 40–60 m deep and 0.7 to 4 km wide each, in average, with a northern valley incompletely filled by sediment. These valleys are incised into Eocene (Ypresian-Bartonian) sedimentary rocks lying unconformably on the metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the South Armorican Massif basement. The coastal wedge is comprised of six seismic units. From the base of the valleys to the seafloor, these units are successively interpreted as (1) colluvial (U1) and braided river deposits (U2), overlain by restricted marine to estuarine sediments (U3), and (2) straight to meandering fluvial deposits (U4) giving rise vertically to floodout marine sediments (U5). The whole sediment pile is capped by open marine bioturbated mudstones (U6).

This succession of seismic units is organised in two depositional sequences bounded by an unconformity of regional extent, which corresponds to a drastic change in the paleovalley fill architecture. The lower sequence fills up the southern and central valleys when the upper sequence fills up the northern valley network. Both sequences are sharply truncated by a ravinement surface at the base of the offshore shales formed during the Holocene marine transgression. The correlation of the observed depth of the incisions and transgression surfaces with the global sea-level curve provides an indirect estimate of the ages of the depositional sequences. The lower sequence is probably Saalian (130–200 Ka, MIS 6) and the upper one Weischelian (110–12 Ka, MIS 2–4 and 5a–d). The ages and the infill of these valleys are very close to the ones observed in the largest paleovalleys of the inner French Atlantic shelf (Gironde, English Channel) and consistent with the sedimentary record of the continental Loire River (stepped terraces). In the later case, the Saalian period corresponds to a sharp increase on the incision of the river that shaped the morphology and determined the location of the present-day Loire valley.
Sedimentary record of environmental changes and human interferences in a macrotidal bay for the last millenaries: the Marennes-Oléron Bay (SW France)
Authors: Allard Jonathan , Chaumillon Eric , Bertin Xavier , Poirier Clément , Ganthy Florian
Published: April 2010

This synthesis of the morphological and stratigraphical evolutions of the Marennes-Oléron Bay (west coast of France) combines bathymetric data (1824 and 2003) and very high-resolution seismic profiling groundtruthed by vibracore samples. The Marennes-Oléron Bay is characterised by a very high sedimentation rate and appears to be an ideal place to investigate the sedimentary record of the major environmental changes that occurred since the last several millennia.

The sediment budget of the Marennes-Oléron Bay, between 1824 and 2003, is clearly positive. The flood-dominated northern Marennes-Oléron Bay displays sediment gain in both intertidal and subtidal areas whereas the ebb-dominated southern Marennes-Oléron Bay displays sediment gain restricted to the intertidal area and deepening of subtidal channels. In addition, human influences such as oyster farming may play a role in the sediment gain of the bay.

The sediment-fill of the northern Marennes-Oléron Bay consists of five main phases: (1) lenticular units and flooded intertidal flats recording lower sea level periods before 7500 yr B.P.; (2) tidal channel-fills recording changes in tidal drainage pattern from 7500 to 5000 yr B.P.; (3) a subtidal unit which constitutes the main phase of sediment fill in the northern part of the bay from 5000 to 1500 yr B.P.; (4) a major channelized erosional surface related to huge coastline changes from 1500 to 1000 yr B.P.; and (5) a mud drape emplaced during the last millennia and potentially recording historical human impact (deforestation and land reclamation). The sediment fill of the southern Marennes-Oléron consists of sandbanks, mixed sand-and-mud flats and tidal channels, mainly emplaced under wave-and-tide processes since the last centuries.

Despite its relatively thin (20 m at the maximum), recent and rapid sediment fill, the stratigraphic organization and morphological evolution of the Marennes-Oléron Bay is very complex and spatially variable. Like in many other estuaries, sediment fill of the Marennes-Oléron Bay was successively controlled by relative sea level changes, and then by sediment supply driven by hydrodynamic changes related to huge coastline migrations, and finally by human activities. Moreover, this kind of “rocky coast” estuary, where the sediment-fill is very thin and discontinuous, is characterised by a bedrock control at each phases of the sediment fill both in terms of preservation in topographic lows and in terms of control on hydrodynamics and related sediment input.
Quaternary compound incised valleys of the Roussillon coast (SE France): correlation of seismic data with core data
Authors: Tesson Michel , Labaune Caroline , Gensous Bernard , Delhaye-Prat Vincent
Published: April 2010

A detailed study of a Pliocene to Quaternary incised-valley system located under the Roussillon coastal area (Gulf of Lion) is carried out by means of a high-resolution seismic data set (coastal lagoons and adjacent shelf area), drill reports and analysis of a cored drill (Leucate SC1) performed in 2007 on the barrier beach in the North of Leucate lagoon.

