bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanoenzymatics of titin kinase
Authors: Puchner Elias M. , Alexandrovich Alexander , Kho Ay Lin , Hensen Ulf , Schäfer Lars V. , Brandmeier Birgit , Gräter Frauke , Grubmüller Helmut , Gaub Hermann E. , Gautel Mathias
Published: September 2008

Biological responses to mechanical stress require strain-sensing molecules, whose mechanically induced conformational changes are relayed to signaling cascades mediating changes in cell and tissue properties. In vertebrate muscle, the giant elastic protein titin is involved in strain sensing via its C-terminal kinase domain (TK) at the sarcomeric M-band and contributes to the adaptation of muscle in response to changes in mechanical strain. TK is regulated in a unique dual autoinhibition mechanism by a C-terminal regulatory tail, blocking the ATP binding site, and tyrosine autoinhibition of the catalytic base. For access to the ATP binding site and phosphorylation of the autoinhibitory tyrosine, the C-terminal autoinhibitory tail needs to be removed. Here, we use AFM-based single-molecule force spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and enzymatics to study the conformational changes during strain-induced activation of human TK. We show that mechanical strain activates ATP binding before unfolding of the structural titin domains, and that TK can thus act as a biological force sensor. Furthermore, we identify the steps in which the autoinhibition of TK is mechanically relieved at low forces, leading to binding of the cosubstrate ATP and priming the enzyme for subsequent autophosphorylation and substrate turnover.
Proxy-based reconstructions of hemispheric and global surface temperature variations over the past two millennia
Authors: Mann Michael E. , Zhang Zhihua , Hughes Malcolm K. , Bradley Raymond S. , Miller Sonya K. , Rutherford Scott , Ni Fenbiao
Published: September 2008

Following the suggestions of a recent National Research Council report [NRC (National Research Council) (2006)
Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years
(Natl Acad Press, Washington, DC).], we reconstruct surface temperature at hemispheric and global scale for much of the last 2,000 years using a greatly expanded set of proxy data for decadal-to-centennial climate changes, recently updated instrumental data, and complementary methods that have been thoroughly tested and validated with model simulation experiments. Our results extend previous conclusions that recent Northern Hemisphere surface temperature increases are likely anomalous in a long-term context. Recent warmth appears anomalous for at least the past 1,300 years whether or not tree-ring data are used. If tree-ring data are used, the conclusion can be extended to at least the past 1,700 years, but with additional strong caveats. The reconstructed amplitude of change over past centuries is greater than hitherto reported, with somewhat greater Medieval warmth in the Northern Hemisphere, albeit still not reaching recent levels.
Dynamic interfaces in an organic thin film
Authors: Tao Chenggang , Liu Qiang , Riddick Blake C. , Cullen William G. , Reutt-Robey Janice , Weeks John D. , Williams Ellen D.
Published: September 2008

Low-dimensional boundaries between phases and domains in organic thin films are important in charge transport and recombination. Here, fluctuations of interfacial boundaries in an organic thin film, acridine-9-carboxylic acid on Ag(111), have been visualized in real time and measured quantitatively using scanning tunneling microscopy. The boundaries fluctuate via molecular exchange with exchange time constants of 10–30 ms at room temperature, with length-mode fluctuations that should yield characteristic
f
−1/2
signatures for frequencies less than ≈100 Hz. Although acridine-9-carboxylic acid has highly anisotropic intermolecular interactions, it forms islands that are compact in shape with crystallographically distinct boundaries that have essentially identical thermodynamic and kinetic properties. The physical basis of the modified symmetry is shown to arise from significantly different substrate interactions induced by alternating orientations of successive molecules in the condensed phase. Incorporating this additional set of interactions in a lattice–gas model leads to effective multicomponent behavior, as in the Blume–Emery–Griffiths model, and can straightforwardly reproduce the experimentally observed isotropic behavior. The general multicomponent description allows the domain shapes and boundary fluctuations to be tuned from isotropic to highly anisotropic in terms of the balance between intermolecular interactions and molecule–substrate interactions.
Rice jmjC domain-containing gene
JMJ706
encodes H3K9 demethylase required for floral organ development
Authors: Sun Qianwen , Zhou Dao-Xiu
Published: September 2008

Histone lysine methylation is an important epigenetic modification with both activating and repressive roles in gene expression. Jumonji C (jmjC) domain-containing proteins have been shown to reverse histone methylation in nonplant model systems. Here, we show that plant Jumonji C proteins have both conserved and specific features compared with mammalian homologues. In particular, the rice
JMJD2
family jmjC gene
JMJ706
is shown to encode a heterochromatin-enriched protein. The JMJ706 protein specifically reverses di- and trimethylations of lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9)
in vitro
. Loss-of-function mutations of the gene lead to increased di- and trimethylations of H3K9 and affect the spikelet development, including altered floral morphology and organ number. Gene expression and histone modification analysis indicates that JMJ706 regulates a subset of flower development regulatory genes. Taken together, our data suggest that rice
JMJ706
encodes a heterochromatin-associated H3K9 demethylase involved in the regulation of flower development in rice.
Study Blinding and Correlations Between Perceived Group Assignment and Outcome in a Cocaine Pharmacotherapy Trial
Authors: Fairbairn Catharine E. , Dundon William D. , Xie Hu , Plebani Jennifer G. , Kampman Kyle M. , Lynch Kevin G.
Published: September 2008

