bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Turkish banking system in the face of the global crisis
Authors: Sükrü Erdem M.
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The 2008‐2009 crisis had no significant impact on the Turkish banking system (TBS), with the TBS achieving a record level of profitability in 2009. The strong position of Turkish banks against the global crisis is attributed generally to the good regulation and risk management in the TBS. The measures implemented by The Turkish Central Bank, and The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, e.g. high capital adequacy ratio, played a significant role. But, this judgment does not take into consideration the high profitability and some inefficiency of TBS in his role of financial intermediation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the TBS's performance in the face of the global crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper compare the measures against the global crisis and the performances of banking systems by public supports to financial sector, measures taken vis‐à‐vis the crisis, ratios as deposits/loans, loans to non‐financial sector and return to assets.

Findings

The paper explains that the performance of TBS against the crisis is, to some extent, due to the high profitability and low efficiency in financial intermediation.

Practical implications

Financial regulation and policy particularly in emerging or underdeveloped economies should find equilibrium between the soundness and efficiency of banking system.

Originality/value

In full financial crisis the majority of scientific work focuses on the prudential regulation of the banking system and the problem of moral hazard. In fact, countries such as Turkey are still far from having the same problems and concerns. The paper shows that in spite of the global crisis, the TBS continued to obtain very raised profits: it can be said that the banking system soundness improved with the detriment the non‐financial sector.
The subprime crisis and Islamic stock markets integration
Authors: Abdul Karim Bakri , Akila Mohd. Kassim Nor , Affendy Arip Mohammad
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of the current global crisis on the integration and co‐movements of selected Islamic stock markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Time series techniques of cointegration were used over the period spanning from February 15, 2006 to December 31, 2008. In order to explore changes in the stock market integration and co‐movement, following Majid and Kassim, we divide the period of analysis into two periods, namely the pre‐crisis period (February 15, 2006‐July 25, 2007) and during crisis period (July 26, 2007‐December 31, 2008).

Findings

No evidence was found of cointegration among the Islamic stock markets in both periods. Accordingly, the 2007 subprime crisis does not seem to affect the long‐run co‐movements among the Islamic stock markets.

Practical implications

The Islamic stock markets provide opportunity for the potential benefits from international portfolio diversification, even after the subprime crisis. The prohibition of riba, gharar and maysir is one of the plausible reasons of no cointegration in the Islamic stock markets.

Originality/value

Using the Islamic stock indices, to the best of the authors' knowledge, goes clearly beyond the existing literature on the subject matter.
The global financial crisis and its implications for the Islamic financial industry
Authors: Smolo Edib , Mirakhor Abbas
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the evolution of the global financial crisis, draw lessons from it, and analyse its effect(s) on the Islamic financial industry (IFI).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an extensive literature review, this paper aims to highlight, explain, and discuss the implications of the global financial crisis for IFI and suggest necessary steps for the future development of the industry.

Findings

The findings show that although the crisis had limited impact on IFI the major flaws of the capitalist financial system are relevant to the development of IFI. Without learning and applying the lessons from the crisis, IFI runs a risk of committing the same mistakes. Finally, greater attention should be given to the fundamental principles of Islamic finance in order to ensure the future development of industry.

Research limitation/implications

The effects of the global financial crisis are still being felt all over the world, and its implications on IFI have yet to be fully understood. Owing to unavailability of relevant data, an empirical study is needed to show the real effects of the crisis on IFI.

Originality/value

The lessons drawn in this paper will raise awareness among both academicians and practitioners about the inherent weaknesses of current financial practices. Furthermore, the paper highlights the major areas that need to be improved for the future development and success of IFI.
The subprime mortgages crisis and Islamic securitization
Authors: Hanim Kamil Karmila , Abdullah Marliana , Shahimi Shahida , Ghafar Ismail Abdul
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight of Islamic securitization based on sukuk structures.

Design/methodology/approach

Descriptive, analytical, and comparative analyses are used to discuss the risk‐sharing behaviour in Islamic securitization through different structures of mudharabah and musharakah sukuk derived from asset securitization.

Findings

The paper reveals that although sukuk are structured in a similar way to conventional asset‐backed securities, they can have significantly different underlying structures, provisions and shariah‐compliant. In particular, it prohibits the receipt and payment of interest and stipulates that income must be derived from an underlying real business risk rather than as a guaranteed return from interest. With regards to sukuk securitization, an asset is one of the vital elements that should exist as an evidence to support the process and make it permissible in Islam. In terms of Islamic securitization mechanism, it can be divided into two principles, namely, debt based and partnership. This paper further emphasizes that sukuk structures based on partnership principle is regarded as risk sharing rather than risk shifting, where it works by combining risk‐exposures in such a way that they offset one another to some degree. Accordingly, overall risk will be less than total risks on individual basis.

