bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Calcium Signaling Mechanisms in T Lymphocytes
Authors: Lewis Richard S
Published: July 2002

Elevation of intracellular free Ca2+is one of the key triggering signals for T-cell activation by antigen. A remarkable variety of Ca2+signals in T cells, ranging from infrequent spikes to sustained oscillations and plateaus, derives from the interactions of multiple Ca2+sources and sinks in the cell. Following engagement of the T cell receptor, intracellular channels (IP3and ryanodine receptors) release Ca2+from intracellular stores, and by depleting the stores trigger prolonged Ca2+influx through store-operated Ca2+(CRAC) channels in the plasma membrane. The amplitude and dynamics of the Ca2+signal are shaped by several mechanisms, including K+channels and membrane potential, slow modulation of the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase, and mitochondria that buffer Ca2+and prevent the inactivation of CRAC channels. Ca2+signals have a number of downstream targets occurring on multiple time scales. At short times, Ca2+signals help to stabilize contacts between T cells and antigen-presenting cells through changes in motility and cytoskeletal reorganization. Over periods of minutes to hours, the amplitude, duration, and kinetic signature of Ca2+signals increase the efficiency and specificity of gene activation events. The complexity of Ca2+signals contains a wealth of information that may help to instruct lymphocytes to choose between alternate fates in response to antigenic stimulation.
Therapy of Carotid Arteriosclerosis
Authors: Barnett H.J.M.
Published: July 2002

Carotid arteriosclerotic disease is the most readily treatable type of lesion leading to stroke. Its management involves lowering those risk factors over which the patient has control. Patients should regulate hypertension, quit smoking, seek medical attention for treatable cardiac abnormalities, and take steps to reduce increased blood lipids. For symptomatic carotid disease, regardless of whether surgery is offered, platelet inhibitors are obligatory. The recommended dose is 650 mg aspirin per day (or up to 1300 mg, if tolerated). For patients whose symptoms continue despite aspirin therapy or who are aspirin intolerant, ticlopidine is the only recommended platelet inhibitor.

