bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneity in disease severity in a family with a novel G68V GCK activating mutation causing persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia of infancy
Authors: Wabitsch M. , Lahr G. , Van de Bunt M. , Marchant C. , Lindner M. , Von Puttkamer J. , Fenneberg A. , Debatin K. M. , Klein R. , Ellard S. , Clark A. , Gloyn A. L.
Published: November 2007

Background/aim  Glucokinase (GCK)‐activating mutations cause persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia of infancy (PHHI). GCK‐PHHI patients have regulated insulin secretion and can usually be treated with diazoxide. The six reported cases suggest that the severity of the mutation predicts the clinical phenotype. The aim of this study was to relate genotype to phenotype [clinical phenotype, glucose‐stimulated insulin release (GSIR) and GCK functional analysis] in a large pedigree with eight affected individuals.

Methods  The genes encoding B‐cell GCK and the KATP channel subunits (ABCC8 and KCNJ11) were sequenced to identify mutations for functional analysis. Genetic variants influencing B‐cell function were genotyped in affected individuals. Islet secretory capacity was determined by oral glucose tolerance test

Results  A novel GCK mutation (G68V) co‐segregating with hypoglycaemia was identified in eight family members. Kinetic analysis revealed that G68V‐GCK activity is ~16 times more than wild‐type‐GCK with an increased affinity for glucose [concentration at half maximal activation (S0.5) 1.94 ± 0.16 vs. 7.43 ± 0.12, mutant vs. wild type, mean ± sem]. Mathematical modelling predicted a threshold for GSIR of 1.9 mmol/l in the mutant. Oral glucose tolerance tests showed regulated insulin secretion. The severity of hypoglycaemia and related symptoms in affected subjects were heterogeneous. Clinical presentations were asymptomatic (n = 1), extreme hunger (n = 3), seizures (n = 2) and loss of consciousness (n = 2); 7/8 were managed with diet but the proband was treated with diazoxide and octreotide. Phenotypic modification by a second mutation in the KATP channel genes (ABCC8, KCNJ11) or by common genetic variants in KCNJ11, GCK and TCF7L2 was excluded.

Conclusion  The novel activating GCK mutation G68V is associated with variable phenotypic severity, supporting modification of GSIR by genetic and/or environmental factors.
The metabolic syndrome as a predictor of incident diabetes mellitus in Mauritius
Authors: Cameron A. J. , Zimmet P. Z. , Soderberg S. , Alberti K. G. M. M. , Sicree R. , Tuomilehto J. , Chitson P. , Shaw J. E.
Published: November 2007

Aims  To assess the utility of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and a Diabetes Predicting Model as predictors of incident diabetes.

Methods  A longitudinal survey was conducted in Mauritius in 1987 (n = 4972; response 80%) and 1992 (n = 3685; follow‐up 74.2%). Diabetes status was retrospectively determined using 1999 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. MetS was determined according to four definitions and sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), specificity and the association with incident diabetes before and after adjustment for MetS components calculated.

Results  Of the 3198 at risk, 297 (9.2%) developed diabetes between 1987 and 1992. The WHO MetS definition had the highest prevalence (20.3%), sensitivity (42.1%) and PPV (26.8%) for prediction of incident diabetes, the strongest association with incident diabetes after adjustment for age and sex [odds ratio 4.6 (3.5–6.0)] and was the only definition to show a significant association after adjustment for its component parts (in men only). The low prevalence and sensitivity of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and ATPIII MetS definitions resulted from waist circumference cut‐points that were high for this population, particularly in men, and both were not superior to a diabetes predicting model on receiver operating characteristic analysis.

Conclusions  Of the MetS definitions tested, the WHO definition best identifies those who go on to develop diabetes, but is not often used in clinical practice. If cut‐points or measures of obesity appropriate for this population were used, the IDF and ATPIII MetS definitions could be recommended as useful tools for prediction of diabetes, given their relative simplicity.
Lipoatrophy is a thing of the past, or is it?
Authors: Hussein S. F. , Siddique H. , Coates P. , Green J.
Published: November 2007

We describe the development of severe lipoatrophy in a patient treated with biphasic aspart. This complication of insulin therapy was common in the past with the use of animal insulins and became less common with the increasing purification of these and the introduction of recombinant human insulin. This patient developed severe lipoatrophy with the use of a premixed insulin containing the analogue insulin aspart. Lipoatrophy although rare can still occur even with the use of technologically advanced insulin preparations.
The island biogeography of exotic bird species
Authors: Blackburn Tim M. , Cassey Phillip , Lockwood Julie. L.
Published: November 2007

Aim  A recent upsurge of interest in the island biogeography of exotic species has followed from the argument that they may provide valuable information on the natural processes structuring island biotas. Here, we use data on the occurrence of exotic bird species across oceanic islands worldwide to demonstrate an alternative and previously untested hypothesis that these distributional patterns are a simple consequence of where humans have released such species, and hence of the number of species released.

Location  Islands around the world.

Methods  Statistical analysis of published information on the numbers of exotic bird species introduced to, and established on, islands around the world.

