bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adverse cardiovascular events during treatment with glyburide (glibenclamide) or gliclazide in a high‐risk population
Authors: Juurlink D. N. , Gomes T. , Shah B. R. , Mamdani M. M. 
Published: August 2012

Diabet. Med. 29, 1524–1528 (2012)AbstractAims  Sulphonylureas promote insulin release by inhibiting pancreatic potassium channels. Older sulphonylureas such as glyburide (glibenclamide), but not newer ones such as gliclazide, antagonize similar channels in myocardium, interfering with the protective effects of ischaemic preconditioning. Whether this imparts a higher risk of adverse cardiac events is unknown.Methods  We conducted a population‐based cohort study of patients aged 66 years and older who were hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction or who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2010 while receiving either glyburide or gliclazide. We used a high‐dimensional propensity score matching process to ensure similarity of glyburide‐ and gliclazide‐treated patients. The primary outcome was a composite of death or hospitalization for myocardial infarction or heart failure.Results  During the 2‐year study period, we matched 1690 patients treated with glyburide to 984 patients treated with gliclazide at the time of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction or percutaneous coronary intervention. We found no difference in the risk of the composite outcome among patients receiving glyburide (adjusted hazard ratio 1.01; 95% CI 0.86–1.18). We found similar results in secondary analyses of each outcome individually, and in two supplementary analyses (haemorrhage and pneumonia) in which we anticipated no difference between the two patient groups.Conclusions  Among older patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction or percutaneous coronary intervention, treatment with glyburide is not associated with an increased risk of future adverse cardiovascular events relative to gliclazide, suggesting that the effect of glyburide on ischaemic preconditioning is of little clinical relevance.
Carbon storage in successional and plantation forest soils: a tropical analysis
Authors: Marín‐Spiotta Erika , Sharma Sapna 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAimTo analyse global patterns in soil carbon (C) in tropical successional and plantation forests based on climate, forest age, former land use and soil type to determine factors driving below‐ground C storage.LocationPantropical.MethodsWe conducted a synthesis of 81 studies reporting soil C stocks in more than 400 reforested and tree plantation sites. We used regression models and regression tree analyses to determine the importance of multiple predictor variables on soil C stocks standardized to three common depth ranges: 0–10, 0–30 and 0–100 cm.ResultsMean annual temperature (MAT) was the most important predictor of soil C. Forest age explained little to no variability in soil C, in contrast with above‐ground studies. Data on long‐term trends in soil C are limited, as median time since forest growth was 15 years. Soil C stocks were similar between tropical secondary forests, tree plantations and reference forests. Differences between plantation and successional forests only appeared below 10 cm on sites with MAT < 21.3 °C. Former pastures and cultivated sites differed from each other only to depths of 30 or 100 cm. Climatic variables appeared multiple times across all layers of the regression trees, consistent with strong interactions between MAT and precipitation on soil C stocks.Main conclusionsClimate explained greater variability in soil C in successional and plantation forests than former land use or forest age, despite the tropical location of all sites. Human management factors were more important for predicting soil C stocks in cooler and drier sites, while environmental variables were more important in hotter and wetter sites. The relative importance and interactions between soil type, previous land use and forest cover type differed with soil depth, highlighting the importance of comparing C across consistent depths. Climatic controls suggest sensitivity of soil C stocks in successional and plantation forests to future climate change.
The island syndrome in lizards
Authors: Novosolov Maria , Raia Pasquale , Meiri Shai 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAimIslands are thought to promote correlated ecological and life‐history shifts in species, including increased population density, and an infrequent production of few, large, offspring. These patterns are collectively termed ‘the island syndrome’. We present here the first, phylogenetically informed, global test of the ‘island syndrome’ hypothesis, using lizards as our model organisms.LocationWorld‐wide.MethodsWe assembled a database containing 641 lizard species, their phylogenetic relationships, geographic ranges and the following life‐history traits: female mass, clutch size, brood frequency, hatchling body mass and population density. We tested for life‐history differences between insular and mainland forms in light of the island syndrome, controlling for mass and latitude, and for phylogenetic non‐independence. We also examined the effects of population density and, in insular endemics, of island area, on lizard reproductive traits.ResultsWe found that insular endemic lizards lay smaller clutches of larger hatchlings than closely related mainland lizards of similar size, as was expected by the island syndrome. In general, however, insular endemics lay more frequently than mainland ones. Species endemic to small islands lay as frequently as mainland species. Continental and insular lizards have similar productivity rates overall. Island area had little effect on lizard reproductive traits. No trait showed association with population density.Main conclusionsIsland endemic lizards mainly follow the island syndrome. We hypothesize that large offspring are favoured on islands because of increased intra‐specific aggression and cannibalism by adults. Stable populations on islands lacking predators may likewise lead to increased intra‐specific competition, and hence select for larger hatchlings that will quickly grow to adult size. This view is supported by the fact that lizard populations are denser on islands – although population density per se was uncorrelated with any of the traits we examined.
(NON‐)RESILIENCY OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE 2007–2009 FINANCIAL CRISIS
Authors: CONTESSI SILVIO , DE PACE PIERANGELO 
Published: August 2012

