bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GUEST EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: Towards a Research Agenda for Pacific Rim Cities*
Authors: Heikkila Eric J.
Published: October 2007

This paper outlines three fundamental reasons underlying the need for more active communication between sectors (private, public and academic) and between urban centers in the Pacific Rim. First, the public and private sectors must, by virtue of their raisons d'etre, operate at close quarters. Secondly, the context in which urban development takes place is increasingly complex. This suggests a role for scholars in helping to inform the debate on urban development processes. Finally, many cities in the Pacific Rim region are increasingly bound to one another through flows of population, capital, information and trade. The key to understanding the evolution of individual urban areas within this region may well be through increased knowledge of the network as a whole.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN THE PACIFIC RIM
Authors: Richardson Harry W.
Published: October 2007

Using a broad definition of the Pacific Rim (including some countries in Latin America), this paper examines selected aspects of Pacific Rim urban development. Despite the overwhelming economic dominance of the United States and Japan, urbanization in Pacific Rim countries is very diverse. Yet growth in most large cities on the Rim is decelerating, suggesting a possible paradox of rapid economic growth coexisting with slower urban growth. Location on the Rim may be important only for certain types of economic interaction, i.e. those subject to distance decay rather than being transmitted electronically. The internationalization of urbanization in the Pacific Rim is open to benign rather than dependency interpretations, given that economic and social conditions are better in developing countries in this region than in the rest of the world. The large size of many Pacific Rim primate cities suggests the need for a polycentric spatial structure, and the issue is how much intervention and of what kind is needed to ensure that decentralization takes place efficiently. Transportation may be one sector where successful innovations are transferable from one city to another. Environmental quality is a serious but neglected problem in many Pacific Rim cities, but will become more important as incomes rise. It remains unclear whether Metropolitan Development Authorities or some other form of regional government are needed for efficient metropolitan government. The most distinctive feature of Pacific Rim urban development is the commonality of urban problems that arise in rapidly growing economies.
THE FORMING OF SPATIAL PATTERNS OF CONSUMPTION IN TAIPEI: Some Observations in a Third‐World Metropolis
Authors: Wang Hung‐Kai , Chen Kung‐Hung
Published: October 2007

This paper argues that traditional central place theory is problematic because it (1) treats a central place system as a self‐contained system isolated from the rest of the world and immune from outside disturbance; (2) regards spatial structure as a product of laws of economics, consumer behavior and demography, but never of socio‐cultural forces; and (3) tries to depict the hierarchical structure of tertiary activities as a static situation. The paper then proceeds to view the formation of metropolitan spatial structures from the perspectives of (1) dependency development, and (2) as a top‐down development process open to the outside influence of international cultural flows, which sustain commodity diversification and symbolic consumption, both essential to the capitalist global economy. To illustrate how this cultural process takes place and helps change the spatial structure of a third‐world metropolis, a case study of the permeation of McDonald's hamburger stores in the Taipei metropolis is reported in the third part of the paper. It concludes that the spatial structure is a result of both economic and socio‐cultural forces and processes, and that the provider of a culturally effective commodity is also a shaping force in the mass consumption society. When a corporation promotes a new product image or diffuses its services, it is culturally preparing the society for the next step in the endless course of symbolic consumption and, therefore, of spatial restructuring.
A BRAVE EXPERIMENT: KOREA'S RECENT LAND POLICY REFORM AND THE ROLE OF THE LAND HOLDING TAX
Authors: Son Jae‐young
Published: October 2007

Korea's land policy has evolved around the presumption that market intervention is necessary to combat rising prices and speculation. In this paper it is argued, however, that the essence of the land problem is a distributional issue, and that the efforts to selectively punish speculators have had detrimental consequences. Past and present land policy is evaluated from this perspective, and a current policy issue, increasing land holding taxes, is examined. Notwithstanding the theoretical effect of a higher land holding tax, even a radical increase of the tax will not be able to stabilize land prices as long as urban land remains scarce. The government should accelerate deregulation in land use and development.
ASSISTING DEMOBILIZED RUSSIAN OFFICERS OBTAIN HOUSING: THE HOUSING CERTIFICATE OPTION
Authors: Romanik Clare , Struyk Raymond J.
Published: October 2007

Under the dwelling purchase certificate program a retired or demobilized Russian officer returning from the “near abroad” is given a certificate which he can use to purchase a new housing unit in the market. The certificate is priced at estimated market price of dwellings, and prices vary by unit size and location (region). There was great uncertainty when the program was launched as to whether officers would find units available for purchase. In fact, most officers succeeded in using their certificate and most contacted several sellers in searching for housing.
A HEDONIC ANALYSIS OF LAND PRICES IN YAMANASHI PREFECTURE, JAPAN
Authors: Andoh Katsumi , Ohta Makoto
Published: October 2007

