bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Customary Tenure and Reciprocal Grazing Arrangements in Eastern Ethiopia
Authors: Beyene Fekadu 
Published: February 2010

ABSTRACTThis article examines how customary tenure provides a basis for reciprocal access arrangements and facilitates access to grazing resources in order to adapt to changing conditions. A critical review of the literature on the range ecology and institutions of resource governance guides the overall analysis, while empirical results from three case studies show that internal social relationships and kinship structures still remain important determining factors in facilitating access to the grazing commons. Many forms of institutional arrangements exist, providing different kinds of incentives. For instance, trading of grazing rights at household level provides an important safety‐net for poor pastoral and agropastoral herders, in spite of fears regarding negative externalities for de facto co‐owners of the commons. Evidence from the three studied districts reveals that the influence of resource attributes on institutional choice favours flexibility rather than supporting the axiom of the conventional property rights theory, which considers greater exclusivity to be a natural response to scarcity. Institutions supporting reciprocal grazing relations are characterized by negotiability and by an ambiguity of rights: clan rules facilitating reciprocal grazing are not based on maximization of benefits from own grazing commons, but rather on maximization of security of use rights through investing in relations with others.
Gastrointestinal targets of appetite regulation in humans
Authors: Delzenne N. , Blundell J. , Brouns F. , Cunningham K. , De Graaf K. , Erkner A. , Lluch A. , Mars M. , Peters H. P. F. , Westerterp‐Plantenga M. 
Published: February 2010

SummaryThe aim of this paper is to describe and discuss relevant aspects of the assessment of physiological functions – and related biomarkers – implicated in the regulation of appetite in humans. A short introduction provides the background and the present state of biomarker research as related to satiety and appetite. The main focus of the paper is on the gastrointestinal tract and its functions and biomarkers related to appetite for which sufficient data are available in human studies. The first section describes how gastric emptying, stomach distension and gut motility influence appetite; the second part describes how selected gastrointestinal peptides are involved in the control of satiety and appetite (ghrelin, cholecystokinin, glucagon‐like peptide, peptide tyrosin‐tyrosin) and can be used as potential biomarkers. For both sections, methodological aspects (adequacy, accuracy and limitation of the methods) are described. The last section focuses on new developments in techniques and methods for the assessment of physiological targets involved in appetite regulation (including brain imaging, interesting new experimental approaches, targets and markers). The conclusion estimates the relevance of selected biomarkers as representative markers of appetite regulation, in view of the current state of the art.
Intergovernmental grants in Russia
Authors: Jarocińska Elena 
Published: February 2010

AbstractTwo hypotheses about the determinants of Russian intergovernmental grants are tested. According to the first hypothesis, federal transfers to regions correlate with recent voting behaviour of regional electorates. The second hypothesis states that transfers are higher in regions with politically powerful governors. I find a strong confirmation for the first hypothesis and no evidence for the second hypothesis for the years 1995–99. This result is robust across specifications. However, in the years 2000–2004 electoral variables show no effect on transfers. The only significant political variable is Putin’s visits to regions.
What do Russians think about transition?1
Authors: Denisova Irina , Eller Markus , Zhuravskaya Ekaterina 
Published: February 2010

AbstractWe use data from the 2006 round of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey to describe perceptions of the Russian population about the transition process and the role of the state compared with that of free markets. We find that about one‐half of the Russian population is disappointed with transition and a large majority is in favour of high state regulation and state provision of goods and services. High demand for government regulation and increased state intervention coexists with a low level of trust in government institutions and recognition of high and rising levels of corruption. The findings are consistent with the theory developed by Aghion et al. (2009). In an environment with poor social capital, private business imposes negative externalities on the society and society chooses to demand more state regulation and tolerate corruption to reduce these externalities. We also find that individual perceptions of social capital and corruption co‐vary with the demand for regulation, as predicted by the theory.
Does labour supply respond to a flat tax?
Authors: Duncan Denvil , Peter Klara Sabirianova 
Published: February 2010

