bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
International Migration With Heterogeneous Agents: Theory and Evidence for Germany, 1967–2009
Authors: Brücker Herbert , Schröder Philipp J. H. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractTemporary migration, though empirically relevant, is often ignored in formal models. This paper proposes a migration model with heterogeneous agents and persistent cross country income differentials that features temporary migration. In equilibrium there exists a positive relation between the stock of migrants and the income differential, while the net migration flow becomes zero. Consequently, existing empirical migration models, estimating net migration flows, instead of stocks, may be misspecified. This suspicion appears to be confirmed by our investigation of the cointegration relationships of German migration stocks and flows since 1967. We find that (i) panel‐unit root tests reject the hypothesis that migration flows and the explanatory variables are integrated of the same order, while migration stocks and the explanatory variables are all I(1) variables, and (ii) the hypothesis of cointegration cannot be rejected for the stock model.
Individual Attitudes Towards Skilled Migration: An Empirical Analysis Across Countries
Authors: Facchini Giovanni , Mayda Anna Maria 
Published: February 2012

AbstractIt is commonly argued that skilled immigration benefits the destination country through several channels. Yet, only a limited number of countries report having policies in place aimed at increasing the intake of skilled immigrants. Why? In this paper, we analyse the factors that affect a direct measure of individual attitudes towards skilled migration. We focus on two main channels: the labour market and the welfare state. We find that more educated natives are less likely to favour skilled immigration – consistent with the labour market channel – while richer people are more likely to do so – in accordance with the welfare state channel under the tax adjustment model. Our findings thus suggest that the labour market competition threat perceived by skilled natives in the host countries might be driving the observed cautious policies.
Skilled Worker Migration and Trade: Inequality and Welfare
Authors: Bougheas Spiros , Nelson Douglas R. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractWe develop a two‐sector, two‐country model where trade is driven by technological differences. Each country is populated by large number of heterogeneous workers distinguished by their level of skills. Given that one country has a technological advantage in the skilled intensive good when we allow for both trade and migration skilled workers migrate to that country. We analyse the consequences of this migration for both inequality and welfare for the source and the host country.
Migration and Trade
Authors: Egger Peter H. , von Ehrlich Maximilian , Nelson Douglas R. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractTheoretical and empirical research in economics suggests that bilateral migration triggers bilateral trade through a number of channels. This paper assesses the functional form of the impact of migration on trade flows in a quasi‐experimental setting. We provide evidence that the relationship is not log‐linear. In particular, at small levels of immigration (stocks) the elasticity of trade to migration is quite high, and it declines to zero at about 4,000 immigrants. If immigration stocks exceed such a level, the evidence suggests that trade will not increase anymore. This suggests that for cross‐country network and other effects flowing from immigration to materialise at a significant level for trade, a high‐enough level of immigrant stocks is necessary. But there appears to be satiation as immigrant numbers increase.
The Law Applicable to Divorce as Test Ground for Enhanced Cooperation
Authors: Kuipers Jan‐Jaap 
Published: February 2012

AbstractEnhanced cooperation was introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997). Despite a lot of academic ink being spilled, the instrument had, until recently, never been applied in practice. In June 2010, the Council reached consensus on authorising a group of Member States to pursue, in the framework of enhanced cooperation, common rules in the area of the law applicable to divorce. The present paper critically analyses this first precedent. For that purpose, the background to the policy area will be explored. Subsequently, the desirability of enhanced cooperation shall be assessed. Finally, the content of Rome III, and its effects upon Member States not participating in the initiative, will be analysed. The paper will attempt to formulate an answer to the question whether enhanced cooperation should be the new approach to harmonisation of family‐related Private International Law.
Protecting Supremacy from External Influences: A Precondition for a European Constitutional Legal Order?
Authors: Eckes Christina 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe number of international law obligations that have binding force on the Union and/or its Member States is sharply increasing. This paper argues that in this light the well‐functioning of the European Union ultimately depends on the protection of the principle of supremacy from law originating outside of the EU legal order. The supremacy of EU law is essential to ensuring that Member States cannot use national rules to justify derogation from EU law.As a matter of principle, international treaties concluded by the Member States rank at the level of ordinary national law within the European legal order and below all forms of European law (both primary and secondary). Article 351 TFEU exceptionally allows Member States to derogate from primary EU law in order to comply with obligations under anterior international agreements. It does not however allow a departure from the principle of supremacy that underlies the European legal order. In Kadi I, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that Article 351 TFEU, while it permits derogation from primary law, may under no circumstances permit circumvention of the “very foundations” of the EU legal order. This introduces an additional condition that all acts within the sphere of EU law need to comply with a form of “super‐supreme law”. It also strengthened the principle of supremacy and gave the Court of Justice the role of the guardian of the Union's “foundations”. The Court of Justice acted on the necessity of defending the Union as a distinct legal order, retaining the autonomous interpretation of its own law, and ultimately ensuring that the Union can act as an independent actor on the international plane.
Spatial Analyses of the Urban Village Development Process in Shenzhen, China
Authors: Hao Pu , Geertman Stan , Hooimeijer Pieter , Sliuzas Richard 
Published: February 2012

