bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The mouse DXZ4 homolog retains Ctcf binding and proximity to Pls3 despite substantial organizational differences compared to the primate macrosatellite
Authors: Horakova Andrea H , Calabrese J Mauro , McLaughlin Christine R , Tremblay Deanna C , Magnuson Terry , Chadwick Brian P
Published: August 2012

Background

The X-linked macrosatellite DXZ4 is a large homogenous tandem repeat that in females adopts an alternative chromatin organization on the primate X chromosome in response to X-chromosome inactivation. It is packaged into heterochromatin on the active X chromosome but into euchromatin and bound by the epigenetic organizer protein CTCF on the inactive X chromosome. Because its DNA sequence diverges rapidly beyond the New World monkeys, the existence of DXZ4 outside the primate lineage is unknown.

Results

Here we extend our comparative genome analysis and report the identification and characterization of the mouse homolog of the macrosatellite. Furthermore, we provide evidence of DXZ4 in a conserved location downstream of the PLS3 gene in a diverse group of mammals, and reveal that DNA sequence conservation is restricted to the CTCF binding motif, supporting a central role for this protein at this locus. However, many features that characterize primate DXZ4 differ in mouse, including the overall size of the array, the mode of transcription, the chromatin organization and conservation between adjacent repeat units of DNA sequence and length. Ctcf binds Dxz4 but is not exclusive to the inactive X chromosome, as evidenced by association in some males and equal binding to both X chromosomes in trophoblast stem cells.

Conclusions

Characterization of Dxz4 reveals substantial differences in the organization of DNA sequence, chromatin packaging, and the mode of transcription, so the potential roles performed by this sequence in mouse have probably diverged from those on the primate X chromosome.
A map of human microRNA variation uncovers unexpectedly high levels of variability
Authors: Carbonell José , Alloza Eva , Arce Pablo , Borrego Salud , Santoyo Javier , Ruiz-Ferrer Macarena , Medina Ignacio , Jiménez-Almazán Jorge , Méndez-Vidal Cristina , González-del Pozo María , Vela Alicia , Bhattacharya Shomi S , Antiñolo Guillermo , Dopazo Joaquín
Published: August 2012

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key components of the gene regulatory network in many species. During the past few years, these regulatory elements have been shown to be involved in an increasing number and range of diseases. Consequently, the compilation of a comprehensive map of natural variability in a healthy population seems an obvious requirement for future research on miRNA-related pathologies.

Methods

Data on 14 populations from the 1000 Genomes Project were analyzed, along with new data extracted from 60 exomes of healthy individuals from a population from southern Spain, sequenced in the context of the Medical Genome Project, to derive an accurate map of miRNA variability.

Results

Despite the common belief that miRNAs are highly conserved elements, analysis of the sequences of the 1,152 individuals indicated that the observed level of variability is double what was expected. A total of 527 variants were found. Among these, 45 variants affected the recognition region of the corresponding miRNA and were found in 43 different miRNAs, 26 of which are known to be involved in 57 diseases. Different parts of the mature structure of the miRNA were affected to different degrees by variants, which suggests the existence of a selective pressure related to the relative functional impact of the change. Moreover, 41 variants showed a significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, which supports the existence of a selective process against some alleles. The average number of variants per individual in miRNAs was 28.

Conclusions

Despite an expectation that miRNAs would be highly conserved genomic elements, our study reports a level of variability comparable to that observed for coding genes.
The Economic Revolution in the American South
Authors: Wright Gavin
Published: August 2012

As recently as twenty-five years ago, regional economic backwardness in the states of the traditional American South was considered an intractable problem of continuing national concern. Obviously, much has changed since then. The modern period of economic convergence for the South only began in earnest when the institutional foundations of its regional labor market were undermined, largely by federal farm and labor legislation dating from the 1930s. Ironically, the resurgence of the South came in the wake of policies which threatened to cripple the region's industrialization, by forcing up labor costs in low-wage sectors. This apparent paradox calls for a closer look at initial conditions as well as at the regional growth process over the last 50 years. Though it may be the case that Southern wages and incomes were bound to converge to national levels eventually, the path actually taken was a choice of one among several alternative paths to that result.
Tax Reform as Political Choice
Authors: Buchanan James M
Published: August 2012

Public choice theory explains and interprets politics as the interaction among constituents and agents seeking to advance or to express their own interests. Applied to an observed political event like the 1986 tax reform legislation, any such analysis must identify the effects on separate interests and make some presumption concerning the perception of these effects. The linkage between assigning gains and losses from the 1986 tax changes and explaining these changes depends critically on the model of political choice. Political reality presumably embodies some mix of models of consensus, conflict, and agents' discretion. These three models are examined separately, with features from each retaining some explanatory value.
Treasury I and the Tax Reform Act of 1986: The Economics and Politics of Tax Reform
Authors: McLure Charles E , Zodrow George R
Published: August 2012

