bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of different near‐infrared spectroscopic cerebral oxygenation indices with central venous and jugular venous oxygenation saturation in children
Authors: NAGDYMAN NICOLE , EWERT PETER , PETERS BJÖRN , MIERA OLIVER , FLECK THILO , BERGER FELIX
Published: October 2007

Background:  We compared two different near‐infrared spectrophotometers: cerebral tissue oxygenation index (TOI) measured by NIRO 200 and regional cerebral oxygenation index (rSO2) measured by INVOS 5100 with venous oxygen saturation in the jugular bulb (SjO2) and central SvO2 from the superior caval vein (SVC) during elective cardiac catheterization in children.

Methods:  A prospective observational clinical study in 31 children with congenital heart defects in a catheterization laboratory was undertaken. TOI was compared with SjO2 in the left jugular bulb and with SvO2. rSO2 was compared with SjO2 from the right jugular bulb and SvO2. Linear regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation coefficient were calculated and Bland–Altman analyses were performed.

Results:  Cerebral TOI and SjO2 were significantly correlated (r = 0.56, P < 0.0001), as well as TOI and SvO2 with r = 0.74 (P < 0.0001). Bland–Altman plots showed a mean bias of −4.3% with limits of agreement of 15.7% and −24.3% for TOI and SjO2 and a mean bias of −4.9% with limits of agreement of 10.3% and −20.1% for TOI and SvO2. Cerebral rSO2 and SjO2 showed a significant correlation (r = 0.83, P < 0.0001) and rSO2 and SvO2 showed excellent correlation with r = 0.93 (P < 0.0001). Bland–Altman plots showed a mean bias of −5.2% with limits of agreement of between 8.4% and −18.8% for rSO2 and SjO2 and a mean bias of 5.6% with limits of agreement of 13.4% and −2.2% for rSO2 and SvO2.

Conclusions:  Both near‐infrared spectroscopy devices demonstrate a significant correlation with SjO2 and SvO2 values; nevertheless both devices demonstrate a substantial bias of the measurements to both SjO2 and SvO2.
Anorectal amelanotic melanoma
Authors: Hillenbrand A. , Barth T. F. E. , Henne‐Bruns D. , Formentini A.
Published: October 2007

Objective  Anorectal melanoma is a rare, highly malignant tumour with a poor 5 year survival of 10%. Most anorectal melanomas have gross and/or histologic pigmentation, however about 30% of anorectal melanomas are amelanotic.

Method  We report three cases of amelanotic anorectal melanomas and integrate our data with six case reports of amelanotic malignant melanoma from the literature. Further we compare clinicopathological data and clinical outcome with large series of anorectal melanomas (both, amelanotic and pigmentated).

Results  There were seven females and two males, of median age 62 years (range: 45–75 years). Rectal bleeding was the leading symptom in all cases with a mean duration of 4 months before diagnosis. Eight of nine patients developed distant metastases. Median survival was 14 months (range: 3–60 months). A tumour thickness of < 4 mm was correlated with long‐term disease‐free survival, whereas tumour thickness of 4 mm or more was correlated with systemic recurrence.

Conclusion  Early diagnosis is key for efficient treatment and improved survival rate for patients with this unusual variant of melanoma. There is no difference in terms of age, time of diagnosis, stage and survival between pigmented and amelanotic anorectal melanoma.
Adenocarcinoma of the anal transitional zone after double stapled ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis
Authors: Chia C. S. , Chew M. H. , Chau Y. P. , Eu K. W. , Ho K. S.
Published: October 2007

The development of adenocarcinoma in the anal transitional zone, after restorative proctocolectomy for ulcerative colitis, is rare. We report the first Asian and sixth known case. A 41‐year‐old Indian lady had a long standing history of ulcerative colitis. Restorative proctocolectomy and stapled ileal pouch‐anal anastomosis without mucosectomy was performed. She remained asymptomatic until 3 years later when she complained of discomfort on defecation. A poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma in the anal transition zone was diagnosed and she subsequently underwent an abdomino‐perineal resection. The previously reported cases in the literature are reviewed. We also discuss the suggested surveillance for high‐risk patients who have undergone an ileal‐anal pouch anastomosis.
Associates of change in liver fat content in the morbidly obese after laparoscopic gastric banding surgery
Authors: Phillips M. L. , Boase S. , Wahlroos S. , Dugar M. , Kow L. , Stahl J. , Slavotinek J. P. , Valentine R. , Toouli J. , Thompson C. H.
Published: October 2007

Aim:  Hepatic steatosis affects up to 30% of the population. After weight loss, monitoring of the change in hepatic steatosis is not routinely performed. This study aimed to define the closest associates of change in liver fat content in a population of obese females following laparoscopic gastric banding surgery.

Methods:  Before and 3 months after surgery, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging were used to estimate the amount of lipid contained within the liver and abdominal subcutaneous and visceral compartments of 29 obese [mean body mass index (BMI) 39 ± 5 kg/m2], non‐diabetic women aged between 20 and 62 years. Liver enzymes, fasting plasma glucose and insulin were also measured as well as body weight, BMI and waist circumference. Insulin sensitivity was estimated using homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index.

