bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cone-beam computed tomography in hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for brain metastases
Authors: Ingrosso Gianluca , Miceli Roberto , Fedele Dahlia , Ponti Elisabetta , Benassi Michaela , Barbarino Rosaria , Di Murro Luana , Giudice Emilia , Santarelli Federico , Santoni Riccardo
Published: April 2012

Background

To assess interfraction translational and rotational setup errors, in patients treated with image-guded hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, immobilized by a thermoplastic mask and a bite-block and positioned using stereotactic coordinates.

Methods

37 patients with 47 brain metastases were treated with hypofractionated stererotactic radiotherapy. All patients were immobilized with a combination of a thermoplastic mask and a bite-block fixed to a stereotactic frame support. Daily cone-beam CT scans were acquired for every patient before the treatment session and were matched online with planning CT images, for 3D image registration. The mean value and standard deviation of all translational (X, Y, Z) and rotational errors (θx, θy, θz) were calculated for the matching results of bone matching algorithm.

Results

A total of 194 CBCT scans were analyzed. Mean +/- standard deviation of translational errors (X, Y, Z) were respectively 0.5 +/- 1.6 mm (range -5.7 and 5.9 mm) in X; 0.4 +/- 2.7 mm (range -8.2 and 12.1 mm) in Y; 0.4 +/- 1.9 mm (range -7.0 and 14 mm) in Z; median and 90th percentile were respectively within 0.5 mm and 2.4 mm in X, 0.3 mm and 3.2 mm in Y, 0.3 mm and 2.2 mm in Z. Mean +/- standard deviation of rotational errors (θx, θy, θz) were respectively 0.0 degrees+/- 1.3 degrees (θx) (range -6.0 degrees and 3.1 degrees); -0.1 degrees +/- 1.1 degrees (θy) (range -3.0 degrees and 2.4 degrees); -0.6 degrees +/- 1.4 degrees (θz) (range -5.0 degrees and 3.3 degrees). Median and 90th percentile of rotational errors were respectively within 0.1 degrees and 1.4 degrees (θx), 0.0 degrees and 1.2 degrees (θy), 0.0 degrees and 0.9 degrees (θz). Mean +/- SD of 3D vector was 3.1 +/- 2.1 mm (range 0.3 and 14.9 mm); median and 90th percentile of 3D vector was within 2.7 mm and 5.1 mm.

Conclusions

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy have the significant limitation of uncertainty in interfraction repeatability of the patient setup; image-guided radiotherapy using cone-beam computed tomography improves the accuracy of the treatment delivery reducing set-up uncertainty, giving the possibility of 3-dimensional anatomic informations in the treatment position.
High resolution tumor targeting in living mice by means of multispectral optoacoustic tomography
Authors: Buehler Andreas , Herzog Eva , Ale Angelica , Smith Bradley D , Ntziachristos Vasilis , Razansky Daniel
Published: April 2012

Background

Tumor targeting is of high clinical and biological relevance, and major efforts have been made to develop molecular imaging technologies for visualization of the disease markers in tissue. Of particular interest is apoptosis which has a profound role within tumor development and has significant effect on cancer malignancy.

Methods

Herein, we report on targeting of phosphatidylserine-exposing cells within live tumor allograft models using a synthetic near infrared zinc(II)-dipicolylamine probe. Visualization of the probe biodistribution is performed with whole body multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) system and subsequently compared to results attained by planar and tomographic fluorescence imaging systems.

Results

Compared to whole body optical visualization methods, MSOT attains remarkably better imaging capacity by delivering high-resolution scans of both disease morphology and molecular function in real time. Enhanced resolution of MSOT clearly showed that the probe mainly localizes in the vessels surrounding the tumor, suggesting that its tumor selectivity is gained by targeting the phosphatidylserine exposed on the surface of tumor vessels.

Conclusions

The current study demonstrates the high potential of MSOT to broadly impact the fields of tumor diagnostics and preclinical drug development.
Editorial: β-Glucans: going through GM-CSF to get to dectin
Authors: Martin Keith R
Published: April 2012

Discussion on β-Glucans induction of cellular proliferation and dectin-1/Syk signaling in resident macrophages through a novel GM-CSF-dependent autocrine pathway.
Editorial: Phagocytic B cells: déjà vu all over again?
Authors: Cancro Michael P
Published: April 2012

Discussion on phagocytic activity of peritoneal cavity and liver B cells.
Establishment of a Human Nonluteinized Granulosa Cell Line that Transitions from the Gonadotropin-Independent to the Gonadotropin-Dependent Status
Authors: Bayasula  , Iwase Akira , Kiyono Tohru , Takikawa Sachiko , Goto Maki , Nakamura Tomoko , Nagatomo Yoshinari , Nakahara Tatsuo , Kotani Tomomi , Kobayashi Hiroharu , Kondo Mika , Manabe Shuichi , Kikkawa Fumitaka
Published: April 2012

