bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of age on incremental elastic modulus and incremental compliance of pig hepatic portal vein for liver xenotransplantation
Authors: Wang Pei‐Jun , He Fan , Liao Dong‐Hua , Zhang Jing , Li Wen‐Chun , Zhang Yi‐Fei , Huang Tie‐Zhu , Li Xiao‐Yang , Zeng Yan‐Jun
Published: February 2009

Abstract: Background:  Pigs are currently considered the most likely source of organs for human xenotransplantation because of anatomical and physiological similarities to humans, and the relative ease to be bred in large numbers. Along with the fast development of the genetic engineering and organ transplant immunity medical science, the research of liver xenotransplantation suffers the very big valuing in recent years. Whether the livers from different species after transplanting can perform the normal function, depends on the function regeneration and lucid rates of hepatic portal vein. The objective of this study was to investigate the age effect on biomechanical properties of pig hepatic portal vein to pave the way for seeking a reliable biomaterial for future pig‐to‐human liver xenotransplantation.

Methods:  The biomechanical remodelling of the hepatic portal vein of pigs for 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 months (n = 6 per month) were measured in this study. The blood vessel was given periodic permanent loading and unloading, and repeated force‐deformation data were obtained. The incremental modulus (Einc), the longitudinal incremental modulus (Ep), the circumferential incremental modulus (Ev), incremental compliance (C) and wall thickness were calculated based on the recorded pressure–diameter curves from experimental data.

Results:  The incremental modulus, pressure strain modulus and the volume modulus of the pig hepatic portal vein increases with the age increased (P < 0.01), while the compliance decreased with the increasing of the age (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:  Our present study suggests that the biomechanical properties of the pig hepatic portal vein are age dependent, the pig hepatic portal vein with biomechanical properties that match those of human hepatic portal vein should be chosen for liver xenotransplantation.
HLA‐Cw4 expression on porcine endothelial cells reduces cytotoxicity and adhesion mediated by CD158a+ human NK cells
Authors: Forte Pietro , Baumann Bettina C. , Schneider Mårten K. J. , Seebach Jörg D.
Published: February 2009

Abstract: Background:  Human natural killer (NK) cell‐mediated cytotoxicity represents a hurdle in pig‐to‐human xenotransplantation. It was previously reported that the expression of human major histocompatibility complex class I molecules, including HLA‐B27, ‐Cw3, ‐E, and ‐G, partially protects porcine endothelial cells (pEC) from human NK‐mediated cytotoxicity and that HLA‐G inhibits NK adhesion to pEC. Here, we tested if HLA‐Cw4 expression on pEC alone, or concurrently with HLA‐Cw3, prevents human NK adhesion and cytotoxicity against pEC via recognition of the killer‐cell immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR) CD158a (KIR2DL1) and CD158b (KIR2DL2/3), respectively.

Methods:  Two pEC lines (2A2 and PEDSV.15) were transfected with HLA‐Cw3 and HLA‐Cw4. HLA and KIR expression on porcine and human cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The effect of HLA expression on pEC on human NK‐mediated cytotoxicity and adhesion was tested by 51Cr‐release and dynamic adhesion assays, respectively.

Results:  HLA‐Cw4 expression on pEC reduced cytotoxicity mediated by CD158a+ polyclonal human NK cells by an average of 58%, and by CD158abright NK cell clones by 68%, but not by NK cells expressing low levels of CD158. Co‐expression of HLA‐Cw3 and HLA‐Cw4 on pEC did not mediate further protection against NK cytotoxicity. The expression of HLA‐Cw4 reduced the adhesion of human NK cells on pEC by a mean of 53%.

Conclusions:  While transgenic expression of HLA‐Cw4 on pEC reduces NK cell adhesion and cytotoxicity, co‐expression with HLA‐Cw3 is not sufficient to completely overcome human NK‐mediated cytotoxicity in vitro.
Secondary contact during adaptive radiation: a community matrix for Lake Malawi cichlids
Authors: YOUNG K. A. , WHITMAN J. M. , TURNER G. F.
Published: February 2009

We used a community of Lake Malawi rock‐dwelling cichlids to study secondary contact during adaptive radiation. Using abundance data from survey plots we constructed a matrix of pair‐wise interaction coefficients for males of 21 native and eight transplanted species. After controlling for the effects of habitat variation, correlations among residual male abundances suggest that coevolved species compete less than those brought into artificial secondary contact 30 years ago and that species with the same body colour compete more than those with different body colours. The latter result provides evidence that a trait related to reproductive isolation affects competitive interactions and the distribution of individuals throughout an entire community. Our results further suggest lake level fluctuations that divide and reconnect communities act to increase local (alpha), as well as total (gamma) diversity, in this adaptive radiation. The communities are not, however, unsaturated in the simplest sense; new species can enter a community, but they disproportionately reduce the abundance of original community members.
Host‐race formation: promoted by phenology, constrained by heritability
Authors: WHIPPLE A. V. , ABRAHAMSON W. G. , KHAMISS M. A. , HEINRICH P. L. , URIAN A. G. , NORTHRIDGE E. M.
Published: February 2009

