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We know that policy makers respond more directly to citizen values on morality policy than on nonmorality policy (Haider-Markel and Meier 1996;Mooney and Lee 1995), but how is their response different when morality policy is favored by a clear majority (consensus policy) than when public opinion is more closely divided (contentious policy) (Meier n.d.)? Which values and whose values are responded to under each of these conditions? To address these questions, we conduct an event history analysis on the adoption of two states' death penalty reforms within very different public opinion contexts: the abolition of the death penalty , and its reestablishment in the 11 years after Furman v. Georgia (1972). We find that when public opinion is closely divided on a morality policy issue, policy makers follow its contours closely, to the exclusion of most other influences. But when public opinion is one-sided, political elite ideology has almost exclusive influence on the timing and extent of policy change.Several studies have found that U.S. state policy on morality issues is largely determined by characteristics reflecting a state's values rather than the economic and demographic characteristics that have been long understood to influence nonmorality policy (Haider-Markel and Meier 1996;Mooney and Lee 1995; Mooney n.d.; Norrander and Wilcox n.d.; Smith n.d.). For many people, policies such as those regarding abortion and pornography regulation, gambling, the death penalty, and sex education symbolize the basic moral values affirmed by the state, and because these policies are often nontechnical and highly salient to the pub-

The social learning theory of policy decisionmaking provides clear expectations for the temporal diffusion of policy through the American states (Gray, 1973; Rogers, 1995; Walker, 1969). But the diffusion of morality policy, with its technical simplicity, potential for high salience, and debate over basic moral values, may be driven by nonroutine decisionmaking. We hypothesize that morality policy will diffuse in patterns that depend on the purity of the morality debate surrounding it and the distribution of citizen values regarding it. We identify three distinctive temporal diffusion patterns for state death penalty policies that vary on these characteristics. We conclude that political decisionmaking driving some morality policy diffusion involves less policy learning, and more concern about majority public opinion, than does nonmorality policy.

Monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) activity and free radicals are elevated in certain neurological diseases. Four natural flavonoids, quercitrin, isoquercitrin, rutin, and quercetin, were isolated for the first time from the leaves of Melastoma candidum D. Don. They exhibited an inhibitory effect on MAO-B. These potent flavonoids were purified using bioassay-guided fractionation and were separated by Diaion, Sephadex LH-20, and MCI CHP20P columns. The IC(50) values of the four potent flavonoids, quercitrin, isoquercitrin, rutin, and quercetin on monoamine oxidase were 19.06, 11.64, 3.89, and 10.89 microM and enzyme kinetics analysis revealed apparent inhibition constants (K(i)) of 21.01, 2.72, 1.83, and 7.95 microM, respectively, on the substrate, benzylamine. The four potent compounds also exhibited hydroxyl radical scavenging activity as determined using a spin trapping electron spin resonance method. This suggests that the four flavonoids from M. candidum possess both MAO-B inhibitory and free radical scavenging activities. These important properties may be used for preventing some neurodegenerative diseases in the future.