While much research has suggested that the integrity of the blind is compromised in psychotropic drug trials, little research has been conducted on blinding in substance abuse trials. The current study examines the integrity of the blind in an outpatient pharmacotherapy trial investigating the effectiveness of amantadine and propranolol in treating cocaine addiction. Results suggest that neither nurses (N = 174, kappa = 0.08, p = 0.22) nor participants (N = 163, kappa = 0.09, p = 0.26) could accurately predict treatment assignment. Furthermore, nurses' perceptions of treatment assignment were significantly related to trial completion, medication compliance, and cocaine use—results that may have training implications for medical personnel.
Significance of Cigarette Smoking Among Youths with Bipolar Disorder
Authors: Goldstein Benjamin I. , Birmaher Boris , Axelson David A. , Goldstein Tina R. , Esposito‐Smythers Christianne , Strober Michael A. , Hunt Jeffrey , Leonard Henrietta , Gill Mary Kay , Iyengar Satish , Grimm Colleen , Yang Mei , Ryan Neal D. , Keller Martin B.
Published: September 2008

Cigarette smoking among adults with bipolar disorder (BP) correlates with psychosis, substance use disorders (SUD), and suicidality. Little is known regarding smoking among youths with BP. Youths with BP (n = 441) were divided into three smoking groups: Never, Ever, and Daily. Twenty‐five percent reported any smoking (11% daily, 14% ever). Ever and Daily subjects had significantly greater lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts, physical abuse, conduct disorder, and SUD compared to Never subjects. Daily heavy smokers had greater prevalence of SUD and suicide attempts, and worse depression versus daily light smokers. Smoking among youths with BP is independently associated with suicide attempts and SUD.
Methadone Maintenance vs. Methadone Taper During Pregnancy: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes
Authors: Jones Hendrée E. , O'Grady Kevin E. , Malfi Debbie , Tuten Michelle
Published: September 2008

This study compared five groups of participants: those receiving either three‐day methadone‐assisted withdrawal (MAW) alone (n = 67), three‐day MAW followed by methadone maintenance (MM) (n = 8), seven‐day MAW alone (n = 28), seven‐day MAW followed by MM (n = 20), or a continuous MM sample (n = 52) enrolled between 1995–2001 in an urban drug treatment center. On average, patients in the three MM groups remained in treatment longer, attended more obstetrical visits, and more often delivered at the program hospital than patients in the two MAW alone groups. Given the poor maternal MAW outcomes, methadone maintenance should be considered as the primary treatment approach for opioid‐dependent pregnant women.
Sex Differences in the Relationship Between Alcohol‐ Associated Smoking Urge and Behavior: A Pilot Study
Authors: King Andrea , Epstein Alyssa , Conrad Megan , McNamara Patrick , Cao Dingcai
Published: September 2008

This study examined sex differences in alcohol‐associated smoking urge and smoking patterns to elucidate factors contributing to the co‐use of alcohol and cigarettes. Participants were 39 (22M, 17F) binge‐drinking tobacco chippers. Although men and women showed similar alcohol‐smoking patterns and similar alcohol‐induced smoking urges, a positive association between these factors was observed only in men. The lack of relationship in women suggests that co‐use of these substances may be due to exteroceptive factors beyond the pharmacological effects of alcohol potentiating smoking urge.
The Impact of Opiate Agonist Maintenance Therapy on Drug Use Within Social Networks of Injecting Drug Users
Authors: Lloyd Jacqueline J. , Strathdee Steffanie A. , Pu Minya , Havens Jennifer R. , Cornelius Llewellyn J. , Huettner Steven , Latkin Carl A.
Published: September 2008

This study examined whether participation in opiate drug treatment is associated with changes in drug use and injecting drug use within the social networks of injecting drug users. Participants were 245 injecting drug users who attended the Baltimore Needle Exchange Program during 2002–2004 and requested treatment and received a referral for opiate agonist treatment as part of an intervention to improve treatment outcomes. Data included interviews at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months and drug treatment program agency records. The mean age of participants was 42.2 years; 77% were African American, 69% were male, and 48% entered treatment. Final generalized estimating equations (GEE) models indicated that participants that entered opiate drug treatment exhibited approximately a 20% decrease in the proportional odds of having friends that used drugs (p = 0.04). Additionally, participants that entered opiate drug treatment exhibited a 26% decrease in the proportional odds of having friends that injected drugs (p = 0.01). These findings contribute evidence to further understand the dynamics between opiate drug treatment, changes in social network risk, and treatment outcomes, as well as suggest an important role for peer‐based interventions to support entry and retention in opiate drug treatment.
Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy for Comorbid Alcohol Dependence and Non‐Psychotic Psychiatric Disorders
Authors: Malat Jan , Leszcz Molyn , Negrete Juan Carlos , Turner Nigel , Collins Jane , Liu Eleanor , Toneatto Tony
Published: September 2008

