bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Standing Facilities and Interbank Borrowing: Evidence from the Federal Reserve's New Discount Window
Authors: Furfine Craig
Published: December 2003

Standing facilities are designed to place an upper bound on the rates at which financial institutions lend to one another overnight, reducing the volatility of the overnight interest rate, typically the rate targeted by central banks. However, improper design of the facility might decrease a bank's incentive to participate actively in the interbank market. Thus, the mere availability of central‐bank‐provided credit may lead to its use being greater than what would be expected based on the characteristics of the interbank market. By contrast, however, banks may perceive a stigma from using such facilities, and thus borrow less than what one might expect, thereby reducing the facilities' effectiveness at reducing interest rate volatility. We develop a model demonstrating these two alternative implications of a standing facility. Empirical predictions of the model are then tested using data from the Federal Reserve's new primary credit facility and the US federal funds market. A comparison of data from before and after recent changes to the discount window suggests continued reluctance to borrow from the Federal Reserve.
Forecast‐Based Monetary Policy: The Case of Sweden
Authors: Jansson Per , Vredin Anders
Published: December 2003

Central banks are dominant players in financial markets and economic policy. For both democratic and efficiency reasons, it is important that central banks' actions can be understood, predicted, and evaluated. Inflation‐targeting central banks that publish their forecasts provide unique opportunities for detailed studies of monetary policy based on real‐time data. This paper demonstrates how a central bank's forecasts can be used to identify two different forms of discretionary monetary policy: ‘policy shocks’ (deviations from systematic policy) and ‘judgements’ in forecasting.
Does Exchange Rate Policy Matter for Growth?
Authors: Bailliu Jeannine , Lafrance Robert , Perrault Jean‐François
Published: December 2003

Previous studies on whether the nature of the exchange rate regime influences a country's medium‐term growth performance have been based on a tripartite classification scheme that distinguishes between pegged, intermediate and flexible exchange rate regimes. This classification scheme, however, leads to a situation where two of the categories (intermediate and flexible) characterize solely the exchange rate regime, whereas the third (pegged) characterizes both the exchange rate regime and the monetary policy framework. Our study refines this classification scheme by accounting for different monetary policy frameworks, classifying monetary arrangements based on the presence of an explicit monetary policy ‘anchor’, such as the exchange rate or other targeted nominal variable. We estimate the impact of exchange rate arrangements on growth in a panel‐data set of 60 countries over the period 1973–1998. We find evidence that exchange rate regimes characterized by a monetary policy anchor, whether they are pegged, intermediate, or flexible, exert a positive influence on economic growth. We also find evidence that intermediate/flexible regimes without an anchor are detrimental for growth. Our results thus suggest that it is the presence of a monetary policy anchor, rather than the type of exchange rate regimeper se, that is important for economic growth. Furthermore, our work emphasizes the importance of considering the monetary policy framework that accompanies the exchange rate arrangement when assessing the macroeconomic performance of alternative exchange rate regimes.
Do Collective Action Clauses Influence Bond Yields? New Evidence from Emerging Markets
Authors: Richards Anthony , Gugiatti Mark
Published: December 2003

This paper provides empirical evidence relevant to the debate over the desirability of reforms to the way that financial markets and the international community deal with sovereign debt crises. We present new evidence showing that the use of collective action clauses (CACs) in sovereign emerging markets issuance has been wider than previously believed. In addition, we provide results on the way that financial markets have priced the use or non‐use of CACs, both before and after the path‐breaking issue by Mexico in February 2003. We interpret recent developments as indicating that US investors now accept that the use of well‐designed CACs is not inconsistent with protection of creditor rights.
Recurrent epididymo‐orchitis caused by posterior urethral valve associated with imperforate anus
Authors: SHIRAISHI KOJI , TAKIHARA HIROSHI
Published: December 2003

Abstract Epididymo‐orchitis is an uncommon complication of imperforate anus. A 14‐year‐old boy who received surgical repair for imperforate anus was diagnosed with right epididymo‐orchitis. Intravenous pyelography showed a right solitary kidney. Posterior urethral valve, reflux of contrast medium to the ejaculatory duct and incomplete duplicate urethra were suspected from voiding cystourethrography. Valve ablation was performed to prevent the recurrence of epididymo‐orchitis. Improvement of urinary force was achieved and the patient has been free of recurrence during a 2‐year follow up. For the patient with imperforate anus, we should evaluate not only anorectal function, but also the genitourinary tract in order to preserve renal function and fertility.
Effect of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular risk factors in postmenopausal women with diabetes*
Authors: Scott A. R. , Dhindsa P. , Forsyth J. , Mansell P.
Published: December 2003

Background:  Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women improves menopausal symptoms, decreases the incidence of osteoporotic fracture, but the effects on cardiovascular risk factors remain controversial.

Aim:  To test the hypothesis that HRT may have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular risk profile in postmenopausal women with diabetes.

Methods:  One hundred and fifty postmenopausal patients with type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) were randomized to receive HRT (Kliofem) or placebo for 12 months. We monitored the effects on cardiovascular risk factors, including lipid profile, glycaemic control, blood pressure and body weight.