Practical implications

This paper has important implication for the understanding of risk management practices particularly in structuring sukuk. Banks as originators and special purpose vehicles (SPV) as issuers, might consider more sukuk on partnership principles since it directed towards risk‐sharing concept that could lead to increase mobilization of savings and investment. As for the investors or sukuk holders, the partnership principle could generate the wealth creation, which to be shared between both investors (fund providers) and issuers (fund users), while both bear the risks involved and the resulting loss.

Originality/value

The paper will fill the gap in the existing literature of Islamic finance by showing that Islamic securitization via sukuk is a viable source of funds that could help stabilize the securities market, and as solution to the current subprime mortgages financial crisis.
Weaving the social fabric
Authors: Reynolds Robert G. , Che Xiangdong , Ali Mostafa
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of cultural algorithms (CAs) over a complete range of optimization problem complexities, from fixed to chaotic and specifically observing whether there is a given homogeneous agent topology within a culture which can dominate across all complexities.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to apply the CA overall complexity classes it was necessary to generalize on its co‐evolutionary nature to keep the variation in the population across all complexities. First, previous CA approaches were reviewed. Based on this the existing implementation was extended to produce a more general one that could be applied across all complexity classes. As a result a new version of the cultural algorithms toolkit, CAT 2.0, was produced, which supported a variety of co‐evolutionary features at both the knowledge and population levels. The system was applied to the solution of a 150 randomly generated problems ranging from simple to chaotic complexity classes.

Findings

No homogeneous social fabric tested was dominant over all categories of problem complexity; as the complexity of problems increased so did the complexity of the social fabric that was need to deal with it efficiently. A social fabric that was good for fixed problems might be less adequate for periodic problems, and chaotic ones.

Originality/value

The paper presents experimental evidence that social structure of a cultural system can be related to the frequency and complexity type of the problems that presented to a cultural system.
Off‐line signature verification and identification by pyramid histogram of oriented gradients
Authors: Zhang Bailing
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose an effective method to perform off‐line signature verification and identification by applying a local shape descriptor pyramid histogram of oriented gradients (PHOGs), which represents local shape of an image by a histogram of edge orientations computed for each image sub‐region, quantized into a number of bins. Each bin in the PHOG histogram represents the number of edges that have orientations within a certain angular range.

Design/methodology/approach

Automatic signature verification and identification are then studied in the general binary and multi‐class pattern classification framework, with five different common applied classifiers thoroughly compared.

Findings

Simulation experiments show that PHOG has obvious advantages in the extraction of discriminating information from handwriting signature images compared with many previously proposed signature feature extraction approaches. The experiments also demonstrate that several classifiers, includingk‐nearest neighbour, multiple layer perceptron and support vector machine (SVM) can all give very satisfactory performance with regard to false acceptance rate (FAR) and false rejection rate (FRR). On a public benchmarking signature database “Grupo de Procesado Digital de Senales” (GPDS), experiments demonstrate an FRR of 4.0 percent and an FAR 3.25 percent from SVM for skillful forgery, which compares sharply with the latest published results of FRR 16.4 percent and FAR 14.2 percent on the same dataset. Experiments on a second DAVAB off‐line signature database also illustrate the superiority of the proposed method. The related issue, off‐line signature recognition, which is to find the identification of the signature owner from a given signature database, is also investigated based on the PHOG features, showing superb classification accuracies of 99 and 96 percent for GPDS and DAVAB datasets, respectively.

Originality/value

The proposed method for off‐line signature verification and recognition has a promising potential of designing a real‐world system for many applications, particularly in forensics and biometrics.
Experimental studies of swarm robotic chemical plume tracing using computational fluid dynamics simulations
Authors: Zarzhitsky Dimitri V. , Spears Diana F. , Thayer David R.
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a multi‐robot solution to the problem of chemical source localization, in which a team of inexpensive, simple vehicles with short‐range, low‐power sensing, communication, and processing capabilities trace a chemical plume to its source emitter

Design/methodology/approach

The source localization problem is analyzed using computational fluid dynamics simulations of airborne chemical plumes. The analysis is divided into two parts consisting of two large experiments each: the first part focuses on the issues of collaborative control, and the second part demonstrates how task performance is affected by the number of collaborating robots. Each experiment tests a key aspect of the problem, e.g. effects of obstacles, and defines performance metrics that help capture important characteristics of each solution.

Findings

The new empirical simulations confirmed previous theoretical predictions: a physics‐based approach is more effective than the biologically inspired methods in meeting the objectives of the plume‐tracing mission. This gain in performance is consistent across a variety of plume and environmental conditions. This work shows that high success rate can be achieved by robots using strictly local information and a fully decentralized, fault‐tolerant, and reactive control algorithm.

