bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of immune inhibitory cytokine profiles in epithelial ovarian carcinoma
Authors: Chen Li‐li , Ye Feng , LÜ Wei‐guo , Yu Yan , Chen Huai‐zheng , Xie Xing 
Published: March 2009

AbstractObjective:  The aim of this study was to detect expression of different cytokines in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC) cells and normal ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells in vitro and the levels of those with elevated expression in the EOC patients, and to analyze the contribution of cytokine profiles to tumor immune deficiency.Materials and Methods:  Cytokine antibody array was used to detect cytokine profiles in two cell lines of EOC (SKOV3 and CaoV3), primarily cultured EOC and OSE cells. The levels of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), interleukin‐10 (IL‐10), IL‐4, and transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) in peritoneal fluids and sera in the patients with EOC and benign gynecological tumors were detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.Results:  The levels of LIF, IL‐10, and IL‐4 were detected two times higher in the culture supernatants of the EOC cell lines than those in OSE cells by cytokine antibody array. Both LIF and IL‐10 levels were more increased in ascites of EOC patients than in those in benign gynecological tumor patients (P < 0.05). The level of IL‐4 was not detectable in any samples of ascites or sera. No difference of TGF‐β1 value was detected between patients with EOC and benign gynecological tumors.Conclusion:  Epithelium ovarian carcinoma cells can produce more LIF, IL‐10 and IL‐4 than OSE cells, and contribute to the elevated levels of those cytokines in EOC patients, which probably participates in the development of immune deficiency in the peritoneal cavity of EOC patients.
The impact of maternal height on intrapartum operative delivery: A reappraisal
Authors: Chan Ben C.‐P. , Lao Terence T.‐H. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAim:  To clarify the relationship between maternal height and intrapartum operative delivery in women with singleton pregnancies.Methods:  A retrospective cohort study was performed on Asian, mostly southern Chinese, women managed by our department in a 48‐month period. They were categorized into four quartile groups according to their height ranking, with the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile values of height generated from the entire obstetric population. The labor and pregnancy outcomes of different quartile groups were compared.Results:  A total of 13 606 pregnancies were recruited in the study cohort. The 25th, 50th and 75th percentile values of maternal height were 153 cm, 156 cm, and 160 cm, respectively, and the number of cases from the lowest to the highest quartile groups was 4153, 2698, 3445, and 3310, respectively. Significant differences were found in maternal weight, body mass index, incidences of multiparity and smokers, and birthweight and Apgar score at the first minute among the four quartiles. There was a significantly increasing incidence of cesarean delivery for mechanical reasons in spite of higher incidences of small‐for‐gestational age (SGA) and low birthweight (LBW) infants in decreasing quartiles. Regression analysis confirmed that the lower three quartile groups were associated with significantly increased cesarean delivery rates compared with the highest quartile group.Conclusion:  Maternal height is inversely correlated with the risk of cesarean delivery for labor arrest. The effect of height acts as a continuum rather than in a dichotomous manner. The use of height percentile ranking may allow comparison between different populations on the effect on labor outcome.
Shadow Wages and Shadow Income in Farmers’ Labor Supply Functions
Authors: Le Kien T. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article extends the current literature on estimating the labor supply function in agriculture by providing a different method to derive the shadow wage and shadow income. The method is based on the observation that the shadow wage is the marginal product of labor at the optimal point of both farm and household production functions. Thus, under certain assumptions on the functional form of the production functions, both the shadow wage and shadow income can be derived without estimating the production function. Using a sample of Vietnamese farmers, the results from the new method are shown to be consistent with the theory.
Evaluating Alternative Policy Responses to Higher World Food Prices: The Case of Increasing Rice Prices in Madagascar
Authors: Coady David , Dorosh Paul , Minten Bart 
Published: March 2009

AbstractHigher world food prices have led many developing countries to adopt policies to mitigate the impact on low‐income households. This article sets out a partial equilibrium framework to evaluate the efficiency, distributional, and revenue implications of alternative policy responses. The model is applied to evaluate tariff reductions and targeted transfers in Madagascar. Although lowering tariffs generates substantial efficiency gains, these accrue mainly to the top half of the welfare distribution, and poor net sellers are actually worse off. Developing a system of targeted direct transfers to poor households is likely to be a substantially more cost‐effective approach to poverty alleviation.
