bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Expression of adiponectin and its receptors in livers of morbidly obese patients with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Ma Hong , Gomez Victoria , Lu Liang , Yang Xiangjiu , Wu Xiaoyan , Xiao Shu‐Yuan
Published: August 2008

Background and Aim:  Obesity is one of the risk factors for non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and a common disease that comprises simple steatosis and non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and can eventually lead to liver cirrhosis. Adiponectin is an adipocyte‐derived protein that has anti‐obesity, antidiabetic and anti‐inflammatory properties, and is considered to possess a hepatoprotective function. Its role in the development and progression of NAFLD in morbidly obese patients is unknown. In this study, we examined the expression levels of adiponectin and its receptors in liver biopsies of morbidly obese patients and then determined whether there was an association with the disease severity.

Methods:  Liver biopsies from 30 morbidly obese patients (18 NASH vs 12 steatosis) were analyzed. The needle core biopsies were subjected to routine histological examination and stained immunohistochemically for adiponectin, adiponectin receptor I (adipoRI) and receptor II (adipoRII).

Results:  The two groups were comparable with respect to body mass index, age and gender distribution. The expression of adiponectin decreased in liver biopsies with NASH as compared to those with simple steatosis (1.61 ± 0.70 vs 2.25 ± 0.75, P = 0.028). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis showed that the staining intensity of adiponectin negatively correlated with the grade of inflammation (r = −0.368, P = 0.045) and stage of fibrosis (r = −0.380, P = 0.038). There was no significant difference in expression of adipoRI and adipoRII between the two groups.

Conclusion:  These findings indicate that decreased liver adiponectin expression may play a role in the development and progression of NAFLD, from simple steatosis to NASH, in morbidly obese patients.
Long‐term results of balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration for gastric variceal bleeding and risky gastric varices: A 10‐year experience
Authors: Akahoshi Tomohiko , Hashizume Makoto , Tomikawa Morimasa , Kawanaka Hirofumi , Yamaguchi Shohei , Konishi Kouzo , Kinjo Nao , Maehara Yoshihiko
Published: August 2008

Background and Aim:  Balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B‐RTO) is a new alternative treatment for gastric varices (GVx), but the long‐term efficacy is not known. We investigated the long‐term effects of B‐RTO on rebleeding, prevention of first bleeding, mortality and occurrence of risky esophageal varices (EVx).

Methods:  B‐RTO was performed in 68 cirrhotic patients with GVx. Twenty patients had recent bleeding, transiently treated by endoscopic Histoacryl injection or balloon tamponade. Forty‐eight patients had varices likely to bleed, but no bleeding. After B‐RTO, the recurrent bleeding, occurrence of EVx and mortality over the long‐term were evaluated.

Results:  B‐RTO was successfully performed in 63 of 68 patients (92.6%). Varices eradication was confirmed by endoscopy in 61 of 63 patients (96.6%). During follow up, GVx bleeding occurred in two patients (3.2%). The 8‐year cumulative rebleeding rates of patients with bleeding and risky GVx were 14% and 0%, respectively. Risky EVx occurred in 10 patients (17%) and the cumulative occurrence rate was 22% in 8 years. The cumulative occurrence rate of risky EVx was higher in GVx with EVx (GOV2‐GVx) compared to GVx without EVx (IGV1, P < 0.05). No ectopic variceal bleeding occurred. No patients died from variceal bleeding. Hepatocellular carcinoma was the only significant prognostic factor (P < 0.05).

Conclusion:  B‐RTO is beneficial over the long‐term, despite worsening EVx in some patients, because of excellent treatment efficacy and improved mortality. We believe that B‐RTO can become a first‐choice radical treatment following hemostasis for gastric variceal bleeding and prophylactic treatment for risky GVx.
Radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors: Lessons learned from 3000 procedures
Authors: Rhim Hyunchul , Lim Hyo K , Kim Young‐sum , Choi Dongil , Lee Won Jae
Published: August 2008

Radiofrequency ablation has been accepted as the most popular local ablative therapy for unresectable malignant hepatic tumors. For 9 years from April 1999, we performed 3000 radiofrequency ablation procedures for hepatic tumors in our institution. Our results on the safety (mortality, 0.15%/patient) and therapeutic efficacy (5‐year survival rate, 58%) are similar to those of previous studies reported, supporting the growing evidence of a clear survival benefit, excellent results for local tumor control and improved quality of life. The most important lesson learned from our 3000 procedures is that the best planning, safe ablation and complete ablation are key factors for patient outcome. Furthermore, multimodality treatment is the best strategy for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma encountered after any kind of first‐line treatment.
Age and gender affect likely manometric diagnosis: Audit of a tertiary referral hospital clinical esophageal manometry service
Authors: Andrews Jane M , Heddle Richard , Hebbard Geoffrey S , Checklin Helen , Besanko Laura , Fraser Robert J
Published: August 2008

Background and Aim:  Awareness of patient demographics, common diagnoses and associations between these may improve the use and interpretation of manometric investigations. The aim of the present study therefore was to determine whether age and/or gender affect manometric diagnosis in a clinical motility service.

