bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Skill Upgrading and Production Transfer within Swedish Multinationals
Authors: Hansson Pär
Published: December 2005

This paper studies the link between production transfer within Swedish‐headquartered multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the manufacturing industry and skill upgrading in their parent companies in the 1990s. The analysis distinguishes between horizontal and vertical foreign direct investment (FDI). The increased employment share in the affiliates in non‐OECD countries (vertical FDI) has a non‐trivial, significantly positive effect on the share of skilled labor in the Swedish parents. On the other hand, the parents’ skill upgrading is unrelated to employment changes in their affiliates in other OECD countries (horizontal FDI). This is consistent with implications of the newly developed horizontal MNE models.
On the Measurement and Analysis of Asymmetry with Applications to Facial Modelling
Authors: Bock Mitchum T. , Bowman Adrian W.
Published: December 2005

Asymmetry is a feature of shape which is of particular interest in a variety of applications. With landmark data, the essential information on asymmetry is contained in the degree to which there is a mismatch between a landmark configuration and its relabelled and matched reflection. This idea is explored in the context of a study of facial shape in infants, where particular interest lies in identifying changes over time and in assessing residual deformity in children who have had corrective surgery for a cleft lip or cleft lip and palate. Interest lies not in whether the mean shape is asymmetric but in comparing the degrees of asymmetry in different populations. A decomposition of the asymmetry score into components that are attributable to particular features of the face is proposed. A further decomposition allows different sources of asymmetry due to position, orientation or intrinsic asymmetry to be identified for each feature. The methods are also extended to data representing anatomical curves across the face.
Extreme Shape Analysis
Authors: Dryden Ian L. , Zempléni András
Published: December 2005

We consider the analysis of extreme shapes rather than the more usual mean- and variance-based shape analysis. In particular, we consider extreme shape analysis in two applications: human muscle fibre images, where we compare healthy and diseased muscles, and temporal sequences of DNA shapes from molecular dynamics simulations. One feature of the shape space is that it is bounded, so we consider estimators which use prior knowledge of the upper bound when present. Peaks-over-threshold methods and maximum-likelihood-based inference are used. We introduce fixed end point and constrained maximum likelihood estimators, and we discuss their asymptotic properties for large samples. It is shown that in some cases the constrained estimators have half the mean-square error of the unconstrained maximum likelihood estimators. The new estimators are applied to the muscle and DNA data, and practical conclusions are given.
Employment Transitions after Motherhood in Spain
Authors: Gutiérrez‐Domènech Maria
Published: December 2005

Abstract.  This paper investigates transitions from employment to non‐employment and downward occupational mobility after motherhood in Spain. Around 40 per cent of Spanish women who were at work 1 year before childbearing leave employment, most permanently, and one‐third of these exits move to unemployment. The probability of staying on at work after birth is reduced with the rise of fixed‐term contracts and increased with experience and level of education. Downward occupational mobility is not common amongst women remaining employed since they do not switch to part‐time jobs.
Supply and Price of Childcare and Female Labour Force Participation in the Netherlands
Authors: Wetzels Cecile
Published: December 2005

Abstract.  The childcare market has been emerging in the Netherlands since the first Child Care Stimulation Act in 1990. The Dutch government has chosen to increase availability and share the costs of childcare between government, employers and parents. We estimate the determinants of Dutch women's decisions to participate in the labour market and the use of paid childcare in 1995. Furthermore, we estimate the effect of the price of childcare on female labour supply. We discuss whether the route that is taken by the Dutch government regarding childcare leads to smaller dead weight losses than in Sweden.
Women's Labor Supply, Marriage, and Welfare Dependency
Authors: Grossbard Shoshana
Published: December 2005

Abstract.  This paper provides a rational choice model that simultaneously analyses women's decisions about welfare dependency, labor supply, and marriage. The model is based on the Demand and Supply (D&S) models of marriage inspired by Becker's theory of marriage. In addition to reproducing old insights about income effects and marriage market effects on welfare dependency, the model offers new insights regarding the effects on welfare dependency of sex ratios, divorce laws, cohort size, and traditional expectations about marriage and family. The model helps understand why welfare is more common among black women in the USA and offers a new interpretation for past trends in American women's welfare dependency: the big increase in welfare dependency in the late 1960s is interpreted as a baby‐boom phenomenon and recent reductions in welfare dependency are partially seen as the expression of young women's better marriage market opportunities.
Pollination and seed predation by moths on Silene and allied Caryophyllaceae: evaluating a model system to study the evolution of mutualisms
Authors: Kephart Susan , Reynolds Richard J. , Rutter Matthew T. , Fenster Charles B. , Dudash Michele R.
Published: December 2005