Results:  Significant reductions occurred in body weight (p < 0.001), abdominal fat volumes (p < 0.001) and liver fat (p = 0.037) 3 months after surgery. Change in liver fat content more closely associated with change in serum gamma‐glutamyl transferase (GGT; r = 0.71, p < 0.001) than with changes in weight (r = 0.10, p = 0.612) and waist circumference (r = 0.15, p = 0.468).

Conclusions:  Our findings suggest that obese non‐diabetic female patients who have undergone significant weight loss over 3 months can be better assessed for the regression of excess liver fat content by monitoring changes in serum GGT levels rather than changes in simple anthropometry.
Importance of pericytes and mechanisms of pericyte loss during diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Ejaz Sohail , Chekarova Irina , Ejaz Ahmed , Sohail Amara , Lim Chae Woong
Published: October 2007

Pericytes are distinctive regulators of angiogenesis and are adumbrated to provide vessel stability and control of endothelial proliferation. The present article spotlights the persona of pericytes in physiological angiogenesis, recruitment of pericytes and different mechanisms of pericyte depletion. Developing retina appears particularly dependent on pericytes, and pericyte loss is considered as hallmark of early diabetic retinopathy. Several factors are contemplated to be engaged in pericyte conscription including angiopoietin‐1 and its receptor tyrosine kinase Tie‐2, vascular endothelial growth factor‐A and its receptor flk‐1 and the platelet‐derived growth factor PDGF‐B/PDGF‐β system. At present, the mechanisms by which diabetes persuade apoptosis in the retinal microvasculature remain indecisive, albeit oxidative stress, formation of advanced glycation end products , upregulation of protein kinase C, increased polyol pathway flux and focal leukostasis may be important. In this context, accelerated microvascular cell death may become a constructive surrogate end‐point in pharmacological studies of experimental diabetes.
Tagatose, a new antidiabetic and obesity control drug
Authors: Lu Y. , Levin G. V. , Donner T. W.
Published: October 2007

A potentially important new drug for treating type 2 diabetes, tagatose, is now in phase 3 clinical trial. The history, development, additional health benefits, mechanisms of action and the potential for the drug are presented in context with a review of the rapidly growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes and treatments for it. An epimer of fructose, the natural hexose tagatose was originally developed by Spherix Incorporated (formerly Biospherics Inc.) as a low‐calorie sugar substitute. Only 20% of orally ingested tagatose is fully metabolized, principally in the liver, following a metabolic pathway identical to that of fructose. Following a decade of studies, tagatose became generally recognized as safe for use in foods and beverages under US FDA regulation. The simple sugar is commercially produced by isomerization of galactose, which is prepared from lactose. Early human studies suggested tagatose as a potential antidiabetic drug through its beneficial effects on postprandial hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia. A subsequent 14‐month trial confirmed its potential for treating type 2 diabetes, and tagatose showed promise for inducing weight loss and raising high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, both important to the control of diabetes and constituting benefits independent of the disease. Furthermore, tagatose was shown to be an antioxidant and a prebiotic, both properties cited in the maintenance and promotion of health. No current therapies for type 2 diabetes provide these multiple health benefits. The predominant side effects of tagatose are gastrointestinal disturbances associated with excessive consumption, generally accommodated within 1‐ to 2‐week period. The health and use potentials for tagatose (branded Naturlose® for this use) are given with respect to current type 2 diabetes drugs and markets. Under an FDA‐affirmed protocol, Spherix is currently conducting a phase 3 trial to evaluate a placebo‐subtracted treatment effect based on a decrease in HbA1c levels. Side effects, contraindications and possibly beneficial new findings will be carefully monitored. It is hoped that early results of the trial may become available by mid‐2008. If a subsequent NDA is successful, tagatose may fill a major health need.
Effects of metformin on peripheral insulin sensitivity and intracellular lipid contents in muscle and liver of overweight Japanese subjects
Authors: Tamura Y. , Watada H. , Sato F. , Kumashiro N. , Sakurai Y. , Hirose T. , Tanaka Y. , Kawamori R.
Published: October 2007

Aim:  Recent studies suggest that insulin resistance is associated with increased intrahepatic lipid (IHL) and intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) contents. While metformin improves insulin resistance mainly in liver, its effects on IHL and IMCL have not been clarified yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of low‐dose metformin (750 mg/day) on peripheral insulin sensitivity, IHL and IMCL.

Methods:  Before and 3 months after low‐dose metformin therapy, eight overweight/obese Japanese subjects [body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2] were studied with blood sampling, measurement of IHL and IMCL by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy and glucose infusion rate (GIR) during euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamp as an index of peripheral insulin sensitivity.

Results:  A 3‐month low‐dose metformin therapy did not alter body weight, total body fat, fat distribution or physical activity level but increased GIR by 31% (from 6.24 ± 0.86 to 7.82 ± 0.82 mg/kg/min, p < 0.01). Although metformin treatment did not alter IMCL (from 4.1 ± 1.0 to 4.2 ± 0.9, not significant), it decreased IHL by 21% (from 15.9 ± 2.8 to 11.8 ± 2.2%, p < 0.05).

