bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Highly Valued Equity and Discretionary Accruals
Authors: Houmes Robert E. , Skantz Terrance R.
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  Overvalued equity provides a strong incentive for managers to report earnings that do not disappoint the market ( Jensen, 2005). We find that this can be extended to highly valued equity more generally. In the year following the classification as highly valued and compared to firms with less extreme valuations, highly valued firms have significantly higher discretionary accruals and exhibit a more pronounced positive association between discretionary accruals and proxies for the likelihood of failing to meet earnings targets. These findings are consistent with the use of discretionary accruals to manage earnings in support of extreme valuation. Because highly valued equity will likely result in CEOs with valuable stock and stock option portfolios, we test whether and show that the overvalued equity incentive is incremental to a CEO's equity portfolio incentive. One implication is that directors and audit committees should be especially on guard for possible earnings management when a firm has extremely high valuation multiples and when the CEO has a lot of equity at risk.
Reporting Frequency, Information Precision and Private Information Acquisition
Authors: Cuijpers Rick , Peek Erik
Published: February 2010

Abstract:  This study examines whether the choice between quarterly and semiannual reporting affects the precision of investors' information and their private information acquisition activities. In the first part of this study, we show that a firm's reporting frequency has no effect on the average precision of investors' information. However, our analysis of announcement‐period price variance and share turnover shows that an increase in reporting frequency does make interim and annual financial reports a more important component of investors' information set, relative to other sources of information. In particular, the results of this analysis suggest that investors of semiannual reporters hold more precise pre‐announcement information than investors of quarterly reporters. In the second part of our study, we test one explanation for this finding. We argue that an increase in a firm's reporting frequency reduces investors' incentives to acquire private information between consecutive announcement dates and, consequently, should reduce information asymmetry among investors, increase share liquidity, and stimulate trading. Consistent with this reasoning, we find that quarterly reporters have lower average bid‐ask spreads and higher abnormal share turnover than semiannual reporters.
European Governance: Negotiation and Competition in the Shadow of Hierarchy
Authors: BÖRZEL TANJA
Published: February 2010

This article argues that the ‘nature of the EU beast’ is neither unique nor captured by a particular type of governance. Like its Member States, the EU features a combination of different forms of governance that cover the entire range between market and hierarchy. The analysis of this governance mix reveals several characteristics of the EU that have been largely overlooked in the literature. First, the EU relies heavily on hierarchy in the making of its policies. Its supranational institutions allow for the adoption and enforcement of legally binding decisions without the consent of (individual) Member States. Second, network governance, which systematically involves private actors, is hard to find. EU policies are largely formulated and implemented by public actors. Third, political competition has gained importance in European governance. Member States increasingly resort to mutual recognition and the open method of co‐ordination where their heterogeneity renders harmonization difficult. The article shows that the EU mainly governs through inter‐ and transgovernmental negotiations and political competition between states and regions. Both forms of public‐actor‐based governance operate in the shadow of hierarchy cast by supranational institutions. This governance mix does not render the EU unique but still distinguishes it from both international institutions and national states.
Explaining Non‐Compliance with European Union Procurement Directives: A Multidisciplinary Perspective
Authors: GELDERMAN KEES , GHIJSEN PAUL , SCHOONEN JORDIE
Published: February 2010

Since their adoption in the 1970s, compliance with European Union (EU) procurement directives has been problematic. Many studies have reported on the effectiveness of the directives, mostly in terms of the impact on the openness of public procurement and the impact on cross‐border trade. However, research on the explanation (or the lack) of compliance with EU directives is limited. This article identifies the directives which are most sensitive to non‐compliance. A multidisciplinary model for explaining compliance is presented, drawing from criminal theory, economics, social psychology and public purchasing. The impact on compliance is quantified, using survey data from purchasing professionals of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. The results indicate that both the expected gains of compliance and the organizational pressure have a positive impact on compliance. In contrast, no support is found for the effect of certainty and severity of sanctions and the perceived resistance of suppliers in case of non‐compliance.
Benchmarking Europe's Lab Benches: How Successful has the OMC been in Research Policy?
Authors: MCGUINNESS NINA , O'CARROLL CONOR
Published: February 2010

This article traces the progress of the open method of co‐ordination in research policy, and examines one of its strands, the Mobility Strategy, as a ‘best practice’ OMC. Despite the critical analyses it has received to date, we argue that the OMC has shown the potential to impact on national systems and achieve convergence, albeit not necessarily of a quantitative kind. Under the Ljubljana Process, the OMC has been confirmed as the central method of governance to further develop the European research area and here we put forward several recommendations for its future application.
How are the Eurosystem's Monetary Policy Decisions Prepared? A Roadmap
Authors: JUNG ALEXANDER , MONGELLI FRANCESCO PAOLO , MOUTOT PHILIPPE
Published: February 2010

