bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PKCαβγ- and PKCδ-dependent endocytosis of NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B in salivary parotid acinar cells
Authors: Perry Clint , Baker Olga J. , Reyland Mary E. , Grichtchenko Irina I.
Published: September 2009

We examined membrane trafficking of NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B variants of the electrogenic Na+-HCO3−cotransporter (NBCe1) encoded by the SLC4A4 gene, using confocal fluorescent microscopy in rat parotid acinar cells (ParC5 and ParC10). We showed that yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged NBCe1-A and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged NBCe1-B are colocalized with E-cadherin in the basolateral membrane (BLM) but not with the apical membrane marker zona occludens 1 (ZO-1). We inhibited constitutive recycling with monensin and W13 and detected that NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B accumulated in vesicles marked with the early endosomal marker early endosome antigen-1 (EEA1), with a parallel loss from the BLM. We observed that NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B undergo massive carbachol (CCh)-stimulated redistribution from the BLM into early endosomes. We showed that internalization of NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B was prevented by the general PKC inhibitor GF-109203X, the PKCαβγ-specific inhibitor Gö-6976, and the PKCδ-specific inhibitor rottlerin. We verified the involvement of PKCδ by blocking CCh-induced internalization of NBCe1-A-cyan fluorescent protein (CFP) in cells transfected with dominant-negative kinase-dead (Lys376Arg) PKCδ-GFP. Our data suggest that NBCe1-A and NBCe1-B undergo constitutive and CCh-stimulated endocytosis regulated by conventional PKCs (PKCαβγ) and by novel PKCδ in rat epithelial cells. To help develop a more complete model of the role of NBCe1 in parotid acinar cells we also investigated the initial phase of the secretory response to cholinergic agonist. In an Ussing chamber study we showed that inhibition of basolateral NBCe1 with 5-chloro-2,3-dihydro-3-(hydroxy-2-thienylmethylene)-2-oxo-1 H-indole-1-carboxamide (tenidap) significantly decreases an initial phase of luminal anion secretion measured as a transient short-circuit current ( Isc) across ParC10 cell monolayers. Using trafficking and functional data we propose a model that describes a physiological role of NBC in salivary acinar cell secretion.
Angiotensin II effects on ischemic focal ventricular tachycardia are predominantly mediated through myocardial AT2 receptor
Authors: Gopinathannair Rakesh , Chaudhary Ashok K. , Xing Dezhi , Ely Debra , Zheng Wei , Martins James B.
Published: September 2009

Ischemic focal ventricular tachycardia (VT) occurs in animals and humans. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and receptor blockers reduce sudden death in patients with ischemic heart disease. In our dog model of coronary artery occlusion (CAO), we tested the hypothesis that angiotensin II (AGII) will selectively promote focal VT and that the specific AT2 blocker PD-123319 (PD), or AT1 blocker losartan, will affect this VT. Anesthetized dogs ( n = 90) underwent CAO, followed by three-dimensional activation mapping of inducible VT. Dogs without VT in 1–3 h after CAO received AGII, and those with VT received either PD or losartan. Focal endocardium excised from ischemic sites was studied in vitro with standard microelectrode. Of 33 dogs with no inducible VT, AGII infusion resulted in sustained VT of only focal Purkinje origin in 13 (39%) compared with 0 of 20 dogs with saline. Of 26 dogs with inducible VT at baseline, given PD, reinduction was blocked in 8 of 10 ( P < 0.05) focal VT, but only 1 of 15 with reentry. In contrast, of 11 dogs given losartan, reinduction of either mechanism was not blocked. In vitro triggered activity in Purkinje was blocked by PD in 13 of 19 ( P < 0.05), but not by losartan in 8. Also, triggered activity was promoted by AGII, losartan, or the combination in 9 of 12 tissues. AGII promotes only focal, mainly Purkinje ischemic VT. PD, but not losartan, preferentially blocked focal VT, which is likely due to triggered activity due to delayed afterdepolarizations in Purkinje.
Structural adaptation of microvessel diameters in response to metabolic stimuli: where are the oxygen sensors?
Authors: Reglin Bettina , Secomb Timothy W. , Pries Axel R.
Published: September 2009

