bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Phytanic Acid Accumulation Is Associated with Conduction Delay and Sudden Cardiac Death in Sterol Carrier Protein‐2/Sterol Carrier Protein‐x Deficient Mice
Authors: MÖNNIG GEROLD , WIEKOWSKI JOHANNES , KIRCHHOF PAULUS , STYPMANN JÖRG , PLENZ GABRIELE , FABRITZ LARISSA , BRUNS HANS‐JÜRGEN , ECKARDT LARS , ASSMANN GERD , HAVERKAMP WILHELM , BREITHARDT GÜNTER , SEEDORF UDO 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: The sterol carrier protein‐2 gene encodes two functionally distinct proteins: sterol carrier protein‐2 (SCP2, a peroxisomal lipid carrier) and sterol carrier protein‐x (SCPx, a peroxisomal thiolase known as peroxisomal thiolase‐2), which is involved in peroxisomal metabolism of bile acids and branched‐chain fatty acids. We show in this study that mice deficient in SCP2 and SCPx (SCP2null) develop a cardiac phenotype leading to a high sudden cardiac death rate if mice are maintained on diets enriched for phytol (a metabolic precursor of branched‐chain fatty acids). Methods and Results: In 210 surface and 305 telemetric ECGs recorded in wild‐type (C57BL/6; wt; n = 40) and SCP2 null mice (n = 40), no difference was observed at baseline. However, on diet, cycle lengths were prolonged in SCP2 null mice (262.9 ± 190 vs 146.3 ± 43 msec), AV conduction was prolonged (58.3 ± 17 vs 42.6 ± 4 ms), and QRS complexes were wider (19.1 ± 5 vs 14.0 ± 4 ms). In 11 gene‐targeted Langendorff‐perfused hearts isolated from SCP2 null mice after dietary challenge, complete AV blocks (n = 5/11) or impaired AV conduction (Wenckebach point 132 ± 27 vs 92 ± 10 msec; P < 0.05) could be confirmed. Monophasic action potentials were not different between the two genotypes. Left ventricular function studied by echocardiography was similar in both strains. Phytanic acid but not pristanic acid accumulated in the phospholipid fraction of myocardial membranes isolated from SCP2 null mice. Conclusion: Accumulation of phytanic acid in myocardial phospholipid membranes is associated with bradycardia and impaired AV nodal and intraventricular impulse conduction, which could provide an explanation for sudden cardiac death in this model.
Mechanism for ST Depression Associated with Contiguous Subendocardial Ischemia
Authors: HOPENFELD BRUCE , STINSTRA JEROEN G. , MACLEOD ROB S. 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: A mechanism for ST depression arising on the epicardial surface over the border between normal and ischemic tissue is proposed. Depression is caused by current flowing in a transmural loop that begins and ends at the lateral boundary between healthy and ischemic tissue and passes through the transmural boundary between healthy and ischemic tissue. The result is ST depression at the epicardium over the lateral boundary. The size and direction of current flow are dictated by differences in the magnitude and orientation of anisotropic conductivity between those boundaries. Methods and Results: Computer simulations verified and quantified the relationship between ST depression and conductivity differences. We used computer simulations based on an anatomically accurate, anisotropic model of canine ventricles and a bidomain representation of the effects of ischemia to verify the biophysical basis of this mechanism. Conclusion: ST depression at the epicardium appears over a lateral boundary between healthy and ischemic tissue.
High‐Density Mapping of Left Atrial Endocardial Activation During Sinus Rhythm and Coronary Sinus Pacing in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: BETTS TIMOTHY R. , ROBERTS PAUL R. , MORGAN JOHN M. 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: This study was designed to record global high‐density maps of left atrial endocardial activation during sinus rhythm and coronary sinus pacing. Method and Results: Noncontact mapping of the left atrium was performed in nine patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation undergoing pulmonary vein ablation procedures. High‐density isopotential and isochronal activation maps were superimposed on three‐dimensional reconstructions of left atrial geometry. Mapping was repeated during pacing from sites within the coronary sinus. Earliest left atrial endocardial activation occurred anterior to the right pulmonary veins in seven patients and on the anterosuperior septum in two patients. A line of conduction block was seen in the posterior wall and inferior septum in all patients. The direction of activation in the left atrial myocardium overlying the coronary sinus was different from the electrogram sequence in the coronary sinus catheter in 6 of 9 patients. During coronary sinus pacing, activation entered the left atrium a mean (SD) of 41 (13) ms after the pacing stimulus at a site 12 (10) mm from the endocardium overlying the pacing electrode. Lines of conduction block were present in the posterior wall and inferior septum. Conclusion: In patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, lines of conduction block are present in the left atrium during sinus rhythm and coronary sinus pacing. Electrograms recorded in the coronary sinus infrequently correspond to the direction of activation in the overlying left atrial myocardium.