Results  Established exotic birds showed very similar species–area relationships to native species, but different species–isolation relationships. However, in both cases the relationship for established exotics simply mimicked that for the number of exotic bird species introduced. Exotic bird introductions scaled positively with human population size and island isolation, and islands that had seen more native species extinctions had had more exotic species released.

Main conclusion  The island biogeography of exotic birds is primarily a consequence of human, rather than natural, processes.
The Legal Skills Movement Ten Years On: Triumph or Compromise?
Authors: MACFARLANE JULIE
Published: November 2007

Teaching LA Wyers' Skills
Optimistic and pessimistic biases and comparative judgmental processes in Japan: Do people really compare themselves to their peers?
Authors: Endo Yumi
Published: November 2007

Studies on above‐average and unrealistic‐optimism effects have recently claimed that they are the consequence of an over‐utilization of self‐relevant and under‐utilization of peer‐relevant information, despite the assumption that people would refer to both themselves and their average peer to make a comparative judgment. However, there is a possibility that these tendencies are prevalent only in Western cultures. The present paper reports on three studies of comparative self‐other judgments conducted with Japanese university students. The results consistently showed that participants tended to focus simply on their own abilities, traits, or the likelihood of experiencing future life events, without paying much attention to their peers. These findings suggest first that there is a consistent tendency for people to place a greater weight on the self than normative standards when considering their comparative position in a group, and that this tendency is independent of the size or direction of comparative biases.
How information about building design influences causal attributions for earthquake damage
Authors: McClure John , Sutton Robbie M , Wilson Marc
Published: November 2007

Causal attributions for events are shaped by information about causal mechanisms that contribute to the events. In the case of damage from earthquakes, these mechanisms include the design of buildings. Three studies presented scenarios drawn from actual reports of recent earthquakes (Kobe, Japan and Northridge, California, USA), including statements by engineers about the quality of the design of damaged and undamaged buildings. Studies examined whether this design information affected attributions for earthquake damage. Participants attributed damage to building design more strongly and rated damage more preventable when scenarios referred to the poor building design of damaged buildings than when scenarios gave no design information. Information about the excellent design of undamaged buildings had less consistent effects. This effect was most consistent with scenarios about the design of damaged buildings. These findings show that mechanism (design) information does influence judgments about damage in earthquakes and, by implication, other hazards.
Cultural significance of leg‐to‐body ratio preferences? Evidence from Britain and rural Malaysia
Authors: Swami Viren , Einon Dorothy , Furnham Adrian
Published: November 2007

The leg‐to‐body ratio (LBR) has been suggested as an under‐researched aesthetic criterion in humans. In the present study, 54 rural Malaysians and 80 Britons rated for physical attractiveness a set of line drawings that varied in five levels of LBR. The results showed that, for British participants, a higher LBR was preferred in women but a lower LBR was preferred in men. Malaysian participants, in contrast, rated medium female LBR and low male LBR as the most attractive. These results are discussed in terms of cross‐cultural differences in media exposure, which may moderate judgements of attractiveness of various body components.
Effect of collectivistic cultural imperatives on Asian American meta‐stereotypes
Authors: Chu Tracy , Kwan Virginia S.Y.
Published: November 2007

The present study explored self‐perceptions and meta‐stereotypes along two dimensions, individuation and sociability, within a sample of Asian American and European American students. For both ethnic groups, meta‐stereotypes in dimensions of individuation and sociability appear to be exaggerated forms of self‐perceptions along these dimensions. Both Asian and European Americans distinguish between self‐perceptions of sociability and individuation, showing that sociability and individuation are two independent constructs. Asian Americans, however, perceived that others who expect a certain level of sociability from their ethnic group would also expect the same level of individuation. Implications of these findings for the perpetuation of Asian stereotypes are discussed.
ASSESSMENT OF WEYMARK'S MEASURES OF EXCHANGE MARKET INTERVENTION: THE CASE OF JAPAN
Authors: Chen Shiu‐Sheng , Taketa Kenshi
Published: November 2007

Abstract.  This paper assesses the validity of the index of foreign exchange market intervention proposed by Weymark. We construct the Weymark index for Japan and then compare it with Japanese public intervention data to evaluate its performance. The results suggest that research using the Weymark index should be interpreted with caution.
HOW EFFICIENT HAS BEEN CHINA'S INVESTMENT? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL DATA
Authors: He Dong , Zhang Wenlang , Shek Jimmy
Published: November 2007

Abstract.  This paper analyses both the allocative efficiency and the dynamic efficiency of China's spending on capital. We examine the relationship between investment flows and the marginal product of capital computed by estimating the Cobb‐Douglas and CES production functions at both the national and provincial levels. We also investigate dynamic efficiency by comparing the share of capital in national income and the rate of investment. The main finding is that the allocative efficiency of capital in China has improved in recent years, but the high rate of investment may be a sign of dynamic inefficiency of the Chinese economy.
INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE AND COMPETITION: THE CASE OF JAPANESE MANUFACTURING
Authors: Bhattacharya Mita
Published: November 2007