The monetary policy framework of the Eurosystem has received considerable attention in recent years: there is a well‐established and rich literature on the price stability objective, as well as the two‐pillar strategy of the ECB. This is less the case for the regular monetary policy preparations and the decision‐making process. This article provides an insider's roadmap to the procedures to prepare monetary policy decisions by the Governing Council of the ECB. The architecture of the Eurosystem permits the processing and analysis of a vast amount of national and aggregate economic, financial and monetary data and assists the Governing Council in taking monetary policy decisions – and this each month. Our aim is to describe the role of a variety of committees and sub‐committees that prepare and support the monetary policy decision‐making process. A federal organization is at the heart of this process. At the top of the pyramid of information there is a two‐tiered committee structure with the Executive Board taking the lead in bringing together most of the economic, financial and monetary analyses, and the Governing Council utilizing that information, for its monthly economic and monetary analyses.
The 2007–13 Financial Perspective: Domination of National Interests
Authors: RANT VASJA , MRAK MOJMIR
Published: February 2010

This article confirms the validity of the hypothesis that national interests were the driving force behind the process and outcome of negotiations for the EU's next financial perspective for 2007–13. The hypothesis is tested by comparing hypothetical coalitions based on quantified national interests (partial net budgetary balances) and the actual (documented) coalitions. Based on these results, the article also discusses implications of the ‘net balances problem’ for the 2008/09 EU budget review.
Remapping social inequalities in an age of climate change: for a cosmopolitan renewal of sociology*
Authors: BECK ULRICH
Published: February 2010

Climate change globalizes and radicalizes social inequality; it exacerbates inequalities of rich and poor, core and periphery, and at the same time dissolves them in the face of a common threat to humanity. Climate change combines with the inequalities arising from globalization, decoupling the producers and subjects of risk. Remapping inequality in the age of climate change and globalization therefore requires taking account of the unbounding of both equality and inequality, and an awareness of the end of the opposition between society and nature, one of the founding principles of sociology. The article outlines four theses of inequality, climate change and globalization, and concludes with the question: what does a cosmopolitan renewal of the social sciences mean and how will it be possible?
Development of a novel therapy for Lipo‐oligosaccharide‐induced experimental neuritis: use of peptide glycomimics
Authors: Usuki Seigo , Taguchi Kyoji , Gu Yi‐Hua , Thompson Stuart A. , Yu Robert K.
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 351–362.

Recent etiological studies have revealed that molecular mimicry between the lipo‐oligosaccharide (LOS) component of Campylobacter jejuni and gangliosides of peripheral nervous system plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS). Previously, we demonstrated GD3 ganglioside molecular mimicry in a model of GBS in Lewis rats by sensitization with GD3‐like LOS (LOSGD3) from C. jejuni. Since the neuropathophysiological consequences were due largely to the anti‐GD3‐like antibodies, we subsequently focused our effort upon eliminating the pathogenic antibodies using several strategies to mimic GD3 in this model. Here, we have validated this strategy by the use of peptide glycomimics based on epitopic mimicry between carbohydrates and peptides. We treated rats by i.p. administration of phage‐displayed GD3‐like peptides. One GD3‐like peptide (PGD3‐4; RHAYRSMAEWGFLYS) induced in treated rats a remarkable restoration of motor nerve functions, as evidenced by improved histopathology, rotarod performance, and motor nerve conduction velocity. PGD3‐4 effectively decreased the titer of anti‐GD3/anti‐LOSGD3 antibodies and ameliorated peripheral nerve dysfunction in the sera of treated rats. The data suggest that peptide glycomimics of ganglioside may be potential powerful reagents for therapeutic intervention in GBS by neutralizing specific pathogenic anti‐ganglioside antibodies.
Curcumin attenuates cerebral edema following traumatic brain injury in mice: a possible role for aquaporin‐4?
Authors: Laird Melissa D. , Sukumari‐Ramesh Sangeetha , Swift Andrew E. B. , Meiler Steffen E. , Vender John R. , Dhandapani Krishnan M.
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem.(2010)113, 637–648.

