bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pahl and Lojkine on the state: a comment
Authors: Mingione Enzo
Published: October 2009

La relation entre i'état et le développement social peut entre analysée à partir de trois niveaux interconnectés:

Au niveau de la théorie et de la méthodologie. C'est ce que font Lojkine et Pahl.

A un niveau général, mais concernant des types théoriquement differenciés d'organisations sociales (c'est à dire, sociétés capitalistes avancées, sociététés socialistes. etc.). C'est le niveau qui concerne cet auteur le plus.

Au niveau d'une société donnée, durant une période historique déterminéee. C'est à ce niveau que les autres travaux de Lojkine ont été faits.

La critique faite par Pahl des perspectives marxistes est rejetés comme étant superficielle, par contre il est reconnu que i'œuvre de Poulantzas manque de perspective historique et dialectique. Mais i'analyse marxiste des institutions politiques dépend d'une interprétation correcte de la relation entre structure et superstructure, et ce point est développé par i'auteur. Une critique est faite des théories élitistes et historicistes. La typologie historiciste de Runciman est considérée comme étant inadéquate, car elle ne peut ětre appliquée à la réalité historique, et en dernier lieu, ne peut expliquer pourquoi les relations état‐société montrent tant de variations.

Les définitions marxistes de i'état sont insuffisantes et ont besoin d'ětre dévéloppées. A propos, les travaux de Lojkine et de Poulantzas sont critiqués comme étant réductivistes et non‐dialectiques. La question des origines sociales de la démocratie est introduite afin de développer une perspective analytique satisfaisante qui pourrait prendre en compte les faits historiques des révolutions nationales en Europe de l'Ouest, au Japon et aux Etats‐Unis. L'accent est mis sur le role de la classe ouvrière, le concept d'hégémonie, l'exercise du pouvoir hégémonique, et plus précisement quand la classe hégémonique n'est pas dominante. Une bonne analyse marxiste des relations état‐société doit pouvoir envisager les tendences et les conditions actuelles de l'accumulation du capital, en conjonction avec les intérěts des groupes monopolistes. Cet essai fini par une brěve discussion des tendences actuelles dans ces domaines.
Equipements collectifs et consommation sociale
Authors: Preteceille Edmond
Published: October 2009

Collective consumption has become a major issue in recent developments in urban research, as a focal point in the analysis of the aspect of urbanization concerned with social conditions of reproduction of the labour force.

A survey of traditional approaches shows that they adopt a conception of the state as promoter of increasing welfare. The limitations of econometric measures of ‘social welfare’ and the associated theories of consumer choice are also discussed.

Recent radical studies consider collective means of consumption as means of domination and repression by the state, either by way of an Althusserian analysis of ideological state apparatus, or by an extension of the critique of psychiatric institutions elaborated by M. Foucault.

The concrete analysis of collective consumption must go beyond this useful but unilateral perspective, also beyond the recurrent empiricist temptation to use concepts as ‘boxes’ for direct classification of empirical objects, and try to link together theoretically the various and contradictory aspects of socialized consumption processes. Various concepts must be developed regarding the nature of social relations of consumption: relations of production and circulation, ownership and real appropriation of the means of consumption, forms of socialization transforming these relations, nature of the use value of the means of consumption and relation with the concrete process of its realization, forms of the division of labour, ideological processes inside the consumption process.

The movements and results of class struggle in the reproduction sphere can be followed through the analysis of the contradictions in collective consumption—between state domination and repression and development of the labour force, between socialization of consumption, also considering precisely its social distribution, and capitalist interests.
Contradictions urbaines et guerre civile
Authors: Massabni Micheline
Published: October 2009

The slum area of Quarantina formed part of Beirut near the coast. Migrants of disparate origins—nomads (Bedouins from Saudi Arabia), Kurds from Turkey, Palestinian refugees, Syrian labourers and uprooted Lebanese peasants from the south‐settled on land belonging to state officials and to religious institutions, and gradually built up a network of marginal economic and social life. They soon became considered as dangerous social outcasts—as the pariahs of Christian eastern Beirut and of the Lebanese social hierarchy.

Although providing the surrounding industries with a consistent labour force, their activities were feared because of subversive political implications. Communication between Palestinian camps and slum areas of Beirut led to raised political consciousness among the Quarantina inhabitants: the ideology of the Palestinian revolution became the symbol of a new struggle. The interlinking of both causes, that of the Lebanese masses and that of the Palestinian refugees, precipitated the repressive action taken by the conservative forces.