Abstract. The paper analyses the competitive process and performance behaviour of Japanese manufacturing between 1985 and 1997. Technological changes, international competition and reducing barriers in domestic and international markets are playing a significant role to speed up the performance behaviour in Japanese manufacturing. Scale economies, product differentiation and openness of the economy are used in explaining profit behaviour of manufacturing firms. Findings are compared with existing studies from Japan as well as from other developed countries such as Australia and the USA.
PAYOUT POLICY OF JAPANESE FIRMS: ANALYSIS ON THE SURVEY OF FOUR INDUSTRIES LISTED ON THE TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE
Authors: Mizuno Mitsuru
Published: November 2007

Abstract.  This study reports the results of a 2007 survey of corporate managers’ views on payout policy on Japanese firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from four industries. The findings show that firms attach more importance to stable dividends than to performance linked dividends and they believe that dividends should be paid after investment spending and strengthening of the balance sheet are met. The reasons for an increase in dividends in recent years is due to consideration of fair returns to shareholders and of preventing hostile takeovers. This is a change from the traditional view on payout policy.
TESTING CONVERGENCE OF FIJI’S TOURISM MARKETS
Authors: Narayan Paresh k.
Published: November 2007

Abstract.   The convergence hypothesis for tourism markets is based on the tenet that when tourism markets are converging the difference between total international visitor arrivals to a country and international visitor arrivals from a particular country will be stationary. We argue that if this is true, then convergence can also be tested through examining whether total visitor arrivals and visitor arrivals from a particular market are cointegrated. We test the convergence hypothesis by examining visitor arrivals to Fiji from eight tourist source markets, using both unit root and cointegration tests. We find strong statistical evidence that Fiji’s tourism markets converge.
ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION IMPACTS: EVIDENCE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN TREASURY‐BOND FUTURES MARKET
Authors: Zou Liping , Rose Lawrence C , Pinfold John F
Published: November 2007

Abstract.  The effect of information flows on the return volatility of Australian 3‐year Treasury bond futures is examined using linear and non‐linear GARCH models. Results show significant asymmetric information effects, where bad news has a greater impact on volatility than good news and a non‐linear Threshold ARCH(1,1) in mean model provides the most accurate estimation of return volatility. Diagnostic tests confirm this finding and out of sample forecasting error statistics verify that the Threshold ARCH(1,1) in mean model yields the lowest forecasting error. The Threshold ARCH(1,1)‐M model is best at capturing the asymmetric information impact on the Australian three‐year T‐Bond futures return volatility.
MAJOR SOURCES OF PRODUCTION IMPROVEMENT AND INNOVATION GROWTH IN CHINESE ENTERPRISES
Authors: Li Ke , Hu Yifan , Chi Jing
Published: November 2007

Abstract.  Using a data set based on a cross‐sectional firm level survey conducted by the World Bank in year 2001, in this paper we investigate the major sources of production improvement and innovation growth of Chinese enterprises from ten major industries and five major cities. In terms of production improvement, the production network, R&D and innovation and openness are the crucial factors; and in terms of innovation growth, it could be enhanced through raising R&D inputs, training, improving managers’ education, outsourcing and participating in a production network.
Optimizing the use of shed feathers for genetic analysis
Authors: HOGAN FIONA E. , COOKE RAYLENE , BURRIDGE CHRISTOPHER P. , NORMAN JANETTE A.
Published: November 2007

Shed feathers obtained by noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) are a valuable source of DNA for genetic studies of birds. They can be collected across a large geographical range and facilitate research on species that would otherwise be extremely difficult to study. A limitation of this approach is uncertainty concerning the quality of the extracted DNA. Here we investigate the relationship between feather type, feather condition and DNA quality (amplification success) in order to provide a simple, cost‐effective method for screening samples prior to genetic analysis. We obtained 637 shed feathers of the powerful owl (Ninox strenua) from across its range in southeastern Australia. The extracted DNA was amplified using polymerase chain reaction for a range of markers including mitochondrial DNA, ND3 and nuclear DNA, a simple sequence repeat (Nst02) and a portion of the CHD‐1 gene (P2/P8). We found that feather condition significantly influenced the amplification success of all three loci, with feathers characterized as ‘good’ having greater success. Feather type was found to be of lower importance, with good quality feathers of all types consistently producing high success for all three loci. We also found that the successful amplification of multilocus genotypes was dependant on the condition of the starting material and was highly correlated with successful amplification of the sex‐linked CHD‐1 locus. Samples with low DNA quality have a higher probability of amplification failure and are more likely to produce incorrect genotypes; therefore, identifying samples with high DNA quality can save substantial time and cost associated with the genetic analysis of NGS. As a result, we propose a method for screening shed feathers in order to provide a subset of samples which will have a greater probability of containing high quality DNA suitable for the amplification of multilocus genotypes.
A set of primers conserved in genus Parnassius (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) for amplification and sequencing of 1016 bp fragment of cytochrome oxidase subunit I from museum specimens
Authors: KONOPINSKI MACIEJ K.
Published: November 2007