This paper presents a hedonic analysis of residential land prices in Yamanashi Prefecture for the period 1985–1995. The main purpose is to divide Yamanashi Prefecture (including selected attached areas) into Tokyo‐influenced and Kofu‐influenced areas. This was accomplished by finding the minimum sum of squared residuals following two hedonic regressions. One regression uses access to Tokyo Station, the other access to Kofu Station. We find that the Tokyo‐influenced area expanded during the period studied.
CONVERGENCE OF BLACK HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN LARGEST U.S. CITIES.
Authors: Nissan Edward , Carter George
Published: October 2007

This paper investigates the widening (divergence) or narrowing (convergence) of black income as well as black income proportionate to all income using median family income over the 1980s. Analysis is undertaken at the regional level using the coefficient of variation and analysis of variance, and at the city level using a linear model. The linear model, in addition to providing a measure for divergence or convergence, provides a measure of residual change which distinguishes city performance above or below expectation. At the regional level, the general result is divergence of black income born 1979 to 1989, while at the city level, the general results were divergence for black income, but a convergence in black income proportionate to all income.
ELECTRICITY IN THE NORTH OF SCOTLAND
Authors: Munby D. L.
Published: October 2007

The aim of the following paper is to assess the success of the policies followed by the North of Scotland Hydro‐Electric Board in supplying the North of Scotland with electricity. In particular we raise the question of the cost of electricity, and of how far the policies followed are justified as compared with alternatives which have been available.
FULL EMPLOYMENT AND THE NEW ECONOMICS ‐A COMMENT
Authors: Lando Mordechai E.
Published: October 2007

Professor Killingsworth's paper ‘Full Employment and the New Economics’1 contains many controversial hypotheses. I prefer to avoid the pitfalls of the ‘aggregate demand’ versus ‘structural change’ controversy, and will just comment on some of the strained interpretations Killingsworth places on the data.
THE FUTURE ROLE OF THE LAW
Authors: Grunfeld Cyril
Published: October 2007

Summary

1. All individual labour relations disputes arising out of breach of contract of employment including unfair dismissal should be capable of being settled by the relatively rapid, inexpensive and informal procedures of the industrial tribunals with further appeal on points of law;

2. The minimum condition of legal recognition for the closed shop should be the effective strengthening in law of protection for the individual union member or prospective member, subject to discretion concerning ‘disruptists7rsquo;

3. In the central area of collective labour relations, the following policy suggestions are made:

a) criminal or civil sanctions against individual employees are impractical and best forgotten. Sanctions can only be realistically considered in relation to leaders and organisations;

b) the objective for a rational law of strike action (or other forms of direct action) should be limited if it is to be realistic, i.e., not the chopping down of managerial or trade union or shop floor power but insistence on a reasonable degree of orderliness and time for second thoughts in the run up to direct action;

c) it is an ancient truth that only fair and reasonable laws will command respect. Disputes procedures are a kind of quasi‐law. To command respect and to justify sanctions for its breach, a disputes procedure should be independently certificated as fair and reasonable in accordance with modern labour relations standards. The C.I.R. is at present the obvious body in which to vest this certificating power;

d) where adequate procedures and principles are provided by the law to deal with an identified class of industrial dispute, the use of private power, including private collective power, to impose a solution should be legally discouraged.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUTPUT VARIABILITY AND GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM POST WAR UK DATA
Authors: Caporale Tony , McKiernan Barbara
Published: October 2007

Abstract

The paper investigates the relationship between output variability and economic growth using a GARCH‐M model with industrial production in post‐war Great Britain. The data reveals a positive relationship between variability and growth rates.
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION AND FINANCIAL INNOVATION IN A CHARACTERISTICS FRAMEWORK
Authors: Blake David
Published: October 2007

Abstract

This paper shows that the characteristics model provides a unifying framework for analysing both financial intermediation and the process of financial innovation. The role of the financial intermediary is to buy‐in the primary liabilities of the firm, unbundle and repackage the characteristics contained in them and issue a set of ultimate assets to households. Assets exist because the balance between the supply of and demand for asset characteristics indicates an interior equilibrium. Financial innovations arise whenever changes in supply and demand induce movements from a corner solution to the interior. A number of existing explanations of financial innovation can be expressed using this framework.
SATELLITE TELEVISION AND THE DEMAND FOR FOOTBALL: A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME?
Authors: Baimbridge Mark , Cameron Samuel , Dawson Peter
Published: October 2007

Abstract

A recent development in the UK television industry has been the emergence of satellite coverage of sporting events. This paper examines the relationship between broadcasting and football, culminating in the 1992 joint BBC and BSkyB contract to televise the English Premier League. A demand function is estimated which exteds the familiar model of attendance to incorporate television together with quadratic functions. We find that, although live transmission reduces attendance, the net financial consequences are positive for Premier League teams. Moreover, significant estimators are found for the quadratic functions of pricel earnings, distance, seasonal trend and length of Premier League status.
THE REGIONAL AGGLOMERATION IMPACAT OF JUST‐I‐TIME INPUT LINLAGES: EVIDENCE FROM THE SCOTTISH ELECTONICS INDUSTRY
Authors: McCann Philop , Fingleton Bernard
Published: October 2007