Nursery pollinators, and the plants they use as hosts for offspring development, function as exemplary models of coevolutionary mutualism. The two pre‐eminent examples – fig wasps and yucca moths – show little variation in the interaction: the primary pollinator is an obligate mutualist. By contrast, nursery pollination of certain Caryophyllaceae, including Silene spp., by two nocturnal moth genera, Hadena and Perizoma, ranges from antagonistic to potentially mutualistic, offering an opportunity to test hypotheses about the factors that promote or discourage the evolution of mutualism. Here, we review nursery pollination and host–plant interactions in over 30 caryophyllaceous plants, based on published studies and a survey of researchers investigating pollination, seed predation, and moth morphology and behavior. We detected little direct evidence of mutualism in these moth–plant interactions, but found traits and patterns in both that are nonetheless consistent with the evolution of mutualism and merit further attention.
Effects of variation in posture and respiration on RSA and pre‐ejection period
Authors: Houtveen Jan H. , Groot Paul F.C. , De Geus Eco J.C.
Published: December 2005

The extent to which variation in posture and respiration can confound pre‐ejection period and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as indices of cardiac sympatho‐vagal activity was examined. Within‐subjects changes in these measures were assessed in 36 subjects during different postures and (paced) respiratory frequencies. Changes from supine to sitting to standing led to reduced RSA values and longer pre‐ejection periods, reflecting the known decrease in vagal but not the increase of sympathetic activity. Multilevel path analysis showed that within‐subjects changes in sympatho‐vagal balance were faithfully reflected by changes in interbeat interval, but imperfectly by changes in RSA and pre‐ejection period. It was concluded that pre‐ejection period should be stratified for posture and RSA for respiratory frequency to reliably index changes in sympatho‐vagal balance when these factors are prone to change (e.g., during 24‐h ambulatory recording)
Modulation of spinal reflexes by sexual films of increasing intensity
Authors: Both Stephanie , Van Boxtel Geert , Stekelenburg Jeroen , Everaerd Walter , Laan Ellen
Published: December 2005

Sexual arousal can be viewed as an emotional state generating sex‐specific autonomic and general somatic motor system responses that prepare for sexual action. In the present study modulation of spinal tendious (T) reflexes by sexual films of varying intensity was investigated. T reflexes were expected to increase as a function of increased film intensity. Through use of a between‐subjects design, participants were exposed to three erotic films of low, moderate, and high intensity or to three films of moderate intensity. Self‐report and genital data confirmed the induction of increasing versus stable levels of sexual arousal. Exposure to the films of increasing intensity resulted in increasing T reflexes. The results indicate that T reflex modulation is sensitive to varying levels of sexual arousal and may be of use in research on behavioral mechanisms underlying appetitive motivation.
Gender and suppression of mid‐latency ERP components during stress
Authors: White Patricia M. , Kanazawa Asako , Yee Cindy M.
Published: December 2005

Substantial research evidence suggests that women may be more reactive to stress than men. This study examined the influence of gender and stress on suppression of the P50 and N100 components of the auditory event‐related potential. During a stressor task, women (n=13) showed disrupted P50 and N100 suppression whereas men (n=15) exhibited only alterations in N100 suppression. Additionally, reduced skin conductance level during stress correlated with impaired P50 suppression and elevated Click 2 amplitude of the P50 response in women. These data suggest that gender differences in response to perceived stress may be an important factor to consider in studies relying upon the P50 suppression paradigm.
The latent state‐trait structure of resting EEG asymmetry: Replication and extension
Authors: Hagemann Dirk , Hewig Johannes , Seifert Jan , Naumann Ewald , Bartussek Dieter
Published: December 2005

Recent research on brain asymmetry suggested that resting electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry represents a superimposition of a trait‐like asymmetry with state‐dependent fluctuations. The present study tested this hypothesis and additionally examined individual differences in state changes. A 61‐channel EEG was collected from 59 participants in a resting state on three occasions of measurement. An analysis of latent state‐trait models suggested that between 40% and 50% of the variance of anterior asymmetry measures was due to individual differences on a latent trait and approximately the same portion of the variance was due to occasion‐specific fluctuations. A further analysis of true intraindividual change models indicated that there were large individual differences in intraindividual change over time. These data replicate previous findings and substantiate that resting asymmetry has trait and state properties.
fMRI in an oddball task: Effects of target‐to‐target interval
Authors: Stevens Michael C. , Calhoun Vince D. , Kiehl Kent A.
Published: December 2005

The amplitude of the P3 event‐related potential (ERP) elicited by task‐relevant target (“oddball”) stimuli has been shown to vary in proportion to the length of time between targets. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify neural systems modulated by target interval in a large sample of healthy adults (n=100) during performance of an auditory oddball task that included both target and novel stimuli. A positive relationship was found between target interval and hemodynamic activity in the anterior cingulate and in bilateral lateral prefrontal cortex, temporal‐parietal junction, postcentral gryi, thalamus, and cerebellum. This modulation likely represents updating of the working memory template for the target stimuli. There was no such effect of novel interval, suggesting that neuronal modulation may only occur for task‐relevant stimuli, possibly in the service of strategic resource allocation processes.
Expression of oxidative stress‐related molecules in circulating leukocytes and urine in patients with chronic viral hepatitis
Authors: Saeki Toshiya , Ichiba Miho , Tanabe Naotada , Ueki Masaru , Okamoto Kinya , Matsunaga Yoshiko , Hosho Keiko , Kanbe Takamasa , Tsuchiya Hiroyuki , Kurimasa Akihiro , Yamada Sadako , Hirooka Yasuaki , Hisatome Ichiro , Kishimoto Yukihiro , Suou Takeaki , Murawaki Yoshikazu , Kawasaki Hironaka , Yodoi Junji , Shiota Goshi
Published: December 2005

Abstract: Aims:Oxidative stress plays a role in pathogenesis of chronic viral hepatitis. Expression of oxidative stress‐related molecules remains to be clarified.