AbstractUrban villages are widespread in many Chinese cities, providing affordable and accessible housing for rural migrants. These urban villages develop rapidly over time to create more housing units and accommodate increasing numbers of residents. This article provides systematic analyses of urban village development in Shenzhen in the period 1999–2009. It reveals that the development of urban villages was driven by the overall planning and urban growth of the city, which resulted in significant variation in urban village development at the city scale. Three distinct but overlapping phases were observed: expansion, densification and intensification. The growth of urban villages was spatially clustered and changes over time in the distribution of growth centres suggest the possible diffusion of migrant employment out of the Special Economic Zone into two outer districts. In the recent urban regeneration process, the pattern and trend of urban village development is shown to contradict the city's urban village redevelopment programmes. This not only helps to explain the slow progress of the policy implementation, but also implies severe risks of jeopardizing the migrant housing market in certain urban sections.RésuméDes villages urbains sont dispersés dans de nombreuses villes chinoises, procurant un habitat accessible et économique aux migrants ruraux. En essor rapide, ces implantations multiplient les logements à faible loyer et accueillent un nombre croissant d’habitants. Le développement des villages urbains de Shenzhen entre 1999 et 2009 a fait l’objet d’analyses systématiques: il a été induit par la croissance et l’aménagement d’ensemble de la ville, qui ont abouti à une importante variation de ce phénomène à l’échelle urbaine. On distingue trois phases, en partie superposées: expansion, densification et intensification. La croissance des villages urbains s’est concentrée dans l’espace, et les changements progressifs dans la répartition des pôles de croissance suggèrent la dissémination possible de l’emploi des migrants vers deux quartiers situés hors de la Zone économique spéciale. Il est montré que, dans le cadre du récent processus de régénération urbaine, le schéma et la tendance du développement de ces villages dans Shenzhen vont à l’encontre des programmes de réaménagement des villages urbains. D’une part, ces résultats permettent d’expliquer la lenteur dans la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques; d’autre part, ils suggèrent que, dans certaines zones urbaines, le marché du logement des migrants pourrait connaître une crise grave.
A cost study of postoperative cell salvage in the setting of elective primary hip and knee arthroplasty
Authors: Rao Vidya K. , Dyga Robert , Bartels Christopher , Waters Jonathan H. 
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: The increasing costs, limited supply, and clinical risks associated with allogeneic blood transfusion have prompted investigation into autologous blood management strategies, such as postoperative red blood cell (RBC) salvage. This study provides a cost comparison of transfusing washed postoperatively salvaged RBCs using an orthopedic perioperative autotransfusion device (OrthoPat, Haemonetics Corporation) versus unwashed shed blood and banked allogeneic blood.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Cell salvage data were retrospectively reviewed for a sample of 392 patients who underwent primary hip or knee arthroplasty. Mean unit costs were calculated for washed salvaged RBCs, equivalent units of unwashed shed blood, and therapeutically equivalent volumes of allogeneic RBCs.RESULTS: No initial capital investment was required for the establishment of the postoperative cell salvage program. For patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the mean unit costs for washed postoperatively salvaged cells, unwashed shed blood, and allogeneic banked blood were $758.80, $474.95, and $765.49, respectively. In patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA), the mean unit costs for washed postoperatively salvaged cells, unwashed shed blood, and allogeneic banked blood were $1827.41, $1167.41, and $2609.44, respectively.CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that transfusing washed postoperatively salvaged cells using the OrthoPat device is more costly than using unwashed shed blood in both THA and TKA. When compared to allogeneic transfusion, washed postoperatively salvaged cells carry a comparable cost in TKA, but potentially represent a significant savings in patients undergoing THA. Sensitivity analysis suggests that in the case of TKA, however, cost comparability exists within a narrow range of units collected and infused.
Inactivation and neutralization of parvovirus B19 Genotype 3
Authors: Blümel Johannes , Rinckel Lori A. , Lee Douglas C. , Roth Nathan J. , Baylis Sally A. 
Published: February 2012

