bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemia in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Chronic Hemodialysis
Authors: Sun Chiao‐Yin , Lee Chin‐Chan , Wu Mai‐Szu 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe aim of our study was to determine if different hypoglycemic therapies are associated with more frequent episodes of hypoglycemia in diabetes patients undergoing long‐term hemodialysis. We conducted a prospective cohort study that included 102 diabetes patients who were undergoing long‐term hemodialysis. The frequency of symptomatic hypoglycemic episodes, intradialytic hypotension, antihypertension medication, hypoglycemic therapy regimens, dialysate contents, and laboratory data were reviewed. The duration of follow‐up was three months. Fifty‐four (52.9%) patients were categorized as hypoglycemic and 48 (47.1%) patients as non‐hypoglycemic. The serum albumin levels of the hypoglycemic and non‐hypoglycemic patients were 3.18 ± 0.34 g/dL and 3.44 ± 0.33 g/dL respectively (P < 0.001). The prevalence of intradialytic hypotension is significantly higher in the hypoglycemic patients (44.4%) than in the non‐hypoglycemic patients (20.8%) (P = 0.012). The risk of hypoglycemia differed significantly between the patients taking oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) and those receiving purely insulin therapy (P = 0.035). Multivariate analysis revealed that the serum albumin (odds ratio [OR] 0.093, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.021–0.409), intradialytic hypotension (OR 2.755, 95% CI 1.048–7.228), and OHA therapy (OR 0.337, 95% CI 0.128–0.888) were independent factors of hypoglycemia. The patients treated only with meglitinides as hypoglycemic therapy had a significantly lower risk of hypoglycemia than those receiving mixed insulin therapy (P = 0.016). Frequent episodes of intradialytic hypotension and hypoalbuminemia are powerful clinical predictors of hypoglycemia in diabetes patients undergoing hemodialysis. It was also found that OHAs do not pose a higher risk of hypoglycemia than insulin in diabetic patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Plasmapheresis and Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Early Antibody‐Mediated Rejection of the Renal Allograft: A Single‐Center Experience
Authors: Slatinska Janka , Honsova Eva , Burgelova Marcela , Slavcev Antonij , Viklicky Ondrej 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAntibody‐mediated rejection (AMR) is a rare complication which often results in the loss of the kidney graft. The objective of this retrospective single center study was to evaluate two different approaches to AMR. We retrospectively evaluated data files from 936 patients who had undergone renal transplantation in 2002–2006. In 2002–2003, patients with AMR were treated with five plasmapheresis sessions (PP group, N = 13), and in 2004–2006 they received five plasmapheresis session along with intravenous immunoglobulin 0.5 g/kg (PP+IVIg group, N = 11). Twelve months of follow‐up data was analyzed. First year graft survival was significantly higher in the PP+IVIg group than in the PP group (90.9% vs. 46.2%; P = 0.044); similarly, patient survival was higher in the PP+IVIg group (100% vs. 76.9%; P = 0.056). The incidence of infectious complications was similar in both groups. In re‐biopsies, patients in the PP group often suffered from cellular rejection. The deposition of C4d complement was similar in re‐biopsies in both groups. In this large single center study we proved the superiority of plasmapheresis with intravenous immunoglobulin administration in the treatment of early AMR of renal allografts.