Incidence and Risk Factors of Early Venous Thrombosis Associated with Permanent Pacemaker Leads
Authors: VAN ROODEN CORNELIS J. , MOLHOEK SANDER G. , ROSENDAAL FRITS R. , SCHALIJ MARTIN J. , MEINDERS A. EDO , HUISMAN MENNO V. 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: Pacemaker lead implantation can cause thrombosis, which can be associated with serious local morbidity and complicated by pulmonary embolism. Few reliable estimates of the incidence of thrombosis have been reported. The contribution of established risk factors to venous thrombosis in patients with implanted pacemaker leads is unknown. Methods and Results: One hundred forty‐five consecutive patients n = 145) underwent routine clinical and Doppler ultrasound evaluation for thrombosis before and 3, 6, and 12 months after lead implantation. Established risk factors for venous thrombosis were assessed in detail for all patients. Clinical outcome, including clinically manifest thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, associated pacemaker lead infection, complicated reinterventions, and death, was evaluated. Thrombosis was observed in 34 (23%) of 145 patients. Thrombosis did not cause any signs or symptoms in 31 patients but resulted in overt clinical symptoms in 3 patients. The absence of anticoagulant therapy, use of hormone therapy, and a personal history of venous thrombosis were associated with an increased risk of thrombosis. The risk of thrombosis increased in the presence of multiple pacemaker leads compared to a single lead. Conclusion: Established risk factors for venous thrombosis and the presence of multiple pacemaker leads contribute substantially to the occurrence of thrombosis associated with permanent pacemaker leads. Risk factor assessment prior to implantation may be useful for identifying patients at risk for thrombotic complications. Preventive management in these patients is warranted.
Pattern of Isthmus Conduction Recovery Using Open Cooled and Solid Large‐Tip Catheters for Radiofrequency Ablation of Typical Atrial Flutter
Authors: VENTURA RODOLFO , KLEMM HANNO , LUTOMSKY BORIS , DEMIR CAGRI , ROSTOCK THOMAS , WEISS CHRISTIAN , MEINERTZ THOMAS , WILLEMS STEPHAN 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: Open cooled‐tip and solid 8‐mm‐tip catheters have demonstrated safety and effectiveness for radiofrequency current (RFC) ablation of typical atrial flutter (AFL). However, data from prospective and randomized studies in this setting are lacking. Methods and Results: One hundred thirty consecutive patients (104 men; 61 ± 11 years) with AFL were randomized to undergo RFC catheter ablation either using a solid 8‐mm‐tip catheter (group A, 65°C, 70 W, 60 s) or an open irrigated‐tip catheter (group B, 65°C, 50 W, 60 s, 17 mL/min flow). Endpoint was bidirectional conduction isthmus block. In cases of repeated (two times) transient isthmus block, the catheter was changed (crossed over) to the catheter used in the other randomization arm, but patients remained in the original group following intention‐to‐treat analysis. The selected endpoint could be achieved in all patients after 12 ± 6 RFC pulses in group A and 10 ± 7 RFC pulses in group B (P = 0.11). Procedure times were longer (159 ± 38 min vs 138 ± 37 min, P = 0.002) and x‐ray exposures higher in group A (fluoroscopy time 25 ± 17 min vs 21 ± 10 min, P = 0.08; x‐ray dosage 3,133 ± 2,576 cGy·cm2 vs 2,326 ± 1,405 cGy·cm2, P = 0.03). Transient isthmus block was observed in 23 group A patients and 12 group B patients (P = 0.03). Onset time of transient isthmus block ranged from 0.5 to 27 minutes. Repeated transient isthmus block occurred in 8 of the 23 patients in group A after 19 ± 3 RFC applications. After crossover to the cooled‐tip catheter, the endpoint was reached another 5 ± 1 RFC pulses. In group B, all patients could be treated without change of ablation catheter. After a follow‐up of 14 ± 2 months, 2 patients (3%) in group A and 1 patient (1.5%) in group B presented with AFL recurrence. Conclusion: Open cooled‐tip catheters are more effective than solid large‐tip catheters for AFL ablation. The greater effectiveness is evident in cases showing repeated conduction recovery within the cavotricuspid isthmus. Primary use of open irrigated‐tip catheters should be considered for AFL ablation.