Methods:4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal (4‐HNE), 4‐hydroxy‐2‐hexenal (4‐HHE), catalase, superoxide dismutase‐1 (SOD‐1), glutathione peroxidase‐1, thioredoxin (TRX) in leukocytes and urinary 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG) were examined in 164 persons, including 130 chronic viral hepatitis patients and 34 normal individuals, by Western blot analysis and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Hepatic expression of these proteins was immunohistochemically examined in 12 patients with chronic viral hepatitis, compared with three persons without liver damage.

Results:The 4‐HNE/β‐actin ratios in chronic viral hepatitis were significantly higher than those in normal individuals (P<0.01), and were significantly correlated with asparate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P<0.01, each). The catalase/β‐actin and SOD‐1/β‐actin ratios in chronic viral hepatitis were higher than those in normal individuals, and were significantly correlated with 4‐HNE/β‐actin ratios (P<0.01, each). Hepatic expression of 4‐HNE, 4‐HHE, catalase, SOD‐1 and TRX in chronic viral hepatitis was higher than that without liver damage. Urinary excretion of 8‐OHdG was not changed in chronic viral hepatitis.

Conclusions:The results of the present study suggest that expression of oxidative stress‐related molecules in leukocytes is upregulated in relation to serum aminotransferase levels.
Expression of cathepsin L and its inhibitor hurpin in inflammatory and neoplastic skin diseases
Authors: Bylaite M. , Moussali H. , Marciukaitiene I. , Ruzicka T. , Walz M.
Published: December 2005

Abstract:  Cathepsin (Cat) L is an important lysosomal proteinase involved in a variety of cellular functions including intracellular protein turnover, epidermal homeostasis and hair development. Hurpin (serpinB13) is a cross‐class specific serine protease inhibitor of Cat L. We have analysed the expression and localization of Cat L and hurpin in various inflammatory and neoplastic diseases by immunohistochemistry. Whereas Cat L expression in normal skin was below detection limit, immunoreactivity was detected in chronic inflammatory dermatoses. The highest expression of Cat L was found in psoriasis, atopic eczema and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) samples. Samples of Lupus erythematosus, folliculitis, acne inversa, chronic leg ulcers and pyoderma gangrenosum demonstrated similar but lower expression for Cat L. In malignant cells of SCC, basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma, characteristic staining patterns were observed for Cat L, with more abundant expression at the periphery of the tumor.

Expanding our previous work, we found that the expression of hurpin was confined mainly to the basal layer in normal skin samples, whereas hurpin was overexpressed and redistributed in diseased skin. The localization of hurpin in dermatoses and neoplasias differed from that in normal skin in that the highest expression was found in the outermost layers of the granular and upper spinous layers. Similarly to Cat L, the highest expression for hurpin was found in psoriasis and SCC.

The results presented here summarize for the first time the expression of the protease Cat L and its inhibitor hurpin in a broad spectrum of skin diseases.
CCL28 production in HaCaT cells was mediated by different signal pathways from CCL27
Authors: Kagami Shinji , Saeki Hidehisa , Komine Mayumi , Kakinuma Takashi , Nakamura Koichiro , Tsunemi Yuichiro , Sasaki Kiyo , Asahina Akihiko , Tamaki Kunihiko
Published: December 2005

Abstract:  Both CCL27 and CCL28 are ligands for CCR10 and attract CCR10+ lymphocytes. We previously demonstrated that CCL27 and CCL28 were strongly expressed in sera and lesional keratinocytes of patients with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris. However, the regulation of CCL27 and CCL28 production in keratinocytes has not been well documented. In this study, we showed that CCL27 and CCL28 expression and production by a human keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT cells, were strongly induced by inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐1β. CCL27 production was downregulated by inhibitors of p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase and nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB). By contrast, CCL28 production was downregulated by inhibitors of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase and NF‐κB. Our study results suggest that CCL28 produced by keratinocytes is mediated by different signal pathways from CCL27 and that both CCL27 and CCL28 are involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases.
Wheezing and eczema in relation to infant anthropometry: evidence of developmental programming of disease in childhood
Authors: Carrington Lynda J. , Langley‐Evans Simon C.
Published: December 2005

