bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spatial patterns of woody plant and bird diversity: functional relationships or environmental effects?
Authors: Kissling W. Daniel , Field Richard , Böhning‐Gaese Katrin
Published: February 2008

Aim To understand cross‐taxon spatial congruence patterns of bird and woody plant species richness. In particular, to test the relative roles of functional relationships between birds and woody plants, and the direct and indirect environmental effects on broad‐scale species richness of both groups.

Location Kenya.

Methods Based on comprehensive range maps of all birds and woody plants (native species > 2.5 m in height) in Kenya, we mapped species richness of both groups. We distinguished species richness of four different avian frugivore guilds (obligate, partial, opportunistic and non‐frugivores) and fleshy‐fruited and non‐fleshy‐fruited woody plants. We used structural equation modelling and spatial regressions to test for effects of functional relationships (resource–consumer interactions and vegetation structural complexity) and environment (climate and habitat heterogeneity) on the richness patterns.

Results Path analyses suggested that bird and woody plant species richness are linked via functional relationships, probably driven by vegetation structural complexity rather than trophic interactions. Bird species richness was determined in our models by both environmental variables and the functional relationships with woody plants. Direct environmental effects on woody plant richness differed from those on bird richness, and different avian consumer guilds showed distinct responses to climatic factors when woody plant species richness was included in path models.

Main conclusions Our results imply that bird and woody plant diversity are linked at this scale via vegetation structural complexity, and that environmental factors differ in their direct effects on plants and avian trophic guilds. We conclude that climatic factors influence broad‐scale tropical bird species richness in large part indirectly, via effects on plants, rather than only directly as often assumed. This could have important implications for future predictions of animal species richness in response to climate change.
Random sampling, abundance–extinction dynamics and niche‐filtering immigration constraints explain the generation of species richness gradients
Authors: Carnicer Jofre , Brotons Lluís , Sol Daniel , De Cáceres Miquel
Published: February 2008

Aim The paradigm that species’ patterns of distribution, abundance and coexistence are the result of adaptations of the species to their niches has recently been challenged by evidence that similar patterns may be generated by simple random processes. We argue here that a better understanding of macroecological patterns requires an integration of both ecological and neutral stochastic approaches. We demonstrate the utility of such an integrative approach by testing the sampling hypothesis in a species–energy relationship of forest bird species.

Location A Mediterranean biome in Catalonia, Spain.

Methods To test the sampling hypothesis we designed a metacommunity model that reproduces the stochastic sampling from a regional pool to predict local species richness variation. Four conceptually different sampling procedures were evaluated.

Results We showed that stochastic sampling processes predicted a substantial part (over 40%) of the observed variation in species richness, but left considerable variation unexplained. This remaining variation in species richness may be better understood as the result of alternative ecological processes. First, the sampling model explained more variation in species richness when the probability that a species colonises a new locality was assumed to increase with its niche width, suggesting that ecological differences between species matter when it comes to explaining macroecological patterns. Second, extinction risk was significantly lower for species inhabiting high‐energy regions, suggesting that abundance–extinction processes play a significant role in shaping species richness patterns.

Main conclusions We conclude that species–energy relationships may not simply be understood as a result of either ecological or random sampling processes, but more likely as a combination of both.
Representational momentum and children's sensori‐motor representations of objects
Authors: Perry Lynn K. , Smith Linda B. , Hockema Stephen A.
Published: February 2008

Recent research has shown that 2‐year‐olds fail at a task that ostensibly only requires the ability to understand that solid objects cannot pass through other solid objects. Two experiments were conducted in which 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds judged the stopping point of an object as it moved at varying speeds along a path and behind an occluder, stopping at a barrier visible above the occluder. Three‐year‐olds were able to take into account the barrier when searching for the object, while 2‐year‐olds were not. However, both groups judged faster moving objects to travel farther as indicated by their incorrect reaches. Thus, the results show that young children's sensori‐motor representations exhibit a form of representational momentum. This unifies the perceptually based representations of early childhood with adults’ dynamic representations that incorporate physical regularities but that are also available to conscious reasoning.
Maternal obesity: pregnancy complications, gestational weight gain and nutrition
Authors: Guelinckx I. , Devlieger R. , Beckers K. , Vansant G.
Published: February 2008

The obesity epidemic affects all, including women of reproductive age. One in five women attending prenatal care in the UK is obese. Prepregnancy obesity is associated with serious short‐ and long‐term complications for mother and child. Furthermore, gestational weight gain (GWG) of obese pregnant women generally exceeds the Institute of Medicine recommended ranges. This observation can partially be explained by an unbalanced diet and lack of daily physical activity. Despite this, few lifestyle intervention trials in obese pregnant women are available. Two out of seven intervention trials focusing on GWG, nutrition and physical activity, reached a significant decrease in GWG. Developing guidelines to promote appropriated weight gain and healthy lifestyle in overweight and obese pregnant women remains a challenge.

