bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Tale of Two Ports: The Economic Geography of Inter‐City Rivalry*
Authors: Long Ngo Van , Wong Kar‐yiu 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThis paper examines how two geographically separated ports compete for a market consisting of manufacturing firms located between them. There is a service firm in each port, and these two firms, taking the infrastructure provided by their governments as given, compete in prices. The governments compete in terms of investment in infrastructure. This paper shows that there are cases in which both the firm and the government in the port that has a longer history may have the first‐mover advantage. In particular, the government can provide a credible threat by overinvesting in infrastructure.
WTO as Moral Support
Authors: Furusawa Taiji 
Published: April 2009

AbstractInternational cooperation in trade policies under the auspices of the WTO makes countries “feel” more obliged to uphold agreements. The paper emphasizes the role of the WTO to give moral support: countries incur “psychological costs” when they renege on the agreements that are formally signed under the WTO. Using the concept of Kandori's (2003) “morale equilibrium,” we formalize this idea and show that countries can agree on a cooperative level of the binding tariffs but they occasionally deviate from the agreement, which lowers the morale and invites further deviations in the future.
FAMILY POLICIES AND THE OPTIMAL POPULATION GROWTH RATE: CLOSED AND SMALL OPEN ECONOMIES
Authors: Fanti Luciano , Gori Luca 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTWe re‐examine the issue of optimal population in the basic overlapping generations model of neoclassical growth with endogenous fertility and time cost of children in both closed and small open economies. In the former case, we show that the golden rule of population growth can be achieved by a benevolent government in a market setting whose purpose is to maximize the steady‐state individual lifetime welfare, using either a child subsidy or a child tax. In the latter case, the child subsidy (tax) can be used as an exclusive instrument to replicate the command optimum.
Fire and Ice: Unnatural Disasters and the Disposable Urban Poor in Post‐Apartheid Johannesburg
Authors: MURRAY MARTIN J. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractJohannesburg is a divided city where propertied middle‐class residents and the urban poor live in existentially separate worlds. If the steady accretion of luxury entertainment sites, enclosed shopping malls and gated residential communities in the northern suburbs has come to symbolize the entry of middle‐class urbanites into the culture of aspirant ‘world class’ cities, then the proliferation of overcrowded, resource‐starved informal settlements on the periurban fringe represents the dystopian features of distressed urbanism. The risk‐prone environments of informal squatter settlements magnify the impact of catastrophic events like fires and floods, and the intersection of disaster‐vulnerable settlement patterns with relaxed planning regulations and building standards, lack of preparation for unsuspected calamities, and inadequate crisis management creates entirely new artificial hazards. These unnatural disasters cannot simply be attributed to ‘bad luck’ or nature's destructive force. Disaster‐vulnerability and exposure to risk are unevenly distributed across the metropolis. By focusing attention on the catastrophic fires that regularly destroy shanty settlements in places like Alexandra township at the northeast corner of Johannesburg, it is possible to reveal a largely hidden structure of marginality and social insecurity that is a permanent condition of everyday life for the urban poor.Résumé Johannesburg est une ville divisée où habitants de la classe moyenne possédante et citadins pauvres vivent dans des univers d’existence séparés. Si l’augmentation régulière des lieux de distractions, centres commerciaux et enclaves privées sécurisées dans les banlieues Nord signe l’accès des citadins de la classe moyenne à la culture des villes candidates à‘l’échelon international’, la prolifération d’implantations sauvages surpeuplées et dépourvues de ressources à la limite périurbaine traduit les caractères dystopiques d’un urbanisme sinistré. Les environnements à risque des implantations sauvages des squatters amplifient l’impact des catastrophes telles que les incendies ou inondations, tandis que la conjonction entre modèles d’implantations à risque assortis de réglementations d’urbanisme et de normes de construction assouplies, préparation insuffisante à des calamités insoupçonnées et gestion inappropriée des crises, crée des risques artificiels totalement nouveaux. On ne peut attribuer ces désastres non naturels simplement à la malchance ou à la force destructrice de la nature. La vulnérabilité face aux catastrophes et l’exposition au risque ne se répartissent pas uniformément dans la métropole. En s’intéressant aux incendies qui ravagent régulièrement les bidonvilles existants, comme le township d’Alexandra dans la zone nord‐est de Johannesburg, on peut mettre à jour une structure quasi invisible de marginalité et d’insécurité sociale qui constitue un état permanent dans la vie quotidienne des citadins pauvres.
