Lesions as therapy: surgical intervention in Parkinson's disease prior to L-dopa

The study of Parkinson's disease has undergone vast changes across its almost 200 year history. Over this period, research scientists have added dramatic detail to their understanding both of the motor system in general and the etiology of Parkinson's disease specifically. This expanded understanding has been facilitated, particularly, by the work of clinicians with the goal of improving treatments designed to ameliorate its symptoms. This article examines the evolution of one particular clinical approach, the production of lesions to segments of the basal ganglia, from its inception, through its "golden era," disuse, and rebirth.     

Developing Complex Societies in Southeast Asia: Using Archaeological and Historical Evidence

A number of archaeologists are making significant advances in the historical archaeology of Southeast Asia. The papers presented in this issue, and the one that preceded it, provide new insights and exciting directions for future research.     

The health dimension

Recognizing the adverse health consequences of violence against women, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the need for a public health approach to prevention as well as the need for the delivery of care to victims of abuse. The WHO is also aware of the need for intersectoral collaboration to address this complex problem. Domestic violence affects all aspects of women's lives and undermines the basis for sustainable human development while violating women's human rights. The WHO included a section on violence against women in its position paper presented to the Fourth World Conference on Women and has accelerated its activities in this area since the Conference. WHO's work on violence has included a 1996 expert consultation that focused on domestic violence and resulted in recommendations that formed the basis of the WHO's Plan of Action on Violence Against Women. The WHO's work on violence also includes efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation and violence visited upon women during situations of armed conflict. The WHO is developing population-based data, innovative research methods, an inventory and assessment of interventions, policy guidelines, and information and advocacy materials to combat domestic violence. Existing data remain scattered and anecdotal but indicate that domestic violence is a major problem.     

The Effect of Federal Wilderness on County Growth in the Intermountain Western United States

A consistent theme in the debate over federally-owned wilderness areas in the intermountain western United States is that local economies may be adversely affected by such a designation. Yet empirical evidence of this negative effect is rarely offered. This paper finds, for a sample of 250 nonurban counties in the eight states of the intermountain west, no evidence that the existence of federal wilderness is directly or indirectly associated with either population-density or total-employment-density growth between 1980 and 1990. This empirical finding is based on a disequilibrium model of population and employment growth. Furthermore, much of the economic concern over wilderness designation centers on its perceived effect on resource-based industries. Yet, this study finds no empirical evidence that county-level resource-based employment is adversely affected by the existence of federal wilderness.     

Why Do Suburban Offices Cluster?

The clustering of suburban office space in “office parks,” as well as the larger activity nodes of polycentric cities, has been widespread in recent years. The reasons for this clustering are not well understood, as the footloose nature of firms suggests a variety of patterns might evolve. This paper explores three traditional explanations: economies of scale in the supply of space, demands for access, and face-to-face contact needs of firms. Finding that those explanations do not completely explain the clustering pattern, an alternative explanation is considered, the demand for image or prestige.     

A NON-GAUSSIAN TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF RURAL RETAIL BUSINESS COUNTS*

ABSTRACT. Determinants of the number of retail firms serving a rural area have been investigated by drawing on demand threshold analysis to analyze cross-sectional data. The relevance of such studies to an individual community may be limited if it is characterized by differential levels or unique types of economic activity. Alternatively, conducting the analysis using time-series data on an individual community may lead to problems associated with non-normal and nonstationary data. These problems are addressed by formulating a state-space model of time-series count data. The discrete, nonnegative nature of count data is accommodated by using a conjugate prior for the Poisson location parameter. A guide function is used to link the prior to the state vector and Bayes rules are used for updating.     

Resources Versus Results: Comparative Performance of State Highway Systems, 1984–1990

This article compares the relative performance of the U.S. and the 50 state highway systems against resources available, over the period 1984–1990. Data are collected on 13 measures of revenues, expenditures, pavement condition, congestion, bridge condition, and accidents. Statistics are normalized to control the effects of size and inflation. Each state's performance is then graded according to whether the state is making progress, holding steady, or losing ground relative to the national trends. Findings show that the U.S. highway system is in good condition and is continuing to improve: even statistics on congestion are now beginning to show improvement. Against this general improvement six states have been able to maintain or improve their highway systems with considerably less resources per mile than other states. These states are New Mexico, South Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Arkansas. Each of these stales seems to have a combination of geography, traffic, economic structure, and fiscal capability that results in particularly cost-effective highway systems. The findings suggest that simplistic explanations of performance based on location, urban/rural distinctions, weather, climate, or taxes are inadequate; more research is needed to explain the causes of these differences.     

The Late Prehistoric,Protohistoric, and Early Historic periods in Eastern Arabia (ca. 5000–1200 B.C.)

This paper presents an overview of cultural developments in eastern Arabia during the Late Prehistoric, Protohistoric, and Early Historic periods (ca. 5000–1200 B.C.) as defined here. Emphasis is placed on the indigenous lithic industries, ceramics, architecture, burial practices, and subsistence data, while interregional ties and comparative chronology are treated as well. A unified chronological schema for the entire region is proposed which can function alongside local, regional sequences.     

MODIFIED MAHALANOBIS FILTERS FOR GROUPING POTTERY BY CHEMICAL COMPOSITION*

A statistical procedure for grouping pottery in provenance studies by chemical data is presented, which now is routinely in use in our laboratory. It is based on the Mahalanobis filter method and X² -statistics, and can be used for both establishing groups and assigning single sherds to already known groups, thus replacing principal components analysis or cluster analysis and avoiding their problems in grouping pottery. The new method is able to consider correlations, uncertainties of measurement and constant shifts of the data in case of dilution. In particular, considering dilution effects results in both a better assignment to and separation of reference groups and is also equivalent to the compositional data approach, if log-transformed data are used. Other distortions of data (e.g., mixing of clays) can also be considered.     

A GROUND RADAR SURVEY OF MEDIEVAL KILN SITES IN SUZU CITY,WESTERN JAPAN*

A ground-penetrating radar study of medieval kiln sites located near Suzu city, on the Noto peninsula, was conducted prior to excavation. Archaeological site plans estimated from time slices of the closely-spaced parallel radar profiles are compared with excavations and a proton magnetometer survey. The results indicate that non-destructive remote sensing with radar can help to determine effectively the presence and general structural features of intact kiln floors.