Methods:  An audit of all 452 clinical manometry reports issued from December 2003 to July 2005 with respect to age, gender and diagnosis was carried out. Patients were divided by age (17–24 years n = 14, 25–44 years n = 87, 45–64 years n = 216 and ≥65 years n = 135), and gender and data compared using contingency tables.

Results:  Women were more commonly referred overall (59%) and in each age bracket except <25 years (64% male). Men were more likely to have ‘hypotensive’ motor problems P = 0.01. With aging, normal motor function became less common (P = 0.013), with non‐specific motor disorder, ineffective/hypotensive peristalsis and ‘achalasia‐like’ conditions each more common (individual P = NS). Increasing age showed a trend for increased spastic motor disorders (P = 0.06). Gender did not, however, influence whether motility was abnormal (P = 0.5), spastic (P = 0.7) or whether a non‐specific motor disorder was present (P = 0.1). In the total cohort, the principal manometric diagnoses were: non‐specific motor disorder 33%, normal motility 29%, low basal lower esophageal sphincter pressure 18%, hypotensive/ineffective peristalsis 10%, achalasia/achalasia‐like 6%, diffuse esophageal spasm 3% and other 1%.

Conclusions:  Aging leads to increasing esophageal motor abnormalities. Men and women have similar rates of dysfunction, although ‘low‐pressure problems’ were more common in men.
Tuberculosis epidemiology in the Asia–Pacific region
Authors: MORI Toru
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  The Asia–Pacific region accounts for about 20% of the global burden of tuberculosis (TB). However, there are a wide variety of TB problems between countries and areas. This variety could be described in three dimensions: (i) historical trends of the TB epidemics, closely related to the advent of industrialization or urbanization; (ii) success in modern TB control in the early days; and (iii) expansion of the directly observed therapy, short course (DOTS) strategy during the past 20 years. Moreover, these dimensions have been subject to the ‘health infrastructure’ based on such social goods as people's education, economic standards, and social security or stability. The Asia–Pacific Region offers very good examples to illustrate the roles of these factors in leading to such a variety of TB problems as seen today. Thus, this region was the first to achieve the global target of DOTS by the end of 2005, that is to detect 70% of patients and to treat them with DOTS, and to successfully cure 85% of those detected.

