bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A comparison of EISCAT and HF Doppler observations of a ULF wave
Authors: Wright D. M. , Yeoman T. K. , Davies J. A.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. Since the middle of 1995, an HF Doppler sounder has been running almost continuously in northern Norway, with the receiver at Ramfjordmoen and the transmitter at Seljelvnes. Concurrent operation of the EISCAT UHF radar in common programme (CP-1) mode has made it possible to study the ionospheric signature of a magnetospheric ULF wave. These are the first results of such wave signatures observed simultaneously in both instruments. It has been demonstrated that the observed Doppler signature was mainly due to the vertical bulk motion of the ionosphere caused by the electric field perturbation of the ULF wave and the first direct observational confirmation of a numerical simulation has been achieved. The wave, which was Alfvénic in nature, was detected by the instruments 8° equatorward of the broad resonance region. The implications for the deduced wave modes in the ionosphere and the mechanism producing the HF Doppler variations are discussed.Key words. Magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions · MHD waves and instabilities · Radio science · Ionospheric physics
Proton-electron precipitation effects on the electron production and density above EISCAT (Tromsø) and ESR
Authors: Lilensten J. , Galand M.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. The suprathermal particles, electrons and protons, coming from the Sun and precipitating into the high-latitude atmosphere are an energy source for the Earth's ionosphere. They interact with the ambient thermal gas through inelastic and elastic collisions. Most of the physical quantities perturbed by the precipitation, such as the electron production rate, may be evaluated by solving the stationary Boltzmann transport equation, which yields the particle fluxes as a function of altitude, energy, and pitch angle. This equation has been solved for the three different suprathermal species (electrons, protons and hydrogen atoms). We first compare the results of our theoretical code to a coordinated DMSP/EISCAT experiment, and to another approach. Then, we show the effects that pure proton precipitation may have on the ionosphere, through primary and secondary ionization. Finally, we compare the effects of proton precipitation and electron precipitation in some selected cases above EISCAT (Tromsø) and ESR.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions; particle precipitation).
Velocity of auroral arcs drifting equatorward from the polar cap
Authors: Williams P. J. S. , del Pozo C. F. , Hiscock I. , Fallows R.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. The drift velocity of an auroral arc is compared with the component of F-region plasma velocity in the same direction for ten cases where the arc is seen to move steadily equatorward for several minutes without any major change in appearance or orientation. In most cases the two velocities are close, but on two occasions the drift velocity of the arc is much higher than the plasma velocity. From the cases studied it appears that during the growth and recovery phase of the substorm cycle the arc moves with a velocity close to the convection velocity, but during the expansion phase this is not the case.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (auroral phenomena; electric fields; plasma convection)
Optical tomography of the aurora and EISCAT
Authors: Frey H. U. , Frey S. , Lanchester B. S. , Kosch M.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. Tomographic reconstruction of the three-dimensional auroral arc emission is used to obtain vertical and horizontal distributions of the optical auroral emission. Under the given experimental conditions with a very limited angular range and a small number of observers, algebraic reconstruction methods generally yield better results than transform techniques. Different algebraic reconstruction methods are tested with an auroral arc model and the best results are obtained with an iterative least-square method adapted from emission-computed tomography. The observation geometry used during a campaign in Norway in 1995 is tested with the arc model and root-mean-square errors, to be expected under the given geometrical conditions, are calculated. Although optimum geometry was not used, root-mean-square errors of less than 2% for the images and of the order of 30% for the distribution could be obtained. The method is applied to images from real observations. The correspondence of original pictures and projections of the reconstructed volume is discussed, and emission profiles along magnetic field lines through the three-dimensionally reconstructed arc are calibrated into electron density profiles with additional EISCAT measurements. Including a background profile and the temporal changes of the electron density due to recombination, good agreement can be obtained between measured profiles and the time-sequence of calculated profiles. These profiles are used to estimate the conductivity distribution in the vicinity of the EISCAT site. While the radar can only probe the ionosphere along the radar beam, the three-dimensional tomography enables conductivity estimates in a large area around the radar site.Key words. Tomography · Aurora · EISCAT · Ionosphere · Conductivity
Modeling of nonstationary electron precipitation by the whistler cyclotron instability
Authors: Demekhov A. G. , Lyubchich A. A. , Trakhtengerts V. Y. , Titova E. E. , Manninen J. , Turunen T.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. We study a simple self-consistent model of a whistler cyclotron maser derived from the full set of quasi-linear equations. We employ numerical calculations to demonstrate dependencies of pulsation regimes of whistler-mode wave interactions with energetic electrons on plasma parameters. Possible temporal evolution of those regimes in real conditions is discussed; calculations are compared with case-study experimental data on energetic electron precipitation pulsations. A reasonable agreement of the model results and the observations has been found.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (Auroral phenomena; Energetic particles · precipitating; Storms and substorms)
Cooling of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere due to doubling of CO2
Authors: Akmaev R. A. , Fomichev V. I.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. A new parameterization of infrared radiative transfer in the 15-μm CO2 band has been incorporated into the Spectral mesosphere/lower thermosphere model (SMLTM). The parameterization is applicable to calculations of heating rates above approximately 15 km for arbitrary vertical profiles of the CO2 concentration corresponding to the surface mixing ratio in the range 150–720 ppm. The sensitivity of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) to doubling of CO2 has been studied. The thermal response in the MLT is mostly negative (cooling) and much stronger than in the lower atmosphere. An average cooling at the stratopause is about 14 K. It gradually decreases to approximately 8 K in the upper mesosphere and again increases to about 40–50 K in the thermosphere. The cooling and associated thermal shrinking result in a substantial density reduction in the MLT that reaches 40–45% in the thermosphere. Various radiative, chemical, and dynamical feedbacks potentially important for the thermal response in the MLT are discussed. It is noted that the results of simulations are strikingly similar to observations of long-term trends in the MLT. This suggests that during the last 3–4 decades the thermal structure in the real upper atmosphere has undergone substantial changes driven by forcing comparable with that due to doubling of CO2.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (Climatology · Middle atmosphere dynamics · Thermospheric dynamics)
Letter to the Editor: First complementary observations by ionospheric tomography, the EISCAT Svalbard radar and the CUTLASS HF radar
Authors: Mitchell C. N. , Walker I. K. , Pryse S. E. , Kersley I. , McCrea I. W. , Jones T. B.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. Experimental results are presented from ionospheric tomography, the EISCAT Svalbard radar and the CUTLASS HF radar. Tomographic measurements on 10 October 1996, showing a narrow, field-aligned enhancement in electron density in the post-noon sector of the dayside auroral zone, are related to a temporal increase in the plasma concentration observed by the incoherent scatter radar in the region where the HF radar indicated a low velocity sunwards convection. The results demonstrate the complementary nature of these three instruments for polar-cap ionospheric studies.Key words. Ionosphere · Auroral ionosphere · Polar ionosphere · Radio science (ionospheric physics)
Letter to the Editor: Temperature anomalies in high northerly latitudes and their link with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation
Authors: Bailey J. S.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. I report the discovery of a low frequency temperature oscillation in the eastern North Atlantic (NA), which was significantly correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) in the tropical Pacific, but led the latter index by a number of months. This discovery is significant, because it demonstrates a link between the tropical Pacific and the high northerly latitudes which cannot readily be explained in terms of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) feedbacks from the tropics, and opens up the possibility that ENSO and temperature anomalies in northerly climes, may actually have a common origin within, or even external to, the global climate system.Key words. Meteorology and Atmospheric dynamics (ocean-atmosphere interactions) · Oceanography: general (climate and interannual variability) · Oceanography: physical (air-sea interactions)
The morphology of oxygen greenline dayglow emission
Authors: Tyagi S. , Singh V.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. In this study, the morphology of the oxygen greenline dayglow emission is presented. The volume emission rate profiles are obtained by using Solomon's glow model. The glow model is updated in terms of recent cross sections, reaction rate coefficients and quantum yield of greenline emission. Throughout most of the thermosphere the modelled and observed emission rates are in reasonably good agreement. In the region between 98 and 120 km, the modelled emission rates are substantially higher (about a factor of 1.7) than the observed emission rates. This discrepancy is discussed in terms of scaling of solar fluxes which accounts the variation of solar activity for the day on which calculations are made. The modelled morphology of greenline emission is compared with those cases where WINDII data is available. The modelled and observed morphology is in reasonably good agreement at most of the latitudes above 120 km. In the mesosphere the qualitative nature of morphology is very similar to those of WINDII observation except the modelled emission rates are about a factor of 1.7 higher than the observed emission rates.Keywords. Ionosphere (ion chemistry and composition; modeling and forecasting; solar radiation and cosmic ray effects).
Enhanced ion acoustic fluctuations and ion outflows
Authors: Forme F. R. E. , Fontaine D.
Published: April 2005

