bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mutational analysis of GstI protein, a glutamine synthetase translational inhibitor of Rhizobium leguminosarum
Authors: Napolitani Chiara , Mandrich Luigi , Riccio Anna , Lamberti Alessandro , Manco Giuseppe , Patriarca Eduardo J.
Published: January 2004

The small GstI protein (63 amino acids) of Rhizobium leguminosarum inhibits the expression of the glnII (glutamine synthetase II) gene, thus reducing the bacterial ability to assimilate ammonium. In order to identify the residues essential for its inhibitory activity, all the 53 non‐alanine amino acid residues of GstI were individually mutated into alanine. Based on their capacity to inhibit glnII expression (in two genetic backgrounds) three groups of mutants were identified. The first group displayed an inhibitory activity similar to the wild‐type; the second and the third ones showed partial and total loss of inhibitory activity, respectively. Several mutations of the latter group concerned residues conserved in two related sequences from Sinorhizobium meliloti and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Additionally, we performed experiments to exclude a GstI‐mediated mechanism of glutamine synthetase II inhibition/degradation. Finally, the protein was over expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and characterised.
Identification of binding domains in the sodium channel NaV1.8 intracellular N‐terminal region and annexin II light chain p11
Authors: Poon W.-Y.Louisa , Malik-Hall Misbah , Wood John N. , Okuse Kenji
Published: January 2004

The interaction of p11 (annexin II light chain) with the N‐terminal domain of NaV1.8, a tetrodotoxin‐resistant sodium channel, is essential for the functional expression of the channel. Here we show that p11 binds to NaV1.8 but not to sodium channel isoforms NaV1.2, 1.5, 1.7 or NaV1.9. The binding of amino acids 74–103 of NaV1.8 to p11 residues 33–78 occurs in a random coiled region flanked by two EF hand motifs whose crystal structure has been established. As NaV1.8 channel expression is associated with pain pathways, drugs that disrupt the NaV1.8–p11 interaction and down‐regulate channel expression may have analgesic activity.
The peptide methionine sulfoxide reductases, MsrA and MsrB (hCBS‐1), are downregulated during replicative senescence of human WI‐38 fibroblasts
Authors: Picot Cédric R , Perichon Martine , Cintrat Jean-Christophe , Friguet Bertrand , Petropoulos Isabelle
Published: January 2004

In contrast to other oxidative modifications of amino acids, methionine sulfoxide can be enzymatically reduced back to methionine in proteins by the peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase system, composed of MsrA and MsrB. The expression of MsrA and one member of the MsrB family, hCBS‐1, was analyzed during replicative senescence of WI‐38 human fibroblasts. Gene expression decreased for both enzymes in senescent cells compared to young cells, and this decline was associated with an alteration in catalytic activity and the accumulation of oxidized proteins during senescence. These results suggest that downregulation of MsrA and hCBS‐1 can alter the ability of senescent cells to cope with oxidative stress, hence contributing to the age‐related accumulation of oxidative damage.
Long‐lasting RNAi activity in mammalian neurons
Authors: Omi Kazuya , Tokunaga Katsushi , Hohjoh Hirohiko
Published: January 2004

The effect of RNA interference (RNAi) induced by synthetic small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) on proliferating mammalian cells appears to last for approximately 3–7 days after its induction. Here we show that the RNAi activity induced by a synthetic 21‐nucleotide siRNA duplex in postmitotic neurons, mouse primary hippocampal neurons and neurons that differentiated from mouse embryonal carcinoma P19 cells persists for at least 3 weeks, suggesting long‐lasting RNAi activity in mammalian neurons. In addition, we also show that an apoptotic (or antiviral) pathway triggered by long dsRNAs is generated during neuronal differentiation of P19 cells, by which the sequence‐specific RNAi activity involving long dsRNA appears to be masked.
Absolute expression values for mouse transcripts: re‐annotation of the READ expression database by the use of CAGE and EST sequence tags
Authors: Kodzius Rimantas , Matsumura Yonehiro , Kasukawa Takeya , Shimokawa Kazuro , Fukuda Shiro , Shiraki Toshiyuki , Nakamura Mari , Arakawa Takahiro , Sasaki Daisuke , Kawai Jun , Harbers Matthias , Carninci Piero , Hayashizaki Yoshihide
Published: January 2004

The RIKEN expression array database (READ) provides comprehensive gene expression data for the mouse, which were obtained as relative values from microarray double‐staining experiments with E17.5 mRNA as common reference. To assign absolute expression values for mouse transcripts within READ, we applied the E17.5 reference sample to CAGE (cap analysis of gene expression) and expressed sequence tag (EST) high‐throughput tag sequencing. Newly assigned values within the READ database were validated by comparison to expression data from serial analysis of gene expression, CAGE and EST experiments. These experiments confirmed the great significance of the absolute expression values within the improved READ database. The new Absolute READ database on absolute expression data is available under http://genome.gsc.riken.jp/absolute.
The C‐terminal region as a modulator of rNav1.7 and rNav1.8 expression levels
Authors: Vijayaragavan Kausalia , Acharfi Said , Chahine Mohamed
Published: January 2004