During President Reagan's State of the Union Address in January 1984, he requested that Treasury Secretary Donald Regan prepare “a plan for action to simplify the entire tax code so that all taxpayers, big and small, are treated more fairly.” In response, the Department of the Treasury spent ten months preparing a report to the President that has come to be called Treasury I. This three-volume study explained the need for tax reform and the general directions such reform should take, provided a comprehensive set of proposals for reform of the income tax, and analyzed the feasibility and desirability of an American value-added tax. Following almost two years of public debate, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 became law on October 22, 1986. Though widely hailed as the most far-reaching reform of the nation's tax system since the 1940s, the 1986 Act falls far short of the promise of Treasury I. It is useful to devote attention to Treasury I, even though much of it failed to survive the legislative process. First, because Treasury I represented an attempt to formulate a workable tax system that closely approximates the economist's view of an ideal income tax, it is likely to condition future deliberations on tax reform both in the United States and in other countries. Second, the conceptually coherent proposals of Treasury I provide a standard against which to measure the hodge-podge of proposals that became law in the 1986 Act. Finally, a discussion of the decisions underlying Treasury I should prove informative to economists and political scientists interested in the process and substance of tax reform.
Tax Reform: Implications for the State-Local Public Sector
Authors: Courant Paul N , Rubinfeld Daniel L
Published: August 2012

We analyze the effects of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 on the level and distribution of state and local spending, and on the mix of revenue sources employed by state and local governments. We expect state and local spending to fall by between 0.9 percent and 1.9 percent, with the lower end of the range the more plausible. The conclusion that aggregate spending is unlikely to change very much does not imply that the Tax Reform Act is unimportant to the state and local public sector. The fiscal and economic circumstances of state and local governments vary enormously, and the federal tax reform will therefore affect them very differently. The relative fiscal attractiveness of localities within metropolitan areas will be altered. From both efficiency and equity perspectives, these effects on local governments are likely to be much more important than the aggregate effect on either state or local spending. Over the longer run, apart from the obvious incentive to move away from the nondeductible sales tax to other deductible taxes, the effect of tax reform on the mix of revenue instruments is difficult to predict. The new tax bill also has major implications for bond financing as it it limits the use of the tax-exempt bond instrument.
Puzzles: Choose a Curtain, Duel-ity, Two Point Conversions, and More
Authors: Nalebuff Barry
Published: August 2012

In presenting economic puzzles, I have three goals in mind: some puzzles are chosen to stimulate research; others offer examples that will help undergraduate and graduate teaching; all should provide quality distractions during seminars. As usual, this feature begins with several speed puzzles, with answers provided at the end of the problems. Following are several longer puzzles, for which readers are challenged to submit their own answers. The responses will be discussed in a future issue.
Symposium on Mergers and Antitrust
Authors: Salop Steven C
Published: August 2012

The Journal asked three mainstream industrial organization economists to comment on both current merger enforcement and merger reform proposals: Lawrence White, Franklin Fisher, and Richard Schmalensee. The Journal of Economic Perspectives organized this symposium to provide economists who do not specialize in industrial organization and policymakers now considering reform proposals with a better sense of the type of competitive analysis carried out in evaluating mergers and the controversies involved in proposals to reform merger law.
Organ donation: development and practicalities
Authors: Matthews Peter Charles
Published: August 2012

The need for organs for donation is far greater than organ availability. In the last decade this has led to restructuring and investment in the organ donation programme with political and public support. The majority of transplanted organs are retrieved from patients dying on an intensive care unit, and the wish to consider organ donation as a normal part of end-of-life care has led to considerable pressure on clinicians to adhere to the large amount of practical and ethical guidance being published to achieve this. There has not been universal acceptance of the guidance by critical care clinicians, and this paper explores some of the concerns related to the practicalities of the evolving changes in management of potential organ donation patients within intensive care.
Acute carotid stent thrombosis: a case of surgical revascularization and review of treatment options
Authors: Markatis Fotis , Petrosyan Andranyk , Abdulamit Timur , Bergeron Patrice
Published: August 2012

Carotid artery stenting is considered to be an alternative to carotid endarterectomy for selected patients by many vascular specialists around the world. Acute stent thrombosis following the procedure, although very infrequent, can risk the survival of the patient. In this report, we present a case of acute stent thrombosis 24 hours following the procedure. After a slow deterioration of the clinical state of the patient, he was urgently subjected to thrombectomy with extraction of the stent, with eventual resolution of his symptoms. A review of the current literature is presented together with all the possible treatment options of this serious complication. In conclusion, several neurorescue procedures are available for the vascular surgeon who has to act urgently and, in some cases, aggressively, when stent thrombosis is diagnosed.
Automated Classification and Visualization of Healthy and Diseased Hard Dental Tissues by Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging
Authors: Usenik Peter , Bürmen Miran , Fidler Aleš , Pernuš Franjo , Likar Boštjan
Published: August 2012

Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent chronic diseases of modern society. The initial stages of dental caries are characterized by demineralization of enamel, resulting in subclinical lesions, which are difficult to diagnose. If detected early enough, such demineralization can be arrested and reversed by noninvasive means through well-established preventive measures, such as fluoride therapy, anti-bacterial therapy, or low intensity laser irradiation. Near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging is a promising new technique for early detection of dental caries based on distinct spectral features of healthy and diseased dental tissues. In this study, we apply NIR hyperspectral imaging to classify and visualize healthy and diseased dental tissues including enamel, dentin, calculus, enamel caries, and dentin caries. For this purpose, a standardized teeth database was constructed consisting of 12 extracted human teeth with different degrees of caries lesions imaged by an NIR hyperspectral system, X-ray, and digital color camera. The color and X-ray images of teeth were presented to a clinician expert for localization of the dental tissues and classification of pathological changes, thereby obtaining the gold standard. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for multivariate local modeling of healthy and diseased dental tissues. Finally, the dental tissues were classified by employing multiple discriminant analysis. Good agreement was observed between the resulting cross-validated classification and the gold standard with the classification sensitivity and specificity exceeding 79.8% and 93.8%, respectively. This study clearly shows that the proposed automated classification and visualization method based on NIR hyperspectral imaging has considerable diagnostic potential.
Differentiation of Hypocaust and Floor Tiles at Coriglia, Castel Viscardo (Umbria, Italy) Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometry
Authors: Donais Mary Kate , Wojtas Sara , Desmond Anthony , Duncan Bradley , George David B.
Published: August 2012

Portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry was used to collect elemental data for in situ hypocaust tiles and floors at an archaeological excavation site near Orvieto, Italy. Data obtained from 2009 to 2011 using three different XRF instruments are compared. Both quantitative results and spectral data were utilized for graphical and chemometric evaluation of the samples' elemental compositions. Despite the different instrumental conditions, changes in data collection protocols, and various data evaluation procedures used with each instrument, conclusions about the archaeological relationships among the tiles remained the same across the three-year study. Utilization of fused data did provide some improvements in differentiation of the materials but at the cost of significantly increased analysis times. The robustness of portable XRF instruments for differentiation of in situ archaeological samples is clearly demonstrated.
Study of Sugar Transformations in Carrots during Storage Using Snow by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics
Authors: Nagai Naoto , Okada Hideki , Watanabe Satoshi , Shimojo Sayaka
Published: August 2012

The attenuated total reflection (ATR) mode in Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has been used to detect the sugar transformations of carrots under various storage conditions. The composition of the sugars was assessed by principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component regression (PCR). The changes in the sucrose concentration of the trachea and phloem of the carrot after storage are evident.
The Temperature-Dependent Decomposition of SiO Studied by Infrared Vibrational Spectroscopy
Authors: Wetzel Steffen , Klevenz Markus , Pucci Annemarie , Gail Hans-Peter
Published: August 2012

The temperature dependence of vibrational bands in SiO films deposited onto Si was studied under ultra high vacuum conditions. In the first series of measurements, films were deposited at various substrate temperatures from 40 K to 573 K and infrared spectra were monitored in situ between 450 cm−1 and 5000 cm−1. In a second series of measurements, a film was deposited at 300 K and post-annealed to various temperatures ranging from 373 K to 1173 K. A shift of the strongest vibrational frequency of SiO by several 10 cm−1 to higher wavenumbers with increasing temperature was observed in both kinds of experiments. The observed spectral shifts are considered as an indication of changes in the frequency of occurrence of the various Si-SiyO4-y units (0 ⩽ y ⩽ 4).
No Country for Young Men: Chinese modernity, displacement, and initiatory ritual in Chinese Sixth Generation cinema
Authors: Gladwin Derek
Published: August 2012

This article examines youth initiation in two Chinese Sixth Generation films, Wang Xiaoshuai's Shiqui sui de dan che/Beijing Bicycle (2001) and Li Yang's Mang jing/Blind Shaft (2003). It addresses the broader issue of the 'floating population' in China and the impact that rapid modernization
has on the social fabric of Chinese society. It also suggests that in light of such social injustices and cinematic representation in the post-socialist China of today, under the guise of modernity and economic progress, there exists a dislocated and disconnected transition into adulthood
for youth populations. This article argues that Wang and Yi directly investigate one of the consequences of Chinese modernity: disrupted youth initiatory ritual. Beijing Bicycle and Blind Shaft depict in a narrative documentary form an entire generation of Chinese youth who have been geographically
and psychologically displaced as they lose their family connections and education opportunities, move from job to job, and fail to experience appropriate initiation into adulthood, all of which have contributed to a fractured social system.
Natan: a case study for development
Authors: Rabiger Michael
Published: August 2012

