bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ECG Repolarization Waves: Their Genesis and Clinical Implications
Authors: Hlaing Thinn , DiMino Tara , Kowey Peter R. , Yan Gan‐Xin
Published: April 2005

The electrocardiographic (ECG) manifestation of ventricular repolarization includes J (Osborn), T, and U waves. On the basis of biophysical principles of ECG recording, any wave on the body surface ECG represents a coincident voltage gradient generated by cellular electrical activity within the heart. The J wave is a deflection with a dome that appears on the ECG after the QRS complex. A transmural voltage gradient during initial ventricular repolarization, which results from the presence of a prominent action potential notch mediated by the transient outward potassium current (Ito) in epicardium but not endocardium, is responsible for the registration of the J wave on the ECG. Clinical entities that are associated with J waves (the J‐wave syndrome) include the early repolarization syndrome, the Brugada syndrome and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation related to a prominent J wave in the inferior leads. The T wave marks the final phase of ventricular repolarization and is a symbol of transmural dispersion of repolarization (TDR) in the ventricles. An excessively prolonged QT interval with enhanced TDR predisposes people to develop torsade de pointes. The malignant “R‐on‐T” phenomenon, i.e., an extrasystole that originates on the preceding T wave, is due to transmural propagation of phase 2 reentry or phase 2 early afterdepolarization. A pathological “U” wave as seen with hypokalemia is the consequence of electrical interaction among ventricular myocardial layers at action potential phase 3 of which repolarization slows. A physiological U wave is thought to be due to delayed repolarization of the Purkinje system.
Increases in P‐Wave Duration and Dispersion After Hemodialysis Are Totally (or Partially) Due to the Procedure‐Induced Alleviation of the Body Fluid Overload: A Hypothesis with Strong Experimental Support
Authors: Madias John E.
Published: April 2005

Increases in the P‐wave duration (P‐du) and P‐wave dispersion (P‐d) following hemodialysis (HD) are attributed to changes in the electrolytic milieu with HD, or are considered to be due to an unknown mechanism. Such changes are thought to be proarrhythmic, and thus have potential clinical implications. Increase in the amplitude of QRS complexes following HD has been amply documented in the literature. Also, recent work linking attenuation/augmentation of amplitude of QRS and P‐wave complexes in patients with increase/subsequent decrease weights due to anasarca peripheral edema/and its alleviation, or before/after hemodialysis (HD) suggests that the increase in the P‐du and P‐d after HD may be totally (or partially) mediated by the alleviation of the fluid overload by the procedure. This is supported by the decrease/increase in the QRS duration noted with anasarca/and its alleviation. To further clarify this issue, and prove or refute the above hypothesis, it is recommended that correlations of changes in the P‐du and P‐d with the loss of weight or net fluid dialyzed are carried out, in addition to the traditional considerations of electrolytic alterations after HD.
Identification of Optimal Electrocardiographic Criteria for the Diagnosis of Unrecognized Myocardial Infarction: A Population‐Based Study
Authors: Ammar Khawaja Afzal , Yawn Barbara P. , Urban Lynn , Mahoney Douglas W. , Kors Jan A. , Jacobsen Steven , Rodeheffer Richard J.
Published: April 2005

Background: Despite using the same tool (ECG), the proportion of myocardial infarctions that goes unrecognized varies from 20% to 60% in population‐based studies. The reasons for such wide variations have not been studied. We sought to evaluate the effect of ECG‐MI criteria and study methodology on the prevalence of unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) and to identify the optimal ECG‐MI criteria for UMI detection in epidemiologic studies.

Methods: A random population‐based sample of 2042 adults, age ≥45 years, underwent history, medical record abstraction and ECG. Six different ECG‐MI criteria and two subjective recognized myocardial infarction (RMI) identification criteria, from different published studies, were applied to the same survey ECG. The operating test characteristics of different criteria were compared with the objective criterion standard of a RMI by Gillum criteria.

Results: The UMI proportion estimates varied from 32% to 61% due to variation in ECG‐MI criteria, while keeping the study population, MI recognition criteria, and ECG constant. Subjective criteria for MI recognition had limited value (positive predictive value of 44–93%) in picking up RMI. Depending on the ECG abnormality used to define MI, ECG reading had widely varying sensitivity (21–37%; P < 0.0001) with consistently high specificity (92–97%) for detection of RMI.

