bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Representational Consistency: Stability and Change in Political Cleavages in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: WHITEFIELD STEPHEN , ROHRSCHNEIDER ROBERT 
Published: August 2009

In contrast to often negative expectations about the nature of political cleavages in post‐communist Central and Eastern Europe, previous work by the authors has shown that the cleavages underlying party competition in the region structure the range of choices available to voters along lines that reflect regionally and nationally relevant political and economic concerns. Little attention as yet, however, has been paid to considering the stability of these cleavages, evidence for which would add further positive weight to the emerging picture of party competition in the region. The question of stability is particularly pertinent given the elements of ongoing weakness and volatility that can still be observed in aspects of party systems in the region. This paper addresses this issue of cleavage stability using comparable data on cleavages from expert surveys conducted in 2003 and 2007 in 13 countries.En contraste con las frecuentes expectativas negativas sobre la naturaleza de las divisiones políticas (political cleavages) que prevalecen en Europa post‐Comunista Central y del Este, trabajos previos de los autores han demostrado que las divisiones subyacentes dentro de la competencia partidista en la región estructuran el rango de opciones disponibles para los votantes, en base a preferencias políticas y económicas relevantes a nivel regional y nacional. Poca atención, sin embargo, se ha puesto en la estabilidad de estas escisiones, evidencia que podría añadir mayor importancia positiva al panorama emergente de la competencia partidista en la región. La cuestión de la estabilidad es particularmente pertinente dado los elementos de debilidad y volatilidad en curso que todavía pueden ser observados en aspectos del sistema de partidos de la región. Este artículo aborda el tópico de la estabilidad de las divisiones utilizando información comparable de dichas divisiones de encuestas expertas realizadas en trece países en el año 2003 y 2007.
Are Mixed Electoral Systems the Best Choice for Central and Eastern Europe or the Reason for Defective Party Systems?
Authors: BOCHSLER DANIEL 
Published: August 2009

Mixed electoral systems have been celebrated enthusiastically in the literature and by political practitioners, arguing that they combine the best of both worlds with regards to several aspects of political representation. This article calls this view into question, arguing that the mixed incentives of mixed electoral systems might hamper the stabilization and institutionalization of party systems in young democracies. Empirical results from 19 democracies in Central and Eastern Europe suggest that the learning and stabilization effect that is exerted through simple electoral systems fails under mixed systems. Using a variance model analysis, this study rejects the common belief that mixed systems lead to more moderate party systems with regards to party system fractionalization. Rather, outcomes under mixed systems vary much more widely than under proportional representation, are associated with higher disproportionality, and tend to increase volatility.Los sistemas electorales mixtos, que combinan sistemas electorales de mayoría con los de representación proporcional (RP), han sido alabados con entusiasmo por la literatura y los políticos, argumentando que combinan lo mejor de ambos mundos con relación a los diversos aspectos de la representación política. Este artículo cuestiona tal punto de vista, señalando que los incentivos contradictorios de los sistemas electorales mixtos podrían dificultar la estabilización e institucionalización de los sistemas de partido en democracias emergentes. Los resultados empíricos de diecinueve democracias en Europa Central y del Este sugieren que el efecto de aprendizaje y de estabilización que es ejercido en los sistemas electorales simples fracasa bajo los sistemas mixtos. Utilizando un análisis de modelos de varianza, este estudio rechaza la creencia común que los sistemas mixtos conducen a un sistema de partidos más moderado en referencia a su grado de fragmentación. En cambio, bajo sistemas mixtos, los resultados varían mucho más extensamente que bajo RP. Más aún, los sistemas mixtos están asociados con una superior desproporcionalidad que en RP y tienden a incrementar la volatilidad.
Learning the Economic Vote: Hungarian Forecasts, 1998‐2010
Authors: STEGMAIER MARY , LEWIS‐BECK MICHAEL S. 
Published: August 2009