Quarantina contained an insignificant proportion of Palestinians; nevertheless its inhabitants could possibly organize into embryonic revolutionary movements and give birth to urban guerilla warfare. The slum also obstructed the expansion of the Christian quarter of Achrafieh and impeded the partition projects of the right‐wing Phalangist party. The repressive action meted out to the urban population of Quarantina took a particularly violent form. The men were massacred, shot down before their families. The dwellings were plundered. The site, cleared of its ‘gangrene’, is now ready for the construction of a new tourist complex.
On the political economy of urbanization in the Third World
Authors: Gugler Josef , Flanagan William G.
Published: October 2009

Cette analyse de l'urbanisation d'aprés‐guerre en Afrique Occidentale est proposée comme un jalon pour l'économie politique de l'urbanisation dans le Tiers Monde. L'Afrique Occidentale est une des régions les moins urbanisées du monde qui cependant a récemment connu une urbanisation plus rapide que toute autre. Cette explosion urbaine est associée avec des inégalités sévères à trois niveaux:

un déséquilibre profond dans les conditions de travail et de vie entre le secteur urbain et le secteur rural

une forte concentration des ressources dans les capitales

une énorme disparité économique à l'intérieur des villes entre les masses et une petit élite

Si l'urbanisation en Afrique Occidentale est caractérisée par ces inégalités, il apparait qu'elle entraîne aussi des pertes économiques. Deux approches suggèrent que l'allocation des ressources est loin d'ětre optimale pour la croissance économique. D'une part des ressources sont gaspillées dans le chǒmage et le sous‐emploi urbain, dans la croissance des grands centres métropolitains, et dans la construction des ‘quartiers spontanés’. D'autre part la présupposition que la forme prise par l'urbanisation est le résultat d'une allocation optimale des ressources est mise en doute quand les facteurs qui affectent les paramètres économiques ou qui interferent directement avec les décisions d'investissement sont soumis à l'examen, et quand l'attention est dirigée sur le processus politique qui s'avère constamment dominé par les intérěts et les préoccupations d'un petit groupe de dirigeants.
Surprofits et rentes foncières dans la ville capitaliste
Authors: Topalov Christian
Published: October 2009

In the capitalist city, ground rents reflect for capital the image of its own development and uneven growth, by imposing upon each particular capital the laws of capital as a whole. Therefore, landed property and rent are neither the regulators of urbanization, nor the source of urban contradictions. Capitalist relations of production imply in themselves the autonomy of private poles of accumulation and deny the possibility of a real social control over the formation of the useful effects of agglomeration. These effects thus necessarily constitute for particular capitals non‐reproducible or unevenly preconstituted conditions, and consequently so is the basis of surplus profits which can be transformed into ground rents. The existence of strictly non‐reproducible conditions is the foundation of the transformation of branch surplus profits into absolute rent, the unevenly preconstituted conditions inducing differential surplus profits transformable into differential rent. It is the non‐reproducibility of the commodity itself which is at the basis of surplus profits and monopoly rents. The transformation of these surplus profits into rents in no way implies the existence of a class of landowners, but only relations of production in which landed property is not only autonomous from capital, but also includes a social content which as such can put up an effective resistance to it. The basis of this resistance can as well be capitalist landed property as various forms of non‐capitalist landed property.
Capitalist development and agrarian structure in Brazil
Authors: Lopes Juarez Rubens Brandão
Published: October 2009

Les tendences divergeantes de la structure agraire dans diverses parties du Brésil sont le thème de cet article. Le développement capitaliste dans les régions rurales de São Paolo, et la préservation/destruction des formes archaïques de production dans le nord‐est sont analysés en terme des catégories et stages de développement capitaliste qui évoluent au pays. En considérant ce dernier dans son ensemble, une attention particulière est donnée à l'état. Depuis le début de l'industrialisation, l'industrie et l'agriculture ont toujours eu une relation ambiguë et contradictoire, et ceçi à la fois dans l'exportation et dans les marchés internes. Ceçi explique le caractère composite de l'état et la préservation d'une agriculture primitive. La préservation de la grande entreprise agro‐merchantile et des formes archaïques de l'agriculture avait des fonctions distinctes pour l'accumulation du capital dans les secteurs non‐agraires.

Cet article examine aussi les tendances les plus récentes dans l'organisation agraire en relation avec les caractéristiques spécifiques de la nouvelle étape acquise par le capitalisme au Brésil. Une fois de plus, Côte à côte avec l'accroissement de la c̀apitalisme agraire, dans la région de São Paolo (suivit par l'émergence d'un proletariat rural plus pur, la méchanisation massive et l'augmentation rapide de la composition organique du capital agraire), se produit l'extension et la récréation continuelle de la paysannerie latifundia dans les régions éloignées du pays. Un tel développement inégal dans les régions rurales coexiste avec le développement capitaliste dans son ensemble.
Capitalist crisis, neo‐dualism, and marginalization
Authors: Mingione Enzo
Published: October 2009

La crise économique actuelle, et de là, le ralentissement ou la réduction de l'accumulation capitaliste a, bien sûr, conduit à de nouvelles tentatives pour augmenter l'exploitation de la classe ouvrière. La réussite ou l'échec de ces tentatives dépendra du degré de résistance qu' on leur opposera. Cet article examine un certain nombre de stratégies capitalistes possibles, ainsi que leurs faiblesses. Il s'attache tout particulièrement à l'existence d'une couche grandissante d'ouvriers sans emploi ou sous‐employés, qui peuvent être largement exploités. Mais cette solution tend à accroître l'inadaptation sociale, en même temps qu'elle augmente fortement le fardeau de la Sécurité sociale, et à plus longue échéance, a des conséquences économiques douteuses. En conclusion, l'article rattache le récent accroissement de la lutte urbaine et régionale en Italie, à cette perspective plus vaste.
Domestic property and social class
Authors: Saunders Peter
Published: October 2009