Abstract. A number of observations showing enhanced ion acoustic echoes observed by means of incoherent scatter radars have been reported in the literature. The received power is extremely enhanced by up to 1 or 2 orders of magnitude above usual values, and it is mostly contained in one of the two ion acoustic lines. This spectral asymmetry and the intensity of the received signal cannot be resolved by the standard analysis procedure and often causes its failure. As a result, and in spite of a very clear spectral signature, the analysis is unable to fit the plasma parameters inside the regions of ion acoustic turbulence. We present European Incoherent Scatter radar (EISCAT) observations of large ion outflows associated with the simultaneous occurrence of enhanced ion acoustic echoes. The ion fluxes can reach 1014 m-2 s-1 at 800 km altitude. From the very clear spectral signatures of these echoes, a method is presented to extract estimates of the electron temperature and the ion drift within the turbulent regions. It is shown that the electron gas is strongly heated up to 11 000 K. Also electron temperature gradients of about 0.02 K/m exist. Finally, the estimates of the electron temperature and of the ion drift are used to study the possible implications for the plasma transport inside turbulent regions. It is shown that strong electron temperature gradients cause enhancement of the ambipolar electric field and can account for the observed ion outflows.Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionosphere · magnetosphere interactions; plasma waves and instabilities).
Randomized controlled augmentation trials in clozapine-resistant schizophrenic patients: a critical review
Authors: Kontaxakis Vassilis P. , Ferentinos Panayotis P. , Havaki-Kontaxaki Beata J. , Roukas Dimitris K.
Published: April 2005