Although Hungary is a new democracy, the behavior of its voters can be understood. They are systematically responsive to economic conditions, particularly unemployment. We find that the Hungarian electorate, as economic voters, has moved from a policy‐oriented to an incumbency‐oriented strategy. That is, in early elections, they favored the Socialists in the face of rising unemployment, regardless of whether they were in government. In the later elections, however, they have voted against the ruling Socialists, as a response to rising unemployment. Overall, they have learned to become classical economic voters, rewarding the government for good times, punishing it for bad. We demonstrate this pattern with regression models, by forecasting the 1998 and 2010 national elections. We conclude with a discussion of the likely outcome of the latter contest.Aunque la democracia en Hungría es reciente, el comportamiento de sus votantes puede caracterizarse claramente. Ellos son sistemáticamente sensibles a las condiciones económicas, particularmente al desempleo. El electorado húngaro interesado en la economía se ha movido de una estrategia orientada a las políticas a una estrategia orientada a los partidos. Durante las primeras elecciones, el electorado favoreció por su política de empleo a los Socialistas frente al incremento del desempleo, sin importar si ellos estuvieran en el gobierno o no. Sin embargo, posteriormente, el electorado ha votado en contra de los Socialistas por la ineficacia de su política de empleo. Por lo tanto, ha aprendido a convertirse en votantes clásicos interesados en la economía, recompensando al gobierno por buenos tiempos, castigándolo por los malos. Demostramos este patrón con modelos de regresión, al pronosticar las elecciones nacionales de 1998 y 2010. Concluimos con una discusión sobre el resultado más probable de la próxima elección.
Poland: Parties without a Party System, 1991‐2008
Authors: MILLARD FRANCES 
Published: August 2009

The development of political parties in Poland failed to match expectations that parties would stabilize and give rise to predictable patterns of interaction in a cohesive party system. Although the number of electoral and parliamentary parties fell, parties failed to cohere, with elite defections providing the main impetus for party collapse and new‐party emergence. High levels of electoral volatility meant dramatic shifts in the relative strengths of parties and the defeat of incumbent governments at every election. Although government formation reflected “closed” competition between Solidarity and successor parties until 2006, coalitions did not develop lasting relations of cooperation and compromise. Leadership volatility, party volatility, and electoral volatility created whirlpools of continuing uncertainty.El desarrollo de los partidos políticos en Polonia fracasó su intento de satisfacer las expectativas de que estabilizarían y llevarían a patrones predecibles de interacción en un sistema de partidos cohesivo. A pesar de que el número de partidos electorales y parlamentarios disminuyó no lograron cohesionarse, siendo la deserción en sus élites el factor más importante en el colapso de los partidos y la aparición de nuevos. En cada elección, los elevados niveles de volatilidad electoral significaron dramáticos cambios en la fortaleza relativa de los partidos y la derrota de los gobiernos en turno. Aunque, hasta 2006, la conformación del gobierno reflejó una competencia “cerrada” entre Solidaridad y los partidos posteriores, las coaliciones no desarrollaron relaciones duraderas de cooperación y compromiso. La volatilidad en los líderes, partidos, y elecciones creó una vorágine de continua incertidumbre.
The Endurance of the Czech Communist Party
Authors: STEGMAIER MARY , VLACHOVÁ KLÁRA 
Published: August 2009