Comparing Open‐Ended Choice Experiments and Experimental Auctions: An Application to Golden Rice
Authors: Corrigan Jay R. , Depositario Dinah Pura T. , Nayga Rodolfo M. , Wu Ximing , Laude Tiffany P. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractWe use two experimental valuation methods to estimate consumer demand for genetically modified golden rice. The first is an open‐ended choice experiment (OECE) where participants name the quantities of golden rice and conventional rice demanded at each of several price combinations, one of which will be randomly chosen as binding. This allows us to estimate market demand by aggregating demand across participants. This estimate of market demand also allows us to estimate own‐price elasticity and consumer surplus for golden rice. Comparing willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) estimates from the OECE with those from a uniform‐price auction, we find that OECE WTP estimates exhibit less affiliation across rounds, and the effects of positive and negative information under the OECE are more consistent with prior expectations and existing studies. We also find that, while auction WTP estimates more than double across five rounds, OECE WTP estimates are stable across rounds and are always roughly equal to those from the final auction round.
A Nonparametric Analysis of Production Models with Multidimensional Quality
Authors: Zago Angelo 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis article proposes a methodology to measure the characteristics of intermediate products when quality is multidimensional. It uses a general representation of the multioutput technology via directional distance functions and constructs quality indicators based on differences rather than ratios. The quality indicators may be used to evaluate firms’ output, taking into account the whole set of quality attributes. The paper explores how aggregate quality may vary with the production level and finds a trade‐off between quantity and aggregate quality in wine grapes.
Voices from the margins: Pacific ambassadors and the geopolitics of marginality at the United Nations
Authors: McNamara Karen E. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThis paper captures some of the structural deficiencies within the United Nations' decision‐making processes at its headquarters in New York. Ideas and methodological approaches from critical geopolitics are adopted here to examine semi‐structured interviews held with Pacific ambassadors (n = 7) at the United Nations and bring new knowledge to an underexplored area. Results demonstrate that the institutional capacities of Pacific small island states hinder their ability to voice their concerns adequately at every United Nations' forum, while shifting imaginaries and a decline in popularity of issues has seen a drop in on‐the‐ground financial assistance for these states. In this way, this paper attempts to contribute to our understanding of the practice of international diplomacy within the United Nations.
One‐year incidence of psychiatric disorders and associated risk factors among adolescents in the community
Authors: Roberts Robert E. , Roberts Catherine R. , Chan Wenyaw 
Published: March 2009

Background: We have few data on incidence of psychiatric disorders among adolescents. This study examined first incidence of disorders among adolescents and baseline factors which increased or decreased risk of new onset cases a year later.Methods: Data were analyzed from Teen Health 2000 (TH2K), a probability sample of 4,175 youths 11–17 and their parents assessed at baseline and 3,134 of these youth–parent dyads followed up a year later. Disorders examined were anxiety, mood, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), disruptive, and substance abuse/dependence disorders in the past year. Risk and protective factors were assessed from three domains: status factors, personal and social resources, and stressors. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds of incident disorders for each risk and protective factor.Results: Incidence rates were 2.8% for anxiety, 1.5% for mood, 1.2% for ADHD, 2.5% for disruptive, 2.9% for substance abuse/dependence, and 7.5% for one or more DSM‐IV disorders. Multivariate analyses identified few independent predictors of incidence. The most consistent factors across disorders involved indicators of stress. The role of adverse family context was particularly noteworthy, predicting incidence of every disorder examined. Personal resources such as mastery consistently enhanced resilience to onset of first episodes. The presence of multiple risk factors, cumulative burden, substantially increased risk of first incidence of all disorders examined.Conclusions: The incidence of any disorder of 7.5% was similar to two earlier studies using DSM‐III‐R criteria (8.9 and 10.6, respectively). This is the first study to estimate incidence of DSM‐IV disorders for a range of diagnostic categories, and with the exception of substance use disorders, the rates are quite different from one earlier study using DSM‐II‐R criteria. A clear pattern emerged from the analyses. That is, psychiatric disorders, like other chronic diseases, are the product of multiple factors and these factors in turn have effects on multiple disorders.