AbstractWe exploit the exogenous change in marginal tax rates created by the Russian flat tax reform of 2001 to identify the effect of taxes on the labour supply of men and women. We apply a weighted difference‐in‐difference regression approach and instrumental variables to estimate labour supply functions using a panel dataset. The mean regression results indicate that the tax reform led to a statistically significant increase in hours of work for men but had no effect on work hours for women. However, we find a positive response to tax changes in both tails of the female work hour distribution. We also find that the reform increased the probability of finding a job among both men and women. Despite significant variation in individual responses, the aggregate labour supply elasticities are trivial. This suggests that reform‐induced changes in labour supply are an unlikely explanation for the amplified personal income tax revenues that followed the reform.
Diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive polymerase chain reaction testing for the determination of fetal rhesus C, c and E status in early pregnancy
Authors: Gutensohn K , Müller SP , Thomann K , Stein W , Suren A , Körtge‐Jung S , Schlüter G , Legler TJ 
Published: February 2010

Please cite this paper as: Gutensohn K, Müller S, Thomann K, Stein W, Suren A, Körtge‐Jung S, Schlüter G, Legler T. Diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive polymerase chain reaction testing for the determination of fetal rhesus C, c and E status in early pregnancy. BJOG 2010; DOI: 10.1111/j.1471‐0528.2010.02518.x.Objective  The aim of the study was to determine the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of noninvasive tests for the fetal rhesus CcEc (RHCE) alleles C, c and E in early pregnancy.Design  A prospective clinical trial was carried out to evaluate diagnostic accuracy.Setting  Women were recruited at four centres specialising in prenatal diagnosis. Peripheral blood and amniotic fluid samples were obtained and sent to a single laboratory for analysis.Sample  A total of 233 tests (46 for C, 87 for c and 100 for E) were performed on 181 specimens obtained from pregnant women at weeks 12 to 28 (median week 16) of gestation.Methods  Following automated extraction of fetal DNA from maternal plasma, two different real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols were used for the detection of the C, c and E alleles of RHCE. The results of the PCR were compared with genotyping results for the amniotic fluid.Main outcome measures  Failure rate, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were the main outcome measures.Results  Unequivocal results were obtained for all specimens. With the first PCR protocol, the sensitivity was 100% for C, 38% for c and 59% for E. In contrast, with the second protocol, the sensitivity for C, c and E was 100%. The specificity for all assays was found to be between 99% and 100%.Conclusions  A highly accurate protocol has been identified for the detection of fetal RHCE alleles in maternal plasma in early pregnancy. This noninvasive approach can be considered as a useful test in the management of pregnancies with anti‐c, anti‐E or anti‐C alloimmunisation.
Half a century of succession in a temperate oakwood: from species‐rich community to mesic forest
Authors: Hédl Radim , Kopecký Martin , Komárek Josef 
Published: February 2010

AbstractAim  Lowland woodlands in Europe went through dramatic changes in management in the past century. This article investigates the influence of two key factors, abandonment of coppicing and increased pressure of ungulates, in thermophilous oakwoods. We focused on three interconnected topics: (1) Has the assumed successional trend lead to impoverishment of the vegetation assemblages? (2) Has it resulted in vegetation homogenization? (3) Are the thermophilous oakwoods loosing their original character?Location  Czech Republic, Central Europe.Methods  The vegetation in 46 semi‐permanent plots was recorded three times: firstly, shortly after the abandonment of coppicing (1953) and then, after four to six decades of secondary succession and strong game impact (1992 and 2006). Overall trends and changes in species spectra were analysed.Results  There is a marked successional shift towards species‐poorer communities growing in cooler, moister and nutrient‐richer conditions. The change was significantly different in parts affected and unaffected by high numbers of ungulates yet only for herbs, not the woody species. However, observed change in species composition was not accompanied by significant homogenization process that is the general process reported from elsewhere. A sharp decline in plant species typical for thermophilous woodland communities and in endangered species indicates that the original character of the woodland has been gradually lost.Main conclusions  Thermophilous oakwoods have been largely replaced by mesic forests. Lowland oakwoods in continental parts of Europe historically depended on active management, which kept the understorey conditions light and warm. Successional processes in the 20th century caused a critical loss of species diversity at various spatial levels. However, artificially high numbers of ungulates, which otherwise have a negative impact, probably held up succession, so that the changes may still be reversible.
Range size, taxon age and hotspots of neoendemism in the California flora
Authors: Kraft Nathan J. B. , Baldwin Bruce G. , Ackerly David D. 
Published: February 2010