Maintenance of functional vascular networks requires structural adaptation of vessel diameters in response to hemodynamic and metabolic conditions. The mechanisms by which diameters respond to the metabolic state are not known, but may involve the release of vasoactive substances in response to low oxygen by tissue (“tissue signaling”, e.g., CO2, adenosine), by vessel walls (“wall signaling”, e.g., prostaglandins, adenosine), and/or by red blood cells (RBCs) (“RBC signaling”, e.g., ATP and nitric oxide). Here, the goal was to test the potential of each of these locations of oxygen-dependent signaling to control steady-state vascular diameters and tissue oxygenation. A previously developed theoretical model of structural diameter adaptation based on experimental data on microvascular network morphology and hemodynamics was used. Resulting network characteristics were analyzed with regard to tissue oxygenation (Oxdef; percentage of tissue volume with Po2< 1 Torr) and the difference between estimated blood flow velocities and corresponding experimental data [velocity error ( Verr); root mean square deviation of estimated vs. measured velocity]. Wall signaling led to Oxdef < 1% and to the closest hemodynamic similarity ( Verr: 0.60). Tissue signaling also resulted in a low oxygen deficit, but a higher Verr(0.73) and systematic diameter deviations. RBC signaling led to widespread hypoxia (Oxdef: 4.7%), unrealistic velocity distributions ( Verr: 0.81), and shrinkage of small vessels. The results suggest that wall signaling plays a central role in structural control of vessel diameters in microvascular networks of given angioarchitecture. Tissue-derived and RBC-derived signaling of oxygen levels may be more relevant for the regulation of angiogenesis and/or smooth muscle tone.
Additive beneficial effects of lactotripeptides and aerobic exercise on arterial compliance in postmenopausal women
Authors: Yoshizawa Mutsuko , Maeda Seiji , Miyaki Asako , Misono Maiko , Choi Youngju , Shimojo Nobutake , Ajisaka Ryuichi , Tanaka Hirofumi
Published: September 2009

Central arterial compliance plays an important role in the functional abilities of the vasculature. Two active tripeptides, valine-proline-proline and isoleucine-proline-proline, were isolated from sour milk and were referred to as lactotripeptides (LTP). Because LTP appears to act as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, it is plausible to hypothesize that LTP improves arterial compliance. We determined the effects of LTP ingestion alone or in combination with regular aerobic exercise on arterial compliance. A total of 55 postmenopausal women (50–65 yr old) were randomly divided into four groups: placebo, LTP, exercise and placebo (Ex + placebo), or exercise and LTP (Ex + LTP). LTP or placebo was administered orally for 8 wk. The exercise groups completed an 8-wk moderate aerobic exercise intervention. There were no differences in baseline arterial compliance and most other key dependent variables among the groups. Carotid arterial compliance increased significantly in the LTP (0.93 ± 0.07 vs. 0.99 ± 0.08 mm2/mmHg·10−1), Ex + placebo (0.92 ± 0.04 vs. 1.00 ± 0.05 mm2/mmHg·10−1), and Ex + LTP groups (0.86 ± 0.06 vs. 1.00 ± 0.06 mm2/mmHg·10−1), whereas no such changes were observed in the placebo control group (0.86 ± 0.06 vs. 0.85 ± 0.07 mm2/mmHg·10−1). The magnitude of increases in carotid arterial compliance was significantly greater in the Ex + LTP group (19 ± 4%) than in other groups. The improvements in arterial compliance with LTP were associated with the corresponding reductions in arterial blood pressure and plasma angiotensin II concentrations. We concluded that LTP ingestion improves carotid arterial compliance and that the combination of LTP ingestion and regular exercise is additive and synergistic in improving arterial compliance in postmenopausal women.
Hypersensitivity of excitation-contraction coupling in dystrophic cardiomyocytes
Authors: Ullrich Nina D. , Fanchaouy Mohammed , Gusev Konstantin , Shirokova Natalia , Niggli Ernst
Published: September 2009

Duchenne muscular dystrophy represents a severe inherited disease of striated muscle. It is caused by a mutation of the dystrophin gene and characterized by a progressive loss of skeletal muscle function. Most patients also develop a dystrophic cardiomyopathy, resulting in dilated hypertrophy and heart failure, but the cellular mechanisms leading to the deterioration of cardiac function remain elusive. In the present study, we tested whether defective excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling contributes to impaired cardiac performance. “E-C coupling gain” was determined in cardiomyocytes from control and dystrophin-deficient mdx mice. To this end, L-type Ca2+currents ( ICaL) were measured with the whole cell patch-clamp technique, whereas Ca2+transients were simultaneously recorded with confocal imaging of fluo-3. Initial findings indicated subtle changes of E-C coupling in mdx cells despite matched Ca2+loading of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). However, lowering the extracellular Ca2+concentration, a maneuver used to unmask latent E-C coupling problems, was surprisingly much better tolerated by mdx myocytes, suggesting a hypersensitive E-C coupling mechanism. Challenging the SR Ca2+release by slow elevations of the intracellular Ca2+concentration resulted in Ca2+oscillations after a much shorter delay in mdx cells. This is consistent with an enhanced Ca2+sensitivity of the SR Ca2+-release channels [ryanodine receptors (RyRs)]. The hypersensitivity could be normalized by the introduction of reducing agents, indicating that the elevated cellular ROS generation in dystrophy underlies the abnormal RyR sensitivity and hypersensitive E-C coupling. Our data suggest that in dystrophin-deficient cardiomyocytes, E-C coupling is altered due to potentially arrhythmogenic changes in the Ca2+sensitivity of redox-modified RyRs.
Differential regulation of vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo by cAMP/PKA-activated p85αPI3K
Authors: Torella Daniele , Gasparri Cosimo , Ellison Georgina M. , Curcio Antonio , Leone Angelo , Vicinanza Carla , Galuppo Valentina , Mendicino Isabella , Sacco Walter , Aquila Iolanda , Surace Francesca Chiara , Luposella Maria , Stillo Gilda , Agosti Valter , Cosentino Claudia , Avvedimento Enrico V. , Indolfi Ciro
Published: September 2009