There is no clear consensus as yet concerning the possible regional agglomeration impacts of Japanese Just‐In‐Time manufacturing techniques. This paper attempts to provide a theoretical structure to discussing such questions and then uses a logit model to analyse evidence from the Scottish Electronics Industry. The results provide support to the suggestion not only that the adoption of such techniques within the UK will encourage the shortening of input linkages, but also that this phenmenon is not restricted purely to the case of the automotive industry.
Conditional Lie Bäcklund Symmetries and Sign‐Invariants to Quasi‐Linear Diffusion Equations
Authors: Qu Changzheng , Ji Lina , Wang Lizhen
Published: October 2007

Consider the 1+1‐dimensional quasi‐linear diffusion equations with convection and source term ut=[um(ux)n]x+P(u)ux+Q(u), where P and Q are both smooth functions. We obtain conditions under which the equations admit the Lie Bäcklund conditional symmetry with characteristic η=uxx+H(u)u2x+G(u)(ux)2−n+F(u)u1−nx and the Hamilton–Jacobi sign‐invariant J=ut+A(u)un+1x+B(u)ux+C(u) which preserves both signs, ≥0 and ≤0, on the solution manifold. As a result, the corresponding solutions associated with the symmetries are obtained explicitly, or they are reduced to solve two‐dimensional dynamical systems.
Un Estat de Prelacie: Church and Crown in England under Winchelsey and Reynolds
Authors: McDONALD PETER
Published: October 2007

J. H. Denton: Robert Winchelsey and the Crown, 1294–1313: A Study in the Defence of Ecclesiastical Liberty.

J. R. Wright: The Church and the English Crown, 1305–1344: A Study Based on the Register of Archbiship Walter Reynolds.
Topiramate: effects on serum lipids and lipoproteins levels in children
Authors: Franzoni E. , Verrotti A. , Sarajlija J. , Garone C. , Matricardi S. , Salerno G. G. , Monti M. , Chiarelli F.
Published: October 2007

The present controlled study aims to evaluate topiramate (TPM) effect on total cholesterol (TC), high‐density lipoprotein (HDL), low‐density lipoprotein, very low‐density lipoprotein, apolipoproteins A1, B and lipoprotein (a). Seventy patients in evolving age suffering from various types of epilepsy, treated with TPM, (age range: 6 months–22 years) were evaluated before and after 12 months of treatment and compared with 110 sex‐ and age‐matched subjects. At baseline, no significant difference was present between controls and children treated with TPM. After a year, the BMI did not show significant change in adults and remained into respective growth curve. No significant difference in lipids and lipoproteins neither between first and second evaluation nor between patients and controls was found. Some intra‐group variation has been noticed: whilst controls maintained similar levels, the 70 patients on TPM monotherapy showed a slight decrease in TC, triglycerides and HDL. These fluctuations, however, occurred in the normal range so neither dietary nor pharmacological treatment of hyperlipidaemia after a year of TPM was necessary.
SOCIAL CAPITAL & FAITH‐BASED ORGANISATIONS
Authors: HEPWORTH CHRISTINE , STITT SEAN
Published: October 2007

This year is the twentieth anniversary of the germinal report ‘Faith in the City’ which first drew attention to the concerns of religious agencies whose remit is to tackle growing multiple deprivation in the UK. Since then, the role of faith‐based organisations (FBOs) as mediators of welfare provision, urban regeneration and community development has attracted little attention from sociologists despite claims that such roles are becoming increasingly important. Successive UK governments have highlighted the potential of religious congregations in enhancing social capital and promoting social cohesion. The seminal work of Greg Smith (University of East London) emphasises this theme while other sociological literature in this area (mainly American, e.g., Putnam) argues that FBOs in the community provide a degree of social support and relationship structures that accumulate as social capital resources. This discussion paper is an attempt to open up the debate on the ways in which FBOs can develop and enhance the social capital value of local community groups.
THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION AND MODERNITY: WILLIAM CAVANAUGH'S THEOPOLITICAL IMAGINATION AND CHARLES TAYLOR'S MODERN SOCIAL IMAGINATION1
Authors: ROSENBERG RANDALL S.
Published: October 2007

This essay argues that William Cavanaugh's ‘Theopolitical Imagination’ uncovers some of the possibilities latent within the Catholic imagination. While his critique of modernity is often persuasive, this essay questions whether Cavanaugh's assessment of modernity can be complemented by a more differentiated approach. What Charles Taylor provides is both a bolstering of Cavanaugh's thesis about the power of the imagination and an alternative: that there is a way of thinking about the relationship between the Church and modernity other than in dialectical terms – namely a ‘Ricci reading’ of modernity.
AVERY DULLES, TEACHING AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH, AND THE ‘DIALECTICALLY TENSE’ MIDDLE: AN AMERICAN STRATEGIC THEOLOGY
Authors: MASSA S. J. MARK S.
Published: October 2007