Host‐race formation is promoted by genetic trade‐offs in the ability of herbivores to use alternate hosts, including trade‐offs due to differential timing of host‐plant availability. We examined the role of phenology in limiting host‐plant use in the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis) by determining: (1) whether phenology limits alternate host use, leading to a trade‐off that could cause divergent selection on Eurosta emergence time and (2) whether Eurosta has the genetic capacity to respond to such selection in the face of existing environmental variation. Experiments demonstrated that oviposition and gall induction on the alternate host, Solidago canadensis, were the highest on young plants, whereas the highest levels of gall induction on the normal host, Solidago gigantea, occurred on intermediate‐age plants. These findings indicate a phenological trade‐off for host‐plant use that sets up the possibility of divergent selection on emergence time. Heritability, estimated by parent–offspring regression, indicated that host‐race formation is impeded by the amount of genetic variation, relative to environmental, for emergence time.
Increased plasma nitric oxide, L‐arginine, and arginase‐1 in cirrhotic patients with progressive renal dysfunction
Authors: Kayali Zeid , Herring Jason , Baron Pedro , Franco Edson , Ojogho Okechukwu , Smith Jason , Watkins Gregory , Smith Douglas , Lamin Victor , Hoang Thanh , Sharma Rajiv , Mathahs Meleah , Sowers Lawrance , Brown Kyle E , Schmidt Warren N
Published: February 2009

Background and Aims:  Increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) are hypothesized to contribute to renal dysfunction in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. In this study, we examined whether splanchnic and/or peripheral NO levels and L‐arginine (L‐Arg) correlate with progressive renal dysfunction in cirrhotics.

Methods:  Serum NO metabolites (NOx) and L‐Arg were measured in: controls (n = 10); organ donors (n = 12); compensated cirrhotics (n = 17), cirrhotics with ascites (n = 25), refractory ascites (n = 11) or hepatorenal syndrome type II (HRS) (n = 11) and chronic renal failure patients (n = 18).

Results:  Plasma NOx and L‐Arg levels rose progressively with worsening renal function in decompensated cirrhotics. Both NOx and L‐Arg levels were highest in patients with HRS (P < 0.001 and P < 0.025, respectively). While there were no differences in NOx levels related to the site of sampling, L‐Arg levels were lowest in hepatic venous blood. There were significant relationships of NOx and L‐Arg with Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease score and Child–Pugh scores (P < 0.04 and P < 0.01, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed a significant relationship between NOx, L‐Arg and HRS.

Conclusion:  Worsening renal function in decompensated cirrhosis is accompanied by progressive elevation in plasma NOx and L‐Arg. These findings support the hypothesis that NO‐mediated vasodilation is probably linked with the mechanism of progressive renal failure in decompensated cirrhotics.
Retinoid metabolism in the small intestine during development of liver cirrhosis
Authors: Natarajan Sathish Kumar , Amirtharaj G Jayakumar , Ramachandran Anup , Pulimood Anna B , Balasubramanian Kunissery A
Published: February 2009

Background and Aims: Retinoids are important mediators of cellular differentiation and proliferation in various epithelia of the body including the small intestine. Though alterations in intestinal epithelial cell proliferation have been noted in liver cirrhosis, mechanisms involved in the process are not well understood. This study examined the levels of various retinoids and retinoid‐metabolizing enzymes in the small intestine during development of liver cirrhosis.

Methods: Four groups of animals were used (control, phenobarbitone control, thioacetamide and carbon tetrachloride treatment). Twice‐weekly intragastric or i.p. administration of carbon tetrachloride or thioacetamide, respectively, produced liver cirrhosis after 3 months, which was confirmed through histology and serum markers. Retinoid levels were measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography.

Results: A decrease in the levels of retinal, retinoic acid and retinol was evident in the intestine by 3 months, when cirrhosis was evident histologically, and these remained low until 6 months. A decrease in the activities of retinaldehyde oxidase, retinaldehyde reductase and retinol dehydrogenase was also seen in intestine from cirrhotic rats.

Conclusion: These results suggest that altered retinoid metabolism in the intestine of cirrhotic rats might have an influence on changes in intestinal epithelial cell differentiation, seen in liver cirrhosis.
Searching for self: The layers and labels of panic disorder: A New Zealand study
Authors: Hamer Helen P. , McCallin Antoinette M. , Garrett Nick
Published: February 2009

The diagnosis and management of panic symptoms are relatively neglected. If not treated, people can develop a panic disorder, a condition that has an adverse effect on the client's quality of life and psychological well‐being. The aim of this New Zealand research is to understand the clients' perspective of panic disorder and how it impacts on their quality of life. Ten participants were interviewed and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research findings indicate that recovery from panic disorder occurs in a process of the search for self that is made up of self‐understanding and the reclaiming the self. The findings provide a psychosocial perspective of panic disorder that will assist nurses who work with these clients. Nurses are pivotal in teaching clients about their body's response to stress and health anxiety, the giving of supplementary health information, and timely referral for specialist treatment. The recommendations for nurse specialist input and biopsychosocial assessments are discussed.
Advertising of antihypertensive medicines and prescription sales in Australia
Authors: Vitry A. , Lai Y. H.
Published: February 2009

Background: Drug promotion is one of the main factors that influence prescribing practices, but there are limited data available to quantify the relationship between drug advertising and prescription sales.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between advertising for antihypertensive medicines and prescription sales in Australia between 1993 and 2002.

