bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ventilatory responses of healthy subjects to intravenous combinations of morphine and oxycodone under imposed hypercapnic and hypoxaemic conditions
Authors: Ladd L. A. , Kam P. C. , Williams D. B. , Wright A. W. E. , Smith M. T. , Mather L. E.
Published: April 2005

Aims

Previous isobolographic analysis revealed that coadministration of morphine and oxycodone produces synergistic antinociception in laboratory rodents. As both opioids can produce ventilatory depression, this study was designed to determine whether their ventilatory effects were synergistic when coadministered to healthy human subjects.

Methods

A placebo‐controlled, randomized, crossover study was performed in 12 male volunteers. Ventilatory responses to hypoxaemia and hypercapnia were determined from 1‐h intravenous infusions of saline (‘placebo’), 15 mg morphine sulphate (M), 15 mg oxycodone hydrochloride (O), and their combination in the dose ratios of 1 : 2, 1 : 1, 2 : 1. Drug and metabolite concentrations in serial peripheral venous blood samples were measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography–MS/MS.

Results

‘Placebo’ treatment was without significant ventilatory effects. There were no systematic differences between active drug treatments on either the slopes or intercepts of the hypoxaemic and hypercapnia ventilation responses. During drug treatment, the mean minute ventilation at PetCO2 = 55 mmHg (VE55) decreased to 74% of the subjects’ before treatment values (95% confidence interval 62, 87), 68% (57, 80), 69% (59, 79), 68% (63, 73), and 61% (52, 69) for M15, M10/O5, M7.5/O7.5, M5/O10 and O15, respectively. Recovery was more prolonged with increasing oxycodone doses, corresponding to its greater potency and lower clearance compared with morphine.

Conclusions

Although adverse ventilatory effects of these drugs were found as expected, no unexpected or disproportionate effects of any of the morphine and oxycodone treatments were found that might impede their use in combination for pain management.
Tissue microarray analysis of multiple gene expression in intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma of the stomach
Authors: Sun Y , Li J‐Y , He J‐S , Zhou L‐X , Chen K
Published: April 2005

Aims : To study multiple gene expression patterns and their roles in the process of gastric carcinogenesis.

Methods and results : Using a high‐throughput tissue microarray technique, 169 specimens from gastric carcinomas, precursor lesions and normal mucosa were immunostained on a series of tissue chips for p53, p21WAF1/CIP1 cyclin E, Bcl‐2, c‐met and mucin 5AC expression. The overexpression of p53 was observed in 10.7% of low‐grade dysplasia (LGD), 38.1% of high‐grade dysplasia (HGD) and 39.6% of intestinal type gastric carcinoma (IGC). Expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 was found in 47.6% of incomplete intestinal metaplasia (IM), 36.7% of dysplasia (Dys) and 29.5% of IGC. The overexpression of cyclin E was more frequently present in carcinomas than in Dys (P < 0.05); moreover, high‐level expression (>25% in extent) of cyclin E was observed only among IGC. Abnormal Bcl‐2 expression was present in 81.0% of incomplete IM, 69.4% of Dys and 22.9% of IGC. Along with progression of the lesion, the expression of c‐met increased; in contrast, mucin 5AC decreased gradually.

Conclusions : The specific expression pattern in incomplete IM was mucin 5AC(+)/Bcl‐2(+)/p53(–)/cyclin E(–), while mucin 5AC(–)/cyclin E(+) was specific for IGC. p53 was useful for distinguishing LGD from HGD. High‐level expression of cyclin E might be an indicator for malignant transformation of dysplasia.
Overexpression of anti‐apoptotic Mcl‐1 in testicular germ cell tumours
Authors: Sano M , Nakanishi Y , Yagasaki H , Honma T , Oinuma T , Obana Y , Suzuki A , Nemoto N
Published: April 2005

Aims:  To determine the expression of Mcl‐1 in testicular germ cell tumours in order to clarify the role of this anti‐apoptotic factor in these tumours. Various members of the Bcl‐2 family have been implicated in the apoptotic mechanisms regulating germ cell apoptosis. Mcl‐1 is an anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐2 family member and has recently been reported to be related to the progression of malignancy; however, the involvement of Mcl‐1 in the development of germ cell tumours is still unknown.

Methods and results:  Mcl‐1 expression in testicular germ cell tumours was investigated by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). By immunohistochemistry, overexpression of Mcl‐1 was present in all germ cell tumours that were studied, including embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac tumour, as well as choriocarcinoma and teratoma. In teratomas, Mcl‐1 was widely distributed in the epithelial, myogenic, neural and mesenchymal components. RT‐PCR analysis after microdissection revealed high levels of Mcl‐1 mRNA in all tumour variants compared with non‐neoplastic germ cells.

Conclusion:  Overexpression of anti‐apoptotic Mcl‐1 may function to enhance the viability of testicular germ cells, thereby leading to tumorigenesis.
PDGFR expression in differential diagnosis between KIT‐negative gastrointestinal stromal tumours and other primary soft‐tissue tumours of the gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Rossi G , Valli R , Bertolini F , Marchioni A , Cavazza A , Mucciarini C , Migaldi M , Federico M , Trentini G P , Sgambato A
Published: April 2005

Aims : To investigate the value of platelet‐derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) by immunohistochemistry in discriminating KIT‐negative gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) from other soft‐tissue neoplasms of the digestive tract.