Stable Secondary Arrhythmias Late After Intraoperative Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation:
Authors: KOBZA RICHARD , KOTTKAMP HANS , DORSZEWSKI ANJA , TANNER HILDEGARD , PIORKOWSKI CHRISTOPHER , SCHIRDEWAHN PETRA , GERDS‐LI JIN‐HONG , HINDRICKS GERHARD 
Published: December 2004

Introduction: Intraoperative radiofrequency (RF) ablation is an effective treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, secondary arrhythmias late after ablation may complicate the patient's course. We report on the incidence, mechanisms, and treatment of gap‐related atrial flutter and other secondary arrhythmias during long‐term follow‐up. Methods and Results: In 129 patients who underwent intraoperative RF ablation with placement of left atrial linear lesions using minimally invasive surgical techniques, secondary arrhythmias were analyzed during long‐term follow‐up (20 ± 6 months). Transient atrial arrhythmias during the first 3 postoperative months were excluded. In 8 (6.2%) of 129 patients, sustained stable secondary arrhythmias were documented. Left atrial, gap‐related atrial flutter was observed in 4 patients (3.1%). The flutter was treated by percutaneous RF ablation in 3 patients (2.3%) and with drugs in 1 patient (0.8%). In 2 patients (1.6%), right atrial isthmus‐dependent atrial flutter occurred and was treated successfully by percutaneous RF ablation. In 2 patients (1.6%), ectopic right atrial tachycardias occurred and were treated with percutaneous RF ablation. Conclusion: Late after intraoperative RF ablation of atrial fibrillation, three types of stable secondary arrhythmias were observed in 6% of patients: left atrial gap‐related atrial flutter, right atrial isthmus‐dependent atrial flutter, and ectopic atrial tachycardia. Gaps after intraoperative RF ablation due to noncontinuous or nontransmural linear lesions may lead to stable left atrial macroreentrant tachycardias, requiring new interventional therapy.
What Is International Financial Contagion?
Authors: Moser Thomas 
Published: December 2004

AbstractDespite the growing popularity of blaming ‘contagion’ for international financial crises, contagion remains an elusive concern. Without a clear understanding of financial contagion and the mechanisms through which it works, we can neither assess the problem nor design appropriate policy measures to control it. This paper organizes and evaluates recent research on international financial contagion. The main finding is that the different mechanisms by which a crisis can spread greatly differ from each other both in their causes and implications. Policy measures that do not take these differences into account may do more harm than good.
Does International Financial Contagion Really Exist?
Authors: Karolyi G. Andrew 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis article surveys the various definitions and taxonomies of international financial contagion in the academic literature and popular press and relates it to the existing evidence on co‐movements in international asset prices, on the growth and volatility of international capital flows and on the relationship between flows and asset prices. The central argument of the article is that the empirical evidence is not as obviously consistent with the existence of market contagion as many researchers, the press, or market regulators believe. Policy implications of this alternative viewpoint are presented.
Effective Foreign Exchange Intervention: Matching Strategies with Objectives
Authors: King Michael R. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractForeign exchange intervention may be undertaken to meet a range of objectives. Empirical work conducted to test the effectiveness of intervention does not adequately address how these objectives may vary over time. As a result, these studies overwhelmingly find that foreign exchange intervention has only a transitory effect on the level or volatility of the exchange rate. These studies suggest strategies that may increase the short‐term effectiveness of intervention. Intervention to pursue policy objectives should be announced, supported by macro economic policy, coordinated with other monetary authorities, and conducted ‘against the wind’. Intervention targeting tactical objectives should be conducted secretly, ‘with the wind’, in large size and timed for maximum impact.