Originality/value

This is the first paper to compare a physics‐based approach against the leading alternatives for chemical plume tracing under a wide variety of fluid conditions and performance metrics. This is also the first presentation of the algorithms showing the specific mechanisms employed to achieve superior performance, including the underlying fluid and other physics principles and their numerical implementation, and the mechanisms that allow the practitioner to duplicate the outstanding performance of this approach under conditions of many robots navigating through obstacle‐dense environments.
Do concerns about climate change lead to distress?
Authors: Searle Kristina , Gow Kathryn
Published: November 2010

Purpose

Climate change news and educational awareness programs have swamped Australia in the past four years, with earlier campaigns raising awareness in Europe and the USA via television and the internet. What is the impact on people's psychological states of such concerns? The purpose of this paper is to explore the psychological impact of climate change within the general population and investigate what makes an individual vulnerable to distress.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was completed by 275 adults that assessed personality factors as well as environmental beliefs and religiosity. The design was cross‐sectional, and correlational analyses determined the associations between climate change distress and symptoms indicative of depression, anxiety and stress. Independent samples t‐tests and ANOVA revealed group differences for age and gender. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to identify important, unique predictors and to determine the extent to which environmental beliefs, future anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty and religiosity accounted for the variability in climate change measures beyond the effects of age and gender.

Findings

This study indicates that the public is becoming increasingly concerned about climate change and that there is a relationship between this concern and symptoms that are indicative of depression, anxiety and stress. The results indicate that an individual is more likely to be distressed about climate change if they are female, under the age of 35 years, have a pro‐environmental orientation, and possess personality traits such as high levels of future anxiety.

Originality/value

Bringing attention to the existence of climate change distress, understanding the extent of these fears and what makes a person vulnerable will be helpful in the treatment and prevention of general and clinical levels of climate‐related distress.
An analysis of Chinese policy instruments for climate change mitigation
Authors: Xu Bo , Sun Qie , Wennersten Ronald , Brandt Nils
Published: November 2010

Purpose

This paper aims to analyse Chinese policy instruments for climate change mitigation.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the paper reviews Chinese energy consumption per unit of GDP (EC/GDP) in order to determine the overall effects of the combined policy instruments. Second, the different policy instruments are compared in terms of their effects. Third, the actual trends of EC/GDP in two provinces and the instruments adopted by them are analysed on the provincial level.

Findings

The decline in EC/GDP can indirectly reflect the Chinese contribution to mitigation of CO2 emissions since fossil fuels dominate Chinese energy consumption. The national EC/GDP values have shown a declining trend from 2005 to date, indicating that the policy instruments are very important to mitigate climate change as regards reducing EC/GDP. The technological improvement regulations have made the greatest contribution to date to reduce EC/GDP values. The experiences from the Beijing and Shandong province indicate that their final targets in 2010 will be most likely achieved because the different provinces are not only following the national policy instruments but have also developed quite a few new instruments to assist in reaching the these reductions.

Research limitations/implications

There are three limitations regarding Chinese policy instruments analysis. First, the paper does not go far to determine the other factors which can affect EC/GDP apart from policy instruments. Second, some data were lacking and there may be inaccuracies in the existing data that could affect the analysis results. Third, EC/GDP cannot reflect the Chinese contribution to mitigation of CO2 emissions if the composition of Chinese energy consumption changes significantly.

Originality/value

The paper addresses the importance of various policy instruments in reducing EC/GDP. The results can be referenced by Chinese policy makers on both the national and provincial level.
Climate change adaptation in Australia
Authors: Nursey‐Bray Melissa
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of climate change adaptation curricula. Instituting adaptation frameworks that can assist professionals to respond to climate change, yet be tailored to specific sectoral needs is crucial. Professionals working at the coalface of the climate change challenge need to build new skills and create innovative solutions in social and political contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Using case studies, this paper reflects on the experience of developing climate change curricula at multiple levels and the obstacles to implementation of the links between curriculum and practice. This includes reflections on the necessity of interlinking political, social and economic aspects together in delivery of such a course.

Findings

The paper finds that a strictly content – based approach to curriculum development is inadequate. The context of an issue like climate change requires attention to the specific needs of the target audience, in addition to delivery of generic content, so as to achieve the industry uptake critical to ensuring social and political objectives are implemented on the ground.

Originality/value

The paper concludes by examining the utility of such educational initiatives to build community resilience, forge networks between multiple sectors and contribute to achieving social/institutional, political and economic outcomes for adaptation to climate change.
Climate change mitigation and policy concern for prioritization
Authors: Quasem Al‐Amin Abul , Hamid Jaafar Abdul , Siwar Chamhuri
Published: November 2010

Purpose

Climate change impacts and scientific evidence are now irresistible based on time scales, consequences and perspectives. Civil society leaders and business people are now agreed on emission reduction targets to mitigate the effects of climate change but the question remains: how to make sure that durable, lasting, and real mitigation options are taking place? The purpose of this paper is to ask, does climate change mitigation option (via carbon tax) exert a greater improvement within the tradeoff between climate change and economic values?

