bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Does Oil Hinder Democracy?
Authors: Ross Michael L. 
Published: February 2007

Some scholars suggest that the Middle East's oil wealth helps explain its failure to democratize. This article examines three aspects of this “oil impedes democracy” claim. First, is it true? Does oil have a consistendy antidemocratic effect on states, once other factors are accounted for? Second, can this claim be generalized? Is it true only in the Middle East or elsewhere as well? Is it true for other types of mineral wealth and other types of commodity wealth or only for oil? Finally, if oil does have antidemocratic properties, what is the causal mechanism?The author uses pooled time-series cross-national data from 113 states between 1971 and 1997 to show that oil exports are strongly associated with authoritarian rule; that this effect is not limited to the Middle East; and that other types of mineral exports have a similar antidemocratic effect, while other types of commodity exports do not.The author also tests three explanations for this pattern: a “rentier effect,” which suggests that resource-rich governments use low tax rates and patronage to dampen democratic pressures; a “repression effect,” which holds that resource wealth enables governments to strengthen their internal security forces and hence repress popular movements; and a “modernization effect,” which implies that growth that is based on the export of oil and minerals will fail to bring about die social and cultural changes that tend to produce democratic government. He finds at least limited support for all three effects.
Globalization, Domestic Politics, and Social Spending in Latin America: A Time-Series Cross-Section Analysis, 1973–97
Authors: Kaufman Robert R. , Segura-Ubiergo Alex 
Published: February 2007

This study examines the effects of globalization, democratization, and partisanship on social spending in fourteen Latin American countries from 1973 to 1997, using a pooled time-series error-correction model. The authors examine three sets of issues. First, following debates in the literature on OECD countries, they want to know whether social spending has been encouraged or constrained by integration into global markets. Within this context, they examine the extent to which such outcomes might be influenced by two additional sets of domestic political and institutional factors discussed in work on developed countries: the electoral pressures of democratic institutions and whether or not popularly based governments are in power.The authors show that trade integration has a consistently negative effect on aggregate social spending and that this is compounded by openness to capital markets. This is the strongest and most robust finding in the study. Neither democratic nor popularly based governments consistently affect overall social spending. The authors then disaggregate spending into social security transfers and expenditures on health and education. They find that popularly based governments tend to protect social security transfers, which tend toflowdisproportionately to their unionized constituencies; but they have a negative impact on health and education spending. Conversely, a shift to democracy leads to increases in health and education spending, which reaches a larger segment of the population. The authors conclude by emphasizing the contrasting political log-ics of the different types of social spending.
Political scientists on the functions of personal pronouns in their writing: An interview-based study of ‘I’ and ‘we’
Authors: Harwood Nigel 
Published: February 2007

AbstractIn contrast to the numerous corpus-based studies of pronouns in academic writing, this paper uses qualitative interviews in an attempt to account for academic writers' motivations for using the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’ and to describe the textual effects that each case of ‘I’ and ‘we’ helps to create. Five political scientists took part in the research, commenting upon their pronoun use in one of their own journal articles and also in the other informants' texts. Seven textual effects that ‘I’ and ‘we’ help to construct are identified and described. ‘I’ and ‘we’ are said to help (i) make the readership feel included and involved in the writers' argument; (ii) make the text more accessible; (iii) convey a tentative tone and hedge writers' claims; (iv) explicate the writers' logic or method regarding their arguments or procedures; (v) signal writers' intentions and arguments; (vi) indicate the contribution and newsworthiness of the research; and (vii) allow the writer to inject a personal tenor into the text. The insights and implications of the study are discussed and the paper closes by proposing that similar interview-based studies could be used for pedagogical purposes in English for academic purposes (EAP) contexts.
Enabling talk: How the facilitator shapes a focus group
Authors: Myers Greg 
Published: February 2007