Father Dulles is now largely thought by friend and foe alike to be one of the most forceful voices for a renewed orthodoxy in the Church. Liberals see him as having turned his back on his younger radicalism; like many an older man, they suggest, he has grown more conservative with age. His experiences with certain forms of liberal Catholicism, while not changing his ideas about the Church, seemed to have alerted him to their potential for disaster.1
Further remarks on estimating genetic correlations
Authors: SMITH CEDRIC A. B.
Published: October 2007

A method of estimating correlations between relatives given in a previous paper in Annals of Human Genetics has been further explored, explained, and illustrated by examples.
Diagnostic specificity and nonspecificity in the dimensions of preschool psychopathology
Authors: Sterba Sonya , Egger Helen L. , Angold Adrian
Published: October 2007

Background:  The appropriateness of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM‐IV) nosology for classifying preschool mental health disturbances continues to be debated. To inform this debate, we investigate whether preschool psychopathology shows differentiation along diagnostically specific lines when DSM‐IV symptoms are aggregated statistically.

Methods:  One thousand seventy‐three parents of preschoolers aged 2–5 years attending a large pediatric clinic completed the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5–5. A stratified probability sample of 193 parents of high scorers and 114 parents of low scorers were interviewed with the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on symptoms from seven DSM disorders.

Results:  Comparison of competing models supported the differentiation of emotional syndromes into three factors: social phobia (SOC), separation anxiety (SAD), and depression/generalized anxiety (MDD/GAD), and the differentiation of disruptive syndromes into three factors: oppositional defiant/conduct syndrome (ODD/CD), hyperactivity/impulsivity, and inattention. Latent syndrome correlations were moderately high after accounting for symptom overlap and measurement error.

Conclusions:  Psychopathology appears to be differentiated among preschoolers much as it is among older children, and adolescents. We conclude that it is as reasonable to apply the DSM‐IV nosology to preschoolers as it is to apply it to older individuals.
Unresolved maternal attachment representations, disrupted maternal behavior and disorganized attachment in infancy: links to toddler behavior problems
Authors: Madigan Sheri , Moran Greg , Schuengel Carlo , Pederson David R. , Otten Roy
Published: October 2007

Background: Attachment theory's original formulation was substantially driven byBowlby's (1969/1982)quest for a meaningful model of the development of psychopathology. Bowlby posited that aberrant experiences of parenting increase the child's risk of psychopathological outcomes, and that these risks are mediated by the quality of the attachment relationship. To empirically examine this hypothesis, the current study explores the associations between the development of toddler behavior problems and a) maternal unresolved attachment representations, b) maternal interactive behavior, and c) infant attachment relationships. Second, we test the mediating role of disorganized attachment in the association between disruptive behavior and toddler behavior problems, as well as unresolved attachment and behavior problems.

Method: Sixty‐four adolescent mother–infant dyads participated in this longitudinal study. The Adult Attachment Interview was administered at 6 months, the Strange Situation procedure was conducted at 12 months, disrupted behavior was assessed during play interactions at 12 months using the AMBIANCE measure, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess behavior problems at 24 months of age.

Results: Maternal reports of externalizing problems were significantly associated with unresolved representations of attachment, disrupted maternal behavior, and disorganized attachment. Inclusion of these variables in a path analytic model suggested that disorganized attachment mediated the associations between disrupted maternal behavior and externalizing problems. Although the association between unresolved attachment representations and externalizing problems was no longer significant when mediation by disrupted behavior and disorganized attachment was taken into account, this indirect pathway was not significant.

Conclusions: The results are consistent withBowlby's (1969/1982)original conceptualization of the explanatory role of the attachment relationship in the development and manifestation of behavioral maladaptation. Effects of unresolved attachment on externalizing problems await further explanation.
Effects of incentive on working memory capacity: Behavioral and pupillometric data
Authors: Heitz Richard P. , Schrock Josef C. , Payne Tabitha W. , Engle Randall W.
Published: October 2007

We evaluated the hypothesis that individual differences in working memory capacity are explained by variation in mental effort, persons with low capacity exerting less effort than persons with high capacity. Groups previously rated high and low in working memory capacity performed the reading span task under three levels of incentive. The effort hypothesis holds that low span subjects exert less effort during task performance than do high spans. Subjects' pupil sizes were recorded online during task performance as a measure of mental effort. Both recall performance and pupil diameter were found to be increased under incentives, but were additive with span (incentives increased performance and pupil diameter equivalently for both span groups). Contrary to the effort hypothesis, task‐evoked pupillary responses indicated that if anything, low span subjects exert more effort than do high spans.
Modes of memory: Early electrophysiological markers of repetition suppression and recognition enhancement predict behavioral performance
Authors: Busch Niko A. , Groh‐Bordin Christian , Zimmer Hubert D. , Herrmann Christoph S.
Published: October 2007

