bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
THE JOINT EFFECTS OF BUDGETARY SLACK AND TASK UNCERTAINTY ON SUBUNIT PERFORMANCE
Authors: Dunk Alan S. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractEven though managers may build slack into their budgets to enhance their prospects for reward, the literature proposes that there may be circumstances when budgetary slack may be utilized by subunits to provide them with a degree of flexibility in responding effectively to changes in operating conditions. This suggests that the use to which budgetary slack is put, in contrast to any dysfunctional reason for its creation, may have implications for subunit performance particularly when task uncertainty is high. A theory was developed and an empirical assessment was conducted to evaluate whether slack moderates the relation between task uncertainty and subunit performance, paying specific attention to the effects of the task difficulty and task variability dimensions of task uncertainty. The results of the study suggest that slack has a positive role to play in Influencing the relation between task difficulty and subunit performance. There was no evidence, however, that slack and task variability jointly influence performance.
RESPONSE OF FINANCIAL MARKETS TO ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE
Authors: Singh Ranjit Ajit 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper documents the response of exchange rates, interest rates and stock prices to monthly announcements of the Australian current account balance. Survey data on market participants' expectations and forecasts generated from ARIMA time series models are used to identify the unexpected component of the announcements. The study also controls for day‐of‐the‐week effects that have been documented in the Australian equity market The results support the efficient market hypothesis and show a significant depreciation of the Australian dollar in foreign exchange markets and a significant rise in both short‐ and long‐term interest rates to announcements of larger than expected current account deficits. The study was, however, unable to find evidence of a significant stock price response to the current account announcements.
WHAT MOTIVATES GOING PRIVATE?: AN ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIAN FIRMS
Authors: Eddey Peter H. , Lee Kin Wai , Taylor Stephen L. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWe investigate going private transactions in Australia between 1988 and 1991. Approximately ten percent of all takeovers during this period are instances of going private. In contrast to studies of similar transactions in the United States, we find no direct evidence to support a free cash flow explanation for going private, although going private is frequently preceded by the threat of a takeover offer. However, the free cash flow explanation for going private may not be applicable in Pacific Basin countries where exchange‐traded investment activity is in relatively high growth sectors and foreign ownership accounts for a large part of those investment sectors where managerial abuse of free cash flow has been alleged.
REGIME‐SWITCHING IN AUSTRALIAN SHORT‐TERM INTEREST RATES
Authors: Gray Stephen F. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper applies a generalized regime‐switching (GRS) model of the short‐term interest rate to Australian data. The model allows the short rate to exhibit both mean reversion and conditional heteroscedasticity and nests the popular generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) and regime‐switching specifications. It is shown that empirical estimates of many popular interest rate models provide curious results which imply that innovations to the short rate process are extremely persistent, and that the short rate is potentially non‐stationary. The source of these curious results, which are also present in US and European interest rates, is identified in the context of the GRS model, which is shown, via specification and forecasting tests, to capture the features of Australian short‐term interest rate data better than existing models. The stochastic process of short‐term interest rates in Australia is compared with evidence from the US and Europe, highlighting a number of important differences.
THE EMPIRICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRADING VOLUME, RETURNS AND VOLATILITY
Authors: Brailsford Timothy J. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between trading volume, returns and volatility in the Australian stock market. The initial analysis centres upon the volume‐price change relationship. The relationship between trading volume and returns, irrespective of the direction of the price change, is significant across three alternative measures of daily trading volume for the aggregate market. This finding also provides basic support for a positive relationship between trading volume and volatility. Furthermore, evidence is found supporting the hypothesis that the volume‐price change slope for negative returns is smaller than the slope for non‐negative returns, thereby supporting an asymmetric relationship which is hypothesised to exist because of differential costs of taking long and short positions. Analysis at the individual stock level shows weaker support for the relationship. A second related hypothesis is tested in which the formation of returns is conditional upon information arrival which similarly affects trading volume. The hypothesis is tested by using the US overnight return to proxy for expected “news” and trading volume to proxy for news arrival during the day. The results show a reduction in the significance and magnitude of persistence in volatility and hence are consistent with explaining non‐normality in returns (and ARCH effects) through the rate of arrival of information. The findings in this paper help explain how returns are generated and have implications for inferring return behaviour from trading volume data.