Approximately 40–70% of treatment-resistant schizophrenic patients fail to benefit from clozapine monotherapy or are partial responders. During the last years several clozapine adjunctive agents have come into clinical practice. This study aims to critically review all published randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials (RCTs) regarding the efficacy and safety of adjunctive agents in clozapine-resistant schizophrenic or schizoaffective patients. A MEDLINE search for RCTs on clozapine adjunctive agents published from January 1980 to February 2004 was conducted. All identified papers were critically reviewed and examined against several methodological features as well as clinical and pharmacological parameters. Eleven trials including 270 patients, partial or non-responders to clozapine, assessed the efficacy of sulpiride, lithium, lamotrigine, fluoxetine, glycine, d-serine, d-cycloserine and ethyl-eicosapentanoate (E-EPA) as clozapine adjuncts. There were eight parallel-group and three crossover trials. The inclusion criteria varied widely. The duration as well as the dosage of clozapine monotherapy were reported adequate in only one trial. Plasma clozapine levels were assessed in only three trials. Main side-effects reported were hypersalivation, sedation, diarrhea, nausea, hyperprolactinaemia. The outcome favored clozapine augmentation with sulpiride, lamotrigine and E-EPA. Lithium was shown to benefit only schizoaffective patients. However, the methodological shortcomings of trials analyzed limit the impact of evidence provided.
The regulation of proteasome degradation by multi‐ubiquitin chain binding proteins
Authors: Miller Jayne , Gordon Colin
Published: April 2005

The 26S proteasome is a large multi‐protein complex that functions to degrade proteins tagged with multi‐ubiquitin chains. There are several mechanisms employed by the cell to ensure the efficient delivery of multi‐ubiquitinated substrate proteins to the 26S proteasome. This is not only important to ensure the degradation of damaged and misfolded proteins, but also the regulated turnover of critical cell regulators. This discussion will concentrate on what is known about the recognition and delivery of ubiquitinated substrate proteins to the 26S proteasome.
Meprin metalloprotease expression and regulation in kidney, intestine, urinary tract infections and cancer
Authors: Bond Judith S. , Matters Gail L. , Banerjee Sanjita , Dusheck Renee E.
Published: April 2005

Meprins are unique plasma membrane and secreted metalloproteinases that are highly regulated at the transcriptional and post‐translational levels. Meprin α and β subunits are abundantly expressed in kidney and intestinal epithelial cells, are secreted into the urinary tract and intestinal lumen, and are found in leukocytes and cancer cells under certain conditions. Their location and proteolytic activities indicate functions at the interface of the host and the external environment, and in trafficking of macrophages and metastases of cancer cells. These proteases can be detrimental when there is tissue damage or disruption, as in acute renal injury or intestinal inflammation, and there is evidence they are involved in movement of leukocytes and cancer cells to sites of infection or in metastasis, respectively.
Using size-based indicators to evaluate the ecosystem effects of fishing
Authors: Shin Yunne-Jai , Rochet Marie-Joëlle , Jennings Simon , Field John G. , Gislason Henrik
Published: April 2005

The usefulness and relevance of size-based indicators (SBIs) to an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) are assessed through a review of empirical and modelling studies. SBIs are tabulated along with their definitions, data requirements, potential biases, availability of time-series, and expected directions of change in response to fishing pressure. They include mean length in a population, mean length in a community, mean maximum length in a community, and the slope and intercept of size spectra. Most SBIs can be derived from fairly standard survey data on length frequencies, without the need for elaborate models. Possible fishing- and environment-induced effects are analysed to distinguish between the two causes, and hypothetical cases of reference directions of change are tabulated. We conclude that no single SBI can serve as an effective overall indicator of heavy fishing pressure. Rather, suites of SBI should be selected, and reference directions may be more useful than reference points. Further modelling and worldwide comparative studies are needed to provide better understanding of SBIs and the factors affecting them. The slow response to fishing pressure reflects the complexity of community interactions and ecosystem responses, and prohibits their application in the context of short-term (annual) tactical fisheries management. However, movement towards longer-term (5–10 years) strategic management in EAF should facilitate their use.
Pregnancy outcomes in in vitro fertilization cycles with serum estradiol drop prior to human chorionic gonadotropin
Authors: Styer A.K. , Jackson K.V. , Hornstein M.D. , Racowsky C. , Ginsburg E.S. , Gargiulo A.R.
Published: April 2005

Objective

To study the effect of an unpredictable drop in serum estradiol prior to hCG administration on pregnancy outcomes in in vitro fertilization cycles.

