bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Controlling Access to Sick Leave Programmes: Practices of Physicians in the Netherlands
Authors: Meershoek Agnes 
Published: December 2011

AbstractPolicymakers in industrialized countries attempt to contain the costs of sick leave and disability schemes by limiting access to include medically proven cases only. However, a person's incapacity to work cannot be fully deduced by referring to his or her medical condition. It is the question whether using more restrictive eligibility criteria that focus on medical evidence actually reduces the number of benefit recipients and makes access to employee benefit arrangements fairer. This ethnographic study shows that physicians working in Dutch illness certification practices use alternative methods to restrict access to sick leave programmes. Doctors do not control their clients in a restrictive sense of the word. Rather, they exercise control over their clients by inciting them to internalize norms about being active and responsible. While we do not claim that this is good per se, we do contend that this control style may have some advantages over and above more restrictive control mechanisms. Elaborating on policy that supports this alternative notion of control, therefore, seems worthwhile.
Incomes after Job‐loss in the United States: From Programme Rules to Panel Data
Authors: Denier Nicole , Smith Michael R. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractWelfare state studies are usually motivated by one or both of two concerns: programme effects on the incidence of poverty, and the possibility of perverse incentive effects. Most research has been comparative, using cross‐national indicators from the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development and other international organizations. That research often contrasts the generosity of programmes in a number of European countries and the lack of it in the USA. Focusing on income transfers after job‐loss, in this article we critically examine the comparative evidence on US welfare state generosity and then use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to estimate what happens to job‐losers' incomes. The comparative analysis suggests conclusions more nuanced than found in much of the literature. The PSID analysis shows how the income effects of job‐loss vary across job‐losers and suggests that the role of unemployment compensation programmes in supporting incomes may be overstated.
A Reason‐Based Theory of Rational Choice*
Authors: Dietrich Franz , List Christian 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThere is a surprising disconnect between formal rational choice theory and philosophical work on reasons. The one is silent on the role of reasons in rational choices, the other rarely engages with the formal models of decision problems used by social scientists. To bridge this gap, we propose a new, reason‐based theory of rational choice. At its core is an account of preference formation, according to which an agent’s preferences are determined by his or her motivating reasons, together with a ‘weighing relation’ between different combinations of reasons. By explaining how someone’s preferences may vary with changes in his or her motivating reasons, our theory illuminates the relationship between deliberation about reasons and rational choices. Although primarily positive, the theory can also help us think about how those preferences and choices ought to respond to normative reasons.
Traction without Tracing: A (Partial) Solution for Control‐Based Accounts of Moral Responsibility
Authors: King Matt 
Published: December 2011

AbstractControl‐based accounts of moral responsibility face a familiar problem. There are some actions which look like obvious cases of responsibility but which appear equally obviously to lack the requisite control. Drunk‐driving cases are canonical instances. The familiar solution to this problem is to appeal to tracing. Though the drunk driver isn't in control at the time of the crash, this is because he previously drank to excess, an action over which he did plausibly exercise the requisite control. Tracing seeks to show that an agent's responsibility for some outcome (over which he lacked control) can be traced back to a prior exercise of control which caused (in the right way) the later lack of control. These and related cases have led many theorists to treat tracing as an indispensable component of any adequate theory of responsibility. This paper argues that tracing is in fact dispensable. I offer two strategies for explaining responsibility in drunk‐driving cases (and those with a similar structure): responsibility can either be exhaustively modeled on recklessness, or exhaustively modeled on negligence. Neither explanation, however, relies on tracing. If I'm right, the case for tracing is seriously weakened.
Kant on Intentionality, Magnitude, and the Unity of Perception
Authors: Golob Sacha 
Published: December 2011