Methods and results : One‐hundred and sixty‐seven primary gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumours (125 GISTs, 15 intra‐abdominal desmoids, 12 leiomyomas, eight leiomyosarcomas, three schwannomas, two solitary fibrous tumours, and one case each of inflammatory pseudotumour and fibroid polyp) were reclassified based on morphology and on the immunohistochemical panel recommended by the National Institutes of Health consensus on GIST. All cases were then tested with antibodies specific for PDGFR α and β. Of 125 GISTs, 117 were KIT‐positive (93.6%) and eight KIT‐negative (6.4%). All the KIT‐positive GISTs were negative for both PDGFRs, while all the eight KIT‐negative GISTs expressed PDGFR‐α, with two of them also coexpressing PDGFR‐β. Among the 42 non‐GIST tumours, only a small percentage (26.6%) of desmoids immunostained for PDGFR‐α, two of them coexpressing PDGFR‐β.

Conclusions : Immunostaining with PDGFR‐α is a helpful marker in discriminating between KIT‐negative GISTs and other gastrointestinal mesenchymal lesions: all KIT‐negative GISTs were positive for PDFGR‐α, while none of the other gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumours analysed, except a small subset of desmoids, was reactive with anti‐PDGFRs. These preliminary data demonstrate the suitability of commercially available antibodies to detect immunohistochemically the mutually exclusive expression of KIT and PDGFR‐α previously reported in GISTs by molecular biological techniques. Since PDGFR exists in the form of a homodimer (αα, ββ) or heterodimer (αβ) and two of the KIT‐negative GISTs coexpressed both PDGFR isoforms, further investigations are required to elucidate the role of PDGFR‐β in GISTs.
COX‐2 expression in DCIS: correlation with VEGF, HER‐2/neu, prognostic molecular markers and clinicopathological features
Authors: Perrone G , Santini D , Vincenzi B , Zagami M , La Cesa A , Bianchi A , Altomare V , Primavera A , Battista C , Vetrani A , Tonini G , Rabitti C
Published: April 2005

Aims : There is considerable evidence that links COX‐2 to the development of cancer. The aim of our study was to assess, by immunohistochemistry, COX‐2 expression in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and its possible correlation with HER‐2/neu, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and other common immunohistochemical parameters (p53, ER, PGR, Ki67).

Methods and results : Tissue samples of 49 archival cases of DCIS without any invasive component were analysed for COX‐2, HER‐2/neu, VEGF, oestrogen and progesterone receptors, Ki67 and p53 by immunohistochemistry using specific antibodies. COX‐2 expression was detected in 43 (87.8%) tissue samples, of which 12 (24.5%) were graded as weak, 22 (44.9%) as moderate and nine (8.4%) as high expression. Only six (12.2%) lesions were negative for COX‐2 expression. VEGF expression was detected in 93.8% of samples; 66.7% of lesions were found to be positive for HER‐2/neu expression. Furthermore, COX‐2 expression was significantly correlated with VEGF expression (P = 0.003). A significant positive correlation was also observed between COX‐2 and HER‐2/neu expression (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions : Our results suggest that COX‐2 is highly expressed in DCIS and takes part in the molecular pathway implicated in progression of breast cancer and may provide a rationale for targeting COX‐2 in preinvasive breast cancer therapy.
Nuclear expression of maspin is associated with a lower recurrence rate and a longer disease‐free interval after surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx
Authors: Marioni G , Blandamura S , Giacomelli L , Calgaro N , Segato P , Leo G , Fischetto D , Staffieri A , De Filippis C
Published: April 2005

Aims : Maspin, a protein belonging to the serpin superfamily, is the product of a tumour suppressor gene. Tissue distribution studies have shown maspin expression in normal mammary epithelial cells, in the placenta, prostate, thymus, testis, oral cavity, small intestine, skin, and cornea. Maspin is expressed but down‐regulated in human breast, prostatic, and colonic cancers but apparently up‐regulated in pancreatic, ovarian, and gastric cancers. Only two studies concerning maspin expression in head and neck carcinomas are available. The present study is the first attempt to determine maspin expression in laryngeal carcinoma.

Methods and results : Maspin expression was evaluated in 21 cases of laryngeal carcinoma consecutively treated with an exclusively surgical approach with a follow‐up period longer than 24 months. The expression of p53, p27 and MIB‐1 was also studied. Two patterns of distribution of maspin in laryngeal neoplastic cells were found. Cytoplasmic expression of maspin was identified in 47.6% of the cases. Nuclear maspin positivity was determined in 47.6% of the cases. A statistically significant difference in nuclear maspin expression between the group of patients without carcinoma recurrence and the group with evidence of recurrence was demonstrated (P = 0.039). Log rank test analysis showed a statistically significant direct correlation between nuclear maspin expression and disease‐free intervals after surgical treatment calculated in months (P = 0.028). A significant inverse correlation was disclosed between nuclear maspin staining and MIB‐1 (P = 0.028). A trend of increasing p27 expression was noted in cases with positive nuclear maspin expression. Nuclear maspin expression was not statistically correlated with p53 expression. A trend towards direct correlation between cytoplasmic maspin expression and squamous cell carcinoma histological grade (G) was apparent. Cytoplasmic maspin expression did not correlate with p53, MIB‐1 or p27 expression.

