bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Does Taxation Lead to Representation?
Authors: ROSS MICHAEL L.
Published: March 2004

Does their need for greater tax revenue force governments to democratize? Most research on contemporary democratization says little about the effects of taxation. Yet there are good reasons to believe that taxation led to representation in the past: representative government first came about in early modern Europe when monarchs were compelled to relinquish some of their authority to parliamentary institutions, in exchange for the ability to raise new taxes; similarly, the war for independence in the United States began as a rebellion against British taxes. Some scholars argue that a comparable process is occurring today: the need to raise taxes forces authoritarian governments to democratize. These claims have never been carefully tested. In this article, the ‘taxation leads to representation’ argument is explored and tested using pooled time-series cross-national data from 113 countries between 1971 and 1997. One version of the argument appears to be valid, while another does not. These findings are important both for scholars who wish to understand the causes of democracy, and for policy makers who wish to promote it.
Just Constraints
Authors: MASON ANDREW
Published: March 2004

Political theorists disagree about the extent to which issues of feasibility, stability, institutional design and human nature can be bracketed in analysing the concept of justice. At one end of the spectrum some argue that no analysis of justice can be adequate in the absence of an account of how it could be implemented, whereas at the other end there are those who argue that principles of justice are logically independent of issues of feasibility. Influenced by the work of John Rawls, many theorists occupy the middle ground, maintaining that analyses of justice must be realistic, that is, realizable under the best of foreseeable conditions. Against Rawls and others, this article argues that feasibility does not constrain what can count as an adequate principle of justice but nevertheless maintains that there are limits on such principles that derive in part from human nature, which divergent theories of justice must respect. It also distinguishes between different levels of analysis, some of which are governed by feasibility constraints.
Delegating Powers in the European Community
Authors: FRANCHINO FABIO
Published: March 2004

The theory of delegation developed by Epstein and O'Halloran for the US federal system is used here to generate original hypotheses on the politics of delegation in the European Community (EC). It is argued that two institutional features of the Community, namely the decision rules of the Council of Ministers and the possibility of relying on both the Commission and the member states for policy implementation are at the core of the choices of delegation of EC legislators. Using an original dataset of 158 major EC legislative acts, it is demonstrated that the Council delegates greater policy authority to national institutions if legislation is adopted unanimously or in issue areas that require specialized and technical knowledge, while it relies to a greater extent on the Commission when acts are adopted by qualified majority voting or require general managerial skills at the supranational level.

Results also show that national administrators are the main providers of policy expertise, while the informational role of the Commission appears to be secondary, though not negligible. Finally, these findings qualify propositions on the relation between veto players and bureaucratic autonomy and on that between conflict within the legislature and delegation outcomes.
Political Institutions and Corruption: The Role of Unitarism and Parliamentarism
Authors: GERRING JOHN , THACKER STROM C.
Published: March 2004

A raft of new research on the causes and effects of political corruption has emerged in recent years, in tandem with a separate, growing focus on the effects of political institutions on important outcomes such as economic growth, social equality and political stability. Yet we know little about the possible role of different political institutional arrangements on political corruption. This article examines the impact of territorial sovereignty (unitary or federal) and the composition of the executive (parliamentary or presidential) on levels of perceived political corruption cross-nationally. We find that unitary and parliamentary forms of government help reduce levels of corruption. To explain this result, we explore a series of seven potential causal mechanisms that emerge out of the competing centralist and decentralist theoretical paradigms: (1) openness, transparency and information costs, (2) intergovernmental competition, (3) localism, (4) party competition, (5) decision rules, (6) collective action problems, and (7) public administration. Our empirical findings and our analysis of causal mechanisms suggest that centralized constitutions help foster lower levels of political corruption.
The Impact of Political Interests in the 1994 and 1996 Congressional Elections: The Role of the National Rifle Association
Authors: KENNY CHRISTOPHER , McBURNETT MICHAEL , BORDUA DAVID
Published: March 2004

This article explores the role of organized interests in congressional elections by examining the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in contested House races in 1994 and 1996. Most research on the electoral impact of organized interests reports that groups have a negligible impact on the outcome. Yet anecdotal evidence regarding NRA influence abounds, particularly in 1994. We construct an aggregate model of congressional vote share that allows us to systematically analyse the electoral impact of the NRA in 1994 and 1996 House races. Unlike previous research of this sort, we provide evidence that the NRA can have a statistically discernible effect on election outcomes, but not in all elections and for all candidates. The NRA endorsement was particularly helpful to Republican challengers in 1994 (and to some extent Republican incumbents), but much less helpful to Democrats. These effects are much reduced in 1996 for all candidates. Likewise, having lots of NRA members in the district helped Republican challengers the most (in 1994) and Democrats not at all. Finally, reasons as to why the NRA was able to amplify but not mitigate the party trend, as well as individual-level mechanisms that might produce an endorsement effect, are discussed.
Referendum Voting as Political Choice: The Case of Quebec
Authors: CLARKE HAROLD D. , KORNBERG ALLAN , STEWART MARIANNE C.
Published: March 2004