AbstractContemporary democratic politics involves, not just constitutions, elections, and representative bodies, but complex processes of more direct consultation with the public. The value of these processes depends on their openness to voices, topics, and styles of expression that might be excluded from other forums. In this paper I analyze focus group discussions, one of the genres used for public consultation, and the ways that discussions are framed by facilitators. The facilitators' turns are seldom in the form of free-standing questions or statements requiring a response from the participants. Instead, the kinds of interventions they make—probes, prompts, formulations, and metacomments—can be understood in terms of what Sacks (1992) called second-speaker tying rules; that is, they construct coherence by presenting the facilitators' turns as following from what has already been said by a participant. These turns signal that participants are entitled to speak and the facilitator is listening; they also signal the kind of additional response that is wanted. These additional responses call for wider range, greater specificity and personal context, or further reflection on the wording or form of the statement. I argue that a forum does not extend consultation with the public just by removing institutional constraints to allow opinions to be spoken; it should also enable talk that would not otherwise have had an occasion to happen.
Complex advice acceptance as a resource for managing asymmetries
Authors: Waring Hansun Zhang 
Published: February 2007

AbstractHutchby (1995: 221) calls advice giving ‘an activity which assumes or establishes an asymmetry between the participants’. The problematic nature of such asymmetry has been convincingly demonstrated by conversation analysts, especially in contexts where advice is uninvited (e.g., Jeerson and Lee 1992). This study turns to a context where advice is expected, but due to competence concerns, asymmetry remains problematic. On the basis of a detailed analysis of 10 graduate peer tutoring sessions, I show how two complex advice acceptance methods can be used by the advice recipient to reconfigure the asymmetrical role relations into less asymmetrical ones: (i)
Presynaptic α-Synuclein Aggregates, Not Lewy Bodies, Cause Neurodegeneration in Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Authors: Kramer Michael L. , Schulz-Schaeffer Walter J. 
Published: February 2007

Lewy bodies, the pathological hallmark of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), are large juxtanuclear inclusions of aggregated α-synuclein. However, the small number of cortical Lewy bodies relative to the total neuron count does not correlate with the extent of cognitive impairment. In contrast to dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease, nerve cell loss is usually less prevalent in the cortex of DLB, suggesting a different mechanism of neurodegeneration.Because antibodies used for immunodetection per se do not generally differentiate the aggregated from the physiological and monomeric isoform of α-synuclein, we developed the paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) blot and the protein aggregate filtration (PAF) assay for the sensitive and selective detection of α-synuclein aggregates in tissue slides and brain homogenates, respectively.In contrast to common immunohistochemistry, the PET blot detected an enormous number of small α-synuclein aggregates, which, in contrast to the few Lewy bodies, may explain the cognitive impairment in DLB. Using the PAF assay, we demonstrate that the absolute majority of α-synuclein aggregates are located at presynaptic terminals, suggesting a severe pathological impact on synaptic function. Indeed, parallel to the massive presynaptic accumulation of α-synuclein aggregates, we observed significant synaptic pathology with almost complete loss of dendritic spines at the postsynaptic area.Our results provide strong evidence for a novel concept of neurodegeneration for DLB in which synaptic dysfunction is caused by presynaptic accumulation of α-synuclein aggregates. This concept may also be valid for Parkinson's disease.
Growth hormone-binding protein is directly and IGFBP-3 is inversely associated with risk of female breast cancer
Authors: Pazaitou-Panayiotou Kalliopi , Kelesidis Theodore , Kelesidis Iosif , Kaprara Athina , Blakeman Jennifer , Vainas Iraklis , Mpousoulegas Aris , Williams Catherine J , Mantzoros Christos 
Published: February 2007

