bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of anaesthetic drugs on the developing brain in children less than 1 year of age: an epidemiological study
Authors: Hansen T.G. , Pedersen D.A. , Henneberg S.W. , Morton N.S. , Christensen K.
Published: June 2009

Introduction:  Each year millions of neonates, infants and young children worldwide are exposed to anaesthetic drugs. The last 5 years concerns have been raised regarding a possible association of anaesthesia and neuro‐degeneration in young children, which represents an enormous potential burden to public health. Animal data is compelling and involves a variety of anaesthetic drugs, settings and species, including most recently primates. Implicated are n‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor antagonists and γ‐amino‐butyric acid agonists, including most of the commonly used anaesthetics for both children and adults. However, as yet, it is not clear whether the effects observed in animals are clinical relevant in humans [1]. The scientific approach to solve this question is difficult. One approach is the use of epidemiological methods, which have proven in many setting to be powerful tools for exploring the relationship between exposure and disease.

Methods:  We are currently conducting an epidemiological study in Denmark comparing the educational achievement of all children operated before the age of 1 year during the period 1977–1990, (n = 45.000+) to the background Danish population. The study, which has been approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency, is based on linkage of a series of available registries. The Danish civil registration system identifies individuals by unique social security numbers, which can be linked to a number of thematically organized population databases, called registers. Information from three registers is used: (1) the Danish Demographic Database, which includes information on parental identities, deaths, migrations, adoptions and education, (2) the National Hospital Discharge Register, which includes information on overnight hospital stays for non‐psychiatric illnesses and (3) the Register of Compulsory School Completion Assessment and Test Scores, which is compiled from school reports by the Ministry of Education (at ninth grade, aged 15–16 years). The primary outcome in this study is academic achievements rather than IQ. The use of this cohort has several strengths: it is of unprecedented size, it is population‐based, and the important covariates such as: age, gestational age, birth weight, parental age and parental education are available for practically all participants in the study.

Discussion:  The data is currently being analyzed and will be presented at the 2009 APA Meeting in Brighton, as will pitfalls and strengths of epidemiological studies over randomized clinical studies for addressing this paediatric anaesthetic challenge. This challenge may, however, extend beyond paediatric anaesthesia because the implicated drugs are widely used in a variety of other settings in infants and young children around the world.
A novel paediatric anaesthetic breathing system
Authors: Meakin George
Published: June 2009

Introduction:  This paper describes a lightweight, valveless, coaxial anaesthetic breathing system which enables the convenient scavenging of exhaust/waste anaesthetic gases in theatre. It is essentially a modification of the Jackson‐Rees T‐piece system,[1] which utilises a specially designed reservoir bag and coaxial tubing to conduct waste anaesthetic gases to an active scavenging system sited on the anaesthetic machine.

Background:  In the conventional Jackson‐Rees system, a length of anaesthetic tubing delivers the anaesthetic gas mixture to a T‐junction sited close to the patient's mouth. A second arm of the T acts as patient connector while a third connects to a reservoir tube which conducts a mixture of fresh and expired gases to an opened tailed reservoir bag, from which the gases are vented to the operating theatre environment. Epidemiological studies suggest that exposure to these gases may adversely affect the health of theatre staff [2] and this problem has recently been the subject of a campaign by the National Association of Theatre Nurses. Successful attempts to scavenge these gases have mainly involved the introduction of an expiratory valve into the Jackson Rees system, which makes the system bulky and less convenient to use. The proposed system is shown in Figure 1.

Results and Conclusions:  In preliminary bench tests, a professionally made prototype of the proposed system was found to impose about the same degree of expiratory resistance as a Bain system [3] with a fully opened expiratory valve, which was considered acceptable. The system was also rated highly when assessed by a sample of consultant anaesthetists performing manual ventilation on a dummy lung. While the system's primary application will be in paediatric anaesthesia, it could also find application as an induction system for adult anaesthesia.

image
[   Diagram of proposed breathing system. The inner tube arrangement is similar to that of a conventional Jackson‐Rees T‐piece system (4,2,5). However, in place of the open‐tailed reservoir bag of the latter, the new system has a custom made bag (6) which incorporates an outer tube (8) to collect the waste anaesthetic gases via a vent situated between the outer tube and the tail section of the reservoir bag (9). This tube conducts the waste gases into the annular space between the tubes 4, 5 and 10, 11, from where they are ultimately discharged into an active scavenging system via port 13. ]
Anesthetic experience of 100 pediatric tracheostomies
Authors: WRIGHTSON FIONA , SOMA MARLENE , SMITH JONATHAN H.
Published: June 2009

Background:  Tracheostomy is more hazardous in the pediatric population than in adults (Paediatr Nurs, 17, 2005, 38; Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 67, 2003, 7; J R Soc Med, 89, 1996, 188). Airway management in these children and infants is potentially challenging. Previous case series of pediatric tracheostomy published in the surgical journals make little mention of anesthetic techniques used and do not describe airway management. The aim of this study was to review the anesthetic, and in particular the airway management of children undergoing tracheostomy at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Methods:  Between September 2004 and December 2007, the ENT surgical database showed that 109 children had a surgical tracheostomy performed at GOSH. We were only able to locate the notes of 100 of these cases. The anesthetic records of these 100 patients undergoing tracheostomy were analyzed retrospectively.