Methods: Retrospective observational study. Advertising trends were monitored by counting the number of advertisements published in three Australian medical journals. Monthly prescription dispensing data were obtained from Drug Utilisation Sub‐Committee and expressed as numbers of defined daily doses/1000 inhabitants/day. Linear regression and cross‐correlations of time series were used in the analysis.

Results: The drug classes the most heavily advertised, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers, were also the most prescribed during the study period, while the drugs the least advertised, thiazide diuretics and beta‐blockers, were the least used. In 5 of the 7 main antihypertensive classes, the product the most advertised was also the most prescribed. Other factors, such as the publication of large clinical trials, may have also influenced prescribing patterns.

Conclusion: Prescription sales of antihypertensives in Australia are correlated with promotional advertising. The newest and most expensive medicines may be chosen over older effective drugs by prescribers. New policies on drug promotion control need to be developed.
Loop ileostomy following anterior resection: is it really temporary?
Authors: David G. G. , Slavin J. P. , Willmott S. , Corless D. J. , Khan A. U. , Selvasekar C. R.
Published: February 2009

Introduction  A temporary loop ileostomy is often created to minimize the impact of peritoneal sepsis if anastomotic dehiscence occurs following low colorectal anastomosis. Although it has been suggested that a loop ileostomy should be reversed within 12 weeks of formation, this is often not the case. We set out to analyse the use of loop ileostomy following elective anterior resection in England and to identify factors associated with non and delayed reversal.

Method  Hospital episode statistics for the years 2001–2006 were obtained from the Department of Health. Patients undergoing elective anterior resection with a loop ileostomy for a primary diagnosis of rectal or recto‐sigmoid cancer between April 2001 and March 2003 were identified as the study cohort. This cohort was followed until March 2006 to identify patients undergoing reversal of an ileostomy in an English NHS Hospital.

Results  A total of 6582 patients had an elective anterior resection between April 2001 and March 2003, of which 964 (14.6%) also had an ileostomy. Seven hundred and two (75.1%) patients were reversed before March 2006. Advancing age and comorbidity were statistically related to nonreversal. Median time to reversal was 207 days (Interquartile range 119–321.5 days). Postoperative chemotherapy and comorbidity significantly delayed reversal.

Conclusions  One in four loop ileostomies performed to defunction an elective anterior resection is not reversed, and in the presence of significant comorbidity one in three is not reversed. Only 12% is reversed within 12 weeks.
Light and electron microscopic study of the anterior oesophagus of Bulla striata (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia)
Authors: Lobo‐da‐Cunha Alexandre , Oliveira Elsa , Alves Ângela , Coelho Rita , Calado Gonçalo
Published: February 2009

Lobo‐da‐Cunha, A., Oliveira, E., Alves, Â., Coelho, R. and Calado, G. 2010. Light and electron microscopic study of the anterior oesophagus of Bulla striata (Mollusca, Opisthobranchia). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 125–138.

The anterior oesophagus of Bulla striata was investigated with light and electron microscopy. In the most anterior region, the ridges of the oesophageal wall are covered by a ciliated columnar epithelium forming large apical blebs which are released into the lumen, an activity that is particularly intense in the oesophageal pouch. In the last two‐thirds of the anterior oesophagus, the epithelium is covered with microvilli embedded in a cuticle, but apocrine secretion and cilia are absent. Subepithelial secretory cells are very abundant in the oesophageal wall, except in the roof of the pouch. They have a long neck that crosses the epithelium, whereas the cell body containing the nucleus is embedded in the connective tissue. Large electron‐lucent secretory vesicles and many Golgi stacks fill most of their cytoplasm. The histochemical and cytochemical assays show that these cells secrete acid mucopolysaccharides. With the current and future studies we aim to obtain data for the establishment of relationships between morphofunctional features of the digestive system and food types in cephalaspideans. Additionally, the new data about the oesophageal pouch of B. striata may be useful for the establishment of eventual homologies with the oesophageal diverticula of other opisthobranchs.
Significance of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose positron‐emission tomography/computed tomography for the postoperative surveillance of advanced renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Park Jong Wook , Jo Moon Ki , Lee Hyun Moo
Published: February 2009

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the role of 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron‐emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for the surveillance of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have a high risk of local recurrence or distant metastasis, by comparing the results with those of conventional imaging methods.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Sixty‐three patients with RCC had conventional imaging studies and FDG PET/CT during the follow‐up after surgical treatment. Their pathological stages were T2 in 28 patients, T3a in 14, T3b in 19 and T4 in two; lymph‐node or distant metastases were present in 12 patients. Suspicious recurrent or metastatic lesions were confirmed by histopathology or by clinical follow‐up. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of conventional surveillance methods and FDG PET/CT were analysed. The difference in the accuracy of FDG PET/CT by nuclear grade and histological subtype of tumours was also assessed.