Methods

3653 consecutive IVF cycles from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2000 at Brigham and Women's Hospital were reviewed, and 65 cycles in which oocyte retrieval (ER) was performed following a drop in serum estradiol (E2) not associated with intentional withdrawal of gonadotropins were identified. Daily gonadotropin dose was decreased at some time in 25 of these cycles, while the remaining 40 cycles did not have a reduction in gonadotropin dose. A retrospective case‐control study of the respective live birth rates and pregnancy loss rates of patients with unpredictable E2 drops in the 65 study cycles were compared to 65 age matched controls.

Results

Live birth rates (32% vs. 35%, p = 0.72) and pregnancy loss rates (28% vs. 30%, p = 0.76) were similar for all study and control groups respectively. There were no differences in live birth and pregnancy loss rates in cycles undergoing gonadotropin dose reduction (40% vs. 44%, p = 0.78 and 29% vs. 39%, p = 0.70) and cycles without gonadotropin dose reduction (28% vs. 30%, p = 0.81 and 27% vs. 20%, p = 0.72).

Conclusions

In the absence of coasting, a drop in serum estradiol levels during GnRH‐agonist downregulated controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF prior to hCG is not associated with a decrease in live birth rates or pregnancy loss rates.
Assessment of the three‐dimensional relationship of the ossific nuclei and cartilaginous anlagen in congenital clubfoot by 3‐D MRI
Authors: Itohara Tomonobu , Sugamoto Kazuomi , Shimizu Nobuyiki , Ohno Ikko , Tanaka Hisashi , Nakajima Yoshikazu , Sato Yoshinobu , Yoshikawa Hideki
Published: April 2005

Purpose: Radiographic measurement is the usual method used to objectively determine the extent of a congenital clubfoot deformity. Although radiographs have been used clinically to estimate the size and location of tarsal bones through measurements of the ossific nuclei, it is not clear to what extent these relationships are actually reflected in these measurements. So, we used a 3‐D MRI system that could more objectively estimate sizes and positional relationships.

Material and method: We evaluated 5 patients with unilateral congenital clubfoot deformity. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed of both feet using 1.5‐T magnet. Based on the resulting magnetic resonance imaging volume data, a three‐dimensional surface bone model was reconstructed by the Marching Cubes method. We used this model to perform a comparative analysis of the volume and volume ratio of each cartilaginous anlage and ossific nucleus, the length of the talus and the calcaneus, and the position of the center of gravity of ossific nuclei within the cartilaginous anlagen. We measured the relationship between the ossific nuclei and cartilaginous anlagen in the talus and calcaneus of patients with unilateral clubfoot deformity.

Result: In clubfeet talus volume was reduced by 20.1% and calcaneal volume was reduced by 15.7%. Furthermore, the volume of the talar ossific nucleus was reduced by 42.6% and that of the calcaneal ossific nucleus was reduced by 12.1%. The length of the clubfoot talus was 8.2% shorter than normal, and that of the calcaneus was 4.8% shorter.

Conclusion: The assessment technique presented herein was shown to be useful in ascertaining the various pathological characteristics associated with clubfoot. © 2005 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Real options, irreversible investment and firm uncertainty: New evidence from U.S. firms
Authors: Bulan Laarni T.
Published: April 2005

This paper investigates real options behavior in capital budgeting decisions using a firm‐level panel data set of U.S. companies in the manufacturing sector. Specifically, this paper looks at the relationship between the firm's investment to capital ratio and total firm uncertainty, measured as the volatility of the firm's equity returns. Total firm uncertainty is decomposed into its market, industry and firm‐specific components. Given that the irreversibility of capital is derived from asset‐specificity at the industry level, increased industry uncertainty displays a pronounced negative effect on firm investment consistent with real options behavior. Increased firm‐specific uncertainty is also found to depress firm investment—a result that can be attributed to real options behavior and not just managerial risk aversion. The results are robust to various specifications that control for the firm's investment opportunities that are captured by Tobin's q, cash flow, marginal profitability of capital and firm leverage.
Investment, irreversibility, and options: An empirical framework
Authors: Shaanan Joseph
Published: April 2005

The paper presents an empirical test of the impact of irreversibility on threshold return levels and on investment. These tests permit an examination of a key concept and some predictions of irreversible investment theory, which links the option pricing approach with Tobin's q theory. A key feature of the paper is that estimates of the threshold return levels required for investment, which account for both options to invest and disinvest, are obtained internally from the empirical model. The study employs a panel data set consisting of U.S. manufacturing firms and finds that irreversibility, through its negative impact on marginal put options and the resulting increase in threshold returns, reduces investment in two of the four groups of firms studied.
Real options and the value of generation capacity in the German electricity market
Authors: Hlouskova Jaroslava , Kossmeier Stephan , Obersteiner Michael , Schnabl Alexander
Published: April 2005

In this paper we implement a real options model for the unit commitment problem of an electricity producing turbine in a liberalized market. The model accounts for various operating constraints of the turbine. Price uncertainty is captured by a mean reverting process with jumps and time‐varying means to account for seasonality. We demonstrate how the model can be used to value an electricity producing turbine, make profit‐maximizing commitment decisions and compute risk profiles of generating assets for risk management purposes.
The use of magnetic field excursions in stratigraphy
Authors: Merrill Ronald T. , McFadden Phillip L.
Published: April 2005

