bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Semiotics of Collective Memories
Authors: French Brigittine M.
Published: September 2010

This review outlines the conceptual foundations of collective memory research from social scientific and semiotic perspectives. It locates collective memories in publicly circulating signs, merging a semiotic orientation with Nora's (1989) notion of memory sites. It elucidates how collective memories are made, remade, and contested through circulation enabled by semiotic processes of entextualization and erasure that produce cartographies of communicability. It shows how recent analytic work in linguistic anthropology focused on temporality can be mobilized to understand the concrete semiotic and discursive mechanisms by which the past is selectively brought into the present for strategic ends. It concludes by highlighting two promising directions for further inquiry in collective memory research: the role of expert knowledge and the importance of embodied performance. Overall, the review suggests that a semiotic perspective offers an analytically precise way of mapping the processes by which representations of past events are transformed, transmitted, and contested in charged present contexts.
Migration Concepts in Central Eurasian Archaeology
Authors: Frachetti Michael D.
Published: September 2010

Theories of migration hold a pervasive position in prehistoric archaeology of Central Eurasia. International research on Eurasia today reflects the juxtaposition of archaeological theory and practice from distinct epistemological traditions, and migration is at the crux of current debates. Migration was employed paradigmatically during the Soviet era to explain the geography and materiality of prehistoric ethnogenesis, whereas in the west it was harshly criticized in prehistoric applications, especially in the 1970s. Since the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), migration has resurfaced as an important, yet polemical, explanation in both academic arenas. Short- and long-distance population movements are seen as fundamental mechanisms for the formation and distribution of regional archaeological cultures from the Paleolithic to historical periods and as a primary social response to environmental, demographic, and political pressures. Critics view the archaeological record of Eurasia as a product of complex local and regional interaction, exchange, and innovation, reinvigorating essential debates around migration, diffusion, and autochthonous change in Eurasian prehistory.
Roma and Gypsy “Ethnicity” as a Subject of Anthropological Inquiry
Authors: Stewart Michael
Published: September 2010

Anthropological interest in Romany and Gypsy populations is now intense; but for the first seven or so decades of Anthropology, the field was left entirely to amateur folklorists. Roma and Gypsies may often “not want in” ( Gmelch 1986 ), but they also seem not to fit into existing academic models. Examining various ways in which Romany sociality challenges existing anthropological models, this article assesses the contribution of three explanations of Romany persistence: historical, sociostructural and culturalist. Roma always live immersed within and dispersed among dominant majority populations, and yet their adaptation remains surprisingly successful in the long historical view. The enormous diversity of Romany social forms, as well as Roma evasion of the trap of nation-state/ethnic figurations, continues to provide a potent source for anthropological reflection and theorization.
Migrations and Schooling
Authors: Suárez-Orozco Marcelo M. , Darbes Tasha , Dias Sandra Isabel , Sutin Matt
Published: September 2010

Mass migration is the human face of globalization. Where immigrant workers are summoned, families and children will follow. The great global migration wave of the past generation has generated a powerful demographic echo. Nearly all the high-income countries of the world are experiencing substantial growth in their immigrant-origin student populations. Concurrently, globalization is placing new demands on education systems the world over. As a consequence, schooling systems are facing something they never faced before: educating large and growing numbers of immigrant-origin youth to greater levels of competence and skill at a time of economic upheaval and cultural malaise. This article reviews the basic scholarship in anthropology and allied fields with a focus on language, transnationalism, poverty, segregation, undocumented status, and racialization as they structure the academic pathways of immigrant-origin youth in a variety of destinations.
Alternative Pathways of Carbon Dioxide Fixation: Insights into the Early Evolution of Life?
Authors: Fuchs Georg
Published: September 2010

The fixation of inorganic carbon into organic material (autotrophy) is a prerequisite for life and sets the starting point of biological evolution. In the extant biosphere the reductive pentose phosphate (Calvin-Benson) cycle is the predominant mechanism by which many prokaryotes and all plants fix CO2 into biomass. However, the fact that five alternative autotrophic pathways exist in prokaryotes is often neglected. This bias may lead to serious misjudgments in models of the global carbon cycle, in hypotheses on the evolution of metabolism, and in interpretations of geological records. Here, I review these alternative pathways that differ fundamentally from the Calvin-Benson cycle. Revealingly, these five alternative pathways pivot on acetyl-coenzyme A, the turntable of metabolism, demanding a gluconeogenic pathway starting from acetyl-coenzyme A and CO2. It appears that the formation of an activated acetic acid from inorganic carbon represents the initial step toward metabolism. Consequently, biosyntheses likely started from activated acetic acid and gluconeogenesis preceded glycolysis.
Origin and Diversification of Eukaryotes
Authors: Katz Laura A.
Published: September 2010

