bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revenue Driven Resource Allocation: Funding Authority, Incentives, and New Product Development Portfolio Management
Authors: Chao Raul O. , Kavadias Stylianos , Gaimon Cheryl
Published: July 2009

The first step in transforming strategy from a hopeful statement about the future into an operational reality is to allocate resources to innovation and new product development (NPD) programs in a portfolio. Resource allocation and NPD portfolio decisions often span multiple levels of the organization's hierarchy, leading to questions about how much authority to bestow on managers and how to structure incentives for NPD. In this study, we explore how funding authority and incentives affect a manager's allocation of resources between existing product improvement (relatively incremental projects) and new product development (more radical projects). Funding may be either fixed or variable depending on the extent to which the manager has the authority to use revenue derived from existing product sales to fund NPD efforts. We find that the use of variable funding drives higher effort toward improving existing products and developing new products. However, variable funding has a subtle side effect: it induces the manager to focus on existing product improvement to a greater degree than new product development, and the relative balance in the NPD portfolio shifts toward incremental innovation. In addition, we highlight a substitution effect between explicit incentives (compensation parameters) and implicit incentives (career concerns). Explicit incentives are reduced as career concerns become more salient.
Competing Retailers and Inventory: An Empirical Investigation of General Motors' Dealerships in Isolated U.S. Markets
Authors: Olivares Marcelo , Cachon Gérard P.
Published: July 2009

We study the following question: How does competition influence the inventory holdings of General Motors' dealerships operating in isolated U.S. markets? We wish to disentangle two mechanisms by which local competition influences a dealer's inventory: (1) the entry or exit of a competitor can change a retailer's demand (a sales effect); and (2) the entry or exit of a competitor can change the amount of buffer stock a retailer holds, which influences the probability that a consumer finds a desired product in stock (a service-level effect). Theory is clear on the sales effect—an increase in sales leads to an increase in inventory (albeit a less than proportional increase). However, theoretical models of inventory competition are ambiguous on the expected sign of the service-level effect. Via a Web crawler, we obtained data on inventory and sales for more than 200 dealerships over a six-month period. Using cross-sectional variation, we estimated the effect of the number and type of local competitors on inventory holdings. We used several instrumental variables to control for the endogeneity of market entry decisions. Our results suggest that the service-level effect is strong, nonlinear, and positive. Hence, we observe that dealers carry more inventory (controlling for sales) when they face additional competition.
Sex and Violence in Fairy Tales for Children
Authors: Bengtsson Niklas
Published: July 2009

In this article, Bengtsson considers the role of editing, revision, and self-censorship in handling sexual content and aspects of horror in the folk and fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers in Germany and Laura Soinne in Finland.
Hidden Forms of Censorship and Their Impact
Authors: Givens Cherie L.
Published: July 2009

In this article, the author highlights ways that children's authors may be censored by educational publishers, trade publishers, and even award committees.
Otium cum Dignitate : Economy, Politics, and Pastoral in Eighteenth-Century New York
Authors: Afinogenov Gregory
Published: July 2009

In eighteenth-century New York, as in many other places, educated gentlemen used classical pastoral and georgic tropes to articulate their relationships with both nature and society. This essay uses the changing use of these tropes to examine the radical changes in the city's culture after midcentury. The new rhetoric of sociability marginalized both pastoral and georgic in favor of a broad mercantile vision of social interconnectedness. Pastoral rhetoric, in turn, became linked to the defense of an elite, traditionalist Loyalism, which embraced its marginalization and doomed itself to irrelevance. As Philip Freneau's experimentation with pastoral demonstrates, the continued prevalence of these tropes in American literature was nonetheless accompanied by their separation from this social context.
Urban Bias in Development and Educational Attainment in Brazil
Authors: Fernandes Danielle Cireno , Neves Jorge Alexandre
Published: July 2009

The main goal of this study is to investigate the role of the urban bias in the Brazilian development on the educational attainment process. Theories of educational inequality and socioeconomic development and modernization are considered to construct the hypotheses. The study is based on a nation-wide probability sample survey (the 1988 PNAD). OLS regression models are estimated to assess the hypotheses, and a cohort strategy is used to investigate trends in the patterns of determinants of the educational attainment process in Brazil. Among the main causal factors analyzed here, we center our investigation on the importance of the difference of having an urban or a rural origin on the educational attainment of individuals. The process of socioeconomic development in most developing countries has been marked by a very strong urban bias. As we show here, this urban bias has a very significant effect (net of many other causal variables) on the educational attainment process in Brazil.
A Structural Analysis of Growth and Poverty in the Short-Term
Authors: Verme Paolo
Published: July 2009

“Growth is good for the poor” is a ubiquitous statement and one generally backed by theory, research and history. In the long-run, growth reduces poverty. Yet, growth in output - per se - is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for poverty reduction in the short-term. The paper uses a number of parametric and non-parametric methodologies to assess the relation between growth and poverty in Kazakhstan, a country that experienced rapid growth and poverty reduction in the short-term. Combining macro and micro regional data, we find a very small trickle down effect of output growth on household incomes and no evidence that output growth is correlated with poverty reduction. We find instead that pro-poor growth in household income explains well poverty reduction.
Economic Growth and FDI Inflows: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis
Authors: Wijeweera Albert , Villano Renato , Dollery Brian
Published: July 2009