However, we should remember that we are currently challenged by TB combined with HIV infection and AIDS; TB with drug‐resistance, especially multidrug‐resistant (MDR) or extensively drug resistant (XDR) forms; TB in people with special risk factors, for example diabetes and senility; and other medical and socioeconomic problems. At the same time, we have to be careful about the premature loss of people's interest in TB, due to illusion or unfounded optimism, especially among medical professionals and the government.
Impact of lifestyle on tuberculosis
Authors: LEUNG Chi‐Chiu , CHANG Kwok‐Chiu
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  Tuberculosis (TB) is well known to be associated with poverty and multiple social factors. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the behavioural factors, apart from those associated with drug abuse, alcoholism and HIV infection. In recent years, the roles of other lifestyle‐related factors have been increasingly recognized. In particular, smoking has been associated with excess risks of TB infection, disease and mortality. Only limited evidence is available for the association between TB disease and passive smoking or the use of biomass fuels. Nutrition status also plays an important role. Malnutrition or underweight is associated with increased risk of TB disease, and obesity appears to be protective. On the other hand, diabetes mellitus increases the risk of TB disease, but mainly among those with poor diabetic control. Although the increase in TB risk is only modest for most lifestyle factors, their prevalences are increasing rapidly in some Asian communities. Furthermore, as much as one‐third of the world population is thought to be latently infected with the tubercle bacillus. The successful introduction of directly observed therapy—short course (DOTS) might have rapidly reduced the ongoing risk of transmission in many parts of Asia. However DOTS alone is unlikely to eliminate the continuing emergence of infectious tuberculosis cases through endogenous reactivation among the large pool of latently infected subjects in the Asia–Pacific region. With the close interaction between lifestyle, aging population and aging TB epidemic, promotion of healthy lifestyle may help to complement the DOTS strategy in the control of TB.
Advances in the diagnosis of tuberculosis
Authors: SCHLUGER Neil W.
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  Although tuberculosis remains one of the world's great public health problems, approaches to the diagnosis of both active disease and latent infection have changed little in the past 100 years. New diagnostics are critical to gaining control of this epidemic around the world. In the last few years, several new technologies have emerged which hold great promise in this regard. Broth‐based culture systems, nucleic acid amplification assays, and enhanced culture techniques have the ability to greatly improve sensitivity of diagnosis and to speed detection of cases and of drug resistance. Interferon gamma release assays for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection have significantly improved specificity as compared to tuberculin skin testing and are coming into wide clinical use. Taken together, these advances should add to global tuberculosis control efforts.
New treatment regimens for drug‐sensitive tuberculosis: fluoroquinolones and enhanced rifamycins
Authors: VERNON Andrew , BURMAN William
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  New drugs for drug‐sensitive tuberculosis (TB) could resolve many of the current challenges facing TB treatment programs. Newer fluoroquinolones have demonstrated considerable promise in murine models of TB treatment. Some, but not all, recent phase 2B clinical trials suggest that these agents could support TB treatment regimens of reduced duration. Phase 3 treatment‐shortening trials based upon the addition of C8‐methoxy fluoroquinolones are now underway in sub‐Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Murine data have also suggested that higher‐dose or higher‐frequency use of currently available rifamycins (rifampin, rifapentine) could support treatment‐shortening regimens. Phase 2B trials of high‐dose rifampin regimens and of higher‐dose/higher‐frequency rifapentine‐based regimens will begin soon on multiple continents. Results from these phase 2B efforts will guide the development of phase 3 trials of ultra‐short TB therapies.
Treatment of HIV‐related tuberculosis—unresolved issues
Authors: BURMAN William J.
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most common opportunistic infections among persons with HIV infection. However, there are uncertainties about both TB and HIV treatment regimens among patients with advanced immunodeficiency. On the TB treatment side, there are lingering concerns about whether patients with advanced immunodeficiency should have a more intensive regimen for TB treatment (longer duration, more frequent [daily] dosing and/or post‐treatment isoniazid). The use of antiretroviral therapy among patients with TB and AIDS dramatically decreases the risk of death and other opportunistic infections. However, use of antiretroviral therapy during TB treatment is complicated by the need to coordinate the activities of the TB control program and the HIV care clinic, overlapping side‐effect profiles of anti‐TB and antiretroviral drugs, drug–drug interactions between the rifamycins and many antiretroviral drugs, and the occurrence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome events. The combination of rifampin‐based TB treatment and efavirenz‐based antiretroviral therapy is clearly the best option for cotreatment of these two infections. However, there are a number of uncertainties about the optimal antiretroviral therapy if efavirenz cannot be used (because of intolerance, drug resistance, pregnancy or lack of an appropriate formulation in children). The competing risks of AIDS events and severe immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome events raise uncertainties about the optimal timing of antiretroviral therapy during TB treatment. Despite all of these complexities, the treatment of HIV‐related TB can be remarkably successful. I review these unresolved questions in the treatment of HIV‐related TB and suggest studies to help resolve them.
Management of multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis in the Asia–Pacific region
Authors: YEW Wing‐Wai
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  Multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) with bacillary resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin in vitro is a worldwide phenomenon. Hotspots of the disease are found scattered in different continents. Preventing its development through good tuberculosis control programmes with well functioning directly observed therapy—short course (DOTS) strategy is of paramount importance. However, with established MDR‐TB, treatment with alternative and specific chemotherapy is necessary to achieve a favourable outcome. Such an approach on a programmatic basis is currently known as the ‘DOTS‐Plus’ strategy. Second‐line drugs utilised in the treatment of MDR‐TB are generally less potent and more toxic, perhaps with the notable exceptions of some fluoroquinolones and injectable agents. Surgery has a distinct adjunctive role for the management of MDR‐TB in selected patients. The emergence of extensively drug‐resistant tuberculosis (XDR‐TB), that is MDR‐TB with additional bacillary resistance to the fluoroquinolones and injectable second‐line drugs, poses a significant challenge to global health, as the disease has currently a low cure rate and high mortality. In order to combat XDR‐TB, strengthening of the DOTS and DOTS‐Plus programmes is mandatory, especially in the face of surging HIV infection. Furthermore, exceedingly intense efforts need to be focused on the development of new drugs with potent bactericidal and sterilising activities, alongside good tolerance profiles, and above all, affordability for communities worldwide.
Immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis: Implications for vaccine development
Authors: ZHANG Ying
Published: August 2008

Abstract:  Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading infectious disease worldwide despite the availability of Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) vaccine and chemotherapy. A better understanding of how immune system controls TB and latent TB is critical for understanding disease pathogenesis and for devising immune‐mediated strategies for prevention and treatment of disease. A brief update on the immunopathogenesis of TB will be provided, and how this knowledge can be used for rational vaccine design will be briefly addressed. Due to poor BCG protective efficacy in humans, there is currently a great deal of activity in new vaccine development. Various vaccine candidates; BCG replacement vaccines including recombinant BCG; live‐attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis; and booster vaccines such as vaccinia virus overexpressing antigen 85, nucleic acid vaccines, and subunit protein vaccines with novel adjuvants, are at different stages of development. There is significant interest in using a prime‐boost strategy for improved vaccine efficacy. However, the optimal dose, route, frequency and timing of the booster vaccines remain to be determined, and the potential side effects of booster vaccines in causing increased pathology needs to be tested. The recent genome sequencing of avirulent strain M. tuberculosis H37Ra provides a rational approach for reconstructing a new live‐attenuated vaccine that could be even more attenuated than BCG and useful for HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative settings. The challenges of TB vaccine development such as lack of immune markers for protection in humans, shortage of clinical trial sites, lengthy time required for vaccine evaluation, and the high cost will also be briefly discussed.
Detrimental effects of high levels of antioxidant vitamins C and E on placental function: Considerations for the Vitamins in Preeclampsia (VIP) trial
Authors: Aris Aziz , Leblanc Samuel , Ouellet Annie , Moutquin Jean‐Marie
Published: August 2008

