bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Melatonin, cardiolipin and mitochondrial bioenergetics in health and disease
Authors: Paradies Giuseppe , Petrosillo Giuseppe , Paradies Valeria , Reiter Russel J. , Ruggiero Francesca M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract:  Melatonin is a natural occurring compound with well‐known antioxidant properties. Melatonin is ubiquitously distributed and because of its small size and amphiphilic nature, it is able to reach easily all cellular and subcellular compartments. The highest intracellular melatonin concentrations are found in mitochondria, raising the possibility of functional significance for this targeting with involvement in situ in mitochondrial activities. Mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, are considered to be the most important cellular organelles to contribute to degenerative processes mainly through respiratory chain dysfunction and formation of reactive oxygen species, leading to damage to mitochondrial proteins, lipids and DNA. Therefore, protecting mitochondria from oxidative damage could be an effective therapeutic strategy against cellular degenerative processes. Many of the beneficial effects of melatonin administration may depend on its effect on mitochondrial physiology. Cardiolipin, a phospholipid located at the level of inner mitochondrial membrane is known to be intimately involved in several mitochondrial bioenergetic processes as well as in mitochondrial‐dependent steps of apoptosis. Alterations to cardiolipin structure, content and acyl chain composition have been associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple tissues in several physiopathological situations and aging. Recently, melatonin was reported to protect the mitochondria from oxidative damage by preventing cardiolipin oxidation and this may explain, at least in part, the beneficial effect of this molecule in mitochondrial physiopathology. In this review, we discuss the role of melatonin in preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and disease.
Fate of developing tooth buds located in relation to mandibular fractures in three infancy cases
Authors: Yamamoto Kazuhiko , Matsusue Yumiko , Murakami Kazuhiro , Horita Satoshi , Matsubara Yuri , Kuraki Miho , Kurihara Miyako , Imai Yuichiro , Sugiura Tsutomu , Kirita Tadaaki
Published: April 2010

Abstract –  The fate of developing tooth buds located in relation to mandibular fractures was investigated in three infancy cases. Three infants, 2 girls and a boy, aged from 1 year and 5‐months old to 2 years and 6‐months old, were treated for dislocated mandibular fracture in the symphyseal region by manual reduction and fixation with a thermoforming splint and circumferential wiring under general anesthesia. Fracture healing was uneventful in all cases. A few years later, no obvious deformity of the jaw or malocclusion was observed; however, malformation of the crown was found in one of the permanent teeth on the fracture line in the first case. In the second case, no abnormality was observed in one of the permanent teeth on the fracture line, but the effect on the other tooth could not be evaluated due to abnormality of the tooth probably not related to the injury. In the third case, root formation was arrested in one of the permanent teeth on the fracture line and the tooth was lost early after eruption. The development of tooth buds on the fracture line is not predictable and therefore, should be monitored by regular follow up.
Teledental consultations related to trauma in a Swiss telemedical center: a retrospective survey
Authors: Lienert Nicolas , Zitzmann Nicola Ursula , Filippi Andreas , Weiger Roland , Krastl Gabriel
Published: April 2010

Abstract –  Background/Aim:  In addition to medical advice, telemedical centers also provide counseling on the telephone for patients with dental injuries.

Material and Methods:  Data from a Swiss telemedical center during the years 2001–2008 were analyzed retrospectively.

Results:  A total of 371 988 medical consultations were recorded. Of these, 3430 concerned dental problems, with 672 reports about dental trauma following accidents with 772 injuries. The patients average age was 8.6 years (range 0–73 years). About two‐thirds of the cases belonged to the age group 0–6 years, and one‐third to the group of 7–80 years. The reasons for calling were dislocations (53%), fractures (31.9%), and avulsions (7.9%). In 76.2% of the cases, the center was contacted on the day of the accident. The majority of the patients (60%) contacted the telemedical center during the so‐called ‘out of office hours’ (Monday to Friday 6 pm to 8 am, and Saturday/Sunday all day).