Different forms of perceptual memory have opposite physiological effects. Whereas repetition priming often leads to suppression of brain responses, explicit recognition has been found to enhance brain activity. We investigated effects of repetition priming and recognition memory on early gamma‐band responses. In a study phase, participants performed a visual discrimination task with task‐irrelevant item repetitions. Stimulus repetition suppressed early evoked gamma responses in participants with strong behavioral repetition effects. In a test phase, participants discriminated old from new items. Evoked and induced gamma activity was enhanced for old items. Effects were stronger in participants with better recognition performance. The results demonstrate a modulation of earliest stages of visual information processing by different memory systems, which is dependent on retrieval intention and predicts individual behavioral performance.
Neurocognitive components of the behavioral inhibition and activation systems: Implications for theories of self‐regulation
Authors: Amodio David M. , Master Sarah L. , Yee Cindy M. , Taylor Shelley E.
Published: October 2007

We examined the neurocognitive correlates of the Behavioral Inhibition and Behavioral Activation Systems (BIS/BAS) in an effort to clarify ambiguities concerning interpretations of BIS as reflecting inhibition versus avoidance. We hypothesized that self‐reported BIS should relate to neural mechanisms associated with conflict monitoring, whereas self‐reported BAS should be associated with neural correlates of approach motivation. Consistent with these predictions, higher self‐reported BIS was uniquely related to the N2 event‐related potential on No‐Go trials of a Go/No‐Go task, linking BIS with conflict monitoring and sensitivity to No‐Go cues. Higher BAS was uniquely related to greater left‐sided baseline frontal cortical asymmetry associated with approach orientation. Implications for theories of self‐regulation involving conflict monitoring, cognitive control, and approach/avoidance motivation are discussed.
Hydroxylated serotonin and dopamine as substrates and inhibitors for human cytosolic SULT1A3
Authors: Yasuda Shin , Liu Ming‐Yih , Suiko Masahito , Sakakibara Yoichi , Liu Ming‐Cheh
Published: October 2007

Sulfation as catalyzed by the cytosolic sulfotransferases (SULTs) is known to play an important role in the regulation and homeostasis of monoamine neurotransmitters. The current study was designed to examine the occurrence of the sulfation of 7‐hydroxyserotonin and 6‐hydroxydopamine by human cytosolic SULTs and to investigate the inhibitory effects of these hydroxylated derivatives on the sulfation of their unhydroxylated counterparts, serotonin and dopamine. A systematic study using 11 known human cytosolic SULTs revealed SULT1A3 as the responsible enzyme for the sulfation of 7‐hydroxyserotonin and 6‐hydroxydopamine. The pH‐dependence and kinetic constants of SULT1A3 with 7‐hydroxyserotonin or 6‐hydroxydopamine as substrate were determined. The inhibitory effects of 7‐hydroxyserotonin and 6‐hydroxydopamine on the sulfation of serotonin and dopamine were evaluated. Kinetic analyses indicated that the mechanism underlying the inhibition by these hydroxylated monoamine derivatives is of a competitive‐type. Metabolic labeling experiments showed the generation and release of [35S]sulfated 7‐hydroxyserotonin and [35S]sulfated 6‐hydroxydopamine when SK‐N‐MC human neuroblastoma cells were labeled with [35S]sulfate in the presence of 7‐hydroxyserotonin or 6‐hydroxydopamine. Upon transfection of the cells with siRNAs targeted at SULT1A3, diminishment of the SULT1A3 protein and concomitantly the sulfating activity toward these hydroxylated monoamines was observed. Taken together, these results indicated clearly the involvement of sulfation in the metabolism of 7‐hydroxyserotonin and 6‐hydroxydopamine. By serving as substrates for SULT1A3, these hydroxylated monoamines may interfere with the homeostasis of endogenous serotonin and dopamine.
Testing candidate plant barcode regions in the Myristicaceae
Authors: NEWMASTER S. G. , FAZEKAS A. J. , STEEVES R. A. D. , JANOVEC J.
Published: October 2007

The concept and practice of DNA barcoding have been designed as a system to facilitate species identification and recognition. The primary challenge for barcoding plants has been to identify a suitable region on which to focus the effort. The slow relative nucleotide substitution rates of plant mitochondria and the technical issues with the use of nuclear regions have focused attention on several proposed regions in the plastid genome. One of the challenges for barcoding is to discriminate closely related or recently evolved species. The Myristicaceae, or nutmeg family, is an older group within the angiosperms that contains some recently evolved species providing a challenging test for barcoding plants. The goal of this study is to determine the relative utility of six coding (Universal Plastid Amplicon — UPA, rpoB, rpoc1, accD, rbcL, matK) and one noncoding (trnH‐psbA) chloroplast loci for barcoding in the genus Compsoneura using both single region and multiregion approaches. Five of the regions we tested were predominantly invariant across species (UPA, rpoB, rpoC1, accD, rbcL). Two of the regions (matK and trnH‐psbA) had significant variation and show promise for barcoding in nutmegs. We demonstrate that a two‐gene approach utilizing a moderately variable region (matK) and a more variable region (trnH‐psbA) provides resolution among all the Compsonuera species we sampled including the recently evolved C. sprucei and C. mexicana. Our classification analyses based on nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination, suggest that the use of two regions results in a decreased range of intraspecific variation relative to the distribution of interspecific divergence with 95% of the samples correctly identified in a sequence identification analysis.
Microsatellite markers for the Eucalyptus stem canker fungal pathogen Kirramyces gauchensis
Authors: CORTINAS M. N. , WINGFIELD B. D. , WINGFIELD M. J.
Published: October 2007