Results:  Mean low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was associated with a nonsignificant decrease [−0.14 mmol/l (CI = −0.44, 0.17) (p = 0.37)] in the Kliofem‐treated group. Total cholesterol fell by 0.42 mmol/l (CI = −0.78, −0.05) (p = 0.027). High‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was reduced by a mean of 0.07 mmol/l compared to a mean rise of 0.12 mmol/l on placebo. There were apparent differences in the treatment effects between T1DM and T2DM. There was no change in triglycerides or apoprotein B and no effect on glycaemic control, blood pressure or menopausal symptom scores. In the Kliofem group, BMI fell by 0.66 kg/m2 compared to an increase of 0.14 kg/m2 for placebo patients (p = 0.046).

Conclusions:  Although the long‐term effects of HRT in women with or without diabetes appear to suggest that some types of HRT either confer no cardiovascular protection or may increase risk, the impact of Kliofem diabetic women on cardiovascular risk factors is probably neutral.
Obesity in the Caribbean: the Jamaican experience
Authors: Ragoobirsingh D. , Morrison E. Y. St. A. , Johnson P. , Lewis‐Fuller E.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  This study was designed to investigate the point prevalence and pattern of obesity in the Jamaican adult population.

Methods:  A two‐stage‐stratified random sampling design was used, and individuals aged 15 years and over were interviewed. In addition, anthropometric measurements were performed. The data were analysed using the SPSS statistical software version 8. Non‐response was documented and factored into the final analysis of the survey data.

Results:  A total of 2105 individuals responded to the all island survey, with 69% being females. Truncal obesity and gynoid obesity showed similar prevalence data. Both were affected by increasing age, being female, level of education attained and smoking status.

Conclusions:  Jamaica has a point prevalence of obesity, truncal 36.2% and gynoid 34.1%, in the 15 and over age group.
Lipoprotein lipase gene variants and the effect of environmental factors on cardiovascular disease risk
Authors: Talmud Philippa J. , Stephens Jeffrey W.
Published: December 2003

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of mortality in the Western world. CHD risk is known to be modified by both genetic and environmental factors. In this review, we look at the role of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene variants in predisposing to CHD risk and the important interaction between these genotypes and environmental factors (e.g. smoking). Gene–environmental interactions result in a greater than additive effect on risk and understanding these gene–environmental interactions has the potential not only for improving our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease, but also in the development of new therapies and the targeting of specific therapies. For example, if a genotype increases risk in a particular environment, then those subjects would be encouraged to change their lifestyles more aggressively. Similarly at‐risk subjects could be targeted with available therapies more appropriately.
Comparison of the effects of glimepiride and glibenclamide on adipose tissue tumour necrosis factor‐α mRNA expression and cellularity
Authors: Mori Y. , Komiya H. , Kurokawa N. , Tajima N.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  The aim of this study was to compare the effects of glimepiride and glibenclamide on tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α expression and adipocyte cellularity in spontaneously diabetic, obese rats.

Methods:  Eight‐week‐old male Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats were randomized to receive glimepiride, glibenclamide or control treatment for 12 weeks, after which TNF‐α mRNA levels, adipose tissue cellularity and physiological parameters were measured.

Results:  TNF‐α mRNA expression in retroperitoneal fat tissue was significantly greater in the glibenclamide group (2.2 ± 1.1), compared with the control group (0.9 ± 0.4; p < 0.05) or the glimepiride group (0.9 ± 0.2; p < 0.01). The mean fat‐cell area in retroperitoneal fat tissue was increased at study endpoint in the glibenclamide group (13 764 ± 7036 µm2), compared with both the control and glimepiride groups (10 755 ± 6193 µm2 and 11 317 ± 5646 µm2 respectively; p < 0.05). Investigation of cellularity revealed a decrease in the frequency of small fat cells and an increase in the frequency of large fat cells in both the glibenclamide and glimepiride groups compared with the control group, with a greater increase in large fat cells in the glibenclamide group. At study endpoint, insulin and triglyceride values were significantly higher in the active treatment groups compared with the control group; however, insulin levels were significantly greater in glibenclamide‐treated animals compared with glimepiride‐treated animals. An oral glucose tolerance test performed at the end of the study showed that there were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of plasma glucose and insulin concentrations.

Conclusions:  This study suggests that although both glibenclamide and glimepiride may have a hypertrophisizing effect on fat cells in adipose tissues, this effect is greater with glibenclamide, leading to augmentation of TNF‐α mRNA expression and possible exacerbation of insulin resistance.
Effects of short‐term metformin treatment on insulin sensitivity of blood glucose and free fatty acids
Authors: Iannello S. , Camuto M. , Cavaleri A. , Milazzo P. , Pisano M. G. , Bellomia D. , Belfiore F.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  Based on the known effect of metformin (MET) in improving insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes, with the scope to focus the effects on glycaemic and free fatty acids (FFA) levels, we studied the effects of a short‐term treatment with this drug in obese subjects and obese patients with diabetes or family history of diabetes (FHD). We used a method to allow us to evaluate the possible difference of insulin sensibility with regard to the insulin action on glycaemia and blood FFA, both in the basal state and during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Methods:  Insulin sensitivity was investigated before and after MET treatment (850 mg bid for 10 days) in seven obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance and without FHD and 13 obese patients with diabetes (n = 7) or FHD (n = 6). By using specifically designed formulae, we calculated four insulin‐sensitivity indices (ISI) from basal level (b) and area values (a) (during OGTT) of insulinaemia, glycaemia (gly) or FFA (ffa), namely: ISI (gly)‐b, ISI (gly)‐a, ISI (ffa)‐b and ISI (ffa)‐a.