cAMP inhibits proliferation in most cell types, triggering different and sometimes opposing molecular pathways. p85α (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase regulatory subunit) is phosphorylated by cAMP/PKA in certain cell lineages, but its effects on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) are unknown. In the present study, we evaluated 1) the role of p85α in the integration of cAMP/PKA-dependent signaling on the regulation of VSMC and EC growth in vitro; and 2) the effects of PKA-modified p85α on neointimal hyperplasia and endothelial healing after balloon injury in vivo. Plasmid constructs carrying wild-type and PKA-modified p85α were employed in VSMCs and ECs in vitro and after balloon injury in rat carotid arteries in vivo. cAMP/PKA reduced VSMC proliferation through p85α phosphorylation. Transfected PKA-activated p85α binds p21ras, reducing ERK1/2 activation and VSMC proliferation in vitro. In contrast, EC proliferation inhibition by cAMP is independent from PKA modification of p85α and ERK1/2 inhibition; indeed, PKA-activated p85α did not inhibit per se ERK1/2 activation and proliferation in ECs in vitro. Interestingly, cAMP reduced both VSMC and EC apoptotic death through p85α phosphorylation. Accordingly, PKA-activated p85α triggered Akt activation, reducing both VSMC and EC apoptosis in vitro. Finally, compared with controls, vascular gene transfer of PKA-activated p85α significantly reduced neointimal formation after balloon injury in rats, without inhibiting endothelial regeneration of the injured arterial segment. In conclusions, PKA-activated p85α integrates cAMP/PKA signaling differently in VSMCs and ECs. By reducing neointimal hyperplasia without inhibiting endothelial regeneration, it exerts a protective effect against restenosis after balloon injury.
Developmental regulation of cardiovascular function is dependent on both genotype and environment
Authors: Knight Brian S. , Sunn Nana , Pennell Craig E. , Adamson S. Lee , Lye Stephen J.
Published: September 2009

Adverse developmental environments can increase the risk of adult cardiovascular disease, but not all individuals are affected, suggesting the importance of genotype. Genetically distinct mouse strains allow the genetic dissection of complex traits; however, they have not been used to evaluate the developmental origins of adult cardiovascular disease. Our objective was to determine the effect of prenatal nutrient restriction (R) on adult cardiovascular function in A/J (AJ) and C57BL/6J (B6) mice and whether a postnatal high-fat (HF) diet exacerbates these effects. Pregnant AJ and B6 mice underwent a 30% R or ad libitum diet, and their offspring underwent a HF or control diet. Hypertension (+17 mmHg; P < 0.001) was observed in B6R mice at 9 wk, and their arterial pressure tended to remain high at 25 wk (+13 mmHg; not significant). In AJR mice, the normal decrement in arterial pressure over this age range in this strain was abolished. Heart rate prematurely increased in B6R and decreased in AJR (all; P < 0.05) mice from 9 to 25 wk. There was no effect of postnatal HF diet on these relationships. The Tei index (from a 26-wk microultrasound) was increased in both AJR and B6R mice (all; P < 0.05), suggesting an improved global myocardial performance. Neither R nor HF alone changed diastolic (ratio of E wave to A wave) or systolic (%fractional shortening) function in either strain; however, R and HE combined improved diastolic function in B6 ( P < 0.05) but not in AJ mice. Therefore, there are strain-dependent alterations in adult cardiovascular function in response to prenatal nutrient restriction. Unexpectedly, a postnatal HF diet did not exacerbate the effects of prenatal nutrient restriction on postnatal cardiovascular outcomes.
Microbial exposure early in life regulates airway inflammation in mice after infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae with enhancement of local resistance
Authors: Yasuda Yasuki , Matsumura Yoko , Kasahara Kazuki , Ouji Noriko , Sugiura Shigeki , Mikasa Keiichi , Kita Eiji
Published: September 2009

The immunological explanation for the “hygiene hypothesis” has been proposed to be induction of T helper 1 (Th1) responses by microbial products. However, the protective results of hygiene hypothesis-linked microbial exposures are currently shown to be unlikely to result from a Th1-skewed response. Until now, effect of microbial exposure early in life on airway innate resistance remained unclear. We examined the role of early life exposure to microbes in airway innate resistance to a respiratory pathogen. Specific pathogen-free weanling mice were nasally exposed to the mixture of microbial extracts or PBS (control) every other day for 28 days and intratracheally infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae 10 days after the last exposure. Exposure to microbial extracts facilitated colonization of aerobic gram-positive bacteria, anaerobic microorganisms, and Lactobacillus in the airway, compared with control exposure. In pneumococcal pneumonia, the exposure prolonged mouse survival days by suppressing bacterial growth and by retarding pneumococcal blood invasion, despite significantly low levels of leukocyte recruitment in the lung. Enhancement of airway resistance was associated with a significant decrease in production of leukocyte chemokine (KC) and TNFα, and suppression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9) expression/activation with enhancement of tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP-3) activation. The exposure increased production of IFN-γ, IL-4, and monocyte chemoattractant-1 following infection. Furthermore, expression of Toll-like receptor 2, 4, and 9 was promoted by the exposure but no longer upregulated upon pneumococcal infection. Thus, we suggest that hygiene hypothesis is more important in regulating the PMN-dominant inflammatory response than in inducing a Th1-dominant response.
Regulation of Na+/H+exchanger NHE3 by glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist exendin-4 in renal proximal tubule cells
Authors: Carraro-Lacroix Luciene R. , Malnic Gerhard , Girardi Adriana C. C.
Published: September 2009