Low Density Lipoprotein Apheresis in Pediatric Patients With Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: Coker Mahmut , Ucar Sema Kalkan , Simsek Damla Goksen , Darcan Sukran , Bak Mustafa , Can Sule 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe aim of the present study is to clarify the low density lipoprotein apheresis procedure for pediatric patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) in terms of efficacy, adverse effects and difficulties. The follow‐up was carried out using an open, prospective uncontrolled clinical design. Data were collected from 10 patients (with an average age of 8.4 ± 4.7 years) with FH treated with double filtration plasmapheresis. The total time span of follow‐up covered five years (30.2 ± 17.8 months [range 9–60 months]) and more than 600 sessions (62.1 ± 35.5 sessions per patient [range 18–120 sessions]) were evaluated. The mean low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) pre‐treatment value was 375.5 ± 127.5 mg/dL, and the post‐treatment value was 147.5 ± 73.9 mg/dL. This corresponded to a 62.8 ± 10.3% (43–73%) acute reduction of LDL‐C, while the mean high density lipoprotein cholesterol losses amounted to 41%. The chronic reduction in LDL‐C ranged from 18 to 52%, with a mean level of 36.4 ± 11.7%. The most frequently occurring technical problems were related to blood lines: puncture difficulties (4.5%), insufficient blood flow (3.5%), and obturation of the blood lines (2.4%). The main clinical adverse effects were hypotension (0.2%), chills/feeling cold (0.1%), and nausea and vomiting (0.2%). We observed that the low pediatric patient tolerance is the main problem in compliance with treatment. In conclusion, LDL apheresis, started under the age of eight years, combined with lipid‐lowering drugs, provides a safe and effective lowering of the mean LDL‐C levels in pediatric homozygous FH; and there are more problems with compliance for pediatric LDL apheresis than in the adult population.
Granulocyte and Monocyte Adsorption Apheresis Therapy Modulates Monocyte‐Derived Dendritic Cell Function in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Iwakami Yuko , Sakuraba Atsushi , Sato Toshiro , Takada Yasuhiro , Izumiya Motoko , Ichikawa Hitoshi , Hibi Toshifumi 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe aim of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic effects of granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis (GMA). We investigated the alterations in circulating monocyte subsets and monocyte‐derived dendritic cell (moDC) function after GMA therapy in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. Eighteen patients with UC were enrolled: 14 patients were responders, and 4 patients were non‐responders. Peripheral venous blood was obtained within 5 min before and 5 min after GMA therapy. Flow cytometric analysis for monocyte markers (CD14/CD16) was then performed. Monocyte‐derived dendritic cells were obtained and alterations in their phenotype were analyzed by flow cytometry. Their function was also analyzed in a mixed lymphocyte reaction assay between allo‐naïve T lymphocytes. Flow cytometric analysis for intracellular interferon (IFN)‐γ (T‐helper 1 cells) and interleukin (IL)‐4 (T‐helper 2 cells) was then performed for the stimulated T lymphocytes. In patients who responded to GMA, the average numbers of monocytes, especially CD16+ monocytes, were significantly decreased after therapy (P < 0.05). In responders, post‐GMA moDCs expressed significantly lower CD80 and B7‐DC, which are one of the stimulation and maturation markers of dendritic cells, compared to pre‐GMA moDCs. CD83, CD86 and human leukocyte antigen‐DR also showed a tendency to decrease. In responders, naïve T lymphocytes stimulated with post‐GMA moDCs produced significantly less IFN‐γ and IL‐4 compared to those stimulated with pre‐GMA moDCs. The results of our study show that some of the immunosuppressive effects of GMA therapy may be associated with the modulation of monocyte subsets and moDC function.
Financial Economists Roundtable Statement on Reforming the Role of the Rating “Agencies” in the Securitization Process
Authors: Herring Richard J. , Kane Edward J. 
Published: March 2009

Assets securitized by private companies reached a peak of nearly $12 trillion in 2008, an amount nearly equal to the entire stock of credit intermediated in traditional ways by the world's banking systems. Failures of care and diligence in the origination, rating, and securitization of subprime mortgages led to a collapse in the prices of securitized assets and the public's confidence in the reliability and integrity of the process by which securities are rated. This decline in confidence has in turn undermined prices and credit flows in every market where investors and regulators rely on the credit ratings provided by Statistical Ratings Organizations (SROs) to certify the quality of debt.With the aim of rebuilding confidence in the securitization process, this statement drafted and signed by 30 distinguished academic economists recommends three kinds of reform that are designed to improve the incentives faced by the SROs. First, to increase accountability for ratings mistakes, the analytic work of SROs must be made more transparent and their managements must accept liability for errors of negligence. Second, explicit reliance on ratings should be eliminated from risk management regulations issued by government agencies. By effectively “outsourcing” public authority to private firms, such regulations have had the effect of intensifying SRO conflicts of interest. Finally, SROs should be required to calculate and state express margins for error in the ratings for every tranche of securitized instruments. This would help investors appreciate the differences in the degree of leverage embedded in various categories of securitized debt.