RESULTS

The FDG PET/CT accurately classified the presence of a recurrence or metastasis in 56 (89%) patients. FDG PET/CT had an 89.5% sensitivity, 83.3% specificity, 77.3% positive predictive value, 92.6% negative predictive value, and 85.7% accuracy in detecting recurrence or metastasis, which was not significantly different from the results with conventional methods. Moreover, the accuracy of the FDG PET/CT by nuclear grade and histological subtypes was not significantly different.

CONCLUSION

For the surveillance of high‐risk RCC, FDG PET/CT had results that were as good as conventional methods and were not influenced by the nuclear grades of cancer cells. In addition, it was possible to examine all organ systems in one procedure, and there was no need for contrast agents, that can damage renal function. Therefore, FDG PET/CT might replace conventional methods.
The 2006 war and its inter‐temporal economic impact on agriculture in Lebanon
Authors: Darwish Ragy , Farajalla Nadim , Masri Rania
Published: February 2009

The July 2006 war waged by Israel on Lebanon caused an estimated USD 1 billion of direct (financial) damage to infrastructure. However, it generated also significant indirect (economic/inter‐temporal) costs. One sector that suffered considerably in this respect was agriculture, the main source of income for 30–40 per cent of Lebanese. This paper's main objective is to develop a methodology to estimate the total—direct and indirect—cost of the war to agricultural crop production, using an area of south Lebanon as a focal point. The indirect loss assessment viewed inter‐temporal reductions in crop production values as the opportunity cost of not working fields due to the presence of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Various crops were evaluated for two scenarios (50 and 100 per cent damage due to UXO) over UXO‐clearance periods of five and 10 years. The results indicate that any damage estimates that include only direct losses will under‐estimate total losses by 80 and 87 per cent for the five‐ and 10‐year periods, respectively.
A STUDY OF BIOETHICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTIONS IN KOREA
Authors: PARK YOUNG‐JOON , KIM SUJIN , KIM AEREE , HA SEUNG‐YEON , LEE YOUNG‐MEE , SHIN BONG‐KYUNG , LEE HYUN‐JOO , PARK SOOJIN , KIM HAN‐KYEOM
Published: February 2009

This study assessed the knowledge and perception of human biological materials (HBM) and biorepositories among three study groups in South Korea. The relationship between the knowledge and the perception among different groups was also examined by using factor and regression analyses. In a self‐reporting survey of 440 respondents, the expert group was found more likely to be knowledgeable and positively perceived than the others. Four factors emerged: Sale and Consent, Flexible Use, Self‐Confidence, and Korean Bioethics and Biosafety Action restriction perception. The results indicate that those who are well aware of the existence of biobanks were more positively inclined to receive the Sale and Consent perception. As a result of the need for high quality HBMs and the use of appropriate sampling procedures for every aspect of the collection and use process, the biorepository community should pay attention to ethical, legal, and policy issues.
EQUALITY AND THE DUTY TO RETARD HUMAN AGEING
Authors: FARRELLY COLIN
Published: February 2009

Where does the aspiration to retard human ageing fit in the ‘big picture’ of medical necessities and the requirements of just healthcare? Is there a duty to retard human ageing? And if so, how much should we invest in the basic science that studies the biology of ageing and could lead to interventions that modify the biological processes of human ageing? I consider two prominent accounts of equality and just healthcare – Norman Daniels's application of the principle of fair equality of opportunity and Ronald Dworkin's account of equality of resources – and conclude that, once suitably amended and revised, both actually support the conclusion that anti‐ageing research is important and could lead to interventions that ought to be considered ‘medical necessities’.
ON THE MORALITY OF GUINEA‐PIG RECRUITMENT
Authors: VALDMAN MIKHAIL
Published: February 2009

Can it be wrong to conduct medical research on human subjects even with their informed consent and even when the transaction between the subjects and researchers is expected to be mutually beneficial? This question is especially pressing today in light of the rise of a semi‐professional class of ‘guinea pigs’– human research subjects that sell researchers a right of access to their bodies in exchange for money. Can these exchanges be morally problematic even when they are consensual and mutually beneficial? I argue that there are two general kinds of concern one can have about such transactions – concerns about the nature of what is sold and concerns about the conditions in which the selling occurs. The former involves worries about degradation and the possible wrongness of selling a right of access to one's body. These worries, I argue, are not very serious. The latter involves worries about coercion, exploitation, and undue influence – about how, by virtue of their ignorance, impulsiveness, or desperation, guinea pigs can be taken advantage of by medical researchers. These worries are quite serious but I argue that, at least in cases where the exchange between guinea pigs and researchers is consensual and mutually beneficial, they do not raise insurmountable moral problems.
OUGHT WE TO ENHANCE OUR COGNITIVE CAPACITIES?1
Authors: TÄNNSJÖ TORBJÖRN
Published: February 2009