AbstractAim  Sustaining biological diversity requires the protection of the ecological, evolutionary and landscape‐level processes that generate it. Here, we identify areas of high neoendemism in a global diversity hotspot, the California flora, using range size data and molecular‐based estimates of taxon age.Location  California, USA.Methods  We compiled distribution and range size data for all plant taxa endemic to California and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)‐based age estimates for 337 putative neoendemics (15% of the endemic flora). This information was combined to identify areas in the state with high proportions of young and restricted‐range taxa. We overlaid the distribution of neoendemic hotspots on maps of currently protected lands and also explored correlations between our diversity measures and climate.Results  The central coast of California, the Sierra Nevada and the San Bernardino Range contained endemics with the most restricted distributions on average, while areas in the Desert and Great Basin provinces found within the state were composed of the youngest neoendemics on average. Diversity measures that took age and range size into account shifted the estimate of highest endemic diversity in the state towards the Desert and Great Basin regions relative to simple counts of endemic species richness. Our diversity measures were poorly correlated with climate and topographic heterogeneity.Main conclusions  Substantial portions of California with high levels of plant neoendemism fall outside of protected lands, indicating that additional action will be needed to preserve the geographic areas apparently associated with high rates of plant diversification. The neoendemic flora of the deserts appears particularly young in our analyses, which may reflect the relatively recent origin of desert environments within the state.
Robust methods for detecting a small island effect
Authors: Dengler Jürgen 
Published: February 2010

AbstractAim  The small island effect (SIE), i.e. the hypothesis that species richness below a certain threshold area varies independently of island size, has become a widely accepted part of the theory of island biogeography. However, there are doubts whether the findings of SIEs were based on appropriate methods. The aim of this study was thus to provide a statistically sound methodology for the detection of SIEs and to show this by re‐analysing data in which an SIE has recently been claimed (Sfenthourakis & Triantis, 2009, Diversity and Distributions, 15, 131–140).Location  Ninety islands of the Aegean Sea (Greece).Methods  First, I reviewed publications on SIEs and evaluated their methodology. Then, I fitted different species–area models to the published data of area (A) and species richness (S) of terrestrial isopods (Oniscidea), with log A as predictor and both S (logarithm function) and log S (power function) as response variables: (i) linear; (ii) quadratic; (iii) cubic; (iv) breakpoint with zero slope to the left (SIE model); (v) breakpoint with zero slope to the right; (vi) two‐slope model. I used non‐linear regression with R2adj., AICc and BIC as goodness‐of‐fit measures.Results  Many different methods have been applied for detecting SIEs, all of them with serious shortcomings. Contrary to the claim of the original study, no SIE occurs in this particular dataset as the two‐slope variants performed better than the SIE variants for both the logarithm and power functions.Main conclusions  For the unambiguous detection of SIEs, one needs to (i) include islands with no species; (ii) compare all relevant models; and (iii) account for different model complexities. As none of the reviewed SIE studies met all these criteria, their findings are dubious and SIEs may be less common than reported. Thus, conservation‐related predictions based on the assumption of SIEs may be unreliable.
Gender differences in the cardiovascular effects of sex hormones
Authors: Vitale Cristiana , Fini Massimo , Speziale Giuseppe , Chierchia Sergio 
Published: February 2010