In an article published in this Journal, Nadeau, Martin and Blais argue that perceptions of the costs and benefits of alternative outcomes and general orientations to risk interact to affect voters' decisions in referendums on fundamental political questions such as Quebec sovereignty. We use Nadeau et al.'s data to demonstrate that their interaction-effects model is overly complex and suffers from serious multicollinearity difficulties. A simpler main-effects model has virtually identical explanatory power and removes anomalous findings. We also argue that their model is too simple because it omits variables such as party identification, feelings about party leaders and government performance evaluations that voters use as heuristic devices to help them make decisions when stakes are high and information about the costs and benefits of referendum outcomes is low. We analyse a dataset that includes these variables and demonstrate that they have strong effects in a model of referendum voting that controls for perceived costs and benefits of alternative referendum outcomes and several other variables. Additionally, differences in the magnitudes of the perceived costs and perceived benefits of alternative referendum outcomes are not statistically significant. This latter finding contradicts widely cited experimental results in behavioural economics and related ‘asymmetry’ hypotheses concerning the presumed status quo bias in major referendums.
Palaeomagnetism of the (Late Mesoproterozoic) Stoer Group, northwest Scotland: implications for diagenesis, age and relationship to the Grenville Orogeny
Authors: DARABI M. H. , PIPER J. D. A.
Published: March 2004

The Stoer is the lowest of three groups comprising the Torridonian Supergroup, a clastic succession deposited late in Mesoproterozoic times on the (Lewisian) metamorphic foreland to the Caledonian Orogen in northwest Scotland. This study reports a palaeomagnetic, rock magnetic and magnetic fabric investigation through the full stratigraphic thickness of the succession. A primary magnetic fabric of sedimentary origin defines current flow from a westerly veering to northwesterly source. Rock magnetic studies identify the presence of both magnetite and hematite in these sediments. Magnetite is apparently of primary detrital origin whilst the hematite probably results mostly from early diagenesis in an environment of restricted chemical weathering. Palaeomagnetic study of sedimentary slumps shows that magnetic remanence post-dates deposition but was probably fixed by early dewatering and lithification because slumped blocks of Stoer in basal Torridon Group sediments preserve a primary remanence. Tilt adjustment, although inconclusive, also implies that magnetic remanence is older than pre-Torridian Group tectonic deformation. The lower part of the Stoer succession shows a progressive increase of magnetic inclination with shallower components resident in magnetite and steeper components in hematite. The succession above the Stac Fada Member has the steepest magnetic inclination and shows no significant difference between magnetite and hematite component directions. The inferred time sequence of palaeopoles coincides with the Gardar palaeomagnetic track (∼ 1250–1130 Ma) at 1180 Ma, conforming to a Pb–Pb determination of 1199±70 Ma. The Stoer Group was fully lithified and deformed before deposition of the Torridon Group at ∼ 1030 Ma because it contains no vestige of the range of Caledonian and later overprints found extensively in the latter. Sedimentation and lithification of the Stoer Group are therefore linked with a phase of extensional tectonism at 1200–1150 Ma and deformation is attributed to a culminating phase of deformation in the nearby Grenville Belt at ∼ 1100 Ma.
Gombe Group basalts and initiation of Pliocene deposition in the Turkana depression, northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia
Authors: HAILEAB BEREKET , BROWN FRANCIS H. , McDOUGALL IAN , GATHOGO PATRICK N.
Published: March 2004

A little before 4 Ma ago, deposition of Pliocene and Pleistocene strata described as the Omo Group began in the Turkana and Omo basins of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. Soon after, basaltic magma erupted as thin lava flows, and intruded as dykes into the oldest Pliocene strata of the basin. These flows and intrusions are similar petrographically and geochemically, and mark a basaltic magmatic event spanning latitudes from 2° 45′ N to 6° 45′ N at a longitude of about 36° E. By 3.94 Ma, this basaltic magmatic activity had ceased. Previous researchers used these lavas as an important seismic marker in their study of the southern part of the Turkana Basin. Subsequent volcanic eruptions formed North, Central and South islands in Lake Turkana, and the Korath Range in southern Ethiopia. Thus there was a hiatus in basaltic magmatic activity of nearly 4 Ma in the area presently occupied by Lake Turkana and the lower Omo Valley, although volcanism continued on the eastern margin of the basin. Here we review the field occurrences of these basalts, their distinctive petrography, composition, age and significance to Pliocene deposition in the basin.
Highly heterogeneous Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton: evidence from Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic systematics of mafic igneous rocks
Authors: HONG-FU ZHANG , MIN SUN , MEI-FU ZHOU , WEI-MING FAN , XIN-HUA ZHOU , MING-GUO ZHAI
Published: March 2004

