bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MACROECONOMIC STABILIZATION POLICIES IN THE EMU: SPILLOVERS, ASYMMETRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Authors: Plasmans Joseph , Engwerda Jacob , Van Aarle Bas , Michalak Tomasz , Di Bartolomeo Giovanni 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACTThis paper studies the institutional design of the coordination of macroeconomic stabilization policies within a monetary union in the framework of linear quadratic differential games. A central role in the analysis plays the partitioned game approach of the endogenous coalition formation literature. The specific policy recommendations in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) context depend on the particular characteristics of the shocks and the economic structure. In the case of a common shock, fiscal coordination or full policy coordination is desirable. When anti‐symmetric shocks are considered, fiscal coordination improves the performance but full policy coordination does not produce further gains in policymakers' welfare.
FREQUENT NEWS AND PURE SIGNALS: THE CASE OF A PUBLICLY TRADED FOOTBALL CLUB
Authors: Stadtmann Georg 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACTWe use stock market data for Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA – one of the leading German football clubs – for an application of the news model. Owing to the specific characteristics of the news‐generating process, the case of a publicly traded sport club is a very appropriate candidate for testing this model. By applying a traditional as well as a reversed news model, we elaborate whether new information can explain subsequent changes in the stock price of Borussia Dortmund. We find that sport as well as corporate governance‐related variables are important drivers of the stock price.
‘GUNS OR BUTTER?’ REVISITED: ROBUSTNESS AND NONLINEARITY ISSUES IN THE DEFENSE–GROWTH NEXUS
Authors: Cuaresma Jesús Crespo , Reitschuler Gerhard 
Published: August 2006

ABSTRACTThe relationship between military expenditure and growth is studied taking into account potential nonlinearities and robustness issues in the specification of the econometric models used. Using cross‐country growth regressions and the widely used Feder–Ram model, the partial correlation between defense spending and economic growth appears robust and significantly negative only for countries with a relatively low military expenditure ratio. While the externality effect appears positive in this subgroup of countries, the overall effect turns negative due to the size effect of the military sector.
Indecision Theory: Weight of Evidence and Voting Behavior
Authors: GHIRARDATO PAOLO , KATZ JONATHAN N. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIn this paper, we show how to incorporate weight of evidence, or ambiguity, into a model of voting behavior. We do so in the context of the turnout decision of instrumentally rational voters who differ in their perception of the ambiguity of the candidates' policy positions. Ambiguity is reflected by the fact that the voter's beliefs are given by a set of probabilities, each of which represents in the voter's mind a different possible scenario. We show that a voter who is averse to ambiguity considers abstention strictly optimal when the candidates' policy positions are both ambiguous and they are “ambiguity complements.” Abstaining is preferred since it is tantamount to mixing the prospects embodied by the two candidates, thus enabling the voter to “hedge” the candidates' ambiguity.
On the Frequency of Interior Cournot–Nash Equilibria in a Public Good Economy
Authors: BUCHHOLZ WOLFGANG , CORNES RICHARD , PETERS WOLFGANG 
Published: August 2006

AbstractIn a public good economy the distribution of initial income is an important determinant of how many individuals contribute to the public good in Cournot–Nash equilibrium. In this paper, first a simple formula is derived that provides a measure for the size of the set of income distributions leading to an interior Cournot–Nash equilibrium in which all individuals contribute to the public good. Furthermore, we give an estimate for the frequency that all members of a certain subgroup of the population are contributors.
Capital Accumulation and Fiscal Policy in an OLG Model with Family Altruism
Authors: LAMBRECHT STÉPHANE , MICHEL PHILIPPE , THIBAULT EMMANUEL 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe idea of family altruism is that parents care only about their children's income and not about the use of this income made by the children. First, we establish dynamical properties which place the OLG model with family altruism halfway between the model with pure life‐cyclers (Diamond 1965; American Economic Review 55, 1126–1150) and the one with dynastic altruism (Barro 1974; Journal of Political Economy 82, 1095–1117). Then, we show that this concept leads to interesting fiscal policy conclusions less clear‐cut and more realistic than those obtained with the two previous standard OLG models: a pay‐as‐you‐go social security is neutral but not a public debt.
Tête à tête inside a plant cell: establishing compatibility between plants and biotrophic fungi and oomycetes
Authors: O’Connell Richard J. , Panstruga Ralph 
Published: August 2006