Mammalian cells poorly express rNav1.8 channels. In contrast, rNav1.7 dorsal root ganglion channels have 90‐fold higher peak Na+ current densities. We investigated the role of rNav1.7 and rNav1.8 carboxy‐termini in modulating the expression of rNav1.7 and rNav1.8 channels in tsA201 cells. Mutations in the ubiquitination site of the C‐terminus did not improve rNav1.8 current levels. However, rNav1.8 chimeras containing the entire or the proximal portion of the rNav1.7 C‐terminus expressed 3.2‐fold and 4.8‐fold higher peak current densities, respectively, than parent rNav1.8 channels. We conclude that the two Na+ channels may have different endoplasmic reticulum processing signals.
The Fate of the Tumor Remnant after Less‐than‐Complete Acoustic Neuroma Resection
Authors: Bloch Dov C. , Oghalai John S. , Jackler Robert K. , Osofsky Monica , Pitts Lawrence H.
Published: January 2004

OBJECTIVES

We sought to determine the recurrence rate after near‐total and subtotal resection of acoustic neuroma.

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS

We conducted a retrospective chart review of a total of 79 patients: 50 with near‐total resections (remnant ≤ 25 mm2 and ≤ 2 mm thick) and 29 with subtotal resections (any larger remnant). Surgical approach included 5 middle fossa, 17 retrosigmoid, and 57 translabyrinthine.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Recurrence was defined as documented tumor growth by serial imaging or the recommendation for further treatment after a single scan. No recurrence was defined as no visible tumor on imaging for a minimum follow‐up time of 3 years or tumor remnants that remained unchanged on serial scans (mean, 5‐year follow‐up).

RESULTS

Fifty‐two patients were included in the study group. Recurrences were seen in 1 (3%) of 33 patients who had a near‐total resection compared with 6 (32%) of 19 patients who had a subtotal resection. After adjustment for follow‐up time and large tumor size, the odds ratio for recurrence was 12 times larger for subtotal than for near‐total resections (P = 0.033). All recurrences were seen following the translabyrinthine approach in the mid‐cerebellopontine angle. None were encountered in the internal auditory canal. The mean time interval from surgery to the detection of a recurrence was 3 years (range, 1 to 5 years).

CONCLUSIONS

The recurrence rate when performing a near‐total resection is low but is substantially higher with a subtotal resection. Recurrences can be detected within the first 5 postoperative years. We recommend near‐total resection in any patient if needed to preserve neural integrity. Subtotal resection is best avoided whenever possible; however, adjunctive treatment with stereotactic radiotherapy may be considered.
Further evidence of the multi-dimensionality of hallucinatory predisposition: factor structure of a modified version of the Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale in a normal sample
Authors: Larøi Frank , Marczewski Philippe , Van der Linden Martial
Published: January 2004

Recent years has seen an increasing interest in the hallucinatory experience, including investigations of its phenomenological prevalence and character both in pathological and normal (predisposed) populations. We investigated the multi-dimensionality of hallucinatory experiences in 265 subjects from the normal population, who completed a modified version of the Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale. Principal components analysis was performed on the data. Four factors were obtained loading on items reflecting (1) sleep-related hallucinatory experiences (2) vivid daydreams (3) intrusive thoughts or realness of thought and (4) auditory hallucinations. The results offer further evidence of the multi-dimensionality of hallucinatory disposition in the normal population. Directions for future research in hallucinatory predisposition are discussed.
The view from the left
Authors: MCBRIDE CONOR , MCKINNA JAMES
Published: January 2004

Pattern matching has proved an extremely powerful and durable notion in functional programming. This paper contributes a new programming notation for type theory which elaborates the notion in various ways. First, as is by now quite well-known in the type theory community, definition by pattern matching becomes a more discriminating tool in the presence of dependent types, since it refines the explanation of types as well as values. This becomes all the more true in the presence of the rich class of datatypes known as inductive families (Dybjer, 1991). Secondly, as proposed by Peyton Jones (1997) for Haskell, and independently rediscovered by us, subsidiary case analyses on the results of intermediate computations, which commonly take place on the right-hand side of definitions by pattern matching, should rather be handled on the left. In simply-typed languages, this subsumes the trivial case of Boolean guards; in our setting it becomes yet more powerful. Thirdly, elementary pattern matching decompositions have a well-defined interface given by a dependent type; they correspond to the statement of an induction principle for the datatype. More general, user-definable decompositions may be defined which also have types of the same general form. Elementary pattern matching may therefore be recast in abstract form, with a semantics given by translation. Such abstract decompositions of data generalize Wadler's (1987) notion of ‘view’. The programmer wishing to introduce a new view of a type $\mathit{T}$, and exploit it directly in pattern matching, may do so via a standard programming idiom. The type theorist, looking through the Curry–Howard lens, may see this as proving a theorem, one which establishes the validity of a new induction principle for $\mathit{T}$. We develop enough syntax and semantics to account for this high-level style of programming in dependent type theory. We close with the development of a typechecker for the simply-typed lambda calculus, which furnishes a view of raw terms as either being well-typed, or containing an error. The implementation of this view is ipso facto a proof that typechecking is decidable.
Building reliable, high-performance networks with the Nuprl proof development system
Authors: KREITZ CHRISTOPH
Published: January 2004

