bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dancing to the Donors' Tune? Policy Choice in Aid‐Dependent Countries
Authors: Hagen Rune Jansen 
Published: October 2015

AbstractCurrent aid rhetoric emphasizes the selective allocation of otherwise unconditional funds in support of the recipients' own plans, in contrast to the old donor practice of bundling money and policies. I show that when recipients have private information, policies reflecting their preferences and knowledge might result in such a regime. However, generous transfers can also induce them to conform to the outcome‐oriented expectations of donors at the expense of lower aid impact. Such behaviour is consistent with an abundance of case‐study evidence. Moderate disagreements over what the optimal policy is could actually produce better results. Certain forms of both donor competition and coordination might also eliminate this distortion, while a donor concern for need only removes incentives for aid‐seeking in the least needy countries. In summary, optimal aid policies are highly context‐specific, and donors should thus concentrate their efforts to practise more informed selectivity.
Gender Power, Fertility, and Family Policy
Authors: Kemnitz Alexander , Thum Marcel 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe birth of children often shifts the balance of power within a family. If family decisions are made according to the welfare function of the spouses, this shift in power might cause a time‐consistency problem. In a model of cooperative family decision‐making, we show that this problem can lead to a systematic downward bias in fertility. By keeping fertility low, spouses mitigate the ex ante undesired shift in the balance of power that results from the presence of children. This provides scope for welfare‐enhancing policy intervention. We discuss to what extent existing family policy measures are suitable for overcoming the bias.
Heaven's Swing Door: Endogenous Skills, Migration Networks, and the Effectiveness of Quality‐Selective Immigration Policies
Authors: Bertoli Simone , Rapoport Hillel 
Published: October 2015

AbstractA growing number of OECD countries are leaning toward the adoption of selective immigration policies, which are expected to raise the quality (or education level) of migrants. This view neglects two important dynamic effects: the role of migration networks, which could reduce the quality of migrants, and the responsiveness of education decisions to the prospect of migration. We propose a model of self‐selection into migration with endogenous education choices, which predicts that migration networks and the quality of migrants can be positively associated when destination countries adopt sufficiently selective immigration policies. Empirical evidence, presented as background motivation, suggests that this is indeed the case.
Climatic Factors as Determinants of International Migration
Authors: Beine Michel , Parsons Christopher 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWe examine natural disasters and long‐run climatic factors as potential determinants of international migration, implementing a panel dataset of bilateral migration flows from 1960 to 2000. We find no direct effect of long‐run climatic factors on international migration across our entire sample. These results are robust when conditioning on origin‐country characteristics, when considering migrants returning home, and when accounting for the potential endogeneity of migrant networks. Rather, we find evidence of indirect effects of environmental factors operating through wages. We find that epidemics and miscellaneous incidents spur international migration, and there is strong evidence that natural disasters beget greater flows of migrants to urban environs.
The Effect of Emigration from Poland on Polish Wages
Authors: Dustmann Christian , Frattini Tommaso , Rosso Anna 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, we analyse the effect of emigration from Poland on Polish wages. Focusing on the 1998–2007 period for Poland, we use a unique dataset that contains information about household members who are currently living abroad, which allows us to develop region‐specific emigration rates and to estimate the effect of emigration on wages using within‐region variation. Our findings show that emigration led to a slight increase in wages for high‐ and medium‐skilled workers, which are the two groups with the largest relative outmigration rates. Workers at the low end of the skill distribution might have experienced wage decreases.
“To Have and Have Not”: International Migration, Poverty, and Inequality in Algeria
Authors: Margolis David N. , Miotti Luis , Mouhoud El Mouhoub , Oudinet Joel 
Published: October 2015

