bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sovereign Default Risk and Recovery Rates: What Government Bond Markets Expect for Greece
Authors: Karmann Alexander , Maltritz Dominik 
Published: August 2012

AbstractBond market data on sovereign bond yields is used to estimate sovereign default risk and the amount of the expected “hair‐cut” for Greece between 2008 and 2011. Using a structural pricing model that relies on compound option theory short‐term and long‐term default probabilities and their dependencies can be inferred. Thereby bond yield spreads for different maturities are integrated. In addition, a reduced form model is applied to infer the recovery rate expected by bond market participants. The paper shows that sovereign default risk and recovery rate dynamics reflect events that are important for Greece's repayment capacity.
Some Stylized Facts about International Trade Flows
Authors: Harris Mark N. , Kónya László , Mátyás László 
Published: August 2012

AbstractSince the mid‐1990s there has been a proliferation of empirical models in the trade literature. Focus has ranged from the effect of particular explanatory variables to improved econometric techniques. However, there appears to be a lack of analyses on large international trade datasets aiming at describing the “stylized facts” of observed bilateral trade flows. Uncovering them is crucial as any empirical econometric model should reflect the basic properties of the data generating process. On the basis of a large panel dataset this paper finds that bilateral trade, despite being often unbalanced, tends to be reciprocal and persistent, and that the extensive margin of trade must not be disregarded. Moreover, bilateral trade flows are probably best modeled as a mixed panel of stationary and non‐stationary processes. The stationary vs non‐stationary separation of these flows, although not random, does not appear to be related to any common characteristics of the trading partners.
Complex Goods' Exports and Institutions: Empirics at the Firm Level
Authors: Ma Yue , Qu Baozhi , Zhang Yifan 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis paper analyzes the role of institutions in the exporter's country in promoting the exports. Firm‐level evidence from 22 developing and transition countries is provided to show that institutions matter for complex goods. A poor legal system, weak contractual enforcement, and corruption significantly reduce the exports of complex goods. In contrast, the effect of such institutions on the exports of simple goods remains ambiguous. Our main results are robust to the use of different econometric methods.
Derivation and validation of a Short Form of the Mini‐Mental State Examination for the screening of dementia in older adults with a memory complaint
Authors: Haubois G. , de Decker L. , Annweiler C. , Launay C. , Allali G. , Herrmann F. R. , Beauchet O. 
Published: August 2012

Background and purposeTo validate a Short Form of the Mini‐Mental State Examination (SMMSE) as a screening test for dementia in older ambulatory individuals followed in a memory clinic for a memory complaint.MethodsA total of 202 cognitively healthy individuals, 100 individuals with a mild cognitive impairment and 304 demented individuals sent for a memory complaint by their primary care physician to a memory clinic were prospectively included in this cross‐sectional study. They were randomized into derivation (n = 303) and validation (n = 303) groups. The SMMSE score was built from six memory items of MMSE, with a score ranging from 0 to 6 (i.e. best performance).ResultsThe receiver operating characteristic curve showed an area under the curve of 0.98 for the derivation group and 0.97 for the validation group without differences between curves (P = 0.254). The cut‐off between the sensitivity and the specificity of the SMMSE score for clinically diagnosed dementia was ≤4. The performance of the SMMSE for the diagnosis of dementia was high in the derivation and validation groups: sensitivity at 93.1% and 93.8%, specificity at 93.8% and 90.5%, positive predictive value at 94.3% and 90.1%, negative predictive value at 92.5% and 94.0%, likelihood ratio of positive test at 14.9 and 9.8 and of negative test at 0.07 and 0.07, respectively.ConclusionsThe Short Form of the Mini‐Mental State Examination was a good screening test for dementia in older individuals followed in a memory clinic for a memory complaint. The next step should be the confirmation of its discriminative value in older primary care patients.
Equity, Fairness and Justice Implications of Land Tenure Formalization in Cameroon
Authors: Njoh Ambe J. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThis article examines Cameroon's modern land policy. Initially, it traces the policy's roots to the colonial era. As the only African country that came under the control of three European colonial powers, viz. Germany, Britain and France, Cameroon provides a unique opportunity to understand colonialism's influence on Africa's persistent land problem. This is because the problem is structurally embedded in the historical processes of colonial rule. The heart of the article focuses on the policy's provisions for land tenure formalization, especially the land titling process. Of interest are the implications of this process for questions of equity, fairness and justice as they relate to access to land in the country. It suggests that, contrary to what proponents claim, land tenure formalization is not a panacea enabling capital accumulation for all. The article marshals evidence to show that the land tenure formalization requirements in Cameroon have effectively served to aggravate socioeconomic inequalities in the country. This is especially because the requirements favour societal elites, including bureaucrats, politicians and entrepreneurs. The article concludes that, by making government‐issued land titles the unique testament to landownership, the country's indigenous authorities have aggravated the problem of inequitable, unfair and unjust access to land that they inherited from their colonial predecessors.
Different Manifestations of the Concept of Empowerment: The Politics of Urban Renewal in theUnitedStates and theUnitedKingdom
Authors: Bacqué Marie‐Hélène , Biewener Carole 
Published: August 2012