Traumatic brain injury is a devastating neurological injury associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Medical therapies to limit cerebral edema, a cause of increased intracranial hypertension and poor clinical outcome, are largely ineffective, emphasizing the need for novel therapeutic approaches. In the present study, pre‐treatment with curcumin (75, 150 mg/kg) or 30 min post‐treatment with 300 mg/kg significantly reduced brain water content and improved neurological outcome following a moderate controlled cortical impact in mice. The protective effect of curcumin was associated with a significant attenuation in the acute pericontusional expression of interleukin‐1β, a pro‐inflammatory cytokine, after injury. Curcumin also reversed the induction of aquaporin‐4, an astrocytic water channel implicated in the development of cellular edema following head trauma. Notably, curcumin blocked IL‐1β‐induced aquaporin‐4 expression in cultured astrocytes, an effect mediated, at least in part, by reduced activation of the p50 and p65 subunits of nuclear factor κB. Consistent with this notion, curcumin preferentially attenuated phosphorylated p65 immunoreactivity in pericontusional astrocytes and decreased the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, a reactive astrocyte marker. As a whole, these data suggest clinically achievable concentrations of curcumin reduce glial activation and cerebral edema following neurotrauma, a finding which warrants further investigation.
Mitochondrial respiration and respiration‐associated proteins in cell lines created through Parkinson’s subject mitochondrial transfer
Authors: Esteves A. Raquel , Lu Jane , Rodova Mariana , Onyango Isaac , Lezi E , Dubinsky Richard , Lyons Kelly E. , Pahwa Rajesh , Burns Jeffrey M. , Cardoso Sandra M. , Swerdlow Russell H.
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 674–682.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with perturbed mitochondrial function. Studies of cytoplasmic hybrid (cybrid) cell lines containing mitochondria from PD subjects suggest complex I dysfunction in particular is a relatively upstream biochemical defect. To evaluate potential downstream consequences of PD mitochondrial dysfunction, we used a cybrid approach to model PD mitochondrial dysfunction; our cybrid cell lines were generated via transfer of PD or control subject platelet mitochondria to mtDNA‐depleted NT2 cells. To confirm our PD cybrid mitochondria did indeed differ from control cybrid mitochondria we measured complex I Vmax activities. Consistent with other PD cybrid reports, relative to control cybrid cell lines the PD cybrid cell line mean complex I Vmax activity was reduced. In this validated model, we used an oxygen electrode to characterize PD cybrid mitochondrial respiration. Although whole cell basal oxygen consumption was comparable between the PD and control cybrid groups, the proton leak was increased and maximum respiratory capacity was decreased in the PD cybrids. PD cybrids also had reduced SIRT1 phosphorylation, reduced peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator‐1α levels, and increased NF‐kB activation. We conclude mitochondrial respiration and pathways influenced by aerobic metabolism are altered in NT2 cybrid cell lines generated through transfer of PD subject platelet mitochondria.
The WldS mutation delays anterograde, but not retrograde, axonal degeneration of the dopaminergic nigro‐striatal pathway in vivo
Authors: Cheng Hsiao‐Chun , Burke Robert E.
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 683–691.

For many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, there is evidence that the disease first affects axons and terminals of neurons that are selectively vulnerable. This would suggest that it may be possible to forestall progression by targeting the cellular mechanisms of axon degeneration. While it is now clear that these mechanisms are distinct from the pathways of programmed cell death, they are less well known. Compelling evidence of the distinctiveness of these mechanisms has derived from studies of the WldS mutation, which confers resistance to axon degeneration. Little is known about how this mutation affects degeneration in dopaminergic axons, those that are affected in Parkinson’s disease. We have characterized the WldS phenotype in these axons in four models of injury: two that utilize the neurotoxin 6‐hydroxydopamine or axotomy to induce anterograde degeneration, and two that use these methods to induce retrograde degeneration. For both 6‐hydroxydopamine and axotomy, WldS provides protection from anterograde, but not retrograde degeneration. This protection is observed as preserved immunostaining for tyrosine hydroxylase in axons and striatum, and by structural integrity visualized by GFP in tyrosine hydroxylase‐GFP mice. Therefore, WldS offers axon protection, but it reveals fundamentally different processes underlying antero‐ and retrograde degeneration in this system.
NPY augments the proliferative effect of FGF2 and increases the expression of FGFR1 on nestin positive postnatal hippocampal precursor cells, via the Y1 receptor
Authors: Rodrigo Chamira , Zaben Malik , Lawrence Timothy , Laskowski Alexandra , Howell Owain W. , Gray William P.
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 615–627.

We have shown that neuropeptide Y (NPY), a peptide neurotransmitter released by hippocampal interneurons, is proliferative for hippocampal neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs) via the Y1 receptor. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2, released predominantly by astrocytes, is also a powerful mitogen for postnatal and adult NSPCs, via the FGFR1 receptor. Knockout studies show that NPY and FGF2 are individually necessary, but not sufficient, for seizure‐induced neurogenesis, suggesting a possible interaction. Here, we examined for interactions between NPY and FGF2 on NSPCs from the postnatal hippocampus and report that the combination of NPY and FGF2 significantly shortens the cell cycle time of nestin positive NSPCs, more than either factor alone. This augmentation of proliferation rate is NPY Y1 receptor mediated, and Y1 receptor activation increases both FGFR1 mRNA and protein in NSPC cultures. NSPCs immunostain for both Y1 and FGFR1 receptors and the interaction is specific for dentate NSPCs. This is the first report of a proliferative factor that augments the proliferative effect of FGF2 and is the first evidence of a positive proliferative interaction between a glial growth factor and a neuronal transmitter, identifying a novel neural activity driven mechanism for modulating the proliferation of hippocampal NSPCs.
Tumour necrosis factor alpha induces rapid reduction in AMPA receptor‐mediated calcium entry in motor neurones by increasing cell surface expression of the GluR2 subunit: relevance to neurodegeneration
Authors: Rainey‐Smith Stephanie R , Andersson David A , Williams Robert J , Rattray Marcus
Published: February 2010