Exploring the clinical utility of the Development And Well‐Being Assessment (DAWBA) in the detection of hyperkinetic disorders and associated diagnoses in clinical practice
Authors: Foreman David , Morton Stephanie , Ford Tamsin 
Published: March 2009

Background:  The clinical diagnosis of ADHD is time‐consuming and error‐prone. Secondary care referral results in long waiting times, but primary care staff may not provide reliable diagnoses. The Development And Well‐Being Assessment (DAWBA) is a standardised assessment for common child mental health problems, including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can be rapidly scored by skilled specialist clinicians, who may be remote from the interview, thus avoiding referral.Method:  A representative clinic sample of routine cases suspected of ADHD underwent an assessment which included the DAWBA alongside a confirmatory assessment with a skilled clinician. Another clinician provided DAWBA‐based diagnoses blind to the clinic view. Bayesian statistical modelling was used to include clinic diagnostic uncertainty in the analyses.Results:  Eighty‐four cases were assessed. For ADHD, the predictive value of a positive or negative DAWBA diagnosis was greater than .8, with negligible bias. Non‐hyperkinetic behaviour disorders had higher, emotional and autistic disorders lower predictive values, though all greater than .75: there was, however, evidence of bias.Conclusions:  Diagnoses of ADHD based on senior clinician review of the DAWBA completed by parents, teachers and young people aged 11 plus may be sufficiently accurate to permit clinical diagnosis without direct patient contact by the diagnosing clinician. This could improve access to accurate diagnoses of ADHD in primary care while freeing up senior clinicians to focus on complex and refractory cases in secondary care.
Animal foods and climate change: shadowing eating practices
Authors: Cole Matthew , Miele Mara , Hines Peter , Zokaei Keivan , Evans Barry , Beale Jo 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAnimal farming exceeds all forms of transport in terms of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite the implications of the seriousness of addressing animal farming in relation to mitigating the effects of GHG emissions, to date, the relationship between consumer behaviour and climate change has tended to neglect the role of animal foods. This paper reports on a pilot study in which six UK households were ‘shadowed’ to facilitate the investigation of the relationship between animal food practices and environmental practices, as they emerge in day‐to‐day life. Results indicate that most participants make no connection between the two issues at present, in terms of awareness or practice. However, animal foods do have an ambiguous and complex status in most participants' food practices; for instance, being viewed as problematic for reasons of health or animal welfare. This finding suggests that further research is needed into the potential for raising awareness of the link between animal‐based foods and climate change. This might have a role to play in shifting food practices towards more plant‐based, less GHG intensive, foods.
Mediated communication of ‘sustainable consumption’ in the alternative media: a case study exploring a message framing strategy
Authors: Kolandai‐Matchett Komathi 
Published: March 2009

AbstractIn view of previous effects of mediated communication on public knowledge, perceptions and concern about sustainability problems, this case study explores a message framing strategy for improving the effectiveness of mediated communication of the somewhat neglected topic of sustainable consumption. It describes how an information campaign on sustainable consumption was strategically framed, employing theories on effective and persuasive communication, and implemented through a community news medium in Christchurch, New Zealand. The resultant impacts of the campaign (significant increases in understanding of sustainable consumption and in the number of parents expressing concern over advertising effects on their children's material desires) were indicative of the potentials of employing strategic message framing for improving mediated communication about sustainability. The study also illustrates the potentials for engaging alternative media in such communication. This paper argues that further steps to develop message framing strategies for mediated communication of sustainable consumption is necessary, as this appears to be a largely neglected area in communication and consumer studies, and concludes with an overview of aspects that may be considered in future communication and other initiatives promoting sustainable consumption as a means for achieving sustainability.
Sustainable consumption and the financial sector: analysing the markets for responsible investment in Hong Kong and Japan
Authors: Park Jacob 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe origins of the modern socially responsible investment (SRI) movement can be traced to the turbulent period in the 1960s when powerful social undercurrents including environmentalism and anti‐war activism fuelled a rise, in a radical change, in the way society viewed faith, values and commerce.Today, nearly 1 out of every US$9 under professional management in the US is currently invested using social investment strategies while the European green and ethical investment market is estimated to be €1 trillion or as much as 10–15% of the total funds under management.While some preliminary figures and analyses exist for countries outside these two regions, SRI has been, to date, largely explored within the context of North America and Europe. This is unfortunate as the sustainability of SRI as a consumer market is going to depend, to a great extent, to what happens outside of North America and Europe, and most notably in the rapidly developing Asian economies. In this article, I will explore the development of SRI as a mainstream financial consumer instrument in industrialized (Japan) and emerging (Hong Kong/China) economies of the Asia Pacific region.To fully analyse the SRI market development in Hong Kong and Japan, I will examine the following three issues and questions: first, how does the sustainable consumption framework offer a useful lens from which to explore SRI, and why is the Asia Pacific market and policy context so important for the broader issue of sustainable consumption? Second, what precisely is SRI and how did it develop into an important global financial investment vehicle? Third, how did the SRI market develop in the case of Hong Kong and Japan? I will then conclude the article with some analysis on the important lessons SRI market development in Hong Kong and Japan hold for market sustainability of the financial sector and sustainable consumption.