Cerebral arterial bypass surgery is not an effective treatment for carotid arteriosclerosis. Carotid endarterectomy helps patients with ≥ 70% stenosis as determined by strict arteriographic measurements. We do not yet have sufficient data to determine whether endarterectomy would benefit patients with lower levels of carotid stenosis or asymptomatic patients with any degree of stenosis.
AN INTEGRATED VIEW OF β-CELL DYSFUNCTION IN TYPE-II DIABETES
Authors: Poitout, D Vincent , Robertson, M.D R. Paul
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Type-II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is a heterogeneous disease resulting from insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction. β-Cell dysfunction in Type-II diabetes is characterized by a specific lack of first-phase glucose-induced insulin secretion. This defect is readily reversible upon normalization of blood glucose levels. Chronic hyperglycemia itself is harmful to the β-cell and affects both insulin biosynthesis and exocytosis. No unique intracellular defect has been demonstrated to be responsible for all common forms of the disease. However, mutations of the glucokinase gene have been identified in maturity onset diabetes in the young, a particular form of NIDDM.
Anti-Cytokine Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Maini R. N. , Taylor P. C.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) are important in mediating inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Randomized phase II and III clinical trials of anti-TNF reagents (infliximab and etanercept) have demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and marked clinical efficacy in cases of RA that have not responded adequately to conventional therapy. Combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) appears to be particularly effective in patients whose disease activity persists despite prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and ongoing MTX monotherapy. DMARD-recalcitrant disease may become the main indication for the use of anti-TNF drugs in patients with RA. Trials of IL-1 receptor antagonist show a relatively modest anti-inflammatory effect and a possible retardation of joint damage. Whether anti-TNF therapy protects joints from structural damage is under investigation. One anti-TNF reagent has already been approved in the United States for the treatment of RA, and other cytokine antagonists or agonists are under development.
TRANSCRIPTION OF PROTEIN- CODING GENES IN TRYPANOSOMES BY RNA POLYMERASE I
Authors: Lee Mary Gwo-Shu , Van der Ploeg Lex H. T.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  In eukaryotes, RNA polymerase (pol) II transcribes the protein-coding genes, whereas RNA pol I transcribes the genes that encode the three RNA species of the ribosome [the ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs)] at the nucleolus. Protozoan parasites of the order Kinetoplastida may represent an exception, because pol I can mediate the expression of exogenously introduced protein-coding genes in these single-cell organisms. A unique molecular mechanism, which leads to pre-mRNA maturation by trans-splicing, facilitates pol I–mediated protein-coding gene expression in trypanosomes. Trans-splicing adds a capped 39-nucleotide mini-exon, or spliced leader transcript, to the 5′ end of the main coding exon posttranscriptionally. In other eukaryotes, the addition of a 5′ cap, which is essential for mRNA function, occurs exclusively as a result of RNA pol II–mediated transcription. Given the assumption that cap addition represents the limiting factor, trans-splicing may have uncoupled the requirement for RNA pol II–mediated mRNA production. A comparison of the α-amanitin sensitivity of transcription in naturally occurring trypanosome protein-coding genes reveals that a unique subset of protein-coding genes—the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expression sites and the procyclin or the procyclic acidic repetitive protein (PARP) genes—are transcribed by an RNA polymerase that is resistant to the mushroom toxin α-amanitin, a characteristic of transcription by RNA pol I. Promoter analysis and a pharmacological characterization of the RNA polymerase that transcribes these genes have strengthened the proposal that the VSG expression sites and the PARP genes represent naturally occurring protein-coding genes that are transcribed by RNA pol I.
Toxic Shock Syndrome and Bacterial Superantigens: An Update
Authors: McCormick John K. , Yarwood Jeremy M. , Schlievert Patrick M.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is an acute onset illness characterized by fever, rash formation, and hypotension that can lead to multiple organ failure and lethal shock, as well as desquamation in patients that recover. The disease is caused by bacterial superantigens (SAGs) secreted from Staphylococcus aureus and group A streptococci. SAGs bypass normal antigen presentation by binding to class II major histocompatibility complex molecules on antigen-presenting cells and to specific variable regions on the β-chain of the T-cell antigen receptor. Through this interaction, SAGs activate T cells at orders of magnitude above antigen-specific activation, resulting in massive cytokine release that is believed to be responsible for the most severe features of TSS. This review focuses on clinical and epidemiological aspects of TSS, as well as important developments in the genetics, biochemistry, immunology, and structural biology of SAGs. From the evolutionary relationships between these important toxins, we propose that there are five distinct groups of SAGs.
THE EPHRINS AND EPH RECEPTORS IN NEURAL DEVELOPMENT
Authors: Flanagan John G. , Vanderhaeghen Pierre
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The Eph receptors are the largest known family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Initially all of them were identified as orphan receptors without known ligands, and their specific functions were not well understood. During the past few years, a corresponding family of ligands has been identified, called the ephrins, and specific functions have now been identified in neural development. The ephrins and Eph receptors are implicated as positional labels that may guide the development of neural topographic maps. They have also been implicated in pathway selection by axons, the guidance of cell migration, and the establishment of regional pattern in the nervous system. The ligands are anchored to cell surfaces, and most of the functions so far identified can be interpreted as precise guidance of cell or axon movement. This large family of ligands and receptors may make a major contribution to the accurate spatial patterning of connections and cell position in the nervous system.
RAB3 AND SYNAPTOTAGMIN: The Yin and Yang of Synaptic Membrane Fusion
Authors: Geppert Martin , Südhof Thomas C.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Synaptic vesicle exocytosis occurs in consecutive steps: docking, which specifically attaches vesicles to the active zone; priming, which makes the vesicles competent for Ca2+-triggered release and may involve a partial fusion reaction; and the final Ca2+-regulated step that completes fusion. Recent evidence suggests that the critical regulation of the last step in the reaction is mediated by two proteins with opposite actions: synaptotagmin, a Ca2+-binding protein that is essential for Ca2+-triggered release and probably serves as the Ca2+-sensor in fusion, and rab3, which limits the number of vesicles that can be fused as a function of Ca2+ in order to allow a temporally limited, repeatable signal.
SPACE AND ATTENTION IN PARIETAL CORTEX
Authors: Colby Carol L. , Goldberg Michael E.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The space around us is represented not once but many times in parietal cortex. These multiple representations encode locations and objects of interest in several egocentric reference frames. Stimulus representations are transformed from the coordinates of receptor surfaces, such as the retina or the cochlea, into the coordinates of effectors, such as the eye, head, or hand. The transformation is accomplished by dynamic updating of spatial representations in conjunction with voluntary movements. This direct sensory-to-motor coordinate transformation obviates the need for a single representation of space in environmental coordinates. In addition to representing object locations in motoric coordinates, parietal neurons exhibit strong modulation by attention. Both top-down and bottom-up mechanisms of attention contribute to the enhancement of visual responses. The saliance of a stimulus is the primary factor in determining the neural response to it. Although parietal neurons represent objects in motor coordinates, visual responses are independent of the intention to perform specific motor acts.
Plasticity and Primary Motor Cortex
Authors: Sanes Jerome N. , Donoghue John P.
Published: July 2002