J. Neurochem.(2010)113, 692–703.

The α‐amino‐3‐hydroxyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazole‐propionate receptor (AMPAR) subunit GluR2, which regulates excitotoxicity and the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) have both been implicated in motor neurone vulnerability in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neurone disease. TNFα has been reported to increase cell surface expression of AMPAR subunits to increase synaptic strength and enhance excitotoxicity, but whether this mechanism occurs in motor neurones is unknown. We used primary cultures of mouse motor neurones and cortical neurones to examine the interaction between TNFα receptor activation, GluR2 availability, AMPAR‐mediated calcium entry and susceptibility to excitotoxicity. Short exposure to a physiologically relevant concentration of TNFα (10 ng/mL, 15 min) caused a marked redistribution of both GluR1 and GluR2 to the cell surface as determined by cell surface biotinylation and immunofluorescence. Using fura‐2‐acetoxymethyl ester microfluorimetry, we showed that exposure to TNFα caused a rapid reduction in the peak amplitude of AMPA‐mediated calcium entry in a PI3‐kinase and p38 kinase‐dependent manner, consistent with increased insertion of GluR2‐containing AMPAR into the plasma membrane. This resulted in a protection of motor neurones against kainate‐induced cell death. Our data therefore, suggest that TNFα acts primarily as a physiological regulator of synaptic activity in motor neurones rather than a pathological drive in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Effects of T‐type calcium channel blockers and thalidomide on contractions of rat vas deferens
Authors: Seto Sai Wang , Docherty James R.
Published: February 2010

Background and purpose:  In rat vas deferens, nerve mediated‐contractions to a single electrical stimulus consist of an early purinergic and a later adrenergic component with differing sensitivities to L‐type calcium channel blockers. We have investigated the effects of the T‐type calcium channel blockers mibefradil and (1S, 2S)‐2‐[2‐[[3‐(1H‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl)propyl]methylamino]ethyl]‐6‐fluoro‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐1‐(1‐methylethyl)‐2‐naphthalenyl cyclopropanecarboxylic dihydrochloride (NNC 55‐0396) against contractions in rat vas deferens. In addition, the actions of thalidomide were examined.

Experimental approach:  Prostatic and epididymal portions of rat vas deferens were stimulated with a single electrical stimulus every 5 min, and mouse whole vas deferens was stimulated with 40 pulses at 10 Hz every 5 min.

Key results:  Both mibefradil and NNC 55‐0396 (100 µM) produced inhibition of contractions of epididymal portions (42 ± 13%, n= 7, and 43 ± 4%, n= 15, of control respectively). However, both agents produced small inhibitions of responses in prostatic portions, presumably by L‐type calcium channel block. Thalidomide (100 µM) inhibited contractions in epididymal (55 ± 4% of control, n= 17) but not in prostatic portions of rat vas deferens. Thalidomide (10–100 µM) also inhibited contractions in mouse vas deferens.

Conclusions and implications:  The T‐type calcium channel blockers mibefradil and NNC 55‐0396 block particularly the adrenoceptor‐mediated, nifedipine‐resistant response to nerve stimulation in rat vas deferens, and this may suggest that this component involves T‐type calcium channels. In addition, thalidomide has actions that resemble those of the T‐type calcium channel blockers, in that it blocks nifedipine‐resistant contractions in epididymal portions.
Activation of cardiac muscarinic M3 receptors induces delayed cardioprotection by preserving phosphorylated connexin43 and up‐regulating cyclooxygenase‐2 expression
Authors: Zhao Jinlong , Su Yue , Zhang Yong , Pan Zhenwei , Yang Lili , Chen Xichuang , Liu Yan , Lu Yanjie , Du Zhimin , Yang Baofeng
Published: February 2010

Background and purpose:  Activation of muscarinic M3 mucarinic acetylcholine receptors (M3‐mAChRs) has been previously shown to confer short‐term cardioprotection against ischaemic injuries. However, it is not known whether activation of these receptors can provide delayed cardioprotection. Consequently, the present study was undertaken to investigate whether stimulation of M3‐mAChRs can induce delayed preconditioning in rats, and to characterize the potential mechanism.

Experimental approach:  Rats were pretreated (24 h), respectively, with M3‐mAChRs agonist choline, M3‐mAChRs antagonist 4‐DAMP or M2‐mAChRs antagonist methoctramine followed by the administration of choline. This was followed by 30 min of ischaemia and then 3 h of reperfusion. Ischaemia‐induced arrhythmias and ischaemia–reperfusion (I/R)‐induced infarction were determined. The phosphorylation status of connexin43 (Cx43) after 30 min ischaemia, and the expression level of Hsp70, cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) and iNOS effected by administration of choline were also measured.

Key results:  Compared to the control group, pretreatment with choline significantly decreased ischaemia‐induced arrhythmias, reduced the total number of ventricular premature beats, the duration of ventricular tachycardia episodes and markedly reduced I/R‐induced infarct size. Furthermore, choline attenuated ischaemia‐induced dephosphorylation of Cx43, and up‐regulated the expression of Hsp70 and COX‐2. Administration of 4‐DAMP abolished these changes, while methoctramine had no effect.

Conclusions and implications:  Our results suggest that stimulation of M3‐mAChRs with choline elicits delayed preconditioning, which we propose is the result of up‐regulation of the expression of COX‐2 and inhibition of the ischaemia‐induced dephosphorylation of Cx43. Therefore, M3‐mAChRs represent a promising target for rendering cardiomyocytes tolerant to ischaemic injury.
Markedly reduced toxicity of a hydrogen sulphide‐releasing derivative of naproxen (ATB‐346)
Authors: Wallace John L , Caliendo Giuseppe , Santagada Vincenzo , Cirino Giuseppe
Published: February 2010

Background and purpose:  Hydrogen sulphide is an important mediator of gastric mucosal defence. The use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs continues to be limited by their toxicity, particularly in the upper gastrointestinal tract. We evaluated the gastrointestinal safety and anti‐inflammatory efficacy of a novel hydrogen sulphide‐releasing derivative of naproxen, ATB‐346 [2‐(6‐methoxy‐napthalen‐2‐yl)‐propionic acid 4‐thiocarbamoyl‐phenyl ester].