AbstractIn this paper, using an original survey, we analyze the distributional impact of international migration across two regions of Algeria. A semi‐parametric descriptive analysis is complemented with a parametric model. Remittances do not significantly change the Gini coefficient in nearly any of the counterfactual scenarios. However, migration reduced poverty by 40 percent, with different effects across regions for extreme poverty. Foreign transfers, especially foreign pensions, have a strong positive impact on very poor families in one region. Poor families in the other region suffer from a “double loss”: their migrants do not provide local income and they do not send much money home.
The Home Bias in Equities and Distribution Costs
Authors: Harms Philipp , Hoffmann Mathias , Ortseifer Christina 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWe show that incorporating distribution costs into a general equilibrium model of international portfolio choice helps to explain the home bias in international equity investment. Our model is able to replicate observed investment positions for a wide range of parameter values, even if agents have an incentive to hedge labor income risk by purchasing foreign equity. This is because the existence of a retail sector affects both the correlation of domestic returns with the domestic price level and the correlation between financial and non‐financial income.
Taxation and Capital Structure Choice: The Role of Ownership
Authors: Krämer Robert 
Published: October 2015

AbstractApplying firm fixed‐effects estimations to European firm‐level data, I analyze how ownership structure affects the relationship between taxation and capital structure. I find that an increase in the corporate tax rate affects the debt‐to‐assets ratio positively, and that this effect is stronger for firms with concentrated ownership. These results hold independently of whether firms are standalone or subsidiaries, and are also valid if subsidiaries are divided into those that are foreign‐owned and those domestically owned. Lastly, ownership plays a role even when controlling for other potentially important determinants of the relation between corporate taxation and capital structure.
Revealing Uncertainties in Land Change Modeling Using Probabilities
Authors: Krüger Carsten , Lakes Tobia 
Published: October 2015

AbstractLand change models are frequently used to analyze current land change processes and possible future developments. However, the outcome of such models is accompanied by uncertainties that have to be taken into account in order to address their reliability for science and decision‐making. While a range of approaches exist that quantify the disagreement of land change maps, the quantification of uncertainty remains a major challenge. The aim of this article is therefore to reveal uncertainties in land change modeling by developing two measures: quantity uncertainty and allocation uncertainty. We choose a Bayesian Belief Network modeling approach for deforestation in Brazil to develop and apply the two measures to the resulting probability surface. Quantity uncertainty describes the uncertainty about the correct number of cells in a land change map assigned to different land change categories and allocation uncertainty expresses the uncertainty about the correct spatial placement of a cell in the land change map. Thus, uncertainty can be quantified even in those cases where no reference data exist. Informing about uncertainty in probabilistic outcomes may be an important asset when land change projections are being used in science and decision‐making and moreover, they may also be further evaluated for other spatial applications.
Recovery of visual functions in amblyopic animals following brief exposure to total darkness
Authors: Mitchell Donald E. , MacNeill Katelyn , Crowder Nathan A. , Holman Kaitlyn , Duffy Kevin R. 
Published: October 2015

Key points
Occlusion of one eye of kittens (monocular deprivation) results in a severe and permanent loss of visual acuity in that eye, which parallels closely the vision loss characteristic of human amblyopia.
We extended earlier work to demonstrate that amblyopic vision loss can be either blocked or erased very fast by a 10 day period of total darkness following a period of monocular deprivation that begins near birth and extends to at least 8 weeks of age.
The parameters of darkness were strict because no visual recovery was observed after 5 days of darkness. In addition, short periods of light introduced each day during an otherwise 10 day period of darkness obliterated the benefits.
Despite recovery of normal visual acuity, only one‐quarter of the animals showed evidence of having attained normal stereoscopic vision.
A period of total darkness may catalyse and improve treatment outcomes in amblyopic children.
AbstractA 10 day period of total darkness has been shown to either block or erase the severe effects on vision of a prior short period of monocular deprivation (MD) in kittens depending on whether darkness is contiguous or is delayed with respect to the period of MD. We have extended these earlier findings from kittens for which the period of MD began at 1 month and lasted for 1 week to more clinically relevant situations where MD began near birth and lasted for ≥6 weeks. Despite the far longer MD and the absence of prior binocular vision, all animals recovered normal visual acuity in the previously deprived eye. As before, when the period of darkness followed immediately after MD, the vision of both eyes was initially very poor but, subsequently, the acuity of each eye increased gradually and equally to attain normal levels in ∼7 weeks. By contrast, when darkness was introduced 8 weeks after MD, the visual acuity of the deprived eye recovered quickly to normal levels in just 1 week without any change in the vision of the fellow (non‐deprived) eye. Short (15 or 30 min) periods of illumination each day during an otherwise 10 day period of darkness obliterated all the benefits for vision, and a 5 day period of darkness was also completely ineffective. Measurements of depth perception indicated that, despite possessing normal visual acuity in both eyes, only about one‐quarter of the animals showed evidence of having attained normal stereoscopic vision.
Breast dose in mammography is about 30% lower when realistic heterogeneous glandular distributions are considered
Authors: Hernandez Andrew M. , Seibert J. Anthony , Boone John M. 
Published: October 2015