AbstractThis paper addresses a number of closely related questions concerningKant's model of intentionality, and his conceptions of unity and of magnitude [Gröβe]. These questions are important because they shed light on three issues which are central to theCritical system, and which connect directly to the recent analytic literature on perception: the issues are conceptualism, the status of the imagination, and perceptual atomism. InSection 1, I provide a sketch of the exegetical and philosophical problems raised byKant's views on these issues. I then develop, inSection 2, a detailed analysis ofKant's theory of perception as elaborated in both theCritique ofPureReasonand theCritique ofJudgment; I show how this analysis provides a preliminary framework for resolving the difficulties raised inSection 1. InSection 3, I extend my analysis ofKant's position by considering a specific test case: theAxioms ofIntuition. I contend that one way to make sense ofKant's argument is by juxtaposing it withRussell's response toBradley's regress; I focus in particular on the concept of ‘unity’. Finally, I offer, inSection 4, a philosophical assessment of the position attributed toKant inSections 2 and 3. I argue that, whileKant's account has significant strengths, a number of key areas remain underdeveloped; I suggest that the phenomenological tradition may be read as attempting to fill precisely those gaps.
Governance and the Financial Crisis
Authors: Adams Renée Birgit 
Published: December 2011

AbstractShould boards of financial firms be blamed for the financial crisis? Using a large sample of data on nonfinancial and financial firms for the period 1996–2007, I document that the governance of financial firms is, on average, not obviously worse than in nonfinancial firms. In fact, using simple governance scores and governance indices as measures, banks and nonbank financial firms generally appear to be better governed than nonfinancial firms. I also document that bank directors earned significantly less compensation than their counterparts in nonfinancial firms and banks receiving bailout money had boards that were more independent than in other banks. My results suggest that measures of governance that have been the focus of recent governance policies are insufficient to describe governance failures attributed to financial firms. Moreover, recent governance reforms may have to shoulder some of the blame placed on boards of financial firms.
Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in preschoolers
Authors: Wichstrøm Lars , Berg‐Nielsen Turid Suzanne , Angold Adrian , Egger Helen Link , Solheim Elisabet , Sveen Trude Hamre 
Published: December 2011

Background:  Many disorders in childhood and adolescence were already present in the preschool years. However, there is little empirical research on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young children. A true community study using structured diagnostic tools has yet to be published.Methods:  All children born in 2003 or 2004 in the city of Trondheim, Norway, who attended the regular community health check‐up for 4‐year‐olds (97.2% of eligible children) whose parents consented to take part in the study (N = 2,475, 82.0%) were screened for behavioral and emotional problems with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). A screen‐stratified subsample of 1,250 children took part in a furthermore comprehensive study including a structured diagnostic interview (the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment, PAPA), which 995 parents (79.6%) completed.Results:  The estimated population rate for any psychiatric disorder (excluding encopresis – 6.4%) was 7.1%. The most common disorders were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1.9%), oppositional defiant disorder (1.8%), conduct disorder (0.7%), anxiety disorders (1.5%), and depressive disorders (2.0%). Comorbidity among disorders was common. More emotional and behavioral disorders were seen in children whose parents did not live together and in those of low socioeconomic status. Boys more often had attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorders than girls.Conclusions:  The prevalence of disorders among preschoolers was lower than in previous studies from the USA. Comorbidity was frequent and there was a male preponderance in ADHD and depression at this early age. These results underscore the fact that the most common disorders of childhood can already be diagnosed in preschoolers. However, rates of disorder in Norway may be lower than in the USA.
Attention across modalities as a longitudinal predictor of early outcomes: the case of fragile X syndrome
Authors: Scerif Gaia , Longhi Elena , Cole Victoria , Karmiloff‐Smith Annette , Cornish Kim 
Published: December 2011

