bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Robust tonic GABA currents can inhibit cell firing in mouse newborn neocortical pyramidal cells
Authors: Sebe Joy Y. , Looke‐Stewart Elizabeth C. , Estrada Rosanne C. , Baraban Scott C.
Published: September 2010

Within the hippocampus and neocortex, GABA is considered to be excitatory in early development due to a relatively depolarized Cl− reversal potential (ECl). Although the depolarizing nature of synaptic GABAergic events has been well established, it is unknown whether cortical tonic currents mediated by extrasynaptically located GABAA receptors (GABAARs) are also excitatory. Here we examined the development of tonic currents in the neocortex and their effect on neuronal excitability. Mean tonic current, recorded from layer 5 (L5) pyramidal cells of the mouse somatosensory cortex, is robust in newborns [postnatal day (P)2–4] then decreases dramatically by the second postnatal week (P7–10 and P30–40). Pharmacological studies, in combination with Western blot analysis, show that neonatal tonic currents are partially mediated by the GABAAR α5 subunit, and probably the δ subunit. In newborns, the charge due to tonic current accounts for nearly 100% of the total GABA charge, a contribution that decreases to < 50% in mature tissue. Current clamp recordings show that tonic current contributes to large fluctuations in the membrane potential that may disrupt its stability. Bath application of 5 μM GABA, to induce tonic currents, markedly decreased cell firing frequency in most recorded cells while increasing it in others. Gramicidin perforated patch recordings show heterogeneity in ECl recorded from P2–5 L5 pyramidal cells. Together, these findings demonstrate that tonic currents activated by low GABA concentrations can dominate GABAergic transmission in newborn neocortical pyramidal cells and that tonic currents can exert heterogeneous effects on neuronal excitability.
Cytochemical and cytological properties of perineuronal oligodendrocytes in the mouse cortex
Authors: Takasaki Chihiro , Yamasaki Miwako , Uchigashima Motokazu , Konno Kohtarou , Yanagawa Yuchio , Watanabe Masahiko
Published: September 2010

Neuronal cell bodies are associated with glial cells collectively referred to as perineuronal satellite cells. One such satellite cell is the perineuronal oligodendrocyte, which is unmyelinating oligodendrocytes attaching to large neurons in various neural regions. However, little is known about their cellular characteristics and function. In this study, we identified perineuronal oligodendrocytes as 2′,3′‐cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphodiesterase‐positive cells attaching to neuronal perikarya immunostained for microtubule‐associated protein 2, and examined their cytochemical and cytological properties in the mouse cerebral cortex. 2′,3′‐Cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphodiesterase‐positive perineuronal oligodendrocytes were immunonegative to representative glial markers for astrocytes (brain‐type lipid binding protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein), microglia (Iba‐1) and NG2+ glia. However, almost all perineuronal oligodendrocytes expressed glia‐specific or glia‐enriched metabolic enzymes, i.e. the creatine synthetic enzyme S‐adenosylmethionine:guanidinoacetate N‐methyltransferase and l‐serine biosynthetic enzyme 3‐phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase. As to molecules participating in the glutamate–glutamine cycle, none of the perineuronal oligodendrocytes expressed the plasmalemmal glutamate transporters GLAST and GLT‐1, although nearly half of the perineuronal oligodendrocytes were immunopositive for glutamine synthetase. Cytologically, perineuronal oligodendrocytes were mainly distributed in deep cortical layers (layers IV–VI), and attached directly and tightly to neuronal cell bodies, making a long concave impression to the contacting neurons. Interestingly, they attached more to glutamatergic principal neurons than to GABAergic interneurons, and this became evident at postnatal day 14, when the cerebral cortex develops and maturates. These cytochemical and cytological properties suggest that perineuronal oligodendrocytes are so differentiated as to fulfill metabolic support to the associating principal cortical neurons, rather than to regulate their synaptic transmission.
Self‐organization of repetitive spike patterns in developing neuronal networks in vitro
Authors: Sun Jyh‐Jang , Kilb Werner , Luhmann Heiko J.
Published: September 2010

The appearance of spontaneous correlated activity is a fundamental feature of developing neuronal networks in vivo and in vitro. To elucidate whether the ontogeny of correlated activity is paralleled by the appearance of specific spike patterns we used a template‐matching algorithm to detect repetitive spike patterns in multi‐electrode array recordings from cultures of dissociated mouse neocortical neurons between 6 and 15 days in vitro (div). These experiments demonstrated that the number of spiking neurons increased significantly between 6 and 15 div, while a significantly synchronized network activity appeared at 9 div and became the main discharge pattern in the subsequent div. Repetitive spike patterns with a low complexity were first observed at 8 div. The number of repetitive spike patterns in each dataset as well as their complexity and recurrence increased during development in vitro. The number of links between neurons implicated in repetitive spike patterns, as well as their strength, showed a gradual increase during development. About 8% of the spike sequences contributed to more than one repetitive spike patterns and were classified as core patterns. These results demonstrate for the first time that defined neuronal assemblies, as represented by repetitive spike patterns, appear quite early during development in vitro, around the time synchronized network burst become the dominant network pattern. In summary, these findings suggest that dissociated neurons can self‐organize into complex neuronal networks that allow reliable flow and processing of neuronal information already during early phases of development.
Thalamic projections to the macaque caudal ventrolateral prefrontal areas 45A and 45B
Authors: Contini Massimo , Baccarini Matteo , Borra Elena , Gerbella Marzio , Rozzi Stefano , Luppino Giuseppe
Published: September 2010

