bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Xenon‐enhanced computed tomography quantifies normal maxillary sinus ventilation
Authors: Leopold Donald , Zinreich S. James , Simon Brett A. , Cullen Michelle M. , Marcucci Catherine
Published: May 2013

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine the applicability, safety, and normal parameters of a xenon‐enhanced CT technique to quantify maxillary sinus ventilation.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Nine healthy subjects inhaled a xenon‐oxygen‐air mixture through their noses while repeated CT scans were performed through the same section of their sinuses. Images were obtained every 1 to 3 minutes and analyzed to measure the density of the gas in the maxillary sinus as a function of time.

RESULTS

Individual nasal cavity time constants ranged from 0.5 to 18 minutes. Studies performed after decongestion showed poorer sinus ventilation.

CONCLUSIONS

The xenon‐CT washin/washout technique is safe, effective, and gives representative data.
Chemoprevention of head and neck cancer
Authors: Armstrong William B. , Meyskens Frank L.
Published: May 2013

Increasing emphasis has been placed on chemo‐prevention as understanding of the genetic and molecular events of carcinogenesis has evolved. More than 1000 compounds that inhibit cancer development in vitro or in animal models have been identified, and active research is under way to determine which of these agents will be both effective and nontoxic in human beings. Currently, 13‐cis‐retinoic acid is the most studied chemopreventive agent against head and neck cancers. Unfortunately, this vitamin A derivative has significant clinical toxicity, which limits its utility in a practice setting. The efficacy of the retinoids, however, has stimulated efforts to find other chemopreventive compounds that are both effective and non‐toxic. This review discusses head and neck premalignancy, chemoprevention strategies, retinoids, and several other classes of chemopreventive agents with potential efficacy against head and neck premalignancy.
Postoperative management of pediatric tracheostomy: Results of a nationwide survey
Authors: Gluth Michael B. , Maska Suzy , Nelson Joely , Otto Randal A.
Published: May 2013

OBJECTIVE

A survey was undertaken to document the postoperative care of pediatric tracheostomies by otolaryngologists.

STUDY DESIGN

This study represents the results of a national survey of 564 otolaryngologists covering a broad scope of postoperative pediatric tracheostomy issues considered for patients younger than 2 years and patients older than 5 years.

RESULTS

Of the surveys sent, 134 responses were received, portraying a certain standard management scheme that seems to be used by most respondents.

CONCLUSIONS

Very little difference was seen in respondents' management of patients younger than 2 years of age as compared with those who are older than 5 years. Furthermore, agreement between actual practice and published recommendations seems to vary with some management issues. The results of this study provide a means by which otolaryngologists may familiarize themselves with national trends in the postoperative management of pediatric tracheostomies.
Interrelationship between protein phosphatase‐2A and cytoskeletal architecture during the endothelial cell response to soluble products produced by human head and neck cancer
Authors: Witt Christopher J. , Gabel Steven P. , Meisinger Jeremy , Werra Gwendolyn , Liu Shirley W. , Young M. Rita I.
Published: May 2013

Tumor neovascularization is necessary for the progressive development of all solid tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). The angiogenic process includes increased endothelial cell motility. Our prior studies have shown the importance of protein phosphatase‐2A (PP‐2A) in restricting endothelial cell motility. Because motility is regulated by the polymerization/depolymerization of the cellular cytoskeleton, the present study defined the interrelationship between PP‐2A and the cytoskeleton during endothelial cell responses to HNSCC‐derived angiogenic factors. PP‐2A was shown to colocalize with microtubules of unstimulated endothelial cells. However, exposure to HNSCC‐derived products resulted in a more diffuse distribution of PP‐2A staining and a loss of filamentous tubulin. The feasibility of pharmacologically preventing this cytoskeletal disorganization as a means of blocking tumor‐induced angiogenesis was tested. This was accomplished by use of 1α,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25 (OH)2D3] and all‐trans‐retinoic acid to indirectly stimulate PP‐2A activity through their capacity to elevated intracellular levels of the second messenger ceramide. Pretreatment of endothelial cells with either 1,25(OH)2D3 or retinoic acid prevented the cytoskeletal disorganization that otherwise occurs in endothelial cells on exposure to HNSCC‐derived products. These studies support the feasibility of using elevation of PP‐2A to prevent the morphogenic component of the angiogenic process that is stimulated by HNSCC‐derived factors.
Management of chyle fistulization in association with neck dissection
Authors: Gregor R. T.
Published: May 2013