Results:  Ninety‐four percent (94/100) of tracheostomies were elective, and 6% (6/100) were emergency. In this study, 26% (26/100) of children were recorded as difficult to intubate. These difficult airways were managed as follows: 10/26 used a laryngeal mask airway (LMA), 5/26 were managed with facemask alone, 3/26 had fiber‐optic intubation, 5/26 had surgical intubation and 2/26 were intubated with the aid of a bougie and cricoid pressure.

Conclusions:  This case series demonstrates that intubation is difficult in up to 26% of children presenting for tracheostomy. While intubation of the trachea remains the preferred option when anesthetizing children for tracheostomy, the LMA or facemask can provide a successful airway where intubation is not possible. The use of the LMA or facemask may therefore be life saving in the unintubatable child.
Validation of the glidescope video laryngoscope in pediatric patients
Authors: REDEL ANDREAS , KARADEMIR FUNDA , SCHLITTERLAU ANETT , FROMMER MATTHIAS , SCHOLTZ LARS‐UWE , KRANKE PETER , KEHL FRANZ , ROEWER NORBERT , LANGE MARKUS
Published: June 2009

Background:  GlideScope laryngoscopy provides a glottic view equal or superior compared to Macintosh laryngoscopy for endotracheal intubation in adult patients. Data evaluating GlideScope laryngoscopy in pediatric patients are lacking. This study compared intubation times of GlideScope laryngoscopy vs Macintosh laryngoscopy in pediatric patients.

Methods:  Sixty ASA I–III patients, aged 10 years or less, were included in this study. Prior to intubation, airway characteristics were measured, and all patients were given an airway class by a separate anesthesiologist using a Macintosh laryngoscope. Patients were then randomly assigned for endotracheal intubation using a Macintosh laryngoscope or the GlideScope, and intubation time was measured. All blades were investigated for blood traces as a surrogate of laryngeal injury.

Results:  Demographic data and airway characteristics were not statistically significant different between groups. GlideScope intubation time (14 ± 5 s) was not different from Macintosh intubation time (13 ± 5 s). Blood traces were not observed on Macintosh or GlideScope blades.

Conclusion:  The GlideScope video laryngoscope is equally suitable to facilitate orotracheal intubation in pediatric patients compared to the Macintosh laryngoscope with respect to intubation time and laryngeal trauma.
Plasma and renal clearances of lactated Ringer’s solution in pediatric and adult patients just before anesthesia is induced
Authors: LI YUHONG , HAHN ROBERT G. , HU YAOQIN , XIANG YAN , ZHU SHENGMEI
Published: June 2009

Background:  Lactated Ringer’s solution is most widely used in children, but little is known about how children who are scheduled for surgery handle a fluid load when compared to adults. This study explores whether a more cautious regimen for the administration of lactated Ringer’s is warranted in children awaiting minor surgery when compared to adults.

Methods:  Plasma dilution (based on hemoglobin), urinary excretion, and volume kinetics were used to assess the disposition of an i.v. infusion of 10 ml·kg−1 of lactated Ringer’s solution over 20 min in 14 pediatric patients (4 years of age, average body weight 15 kg) and in 14 adult patients scheduled for similar minor pelvic surgery. Experiments were performed after premedication, but before anesthesia was induced.

Results:  Plasma dilution was less pronounced in the pediatric patients (P < 0.03) who also had excreted more of the infused fluid within 90 min than the adults (43% vs 18%, P < 0.03). After correction for body weight, their plasma clearance was 4 times higher (P < 0.02) and the renal clearance of lactated Ringer’s solution 7 times higher (P < 0.001) than those of the adults. The more rapid turnover of fluid in the children might be explained by a shorter period of preoperative fasting (6 vs 10 h) and/or by physiological differences attributable to age.

Conclusion:  The plasma and renal clearances of lactated Ringer’s solution were higher in children with a body weight of about 15 kg in comparison with adults. Therefore, children in this age group may receive at least the same amounts of fluid per kilo body weight during preparation for surgery as the amounts recommended for adults.
A randomized trial comparing sevoflurane and propofol in children undergoing MRI scans
Authors: BRYAN YVON F. , HOKE LAUREN K. , TAGHON THOMAS A. , NICK TODD G. , WANG YU , KENNEDY STEPHANIE M. , FURSTEIN JAMES S. , DEAN KURTH CHARLES
Published: June 2009

Objectives:  We compared three primary outcomes of pausing the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, emergence quality and respiratory complications.