We studied the sources of thalamic projections to the caudal ventrolateral prefrontal areas 45A and 45B, which display markedly distinct cortical connections [M. Gerbella et al. (2010) Cereb. Cortex, 20, 141–168], and compared them with those to area 8/FEF (frontal eye field). Both areas 45A and 45B were the targets of highly predominant projections from the mediodorsal nucleus (MD) and of additional projections, mostly from the magnocellular ventral anterior and the medial pulvinar nucleus. The projection profiles from different MD subdivisions clearly distinguished these two areas from one another and from area 8/FEF. Area 45A was the target of predominant projections from parvicellular MD and of minor, albeit robust, projections from magnocellular MD. The opposite was true for area 45B: magnocellular MD was the major source of projections and parvicellular MD contributed minor, albeit robust, projections. Furthermore, area 45B, but not area 45A, was targeted by robust projections from multiform MD, the principal thalamic nucleus for area 8/FEF. These results provide further evidence for the distinctiveness of areas 45A and 45B, and support the idea that area 45B is affiliated with the frontal oculomotor system, challenging the proposed homology of this area with part of the human language‐related area 45 (rostral part of Broca’s region). Furthermore, the present data provide evidence for potentially robust trans‐thalamic (via magnocellular MD) afferent, as well as direct and reciprocal, amygdaloid connections of areas 45A and 45B, suggesting the contribution of emotional information to the differential role of these two areas in non‐spatial information processing.
Chronic activation of the D2 autoreceptor inhibits both glutamate and dopamine synapse formation and alters the intrinsic properties of mesencephalic dopamine neurons in vitro
Authors: Fasano C. , Kortleven C. , Trudeau L.‐E.
Published: September 2010

Dysfunctional dopamine (DA)‐mediated signaling is implicated in several diseases including Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Chronic treatment with DA receptor agonists or antagonists is often used in pharmacotherapy, but the consequences of these treatments on DA neuron function are unclear. It was recently demonstrated that chronic D2 autoreceptor (D2R) activation in DA neurons decreases DA release and inhibits synapse formation. Given that DA neurons can establish synapses that release glutamate in addition to DA, we evaluated the synapse specificity of the functional and structural plasticity induced by chronic D2R activation. We show that chronic activation of the D2R with quinpirole in vitro caused a parallel decrease in the number of dopaminergic and glutamatergic axon terminals. The capacity of DA neurons to synthesize DA was not altered, as indicated by the lack of change in protein kinase A‐mediated Ser(40) phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase. However, the spontaneous firing rate of DA neurons was decreased and was associated with altered intrinsic properties as revealed by a prolonged latency to first spike after release from hyperpolarization. Moreover, D2R function was decreased after its chronic activation. Our results demonstrate that chronic activation of the D2R induces a complex neuronal reorganization involving the inhibition of both DA and glutamate synapse formation and an alteration in electrical activity, but not in DA synthesis. A better understanding of D2R‐induced morphological and functional long‐term plasticity may lead to improved pharmacotherapy of DA‐related neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Normalized Intensity: The New Labour Process of Middle Management
Authors: McCann Leo , Morris Jonathan , Hassard John
Published: September 2010

abstract  Based on qualitative interviews (n = 64) within five UK organizations that have embarked on large‐scale restructuring (including delayering, downsizing, culture change, role redesign, lean production) we argue that middle managers are currently experiencing significant and progressive work and personal pressures. Performance is monitored more closely, hours and intensity of work are increasing, roles and tasks are changing frequently, and prospects for promotion are downscaled within flattened hierarchies. Whereas middle managers report increased levels of autonomy and skill, are often well remunerated, and frequently appear motivated (at least in the private sector), we suggest their burgeoning grievances over working hours, role pressures and promotion prospects have worrying implications for the future performance of UK industry. We argue further that the motivation for corporations to embark on such large‐scale restructuring is best understood with reference to the incessant demands of international capitalism. We conclude that such restructuring, and the personal managerial experiences that result from it, is in keeping with many, but crucially not all, of the trends predicted by Bravermanian labour process theory.
Assessing differences in chemical disaster proneness: The community chemical hazard vulnerability inventory*
Authors: Gabor Thomas , Pelanda Carlo
Published: September 2010