AbstractOver the last decade, compelling evidence supports the idea that the different impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the differences in vascular biology in men and women may be, at least in part, related to the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of sex steroid hormones. Indeed, androgens and oestrogens influence a multitude of vascular biological processes and their cardiovascular effects are multifaceted. While in women the effects of androgens mainly depend upon oestrogens’ levels and, ultimately, upon the estradiol/testosterone ratio, the effects of androgens in men mostly relate to their aromatization into oestrogens. Oestrogens exert potential beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system in both sexes. In women, the effect of oestrogens, alone or in association with progestins, has been widely investigated, but data obtained from older patient populations have lead the medical community and the general public to misleading conclusions. Growing evidence supports the ‘timing hypothesis’, which suggests that oestrogen/hormone replacement therapy may increase CVD risk if started late after menopause, but produce beneficial cardiovascular effects in younger postmenopausal women. Because in men adequate interventional studies with testosterone are lacking, specific investigations should be performed.
Surgical subcision as a cost‐effective and minimally invasive treatment for axillary osmidrosis
Authors: Liu Qingyang , Zhou Quanhong , Song Yeguang , Yang Songlin , Zheng Jianghong , Ding Zhi 
Published: February 2010

SummaryBackground  Axillary osmidrosis, characterized by unpleasant odor and occasional staining of clothing, is a personal discomfort and social impairment for people who suffer from it. Various types of surgical procedures involving instrumented‐assisted tools (lasers, ultrasonic, endoscope, and others) have shown relatively positive results; however, for patients in developing countries, especially in China, these treatments are inconvenient and cost‐ineffective.Objective  To introduce a minimal incision surgical procedure with skin flap treatment that removes the apocrine sweat glands in the subcutaneous tissue through a 1‐cm‐long incision without instrument‐assisted tools.Method  From July 2005 to October of 2007, 108 patients (68 women and 40 men) were treated with the minimal incision and cost‐effective surgical treatment by manual excision. A 1‐cm‐long incision is made in the axillary crease. Subcutaneous tissue and glands were removed with scissors through this incision. This procedure is repeated throughout the entire axilla until the axilla has essentially become a super‐thin flap.Result  Malodor elimination was good in 206 out of 215 axillae (95.8%) treated, fair in nine (4.2%), and poor in zero (0%). The resulting scar is small and virtually invisible because it is only 1‐cm long and located in the axillary crease.Conclusion  Treatment of axillary osmidrosis by manual excision through a 1‐cm incision is a convenient, efficient, cost‐effective, and relatively safe technique that results in high patient satisfaction and benefits patients and surgeons in developing countries.Axillary osmidrosis, a non‐life‐threatening condition characterized by unpleasant odor and occasional staining of clothing, is an annoying problem, particularly in Asian societies. For many people who suffer from this problem, this condition is a personal discomfort, a social impairment, and discourages patients from enjoying social or personal activities, especially young women. They are usually embarrassed by the smell during their daily activities and communication with other people.
Sodium L‐ascorbyl‐2‐phosphate 5% lotion for the treatment of acne vulgaris: a randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial
Authors: Woolery‐Lloyd Heather , Baumann Leslie , Ikeno Hiroshi 
Published: February 2010