Aim:  Supplementation with antioxidant vitamins has been proposed to reduce the risk of preeclampsia and perinatal complications. In a recent study, it has been shown that this supplementation to above physiological doses does not reduce the risk of preeclampsia, but increases the rate of low birthweight babies, suggesting a detrimental effect on placental function, given the lower birthweight. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of high levels of antioxidants vitamins C and E on placental cells in vitro.

Methods:  Isolated fresh human cytotrophoblasts were exposed to high concentrations of vitamins C and E for 48 h. Then the secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and the production of tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) were assessed.

Results:  High levels of vitamins C and E, separately or combined, decrease the secretion of hCG by cytotrophoblasts and increase their production of TNF‐α.

Conclusion:  Exposure of cytotrophoblasts to high levels of antioxidant vitamins C and E may affect placental function, as reflected by decreased secretion of hCG; and placental immunity, as reflected by increased production of TNF‐α. Such alterations are known to lead to endothelial dysfunction and adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as fetal growth restriction (FGR).
Gynecological cancer incidence in a hospital population in Saudi Arabia: The effect of foreign immigration over two decades
Authors: Makoha Frederick W. , Raheem Muhamed A.
Published: August 2008

Aim:  To determine if the incidence of female genital malignancies changed with foreign immigration.

Methods  Retrospective analysis of histopathology records of women with primary genital tract cancers attending a referral gynecological hospital over two decades from 1985 to 2004. Incidence rates for the combined population of foreign migrants and Saudi nationals were compared to rates among Saudi nationals alone. Outcome measures were incidence rates and incidence rate ratios.

Results:  The incidence of cervical cancer for the combined migrant and local Saudi population was 48.4%, while for Saudi nationals alone it was 33.5% (incident rate ratio [IRR]= 1.44, 95% CI 1.17–1.88, P < 0.001). For vulvar cancer, the incidence was 1.2% versus 0.5% (IRR = 2.4, 95% CI 2.03–2.79, P < 0.001). Endometrial cancer rate was lower in the combined population than in Saudi nationals alone (11.7% vs 18.0%, IRR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.27–1.02, P < 0.04). There were no differences in incidence for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, uterine corpus sarcoma, ovarian, and vaginal cancer. Incidence rate ratios differed between decades for cervical cancer (1.1/1.9, 0.58, 95% CI 0.21–0.89, P < 0.001), vulvar cancer (4.2/1.8, 2.33, 95% CI 1.68–3.07, P < 0.001), gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (1.4/1.0, 1.4, 95% CI 1.09–2.13, P < 0.04), and uterine sarcoma (0.3/1.0, 0.03, 95% CI 0.012–0.041, P < 0.02).

Conclusion:  The incidence of cervical and vulvar cancer increased among women presenting with gynecological malignancies. For cervical and vulvar cancer, uterine corpus sarcoma, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, incidence varied over time.
Why is the choice of future climate scenarios for species distribution modelling important?
Authors: Beaumont Linda J. , Hughes Lesley , Pitman A. J.
Published: August 2008

Species distribution models (SDMs) are common tools for assessing the potential impact of climate change on species ranges. Uncertainty in SDM output occurs due to differences among alternate models, species characteristics and scenarios of future climate. While considerable effort is being devoted to identifying and quantifying the first two sources of variation, a greater understanding of climate scenarios and how they affect SDM output is also needed. Climate models are complex tools: variability occurs among alternate simulations, and no single ‘best’ model exists. The selection of climate scenarios for impacts assessments should not be undertaken arbitrarily ‐ strengths and weakness of different climate models should be considered. In this paper, we provide bioclimatic modellers with an overview of emissions scenarios and climate models, discuss uncertainty surrounding projections of future climate and suggest steps that can be taken to reduce and communicate climate scenario‐related uncertainty in assessments of future species responses to climate change.
The species composition of the human intestinal microbiota differs between particle‐associated and liquid phase communities
Authors: Walker Alan W. , Duncan Sylvia H. , Harmsen Hermie J. M. , Holtrop Grietje , Welling Gjalt W. , Flint Harry J.
Published: August 2008