Cet exposé traite de l'importance des conséquences des différents modes d'occupation de logement, en ce qui concerne les rapports de classes. L'accent est mis précisément sur la Grande Bretagne où, environ 40% des ouvriers manuels possèdent maintenant leur propre maison, et où l'extension de l'occupation de l'habitation par le propriétaire a nettement contribué à accroitre les dividions sociales et politiques, au sein de la classe ouvrière. La question qui se pose, est de savoir si de telles divisions ont une base matérielle réelle, ou si elles sont principalement idéologiques. On voit que la réponse à cette question aura d'importantes conséquences pour l'organisation de luttes politiques autour de la question du logement. L'exposé débute par une discussion des perspectives wéberiennes et marxistes en matière d'occupation de logement et de rapports de classes. La perspective wébérienne, liée aux travaux de Rex et de Moore sur 'le logement par classes', est rejetée, quoique la possibilité de reformuler le concept du logement par classes, au sein d'une orientation wébérienne, soit mise en évidence. Le point de vue marxiste, qui rejette la possession du logement comme étant étrangère à l'identification des intérêts de classe, est également rejeté, sous prétexte que l'occupation de l'habitation par le propriétaire est un facteur crucial d'une augmentation réelles des richesses individuelles qui peuvent largement dépasser les économics que l'on peut faire sur les salaires de toute une vie. L 'exposé montre ensuite, comment la possession de sa maison va dans le sens d'une accumulation des richesses, et comment ceci crée une réelle division d'intérèt économique entre les propriétaires en jouissance et les locataires, fait qui se manifeste souvent dans les luttes politiques locales. La conclusion qui se dégage de ceci est que, les efforts des activistes locaux pour unifier les deux groupes en une alliance politique contre le capital monopole, peut sàvérer à la fois peu judicieux et nuisible à la productivité.
Politique du logement et classes sociales
Authors: Pinçon Michel
Published: October 2009

The quantitative and qualitative study of consumption reveals profound inequalities between social classes. What is the situation in those sectors of consumption where the state plays an important role? An analysis of the social structure of the population living in ‘moderate rent housing’ (Habitations à loyer modéré) in the urban area of Paris goes some way towards providing the answer.

The probability of benefiting from this type of state aid is higher for qualified than for unqualified workers (especíally if the latter are immigrants). Much depends, however, on the political orientations of local authorities: the political dimension of social relations has therefore some bearing on the social outcome of state intervention.

The different qualities of use value of HLM housing (comfort and location) are very unevenly distributed among social classes, and that distribution reflects the segregation that is apparent throughout the housing system in the Paris urban area. It state intervention produces an overall improvement in workers' living conditions, the way in which this improvement is achieved is still marked by deep social inequalities.
Mobility and the social organization of urban space in the United States, 1760–1820
Authors: Cuillier Jeanne
Published: October 2009

La nature spécifique des luttes de classes dans les villes américaines avant les années 1870 a reçu, curieusement, peu d'attention de la part des historiens. Cet article examine l'évolution de la lutte de classes dans les villes du nord‐est entre 1760 et 1820. Il est soutenu que pendant cette période le travail est devenu marchandise, ou force de travail, et que la distinction entre travail et force de travail est créé par la mobilité, fondement sur lequel l'accumulation du capital devient possible. ‘L'accumulation primitive’ est précédée par la ‘mobilité primitive’ dont il y a évidence aussi tôt que les années 1760 dans l'agriculture commerciale des régions du nord‐est. Si la structure du travail temporaire urbain demeure en grande partie inchangée pendant cette periode, celle du travail artisanal devient sujette aux contraintes de la ‘force du travail’ au début du dix‐neuvièrne siècle. Si le contrôle du pouvoir politique est à la base de la lutte de classes urbaine à la fin du dix‐huitième siècle, vers les années 1820 il devient plutôt contrôle du pouvoir économique. Les réformes proposées dans les années qui suivent, ont comme objet la modification du comportement économique de la classe ouvrière ou des ‘pauvres’, qui étaient en effet en grande partie des Américains d'origine et non des immigrants. Ces réformes ont une portée spéciale dans les grandes villes où la réorganisation du travail par le capital fait face à des réactions violentes basées sur des idées communautaires plus anciennes. Ces réformes étaient essentielles à la réorganisation rationale de l'espace urbain social, et en tant que tel, représentent le commencement de la ‘modernisation’ des conflits de classes.
Praxis urbaine: Notes on urban struggles in Italy
Authors: Seta Piero Della
Published: October 2009

Cet article critique le point de vue avancé par certains groupes italiens, selon lequel la lutte urbaine se produirait dans un cadre distinct de celui des conflits au travail et possèderait un potentiel politique plus grand que ces derniers. La lutte urbaine a été au centre de la croissance du mouvement ouvrier dans l'Italie de l'après‐guerre. L'article remonte ensuite aux racines historiques de ce phénomène et trouve une signification toute particulière dans la pérriode de la résistance anti‐fasciste et dans la toute récente période historique. Cet exposé est illustré par une documentation d'actualité et par la discussion d'un grand éventail de cas de lutte urbaine. On y avance que le mouvement ouvrier (c'est à dire les partis officiels et les syndicats), ont donné à la lutte urbaine une perspective historique et une ampleur nationale, la transformant en un véritable mouvement et faisant d'elle le moteur de réformes.
Désurbanisation et développement régional au Viet Nam (1955‐77)
Authors: Nhuan NguyênDuc
Published: October 2009