Urban Political Economy, ‘New Urban Politics’ and the Media: Insights and Limits
Authors: WARD KEVIN 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThis essay considers how a particular set of urban political literatures have dealt with the role of ‘the media’. I argue that they have tended to concentrate on ‘local’ newspapers and that the role of the media — rather than just that of local newspapers — remains under‐theorized.Résumé Ce travail porte sur la façon dont un ensemble donné de textes de politique urbaine a traité le rôle des ‘médias’. L'auteur montre que ces textes se sont plutôt attachés aux journaux ‘locaux’ et que le rôle des médias – mais pas seulement celui des journaux locaux – reste peu théorisé.
The latent structure of child depression: a taxometric analysis
Authors: Richey J. Anthony , Schmidt Norman B. , Lonigan Christopher J. , Phillips Beth M. , Catanzaro Salvatore J. , Laurent Jeff , Gerhardstein Rebecca R. , Kotov Roman 
Published: April 2009

Background:  The current study examined the categorical versus continuous nature of child and adolescent depression among three samples of children and adolescents ranging from 5 to 19 years.Methods:  Depression was measured using the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Indicators derived from the CDI were based on factor analytic research on the CDI and included indices of: 1) social withdrawal, 2) anhedonia, 3) incompetence/maladjustment and 4) negative self‐esteem.Results:  Taxometric procedures provided convergent support for the existence of a latent taxon across three independent samples. Internal and external consistency tests as well as Monte Carlo simulations supported the validity of the results.Conclusions:  Multiple nonredundant procedures and samples were all consistently indicative of taxonicity in child depression.
An fMRI investigation of the impact of withdrawal on regional brain activity during nicotine anticipation
Authors: Gloria Rebecca , Angelos Lisa , Schaefer Hillary S. , Davis James M. , Majeskie Matthew , Richmond Burke S. , Curtin John J. , Davidson Richard J. , Baker Timothy B. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractPrevious research indicates that drug motivational systems are instantiated in structures that process information related to incentive, motivational drive, memorial, motor/habit, craving, and cognitive control processing. The present research tests the hypothesis that activity in such systems will be powerfully affected by the combination of drug anticipation and drug withdrawal. Event‐related fMRI was used to examine activation in response to a preinfusion warning cue in two experimental sessions that manipulated withdrawal status. Significant cue‐induced effects were seen in the caudate, ventral anterior nucleus of the thalamus, the insula, subcallosal gyrus, nucleus accumbens, and anterior cingulate. These results suggest that withdrawal and nicotine anticipation produce (1) different motor preparatory and inhibitory response processing and (2) different craving related processing.
Is informed choice in prenatal testing universally valued? A population‐based survey in Europe and Asia
Authors: van den Heuvel A , Chitty L , Dormandy E , Newson A , Attwood S , Ma R , Masturzo B , Pajkrt E , Marteau TM 
Published: April 2009

Objective Informed choice has become an integral part of healthcare provision. We investigated the extent to which informed choice in the context of prenatal testing is universally valued.Design The value attached to parental choice in prenatal testing and the perceived importance of significant others’ views when making test decisions were assessed in a cross‐sectional, descriptive study.Sample and setting Male and female participants from general population samples in six countries: the UK (n = 210), the Netherlands (n = 197), Italy (n = 200), Greece (n = 200), China (n = 200) and India (n = 199).Methods The questionnaires assessed values attached to parental involvement and the perceived importance of the views of significant others when making prenatal test decisions.Main outcome measures Attitudes towards parental choice and attitudes towards the importance of others’ views were analysed by age, gender and education using Chi‐squared tests, Analysis of Variances and multiple logistic regression.Results The majority of respondents from Northern European countries believed that undergoing prenatal tests should reflect parental choice. Conversely, only a minority of respondents from Southern European and Asian countries advocated parental choice, with most expressing the belief that all pregnant women should have the procedure. The perceived importance of significant others’ views when making test decisions also varied across countries: those in favour of parental choice perceived others’ views as less important in the test decision. A preference for prenatal testing decisions to reflect an informed choice was predicted by (i) country and (ii) the perceived importance of significant others’ views. Education, age and gender did not predict decisions.Conclusion The implications of these findings for policy and practice depend upon whether placing a low value on parental choice, but a high value on the others’ views regarding prenatal testing is considered an informed choice. Further research is needed to determine whether cultural variation in values remains significant in a multicultural society.