Many of the substrates available as energy sources for microorganisms in the human colon, including dietary plant fibre and secreted mucin, are insoluble. It seems likely that such insoluble substrates support a specialized microbiota, and in order to test this hypothesis, faecal samples from four healthy subjects were fractionated into insoluble (washed particulate) and liquid fractions. Analysis of 1252 PCR‐amplified 16S rRNA sequences revealed a significantly lower percentage of Bacteroidetes (P = 0.021) and a significantly higher percentage of Firmicutes (P = 0.029) among bacterial sequences amplified from particle‐associated (mean 76.8% Firmicutes, 18.5% Bacteroidetes) compared with liquid phase (mean 65.8% Firmicutes, 28.5% Bacteroidetes). Within the Firmicutes, the most significant association with solid particles was found for relatives of Ruminococcus‐related clostridial cluster IV species that include Ruminococcus flavefaciens and R. bromii, which together accounted for 12.2% of particle‐associated, but only 3.3% of liquid phase, sequences. These findings were strongly supported by microscopy, using group‐specific FISH probes able to detect these species. This work suggests that the primary colonizers of insoluble substrates found in the gut are restricted to certain specialized groups of bacteria. The abundance of such primary degraders may often be underestimated because of the difficulty in recovering these bacteria and their nucleic acids from the insoluble substrate.
A multinational, multi‐centre, observational, cross‐sectional survey assessing diabetes secondary care in Central and Eastern Europe (DEPAC Survey)
Authors: Andel M. , Grzeszczak W. , Michalek J. , Medvescek M. , Norkus A. , Rasa I. , Niewada M. , Kamiński B. , Kraml P. , Madacsy L. ,   the DEPAC Group
Published: August 2008

Aims  The objective of this study was to assess diabetes care in outpatient diabetes clinics in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Methods  Questionnaires for each randomly enrolled patient were completed by an endocrinologist or diabetologist. Data concerning age, sex, diabetes duration, diabetes type, treatment type, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), triglycerides (TG) and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), blood pressure (BP) and short‐ and long‐term diabetes complications were recorded. Questionnaires were analysed centrally for each country and stratified for Type 1 diabetes (T1D), Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other types of diabetes.

Results  Data on 10 950 individuals were analysed (mean population age 56.2 years; females 52%; T1D 22.9%; T2D 75.3%; mean time from diagnosis 11 years). Patients with HbA1c within target (< 6.5%): T1D 13.1%, T2D 21.4%; for TC levels (< 4.5 mmol/l): T1D 37%, T2D 20%; for TG levels (< 1.7 mmol/l): T1D 78%, T2D 44%; for HDL‐C (> 1.1 mmol/l): T1D 81%, T2D 60%; for LDL‐C (< 2.5 mmol/l): T1D 36%, T2D 23%; for BP (< 130/80 mm Hg): T1D 42%, T2D 9%. The prevalence of severe hypoglycaemia (within the last 6 months) was 12% in T1D and 2% in T2D. Prevalence of diabetic ketoacidosis was 0.3–6.6%, blindness 0.15–1.3% and diabetic nephropathy 19–42%.

Conclusions  The data show the current quality of care and potential areas for improvement. The quality of care is generally comparable with that in Western Europe.
Using chorotypes to deconstruct biogeographical and biodiversity patterns: the case of breeding waterbirds in Europe
Authors: Real Raimundo , Olivero Jesús , Vargas J. Mario
Published: August 2008

Aim  To deconstruct the biodiversity pattern of the 152 waterbird species breeding in Europe to better understand its multiple causal processes.

Location  Continental Europe, Iceland and the British Isles.

Methods  We considered the orders that are typically comprised by swimming, diving or wading birds, which inhabit marshes, fens, peatlands and fresh, brackish or salt waters, including coastal waters. We used the 55 main river basins of Europe as geographical units, and searched for either chorotypes (groups of similar species distributions) or gradual replacement of species throughout the river basins. Chorotypes were recognized by applying a probabilistic classification method to the distributions. Then we used GLM to characterize the extent and the species richness of each chorotype according to energy availability (higher levels of environmental energy favouring the presence of species), climatic stress due to an excess of energy, availability of water, productivity, seasonality and surface area.

Results  One hundred and forty species significantly aggregate into nine chorotypes. The other 12 species, most of them marine, are centred on Great Britain, dropping away progressively on coasts further away from there. Differences in either the availability of energy or climatic stress significantly characterized the distribution of seven chorotypes comprising 90.8% of the species.

Main conclusions  Chorotypes are meaningful and useful to deconstruct biodiversity patterns. Our results suggest that energy is the main factor related to the biogeographical patterns of breeding waterbirds in Europe, and provide an insight into regional trends of species richness previously analysed with a habitat‐scale perspective.
Composition and structure of Caribbean bat (Chiroptera) assemblages: effects of inter‐island distance, area, elevation and hurricane‐induced disturbance
Authors: Presley Steven J. , Willig Michael R.
Published: August 2008

Aim  Although bats of the Caribbean have been studied extensively, previous work is largely restricted to zoogeography, phylogeography or the effects of island characteristics on species richness. Variation among islands in species composition that is related to geographical or environmental variation remains poorly understood for much of the Caribbean.

Location  Caribbean islands, including the Bahamas, Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles.