Results:  In patients with diabetes or FHD, MET improved ISI (gly)‐b (0.79 ± 0.06 vs. 0.59 ± 0.07, p < 0.001) and ISI (gly)‐a (0.69 ± 0.09 vs. 0.51 ± 0.07, p < 0.05), whereas only minor changes occurred for ISI (ffa)‐b and ISI (ffa)‐a. In contrast, in simple obese subjects, MET induced further deterioration of both ISI (gly)‐a (0.47 ± 0.07 vs. 0.64 ± 0.10, p < 0.01) and ISI (ffa)‐a (0.43 ± 0.07 vs. 0.55 ± 0.08, p < 0.05). Fasting level and total area of lactate were high in the obese patients and were not affected by MET. A statistically significant increase (p < 0.01), however, was observed for the ‘decremental’ area of lactate in obese subjects with diabetes or FHD, which might probably contribute to the reduction of insulin resistance induced by the drug in these patients.

Conclusions:  Although the low number of subjects studied precludes absolute conclusions, data would suggest that MET improved ISI towards glucose but not towards FFA, in the diabetic and ‘prediabetic’ obese patients, whereas worsened it in the obese subjects without FHD. Therefore, the effects of MET would not be secondary to changes of FFA but rather to a primary action of MET on glucose metabolism. Thus, utilization of MET to treat the insulin resistance in obesity is indicated only in the presence of alterations of glucose metabolism or FHD.
Role of fat amount and type in ameliorating diet‐induced obesity: insights at the level of hypothalamic arcuate nucleus leptin receptor, neuropeptide Y and pro‐opiomelanocortin mRNA expression
Authors: Huang X.‐F. , Xin X. , McLennan P. , Storlien L.
Published: December 2003

Aims:  Dietary fatty acid profile, independent of caloric percent of fat, is a major regulator of body adiposity. This study examined the effects of dietary fat amount and types on fat storage and hypothalamic gene expression in the mouse model of chronic diet‐induced obesity.

Methods:  The dietary interventions were in twofold: (1) the obesity was induced by a 13‐week obesogenic fat diet compared with a low‐fat (LF) diet, and (2) the reversibility was tested by using high n‐3 polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) and LF diets. Fifty‐four C57Bl/6 mice were fed a high‐fat (59% in kcal) diet for 13 weeks and then classified as diet‐induced obese (DIO) or diet‐resistant (DR) mice according to upper and lower tertiles of body weight gain. The DIO mice were then subdivided into three groups for a 6‐week secondary dietary intervention. Two of the groups were switched to either a high n‐3 PUFA (DIO‐n3) or a low‐fat (10% in kcal, DIO‐LF) diet, whereas the third (controls) and DR mice continued on the initial high‐fat diet. Food efficiency was calculated as weekly body weight gain per gram of food intake.

Results:  After switching the DIO mice to the n‐3 PUFA or LF diet, their body weights were reduced to the level of the DR and LF mice. The food efficiencies were, from the highest to lowest, in the order: DIO > LF > DR >  DIO‐LF > DIO‐n3. Using quantitative in situ hybridization, we found that the DIO mice had higher levels of leptin receptor (LR, +290%, p < 0.005) and neuropeptide Y (NPY, +25%, p < 0.05) mRNA expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (Arc) than the DR mice, whereas the level of pro‐opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression was significantly reduced (−45%, p < 0.01). All effects that were essentially returned to DR levels by the change to the n‐3 PUFA diet and, with the exception of a failure to normalize Arc NPY mRNA levels, by the change to LF diet.

Conclusions:  Taken together, the present results show that both change in level and quality of dietary fat can potently alter hypothalamic neuropeptide expression and result in effective amelioration of diet‐induced obesity. Interestingly, the n‐3 PUFA diet when fed to already obese mice produced a pattern of hypothalamic gene expression similar to that in obesity resistant (DR) mice. It remains to be determined if the effects of n‐3 fatty acids on brain neuropeptide gene expression are direct or indirect.
The effect of polymorphism in the intestinal fatty acid‐binding protein 2 gene on fat metabolism is associated with gender and obesity amongst non‐diabetic Japanese–Americans
Authors: Nakanishi S. , Yamane K. , Kamei N. , Okubo M. , Kohno N.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  The role of the codon 54 polymorphism of the fatty acid‐binding protein 2 (FABP2) gene on fat metabolism has been controversial. Assuming that the effects of the polymorphism were modulated by gender and obesity which were related to lipid and glucose metabolism, we investigated this polymorphism and its effect on fat metabolism according to such factors.

