bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE KEEP JEEP IN TOLEDO CAMPAIGN: A LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WHEELS OF CHANGE?
Authors: MCCARTHY LINDA 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTIn 1996, Chrysler announced plans to build a replacement plant within 50 miles of its existing Toledo Jeep facilities. In theory, this presented an opportunity for alternatives to expensive ‘all or nothing’ individual competition; in practice, Toledo and other governments in the northwest Ohio/southeast Michigan region entered into the usual cutthroat contest when transnational corporations solicit incentive offers from across the United States. Chrysler's desire to remain within the region provides a unique context for analysing the opportunities and challenges associated with regional co‐operation as an alternative to individual competition. In investigating the extent to which localities can co‐operate and reduce wasteful incentives, this paper also identifies how the opportunities for such co‐operation are limited. The research highlights the need to better incorporate this kind of region – without internal political coherence despite locational proximity – into conceptualisations and empirical analyses of regional co‐operation, particularly with respect to issues of scale and conflict.
LANGUAGE, EDUCATION AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: GILMARTIN MARY 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTIssues of language and education are central to the process of nation building in the new South Africa. In this paper, I examine the rhetoric and the practice of the intersections of South Africa's language and education policies. While early education policy documents are predicated on the need to reassert the importance of African languages in relation to English and Afrikaans, the official languages during apartheid, these discourses of language equality are now being replaced with discourses of utility. I examine this change at the level of national policy, and also in practice in the province of Mpumalanga, where English is increasingly coming to dominate the spaces of education, and Afrikaans and African languages are becoming more marginalised. I argue that this policy shift and related practices fundamentally undermine broader claims to racial and ethnic equality in the new South Africa.
IN/VISIBLE GEOGRAPHIES: ABSENCE, EMERGENCE, PRESENCE, AND THE FINE ART OF IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION
Authors: BAIN ALISON L. 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTIn this paper I draw on interviews with professional visual artists in Toronto, Canada to reconstruct an occupation‐specific reading of the urban landscape. I use a detailed examination of one specific occupational identity to reveal the intricate relationship between self, work, and context at different spatial scales. The underlying mechanism that supports the articulation and negotiation of artistic identities, I argue, is the sustained tension between absence and presence, visibility and invisibility within different spaces of the urban fabric.
EUROPEAN UNION: ECONOMIC CONVERGENCEVERSUS SOCIAL MOBILITY
Authors: CHOI CHONG JU , CHENG PHILIP , HILTON BRIAN 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the economic convergence of the European Union in terms of the effects of European Monetary Union (EMU), which began in 1999 and possible conflict with, ‘social mobility’ in Europe. Our focus is on the low rate of mobility in the labour market. We assume that this is due to psychological and social aspects.
MAPPING INNOVATION: REGIONAL DIMENSIONS OF INNOVATION AND NETWORKING IN THE NETHERLANDS1
Authors: BRUIJN P.J.M. DE 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTThe paper addresses spatial patterns of innovation and partnership in innovation processes in the Netherlands, building on the Netherlands’ part of the Community Innovation Survey, conducted by Statistics Netherlands. Innovation is analysed from a system perspective, addressing both input factors (education levels of human resources and R&D), throughput factors (partnership with regionally, nationally and internationally based partners) and output factors (results in terms of the launching of new products on the market and/or the implementation of new processes in production). Our descriptive analyses at detailed spatial levels (four‐digit postal code areas) provide indications that the relation between input factors and results of innovation processes is highly differentiated across regions. Furthermore, international connectivity seems to be strongly connected to the results of innovation processes, whereas the relation between regional clustering and innovative output appears rather weak.
Matrix metalloproteinase inhibition reduces oxidative stress associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy in vivo in transgenic mice
Authors: Garcia‐Alloza Monica , Prada Claudia , Lattarulo Carli , Fine Sara , Borrelli Laura A. , Betensky Rebecca , Greenberg Steven M. , Frosch Matthew P. , Bacskai Brian J. 
Published: April 2009

AbstractCerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), characterized by extracellular β‐amyloid peptide (Aβ) deposits in vessel walls, is present in the majority of cases of Alzheimer’s disease and is a major cause of hemorrhagic stroke. Although the molecular pathways activated by vascular Aβ are poorly understood, extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and Aβ‐induced oxidative stress appear to play important roles. We adapted fluorogenic assays for MMP activity and reactive oxygen species generation for use in vivo. Using multiphoton microcopy in APPswe/PS1dE9 and Tg‐2576 transgenic mice, we observed strong associations between MMP activation, oxidative stress, and CAA deposition in leptomeningeal vessels. Antioxidant treatment with α‐phenyl‐N‐tert‐butyl‐nitrone reduced oxidative stress associated with CAA (∼50% reduction) without affecting MMP activation. Conversely, a selection of agents that inhibit MMP by different mechanisms of action, including minocycline, simvastatin, and GM6001, reduced not only CAA‐associated MMP activation (∼30–40% reduction) but also oxidative stress (∼40% reduction). The inhibitors of MMP did not have direct antioxidant effects. Treatment of animals with α‐phenyl‐N‐tert‐butyl‐nitrone or minocycline did not have a significant effect on CAA progression rates. These data suggest a close association between Aβ‐related MMP activation and oxidative stress in vivo and raise the possibility that treatment with MMP inhibitors may have beneficial effects by indirectly reducing the oxidative stress associated with CAA.
Sod2 overexpression preserves myoblast mitochondrial mass and function, but not muscle mass with aging
Authors: Lee Sukkyoo , Van Remmen Holly , Csete Marie 
Published: April 2009

SummaryMice lacking superoxide dismutase‐2 (SOD2 or MnSOD) die during embryonic or early neonatal development, with diffuse superoxide‐induced mitochondrial damage. Although stem and progenitor cells are exquisitely sensitive to oxidant stress, they have not been well studied in MnSOD2‐manipulated mouse models. Patterns of proliferation and differentiation of cultured myoblasts (muscle progenitor cells), PI3‐Akt signaling during differentiation, and the maintenance of mitochondrial mass with aging using myoblasts from young (3–4 week old) and aged (27–29 months old) MnSOD2‐overexpressing (Sod2‐Tg) and heterozygote (Sod2+/−) mice were characterized by us. Overexpression of MnSOD2 in myoblasts had a protective effect on mitochondrial DNA abundance and some aspects of mitochondrial function with aging, and preservation of differentiation potential. Sod2 deficiency resulted in defective signaling in the PI3‐Akt pathway, specifically impaired phosphorylation of Akt at Ser473 and Thr308 in young myoblasts, and decreased differentiation potential. Compared with young myoblasts, aged myoblast Akt was constitutively phosphorylated, unresponsive to mitogen signaling, and indifferent to MnSOD2 levels. These data suggest that specific sites in the PI3K‐Akt pathway are more sensitive to increased superoxide levels than to the increased hydrogen peroxide levels generated in Sod2‐transgenic myoblasts. In wild‐type myoblasts, aging was associated with significant loss of mitochondrial DNA relative to chromosomal DNA, but MnSOD2 overexpression was associated with maintained myoblast mitochondrial DNA with aging.
Aging in inbred strains of mice: study design and interim report on median lifespans and circulating IGF1 levels
Authors: Yuan Rong , Tsaih Shirng‐Wern , Petkova Stefka B. , De Evsikova Caralina Marin , Xing Shuqin , Marion Michael A. , Bogue Molly A. , Mills Kevin D. , Peters Luanne L. , Bult Carol J. , Rosen Clifford J. , Sundberg John P. , Harrison David E. , Churchill Gary A. , Paigen Beverly 
Published: April 2009

SummaryTo better characterize aging in mice, the Jackson Aging Center carried out a lifespan study of 31 genetically‐diverse inbred mouse strains housed in a specific pathogen‐free facility. Clinical assessments were carried out every 6 months, measuring multiple age‐related phenotypes including neuromuscular, kidney and heart function, body composition, bone density, hematology, hormonal levels, and immune system parameters. In a concurrent cross‐sectional study of the same 31 strains at 6, 12, and 20 months, more invasive measurements were carried out followed by necropsy to assess apoptosis, DNA repair, chromosome fragility, and histopathology. In this report, which is the initial paper of a series, the study design, median lifespans, and circulating insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF1) levels at 6, 12, and 18 months are described for the first cohort of 32 females and 32 males of each strain. Survival curves varied dramatically among strains with the median lifespans ranging from 251 to 964 days. Plasma IGF1 levels, which also varied considerably at each time point, showed an inverse correlation with a median lifespan at 6 months (R = −0.33, P = 0.01). This correlation became stronger if the short‐lived strains with a median lifespan < 600 days were removed from the analysis (R = −0.53, P < 0.01). These results support the hypothesis that the IGF1 pathway plays a key role in regulating longevity in mice and indicates that common genetic mechanisms may exist for regulating IGF1 levels and lifespan.
Lifespan extension by dietary restriction is not linked to protection against somatic DNA damage in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Edman Ursula , Garcia Ana Maria , Busuttil Rita A. , Sorensen Dylan , Lundell Martha , Kapahi Pankaj , Vijg Jan 
Published: April 2009