Chylous fistula after neck dissection is a relatively rare but potentially lethal complication. Sequelae range from severe fluid, electrolyte, and protein loss to fistula formation, skin‐flap necrosis, and carotid blowout. A thorough knowledge of the anatomy is essential to avoid injury to the thoracic duct or right lymph duct. After surgery, drainage of large amounts of fluid, particularly if milky, may alert the surgeon to the danger of chylous leakage. Certain diagnosis, however, is not so easy. Once the diagnosis is made, the management has to address the immediate and late effects of the loss of chyle into an operative site. This article seeks to examine these factors through review of the literature and personal experience with the problem. Total parenteral nutrition allows for control of the fluid and protein loss while avoiding flow of chyle, and in most cases it results in resolution. In those cases that do not resolve, fibrin glue with some type of mesh and muscle flaps usually succeed in closure.
Comparison of regional recurrence rates of radical and comprehensive neck dissection type 3 in N0 laryngeal cancer
Authors: Yilmaz Taner , Turan Ergin , HoŞAl A. ŞEfik , Kaya Sefa
Published: May 2013

To determine whether comprehensive neck dissection (CND) type 3 could accomplish regional tumor control as well as radical neck dissection (RND) in clinically N0 laryngeal cancer patients, we compared the regional recurrence rates of 316 N0 laryngeal cancer patients. In the 316 N0 patients, 486 neck dissections were performed. For 170 patients the dissection was bilateral, and for 146 patients it was unilateral. Of these, 193 were type 3 CNDs, and 293 were RNDs. In 30 (15.5%) of 193 type 3 CNDs and in 53 (18.1%) of 293 RNDs, metastatic lymph nodes were determined histopathologically in neck dissection specimens. The difference in cervical lymph node metastasis rates was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). During follow‐up, 3 patients who underwent CND type 3 (1.6%) and 12 who underwent RND (4.1%) had regional recurrences. The difference between recurrence rates was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). A conclusion was reached that CND type 3 safely provided regional cancer control in N0 laryngeal cancer and that it might be performed to decrease the morbidity of RND.
Hearing results in the second stage of open mastoidectomy: A comparison of the different techniques
Authors: CristÔBal Fernando , Gômez‐Ullate Rafael , CristÔBal Isabel , Arcocha Alfredo , ArrÔO Ramon
Published: May 2013

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to compare the hearing results obtained through different hearing‐restoration techniques in open‐cavity mastoidectomy.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

A total of 116 ears operated on during the second stage of open mastoidectomy were studied. The hearing gain was registered as the difference between preoperative and 1‐year postoperative conversational frequency means (500, 1000, 2000 Hz). High‐pitched frequencies (4000 Hz) were used equally. Two groups of studies were carried out: in one study the stapes was intact, and in the other the stapes arch was absent. The columella techniques we examined, from a hearing point of view, are total and partial ossicular replacement prostheses, ossiculoplasty, cartilage with or without perichondrium, and the myringostapediopexy.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

In the group of patients in whom the stapes was intact, the differences in high‐pitched frequencies found between the different techniques were negligible, but the differences were quite significant in conversational frequencies, where the partial ossicular replacement prosthesis turned out to be the technique with the worst results. In ears in which only the footplate was present, the total ossicular replacement prosthesis gave better results than any other technique, both in conversational frequencies and in 4000‐Hz frequency.
Professional support framework: improving access to professional support for professionals
Authors: Hall Fiona , Bell Karen
Published: May 2013

From an organisational point of view, professional support is an important aspect of clinical governance and a tool for maximising service delivery quality. As a key factor in staff retention and recruitment, access to professional support is also regarded as an important tool for facilitating workforce growth in a competitive health workforce market. While some work units provide appropriate professional support such as in-service, professional supervision is a key challenge for a large organisation employing many health professionals to ensure equitable and relevant access to finite professional support resources. The goal of this paper is to describe the Professional Support Program designed and implemented by Queensland Health. This program seeks to support professionals who may not previously have had optimal engagement in professional support and to enhance the quality of professional support activities available. Evaluation indicates that the Professional Support Program has been successful in facilitating participation in, and quality of professional support activities.

What is known of the topic?
There are numerous professional support strategies for health professionals. In many cases, these are understood but delivered in an ad hoc and disconnected way.

What does this paper add?
The development and implementation of a comprehensive Professional Support Framework is outlined.