Judgements of significant influence by financial controllers
Authors: Laswad Fawzi , Roush Melvin 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis study examines the judgement processes of New Zealand financial controllers when determining whether an investor is capable of exercising significant influence over an investee. The results of this study provide evidence that the “20% interest” threshold is the most important factor in these judgement processes. Further, the results indicate a high degree of inter‐subject consensus and intra‐subject consistency and self‐insight which could be attributed to the high weight given to the “20% interest” threshold. Although the “20% interest” threshold is often criticised for being arbitrary, the results of this study suggest that the use of this cut‐off as a judgement cue may help achieve greater consistency and comparability in financial reporting.
Information transfer, microstmctures and intraday price return spikes
Authors: Hodgson Allan 
Published: February 2009

AbstractPrevious research has identified overnight public information as the cause of higher opening returns and mean reversion in security markets. This paper tests this hypothesis by using an intervention and transfer function time series model to filter out the dynamic effects of an overnight information set on the opening, and subsequent, intraday AOI stock and SPI futures intraday price returns. A further research objective was to analyse the process by which information is transferred into prices and whether there is a differential impact across stock and futures markets. It was determined that the information contained in the overnight US stock market had: (i) a differential impact on the Australian stock and futures market, and (ii) after filtering out the impact of overnight information, a significant reversal tendency remained in both markets after opening. Further analysis supported the conclusion that price spikes at opening were not wholly related to overnight information. Other possible explanations, such as different trading mechanisms, did not provide a satisfactory explanation. Overall, it appears that the uncertainty participants face at the beginning of a trading session may induce a number of subtle market reactions (both rational and irrational), in markets with different microstmctures and trading clientele.
Performance in first year university accounting: Quantifying the advantage of secondary school accounting
Authors: Rohde Fiona H. , Kavanagh Marie 
Published: February 2009

AbstractConsiderable research has been conducted into the relation between students' level of previous accounting knowledge and their subsequent performance in first year university‐level accounting. This study considers variables for academic performance and previous accounting knowledge in an attempt to quantify the advantage that high school accounting gives students entering tertiary business courses. The results indicate that for students entering tertiary courses with similar academic ability, i.e., obtained the same entrance score, the first year tertiary accounting result obtained by a student who studied accounting previously is between one and two grades higher than that of a student who did not study accounting at high school.
The association of aggregate and disaggregated earnings with annual stock returns
Authors: Chia Y.K. , Czernkowski R. , Loftus J. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis study compares aggregate earnings and disaggregated earnings (cash from operations, current accruals and non‐current accruals) in terms of their associations with stock returns. A cross‐sectional approach is adopted using Australian data over a six‐year period. This analysis is undertaken for two different models of the relation between earnings and returns: one model relating returns to the magnitude of earnings, and the other relating returns to the combination of levels of, and changes in, earnings. In each model, the disaggregated regression is generally a superior explanator of stock returns, implying that disaggregated earnings provides richer information about firm performance, in a purely statistical sense, than aggregate earnings. Thus, disaggregated earnings are more informative, even in the most simple of comparison modes, linear regression.