The ovary is a complex endocrine organ responsible for steroidogenesis and folliculogenesis. Follicles consist of oocytes and two primary steroidogenic cell types, the granulosa cells, and the theca cells. Immortalized human granulosa cells are essential for researching the mechanism of steroidogenesis and folliculogenesis. We obtained granulosa cells from a 35-yr-old female and immortalized them by lentivirus-mediated transfer of several genes so as to establish a human nonluteinized granulosa cell line (HGrC1). We subsequently characterized HGrC1 and investigated its steroidogenic performance. HGrC1 expressed enzymes related to steroidogenesis, such as steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, CYP11A, aromatase, and gonadotropin receptors. Stimulation with FSH increased the mRNA levels of aromatase, which consequently induced the aromatization of androstenedione to estradiol. Activin A increased the mRNA levels of the FSH receptor, which were synergistically up-regulated with FSH stimulation. HGrC1 also expressed a series of ligands and receptors belonging to the TGF-β superfamily. A Western blot analysis showed that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4, BMP-6, and BMP-7 phosphorylated small mother against decapentaplegic (Smad)1/5/8, whereas growth differentiation factor-9 phosphorylated Smad2/3. BMP-15 and anti-Müllerian hormone phosphorylated Smad1/5/8 while also weakly phosphorylating Smad2/3. These results indicate that HGrC1 may possess the characteristics of granulosa cells belonging to follicles in the early stage. HGrC1 might also be capable of displaying the growth transition from a gonadotropin-independent status to gonadotropin-dependent one.
Minireview: The Link Between Fat and Bone: Does Mass Beget Mass?
Authors: Zaidi Mone , Buettner Christoph , Sun Li , Iqbal Jameel
Published: April 2012

Osteoporosis is less common in individuals with high fat mass. This putative osteoprotection is likely an adaptive mechanism that allows obese individuals to better carry their increased body mass. Recent studies have focused on hormones that link fat to bone. Adipokines, such as leptin, modulate bone cells through both direct and indirect actions, whereas molecules activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ drive mesenchymal stem cell differentiation towards adipocytes away from the osteoblastic lineage. There is emerging evidence that bone-derived osteocalcin regulates insulin release and insulin sensitivity and, hence, might indirectly affect fat mass. Despite these molecular connections between fat and bone, animal and human studies call into question a primary role for body fat in determining bone mass. Mice devoid of fat do not have a skeletal phenotype, and in humans, the observed correlations between bone and body mass are not just due to adipose tissue. An improved understanding of the integrative physiology at the fat-bone interface should allow us develop therapies for both osteoporosis and obesity.
Clinical and Genetic Characteristics of Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 3 Variant in the Japanese Population
Authors: Horie Ichiro , Kawasaki Eiji , Ando Takao , Kuwahara Hironaga , Abiru Norio , Usa Toshiro , Yamasaki Hironori , Ejima Eri , Kawakami Atsushi
Published: April 2012

Objective:

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is commonly associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), and the occurrence of both T1D and AITD in a patient is defined as autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3 variant (APS3v). We aimed to clarify the differences in the clinical and genetic characteristics of APS3v patients and T1D patients without AITD [T1D/AITD(−)] in the Japanese population.

Design/Patients:

Our subjects were 54 APS3v patients and 143 T1D/AITD(−) patients who were consecutively diagnosed at Nagasaki University Hospital from 1983 to the present.

Results:

A remarkable female predominance, a slow and older age onset of T1D, and a higher prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies were observed in APS3v patients compared to T1D/AITD(−) patients. The older onset age of T1D in APS3v patients was associated with a higher proportion of slow-onset T1D. Among the two major susceptible human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II haplotypes in Japanese T1D, DRB1*0405-DQB1*0401, but not DRB1*0901-DQB1*0303, was associated with APS3v patients. Furthermore, DRB1*0803-DQB1*0601 was not protective in patients with APS3v. The frequencies of the GG genotype in +49G>A and +6230G>A polymorphism in the CTLA4 gene were significantly higher in T1D/AITD(−) patients, but not in APS3v patients, compared to control subjects.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, we found notable differences in the clinical and genetic characteristics of APS3v patients and T1D/AITD(−) patients in the Japanese population, and the differences in the clinical characteristics between the two groups may reflect distinct genetic backgrounds including the HLA DRB1-DQB1 haplotypes and CTLA4 gene polymorphisms.
Bioorganic studies on the venom from duckbill platypus
Authors: Kita Masaki
Published: April 2012

Venomous mammals are rare, and only a few species in the orders Insectivora and Monotremata produce toxic venom. Among them, the duckbill platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is one of the two venomous Australian mammals. The adult male platypus carries a spur on each hind leg, which it uses to inject competitors with poison. However, the structure and function of the poison’s active compounds are still imcompletely characterized. We found that crude platypus venom produced potent Ca2+influx in human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells. Guided by this assay, we identified 11 unique peptides, including peptide H–His–Asp–His–Pro–Asn–Pro–Arg–OH, which coincided with the N-terminal domain residues ofOrnithorhynchusvenom C-type natriuretic peptide (OvCNP). This heptapeptide induced a significant increase in [Ca2+]iin IMR-32 cells at 75 μM; had relatively specific affinities for glutamate, histamine, and GABAAreceptors; and facilitated neurogenic twitching in guinea pig ileum specimens at 30 μM. We also established that its proteinous venom fraction strongly hydrolyzed Pro–Phe–Arg–MCA and cleaved a human low-molecular-weight kininogen (LK), similar to porcine pancreas kallikrein. These results strongly indicated that platypus venom contains tissue kallikrein-like protease(s), and its proteolytic activity might synergistically contribute to toxicity through the specific cleavage of other venom constituents.
Tantalum carbide-graphite composite film synthesized by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition
Authors: Ali Mubarak , Ürgen Mustafa
Published: April 2012