This film makes an ideal classroom vehicle for discussing three-act structure; dramatic form and its terminology; the principles of characterization; point of view and style options; and the need for a main character to develop. It also helps in teaching the interrogation techniques
of project development that professionals use to extend a story to its full potential.
Mediating Punctuation in English Arabic Translation
Authors: AlQinai Jamal B. S.
Published: August 2012

This paper investigates some of the salient differences in punctuation between Arabic and English. Although the two languages share many of the basic punctuation marks such as the period (full-stop), the comma, the question and exclamation marks, Arabic has its own conventions of punctuation which are not strictly governed by the same rules applicable to English. In fact, even those punctuation marks that were transferred from European languages through translation have been adapted to the writing conventions of Arabic. While the comma, quotation marks and parentheses have been utilized with multiple and sometimes overlapping functions, other marks like the apostrophe and the semicolon have rarely, if ever, been used in original Arabic texts. In some cases, English punctuation marks are either deleted or substituted by Arabic lexical insertions. In such cases, in translating between English and Arabic, one has to realign meaning and reorder structures in order to retain the function of missing punctuation marks.
On the role of naturalistic and classroom exposure in the acquisition of socio-phonological variation
Authors: Howard Martin
Published: August 2012

This paper is situated within the new wave of L2 studies which explores the learner’s acquisition of sociolinguistic variation. The study tracks the longitudinal development of liaison usage in relation to the potential differential impact of naturalistic vs classroom exposure conditions. Data for the study were collected at three intervals over a two-year period from Irish university learners, allowing for a dual analysis of their linguistic development during a year-long stay in France, and during their subsequent return to the foreign language classroom. Results point to the complexity of such development, whereby there is considerable individual variation, such that the heterogeneous exposure conditions in each environment seem to impact differentially the individual learners’ development.
An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ foreign language anxiety, personality and self-esteem
Authors: Liu Meihua , Zhang Wenxia
Published: August 2012

This paper reports on the results of a study of Chinese EFL learners’ foreign language anxiety, personality traits, self-esteem, and their interactive effects on students’ performance in English at the tertiary level. A 94-item survey involving 934 first-year undergraduate non-English majors revealed that: 1) nearly a third of the respondents felt anxious in English class, feared being negatively evaluated, and were apprehensive about both speaking English in class and tests; 2) the majority of the respondents were moderately extroverted, moderately inclined to anxiety and fears, and moderately prone to be influenced by social desirability, but tending to be dependent and tender-minded; 3) the participants generally considered themselves worthy; 4) most of the measured variables exerted a significant effect on one another as well as on the students’ performance in English, with anxiety and self-esteem being the most influential variables. Based on these findings, some implications and suggestions are discussed.
The need for a tertium comparationis in Applied Linguistics and SLA
Authors: Evensen Lars Sigfred
Published: August 2012

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L2 ‘Second-order’ organization
Authors: Ikeda Keiko
Published: August 2012

This paper illustrates how L2 novice speakers of Japanese co-construct a contingent conversation by themselves with no L1 speaker’s or instructor’s assistance. Using conversation analysis, the study examines turn-taking organization in the data. The L2 speakers employed question sequences (Question-Answer-Follow up) to manage turn allocation among themselves. The study analyses the turn transitions in a sequence when the questioner has selected the next speaker to answer but no answer is forthcoming or it is delayed. Multi-modal resources such as eye gaze and contingent face expressions in particular seem to play an important role in the selection of a next speaker. In L2 data examined, a third party self selects him/herself as the next speaker in place of the original responder. This second-order case (Stivers and Robinson 2006) is in effect because of the L2 speakers’ attentiveness towards progressivity of the conversation. I argue that this phenomenon evidences a specific context of ‘conversation-for-learning’.
Nasometer 6200 versus Nasometer II 6400: Effect on Measures of Nasalance
Authors: Awan Shaheen N. , Virani Aneesha
Published: August 2012

Objective

This study compared measures of nasalance obtained using the Nasometer 6200 versus the Nasometer II 6400 in typically speaking young adult males and females for the nonnasal Zoo Passage, the phonetically balanced Rainbow Passage, and the Nasal Sentences.

Design

Participants read passages at a comfortable pitch and loudness twice while wearing Nasometer 6200 or Nasometer II 6400 headgear. The order of Nasometer system was counterbalanced across participants, and the order of the reading passage was randomized.

Participants

Participants consisted of 25 males (mean age = 21.22 years) and 25 females (mean age = 23.83 years).

Main Outcome Measures

The main outcomes measures were nasalance scores (%) obtained for each system × passage per participant.