SummaryDietary restriction (DR) has been shown to robustly extend lifespan in multiple species tested so far. The pro‐longevity effect of DR is often ascribed to an increase in cellular defense against somatic damage, most notably damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS), considered a major cause of aging. Especially irreversible damage to DNA, the carrier of genetic information, is considered a critical causal factor in aging. Using a recently developed transgenic Drosophila melanogaster model system harboring a lacZ‐plasmid construct that can be recovered in E. coli, spontaneous DNA mutation frequency in flies under DR and ad libitum conditions are measured. Three different DR conditions, imposed by manipulating levels of different types of yeast sources, were tested in females and males of two lacZ reporter gene lines. Feeding with the ROS producer paraquat at 1 mM resulted in a rapid accumulation of somatic mutations, indicating that the frequency of mutations at the lacZ locus is a reliable marker for increased oxidative stress. However, none of the DR conditions altered the accumulation of spontaneous mutations with age. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of DR are unlikely to be linked to protection against oxidative somatic DNA damage.
On the Structure of Analyst Research Portfolios and Forecast Accuracy
Authors: KINI OMESH , MIAN SHEHZAD , REBELLO MICHAEL , VENKATESWARAN ANAND 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTThis study provides insights into the forces and constraints that shape analyst research coverage along country and sector dimensions and the impact of the structure of an analyst's portfolio on forecast accuracy. We find that analyst specialization by country and sector is sensitive to the extent to which firms within a country or sector and firms across country‐sectors are exposed to common economic forces, the potential for revenue generation, and broker culture. Our tests indicate that existing research on the relation between analyst portfolio structure and forecast accuracy may suffer from an endogeneity bias. We use our analysis of analyst specialization to develop controls for this bias. Once we employ these controls, we find that country diversification is associated with superior forecast accuracy. However, the relation between sector diversification and forecast accuracy is context‐specific. Specifically, sector diversification enhances forecast accuracy in an international context, while it detracts from forecast accuracy in a domestic U.S. context.
Delegation to Encourage Communication of Problems
Authors: NEWMAN D. PAUL , NOVOSELOV KIRILL E. 
Published: April 2009

ABSTRACTWe study a principal's choice to centralize or delegate decisions to an agent when delegation can be used to encourage the agent to communicate potential problems. We find that the principal may choose centralization either to exercise better control over the agent's actions or to provide stronger incentives. Delegation emerges in equilibrium only if the costs of effort to acquire information for both the principal and the agent are sufficiently high. We find that increases in the principal's penalties for an incorrect decision may increase the principal's expected payoff, owing to optimal organizational responses. In addition, catastrophic risk, the risk of incorrectly accepting a defective audit (or product), may be greater under centralization than under delegation. Furthermore, catastrophic risk can be increased by well‐intentioned legislative efforts to decrease such risk by, for example, increasing the agent's penalties for failing to take a corrective action, because the organizational structure may change.
Transcriptional regulation of monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 release by endothelin‐1 in human airway smooth muscle cells involves NF‐κB and AP‐1
Authors: Sutcliffe Amy M , Clarke Deborah L , Bradbury Dawn A , Corbett Lisa M , Patel Jamie A , Knox Alan J 
Published: April 2009