What are the implications for practitioners?
The Professional Support Framework described here has provided effective and equitable professional support to a diverse group of professionals.
Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection among HIV-infected clients in Far North Queensland: use of an interferon-gamma release assay
Authors: Lyne Katrina , Downing Sandra , Russell Darren
Published: May 2013

Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is a significant risk for those infected with HIV. We examined the use of an interferon-gamma release assay for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis among HIV-infected clients attending two sexual health services in Far North Queensland. Of 240 clients tested, 19 returned a positive result (7.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.5–11.3%) and three were indeterminate (1.3%, 95% CI: –0.2%–2.7%). Low CD4 count was found to be significantly associated with an indeterminate test result (P = 0.004). However, we found no significant association between test results and client demographics, self-reported prior tuberculosis infection, Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine status or selected tuberculosis risk factors (P-values = 0.2–0.9).
Rapid species identification of eight sympatric northern Australian macropods from faecal-pellet DNA
Authors: Wadley Jessica J. , Austin Jeremy J. , Fordham Damien A.
Published: May 2013

Context Conservation of vulnerable and endangered species requires a comprehensive understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements, so as to implement effective management strategies. Visual scat surveys are a common non-invasive method for monitoring populations. However, morphological similarity of scats among sympatric species presents a problem for accurate identification. Visual misidentifications of scats can have major impacts on the accuracy of abundance and distribution surveys of target species, wasting resources and misdirecting management and conservation actions. DNA identification of scats can overcome this issue, while simultaneously providing a rich source of genetic information for population and dietary studies. Aims We developed a simple and reliable method to identify morphologically similar macropod scats from eight sympatric species in north-eastern Australia, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of a portion of the mtDNA ND2 gene. Methods We identified a short (275-bp) polymorphic region of ND2, which is easily amplifiable from degraded DNA, developed a primer set, and identified a set of three restriction endonucleases (AluI, BstNI and HphI) which, in combination, can discriminate among the eight target species. So as to test the effectiveness of this protocol, we collected 914 macropod scats from 53 sites in the north-eastern Australia. Key results In total, 406 of these scats were extracted, with 398 (98%) containing amplifiable macropod DNA. All 398 scats were subsequently identified to species by using our RFLP protocol. Sequencing of a subset of these samples confirmed the accuracy of the test. Species identification of scats by using DNA identified eight species of macropods, five of which were outside their documented distributions, one of which was ~400 km. Conclusions Our PCR–RFLP method is a simple and efficient means to identify macropod scats to species, eliminating the need for sequencing, which is costly, time-consuming and requires additional laboratory equipment. Implications The method allows for rapid and non-invasive assessment of macropod species and is particularly useful for surveying populations across multiple sites.
Brain Death
Authors: Laureys Steven
Published: May 2013

The use of high-tech intensive care in the 1960s led to the dissociation between cardiac, respiratory, and brain function in patients who would have previously died from apnoea. As a consequence, death had to be re-defined determined by neurological criteria. Ever since, brain death raises diverse neuroethical issues, from estate law and religious practices to patient care and organ donation. Such controversies naturally stem from the exact formulation of brain death. This chapter argues that a neocortical definition of brain death is conceptually inadequate and cannot characterize patients in vegetative or minimally conscious states. The chapter provides some suggestions as to how the medical community can act to promote advanced medical care planning. Finally, the chapter speculates that in the future, improving technologies for brain repair and prosthetic support for brain functions might change our current ideas of irreversibility and eventually force medicine and society to once again revise its definition of death.
Introduction
Authors: Zimmer Oliver
Published: May 2013

The Introduction outlines the concepts and themes that frame the book's narrative, situating them within the context of the historiography on modern Germany during this period, and explaining the distinctive nature of its focus and arguments. The book's central concern with the place-making activities of urban residents is discussed, and the concepts guiding the analysis in its three successive parts—journey, place, and rhythm—are introduced and explained
Remaking the Bürgergemeinde
Authors: Zimmer Oliver
Published: May 2013

This chapter examines the political implications of municipal citizenship. In this regard, the invention of universal manhood suffrage (1867/71) created a new situation. Suddenly a large part of Germany's adult male population could take part in national elections, which contrasted sharply with the political exclusion that continued at the municipal level. Intriguingly, the economically more traditional Ulm proved much more inclusive than either Augsburg or Ludwigshafen am Rhein. But local citizenship was about more than place-making through political exclusion. It was also about men and women organizing themselves in electoral associations and consumer co-operatives.
Brain networks for the encoding of emotions in communication sounds of human and nonhuman primates
Authors: Rauschecker Josef P.
Published: May 2013

This chapter builds on the notion of processing hierarchies and processing streams that was developed in auditory cortical neurophysiology of primates over the last 20 years. The anterior-ventral stream is involved in the decoding and identification of complex auditory patterns or ‘objects’. Species-specific communication sounds, including speech in humans, are one such category of complex sounds, so their decoding and identification also happens along the ventral stream, i.e. in the anterior superior temporal region and in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The anterior-ventral stream also gives rise to a projection into medial prefrontal areas, where emotional content of vocalizations is processed. This medial prefrontal network is well characterized anatomically, but its neurophysiological analysis lags far behind. As things stand, this chapter can only provide a framework for further investigation of the neural basis of emotion-related communication sound processing in primates and of the interactions between perceptual and limbic networks.
Applicable Law in Investor-State Arbitration
Authors: Kjos Hege Elisabeth
Published: May 2013