Conclusions:  A 3‐month low‐dose metformin treatment improved peripheral insulin sensitivity and reduced IHL, without significantly changing BMI, adiposity or IMCL.
Detection of impaired glucose tolerance and undiagnosed type 2 diabetes in UK South Asians: an effective screening strategy
Authors: Hanif M. W. , Valsamakis G. , Dixon A. , Boutsiadis A. , Jones A. F. , Barnett A. H. , Kumar S.
Published: October 2007

Aim:  We tested a stepwise, community‐based screening strategy for glucose intolerance in South Asians using a health questionnaire in conjunction with body mass index (BMI). Anthropometric measurements (waist and hip circumference, sagittal diameter and percentage body fat) were then conducted in a hospital setting followed by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to identify subjects at the highest risk and analyse the factors predicting that risk.

Methods:  A health questionnaire was administered to 435 subjects in a community setting and BMI was measured. Subjects were graded by a risk score based on the health questionnaire as high, medium and low. Subjects with high and medium risk scores and a representative sample of those with low scores had anthropometric measurements in hospital followed by an OGTT. In total, 205 (47%) of the subjects had an OGTT performed.

Results:  In total, 48.7% of the subjects tested with an OGTT had evidence of glucose dysregulation: 20% had diabetes and 28.7% had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Logistic regression model explained 49.1% of the total variability. The significant predictors of diabetes and IGT were Blood Glucose Monitoring Strips (BMI), random blood glucose (BM), sibling with diabetes and presence of diagnosed hypertension or ischaemic disease. Most of these predictors along with other heredity diabetes factors create a composite score, with high predictability, as the receiver operating curve analysis shows.

Conclusion:  We describe a simple, stepwise strategy in a community setting, based on a health questionnaire and anthropometric measurements, to explain about 50% of cases with IGT and diabetes and diagnose about 50% of cases from the population screened. We have also identified factors that predict the risk.
The relationship between passive range of motion and range of motion during gait and plantar pressure measurements
Authors: Turner D. E. , Helliwell P. S. , Burton A. K. , Woodburn J.
Published: October 2007

Aims  To investigate the relationship between limited joint mobility (LJM; measured both passively and during gait) and plantar pressure measurements.

Methods  A cross‐sectional study involving 28 diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy but no plantar ulceration (DN), 25 diabetic patients with ulceration (DU), 25 diabetic control patients with no ulceration or peripheral neuropathy (DC), and 25 non‐diabetic reference subjects (NDR). Movements of the ankle joint complex (AJC) and 1st metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint were recorded, together with plantar pressures.

Results  The passive range of motion at the AJC was significantly reduced in all the diabetes groups, but the gait range of motion was comparable with non‐diabetic subjects. At the AJC, no correlation was found between the passive and gait range of motion (ROM) and these were not correlated with plantar pressure variables. At the 1st MTP, a correlation was found between the passive and gait dorsiflexion ROM and a significant correlation existed between gait dorsiflexion ROM at the 1st MTP joint and peak forefoot pressures in the DU group.

Conclusions  Despite a significant reduction in the passive ROM at the AJC in the diabetic groups, the gait ROM was indistinguishable from reference subjects and was not correlated with plantar pressure variables. At the 1st MTP joint, a correlation was found between the passive and gait ROM and furthermore the gait ROM was correlated with peak forefoot pressures, suggesting ROM measures at the 1st MTP joint may be preferable to ROM measures at the AJC.
Bilateral pleural effusions, ascites, and facial and peripheral oedema in a 19‐year‐old woman 2 weeks following commencement of insulin lispro and detemir—an unusual presentation of insulin oedema
Authors: Lee P. , Kinsella J. , Borkman M. , Carter J.
Published: October 2007

Insulin oedema is a rare complication of insulin therapy and usually occurs in patients with Type 1 diabetes. It can present in a variety of ways, from mild peripheral oedema to cardiac failure and massive serosal effusions. We report a 19‐year‐old woman with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes who presented with bilateral pleural effusions, ascites and extensive peripheral oedema 2 weeks after starting insulin therapy. Significant cardiac disease was excluded, and the massive fluid retention resolved spontaneously with conservative management. A review of the literature is presented.
Aerobic fitness and hand grip strength in Type 1 diabetes: relationship to glycaemic control and body composition
Authors: Wallymahmed M. E. , Morgan C. , Gill G. V. , MacFarlane I. A.
Published: October 2007

Aim  To clarify the relationship of aerobic fitness and handgrip strength with glycaemic control (HbA1c), body composition and lipid profile in Type 1 diabetes.

Methods  Aerobic capacity (Chester Step Test), handgrip strength and body composition (bioelectrical impedance) were measured in 141 patients with Type 1 diabetes.

Results  Aerobic capacity correlated positively with HbA1c and lean body mass and negatively with body mass index and fat mass. Handgrip strength correlated positively with aerobic capacity and negatively with HbA1c and fat mass. In addition, there was a positive correlation between HbA1c and total cholesterol.