Hyper‐urbanization has been used in South Vietnam (1960‐74) as a strategic weapon to dominate and enslave the country. Since liberation in April 1975, the government has undertaken gradual but large‐scale de‐urbanization to create favourable conditions for development based on a policy of regional industrialization in support of agriculture. The experience of North Vietnam (1954‐75) has proved that it is possible to speed up industrialization and modernization in a poor country without precipitating an exodus from the countryside or huge urban concentrations. However, this policy of decentralized development has its own contradictions.
Current issues in US transportation politics
Authors: Yago Glenn
Published: October 2009

Les transports en commun deviennent rapidement un exemple critique de la crise générale des politiques de l'état dans la production et la distribution des équipements collectifs. La destruction antérieure des transports en commun aux Etats Unis par les intérêts de l'automobile, ainsi que les contraintes de l'énérgic, de l'utilisation du sol, et du chômage, produisent une situation selon laquelle diverses fractions du capital se regroupent dans une coalition afin de déterminer une politique future des transports. Une telle politique doit tant bien que mal satisfaire les besoins souvent contradictoires du transport, le résultat d'un développement urbain structuré autour de la dominance de l'automobile. Ces besoins sont soulignés ici‐bas.

Cet article présente les diverses options considérées actuellement ainsi que les contradictions survenant de chaque direction proposée. Les divisions à l'intérieur de la classe capitaliste sur ces options sont aussi présentés. Finalement, une brève considération est donnée aux mouvements sociaux urbains passés et présents organisés autour des questions de transport, ainsi que les problèmes auxquels ces mouvements doivent faire face dans les luttes futures autour de cet enjeu critique.
Women caring for pre‐school children in the USA*
Authors: David Miriam E.
Published: October 2009

Les mesures prises aux USA pour les enfants d'âge préscolaire et leurs parents, surtout les mères, font l'objet de cette étude. Les mesures sociales, pédagogiques et fiscales qui ont été, soit débattues, soit développées par le gouvernement fédéral dans les deux dernières décennies, y sont discutées. Elles montrent les présomptions qui étayent la politique de l'état vis‐à‐vis des femmes dans une société capitaliste avancée. La division sexuelle et sociale du travail, qui est une des clefs de l'économie capitaliste, se voit renforcée par des mesures en faveur de la ‘famille’ et en particulier des femmes qui doivent s'occuper d'enfants d'âge préscolaire. Néanmoins, à tout moment, les femmes peuvent se voir attribuer différents rôles, à la fois au sein du système économique et â la maison, selon les besoins en main‐d'œuvre de l'économie. Elles peuvent donc être encouragées à prendre un travail rémunéré, ou au contraire sanctionnées. Durant la période étudiée, les femmes des classes moyennes étaient pourvues, mais celles de la classe ouvrière, et surtout les mères seules, sans source de support financier, ont été forcées de trouver du travail. En même temps, les femmes sont restées les gardiennes principales des enfants d'âge préscolaire.
A propos de la socialisation du travail domestique: l'analyse d'un village de vacances
Authors: Morville‐Descolonges Michèle
Published: October 2009

Starting with the claim for 'collective equipment' put forward by certain groups of the women's liberation movement, the author studies the case of a holiday village, in so far as it is a point of socialization of domestic tasks under the ægis of organizations for social tourism, in a situation where it reproduces the particular labour force constituted by holidays with pay.

The first part shows the production process of the collective equipment of a holiday village, in a plan for the urbanization of the Languedoc and Roussillon coastline, and the contradictions which arise from the respective strategies of the central state and of organizations of the workers' movement.

More precisely, the solution to these contradictions situates the holiday village in a commodity logic. The second part exemplifies cases where domestic work hides the true nature of the man‐woman relation. One must therefore rediscover and reveal it. It will then be possible to question a production process organized around the sexual division and depreciation of women's role.
Cooperatives, women and political practice*
Authors: Whyatt Anna
Published: October 2009

Cet article essaie d' examiner le rapport socio‐culturel/politique entre l'etat et l'idéologie dominante et les nouvelles initiatives en Grande‐Bretagne en matière de coopération ourvrière, notamment en ce qui concerne les femmes en situation urbaine. Il envisage les méthodes de récupération et d'interdiction d'une participation ouvrière active, et réciproquement, les conditions où la participation ouvrière change à son tour la politique de l'état et apporte des changements aux structures sociales imposées par une idéologie dominate. Il pose aussi des questions théoriques sur le fait de posséder des aptitudes, la connaissance, et l'efficacité de groupes coopératifs urbains travaillant à contre‐courant de la culture dominante. De plus, au sein du cadre théorique qui entoure ces problèmes, il interroge le rapport qui existe actuellement entre la théorie universitaire et la pratique, son rapport avec les besoins de la grande masse de la population urbaine, et propose diverses formes de discussion dialectique entre ceux qui font l'expérience et ceux qui l'étudient‐formes qui englobent et encouragent une pratique socialement transformatrice. Il essaie, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les femmes, de définir la façon dont la pratique coopérative, en ce qu'elle forme de nouvelles catégories et de nouveaux rapports sociaux, met en question le fondement des rôles intrasociaux que la plupart des femmes tiennent et les changements qui doivent suivre si les femmes sont appelées à jouir de la pleine participation au même titre que les hommes.