Correlation between the dioptric power, astigmatism and surface shape of the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces
Authors: Mas David , Espinosa Julian , Domenech Begoña , Perez Jorge , Kasprzak Henryk , Illueca Carlos 
Published: April 2009

AbstractA knowledge of the shape of the cornea is of major importance for the planning and monitoring of surgery, and for the correct diagnosis of corneal diseases. Many authors have studied the geometry of the second corneal surface in the central region and it has been stated that there is a high correlation between the central radii of curvature and asphericities of the two corneal surfaces. In this work we extend this study to a larger, central, 6 mm diameter of the cornea. Surface height data, obtained with an Oculus Pentacam from 42 eyes of 21 subjects, were analysed to yield surface power vectors. Corneal heights of both surfaces were also decomposed into low‐order Zernike polynomials and the correlations between each of the power vectors and low‐order Zernike coefficients for the two surfaces were studied. There was not only a strong correlation between spherical powers and Zernike defocus coefficients, but also between the astigmatic components. The correspondence between the astigmatism in both surfaces found here can be of the utmost importance in planning optical surgery, since perfect spherical ablation of the first surface does not assure total correction of corneal astigmatism.
Straylight in the human eye: testing objectivity and optical character of the psychophysical measurement
Authors: Van Den Berg Thomas J. T. P. , Franssen Luuk , Coppens Joris E. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe point spread function or PSF of the human eye encompasses hugely different domains: a small‐angle, high‐intensity domain, called the ‘PSF core’, and a large‐angle, low‐intensity domain, usually referred to as ‘straylight’. The first domain can be assessed by available double‐pass or other optical techniques. For the second domain psychophysical techniques have been developed, in particular the Compensation Comparison or CC technique, recently made available for clinical application in the C‐Quant instrument. We address the question of whether the psychophysical technique gives measures of straylight that are compatible with those made by optical methods. With a small adaptation the CC method can be used to assess straylight from physical light scattering samples, instead of straylight in the eye, using the same psychophysics, but without interference from the ocular straylight. The light scattered by each of seven light‐scattering samples, encompassing the range of straylight values observed in human eyes, was measured by two optical methods and by the psychophysical technique. The results showed that the optical and psychophysical measurements for the seven samples were almost identical.
Depolarization properties of the optic nerve head: the effect of age
Authors: Bueno Juan M. , Cookson Christopher J. , Hunter Jennifer J. , Kisilak Marsha L. , Campbell Melanie C. W. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe degree of polarization (DOP) of the light reflected from the optic nerve head has been assessed by means of a polarimetric scanning laser ophthalmoscope as a function of the age of the participants. Four fundus images corresponding to independent polarization states in the recording pathway were used to compute the spatially‐resolved DOP. This was not uniform across the optic nerve head and depended on both the location and the participant’s age. Along a peripapillary annulus the DOP followed a double‐peak pattern. Moreover, the values along this annulus decreased significantly with increasing age. This depolarization appears to originate in part in the retinal nerve fiber layer. Detailed age‐dependent knowledge of the ocular depolarization properties may help to improve clinical diagnosis of the retinal nerve fiber layer.