Ought we to improve our cognitive capacities beyond the normal human range? It might be a good idea to level out differences between peoples cognitive capacities; and some people's reaching beyond normal capacities may have some good side‐effects on society at large (but also bad side‐effects, of course). But is there any direct gain to be made from having ones cognitive capacities enhanced? Would this as such make our lives go better? No, I argue; or at least there doesn't seem to be any evidence suggesting that it would. And it doesn't matter whether we consider the question from a narrow hedonistic perspective, from a more refined hedonistic perspective, from a desire‐satisfaction view, or from some reasonable objective list view of what makes a life go well. Only an extremely perfectionist – and implausible – view of what makes our lives go well could support any direct value in cognitive enhancement. Finally, our sense of identity gives us no good reasons to enhance even our capacity to remember. So, cognitive enhancement as such would not improve our lives.
ENHANCING EVOLUTION AND ENHANCING EVOLUTION
Authors: BRASSINGTON IAIN
Published: February 2009

It has been claimed in several places that the new genetic technologies allow humanity to achieve in a generation or two what might take natural selection hundreds of millennia in respect of the elimination of certain diseases and an increase in traits such as intelligence. More radically, it has been suggested that those same technologies could be used to instil characteristics that we might reasonably expect never to appear due to natural selection alone. John Harris, a proponent of this genomic optimism, claims in his book Enhancing Evolution that we not only have it in our power to enhance evolution, but that we also have a duty to do so. In this paper, I claim that Harris' hand is strong but that he overplays it nevertheless. He is correct to dismiss the arguments of the anti‐enhancement lobby and correct to say that enhancement is permissible; but ‘good’ is different from ‘permissible’ and his argument for the goodness of enhancement is less convincing. Moreover, he is simply wrong to claim that it generates a duty to enhance.
Infrastructure Endowment and Corporate Income Taxes as Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in Central and Eastern European Countries
Authors: Bellak Christian , Leibrecht Markus , Damijan Jože P.
Published: February 2009

This paper analyses the importance of taxes on corporate income and production‐related tangible infrastructure as determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). We operationalise taxes using effective average tax rates on the bilateral level and employ indices derived from principal component analysis as a proxy for the infrastructure endowment. In the empirical analysis we control for a possible interrelation between taxes and infrastructure as determinants of FDI – an issue usually neglected in the literature. Specifically, a favourable infrastructure endowment may compensate for relatively high taxes. Hence, higher taxes may not deter FDI. The results from our panel econometric analysis of bilateral outward FDI flows of seven home countries in eight CEECs for the 1995–2004 period in an augmented gravity model setting show that (i) both taxes and infrastructure play a role in the location decisions made by multinational enterprises; (ii) telecommunication and transport infrastructure are of special significance to FDI; and (iii) the tax‐rate sensitivity of FDI indeed decreases with the level of infrastructure endowment.
Training, Job Satisfaction, and Workplace Performance in Britain: Evidence from WERS 2004
Authors: Jones Melanie K. , Jones Richard J. , Latreille Paul L. , Sloane Peter J.
Published: February 2009

This paper analyses the relationship between training, job satisfaction, and workplace performance using the British 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS). Several measures of performance are analysed including absence, quits, financial performance, labour productivity, and product quality. Although there is clear evidence that training is positively associated with job satisfaction, and job satisfaction in turn is positively associated with most measures of performance, the relationship between training and performance is complex, depending on both the particular measures of training and of performance used in the analysis.
Do “Off‐Site” Adult Businesses Have Secondary Effects? Legal Doctrine, Social Theory, and Empirical Evidence
Authors: McCLEARY RICHARD , WEINSTEIN ALAN C.
Published: February 2009

Recent federal court decisions appear to limit the ability of cities to mitigate the ambient crime risks associated with adult entertainment businesses. In one instance, a court has assumed that criminological theories do not apply to “off‐site” adult businesses. After developing the legal doctrine of secondary effects, we demonstrate that the prevailing criminological theory applies to all adult business models. To corroborate the theory, we report the results of a before/after quasi‐experiment for an off‐site adult business. When an off‐site adult business opens, ambient crime risk doubles compared to a control area. As theory predicts, moreover, ambient victimization risk is most acute in night‐time hours. The theoretical development and empirical results have obvious implications for the evolving legal doctrine of secondary effects.
Governing Without Law or Governing Without Government? New‐ish Governance and the Legitimacy of the EU
Authors: Scott Colin
Published: February 2009