This review aims to summarize the complications associated with maternal prepregnancy overweight and obesity and to discuss possible strategies to improve the lifestyle habits of pregnant women.
Obesity in Mediterranean region (1997–2007): a systematic review
Authors: Papandreou C. , Mourad T. Abu , Jildeh C. , Abdeen Z. , Philalithis A. , Tzanakis N.
Published: February 2008

The objective of this review is to determine the distribution of obesity by geographical location, income, age and sex in the Mediterranean region during the last decade. A meta‐analysis was conducted for 102 articles cited during the period (1997–2007) in Medline database (for 17 Mediterranean countries) searched during the summer of 2007 using the word ‘obesity’ and its related keywords. The study showed that adults were more obese than children in all Mediterranean continents and in different levels of income. The prevalence of obesity among European children was higher than among Asians. Also, European adults were more obese than European children. The total female adults were found to be more obese (median: 25.3%) than male adults (median: 20.0%). The regression model analysis indicated that male adults were more likely to be obese in the Euro‐Med region. Taking different factors into consideration, it was noticed that Mediterranean adults, especially those in the European region, are at higher risk of obesity. Awareness programmes addressing the importance of adopting healthy dietary habits combined with physical activity should target the whole community in general and adults in particular. The findings could guide health planners for better management of obesity.
Food to fuel and the world food crisis
Authors: Katz Solomon H.
Published: February 2008

With the millennium as a springboard, the United Nations embarked on an ambitious plan in the 1990s to halve the number of the world's population suffering from hunger by the year 2015. But despite UN Secretary General Ban‐Ki Moon's upbeat progress report on the Millennium Goals last summer, a new problem is emerging around food prices and food shortages. This problem has prompted swift action by the UN to try to avert looming food price crises throughout the developing world which could quickly undo much of the progress outlined in the report. In the developing world there is a very serious risk that fewer people will be able to get food. How may anthropologists contribute to this emerging problem?
CHOOSING BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH: PATIENT AND FAMILY PERCEPTIONS OF THE DECISION NOT TO RESUSCITATE THE TERMINALLY ILL CANCER PATIENT
Authors: ELIOTT JAKLIN , OLVER IAN
Published: February 2008

In keeping with the pre‐eminent status accorded autonomy within Australia, Europe, and the United States, medical practice requires that patients authorize do‐not‐resuscitate (DNR) orders, intended to countermand the default practice in hospitals of instituting cardiopulmonary‐resuscitation (CPR) on all patients experiencing cardio‐pulmonary arrest. As patients typically do not make these decisions proactively, however, family members are often asked to act as surrogate decision‐makers and decide on the patient's behalf. Although the appropriateness of patients or their families having to decide about the provision of CPR has been challenged, there has been little examination of how patients and their families talk about and negotiate such decisions, particularly in the context of the patient's imminent death. In this article, part of a larger study analysing interviews with 28 patients (13 female) with cancer within weeks of their death, and 20 others (predominantly family) attending, we argue that a common assumption underpinning participants' talk about the DNR decision (i.e. forgoing CPR) is that it requires a choice between life and death. Using illustrative examples, we demonstrate that in making decisions about CPR, patients and their families are implicitly required to make moral judgements about the value of the patient's life, including their relationships with significant others. We identify some implications of these empirical observations for the development of ethically appropriate policies and practices regarding patient autonomy and surrogacy at the end of life.
IS IT TIME FOR BIOETHICS TO GO EMPIRICAL?
Authors: HERRERA CHRIS
Published: February 2008

Observers who note the increasing popularity of bioethics discussions often complain that the social sciences are poorly represented in discussions about things like abortion and stem‐cell research. Critics say that bioethicists should be incorporating the methods and findings of social scientists, and should move towards making the discipline more empirically oriented. This way, critics argue, bioethics will remain relevant, and truly reflect the needs of actual people. Such recommendations ignore the diversity of viewpoints in bioethics, however. Bioethics can gain much from the methods and findings from ethnographies and similar research. But it is misleading to suggest that bioethicists are unaware of this potential benefit. Not only that, bioethicists are justified in having doubts about the utility of the social science approach in some cases. This is not because there is some inherent superiority in non‐empirical approaches to moral argument. Rather, the doubts concern the nature of the facts that the sciences would provide. Perhaps the larger point is that disagreements about the relationship between facts and normative arguments should be seen as part of the normal inquiry in bioethics, not evidence that reform is needed.
THE MORAL COMPLEXITY OF SPERM DONATION
Authors: WEINBERG RIVKA
Published: February 2008

Sperm donation is a widely accepted and increasingly common practice. In the standard case, a sperm donor sells sperm to an agency, waives his parental rights, and is absolved of parental responsibility. We tend to assume that this involves no problematic abandonment of parental responsibility. If we regard the donor as having parental responsibilities at all, we may think that his parental responsibilities are transferred to the sperm recipients. But, if a man creates a child accidentally, via contraception failure, we tend to assume that the man does indeed have parental responsibilities. Assessing these contrasting conclusions requires a theory of parental responsibility.