Alcohol‐dependent patients (N = 15) with comorbid non‐psychotic psychiatric disorders were treated with Modified Interpersonal Group Therapy (MIGT) for eight weeks, 16 sessions, in a pilot intervention trial. Analysis of the group participants demonstrated that they achieved statistically significant improvements at post‐treatment in four of five self‐report outcome measures: number of drinking days, number of heavy drinking days, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Furthermore, the improvements in heavy drinking days and the Brief Symptom Inventory were maintained at two and eight months post‐treatment. This study yields preliminary evidence in support of MIGT as a useful treatment approach for an alcohol‐dependent population with psychiatric comorbidity.
Association between Psychiatric Symptoms and Craving in Methamphetamine Users
Authors: Nakama Helenna , Chang Linda , Cloak Christine , Jiang Caroline , Alicata Daniel , Haning William
Published: September 2008

This study examined the differences in psychiatric symptoms between adult methamphetamine users (n = 46) and control subjects (n = 31), the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and the intensity of methamphetamine craving, and whether psychiatric symptoms were correlated to methamphetamine drug‐usage variables (ie, length of abstinence, frequency, duration, and lifetime grams). We found that depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiology Studies‐Depression (CES‐D) and many other psychiatric symptoms on the Symptom Checklist‐90 (SCL‐90) significantly correlated with craving methamphetamine on the visual analog scale (VAS) for craving. Methamphetamine users had significantly more depressive symptoms (on CES‐D) and psychotic symptoms (on SCL‐90) compared to controls. There were no significant correlations between psychiatric symptoms and methamphetamine‐usage variables. This study provides the first evidence to suggest that depressive symptoms (on CES‐D) and psychiatric symptoms (on SCL‐90) are strongly associated with the intensity of craving (on VAS) for the drug in methamphetamine users. However, the methamphetamine usage variables had no relationship with psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, methamphetamine users, regardless of their usage patterns, may benefit from treatment of their psychiatric symptoms in order to minimize craving and subsequent relapse to drug use.
Participation in Religious Activities During Contingency Management Interventions Is Associated with Substance Use Treatment Outcomes
Authors: Petry Nancy M. , Lewis Marilyn W. , Østvik‐White Elin M.
Published: September 2008

Many drug abuse treatment programs encourage participation in religious activities, yet there is scant research regarding their effectiveness. Contingency management (CM) interventions sometimes reinforce the completion of non‐drug related activities, and church attendance is a popular activity. Cocaine abusers (n = 184) randomized to CM interventions were categorized based on whether or not they engaged in three or more religious activities. Engagers in religious activities (n = 34) remained in treatment longer, were abstinent for longer durations, and submitted more substance‐negative samples than non‐engagers (n = 150), even after controlling for number of activities completed overall. Thus, encouraging religious involvement during CM treatment may improve during treatment outcomes.
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Pleasant Activities List
Authors: Roozen Hendrik G. , Wiersema Hans , Strietman Martin , Feij Jan A. , Lewinsohn Peter M. , Meyers Robert J. , Koks Margot , Vingerhoets Ad J.J.M.
Published: September 2008

This paper describes the development of a new 139‐item behavioral questionnaire (PAL) assessing the frequency and enjoyability of pleasant activities occurring in the natural environment of patients with substance use disorders. The sample consisted of 265 patients with mainly substance use disorders and 272 healthy controls. Group comparisons indicated that patients reported lower frequency, enjoyability, and cross‐product activity scores than controls. This study confirms previous findings that addiction is associated with a decreased level of engagement in pleasant activities. The PAL seems to be a standardized, feasible, and valid instrument to sample non‐substance‐related rewarding activities in patients' everyday lives.
Attitudes Toward Buprenorphine and Methadone Among Opioid‐Dependent Individuals
Authors: Schwartz Robert P. , Kelly Sharon M. , O'Grady Kevin E. , Mitchell Shannon Gwin , Peterson James A. , Reisinger Heather Schacht , Agar Michael H. , Brown Barry S.
Published: September 2008

Attitudes and beliefs about drug abuse treatment have long been known to shape response to that treatment. Two major pharmacological alternatives are available for opioid dependence: methadone, which has been available for the past 40 years, and buprenorphine, a recently introduced medication. This mixed‐methods study examined the attitudes of opioid‐dependent individuals toward methadone and buprenorphine. A total of 195 participants (n = 140 who were enrolling in one of six Baltimore area methadone programs and n = 55 who were out‐of‐treatment) were administered the Attitudes toward Methadone and toward Buprenorphine Scales, and a subset (n = 46) received an ethnographic interview. The in‐treatment group had significantly more positive attitudes toward methadone than did the out‐of‐treatment group (p < .001), while they did not differ in their attitudes toward buprenorphine. Both groups had significantly more positive attitudes toward buprenorphine than methadone. Addressing these attitudes may increase treatment entry and retention.
Assessing Craving in Young Adult Smokers Using Virtual Reality
Authors: Traylor Amy C. , Bordnick Patrick S. , Carter Brian L.
Published: September 2008

