bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Incentive power and authority types: towards a model of public service delivery
Authors: Barbieri Dario , Salvatore Domenico 
Published: July 2010

Substantial research has been conducted concerning the efficiency and efficacy of different modes of public service delivery and contracting out. This article develops a model of service delivery choice taking into account the distinction between public, private and non-profit organizations and the characteristics of the service to be delivered. Transaction Costs Economics has mainly debated the attributes of the technology involved in production and the required investments. In this article, considerations on the organizational nature of the actors participating in the process are added to this framework, pointing out that features of the internal structure and of the external mode of social control of organizational forms make them more suitable for providing certain services rather than others. The model is based on two dimensions: incentives power and authority types. Evidence from the contracting-out debate is used for discussing the implications of the model for the feasibility and efficiency of organizations in the service delivery. Points for practitioners Politicians and public managers daily face the challenge of choosing the best way to manage the delivery of public services to the citizenship. Our research aims at supporting this decisional process, taking into account the nature of the service and of the organization delegated to deliver the service. The incentives provided by different organizational structures and the authority types involved should be considered. Our model suggests that low or high political authority and low- or high-powered incentives can lead to the contractualization to private, public or non-profit organizations. When incentives are high-powered and political authority is low, the service delivery should be privatized.
First things first: sustaining political will for public governance change
Authors: Ormond Derry 
Published: July 2010

This revised text of the Braibant lecture delivered in Helsinki addresses the widely shared difficulty of creating enough political will to reform public institutions, before crisis strikes and not after, and then to sustain the reforms through to completion. There is virtually no incentive for politicians or governments to do this: interests (including the administration itself) will most likely be hostile; meaningful change is only measured in years; few votes can be won. Yet the complex problems faced today by both individual countries and at planetary level, summarized in the beginning of the article, are so serious that it is vital to find ways to alleviate this difficulty without which all public policies and programmes suffer. The principal means must be much sharper and more articulately organized pressures for change so as to make it politically inconvenient to ignore them, and thus provide a genuine incentive to act. Nine propositions are made. Points for practitioners There are no obvious answers to the problem of getting the sustained interest of the political class to prosecute reform of public governance. Can sharper pressures along with the necessary fora and processes be developed? The difficulty is compounded by the trend to cynicism and outright dismissal as regards public authorities. On the other hand, the growing perception of dramatic problems shared across the planet introduces a potential for new institutional initiatives, mobilization of external groupings, incentive structures or attitude changes. As one example, could the trend to independent, more transparent responsibilities in such domains as monetary or fiscal policy be relevant?
Pharmacological characterization of VIP and PACAP receptors in the human meningeal and coronary artery
Authors: Chan Kayi Y , Baun Michael , Vries René de , van den Bogaerdt Antoon J , Dirven Clemens MF , Danser Alexander HJ , Jansen-Olesen Inger , Olesen Jes , Villalón Carlos M , MaassenVanDenBrink Antoinette , Gupta Saurabh 
Published: July 2010

Objective: We pharmacologically characterized pituitary adenylate cyclase–activating polypeptides (PACAPs), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and the VPAC1, VPAC2 and PAC1 receptors in human meningeal (for their role in migraine) and coronary (for potential side effects) arteries. Methods: Concentration response curves to PACAP38, PACAP27, VIP and the VPAC1 receptor agonist ([Lys15,Arg16,Leu27]-VIP[1-7]-GRF[8-27]) were constructed in the absence or presence of the PAC1 receptor antagonist PACAP6-38 or the VPAC1 receptor antagonist, PG97269. mRNA expression was measured using qPCR. Results: PACAP38 was less potent than VIP in both arteries. Both peptides had lower potency and efficacy in meningeal than in coronary arteries, while mRNA expression of VPAC1 receptor was more pronounced in meningeal arteries. PACAP6-38 reduced the Emax of PACAP27, while PG97269 right-shifted the VIP-induced relaxation curve only in the coronary arteries. Conclusion: The direct vasodilatory effect of VIP and PACAP might be less relevant than the central effect of this compound in migraine pathogenesis.
Increase in CGRP- and nNOS-immunoreactive neurons in the rat trigeminal ganglion after infusion of an NO donor
Authors: Dieterle Anne , Fischer Michael JM , Link Andrea S , Neuhuber Winfried L , Messlinger Karl 
Published: July 2010