Ten microsatellite markers were developed for the fungus Kirramyces gauchensis, which causes an important stem canker disease of Eucalyptus trees in plantations. Primers for 21 microsatellite regions were designed from cloned fragments. Fourteen of the primer pairs provided single amplicons and 10 of these were polymorphic for K. gauchensis. Allelic diversity ranged from 0.21 to 0.76 with a total of 30 alleles. None of the markers was able to amplify in the phylogenetically distinct but morphologically similar species Kirramyces zuluensis. The 10 characterized polymorphic microsatellite regions will be studied to determine the population structure of K. gauchensis in plantations of different countries.
Physical properties of fungal rhizomorphs of marasmioid basidiomycetes used as nesting material by birds
Authors: FREYMANN BERND P.
Published: October 2007

The use of fungal rhizomorphs of marasmioid fungi (‘horsehair fungi’) as nesting material, especially by tropical bird species, is a widespread but poorly documented phenomenon. I show in this first experimental examination of the physical properties of ‘horsehair fungi’, that the fungal rhizomorphs utilized byIcterus pustulatushave a significantly higher tensile strength and reduced water uptake than alternative fibres used to build nests. These results suggest an adaptive advantage for the use of marasmioid fungi in nest construction.
A multi‐objective customer orders assignment and resource leveling in make‐to‐order manufacturing
Authors: Sawik Tadeusz
Published: October 2007

This paper presents integer programming formulations and compares two approaches – weighting and lexicographic – to the multi‐objective, long‐term production scheduling in make‐to‐order manufacturing, where both maximization of customer service level and best utilization of production resources are integrated in the objective function. The problem objective is to assign customer orders for various product types and with various due dates to planning periods and to select machines for assignment in every period to complete all the orders with minimum numbers of tardy and early orders and with a leveled machine assignment over a planning horizon. The two approaches are applied to optimize long‐term production schedules in a flexible flowshop with parallel machines. Numerical examples modeled after a real‐world flexible assembly line in the electronics industry are provided and some computational results are reported.
Devolution and inequality: a failure to create a community of equals?
Authors: Morelli Carlo , Seaman Paul
Published: October 2007

This paper assesses the impact of devolution within the United Kingdom on household equality in terms of both income and social inclusion, with particular focus on the two most established examples of devolution – Scotland and Wales. Uniquely this paper provides the first quantitative assessment of devolution in the UK. Using British Household Panel Study data it suggests that devolution appears to have had no discernable impact on income inequality. An influence on social inclusion can be detected but is suggested to have been both weak and temporary in relation to other regions within the UK. The paper concludes with explanations for the paucity of devolution's impact on equality.
Modelling CAP Decoupling in the EU: A Comparison of Selected Simulation Models and Results
Authors: Balkhausen Oliver , Banse Martin , Grethe Harald
Published: October 2007

This article reviews ways of representing the effects of decoupling in the European Union (EU) on land allocation and production in eight selected simulation models (AGLINK, AG‐MEMOD, CAPRI, CAPSIM, ESIM, FAPRI, GOAL and GTAP). It then compares the simulated effects of decoupling and traces them back to the model specifications and parameter assumptions. In particular, roughage is not included in most models, so that changes in ruminant production are not necessarily consistent with the changes in fodder area. Models also differ in the extent to which they reflect the substitution possibilities in ruminant feeds.

Notwithstanding the considerable differences in model types and specifications, all the studies considered here predict that as a result of decoupling, areas allocated to cereals (and silage maize) and beef and sheep production in the EU‐15 will decline, while fodder area will increase. Differences in the projections about pasture, oilseed and set‐aside areas can be attributed to different model or scenario specifications. The most important factor affecting the results is the extent to which the models assume that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2003 Reform (regarding Single Farm Payments) involves a substantial decoupling of support compared with the baseline (Agenda 2000) policy.
The Variable Response of Agricultural Supply to World Price Instability in Developing Countries
Authors: Subervie Julie
Published: October 2007

This paper analyses the effect of world price instability on the agricultural supply from developing countries and determines to what extent this effect is dependent upon the macroeconomic environment. Producers from agricultural commodity‐exporting countries are particularly vulnerable to the fluctuations of world prices: they are widely exposed to price shocks and have little ability to cope with them. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of risk‐coping strategies is conditioned by the influence of macroeconomic factors (infrastructure, inflation and financial deepening). Thus country‐specific price indices are established, and the response of production indices to price instability indices is estimated by using a panel model including macroeconomic variables which interact with price instability. Such analysis is based on a sample of 25 countries between 1961 and 2002. The results highlight a significant negative effect of the world price instability on supply, and further show that high inflation, weak infrastructure and a poorly developed financial system exacerbate this effect.
The Cost Effects of Government‐Subsidised Credit: Evidence from Farmers’ Credit Unions in Taiwan
Authors: Wang Hung‐Jen , Chang Ching‐Cheng , Chen Po‐Chi
Published: October 2007