Despite plausible theoretical grounds for presuming a positive relationship between foreign direct investment inflows (FDI) and economic growth, existing empirical evidence on this nexus is inconclusive. In an effort to add to the empirical literature, this paper estimates the relationship between FDI and the rate of growth of GDP using a stochastic frontier model and employing panel data covering 45 countries over the period 1997 to 2004. We find that FDI inflows exert a positive impact on economic growth only in the presence of a highly skilled labour; corruption has a negative impact on economic growth; and trade openness increases economic growth by means of efficiency gains.
The Political Economy of Financial Structure of Korean Firms
Authors: Lee Sanghack , Cheong Kiwoong
Published: July 2009

The high indebtedness of Korean firms is viewed as one of major causes for the financial (currency) crisis of Korea in 1997. This paper examines empirically the political economy underlying the financial structure of Korean firms. Specifically, this paper estimates the size of rents generated in Korean financial markets through financial repression during 1971 – 1991. The size of the rent shared by politicians and business sectors proves to be in the range of three to eight percent of Gross Domestic Product of Korea during the period. This paper also shows that firm size has been an important determinant for the financial structure of Korean firms. However, the role of the firm size as the determinant for financial structure has decreased after the financial crisis, suggesting that the tie between politicians and business has been weakened.
Stationarity of South Asian Real Exchange Rates Under Exponential Star (ESTAR) Framework
Authors: Noman Abdullah M. , Rahman M. Zillur
Published: July 2009

This paper investigates stationarity of four South Asian real exchange rates. In addition to the unit root tests that assume linearity in real exchange rate series, we apply tests to check stationarity that assume nonlinearity in a particular time series. Results from linear unit root tests (e.g. ADF and KPSS) unequivocally indicate that selected South Asian real exchange rates are all nonstationary. Different versions of a nonlinear unit root test, namely, the KSS tests, can only partially overturn these results. Overall, the real exchange rates of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka seem to be conclusively nonstationary, while tests produce mixed results for Bangladesh. The findings have implications, among other, that PPP does not seem to characterize long run most real exchange rate movements in South Asia.
China Since Tiananmen: Online Activism
Authors: Yang Guobin
Published: July 2009

Abstract: Online activism is an integral part of the broader landscape of citizen activism in contemporary China. It assumes a variety of forms, from cultural and social activism to cyber-nationalism and online petitions and protests. Technological development and social transformation provide the basic structural conditions. A fledgling civil society of online communities and offline civic associations, the logic of social production in the internet economy, and the creativity of Chinese internet users combine to sustain online activism under conditions of growing political control of the internet in China.
PET/CT based radiotherapy treatment planning in head and neck cancers
Authors: Sinkó Dániel , Klinkó Tímea , Weisz Csaba , Nemeskéri Csaba , Fekésházy Attila , Tóth Viktória , Tóth Zoltán , Mayer Árpád
Published: July 2009

A vizsgálat célja a Fővárosi Onkoradiológiai Központban a PET/CT alapú besugárzástervezéssel szerzett eddigi tapasztalatok értékelése fej-nyak tumoros betegeknél. 2008. március és 2009. február között 11 betegnél történt PET/CT alapú 3D konformális besugárzás fej-nyaki régióban. A PET/CT vizsgálatot követően a kezelési terv 11-ből 6 betegnél módosult, mivel a vizsgálat kóros nyaki nyirokcsomót mutatott. Ez tette szükségessé a kezelés kombinálását egyidejű kemoterápiával, esetenként a klinikai céltérfogat (CTV) és a tervezési céltérfogat (PTV) változtatását is. Mindezek alapján egyértelmű, hogy a fej-nyak tumoros betegeknél a PET/CT vizsgálatnak nagy jelentősége van a komplex kezelési terv felállításában és a besugárzástervezésben is.
Iodine content of mother’s milk – Hungarian representative survey, 2006
Authors: Griff Tamás , Czakó Klára , Lugasi Andrea , Martos Éva
Published: July 2009

Magyarországon, néhány kisebb körzetet kivéve, a talaj és az ivóvíz jódtartalma alacsony, így a hazánkban termelt zöldségekkel, gyümölcsökkel, gabonafélékkel és az ivóvízzel az emberi szervezetbe jutó jód mennyisége nem éri el a nemzetközi szervezetek által ajánlott értéket. A magzat és az anyatejjel táplált csecsemő megfelelő jódellátásához különösen fontos a megfelelő jódbevitel a terhesség és a szoptatás ideje alatt.
Célkitűzés
: A vizsgálat célja, hogy országos szinten felmérjük az anyatejek jódtartalmát és szükség esetén ajánlásokat tehessünk a terhesség és a szoptatás idején a jódpótlás mértékére.
Módszer:
Országos mintavételt követően 72 anyatejminta jódtartalmát vizsgáltuk induktív csatolású plazma-tömegspektrométerrel (ICP-MS).
Eredmények:
A csecsemők 42%-a nem jut hozzá a jelenleg nemzetközileg ajánlott 110 μg jód/nap mennyiséghez élete első szakaszában, ami jelentősen befolyásolhatja a testi és szellemi fejlődésüket.
Következtetés:
Az eredmények ismeretében a terhes és szoptató nők számára jódtartalmú étrend-kiegészítő készítmények vagy magas jódtartalmú élelmiszerek fogyasztása ajánlott.
The role of vitamin D in the development of cardiac failure
Authors: Szabó Boglárka , Merkely Béla , Takács István
Published: July 2009