Four short, overlapping amplicons covering a 1016 bp fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I were developed. All four fragments were successfully amplified and sequenced in eight species of butterflies belonging to the genus Parnassius including over 100‐year‐old DNA from pinned museum specimens. The fragment contains sufficient variation for both inter‐ and intraspecific analyses. A total of 105 sites were polymorphic within 52 haplotypes found in 186 samples from Parnassius mnemosyne.
Development of polymorphic markers from expressed sequence tags of Manihot esculenta Crantz
Authors: TANGPHATSORNRUANG S. , SRAPHET S. , SINGH R. , OKOGBENIN E. , FREGENE M. , TRIWITAYAKORN K.
Published: November 2007

In this study, 49 primers were designed from sequences containing di‐, tri‐, tetra‐, penta‐ and hexanucleotide motifs with a minimum of four repeats and presence of motif size polymorphisms (insertion/deletion) from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) expressed sequence tags deposited in public sequence database. Each locus was subsequently screened on 29 M. esculenta Crantz obtained from 15 different countries. Cross‐amplification was tested with M. esculenta Crantz (ssp. flabellifolia) and four different Manihot species, M. chlorosticta, M. carthaginensis, M. filamentosa and M. tristis. Of these, nine loci showed polymorphic profiles within M. esculenta Crantz, which revealed two to four alleles per locus. The average unbiased and direct count heterozygosities were 0.4901 and 0.5674, respectively.
Factors influencing the quality of student learning on practice placements
Authors: Morris Jenny
Published: November 2007

Practice/clinical placements are central to learning in healthcare programmes, and optimizing learning during placements is important. However, little literature exists on physiotherapy students’ practice placement experiences. That which has been published presents a picture of both positive and negative experiences.

The topic was addressed within a larger longitudinal study into the learning experiences of students from non‐traditional backgrounds undertaking a 4‐year part‐time physiotherapy programme. Seventeen students from the 2000 cohort participated in the qualitative phenomenographic study. The study met institutional ethical requirements and participants’ gave written informed consent. Within the individual semi‐structured interviews undertaken in the final year, participants were asked to identify the aspects of their practice placements which had least and most facilitated their learning.

Data were analysed using a phenomenographic approach, which identifies variation in the ways in which people experience phenomena. The iterative process began with identification of interview responses from verbatim transcriptions of the interviews, and ended with a set of categories of description which, together, captured the full set of participants’ responses. Representative quotations illustrated the nature and scope of each category of description and provided evidence regarding the rigour of the data analysis process.

Some categories were identified as both positive and negative, for example direct involvement with patients, educator–student interaction, with the degree and nature of context deciding on the direction of participants’ perceptions. Factors relating to placement organization were also found to have both positive and negative influences on learning. Effective communication is proposed as a means to addressing the negative aspects identified.

This study provides useful information on participant's perceptions of the quality of their clinical placement experiences. However, the research base on this important topic continues to be small, and further research is needed on physiotherapy students from both traditional and non‐traditional backgrounds.
Complexities of learning together: students’ experience of face‐to‐face interprofessional groups
Authors: Clarke Brenda A. , Miers Margaret E. , Pollard Katherine C. , Thomas Judith
Published: November 2007

Interdisciplinary group work, as a method of learning, has become an essential component of most interprofessional undergraduate curricula in health and social care. Research into the effectiveness of these groups has concentrated on the dynamics of interaction between students from the different professions and focused largely on stereotyping and power. However, within small groups, social and psychological pressures are likely to influence participants’ behaviours and have a dramatic impact on overall effectiveness. Using qualitative data from an evaluative research study of a pre‐qualifying interprofessional undergraduate curriculum, the experience of students engaged in face‐to‐face group learning was examined. Data were collected from 15 groups of health and social care students across two sites of a university in the UK. Age, gender, experience and the demographic composition of the group affected individuals’ levels of participation. Analysis of group observations, student interviews and focus groups revealed a range of influences on group interaction. These include participation, group roles, tasks and cohesion and a tendency to avoid conflict.
Working in the theory–practice gap: the lecturer practitioner's story
Authors: Carson Alex , Carnwell Ros
Published: November 2007

Narrowing the theory–practice gap through clinical education of pre‐registration nurses is of international importance. Difficulties arising from supervising students in clinical education have been reported in Nepal, Hong Kong and Turkey and different countries also make various provisions for pre‐registration clinical experience. In the UK, pre‐registration nursing education standards and course content equip nurses to practice safely and are defined in statute. Students spend 50% of the course in clinical practice where they apply theoretical concepts under the guidance of a mentor, lecturer practitioner (LP) and link tutor.

This paper presents the results of the first phase of a three‐phase study, which sought to explore differences between mentors, LPs and link tutors and how they work together to enable pre‐registration nursing students to integrate theory and practice. The aim of this phase of the study was to explore how LP roles were implemented across the study area and how they worked with mentors and link tutors to enable students to integrate theory and practice.