Early life factors and, in particular, the fetal environment have been suggested to programme risk of allergic disease in later life. Diversion of nutrients away from immune organs towards the brain, a process termed brain sparing, has been proposed as a mechanism underpinning this association. The study population was a group of 256 seven‐year old children from the UK recruited from two general practitioner surgeries. Historical anthropometric data from birth to age three and current anthropometry were assessed as predictors of parent‐reported wheeze and eczema. Eczema at seven years was not related to any anthropometric indices at birth or during infancy. A smaller head circumference at 10–15 days of age was noted in children with current wheeze at age 7 years (P = 0.018) and this relationship persisted after adjustment for current anthropometry and confounders. Comparison of children with head circumference over 36.5 cm at 10–15 days with those with head circumference under 35.5 cm, showed reduced odds for wheeze at 7 years (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03–0.44, Ptrend = 0.009).These data suggest that factors that determine fetal growth may be associated with wheeze in childhood and support the developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis. Brain sparing does not appear to play a role in this early life programming.
Risk of stillbirth in relation to maternal haemoglobin concentration during pregnancy
Authors: Tomashek Kay M. , Ananth Cande V. , Cogswell Mary E.
Published: December 2005

The authors determined the association between maternal haemoglobin concentration measured at <28 weeks’ gestation and late fetal death at ≥28 weeks’ gestation (stillbirth). Data were derived from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey – a nationally representative survey of US deliveries in 1988. Analysis was restricted to women with a singleton live birth (n = 4199) or a stillbirth (n = 1375) for whom maternal prenatal care, haemoglobin, smoking status and gestational age data were available. Haemoglobin concentrations during first and second trimesters, respectively, were classified as mild (10.0 to <11.0 and 9.5 to <10.5 g dL−1) or moderate (9.0 to <10.0 and 8.5 to <9.5 g dL−1) anaemia, or high haemoglobin (≥14.6 g dL−1 in either trimester). Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for stillbirth were derived from discrete proportional hazards regression models after adjusting for confounders. Stillbirth was not associated with mild anaemia or high haemoglobin in either the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Moderate anaemia measured before 28 weeks’ gestation was significantly associated with an increased risk of stillbirth among non‐black women (adjusted HR: 4.4; 95% CI: 1.02, 19.01). Moderate anaemia was not associated with stillbirths among black women. Further investigation regarding causal mechanisms for this association is warranted.
Functional characterization of front‐end desaturases from trypanosomatids depicts the first polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthetic pathway from a parasitic protozoan
Authors: Tripodi Karina E. J. , Buttigliero Laura V. , Altabe Silvia G. , Uttaro Antonio D.
Published: December 2005

A survey of the three kinetoplastid genome projects revealed the presence of three putative front‐end desaturase genes in Leishmania major, one in Trypanosoma brucei and two highly identical ones (98%) in T. cruzi. The encoded gene products were tentatively annotated as Δ8, Δ5 and Δ6 desaturases for L. major, and Δ6 desaturase for both trypanosomes. After phylogenetic and structural analysis of the deduced proteins, we predicted that the putative Δ6 desaturases could have Δ4 desaturase activity, based mainly on the conserved HX3HH motif for the second histidine box, when compared with Δ4 desaturases from Thraustochytrium, Euglena gracilis and the microalga, Pavlova lutheri, which are more than 30% identical to the trypanosomatid enzymes. After cloning and expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it was possible to functionally characterize each of the front‐end desaturases present in L. major and T. brucei. Our prediction about the presence of Δ4 desaturase activity in the three kinetoplastids was corroborated. In the same way, Δ5 desaturase activity was confirmed to be present in L. major. Interestingly, the putative Δ8 desaturase turned out to be a functional Δ6 desaturase, being 35% and 31% identical to Rhizopus oryzae and Pythium irregulareΔ6 desaturases, respectively. Our results indicate that no conclusive predictions can be made about the function of this class of enzymes merely on the basis of sequence homology. Moreover, they indicate that a complete pathway for very‐long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis is functional in L. major using Δ6, Δ5 and Δ4 desaturases. In trypanosomes, only Δ4 desaturases are present. The putative algal origin of the pathway in kinetoplastids is discussed.
The debridement of hard to heal leg ulcers by means of a new device based on Fluidjet technology
Authors: Mosti Giovanni , Iabichella Maria Letizia , Picerni Pietro , Magliaro Antonio , Mattaliano Vincenzo
Published: December 2005

Debridement plays an essential role in the wound‐bed preparation of necrotic and sloughy ulcers, being a mandatory step to achieve a well‐debrided bed, proceeding towards healing. This study reports our experience with Versajet [Versajet Hydrosurgery System®(Smith & Nephew, Hull, UK)], a new device for the debridement of exudating ulcers, based on Fluidjet technology, which excises and aspirates the unwanted tissue by using the Venturi effect. In a 10‐month time period, a total of 68 patients, out of a setting of 167 patients, hospitalised as affected by chronic, hard‐to‐heal leg ulcers, stuck in the inflammatory phase, were treated with Versajet. Based on ulcer characteristics and clinical conditions, the remaining 99 patients underwent traditional debridement with moist dressings (controls). In the majority of Versajet‐treated cases (46), an adequately debrided wound bed was achieved with one operative procedure; two and three procedures were required in 17 and 5 patients, respectively. Almost all the procedures were performed in the ward at the patient's bedside. This procedure is quick (mean time per treatment is about 5 minutes); when compared with a traditional treatment with moist dressings, Versajet considerably shortens the in‐hospital stay and promotes a quicker healing process. When used by an experienced surgeon, Versajet allows a selective debridement, as it makes it possible to remove only the tissue centred in the working end and spare the healthy tissue. Debriding with Versajet is highly effective in reducing the bacterial load of the ulcer bed. The pain caused by Versajet is well tolerated, especially when set for gentle debridement. If multiple treatments are required, the combined use with moist dressings is synergistic, as the dressings soften the necrotic tissue, thus facilitating the following Versajet debridement. The results indicate that Versajet offers more precision than standard mechanical debridement and, at high settings, offers an alternative to surgical debridement.
Wound chronicity and fibroblast senescence – implications for treatment
Authors: Harding Keith G , Moore Keith , Phillips Tania J
Published: December 2005