Proof systems for expressive type theories provide a foundation for the verification and synthesis of programs. But despite their successful application to numerous programming problems there remains an issue with scalability. Are proof environments capable of reasoning about large software systems? Can the support they offer be useful in practice? In this article we answer this question by showing how the NUPRL proof development system and its rich type theory have contributed to the design of reliable, high-performance networks by synthesizing optimized code for application configurations of the ENSEMBLE group communication toolkit. We present a type-theoretical semantics of OCAML, the implementation language of ENSEMBLE, and tools for automatically importing system code into the NUPRL system. We describe reasoning strategies for generating verifiably correct fast-path optimizations of application configurations that substantially reduce end-to-end latency in ENSEMBLE. We also discuss briefly how to use NUPRL for checking configurations against specifications and for the design of reliable adaptive network protocols.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Dependent Type Theory Meets Practical Programming
Authors: BARTHE GILLES , DYBJEN PETER , THIEMANN PETER
Published: January 2004

Modern programming languages rely on advanced type systems that detect errors at compile-time. While the benefits of type systems have long been recognized, there are some areas where the standard systems in programming languages are not expressive enough. Language designers usually trade expressiveness for decidability of the type system. Some interesting programs will always be rejected (despite their semantical soundness) or be assigned uninformative types.
Dependent types ensure partial correctness of theorem provers
Authors: APPEL ANDREW W. , FELTY AMY P.
Published: January 2004

Static type systems in programming languages allow many errors to be detected at compile time that wouldn't be detected until runtime otherwise. Dependent types are more expressive than the type systems in most programming languages, so languages that have them should allow programmers to detect more errors earlier. In this paper, using the Twelf system, we show that dependent types in the logic programming setting can be used to ensure partial correctness of programs which implement theorem provers, and thus avoid runtime errors in proof search and proof construction. We present two examples: a tactic-style interactive theorem prover and a union-find decision procedure.
VHF wind‐profiler data as a teaching aid
Authors: Pavelin E. G. , Wang C‐G. , Browning K. A. , Berrisford P. , Hoskins B. J.
Published: January 2004

Data from a VHF wind‐profiling radar are being used as a teaching aid in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. An example is given of data obtained during the passage of a train of baroclinic waves which shows how the radar, together with output from weather‐forecast models, can vividly illustrate processes occurring over a range of scales. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
A simple approach for combining seasonal forecasts for southern Africa
Authors: Klopper E. , Landman W. A.
Published: January 2004

Currently the South African Weather Service (SAWS) compiles seasonal rainfall and temperature outlooks by combining output from various models in a subjective manner. A group of scientists discusses the forecasts from a variety of models and then decides, from these discussions, what the strongest climate signal is. A map is drawn to represent the ‘gut feeling’ from the specialists based on the results from the various models. Although the models used are all scientifically sound, the compilation of the outlook remains subjective. In order to compile a single probability forecast out of the many different model outputs an objective method has to be implemented. This paper proposes such a method. The results were tested during the December–January–February season over a retroactive period from 1991/92 to 1999/2000. Results show that a combination of different models consistently delivers a more skilful forecast than any individual model on its own. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
Evaluation of a frost accumulation model
Authors: Knollhoff D. S. , Takle E.S. , Gallus W.A. , Burkheimer D. , McCauley D.
Published: January 2004

Formation of frost on paved surfaces presents a potential hazard to the motoring public in cold climates. Temperatures of the paved surface are not measured routinely by the National Weather Service and are not part of public forecasts of winter conditions, yet highway maintenance personnel must make frost suppression and anti‐icing decisions based on expectations of future paved‐surface temperatures. The Road Weather Information System measures road surface, air and dew‐point temperatures, road surface conditions, and wind data at numerous locations in the state of Iowa and reports the data in real‐time to maintenance offices. A model based on simple concepts of moisture flux to the surface was developed that uses data from roadway weather stations or forecasts of dew‐point temperature, air temperature, surface temperature and wind speed to calculate frost accumulation on bridge decks in Iowa. The analysis showed that the model has sufficient accuracy to be used as an operational tool for assessing frost accumulation on bridge decks. A logistical regression procedure was developed to determine the probability that a maintenance worker will observe frost for a given calculated frost depth. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
Designing meteorological networks for Switzerland according to user requirements
Authors: Frei Thomas
Published: January 2004