Summary‘Compatibility’ describes the complementary relationship between a plant species and an adapted pathogen species that underlies susceptibility and which ultimately results in disease. Owing to elaborate surveillance systems and defence mechanisms on the plant side and a common lack of adaptation of many microbial pathogens, resistance is the rule and compatibility the exception for most plant–microbe combinations. While there has been major scientific interest in ‘resistance’ in the past decade, which has revealed many of its underlying molecular components, the analysis of ‘compatibility’, although intimately intertwined with ‘resistance’, has not been pursued with a similar intensity. Various recent studies, however, provide a first glimpse of the pivotal players and potential molecular mechanisms essential for compatibility in both the plant and parasite partners. In this review we highlight these findings with a particular emphasis on obligate biotrophic and hemibiotrophic fungal and oomycete pathogens and discuss novel strategies that might help to uncover further the molecular principles underlying compatibility to these highly specialized pathogens.

Contents

Summary
699

I.
Introduction
700

II.
Plant cell entry control
700

III.
The plant–biotroph interface
703

IV.
Biotroph effectors
708

V.
Plant factors for compatibility
711

VI.
Future directions and opportunities
713

Acknowledgements
713

References
713
Reduced NMDA receptor tyrosine phosphorylation in PTPα‐deficient mouse synaptosomes is accompanied by inhibition of four src family kinases and Pyk2: an upstream role for PTPα in NMDA receptor regulation
Authors: Le Hoa T. , Maksumova Lola , Wang Jing , Pallen Catherine J. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractMice lacking protein tyrosine phosphatase alpha (PTPα) exhibited defects in NMDA receptor (NMDAR)‐associated processes such as learning and memory, hippocampal neuron migration, and CA1 hippocampal long‐term potentiation (LTP). In vivo molecular effectors linking PTPα and the NMDAR have not been reported. Thus the involvement of PTPα as an upstream regulator of NMDAR tyrosine phosphorylation was investigated in synaptosomes of wild‐type and PTPα‐null mice. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the NMDAR NR2A and NR2B subunits was reduced upon PTPα ablation, indicating a positive effect of this phosphatase on NMDAR phosphorylation via intermediate molecules. The NMDAR is a substrate of src family tyrosine kinases, and reduced activity of src, fyn, yes and lck, but not lyn, was apparent in the absence of PTPα. In addition, autophosphorylation of proline‐rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), a tyrosine kinase linked to NMDAR signaling, was also reduced in PTPα‐deficient synaptosomes. Altered protein tyrosine phosphorylation was not accompanied by altered expression of the NMDAR or the above tyrosine kinases at any stage of PTPα‐null mouse development examined. In a human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cell expression system, PTPα enhanced fyn‐mediated NR2A and NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation by several‐fold. Together, these findings provide evidence that aberrant NMDAR‐associated functions in PTPα‐null mice are due to impaired NMDAR tyrosine phosphorylation resulting from the reduced activity of probably more than one of the src family kinases src, fyn, yes and lck. Defective NMDAR activity in these mice may also be linked to the loss of PTPα as an upstream regulator of Pyk2.
The role of Toll‐like receptors in CNS response to microbial challenge
Authors: Konat Gregory W. , Kielian Tammy , Marriott Ian 
Published: August 2006