Cigarette smokers, when confronted with cues associated with smoking, evidence strong reactions, including increased craving. These reactions have not been extensively studied in young adult smokers, a group that research suggests may respond differently than adults or adolescent smokers. We used virtual reality, which presents a complex array of smoking cues that may be particularly salient to young adult smokers, and measured self‐report of craving. Young adult smokers responded strongly to these cues and, unlike adults, did not return to a baseline of craving following cue exposure, suggesting young adult smokers differ from other smokers in terms of cue responses.
Psychometric Evaluation of the National Opinion Research Center DSM‐IV Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS)
Authors: Wickwire Emerson M. , Burke Randy S. , Brown Seth A. , Parker Jefferson D. , May Ryan K.
Published: September 2008

The present study examined the reliability, validity, and clinical utility of a brief self‐report measure of gambling behavior, the National Opinion Research Center DSM‐IV Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS). Participants were 157 consecutively enrolled male military veterans taking part in substance use disorder treatment. The NODS displayed good internal consistency. Concurrent and discriminant validity were demonstrated by comparing scores on the NODS to scores on the South Oaks Gambling Screen and to a measure of medical problems, respectively. Overall, the NODS appears to be a reliable, valid, and clinically useful measure of gambling problems among patients in substance use disorder treatment programs.
Hallucinogen Use Disorders Among Adult Users of MDMA and Other Hallucinogens
Authors: Wu Li‐Tzy , Ringwalt Christopher L. , Mannelli Paolo , Patkar Ashwin A.
Published: September 2008

We investigated the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of past‐year DSM‐IV hallucinogen use disorders (HUDs) among past‐year users of MDMA and other hallucinogens from a sample of Americans 18 or older (n = 37,227). Users were categorized as MDMA users and other hallucinogen users. Overall, one in five (20%) MDMA users and about one in six (16%) other hallucinogen users reported at least one clinical feature of HUDs. Among MDMA users, prevalence of hallucinogen abuse, subthreshold dependence, and dependence was 4.9%, 11.9%, and 3.6%, respectively. The majority with hallucinogen abuse displayed subthreshold dependence. Most with hallucinogen dependence exhibited abuse. Subthreshold hallucinogen dependence is relatively prevalent and represents a clinically important subgroup that warrants future research and consideration in a major diagnostic classification system.
Factors Affecting Hospital Length of Stay: Is Substance Use Disorder One of Them? A Study in a Greek Public Psychiatric Hospital
Authors: Xafenias Athanasios , Diakogiannis Ioannis , Iacovides Apostolos , Fokas Konstantinos , Kaprinis Georgios
Published: September 2008

Comorbidity of psychiatric disorder and substance use disorder (SUD) is very common. Clinical experience says that comorbidity increases inpatient length of stay. We aimed to discover which factors affect length of stay for inpatients at a psychiatric department in a specialized mental hospital in a Greek urban area, and specifically whether SUD is one of them. All patients admitted over a 12‐month period were given the CAGE questionnaire and that part of the EUROPASI questionnaire dealing with substance use. This was followed by a diagnostic interview to establish the final diagnosis in accordance with the DSM‐IV criteria. Following this, the patients' characteristics in conjunction with their average length of stay were all evaluated statistically. A total of 313 patients were assessed. Present substance use disorder was identified in 102 individuals (32.6%). The principal substances involved in addiction or abuse were alcohol, cannabis, benzodiazepines, and opiates. Patients differed as to their cooperation with the medication regime. On the other hand, there was no statistical difference regarding the number of hospitalisations. Psychopathology was not found to play a direct role, as no one diagnosis correlated with length of stay. The factors found to affect length of stay in this psychiatric department were the length of time they had been mentally ill and cooperation in taking medication. It appears that SUD is not one of the factors affecting length of stay.
Peer review and its contribution to manuscript quality: an Australian perspective
Authors: LU Yanping
Published: September 2008

Journal reviewers' understanding and expectations of peer review, their incentives to take on the task, and the reasons why they sometimes declined were explored through a questionnaire survey, with particular attention to potential differences between education, physics, and chemistry. Eighty‐four senior researchers from 27 Australian universities, who had served as reviewers in education, physics, and chemistry, returned a completed questionnaire. There were significant variations in reviewers' expectations and understanding of reviewing, mostly related to seniority rather than discipline. They valued peer review as a way of maintaining the quality of science publications, and were generally satisfied with the current system; their impression of peer review's effectiveness was significantly correlated with their own experience. They saw reviewing as a professional obligation and part of their personal professional development. The most frequently mentioned reasons for declining to review were lack of expertise and lack of time.
Pricing and other means of charging for scholarly journals: a literature review and commentary
Authors: KING Donald W. , ALVARADO‐ALBERTORIO Frances M.
Published: September 2008

