bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COLLUSION FACILITATING AND COLLUSION BREAKING POWER OF SIMULTANEOUS ASCENDING AND DESCENDING PRICE AUCTIONS
Authors: BROWN ALEXANDER L. , PLOTT CHARLES R. , SULLIVAN HEIDI J.
Published: January 2010

This article demonstrates that a robust tacit collusion evolves quickly in a “collusion incubator” environment but is destroyed by the simultaneous descending price auction. Theories of collusion‐producing behavior, along with the detail of the states on which strategies are conditioned, lead to a deeper understanding of how tacit collusion evolves and its necessary conditions. These theories explain how the descending price auction destroys the collusion. The experiments proceed by conducting simultaneous ascending price auctions in the collusion incubator. Then, once the tacit collusion developed, changing to the descending auction. The change moved prices from collusive levels to near‐competitive levels. (JEL C71, C92, D43, D44)
THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF CONCESSION
Authors: HIRSHLEIFER JACK , BOLDRIN MICHELE , LEVINE DAVID K
Published: January 2010

We show that with common knowledge and a common rate of time preference, the potential loser can always avoid wasteful conflict through a time‐consistent series of small concessions. We examine how the failure of each of these assumptions may explain why conflicts arise. We also debate which actions may be helpful in such unfortunate circumstances.
CONSTRAINED BY HOURS AND RESTRICTED IN WAGES: THE QUALITY OF MATCHES IN THE LABOR MARKET
Authors: BENDER KEITH A. , SKÅTUN JOHN DOUGLAS
Published: January 2010

This paper examines the explicit loss born by workers who face constraints in their working hours by analyzing differences in actual and desired hours and wages. Men tend to be underemployed while women are evenly split between over‐ and underemployment. Losses in surplus are generally small, but 10% of underemployed men and women experience losses of more than 34% or 50% of surplus, respectively. The loss measure is also an important determinant in predicting labor market transitions, meaning increases in surplus losses generate a higher probability of changing from workers’ present jobs or changing the number of hours. (JEL J22, J41)
DYNAMICS OF RETAIL ADVERTISING: EVIDENCE FROM A FIELD EXPERIMENT
Authors: SIMESTER DUNCAN , HU YU (JEFFREY) , BRYNJOLFSSON ERIK , ANDERSON ERIC T.
Published: January 2010

We use a controlled field experiment to investigate the dynamic effects of retail advertising. The experimental design overcomes limitations hindering previous investigations of this issue. Our study uncovers dynamic advertising effects that have not been considered in previous literature. We find that current advertising does affect future sales, but surprisingly, the effect is not always positive; for the firm’s best customers, the long‐run outcome may be negative. This finding reflects two competing effects: brand switching and intertemporal substitution. We also find evidence of cross‐channel substitution, with the firm’s best customers switching demand to the ordering channel that corresponds to the advertising. (JEL L2, L81, M3)
PERFECT COMPETITION, URBANIZATION, AND TAX INCIDENCE IN THE RETAIL GASOLINE MARKET
Authors: ALM JAMES , SENNOGA EDWARD , SKIDMORE MARK
Published: January 2010

We use monthly gasoline price data for all 50 U.S. states over the period 1984–1999 to examine the incidence of state gasoline excise taxes. Our estimation results indicate full shifting of gasoline taxes to the final consumer. In addition, although we find that gasoline retail prices demonstrate asymmetric responses to changes in gasoline wholesale prices, we find only limited evidence of such behavior for retail prices with respect to gasoline excise taxes. Finally, we find that gasoline markets in urban states exhibit full shifting, but those in rural states (with less competition) demonstrate somewhat less than full shifting. (JEL H22)
WHY DO ENERGY PRICES MATTER? THE ROLE OF INTERINDUSTRY LINKAGES IN U.S. MANUFACTURING
Authors: LINN JOSHUA
Published: January 2010

There is considerable empirical evidence that energy prices had a large effect on the U.S. economy between World War II and the 1980s. This paper argues that linkages between manufacturing industries amplify the effect of an energy price shock and help explain the large effect. In particular, energy‐intensive industries are important input suppliers to other industries. When the price of energy increases, energy‐intensive industries contract, raising materials prices for other industries. Because of the reduction in materials supply, the downstream industries also contract, which I refer to as the supply effect. Using data from the Census of Manufactures, I find that the supply effect accounted for about one half of the sensitivity of value added to the price of energy. I use plant‐level census data to show that the supply effect caused similar changes in value added per plant as in value added per industry. A price increase caused a small, although statistically significant, decrease in entry and had no effect on exit. Finally, the supply effect reduced plant‐level labor demand. (JEL E32, Q43)
Time‐varying Armington elasticity and country‐of‐origin bias: from the dynamic perspective of the Japanese demand for beef imports
Authors: Kawashima Shigekazu , Puspito Sari Deffi Ayu
Published: January 2010