Background: Nitrovasodilators, such as glyceroltrinitrate (GTN), which produce nitric oxide (NO) in the organism, are known to cause delayed headaches in migraineurs, accompanied by increased plasma levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the cranial venous outflow. Increases in plasma CGRP and NO metabolites have also been found in spontaneous migraine attacks. In a rat model of meningeal nociception, infusion of NO donors induced activity of neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus. Methods: Isoflurane-anaesthetised rats were intravenously infused with GTN (250 µg/kg) or saline for two hours and fixed by perfusion after a further four hours. Cryosections of dissected trigeminal ganglia were immunostained for detection of CGRP and neuronal NO synthase (nNOS). The ganglion neurons showing immunofluorescence for either of these proteins were counted. Results: The proportions of CGRP- and nNOS- as well as double-immunopositive neurons were increased after GTN infusion compared to saline treatment in all parts of the trigeminal ganglion (CGRP) or restricted to the ophthalmic region (nNOS). The size of immunopositive neurons was not significantly different compared to controls. Conclusion: High levels of NO may induce the expression or availability of CGRP and nNOS. Similar changes may be involved in nitrovasodilator-induced and spontaneous headache attacks in migraineurs.
Gender Roles and Help-Seeking Behaviour
Authors: Chan Raymond K.H. , Hayashi Kiyoshi 
Published: July 2010

• Summary: Japanese gender roles are usually constructed according to tradition, and men are assumed to possess a traditional masculine identity. This article examines the aspects of gender role identity and the socio-demographic factors that predict help-seeking attitudes among Japanese men. Data on 265 Japanese males were measured using the GRCS and ATSPPH-S scales. • Findings: In general, the participants showed a moderate level adherence to traditional gender roles. They were sceptical about the efficacy of professional help and did not actively seek or welcome professional assistance. The findings support the argument that men’s orientation towards success, power and competition, and their restricted emotionality have a significant impact on their likelihood to seek professional help. • Application: The implications of these findings on psychological and counselling practices in Japanese society are also discussed.
Deletion of Irs2 causes reduced kidney size in mice: role for inhibition of GSK3β?
Authors: Carew Rosemarie M , Sadagurski Marianna , Goldschmeding Roel , Martin Finian , White Morris F , Brazil Derek P 
Published: July 2010

Abstract

Background
Male Irs2
-/- mice develop fatal type 2 diabetes at 13-14 weeks. Defects in neuronal proliferation, pituitary development and photoreceptor cell survival manifest in Irs2
-/- mice. We identify retarded renal growth in male and female Irs2
-/- mice, independent of diabetes.

Results
Kidney size and kidney:body weight ratio were reduced by approximately 20% in Irs2
-/- mice at postnatal day 5 and was maintained in maturity. Reduced glomerular number but similar glomerular density was detected in Irs2
-/- kidney compared to wild-type, suggesting intact global kidney structure. Analysis of insulin signalling revealed renal-specific upregulation of PKBβ/Akt2, hyperphosphorylation of GSK3β and concomitant accumulation of β-catenin in Irs2
-/- kidney. Despite this, no significant upregulation of β-catenin targets was detected. Kidney-specific increases in Yes-associated protein (YAP), a key driver of organ size were also detected in the absence of Irs2. YAP phosphorylation on its inhibitory site Ser127 was also increased, with no change in the levels of YAP-regulated genes, suggesting that overall YAP activity was not increased in Irs2
-/- kidney.