The way the EU is governed and the way such governance is perceived contributes centrally to the legitimacy of the European enterprise. This legitimacy underpins both the acceptance and the effects of EU activity. Legitimacy is a product of the way in which decisions are taken, and the nature and quality of such decisions. Pressures created by concerns about both forms of legitimacy affecting EU decision making partially explain the turn in legal scholarship away from the more traditional preoccupation with the analysis of legislative instruments and case‐law, towards a more broadly based conception of governance which involves the examination of a more diverse range of processes and instruments. This article offers an analysis of the parameters of newness in governance. The overall argument is that some of the more innovative governance modes are not so new, whilst more recent and celebrated modes, although displaying elements of newness, are, perhaps, not that innovative. The focus of the new governance in the EU is largely on governing without law, rather than the more radical governing without government; hence the suggestion that we are experiencing only ‘new‐ish governance’. The article asks whether a limited conception of new governance is inevitable given the legitimacy constraints within which the EU operates, or whether the potential for developing a broader conception of governance, through wider participation and involvement of non‐governmental governing capacities, might bolster legitimacy through both better processes and better outcomes.
Deploying the Classic ‘Community Method’ in the Social Policy Field: The Example of the Acquired Rights Directive
Authors: Barrett Gavin
Published: February 2009

The use of the Community method of legislation, in particular the deployment of directives, has for a long time been at the core of EC labour market policy. This article seeks to reflect on the lessons to be learned from the experience of the adoption and operation of one particularly significant directive, namely the Acquired Rights Directive, and on the experience of its transposition in one Member State, Ireland. Among features noted at the EU level are the watering down of the Commission's initial legislative ambitions; the substantial lacunae, failures to address issues and ambiguities incorporated in the text of the directive, the consequent enlarged role for the Court of Justice and the apparent difficulty in changing policy direction in the event of errors being made. As regards the Irish experience of transposing the directive, lessons learnt have included the importance of the means of implementation chosen by the Member State; the obstructive effect which national industrial relations systems may have on the evolution of a common European approach; the significance which attaches to national sanctions and enforcement mechanisms; the importance attaching to the degree of collective organisation in workplaces where the implementing legislation is sought to be relied upon; and the potential which the implementation of a directive has for disruption of the harmony of a national policy approach. Finally, the use of a form of social dialogue in the implementation of employment‐related directives in Ireland is also commented upon.
Reflexive Governance and European Company Law
Authors: Deakin Simon
Published: February 2009

The use of reflexive forms of governance is growing within the EU, in particular as the open method of coordination (OMC) is applied to a wider range of contexts. Reflexive approaches view diversity of laws and practices across the Member States as the basis for experimentation and mutual learning within the overall process of European integration. Company law, however, seems to be an exception to this trend: recent activity in this area has mostly taken the form of ‘hard law’ harmonisation through directives, coupled with the stimulation of regulatory competition through judgments of the European Court of Justice concerning freedom of movement, most notably the Centros case. The deliberations of the European Corporate Governance Forum barely qualify as a ‘company law OMC’ because of the limited space allowed for ‘learning from diversity’; instead, differences in the laws of the Member States are seen, in the discourse of the Forum, as ‘distortions of competition’. In the area of labour law, by contrast, a degree of functional convergence and a coordinated raising of standards have recently been achieved by the dovetailing of the OMC with social policy directives. The contrasting experiences of labour law and company law suggest that reflexive or experimentalist approaches to European governance can be effective when they operate so as to complement mechanisms of harmonisation and regulatory competition, rather than being presented as alternatives to them.
Liver‐related deaths in HIV‐infected patients between 1995 and 2005 in the French GERMIVIC Joint Study Group Network (Mortavic 2005 Study in collaboration with the Mortalité 2005 survey, ANRS EN19)*
Authors: Rosenthal E , Salmon‐Céron D , Lewden C , Bouteloup V , Pialoux G , Bonnet F , Karmochkine M , May T , François M , Burty C , Jougla E , Costagliola D , Morlat P , Chêne G , Cacoub P ,   the Mortavic/Mortalité 2005 Study Group
Published: February 2009

Background

More than 10 years after the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), we examined the trend in the proportion of deaths caused by end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) in HIV‐infected adults in France between 1995 and 2005.

Design and methods

In 2005, 34 departments prospectively recorded all deaths in HIV‐infected patients who were followed in those departments (around 24 000). Results were compared with those of four previous cross‐sectional surveys conducted since 1995 using the same methodology.

Results

Among 287 reported deaths in 2005, 100 (35%) were related to AIDS, and 48 (17%) to ESLD. Three out of four patients who died from ESLD‐related causes had chronic hepatitis C. Excessive alcohol consumption was reported in approximately half of the patients (48%). At death, 62% of patients had undetectable HIV viral load and the median CD4 count was 237 cells/μL. From 1995 to 2005, the proportion of deaths caused by ESLD increased from 2 to 17% (P<0.001). The proportion of deaths caused by hepatocellular carcinoma increased from 5% in 1995 to 25% in 2005 (P=0.0337).