A proportion of chronic wounds fail to heal in response to standard therapy. For venous leg ulcers, a correlation exists between longer duration before treatment initiation and poor healing response to compression therapy. Differences identified between the healing wound microenvironment and that of the non healing chronic wound suggests that many potential mechanisms exist to impair healing. One contributory mechanism may be inhibition of fibroblast proliferation and induction of a stress‐induced premature senescence phenotype by the continuing inflammation found in chronic wounds. Senescent fibroblasts exhibit an extracellular matrix degradative phenotype that contributes to wound chronicity. Accumulation of greater than 15% senescent fibroblasts has been described as a threshold beyond which wounds become hard to heal. The ratio of senescent : non senescent cells is therefore critical to determining response to treatment, and adjunctive therapies that modulate this ratio in favour of non senescent cells are likely to enhance therapeutic healing rates. A number of tissue‐engineered dermal replacements contain non senescent fibroblasts and can donate cells to the wound environment additional to releasing growth factors and reversing the antiproliferative activity of chronic wound exudate. Recognition of the role of fibroblast senescence in wound chronicity may allow for identification of those wounds that will respond positively to these products.
Scalp necrosis and giant cell arteritis: case report and issues in wound management
Authors: Landis Stefan J , Selinger Susan , Flett Norman
Published: December 2005

Scalp necrosis is rare in patients with giant cell arteritis. Here, we report the case of an 81‐year‐old woman who presented with a management problem that required a truly multidisciplinary approach to treatment. A combined approach of effective wound bed preparation with selective debridement, prolonged antimicrobial therapy, corticosteroid use and careful dressing choices resulted in a successful outcome in a potentially disastrous situation.
Eikinella corrodens wound infection in a diabetic foot: a brief report
Authors: Ovadia Shmouel , Lysyy Lyudmila , Zubkov Tatiana
Published: December 2005

Eikinella corrodens normally forms part of the flora of the oral cavity and mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. It is usually associated with dental, head and neck infections (Cohen, Powderly, 2004, Infectious Diseases) and is considered to be an unusual cause of orthopaedic infections. We recently treated a diabetic patient with E. corrodens osteomyelitis of the fifth metatarsophalangeal joint, a phenomenon which has been reported in only three cases previously (Konugres et al., 1987, E. corrodens as a cause of osteomyelitis in the feet of the diabetic patients. Report of three cases). We recommend including E. corrodens in the spectrum of causative pathogens in diabetic foot infections.
TESTING A RATIONAL CHOICE MODEL OF AIRLINE HIJACKINGS*
Authors: DUGAN LAURA , LAFREE GARY , PIQUERO ALEX R.
Published: December 2005

Using data that combines information from the Federal Aviation Administration, the RAND Corporation and a newly developed database on global terrorist activity, we are able to examine trends in 1,101 attempted aerial hijackings that occurred around the world from 1931 to 2003. We have especially complete information for 828 hijackings that occurred before 1986. Using a rational choice theoretical framework, we use continuous‐time survival analysis to estimate the impact of several major counterhijacking interventions on the hazard of differently motivated hijacking attempts and logistic regression analysis to model the predictors of successful hijackings. Some of these interventions use certainty‐based strategies of target hardening to reduce the perceived likelihood of success. Others focus on raising the perceived costs of hijacking by increasing the severity of punishment. We also assess which strategies were most effective in deterring hijackers whose major purpose was related to terrorism. We found support for the conclusion that new hijacking attempts were less likely to be undertaken when the certainty of apprehension was increased through metal detectors and law enforcement at passenger checkpoints. We also found that fewer hijackers attempted to divert airliners to Cuba once that country made it a crime to hijack flights. Our results support the contagion view that hijacking rates significantly increase after a series of hijackings closely clustered in time—but only when these attempts were successful. Finally, we found that the policy interventions examined here significantly decreased the likelihood of nonterrorist but not that of terrorist hijackings.
STRAINED LIVES AND CRIME: EXAMINING INTRA‐INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN STRAIN AND OFFENDING IN A SAMPLE OF INCARCERATED WOMEN*
Authors: SLOCUM LEE ANN , SIMPSON SALLY S. , SMITH DOUGLAS A.
Published: December 2005