One fundamental function of primary motor cortex (MI) is to control voluntary movements. Recent evidence suggests that this role emerges from distributed networks rather than discrete representations and that in adult mammals these networks are capable of modification. Neuronal recordings and activation patterns revealed with neuroimaging methods have shown considerable plasticity of MI representations and cell properties following pathological or traumatic changes and in relation to everyday experience, including motor-skill learning and cognitive motor actions. The intrinsic horizontal neuronal connections in MI are a strong candidate substrate for map reorganization: They interconnect large regions of MI, they show activity-dependent plasticity, and they modify in association with skill learning. These findings suggest that MI cortex is not simply a static motor control structure. It also contains a dynamic substrate that participates in motor learning and possibly in cognitive events as well.
The Physiology of Stereopsis
Authors: Cumming B. G. , DeAngelis G. C.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Binocular disparity provides the visual system with information concerning the three-dimensional layout of the environment. Recent physiological studies in the primary visual cortex provide a successful account of the mechanisms by which single neurons are able to signal disparity. This work also reveals that additional processing is required to make explicit the types of signal required for depth perception (such as the ability to match features correctly between the two monocular images). Some of these signals, such as those encoding relative disparity, are found in extrastriate cortex. Several other lines of evidence also suggest that the link between perception and neuronal activity is stronger in extrastriate cortex (especially MT) than in the primary visual cortex.
THE SEARCH FOR THE QUARK-GLUON PLASMA
Authors: Harris John W. , Müller Berndt
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  We provide an overview of the present understanding of the transition from hadrons to a quark-gluon plasma, its signatures, and the experimental results so far. We discuss results of numerical simulations of the lattice gauge theory and critically evaluate the various observables that have been proposed as signatures of the QCD phase transition. We place the existing data from relativistic heavy-ion experiments at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) and CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) into perspective and provide an overview of the techniques and strategies that will be employed in the search for the quark-gluon plasma at heavy-ion colliders, such as the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
SOLID POLARIZED TARGETS FOR NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS EXPERIMENTS
Authors: Crabb D. G. , Meyer W.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The development, in the early 1960s, of the dynamic nuclear polarization process in solid diamagnetic materials, doped with paramagnetic radicals, led to the use of solid polarized targets in numerous nuclear and particle physics experiments. Since then steady progress has been made in all contributing subsystems so that proton polarizations near 100% and deuteron polarizations higher than 50% have been achieved in various materials. More radiation-resistant materials, such as ammonia, have made it possible to perform experiments with high beam intensities and experiments that benefit from4He cooling at 1K and high magnetic fields. The development of dilution refrigerators have allowed frozen spin operation so that experiments with large angular acceptance for the scattered particles have become routine. Many experiments have taken advantage of these developments and many more are being planned, especially with electromagnetic probes.
ACCELERATOR-DRIVEN SYSTEMS FOR NUCLEAR WASTE TRANSMUTATION
Authors: Bowman Charles D.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The renewed interest since 1990 in accelerator-driven subcritical systems for transmutation of commercial nuclear waste has evolved to focus on the issue of whether fast- or thermal-spectrum systems offer greater promise. This review addresses the issue by comparing the performance of the more completely developed thermal- and fast-spectrum designs. Substantial design information is included to allow an assessment of the viability of the systems compared. The performance criteria considered most important are (a) the rapidity of reduction of the current inventory of plutonium and minor actinide from commercial spent fuel, (b) the cost, and (c) the complexity. The liquid-fueled thermal spectrum appears to offer major advantages over the solid-fueled fast-spectrum system, making waste reduction possible with about half the capital requirement on a substantially shorter time scale and with smaller separations requirements.
IRON REGULATORY PROTEINS AND THE MOLECULAR CONTROL OF MAMMALIAN IRON METABOLISM
Authors: Eisenstein Richard S.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Mammalian iron homeostasis is maintained through the concerted action of sensory and regulatory networks that modulate the expression of proteins of iron metabolism at the transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional levels. Regulation of gene transcription provides critical developmental, cell cycle, and cell-type-specific controls on iron metabolism. Post-transcriptional control through the action of iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) and IRP2 coordinate the use of messenger RNA-encoding proteins that are involved in the uptake, storage, and use of iron in all cells of the body. IRPs may also provide a link between iron availability and cellular citrate use. Multiple factors, including iron, nitric oxide, oxidative stress, phosphorylation, and hypoxia/reoxygenation, influence IRP function. Recent evidence indicates that there is diversity in the function of the IRP system with respect to the response of specific IRPs to the same effector, as well as the selectivity with which IRPs modulate the use of specific messenger RNA.
IN VITRO AND IN VIVO DRUG INTERACTIONS INVOLVING HUMAN CYP3A
Authors: Thummel K. E. , Wilkinson G. R.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Cytochrome P4503A (CYP3A) is importantly involved in the metabolism of many chemically diverse drugs administered to humans. Moreover, its localization in high amounts both in the small intestinal epithelium and liver makes it a major contributor to presystemic elimination following oral drug administration. Drug interactions involving enzyme inhibition or induction are common following the coadministration of two or more CYP3A substrates. Studies using in vitro preparations are useful in identifying such potential interactions and possibly permitting extrapolation of in vitro findings to the likely in vivo situation. Even if accurate quantitative predictions cannot be made, several classes of drugs can be expected to result in a drug interaction based on clinical experience. In many instances, the extent of such drug interactions is sufficiently pronounced to contraindicate the therapeutic use of the involved drugs.
Tumor Cell Death Induced by Topoisomerase-Targeting Drugs
Authors: Li Tsai-Kun , Liu Leroy F
Published: July 2002

