bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Labor Analgesia and Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Sharma Shiv K. , McIntire Donald D. , Wiley Jackie , Leveno Kenneth J. 
Published: December 2003

Background
The authors performed an individual patient meta-analysis of 2,703 nulliparous women who were randomized to either epidural analgesia or intravenous opioids for pain relief during labor from five trials conducted at their hospital. The primary purpose in this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effects of epidural analgesia during labor on the rate of cesarean delivery.

Methods
Between November 1, 1993, and November 3, 2000, 2,703 nulliparous women (2,188 healthy parturients and 515 women with pregnancy-induced hypertension) in spontaneous labor at term were randomized to receive either epidural analgesia or intravenous opioid analgesia in the five studies. Epidural analgesia was initiated with either epidural bupivacaine or intrathecal sufentanil and was maintained with a low-dose (0.0625% or 0.125%) mixture of bupivacaine with fentanyl. Intravenous opioid analgesia was initiated with 50 mg meperidine and 25 mg promethazine hydrochloride and was maintained with intravenous boluses of meperidine as needed.

Results
A total of 1,339 nulliparous women were randomized to receive epidural analgesia, and 1,364 women were randomized to receive intravenous meperidine analgesia. There was no difference in the rate of cesarean deliveries between the two analgesia groups (epidural analgesia, 10.5% [140 of 1,339] vs. intravenous meperidine analgesia, 10.3% [141 of 1,364]; adjusted odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.34; P = 0.920). Significantly more women randomized to epidural analgesia had forceps deliveries compared to meperidine analgesia (13% [172 of 1,339] vs. 7% [101 of 1,364]; adjusted odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-2.40; P < 0.001). Epidural women had longer first and second stages of labor. Women who received epidural analgesia reported lower pain scores during labor and delivery compared to women who received intravenous meperidine analgesia.

Conclusion
Epidural analgesia compared to intravenous meperidine analgesia during labor does not increase the number of cesarean deliveries.
Mobilization of Opioid-containing Polymorphonuclear Cells by Hematopoietic Growth Factors and Influence on Inflammatory Pain
Authors: Brack Alexander , Rittner Heike L. , Machelska Halina , Beschmann Karin , Sitte Nicolle , Schäfer Michael , Stein Christoph 
Published: December 2003

Background
Leukocytes can control inflammatory pain by secretion of opioid peptides, stimulated by cold-water swimming or local injection of corticotropin-releasing factor, and subsequent activation of opioid receptors on peripheral sensory neurons. This study investigated whether mobilization of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) enhances immigration of opioid-containing PMN and peripheral opioid analgesia in rats with Freund complete adjuvant-induced hind paw inflammation.

Methods
In circulating PMN of rats treated with G-CSF+SCF and sham-treated rats, opioid peptide content was measured by radioimmunoassay. Expression of adhesion molecules (CD62L, CD49d, CD18), in vitro migration in the Boyden chamber, and infiltrating leukocytes were analyzed by flow cytometry. Chemokine messenger RNA transcription was quantified by LightCycler polymerase chain reaction. Paw pressure threshold was measured at baseline, after cold-water swimming, and after injection of corticotropin-releasing factor.

Results
G-CSF+SCF treatment increased circulating PMN (11-fold, P < 0.05). Mobilized PMN had decreased content of beta-endorphin but not of Met-enkephalin per cell, down-regulation of CD62L, up-regulation of CD49d (but no change in CD18), and reduced migration toward higher chemokine concentrations (all P < 0.05). In the paw, one of four chemokine messenger RNAs was significantly expressed during the first 2 h of inflammation (P < 0.05), immigration of PMN and opioid-containing cells was slightly increased (1.5-fold, P < 0.05), and baseline paw pressure threshold, as well as paw pressure threshold increases induced by corticotropin-releasing factor and cold-water swimming, were unchanged (P > 0.05).

Conclusions
G-CSF+SCF mobilized circulating opioid-containing PMN but had a minor influence on cell migration and peripheral analgesia, probably because of the low expression of chemokines in the inflamed paw and one of the decreased beta-endorphin content in PMN.
Women Artists and the Limits of Modernist Art History
Authors: Rowe Dorothy 
Published: December 2003

Books reviewed in this article:Katy Deepwell, Women Artists and ModernismMarsha Meskimmon, We Weren’t Enough: Women Artists and the Limits of German ModernismAnnegret Friedrich, Birgit Haehnel, Viktoria Schmidt‐Lisenhoff and Christina Threuter, eds, Projektionen: Rassismus und Sexismus in der Visuellen KulturKathrin Hoffmann‐Curtius and Silke Wenke, eds, Mythen von Autorschaft und Wieblichkeit im 20. Jahrhundert
Employment Subsidy with Capital Mobility
Authors: Leite–Monteiro Manuel , Marchand Maurice , Pestieau Pierre 
Published: December 2003