Eleven semistructured interviews of LPs were conducted. The constant comparison method was used to analyse the data. Three themes emerged from the data — participants’ perceptions of their role and how they relate to others (a foot in both camps); participants’ concern to fit students for practice (look at it the right way); participants’ perceptions of how their work could be enhanced (making the job better). This paper discusses these three themes in relation to how the LP role differs from that of mentors and link tutors and how they work together to facilitate theory/practice integration in pre‐registration nursing students.
Teamworking in healthcare: longitudinal evaluation of a teambuilding intervention
Authors: Bayley Julie E. , Wallace Louise M. , Spurgeon Peter , Barwell Fred , Mazelan Patti
Published: November 2007

Modernization of health services is a priority in the UK requiring changes in the working practices of all staff, and improved teamworking is a prerequisite of effective service delivery. This study evaluates a short teambuilding course delivered to health professionals. A longitudinal survey design was used to assess the feasibility of the course and the change in individual perceptions of team roles and team functioning, and communication skills by questionnaires immediately after the course (time 1), at 3 months (time 2) and at 6 months (time 3). Three questionnaires (Team Development Measure, Teambuilding Questionnaire and Teambuilding Questionnaire‐II) were administered over this period, and telephone interviews were conducted with team members and managers at time 3. Combined results suggest that the teambuilding programme lead to an apparent slight improvement in perceived teamworking at 3 months but this had disappeared at 6 months. Although the development of individual teamworking skills is important, interventions must consider the impact of individual, team and organizational level factors on successful translation of learning into practice. Several limitations to the study are discussed.
Horizontally Differentiated Market Makers
Authors: Loertscher Simon
Published: November 2007

I analyze a model of competition between two market makers who are located at the opposite ends of the Hotelling line, both of which are also occupied by a search market. Buyers and sellers are uniformly distributed between the two market places, yet can only trade at one of them. In equilibrium, market makers net a positive profit and trade with buyers and sellers close to them, while buyers and sellers further away participate in search markets. Interestingly, a duopolistic market maker nets a larger profit than a monopoly because search markets make the quantities market makers trade strategic complements.
Consumer Stockpiling and Price Competition in Differentiated Markets
Authors: Guo Liang , Villas‐Boas J. Miguel
Published: November 2007

In many storable‐goods markets, firms are often aware that consumers may strategically adjust purchase timing in response to expected price dynamics. For example, in periods when prices are low, consumers stockpile for future consumption. This paper investigates the dynamic impact of consumer stockpiling on competing firms' strategic pricing decisions in differentiated markets. The necessity of equilibrium consumer storage for storable products is re‐examined. It is shown that preference heterogeneity generates differential consumer stockpiling propensity, thereby intensifying future price competition. As a result, consumer storage may not necessarily arise as an equilibrium outcome. Economic forces are also investigated that may mitigate the competition‐intensifying effect of consumer inventories and that, hence, may lead to equilibrium consumer storage.
Measuring Word of Mouth's Impact on Theatrical Movie Admissions
Authors: Moul Charles C.
Published: November 2007

Information transmission among consumers (i.e., word of mouth) has received little empirical examination. I offer a technique that can identify and measure the impact of word of mouth, and apply it to data from U.S. theatrical movie admissions. While variables and movie fixed effects comprise the bulk of observed variation, the variance attributable to word of mouth is statistically significant. Results indicate approximately 10% of the variation in consumer expectations of movies can be directly or indirectly attributed to information transmission. Information appears to affect consumer behavior quickly, with the length of a movie's run mattering more than the number of prior admissions.
Renegotiation Facilitates Contractual Incompleteness
Authors: Wernerfelt Birger
Published: November 2007

Attempts to economize on bargaining costs imply that two parties may write a contract which is incomplete in the sense that each party tacitly cedes some decision rights to the other. If decision makers can be disciplined by the threat of ex post renegotiation of decisions initially delegated to them, contracts may be even more incomplete. In the limit, the parties may leave all nonprice decisions out of the contract. By thus arguing that the threat of renegotiation facilitates contractual incompleteness, the paper reverses the direction of causality stressed by the literature.
Selection Tournaments, Sabotage, and Participation
Authors: Münster Johannes
Published: November 2007

This paper studies sabotage in tournaments with at least three contestants, where the contestants know each other well. Every contestant has an incentive to direct sabotage specifically against his most dangerous rival. In equilibrium, contestants who choose a higher productive effort are sabotaged more heavily. This might explain findings from psychology, where victims of mobbing are sometimes found to be overachieving. Moreover, sabotage equalizes promotion chances. The effect is most pronounced if the production functions are linear in sabotage, and the cost functions depend only on the sum of all sabotage activities: in an interior equilibrium, who will win is a matter of chance, even when contestants differ a great deal in their abilities. This, in turn, has adverse consequences for who might want to participate in a tournament. Because better contestants anticipate that they will be sabotaged more strongly, it may happen that the most able stay out and the tournament selects one of the less able with probability one. I also study the case where some contestants are easy victims, that is, easier to sabotage than others.
Inventories, Manufacturer Returns Policies, and Equilibrium Price Dispersion under Demand Uncertainty
Authors: Marvel Howard P. , Wang Hao
Published: November 2007