We investigate government‐subsidised credit effects on participating financial institutions’ performance in terms of cost efficiency. Using farmers’ credit unions in Taiwan as an example, we find that credit unions’ cost inefficiency is positively correlated with the extent of involvement in subsidy programmes. The results are robust to the control of local competition and labour quality. In addition to the stochastic frontier models from which we obtain the main results, we also propose a new distribution‐free estimation method based on quantile regressions. Results of this study point out that, when evaluating the social costs of the credit programmes, it is important to take into account the efficiency loss generated among financial intermediaries by credit subsidy programmes.
Cutaneous stem cells: something new and something borrowed
Authors: Sun Xiaoyan , Fu Xiaobing , Sheng Zhiyong
Published: October 2007

Stem cells are cells that, upon division, produce new stem cells as well as daughter cells that initiate differentiation along a specific lineage. The epidermis is a rapidly self‐renewing tissue. The epidermis maintains homeostasis by constant proliferation of the basal layer of rapidly dividing progeny of stem cells—epidermal stem cells. However, the diversity between epithelial functions in different organs makes it difficult to determine whether common properties exist in regulating these related epidermal stem cells. Recently, studies have confirmed that adult stem cells reside in specific niches. Signals emanating from the niche regulate stem cell self‐renewal, survival, and maintenance; surrounding support microenvironment and cell–cell adhesion between stem cells and surrounding support cells also contribute to these cells' remarkable behavior. In addition, a combination of localized signaling pathways and autonomously acting proteins has proved to contribute to skin stem cells' proliferation and asymmetric divisions. In this paper, we focus on comparing several kinds of stem cells in the epidermis, signaling influences of the stem cell and its niche in actively self‐renewing epithelia, and introducing something new and something borrowed.
Lipid analysis of normal dermis and hypertrophic scars
Authors: Nomura Tadashi , Terashi Hiroto , Omori Makoto , Sakurai Atsushi , Sunagawa Takeru , Hasegawa Masumi , Tahara Shinya
Published: October 2007

Hypertrophic scars (HS) are a consequence of abnormal wound healing. We examined fatty acids that are contained within, and participate in, every reaction through the membrane; then, we analyzed the percentage composition of the fatty acids in deepithelialized normal dermis (ND) and HS. In vivo HS samples were obtained from six patients undergoing surgical excision, and ND samples from five patients undergoing skin grafting surgery for excess. In vitro, cultured fibroblasts from HS and ND were also analyzed. The percentage composition of fatty acids extracted from all the samples was analyzed. In vivo, arachidonic acid (20:4) was significantly more abundant in HS than in ND, in the phospholipids from both whole tissue and cell membranes. In vitro, there were no significant differences among ND, HS, and 10% fetal calf serum. The results suggest that HS formation does not necessarily involve simple excess of 20:4; however, there are considerable differences in the percentage composition of 20:4 between ND and HS. Arachidonic acid probably participates in the formation and maintenance of HS, whereas in vitro cultured fibroblasts are affected largely by fetal calf serum.
CARDIOVASCULAR AND SURVIVAL PARADOXES IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS: How to Reconcile Conventional and Altered Risk Factor Patterns in Dialysis Patients
Authors: Kopple Joel D.
Published: October 2007

Epidemiological relationships between risk factors and outcome in patients with chronic kidney failure (CKF), including individuals with end‐stage kidney failure, can be categorized into three types: risk factor relationships that are similar to those observed in the general population; risk factor relationships that differ from those observed in the general population; and risk factor patterns that are difficult or not possible to compare to the general population, possibly because such risk factors have not been studied or are not capable of being studied in normal individuals. These latter risk factor patterns may or may not be different from what might commonly be anticipated. It is recommended that risk factor relationships in CKF patients which differ from those observed in the general population should be referred to as altered risk factor patterns (ARFPs). The causes for ARFPs include protein‐energy wasting and inflammatory disorders, which occur commonly in patients with CKF. Epidemiological and other evidence is presented suggesting that the ARFPs may also have other causes. Since ARFPs are common in CKF, it is important to understand the causes and appropriate therapeutic goals concerning these risk factors. Studies, including interventional clinical trials, are indicated to ascertain the causes of ARFPs and the therapeutic targets for these risk factors for individuals with chronic kidney disease and CKF.
Conivaptan: A Dual Receptor Vasopressin V1a/V2Antagonist
Authors: Ali Farhan , Raufi M. Adnan , Washington Barbara , Ghali Jalal K.
Published: October 2007

