bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CO‐OPERATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
Authors: Cloke Paul J. , Laycock Michael P. 
Published: October 2008

SUMMARYThe need for a new raison‐d'être for rural settlements has long been recognized, and has been traditionally answered by attempts to introduce manufacturing industry into centralised factory premises, usually on industrial estates. The poor performance of this response has led to support for alternative policies of promoting small‐scale workshop employment in a wider spread of rural settlements. One such scheme in the small village of Llanaelhaearn in North Wales has been run on a co‐operative basis, and has survived over the last six years of economic depression. The experience of this experiment in Llanaelhaearn offers valuable evidence concerning both the internal economic and social structures of a village work co‐operative and the wider implications for developing small‐scale employment at village level as a widespread response to the problems of small rural settlements.RÉSUMÉCe n'est pas d'aujourd'hui que date le besoin de trouver de nouvelles raisons d'être aux collectivités rurales. La réponse traditionnelle a consisté à promouvoir l'introduction d'industries manufacturières au moyen d'équipements pour l'industrie (zonings, bâtiments industriels).La maigreur des résultats obtenus a conduit à soutenir des politiques alternatives de promotion de l'emploi dans des ateliers de petite dimension.Ce schéma a donné lieu, dans le cas du petit village de Llanaelhaearn ‐ Nord du Pays de Galles ‐ à une forme de coopérative qui a survécu aux six dernières années de crise économique. L'analyse de cette expérience permet des constatations intéressantes tant à propos de l'organisation sociale et économique d'une coopérative villageoise de travail qu'à propos des implications plus générales d'un développement de l'emploi à petite échelle et au niveau local comme réponse ‐ si souvent admise ‐ aus problèmes des petites collectivités rurales.ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDie Notwendigkeit, ländlichen Siedlungen eine neue Daseinsberechtigung zu geben, ist schon lange erkannt worden. Traditionell wird dies durch Ansiedlung von verarbeitender Industrie an zentralen Gewerbestandorten, gewöhnlich auf besonders dafür ausgewiesenem Industriegelände, versucht. Der geringe Erfolg dieser Bemühungen hat zur Unterstützung alternativer politischer Maßnahmen geführt, die zum Ziel haben, die Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten auch in einzelnen, verstreut liegenden Orten durch Förderung von kleineren Handwerksbetrieben zu verbessern. Ein solches Modell wird in dem kieinen Dorf Llanaelhaearn in Nord‐Wales auf kooperativer Basis durchgeführt und hat die letzten sechs Jahre wirtschaftlicher Depression überlebt. Die Erfahrungen mit diesem Experiment in Llanaelhaearn erlauben einen wertvollen Einblick sowohl in die internen ökonomischen und sozialen Strukturen einer dörflichen Arbeitsgenossenschaft wie in die weiteren Implikationen der Entwicklung kleinbetrieblicher Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten auf dörflicher Ebene als eine umfassende Antwort auf die Probleme kleiner ländlicher Siedlungen.
Approaches to methadone treatment: harm reduction in theory and practice
Authors: Järvinen Margaretha 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe paper analyses methadone treatment in Copenhagen – as it is described by methadone users and staff at different outpatient centres. The starting point is a theoretical model distinguishing between two different approaches to methadone treatment: ‘palliative’ and ‘curative’. Included in the model are three dimensions (1) treatment goals at the methadone centres (abstinence vs. stabilisation) (2) treatment focus (focus on addiction vs. focus on the consequences of addiction) and (3) conceptualisation of methadone (methadone as similar to or different from heroin). The paper shows that there is a discrepancy between the attitudes of the staff and those of the users. While the staff favour an almost clear‐cut palliative approach to methadone treatment, defining curative goals as both unrealistic and as belonging to the past, the users prefer an approach that does not exclude the goal of abstinence and does not focus on the consequences of drug use alone but also on their problematic relationship to drugs (legal as well as illegal). Furthermore, the users’ attitudes towards methadone are far more ambivalent than the staff's. For the users, methadone is not just medicine; it is also a dependence‐producing and ‘dangerous’ drug.
Men, masculine identities, and health care utilisation
Authors: Noone Jack H. , Stephens Christine 
Published: October 2008