There has been a clear upward trend over the past 50 years in traditional listed print subscription prices. The more recent trend towards electronic publishing has made possible new ways of charging for journals, such as differential pricing structures and bundling of journals which are purchased through license fees/charges (both of which enable libraries to buy significantly more journals, but at the same time make it more difficult to analyze prices). We are now also seeing a new emphasis on the ‘author‐side payment’ model. This article analyzes pricing and charging policies and trends, illustrating how these are affected by the complexities of the evolving journal system.
Journal article version nomenclature: the NISO/ALPSP recommendations
Authors: MORGAN Cliff
Published: September 2008

The National Information Standards Organization (NISO), in partnership with the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), released a Recommended Practice entitled Journal Article Versions (JAV): Recommendations of the NISO/ALPSP JAV Technical Working Group on 23 June 2008. The article describes the background to this work, some of the key decisions made regarding scope, and the recommended nomenclature and definitions. It also refers to other work in this area.
China's copyright dilemma
Authors: THATCHER Sanford G.
Published: September 2008

At this critical point in its development as a burgeoning market economy ensconced within a socialist political system, China faces a dilemma in becoming a fully‐fledged player in the copyright arena. Over the past two decades, China has made great strides in creating a legal and governmental framework for the administration and enforcement of copyright. But its implementation has left much to be desired, owing partly to inadequate resources of money and personnel, partly to insufficiently harsh penalties for infringement, partly to cumbersome procedures required to bring action against infringers, and partly to a general cultural tolerance for practices that run contrary to cultivating a broad‐based respect for copyright. This article proposes that a balance of pressure and encouragement is likely to have the best chances of success in overcoming these problems and ensuring that China will become fully welcomed into the international publishing community.
Digital preservation: challenges and implementation
Authors: KIRCHHOFF Amy J.
Published: September 2008

The research of the future requires access to the research of the past. This access cannot be assured without reliable long‐term preservation of scholarly digital content. Near‐term access can be guaranteed with backup and access system redundancy. Mid‐term access can be protected with byte replication. But assurance of long‐term access requires digital preservation – the series of management policies and activities necessary to ensure the enduring usability, authenticity, discoverability, and accessibility of content over the very long term. Portico, with a mission to preserve scholarly digital content, is one organization providing such long‐term digital preservation.
Seeking balance: rights and exceptions in Section 108 of the US Copyright Act
Authors: GIVLER Peter
Published: September 2008

The Section 108 Study Group, convened in 2005 by the Library of Congress to recommend changes to that section of the US Copyright Act to recognize the role of digital technologies in current library and archives practices, issued its Report in March 2008. The Report makes a number of recommendations that strengthen the ability of qualifying institutions to make preservation copies of both analog and digital works, including websites, to make replacement copies of works no longer commercially available, and to permit outsourcing. It recommends that museums be eligible for the Section 108 exceptions, and that the television news exception be amended to permit streaming transmission for private study, scholarship, and research. It also recommends eligible institutions be permitted to provide off‐premises digital copies to users, provided that certain requirements and restrictions be met. It also considered some other questions but came to no recommendation or conclusion, such as whether digital‐only libraries and archives should be eligible for the Section 108 exceptions.
The evolution of Web‐based peer‐review systems
Authors: TANANBAUM Greg , HOLMES Lyndon
Published: September 2008

Web‐based peer‐review systems are ubiquitous within scholarly publishing today, providing valuable efficiencies for authors, editors, and referees. These systems are the result of a general evolution from paper‐based workflows to electronic processes that began in the 1970s. DOS‐based systems paved the way for Windows desktop systems and, in the mid‐1990s, Web‐based peer review. Governmental, academic, and commercial stakeholders all participated in advancing the state of peer review by experimenting with different technologies, workflows, and features. These experiments have coalesced into a new steady state in which Web‐based peer‐review systems are the norm, and in which continued evolution tends to focus on incremental improvements to traditional workflow.
Book Reviews
Authors: SINGLETON Alan
Published: September 2008

Citation Statistics
Robert Adler, John Ewing (Chair) and Peter Taylor. Joint Committee on Quantitative Assessment of Research International Mathematical Union (IMU) in co‐operation with the International Council of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS), 2008, 26pp. Freely available at http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Report/CitationStatistics.pdf
Book Reviews
Authors: SMART Pippa
Published: September 2008

SPEC Kit 299: Scholarly Communication Education Initiatives, August 2007 and SPEC Kit 300: Open Access Resources, September 2007 Washington DC, USA, Association of Research Libraries, 2007, Paperback SPEC Kit 299, 200pp, ISBN 978‐1‐59407‐792‐0; PDF freely available at http://www.arl.org/bm∼doc/spec299book.pdf.zip SPEC Kit 300, 137pp, ISBN 978‐1‐59407‐793‐7 $35 each for ARL members $35, $45 for non‐members, plus shipping and handling. http://www.arl.org/resources/pubs/spec/complete.shtml
Physical Interaction of Calmodulin with the 5-Hydroxytryptamine2C Receptor C-Terminus Is Essential for G Protein-independent, Arrestin-dependent Receptor Signaling
Authors: Labasque Marilyne , Reiter Eric , Becamel Carine , Bockaert Joël , Marin Philippe
Published: September 2008