AbstractWe study the contraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in the United States during the recent financial crisis and show their unusual non‐resiliency, which depends in part on the global nature of the economic recession, but also on the increases in the cost of financing FDI in the economies in which the flows originate. To formally study the effects of external financial conditions on FDI in the United States, we exploit the three dimensions of a panel of US inward FDI flows organized by recipient US industries, source countries and years for the recorded flows. Changes in the cost of finance in the source countries have little or no effect on total inward flows (the sum of equity, debt and reinvested earnings) over the 2006–2010 period. However, US industries characterized by more financial vulnerability experience statistically significant variations in the debt and equity components of inward FDI flows in response to the changes in the cost of capital that occurred in the source countries during the crisis.
CAPITAL FLOWS AND JAPANESE ASSET VOLATILITY
Authors: NEELY CHRISTOPHER J. , FAWLEY BRETT W. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractCharacterizing asset price volatility is an important goal for financial economists. The literature has shown that variables that proxy for the information arrival process can help explain and/or forecast volatility. Unfortunately, however, obtaining good measures of volume and/or order flow is expensive or difficult in decentralized markets such as foreign exchange. We investigate the extent that Japanese capital flows, which are released weekly, reflect information arrival that improves foreign exchange and equity volatility forecasts. We find that capital flows can help explain transitory shocks to generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroskedastic volatility.
ATTRACTING FOREIGN PARTICIPATION IN ASIAN LOCAL CURRENCY BOND MARKETS: THE CASE OF THE ASIAN BOND FUND 2 INITIATIVE
Authors: PACKER FRANK , REMOLONA ELI 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe Asian Bond Fund 2 (ABF2) is a $US2bn initiative by a group of central banks in Asia and the Pacific. To promote local currency government bond markets, the fund has been investing in 8 such markets in the region. These markets have made impressive strides since the fund's inception in 2005. The improvements may be traced in large part to overcoming a number of market impediments, including barriers to cross‐border investment. The ABF2 project has played an important catalytic role in market reforms aimed at removing these impediments. However, while the government bond markets have come of age, the corporate bond markets have remained immature. To develop, the immature markets would likely require the benefits of further opening up to regional issuance and investment flows.
The Dollar Shortage in Global Banking and the International Policy Response
Authors: McGuire Patrick , von Peter Goetz 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAmong the policy responses to the global financial crisis, the international provision of US dollars via central bank swap lines stands out. This paper studies the build‐up of stresses on banks’ balance sheets that led to this coordinated policy response. We reconstruct the worldwide consolidated balance sheets of the major national banking systems to investigate the structure of their global operations across offices worldwide, shedding light on how their international asset positions were funded across currencies and counterparties. The analysis shows how the growth in European banks’ US dollar assets produced structural US dollar funding needs, setting the stage for the global dollar shortage when interbank and swap markets became impaired. We demonstrate that such vulnerabilities are best measured along the contours of banks’ consolidated balance sheets, rather than along national borders.
Has Globalization Improved International Risk Sharing?
Authors: Antonakakis Nikolaos , Scharler Johann 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn this paper, we study the dynamics of international consumption risk sharing among the G‐7 countries. Based on the dynamic conditional correlation model due to Engle (2002), we construct a time‐varying, consumption‐based measure of risk sharing. We find that the exposure to country‐specific shocks has evolved heterogeneously across the G‐7 countries and that risk sharing varies procyclically with the output gap. This dependence on the business cycle is especially pronounced in countries where credit constraints are relatively binding.
New teachers' individual learning dispositions: a Scottish case study
Authors: Shanks Rachel , Robson Dean , Gray Donald 
Published: August 2012