The impact of library services in primary care trusts in NHS North West England: a large‐scale retrospective quantitative study of online resource usage in relation to types of service
Authors: Bell Katherine , Glover Steven William , Brodie Colin , Roberts Anne , Gleghorn Colette 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground:  Within NHS North West England there are 24 primary care trusts (PCTs), all with access to different types of library services. This study aims to evaluate the impact the type of library service has on online resource usage.Methodology:  We conducted a large‐scale retrospective quantitative study across all PCT staff in NHS NW England using Athens sessions log data. We studied the Athens log usage of 30 381 staff, with 8273 active Athens accounts and 100 599 sessions from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2007.Results:  In 2007, PCTs with outreach librarians achieved 43% penetration of staff with active Athens accounts compared with PCTs with their own library service (28.23%); PCTs with service level agreements (SLAs) with acute hospital library services (22.5%) and with no library service (19.68%). This pattern was also observed when we looked at the average number of Athens user sessions per person, and usage of Dialog Datastar databases and Proquest full text journal collections.Discussion:  Our findings have shown a correlation of e‐resource usage and type of library service. Outreach librarians have proved to be an efficient model for promoting and driving up resources usage. PCTs with no library service have shown the lowest level of resource usage.
A negative trend of biomedical research in Libya: a bibliometric study
Authors: Benamer Hani T. S. , Bredan Amin , Bakoush Omran 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground:  It is well established that Libya is lagging behind its peers in biomedical research. The aim of this study is to analyse all the original biomedical publications affiliated with Libya from 1973 to 2007.Methods:  PubMed and the Science Citation Index Expanded were searched for ‘original research’ biomedical studies affiliated with Libya. The generated data were hand searched and 329 ‘original research’ studies were included in the analysis.Results:  The first study was published in 1973. Publication rate peaked to an average of 15.2 studies per year during 1986–1996 and dropped to an average of 8.8 studies per year during 1997–2007. Of 166 first authors; 41% were Libyans and 59% were expatriates. The latter contributed 104 studies between 1986 and 1996 and 36 studies between 1997 and 2007, while the Libyans contributed 63 and 61 studies in the two respective periods. Authors affiliated with Benghazi produced 67% of the published studies, while authors from Tripoli produced 30% and other medical schools, hospitals and research centres from other Libyan cities produced only 3%.Conclusion:  This study showed a decline in biomedical research publication in Libya. We propose that the lack of a research culture among the Libyan medical professionals is one of the factors contributing to this decline, which coincided with the departure of expatriate doctors from Libya. Raising awareness of the importance of research and improving research skills among Libyan medical professionals may help to reverse the current trend.
Beyond relevance and recall: testing new user‐centred measures of database performance
Authors: Stokes Peter , Foster Allen , Urquhart Christine 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground:  Measures of the effectiveness of databases have traditionally focused on recall, precision, with some debate on how relevance can be assessed, and by whom. New measures of database performance are required when users are familiar with search engines, and expect full text availability.Objectives:  This research ascertained which of four bibliographic databases (bni, cinahl, medline and embase) could be considered most useful to nursing and midwifery students searching for information for an undergraduate dissertation.Methods:  Searches on title were performed for dissertation topics supplied by nursing students (n = 9), who made the relevance judgements. Measures of recall and precision were combined with additional factors to provide measures of effectiveness, while efficiency combined measures of novelty and originality and accessibility combined measures for availability and retrievability, based on obtainability.Results:  There were significant differences among the databases in precision, originality and availability, but other differences were not significant (Friedman test). Odds ratio tests indicated that bni, followed by cinahl were the most effective, cinahl the most efficient, and bni the most accessible.Conclusions:  The methodology could help library services in purchase decisions as the measure for accessibility, and odds ratio testing helped to differentiate database performance.
Consistency and accuracy of indexing systematic review articles and meta‐analyses in medline
Authors: Wilczynski Nancy L. , Haynes R. Brian 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground:  Systematic review articles support the advance of science and translation of research evidence into healthcare practice. Inaccurate retrieval from medline could limit access to reviews.Objective:  To determine the quality of indexing systematic reviews and meta‐analyses in medline.Methods:  The Clinical Hedges Database, containing the results of a hand search of 161 journals, was used to test medline indexing terms for their ability to retrieve systematic reviews that met predefined methodologic criteria (labelled as ‘pass’ review articles) and reviews that reported a meta‐analysis.Results:  The Clinical Hedges Database contained 49 028 articles; 753 were ‘pass’ review articles (552 with a meta‐analysis). In total 758 review articles (independent of whether they passed) reported a meta‐analysis. The search strategy that retrieved the highest number of ‘pass’ systematic reviews achieved a sensitivity of 97.1%. The publication type ‘meta analysis’ had a false positive rate of 5.6% (95% CI 3.9 to 7.6), and false negative rate of 0.31% (95% CI 0.26 to 0.36) for retrieving systematic reviews that reported a meta‐analysis.Conclusions:  Inaccuracies in indexing systematic reviews and meta‐analyses in medline can be partly overcome by a 5‐term search strategy. Introducing a publication type for systematic reviews of the literature could improve retrieval performance.