Results

Results showed that the Nasometer 6200 and the Nasometer II 6400 differed significantly on mean nasalance for the Zoo Passage (mean difference = 7.15%) and the Rainbow Passage (mean difference = 3.05%) but not for the Nasal Sentences (mean difference = 0.77%). Intersystem correlations and measures of predictive accuracy indicated that the ability to predict Nasometer 6200 nasalance scores from Nasometer II 6400 scores was relatively weak.

Conclusions

In addition to such factors as age, gender, and regional dialect, normative nasalance expectations and normal versus disordered nasalance cutoff scores must be considered with full knowledge of the specific system that was used to acquire the nasalance data. Intrasubject changes in nasalance can only be validly assessed when test versus retest measurements have been acquired using the same nasalance system.
Effects of Lip Revision Surgery on Long-Term Orosensory Function in Patients with Cleft Lip/Palate
Authors: Essick Greg , Phillips Ceib , Chung Yunro , Trotman Carroll-Ann
Published: August 2012

Objective

To determine whether secondary lip revision surgery impacts sensitivity of the upper lip.

Design

A three-group, parallel, prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial.

Setting

University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.

Patients, Participants

Three groups: (1) patients with repaired cleft lip/palate who were scheduled for lip revision (revision; N = 20); (2) patients with repaired cleft lip/palate who did not receive a lip revision (non-revision; N = 13); and (3) non-cleft control subjects (non-cleft; N = 22).

Interventions

Lip revision surgery.

Main Outcome Measures

Measures of (1) two-point perception threshold (two-point), (2) warmth detection threshold (warm), and (3) cool detection threshold (cool) were obtained from two sites on the upper lip vermilion. The revision participants were tested approximately 1 week before surgery and then approximately 3 and 12 months after surgery. The non-revision and non-cleft participants were tested at similar times.

Results

There were no significant differences among the three groups at baseline for two-point, warm, or cool. The main effects of group, age, sex, and time were not statistically significant for the two-point or warm ( p > .05). The mean differences between the 3- and 12-month follow-up visits and baseline for two-point and warm were small for all three groups. For cool, group was statistically significant ( p = .04), the difference in the non-revision group between follow-up and baseline was 31% to 34% higher than in the non-cleft group ( p = .01).

Conclusions

Although at postsurgery revision participants exhibited threshold values comparable to presurgical values, the sensory differences observed among subgroups of participants with cleft lip are complex.
Prevalence and Characteristics of Sexual Violence in the Netherlands, the Risk of Revictimization and Pregnancy: Results From a National Population Survey
Authors: Haas Stans de , Berlo Willy van , Bakker Floor , Vanwesenbeeck Ine
Published: August 2012

Prevalence figures on sexual violence among a representative sample of both men and women were not yet available for the Netherlands. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the prevalence of sexual violence in the Netherlands and to add these figures to the international body of knowledge. Experiences of sexual violence during lifetime, before the age of 16 and in the year before the start of the study were measured. In addition, types of sexual violence were examined, as were the characteristics of the perpetrators. Lastly, revictimization and pregnancy as a result of rape experiences among the victims were investigated. Data were generated from a population survey on sexual health. The sample consisted of more than 6,000 men and women between the age of 15 and 70 years old. Prevalence rates as high as 21% for men and 56% for women were found. Fifty percent of the female victims and 30% of the male victims of child sexual abuse had experienced adult victimization. Of the female rape victims, 7% became pregnant as a consequence of rape. In the Netherlands, as elsewhere, the prevention of sexual violence should be prioritized.
Further Evidence of the Impact of Cognitive Complexity on the Five-Factor Model
Authors: Bowler Mark C. , Bowler Jennifer L. , Cope John G.
Published: August 2012

According to the five-factor model (FFM) of personality the same 5 factors are universal across all individuals. However, recent evidence suggests that this assumption may be incorrect (Bowler, Bowler, & Phillips, 2009). In this study we sought to further examine the impact of cognitive
complexity on the FFM by evaluating its impact on the factor structure of Saucier's (1994) Mini-Markers. Overall, our results support the findings of Bowler et al. (2009). Individuals with below average levels of cognitive complexity display personalities that are best described by a 3-factor
model and individuals with above average levels of cognitive complexity display personalities that are best described by a 6- rather than a 7-factor model. Implications of the appropriateness of the FFM are discussed.
The Sweet Color of an Implicit Request: Women's Hair Color and Spontaneous Helping Behavior
Authors: Guéguen Nicolas
Published: August 2012

Results of previous researchers' studies on the effect of blond hair color on helping behavior have been inconsistent. In addition, spontaneous helping behavior has not been examined. In this study, female confederates wearing blond, brown, or dark wigs accidentally dropped a glove
while walking in pedestrian streets and then walked away, apparently not aware of their loss. It was found that male and not female pedestrians helped the confederates wearing blond wigs more often. An explanation for these results is that a greater degree of youth and good health is associated
with women who have blond hair.
Young South African Adults' Perceptions of Parental Psychological Control and Antisocial Behavior
Authors: Roman Nicolette Vanessa , Human Anja , Hiss Donavon
Published: August 2012