Elasticities of substitution, often called Armington elasticities, reflect incomplete substitutability because of perceived product characteristics. This study divides the determinants of the Japanese demand for beef imports into two factors: (i) substitution elasticity and (ii) country‐of‐origin bias, and demonstrate how these measurements are associated with trade policy and food scare events. The Japanese beef industry serves as a case study to evaluate the multifold impact of import liberalisation and a series of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreaks. A time‐varying parameter model is used to shed light on the dynamic effects of the import liberalisation and BSE outbreaks on the measurements. The estimation results reveal that the estimated substitutability and country‐of‐origin bias are very sensitive to the BSE cases, but not to the process of trade liberalisation. The results also confirm that as a result of the BSE outbreaks, the major factor of the Japanese demand for beef imports has changed from relative prices to the country‐of‐origin effect, thereby emphasising the importance of a traceability system and promotional activities, which would help in the formation of the country‐of‐origin effect.
ON‐LINE CASE‐BASED PLANNING
Authors: Ontañón Santi , Mishra Kinshuk , Sugandh Neha , Ram Ashwin
Published: January 2010

Some domains, such as real‐time strategy (RTS) games, pose several challenges to traditional planning and machine learning techniques. In this article, we present a novel on‐line case‐based planning architecture that addresses some of these problems. Our architecture addresses issues of plan acquisition, on‐line plan execution, interleaved planning and execution, and on‐line plan adaptation. We also introduce the Darmok system, which implements this architecture to play Wargus (an open source clone of the well‐known RTS game Warcraft II). We present empirical evaluation of the performance of Darmok and show that it successfully learns to play the Wargus game.
MUSIC THAT WILL BRING BACK THE DEAD? Resurrection, Reconciliation, and Restorative Justice in Post‐Apartheid South Africa
Authors: Danaher Jr. William J.
Published: January 2010

This essay explores how the doctrine of the Resurrection informs theological reflection on reconciliation in post‐Apartheid South Africa. It begins by establishing the fragile and liminal state of reconciliation, despite the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It then argues that the Resurrection offers an ecstatic and relational understanding of the human, which in turn provides a basis for advancing claims regarding human dignity and well‐being. In conversation with the work of Oliver O'Donovan and James Alison on the Resurrection, this view is further contextualized by incorporating insights from ubuntu and from the work of Judith Butler on grieving. The essay closes with proposals for how the church in post‐Apartheid South Africa can give witness to the Resurrection in its immediate life and work through advocacy and carrying on the politics of grieving.
WHAT KIND OF PERSON COULD BE A TORTURER?
Authors: Reeder Jr. John P.
Published: January 2010

What kind of persons could engage in political torture? Not only the morally impaired who lack empathy or compassion, or even the merely obedient, but also the righteous who struggle with conscience, and the realists who set morality aside.
KIERKEGAARD'S “NEW ARGUMENT” FOR IMMORTALITY
Authors: Marks Tamara Monet
Published: January 2010

This essay examines texts from Kierkegaard's signed and pseudonymous authorship on immortality and the resurrection, challenging the received opinion that Kierkegaard's account of eternal life merely connotes a temporal, existential modality of experience as a present eternity. Kierkegaard's thoughts on immortality are more complicated than this reading allows. I demonstrate that Kierkegaard's ideas on the afterlife emerge out of a context in which the topic had been vigorously debated in both Germany and Denmark for more than a decade. In responding to these debates, Kierkegaard establishes a “new argument” for immortality that stands as a robust account of the Christian resurrection and highlights the power of a personal God at the center of life, death, and post‐mortem existence.
Semiparametric Marginal Regression Analysis for Dependent Competing Risks Under an Assumed Copula
Authors: Chen Yi-Hau
Published: January 2010

Competing risks problems arise in many fields of science, where two or more types of event may occur on a subject, but only the event occurring first is observed together with its occurrence time, and other events are censored. The marginal and joint distributions of event times for competing risks cannot be identified from the observed data without assuming the relationship between events. The commonly adopted independent censoring assumption may be easily violated. An alternative is to assume that the joint distribution of event times follows a known copula, which is an explicit function of the marginal distributions. On the basis of the latter assumption, we consider marginal regression analysis for dependent competing risks, with the marginal regressions performed via semiparametric transformation models, including the proportional hazards and proportional odds models. We propose a non-parametric maximum likelihood analysis, which provides explicit expressions for the score functions and information matrix, and facilitates convenient computations. Large and finite sample properties are studied. We report an illustration with data from an acquired immune deficiency syndrome clinical trial where the censoring may be dependent. The proposal can be readily used as a sensitivity analysis for assessing effects of potential dependent censoring and can incorporate external information on the association of competing risks.
WHY PHOTOGRAPHY MATTERS TO THE THEORY OF HISTORY
Authors: ROTH MICHAEL S.
Published: January 2010

Georges Didi‐Huberman's study is concerned with epistemological and ethical questions that arise from visual representations of the Shoah, while Michael Fried's is concerned with the ontological possibilities explored by contemporary art photography. The books have two things in common: an argument against postmodern skepticism, and an insistence that photography has become a field in which questions of history, truth, and authenticity are being explored with particular acuity. Rather than reject even the possibility that photographs have something to tell us about the Shoah, Didi‐Huberman shows that they can offer important insights into the difficulties and the possibilities of apprehending some aspects of the past.