DNA topoisomerases are double-edged swords. They are essential for many vital functions of DNA during normal cell growth. However, they are also highly vulnerable under various physiological and nonphysiological stresses because of their delicate act on breaking and rejoining DNA. These stresses (e.g. exposure to topoisomerase poisons, acidic pH, and oxidative stresses) can convert DNA topoisomerases into DNA-breaking nucleases, resulting in cell death and/or genomic instability. The importance of topoisomerase-mediated DNA cleavage in tumor cell death and carcinogenesis has been recognized. This review focuses on recent findings concerning the molecular mechanisms of the stress responses to topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage. The involvement of ubiquitin/26S proteasome and SUMO/UBC9 in these processes, as well as the role of topoisomerase cleavable complexes in apoptotic cell death are discussed.
OZONE AND PLANT HEALTH
Authors: Sandermann Jr Heinrich
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Phytotoxic effects of ozone are described with emphasis on secondary plant metabolism. Numerous ozone-induced genes, enzymes and stress metabolites of antioxidative and phytopathological defense reactions have been discovered for herbaceous plants and forest tree species. Ozone induces reactions normally elicited by viral and microbial pathogens. The molecular basis (receptors, signal chains) for induction by ozone remains to be elucidated. The induced stress reactions seem to change plant predisposition to either enhanced tolerance or susceptibility for a second stressor. The following topics are discussed: ozone and biotic disease, the role of ozone on field sites and ozone limit values.
QTL MAPPING AND QUANTITATIVE DISEASE RESISTANCE IN PLANTS
Authors: Young N. D.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping is a highly effective approach for studying genetically complex forms of plant disease resistance. With QTL mapping, the roles of specific resistance loci can be described, race-specificity of partial resistance genes can be assessed, and interactions between resistance genes, plant development, and the environment can be analyzed. Outstanding examples include: quantitative resistance to the rice blast fungus, late blight of potato, gray leaf spot of maize, bacterial wilt of tomato, and the soybean cyst nematode. These studies provide insights into the number of quantitative resistance loci involved in complex disease resistance, epistatic and environmental interactions, race-specificity of partial resistance loci, interactions between pathogen biology, plant development and biochemistry, and the relationship between qualitative and quantitative loci. QTL mapping also provides a framework for marker-assisted selection of complex disease resistance characters and the positional cloning of partial resistance genes.
ANTICIPATORY BREEDING FOR RESISTANCE TO RUST DISEASES IN WHEAT
Authors: McIntosh R. A. , Brown G. N.
Published: July 2002

Anticipatory resistance breeding is the process of predicting future pathotypes and producing resistant germplasm to avert future losses. It is made possible by a national pathotype surveillance program and knowledge that new pathotypes arise predominantly from mutation in existing pathotypes. This is supported by genetic analyses to catalogue the identity and distribution of resistance genes in current cultivars. A national germplasm enhancement program ensuring that both currently effective and potentially new sources of resistance are available in a wide range of adapted genotypes enables rapid cultivar replacement before or soon after the occurrence of new pathotypes. The policy of recommending only rust-resistant cultivars in the more rust-prone areas has resulted in significant reductions in pathogen population size and variability. With increased and more rapid international human travel and transport, there is an increased threat of exotic pathotypes, the effects of which are more difficult to predict. As the frequency and magnitude of epidemics decline, public awareness programs will be required to achieve and maintain the use of rust resistance by the entire wheat industry.
CYPRESS CANKER: A Pandemic in Progress
Authors: Graniti Antonio
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Over the past 70 years a destructive blight of Cupressus macrocarpa and other Cupressaceae, caused by Seiridium cardinale, has spread worldwide from California, devastating forests, plantations, and ornamental cypresses. The epidemic has been particularly severe in the Mediterranean region, on C. sempervirens. A similar destructive blight induced by Lepteutypa cupressi, which caused serious losses to Monterey cypresses in East Africa in the 1940s, has now also spread to distant continents, albeit to a lesser extent. There is yet a third wave of canker disease induced by S. unicorne, although this is a milder type.