Conclusions : These preliminary results suggest that nuclear location of maspin is a good prognostic factor in laryngeal carcinoma.
Morphology of angiogenesis in human cancer: a conceptual overview, histoprognostic perspective and significance of neoangiogenesis
Authors: Sharma S , Sharma M C , Sarkar C
Published: April 2005

This paper reviews the histomorphological aspects of angiogenesis and neoangiogenesis, quantitative and qualitative, and their applications in prognostic evaluation of neoplastic diseases. The merits and weak points of intratumoral microvessel density (MVD), a widely regarded bona fide predictor of tumour growth, metastases and patient survival, are discussed. Total microvascular area (TVA) has been found useful in recent prognostic studies utilizing newer immunohistochemical vascular markers. Of particular significance is the fact that MVD and TVA are most predictive of patient outcome in those tumours that induce significant neoangiogenesis, namely carcinomas of breast and prostate, and haematological malignancies. In contrast, carcinomas of lung and urinary bladder do not show significant associations of MVD and TVA with poor prognosis, reflecting differences in angiogenic mechanisms. In gliomas, MVD appears to correlate with outcome in high‐grade, but not low‐grade tumours, and does not correlate with tumour cellularity in the infiltrating portions of the tumour, reflecting a paucity of neoangiogenesis and directional vascular growth. Recent studies have found CD105, Tie‐2/Tek and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors to be the best markers of neoangiogenesis. The vascular parameters so measured correlate better with overall and disease‐free survival in breast, colon and lung carcinoma than panendothelial markers such as CD31. A correlation of vascular patterns with prognosis has been established in ocular melanomas, glioblastomas and squamous carcinomas of head and neck region. Vascular networks with closed loops are closely associated with mortality due to metastases in uveal melanomas. Fewer bizarre glomeruloid vessels and prominent classical capillary pattern was an independent predictor of longer survival in glioblastoma. Therefore a judicious combination of quantitative and qualitative microscopic angiogenic parameters, with emphasis on neoangiogenesis and vascular patterns wherever applicable, should be an integral component of a more consistent tumour staging system for accurate prognostic evaluation of tumours, selection of optimal anti‐angiogenic therapy and pertinent research.
Rubisco specificity factor tends to be larger in plant species from drier habitats and in species with persistent leaves
Authors: GALMÉS JERONI , FLEXAS JAUME , KEYS ALFRED J. , CIFRE JOSEP , MITCHELL ROWAN A. C. , MADGWICK PIPPA J. , HASLAM RICHARD P. , MEDRANO HIPÓLITO , PARRY MARTIN A. J.
Published: April 2005

The specificity factor of Rubisco is a measure of the relative capacities of the enzyme to catalyse carboxylation and oxygenation of ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate and hence to control the relative rates of photosynthetic carbon assimilation and photorespiration. Specificity factors of purified Rubisco from 24 species of C3 plants found in diverse habitats with a wide range of environmental growth limitations by both water availability and temperature in the Balearic Islands were measured at 25 °C. The results suggest that specificity factors are more dependent on environmental pressure than on phylogenetic factors. Irrespective of phylogenetic relationships, higher specificity factors were found in species characteristically growing in dryer environments and in species that are hemideciduous or evergreen. Effects of temperature on specificity factor of the purified enzyme from 14 species were consistent with the concept that higher specificity factors were associated with an increase in the activation energy for oxygenation compared to carboxylation of the 2,3‐enediolate of RuBP to the respective transition state intermediates. The results are discussed in terms of selection pressures leading to the differences in specificity factors and the value of the observations for identifying useful genetic manipulation to change Rubisco polypeptide subunits.
Biochemical and ecological characterization of two peroxidase isoenzymes from the mangrove, Rhizophora mangle
Authors: PEARSE IAN S. , HEATH KATY D. , CHEESEMAN JOHN M.
Published: April 2005

This study examines phenolic peroxidase (POX) in Rhizophora mangle L. leaves in order to assess its role in phenolic manipulation and H2O2 scavenging. Sun‐exposed and understorey leaves experiencing varying degrees of nutrient stress were analysed from an oligotrophic cay off the coast of Belize. POX activity was unaffected by growth environment, but increased throughout leaf development and persisted through senescence and after abscission. Histochemical analyses indicated POX activity throughout leaf tissues, especially in the apoplast. Phenolics were similarly broadly distributed. Two isoenzymes of POX were partially characterized with pIs of 4.1 and 6.3 and masses of 65.5 and 54.3 kDa, respectively. The larger, more acidic isoenzyme showed especially high heat stability, showing no reduced activity after 24 h at 60 °C. Rhizophora mangle POX oxidized quercetin preferentially, and, to a lesser extent, coniferyl alcohol, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and p‐coumaric acid. It did not oxidize ascorbate, but ascorbate could act as a secondary electron donor in the presence of a phenolic substrate and H2O2. However, because quercetin and other aglycones were not present in R. mangle leaves, and because POX showed no activity with the most abundant leaf flavonoid, rutin, it was concluded that detoxification of H2O2 is secondary to the other roles of POX in manipulation of phenolics.
Effects of stand age and tree species on canopy transpiration and average stomatal conductance of boreal forests
Authors: EWERS B. E. , GOWER S. T. , BOND‐LAMBERTY B. , WANG C. K.
Published: April 2005