Objective: Several components of the GH and IGF systems have been implicated in the development of malignancies. All components of these hormonal systems have never been jointly evaluated in female breast cancer, and previous studies have not examined the role of IGF-binding proteins (IGFBP-4, IGFBP-6) or GH-binding protein (GHBP).
Design: Hospital-based case–control study.
Methods: In this sample of primarily postmenopausal women, we obtained serum measures of IGF-I, IGF-II, and binding proteins IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-6, as well as GHBP, insulin, and leptin from 74 breast cancer cases and 76 control subjects.
Results: In crude analyses, we found lower age-standardized mean IGF-I, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-6, and higher IGFBP-1 and GHBP in breast cancer cases when compared with controls. Multivariate models mutually adjusted for other GH–IGF system components and classical breast cancer risk factors demonstrated an inverse association between IGFBP-3 and risk of breast cancer (odds ratio (OR) = 0.2, P < 0.01) and a direct association between GHBP and disease risk (OR = 3.3, P < 0.01). No significant associations were detected in multivariate analyses among IGF-I, IGF-II or IGFBP-1, IGFBP-4, IGFBP-6 with risk of breast cancer, indicating that these factors may not have effects independent of and/or comparable with IGFBP-3 and GHBP.
Conclusions: These results support a protective role of IGFBP-3 and demonstrate for the first time an increased risk of breast cancer with higher GHBP, after accounting for variation in IGFs, IGFBPs, and classical breast cancer risk factors.
Functional characterization of naturally occurring NR3C2 gene mutations in Italian patients suffering from pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1
Authors: Balsamo Antonio , Cicognani Alessandro , Gennari Monia , Sippell Wolfgang G , Menabò Soara , Baronio Federico , Riepe Felix G 
Published: February 2007

Objective: The renal form of pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (PHA1) is a rare disease caused by mutations in the human mineralocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C2).
Design: Aim of the study was to analyze the NR3C2 gene in three Italian patients with clinical signs of renal PHA1 and to evaluate the distribution of the -2G > C, c.538A > G, and c.722C > T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) pattern in the PHA1 patients and in 90 controls of the same ethnic origin.
Methods: Analysis of the NR3C2 gene sequence and of the polymorphic SNP markers. Functional characterization of the detected novel NR3C2 mutations utilizing aldosterone-binding assays and reporter gene transactivation assays.
Results: One novel nonsense (Y134X) and one novel frameshift (2125delA) mutation were detected. They exhibited no aldosterone binding and no transactivation abilities. No mutation was detected in the third patient. Haploinsufficiency of NR3C2 was ruled out by microsatellite analysis in this patient. The c.722T SNP was detected in 97% of alleles in the Italian population which is significantly different from the general German or US population.
Conclusions: Molecular analysis of the NR3C2 gene in PHA1 patients is warranted to detect novel mutations in order to clarify the underlying genetic cause, which may extend the insight into relevant functional regions of the hMR protein. The effect the different distribution of the c.722T SNP is not clear to date. Further studies are necessary to provide evidence as to a possible advantage of a less sensitive hMR in southern countries.
The usefulness of combined biochemical tests in the diagnosis of Cushing’s disease with negative pituitary magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Testa R M , Albiger N , Occhi G , Sanguin F , Scanarini M , Berlucchi S , Gardiman M P , Carollo C , Mantero F , Scaroni C 
Published: February 2007

Objective: The etiological diagnosis of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome is often a problem. In fact, no endocrine or radiological examination can conclusively distinguish the ectopic from the pituitary source of disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of stimulation and suppression endocrine tests in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) and negative pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), considering their post-surgical outcome in comparison with patients with CD and positive MRI.
Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 31 patients (25 women and 6 men, median age 40 ± 15 years) with a confirmed diagnosis of CD who underwent transsphenoidal pituitary surgery by the same neurosurgeon between 2001 and 2005. Preoperative endocrine assessment included corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), desmopressin (dDAVP), and overnight 8 mg dexamethasone suppression tests (8-DST) in all patients. Fifteen patients had a normal pituitary MRI and sixteen had a clearly evident pituitary microadenoma. Bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) was performed in patients with discordant biochemical results or with signs and symptoms highly suggestive of an ectopic source of ACTH. Post-surgical median follow-up was 38.4 ± 22.0 months.
Results: Among patients with negative MRI, 60% had concordant positive endocrine tests and underwent neurosurgery without other examinations. BIPSS was performed in three other patients prompted by discordant endocrine tests (negative dDAVP) and in two patients with clinical suspicion of ectopic disease. Among patients with positive MRI, 87% underwent neurosurgery without BIPSS that was performed in two patients because of negative concomitant response to dDAVP and CRH tests. A pituitary adenoma, confirmed by pathological examination, was found in 40 and 81% of patients with negative and positive MRI respectively (P<0.05), corticotroph hyperplasia resulted more frequent in the group with negative MRI. Remission rate was not different between patients with negative and positive MRI (73 and 75% respectively; P=0.61) and between patients with negative MRI who did not undergo BIPSS and patients with positive MRI (P=0.56). The recurrence rate was also similar between groups (P=0.64), but higher, although not statistically different (P=0.07) in patients with corticotroph hyperplasia at histology.
Conclusions: An accurate evaluation of presurgical endocrine tests results enabled us to reduce the number of BIPSS in patients with a negative MRI without any fallout on their post-surgical outcome. In the hands of an expert pituitary surgeon, the outcome after surgeryand the subsequent recurrence rate are much the same in patients with negative or positive MRI.
Plasma resistin levels correlate with determinants of the metabolic syndrome
Authors: Norata G D , Ongari M , Garlaschelli K , Raselli S , Grigore L , Catapano A L 
Published: February 2007

