bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Contribution of Behavioral Economics to Political Science
Authors: Wilson Rick K.
Published: March 2011

Behavioral economics has become an important part of the economics profession. As a subfield, it tries to make sense of persistent violations of the standard model for economics. The major classes of violations involve social preferences (taking the well-being of others into account), time discounting (inconsistencies in valuing present and future commodities), and context (the effects of framing). Other violations involve well-known psychological heuristics such as overconfidence, constraints on strategic reasoning, emotions, and status differentials. These concepts are discussed in separate sections, and key experimental and empirical studies are noted.
Is Health Politics Different?
Authors: Carpenter Daniel
Published: March 2011

The aging of the global population, combined with changes in technology and cultural understandings of disease and the body, have thrust discussion and contestation over health into the center of local, national, and global politics. Is the politics of health different from the politics of other policy domains? On a number of dimensions, I conclude that it is. Voters and politicians in the developed world appear more likely to accept redistributive claims with respect to health than they are in other policy areas. Nations vary less widely in spending on health than on other functions of government and policy. Moral claims made about health are more likely to attach to its politics than are moral claims about the environment, labor, finance, and energy. More than these other realms, health politics encompasses issues regarding identity, the human body, and other personal matters that endow the health arena with greater significance. Bureaucratic agencies of state are more involved in the provision and regulation of health politics than in other areas, and the science-related nature of state expertise allows medical science itself to be sculpted in deeply political and administrative ways. The article concludes with reasons why political scientists should approach cross-policy generalizations cautiously, and with a call for greater engagement with health politics—to do for political science what health economics, the history of medicine, and medical sociology have done for other social science disciplines.
The Causes of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation
Authors: Sagan Scott D.
Published: March 2011

This critical review of the new political science literature on the causes of nuclear weapons proliferation consists of seven parts. The first section briefly presents what we know about which states developed nuclear weapons and which states started but abandoned weapons development programs. I highlight the problems that result from uncertainty about the accuracy and completeness of the data. The second and third sections review the literature on the spread of the technical capability to develop nuclear weapons. We still lack robust knowledge about the relationship between the development of civilian nuclear power programs and nuclear weapons acquisition. The next two sections review the literature on the demand for nuclear weapons. Comparative case studies and statistical studies have improved our understanding of the diversity of motives for weapons development and restraints, but serious gaps in our knowledge remain. The sixth section outlines alternative theories about the potential impact of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on nuclear weapons programs decisions. Finally, I lay out a future research agenda to address the weaknesses in our current understanding of the causes of nuclear proliferation.
Human Intracranial Recordings and Cognitive Neuroscience
Authors: Mukamel Roy , Fried Itzhak
Published: March 2011

The ultimate goal of neuroscience research is to understand the operating mechanism of the human brain and to exploit this understanding to devise methods for repair when it malfunctions. A key feature of this operating mechanism is electrical activity of single brain cells and cell assemblies. For obvious ethical reasons, scientists rely mostly on animal research in the study of such signals. Research in humans is often limited to electrical signals that can be recorded at the scalp or to surrogates of electrical activity, namely magnetic source imaging and measures of regional blood flow and metabolism. Invasive brain recordings performed in patients during various clinical procedures provide a unique opportunity to record high-resolution signals in vivo from the human brain—data that are otherwise unavailable. Of special value are the rare opportunities to record in awake humans the activity of single brain cells and small cellular assemblies. These recordings provide a unique view on aspects of human cognition that are impossible to study in animals, including language, imagery, episodic memory, volition, and even consciousness. In the current review we discuss the unique contribution of invasive recordings from patients to the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Consequences of Age-Related Cognitive Declines
Authors: Salthouse Timothy
Published: March 2011

Adult age differences in a variety of cognitive abilities are well documented, and many of those abilities have been found to be related to success in the workplace and in everyday life. However, increased age is seldom associated with lower levels of real-world functioning, and the reasons for this lab-life discrepancy are not well understood. This article briefly reviews research concerned with relations of age to cognition, relations of cognition to successful functioning outside the laboratory, and relations of age to measures of work performance and achievement. The final section discusses several possible explanations for why there are often little or no consequences of age-related cognitive declines in everyday functioning.
Religion, Morality, Evolution
Authors: Bloom Paul
Published: March 2011

How did religion evolve? What effect does religion have on our moral beliefs and moral actions? These questions are related, as some scholars propose that religion has evolved to enhance altruistic behavior toward members of one's group. I review here data from survey studies (both within and across countries), priming experiments, and correlational studies of the effects of religion on racial prejudice. I conclude that religion has powerfully good moral effects and powerfully bad moral effects, but these are due to aspects of religion that are shared by other human practices. There is surprisingly little evidence for a moral effect of specifically religious beliefs.
The Evolutionary Origins of Friendship
Authors: Seyfarth Robert M. , Cheney Dorothy L.
Published: March 2011