A krónikus szívelégtelenség leginkább az időseket érintő népbetegség, amelyben a D-vitamin-hiány rendkívül gyakori. A legtöbb D-vitamin a bőrben képződik, ezért a szívelégtelenségben szenvedő betegek életmódja részben magyarázhatja a D-vitamin-hiány gyakoriságát. Azonban egyre több adat támasztja alá azt az elképzelést, hogy a D-vitamin-hiány nemcsak következménye, hanem oka is lehet a krónikus szívelégtelenség kialakulásának. A D-vitaminnak közvetlen hatása van a szívre és indirekt hatása a szívelégtelenséghez vezető legfőbb rizikófaktorokra. A közvetlen szívhatás a szívizomsejtek kontraktilitásában, a natriureticus fehérjék elválasztásában, az extracelluláris mátrix és a gyulladásos citokinek változásában nyilvánul meg. Emellett a D-vitamin hatással van a szívelégtelenség legfontosabb rizikófaktoraira, a vérnyomásra, a renin-angiotenzin rendszerre és az érelmeszesedésre is. A sok kísérletes adat ellenére csupán néhány megfigyelés igazolja a D-vitamin kedvező hatását a krónikus szívelégtelenségre. További nagy esetszámú, randomizált vizsgálat szükséges annak megerősítésére, hogy a D-vitamin-hiányban adott D-vitamin-pótlás előnyös hatású a krónikus szívelégtelenségre és a halálozási kockázatra.
Identification of the kinematical forbidden reflections from precession electron diffraction
Authors: Morniroli Jean-Paul , Ji Gang
Published: July 2009

The visibility of the kinematical forbidden reflections due to glide planes, screw axes and Wyckoff positions is considered both on experimental and theoretical electron precession patterns as a function of the precession angle. The forbidden reflections due to glide planes and screw axes become very weak and disappear at large precession angle so that they can be distinguished from the allowed reflections and used to deduce the space groups. Contrarily, those due to Wyckoff positions remain visible and strong provided they are located on a major systematic row. This difference of behavior between the forbidden reflections is confirmed by observation of the corresponding dark-field LACBED patterns and is interpreted using the Ewald sphere and the Laue circles from the availability of double diffraction paths. This study also proves that dynamical interactions remain strong along the main systematic rows present on precession patterns.
The Future of Targeted Therapies in Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Banerjee Susana , Gore Martin
Published: July 2009

Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecological malignancy and the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer. Most women present with advanced disease with little prospect for cure. There have been some advances in surgical and chemotherapeutic strategies, but these approaches have led to only minor improvements in outcome. There remains a significant risk for recurrence and resistance to therapy, and hence there is a need to improve upon the current treatment options. Molecularly directed therapy aims to target tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment by blocking specific molecular changes in the cancer. The most promising agents so far are the antiangiogenic agents and polyadenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitors. This article reviews the various targeted therapeutic approaches under clinical investigation in ovarian cancer and the challenges facing their future success in the clinic.
High sensitivity of β-cell replication to the inhibitory effects of interleukin-1β: modulation by adenoviral overexpression of IGF2 in rat islets
Authors: Estil.les Elisabet , Téllez Noèlia , Soler Joan , Montanya Eduard
Published: July 2009

Interleukin-1β (IL1B) is an important contributor to the autoimmune destruction of β-cells in type 1 diabetes, and it has been recently related to the development of type 2 diabetes. IGF2 stimulates β-cell proliferation and survival. We have determined the effect of IL1B on β-cell replication, and the potential modulation by IGF2 and glucose. Control-uninfected and adenovirus encoding for IGF2 (Ad-IGF2)-infected rat islets were cultured at 5.5 or 22.2 mmol/l glucose with or without 1, 10, 30, and 50 U/ml of IL1B. β-Cell replication was markedly reduced by 10 U/ml of IL1B and was almost nullified with 30 or 50 U/ml of IL1B. Higher concentrations of IL1B were required to increase β-cell apoptosis. Although IGF2 overexpression had a strong mitogenic effect on β-cells, IGF2 could preserve β-cell proliferation only in islets cultured with 10 U/ml IL1B, and had no effect with 30 and 50 U/ml of IL1B. In contrast, IGF2 overexpression induced a clear protection against IL1B-induced apoptosis, and higher concentrations of the cytokine were needed to increase β-cell apoptosis in Ad-IGF2-infected islets. These results indicate that β-cell replication is highly sensitive to the deleterious effects of the IL1B as shown by the inhibition of replication by relatively low IL1B concentrations, and the almost complete suppression of β-cell replication with high IL1B concentrations. Likewise, the inhibitory effects of IL-β on β-cell replication were not modified by glucose, and were only modestly prevented by IGF2 overexpression, in contrast with the higher protection against IL1B-induced apoptosis afforded by glucose and by IGF2 overexpression.
The National Children's Study: A Golden Opportunity to Advance the Health of Pregnant Women
Authors: Lyerly Anne Drapkin , Little Margaret Olivia , Faden Ruth R.
Published: July 2009

With a $3 billion investment by the federal government, the National Children's Study (NCS) recently began recruitment. The NCS is a golden—and potentially missed—opportunity to study one of the most underrepresented populations in clinical research: pregnant women.

As the nation's largest-ever study of children's health, the NCS will examine the effects of the environment on children from before birth to 21 years of age, with participants sampled primarily through women during pregnancy. Thus the NCS presents a rare opportunity to study the health of women during and after pregnancy, in addition to the health of their children.