Fried shows that contemporary photographic work has taken on the ambitions of high modernism by accepting the challenge of “to‐be‐seenness.” Photography as a “historical practice” does not escape from the difficulties of evidence and of the “constructed” nature of historical understanding; photography functions neither as a pure trace of the past, nor as a mere invitation to spectacle.
ITALIAN LEGACIES1
Authors: PETERS RIK
Published: January 2010

This paper discusses David Roberts's latest book in which he seeks to throw some light on urgent postmodern historiographical issues from the angle of Italian historicism, led by Benedetto Croce (1866–1952) and Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944). Focusing on the relationship between theory and practice, Roberts argues that there was a close relationship between Italian historicism and fascism. On the basis of the principle that “reality is nothing but history”, both Croce and Gentile sought to develop a philosophy that connects historical thinking to action. In this context, Gentile's presentist interpretation of the historical sublime eventually led to totalitarianism, whereas Croce's radical historicism formed the basis of a more liberal view of society. In his discussion of the reception of the Italian tradition, Roberts rejects Carlo Ginzburg's and Hayden White's “misreadings” of Croce and Gentile, and concludes that Italian historicism is still relevant to modern historiography. In this paper I show that Roberts, by renouncing an exclusively philosophical approach to the Italian tradition, tends to overlook the underlying issues. In order to redress the balance, I argue that the political issues between Croce and Gentile went back to profound philosophical differences concerning the relationship between philosophy and history on the one hand and between past and present on the other. From this perspective, Ginzburg's and White's debates about the relationship between history and politics, and the role of the historical sublime in historiography, should not be viewed as “misreadings” of Croce and Gentile, but as mere variations on the themes of their predecessors. The relevance of the Italian tradition is therefore not primarily to be found in its response to postmodernism, but in setting the agenda for rethinking the relationship between history and practical life in the contemporary world.
Need and support: determinants of intra‐familial financial transfers in Sweden
Authors: Lennartsson Carin
Published: January 2010

Lennartsson C. Need and support: determinants of intra‐familial financial transfers in Sweden

Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 66–74 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare.

This study examined downward inter‐generational intra‐family financial transfers in Sweden made in the form of money transactions or gifts. The research questions focus on whether recipients of intra‐family financial transfers are children in ‘need’ of such support, and whether early family environment has any consequences for later financial transfers. Using data from a nationally representative survey, the results suggest that childhood disadvantages have long‐term consequences in connection with intra‐family financial transfers. Disadvantages and inequalities in childhood are likely to remain into adulthood, and children who experience adverse childhood conditions are less often recipients of later intra‐family financial support. Intra‐family transfers are also related to the ‘needs’ of the younger generation. Single parents and students from higher social class families are more often beneficiaries of financial support. In contrast, family support was no higher for unemployed children, for children lacking financial security in the form of a cash margin or for children reporting poor health.
Client contribution in negotiations on employability – categories revised?
Authors: Eskelinen L. , Olesen S.P. , Caswell D.
Published: January 2010

Eskelinen L, Olesen SP, Caswell D. Client contribution in negotiations on employability – categories revised?

Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 330–338 © 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare.

In this article, we explore how the institutional category ‘unemployed’ is specified in everyday practice when implementing an active employment policy. We illustrate the process of categorisation as an aspect of the in situ positioning and self‐representation of the client by examining one social worker–client talk: how the category unemployed is shaped and ‘translated’ when the client negotiates her situation with the social worker. Two types of category revisions are identified. First, the employability of the client, rather than her unemployment situation, is the issue under negotiation. Second, the client introduces new categories that are compatible with the demands of the employment system. She contributes by drawing on discursive resources related to the category of ‘active job seeker’ but does this with an own agenda of looking for a suitable job. The analysis elucidates the client's contribution to institutional practice and discusses constitutive and constituted elements of categorisation.
Planning and the Technological Society: Discussing the London Plan
Authors: RYDIN YVONNE
Published: January 2010

The sustainable development agenda has influenced the focus of urban planning policy in many countries and localities; this article argues that its influence has been much more widespread, affecting not just the content of planning but also its discourses and practices. This reflects more profound shifts within society — shifts that put the governance of technology firmly centre‐place. Using a case study of the London Plan (the spatial development strategy for London), the discussion considers how recent debates on the Plan are being shaped by the need to focus on technological issues. Using Barry's and Feenberg's explorations of the technological society, the analysis identifies key features such as the contestation of evidence and expertise, the focus on technical details and the resultant reframing of policy discourse. The article concludes with suggestions as to the ways in which planning may change in the future.