Methods:  Subjects were Japanese–Americans (123 men and 126 women) who were diagnosed as non‐diabetic by a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test at the baseline.

Results:  During approximately 7.8 years, 49 (24 men and 25 women) were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In a Cox proportional hazards model, this polymorphism was not a significant variable in the incidence of diabetes in either gender. Amongst non‐obese men with the Thr54 allele, there was a significant elevation of triglycerides (TGs) (p = 0.033) compared with alanine (Ala) homozygotes. Women with the Thr54 allele had significantly elevated total cholesterol (p = 0.033) and low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) (p = 0.023) compared with Ala54 homozygotes.

Conclusions:  These results therefore suggested that the effects of the FABP2 polymorphism on TG, LDL‐C and body mass index were associated with gender difference and obesity amongst non‐diabetic Japanese–American subjects.
Effects of the sibutramine therapy on pulmonary artery pressure in obese patients
Authors: Guven A. , Koksal N. , Cetinkaya A. , Sokmen G. , Ozdemir R.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  Obesity is a major global public health problem. Previous drugs (dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine) used for the treatment of obesity have been withdrawn due to various cardiac side effects. Sibutramine is an anti‐obesity agent. The purpose of this study was to assess cardiac valve disease and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) of the patients who used once daily doses of sibutramine.

Methods:  One hundred and six obese patients (51 men and 55 women) determined to have minimal tricuspid regurgitation (TR) on echocardiographic examination were included in the study. All patients had a complete physical examination, complete blood count and measurement of lipid parameters, and echocardiography was performed by which cardiac valves and PAP were evaluated. After the mean duration of 24‐week of follow up, all examinations were repeated for each patient.

Results:  The drug was well tolerated by all patients for the follow‐up period. A significant weight loss was recorded in all patients compared to the baseline values (93.1 ± 9.6 kg vs. 85.8 ± 7.7 kg, p < 0.001). Blood pressures and heart rate of the patients increased compared to the baseline measurements (systolic 122.3 ± 8.5 vs. 124 ± 10.2 mmHg, p = 0.128, diastolic 79.3 ± 4.7 vs. 80 ± 5.7 mmHg, p = 0.42 and heart rate 79.5 ± 6.5 vs. 85 ± 5.7 beats/min, p < 0.001). Echocardiographically determined aortic or mitral valve dysfunction appeared in none of the patients. PAP lightly increased after the treatment but the difference between pre and post‐treatment values was not found statistically significant (14.7 ± 1.8 vs. 16.3 ± 1.6 mmHg, p = 0.06).

Conclusions:  A 24‐week treatment with sibutramine does not affect heart valves and pulmonary artery pressure.
Effect of the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan on fibrinolysis in patients with mild hypertension
Authors: Skurk T. , Lee Y.‐M. , Nicuta‐Rölfs T.‐O. , Haastert B. , Wirth A. , Hauner H.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  Impaired fibrinolysis is frequently observed in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Aim of the study was to examine the short‐term effect of angiotensin II receptor blockade on the fibrinolytic system.

Methods:  Seventy‐four patients with mild hypertension were randomly assigned to a 7‐day treatment period with either 16 mg candesartan cilexetil or placebo. Several variables of the fibrinolytic system such as plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) antigen and activity, tissue plasminogen activator (t‐PA) antigen and activity as well as circulating t‐PA/PAI‐1 complexes were determined.

Results:  At baseline, the body mass index but not blood pressure was positively associated with PAI‐1 antigen (r = 0.314, p < 0.01) and PAI‐1 activity (r = 0.425, p < 0.01) but negatively with t‐PA activity (r = −0.187, p < 0.05). A 7‐day treatment with 16 mg candesartan cilexetil resulted in a significant greater reduction of diastolic blood pressure (−10.3 ± 10.8 mmHg vs.−5.8 ± 8.5 mmHg, p = 0.03). However, there was no significant effect of candesartan on all parameters of the fibrinolytic system under investigation, i.e. circulating PAI‐1 antigen, PAI‐1 activity, t‐PA antigen, t‐PA activity and t‐PA/PAI‐1 complexes. Furthermore, candesartan did not affect the characteristic circadian pattern of the variables of the fibrinolytic system.

Conclusion:  We conclude that short‐term blockade of the angiotensin II receptor subtype 1 with candesartan does not have an impact on fibrinolysis in patients with mild hypertension.
The effect of acarbose on insulin resistance in obese hypertensive subjects with normal glucose tolerance: a randomized controlled study
Authors: Rachmani R. , Bar‐Dayan Y. , Ronen Z. , Levi Z. , Slavachevsky I. , Ravid M.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  Acarbose, a glucose oxidase inhibitor, delays the absorption of glucose thus reducing post‐prandial blood glucose level, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and insulin resistance in patients with diabetes mellitus and in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. The effect of acarbose in subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) has hitherto not been examined. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of acarbose in obese hypertensive subjects with NGT.