AbstractOver the course of the 1990s the concept of empowerment became firmly established within the vocabulary of urban politics in several different national contexts. This article analyzes the spread of this concept by looking at the politics of urban renewal in theUnitedStates and theUnitedKingdom. It shows that even if (and possibly because) the definition of empowerment remained vague, the turn to empowerment came out of and contributed to a shift in the nature of urban politics and to a reconfiguration of governmental methods, the role of the state and, consequently, to changes in civil society, all of which were associated with a rise to prominence of a neoliberal perspective.
Phytohormones and willow gall induction by a gall‐inducing sawfly
Authors: Yamaguchi Hiroki , Tanaka Hiroki , Hasegawa Morifumi , Tokuda Makoto , Asami Tadao , Suzuki Yoshihito 
Published: August 2012

SummaryA variety of insect species induce galls on host plants. Several studies have implicated phytohormones in insect‐induced gall formation. However, it has not been determined whether insects can synthesize phytohormones. It has also never been established that phytohormones function in gall tissues.Liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) were used to analyse concentrations of endogenous cytokinins and the active auxinIAAin the gall‐inducing sawfly (Pontaniasp.) and its host plant,Salix japonica. Feeding experiments demonstrated the ability of sawfly larvae to synthesizeIAAfrom tryptophan. Gene expression analysis was used to characterize hormonal signalling in galls.Sawfly larvae contain high concentrations ofIAAandt‐zeatin, and produceIAAfrom tryptophan. The glands of adult sawflies, the contents of which are injected into leaves upon oviposition and are involved in the initial stages of gall formation, contain an extraordinarily high concentration oft‐zeatin riboside. Transcript levels of some auxin‐ and cytokinin‐responsive genes are significantly higher in gall tissue than in leaves.The abnormally high concentration oft‐zeatin riboside in the glands strongly suggests that the sawfly can synthesize cytokinins as well asIAA. Gene expression profiles indicate high levels of auxin and cytokinin activities in growing galls.
Isotopes reveal contrasting water use strategies among coexisting plant species in a Mediterranean ecosystem
Authors: Moreno‐Gutiérrez Cristina , Dawson Todd E. , Nicolás Emilio , Querejeta José Ignacio 
Published: August 2012

SummaryVariation in the stable carbon and oxygen isotope composition (δ13C, Δ18O) of co‐occurring plant species may reflect the functional diversity of water use strategies present in natural plant communities.We investigated the patterns of water use among 10 coexisting plant species representing diverse taxonomic groups and life forms in semiarid southeast Spain by measuring their leaf δ13C and Δ18O, the oxygen isotope ratio of stem water and leaf gas exchange rates.Across species, Δ18O was tightly negatively correlated with stomatal conductance (gs), whereas δ13C was positively correlated with intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi). Broad interspecific variation in Δ18O, δ13C andWUEiwas largely determined by differences ings, as indicated by a strong positive correlation between leaf δ13C and Δ18O across speciesThe 10 co‐occurring species segregated along a continuous ecophysiological gradient defined by their leaf δ13C and Δ18O, thus revealing a wide spectrum of stomatal regulation intensity and contrasting water use strategies ranging from ‘profligate/opportunistic’ (highgs, lowWUEi) to ‘conservative’ (lowgs, highWUEi). Coexisting species maintained their relative isotopic rankings in 2 yr with contrasting rainfall, suggesting the existence of species‐specific ‘isotopic niches’ that reflect ecophysiological niche segregation in dryland plant communities.
Evolutionary stasis of sporopollenin biochemistry revealed by unaltered Pennsylvanian spores
Authors: Fraser W. T. , Scott A. C. , Forbes A. E. S. , Glasspool I. J. , Plotnick R. E. , Kenig F. , Lomax B. H. 
Published: August 2012