Conclusions: The prevalence estimates of UMI vary widely and are strongly dependent on the ECG‐MI and MI recognition criteria. Future studies of UMI should explicitly recognize this variation and select the ECG‐MI criteria that match their study aims.
Using distant globular clusters as a test for gravitational theories
Authors: Baumgardt H. , Grebel E. K. , Kroupa P.
Published: April 2005

We propose to determine the stellar velocity dispersions of globular clusters in the outer halo of the Milky Way in order to decide whether the dynamics of the Universe on large scales is governed by dark matter or modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). We show that, for a number of Galactic globular clusters, both the internal and the external accelerations are significantly below the critical acceleration parameter a0 of MOND. This leads to velocity dispersions in the case of MOND which exceed their Newtonian counterparts by up to a factor of 3, providing a stringent test for MOND. Alternatively, in cases where high velocity dispersions are found, these would provide the first evidence that globular clusters are dark matter dominated.
A thick-disc origin for Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova?
Authors: Fuhrmann Klaus
Published: April 2005

The very recent suggestion for the identification of a faint G-type subgiant, dubbed ‘Tycho G’, as the binary progenitor of Tycho Brahe's 1572 Type Ia supernova by Ruiz-Lapuente et al. is essentially based on the peculiar space velocity of the star. Here we demonstrate that the kinematics of Tycho G are likewise in keeping with the stars of the Milky Way's thick-disc population. Hence we may well be seeing an object that is only coincidentally passing in the vicinity of the supernova remnant, or Tycho Brahe and his contemporaries may indeed have witnessed the late explosion of one of the first stars in the Galaxy.
Red variables in the OGLE-II data base — III. Constraints on the three-dimensional structures of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
Authors: Lah P. , Kiss L. L. , Bedding T. R.
Published: April 2005

We present an analysis of the 3D structure of the Magellanic Clouds, using period-luminosity (P-L) relations of pulsating red giants in the OGLE-II sample. By interpreting deviations from the mean P-L relations as distance modulus variations, we examine the 3D distributions of the sample. The results for the Large Magellanic Cloud, based solely on stars below the tip of the Red Giant Branch (LMC), confirm previous results on the inclined and possibly warped bar of the LMC. The depth variation across the OGLE-II field is about 2.4 kpc, interpreted as the distance range of a thin but inclined structure. The inclination angle is about 29°. A comparison with OGLE-II red clump distances revealed intriguing differences that seem to be connected to the red clump reddening correction. A spatially variable red clump population in the LMC can explain the deviations, which may have a broader impact on our understanding of the LMC formation history. For the Small Magellanic Cloud, we find a complex structure showing patchy distribution scattered within 3.2 kpc of the mean. However, the larger range of the overall depth on every line-of-sight is likely to smooth out significantly the real variations.
DRYING METHODS AND QUALITY OF SHRIMP DRIED IN A JET‐SPOUTED BED DRYER
Authors: TAPANEYASIN RUNGTIP , DEVAHASTIN SAKAMON , TANSAKUL AMPAWAN
Published: April 2005

The objective of this study was to experimentally investigate the effects of various parameters, i.e., size of shrimp, level and pattern of inlet drying air temperature, on the drying kinetics and various quality attributes of dried shrimp viz. shrinkage, rehydration ability, texture and color during drying in a jet‐spouted bed dryer. It was found that the use of a constant inlet air temperature of 100C yielded dried shrimp of the best quality in terms of low percentage of shrinkage, high percentage of rehydration, low maximum shear force and high value of redness compared to shrimp dried using other conditions. A simple mathematical model that enables prediction of the drying behavior of shrimp in a jet‐spouted bed dryer has also been developed.
THE POLITICAL ROOTS OF AMERICAN CORPORATE FINANCE
Authors: Roe Mark J.
Published: April 2005

The distinctive ownership and governance structure of the large American corporation‐with its distant shareholders, a board of directors that defers to the CEO, and a powerful, centralized management‐is usually seen as a natural economic outcome of technological requirements for large‐scale enterprises and substantial amounts of outside capital, most of which had to come from well‐diversified shareholders. Roe argues that current U.S. corporate structures are the result not only of such economic factors, but of political forces that restricted the size and activities of U.S. commercial banks and other financial intermediaries. Populist fears of concentrated economic power, interest group maneuvering, and a federalist American political structure all had a role in pressuring Congress to fragment U.S. financial institutions and limit their ability to own stock and participate in corporate governance.

Had U.S. politics been different, the present ownership structure of some American public companies might have been different. Truly national U.S. financial institutions might have been able to participate as substantial owners in the wave of end‐of‐the‐century mergers and then use their large blocks of stock to sit on the boards of the merged enterprises (much as Warren Buffett, venture capitalists, and LBO firms like KKR do today). Such a concentrated ownership and governance structure might have helped to address monitoring, information, and coordination problems that continue to reduce the value of some U.S. companies.

The recent increase in the activism of U.S. institutional investors also casts doubt on the standard explanation of American corporate ownership structure. The new activism of U.S. financial institutions‐primarily pension funds and mutual funds‐can be interpreted as the delayed outbreak of an impulse to participate in corporate ownership and governance that was historically suppressed by American politics.
FOUR GOALS FOR A STRONGER U.S. FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY (AND FIVE WAYS FOR CONGRESS TO HELP US GET THERE)
Authors: Haraf William S.
Published: April 2005

For at least the past 15 years, the preferred model for financial modernization among U.S. lawmakers and regulators has been based on the concept of the financial services holding company (FSHC) with functional regulation of its financial subsidiaries. Such an approach makes eminently good sense in a world where it is possible to make clear distinctions among different financial functions and between financial services and other information‐based businesses. Although this may have been the case 15 years ago, today the FSHC model will not deal with financial convergence and the broader convergence of information‐based businesses in a completely satisfactory way.