AbstractSeeking medical help early is critical for recovery, yet evidence indicates that men do not utilise general practitioner services as often as women. This paper draws on Connell's (1995) theory of hegemonic masculinity to critically examine how men's under‐utilisation of medical services may be influenced by the social construction of masculine identities. Interviews with seven older rural men about their help‐seeking behaviour, used a movie extract and hypothetical scenarios to stimulate discussion. Transcribed data were analysed using discourse analysis, which showed that in this particular social context, the men faced a dilemma when identifying with two conflicting subject positions: the virtuous regular health care user, and the masculine infrequent user of health care services. They solved this dilemma by positioning women as frequent and trivial users of health care and themselves as legitimate users of health care. By using biomedical and morality discourses in this way the men could maintain a masculine identity whilst also identifying as virtuous users of health care services. These results support the utility of hegemonic masculinity as a theoretical basis for examining the construction and maintenance of gendered identities by highlighting the complexity of multiple masculine identities.
Developing public sociology through health impact assessment
Authors: Elliott Eva , Williams Gareth 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe renewed interest in ‘public sociology’ has sparked debate and discussion about forms of sociological work and their relationship to the State and civil society. Medical sociologists are accustomed to engaging with a range of publics and audiences inside and outside universities and are in a position to make an informed contribution to this debate. This paper describes how some of the debates about sociological work are played out through a ‘health impact assessment’ of a proposed housing renewal in a former coal mining community. We explore the dynamics of the health impact assessment process and relate it to wider debates, current in the social sciences, on the ‘new knowledge spaces’ within which contentious public issues are now being discussed, and the nature of different forms of expertise. The role of the ‘public sociologist’ in mediating the relationships between the accounts and interpretations of lay participants and the published ‘evidence’ is described as a process of mutual learning between publics, professionals and social scientists. It is argued that the continued existence and development of any meaningful ‘professional sociology’ requires an openness to a ‘public sociology’ which recognises and responds to new spaces of knowledge production.
New reproductive technologies, genetic counselling and the standing of the fetus: views from Germany and Israel
Authors: Hashiloni‐Dolev Yael , Weiner Noga 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThis paper reports findings from a comparative study of Israeli and German genetic counsellors’ perceptions of the moral standing of the fetus. Data collected through in‐depth interviews with counsellors in both countries (N=32) are presented, and their moral practices are analysed. The paper's findings suggest that while German counsellors perceive the fetus as an autonomous being and debate the particular biological stages through which this autonomy is acquired; Israeli counsellors do not consider the moral status of the fetus independently of its relations with its family hence, deploying a ‘relational ethics’. It is suggested that these differences are influenced by historical, political, legal, and religious traditions in Germany and Israel regarding abortions and the fetus. It is concluded that the deployment of a ‘biological ethics’ by German counsellors reproduces the model of fetal developmental stages (in itself a construction), and hence goes hand in hand with perceptions of the fetus as a ‘life’, and thus as the bearer of autonomous rights which are understood to contradict those of its mother. On the other hand, the rejection of ‘biological ethics’ by Israeli counsellors enables a perception of fetuses that is first and foremost defined by their relationships with others.
Dividends and Market Signalling: an Analysis of Corporate Insider Trading
Authors: Del Brio Esther B. , De Miguel Alberto 
Published: October 2008

Abstract This study tests the multiple‐signal theory of dividends of

John and Lang (1991)

in the context of a European market. Our evidence shows that investors are more sensitive to insider trading signals than to signalled changes in existing dividends. In effect, the insider sales signal is universally understood as bad news. After controlling for the quality of a firm's investment opportunities, investors are found to penalise dividend outflows by mature firms that exhibit more informed insider sales activity. Finally, we offer an innovative exploration of the role of earnings announcements in market reaction to the dividend signal.
A Dynamic Approach to Accounts Receivable: a Study of Spanish SMEs
Authors: García‐Teruel Pedro J. , Martínez‐Solano Pedro 
Published: October 2008