Methods  Using presence–absence data, we assessed the extent to which island area, maximum island elevation, inter‐island distance and hurricane‐induced disturbance affected patterns of composition and nestedness for bats in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles. Analyses were conducted for all species, as well as for two broadly defined guilds: carnivores and herbivores.

Results  For the Bahamas, only inter‐island distance accounted for variation in species composition between islands. For the Greater and Lesser Antilles, differences in island area and inter‐island distance accounted for differences in species composition between islands. Variation in species composition was not related significantly to differences in elevation or hurricane‐related disturbance. In general, results of analyses restricted to a particular broad guild (i.e. carnivores or herbivores) mirrored those for all bats. Bat species composition was nested significantly in each island group. Nestedness was stronger in the Greater Antilles and in the Lesser Antilles than in the Bahamas. Carnivore assemblages were nested significantly in the Greater and in the Lesser Antilles, but not in the Bahamas. In contrast, herbivore assemblages were nested significantly in each island group.

Main conclusions  Inter‐island distance had a greater effect on compositional similarity of Caribbean bat assemblages than did island area, elevation or disturbance related to hurricanes. Differential immigration and hierarchical habitat distributions associated with elevational relief are likely to be primary causes for nestedness of Caribbean bat assemblages.
Recognizing the role of perception in action at 6 months
Authors: Luo Yuyan , Johnson Susan C.
Published: August 2008

The present research examined whether infants as young as 6 months of age would consider what objects a human agent could perceive when interpreting her actions on the objects. In two experiments, the infants took the agent's actions of repeatedly reaching for and grasping one of two possible objects as suggesting her preference for that object only when the agent could detect both objects, not when the agent's perceptual access to the second object was absent, either because a large screen hid the object from the agent (Experiment 1), or because the agent sat with her back toward the object (Experiment 2). These results suggest that young infants recognize the role of perception in constraining an agent's goal‐actions.
Does input influence uptake? Links between maternal talk, processing speed and vocabulary size in Spanish‐learning children
Authors: Hurtado Nereyda , Marchman Virginia A. , Fernald Anne
Published: August 2008

It is well established that variation in caregivers’ speech is associated with language outcomes, yet little is known about the learning principles that mediate these effects. This longitudinal study (n = 27) explores whether Spanish‐learning children's early experiences with language predict efficiency in real‐time comprehension and vocabulary learning. Measures of mothers’ speech at 18 months were examined in relation to children's speech processing efficiency and reported vocabulary at 18 and 24 months. Children of mothers who provided more input at 18 months knew more words and were faster in word recognition at 24 months. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that the influences of caregiver speech on speed of word recognition and vocabulary were largely overlapping. This study provides the first evidence that input shapes children's lexical processing efficiency and that vocabulary growth and increasing facility in spoken word comprehension work together to support the uptake of the information that rich input affords the young language learner.
Socially Responsible Investment: Explaining its Uneven Development and Human Resource Management Consequences
Authors: Waring Peter , Edwards Tony
Published: August 2008

Manuscript Type: Conceptual

Research Question/Issue: In this paper we address two research questions. First, to what extent has Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) developed unevenly across countries with different corporate governance systems and how might we explain this? Second, what consequences does its uneven development have for human resource management (HRM)?

Research Findings/Insights: We map the nature and extent of SRI equities across five industrialized countries – Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and Australia. We find that differences between the institutional, corporate governance and cultural characteristics of national business systems explain variations in the size and significance of SRI across countries. We also find that SRI has an impact on HRM in institutional contexts such as where its influence is complemented by strong employee voice institutions.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: The notion of “institutional complementarities,” within and across spheres of a corporate governance system is a useful theoretical lens for understanding the varied impact of SRI across different corporate governance systems. Further, future studies of HRM will need to consider the heterodox pressures produced by SRI that may influence its conduct.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: Implications for SRI fund managers are considered, especially how they might use the notion of institutional complementarities to help in their investment decisions and in the impact they can exert. Specifically SRI funds are likely to be more effective where they can form alliances with other existing bodies or where they spur the development of such bodies. The implications for other actors in HRM and corporate governance are also considered.
Career Concerns of Top Executives, Managerial Ownership and CEO Succession
Authors: Boyer M. Martin , Ortiz‐Molina Hernán
Published: August 2008

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: We hypothesize that a top manager's stock ownership in the firm signals to the board information about his or her privately known ability to run the company. As a consequence, the outcome of a CEO succession is affected by the managers’ ownership choices, which therefore depend on their career concerns.

Research Findings/Results: Our study of CEO turnover events in US firms provides support for our basic hypothesis. Specifically, we find that (1) lower insider ownership makes outside CEO succession more likely; (2) higher ownership by an insider increases his or her chances of promotion; (3) non‐appointed managers with higher ownership are more likely to reduce their ownership stake or to leave the firm following CEO succession; and (4) ownership reduction and departure decisions are more likely following outside CEO appointments.