Conclusions

Over the 10 years from 1995 to 2005, the proportion of deaths caused by hepatitis C virus‐related ESLD has increased in HIV‐infected patients. ESLD is currently a leading cause of death in this population, with hepatocellular carcinoma representing a quarter of liver‐related deaths. Recommendations for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma should be strictly applied in these patients.
THE MIRACLE OF MOSES
Authors: LORKOWSKI C. M.
Published: February 2009

In this paper, I draw out a tension between miracles, prophecy, and Spinoza's assertions about Moses in the Theological‐Political Treatise (TTP). The three seem to constitute an inconsistent triad. Spinoza's account of miracles requires a naturalistic interpretation of all events. This categorical claim must therefore apply to prophecy; specifically, Moses' hearing God's voice in a manner which does not seem to invoke the imagination or natural phenomena. Thus, Spinoza seemingly cannot maintain both Moses' exalted status and his account of miracles. I consider some possible solutions, but find that they are either untrue to Spinoza's position, or would undercut his categorical argument against miracles. I therefore conclude that Spinoza leaves an unresolved tension in the TTP.
Symbolic Attributes and Organizational Attractiveness: The moderating effects of applicant personality
Authors: Schreurs Bert , Druart Celina , Proost Karin , De Witte Karel
Published: February 2009

The present study examined the moderating influence of the Big Five personality factors in the relationship between five symbolic, trait‐based inferences about organizations (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Prestige, and Ruggedness) and organizational attractiveness. Drawing on the similarity‐attraction paradigm, six hypotheses were formulated, stating that the relationship between trait‐based inferences and organizational attractiveness would be stronger for persons who perceive the organization as similar to them. Results of moderated regression analyses on data from a sample of 245 prospective applicants for the Belgian military revealed two significant two‐way interactions, showing that Sincerity was positively related to organizational attractiveness only for individuals high on Conscientiousness, and that the relationship between Excitement and organizational attractiveness is more positive for individuals high on Openness to Experience. Practical implications, strengths and limitations, as well as directions for further research are presented.
Beauty Revisited: The impact of attractiveness, ability, and personality in the assessment of employment suitability
Authors: Tews Michael J. , Stafford Kathryn , Zhu Jinfei
Published: February 2009

This study examined the relative weight that hiring managers place on applicants' attractiveness, general mental ability (GMA), and the Big Five personality dimensions in assessing employment suitability for high and low customer contact positions. A sample of 130 managers from 43 hotel properties in the United States and Canada evaluated applicant profiles that varied on these dimensions. The policy capturing results demonstrated that attractiveness does impact employment suitability ratings across positions. However, attractiveness is valued less than GMA and conscientiousness. The attractiveness weight was greater in the evaluation of high customer contact positions, suggesting that attractiveness may be perceived as more job‐relevant for positions where employees interact extensively with people outside the organization. These findings are discussed along with implications for practice and future research attention.
The Thai Government’s Repatriation and Reintegration Programmes: Responding to Trafficked Female Commercial Sex Workers from the Greater Mekong Subregion
Authors: Jayagupta Ratchada
Published: February 2009

Since the 1990s, trafficked women and girls from neighbouring countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), including Myanmar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Yunnan province in southern China, have increasingly migrated to Thailand and worked in the country’s thriving commercial sex industry. In response, the Thai government has launched a range of programmes to supplement its earlier programmes designed primarily to combat internal trafficking. This paper concentrates on one component of the Thai government’s response: repatriation and reintegration. The paper is organized as follows: First, a definition of human trafficking, particularly as it relates to women and children, is provided. Second, a succinct discussion of the history of the domestic trafficking of women and girls into commercial sex work in Thailand, focusing especially on the Thai government’s broad response to this dilemma, is given. Third, the dynamics of the relatively recent surge of trafficked women and girls from neighbouring GMS countries working in Thailand’s commercial sex industry and the Thai government’s efforts to combat this are discussed. Finally, the paper focuses on repatriation and reintegration in Thailand; by briefly discussing the situation that trafficked women and girls confront in this process, and by defining repatriation, reintegration, and reintegration assistance. The Thai government’s repatriation and reintegration programmes are then described and critically reviewed, focusing particularly on the Kredtrakarn Protection and Occupational Development Centre. Recommendations on how to improve existing repatriation and reintegration programmes are provided. Above all, greater collaboration must take place in order to effectively and efficiently implement policies, plans, and projects to more successfully reintegrate trafficked women and girls back into neighbouring GMS countries, in particular at the local level.
When is a species not a species? Uncoupled phenotypic, karyotypic and genotypic divergence in two species of South African laminate‐toothed rats (Murinae: Otomyini)
Authors: Taylor P. J. , Maree S. , Van Sandwyk J. , Baxter R. , Rambau R. V.
Published: February 2009

Chromosomal polytypy, morphological conservatism and absence of data have frustrated the taxonomic revision of two species of southern African‐endemic laminate‐toothed rats (Otomys irroratusandOtomys saundersiaes.l.). New cytogenetic (G‐banding and fluorescencein situhybridization), DNA sequence [cytochromeb(cytb) gene] and geometric morphometric data demonstrate the synonymy ofO. saundersiaefrom Grahamstown (Eastern Cape, South Africa) underO. irroratus, and the validity ofOtomys karoensisfrom the Fynbos Biome of the Western Cape. Phenotypic dimorphism in pelage colour and cranial morphology inO. irroratusfrom the climatically unpredictable Albany Thicket (=Savanna) Biome of the Eastern Cape results from the retention of allometric paedomorphic traits in some adults (saundersiaemorph) but not others. The same paedomorphic traits are associated with speciation and karyotypic and genetic differentiation inO. karoensis. WithinO. irroratus, two phenotypically and genotypically (cytbdivergence=6.4%) divergent lineages correspond with the Fynbos/Albany Thicket and Grassland biomes. Incipient speciation inO. irroratusseems to be associated with ecology rather than karyotype.
Aversive associative conditioning of prepulses in a startle inhibition paradigm
Authors: Nees Frauke , Hahn Melanie , Schulz André , Blumenthal Terry D. , Schächinger Hartmut
Published: February 2009

Prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) represents an automatic mechanism that reflects sensorimotor gating and early attention processes. PPI neither is the consequence of conscious behavioral modulation nor does it depend on learning and conditioning. However, pairing of weak tones and aversive startle stimuli during PPI testing may induce associative learning. Thus, in the present study (n=60) we tested whether prepulses may be subject to aversive conditioning. Eyeblink EMG and electrodermal responses to intense (100 dB) acoustic stimuli, presented either alone or preceded by weak tones (prepulses, 50 ms, 70 dB, SOA=120 ms), were measured. We found that after strong contingent pairing of weak tones with startle stimuli (PPI paradigm) intense versions of these tones induced significantly larger eyeblink and skin conductance responses than did never paired control tones. We conclude that during PPI testing, prepulses may be subject to aversive conditioning.
A production‐inventory model under stock‐dependent demand, Weibull distribution deterioration and shortage
Authors: Roy T. , Chaudhuri K. S.
Published: February 2009

In the present article, we establish two production inventory models (Model I and Model II) for deteriorating items when the demand rate depends on the instantaneous inventory level. The production rate depends not only on the stock level but also on the demand. In both the models, we consider the Weibull distribution deterioration. Model I is developed and solved without allowing shortages whereas Model II is developed and solved allowing shortages that are backlogged. Three numerical examples are given to illustrate the solution procedure of the two models. Sensitivity analysis is also carried out.
On the string averaging method for sparse common fixed‐point problems
Authors: Censor Yair , Segal Alexander
Published: February 2009

We study the common fixed‐point problem for the class of directed operators. This class is important because many commonly used nonlinear operators in convex optimization belong to it. We propose a definition of sparseness of a family of operators and investigate a string‐averaging algorithmic scheme that favorably handles the common fixed‐point problem when the family of operators is sparse. The convex feasibility problem is treated as a special case and a new subgradient projections algorithmic scheme is obtained.
MEASURING THE STOCK OF CONSUMER DURABLES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR EURO AREA SAVINGS RATIOS
Authors: Jalava Jukka , Kavonius Ilja Kristian
Published: February 2009

The purpose of this article is to estimate the impact of capitalizing durable goods on the euro area household saving ratios and disposable incomes for the first time. The reason for this exercise is twofold. Firstly, it is generally accepted that individual households regard consumer durables as assets even though they are not treated as such in the System of National Accounts 1993. Secondly, the issue is related to the definition of household saving ratios. For instance, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board publishes three household saving measures. The main difference between these saving ratios is that one is derived by treating expenditure on consumer durables as investments while the other two are compiled by considering them to be household final consumption expenditure. We find that the effect of capitalizing consumer durables on EA saving ratios is moderate. The impact is lower than it is in the U.S.
CROSS‐NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN INCOME MOBILITY: EVIDENCE FROM CANADA, THE UNITED STATES, GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY
Authors: Chen Wen‐Hao
Published: February 2009

Using a standardized dataset, this paper compares the differences in income mobility among four countries—Canada, the United States, Great Britain and Germany—during the 1990s and early 2000s. The results suggest that, in general, there exist diverse levels of income mobility across the four countries. Although the precise magnitudes of the differences are sensitive to the measurement method used, incomes in Britain are by far the most mobile. Our findings also reveal country‐specific driving forces that underlie income mobility. The stabilizing effects of government transfers are most pronounced in Canada. In Germany, it is the progressive tax system that offsets earnings variations and results in smaller changes in longitudinal incomes. Moreover, we also discover that demographic factors provided only limited explanation of differences in income mobility.
THE SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF INCOME INEQUALITY IN THE ENLARGED EU
Authors: Hoffmeister Onno
Published: February 2009

This study examines how personal disposable income is distributed across regions, countries and larger geographical areas in the EU25 and how this distribution changed during the second half of the 1990s. Moreover, it assesses the “statistical” effect resulting from the enlargement of the European Union, and therefore the community of people for which inequality is measured. A three‐level spatial decomposition of the overall personal inequality in the EU reveals that a fifth of its amount is attributed to the east–west income gap and that intra‐regional inequality accounts for three quarters. The study detects a convergence of both average national income levels and within‐country personal income inequality. Inequality is rising primarily in the Scandinavian social‐democratic welfare states and decreasing in the Mediterranean countries of the EU15. In Eastern Central Europe, the rapid growth of inequality which had been observable during the first years of transition has come to an end.