Aim:  To measure and compare the quality between sevoflurane and propofol in children undergoing MRI scans.

Background:  No randomized controlled trial exists comparing the quality between sevoflurane and propofol for MRI.

Methods/Materials:  Two hundred unpremedicated children (18 months to 7 years) scheduled for brain MRI scans were recruited. After induction with sevoflurane, children were randomized to receive sevoflurane [general anesthesia with sevoflurane (GAS)] via laryngeal mask airway (LMA) or propofol [general anesthesia with propofol (GAP)] bolus and infusion for their scan. The three primary outcomes of pausing the MRI scan (P), agitation (A), and respiratory complications (R) were compared. Timeliness of care was also measured.

Results:  No MRI scan pauses were found in 92% and 80% in the GAS and GAP groups. The median and interquartile A scores were 3 (0, 7) in GAS and 0 (0, 4) in GAP groups respectively. There was no difference in respiratory complications between GAS and GAP (P = 0.62). The median and interquartile postanesthesia care unit (PACU) times were 25 (18, 34) for GAS and 31 (25, 44) for GAP (P = 0.0001). The median and interquartile total times were 78 (69, 90) for GAS and 88 (78, 100) for GAP (P = 0.0002).

Conclusion:  Our study compared the three primary outcomes of pausing, agitation, and respiratory complications between the two groups, and we found no difference in respiratory complications. However, the GAP group had more pausing and less agitation than the GAS group.
Dynamics of the SAR11 bacterioplankton lineage in relation to environmental conditions in the oligotrophic North Pacific subtropical gyre
Authors: Eiler Alexander , Hayakawa Darin H. , Church Matthew J. , Karl David M. , Rappé Michael S.
Published: June 2009

A quantitative PCR assay for the SAR11 clade of marine Alphaproteobacteria was applied to nucleic acids extracted from monthly depth profiles sampled over a 3‐year period (2004–2007) at the open‐ocean Station ALOHA (A Long‐term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment; 22°45′N, 158°00′W) in the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. This analysis revealed a high contribution (averaging 36% of 16S rRNA gene copies) of SAR11 to the total detected 16S rRNA gene copies over depths ranging from the surface layer to 4000 m, and revealed consistent spatial and temporal variation in the relative abundance of SAR11 16S rRNA gene copies. On average, a higher proportion of SAR11 rRNA gene copies were detected in the photic zone (< 175 m depth; mean = 38%) compared with aphotic (> 175 m depth; mean = 30%), and in the winter months compared with the summer (mean =  44% versus 33%, integrated over 175 m depth). Partial least square to latent structure projections identified environmental variables that correlate with variation in the absolute abundance of SAR11, and provided tools for developing a predictive model to explain time and depth‐dependent variations in SAR11. Moreover, this information was used to hindcast temporal dynamics of the SAR11 clade between 1997 and 2006 using the existing HOT data set, which suggested that interannual variations in upper ocean SAR11 abundances were related to ocean‐climate variability such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation.
A Ubiquitous Chronic Disease Care system using cellular phones and the internet
Authors: Yoo H. J. , Park M. S. , Kim T. N. , Yang S. J. , Cho G. J. , Hwang T. G. , Baik S. H. , Choi D. S. , Park G. H. , Choi K. M.
Published: June 2009

Aims  The rapidly increasing prevalence of chronic diseases is an important challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. To improve the quality and efficiency of chronic disease care, we investigated the effectiveness and applicability of the Ubiquitous Chronic Disease Care (UCDC) system using cellular phones and the internet for overweight patients with both Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Methods  We conducted a randomized, controlled clinical trial over 3 months that included 123 patients at a university hospital and a community public health centre.

Results  After 12 weeks, there were significant improvements in HbA1c in the intervention group (7.6 ± 0.9% to 7.1 ± 0.8%, P < 0.001) compared with the control group (7.4 ± 0.9% to 7.6 ± 1.0%, P = 0.03). Furthermore, we observed a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as improvements in total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the intervention group. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in adiponectin levels in the intervention group compared with the control group, although high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein and interleukin‐6 levels did not change in either group.

Conclusions  The novel UCDC system presented in this paper improved multiple metabolic parameters simultaneously in overweight patients with both Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
Penguins from space: faecal stains reveal the location of emperor penguin colonies
Authors: Fretwell Peter T. , Trathan Philip N.
Published: June 2009

Aim  To map and assess the breeding distribution of emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) using remote sensing.

Location  Pan‐Antarctic.

Methods  Using Landsat ETM satellite images downloaded from the Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA), we detect faecal staining of ice by emperor penguins associated with their colony locations. Emperor penguins breed on sea ice, and their colonies exist in situ between May and December each year. Faecal staining at these colony locations shows on Landsat imagery as brown patches, the only staining of this colour on sea ice. This staining can therefore be used as an analogue for colony locations. The whole continental coastline has been analysed, and each possible signal has been identified visually and checked by spectral analysis. In areas where LIMA data are unsuitable, freely available Landsat imagery has been supplemented.