The burgeoning number of accidents with dangerous chemicals makes it incumbent upon community and regional planners to systematically deal with this problem. The first step invariably involves the assessment of the likelihood and type of incident which may impact a given area so that disasters may be averted or, at least, their effects mitigated. This paper presents one such assessment scheme, the Community Chemical Hazard Vulnerability Inventory (CCHVI). This instrument, aside from considering the type and volume of substances posing a threat to a designated area, considers the physical and human resources available, as well as the general state of readiness of the area (including such things as the interface of emergency‐related organizations). The use of such vulnerability assessment instruments allows local emergency planners to identify particular dangers within their communities and permits regional planners to allocate funds for planning according to relative needs.
States of fragility: stabilisation and its implications for humanitarian action
Authors: Collinson Sarah , Elhawary Samir , Muggah Robert
Published: September 2010

This paper explores the evolution of international stabilisation agendas and their significance for humanitarian action. Stabilisation includes a combination of military, humanitarian, political and economic activities to control, contain and manage areas affected by armed conflict and complex emergencies. Encompassing narrow security objectives and broader peace‐building efforts, stabilisation is both a conservative and potentially transformative, comprehensive and long‐term agenda. The open‐ended approach allows for widely varying interpretations and applications in different circumstances and by different actors with an assortment of implications for humanitarian action. The relationship between the two is highly uncertain and contentious, due not only to the controversies surrounding stabilisation policies, but also to deep‐seated ambiguities at the heart of humanitarianism. While humanitarian actors are preoccupied with the growing involvement of the military in the humanitarian sphere, the paper argues that it is trends in the humanitarian–political interface that represent the more fundamental dilemma.
Addressing symptoms but not causes: stabilisation and humanitarian action in Timor‐Leste
Authors: Lothe Elisabeth , Peake Gordon
Published: September 2010

Asia's newest nation—Timor‐Leste—has an unenviable track record of two Australian‐led military stabilisation missions, five United Nations (UN) missions, and a vast humanitarian and international response over the course of the past decade.3 Two distinct approaches to stabilisation can be observed on this small half‐island. The first is a ‘security‐first’ approach, where development activities are complementary and serve to support security sector assistance, while the second emphasises traditional development activities and institution‐building as the foundation for a stable country. Whereas these different approaches highlight various interpretations of the underlying problems and the task at hand, efforts aimed at stabilisation have crystallised the challenges of coordinating and integrating activities that are clearly interlinked and interdependent, whether within a UN integrated mission or implemented by bilateral actors. Consequently, the question of whether, or how, to measure progress towards this shared objective has gone largely unaddressed.
Stabilising a victor's peace? Humanitarian action and reconstruction in eastern Sri Lanka
Authors: Goodhand Jonathan
Published: September 2010

This paper focuses on the ‘Sri Lankan model’ of counter‐insurgency and stabilisation and its implications for humanitarian and development actors. The Sri Lanka case shows that discourses, policies and practices associated with ‘stabilisation’ are not confined to ‘fragile state’ contexts in which there is heavy (and often militarised) international engagement—even though exemplars such as Afghanistan and Iraq have tended to dominate debates on this issue. Rather than being a single template, the ‘stabilisation agenda’ takes on very different guises in different contexts, presenting quite specific challenges to humanitarian and development actors. This is particularly true in settings like Sri Lanka, where there is a strong state, which seeks to make aid ‘coherent’ with its own vision of a militarily imposed political settlement. Working in such environments involves navigating a highly‐charged domestic political arena, shaped by concerns about sovereignty, nationalism and struggles for legitimacy.
PROFESSIONAL POWER PLAY: ORGANIZING MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE
Authors: NOORDEGRAAF MIRKO , VAN DER MEULEN MARTIJN
Published: September 2010

Because of the managerialization of health care and the rise of health care managers, professionals and managers increasingly ‘clash’. To reduce clashes, managerial and professional domains have not only been (re)connected; they have also been restructured. Managers, in particular, have started to make sense of their own ‘professionalism’. Health care managers are professionalizing in order to cope with reform consequences. They have established professional associations, which establish educational programmes, journals, and codes of conduct, in order to define and standardize managerial work. By tracing the evolution of a new profession of Dutch health care executives, and by studying its educational underpinnings, this article will analyse whether the professionalization of managers homogenizes occupational definitions and standards. It will show that managerial education masks ideological struggles over the substance of ‘good’ health care management. Different ‘schools’ have arisen, producing heterogeneity in executive circles.
Promoting Freedom, Responsibility, and Learning in the Classroom: The Learning Covenant a Decade Later
Authors: Glennon Fred
Published: September 2010

Abstract.  This essay discusses an approach to teaching religious studies in a general education or core curriculum that I have experimented with for the last decade, which I call the “Learning Covenant.” The Learning Covenant brings together various pedagogical theories, including transformational, experiential, contract, and cooperative learning, in an attempt to address diverse learning styles, multiple intelligences, and student learning assessment. It has advantages over more traditional teacher‐directed approaches to teaching, including meeting student resistance to “required” courses head‐on by inviting them to identify learning needs regardless of chosen vocation and meeting them in the context of a religious studies course, recognizing the multiple ways in which students learn and providing a variety of opportunities for students to express their learning, and allowing students opportunity to take increased responsibility for their own learning. The essay will focus on the Learning Covenant's development, components, strengths, and drawbacks.
MANIOC BEER AND MEAT: VALUE, REPRODUCTION AND COSMIC SUBSTANCE AMONG THE NAPO RUNA OF THE ECUADORIAN AMAZON
Authors: Uzendoski Michael A.
Published: September 2010