On both moral and policy grounds, we make the case for inclusion of women's health outcomes in the NCS.
Use of thermal modeling to assess the tectono-metamorphic history of the Lugo and Sanabria gneiss domes, Northwest Iberia
Authors: Alcock James E. , Martínez Catalán José R. , Arenas Ricardo , Díez Montes Alejandro
Published: July 2009

The Lugo and Sanabria domes in Northwest Iberia have well constrained metamorphic and structural histories. Both occur in the Iberian autochthon and resulted from late-Variscan extensional collapse following crustal thickening related to the Variscan collision. The two domes developed beneath large thrust sheets, are cored by sillimanite-orthoclase anatectic gneiss, preserve evidence of a steep thermal gradient (≈ 1 °C MPa−1), and exhibit a distinct decrease in metamorphic grade to the east in the direction of nappe movement. Geochronological evidence indicates that the lower crust melted within ≈ 30 Ma of initial crustal thickening and that dome formation occurred within 50 Ma.

The histories of the two domes are considered as the basis for one-dimensional finite-difference models of thermal response to changes in crustal thickness. Results from thermal models suggest that thickening was limited to the crust, provide a numeric explanation for timing and nature of granite magmatism, and indicate that high-temperature metamorphism and crustal anatexis may result directly from thermal relaxation, eliminating the need for significant mantle thermal contribution. Also, the models show that small differences in thickness of large, wedge-shaped thrust sheets can explain distinct P-T paths experienced by different limbs of the domes.
Transpressional tectonic setting during the main Variscan deformation: evidence from four structural levels in the Bossòst and Aston-Hospitalet mantled gneiss domes, central Axial Zone, Pyrenees
Authors: Mezger Jochen E.
Published: July 2009

The Variscan basement of the Axial Zone is exposed at four different structural levels in two mantled gneiss domes of the Central Pyrenees. The Aston-Hospitalet dome reflects the deepest levels and is cored by large orthogneiss massifs. The Bossòst dome further west possesses a central Variscan granitoid pluton and represents the upper crustal levels. The two gneiss domes are separated by later E-W-trending faults into northern half-domes and southern antiformal structures. Kinematic and metamorphic studies show that uplift of the orthogneiss core started under a N-S compressional setting and continued during dextral transpression. SE-NW-trending lineations in metasediments of the western Aston dome, the deepest level, represent fabrics developed at deeper levels early during the main deformation. They are partially obliterated by later intruding Variscan plutons. Younger ESE-WNW-trending lineations are characteristic for easterly directed flat-lying shear zones developed under amphibolite facies conditions at the roof zone of the orthogneiss and overlying weaker metasedimentary mantle rocks in the Hospitalet dome, which facilitated uplift of the orthogneiss core. In the deeper roots within the Aston orthogneiss such shear zones are not observed. Likewise, ascending Variscan plutons caused doming and the development of shallowly eastward dipping shear zones with a top-to-the-east kinematics in the southern Bossòst dome, while at deeper levels in the northern dome half coaxial deformation within the contact aureole prevails. Orogen-parallel extension, recorded in WNW–ESE structures, is restricted to the interface of rigid orthogneiss cores and weaker metasedimentary mantle rocks, or thermally weakened metasedimentary mantle above ascending Variscan plutons, and occurred under an overall transpressional setting.
Middle Ordovician U-Pb age of the Aston and Hospitalet orthogneissic laccoliths: their role in the Variscan evolution of the Pyrenees
Authors: Denele Yoann , Barbey Pierre , Deloule Etienne , Pelleter Ewan , Olivier Philippe , Gleizes Gérard
Published: July 2009

Two identical zircon U-Pb ages have been obtained from the Riète orthogneisses at 470 ± 6 and 472 ± 2 Ma in the Aston and Hospitalet domes (Ariège, Pyrenees), respectively. New mapping data show that the protolith of these orthogneisses corresponds to Ordovician granitic laccoliths. Combined study of thin-sections and magnetic susceptibility on these rocks show that the laccoliths correspond to a suite consisting of granodiorites to leucogranites.

U-Pb ages of the Aston and Hospitalet orthogneisses, very similar to the ages recently obtained from the Canigou (473 ± 4 Ma) and the Montagne Noire (southern French Massif Central) 469 ± 4 Ma orthogneisses, point to a major Early to Middle Ordovician event of granitic laccolith emplacement in the southwestern part of France, and more generally in western Europe.

We underline that these laccoliths influenced the mechanical and thermal behaviour of the Variscan crust of the Pyrenees. Indeed, they have induced a rheological heterogeneity in the Variscan middle crust, which is at the origin of a structural contrast between the middle and upper crust. Moreover, these laccoliths played the role of screens, which have controlled transfer of magmas from the lower to the upper crust.
Metamorphic and structural evolution of the Maures-Tanneron massif (SE Variscan chain): evidence of doming along a transpressional margin
Authors: Rolland Yann , Corsini Michel , Demoux Antoine
Published: July 2009

