Breaking in a new function for casein kinase 2

DNA damage response mechanisms help ensure the fidelity of chromosomal transmission, and the failure of such mechanisms might lead to premature aging and cancer. A new report has established that casein kinase 2 (CK2), a protein that functions in diverse cellular processes, controls the activity of the DNA repair protein XRCC1. These results indicate that CK2 is a key participant in the cellular response to DNA damage.     

Commodity price stabilization models: A review and appraisal

This paper is designed to bring into focus the numerous modeling attempts to analyze commodity price stabilization that have recently appeared. The studies examined begin with the Waugh-Oi-Massell framework and advance to econometric commodity modeling. Such a critique is considered necessary: None of the studies examined has overcome the myriad of problems that analysts have pointed out as essential for assessing the welfare outcomes of price stabilization schemes. As a consequence, stabilization analyses for similar commodities have produced conflicting results regarding predicted welfare outcome. The present appraisal attempts to provide a unity of direction to this work by (1) comparing recieved studies of a theoretical, empirical, and econometric modeling nature, and (2) suggesting possibilities for improving modeling analyses.     

The Association between Child Abuse and Attempted Suicide

Summary A recent survey by the authors has demonstrated that attemptedsuicide is common in parents, particularly mothers, who abusetheir children. However, the nature of the association betweenchild abuse and attempted suicide is complicated. Here somepossible types of association are suggested. In management ofchild abuse, special note should be taken of a history of attemptedsuicide in the parents because, in some cases, it suggests apoor prognosis. Similarly, young children of parents who attemptsuicide should be assessed in case they are at risk of abuse.     

Presidential Coattails in 1972

Because Richard Nixon's overwhelming victory in the 1972 presidentialelection was not accompanied by any significant increase inRepublican representation in Congress, it has been assumed thathis coattails were exceedingly short. However, analysis of severalkinds of evidence suggests that such an assumption is prematureand that Nixon's pulling power has been underestimated. An explanationof the failure of Republican gains to materialize as congressionalseats may be found in the competitive disadvantages sufferedby Republicans in a period of increasingly safe seats.     

The goal-oriented approach to evaluation: Critique and case study from drug abuse treatment

The specification and measurement of program goals remains central to most evaluation research strategies, yet procedures for implementing this approach are not well-articulated. It is the purpose of this discussion to describe a stepwise procedure for programmatic goal setting and monitoring used in a demonstration drug treatment program for women. Three implementation steps are described: (a) goal setting, (b) checking for consistency, (c) monitoring and feedback. The advantages and limitations of this approach are discussed and useful complementary measurement strategies are suggested.     

WOLVES, CHIMPS AND DEMSETZ

Harold Demsetz has argued that when an externality can be internalized through the existence of property rights such that societal benefits exceed costs, property rights will emerge. This paper shows that property rights exist in some animal systems with respect to specific pieces of property and for reasons similar to those postulated by Demsetz. Two cases are considered: wolves, where the property right is in land; and chimpanzees, where the property right exists for meat. The external costs or benefits that produce the property rights are examined and comparisons are drawn with situations in which no externalities exist and no property rights emerge.     

Evaluating the administrative efficiency of courts

In addition to being held accountable for judicial decision, courts, like other public agencies, can and should be evaluated in terms of their administrative efficiency. This paper illustrates how courts can be evaluated in terms of their relative administrative efficiency, using a new approach—data envelopment analysis (DEA)—first proposed by Charnes et al. [1]. The DEA is based upon the economic notion of Pareto optimality which states that a given decision making unit (DMU) is inefficient if some other DMU, or some combination of other DMUs, can produce at least the same amounts of all outputs with less of some resource input and not more of any other resource. Conversely a DMU is said to be efficient if the above is not possible. Charnes et al. [1] generalized the usual input/output ratio measure of efficiency for a given unit in terms of a fractional linear program with fractional constraints. In the case of courts, the efficiency of any particular court is calculated by forming the ratio of a weighted sum of outputs to a weighted sum of inputs, where the weights for both outputs and inputs are to be selected in a manner that calculates the Pareto-Koopmans efficiency of the court. This paper reviews the DEA method and illustrates its application to a data base for 100 criminal superior courts in North Carolina.