I analyse prevalent theories of what makes someone parentally responsible and show that none of these theories can withstand scrutiny. I propose a new theory of parental responsibility, which, I argue, is more plausible than the alternatives. My theory of parental responsibility is based on our ownership and control over hazardous materials, namely, our gametes.

I show that neither my theory, nor the theories I reject, can support our contrasting intuitions. I conclude that sperm donors are fathers, with parental responsibility. I argue that the alternative conclusion, that neither sperm donors nor accidental fathers are parentally responsible for their resulting offspring, is less plausible. I then consider whether parental responsibility can be transferred and argue that it is far from clear that it can. Finally, I address objections and consider some practical implications of these views.
PROTECTING GROUPS FROM GENETIC RESEARCH
Authors: HAUSMAN DANIEL
Published: February 2008

Genetics research, like research in sociology and anthropology, creates risks for groups from which research subjects are drawn. This paper considers what sort of protection for groups from the risks of genetics research should be provided and by whom. The paper categorizes harms by distinguishing process‐related from outcome‐related harms and by distinguishing two kinds of group harms. It argues that calls for community engagement are justified with respect to some kinds of harms, but not with respect to others; and it cautions that community engagement may itself be harmful.
New Advances in Understanding Sensitive Periods in Brain Development
Authors: Thomas Michael S.C. , Johnson Mark H.
Published: February 2008

Is a dog ever too old to learn new tricks? We review recent findings on sensitive periods in brain development, ranging from sensory processing to high-level cognitive abilities in humans. We conclude that there are multiple varieties of, and mechanisms underlying, these changes. However, many sensitive periods may be a consequence of the basic processes underlying postnatal functional brain development.
The Development of Infants' Spatial Categories
Authors: Casasola Marianella
Published: February 2008

Early theories of how infants develop spatial concepts focused on the perceptual and cognitive abilities that contribute to this ability. More recent research, however, has centered on whether experience with spatial language might also play a role. The present article reviews how infants learn to form spatial categories, outlining the perceptual and cognitive abilities that drive this learning, and examines the role played by spatial language. I argue that infants' spatial concepts initially are the result of nonlinguistic perceptual and cognitive abilities, but that, as infants build a spatial lexicon, spatial language becomes an important tool in the spatial categories infants learn to form.
Retrieval Inhibition and Memory Distortion
Authors: MacLeod Malcolm D. , Saunders Jo
Published: February 2008

Despite the fact that misinformation effects have long been studied by both applied researchers and modelers of human memory, there is little consensus as to the value of such endeavors. We argue that this may be due to a failure to identify the underlying mechanism responsible for such memory distortions. We consider novel evidence for a relationship between retrieval-induced forgetting and the reporting of misinformation. We also explore the extent to which retrieval inhibition underpins this relationship and the implications this has for the modeling of memory and finding potential solutions to real-world problems.
Personality Trait Change in Adulthood
Authors: Roberts Brent W. , Mroczek Daniel
Published: February 2008

Recent longitudinal and cross-sectional aging research has shown that personality traits continue to change in adulthood. In this article, we review the evidence for mean-level change in personality traits, as well as for individual differences in change across the life span. In terms of mean-level change, people show increased self-confidence, warmth, self-control, and emotional stability with age. These changes predominate in young adulthood (age 20–40). Moreover, mean-level change in personality traits occurs in middle and old age, showing that personality traits can change at any age. In terms of individual differences in personality change, people demonstrate unique patterns of development at all stages of the life course, and these patterns appear to be the result of specific life experiences that pertain to a person's stage of life.
Fetal Programming
Authors: Coe Christopher L. , Lubach Gabriele R.
Published: February 2008

Research on young animals and humans has demonstrated the critical importance of the fetal stage as a formative period in normal development. However, the significance of these findings has not always been incorporated into our thinking when trying to elucidate the origins of health and disease. It is not only that babies react to the state of the mother and to salient environmental events while still in the uterus. This stimulation and priming seems to be essential for guiding the optimal maturation of the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. Experiences during prenatal life also program the regulatory set points that will govern physiology in adulthood. During this malleable maturational phase, these biological processes should be viewed as flexible “learning systems” that guide the developmental trajectory toward health or derail it toward pathology. Our studies on infant primates have shown that the competence of their immune responses and the structure and activity of certain brain regions, as well as many aspects of behavior and emotional reactivity, are strongly affected by the pregnancy conditions of their mothers.
Interest—The Curious Emotion
Authors: Silvia Paul J.
Published: February 2008