Les préoccupations liées au développement durable ont influé sur le cœur des politiques d’urbanisme dans de nombreux pays et localités. Leur influence s’est révélée beaucoup plus vaste, affectant non seulement le contenu, mais aussi les discours et pratiques en matière d’aménagement. Cette situation traduit des mutations plus profondes de la société, mutations qui donnent à la gouvernance de la technologie une solide prééminence. À partir d’une étude de cas sur le London Plan (stratégie d’aménagement spatial de Londres), est examinée la façon dont les récents débats sur le Plan sont modelés par la nécessité de s’attacher aux aspects technologiques. S’appuyant sur les explorations de la société technologique menées par Barry et par Feenberg, l’analyse identifie des caractéristiques dominantes telles que la contestation des éléments factuels et de l’expertise, la focalisation sur des détails techniques et, donc, le recadrage du discours de l’action publique. La conclusion présente les possibles évolutions futures de l’aménagement du territoire.
Somitic origin of the medial border of the mammalian scapula and its homology to the avian scapula blade
Authors: Valasek Petr , Theis Susanne , Krejci Eliska , Grim Milos , Maina Flavio , Shwartz Yulia , Otto Anthony , Huang Ruijin , Patel Ketan
Published: January 2010

The scapula is the main skeletal element of the pectoral girdle allowing muscular fixation of the forelimb to the axial skeleton. The vertebrate limb skeleton has traditionally been considered to develop from the lateral plate mesoderm, whereas the musculature originates from the axial somites. However, in birds, the scapular blade has been shown to develop from the somites. We investigated whether a somitic contribution was also present in the mammalian scapula. Using genetic lineage‐tracing techniques, we show that the medial border of the mammalian scapula develops from somitic cells. The medial scapula border serves as the attachment site of girdle muscles (serratus anterior, rhomboidei and levator scapulae). We show that the development of these muscles is independent of the mechanism that controls the formation of all other limb muscles. We suggest that these muscles be specifically referred to as medial girdle muscles. Our results establish the avian scapular blade and medial border of the mammalian scapula as homologous structures as they share the same developmental origin.
Investigation of childhood central nervous system vasculitis: magnetic resonance angiography versus catheter cerebral angiography
Authors: ELEFTHERIOU DESPINA , COX TIM , SAUNDERS DAWN , KLEIN NIGEL J , BROGAN PAUL A , GANESAN VIJEYA
Published: January 2010

Aim  We compared the clinical utility of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to catheter cerebral angiography (CA) in the investigation of children with suspected central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis.

Method  Single‐centre retrospective review of children with a suspected diagnosis of CNS vasculitis studied with both MRA and CA. MRA and CA‐detected abnormalities (location, multiplicity, and morphology) were compared; sensitivity and specificity were calculated on a per lesion and per patient basis for MRA, with CA as the reference standard.

Results  Findings in fourteen patients (median age at presentation of 5y 10mo [range 1y 5mo–14y 5mo]; eight males, six females) relating to sixteen paired studies of MRA and CA were reviewed. CA‐detected lesions were commonly bilateral (13/16 studies, p<0.05), and likely to be proximally distributed (15/16 studies, p<0.05).The sensitivity and specificity of MRA for CA lesion detection was 63% (95% confidence interval [CI] 48–78) and 89% (95% CI 81–93), respectively with moderate agreement between the two modalities (κ=0.51, 95% CI 0.37–0.66). The majority of the false negative observations involved the posterior circulation (9/14). The overall sensitivity for MRA diagnosis of vasculitis per patient was 94% (95% CI 67–99).

Interpretation  MRA failed to identify all lesions detected on CA, particularly those in the posterior circulation. MRA is a reasonable initial modality in the investigation of suspected CNS vasculitis but in cases of abnormal parenchymal MRI and normal MRA, CA should be considered.
Mechanical properties of the plantarflexor musculotendinous unit during passive dorsiflexion in children with cerebral palsy compared with typically developing children
Authors: ALHUSAINI ADEL AA , CROSBIE JACK , SHEPHERD ROBERTA B , DEAN CATHERINE M , SCHEINBERG ADAM
Published: January 2010

Aim  To examine the passive length–tension relations in the myotendinous components of the plantarflexor muscles of children with and without cerebral palsy (CP) under conditions excluding reflex muscle contraction.

Method  A cross‐sectional, non‐interventional study was conducted in a hospital outpatient clinic. Passive torque–angle characteristics of the ankle were quantified from full plantarflexion to full available dorsiflexion in 26 independently ambulant children with CP (11 females, 15 males; mean age: 6y 11mo, range 4y 7mo–9y 7mo) and 26 age‐matched typically developing children (18 females, 8 males; mean age 7y 2mo, range 4y 1mo–10y 4mo). In the children with CP, the affected (hemiplegia; n=21) or more affected (diplegia; n=5) leg was tested; in typically developing children, the leg tested was randomly selected. Gross Motor Function Classification System levels were I (n=15) and II (n=11). Care was taken to eliminate active or reflex muscle contribution to the movement, confirmed by the absence of electromyographic activity.

Results  There were small but significant differences between the two groups for maximum ankle dorsiflexion (p=0.003), but large and significant differences in the torques required to produce the same displacement (p<0.001). Further, the hysteresis of the average loading cycle in the children with CP was over three times that of the typically developing children (p<0.001).