A composite film of tantalum carbide (TaC)-graphite was synthesized on etched Si using thermal evaporation of Ta followed by C/H chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In the present study, Ta wire 0.5 mm in diameter was electrically heated without carburizing. Under high current conditions, filaments were thermally evaporated and interacted with chemically decomposed C, forming a composite film of TaC-graphite deposits on the substrates. The influence of chamber pressure, substrate temperature, and methane concentration on the film properties has been studied. By increasing chamber pressure from 25 to 100 torr in a gas mixture of H and methane (containing 3 % methane), the morphology of films changed with an increased growth rate and surface roughness. Increasing the methane concentration in the mixture resulted in broadening of X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks, increase in film thickness, and coarsening of grains, along with formation of clusters. The growth rates of the films produced at a substrate temperature of 950 °C were lower than those deposited at 850 °C. Their grain sizes were bigger and exhibited a dense structure with higher surface roughness.
On the cohomology of Rapoport-Zink spaces of EL-type
Authors: Shin Sug Woo
Published: April 2012

In this article, we are interested in determining the $l$-adic cohomology of Rapoport-Zink spaces
associated to ${\rm GL}_n$ over an unramified extension of ${\Bbb Q}_p$ (called unramified ``EL-type'') in
connection with the local Langlands correspondence for ${\rm GL}_n$. In fact, we compute (the alternating
sum of) certain representation-theoretic functors defined in terms of their cohomology on the level
of Grothendieck groups. In case Rapoport-Zink spaces parametrize $p$-divisible groups of dimension
one, the above alternating sum is determined by Harris and Taylor (without the unramifiedness assumption).
For $p$-divisible groups of ${\rm dim}>1$, Fargues has obtained an answer for the supercuspidal
part when the $p$-divisible groups are basic (i.e., their associated Newton polygons are straight lines).
Our main result is an identity among the cohomology of Rapoport-Zink spaces that appear in the Newton
stratification of the same unitary Shimura variety. Our result implies a theorem of Fargues, providing
a second proof, and reveals new information about the cohomology of Rapoport-Zink spaces for non-basic
$p$-divisible groups. We propose an inductive procedure to completely determine the above alternating
sum, assuming a strengthening of our main result along with a conjecture of Harris.
An obstruction bundle relating Gromov-Witten invariants of curves and Kähler surfaces
Authors: Lee Junho , Parker Thomas H.
Published: April 2012

In a previous paper the authors defined symplectic ``Local Gromov-Witten invariants'' associated to spin
curves and showed that the GW invariants of a K\"ahler surface $X$ with $p_g>0$ are a sum of such local
GW invariants. This paper describes how the local GW invariants arise from an obstruction bundle (in the
sense of Taubes) over the space of stable maps into curves. Together with the results of our earlier
paper, this reduces the calculation of the GW invariants of elliptic and general-type complex surfaces
to computations in the GW theory of curves with additional classes: the Euler classes of the (real)
obstruction bundles.
The product on smooth and generalized valuations
Authors: Alesker Semyon , Bernig Andreas
Published: April 2012

The product of smooth valuations on manifolds is described in terms of differential forms,
Gelfand transforms, and blow-up spaces. It is shown that the product extends partially to
generalized valuations and corresponds geometrically to transversal intersections. This
result is used to prove a general kinematic formula on compact rank one symmetric spaces.
High rank linear syzygies on low rank quadrics
Authors: Schenck Hal , Stillman Mike
Published: April 2012

We study the linear syzygies of a homogeneous ideal $I \subseteq S = {\rm Sym}_{{\bf k}}(V)$,
focussing on the graded betti numbers
$$
b_{i,i+1} = {\rm dim}_{{\bf k}} {\rm Tor}_i (S/I,{\bf k})_{i+1}.
$$
For a variety $X$ and divisor $D$ with $V = H^0(D)$, what conditions on $D$ ensure that $b_{i,i+1} \ne 0$?
Eisenbud has shown that a decomposition $D \sim A +B$ such that $A$ and $B$ have at least two
sections gives rise to determinantal equations (and corresponding syzygies) in $I_X$; and conjectured
that if $I_2$ is generated by quadrics of rank $\le 4$, then the last nonvanishing $b_{i,i+1}$
is a consequence of such equations. We describe obstructions to this conjecture and prove a variant. The
obstructions arise from toric specializations of the Rees algebra of Koszul cycles, and we give an explicit
construction of toric varieties with minimal linear syzygies of arbitrarily high rank. This gives one answer
to a question posed by Eisenbud and Koh.
On character varieties, sets of discrete characters, and nonzero degree maps
Authors: Boileau Michel , Boyer Steven
Published: April 2012