With growing international collaboration (e.g. the European Composite Observing System programme –EUCOS), changing demands of data users, technical progress with new measuring systems and national budget cuts, the design of meteorological networks has become increasingly important. By analysing future user requirements and taking into account cost‐benefit considerations, MeteoSwiss has elaborated a network configuration for ground‐based and upper air stations. It is evident that for ground‐based stations no separate networks should be distinguished –instead, the needs of climatological modellers and forecasters should all be integrated into one network. The future upper air network will be complemented with additional windprofilers, a mini radar and additional radar information supplied by neighbouring countries. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
The application of AVHRR data for the detection of volcanic ash in a Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre
Authors: Watkin S. C.
Published: January 2004

A volcanic ash detection product using AVHRR data has been developed for use in the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, operated by forecasters at the Met Office. The product is an image that shows the brightness temperature difference between two infrared channels, which can be used to discriminate between clouds containing volcanic ash particles and those containing water droplets or ice crystals. Factors such as water vapour, water droplet and ice crystal content, opacity, cloud top temperature, ash particle size, surface emissivity properties and instrumental effects all have an effect on the spectral signal represented in the image. AVHRR imagery has been used to study the volcanic clouds ejected from eruptions of Mount Etna (Italy) in July 2001, Hekla (Iceland) in February 2000 and Mount Spurr (USA) in September 1992 to demonstrate the application of this product during volcanic events. The volcanic ash detection product provides essential information that can help forecasters locate volcanic ash and give appropriate guidance through advisory statements to the aviation industry and thus help avoid dangerous and expensive encounters between aircraft and volcanic ash. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
Thunderstorm identification from AMSU‐B data using an artificial neural network
Authors: Gheiby A. , Sen P. N. , Puranik D. M. , Karekar R. N.
Published: January 2004

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) that were originally proposed to model brain functions mathematically are now being used in many branches of research, including the atmospheric sciences. The main contribution of this paper is the development of ANN to identify the presence of thunderstorms (and their location) based on microwave measurements from all five AMSU‐B frequencies and on surface observations over Iran (45–65°E,25–45°N). From the surface observations, the position of each of the different meteorological events (thunderstorm, heavy rain, rain, light rain, snowfall and clear sky) is located in AMSU‐B images. An area around this position with roughly the same brightness (visually) is selected. Then the brightness temperatures (TBs) of a few randomly selected pixels from this area are noted. In all, there were 560 pixel‐points, over 20 passes of AMSU‐B, in these selected areas. It is found that the thunderstorms are related to image features that are bright in all of the five‐frequency images (i.e. have low TB), as expected.

The architecture of the neural network that was finally selected for identifying thunderstorm events (as against other reported events), after a series of trial and error for the best accuracy, was achieved using the four‐layered Feed‐Forward Artificial Neural Network (FFANN) with five nodes in input, two hidden layers with four nodes each, and one node in the output layer. In the ANN output, the thunderstorms clustered clearly away from other phenomena. ANN gave more correct thunderstorm recognition (96.7%), whereas the discriminant analysis gave 95.3% correct recognition without clear separation between the two classes. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
The role of synoptic cloud in orographic rainfall in the Southern Alps of New Zealand
Authors: Purdy J. C. , Austin G. L.
Published: January 2004

Orographically enhanced rainfall is the dominant climatic feature of the alpine regions of South Island, New Zealand. Most of this rain occurs in strong north‐westerly winds although a forecast difficulty exists in that near‐saturated north‐westerly flows do not always produce heavy rain. Air masses impinging on the Southern Alps are generally carried over the alpine divide in times that are normally regarded as insufficient for clouds to produce precipitation‐sized particles. Hence a possible explanation for these observations is that precipitation occurs only when pre‐existing clouds advected onshore contain cloud drops that are sufficiently mature to allow for raindrop growth in the available time. A model combining advection of moist air over the topography and IR satellite data was used to show that synoptic cloud is necessary for the formation of heavy rainfall in the Alps. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
The use of weather forecasts in the pricing of weather derivatives
Authors: Jewson Stephen , Caballero Rodrigo
Published: January 2004

We discuss how weather forecasts can be used in the pricing of weather derivatives and derive results for the most important types of weather index and contract. We show that calculating the expected payoff of linear contracts on linear indices requires only forecasts of the mean temperature over the contract period. Calculating the expected payoff of linear contracts on non‐linear indices requires forecasts of both the mean and the distribution of temperatures, but not of the dependence between temperature distributions on different days. Calculating the expected payoff of non‐linear contracts requires forecasts of the full multivariate distribution of temperature over the whole contract. For contracts that extend beyond the end of available forecasts, correlations between the forecast and post‐forecast periods must be taken into account when estimating this distribution. We present two methods by which this can be achieved, both of which combine information from climatological models of daily temperature with information from probabilistic forecasts. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society.
Governance, Democracy, Consolidation and the ‘End of Transition’
Authors: INOGUCHI TAKASHI , BACON PAUL
Published: January 2004

