bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring Financial Contagion Using Time‐Aligned Data: The Importance of the Speed of Transmission of Shocks*
Authors: Kleimeier Stefanie , Lehnert Thorsten , Verschoor Willem F. C.
Published: July 2008

This paper presents a new empirical approach to address the problem of trading time differences between markets in studies of financial contagion. In contrast to end‐of‐business‐day data common to most contagion studies, we employ price observations, which are exactly aligned in time to correct for time‐zone and end‐of‐business‐day differences between markets. Additionally, we allow for time lags between price observations in order to test the assumption that the shock is not immediately transmitted from one market to the other. Our analysis of the financial turmoil surrounding the Asian crisis reveals that such corrections have an important bearing on the evidence for contagion, independent of the methodology employed. Using a correlation‐based test, we find more contagion the faster we assume the shock to be transmitted.
Occludin oligomeric assembly at tight junctions of the blood‐brain barrier is disrupted by peripheral inflammatory hyperalgesia
Authors: McCaffrey Gwen , Seelbach Melissa J. , Staatz William D. , Nametz Nicole , Quigley Carolyn , Campos Chris R. , Brooks Tracy A. , Davis Thomas P.
Published: July 2008

Tight junctions (TJs) at the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) dynamically alter paracellular diffusion of blood‐borne substances from the peripheral circulation to the CNS in response to external stressors, such as pain, inflammation, and hypoxia. In this study, we investigated the effect of λ‐carrageenan‐induced peripheral inflammatory pain (i.e., hyperalgesia) on the oligomeric assembly of the key TJ transmembrane protein, occludin. Oligomerization of integral membrane proteins is a critical step in TJ complex assembly that enables the generation of tightly packed, large multiprotein complexes capable of physically obliterating the interendothelial space to inhibit paracellular diffusion. Intact microvessels isolated from rat brains were fractionated by detergent‐free density gradient centrifugation, and gradient fractions were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis/ Western blot. Injection of λ‐carrageenan into the rat hind paw produced after 3 h a marked change in the relative amounts of oligomeric, dimeric, and monomeric occludin isoforms associated with different plasma membrane lipid raft domains and intracellular compartments in endothelial cells at the BBB. Our findings suggest that increased BBB permeability (i.e., leak) associated with λ‐carrageenan‐induced peripheral inflammatory pain is promoted by the disruption of disulfide‐bonded occludin oligomeric assemblies, which renders them incapable of forming an impermeant physical barrier to paracellular transport.
The work of the devil? Theatre, the supernatural, and Montaigne's public stage
Authors: Butterworth Emily
Published: July 2008

This article takes as its starting point the story of the hoax ghost that Montaigne tells in Chapter 11 of Book 3 of the Essais, ‘Des boyteux’. Montaigne employs a consistent vocabulary of the theatre in describing this hoax as a ‘farce’ and a ‘battelage’. The article explores the sixteenth‐century contexts this intersection between demonology and theatricality throws into relief: the traditional suspicion of the theatre as diabolical, the efforts of demonologists to quantify and explain juggling tricks, and the impact a whiff of the theatre had on both witch‐finders’ certainty and sceptics’ critiques. Montaigne's chapter is also a meditation on political action, and accordingly the article examines how the theatrical model that appears through the story of the hoax ghost offers a different way of thinking and acting in a France polarized by the religious wars.
Higher Order Expectations in Asset Pricing
Authors: BACCHETTA PHILIPPE , VAN WINCOOP ERIC
Published: July 2008

We examine formally Keynes' idea that higher order beliefs can drive a wedge between an asset price and its fundamental value based on expected future payoffs. We call this the higher order wedge, which depends on the difference between higher and first order expectations of future payoffs. We analyze the determinants of this wedge and its impact on the equilibrium price in the context of a dynamic noisy rational expectations model. We show that the wedge reduces asset price volatility and disconnects the price from the present value of future payoffs. The impact of the higher order wedge on the equilibrium price can be quantitatively large.
A General Theory (and Some Evidence) of Expectation Traps in Monetary Policy
Authors: ARMENTER ROC
Published: July 2008

I show that multiple equilibria are a general property of economies under full monetary policy discretion. Three simple conditions are sufficient to rule out, generically, a unique equilibrium in a static economy. The key departure from Barro and Gordon (1983) is to consider bounded welfare costs of inflation. I also show that in a two Markov equilibrium economy the inflation response to certain perturbations is, generically, qualitatively different in each equilibrium. Finally, I discuss some evidence on inflation dynamics that supports the hypothesis that U.S. monetary policy was caught in an expectation trap during the high inflation episode of the 1970s.
The Competitive Dynamics of Geographic Deregulation in Banking: Implications for Productive Efficiency
Authors: EVANOFF DOUGLAS D. , ORS EVREN
Published: July 2008