Interpretation  We believe that the plantarflexor muscles of children with CP are stiffer and intrinsically more resistant to stretch, even though they retain near normal excursion. This increased stiffness is a non‐neurally‐mediated feature demonstrated by these children. The extent to which it influences function and predisposes the children to development of soft tissue contracture is unknown.
Characterization of spasticity in cerebral palsy: dependence of catch angle on velocity
Authors: WU YI‐NING , REN YUPENG , GOLDSMITH ASHLEE , GAEBLER DEBORAH , LIU SHU Q , ZHANG LI‐QUN
Published: January 2010

Aim  To evaluate spasticity under controlled velocities and torques in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using a manual spasticity evaluator.

Method  The study involved 10 children with spastic CP (six males, four females; mean age 10y 1mo, SD 2y 9mo, range 7–16y; one with quadriplegia, six with right hemiplegia, three with left hemiplegia; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I [n=2], II [n=3], III [n=2], IV [n=2], and V [n=1]; Manual Ability Classification System levels II [n=5], III [n=4], and V [n=1]) and 10 typically developing participants (four males, six females; mean age 10y 3mo, SD 2y 7mo, range 7–15y). Spasticity and catch angle were evaluated using joint position, resistance torque, and torque rate at velocities of 90°, 180°, and 270° per second, controlled using real‐time audio‐visual feedback. Biomechanically, elbow range of motion (ROM), stiffness, and energy loss were determined during slow movement (30°/s) and under controlled terminal torque.

Results  Compared with typically developing children, children with CP showed higher reflex‐mediated torque (p<0.001) and the torque increased more rapidly with increasing velocity (p<0.001). Catch angle was dependent on velocity and occurred later with increasing velocity (p=0.005). Children with CP showed smaller ROM (p<0.05), greater stiffness (p<0.001), and more energy loss (p=0.003).

Interpretation  Spasticity with velocity dependence may also be position‐dependent. The delayed catch angle at higher velocities indicates that the greater resistance felt by the examiner at higher velocities was also due to position change, because the joint was moved further to a stiffer position at higher velocities.
Noradrenaline activation of neurotrophic pathways protects against neuronal amyloid toxicity
Authors: Counts Scott E. , Mufson Elliott J.
Published: January 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 649–660.

Degeneration of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic forebrain projection neurons is an early feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The physiological consequences of this phenomenon are unclear, but observations correlating LC neuron loss with increased Alzheimer’s disease pathology in LC projection sites suggest that noradrenaline (NA) is neuroprotective. To investigate this hypothesis, we determined that NA protected both hNT human neuronal cultures and rat primary hippocampal neurons from amyloid‐β (Aβ1–42 and Aβ25–35) toxicity. The noradrenergic co‐transmitter galanin was also effective at preventing Aβ‐induced cell death. NA inhibited Aβ25–35‐mediated increases in intracellular reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane depolarization, and caspase activation in hNT neurons. NA exerted its neuroprotective effects in these cells by stimulating canonical β1 and β2 adrenergic receptor signaling pathways involving the activation of cAMP response element binding protein and the induction of endogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Treatment with functional blocking antibodies for either NGF or BDNF blocked NA’s protective actions against Aβ1–42 and Aβ25–35 toxicity in primary hippocampal and hNT neurons, respectively. Taken together, these data suggest that the neuroprotective effects of noradrenergic LC afferents result from stimulating neurotrophic NGF and BDNF autocrine or paracrine loops via β adrenoceptor activation of the cAMP response element binding protein pathway.
TRP channels of intracellular membranes
Authors: Dong Xian‐Ping , Wang Xiang , Xu Haoxing
Published: January 2010

J. Neurochem. (2010) 113, 313–328.

Ion channels are classically understood to regulate the flux of ions across the plasma membrane in response to a variety of environmental and intracellular cues. Ion channels serve a number of functions in intracellular membranes as well. These channels may be temporarily localized to intracellular membranes as a function of their biosynthetic or secretory pathways, i.e., en route to their destination location. Intracellular membrane ion channels may also be located in the endocytic pathways, either being recycled back to the plasma membrane or targeted to the lysosome for degradation. Several channels do participate in intracellular signal transduction; the most well known example is the inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) in the endoplasmic reticulum. Some organellar intracellular membrane channels are required for the ionic homeostasis of their residing organelles. Several newly‐discovered intracellular membrane Ca2+ channels actually play active roles in membrane trafficking. Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins are a superfamily (28 members in mammal) of Ca2+‐permeable channels with diverse tissue distribution, subcellular localization, and physiological functions. Almost all mammalian TRP channels studied thus far, like their ancestor yeast TRP channel (TRPY1) that localizes to the vacuole compartment, are also (in addition to their plasma membrane localization) found to be localized to intracellular membranes. Accumulated evidence suggests that intracellularly‐localized TRP channels actively participate in regulating membrane traffic, signal transduction, and vesicular ion homeostasis. This review aims to provide a summary of these recent works. The discussion will also be extended to the basic membrane and electrical properties of the TRP‐residing compartments.
Bony‐toothed birds (Aves: Pelagornithidae) from the Middle Eocene of Belgium
Authors: MAYR GERALD , SMITH THIERRY
Published: January 2010