The gut incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is released in response to ingested nutrients and enhances insulin secretion. In addition to its insulinotropic properties, GLP-1 has been shown to have natriuretic actions paralleled by a diminished proton secretion. We therefore studied the role of the GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin-4 in modulating the activity of Na+/H+exchanger NHE3 in LLC-PK1cells. We found that NHE3-mediated Na+-dependent intracellular pH (pHi) recovery decreased ∼50% after 30-min treatment with 1 nM exendin-4. Pharmacological inhibitors and cAMP analogs that selectively activate protein kinase A (PKA) or the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (EPAC) demonstrated that regulation of NHE3 activity by exendin-4 requires activation of both cAMP downstream effectors. This conclusion was based on the following observations: 1) the PKA antagonist H-89 completely prevented the effect of the PKA activator but only partially blocked the exendin-4-induced NHE3 inhibition; 2) the MEK1/2 inhibitor U-0126 abolished the effect of the EPAC activator but only diminished the exendin-4-induced NHE3 inhibition; 3) combination of H-89 and U-0126 fully prevented the effect of exendin-4 on NHE3; 4) no additive effect in the inhibition of NHE3 activity was observed when exendin-4, PKA, and EPAC activators were used together. Mechanistically, the inhibitory effect of exendin-4 on pHirecovery was associated with an increase of NHE3 phosphorylation. Conversely, this inhibition took place without changes in the surface expression of the transporter. We conclude that GLP-1 receptor agonists modulate sodium homeostasis in the kidney, most likely by affecting NHE3 activity.
Floquet's Unit Cell Design for Periodic Structures at Optical Frequencies
Authors: Massaro Alessandro , Cingolani Roberto , Passaseo Adriana , De Vittorio Massimo
Published: September 2009

We present a new theoretical approach regarding the design of 2D periodic structure at optical frequencies. The model is based on Floquet's theory and on the variational equivalent circuit. The distributed circuit model is developed through the use of the microwave network theory and the optical theory of the step discontinuities. This approach analyzes 2D dielectric periodic structures with high dielectric contrast by the transmission line model including variational equivalent circuits. The 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) model validates Floquet's design theory of the grating resonance and provides the design optimization of an optical GaAs periodic waveguide.
Influence of Portosystemic Shunt on Liver Regeneration after Hepatic Resection in Pigs
Authors: Ladurner R. , Schenk M. , Margreiter R. , Offner F. , Königsrainer A.
Published: September 2009

Objective. The minimal amount of liver mass necessary for regeneration is still a matter of debate. The aim of the study was to analyze liver regeneration factors after extended resection with or without portosystemic shunt. Methods. An extended left hemihepatectomy was performed in 25 domestic pigs, in 15 cases after a portosystemic H-shunt. The expression of Ki-67, VEGF, TGF-, FGF, and CK-7 was analyzed in paraffin-embedded tissue sections.
Results. The volume of the remnant liver increased about 2.5-fold at the end of the first week after resection. With 19 cells/10 Glisson fields versus 4/10, Ki-67-expression was significantly higher in the H-shunt group. VEGF- and CK-7-expressions were significantly higher in the control group. No significant change was found in FGF-expression. The expression of TGF- was higher, but not significantly, in the control group. Conclusions. The expression of Ki-67, and therefore hepatocyte regeneration, was increased in the shunt group. The expression of CK-7 on biliary epithelium and the expression of VEGF, however, were stronger in the control group.
Influence of Social and Community Capital on Student Achievement in a Large Urban School District
Authors: Porfeli Erik , Wang Chuang , Audette Robert , McColl Ann , Algozzine Bob
Published: September 2009

Education professionals and policy makers have been working to “close the achievement gap” for some time. Differences in school performance for children from diverse and different family backgrounds have been at the core of past and present social, political, and education reform initiatives and practices. Previous research suggests that student characteristics and social capital (i.e., supportive aspects of social structures and people) predict academic achievement. In the present study, we examined the impact of school demographics, including distributions of exceptional children, and community capital (i.e., financial, human, and social capital in a family) on educational achievement as an opportunity to reframe the perspective on blame and explore the benefits of intentional diversity and integration on the educational advancement for all children. One result showed that community capital was a strong predictor of academic outcomes. We also found that the concentrations of students with academic gifts, behavior problems, or mental retardation and interesting interactions among these variables had differing impacts on academic achievement at the school level.
Considering context in discursive leadership research
Authors: Fairhurst Gail T.
Published: September 2009