Summary

The biopolymer sporopollenin present in the spore/pollen walls of all land plants is regarded as one of the most recalcitrant biomacromolecules (biopolymers), providing protection against a range of abiotic stresses. This long‐term stability is demonstrated by the near‐ubiquitous presence of pollen and spores in the fossil record with spores providing the first evidence for the colonization of the land.

Here, we report for the first time chemical analyses of geologically unaltered sporopollenin from Pennsylvanian (c. 310 million yr before present (MyBP)) cave deposits.

Our data show that Pennsylvanian Lycophyta megaspore sporopollenin has a strong chemical resemblance to extant relatives and indicates that a co‐polymer model of sporopollenin formation is the most likely configuration.

Broader comparison indicates that extant sporopollenin structure is similar across widely spaced phylogenetic groups and suggests land plant sporopollenin structure has remained stable since embryophytes invaded land.
Generic patient‐reported outcomes in child health research: a review of conceptual content using World Health Organization definitions
Authors: FAYED NORA , DE CAMARGO OLAF KRAUS , KERR ELIZABETH , ROSENBAUM PETER , DUBEY ANKITA , BOSTAN CRISTINA , FAULHABER MARKUS , RAINA PARMINDER , CIEZA ALARCOS 
Published: August 2012

Aim  Our aims were to (1) describe the conceptual basis of popular generic instruments according to World Health Organization (WHO) definitions of functioning, disability, and health (FDH), and quality of life (QOL) with health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) as a subcomponent of QOL; (2) map the instruments to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF); and (3) provide information on how the analyzed instruments were used in the literature. This should enable users to make valid choices about which instruments have the desired content for a specific context or purpose.Method  Child health‐based literature over a 5‐year period was reviewed to find research employing health status and QOL/HRQOL instruments. WHO definitions of FDH and QOL were applied to each item of the 15 most used instruments to differentiate measures of FDH and QOL/HRQOL. The ICF was used to describe the health and health‐related content (if any) in those instruments. Additional aspects of instrument use were extracted from these articles.Results  Many instruments that were used to measure QOL/HRQOL did not reflect WHO definitions of QOL. The ICF domains within instruments were highly variable with respect to whether body functions, activities and participation, or environment were emphasized.Interpretation  There is inconsistency among researchers about how to measure HRQOL and QOL. Moreover, when an ICF content analysis is applied, there is variability among instruments in the health components included and emphasized. Reviewing content is important for matching instruments to their intended purpose.
Autophosphorylation of the C2 domain inhibits translocation of the novel protein kinase C (nPKC) Apl II
Authors: Farah Carole A. , Lindeman Amanda A. , Siu Vincent , Gupta Micaela Das , Sossin Wayne S. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractProtein kinase Cs (PKCs) are critical signaling molecules controlled by complex regulatory pathways. Herein, we describe an important regulatory role for C2 domain phosphorylation. Novel PKCs (nPKCs) contain an N‐terminal C2 domain that cannot bind to calcium. Previously, we described an autophosphorylation site in the Aplysia novel PKC Apl II that increased the binding of the C2 domain to lipids. In this study, we show that the function of this phosphorylation is to inhibit PKC translocation. Indeed, a phosphomimetic serine‐glutamic acid mutation reduced translocation of PKC Apl II while blocking phosphorylation with a serine‐alanine mutation enhanced translocation and led to the persistence of the kinase at the membrane longer after the end of the stimulation. Consistent with a role for autophosphorylation in regulating kinase translocation, inhibiting PKC activity using bisindolymaleimide 1 increased physiological translocation of PKC Apl II, whereas inhibiting phosphatase activity using calyculin A inhibited physiological translocation of PKC Apl II in neurons. Our results suggest a major role for autophosphorylation‐dependent regulation of translocation.
Protein engineering and preclinical development of a GM‐CSF receptor antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Minter RR , Cohen ES , Wang B , Liang M , Vainshtein I , Rees G , Eghobamien L , Harrison P , Sims DA , Matthews C , Wilkinson T , Monk P , Drinkwater C , Fabri L , Nash A , McCourt M , Jermutus L , Roskos L , Anderson IK , Sleeman MA 
Published: August 2012