Returns policies can prevent a manufacturer's product from being discounted. Such discounting discourages inventory holdings, and can deny adequate retail representation to products with uncertain demand. We demonstrate that returns are not simply a substitute for resale price maintenance, but can instead be employed to support a desirable degree of price dispersion at retail. Surprisingly, optimal return policies depend only on market demand functions and marginal production costs. The manufacturer need not know the distribution of demand uncertainty for its product, but can instead rely on retailers to order appropriately. Our results generalize to oligopoly settings.
Alkaline Activation of Blends of Metakaolin and Calcium Aluminate
Authors: Fernández‐Jiménez Ana , Palomo Ángel , Vazquez Tomas , Vallepu Ramesh , Terai Tohru , Ikeda Ko
Published: November 2007

The present paper reports the preliminary results obtained and analyzed in the framework of a joint Spanish–Japanese project on the behavior of blends of alkali‐activated metakaolin (MK) and calcium aluminate cement (CAC). In these experiments, the materials were activated with an 8M solution of NaOH, poured into molds, and subjected to brief thermal curing (2 or 20 h at 85°C). The hardened pastes were tested for mechanical strength and characterized for mineralogy and microstructure by a number of techniques (XRD, FTIR, BSEM, and MAS‐NMR). The results showed that under the above conditions, the Al and Ca in the CAC were taken up into the aluminosilicate formed as the main product of the alkali activation of MK. None of the CAC hydration compounds (CAH10; C2AH8; C3AH6; AH3) normally formed were detected in any of the cases studied.
Direct and indirect adverse effects of tomato on the predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus feeding on the spider mite Tetranychus evansi
Authors: Koller M. , Knapp M. , Schausberger P.
Published: November 2007

Plants may defend themselves against herbivores via morphological traits, chemical traits, or a combination of both. Herbivores that overcome the defensive mechanisms of a plant tend to specialize on this plant due to enhanced protection from natural enemies. Well‐known examples of plants possessing a suite of defensive mechanisms are found in nightshades (Solanaceae), especially in the tomato genus Lycopersicon. The spider mite Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard (Acari: Tetranychidae) is specialized on solanaceous plants and is an invasive pest of tomato in Europe and Africa. Biological control of T. evansi with currently available natural enemies, such as the predatory mites Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias‐Henriot and Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (both Acari: Phytoseiidae), is unsuccessful, with the underlying mechanisms only vaguely known. We hypothesized that T. evansi is a key pest of tomato because this host plant provides a two‐pronged protection from natural enemies. Direct adverse effects of tomato on predators may arise from morphological traits and/or trichome exudates, whereas indirect effects are prey‐mediated through the accumulation of toxic plant compounds. Using a 2 × 3 factorial design, we assessed and separated direct and indirect effects of tomato on the life history of N. californicus feeding on two strains of T. evansi (reared on bean or tomato) on three substrates (tomato leaf, bean leaf, and an artificial cage). Developmental time and oviposition rate of N. californicus were both directly and indirectly negatively affected by tomato whereas offspring sex ratio and survival of juveniles and adult females were unaffected. The direct and indirect, prey‐mediated adverse effects of tomato on N. californicus with T. evansi prey had similar magnitudes and were additive. We conclude that T. evansi per se is a suitable prey species for N. californicus and discuss the results with respect to the potential use of N. californicus as biological control agent of T. evansi on tomato and other host plants.
Host‐marking by female pepper weevils, Anthonomus eugenii
Authors: Addesso K. M. , McAuslane H. J. , Stansly P. A. , Schuster D. J.
Published: November 2007

Pepper weevils, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), feed and oviposit in flower buds and small fruits of plants in the genus Capsicum, as well as several species of Solanum (Solanaceae). Females chew a small hole into the fruit, deposit a single egg within the cavity, and seal the hole with a clear anal secretion that hardens into an ‘oviposition plug’. Female oviposition behavior was studied in a series of small‐arena bioassays to determine whether previous oviposition in Jalapeño pepper fruit deterred subsequent oviposition and to determine what specific cues from an infested fruit influence female behavior. In choice and no‐choice tests, females preferred clean fruit to fruit that had received four eggs 24 h previously (i.e., infested fruit), whether the fruit was infested with conspecific eggs or their own eggs. Further bioassays demonstrated that the presence of female frass, or oviposition plugs alone, in the absence of eggs or any fruit damage, was sufficient to deter oviposition. In addition, females given the choice between an infested fruit with the oviposition plug removed or an unaltered infested fruit preferred the fruit with no plugs, even when eggs, frass, and feeding damage were still present. To determine whether females would avoid infested peppers under more natural conditions, we quantified oviposition on infested and uninfested sentinel pepper fruit within individually caged plants and on clean and infested plants caged together. Females consistently laid more eggs on clean fruit than on infested fruits and moved within and among pepper plants to search for more acceptable oviposition sites. We conclude that oviposition plugs, along with contaminated female, but not male, frass contain a deterrent that, in the absence of any other cue, is enough to alert a female that a patch is occupied.
Short feeding period of carrot psyllid (Trioza apicalis) females at early growth stages of carrot reduces yield and causes leaf discolouration
Authors: Nissinen Anne , Vanhala Petri , Holopainen Jarmo K. , Tiilikkala Kari
Published: November 2007