We quantified the effect of stand age and tree species composition on canopy transpiration (EC) by analysing transpiration per unit leaf area (EL) and canopy stomatal conductance (GS) for boreal trees comprising a five stand wildfire chronosequence. A total of 196 sap flux sensors were used on 90 trees consisting of Betula papyrifera Marsh (paper birch; present in the youngest stand), Populus tremuloides Michx (quaking aspen), Pinus banksiana Lamb. (jack pine), and Picea mariana (Mill.) (black spruce). While fine roots were positively correlated with stand EC; leaf area index, basal area, and sapwood area were not. Stands less than 70 years old were dominated by Populus tremuloides and Pinus banksiana and stands greater than 70 years old were composed almost entirely of Picea mariana. As Populus tremuloides and Pinus banksiana increased in size and age, they displayed an increasing sapwood to leaf area ratio (AS : AL), a constant minimum leaf water potential (ΨL), and a constant proportionality between GS at low vapour pressure deficit (Dj GSref) and the sensitivity of GS to D (–δ). In contrast, AS : AL, minimum ΨL, and the proportionally between –δ and GSref decreased with height and age in Picea mariana. A GS model that included the effects of D, AS : AL, tree height, and for Picea mariana an increasing soil to leaf water potential gradient with stand age, was able to capture the effects of contrasting hydraulic properties of Picea mariana, Populus tremuloides and Pinus banksiana during stand development after wildfire.
A gibberellin‐regulated protein phosphorylated by a putative Ca2+‐dependent protein kinase is G‐protein mediated in rice root
Authors: KHAN M. M. K. , YANG S. , IWASAKI Y. , FUJISAWA Y. , FUKUDA H. , KOMATSU S.
Published: April 2005

The GA‐signal transduction pathways downstream to the Gα protein in rice seedling root were investigated using in‐gel kinase assay and in vitro protein phosphorylation techniques with a Gα protein defective mutant, d1. A 50‐kDa protein kinase was detected downstream to Gα protein in the membrane fraction of rice seedling roots using an in‐gel kinase assay with histone III‐S as a substrate. The activity of a 50‐kDa protein kinase increased in the wild‐type rice by gibberellin (GA3) treatment, but did not change in the d1 mutant. This protein kinase activity was inhibited by the Ca2+ chelator ethyleneglycol‐bis‐(beta‐aminoethylether)‐N,N,N 1,N 1‐tetraacetic acid (EGTA), protein kinase inhibitors, staurosporine and H7, and calmodulin antagonist, trifluoperazine, suggesting that the 50‐kDa protein kinase is a putative plant Ca2+‐dependent protein kinase (CDPK). The activity of the 50‐kDa putative CDPK reached its highest level at 3 h after GA3 treatment and then gradually declined with time. In order to identify the endogenous substrate for 50‐kDa putative CDPK, two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by in vitro protein phosphorylation was carried out. The phosphorylation activity of an endogenous protein PP30, identified as an unknown protein having molecular weight 30 kDa and isoelectric point 5.8 was increased in the wild‐type rice by GA3 treatment, compared with the d1 mutant. The addition of GA3 treated membrane fraction, which predominantly represent a 50‐kDa putative CDPK further increased the phosphorylation of PP30. Almost similar to GA3 treatment, phosphorylation activity of PP30 was also increased by the treatment with cholera toxin in the wild‐type rice but not in d1 mutant. These results suggest that the 50‐kDa putative CDPK and an unknown protein, PP30 promoted by GA3 treatment are G‐protein mediated in rice seedling roots.
Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers reveal low genetic variation and a single dominant genotype in Eichhornia crassipes populations throughout China
Authors: REN M‐X , ZHANG Q‐G , ZHANG D‐Y
Published: April 2005

Genetic variation within and between 34 populations of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) in China was surveyed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. A total of 1009 individuals were analysed, for which 12 RAPD primers amplified 69 reproducible bands, with 22 (32%) being polymorphic. The percentage of polymorphic loci (p) within a population ranged from 4.4% to 17.4%, and the mean Nei's gene diversity (He) was 0.046 ± 0.0145, indicating a low genetic diversity of E. crassipes in China. Each population contained at least four RAPD phenotypes (genotypes), and the same particular genotype was invariably dominant in all the populations sampled. The mean proportion of distinguishable genotypes was 0.29. Analysis of molecular variance revealed a large proportion of genetic variation (83.9%) residing within populations and a slightly larger proportion (88.1%) within localities, indicating a low genetic differentiation of E. crassipes populations, both locally and regionally. Human‐mediated dispersal, vigorous clonal growth, and a generally low level of sexual reproduction were thought to be responsible for such a pattern of genetic structure.
A single polymerase chain reaction‐based assay for simultaneous detection of two mutations conferring resistance to tubulin‐binding herbicides in Setaria viridis
Authors: DÉLYE C , MENCHARI Y , MICHEL S
Published: April 2005