Abstract: We describe well‐preserved remains of the Pelagornithidae (bony‐toothed birds) from the middle Eocene of Belgium, including a sternum, pectoral girdle bones and humeri of a single individual. The specimens are tentatively assigned toMacrodontopteryx oweniHarrison and Walker, 1976, which has so far only been known from the holotype skull and a referred proximal ulna. Another species, about two times larger, is represented by an incomplete humerus and tentatively identified asDasornis emuinus(Bowerbank, 1854). The fossils provide critical new data on the osteology of the pectoral girdle of bony‐toothed birds. For the first time, the sternum of one of the smaller species is preserved, and this bone exhibits a more plesiomorphic morphology than the recently described sternum of the giant Miocene taxonPelagornis. The coracoid resembles that of the Diomedeidae (albatrosses) in overall morphology, but because bony‐toothed birds lack apomorphies of the Procellariiformes, the similarities are almost certainly owing to convergence. Bony‐toothed birds were often compared with the ‘Pelecaniformes’ by previous authors, who especially made comparisons with the Sulidae (gannets and boobies). However, the coracoid distinctly differs from that of extant ‘pelecaniform’ birds, and the plesiomorphic presence of a foramen nervi supracoracoidei as well as the absence of a well‐delimited articulation facet for the furcula supports a position outside the Suloidea, the clade to which the Sulidae belong.
Disclosure “Bunching”
Authors: DYE RONALD A.
Published: January 2010

This paper studies managers' preferences among information acquisition and disclosure policies when their firms are required to engage in “real‐time” or “continuous” financial reporting. The paper predicts that for many, but not all, processes describing the distribution of their firms' cash flows, when subject to such reporting requirements, managers will engage in disclosure “bunching,” that is, they will bunch the discretionary component of the information they acquire and disclose into a single point in time rather than spread the acquisition and disclosure of that information over time. We show that managers' preferred bunching period depends on managers' strategy for trading in their firms' shares, managers' risk aversion, the risk premium the capital market attaches to firms' shares, and the size of managers' initial ownership stakes in their firms. We also study and characterize how the equilibrium prices of firms' shares vary over time and also how managers' optimal trading strategies vary with their most preferred “bunching” strategies. Several extensions confirm the robustness of the optimality of disclosure “bunching.”
The Relation Between Voluntary Disclosure and Financial Reporting: Evidence from Synthetic Leases
Authors: ZECHMAN SARAH L. C.
Published: January 2010

I investigate how the use and voluntary disclosure of synthetic leases is affected by incentives to defer cash outflows and manage the financial statements by keeping debt off the balance sheet. I find that managers of cash‐constrained firms with incentives to defer cash payments are more likely to finance asset purchases with synthetic leases. The mandated reporting for synthetic leases allows managers to avoid disclosing the financial consequences of these transactions. Managers of firms with incentives to use off‐balance‐sheet financing do not provide transparent disclosure about their synthetic leases. However, managers of cash‐constrained firms, which are less likely to use synthetic leases for financial reporting reasons, do voluntarily disclose the existence and financial consequences of these contracts. Alternative tests around FIN 46 adoption corroborate these findings.
Stimulation of angiotensin AT2receptors by the non‐peptide agonist, Compound 21, evokes vasodepressor effects in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Bosnyak S , Welungoda IK , Hallberg A , Alterman M , Widdop RE , Jones ES
Published: January 2010

Background and purpose: Angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT2receptor) stimulation evokes vasodilator effectsin vitroandin vivothat oppose the vasoconstrictor effects of angiotensin type 1 receptors (AT1receptors). Recently, a novel non‐peptide AT2receptor agonist, Compound 21, was described, which exhibited high AT2receptor selectivity.

Experimental approach: Functional cardiovascular effects of the drug candidate Compound 21 were assessed, using mouse isolated aorta and rat mesenteric arteriesin vitroand in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

Key results: Compound 21 evoked dose‐dependent vasorelaxations in aortic and mesenteric vessels, abolished by the AT2receptor antagonist, PD123319.In vivo, Compound 21 administered alone, at doses ranging from 50 to 1000 ng·kg−1·min−1over 4 h did not decrease blood pressure in conscious normotensive Wistar‐Kyoto rats or SHR. However, when given in combination with the AT1receptor antagonist, candesartan, Compound 21 (300 ng·kg−1·min−1) lowered blood pressure in SHR only. Further analysis in separate groups of conscious SHR revealed that, at a sixfold lower dose, Compound 21 (50 ng·kg−1·min−1) still evoked a significant depressor response in adult SHR (∼30 mmHg) when combined with different doses of candesartan (0.01 or 0.1 mg·kg−1). Moreover, the Compound 21‐evoked depressor effect was abolished when co‐infused (50 µg·kg−1·min−1for 2 h) with the AT2receptor antagonist PD123319.