The lithospheric mantle beneath the North China Craton changed dramatically in its geophysical and geochemical characteristics from Palaeozoic to Cenozoic times. This study uses samples of Mesozoic basalts and mafic intrusions from the North China Craton to investigate the nature of this mantle in Mesozoic times. Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic data demonstrate that the Late Mesozoic lithospheric mantle was extremely heterogeneous. In the central craton or the Luzhong region, it is slightly Sr–Nd isotopically enriched, beneath the Taihangshan region it has an EM1 character (87Sr/86Sri=0.7050–0.7066; εNd(t)=−17–−10), and beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region, it possesses EM2-like characteristics (87Sr/86Sri up to 0.7114). Compositional variation with time is also apparent in the Mesozoic lithospheric mantle. Our data suggest that the old lithospheric mantle was modified during Mesozoic times by a silicic melt, where beneath the Luxi–Jiaodong region it was severely modified, but in the Luzhong and Taihangshan regions the effects were much less marked. The silicic melt may have been the product of partial melting of crustal materials brought into the mantle by the subducted slab during the formation of circum-cratonic orogenic belts. This Mesozoic mantle did not survive for a long time, and was replaced by a Cenozoic mantle with depleted geochemical characteristics.
Tectonic evolution of the Gediz Graben: field evidence for an episodic, two-stage extension in western Turkey
Authors: BOZKURT ERDİN , SÖZBİLİR HASAN
Published: March 2004

Western Turkey is one of the most spectacular regions of widespread active continental extension in the world. The most prominent structures of this region are E–W-trending grabens (e.g. Gediz and Büyük Menderes grabens) and intervening horsts, exposing the Menderes Massif. This paper documents the result of a recent field campaign (field geological mapping and structural analysis) along the southern margin of the modern Gediz Graben of Pliocene (∼ 5 Ma) age. This work provides field evidence that the presently low-angle ductile-brittle detachment fault is cut and displaced by the high-angle graben-bounding normal faults with total displacement exceeding 2.0 km. The evolution of the N–S extension along the Gediz Graben occurred during two episodes, each characterized by a distinct structural styles: (1) rapid exhumation of Menderes Massif in the footwall of low-angle normal fault (core-complex mode) during the Miocene; (2) late stretching of crust producing E–W grabens along high-angle normal faults (rift mode) during Pliocene–Quaternary times, separated by a short-time gap. The later phase is characterized by the deposition of now nearly horizontal sediments of Pliocene age in the hanging walls of the high-angle normal faults and present-day graben floor sediments. The evolution of extension is at variance with orogenic collapse and/or back-arc extension followed by the combined effect of tectonic escape and subduction rollback processes along the Aegean-Cyprean subduction zone. Consequently, it is misleading to describe the Miocene sediments exhumed on shoulders of the Gediz Graben as simple graben fill.
K–Ar geochronology of a middle Miocene submarine volcano-plutonic complex in southwest Japan
Authors: IMAOKA T. , ITAYA T.
Published: March 2004

A volcano-plutonic complex in the Susa area, southwest Japan, consists of the Yamashima andesites, the Koyama gabbros and syn-plutonic porphyrite dykes derived from a common basaltic andesite magma. The complex is closely associated with middle Miocene turbidite deposits. The Yamashima andesites are composed mainly of basaltic andesite feeder dykes, massive submarine lavas with hyaloclastites, and their reworked deposits. The lavas and deposits immediately overlie turbidite deposits, indicating submarine volcanic activity. The Koyama gabbros formed hornfels by contact metamorphism of the surrounding turbidites and andesites. Highly purified clinopyroxene and plagioclase mineral separates from the Yamashima andesites were dated by a K–Ar method using an ultra-low blank K analysis procedure. Ages obtained from duplicate analyses are 16.5±1.5, 15.2±1.4, 15.8±1.7, and 16.5±2.0 Ma for clinopyroxene, and 14.2±0.8, 15.2±0.9, and 15.6±0.9 Ma for plagioclase. The clinopyroxene and plagioclase data define a mineral isochron age of 14.7±0.9 (1σ) Ma with an initial 40Ar/36Ar ratio of 297.3±2.4 (1σ), suggesting that clinopyroxene has no excess argon and can be reliably dated by K–Ar. Most of the groundmass ages are considerably younger (12.1–14.6) than the isochron age, perhaps due to argon loss during alteration. The gabbros give ages of 14.2±0.3 and 14.1±0.3 Ma for biotite, and 13.7±0.3 and 13.7±0.7 Ma for green hornblende. The porphyrite dyke yields an age of 12.5±0.3 Ma for the groundmass, and the pelitic hornfels gives a biotite age of 14.8±0.3 Ma. Our new K–Ar ages, together with previous studies, show that a series of geological events took place in the Susa area between 16 and 13 Ma. Conglomerates and sandstones were deposited in the beginning of marine transgression. Subsequent abrupt deepening led to deposition of a thick black shale unit, turbidite deposits and large-scale submarine channel-fill deposits. Coeval igneous activity formed the volcano-plutonic complex. The magmato-tectonic event was synchronous with the opening of the Japan Sea and the associated clockwise rotation of the southwest Japan arc sliver, recording a unique tectonic setting.
Petrogenetic modelling of Quaternary post-collisional volcanism: a case study of central and eastern Anatolia
Authors: ŞEN PINAR ALICI , TEMEL ABİDİN , GOURGAUD ALAIN
Published: March 2004