A {\it knot manifold} is a compact, connected, irreducible, orientable $3$-manifold whose boundary
is an incompressible torus. We first investigate virtual epimorphisms between the fundamental groups
of small knot manifolds and prove minimality results for small knot manifolds with respect to nonzero
degree maps. These results are applied later in the paper where we fix a small knot manifold $M$ and
investigate various sets of characters of representations $\rho: \pi_1(M) \to {\rm PSL}_2(\Bbb{C})$ whose
images are discrete. We show that the topology of these sets is intimately related to the algebraic
structure of the ${\rm PSL}_2(\Bbb{C})$-character variety of $M$ as well as dominations of manifolds by
$M$ and its Dehn fillings. We apply our results to the following question of Shicheng Wang:
{\it Are nonzero degree maps between infinitely many distinct Dehn fillings of two hyperbolic knot
manifolds $M$ and $N$ induced by a nonzero degree map $M \to N$?} We show that the answer is yes
generically. Using this we show that if a small $\mathcal{H}$-minimal hyperbolic knot manifold
admits non-homeomorphic $\mathcal{H}$-minimal Dehn fillings, it admits infinitely many such fillings.
We also construct the first infinite families of small, closed, connected, orientable manifolds which
are minimal in the sense that they do not admit nonzero degree maps, other than homotopy equivalences,
to any aspherical manifold.
Universal flattening of Frobenius
Authors: Yasuda Takehiko
Published: April 2012

For a variety $X$ of positive characteristic and a nonnegative integer $e$, we define its $e$-th
F-blowup to be the universal flattening of the $e$-iterated Frobenius of $X$. Thus we have the sequence
(a set labeled by nonnegative integers) of blowups of $X$. Under some condition, the sequence stabilizes
and leads to a nice (for instance, minimal or crepant) resolution. For tame quotient singularities, the
sequence leads to the $G$-Hilbert scheme.
Dynamics of rational surface automorphisms: rotation domains
Authors: Bedford Eric , Kim Kyounghee
Published: April 2012

A Fatou component is said to be a rotation domain if the automorphism induces a torus action on it.
We construct a rational surface automorphism with positive entropy and a rotation domain which contains
both a curve of fixed points and isolated fixed points. This Fatou component cannot be imbedded into
complex Euclidean space, so we introduce a global linear model space and show that it can be globally
linearized in this model.
Plutarch's Compositional Technique in the An seni respublica gerenda sit : Clusters vs. Patterns
Authors: Xenophontos Sophia A.
Published: April 2012

The theory of "clusters of parallel passages" introduced by the Leuven School has been an important tool for the investigation of Plutarch's compositional techniques. This article seeks to test the exact validity of the Leuven approach by examining whether we can always detect clusters of Plutarch's thought in cases in which identical items recur in different contexts. In the first section of this article I discover a cluster shared by the An seni respublica gerenda sit and the Non posse suaviter vivi secundum Epicurum , while in the second section I end with an elaborate pattern of thought shared by the An seni respublica gerenda sit and the Praecepta gerendae reipublicae . Both cases illustrate equally how Plutarch reuses the same material to make it fit the varying themes of different essays.
The Bully as Satirist in Juvenal's Third Satire
Authors: Moodie Erin K.
Published: April 2012

The drunken bully of Juvenal's third satire should be read as an alternative satirical voice within the poem, as is illustrated by means of a comparison with the corpus of Roman satire—in particular Horace 2.1 and Juvenal's first book of satires. The identification of the bully as a satirist does explain some of the bully's odd behavior and also accords with satire's propensity for self-mockery and much of the other metapoetic discussion of the genre's powers and limitations.
Rhythm in a Sinuous Stanza: The Anatomy and Acoustic Contour of the Latin Alcaic
Authors: Becker Andrew S.
Published: April 2012

This essay explores the metrical as well as rhythmical aspects of the acoustic contour of the Latin Alcaic, focusing on patterns of natural, audible, performed word accents in coincidence and syncopation with the fixed pattern of the meter, in both the ancient and modern scansions of the stanza. The meter was measured in antiquity with a learned, latent expectation or undercurrent of regular verse beats to scan aloud, to measure for the ear, the pattern of long and short syllables. Within the fixed framework of the meter, variable patterns of accent provide a rhythm, and that rhythm is the focus of this essay. Very little attention falls on sound and sense: the coda argues that sound need not be subordinate to meaning, need not be sound effect, nor explicitly rhetorical, to be worth our attention.
Narrative and Rhetoric in Odysseus' Tales to the Phaeacians
Authors: Hopman Marianne
Published: April 2012

As Odysseus cautiously prepares to enter the straits plagued by Charybdis and Scylla, he encourages his crew by referring to his earlier success against the Cyclops ( Od. 12.208-12). This article argues that the Odyssey constructs the Scylla adventure as a tale of heroic failure in contrast with the Cyclops episode. Special attention is paid to narrative paradigms that underlie the Scylla episode and emphasize Odysseus' inability to defeat the monster. I further show that the Cyclops/Scylla contrast serves both as an argument presented to Odysseus' internal Phaeacian audience and an interpretive key for the external audience.
Poetic Speakers, Sophistic Words
Authors: Knudsen Rachel Ahern
Published: April 2012