AbstractThe recent discovery of the family of Toll‐like receptors has vastly expanded our understanding of the mechanisms by which the innate immune system recognizes and responds to a wide variety of microbial and endogenous pathogens. Toll‐like receptors are transmembrane proteins that upon ligation with their cognate ligands trigger the production of cytokines, enzymes and other inflammatory agents. In the CNS Toll‐like receptors are expressed predominantly by glial cells. In particular, the vastly abundant astrocytes are likely to be the major contributors to inflammatory responses within the CNS. Studies of the murine brain abscess model revealed that Toll‐like receptor 2 plays a pivotal role in the generation of immune responses to Staphylococcus aureus. Although Toll‐like receptor signaling is essential in antimicrobial defense, it may also lead to bystander injury of CNS tissue.
Neonicotinoid insecticides display partial and super agonist actions on native insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Authors: Brown Laurence A. , Ihara Makoto , Buckingham Steven D. , Matsuda Kazuhiko , Sattelle David B. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractNicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are present in high density in insect nervous tissue and are targeted by neonicotinoid insecticides. Improved understanding of the actions of these insecticides will assist in the development of new compounds. Here, we have used whole‐cell patch‐clamp recording of cholinergic neurons cultured from the central nervous system of 3rd instar Drosophila larvae to examine the actions of acetylcholine (ACh) and nicotine, as well as the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin and P‐CH‐clothianidin on native nAChRs of these neurons. Dose–response data yield an EC50 value for ACh of 19 μm. Both nicotine and imidacloprid act as low efficacy agonists at native nAChRs, evoking maximal current amplitudes 10–14% of those observed for ACh. Conversely, clothianidin and P‐CH‐clothianidin evoke maximal current amplitudes up to 56% greater than those evoked by 100 μm ACh in the same neurons. This is the first demonstration of ‘super’ agonist actions of an insecticide on native insect nAChRs. Cell‐attached recordings indicate that super agonism results from more frequent openings at the largest (63.5 pS) conductance state observed.
Identification of developmentally regulated expression of MuSK in astrocytes of the rodent retina
Authors: Cheusova Tatiana , Khan Muhammad Amir , Enz Ralf , Hashemolhosseini Said 
Published: August 2006

AbstractOne of the master regulators of postsynaptic neuromuscular synaptogenesis is the muscle‐specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK). In mammals prominent MuSK expression is believed to be restricted to skeletal muscle. Upon activation by nerve‐derived agrin MuSK‐dependent signalling participates in both the induction of genes encoding postsynaptic components and aggregation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) in the subsynaptic muscle membrane. Strikingly, expression of certain isoforms of nerve‐derived agrin can also be detected in the CNS. In this study, we examined the expression of MuSK in the brain and eye of rodents. In the retina MuSK was expressed in astrocytes between postnatal days 7 and 14, i.e. at the time when the eyes open. We found that agrin was localized adjacent to MuSK‐expressing astrocytes which in turn were detected close to the inner limiting membrane of the rodent retina. In summary, the presence of MuSK on retinal astrocytes suggests a novel role of MuSK signalling pathways in the CNS.
Retrograde signaling in injured nerve – the axon reaction revisited
Authors: Hanz Shlomit , Fainzilber Mike 
Published: August 2006

AbstractInjury to axons elicits changes in macromolecule synthesis in the corresponding cell bodies that are critical for an effective regenerative response. For decades the most easily studied aspect of this phenomenon was the onset of chromatolysis, a suite of structural changes in the cell body characterized by swelling, shifting of the nucleus and dispersal of Nissl bodies. The question: ‘what is the signal for chromatolysis?’ received no less than 10 possible answers in a comprehensive review article published more than three decades ago. Here we come back to this 36 years old question, and review progress on understanding the mechanism of retrograde injury signaling in lesioned peripheral nerves. Recent work suggests that this is based on local axonal synthesis of critical carrier proteins, including importins and vimentin that link diverse signaling molecules to the dynein retrograde motor. A multiplicity of binding sites and of potential signaling molecules, including transcription factors and MAP kinases (Erk, Jnk), may allow diverse options for information‐rich encoding of the injury status of the axon for transmission to the cell body.
Anatomical distribution and biochemical characterization of the novel RFamide peptide 26RFa in the human hypothalamus and spinal cord
Authors: Bruzzone Federica , Lectez Benoît , Tollemer Hélène , Leprince Jérôme , Dujardin Cynthia , Rachidi Walid , Chatenet David , Baroncini Marc , Beauvillain Jean‐Claude , Vallarino Mauro , Vaudry Hubert , Chartrel Nicolas 
Published: August 2006