Extensive continental collision-related volcanism occurred in Turkey during Neogene–Quaternary times. In central Anatolia, calc-alkaline to alkaline volcanism began in the Middle–Late Miocene. Here we report trace elemental and isotopic data from Quaternary age samples from central and eastern Anatolia. Most mafic lavas from central Anatolia are basalt and basaltic andesite, with lesser amounts of basaltic trachyandesite and andesite. All magma types exhibit enrichment in LILE (Sr, Rb, Ba and Pb) relative to HFSE (Nb, Ta). Trace element patterns are characteristic of continental margin volcanism with high Ba/Nb and Th/Nb ratios. 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotopic ratios of central Anatolian lavas range between 0.704105–0.705619 and 0.512604–0.512849, respectively. The Quaternary alkaline volcanism of eastern Anatolia has been closely linked to the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Karacadaǧ and Tendürek volcanic rocks are represented by alkali basalts and basaltic trachyandesites, respectively. As expected from their alkaline nature, they contain high abundances of LIL elements, but Tendürek lavas also show depletion in Nb and Ta, indicating the role of crustal contamination in the evolution of these magmas. 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios of the Karacadaǧ and Tendürek lavas range from 0.703512 to 0.704466; 0.512742 to 0.512883 and 0.705743 to 0.705889 and 0.512676, respectively. Petrogenetic modelling has been used to constrain source characteristics for the central and eastern Anatolian volcanic rocks. Trace element ratio plots and REE modelling indicate that the central Anatolian volcanism was generated from a lithospheric mantle source that recorded the previous subduction events between Afro-Arabian and Eurasian plates during Eocene to Miocene times. In contrast, The Karacadaǧ alkaline basaltic volcanism on the Arabian foreland is derived from an OIB-like mantle source with limited crustal contamination. Tendürek volcanism, located on thickened crust, north of the Bitlis thrust zone, derived from the lithospheric mantle via small degrees (1.5 %) of partial melting.
Head-final effects and the nature of modification
Authors: GONZÁLEZ ESCRIBANO JOSÉ LUIS
Published: March 2004

In English and other languages, pre-modifiers must generally be head-final, whereas specifiers need not be, which suggests that modifiers are NOT specifiers. The theory of modification defended here rests on a unified version of Merge triggered by satisfaction of selection features under a Priority constraint and claims that the label is dynamically determined by the object containing unsatisfied features AFTER Merge or Move. ‘Adjuncts’ do NOT exist in it, for modification reduces to complementation. Modifiers are just additional predicates, modifieds are their complements or specifiers, depending on the previous structure of the modifier, and correct scope and surface order, including head-final effects and absence thereof, follow from Kayne's Linear Correspondence Axiom without stipulations like the Head-Final Filter. Empirically and conceptually, this theory compares favourably with major alternatives like Kayne's, Chomsky's, Cinque's or Ernst's, and perhaps deserves consideration within a minimalist programme.
A feature-checking analysis of Japanese scrambling
Authors: KAWAMURA TOMOKO
Published: March 2004

This paper explains several unique aspects of scrambling. Using the scrambling feature (Σ-feature) proposed by Grewendorf & Sabel (1999), I discuss (a) what derives the difference between A-scrambling and DP-movement, (b) why scrambling shows radical reconstruction properties, while an operator–variable relation is established in wh-questions, and (c) why we find several types of scrambling. I propose a Feature Interpretation Principle, which states that a feature checking relationship established in derivation is preserved at LF. I show that the Feature Interpretation Principle, together with the multiple feature-checking parameter of Ura (1996) and the nature of heads, explains most of the unique properties of scrambling.
Any questions left? Review of Ginzburg & Sag's Interrogative investigations
Authors: KOENIG JEAN-PIERRE
Published: March 2004

For better or worse, linguistics is rife with frameworks, each with its own ethos. Two important aspects of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar's are: (1) the search for an explicit and exhaustive account of the intricate syntactic and semantic facts that constitute one's grammar and (2) the hypothesis that general/universal and specific aspects of one's grammar are not qualitatively distinct. This book stands as a superb example of this ethos. It illustrates the fecundity of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (henceforth, HPSG) as a framework and advances our knowledge of the syntax and semantics of interrogatives. It is the most explicit description of the semantics and syntax of any area of English syntax of which this reviewer is aware. It thus sets up a healthy empirical benchmark for other theories of interrogatives. The sixty pages of appendices that detail the grammar discussed in the book and its almost complete implementation in the current version of the English Resource Grammar attest to this empirical bent. Any future theory will have to match it in accuracy before any metatheoretical issues (e.g. simplicity or explanatory adequacy) can be meaningfully discussed. Its precision and comprehensiveness will also, hopefully, lead to descriptions of unbounded dependencies and clause-types in other languages that are orders of magnitude more detailed than those currently available. Ginzburg & Sag's (G&S's) book also illustrates how possibly universal principles (such as the requirement that head-daughters and mothers of a local tree share information) and construction-specific requirements (such as the fact that the scope of
Plasmodium falciparummalaria disease manifestations in humans and transmission toAnopheles gambiae: a field study in Western Kenya
Authors: GOUAGNA L. C. , FERGUSON H. M. , OKECH B. A. , KILLEEN G. F. , KABIRU E. W. , BEIER J. C. , GITHURE J. I. , YAN G.
Published: March 2004