A simple method based upon polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect mutant alleles of the gene encoding α2‐tubulin, which confers recessive resistance to tubulin‐binding herbicides in Setaria viridis. Multiplex, bidirectional allele‐specific PCR (Mbi‐PASA) was shown to specifically and reliably detect the presence of all sensitive (Leu136, Thr239) and resistant (Phe136, Ile239) α2‐tubulin alleles in a single reaction. Double‐blind analysis of 2000 S. viridis seedlings using seed bioassay and Mbi‐PASA confirmed that the presence of two mutant α2‐tubulin alleles in a seedling was always associated with cross‐resistance to dinitroaniline and benzoic acid herbicides, sensitivity to a benzamide herbicide, and hypersensitivity to carbamate herbicides. No other resistance mechanism was detected in the S. viridis populations screened. Successful Mbi‐PASA genotyping was achieved with fresh and dried plant fragments from the field. Compared with bioassays, Mbi‐PASA is faster and more robust, removing the need for live plant material. It is the only way of detecting recessive resistance before resistant plants occur in a field. Mbi‐PASA can be performed with basic molecular biology laboratory equipment, and is suitable for high‐throughput genotyping adaptation. It is the tool of choice for resistance diagnosis in such cases where only a few recessive, target‐derived, genes control resistance to herbicides.
Comparison of sampling methodologies for site‐specific management ofAvena sterilis
Authors: BARROSO J , RUIZ D , FERNANDEZ‐QUINTANILLA C , LEGUIZAMON E S , HERNAIZ P , RIBEIRO A , DIAZ B , MAXWELL B D , REW L J
Published: April 2005

The ability to manage weed infestations in a spatially precise manner requires efficient and accurate methods of mapping weed distributions. A study was conducted to compare four different ground‐based methods for collecting georeferenced information on infestations ofAvena sterilisin winter wheat and barley. Sampling was performed at harvest by scoring panicle density, either from the ground or from a combine, by counting the number of panicle contacts with a stick moved horizontally over the crop canopy by an observer walking through the field, and by samplingA. sterilisseed rain on the ground. No significant differences were observed among the populations estimated by the four methods. A partial budget analysis of the in‐season costs and benefits of spraying patches using these methods showed that visual scoring from the combine was the most appropriate method for the creation of weed management maps to be used for patch spraying in the following season. As a large variety of spatial patterns may be found in fields, the recommended sampling method might be field‐specific and optimality should be verified for general use.
Gender Dimensions in the Analysis of Macro‐Poverty Linkages
Authors: Fontana Marzia , Van Der Meulen Rodgers Yana
Published: April 2005

Women and men experience poverty differently. Taking gender inequalities into consideration in the design of CGE models can significantly improve our understanding of the mechanisms through which macroeconomic policies affect poverty. This article reviews current approaches to gender modelling and suggests ways in which CGE models can be further developed to include gender features The ideal combination of such features in a CGE model will vary, depending on the issues analysed, the country context and data availability. At a minimum, a gender‐aware model should incorporate segmentation in labour markets and some representation of the unpaid household economy.
Pro‐Poor Macroeconomic Policies Require Poverty and Social Impact Analysis
Authors: Gomes Rafael , Lawson Max
Published: April 2005

The IMF's PRGF is supposed to provide policy flexibility based on a PSIA of the targets it imposes. In practice, PRGF programmes have failed to incorporate this objective. Increasingly, this is leading to public embarrassment for the Fund such as that which followed revelations about limits on teacher recruitment and retention in Zambia and Honduras. This article argues that the IMF continues to use a rigid economic model that fails to recognise the existence of different macroeconomic policy options. Considerable work is going on outside the IMF on developing techniques for such analysis. Unless the IMF takes more concrete steps to ensure policy flexibility and adopt PSIAs, its commitment to poverty reduction will become rapidly discredited.
Are Export Promotion and Trade Liberalisation Good for Latin America's Poor?
Authors: Ganuza Enrique , Morley Samuel , Piñeiro Valeria , Robinson Sherman , Vos Rob
Published: April 2005

This article reports on a project for 16 Latin American countries, primarily carried out by in‐country teams, that used country‐specific but relatively standard CGE models linked to household microsimulation models to assess the impact of trade liberalisation, exchange‐rate manipulation, capital inflows, and terms‐of‐trade changes on output, employment and poverty. The results indicate that, almost everywhere, liberalization increased output, reduced poverty, and had positive effects on employment or wages. Rising skilled‐unskilled wage gaps in some countries led to increased income inequality. In most countries, alternative liberalization scenarios had similar positive effects. Skill differentials, however, rise in some countries and fall in others, depending on the export structure. Finally, capital inflows were expansionary and reduced poverty.
Learning by Debating
Authors: Wang Shaoguang
Published: April 2005