The relationship between theory and practice are far more partial and fragmentary. … The relationship which holds in the application of theory is never one of resemblance. … No theory can develop without eventually encountering a wall and practice is necessary for the piercing of that wall. … A theorizing intellectual, for us, is no longer a subject, a representing or representative consciousness. … Those who act or struggle are no longer represented. Who speaks and who acts? It is always a multiplicity even within the person who speaks and acts … (Deleuze, G. in Foucault, 1977).
Book review essays
Authors: Stretton Hugh
Published: October 2009

Book reviewed in this article:

Intellectuals and inequalities under state socialism: Konrad, G. and Szelenyi, I. 1979: The intellectuals on the road to class power. New York.
State and territory in post revolutionary Cuba: some critical reflections on the development of spatial policy
Authors: Slater David
Published: October 2009

And as in private life one differentiates between what a man thinks and says of himself and what he really does, so in historical struggles one must distinguish still more the phrases and fancies of parties from their real organism and their real interests, their conception of themselves from their reality (Marx, edn 1973, 421).
The greening of British politics?
Authors: ROOTES C.A.
Published: October 2009

The spectacular success of the British Greens in winning 15% of the vote in the 1989 elections for the European parliament contrasts starkly with their previous failures. The turnaround in their fortunes is attributable in part to increasing awareness of environmental issues, both domestic and global, but especially to changes in the state of party competition: the collapse of the Liberal and Social Democratic Alliance, the unpopularity and negative campaign of the Conservative party, and the Labour party's abandonment of unilateral nuclear disarmament, all exacerbated by low turnout in an election for a parliament few Britons knew or cared much about. It is likely, however, that in a general election more usual conditions of political competition will obtain and that, because of the disciplines of the British electroal system, the Greens' success of 1989 will not be repeated in national elections.
The postmodern invasion
Authors: ZUKIN SHARON
Published: October 2009

Book reviewed in this article:

Davis, Mike 1990: City of quartz: excavating the future in Los Angeles.

Sennett, Richard 1990: The conscience of the eye: the design and social life of cities.

Wilson, Elizabeth 1991: The sphinx in the city: urban life, the control of disorder, and women.
Plant chemical genetics
Authors: McCourt Peter , Desveaux Darrell
Published: October 2009

The success of the genomics revolution to construct a genetic architecture of a variety of model organisms has placed functional biologists under pressure to show what each individual gene does in vivo. Traditionally, this task has fallen on geneticists who systematically perturb gene function and study the consequences. With the advent of large, easily accessible, small‐molecule libraries and new methods of chemical synthesis, biologists now have new ways to probe gene function. Often called chemical genetics, this approach involves the screening of compounds that perturb a process of interest. In this scenario, each perturbing chemical is analogous to a specific mutation. Here, we summarize, with specific examples, how chemical genetics is being used in combination with traditional genetics to address problems in plant biology. Because chemical genetics is rooted in genetic analysis, we focus on how chemicals used in combination with genetics can be very powerful in dissecting a process of interest.

Contents

Summary
15

I.
Introduction
15

II.
Lessons from the past: genetics
17

III.
No time like the present (or ‘I want a new drug’): forward chemical genetics
18

IV.
Back to the future: chemical genomics
21

V.
Target identification: biochemistry
22

VI.
Conclusions and perspective
24

 
References
25
Granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor antibody suppresses microglial activity: implications for anti‐inflammatory effects in Alzheimer’s Disease and multiple sclerosis
Authors: Hemachandra Reddy P. , Manczak Maria , Zhao Wei , Nakamura Kazuhiro , Bebbington Christopher , Yarranton Geoffrey , Mao Peizhong
Published: October 2009