To lay the groundwork for a financial structure that can carry us into the next century, Congress needs to look beyond the approaches it has been willing to consider to date. Instead of simply eliminating remaining entry barriers, it needs to permit true financial integration with a much simpler and more streamlined system of regulation than we have today. After holding up four goals for a financial services marketplace for the next century, this article offers five “sensible and politically realistic” suggestions for the 105th Congress that would help move the U.S. financial sector toward those goals.
EVA AND SHAREHOLDER VALUE IN JAPAN
Authors: Sakata Koshiro , Kim E. Han
Published: April 2005

In a series of individual presentations and a follow‐up set of exchanges, a group of academics and corporate practitioners discuss current problems with the Japanese corporate governance system and the potential role of EVA in addressing them. Professor Tak Wakasugi of Tokyo University identifies the problem as Japanese managers' devotion to “growth at all costs”‐an approach encouraged by the illusion that equity capital is a “free and unlimited resource.” Both Wakasugi and EVA advocate Joel Stern argue that adoption of the EVA performance measurement and incentive system would help impress upon Japanese managers the reality that capital is costly, but without causing them to cut back on promising investments (as would a single‐minded focus on a rate‐of‐return measure like ROE).

In the three presentations that follow, Virgil Stephens, Toru Mochizuki, and Mark Newburg‐the CFOs, respectively, of Eastman Chemical, Coca‐Cola Japan, and NCR Japan‐ discuss the implementation and workings of EVA within their companies.
SILICON VALLEY'S HIGH‐VELOCITY LABOR MARKET
Authors: Hyde Alan
Published: April 2005

The remarkable growth of Silicon Valley has often been linked to its high‐velocity labor market, as characterized by short‐term hiring and frequent employee departures to competitors or start‐ups. Such employee mobility is said to contribute to economic growth by facilitating rapid diffusion of information among firms.

Law, nearly everywhere, is a potential obstacle to Silicon Valley‐style growth. In nearly all European countries, the problem is labor laws that discourage the creation of short‐term employment relations and saddle employers with significant obligations when jobs are eliminated. In America, the legal obstacle to the creation of high‐velocity labor markets is the law of covenants not to compete and trade secrets. California law, however, does not permit effective enforcement of either covenants not to compete or trade secret agreements. California companies that have sued departing employees have usually lost the suits, suffered damage to their reputations in their industry, and had difficulty recruiting employees.

After showing how this result has been achieved by the California legal system, this article goes on to explain why a labor market in which employees have information that is valuable to employers, and in which long‐term contracting is not feasible, may be economically efficient (in spite of a potentially dampening effect on corporate R & D). A high‐velocity labor market functions more like an information market than like the traditional labor markets analyzed by economists; by spreading information more rapidly, it eliminates much wasteful duplication of effort and achieves more rapid “convergence” on solutions to technological problems—which in turn creates more growth opportunities and start‐ups.

In making this argument, the author draws on Paul Romer's model of economic growth in which growth rests on “increasing returns” to information. Following Romer, the author suggests that the economic benefits of information diffusion achieved by labor mobility are likely to outweigh the risks that companies will underinvest in research because of their reduced ability to protect trade secrets.
RETHINKING BANK REGULATION: A REVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
Authors: Kroszner Randall S.
Published: April 2005

The debate over bank powers has taken on special urgency with the recent flurry of proposed mergers, such as the Citicorp‐Travelers Group combination, that would break down the barriers between commercial and investment banking. After more than a decade of failed attempts to expand the scope of permissible bank activities, the House of Representatives recently voted for the first time in favor of a bill to end these Depression era limitations. The issue will be taken up by the Senate this fall.

Most of the rationales for regulating banks fall into two broad categories: (1) the need to control potential conflicts of interest stemming from banks' multiple roles as deposit‐takers, lenders, securities underwriters, and investment advisers; and (2) the perceived need to protect against the possibility of bank panics and widespread financial instability. In reviewing the historical evidence compiled by banking and finance scholars over the years, this article finds remarkably little cause for concern and suggests the regulatory cure may be far worse than the disease.

On the first issue, the article cites a number of recent studies suggesting that market forces deal more effectively than regulation with conflicts of interests that can arise when commercial banks are engaged in securities underwriting. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, investors during the pre‐Glass‐Steagall era appear to have been better off when they purchased securities from commercial banks rather than investment banks. Moreover, to enhance their credibility in the market, many commercial banks during this period chose to put some distance between their lending and underwriting activities by establishing separate securities affiliates, thereby creating voluntary “firewalls.”