This article is an analysis of value as explored from the perspective of a Native Amazonian group. Focusing on the Napo Runa, a Quichua‐speaking people from the Ecuadorian Amazon, it demonstrates that processes of production, gender transformation, kinship, and cosmology create value in Napo Runa society. The article provides a symbolic and social analysis of the production, consumption, and circulation of meat and manioc beer. It is argued that the value of these foods derives not just from labour, but also from cultural notions of desire and cosmology. Value in this system is a consistent pattern of thought and action modelled on a complex, multi‐stranded theory of kinship and substance transformation.
Creating Mountains out of Mole Hills: Automatic Identification of Hills and Ranges Using Morphometric Analysis
Authors: Chaudhry Omair Z , Mackaness William A
Published: September 2010

This article examines the relationship between scale of observation and landform features and their representation in map form. The research is premised on the idea that large scale features are defined by the smaller features that comprise them (that mountain ranges are a collection of clustered yet individually identifiable mountains or hills). In preference to subjective selection of the higher order features, we propose a methodology for automatically discerning mountain ranges as well as the smaller hills that constitute them. A mountainous region can be defined by its prominence (relative height among surrounding features) and various morphological characteristics including the variability in morphology. The algorithm presented here uses derivatives of elevation and the density of morphological properties in order to automatically identify individual hills or mountains and ranges together with their extents. Being able to create generalised views of landscape morphology is considered to be part of the model generalisation process and is an essential prerequisite to spatial query and to the cartographic portrayal of these features at a range of scales (levels of detail). For the purposes of evaluation the algorithm was applied to the hills around Edinburgh city and the hills and ranges around Fort William, Scotland. The research reflects on the challenge of defining the subjective nature of what is a ‘hill’ or a ‘mountain’, but reminds us that a map seeks to capture the essence and characteristic form of the landscape – something that is necessarily fuzzy and scale dependent.
THEOLOGICAL ETHICS AND TECHNOLOGICAL CULTURE: A BIOCULTURAL APPROACH
Authors: Hogue Michael S.
Published: September 2010

This article examines an orientation for thinking theologically and ethically about the cultural pattern of technology and a vision for living responsibly within it. Building upon and joining select insights of philosophers Hans Jonas and Albert Borgmann, I recommend the analytic and evaluative leverage to be gained through development of an integrative biocultural theological anthropology.
GOLEMS IN THE BIOTECH CENTURY
Authors: Sherwin Byron L.
Published: September 2010

The legend of the golem, the creation of life through mystical and magical means, is the most famous postbiblical Jewish legend. After noting recent references to the golem legend in fiction, film, art, and scientific literature, I outline three stages of the development of the legend, including its relationship to the story of Frankenstein. I apply teachings about the golem in classical Jewish religious literature to implications of the legend for ethical issues relating to bioengineering, reproductive biotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence, artificial life, and corporate ethics. The golem legend emerges as a source of prudent guidance through the minefield of ethical and spiritual problems emerging from current and expected developments in biotechnology.
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS: MUSLIM PERSPECTIVES ON GENETIC MODIFICATION
Authors: Al‐Hayani Fatima Agha
Published: September 2010

Technology pertaining to genetically modified foods has created an abundance of food and various methods to protect new products and enhance productivity. However, many scientists, economists, and humanitarians have been critical of the application of these discoveries. They are apprehensive about a profit‐driven mentality that, to them, seems to propel the innovators rather than a poverty‐elimination mentality that should be behind such innovations. The objectives should be to afford the most benefit to those in need and to prevent hunger around the world. Another major concern is the safety of genetically modified food. Muslims, as well as those in other religious communities, have been reactive rather than proactive. Muslims must connect scientific knowledge and ethical behavior based on faith. In Islam, there is no divide between the two. God has commanded us to seek knowledge and make discoveries to better our lives and our environment. We are trustees of this world and everything in it. The poor, the sick, and the wayfarers have a right to be fed and cared for. God reminds Muslims continuously that the earth and all the heavens belong to God; therefore, no one should feel hunger, no one should suffer or be prevented from sharing this bounty.
C. S. PEIRCE, G. W. F. HEGEL, AND STUART KAUFFMAN'S COMPLEXITY THEORY: A RESPONSE
Authors: Cuff Joyce M.
Published: September 2010

Stuart Kauffman's work on complexity and self‐organization echoes ideas found in writings of C. S. Peirce and G. W. F. Hegel. Included in these common threads are the understanding of science as historical narrative, the recognition of emergence as a phenomenon associated with complex systems, and the appreciation of agency as an emergent property that serves as both a creative and determining force in evolution.
TAKING THE SUPER OUT OF THE SUPERNATURAL
Authors: Marsh Leslie
Published: September 2010

