bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Non‐linear dynamics in international stock market returns
Authors: McMillan David G. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractRecent empirical finance research has reported non‐linear dynamics within asset returns. However, much of this extant research has focussed upon asset markets within the US and UK. This paper examines whether such dynamics are also present in a series of six international equity index returns. Using empirical models which are consistent that the theoretical behavioural finance noise trader motivation of non‐linearity, whereby market dynamics differ between small and large returns, our results suggest these models improve the in‐sample fit and out‐of‐sample forecast over linear alternatives. Further, the point of regime transition differs between positive and negative returns indicating that noise traders are more likely to engage in trend‐chasing behaviour in up markets and anchoring behaviour in down markets. Finally, the forecast gain in the Asia‐Pacific markets is greater than in the European markets suggestive that limits to arbitrage are greater perhaps as fundamental traders knowledge of market dynamics and noise trader behaviour is still evolving.
Galanin Microinjection in the Third Ventricle Increases Voluntary Ethanol Intake
Authors: Lewis Michael J. , Johnson Deanne F. , Waldman Daniel , Leibowitz Sarah F. , Hoebel Bartley G. 
Published: December 2004

Background: The neuropeptide galanin increases food intake. Chronic ethanol (EtOH) increases the expression of galanin in the hypothalamus. The research presented here examines the effects of microinjection of galanin in the third ventricle on voluntary alcohol intake.Methods: Male Sprague Dawley rats with a cannula in the third ventricle were given access to increasing concentrations of EtOH for 12 hr/day until all acquired a preference for 7% EtOH over water in a two‐bottle choice. Rats then received a microinjection of galanin (0, 1, and 3 nmol) alone or in combination with the galanin antagonist M40 (1 nmol) and with M40 alone to determine the effects on EtOH and water intake. Tests were conducted during both the light and dark periods of a 12:12‐hr light‐dark cycle with food available ad libitum. As a control for galanin‐induced calorie intake, both EtOH and food were measured in a subset of rats during the dark.Results: Microinjections of galanin (1.0 and 3.0 nmol) increased EtOH consumption during both periods of the light‐dark cycle. Galanin's effect on ethanol intake during the light was large relative to the very low intake of food and water during this period. Rats increased their intake of EtOH but not food. Receptor specificity for galanin (3 nmol) was shown by the galanin antagonist M40, which blocked the increase in EtOH intake. M40 alone decreased EtOH intake slightly.Conclusions: These data show that galanin injected in the third ventricle increases EtOH consumption and that the effect can occur during both the light and the dark periods of the diurnal cycle in the presence of food and water. This suggests that galanin may play a role in augmenting voluntary alcohol intake and perhaps the development of alcohol dependence.
Cytotoxic Effects of Exposure to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Protein Tat in the Hippocampus Are Enhanced by Prior Ethanol Treatment
Authors: Self Rachel L. , Mulholland Patrick J. , Harris Barton R. , Nath Avindra , Prendergast Mark A. 
Published: December 2004