Background:  Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an early diagnosed monogenic disorder, associated with a striking pattern of cognitive/attentional difficulties and a high risk of poor behavioural outcomes. FXS therefore represents an ideal model disorder to study prospectively the impact of early attention deficits on behaviour.Methods:  Thirty‐seven boys with FXS aged 4–10 years and 74 typically developing (TD) boys took part. Study 1 was designed to assess visual and auditory attention at two time‐points, 1 year apart. Study 2 investigated attention to multimodal information. Both tested attention markers as longitudinal predictors of risk for poor behaviour in FXS.Results:  Children with FXS attended less well than mental‐age matched TD boys and experienced greater difficulties with auditory compared to visual stimuli. In addition, unlike TD children, they did not benefit from multimodal information. Attention markers were significant predictors of later behavioural difficulties in boys with FXS.Conclusions:  Findings demonstrate, for the first time, greater difficulties with auditory attention and atypical processing of multimodal information, in addition to pervasive global attentional difficulties in boys with FXS. Attention predicted outcomes longitudinally, underscoring the need to dissect what drives differing developmental trajectories for individual children within a seemingly homogeneous group.
Pathways explaining the reduction of adult criminal behaviour by a randomized preventive intervention for disruptive kindergarten children
Authors: Vitaro Frank , Barker Edward D. , Brendgen Mara , Tremblay Richard E. 
Published: December 2011

Objective:  This study aimed to identify the pathways through which a preventive intervention targeting young low‐SES disruptive boys could result in lower crime involvement during adulthood.Method:  The preventive intervention was implemented when the children were between 7 and 9 years and included three components (i.e. social skills, parental practices, teacher support). Participants (N = 250) were randomly allocated to the intervention or to a control group. The tested pathways included antisocial behaviour, school engagement, parental supervision and friends’ deviancy, both during early and middle adolescence. Crime involvement was assessed in early adulthood.Results:  The intervention reduced adult criminal involvement via reduced early and middle adolescent antisocial behaviours.Conclusion:  This study adds to the small group of studies that have examined the mechanisms through which early preventive interventions might impact distal outcomes.
Cerebellar volume and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at term, and neurodevelopment at 2 years of age in preterm infants
Authors: Van KOOIJ BRITT J M , BENDERS MANON J N L , ANBEEK PETRONELLA , Van HAASTERT INGRID C , De VRIES LINDA S , GROENENDAAL FLORIS 
Published: December 2011

Aim To assess the relation between cerebellar volume and spectroscopy at term equivalent age, and neurodevelopment at 24 months corrected age in preterm infants.Methods  Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed around term equivalent age in 112 preterm infants (mean gestational age 28wks 3d [SD 1wk 5d]; birthweight 1129g [SD 324g]). Cerebellar volume (60 males, 52 females), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) of the cerebellum in a subgroup of 58 infants were assessed in relation to cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development‐III. Different neonatal variables and maternal education were regarded possible confounders.Results  Cerebellar volume was significantly associated with postmenstrual age at time of magnetic resonance imaging. Cerebellar volume corrected for postmenstrual age was significantly and positively associated with cognition. Cognitive scores related significantly with N‐acetylaspartate/choline (NAA/Cho) ratio obtained from cerebellar 1H‐MRS in 53 infants. Correction for neonatal and maternal variables did not change these results. Cerebellar variables were not related to motor performance.Interpretation  In preterm infants, both cerebellar volume and cerebellar NAA/Cho ratio at term equivalent age were positively associated with cognition; however, no relation was found with motor outcome at 2 years of age. These findings support the importance of the cerebellum in cognitive development in preterm infants.
A biogeographical assessment of anthropogenic threats to areas where different frog breeding groups occur in South Africa: implications for anuran conservation
Authors: Mokhatla Mohlamatsane M. , Measey G. John , Chimimba Christian T. , van Rensburg Berndt J. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractAim  To determine the spatial relationship between areas where different frog breeding groups occur and elevated anthropogenic activities, and the conservation implications thereof.Location  South Africa.Methods  Data on frog distribution ranges for the southern African sub‐region were used to identify biogeographical areas within South Africa. A random draw technique was used to determine whether areas where different frog breeding groups occur were characterized by higher levels of anthropogenic threats than expected by chance. Four measures (human population density, percentage land transformation, percentage protected area and invasive alien plants richness) expected to reflect threats were analysed.Results  Terrestrial‐breeders were more often spatially associated with areas of threat than expected by chance in three of the seven biogeographical regions examined with land transformation and invasive alien plant richness being most significant. The south central was the only region where terrestrial‐breeders were spatially congruent with protected areas. Areas where stream‐breeders occur were spatially congruent with anthropogenic threats (with alien plants being most consistent) in five of the seven regions examined while protected areas were well represented in four of the seven regions. Non‐significant results were found for permanent and temporary aquatic‐breeders at both the national and the biogeographical scale.Main conclusions  By analysing data at the sub‐continental scale we were able to identify regional threats to amphibians traditionally classified at species‐specific scales. Our study recognized land transformation and alien invasive plants as significant threats to areas important for the long‐term breeding success of stream and terrestrial amphibians in South Africa. Areas where different breeding groups occur in the south‐western Cape showed the greatest spatial congruence with the threats examined. Areas where terrestrial breeding frogs occur are not well represented in the current conservation network. This has important implications in addressing the current status of threats on amphibians in a biogeographical context.
Cisplatin‐ and dietary ascorbic acid‐mediated changes in the mitochondria of Dalton’s lymphoma‐bearing mice
Authors: Martha Kham R.M. , Rosangkima Gabriel , Amenla Longchar , Rongpi Thengtom , Prasad Surya B. 
Published: December 2011