Metaphysical dualities divorce humankind from its natural environment, dualities that can precipitate environmental disaster. Loyal Rue in Religion Is Not About God (2005) seeks to resolve the abstract modalities of religion and naturalism in a unified monistic ecocentric metaphysic characterized as religious naturalism. Rue puts forward proposals for a general naturalistic theory of religion, a theory that lays bare the structural and functional features of religious phenomena as the critical first step on the road to badly needed religion‐science realignment. Only then will humanity be equipped to address the environmental imperative.
RELIGIOUS NATURALISM—WHERE DOES IT LEAD?
Authors: Rue Loyal
Published: September 2010

I respond to the four symposiasts who commented on my recent book Religion Is Not About God (2005)—religious studies scholars Donald Braxton and David Klemm, philosopher William Rottschaefer, and cognitive scientist Leslie Marsh. Various general and specific points relative to the nature of religion and the future of religion are either clarified or defended. Among the issues that receive attention are (1) the status and adequacy of my proposals for religious naturalism: Can it motivate wholeness, and is it finally a form of pantheism? (2) ritual practices, particularly those of Christianity, reinterpreted within the framework of religious naturalism; and (3) the adequacy of any naturalistic position to account for subjective properties of consciousness.
A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF EVOLUTION AND PARTICIPATION
Authors: Creegan Nicola Hoggard
Published: September 2010

Recent controversies surrounding the discernment of design in the natural world are an indication of a pervasive disquiet among believers. Can God as creator/sustainer of creation be reconcilable with the belief that God's work is indiscernible behind secondary evolutionary causes? Christian piety requires that the order experienced in the natural world be evidence of God's love and existence. Theistic evolutionary models rarely examine this matter, assuming that God is indiscernible in the processes and order of the world because only secondary causes can be examined. This leaves antievolutionary perspectives to interpret and address the problem of seeing God in the world. I examine these issues in order to gain more credibility for the religious longing to discern God in nature while at the same time affirming the indubitable truth of an evolutionary history. I argue that God's trinitarian nature, hiddenness, and incarnation give us reason to believe that God's presence in the natural world will be discernible, but only within the natural processes, and thereby only in an obscured fashion. I also argue that newer understandings of evolutionary mechanisms are more consistent with theological appropriation than are strictly Darwinian ones.
THE SENSE OF THE BEAUTIFUL AND APOPHATIC THOUGHT: EMPIRICAL BEING AS IKON
Authors: Rhodes Michael Craig
Published: September 2010

This essay is an interdisciplinary study of beauty that attempts to bridge the gap between religion/theology and science in some measure by drawing from Dionysius the Areopagite (c. 500) a notion of being that I argue is consonant with the notion of the sense of the beautiful, which I develop using Steven Weinberg's and Werner Heisenberg's discussions of empirical beauty. I use the term ikon to refer concisely to Dionysius' theophanic notion of being, namely, that the beyond‐being is nonsubstantially present in being.
Cross‐Species Chimeras: Exploring a Possible Christian Perspective
Authors: Cobbe Neville
Published: September 2010

Various entities that combine material from humans and other animals at either the cellular or subcellular level have attracted growing public interest. I explore the controversy by considering both the scientific rationale behind creating various entities that have prompted the greatest public concern and possible ethical implications. I note a number of potentially relevant biblical passages and reflect on the imago Dei and considerations of telos in order to prompt wider discussion regarding how Christians might respond to such emerging bioethical issues.
Synapses, Schizophrenia, and Civilization: What Made Homo Sapient?
Authors: Page Lyman A.
Published: September 2010

Progress in technology has allowed dynamic research on the development of the human brain that has revolutionized concepts. Particularly, the notions of plasticity, neuronal selection, and the effects of afferent stimuli have entered into thinking about brain development. Here I focus on development from the age of four years to early adulthood, during which a 30 percent reduction in some brain synapses occurs that is out of proportion to changes in neuronal numbers. This corresponds temporally with changes in normal child behavior from the loose‐associative, almost schizoid, thinking and art of the four‐year‐old to the more trained, or disciplined, or acculturated—and restrained—personality of the young adult. I propose that the synaptic changes can best be thought of as a winnowing process likely subject to environmental influences. Acquisition of language and the ability to link linguistic cognition to the plastic development of the brain provide a potentially powerful means of explaining the evolutionally explosive development of human cognition and culture. Schizophrenia, a disease that can be envisioned as representing a derangement of synaptic maturation, may provide an entry into the search for genes controlling the processes mediating the unprecedented development of Homo sapiens over the past 40,000 to 70,000 years. The recently completed mapping of the genome of the chimpanzee provides a new frame of reference that may speed the search.
TESTING FOR REAL INTEREST RATE PARITY USING PANEL STATIONARITY TESTS WITH DEPENDENCE: A NOTE*
Authors: CAMARERO MARIAM , CARRION‐I‐SILVESTRE JOSEP LLUIS , TAMARIT CECILIO
Published: September 2010