Background and PurposeFor antibody therapies against receptor targets, in vivo outcomes can be difficult to predict because of target‐mediated clearance or antigen ‘sink’ effects. The purpose of this work was to engineer an antibody to the GM‐CSF receptor α (GM‐CSFRα) with pharmacological properties optimized for chronic, s.c. treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.Experimental ApproachWe used an in silico model of receptor occupancy to guide the target affinity and a combinatorial phage display approach for affinity maturation. Mechanism of action and internalization assays were performed on the optimized antibody in vitro before refining the modelling predictions of the eventual dosing in man. Finally, in vivo pharmacology studies in cynomolgus monkeys were carried out to inform the predictions and support future clinical development.Key ResultsAntibody potency was improved 8600‐fold, and the target affinity was reached. The refined model predicted pharmacodynamic effects at doses as low as 1 mg kg−1 and a study in cynomolgus monkeys confirmed in vivo efficacy at 1 mg kg−1 dosing.Conclusions and ImplicationsThis rational approach to antibody drug discovery enabled the isolation of a potent molecule compatible with chronic, s.c. self‐administration by RA patients. We believe this general approach enables the development of optimal biopharmaceuticals.
Contesting Beirut's Frontiers
Authors: BOU AKAR HIBA 
Published: August 2012

AbstractOn May 7, 2008, armed militias took to the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, in the worst sectarian fighting the city had seen since the end of the Lebanese civil war (1975‐1990). This paper argues that critical to the understanding of the contestations of post‐civil war Beirut are the ways in which the production of mundane geographies (such as housing, roads, and industrial zones) by religious‐political organizations have transformed Beirut's peripheral spaces into frontiers of conflict. These geographies are produced within planned and imagined geographies of local and regional wars that are “yet to come.” Based on ethnographic and archival research, this paper maps the transformation of what used to be a peripheral area into a religiously‐contested frontier zone, where spatial contestation has become less about war maneuvering and more about the production of a spatial order of political difference through land markets, building and infrastructure construction, and urban regulations and zoning. The study provides insights into how the geographies of the civil war, economic post‐war restructuring, resistance to Israel's incursions, the regional rise of Hezbollah's military power, the post‐war crisis of war militias such as the PSP, along with the skyrocketing prohibitive costs of land and housing in municipal Beirut have been articulated in new robust, shifting divide lines that configure the urban politics of Beirut's peripheries. I illustrate how the practice of urban planning in Beirut involve innovative techniques to continuously “balance” a spatiality of political difference in order to keep a war at bay while simultaneously allowing for urban growth and development profit.
How Corruption Kills: Pharmaceutical Crime, Mediated Representations, and Middle Class Anxiety in Neoliberal Argentina
Authors: GOLDSTEIN DONNA M. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractArgentina is referenced by social scientists as a useful case study for exploring the contours of neoliberal crisis in Latin America. The middle classes of Buenos Aires have played a key role in critiquing neoliberal policies, including those that were responsible for the 2001 crisis and subsequent collapse of the country's economy. Yet these same middle classes are also part of an educated urban elite who both produce and consume the newsworthy journalism that remains implicitly supportive of neoliberal truths. The year 2008 marks the beginning of a journalistic saga that revolves around the case of three young pharmaceutical entrepreneurs in Greater Buenos Aires who were kidnapped and killed by what appeared to be a Mexican drug trafficking gang. The alleged intruders were believed to have entered Argentina in order to gain access to ephedrine, a key ingredient of methamphetamine that is made available from the manipulation of legal pharmaceutical products. From this original incident, two cases have emerged as a subject of intense journalistic scrutiny: the “triple homicide case” and the “medicines mafia case.” This essay analyzes the unfolding of these cases in the daily newspapersPágina 12andClarínas an illustration of the ways in which journalistic portrayals of crime in contemporary Argentina are inflected by class. The cases reported could well be characterized as “epic” in that they point to a new form of neoliberal modernity that is populated by entrepreneurial middle class criminals operating at the borderlands of legal and illegal activities. The case suggests that in Argentina, new forms of sociality may be emerging among the middle classes, who have not only experienced neoliberal collapse but have also been subjects of journalistic reporting that predicts their inevitable pauperization.
Is it possible to predict low‐volume and insignificant prostate cancer by core needle biopsies?
Authors: Berg Kasper Drimer , Toft Birgitte Grønkaer , Røder Martin Andreas , Brasso Klaus , Vainer Ben , Iversen Peter 
Published: August 2012