Results  We have identified colony locations of emperor penguins at a total of 38 sites. Of these, 10 are new locations, and six previously known colony locations have been repositioned (by over 10 km) due to poor geographical information in old records. Six colony locations, all from old or unconfirmed records, were not found or have disappeared.

Main conclusions  We present a new pan‐Antarctic species distribution of emperor penguins mapped from space. In one synoptic survey we locate extant emperor penguin colonies, a species previously poorly mapped due to its unique breeding habits, and provide a vital geographical resource for future studies of an iconic species believed to be vulnerable to future climate change.
Colonial Legacies and Repertoires of “Ethnic” Violence: The Case of Western India, 1941–2002
Authors: DESAI MANALI
Published: June 2009

The post‐colonial state is held to be a weak state whose ease of capture reduces its capacity to suppress violence. The focus on the state, however, risks neglecting the ways in which violence is deployed to render the state weak in popular perception. This perception in turn legitimates claims for a foundational shift in the basis of power. In this paper, the concept of “repertoire” as first used by Charles Tilly, is used to analyze continuities and discontinuities in the development of the “ethnic riot” in urban, western India. As an “extreme” case in which riots have shown considerable durability over time, it highlights a key point, namely, that riots can form part of a strategy of power by simultaneously projecting themselves as popular insurrection and constructing a perception of the state as weak. The persistence of this repertoire, it is further argued, derives from the historical specificities of colonial state formation which promoted an ethnically imagined and hierarchized polity, as well as political struggles which weakened alternative forms of community.
The Cultural Agency of Elites: Awolowo and the Re‐making of the Yoruba
Authors: ADEBANWI WALE
Published: June 2009

The mystique of eliteness is a quality that is cultivated or constructed overtime. Here, I examine agency– a culturally‐specific, consolidated stream of composite actions and interactions that are geared towards specific social endeavours, and structure ‐representing conventions and social parameters through which agency and social practices are performed and become performative, by tracing the historical‐political context in which Chief Obáfémi Awólówò, the acknowledged leader of the Yorùbá of Nigeria, rose to politico‐cultural prominence and succeeded to the “throne” of the Yorùbá progenitor, Odùduwà. I argue that through this succession, Awólówò became the “modern Odùduwà” and the central signifier of Yorubaness in 20th Century Nigeria and beyond.
Martial Law and Military Power in the Construction of the South African State: Jan Smuts and the “Solid Guarantee of Force” 1899–1924
Authors: HYSLOP JONATHAN
Published: June 2009

This paper seeks to provide a new approach to analysing the crucial period of the building of the South African state between the Boer War and 1924. Drawing on the sociology of Michael Mann, it argues that the construction of networks of military power was of central and partly autonomous importance in giving shape to the new state. It goes on to contend that this generated a legal order which was in many ways shaped by practices which derived from martial law. The paper also asserts that these questions of military power and martial law need to be analysed within a framework which does not limit itself to the boundaries of the South African state itself, but is placed within the wider context of the British Empire and the southern African region. A biographical exploration the role of Jan Smuts as the key leader is used to focus the paper's study of this process of state‐making.
Colonial Oppression, Gender, and Women in the Irish Diaspora
Authors: RADOSH POLLY
Published: June 2009

This paper explores the relationship between colonial oppression in pre‐famine Ireland and the development of gender patterns that fostered uncommon social and familial roles for women. In post‐famine Ireland women's traditional family roles illustrate cultural empowerment that combined with the pull factors of employment opportunities to spawn higher female than male emigration at the same time that patriarchal oppression restricted women's full social participation in Ireland and limited their authority to specific domains of family life. Cultural changes in post‐famine Ireland, including increased power for the Catholic Church, mothers' socialization of children to the moral teachings of the Church, delayed marriage, and permanent celibacy among large segments of the population, intersected to produce unique patterns of migration. For women who immigrated to the United States, the cultural background of colonial oppression instilled values that respected independence and employment. In the case of the Irish, colonial oppression initiated gender patterns that pushed women to greater familial power and occupational independence than was typical of other ethnic groups.
Effect of calcium from dairy and dietary supplements on faecal fat excretion: a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Christensen R. , Lorenzen J. K. , Svith C. R. , Bartels E. M. , Melanson E. L. , Saris W. H. , Tremblay A. , Astrup A.
Published: June 2009

Observational studies have found that dietary calcium intake is inversely related to body weight and body fat mass. One explanatory mechanism is that dietary calcium increases faecal fat excretion. To examine the effect of calcium from dietary supplements or dairy products on quantitative faecal fat excretion, we performed a systematic review with meta‐analysis. We included randomized, controlled trials of calcium (supplements or dairy) in healthy subjects, where faecal fat excretion was measured. Meta‐analyses used random‐effects models with changes in faecal fat excreted expressed as standardized mean differences, as the studies assessed the same outcome but measured in different ways.

