bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spinal administration of the monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitor JZL184 produces robust inhibitory effects on nociceptive processing and the development of central sensitization in the rat
Authors: Woodhams SG , Wong A , Barrett DA , Bennett AJ , Chapman V , Alexander SPH 
Published: August 2012

Background and PurposeThe cannabinoid receptor‐mediated analgesic effects of 2‐arachidonoylglycerol (2‐AG) are limited by monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). 4‐nitrophenyl 4‐[bis (1,3‐benzodioxol‐5‐yl) (hydroxy) methyl] piperidine‐1‐carboxylate (JZL184) is a potent inhibitor of MAGL in the mouse, though potency is reportedly reduced in the rat. Here we have assessed the effects of spinal inhibition of MAGL with JZL184 on nociceptive processing in rats.Experimental ApproachIn vivo spinal electrophysiological assays in anaesthetized rats were used to determine the effects of spinal administration of JZL184 on spinal nociceptive processing in the presence and absence of hindpaw inflammation. Contributions of CB1 receptors to these effects was assessed with AM251. Inhibition of 2‐oleoylglycerol hydrolytic activity and alterations of 2‐AG in the spinal cord after JZL 184 were also assessed.Key ResultsSpinal JZL184 dose‐dependently inhibited mechanically evoked responses of wide dynamic range (WDR) neurones in naïve anaesthetized rats, in part via the CB1 receptor. A single spinal administration of JZL184 abolished inflammation‐induced expansion of the receptive fields of spinal WDR neurones. However, neither spinal nor systemic JZL184 altered levels of 2‐AG, or 2‐oleoylglycerol hydrolytic activity in the spinal cord, although JZL184 displayed robust inhibition of MAGL when incubated with spinal cord tissue in vitro.Conclusions and ImplicationsJZL184 exerted robust anti‐nociceptive effects at the level of the spinal cord in vivo and inhibited rat spinal cord MAGL activity in vitro. The discordance between in vivo and in vitro assays suggests that localized sites of action of JZL184 produce these profound functional inhibitory effects.Linked ArticlesThis article is part of a themed section on Cannabinoids. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2012.167.issue‐8
Synergistic interaction between PPAR ligands and salbutamol on human bronchial smooth muscle cell proliferation
Authors: Fogli S , Stefanelli F , Picchianti L , Del Re M , Mey V , Bardelli C , Danesi R , Breschi MC 
Published: August 2012

Background and PurposeAn important objective in asthma therapy is to prevent the accelerated growth of airway smooth muscle cells which leads to hyperplasia and bronchial hyperreactivity. We investigated the effect of combination of salbutamol and PPARγ agonists on growth factor‐stimulated human bronchial smooth muscle cell (BSMC) proliferation.Experimental ApproachSynergism was quantified by the combination index‐isobologram method. Assays used here included analyses of growth inhibition, cell viability, DNA fragmentation, gene transcription, cell cycle and protein expression.Key ResultsThe PPARγ gene was highly expressed in BSMC and the protein was identified in cell nuclei. Single‐agent salbutamol or PPARγ agonists prevented growth factor‐induced human BSMC proliferation within a micromolar range of concentrations through their specific receptor subtypes. Sub‐micromolar levels of combined salbutamol‐PPARγ agonist inhibited growth by 50% at concentrations from ∼2 to 12‐fold lower than those required for each drug alone, without induction of apoptosis or necrosis. Combination treatments also promoted cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition phase and inhibition of ERK phosphorylation.Conclusions and ImplicationsThe synergistic interaction between PPARγ agonists and β2‐adrenoceptor agonists on airway smooth muscle cell proliferation highlights the anti‐remodelling potential of this combination in chronic lung diseases.
The Economic Growth Impacts of Sugarcane Expansion in Brazil: An Inter‐regional Analysis
Authors: Deuss Annelies 
Published: August 2012