Brazil's Experiment with Corporate Governance
Authors: Chavez Gonzalo A. , Silva Ana Cristina 
Published: March 2009

The adoption of special listing segments by the São Paulo Stock Exchange in the year 2000 was an important step forward for the Brazilian equity market. Bovespa's introduction of the Novo Mercado and its Special Corporate Governance Levels 1 and 2 provided concrete, standardized certification of corporate commitments to higher governance standards that could be readily observed and verified by all market participants.What evidence do we have that this experiment in corporate governance has been a success? One indication is the performance of the Brazilian stock market itself, along with its ability to attract foreign investors. From 2002 to mid‐2008, the market capitalization of Bovespa companies increased by over 700%, while average daily volume grew almost tenfold. And as of June 2008, international investors represented 37% of total value, up from 26% in 2002.What's more, the growth in the three differentiated governance segments has been even more remarkable. Starting with 15 companies in 2001, the special governance segments had a total of 161 listings by early 2009. And by the end of 2008, the companies listed in the three differentiated segments accounted for more than 60% of Bovespa's total market capitalization and 73% of all trades. Perhaps even more telling, over 70% of the Brazilian IPOs issued between 2001 and 2008 were placed in the special governance segments.In this article, the authors summarize the findings of their study of the reaction of stock prices to the announcement by 31 Brazilian companies of their intent to list on one of the special governance exchanges. Their analysis showed that the companies choosing to list in these segments experienced an increase in both the value and the liquidity of their shares.In light of this evidence, such corporate decisions can be seen as functioning as publicly verifiable signals of commitment to greater transparency and investor protection. And the fact that the listing requirements of the special segments are stricter than those of Brazilian securities legislation means that stock exchanges—and the companies that choose to list on them— effectively have the option to initiate or lead investor protection reforms, as opposed to just complying with them. Thus, in countries where governance legislation is weak and the progress of reform is slow, stock markets can play a key role in helping companies differentiate themselves through exchange‐defined governance codes.
Corporate Insurance and Debt: The Case of China*
Authors: Zou Hong , Adams Mike B. 
Published: March 2009

Finance theorists have long argued that corporate purchases of property insurance can reduce the probability and hence the expected costs of financial distress. And by so doing, the corporate use of insurance can reduce borrowing costs and/ or increase debt capacity, reduce the overall cost of capital, and increase firm value. This article attempts to apply this argument to the case of publicly traded companies in China, which provides a particularly interesting environment given the significant presence of both foreign direct investment and state shareholdings in its corporate sector.From their study of several hundred Chinese companies during the period 1997‐2003, the authors report the following conclusions:Companies with higher borrower costs tend to purchase more property insurance, which in turn has the effect of increasing their debt capacity.Smaller companies are more likely than larger firms both to insure their assets and to purchase more property insurance (as a percentage of assets), reflecting their greater vulnerability to financial shocks and larger potential benefit from insurers' real advisory services (such as loss prevention advice).Companies with more and larger growth opportunities are more likely to purchase insurance, reflecting their higher expected costs of financial distress (from possible underinvestment) than firms with limited growth opportunities.Companies with higher levels of state ownership tend to insure their assets to a greater extent, suggesting that the managers of such companies insure to protect their job security, particularly as the availability of state subsidies to the Chinese corporate sector has declined since market reforms were initiated in 1978.
