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Study Addresses (study + address)
Selected AbstractsMicroglial glutamate uptake is coupled to glutathione synthesis and glutamate releaseEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 4 2006Mikael Persson Abstract The physiological function of microglial glutamate uptake has been debated as it is about 10% of that measured for astrocytes. This study addresses how glutamate, taken up from the extracellular space, is utilized by microglia. It was found that purified rat microglia incubated for 60 min with 3H-glutamate had an increased intracellular accumulation of 3H-glutamate after 12 h incubation with tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-,) but not after incubation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Furthermore, LPS- but not TNF-,-treated cells showed an increased efflux of 3H-labelled compounds, presumably glutamate through the XC, system and treatment with LPS or TNF-, increased the microglial glutathione concentrations and led to an increased incorporation of 3H-glutamate into glutathione. Depending on the stimuli, 3,6% of the total labelled contents were found in the form of glutathione and 25,35% in the form of glutamate. These results show that microglial glutamate uptake is directly coupled to glutathione synthesis and release of glutamate and/or glutamate metabolites. Additionally, the increased glutathione contents after LPS or TNF-, treatment were able to reduce microglial cell death after H2O2 challenge, showing a potential (self)-protective function for microglial glutamate transporter expression and glutathione synthesis. [source] Not-for-Profit Annual Reports: What do Museum Managers Communicate?FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2003Anne L. Christensen This study addresses: (1) What disclosures are provided in annual reports of not-for-profit entities?(2) What characteristics of the reporting entities explain variations in the quantity of financial disclosure?(3) How do not-for-profit disclosures compare with those in for-profit corporate reports? The annual reports of 170 not-for-profit museums were examined. The reports were highly variable. Some contained no financial data and only 22 percent included complete financial statements with footnotes. Regression analysis indicated that the amount of museum financial data was positively associated with museum size, a larger number of pages of donor disclosures, and museum type (art and history, but not science, natural history, or general). [source] Enhanced Thermal Stability and Efficiency of Polymer Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells by Low-Temperature Drying of the Active LayerADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 5 2010Ching Lin Abstract This study addresses two key issues, stability and efficiency, of polymer solar cells based on blended poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) by demonstrating a film-forming process that involves low-temperature drying (,5,°C) and subsequent annealing of the active layer. The low-temperature process achieves 4.70% power conversion efficiency (PCE) and ,1250,h storage half-life at 65,°C, which are significant improvements over the 3.39% PCE and ,143,h half-life of the regular room-temperature process. The improvements are attributed to the enhanced nucleation of P3HT crystallites as well as the minimized separation of the P3HT and PCBM phases at the low drying temperature, which upon post-drying annealing results in a morphology consisting of small PCBM-rich domains interspersed within a densely interconnected P3HT crystal network. This morphology provides ample bulk-heterojunction area for charge generation while allowing for facile charge transport; moreover, the P3HT crystal network serves as an immobile frame at heating temperatures less than the melting point (Tm) of P3HT, thus preventing PCBM/P3HT phase separation and the corresponding device degradation. [source] Maternal sensitivity in interactions with three- and 12-month-old infants: Stability, structural composition, and developmental consequencesINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2004Arnold Lohaus This study addresses three topics related to the structural components of maternal sensitivity: (a) The stability of sensitivity over a nine-month period, (b) the predictability of maternal sensitivity assessed at 12 months from early parameters of parenting and (c) the relation between maternal sensitivity and developmental outcomes assessed at 12 months. Maternal sensitivity and its components (signal perception, correct interpretation, prompt, and appropriate reaction) were evaluated for 60 mother,infant-dyads when their infants were aged three and 12 months. Additional parameters of early parenting were maternal emotional warmth and behavioural contingency. Developmental outcome measures were the amount of infant crying and the quality of attachment at twelve months. The results showed close correlations between the sensitivity components suggesting a unidimensional structure for maternal sensitivity. The sensitivity assessments were significantly related to measures of maternal warmth. Stability of maternal sensitivity over time was, however, quite low. There was no relation between the early sensitivity assessments and later developmental outcomes, whereas there was a significant relation between the sensitivity parameters assessed at twelve months and developmental outcomes. The results indicate changes in the meaning of maternal sensitivity during infants' development. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Immigrants working with co-ethnics: Who are they and how do they fare?INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 2 2009Feng Hou Participation in ethnic economies has been regarded as an alternative avenue of economic adaptation for immigrants and minorities in major immigrant-receiving countries. This study examines one important dimension of ethnic economies: co-ethnic concentration at the workplace. Using a large national representative sample from Statistics Canada's 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, this study addresses four questions: (1) what is the level of co-ethnic concentration at the workplace for Canada's minority groups? (2) How do workers who share the same ethnicity with most of their co-workers differ from other workers in socio-demographic characteristics? (3) Is higher level of co-ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with lower earnings? (4) Is higher level of co-ethnic concentration at the workplace associated with higher levels of life satisfaction? The results show that only a small proportion of immigrants and the Canadian-born work in ethnically homogeneous settings. In Canada's eight largest metropolitan areas about 10 per cent of non-British/French immigrants share a same ethnic origin with the majority of their co-workers. The level is as high as 20 per cent among Chinese immigrants and 18 per cent among Portuguese immigrants. Among Canadian-born minority groups, the level of co-ethnic workplace concentration is about half the level for immigrants. Immigrant workers in ethnically concentrated settings have much lower educational levels and proficiency in English/French. Immigrant men who work mostly with co-ethnics on average earn about 33 per cent less than workers with few or none co-ethnic coworkers. About two thirds of this gap is attributable to differences in demographic and job characteristics. Meanwhile, immigrant workers in ethnically homogenous settings are less likely to report low levels of life satisfaction than other immigrant workers. Among the Canadian-born, co-ethnic concentration is not consistently associated with earnings and life satisfaction. [source] Implications of Components of Income Excluded from Pro Forma Earnings for Future Profitability and Equity ValuationJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3-4 2007Wayne R. Landsman Abstract:, This study addresses three research questions relating to total exclusions, special items, and other exclusions. Are each of these pro forma exclusion components forecasting irrelevant? Are each of the exclusion components value irrelevant? Are the valuation multiples on the exclusion components justified by their ability to forecast future profitability as predicted by the Ohlson (1999) model? Findings are generally consistent with the market-inefficiency results presented in Doyle et al. (2003). Total exclusions are valued negatively by the market despite the prediction that total exclusions will be valued positively. Valuation results also suggest that stocks with positive other exclusions are overpriced. [source] The Value Relevance of Accounting Information during a Financial Crisis: Thailand and the 1997 Decline in the Value of the BahtJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 2 2000Roger Graham This study addresses whether the financial turmoil surrounding the devaluation of the baht affected the value relevance of Thai accounting information. Our results suggest a decline in the value relevance of Thai book values and earnings following the devaluation. Prior to mid 1997 the Bank of Thailand pegged the value of the baht to a basket of currencies of which 80% was weighted to the US dollar. In response to pressure by currency speculators the bank abandoned its peg on July 2 1997 in favor of a managed float. The devaluation was followed by volatile exchange rates. The change in value relevance of accounting information after the devaluation may be attributable to the initial recognition of foreign exchange losses and the subsequent recognition of foreign exchange gains as exchange rates fell and then recovered. [source] Sex differentials in frailty in medieval EnglandAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Sharon N. DeWitte Abstract In most modern populations, there are sex differentials in morbidity and mortality that favor women. This study addresses whether such female advantages existed to any appreciable degree in medieval Europe. The analyses presented here examine whether men and women with osteological stress markers faced the same risks of death in medieval London. The sample used for this study comes from the East Smithfield Black Death cemetery in London. The benefit of using this cemetery is that most, if not all, individuals interred in East Smithfield died from the same cause within a very short period of time. This allows for the analysis of the differences between men and women in the risks of mortality associated with osteological stress markers without the potential confounding effects of different causes of death. A sample of 299 adults (173 males, 126 females) from the East Smithfield cemetery was analyzed. The results indicate that the excess mortality associated with several osteological stress markers was higher for men than for women. This suggests that in this medieval population, previous physiological stress increased the risk of death for men during the Black Death to a greater extent than was true for women. Alternatively, the results might indicate that the Black Death discriminated less strongly between women with and without pre-existing health conditions than was true for men. These results are examined in light of previous analyses of East Smithfield and what is known about diet and sexually mediated access to resources in medieval England. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:285,297, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Strategic Human Resource Practices: Introducing Alternatives for Organizational Performance Improvement in the Public SectorPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Jungin Kim Can public sector organizations increase productivity through competition in spite of inherent limitations, such as budget constraints? This study addresses that question by examining the impact of four factors that contribute to employees' expectations regarding competitive work environments on organizational performance in terms of overall quality of work and client satisfaction. The four factors measured include rewards for merit such as salary and benefits, opportunities, organizational rules, and the capacity to deal with risks as perceived by employees. Using data on public and nonprofit sector employees, expectations for merit rewards were positively related to employees' perception of organizational performance when the conditions of performance-based organizational rules and risk-taking behaviors were also satisfied. Moreover, employees' perceptions of organizational performance tended to increase when they felt that organizational rules were oriented toward performance plus organizational members and top leaders exhibited greater risk-taking behaviors. However, no correlation was evident between employees' expectations of opportunities and perceived organizational performance. [source] | |||||||||||||