25‐hydroxycholesterol provokes oligodendrocyte cell line apoptosis and stimulates the secreted phospholipase A2 type IIA via LXR beta and PXR
Authors: Trousson Amalia , Bernard Sophie , Petit Patrice X. , Liere Philippe , Pianos Antoine , El Hadri Khadija , Lobaccaro Jean‐Marc A. , Said Ghandour M. , Raymondjean Michel , Schumacher Michael , Massaad Charbel 
Published: February 2009

AbstractIn several neurodegenerative diseases of the CNS, oligodendrocytes are implicated in an inflammatory process associated with altered levels of oxysterols and inflammatory enzymes such as secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2). In view of the scarce literature related to this topic, we investigated oxysterol effects on these myelinating glial cells. Natural oxysterol 25‐hydroxycholesterol (25‐OH; 1 and 10 μM) altered oligodendrocyte cell line (158N) morphology and triggered apoptosis (75% of apoptosis after 72 h). These effects were mimicked by 22(S)‐OH (1 and 10 μM) which does not activate liver X receptor (LXR) but not by a synthetic LXR ligand (T0901317). Therefore, oxysterol‐induced apoptosis appears to be independent of LXR. Interestingly, sPLA2 type IIA (sPLA2‐IIA) over‐expression partially rescued 158N cells from oxysterol‐induced apoptosis. In fact, 25‐OH, 24(S)‐OH, and T0901317 stimulated sPLA2‐IIA promoter and sPLA2 activity in oligodendrocyte cell line. Accordingly, administration of T0901317 to mice enhanced sPLA2 activity in brain extracts by twofold. Short interfering RNA strategy allowed to establish that stimulation of sPLA2‐IIA is mediated by pregnane X receptor (PXR) at high oxysterol concentration (10 μM) and by LXR β at basal oxysterol concentration. Finally, GC coupled to mass spectrometry established that oligodendrocytes contain oxysterols and express their biosynthetic enzymes, suggesting that they may act through autocrine/paracrine mechanism. Our results show the diversity of oxysterol signalling in the CNS and highlight the positive effects of the LXR/PXR pathway which may open new perspectives in the treatment of demyelinating and neurodegenerative diseases.
A functional link between T‐type calcium channels and μ‐opioid receptor expression in adult primary sensory neurons
Authors: Wu Zi‐Zhen , Cai You‐Qing , Pan Hui‐Lin 
Published: February 2009

J. Neurochem. (2009)109, 867–878.AbstractThe μ‐opioid receptor agonists have a preferential effect on nociception in adults but their analgesic effect is less selective in neonates. Here we presented our finding that the μ‐opioid receptor agonists had no effect on high voltage‐activated Ca2+channels (HVACCs) in adult dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons that exhibited a prominent T‐type Ca2+current. We also determined the mechanisms underlying the μ‐opioid agonists’ lack of effect on HVACCs in these neurons. The μ‐opioid agonist [d‐Ala2,N‐Me‐Phe4,Gly‐ol5]‐enkephalin (DAMGO), morphine, and morphine 6‐β‐D‐glucuronide had no effect on either T‐type or HVACC currents despite the presence of a large N‐type Ca2+current in neurons with T‐type Ca2+currents. DAMGO still had no effect on HVACC currents when T‐type Ca2+channels were blocked in these neurons. However, intracellular dialysis of GTP‐γ‐S to activate G proteins significantly attenuated HVACC currents. DRG neurons with T‐type Ca2+currents showed little responses to capsaicin. Single‐cell RT‐PCR analysis revealed that the μ‐opioid receptor mRNA was present only in adult DRG neurons lacking prominent T‐type Ca2+currents. In the neonatal DRG, DAMGO inhibited HVACC currents in 31% neurons with T‐type Ca2+currents. The μ‐opioid receptor mRNA was detected in all neurons without T‐type Ca2+currents and also in 28.6% of neurons with T‐type Ca2+currents in the neonatal DRG. Our study provides novel information that adult DRG neurons with prominent T‐type Ca2+currents do not express μ‐opioid receptors. Expression of T‐type Ca2+(CaV3.2) channels and μ‐opioid receptors may be developmentally co‐regulated as some DRG neurons differentiate toward becoming nociceptive neurons.