Design/methodology/approach

This study tries to lessen the gap between mitigation options and economic development activities using computable general equilibrium techniques focusing on alteration of carbon tax instruments.

Findings

The findings indicate that much strong carbon tax policy compensates GDP compositions, places economic burden, shrinks enterprise savings and investment.

Originality/value

This paper describes the most favorable policy option and may find use in formulation of climate change mitigation options and policy concerns for prioritizing needs.
Adapting to climate change in Himalayan cold deserts
Authors: Banerji Gargi , Basu Sejuti
Published: November 2010

Purpose

Climate change affects the natural resource base and poses enormous difficulty for the natural resource‐dependent indigenous population of the cold desert region in the high altitude Himalayas. The interplay of climatic and eco‐hydrological processes on these fragile ecosystem coupled with increasing anthropogenic pressure, are leading to increasing stress on indigenous agro‐pastoral communities and their livelihoods. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the outcomes of a study carried out in the Trans and Western Indian Himalayas to quantify the level of environmental threat and adaptive capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

Field studies were carried out across the cold desert belt in Indian Himalaya. A stratified, nested sampling across four Altitude Bands and three hydrological levels in two bio‐geographic regions. A participatory approach blended with scientific field observations and secondary data collection was adopted. Criterion variables were used to identify the “Vulnerability Hotspots” while component indices helped in depiction of key characteristic features of study units.

Findings

Data generated through participatory resource appraisal and scientific field observations were used to determine vulnerable “hotspot's”, identifying the driving factors (both anthropogenic and natural processes), and determining focus areas for interventions.

Practical implications

A pilot project on Water Access and Wasteland Development has been initiated in the Western Himalayas that integrates community based natural resource management with infusion of appropriate technology to address water stress and ecosystem vulnerability.

Originality/value

The research results identify target areas and methodologies for intervention, while the pilot initiative strives to ensure that disadvantaged cold desert mountain communities have access to resources and skills for effective management of these resources.
Multiaxial loadings with different frequencies between axial and torsional components in 42CrMo4 steel
Authors: Reis Luis , Li Bin , De Freitas Manuel
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of multiaxial loading composed with different frequencies between the axial and torsional components in 42CrMo4 concerning fatigue life and early crack growth orientation.

Design/methodology/approach

Biaxial fatigue tests were carried out by a biaxial servo‐hydraulic machine, considering different loading paths and different frequencies between the normal and shear stress components in 42CrMo4. Theoretical estimations for fatigue life and early crack growth orientation were performed by applying various critical plane models. In addition, fractographic analysis of the fracture surfaces was carried out. The estimated results are compared with experimental results.

Findings

Significant effects were observed of the different frequency between the axial and torsion components on fatigue life and early crack growth orientation. The critical plane models based on shear mode give better estimations when compared with experimental results.

Originality/value

The paper shows that improved fatigue design can be achieved by considering the influence of different frequencies in multiaxial loadings.
A comparison of shear mechanisms for the prediction of ductile failure under low stress triaxiality
Authors: Reis F.J.P. , Malcher L. , Andrade Pires F.M. , César de Sá J.M.A.
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to perform a numerical assessment of two recently proposed extensions of the Gurson‐Tveegard‐Needleman ductile damage constitutive model under low stress triaxiality.

Design/methodology/approach

One of the most widely used ductile damage models is the so‐called Gurson‐Tveegard‐Needleman model, commonly known as GTN model. The GTN model has embedded into its damage formulation the effects of nucleation, growth and coalescence of micro‐voids. However, the GTN model does not include void distortion and inter‐void linking in the damage evolution. To overcome this limitation, some authors have proposed the introduction of different shear mechanisms based on micromechanical grounds or phenomenological assumptions. Two of these constitutive formulations are reviewed in this contribution, numerically implemented within a quasi‐static finite element framework and their results critically appraised.

Findings

Through the analysis of the evolution of internal variables, such as damage and effective plastic strain, obtained by performing a set of numerical tests using a Butterfly specimen, it is possible to conclude that the extended GTN models are in close agreement with experimental evidence.

Research limitations/implications

Even though the results obtained with the modified GTN models have shown improvements, it can also be observed that both shear mechanisms have inherent limitations in the prediction of the location of fracture onset for some specific stress states.

Originality/value

From the results reported, it is possible to identify some shortcomings in the recently proposed extensions of the GTN model and point out the direction of further improvements.
Using a standard specimen for crack propagation under plain strain conditions
Authors: Branco R. , Silva J.M. , Infante V. , Antunes F. , Ferreira F.
Published: November 2010

Purpose

Stress state has a major influence on different phenomena, namely those involving diffusion and plastic deformation (like crack closure and high‐temperature fatigue crack growth, void formation or ductile fracture). The isolation of plane stress and plane strain states is crucial in fundamental studies of material behavior. The isolation of plane stress state is achieved with thin specimens, whilst the isolation of plane strain state is usually done increasing the thickness or introducing lateral grooves. The purpose of this paper is to propose a specimen geometry able to isolate the plane strain state, based on the standard M(T) geometry.