The Variscan metamorphic and structural evolution of the Maures-Tanneron massif is divided in two main post-collisional phases: (1) a MP-MT regional gradient is developed during nappe-piling process between 350 and 320 Ma, followed by (2) LP-HT regional gradient coeval with doming between 320 and 300 Ma. During this late phase, the tectonic context was dominated by E-W shortening, which produced crustal-scale upright folds and major strike-slip displacement along trans-crustal faults. Symmetric extensional fabrics are observed on the limbs of crustal-scale anticlines, and are ascribed to local accommodation of lower crust exhumation. Heat and magma transfer are allowed by these large vertical strike-slip faults, and are thought to be the cause of the late metamorphic evolution. Therefore, structures and metamorphism argue for a transpressional context at the SE branch of the Variscan chain. Comparisons with current collisional settings such as syntaxial domains of the Himalayan belt show that the timing and PT conditions of metamorphic events are similar. These observations lead us to propose that the situation of the Variscan chain during the period 320-300 Ma was still a syn-convergent setting similar to the current situation of the Himalayan-Tibet system, and that extensional movements are not the cause of, but the result of exhumation of the lower crust in this ongoing shortening context along a transpressional wrench boundary.
Famenno-Carboniferous (370-320 Ma) strike slip tectonics monitored by syn-kinematic plutons in the French Variscan belt (Massif Armoricain and French Massif Central)
Authors: Rolin Patrick , Marquer Didier , Colchen Michel , Cartannaz Charles , Cocherie Alain , Thiery Vincent , Quenardel Jean-Michel , Rossi Philippe
Published: July 2009

The Variscan continental collision has led to the development of large strike-slip shear zones in western Europe. Our study focuses on the regional deformation and shear zone patterns in the Massif Armoricain and the French Massif Central. The synthesis of granite emplacement ages associated to granite deformation fields, allow us to propose a geodynamic model for the tectonic evolution of this part of the Variscan belt between 370 Ma – 320 Ma (Late Devonian – Namurian).

After the first steps of the continental subduction-collision, leading to high temperature and anatexis associated with N-S shortening at 380-370 Ma (Frasnian to Famennian), the southern part of the Massif Armoricain and western part of French Massif Central underwent large dextral shearing along N100-N130 trending shear zones up to early Visean time. These large-scale displacements progressively decreased at around 350-340 Ma, during the first emplacements of biotite bearing granites (Moulins-les Aubiers-Gourgé massif and Guéret massif intrusions).

During middle Visean times, the shortening axis direction rotated towards a NNE-SSW direction implying changes in the regional deformation field. The occurrence of N070-N100 sinistral and N110-N130 dextral conjugate shear zones within leucogranites are related to that time. Finally, new N150-N160 dextral shear zones appeared in middle to late Visean times: as for examples, the Parthenay and the Pradines shear zones in the SE Massif Armoricain and the Millevaches massif, respectively. These shear zones were conjugated to the sinistral N020 Sillon Houiller in the French Massif Central. They reflect large scale brittle continental indentation in the French Variscan belt during the middle to late Visean.
The top-to-the-southeast Sarzeau shear zone and its place in the late-orogenic extensional tectonics of southern Armorica
Authors: Turrillot Paul , Augier Romain , Faure Michel
Published: July 2009

This study presents new structural and monazite chemical U-Th/Pb geochronological constraints for the magmatic rocks of the Golfe du Morbihan area, in southern Brittany, south of the South Armorican shear zone (SASZ). A major extensional shear zone, defined here as the “Sarzeau shear zone” (SSZ), separates Carboniferous migmatites and the Ste-Anne d’Auray type anatectic granite from highly retrogressed micaschists in its footwall and hangingwall, respectively. Late Carboniferous leucogranite dykes, called the Sarzeau granite that intrude the Lower Unit are progressively sheared and mylonitised within the SSZ. The SSZ is characterised by a low to moderately SE-dipping foliation and a NW-SE trending stretching lineation. Kinematic criteria indicate a top-to-the-SE sense of shear. Below the SSZ, NNE-SSW-trending, leucogranitic dykes sometimes present a wall-parallel magmatic layering. These dykes that intrude into vertical NW-SE trending migmatites are interpreted here as emplaced as tension gashes, whose opening direction is consistent with the NW-SE regional stretching. The 316-321 Ma U-Th/Pb ages yielded by the monazite in the dykes comply with the interpretation of a synkinematic magmatism. In the Golfe du Morbihan, geometric relationships between the SSZ and the migmatitic host rocks do not support a previous interpretation as a metamorphic core complex. Regionally, the SSZ kinematics is consistent with the Late Carboniferous orogen-parallel extension, already recognised in other areas of southern Armorica, but does not support the 200 km-long flat detachment fault model.
Conditions of formation and origin of fluids of quartz-tourmaline veins in the La Châtaigneraie tungstiferous district (Massif Central, France): fluid inclusions and stable isotopes
Authors: Lerouge Catherine , Bouchot Vincent
Published: July 2009

A combined stable-isotope and microthermometric study was applied to wolframite-bearing and arsenopy-rite-bearing quartz-tourmaline veins, quartz-tourmaline veins associated with leucogranite, schist and the two types of granite – massive monzogranite and leucogranite stocks – of the tungsten Châtaigneraie district, in order to estimate pressure-temperature formation conditions of quartz-tourmaline veins and determine the origin of mineralizing fluids.