In examining the issue of how the expansion of bank powers would affect economic stability, the second half of the article cites a large body of research–including studies of different historical periods and countries–attesting to the durability of commercial (and universal) banking systems. Indeed, one of the most important findings issuing from this research is that the regulatory safety net has often had the unfortunate impact of undermining rather than promoting financial stability.
A NEW APPROACH TO CAPITAL BUDGETING FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Froot Kenneth A. , Stein Jeremy C.
Published: April 2005

The classic approach to capital budgeting based on the standard Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) says that the hurdle rate (or cost of capital) for any new project or investment should depend only on the riskiness of that investment. Thus, the hurdle rate, and hence the expected value of the investment, should not be affected by the financial policy of the company evaluating the project. Nor should the hurdle rate be influenced by the company's risk management policy, or by the kind of assets it already has on the balance sheet.

This article argues that such a “singlefactor” model may be inappropriate for banks and other financial institutions for two main reasons:

 it is especially costly for banks to raise new external funds on short notice;

 it is costly for banks to hold a buffer stock of equity capital on the balance sheet, even if this equity is accumulated over time through retained earnings.

The single‐factor CAPM ignores such costs and, in so doing, understates the true economic costs of “illiquid” bank investments. Illiquid investments require special treatment because they impose risks that, although “diversifiable” by shareholders, cannot be readily hedged by the bank and therefore require it to hold more equity capital.

The authors accordingly propose a “two‐factor” model for capital budgeting— one in which banks' investment decisions are linked to their capital structure and risk management decisions. One of the key implications of the two‐factor model is that a bank should evaluate new investments according to both their correlation with the market portfolio and their correlation with the bank's existing portfolio of unhedgeable risks. The authors describe several potential applications of their model, including the evaluation of proprietary trading operations and the pricing of unhedgeable derivatives positions. They also compare their approach to the RAROC methodology that has been adopted by a number of banks.
SOME EVIDENCE THAT BANKS USE INTERNAL CAPITAL MARKETS TO LOWER CAPITAL COSTS
Authors: Houston Joel , James Christopher
Published: April 2005

To the extent raising external capital is especially costly for banks (as the preceding article suggests), bank managers have incentives to manage their internal cash flow in ways that minimize their need to raise external equity. One way to accomplish this is to establish bank holding companies that set up internal capital markets for the purpose of allocating scarce capital across their various subsidiaries. By “internal capital market” the authors mean a capital budgeting process in which all the lending and investment opportunities of the different subsidiaries are ranked according to their risk‐adjusted returns; and all internal capital available for investment is then allocated to the highestranked opportunities until either the capital is exhausted or returns fall below the cost of capital, whichever comes first.

As evidence of the operation of internal capital markets in bank holding companies, the authors report the following set of findings from their own recent studies:

 For large publicly traded bank holding companies, growth rates in lending are closely tied to the banks' internal cash flow and regulatory capital position.

 For the subsidiaries of bank holding companies, what matters most is the capital position and earnings of the holding companies and not of the subsidiaries themselves.

 The lending activity of banks affiliated with multiple bank holding companies appears to be less dependent on their own earnings and capital than the lending of unaffiliated banks.

The authors also report that, after being acquired, previously unaffiliated banks increase their lending in local markets. This finding suggests that, contrary to the concerns of critics of bank consolidation, geographic consolidation may make banks more responsive to local lending opportunities.
FINANCIAL INNOVATIONS IN LEVERAGED COMMERCIAL LOAN MARKETS
Authors: Culp Christopher L. , Neves Andrea M. P.
Published: April 2005

In the last decade, three innovations in commercial loan‐based securities and derivative have enabled institutional investors to access commercial loan markets on leveraged terms: collateralized loan obligations (CLOs); loan‐based total return swaps; and leveraged loan‐based structured notes (LLSNs). These innovations have been driven by a combination of structural changes in the banking industry, enhanced technology for securitizations, reformed banking regulations, and the advent of credit derivatives.

Besides providing new investment opportunities for institutional investors, these recent innovations in loan markets also promise to reinforce the existing trend in banking away from financial intermediation and toward information intermediation. Such a trend, the authors argue, is helping to ensure the long‐run viability of commercial banks. By transforming loan assets in the ways described in this article, banks can generate fee income instead of interest income (thus limiting their capital requirements and interest rate and credit exposures) while still exploiting their comparative advantage in credit analysis and monitoring.
HOW STOCK‐SWAP MERGERS AFFECT SHAREHOLDER (AND BONDHOLDER) WEALTH: MORE EVIDENCE OF THE VALUE OF CORPORATE “FOCUS”
Authors: Nail Lance A. , Megginson William L. , Maquieira Carlos
Published: April 2005

Alfred Chandler once described the U.S. conglomerate movement of the 1960s and '70s as an “historical aberration and a 'disaster.” And the recent trend in corporate mergers and acquisitions away from “diversifying” acquisitions would seem to confirm Chandler's argument.