Conclusions
In summary, deletion of Irs2 causes reduced kidney size early in mouse development. Compensatory mechanisms such as increased β-catenin and YAP levels failed to overcome this developmental defect. These data point to Irs2 as an important novel mediator of kidney size.
Development of admixture mapping panels for African Americans from commercial high-density SNP arrays
Authors: Chen Guanjie , Shriner Daniel , Zhou Jie , Doumatey Ayo , Huang Hanxia , Gerry Norman P , Herbert Alan , Christman Michael F , Chen Yuanxiu , Dunston Georgia M , Faruque Mezbah U , Rotimi Charles N , Adeyemo Adebowale 
Published: July 2010

Abstract

Background
Admixture mapping is a powerful approach for identifying genetic variants involved in human disease that exploits the unique genomic structure in recently admixed populations. To use existing published panels of ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) for admixture mapping, markers have to be genotyped de novo for each admixed study sample and samples representing the ancestral parental populations. The increased availability of dense marker data on commercial chips has made it feasible to develop panels wherein the markers need not be predetermined.

Results
We developed two panels of AIMs (~2,000 markers each) based on the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 for admixture mapping with African American samples. These two AIM panels had good map power that was higher than that of a denser panel of ~20,000 random markers as well as other published panels of AIMs. As a test case, we applied the panels in an admixture mapping study of hypertension in African Americans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Conclusions
Developing marker panels for admixture mapping from existing genome-wide genotype data offers two major advantages: (1) no de novo genotyping needs to be done, thereby saving costs, and (2) markers can be filtered for various quality measures and replacement markers (to minimize gaps) can be selected at no additional cost. Panels of carefully selected AIMs have two major advantages over panels of random markers: (1) the map power from sparser panels of AIMs is higher than that of ~10-fold denser panels of random markers, and (2) clusters can be labeled based on information from the parental populations. With current technology, chip-based genome-wide genotyping is less expensive than genotyping ~20,000 random markers. The major advantage of using random markers is the absence of ascertainment effects resulting from the process of selecting markers. The ability to develop marker panels informative for ancestry from SNP chip genotype data provides a fresh opportunity to conduct admixture mapping for disease genes in admixed populations when genome-wide association data exist or are planned.
The epidemiology of bone cancer in 0 - 39 year olds in northern England, 1981 - 2002
Authors: Eyre Rachel , Feltbower Richard G , James Peter W , Blakey Karen , Mubwandarikwa Emmanuel , Forman David , McKinney Patricia A , Pearce Mark S , McNally Richard JQ 
Published: July 2010

Abstract

Background
There is a paucity of recent epidemiological data on bone cancers. The aim of this study was to describe incidence and survival patterns for bone cancers diagnosed during 1981 - 2002.

Methods
Cases aged 0 - 39 years (236 osteosarcomas, 166 Ewing sarcomas and 73 chondrosarcomas) were analysed using Poisson and Cox regressions.

Results
Incidence rates (per million persons per year) for osteosarcoma were 2.5 at age 0 - 14 years; 4.5 at age 15 - 29 years and 1.0 at age 30 - 39 years. Similarly, for Ewing sarcoma the incidence rates were 2.2; 2.9; 0.4 and for chondrosarcoma rates were 0.1; 1.2; 1.8 respectively. Incidence of osteosarcoma increased at an average annual rate of 2.5% (95% CI 0.4 - 4.7; P = 0.02), but there was no change in incidence of Ewing sarcoma or chondrosarcoma. There was a marginally statistically significant improvement in survival for Ewing sarcoma (hazard ratio (HR) per annum = 0.97; 95% CI 0.94 - 1.00; P = 0.06), although patients aged 15 - 39 years (n = 93) had worse overall survival than those aged 0 - 14 (n = 73; HR = 1.46; 95% CI 0.98 - 2.17; P = 0.06). There was no significant improvement in osteosarcoma survival (HR per annum = 0.98; 95% CI 0.95 - 1.01; P = 0.18).

Conclusions
Reasons for poorer survival in Ewing sarcoma patients aged 15 - 39 years and failure to significantly improve survival for osteosarcoma patients requires further investigation.
Time course of nitric oxide synthases, nitrosative stress, and poly(ADP ribosylation) in an ovine sepsis model
Authors: Lange Matthias , Connelly Rhykka , Traber Daniel L , Hamahata Atsumori , Nakano Yoshimitsu , Esechie Aimalohi , Jonkam Collette , von Borzyskowski Sanna , Traber Lillian D , Schmalstieg Frank C , Herndon David N , Enkhbaatar Perenlei 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Introduction
Different isoforms of nitric oxide synthases (NOS) and determinants of oxidative/nitrosative stress play important roles in the pathophysiology of pulmonary dysfunction induced by acute lung injury (ALI) and sepsis. However, the time changes of these pathogenic factors are largely undetermined.