Convergent evidence from many species reveals the evolutionary origins of human friendship. In horses, elephants, hyenas, dolphins, monkeys, and chimpanzees, some individuals form friendships that last for years. Bonds occur among females, among males, or between males and females. Genetic relatedness affects friendships. In species where males disperse, friendships are more likely among females. If females disperse, friendships are more likely among males. Not all friendships, however, depend on kinship; many are formed between unrelated individuals. Friendships often involve cooperative interactions that are separated in time. They depend, at least in part, on the memory and emotions associated with past interactions. Applying the term “friendship” to animals is not anthropomorphic: Many studies have shown that the animals themselves recognize others' relationships. Friendships are adaptive. Male allies have superior competitive ability and improved reproductive success; females with the strongest, most enduring friendships experience less stress, higher infant survival, and live longer.
Distributed Representations in Memory: Insights from Functional Brain Imaging
Authors: Rissman Jesse , Wagner Anthony D.
Published: March 2011

Forging new memories for facts and events, holding critical details in mind on a moment-to-moment basis, and retrieving knowledge in the service of current goals all depend on a complex interplay between neural ensembles throughout the brain. Over the past decade, researchers have increasingly utilized powerful analytical tools (e.g., multivoxel pattern analysis) to decode the information represented within distributed functional magnetic resonance imaging activity patterns. In this review, we discuss how these methods can sensitively index neural representations of perceptual and semantic content and how leverage on the engagement of distributed representations provides unique insights into distinct aspects of memory-guided behavior. We emphasize that, in addition to characterizing the contents of memories, analyses of distributed patterns shed light on the processes that influence how information is encoded, maintained, or retrieved, and thus inform memory theory. We conclude by highlighting open questions about memory that can be addressed through distributed pattern analyses.
The Rise and Fall of Job Analysis and the Future of Work Analysis
Authors: Sanchez Juan I. , Levine Edward L.
Published: March 2011

This review begins by contrasting the importance ascribed to the study of occupational requirements observed in the early twentieth-century beginnings of industrial-organizational psychology with the diminishing numbers of job analysis articles appearing in top journals in recent times. To highlight the many pending questions associated with the job-analytic needs of today's organizations that demand further inquiry, research on the three primary types of job analysis data, namely work activities, worker attributes, and work context, is reviewed. Research on competencies is also reviewed along with the goals of a potential research agenda for the emerging trend of competency modeling. The cross-fertilization of job analysis research with research from other domains such as the meaning of work, job design, job crafting, strategic change, and interactional psychology is proposed as a means of responding to the demands of today's organizations through new forms of work analysis.
Working Memory: Theories, Models, and Controversies
Authors: Baddeley Alan
Published: March 2011

I present an account of the origins and development of the multicomponent approach to working memory, making a distinction between the overall theoretical framework, which has remained relatively stable, and the attempts to build more specific models within this framework. I follow this with a brief discussion of alternative models and their relationship to the framework. I conclude with speculations on further developments and a comment on the value of attempting to apply models and theories beyond the laboratory studies on which they are typically based.
Mechanisms of Social Cognition
Authors: Frith Chris D. , Frith Uta
Published: March 2011

Social animals including humans share a range of social mechanisms that are automatic and implicit and enable learning by observation. Learning from others includes imitation of actions and mirroring of emotions. Learning about others, such as their group membership and reputation, is crucial for social interactions that depend on trust. For accurate prediction of others' changeable dispositions, mentalizing is required, i.e., tracking of intentions, desires, and beliefs. Implicit mentalizing is present in infants less than one year old as well as in some nonhuman species. Explicit mentalizing is a meta-cognitive process and enhances the ability to learn about the world through self-monitoring and reflection, and may be uniquely human. Meta-cognitive processes can also exert control over automatic behavior, for instance, when short-term gains oppose long-term aims or when selfish and prosocial interests collide. We suggest that they also underlie the ability to explicitly share experiences with other agents, as in reflective discussion and teaching. These are key in increasing the accuracy of the models of the world that we construct.
Sources of Method Bias in Social Science Research and Recommendations on How to Control It
Authors: Podsakoff Philip M. , MacKenzie Scott B. , Podsakoff Nathan P.
Published: March 2011