Background and purpose: Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) is implicated in airway inflammation in asthma, but the mechanisms of its effects are poorly understood. We studied the effect of ET‐1 on expression of the chemokine, monocyte chemotactic protein‐1 (MCP‐1), in primary cultures of human airway smooth muscle cells.Experimental approach: MCP‐1 release was measured byelisa. Pharmacological antagonists/inhibitors, reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and Western blotting were used to study ET receptors and kinase cascades. Transcriptional regulation was studied by real‐time RT‐PCR, transient transfection studies and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Major findings were confirmed in cells from three donors and mechanistic studies in cells from one donor.Key results: ET‐1 increased MCP‐1 release through an ETAand ETBreceptor‐dependent mechanism. ET‐1 increased MCP‐1 mRNA levels but not mRNA stability suggesting it was acting transcriptionally. ET‐1 increased the activity of an MCP‐1 promoter–reporter construct. Serial deletions of the MCP‐1 promoter mapped ET‐1 effects to a region between −213 and −128 base pairs upstream of the translation start codon, containing consensus sequences for activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) and nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB). ET‐1 promoted binding of AP‐1 c‐Jun subunit and NF‐κB p65 subunit to the MCP‐1 promoter. Blocking the inhibitor of κB kinase‐2 with 2‐[(aminocarbonyl)amino]‐5‐[4‐fluorophenyl]‐3‐thiophenecarboxamide (TPCA‐1) decreased ET‐1‐stimulated MCP‐1 production. p38 and p44/p42 mitogen‐activated protein kinases were involved in upstream signalling.Conclusions and implications: ET‐1 regulated MCP‐1 transcriptionally, via NF‐κB and AP‐1. The upstream signalling involved ETA, ETBreceptors, p38 and p44/p42 mitogen‐activated protein kinases. These may be targets for novel asthma therapies.
Increased endothelin‐1 reactivity and endothelial dysfunction in carotid arteries from rats with hyperhomocysteinemia
Authors: De Andrade CR , Leite PF , Montezano AC , Casolari DA , Yogi A , Tostes RC , Haddad R , Eberlin MN , Laurindo FRM , De Souza HP , Corrêa FMA , De Oliveira AM 
Published: April 2009

Background and purpose:  There are interactions between endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) and endothelial vascular injury in hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we evaluated the effects of HHcy on the endothelin system in rat carotid arteries.Experimental approach:  Vascular reactivity to ET‐1 and ETA and ETB receptor antagonists was assessed in rings of carotid arteries from normal rats and those with HHcy. ETA and ETB receptor expression was assessed by mRNA (RT‐PCR), immunohistochemistry and binding of [125I]‐ET‐1.Key results:  HHcy enhanced ET‐1‐induced contractions of carotid rings with intact endothelium. Selective antagonism of ETA or ETB receptors produced concentration‐dependent rightward displacements of ET‐1 concentration response curves. Antagonism of ETA but not of ETB receptors abolished enhancement in HHcy tissues. ETA and ETB receptor gene expressions were not up‐regulated. ETA receptor expression in the arterial media was higher in HHcy arteries. Contractions to big ET‐1 served as indicators of endothelin‐converting enzyme activity, which was decreased by HHcy, without reduction of ET‐1 levels. ET‐1‐induced Rho‐kinase activity, calcium release and influx were increased by HHcy. Pre‐treatment with indomethacin reversed enhanced responses to ET‐1 in HHcy tissues, which were reduced also by a thromboxane A2 receptor antagonist. Induced relaxation was reduced by BQ788, absent in endothelium‐denuded arteries and was decreased in HHcy due to reduced bioavailability of NO.Conclusions and implications:  Increased ETA receptor density plays a fundamental role in endothelial injury induced by HHcy. ET‐1 activation of ETA receptors in HHcy changed the balance between endothelium‐derived relaxing and contracting factors, favouring enhanced contractility. British Journal of Pharmacology (2009) 157, 568–580; doi:10.1111/j.1476‐5381.2009.00165.x; published online 9 April 2009This article is part of a themed section on Endothelium in Pharmacology. For a list of all articles in this section see the end of this paper, or visit: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121548564/issueyear?year=2009
The long‐acting β‐adrenoceptor agonist, indacaterol, inhibits IgE‐dependent responses of human lung mast cells
Authors: Scola Anne‐Marie , Loxham Matthew , Charlton Steven J , Peachell Peter T 
Published: April 2009