Experimental approach:  The ability of ATB‐346 versus naproxen to cause gastric damage was evaluated in healthy rats and in rats with compromised gastric mucosal defence. Effects on the small intestine and on the healing of ulcers were also assessed. The ability of ATB‐346 to inhibit cyclooxygenase‐1 and 2 and to reduce inflammation in vivo was also evaluated.

Key results:  ATB‐346 suppressed gastric prostaglandin E2 synthesis as effectively as naproxen, but produced negligible damage in the stomach and intestine. In situations in which the gastric mucosa was rendered significantly more susceptible to naproxen‐induced damage (e.g. ablation of sensory afferent nerves, inhibition of endogenous nitric oxide or hydrogen sulphide synthesis, co‐administration with aspirin, antagonism of KIR6.x channels), ATB‐346 did not cause significant damage. Unlike naproxen and celecoxib, ATB‐346 accelerated healing of pre‐existing gastric ulcers. In a mouse airpouch model, ATB‐346 suppressed cyclooxygenase‐2 activity and inhibited leukocyte infiltration more effectively than naproxen. ATB‐346 was as effective as naproxen in adjuvant‐induced arthritis in rats, with a more rapid onset of activity. Unlike naproxen, ATB‐346 did not elevate blood pressure in hypertensive rats.

Conclusions and implications:  ATB‐346 exhibits anti‐inflammatory properties similar to naproxen, but with substantially reduced gastrointestinal toxicity.
What is ‘Catholic Enlightenment’?
Authors: Lehner Ulrich L.
Published: February 2010

Recent research has demonstrated not only the existence of a variety of Enlightenments, but also the importance of the religious aspect to this worldwide process. In particular, special interest has been paid to the long‐neglected Catholic Enlightenment, which entailed many strands of thought by Catholic intellectuals and political leaders who attempted to renew and reform Catholicism from the middle of the 18th to the early 19th century. This renewal was an apologetic endeavor designed to defend the essential dogmas of Catholic Christianity by explaining their rationality in modern terminology and by reconciling Catholicism with modern culture. The Catholic Enlightenment was in dialog with contemporary culture, not only by developing new hermeneutical approaches to the Council of Trent or to Jansenist ideas, but also by implementing some of the core values of the overall European Enlightenment process that tried to ‘renew’ and ‘reform’ the whole of society, and thus truly deserves the label Enlightenment.
Radicalism in Civil War and Interregnum England
Authors: Baker Philip
Published: February 2010

In recent decades, the subject of civil war and interregnum radicalism has provoked a vexed and tendentious scholarship within early modern English history. This article charts the subject’s historiographical fortunes since the 1970s and addresses a series of crucial interpretive and definitional issues. In addition to providing an overview of the existing field, the article also suggests a new approach to mid‐17th‐century radicalism that encompasses a much broader spectrum of individuals, groups and ideas than those found in both Marxist and revisionist accounts. Drawing on this approach and the recent insights of other scholars, this article identifies a number of possible avenues for future research and suggests how the subject might be developed in original ways.
Women, Gender, and Religion in the Early Americas
Authors: Lindman Janet Moore
Published: February 2010

The historical study of women and religion in the early Americas has garnered substantial scholarship in the last 30 years. The influence of women’s history and feminist studies has generated great interest on the topic of gender and religion. Scholars have analyzed women’s religious history using indices of race, class, and gender to produce nuanced histories. This work has shown the complex contours of female spirituality in the early Americas. Female laity both accepted and questioned male religious leadership and sought meaningful spiritual experiences in myriad contexts, such as the sanctuary, household, and community. Studies have been done on a wide range of topics relating to women and religion, such as conversion, preaching, mysticism, speech, healing, domesticity, monasticism, witchcraft, sexuality, and the body. Women in Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish traditions have been examined, as have Native American, African American, and mixed race women in Spanish, French, and British America. Their historical experience reveals an ongoing tension between religious hierarchy and female pursuits of piety. Scholarly literature on ‘women religious’, that is, Catholic nuns, demonstrates that they exercised power, even while working under a male‐dominated ecclesiastical authority, in both North and South American settlements from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Female members of radical Protestant groups, such as the Quakers, Shakers, and Moravians, participated in communities that promoted gender ideologies divergent from the dominant culture. The study of women’s religious history will continue to ponder the multiple meanings and interactions of spirituality, gender, and power within early American societies.
Book‐History Approaches to India: Representations of the Subcontinent in the Novel and Verse, 1780–1823
Authors: Malhotra Ashok
Published: February 2010