AbstractSince 2001, Brazil has experienced a sharp increase in sugarcane production due to the upsurge in demand for sugar and ethanol, two products derived from sugarcane. This study analyses the impacts of these sugarcane expansions on economic growth. The effects are examined at the municipality level in Brazil as a whole and in the main sugarcane producing regions, the North‐Northeast (NE) and the Centre‐South (CS). In this latter region, an additional distinction is made between the state of São Paulo (SP) and the Centre‐South region excluding São Paulo (CSex) since the bulk of the recent expansion took place in SP while most of the future expansions are planned in CSex. Estimators based on the propensity score are used to construct two types of counterfactual scenarios. The estimations in the first scenario show that municipalities in NE and CSex that expanded sugarcane production experienced economic growth as a result. No significant effect was found in SP. The second scenario focuses on CSex and establishes that sugarcane non‐expanding municipalities in this region would have had higher economic growth if they had increased sugarcane production. The results of this study suggest that future sugarcane plantations should indeed be located in CSex because they contribute to economic growth.
Alcohol Tax, Price–Quality Proxy and Discounting: A Reason Why Alcohol Taxes May Rebound
Authors: Panzone Luca A. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe increasing concern about the external costs of alcohol consumption has often led economists and policy‐makers to advocate taxes to internalise the social costs and target consumption. However, in certain markets for alcoholic drinks – particularly wine – price is not only a cost but also an indicator of quality, guiding consumer choice. There is, perhaps, a higher probability of ex post satisfaction with products at higher prices in a market with potential adverse selection. The price–quality proxy interacts with discounts, where the full price of the product before discount (referred to as the External Reference Price in the marketing literature) is used as a quality reference.This study shows that an alcohol tax in the presence of discounting may increase the perceived value of the product, and therefore persuade consumers to prefer the purchase of more expensive wines with the highest discount. As a consequence, consumers could favour products with higher alcohol content – which contradicts the objectives of the policy. Consequently, for an alcohol tax to be effective discounting of alcoholic beverages (in particular, wine) should be regulated to avoid the policy backfiring.
Mobile Phones and Radios: Effects on Transactions Costs and Market Participation for Households in Northern Ghana
Authors: Zanello Giacomo 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe literature on agricultural markets suggests that transactions costs are the main obstacles preventing households from participating in agricultural markets. We examine the impact of the recent massive penetration of information communication technologies (ICTs), particularly mobile phones and radios, in developing countries to investigate the role of information in economic transactions and participation in food crop markets. To fully capture market participation behaviours, the current theoretical framework on market participation and transactions costs is extended to include those households that sell and buy in the same time period. We correct for endogeneity and selectivity throughout our models. We used a novel dataset of 393 households in northern Ghana with detailed information on market transactions and ICTs usage. Results show that receiving market information via mobile phones has a positive and significant impact on market participation, with a greater impact for households with a surplus of food crops. We find that radios have a larger impact on the quantity traded. This may reflect the nature of mobile phones in reducing searching costs, whereas radios provide an updated and regular flow of information which affects the pattern of crops consumed and sold. We also emphasise that the most significant factor is how ICTs are used, rather than their ownership.
The Demand for Organic and Conventional Produce in London, UK: A System Approach
Authors: Fourmouzi Vasiliki , Genius Margarita , Midmore Peter 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe majority of studies on consumer demand for organic products neglect the presence of non‐organic competitors, ignoring their effect on consumer demand for organics. This article uses a demand system which includes both organic and non‐organic fruits and vegetables, with actual (as opposed to stated) data for household purchases. Estimation of our model provides empirical evidence on the interrelationships between organic and non‐organic products, as the relevant cross‐price elasticities. Own‐price elasticities indicate that organic fruits and vegetables are more price elastic than their non‐organic counterparts, and that lower social class households with children have the most own‐price elastic demand. Cross‐price elasticities indicate relatively strong loyalty to organic products.
Economic Perspectives on Nutrition Policy Evaluation
Authors: Traill W. Bruce 
Published: August 2012