Objective: The role of resistin in insulin sensitivity and obesity is controversial. Some authors suggest that increased serum resistin levels are associated with obesity, visceral fat, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and inflammation, while others failed to observe such correlations. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of plasma resistin levels with markers of the metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis in a large population-based study.
Design and patients: Plasma resistin levels were determined in 1090 subjects free of any medication selected from the PLIC study (designed to verify the presence of atherosclerotic lesions and progression intima-media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery in the general population) and related to the presence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, metabolic abnormalities, cardiovascular risk, and progression of IMT.
Results: Plasma resistin levels were highly positively correlated with triglycerides, waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, and ApoAI/ApoB ratio, while they were inversely correlated with high density lipoprotein and ApoAI levels. This finding was gender specific (mainly in women). Plasma resistin levels were significantly higher in women with the metabolic syndrome compared with controls (4.90 (0.24) ng/ml vs 3.90 (0.11) ng/ml; P<0.01), while no difference was observed in obese subjects. Finally, plasma resistin levels were significantlycorrelated with cardiovascular risk calculated according to the Framingham algorithm (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Plasma resistin levels are increased in presence of the metabolic syndrome and are associated with increased cardiovascular risk.
Intra‐Cultivar Variation for Seed Weight and Other Agronomic Traits within Three Elite Soybean Cultivars
Authors: Fasoula Vasilia A. , Boerma H. Roger 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTDespite its importance, exploitation of intra‐cultivar variation has been very limited due to the belief that elite cultivars are highly homogeneous. The main objective of this study was to investigate the presence of exploitable intra‐cultivar variation for seed weight, maturity, and other agronomic traits within elite soybean cultivars released for their superior productivity and resistance to various diseases. Single‐plant progeny lines, selected at very low plant density from within these cultivars, were evaluated for seed weight, maturity, plant height, lodging, and seed yield in row‐plot replicated randomized complete block designs across years. For seed weight, the magnitude of intra‐cultivar variation across years between the largest‐ and the smallest‐seeded lines averaged 36 mg seed−1 for Benning, 22 mg seed−1 for Cook, and 45 mg seed−1 for Haskell. For maturity, the magnitude of intra‐cultivar variation was 5 d in Benning, 4 d in Cook, and 7 d in Haskell. Furthermore, we discovered intra‐cultivar variation for plant height within Cook and Haskell, and for lodging within Haskell. This study is the first one to report evidence of significant intra‐cultivar variation for seed weight, maturity, plant height, and lodging within soybean cultivars. The results suggest that cultivars may not be permanent records with nonexistent variation but genetic material that can be upgraded to maintain uniformity in the long term and further improve desirable agronomic or seed‐trait characteristics.
Combining Ability of Waterlogging Tolerance in Barley
Authors: Zhou M. X. , Li H. B. , Mendham N. J. 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTWaterlogging tolerance is one of the major objectives in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding programs. To make the selection more efficient, an understanding of the genetic behavior of waterlogging tolerance in barley is needed. For this purpose, a 6 by 6 half diallel analysis was conducted in barley from crosses of three waterlogging tolerant Chinese cultivars and three susceptible Australian or Japanese cultivars. The waterlogging treatment was imposed starting from the three‐leaf stage. The percentage of yellow leaf was recorded after waterlogging treatment. The diallel analysis was conducted according to Griffing. Three Chinese cultivars showed significantly higher general combining ability (GCA) for waterlogging tolerance while the variance of specific combining ability (SCA) was not significant, indicating that the tolerance was mainly controlled by additive effects. High heritability (h2B = h2N = 0.73) of waterlogging tolerance indicated that selection in early generations could be very efficient. When selections are made in a segregating population, the most effective selection strategy is to discard the plants with severe leaf chlorosis.
A Comparison of Hydroponics, Soil, and Root Staining Methods for Evaluation of Aluminum Tolerance in Medicago truncatula (Barrel Medic) Germplasm
Authors: Narasimhamoorthy B. , Blancaflor E. B. , Bouton J. H. , Payton M. E. , Sledge M. K. 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTAluminum toxicity and soil acidity are major constraints in alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. sativa) production in the world. Despite intense research efforts, neither an effective screening procedure nor an Al‐tolerant alfalfa germplasm is available. This dictates the need for identifying a new source of Al‐tolerant genes in the closely related species M. truncatula (barrel medic). Our objectives were to compare three Al tolerance screening methods: (i) a seedling‐based hydroponics method, (ii) a soil‐based plant method, and (iii) an Al‐stressed seedling‐based lumogallion root staining method in 32 M. truncatula accessions. The soil system compared the genotypes for dry root and shoot weights in unlimed soil and for relative weights. The lumogallion root staining of Al‐stressed seedlings compared the genotypes for fluorescence intensity of Al‐bound lumogallion within the root tips. In the hydroponics system, the genotypes were compared for root elongation and relative growth. The three methods were different from each other, with altered rankings for genotypes across the methods. The soil assay demonstrated a higher capacity for discriminating Al response among genotypes with a higher reproducibility. Most of the genotypes that were Al‐tolerant in soil were also Al‐tolerant using the hydroponics and root staining methods. The results suggested that a combination of soil‐based and hydroponics screening might be essential to identify Al‐tolerant genotypes possessing multiple Al tolerance mechanisms.
Changes in Spectral Characteristics of Rice Canopy Infested with Brown Planthopper and Leaffolder
Authors: Yang Chwen-Ming , Cheng Ching-Huan , Chen Rong-Kuen 
Published: February 2007