Most models of tax competition assume full employment. Yet, actually one often observes that fiscal competition, particularly when it is aimed at attracting investment, is motivated by the concern of fighting unemployment and enhancing job creation. The present paper considers a multicountry model with capital mobility and unemployment. Fiscal policy has two opposing objectives: financing unemployment insurance and increasing employment. In each country there is a majority vote on this policy.The purpose of the paper is to analyse how opening borders to capital flows modifies the median voter's choice of the employment subsidy. Assuming that capital and labour are complements, economic integration is shown to raise the employment subsidy with fixed wages. This agrees with intuition as a larger employment subsidy attracts more capital. However, when wages are set by labour unions economic integration can change the median voter's choice in either direction.
The Impact of SFAS No. 131 on Information and Monitoring
Authors: Berger Philip G. , Hann Rebecca 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe investigate the effect of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) new segment reporting standard on the information and monitoring environment. We compare hand‐collected, restated SFAS 131 segment data for the final SFAS 14 fiscal year with the historical SFAS 14 data. We find that SFAS 131 increased the number of reported segments and provided more disaggregated information. Analysts and the market had access to a portion of the new segment information before it was made public, but analyst and market expectations were still altered by the mandated release of the new data. By increasing information disaggregation, the new standard induced firms to reveal previously “hidden” information about their diversification strategies. The newly revealed information affected market valuations and lead to changes in firm behavior consistent with improved monitoring following adoption of SFAS 131.
Disclosure Practices, Enforcement of Accounting Standards, and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy: An International Study
Authors: Hope Ole‐Kristian 
Published: December 2003

AbstractUsing a sample from 22 countries, I investigate the relations between the accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts and the level of annual report disclosure, and between forecast accuracy and the degree of enforcement of accounting standards. I document that firm‐level disclosures are positively related to forecast accuracy, suggesting that such disclosures provide useful information to analysts. I construct a comprehensive measure of enforcement and find that strong enforcement is associated with higher forecast accuracy. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that enforcement encourages managers to follow prescribed accounting rules, which, in turn, reduces analysts' uncertainty about future earnings. I also find evidence consistent with disclosures being more important when analyst following is low and with enforcement being more important when more choice among accounting methods is allowed.
Privacy in E‐Commerce: Development of Reporting Standards, Disclosure, and Assurance Services in an Unregulated Market
Authors: Jamal Karim , Maier Michael , Sunder Shyam 
Published: December 2003

AbstractGovernment regulation of financial reporting by publicly listed firms, coupled with a punitive regime for violation of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), has been in place in the United States for seven decades. Whether this regime is effective or useful is an open question, especially in the absence of data on the behavior of unregulated economies. Privacy disclosure in e‐commerce is essentially an unregulated environment with some parallels to financial disclosure. A study of privacy standards, disclosures practices, and demand for audits can help accountants and security regulators project the consequences of a competitive regime sans regulation for accounting standards, disclosure and audit practices. In this article we set up a framework for such a study, gather data from the field, and analyze privacy standards, privacy disclosure practices, and the effectiveness of opt‐out practices of 100 high‐traffic e‐commerce Web sites. We observe four diverse sets of privacy standards (TRUSTe, BBB Online, WebTrust, and PWC Privacy) competing in this market, attracting clienteles of their own as reflected in privacy policies and the disclosure of such policies. With a few exceptions, actual disclosure and opt‐out practices correspond reasonably well to stated policies in e‐commerce. There is little evidence that the prevailing competitive regime induces a race to the bottom with respect to privacy standards and disclosures. We explore the implications of these results for the consequences of a competitive regime for regulation of financial reporting.
Discussion of ADRs, Analysts, and Accuracy: Does Cross‐Listing in the United States Improve a Firm's Information Environment and Increase Market Value?
Authors: Leuz Christian 
Published: December 2003