An increased calcium intake resulted in increased excretion of faecal fat by a standardized mean difference of 0.99 (95% confidence intervals: 0.63–1.34; P < 0.0001; expected to correspond to ∼2g day−1) with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 49.5%) indicating some inconsistency in trial outcomes. However, the dairy trials showed homogeneous outcomes (I2=0%) indicating consistency among these trials. We estimated that increasing the dairy calcium intake by 1241 mg day−1 resulted in an increase in faecal fat of 5.2 (1.6–8.8) g day−1. In conclusion, dietary calcium has the potential to increase faecal fat excretion to an extent that could be relevant for prevention of weight (re‐)gain. Long‐term studies are required to establish its potential contribution.
ROUTES TO HIGHER‐ORDER ACCURACY IN PARAMETRIC INFERENCE
Authors: Young G. Alastair
Published: June 2009

Developments in the theory of frequentist parametric inference in recent decades have been driven largely by the desire to achieve higher‐order accuracy, in particular distributional approximations that improve on first‐order asymptotic theory by one or two orders of magnitude. At the same time, much methodology is specifically designed to respect key principles of parametric inference, in particular conditionality principles. Two main routes to higher‐order accuracy have emerged: analytic methods based on ‘small‐sample asymptotics’, and simulation, or ‘bootstrap’, approaches. It is argued here that, of these, the simulation methodology provides a simple and effective approach, which nevertheless retains finer inferential components of theory. The paper seeks to track likely developments of parametric inference, in an era dominated by the emergence of methodological problems involving complex dependences and/or high‐dimensional parameters that typically exceed available data sample sizes.
Moving Beyond Deliberative Control of Impulses
Authors: Fujita Kentaro , Han H. Anna
Published: June 2009

Many prominent models propose that self-control requires deliberative control of impulses. We propose that people's subjective mental construals of events can alter temptation impulses without requiring conscious deliberation. Research has indicated that high-level construals (subjective mental representations that capture the core, essential, and abstract features of events) lead to greater self-control than low-level construals (representations that capture secondary, incidental, and concrete features). We demonstrate that higher-level construals make it easier for people to associate temptations with negativity, as measured by the Implicit Association Test, and that, in turn, these construal-dependent changes in evaluative associations promote self-control. These findings indicate that subjective construals can influence self-control without conscious deliberation.
Linking Gene, Brain, and Behavior
Authors: Schmidt Louis A. , Fox Nathan A. , Perez-Edgar Koraly , Hamer Dean H.
Published: June 2009

Gene-environment interactions involving exogenous environmental factors are known to shape behavior and personality development. Although gene-environment interactions involving endogenous environmental factors are hypothesized to play an equally important role, this conceptual approach has not been empirically applied in the study of early-developing temperament in humans. Here we report evidence for a gene- endoenvironment (i.e., resting frontal brain electroencephalogram, EEG, asymmetry) interaction in predicting child temperament. The dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene (long allele vs. short allele) moderated the relation between resting frontal EEG asymmetry (left vs. right) at 9 months and temperament at 48 months. Children who exhibited left frontal EEG asymmetry at 9 months and who possessed the DRD4 long allele were significantly more soothable at 48 months than other children. Among children with right frontal EEG asymmetry at 9 months, those with the DRD4 long allele had significantly more difficulties focusing and sustaining attention at 48 months than those with the DRD4 short allele. Resting frontal EEG asymmetry did not influence temperament in the absence of the DRD4 long allele. We discuss how the interaction of genetic and endoenvironmental factors may confer risk and protection for different behavioral styles in children.
Discovering That the Shoe Fits
Authors: Clark Jason K. , Wegener Duane T. , Briñol Pablo , Petty Richard E.
Published: June 2009

Stereotypes can influence social perceptions in many ways. The current research examined a previously unexplored possibility—that activation of a stereotype can validate thoughts about other people when the thoughts are stereotype consistent (i.e., that stereotype activation can increase people's confidence in their previous stereotype-consistent thoughts). Given previous results for other forms of metacognition, this thought validation from stereotype activation should be most likely when people have the cognitive capacity to carefully process individuating information. In two experiments, participants were given information about a target person and then a description designed to activate a stereotype. When processing capacity was high, confidence in thoughts was greater when the initial information produced thoughts consistent, rather than inconsistent, with the stereotype that was later activated, and higher confidence in thoughts was associated with stronger perception-consistent recommendations related to the target. When processing capacity was low, an activated stereotype served its familiar heuristic role in judgment, and thought confidence played no role in judgment-related recommendations.
Early Experience Predicts Later Plasticity for Face Processing
Authors: Cassia Viola Macchi , Kuefner Dana , Picozzi Marta , Vescovo Elena
Published: June 2009

