bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Home Bias in Leveraged Buyouts*
Authors: Cornelius Peter , Juttmann Karlijn , Langelaar Broes 
Published: December 2009

AbstractIn this paper, we examine cross‐border investments in 2,260 portfolio companies by 102 buyout funds raised between 1995 and 2004. Using proprietary data compiled by AlpInvest Partners, we calculate the aggregate home bias of these funds as well as their home bias at the fund level. We find significant variation across funds. While UK‐based funds are on average least home‐biased, they show a high degree of intra‐European bias. In comparison, US funds are found to be least home‐biased in terms of inter‐regional acquisitions, with Europe being the most important destination for US buyout capital. Furthermore, we find that buyout funds tend to be less home‐biased than portfolio investors and, more specifically, mutual funds. This finding is consistent with the optimal ownership theory of the home bias, which predicts that foreign direct investment – as opposed to portfolio investment – represents the preferred choice of entry in countries where the quality of governance is perceived to be inferior, promoting insider ownership.
Soft Budget Constraints in EU Transition Economy Enterprises*
Authors: Moore Tomoe 
Published: December 2009

AbstractSoft budget constraints (SBCs) can be said to exist in situations where governments rescue loss‐making firms in order to guarantee their survival by means of either a direct or an indirect injection of credit. The credit markets of the former socialist economies of Central and Eastern Europe were characterized, in general, by the syndrome of SBCs, whereby resources were often invested inefficiently. This paper empirically analyses the effect of joining the EU, where conditions for membership included the removal of SBCs, on restructuring the traditional financing methods for capital formation in EU transition economy enterprises. In the pre‐entry period, enterprises in the transition economies are found to be sensitive to credit in financing capital formation, exhibiting the prevalence of SBCs. However, the cost of capital becomes more important in the post‐entry period, which may be seen as a consequence of the reduced prevalence of SBCs, while market‐driven interest rates become more important in determining investment.
Maternal and neonatal outcomes of pregnancies complicated by asthma in an Australian population
Authors: CLIFTON Vicki L. , ENGEL Patricia , SMITH Roger , GIBSON Peter , BRINSMEAD Maxwell , GILES Warwick B. 
Published: December 2009

Objective:  To determine if there are sex differences in risk and incidence of stillbirth, preterm delivery and small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) in pregnancies complicated by maternal asthma relative to a non‐asthmatic population.Study design:  Univariant and multiple regression analysis of the incidence of preterm delivery, SGA and stillbirth in singleton pregnancies complicated by asthma in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, from 1995 to 1999.Results:  Asthma complicated 12% of all singleton pregnancies. The incidence of preterm delivery was not significantly different between asthmatic (13%) and non‐asthmatic (11%) pregnancies. Male fetuses (53%) were more likely to deliver preterm than female fetuses (47%) in both asthmatic and non‐asthmatic populations. There were significantly more male neonates of pregnancies complicated by asthma that were SGA at term relative to those of the non‐asthmatic population. There were significantly more preterm female neonates that were SGA in pregnancies complicated by asthma relative to those of the non‐asthmatic population. Male fetuses were more likely to be associated with a stillbirth in pregnancies complicated by asthma than female fetuses.Conclusion:  The presence of maternal asthma during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth for the male fetus and is associated with changes in fetal growth, but does not increase the incidence of a preterm delivery.
Role of general practitioners in primary maternity care in South Australia and Victoria
Authors: SUTHERLAND Georgina , YELLAND Jane , WIEBE Jan , KELLY Jennifer , MARLOWE Penny , BROWN Stephanie 
Published: December 2009