AbstractLang, Lins, and Miller [2002] investigate the relation between cross‐listing in the United States and information intermediation by analysts. The results suggest that cross‐listing in the United States increases analyst following and forecast accuracy and that both variables are associated with Tobin's Q. These findings are interesting and advance the cross‐listing literature in several ways. This discussion raises two issues. First, I highlight that the sources of cross‐listing effects are not obvious and are difficult to disentangle. To illustrate this point, I replicate the analysis using cross‐listed Canadian firms, for which mandated disclosures are held constant. Thus, if disclosure effects are important for documented cross‐listing effects, I expect to find no relation in the Canadian sample. The findings for forecast accuracy are consistent with this hypothesis. However, analyst following continues to be significantly higher for cross‐listed Canadian firms. These findings suggest that the sources of cross‐listing effects differ for analyst coverage and forecast accuracy. Second, I discuss the link between analyst variables, firm value, and cost of capital. As they are only tenuously related, I draw attention to some unresolved questions and areas for future research.
How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality
Authors: Lang Mark , Raedy Jana Smith , Yetman Michelle Higgins 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe provide evidence on the characteristics of local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings for firms cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges relative to a matched sample of foreign firms currently not cross‐listing in the United States to investigate whether U.S. listing is associated with differences in accounting data reported in local markets. We find that cross‐listed firms differ in terms of the time‐series properties of earnings and accruals, and the degree of association between accounting data and share prices. Cross‐listed firms appear to be less aggressive in terms of earnings management and report accounting data that are more conservative, take account of bad news in a more timely manner, and are more strongly associated with share price. Furthermore, the differences appear to result partially from changes around cross‐listing and partially from differences in accounting quality before listing. We do not observe a similar pattern for firms cross‐listed on other non‐U.S. exchanges or on the U.S. over‐the‐counter market, suggesting a unique quality to cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges.
Enforceable Accounting Rules and Income Measurement by Early 20th Century Railroads
Authors: Sivakumar Kumar , Waymire Gregory 
Published: December 2003

AbstractWe investigate the extent to which income measurement by major early 20th‐century U.S. railroads shows evidence of lower income smoothness and increased conservatism following new fixed asset accounting rules issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) in 1907 and 1908 and concurrent rate regulation regime shifts. Accounting rules promulgated by the ICC after the Hepburn Act of 1906 are the first accounting rules in U.S. history in which regulators could enforce such rules under federal law to increase compliance. Our samplewide results are more consistent with increased conservatism than with income smoothing. Additional tests indicate these effects are more pronounced for firms subject to more intense rate regulation by the ICC, which suggests that the tie‐in between accounting regulation and product/service market regulation influences how managers respond to new accounting rules.
Pseudo Market Timing and the Long‐Run Underperformance of IPOs
Authors: Schultz Paul 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTNumerous studies document long‐run underperformance by firms following equity offerings. This paper shows that underperformance is very likely to be observed ex‐post in an efficient market. The premise is that more firms issue equity at higher stock prices even though they cannot predict future returns. Ex‐post, issuers seem to time the market because offerings cluster at market peaks. Simulations based on 1973 through 1997 data reveal that when ex‐ante expected abnormal returns are zero, median ex‐post underperformance for equity issuers will be significantly negative in event‐time. Using calendar‐time returns solves the problem.
Cross‐Border Listings and Price Discovery: Evidence from U.S.‐Listed Canadian Stocks
Authors: Eun Cheol S. , Sabherwal Sanjiv 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTWe examine the contribution of cross‐listings to price discovery for a sample of Canadian stocks listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) and a U.S. exchange. We find that prices on the TSE and U.S. exchange are cointegrated and mutually adjusting. The U.S. share of price discovery ranges from 0.2 percent to 98.2 percent, with an average of 38.1 percent. The U.S. share is directly related to the U.S. share of trading and to the ratio of proportions of informative trades on the U.S. exchange and the TSE, and inversely related to the ratio of bid‐ask spreads.
Evidence of Information Spillovers in the Production of Investment Banking Services
Authors: Benveniste Lawrence M. , Ljungqvist Alexander , Wilhelm William J. , Yu Xiaoyun 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTWe provide evidence that firms attempting IPOs condition offer terms and the decision whether to carry through with an offering on the experience of their primary market contemporaries. Moreover, while initial returns and IPO volume are positively correlated in the aggregate, the correlation is negative among contemporaneous offerings subject to a common valuation factor. Our findings are consistent with investment banks implicitly bundling offerings subject to a common valuation factor to achieve more equitable internalization of information production costs and thereby preventing coordination failures in primary equity markets.
The Value Spread
Authors: Cohen Randolph B. , Polk Christopher , Vuolteenaho Tuomo 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTWe decompose the cross‐sectional variance of firms' book‐to‐market ratios using both a long U.S. panel and a shorter international panel. In contrast to typical aggregate time‐series results, transitory cross‐sectional variation in expected 15‐year stock returns causes only a relatively small fraction (20 to 25 percent) of the total cross‐sectional variance. The remaining dispersion can be explained by expected 15‐year profitability and persistence of valuation levels. Furthermore, this fraction appears stable across time and across types of stocks. We also show that the expected return on value‐minus‐growth strategies is atypically high at times when their spread in book‐to‐market ratios is wide.
The Level and Persistence of Growth Rates
Authors: Chan Louis K. C. , Karceski Jason , Lakonishok Josef 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTExpectations about long‐term earnings growth are crucial to valuation models and cost of capital estimates. We analyze historical long‐term growth rates across a broad cross section of stocks using several indicators of operating performance. We test for persistence and predictability in growth. While some firms have grown at high rates historically, they are relatively rare instances. There is no persistence in long‐term earnings growth beyond chance, and there is low predictability even with a wide variety of predictor variables. Specifically, IBES growth forecasts are overly optimistic and add little predictive power. Valuation ratios also have limited ability to predict future growth.
How Sensitive Is Investment to Cash Flow When Financing Is Frictionless?
Authors: Alti Aydoḡan 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTI analyze the sensitivity of a firm's investment to its own cash flow in the benchmark case where financing is frictionless. This sensitivity has been proposed as a measure of financing constraints in earlier studies. I find that the investment–cash flow sensitivities that obtain in the frictionless benchmark are very similar, both in magnitude and in patterns they exhibit, to those observed in the data. In particular, the sensitivity is higher for firms with high growth rates and low dividend payout ratios. Tobin's q is shown to be a more noisy measure of near‐term investment plans for these firms.
The Finite Moment Log Stable Process and Option Pricing
Authors: Carr Peter , Wu Liuren 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTWe document a surprising pattern in S&P 500 option prices. When implied volatilities are graphed against a standard measure of moneyness, the implied volatility smirk does not flatten out as maturity increases up to the observable horizon of two years. This behavior contrasts sharply with the implications of many pricing models and with the asymptotic behavior implied by the central limit theorem (CLT). We develop a parsimonious model which deliberately violates the CLT assumptions and thus captures the observed behavior of the volatility smirk over the maturity horizon. Calibration exercises demonstrate its superior performance against several widely used alternatives.
The Term Structure with Semi‐credible Targeting
Authors: Farnsworth Heber , Bass Richard 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTThe Federal Reserve sets targets for interest rates which it enforces through direct market intervention. These targets are changed periodically. In this paper, we develop a term structure model in which the short rate is subject to a control which keeps it close to a target which changes from time to time. The probability of target changes is not constant in the model, but changes as a function of observables. The model performs well at explaining the shifts in the yield curve that accompany target changes.
Excessive Dollar Debt: Financial Development and Underinsurance
Authors: Caballero Ricardo J. , Krishnamurthy Arvind 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTWe propose that the limited financial development of emerging markets is a significant factor behind the large share of dollar‐denominated external debt present in these markets. We show that when financial constraints affect borrowing and lending between domestic agents, agents undervalue insuring against an exchange rate depreciation. Since more of this insurance is present when external debt is denominated in domestic currency rather than in dollars, this result implies that domestic agents choose excessive dollar debt. We also show that limited financial development reduces the incentives for foreign lenders to enter emerging markets. The retarded entry reinforces the underinsurance problem.
Investor Protection and Firm Liquidity
Authors: Brockman Paul , Chung Dennis Y. 
Published: December 2003