Despite the concern that has been expressed about potential method biases, and the pervasiveness of research settings with the potential to produce them, there is disagreement about whether they really are a problem for researchers in the behavioral sciences. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to explore the current state of knowledge about method biases. First, we explore the meaning of the terms “method” and “method bias” and then we examine whether method biases influence all measures equally. Next, we review the evidence of the effects that method biases have on individual measures and on the covariation between different constructs. Following this, we evaluate the procedural and statistical remedies that have been used to control method biases and provide recommendations for minimizing method bias.
Visual Aesthetics and Human Preference
Authors: Palmer Stephen E. , Schloss Karen B. , Sammartino Jonathan
Published: March 2011

Human aesthetic preference in the visual domain is reviewed from definitional, methodological, empirical, and theoretical perspectives. Aesthetic science is distinguished from the perception of art and from philosophical treatments of aesthetics. The strengths and weaknesses of important behavioral techniques are presented and discussed, including two-alternative forced-choice, rank order, subjective rating, production/adjustment, indirect, and other tasks. Major findings are reviewed about preferences for colors (single colors, color combinations, and color harmony), spatial structure (low-level spatial properties, shape properties, and spatial composition within a frame), and individual differences in both color and spatial structure. Major theoretical accounts of aesthetic response are outlined and evaluated, including explanations in terms of mere exposure effects, arousal dynamics, categorical prototypes, ecological factors, perceptual and conceptual fluency, and the interaction of multiple components. The results of the review support the conclusion that aesthetic response can be studied rigorously and meaningfully within the framework of scientific psychology.
Research on Adolescence in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Crosnoe Robert , Johnson Monica Kirkpatrick
Published: March 2011

Recent methodological advances have allowed empirical research on adolescence to do better justice to theoretical models. Organized by a life course framework, this review covers the state of contemporary research on adolescents' physical, psychological, interpersonal, and institutional pathways; how these pathways connect within primary ecological contexts; and how they relate to broader patterns of societal stratification and historical change. Looking forward, it also emphasizes three future challenges/opportunities, including efforts to illuminate biosocial processes, link adolescence to other life stages, and account for the influence of major social changes (e.g., the new media).
Societal Reactions to Deviance
Authors: Grattet Ryken
Published: March 2011

A common complaint about the sociology of deviance, particularly the perspective known as labeling theory or the societal reaction perspective, is that the field is dead. However, considerable evidence suggests that the core themes of societal reaction work live on in several areas of contemporary scholarship. After identifying and describing three key strands of the early societal reaction perspective, I consider how those strands are reflected in more recent work, much of which does not explicitly reference the earlier tradition. I identify the ways that recent scholarship builds upon and yet extends the earlier societal reaction tradition. I close by describing three trajectories emerging in recent work that should focus future inquiry: the contingent effects of labeling, the causes of gaps between social control discourse and practice, and the diffusion of social control practices from deviants to nondeviants.
Emotions and Social Movements: Twenty Years of Theory and Research
Authors: Jasper James M.
Published: March 2011

The past 20 years have seen an explosion of research and theory into the emotions of protest and social movements. At one extreme, general theoretical statements about emotions have established their importance in every aspect of political action. At the other, the origins and influence of many specific emotions have been isolated as causal mechanisms. This article offers something in between, a typology of emotional processes aimed not only at showing that not all emotions work the same way, but also at encouraging research into how different emotions interact with one another. This should also help us overcome a residual suspicion that emotions are irrational, as well as avoid the overreaction, namely demonstrations that emotions help (and never hurt) protest mobilization and goals.
Relations Between the Generations in Immigrant Families
Authors: Foner Nancy , Dreby Joanna
Published: March 2011

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the nature of intergenerational relationships in immigrant families, especially between immigrant parents and their children, many of whom were born and largely raised in the United States. This review begins with an analysis of the causes of tension and conflict as well as accommodation and cooperation between parents and children in immigrant families in the contemporary United States. We then examine what happens when parents and children are separated in transnational families—why this pattern occurs today and how it affects family relationships. We provide a historical-comparative perspective, discussing what is new about parent-child relations in immigrant families today in contrast to a century ago in the last great wave of immigration to the United States. Finally, a cross-national view reveals the different emphases in the social science literature on intergenerational relations in immigrant families in the United States and western Europe.
The Sociology of Suicide
Authors: Wray Matt , Colen Cynthia , Pescosolido Bernice
Published: March 2011