This book examines the law, national and/or international, that arbitral tribunals apply on the merits to settle disputes between foreign investors and host states. In light of the freedom that the disputing parties and the arbitrators have when designating the applicable law, and because of the hybrid nature of legal relationship between investors and states, there is significant interplay between the national and the international legal order in investor-state arbitration. The book contains a comprehensive analysis of the relevant jurisprudence, legal instruments, and scholarship surrounding arbitral practice with respect to the application of national law and international law. It investigates the awards in which tribunals referred to consistency between the legal orders, and suggests alternatives to the traditional doctrines of monism and dualism to explain the relationship between the national and the international legal order. The book also addresses the territorialized or internationalized nature of the tribunals; relevant choice-of-law rules and methodologies; and the scope of the arbitration agreement, including the possibility of host states presenting counterclaims in investment treaty arbitration. Ultimately, it argues that in investor–state arbitration, national and international law do not only coexist but may be applied simultaneously; they are also interdependent, each complementing and informing the other both indirectly and directly for a larger common good: enforcement of rights and obligations regardless of their national or international origin.
Patmos in Eastern Traditions from the 5th Century
Authors: Boxall Ian
Published: May 2013

The chapter examines Eastern interpretations of Patmos from the 5th century onwards, treated separately in recognition of their unique character. This is a wide-ranging discussion, which includes examination of how the highly influential apocryphal Acts of John by Prochorus create a whole narrative world for Patmos, typological readings which connect John’s experience on Patmos with that of Moses on Sinai, and Greek commentaries by Oecumenius, Andreas of Caesarea, and Arethas. There is also some consideration of Oriental Orthodox (Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Armenian) commentaries and hagiographical texts. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the foundation of the Patmos monastery in 1088 by St Christodoulos as an example of actualization, and the consequent importance of Patmos for the Eastern hesychast tradition.
Making of the International Minimum Standard (–1930s)
Authors: Paparinskis Martins
Published: May 2013

This chapter addresses the pre-Second World War creation and development of the international minimum standard, identifying a number of ways of approaching the issue. The first approach, adopted by Elihu Root in a famous speech, was simultaneously explicit about the non-exhaustive nature of the non-discriminatory aspect of the international standard and uncertain and contradictory about the source and content of this exception that could go further and apply to outrageous cases. The second approach is exemplified by the award in the Neer case where the US-Mexican General Claims Commission attempted to define the international standard by means of analogy. The Commission derived criteria of procedural outrage from the better-established rules of denial of justice and then applied them more generally. However, the focus on procedural outrages made it more complicated to develop rules that fell outside this paradigm, particularly regarding the standard on the protection of property.
Icons and Iconoclasm in Japanese Buddhism
Authors: Winfield Pamela D.
Published: May 2013

This study crosses the disciplinary lines of religious studies and art history/visual studies as it juxtaposes and qualifies two representative voices for and against the role of imagery in the enlightenment experience. Kūkai (774–835) believes that real and imagined forms are indispensable to his new esoteric Mikkyō method for “becoming a Buddha in this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu), yet he also deconstructs the significance of such imagery in his poetic and doctrinal works. Conversely, Dōgen (1200–1253) believes that “just sitting” in Zen meditation without any visual props or mental elaborations can lead one to realize that “this very mind is Buddha” (sokushin zebutsu), but then he also privileges select Zen icons as worthy of veneration. In considering the nuanced views of these two premodern Japanese Buddhist masters, this study updates previous comparisons of Kūkai’s and Dōgen’s oeuvres and engages both their texts and images together for the first time. It thereby liberates them from their respective sectarian scholarship that has pigeonholed them into iconographic/ritual vs. philological/philosophical categories, and it restores the historical symbiosis between religious thought and artistic expression well before the nineteenth-century invention of the academic disciplines of religious studies vs. art history. Theoretically speaking as well, this study breaks new methodological ground by proposing space and time as organizing principles for analyzing both meditative experience, as well as visual/material culture, and it presents a broader vision of how Japanese Buddhists themselves understood the role of imagery before, during, and after awakening.
Concluding Remarks
Authors: Winfield Pamela D.
Published: May 2013

Chapter Five: Concluding Remarks directly addresses the opening questions to this comparative study and tentatively offers new directions in the study of icons and iconoclasm beyond the scope of Kūkai’s and Dōgen’s oeuvres. The qualifier “tentatively” is used here deliberately. The space-time analytical model, the text-image methodology, and the experience-expression feedback loop advanced here may indeed have significant implications for the study of mystical experience and artistic expression in other religious traditions as well. At the same time, however, it should not be assumed that the conclusions drawn from this study are universally applicable. Juxtaposing the spiritual trajectories and associated arts of other kataphatic and apophatic examples may, or may not, be illumined by a similar approach taken here.
International Finance: An Overview
Authors: BAKER H. KENT , RIDDICK LEIGH A.
Published: May 2013