Is Financial Development Another Source of Comparative Advantage? Evidence from China
Authors: Bao Qun , Yang Jiayu 
Published: March 2009

AbstractUsing panel data for 29 provinces in China during 1990–2004, the present paper attempts to explore a possible link between financial development and China's foreign trade. Three measures of comparative advantage in manufactured goods have been applied in our study, including Balassa's revealed comparative advantage, the net manufactured export index, and the Michaely index. We also use four indicators of financial development to identify the different functions of regional financial development, and to determine both size and efficiency features of financial institutions. The estimation results suggest that besides factor endowments, foreign firms and infrastructure, financial development has a quantitatively large and robust effect on China's manufactured goods trade. Therefore, further reform of China's financial system should be encouraged to fully exploit the comparative advantage of China's foreign trade.
What Tree Rings Can Tell About Earth‐Surface Processes: Teaching the Principles of Dendrogeomorphology
Authors: Stoffel Markus , Bollschweiler Michelle 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA detailed understanding of how the earth surface is being continuously shaped and why it looks the way it does are essential prerequisites for an appraisal of geomorphic processes and related changes in space and time. Data on the occurrence of past geomorphic events remains, however, scarce and predictions on how the expected climate change may affect the frequency and volume of earth‐surface processes have to be based on limited datasets. Tree rings have on varied occasions proved to be a reliable tool for the acquisition of data on past events. In this article, examples are provided on how the recurrence of events can be assessed (how often?) or their timing determined with yearly and sometimes even monthly precision (when?). Based on the mapping of trees on the study site, it is also possible to determine the reach and lateral spread of events (how far?). Movement rates can be reconstructed (how fast?) or the magnitude of incidences assessed (how big?). In combination with meteorological, hydrological and/or seismological data, results from tree‐ring studies can be consulted to identify triggers of previous events (why?).
Agrarian Angst: Rural Resistance in Southeast Asia
Authors: Turner Sarah , Caouette Dominique 
Published: March 2009

AbstractSoutheast Asia has witnessed dramatic transformations in the rural sector over the past 60 years, first with the Green Revolution, and more recently with diverse multi‐scalar economic and socio‐political processes including the growth of cash crops, export processing zones, land conversions, genetically modified crops, free trade agreements, and the growing complexity of rural‐urban connections. With such a multiplicity of changes, many directly linked to globalisation, come numerous forms of resistance, as individuals and communities struggle against what they see as unjust consequences. These different resistance measures to rural transformations are the focus of this article. While critiquing the literature on different conceptualisations of resistance, from rural resistance at the micro level, through to collective action and open protest, revolutionary movements, and even regional and global transnational movements, we propose three core arguments. First, in order to capture the diversity of forms of contemporary rural resistance, one needs to use a multi‐scalar approach. Previous analytical constructs such as ‘local’ and ‘global’ are inadequate to examine and explain the forms of resistance taking place. Second, rural resistance comes in a complexity of forms, is diversifying rapidly, and is never static. Resistance measures are context contingent, shaped by different worldviews and shift according to local circumstances, the opening and closing of opportunities structures, and the endogenous peculiarities of resistance dynamics. Third, a focus on resistance to contemporary agrarian change in Southeast Asia must recognise agency. We demonstrate that there is much to be gained by taking an interactive standpoint, arguing that local, national, regional, and even global resistance has as much to do with how the actors’ themselves define their field of protest as with the specific nature of their targets.
Conceptualising Scale in Regional Studies and Catchment Science – Towards an Integrated Characterisation of Spatial Units
Authors: MacKinnon Danny , Tetzlaff D. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article examines conceptualisations of scale in catchment science and regional studies as the basis for the development of an integrated characterisation of spatial units. Our starting point is the apparent similarity in the scalar terminology utilised in the two fields, pointing to an area of potential conceptual overlap between physical and human geography. While our aim is not to produce an overarching theory of scale, we seek to advance understanding within both catchment science and regional studies by comparing their approaches to the analysis and understanding of spatial units. We also describe underlying principles of heterogeneity and complexity in the functioning and behaviour of catchments and regions. After clarifying scale definitions, this article examines notions of ‘scaling’ and ‘rescaling’ in each field and assesses catchments and regions as complex and open systems. In the penultimate section of this article, we develop an analytical framework based on the identification of certain dynamic attributes and concepts of integration, drawing upon the meta‐theoretical language of complexity science.