Design/methodology/approach

A numerical study was carried out aiming at obtaining a stress triaxiality parameter, h, as a function of different geometrical features of the specimen, such as the notch radius, notch depth and specimen thickness.

Findings

Results show that a pure plane strain state is achievable (i.e. 97 percent of specimen thickness has h>0.97) if a specimen with optimized geometrical features is used, which corresponds to a notch radius of 0.5 mm, a notch depth of 1 mm and a total specimen thickness of 12.56 mm.

Originality/value

This type of specimen geometry is a simple and efficient alternative to other common approaches used to obtain pure plain strain conditions for experimental purposes.
Methodology for in situ stress intensity factor determination on cracked structures by digital image correlation
Authors: Richter‐Trummer V. , Moreira P.M.G.P. , Pastrama S.D. , Vaz M.A.P. , de Castro P.M.S.T.
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for in situ stress intensity factor (SIF) determination that can be used for the analysis of cracked structures. The technique is based on digital image correlation (DIC) combined with an overdetermined algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

The linear overdeterministic algorithm for calculating the SIF based on stress values around the crack tip is applied to a strain field obtained by DIC.

Findings

As long as the image quality is sufficiently high, a good accuracy can be obtained for the measured SIF. The crack tip can be automatically detected based on the same strain field. The use of the strain field instead of the displacement field, eliminates problems related to the rigid body motion of the analysed structure.

Practical implications

In future works, based on the applied techniques, the SIF of complex cracked plane stress structures can be accurately determined in real engineering applications.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates application of known techniques, refined for other applications, also the use of stress field for SIF overdeterministic calculations.
Research on the margin of futures markets and the policy spillover effect
Authors: Wan Difang , Yang Yang , Fang Dong , Yang Guang
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the change of margin in Chinese futures markets has policy spillover effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper constructs a model based on Harzmark and on Chng, taking Chinese futures markets status quo as a single species and restrictions on foreign investment into consideration, introduces the assumptions of spillover effect of speculators, then obtains investor's demand function. Subsequently, the effects of Shanghai Futures Exchange's 11 instances of margin changing are analyzed.

Findings

The paper finds that in the Chinese futures market, margin changing has impact on the open interest (OI) and the speculator spillover effect is validated.

Research limitations/implications

The irrational behavior of investors in markets is not taken into account in the model and data about spillover speculators were not directly available.

Originality/value

The paper usefully analyzes the effects of the Shanghai Futures Exchange's 11 instances of margin changing from 2000 to 2007 and examines the actual effects of margin‐changing policy, in the views of OI, trading volume and the externality, the results showing that margin changing has impact on investor structure and validates the existence of the assumed speculator spillover effect.
Illiquidity and asset pricing in the Chinese stock market
Authors: Wang Maobin , Kong Dongmin
Published: November 2010

Purpose

Since illiquidity risk is one of the most important pricing factors of assets, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the suitability of proxies of illiquidity prevalent in the asset pricing literature and their explanatory power in asset pricing tests.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the available high‐frequency intra‐day data, the paper constructs some proxies of illiquidity as benchmarks and then evaluates proxies of illiquidity based on inter‐day data.

Findings

The empirical results provide convincing evidence that turnover is the most suitable proxy of illiquidity in the Chinese stock market. It is not only hghly related to intra‐day data‐based proxies of illiquidity but also completely superior to other measures of illiquidity in asset pricing tests.

Originality/value

First, the paper applies illiquidity measurements from microstructure theory and the available high‐frequency data, and examines the suitability of illiquidity proxies in asset pricing literature in the Chinese stock market. Rational basics are provided to test the applicability of illiquidity measures in the Chinese stock market. Second, the paper introduces illiquidity proxies into asset pricing models to extend their explanatory power. The paper's results may help researchers to select illiquidity proxies more cautiously.
Releasing of restricted shares, firm quality, and market trading activity
Authors: Xu Xiao‐dong , Wang Xia , Jin Yi
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the market reactions and its determinants of the releasing of restricted non‐tradable shares and to provide some useful information for the coming releasing peak of IPO‐restricted shares in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employs event study and empirical analysis.

Findings

It was found that the cumulative abnormal return during the releasing windows is significantly negative, and firm quality, agency problems, and the market trading activity play important roles in explaining the negative market relations. This evidence shows that the cumulative abnormal returns during the releasing windows are positively associated with firm performance, assets turnover ratio, assets quality and trading turnover ratio, and are negatively associated with market‐to‐book ratio, financial leverage, the local government or private character of the ultimate ownership controller, and sum of trading on the announcement day.