The relationship between poetically mediated myth and the emerging discipline of formal rhetoric in fifth- and fourth-century Athens has received little scholarly treatment, in part because of a paucity of texts that encompass both myth and formal rhetoric. This article sheds light on the relationship by examining four generically hybrid model speeches: Gorgias' Defense of Palamedes , Antisthenes' Ajax and Odysseus , and Alcidamas' Odysseus . I argue that these speeches represent a rare confluence of the Archaic poetic tradition with the inclination towards technique-based modes of discourse among the sophists. This innovative didactic strategy, whereby rhetoric appropriates the appeal of poetic storytelling and characterization, has affinities with a broader societal and literary trend toward mixing genres.
Ethnobiological Classification in Two Indigenous Languages of the Gran Chaco Region: Toba (Guaycuruan) and Maká (Mataco-Mataguayan)
Authors: Messineo Cristina , Cúneo Paola
Published: April 2012

This article examines the linguistic devices involved in the classification of nouns referring to the plant and animal world in two languages of the Gran Chaco area: Toba (Guaycuruan) and Maká (Mataco-Mataguayan). Drawing on previous studies of nominal classification in these languages, it analyzes how derivational morphology and nominal composition are used as mechanisms in categorizing the natural world in the formation of ethno-botanical and ethnozoological lexicon. The article contributes to the typology of nominal classification in general and in particular to that of the indigenous languages of the Gran Chaco region.
San Francisco’s Pioneer Mother Monument: Maternalism, Racial Order, and the Politics of Memorialization, 1907–1915
Authors: Frink Brenda D.
Published: April 2012

The 1907–1915 campaign to create San Francisco’s Pioneer Mother Monument provides both a case study of conservative uses of maternalism and a window into the political mutability of maternalist rhetoric. Ella Sterling Mighels, a pioneer descendant, utilized the monument campaign to promote white women’s moral influence over middle-class men, to argue against Asian immigration and labor unrest, and to inculcate old-fashioned moral values among urban children. Although some of Mighels’s contemporaries cited pioneer mothers as proof of women’s fitness for suffrage, Mighels herself used the pioneer mother to argue against suffrage. The final statue, created by the sculptor Charles Grafly, failed to encapsulate Mighels’s multivalent political message and to express her ideals about gender, race, class, and morality.
Queering Prison Abolition, Now?
Authors: Stanley Eric A. , Spade Dean , Injustice Queer
Published: April 2012

We occasionally publish “Currents” in American Quarterly, which are intended as timely forms of writing that contribute and intervene in contemporary issues of importance to scholars in American studies. It is our hope that “Currents” will provide a forum for debates over the directions of the field and how the interdisciplinary field of American studies defines itself and is defined by others. The following is a conversation among the intellectuals and activists Eric A. Stanley, Dean Spade, Andrea J. Ritchie, Joey L. Mogul, and Kay Whitlock, about queer abolitionist politics. The scholars and organizers involved wanted to mark this particular moment as a coalescence of years of organizing, struggling, and building a radically queer abolitionist politics. The piece is written jointly, to highlight how this analysis, and abolition in general, is a collective endeavor. The following conversation was conducted by e-mail in November 2011.
“Give us a Ship”: The Vietnamese Repatriate Movement on Guam, 1975
Authors: Lipman Jana K.
Published: April 2012

In 1975, as thousands of Vietnamese men and women fled Southeast Asia, more than fifteen hundred individuals chose repatriation rather than resettlement in the United States. Waiting in Guam, repatriates entered a terrain defined by American empire, and their stories complicate Cold War narratives of Vietnamese immigration. In this contingent and colonial space, repatriates engaged in collective civil disobedience, political jockeying, and even violence and vandalism in their quest to return to Vietnam. Providing no easy answers, this article argues that the history of the Vietnamese repatriates emphasizes the dynamics of contingency alongside the tenacity of American empire.
James Baldwin, Performance Theorist, Sings the Blues for Mister Charlie
Authors: Mitchell Koritha
Published: April 2012

James Baldwin worked tirelessly to expose the myths that allowed Americans to delude themselves. Scholars have long recognized this as the driving force of his fiction and nonfiction, but this mission was also very much linked to Baldwin’s conception of theater. This essay culls Baldwin’s theater theory from his nonfiction, especially his seldom-discussed The Devil Finds Work (1976). Baldwin believed that theater could “re-create” people by helping us rediscover our human connection, and he believed that stage actors could show the way. Baldwin’s respect for stage actors develops over time, however. He reaches his conclusions only after realizing—in hindsight—how profoundly the stage had figured in his major life decisions. After identifying Baldwin’s theater theory, the essay uses it to examine his controversial play Blues for Mister Charlie and finds that his goals resonated with what Sharon Holland would later call “raising the dead.”
Fat Christians and Fit Elites: Negotiating Class and Status in Evangelical Christian Weight-Loss Culture
Authors: Gerber Lynne
Published: April 2012