Methods:  A double‐blinded, parallel group study was performed on 56 male subjects with hypertension, body mass index (BMI) 27–35 kg/m2, fasting blood glucose ≤ 6 mmol/l and a normal oral glucose tolerance test. Blood pressure, HbA1c, lipid profile and insulin resistance [homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index] were determined initially and following 24 weeks of acarbose, 150 mg/day or placebo. The primary end point was the change in insulin resistance. Anti‐hypertensive treatment and diet were kept constant during the study.

Results:  Insulin resistance decreased in acarbose users but not on placebo. HOMA index declined from 5.36 ± 1.7 to 4.10 ± 1.6 (p = 0.001) on acarbose, the corresponding values on placebo were 5.44 ± 1.9 and 5.53 ± 1.7. A decrease in serum triglyceride values (2.16 ± 0.16 mmol/l to 1.76 ± 0.15 mmol/l, p = 0.02) took place on acarbose with no change on placebo. There was no change in BMI, low‐density lipoprotein or high‐density lipoprotein values in either group. Blood pressure declined equally in both the groups, probably due to better patient compliance.

Conclusions:  Acarbose may reduce insulin resistance and triglycerides also in obese hypertensive subjects with normal glucose tolerance.
Lack of concordance between plasma markers of cardiovascular risk and intima‐media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Moussavi N. , Renier G. , Roussin A. , Mamputu J.‐C. , Buithieu J. , Serri O.
Published: December 2003

Aim:  Endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress and systemic inflammation play an important role in the enhanced cardiovascular risk in diabetes. Carotid intima‐media thickness (IMT), a widely accepted marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, is known to be increased in patients with type 2 diabetes. The relationships between plasma markers of cardiac risk and carotid IMT are not well known. We therefore studied a group of patients with type 2 diabetes to evaluate the relationships between plasma markers of cardiac risk and carotid IMT.

Design and patients:  We measured carotid IMT and the levels of soluble endothelial adhesion molecules [sE‐selectin, intercellular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (sICAM‐1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (sVCAM‐1)], C‐reactive protein (CRP) and 8‐isoprostane in 40 patients with type 2 diabetes without clinical macrovascular complications (HbA1c < 10%, duration of diabetes < 12 years) and 25 healthy subjects. We then examined the correlations between these plasma markers, carotid IMT and various clinical and biochemical parameters.

Results:  Diabetic patients had higher plasma sE‐selectin (p = 0.03), sICAM‐1 (p = 0.05), CRP (p = 0.047) and 8‐isoprostane (p = 0.001) concentrations than control subjects. Mean IMT values were identical (0.63 ± 0.02 mm) in diabetic (range, 0.40–0.92 mm) and healthy subjects (range, 0.45–0.85 mm). In diabetic patients, stepwise multivariate analysis showed that HbA1c and plasma glucose were independent predictors of sE‐selectin (r2 = 0.19 and r2 = 0.17, p < 0.01, respectively), whereas waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) were predictors of sICAM‐1 (r2 = 0.27, p = 0.001 and r2 = 0.22, p = 0.002, respectively). Waist circumference was the only predictor of CRP (r2 = 0.2, p < 0.01), and systolic blood pressure was the only predictor of 8‐isoprostane (r2 = 0.19, p = 0.006). In control subjects, similar analysis showed that plasma glucose and waist circumference were predictors of sE‐selectin and sICAM‐1, respectively (r2 = 0.2, p < 0.05).

Conclusions:  These results indicate that some well‐controlled type 2 diabetic patients free of clinical macrovascular complications have elevated plasma markers of cardiovascular risk without having increased IMT. The elevation of plasma markers of endothelial cell activation (sE‐selectin and s‐ICAM‐1) or inflammation (CRP) and oxidative stress (8‐isoprostane) in diabetics vs. controls is distinct from and cannot be explained simply by differences in the burden of atherosclerosis as assessed by carotid IMT.
Laparoscopic treatment of adrenal diseases: 10 years on
Authors: Guazzoni G. , Cestari A. , Montorsi F. , Bellinzoni P. , Centemero A. , Naspro R. , Salonia A. , Rigatti P.
Published: December 2003