When applied to the study of changes in an individual's offending, general strain theory posits that individuals will be more likely to offend during periods of high strain. Using 36 months of retrospective data collected from female inmates, we explore the relationship between intra‐individual changes in strain and changes in offending and drug use. We also examine how different dimensions of strain‐recent composite strain, duration, clustering and accumulation, contribute to the explanation of offending. We find that changes in strain are associated with changes in violence, drug use, and property crime and that these relationships remain after the addition of control variables. Moreover, the strain‐crime relationship holds when the correct causal order is specified. When modeling offending, taking various dimensions of strain into account does increase the amount of variation explained for some outcomes, but other dimensions are highly correlated. We conclude that conceptualizing the interaction between strain and crime as a dynamic process is constructive and that general strain theory will be improved if criminologists move beyond static conceptions of strain.
RACIAL THREAT, CONCENTRATED DISADVANTAGE AND SOCIAL CONTROL: CONSIDERING THE MACRO‐LEVEL SOURCES OF VARIATION IN ARRESTS*
Authors: PARKER KAREN F. , STULTS BRIAN J. , RICE STEPHEN K.
Published: December 2005

Several studies have examined the relationship between racial threat (measured by the size of black population) and social control imposed on blacks, but evidence of this hypothesis has been mixed. Although dependency on percent black as the main indicator of racial threat in many studies has contributed to the inconsistency in findings, we argue that this literature has also neglected to consider other important conceptual and methodological issues. Using 2000 census and arrest data, we estimate the impact of multiple measures of racial economic threat, such as the size of the black population, racial inequality and black immigration patterns on black arrest rates. Furthermore, by integrating racial competition and race‐relations arguments, we examine how the concentration of black disadvantage may temper the extent to which blacks pose a threat to white interests. Our findings reveal important and conceptually distinct relationships between racial threat, concentrated disadvantage and the use of social control against blacks, particularly when compared to white arrests.
BEYOND THE BELL CURVE: COMMUNITY DISADVANTAGE AND THE EXPLANATION OF BLACK‐WHITE DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT VIOLENCE*
Authors: BELLAIR PAUL E. , MCNULTY THOMAS L.
Published: December 2005

Disproportionate involvement in violent behavior among African American, versus white, adolescents is a major arena of debate in the social sciences. The individual difference approach draws attention to verbal ability as an explanation of black‐white differences in violence. Sociological theories stress variation in community and family socioeconomic disadvantage. We contrast these causal images of racial differences in serious violence using the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health and contextual modeling. Results indicate that verbal ability has an indirect effect on violence through school achievement, but does not account for the greater involvement in violence among black adolescents. The analysis is most consistent with a sociological model that views the race‐violence link as a spurious outcome of community context.
DO PARENTS MATTER IN CREATING SELF‐CONTROL IN THEIR CHILDREN? A GENETICALLY INFORMED TEST OF GOTTFREDSON AND HIRSCHI'S THEORY OF LOW SELF‐CONTROL*
Authors: WRIGHT JOHN PAUL , BEAVER KEVIN M.
Published: December 2005

Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime (1990) has generated an abundance of research testing the proposition that low self‐control is the main cause of crime and analogous behaviors. Less empirical work, however, has examined the factors that give rise to low self‐control. Gottfredson and Hirschi suggest that parents are the sole contributors for either fostering or thwarting low self‐control in their children, explicitly discounting the possibility that genetics may play a key role. Yet genetic research has shown that ADHD and other deficits in the frontostriatal system are highly heritable. Our research thus tests whether “parents matter” in creating low self‐control once genetic influences are taken into account. Using a sample of twin children we find that parenting measures have a weak and inconsistent effect. We address the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the failure to address genetic influences in parenting studies.
THE EFFECTS OF LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES ON LONGITUDINAL TRAJECTORIES OF OFFENDING*
Authors: BLOKLAND ARJAN A.J. , NIEUWBEERTA PAUL
Published: December 2005

This study, which is based on individual criminal careers over a 60‐year period, focuses on the development of criminal behavior. It first examines the impact that life circumstances such as work and marriage have on offending, then tests whether the effects of these circumstances are different for different groups of offenders, and finally examines the extent to which the age‐crime relationship at the aggregate level can be explained by age‐graded differences in life circumstances. Official data were retrieved for a 4‐percent (N=4,615) sample of all individuals whose criminal case was tried in the Netherlands in 1977. Self‐report data were derived from a nationally representative survey administered in the Netherlands in 1996 to 2,244 individuals aged 15 years or older. In analyzing this data, we use semi‐parametric group‐based models. Results indicate that life circumstances substantially influence the chances of criminal behavior, and that the effects of these circumstances on offending differ across offender groups. Age‐graded changes in life circumstances, however, explain the aggregate age‐crime relationship only to a modest extent.
Dependence of cross‐bridge kinetics on myosin light chain isoforms in rabbit and rat skeletal muscle fibres
Authors: Andruchov Oleg , Andruchova Olena , Wang Yishu , Galler Stefan
Published: December 2005