This review deals with problems related to identification of the pathogens, their taxonomy, pathogenesis and role of fungal toxins, and early screening of cypress clones or hybrids for resistance to the pathogens and tolerance to their toxins.
ELECTORAL RULES AND ELECTORAL COORDINATION
Authors: Cox G.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Electoral coordination occurs at two main levels: (a) within individual electoral districts, where competitors coordinate entry and citizens coordinate votes; and (b) across districts, as competitors from different districts ally to form regional or national parties. We know a fair amount about district-level electoral coordination for single-tier electoral systems. In particular, when political actors are primarily concerned with the current election and have good information about the relative chances of potential competitors, two different M + 1 rules apply in an M-seat district. First, the number of competitors entering a given race tends to be no more than M + 1; second, when more than M + 1 competitors do enter a race, votes tend to concentrate on at most M + 1 of them. We know much less about cross-district coordination, in which potentially separate local party systems merge to form a national party system. This essay focuses on the latter, relatively neglected topic.
INSTITUTIONALISM AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: Beyond International Relations and Comparative Politics
Authors: Jupille J. , Caporaso J. A.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The growing use of institutional analysis in the study of the European Union (EU) has improved EU scholarship and rendered it more integral to the discipline of political science. Institutionalist analyses differ regarding the theoretical role of institutions and actor preferences. We classify institutionalist approaches to the EU by their theoretical treatment (exogenous or endogenous) of institutions and preferences. Analyses at the research frontier transcend these categories and offer the promise of an improved understanding of EU politics and a greater contribution by EU studies to the broader discipline of political science.
THEORIES OFDELEGATION
Authors: Bendor J. , Glazer A. , Hammond T.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  We survey modern models of delegation that assume a boss and a subordinate pursue their own goals. Among the major themes covered are the following: the conditions under which the boss will prefer to delegate versus those in which she will prefer to retain authority; how a boss can induce a subordinate to truthfully reveal information; when rational principals will use the ally principle (i.e. delegate to agents with similar goals); delegation in repeated interactions; and how delegation can overcome commitment problems. These themes are relevant to a wide variety of institutions, affecting intralegislative organization, executive-legislative relations, and central banks.
EMOTION
Authors: Cacioppo John T. , Gardner Wendi L.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  We review recent trends and methodological issues in assessing and testing theories of emotion, and we review evidence that form follows function in the affect system. Physical limitations constrain behavioral expressions and incline behavioral predispositions toward a bipolar organization, but these limiting conditions appear to lose their power at the level of underlying mechanisms, where a bivalent approach may provide a more comprehensive account of the affect system.
Organizational Behavior: Affect in the Workplace
Authors: Brief Arthur P. , Weiss Howard M.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The study of affect in the workplace began and peaked in the 1930s, with the decades that followed up to the 1990s not being particularly fertile. Whereas job satisfaction generally continues to be loosely but not carefully thought of and measured as an affective state, critical work in the 1990s has raised serious questions about the affective status of job satisfaction in terms of its causes as well as its definition and measurement. Recent research has focused on the production of moods and emotions at work, with an emphasis, at least conceptually, on stressful events, leaders, work groups, physical settings, and rewards/punishment. Other recent research has addressed the consequences of workers' feelings, in particular, a variety of performance outcomes (e.g., helping behaviors and creativity). Even though recent interest in affect in the workplace has been intense, many theoretical and methodological opportunities and challenges remain.
Host-Pathogen Interactions in Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases: A Genomic Perspective of Tuberculosis, Malaria, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, Hepatitis B, and Cholera
Authors: McNicholl Janet M. , Downer Marie V. , Udhayakumar Venkatachalam , Alper Chester A. , Swerdlow David L.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  On exposure to a pathogen, a host may resist infection, become subclinically infected, or progress through several stages from mild to severe infection. Chronic sequelae may or may not occur. Host factors, particularly host genes, influence many of these stages. We have used a model of the continuum of pathogenesis of infectious diseases to consider the effect of host genes on five pathogens of significant public health burden: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium species, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and Vibrio cholerae. The relationships between these infections and polymorphisms in human leukocyte antigen, cytokines, other immune response, or pathogen receptor genes are reviewed. We discuss gene-gene interactions and their effects in complex settings, such as coinfections with several pathogens. Priorities for prevention and control of these pathogens include vaccines and antimicrobial drugs. Research on how host genes can influence vaccine responses and the efficacy of drugs or other interventions, as well as further research into the relationship of host genes to infectious disease outcomes, may lead to new strategies for prevention and control.
Income Inequality and Health: What Does the Literature Tell Us?
Authors: Wagstaff Adam , van Doorslaer Eddy
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  This paper reviews the large and growing body of literature on the apparently negative effects of income inequality on population health. Various hypotheses are identified and described that explain the empirically observed association between measures of income inequality and population health. We have concluded that data from aggregate-level studies of the effect of income inequality on health, i.e. studies at the population and community (e.g. state) levels, are largely insufficient to discriminate between competing hypotheses. Only individual-level studies have the potential to discriminate between most of the advanced hypotheses. The relevant individual-level studies to date, all on U.S. population data, provide strong support for the “absolute-income hypothesis,” no support for the “relative-income hypothesis,” and little or no support for the “income-inequality hypothesis.” Results that provide some support for the income-inequality hypothesis suggest that income inequality at the state level affects mainly the health of the poor. There is only indirect evidence for the “deprivation hypothesis,” and no evidence supports the “relative-position hypothesis.” Overall, the absolute-income hypothesis, although >20 years old, is still the most likely to explain the frequently observed strong association between population health and income inequality levels.
The Effectiveness of State-Level Tobacco Control Interventions: A Review of Program Implementation and Behavioral Outcomes
Authors: Siegel Michael
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  In 2001, nearly one billion dollars will be spent on statewide tobacco control programs, including those in California, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Oregon, funded by cigarette tax revenues, and the program in Florida, funded by the state's settlement with the tobacco industry. With such large expenditures, it is imperative to find out whether these programs are working. This paper reviews the effectiveness of the statewide tobacco control programs in California, Massachusetts, Arizona, Oregon, and Florida. It focuses on two aspects of process evaluation—the funding and implementation of the programs and the tobacco industry's response, and four elements of outcome evaluation—the programs' effects on cigarette consumption, adult and youth smoking prevalence, and protection of the public from secondhand smoke. The paper formulates general lessons learned from these existing programs and generates recommendations to improve and inform the development and implementation of these and future programs.
Poverty Research and Policy for the Post-Welfare Era
Authors: O'Connor Alice
Published: July 2002