We extended prior research by investigating perceptions of parental psychological control as a contributor to young adults' antisocial behavior in a sample of 382 South African university students aged between 18 and 25 years. Barber's (1996) measure of parental psychological control
and the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1987) questionnaires were administered for data collection. A positive relationship was found between parental psychological control and the antisocial behavior of young adults. Additionally, the results of the hierarchical regression analysis
suggest that maternal psychological control, compared to paternal psychological control, was a stronger predictor of antisocial behavior.
Monitors or Predators: The Influence of Institutional Investors on Sell-Side Analysts
Authors: Gu Zhaoyang , Li Zengquan , Yang Yong George
Published: August 2012

Regulators and the investment community have been concerned that institutional investors pressure financial analysts through trading commission fees to issue optimistic opinions in support of their stock positions. We use a unique dataset that identifies mutual fund companies' allocation of trading commission fees to individual brokerages and provide direct evidence on this issue. In particular, we show that for stocks in which the fund companies have taken large positions, analysts are more optimistic in their stock recommendations when their brokerages receive trading commission fees from these fund companies. The relationship is stronger when the commission fee pressure is greater. The market reacts less favorably to the “Strong Buy” recommendations of analysts facing greater commission fee pressure. The funds also respond negatively to such recommendations in making portfolio adjustments. These results point to a source of analyst bias that has been little explored in the literature.

Data Availability: The data are publically available from the sources identified in the paper.
Currency Translation's Effects on Reported Earnings and Equity: An Instructional Case
Authors: Sorensen Susan M. , Xu Zhaohui , Kyle Donald L.
Published: August 2012

As globalization increases and companies expand their foreign operations, their reported results, such as earnings per share, are increasingly affected by the volatility of daily foreign currency exchange (FX) rate fluctuations. The case provides a series of requirements to alert students to the effect that FX rate fluctuations have on reported operating results of a hypothetical company whose accounting records are kept in multiple currencies. The hypothetical company is based on a composite of four comparable real companies. Subsidiaries are located in the Euro Zone and China to highlight the difference between a floating currency experiencing volatility and a managed currency. These currencies allow students to address the uncertainties of sovereign debt crises and changing currency policies by governments. Students research applicable standards, obtain disclosures from Form 10-Ks, obtain FX rates, complete Excel worksheets to translate monthly income into U.S. dollars, observe how reported net income changes with the pattern of monthly income and FX rates, discuss the usefulness of the mandatory disclosure on foreign exchange exposure, address the risk factors affecting future FX rates, compute debt covenant requirements, and assess how the variations of FX rates affect the company's compliance with these debt covenants and its ability to implement its business strategy.
Perceptions of Instructor's Verbal Aggressiveness and Physical Education Students' Affective Learning
Authors: Bekiari Alexandra
Published: August 2012

The study examined the effects of perceptions of instructor's verbal aggressiveness on students' affective learning, and, in particular, students' affect toward the course, course-related behaviour, the instructor, as well as students' satisfaction as a function of perceived verbal aggressiveness by the instructor. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine the psychometric integrity of the affective learning scale employed. The sample comprised 146 physical education undergraduate students (18–22 years old, M = 18.9, SD = 1.0). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the factorial validity of the affective learning measure. Correlational analysis revealed a negative relationship between perceived verbal aggressiveness of the instructor and students' affect toward the course, course-related behaviour and the instructor, and students' satisfaction. The results of regression analysis revealed that perceived verbal aggression could significantly predict all the dependent variables; the prediction was particularly high for students' affect towards the instructor and students' satisfaction. Findings and implications for teachers' type of communication were discussed and future research suggestions were made.
Effect of Walking Speed on Typing Performance Using an Active Workstation
Authors: Funk Rachel E. , Taylor Megan L. , Creekmur Ceith C. , Ohlinger Christine M. , Cox Ronald H. , Berg William P.
Published: August 2012

This study tested the effect of treadmill walking speed on typing performance when these tasks were performed simultaneously. 24 research participants ( M age = 23.2 yr.) performed a typing test under each of four conditions including the control (seated), treadmill walking at 1.3 km/hr., 2.25 km/hr., and 3.2 km/hr. Results indicated that treadmill walking had a detrimental effect on typing performance, but that the walking speed of 2.25 km/hr. would result in better typing performance than the slower and faster speeds. Seated typing was better than typing while walking at 1.3 km/hr. and typing while walking at 3.2 km/hr. Typing performance while walking at 2.25 km/hr. was not different than seated typing performance. The results support the potential of treadmill walking at 2.25 km/hr. to provide low-intensity physical activity without compromising typing performance.
Musical Training Effect on Reading Musical Notation: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials
Authors: Lee Horng-Yih , Lei Sot-Fu
Published: August 2012