The bulk of the diversity of eukaryotic life is microbial. Although the larger eukaryotes—namely plants, animals, and fungi—dominate our visual landscapes, microbial lineages compose the greater part of both genetic diversity and biomass, and contain many evolutionary innovations. Our understanding of the origin and diversification of eukaryotes has improved substantially with analyses of molecular data from diverse lineages. These data have provided insight into the nature of the genome of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). Yet, the origin of key eukaryotic features, namely the nucleus and cytoskeleton, remains poorly understood. In contrast, the past decades have seen considerable refinement in hypotheses on the major branching events in the evolution of eukaryotic diversity. New insights have also emerged, including evidence for the acquisition of mitochondria at the time of the origin of eukaryotes and data supporting the dynamic nature of genomes in LECA.
Bacterial Osmoregulation: A Paradigm for the Study of Cellular Homeostasis
Authors: Wood Janet M.
Published: September 2010

To thrive, cells must control their own physical and chemical properties. This process is known as cellular homeostasis. The dilute solutions traditionally favored by experimenters do not simulate the cytoplasm, where macromolecular crowding and preferential interactions among constituents may dominate critical processes. Solutions that do simulate cytoplasmic conditions are now being characterized. Corresponding cytoplasmic properties can be varied systematically by imposing osmotic stress. This osmotic stress approach is revealing how cytoplasmic properties modulate protein folding and protein–nucleic acid interactions. Results suggest that cytoplasmic homeostasis may require adjustments to multiple, interwoven cytoplasmic properties. Osmosensory transporters with diverse structures and bioenergetic mechanisms activate in response to osmotic stress as other proteins inactivate. These transporters are serving as paradigms for the study of in vivo protein-solvent interactions. Experimenters have proposed three different osmosensory mechanisms. Distinct mechanisms may exist, or these proposals may reflect different perceptions of a single, unifying mechanism.
Biology of Clostridium difficile: Implications for Epidemiology and Diagnosis
Authors: Karen C. Carroll , John G. Bartlett
Published: September 2010

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic, spore-forming, gram-positive rod that causes a spectrum of antibiotic-associated colitis through the elaboration of two large clostridial toxins and other virulence factors. Since its discovery in 1978 as the agent responsible for pseudomembranous colitis, the organism has continued to evolve into an adaptable, aggressive, hypervirulent strain. Advances in molecular methods and improved animal models have facilitated an understanding of how this organism survives in the environment, adapts to the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans, and accomplishes its unique pathogenesis. The advances in microbiology have been accompanied by some important clinical observations including increased rates of C. difficile infection, increased virulence, and multiple outbreaks. The major new risk is fluoroquinolone use; there is also an association with proton pump inhibitors and increased recognition of cases in outpatients, pediatric patients, and patients without recent antibiotic use. The combination of more aggressive strains with mobile genomes in a setting of an expanded pool of individuals at risk has refocused attention on and challenged assumptions regarding diagnostic gold standards. Future research is likely to build upon the advancements in phylogenetics to create novel strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
DNA Replication and Genomic Architecture of Very Large Bacteria
Authors: Angert Esther R.
Published: September 2010

Large cell size is not restricted to a particular bacterial lifestyle, dispersal method, or cell envelope type. What is conserved among the very large bacteria are the quantity and arrangement of their genomic resources. All large bacteria described to date appear to be highly polyploid. This review focuses on Epulopiscium sp. type B, which maintains tens of thousands of genome copies throughout its life cycle. Only a tiny proportion of mother cell DNA is inherited by intracellular offspring, but surprisingly DNA replication takes place in the terminally differentiated mother cell as offspring grow. Massive polyploidy supports the acquisition of unstable genetic elements normally not seen in essential genes. Further studies of how large bacteria manage their genomic resources will provide insight into how simple cellular modifications can support unusual lifestyles and exceptional cell forms.
The Human Gut Microbiome: Ecology and Recent Evolutionary Changes
Authors: Walter Jens , Ley Ruth
Published: September 2010

The human gastrointestinal tract is divided into sections, allowing digestion and nutrient absorption in the proximal region to be separate from the vast microbial populations in the large intestine, thereby reducing conflict between host and microbes. In the distinct habitats of the gut, environmental filtering and competitive exclusion between microbes are the driving factors shaping microbial diversity, and stochastic factors during colonization history and in situ evolution are likely to introduce intersubject variability. Adaptive strategies of microbes with different niches are genomically encoded: Specialists have smaller genomes than generalists, and microbes with environmental reservoirs have large accessory genomes. A shift toward a Neolithic diet increased loads of simple carbohydrates and selected for their increased breakdown and absorption in the small intestine. Humans who outcompeted microbes for the new substrates obtained more energy from their diets and prospered, an evolutionary process reflected in modern population genetics. The three-way interactions between human genetics, diet, and the microbiota fundamentally shaped modern populations and continue to affect health globally.
On the Biological Success of Viruses
Authors: Wasik Brian R. , Turner Paul E.
Published: September 2010