Cross‐bridge kinetics underlying stretch‐induced force transients was studied in fibres with different myosin light chain (MLC) isoforms from skeletal muscles of rabbit and rat. The force transients were induced by stepwise stretches (< 0.3% of fibre length) applied on maximally Ca2+‐activated skinned fibres. Fast fibre types IIB, IID (or IIX) and IIA and the slow fibre type I containing the myosin heavy chain isoforms MHC‐IIb, MHC‐IId (or MHC‐IIx), MHC‐IIa and MHC‐I, respectively, were investigated. The MLC isoform content varied within fibre types. Fast fibre types contained the fast regulatory MLC isoform MLC2f and different proportions of the fast alkali MLC isoforms MLC1f and MLC3f. Type I fibres contained the slow regulatory MLC isoform MLC2s and the slow alkali MLC isoform MLC1s. Slow MLC isoforms were also present in several type IIA fibres. The kinetics of force transients differed by a factor of about 30 between fibre types (order from fastest to slowest kinetics: IIB > IID > IIA ≫ I). The kinetics of the force transients was not dependent on the relative content of MLC1f and MLC3f. Type IIA fibres containing fast and slow MLC isoforms were about 1.2 times slower than type IIA fibres containing only fast MLC isoforms. We conclude that while the cross‐bridge kinetics is mainly determined by the MHC isoforms present, it is affected by fast and slow MLC isoforms but not by the relative content of MLC1f and MLC3f. Thus, the physiological role of fast and slow MLC isoforms in type IIA fibres is a fine‐tuning of the cross‐bridge kinetics.
Propagation of slow waves in the guinea‐pig gastric antrum
Authors: Hirst G. David S. , Garcia‐Londoño A. Pilar , Edwards Frank R.
Published: December 2005

Intracellular recordings were made from the circular layer of the intact muscular wall of the guinea‐pig gastric antrum in preparations where much of the corpus remained attached. When two electrodes were positioned parallel to and near to the greater curvature, slow waves were first detected at the oral site and subsequently at the anal site: the oro‐anal conduction velocity was found to be 2.5 mm s−1. When one electrode was positioned near the greater curvature and the other at a circumferential location, slow waves were first detected near the greater curvature and subsequently at the circumferential site: the circumferential conduction velocity was 13.9 mm s−1. When recordings were made from preparations in which the circular muscle layer had been removed, the oro‐anal and the circumferential conduction velocities were both about 3.5 mm s−1. When slow waves were recorded from preparations in which much of the myenteric network of antral interstitial cells (ICCMY) had been dissected away, slow waves were first detected near the region of intact ICCMY and subsequently at a circumferential location: the circumferential conduction velocity of slow waves in regions devoid of ICCMY was 14.7 mm s−1. When the electrical properties of isolated single bundles of circular muscle were determined, their length constants were about 3 mm and their time constant about 230 ms, giving an asymptotic electrotonic propagation velocity of 25 mm s−1. Oro‐anal electrical coupling between adjacent bundles of circular muscle was found to vary widely: some bundles were well connected to neighbouring bundles whereas others were not. Together the observations suggest that the slow oro‐anal progression of slow waves results from a slow conduction velocity of pacemaker potentials in the myenteric network of interstitial cells. The rapid circumferential conduction of slow waves results from the electrical properties of the circular muscle layer which allow intramuscular ICC (ICCIM) to support the radial spread of slow waves: regions of high resistance between bundles prevent the anally directed spread of slow waves within the circular layer.
An electrical analysis of slow wave propagation in the guinea‐pig gastric antrum
Authors: Edwards Frank R. , Hirst G. David S.
Published: December 2005

This paper provides an electrical description of the propagation of slow waves and pacemaker potentials in the guinea‐pig gastric antrum in anal and circumferential directions. As electrical conduction between laterally adjacent circular muscle bundles is regularly interrupted, anal conduction of pacemaker potentials was assumed to occur via an electrically interconnected chain of myenteric interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCMY). ICCMY were also connected resistively to serially connected compartments of longitudinal muscle. Circumferential conduction occurred in a circular smooth muscle bundle that was represented as a chain of electrically connected isopotential compartments: each compartment contained a proportion of intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCIM) that are responsible for the regenerative component of the slow wave. The circular muscle layer, which contains ICCIM, and the ICCMY network incorporated a mechanism, modelled as a two‐stage chemical reaction, which produces an intracellular messenger. The first stage of the reaction is proposed to be activated in a voltage‐dependent manner as described by Hodgkin and Huxley; the messenger altered the mean rate of discharge of depolarizing unitary potentials as a function of the concentration of messenger according to a conventional dose–effect relationship. A separate membrane conductance, scaled by the product of an independent voltage‐sensitive reaction, was included in the ICCMY compartments; this was used to describe the primary component of pacemaker potentials and simulated a delay before the activation of this membrane current. The model generates pacemaker potentials and slow waves with propagation velocities similar to those determined in the physiological experiments described in the accompanying paper.
Mitochondrial long chain fatty acid oxidation, fatty acid translocase/CD36 content and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I activity in human skeletal muscle during aerobic exercise
Authors: Holloway Graham P. , Bezaire Veronic , Heigenhauser George J. F. , Tandon Narendra N. , Glatz Jan F. C. , Luiken Joost J. F. P. , Bonen Arend , Spriet Lawrence L.
Published: December 2005