Purpose:Current dosimetry methods in mammography assume that the breast is comprised of a homogeneous mixture of glandular and adipose tissues. Three‐dimensional (3D) dedicated breast CT (bCT) data sets were used previously to assess the complex anatomical structure within the breast, characterizing the statistical distribution of glandular tissue in the breast. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of bCT‐derived heterogeneous glandular distributions on dosimetry in mammography.Methods:bCT‐derived breast diameters, volumes, and 3D fibroglandular distributions were used to design realistic compressed breast models comprised of heterogeneous distributions of glandular tissue. The bCT‐derived glandular distributions were fit to biGaussian functions and used as probability density maps to assign the density distributions within compressed breast models. The MCNPX 2.6.0 Monte Carlo code was used to estimate monoenergetic normalized mean glandular dose “DgN(E)” values in mammography geometry. The DgN(E) values were then weighted by typical mammography x‐ray spectra to determine polyenergetic DgN (pDgN) coefficients for heterogeneous (pDgNhetero) and homogeneous (pDgNhomo) cases. The dependence of estimated pDgN values on phantom size, volumetric glandular fraction (VGF), x‐ray technique factors, and location of the heterogeneous glandular distributions was investigated.Results:The pDgNhetero coefficients were on average 35.3% (SD, 4.1) and 24.2% (SD, 3.0) lower than the pDgNhomo coefficients for the Mo–Mo and W–Rh x‐ray spectra, respectively, across all phantom sizes and VGFs when the glandular distributions were centered within the breast phantom in the coronal plane. At constant breast size, increasing VGF from 7.3% to 19.1% lead to a reduction in pDgNhetero relative to pDgNhomo of 23.6%–27.4% for a W–Rh spectrum. Displacement of the glandular distribution, at a distance equal to 10% of the compressed breast width in the superior and inferior directions, resulted in a 37.3% and a −26.6% change in the pDgNhetero coefficient, respectively, relative to the centered distribution for the Mo–Mo spectrum. Lateral displacement of the glandular distribution, at a distance equal to 10% of the compressed breast width, resulted in a 1.5% change in the pDgNhetero coefficient relative to the centered distribution for the W–Rh spectrum.Conclusions:Introducing bCT‐derived heterogeneous glandular distributions into mammography phantom design resulted in decreased glandular dose relative to the widely used homogeneous assumption. A homogeneous distribution overestimates the amount of glandular tissue near the entrant surface of the breast, where dose deposition is exponentially higher. While these findings are based on clinically measured distributions of glandular tissue using a large cohort of women, future work is required to improve the classification of glandular distributions based on breast size and overall glandular fraction.
Muscle Fatigue When Swimming Intermittently Above and Below Critical Speed
Authors: Dekerle Jeanne , Paterson James 
Published: October 2015