Methods
Twenty-four chronically instrumented sheep were subjected to inhalation of 48 breaths of cotton smoke and instillation of live Pseudomonas aeruginosa into both lungs and were euthanized at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 hours post-injury. Additional sheep received sham injury and were euthanized after 24 hrs (control). All animals were mechanically ventilated and fluid resuscitated. Lung tissue was obtained at the respective time points for the measurement of neuronal, endothelial, and inducible NOS (nNOS, eNOS, iNOS) mRNA and their protein expression, calcium-dependent and -independent NOS activity, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), and poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) protein expression.

Results
The injury induced severe pulmonary dysfunction as indicated by a progressive decline in oxygenation index and concomitant increase in pulmonary shunt fraction. These changes were associated with an early and transient increase in eNOS and an early and profound increase in iNOS expression, while expression of nNOS remained unchanged. Both 3-NT, a marker of protein nitration, and PAR, an indicator of DNA damage, increased early but only transiently.

Conclusions
Identification of the time course of the described pathogenetic factors provides important additional information on the pulmonary response to ALI and sepsis in the ovine model. This information may be crucial for future studies, especially when considering the timing of novel treatment strategies including selective inhibition of NOS isoforms, modulation of peroxynitrite, and PARP.
Contrasting chromatin organization of CpG islands and exons in the human genome
Authors: Choi Jung Kyoon 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Background
CpG islands and nucleosome-free regions are both found in promoters. However, their association has never been studied. On the other hand, DNA methylation is absent in promoters but is enriched in gene bodies. Intragenic nucleosomes and their modifications have been recently associated with RNA splicing. Because the function of intragenic DNA methylation remains unclear, I explored the possibility of its involvement in splicing regulation.

Results
Here I show that CpG islands were associated not only with methylation-free promoters but also with nucleosome-free promoters. Nucleosome-free regions were observed only in promoters containing a CpG island. However, the DNA sequences of CpG islands predicted the opposite pattern, implying a limitation of sequence programs for the determination of nucleosome occupancy. In contrast to the methylation-and nucleosome-free states of CpG-island promoters, exons were densely methylated at CpGs and packaged into nucleosomes. Exon-enrichment of DNA methylation was specifically found in spliced exons and in exons with weak splice sites. The enrichment patterns were less pronounced in initial exons and in non-coding exons, potentially reflecting a lower need for their splicing. I also found that nucleosomes, DNA methylation, and H3K36me3 marked the exons of transcripts with low, medium, and high gene expression levels, respectively.

Conclusions
Human promoters containing a CpG island tend to remain nucleosome-free as well as methylation-free. In contrast, exons demonstrate a high degree of methylation and nucleosome occupancy. Exonic DNA methylation seems to function together with exonic nucleosomes and H3K36me3 for the proper splicing of transcripts with different expression levels.
Impact of the introduction of rapid HIV testing in the Voluntary Counselling and Testing sites network of Catalonia, Spain
Authors: Fernàndez-Lopez L , Rifà B , Pujol F , Becerra J , Pérez M , Meroño M , Zaragoza K , Rafel A , Díaz O , Avellaneda A , Casado M J , Giménez A , Casabona J 
Published: July 2010