As American culture has become increasingly concerned about fatness, the fat body and weight loss have become salient symbols for other social tensions. This article uses the case of evangelical Christian weight-loss culture to argue that class is one of those tensions. Drawing on ethnographic work in a Christian weight-loss program as well as on recent theories of class, I argue that certain recurring concerns in Christians’ weight-loss discourse, notably concerns about fat Christian leaders and appearing healthy, reflect tensions about class-based aspirations and class-based denigrations evangelicals face in negotiating their position in American society.
Children of the Revolution: Parents, Children, and the Revolutionary Struggle in Late Imperial Russia
Authors: Turton Katy
Published: April 2012

While there has been a considerable growth in scholarly interest in Russian childhood and youth, the presence of children in the revolutionary movement has largely been overlooked. Studies of female revolutionaries have acknowledged that family concerns often had an impact on women's party careers, but few have explored fully the relationship between mothers and their children. Similarly, "general" historical works on the Russian revolution have rarely engaged with questions about the family lives of the predominantly male party members. This article will assess how becoming a parent affected the careers of both male and female revolutionaries, as well as the ways in which familial concerns and the presence of children had an impact on the movement itself. It will highlight that children could have both positive and negative effects on the operations of the underground, at times disrupting activities, but at others proving to be useful decoys and helpers. Children's attitudes to their parents' revolutionary careers will also be examined, highlighting that while some children wished they had less politically active parents, others enthusiastically helped the movement. Though expanding the scholarly gaze on the Russian underground to take in the presence of children does not change the grand narrative of the revolution, it enriches our understanding considerably and offers a new insight into the daily struggles of the revolutionary movement.
They "Used to Tear Around the Campus Like Savages": Children's and Youth's Activities in the Santo Tomás Internment Camp, 1942-1945
Authors: Terry Jennifer Robin
Published: April 2012

Commencing late 1941, Japanese soldiers apprehended and interned Western colonials throughout the South Pacific. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, camp documents, and other historical accounts, this article analyzes the intersection of Western mores, wartime captivity, and childhood as it examines the ways Western civilian internees dealt with the hardship and humiliation of imprisonment in the Santo Tomás Internment Camp in Manila. To some extent, internees normalized their daily lives by creating a community that mirrored Western culture and society. Directing and organizing children's and adolescent's activities was one key to this normalization process. In creating structure, order, and affirming children's worth within their community, Western internees sought to preserve and reinforce cultural mores and manners in the face of Japanese ascendency. Further, this study acknowledges and highlights children's agency, exploring their reactions to adults (both Western and Japanese), relationships with one another, and their manipulation of the environment. It appears that, at least initially, many children experienced a degree of freedom within captivity that they had not known prior to war. This study is significant because it complicates current adult-centric studies of World War II internment in the Pacific and illustrates children's integral role in community and cultural identity.
Long Run Sustainability of Sarawak - West Kalimantan Cross-Border Trade Flows
Authors: Bariyah Nurul , Lau Evan , Mansor Shazali Abu
Published: April 2012

This paper is concerned with the time series behaviour of the cross border trade flows between Sarawak (East Malaysia) - West Kalimantan (Indonesia) conducted through regional port of Tebedu custom district with the main focus on the long run sustainability of Sarawak trade deficits. Cross border trade activity has gain much attention due to the dynamic linkages of this unique regional economic activity on industry, investment and employment, yet the study on long-run relationships of cross border trade flows have been largely overlooked. By employing the three stages of modern time series econometric technique, the research found significant long run cointegration relationship for the bilateral trade flows as well as support for the strong form of sustainability condition, suggesting that Sarawak-West Kalimantan bilateral trade is on the sustainable path in governing their trade flows performance. This suggests that the macroeconomic policies of Sarawak and West Kalimantan have been effective in bringing exports and imports into a long run equilibrium.
An Analysis Of The Competition For University Entrance Test
Authors: Akin Mustafa Seref
Published: April 2012

University entrance examinations create a difficult time for parents and students in developing countries. Families are exhausted from tutoring expenditures, and students are under great pressure to succeed in their tests. Tight admission policies limit access to higher education and prevent a decrease in expenditure per student. In this paper, the competitiveness of university entrance exams is measured by the ratio of secondary education enrollment to higher education enrollment. To identify reasons for competitiveness, the following variables are considered, based on theoretical work; expenditure for education (primary/secondary/tertiary and total), GDP growth, GDP per capita, urban population, unemployment, population growth, sum of imports and exports, foreign direct investment, and public budget surplus. Results show that additional education expenditure does not reduce competitiveness. Unemployment and population growth are the most important determinants of an increase in candidates for entrance tests.
The Impacts of Economic Reforms on Efficiency Improvement and Technological Progress in Indian Manufacturing
Authors: Saravanakumar Muthusamy , Kim Taegi
Published: April 2012