Purpose:To examine muscle fatigue of the shoulder internal rotators alongside swimming biomechanics during long-duration submaximal swimming sets performed in 2 different speed domains.Methods:Eight trained swimmers (mean ± SD 20.5 ± 0.9 y, 173 ± 10 cm, 71.3 ± 10.0 kg) raced over 3 distances (200-, 400-, 800-m races) for determination of critical speed (CS; slope of the distance–time relationship). After a familiarization with muscle isokinetic testing, they subsequently randomly performed 2 constant-speed efforts (6 × 5-min blocks, 2.5-min recovery) 5% above (T105) and 5% below CS (T95) with maximal voluntary contractions recorded between swimming blocks.Results:Capillary blood lactate concentration ([La]), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), peak torque, stroke length, and stroke rate were maintained throughout T95 (P < .05). [La], RPE, and stroke rate increased alongside concomitant decreases in maximal torque and stroke length during T105 (P < .05) with incapacity of the swimmers to maintain the pace for longer than ~20 min. For T105, changes in maximal torque (35.0 ± 14.9 to 25.8 ± 12.1 Nm) and stroke length (2.66 ± 0.36 to 2.23 ± 0.24 m/cycle) were significantly correlated (r = .47, P < .05).Conclusion:While both muscle fatigue (shoulder internal rotators) and task failure occur when swimming at a pace greater than CS, the 2.5-min recovery period during the sub-CS set possibly alleviated the development of muscle fatigue for the pace to be sustainable for 6 × 5 min at 95% of CS. A causal relationship between reduction in stroke length and loss of muscle strength should be considered very cautiously in swimming.
Draft Plastid and Mitochondrial Genome Sequences from Antarctic Alga
Prasiola crispa
Authors: Carvalho Evelise Leis , Wallau Gabriel da Luz , Rangel Darlene Lopes , Machado Laís Ceschini , da Silva Alexandre Freitas , da Silva Luiz Fernando Duarte , Macedo Pablo Echeverria , Pereira Antonio Batista , Victoria Filipe de Carvalho , Boldo Juliano Tomazzoni , Dal Belo Cháriston André , Pinto Paulo Marcos 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

The organelle genomes of the Antarctic alga
Prasiola crispa
(Lightfoot) Kützing have been sequenced. The plastid and mitochondrial genomes have a total length of 196,502 bp and 89,819 bp, respectively. These genomes have 19 putative photosynthesis-related genes and 17 oxidative metabolism-related genes, respectively.
Complete Genome Sequence of the Type Strain of the Acetogenic Bacterium Moorella thermoacetica DSM 521
T
Authors: Poehlein Anja , Bengelsdorf Frank R. , Esser Carola , Schiel-Bengelsdorf Bettina , Daniel Rolf , Dürre Peter 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

Here we report the closed genome sequence of the type strain
Moorella thermoacetica
DSM 521
T
, an acetogenic bacterium, which is able to grow autotrophically on H
2
+ CO
2
and/or CO, using the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. The genome consists of a circular chromosome (2.53 Mb).
Draft Genome Sequences of Four Xanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis Strains Associated with Walnut Blight in Chile
Authors: Higuera Gastón , González-Escalona Narjol , Véliz Camila , Vera Francisca , Romero Jaime 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

Xanthomonas arboricola
pv. juglandis is an important pathogen responsible for walnut blight outbreaks globally. Here, we report four draft genome sequences of
X. arboricola
pv. juglandis strains isolated from Chilean walnut trees.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Exiguobacterium
sp. Strain BMC-KP, an Environmental Isolate from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Authors: Hyson Peter , Shapiro Joshua A. , Wien Michelle W. 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

Exiguobacterium
sp. strain BMC-KP was isolated as part of a student environmental sampling project at Bryn Mawr College, PA. Sequencing of bacterial DNA assembled a 3.32-Mb draft genome. Analysis suggests the presence of genes for tolerance to cold and toxic metals, broad carbohydrate metabolism, and genes derived from phage.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Diarrheagenic Morganella morganii Isolate
Authors: Singh Pallavi , Mosci Rebekah , Rudrik James T. , Manning Shannon D. 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

This is a report of the whole-genome draft sequence of a diarrheagenic
Morganella morganii
isolate from a patient in Michigan, USA. This genome represents an important addition to the limited number of pathogenic
M. morganii
genomes available.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Bacteroidales
Strain 6E, Isolated from a Rice Paddy Field in Japan
Authors: Tourlousse Dieter M. , Honda Takuya , Matsuura Norihisa , Ohashi Akiko , Tonouchi Akio , Sekiguchi Yuji 
Published: October 2015