BACKGROUND: Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is a common contaminant of human plasma donations. Three B19V genotypes have been defined based on their DNA sequence. Reliable detection of Genotype 3 DNA has proved problematic because of unexpected sequence variability. B19V Genotype 3 is found primarily in West Africa, but was recently detected in plasma from a North American donor. The safety of plasma‐derived medicinal products, with respect to B19V, relies on exclusion of high‐titer donations, combined with virus clearance at specific manufacturing steps. Studies on inactivation of B19V are difficult to perform and inactivation of Genotype 3 has not yet been investigated.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Inactivation of B19V Genotypes 3 and 1 by pasteurization of human serum albumin and incubation at low pH was studied using a cell culture assay for infectious virus particles. Infected cells were detected by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis of virus capsid mRNA. Neutralization of B19V Genotype 3 was investigated using human immunoglobulin preparations.RESULTS: Genotypes 1 and 3 displayed comparable inactivation kinetics during pasteurization of albumin at 56°C, as well as by incubation at various low‐pH conditions (pH 4.2 at 37°C and pH 4.5 at 23°C, respectively) used in immunoglobulin manufacturing. Both Genotypes were readily neutralized by pooled immunoglobulin preparations of North American or European origin.CONCLUSION: Pasteurization and low‐pH treatment were equally effective in inactivating B19V Genotypes 1 and 3. Neutralization experiments indicated that pooled immunoglobulin of North American or European origin is likely to be equally effective in treatment of disease induced by both genotypes.
Relationships between fire history, edaphic factors and woody vegetation structure and composition in a semi‐arid savanna landscape (Niger, West Africa)
Authors: Diouf Abdoulaye , Barbier Nicolas , Lykke Anne Mette , Couteron Pierre , Deblauwe Vincent , Mahamane Ali , Saadou Mahamane , Bogaert Jan 
Published: February 2012

AbstractQuestionWhat are the relationships between edaphic factors, fire regime and woody vegetation structure and composition in savannas at landscape to regional scales?LocationThe Transboundary ‘W’ Regional Park, Niger, West Africa.MethodsWe focused on a protected savanna ecosystem with rainfall of 700 mm yr−1, where rainfall is not expected to be a strong limiting factor for tree cover, and with historically low grazer and browser densities. A burned area history map was created over 7 yr using the high temporal resolution Aqua MODIS space‐borne sensor. In the field, the composition and structural parameters of the woody layer, as well as soil samples, were acquired in 137 plots of 0.09 ha each, based on a stratified random sampling approach to sampling the fire regime (seasonality and frequency). Using classical multivariate methods, we analysed the correlations between woody cover characteristics, fire regime and soil and geomorphological factors.ResultsIn spite of management practices aimed at generalizing early fire every year, the fire regime created a diverse spatial structure, with some vegetation less prone to burning (fire‐free) and other types that burned very frequently. These diverse fire histories showed correlations with gradients of both structure and composition of the woody layer. Soil variables had a higher explanatory power for vegetation structure and composition than fire.ConclusionsAmong the plausible causal chains between fire regime, soil factors and woody vegetation structure and composition, our results showed better agreement with a model in which fire regime is more a consequence than a cause of the other factors. This contrasts with bottleneck/perturbation theories as well as management practices, but meets the common sense opinions of field practitioners. Although our regional approach should be complemented by controlled experiments at a local scale, it does appear that investments in annual efforts to organize early fire campaigns in many protected areas may need to be reassessed.
Impacts of leafroll‐associated viruses (GLRaV‐1 and ‐3) on the physiology of the Portuguese grapevine cultivar ‘Touriga Nacional’ growing under field conditions
Authors: Moutinho‐Pereira J. , Correia C.M. , Gonçalves B. , Bacelar E.A. , Coutinho J.F. , Ferreira H.F. , Lousada J.L. , Cortez M.I. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractThe impact of mixed infection of grapevine leafroll‐associated virus 1 and 3 (GLRaV‐1&‐3) on physiological performance of the Portuguese grapevine variety ‘Touriga Nacional’ was evaluated during 3 years with the main purpose of understanding the drastic reduction in yield. Overall, gas exchange was negatively affected in leaves with these leafroll virus infections. Particularly at ripeness stage, the reduction in stomatal conductance (gs) was higher than in net CO2 assimilation rate (A), leading to higher intrinsic water use efficiency (A/gs) in infected leaves. However, the decrease in gs and A were not a consequence of the decrease in bulk water potential, as the water index/normalised difference vegetation index ratio suggested similar magnitude for both treatments. The maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II was unaffected by GLRaV‐1&‐3, whereas quantum effective efficiency of PSII, apparent electron transport rate and photochemical quenching significantly decreased in infected leaves and these was paralleled by a significant increase of non‐photochemical quenching. Relative to carbon metabolism, the analyses of the net CO2 assimilation rate/photosynthetic photon flux density (A/PPFD) and net CO2 assimilation rate/internal CO2 concentration (A/Ci) curves revealed that virus infection had a negative effect on light saturated rate of CO2 fixation at high irradiances and carboxylation efficiency but, in contrast, apparent quantum yield of CO2 fixation was significantly higher. Meanwhile, the presence of GLRaV‐1&‐3 resulted in a marked decrease in photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars and soluble proteins contents, while starch and anthocyanins were significantly improved. N, P, Ca, S and Fe leaf concentrations significantly decreased, while K, Mg, B, Cu, Zn and Mn were unaffected by these two leafroll virus species. Infected plants showed a significant decrease in yield, mainly due to a lower cluster weight. These results emphasised the important role of GLRaV‐1&‐3 as a biotic stress for the grapevine physiology and consequently to yield attributes.
The central role of myostatin in skeletal muscle and whole body homeostasis
Authors: Elliott B. , Renshaw D. , Getting S. , Mackenzie R. 
Published: February 2012