Theoretical Implications: Consistent with signaling theory, our analysis suggests that (1) managerial ownership plays a role in resolving asymmetric information problems between top managers and the board of directors in the context of CEO succession, and (2) managers’ portfolio decisions and their departure decisions are driven in part by their career opportunities in the firm.

Practical Implications: By monitoring managerial ownership decisions surrounding CEO turnover, boards of directors can acquire information about the potential candidates’ ability to run the firm and thus better identify the best successor. As managers can more easily signal their information to the board when their ownership choices are observable to the public, security laws that encourage the disclosure of managers’ beneficial ownership stakes may increase the efficiency of boards’ choices and firm value.
Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Case of Venezuela
Authors: Garay Urbi , González Maximiliano
Published: August 2008

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: We examine the relationship between corporate governance and firm value, and evaluate the relatively understudied governance practices in Venezuela.

Research Findings/Results: We construct a corporate governance index (CGI) for publicly‐listed firms that is free of self‐selection and self‐reported bias and find that its mean value is below the emerging market average in general, and below the Latin American average in particular. This weak investor protection environment makes Venezuela a good setting to study how corporate governance practices affect firm value. We show that an increase of 1 per cent in the CGI results in an average increase of 11.3 per cent in dividend payouts, 9.9 per cent in price‐to‐book, and 2.7 per cent in Tobin's Q. These findings are robust after considering the potential endogeneity of our regression variables.

Theoretical Implications: Results contrast to those reported in the US due to the higher interfirm variations in CGI. Our findings are consistent with the theoretical models that relate good corporate governance practices to higher investor confidence, and with the agency model of dividend payout. Furthermore, we conjecture that our results are generalizable mainly to other countries where investor protection is low.

Practical Implications: Two direct insights to policy makers and practitioners follow from our analysis: first, managers in weak investor protection environments could differentiate their firms adopting corporate policies to improve their governance structure; and second, our measure of governance practices gives investors a quantitative tool to better assess Venezuelan firms.
The Adoption of Deferred Share Unit Plans for Outside Directors and Shareholder Wealth
Authors: Khalil Samer , Magnan Michel , André Paul
Published: August 2008

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: We examine the impact of the adoption of deferred share unit (DSU) plans for directors on a firm's stock market value. We also examine the differential response to plan and firm characteristics.

Research Findings/Results: The sample comprises all firms within Canada's top 1,000 that adopted DSU plans between 1997 (first one) and 2005. Results show that adopters exhibit positive abnormal returns at the adoption announcements and that these vary in accordance with DSU attributes: Investors reward firms that adopt stricter standards. Findings also indicate a more positive reaction when firms are widely held, have higher levels of related directors, higher free cash flows, and are not cross‐listed in the US.

Theoretical/Implications: The paper adds to the scant literature on directors' compensation by examining a recent development in directors' pay; DSU plans having many distinguishing features that set them apart from stock options. Second, it investigates whether investors' reaction varies with DSU attributes. Third, the specificity of the Canadian settings allows an analysis of the reaction to DSU adoption given different ownership structures and stock market listing.

Practial Implications: The positive stock market reaction to DSU adoption provides valid economic underpinnings to the current worldwide trend in director compensation toward the cancellation of stock option plans and their substitution by DSU. However, the adoption of DSU plans for directors does not add much value in settings where there is already good monitoring by a large shareholder, by a broader investor base or by the board.
Survival of the Embedded: Expelling and Embedding Forces on Members of the Corporate Elite
Authors: Ward Andrew J. , Feldman Daniel C.
Published: August 2008

Manuscript Type: Conceptual

Research Question/Issue: Prior research on corporate elites has focused on how interlocking directorships serve to create inter‐organizational linkages and on what happens when board members lose their seats and those linkages are broken. Rather than focusing on the ties in corporate networks, here we focus on the nodes of these networks, the individual members of boards of directors.

Research Findings/Insights: We identify the conditions under which a director will be able to retain his/her board seat even after he or she loses the executive position that provided initial entry onto the board.

Theoretical/Academic Implications: The case of outside directors who have lost their executive positions in their home organizations provides an excellent opportunity to examine two competing theoretical perspectives: the inter‐corporate and intra‐class perspectives on corporate elites.

Practitioner/Policy Implications: Following the passage of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (2002), directorships are demanding an increasing amount of directors' time and directors without full‐time executive positions elsewhere can actually devote more energy to board activities. An unintended consequence of this legislation is a potential decrease in the number of directors who hold several board seats simultaneously. This may reduce the efficiency of information flow across organizations and slow the diffusion of innovation.
Radical innovation through internal corporate venturing: Degussa's commercialization of nanomaterials
Authors: Maine Elicia
Published: August 2008