Literary representations of India in verse and novels written by British authors during the period 1780–1823 have been approached by contemporary scholars either from the postcolonial perspective of relating the fiction to the shifting relationship between colonizer or colonized, or to correlating portrayals to elitist political debates taking place within the metropole. The argument proposes that forthcoming scholarship should adopt a book‐history approach to the topic which would add an important contextual dimension to the readings of fictional texts and understanding of a whole set of British cultural attitudes towards Indians. To this end, it proposes that further critical analysis of British India fictions could situate recurring tropes about India in relation to the demands and prevailing fashions of the literary marketplace, and determine how the varying perceived cultural status and the internal development of the two literary modes affect portrayals of the subcontinent.
Interictal cerebral blood flow abnormality in cryptogenic West syndrome
Authors: Hamano Shin‐ichiro , Higurashi Norimichi , Koichihara Reiko , Oritsu Tomotaka , Kikuchi Kenjiro , Yoshinari Satoshi , Tanaka Manabu , Minamitani Motoyuki
Published: February 2010

Purpose:  To elucidate the abnormality of interictal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of West syndrome at the onset.

Methods:  Quantitative measurement of rCBF with an autoradiography method using N‐isopropyl‐(123I) p‐iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was performed on 14 infants with cryptogenic West syndrome. Regions of interest (ROIs) for rCBF were placed automatically using an automated ROI analysis software (three‐dimensional stereotactic ROI template), and were grouped into 12 segments: callosomarginal, precentral, central, parietal, angular, temporal, posterior cerebral, pericallosal, lenticular nucleus, thalamus, hippocampus, and cerebellum. We compared rCBF between the patients and seven age‐matched infants with cryptogenic focal epilepsy as a control group. The patients were divided into two groups according to the duration from onset to SPECT, to compare rCBF.

Results:  Quantitative analysis revealed cerebral hypoperfusion in cryptogenic West syndrome with normal SPECT images under visual inspection. In bilateral central, posterior cerebral, pericallosal, lenticular nucleus, and hippocampus, and in the left parietal, temporal, and cerebellum, and in the right angular and thalamus segments there were statistical differences (p < 0.05). Compared with the duration from onset to SPECT, there were no significant differences of rCBF in all segments.

Discussion:  Broad cerebral hypoperfusion with posterior predominance involving the hippocampus and lenticular nucleus implies that even cryptogenic West syndrome has a widespread cerebral dysfunction at least transiently, which would correspond to clinical manifestations of hypsarrhythmia and epileptic spasms. Hippocampal hypoperfusion suggests the dysfunction of hippocampal circuitry in the brain adrenal axis, and may contribute to subsequent cognitive impairment of cryptogenic West syndrome.
Importance of Catheter Contact Force During Irrigated Radiofrequency Ablation: Evaluation in a Porcine Ex Vivo Model Using a Force‐Sensing Catheter
Authors: THIAGALINGAM ARAVINDA , D’AVILA ANDRE , FOLEY LORI , GUERRERO J. LUIS , LAMBERT HENDRIK , LEO GIOVANNI , RUSKIN JEREMY N. , REDDY VIVEK Y.
Published: February 2010

Effect of Ablation Electrode Contact Force. Introduction: Ablation electrode–tissue contact has been shown to be an important determinant of lesion size and safety during nonirrigated ablation but little data are available during irrigated ablation. We aimed to determine the importance of contact force during irrigated‐tip ablation.

Methods and Results:
Freshly excised hearts from 11 male pigs were perfused and superfused using fresh, heparinized, oxygenated swine blood in an ex vivo model. One‐minute ablations were placed using one of 3 different power control strategies (impedance control—15 Ω target impedance drop, and 20 W or 30 W fixed power) and 3 different contact forces (2 g, 20 g, and 60 g) to give a grid of 9 ablation groups. The force sensing catheter (Tacticath™, Endosense SA) was irrigated at 17 mL/min for all of the ablations.

Of a total 101 ablations, no thrombus formation was noted but popping was seen in 17 lesions. The lesion depth and incidence of pops was 5.0 ± 1.3 mm /0%, 5.0 ± 1.6 mm /10% and 6.7 ± 2.5 mm /45% for the 15 Ω, 20 W, and 30 W groups (P < 0.01), respectively, and 4.4 ± 1.8 mm /3%, 5.8 ± 1.6 mm /17% and 6.6 ± 2.0 mm /37% for the 2 g, 20 g, and 60 g groups, respectively (P < 0.01). The impedance drop in the first 5 seconds was significantly correlated to catheter contact force: 9.7 ± 9.9 Ω, 22.3 ± 11.0 Ω, and 41.7 ± 22.1 Ω, respectively, for the 2 g, 20 g, and 60 g groups (Pearson's r = 0.65, P < 0.01).