The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT)2C receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) exclusively expressed in CNS that has been implicated in numerous brain disorders, including anxio-depressive states. Like many GPCRs, 5-HT2C receptors physically interact with a variety of intracellular proteins in addition to G proteins. Here, we show that calmodulin (CaM) binds to a prototypic Ca2+-dependent “1-10” CaM-binding motif located in the proximal region of the 5-HT2C receptor C-terminus upon receptor activation by 5-HT. Mutation of this motif inhibited both β-arrestin recruitment by 5-HT2C receptor and receptor-operated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1,2 signaling in human embryonic kidney-293 cells, which was independent of G proteins and dependent on β-arrestins. A similar inhibition was observed in cells expressing a dominant-negative CaM or depleted of CaM by RNA interference. Expression of the CaM mutant also prevented receptor-mediated ERK1,2 phosphorylation in cultured cortical neurons and choroid plexus epithelial cells that endogenously express 5-HT2C receptors. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that physical interaction of CaM with recombinant and native 5-HT2C receptors is critical for G protein-independent, arrestin-dependent receptor signaling. This signaling pathway might be involved in neurogenesis induced by chronic treatment with 5-HT2C receptor agonists and their antidepressant-like activity.
Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

Arguing that at the root of modern racial thinking is the effort to constitute Western identity as overcoming its internal, Oriental Other, the Jews, in Race: A Theological Account this book engages this problem for what it is: a theological problem. This book contends that the modern race question and the modern Jewish question are linked through the theological problem of the constitution of modernity's racial imagination, a constitution grounded in Christian supersessionism, or the effort to oust all things Jewish from the Western imaginary. Filling out this imagination is whiteness, nonwhiteness, and the negative anchor of the entire scheme, blackness. Beyond outlining this problem is the constructive task of reimagining Christian identity and theology beyond its tyrannical modern performance inside of whiteness. The book engages texts by patristic writers (like Maximus the Confessor), antellebum writers (like Frederick Douglass and Jarena Lee), and contemporary writers (like Michel Foucault).
Prelude on Christology and Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

This chapter engages Irenaeus of Lyons's 2nd‐century critique of ancient Gnosticism in order to shed light on the inner workings of modernity's racial imagination, which is Gnostic in character. According to Irenaeus, central to ancient Gnosticism was its intellectual effort to oust all things Jewish from the Christian imagination. Ancient Gnosis, Irenaeus argued, was driven by an anti‐Jewish supersessionism that had come to infect Christian identity. The chapter's central contention is that the effort to supersede Judaism is what binds the vision of race at work in the forms and systems of thought marking modernity and the anthropology or vision of the human at work in those marking the ancient Gnostic movements.The chapter makes the claim that Irenaeus's Christological response to the ancient Gnostic problem is a critical resource for this book's contemporary theological response to the neo‐Gnosticism of race generally and whiteness in particular.
The Drama of Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

This chapter begins here the work of developing a theological account of the modern problem of race, starting with an analysis of Cornel West's genealogy of race, ultimately labeling this approach problematic it for its inability to come to terms with what is religious, theological and political — all at the same time — about modernity and about how race functions within it. It then turns to Michel Foucault's work. The strength of his genealogy of race, which he positions within a genealogy of the state, is its opening onto a genealogy of religion, one that identifies the quest to overcome Jews and Judaism — the problem of supersessionism — as what propels modernity and moves its discourse of race, which is modernity's inner architecture. Unable to fully account for the theological nature of this problem, Foucault himself remained captive to his own form of intellectual supersessionism.
The Great Drama of Religion
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

Completing the theological account of modernity and of the modern problem of race begun in the prior chapter, this chapter analyzes the thought of the Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant. It argues that Kant's thought is illustrative of the problem of modernity, how the logic of race that animates it and the deeper anxiety regarding Jewish existence that is embedded within its racial logic point to the more fundamental problem: the problem of whiteness as a problem that draws on Christian theological ideas and themes to constitute itself. Stated differently, the chapter probes whiteness as a theological problem built on Christian supersessionism or the quest to overcome Jewish existence; this is an integral part of the effort to produce Christianity as the supreme, rational religion and as the basis of cosmopolitan culture and society.
Historicizing Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

Here this chapter engages the work of Albert Raboteau, the elder statesman of contemporary African American religious history, particularly his early work, Slave Religion (1978). The ambiguity of this text, which is emblematic of the field, lies in its impression that black religion generally and Afro‐Christianity particularly is a reflex of race, an (essentialist) echo of “Africanity” or “blackness” itself. Thus, black cultural nationalism is at the root of black religion. However, such a reading of black faith only lodges it within, rather than seeing it as trying to disrupt, modernity's racial imagination.The chapter then reexamine Raboteau's early work in light of his post‐Slave Religion work, inspired as it is by icon theology. Raboteau can now historically call attention to how Afro‐Christianity disrupts the racial gaze. The book later refines and presses Raboteau's fledgling and sketchy insights in a theologically robust direction.
Theologizing Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