This paper applied the Malmquist productivity index in order to estimate total factor productivity growth and its components (efficiency change and technological progress) in Indian manufacturing during the pre- and post-reform periods. The results illustrate that the economic reforms have not exerted positive effects on productivity growth in Indian manufacturing. However, the impacts of economic reforms differ between sectors and between components of total factor productivity. First, after reform, the productivity of heavy industries increased, whereas the productivity of light industries decreased. Second, reform improves both the efficiency and the technological progress in the heavy industries, but failed to improve efficiency in light industries. The results of this study suggest that specific policies should be implemented in order to improve efficiency as well as technical progress, thus ultimately facilitating long-run productivity growth.
Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia: New Evidence From Cointegration and Error Correction Model
Authors: Sharma Kishor , Nayagam James , Chung Hui Hon
Published: April 2012

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed significantly to the transformation of the Malaysian economy, as reflected by the changing composition of its exports and the rising share of FDI in gross fixed capital formation (GFCF). By the late 1990s, Malaysia ranked third after Singapore and Hong Kong (among the East Asian countries) in terms of attracting FDI. Despite this, studies on the determinants of FDI in Malaysia are scarce. This paper aims to meet this gap through a systematic econometric investigation using the cointegration and error correction model. Results suggest that openness and the quality of labor force have been the influential factors in attracting FDI to Malaysia in the long-run, while in the short-run it is quality of infrastructure that has been instrumental. These findings point to the importance of policy reforms aimed at openning up the economy, and improving the quality of labor force as well as physical infrastructure for arrtracting foreing investment in developing countries like Malaysia.
Foreign Aid to Bangladesh: Some Iconoclastic Issues
Authors: Istiak Khandokar Mohammad
Published: April 2012

The famous 'Two Gap' economic theory suggests that an injection of foreign aid raises investment and savings of a country. However, a number of empirical studies have found that foreign aid has actually supplanted savings in many countries. The paper investigates the relationship between aid and gross domestic savings in Bangladesh and finds that these two variables are independent and have no effects on each other, which are different findings compared to other studies. Moreover, this paper concentrates on the capacity of Bangladesh economy to bear the obligation of foreign aid. Unlike some other papers, this one finds out that although the interest payment and total debt service charge of the loan are increasing, it is not a mishap because export earnings and income of economy of Bangladesh are increasing sufficiently enough to bear the burden. So, against the conventional characteristics of foreign aid to Bangladesh, this paper introduces some new issues about it.
Capital Flows, Maturity Mismatches, and Profitability in Emerging Markets: Evidence From Bank Level Data
Authors: Aysun Uluc
Published: April 2012

Despite the extensive work on currency mismatches, research investigating the significance of maturity mismatches in emerging market economies is scarce. In particular, how capital flows affect maturity mismatches, and the significance of these mismatches for financial health during crisis and non-crisis periods have not been investigated as thoroughly. In this paper, I show that emerging market banks' maturity mismatches are positively related to capital flows and that maturity mismatches play a key role in determining external vulnerability. Specifically, using bank level data, I find that maturity mismatches significantly increase during periods of high capital inflows, and banks with high maturity mismatches report larger losses if there is a capital reversal -despite being more profitable in more tranquil periods —. Finally, I also propose a simple partial equilibrium framework that is convenient for analyzing the effects of maturity mismatches.
Economic Growth Dynamics And Short-Term External Debt In Thailand
Authors: Butts Hector C. , Mitchell Ivor , Berkoh Albert
Published: April 2012

The paper examined the short- and long-run relationships between short-term external debt and economic growth in Thailand over the period 1970-2003. The ARDL-bounds test procedure to co-integration was used. Results reveal that real STED and real GDP are correlated positively and significantly as well as co-integrated. There is indirect Granger-causality from economic growth to short-term external debt for the consumption effects. There is evidence that economic growth, exchange rate, and international reserves are determinants of short-term external debt for Thailand. The prominence of exchange rates suggests that it may be used to correct for STED disequilibrium in Thailand. To our knowledge we are the first to uncover these results.
Gradual Financial Liberalization, Fdi, and Domestic Investment: Evidence From China's Panel Data
Authors: He Qichun
Published: April 2012

We argue that how inward foreign direct investment (FDI) affects domestic investment (DI) depends on the degree of financial deregulation. Utilizing the Chinese experience and its panel data, instrumenting FDI with weather indicators (validity supported by over-identification tests), our limited-information maximum likelihood (LIML) results suggest that both FDI and its interaction with financial deregulation have a significant negative effect on DI. It means FDI significantly crowds out DI in China, and higher degree of financial deregulation reinforces the crowding-out effect. The results are robust even after controlling for other growth factors, and time and province effects.
Spatial Dimensions of Income Inequality in Nepal
Authors: Paul Satya , Thapa Prem , Prennushi Giovanna
Published: April 2012

This paper investigates spatial dimensions of income inequality in Nepal using unit record data from the Living Standards Measurement (LSM) survey of 1995/96. The Gini, Atkinson and generalized entropy indices are used to measure income inequality. The results reveal that per capita income inequality in Nepal is quite high. The decomposition analyses based on ecological and geographical groupings reveal that the contribution of between-region inequality component to aggregate income inequality is less than 10 per cent. Since the poor regions have aligned with social and political conflicts, the policies to reduce inter-regional income inequality should be given far higher priority than what the statistical decomposition analyses suggest. The geographical sub-division is more salient than the ecological sub-division for the understanding of inequality. The growth of income in all the geographical rural regions, except the Eastern Terai, should reduce aggregate income disparity in Nepal.
Comparing Savings Behavior in Asia and Latin America: The Role of Capital Inflows and Economic Growth
Authors: Thanoon Marwan Abdul-Malik , Baharumshah Ahmad Zubaidi
Published: April 2012