Conclusion  Patients with Type 1 diabetes who have good aerobic capacity have poorer glycaemic control. However, this was an observational study and the results must be interpreted with caution. Further investigation into how these patients manage blood glucose during exercise is required.
Urinary excretion of inositol phosphoglycan P‐type in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Scioscia M. , Kunjara S. , Gumaa K. , McLean P. , Rodeck C. H. , Rademacher T. W.
Published: October 2007

Objective  The mechanisms underlying insulin resistance during normal pregnancy, and its further exacerbation in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), are generally unknown. Inositolphosphoglycan P‐type (P‐IPG), a putative second messenger of insulin, correlates with the degree of insulin resistance in diabetic subjects. An increase during normal pregnancy, in maternal and fetal compartments, has recently been reported.

Methods  A cross‐sectional study was carried out in 48 women with GDM and 23 healthy pregnant women. Urinary levels of P‐IPG were assessed spectrophotometrically by the activation of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase in urinary specimens and correlated with clinical parameters.

Results  Urinary excretion of P‐IPG was higher in GDM than in control women (312.1 ± 151.0 vs. 210.6 ± 82.7 nmol NADH/min/mg creatinine, P < 0.01) with values increasing throughout pregnancy in control subjects (r2 = 0.34, P < 0.01). P‐IPG correlated with blood glucose levels (r2 = 0.39, P < 0.01 for postprandial glycaemia and r2 = 0.18 P < 0.01 for mean glycaemia) and birthweight in the diabetic group (r2 = 0.14, P < 0.01).

Conclusions  Increased P‐IPG urinary excretion occurs in GDM and positively correlates with blood glucose levels. P‐IPG may play a role in maternal glycaemic control and, possibly, fetal growth in GDM.
Heritability and genetic correlations of insulin sensitivity measured by the euglycaemic clamp
Authors: Rasmussen‐Torvik L. J. , Pankow J. S. , Jacobs D. R. , Steffen L. M. , Moran A. M. , Steinberger J. , Sinaiko A. R.
Published: October 2007

Aims  Studies investigating genetic factors influencing insulin sensitivity/insulin resistance have measured this phenotype using a variety of methods. In this study, genetic correlations and heritability of insulin sensitivity measured using the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp and related phenotypes were examined.

Methods  The study population included 818 non‐diabetic individuals from 297 nuclear families. Genetic correlations and heritability estimates were calculated using variance components methods.

Results  Homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) and fasting insulin were very highly phenotypically and genetically correlated (r = 0.99 and r = 0.99). HOMA‐IR and insulin sensitivity measured with the euglycaemic clamp were only moderately genetically correlated (r = –0.53), suggesting that the two traits may be influenced, at least in part, by different genes. Heritabilities for fasting insulin (h2 = 0.36) and HOMA‐IR (h2 = 0.38) were consistent with the published literature, but heritability for insulin sensitivity measured by the euglycaemic clamp was slightly lower than other published estimates (h2 = 0.24).

Conclusions  Because HOMA‐IR (or fasting insulin) and insulin sensitivity measured with the euglycaemic clamp are not highly genetically correlated, they should not be used interchangeably in genetic studies. Given the very high correlations between fasting insulin and HOMA‐IR, HOMA‐IR does not offer any advantage over fasting insulin in analyses of insulin sensitivity in this population.
Biotic interactions improve prediction of boreal bird distributions at macro‐scales
Authors: Heikkinen Risto K. , Luoto Miska , Virkkala Raimo , Pearson Richard G. , Körber Jan‐Hendrik
Published: October 2007

Aim  The role of biotic interactions in influencing species distributions at macro‐scales remains poorly understood. Here we test whether predictions of distributions for four boreal owl species at two macro‐scales (10 × 10 km and 40 × 40 km grid resolutions) are improved by incorporating interactions with woodpeckers into climate envelope models.

Location  Finland, northern Europe.

Methods  Distribution data for four owl and six woodpecker species, along with data for six land cover and three climatic variables, were collated from 2861 10 × 10 km grid cells. Generalized additive models were calibrated using a 50% random sample of the species data from western Finland, and by repeating this procedure 20 times for each of the four owl species. Models were fitted using three sets of explanatory variables: (1) climate only; (2) climate and land cover; and (3) climate, land cover and two woodpecker interaction variables. Models were evaluated using three approaches: (1) examination of explained deviance; (2) four‐fold cross‐validation using the model calibration data; and (3) comparison of predicted and observed values for independent grid cells in eastern Finland. The model accuracy for approaches (2) and (3) was measured using the area under the curve of a receiver operating characteristic plot.

Results  At 10‐km resolution, inclusion of the distribution of woodpeckers as a predictor variable significantly improved the explanatory power, cross‐validation statistics and the predictive accuracy of the models. Inclusion of land cover led to similar improvements at 10‐km resolution, although these improvements were less apparent at 40‐km resolution for both land cover and biotic interactions.