Research has shown that experience acquired in infancy dramatically affects face-discrimination abilities. Yet much less is known about whether face processing retains any flexibility after the 1st year of life. Here, we show that early experience with an individual infant face can modulate the recognition performance of 3-year-old children and the perceptual processes they use to recognize infant faces ( Experiment 1 ). Similar experience acquired in adulthood does not produce measurable effects ( Experiment 2 ). We also show that the effects of early-acquired experience with an infant face become dormant during development in the absence of continued experience ( Experiment 3 ) and can be reactivated in adulthood by reexposure to the original experience ( Experiment 2 ). Overall, the results indicate that early experience can preserve the face-processing system from the loss of plasticity that would otherwise take place between childhood and adulthood.
The Limitations of using School League Tables to Inform School Choice
Authors: Leckie George , Goldstein Harvey
Published: June 2009

In England, so-called ‘league tables’ based on examination results and test scores are published annually, ostensibly to inform parental choice of secondary schools. A crucial limitation of these tables is that the most recent published information is based on the current performance of a cohort of pupils who entered secondary schools several years earlier, whereas for choosing a school it is the future performance of the current cohort that is of interest. We show that there is substantial uncertainty in predicting such future performance and that incorporating this uncertainty leads to a situation where only a handful of schools’ future performances can be separated from both the overall mean and from one another with an acceptable degree of precision. This suggests that school league tables, including value-added tables, have very little to offer as guides to school choice.
Modelling Long-Term Pan-European Population Change from 1870 to 2000 by Using Geographical Information Systems
Authors: Gregory Ian N. , Marti-Henneberg Jordi , Tapiador Francisco J.
Published: June 2009

The paper presents work that creates a geographical information system database of European census data from 1870 to 2000. The database is integrated over space and time. Spatially it consists of regional level data for most of Europe; temporally it covers every decade from 1870 to 2000. Crucially the data have been interpolated onto the administrative units that were available in 2000, thus allowing contemporary population patterns to be understood in the light of the changes that have occurred since the late 19th century. The effect of interpolation error on the resulting estimates is explored. This database will provide a framework for much future analysis on long-term Europewide demographic processes over space and time.
Modelling the Probability Distribution of Prize Winnings in the UK National Lottery: Consequences of Conscious Selection
Authors: Baker R. D. , McHale I. G.
Published: June 2009

In the statistical and economics literature on lotteries, the problem of designing attractive games has been studied by using models in which sales are a function of the structure of prizes. Recently the prize structure has been proxied by using the moments of the prize distribution. Such modelling is a vital input into the process of designing appealing new lottery games that can generate large revenues for good causes. We show how conscious selection, the process by which lottery players choose numbers non-randomly, complicates the multivariate distribution of prize winners by introducing massive overdispersion of numbers of winners, and large correlations between the numbers of different types of prize winner. Although it is possible intuitively to reach a qualitative understanding of the data, an a priori model does not fit well. We therefore construct an empirical model of the joint distribution of prize winners and use it to calculate the moments of ticket value as a function of sales. The new model gives much higher estimates of ticket value moments, particularly skewness, than previously obtained. Our results will have consequences for policy decisions regarding game design. A spin-off result is that, on the basis of the results of model fitting, lottery players may increase the expected value of their ticket by strategically choosing numbers which are less popular with other lottery players.
Unemployed and Their Caseworkers: Should They be Friends or Foes?
Authors: Behncke Stefanie , Frölich Markus , Lechner Michael
Published: June 2009

In many countries, caseworkers in public employment offices have dual roles of counselling and monitoring unemployed people. These roles often conflict, which results in important caseworker heterogeneity: some consider providing services to their clients and satisfying their demands as their primary task. However, others may pursue their own strategies, even against the will of the unemployed person. They may assign jobs and labour market programmes without the consent of the unemployed person. On the basis of a very detailed linked jobseeker–caseworker data set for Switzerland, we investigate the effects of caseworkers’ co-operativeness on the probabilities of employment of their clients. Modified statistical matching methods reveal that caseworkers who place less emphasis on a co-operative and harmonic relationship with their clients increase their chances of employment in the short and medium term.
Teacher Shortages, Teacher Contracts and Their Effect on Education in Africa
Authors: Bourdon Jean , Frölich Markus , Michaelowa Katharina
Published: June 2009

To enhance primary enrolment rates, many African countries have launched large teacher recruitment programmes in recent years. Given tight budgetary constraints, teachers are no longer employed in civil service positions, but on the basis of (fixed term) contracts typically implying considerably lower salaries and a sharply reduced amount of professional training. We analyse the effect of this change on educational quality in Niger, Togo and Mali, on the basis of very informative data, which are comparable across these countries. We use a variety of estimation techniques, including a non-parametric estimation of quantile treatment effects. Our results demonstrate that contract teachers tend to reduce inequalities in student outcomes. Overall, the effects are positive in Mali, somewhat mixed in Togo and negative in Niger. This ordering is consistent with theoretical expectations related to the manner in which contract teacher programmes were implemented differently in each of the three countries under study.
Embedded Experiments in Repeated and Overlapping Surveys
Authors: Chipperfield James , Bell Philip
Published: June 2009