Musical training enhances a range of non-musical cognitive functions, including visuospatial abilities. The aim of this study was to explore which event-related potential (ERP) components were enhanced or reduced as a result of musical training. Both electrophysiological and behavioral methods were used to compare musicians and non-musicians in the processing of pitch and duration when reading single musical notes. It was observed that in the early stage of note reading, the musician/non-musician differences emerged in the latency range of the N1 and N2. The N1 component was enhanced; in contrast, the N2 component was reduced in musicians. It is possible that musicians receive auditory meanings from visual music notations, so they therefore did not find it necessary to spend more resources on executing spatial attention than non-musicians do during pitch processing.
Electrophysiological Indicators of Visuomotor Planning: Delay-Dependent Changes
Authors: Kirsch Wladimir , Hennighausen Erwin
Published: August 2012

A visuomotor task was used to investigate the influence of a varying response delay on the evoked activity measured during motor planning. Participants performed one-dimensional hand movements to visual targets after 200-, 1,000-, and 5,000- msec, delays with respect to the target offset. In response to an imperative go signal, similar deflections were observed over motor areas in all delay conditions. In contrast, activity at posterior electrodes was strongly delay-dependent. During the shortest delay condition, evoked alpha oscillations were pronounced at occipitoparietal recording sites and were accompanied by P300-like positive waves. In contrast, when the delay was either 1,000 or 5,000 msec., lateral occipitotemporal deflections (N1) were observed. Also, during the longest delay condition another P300-like component was measured, which was entirely absent when the delay was 1,000 msec. These results suggest that neurophysiological processes underlie motor planning, change depending on the time of response.
Inhibition of Irrelevant Information is Not Necessary to Performance of Expert Chess Players
Authors: Postal Virginie
Published: August 2012

Some studies on expertise have demonstrated that the difference between novices and experts can be partly due to a lack of knowledge about which information is relevant for a given situation. This lack of knowledge seems to be associated with the selection of correct information and with inhibitory processes. However, while the efficiency of inhibitory processes can lead to better performance in the normal population, it seems that experts in chess do not base their performance on this process but rather on an automatic and parallel encoding of information. Two experiments investigated the processes involved in a check detection task. The congruence of the information was manipulated in a Stroop situation similar to Reingold, Charness, Scheltetus, & Stampe (2001). The results showed that the experts did not benefit from cuing with a congruent cue and that they did not show any interference effect by the incongruent cue, contrary to less skilled chess players who benefited from cuing (Exp. 1). An attentional priming procedure confirmed the automatic encoding of chess relations in the more skilled chess players by showing no advantage from the prime in this group (Exp. 2). Taken together, the results indicate that the processing was serial for the less skilled chess players and that it was automatic and parallel for the more expert chess players. The inhibition of irrelevant information does not seem necessary to process information rapidly and efficiently.
Effects of the Order of Reading Text or Viewing a Film and L1/L2 Captions on Reading Comprehension
Authors: Chen Mei-Ling
Published: August 2012

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of order of reading text or viewing a film and L1 / L2 captions on participants' comprehension. The participants were college freshmen ( N = 236) enrolled in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. In the experiment, there were four conditions: the text was read first, and then the film version viewed with either Chinese or English subtitles, or the film version was viewed first with Chinese or English subtitles. Pre-test and post-test scores on the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) indicated that the read-first group viewing the film with Chinese subtitles outperformed the read-first and view-first groups viewing the film version with English subtitles.
Relationship between Writing Skills and Visual-Motor Control in Low-Vision Students
Authors: Uysal Songül Atasavun , Aki Esra
Published: August 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between handwriting skills and visual motor control among students with low vision and to compare this with the performance of their normal sighted peers. 42 students with low vision and 26 normal sighted peers participated. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor Proficiency Test-Short Form (BOTMP–SF), Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test's writing subtest, and a legibility assessment were administered. Significant differences were found between groups for students' writing speed, legibility, and visual motor control. Visual motor control was correlated both writing speed and legibility. Students with low vision had poorer handwriting performance, with lower legibility and slower writing speed. Writing performance time was related to visual motor control in students with low vision.
Sex Differences in Electromechanical Delay during a Punch Movement
Authors: Ferreira Mário A. Rodrigues , Vencesbrito António M.
Published: August 2012