In this paper we test for real interest parity (RIRP) among the 19 major OECD countries over the period 1978:Q1–2006:Q1 using both short‐ and long‐run definitions of interest rates. Once the independence hypothesis is rejected among these series, we test for RIRP using panel data unit root and stationarity tests based on common factor models that allow for pervasive forms of dependence. Our results indicate that there is no evidence in favor of the weak version of the RIRP since one of the common factors that have been estimated is non‐stationary.
Formulation, characterization, and efficacy of an adenosine‐containing dissolvable film for a localized anti‐wrinkle effect
Authors: Legendre J.Y. , Schnitzler I. , Li Q‐Y. , Hausen C. , Huart M. , Luengo G. S. , Abella M. L. , Roreger M.
Published: September 2010

A water‐dissolvable film was developed to topically deliver adenosine for a localized anti‐wrinkle effect. The polymers used to produce the film were cellulose derivatives. An aqueous mixture of the film components was made, coated on a liner, and then dried to form a solid film. No preservatives were added and the film was shown to be stable over time. The film quickly dissolves in water to form a uniform layer at the surface of the skin, as shown by scanning electron microscopy. The film layer can still be visualized on the wrinkle 6 h after being applied on the skin. A randomized, placebo‐controlled, investigator‐blind study was conducted in female volunteers to assess the efficacy of the 1% adenosine‐containing dissolvable film. After 3 weeks and 8 weeks, a twice daily application led to a significant decrease in the skin roughness parameters as observed using fast optical in vivo topometry (FOITS). These results demonstrate that water‐dissolvable films may be used as novel, preservative‐free, cosmetic delivery systems.
Reflections upon the development of a dementia screening service for individuals with Down’s syndrome across the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Area
Authors: Cairns Victoria , Lamb Isobel , Smith Esther
Published: September 2010

Accessible summary

 People with Down’s Syndrome are at a high risk of developing dementia, and as such research encourages services to take a proactive approach by providing baseline and regular screening assessments to this population.

 This paper provides a description of the process of development of the Down’s Syndrome and Dementia Service currently operating in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley area of East Lancashire.

 A reflection on experiences of the service 12 months after the addition of a full‐time Assistant Psychologist and input from an Older Adults Consultant Psychiatrist is also discussed.

The high prevalence of dementia in individuals with Down’s syndrome has led learning disability services in the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley (HRV) area to develop a screening service to address this need; this paper offers reflections upon this process by its members after the first 12 months of operation. A multidisciplinary team comprising professionals from Learning Disability Psychology, Learning Disability Speech and Language Therapy, Learning Disability Community Nursing and Older Adults Psychiatry has developed, and begun to implement, screening care pathways. The service conducts routine screening assessments, provides intervention for individuals where concerns arise and delivers training to carers. At the point of writing, 27 service users have received screening assessments and six have been identified as at moderate–high risk of developing dementia. Reflection and feedback has highlighted issues for consideration throughout the service development process, and an evaluation of the training provided by the service has found this to be effective in increasing carers understanding about dementia and learning disabilities. Considerations for the future development are discussed.
The Child Behavior Checklist‐Dysregulation Profile predicts substance use, suicidality, and functional impairment: a longitudinal analysis
Authors: Holtmann Martin , Buchmann Arlette F. , Esser Guenter , Schmidt Martin H. , Banaschewski Tobias , Laucht Manfred
Published: September 2010

Background:  Recent studies have identified a Child Behavior Checklist profile that characterizes children with severe affective and behavioral dysregulation (CBCL‐dysregulation profile, CBCL‐DP). In two recent longitudinal studies the CBCL‐DP in childhood was associated with heightened rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, among them bipolar disorder, an increased risk for suicidality, and marked psychosocial impairment at young‐adult follow‐up. This is the first study outside the US that examines the longitudinal course of the CBCL‐DP.

Methods:  We studied the diagnostic and functional trajectories and the predictive utility of the CBCL‐DP in the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk, an epidemiological cohort study on the outcome of early risk factors from birth into adulthood. A total of 325 young adults (151 males, 174 females) participated in the 19‐year assessment.

Results:  Young adults with a higher CBCL‐DP score in childhood were at increased risk for substance use disorders, suicidality and poorer overall functioning at age 19, even after adjustment for parental education, family income, impairment and psychiatric disorders at baseline. Childhood dysregulation was not related to bipolar disorder in young adulthood. The CBCL‐DP was neither a precursor of a specific pattern of comorbidity nor of comorbidity in general.

Conclusions:  Children with high CBCL‐DP values are at risk for later severe, psychiatric symptomatology. The different developmental trajectories suggest that the CBCL‐DP is not simply an early manifestation of a single disease process but might rather be an early developmental risk marker of a persisting deficit of self‐regulation of affect and behavior.
α2‐Adrenoceptor‐mediated potassium currents in acutely dissociated rat locus coeruleus neurones
Authors: Arima Junichi , Kubo Chiharu , Ishibashi Hitoshi , Akaike Norio
Published: September 2010

The noradrenaline (NA)‐activated response was investigated in neurones acutely dissociated from the rat locus coeruleus (LC) using nystatin‐perforated, conventional whole‐cell and inside‐out patch recording modes under current‐ and voltage‐clamp conditions.