Investigation of PK–PD drug–drug interaction between acenocoumarol and amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid
Authors: Delavenne X. , Laporte S. , Demasles S. , Mallouk N. , Basset T. , Tod M. , Girard P. , Mismetti P. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractA pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic (PK–PD) drug–drug interaction between acenocoumarol and amoxicillin + clavulanic acid antibiotic was assessed in eight healthy volunteers, using a population PK–PD) model. Each subject received at day 1 a single dose of 8 mg of acenocoumarol. Then 1 g of amoxicillin + 250 mg of clavulanic acid was given from days 3 to 9. On day 8, each subject received a single dose of 8 mg of acenocoumarol concomitantly with the antibiotic combination. Eleven blood samples were taken during 48 h following each acenocoumarol administration. Acenocoumarol plasma concentrations and prothrombin time were measured at each sampling time. We first identified the structural PK model by pooling data from this trial with individual data from other acenocoumarol PK trials. An indirect response model was used to fit PD data. Models were built using a non‐linear mixed effect modelling approach with nonmem software. Covariates were tested on PK and PD parameters, including antibiotic treatment. Acenocoumarol PK data were fitted by a two‐compartment, first‐order input model with log normal inter‐individual variability. Weight and antibiotic treatment were found to improve significantly the fit of PK data with a 15% decrease in acenocoumarol clearance with concomitant antibiotics (P < 0.05). An indirect response model was successfully applied to the PK–PD data of acenocoumarol. No covariate, including antibiotic treatment effect, significantly affected PT. Drug–drug interaction was demonstrated at the PK level, without any PD corollary.
Impact of Acacia auriculiformis on the chemical fertility of sandy soils on the Batéké plateau, D.R. Congo
Authors: Kasongo R. K. , Van Ranst E. , Verdoodt A. , Kanyankagote P. , Baert G. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractA 17‐year chronosequence of Acacia auriculiformis fallows on Arenosols of the Batéké Plateau (D.R. Congo) was surveyed and compared with virgin savannah soils to assess chemical soil fertility changes induced by these N‐fixing trees. Significant increases in organic carbon content, total nitrogen content, cation exchange capacity and sum of base cations were found after relatively short fallow periods of only 4 years and did not only affect the forest floor, but extended to at least 50 cm depth. The Acacia act as a major source of organic matter (OM), hence increasing organic carbon and nitrogen content and decreasing the C/N ratio. The increased OM content suggests that humification processes are the main cause of the significant decrease in pH. Total exchangeable cations initially increased slowly but doubled (topsoil 0–25 cm) and tripled (subsoil 25–50 cm) after 10 years. The point of zero net proton charge was systematically lower than soil pH and decreased with increasing OM content, thereby increasing the cation exchange capacity, although concurrent acidification retarded a significant beneficial impact at field pH on Acacia fallows of 10 years and older. Although the chemical soil fertility improves steadily with time, after 8 years of Acacia fallow the absolute amounts of available nutrients are still small and slash and burn practices are required to liberate the nutrients stored in the remaining biomass and litter before each new cropping period.