Despite their interest in why people do what they do, psychologists typically overlook interest itself as a facet of human motivation and emotion. In recent years, however, researchers from diverse areas of psychology have turned their attention to the role of interest in learning, motivation, and development. This article reviews the emerging body of work on the psychology of interest, with an emphasis on what contemporary emotion research has learned about the subject. After considering four central questions—Is interest like other emotions? What functions does interest serve? What makes something interesting? Is interest merely another label for happiness?—the article considers unanswered questions and fruitful applications. Given interest's central role in cultivating knowledge and expertise, psychologists should apply research on interest to practical problems of learning, education, and motivation.
A Cross-National Comparison of the Internal Effects of Participation in Voluntary Organizations
Authors: Howard Marc Morjé , Gilbert Leah
Published: February 2008

This article draws on two recent and largely untapped sources of data to test empirically the Tocquevillian argument about the impact of involvement in civic organizations on individual attitudes and behaviors. Our analysis is based on two related studies – the European Social Survey (ESS) and the US ‘Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy’ (CID) survey – that incorporate innovative and detailed measures about respondents' involvement in voluntary associations in nineteen European countries and in the United States. These surveys provide us not only with rich individual-level data within a cross-national comparison, but they also allow us to develop and test a new measure of civic involvement that distinguishes between different levels of participation. After employing our ‘civic involvement index’ in pooled and individual country analyses, we find general support for the Tocquevillian argument. On average, those persons with greater levels of involvement in voluntary organizations also engage in more political acts, have higher life satisfaction and are by and large more trusting of others than those who do not. These findings highlight the general importance of actual involvement as opposed to nominal membership.
PUBLIC SERVICE MODERNIZATION AND TRADE UNION REFORM: TOWARDS MANAGERIAL LED RENEWAL?
Authors: BACH STEPHEN , GIVAN REBECCA KOLINS
Published: February 2008

It is a curious feature of the debate about the UK Labour government’s modernization agenda that the consequences for trade unions have been almost wholly neglected. Focusing on a case study of UNISON, the public service trade union that is dominant in local government and health, this paper argues that UNISON has emulated key aspects of the modernization agenda, adopting a dual strategy to union renewal. It has attempted to rebuild workplace organization, but has placed strong emphasis on managerial‐led renewal, adopting many components of the target culture. These measures have created tensions within the organization that mirror some of the broader contradictions of the modernization agenda. The paper concludes by considering the implications of these findings for public service union renewal.
Anxiousness, Frustration, and Effortful Control as Moderators of the Relation between Parenting and Adjustment in Middle‐childhood
Authors: Lengua Liliana J.
Published: February 2008

Interactions among multiple dimensions of child temperament and parenting were tested as predictors of change in child adjustment problems using a community sample (N = 188) of children (8–12 years). Significant interactions suggested that the effect of parenting on changes in problems were dependent upon temperament and, in some cases, child sex. Effortful control mitigated the potential negative impact of inconsistent discipline and physical punishment on externalizing problems, whereas frustration exacerbated the effects of inconsistent discipline and rejection. Anxiousness moderated parenting only for boys, mitigating the impact of inconsistent discipline on internalizing and externalizing problems but exacerbating the effects of physical punishment on externalizing problems. Implications for identifying children at risk for developing adjustment problems and for parenting interventions are discussed.
The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All—2007: Is the EU Moving Away From a Formal Idea of Equality?
Authors: Howard Erica
Published: February 2008

Abstract:  This article will argue that a shift appears to be taking place in the language used within the EU when discussing measures to combat discrimination and to promote equality and equal treatment. The EU appears to be moving from a more formal to a more substantial notion of equality and the need to tackle deep‐rooted patterns of inequality experienced by some groups is recognised. But is this move in the language reflected in the measures taken against discrimination or is it just a change in rhetoric?
Corporate Social Responsibility European Style
Authors: De Schutter Olivier
Published: February 2008

Abstract:  The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerged in the official discourse of the EU in 2000. This article explains how, while CSR may have been initially an idea about the scope of the responsibility of companies towards their environment, it has now become a process in which the representatives of the business community have come to occupy the main role, and whose purpose is to promote learning among business organisations, rather than to identify the components of a regulatory framework for CSR. The central question now, therefore, is whether the so‐called ‘business case’ for CSR is strong enough, so that we may hope that the forces of market will suffice to encourage companies to behave responsibly, over and above their obligation to comply with their legal obligations. The article shows, however, that this case rests on certain presuppositions about markets and the business environment, which cannot be simply assumed, but should be affirmatively created by a regulatory framework for CSR. Following the introduction, it proceeds in four stages. First, it examines the development of CSR in the EU. Second, it offers a critical examination of the so‐called ‘business case’ for CSR, taking into account the growing diversity within the enlarged EU. It then discusses, as an alternative, what a regulatory framework for CSR could resemble, highlighting a number of initiatives which have been taken in this regard by the EU. The article finally concludes that, since the failure of the European Multi‐Stakeholder Forum on CSR in 2004, the debate has made a turn in the wrong direction, both because of the mistaken view that the establishment of a regulatory framework for CSR would threaten the competitiveness of European companies, and because of the naive (and contradictory) view that reliance on market mechanisms will suffice to ensure that corporations will seek to minimise the negative social and environmental impacts of their activities, even in circumstances where they are not legally obliged to do so.
Producer Service Linkages and Industrial Innovation: Results of a Twelve‐Year Tracking Study of New York State Manufacturers
Authors: MACPHERSON ALAN
Published: February 2008