Under current‐clamp conditions, NA hyperpolarized the LC neurones, abolishing the spontaneous action potentials. In voltage‐clamp studies, NA induced an inwardly rectifying K+current (INA) in a concentration‐dependent manner with a half‐maximum effective concentration of 2.2 × 10−7M.

INAwas mimicked by the α2‐agonist UK14304 but was inhibited by either the α2B/α2Cantagonist ARC239 or the α1‐ and α2B/α2Cantagonist prazosin, suggesting the contribution of α2B/α2Cadrenoceptors.

INAwas inhibited by the intracellular application of GDPβS but fully activated by intracellular perfusion of GTPγS.

In the inside‐out recording mode, the application of GTP to the cytoplasmic side of the patch membrane markedly enhanced the open probability of the NA‐activated single channels which represented the inwardly rectifying properties.

These results indicate that the activation of α2B/α2Cadrenoceptors coupled with GTP‐binding protein directly activates the inwardly rectifying K+currents in rat LC neurones, thus resulting in a decrease in the spontaneous firing activities.
PERSONALITY AND AROUSAL CORRELATES OF SPECIFIC GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSES
Authors: Roessler Robert , Burch Neil R. , Childers Harold E.
Published: September 2010

Basal skin resistance (BSR) and galvanic skin responses (GSR) to five intensities of sound and light were recorded on four occasions in 32 student subjects (Ss). These occasions were assumed to include unfamiliarity and basal and real life stress conditions. All Ss completed the MMPI, California Personality Inventory, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Clyde Mood Scale and Examination Anxiety Scale. GSR amplitude was greater under conditions of unfamiliarity, alertness (by electroencephalographic criteria), and higher intensities of stimulation in both stimulus modalities. It was not greater during the presumed stress period. High ego strength‐high Barrier score Ss showed a greater GSR amplitude than low ego strength‐low Barrier Ss. Test indices of anxiety generally were not related to GSR amplitude, nor were other personality and mood variables.
Consumer choice for hearing aids and listening devices: newspaper advertisements for UK private sector provision
Authors: Ross Liz , Cathcart Craig , Lyon Phil
Published: September 2010

In the UK there can be several ways to access health care and this is true of hearing aid provision. Although there may appear to be a well‐defined distinction between the National Health Service (NHS) and independent dispenser hearing aid provision, there have been many examples of overlap between the two and recent government policy initiatives mean that distinctions have become less clear. This article outlines the changing relationship between the two sectors and the problems that potential consumers face accessing information on private sector options for amplification devices. A 1‐year sample of newspaper advertisements was content‐analysed for clarity of information provided. The analysis highlighted a range of provision, from well‐known hearing aid dispensers to the greyer areas of listening device retailers and intermediary services. Some advertisements were found to have been reported to the Advertising Standards Authority. Sufficiently misleading adverts may also infringe consumer protection legislation. The article concludes there is the possibility of consumer confusion about products and their potential for amelioration.
Consumers' perceptions of food packaging: an exploratory investigation in Potchefstroom, South Africa
Authors: Venter Karin , van der Merwe Daleen , de Beer Hanli , Kempen Elizabeth , Bosman Magdalena
Published: September 2010

Consumers form perceptions of various food products through their comprehension of the visual stimuli on food packaging that attract their attention. These perceptions directly affect their purchasing decision at the point of purchase, which emphasizes the importance of attention‐capturing packaging attributes. However, little research is available regarding consumers' perceptions of food packaging, especially in the South African context. This study aimed to explore a sample of South African consumers' perceptions of food packaging and how these perceptions were formed through the perceptual process. A qualitative, exploratory study was conducted by means of 25 semi‐structured interviews and through the use of ambiguous mock packaging as a projective technique. Participants were questioned regarding their general perceptions of food packaging. The attention‐capturing ability of packaging as well as consumers' interpretation of this packaging after exposure to the mock packaging was also discussed. Findings from the study indicated that participants mainly based their perception of food packaging on its functional (being purposive, recyclable and informative) and physical attributes (being attractive, of high quality and hygienic). This study also indicated that information and visual attributes of packaging are important to gain consumers' attention in‐store. Participants' comprehension of packaging included general associations of specific food products with certain types of packaging, such as associations with quality and shelf life. Negative associations with packaging mostly entailed difficulty to handle the product, poor quality of the product and environmental problems. This study identifies those product attributes that participants regarded as the most important stimuli for forming positive perceptions regarding food packaging. It is important for manufacturers to pay attention to the information on perceptions that was gained in this study, as it might help them to create packaging that better fulfil consumer needs. These findings could also be applied in a larger study of a quantitative nature, which will ultimately result in more positive consumer shopping experiences and consumer satisfaction regarding food packaging.
The ‘Map Girls’. British women geographers’ war work, shifting gender boundaries and reflections on the history of geography
Authors: Maddrell Avril
Published: September 2010