Background: Long‐term ethanol exposure leads to increases in the expression and/or sensitivity of NMDA‐type glutamate receptors, effects that may contribute to the development of cytotoxicity in the brain. The human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV‐1) transcription factor Tat is one of many viral proteins that may contribute to the development of HIV‐associated dementia (HAD) by indirectly or directly promoting excess function of NMDA receptors. Thus, these studies examined the hypothesis that long‐term ethanol pre‐exposure would sensitize the hippocampus to Tat‐induced cytotoxicity in an NMDA receptor–dependent manner.Methods: Organotypic slice cultures of rat hippocampus were exposed to a recombinant 86–amino acid form of Tat (Tat1–86) or a Tat deletion mutant devoid of amino acids 31 to 61 (TatΔ31–61; 0.1–100 nm) for 24 hr alone or during withdrawal from 10 days of ethanol exposure (50 mm in culture medium). Additional cultures were exposed to NMDA (5 μm) or the NMDA receptor channel blocker MK‐801 (1 μm) during these treatments. Cellular injury in the CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus regions of slice cultures was assessed by microscopy of propidium iodide fluorescence.Results: Twenty‐four hours of withdrawal from ethanol exposure did not produce overt cellular injury in any region of slice cultures. However, NMDA‐induced toxicity was markedly increased in ethanol–pre‐exposed cultures, an effect prevented by MK‐801 (1 μm) coexposure. Treatment of cultures with Tat1–86 alone (≥0.1 nm) produced modest toxicity in each region of hippocampal cultures that was also blocked by MK‐801 coexposure. In contrast, exposure to TatΔ31–61 did not alter propidium iodide fluorescence. Exposure of cultures to Tat1–86 (≥0.1 nm) during ethanol withdrawal resulted in a marked potentiation of Tat's toxic effects in each region of slice cultures, particularly the CA1 region. This potentiation of Tat neurotoxicity was significantly attenuated by coexposure of cultures to MK‐801 (1 μm).Conclusions: These results indicate that long‐term ethanol exposure sensitizes the hippocampus to the cytotoxic effects of Tat in an NMDA receptor–dependent manner. This may suggest that HIV‐1–positive individuals who are alcohol dependent possess a heightened risk for the development of HAD. Furthermore, the NMDA receptor, particularly allosteric modulatory sites such as polyamine‐sensitive sites, may be a therapeutic target to be investigated in the treatment of HAD.
Frozen section examination of endometrial curettings in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy
Authors: Barak Shlomi , Oettinger Moshe , Perri Alex , Cohen Hector I. , Barenboym Rafael , Ophir Ella 
Published: December 2004

Background.  The aim of our study was to determine the accuracy and validity of frozen section analysis of endometrial curettings in differentiating between abnormal intrauterine and ectopic pregnancies.Methods.  A retrospective analysis of the database of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in our institute was performed from January 1998 to September 1999. In 70 women with a suspected ectopic pregnancy a diagnostic curettage was sent for frozen section examination because products of conception could not be identified macroscopically in the curettings. Routine paraffin fixation specimens were also prepared from the endometrial curettings. A frozen section diagnosis was considered correct if it concurred with the final pathologic diagnosis, and incorrect if it differed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of a frozen section in identification of conception products were calculated.Results.  Of the 70 frozen section studies the diagnosis was correct in 63 (90%), and incorrect in 7 (10%) cases. Of 50 specimens interpreted as negative on frozen sections (no products of conception noted), 6 (12%) were found to contain conception products on final pathologic review. One of the 20 (5%) specimens interpreted as positive by a frozen section failed to demonstrate products of conception on a final pathologic section. The sensitivity of frozen sections in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy was 76%, specificity 97.8%; positive predictive value 95%; negative predictive value 88% and accuracy 90%.Conclusions.  Frozen section examination is a rapid and accurate method for identifying products of conception in endometrial curettings, and may reduce delay in the diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy and in the institution of therapy.
Multivariate analysis of risk factors for stillbirth in Leon, Mexico
Authors: Romero‐Gutiérrez Gustavo , Martínez‐Ceja Carlos Armando , Abrego‐Olvira Elvira , Ponce‐Ponce de León Ana Lilia 
Published: December 2004

Background.  To identify sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for antenatal fetal death in a developing country setting.Methods.  A case–control study was carried out, including 753 women: 251 had a stillbirth (cases) and 502 had a healthy live birth (controls). Stillbirths were considered as antenatal fetal death after 21 weeks of gestation. Seventeen sociodemographic and clinical risk factors for stillbirth were analyzed.Statistical analysis.  Student's t‐test or the Mann–Whitney U‐test for continuous data and the χ2‐test or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables were used. Logistic regression analysis was used to find significant predictors for stillbirth. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated.Results.  Three risk factors were significant in the logistic regression model: maternal age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.08), antenatal care (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.0–0.2) and umbilical cord complication (OR 5.8, 95% CI 3.2–10.2). The whole model had a determination coefficient of 0.280, with a χ2‐value of 246.2 (p < 0.001).Conclusions.  In our setting antenatal care should be considered as the cornerstone in the prevention of stillbirth. With adequate antenatal care both women with advanced maternal age and umbilical cord complication could be identified. This finding could be useful for developing as well as developed country settings to avoid the occurrence of stillbirth.
Border Effects in Passenger Air Traffic
Authors: Klodt Henning 
Published: December 2004