This research is concerned with the professional learning and development of new teachers in the Scottish Teacher Induction Scheme, in particular, informal and formal learning, the workplace learning environment and the personal and professional characteristics of the induction year teacher. Building on the work of Unwin and Fuller and Hodkinson and Hodkinson on expansive and restrictive learning environments for teachers, this study considers learning at both the social and individual level, while providing a deeper understanding of the related concept of individual learning disposition. A sequential mixed methods approach was adopted, using online questionnaires and semi‐structured interviews, to collect new teachers' perceptions of their learning experiences.The research suggests that a policy‐driven formal programme of induction for new teachers should be augmented with experience of an expansive learning environment with supportive colleagues. The authors suggest that, rather than fitting the new teacher into existing arrangements, schools must recognize the new teachers' individual learning dispositions, namely their learning biography and attitude towards, and engagement with, learning opportunities. By demonstrating flexibility schools can tailor induction year experiences, thus enabling rich and complementary professional learning to take place within a supportive workplace community.
Gene–gene interactions in IL23/Th17 pathway contribute to psoriasis susceptibility in Chinese Han population
Authors: Wang W.‐J. , Yin X.‐Y. , Zuo X.‐B. , Cheng H. , Du W.‐D. , Zhang F.‐Y. , Yang S. , Zhang X.‐J. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractBackground  Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. IL23/Th17 is a newly confirmed pathway in psoriasis.Objective  To investigate the gene–gene interactions in IL23/Th17 pathway underlying psoriasis.Methods  A total of 299 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms from 11 genes in IL23/Th17 pathway were genotyped on 1139 patients with psoriasis and 1694 controls. Multifactor dimensionality reduction and logistic regression algorithms were applied to explore the gene–gene interactions.Results  We found that there were a three‐way interaction among IL21, CCR4 and TNF(χ2 = 5.02(1), P = 0.025) and three pair‐wise gene–gene interactions between IL12RB1 and CCR4(χ2 = 11.66(4), P = 0.0201), IL22 and CCR4 (χ2 = 11.97(4), P = 0.0176), IL12RB1 and IL6 (χ2 = 7.31(1), P = 0.0069) in psoriasis.Conclusions  Our results might be helpful for explaining the missing heritability of the psoriasis due to epistasis and provide a deep insight into the important role of the IL23/Th17 pathway in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
Does the European Union Need to Become a Community?*
Authors: THEILER TOBIAS 
Published: August 2012

AbstractMany theorists contend that for the European Union to become a viable democratic polity its citizens must develop an overarching communal identity. I take issue with this claim, arguing that the norms, motivations and perceptions that make supranational democracy possible can also emerge through processes that do not presuppose shared communal identifications. These include the gradual externalization of domestic democratic norms and practices to the EU level, the incorporation of the resulting supranational democratic attachments back into existing national identifications and the build‐up of transnational political trust propelled by the practice of supranational democracy itself. Such an outcome is not inevitable, but it is conceivable in that it is theoretically coherent and has limited empirical analogies and precedents. The range of options for the EU's further democratic development is therefore broader and the chances of its success greater than many analysts assume.
The importance of leaf cuticle for carbon economy and  mechanical strength
Authors: Onoda Yusuke , Richards Lora , Westoby Mark 
Published: August 2012

Summary

Cuticle thickness of leaves varies > 100 times across species, yet its dry mass cost and ecological benefits are poorly understood. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that thicker cuticle is not superior as a water barrier, implying that other functions must be important.
Here, we measured the mechanical properties, dry mass and density of isolated cuticle from 13 evergreen woody species of Australian forests.
Summed adaxial and abaxial cuticle membrane mass per unit leaf area (CMA) varied from 2.95 to 27.4 g m−2 across species, and accounted for 6.7–24% of lamina dry mass. Density of cuticle varied only from 1.04 to 1.24 g cm−3; thus variation in CMA was mostly due to variation in cuticle thickness. Thicker cuticle was more resistant to tearing. Tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of cuticle were much higher than those of leaf laminas, with significant differences between adaxial and abaxial cuticles.
While cuticle membranes were thin, they could account for a significant fraction of leaf dry mass due to their high density. The substantial cost of thicker cuticle is probably offset by increased mechanical resistance which might confer longer leaf lifespans among evergreen species.
Auditory stream segregation impairments in schizophrenia
Authors: Weintraub David M. , Ramage Erin M. , Sutton Griffin , Ringdahl Erik , Boren Aaron , Pasinski Amanda C. , Thaler Nick , Haderlie Michael , Allen Daniel N. , Snyder Joel S. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractWe used behavior and event‐related potentials (ERPs) to examine auditory stream segregation in people with schizophrenia and control participants. During each trial, a context pattern was presented, consisting of low (A) and high (B) tones and silence (‐) in a repeating ABA‐ pattern, with a frequency separation (Δf) of 3, 6, or 12 semitones. Next, a test ABA‐pattern was presented that always had a 6‐semitone Δf. Larger Δf during the context resulted in more perception of two streams and larger N1 and P2 ERPs, but less perception of two streams during the test pattern. These effects of Δf were smaller in schizophrenia. Individuals with schizophrenia also showed a reduced effect of prior perceptual judgments. Overall, the findings demonstrate that people with schizophrenia have abnormalities in segregating sounds. These abnormalities result from difficulties utilizing frequency cues in addition to reduced temporal context effects.
The association of childhood obesity to neuroelectric indices of inhibition
Authors: Kamijo Keita , Pontifex Matthew B. , Khan Naiman A. , Raine Lauren B. , Scudder Mark R. , Drollette Eric S. , Evans Ellen M. , Castelli Darla M. , Hillman Charles H. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractTo examine whether childhood obesity is associated with inhibitory control, we compared healthy weight and obese preadolescent children's task performance along with the N2 and P3 components during a Go/NoGo task. Results indicated that obese children exhibited lower response accuracy relative to healthy weight children during the NoGo task requiring greater amounts of inhibitory control, whereas no such difference was observed during the Go task. Neuroelectric data indicated that healthy weight children exhibited a more frontal distribution for the NoGo P3 relative to the Go P3, whereas obese children had similar topographic distributions between the Go P3 and NoGo P3. Further, obese children had larger NoGo N2 amplitude relative to the Go N2, whereas this difference was not observed for healthy weight children. These findings suggest that childhood obesity is negatively and selectively associated with prefrontal inhibitory control.
Debt and disadvantage: the experience of unmanageable debt and financial difficulty in England and Wales
Authors: Patel Ash , Balmer Nigel J. , Pleasence Pascoe 
Published: August 2012