AbstractToo much food energy intake (relative to expenditure) and unbalanced diets are implicated in a range of diseases that impose major burdens on healthcare systems and cause pain and suffering. Governments have responded by introducing a range of measures, mainly targeting information and education, largely to children. However, more interventionist measures have been advocated and, in the past year, various food taxes have been introduced in Denmark, Hungary and France. The Address discusses evaluation of policies, particularly in the light of alternative theories of diet choice (rational choice, systematically irrational, automatic). The public health approach uses quality adjusted life years but fails to distinguish between private and social benefits and takes no account of the drivers of food choice behaviour. The economic approach, based on informed choice, makes the distinction between private and social benefits (if not always explicitly) but struggles to evaluate policies that change utility functions and with behavioural assumptions other than traditional rationality. Alternative assumptions and approaches could put the cost of unhealthy eating anywhere between £10 billion and £100 billion per annum in the UK. Evidence suggests that information measures (to perform or persuade) do not much change diets, nor do they tackle the externality element of unhealthy eating. They may, however, help change long‐term social norms. More interventionist measures like taxes improve social welfare (according to the compensation principle) and reduce health inequalities but are regressive, like all sin taxes. Almost all interventions pass cost‐effectiveness tests.
Farmers’ Willingness to Participate in Payment‐for‐Environmental‐Services Programmes
Authors: Ma Shan , Swinton Scott M. , Lupi Frank , Jolejole‐Foreman Christina 
Published: August 2012

AbstractUnderstanding farmers’ willingness to participate in agricultural payment‐for‐environmental‐services (PES) programmes is an essential precondition for designing effective and efficient programmes. Willingness to participate is typically examined via stated preference surveys using the standard hurdle model for whether and how much to participate. Among respondents who decline to participate, such analyses cannot distinguish between respondents who declined due to the payment level and those who were not interested at all. This paper applies a double hurdle model to incorporate a prior condition for whether a respondent is even willing to consider participating in the PES market. The model uses a unique stated preference survey permitting separation of the consideration and enrolment decisions of 1,700 farmers in Michigan, USA. The first hurdle probit model suggests that farmers’ willingness to consider PES chiefly depends on farm and farmer characteristics, while the second hurdle tobit model shows that decisions on whether and how much to enrol depend more on the payment offer and marginal benefit–cost criteria. This study provides fresh insights on facilitating farmer participation in PES programmes using tiered strategies that differ in costs of programme payment and administration.
A Sad but Forgotten Truth: The Story of Slow‐Moving Solutes in Fast Hemodialysis
Authors: Eloot Sunny , Van Biesen Wim , Vanholder Raymond 
Published: August 2012

AbstractWhen trying to optimize hemodialysis adequacy, it can be questioned whether one should focus on the dialyzer or on the patient. Another crucial question is whether the currently applied dialysis adequacy parameter, Kt/Vurea, is a reliable marker. For the small and water‐soluble solutes, recent advances in convective strategies and/or new dialyzer designs do not add much removal capacity. Depending on their specific kinetics, generally quite different from those of urea, small solute removal benefits from longer or more frequent dialysis. Clearance of beta‐2‐microglobulin (β2M), a marker of middle molecule removal pattern, is improved with dialysis using more open and permselective membranes, as well as by using high convective volume strategies. Furthermore, longer and more frequent dialyses have highly favorable removal characteristics because they facilitate the retarded transport between plasmatic and extraplasmatic compartments over which these molecules are distributed. As β2M may not be representative of other middle molecules, future kinetic analyses of alternative middle molecules will be of the utmost interest. Protein‐bound solute clearance is improved by convective techniques, but not by more open dialyzer pores. Knowledge of their kinetics should be helpful in interpreting the observation that frequent (but not longer) dialysis enhances protein‐bound solute removal. Hence, further technical improvements in dialyzers will have only a minor impact on dialysis adequacy, as retarded solute movement in the patient plays a decisive role. As urea kinetics is not representative of the kinetics of protein‐bound compounds, middle molecules, nor even of other small and water‐soluble solutes, it becomes self‐evident that urea clearance is a poor predictor of many aspects of dialysis adequacy.
Viva Voce: Implications from the Disappearing Voice Vote, 1865–1996
Authors: Lynch Michael S. , Madonna Anthony J. 
Published: August 2012