Rural‐urban migration and gender division of labor in transitional China
Authors: Fan C. Cindy 
Published: December 2004

Over the last two decades, social and economic changes in transitional economies have produced many new outcomes. In this article, I examine some of the ways in which China's transition has produced gendered outcomes and highlight evidence of these outcomes. I argue that during transition the state has shifted its goals to economic ones, but unlike capitalist economies it still has at its disposal instruments of social control. Peasants are made more vulnerable and must rely on migrant work for survival, but their low institutional status relegates them to outsider status in urban areas. These circumstances, together with socio‐cultural traditions that constrain women's mobility and endorse stratifications, have enabled the development of a labor regime that fosters segmentation and division of labor. Peasant migrants' reliance on social network further reinforces segregation in the urban labor market. Using multiple sources of macro‐level and field surveys, I examine both quantitative and qualitative evidence of gender segregation and division of labor. The findings show that a high degree of gender segregation among rural‐urban migrants exists in the urban labor market, that peasant women's urban work opportunities are short‐lived, and that upon marriage women migrants are relegated back to the village and to the ‘inside’, in part to sustain gender division of labor as a household strategy.Au cours des deux dernières décennies, les gouvernements de transition ont connu des évolutions économiques et sociales aux conséquences nouvelles et variées. Cet article examine comment la transition chinoise a produit des effets différenciés selon le sexe, et en détaille la réalité. Durant la phase transitoire, l'É tat a transposé ses objectifs sur le terrain économique mais, contrairement aux pays capitalistes, il dispose encore d'instruments de régulation sociale. Rendue plus vulnérable, la population rurale doit compter sur les travailleurs migrants pour sa survie; cependant, une fois en ville, leur faible statut institutionnel en fait des travailleurs ‘en marge’. Alliée aux traditions socio‐culturelles qui limitent la mobilité des femmes et nourrissent les stratifications, cette situation a permis la création d'un système d'emploi tendant à la segmentation et la division du travail. La dépendance des migrants ruraux par rapport au réseau social vient renforcer la ségrégation sur le marché du travail urbain. A partir d'études de terrain et de niveau global, l'article explore les éléments quantitatifs et qualitatifs de ségrégation sexuelle et division du travail. D'après les résultats, il existe un degré important de ségrégation selon le sexe parmi les migrants sur le marché de l'emploi urbain, les possibilités de travail en ville sont de courte durée pour les paysannes et, quant au mariage, les migrantes sont ramenées à leur village et à‘l'intérieur’, en partie pour soutenir une stratégie domestique de division sexuée du travail.
Making space for sex work: female street prostitution and the production of urban space
Authors: Hubbard Phil , Sanders Teela 
Published: December 2004

This article explores the processes by which distinctive red‐light districts are created in western cities, focusing on the changing location of female prostitution in Birmingham (UK). Adapting Henri Lefebvre's ideas on the production of space, as well as Michel de Certeau's distinction between strategies and tactics, the article argues that the changing location of prostitution in the city is the result of a constant interplay between the ordering strategies enacted by the police, council and community protestors and the resistive tactics adopted by sex workers. The net outcome of this process, it is argued, is that a space is created for prostitution so that its resistive potential can be contained within a heterosexually‐ordered city. The article therefore concurs with Lefebvre when he argues that conceptualized space tends to overcode and dominate lived space, but concludes that sex work always threatens to create new ‘spaces of representation’ that challenge the heterosexual ordering of society.En examinant les processus par lesquels se créent des quartiers ‘chauds’ caractérisés dans les villes occidentales, cet article s'intéresse à la délocalisation de la prostitution féminine à Birmingham (Royaume‐Uni). A partir des idées d'Henri Lefebvre sur la production d'espace, et de la distinction établie par Michel de Certeau entre stratégies et tactiques, il est démontré que le changement d'implantation de la prostitution dans la ville résulte d'une interaction permanente entre, d'une part, les stratégies autoritaires décrétées par la police, la municipalité et les opposants membres de la communauté et, d'autre part, les tactiques de résistance adoptées par les travailleuses du sexe. Cette combinaison se solde par la création d'un espace pour la prostitution de sorte que sa ‘résistivité’ puisse être maîtrisée dans le cadre d'une ville régie par un ordre hétérosexuel. L'article rejoint ainsi Lefebvre lorsqu'il affirme qu'un espace conceptualisé tend à sur‐codifier et dominer l'espace vécu ; toutefois, il conclut que le travail du sexe menace constamment de générer de nouveaux ‘espaces de représentation’ défiant l'ordre hétérosexuel de la société.