Since Durkheim's classic work on suicide, sociological attention to understanding the roots of self-destruction has been inconsistent. In this review, we use three historical periods of interest (pre-Durkheim, Durkheim, post-Durkheim) to organize basic findings in the body of sociological knowledge regarding suicide. Much of the twentieth-century research focused on issues of integration and regulation, imitation, and the social construction of suicide rates. Innovations in the twenty-first-century resurgence of sociological research on suicide are described in detail. These newer studies begin to redirect theory and analysis toward a focus on ethnoracial subgroups, individual-level phenomena (e.g., ideation), and age-period-cohort effects. Our analysis of sociology's contributions, limits, and possibilities leads to a recognition of the need to break through bifurcations in individual- and aggregate-level studies, to pursue the translation of Durkheim's original theory into a network perspective as one avenue of guiding micro-macro research, and to attend to the complexity in both multidisciplinary explanations and pragmatic interventions.
The Sociology of Storytelling
Authors: Polletta Francesca , Chen Pang Ching Bobby , Gardner Beth Gharrity , Motes Alice
Published: March 2011

In contrast to the antistructuralist and antipositivist agenda that has animated the “narrative turn” in the social sciences since the 1980s, a more uniquely sociological approach has studied stories in the interactional, institutional, and political contexts of their telling. Scholars working in this vein have seen narrative as powerful, but as variably so, and they have focused on the ways in which narrative competence is socially organized and unevenly distributed. We show how this approach, or cluster of approaches, rooted variously in conversational analysis, symbolic interactionism, network analysis, and structuralist cultural sociologies, has both responded to problems associated with the narrative turn and shed light on enduring sociological questions such as the bases of institutional authority, how inequalities are maintained and reproduced, why political challengers are sometimes able to win support, and the cultural foundations of self-interest and instrumental rationality.
The Sociology of Finance
Authors: Carruthers Bruce G. , Kim Jeong-Chul
Published: March 2011

The economic crisis of 2008–2010 stimulated an already growing sociological interest in finance. Before the crisis, disintermediation and securitization changed how the U.S. financial system operated, as bank operations shifted from the traditional originate-and-hold model to originate-and-distribute. During the 1980s and 1990s, the overall size and profitability of the financial system grew as deregulation unleashed financial innovation and reorganization. Global shifts toward capital market integration and liberalization created greater global interdependence. Households in the years before the crisis also altered their relationship to the financial system, increasing debt loads and overall exposure to the stock market. Research reveals the importance of politics for many financial market developments, various implications for corporate governance, the continuing significance of social factors within finance, and the role of theoretical and material devices in shaping financial practices. Key directions for future research focus on finance in relation to social inequality, informal sectors, valuation, and social networks.
Foucault and Sociology
Authors: Power Michael
Published: March 2011

Michel Foucault was a gifted but elusive thinker with a wide and continuing impact across many academic fields. This article positions his work as a historical sociology of knowledge and evaluates its contribution. After reviewing Foucault's central preoccupations as they emerge in his major works, the argument briefly considers their influence on accounting scholarship as an informative exemplar of a wider Foucault effect. Four key areas for the sociological reception of Foucault are then considered: the nature of discourse and archaeology, his historical method, the problem of agency and action, and his conception of power. Articulating Foucault's relationship to sociology is inherently problematic, not least because he takes the emergence of the sciences of man as something to be explained rather than augmented. Yet his work remains a rich resource for inquiries of the sociological type, is broadly aligned with a practice turn in social theory, and intersects with several themes in both mainstream and critical sociology.
Rural America in an Urban Society: Changing Spatial and Social Boundaries
Authors: Lichter Daniel T. , Brown David L.
Published: March 2011

This review outlines several key aspects of the new rural-urban interface and the growing interpenetration of American rural and urban life. The historical coincidence of spatial and social boundaries in America is changing rapidly. This review highlights (a) the enormous scale of rural-urban interdependence and boundary crossing, shifting, and blurring—along many dimensions of community life—over the past several decades, and (b) the symmetrical rather than asymmetrical influences between urban and rural areas, i.e., on bidirectional relational aspects of spatial categories. These general points are illustrated by identifying 10 common conceptions of rural America that reflect both its social and economic diversity and its changing spatial and social boundaries. Here we emphasize symbolic and social boundaries—the distinctions between urban and rural communities and people and the processes by which boundaries are engaged. Placing behaviors or organizational forms along a rural-urban continuum (or within a metropolitan hierarchy of places) or drawing sharp rural-urban distinctions seems increasingly obsolete or even problematic. We conclude with a call for new research on rural America and greater conceptual and empirical integration of urban and rural scholarship, which remains disconnected and segregated institutionally.
The Integration Imperative: The Children of Low-Status Immigrants in the Schools of Wealthy Societies
Authors: Alba Richard , Sloan Jennifer , Sperling Jessica
Published: March 2011

