bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RETINAL PROCESSING NEAR ABSOLUTE THRESHOLD: From Behavior to Mechanism
Authors: Field Greg D. , Sampath Alapakkam P. , Rieke Fred
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Vision at absolute threshold is based on signals produced in a tiny fraction of the rod photoreceptors. This requires that the rods signal the absorption of single photons, and that the resulting signals are transmitted across the retina and encoded in the activity sent from the retina to the brain. Behavioral and ganglion cell sensitivity has often been interpreted to indicate that these biophysical events occur noiselessly, i.e., that vision reaches limits to sensitivity imposed by the division of light into discrete photons and occasional photon-like noise events generated in the rod photoreceptors. We argue that this interpretation is not unique and provide a more conservative view of the constraints behavior and ganglion cell experiments impose on phototransduction and retinal processing. We summarize what is known about how these constraints are met and identify some of the outstanding open issues.
MECHANISMS OF BICARBONATE SECRETION IN THE PANCREATIC DUCT
Authors: Steward Martin C. , Ishiguro Hiroshi , Case R. Maynard
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  In many species the pancreatic duct epithelium secretes HCO3− ions at a concentration of around 140 mM by a mechanism that is only partially understood. We know that HCO3− uptake at the basolateral membrane is achieved by Na+-HCO3− cotransport and also by a H+-ATPase and Na+/H+ exchanger operating together with carbonic anhydrase. At the apical membrane, the secretion of moderate concentrations of HCO3− can be explained by the parallel activity of a Cl−/HCO3− exchanger and a Cl− conductance, either the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) or a Ca2+-activated Cl− channel (CaCC). However, the sustained secretion of HCO3− into a HCO3−-rich luminal fluid cannot be explained by conventional Cl−/HCO3− exchange. HCO3− efflux across the apical membrane is an electrogenic process that is facilitated by the depletion of intracellular Cl−, but it remains to be seen whether it is mediated predominantly by CFTR or by an electrogenic SLC26 anion exchanger.
SECRETION AND ABSORPTION BY COLONIC CRYPTS
Authors: Geibel John P.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  The intestines play an important role in the absorption and secretion of nutrients. The colon is the final area for recapturing electrolytes and water prior to excretion, and in order to maintain this electrolyte homeostasis, a complex interaction between secretory and absorptive processes is necessary. Until recently it was thought that secretion and absorption were two distinct processes associated with either crypts or surface cells, respectively. Recently it was demonstrated that both the surface and crypt cells can perform secretory and absorptive functions and that, in fact, these functions can be going on simultaneously. This issue is important in the complexities associated with secretory diarrhea and also in attempting to develop treatment strategies for intestinal disorders. Here, we update the model of colonic secretion and absorption, discuss new issues of transporter activation, and identify some important new receptor pathways that are important modulators of the secretory and absorptive functions of the colon.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF CLC CHANNELS
Authors: Chen Tsung-Yu
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  The CLC family comprises a group of integral membrane proteins whose major action is to translocate chloride (Cl−) ions across the cell membranes. Recently, the structures of CLC orthologues from two bacterial species, Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli, were solved, providing the first framework for understanding the operating mechanisms of these molecules. However, most of the previous mechanistic understanding of CLC channels came from electrophysiological studies of a branch of the channel family, the muscle-type CLC channels in vertebrate species. These vertebrate CLC channels were predicted to contain two identical but independent pores, and this hypothesis was confirmed by the solved bacterial CLC structures. The opening and closing of the vertebrate CLC channels are also known to couple to the permeant ions via their binding sites in the ion-permeation pathway. The bacterial CLC structures can probably serve as a structural model to explain the gating-permeation coupling mechanism. However, the CLC-ec1 protein in E. coli was most recently shown to be a Cl−-H+antiporter, but not an ion channel. The molecular basis to explain the difference between vertebrate and bacterial CLCs, especially the distinction between an ion channel and a transporter, remains a challenge in the structure/function studies for the CLC family.
FUNCTION OF CHLORIDE CHANNELS IN THE KIDNEY
Authors: Uchida Shinichi , Sasaki Sei
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Numerous Cl− channels have been identified in the kidney using physiological approaches and thus are thought to be involved in a range of physiological processes, including vectorial transepithelial Cl− transport, cell volume regulation, and vesicular acidification. In addition, expression of genes from several Cl− channel gene families has also been observed. However, the molecular characteristics of a number of Cl− channels within the kidney are still unknown, and the physiological roles of Cl− channels identified by molecular means remain to be determined. A gene knockout approach using mice might shed further light on the characteristics of these various Cl− channels. In addition, study of diseases involving Cl− channels (channelopathies) might clarify the physiological role of specific Cl− channels. To date, more is known about CLC Cl− channels than any other Cl− channels within the kidney. This review focuses on the physiological roles of CLC Cl− channels within the kidney, particularly kidney-specific ClC-K Cl− channels, as well as the recently identified maxi anion channel in macula densa, which is involved in tubulo-glomerular feedback.
ASSEMBLY OF FUNCTIONAL CFTR CHLORIDE CHANNELS
Authors: Riordan John R.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  The assembly of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) chloride channel is of interest from the broad perspective of understanding how ion channels and ABC transporters are formed as well as dealing with the mis-assembly of CFTR in cystic fibrosis. CFTR is functionally distinct from other ABC transporters because it permits bidirectional permeation of anions rather than vectorial transport of solutes. This adaptation of the ABC transporter structure can be rationalized by considering CFTR as a hydrolyzable-ligand-gated channel with cytoplasmic ATP as ligand. Channel gating is initiated by ligand binding when the protein is also phosphorylated by protein kinase A and made reversible by ligand hydrolysis. The two nucleotide-binding sites play different roles in channel activation. CFTR self-associates, possibly as a function of its activation, but most evidence, including the low-resolution three-dimensional structure, indicates that the channel is monomeric. Domain assembly and interaction within the monomer is critical in maturation, stability, and function of the protein. Disease-associated mutations, including the most common, ΔF508, interfere with domain folding and association, which occur both co- and post-translationally. Intermolecular interactions of mature CFTR have been detected primarily with the N- and C-terminal tails, and these interactions have some impact not only on channel function but also on localization and processing within the cell. The biosynthetic processing of the nascent polypeptide leading to channel assembly involves transient interactions with numerous chaperones and enzymes on both sides of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.
SURFACTANT PROTEIN C BIOSYNTHESIS AND ITS EMERGING ROLE IN CONFORMATIONAL LUNG DISEASE