The “end of welfare as we know it” constitutes an important challenge for poverty research, shifting the focus away from once-dominant themes of dependency and toward the reality of widespread “working poverty.” The literature reviewed in this chapter points in the direction of a reformulated research agenda, built around issues of inequality, political economy, and stratification by gender, race, class, and place. It also calls into question the traditional distinction between welfare and working poor, as well as the notion of an isolated underclass existing apart from the social and economic mainstream. Finally, it points to the need to broaden a policy discourse that has been narrowly fixated on welfare and on changing the behavior of the poor. A real anti-poverty agenda would focus instead on the elements of mainstream political economy and culture that continue to produce widespread economic inequality.
Socioeconomic Status and Class in Studies of Fertility and Health in Developing Countries
Authors: Bollen Kenneth A. , Glanville Jennifer L. , Stecklov Guy
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The concepts of socioeconomic status (SES) and class are pervasive in sociological studies, yet an examination of the sociological and social science literature suggests a lack of consensus on their conceptual meaning and measurement. Our review focuses on the use of SES and class in a specific substantive field, studies of child health and fertility in developing countries. We discuss the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between SES and fertility and child health and the divergent results found in this field. We then provide a brief review of the theoretical literature on SES and class, contrasting unitary and component views. Following this is a section on the use of SES and class in empirical studies of child health and fertility in developing countries. We investigate the relationship between the conceptual and empirical literature, highlighting the inconsistencies we find. In addition, we discuss the variety of meanings and measures of SES that researchers use in these studies. Next, we address a series of methodological issues that arise from the review. Finally, we make recommendations for the treatment of SES and class in these and related areas.
Elevated C-Reactive Protein in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Authors: Shamsuzzaman Abu S.M. , Winnicki Mikolaj , Lanfranchi Paola , Wolk Robert , Kara Tomas , Accurso Valentina , Somers Virend K.
Published: July 2002

Background

—

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been increasingly linked to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Inflammatory processes associated with OSA may contribute to cardiovascular morbidity in these patients. We tested the hypothesis that OSA patients have increased plasma C-reactive protein (CRP).

Methods and Results

—

We studied 22 patients (18 males and 4 females) with newly diagnosed OSA, who were free of other diseases, had never been treated for OSA, and were taking no medications. We compared CRP measurements in these patients to measurements obtained in 20 control subjects (15 males and 5 females) who were matched for age and body mass index, and in whom occult OSA was excluded. Plasma CRP levels were significantly higher in patients with OSA than in controls (median [range] 0.33 [0.09 to 2.73] versus 0.09 [0.02 to 0.9] mg/dL,
P
<0.0003). In multivariate analysis, CRP levels were independently associated with OSA severity (F=6.8,
P
=0.032).