Deregulation of geographic restrictions in banking over the past 20 years has intensified both potential and actual competition in the industry. The accumulating empirical evidence suggests that potential efficiency gains associated with consolidating banks are often not realized. We evaluate the impact of this increased competition on the productive efficiency of non‐merging banks confronted with new entry in their local markets and find that the incumbent banks respond by improving cost efficiency. Thus, studies evaluating the impact of bank mergers on the efficiency of the combining parties alone may be overlooking the most significant welfare‐enhancing aspect of merger activity.
Household Debt and Income Inequality, 1963–2003
Authors: IACOVIELLO MATTEO
Published: July 2008

I construct an economy with heterogeneous agents that mimics the time‐series behavior of the earnings distribution in the United States from 1963 to 2003. Agents face aggregate and idiosyncratic shocks and accumulate real and financial assets. I estimate the shocks that drive the model using data on income inequality, aggregate income, and measures of financial liberalization. I show how the model economy can replicate two empirical facts: the trend and cyclical behavior of household debt and the diverging patterns in consumption and wealth inequality over time. While business cycle fluctuations can account for the short‐run changes in household debt, its prolonged rise of the 1980s and the 1990s can be quantitatively explained only by the concurrent increase in income inequality.
Equilibrium Indeterminacy and Asset Price Fluctuation in Japan: A Bayesian Investigation
Authors: HIROSE YASUO
Published: July 2008

This paper investigates sources of asset price fluctuation in Japan using an estimated financial accelerator model. For explicit treatment of expectational beliefs characterized by sunspots, the model is analyzed over the parameter space where the equilibrium can be indeterminate. We show that indeterminacy arises if the financial accelerator effect is sufficiently large. According to our Bayesian estimation results, Japan's economy was affected by sunspot shocks; however, the contribution of the sunspots to asset price volatility was low. Rather, net worth and cost shocks drove the asset price fluctuation. We find, however, that the sunspots substantially affected capital investment.
The Dynamic (In)Efficiency of Monetary Policy by Committee
Authors: RIBONI ALESSANDRO , RUGE‐MURCIA FRANCISCO J.
Published: July 2008

This paper develops a model where the value of the monetary policy instrument is selected by a heterogenous committee engaged in a dynamic voting game. Committee members differ in their institutional power, and in certain states of nature, they also differ in their preferred instrument value. Preference heterogeneity and concern for the future interact to generate decisions that are dynamically inefficient and inertial around the previously agreed instrument value. This model endogenously generates autocorrelation in the policy variable and helps explain the empirical observation that the distribution of actual interest rate changes has a mode of zero.
On the Intertemporal Elasticity of Substitution under Nonhomothetic Utility
Authors: OKUBO MASAKATSU
Published: July 2008

In this note, we use a model with nonseparable and nonhomothetic preferences to estimate the intertemporal elasticity of substitution (IES). We show that, while the homothetic utility model may induce a bias that increases the elasticity of substitution between nondurables and durables, the estimated IES remains positive and significant.
Sticky Prices and Indeterminacy
Authors: WEDER MARK
Published: July 2008

The aim of this paper is to analyze the link between price rigidity and indeterminacy. This is done within a cash‐in‐advance economy that is known to exhibit indeterminacy at high degrees of relative risk aversion. My findings show that price stickiness reduces the scope of these sunspot equilibria: to be compatible with indeterminacy, sluggish price adjustment requires degrees of relative risk aversion that prove too high to square with data.
Sigma Convergence versus Beta Convergence: Evidence from U.S. County‐Level Data
Authors: YOUNG ANDREW T. , HIGGINS MATTHEW J. , LEVY DANIEL
Published: July 2008

In this paper, we outline (i) why σ‐convergence may not accompany β‐convergence, (ii) discuss evidence of β‐convergence in the United States, and (iii) use U.S. county‐level data containing over 3,000 cross‐sectional observations to demonstrate that σ‐convergence cannot be detected at the county level across the United States, or within the large majority of the individual U.S. states considered separately. Indeed, in many cases statistically significant σ‐divergence is found.
Monetary–Fiscal Policy Interactions under Implementable Monetary Policy Rules
Authors: BRANCH WILLIAM A. , DAVIG TROY , McGOUGH BRUCE
Published: July 2008

This paper examines the implications of forward‐ and backward‐looking monetary policy rules in an environment with monetary–fiscal interactions. We find that the unique stationary rational expectations equilibrium (REE) is always non‐Ricardian under simple implementable monetary policy rules.
“Cola‐Game”: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Inventory Management in a Supply Chain
Authors: Dhumal Parag , Sundararaghavan P. S. , Nandkeolyar Udayan
Published: July 2008

In this article we present a game that can be used as a tool to educate students and managers on the issues in supply chain (SC), inventory management. The game has a bilevel demand with one level during regular times and another during sale times. The game could be played in two modes (independence and cooperation) and has been field tested in engineering and business classes. Players developed an appreciation for fluctuating demand and its impact on the costs and performance of a SC. They also learned the benefits and a monetary evaluation approach for cooperation. Our statistical analysis revealed that, as the game progressed, the performance of the teams improved. We present an integer linear programming (ILP) model to evaluate the performance of the teams. Because it is a post facto analysis, while the game is played without knowing the materialized retailer demand for the period, the ILP solution is not a tight lower bound on the total cost of the SC. However, it could be used to compare performance across teams. As an alternative, we also present a possible distribution of total SC costs that could be used as another reference without actually solving an ILP.
Investigating Academic Success Factors for Undergraduate Business Students
Authors: Kaighobadi Mehdi , Allen Marcus T.
Published: July 2008