AbstractCisplatin treatment caused a significant increase in the life span of ascites Dalton’s lymphoma (DL) Tumor‐bearing (TB) mice. However, as compared to cisplatin (CP) alone, combination treatment with ascorbic acid plus CP resulted in better therapeutic efficacy against murine DL. Cisplatin treatment of TB mice resulted in the appearance of thickened and irregular arrangement of mitochondrial cristae in the liver, kidney and DL tumor cells. Combination treatment of the hosts with ascorbic acid and CP lessened deformities in the mitochondria of liver and kidney, while in tumor cells, this increased the formation of vacuoles and disruption in mitochondrial cristae. Cisplatin treatment decreased the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity in the mitochondria of kidney and DL cells and combination treatment caused further decrease in SDH activity in kidney and DL cells during 24–48 h of treatment. After CP treatment, the protein content in the mitochondria of these tissues decreased, and during combination treatment, it showed significant improvement. Mitochondrial lipid peroxidation (LPO) increased in these tissues after CP treatment. However, combination treatment significantly decreased mitochondrial LPO in liver and kidney but increased in DL cells. This increase in mitochondrial LPO in DL cells and decrease in liver and kidney could play an important role in the antitumor activity of combination treatment and at the same time reduce CP‐induced toxicity in the host. However, further study may be desirable to explore some aspects of the mechanism(s) involved in these changes in mitochondria.
Two SET domain containing genes link epigenetic changes and aging in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Ni Zhuoyu , Ebata Atsushi , Alipanahiramandi Elham , Lee Siu Sylvia 
Published: December 2011

SummaryChanges in epigenetic status and chromatin structure have been shown to associate with aging in many organisms. Here, we report an RNAi screen of putative histone methyltransferases and demethylases in wild‐type Caenorhabditis elegans using reproduction inhibitor. We identified six genes that when inactivated by RNAi, consistently extend lifespan. Five of these genes do not require germline proliferation to affect lifespan. We further characterized two of these genes, the highly homologous SET domain containing genes, set‐9 and set‐26. They share redundant functions in maintaining normal lifespan, while exhibiting differential tissue expression patterns. Furthermore, we found that set‐9 and set‐26 partially act through the Forkhead box O (FOXO) transcription factor, DAF‐16, to modulate lifespan. Interestingly, inactivation of somatic SET‐26 alone results in a robust lifespan extension and alters the levels of histone H3 protein and the repressive histone marks, H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, in an age‐dependent manner. We hypothesize that inactivation of SET‐26 triggers compensation mechanisms to restore repressive chromatin structure and hence affects chromatin stability to promote longevity.
Essential role of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B in obesity‐induced inflammation and peripheral insulin resistance during aging
Authors: González‐Rodríguez Águeda , Más‐Gutierrez Jose A. , Mirasierra Mercedes , Fernandez‐Pérez Antonio , Lee Yong J. , Ko Hwi J. , Kim Jason K. , Romanos Eduardo , Carrascosa Jose M. , Ros Manuel , Vallejo Mario , Rondinone Cristina M. , Valverde Ángela M. 
Published: December 2011