Twenty years after the fall of communism in the Czech Republic, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) continues to garner public support and maintains its presence in parliament. The party's endurance is surprising given the country's relative economic success and the presence of a strong Social Democratic Party. While the literature on communist successor parties has viewed the KSČM as unsuccessful, we argue that this perspective overlooks the resilience of the party. We analyze postelection survey data from the 2006 Czech Election Study and find that the KSČM has a loyal support base largely comprised of older voters. But even when we control for age in logistic regression analysis, we find that ideological views, satisfaction with democracy, and assessments of the national economy distinguish KSČM voters from Social Democratic voters. These findings have implications for the future of the party.Veinte años después de la caída del comunismo en la República Checa, el Partido Comunista de Bohemia y Moravia (KSČM, por sus siglas en checo) continúa obteniendo apoyo del público y mantiene su presencia en el parlamento. Su fortaleza es sorprendente dado el relativo éxito económico y la presencia de un fuerte Partido Social‐Demócrata. Mientras la literatura sobre los partidos posteriores al comunismo ha visto al KSČM como un fracaso, argumentamos que esta perspectiva pasa por alto la resistencia del partido. Analizamos información de una encuesta post‐electoral del Estudio Electoral Checo de 2006 y encontramos que el KSČM tiene una base de soporte fiel en gran parte compuesta de votantes de edad avanzada. Aún cuando controlamos la variable de edad en el análisis de regresión logística, encontramos que las opiniones ideológicas, la satisfacción con la democracia, y la valoración positiva de la economía nacional distingue a los votantes del KSČM en relación con los votantes Social‐Demócratas. Estos resultados tienen implicaciones para el futuro del partido.
What's Left Behind When the Party's Over: Survey Experiments on the Effects of Partisan Cues in Putin's Russia
Authors: BRADER TED A. , TUCKER JOSHUA A. 
Published: August 2009

We consider the question of whether Russia's greatly weakened political parties might continue to exert an influence on public opinion in twenty‐first century Russia. To do so, we carried out a series of survey‐based experiments in Moscow in the spring of 2006. We present evidence showing that partisan cues increase support for public policy proposals and make it more likely that respondents will adopt a position on an issue that mirrors their party's preferred position (“opinion taking”), as well as increase the likelihood that respondents will adopt a position on a given issue at all (“opinion giving”). We also present evidence that party cues can sway the opinions of nonpartisans, though such influence may be limited to cases when the position of a party constitutes an unusually informative or credible signal. The findings should be of interest to those concerned with Russia's post‐communist political development, those interested more broadly in the effects of partisan cues on political behavior, as well as to scholars trying to characterize the nature of “competitive authoritarian” regimes.Consideramos la cuestión de si partidos políticos fuertemente debilitados, como es el caso de los partidos rusos, podrían continuar influyendo la opinión pública en la Rusia del siglo XXI. Para responder esto llevamos a cabo una serie de investigaciones basadas en encuestas realizadas en Moscú en la primavera de 2006. Presentamos evidencia que demuestra que las pautas partidistas incrementan el apoyo del público a sus propuestas de políticas y hacen más probable que un encuestado conozca la preferencia del partido e incluso la llegue a asumir como suya (“tomando opinión”), así como que incremente la posibilidad de que ellos adopten una determinada posición sobre un determinado tópico (“dando opinión”). También presentamos evidencia que las pautas del partido pueden producir cambios de opinión, aunque dicha influencia puede estar limitada a casos donde la posición del partido constituye una señal inusualmente informativa o creíble. Los resultados serán de interés para aquellos preocupados por el desarrollo político de Rusia post‐comunista, aquellos interesados más ampliamente en los efectos de las pautas partidistas en el comportamiento político, así como para los académicos que buscan precisar las características de los regímenes “autoritarios competitivos.”
Erythropoietin Promotes Neurological Recovery after Intracerebral Haemorrhage in Rats
Authors: Seyfried D. M. , Han Y. , Yang D. , Ding J. , Chopp M. 
Published: August 2009