Abstract26RFa is a novel RFamide peptide originally isolated in the amphibian brain. The 26RFa precursor has been subsequently characterized in various mammalian species but, until now, the anatomical distribution and the molecular forms of 26RFa produced in the CNS of mammals, in particular in human, are unknown. In the present study, we have investigated the localization and the biochemical characteristics of 26RFa‐like immunoreactivity (LI) in two regions of the human CNS – the hypothalamus and the spinal cord. Immunohistochemical labeling using specific antibodies against human 26RFa andin situhybridization histochemistry revealed that in the human hypothalamus 26RFa‐expressing neurons are located in the paraventricular and ventromedial nuclei. In the spinal cord, 26RFa‐expressing neurons were observed in the dorsal and lateral horns. Characterization of 26RFa‐related peptides showed that two distinct molecular forms of 26RFa are present in the human hypothalamus and spinal cord, i.e. 26RFa and an N‐terminally elongated form of 43 amino acids designated 43RFa. These data provide the first evidence that 26RFa and 43RFa are actually produced in the human CNS. The distribution of 26RF‐LI suggests that 26RFa and/or 43RFa may modulate feeding, sexual behavior and transmission of nociceptive stimuli.
Function of the rat carotid body chemoreceptors in ageing
Authors: Conde Silvia V. , Obeso Ana , Rigual Ricardo , Monteiro Emilia C. , Gonzalez Constancio 
Published: August 2006