Background:  Recent policy debates about the challenges facing maternity services in Australia provide an opportunity to reflect on current care practices.Aims:  To identify the provision of primary maternity care models in two Australian states: South Australia (SA) and Victoria.Methods:  All public and private hospitals with maternity facilities in SA and Victoria were mailed a survey requesting information about the organisation and provision of maternity care.Results:  All hospitals in SA (35) and 99% (75/76) in Victoria completed the survey. Among public hospitals, approximately 50% (14/30 in SA and 29/56 in Victoria) reported primary care arrangements where all antenatal care is provided by medical practitioners working in the community. The vast majority of hospitals offering this type of care were located outside metropolitan areas. Twenty per cent of public hospitals in SA (6/30) and 36% in Victoria (20/59) reported offering primary midwifery models, such as team, caseload and/or birth centre care. In SA, hospitals offering these models were located in both metropolitan and regional areas. In Victoria, 60% of hospitals offering women primary midwifery care were large hospitals with more than 1000 births per annum.Conclusions:  This study shows that community‐based medical practitioners, general practitioners in particular, are major providers of maternity care despite the emergence of primary midwifery models of care. With 25% of the population living outside metropolitan areas in both states, providing access to choice and continuity of care for women living in regional and rural areas will be a challenge for maternity reform.
Risk factors on the menstrual cycle of healthy Taiwanese college nursing students
Authors: CHANG Pei‐Jen , CHEN Pau‐Chung , HSIEH Chia‐Jung , CHIU Li‐Tan 
Published: December 2009

Background:  The purpose of this study was to explore risk factors, including age at menarche, body mass index (BMI), psychiatric stress and physical exercise on the menstrual cycle of healthy Taiwanese college nursing students.Methods:  We conducted a cross‐sectional survey involving 1300 female college students in the nursing curriculum between December 2002 and March 2003. We provided a structured questionnaire for each student. Information on the women’s demographics, lifestyles and reproductive history related to menstrual cycle characteristics was requested. A total of 1095 healthy students were included in the analysis. A logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios for each of the menstrual cycle characteristics.Results:  We found that age at menarche, BMI and psychiatric stress were associated with menstrual cycle characteristics in healthy college nursing students. In addition to menarche at the age of 14 years or later, obesity and psychological stress, menarche before 12 years of age was an important risk factor for menstrual dysfunction. Moreover, obese students had the highest risk of having a longer cycle and cycle irregularity.Conclusions:  Early menarche might be related to menstrual dysfunction in addition to late menarche, obesity and psychological stress. Moreover, obese students are at the highest risks for longer cycles and cycle irregularity.
Intravenous lacosamide as short‐term replacement for oral lacosamide in partial‐onset seizures
Authors: Krauss Gregory , Ben‐Menachem Elinor , Mameniskiene Ruta , Vaiciene‐Magistris Nerija , Brock Melissa , Whitesides John G. , Johnson Martin E. 
Published: December 2009

SummaryPurpose:  Lacosamide is a new antiepileptic drug effective for adjunctive treatment of partial‐onset seizures. We evaluated the safety and tolerability of an intravenous (i.v.) formulation of lacosamide (200–800 mg/day) infused over 10, 15, and 30 min as short‐term replacement for oral lacosamide in patients with partial‐onset seizures.Methods:  This multicenter, open‐label, inpatient trial enrolled 160 patients from ongoing open‐label, long‐term trials who were taking stable doses of oral lacosamide and up to three concomitant antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Serial cohorts of patients were converted from oral lacosamide treatment to the same intravenous doses infused over progressively shorter infusion durations: 30, 15, and 10 min for 2–5 days. A data monitoring committee (DMC) reviewed safety data for each cohort. The safety of intravenous lacosamide was assessed from adverse events (AEs), laboratory variables, electrocardiography findings, and physical/neurologic examinations.Results:  A total of 160 patients received lacosamide 200–800 mg/day, i.v., for 2–5 days, of which 69% received 400–800 mg/day doses. The most common AEs (reported by ≤10% of patients) were headache, dizziness, and somnolence. There was no increase in frequency or severity of AEs with shorter durations of infusion or increased days of exposure. AEs were similar, but more frequent, with higher doses (≥400 mg/day). Injection‐site events were rare and did not appear to be linked to infusion doses or rates. Lacosamide plasma concentrations were linearly related to dose across the cohorts.Discussion:  This comprehensive evaluation supports the safety of an intravenous lacosamide infusion duration as short as 15 min for short‐term (2–5 days) replacement for patients temporarily unable to take oral lacosamide.
Discrete time hazards models for occupational and environmental cohort analyses
Authors: Richardson D B 
Published: December 2009