Background Attention has turned to neurorestorative therapies, including erythropoietin, for experimental ischaemic stroke and head injury. Treatments for intracerebral haemorrhage need to be developed, as this represents a particularly devastating and common form of neurological injury. Aim The aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic potential of erythropoietin after intracerebral haemorrhage in rats and to measure its effects on mechanisms of recovery and neurogenesis. Methods Intracerebral haemorrhage was induced in 24 Wistar male rats by intrastriatal infusion of autologous blood. Recombinant human erythropoietin (5000 or 10000 U/kg BW/day) or saline was administered starting 1 day after intracerebral haemorrhage and continued daily for 1 week ( n = 8 for each group). To label proliferating cells, 5‘-bromo-2’ deoxyuridine was injected daily for 13 days after intracerebral haemorrhage. All animals survived for 2 weeks after intracerebral haemorrhage. Functional outcome, area of tissue loss and immunohistochemical staining were measured at 14 days after intracerebral haemorrhage. Global test or anova was used to test the erythropoietin dose effect. Results Rats receiving recombinant human erythropoietin after intracerebral haemorrhage exhibited significant improvement in modified neurological severity score and corner test at 14 days ( P<0·05). Increased expression of phenotypes of synaptogenesis and proliferating immature neurons were shown by immunohistochemical staining. Only the group receiving a lower dose of recombinant human erythropoietin had significantly less tissue loss compared with the control group ( P<0·05). In rats treated with recombinant human erythropoietin, double staining for 5‘-bromo-2’ deoxyuridine and TUJ1 revealed a subpopulation of cells that express an immature neuronal marker while still dividing. Conclusions Erythropoietin improves neurological outcome and increases histochemical parameters of neurogenesis when given after intracerebral haemorrhage in rats. Intriguingly, only the lower dose of recombinant human erythropoietin was effective in reducing tissue loss in the region of intracerebral haemorrhage.
Trend of Stroke Incidence in a Japanese Population: Takashima Stroke Registry, 1990-2001
Authors: Kita Y. , Turin T. C. , Ichikawa M. , Sugihara H. , Morita Y. , Tomioka N. , Rumana N. , Okayama A. , Nakamura Y. , Abbott R. D. , Ueshima H. 
Published: August 2009

Background In Japan, stroke mortality and incidence started to decline during the 1960s. The recent unfavourably diverging trends in risk factors make it uncertain whether the decline will continue. Few comprehensive stroke registries of long research duration exist in Japan to illustrate the trends in stroke incidence. Objective We examined 12-year stroke registration data to evaluate the current trend in a Japanese population. Methods Data were obtained from the Takashima Stroke Registry, covering approximately 55000 residents of Takashima County in central Japan. We calculated the age-adjusted stroke incidence rates (/100 000 person-years) and 95% confidence intervals for 1990–1992, 1993–1995, 1996–1998, and 1999–2001. We applied the direct method to adjust for the age distribution among the four periods. The incidence time trend was determined by calculating the average annual change across the study years using negative binomial regression analysis. Results There were 1453 (men: 771 and women: 682) registered first-ever stroke cases during 1990–2001. The diagnosis was established by neuro-imaging in 93·6% of the cases. The average age was 69·4 years in men and 74·2 years in women. The age-adjusted incidence rates of stroke across the four observation periods were 143·1 (confidence interval: 127·4-158·8) in 1990–1992, 147·4 (confidence interval: 131·9–162·8) in 1993–1995, 120·4 (confidence interval: 106·7–134·0) in 1996–1998, and 122·9 (confidence interval: 109·6–136·2) in 1999–2001. The stroke incidence across the study years showed an insignificant time trend, with an average annual change of −0·33% (confidence interval: −2·44 to 1·78) per year. Similar trends were observed for both men and women and stroke subtypes. Conclusions The previously reported declining trend in stroke incidence may have levelled off or slowed down considerably in the Japanese population.
Spatio‐temporal characterization of Korean drought using severity–area–duration curve analysis
Authors: Kim Sangdan , Kim Bokyung , Ahn Tae Jin , Kim Hung Soo 
Published: August 2009

