Home  About us  Contact
 

Recent Surge (recent + surge)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences25%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting25%

Selected Abstracts

Five cases of male eating disorders in Central China

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 1 2005
Jun Tong MD
Abstract Objective Despite the recent surge of eating disorders among women in large Asian cities, male eating disorder cases remain rare. The current article described 5 male eating disorder cases that presented within a period of 2 years in Wuhan, a city in central China. Methods The authors described 4 cases of anorexia nervosa (2 restrictive, 2 bulimic) and 1 case of normal weight bulimia nervosa. Results Fear of fat was reported for all 5 cases, and none of the cases reported homosexuality. Discussion Sociocultural changes and westernization most probably accounted for the increasing incidence of eating disorders among male and female youngsters in China today. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

Local dimensions of global investment: Israeli property firms in Central Europe

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2003
Igal Charney
Transnational property investment has increased dramatically during the last few decades. This process has been traced by literature focusing on capital-rich countries (e.g. the United States, Canada, Japan) and on major world cities. More recently, in tandem with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the geographical horizons of foreign investors have broadened to include former socialist countries. This article examines the recent surge in Israeli property investment in Central Europe and argues that global flows depend on relationships between place of origin and destination. Mobility of property capital creates networks that connect cities on a transnational basis. Les investissements immobiliers transnationaux ont énormément augmenté au cours des dernières décennies. Cet aspect a été suivi et documenté surtout pour les pays riches en capitaux (Etats-Unis, Canada, Japon, par exemple) et les grandes villes mondiales. Plus récemment, parallèlement à la chute du Mur de Berlin, les horizons géographiques des investisseurs étrangers se sont élargis aux anciens pays socialistes. L'article examine l'afflux récent d'investissements immobiliers israéliens en Europe centrale, affirmant que les flux planétaires dépendent des relations entre les lieux d'origine et de destination. La mobilité des capitaux immobiliers crée des réseaux qui relient des villes au plan transnational. [source]

Wealth Effects of International Investments and Agency Problems for Korean Multinational Firms

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3 2003
Wi Saeng Kim
This paper recognizes the recent surge in cross-border investments by MNCs from newly industrialized countries and investigates the wealth effects of FDI announcements by Korean firms, which are the leading FDI providers in Asia. The empirical results indicate that for Korean MNCs: 1) cross-border investments increase shareholder wealth; and 2) they do not obtain the firm-specific technological advantages over international competitors. The paper also presents evidence that cross-border investments do not increase shareholder wealth for the 30 largest chaebol -affiliates, and that shareholder wealth losses are greater when corporate ownership is concentrated, as suggested by Shleifer and Vishny (1997) and La Porta et al. (1998, 2000). [source]

Stopping-time resampling for sequential Monte Carlo methods

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 2 2005
Yuguo Chen
Summary., Motivated by the statistical inference problem in population genetics, we present a new sequential importance sampling with resampling strategy. The idea of resampling is key to the recent surge of popularity of sequential Monte Carlo methods in the statistics and engin-eering communities, but existing resampling techniques do not work well for coalescent-based inference problems in population genetics. We develop a new method called ,stopping-time resampling', which allows us to compare partially simulated samples at different stages to terminate unpromising partial samples and to multiply promising samples early on. To illustrate the idea, we first apply the new method to approximate the solution of a Dirichlet problem and the likelihood function of a non-Markovian process. Then we focus on its application in population genetics. All our examples show that the new resampling method can significantly improve the computational efficiency of existing sequential importance sampling methods. [source]

Mestizaje and Law Making in Indigenous Identity Formation in Northeastern Brazil: "After the Conflict Came the History"

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 4 2004
JAN HOFFMAN FRENCH
In this article, I explore issues of authenticity, legal discourse, and local requirements of belonging by considering the recent surge of indigenous recognitions in northeastern Brazil. I investigate how race and ethnicity are implicated in the recognition process in Brazil on the basis of an analysis of a successful struggle for indigenous identity and access to land by a group of mixed-race, visibly, African-descended rural workers. I propose that the debate over mestizaje (ethnoracial and cultural mixing) in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America can be reconfigured and clarified by broadening it to include such Brazilian experiences. I argue that the interaction between two processes,law making and indigenous identity formation,is crucial to understanding how the notion of "mixed heritage" is both reinforced and disentangled. As such, this article is an illustration of the role of legal discourse in the constitution of indigenous identities and it introduces northeastern Brazil into the global discussion of law, indigenous rights, and claims to citizenship. [source]

What Can Intervention Studies Tell Us about the Relationship between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Weight Management?

NUTRITION REVIEWS, Issue 1 2004
Barbara J. Rolls Ph.D.
Given the recent surge in obesity, effective dietary strategies for weight management are required. Because fruits and vegetables are high in water and fiber, incorporating them in the diet can reduce energy density, promote satiety, and decrease energy intake. Although few interventions have specifically addressed fruit and vegetable consumption, evidence suggests that coupling advice to increase intake of these foods with advice to decrease energy intake is a particularly effective strategy for weight management. This approach may facilitate weight loss because it emphasizes positive messages rather than negative, restrictive messages [source]

Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline derivative and silver nanoparticle composites

POLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 10 2008
Gururaj M Neelgund
Abstract BACKGROUND: There has been a recent surge of interest in the synthesis and applications of electroactive polymers with incorporated metal nanoparticles. These hybrid systems are expected to display synergistic properties between the conjugated polymers and the metal nanoparticles, making them potential candidates for applications in sensors and electronic devices. RESULTS: Composites of polyaniline derivatives,polyaniline, poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) and poly(aniline-2,5-dimethoxyaniline),and silver nanoparticles were prepared through simultaneous polymerization of aniline derivative and reduction of AgNO3 in the presence of poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSS). We used AgNO3 as one of the initial components (1) to form the silver nanoparticles and (2) as an oxidizing agent for initiation of the polymerization reaction. UV-visible spectra of the synthesized nanocomposites reveal the synchronized formation of silver nanoparticles and polymer matrix. The morphology of the silver nanoparticles and degree of their dispersion in the nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry results indicate an enhancement of the thermal stability of the nanocomposites compared to the pure polymers. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites is in the range 10,4 to 10,2 S cm,1. CONCLUSION: A single-step process for the synthesis of silver nanoparticle,polyaniline derivative nanocomposites doped with PSS has been demonstrated. The approach in which silver nanoparticles are formed simultaneously during the polymerization process results in a good dispersion of the nanoparticles in the conductive polymer matrix. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry [source]

Non-Linear Oil Price Dynamics: A Tale of Heterogeneous Speculators?

GERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 3 2009
Stefan Reitz
Oil price dynamics; endogenous bubbles; STR-GARCH model Abstract. While some of the recent surges in oil prices can be attributed to a robust global demand at a time of tight production capacities, commentators occasionally also blame the impact of speculators for part of the price pressure. We propose an empirical oil market model with heterogeneous speculators. Whereas trend-extrapolating chartists may tend to destabilize the market, fundamentalists exercise a stabilizing effect on the price dynamics. Using monthly data for West Texas Intermediate oil prices, our STR-GARCH estimates indicate that oil price cycles may indeed emerge due to the non-linear interplay between different trader types. [source]