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to extend the literature on the granting of trade credit. The focus is to test whether the accounts receivable decisions follow a model of partial adjustment. To do that, we use a sample of 2,922 Spanish SMEs. Using a dynamic panel data model and employing the GMM method of estimation we control for unobservable heterogeneity and for potential endogeneity problems. The results reveal that firms have a target level of accounts receivable and take decisions in order to achieve that level. In addition, we find that sales growth (if positive), the size of the firms, their capacity to generate internal funds and get short term financing, and economic growth are important in determining trade credit granted by firms.
A New Approach for Using Lévy Processes for Determining High‐Frequency Value‐at‐Risk Predictions
Authors: Sun Wei , Rachev Svetlozar , Fabozzi Frank J. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractA new approach for using Lévy processes to compute value‐at‐risk (VaR) using high‐frequency data is presented in this paper. The approach is a parametric model using an ARMA(1,1)‐GARCH(1,1) model where the tail events are modelled using fractional Lévy stable noise and Lévy stable distribution. Using high‐frequency data for the German DAX Index, the VaR estimates from this approach are compared to those of a standard nonparametric estimation method that captures the empirical distribution function, and with models where tail events are modelled using Gaussian distribution and fractional Gaussian noise. The results suggest that the proposed parametric approach yields superior predictive performance.
Surviving the EU? The future for national employment models in Europe
Authors: Rubery Jill , Bosch Gerhard , Lehndorff Steffen 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTThe claim by the European Union (EU) to be both the moderniser and the effective saviour of distinctive European ways of doing things is challenged by this review of the multi‐tiered influence of the EU on change in national models. Competition and macroeconomic policy is argued to be more significant than soft law in reshaping national models and in constraining innovation and change to meet new conditions. Lip service is paid by the EU to different paths of development, but the contradictions and synergies across institutional and policy approaches that underpin the notion of varieties of capitalism go unrecognised. European employment models are seen as primarily contributing to social protection, but the potential role for distinctive models to promote comparative advantage, as under varieties of capitalism analysis, is not on the policy agenda.
European Works Council at General Motors Europe: bargaining efficiency in regime competition?
Authors: Banyuls Josep , Haipeter Thomas , Neumann László 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTThe European Works Council (EWC) at General Motors Europe is frequently cited as one of the few examples of an efficient body of employee representation at a European level within a multinational company. Despite the increasing threat of social dumping in the enlarged Europe, the EWC was able to agree with management the terms of compulsory European minimum standards for defensive employment and competitiveness pacts, thereby restricting the effects of coercive comparisons between factories located in different countries. In this article, we focus on this experience and illuminate the tensions of ‘micro‐corporatism’ caught between international solidarity and regime competition.
Job quality in Europe
Authors: Smith Mark , Burchell Brendan , Fagan Colette , O'Brien Catherine 
Published: October 2008