SUMMARYThe empirical literature on border effects suggests that national borders substantially reduce the level of economic transactions. This paper adds another piece of evidence to the significance of border effects by applying a new data set which is completely independent of the data sets of previous studies. Our data refer to domestic and international passenger departures from German airports. The econometric results indicate that the German border reduces passenger air traffic by a factor of four to five. This magnitude is in line with the results of previous studies for trade and investment flows.
Concurrent activation of cell death‐regulating signaling pathways by singlet oxygen in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Danon Antoine , Miersch Otto , Felix Georg , op den Camp Roel G.L. , Apel Klaus 
Published: December 2004

SummaryUpon a dark/light shift the conditional flu mutant of Arabidopsis starts to generate singlet oxygen (1O2), a non‐radical reactive oxygen species that is restricted to the plastid compartment. Immediately after the shift, plants stop growing and develop necrotic lesions. We have established a protoplast system, which allows detection and characterization of the death response in flu induced by the release of 1O2. Vitamin B6 that quenches 1O2 in fungi was able to protect flu protoplasts from cell death. Blocking ethylene production was sufficient to partially inhibit the death reaction. Similarly, flu mutant seedlings expressing transgenic NahG were partially protected from the death provoked by the release of 1O2, indicating a requirement for salicylic acid (SA) in this process, whereas in cells depleted of both, ethylene and SA, the extent of cell death was reduced to the wild‐type level. The flu mutant was also crossed with the jasmonic acid (JA)‐depleted mutant opr3, and with the JA, OPDA and dinor OPDA (dnOPDA)‐depleted dde2‐2 mutant. Analysis of the resulting double mutants revealed that in contrast to the JA‐induced suppression of H2O2/superoxide‐dependent cell death reported earlier, JA promotes singlet oxygen‐mediated cell death in flu, whereas other oxylipins such as OPDA and dnOPDA antagonize this death‐inducing activity of JA.
Comparison of patterns of care in lung cancer in three area health services in New South Wales, Australia
Authors: Vinod S. K. , Hui A. C. , Esmaili N. , Hensley M. J. , Barton M. B. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractBackground: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in New South Wales (NSW). The incidence of and mortality from lung cancer differ throughout different area health services in NSW.Aim: To compare patterns of care in lung cancer among three area health services in NSW.Methods: South‐western Sydney Area Health Service (SWSAHS), Northern Sydney Area Health Service (NSAHS) and Hunter Area Health Service (HAHS) ­residents diagnosed with lung cancer in 1996 were identified from the NSW Central Cancer Registry and their medical records were reviewed. The main outcome measures were specialist care, investigations, treatment and survival.Results: The study population comprised 256 SWSAHS, 270 NSAHS and 212 HAHS residents. NSAHS residents were older, with a median age of 73 years compared with 68 years in SWSAHS and 70 years in HAHS (P = 0.001). The performance status and stage distributions of the populations were similar. Twenty per cent of HAHS residents did not have a pathological diagnosis compared with 10% in SWSAHS and 9% in NSAHS (P = 0.005). Forty‐five per cent of HAHS residents received no treatment compared with 25 and 22% in SWSAHS and NSAHS, respectively (P < 0.001). Despite these differences, there was no significant difference in overall survival.Conclusions: Lung cancer patterns of care were significantly different among the areas. The variability of practice identified in this study needs to be addressed to ensure optimum care for all patients with lung cancer. Although there was no significant difference in survival, under‐utilization of efficacious treatment is likely to have affected patients’ quality of life. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 677−683)
Concordance between clopidogrel use and prescribing guidelines
Authors: Kubler P. A. , Pillans P. I. , Marrinan M. C. , Frogley M. 
Published: December 2004