Conclusions

—

OSA is associated with elevated levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation and of cardiovascular risk. The severity of OSA is proportional to the CRP level.
Driving with the Rearview Mirror: On the Rational Science of Institutional Design
Authors: Wendt Alexander
Published: July 2002

The Rational Design project is impressive on its own terms. However, it does not address other approaches relevant to the design of international institutions. To facilitate comparison I survey two “contrast spaces” around it. The first shares the project's central question—What explains institutional design?—but addresses alternative explanations of two types: rival explanations and explanations complementary but deeper in the causal chain. The second contrast begins with a different question: What kind of knowledge is needed to design institutions in the real world? Asking this question reveals epistemological differences between positive social science and institutional design that can be traced to different orientations toward time. Making institutions is about the future and has an intrinsic normative element. Explaining institutions is about the past and does not necessarily have this normative dimension. To avoid “driving with the rearview mirror” we need two additional kinds of knowledge beyond that developed in this volume, knowledge about institutional effectiveness and knowledge about what values to pursue. As such, the problem of institutional design is a fruitful site for developing a broader and more practical conception of social science that integrates normative and positive concerns.
The Might of the Pen: A Reputational Theory of Communication in International Disputes
Authors: Sartori Anne E.
Published: July 2002

I present a theory of effective diplomacy based on honesty and reputations. I model diplomacy as a form of “cheap talk” and international interactions as an infinitely repeated game in which similar states find themselves in disparate situations over time. The theory explains the success and failure of diplomacy. Reputations for honesty make honest communication possible. A state caught bluffing is less able to communicate and less likely to attain its goals in the near future. These findings imply that domestic audience costs are unnecessary for international signaling and that military strength is not the only way to build credibility.
The Structuring of a World Environmental Regime, 1870–1990
Authors: Meyer John W. , Frank David John , Hironaka Ann , Schofer Evan , Tuma Nancy Brandon
Published: July 2002

In recent decades a great expansion has occurred in world environmental organization, both governmental and nongovernmental, along with an explosion of worldwide discourse and communication about environmental problems. All of this constitutes a world environmental regime. Using the term regime a little more broadly than usual, we define world environmental regime as a partially integrated collection of world-level organizations, understandings, and assumptions that specify the relationship of human society to nature. The rise of an environmental regime has accompanied greatly expanded organization and activity in many sectors of global society. Explaining the growth of the environmental regime, however, poses some problems. The interests and powers of the dominant actors in world society—nation-states and economic interests—came late to the environmental scene. Thus these forces cannot easily be used to explain the rise of world mobilization around the environment, in contrast with other sectors of global society (for example, the international economic and national security regimes).
The European Court of Justice, National Governments, and Legal Integration in the European Union
Authors: Garrett Geoffrey , Kelemen R. Daniel , Schulz Heiner
Published: July 2002

We develop a game theoretic model of the conditions under which the European Court of Justice can be expected to take “adverse judgments” against European Union member governments and when the governments are likely to abide by these decisions. The model generates three hypotheses. First, the greater the clarity of EU case law precedent, the lesser the likelihood that the Court will tailor its decisions to the anticipated reactions of member governments. Second, the greater the domestic costs of an ECJ ruling to a litigant government, the lesser the likelihood that the litigant government will abide by it (and hence the lesser the likelihood that the Court will make such a ruling). Third, the greater the activism of the ECJ and the larger the number of member governments adversely affected by it, the greater the likelihood that responses by litigant governments will move from individual noncompliance to coordinated retaliation through new legislation or treaty revisions. These hypotheses are tested against three broad lines of case law central to ECJ jurisprudence: bans on agricultural imports, application of principles of equal treatment of the sexes to occupational pensions, and state liability for violation of EU law. The empirical analysis supports our view that though influenced by legal precedent, the ECJ also takes into account the anticipated reactions of member governments.
Economics and Security in Statecraft and Scholarship
Authors: Mastanduno Michael
Published: July 2002

This article traces and explains how U.S. policy officials and IR scholars have conceived of the relationship between economics and security over the past half-century. During the interwar years, economics and security were integrated in both scholarship and statecraft. During the Cold War, scholars treated the two issues as separate areas of inquiry. U.S. policymakers integrated economics and security during the early Cold War, but by the 1970s the two components of U.S. foreign policy had drifted apart. After the Cold War, a renewed emphasis has emerged in both U.S. statecraft and IR scholarship on the integration of economics and security. Three factors explain these patterns: (1) the international distribution of material capabilities, (2) perceptions of the strategic environment, and (3) perceptions of the position of the United States in international economic competition.
Comment on Andrew Moravcsik, “A New Statecraft? Supranational Entrepreneurs and International Cooperation”
Authors: Young Oran R.
Published: July 2002