In addition to leadership psychology, there is another journey to understand the context of leadership that takes as its starting point the linguistic turn in the social and the organizational sciences. Those impacted by the linguistic turn are broadly social constructionist, discursive, and more qualitative than mainstream leadership scholars. In varying degrees, these scholars view context as multi-layered, co-created, contestable, and locally achieved. This article explores a constellation of perspectives united by these themes, introduces the qualitative special issue articles, and suggests directions for future research on the context of leadership.
Bi-cellular Foam Structure of Polystyrene from Extrusion Foaming Process
Authors: Lee Kyung-Min , Lee Eung K. , Kim Seong G. , Park Chul B. , Naguib H.E.
Published: September 2009

This article investigates the foaming process of bi-cellular polystyrene foams blown with n-butane and water in extrusion. The bi-cellular foam structure has two types of cells: large cells ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 mm and small cells ranging in size from about 5% to about 50% of the average large cell size, which constitute more than 90% of the total cell volume. A bi-cellular structure has outstanding heat insulation property. In order to generate a bi-cellular structure, a water-blowing technology was used. This technique is environmentally benign and economical since butane and water are used as blowing agents. Despite these advantages, the foaming process and mechanism of bi-cellular foams have not been identified in detail. Therefore, in this article, an attempt has been made to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the foaming behavior of bi-cellular polystyrene foam. The effects of n-butane, water, and silica (a nucleating agent) on the foam cell morphology are presented.
Governments, Partisanship, and Foreign Policy: The Case of Dispute Duration
Authors: Koch Michael T.
Published: September 2009

Do variations in partisanship and political outcomes among democratic states affect the duration of militarized interstate disputes? To answer this question, the author develops a model of partisan competition derived from the government failure literature. The author argues factors associated with government failure determine the ability of governments to contend with the domestic political costs of militarized disputes, specifically the duration of those disputes. The author tests his expectations using hazard analysis on a dataset of 20 democratic governments and militarized disputes between 1945 and 1992. The results suggest the outcome of party competition in the form of a government’s sensitivity to the potential political costs of conflict is an important part of the conflict process. The author concludes that differences in domestic political outcomes influence the duration of militarized interstate disputes. Governments that are politically more secure in their tenure engage in longer disputes. Alternatively, governments that are more vulnerable have significantly shorter disputes. In addition, because government partisanship contributes to vulnerability, it also affects dispute duration, with governments of the left engaging in shorter disputes, while governments of the right fight longer disputes.
New Public Management and District Reform
Authors: Maxcy Brendan
Published: September 2009

Examining work and community relations in one Texas school district, this study explores intensifying managerialism under performance accountability (PA) pressures. Reports, press releases, and media accounts are combined with ethnographic study from one elementary school to explore the enactment of school district reforms. Locating PA within a broader public sector reform approach termed New Public Management (NPM), the article looks at the influence of accountability relations informed by these logics on work and community relations. In contrast to rhetorical promises of improved responsiveness to client concerns, the findings suggest more centralized decision making and control as district administrators respond to state targets. Implications for reform logics that invoke and reinforce an antidemocratic managerialism are discussed in light managerial practice that deflect community activism and discipline teacher work.
Facing the Rising Sun
Authors: Frederick Rona M. , View Jenice L.
Published: September 2009

Over 50 years after the monumental decision of Brown v. Board of Education, many U.S. schools remain separate and unequal. This includes schools in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The article discusses how in the two centuries of public education in Washington, D.C., Black educators used a variety of subversive tactics to educate their children. This article chronicles critical milestones in educational policy that affected Black educators working in segregated, all-Black schools in Washington, D.C. The authors demonstrate that, in the face of the oppressive sociopolitical conditions and racist policies, Black educators continued to serve in their own interests by fostering liberatory spaces for their children.
Choosing to Teach in Urban Schools Among Graduates of Elite Colleges
Authors: Tamir Eran
Published: September 2009

According to the research literature, there are three reasons that draw teachers into teaching: (1) gender-related reasons, (2) altruistic reasons, and (3) monetary rewards and job flexibility. Based on data from three teacher preparation programs, this article argues that teachers who were trained at elite colleges and who chose teaching in urban schools rarely referred to any of the three reasons. Instead, these teachers tend to (a) conceptualize teaching around issues of social justice and social change, arguing they joined teaching to improve society, and (b) seek leadership positions in urban education. Using Bourdieu’s concepts of field and capital, these arguments are theorized and hypotheses for further research are developed.
Rewriting “the Road to Nowhere”
Authors: Gannon Susanne
Published: September 2009