Authors: Beers Michael F. , Mulugeta Surafel
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Surfactant protein C (SP-C) is a hydrophobic 35-amino acid peptide that co-isolates with the phospholipid fraction of lung surfactant. SP-C represents a structurally and functionally challenging protein for the alveolar type 2 cell, which must synthesize, traffic, and process a 191–197-amino acid precursor protein through the regulated secretory pathway. The current understanding of SP-C biosynthesis considers the SP-C proprotein (proSP-C) as a hybrid molecule that incorporates structural and functional features of both bitopic integral membrane proteins and more classically recognized luminal propeptide hormones, which are subject to post-translational processing and regulated exocytosis. Adding to the importance of a detailed understanding of SP-C biosynthesis has been the recent association of mutations in the proSP-C sequence with chronic interstitial pneumonias in children and adults. Many of these mutations involve either missense or deletion mutations located in a region of the proSP-C molecule that has structural homology to the BRI family of proteins linked to inherited degenerative dementias. This review examines the current state of SP-C biosynthesis with a focus on recent developments related to molecular and cellular mechanisms implicated in the emerging role of SP-C mutations in the pathophysiology of diffuse parenchymal lung disease.
COMPARATIVE DEVELOPMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY:An Interdisciplinary Convergence
Authors: Burggren Warren , Warburton Stephen
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Comparative developmental physiology spans genomics to physiological ecology and evolution. Although not a new discipline, comparative developmental physiology's position at the convergence of development, physiology and evolution gives it prominent new significance. The contributions of this discipline may be particularly influential as physiologists expand beyond genomics to a true systems synthesis, integrating molecular through organ function in multiple organ systems. This review considers how developing physiological systems are directed by genes yet respond to environment and how these characteristics both constrain and enable evolution of physiological characters. Experimental approaches and methodologies of comparative developmental physiology include studying event sequences (heterochrony and heterokairy), describing the onset and progression of physiological regulation, exploiting scaling, expanding the list of animal models, using genetic engineering, and capitalizing on new miniaturized technologies for physiological investigation down to the embryonic level. A synthesis of these approaches is likely to generate a more complete understanding of how physiological systems and, indeed, whole animals develop and how populations evolve.
BIOPHYSICS, PHYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Does Mechanism Matter?
Authors: Helmuth Brian , Kingsolver Joel G. , Carrington Emily
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Recent meta-analyses have shown that the effects of climate change are detectable and significant in their magnitude, but these studies have emphasized the utility of looking for large-scale patterns without necessarily understanding the mechanisms underlying these changes. Using a series of case studies, we explore the potential pitfalls when one fails to incorporate aspects of physiological performance when predicting the consequences of climate change on biotic communities. We argue that by considering the mechanistic details of physiological performance within the context of biophysical ecology (engineering methods of heat, mass and momentum exchange applied to biological systems), such approaches will be better poised to predict where and when the impacts of climate change will most likely occur.
REGULATION OF FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE SECRETION IN SALIVARY GLAND ACINAR CELLS
Authors: Melvin James E. , Yule David , Shuttleworth Trevor , Begenisich Ted
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  The secretion of fluid and electrolytes by salivary gland acinar cells requires the coordinated regulation of multiple water and ion transporter and channel proteins. Notably, all the key transporter and channel proteins in this process appear to be activated, or are up-regulated, by an increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). Consequently, salivation occurs in response to agonists that generate an increase in [Ca2+]i. The mechanisms that act to modulate these increases in [Ca2+]i obviously influence the secretion of salivary fluid. Such modulation may involve effects on mechanisms of both Ca2+ release and Ca2+ entry and the resulting spatial and temporal aspects of the [Ca2+]i signal, as well as interactions with other signaling pathways in the cells. The molecular cloning of many of the transporter and regulatory molecules involved in fluid and electrolyte secretion has yielded a better understanding of this process at the cellular level. The subsequent characterization of mice with null mutations in many of these genes has demonstrated the physiological roles of individual proteins. This review focuses on recent developments in determining the molecular identification of the proteins that regulate the fluid secretion process.
CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY OF BLOOD FLOW REGULATION BY RED BLOOD CELLS:
Authors: Singel David J. , Stamler Jonathan S.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Blood flow in the microcirculation is regulated by physiological oxygen (O2) gradients that are coupled to vasoconstriction or vasodilation, the domain of nitric oxide (NO) bioactivity. The mechanism by which the O2 content of blood elicits NO signaling to regulate blood flow, however, is a major unanswered question in vascular biology. While the hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs) would appear to be an ideal sensor, conventional wisdom about its chemistry with NO poses a problem for understanding how it could elicit vasodilation. Experiments from several laboratories have, nevertheless, very recently established that RBCs provide a novel NO vasodilator activity in which hemoglobin acts as an O2 sensor and O2-responsive NO signal transducer, thereby regulating both peripheral and pulmonary vascular tone. This article reviews these studies, together with biochemical studies, that illuminate the complexity and adaptive responsiveness of NO reactions with hemoglobin. Evidence for the pivotal role of S-nitroso (SNO) hemoglobin in mediating this response is discussed. Collectively, the reviewed work sets the stage for a new understanding of RBC-derived relaxing activity in auto-regulation of blood flow and O2 delivery and of RBC dysfunction in disorders characterized by tissue O2 deficits, such as sickle cell disease, sepsis, diabetes, and heart failure.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORY AND POLICY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Authors: Walt Stephen M.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Policy makers pay relatively little attention to the vast theoretical literature in IR, and many scholars seem uninterested in doing policy-relevant work. These tendencies are unfortunate because theory is an essential tool of statecraft. Many policy debates ultimately rest on competing theoretical visions, and relying on a false or flawed theory can lead to major foreign policy disasters. Theory remains essential for diagnosing events, explaining their causes, prescribing responses, and evaluating the impact of different policies. Unfortunately, the norms and incentives that currently dominate academia discourage many scholars from doing useful theoretical work in IR. The gap between theory and policy can be narrowed only if the academic community begins to place greater value on policy-relevant theoretical work.
Vestibular, Proprioceptive, and Haptic Contributions to Spatial Orientation
Authors: Lackner James R. , DiZio Paul
Published: November 2004