This paper focuses on bringing to light the little‐known war work of women who used their geographical skills and training in their war service, principally under the headings of university teaching, contributing to Naval Intelligence Handbooks and working in the armed services and the Admiralty's Hydrographic Department. The research is based on archive sources, obituaries and other secondary sources, as well as a small number of oral history interviews. This work is placed in the context of debates on the gendered boundaries of public/combatant and private/non‐combatant in war, and gender and the state. The significance of gender as a methodological and conceptual category in the history of geography is discussed in the light of evidence from women geographers’ war work.
The enchantment of western things: children’s material encounters in late socialist Poland
Authors: Burrell Kathy
Published: September 2010

The allure of ‘the west’ in socialist eastern Europe and the Soviet Union has been well documented. Poland, a country noted for the longstanding westward emigration of its population, maintained a particularly close relationship with all things western, especially during the latter stages of the socialist regime. Using material collected from life history interviews with Polish migrants in the UK, this article analyses a very specific manifestation of late socialist Poland’s ‘Imaginary West’: the high status of western things in the lives of children. These western goods, usually things such as sweets, toys and clothes, offered sufficient tangibility and authenticity to make the west feel tantalisingly close, while all the time remaining distant. UsingBennett’s (2001)theory of enchantment as its starting point, this article investigates three aspects of this widespread fascination with the west that were narrated in the interviews, and the very specific material relationships that were constructed and maintained with western objects. First, it considers the affective and aesthetic properties of western things and the ways in which they enchanted the children who encountered them. Second, it analyses the appeal ofPewexshops and the dollar economy as manifestations of western consumerism on socialist soil. Finally, it discusses the problems with this western consumption and the inequalities embedded in these exciting goods. Ultimately this article uncovers why west was often considered best and how this phenomenon was materialised and integrated into children’s everyday lives.
5‐Lipoxygenase expression in benign and malignant canine prostate tissues*
Authors: Goodman L. A. , Jarrett C. L. , Krunkosky T. M. , Budsberg S. C. , Northrup N. C. , Saba C. F. , LeRoy B. E.
Published: September 2010

5‐Lipoxygenase (5‐LO) is overexpressed in human prostate carcinomas (PCs), and its inhibition decreases proliferation and induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines. We hypothesized that 5‐LO would be overexpressed in canine PC compared with benign prostate tissue and may be important in the pathogenesis of the disease. Immunoblot analysis of canine PC and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissues demonstrated 5‐LO expression in both. 5‐LO immunohistochemical staining was not significantly different within the stromal or epithelial components of canine primary PC, BPH or suppurative prostatitis, suggesting that differential expression of this enzyme does not occur in these conditions. The percentage of tumour cells expressing 5‐LO was significantly lower in metastatic PC lesions compared with primary PC (P < 0.0001). This decreased expression may indicate down‐regulation or altered expression of the enzyme with progression of canine PC to a metastatic phenotype.
R0 but not R1/R2 resection is associated with better survival than palliative photodynamic therapy in biliary tract cancer
Authors: Matull Wolf‐Rudiger , Dhar Dipok K. , Ayaru Lakshmana , Sandanayake Neomal S. , Chapman Michael H. , Dias Aruna , Bridgewater John , Webster George J. M. , Bong Jin J. , Davidson Brian R. , Pereira Stephen P.
Published: September 2010

Background: There is a need for better management strategies to improve the survival and quality of life in patients with biliary tract cancer (BTC).

Aim: To assess prognostic factors for survival in a large, non‐selective cohort of patients with BTC.

Method: We compared outcomes in 321 patients with a final diagnosis of BTC (cholangiocarcinoma n=237, gallbladder cancer n=84) seen in a tertiary referral cancer centre between 1998 and 2007. Survival according to disease stage and treatment category was compared using log‐rank testing. Cox's regression analysis was used to determine independent prognostic factors.

Results: Eighty‐nine (28%) patients underwent a surgical intervention with curative intent, of whom 38% had R0 resections. Among the 321 patients, 34% were given chemo‐ and/or radiotherapy, 14% were palliated with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and 37% with biliary drainage procedures alone. The overall median survival was 9 months (3‐year survival, 14%). R0‐resective surgery conferred the most favourable outcome (3‐year survival, 57%). Although patients palliated with PDT had more advanced clinical T‐stages, their survival was similar to those treated with attempted curative surgery but who had positive resection margins. On multivariable analysis, treatment modality, serum carbohydrate‐associated antigen 19‐9, distant metastases and vascular involvement were independent prognostic indicators of survival.

Conclusion: In this large UK series of BTC, palliative PDT resulted in survival similar to those with curatively intended R1/R2 resections. Surgery conferred a survival advantage only in patients with R0 resection margins, emphasising the need for accurate pre‐operative staging.