Originality/value

The paper's value to investors is to show that one should choose firms with good financial position, not controlled by local government or private, and refer to the market trading activity in releasing windows. The paper's value to regulation parties is that they should regulate disclosure quality of financial reports, and avoid arbitrage due to information asymmetry during the releasing process to reduce the negative wealth effects to investors.
Does the balance of power among block shareholders have impact on top management turnover?
Authors: Xie Jun , Zeng Xiaotao
Published: November 2010

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the shareholding of the largest shareholder and other large shareholders could exert a good stimulating effect within a firm's corporate governance structure and what impact the balance of power among large shareholders could have on top management turnover.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper has investigated 787 firms publicly listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange and checked the relation between power balance of firms' block shareholders and their top management turnover.

Findings

The paper's empirical results show that there is a U‐shaped relationship between the proportions of shareholding of a firm's largest shareholder and its top management turnover, that is, the controlling shareholder could impose either negative or positive effect for different types of equity ownership. We also find that the proportion of shares held by other block shareholders is significantly and positively related to the turnover of management and the monitoring effect of other large shareholders is strong. Furthermore, duality of chairman and CEO shows a significant negative effect on firms's top management turnover.

Originality/value

The paper usefully shows that under the institutional background of relatively weak legal protection for medium and small investors in China, centralized shareholding by large shareholders in listed firms, or the so‐called mechanism of power balance among block shareholders, has the ability to effectively supervise and restrain the corporate governance of a firm, replace ineffective managers and thus improve its whole management performance.
Rakicidin A effectively induces apoptosis in hypoxia adapted Bcr‐Abl positive leukemic cells
Authors: Takeuchi Miki , Ashihara Eishi , Yamazaki Yohko , Kimura Shinya , Nakagawa Yoko , Tanaka Ruriko , Yao Hisayuki , Nagao Rina , Hayashi Yoshihiro , Hirai Hideyo , Maekawa Taira
Published: November 2010

Treatment with Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) drastically improves the prognosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) patients. However, quiescent CML cells are insensitive to TKI and can lead to relapse of the disease. Thus, research is needed to elucidate the properties of these quiescent CML cells, including their microenvironment, in order to effectively target them. Hypoxia is known to be a common feature of solid tumors that contributes to therapeutic resistance. Leukemic cells are also able to survive and proliferate in severely hypoxic environments. The hypoxic conditions in the bone marrow (BM) allow leukemic cells that reside there to become insensitive to cell death stimuli. To target leukemic cells in hypoxic conditions, we focused on the hypoxia‐selective cytotoxin, Rakicidin A. A previous report showed that Rakicidin A, a natural product produced by the Micromonospora strain, induced hypoxia‐selective cytotoxicity in solid tumors. Here, we describe Rakicidin A‐induced cell death in hypoxia‐adapted (HA)‐CML cells with stem cell‐like characteristics. Interestingly, apoptosis was induced via caspase‐dependent and ‐independent pathways. In addition, treatment with Rakicidin A in combination with the TKI, imatinib, resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity against HA‐CML cells. In conclusion, Rakicidin A is a promising compound for targeting TKI‐resistant quiescent CML stem cells in the hypoxic BM environment. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 591–596)
IRF4 silencing inhibits Hodgkin lymphoma cell proliferation, survival and CCL5 secretion
Authors: Aldinucci Donatella , Celegato Marta , Borghese Cinzia , Colombatti Alfonso , Carbone Antonino
Published: November 2010

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) expression is detected in many lymphoid and myeloid malignancies, and may be a promising therapeutic target. IRF4 is strongly expressed in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and its expression is up‐regulated by CD40L and down‐regulated by both anti‐proliferative and pro‐apoptotic stimuli. This study analysed the effects of IRF4 silencing in a panel of HL‐derived cell lines. We demonstrated that IRF4 down‐modulation determined a remarkable decrease of both cell number and clonogenic growth in L‐1236, L‐428, KM‐H2 and HDLM‐2 cells, but not in IRF4‐negative L‐540 cells. IRF4 silencing induced apoptosis, as evaluated by caspase‐3 activation and Annexin‐V staining and up‐regulation of the pro‐apoptotic molecule Bax. CD40 engagement by both soluble and membrane bound‐CD40L almost totally reduced IRF4 down‐modulation and growth inhibition by IRF4 silencing in both L‐1236 and L‐428 cells. Finally, IRF4 silencing decreased CCL5 secretion in all HL cell lines tested and CCL17 in KM‐H2 cells. Taken together, our results demonstrated that IRF4 down‐modulation by IRF4 silencing was reversed by CD40 engagement, inhibited HL cells proliferation, induced apoptosis and decreased CCL5 secretion, thus suggesting that IRF4 may be involved in HL pathobiology.
FoxP3, GATA‐3 and T‐bet expression in elderly asthma
Authors: Vale‐Pereira S. , Todo‐Bom A. , Geraldes L. , Schmidt‐Weber C. , Akdis C. A. , Mota‐Pinto A.
Published: November 2010

Cite this as: S. Vale‐Pereira, A. Todo‐Bom, L. Geraldes, C. Schmidt‐Weber, C. A. Akdis and A. Mota‐Pinto, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2011 (41) 490–496.