At the center of the intellectual program called a black theology of liberation, as spearheaded by James Cone, has been unmasking the superstructure of whiteness as rooted in a problematic Christology.This chapter does two things. First, it shows how the early work of Cone broke ground in uncovering the theological structure of modern racial reasoning. Cone's deepest insight here was that modernity's racial imagination, its gaze of whiteness, is tied to Christianity's modernist quest to overcome its Jewish roots or for Christian supersessionism. Second, it shows how a discourse of black cultural nationalism, “ontological blackness,” eventually sabotaged this early insight, thus causing the logic of modern racial reasoning to reenact itself inside of black theology. The chapter sketches a Christian theology of Israel as the way to press forward Cone's deepest insight for redressing the racial‐theological constitution of modernity.
Interlude on Christology and Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

Here this chapter engages Gregory of Nyssa's 4th‐century unequivocal stance against slavery in any form and the manumission of all slaves, an outlook unsurpassed by anyone in antiquity. The chapter draws on Gregory's thought, particularly his form of theological exegesis in which he reads scripture against rather than within the social order, to suggest how New World Afro‐Christianity at its inception does the same, and in so doing how it redirects modern racial discourse precisely by redirecting modern Christianity itself and the very meaning of Christian identity. Crucial to Gregory's abolitionism is the connection he sees between Christ's person and work (Christology) and his covenantal or nonracial, which is to say, his Jewish flesh. Gregory's thought is shown to offer critical resources for overcoming the Christian supersessionism or anti‐Jewishness that grounds modernity's racial imagination, which functions between whiteness, nonwhiteness, and the negative anchor of blackness.
The Birth of Christ
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

Read individually and together or intertextually, a number of black antebellum texts employ Christian theological ideas to envision black existence as free. Indeed, they employ theological ideas in such a way as, first, to correct the distorted Christology that grounds modernity's racial imagination, second, to rectify the Christian supersessionism that is the deeper dimension of the modern Christological problematic. This chapter examines one such text, the 1760 Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings, and the Surprizing Deliverance of Briton Hammon, a Negro Man, arguing that, theologically understood, Hammon's Narrative works to destabilize modern racial identity by envisioning those racialized as black in the modern world, and thus as the negative anchor of whiteness, as in fact born into Christ's flesh. His birth or nativity is their birth, and thus his nonracial or Jewish covenantal flesh is the horizon of meaning that reconstitutes identity generally and that liberates racialized existence specifically.
The Death of Christ
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

This chapter continues the investigation of an emerging Afro‐Christian sensibility struggling with and against modernity by considering another text of American and African American letters, the 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. If Hammon's Narrative occupies the moment of the birth of Christ, Douglass's occupies that of the death and resurrection of Christ. The two Narratives together position black existence in its entirety inside of the economy of Christ's life. In this way, Douglass's Narrative pushes further the theological gesture begun in Hammon's tale, namely, articulating a vision of the person and work of Christ (Christology) that entails a counternarrative of Christian identity, one grounded in the particularity of Christ's Jewish‐covenantal and therefore nonracial flesh for the weakening of modernity's racial imagination of whiteness and the Christian supersessionism that founds it.
The Spirit of Christ
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

This chapter looks to Jarena Lee's autobiographical narratives as a correction and supplement to Hammon's and Douglass's efforts to give voice to an Afro‐Christian consciousness articulating itself with and against modernity. The chapter explores how her writings reshape the modern self at the crossroads of race and gender—by bearing more deeply into Christology. Lee's theological insight is that identity is reconstituted by occupying the covenantal and thus nonracial history of the Jewish people. Moreover, this takes place not simply as one enters into Christ's Jewish flesh, but as one enters it at the theological site of Pentecost and thus through the Spirit of Christ. In this way, the racial imagination (and the gender protocols by which it operates) are overcome. Pentecost, therefore, is the capstone of a nonsupersessionistic Christological vision, one that overturns the racial foundations of modernity and the theological problem of whiteness.
Postlude on Christology and Race
Authors: Carter J. Kameron
Published: September 2008

The vision of Maximus the Confessor, a 7th‐century monk‐theologian, is an unexpected resource, the chapter argues, for reconceiving the very task of theology given its tyrannical performance inside of whiteness. At the heart of Maximus's Christology is an exegetical practice that reads scripture against rather than with the grain of the social order, and an ethical practice that refuses self‐love or the logic of possession and ownership, which is central to the colonialist orientation of modernity's racial imagination of whiteness. This orientation of a theological ethics of dispossession (to speak in Maximian terms) is what makes Israel a nonracial people (to speak in contemporary terms). Understanding the person and work of Jesus as triangulated between Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, Maximus's Christology roots itself in the covenantal‐nonracial story of Jewish existence. Maximus's Christological argument, which is an anticolonialist argument, therefore fittingly culminates this book's argument.
Reading Our Lives
Authors: Randall William L. , McKim Elizabeth
Published: September 2008