The control and perception of body orientation and motion are subserved by multiple sensory and motor mechanisms ranging from relatively simple, peripheral mechanisms to complex ones involving the highest levels of cognitive function and sensory-motor integration. Vestibular contributions to body orientation and to spatial localization of auditory and visual stimuli have long been recognized. These contributions are reviewed here along with new insights relating to sensory-motor calibration of the body gained from space flight, parabolic flight, and artificial gravity environments. Recently recognized contributions of proprioceptive and somatosensory signals to the appreciation of body orientation and configuration are described. New techniques for stabilizing posture by means of haptic touch and for studying and modeling postural mechanisms are reviewed. Path integration, place cells, and head direction cells are described along with implications for using immersive virtual environments for training geographic spatial knowledge of real environments.
Work Motivation Theory and Research at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Latham Gary P , Pinder Craig C.
Published: November 2004

In the first Annual Review of Psychology chapter since 1977 devoted exclusively to work motivation, we examine progress made in theory and research on needs, traits, values, cognition, and affect as well as three bodies of literature dealing with the context of motivation: national culture, job design, and models of person-environment fit. We focus primarily on work reported between 1993 and 2003, concluding that goal-setting, social cognitive, and organizational justice theories are the three most important approaches to work motivation to appear in the last 30 years. We reach 10 generally positive conclusions regarding predicting, understanding, and influencing work motivation in the new millennium.
Autism in Infancy and Early Childhood
Authors: Volkmar Fred , Chawarska Kasia , Klin Ami
Published: November 2004