ObjectiveCongressional votes are only recorded if a member formally requests a roll call vote, and that request is supported by one‐fifth of those present. Many votes pass viva voce and are never recorded. We seek to examine changing patterns of unrecorded voting, analyze the causes of these changes, and consider the implications of these changes for congressional scholars.MethodsUsing landmark legislation from the 39th (1865–1867) to the 104th Congress (1995–1996), we analyze whether bills receive a recorded or unrecorded final passage vote.ResultsWe find that while the likelihood that a landmark law receives a recorded final passage vote fluctuates over time, electoral pressures consistently influence members’ decisions to record their votes.ConclusionsWe argue that studies of Congress must account for the roll call generating process when analyzing roll call data.
The Politics of Causes: Mass Shootings and the Cases of the Virginia Tech and Tucson Tragedies
Authors: Joslyn Mark R. , Haider‐Markel Donald P. 
Published: August 2012

ObjectiveWe employ theories of causal reasoning to understand attributions about the 2007 Virginia Tech and 2011 Tucson shootings. We argue that attributions stem from two motives: (1) a partisan motivation to perceive events consistent with party attachments, and (2) a drive to minimize the cognitive burdens associated with extensive reasoning processes. The latter motive is expected to produce a fundamental attribution bias: the least educated respondents attribute blame for the shootings to the individual assailant while the most educated attribute blame to environmental conditions.MethodsWe test hypotheses using 2007 and 2011 national surveys reported just after the shootings.ResultsOur findings suggest a major partisan divide on the causes of tragedy; Democrats believed social and political forces were responsible whereas Republicans blamed individual gunmen. Considerable differences between the least and most educated respondents were also discovered. Greater educational attainment was associated with environmental attributions. Finally, the analyses revealed that education had virtually no influence on Republican attributions, but enhanced Democrats’ penchant to blame the tragedy on environmental factors.ConclusionOur study highlights the utility of using motivational theories of causal attributions to understanding and modeling the cognitive processes involved in perceived causes about gun‐related tragedies.
Legislatures, Leaders, and Leviathans: How Constitutional Institutions Affect the Size of Government Spending
Authors: Maldonado Beatriz 
Published: August 2012

ObjectivesResearch has shown that government spending can affect GDP growth rates, yet there is no comprehensive study that looks at how a country's choice of political institutions affects government spending. This article focuses on how the choice of regime type (presidential, parliamentary, or mixed), legislative chamber structure (bicameral or unicameral), legislative chamber size, and electoral rules affect the level of government spending.MethodsThe methodology used is pooled ordinary least squares for an unbalanced panel of 92 democracies between 1975 and 2007.ResultsThe results show that the relationship between legislative chamber size and government spending is linear in unicameral countries but nonlinear in bicameral countries, plurality electoral rule is always associated with less spending than any other type of electoral rule, and unicameral and bicameral countries should not be modeled together.ConclusionsWhile countries that have long‐standing political institutions are less likely to change the characteristics of those political institutions in order to change the level of government spending, the results of this article suggest that countries that are establishing new political institutions (e.g., South Sudan and Libya) stand to benefit from knowing what types of institutions are conducive for growth.
Campaign Spending and Voter Participation in State Legislative Elections
Authors: Hogan Robert E. 
Published: August 2012

ObjectivePrevious studies demonstrate that campaigns play an important role in mobilizing citizen participation in elections. The present analysis examines the effects of campaign spending on voter turnout in the state legislative setting where our knowledge of campaign effects is quite limited.MethodIn an examination of state legislative elections across 20 states over two election cycles, the analysis considers the influence of candidate spending on voter turnout.ResultsThe findings demonstrate that campaign spending has a strong influence on voter participation; however, this effect is mitigated by contextual features. Legislative professionalism reduces the influence of spending, while the presence of a high‐stimulus statewide election enhances it. In addition, challenger spending is more effective at stimulating participation than incumbent spending.ConclusionsHigher levels of campaign spending increase voter participation in state legislative elections; however, these effects vary according to context. These findings have important implications for theories of participation in American democracy as well for normative issues concerning the role of money in elections.
Properties of Alumina Coagulated Bodies Prepared by Direct Coagulation Casting via High Valence Counter Ions (DCC‐HVCI)
Authors: Xu Jie , Qu Yanan , Xi Xiaoqing , Yang Jinlong 
Published: August 2012