Student academic performance is of major interest to all stakeholders of higher education institutions. This study questions whether or not statistical analysis of information that is readily available in most universities' official records system can be used to predict overall academic success. In particular, this study is an attempt to understand factors that affect academic success for business students by examining gender, age, ethnicity, and performance in two required core knowledge courses as predictors of academic success for a large sample of undergraduate students at a Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited business school. The results suggest that student performance is significantly related to some basic demographic variables, but the strongest predictors of overall academic success are the grades the students receive in core knowledge courses that are typically taken in the earlier semesters of business students' plans of study.
Presidential Address: The Cost of Active Investing
Authors: FRENCH KENNETH R.
Published: July 2008

I compare the fees, expenses, and trading costs society pays to invest in the U.S. stock market with an estimate of what would be paid if everyone invested passively. Averaging over 1980–2006, I find investors spend 0.67% of the aggregate value of the market each year searching for superior returns. Society's capitalized cost of price discovery is at least 10% of the current market cap. Under reasonable assumptions, the typical investor would increase his average annual return by 67 basis points over the 1980–2006 period if he switched to a passive market portfolio.
Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure
Authors: LEMMON MICHAEL L. , ROBERTS MICHAEL R. , ZENDER JAIME F.
Published: July 2008

We find that the majority of variation in leverage ratios is driven by an unobserved time‐invariant effect that generates surprisingly stable capital structures: High (low) levered firms tend to remain as such for over two decades. This feature of leverage is largely unexplained by previously identified determinants, is robust to firm exit, and is present prior to the IPO, suggesting that variation in capital structures is primarily determined by factors that remain stable for long periods of time. We then show that these results have important implications for empirical analysis attempting to understand capital structure heterogeneity.
Asset Growth and the Cross‐Section of Stock Returns
Authors: COOPER MICHAEL J. , GULEN HUSEYIN , SCHILL MICHAEL J.
Published: July 2008

We test for firm‐level asset investment effects in returns by examining the cross‐sectional relation between firm asset growth and subsequent stock returns. Asset growth rates are strong predictors of future abnormal returns. Asset growth retains its forecasting ability even on large capitalization stocks. When we compare asset growth rates with the previously documented determinants of the cross‐section of returns (i.e., book‐to‐market ratios, firm capitalization, lagged returns, accruals, and other growth measures), we find that a firm's annual asset growth rate emerges as an economically and statistically significant predictor of the cross‐section of U.S. stock returns.
Dissecting Anomalies
Authors: FAMA EUGENE F. , FRENCH KENNETH R.
Published: July 2008

The anomalous returns associated with net stock issues, accruals, and momentum are pervasive; they show up in all size groups (micro, small, and big) in cross‐section regressions, and they are also strong in sorts, at least in the extremes. The asset growth and profitability anomalies are less robust. There is an asset growth anomaly in average returns on microcaps and small stocks, but it is absent for big stocks. Among profitable firms, higher profitability tends to be associated with abnormally high returns, but there is little evidence that unprofitable firms have unusually low returns.
Corporate Governance and Risk‐Taking
Authors: JOHN KOSE , LITOV LUBOMIR , YEUNG BERNARD
Published: July 2008

Better investor protection could lead corporations to undertake riskier but value‐enhancing investments. For example, better investor protection mitigates the taking of private benefits leading to excess risk‐avoidance. Further, in better investor protection environments, stakeholders like creditors, labor groups, and the government are less effective in reducing corporate risk‐taking for their self‐interest. However, arguments can also be made for a negative relationship between investor protection and risk‐taking. Using a cross‐country panel and a U.S.‐only sample, we find that corporate risk‐taking and firm growth rates are positively related to the quality of investor protection.
Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance
Authors: BRAV ALON , JIANG WEI , PARTNOY FRANK , THOMAS RANDALL
Published: July 2008

Using a large hand‐collected data set from 2001 to 2006, we find that activist hedge funds in the United States propose strategic, operational, and financial remedies and attain success or partial success in two‐thirds of the cases. Hedge funds seldom seek control and in most cases are nonconfrontational. The abnormal return around the announcement of activism is approximately 7%, with no reversal during the subsequent year. Target firms experience increases in payout, operating performance, and higher CEO turnover after activism. Our analysis provides important new evidence on the mechanisms and effects of informed shareholder monitoring.
Hedge Funds: Performance, Risk, and Capital Formation
Authors: FUNG WILLIAM , HSIEH DAVID A. , NAIK NARAYAN Y. , RAMADORAI TARUN
Published: July 2008