Conclusion:
Catheter contact force has an important impact on both ablation lesion size and the incidence of pops. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. pp. 806‐811, July 2010)
Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia
Authors: ARBELO ELENA , JOSEPHSON MARK E.
Published: February 2010

VT Ablation in Right Ventricular Dysplasia.  Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a genetically determined myocardial disease characterized by fibrofatty replacement of the right ventricular wall. Ventricular tachyarrhythmias can be seen in the early stages of the disease, which is one of the most important causes of sudden death in young healthy individuals. Radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation is an option for the treatment of medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias and it has shown to successfully abolish recurrent ventricular tachycardias (VT) as well as reduce the frequency in defibrillator therapies. However, variable acute and long‐term success rates have been reported. The current mapping and ablation techniques include activation and entrainment mapping during tolerated VT and substrate ablation using 3‐dimensional electroanatomic mapping systems. This article aims at providing a comprehensive review of RF catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias in the context of ARVD. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 473‐14, April 2010)
Measuring the Complexity of Atrial Fibrillation Electrograms
Authors: NG JASON , BORODYANSKIY ALEKSEY I. , CHANG ERIC T. , VILLUENDAS ROGER , DIBS SAMER , KADISH ALAN H. , GOLDBERGER JEFFREY J.
Published: February 2010

AF Electrogram Complexity.  Introduction: Complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAE) have been identified as targets for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Robust automatic algorithms to objectively classify these signals would be useful. The aim of this study was to evaluate Shannon's entropy (ShEn) and the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov (K‐S) test as a measure of signal complexity and to compare these measures with fractional intervals (FI) in distinguishing CFAE from non‐CFAE signals.

Methods and Results: Electrogram recordings of 5 seconds obtained from multiple atrial sites in 13 patients (11 M, 58 ± 10 years old) undergoing AF ablation were visually examined by 4 independent reviewers. Electrograms were classified as CFAE if they met Nademanee criteria. Agreement of 3 or more reviewers was considered consensus and the resulting classification was used as the gold standard. A total of 297 recordings were examined. Of these, 107 were consensus CFAE, 111 were non‐CFAE, and 79 were equivocal or noninterpretable. FIs less than 120 ms identified CFAEs with sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 79%. ShEn, with optimal parameters using receiver‐operator characteristic curves, resulted in a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 81% in identifying CFAE. The K‐S test resulted in an optimal sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 95% in classifying uninterpretable electrogram from all other electrograms.

Conclusions: ShEn showed comparable results to FI in distinguishing CFAE from non‐CFAE without requiring user input for threshold levels. Thus, measuring electrogram complexity using ShEn may have utility in objectively and automatically identifying CFAE sites for AF ablation. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 649‐655, June 2010)
Disorders of the Autonomic Nervous System in Patients With Brugada Syndrome: A Pilot Study
Authors: KOSTOPOULOU ANNA , KOUTELOU MARIA , THEODORAKIS GEORGIOS , THEODORAKOS ATHANASIOS , LIVANIS EFTHIMIOS , MAOUNIS THEMISTOKLIS , CHAIDAROGLOU ANTIGONI , DEGIANNIS DIMITRIOS , VOUDRIS VASSILIS , KREMASTINOS DIMITRIOS , COKKINOS DENNIS
Published: February 2010

Autonomic Disorders in Brugada Syndrome. Introduction: The aim of this study was to examine autonomic disorders in patients with Brugada syndrome by performing a cardiac sympathetic innervation evaluation, a head‐up tilt‐test (HUT) and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis.

Methods and Results:
We enrolled 20 patients with Brugada syndrome (mean age 42.5 ± 8.8 years), 9 with spontaneous and 11 with an induced type 1 electrocardiogram (ECG) in the setting of symptoms and 20 age‐matched controls. All subjects underwent a HUT with parallel measurements of plasma catecholamines and cortisol, a 123I‐metaiodobenzylguanidine single photon emission tomography, and HRV evaluation. Ten control subjects participated in the innervation portion of the study. The tilt‐test with clomipramine challenge was positive in 15 of 20 (75%) patients (7 spontaneous, 8 induced) and in 1 in controls (P < 0.01). A sympathoadrenal imbalance was shown in positive tests. The pattern of innervation in all groups was heterogenic and similar to controls with a trend towards lower measurements in patients with a spontaneous type 1 ECG and a positive HUT. HRV analysis did not reveal any significant differences during day and night. Four patients (20%) had sustained ventricular arrhythmias during a follow‐up of 31.1 ± 8.6 months, but no correlations with innervation or response to tilting were found.

Conclusion:
A high susceptibility to vasovagal syncope was observed in patients with Brugada syndrome, which could be disease‐related symptoms. Conversely, sympathetic innervation was observed to follow a physiological, heterogenic pattern; however, these factors did not have prognostic value for life‐threatening arrhythmias. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. pp. 773‐780, July 2010)
Influence of Clinical and Procedural Predictors on Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation Outcomes: An Analysis From the Substrate Mapping and Ablation in Sinus Rhythm to Halt Ventricular Tachycardia Trial (SMASH‐VT)
Authors: TUNG RODERICK , JOSEPHSON MARK E. , REDDY VIVEK , REYNOLDS MATTHEW R. ,   on behalf of the SMASH‐VT Investigators
Published: February 2010

Procedural Predictors in SMASH‐VT. Background: The Substrate Mapping and Ablation in Sinus Rhythm to Halt Ventricular Tachycardia (SMASH‐VT) trial is the largest randomized trial in substrate‐based ablation. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients randomized to prophylactic ablation of ventricular tachycardia to determine the predictive value of clinical and procedural variables on outcomes.

Methods:
In patients treated with catheter ablation, we examined predictors of ICD‐therapy free survival using Cox proportional hazards models. Procedural variables tested included the scar location, number of VT morphologies (VTs) induced, tachycardia cycle length, catheter irrigation, catheter approach, procedural duration, and VT inducibility after ablation. Clinical variables including age, index arrhythmia, NYHA class, ejection fraction, prior revascularization, and baseline medication use were also analyzed.