The objective of our study was to determine granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) activity in the brain following GM‐CSF induction. We injected recombinant mouse GM‐CSF into the brains of 8‐month‐old C57BL6 mice via intracerebroventricular injections and studied the activities of microglia, astrocytes, and neurons. We also sought to determine whether an anti‐GM‐CSF antibody could suppress endogenous microglial activity in the C57BL6 mice and could also suppress microglial activity induced by the recombinant mouse GM‐CSF in another group of C57BL6 mice. Using quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR, we assessed microglial, astrocytic, and neuronal activity by measuring mRNA expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, GFAP, and the neuronal marker NeuN in the cerebral cortex tissues from C57BL6 mice. We performed immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry of activated microglia in different regions of the brains from control (phosphate‐buffered saline‐injected C57BL6 mice) and experimental mice (recombinant GM‐CSF‐injected C57BL6 mice, GM‐CSF antibody‐injected C57BL6 mice, and recombinant mouse GM‐CSF plus anti‐GM‐CSF antibody‐injected C57BL6 mice). We found increased mRNA expression of CD40 (9.75‐fold), tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (2.1‐fold), CD45 (1.73‐fold), and CD11c (1.70‐fold) in the cerebral cortex of C57BL6 mice that were induced with recombinant GM‐CSF, compared with control mice. Further, the anti‐GM‐CSF antibody suppressed microglia in mice that were induced with recombinant GM‐CSF. Our immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry findings of GM‐CSF‐associated cytokines in C57BL6 mice induced with recombinant GM‐CSF, in C57BL6 mice injected with the anti‐GM‐CSF antibody, and in C57BL6 mice injected with recombinant mouse GM‐CSF plus anti‐GM‐CSF antibody concurred with our real‐time RT‐PCR findings. These findings suggest that GM‐CSF is critical for microglial activation and that anti‐GM‐CSF antibody suppresses microglial activity in the CNS. The findings from this study may have implications for anti‐inflammatory effects of Alzheimer’s disease and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice (a multiple sclerosis mouse model).
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Strain Distributions Within the Adhesive Layer in Bonded Joints
Authors: Ruiz P. D. , Jumbo F. , Huntley J. M. , Ashcroft I. A. , Swallowe G. M.
Published: October 2009

Abstract:  We present the results of investigations into the strain distributions in the adhesive layers of epoxy‐bonded aluminium–aluminium and aluminium–carbon fibre reinforced polymer (Al/CFRP) double‐lap shear joints. The area of the adhesive at the end of the overlap region, where high stresses are predicted and failure generally initiates, has been studied at high magnification. 2‐D maps of the longitudinal and engineering shear strains in this region have been obtained experimentally by using high magnification moiré interferometry (HMMI). These results have been compared with the strain maps predicted by 3D elastic and elasto‐plastic finite element (FE) modelling. Excellent agreement is seen between the experimentally measured and FE‐predicted strain distributions, thus validating both methods. In some cases, quantitative comparison of the strains along certain profiles is compromised by noise in the measurements, especially for the Al/CFRP joints, which experienced lower overall strains. The source of such errors is discussed in the paper.
Modelling Residual Strains During Cycling of Ti–Ni and Ti–Ni–Cu Shape Memory Alloys in a Pseudoelastic Range of Behaviour Conditions
Authors: Strnadel B. , Miyazaki S.
Published: October 2009

Abstract:  Pseudoelastic behaviour of three types of Ti–Ni shape memory alloys in a pseudoelastic state has been studied under conditions of maximum strain‐ and maximum stress‐controlled cycling. Experimental results proved that residual deformation after unloading increases with the number of cycles; however, critical stress for the induction of martensite and the energy dissipated in one cycle decline during cycling. A higher critical stress for slip, and more intense cyclic dislocation hardening promoted by greater maximum deformation and greater maximum applied stresses, generally reduce the rate at which residual elongation grows with the number of cycles, and tend to stabilise the cyclic stress‐elongation diagrams. The small magnitude of critical stress for slip in low‐nickel alloys, and also cyclic strain hardening, induce greater internal stresses and a more marked decrease in critical stress for the induction of martensite as cycling progresses. Detailed analysis of plastic deformation propagation in cyclically loaded specimen helped develop a model of dependence of residual elongation on the number of cycles. This model enables identification of three main factors that govern the magnitude of residual elongation: one residual plastic elongation caused by dislocation hardening after the alloy is heat treated, and two cyclic strain hardening parameters describing how residual elongation grows with number of cycles, and how this residual elongation is reduced, as cycles increase, by the rising critical stress level for slip. The model has proved to yield very close agreement with experimental findings.
PAUL‐LOUIS CYFFLÉ'S (1724–1806) TERRE DE LORRAINE: A TECHNOLOGICAL STUDY
Authors: MAGGETTI M. , ROSEN J. , NEURURER C. , SERNEELS V.
Published: October 2009

Fragments of four Terre de Lorraine biscuit figurines were subjected to porosity analysis, X‐ray fluorescence analysis, X‐ray diffraction analysis, backscattered‐electron image analysis—coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry—and electron backscatter diffraction analysis to determine the porosity, bulk, major, minor and trace element compositions, and the composition and the proportion of their constituent phases. Cyfflé's Terre de Lorraine wares embrace two distinct types of paste, a calcareous and an aluminous–siliceous one. Both are porous (9–25% water adsorption). The former consists of a mixture of different proportions of ground quartz or calcined flint, ground Pb‐bearing glass and calcium carbonate with a refractory clay. The firing temperature was between 950 and 1050°C. For the latter, Cyfflé mixed ground pure amorphous SiO2, ground quartz or calcined flint, ground porcelain, ground Na–Ca‐glass and coarse‐grained kaolinite with a fine‐grained kaolinitic clay. The figurines were fired below 1000°C. The result was a porous, hard paste porcelain‐like material. Cyfflé's recipes for both pastes can be calculated from the chemical and the modal analyses.
Public Responses to Health Disparities: How Group Cues Influence Support for Government Intervention*
Authors: Rigby Elizabeth , Soss Joe , Booske Bridget C. , Rohan Angela M. K. , Robert Stephanie A.
Published: October 2009

Objective. To examine whether public support for government intervention to address health disparities varies when disparities are framed in terms of different social groups.