Transmission of the malaria parasitePlasmodiumis influenced by many different host, vector and parasite factors. Here we conducted a field study at Mbita, an area of endemic malaria in Western Kenya, to test whether parasite transmission to mosquitoes is influenced by the severity of malaria infection in its human host at the time when gametocytes, the transmission forms, are present in the peripheral blood. We examined the infectivity of 81Plasmodium falciparumgametocyte carriers to mosquitoes. Of these, 21 were patients with fever and other malaria-related symptoms, and 60 were recruited among apparently healthy volunteers. Laboratory-rearedAnopheles gambiaes.s. (local strain) were experimentally infected with blood from these gametocyte carriers by membrane-feeding. The severity of the clinical symptoms was greater in febrile patients. These symptomatic patients had higher asexual parasitaemia and lower gametocyte densities (P=0·05) than healthy volunteers. Ookinete development occurred in only 6 out of the 21 symptomatic patients, of which only 33·3% successfully yielded oocysts. The oocyst prevalence was only 0·6% in the 546 mosquitoes that were fed on blood from this symptomatic group, with mean oocyst intensity of 0·2 (range 0–2) oocysts per mosquito. In contrast, a higher proportion (76·7%) of healthy gametocyte carriers yielded ookinetes, generating an oocyst rate of 12% in the 1332 mosquitoes that fed on them (mean intensity of 6·3, range: 1–105 oocysts per mosquito). Statistical analysis indicated that the increased infectivity of asymptomatic gametocyte carriers was not simply due to their greater gametocyte abundance, but also to the higher level of infectivity of their gametocytes, possibly due to lower parasite mortality within mosquitoes fed on blood from healthy hosts. These results suggest that blood factors and/or conditions correlated with illness reduceP. falciparumgametocyte infectivity.
T cell-dependent elimination of dividingTrypanosoma grosifrom the bloodstream of Mongolian jirds
Authors: SATO H. , ISHITA K. , OSANAI A. , YAGISAWA M. , KAMIYA H. , ITO M.
Published: March 2004

Mongolian jirds,Meriones unguiculatus, are susceptible to infection withTrypanosoma grosi, which naturally parasitizesApodemusspp. The present study investigated T cell dependence of elimination ofT. grosifrom the bloodstream of jirds byin vivoT cell depletion using a monoclonal antibody (HUSM-M.g.15). In T cell-depleted jirds, elimination ofT. grosi, particularly the dividing forms, from the bloodstream was significantly delayed, occurring at around week 3 p.i. The kinetics of serum levels of IgM and IgG specific to trypanosomes in T cell-depleted and control immunocompetent jirds were different; peak levels of IgM were noted on days 6–8 p.i. around the time of peak parasitaemia (day 6 p.i.) in immunocompetent jirds, whereas the serum levels began to increase abruptly after day 10 p.i., peaking at around day 18 p.i. in T cell-depleted jirds. Similarly, serum IgG increased after day 6 p.i. in immunocompetent jirds, in contrast to after day 12 p.i. in T cell-depleted jirds, and the level increased steadily even after disappearance of parasitaemia. Our findings indicate that T cells play a major role at least in the ‘first crisis’ during elimination of dividingT. grosifrom the bloodstream.
Clustering of filarial infection in an age-graded study: genetic, household and environmental influences
Authors: WAHYUNI S. , HOUWING-DUISTERMAAT J. J. , SYAFRUDDIN  , SUPALI T. , YAZDANBAKHSH M. , SARTONO E.
Published: March 2004

A statistical method that analyses correlation structures in families to delineate the contribution of genetic, household and environmental factors on clustering of infection, has been applied to data collected in an area endemic for brugian filariasis in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Infection was assessed both by microfilaraemia and by anti-filarial IgG4. The results confirmed earlier findings that genetic factors play an important role in clustering of infection. When clustering of infection was analysed in children (<10 years of age) and adults (>20 years of age) separately, it was found that the genetic factors influence clustering of infection in children more profoundly than environmental or household effects. In contrast, genetic factors could not fully explain the clustering of infection seen in adults, which seemed to be mainly determined by household and environmental effects. The data have implications for genotyping studies in brugian filariasis; they indicate that it may be important to concentrate on the younger age groups where individual environmental effects have not yet overruled the genetic influences on gain/loss of infection.
Expression of apoptosis-related factors in muscles infected withTrichinella spiralis
Authors: BOONMARS T. , WU Z. , NAGANO I. , TAKAHASHI Y.
Published: March 2004