Environmental dialogue in online communities: negotiating ecological citizenship among global travellers
Authors: Rokka Joonas , Moisander Johanna 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to investigate how web‐based online communities bring about new forms of environmental dialogue. We suggest that these online sites play an important role in setting the stage for new forms of cultural production, dissemination of environmental knowledge and environmental dialogue, through which particular forms of ecological citizenship and consumer culture are being created and sustained. Based on an empirical study of an online community of ‘global travelers’ carried out using netnographic methods, the study shows how environmental knowledge is being disseminated, negotiated and made sense of in the online environments of the global marketplace. Our findings illustrate, in particular, how online communities may work out an agenda for sustainable consumption practices and lifestyles, and create new forms of consumer citizenship. Regarding the environmental policy implications of our study, we argue that there is a need to facilitate the creation of online environments where consumers can participate in the construction of active consumer citizenship.
Voluntary simplicity: an exploration of market interactions
Authors: Shaw Deirdre , Moraes Caroline 
Published: March 2009

AbstractVoluntary simplicity is often considered to be a sustainable lifestyle phenomenon buttressed by environment‐friendly consumption practices. Voluntary simplicity is shaped by the individual as well as the society, and marketplace interactions often impact voluntarily simplified approaches to consumption. Pertinent, therefore, is a consideration of how voluntary simplifiers negotiate the tensions between marketplace interactions and decisions (not) to consume, as the exploration of interactions between consumption and non‐consumption choices has relevant implications for the advancement of sustainable consumption. Specifically, we seek to answer the following question: how have voluntary simplifiers in a rural context negotiated the relationship between voluntary simplicity and market‐based (non‐) consumption? This paper reports on a study of 28 rural voluntary simplifiers to explore the intersections between voluntary simplicity and rural markets. Findings highlight the convoluted nature and the multiple manifestations of voluntary simplicity, while the rural context allows an exploration of such tensions in relation to individual voluntary simplicity, local economy, supermarkets, fair trade and consumer culture.
Determinants of environmentally responsible behaviours for greenhouse gas reduction
Authors: Ngo Anh‐Thu , West Gale E. , Calkins Peter H. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractCanadian household consumption and driving behaviours are responsible for a significant portion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced across Canada. This paper examines and characterizes two sets of consumer behaviours, indoor GHG reduction behaviours and automobile GHG emissions, using data from a 2006 telephone survey of a representative random sample of 1002 Canadian households with cars. Two statistical models are used to analyse the impact of four groups of variables (environmental attitudes, policy opinions, automobile‐related indices and socio‐demographics) on GHG reduction at the household level. Results were obtained using ordered probit and Ordinary Least Squares regressions. Indoor GHG reduction behaviours were not correlated with automobile GHG emissions. Dominant factors increasing consumer GHG reduction behaviours both indoors and on the road were sense of personal responsibility and previous environmental activism. Canadians who least actively participate in GHG reduction activities were more likely to be living in the Prairie provinces and to be male.
Toxic effect of blood components on perinatal rat subventricular zone cells and oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation, differentiation and migration in culture
Authors: Juliet Packiasamy A. R. , Frost Emma E. , Balasubramaniam Janani , Del Bigio Marc R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThe germinal matrix of human brain gives rise to oligodendrocytes and astrocytes after mid‐gestation. Hemorrhage in the germinal matrix of premature infants is associated with suppressed cell proliferation. We hypothesize that soluble blood constituents have an adverse effect on the proliferation of cultured rat subventricular zone (SVZ) cells and the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC). Using caspase 3 activation and lactate dehydrogenase release assays, rat plasma, serum, thrombin, and kallikrein killed SVZ cells when grown in the presence (but not absence) of platelet derived growth factor. Plasma and serum killed OPC at 1 : 1 to 1 : 100 dilutions. Using a bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay OPC proliferation was reduced by plasma, serum, thrombin and plasmin. Blood proteins also suppressed OPC migration in a concentration dependent manner. However, differentiation of OPC into myelin basic protein expressing cells was suppressed only by thrombin. We conclude that soluble blood components, particularly thrombin, have an adverse effect on maturing SVZ cells and OPC derived from newborn rat brain.