Because demographic shifts will affect their labor forces in the immediate future, rich societies will have to face up to the challenge of integrating the children of low-status immigrants, such as Mexicans in the United States and Turks in western Europe. The performance of educational systems is critical to meeting this challenge. We consider how three features of such systems—the division of labor among schools, families, and communities; tracking; and inequalities among schools—impact immigrant-origin children. In general, children from low-status immigrant families lag behind the children from native families but for reasons that differ from one system to another. Each system can profit from the experiences of the others in attempting to ameliorate this disparity.
Shell-Isolated Nanoparticle-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: Expanding the Versatility of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering
Authors: Anema Jason R. , Li Jian-Feng , Yang Zhi-Lin , Ren Bin , Tian Zhong-Qun
Published: March 2011

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a powerful technique for detection and characterization because of its extremely high sensitivity and the rich structural information that it can offer. However, most SERS substrates are composed of Au, Ag, or Cu, and a lack of substrate generality has greatly limited the breadth of the use of SERS. Recently, we have devised a method by which SERS can be obtained from virtually any surface. Au nanoparticles are coated with ultrathin silica shells. The Au core provides Raman signal enhancement; the silica shell prevents the core from coming into direct contact with probe/analyte molecules or the surface over which these particles are spread (i.e., prevents the contamination of the chemical system under study). In the present review, we expand upon previous discussion of the enhancement mechanism; procedures for the synthesis and characterization of our nanoparticles; and applications in surface chemistry, electrochemistry, and inspection.
P-Type ATPases
Authors: Palmgren Michael G. , Nissen Poul
Published: March 2011

P-type ATPases form a large superfamily of cation and lipid pumps. They are remarkably simple with only a single catalytic subunit and carry out large domain motions during transport. The atomic structure of P-type ATPases in different conformations, together with ample mutagenesis evidence, has provided detailed insights into the pumping mechanism by these biological nanomachines. Phylogenetically, P-type ATPases are divided into five subfamilies, P1–P5. These subfamilies differ with respect to transported ligands and the way they are regulated.
Recent Perspectives on Trade and Inequality
Authors: Harrison Ann , McLaren John , McMillan Margaret
Published: March 2011

The 1990s dealt a blow to traditional Heckscher-Ohlin analysis of the relationship between trade and income inequality, as it became clear that rising inequality in low-income countries and other features of the data were inconsistent with that model. As a result, economists moved away from trade as a plausible explanation for rising income inequality. In recent years, however, a number of new mechanisms have been explored through which trade can affect (and usually increase) income inequality. These include within-industry effects due to heterogeneous firms, the effects of offshoring of tasks, effects on incomplete contracting, and the effects of labor-market frictions. A number of these mechanisms have received substantial empirical support.
Privatization and Accountability
Authors: Dickinson Laura A.
Published: March 2011

Privatization has become a dominant feature of twenty-first century governance, creating concerns about diminished accountability and oversight. However, to properly evaluate such concerns or respond to them, we must distinguish between two different forms of accountability: accountability as after-the-fact redress and accountability as managerial oversight. Moreover, each of these forms of accountability may be pursued through a variety of mechanisms or processes, including not only criminal or civil lawsuits but also reform of the contracts that are the engine of privatization; increased public participation in the design, award, and monitoring of contracts; and changes to the organizational structure or institutional culture of contractor firms. Accordingly, this review lays out a taxonomy for analyzing privatization so that we can more comprehensively evaluate both the impact of privatization and the efficacy of possible responses. In addition, the review highlights recent privatization trends in the military and foreign aid arenas, the potential impact of such privatization on core values, and possible responses.
Multivariate Analysis Methods in Particle Physics
Authors: Bhat Pushpalatha C.
Published: March 2011

Each generation of high-energy physics experiments is grander in scale than the previous—more powerful, more complex, and more demanding in terms of data handling and analysis. The spectacular performance of the Tevatron and the beginning of operations at the Large Hadron Collider have placed us at the threshold of a new era in particle physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson, or another agent of electroweak symmetry breaking, and evidence of new physics may be just around the corner. The greatest challenge in these pursuits is to extract the extremely rare signals, if any, from the huge backgrounds that arise from known physics processes. The use of advanced analysis techniques is crucial in achieving this goal. In this review, I discuss the concepts of optimal analysis, some important advanced analysis methods, and a few examples. The judicious use of these advanced methods should enable new discoveries and produce results with better precision, robustness, and clarity.
Backreaction in Late-Time Cosmology
Authors: Buchert Thomas , Räsänen Syksy
Published: March 2011

We review the effect of the formation of nonlinear structures on the expansion rate, spatial curvature, and light propagation in the universe, focusing on the possibility that this effect could explain cosmological observations without requiring the introduction of dark energy or modified gravity. We concentrate on explaining the relevant physics and highlighting open questions.
Status and New Ideas Regarding Liquid Argon Detectors
Authors: Marchionni Alberto
Published: March 2011