We use a comprehensive data set of funds‐of‐funds to investigate performance, risk, and capital formation in the hedge fund industry from 1995 to 2004. While the average fund‐of‐funds delivers alpha only in the period between October 1998 and March 2000, a subset of funds‐of‐funds consistently delivers alpha. The alpha‐producing funds are not as likely to liquidate as those that do not deliver alpha, and experience far greater and steadier capital inflows than their less fortunate counterparts. These capital inflows attenuate the ability of the alpha producers to continue to deliver alpha in the future.
The Selection and Termination of Investment Management Firms by Plan Sponsors
Authors: GOYAL AMIT , WAHAL SUNIL
Published: July 2008

We examine the selection and termination of investment management firms by 3,400 plan sponsors between 1994 and 2003. Plan sponsors hire investment managers after large positive excess returns but this return‐chasing behavior does not deliver positive excess returns thereafter. Investment managers are terminated for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to underperformance. Excess returns after terminations are typically indistinguishable from zero but in some cases positive. In a sample of round‐trip firing and hiring decisions, we find that if plan sponsors had stayed with fired investment managers, their excess returns would be no different from those delivered by newly hired managers. We uncover significant variation in pre‐ and post‐hiring and firing returns that is related to plan sponsor characteristics.
Optimal Decentralized Investment Management
Authors: Van BINSBERGEN JULES H. , BRANDT MICHAEL W. , KOIJEN RALPH S. J.
Published: July 2008

We study an institutional investment problem in which a centralized decision maker, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), for example, employs multiple asset managers to implement investment strategies in separate asset classes. The CIO allocates capital to the managers who, in turn, allocate these funds to the assets in their asset class. This two‐step investment process causes several misalignments of objectives between the CIO and his managers and can lead to large utility costs for the CIO. We focus on (1) loss of diversification, (2) unobservable managerial appetite for risk, and (3) different investment horizons. We derive an optimal unconditional linear performance benchmark and show that this benchmark can be used to better align incentives within the firm. We find that the CIO's uncertainty about the managers' risk appetites increases both the costs of decentralized investment management and the value of an optimally designed benchmark.
International Cross‐Listing, Firm Performance, and Top Management Turnover: A Test of the Bonding Hypothesis
Authors: LEL UGUR , MILLER DARIUS P.
Published: July 2008

We examine a primary outcome of corporate governance, namely, the ability to identify and terminate poorly performing CEOs, to test the effectiveness of U.S. investor protections in improving the corporate governance of cross‐listed firms. We find that firms from weak investor protection regimes that are cross‐listed on a major U.S. Exchange are more likely to terminate poorly performing CEOs than non‐cross‐listed firms. Cross‐listings on exchanges that do not require the adoption of stringent investor protections (OTC, private placements, and London listings) are not associated with a higher propensity to remove poorly performing CEOs.
Feedback Effects and Asset Prices
Authors: OZDENOREN EMRE , YUAN KATHY
Published: July 2008

Feedback effects from asset prices to firm cash flows have been empirically documented. This finding raises a question for asset pricing: How are asset prices determined if price affects fundamental value, which in turn affects price? In this environment, by buying assets that others are buying, investors ensure high future cash flows for the firm and subsequent high returns for themselves. Hence, investors have an incentive to coordinate, which may generate self‐fulfilling beliefs and multiple equilibria. Using insights from global games, we pin down investors' beliefs, analyze equilibrium prices, and show that strong feedback leads to higher excess volatility.
Economic Links and Predictable Returns
Authors: COHEN LAUREN , FRAZZINI ANDREA
Published: July 2008

This paper finds evidence of return predictability across economically linked firms. We test the hypothesis that in the presence of investors subject to attention constraints, stock prices do not promptly incorporate news about economically related firms, generating return predictability across assets. Using a data set of firms' principal customers to identify a set of economically related firms, we show that stock prices do not incorporate news involving related firms, generating predictable subsequent price moves. A long–short equity strategy based on this effect yields monthly alphas of over 150 basis points.
Market Liquidity, Investor Participation, and Managerial Autonomy: Why Do Firms Go Private?
Authors: BOOT ARNOUD W. A. , GOPALAN RADHAKRISHNAN , THAKOR ANJAN V.
Published: July 2008

We focus on public‐market investor participation to analyze the firm's decision to stay public or go private. The liquidity of public ownership is both a blessing and a curse: It lowers the cost of capital, but also introduces volatility in a firm's shareholder base, exposing management to uncertainty regarding shareholder intervention in management decisions, thereby affecting the manager's perceived decision‐making autonomy and curtailing managerial inputs. We extract predictions about how investor participation affects stock price level and volatility and the public firm's incentives to go private, providing a link between investor participation and firm participation in public markets.
Testing Competing Explanations of Black Opinions on Affirmative Action
Authors: Mangum Maruice
Published: July 2008