In what constitutes yet another piece of evidence in support of Chandler's argument, the authors of this article conducted a study of changes in debt and equity values in 260 stock‐forstock mergers completed between 1963 and 1996. With a sample almost evenly divided between conglomerate and “related” mergers, the authors report significant net wealth gains for all securityholders as a group in “related” mergers, but generally insignificant net gains for securityholders in conglomerate mergers. Not surprisingly, target firm shareholders experienced net wealth gains in both kinds of acquisitions; but for acquiring company shareholders, there was a striking difference: economically and statistically significant gains for acquirers in related transactions, and significant losses for acquirers in conglomerate deals.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the study, however, was that even the bondholders of acquirers in related mergers benefited more than bondholders in conglomerate deals. The result is surprising because, to the extent bondholders benefit from corporate diversification, one would expect the opposite result. That bondholders in related mergers experience larger wealth increases than those of conglomerate acquirers is just one more sign of the dramatic differences in total value created by the two kinds of mergers.
HOW SHOULD PENSION FUNDS MANAGE RISK?
Authors: Ambachtsheer Keith P.
Published: April 2005

Despite recent advances in risk management techniques, pension funds are still struggling with the concept of risk and with the practical challenges of managing and measuring it in useful ways. This article addresses this problem by showing that pension fund managers must manage two types of risk that affect a pension fund balance sheet's funded ratio. The most important of the two is asset policy risk, which arises from the choice of an asset mix policy that does not match the accrued pension liabilities. The other risk results from the decision to implement the chosen asset mix using active rather than passive management strategies.

This article shows how both types of risk can be measured and managed through an adapted value at risk (VAR) metric: the funded ratio VAR. A study of the performance of 98 pension funds during the period 1992–1995 shows that the funds were adequately compensated, on average, for taking on the policy risk, but not for implementation risk.
TOWARD A GLOBAL MODEL OF VENTURE CAPITAL?
Authors: Megginson William L.
Published: April 2005

While the U.S. still accounts for about two‐thirds of the world's total private equity fund‐raising and investment, other countries have been adopting American practices and are experiencing significant growth in their private equity markets. In fact, a case can be made that a global market for venture capital and private equity is emerging, at least in Western Europe and North America, where venture markets are seeing significant convergence in funding levels, investment patterns, and realized returns. To date, however, the European Union has had little success in establishing community‐wide commercial laws, taxation regimes, or corporate governance policies, so each country's private equity funds are organized in segmented national markets, and investment also tends to be largely localized. The Asian markets are even more fragmented: venture capital shows no sign of taking root in Japan, and China lacks the basic legal infrastructure needed to support a vibrant venture capital market.

Venture capitalists create value through their role as active investors, and government and business leaders around the world have come to realize that venture capital and private equity investing can be a significant force in promoting economic development and technological progress. In general, countries with English common law codes offer greater protection to inves‐tors; the ratio of venture capital spending to GDP for common law countries is nearly double that in civil law countries. Government efforts to promote venture capital would probably be better focused on eliminating regulatory road‐blocks, lowering taxes, and provid‐ing a favorable investor climate. In the meantime, it appears that pri‐vate equity fund‐raising and invest‐ment have hit their cyclical lows and are poised to surpass $250 billion globally within three or four years and to reach one‐half trillion dollars by the end of the decade. The author also predicts that India, whose history as a former British colony has given it a common law framework as well as system of elite universities and technical institutes known for the quality of its gradu‐ates, should become one of the five leading venture capital markets by the end of this decade.
Gene deletion in urothelium by specific expression of Cre recombinase
Authors: Mo Lan , Cheng Jin , Lee Eva Y.-H. P. , Sun Tung-Tien , Wu Xue-Ru
Published: April 2005

Urothelium that lines almost the entire urinary tract acts as a permeability barrier and is involved in the pathogenesis of major urinary diseases, including urothelial carcinoma, urinary tract infection, and interstitial cystitis. However, investigation of urothelial biology and diseases has been hampered by the lack of tissue-specific approaches. To address this deficiency, we sought to develop a urothelium-specific knockout system using the Cre/loxP strategy. Transgenic mouse lines were generated in which a 3.6-kb mouse uroplakin II (UPII) promoter was used to drive the expression of Cre recombinase (Cre). Among the multiple tissues analyzed, Cre was found to be expressed exclusively in the urothelia of the transgenic mice. Crossing a UPII-Cre transgenic line with a ROSA26-LacZ reporter line, in which LacZ expression depends on Cre-mediated deletion of a floxed “stop” sequence, led to LacZ expression only in the urothelium. Gene recombination was also observed when the UPII-Cre line was crossed to an independent line in which a part of the p53 gene was flanked by the loxP sequences (floxed p53). Truncation of the p53 gene and mRNA was observed exclusively in the urothelia of double transgenic mice harboring both the UPII-Cre transgene and the floxed p53 allele. These results demonstrate for the first time the feasibility and potentially wide applicability of the UPII-Cre transgenic mice to inactivate any genes of interest in the urothelium.
Comparison of gene expression of 2-mo denervated, 2-mo stimulated-denervated, and control rat skeletal muscles
Authors: Kostrominova Tatiana Y. , Dow Douglas E. , Dennis Robert G. , Miller Richard A. , Faulkner John A.
Published: April 2005