Large (up to ∼100 kt) liquid argon (LAr) time-projection chamber detectors are presently being considered for proton decay searches and neutrino astrophysics, as well as for far detectors for the next generation of long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments that aim to determine neutrino mass hierarchy and search for CP violation in the leptonic sector. These detectors rely on the capabilities to assemble large volumes of LAr in ultrahigh-purity conditions, possibly in an underground environment, and to achieve relatively long drifts for the ionization charge. Several proposals have been developed, each of which takes a different approach to the design of the cryogenic vessels and has different scales of modularity to reach the final mass dictated by physics. New detector concepts, with innovative designs of readout electronics and novel methods for the readout of the ionization charge and scintillation light, have been proposed.
Nutritional Scientist or Biochemist?
Authors: Suttie J.W.
Published: March 2011

When invited by the editors to provide a prefatory article for the Annual Review of Nutrition, I attempted to decide what might be unique about my experiences as a nutritional biochemist. Although a large proportion of contemporary nutritional scientists were trained as biochemists, the impact of the historical research efforts related to nutrition within the Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin 50 to 60 years ago was, I think, unique, and I have tried to summarize that historical focus. My scientific training was rather standard, but I have tried to review the two major, but greatly different, areas of research that I have been involved in over my career: inorganic fluorides as an industrial pollutant and the metabolic role of vitamin K. I have also had the opportunity to become involved with the activities of the societies representing the nutritional sciences (American Society for Nutrition), biochemistry (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the Food and Nutrition Board, the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics. These interactions can be productive or frustrating but are always time-consuming.
Docosahexaenoic Acid Signalolipidomics in Nutrition: Significance in Aging, Neuroinflammation, Macular Degeneration, Alzheimer's, and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
Authors: Bazan Nicolas G. , Molina Miguel F. , Gordon William C.
Published: March 2011

Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are critical nutritional lipids that must be obtained from the diet to sustain homeostasis. Omega-3 and -6 PUFAs are key components of biomembranes and play important roles in cell integrity, development, maintenance, and function. The essential omega-3 fatty acid family member docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is avidly retained and uniquely concentrated in the nervous system, particularly in photoreceptors and synaptic membranes. DHA plays a key role in vision, neuroprotection, successful aging, memory, and other functions. In addition, DHA displays anti-inflammatory and inflammatory resolving properties in contrast to the proinflammatory actions of several members of the omega-6 PUFAs family. This review discusses DHA signalolipidomics, comprising the cellular/tissue organization of DHA uptake, its distribution among cellular compartments, the organization and function of membrane domains rich in DHA-containing phospholipids, and the cellular and molecular events revealed by the uncovering of signaling pathways regulated by DHA and docosanoids, the DHA-derived bioactive lipids, which include neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), a novel DHA-derived stereoselective mediator. NPD1 synthesis agonists include neurotrophins and oxidative stress; NPD1 elicits potent anti-inflammatory actions and prohomeostatic bioactivity, is anti-angiogenic, promotes corneal nerve regeneration, and induces cell survival. In the context of DHA signalolipidomics, this review highlights aging and the evolving studies on the significance of DHA in Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders. DHA signalolipidomics in the nervous system offers emerging targets for pharmaceutical intervention and clinical translation.
Vitamin D in Pregnancy and Lactation in Humans
Authors: Brannon Patsy M. , Picciano Mary Frances
Published: March 2011

Concerns exist about the adequacy of vitamin D in pregnant and lactating women. This review assesses the evidence that maternal vitamin D status influences maternal, fetal, and breast-fed infant bone health; maternal adverse outcomes (preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, obstructed labor, and infectious disease); fetal adverse outcomes (growth, gestational age, and developmental programming); and infant adverse outcomes. The evidence for all of these outcomes is contradictory (except for maternal infectious disease) and lacking causality; thus, it is inconclusive. The 2011 Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin D and their implications for assessing vitamin D status are discussed. An estimated 5% to 29% of American pregnant women may have inadequate vitamin D status, with the higher prevalence in African Americans. Little is known about the prevalence of inadequacy in American lactating women. Research needs are also identified, especially the need for rigorous and well-designed randomized clinical trials to determine the role of vitamin D in nonbone health outcomes in pregnancy and lactation.
Network Analysis and Political Science
Authors: Ward Michael D. , Stovel Katherine , Sacks Audrey
Published: March 2011