Conclusions:  Telemedicial services can be helpful for cases related to dental trauma and may provide valuable support when a dentist is not available.
Improving the assessment of species compositional dissimilarity in a priori ecological classifications: evaluating map scale, sampling intensity and improvement in a hierarchical classification
Authors: Lawson B.E. , Ferrier S. , Wardell‐Johnson G. , Beeton R.J.S. , Pullar D.V.
Published: April 2010

Question: Can species compositional dissimilarity analyses be used to assess and improve the representation of biodiversity patterns in a priori ecological classifications?

Location: The case study examined the northern‐half of the South‐east Queensland Bioregion, eastern Australia.

Methods: Site‐based floristic presence–absence data were used to construct species dissimilarity matrices (Kulczynski metric) for three levels of Queensland's bioregional hierarchy – subregions (1:500 000 scale), land zones (1:250 000 scale) and regional ecosystems (1:100 000 scale). Within‐ and between‐class dissimilarities were compiled for each level to elucidate species compositional patterns. Randomized subsampling was used to determine the minimum site sampling intensity for each hierarchy level, and the effects of lumping and splitting illustrated for several classes.

Results: Consistent dissimilarity estimates were obtained with five or more sites per regional ecosystem, 10 or more sites per land zone, and more than 15 sites per subregion. On average, subregions represented 4% dissimilarity in floristic composition, land zones approximately 10%, and regional ecosystems over 19%. Splitting classes with a low dissimilarity increased dissimilarity levels closer to average, while merging ecologically similar classes with high dissimilarities reduced dissimilarity levels closer to average levels.

Conclusions: This approach demonstrates a robust and repeatable means of analysing species compositional dissimilarity, determining site sampling requirements for classifications and guiding decisions about ‘lumping’ or ‘splitting’ of classes. This will allow more informed decisions on selecting and improving classifications and map scales in an ecologically and statistically robust manner.
Happy Spouses, Happy Parents? Family Relationships Among Finnish and Dutch Dual Earners
Authors: Malinen Kaisa , Kinnunen Ulla , Tolvanen Asko , Rönkä Anna , Wierda‐Boer Hilde , Gerris Jan
Published: April 2010

In this study links between spousal and parent‐child relationships among Finnish (n = 157 couples) and Dutch (n = 276 couples) dual earners with young children were examined using paired questionnaire data. Variable‐oriented analyses (structural equation modeling with a multigroup procedure) supported the spillover hypothesis, as higher levels of satisfaction in the spousal relationship were related to higher quality in the parent‐child relationship and lower parental role restrictions. These connections did not differ by gender or country. With family typological analyses (mixture modeling), 4 family types were identified: families with satisfying relationships (73.4% of the families), families with unsatisfying parent‐child relationships (13.4%), and families with either dissatisfied men (6.0%) or dissatisfied women (7.2%).
The Importance of Parenting and Financial Contributions in Promoting Fathers' Psychological Health
Authors: Schindler Holly S.
Published: April 2010

This study explores the relationship between residential, biological fathers' parental engagement, financial contributions, and psychological well‐being in 2‐parent families. Specifically, this study focuses on how fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions are related to their self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, and psychological distress. Analyses utilize data from the first 2 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics' Child Development Supplement and employ a subsample of father‐child pairs (N =771). The most consistent finding was that fathers' engagement in parenting and financial contributions to the family predicted improvements in fathers' psychological well‐being. On the other hand, the results found very limited support for the more common proposition that healthy psychological functioning promotes increases in fathers' parental engagement and financial contributions.
Buffers of Racial Discrimination: Links With Depression Among Rural African American Mothers
Authors: Odom Erica C. , Vernon‐Feagans Lynne ,   The Family Life Project Key Investigators
Published: April 2010

The current study examines racial discrimination as a predictor of depression in a sample of 414 rural, low‐income African American mothers of young children. The potential moderating role of optimism and church‐based social support was also examined. Mothers completed questionnaires when their child was 24 months old. Hierarchical regression revealed that mothers' perception of racism was a significant predictor of depression even after controlling for a variety of distal demographic characteristics and environmental stressors. Significant interactions suggested the importance of psychological and social characteristics in understanding maternal depression. Specifically, high levels of optimism and church‐based social support buffered mothers from increased depressive symptomology attributable to perceived racism.
No (More) Philosophy Without Cross‐Cultural Philosophy
Authors: Struhl Karsten J.
Published: April 2010