Pressure-temperature conditions of barren-quartz-tourmaline-veins are estimated at 1.4 ± 0.4 kbars (around 5 km depth under lithostatic regime) and 487 ± 34°C. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of mineralizing fluids indicate a dominant component of leucogranite-derived fluids in wolframite-bearing veins whereas arsenopyrite-bearing veins are strongly equilibrated with host schist.
EMP-monazite age controls on P-T paths of garnet metapelites in the Variscan inverted metamorphic sequence of La Sioule, French Massif Central
Authors: Schulz Bernhard
Published: July 2009

In the La Sioule region (northern French Massif Central), a Variscan inverted metamorphic sequence is made up by high-grade Upper Gneiss (UGU) and Lower Gneiss Units (LGU) which overlie amphibolite-facies micaschists of a Parautochthonous Unit (PAU). Growth-zoned garnets crystallized in gneisses and micaschists and display different Mg-Fe-Mn-Ca evolution trends in the metamorphic units. Microstructurally-controlled geothermobarometry based on cation exchange and net transfer reactions was used to reconstruct syndeformational prograde P-T paths. The P-T paths do not pass eclogite-facies conditions. Different metamorphic peak temperatures confirm the individual character of the evolution in each of the units. EMP-monazite dating (CHIME method) was used to evaluate the age of the P-T-evolution in the garnet-bearing samples. Monazite ages compiled from numerous matrix grains range between 327 and 343 Ma in single samples. Unimodal distributions of ages signalize only slightly younger (320–330 Ma) monazites in the UGU as in the LGU and PAU (330–340 Ma). The inverted metamorphic stratigraphy can be explained by contractional crustal tectonics. In a northern structural domain this involved a top-to-WNW shearing followed by a first thrusting event at the end of garnet growth in UGU and PAU. In a southern domain, the nappe pile was overprinted by a second event with top-to-SE shearing at low pressures. The bulk of monazites should postdate garnet crystallization and the first thrusting event observed in UGU and PAU. At best the ~340 Ma monazites in the LGU to the south may have crystallized during the second tectonic event. The bulk monazite crystallization appears to be related to a Late-Visean thermal event when the three units were already juxtaposed in a nappe pile. In consequence, metapelite garnet and monazite crystallization in the La Sioule series belong to a Late Devonian – Early Carboniferous prograde-retrograde metamorphism. This metamorphic evolution appears as a second metamorphic cycle subsequent to the Silurian – Early Devonian HP and HT events within the complex frame of the Variscan orogeny in the French Massif Central.
Monazite U-Th/Pb chemical dating of the Early Carboniferous syn-kinematic MP/MT metamorphism in the Variscan French Massif Central
Authors: Melleton Jérémie , Faure Michel , Cocherie Alain
Published: July 2009

In situ U-Th-Pb geochronology on monazite using Electron Probe Micro Analyser, constrained by structural and textural observations, has been performed on four samples from the Limousin area (northwest part of the French Massif Central) in order to date the syn-kinematic MP/MT metamorphism related to the top-to-the-NW shearing that deformed the stack of nappes in this zone of the Variscan belt. All the analyzed samples lead to a mean age at 360 ± 4 Ma. The close range of ages obtained during this study (360 Ma) and with the previous 40Ar-39Ar ones (360–350 Ma) suggests fast processes of cooling and exhumation during the Early Carboniferous in internal zones of the Variscan belt. The geodynamic significance of this Early Carboniferous event is discussed at the scale of the Ibero-Armorican orocline.
Relevant Nursing Leadership: An Evidence-Based Programmatic Response
Authors: Eddy Linda L , Doutrich Dawn , Higgs Zana R , Spuck Janet , Olson Margie , Weinberg Stephen
Published: July 2009

Community and student demand for relevant nursing leadership graduate programs provided the impetus for this study. The aims were to identify components of highly competent nursing leadership, and strategies to integrate those components into education and practice.Nursing leaders gathered in five focus groups. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit narratives about nursing leadership. Interpretive analysis proceeded from identification of themes to uncovering of paradigm cases. Essential nursing leadership competencies comprised communication skills such as listening, conflict resolution, the ability to communicate a vision, motivate, and inspire. Additionally, leaders needed technological adroitness, fiscal dexterity, and the courage to be proactive during rapid change. Implications included a revision in the leadership focus of the nursing masters program, and the necessity that nurse retention should be enhanced by better educated nurse leaders who are grounded in practice and ready to provide a vision for the future.
Toxic Tests
Authors: Bebchuk Lucian A.
Published: July 2009

Lucian Bebchuk of Harvard argues that the U.S. stress test for banks was deeply flawed and other countries should at least try to gauge the long term losses on toxic assets.
A Bargain at Twice the Price? California Hospital Prices in the New Millennium
Authors: Akosa Antwi Yaa , Gaynor Martin S , Vogt William B
Published: July 2009

We use data from California to document and offer possible explanations for the sharp increase in hospital prices charged to private payers after 1999. We find a downward trend in price for private pay patients in the 1990s and a rapid upward trend beginning in 1999, amounting to an annual average increase of 10.6% per year over 1999-2005. Prices in 2006 were almost double prices in 1999. By contrast, there was little discernable trend in prices for Medicare and Medicaid patients, although these prices varied from year-to-year. Surprisingly, the increase in prices is not correlated, geographically, with the change in hospital market concentration. For example, the greatest price rises came from hospitals in monopoly and highly concentrated counties which experienced little or no change over our sample period. Two recent California state hospital regulations, the seismic retrofit mandate and the mandatory nurse staffing ratio affected hospital costs. However, the cost increases due to the nursing staffing regulations are not large enough to account for the price increase, and the price increase is not substantially correlated with the costs of compliance with the seismic retrofit mandate. Therefore, the source of the near-doubling of California hospital prices remains something of a mystery.
Innovation, Imitation and Competition
Authors: Zhou Wen
Published: July 2009