Are viruses more biologically successful than cellular life? Here we examine many ways of gauging biological success, including numerical abundance, environmental tolerance, type biodiversity, reproductive potential, and widespread impact on other organisms. We especially focus on successful ability to evolutionarily adapt in the face of environmental change. Viruses are often challenged by dynamic environments, such as host immune function and evolved resistance as well as abiotic fluctuations in temperature, moisture, and other stressors that reduce virion stability. Despite these challenges, our experimental evolution studies show that viruses can often readily adapt, and novel virus emergence in humans and other hosts is increasingly problematic. We additionally consider whether viruses are advantaged in evolvability—the capacity to evolve—and in avoidance of extinction. On the basis of these different ways of gauging biological success, we conclude that viruses are the most successful inhabitants of the biosphere.
Dinoflagellate Genome Evolution
Authors: Wisecaver Jennifer H. , Hackett Jeremiah D.
Published: September 2010

The dinoflagellates are an ecologically important group of microbial eukaryotes that have evolved many novel genomic characteristics. They possess some of the largest nuclear genomes among eukaryotes arranged on permanently condensed liquid-crystalline chromosomes. Recent advances have revealed the presence of genes arranged in tandem arrays, trans-splicing of messenger RNAs, and a reduced role for transcriptional regulation compared to other eukaryotes. In contrast, the mitochondrial and plastid genomes have the smallest gene content among functional eukaryotic organelles. Dinoflagellate biology and genome evolution have been dramatically influenced by lateral transfer of individual genes and large-scale transfer of genes through endosymbiosis. Next-generation sequencing technologies have only recently made genome-scale analyses of these organisms possible, and these new methods are helping researchers better understand the biology and evolution of this enigmatic group of eukaryotes.
Genomic Insights into Syntrophy: The Paradigm for Anaerobic Metabolic Cooperation
Authors: Sieber Jessica R. , McInerney Michael J. , Gunsalus Robert P.
Published: September 2010

Syntrophy is a tightly coupled mutualistic interaction between hydrogen-/formate-producing and hydrogen-/formate-using microorganisms that occurs throughout the microbial world. Syntrophy is essential for global carbon cycling, waste decomposition, and biofuel production. Reverse electron transfer, e.g., the input of energy to drive critical redox reactions, is a defining feature of syntrophy. Genomic analyses indicate multiple systems for reverse electron transfer, including ion-translocating ferredoxin:NAD+oxidoreductase and hydrogenases, two types of electron transfer flavoprotein:quinone oxidoreductases, and other quinone reactive complexes. Confurcating hydrogenases that couple the favorable production of hydrogen from reduced ferredoxin with the unfavorable production of hydrogen from NADH are present in almost all syntrophic metabolizers, implicating their critical role in syntrophy. Transcriptomic analysis shows upregulation of many genes without assigned functions in the syntrophic lifestyle. High-throughput technologies provide insight into the mechanisms used to establish and maintain syntrophic consortia and conserve energy from reactions that operate close to thermodynamic equilibrium.
Molecular Mechanisms of Staphylococcus aureus Iron Acquisition
Authors: Hammer Neal D. , Skaar Eric P.
Published: September 2010

The unique redox potential of iron makes it an ideal cofactor in diverse biochemical reactions. Iron is therefore vital for the growth and proliferation of nearly all organisms, including pathogenic bacteria. Vertebrates sequester excess iron within proteins in order to alleviate toxicity and restrict the amount of free iron available for invading pathogens. Restricting the growth of infectious microorganisms by sequestering essential nutrients is referred to as nutritional immunity. In order to circumvent nutritional immunity, bacterial pathogens have evolved elegant systems that allow for the acquisition of iron during infection. The gram-positive extracellular pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal organism that can cause severe disease when it gains access to underlying tissues. Iron acquisition is required for S. aureus colonization and subsequent pathogenesis. Herein we review the strategies S. aureus employs to obtain iron through the production of siderophores and the consumption of host heme.
How Viruses and Toxins Disassemble to Enter Host Cells
Authors: Inoue Takamasa , Moore Paul , Tsai Billy
Published: September 2010

Many viruses and toxins disassemble to enter host cells and cause disease. These conformational changes must be orchestrated temporally and spatially during entry to avoid premature disassembly leading to nonproductive pathways. Although viruses and toxins are evolutionarily distinct toxic agents, emerging findings in their respective fields have revealed that the cellular locations supporting disassembly, the host factors co-opted during disassembly, the nature of the conformational changes, and the physiological function served by disassembly are strikingly conserved. Here, we examine some of the shared disassembly principles observed in model viruses and toxins. Where appropriate, we also underscore their differences. Our major intention is to draw together the fields of viral and toxin cell entry by using lessons gleaned from each field to inform and benefit one another.
Lipoprotein Sorting in Bacteria
Authors: Okuda Suguru , Tokuda Hajime
Published: September 2010