This book examines aspects of aging that are commonly overlooked by dominant conceptual models in gerontology, which focus on the observable, measurable, or “outside” dimensions of aging. Drawing on the emerging field of narrative gerontology, it provides conceptual-theoretical support to scholars of aging who are interested in bringing such topics as reminiscence and life review more into the center of gerontological inquiry. Although aging has often been framed in terms of a narrative of inevitable decline, a more positive portrayal of aging becomes possible as the focus is placed on the intricate psychological dimensions or “inside” of aging, and as the storied nature of human experience is taken explicitly into account. The book looks at aging as, potentially, a process of poeisis: a creative endeavor of fashioning meaning from the ever-accumulating, ever-thickening texts — memories and reflections — that constitute our inner worlds. At its center is the conviction that, although we are constantly reading our lives to some degree anyway, doing so in a mindful manner is critical to our development, or growth, in the second half of life. The book employs a narrative, and thus interdisciplinary, perspective to link together topics that have tended to be of marginal interest within mainstream gerontology, specifically memory, meaning, wisdom, and spirituality. It does this by exploring the convergence of ideas from literary theory regarding reader-response; of advances in neuroscience regarding the narrative basis of consciousness itself; and of thinking about narrative development and narrative identity within psychology, in particular the psychology of aging.
One RETHINKING AGING: THE STORY OF MY LIFE
Authors: Randall William L , McKim A. Elizabeth
Published: September 2008

This chapter prepares for an exploration of the poetics of aging by introducing a narrative approach to gerontology, one that focuses on the inside of aging, or biographical aging, instead of its outside, i.e., biological aging. Discussed as well is the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of the metaphor of life-as-story, recognized increasingly across numerous disciplines as a paradigm for understanding human experience. The chapter also considers how postmodern theories of text and textualization apply to the notion of lifestory, and the consequences of such theories for concepts of personal identity. In particular, it introduces the idea that reading life, like reading literature, is an intricate, interpretive activity — one we are engaged in anyway, if largely unconsciously, all of the time. By better understanding the dynamics of this process, however, we can undertake it more deliberately, in the process developing a reflective and indeed ironic stance toward our lives which this book calls literary self-literacy.
Two NARRATING EXPERIENCE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SELF
Authors: Randall William L , McKim A. Elizabeth
Published: September 2008

This chapter explores the origins and operations of what the book calls “the narrative variable.” First, consideration is given to current research in neurology and cognitive neuroscience which suggests that at the most basic level of consciousness, and certainly at that of autobiographical memory, the human mind functions in a narrative fashion, chiefly through conceptual metaphor. The psychology of narrative — from consciousness to communication — is then discussed, moving from the swirl of perceptions and observations that continually characterizes our internal experience through an organizing process that entails reading, editing, and ultimately, narration. The chapter proposes that despite obvious differences, a lifestory (i.e., the narrative text which we compose (from within) around our lives) can be understood as similar to a literary story, and that the dynamics of personal identity can be conceived in terms of the dynamics and dimensions (including atmosphere and theme) that are at work in a novel.
Three STORYING LIFE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY
Authors: Randall William L , McKim A. Elizabeth
Published: September 2008

This chapter continues laying the conceptual groundwork for the rest of the book, where the focus is on aging, by discussing the formation of the self in explicitly narrative terms. The concept of narrative environment is introduced, to refer to the larger contexts within which our personal stories are inevitably constructed — not just our families, friendships, and communities but such broad or master narratives as gender, politics, culture, and religion. The many environments we live within exercise a powerful influence — supportive or oppressive — on the direction of our narrative development, that is, on the development of our narrative identity: the internalized, ever-evolving lifestory, the faction by which we understand who we are. Identity is no once-and-for-all achievement, but a process of continuous “storying,” even in later life, that involves the paradoxical activity of self-as-author and self-as-reader of our own lived narratives.
Four READING LITERATURE: THE INTERPRETING OF TEXT
Authors: Randall William L , McKim A. Elizabeth
Published: September 2008

This chapter discusses the nature of reading from the perspectives of both psychology and literary theory. Research into the cognitive and neurological features of reading indicates that we process written text in much the same way as we process day-to-day experience. In their analyses of reader-response, literary theorists insist that reading is a constructive process, and that a text's meaning depends as much on the reader's interpretation as on the author's intention. Awareness of this process, and of the fact that every text is thus an open text, is necessary for gaining literary competence. Such awareness has been labeled by Louise Rosenblatt as “aesthetic reading,” in opposition to “efferent reading,” which locates meaning only in the text. The chapter argues that reading literature can aid us in reading life, as claimed by proponents of bibliotherapy. Moreover, understanding the process of reading can contribute to the acquisition of literary self-literacy.