ABSTRACT  This paper documents the results of a twelve‐year tracking study of New York State (NYS) manufacturers of scientific instruments (1994–2005). The main goal of the tracking exercise was to probe for firm‐level changes in the use of external producer services, notably in technical fields such as industrial design, contract research, and engineering. Another goal was to assess the extent to which these outside inputs have been contributing to the product innovation efforts of users. The results show that innovation and service utilization rates have converged across NYS's three major regions (i.e., Western New York, Upstate/Central, and the New York City metropolitan area). This convergence has been powered by Internet‐based technologies, as well as by strategic management change at the company level. The link between recourse to external technical help and successful innovation is found to be statistically stronger in 2005 than it was twelve years ago. Of special importance is the fact that a growing number of manufacturers have been outsourcing research, design, and product development activities at levels that far exceed those reported in the 1990s. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these trends for the geography of innovation within high‐technology sectors.
Workplace performance: a comparison of subjective and objective measures in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey
Authors: Forth John , McNabb Robert
Published: February 2008

Understanding what determines workplace performance is important for a variety of reasons. In the first place, it can inform the debate about the UK's low productivity growth. It also enables researchers to determine the efficacy of different organisational practices, policies and payment systems. In this article, we examine not the determinants of performance but how it is measured. Specifically, we assess the alternative measures of productivity and profitability that are available in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS). Previous WERS have been an important source of data in research into workplace performance. However, the subjective nature of the performance measures available in WERS prior to 2004 has attracted criticism. In the 2004 WERS, data were again collected on the subjective measure but, in addition, objective data on profitability and productivity were also collected. This allows a comparison to be made between the two types of measures. A number of validity tests are undertaken and the main conclusion is that subjective and objective measures of performance are weakly equivalent but that differences are also evident. Our findings suggest that it would be prudent to give most weight to results supported by both types of measure.
Job characteristics, employee voice and well‐being in Britain
Authors: Wood Stephen
Published: February 2008

Job characteristics are often omitted when analysing job satisfaction, but these are crucial to work psychology models, such as the Karasek model. There has also been a neglect of non‐union voice. This study uses data from the 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey to investigate the associations between job characteristics and employee voice and well‐being. Improvements in the survey from that of 1998 mean that we can examine two dimensions of well‐being: job satisfaction and the less studied anxiety–contentment.

Support is found for the basic Karasek model that both measures of well‐being are negatively related to job demands and positively related to job control; moreover, high job controls reduce the negative association between job demands and both measures. Supportive management is also related to both measures but does not play the buffering role between demands and well‐being that job control does. Union membership is found to be unrelated to job satisfaction and anxiety–contentment, but a perception of consultative management is.
Headache in Acute Stroke. A Prospective Study in the First 8 Days
Authors: Verdelho A , Ferro JM , Melo T , Canhão P , Falcão F
Published: February 2008

We aimed to describe and classify headaches associated with acute stroke, by interviewing patients consecutively admitted to a stroke unit using a validated headache questionnaire and the International Classification of Headache Disorders of the International Headache Society (IHS). One hundred and twenty-four patients (61% ischaemic and 39% haemorrhagic stroke) reported headache. Headaches started mostly on the day of stroke, were more often continuous, pressure-type, bilateral and located in the anterior region, were increased by movement and by cough and lasted for a mean of 3.8 days. Tension-type was the most frequent type of headache. Eleven per cent of headaches could not be classified using the criteria of the IHS. Previous primary headache was documented in 71 patients. The presence of nausea/vomiting due to acute stroke can confound headache classification using the IHS criteria. In up to half of the patients, headache seems to be a reactivation of previous primary headache.
Chronic right ventricular pressure overload results in a hyperplastic rather than a hypertrophic myocardial response
Authors: Leeuwenburgh Boudewijn P. J. , Helbing Willem A. , Wenink Arnold C. G. , Steendijk Paul , De Jong Roos , Dreef Enno J. , Gittenberger‐de Groot Adriana C. , Baan Jan , Van Der Laarse Arnoud
Published: February 2008