Statistical agencies make changes to the data collection methodology of their surveys to improve the quality of the data collected or to improve the efficiency with which they are collected. For reasons of cost it may not be possible to estimate the effect of such a change on survey estimates or response rates reliably, without conducting an experiment that is embedded in the survey which involves enumerating some respondents by using the new method and some under the existing method. Embedded experiments are often designed for repeated and overlapping surveys; however, previous methods use sample data from only one occasion. The paper focuses on estimating the effect of a methodological change on estimates in the case of repeated surveys with overlapping samples from several occasions. Efficient design of an embedded experiment that covers more than one time point is also mentioned. All inference is unbiased over an assumed measurement model, the experimental design and the complex sample design. Other benefits of the approach proposed include the following: it exploits the correlation between the samples on each occasion to improve estimates of treatment effects; treatment effects are allowed to vary over time; it is robust against incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis of no treatment effect; it allows a wide set of alternative experimental designs. This paper applies the methodology proposed to the Australian Labour Force Survey to measure the effect of replacing pen-and-paper interviewing with computer-assisted interviewing. This application considered alternative experimental designs in terms of their statistical efficiency and their risks to maintaining a consistent series. The approach proposed is significantly more efficient than using only 1 month of sample data in estimation.
Two-Step Estimation for Inhomogeneous Spatial Point Processes
Authors: Waagepetersen Rasmus , Guan Yongtao
Published: June 2009

The paper is concerned with parameter estimation for inhomogeneous spatial point processes with a regression model for the intensity function and tractable second-order properties (K-function). Regression parameters are estimated by using a Poisson likelihood score estimating function and in the second step minimum contrast estimation is applied for the residual clustering parameters. Asymptotic normality of parameter estimates is established under certain mixing conditions and we exemplify how the results may be applied in ecological studies of rainforests.
Fully Exponential Laplace Approximations for the Joint Modelling of Survival and Longitudinal Data
Authors: Rizopoulos Dimitris , Verbeke Geert , Lesaffre Emmanuel
Published: June 2009

A common objective in longitudinal studies is the joint modelling of a longitudinal response with a time-to-event outcome. Random effects are typically used in the joint modelling framework to explain the interrelationships between these two processes. However, estimation in the presence of random effects involves intractable integrals requiring numerical integration. We propose a new computational approach for fitting such models that is based on the Laplace method for integrals that makes the consideration of high dimensional random-effects structures feasible. Contrary to the standard Laplace approximation, our method requires much fewer repeated measurements per individual to produce reliable results.
A General Dynamical Statistical model with Causal Interpretation
Authors: Commenges Daniel , Gégout-Petit Anne
Published: June 2009

We develop a general dynamical model as a framework for causal interpretation. We first state a criterion of local independence in terms of measurability of processes that are involved in the Doob–Meyer decomposition of stochastic processes; then we define direct and indirect influence. We propose a definition of causal influence using the concepts of a ‘physical system’. This framework makes it possible to link descriptive and explicative statistical models, and encompasses quantitative processes and events. One of the features of the paper is the clear distinction between the model for the system and the model for the observation. We give a dynamical representation of a conventional joint model for human immunodeficiency virus load and CD4 cell counts. We show its inadequacy to capture causal influences whereas in contrast known mechanisms of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus can be expressed directly through a system of differential equations.
Deconvolution Methods for Non-Parametric Inference in two-level Mixed Models
Authors: Hall Peter , Maiti Tapabrata
Published: June 2009

We develop a general non-parametric approach to the analysis of clustered data via random effects. Assuming only that the link function is known, the regression functions and the distributions of both cluster means and observation errors are treated non-parametrically. Our argument proceeds by viewing the observation error at the cluster mean level as though it were a measurement error in an errors-in-variables problem, and using a deconvolution argument to access the distribution of the cluster mean. A Fourier deconvolution approach could be used if the distribution of the error-in-variables were known. In practice it is unknown, of course, but it can be estimated from repeated measurements, and in this way deconvolution can be achieved in an approximate sense. This argument might be interpreted as implying that large numbers of replicates are necessary for each cluster mean distribution, but that is not so; we avoid this requirement by incorporating statistical smoothing over values of nearby explanatory variables. Empirical rules are developed for the choice of smoothing parameter. Numerical simulations, and an application to real data, demonstrate small sample performance for this package of methodology. We also develop theory establishing statistical consistency.
Invariant Co-Ordinate Selection
Authors: Tyler David E. , Critchley Frank , Dümbgen Lutz , Oja Hannu
Published: June 2009