Bacterial lipoproteins are synthesized as precursors in the cytoplasm and processed into mature forms on the cytoplasmic membrane. A lipid moiety attached to the N terminus anchors these proteins to the membrane surface. Many bacteria are predicted to express more than 100 lipoproteins, which play diverse functions on the cell surface. The Lol system, composed of five proteins, catalyzes the localization of Escherichia coli lipoproteins to the outer membrane. Some lipoproteins play vital roles in the sorting of other lipoproteins, lipopolysaccharides, and β-barrel proteins to the outer membrane. On the basis of results from biochemical, genetic, and structural studies, we discuss the biogenesis of lipoproteins in bacteria, their importance in cellular functions, and the molecular mechanisms underlying efficient sorting of hydrophobic lipoproteins to the outer membrane through the hydrophilic periplasm.
Interactions of the Human PathogenicBrucellaSpecies with Their Hosts
Authors: Atluri Vidya L. , Xavier Mariana N. , de Jong Maarten F. , den Hartigh Andreas B. , Tsolis Renée M.
Published: September 2010

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused primarily by the bacterial pathogens Brucella melitensis and B. abortus. It is acquired by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products or by contact with infected animals. Globally, it is one of the most widespread zoonoses, with 500,000 new cases reported each year. In endemic areas, Brucella infections represent a serious public health problem that results in significant morbidity and economic losses. An important feature of the disease is persistent bacterial colonization of the reticuloendothelial system. In this review we discuss recent insights into mechanisms of intracellular survival and immune evasion that contribute to systemic persistence by the pathogenic Brucella species.
Motility and Chemotaxis in Campylobacter and Helicobacter
Authors: Lertsethtakarn Paphavee , Ottemann Karen M. , Hendrixson David R.
Published: September 2010

Flagellar motility of Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori influences host colonization by promoting migration through viscous milieus such as gastrointestinal mucus. This review explores mechanisms C. jejuni and H. pylori employ to control flagellar biosynthesis and chemotactic responses. These microbes tightly control the activities of σ54 and σ28 to mediate ordered flagellar gene expression. In addition to phase-variable and posttranslational mechanisms, flagellar biosynthesis is regulated spatially and numerically so that only a certain number of organelles are placed at polar sites. To mediate chemotaxis, C. jejuni and H. pylori combine basic chemotaxis signal transduction components with several accessory proteins. H. pylori is unusual in that it lacks a methylation-based adaptation system and produces multiple CheV coupling proteins. Chemoreceptors in these bacteria contain nonconserved ligand binding domains, with several chemoreceptors matched to environmental signals. Together, these mechanisms allow for swimming motility that is essential for colonization.
Epidemiological Expansion, Structural Studies, and Clinical Challenges of New β-Lactamases from Gram-Negative Bacteria
Authors: Bush Karen , Fisher Jed F.
Published: September 2010

β-Lactamase evolution presents to the infectious disease community a major challenge in the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Because over 1,000 of these naturally occurring β-lactamases exist, attempts to correlate structure and function have become daunting. Although new enzymes in the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) families are frequently identified, the older CTX-M-14 and CTX-M-15 enzymes have become the most prevalent ESBLs in global surveillance. Carbapenemases with either serine-based or zinc-facilitated hydrolysis mechanisms are posing some of the most critical problems. Most geographical regions now report KPC serine carbapenemases and the metallo-β-lactamases VIM, IMP, and NDM-1, even though NDM-1 was only recently identified. The rapid emergence of these newer enzymes, with multiple β-lactamases appearing in a single organism, makes the design of new β-lactamase inactivators or β-lactamase-stable β-lactams all the more difficult. Combination therapy will likely be required to counteract the continuing evolution of these insidious enzymes in multidrug-resistant pathogens.
Metabolic Pathways Required for the Intracellular Survival of Leishmania
Authors: McConville Malcolm J. , Naderer Thomas
Published: September 2010

Leishmania spp. are sandfly-transmitted parasitic protozoa that cause a spectrum of important diseases and lifelong chronic infections in humans. In the mammalian host, these parasites proliferate within acidified vacuoles in several phagocytic host cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils. In this review, we discuss recent progress that has been made in defining the nutrient composition of the Leishmania parasitophorous vacuole, as well as metabolic pathways required by these parasites for virulence. Analysis of the virulence phenotype of Leishmania mutants has been particularly useful in defining carbon sources and nutrient salvage pathways that are essential for parasite persistence and/or induction of pathology. We also review data suggesting that intracellular parasite stages modulate metabolic processes in their host cells in order to generate a more permissive niche.
To the Happy Few
Authors: Nikaido Hiroshi
Published: September 2010