Although initially described as an inborn disorder of affective contact, information on autism as it exists in infants has been limited. Delays in diagnosis, lack of information about the condition, and reliance on retrospective research strategies have been problematic. An awareness of the increased risk for siblings is now allowing the development of new, prospective approaches. Consistent with Kanner's original hypothesis, the available information strongly suggests a fundamental difficulty in the earliest social processes, which, in turn, impacts many other areas of development. New approaches to screening have lowered the age of initial diagnosis; this presents new challenges for early intervention. Directions for future research are highlighted.
Human Development: Biological and Genetic Processes
Authors: Gottesman Irving I. , Hanson Daniel R.
Published: November 2004

Adaptation is a central organizing principle throughout biology, whether we are studying species, populations, or individuals. Adaptation in biological systems occurs in response to molar and molecular environments. Thus, we would predict that genetic systems and nervous systems would be dynamic (cybernetic) in contrast to previous conceptualizations with genes and brains fixed in form and function. Questions of nature versus nurture are meaningless, and we must turn to epigenetics—the way in which biology and experience work together to enhance adaptation throughout thick and thin. Defining endophenotypes—road markers that bring us closer to the biological origins of the developmental journey—facilitates our understanding of adaptive or maladaptive processes. For human behavioral disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, the inherent plasticity of the nervous system requires a systems approach to incorporate all of the myriad epigenetic factors that can influence such outcomes.
Human Category Learning
Authors: Ashby F. Gregory , Maddox W. Todd
Published: November 2004

Much recent evidence suggests some dramatic differences in the way people learn perceptual categories, depending on exactly how the categories were constructed. Four different kinds of category-learning tasks are currently popular—rule-based tasks, information-integration tasks, prototype distortion tasks, and the weather prediction task. The cognitive, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging results obtained using these four tasks are qualitatively different. Success in rule-based (explicit reasoning) tasks depends on frontal-striatal circuits and requires working memory and executive attention. Success in information-integration tasks requires a form of procedural learning and is sensitive to the nature and timing of feedback. Prototype distortion tasks induce perceptual (visual cortical) learning. A variety of different strategies can lead to success in the weather prediction task. Collectively, results from these four tasks provide strong evidence that human category learning is mediated by multiple, qualitatively distinct systems.
Brain Organization for Music Processing
Authors: Peretz Isabelle , Zatorre Robert J.
Published: November 2004

Research on how the brain processes music is emerging as a rich and stimulating area of investigation of perception, memory, emotion, and performance. Results emanating from both lesion studies and neuroimaging techniques are reviewed and integrated for each of these musical functions. We focus our attention on the common core of musical abilities shared by musicians and nonmusicians alike. Hence, the effect of musical training on brain plasticity is examined in a separate section, after a review of the available data regarding music playing and reading skills that are typically cultivated by musicians. Finally, we address a currently debated issue regarding the putative existence of music-specific neural networks. Unfortunately, due to scarcity of research on the macrostructure of music organization and on cultural differences, the musical material under focus is at the level of the musical phrase, as typically used in Western popular music.
Psychological Evidence at the Dawn of the Law's Scientific Age
Authors: Faigman David L. , Monahan John
Published: November 2004

The Supreme Court's 1993 decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., holding that the admissibility of scientific evidence depends on its scientific merit, has made American law receptive to valid science to an unprecedented degree. We review the implications for psychology of the law's taking science seriously. We consider the law before Daubert, and the ways that Daubert as well as modifications to the Federal Rules of Evidence have affected the admissibility of expert testimony. We describe the ramifications of these changes for psychology used as authority to create a general legal rule, as evidence to determine a specific fact, and as framework to provide context. Finally, future prospects for improving psychological testimony are offered: Court-appointed experts will increase the psychological sophistication of judges and juries, and evidence-based practices on the part of psychologists will increase the sophistication of the expert testimony that they proffer in court.
The Psychology and Neurobiology of Suicidal Behavior
Authors: Joiner Thomas E. , Brown Jessica S. , Wingate LaRicka R.
Published: November 2004

Suicide is a leading cause of death, but it is not well understood or well researched. Our purpose in this review is to summarize extant knowledge on neurobiological and psychological factors involved in suicide, with specific goals of identifying areas particularly in need of future research and of articulating an initial agenda that may guide future research. We conclude that from both neurobiological and psychological perspectives, extant research findings converge on the view that two general categories of risk for suicide can be identified: (a) dysregulated impulse control; and (b) propensity to intense psychological pain (e.g., social isolation, hopelessness), often in the context of mental disorders, especially mood disorders. Each of these categories of risk is underlain at least to some degree by specific genetic and neurobiological factors; these factors in general are not well characterized, though there is emerging consensus that most if not all reside in or affect the serotonergic system. We encourage future theorizing that is conceptually precise, as well as epistemically broad, about the specific preconditions of serious suicidal behavior, explaining the daunting array of suicide-related facts from the molecular to the cultural level.
ADVANCES IN RISK ASSESSMENT AND COMMUNICATION
Authors: Goldstein Bernard D.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Risk analysis continues to evolve. There is increasing depth and breadth to each component of the four-step risk-assessment paradigm of hazard identification, dose-response analysis, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. Basic conceptual approaches to understanding how people perceive risk are being tested against a growing body of empirical observations, many involving stakeholders. Emerging ideas such as the precautionary principle have provided challenges that have led to a rethinking of the role of risk assessment in environmental health. Newer problems, such as intergenerational issues posed by long-lasting radiation pollution, environmental justice, and the assessment and communication of risks related to terrorism, have spurred innovative approaches to risk analysis.
ECONOMIC CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF OBESITY
Authors: Finkelstein Eric A. , Ruhm Christopher J. , Kosa Katherine M.
Published: November 2004

