off-topic: curly brackets

[Judith Davidsen jdavidsen@xxxxxxxx]

What do curly brackets mean?

I'm proofing pages right now and find some subheads in curly
brackets. I've seen this in other publications and always
found it unnerving, as though the material within the curls
were asides rather than something the reader is being asked
to zero in on.

Is this just my quirky interpretation or is there a
standard? Should I ask the layout artist to get rid of them?

Thanks for any info. I've tried googling, but the 11,000
results all seem to be about programming.

Judith Davidsen