AbstractIn common with a number of other developed western states, the UK has seen significant growth of consumer debt over the past three decades. In tandem, there has been an associated increase on the demand for debt advice. Using data from the English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey, this article explores how debt problems are experienced across the population and goes on to contextualize the distinct nature of debt problems and their relationship to other problems of everyday life. Findings reaffirm the increased vulnerability to debt problems experienced by socially excluded groups, such as lone parents, those with a long‐term illness or disability and the people with no academic qualification. Results go further to demonstrate that vulnerability is not constant but is also influenced by broader economic and social factors; in particular, findings demonstrate how problems directly associated with the economic downturn increase vulnerability to unmanageable debt and financial difficulty. Given this relationship, and the prolonged longevity of debt problems compared with other problem types, we would expect to see an increase in the experience of debt problems as the effects of the recession become fully apparent, and for some time thereafter. Discussion focuses upon the policy relevance of findings to frontline debt counselling and advice services operating within an increasingly tighter financial environment. Specifically, emphasis is placed upon potential benefits of offering debt counselling and advice as part of an array of other social welfare advice services, and even working across sectors to get better penetration into hard to reach groups.
Shopping for a home vs. a loan: the role of cognitive resource depletion
Authors: Perry Vanessa Gail , Lee Joonwhan David 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe authors suggest that the process of shopping for a home and choosing between alternative property features depletes individuals’ cognitive resources, which in turn results in sub‐optimal home financing decisions. Thus, in the span of time that follows the shopping experience, consumers will devote less attention to choosing a mortgage, resulting in a higher propensity to select higher‐risk, adjustable‐rate mortgage products. The results of two controlled experiments demonstrate that participants in an online house shopping simulation were more likely to select one of the high‐risk mortgage offers, and spent less time selecting a mortgage than participants in the control condition. In addition, contrary to expectations, warning participants about cognitive resource depletion exacerbated these effects. These findings imply that consumer decisions could be improved by imposing a temporal separation between shopping for a home and shopping for financing.
Income thresholds of dissaving in Germany: empirical evidence from the recent sample survey of income and expenditure (EVS 2008)
Authors: Hufnagel Rainer 
Published: August 2012

AbstractSaving of private households monotonically increases with income. If the regression lines, which represent the ‘demand for saving’, assume negative values, saving turns into dissaving, i.e. dissolving assets or going into debt. The zeros of the demand functions for saving are called ‘dissaving thresholds’. Dissaving thresholds for Germany are determined econometrically using the Sample Survey of Income and Expenditure. Dissaving thresholds turn out to be far higher than social assistance amounts. Implications for economic, social and consumer policy in Germany are discussed.
Back to the Future: How Biology and Technology Could Change the Role of PTFE Grafts in Vascular Access Management
Authors: Roy‐Chaudhury Prabir , El‐Khatib Mahmoud , Campos‐Naciff Begona , Wadehra Davinder , Ramani Karthik , Leesar Massoud , Mistry Meenakshi , Wang Yang , Chan Jenq‐Shyong , Lee Timmy , Munda Rino 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAlthough the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred mode of dialysis vascular access, AVF maturation failure remains a huge clinical problem, often resulting in a prolonged duration of use of tunneled dialysis catheters. In contrast, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts do not suffer from early failure, but have significant problems with later stenosis and thrombosis. This review will initially summarize the pathology and pathogenesis of PTFE graft dysfunction and will then use this as a basis for describing some novel therapies, which may have the potential to reduce PTFE graft dysfunction. Finally, we will emphasize that the introduction of such therapies could be an important first step toward individualizing overall vascular access care.