Method. A survey experiment was embedded in a public opinion poll of Wisconsin adults. Respondents were randomly assigned to answer questions about either racial, economic, or education disparities in health. Ordered logit regression analyses examine differences across experimental conditions in support for government intervention to address health disparities.

Results. Health disparities between economic groups received the broadest support for government intervention, while racial disparities in health received the least support for government intervention. These differences were explained by variation in how respondents' perceived and evaluated health disparities between different social groups.

Conclusion. Efforts to garner public support for policies aimed at eliminating health disparities should attend to the politics of social diversity, including the public's disparate perceptions and evaluations of health disparities defined by different social groups.
Beyond the Epidemiological Paradox: The Health of Mexican‐American Children at Age Five*
Authors: Padilla Yolanda C. , Hamilton Erin R. , Hummer Robert A.
Published: October 2009

Objective. This study investigates how prenatal demographic, social, and behavioral characteristics of Mexican‐origin immigrant mothers, which are linked to their relatively healthy birth outcomes, influence the subsequent health of their children in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups.

Methods. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study on a cohort of 2,819 children born between 1998 and 2000 to analyze chronic health conditions at age five using logistic regression models.

Results. Multivariate analyses revealed no significant differences in chronic health conditions between children of Mexican immigrant mothers and non‐Hispanic white children, controlling for socioeconomic status and access to healthcare. In contrast, children of U.S.‐born Mexican‐American mothers had significantly higher odds of chronic conditions compared to non‐Hispanic white children. Social support and health‐care use were related to child health outcomes but did not explain racial and ethnic differences.

Conclusions. Health policy must respond in order to help maintain the healthy outcomes of Mexican‐American children of immigrants and reverse the deteriorating health of children in subsequent generations in light of considerable socioeconomic disadvantage and inadequate access to healthcare.
Stress, Allostatic Load, and Health of Mexican Immigrants*
Authors: Kaestner Robert , Pearson Jay A. , Keene Danya , Geronimus Arline T.
Published: October 2009

Objective. To assess whether the cumulative impact of exposure to repeated or chronic stressors, as measured by allostatic load, contributes to the “unhealthy assimilation” effects often observed for immigrants with time in the United States.

Methods. We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994, to estimate multivariate logistic regression models of the odds of having a high allostatic load score among Mexican immigrants, stratified by adult age group, according to length of residence in United States, controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and health input covariates.

Results. Estimates indicate that 45–60‐year‐old Mexican immigrants have lower allostatic load scores upon arrival than U.S.‐born Mexican Americans, non‐Hispanic whites, and non‐Hispanic blacks, and that this health advantage is attenuated with duration of residence in the United States.

Conclusions. The findings of our analysis are consistent with the hypothesis that repeated or chronic physiological adaptation to stressors is one contributor to the “unhealthy assimilation” effect observed for Mexican immigrants.
Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Differences by Sex*
Authors: Denney Justin T. , Rogers Richard G. , Krueger Patrick M. , Wadsworth Tim
Published: October 2009

Objective.This article addresses the relationship between suicide mortality and family structure and socioeconomic status for U.S. adult men and women.

Methods.We use Cox proportional hazard models and individual‐level, prospective data from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality File (1986–2002) to examine adult suicide mortality.

Results.Larger families and employment are associated with lower risks of suicide for both men and women. Low levels of education or being divorced or separated, widowed, or never married are associated with increased risks of suicide among men, but not among women.

Conclusions.We find important sex differences in the relationship between suicide mortality and marital status and education. Future suicide research should use both aggregate and individual‐level data and recognize important sex differences in the relationship between risk factors and suicide mortality—a central cause of preventable death in the United States.
Parental Incarceration and Child Well‐Being: Implications for Urban Families*
Authors: Geller Amanda , Garfinkel Irwin , Cooper Carey E. , Mincy Ronald B.
Published: October 2009

Objective. Using a population‐based, longitudinal family survey (N=4,898), we identify economic, residential, and developmental risks particular to the children of incarcerated parents.

Methods. We use parental reports of incarceration history, demographic background, and a rich set of child and family outcomes, in a series of multivariate regression models.

Results. Children of incarcerated parents face more economic and residential instability than their counterparts. Sons of incarcerated fathers display more behavior problems, though other developmental differences are insignificant.

Conclusions. We find that incarceration identifies families facing severe hardship that cannot be explained by other observed family characteristics. Given the prevalence of incarceration, our findings suggest that a large population of children suffers unmet material needs, residential instability, and behavior problems. These risks may be best addressed by using the point of incarceration as an opportunity for intervention and the administration of age‐appropriate social services.
Can States Lead the Way to Universal Coverage? The Effect of Health‐Care Reform on the Uninsured*
Authors: Kail Ben Lennox , Quadagno Jill , Dixon Marc
Published: October 2009

Objective. This study assesses the impact of state policy reforms on health insurance coverage in the U.S. states considering three approaches to reform: consumer protection policies, policies relaxing regulation on insurance companies, and policies expanding public benefits.