The use of magnetic field excursions in stratigraphy is difficult primarily because the excursion field is complex and not dominantly dipolar. In contrast with a reversal, which is a global event, an excursion can be evidenced at one location but not another. Although this does not by itself rule out the use of excursions in stratigraphy, it does limit the geographic area over which they may be correlated. We recommend, somewhat conservatively, that excursions can be used to correlate between sedimentary cores separated by angular distances of less than 30° on Earth's surface. Correlation between cores separated by more than 45° should not be attempted.
The New Videomalaise: Effects of Televised Incivility on Political Trust
Authors: MUTZ DIANA C. , REEVES BYRON
Published: April 2005

Does incivility in political discourse have adverse effects on public regard for politics? If so, why? In this study we present a theory suggesting that when viewers are exposed to televised political disagreement, it often violates well-established face-to-face social norms for the polite expression of opposing views. As a result, incivility in public discourse adversely affects trust in government. Drawing on three laboratory experiments, we find that televised presentations of political differences of opinion do not, in and of themselves, harm attitudes toward politics and politicians. However, political trust is adversely affected by levels ofincivilityin these exchanges. Our findings suggest that the format of much political television effectively promotes viewer interest, but at the expense of political trust.
Insider–Outsider Politics in Industrialized Democracies: The Challenge to Social Democratic Parties
Authors: RUEDA DAVID
Published: April 2005

In much of the political economy literature, social democratic governments are assumed to defend the interests of labor. The main thrust of this article is that labor is divided into those with secure employment (insiders) and those without (outsiders). I argue that the goals of social democratic parties are often best served by pursuing policies that benefit insiders while ignoring the interests of outsiders. I analyze Eurobarometer data and annual macrodata from 16 OECD countries from 1973 to 1995. I explore the question of whether strategies prevalent in the golden age of social democracy have been neglected and Left parties have abandoned the goal of providing equality and security to the most vulnerable sectors of the labor market. By combining research on political economy, institutions, and political behavior, my analysis demonstrates that insider–outsider politics are fundamental to a fuller explanation of government partisanship, policy-making, and social democracy since the 1970s.
Racial Orders in American Political Development
Authors: KING DESMOND S. , SMITH ROGERS M.
Published: April 2005

American political science has long struggled to deal adequately with issues of race. Many studies inaccurately treat their topics as unrelated to race. Many studies of racial issues lack clear theoretical accounts of the relationships of race and politics. Drawing on arguments in the American political development literature, this essay argues for analyzing race, and American politics more broadly, in terms of two evolving, competing “racial institutional orders”: a “white supremacist” order and an “egalitarian transformative” order. This conceptual framework can synthesize and unify many arguments about race and politics that political scientists have advanced, and it can also serve to highlight the role of race in political developments that leading scholars have analyzed without attention to race. The argument here suggests that no analysis of American politics is likely to be adequate unless the impact of these racial orders is explicitly considered or their disregard explained.
Rousseau's Anti–Agenda-Setting Agenda and Contemporary Democratic Theory
Authors: SCOTT JOHN T.
Published: April 2005

In his recent article, “Rousseau on Agenda-Setting and Majority Rule” (2003), Ethan Putterman examines how the democratic principle of popular majority rule might be reconciled with agenda-setting by legislative experts through an analysis of Rousseau's political theory. He argues that Rousseau accomplishes this reconciliation through a novel separation of powers between the legislative and the executive powers where the sovereign people delegates the exclusive power to initiate laws to the executive. Putterman thereby identifies as a solution to the problem of democratic self-legislation what Rousseau sees as the most important danger to it. At issue is not merely the correct interpretation of Rousseau's theory, for Putterman's argument raises far-reaching questions concerning the compatibility of democratic principles and institutions. After demonstrating that Putterman is incorrect that the sovereign people in Rousseau's state delegate the power of legislative initiative, I examine how Rousseau anticipates and addresses a related question central to contemporary democratic and social choice theory: the problem of preference aggregation through voting in the absence of agenda-setting institutions.
The Politics of the Welfare State: Canada, Sweden, and the United
States
Authors: White Linda A.
Published: April 2005

The Politics of the Welfare State: Canada, Sweden, and the United
States, Gregg M. Olsen, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. vi, 258

This book presents a familiar puzzle in comparative politics: how are
we to understand variation in the design and scope of social programs and
substantive outcomes for citizens in the three welfare states under
scrutiny. As Olsen argues, all three cases are “advanced,
industrialized, and highly affluent capitalist nations…. and all
three nations enjoy average per capita incomes and standards of living
that are among the highest in the world” (10). Yet we find great
variation on a number of social indicators such as poverty levels, and
income and wealth disparities. All three have also “experienced
marked increases in inequality and welfare state retrenchment in recent
years” (11) but yet “they continue to differ along these
dimensions, even in the face of similar domestic strains and other
exogenous pressures related to global integration” (11). The
question is how do we account for the variation in the use of social
policy to assuage inequalities and respond to these exogenous
pressures.
Workfare: Why Good Social Policy Ideas Go Bad
Authors: Little Margaret
Published: April 2005