Objective:To discuss the use of discrete time hazards models for the analysis of occupational and environmental cohort data.Methods:Analytical data structures and regression methods for discrete time hazards models are described. This approach is illustrated via analyses of data from a study of mortality in a cohort of chemical workers exposed to dioxin.Results and conclusions:Analyses employing a discrete time hazards model facilitate examination of observed and expected counts, the calculation of attributable fractions, and empirical description of the estimated hazard rates. In addition, this approach can be used to fit non-multiplicative models, such as the linear hazards ratio model (which has been employed in epidemiological analyses of a variety of environmental and occupational exposures).
Quasicone Metric Spaces and Generalizations of Caristi Kirk's Theorem
Authors: Abdeljawad Thabet , Karapinar Erdal 
Published: December 2009

AbstractCone-valued lower semicontinuous maps are used to generalize Cristi-Kirik's fixed point theorem to Cone metric spaces. The cone under consideration is assumed to be strongly minihedral and normal. First we prove such a type of fixed point theorem in compact cone metric spaces and then generalize to complete cone metric spaces. Some more general results are also obtained in quasicone metric spaces.
General Macro- and Microphysical Properties of Deep Convective Clouds as Observed by MODIS
Authors: Yuan Tianle , Li Zhanqing 
Published: December 2009

Abstract
Deep convective clouds (DCCs) are an important player in the climate system. In this paper the authors use remote sensing data mainly from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud product to investigate a few general cloud macro- and microphysical properties of DCCs. This investigation concentrates on the tallest convective clouds and associated thick anvils that are labeled “deep convective clouds.” General geographical patterns of DCCs from MODIS data are consistent with previous studies. By examining statistics of optical properties of DCCs over different locations of the globe, it is found that cloud optical depth distribution for DCCs shows little interannual variability for individual regions. These distributions, however, change with geographical regions. DCC ice particle size varies with surface elevation and cloud brightness temperature. DCCs that develop over elevated areas tend to have smaller ice particles at cloud top. There is a positive correlation between ice particle size and brightness temperature. The slope of this correlation has significant regional variations, which can be explained either with a simple thermodynamic consideration or with homogeneous freezing of aerosols. The findings have important implications in studying radiation budget, ice cloud microphysics parameterization, and troposphere–stratosphere water vapor exchange.
Genetically-increased taste cell population with G-gustducin-coupled sweet receptors is associated with increase of gurmarin-sensitive taste nerve fibers in mice
Authors: Yasumatsu Keiko , Ohkuri Tadahiro , Sanematsu Keisuke , Shigemura Noriatsu , Katsukawa Hideo , Sako Noritaka , Ninomiya Yuzo 
Published: December 2009

Abstract

Background
The peptide gurmarin is a selective sweet response inhibitor for rodents. In mice, gurmarin sensitivity differs among strains with gurmarin-sensitive C57BL and gurmarin-poorly-sensitive BALB strains. In C57BL mice, sweet-responsive fibers of the chorda tympani (CT) nerve can be divided into two distinct populations, gurmarin-sensitive (GS) and gurmarin-insensitive (GI) types, suggesting the existence of two distinct reception pathways for sweet taste responses. By using the dpa congenic strain (dpa CG) whose genetic background is identical to BALB except that the gene(s) controlling gurmarin sensitivity are derived from C57BL, we previously found that genetically-elevated gurmarin sensitivity in dpa CG mice, confirmed by using behavioral response and whole CT nerve response analyses, was linked to a greater taste cell population co-expressing sweet taste receptors and a Gα protein, Gα-gustducin. However, the formation of neural pathways from the increased taste cell population to nerve fibers has not yet been examined.