Negative representations of parts of our cities are endemic in the Australian media, where certain suburbs function as motifs for failure—past, present, and future. Indeed, as one journalist put it after invoking the “interchangeable” triumvirate of Sydney’s Mount Druitt, Melbourne’s West Heidelberg, and Brisbane’s Inala, “geography is destiny” (Wynhausen, 2006). This article critiques the discourses at play in the media and explores the possibilities and limitations of a pilot project wherein an urban place-based pedagogy is taken up as a mode of critical response as high school students begin to document in text and images what they love about “Our place.” Further possibilities for engaging critically with place are explored in the concluding section of the article.
Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship’s Possibility
Authors: Bryan Bradley
Published: September 2009

The essay sheds light on Aristotle’s understanding of friendship and its relation to political life.The author challenges the usual view that Aristotle postulates three distinct kinds of friendship. Instead the author argues that Aristotle understood there to be only one kind of friendship, and that other “friendships” were to Aristotle “unfinished” and thus not friendship at all. Aristotle shows that the relation between friendship and politics is grounded in friendship’s possibility for human beings, and not as something cherished for its actuality. By looking at proper friendship as possibility and not actuality, we could only ever interpret the infamous statement attributed to Aristotle—“my friends, there are no friends”—not as illuminating of what friendship is but rather as a nostalgic diagnosis of the decay of the possibility of friendship, and hence of politics. By extension, and more poignantly, interpreting Aristotle’s work on friendship in this light, we stand ready to reinterpret the mobilization of Aristotelian friendship for contemporary understandings of democratic practice.
John Stuart Mill on Colonies
Authors: Bell Duncan
Published: September 2009

Recent scholarship on John Stuart Mill has illuminated his arguments about the normative legitimacy of imperial rule. However, it has tended to ignore or downplay his extensive writings on settler colonialism: the attempt to create permanent “civilized” communities, mainly in North America and the South Pacific. Mill defended colonization throughout his life, although his arguments about its character and justification shifted over time. While initially he regarded it as a solution to the “social problem” in Britain, he increasingly came to argue that its legitimacy resided in the universal benefits—civilization, peace, and prosperity—it generated for humanity. In the final years of his life Mill seemed to lose faith in the project. Finally recognizing the prevalence of colonial violence and the difficulty of realizing his grand ambitions, yet refusing to give up on colonization altogether, his colonial romance gave way to a form of melancholia.
Religion and the Case Against Ancient Liberty: Benjamin Constant’s Other Lectures
Authors: Garsten Bryan
Published: September 2009

Benjamin Constant’s famous lecture comparing ancient and modern liberty can be better understood if it is read alongside a set of unpublished lectures on ancient religion that he delivered one year earlier. Those lectures suggest that Constant’s commitment to modern liberty was based in part on his deep anxieties about religious freedom, and that he valued religious freedom because he thought the “religious sentiment” was an important manifestation of a natural human capacity for self-development. In putting religion and self-development at the heart of his vision, he tried to show that modern liberty could have a positive moral or spiritual purpose beyond merely assuring people freedom from interference in the pursuit of their interests.
Unpolitical Democracy
Authors: Urbinati Nadia
Published: September 2009

This paper analyzes critically the appeal the unpolitical is enjoying among contemporary political philosophers who are democracy's friends. Unlike a radical critique of democracy, what I propose to call “criticism from within,” takes the form of dissatisfaction with the erosion of an independent mind and impartial judgment per effect of the partisan character of democratic politics. This paper proposes three main criticisms of the actual trend toward unpolitical views of democracy: the first points to the strategic use of deliberation as an antidote against democratic procedures themselves (like voting and majority rule); the second to the negative conception of democracy that the unpolitical aspiration makes visible; and the third to the dissolution of political judgment within a model of judgment that is tailored around justice.
Chronic Violent Patients in an Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital
Authors: Lussier Patrick , Verdun-Jones Simon , Deslauriers-Varin Nadine , Nicholls Tonia , Brink Johann
Published: September 2009

This study examines the prevalence and the individual characteristics of chronically violent patients (CVPs) in a psychiatric hospital during inpatient treatment. The study is based on a 1-year follow-up investigation of all violent episodes committed by a sample of 527 patients in a forensic psychiatric hospital in British Columbia, Canada. Sociodemographic, legal and criminological, historical, and clinical factors were analyzed using a risk assessment scheme. Approximately 10% of the sample was responsible for more than 60% for all violent episodes recorded during the study period. Those CVPs were characterized by historical, but mostly clinical, risk factors. Moderate to good predictive accuracy was achieved when defining CVPs as individuals who perpetrated 15 or more violent episodes. Important limitations of the actuarial approach were also highlighted by the presence of two qualitatively different groups of CVPs. The results are discussed in light of the scientific literature on the risk management of inpatient violence.
Composite disturbance-observer-based control and variable structure control for non-linear systems with disturbances
Authors: Wei Xinjiang , Zhang Huifeng , Guo Lei
Published: September 2009