Workfare: Why Good Social Policy Ideas Go Bad, Maeve Quaid, Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 244

This book begins with the premise that workfare, properly administered, is good social policy. The author dismisses the moral
arguments surrounding this policy: i) that workfare distinguishes the
deserving from the undeserving; ii) that workfare is a form of slavery,
forcing the poor to work in order to survive; iii) that workfare creates
important responsibility for the recipient; iv) that workfare safeguards
welfare recipients' status as citizens able to fully participate in a
democratic society. These are controversial moral assertions about the
merits or demerits of workfare that the author refuses to address.
Instead, the author, as an expert in organizational behaviour and human
resource management, is interested in whether this policy meets the goals
it establishes. If workfare is to lead recipients to greater job prospects
then this is the measuring stick that should be used to assess the success
of workfare, argues Maeve Quaid.
Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States
Authors: Bateman Thomas M.J.
Published: April 2005

Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States, Stephen L. Newman, ed., Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004, pp. vi, 282

Constitutional politics in Canada and the United States are staples of teaching and research in both countries, and accordingly merit periodic updating and reflection. An excellent contribution in this respect is
Stephen Newman's edited collection of essays, published as part of SUNY's series on American constitutionalism. The essays are balanced, of fairly even quality, and diverse in both subject matter and ideological perspective.
L'organisation mondiale du commerce : où s'en va la mondialisation?
Authors: Doucet Marc G.
Published: April 2005

L'organisation mondiale du commerce : où s'en va la mondialisation?, Christian Deblock, sous la direction de, Québec : Éditions Fides, 2002, 298 p.

Depuis quelques années, l'Organisation mondiale du
commerce (l'OMC) connaît des moments difficiles. À l'échec monumental de la troisième Conférence ministérielle à Seattle en 1999, et
l'émiettement du consensus simulé qui déboucha sur le soi-disant “ cycle du développement ” à
Doha en novembre 2001, s'ajoutent l'hostilité
affichée par l'administration Bush au multilatéralisme
de toutes formes et l'opposition de plus en plus obstinée des
pays en développement quant à l'élargissement du
mandat de l'organisation, sans oublier, bien sûr, les
manifestations populaires qui pourchassent ici et là les
réunions ministérielles. L'avance du cheval de Troie
des programmes de libéralisation et de régulation
économique créé en janvier 1995 suite aux
négociations du cycle Uruguay semble sérieusement
déroutée, du moins pour l'instant. D'où la
justesse de la question que pose le sous-titre de cet ouvrage
dirigé par Christian Deblock. En effet, si la question est bien
posée, c'est plutôt son traitement, mis en rapport au
déroulement des négociations depuis la quatrième
réunion ministérielle à Doha, qui marque la
contribution majeure de l'ouvrage. L'objectif principal des
textes est donc de faire le point sur les développements les plus
récents au sein du système commercial multilatéral
tout en soulignant les principaux enjeux. Or, il s'agit bel et bien
d'un ouvrage d'économie politique qui s'adresse non
seulement aux universitaires et aux étudiants francophones de
niveau post-secondaires, mais aussi au grand public qui, depuis un certain
temps, semble suivre de plus près l'évolution de
l'économie mondiale.
Variation in the composition of selected milk fraction samples from healthy and mastitic quarters, and its significance for mastitis diagnosis
Authors: Bansal Baljinder K , Hamann Joern , Grabowski Nils Th , Singh Krishan B
Published: April 2005

Seven variables – electrical conductivity (EC), somatic cell count (SCC), N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase), lactose, protein, fat and pH – were compared in four quarter milk fractions (MF1: strict foremilk; MF2: first 12–15 ml foremilk; MF3: subsequent 40–45 ml milk; MF4: strippings) and in one cow composite milk sample (CC) per cow. The study used 142 quarters from 37 lactating cows of the German Black Pied breed. To rule out any possible effect due to management, animal physiology and analytical procedures, the collection and processing of milk samples from each cow was repeated for three consecutive days, and the means of 3-d values were used. All variables were affected significantly by milk fraction and udder health. Compared with foremilk, EC, lactose and protein levels in strippings decreased, while SCC, NAGase and fat increased. The pH of foremilk and strippings did not differ significantly in healthy or in mastitic quarters. The difference between MF1 and MF2 was significant for EC in mastitic quarters, and for SCC in healthy quarters only. In general, mastitis resulted in a significant increase in EC, SCC, NAGase and protein but in a decrease in lactose and fat contents of milk in one or more of the milk fractions studied. Comparison of cow composite milk samples from healthy and mastitic cows revealed the significance (P<0·01) of udder health for EC, SCC and lactose. Of the different parameters that can distinguish between healthy and mastitic quarters or cows, EC could be used to classify 76% of quarters and 73% of cows correctly, while the lactose content permitted correct identification of 81% of quarters and 76% of cows. NAGase and pH could be used to determine the status of 73% and 61% of quarters, respectively. In general, the correlation observed in strippings was higher than in foremilk for almost all the variables studied. Surprisingly, EC, SCC, NAGase and lactose in milk from healthy quarters of mastitic cows (with at least one mastitic quarter) differed significantly (P<0·05) from those from healthy quarters of cows with all four healthy quarters, indicating an inconsistent effect of mastitic quarters on neighbouring healthy quarters (quarter interdependence).
Immunomodulating capacity of kefir
Authors: Vinderola Celso G , Duarte Jairo , Thangavel Deepa , Perdigón Gabriela , Farnworth Edward , Matar Chantal
Published: April 2005