In an attempt to minimize overtreatment of localized prostate cancer (PCa) active surveillance (AS) and minor invasive procedures have received increased attention. We investigated the accuracy of pre‐operative findings in defining insignificant disease and distinguishing between unilateral/unifocal and bilateral/multifocal PCa. One‐hundred and sixty patients undergoing radical prostatectomy were included. Histology reports from the biopsies and matching prostatectomies were compared. Three definitions of insignificant cancer were used: InsigE: tumour volume ≤0.5 mL; InsigW: tumour volume ≤1.3 mL; InsigM: tumour ≤5% of total prostate volume and prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) ≤10 ng/mL. In all definitions, Gleason score (GS) was ≤6 and the tumour was organ confined. Biopsies alone performed poorly as a predictor of unifocal and unilateral cancer in the prostatectomy specimens with positive predictive values of 17.8% and 18.9% respectively. Inclusion of other clinical and biochemical parameters did not significantly increase the predictive value. However, the combination of GS ≤ 6, PSA ≤ 10 ng/mL and unifocal or unilateral cancer in biopsy cores resulted in a positive predictive value of 61.1%, 38.9% and 12.0%, respectively, for identifying InsigM, InsigW and InsigE in the prostate specimen. Conclusively, routine prostate biopsies cannot predict unifocal and unilateral PCa, and must be regarded insufficient to select patients for focal therapy. Although candidates for AS may be identified using standard biopsies, a considerable fraction of patients will be understaged. There is a need for more precise diagnostic tools to assess intraprostatic tumour growth.
Modifying the role of serotonergic 5‐HTTLPR and TPH2 variants on disulfiram treatment of cocaine addiction: a preliminary study
Authors: Nielsen D. A. , Harding M. J. , Hamon S. C. , Huang W. , Kosten T. R. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractDisulfiram is a cocaine pharmacotherapy that may act through increasing serotonin, benefiting patients with genetically low serotonin transporter levels (5‐HTTLPR, S′ allele carriers) and low serotonin synthesis (TPH2, A allele carriers). We stabilized 71 cocaine and opioid co‐dependent patients on methadone for 2 weeks and randomized them into disulfiram and placebo groups for 10 weeks. We genotyped the SLC6A4 5‐HTTLPR (rs4795541, rs25531) and TPH2 1125A>T (rs4290270) variants and evaluated their role in moderating disulfiram treatment for cocaine dependence. Cocaine‐positive urines dropped from 78% to 54% for the disulfiram group and from 77% to 76% for the placebo group among the 5‐HTTLPR S′ allele carriers (F = 16.2; df = 1,301; P < 0.0001). TPH2 A allele carriers responded better to disulfiram than placebo (F = 16.0; df = 1,223; P < 0.0001). Patients with both an S′ allele and a TPH2 A allele reduced cocaine urines from 71% to 53% on disulfiram and had no change on placebo (F = 21.6; df = 1,185; P < 0.00001).