Internal corporate venturing enables radical innovation within established firms in mature markets. Without effectively designed and managed internal corporate ventures, the organizational constraints of established firms will strongly favour incremental innovation over radical innovation. This paper investigates the evolution of a successful internal corporate venture within a large, incumbent chemical firm, now known as Evonik Degussa, to reveal the challenges, organizational design, and management strategies of their commercialization of radical nanomaterials technology. The commercialization of nanomaterials technology is of great interest to incumbent materials and chemical firms and to independent ventures, but the radical, generic, and capital intensive nature of nanomaterials technology requires organizational and managerial innovation. This case study demonstrates a model to enable growth through radical innovation in nanomaterials, while taking advantage of an incumbent firm's capabilities and complementary assets. Organizational strategies include incubation from a risk‐adverse culture, relatively long timelines for evaluation, and a high‐level steering committee. Managerial strategies focus on product development, risk reduction, and active risk management.
Impact of office layout on communication in a science‐driven business
Authors: Boutellier Roman , Ullman Fredrik , Schreiber Jürg , Naef Reto
Published: August 2008

Driving innovation and creativity has relied heavily on new information technologies in the last decade. Human capital has certainly had its importance, but how to coordinate human capital in order to push productivity in research and development without compromising individual initiative is still not well understood. In this paper, we provide results showing that geometry of workspace has indeed an impact on communication patterns and may thus be used as a means to drive both innovation and efficient research. In order to be creative, new knowledge has to be created. Communication facilitates knowledge creation. We try to close the bridge between areas of creation of tacit knowledge and transfer of knowledge highlighted by authors like Nonaka, Takeuchi, Konno, von Krogh and von Hippel with the area of communication patterns pioneered by Allen, Hatch, and Stryker, by considering face‐to‐face (FTF) communication as a first step for socialization, socialization as a means for knowledge creation. In this article, we compare two different office environments within the same site, same activity, same hierarchical level and same company: a traditional cell office area and a new multi‐space office, used by people who used to work in cell offices. We observed FTF communication patterns during 120 h in two areas and measured over 2,000 communication events. We found that people communicate three times more often in a multi‐space area than in a cell‐space area. We also found that the mean duration of communication events decreased from 9 to 3 min when transferring collaborators from a cell‐space to a multi‐space. Finally time spent without communication increased from 5% to 29% when going from cell‐offices to multi‐space areas – leaving more time for people to work and think on their own. And we found that most communication events during work time in the multi‐space took place at the work place and seldom or never in soft sitting areas installed for the purpose of communication.
The Mythology of Human Rights
Authors: BECK GUNNAR
Published: August 2008

Abstract.  A special legal status is accorded to human rights within Western liberal democracies: They enjoy a priority over other human goods and are not subjected to the majoritarian principle. The underlying assumption—the idea that there are some human values that deserve special protection—implies the need for both a normative and a conceptual justification. This paper claims that neither can be provided. The normative justification is needed to support the priority of human rights over other human goods and to rank and balance conflicting human rights, but it can't be provided because of the fact of pervasive value pluralism, the fact that human values are many, incompatible and incommensurable. The conceptual justification is needed to avoid arbitrariness in the interpretation of human rights at the adjudication stage. Such a justification is impossible, however, as the concept of human rights, and the concepts used to justify them and to solve their conflicts are “essentially contested concepts.” The paper concludes that, provided that the interpretation of human rights presupposes value judgements and political choices, the special legal status accorded to human rights is not justified.
Radbruch as an Affirmative Holist. On the Question of What Ought to Be Preserved of His Philosophy
Authors: VON DER PFORDTEN DIETMAR
Published: August 2008

Abstract.  Gustav Radbruch is one of the most important German‐speaking philosophers of law of the twentieth century. This paper raises the question of how to classify Radbruch's theories in the international context of legal philosophy and philosophy in general. Radbruch's work was mainly influenced by the southwest German school of Neo‐Kantianism, represented by Windelband, Rickert, and Lask. Their theories of culture and value show an affirmative‐holistic understanding of philosophy as a source of wisdom and meaningfulness. Kant, on the other hand, belongs more to a fundamentally different, critical camp of philosophy. Although Radbruch has incorporated Kantian Elements into his theory, he is rather a member of the affirmative‐holistic camp. In the end the question will be raised as to what ought to be preserved of his philosophy.
VALUATION OF MULTI‐FUNCTIONAL LAND USE BY COMMERCIAL INVESTORS: A CASE STUDY ON THE AMSTERDAM ZUIDAS MEGA‐PROJECT
Authors: RODENBURG CAROLINE A. , NIJKAMP PETER , DE GROOT HENRI L.F. , VERHOEF ERIK T.
Published: August 2008

The Amsterdam Zuidas area is planned to become a large multi‐functional development area with a mix of offices, dwellings and facilities. As part of a broader empirical investigation, the valuation of multi‐functional land use of this mega‐project by a specific class of stakeholders, namely, commercial investors, is examined in this paper. We are particularly interested in the expected impact of locational characteristics on urban land rent in the area. The study is based on an extensive interview questionnaire, in which future development scenarios and spatial externalities are also investigated. The study reveals that the expectations of investors are driven by a complex set of factors. Particularly important are accessibility and image. The relative importance of multi‐functionality is found to be modest.