Results
Here, we investigated whether the increased taste cell population with Gα-gustducin-coupled sweet receptors would be associated with selective increment of GS fiber population or nonselective shift of gurmarin sensitivities of overall sweet-responsive fibers by examining the classification of GS and GI fiber types in dpa CG and BALB mice. The results indicated that dpa CG, like C57BL, possess two distinct populations of GS and GI types of sweet-responsive fibers with almost identical sizes (dpa CG: 13 GS and 16 GI fibers; C57BL: 16 GS and 14 GI fibers). In contrast, BALB has only 3 GS fibers but 18 GI fibers. These data indicate a marked increase of the GS population in dpa CG.

Conclusion
These results suggest that the increased cell population expressing T1r2/T1r3/Gα-gustducin in dpa CG mice may be associated with an increase of their matched GS type fibers, and may form the distinct GS sweet reception pathway in mice. Gα-gustducin may be involved in the GS sweet reception pathway and may be a key molecule for links between sweet taste receptors and cell type-specific-innervation by their matched fiber class.
Relationship between home care service use and changes in the care needs level of Japanese elderly
Authors: Kato Gohei , Tamiya Nanako , Kashiwagi Masayo , Sato Mikiya , Takahashi Hideto 
Published: December 2009

Abstract

Background
With the introduction of long-term care insurance (LTCI) in Japan, more home care services are available for the community-dwelling elderly. To deliver effective home care services, it is important to know the effects of service use. In this study, as the first step to determine this, we sought to describe different home service use in the sustained/improved group and deteriorated group in their care needs levels, and to report the relationship between the use of home care services and changes in care needs levels.

Methods
The participants included 624 of a total of 1,474 users of LTCI services in one city in Japan. Home care service users were stratified into a 'lower care needs level subgroup' and a 'higher care needs level subgroup' based on the baseline care needs level. Simple statistical comparison and multiple logistic regression analyses in which the change in care needs level was set as a dependent variable were performed. Gender, age, and baseline care needs level were designated as control variables. Home based services were treated as independent variables. In this study, home care services consisted of home help, home bathing services, a visiting nurse, home rehabilitation, nursing home daycare, health daycare, loan of medical devices, respite stay in a nursing home, respite stay in a health care facility, respite stay in a sanatorium-type medical care facility, and medical management by a physician.

Results
In the lower care needs level subgroup, age (OR = 1.04, CI, 1.01-1.08), use of respite stay in a nursing home (OR = 2.55; CI, 1.43-4.56), and the number of types of long-term care services (OR = 1.33; CI, 1.02-1.74) used during an 11 month period were significantly related to a deterioration of the user's care needs level. In the higher care needs level subgroup, use of medical management by a physician (OR = 6.99; CI, 1.42-41.25) was significantly related to a deterioration of the user's care needs level. There were no home based services significantly related to sustaining or improving the user's care needs level.

Conclusion
There were different home service use in two groups (the sustained/improved group and the deteriorated group). Respite stay in a nursing home service use and more types of service use were related to experiencing a deterioration of care needs level in lower care needs level community-dwelling elderly persons in Japan. Further, medical management by a physician service was related to experiencing a deterioration of care needs level in higher care needs level community-dwelling elderly persons.
The effect of proteoglycans inhibited by RNA interference on metastatic characters of human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma
Authors: Shi Hong , Wang Jie , Dong Fusheng , Wang Xu , Li Hexiang , Hou Yali 
Published: December 2009

Abstract

Background
Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is one of the most common malignancies of salivary gland. Recurrence or/and early metastasis is its biological properties. In SACC, neoplastic myoepithelial cells secrete proteoglycans unconventionally full of the cribriform or tubular and glandular structures of SACC. Literatures have demonstrated that extracellular matrix provided an essential microenvironment for the biological behavior of SACC. However, there is rare study of the effect of proteoglycans on the potential metastasis of SACC.
In this study, human xylosyltransferase-I (XTLY-I) gene, which catalyzes the rate-limited step of proteoglycans biosynthesis, was knocked down by RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit the proteoglycans biosynthesis in SACC cell line with high tendency of lung metastasis (SACC-M). The impact of down-regulated proteoglycans on the metastasis characters of SACC-M cells was analyzed and discussed. This research could provide a new idea for the clinical treatment of SACC.