ABSTRACTPotted experiments of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants were conducted to produce various scales of brown planthopper [Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), Homoptera:Delphacidae] and leaffolder [Cnaphalocrosis medinalis Guenee (Lep., Pyralidae)] infestations, respectively, for canopy hyperspectral reflectance measurements, and then to identify spectral characteristics (SCs) associated with insect infestations leading to the establishment of spectral models for severity assessment. By linear correlation intensity analysis, correlation coefficients (r) along the spectral domain of 350 to 2400 nm were determined and narrow bands related to infestation severity were selected as SCs. The reflectance at green light (490–560 nm) maximum (RGREEN), red light (640–740 nm) minimum (RRED), and near‐infrared (740–1300 nm) peak (RNIR) were also considered. For canopies infested with brown planthopper, r value at 426 nm was the highest (r = 0.878**). Among the calculated spectral indices using two SCs, the determination coefficient of RNIR/RRED ratio was the highest (R2 = 0.922, P < 0.001). For leaffolder infested canopies, the most negative r value located at 757 nm (r = −0.613*) in active tillering stage but shifted to 445 nm (r = −0.928**) in heading stage. The index RNIR − RRED in the active tillering increased R2 value to 0.422 (P < 0.001), while no increase in R2 was found in the examined SIs in heading stage. Models with more than two SCs yielded from multiple linear regression analysis exhibited a further improvement for discriminating infestation severity.