Background
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which Th2, Th1 and suppressive T cells (Tregs) play a role. The transcription factor FoxP3 plays a role in Treg differentiation while T‐bet is important for Th1 and GATA‐3 for Th2 differentiation from naïve T cells. Recent data show that age‐related deregulation of Treg cells is a mechanism of senescence affecting several chronic diseases. It is crucial to understand the behaviour of these cell populations in asthma for elderly patients.

Objective
To evaluate FoxP3, GATA‐3 and T‐bet gene expression under basal conditions and after in vitro activation in a group of elderly asthmatic compared with age‐matched healthy individuals.

Methods
Thirty‐two elderly asthmatics and 17 healthy elderly individuals were selected. Serum total IgE was measured, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and stimulated in vitro with anti‐CD3/anti‐CD28, followed by mRNA isolation. After reverse transcription, real‐time quantitative PCR was performed and relative quantification was determined (2−ΔΔCt method).

Results
The mean values and standard deviation of FoxP3, GATA‐3 and T‐bet relative expression for control vs. asthma were 10.2 ± 6.8 vs. 4.8 ± 3.8, 2.4 ± 2.9 vs. 1.7 ± 0.9 and 3.3 ± 2.1 vs. 2.1 ± 1.5, respectively. Healthy individuals showed significantly higher expression of FoxP3 and T‐bet; asthmatics had a lower T‐bet/GATA‐3 ratio, higher serum IgE and a positive significant correlation between total IgE and GATA‐3 expression.

Conclusion and clinical relevance
Elderly asthmatic patients have lower FoxP3 mRNA expression in PBMC, which can be associated with the sustained inflammatory process and with the decreased immune tolerance by Treg cells. The T‐bet deficiency and the correlation of GATA‐3 expression with the increase of IgE are characteristics of long‐lasting asthma. Changes related to the immunosenescence process could provide an explanation for the minor differences observed between the groups. It is important to clarify persistent modifications in long‐lasting asthma in the elderly and adequate future therapeutic approaches.
Ribavirin rather than PEG‐interferon pharmacodynamics predict nonresponse to antiviral therapy in naive chronic hepatitis C patients
Authors: van Vlerken L. G. , Huisman E. J. , van Soest H. , Boland G. J. , Drenth J. P. H. , Siersema P. D. , Burger D. M. , van Erpecum K. J.
Published: November 2010

Summary.  Twenty to fifty per cent of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) experience nonresponse to current antiviral therapy, which may relate in part to ribavirin or PEG‐interferon pharmacodynamics. We evaluated potential relevance of various factors for nonresponse. Two hundred forty‐two naive CHC patients who received in a previous trial at least 24 weeks of antiviral therapy, including PEG‐interferon alfa‐2b and ribavirin, were analysed. Of them, 53% were infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1–4, 71% exhibited high viral load and 32% had severe fibrosis/cirrhosis. After 24 weeks of treatment, 39 patients (16%) were nonresponders. In multivariate analysis, lower serum ribavirin concentrations, HCV genotype 1–4 and higher baseline γ‐GT predicted nonresponse. Week‐24 ribavirin concentrations (2.2 vs 2.8 mg/L, P < 0.001), average ribavirin doses (14.5 vs 15.2 mg/kg per day, P = 0.03) and week‐24 haemoglobin decreases (1.7 vs 2.0 mm, P = 0.02) were lower in nonresponders. Nonresponse rates increased progressively at decreasing ribavirin concentrations: 4%, 11%, 13% and 36% in case of serum ribavirin concentrations ≥4, 3–4, 2–3 and ≤2 mg/L, respectively (P = 0.001). Ribavirin concentrations correlated with both week‐24 haemoglobin decreases (r = 0.42, P < 0.001) and ribavirin doses (r = 0.17, P = 0.01). Subgroup analysis in HCV genotype 1–4 patients revealed essentially the same results. Nonresponse was exceptional in HCV genotype 2–3 patients and associated with ribavirin concentrations <2 mg/L. Presumed interferon‐related factors (average PEG‐interferon doses and decreases in leucocytes, granulocytes, platelets and body weight) did not differ between nonresponders and responders. In conclusion, ribavirin‐ rather than PEG‐interferon‐related factors are independent and potentially modifiable predictors of nonresponse in treatment‐naive CHC patients.
Developmental changes in crossover frequency in Arabidopsis
Authors: Toyota Masatsugu , Matsuda Kentaro , Kakutani Tetsuji , Terao Morita Miyo , Tasaka Masao
Published: November 2010