The lowermost surface (S100/S200), correlated with a pebbles level on the Leucate core SC1 (R0), erosionnally overlies pliocene deposits. It is incised by a thalweg 15 m depth and deepens progressively from the coastal plain to the outer shelf and dips under the Quaternary forced regressive wedges.

Above this basal surface, the infilling of the incised valley corresponds to the seismic unit U1. The lower part of U1 shows continuous sub-horizontal reflectors and is correlated (Leucate SC1) to marine muds with levels of mud-supported gravels (body B). The upper part of unit U1 comprises seismic erosional reflectors that are almost amalgamated under the barrier beach. It is correlated on the Leucate well to body C comprising coarse levels (gravels and pebbles) alternating with marine muds (lower part) and marine coarse sands (upper part). The upper part of the unit is dated 12900 cal yr B.P. This unit is interpreted as resulting of successive phases of incision and infilling due to base-level changes during Pleistocene glacial and interglacial periods. Coarse levels of sand and gravel corresponding to river stages and sands and muds shelly levels representing marine stages.

The overlying units represent post-glacial late transgressive (S650) and highstand (U660, U661, U662) deposits.

This system is a rare example of well preserved compound incised valleys correlated offshore with Quaternary lowstand wedges.

By comparison, the incised valleys along the Atlantic coast of France are “simple” incised valleys where only the last episode of incision/infilling is observable. The Quaternary “compound” incised valleys cited in the literature represent examples of the fluvial part of incised systems, whereas the Languedoc-Roussillon incised valleys probably correspond to estuary or embayment, successively reoccupied during the various Quaternary eustatic cycles.

Tectonics is the main factor controlling the depositional stratigraphic architecture. The studied area is located at the hinge point between continental uplift and marine subsidence and favoured the preservation of successive phases of erosion/infilling. The geometry of the Pliocene deposits has also an impact on the shape and orientation of the buried paleovalleys.
The Late Holocene sediment infilling and beach barrier dynamics of the Thau lagoon (Gulf of Lions, Mediterranean sea, SE France)
Authors: Ferrer Pierre , Benabdellouahed Massinissa , Certain Raphaël , Tessier Bernadette , Barusseau Jean-Paul , Bouchette Frédéric
Published: April 2010

A study combining very high resolution seismic and sediment core data has been carried out on the Thau lagoon (Mediterranean coast, microtidal setting, SE France) in order to understand more clearly the dynamics and Holocene chronology of its closure through the different stages of its filling. One main seismic unit (U2) has been defined into the infill, above the rocky basement (U0) and a composite unit U1, which is interpreted as remnants of Pleistocene fluvial terraces or/and to early marine Holocene deposits. Unit U2, that reaches locally 9 m in thickness, rests conformably on U1 in the central part of the lagoon and onlaps U0 or U1 close to the edge of the lagoon. It is divided in two sub-units, U2-1 and U2-2. U2-2 rests paraconformably on U2-1 in the central part of the lagoon where the infill is the thickest, while a marked erosional unconformity is observed between U2-1 and U2-2 on topographic highs of the basement and on the seaward edge of the lagoon. A total of seven elementary sequences have been observed in U2-1 and U2-2.

According to core data, U2 consists in a series of mud-dominated sequences, with shell fragments dispersed at the base. The vertical distribution of the fauna into U2-1 and U2-2 reveals a lagoonal environment. However in U2-1, marine species are more abundant in the south of the lagoon. 14C AMS dating provides three ages: ~ 6000 cal yr B.P. in the lower part of U2-1 on CAL1, ~ 5400 cal yr B.P. just above the boundary between U2-1 and U2-2 on CAL4, ~ 3000 cal yr B.P. in the middle of U2-2 on CAL4.