I became a microbiologist in post-WWII Japan, working with Toshio Fukasawa on galactose metabolism in Salmonella. We characterized mutants defective in UDP-galactose 4-epimerase, which produced a defective lipopolysaccharide, and this opened doors for me to study lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, which I pursued in the United States, in the laboratory of Herman Kalckar. After I moved to Berkeley, California, in 1969, I became interested in the function of bacterial outer membranes, a line of work that led to the discovery and characterization of porins as well as the studies on the mycobacterial cell wall. In the early 1990s, it became clear that the outer membrane permeability barrier and the activity of periplasmic β-lactamase are not enough to explain the resistance of some strains to β-lactam antibiotics, and the search for the missing factor led to the discovery of RND family multidrug efflux pumps, subjects that continue to fascinate me to this day.
Protein Quality Control in the Bacterial Periplasm
Authors: Merdanovic Melisa , Clausen Tim , Kaiser Markus , Huber Robert , Ehrmann Michael
Published: September 2010

Protein quality control involves sensing and treatment of defective or incomplete protein structures. Misfolded or mislocalized proteins trigger dedicated signal transduction cascades that upregulate the production of protein quality-control factors. Corresponding proteases and chaperones either degrade or repair damaged proteins, thereby reducing the level of aggregation-prone molecules. Because the periplasm of gram-negative bacteria is particularly exposed to environmental changes and respective protein-folding stresses connected with the presence of detergents, low or high osmolarity of the medium, elevated temperatures, and the host's immune response, fine-tuned protein quality control systems are essential for survival under these unfavorable conditions. This review discusses recent advances in the identification and characterization of the key cellular factors and the emerging general principles of the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Life on the Outside: The Rescue of Coxiella burnetii from Its Host Cell
Authors: Omsland Anders , Heinzen Robert A.
Published: September 2010

For over seven decades, Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of human Q fever, has been considered a prototypical obligate intracellular bacterium that relies exclusively on a eukaryotic cell for growth. Intracellularly, the organism prospers in an acidified, phagolysosome-like vacuole. C. burnetii has evolved to replicate in this harsh compartment by a mechanism involving acid activation of metabolism. The ∼2 Mb genome of C. burnetii is about twice the size of genomes of most obligate intracellular bacteria, and the organism's central metabolic pathways are largely intact. The absence of extensive genome reduction suggests the adaptation of C. burnetii to an obligate intracellular lifestyle is a recent evolutionary event. Indeed, insight from early work on C. burnetii metabolism, along with new information gained from metabolic pathway reconstructions, nutrient typing, and expression profiling, allowed the rescue of C. burnetii from its host cell to regain the axenic growth capacity of its ancestors. This advance removes the extensive experimental obstacles associated with intracellular obligatism and opens the door for a renaissance in C. burnetii research.
Recombination and DNA Repair in Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Dorer Marion S. , Sessler Tate H. , Salama Nina R.
Published: September 2010

All organisms have pathways that repair the genome, ensuring their survival and that of their progeny. But these pathways also serve to diversify the genome, causing changes at the nucleotide, whole gene, and genome structure levels. Sequencing of bacteria has revealed wide allelic diversity and differences in gene content within the same species, highlighting the importance of understanding pathways of recombination and DNA repair. The human stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori is an excellent model system for studying these pathways. H. pylori harbors major recombination and repair pathways and is naturally competent, facilitating its ability to diversify its genome. Elucidation of DNA recombination, repair, and diversification programs in this pathogen will reveal connections between these pathways and their importance to infection.
Regulation of Antigenic Variation inGiardia lamblia
Authors: Prucca César G. , Rivero Fernando D. , Luján Hugo D.
Published: September 2010

Antigenic variation, a clonal phenotypic variation developed by microorganisms, involves the permanent switching of homologous, antigenically different cell surface molecules. In pathogenic microorganisms, antigenic variation is often described as a mechanism to evade the host immune system and therefore is responsible for the generation of chronic and/or recurrent infections. However, antigenic variation has also been involved in expanding host diversity and differential courses of the diseases. The intestinal protozoan parasite Giardia lamblia undergoes antigenic variation through the continuous exchange of approximately 200 variant-specific surface proteins. Here we review the principal issues regarding the significance of antigenic variation during Giardia infections, the particular features of the variant-specific surface proteins, and the current knowledge on the mechanisms that regulate this process, as well as the relevance of disrupting antigenic variation as a novel approach to design effective antiparasitic vaccines.
The RpoS-Mediated General Stress Response inEscherichia coli
Authors: Battesti Aurelia , Majdalani Nadim , Gottesman Susan
Published: September 2010