Urban Primacy: Reopening the Debate
Authors: Short John Rennie , Pinet‐Peralta Luis Mauricio 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper reviews the empirical and theoretical material on urban primacy. The problems with data are highlighted. A measure of primacy is estimated and calculated for most countries in the world. Countries with relatively high rates of primacy are noted. The hyperprimacy of Thailand is discussed as well as the high primacy in middle‐income Latin American countries, low‐income African countries, and selected European countries. Countries with very low primacy rates are identified. A retheorization of urban primacy is suggested with more emphasis on history, geography and scale.
Orientalism and the Study of the Philippine Polity
Authors: Hodder Rupert 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAlthough a critique of orientalism in the study of the Philippine polity has emerged comparatively late in the day, it has stimulated a lively, and often acerbic, debate. The aim of this paper is to report on aspects of the original debate, and to comment on its implications for subsequent analyses. The argument that American scholarship has transformed Philippine politics into a negative ‘other’ and ‘essentialized’ political behavior, and the equally forthright responses to these criticisms, have brought home in a very direct, immediate, and emotional sense, the significance of the Philippine polity's dimensionality. The business of then accommodating that dimensionality – the multiple qualities of any given actor, and the multiple roots, ramifications, and meanings of any given practice or understanding – requires detailed conceptual and methodological development, and presents an important challenge to Philippine studies.
Impact of Karl Pearson's Work on Statistical Developments in India
Authors: Nayak Tapan K. 
Published: March 2009

SummaryKarl Pearson's work greatly inspired P. C. Mahalanobis's interest in statistics, who was at the centre of modern statistical developments in India. Mahalanobis learned statistics on his own, reading Pearson's articles and his journal, and encouraged others to study Pearson's papers. Pearson was a Honorary Fellow of the Indian Statistical Institute, which has been a leading statistical training and research center in India. The statistical revolution that Pearson brought also facilitated the training and research of many Indian statisticians.
Understanding Karl Pearson's Influence on Italian Statistics in the Early 20th Century
Authors: Borroni Claudio Giovanni 
Published: March 2009

Summary Karl Pearson's work strongly influenced the development of Italian statistics in the early 20th century. This paper reports some Italian contributions following Pearson's thought, which are probably less known outside Italy; for other Italian work, which was more successful internationally, just a brief description is given. Pearsonian topics are divided into three categories: curve systems, interpolation and correlation. For the first category, the contribution by F. De Helguero and F. Insolera is outlined. The former worked on dimorphic curves and developed a new family as a modification of the normal model; the latter dealt primarily with the problems arising when Pearson's curve system is applied to data that do not meet its basic assumptions. For interpolation, we recall a remarkable work by C. Gini, where Pearson's idea of minimizing geometrical distances of points from an interpolating line is discussed and extended. Contributions by G. Pietra and G. Bortolotti are discussed. Regarding correlation, where the Italian contribution was large, the paper focuses on the work by C.E. Bonferroni and G. Parenti, who extended Pearson's product‐moment correlation r and Pearson's correlation ratio η to the general case of polynomial dependence. A discussion on the correct interpretation of η by Parenti is reported.
Pearson's Statistics in the Netherlands and the Astronomer Kapteyn
Authors: Stamhuis Ida H. , Seneta Eugene 
Published: March 2009

Summary In 1903 the well‐known Dutch astronomer Kapteyn published a paper in which he discussed statistical methods which he thought would be relevant for biologists. His motivation was the 1895 paper of Pearson on skew frequency curves. Kapteyn had concluded that the theory was open to grave objections and was not adapted to nonmathematical readers. He was then led to an independent investigation of the subject. This publication would lead to a heated dialogue between Kapteyn and Pearson, in which they accused each other of inappropriate starting points, of plagiarism and of making serious mathematical mistakes. This article evaluates these claims. In addition, Kapteyn's struggle to make his work accessible to biologists is discussed.