Since it was initially described in 1992 laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) has been gaining popularity amongst urologists and its range of applications has progressively widened. Ten years after the first report of LA this type of operation is presently considered to be the ‘standard of care’ for most adrenal diseases requiring surgery. We define the current role of laparoscopy in the management of surgical adrenal diseases, using a Medline search (1997–2002) to assess reports of LA, focusing on indications, approaches (transperitoneal and retroperitoneoscopic) and comparative analyses, taking particular care to evaluate operative duration, rate of conversion and transfusion, complications and hospital stay. With both approaches LA is safe and effective and, when compared with open surgery, offers the same functional results with all the advantages of minimally invasive surgery. We conclude that LA based on either approach should be considered the treatment of choice for benign adrenal lesions. Although very promising, conservative surgery and LA should still be evaluated in cases of malignancy.
Political conflict in postcolonial Oceania
Authors: Murray Warwick E. , Storey Donovan
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  This article provides an overview of growing conflict in Oceania and considers some of the broad attempts to explain it. It critically outlines the nature of the post‐colonial transformation of the region and considers the influence of this on patterns of instability. It concludes that the region exhibits an unprecedented vulnerability in politico‐economic, social and environmental terms and that useful interpretations of this must involve attention to local contingency as well as broad structural/historical change. This context is used to introduce the contributions to this special edition on postcolonial transformations and political conflict in Oceania.
The future of democracy in Melanesia: What role for outside powers?
Authors: Henderson John
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  This paper critically examines the role of outside powers, particularly Australia and New Zealand, in meeting the challenges to democracy in Melanesia. The shortcomings of the Westminster political system in the fragmented societies of Melanesia are contrasted with the possible advantages of a Presidential system. The ‘good governance’ requirements of aid donors are considered, along with more direct forms of intervention – including armed forces in the case of the Solomon Islands. The paper concludes that democracy cannot be imposed, and that attempts to do so makes nonsense of the term.
Regulation of space in the contemporary postcolonial Pacific city: Port Moresby and Suva
Authors: Connell John
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  National development problems in the weak states of Papua New Guinea and Fiji have resulted in external intervention. However neo‐liberal development strategies have not resolved development problems and may have further weakened state structures. In both capital cities rural‐urban migration, rising urban unemployment, and the expansion of squatter settlements and the informal sector have all continued in recent years. The numbers of beggars, street kids and prostitutes have increased, as has domestic violence and crime. Governments have opposed all these trends, by regulation and intolerance, violence, routine repression and eviction, rather than by pro‐poor policies. Settlers, prostitutes, beggars, street kids and market vendors have been evicted and moved on, on the ideological premise that that their true place is in rural areas, and that their urban presence challenges and threatens notions of urban order. Moral regulation, social exclusion and moral panic have divided ‘good citizens’ from marginal and possibly criminal others, intensifying social divisions within the cities. Sustainable urban development has proved difficult to achieve.
The peri‐urban Pacific: From exclusive to inclusive cities
Authors: Storey Donovan
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  As the Pacific Islands continue to urbanise, existing models of governance and planning are coming under greater pressure and scrutiny. Both the city council approach and the ‘good’ urban governance agenda of donors have weaknesses in the region, especially in dealing with peri‐urban settlements where the most rapid urban population growth is occurring. This is resulting in increased social discontent and conflict. This paper critiques the ways in which Pacific Island towns and cities are governed and calls for an approach which is more inclusive (and less hierarchical) and informed by concepts of citizenship and social justice. Indeed, policy makers will need to broaden their concepts and practices of governance if many Pacific cities are to be socially, politically, and envir‐onmentally sustainable. However, the political‐economy of urban development in the region is not proving conducive to consensus, with conflict a more likely outcome in the foreseeable future.
Consensus versus dissent: Democracy, pluralism and governance in Sāmoa
Authors: Huffer Elise , So’o Asofou
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  Consensus is a term widely used in Sāmoa and elsewhere in the Pacific. It is considered to be a key feature of decision‐making and a fundamental characteristic of fa’asāmoa and other Pacific ways of being and doing. In Sāmoa it has been a mark of the strength and continuity of the fa’a matai through the ages of colonialism, neo‐colonialism and globalisation. However, although it has evolved in many ways to take into account new social trends (for instance allowing children to take part in family discussions) and remains strong at the family and village level, its role at the national level has virtually disappeared. This is seldom stated publicly and consensus is still held up as a defining characteristic of Sāmoaness. At the same time, although the rise of dissent is given little acknowledgement, it permeates public life. One could assume, based on this result that the ideology of consensus is perpetuated in order to reduce national public debate on governance issues.
Inequality and conflict in Fiji: From purgatory to hell?
Authors: Sriskandarajah Dhananjayan
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  This article examines socio‐economic inequality in Fiji and finds that, contrary to oft‐repeated claims, inequality between Fiji"s major ethnic groups (inter‐ethnic inequality) is less significant than inequality within each ethnic group (intra‐ethnic inequality). In spite of this reality, inter‐group inequality and affirmative action policies have remained central features of state policy in Fiji. This article suggests that Fiji's experience has three implications for the growing literature on the relationship between inequality and conflict. First, examining average inequality between groups can be misleading. Secondly, a key to understanding the relationship between ethnic and economic cleavages in post‐colonial plural societies, such as Fiji, is in the interaction between intra‐group and inter‐group inequality. Thirdly, there does not seem to be a straightforward relationship between actual levels of inequality, perceptions of inequality, and the prominence given to inequality in ethno‐nationalist discourse. In Fiji's case, the strategic deployment of inter‐group inequality has served, and continues to serve, the material and discursive interests of some political elites. As a result, the intersection between ethnicity, inequality and political rivalry in contemporary Fiji has been the source of much conflict and, importantly, may offer a nexus on which attempts at conflict resolution should focus.
Gender‐related violence in the Solomon Islands: The work of local women's organisations
Authors: Leslie Helen , Boso Selina
Published: December 2003