Kefir is a fermented milk produced by the action of lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and acetic acid bacteria, trapped in a complex matrix of polysaccharides and proteins. Beyond its inherent high nutritional value as a source of proteins and calcium, kefir has a long tradition of being regarded as good for health in countries where it is a staple in the diet. However, published human or animal feeding trials to substantiate this view are not numerous. The aim of this work was to determine the immunomodulating capacity of kefir on the intestinal mucosal immune response in mice and to demonstrate the importance of dose and cell viability on this response. BALB/c mice were fed with commercial kefir ad libitum (diluted 1/10, 1/50, 1/100 or 1/200) or pasteurized kefir (diluted 1/6, 1/10, 1/50, 1/100) for 2, 5 or 7 consecutive days. At the end of each feeding period, the bacterial translocation assay was performed in the liver. Small intestine structure was studied by haematoxilin-eosin staining and light microscopy. The number of IgA+ and IgG+ cells was also determined. For the functional doses chosen, cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α and IFN-γ) were determined. Kefir and pasteurized kefir were able to modulate the mucosal immune system in a dose-dependent manner. Kefir was administred 10-times more diluted than pasteurized kefir, but it induced an immunomodulation of similar magnitude, indicating the importance of cell viabilty. The results suggest that a Th1 response was controlled by Th2 cytokines induced by kefir feeding. Pasteurized kefir would induce both Th2 and Th1 responses. This is the first study in vivo regarding the mechanisms involved in the immunomodulating capacity of the oral administration of kefir containing viable or heat-inactivated bacteria at different doses.
Staphylococcus aureus leucocidin, a virulence factor in bovine mastitis
Authors: Younis Ahmed , Krifucks Oleg , Fleminger Gideon , Heller Elimelech D , Gollop Natan , Saran Arthur , Leitner Gabriel
Published: April 2005

The involvement of Staphylococcus aureus exosecretions in bovine udder infection (Younis et al. 2003) suggests that four different monomer protein bands appearing between 36 and 31 kDa, are associated with the severity of the cow's infection response. Three out of these four bands have been identified by means of protein sequencing. Band B, with a MW of 35 kDa was identified as Panton-Valentaine leucocidin LukF'-PV chain- Staph. aureus; band C, with a MW of 32 kDa was identified as leucocidin chain LukM precursor- Staph. aureus; and band D was found to be similar, but not identical, to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase-C-X. Bands B and C were purified by gel filtration using FPLC. The ability of these proteins to induce udder inflammation in vivo, and proliferation response in vitro and cytokine secretion were tested for both the crude exosecretions and purified bands. Three cows were inoculated intracisternally, with three quarters receiving either 0·007–0·008 mg (as total proteins) of Staph. aureus FR2449/1 bacterial exosecretion, pooled fraction 39–41 (bands B and C), or culture broth medium. The fourth quarter was left free as a control. Quarters that received fraction 39–41 of Staph. aureus FR2449/1, exhibited induced inflammation, which was indicated by increased somatic cell count and enhanced NAGase activity that was significantly higher than that of the original Staph. aureus FR2449/1 bacterial exosecretion. Proliferation tests of bovine blood lymphocytes in vitro showed that the pooled fraction 39–41 stimulated bovine proliferation of mononuclear cells much more than the original Staph. aureus FR2449/1 bacterial exosecretion. Secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 was in accordance with the contents of LukF'-PV and LukM precursor in the exosecretions. The results suggest that LukM/LukF' induce inflammation into the udder by a mechanism similar to that of LPS or by a unique mechanism(s) which requires further investigation.
Determination of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in milk by a fluorometric assay
Authors: Larsen Torben
Published: April 2005

Indigenous L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in milk originates mainly from somatic cells, leucocytes and invading microorganisms. Its activity may be used for detection of mastitis. However, existing methods to measure LDH activity in milk both need pretreatment of the samples and still suffer from methodological problems. The present paper describes a fast, reliable method for determination of LDH activity, suitable for milk samples. The method is based on fluorometric determination of enzyme kinetics when L-lactate is converted to pyruvate. The assay uses raw milk without pretreatment and the method is easily adjustable to large-scale analyses on micro assay plates. Detection is based on (straight line) linear response within 4–7 min of initiation of the reaction. A substrate concentration of 35 mM in the reaction mixture was considered to be optimal for the assay. Intra plate assay precision was approx. 6% (CV) and the inter plate precision approx. 10%. Known inhibitors of LDH activity (oxidative direction), i.e., oxalic acid, oxamate, and pyruvate, were tested in different concentrations in order to verify the specificity of the response. The detailed kinetics of samples analysed indicated that the isoenzyme composition may have differed between milk samples, and that this composition may have been altered in high activity samples.
Corn Market Integration in Porfirian Mexico
Authors: DOBADO RAFAEL , MARRERO GUSTAVO A.
Published: April 2005