We found that the expression of mitochondrial apoptosis related genes (Bcl-2 associated protein X, BAX; apoptotic protease activating factor 1, Apaf-1; Caspase 9 and serine/threonine protein kinase, PKB) is elevated inTrichinella spiralis-infected muscles during encapsulation. Micro-dissection of the capsule and subsequent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) confirmed that the expressions of these genes are restricted to the nurse cell. Immunocytochemistry revealed that pro-apoptosis factor (BAX, Apaf-1 and Caspase 9) are predominantly expressed in the basophilic cytoplasm (infected muscle cell origin) and anti-apoptosis factor (PKB) in the eosinophilic cytoplasm (satellite cell origin) of the nurse cell. Electron microscopy revealed that the pre-existing mitochondria in the muscle cells became swollen and disappeared immediately after newborn larva invasion, but new mitochondria of smaller size appeared in the cytoplasm. Nuclear fragmentation and condensation were observed in basophilic cytoplasm which is known to die. Together, the results suggest that the infected muscle cells transform but die through the process of apoptosis which is triggered by factors from the newly formed mitochondria. The anti-apoptosis factor may help the eosinophilic cytoplasm with its survival to ensure nurse cell function.
Trichinella papuae and Trichinella zimbabwensis induce infection in experimentally infected varans, caimans, pythons and turtles
Authors: POZIO E. , MARUCCI G. , CASULLI A. , SACCHI L. , MUKARATIRWA S. , FOGGIN C. M. , LA ROSA G.
Published: March 2004

The discovery of Trichinella zimbabwensis in farm crocodiles of Zimbabwe has opened up a new frontier in the epidemiology of the Trichinella genus. The objective of the present study was to investigate the infectivity of encapsulated species (T. spiralis, T. nativa, T. britovi, T. murrelli and T. nelsoni) and non-encapsulated species (T. pseudospiralis, T. papuae and T. zimbabwensis) in caimans (Caiman crocodilus), varans (Varanus exanthematicus), pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) and turtles (Pelomedusa subrufa) raised at their natural temperature range (26–32 °C). Mice and chickens were used as controls. At 6 days post-infection (p.i.), adult worms were detected in the small intestine of reptiles infected with T. papuae and T. zimbabwensis, of chickens infected with T. pseudospiralis and of mice infected with all encapsulated and non-encapsulated species. At 60 days p.i., T. papuae and T. zimbabwensis adult worms were collected from the intestine of varans and caimans and larvae from muscles of the four reptile species, T. pseudospiralis larvae from muscles of chickens, and larvae of all Trichinella species from mouse muscles. The highest reproductive capacity index of both T. papuae and T. zimbabwensis was observed in varans. The results show that T. papuae and T. zimbabwensis are able to complete their entire life-cycle in both poikilothermic and homoiothermic animals.
Fish population size, and not density, as the determining factor of parasite infection: a case study
Authors: BAGGE A. M. , POULIN R. , VALTONEN E. T.
Published: March 2004

The diversity and abundance of parasites vary widely among populations of the same host species. These infection parameters are, to some extent, determined by characteristics of the host population or of its habitat. Recent studies have supported predictions derived from epidemiological models regarding the influence of host population density: parasite abundance and parasite species richness are expected to increase with increasing host population density, at least for directly transmitted parasites. Here, we test this prediction using a natural system in which populations of the crucian carp, Carassius carassius (L.), occur alone, with no other fish species, in a series of 9 isolated ponds in Finland. The ectoparasite communities in these fish populations consist of only 4 species of monogeneans (Dactylogyrus formosus, D. wegeneri, D. intermedius and Gyrodactylus carassii); the total and relative abundance of these 4 species varies among ponds, with one or two of the species missing from certain ponds. Across ponds, only one factor, total fish population size, explained a significant portion of the variance in both the mean number of monogenean species per fish and the mean total abundance of monogenean individual per fish. In contrast, fish population density did not influence either monogenean abundance or species richness, and neither did any of the other variables investigated (mean fish length per pond, number of fish examined per pond, distance to the nearest lake, and several water quality measures). In our system, proximity among fish individuals (i.e. host population density) may not be relevant to the proliferation of monogeneans; instead, the overall availability of host individuals in the host population appeared to be the main constraint limiting parasite population growth.
Leishmania donovanicomplex: genotyping with the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and the mini-exon
Authors: MAURICIO I. L. , STOTHARD J. R. , MILES M. A.
Published: March 2004

Intergenic region typing by restriction analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and mini-exon provide diagnostic markers for someLeishmania. Here, we evaluate restriction analysis of these targets for genotyping and phylogenetic analysis within theLeishmania donovanicomplex (agents of visceral leishmaniasis). Each method was useful for genotyping of bothL. donovanicomplex strains and Old WorldLeishmaniaspecies. The targets produced less robust groups than gp63 intergenic regions, but support the need for re-evaluation of the taxonomy of theL. donovanicomplex.
Whose empowerment and independence? A cross-national perspective on ‘cash for care’ schemes
Authors: UNGERSON CLARE
Published: March 2004