SummaryProtein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a negative regulator of insulin signaling and a therapeutic target for type 2 diabetes (T2DM). In this study, we have evaluated the role of PTP1B in the development of aging‐associated obesity, inflammation, and peripheral insulin resistance by assessing metabolic parameters at 3 and 16 months in PTP1B−/− mice maintained on mixed genetic background (C57Bl/6J × 129Sv/J). Whereas fat mass and adipocyte size were increased in wild‐type control mice at 16 months, these parameters did not change with aging in PTP1B−/− mice. Increased levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, crown‐like structures, and hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF)‐1α were observed only in adipose tissue from 16‐month‐old wild‐type mice. Similarly, islet hyperplasia and hyperinsulinemia were observed in wild‐type mice with aging‐associated obesity, but not in PTP1B−/− animals. Leanness in 16‐month‐old PTP1B−/− mice was associated with increased energy expenditure. Whole‐body insulin sensitivity decreased in 16‐month‐old control mice; however, studies with the hyperinsulinemic–euglycemic clamp revealed that PTP1B deficiency prevented this obesity‐related decreased peripheral insulin sensitivity. At a molecular level, PTP1B expression and enzymatic activity were up‐regulated in liver and muscle of 16‐month‐old wild‐type mice as were the activation of stress kinases and the expression of p53. Conversely, insulin receptor‐mediated Akt/Foxo1 signaling was attenuated in these aged control mice. Collectively, these data implicate PTP1B in the development of inflammation and insulin resistance associated with obesity during aging and suggest that inhibition of this phosphatase by therapeutic strategies might protect against age‐dependent T2DM.
Free‐living energy expenditure reduced after deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Jorgensen Hans U. , Werdelin Lene , Lokkegaard Annemette , Westerterp Klaas R. , Simonsen Lene 
Published: December 2011

SummaryBackground:  The clinical picture in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor and postural instability. In advanced stages of the disease, many patients will experience reduced efficacy of medication with fluctuations in symptoms and dyskinesias. Surgical treatment with deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nucleus (STN‐DBS) is now considered the gold standard in fluctuating PD. Many patients experience a gain of weight following the surgery. The aim of this study was to identify possible mechanisms, which may contribute to body weight gain in patients with PD following bilateral STN‐DBS surgery.Methods:  Ten patients with PD were studied before bilateral STN‐DBS surgery, and seven patients were studied again 3 and 12 months postoperatively. Clinical examination and resting metabolic rate with and without medical treatment was measured before and after STN‐DBS. Furthermore, free‐living energy expenditure, body composition, energy intake, peak oxygen consumption, maximal workload and leisure time physical activity were measured before and 3 and 12 months after surgery.Results:  The STN‐DBS operated patients had a significant weight gain of 4·7 ± 1·6 kg (mean ± SE) 12 months postoperatively, and the weight gain was in the fat mass. The free‐living energy expenditure decreased postoperatively 13 ± 4% even though the reported dietary intake was reduced. A decreased energy expenditure took place in the non‐resting energy expenditure. The reported daily leisure time activity, peak oxygen consumption and maximal workload were unchanged.Conclusion:  The STN‐DBS operated patients have a significant postoperative weight gain, as a result of a decrease in free‐living energy expenditure concomitant with an insufficient decrease in energy intake.