In a general equilibrium framework, it is known that imitation may actually promote innovation (Aghion et al., 1997). The same effect is demonstrated with a standard oligopoly model in which one firm has the ability to develop technologies while all other firms imitate and obtain a fraction of it for free. Competition is shown to dampen innovation, while imitation may stimulate it if imitation is strong and competition moderate. The findings have implications for policy toward intellectual property rights protection, as weak protection may promote rather than impede technology innovation.
Asymmetric Bertrand-Edgeworth Oligopoly and Mergers
Authors: Hirata Daisuke
Published: July 2009

This paper investigates mixed strategy equilibria in a capacity-constrained price competition among three firms. It is shown that the equilibria in an asymmetric oligopoly are substantially different from those in a duopoly and symmetric oligopoly. In an asymmetric triopoly, it is possible that (i) a continuum of equilibria exists and that (ii) the lowest price of the smallest firm is higher than that of the others and the smallest firm earns more than the max-min profit in undominated strategies. In particular, the second finding sheds light on a new pricing incentive in Bertrand competitions. As an application, the equilibrium characterizations give rise to a new class of merger paradoxes.
Rac1 Is Required for Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis During Hyperglycemia
Authors: Shen E. , Li Yanwen , Li Ying , Shan Limei , Zhu Huaqing , Feng Qingping , Arnold J. Malcolm O. , Peng Tianqing
Published: July 2009

OBJECTIVE

Hyperglycemia induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes, which contributes to diabetic cardiomyopathy. The present study was to investigate the role of Rac1 in ROS production and cardiomyocyte apoptosis during hyperglycemia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Mice with cardiomyocyte-specific Rac1 knockout (Rac1-ko) were generated. Hyperglycemia was induced in Rac1-ko mice and their wild-type littermates by injection of streptozotocin (STZ). In cultured adult rat cardiomyocytes, apoptosis was induced by high glucose.

RESULTS

The results showed a mouse model of STZ-induced diabetes, 7 days of hyperglycemia-upregulated Rac1 and NADPH oxidase activation, elevated ROS production, and induced apoptosis in the heart. These effects of hyperglycemia were significantly decreased in Rac1-ko mice or wild-type mice treated with apocynin. Interestingly, deficiency of Rac1 or apocynin treatment significantly reduced hyperglycemia-induced mitochondrial ROS production in the heart. Deficiency of Rac1 also attenuated myocardial dysfunction after 2 months of STZ injection. In cultured cardiomyocytes, high glucose upregulated Rac1 and NADPH oxidase activity and induced apoptotic cell death, which were blocked by overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of Rac1, knockdown of gp91phox or p47phox, or NADPH oxidase inhibitor. In type 2 diabetic db/db mice, administration of Rac1 inhibitor, NSC23766, significantly inhibited NADPH oxidase activity and apoptosis and slightly improved myocardial function.

CONCLUSIONS

Rac1 is pivotal in hyperglycemia-induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. The role of Rac1 is mediated through NADPH oxidase activation and associated with mitochondrial ROS generation. Our study suggests that Rac1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for cardiac complications of diabetes.
Activation of the AMPK-FOXO3 Pathway Reduces Fatty Acid–Induced Increase in Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species by Upregulating Thioredoxin
Authors: Li Xiao-Nan , Song Jun , Zhang Lin , LeMaire Scott A. , Hou Xiaoyang , Zhang Cheng , Coselli Joseph S. , Chen Li , Wang Xing Li , Zhang Yun , Shen Ying H.
Published: July 2009

OBJECTIVE

Oxidative stress induced by free fatty acids contributes to the development of cardiovascular diseases in patients with metabolic syndrome. Reducing oxidative stress may attenuate these pathogenic processes. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been reported to reduce intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. The thioredoxin (Trx) system is a major antioxidant system. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms involved in the AMPK-mediated regulation of Trx expression and the reduction of intracellular ROS levels.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We observed that activation of AMPK by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) significantly reduced ROS levels induced by palmitic acid in human aortic endothelial cells. Activation of AMPK increased expression of the antioxidant Trx, which mediated the ROS reduction. RT-PCR showed that AMPK regulated Trx at the transcriptional level.

RESULTS

Forkhead transcription factor 3 (FOXO3) was identified as the target transcription factor involved in the upregulation of Trx expression. FOXO3 bound to the Trx promoter, recruited the histone acetylase p300 to the Trx promoter, and formed a transcription activator complex, which was enhanced by AICAR treatment. AMPK activated FOXO3 by promoting its nuclear translocation. We further showed that AICAR injection increased the expression of Trx and decreased ROS production in the aortic wall of ApoE−/− mice fed a high-fat diet.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that activation of the AMPK-FOXO3 pathway reduces ROS levels by inducing Trx expression. Thus, the AMPK-FOXO3-Trx axis may be an important defense mechanism against excessive ROS production induced by metabolic stress and could be a therapeutic target in treating cardiovascular diseases in metabolic syndrome.
Dyslipidemia-Induced Neuropathy in Mice
Authors: Vincent Andrea M. , Hayes John M. , McLean Lisa L. , Vivekanandan-Giri Anuradha , Pennathur Subramaniam , Feldman Eva L.
Published: July 2009

OBJECTIVE

Neuropathy is a frequent and severe complication of diabetes. Multiple metabolic defects in type 2 diabetic patients result in oxidative injury of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Our previous work focused on hyperglycemia clearly demonstrates induction of mitochondrial oxidative stress and acute injury in DRG neurons; however, this mechanism is not the only factor that produces neuropathy in vivo. Dyslipidemia also correlates with the development of neuropathy, even in pre-diabetic patients. This study was designed to explore the contribution of dyslipidemia in neuropathy.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Mice (n = 10) were fed a control (10% kcal %fat) or high-fat (45% kcal %fat) diet to explore the impact of plasma lipids on the development of neuropathy. We also examined oxidized lipid–mediated injury in cultured DRG neurons from adult rat using oxidized LDLs (oxLDLs).