This essay traces the main lines of debate among economists during the course of China's reform. It first reviews how the market has become legitimated in the country. Then it examines three schools of thought that have emerged from an ongoing debate over the economic role of the state in China's “socialist market economy.” Debates have transformed radically the conceptual frameworks of economists, as well as policymakers, and thereby have exerted enormous influence on the policy process.
United States Policy Toward the Multilateral Development Banks
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W.
Published: April 2005

During its first several decades, the World Bank operated with few constraints on its lending authority. Lending policies reflected primarily the economic and political objectives of Bank management and staff. With the establishment of the International Development Association (IDA) soft loan window 1960 this autonomy began to erode. The funds needed to support the IDA soft loans had to be replenished. This opened the door to greater political pressure on Bank policy by the administration and Congress. Since the mid‐1980s environmental interest groups increasingly have been effective in bringing pressure to bear on World Bank and other MDB policy.
Foreign‐owned Firms' Campaign Contributions in the United States: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Rehbein Kathleen A.
Published: April 2005

This study extends previous empirical work on corporate political activity by examining which foreign‐owned firms provide campaign contributions to United States legislators. While numerous studies have examined which domestic firms make campaign contributions, little is known about the propensity of foreign‐owned firms to make contributions. Using logit and Tobit analyses, the findings suggest that firm size, legislative issues, foreign ownership, and cultural characteristics are important determinants of a foreign‐owned firm's political strategy. The findings also suggest that there are strong parallels between the political strategies of foreign‐owned firms and domestic firms.
Economics and Health‐based Environmental Standards
Authors: Portney Paul R. , Harrington Winston
Published: April 2005

Many federal laws dealing with environment, safety, and health contain language directing that certain kinds of standards be set on the basis of health evidence alone. That is, economic considerations are not to be taken into account in setting these standards. This paper presents arguments in defense of this position and then suggests why these arguments are not convincing. In other words, it makes the case that regulators should strive to balance economic, health, and other considerations for sensible policymaking.

“…wisdom requires balancing the good against the bad to determine whether the overall result is positive or negative.”

Albert Gore, Earth in the Balance (p.188)
Environmental Health Policy in Ukraine After the Chernobyl Accident
Authors: Page G. William , Bobyleva Olga Alexandrovna , Naboka Marina Vasilievna , Shestopalov Viacheslav Mikhailovich
Published: April 2005

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine produced severe environmental health problems. This paper reports on the environmental health conditions in Ukraine after the accident and the health policy approaches employed to respond to the environmental conditions and health problems.

Crisis conditions and a period of rapid change in Ukraine contributed to the difficulties of developing and implementing policy to address serious environmental health problems. Despite these difficulties, Ukraine is taking effective action. The paper describes the primary environmental health problem areas and the efforts taken to solve them. The effect of intense public fear of radiation on policymaking is described. The paper discusses the ability of public fear to distort health policy towards certain problems, leaving problems of greater importance with fewer resources.
Poverty Policy and the Poverty of Policy Toward the Poor
Authors: Mead Lawrence M.
Published: April 2005

Sheldon H. Danziger, Gary D. Sandefur, and Daniel H. Weinberg (Eds.), Confronting Poverty: Prescriptions for Change.

Michael J. Rich, Federal Policymaking and the Poor: National Goals, Local Choices, and Distributional Outcomes.
Liberal Policy Debates and Their Consequences for African Americans
Authors: Menifield Charles E.
Published: April 2005

Marilyn E. Lashley and Melanie Njeri Jackson (Eds.), African Americans and the New Policy Consensus: Retreat of the Liberal State.
Policy Analysis Postmodernized
Authors: Danziger Marie
Published: April 2005

This paper examines the implications of postmodern deconstructive insights for the practice and teaching of policy analysis. A review of recent literature highlights the clashes between rational/positivist and rhetorical/postpositivist perspectives, and concludes that elitist technocratic complexity too often excludes the public from meaningful policy deliberation. The paper closes with concrete recommendations for the academic preparation of more democratic, more rhetorically sophisticated “postmodern” policy analysts.
Longitudinal Evidence of the Changing Socio‐Economic Profile of a State Lottery Market
Authors: Pirog‐Good Maureen , Mikesell John L.
Published: April 2005

This longitudinal study of Indiana lottery expenditures tracks that market from a time when all play was in games offered by other states until the state offered a full portfolio of games. Both the socio‐economic characteristics of players and the nature of their play have changed. Participation doubled when the Indiana games began, and it continues to increase, albeit more slowly. Lottery play is regressive, and has become increasingly regressive over time. An increasing proportion of lottery revenues comes from low‐income players and heavy bettors, although small bets are still the norm. While college graduates play the lottery less than do other individuals, the initial large gap in play rates for these two groups is diminishing as college graduates increase their participation in the lottery. Similarly, women and individuals between the ages of 44 and 65 are continuing to increase their participation in lotteries. Patterns associated with increased regressivity, with increased play among low‐income players, and with higher reliance on heavy bettors, suggest a need for special policy vigilance as the games mature.
Why Protest?
Authors: Lober Douglas J.
Published: April 2005