Myocardial hyperplasia is generally considered to occur only during fetal development. However, recent evidence suggests that this type of response may also be triggered by cardiac overload after birth. In congenital heart disease, loading conditions are frequently abnormal, thereby affecting ventricular function. We hypothesized that chronic right ventricular pressure overload imposed on neonatal hearts initiates a hyperplastic response in the right ventricular myocardium. To test this, young lambs (aged 2–3 weeks) underwent adjustable pulmonary artery banding to obtain peak right ventricular pressures equal to left ventricular pressures for 8 weeks. Transmural cardiac tissue samples from the right and left ventricles of five banded and five age‐matched control animals were studied. We found that chronic right ventricular pressure overload resulted in a twofold increase in right‐to‐left ventricle wall thickness ratio. Morphometric right ventricular myocardial tissue analysis revealed no changes in tissue composition between the two groups; nor were right ventricular myocyte dimensions, relative number of binucleated myocytes, or myocardial DNA concentration significantly different from control values. In chronic pressure overloaded right ventricular myocardium, significantly (P < 0.01) more myocyte nuclei were positive for the proliferation marker proliferating cellular nuclear antigen than in control right ventricular myocardium. Chronic right ventricular pressure overload applied in neonatal sheep hearts results in a significant increase in right ventricular free wall thickness which is primarily the result of a hyperplastic myocardial response.
Communities, populations and individuals of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
Authors: Rosendahl Søren
Published: February 2008

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the phylum Glomeromycota are found globally in most vegetation types, where they form a mutualistic symbiosis with plant roots. Despite their wide distribution, only relatively few species are described. The taxonomy is based on morphological characters of the asexual resting spores, but molecular approaches to community ecology have revealed a considerable unknown diversity from colonized roots. Although the lack of genetic recombination is not unique in the fungal kingdom, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are probably ancient asexuals. The long asexual evolution of the fungi has resulted in considerable genetic diversity within morphologically recognizable species, and challenges our concepts of individuals and populations. This review critically examines the concepts of species, communities, populations and individuals of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Contents

Summary
1

I.
Introduction
1

II. 
Taxonomy and species recognition
2

III.
Communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
4

IV.
Populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
6

V.
Individuals, genets or clones?
8

VI. 
Speciation in Glomeromycota
9

VII.
Conclusion
10

Acknowledgements
11

References
11
mGluR1 antagonist decreases tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDA receptor and attenuates infarct size after transient focal cerebral ischemia
Authors: Murotomi Kazutoshi , Takagi Norio , Takayanagi Gen , Ono Megumi , Takeo Satoshi , Tanonaka Kouichi
Published: February 2008

The contribution of metabotropic glutamate receptors to brain injury afterin vivocerebral ischemia remains to be determined. We investigated the effects of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) antagonist LY367385 on brain injury after transient (90 min) middle cerebral artery occlusion in the rat and sought to explore their mechanisms. The intravenous administration of LY367385 (10 mg/kg) reduced the infarct volume at 24 h after the start of reperfusion. As the Gq‐coupled mGluR1 receptor is known to activate the PKC/Src family kinase cascade, we focused on changes in the activation and amount of these kinases. Transient focal ischemia increased the amount of activated tyrosine kinase Src and PKC in the post‐synaptic density (PSD) at 4 h of reperfusion. The administration of LY367385 attenuated the increases in the amounts of PSD‐associated PKCγ and Src after transient focal ischemia. We further investigated phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor, which is a major target of Src family kinases to modulate the function of the receptor. Transient focal ischemia increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B. Tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A, but not that of NR2B, in the PSD at 4 h of reperfusion was inhibited by LY367385. These results suggest that the mGluR1 after transient focal ischemia is involved in the activation of Src, which may be linked to the modification of properties of the NMDA receptor and the development of cerebral infarction.
Parkin mediates the degradation‐independent ubiquitination of Hsp70
Authors: Moore Darren J. , West Andrew B. , Dikeman Dustin A. , Dawson Valina L. , Dawson Ted M.
Published: February 2008

Mutations in the parkin gene cause autosomal recessive, juvenile‐onset parkinsonism. Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates the ubiquitination of protein substrates. Disease‐associated mutations cause a loss‐of‐function of parkin which may compromise the poly‐ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of specific protein substrates, potentially leading to their deleterious accumulation. Here, we identify the molecular chaperones, Hsp70 and Hsc70, as substrates for parkin. Parkin mediates the ubiquitination of Hsp70 both in vitro and in cultured cells. Parkin interacts with Hsp70 via its second RING finger domain and mutations in/near this domain compromise Hsp70 ubiquitination. Ubiquitination of Hsp70 fails to alter its steady‐state levels or turnover, nor does it promote its proteasomal degradation. Consistent with this observation, Hsp70 levels remain unaltered in brains from parkin‐deficient autosomal recessive, juvenile‐onset parkinsonism subjects, whereas alternatively, Hsp70 levels are elevated in the detergent‐insoluble fraction of sporadic Parkinson’s disease/dementia with Lewy bodies brains. Parkin mediates the multiple mono‐ubiquitination of Hsp70/Hsc70 consistent with a degradation‐independent role for this ubiquitin modification. Our observations support a novel functional relationship between parkin and Hsc/Hsp70 and support the notion that parkin is a multi‐purpose E3 ubiquitin ligase capable of modifying proteins either via attachment of alternatively linked poly‐ubiquitin chains or through multiple mono‐ubiquitination to achieve alternate biological outcomes.
Characterization of the striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission in MEN2B mice with elevated cerebral tissue dopamine
Authors: Mijatovic Jelena , Patrikainen Outi , Yavich Leonid , Airavaara Mikko , Ahtee Liisa , Saarma Mart , Petteri Piepponen T.
Published: February 2008