This paper investigates the determinants of savings in Asia and compares them with those of the economies in Latin America. The evidence based reveals that countries in the two regions share some common features with respect to their savings rates that are largely affected by (1) international capital inflows, which, in general, displace domestic savings in less than one-to-one fashion; (2) dependency ratios, hence supporting life-cycle hypothesis; and (3) the size of the export sector which can contribute positively to national savings. Despite these similarities, a number of important differences can be identified across country groups. First, economic growth affects national savings positively (negatively) in Asia (Latin America). Second, the long-term negative impact of capital flows on domestic savings appears to be considerably weaker in the Asian countries compared to the Latin American countries. Together, the two factors explain why savings ratios may differ markedly between the two regions.
Wage-Price Flexibility, Exchange Rate Flexibility, Capital Controls, and the Adjustment Speed in the Money Market
Authors: Bahmani Sahar
Published: April 2012

The speed with which macro variables in the money market adjust toward their long-run equilibrium values has great implication for the effectiveness of monetary policy. Previous research shows that the adjustment speed is higher in more open economies. In this paper, we introduce three additional determinants of adjustment speed. More precisely, we argue that more wage-price flexibility, more exchange rate flexibility, and less restriction on capital flows foster the speed of adjustment. Empirically, a cross-sectional model is specified in which adjustment speed is treated as the dependent variable and a measure of openness, a measure of wage-price flexibility, a measure of exchange rate flexibility, and black market premium as a measure of capital controls are treated as independent variables. After estimating the adjustment speed using the bounds testing approach to cointegration and error-correction modeling for 28 developing countries and after constructing the other four independent variables for the same countries, we estimate different variants of the cross-sectional model.
The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment On Total Factor Productivity And Economic Growth In Turkey
Authors: Arısoy İbrahim
Published: April 2012

The main objective of this paper is to estimate the contributions of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the aggregate growth and whether FDI have had an impact on total factor productivity (TFP) of Turkey for the period 1960-2005 using aggregate production function. This paper argues that the two main channels through which FDI can affect host country economic growth are technology spillovers and physical capital accumulation. Further, it intends to identify the casual linkage among FDI, TFP and economic growth and then evaluates various channels through which FDI is linked to TFP using some recent econometric techniques. The empirical results indicate that FDI contributes positively to TFP and growth via capital accumulation and technological spillovers.
Employment Function for Indonesia: An Econometric Analysis at the Sectoral Level
Authors: Tadjoeddin Mohammad Zulfan , Chowdhury Anis
Published: April 2012

The Indonesian government has pinned its hope for reducing unemployment on higher economic growth and increased labor market flexibility, such as lowering minimum wages. The estimated sectoral employment functions reveal that output growth rather than real wages is the major determinant of employment. Additionally, the real wage elasticity of employment in the manufacturing sector is very low. That is, a large cut in real wage will have marginal gains in employment, causing a decline in labor income. Therefore, the strategy of lowering real wage is likely to increase the incidence of the working poor as well as the incidence of vulnerability.
Asymmetry of Information and the Finance-Growth Nexus in Emerging Markets: Empirical Evidence Using Panel VECM Analysis
Authors: Colombage Sisira R. N. , Halabi Abdel K.
Published: April 2012

This paper tests both the short and long term relationship between the real GDP, the equity amounts outstanding, the corporate bond amounts outstanding and bank credit to the private sector for five emerging markets. In particular, the finance-growth nexus is analysed with data collected from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand between 1994 and 2009 using panel VECM analysis. The cointegration technique is then used to examine the long run behavior based on the assumption that all the variables involved have the same degree of integration and the error correction model (ECM) and the Wald test are employed to determine the direction of causality. The empirical results suggest the existence of a stable relationship in the direction from economic growth to financial market development that is consistent with the information asymmetry arguments for emerging markets. The findings have implications for financial and economic policy makers and enable these stakeholders to determine which sectors should be encouraged to achieve overall economic growth and development. The results are also useful to investors as they show the level of the intensity of information asymmetry on which these relationships might vary in both the short and long run.
A Reassessment of Pakistan's Aggregate Import Demand Function: An Application of Ardl Approach
Authors: Alam Shaista
Published: April 2012

The present study re-estimated the import demand function for Pakistan on the basis of quarterly time series data by employing autoregressive distributed lag approach. The present study draws various significant conclusions from the estimation of aggregate merchandized import demand function. The results support the proposition that in Pakistan there exist a long-run relationship among, import demand, real economic growth, real effective exchange rate and real effective exchange rate volatility. It further found that aggregate import demand is income and price inelastic, implying that Pakistan's imports comprises essential goods. The study found evidence to suggest that real effective exchange rate volatility has adverse effect on import demand for Pakistan in long-run.