Mitochondrial fatty acid transport is a rate‐limiting step in long chain fatty acid (LCFA) oxidation. In rat skeletal muscle, the transport of LCFA at the level of mitochondria is regulated by carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPTI) activity and the content of malonyl‐CoA (M‐CoA); however, this relationship is not consistently observed in humans. Recently, fatty acid translocase (FAT)/CD36 was identified on mitochondria isolated from rat and human skeletal muscle and found to be involved in LCFA oxidation. The present study investigated the effects of exercise (120 min of cycling at ∼60%) on CPTI palmitoyl‐CoA and M‐CoA kinetics, and on the presence and functional significance of FAT/CD36 on skeletal muscle mitochondria. Whole body fat oxidation rates progressively increased during exercise (P < 0.05), and concomitantly M‐CoA inhibition of CPTI was progressively attenuated. Compared to rest, 120 min of cycling reduced (P < 0.05) the inhibition of 0.7, 2, 5 and 10 μm M‐CoA by 16%, 21%, 30% and 34%, respectively. Whole body fat oxidation and palmitate oxidation rates in isolated mitochondria progressively increased (P < 0.05) during exercise, and were positively correlated (r= 0.78). Mitochondrial FAT/CD36 protein increased by 63% (P < 0.05) during exercise and was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with mitochondrial palmitate oxidation rates at all time points (r= 0.41). However, the strongest (P < 0.05) correlation was observed following 120 min of cycling (r= 0.63). Importantly, the addition of sulfo‐N‐succimidyloleate, a specific inhibitor of FAT/CD36, reduced mitochondrial palmitate oxidation to ∼20%, indicating FAT/CD36 is functionally significant with respect to LCFA oxidation. We hypothesize that exercise‐induced increases in fatty acid oxidation occur as a result of an increased ability to transport LCFA into mitochondria. We further suggest that decreased CPTI M‐CoA sensitivity and increased mitochondrial FAT/CD36 protein are both important for increasing whole body fatty acid oxidation during prolonged exercise.
WNK3, a kinase related to genes mutated in hereditary hypertension with hyperkalaemia, regulates the K+ channel ROMK1 (Kir1.1)
Authors: Leng Qiang , Kahle Kristopher T. , Rinehart Jesse , MacGregor Gordon G. , Wilson Frederick H. , Canessa Cecilia M. , Lifton Richard P. , Hebert Steven C.
Published: December 2005

The serine–threonine kinase WNK3 modulates Cl− transport into and out of cells through its regulation of SLC12A cation–Cl− cotransporters, implicating it as (one of) the long‐sought Cl−/volume‐sensitive kinase(s). Integrators in homeostatic systems regulate structurally diverse but functionally coupled elements. For example, the related kinase WNK4 regulates the Na+–Cl− cotransporter (NCC), paracellular Cl− flux, and the K+ channel ROMK1 (Kir1.1) to maintain renal NaCl and K+ homeostasis; mutations in PRKWNK4, encoding WNK4, cause a Mendelian disease featuring hypertension and hyperkalaemia. It is known that WNK3 is expressed in the nephron's distal convoluted tubule (DCT) and stimulates NCC activity. Here, we show that WNK3 is also expressed in cortical and outer medullary collecting duct principal cells. Accordingly, we tested WNK3's effect on the mediators of NaCl and K+ handling in these nephron segments – the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), paracellular Cl− flux, and ROMK1 – using established model systems. WNK3 did not alter paracellular Cl− flux in tetracycline‐responsive MDCK II cells, nor affect amiloride‐sensitive currents when coexpressed with ENaC in Xenopus laevis oocytes. However, additional coexpression studies in oocytes revealed WNK3 inhibited the renal‐specific K+ channel ROMK1 activity greater than 5.5‐fold (P < 0.0001) by altering its plasmalemmal surface expression; WNK3 did not affect ROMK1's conductance or open/closed probability. In contrast, WNK3 had no effect on the activity of the cardiac long‐QT syndrome K+ channel KCNQ1/KCNE1 when coexpressed in oocytes. Inhibition of ROMK1 is independent of WNK3's catalytic activity and is mediated by WNK3's carboxyl terminus – a mechanism distinct from its known kinase‐dependent activation of NCC. A kinase‐inactivating point mutation or a missense mutation homologous to one in WNK4 that causes disease produced a gain‐of‐function effect, enhancing WNK3's inhibition of ROMK1 greater than 2.5‐fold relative to wild‐type kinase (P < 0.0001). The magnitude and specificity of WNK3's effects at both NCC and ROMK1, its coexpression with its targets in the distal nephron, and the established in vivo effect of WNK4 at these same targets provide evidence that WNK3's action is physiologically relevant. WNK3 is probably a component of one of the mechanisms that determines the balance between renal NaCl reabsorption and K+ secretion.