Conclusion and implications: Collectively, our results indicate that acute administration of Compound 21 evoked blood pressure reductions via AT2receptor stimulation. Thus Compound 21 can be considered an excellent drug candidate for further study of AT2receptor function in cardiovascular disease.
Oxaliplatin responses in colorectal cancer cells are modulated by CHK2 kinase inhibitors
Authors: Pires IM , Ward TH , Dive C
Published: January 2010

Background and purpose:  Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is activated by DNA damage and can contribute to p53 stabilization, modulating growth arrest and/or apoptosis. We investigated the contribution of CHK2 to oxaliplatin‐mediated toxicity in a colorectal cancer model.

Experimental approach:  We evaluated the ability of CHK2 small molecule inhibitors to potentiate oxaliplatin‐induced toxicity. The role of CHK2 in oxaliplatin‐induced apoptosis was investigated in HCT116 cells that were wild‐type (WT) or KO for CHK2. Small molecule inhibitors of CHK2 were used in combination studies with oxaliplatin in this cell model.

Key results:  In oxaliplatin‐treated CHK2 KO cells, accelerated apoptosis was accompanied by attenuated p53 stabilization and p21WAF‐1 up‐regulation correlating with increased Bax expression, cytochrome c release and elevated caspase activity. The higher levels of apoptosis in CHK2 KO cells were restored to control (WT) levels when CHK2 was re‐introduced. This ‘uncoupling’ of p53 stabilization and Bax up‐regulation in CHK2 KO cells suggested oxaliplatin‐induced apoptosis was due to a p53‐independent response. Combination studies revealed that CHK2 inhibitor II or debromohymenialdisine antagonized the responses to oxaliplatin. This inhibitory effect correlated with decreases in apoptosis, p53 stabilization and DNA inter‐strand cross‐link formation, and was dependent on the presence (but not activity) of CHK2.

Conclusions and implications:  Combinations of CHK2 inhibitors with oxaliplatin should further sensitize cells to oxaliplatin treatment. However, these inhibitors produced an antagonistic effect on the response to oxaliplatin, which was reversed on the re‐introduction of CHK2. These observations may have implications for the use of oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer therapy in combination with therapies targeting CHK2.
Cilostazol is anti‐inflammatory in BV2 microglial cells by inactivating nuclear factor‐kappaB and inhibiting mitogen‐activated protein kinases
Authors: Jung Won‐Kyo , Lee Da‐Young , Park Cheol , Choi Yung Hyun , Choi Inhak , Park Sae‐Gwang , Seo Su‐Kil , Lee Soo‐Woong , Yea Sung Su , Ahn Soon‐Cheol , Lee Chang‐Min , Park Won Sun , Ko Jae‐Hong , Choi Il‐Whan
Published: January 2010

Background and purpose:  Cilostazol is a specific inhibitor of 3′‐5′‐cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) phosphodiesterase, which is widely used to treat ischemic symptoms of peripheral vascular disease. Although cilostazol has been shown to exhibit vasodilator properties as well as antiplatelet and anti‐inflammatory effects, its cellular mechanism in microglia is unknown. In the present study, we assessed the anti‐inflammatory effect of cilostazol on the production of pro‐inflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated murine BV2 microglia.

Experimental approach:  We examined the effects of cilostazol on LPS‐induced nuclear factor‐kappaB (NF‐κB) activation and phosphorylation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs).

Key results:  Cilostazol suppressed production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and the proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin‐1 (IL‐1), tumour necrosis factor‐α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1), in a concentration‐dependent manner. Inhibitory effects of cilostazol were not affected by treatment with an adenylate cyclase inhibitor, SQ 22536, indicating that these actions of cilostazol were cAMP‐independent. Cilostazol significantly inhibited the DNA binding and transcriptional activity of NF‐κB. Moreover, cilostazol blocked signalling upstream of NF‐κB activation by inhibiting extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK), but without affecting the activity of p38 MAPK.

Conclusion and implications:  Our results demonstrate that suppression of the NF‐κB, ERK, JNK signalling pathways may inhibit LPS‐induced NO and PGE2 production. Therefore, cilostazol may have therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases by inhibiting pro‐inflammatory mediators and cytokine production in activated microglia.
Upper Cervical Facet Joint and Spinal Rami Blocks for the Treatment of Cervicogenic Headache
Authors: Zhou Linqiu , Hud‐Shakoor Zarinah , Hennessey Christopher , Ashkenazi Avi
Published: January 2010

(Headache 2010;50:657‐663)

Objective.— To evaluate the efficacy of upper cervical facet joint injections and spinal rami blocks in the treatment of cervicogenic headache.

Background.— Cervicogenic headache has been recognized as a common and often disabling disorder. The treatment of this headache type remains challenging.

Methods.— We conducted a retrospective chart review of 31 patients with refractory cervicogenic headache who underwent fluoroscopically guided C1/2, C2/3 facet joint injections and C2, C3 spinal rami blocks using a mixture of 0.25% bupivacaine and 3 mg betamehtasone. The outcome measures were the change in headache severity, assessed using an 11‐point numerical pain scale, after treatment, and the duration of head pain relief.

Results.— Twenty‐eight (90.3%) patients experienced >50% headache relief after treatment, with an average duration of 21.7 (1‐90) days. Mean (±SD) head pain intensity decreased from 7.5 ± 1.3 before treatment to 2.7 ± 1.9 immediately after it (P < .0001). The procedures were well tolerated.