AbstractMyostatin is a powerful negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass in mammalian species. It plays a key role in skeletal muscle homeostasis and has now been well described since its discovery. Myostatin is capable of inducing muscle atrophy via its inhibition of myoblast proliferation, increasing ubiquitin‐proteasomal activity and downregulating activity of the IGF–Akt pathway. These well‐recognized effects are seen in multiple atrophy causing situations, including injury, diseases such as cachexia, disuse and space flight, demonstrating the importance of the myostatin signalling mechanism. Based on this central role, significant work has been pursued to inhibit myostatin's actions in vivo. Importantly, several new studies have uncovered roles for myostatin distinct from skeletal muscle size. Myostatin has been suggested to play a role in cardiomyocyte homeostasis, glucose metabolism and adipocyte proliferation, all of which are examined in detail below. Based on these effects, myostatin inhibition has potential to be widely utilized in many Western diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type II diabetes and obesity. However, if myostatin inhibitors are to successfully translate from bench‐top to bedside in the near future, awareness must be raised on these non‐traditional effects of myostatin away from skeletal muscle. Indeed, further research into these novel areas is required.
Safety and accuracy of a new long‐term subconjunctival glucose sensor
Authors: HASSLACHER Christoph , AUFFARTH Gerd , PLATTEN Isabell , RABSILBER Tanja , SMITH Beate , KULOZIK Felix , KNUTH Monika , NIKOLAUS Katharina , MÜLLER Achim 
Published: February 2012

AbstractBackground:  A new biosensor has been developed by EyeSense (Großostheim, Germany) that is placed into the conjunctiva of one eye to measure the glucose concentration of the surrounding tissue in a non‐invasive manner. In the present study we investigated the correlation between glucose concentrations measured by the EyeSense implant and those determined by finger prick testing, as well as the tolerability and safety of the implant over a 16‐week period.Methods:  The study was performed in 28 diabetic patients. The biosensor was inserted under local anesthesia and sterile conditions. Correlations between capillary glucose measured by laboratory methods and interstitial glucose determined by the biosensor were investigated by inducing increases and decreases in glucose values between 60 and 300 mg/dL.Results:  Most patients experienced a mild subconjunctival hemorrhage postoperatively. Except for the minor sensation of the presence of foreign body, the implants were well tolerated. Three patients lost the ocular mini insert spontaneously, whereas there was a function failure of the insert in four patients. Error grid analysis showed that the percentage of data pairs in the acceptable ranges (zone A and B) was very high (>96%). However, there was a shift from zone A to zone B during observation. This was due primarily to an increase in the lag time between capillary and interstitial measured glucose.Conclusion:  The present study demonstrates good tolerability and measurement performance of the biosensor. The reasons for an increase in the lag time are still unknown; local reactions may be involved.
Last fluoroscopy hold in paediatric fluoroscopy: Dynamic capture of physiological events and a potential for radiation exposure time reduction
Authors: Soudack Michalle , Hirschenbein Aviv , Sosna Jacob , Dafne Ehud , Engel Ahuva 
Published: February 2012

SummaryThe purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate last fluoroscopy hold (LFH) in paediatric fluoroscopy. LFH is a software program that enables dynamic storage of last fluoroscopy sequences. A hundred and ninety‐four paediatric patients underwent 215 fluoroscopy examinations during a 14‐month period. LFH was employed to review an equivocal finding, when last image hold did not provide an adequate diagnostic image or when a physiologic dynamic event was too fast or did not last long enough to capture. LFH was used in 29% of the examinations. The Institutional Review Board approved this study and waived informed consent.