Reasserting the ‘social’ in social rented housing: politics, housing policy and housing reforms in New Zealand
Authors: Murphy Laurence 
Published: December 2004

After a decade of wide‐ranging social welfare reforms in New Zealand, that have resulted in a considerable restructuring of the role of the state in housing provision, the introduction of new housing legislation in 2000 marked a significant attempt to reassert the notion of social provision. This article examines the manner in which housing policy has recast the role of social rented housing in New Zealand and sets out the political context and implications of the new legislation in which housing policy is being pursued. It is argued that while the notion of social provision has been revived, social rented housing is still constructed in terms of a residual model of provision in the political discourses of reform.En Nouvelle‐Zélande, après une décennie de réformes sociales de toutes sortes, lesquelles ont largement restructuré le rô le de l'É tat dans la fourniture de logements, la récente présentation d'une législation sur l'habitat en 2000 s'est distinguée par une nette tendance à réaffirmer la notion de service social. En examinant comment la politique du logement néo‐zélandaise a remanié le rô le de l'habitat social en location, l'article expose le contexte et les implications politiques des nouvelles lois dans lesquelles s'inscrit la politique publique du logement. Si la notion de service social a été ravivée, le logement social en location reste un pis‐aller parmi les schémas d'aide évoqués dans les discours politiques réformistes.
Is the institutionalization of urban movements inevitable? A comparison of the opportunities for sustained squatting in New York City and Amsterdam
Authors: Pruijt Hans 
Published: December 2004

In this article the opportunity structures of New York City and Amsterdam for organized squatting are compared. New York City knew two distinct squatting waves, with an intermission of several years. The literature on US urban movements predicts transformation through cooptation and repression. Only the first wave, in which housing activists used squatting as a tactic, fits this prediction. The second wave of squatting in New York City, and squatting in Amsterdam in general, escaped cooptation because they involved a squatters' movement proper, in which squatting was not only a tactic but also central to its existence. Compared to Amsterdam, squatting in New York was hampered by technical difficulties and political isolation. Stricter protection of private property made New York squatters restrict themselves to publicly‐owned abandoned buildings. Turf conflicts tended to develop on the neighbourhood level when these buildings were later claimed for the development of low‐income housing. In Amsterdam this type of conflict was rare because of the broad support for low‐income (re)development. Instead, Amsterdam saw citywide protest directed at the real estate sector and municipal authorities.Cet article compare la structure des opportunités des villes de New York et Amsterdam concernant les squats organisés. New York a connu deux vagues de squattage séparées de plusieurs années. Les textes sur les mouvements urbains aux Etats‐Unis prévoient une mutation par cooptation et répression. Seule la première vague, pour laquelle les militants en faveur du logement ont utilisé le squattage comme tactique, répond à cette prédiction. La seconde vague d'opérations à New York, et celles d'Amsterdam en général, ont échappéà la cooptation, car il s'agissait de mouvements de squatters à proprement parler, où le squat n'était pas seulement une tactique mais surtout un fondement de leur existence. Comparéà Amsterdam, le squattage à New York s'est heurtéà des problèmes techniques et à un isolement politique. La protection plus stricte de la propriété privée a forcé les squatters new‐yorkais à se limiter aux bâtiments publics abandonnés. Des luttes de territoires ont eu tendance à se développer entre voisins lorsque ces bâtiments ont ensuite été réclamés pour aménager des logements à faible loyer. A Amsterdam, rare fut ce genre de conflit grâce au vaste soutien favorable au (ré)aménagement social; au contraire, une protestation générale s'est élevée à l'encontre du secteur immobilier et des autorités municipales.
The Impact of the Single Market Programme on the Locational Determinants of US Manufacturing Affiliates: An Econometric Analysis*
Authors: Mold Andrew 
Published: December 2004

AbstractThis article analyses the impact of the single market programme (SMP) on the locational determinants of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in the manufacturing sector. The econometric model covers the period 1978–95, a key period in the development of the European single market. As the process of regional integration deepens, some authors have predicted that firms will become more sensitive to factor‐based differences (e.g. labour costs) between Member States, and less sensitive to changes in market conditions in the host country. This article finds no evidence of this phenomenon — variables related to the demand side (size and growth of GDP) continue to be the most important determinants of FDI inflows.