The notion of governance: a multi-level phenomenon

There is a substantial literature on governance, but little agreement on precisely what it means, as a result of which the term is often used in different ways. A sophisticated and flexible formulation is offered by The Commission on Global Governance, which defines governance as ‘the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative action may be taken. It includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal arrangements that people and institutions either have agreed to or perceive to be in their interest’ (1995: 2).
Democratic Governance and Security in Indonesia
Authors: SUKMA RIZAL
Published: January 2004

As Indonesia democratises, a key feature of the country's political life has been a mixture of turmoil, hope and uncertainty. When Suharto's authoritarian regime collapsed in May 1998, Indonesia was experiencing the worst political and economic crises in more than three decades. On the political front, Suharto's collapse was preceded by communal violence, political turmoil, and state terrorism. Economically, the financial crisis, which came to Indonesia in December 1997, brought down the foundations of growth and pushed the country on to the brink of economic collapse. All these problems, which found their roots in the absence of democracy and good governance, worsened after the fall of Suharto. As the country moved towards democratic transition, however, society was imbued with a sense of hope for a better future, and that hope continues to exist until today. In that context, resolving current uncertainty constitutes the biggest challenge facing Indonesia in fulfilling the people's hope for a democratic future.
Regional Governance and East and Southeast Asia: Towards the Regulatory State?
Authors: SUDO SUEO
Published: January 2004

In the post-Cold War era, instead of peace and stability, we have witnessed many instances of regional conflict, domestic chaos, and civil strife. Moreover, economic globalization and the growing importance of transnational institutions have eroded traditional bases of political power. As such, emerging patterns of governance should be seen as ‘institutional responses to rapid changes in the state's environment’ (Pierre 2000: 3). Governance is carried out by many economic and political actors at a variety of levels, encompassing national government, regional institutions, and networks of non-state actors.
Democratic Governance in South Korea: The Perspectives of Ordinary Citizens and Their Elected Representatives
Authors: SHIN DOH CHULL
Published: January 2004

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. (James Madison, 1788)

Democracy is not only a (polyarchical) political regime but also a particular mode of relationship between state and citizens, and among citizens themselves, under a kind of rule of law that, in addition to political citizenship, upholds civil citizenship and a full net work of accountability. (Guillermo O'Donnell, 1999b)
Executive Turnovers in 2003
Authors: INOGUCHI TAKASHI
Published: January 2004

Executive turnovers during the second Koizumi cabinet (September 2002-present, as of August 2003) register the lowest of all the cabinets since the Miyazawa cabinet (November 1991–August 1993). This is predictable from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's pledge when he first became Prime Minister in April 2001. He promised to appoint one cabinet minister (not two ministers or more) for one agency during the tenure of one cabinet. Furthermore, he pledged that he would do so without receiving a recommendation from factions of the governing Liberal Democratic Party. His first pledge reflects primarily Koizumi's belief that his appointments should last the full tenure of the cabinet as they are presumably the best for the task. His second pledge reflects his belief that LDP factions should cease, and, as a matter of fact, they have recently ceased to be a major factor determining Koizumi's politics. Both factors are related to each other.
Opinion Polls in 2003
Authors: KABASHIMA IKUO
Published: January 2004

On 26 April 2001, Junichiro Koizumi emerged as the new prime minister of Japan, representing the public's desire for economic recovery through fundamental structural change in Japanese politics. More than two years have passed since then, and Japan has seen neither significant economic revival nor major changes in its political and administrative structures. People's expectation and faith in this henjin (“weirdo” as labeled by Former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka) prime minister for rescuing Japan's economy has been greatly undermined as Japan's unemployment rate stays high and stock prices low. Japanese banks are performing poorly as usual, and bad loans seem to never go away or decrease in amount. Despite these seemingly critical shortcomings, however, Prime Minister Koizumi and his administration have maintained a high approval rate from the public.
Japanese Elections in 2003: The LDP Strikes Back?
Authors: REED STEVEN R.
Published: January 2004

The LDP predominant party system ended in 1993. The big question now is whether an effective opposition party can be created or whether the LDP will find a way to re-establish predominance. One key will be gubernatorial elections. Governors sit at the pivot between national and local politics. All parties except the Communists strive to be part of the gubernatorial coalition because only then can they influence distributive political decisions. Most gubernatorial elections are thus noncompetitive. Recent gubernatorial elections, however, have given some hope to those who would create an alternative to the LDP. Even if an anti-LDP candidate wins, he will be tempted to return to the LDP fold, or at least remain neutral in national politics. Recent gubernatorial elections in Aomori illustrate these pressures and complexities. Aomori was one of three prefectures where the New Frontier Party won gubernatorial elections. The NFP represented the first failed attempt to create a credible alternative to the LDP and we can learn much from its failure.
Governance in Russia: A View from the Bottom
Authors: ROSE RICHARD
Published: January 2004