A scenario to explain the lagoon infill stratigraphy and geometry is proposed. The beginning of the lagoon infill occurred with the initiation of the barrier construction, as soon as the sea-level rise slowed down significantly, i.e. between 7000–6000 yr B.P. The sediment-fill began into the back-barrier system, with a high rate of sedimentation for U2-1, according to the radiocarbon data. At 5400 yr B.P., the barrier is assumed to be totally closed leading to the deposition of the fully lagoonal U2-2 succession. The unconformity between U2-1 and U2-2 is interpreted as the result of a rapid landward retreat of the barrier. This severe retreat could be related to climate forcing and/or brutal change in sediment discharge driven by the Rhône River, which is the main sediment source of the longshore drift. In this scenario, the last sub-unit, U2-2, represents most of the late Holocene infill. In this framework, the elementary sequences observed in U2-2 could be related to high frequency climate changes of about 1000–1500 years periodicity according to 14C dates.
Stratigraphic records and variability of incised valleys and estuaries along French coasts
Authors: Chaumillon Eric , Tessier Bernadette , Reynaud Jean-Yves
Published: April 2010

Some of the striking results of the papers published in the special publication “French Incised valleys, estuaries and lagoons” of the Bulletin de la Société géologique de France are presented and compared. The selection of papers within this volume focuses exclusively on the recent progress made on modern French incised valleys, estuaries and lagoons around the coasts of France. Those papers together with abundant papers recently published on modern French incised valleys provide new insights for the knowledge on these sedimentary systems. The large amount of new results obtained is indebted to an extensive exploration within a large variety of estuaries, lagoons and coastal areas, from macrotidal tide-dominated, to microtidal wave-dominated, with also meso- to macrotidal mixed tide- and wave-dominated estuaries. These data allow comparing incised valleys within the same setting of tectonically stable and sediment starved margins, but showing contrasted conditions of hydrodynamics, sediment supply and bedrock control. At a stratigraphic level, sea-level variation is the main parameter controlling incised valley formation and sediment fill. The first-order controlling factor explaining the observed variations in valley fills is hydrodynamics. Three valley-fill categories are highlighted: tide-dominated, mixed tide-and-wave and wave-dominated, that match the classification based on hydrodynamics and morphology of present-day estuaries or lagoons. The second-order controlling factor explaining the observed variations in valley fills is the antecedent morphology of the bedrock, which in turn controls hydrodynamics and sediment supply. Finally, a promising result is the demonstration of the potential of incised valley fills to record high frequency environmental changes related to climate events and human activities.
Holocene sedimentary infilling of a tide-dominated estuarine mouth. The example of the macrotidal Seine estuary (NW France)
Authors: Tessier Bernadette , Delsinne Nicolas , Sorrel Philippe
Published: April 2010

The results of a seismo-stratigraphic study performed to study the Holocene sedimentary infilling at the mouth of the Seine River are presented. Combined data comprise very high resolution seismic reflection profiles, vibrocores, up to 4.5 m long, radiocarbon dating and old bathymetric charts. The infill is divided into two main stages: the transgressive systems tract, relative to the early Holocene high rate of sea-level rise, from 9000 to 7000 cal B.P., made of fine-grained, organic-rich, tidal flat to swamp deposits; the highstand systems tract, relative to the middle to late Holocene low rate of sea-level rise, from 7000 to 3000 cal B.P., characterized by the development of the high energy estuarine body above the main axis of the incised valley. Simultaneously, on the southern edge of the valley, a coastal barrier constructed above a bedrock plateau under the dominant action of waves. At 3000 cal B.P., probably in relation to a major climatic deterioration, the destruction of the barrier occurred and the tidal estuarine body expanded finally over the whole incised valley area. The rate of sea-level rise and the bedrock morphology appear to be the two main key-factors that control the sedimentary infilling architecture of this macrotidal, tide-dominated estuarine setting at the pluri-millenium Holocene time scale. Also, rapid climate changes determine part of the infill pattern, especially during the late Holocene sea-level highstand context.
Captured by Business? Romanian Market Governance and the New Economic Elite
Authors: Young Patricia T.
Published: April 2010

In the 1990s, there was a lot of concern in studies of post-communism about communist-era managers stalling institutional reforms due to their ability to gain long-term advantages through institutional capture. By influencing market governance rules (corporate governance, bankruptcy, competition laws), managers could protect and amplify initial economic gains from liberalization, entrenching economic inequality. Yet in the 2000s, even the laggards of transition have implemented significant market governance reforms and have enjoyed rapid economic growth. Moreover, business perceptions of state capture (from BEEPS) have dropped substantially. The paper examines this surprising turnaround with evidence from the Romanian case. I argue that contrary to expectations, business interests have failed to capture market governance institutions. In spite of benefiting from shady privatization deals and other advantages based on political connections, the new Romanian entrepreneurs were not threatened by sophisticated market governance laws. This argument based on the preferences of business actors is a necessary addition to explanations of institutional reforms that rely on international conditionality or on economic crisis.
Local Political Elite, Partial Reform Symptoms, and the Business and Market Environment in Rural China
Authors: Zhang Qi , Liu Mingxing
Published: April 2010