This paper uses qualitative data from a cross-national study of ‘cash for care’ schemes in five European countries (Austria, France, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom) to consider the concepts of empowerment and independence in relation to both care-users and care-givers. The paper locates the schemes along two axes, one of regulation/non-regulation, the other whether relatives can be paid or not. Each of the schemes has a different impact both on the care relationship and on the labour market for care. In The Netherlands where relatives can be paid, for example, a fully commodified form of informal care emerges; but in Austria and Italy with low regulation, a mix of informal and formal care-givers/workers has emerged with many international migrant workers. In the UK, direct payments allow care-users to employ local care-workers who deliver care for various lengths of time; while in France a credentialised system means that care-work is delivered by qualified workers but for very short intervals. The main conclusion is that none of these schemes have a simple outcome or advantage, and that the contexts in which they occur and the nature of their regulation has to be understood before drawing conclusions about their impact on empowerment and independence on both sides of the care relationship.
The effects of pre-retirement factors and retirement route on circumstances in retirement: findings from the Whitehall II study
Authors: HYDE MARTIN , FERRIE JANE , HIGGS PAUL , MEIN GILL , NAZROO JAMES
Published: March 2004

Retirement has traditionally been seen as the beginning of old age. It has been depicted as mandatory expulsion from the workforce and seen to mark the transition to a period of ill health and poverty. Such ideas and associations are however being challenged in the developed world by socio-demographic changes in retirement and old age. People in the United Kingdom as elsewhere are living longer and healthier lives, and many older people have access to non-state incomes that afford them a reasonable standard of living in retirement. There is however still concern that inequalities persist into old age. Data from two waves of the British Whitehall II study have been used to assess the relative effects of occupational grade, psychological and general health during working life, and retirement patterns or pathways on activities, attitudes to health and income in retirement. The results show that the majority of the sample reported good health, financial security and overall satisfaction with life, but with observable inequalities. Regression analyses demonstrate that pre-retirement circumstances generally had a greater effect on later life than the retirement route or pathway. Retirement no longer represents a drastic break between working and post-work life but rather, the results suggest, there are continuities between the two periods. It is concluded that the main causes of inequalities in retirement are work-based rather than in retirement itself.
Religious attitudes among British older people: stability and change in a 20-year longitudinal study
Authors: COLEMAN PETER G. , IVANI-CHALIAN CHRISTINE , ROBINSON MAUREEN
Published: March 2004

Britain along with other western European countries has seen a marked decrease in allegiance to traditional forms of Christianity during the latter part of the 20th century. Although church attendance remains relatively high among older people compared with younger age groups, there has been little or no investigation into the stability or change of people's religious belief and practice with increasing age. This paper present findings on these issues from the Southampton Ageing Project, which from 1977–78 to 2002 followed 342 people almost all of whom had had an entirely Christian religious education and all of whom at the outset were aged 65 or more years. Although religion has continued to have considerable meaning in the lives of up to one-half of the participants, approximately one-quarter of the sample expressed a declining commitment to a religious faith and to church membership. The participants' accounts of their recent life experiences, for example following bereavement, give instances of disappointment with the support that they received from institutional religion and show that this was a factor in their declining adherence. They also provide suggestions for further investigation into the origin of this decline. The conclusion argues that the study of older people's religious and spiritual beliefs and practice should be integrated with the investigation of self and identity and of sources of existential meaning in later life.
Mortality and morality: ageing and the ethics of care
Authors: LLOYD LIZ
Published: March 2004

This paper focuses on the circumstances of death and dying in old age. It considers the ways in which social policies and social gerontology reflect the values of independence, autonomy and citizenship, and it considers the implication of these values for older people who are dependent on others for care and support at the end-of-life. It discusses the complexity of the relationship between ageing and dying, by exploring recent research from the fields of social gerontology and the sociology of death and dying. Arguing that a long-term perspective is required to understand fully the circumstances of older people's deaths, it analyses the third age/fourth age dichotomy as a conceptual model. The task of developing knowledge about the links between ageing and dying requires consideration of moral and ethical principles. The article examines the conceptual frameworks developed by feminists who argue for an ethics of care as a central analytic referent in social policy. The feminist ethics-of-care approach provides a powerful critique of the moral framework of independence and autonomy as characterised in contemporary policies and practices. Feminist ethicists argue that the inter-relatedness of human beings and the importance of the social context have been overlooked in the preoccupation with individual rights – as reflected more generally in policies and social life. It is argued in the paper that the need for care at the end-of-life highlights these shortcomings. The feminist ethics of care has considerable potential to illuminate our understanding of dependency and care, and to generate both new approaches to policy and practice in health and social care and theoretical perspectives in gerontology.
ANTENATAL GLUCOCORTICOIDS: IS THERE CAUSE FOR CONCERN?
Authors: ANDREWS MARCUS H , MATTHEWS STEPHEN G
Published: March 2004

Antenatal glucocorticoid therapy was pioneered by Liggins & Howie over three decades ago. In a controlled trial of babies delivering before 32 weeks gestation, it was shown that antenatal glucocorticoid treatment reduced the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and significantly lowered neonatal mortality. Synthetic glucocorticoid (sGC) therapy is also associated with reduced risk of neonatal intraventricular haemorrhage, necrotizing entercolitis and hyperbilirubinaemia. The benefit of antenatal glucocorticoid therapy to lung function in the newborn infant has led to routine use in situations of threatened pre-term labour. In 1994, a National Institute of Health Consensus Development Conference recommended antenatal treatment of all women at risk of preterm delivery, between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation, with sGC. Similar statements were issued in Europe, Canada and Australia. However, the NIH Consensus Report highlighted the requirement for further research into the long-term effects of antenatal sGC treatment on development of the brain and other organ systems, and their function after birth.
MAMMALIAN KIDNEY DEVELOPMENT: MOLECULES TO TREATMENT
Authors: QUAGGIN SUSAN E
Published: March 2004