AbstractBackground: Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet drug increasingly used in the secondary prevention of atherosclerotic vascular events. Compared with aspirin, clopidogrel has marginal additional efficacy and similar safety, but carries a substantial price premium. It remains unclear whether its use is cost‐effective.Aims: (i) To determine concordance between clopidogrel use and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and local hospital prescribing guidelines and (ii) to determine the intended duration of clopidogrel therapy and ascertain whether this is supported by other published reports.Methods: Cross‐sectional evaluation by patient interview and chart review of appropriateness of clopidogrel prescribing was carried out for 100 consecutive patients attending a 700 bed metropolitan, primary care and tertiary referral hospital.Results: Clopidogrel was predominately used for secondary prevention of ischaemic heart disease (60%) and following percutaneous coronary intervention (34%). A significant proportion of patients (29%) received clopidogrel outside the prescribing guidelines. Many patients were intended to receive indefinite therapy for secondary prevention of ischaemic vascular events. Concomitant aspirin therapy was not prescribed in 23% of patients, for 78% of whom it was inappropriate.Conclusions: There is a lack of concordance between clopidogrel use and prescribing guidelines. In the majority of patients (71%), clopidogrel is used for valid indications but there is considerable leakage of use beyond prescribing guidelines. Concomitant aspirin therapy is often not prescribed in the absence of clinically relevant contraindications. Moreover, treatment is continued in many patients beyond what is supported by current published data. (Intern Med J 2004; 34: 663−667)
Mapping environments at risk under different global climate change scenarios
Authors: Saxon Earl , Baker Barry , Hargrove William , Hoffman Forrest , Zganjar Chris 
Published: December 2004

AbstractAll global circulation models based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios project profound changes, but there is no consensus on how to map their environmental consequences. Our multivariate representation of environmental space combines stable topographic and edaphic attributes with dynamic climatic attributes. We divide that environmental space into 500 unique domains and map their current locations and their projected locations in 2100 under contrasting emissions scenarios. The environmental domains found across half the study area today disappear under the higher emissions scenario, but persist somewhere in it under the lower emissions scenario. Locations affected least and those affected most under each scenario are mapped. This provides an explicit framework for designing conservation networks to include both areas at least risk (potential refugia) and areas at greatest risk, where novel communities may form and where sentinel ecosystems can be monitored for signs of stress.
A Continuous Time Markov Model for the Length of Stay of Elderly People in Institutional Long-Term Care
Authors: Xie H. , Chaussalet T. J. , Millard P. H. 
Published: December 2004

SummaryThe paper develops a Markov model in continuous time for the length of stay of elderly people moving within and between residential home care and nursing home care. A procedure to determine the structure of the model and to estimate parameters by maximum likelihood is presented. The modelling approach was applied to 4 years’ placement data from the social services department of a London borough. The results in this London borough suggest that, for residential home care, a single-exponential distribution with mean 923 days is adequate to provide a good description of the pattern of the length of stay, whereas, for nursing home care, a mixed exponential distribution with means 59 days (short stay) and 784 days (long stay) is required, and that 64% of admissions to nursing home care will become long-stay residents. The implications of these findings and the advantages of the proposed modelling approach in the general context of long-term care are discussed.
An Agency Theory Perspective on Student Performance Evaluation
Authors: Smith Michael E. , Zsidisin George A. , Adams Laural L. 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTThe emphasis in recent research on the responsibility of college and university business instructors to prepare students for future employment underscores a need to refine the evaluation of student performance. In this article, an agency theory framework is used to understand the trade‐offs that may be involved in the selection of various approaches to student evaluation. Understanding these trade‐offs may be particularly important as faculty members seek to balance competing obligations, such as research and service requirements, while ensuring instructional effectiveness. This article presents propositions for examining how various institutional, instructor, and student characteristics influence the selection and use of student performance evaluation techniques (i.e., exams, papers, and group assignments). In conclusion, we suggest that agency theory may serve as a foundation for understanding current evaluation practices and guiding instructors in their selection of appropriate evaluation mechanisms.
Using Quality Management Tools to Enhance Feedback from Student Evaluations
Authors: Jensen John B. , Artz Nancy 
Published: December 2004

ABSTRACTStatistical tools found in the service quality assessment literature—the T2 statistic combined with factor analysis—can enhance the feedback instructors receive from student ratings. T2 examines variability across multiple sets of ratings to isolate individual respondents with aberrant response patterns (i.e., outliers). Analyzing student responses that are outside the “normal” range of responses can identify aspects of the course that cause pockets of students to be dissatisfied. This fresh insight into sources of student dissatisfaction is particularly valuable for instructors willing to make tactical classroom changes that accommodate individual students rather than the traditional approach of using student ratings to develop systemwide changes in course delivery. A case study is presented to demonstrate how the recommended procedure minimizes data overload, allows for valid schoolwide and longitudinal comparisons of correlated survey responses, and helps instructors identify priority areas for instructional improvement.
Orofacial and gastrointestinal hyperplasia and neoplasia in smad4+/− and elf+/−/smad4+/− mutant mice
Authors: Redman Robert S. , Katuri Varalakshmi , Tang Yi , Dillner Allan , Mishra Bibhuti , Mishra Lopa 
Published: December 2004