The Ret receptor tyrosine kinase is the common signaling receptor for the glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family ligands. The Met918Thr mutation leads to constitutive activation of Ret and is responsible for dominantly inherited cancer syndrome MEN2B. Previously, we found that the mice carrying the mutation (MEN2B mice) have profoundly increased tissue dopamine (DA) concentrations in the striatum as well as increased striatal levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine transporter. The aim of this study was to characterize the striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission in MEN2B mice and to clarify the mechanisms by which they compensate their over‐production of DA. We found that tyrosine hydroxylase activity and DA synthesis are increased in MEN2B mice. Augmented effects of α‐methyl‐para‐tyrosine (αMT, an inhibitor of TH) and tetrabenazine (VMAT2 blocker) on DA levels suggest that also storage of DA is increased in MEN2B mice. There was no difference in the basal extracellular DA concentrations or potassium‐evoked DA release between the genotypes. The effects of cocaine and haloperidol were also similar between the genotypes as assessed by in vivo microdialysis. However, with in vivo voltammetry we found increase in stimulated DA release in MEN2B mice and detailed analysis of DA overflow showed that uptake of DA was also enhanced in MEN2B mice. Thus, our data show that enhanced synthesis of DA leading to increased storage and releasable pools in pre‐synaptic terminals in MEN2B mice apparently also leads to increased DA release, which in turn is compensated by higher dopamine transporter activity.
The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors α4* and α6* differentially modulate dopamine release in mouse striatal slices
Authors: Meyer Erin L. , Yoshikami Doju , McIntosh J. Michael
Published: February 2008

Striatal dopamine (DA) plays a major role in the regulation of motor coordination and in the processing of salient information. We used voltammetry to monitor DA‐release evoked by electrical stimulation in striatal slices, where interneurons continuously release acetylcholine. Use of the α6‐selective antagonist α‐conotoxin MII[E11A] and α4 knockout mice enabled identification of two populations of DA‐ergic fibers. The first population had a low action potential threshold, and action potential‐evoked DA‐release from these fibers was modulated by α6. The second population had a higher action potential threshold, and only α4(non‐α6) modulated action potential‐evoked DA‐release. Striatal DA‐ergic neurons fire in both tonic and phasic patterns. When stimuli were applied in a train to mimic phasic firing, more DA‐release was observed in α4 knockout versus wild‐type mice. Furthermore, block of α4(non‐α6), but not of α6, increased DA release evoked by a train. These results indicate that there are different classes of striatal DA‐ergic fibers that express different subtypes of nicotinic receptors.
Differential neurochemical consequences of an escalating dose‐binge regimen followed by single‐day multiple‐dose methamphetamine challenges
Authors: Graham Devon L. , Noailles Pierre‐A. H. , Cadet Jean Lud
Published: February 2008

Chronic intake of methamphetamine (METH) causes tolerance to its behavioral and subjective effects. To better mimic human patterns of drug abuse, the present study used a rodent model that took into account various facets of human drug administration and measured METH‐induced effects on brain monoamine levels. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with METH or saline according to an escalating dose schedule for 2 weeks. This was followed by a challenge regimen of either saline or one of two doses of METH (3 × 10 mg/kg every 2 h or 6 × 5 mg/kg given every hour, both given within a single day). Both challenge doses of METH caused significant degrees of depletion of dopamine in the striatum and norepinephrine and serotonin in the striatum, cortex, and hippocampus. Animals pre‐treated with METH showed significant attenuation of METH‐induced striatal dopamine depletion but not consistent attenuation of norepinephrine and serotonin depletion. Unexpectedly, METH pre‐treated animals that received the 3 × 10 mg/kg challenge showed less increases in tympanic temperatures than saline pre‐treated rats whereas METH pre‐treated animals that received the 6 × 5 mg/kg METH challenge showed comparable increases in temperatures to saline pre‐treated rats. Therefore, pre‐treatment‐induced partial protection against monoamine depletion is probably not because of attenuated METH‐induced hyperthermia in those rats.
Non‐formal learning and interprofessional collaboration in health and social care: the influence of the quality of staff interaction on student learning about collaborative behaviour in practice placements
Authors: Pollard Katherine C.
Published: February 2008