Andrew Moravcsik's article titled “A New Statecraft? Supranational Entrepreneurs and International Cooperation” is a powerfully argued and provocative contribution to our understanding of the role of individuals in the dynamics of international cooperation. His revisionist account of the parts played by prominent figures like Jean Monnet and Jacques Delors in the development of the European Union (EU) is sufficient all by itself to ensure that this piece will stimulate vigorous debate.
Mathematics and Peace: A Reflection on the Basis of Western Civilization
Authors: D'Ambrosio Ubiratan
Published: July 2002

This essay considers the relationship between science and mathematics and the social order that they both rely upon and reinforce. A peaceful and egalitarian world, the author argues, will require instilling a sense of responsibility in those who work with mathematics for the uses society makes of their efforts. Such an understanding of their social responsibilities would also require mathematicians to become more sensitive to history and to the social and psychological dynamics of the presentation of knowledge.
Structure in Art Practice: Technology as an Agent for Concept Development
Authors: Edmonds Ernest
Published: July 2002

The exhibition Constructs and Re-Constructions provided a survey of the author's artwork and formed the basis for this paper. It included four prints, consisting of notes based on early documentation, representing four different conceptual stages in using computer technology. As each is discussed in turn, it is shown that the computer provides a significant enhancement to our ability to handle and consider the underlying structures of artworks and art systems in the many forms that they may take. In the work discussed, while the conceptual developments are the key issues, the role of the technology in encouraging, enabling and inspiring them has also been central.
A Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Computer Animation Course
Authors: Ebert David S. , Bailey Dan
Published: July 2002

Animation has always required a close collaboration between artists and scientists, poets and engineers. Current trends in computer animation have made successful and effective teamwork a necessity. To address these issues, the authors have developed an interdisciplinary computer animation course for artists and scientists, in which student teams produce a professional animation that extends the capabilities of a commercial animation package. A key component of this course is the use of collaborative teams that provide practical experience and cross-mixing of student exper-tise. Another key component is group-based education: the students learn from each other, as well as from the instructors.
Scandinavian Stylistic Fronting: How Any Category Can Become an Expletive
Authors: Holmberg Anders
Published: July 2002

The two central theses are (a) the category moved by stylistic fronting (SF) functions as a pure expletive in its derived position, which is [Spec, IP]; (b) what is moved under SF is only the phonological feature matrix of a category. The theory accounts for most of the properties of SF: why it applies only when there is a subject gap; why it affects almost any category, head or phrase; the locality conditions; and the crosslinguistic variation. SF belongs to Narrow Syntax, not the phonological component. Although the features moved by SF are invisible at LF, the specifier position created by SF is visible and is used by other categories that are visible at LF but invisible at PF.
Primitives of Binding
Authors: Reuland Eric
Published: July 2002

This article explains the conditions on the binding of pronouns, simplex anaphors, and complex anaphors, distinguishing the roles of the computational system, interpretive procedures, and discourse storage. It argues for a general principle of economy counting interpretive steps. Locality conditions on binding are shown to follow from this economy principle and independent principles of (minimalist) syntax, providing the means to encode certain dependencies, most economically, within the computational system. It shows that the role of complex anaphors in licensing reflexivization follows from an interpretive condition holding at the conceptual-intentional (C-I)interface.
Minimality, Reconstruction, and PF Movement
Authors: Aoun Joseph , Benmamoun Elabbas
Published: July 2002

We investigate the interaction of clitic left-dislocation (CLLD), wh-interrogatives, and topicalization in Lebanese Arabic. A wh-phrase or a topicalized phrase can be fronted across a CLLDed element derived by movement but not across a base-generated one. A CLLDed element cannot be fronted across another CLLDed element, a wh-phrase, or a topicalized phrase. These interception effects are accounted for only if Minimality is construed as a constraint on derivations rather than representations and if fronting of the CLLDed elements is seen to apply in the PF component. It is thus suggested that the mapping between overt Syntax and the Articulatory-Perceptual level is not trivial.
Probabilistic Top-Down Parsing and Language Modeling
Authors: Roark Brian
Published: July 2002

This paper describes the functioning of a broad-coverage probabilistic top-down parser, and its application to the problem of language modeling for speech recognition. The paper first introduces key notions in language modeling and probabilistic parsing, and briefly reviews some previous approaches to using syntactic structure for language modeling. A lexicalized probabilistic top-down parser is then presented, which performs very well, in terms of both the accuracy of returned parses and the efficiency with which they are found, relative to the best broad-coverage statistical parsers. A new language model that utilizes probabilistic top-down parsing is then outlined, and empirical results show that it improves upon previous work in test corpus perplexity. Interpolation with a trigram model yields an exceptional improvement relative to the improvement observed by other models, demonstrating the degree to which the information captured by our parsing model is orthogonal to that captured by a trigram model. A small recognition experiment also demonstrates the utility of the model.