This study examines both behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of public opposition to the siting of a recycling center using inperson surveys and observed measures of behavior. This is a perfect NIMBY (not‐in‐my‐backyard) case, as the underlying activity is widely supported while the facility to do it is opposed locally. One finding is that attitudes may differ significantly from behavior. Levels of behavioral opposition are not only lower than attitudinal opposition, but they decline more quickly with distance. A second finding is that behavioral opposition is motivated not only by perceived costs from a facility, but also by perceptions of the fairness of the siting process.
The Structure and Context of the Urban Growth Coalition
Authors: Elkins David R.
Published: April 2005

This article examines the perception of local chambers of commerce regarding the urban growth coalition, and compares their observations with those of contemporary urban theorists. The chambers perceive the developmental community as dominated by business groups associated with land‐use intensification and by elected officials. The chambers see manufacturing, retail, and service‐sector firms as part of a less prominent constellation of developmental actors, and perceive virtually no developmental role for neighborhood or environmental groups.
The Seattle Commons
Authors: Iglitzin Lynne B.
Published: April 2005

This study looks in depth at the politics, planning, and policymaking involved in the attempt to create a new “urban village” close to downtown Seattle. Beginning in 1991 with a small group of citizens who shared a vision of a major in‐city park, the Seattle Commons project gradually became transformed, as result of different interests and political agendas, into an urban village with a major park at its core. This study analyzes these competing interests, the public private leadership roles, the process of organization‐building, and the marshaling of opposition that characterized the Commons planning effort during its initial years.
Expert Policy in Juvenile Justice
Authors: Petersen Rebecca D.
Published: April 2005

Policy design and analysis is conducted primarily by professional experts who often use objectively‐defined criteria in the selection of those eligible for a policy and objective measurements to evaluate the effectiveness of a program. Juvenile justice policies, such as Juvenile Intensive Probation Supervision (JIPS), often are developed by experts who aim at correcting individual problems of youths rather than identifying problems with the structures of our society. Policies such as JIPS do not encourage participation of the recipients or of the wider community. In essence, the experts are removing power from already powerless youths and citizens, and thus are placing it in the hands of a few who are viewed as knowing what is best for everyone. As such, policies developed by experts often do not encourage democracy and citizenship. This articles suggests how youths, their families, parents, and communities can and need to become empowered in order for justice and democracy to prevail.
Nontraditional Public Enterprise as Local Economic Development Policy
Authors: Imbroscio David L.
Published: April 2005

Recently, many local governments have explored or implemented economic development policies involving “local public enterprise,” i.e., local‐level public ownership of economic enterprises and other profitmaking productive assets. This policy activity tends to involve enterprises and productive assets not traditionally owned by the local public sector, such as hotels, retail establishments, manufacturing facilities, and sports teams. This emerging but still experimental policy phenomenon is explored systematically below.
Scientific Information, Elite Attitudes, and the Public Debate Over Food Safety
Authors: Maney Ardith , Plutzer Eric
Published: April 2005

Why do consumers often react with alarm to food technologies (such as irradiation, genetic engineering, artificial hormones, and chemical pesticides) that scientists regard as essentially safe? We examine the attitudes toward food safety of three types of elites who serve as providers of scientific information regarding food safety to the United States public. Previous research suggests that journalists are likely to exaggerate risks associated with emerging food technologies, while minimizing risks associated with natural pathogens. This bias is hypothesized to be political in origin. By and large, our sample of newspaper editors was only slightly more concerned than were United States government policymakers and a sample of scientists. The expected pattern of alarm occurs clearly only in the case of irradiation. In addition, modest correlations of ideology to safety assessments were found for all three types of elites.
Toward an Explanation for Public Interest Group Formation and Proliferation
Authors: Nownes Anthony , Neeley Grant
Published: April 2005

Utilizing data from a survey of 60 national public interest group founders, this paper addresses two related questions: (a) What factors explain the (relatively) recent proliferation of public interest groups? (b) What factors determine in which policy areas public interest group activity is most likely? The results of the data analysis suggest that several factors have contributed to group proliferation. Among the most important are law group start‐up costs, the spread of affluence and education, an increase in patron activity, and rapid societal change. The results also suggest that public interest group activity is most likely in issue areas of interest to well‐educated, affluent whites. Ultimately, however, the data suggest there is bound to be a great deal of uncertainty in the public interest group universe. Because group start‐up costs are so low and the entrepreneurial pod is so large and varied, virtually any type of public interest group dealing with any issue could form at any time.
The Sunland Park/Camino Real Partnership
Authors: Rosell Ellen
Published: April 2005

The location and management of landfills is among the many controversial issues confronting many American communities. Greatly increasing the controversy is the issue of interest group politics in the local landfill siting and international waste trading policies. Exploring the historical and political controversies, this study examines landfill politics in a public‐private partnership. The analysis reveals the vulnerability of local public authority and citizen participation in this kind of partnership.
The Unsheltering Sky
Authors: Sims Holly
Published: April 2005

The cooperation of China and India in replacing chemicals that damage the stratospheric ozone layer is critical to the success of the world's first environmental agreement, the Montreal Protocol. China's leaders accepted the agreement more readily than did their Indian counterparts. These divergent responses are attributed to the nature of the policy issue in question, the impact of regime type upon state leaders' environmental policies, and dissimilar linkages between international and domestic actors and forces.
Congress and Back Seat Driving
Authors: Gartzke Erik
Published: April 2005