Using the 1996 National Black Election Study, I estimate black opinions of affirmative action by developing models that capture the effects of self‐interest, group consciousness, reference groups, and social justice. The method I used is ordered logit. An examination of the data show that, unlike many studies that examine the effects of self‐interest on public opinion, I find that self‐interest matters. I also find that black individuals also support affirmative action from a sense of group consciousness. The results also suggest that some support affirmative action consistent with the reference group theory and the pursuit of social justice.
Treatment or Placebo: Are State Programs Decreasing the Proportion of Uninsured?
Authors: Bernick Ethan M. , Myers Nathan
Published: July 2008

Currently there are over 45 million Americans without health insurance. Recent growth in Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollment of children has filled in the sizable gap created by decreased employer‐sponsored insurance since 2000. While the share of children who are uninsured actually decreased between 2000 and 2003, little progress was made in expanding public insurance to adults. As a result, advocates and policymakers at the federal and state level are searching for approaches to deal with the growing number of the uninsured. Conservatives advocate encouraging individuals to buy private insurance while liberals advocate the provision of health coverage through publicly financed health care. Using a 50‐state multilevel individual growth model, this study estimates the net effect of two state approaches in terms of reducing the uninsured: tax incentives (the conservative approach) and direct‐coverage programs (the liberal approach). The results suggest that these approaches have not achieved the results that many advocates had suggested. In the case of tax incentives, the results suggest that states with tax incentives experience increases in the rate of the uninsured. In the case of direct‐coverage programs, results suggest that states receive no relief in the number of uninsured individuals. Finally, the analysis suggests that the efforts originating at the federal level are most successful. These programs are a continuation of the incremental approach policymakers in America have taken to address the problem of the uninsured, rather than taking steps toward a truly comprehensive solution.
U.S. and Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Sung Deuk Hahm , Uk Heo
Published: July 2008

East Asia has led the world in economic growth and export expansion in recent decades. The phenomenal rate of economic growth among the so‐called “four little tigers”—Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—enabled them to achieve newly industrializing country (NIC) status in the 1980s, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Earlier studies explained the development from the government‐led development paradigm, or the so‐called the statist approach. Scholars also argue that foreign direct investment (FDI) played an important role in the economic development, thanks to technology transfers. Kojima and Ozawa and later Kohama, however, argue that Japanese FDI help East Asian economies while U.S. FDI do not because Japanese technology transfer practices are appropriate for East Asian countries but not the United States'. Thus, we revisit the issue of East Asian economic development and test the economic effects of FDI from the United States and Japan. Using a Barro‐type growth model, we test the effects of FDI from the United States and Japan on economic growth in East Asian NICs. We find that FDI from both the United States and Japan helped economic growth in the “four little tigers,” but not in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
A Portrait of Hunger, the Social Safety Net, and the Working Poor
Authors: Berner Maureen , Ozer Trina , Paynter Sharon
Published: July 2008

In a study at the largest northeastern Iowa food pantry between 2004 and 2006, we found that neither working nor accessing government benefits has a meaningful impact on lessening the odds that a person will need long‐term food assistance. In other words, the working poor are at greater risk for making recurrent visits to the food pantry than those who do not work. Pantry clients who work are more likely to have sacrificed food to pay for other life necessities. Moreover, government benefits do not seem to provide an adequate food safety net. As a result, nonprofits are experiencing increased pressure to fill the gap. If we wish to maintain the government responsibility to alleviate hunger in our country, benefits for eligible citizens must be increased or food assistance nonprofits need more government support. Otherwise we should face the fact that as an undeclared public policy, our society tolerates hunger.
Legitimacy and Public Policy: Seeing Beyond Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Performance
Authors: Wallner Jennifer
Published: July 2008

Studies of failure typically assess public policies through the lenses of effectiveness, efficiency, and performance. Here I wish to propose a further dimension to the evaluation and assessment of policy failure—legitimacy. The substantive elements of public policies and the procedural steps taken by authoritative decision makers during the policy cycle affect the perception of policy legitimacy held by both stakeholders and the public. In substantive terms, policy content should align with the dominant attitudes of the affected policy community and, ideally, the broader public. Procedurally, factors such as policy incubation, the emotive appeals deployed to gain support for an initiative, and the processes of stakeholder engagement shape the legitimacy of public policies and the governments who promote them.

This argument is based on a comparison of education reform in two Canadian provinces during the 1990s. Governments in Alberta and Ontario pursued common agendas of education reform, but while Alberta achieved success, the Ontario government experienced a series of setbacks and lost the support of education stakeholders and the public. The root of Ontario's failures lies in the realm of legitimacy. These findings highlight the fact that the strategies used for enacting policy change may fail to bring about the necessary consensus among societal actors to sustain a new policy direction and calls attention to our need to better understand how governments can achieve meaningful public participation while still achieving legislative success in an efficient fashion.
A Note on the Use and Misuse of the Racial Diversity Index
Authors: Rushton Michael
Published: July 2008