RESULTS

Mice on a high-fat diet have increased oxLDLs and systemic and nerve oxidative stress. They develop nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and sensory deficits prior to impaired glucose tolerance. In vitro, oxLDLs lead to severe DRG neuron oxidative stress via interaction with the receptor lectin-like oxLDL receptor (LOX)-1 and subsequent NAD(P)H oxidase activity. Oxidative stress resulting from oxLDLs and high glucose is additive.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple metabolic defects in type 2 diabetes directly injure DRG neurons through different mechanisms that all result in oxidative stress. Dyslipidemia leads to high levels of oxLDLs that may injure DRG neurons via LOX-1 and contribute to the development of diabetic neuropathy.
A Major Role for Perifornical Orexin Neurons in the Control of Glucose Metabolism in Rats
Authors: Yi Chun-Xia , Serlie Mireille J. , Ackermans Mariette T. , Foppen Ewout , Buijs Ruud M. , Sauerwein Hans P. , Fliers Eric , Kalsbeek Andries
Published: July 2009

OBJECTIVE

The hypothalamic neuropeptide orexin influences (feeding) behavior as well as energy metabolism. Administration of exogenous orexin-A into the brain has been shown to increase both food intake and blood glucose levels. In the present study, we investigated the role of endogenous hypothalamic orexin release in glucose homeostasis in rats.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We investigated the effects of the hypothalamic orexin system on basal endogenous glucose production (EGP) as well as on hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity by changing orexinergic activity in the hypothalamus combined with hepatic sympathetic or parasympathetic denervation, two-step hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps, immunohistochemistry, and RT-PCR studies.

RESULTS

Hypothalamic disinhibition of neuronal activity by the γ-aminobutyric acid receptor antagonist bicuculline (BIC) increased basal EGP, especially when BIC was administered in the perifornical area where orexin-containing neurons but not melanocortin-concentrating hormone–containing neurons were activated. The increased BIC-induced EGP was largely prevented by intracerebroventricular pretreatment with the orexin-1 receptor antagonist. Intracerebroventricular administration of orexin-A itself caused an increase in plasma glucose and prevented the daytime decrease of EGP. The stimulatory effect of intracerebroventricular orexin-A on EGP was prevented by hepatic sympathetic denervation. Plasma insulin clamped at two or six times the basal levels did not counteract the stimulatory effect of perifornical BIC on EGP, indicating hepatic insulin resistance. RT-PCR showed that stimulation of orexin neurons increased the expression of hepatic glucoregulatory enzymes.

CONCLUSIONS

Hypothalamic orexin plays an important role in EGP, most likely by changing the hypothalamic output to the autonomic nervous system. Disturbance of this pathway may result in unbalanced glucose homeostasis.
Examination of Type 2 Diabetes Loci Implicates CDKAL1 as a Birth Weight Gene
Authors: Zhao Jianhua , Li Mingyao , Bradfield Jonathan P. , Wang Kai , Zhang Haitao , Sleiman Patrick , Kim Cecilia E. , Annaiah Kiran , Glaberson Wendy , Glessner Joseph T. , Otieno F. George , Thomas Kelly A. , Garris Maria , Hou Cuiping , Frackelton Edward C. , Chiavacci Rosetta M. , Berkowitz Robert I. , Hakonarson Hakon , Grant Struan F.A.
Published: July 2009

OBJECTIVE

A number of studies have found that reduced birth weight is associated with type 2 diabetes later in life; however, the underlying mechanism for this correlation remains unresolved. Recently, association has been demonstrated between low birth weight and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the CDKAL1 and HHEX-IDE loci, regions that were previously implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. In order to investigate whether type 2 diabetes risk–conferring alleles associate with low birth weight in our Caucasian childhood cohort, we examined the effects of 20 such loci on this trait.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Using data from an ongoing genome-wide association study in our cohort of 5,465 Caucasian children with recorded birth weights, we investigated the association of the previously reported type 2 diabetes–associated variation at 20 loci including TCF7L2, HHEX-IDE, PPARG, KCNJ11, SLC30A8, IGF2BP2, CDKAL1, CDKN2A/2B, and JAZF1 with birth weight.

RESULTS

Our data show that the minor allele of rs7756992 (P = 8 × 10−5) at the CDKAL1 locus is strongly associated with lower birth weight, whereas a perfect surrogate for variation previously implicated for the trait at the same locus only yielded nominally significant association (P = 0.01; r2 rs7756992 = 0.677). However, association was not detected with any of the other type 2 diabetes loci studied.

CONCLUSIONS

We observe association between lower birth weight and type 2 diabetes risk–conferring alleles at the CDKAL1 locus. Our data show that the same genetic locus that has been identified as a marker for type 2 diabetes in previous studies also influences birth weight.