Summary Rapid HIV antibody tests, which provide results within 15–60 minutes, can help reduce the number of unrecognized infections by improving access to testing facilities and increase the number of people tested who know their results. After an acceptability study, rapid HIV testing was first implemented in Catalonia in 2007 within the community-based Voluntary Counselling and Testing sites network. One year after implementation, an increase of 102.9% has been observed in the number of tests performed, ranging from 8.4% to 328.3% according to the site. Despite the important immediate impact of rapid HIV testing on the number of tests performed, there was no significant change in the proportion of tests that were positive. Rapid HIV testing can help increase access to testing, but it should be complemented with specific outreach programmes targeting the most vulnerable subgroups.
Effects of Membrane Compliance on Pore Water Pressure Generation in Gravelly Sands under Cyclic Loading
Authors: Haeri S. Mohsen , Shakeri Mohammad Reza 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
The paper deals with an experimental study of the undrained cyclic behavior of a natural coarse sand and gravel deposit located in Tehran, a megacity situated on the continental side of the Alborz Mountain in Iran. Membrane compliance that plays a significant role in inhibiting redistribution of pore pressure and liquefaction in undrained cyclic triaxial tests performed on coarse granular soils is studied in this paper. Currently there is no or little satisfactory method for accounting for this phenomenon for gravelly soils, and thus the non-compliant cyclic loading resistance of granular soils and the evaluation of the behavior of such material in natural and in situ state are not easily determined. A procedure has been proposed in this paper for consideration of membrane compliance effects on the pore pressure measurements during cyclic loading. A method is also introduced to verify the proposed procedure by employing lightly cemented specimens. In addition, some new correlations for excess pore water pressure ratio against the number of cycles to failure have been presented for a non-compliant system under various effective confining and deviatoric cyclic stresses applied on reconstituted and isotropically consolidated specimens. Initial liquefaction has been observed during the tests with or without consideration of membrane compliance; however, the number of cycles to initial liquefaction is higher for the compliant case.
Noise-Driven Heterogeneity in the Rate of Genetic-Variant Generation as a Basis for Evolvability
Authors: Capp Jean-Pascal 
Published: July 2010

Abstract
Molecular biologists have long searched for molecular mechanisms responsible for tuning the rate of genetic-variant generation (RGVG) in fluctuating environments. In spite of several bacterial examples, no regulated variation in the RGVG has been identified in eukaryotic systems. Based notably on the example of industrial and pathogenic yeasts, this article proposes a nonregulated molecular evolutionary mechanism for the appearance of the transient increase of the RGVG in eukaryotic cell populations facing challenging environments. The stochastic nature of gene expression allows a model in which the RGVG in the population can be rapidly tuned as a result of a simple Darwinian process acting on noise-driven heterogeneity in the RGVG from cell to cell. The high flexibility conferred through this model could resolve paradoxical situations, especially concerning the mutator phenotype in cancer cells.
Understanding Variation in Vitamin A Supplementation Among NICUs
Authors: Kaplan Heather C. , Tabangin Meredith E. , McClendon Diana , Meinzen-Derr Jareen , Margolis Peter A. , Donovan Edward F. 
Published: July 2010

OBJECTIVE:
We examined and characterized variation among NICUs in the use of vitamin A supplementation for the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely low birth weight infants.

METHODS:
An historical cohort study of extremely low birth weight infants admitted within 7 days after birth to NICUs participating in the Pediatric Health Information System database, between January 1, 2005, and March 31, 2008, was performed. NICU medical directors were surveyed to determine attitudes and decision-making regarding adoption of vitamin A supplementation. The proportion of infants receiving vitamin A at each center was measured over time. Patient and hospital characteristics associated with vitamin A use were examined.

RESULTS:
Among 4184 eligible infants cared for in 30 NICUs, 1005 infants (24%) received vitamin A. Eighteen centers (60%) used vitamin A for some patients. Infants discharged in 2007 (odds ratio: 2.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.4–5.3]) and 2008 (odds ratio: 2.8 [95% confidence interval: 1.4–5.8]), compared with 2005, were more likely to receive vitamin A. NICU medical directors from centers using vitamin A, compared with centers that did not adopt vitamin A supplementation, reported stronger beliefs in the efficacy of vitamin A to reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (83% vs 33%; P = .03) and in the ease with which vitamin A could be implemented (75% vs 22%; P = .02).

CONCLUSIONS:
Although the use of vitamin A is increasing, marked variation across NICUs remains. Provider attitudes and system characteristics seem to influence vitamin A adoption.