A novel type of control scheme combining the disturbance-observer-based control (DOBC) with variable structure control (VSC) is proposed for a class of continuous non-linear systems subject to disturbances. The disturbances are supposed to include two parts. One in the input channel is generated by an exogenous system with uncertainty, which can represent the harmonic signals with modelling perturbations. The other is supposed to have the bounded H2 norm. The disturbance observers based on regional pole placement and D-stability theory are presented, which can be designed separately from the controller design. By integrating DOBC with VSC laws, the disturbances can be rejected and the desired dynamic performances can be guaranteed for continuous systems in finite time with known and unknown non-linear dynamics, respectively. Simulations for a flight control system are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the results and compare the proposed results with the previous schemes.
Social Vigilantism: Measuring Individual Differences in Belief Superiority and Resistance to Persuasion
Authors: Saucier Donald A. , Webster Russell J.
Published: September 2009

Social vigilantism (SV) is an enduring individual difference that assesses the tendency of individuals to impress and propagate their “superior” beliefs onto others to correct others’ more “ignorant” opinions. After establishing a reliable measure of SV, three studies showed that SV was associated with greater expressions of belief superiority (whether reacting to others holding dissimilar or similar beliefs) and greater resistance to persuasion (via increased rates of counterarguing and greater attitude stability after persuasion appeals) even after controlling for relevant individual differences (narcissism, dogmatism, psychological reactance, and need for cognition), as well as attitude importance and extremity. Thus, SV predicts expressions of belief superiority and resistance to persuasion above and beyond characteristics of the attitude and individual difference variables previously studied in the attitude literature. SV is a meaningful construct in increasing the understanding of persuasion, attitude resistance, and attitude dissemination that can be applied in a variety of psychological domains.
Validity and Reliability of the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire Mastery Subscale in Patients With Defibrillators
Authors: Kim JinShil , Pressler Susan J. , Welch Janet L. , Groh William J.
Published: September 2009

Reliable, valid measures are needed to assess one’s sense of mastery, which has the potential for decreasing anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). This study evaluates the reliability and validity of a measure of mastery, the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire (CHQ) mastery subscale. One hundred twenty-two (75% men, mean age 65 years) and 100 patients complete baseline and 12-month face-to-face interviews, respectively. The CHQ mastery subscale is found to have internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alphas = .79, .84), and its validity is supported. Factor analysis yields a single robust factor. Differences in the CHQ mastery subscale scores by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes are found: Patients with NYHA Class III or IV have lower mastery than those with Class I or II. Baseline younger age and less frequent ICD shocks and lower mastery are significant predictors of respectively 12-month anxiety ( R 2 = .37) and depressive symptoms (R2 = .45).The CHQ mastery subscale has demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity in this sample.
Reverse Linguistic Stereotyping: Measuring the Effect of Listener Expectations on Speech Evaluation
Authors: Kang Okim , Rubin Donald L.
Published: September 2009

The linguistic stereotyping hypothesis holds that even brief samples of speech varieties associated with low-prestige groups can cue negative attributions regarding individual speakers. The converse phenomenon is reverse linguistic stereotyping (RLS). In RLS, attributions of a speaker’s group membership trigger distorted evaluations of that person’s speech. The present study established a procedure for ascertaining a proclivity to RLS for individual listeners. In addition to RLS, variables reflecting degree of multicultural involvement (e.g., proportion of friends who are nonnative speakers, amount of language study) predicted speech evaluations. Although the RLS measurement procedure outlined here requires more demanding administration than mere paper-and-pencil self-reports, it has the advantage of reflecting authentic RLS processes. Measuring individuals’ RLS levels can help screen teachers, job interviewers, immigration officials, and others who are called on to make judgments about the oral proficiency of speakers of nonprestige language varieties.
Poster Sessions in Marketing Education
Authors: Stegemann Nicole , Sutton-Brady Catherine
Published: September 2009

Poster sessions provide a creative and stimulating alternative to traditional assessment methods in marketing. Poster sessions, as a means of assessment, have long been used in science fields. This article presents the successful implementation of poster sessions as a means of assessment in a postgraduate unit of study. Poster sessions in conference style were used as an alternative method of assessment in a postgraduate unit. The article provides information for marketing educators seeking to use poster presentations as a means of assessment in addition to providing the first empirical examination of the use of posters in a marketing education context. It focuses on gaining a better understanding of student perceptions of anxiety, stress, the level of creativity, and academic confidence in addition to understanding independent variables such as gender, age, and cultural background. Findings show that students are enthusiastic about poster sessions, which encourage creativity and provide an interactive learning environment.
The pitch of the world: cricket and Chris Searle
Authors: Westall Claire , Lazarus Neil
Published: September 2009

Part of Chris Searle’s wide-ranging contribution to Race & Class — and the subject of this article — is a body of cricket writing that exposes the crippling imperial legacies of the game but still insists on its potential for the future, particularly in England; a future Searle understands as emerging from the country’s working-class, multi-ethnic, inner-city communities. Searle is indebted to C. L. R. James’s Beyond a Boundary (1963) and, like James, sees cricket as a site for the expression, playing out and (sometimes) the imaginary resolution of social relations. Searle also follows James in arguing that, because of the game’s sociality, the politics of cricketing performance must be assessed in terms of the relationship between players and their communities. In this context, he has analysed the significance of figures like Devon Malcolm, England’s Jamaican-born fast bowler, and Brian Lara, the world-record holding West Indies batsman. Notably, Searle’s academic and personal contribution has been ‘Towards a cricket of the future’, as one of his own pieces is entitled. He has also helped lay the ground for a critique of the globalised televisual spectacle that is, increasingly, the international game of cricket.
A British anti-imperialist lion in the Grenada revolution
Authors: Jules Didacus
Published: September 2009