AbstractSome age‐related deficits in the ventilatory responses have been attributed to a decline in the functionality of the carotid body (CB) arterial chemoreceptors, but a systematic study of the CB function in ageing is lacking. In rats aged 3–24 months, we have performed quantitative morphometry on specific chemoreceptor tissue, assessed the function of chemoreceptor cells by measuring the content, synthesis and release of catecholamines (a chemoreceptor cell neurotransmitter) in normoxia and hypoxia, and determined the functional activity of the intact organ by measuring chemosensory activity in the carotid sinus nerve (CSN) in normoxia, hypoxia and hypercapnic acidosis. We found that with age CBs enlarge, but at the same time there is a concomitant decrease in the percentage of chemoreceptor tissue. CB content and turnover time for their catecholamines increase with age. Hypoxic stimulation of chemoreceptor cells elicits a smaller release of catecholamines in rats after 12 months of age, but a non‐specific depolarizing stimulus elicits a comparable release at all ages. In parallel, there was a marked decrease in the responsiveness to hypoxia, but not to an acidic‐hypercapnic stimulus, assessed as chemosensory activity in the CSN. We conclude that in aged mammals chemoreceptor cells become hypofunctional, leading to a decreased peripheral drive of ventilation.
Developmental and cell‐selective variations in N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor degradation by calpain
Authors: Dong Yi Na , Wu Hai‐Yan , Hsu Fu‐Chun , Coulter Douglas A. , Lynch David R. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractNMDA receptors play critical roles in synaptic modulation and neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated the developmental changes in NR2 cleavage by NMDA receptor‐activated calpain in cultured cortical and hippocampal neurons. Calpain activity increased with development, associated with increased expression of NMDA receptors but not of calpain I. The activation of calpain in immature and mature cortical cultures was inhibited by antagonists of NR1/2B and NR1/2A/2B receptors, whereas the inhibition of NR1/2B receptors did not alter calpain activation in mature hippocampal cultures. The degradation of NR2 subunits by calpain differed with developmental age. NR2A was not a substrate of calpain in mature hippocampal cultures, but was cleaved in immature cortical and hippocampal cultures. NR2B degradation by calpain in cortical cultures decreased with development, but the level of degradation of NR2B in hippocampal cultures did not change. The kinetics of NMDA receptor‐gated whole cell currents were also modulated by calpain activation in a manner that varied with developmental stage in vitro. In early (but not later) developmental stages, calpain activation altered the NMDA‐evoked current rise time and time constants for both desensitization and deactivation. Our data suggest that the susceptibility of the NMDA receptor to cleavage by calpain varies with neuronal maturity in a manner that may alter its electrophysiological properties.
Quantitative Sensory Testing for Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients With Chronic Neuropathic Pain
Authors: Eisenberg Elon , Backonja Misha‐Miroslav , Fillingim Roger B. , Pud Dorit , Hord Daniela E. , King Gary W. , Stojanovic Milan P. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjective:  A prospective pilot study was conducted, attempting to identify objective tests that would help clinicians to assess the efficacy of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) trial preceding permanent device implantation.Setting:  Four university hospitals in the United States and Israel.Participants:  Thirteen patients with radicular leg pain due to failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) or leg pain due to complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) who were candidates for SCS.Methods:  Participants underwent a series of quantitative sensory tests prior to, and seven days after the initiation of SCS trial. These tests included: vibration threshold (conducted using the VSA 3000; Medoc Inc., Ramat Ishay, Israel), cold threshold, warm threshold, heat pain threshold, phasic heat pain threshold, tonic heat pain threshold (conducted using the TSA 2001; Medoc Inc.), and electrical pain tolerance at 5, 250 and 2000 Hz (administered using the NerveScanTM 2000; Neurotron, Inc., Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.).Results:  Useful data were obtained from 12 patients. The results of the vibration threshold and the tolerance to electrical stimulation at 5 and 250 Hz changed with an SCS trial. These results also correlated with the decision regarding the permanent implantation, which was made independently of them. In contrast, the results of thermal thresholds and tolerance to electrical stimulation at 2000 Hz tests did not change with the SCS trial.Conclusions:  Our findings, which agree with those of a few other studies, suggest that the vibration threshold and the tolerance to electrical stimulation at 5 and 250 Hz tests can assist the clinician to select the right patients for permanent stimulation.
Systematic Literature Review of Spinal Decompression Via Motorized Traction for Chronic Discogenic Low Back Pain
Authors: Macario Alex , Pergolizzi Joseph V. 
Published: August 2006

AbstractObjective:  The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature to assess the efficacy of nonsurgical spinal decompression achieved with motorized traction for chronic discogenic lumbosacral back pain.Design:  Computer‐aided systematic literature search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane collaboration for prospective clinical trials on adults with low back pain in the English literature from 1975 to October 2005. Methodologic quality for each study was assessed. Studies were included if the intervention group received motorized spinal decompression and the comparison group received sham or another type of nonsurgical treatment.Results:  Data from 10 studies were fully analyzed. Seven studies were randomized controlled trials using various apparatus types. Because of this low number, we also analyzed three nonrandomized case series studies of spinal decompression systems. As the overall quality of studies was low and the patient groups heterogeneous, a meta‐analysis was not appropriate and a qualitative review was undertaken. Sample sizes averaged 121 patients (range 27–292), with six of the seven randomized studies reporting no difference with motorized spinal decompression and one study reporting reduced pain but not disability. The three unrandomized studies (no control group) of motorized spinal decompression found a 77% to 86% reduction in pain.Conclusions:  These data suggest that the efficacy of spinal decompression achieved with motorized traction for chronic discogenic low back pain remains unproved. This may be, in part, due to heterogeneous patient groups and the difficulties involved in properly blinding patients to the mechanical pulling mechanism. Scientifically more rigorous studies with better randomization, control groups, and standardized outcome measures are needed to overcome the limitations of past studies.