Main conclusions  Predictions of species distributions at macro‐scales may be significantly improved by incorporating biotic interactions and land cover variables into models. Our results are important for models used to predict the impacts of climate change, and emphasize the need for comprehensive evaluation of the reliability of species–climate impact models.
The importance of biotic interactions for modelling species distributions under climate change
Authors: Araújo Miguel B. , Luoto Miska
Published: October 2007

Aim  There is a debate as to whether biotic interactions exert a dominant role in governing species distributions at macroecological scales. The prevailing idea is that climate is the key limiting factor; thus models that use present‐day climate–species range relationships are expected to provide reasonable means to quantify the impacts of climate change on species distributions. However, there is little empirical evidence that biotic interactions would not constrain species distributions at macroecological scales. We examine this idea, for the first time, and provide tests for two null hypotheses: (H0 1) – biotic interactions do not exert a significant role in explaining current distributions of a particular species of butterfly (clouded Apollo, Parnassius mnemosyne) in Europe; and (H0 2) – biotic interactions do not exert a significant role in predictions of altered species’ ranges under climate change.

Location  Europe.

Methods  Generalized additive modelling (GAM) was used to investigate relationships between species and climate; species and host plants; and species and climate + host plants. Because models are sensitive to the variable selection strategies utilised, four alternative approaches were used: AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion), BIC (Bayesian Information Criterion), BRUTO (Adaptive Backfitting), and CROSS (Cross Selection).

Results  In spite of the variation in the variables selected with different methods, both hypotheses (H0 1 and H0 2) were falsified, providing support for the proposition that biotic interactions significantly affect both the explanatory and predictive power of bioclimatic envelope models at macro scales.

Main conclusions  Our results contradict the widely held view that the effects of biotic interactions on individual species distributions are not discernible at macroecological scales. Results are contingent on the species, type of interaction and methods considered, but they call for more stringent evidence in support of the idea that purely climate‐based modelling would be sufficient to quantify the impacts of climate change on species distributions.
Both the stroma and thylakoid lumen of tobacco chloroplasts are competent for the formation of disulphide bonds in recombinant proteins
Authors: Bally Julia , Paget Eric , Droux Michel , Job Claudette , Job Dominique , Dubald Manuel
Published: October 2007

Plant chloroplasts are promising vehicles for recombinant protein production, but the process of protein folding in these organelles is not well understood in comparison with that in prokaryotic systems, such as Escherichia coli. This is particularly true for disulphide bond formation which is crucial for the biological activity of many therapeutic proteins. We have investigated the capacity of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) chloroplasts to efficiently form disulphide bonds in proteins by expressing in this plant cell organelle a well‐known bacterial enzyme, alkaline phosphatase, whose activity and stability strictly depend on the correct formation of two intramolecular disulphide bonds. Plastid transformants have been generated that express either the mature enzyme, localized in the stroma, or the full‐length coding region, including its signal peptide. The latter has the potential to direct the recombinant alkaline phosphatase into the lumen of thylakoids, giving access to this even less well‐characterized organellar compartment. We show that the chloroplast stroma supports the formation of an active enzyme, unlike a normal bacterial cytosol. Sorting of alkaline phosphatase to the thylakoid lumen occurs in the plastid transformants translating the full‐length coding region, and leads to larger amounts and more active enzyme. These results are compared with those obtained in bacteria. The implications of these findings on protein folding properties and competency of chloroplasts for disulphide bond formation are discussed.
Utility Subsidies as Social Transfers: An Empirical Evaluation of Targeting Performance
Authors: Komives Kristin , Halpern Jon , Foster Vivien , Wodon Quentin , Abdullah Roohi
Published: October 2007

Subsidies to residential utility customers are important in‐kind transfer mechanisms in developing countries. Do these subsidies reach the poor? This article finds the average targeting performance of water and electricity subsidies to be similar to that of other social‐transfer mechanisms using the same targeting method. The most common form — a quantity‐based consumption subsidy aiming to subsidise low‐volume customers — is highly regressive. Many geographically‐targeted and most means‐tested utility subsidies are progressive, but still exclude many poor households. Connection subsidies are an attractive alternative in low coverage areas, but they will only reach the poor if utilities extend network access to poor households and if households choose to connect.
Helping South Asia Cope Better with Natural Disasters: The Role of Social Protection
Authors: Heltberg Rasmus
Published: October 2007

Social protection (income) support to households in the wake of major natural disasters is assuming a growing role for the World Bank, and major cash transfers in Turkey, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Pakistan are reviewed in this article. Such support is usually best provided directly as cash to affected households; it complements other relief and reconstruction efforts, is demanded by client countries and has a positive impact on short‐term food security and long‐term recovery. It could be geared for greater impact and more efficient delivery in future by the use of a best‐practice toolkit and a right‐on‐time technical assistance facility, and its integration in emergency preparedness and capacity‐building for implementing agencies.
Politics, Plurality and Problemsheds: A Strategic Approach for Reform of Agricultural Water Resources Management
Authors: Mollinga Peter P. , Meinzen‐Dick Ruth S. , Merrey Douglas J.
Published: October 2007