The governance of Russia is important in a multiplicity of ways. As the successor state of the Soviet Union, it retains characteristics of a global superpower, including a nuclear arsenal and a permanent seat in the Security Council of the United Nations. As a country with land or sea borders extending from Japan and China across Central Asia to the boundaries of an enlarging European Union, Russian affairs concern neighbours across much of the globe. As a land rich in natural resources such as oil, gas and gold, controllers of these resources have significant assets in the international economy. As a political system that has made a massive turn from a post-totalitarian one-party state to a government holding free competitive elections, the Russian Federation is a leading example of a regime in transformation. Above all, as the primary institution affecting the lives of more than 140 million people, the governance of Russia is important to its citizens.
Prospects for the Consolidation of Democracy in East Central Europe
Authors: BERGLUND STEN
Published: January 2004

Few events have drawn as much interest from the academic community as the breakdown of Soviet-style socialism in Central and Eastern Europe and the subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union itself in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This paper might be classified as yet another in a continuous flow of scientific contributions, inspired by the collapse of communism. And this is indeed the case, but only in an oblique way.
Designing optimal linear rules for flexible retirement
Authors: SIMONOVITS ANDRÁS
Published: January 2004

This paper applies the method of mechanism design to find optimal linear pension rules (contribution rate and monthly benefit function) for flexible retirement: First the government announces a rule, making the benefit dependent on employment length. Each individual, having private information on his own expected lifespan and utility function, optimizes his employment length, conditional on that rule. The government chooses the optimal Bayesian linear rule, which maximizes the social welfare (e.g. the aggregate individual maxima) under a social constraint (e.g. the aggregate net lifetime contribution equals zero). Under this rule there is a better compromise between incentives and insurance than under so-called actuarially fair benefits.
Which individuals make active investment decisions in the new Swedish pension system?
Authors: ENGSTRÖM STEFAN , WESTERBERG ANNA
Published: January 2004

This paper provides a detailed examination of individuals' active participation in a new public and mandatory defined contribution pension system. The new pension system was launched in the fall of 2000 and entitles Sweden's workforce of 4.4 million individuals to invest part of their individual pension account in mutual funds. Our findings show that the system is associated with a reversed investment behavior compared with studies of 401(k) plans; that is, individuals tend to make their own investment decisions. Contrary to US studies, we also find that women and younger individuals are more likely than men and older individuals to make an active investment decision.
Protecting underfunded pensions: the role of guarantee funds
Authors: COOPER RUSSELL W. , ROSS THOMAS W.
Published: January 2004

Employer-related pensions are a common and extremely important component of the compensation paid to workers in both the public and private sectors of developed economies. Many private pensions are insufficiently funded, exposing workers to the risk of a loss should their employer cease operations and not be available to meet pension obligations.

In this paper we study the role of guarantee funds as providers of insurance to workers against the failure of firms with underfunded defined benefit pension plans. Employing a model that predicts pension underfunding, we consider first how private guarantee funds might operate and then explore some potential advantages of public funds.

Overall, we do find that both public and private funds provide insurance benefits. However, private guarantee funds requiring ex ante premia payments may be infeasible in the presence of capital market imperfections, and funds which rely upon ex post contributions may suffer from strategic uncertainty. A public fund can overcome this coordination problem. However, a public fund, such as that administered by the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, may lead to: (i) greater underfunding of pensions, (ii) distortions in the market participation decisions of firms and (iii) the inclusion of excessively risky assets in the pension portfolio. In some cases, a guarantee fund is not welfare improving.
Pension funds and value-based generational accounting
Authors: PONDS EDUARD H. M.
Published: January 2004

The raison d'être of wage-indexed defined benefit pension funds is to provide insurance against standard-of-living risk after retirement, based on intergenerational risk sharing. Pension funds necessarily have to accept mismatch risk in providing this kind of insurance. Mismatch risk taken by the pension fund is risk for the fund's stakeholders. We combine the value-based approach and the method of generational accounting to analyze the economic value of the stakes of the different generations and the issue of who gains and who loses (transfers of value between generations) from alternative funding and indexation policies. Rules concerning the allocation of a funding surplus or funding shortage in particular are decisive to the direction and to the size of transfers of value between stakeholders. We put forward two criteria to evaluate alternative policies employed by pension funds: the funding policy and allocation rules must give an ex ante fair compensation for risk taken by generations and the sustainability of a pension plan must be checked with respect to ex post redistributive effects for current and future generations. Value-based generational accounting provides a tool for testing a pension fund policy for these two criteria.
GLOBAL AND LOCAL IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY
Authors: Reid Anthony
Published: January 2004