Customized hydrogel contact lenses for keratoconus incorporating correction for vertical coma aberration
Authors: Katsoulos Costas , Karageorgiadis Lefteris , Vasileiou Nikos , Mousafeiropoulos Theodore , Asimellis George 
Published: April 2009

AbstractPurpose:  To study the effects on visual performance of a novel custom hydrogel contact lens, which employs a correction for vertical coma aberration, in keratoconic eyes.Methods:  Six subjects (8 eyes) with mild or moderate keratoconus were recruited for the study. Preliminary measurements included corneal topography, wavefront aberrometry, subjective refraction, visual acuity (VA) and 50% contrast VA. Based on the aberrometry data, customized lenses were made and fitted to the subjects. Evaluation of the on‐eye performance of the lenses was carried out, including wavefront aberrometry, over‐refraction, VA and 50% contrast VA. In two of the subjects, both eyes were fitted with the customized lenses, and binocular performance was evaluated.Results:  Monocular visual performance with a 4 mm pupil, with the lenses worn, was improved, and reached the mean values of −0.003 (LogMar units) of 100% high contrast VA, and 0.049 (in LogMar units) of 50% contrast VA. Vertical coma aberration and total higher‐order aberrations (HOAs) were reduced (naked eyes: −0.64 ± 0.21 root mean square (rms) of vertical coma and 0.86 ± 0.15 rms of total HOAs; with the lenses worn: −0.29 ± 0.23 rms of vertical coma and 0.57 ± 0.17 rms of total HOAs, all for a 4 mm pupil). Binocular VA results from two of the subjects were on average −0.040 (LogMar units) 100% high contrast acuity and −0.060 (LogMar units) 50% contrast visual acuity.Conclusions:  Customized hydrogel contact lenses implementing correction of vertical coma, have been found to improve both monocular and binocular visual performance of eyes affected with mild or moderate keratoconus.
Narrow angle light scatter in rabbit corneas after excimer laser surface ablation
Authors: Ginis Harilaos , Pentari Iro , De Brouwere Dirk , Bouzoukis Dimitris , Naoumidi Irini , Pallikaris Ioannis 
Published: April 2009

AbstractCorneal haze following excimer laser ablation is an adverse after‐effect of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and is associated with the development of subepithelial opacities. The present work pertains to the measurement of light scattering in rabbit corneas following excimer laser treatment; to the microscopic analysis of the light‐scattering corneal structures; and to the development of a mathematical model of light propagation through the post‐laser treatment cornea. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK‐6D, 6 mm optical zone) followed by standard postoperative pharmaceutical treatment was performed on rabbit eyes. Animals were examined clinically on a weekly basis and sacrificed after the tenth postoperative week. Confocal microscope image sequences were acquired immediately before animal sacrifice. After the scatter measurement, the corneas were prepared for histopathological evaluation. The subepithelial structures observed using the confocal microscope correspond to refractive index (and therefore optical path difference (OPD) variation. This OPD distribution can be approximated with a fractal surface, band‐pass filtered in the Fourier domain. The angular distribution of scattered light is characterised by a narrow forward peak of the order of 0.5° full‐width at half maximum (FWHM) in accordance with the sizes of the subepithelial structures (5–150 μm).The intensity of scattered light is correlated with the thickness of the subepithelial scar‐tissue layer.
Numerical analysis of interferograms for evaluation of tear film build‐up time
Authors: Szczesna Dorota H. , Kasprzak Henryk T. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe lateral shearing interferometer was applied to thein vivodynamic investigation of the external surface of the pre‐corneal tear film after an eye blink. Sequences of interferograms were recorded at a sampling frequency of 25 Hz. Immediately after every eye blink, a bright pattern was observed under the interference fringes. This disappeared after a short time interval (around 0.5–2 s): smooth interference fringes were then observed, corresponding to the creation of a smooth anterior optical surface over the cornea. The purpose of this study is to describe in detail the kinetics of pre‐corneal tear film stability and to propose quantitative measures of the stabilisation process in healthy eyes during the 3 s period after a blink. Two methods of quantitative assessment of the tear film build‐up time are presented. The first is based upon the evaluation of the inhomogeneity of the background of the interferogram; the second evaluates the orientation of the structure of the background by the analysis of the zero order of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) spectrum. The quasi‐vertically oriented bright line patterns observed in interferograms immediately after a blink and the mirror‐symmetry of their tilts for right and left eyes indicate that the pattern is related to the wiping movements of the upper eyelids during the eye blink.