Loss of innervation in skeletal muscles leads to degeneration, atrophy, and loss of force. These dramatic changes are reflected in modifications of the mRNA expression of a large number of genes. Our goal was to clarify the broad spectrum of molecular events associated with long-term denervation of skeletal muscles. A microarray study compared gene expression profiles of 2-mo denervated and control extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from 6-mo-old rats. The study identified 121 genes with increased and 7 genes with decreased mRNA expression. The expression of 107 of these genes had not been identified previously as changed after denervation. Many of the genes identified were genes that are highly expressed in skeletal muscles during embryonic development, downregulated in adults, and upregulated after denervation of muscle fibers. Electrical stimulation of denervated muscles preserved muscle mass and maximal force at levels similar to those in the control muscles. To understand the processes underlying the effect of electrical stimulation on denervated skeletal muscles, mRNA and protein expression of a number of genes, identified by the microarray study, was compared. The hypothesis was that loss of nerve action potentials and muscle contractions after denervation play the major roles in upregulation of gene expression in skeletal muscles. With electrical stimulation of denervated muscles, the expression levels for these genes were significantly downregulated, consistent with the hypothesis that loss of action potentials and/or contractions contribute to the alterations in gene expression in denervated skeletal muscles.
Positive periodic solutions of a discrete mutualism model with time delays
Authors: Li Yongkun
Published: April 2005

A discrete periodic mutualism model with time delays is investigated. By using Gaines and Mawhin′s continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory, the existence of positive periodic solutions of the model is established.
Smoothing properties in multistep backward difference method and time derivative approximation for linear parabolic equations
Authors: Yan Yubin
Published: April 2005

A smoothing property in multistep backward difference method for a
linear parabolic problem in Hilbert space has been proved, where the operator is selfadjoint, positive definite with compact inverse. By using the solutions computed by a multistep backward difference method for the parabolic problem, we introduce an
approximation scheme for time derivative. The nonsmooth data error estimate for the approximation of time derivative has been obtained.
Fibrations and contact structures
Authors: Dathe Hamidou , Rukimbira Philippe
Published: April 2005

We prove that a closed 3‐dimensional manifold is a torus bundle over the circle if and only if it carries a closed nonsingular 1‐form which is linearly deformable into contact forms.
Nicely semiramified division algebras over Henselian fields
Authors: Mounirh Karim
Published: April 2005

This paper deals with the structure of nicely semiramified valued division algebras. We prove that any defectless finite‐dimensional central division algebra over a Henselian field E with an inertial maximal subfield and a totally ramified maximal subfield (not necessarily of radical type) (resp., split by inertial and totally ramified field extensions of E) is nicely semiramified.
Copula and semicopula transforms
Authors: Durante Fabrizio , Sempi Carlo
Published: April 2005

We characterize the transformation, defined for every copula C, by Ch(x, y) : = h[−1](C(h(x), h(y))), where x and y belong to [0, 1] and h is a strictly increasing and continuous function on [0, 1]. We study this transformation also in the class of quasi‐copulas and semicopulas.
Application of Logistic Regression to Case-Control Association Studies Involving Two Causative Loci
Authors: North Bernard V. , Curtis David , Sham Pak C.
Published: April 2005

Models in which two susceptibility loci jointly influence the risk of developing disease can be explored using logistic regression analysis. Comparison of likelihoods of models incorporating different sets of disease model parameters allows inferences to be drawn regarding the nature of the joint effect of the loci.We have simulated case-control samples generated assuming different two-locus models and then analysed them using logistic regression. We show that this method is practicable and that, for the models we have used, it can be expected to allow useful inferences to be drawn from sample sizes consisting of hundreds of subjects. Interactions between loci can be explored, but interactive effects do not exactly correspond with classical definitions of epistasis. We have particularly examined the issue of the extent to which it is helpful to utilise information from a previously identified locus when investigating a second, unknown locus. We show that for some models conditional analysis can have substantially greater power while for others unconditional analysis can be more powerful. Hence we conclude that in general both conditional and unconditional analyses should be performed when searching for additional loci.
Superimposing Polymorphism: The Case of a Point Mutation within a Polymorphic Alu Insertion
Authors: Martinez Laisel , Reategui Erika P. , Fonseca Libia R. , Sierra-Montes Julie M. , Terreros Maria C. , Pereira-Simon Simone , Herrera Rene J.
Published: April 2005