Understanding the current state of affairs and tools available in the study of international finance is increasingly important as few areas in finance can be divorced completely from international issues. This chapter provides an introduction to international finance and discusses the purpose of the book as well as its key features and intended audience. It also differentiates the book from others in the field of international finance. The chapter then outlines the book's structure and provides an abstract of the remaining 27 chapters.
A Primer on Exchange Rate Behavior
Authors: LOTHIAN JAMES R. , TAYLOR MARK P.
Published: May 2013

Exchange rate behavior has been a major concern in international finance since the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of pegged exchange rates in the early 1970s. This chapter reviews the empirical evidence accumulated in the four decades that have elapsed since that event. It focuses first on behavior over the long run—periods of several years or more in length—and then turns to behavior over much shorter periods. To set the stage for these discussions, the chapter begins with an overview of some of the relevant economic theory and of historical antecedents of current exchange-rate research.
Corporate Risk Management in the Multinational Firm
Authors: HOMMEL ULRICH , PROKESCH TOBIAS
Published: May 2013

Multinational companies are nowadays operating in a highly globalized and increasingly integrated business environment. They need to cope with rising volatilities, especially in currency markets, as well as a rising prevalence of structural breaks in all markets in which they operate. This chapter reviews the academic literature on corporate risk management activities as well as the limitations of academic research from a practitioner's perspective. Starting from a general discussion of the corporate risk universe, the chapter examines the contributions on risk exposure measurement and risk mitigation before turning attention to value-based rationales for firm-level risk management. Next, the chapter shows that the academic literature has provided few insights on two aspects of key relevance for corporate risk managers: (1) the proper mixing of financial and operative hedging strategies when dealing with currency risk exposures and (2) the maturity of corporate hedges. The chapter closes with a review of the norms and regulations governing the risk management function in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.
Links between International Financial Markets and Volatility
Authors: BUTLER KIRT C. , WILLIAM GERKEN
Published: May 2013

The international financial crisis of 2008 focused attention on linkages between international financial markets as the crisis quickly propagated across countries and markets. Understanding the extent of financial market contagion during crisis times requires identifying normal interdependence; that is, how markets move during normal times. Normal interdependence includes price and volatility spillovers that may arrive contemporaneously or with a delay. Once normal interdependence is recognized, financial contagion can be measured relative to this base as a cross-market change in the transmission channels—particularly in asset price comovements—after a shock in one market. This chapter surveys the evidence on the linkages between international financial markets in an effort to characterize understanding of normal interdependence and contagion.
International Investment Patterns
Authors: BROOME SIMON J. , FLAVIN THOMAS J.
Published: May 2013

International investment patterns are an important indicator of financial linkages and integration. Country portfolios indicate how nations hold their financial wealth and thus provide information about the productivity and risk of a nation’s economic and financial sectors. This chapter reviews the literature on the composition of country portfolios and examines the asset and liability positions across countries. Many potential explanations of the observed heterogeneity in portfolios are reviewed by examining the extant literature on capital flows and asset allocation models. The chapter also looks at the role of fundamentals and informational asymmetries in restricting international capital flows, and how asset return predictability and investors’ risk aversion affect investors’ asset allocation.
Corporate Management of Foreign Currency Risk: Conceptual Framework, Policies, and Strategies
Authors: AGGARWAL RAJ
Published: May 2013

In perfectly efficient markets, managing business exposure to losses associated with currency changes should not result in added value since unanticipated changes cannot be hedged costlessly. In practice, however, many reasons exist for managing such exposure because markets are not perfectly efficient. First, deviations often occur from parity conditions because foreign exchange markets are not perfectly efficient. Second, due to the nature of the costs associated with foreign exchange risks, managing foreign exchange exposure to reduce variability can increase firm value. Third, long-term and recurring exposure to foreign exchange risk cannot be managed using traditional financial market-based hedging techniques because the markets for such products are thin and inefficient. Firms must use more costly marketing, production, and financial strategies to manage economic exposure and protect against losses in value related to long-term changes in exchange rates. Further, this process must be integrated with strategic planning in each of these areas. This chapter discusses these issues and presents currency risk management strategies that account for well-documented agency costs and market imperfections.
Dividend Policy across Countries
Authors: FERRIS STEPHEN P. , SANJIV SABHERWAL
Published: May 2013