Political science is fascinated with networks. This fascination builds on networks' descriptive appeal, and descriptions of networks play a prominent role in recent forays into network analysis. For some time, quantitative research has included node-level measures of network characteristics in standard regression models, thereby incorporating network concepts into familiar models. This approach represents an early advance for the literature but may (a) ignore fundamental theoretical contributions that can be found in a more structurally oriented network perspective, (b) focus attention on superficial aspects of networks as they feed into empirical work, and (c) present the network perspective as a slight tweak to standard models that assume complete independence of all relevant actors. We argue that network analysis is more than a tweak to the status quo ante; rather, it offers a means of addressing one of the holy grails of the social sciences: effectively analyzing the interdependence and flows of influence among individuals, groups, and institutions.
Evolutionary Psychology: New Perspectives on Cognition and Motivation
Authors: Cosmides Leda , Tooby John
Published: March 2011

Evolutionary psychology is the second wave of the cognitive revolution. The first wave focused on computational processes that generate knowledge about the world: perception, attention, categorization, reasoning, learning, and memory. The second wave views the brain as composed of evolved computational systems, engineered by natural selection to use information to adaptively regulate physiology and behavior. This shift in focus—from knowledge acquisition to the adaptive regulation of behavior—provides new ways of thinking about every topic in psychology. It suggests a mind populated by a large number of adaptive specializations, each equipped with content-rich representations, concepts, inference systems, and regulatory variables, which are functionally organized to solve the complex problems of survival and reproduction encountered by the ancestral hunter-gatherers from whom we are descended. We present recent empirical examples that illustrate how this approach has been used to discover new features of attention, categorization, reasoning, learning, emotion, and motivation.
How to Conduct a Mixed Methods Study: Recent Trends in a Rapidly Growing Literature
Authors: Small Mario Luis
Published: March 2011

The present article selectively reviews the large number of recent studies that have been described as based on mixed methods. I begin by discussing a body of work that has emerged to promote mixed methods research across the social sciences. I then review and critique empirical studies in each of two general approaches to mixed methods: mixed data–collection studies, which combine two or more kinds of data; and mixed data–analysis studies, which combine two or more analytical strategies, examine qualitative data with quantitative methods, or explore quantitative data with qualitative techniques. I argue that, although mixed methods research is by no means new, empirical studies today combine methods in more diverse and, at times, innovative ways. Nevertheless, important methodological tensions will likely surface as the research becomes more self-reflexive.
Impact of protein coingestion on muscle protein synthesis during continuous endurance type exercise
Authors: Beelen Milou , Zorenc Antoine , Pennings Bart , Senden Joan M. , Kuipers Harm , van Loon Luc J. C.
Published: March 2011

This study investigates the impact of protein coingestion with carbohydrate on muscle protein synthesis during endurance type exercise. Twelve healthy male cyclists were studied during 2 h of fasted rest followed by 2 h of continuous cycling at 55% Wmax. During exercise, subjects received either 1.0 g·kg−1·h−1 carbohydrate (CHO) or 0.8 g·kg−1·h−1 carbohydrate with 0.2 g·kg−1·h−1 protein hydrolysate (CHO+PRO). Continuous intravenous infusions with l-[ ring-13C6]phenylalanine and l-[ ring-2H2]tyrosine were applied, and blood and muscle biopsies were collected to assess whole body protein turnover and muscle protein synthesis rates at rest and during exercise conditions. Protein coingestion stimulated whole body protein synthesis and oxidation rates during exercise by 22 ± 3 and 70 ± 17%, respectively ( P < 0.01). Whole body protein breakdown rates did not differ between experiments. As a consequence, whole body net protein balance was slightly negative in CHO and positive in the CHO+PRO treatment (−4.9 ± 0.3 vs. 8.0 ± 0.3 μmol Phe·kg−1·h−1, respectively, P < 0.01). Mixed muscle protein fractional synthetic rates (FSR) were higher during exercise compared with resting conditions (0.058 ± 0.006 vs. 0.035 ± 0.006%/h in CHO and 0.070 ± 0.011 vs. 0.038 ± 0.005%/h in the CHO+PRO treatment, respectively, P < 0.05). FSR during exercise did not differ between experiments ( P = 0.46). We conclude that muscle protein synthesis is stimulated during continuous endurance type exercise activities when carbohydrate with or without protein is ingested. Protein coingestion does not further increase muscle protein synthesis rates during continuous endurance type exercise.
The significance of Her2 on androgen receptor protein stability in the transition of androgen requirement in prostate cancer cells
Authors: Hsu Fu-Ning , Yang Min-Shiou , Lin Eugene , Tseng Chun-Fu , Lin Ho
Published: March 2011