The COL3A1 Alu insertion is a member of the AluY subfamily. It has been found to be absent in non-human primates and polymorphic in worldwide human populations. The integration of the element into the human genome seems to have preceded the initial migration(s) of anatomically modern humans out of the African continent. Although the insertion has been detected in populations from all the continents, its highest frequency values are located within sub-Saharan Africa. The sequence alignment of the COL3A1 insertion from several African individuals revealed a bi-allelic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at the downstream terminus of the element’s poly-A tract. Once discovered, a selective PCR procedure was designed to determine the frequency of both alleles in 19 worldwide populations. The A-allele in this binary SNP experiences a clinal increase in the eastward direction from Africa to Southeast Asia and Mongolia, reaching fixation in the two latter regions. The T variant, on the other hand, exhibits a westward clinal increase outside of Africa, with its lowest frequency in Asia and achieving fixation in northern Europe. The presence of this internal SNP extends the usefulness provided by the polymorphic Alu insertion (PAI). It is possible that superimposing polymorphisms like this one found in the COL3A1 locus may accentuate signals from genetic drift events allowing for visualization of recent dispersal patterns.
Menstrual Cycle-Dependent Changes in White-on-White Visual Field Analysis of Diabetic Women
Authors: Akar Munire Erman , Apaydin K. Cemil , Taskin Omur , Akar Yusuf , Trak Bilal
Published: April 2005

Aim: To determine the effect of the menstrual cycle on white-on-white perimetry (WWP) tests of diabetic women. Subjects and Methods: Left eyes of 129 normally menstruating women (81 type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) with mild (n = 43) and severe (n = 38) non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), and 48 healthy control females) were included in the study. All subjects underwent complete ocular examination and WWP tests both in the follicular (7–10th day of the cycle) and luteal phases (days 3–7 before the bleeding) of two consecutive menstrual cycles. WWP was performed using Humphrey Field Analyzer II with SITA Standard, central 30-2 program. Mean sensitivity (MS) of points located at central 3, 9, 15, 21 and 27° retinal locations (4, 12, 18, 24 and 16 points, respectively) were calculated in all menstrual phases. Results: The mean age of diabetic patients with mild and severe NPDR and control subjects were 28.8 ± 4.7, 30.1 ± 5.9 and 29.4 ± 5.1 years, respectively (p > 0.05). Their mean MS values were 30.7 ± 1.0, 30.4 ± 1.0 and 30.8 ± 0.8 dB, respectively (p > 0.05). Diabetic patients with severe NPDR demonstrated significant decreases in mean MS values of peripheral 21 and 27° visual field locations in the luteal phase (p < 0.05). However, changes in that of the locations within central 15° visual field were non-significant (p > 0.05). Diabetic patients with mild NPDR and control subjects demonstrated no significant changes in mean MS values of any of the visual field locations (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Peripheral, rather than central, locations of central visual field of diabetic women with severe NPDR demonstrated a significant retinal sensitivity loss in the luteal phase. These findings should be taken into consideration during the clinical follow-up of diabetic women at risk of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.
Power and Self-Cultivation: Aesthetics, Development Ethics and the Calling of Poverty
Authors: Giri Ananta Kumar
Published: April 2005

In this paper, I explore the ideal of self-cultivation as it confronts the holders of power and our practice and understanding of ethics and aesthetics. I begin with the field of social development as an illustrative case of field of power that is in urgent need of a reconstructive and transformative practice of self-development. I take the ethical deliberations in the field of development, that is, development ethics as an exemplar of ethical reflection today, and look at aesthetics through the contemporary quest of and reflections on self-cultivation. Then, I discuss the challenge of recognizing the face of the other that the radical alterity of poverty presents to the quest for freedom, exercise of power and the ideal of self-cultivation. Through a dialogue with the face of the other, I wish in this paper to move from a self-congratulatory view of freedom as an assertion of one's rights to the terrain of what Emmanuel Levinas calls "difficult freedom", and reiterate the imperative of responsibility that knocks at our door — an imperative that disturbs our slumber and urges for a "permanent wakefulness" in us.The mission of development ethics is to keep hope alive. By any purely rational calculus of future probabilities, the development enterprise of most countries is doomed to fail. Poor classes, nations, and individuals can never catch up with their rich counterparts as long as they continue to consume wastefully and to devise ideological justifications for not practicing solidarity with the less developed. Only some transcultural calculus of hope, situated beyond apparent realms of possibility, can elicit the creative energies and vision which authentic development for all requires.
Bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticides in frogs of the Rana esculenta complex in central Italy
Authors: Di Rosa Ines , Clarioni Romina , Hotz Hansjürg , Pascolini Rita , Simoncelli Francesca , Fagotti Anna , Morosi Lorena , Pellegrino Roberto , Guex Gaston-Denis
Published: April 2005