Parental genomes are generally rearranged by two processes during meiosis: one is the segregation of homologous chromosomes and the other is crossing over between such chromosomes. Although the mechanisms underlying chromosome segregation and crossing over are well understood because of numerous genetic and molecular investigations, their contributions to the rearrangement of genetic information have not yet been analysed at a genome‐wide level in Arabidopsis thaliana. We established 343 CAPS or SSLP markers to identify polymorphisms between two different Arabidopsis ecotypes, Col and Ler, which are distributed at an average distance of approximately 400 kb between pairs of markers throughout the entire genome. Using these markers, crossover frequencies and chromosome segregation were quantified with respect to sex and age. Our large‐scale analysis demonstrated that: (i) crossover frequencies during pollen formation were 1.79 and 1.37 times higher than those during megaspore formation in early and late flowers, respectively (P < 0.001); (ii) the crossover frequencies during pollen formation were not significantly different between early and late flowers of main shoots (P > 0.05), whereas the frequencies increased 1.30 times with shoot age during megaspore formation (P < 0.001); (iii) the effect of aging depended on the developmental age of the individual shoot rather than on the age of the whole plant; and (iv) five chromosomes were randomly selected and mixed during meiosis.
Dynamic changes in Th1, Th17, and FoxP3+ T cells in patients with acute cellular rejection after cardiac transplantation
Authors: Wang Sihua , Li Jun , Xie Aini , Wang Guohua , Xia Ni , Ye Ping , Rui Lu , Xia Jiahong
Published: November 2010

Wang S, Li J, Xie A, Wang G, Xia N, Ye P, Rui L, Xia J. Dynamic changes in Th1, Th17, and FoxP3+ T cells in patients with acute cellular rejection after cardiac transplantation.  Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E177–E186. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Abstract:  Previously, studies suggest that CD4+ effector T‐cell subsets participate in allograft rejection. However, the dynamic changes and relative roles of these CD4+ effector T‐cell subsets, especially Th17 cells, have not been systemically examined in patients with acute rejection after cardiac transplantation. In this study, we have studied and compared these CD4+ T‐cell subsets in peripheral blood and endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) in patients with stable‐graft and acute cellular rejection. We observed that the gene expressions including T‐bet, IFN‐γ, RORγt, IL‐17, IL‐23, and FoxP3, the functional marker of Th1, Th17, and FoxP3+ CD4+ T cells, were elevated in EMB samples from patients with acute graft rejection. Accordingly, the percentages of circulating Th1, Th17, and FoxP3+ CD4+ T cells were also significantly increased. The data suggest that Th1, Th17, and FoxP3+ CD4+ T cells are associated with acute graft rejection in patients with cardiac transplantation.
Improved nude mouse models for green fluorescence human endometriosis
Authors: Liu Bin , Wang Ning‐ning , Wang Zi‐lian , Hong Shan‐shan , Li Jian‐tao , Ding Hui‐juan , Pan Qiu‐hui , Dong Yu , Zhou Can‐quan , Zhuang Guang‐lun
Published: November 2010

Aim:  To establish an improved noninvasive fluorescent animal model for endometriosis.

Material and Methods:  Adenovirus encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (Ad‐eGFP) was used to transfect primary culture endometrial glandular cells and stromal cells (purified cell transfection and mixed injection, Group 1) as well as endometrial fragments (tissues transfection and injection, Group 2). Transfection results were compared between the cells and tissues in vitro. The GFP‐transfected cells suspension of Group 1 or endometrial fragments of Group 2, with similar weight, were injected into nude mice subcutaneously and noninvasively observed every 5 days until day 15 (Subgroup 1, N = 5), day 20 (Subgroup 2, N = 5) or day 25 (Subgroup 3, N = 11). The positive rates and duration times of the fluorescent lesions were calculated.

Results:  After 18 h of incubation, glandular cells and stromal cells all had higher GFP‐positive rates. In vivo imaging showed that the GFP positive rates of Group 1 were significantly higher than those of Group 2. The fluorescent‐positive durations of Groups 1 and 2 were 23.636 ± 4.523 days and 5.909 ± 5.394 days, respectively (P < 0.001). In vivo analysis demonstrated that on days 15, 20, and 25, there were more typical lesions and fluorescent‐positive lesions formed in Group 1 and that the lesion weight in Group 1 was greater. The structures of the lesions were all identified as human origin.

Conclusion:  A noninvasive animal model for endometriosis created by subcutaneous injection of an Ad‐eGFP‐transfected endometrial glandular and stromal cells suspension had higher a positive rate, longer duration time of fluorescent imaging and greater lesion weight.