Background and purpose: The long‐acting β2‐adrenoceptor agonist, indacaterol, has been developed as a bronchodilator for the therapeutic management of respiratory diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine whether indacaterol has any anti‐inflammatory activity. To this end, the effects of indacaterol on human lung mast cell responses were investigated.Experimental approach: The effects of indacaterol, and the alternative long‐acting β‐agonists formoterol and salmeterol, were investigated on the IgE‐dependent release and generation of histamine, cysteinyl‐leukotrienes and prostaglandin D2from human lung mast cells. Moreover, the extent to which long‐term (24–72 h) incubation of mast cells with long‐acting β‐agonists impaired the subsequent ability of β‐agonists to inhibit mast cell responses was assessed.Key results: Indacaterol was as potent and as efficacious as the full agonist, isoprenaline (EC50, ∼4 nmol·L−1), at inhibiting the IgE‐dependent release of histamine from mast cells. Formoterol was a full agonist whereas salmeterol was a partial agonist as inhibitors of histamine release. All three long‐acting β‐agonists were effective inhibitors of the IgE‐dependent generation of cysteinyl‐leukotrienes and prostaglandin D2. Long‐term incubation of mast cells with long‐acting β‐agonists led to a reduction in the subsequent ability of β‐agonists to stabilize mast cell responses. This tendency to induce functional desensitization was least evident for indacaterol.Conclusions and implications: Indacaterol is an effective inhibitor of the release of mediators from human lung mast cells. This suggests that, as well as bronchodilation, mast cell stabilization may constitute an additional therapeutic benefit of indacaterol.
The Silver Curtain: Representations of the West in the Soviet Cold War Films
Authors: Dobrynin Sergei 
Published: April 2009

AbstractThe image of the West in Soviet cinema is a subject suffused with ambivalence. On the one hand, most of the Soviet films with an international setting and/or foreign characters clearly had an ideological agenda. By claiming a high moral ground for the Soviet or a ‘progressive’ Western protagonist, they served as a weapon in the ongoing cultural Cold War. On the other, the subject matter presented an opportunity to attract the audiences (a major concern for the late‐Soviet film industry) with lurid depictions of Western ‘decadence’ and ‘decay’, as well as a chance to exploit the attractiveness of Western popular genres. This seemingly uneasy combination was typical of the Soviet film industry for most of its history but became especially pronounced in its later stages, during the Détente and after, as the fast‐changing political demands had to be reconciled with the growing commercialization of Soviet cinema. The resulting body of work has rarely had artistic value but remains a useful and largely untapped source for cultural historians looking for reflections of social change in the former USSR.
Understanding Medieval Manuscripts: St. Gall's Virtual Library
Authors: Grotans Anna , Hendrix Julian , Kaczynski Bernice 
Published: April 2009

AbstractIn 2005, the Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen began digitizing its collection of medieval manuscripts. The creation of such virtual libraries available via the Internet is gaining in popularity with libraries, a trend that will radically ease the logistical constraints of studying medieval texts in their original context. While critical editions will continue to be an important tool for certain types of research, virtual libraries enable a wider community of scholars to engage with texts that are not amenable to critical editions or to ask questions that critical editions obscure. This article reviews the range of research that has centered around the study of manuscripts held at St. Gall, including school books, liturgical books, and patristic authors, and outlines the kinds of questions and insights that manuscript studies can provide for medieval history.
Writing the History of the Modern Copts: From Victims and Symbols to Actors
Authors: Sedra Paul 
Published: April 2009

AbstractScholars of Egyptian history and politics face a dearth of analytical studies of the modern Coptic Church and community. This state of affairs is due to various factors of a methodological, theoretical, and practical nature. In practical terms, both the Egyptian state and the Coptic Orthodox Church have discouraged exploration of Coptic identity given the political taboo of sectarianism. In theoretical terms, Edward Said's Orientalism led to concerns among scholars about overemphasizing faith in their analyses of Middle Eastern history and politics. In methodological terms, modern Coptic historiography remains hobbled by an ‘enlightenment paradigm’ which discounts the political potential and action of subaltern and clerical forces within the community. This article urges a concern with the ways in which these subaltern and clerical forces shaped the Coptic ‘discursive tradition’ in the course of the twentieth century, as a means by which to restore Copts to modern Egyptian historiography, not as victims or symbols, but as actors in their own right.