Starting from the assessment that past efforts at reform in agricultural water management in developing countries have achieved very little, this article argues that a fundamental change is required in the approach to policy and institutional transformation if the present deadlock in the internalisation of ecological sustainability, human development/poverty alleviation and democratic governance into the ‘core business’ of water bureaucracies is to be overcome. ‘Social engineering’ approaches need to be replaced by ‘strategic action’ approaches that acknowledge the inherently political character and the plurality of actors, institutions and objectives of water management — a perspective operationalised here around the notions of ‘problemshed’ and ‘issue network’.
TIME OF HISTORY AND TIME OUT OF HISTORY: THE SISTINE CHAPEL AS ‘THEORETICAL OBJECT’
Authors: CARERI GIOVANNI
Published: October 2007

Drawing on Mieke Bal's construction of a critical history of art, which facilitates the extension of Walter Benjamin's philosophy to the visual arts, this essay reconsiders Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel in Rome, attentive to the conditions that allows the work of art from the past to appear in the present. Two forms of anachronism are proposed: the first may be understood as constituting the temporal structure of the Sistine Chapel up to its completion in 1542; the second, by contrast, is concerned with our ‘present’ and is a more audacious form of anachronism defined by the relationship between Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and the Chapel, particularly the ‘Ancestors of Christ’. In elucidating these connections, Careri proposes ‘constellation’ rather than influence to signify deep and problematic relations.
READING THE ANNUNCIATION
Authors: GROOTENBOER HANNEKE
Published: October 2007

This essay explores Mieke Bal's mode of reading pictures through an analysis of several Annunciation paintings. Annunciation paintings have often posed a stumbling block to arthistorical interpretation. Supported by Bal's method of visual analysis, the author suggests that the problem of interpreting the Annunciation results in part from iconography's insufficiency, as well as its sexually repressed subject matter, as well as from their embedding in the formal apparatus of perspective. Grootenboer contends that the problem of the Annunciation lies in the mystery of the Incarnation as much as in perspective's presumed innocence as a transparent method for rendering the mystery visible. The author's aim is to demonstrate the complicity between perspective, also called construzione legittima, and the theme of the Annunciation has eventually legitimized an infinite unravelling of the secret.
KILLING KOOL: THE GRAFFITI MUSEUM
Authors: NEEF SONJA
Published: October 2007

In 1975 Jean Baudrillard offered a profound theoretical analysis of postmodern graffiti in his now legendary essay ‘KOOL KILLER, or The Insurrection of Signs’, in which he claimed that urban graffiti would operate against the symbolic order. Graffiti were non‐signs, without meaning but with strength. Some twenty‐five years later Mieke Bal offered another view on graffiti in her article ‘The Subject of Cultural Analysis’. Unlike Baudrillard, Bal not only regards graffiti beyond an opposition between word and image, but she understands the public act of writing on a wall as the basic operation of culture: culture operates as an exposition or an expository discourse considered analogous to a speech act. This article explores these contrasting interpretations through three examples: a German autobahn, an online website and the Berlin Wall, before it was demolished in 1989.
JE VOUS
Authors: SILVERMAN KAJA
Published: October 2007

This essay reconsiders the relations between photography and Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, suggesting that Proust's whole novel is ‘about’ photography. Re‐reading Mieke Bal's The Mottled Screen: Reading Proust Visually prompts an address to and reworking of Bal's concept of focalization. Photography's inventors, early practitioners, techniques and processes are discussed, as well as later accounts, such as Walter Benjamin's ‘Little History of Photography’. It is argued that Proust not only documents the crises precipitated in Western subjectivity by photography, but also helps us to see that this medium really is the ‘pencil or nature’, the claim made by Henry Fox Talbot. Reflecting throughout on the relationships between the first‐person pronoun, ever present in In Search of Lost Time, and the second‐person pronoun, the essay concludes with an analysis of the exchanges between the two and a consideration of the interplay between the film projector and the still camera to dramatize perception in Chantal Akerman's film The Captive (2000), based on Proust's The Prisoner.
Gamma Oscillations Distinguish True From False Memories
Authors: Sederberg Per B. , Schulze-Bonhage Andreas , Madsen Joseph R. , Bromfield Edward B. , Litt Brian , Brandt Armin , Kahana Michael J.
Published: October 2007

To test whether distinct patterns of electrophysiological activity prior to a response can distinguish true from false memories, we analyzed intracranial electroencephalographic recordings while 52 patients undergoing treatment for epilepsy performed a verbal free-recall task. These analyses revealed that the same pattern of gamma-band (28–100 Hz) oscillatory activity that predicts successful memory formation at item encoding—increased gamma power in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and left temporal lobe—reemerges at retrieval to distinguish correct from incorrect responses. The timing of these oscillatory effects suggests that self-cued memory retrieval begins in the hippocampus and then spreads to the cortex. Thus, retrieval of true, as compared with false, memories induces a distinct pattern of gamma oscillations, possibly reflecting recollection of contextual information associated with past experience.
Running on Empty
Authors: Inzlicht Michael , Gutsell Jennifer N.
Published: October 2007