Androgen ablation therapy is the most common strategy for suppressing prostate cancer progression; however, tumor cells eventually escape androgen dependence and progress to an androgen-independent phase. The androgen receptor (AR) plays a pivotal role in this transition. To address this transition mystery in prostate cancer, we established an androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line (LNCaPdcc), by long-term screening of LNCaP cells in androgen-deprived conditions, to investigate changes of molecular mechanisms before and after androgen withdrawal. We found that LNCaPdcc cells displayed a neuroendocrine morphology, less aggressive growth, and lower expression levels of cell cycle-related factors, although the cell cycle distribution was similar to parental LNCaP cells. Notably, higher protein expression of AR, phospho-Ser81-AR, and PSA in LNCaPdcc cells were observed. The nuclear distribution and protein stability of AR increased in LNCaPdcc cells. In addition, cell proliferation results exhibited the biphasic nature of the androgen (R1881) effect in two cell lines. On the other hand, LNCaPdcc cells expressed higher levels of Her2, phospho-Tyr1221/1222-Her2, ErbB3, and ErbB4 proteins than parental LNCaP cells. These two cell lines exhibited distinct responses to Her2 activation (by heregulin treatment) on Her2 phosphorylation and Her2 inhibition (by AG825 or Herceptin treatments) on proliferation. In addition, the Her2 inhibitor more effectively caused AR degradation and diminished AR Ser81 phosphorylation in LNCaPdcc cells. Taken together, our data demonstrate that Her2 plays an important role in the support of AR protein stability in the transition of androgen requirement in prostate cancer cells. We hope these findings will provide novel insight into the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
PGC-1β regulates angiogenesis in skeletal muscle
Authors: Rowe Glenn C. , Jang Cholsoon , Patten Ian S. , Arany Zolt
Published: March 2011

Aerobic metabolism requires oxygen and carbon sources brought to tissues via the vasculature. Metabolically active tissues such as skeletal muscle can regulate blood vessel density to match metabolic needs; however, the molecular cues that coordinate these processes remain poorly understood. Here we report that the transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1β (PGC-1β), a potent regulator of mitochondrial biology, induces angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. PGC-1β induces the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cell culture and in vivo. The induction of VEGF by PGC-1β requires coactivation of the orphan nuclear receptor estrogen-related receptor-α (ERRα) and is independent of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway. In coculture experiments, overexpression of PGC-1β in skeletal myotubes increases the migration of adjacent endothelial cells, and this depends on VEGF signaling. Transgenic expression of PGC-1β in skeletal myocytes dramatically increases muscular vessel density. Taken together, these data indicate that PGC-1β is a potent regulator of angiogenesis, thus providing a novel link between the regulations of oxidative metabolism and vascular density.
GABA in the paraventricular nucleus tonically suppresses baroreflex function: alterations during pregnancy
Authors: Page Mollie C. , Cassaglia Priscila A. , Brooks Virginia L.
Published: March 2011

It is well established that GABAergic inputs to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) tonically suppress heart rate and the activity of several sympathetic nerves. However, whether GABA similarly inhibits PVN control of baroreflex function has not been previously investigated. To test this hypothesis, it was determined whether microinjection of the GABAA antagonist, bicuculline, into the PVN enhances the baroreflex in anesthetized female virgin rats. In addition, because GABAergic inhibition of PVN preautonomic neurons is decreased during pregnancy, it was also determined whether the effects of PVN bicuculline administration on baroreflex function were less in pregnant animals. In virgin rats, PVN microinjection of bicuculline increased ( P < 0.05) baroreflex gain and maximum levels of heart rate (gain, from 1.6 ± 0.6 to 3.8 ± 1.3 bpm/mmHg; maximum, from 406 ± 18 to 475 ± 14 bpm) and of lumbar sympathetic nerve activity (gain from 2.6 ± 0.7 to 4.8 ± 1.6%/mmHg; maximum, 149 ± 32 to 273 ± 48%), indicating that PVN GABA normally suppresses baroreflex function. Pregnancy decreased heart rate baroreflex gain (pregnant, 0.9 ± 0.3 bpm/mmHg; virgin, 1.9 ± 0.2 bpm/mmHg; P < 0.05). Following PVN bicuculline administration in pregnant rats, smaller ( P < 0.01) increments in baroreflex gain (pregnant, 0.6 ± 0.1 bpm/mmHg; virgin, 2.4 ± 0.9 bpm/mmHg) and maximum (pregnant, 33 ± 7 bpm; virgin, 75 ± 12 bpm; P < 0.05) were produced. Collectively, these data suggest that the PVN normally inhibits the baroreflex via tonic GABAergic inputs and that this inhibition is less during pregnancy.