This article revisits the same author's Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce (1988–93) through the lens of a pattern of alternating globalization and localization in Southeast Asian History. It highlights the effects of the intense globalization of the “age of commerce” (centuries) on Southeast Asian performance traditions, notably the state theatre of the great entrepôts. Reid considers the critiques of his emphasis on a seventeenth-century crisis in the region in the decade since publication, and defends most of his original position against Victor Lieberman and Andre Gunder Frank in particular. He pursues the theme forward in time, to note another period of significant trade expansion and globalization in roughly 1780–1840; the following high-colonial period which paradoxically had more of a localizing effect on most Southeast Asian populations, and the nationalist reaction which (again paradoxically) marked extreme globalization in some respects between the 1930s and the 1960s.
A NECKLACE OF FINS: MARINE GOODS TRADING IN MARITIME SOUTHEAST ASIA, 1780–1860
Authors: Tagliacozzo Eric
Published: January 2004

This paper explores the ocean produce trade that connected maritime East and Southeast Asia between 1780 and 1860. The essay explicitly concentrates on two “arenas” of action where politics, commerce, and the trade in sea produce combined in powerful ways: the Straits of Melaka, and the waters of Northern Borneo. In both of these regions, the collection of marine goods became big business. More importantly, however, the organized funneling of these objects helped keep disparate political projects alive and running. This was the case in the Straits of Melaka, where the collection of such bounty supplied one rationale for British expansion in Penang (1786) and Singapore (1819), in the decades on either side of the turn of the nineteenth century. In Northern Borneo, the collection of these commodities from shallow local seas was also tied to empire-building, in this case via the Sultanate of Sulu. Sulu used North Borneo's waters as a vast collecting-ground for sea-produce to be shipped to China. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, North Borneo's coasts became a major source for these products geared toward international trade, linking East and Southeast Asia in increasingly vigorous ways.
THE EMERGENCE OF THE PERIYANADU ASSEMBLY IN SOUTH INDIA DURING THE CHOLA AND PANDYAN PERIODS
Authors: Karashima N. , Subbarayalu Y.
Published: January 2004

In ancient and medieval south India, from about the fifth century, the term nādu denoted a micro-region which was important as the basic unit of agricultural production. The agricultural community formed in the nādu was called nāttār or nāttavar, literally meaning the people of the nādu. Initially it was exclusively composed of the Vellāla peasantry, but from the eleventh century there began to appear in Tamil inscriptions the term periyanādu meaning “big nādu” to denote a supra-nādu assembly. In this paper we examine the meaning of the emergence of this and other similar supra-local and/or multi-community organizations.

The Chola dynasty, which had ruled south India for about four hundred years, disappeared in the latter half of the thirteenth century. The succeeding Pandyan dynasty was put down in its turn by the invasion of the Delhi Sultan's army at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Therefore, the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in south India were a period of political turmoil, during when, nevertheless, foreign trade was carried out vigorously in the Indian Ocean. Merchants and artisans joined peasants in the activities of the periyanādu, generating a new state and social formation that became explicitly visible in the fifteenth century under Vijayanagar rule.
SEASONAL MIGRATIONS OF THE MONGOL EMPERORS AND THE PERI-URBAN AREA OF KHARAKHORUM
Authors: Shiraishi Noriyuki
Published: January 2004

A study of the site of Kharakhorum suggests it was a large city with an extensive population. The rulers however did not live here permanently but in seasonal palaces in the environs of the city. I have identified the Spring and Winter Palaces and been able to narrow down the possible sites of the Summer and Autumn Palaces. The Spring Palace (the Qarshi-“Sūrī” of Juvainī, the Gegenchaghan of Rashīd al-Dīn and the Jiajianchahan-dian of Saolin-cheng of the Yuan shi) is located at the site known as Doityn Balgas, and the Winter Palace (the Ong-khin of the Rashīd al-Dīn) I consider to be at the Shaazan-khot site. The sites of the Summer and Autumn Palaces are uncertain at this point. Judging from the location of the Spring and Winter Palaces, it is clear that the emperors moved over a distance of 450 km each year and a reconstruction of the migration route shows that the emperor had a domain of 14,000 square km. This area can be called the peri-urban area of Kharakhorum, the political, economic, and cultural centre of the Mongol empire.
THE ASIAN STUDIES “CRISIS”: PUTTING CULTURAL STUDIES INTO ASIAN STUDIES AND ASIA INTO CULTURAL STUDIES
Authors: Burgess Chris
Published: January 2004

This paper explores the link between globalization, as the source of contemporary crises in representation, and the academic crisis in Asian Studies. The situation of Japanese Studies in Australia is used as a case study to illustrate these links. I argue that traditional area studies, as a colonial structure rooted in the (Cold) War, has become anachronistic. It is suggested that one strategy through which conventional area studies may be reconfigured and revitalized is by more fully and warmly embracing those movements or networks such as cultural studies that can be seen as responses to global changes.
INTRODUCTION
Authors: Takamizawa Osamu
Published: January 2004

The following article is the first part of a translation of Dentō Chūgoku hō –
hinagatasetsu ni
taisuru ichishiron
by Nakamura Shigeo, which was
published in 1979 in the Hōsei riron 12:1 (Niigata University). The second part will appear
in the next issue of the International Journal of Asian Studies.