Overwintered adult carrot psyllids [Trioza apicalis Förster (Homoptera: Psylloidea: Triozidae)] damage carrot [(Daucus carota ssp. sativum L.) (Apiaceae)] seedlings by phloem feeding on the leaves. The aim of this study was to investigate the carrot root and shoot growth in relation to carrot psyllid density during early growth stages. One, two, or three carrot psyllids were allowed to feed on carrot seedlings for 3 days. Leaf damage was measured at the 8‐leaf stage, and root, leaf fresh weight, and number of true leaves were measured at harvest. Both the age of the carrot seedling at infestation and the psyllid density had a significant effect on leaf damage at the 8‐leaf stage: seedlings damaged at the cotyledon stage exhibited more leaf damage than seedlings damaged at the 1‐leaf stage. A higher psyllid density significantly reduced the carrot root weight at harvest. The significant interaction of psyllid density with seedling age indicates that differently aged carrot seedlings responded differently to feeding: one psyllid feeding for 3 days at the cotyledon stage caused a significant yield loss, whereas three psyllids were needed to cause the same impact at the 1‐leaf stage. Carrot leaf weight at harvest was not reduced by carrot psyllid feeding: leaves recovered from the damage but roots did not. Our results confirm the farmers’ observations that a trap replacement period of 1 week for carrot psyllid monitoring is too long, especially at the cotyledon stage. Severe leaf discolouration on damaged carrots was observed at harvest. The possible reasons for this discolouration, such as toxin excreted in psyllid saliva or plant pathogenic mycoplasma infection, are discussed.
Deuterium marking of chemical emissions: detectability and fitness consequences of a novel technique for insect behavioural studies
Authors: Goubault Marlène , Hardy Ian C. W.
Published: November 2007

Behavioural studies often need to employ marking techniques to identify and track individuals. Marks ideally have no influence on behaviour or fitness of marked individuals or on the organisms with which they interact. A newly developed internal marking technique uses deuterium to manipulate the chemical emissions of bethylid wasps that are parasitoids of lepidopteran larvae. Wasps are deuterated indirectly by injecting deuterium oxide (heavy water) into the host on which they feed as larvae. Adult wasps emit a volatile chemical under stressful conditions and the emissions of deuterated and undeuterated wasps can be clearly and readily distinguished by measuring the ratio of deuterated/undeuterated molecules using real‐time mass spectrometry. Deuterated female wasps are, however, detectably disadvantaged in dyadic contests for host resources, a component of female fitness. In this study, we evaluated potential side‐effects of this deuterium marking technique on three further correlates of female Goniozus legneri Gordh (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) fitness: longevity, lifetime fecundity, and offspring developmental mortality. We found that deuterium enrichment has no overall adverse effects on these parameters. We further showed that injecting hosts with different concentrations of deuterium results in distinguishably different volatile emissions of adult wasps, such that at least three individuals can be simultaneously identified by their chemical signatures. We also showed that deuterium marking remains effective beyond a wasp's death: deuterated and undeuterated wasps remain readily distinguishable after storage. We discuss potential applications of deuterium marking for the laboratory and field study of chemical communication, dispersal, and mating structure in parasitoid wasps and other insects.
Assessment of TCR‐β clonality in a diverse group of cutaneous T‐Cell infiltrates
Authors: Plaza Jose Antonio , Morrison Carl , Magro Cynthia M.
Published: November 2007

While some unequivocally benign infiltrates are easy to distinguish from cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL), drug‐associated lymphomatoid hypersensitivity reaction and cutaneous lesions of collagen vascular disease can show cytologic atypia, clonality and an immunophenotypic profile that closely simulates CTCL and cause diagnostics difficulties. Similar immunophenotypic and molecular abnormalities to those of malignant lymphoma can also be observed in pityriasis lichenoides chronica (PLC), large plaque parapsoriasis (LPP), pigmented purpuric dermatosis (PPD) and atypical lymphocytic lobular panniculitis leading one to consider these entities as forms of cutaneous lymphoid dyscrasia. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the distinction of these various subcategories of cutaneous T‐cell infiltrates by assessment of T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐β gene rearrangement. Formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded skin biopsies from 80 patients containing a T‐cell dominant lymphocytic infiltrate were analyzed for TCR‐β gene rearrangement. Our findings indicate that monoclonality is a reliable characteristic of CTCL with polyclonality being very infrequent. However, some cases of drug associated lymphomatoid hypersensitivity, collagen vascular disease and the various cutaneous lymphoid dyscrasias (i.e. PLC, PPD and atypical lymphocytic lobular panniculitis) could manifest restricted molecular profiles in the context of an oligoclonal process or frank monoclonality.
Hydroa‐like lymphoma with CD56 expression
Authors: Doeden Katherine , Molina‐Kirsch Hernan , Perez Edgar , Warnke Roger , Sundram Uma
Published: November 2007