Under conditions of nutrient deprivation or stress, or as cells enter stationary phase, Escherichia coli and related bacteria increase the accumulation of RpoS, a specialized sigma factor. RpoS-dependent gene expression leads to general stress resistance of cells. During rapid growth, RpoS translation is inhibited and any RpoS protein that is synthesized is rapidly degraded. The complex transition from exponential growth to stationary phase has been partially dissected by analyzing the induction of RpoS after specific stress treatments. Different stress conditions lead to induction of specific sRNAs that stimulate RpoS translation or to induction of small-protein antiadaptors that stabilize the protein. Recent progress has led to a better, but still far from complete, understanding of how stresses lead to RpoS induction and what RpoS-dependent genes help the cell deal with the stress.
Synthetic Poliovirus and Other Designer Viruses: What Have We Learned from Them?
Authors: Wimmer Eckard , Paul Aniko V.
Published: September 2010

Owing to known genome sequences, modern strategies of DNA synthesis have made it possible to recreate in principle all known viruses independent of natural templates. We describe the first synthesis of a virus (poliovirus) in 2002 that was accomplished outside living cells. We comment on the reaction of laypeople and scientists to the work, which shaped the response to de novo syntheses of other viruses. We discuss those viruses that have been synthesized since 2002, among them viruses whose precise genome sequence had to be established by painstakingly stitching together pieces of sequence information, and viruses involved in zoonosis. Synthesizing viral genomes provides a powerful tool for studying gene function and the pathogenic potential of these organisms. It also allows modification of viral genomes to an extent hitherto unthinkable. Recoding of poliovirus and influenza virus to develop new vaccine candidates and refactoring the phage T7 DNA genome are discussed as examples.
Behavior, Robustness, and Sufficient Statistics in Welfare Measurement
Authors: Just Richard E.
Published: September 2010

The joint implications for welfare measurement of three recent literatures are considered: the behavioral welfare economics literature, the structural versus reduced form debate in econometrics, and the use of sufficient statistics for characterizing behavior. The first permits the revealed preference paradigm to include a wide variety of so-called anomalous behavioral criteria. Sufficient statistics permit aggregation under heterogeneous behavioral criteria, not only heterogeneous characteristics, to facilitate meaningful economic welfare analysis. Atheoretic reduced form econometrics and traditional treatment-effect econometrics do not support welfare analysis, but marginal treatment-effect econometrics is useful for a certain type of policy problems. More generally, estimation of sufficient statistics requires theory-based reduced form econometrics. Sufficient statistics are further suggested for general equilibrium welfare measurement. Under certain assumptions about endogenous government behavior, robust concepts of economic welfare measurement emerge that rationalize the terminology and concepts of traditional welfare economics, although with a much broader conceptual basis.
The Economics of Non-Point-Source Pollution
Authors: Xepapadeas Anastasios
Published: September 2010

Non-point-source (NPS) pollution refers to a form of pollution in which neither the source nor the size of specific emissions can be observed or identified with sufficient accuracy. In NPS pollution the ambient concentration of pollutants associated with the individually unobserved emissions is typically observed. NPS pollution due to agricultural runoff is a major source of water pollution, eutrophication, and hypoxia. Due to informational asymmetries and stochastic effects, the use of traditional environmental policy instruments such as emissions taxes or tradable quotas to regulate NPS pollution is very difficult. This article reviews the main theoretical approaches, up to the present, to the regulation of NPS pollution—input-based schemes, ambient schemes, and endogenous monitoring—and discusses issues associated with NPS pollution regulation and their relation to the theoretically proposed instruments.
Adoption Versus Adaptation, with Emphasis on Climate Change
Authors: Zilberman David , Zhao Jinhua , Heiman Amir
Published: September 2010

This article presents lessons from the rich adoption literature for the nascent research on adaptation. Individuals' adoption choices are affected by profit and risk considerations and by credit and biophysical constraints. New technologies spread gradually, reflecting heterogeneity among potential adopters, processes of learning and technological improvement, and policies and institutions. Adaptation is the response of economic agents and societies to major shocks. We distinguish between reactive and proactive adaptation. The latter is important in the context of climate change and consists of mitigation, reassessment, and innovation that aim to affect the timing and location of shocks. Adaptation strategies also include adoption of innovation and technology transfer across locations, insurance and international trade, and migration and invasions. Recent research emphasizes multidisciplinary collaborations; historical analysis; and the roles of returns to scale of key technologies, social networks, behavioral economics, path dependency, and ex ante adjustment in explaining patterns of adoption and adaptation.
Management of Hazardous Waste and Contaminated Land
Authors: Sigman Hilary , Stafford Sarah
Published: September 2010