Concentrations of commonly used organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in tissues of 23 adult and 24 larval water frogs of two coexisting species (Rana lessonae and the hemiclonal hybrid R. esculenta) and in the water of their breeding pond in an agricultural zone in Umbria, central Italy, where increased occurrence of infectious diseases and distinctly oversized tadpoles were recently observed. The concentrations of OCP in tissues of both species were lower than those in the water of their breeding pond, except for DDT, which was more concentrated in adult frogs than in pond water (bioaccumulation factor 7 for R. lessonae, 15 for R. esculenta). Total OCP concentration and adult body weight were positively correlated for both species, which is consistent with bioaccumulation. In accord, adults contained higher OCP concentrations than tadpoles. Oversized tadpoles had higher OCP concentrations than normal tadpoles. Mean OCP concentrations in individual organs were about an order of magnitude higher than those in whole-frog homogenates. They were highest in brain, higher in ventral than in dorsal skin, and moderately high in ovaries; transmission of bioaccumulation loads to the next generation is therefore possible. The observed OCP concentrations appear too low to directly cause mortality in water frogs, but effects of cumulative exposure to low-level pollutants and their synergistic interactions with the effects of other natural and anthropogenic environmental stressors are unknown.
Reproduction and feeding of the colubrid snake Tomodon dorsatus from south-eastern Brazil
Authors: Sazima Ivan , Marques Otavio , Bizerra Alessandra
Published: April 2005

Body size, sexual dimorphism, reproductive cycles, fecundity, diet and feeding behaviour of the colubrid snake Tomodon dorsatus from south-eastern Brazil were studied. Females of this viviparous species attained larger body sizes than males, the latter maturing with smaller body size than the former. Vitellogenesis occurred at the onset of rainy season, ovulation by mid rainy season, and parturition from late dry to early rainy season. Reproductive cycle was extended, maybe as a consequence of the low metabolism and food intake. Litter size ranged 4-26 offspring and was correlated with maternal body size. Relative clutch mass ranged 0.48-0.82, and neonates ranged 12-17 cm in snout-vent length. Tomodon dorsatus was shown to feed exclusively on veronicellid slugs quickly swallowed by long excursions of the specialized upper jaw units.
Shape of Western Australian dragon lizards (Agamidae)
Authors: Withers Philip , Thompson Graham
Published: April 2005

For 41 species of Western Australian agamid lizards, we found that most appendage lengths vary isometrically, so shape is largely independent of size. Of the three methods we used to quantitatively remove the effects of size on shape, the two that use principal component analysis (PCA; Jolicoeur, 1963; Somers, 1986; 1989) provided similar results, whereas regression residuals (against body length) provided a different interpretation. Somers' size-free PCA approach to remove the size-effects was the most useful because it provided 'size-free' scores for each species that were further analysed using other techniques, and its results seemed more biologically meaningful. Some, but not all, of the variation in size-free shape for these lizards could be related to phylogeny, retreat choice and performance traits.
A Heuristic Method for Time Disaggregation of Seasonal Climate Forecasts
Authors: Schneider J. M. , Garbrecht J. D. , Unger D. A.
Published: April 2005

To be immediately useful in practical applications that employ daily weather generators, seasonal climate forecasts issued for overlapping 3-month periods need to be disaggregated into a sequence of 1-month forecasts. Direct linear algebraic approaches to disaggregation produce physically unrealistic sequences of monthly forecasts. As an alternative, a heuristic method has been developed to disaggregate the NOAA/Climate Prediction Center (CPC) probability of exceedance seasonal precipitation forecasts, and tested on observed precipitation data for 1971–2000 for the 102 forecast divisions covering the contiguous United States. This simple method produces monthly values that replicate the direction and amplitude of variations on the 3-month time scale, and approach the amplitude of variations on the 1-month scale, without any unrealistic behavior. Root-mean-square errors between the disaggregated values and the actual precipitation over the 30-yr test period and all forecast divisions averaged 0.94 in., which is 39% of the mean monthly precipitation, and 58% of the monthly standard deviation. This method performs equally well across widely different precipitation regimes and does a reasonable job reproducing the sudden onset of strong seasonal variations such as the southwest U.S. monsoon.
Determinants of Neuroleptic Drug Use in Long-Term Facilities for Elderly Persons
Authors: Voyer Philippe , Verreault René , Mengue Pamphile Nkogho , Laurin Danielle , Rochette Louis , Martin Lori Schindel , Baillargeon Lucie
Published: April 2005

Neuroleptics, also called antipsychotic drugs (e.g., haloperidol, risperidone) are the cornerstone drug therapy for psychiatric disorders. Despite the fact that they are widely used in nursing homes, little is known about their clinical determinants. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence rate of neuroleptic administration and to identify their determinants among 2,332 elderly residents in nursing homes. Among the residents, 649 (27.8%) had taken at least one neuroleptic drug. According to the logistic regression, the factors associated with neuroleptic drug consumption were younger age, few hours of family visits, severe cognitive impairment, insomnia, physical restraint, and disruptive behavior. In conclusion, neuroleptic drugs are administered to more than a quarter of residents in nursing homes. Alternative solutions to sleep problems and disruptive behaviors of the elderly living in long-term-care facilities should be implemented in order to reduce unnecessary use of neuroleptics.