▪ Abstract  Obesity is not only a health but also an economic phenomenon. This chapter (a) examines underlying economic causes, such as technological advancements, behind the obesity epidemic; (b) describes economic consequences of obesity, including increasing obesity-related medical expenditures; and (c) discusses the role of government in combating the obesity epidemic. Because of the high costs of obesity, and the fact that the majority of these costs are financed by taxpayers, there is a clear motivation for government to try to reduce these costs. However, because obesity may result from poor information and addictive behavior and/or as a result of living in an increasingly obesogenic environment, interventions will need to be multifaceted to ensure the best chance of success.
Postexercise insulin sensitivity is not impaired after an overnight lipid infusion
Authors: Schenk Simon , Cook Jill N. , Kaufman Amy E. , Horowitz Jeffrey F.
Published: November 2004

High plasma fatty acid availability and a positive energy balance in sedentary individuals reduce insulin sensitivity. This study's purpose was to determine whether high plasma fatty acid availability and systemic caloric excess after exercise also impair insulin sensitivity. On two separate occasions, seven nonobese women performed 90 min of exercise at ∼65% peak oxygen uptake. In one trial, a lipid + heparin emulsion (Lipid) was infused overnight to increase plasma fatty acid availability. In the other trial, saline was infused as control. The next morning, a muscle biopsy was taken to measure muscle glycogen and intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) concentrations. Three hours after the overnight infusion was stopped, insulin sensitivity was assessed with an intravenous glucose tolerance test, using minimal model analysis (Si). During the overnight infusions, plasma fatty acid concentration was approximately fourfold higher [means (SD): 0.84 (0.36) vs. 0.22 (0.09) mmol/l; P = 0.003], and the next morning IMTG concentration was ∼30% greater [49.2 (6.6) vs. 38.3 (7.7) mmol/kg dry wt; P = 0.036] in Lipid compared with saline. However, muscle glycogen concentration was not different between trials ( P = 0.82). Lipid caused a 24-h surplus of ∼1100 kcal above energy balance ( P = 0.00001), whereas energy balance was maintained in saline. Despite these differences in fatty acid and energy availability, Si the morning after exercise was not different between trials ( P = 0.72). Thus insulin sensitivity the morning after a single exercise session was not reduced despite overnight exposure to a fourfold increase in plasma fatty acid concentration, elevated IMTG concentration, and systemic delivery of ∼1,100-kcal excess.
MAP kinases and the adaptive response to hypertonicity: functional preservation from yeast to mammals
Authors: Sheikh-Hamad David , Gustin Michael C.
Published: November 2004

The adaptation to hypertonicity in mammalian cells is driven by multiple signaling pathways that include p38 kinase, Fyn, the catalytic subunit of PKA, ATM, and JNK2. In addition to the well-characterized tonicity enhancer (TonE)-TonE binding protein interaction, other transcription factors (and their respective cis elements) can potentially respond to hypertonicity. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the signaling pathways that regulate the adaptive response to osmotic stress and discusses new insights from yeast that could be relevant to the osmostress response in mammals.
Teacher Work Group Effectiveness
Authors: Conley Sharon , Fauske Janice , Pounder Diana G.
Published: November 2004

Recent research links the development of a collaborative community of educators to enhanced teaching and learning effectiveness. This study contributes to this research by testing a work group effectiveness model with a sample of teachers from middle school teams. The study assesses the interrelationships among the model’s antecedent variables (organizational context, design features, and interpersonal processes), intermediate variables (effort, knowledge/skills applied, and appropriateness of strategies), and final outcome variables (teaching and learning effectiveness). A survey developed to capture the concepts in the model was completed by 174 teacher members of interdisciplinary instructional teams in a large urban district’s middle schools. Findings indicate that two fundamental variables, knowledge/skills applied to the work and appropriateness of strategies, are core mediators in the model. Two healthy interpersonal processes variables were also found to have direct effects on perceptions that teaming had improved teaching and learning.
Influences on the Satisfaction and Retention of 1st-Year Teachers: The Importance of Effective School Management
Authors: Stockard Jean , Lehman Michael Bryan
Published: November 2004