In this article we examine how Chinese local officials impact rural business environment and market development since the late 1990s. If their power is not effectively checked by village elections, local political elite are able to manipulate reform policies in a way to serve their economic and political interests at the cost of villagers' interests. In other words, local officials selectively implement reform policies not only to maximize economic rents available for extraction but also to minimize the risk that may challenge their rent-seeking capacity in the countryside. We draw on a survey data collected by the authors from rural China in 2003 and 2004 to test our hypothesis on the relationship between political control exercised by local officials over village elections and rural business environment & market development. Our analysis shows that if a local government can keep a village elections under its control, then local officials would charge more license application fees from self-employment business owners, put village land re-allocation process under government administrative control, restrict peasants from founding their own professional associations. Local officials' self-serving strategy inevitably deteriorates rural business & market environment and bodes an incomplete market-oriented reform for reformists in the central government.
Who Supports Compensation? Individual Preferences for Trade-Related Unemployment Insurance
Authors: Ehrlich Sean D.
Published: April 2010

The political economy of trade literature argues that the policy of compensating those who lose from trade is an important component of maintaining public support for free-trade, a linkage known as the compensation hypothesis or embedded liberalism thesis. This article tests the causal mechanisms underlying the compensation hypothesis by examining support for trade-related compensation using survey data from the United States. Expectations about the effects of trade strongly predict support for trade-related unemployment insurance, with those who expect to lose more likely to support and those who expect to gain more like to oppose, but has no influence on support for general unemployment insurance despite previous research suggesting it should.
Theorizing Transnational Corporations as Social Actors: An Analysis of Corporate Motivations
Authors: Brown Dana L. , Vetterlein Antje , Roemer-Mahler Anne
Published: April 2010

An increasing number of firms are engaging in social and environmental initiatives beyond their core business activities. While much has been written about why business should spend resources on social and environmental causes, relatively few studies have systematically addressed the question of why certain companies actually do engage in such activities. A notable exception is literature on the ‘business case’ for corporate social responsibility, which argues that good social and environmental performance will positively affect a company's financial results. The evidence on this link, however, is mixed. Even if there is an economic rationale, it is not clear why some companies engage in social activities while others do not. And, why do many more companies today ‘see’ the business case than in the past? This paper maps out the theoretical terrain exploring this question and categorizes the various existing explanations for corporate social engagement.
On the Use of FTAs by Japanese Firms: Further Evidence
Authors: Takahashi Katsuhide , Urata Shujiro
Published: April 2010

The paper examines the use of free trade agreements (FTAs) by Japanese firms. The FTAs analyzed include Japan's FTAs with Mexico, Malaysia and Chile. Based on 1,688 responses to a questionnaire survey conducted in 2008, the study finds that the utilization rate of FTAs ranges between 32.9% (Japan-Mexico FTA) and 12.2% (Japan-Malaysia FTA). The survey results and the statistical analysis of the determinants of the use of FTAs reveal obstacles to using FTAs that include difficulty in obtaining the certificate of origin that is required to use the FTA, lack of knowledge of FTAs, and the small FTA tariff preference that is the difference between the most-favored-nation (MFN) and FTA tariff rates.
Catalyzed Decomposition of Methane into COx-free Hydrogen and Filamentous Carbons over NiO-CuO/SiO2: Effect of NiO-CuO Loadings
Authors: Chai Siang-Piao , Mohamed Abdul Rahman
Published: April 2010

Methane decomposition in the presence of NiO-CuO/SiO2 catalyst into COx-free hydrogen and filamentous carbons was investigated. The reaction was performed in a vertical fixed-bed reactor at 700°C. The catalyst was prepared via conventional impregnation method. The amounts of NiO-CuO loaded on SiO2 were varied from 10 to 90 wt%. Examination of the effect of NiO-CuO loading disclosed that 80 wt% loading gave the highest yields of hydrogen and carbon, being 2344 mol H2/mol NiO+CuO and 18600% respectively. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the texture of the spent catalyst. It was demonstrated that the carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst were made up of filamentous carbons. Depending on the loading amount, the structural properties of the filamentous carbons changed.