Regulation of hazardous waste and cleanup of contaminated sites are two major components of modern public policy for environmental protection. We review the literature on these related areas, with emphasis on empirical analyses. Researchers have identified many behavioral responses to regulation of hazardous waste, including changes in the location of economic activity. However, the drivers behind compliance with these costly regulations remain a puzzle, as most research suggests a limited role for conventional enforcement. Increasingly sophisticated research examines the benefits of cleanup of contaminated sites, yet controversy remains about whether the benefits of cleanup in the United States exceed its costs. Finally, research focusing on the imposition of legal liability for damages from hazardous waste finds advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. reliance on legal liability to pay for cleanup, as opposed to the government-financed approaches more common in Europe.
An Overview of Carbon Offsets from Agriculture
Authors: González-Ramírez Jimena , Kling Catherine L. , Valcu Adriana
Published: September 2010

Although climate change has largely been removed from the federal policy agenda of the United States in the near term, the continued reliance on fossil fuels as a dominant energy source leaves many analysts to conclude that climate policy will eventually reappear on that agenda. We present a review of recent research related to the design and implementation of one instrument for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction: offsets. As these are implemented, policy makers must understand the way these programs work. In this review, we describe the basic features of carbon offset markets, along with the potential supply of offsets from agricultural sources and associated cost considerations. In this discussion we highlight the role of institutional design of contracts and transactions costs. We then turn to the benefits of including offsets in policies to reduce GHGs and complete the review with a discussion of the challenges in implementing the programs.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and the Market for New Vehicles
Authors: Klier Thomas , Linn Joshua
Published: September 2010

This article presents an overview of the economics literature on the effect of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards on the new vehicle market. Since 1978, CAFE has imposed fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. market. This article reviews the history of the standards, followed by a discussion of the major upcoming changes in implementation and stringency. It describes strategies that firms can use to meet the standards and reviews the CAFE literature as it applies to the new vehicle market. The review concludes by highlighting areas for future research in light of the upcoming changes to CAFE.
The Social Cost of Carbon
Authors: Tol Richard S.J.
Published: September 2010

This article surveys the literature on the economic impact of climate change. Different methods have been used to estimate the impact of climate change on human welfare. Studies agree that there are positive and negative impacts. In the short term, positive impacts may dominate, but these are sunk benefits that will obtain regardless of abatement policy. In the longer term, there are net negative impacts. Poorer people tend to be more vulnerable to climate change. Estimated aggregate impacts are not very large, but they are uncertain and incomplete. Estimates of the marginal impacts suggest that greenhouse gas emissions should be taxed and that the emission reduction targets announced by politicians are probably too ambitious. Estimates of the willingness to pay for climate policy suggest that lay people are probably more concerned than experts about the total impact of climate change, whereas lay people and experts agree on estimates of the incremental impact of carbon dioxide emissions.
Green National Income and Green National Product
Authors: Hartwick John M.
Published: September 2010

We observe that the value of the gross natural increment in natural capital is the appropriate entry in the income side of the national accounts, when “greened.” This entry is zero for the special case of nonrenewable resources. Greening is motivated by the desire to account for the value of changes in the size of the stock of natural capital in net national product. We also report on the problem of the use of distorted prices in national accounting.
The Challenges of Improving the Economic Analysis of Pending Regulations: The Experience of OMB Circular A-4
Authors: Fraas Art , Lutter Randall
Published: September 2010

Federal regulatory policy and the evaluation of regulations using benefit-cost analysis continue to be quite contentious. Advocates for more regulation claim that benefit-cost analysis loses information and impedes our understanding of the real beneficial consequences of regulatory action. Against this backdrop, economists and advocates of economic analysis have sought to improve the quality and technical content of benefit-cost analysis. This article examines key changes made by the 2003 guidelines in Circular A-4 for regulatory analysis issued by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in an effort to strengthen such analysis. We discuss the motivation and basis for these changes—the treatment of discount rates and uncertainty and the cost-effectiveness analysis for rules affecting health and safety—and evaluate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's response to the A-4 changes in its analysis of environmental rules.
The Bioeconomics of Spatial-Dynamic Systems in Natural Resource Management
Authors: Kroetz Kailin , Sanchirico James N.
Published: September 2010

We synthesize literature on the spatial aspects of coupled natural-human systems across a variety of natural resource contexts and introduce a framework that can be used to compare modeling approaches and findings across applications. The important components of these systems include spatial heterogeneity in benefits and costs and connectivity of the network. One or more of these components is necessary for spatial policies to be the efficient solution. We highlight the importance of these components by identifying their role in previous work that shows that spatial differentiation in policy implementation is optimal. We pay particular attention to research highlighting the difference between spatial and aspatial policies and the presence of optimal boundary solutions. Finally, we develop a stylized metapopulation model to relate findings in the spatial bioeconomic literature to the theory of second best in public economics and suggest areas for future analysis.
The Economics of Infection Control
Authors: Gersovitz Mark
Published: September 2010