Data from two panel studies, the 1993 to 1995 nationwide Schools and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-Up Survey, as well as a 1998-1999 survey of teachers in one western state are used to examine the influenceof variables related to demographic characteristics, work assignment, effectiveness, social support, and school management on the satisfaction and retention decisions of 1st-year public school teachers. Minor differences appear between the results for the statewide and national samples, but both sets of results indicate that the most important influences on satisfaction involve variables related to social support and school management, and that the most important influence on retention decisions is job satisfaction. Implications for future research and for practitioners are discussed, including the central role of effective and supportive school management in promoting the satisfaction and retention of 1st-year teachers.
Ideas in Currency and OD Practice
Authors: Bunker Barbara Benedict , Alban Billie T. , Lewicki Roy J.
Published: November 2004

The separation between theory and practice in organization development (OD) has widened over the years. This causes the field of OD to be susceptible to fads rather than having productive conversations with researchers about newideas that can be translated into new methods. This article identifies the following six areas of research with potential to create new practices in OD: virtual teams, conflict resolution, work group effectiveness, social network analysis, trust, and intractable conflict. Each area is described and its ease of application to practice assessed. Then, the process by which new methods have been adopted in the field over the past 15 years is reviewed. The article concludes with a discussion of the need to overcome the gap between the two separate worlds of research and practice in the interest of stimulating innovation.
The Technological Personality
Authors: Stivers Richard
Published: November 2004

If technology is the single most important factor in explaining the organization of modern societies, it is likewise the key to understanding the modern personality. The technological personality is the psychological counterpart to the technological society.Technology indirectly destroys the basis of a common morality and so leaves human relationships vague, insincere, and potentially dangerous. The technological personality possesses a façade of extroverted cheerfulness to conceal and compensate for an inner core of loneliness and fear of others. At the same time the technological personality allows one to internalize technological stimuli, thus creating a shield against certain kinds of stress, it reinforces and deepens loneliness.
The Autonomy of Technique Revisited
Authors: Vanderburg Willem H.
Published: November 2004

Jacques Ellul’s claim that technique became an autonomous phenomenon during the middle of the 20th century, and subsequently a system, means that the influence people have on technique is much less decisive than the influence technique has on people. As a sociohistorical description of the relationship between technique and society, it can be empirically investigated. This article begins by clarifying the concept of an autonomous technique and reviews evidence to support this claim.
Reading Jacques Ellul’s The Technological Bluff in Context
Authors: Son Wha-Chul
Published: November 2004

This article is a critical review of The Technological Bluff , the last book on technology by Jacques Ellul. Although this work has attracted little attention, the concept oftechno-logical bluff1 provides a new perspective to understand contemporary technological society. After presenting Ellul’s exposition of the concept of techno-logical bluff, its original contribution to technology studies is emphasized. It is also examined how the analysis of techno-logical bluff is connected with other major Ellulian notions such as autonomous technique and the efficiency principle. This is followed by a suggestion that the analysis of techno-logical bluff could function as a basis for a constructive dialectic relationship between classical and more recent discourses on technology. The last section is devoted to the Ellulian solution for the technological society suggested in this work, namely, the paradox of nonfreedom.
Political Economy as Subject and Form in Contemporary Art
Authors: Moore Alan W.
Published: November 2004

Political economy is a theme both explicit and submerged in modernist and postmodernist art. Art production is founded in the gift. The author historicizes artistic representations of political economy, particularly postwar conceptual art and theory. African American artists explore the black image in terms redolent of the commoditization of their ancestors under slavery. Media art engages dominant modes of media industry production. Art based in conceptions of the gift embodies noncapitalist modes of social relations.
The Community Mural and Democratic Art Processes
Authors: Mosher Michael R.
Published: November 2004

The author’s 2002 mural project in Saginaw highlights the adaptable, site-specific, educational, and inclusive process of community mural development. His nine-step “tennis game” process maximizes both professionalism and community participation and decisions. The contemporary community mural movement continues public art traditions of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act program of the 1970s. Travel in Japan and South Africa prompted the author to question the adaptability of American community art models.
Phenotypic Differences in Reentrainment Behavior and Sensitivity to Nighttime Light Pulses in Siberian Hamsters
Authors: Ruby Norman F. , Barakat Monique T. , Heller H. Craig
Published: November 2004