Hydroa‐like lymphoma is an extremely rare and aggressive lymphoma described in children from Latin American countries (Mexico, Guatemala and Peru) and Asia (Japan, Korea and Taiwan). Clinically, patients present with vesicles, ulcers and scars occurring on both sun‐exposed and non‐sun‐exposed areas. In contrast to classical hydroa vacciniforme, hydroa‐like lymphoma is associated with systemic lymphoma of T‐cell type that expresses either CD4 or CD8. We report the findings from two unusual cases of hydroa‐like lymphoma that, unlike the cases described thus far in the literature, express CD56 and resemble natural killer cell lymphomas. Two 9‐year‐old boys presented with clinical histories of waxing and waning ulcerative blistering lesions since 3 years of age. Histological examination of skin biopsies from both cases showed periappendigeal infiltrates of atypical lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the cells were highlighted by markers for CD3, CD56 and CD30, but did not express CD4 and CD8. Both patients were alive with disease 1 year later. Hydroa‐like lymphoma with natural killer‐cell phenotype may have a similar outcome to T‐cell derived hydroa‐like lymphoma, but the prognosis appears to be better than classic NK lymphomas, which in general behave in an aggressive fashion.
Intra‐arterial angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia
Authors: Koubaa Wafa , Verdier Michel , Perez Michael , Wechsler Janine
Published: November 2007

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a rare skin disorder of unknown etiology. This paper describes the case of a 34‐year‐old man with a lesion located on the right part of his forehead. Microscopically, it displayed a typical morphology of ALHE. However, it was exceptional by its intra‐arterial location and its prominent lymphocytic rim‐like component. Differential diagnoses, with special emphasis to organized thrombosis and juvenile arteritis, are discussed here.
Use of advanced red blood cell and reticulocyte indices improves the accuracy in diagnosing iron deficiency in pregnant women at term
Authors: Ervasti Mari , Kotisaari Sanna , Heinonen Seppo , Punnonen Kari
Published: November 2007

Objectives:  Detection of iron deficiency during pregnancy with hemoglobin (Hb) and serum measurements is insignificant as the measurements may be affected by e.g. hemodilution or accelerated erythropoiesis. This study tests whether cell indices will give a more reliable measure of iron deficiency in pregnant women at term.

Methods:  The population was 202 pregnant women. Using the ADVIA 120 hematology system, Hb, mean cell volume (MCV), percentage of hypochromic red blood cells (%HYPOm) and reticulocytes (%HYPOr), and cellular hemoglobin in reticulocytes (CHr) were tested. Additionally, transferrin saturation (TfSat), ferritin, and transferrin receptor (TfR) were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the ROC curves (AUC) were used as statistical methods.

Results:  When TfSat (≤11%) was used as the reference test for iron deficiency, %HYPOm and CHr had a sensitivity of 58.1% and 80.7%, while the specificities were 82.6% and 71.3%, respectively. Additionally, the AUC values were %HYPOr 0.80, CHr 0.79, ferritin 0.77, %HYPOm 0.75, TfR 0.67, MCV 0.63 and Hb 0.64. The results provided by the cell indices alone (%HYPOm or CHr) were in good agreement with the results based on the usage of a combination of three commonly used tests (Hb, MCV, ferritin).

Conclusions:  This study suggests that the most practical way to diagnose iron deficiency in pregnant women at term is to use cell indices such as CHr and %HYPOm provided by the automated hematological analyzer. Further studies are needed to determine the usefulness of the cell indices in diagnosing iron deficiency longitudinally during the course of pregnancy.
The expression of cytosolic phospholipase A2and biosynthesis of leukotriene B4in acute myeloid leukemia cells
Authors: Runarsson Gudmundur , Feltenmark Stina , Forsell Pontus K. A. , Sjöberg Jan , Björkholm Magnus , Claesson Hans‐Erik
Published: November 2007

Leukotrienes (LT) exert stimulatory effects on myelopoiesis, beside their inflammatory and immunomodulating effects. Here, we have studied the expression and activity of the enzymes involved in the synthesis of leukotriene B4(LTB4) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells (16 clones) and G‐CSF mobilized peripheral blood CD34+cells. CD34+cells from patients with non‐myeloid malignancies expressed cytosolic phospholipase A2(cPLA2), 5‐lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP), and leukotriene A4(LTA4) hydrolase but not 5‐lipoxygenase (5‐LO). The enzyme cPLA2was abundantly expressed in AML cells and the activity of the enzyme was high in certain AML clones. The expression of 5‐LO, FLAP, and LTA4hydrolase in AML clones was in general lower than in healthy donor polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). The calcium ionophore A23187‐induced release of [14C] arachidonic acid (AA) in AML cells was low, compared with PMNL, and did not correlate with the expression of cPLA2protein. Biosynthesis of LTB4, upon calcium ionophore A23187 activation, was only observed in five of the investigated AML clones and only three of the most differentiated clones produced similar amounts of LTB4as PMNL. The capacity of various cell clones to produce LTs could neither be explained by the difference in [1 − 14C] AA release nor 5‐LO expression. Taken together, these results indicate that LT synthesis is under development during early myelopoiesis and the capacity to produce LTs is gained upon maturation. High expression of cPLA2in AML suggests a putative role of this enzyme in the pathophysiology of this disease.