This note concerns the use of the Blau index of racial and ethnic diversity in the social sciences and in policy analysis. The diversity index, by design, captures the heterogeneity of the population group being studied, typically according to the racial and ethnic categories of the U.S. Census but does not account for the relative size of specific racial groups. Thus, with the most commonly used diversity index, the implicit assumption is that for the purposes of the analysis a population that is 80 percent white and 20 percent Asian is identical to a population that is 80 percent black and 20 percent Hispanic. Examples are given from studies of voting behavior, organizational performance, and the provision of public goods and services to show that the diversity index is often used in ways that are inappropriate given the context of the study.
Conservative Protestantism and Paternal Engagement in Fragile Families1
Authors: Wildeman Christopher
Published: July 2008

Research consistently shows that married conservative Protestant fathers are more engaged with their children than otherwise comparable married fathers. Unfortunately, no research examines the relationship between conservative Protestantism and paternal engagement among unmarried men. Likewise, no research considers whether married and unmarried conservative Protestant fathers’ levels of paternal engagement differ more than they do for other married and unmarried fathers. This article considers these research questions using data from three waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study—a longitudinal study of mostly unmarried parents residing in urban areas with populations in excess of 200,000. Results demonstrate that conservative Protestantism is negatively associated with paternal engagement among unmarried fathers and that married and unmarried fathers’ levels of engagement with their children do not differ more than other married and unmarried fathers’ levels of engagement with their children. The finding that conservative Protestantism depresses paternal engagement among urban, unmarried fathers is especially important since it shows that affiliation with a conservative religious denomination may further disadvantage children already at elevated risk of having less engaged fathers.
The Making of the Modern Vice Presidency: A Personal Reflection
Authors: MOE RICHARD
Published: July 2008

Thirty‐two years ago, Walter Mondale was elected vice president of the United States. His actions in the first months after the election profoundly recast that office. Richard Moe, then Mondale's chief of staff, provides an inside perspective on this transformation. The article first appeared in Minnesota History in the fall of 2006.
Vice Presidents and Other Heirs Apparent: The Historical Experience of Experience
Authors: JONES CHARLES O.
Published: July 2008

The 2008 presidential campaign is said to be an open contest, one lacking an incumbent seeking reelection or an heir apparent. It is true that neither a vice president nor a cabinet official with a presidential endorsement is running. But Hillary Clinton has validated her candidacy on the basis of her experience as first lady, a claim endorsed by her husband, a former president. This special form of heir apparentness raises questions about the historical experience of White House experience. The record shows that heirs apparent running as inheritors (vice presidents), endorsees (cabinet secretaries), or self‐declarers (mostly claimants some years hence from their service) have a mixed record of getting nominated, elected, or reelected. Further, the winners have average to below‐average presidential service as rated by presidential scholars. Of the top‐ranked presidents in two recent surveys, just one, Thomas Jefferson, had previous White House experience. The article speculates as to why this should be so.
Theodore Roosevelt's Diplomacy and the Quest for Great Power Equilibrium in Asia
Authors: RUSSELL GREG
Published: July 2008

This article examines how balance of power considerations shaped Theodore Roosevelt's role as a mediator in the 1904‐5 war between Russia and Japan. Attention is devoted to his use of personal diplomacy as well as to the political and foreign policy rationales behind his overtures to Japanese and Russian leaders. To what extent did Roosevelt justify his actions as consistent with American interests and American values? If American national interests were not immediately threatened in East Asia, then what kind of concerns prompted him to intervene in the affairs of other states? Was the quest for equilibrium simply an expedient tactic by which to further the offensive power, both military and political, of the United States? Moral principles in politics and diplomacy, Roosevelt claimed, help make clear the inescapable tension between ideals and reality. The moral problem persists, he thought, because diplomacy involves choices often obscured by faulty perception, controlled by national interests, and complicated by multiple purposes and goals. I provide a brief overview of Roosevelt as strategic thinker and then moves on to take up his personal style of diplomacy.
Did Reagan Make Gorbachev Possible?
Authors: WILSON JAMES GRAHAM
Published: July 2008

This article examines how Soviet leaders responded to Ronald Reagan during his first presidential administration. It contests the notion that Reagan's tough rhetoric and arms buildup from 1981 to 1984 made Gorbachev possible. It draws on fresh evidence to argue that Reagan's words and deeds had precisely the opposite effect—they emboldened hard‐liners within the Kremlin and ultimately postponed “new thinking.”
Effect of D256N and Y483D on Propofol Glucuronidation by Human Uridine 5′‐diphosphate Glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A9)
Authors: Takahashi Hiroko , Maruo Yoshihiro , Mori Asami , Iwai Masaru , Sato Hiroshi , Takeuchi Yoshihiro
Published: July 2008