Results:
Among 64 patients randomized to ablation, 61 received the assigned therapy and complete procedural data were available for 54 patients. Thirteen percent (7 of 54) experienced ICD therapies during 2‐year follow‐up. Patients with subsequent ICD therapies had significantly more VTs induced during the ablation procedure than those without (3.9 ± 2.1 vs 1.9 ± 1.8, P = 0.05). The hazard ratio for each additional VT induced was 1.51 (95% CI 1.07–2.13, P = 0.02). Two‐year Kaplan–Meier event‐free survival rates were 96% for 0–1 VTs induced, and 78% for two or more. The use of irrigated catheters was not predictive of ablation success.

Conclusion:
In this small retrospective analysis, the number of VTs induced during the procedure was predictive of 2‐year outcomes. This likely reflects a more complex arrhythmia substrate in patients who fail ablation. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. pp. 799‐803, July 2010)
Optimizing Survival from Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Authors: HESS ERIK P. , WHITE ROGER D.
Published: February 2010

Survival From Out‐of‐Hospital Cardiac Arrest.  Cardiac arrest is an important public health problem and often occurs in the out‐of‐hospital setting in patients without a prior history of heart disease. Very few communities or emergency medical service (EMS) systems report survival rates for out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest. Among those who do, survival rates vary substantially between cities, due in large part to community differences in the chain of survival. To improve survival in cardiac arrest, care must be optimized at each point along the cardiac arrest continuum, including a rapid emergency response, provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by bystanders, delivery of high‐quality chest compressions with minimal interruptions by first responders, rapid defibrillation, and optimization of postresuscitation care, including therapeutic hypothermia. Important current initiatives to improve cardiac arrest survival include hands‐only CPR delivered by laypersons prior to the arrival of EMS, dispatcher‐assisted CPR, and implementation of hospital‐based therapeutic hypothermia protocols to improve postresuscitation care. Optimizing cardiac arrest survival requires a team effort between EMS directors, emergency physicians, cardiologists, hospital leadership, and the public. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 590‐595, May 2010)
Nodoventricular Pathway Associated With Twin AV Nodes: Complexity of Ablation in Single Ventricle Physiology
Authors: CZOSEK RICHARD J. , ANDERSON JEFFREY , CONNOR CHAD , KNILANS TIMOTHY
Published: February 2010

Nodoventricular Pathway.  We report the case of a patient with heterotaxy syndrome including complex single ventricular morphology and interrupted IVC in association with twin conduction systems and a nodoventricular accessory pathway connection. The presence of 3 distinct QRS morphologies was inadvertently discovered during a hemodynamic catheterization study and prompted formal EP testing prior to hepatic venous inclusion into the Fontan circuit and loss of access to the atrial chamber for testing and therapy. This patient underscores the importance of close surveillance and high index of suspicion of arrhythmia mechanisms in patients with heterotaxy syndrome in conjunction with single ventricle morphology. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 21, pp. 936‐939, August 2010)
The Surface Electrocardiogram Predicts Risk of Heart Block During Right Heart Catheterization in Patients With Preexisting Left Bundle Branch Block: Implications for the Definition of Complete Left Bundle Branch Block
Authors: PADANILAM BENZY J. , MORRIS KENT E. , OLSON JEFF A. , RIPPY JANET S. , WALSH MARY NORINE , SUBRAMANIAN NATRAJAN , VIDAL ALEX , PRYSTOWSKY ERIC N. , STEINBERG LEONARD A.
Published: February 2010

LBBB and Heart Block. Background: Patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) undergoing right heart catheterization can develop complete heart block (CHB) or right bundle branch block (RBBB) in response to right bundle branch (RBB) trauma. We hypothesized that LBBB patients with an initial r wave (≥1 mm) in lead V1 have intact left to right ventricular septal (VS) activation suggesting persistent conduction over the left bundle branch. Trauma to the RBB should result in RBBB pattern rather than CHB in such patients.

Methods:
Between January 2002 and February 2007, we prospectively evaluated 27 consecutive patients with LBBB developing either CHB or RBBB during right heart catheterization. The prevalence of an r wave ≥1 mm in lead V1 was determined using 118 serial LBBB electrocardiographs (ECGs) from our hospital database.

Results:
Catheter trauma to the RBB resulted in CHB in 18 patients and RBBB in 9 patients. All 6 patients with ≥1 mm r wave in V1 developed RBBB. Among these 6 patients q wave in lead I, V5, or V6 were present in 3. Four patients (3 in CHB group and 1 in RBBB group) developed spontaneous CHB during a median follow‐up of 61 months. V1 q wave ≥1 mm was present in 28% of hospitalized complete LBBB patients.

Conclusions:
An initial r wave of ≥1 mm in lead V1 suggests intact left to right VS activation and identifies LBBB patients at low risk of CHB during right heart catheterization. These preliminary findings indicate that an initial r wave of ≥1 mm in lead V1, present in approximately 28% of ECGs with classically defined LBBB, may constitute a new exclusion criterion when defining complete LBBB. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. pp. 781‐785, July 2010)