Spontaneous reentrainment to phase shifts of the photocycle is a fundamental property of all circadian systems. Siberian hamsters are, however, unique in this regard because most fail to reentrain when the LD cycle (16-h light/day) is phase delayed by 5 h. In the present study, the authors compared reentrainment responses in hamsters from 2 colonies. One colony descended from animals trapped in the wild more than 30 years ago (designated “nonentrainers”), and the other colony was outbred as recently as 13 years ago (designated “entrainers”). As reported previously, only 10% of hamsters from the nonentrainer colony reentrained to a 5-h phase delay of the LD cycle. By contrast, 75% of animals from the entrainer colony reentrained to the phase shift. Another goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that failure to reentrain was a consequence of light exposure during the middle of the night on the day of the 5-h phase delay. This hypothesis was tested by exposing animals to 2 h of light during the early, middle, or late part of the night and then subjecting them on the next day to a 3-h phase delay of the photocycle, which is a phase shift to which all hamsters normally reentrain. All animals from both colonies reentrained when light pulses occurred early in the night, but more animals from the entrainer colony, compared to the nonentrainer colony, reentrained when the light pulse occurred in the middle or late part of the night. The phenotypic variation in reentrainment responses is similar to the variation in photoperiodic responsiveness previously reported for these 2 colonies. Phenotypic variation in both traits is due to underlying differences in circadian organization and suggests a common genetic basis for reentrainment responses and photoperiodic responsiveness.
Phase Responses to Light Pulses in Mice Lacking Functional per or cry Genes
Authors: Spoelstra Kamiel , Albrecht Urs , van der Horst Gijsbertus T. J. , Brauer Verena , Daan Serge
Published: November 2004

The phase-resetting properties of the circadian system in mice with a functional deletion in mCry1, mCry2, mPer1, or mPer2 were studied in 2 experiments. In experiment 1, mCry1-/- and mCry2-/- mice as well as mPer1Brdm1 and mPer2Brdm1 mutant mice were exposed to 15-min light pulses during the 1st cycle following entrainment, either early (external time [ExT] 20) or late (ExT 4) in the subjective night. In experiment 2, a full PRC was measured for all these strains by exposure to light pulses of the same duration and intensity in free-running conditions in constant darkness. Directly after entrainment (experiment 1), mPer1Brdm1 animals did not show significant phase advances by a light pulse in the late subjective night (ExT 4), as in the study by Albrecht et al. In the same experiment, mPer2Brdm1 mice became arrhythmic too frequently to reliably measure their phase responses. Mice with a targeted gene disruption in mCry1 or mCry2 showed increased phase delays compared to wild type after exposure to a light pulse in the early subjective night (ExT 20). Otherwise, phase shifts were not significantly affected. In free run (experiment 2), all genotypes did show phase advances and phase delays. The mPer2Brdm1 mutant PRC was above the mPer1Brdm1 mutant and wild-type PRC (i.e., less delayed and more advanced) at most circadian phases. The mPer1Brdm1 mutant PRC was not distinguishable from the wildtype PRC. The mCry2-/- mice showed much smaller phase delays than did mCry1-/- mice in the subjective evening (delay phase). In general, mPer2Brdm1 mutant mice were more accelerated by light compared to mPer1Brdm1 and wildtype control mice, whereas mCry1-/- mice were more delayed by light than were mCry2-/- mice.
Time-Lapse Analysis of the Circadian Rhythms of Conidiation and Growth Rate in Neurospora
Authors: Gooch Van D. , Freeman Laura , Lakin-Thomas Patricia L.
Published: November 2004

The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa has frequently served as a model organism for the study of circadian rhythms through its ability to form conidial spores on a daily basis. This phenomenon leaves a spatial pattern of conidiation bands along a solid surface of agar after several days of growth. Using time-lapse video, the authors have quantified the rate of conidiation. They have found that conidia do not form at a specified lag time after the growth front is laid down, but rather the band region tends to simultaneously develop over a short time frame. This produces a sharp peak when the conidiation rate is plotted against time. In addition, the authors used time-lapse video to assay growth rate with greater accuracy than previously reported. It is usually assumed that Neurospora’s rate of growth is constant, and this assumption of linear growth has been used extensively to determine period and phase of the conidiation circadian rhythm. The authors have confirmed an earlier report of nonlinear growth rate and have shown that the growth rate varies by a factor of about 2 with each circadian cycle. They have demonstrated that the errors in calculating times of conidiation peaks are maximally 1 to 2 h if linearity is assumed. The conidiation rate and growth rate rhythms are not apparent under conditions (using mutants or high or low temperatures) where the spatial banding rhythm is not observed. In light/dark entraining conditions, the conidiation rate and growth rate rhythms maintain the same phase relationship in different T-cycles. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the growth rate rhythm is a consequence of the conidiation rate rhythm.
Emergent Bullectomy for Acute Respiratory Failure in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Authors: Safdar Zeenat , O’Sullivan Mary , Shapiro Janet M.
Published: November 2004

A 49-year-old man with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome developed acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Chest computed tomography demonstrated giant right bulla extending into the contralateral hemithorax with mediastinal shift. Surgical bullectomy with pleurodesis relieved tension effects and allowed weaning.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Refractory Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus
Authors: Shapiro Janet M. , Shujaat Adil , Wang Jill , Chen Xiaowei
Published: November 2004

A 70-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit with refractory nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Extensive evaluation including neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid examination was unrevealing. Brain biopsy revealed spongiosis, and prion disease was confirmed by immunostaining, providing the diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Vested Interests in the Decision to Resolve Social Dilemma Conflicts
Authors: Webb Janine , Foddy Margaret
Published: November 2004