This article aims to cover an important aspect of the economic history of Porfirian Mexico: the integration of agricultural domestic markets. Because corn was the staple crop of the commercial agricultural sector, it becomes the protagonist of this story. Panel techniques are applied to a price-convergence model. Although still unfinished on the eve of the Mexican Revolution, corn market integration substantially accelerated during the Porfiriato and ended up further integrated than estimated by Kuntz. Railroads were not only indispensable to the economic growth of Mexico, but also played a key role in the process of corn market integration.
The experience of will: Affective or cognitive?
Authors: Bogen Joseph E.
Published: April 2005

Wegner vacillates between considering the experience of will as a directly-sensed feeling and as a cognitive construct. Most of his book is devoted to examples of erroneous cognition. The brain basis of will as an immediately-sensed emotion receives minimal attention.
“Causation” is only part of the answer
Authors: Scheutz Matthias
Published: April 2005

Although Ross & Spurrett (R&S) successfully fend off the threat of Kim's “supervenience argument” by showing that it conflates different notions of causation, their proposal for a dynamic systems answer to the mind-body problem is itself yet another supervenience claim in need of an explanation that justifies it. The same goes for their notion of “multiple supervenience.”
Functionalism, emergence, and collective coordinates: A statistical physics perspective on “What to say to a skeptical metaphysician”
Authors: Shalizi Cosma Rohilla
Published: April 2005

The positions Ross & Spurrett (R&S) take on issues of information, causality, functionalism, and emergence are actually implicit in the theory and practice of statistical physics, specifically in the way it relates macroscopic collective coordinates to microscopic physics. The reasons for taking macroscopic physical variables like temperature or magnetization to be real apply equally to mental properties like pain.
Is the illusion of conscious will an illusion?
Authors: Sternberg Robert J.
Published: April 2005

This book is a tour de force in showing that what we believe to be actions dictated by conscious will are not, in fact, wholly dictated by conscious will. However, Wegner has fallen into the trap of making claims that go beyond his data to make his case more compelling and newsworthy. Psychology needs to be informed by common sense.
Why conscious free will both is and isn't an illusion
Authors: Velmans Max
Published: April 2005

Wegner's analysis of the illusion of conscious will is close to my own account of how conscious experiences relate to brain processes. But our analyses differ somewhat on how conscious will is not an illusion. Wegner argues that once conscious will arises it enters causally into subsequent mental processing. I argue that while his causal story is accurate, it remains a first-person story. Conscious free will is not an illusion in the sense that this first-person story is compatible with and complementary to a third-person account of voluntary processing in the mind/brain.
Globalism and the universal language
Authors: Al-Dabbagh Abdulla
Published: April 2005

Like so many other innovations, the idea of one common language for all mankind appeared for the first time, in European thought, during the Renaissance. It has been estimated that since then nearly ‘seven hundred such artificial languages’ have been tried. Undoubtedly, this had to do with the collapse of Latin as the common language of education, soon to be replaced by the various, rising national languages. Europe's great expansion overseas, in this epoch, also created the need for a unified vehicle of communication.

In many ways, the world, and not just Europe, is now facing a similar challenge. While English has become the Latin of the contemporary world, such a position, one can say in the light of historical experience, has always been precarious. Whether English will be unanimously accepted as the one unifying, international language of the globe, whether it will share this role with one or more other languages, or whether an artificial language will be adopted for that purpose is the question that sooner or later we will all be facing.
Gemination in English
Authors: Kaye Alan S.
Published: April 2005

An account of consonantal ‘twinning’ in English and other languages.

THIS ESSAY concerns itself with gemination in English, but more specifically, it asks whether English has consonantal gemination (CG), as has been reported by some in the literature. Gemination is usually defined as a phonetic doubling (cf. Latin geminus ‘twin’); however, phonetic length (as opposed to a single or nongeminated segment) is a more accurate designation (see Matthews 1997:141, who cites Italian atto [at[Length mark]o] ‘act’, making reference only to ‘doubling’). It has long been known that English does not have contrastive CG as is recognized, say, from the phonemic difference between Classical and Modern Standard Arabic kasara (‘he broke’) and kassara (‘he smashed’) or darasa (‘he studied’) and darrasa (‘he taught’).
PRESERVATIONS OF NBUC AND NBU(2) CLASSES UNDER MIXTURES
Authors: Li Yulin
Published: April 2005

New integral inequality characterizations of the NBUC and NBU(2)
classes of lifetime distributions are given. These results are then used
to prove preservation under mixture results for the NBUC and NBU(2)
classes.