Few pieces of legislation in the realm of foreign policy decisionmaking have greater potential effect or are more controversial than the War Powers Resolution. The Resolution was intended originally to create greater leverage for Congress over executive use of military force. In this effort, it is widely believed that the Resolution has been ineffective. This paper uses an information theoretic model to examine the War Powers Resolution. Results of the modeling process allow for two general assertions. First, the model suggests that the Resolution is an optimal choice of procedure by the legislature. In other words, the War Powers Resolution is better for Congress than its alternatives. Second, the information theoretic approach used here seems to coincide with an anecdotal history of the war powers debate better than do alternative explanations. Indeed, the analysis helps to explain why war powers legislation was not considered seriously sooner. Though criticism of the War Powers Resolution has its merits, claims for a variety of alternative procedural systems may be open to challenge. Those wishing to establish mechanisms for curtailing executive adventurism abroad may find it more rewarding to focus efforts on the budgeting process or on the reduction of military force structures.
Franchising in Government
Authors: Halachmi Arie
Published: April 2005

In 1995, the federal government started five pilot Franchise Funds (FF), to study their feasibility for improving productivity through the introduction of competition and capitalizing on specialization and economy of size. This paper describes the current approach to the use of FT. It suggests that the relationship between the FF and those that contract them for service resemble what economists call “principal‐agent relations” and what they study as “agency theory.” The paper concludes that the vast research on agency relations may help the development of a theory or a conceptual framework for studying and managing FF and contracts with them.
Ethics and Entrepreneurship
Authors: DeLeon Linda
Published: April 2005

An important criticism of public entrepreneurship has been that Us precepts and practices are not consonant with democratic values. This paper examines the meaning of entrepreneurship as defined in bath the public and private sectors, suggesting that some attributes of entrepreneurs that commonly are deemed undesirable–egotism, selfishness, waywardness, domination, and opportunism–actually are functional for entrepreneurial activity. This is because entrepreneurship plays an essential role in addressing a particular type of policy problems (here called “anarchic”)–those where goals are ambiguous or conflicting and where the means to achieve them are unknown or uncertain. Finally, methods are suggested for encouraging ethical entrepreneurship, whether undertaken in an anarchic setting or within an organizational matrix that is communitarian or bureaucratic.
The Politics and Administration of Privatization
Authors: Daley Dennis
Published: April 2005

Privatization grows out of the theoretic constructs of public choice theory. Through the nurturing efforts of those such as E. S. Savas, privatization has been transplanted from the academic greenhouse to the fields of practical government Against the field of fads–empowerment, total quality management, reengineering, strategic planning, and benchmarking–privatization stands out.

Privatization has endured and spread. To many, privatization restores the dynamic balance of government and individual freedom. To others, privatization, like kudzu (initially a solution to soil erosion in the South), threatens to crowd out all other forms of “public” service delivery.
Access to Health Care Among Three Cohorts of Older Americans Residing in a Rural State
Authors: Mercier Joyce M. , Shelley Mack C.
Published: April 2005

Three cohorts of older Americans are examined to determine how they perceive the likelihood of being able to access health care in the future. A modified Andersen (1968) model provides the framework for the study. A representative sample of 2,404 noninstitutionalized midwestern older persons separated into three age cohorts (60–69, 70–79, and 80+) was used. Predisposing, enabling, and need factors were examined by logistic regression. Significant differences were found between age cohorts, with the perceptions of the oldest‐old and the youngest‐old appearing to be markedly more sensitive than those of the middle‐old. Need factors of health and the respondents' perceptions of help they needed with instrumental activities of daily living, and enabling factors of community size and the barrier imposed by lack of transportation, combined to explain the perceptions of the oldest‐old. For the youngest‐old, the significant variables were bills, gender, barriers imposed by inadequate insurance, lack of transportation, and a perception that physicians charged more than allowed by Medicare. Recommendations are made for health care policy with respect to different age cohorts among the elderly, their families, and the rurality of the population.
Governmental Suasion: Refocusing the Lowi Policy Typology
Authors: Anderson John L.
Published: April 2005

This paper argues that suasion should receive direct attention from political scientists who study public policy. Building on the work of Theodore Lowi and others, it is suggested that understanding politics as the result of the applicability of coercion misses important aspects of governmental activities. Suasion, unlike coercion, brings about certain forms of politics that are unique, quite unlike coercively based policies. Specifically, the author explores the advent of public health to discover how suasive policies affect politics.

Above this race of men stands an immense and tutelary power, which takes upon itself alone to secure their gratifications, and to watch over their fate. That power is absolute, minute, regular, provident and mild.
The Reagan Presidency, Growing Inequality, and the American Dream
Authors: Sloan John W.
Published: April 2005

For reasons that are not entirely clear, indices of inequality in the United States have increased since the 1970s. Evidence indicates that the policies of the Reagan administration were not the original cause of this inequality, but it does suggest that they contributed to that trend. This essay concludes that the political skills of the Reagan presidency, combined with the residual effects of the Democratic party's failure in the late 1970s, meant that Reagan was relatively immune to liberal attacks about growing inequality.