Economics plus epidemiology provide models of infections and associated behavior of private individuals. They show how infections generate problems of dynamic externalities, scope for government to offset externalities, and problems of the second best when government cannot or does not. Features of these models affect conclusions about individual behavior and government policy: the transition states into and out of infection; the nature of matching among susceptibles and infecteds; the opportunities for prevention, including vaccination, and for therapies and their costs; and the targeting of these health interventions at people, depending on health status. There may be multiple endemic optimal steady states.
Efficiency Advantages of Grandfathering in Rights-Based Fisheries Management
Authors: Anderson Terry , Arnason Ragnar , Libecap Gary D.
Published: September 2010

We show that grandfathering fishing rights to local users or recognizing first possessions is more dynamically efficient than auctions of such rights. It is often argued that auctions allocate rights to the highest-valued users and thereby maximize resource rents. We counter that rents are not fixed in situ but rather depend additionally upon the innovation, investment, and collective actions of fishers, who discover and enhance stocks and convert them into valuable goods and services. Our analysis shows how grandfathering increases rents by raising expected rates of return for investment, lowering the cost of capital, and providing incentives for collective action.
The New Economics of Evaluating Water Projects
Authors: Johansson Per-Olov , Kriström Bengt
Published: September 2010

We review key developments in the cost-benefit analysis of water projects, including conceptual and empirical issues. We emphasize general equilibrium and dynamics, in particular the links between economic and ecological systems.
Game Theory and Fisheries
Authors: Hannesson Rögnvaldur
Published: September 2010

The literature on game theory and fisheries is reviewed, beginning with the initial papers from the late 1970s on cooperative and noncooperative games. Later developments considered repeated games and trigger strategies as well as the stability of coalitions. It is argued that the latter literature is overly pessimistic in that it does not pursue breakdown of successive coalitions to its ultimate end, which may provide a worse outcome than an apparently unstable coalition. The choice of strategic variable is considered at some length, but in the existing literature this choice is seldom explicitly motivated. Similarly, the spatial distribution of fish is seldom analyzed in the existing literature, but it could make a difference. This article looks at fishing in a common pool, fishing in separate pools with interacting substocks, and sequential fishing. Fishing on the high seas is discussed and the enforcement issue identified as an underresearched problem. Imperfect information on fish stocks and their migrations is also underresearched.
Pricing Nature
Authors: Barbier Edward B.
Published: September 2010

The growing literature on ecosystem services suggests that these benefits are the direct or indirect contributions that ecosystems make to the well-being of human populations. Although the approach to valuing ecosystem services seems straightforward, in practice there are a number of challenges. The majority of ecosystem services are not marketed, and it is often difficult to determine how changes in ecosystem structure, functions, and processes influence the quantities and qualities of ecosystem service flows to people. Only when these difficulties are overcome is it possible to use existing valuation methods to assess the impact on human well-being that results from a change in ecosystem services. The example of wetland ecosystems and case studies from developing economies, the United States, and Europe are discussed to illustrate these issues involved in pricing nature.
Natural Resource Management: Challenges and Policy Options
Authors: Coria Jessica , Sterner Thomas
Published: September 2010

Much of the improvement in living standards in developed and developing countries is attributable to the exploitation of nonrenewable and renewable resources. The problem is to know when the exploitation occurs at rates and with technologies that are sustainable. If the technologies used are not sustainable, resource exploitation presents a serious problem for the future because welfare will decrease. A long-term management perspective is needed to avoid irreversible degradation of renewable resources. This article examines major challenges to natural resource management as well as policy options.
Documents and Bureaucracy
Authors: Hull Matthew S.
Published: September 2010

This review surveys anthropological and other social research on bureaucratic documents. The fundamental insight of this literature is that documents are not simply instruments of bureaucratic organizations, but rather are constitutive of bureaucratic rules, ideologies, knowledge, practices, subjectivities, objects, outcomes, even the organizations themselves. It explores the reasons why documents have been late to come under ethnographic scrutiny and the implications for our theoretical understandings of organizations and methods for studying them. The review argues for the great value of the study of paper-mediated documentation to the study of electronic forms, but it also highlights the risk of an exclusive focus on paper, making anthropology marginal to the study of core bureaucratic practices in the manner of earlier anthropology.
Substance and Relationality: Blood in Contexts
Authors: Carsten Janet
Published: September 2010

This article examines the way bodily substance has been deployed in the anthropology of kinship. Analytically important in linking kinship with understandings of the body and person, substance has highlighted processes of change and transferability in kinship. Studies of organ donation and reproductive technologies in the West considered here challenge any simple dichotomy between idioms of a bounded individual body/person and immutable kinship relations in Euro-American contexts and more fluid, mutable bodies and relations elsewhere. Focusing on blood as a bodily substance of everyday significance with a peculiarly extensive symbolic repertoire, this article connects material properties of blood to the ways it flows between domains that are often kept apart. The analogies of money and ghosts illuminate blood's capacity to participate in, and move between, multiple symbolic and practical spheres—capacities that carry important implications for ideas and practices of relationality.