Past research shows that self-control is limited and becomes depleted after initial exertions. This study examined the neural processes underlying self-control failure by testing whether controlled, effortful behavior impairs subsequent attempts at control by depleting the neural system associated with conflict monitoring. Subjects either watched an emotional movie normally or tried to suppress their emotions while watching the movie; they then completed an ostensibly unrelated Stroop task while electroencephalographic activity was recorded. The error-related negativity (ERN)—a waveform associated with activity in the anterior cingulate—was measured to determine whether prior regulatory exertion constrained the conflict-monitoring system. Compared with subjects in the control condition, those who suppressed their emotions performed worse on the Stroop task, and this deficit was mediated by weaker ERN signals. These results offer a neural account for the self-regulatory-strength model and demonstrate the utility of the social neuroscience approach.
When Is a Cause the “Same”?
Authors: Liljeholm Mimi , Cheng Patricia W.
Published: October 2007

Two competing psychological approaches to causal learning make different predictions regarding what aspect of perceived causality is generalized across contexts. Two experiments tested these predictions. In one experiment, the task required a judgment regarding the existence of a simple causal relation; in the other, the task required a judgment regarding the existence of an interaction between a candidate cause and unobserved background causes. The task materials did not mention assessments of causal strength. Results indicate that causal power (Cartwright, 1989; Cheng, 1997) is the mental construct that people carry from one context to another.
US Exports of Knowledge‐intensive Services and Importing‐country Characteristics
Authors: Co Catherine Yap
Published: October 2007

This paper studies the determinants of US exports of knowledge‐intensive services. Using US export data to as many as 29 countries between 1989 and 2002, I find the following. First, gross product and per capita income have heterogeneous effects on affiliated and non‐affiliated exports of knowledge‐intensive services. Secondly, property rights protection matters. Thirdly, infrastructure quality and political institutions only matter in the transfer of knowledge assets. Finally, financial depth is only correlated with the export of services to non‐affiliates.
Surveillance of the mean behavior of multivariate time series
Authors: Bodnar Olha , Schmid Wolfgang
Published: October 2007

In this paper several cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts for the mean of a multivariate time series are introduced. We extend the control schemes for independent multivariate observations of crosier [Technometrics (1988) Vol. 30, pp. 187–194], pignatiello and runger [Journal of Quality Technology (1990) Vol. 22, pp. 173–186], and ngai and zhang [Statistica Sinica (2001) Vol. 11, pp. 747–766] to multivariate time series by taking into account the probability structure of the underlying stochastic process. We consider modified charts and residual schemes as well. It is analyzed under which conditions these charts are directionally invariant. In an extensive Monte Carlo study these charts are compared with the CUSUM scheme of theodossiu [Journal of the American Statistical Association (1993) Vol. 88, pp. 441–448], the multivariate exponentially weighted moving‐average (EWMA) chart of kramer and schmid [Sequential Analysis (1997) Vol. 16, pp. 131–154], and the control procedures of bodnar and schmid [Frontiers of Statistical Process Control (2006) Physica, Heidelberg]. As a measure of the performance, the maximum expected delay is used.
Estimation of a linear regression under microaggregation with the response variable as a sorting variable
Authors: Schmid Matthias , Schneeweiss Hans , Küchenhoff Helmut
Published: October 2007

Microaggregation is a popular statistical disclosure control technique for continuous data. The basic principle of microaggregation is to group the observations in a data set and to replace them by their corresponding group means. However, while reducing the disclosure risk of data files, the technique also affects the results of statistical analyses. The paper deals with the impact of microaggregation on a multiple linear regression in continuous variables. We show that parameter estimates are biased if the dependent variable is used to form the groups. Using this result, we develop a consistent estimator that removes the aggregation bias, and derive its asymptotic covariance matrix.
Modelling soccer matches using bivariate discrete distributions with general dependence structure
Authors: McHale Ian , Scarf Phil
Published: October 2007

In this paper copulas are used to generate bivariate discrete distributions. These distributions are fitted to soccer data from the English Premier League. An interesting aspect of these data is that the primary variable of interest, the discrete pair shots‐for and shots‐against, exhibits negative dependence; thus, in particular, we apply bivariate Poisson‐related distributions that allow such dependence. The paper focuses on Archimedian copulas, for which the dependence structure is fully determined by a one‐dimensional projection that is invariant under marginal transformations. Diagnostic plots for copula fit based on this projection are adapted to deal with discrete variables. Covariates relating to within‐match contributions such as numbers of passes and tackles are introduced to explain variability in shot outcomes. The results of this analysis would appear to support the notion that playing the ‘beautiful game’ is an effective strategy—more passes and crosses contribute to more effective play and more shots on the goal.
Testing for random effects in panel models with spatially correlated disturbances
Authors: Herwartz Helmut
Published: October 2007

In the empirical analysis of panel data the Breusch–Pagan (BP) statistic has become a standard tool to infer on unobserved heterogeneity over the cross‐section. Put differently, the test statistic is central to discriminate between the pooled regression and the random effects model. Conditional versions of the test statistic have been provided to immunize inference on unobserved heterogeneity against random time effects or patterns of spatial error correlation. Panel data models with spatially correlated error terms are typically set out under the presumption of some known adjacency matrix parameterizing the correlation structure up to a scaling factor. This paper delivers a bootstrap scheme to generate critical values for the BP statistic allowing robust inference under misspecification of the adjacency matrix. Moreover, asymptotic results are derived for the case of a finite cross‐section and infinite time dimension. Finite sample simulations show that misspecification of spatial covariance features could lead to large size distortions, while the robust bootstrap procedure retains asymptotic validity.
Endogenous City Formation with Production Externalities: Existence of Equilibrium
Authors: LAFOUNTAIN COURTNEY
Published: October 2007