Abstract:  With its historical roots in the struggle for land and resources and the migration of ethnically diverse peoples, the Solomon Islands’ crisis of 1998–2000 caused untold trauma and suffering for many people. Because of their gendered position in society, however, women were arguably more adversely impacted by the conflict than men. Many women were raped by members of both warring parties and many felt guilt and hopelessness when the social and economic impacts of the conflict restricted their ability to fulfil traditional gender roles and responsibilities.
Criteria for optimal production under uncertainty. The state‐contingent approach
Authors: Rasmussen Svend
Published: December 2003

The state‐contingent approach to production economics presented by Chambers and Quiggin provides a new basis for deriving optimality criteria for production under uncertainty. In the present paper criteria are formally derived for risk‐averse producers. It is not possible to derive useful criteria for strictly risk‐averse producers, but useful criteria for risk‐neutral producers are presented for three different types of input. Based on a formal definition of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ states of nature, the use of inputs and levels of production of strictly risk‐averse producers are compared to those of risk‐neutral producers. Depending on the type of input, risk‐averse producers may use more or less input than risk‐neutral producers.
Auctions for conservation contracts: an empirical examination of Victoria's BushTender trial
Authors: Stoneham Gary , Chaudhri Vivek , Ha Arthur , Strappazzon Loris
Published: December 2003

The present paper proposes that markets for nature conservation on private land are missing because of the problem of asymmetric information. An auction of conservation contracts was designed to reveal hidden information needed to facilitate meaningful transactions between landholders and government. The present paper describes the key elements of auction and contract design employed and the results obtained from a pilot auction of conservation contracts run in two regions of Victoria. The pilot demonstrated that it was possible to create at least the supply side of a market for nature conservation and in conjunction with a defined budget, prices were discovered and resources allocated through contracts with landholders. The present paper compares a discriminative price auction with a hypothetical fixed‐price scheme showing that an auction could offer large cost savings to governments interested in nature conservation on private land. The paper identifies some important design problems that would need to be solved before auctions could be applied more broadly including: multiple complementary outcomes, reserve prices, sequential auction design and contract design. Nevertheless, the paper does show that auctioning conservation contracts for environmental outcomes is an important new policy mechanism that deserves closer examination.
Consumer preferences for GM food and other attributes of the food system
Authors: James Sallie , Burton Michael
Published: December 2003

While qualitative surveys regarding consumers’ attitudes about gene technologies and their application to food production are plentiful, quantitative studies are less so. The present paper reports choice modelling methods to examine the conditions under which Australian consumers are willing to purchase genetically modified (GM) foods, if at all, and examines those preferences within the context of the food system as a whole. This allows us to compare consumer attitudes towards gene technology to consumer preferences for other features of the food they consume. The results of the choice modelling analysis suggest consumers require a discount on their weekly food bill before they will purchase GM food. Gene technology using animal as well as plant genes was found to be more objectionable to respondents than that using plant genes alone, especially among women. Age seems to affect the preferences for a certain type of food, with older people generally more accepting of the use of gene technology.
Economic benefits of public investment in weed management: the case of vulpia in south‐eastern Australia's temperate pasture areas
Authors: Vere David T. , Jones Randall E. , Griffith Garry R.
Published: December 2003

The present paper reports an economic evaluation of the long‐term benefits to Australia of research by the Cooperative Research Centre for Weed Management Systems (CRC) into the improved management of vulpia, the major annual grass weed of temperate pastures in New South Wales and Victoria. Vulpia reduces livestock production by competition with more desirable pasture species, by the production of low quality feed at critical times of the grazing cycle, and by injury to animals. A 20‐year stochastic benefit‐cost analysis indicated that reducing the impacts of vulpia in these pastures produced a mean net present value of $A58.3 million and a mean benefit‐cost ratio of 33:1. Temperate pasture zone wool producers would capture the largest shares of these benefits, Australian consumers would gain, but wool producers in the rest of Australia would suffer welfare losses from vulpia reductions in the temperate pasture zones.
Economics of export subsidies under costly and imperfect enforcement
Authors: Giannakas Konstantinos
Published: December 2003

The present paper builds on the published literature on agricultural policy analysis under costly and imperfect enforcement by introducing enforcement costs and misrepresentation into the economic analysis of export subsidies. Specifically, the present paper examines the economic causes of cheating on export subsidies and the consequences of enforcement costs and misrepresentation for the welfare effects and the transfer efficiency of this policy instrument. Policy design and implementation is modelled as a sequential game between a government that designs and enforces the policy and the recipients of the payments. Two alternative policy implementation scenarios are considered. In the first scenario, export subsidies are paid to private trading firms while in the second scenario subsidies are paid directly to the producers of the subsidised commodity. Analytical results show that the introduction of enforcement costs and cheating changes the welfare effects of export subsidies and their efficiency in redistributing income to producers. The analysis also shows that, contrary to what is traditionally believed, the incidence of export subsidies depends on the group that is subsidised to export the surplus quantity – the way the policy is implemented. The results provide additional support for the contention that the economic consequences of cheating are highly policy‐specific. Finally, the analysis reveals that when the government faces restrictions on either the volume or the value of export subsidies, cheating reduces the distortionary effects of the policy on international markets. This is true irrespective of whether subsidies are paid to trading firms or to producers.
Christianity and Indigenous Peoples: A Personal Overview
Authors: Ranger Terence
Published: December 2003