Temporal dynamics of ocular aberrations: monocular vs binocular vision
Authors: Mira‐Agudelo A. , Lundström L. , Artal P. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe temporal dynamics of ocular aberrations are important for the evaluation of, e.g. the accuracy of aberration estimates, the correlation to visual performance, and the requirements for real‐time correction with adaptive optics. Traditionally, studies on the eye’s dynamic behavior have been performed monocularly, which might have affected the results. In this study we measured aberrations and their temporal dynamics both monocularly and binocularly in the relaxed and accommodated state for six healthy subjects. Temporal frequencies up to 100 Hz were measured with a fast‐acquisition Hartmann–Shack wavefront sensor having an open field‐of‐view configuration which allowed fixation to real targets. Wavefront aberrations were collected in temporal series of 5 s duration during binocular and monocular vision with fixation targets at 5 m and 25 cm distance. As expected, a larger temporal variability was found in the root‐mean‐square wavefront error when the eye accommodated, mainly for frequencies lower than 30 Hz. A statistically‐significant difference in temporal behavior between monocular and binocular viewing conditions was found. However, on average it was too small to be of practical importance, although some subjects showed a notably higher variability for the monocular case during near vision. We did find differences in pupil size with mono‐ and binocular vision but the pupil size temporal dynamics did not behave in the same way as the aberrations’ dynamics.
Effects of Payment Changes on Trends in Post‐Acute Care
Authors: Buntin Melinda Beeuwkes , Colla Carrie Hoverman , Escarce José J. 
Published: April 2009

Objective.To test how the implementation of new Medicare post‐acute payment systems affected the use of inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and home health agencies.Data Sources.Medicare acute hospital, IRF, and SNF claims; provider of services file; enrollment file; and Area Resource File data.Study Design.We used multinomial logit models to measure realized access to post‐acute care and to predict how access to alternative sites of care changed in response to prospective payment systems.Data Extraction Methods.A file was constructed linking data for elderly Medicare patients discharged from acute care facilities between 1996 and 2003 with a diagnosis of hip fracture, stroke, or lower extremity joint replacement.Principal Findings.Although the effects of the payment systems on the use of post‐acute care varied, most reduced the use of the site of care they directly affected and boosted the use of alternative sites of care. Payment system changes do not appear to have differentially affected the severely ill.Conclusions.Payment system incentives play a significant role in determining where Medicare beneficiaries receive their post‐acute care. Changing these incentives results in shifting of patients between post‐acute sites.
Lifestyles, Demographics, Dietary Behavior, and Obesity: A Switching Regression Analysis
Authors: Yen Steven T. , Chen Zhuo , Eastwood David B. 
Published: April 2009

Objectives. To investigate the effects of lifestyles, demographics, and dietary behavior on overweight and obesity.Data Source. Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals 1994–1996, U.S. Department of Agriculture.Study Design. We developed a three‐regime switching regression model to examine the effects of lifestyle, dietary behavior, and sociodemographic factors on body mass index (BMI) by weight category and accommodating endogeneity of exercise and food intake to avoid simultaneous equation bias. Marginal effects are calculated to assess the impacts of explanatory variables on the probabilities of weight categories and BMI levels.Principal Findings. Weight categories and exercise are found to be endogenous. Lifestyle, dietary behavior, social status, and other sociodemographic factors affect BMI differently across weight categories. Education, employment, and income have strong impacts on the likelihood of overweight and obesity. Exercise reduces the probabilities of being overweight and obese and the level of BMI among overweight individuals.Conclusion. Health education programs can be targeted at individuals susceptible to overweight and obesity. Social status variables, along with genetic and geographic factors, such as region, urbanization, age, and race, can be used to pinpoint these individuals.