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to investigate the relation between investor protection and firm liquidity. We posit that less protective environments lead to wider bid‐ask spreads and thinner depths because they fail to minimize information asymmetries. The Hong Kong equity market provides a unique opportunity to compare liquidity costs across distinct investor protection environments, but still within a common trading mechanism and currency. Our empirical findings verify that firm liquidity is significantly affected by investor protection. Regression and matched‐sample results show that Hong Kong‐based equities exhibit narrower spreads and thicker depths than their China‐based counterparts.
Fate of Newborn Dentate Granule Cells after Early Life Status Epilepticus
Authors: Porter Brenda E. , Maronski Margaret , Brooks‐Kayal Amy R. 
Published: December 2003

Summary:  Purpose: To determine the fate of newborn dentate granule cells (DGCs) after lithium‐pilocarpine–induced status epilepticus (SE) in an immature rat. Methods: Postnatal day 20 (P20) rats were injected with lithium and pilocarpine to induce SE, and then with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) 4, 6, and 8 days later (P24, 26, and 28), and killed 1 day (P29), 1 week (P34), and 3 weeks (P50) after the last dose of BrdU for cell counts. Immunohistochemistry and TUNEL staining were performed to assess the fate of newborn DGCs. Results: Pilocarpine‐treated animals had significantly more BrdU‐labeled DGCs than did littermate controls at all times. The day after the final BrdU injection (P29), sixfold more cells were found in pilocarpine‐treated animals than in controls, which was reduced to threefold, 3 weeks later. A decrease in the BrdU‐labeled cell density was noted from P29 to P50 in the control and pilocarpine‐treated animals. Evidence of DGC cell death was seen in pilocarpine and control animals, with threefold more TUNEL‐positive cells in the pilocarpine‐treated than in the control animals at P29. The surviving newborn DGCs became mature neurons; expressing the neuronal marker NeuN in both control and pilocarpine‐treated animals. Conclusions: These findings suggest that SE during postnatal development increases the birth and death of DGCs. A subset of the newborn DGCs survive and mature into dentate granule neurons, resulting in an increased population of immature DGCs after SE that may affect hippocampal physiology.