ABSTRACT

We generated a high-quality draft genome sequence of
Bacteroidales
strain 6E, a strict anaerobe newly isolated from Japanese rice paddy field soil. The genome consists of 61 contigs, with a total size of 4,436,542 bp and mean G+C content of 45.4%. Annotation predicted 3,620 protein-coding and 54 RNA genes.
Effect of 100 hz Electroacupuncture on Salivary Immunoglobulin a and the Autonomic Nervous System
Authors: Hideaki Waki , Tatsuya Hisajima , Shogo Miyazaki , Naruto Yoshida , Hideaki Tamai , Yoichi Minakawa , Yoshihiro Okuma , Kazuo Uebaba , Hidenori Takahashi 
Published: October 2015

Background A previous study has reported that low-frequency (LF) electroacupuncture (EA) influences salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is known to control the secretion volume of sIgA; however, the effect of high-frequency (HF) EA on salivary sIgA has not been determined. We investigated whether HF EA affects salivary sIgA levels and the ANS. Method Sixteen healthy subjects were randomly classified into two groups: a control group and an EA group. After a 5 min rest, subjects in the EA group received EA at 100 Hz bilaterally at LI4 and LI11 for 15 min before resting for a further 40 min post-stimulation. Subjects in the control group rested for a total of 60 min. Measurements of the ANS and sIgA levels in both groups were made before, immediately after, 20 min after, and 40 min after rest or 15 min EA treatment. HF and LF components of heart rate variability were analysed as markers of ANS function. LF/HF ratio and HF were taken as indices of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity, respectively. Salivary protein concentrations and sIgA levels were determined by Bradford protein assay and ELISA, respectively. Results LF/HF ratio was significantly increased immediately after EA. HF was significantly increased at 20 min after EA and sIgA level was significantly increased at 40 min after EA. In addition, HF and salivary sIgA level were positively correlated with each another. Conclusions HF EA exerted sequential positive effects on sympathetic nerve activity, parasympathetic nerve activity, and salivary sIgA level (immediately and after 20 and 40 min, respectively). HF EA may increase salivary sIgA levels by influencing parasympathetic nerve activity.
Optical coherence tomography for serial in vivo imaging of aortic plaque in the rabbit: a preliminary experience
Authors: Fulcher Jordan , Patel Sanjay , Nicholls Stephen J , Bao Shisan , Celermajer David 
Published: October 2015

BackgroundIn this pilot feasibility study, we aimed to establish a reproducible means of performing serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) procedures in the abdominal aorta of the cholesterol-fed rabbit.MethodsEight cholesterol-fed New Zealand White rabbits were assigned to abdominal aortic balloon injury at baseline (n=6) or as controls (n=2). Three of the balloon injured rabbits received statins from weeks 6 to 12 post balloon injury. OCT of the abdominal aorta in each rabbit was performed at baseline±week 6±week 12 via alternate vascular access points (left or right femoral artery or left carotid artery). OCT sequences were analysed to derive an indexed plaque volume and other OCT measures of plaque complexity, and results were compared between groups. Histopathological correlations with OCT images were made following terminal procedures.ResultsOf the 16 OCT procedures in these rabbits (6 at baseline, 4 at 6 weeks, 6 at 12 weeks), excellent and analysable images were obtained on 15 occasions (94%). Inability to obtain adequate arterial access for the OCT catheter was the major experimental limitation encountered in the early part of our experience. Balloon injured rabbits developed larger volume and more complex plaque than non-balloon injured rabbits on all OCT indices measured (eg, both mean plaque volume and lumen stenosis were approximately double in the balloon injured group, p<0.0001). A significant correlation between 12 week measures of plaque area by OCT and histology was demonstrated (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.992, p<0.0001).ConclusionsOur preliminary experience suggests that serial OCT of the abdominal aorta in the New Zealand White rabbit is feasible and a potentially promising means of performing serial studies of aortic atherosclerosis.