This article summarizes its author's response over more than 30 years to the various arguments advanced against the possibility of the appropriation of Christianity by indigenous peoples. It sets out the intellectual and evidential reasons for rejecting these arguments. However, it admits that while indigenous appropriation of Christianity is always possible, under some circumstances it has been improbable. Many indigenous peoples have made use of Christianity but in the past there has been comparatively little appropriation by Native Americans or Australian Aborigines. This article explores the reasons for this. When the factors that have accounted for resistance and rejection rather than adaption no longer exist, it may be expected that Aborigines will indeed appropriate Christianity. The article concludes with a brief examination of academic work on African appropriations and suggests that new developments in Aboriginal Christianity will reveal how far comparisons can be made.
Christian Bodies: Dialectics of Sickness and Salvation Among the Maisin of Papua New Guinea
Authors: Barker John
Published: December 2003

This article examines the impact of a Charismatic youth fellowship movement among the Maisin people of Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, in the late 1990s. Drawing upon ethnographic and archival sources, I show that the response conforms to a pattern repeated periodically over a century of regional religious movements focused upon eradicating sorcery and promoting health. Over several generations, Maisin have experienced and interpreted Christianity in ways that at once confirm a basic belief in sorcery while prodding the faithful towards increasingly individualistic notions of morality and, thus, new collectivist responses to misfortunes like life‐threatening illnesses. Thus, while the main intent of religious movements among the Maisin has remained remarkably consistent, the underlying conception of the links between morality, sickness, and healing has shifted markedly over the years. The article thus demonstrates that Christianity in this Melanesian community has had both conservative and transformational effects upon everyday conceptions of morality, sickness, healing, and redemption. More generally, the article advocates moving the study of religious change in longer contacted regions of Melanesia from a dualistic model that opposes Western and indigenous cultures to one that examines the complex historical development of vernacular Christianity.
“It is God who Speaks in the Thunder . . .”: Mediating Ontologies of Faith and Fear in Aboriginal Christianity>
Authors: Magowan Fiona
Published: December 2003

The connection between Christianity and the ancestral law of Aboriginal culture has generated considerable debate within Australian Christianity. I explore the intersubjective flow between faith and fear emergent within these two systems and show how external influences have impacted ruptures of ontological thought and experience. These ruptures have both emerged from and shaped social and political change for Yolngu from Galiwin’ku in north‐east Arnhem Land. I examine a range of discourses of religious rupture and argue that Christian influences have, at different times, variously competed with, moulded, and naturalized Yolngu ancestral understanding, leading to a surveillance of the social, spiritual, and political relationship between the Gospel and Culture by Yolngu Christians.
The Meaning Of Pepe: God's Law and The Western Arrernte
Authors: Austin‐Broos Diane
Published: December 2003

Using both ethnography and textual material, this paper describes the way in which Western Arrernte people in central Australia interpreted the Christianity brought to them by Lutheran missionaries. The mission became an isolated domestic economy, a context that allowed the Arrernte to interpret its teachings in terms of a “law.” This Christian law was often referred to as pepe, the Western Arrernte word for “paper.” It involved a particular rendering of literacy and rested on a highly localized order. These conditions of mission Christianity would change with the coming of land rights and a cash economy.
Changing Concepts of Embodiment and Illness among the Western Arrernte at Hermannsburg Mission
Authors: Van Gent Jacqueline
Published: December 2003

This paper argues that the interaction between Lutheran missionaries and Arrernte people at Hermannsburg mission was shaped by different body practices and discourses. Notions of sickness, causation and healing were central to the ideas of the body. Both missionaries and Arrernte paid attention to these somatic states in their social interactions. Lutherans attempted to reinforce an individualistic notion of the body, while Arrernte people continued to believe in the fundamental interconnectedness of the person with ancestors and kin. In the new social environment of the missions, the indigenous socio‐somatic view of a person remained flexible enough to accommodate aspects of Christian ontology and ritual.
Two Indigenous Evangelists: Moses Tjalkabota and Arthur Wellington Clah
Authors: Brock Peggy
Published: December 2003

Arthur Wellington Clah was a Tsimshian man on the Pacific north‐west coast of Canada, who encountered the missionary, William Duncan, as a young adult at the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Simpson in the 1850s. Moses Tjalkabota was an Arrernte man in central Australia. He was a young boy when he first came into contact with Lutheran missionaries at Hermannsburg mission in the 1880s, and was baptized in 1890. Both these men became Christian evangelists, both preached to their own people, and further afield among neighbouring groups. But here the similarities between them seem to stop. Clah was never part of a mission settlement, maintaining his independence from any established church; while Moses, who became blind as a young man, spent most of his life at Hermannsburg.

 This article examines these two evangelists’ understandings of Christianity and how they communicated these understandings to their own and neighbouring peoples. Clah encouraged good behaviour, which conformed with his understanding of Christian precepts; Moses tried to communicate a more abstract form of belief through which happiness and eternal life could be attained.