The payment of dividends by firms remains a quandary for finance scholars because of tax implications for value and the near substitutability of repurchases. A review of the literature on international dividend policy does not suggest an answer to this paradox, but it does provide evidence that supports several important conclusions. First, the evidence fails to support a dominant explanation for why firms pay dividends. Rather, the existing empirical work suggests that there are elements of numerous theories present in the global payment of dividends. Second, the literature shows that what are often presented as stylized facts about dividends are really U.S. results and fail to hold for other countries. Finally, the literature reveals the importance of factors beyond the economic and financial on the design of corporate dividend policies. Increasingly, the empirical evidence shows that cultural, legal, and behavioral factors exert important influences on managerial decisions about dividends.
Alternative Financing Methods
Authors: MOORE JAMES
Published: May 2013

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a critical role in economic development in developing countries by furnishing needed goods and services to consumers, creating most employment opportunities, and driving innovation. Yet, these enterprises face numerous hurdles when seeking credit and debt options in the form of short- and medium-term financing. This problem is particularly acute in developing economies where SMEs represent a disproportionately small percentage of the overall number of private enterprises. Conversely, in many of these economies micro enterprises and large firms face a far less challenging environment for finance access due to structural legacies in the local banking industry and recent innovations in the area of microfinance. Despite the challenges faced by SMEs, a new breed of financial intermediary has begun to demonstrate successful lending relationships with firms once considered unbankable. Deploying a modified version of an existing lending technology known as "value chain lending," these financial players have introduced a new and effective tool whose use highlights new banking opportunities for both local and international firms in a market segment primed for growth.
Differences in Ownership Structures across Countries
Authors: KIM WOOJIN
Published: May 2013

This chapter summarizes stylized facts on corporate ownership and control structures around the world and their impact on managerial decisions and firm performance. Recent literature suggests that family control and pyramidal business groups are the two distinct organizational characteristics prevalent outside the United States and the United Kingdom. An important explanatory factor is the quality of investor protection, which determines the degree of private benefit extraction by the controlling party. Pyramidal business groups extend the boundaries of a firm beyond a single legal entity, raising challenges in disentangling group-level effect from other firm-level factors.
Bleak House and the Curious Secrets
Authors: Schor Hilary M.
Published: May 2013

From its first chapter, Bleak House provides a short history of realist fiction, not just for the sheer pleasure of showing off, but to suggest the myriad ways information reaches readers of the novel—and what the novel always makes us long to know. Curiosity in this novel is largely the work of temporal displacement, of information that over time has gone in different directions but must be brought back together by the two heroines. Dickens, as always, has his own solution—where one Fatima is good, two would be even better; where one narrator is good, two might also be better; and then, and only then, can Dickens say, as one of his curious heroines does, “Without thinking myself a Fatimah, and you a Bluebeard, I am a little curious.”
The Bluebeard of the Classroom
Authors: Schor Hilary M.
Published: May 2013

Charles Dickens’s Hard Times is a novel of political and social representation, steeped in the problems of utilitarianism. But in this novel he also returns to the problems of novelistic representation within Bleak House with a difference. He takes on not only female curiosity but female knowledge; not only sentiment but statistics; and not only female adultery, but the question of how a woman gets to be a “person” in the eyes of the law. In doing so, he does not leave Bluebeard behind. For Louisa Bounderby, the daughter of the parliamentarian Thomas Gradgrind and the unhappily married heroine of the novel, the question of personality is one of social and fictional representations—and for Louisa, Dickens’s brilliant rethinking of John Stuart Mill, Bluebeard’s castle is an unexpected path to her own form of (parliamentary) representation.
Conclusion
Authors: Schor Hilary M.
Published: May 2013

The conclusion of this book turns to the realist novel in the age of posthumanism, looking for what Michel Foucault calls the “dream … of a new age of curiosity.” By examining the fiction of Margaret Atwood and Kazuo Ishiguro in light of theorists like Foucault and Donna Haraway and works of speculative fiction, we see the other side of curiosity. The opposite of the curious heroine, it turns out, isn’t someone who doesn’t want to know; it is someone, as Foucault could have told us, who doesn’t care. Fiction is at the end only a made thing, an optical device, a device for feeling—but it is also a curiosity cabinet in the oldest sense, a place where everything that once had meaning can have meaning again, can be cared for, can even be loved.
“This Upstart Sect”: The Mormon Problem in American History
Authors: Givens Terryl L.
Published: May 2013

This chapter provides an overview of the history of the nineteenth-century “Mormon problem” with its attendant violence and conflict from the perspective of one of its participants, Warren Foote. Foote was a meticulous diarist, and as a contemporary of Joseph Smith who would live to the age of eighty-four, he was eyewitness to most of the shaping events and personalities of Mormonism's first generations. He first grew interested in the church in 1830, and even though he would soon move into the Mormon community, he did not formally associate himself with the Saints until 1842. His perspective is therefore that of a seeker, sympathizer, and eventually faithful member, attempting to make sense of the Mormon experience to himself and an audience composed largely of friends and relatives.
“Manners, Habits, Customs, and Even Dialect”: Sources of the Mormon Conflict
Authors: Givens Terryl L.
Published: May 2013