SummaryBackground  Antioxidants are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of skin disease. In addition to their known anti‐inflammatory effects, antioxidants may act to prevent the oxidation of sebum which has been proposed to be comedogenic in acne patients. Sodium L‐ascorbyl‐2‐phosphate (APS) is a stable vitamin C derivative and highly effective antioxidant that has demonstrated efficacy in acne in open label studies.Objective  To evaluate the efficacy and safety of APS 5% lotion for the treatment of acne in a blinded controlled study.Methods  A total of 50 subjects were randomized in a double‐blind controlled trial to receive APS 5% lotion or vehicle for 12 weeks. Evaluation included an Investigator’s Global Assessment Score, a Subjects’ Global Assessment Score, lesion counts, cutaneous tolerability, and adverse events.Results  APS 5% lotion demonstrated statistically significant improvement when compared to vehicle in all of the parameters measured. The adverse event frequency and cutaneous tolerability profile for APS 5% lotion were similar to vehicle.Limitations  Adjunctive topical or oral agents and their impact on acne were not studied in this trial.Conclusions  This study demonstrates that 5% sodium L‐ascorbyl‐2‐phosphate is efficacious as monotherapy for the treatment of acne. APS 5% lotion offers a novel addition to our current acne armamentarium.
Photodynamic therapy for acne vulgaris: a randomized, controlled, split‐face clinical trial of topical aminolevulinic acid and pulsed dye laser therapy
Authors: Orringer Jeffrey S , Sachs Dana L , Bailey Evans , Kang Sewon , Hamilton Ted , Voorhees John J 
Published: February 2010

SummaryBackground  There remains the need for more effective therapeutic options to treat acne vulgaris. Interest in light‐based acne treatments has increased, but few randomized, controlled clinical trials assessing the value of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for acne have been reported.Aims  We sought to examine the efficacy of PDT using 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and pulsed dye laser therapy in the treatment of acne.Patients/methods  We conducted a randomized, controlled, split‐face, single‐blind clinical trial of 44 patients with facial acne. Patients were randomized to receive three pulsed dye laser treatments to one side of the face after a 60–90 min ALA application time, while the contralateral side remained untreated and served as a control. Serial blinded lesion counts and global acne severity ratings were performed.Results  Global acne severity ratings improved bilaterally with the improvement noted to be statistically significantly greater in treated skin than in untreated skin. Erythematous macules (remnants of previously active inflammatory lesions) decreased in number in treated skin when compared with control skin and there was a transient but significant decrease in inflammatory papules in treated skin when compared with untreated skin. There were no other statistically significant differences between treated and untreated sides of the face in terms of counts of any subtype of acne lesion. Thirty percent of patients were deemed responders to this treatment with respect to improvement in their inflammatory lesion counts, while only 7% of patients responded in terms of noninflammatory lesion counts.Conclusions  PDT with the treatment regimen employed here may be beneficial for a subgroup of patients with inflammatory acne.
Platelet‐rich fibrin matrix for improvement of deep nasolabial folds
Authors: Sclafani Anthony P 
Published: February 2010

Abstract Background  Dermal augmentation continues to grow as an aesthetic facial procedure. Many exogenous filler materials rely on an autologous fibrotic response for volume augmentation.Aims  To evaluate the efficacy of a single injection of autologous platelet‐rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) for the correction of deep nasolabial folds (NLFs).Patients/methods  Whole blood was obtained from 15 adults, and an activated autologous PRFM produced using a proprietary system (Selphyl®; Aesthetic Factors, Inc., Wayne, NJ, USA) was then injected into the dermis and immediate subdermis below the NLFs. Subjects were photographed before and after treatment; NLFs were rated by the treating physician before and after treatment using the Wrinkle Assessment Scale (WAS) and patients rated their appearance at each post‐treatment visit using the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale. Patients were evaluated at 1, 2, 6, and 12 weeks after treatment.Results  All patients were treated to maximal (no over‐) correction, with a mean reduction in WAS score of 2.12 ± 0.56. At 1 week after treatment, this difference was 0.65 ± 0.68, but rose to 0.97 ± 0.75, 1.08 ± 0.59, and 1.13 ± 0.72 at 2, 6, and 12 weeks after treatment, respectively (P < 0.001). No patient noted any fibrosis, irregularity, hardness, restricted movement, or lumpiness.Conclusions  PRFM can provide significant long‐term diminution of deep NLFs without the use of foreign materials. PRFM holds significant potential for stimulated dermal augmentation.