Background:  Smad4 is vital to the roles of Smads 2 and 3 in transforming growth factor‐beta (TGF)‐β signal transduction, and inactivated Smad4 is common to human gastrointestinal cancers. The embryonic liver fodrin (ELF) is a β‐spectrin that facilitates the nuclear translocation of activated Smad4.Methods:  Smad4
+/− mice, known to develop gastrointestinal cancer, were crossbred with elf+/− mice. The smad4+/− and smad4+/−/elf+/− offspring were autopsied as abnormalities developed.Results:  In addition to polyps and adenocarcinomas of the stomach and duodenum, the smad4+/− mice developed squamous cell carcinomas of the skin, oral mucosa and forestomach, benign neoplasms of connective tissue and lacrimal gland, and a lymphoma. The smad4+/−/elf+/− mice developed extensive hyperplasia and neoplasia of the gastric mucosa.Conclusion:  These findings indicate that investigating interactions among smad4, elf, and other genes involved in TGF‐β signaling should be useful in further delineating the processes of neoplasia in a wide variety of tissues.
Immunohistochemical analysis of apoptosis‐related factors in lining epithelium of radicular cysts
Authors: Suzuki T. , Kumamoto H. , Kunimori K. , Ooya K. 
Published: December 2004

Background:  Some studies suggest that apoptosis‐related factors are involved in the inflammatory processes of marginal periodontal lesions. However, the role of apoptosis in periapical inflammatory lesions remains unclear. We investigated the possible role of apoptotic cell death in periapical inflammatory lesions by means of immunohistochemical analysis of apoptosis‐related factors and use of a cell proliferation marker.Methods:  Paraffin‐embedded sections of 19 radicular cysts (RCs), and five residual radicular cysts (RRCs) and control specimens of normal gingivae excised from seven cadavers were prepared and examined immunohistochemically with the use of monoclonal antibodies or polyclonal antisera against single‐stranded DNA (ssDNA), p53, Bax, Bcl‐2, caspase‐3, Fas, Fas ligand (Fas‐L), and Ki‐67 antigen.Results:  Epithelium of gingiva, RCs, and RRCs showed expression of ssDNA in suprabasal and superficial epithelial cells and Ki‐67 reactivity in basal and parabasal cells. Expression of Ki‐67 and ssDNA in RCs and RRCs was slightly higher than that in gingiva. Both Ki‐67 and ssDNA reactivity in RCs with intense inflammatory reactions or with thick lining epithelium were significantly stronger than those in RCs with less inflammatory reactions or with thin lining epithelium. Reactivity for p53 was noted sporadically in epithelium of gingiva, RCs, and RRCs, and p53 expression in RCs was significantly greater than that in gingiva. Ki‐67 and ssDNA reactivity in RCs increased parallel to the degree of p53 expression. Bax and Bcl‐2 were detected in some basal epithelial cells in RCs and RRCs as well as in gingiva. The ssDNA reactivity significantly increased parallel to Bax expression and slightly decreased parallel to Bcl‐2 expression in lining epithelium of RCs. Caspase‐3 was detected in superficial epithelial cells of both gingiva and lining epithelium of RCs and RRCs, and the distribution of these cells was compatible with the expression of ssDNA. Expression of Ki‐67 and ssDNA in caspase‐3‐positive fields was significantly higher than that in caspase‐3‐negative fields in RCs. There was very limited expression of Fas and Fas‐L in lining epithelium of RCs and RRCs as well as in gingiva.Conclusions:  These data suggest that apoptosis‐related factors are involved in the pathophysiologic activity of periapical inflammatory lesions. Such factors may be affected by the structure of lining epithelium and the degree of inflammatory change.