This chapter examines the sources of the Mormon conflict. It suggests that neither social, economic, or political factors can be put forward as the central—or even a constant—factor in the long history of Mormon persecution. On the other hand, even when the theological dimensions of conflict are not decisive, they are inescapable and present a constant feature in anti-Mormon antagonisms.
The Buddha's Doctrine and the Nine Vehicles
Authors: Cabezon Jose Ignacio
Published: May 2013

The twelfth and thirteenth centuries were a time of tremendous religious efflorescence in Tibet, a period when Tibetans gained their own voice, crafting intellectual and spiritual traditions that were uniquely Tibetan. This book is a study of the life and work of Rog Bande Sherab (1166–1244). Rogben, as he is known, studied under some of the greatest teachers of his day. An itinerant scholar and yogi, he devoted his life to collecting important textual cycles and meditation techniques. Rogben’s most important work, The Lamp of the Teachings, the work translated in these pages, cuts across the genres of history, doctrinal studies, and doxography. It is also one of the earliest philosophically robust explanations of the “nine vehicle” system of the Ancient or Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. This book is the first scholarly study of Rog Bande Sherab, a pivotal figure in both the Pacification (Zhiche) and Ancient (Nyingma) traditions of Tibet, and one of the most original thinkers in Tibetan intellectual history.
Introduction
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

The introduction (to the book) contextualizes the life and work of Rog Bande Sherab within Tibetan intellectual history. It also contextualizes the work translated in this book, The Lamp of the Teachings, within the history of Tibetan literature, especially as a historical and doxographical work.
How the Buddha Was Enlightened
Authors: Cabezón José Ignacio
Published: May 2013

This chapter presents various accounts of the Buddha’s life from various different exoteric and esoteric perspectives: those of the two śrāvaka systems, of the exoteric Mahāyāna (the so-called “vehicle of characteristics"), of the Yoga tantras, the Mahāyoga tantras, and the Great Perfection.
Empathy and Objectivity
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Enlightenment thinking and most recent philosophy in the English-speaking world have downplayed or ignored the role of emotion and empathy in epistemology and the philosophy of mind. But objectivity and open-mindedness are epistemic virtues that are involved in full epistemic rationality, and emotion and empathy play a role in these virtues that has been ignored even by recent virtue epistemologists. To be open minded, we have to empathize with the viewpoints of others, and this requires the intellectual emotion of sympathy. And anyone who believes a certain idea or argument is intellectually compelling has a favorable attitude toward it that in effect amounts to mild affect or emotion. All belief therefore involves emotion, and no belief is purely intellectual or cognitive. Our rationalistic thinking about the mind and its justifications has been one sided.
Green Thinking
Authors: Slote Michael
Published: May 2013

Green philosophy and deep ecology oppose the dominating Faustian attitude toward nature and the environment that has been so influential in Western thought and Western history. But bringing in receptivity can help to better make the green case: We need to be receptive to the beauty and diversity of the natural world. And care ethics readily expands into a concern for what belongs with us in our world or habitat—in a way that supports a morality that is intrinsically concerned with the nonsentient and not just the sentient world.
Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathy With Proximal Predominance (HMSN-P)
Authors: Campellone Joseph V.
Published: May 2013

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with proximal predominance (HMSN-P) is a rare disorder inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. Patients present with slowly progressive proximal-predominant weakness, painful muscle cramps, fasciculations, large-fiber sensory loss, and areflexia. Electrodiagnostic (EDX) studies typically reveal abnormalities consistent with a sensorimotor neuronopathy. A patient with HMSN-P underwent EDX studies, revealing ongoing and chronic neurogenic denervation, motor unit instability, and neuromyotonic discharges, further defining the spectrum of EDX findings in HMSN-P. The clinical, pathological, and genetic features are also reviewed. The appearance of HMSN-P in the United States and elsewhere calls for clinicians in nonendemic regions to be familiar with this rare disorder, which has typically been geographically confined.
Associations Between Intestinal Mucosal Function and Changes in Plasma Zinc Concentration Following Zinc Supplementation
Authors: Wessells K. Ryan , Hess Sonja Y. , Rouamba Noel , Ouédraogo Zinewendé P. , Kellogg Mark , Goto Rie , Duggan Christopher , Ouédraogo Jean‐Bosco , Brown Kenneth H.
Published: May 2013

Objectives:

Subclinical environmental enteropathy is associated with malabsorption of fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins A, B12, and folate; however, little information is available on mineral absorption. We therefore investigated the relation between intestinal mucosal function (measured by the lactulose:mannitol permeability test and plasma citrulline concentration), and zinc (Zn) absorption, as estimated by the change in plasma Zn concentration (PZC) following short‐term Zn or placebo supplementation.