A general method for exploring multivariate data by comparing different estimates of multivariate scatter is presented. The method is based on the eigenvalue–eigenvector decomposition of one scatter matrix relative to another. In particular, it is shown that the eigenvectors can be used to generate an affine invariant co-ordinate system for the multivariate data. Consequently, we view this method as a method for invariant co-ordinate selection. By plotting the data with respect to this new invariant co-ordinate system, various data structures can be revealed. For example, under certain independent components models, it is shown that the invariant co- ordinates correspond to the independent components. Another example pertains to mixtures of elliptical distributions. In this case, it is shown that a subset of the invariant co-ordinates corresponds to Fisher’s linear discriminant subspace, even though the class identifications of the data points are unknown. Some illustrative examples are given.
Copula Structure Analysis
Authors: Klüppelberg Claudia , Kuhn Gabriel
Published: June 2009

We extend the standard approach of correlation structure analysis for dimension reduction of high dimensional statistical data. The classical assumption of a linear model for the distribution of a random vector is replaced by the weaker assumption of a model for the copula. For elliptical copulas a correlation-like structure remains, but different margins and non-existence of moments are possible. After introducing the new concept and deriving some theoretical results we observe in a simulation study the performance of the estimators: the theoretical asymptotic behaviour of the statistics can be observed even for small sample sizes. Finally, we show our method at work for a financial data set and explain differences between our copula-based approach and the classical approach. Our new method yielear models also.
APPLYING NORTH'S LAWS OF MOTION TO THE EDGE OF THE WEST
Authors: Azmat Saad
Published: June 2009

This paper uses Douglass North's theories of institutional economics to explain progress in Muslim Spain. It argues that it was efficient economic institutions in the guise of a free‐market economy where the property rights of different strata of society were well protected, which ensured lasting prosperity. This paper postulates that while a population explosion could have been responsible for the initial growth in Spain, it was an efficient formal–informal institutional matrix that ensured a high level of long‐term growth.
MUSLIM WOMEN AND PROPERTY RIGHTS
Authors: Aslam Azhar , Kazmi Shaista
Published: June 2009

This paper examines rights to property accorded to women in Islam under direct injunctions and compares it with the state of these rights in present Muslim societies. It argues that the correct application of law will not only materially improve the status of women in Muslim societies and guarantee them economic security, it will also bring economic prosperity to such societies directly.
A CONFLICT OF INTEREST: ISLAMIC HOME FINANCING IN AMERICA
Authors: Nayeem Omar , Shiliwala Mohamed , Shiliwala Wasim
Published: June 2009

The rising Muslim population in the USA has fuelled an increase in the domestic demand for ‘’ finance. One of the prominent restrictions that imposes on financial practices is a prohibition on the payment and collection of riba, interest on loans. This paper examines the home financing models of three prominent Islamic financial institutions. It identifies the transaction models that these institutions use, explains the differences among these models and illustrates how each institution ‘sells’ its chosen approach to the public.
ONLINE FREE MARKETS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
Authors: Frazier Mark , Ewing Shannon
Published: June 2009

For centuries, networks of free exchange enabled populations of the Islamic world to thrive. Today, by contrast, the largest Muslim countries lag in international measures of economic freedom. At this critical time, hundreds of online markets for ‘telework’ are bringing global business opportunities within reach of many in the Muslim and non‐Muslim worlds alike. Individuals with internet access can directly engage in the global online economy without having to wait for the results of domestic policy liberalisation or needing to relocate in search of higher wages.
THE LEGAL AUTONOMY OF THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE: A SCALABLE STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL FREE‐MARKET REFORMS
Authors: Strong Michael , Himber Robert
Published: June 2009

Islamic culture is founded on a deep and pervasive respect for contract, and for contractual relationships as a means of solving diverse social problems. In addition, for more than a thousand years Islamic empires have included Jewish and Christian communities that were allowed to have a substantial degree of legal autonomy. These two facts about Islamic legal culture are used to explain the remarkable phenomenon of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial free zone in Dubai in which a British judge administers British common law within the zone while outside the zone UAE law applies. We encourage other nations to consider the flexible and pragmatic approach that has characterised Dubai in the creation of the DIFC.
THE ESSENCE OF THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL
Authors: Huerta de Soto Jesús
Published: June 2009

In a lecture in November 2008, Professor Huerta de Soto set out the key contributions of the Austrian School to economic thought.
NEW MODES OF MONETARY POLICY: QUALITATIVE EASING BY THE FED
Authors: Bagus Philipp , Schiml Markus H.
Published: June 2009

Recent developments in monetary policy demand new analytical tools, in particular an analysis of central banks' balance sheets. During the sub‐prime crisis the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve System deteriorated substantially. In this article we analyse the process of this deterioration in detail.
MARKET COMPETITION, COMMUNITY RATING, RISK EQUALISATION AND EFFICIENCY IN HEALTH INSURANCE – A CASE STUDY
Authors: Barrett Sean D.
Published: June 2009

Risk equalisation payments threatened to undermine competition in the Irish health insurance sector, which is already dominated by a state‐owned provider with special access to policy‐makers. The Supreme Court's decision against such payments is therefore to be welcomed.