Several fluid retentive states such as heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion are associated with inappropriate elevation in plasma levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP), a neuropeptide that is secreted by the hypothalamus and plays a critical role in the regulation of serum osmolality and in circulatory homeostasis. The actions of AVP are mediated by three receptor subtypes V1a, V2, and V1b. The V1areceptor regulates vasodilation and cellular hypertrophy while the V2receptor regulates free water excretion. The V1breceptor regulates adrenocorticotropin hormone release. Conivaptan is a nonpeptide dual V1a/V2AVP receptor antagonist. It binds with high affinity, competitively, and reversibly to the V1a/V2receptor subtypes; its antagonistic effect is concentration dependent. It inhibits CYP3A4 liver enzyme and elevates plasma levels of other drugs metabolized by this enzyme. It is approved only for short‐term intravenous use. Infusion site reaction is the most common reason for discontinuation of the drug. In animals conivaptan increased urine volume and free water clearance. In heart failure models it improved hemodynamic parameters and free water excretion. Conivaptan has been shown to correct hyponatremia in euvolemic or hypervolemic patients. Its efficacy and safety for short‐term use have led to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its intravenous form for the correction of hyponatremia in euvolemic and hypervolemic states. Despite its ability to block the action of AVP on V1areceptors, no demonstrable benefit from this action was noted in patients with chronic compensated heart failure and it is not approved for this indication. Consideration should be given to further evaluation of its potential benefits in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.
Edifoligide: A Transcription Factor Decoy to Modulate Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation in Vein Bypass
Authors: Hoel Andrew W. , Conte Michael S.
Published: October 2007

The era of genomics and recombinant DNA technology has ushered in an entirely new class of therapeutic agents designed to influence disease progression at a genetic level. The scope and utility of this technology is not fully realized. However, multiple trials of therapeutic agents have been completed and many more are ongoing. Here we report on edifoligide, a double‐stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) that competitively inhibits the transcription factor E2F, a critical regulator of the cell cycle. Edifoligide has undergone extensive clinical testing for the treatment of intimal hyperplasia following vascular bypass procedures. In this review we address the rationale for targeting E2F in vascular disease, the pharmacology of edifoligide, and the results of preclinical and clinical studies using this novel compound.
Inflammation Exacerbates Seizure‐induced Injury in the Immature Brain
Authors: Auvin Stéphane , Shin Don , Mazarati Andrey , Nakagawa JoAnne , Miyamoto Justin , Sankar Raman
Published: October 2007

Summary:  We examined the hypothesis that the introduction of an inflammatory agent would augment status epilepticus (SE)‐induced neuronal injury in the developing rat brain in the absence of an increase in body temperature. Postnatal day 7 (P7) and P14 rat pups were injected with an exogenous provocative agent of inflammation, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 2 h prior to limbic SE induced by either lithium‐pilocarpine (LiPC) or kainic acid. Core temperature was recorded during the SE and neuronal injury was assessed 24 h later using profile cell counts in defined areas of the hippocampus. While LPS by itself did not produce any discernible cell injury at either age, it exacerbated hippocampal damage induced by seizures. In the LiPC model, this effect was highly selective for the CA1 subfield, and there was no concomitant rise in body temperature. Our findings show that inflammation increases the vulnerability of immature hippocampus to seizure‐induced neuronal injury and suggest that inflammation might be an important factor aggravating the long‐term outcomes of seizures occurring early in life.
Alterations of Phosphatidylinositol 3‐Kinase Pathway Components in Epilepsy‐associated Glioneuronal Lesions
Authors: Schick Volker , Majores Michael , Koch Arend , Elger Christian E. , Schramm Johannes , Urbach Horst , Becker Albert J.
Published: October 2007

Summary:  Low‐grade glioneuronal lesions involving tumors such as gangliogliomas and focal cortical dysplasias (FCD) predispose individuals to pharmacoresistant epilepsy. A frequent variant of FCD is composed of dysplastic cytomegalic neurons and Taylor‐type balloon cells (FCDIIb). Those are similar to cellular elements, which are present in cortical tubers in the autosomal dominant inherited tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). This phacomatosis is caused by mutations in the TSC1 or TSC2 genes. Recent data have indicated accumulation of distinct allelic variants of TSC1 also in FCDIIb. TSC1 represents a key factor in the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. A variety of alterations in the PI3K‐pathway have been recently reported in epilepsy‐associated glioneuronal malformations. Here, we discuss pathogenetic similarities and differences between cortical dysplasias as well epilepsy‐associated glioneuronal tumors and TSC‐associated cortical tubers with a focus on PI3K‐pathway components including ezrin, radixin and moesin (ERM), which represent downstream effectors involved in cytoskeleton‐membrane interference. No evidence has been found for mutational events of ERM genes to play a major pathogenetic role in epilepsy‐associated glioneuronal malformations. In contrast, aberrant expression of ERM proteins in FCDs and gangliogliomas was observed. These alterations may relate to compromised interactions of dysplastic cellular components in epilepsy‐associated glioneuronal lesions and be involved in aberrant PI3K‐pathway signaling in epilepsy‐associated malformations. However, the underlying cause of PI3K‐pathway activation and the functional relationship of PI3K‐pathway activity to generation of seizures in epilepsy‐associated glioneuronal lesions will need to be determined in the future.