Abstract: Uridine 5′‐diphosphate glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are part of a major elimination pathway for endobiotics and xenobiotics. UGT1A9 is a UGT that catalyses the conjugation of endogenous oestrogenic and thyroid hormones, acetaminophen, SN‐38 (an active metabolite of irinotecan) and phenols. UGT1A9 is the only isoform that catalyses the glucuronidation of propofol (2,6‐diisopropylphenol) in the liver. In the present study, we analysed polymorphisms of UGT1A9 in 100 healthy adult Japanese volunteers. A transversion of 766G > A resulting in the amino acid substitution of D256N was detected in exon 1. The allele frequency of D256N is 0.005. We investigated the effects of D256N and Y483D, which is located on the common exon ofUGT1, on propofol glucuronidation by anin vitroexpression study. TheKmof wild‐type, D256N and Y483D for propofol glucuronidation were 111.2, 43.6 and 64.5 µM, respectively. TheVmaxof D256N and Y483D were 8.1% and 28.8%, and the efficiencies (Vmax/Km) were 19.1% and 57.1% of the wild‐type, respectively. For mycophenolic acid, 1‐naphthol and naringenin, the D256N variant lowered glucuronidation activity considerably, compared to Y483D. TheVmaxvalue of D256N variant for mycophenolic acid was only 9.5% of the wild‐type. This study shows the importance of D256N in differences between individuals concerning adverse effects of drugs that are catalysed primarily by UGT1A9. Carriers of D256N may be at risk of suffering adverse effects of propofol and other substrates that are primarily metabolized by UGT1A9.
The Influence of Acetylcholinesterase Reactivators on Selected Hepatic Functions in Rats
Authors: Pejchal Jaroslav , Osterreicher Jan , Kuca Kamil , Jun Daniel , Bajgar Jiri , Kassa Jiri
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of acetylcholinesterase reactivators – K027 [1‐(4‐carbamoyl pyridinium)‐3‐(4‐hydroxyiminomethyl pyridinium) propane dibromide], HI‐6 [1‐(4‐carbamoylpyridinium)‐3‐(2‐hydroxyimino methylpyridinium) oxapropane dichloride] and obidoxime [1,3‐bis(4‐hydroxyiminomethyl pyridinium)oxapropane dichloride] on hepatic functions in vivo. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided to seven groups and intramuscularly administered with saline and acetylcholinesterase reactivators (K027, HI‐6 and obidoxime) at doses of 5% LD50 and 50% LD50. Liver tissue samples were taken 24 hr after administration. Histochemical detection of lipid droplets and immunohistochemical detection of multidrug resistance protein 2 (Mrp2) were provided. Lipid droplet count in rat liver did not show any significant differences in animals administered with K027, HI‐6 and obidoxime in comparison with the control group. Mrp2 protein expression significantly decreased when animals were administered with K027 at a dose of 50% LD50 and HI‐6 and obidoxime at doses of 5% LD50 and 50% LD50, when compared to the controls. No statistical differences of Mrp2 expression were measured when animals were administered with K027 at a dose of 5% LD50 in comparison with control animals. We found impaired hepatic transporter function after administration of HI‐6, obidoxime and higher concentration of K027, which might be the underlying mechanism of acetylcholinesterase reactivators’ hepatotoxicity.
The Effects of Cannabidiol and Tetrahydrocannabinol on Motion‐Induced Emesis inSuncus murinus
Authors: Cluny Nina L. , Naylor Robert J. , Whittle Brian A. , Javid Farideh A.
Published: July 2008