Methods:

We conducted a randomized, partially masked, placebo‐controlled trial among 282 apparently healthy children 6 to 23 months of age in Burkina Faso. After completing baseline intestinal function tests, participants received either 5 mg Zn, as zinc sulfate, or placebo, daily for 21 days.

Results:

At baseline, mean ± standard deviation PZC was 62.9 ± 11.9 μg/dL; median (interquartile range) urinary lactulose:mannitol (L:M) recovery ratio and plasma citrulline concentrations were 0.04 (0.03–0.07) and 11.4 (9.0–15.6) μmol/L, respectively. Change in PZC was significantly greater in the Zn‐supplemented versus placebo group (15.6 ± 13.3 vs 0.02 ± 10.9 μg/dL; P < 0.0001), and was negatively associated with initial urinary L:M recovery ratio (−1.1 μg/dL per 50% increase in urinary L:M recovery ratio; P = 0.014); this latter relation did not differ between supplementation groups (P = 0.26). Baseline plasma citrulline concentration was not associated with change in PZC.

Conclusions:

Although altered intestinal permeability may reduce dietary Zn absorption, it likely does not undermine the efficacy of Zn supplementation, given the large increases in PZC following short‐term Zn supplementation observed in this study, even among those with increased urinary L:M recovery ratios.
Campylobacter jejuni carbon starvation protein A (CstA) is involved in peptide utilization, motility and agglutination, and has a role in stimulation of dendritic cells
Authors: Rasmussen J. J. , Vegge C. S. , Frøkiær H. , Howlett R. M. , Krogfelt K. A. , Kelly D. J. , Ingmer H.
Published: May 2013

Campylobacter jejuniis the most frequent cause of severe gastroenteritis in the developed world. The major symptom of campylobacteriosis is inflammatory diarrhoea. The molecular mechanisms of this infection are poorly understood compared to those of less frequent disease-causing pathogens. In a previous study, we identifiedC. jejuniproteins that antibodies in human campylobacteriosis patients reacted with. One of the immunogenic proteins identified (Cj0917) displays homology to carbon starvation protein A (CstA) fromEscherichia coli, where this protein is involved in the starvation response and peptide uptake. In contrast to many bacteria,C. jejunirelies on amino acids and organic acids for energy, butin vivoit is highly likely that peptides are also utilized, although their mechanisms of uptake are unknown. In this study, Biolog phenotype microarrays have been used to show that aΔcstAmutant has a reduced ability to utilize a number of di- and tri-peptides as nitrogen sources. This phenotype was restored through genetic complementation, suggesting CstA is a peptide uptake system inC. jejuni. Furthermore, theΔcstAmutant also displayed reduced motility and reduced agglutination compared to WT bacteria; these phenotypes were also restored through complementation. Murine dendritic cells exposed to UV-killed bacteria showed a reduced IL-12 production, but the same IL-10 response when encounteringC. jejuni ΔcstAcompared to the WT strain. The greater Th1 stimulation elicited by the WT as compared toΔcstAmutant cells indicates an altered antigenic presentation on the surface, and thus an altered recognition of the mutant. Thus, we conclude thatC. jejuniCstA is important not only for peptide utilization, but also it may influence host–pathogen interactions.
The future of doctoral education in business administration
Authors: De Meyer Arnoud
Published: May 2013

Purpose

Doctoral education in business administration needs to change in order to cope with the fast growing demand for PhD holders, who can teach and perform research at a high quality level. Additionally, society has a rapidly growing need for knowledge workers who have a doctoral education or an equivalent. The traditional apprentice approach may not be able to cope with that demand. Society has also criticized the inefficiency and cost associated with the current model of PhD education in management or business administration. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection for leaders in business education on how we can design a portfolio of different avenues for doctoral education.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is based on the author's own experience with INSEAD, the University of Cambridge and Singapore Management University, as well as his observations of other universities. It is thus anchored in a few case studies.

Findings

The author pleads for more diversity in doctoral education. It is proposed that we may need to add different models of doctoral education, characterized by more interdisciplinary work and a more diverse career path. Business Schools will have to find new ways to deliver the education and to develop the communities of practice that will share the values of scientific research.

Social implications

Society needs more knowledge works. Many of these will have the ambition to obtain a research degree, for example, a PhD. This article provides some suggestions and guidelines on how to innovate in the design and delivery of doctoral education in business administration. This should help society to be able to count on more and better adapted PhD graduates.

Originality/value

The paper brings new insights based on extensive experience with leading institutions that groom leaders in business administration.