While Chinese law is on the one hand widely understood to have contained minute
administrative and penal provisions and to be related to the examination system, it has
always been shadowed, on the other, by a different image. First, the law was seen to have
been determined as no more than a reflection of political ideas and so to have been
divorced from reality.
WAS TRADITIONAL CHINESE LAW A MERE “MODEL”? PART ONE
Authors: Nakamura Shigeo
Published: January 2004

A frequently discussed theory about the nature and function of traditional Chinese law
claims that, in traditional China, law was no more than a model, with little practical
applicability. This theory seems to be still dominant.

On a different occasion in the past, I presented some doubts about this theory of law as
a “model”, based on impressions I received from reading through a body of judgments from
Qing dynasty lawsuits.
Perception of Danger Signals: The Role of Control
Authors: Brandtstädter Jochen , Voss Andreas , Rothermund Klaus
Published: January 2004

Abstract. How does the perceptual system process stimuli that signal aversive outcomes or dangers? Considering the functional links between perception, attention, and action regulation, we posit that when people can avoid the aversive consequences, sensitivity of the perceptual system to danger signals should be enhanced, whereas it should be reduced when there is no such option. To test this prediction, we used a search task in which tachistoscopically presented conjunctions of features had to be detected. Parameters of sensitivity and response bias were analyzed drawing on procedures from signal detection theory. Although the experimental procedure rewarded correct responses, the predicted asymmetry emerged. For stimuli that were linked to a negative consequence (loss of points in the experimental game), perceptual sensitivity was enhanced when participants had the opportunity to neutralize the loss in a second task; an opposite pattern emerged when they had no such opportunity.
Acquisition and Use of Mental Operators: The Influence of Natural Order of Events
Authors: Müller Burkhard , Gehrke Jürgen
Published: January 2004

Abstract. The present article reports two experiments investigating the influence of natural order of events on the acquisition and use of knowledge about operations, in short mental operators. The principle of use specificity states that task performance depends directly on the similarity between acquisition context and the present situation. In contrast, the principle of natural order proposes that knowledge about operations can always be applied easier (faster) if reasoning follows the natural order of events. In Experiment 1, participants had to apply alphabet-arithmetic operators and LISP functions in a prognosis task (A + 2 = ?) or a retrognosis task (? - 2 = A). In alphabet-arithmetic, an advantage for the first kind of task at the beginning of training decreased with increasing practice. In LISP, however, a preference for this task (corresponding with a prospective knowledge use) emerged with increasing practice. In Experiment 2, arithmetic relations between digit pairs had to be induced. In a causal context condition, relations were described as input and output of electric circuits, in a neutral context the relations were described as arithmetic dependencies. A preference for the prognosis task was found for the causal context condition (corresponding with a prospective knowledge use) but not for the neutral one. The findings suggest that the natural order of events moderates the acquisition and use of mental operators. Further research is required to clarify the bases for this moderation.
The Influence of Distractor-Only Prime Trials on the Location Negative Priming Mechanism
Authors: Guy Sarah , Buckolz Eric , Pratt Jay
Published: January 2004

Abstract. Two experiments were conducted that examined the influence of distractor-only prime trials on the “location” negative priming (NP) effect. In all experiments, the probe trial always lacked a distractor. We showed that the predictable absence of a probe distractor caused the elimination of the location NP effect when the prime trial contained both a target and a distractor event (T + D→T), but not when the prime contained only a to-be-ignored distractor event (D→T) ( Milliken, Tipper, Houghton, & Lupianez, 2000 ). The preservation of the NP effect seen with the distractor-only prime trials (D→T) was not the result of its lacking a prime-trial selection, nor was it the consequence of its representing a higher level of episodic similarity than the T + D→T condition. Finally, the location NP effect observed for the D→T condition is seemingly consistent with the view that location NP and the inhibition-of-return effects share a common underlying process ( Milliken et al., 2000 ).
Time Window from Visual Images to Visual Short-Term Memory: Consolidation or Integration?
Authors: Jiang Yuhong
Published: January 2004

Abstract. When two dot arrays are briefly presented, separated by a short interval of time, visual short-term memory of the first array is disrupted if the interval between arrays is shorter than 1300-1500 ms ( Brockmole, Wang, & Irwin, 2002 ). Here we investigated whether such a time window was triggered by the necessity to integrate arrays. Using a probe task we removed the need for integration but retained the requirement to represent the images. We found that a long time window was needed for performance to reach asymptote even when integration across images was not required. Furthermore, such window was lengthened if subjects had to remember the locations of the second array, but not if they only conducted a visual search among it. We suggest that a temporal window is required for consolidation of the first array, which is vulnerable to disruption by subsequent images that also need to be memorized.