Methods
The eukaryotic expression vector of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting XTLY-I gene was constructed and transfected into SACC-M cells. A stably transfectant cell line named SACC-M-WJ4 was isolated. The XTLY-I expression was measured by real-time PCR and Western blot; the reduction of proteoglycans was measured. The invasion and metastasis of SACC-M-WJ4 cells were detected; the effect of down-regulated proteoglycans on the potential lung metastasis of nude mice was observed, respectively.

Results
The shRNA plasmid targeting XTLY-I gene showed powerful efficiency of RNAi. The mRNA level of target gene decreased by 86.81%, the protein level was decreased by 80.10%, respectively. The silence of XTLY-I gene resulted in the reduction of proteoglycans significantly in SACC-M-WJ4 cells. The inhibitory rate of proteoglycans was 58.17% (24 h), 66.06% (48 h), 57.91% (72 h), 59.36% (96 h), and 55.65% (120 h), respectively. The reduction of proteoglycans suppressed the adhesion, invasion and metastasis properties of SACC-M cells, and decreased the lung metastasis of SACC-M cells markedly either.

Conclusion
The data suggested that the silence of XTLY-I gene in SACC-M cells could suppress proteoglycans biosynthesis and secretion significantly. The reduction of proteoglycans inhibited cell adhesion, invasion and metastasis of SACC-M cells. There is a close relationship between proteoglycans and the biological behavior of SACC.
The influence of insurance status on waiting times in German acute care hospitals: an empirical analysis of new data
Authors: Kuchinke Björn A , Sauerland Dirk , Wübker Ansgar 
Published: December 2009

Abstract

Background
There is an ongoing debate in Germany about the assumption that patients with private health insurance (PHI) benefit from better access to medical care, including shorter waiting times (Lüngen et al. 2008), compared to patients with statutory health insurance (SHI).

Problem
Existing analyses of the determinants for waiting times in Germany are a) based on patient self-reports and b) do not cover the inpatient sector. This paper aims to fill both gaps by (i) generating new primary data and (ii) analyzing waiting times in German hospitals.

Methods
We requested individual appointments from 485 hospitals within an experimental study design, allowing us to analyze the impact of PHI versus SHI on waiting times (Asplin et al. 2005).

Results
In German acute care hospitals patients with PHI have significantly shorter waiting times than patients with SHI.

Conclusion
Discrimination in waiting times by insurance status does occur in the German acute hospital sector. Since there is very little transparency in treatment quality in Germany, we do not know whether discrimination in waiting times leads to discrimination in the quality of treatment. This is an important issue for future research.
Endotoxin emissions from commercial composting activities
Authors: Deacon Lewis , Pankhurst Louise , Liu Jian , Drew Gillian H , Hayes Enda T , Jackson Simon , Longhurst James , Longhurst Philip , Pollard Simon , Tyrrel Sean 
Published: December 2009

Abstract
This paper describes an exploratory study of endotoxin emissions and dispersal from a commercial composting facility. Replicated samples of air were taken by filtration at different locations around the facility on 10 occasions. Measurements were made of endotoxin and associated culturable microorganisms. The inflammatory response of cell cultures exposed to extracts from the filters was measured. Endotoxin was detected in elevated concentrations close to composting activities. A secondary peak, of lesser magnitude than the peak at source was detected at 100-150 m downwind of the site boundary. Unexpectedly high concentrations of endotoxin were measured at the most distant downwind sampling point. Extracted endotoxin was found to stimulate human monocytes and a human lung epithelial cell line to produce significant amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines. On a weight basis, endotoxin extracted from the composting source has a greater inflammatory cytokine inducing effect than commercial E. coli endotoxin.