AbstractIn this study, the depth–area–duration (DAD) analysis for characterizing an extreme precipitation event provides a basis for analysing drought events when storm depth is replaced by an appropriate measure of drought severity. Monthly precipitation is probabilistically transformed into standardized precipitation index (SPI) and SPI time series are decomposed into a mutually independent data set by the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. All EOFs are spatially expanded to a 6 × 6 km resolution by kriging, for which a commercial package, SuRFER™, is used. Twenty main drought events from the grid‐based SPI time series are identified to construct the drought severity–effective area–drought duration (SAD) curves. The shape of SAD curves is similar to that of the rainfall DAD curves in the sense that drought severity and effective area are out of phase and that drought severity and duration are also out of phase. However, the severity reduction rate in SAD curves is much smaller than the corresponding rate in DAD analysis.
Intravitreal pegaptanib sodium (Macugen®) for diabetic macular oedema
Authors: Querques Giuseppe , Bux Anna V. , Martinelli Domenico , Iaculli Cristiana , Noci Nicola D. 
Published: August 2009

Abstract.Purpose:  To report the functional and anatomical outcomes resulting from the use of intravitreal pegaptanib sodium (Macugen®) in patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO).Methods:  We conducted a retrospective outcome analysis, by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA), of eyes with DMO treated with intravitreal pegaptanib sodium. Moreover, we evaluated the foveal transverse photoreceptor (PR) band integrity in the OCT images at the time of the last follow‐up visit.Results:  Sixty‐three eyes of 48 patients with a minimum of 6 months of follow‐up were included for analysis. Intravitreal pegaptanib was found to produce significant improvements in mean BCVA (p = 0.019) and reductions in mean central macular thickness (CMT) (p < 0.001) as soon as the 6‐week follow‐up. Most eyes (60/63) required a mean of 3.03 ± 0.9 repeated treatments, over a mean follow‐up period of 6.7 ± 1.2 months, to achieve significant improvements in mean BCVA (p < 0.001) and mean CMT (p < 0.001). In our series, the lower visual acuities tended to congregate in the group with the less‐defined PR band (p < 0.001) and the lower CMT tended to congregate in the group with the best‐defined PR band (p = 0.04), even though the higher CMT did not tend to congregate in the group with the less‐defined PR band.Conclusion:  Our findings demonstrate that selective inhibition by intravitreal pegaptanib sodium of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐165 may produce a clinically meaningful and statistically significant benefit in the treatment of DMO.
Optimal Testing for Thyroid Hormone Concentration after Treatment with Methimazole in Healthy and Hyperthyroid Cats
Authors: Rutland B.E. , Nachreiner R.F. , Kruger J.M. 
Published: August 2009

Background:Methimazole suppresses thyroid hormone synthesis and is commonly used to treat feline hyperthyroidism. The degree of variation in thyroid hormone concentrations 24 hours after administration of methimazole and optimal time for blood sampling to monitor therapeutic efficacy have not been determined.Objective:To assess thyroid hormone concentration variation in serum of normal and hyperthyroid cats after administration of methimazole.Animals:Four healthy cats and 889 retrospectively acquired feline thyroid hormone profiles.Methods:Crossover and retrospective studies. In the crossover study, healthy cats were treated with increasing doses of oral methimazole until steady state of thyroid suppression was achieved. Thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were serially and randomly monitored after methimazole. Pairedt‐tests and a 3‐factor analysis of variance were used to determine differences between thyroid hormone concentrations in treated and untreated cats in the crossover study. Thyroid profiles from methimazole‐treated hyperthyroid cats were retrieved from the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health database and reviewed. Linear regression analysis evaluated relationships of dosage (mg/kg), dosing interval (q24h versus q12h), and time after methimazole to all thyroid hormone concentrations.Results:All serum concentrations of thyroid hormones were significantly suppressed and TSH was significantly increased for 24 hours after administration of oral methimazole in healthy cats (P< .005). In hyperthyroid cats, there were no significant relationships between thyroid hormone concentrations and time postpill or dosing interval.Conclusions:Timing of blood sampling after oral methimazole administration does not appear to be a significant factor when assessing response to methimazole treatment.