Methods. Using data collected from several publicly available sources, we estimate state insurance coverage using fixed‐effects pooled time‐series regression from 1992 to 2005.

Results. We find that the only policies that had a positive effect on coverage were those expanding public benefits. None of the other state policy measures were associated with increased coverage and pricing restrictions actually were associated with reduced coverage.

Conclusion. We argue that a federal‐state partnership offers an imperfect short‐term strategy but that in the long run, states are incapable of assuming the burden of fully covering the uninsured.
Health Lifestyles in the United States and Canada: Are We Really So Different?*
Authors: Krueger Patrick M. , Bhaloo Tajudaullah , Rosenau Pauline Vaillancourt
Published: October 2009

Objective.Some research suggests that social, political, and cultural life in the United States and Canada are growing divergent. We use health lifestyle theories to extend prior research and compare the United States and Canada on population health indicators.

Methods.The population health indicators include health behaviors, fertility, and cause‐specific mortality for each of the U.S. states (and Washington, DC) and Canadian provinces and territories (N=64).

Results.Canada and the United States are significantly different on many health lifestyle variables, but levels of the health lifestyle variables converge at the U.S.‐Canada border, and some U.S. states and Canadian provinces or territories exhibit similar health lifestyle patterns, regardless of whether they share an international border (these are mapped in the article).

Conclusions.Although Canada and the United States differ on major population health indicators, some states, provinces, and territories exhibit marked similarities. Our article concludes with a discussion about how our comparative perspective might inform population health policies.
Usefulness of the Evaluation of Isovolumic and Ejection Phase Myocardial Signals during Stress Echocardiography in Predicting Exercise Capacity in Heart Failure Patients
Authors: Rubis Pawel , Podolec Piotr , Tomkiewicz‐Pajak Lidia , Kopec Grzegorz , Olszowska Maria , Tracz Wieslawa
Published: October 2009

Aim: To assess changes of systolic function using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) during stress echocardiography and its impact on exercise capacity in heart failure (HF) patients (pts). Material and Methods: 80 pts (65 male), mean age of 59.3 ± 10.9 years, NYHA class 1.95 ± 0.8, left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) 27.2 ± 9.5 (10−45%). The etiology of HF was ischemic (ICM) in 50 pts and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in 30 pts. Peak myocardial velocity (IVV) and acceleration (IVA) during isovolumic contraction and peak myocardial velocity during ejection phase (S′) were measured at baseline and peak exercise during semi‐supine stress‐echo (20 Watts, 2‐min increments). Concurrently peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) was measured. Results: Rest values of analyzed parameters were comparable in groups according to etiology of HF and physical capacity. However, peak stress parameters mainly S′ were significantly higher in the DCM group and the group with better VO2 peak. The best correlation with exercise capacity was S′ at peak stress (r = 0.66; p < 0.0001). The most useful parameter for identifying severe exercise intolerance, VO2 peak < 14 ml/kg/min, was S′ with an area under ROC curve of 0.82 ± 0.05 (95% CI 0.71−0.89). The cutoff of 5.75 cm/s for S′ at peak stress showed a sensitivity of 61% with a specificity of 96%. Conclusions: The evaluation of systolic function by means of TDI instead of LVEF shows more clearly that systolic function is at least partly responsible for exercise tolerance in HF. Assessment of echocardiographic systolic parameters at peak stress provides more accurate information about exercise capacity in HF pts.
Penetrating Atherosclerotic Aortic Ulcer Mimicking Acute Inferior Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Bilge Mehmet , Kurt Mustafa , Senkaya Emine Bilen , Yasar Ayse Saatci , Karakas Fatih , Erayman Ali
Published: October 2009

Penetrating atherosclerotic ulcers (PAU), aortic dissection, and intramural hematoma are the three most important diseases involving the aorta which are classified as acute aortic syndromes. Penetrating atherosclerotic aortic ulceration is characterized by ulceration of atheromatous plaque disrupting the internal elastic lamina. These aortic ulcers may penetrate through the media to cause aortic pseudoaneurysms or less often through the adventitia to cause transmural aortic rupture. We described a case of penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer of ascending aorta mimicking ST elevation myocardial infarction. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature of such a complication from PAU.
Normal Anatomic Variants on Transthoracic Echocardiogram
Authors: George Anil , Parameswaran Anoop , Nekkanti Raj , Lurito Karen , Movahed Assad
Published: October 2009

Apart from their existence as medical curiosities, anatomic variants also double as diagnostic dilemmas. In the heart, more than in any other location in the body, misinterpretation of normal anatomic variants as pathologic entities can have a profound impact on treatment decisions and clinical consequences. Echocardiography is an easily accessible tool these days and is used routinely in most cardiac evaluations. Thus it becomes imperative for the echocardiographer to be cognizant of normal anatomic variants. Furthermore, echocardiographic findings should always be evaluated in their proper clinical context and diagnoses should never be entertained in a clinical vacuum. The literature is replete with numerous case reports and vignettes on these fascinating structures but is lacking in a formal review of normal anatomic variants. In this article, we have attempted a systemic review of normal variants, their embryologic origins, echocardiographic characteristics, and common pitfalls encountered in their evaluation.