This paper reports findings from a qualitative study exploring pre‐qualifying health and social care students’ experiences of interprofessional learning and working in practice placement settings. The author argues that processes of non‐formal learning and unconscious role modelling in these environments are key to students’ developing collaborative skills. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a quota sample of 52 students from 10 health and social care professions. Data were analysed thematically. The nature of interprofessional collaboration varied across different settings, with students encountering a more disparate range of professions and agencies in community and social work settings than in acute healthcare settings. Most students appeared to have been exposed to examples of both effective and poor collaborative working. Although many students characterized interprofessional collaboration in placement settings as ‘good’, this assessment often conflicted with their description of behaviour that could be considered to constitute suboptimal collaborative practice. Students perceived the quality of interprofessional interaction to depend mainly on interpersonal communication, showing little awareness of how organizational systems influence collaboration. The findings show that some staff in placement settings experienced problems when working with colleagues from other disciplines, and indicate that consequently, through processes of non‐formal learning and unconscious role modelling, some students may have learned inappropriate behaviours with regard to interprofessional working. Although students were not necessarily expected to appreciate the importance of appropriate organizational systems for the establishment and maintenance of effective interprofessional collaboration, it appeared that staff members might also not be aware of these issues. The author argues that staff in placement settings need to understand and model the relevant capacities in order to provide students with appropriate learning opportunities in this regard. It appears that qualified staff need support to develop their own collaborative practice, so that they are able effectively to support students’ interprofessional learning and working in practice.
Design considerations for online learning in health and social work education
Authors: Reeves Patricia M. , Reeves Thomas C.
Published: February 2008

Increasingly, health and social work educators are joining their colleagues throughout higher education in exploring the possibilities of teaching and learning online. Online teaching and learning initiatives have been aided by both proprietary and open source course management systems such as BlackBoard and Moodle. However, the rush to put courses online is rarely informed by adequate consideration of the affordances of the World Wide Web to support different types of pedagogical dimensions or instructional design. In addition, academic staff members may jump into teaching online without sufficient consideration of the design components that can be implemented in online courses. This study provides an introduction to 10 design dimensions, derived from research and theory in instructional technology, cognitive science and adult education, for guiding the design and evaluation of online learning environments for health and social work education. It concludes by addressing the rewards and risks of online learning.
Evidence of α1‐adrenoceptor functional changes in omental arteries of patients with end‐stage renal disease
Authors: Cruz‐Domínguez M. P. , Villalobos‐Molina R. , Miliar‐García A. , Montes‐Cortés D. H. , Reséndiz‐Ramírez A. C. , Asbun‐Bojalil J. , Cervantes‐Cruz J. , Castillo‐Hernández M. C. , Castillo‐Henkel C.
Published: February 2008

1α1‐Adrenoceptor (α1‐AR) subtypes were characterized in isolated omental arteries obtained after abdominal surgery in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) or with Diabetes Mellitus type 2 plus ESRD (ESRD‐DM).

2Omental arteries from patients with ESRD and ESRD‐DM elicited a significant increase in sensitivity to phenylephrine with a pD2(−log EC50) of 6.7 and 6.6, respectively,vs.the control (5.8,P < 0.001).

3Stimulation with phenylephrine was conducted in the presence or absence of selective α1‐AR competitive antagonists: 5‐methylurapidil (α1A‐), AH11110A (1‐[biphenyl‐2‐yloxy]‐4‐imino‐4‐piperidin‐1‐yl‐butan‐2‐ol; α1B‐) and BMY7378 (8‐[2‐[4‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)‐1‐piperazinyl]ethyl]‐8‐azaspiro [4.5] decane‐7,9‐dione; α1D‐). The relative abundance of mRNA for all three α1‐ARs was determined.

4The maximal contractile responses to phenylephrine were:Emax1.59 ± 0.17, 1.48 ± 0.08 and 1.55 ± 0.14 g for the ESRD, ESRD‐DM and control groups, respectively.

5Functionally, there was an increment in the affinity for the α1A‐AR antagonist (pA2: control 7.45, ESRD 8.36, ESRD‐DM 8.0;P < 0.01), and a reduction in the α1B‐AR antagonist affinity (8.3 for controls, 7.6 for ESRD and 7.3 for ESRD‐DM;P < 0.01) associated with renal disease. The affinities for the α1D‐AR antagonist were similar among the studied groups (8.5 for the controls, 8.7 for the ESRD and 8.1 for the ESRD‐DM groups).

6Renal disease increased mRNA expression of α1B‐ARs and reduced both α1A‐ and α1D‐ARs subtypes in ESRD and ESRD‐DM patients.

7The results suggest that human omental arteries exposed to chronic uraemia show vascular hypersensitivity to phenylephrine, because of functional α1‐AR changes.