In 1979, the New Jewel Movement (NJM), under the leadership of Maurice Bishop, took power in Grenada in a bloodless coup. With a political vision conjoining socialism and black power, the revolution in Grenada immediately drew the hostility of the US government, which began a programme of destabilisation. The leadership of the revolution sought to develop a highly participatory approach to political and economic decision-making that would enable the country’s workers and peasants to actively shape Grenada’s development. With popular education a priority, Chris Searle came to Grenada to teach. But he soon was invited to contribute to ministerial discussions, devising national education policy and creating a publishing house. He also helped to write Maurice Bishop’s speeches. In 1983, the US government took advantage of division and conflict in the leadership of the NJM to mount an invasion, ‘Operation Urgent Fury’, which restored to Grenada a regime more favourable to US interests.
Micro- and mesoclimatology
Authors: Mills Gerald
Published: September 2009

This report focuses on research in this area published during 2007. It reflects the broad themes that emerged in the literature during this period, with an emphasis on urban-based work. Urban-based climatology is assuming increased importance in the literature for a number of reasons, including the inherent complexity of urban environments, which makes their study difficult, and the potential for purposeful use of micrometeorology to improve the environment experienced by most of the population. Moreover, 2007 provided a rich vein of work in this area. The report is divided into two main sections, associated with the surface energy budget and its application to ‘natural’ settings and the study of urban climates.
Response of karst springs to climate change and anthropogenic activities: the Niangziguan Springs, China
Authors: Hao Yonghong , Wang Yajie , Zhu Yuen , Lin Yi , Wen Jet-Chau , Yeh Tian-Chyi J.
Published: September 2009

Discharge from the largest karst spring in north China, the Niangziguan Springs, has been declining since the 1950s. This paper examines the response of these springs to climatic change and anthropogenic influence by attempting a model-based discrimination between phases in the stream discharge record. In Niangziguan Springs Basin, the exploitation of karst groundwater began in 1979. Accordingly, the spring discharge data were divided into two phases: pre-1979 and post-1979. In the first phase (1957—78) the spring discharge was believed to be affected solely by climate change, and in the second phase (1979—2007) the spring discharge was influenced by both climate change and human activities. Using grey system theory, a discharge model was estimated for the first phase. Extrapolating the model, we obtained a projection of the spring discharge during the second phase. Using a water balance calculation, we discerned the respective effects of climate change and human activities on depletion of spring discharge for the second phase. The results show that the contribution of climate change to depletion of Niangziguan Springs is 2.30m3/s and the contribution of anthropogenic activities ranges from 1.89 to 2.90 m3/s, although this assumes a constant for the climate change effect. Accordingly, the anthropogenic effects have been approaching and surpassing the effects of climate change during the second phase. With respect to the impact of human activities on spring discharge, groundwater abstraction accounts for only about 34—52% of the declines; 48—66% of the declines are related to other human activities, such as dewatering from coal mining, dam building and deforestation.
Rethinking the History of Philosophy
Authors: Stepanyants Marietta
Published: September 2009

Basing herself on Indian and Chinese traditions, the author provides arguments in favour of revising the customary understanding of philosophy per se. The nonexistence of uniformity in the methods of cognition cannot be taken as evidence for the phenomenon of ‘philosophy’ missing outside the Western world. In the East, one can witness fidelity to the broad interpretation of ‘philosophy’, etymologically much nearer to this concept, presuming, along with rationality, the authority of other sources of knowledge. Philosophy came into the world not once but a number of times and in various places. From the outset it bore out, along with common generic traits, its specific ‘patrimonial’ characteristics; in other words, those revealing its own culture. In its turn, each culture is built up around a certain ‘frame’ made up of universal conceptual constituents. The history of philosophy would remain incomplete and one-sided (with a ‘Western bias’) until it ignores the fundamental universals of other cultures. Even the universals and values recognized as common to all mankind are frequently imbued with basically different substance depending on a context of relevant culture. The reappraisal of the history of philosophy should make the teaching system of philosophy multicultural.
The Ethics of Force: Against Aggression and Violence
Authors: Apressyan Ruben G.
Published: September 2009

In opposition to the absolutist ethics of non-violence, the author argues that in response to aggression and violence one has to use every means possible to prevent them. To resist violence is a moral duty of the individual. It would be desirable for violence to be prevented by strength of mind, but if strength of mind is not enough or the aggressor is insensitive to intellectual, spiritual and psychological impacts, one has to employ by accretion all necessary means. Ethics is called upon to set limits to the employment of the means of countering violence.