ABSTRACTPromoting job quality and gender equality are objectives of the European Employment Strategy (EES) in spite of a downgrading of the attention given to both in the revised employment guidelines and the relaunch of the Lisbon Process. However, advances on both of these objectives may be important complements to the employment rate targets of the EES, as access to good quality jobs for both sexes is likely to help sustain higher employment rates. While the European Commission has a broad view of the concept of job quality in practice, it relies on a selection of labour market type indicators that say little about the quality of the actual jobs people do. Using data from the 2005 European Working Conditions survey, we analyse job quality along three dimensions: job content, autonomy and working conditions. We conclude that gender and occupational status, along with other job characteristics such as working time and sector, have more influence on an individual's job quality than the country or ‘national model’ they are situated in. Our results also demonstrate the value of developing indicators of job quality that are both gender sensitive and derived at the level of the job rather than the labour market in order to advance EU policy and academic debate on this topic.
A deleted prion protein that is neurotoxic in vivo is localized normally in cultured cells
Authors: Christensen Heather M. , Harris David A. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe prion protein (PrP) possesses sequence‐specific domains that endow the molecule with neuroprotective and neurotoxic activities, and that may contribute to the pathogenesis of prion diseases. To further define critical neurotoxic determinants within PrP, we previously generated Tg(ΔCR) mice that express a form of PrP harboring a deletion of 21 amino acids within the central domain of the protein [Li et al., EMBO J. 26 (2007), 548]. These animals exhibit a neonatal lethal phenotype that is dose‐dependently rescued by co‐expression of wild‐type PrP. In this study, we examined the localization and cell biological properties of the PrP(ΔCR) protein in cultured cells to further understand the mechanism of PrP(ΔCR) neurotoxicity. We found that the distribution of PrP(ΔCR) was identical to that of wild‐type PrP in multiple cell lines of both neuronal and non‐neuronal origin, and that co‐expression of the two proteins did not alter the localization of either one. Both proteins were found in lipid rafts, and both were localized to the apical surface in polarized epithelial cells. Taken together, our results suggest that PrP(ΔCR) toxicity is not a result of mislocalization or aggregation of the protein, and more likely stems from altered binding interactions leading to the activation of deleterious signaling pathways.
ABC transporters, cytochromes P450 and their main transcription factors: expression at the human blood–brain barrier
Authors: Dauchy Sandrine , Dutheil Fabien , Weaver Richard J. , Chassoux Francine , Daumas‐Duport Catherine , Couraud Pierre‐Olivier , Scherrmann Jean‐Michel , De Waziers Isabelle , Declèves Xavier 
Published: October 2008

AbstractWe have established the expression patterns of the genes encoding ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters and cytochromes P450 (CYPs) at the adult human blood–brain barrier (BBB) using isolated brain microvessels and cortex biopsies from patients with epilepsia or glioma. Microves synaptophysin (neurons) and neuron‐glial antigen 2 (NG2) (pericytes).ABCG2[breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP)] andABCB1(MDR1) were the main ABC transporter genes expressed in microvessels, with 20 times moreABCG2and 25 times moreABCB1in microvessels than in the cortex. TheCYP1B1isoform represented over 80% of all the CYPs genes detected in microvessels. There were 14 times moreCYP1B1in microvessels than in the cortex, showing thatCYP1B1is mainly expressed at the BBB. p‐glycoprotein (ABCB1), BCRP (ABCG2) and CYP1B1 proteins were found in microvessels by western blotting. The expression of genes encoding three transcription factors [pregnane xenobiotic receptor (PXR), constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)] was also investigated. TheAhRgene, involved in the regulation ofCYP1B1expression, was highly expressed in brain microvessels, whereasPXRandCARgenes were almost undetected. This detailed pattern ofABCandCYPsgene expression at the human BBB provides useful information for understanding how their substrates enter the brain.
Amperometric measurements of catecholamine release from single vesicles in MN9D cells
Authors: Dong Yan , Heien Michael L. , Maxson Marc M. , Ewing Andrew G. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractMN9D cells have been used as a successful model to investigate dopamine pharmacology and to test the specific effects of drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. However, quantitative measurements of quantal release from these cells have not been carried out. In this work, we used amperometry to investigate catecholamine release from MN9D cells. Amperometric events were observed in both undifferentiated and differentiated (butyric acid‐treated) cells. An increase in quantal size and half‐width was observed for differentiated cells versus undifferentiated cells; however, the number of events per cell and the amplitude remained constant. In transmission electron microscopy images, no obvious cluster of small synaptic vesicles was observed, and large dense‐core vesicles were present in the cell body of undifferentiated cells; however, after differentiation, vesicles were concentrated in the cell processes. In differentiated cells,l‐DOPA caused an increase in quantal size and half‐width, which could be blocked by the vesicular monoamine transporter inhibitor, reserpine.
Peptidomics of Cpefat/fat mouse brain regions: implications for neuropeptide processing
Authors: Zhang Xin , Che Fa‐Yun , Berezniuk Iryna , Sonmez Kemal , Toll Lawrence , Fricker Lloyd D. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractQuantitative peptidomics was used to compare levels of peptides in wild type (WT) and Cpefat/fat mice, which lack carboxypeptidase E (CPE) activity because of a point mutation. Six different brain regions were analyzed: amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, striatum, and thalamus. Altogether, 111 neuropeptides or other peptides derived from secretory pathway proteins were identified in WT mouse brain extracts by tandem mass spectrometry, and another 47 peptides were tentatively identified based on mass and other criteria. Most secretory pathway peptides were much lower in Cpefat/fat mouse brain, relative to WT mouse brain, indicating that CPE plays a major role in their biosynthesis. Other peptides were only partially reduced in the Cpefat/fat mice, indicating that another enzyme (presumably carboxypeptidase D) contributes to their biosynthesis. Approximately 10% of the secretory pathway peptides were present in the Cpefat/fat mouse brain at levels similar to those in WT mouse brain. Many peptides were greatly elevated in the Cpefat/fat mice; these peptide processing intermediates with C‐terminal Lys and/or Arg were generally not detectable in WT mice. Taken together, these results indicate that CPE contributes, either directly or indirectly, to the production of the majority of neuropeptides.
Mass‐spectrometric characterization of phospholipids and their primary peroxidation products in rat cortical neurons during staurosporine‐induced apoptosis
Authors: Tyurin Vladimir A. , Tyurina Yulia Y. , Feng Weihong , Mnuskin Alexandra , Jiang Jianfei , Tang Minke , Zhang Xiaojing , Zhao Qing , Kochanek Patrick M. , Clark Robert S. B. , Bayır Hülya , Kagan Valerian E. 
Published: October 2008