Conclusions.— C1/2, C2/3 facet joint injections and C2, C3 spinal rami blocks were effective and well tolerated for the treatment of cervicogenic headache in this study. The procedures provided significant and prolonged pain relief in the majority of patients. Larger controlled studies are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of this treatment modality in cervicogenic headache.
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Biobehavioral Reactivity to Pain in Newborns
Authors: Oberlander Tim F. , Jacobson Sandra W. , Weinberg Joanne , Grunau Ruth E. , Molteno Christopher D. , Jacobson Joseph L.
Published: January 2010

Objectives:  To examine biobehavioral responses to an acute pain event in a Cape Town, South Africa, cohort consisting of 28 Cape Colored (mixed ancestry) newborns (n = 14) heavily exposed to alcohol during pregnancy (exposed), and born to abstainers (n = 14) or light (≤0.5 oz absolute alcohol/d) drinkers (controls).

Methods:  Mothers were recruited during the third trimester of pregnancy. Newborn data were collected on postpartum day 3 in the maternity obstetrical unit where the infant had been delivered. Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure was defined as maternal consumption of at least 14 drinks/wk or at least 1 incident of binge drinking/mo. Acute stress‐related biobehavioral markers [salivary cortisol, heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), spectral measures of heart rate variability (HRV), and videotaped facial actions] were collected thrice during a heel lance blood collection (baseline, lance, and recovery). After a feeding and nap, newborns were administered an abbreviated Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale.

Results:  There were no between‐group differences in maternal age, marital status, parity, gravidity, depression, anxiety, pregnancy smoking, maternal education, or infant gestational age at birth (all ps > 0.15). In both groups, HR increased with the heel lance and decreased during the postlance period. The alcohol‐exposed group had lower mean HR than controls throughout, and showed no change in RSA over time. Cortisol levels showed no change over time in controls but decreased over time in exposed infants. Although facial action analyses revealed no group differences in response to the heel lance, behavioral responses assessed on the Brazelton Neonatal Scale showed less arousal in the exposed group.

Conclusions:  Both cardiac autonomic and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress reactivity measures suggest a blunted response to an acute noxious event in alcohol‐exposed newborns. This is supported by results on the Brazelton Neonatal Scale indicating reduced behavioral arousal in the exposed group. To our knowledge, these data provide the first biobehavioral examination of early pain reactivity in alcohol‐exposed newborns and have important implications for understanding neuro‐/biobehavioral effects of prenatal alcohol exposure in the newborn period.
Physiological Redundancy in Older Adults in Relation to the Change with Age in the Slope of a Frailty Index
Authors: Rockwood Kenneth , Rockwood Michael R. H. , Mitnitski Arnold
Published: January 2010

OBJECTIVES: To test the proposition, using routinely available clinical data, that deficit accumulation results in loss of redundancy. In keeping with the reliability theory of aging, this would be quantitated by attenuation in the slope of a Frailty Index (FI) with age. The more deficits, the less steep the slope and the less redundancy.

DESIGN: Cross‐sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study, with 5‐year mortality data.

SETTING: The clinical sample of the second wave of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging.

PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand three hundred five people aged 70 and older at baseline.

MEASUREMENTS: A FI based on data used for a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), the slope of the relationship between age and the FI‐CGA, the limit value of the FI‐CGA, mortality.

RESULTS: An age‐invariant limit to deficit accumulation was demonstrated; the observed 99% limit was 0.66. At the 25th percentile of deficit accumulation (FI‐CGA ∼0.18), the slope of the FI‐CGA in relation to age was 0.044 (range 0.038–0.049). When deficits had increased to 75% of the maximum value (FI‐CGA ∼0.52), the slope fell to 0.021 (range 0.016–0.027). By the 85th percentile (FI‐CGA ∼0.6), the slope had become statistically indistinguishable from 0.

CONCLUSION: As predicted by the reliability theory of aging, the rate of deficit accumulation slows with increasing frailty. A FI derived from data routinely collected as part of a CGA can in this way quantify loss of redundancy in older adults. Quantifying loss of redundancy can aid clinical decision‐making; its application to individual prognostication in clinical samples warrants further evaluation.
How Insurance Brokers Create Value—A Functional Approach
Authors: Maas Peter
Published: January 2010

Abstract

Fundamental changes in the market make it necessary for insurance intermediaries to continuously redefine their roles. This study concentrates on a customer perspective of the future role of insurance brokers, using the theoretical foundations of the customer value approach. Findings from 20 in‐depth interviews with leading managers of various types of multinational companies are supplemented with the results from interviews conducted with representatives of intermediaries and insurers. From this study it can be concluded that, depending on the customer's individual situation, brokers will assume one of four functions, the choice of which will be highly dependent on the degree of innovation and individualization desired. The investigation shows that although traditional transaction‐oriented services will continue to be important, there will be a shift toward tailor‐made solutions with an emphasis on consulting services, a situation that will require brokers to acquire new skills so as to be able to meet customer needs.