This study assessed how sex of participant is related to electromechanical delay during a karate punch. Ten male ( M age = 25.00 yr., SD = 3.02; M height= 174.9 cm, SD = 6.3; M weight = 71.13 kg, SD = 9.35) and 8 female ( M age = 27.4 yr., SD = 6.0; M height = 161.4 cm, SD = 5.1; M weight = 59.09 kg, SD = 7.00) karate athletes performed 10 ballistic punches to a target as hard as possible. Kinematic analysis and surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the upper-limb muscles were recorded. Men had a significantly shorter electromechanical delay in the anterior portion of the deltoid, showing a larger effectiveness in the transfer of the contractile force for the beginning of movement. Agonist and antagonist relationships show intermuscular coordination differences between the sexes. Results revealed the existence of a different neuromuscular coordination pattern of motor control between men and women, although a similar kinematic pattern was expected due to karate practice.
Observer Effects on the Rating of Perceived Exertion and Affect during Exercise in Recreationally Active Males
Authors: Winchester Rachel , Turner Louise A. , Thomas Kevin , Ansley Les , Thompson Kevin G. , Micklewright Dominic , Gibson Alan St Clair
Published: August 2012

This study examined the effect of introducing either a male or female observer on the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and affect of male runners during a moderate intensity running task. 10 moderately active men completed three 20-min. moderate intensity running trials at 60% of their peak treadmill running speed. Each participant completed three trials in random order: control, male-observed, and female-observed, where either the male or female observer joined the trial after 10 min. of the trial had elapsed, during which RPE and affect were monitored. The introduction of a female observer caused a significant decrease in RPE, whereas the introduction of a male observer caused a significant increase in RPE compared to the control trial. Affect was higher in the presence of both a male and female observer compared to control. It was concluded that there is a social, interpersonal, psychological dimension to RPE during exercise.
Optimal Combination of Auxiliary Device Size and its Location on Chopsticks for Food-Gripping Performances
Authors: Lee Yu-Chi , Chen Yi-Lang
Published: August 2012

Chopsticks are the main utensils for daily dining in Asia. Lee and Chen (2008) designed a novel auxiliary device for chopsticks that successfully converts people experienced in scissor-pinching to the correct method: pincer-pinching. This study attempts to assess the optimal combination of auxiliary size and location on chopstick stems for food-gripping performance. Twenty-four male participants experienced in scissor-pinching were recruited for the experiment. They were requested to perform 3 simulated tasks (force, precision, and stability) using 6 auxiliary combinations of 3 sizes (15, 25, and 35 mm) of chopsticks and 2 locations (on top of the stems and 1/3 stem-length from the top). Results indicate that auxiliary device size influenced simulated task performance and the user's subjective rating of chopsticks use. The auxiliary device measuring 15 mm wide showed the best performance in pinching force, precision, stability, and subjective rating. The location of the auxiliary device only affected the pinching force. The auxiliary device produced greater force when located at the top of the stems. This finding improves the application of auxiliary devices to chopstick operation.
Children's Locomotion on Slopes Given Visual, Acoustic, and Tactile Information
Authors: Alexandre R. , Cordovil R. , Barreiros J.
Published: August 2012

The effects of visual, acoustic, and tactile information on 5 blind and 5 sighted children's locomotion on slopes (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°) were investigated. Children's ages ranged from 5.8 to 7.7 years ( M = 6.8, SD = 0.7). The sighted children performed the task of walking up and down different slopes blindfolded and with full vision. Locomotion modes, locomotor skill, gait deviation, and time to complete the task were analyzed. Walking was the preferred locomotion mode up to 20°, but steeper slopes were perceived as “non-walkable.” Doubly multivariate MANOVAs revealed an effect of visual information (blindfolded vs full vision) on the sighted children's gait patterns, and a significant interaction between cue condition and group (blind vs blindfolded), underlining a distinct influence of the cues in the gait patterns of the two groups of children. Acoustic and tactile cues were generally more effective for the blind than for the sighted blindfolded children.
The ‘Aboriginal’ Australian Brain in the Scientific Imagination, c. 1820–1880
Authors: Turnbull Paul
Published: August 2012

Over the past two decades, historians of colonial Australia have greatly enriched our understanding of how Aboriginality was racially constructed in nineteenth and early twentieth settler discourses. However, there is arguably much that is yet to be understood about how racialist perceptions of Aboriginal people owed their cultural suasiveness to medico-scientific investigation of the Aboriginal body.

This essay attempts to go some way towards answering this question by exploring in contextualised detail how anatomists and anthropologists, in the century or so after 1820, construed the morphology of the ‘Aboriginal brain’ and its significance in the evolutionary history of humankind. The essay particularly focuses on explicating the goals of these investigators of the ‘Aboriginal’ brain as they themselves saw them evolving through their uses of evidence and modes of reasoning and argument.

Fine grained exploration of how the scientific facticity of the ‘Aboriginal’ brain was constructed is arguably essential if we are to understand how in obvious, but also in many subtle ways, the outcomes of this research figured in the construal of the biological and psychic dimensions of Aboriginality within settler culture, and on the development of policies for governing Aboriginal people. Moreover, it also offers us a useful source of vicarious knowledge for assessing contemporary scientific interest in the ‘Aboriginal’ brain.