This exploratory study investigated the degree of correspondence between individual and group interests in the decision to adopt a sanctioning system to manage a shared resource with social dilemma properties. Fifty-two groups of four people accessed a “free-running” computer-simulated shared resource and had either equal or unequal resource access and experienced either an equitable or inequitable sanctioning system. Consistent with past research, a worse group outcome and greater voting for system change was found under the equitable than under the inequitable sanctioning system. However, at the individual level of analysis, the results suggested that the sanctioning systems did not have the same implications for all group members and that some of those differences predicted voting for system change. The study suggests the need to investigate the various decision frames and inequitable implications associated with structural/institutional change and calls for further investigation of dependencies between micro- and macro-level units of analysis.
Reassessment of a Free Radical Theory of Cancer With Emphasis on Ultraviolet Carcinogenesis
Authors: Black Homer S.
Published: November 2004

Pro-oxidants, reactive species and free radicals, are toxic substances that can cause oxidative damage to major constituents of biological systems. In contradistinction, antioxidants are defined as any substance that significantly prevents the pro-oxidant-initiated oxidation of a substrate. Consequently, it was suggested that it might be possible to reduce free radical damage and thus cancer risk through 3 dietary changes: (1) caloric reduction, that is, lowering the level of free radical reactions arising in the course of normal metabolism; (2) minimize dietary components that increase the level of free radical reactions (eg, polyunsaturated fats); and (3) supplement the diet with one or more free radical reaction inhibitors (antioxidants). Lipid peroxidation exemplifies the type of chain reaction initiated by free radicals in (2) and (3). Both the phenolic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and the carotenoid β-carotene can terminate such reactions and have been shown to influence ultraviolet (UV) carcinogenesis. However, there is a lack of correlation between physicochemical and patho-physiological responses in both instances. Whereas the influence on UV carcinogenesis of both antioxidants has been reported to diminish as the level of dietary fat decreases, pointing to the involvement of lipid peroxidative reactions, the mode of BHT’s action in inhibiting UV carcinogenesis appears to be related to UV dose diminution through increased spectral absorbance of the stratum corneum. β-carotene has no such effect and may actually exacerbate UV carcinogenesis under certain dietary conditions. This paradox points to the complex relationship between chemical mechanisms and biological mode of action of antioxidants. Recent clinical and experimental data suggest that antioxidant supplementation of the complex and intricately balanced natural antioxidant defense system as a cancer prevention strategy will demand extreme caution.
Targeting Multiple Signaling Pathways as a Strategy for Managing Prostate Cancer: Multifocal Signal Modulation Therapy
Authors: McCarty Mark F.
Published: November 2004

The aberrant behavior of cancer reflects upregulation of certain oncogenic signaling pathways that promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis, and enable the cancer to spread and evoke angiogenesis. Theoretically, it should be feasible to decrease the activity of these pathways—or increase the activity of pathways that oppose them—with noncytotoxic agents. Since multiple pathways are dysfunctional in most cancers, and cancers accumulate new oncogenic mutations as they progress, the greatest and most durable therapeutic benefit will likely be achieved with combination regimens that address several targets. Thus, a multifocal signal modulation therapy (MSMT) of cancer is proposed. This concept has already been documented by researchers who have shown that certain combinations of signal modulators—of limited utility when administered individually—can achieve dramatic suppression of tumor growth in rodent xenograft models. The present essay attempts to guide development of MSMTs for prostate cancer. Androgen ablation is a signal-modulating measure already in standard use in the management of delocalized prostate cancer. The additional molecular targets considered here include the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor, the epidermal growth factor receptor, mammalian target of rapamycin, NF-κB, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, hsp90, cyclooxygenase-2, protein kinase A type I, vascular endothelial growth factor, 5-lipoxygenase, 12-lipoxygenase, angiotensin II receptor type 1, bradykinin receptor type 1, c-Src, interleukin-6, ras, MDM2, bcl-2/bclxL, vitamin D receptor, estrogen receptor-β, and PPAR-. Various nutrients and phytochemicals suspected to have potential utility in prostate cancer prevention and therapy, but whose key molecular targets are still unknown, might reasonably be incorporated into MSMTs for prostate cancer; these include lycopene, selenium, green tea polyphenols, genistein, and silibinin. MSMTs can be developed systematically by testing various combinations of signal-modulating agents, in concentrations that can feasibly be achieved and maintained clinically, on human prostate cancer cell lines; combinations that appear promising can then be tested in xenograft models and, ultimately, in the clinic. Some signal modulators can increase response to cytotoxic drugs by upregulating effectors of apoptosis. When MSMTs fail to raise the spontaneous apoptosis rate sufficiently to achieve tumor stasis or regression, incorporation of appropriate cytotoxic agents into the regimen may improve the clinical outcome.