AbstractThe molecular diversity of phospholipids is essential for their structural and signaling functions in cell membranes. In the current work, we present, the results of mass spectrometric characterization of individual molecular species in major classes of phospholipids – phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho), phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn), phosphatidylserine (PtdSer), phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), sphingomyelin (CerPCho), and cardiolipin (Ptd2Gro) – and their oxidation products during apoptosis induced in neurons by staurosporine (STS). The diversity of molecular species of phospholipids in rat cortical neurons followed the order Ptd2Gro > PtdEtn >> PtdCho >> PtdSer > PtdIns > CerPCho. The number of polyunsaturated oxidizable species decreased in the order Ptd2Gro >> PtdEtn > PtdCho > PtdSer > PtdIns > CerPCho. Thus a relatively minor class of phospholipids, Ptd2Gro, was represented in cortical neurons by the greatest variety of both total and peroxidizable molecular species. Quantitative fluorescence HPLC analysis employed to assess the oxidation of different classes of phospholipids in neuronal cells during intrinsic apoptosis induced by STS revealed that three anionic phospholipids – Ptd2Gro >> PtdSer > PtdIns – underwent robust oxidation. No significant oxidation in the most dominant phospholipid classes – PtdCho and PtdEtn – was detected. MS‐studies revealed the presence of hydroxy‐, hydroperoxy‐ as well as hydroxy‐/hydroperoxy‐species of Ptd2Gro, PtdSer, and PtdIns. Experiments in model systems where total cortex Ptd2Gro and PtdSer fractions were incubated in the presence of cytochrome c (cyt c) and H2O2, confirmed that molecular identities of the products formed were similar to the ones generated during STS‐induced neuronal apoptosis. The temporal sequence of biomarkers of STS‐induced apoptosis and phospholipid peroxidation combined with recently demonstrated redox catalytic properties of cyt c realized through its interactions with Ptd2Gro and PtdSer suggest that cyt c acts as a catalyst of selective peroxidation of anionic phospholipids yielding Ptd2Gro and PtdSer peroxidation products. These oxidation products participate in mitochondrial membrane permeability transition and in PtdSer externalization leading to recognition and uptake of apoptotic cells by professional phagocytes.