Abstract: The effect of cannabinoids on motion‐induced emesis is unknown. The present study investigated the action of phytocannabinoids against motion‐induced emesis inSuncus murinus.Suncus murinuswere injected intraperitoneally with either cannabidiol (CBD) (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg), Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9‐THC; 0.5, 3, 5 and 10 mg/kg) or vehicle 45 min. before exposure to a 10‐min. horizontal motion stimulus (amplitude 40 mm, frequency 1 Hz). In further investigations, the CB1receptor antagonist,N‐(piperidin‐1‐yl)‐5‐(4‐iodophenyl)‐1‐(2,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐4‐methyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxamide (AM 251; 5 mg/kg), was injected 15 min. prior to an injection of Δ9‐THC (3 mg/kg). The motion stimulus was applied 45 min. later. The number of emetic episodes and latency of onset to the first emetic episode were recorded. Pre‐treatment with the above doses of CBD did not modify the emetic response to the motion stimulus as compared to the vehicle‐treated controls. Application of the higher doses of Δ9‐THC induced emesis in its own right, which was inhibited by AM 251. Furthermore, pre‐treatment with Δ9‐THC dose‐dependently attenuated motion‐induced emesis, an effect that was inhibited by AM 251. AM 251 neither induced an emetic response nor modified motion‐induced emesis. The present study indicates that Δ9‐THC, acting via the CB1receptors, is anti‐emetic to motion, and that CBD has no effect on motion‐induced emesis inSuncus murinus.
Thymoquinone Ameliorates Renal Oxidative Damage and Proliferative Response Induced by Mercuric Chloride in Rats
Authors: Fouda Abdel‐Motaal M. , Daba Mohamad‐Hesham Y. , Dahab Gamal M. , Sharaf el‐Din Osama A.
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  We tested the hypothesis if thymoquinone (2‐isopropyl‐5‐methyl‐1,4‐benzoquinone) could ameliorate renal oxidative damage and proliferative response induced by mercuric chloride (HgCl2) in rats. HgCl2 (3 mg/kg) was administered subcutaneously to each one of two groups of rats: (i) HgCl2–thymoquinone group that received thymoquinone (10 mg/kg/day); and (ii) HgCl2 group that received vehicle instead of thymoquinone. A third group of rats was reserved as control group. Rats were killed 24, 48 and 72 hr after HgCl2 administration for histological and biochemical studies. Our findings show that treatment with thymoquinone offers imperative protection from HgCl2‐induced nephrotoxicity. The deterioration of antioxidant enzymes, increment of serum creatinine and histological damage caused by HgCl2 are markedly improved by thymoquinone treatment. Apoptosis and proliferative reactions are also reduced. The maximal protection offered by thymoquinone treatment was particularly noticeable 48 and 72 hr after administration of the toxic agent at the time when histological damage, renal cell apoptosis and proliferative reactions reached their maximum. These observations may be attributed partially to the antioxidant effect of thymoquinone and suggest that it may be a clinically valuable agent in the prevention of acute renal failure caused by inorganic mercury intoxication.
l‐Arginine Inhibits Isoproterenol‐Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy through Nitric Oxide and Polyamine Pathways
Authors: Lin Yan , Wang Li‐Na , Xi Yu‐Hui , Li Hong‐Zhu , Xiao Feng‐Gang , Zhao Ya‐Jun , Tian Ye , Yang Bao‐Feng , Xu Chang‐Qing
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) are essential for cell growth and differentiation. Nitric oxide exhibits antihypertrophic functions and inhibits cardiac remodelling. However, the metabolism of polyamines and the potential interactions with nitric oxide in cardiac hypertrophy remain unclear. We randomly divided Wistar rats into four treatment groups: controls, isoproterenol (ISO), ISO and l‐arginine, and l‐arginine. Isoproterenol (5 mg/kg/day, subcutaneously) and/or l‐arginine (800 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) was administered once daily for 7 days. The expression of atrial natriuretic peptide mRNA was determined by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, and fibrogenesis of heart was assessed by Van Gieson staining. Polyamines were measured with high‐performance liquid chromatography, and plasma nitric oxide content and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were determined with a spectrophotometer. The expression levels of ornithine decarboxylase, spermidine/spermine N1‐acetyltransferase (SSAT), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were analysed by Western blot. Heart‐to‐body weight ratio, left ventricle‐to‐body weight ratio, atrial natriuretic peptide mRNA expression, collagen fibres and LDH activity were elevated, both ornithine decarboxylase and SSAT proteins were up‐regulated, and total polyamines were increased in the group treated with ISO. Additionally, the expression of iNOS was up‐regulated, eNOS was down‐regulated, and nitric oxide levels were low. Notably, cotreatment with l‐arginine reversed most of these changes except for SSAT expression, which was further up‐regulated. We propose that increased polyamines and decreased nitric oxide are involved in cardiac hypertrophy induced by ISO and suggest that l‐arginine pre‐treatment can attenuate cardiac hypertrophy through the regulation of key enzymes of the polyamine and nitric oxide pathways.
Topiramate and Vitamin E Modulate Antioxidant Enzyme Activities, Nitric Oxide and Lipid Peroxidation Levels in Pentylenetetrazol‐Induced Nephrotoxicity in Rats
Authors: Armaǧan Abdullah , Kutluhan Süleyman , Yılmaz Mustafa , Yılmaz Nigar , Bülbül Metin , Vural Hüseyin , Soyupek Sedat , Nazıroǧlu Mustafa
Published: July 2008

Abstract:  Previous studies have shown that generation of free radicals is increased following pentylenetetrazol kindling, due to increased cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations. Topiramate, a voltage‐gated calcium channel inhibitor, has an evident effect in the treatment of childhood epilepsy; however, topiramate may cause nephrotoxicity. We investigated the effects of topiramate and vitamin E administration on pentylenetetrazol‐induced nephrotoxicity in rats by evaluation of lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase values. Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. Group 1 was used as control and group II received a single dose of pentylenetetrazol. Fifty and 100 mg/kg topiramate daily were intragastrically administered to rats in groups III and IV for 7 days, respectively. Intragastric 100 mg topiramate (daily for 7 days) and intraperitoneal vitamin E (150 mg/kg, daily for 3 days) combination were given to animals in group V before a single‐dose pentylenetetrazol administration. Serum and kidney samples were taken after 3 hr of pentylenetetrazol administration. Pentylenetetrazol resulted in a significant increase in nitric oxide levels of serum and kidney, and lipid peroxidation levels of kidney although superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the kidney was reduced by pentylenetetrazol administration. The lipid peroxidation levels in serum and kidneys and the nitric oxide levels in kidneys of groups III, IV and V were decreased by topiramate although the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the kidneys were increased. Lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide levels were reduced by the topiramate and vitamin E combination compared to only topiramate. Glutathione peroxidase activity was not affect by pentylenetetrazol, topiramate and vitamin E administrations. In conclusion, topiramate and vitamin E have protective effects on pentylenetetrazol‐induced nephrotoxicity by inhibition of free radicals and by support of the antioxidant redox system.