I show that equilibria exist in closed city‐system models with production externalities if firms' production possibilities vary continuously with the source of the externality, are constant returns to scale in own inputs, include inaction, and satisfy free disposal; if firms have to employ their own inputs to produce output; if there is a finite number of firm types; and if some standard conditions on preferences and endowments are satisfied. This is the first model to include production externalities in the fully general equilibrium framework required for endogenous city formation. Thus, this result provides formal support for the conjecture that production externalities lead to urban agglomeration.
Delegation versus Veto in Organizational Games of Strategic Communication
Authors: MARINO ANTHONY M.
Published: October 2007

In organizations, principals use decision rules to govern a more informed agent's behavior. We compare two such rules: delegation and veto. Recent work suggests that delegation dominates veto unless the divergence in preferences between the principal and the agent is so large that informative communication cannot take place. We show that this result does not hold in a reasonable model of veto versus delegation. In this model, veto dominates delegation for any feasible divergence in preferences, if it induces the agent to shut down low quality proposals that he would otherwise implement and if such projects have sufficient likelihood.
The Manipulability of Fair Solutions in Assignment of an Indivisible Object with Monetary Transfers
Authors: FUJINAKA YUJI , SAKAI TOYOTAKA
Published: October 2007

Public decision making often involves the problem of fairly assigning one indivisible object to agents with monetary transfers. An example is the choice of the location of a garbage incineration facility where the accepting district should receive fair compensations from other districts. In this problem, we show that for broad classes of solutions satisfying a welfare lower bound and an efficiency‐oriented condition, the set of equilibrium allocations in the manipulation game associated with a given solution coincides with the set of all envy‐free allocations. This generalizes Tadenuma and Thomson's equivalence result for a class of envy‐free solutions. Our result covers the Shapley value, which is not covered by Tadenuma and Thomson's result.
Policy for Poverty Alleviation and Income Redistribution with Quasi‐Public Goods
Authors: NAKAMURA YUI
Published: October 2007

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for a poverty‐alleviation program with quasi‐public goods and presents four main effects. First, this policy succeeds in self‐selection, which identifies low‐productive persons under imperfect information and allows them to receive at least the minimum income. Second, we can observe income redistribution by this scheme without any taxes. Third, the program contributes cost‐effectiveness in many cases. Finally, it makes clear that this policy is suitable, especially in areas where low‐income people are concentrated.
Wealth Heterogeneity and Escape from the Poverty–Environment Trap
Authors: IKEFUJI MASAKO , HORII RYO
Published: October 2007

A mutual link between poverty and environmental degradation is examined in an overlapping generations model. Environmental quality affects labor productivity and wealth dynamics, whereas wealth distribution determines the degree to which agents rely on technology that has a large environmental load, and therefore the evolution of environmental quality. This interaction creates a “poverty–environment trap,” where a deteriorated environment lowers income, which, in turn, accelerates environmental degradation. We show that greater wealth heterogeneity is the key to escaping from the poverty–environment trap, although it can have negative effects on both the environment and output when not in the trap.
Neo‐Hymesian linguistic ethnography in the United Kingdom
Authors: Rampton Ben
Published: October 2007

This paper describes the development of ‘linguistic ethnography’ in Britain over the last 5–15 years. British anthropology tends to overlook language, and instead, the U.K. Linguistic Ethnography Forum (LEF) has emerged from socio‐ and applied linguistics, bringing together a number of formative traditions (inter alia, Interactional Sociolinguistics, New Literacy Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis). The career paths and the institutional positions of LEF participants make their ethnography more a matter of getting analytic distance on what's close‐at‐hand than a process of getting familiar with the strange. When linked with post‐structuralism more generally, this ‘from‐inside‐outwards’ trajectory produces analytic sensibilities tuned to discourse analysis as a method, doubtful about ‘comprehensive’ and ‘exotic’ ethnography, and well disposed to practical/political intervention. LE sits comfortably in the much broader shift from mono‐ to inter‐disciplinarity in British higher education, though the inter‐disciplinary environment makes it hard to take the relationship between linguistics and ethnography for granted.
Nexus analysis: Refocusing ethnography on action
Authors: Scollon Ron , Scollon Suzie Wong
Published: October 2007

Nexus analysis takes human action rather than language or culture as its unit of analysis. We take one specific case to illustrate the methodology as well as its continuity with the project of Hymes, and of Boas before him, to take action against racism. A nexus analysis takes the constitution of human social groups and languages as a problem to be examined, shifting the focus away from groups toward action as the prime unit of analysis. This shift disrupts power relations between ethnographer as participant and observer and those observed who are now participants and observers in partnership, with consequences concerning when, where, and with whom ethnography can be done, consequences for the security of subjects as well as national security. We begin where inequality is perceived and analyze the actions that bring that about, our analysis itself being a form of action.