In the US alone, more than 20 million people suffer from kidney disease. Despite the significant burden of renal disease for the individual and society, treatment options are limited. Over the years, the identification of genes and molecular pathways required for normal renal development has provided insight into our understanding of obvious developmental diseases such as renal agenesis and renal dysplasia. However, many of the genes identified have also been shown to play roles in adult-onset and acquired renal diseases such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (scarring of the renal filters). In fact, data suggest that the number of glomeruli and nephrons (filtering units) present in the kidney at birth, which is determined during fetal life, predicts the risk of kidney disease and hypertension later in life; a reduced number is associated with greater risk. To discover novel therapeutic targets and strategies to slow and reverse kidney disease, we must continue to dissect the molecular mechanisms that underlie kidney development.
The Influence of Color on Emotions in the Holtzman Inkblot Technique
Authors: Leichsenring Falk
Published: March 2004

Abstract: In this study, the influence of chromatic and achromatic color on emotions in the Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) was tested empirically. Samples of normals (n = 30), patients with neurotic disorders (n = 30), borderline patients (n = 30), and both acute (n = 25) and chronic schizophrenics (n = 25) were studied with the HIT. A computerized investigation of verbally expressed emotions was performed by means of the “Affective Dictionary Ulm” (ADU; Dahl, Hölzer, & Berry, 1992 ), which was applied to the responses in the HIT. The effect of color was tested separately for cards containing red vs. non-red colors. According to the results, normals, patients with neurotic disorders, and borderline patients expressed love and anger significantly more often in response to cards containing red colors. For the non-red color cards neither an effect on love and anger, nor on anxiety and depression could be demonstrated. Furthermore, the chromatic cards of the HIT elicited significantly more different words given in response to a card than the achromatic cards. Again, this was true for normals, patients with neurotic disorders, and borderline patients, but not for schizophrenics. Structural ambiguity of the HIT cards correlated significantly negatively with the number of emotion words given in response to a card, again with the exception of schizophrenics. The latter result is discussed referring to the “almost axiomatic rule” ( Gunderson & Singer, 1975, p. 6 ) that borderline patients function adequately on structured tests but appear more seriously disturbed on less structured tests.
Behavioral and Emotional Problems Among Italian Children and Adolescents Aged 4 to 18 Years as Reported by Parents and Teachers
Authors: Frigerio Alessandra , Cattaneo Carmen , Cataldo MariaGiulia , Schiatti Alessia , Molteni Massimo , Battaglia Marco
Published: March 2004

The aims of this study were the Italian standardization of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/4-18) and the Teacher's Report Form (TRF), the analysis of the internal consistency of the two instruments, and the evaluation of the agreement between parents' and teachers' ratings. A group of 1423 parents and 1464 teachers of children and adolescents aged 4 to 18 years, from three different provinces of Northern Italy, were randomly recruited. Boys scored higher than girls on the Externalizing scales on both CBCL and TRF, while there were no significant differences between the two sexes on the Internalizing scales. In general, internalizing problems increased with age, whereas externalizing behaviors decreased, mainly through a reduction of aggressive problems in older subjects. For most scales, low socioeconomic status was associated with high problem scores. Most scales of the CBCL and the TRF showed a satisfactory internal consistency, with higher α coefficients for overt behaviors. A low - to - moderate parents' and teachers' agreement was found, with the higher correlation found for the Attention Problems scale. Overall, the figures of this first standardization are in line with the results of most studies carried out in Western and Eastern countries, evidencing a good applicability of Achenbach's instruments in Italy.
Evaluation of Requirements for the Assessment and Construction of Interview Guides in Psychological Assessment
Authors: Kici Güler , Westhoff Karl
Published: March 2004

Structured interviews are much more valid than unstructured ones. An important prerequisite for structured interviews is the use of an interview guide of high quality. Hints for the construction of interview guides are widespread in the literature, but there is no systematic collection of generally applicable rules for the evaluation and construction of interview guides. We, therefore, systematically collected the relevant rules concerning structure, contents, and question formulation in the Requirement-profile for In-depth-Interviews in Psychological Assessment (RIPA). By applying RIPA, we get indications of the strengths and weaknesses of interview guides. In our study the following questions are answered: How well can novices understand these rules, and are they able to evaluate a part of an interview guide correctly? Fifty-five students of psychology evaluated a part of an interview guide using RIPA. The mean percentage of correct decisions varied between 63% and 89%. This shows the comprehensibility and applicability of RIPA when used for the evaluation of a part of an in-depth interview guide. It seems plausible that RIPA may also be useful for the construction of in-depth interview guides.