Alumina green bodies were prepared by direct coagulation casting via increasing high valence counter ions (DCC‐HVCI) method. Influence of calcium iodate concentration, coagulation temperature, and the solid loading on the compressive strength of coagulated bodies was investigated. The results show that the wet‐coagulated bodies display higher compressive strength than dried ones. The wet strength is above 2.0 MPa which is about one order higher than that prepared by DCC method, whereas the dried strength is in the range of 1.0 MPa. The wet‐coagulated body shows elastic deformation, whereas the dried body exhibits typical brittle failure behavior. The mechanism of high wet strength obtained by DCC‐HVCI is also proposed. The coagulated bodies prepared from slurries of alumina loading in the range of 50 vol% showed linear shrinkage of 2.6% after drying at 80°C for 24 h. The sample with the powder content of 50 vol% displays a narrow average pore channel size, showing a mean pore diameter of 40 nm. A homogeneous green body and high wet strength can be obtained via the DCC‐HVCI method.
Y4Si2O7N2: A New Oxynitride with Low Thermal Conductivity
Authors: Sun Luchao , Liu Bin , Wang Jiemin , Wang Jingyang , Zhou Yanchun , Hu Zijun 
Published: August 2012

Search for new thermal barrier materials with high‐temperature stability is very difficult because there are intractable choices among thousands of possible candidates. The present paper shows that identifying and developing new low thermal conductivity materials can be accomplished by first‐principles calculations of equilibrium crystal structure and elasticity, and thereafter making theoretical prediction of minimum high‐temperature lattice thermal conductivity basing on David Clarke's method for insulating materials. We highlight a new oxynitride ceramic,Y4Si2O7N2, with a low theoretical minimum thermal conductivity of 1.12 W·m−1·K−1. The theoretical result is further validated by experimental measurement of thermal conductivity of dense and bulkY4Si2O7N2. The experimental thermal conductivity is 1.50 W·m−1·K−1at 1300 K. Furthermore, thermal properties ofY4Si2O7N2are investigated for evaluating its potential performances.
Forensic Epidemiologic and Biomechanical Analysis of a Pelvic Cavity Blowout Injury Associated with Ejection from a Personal Watercraft (Jet‐Ski)
Authors: Freeman Michael D. , Everson Todd M. , Kohles Sean S. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractJet‐propelled personal watercraft (PWC) or jet‐skis have become increasingly popular. The means of propulsion of PWC, which is a jet of water forced out of small nozzle at the rear of the craft, combined with a high risk of falling off of the seat and into close proximity with the water jet stream, raise the potential for a unique type of injury mechanism. The most serious injuries associated with PWC falls are those that occur when the perineum passes in close proximity to the jet nozzle and the high‐pressure water stream enters the vaginal or rectal orifice. We describe the forensic investigation into a case of an anovaginal “blowout” injury in a passenger who was ejected from the rear seat position of a PWC and subsequently suffered life‐threatening injuries to the pelvic organs. The investigation included a biomechanical analysis of the injury mechanism, a summary of prior published reports of internal pelvic injuries resulting from PWC falls as well as other water sports and activities, and a comparison of the severity of the injuries resulting from differing mechanisms using the New Injury Severity Score (NISS). The mean (±standard deviation [SD]) NISS values for reported PWC injuries [not including the NISS of 38 in this case study] were 11.2 (±9.5), while the mean value for reported water‐skiing falls was half that of the PWC group at 5.6 (±5.2). It was concluded that the analyzed injuries were unique to a PWC ejection versus other previously described non‐PWC‐associated water sport injuries. It is recommended that PWC manufacturers help consumers understand the potential risks to passengers with highly visible warnings and reduce injury risk with revised seat design, and/or passenger seat “deadman” switches.