Philosophy is a radical inquiry whose task is to interrogate the fundamental assumptions of some given activity, discipline, or set of beliefs. In doing so, philosophical inquiry must attempt to delineate a problem and to develop a method for resolving that problem. However, to be true to its intention, philosophy must be able to examine not only the object of its inquiry but also its own method of interrogation. To accomplish this task, philosophical inquiry must be able to create a distance not only from the assumptions under investigation but also from its own assumptions, which is to say, that it must be able to raise questions about its own method. This self‐reflexivity requires that any given philosophical investigation must be examined from an alternative vantage point. Since the assumptions which inform the inquiry are deeply imbedded within a given culture, immanent critique is insufficient. The only way to step outside the boundaries of these cultural presuppositions is to reflect on the given problem from the vantage point of another culture's philosophical tradition. Thus, I argue that philosophical inquiry is unable to go beyond certain limits without being cross‐cultural philosophy. I illustrate the way in which cross‐cultural philosophy does this with respect to the problem of the self by placing the Western philosophical approach to this problem in dialogue with the Indian Hindu‐Buddhist narrative.
On the Very Idea of Correlative Thinking
Authors: Fung Yiu‐ming
Published: April 2010

This article aims at providing a general picture of the idea of correlative thinking developed by sinologists and philosophers in the field of Chinese and comparative studies, including Marcel Granet, Joseph Needham, A. C. Graham, David Hall and Roger Ames. As a matter of fact, there is no exactly the same view among these scholars when they use the term “correlative thinking”? to describe the Chinese mode of thinking; but they all recognize, more or less, the term’s implication as “non‐logical”? or “pre‐logical”, “non‐rational”? or “irrational”, “intuitive‐associative”? or “beyond analytic thinking”. ?Based on this presumption, some of them think that there is “irreducibility”?from the root level of (correlative) thinking to the upper level of (analytic) thinking or that there is “incommensurability”? between correlative and analytic thinking.

Based on the contemporary philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, especially Donald Davidson’s holism of the mental and the principle of charity, I shall argue that the thesis of “pre‐logical”, ?“illogical”? or “non‐logical” is self‐refuting. I shall also demonstrate that the view of “incommensurability”? between correlative and analytic thinking and the thesis of “unanalyzability” of correlative thinking shared by most of these scholars are not well‐argued but taken as a primary fact. The conclusion of this article is that there is no thinking by correlation and analogy which cannot be understood in terms of analytic concepts and which can escape from the logical or rational space.
Confucianism and Ethics in the Western Philosophical Tradition II: A Comparative Analysis of Personhood
Authors: Bockover Mary I.
Published: April 2010

This Philosophy Compass article continues the comparison between Confucian and mainstream Western views of personhood and their connection with ethics begun in Confucianism and Ethics in the Western Philosophical Tradition: Fundamental Concepts (CEWI), by focusing on the Western self conceived as an independent agent with moral and political rights. More specifically, the present article briefly accounts for how the more strictly and explicitly individualistic notion of self dominating Western philosophy has developed, leading up to a recent debate in modern Western rights theory between Herbert Fingarette and Henry Rosemont, Jr., two contemporary Western philosophers who are both steeped in Confucian thought as well as moral and political philosophy. This compares and contrasts Confucian principles with some basic to modern Western rights theory and the more individualistic view of self they entail. In the end, a new view of personhood and “free will” is offered that synthesizes insights from the Confucian treatment of persons as being essentially interdependent with the Western treatment of persons as being essentially independent. [Correction added after online publication 31 May 2010: Sentence changed.]
Nitric oxide bioavailability modulates the dynamics of microvascular oxygen exchange during recovery from contractions
Authors: Hirai D. M. , Copp S. W. , Ferreira L. F. , Musch T. I. , Poole D. C.
Published: April 2010

Aim:  Lowered microvascular PO2 (PO2mv) during the exercise off‐transient likely impairs muscle metabolic recovery and limits the capacity to perform repetitive tasks. The current investigation explored the impact of altered nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability on PO2mv during recovery from contractions in healthy skeletal muscle. We hypothesized that increased NO bioavailability (sodium nitroprusside: SNP) would enhance PO2mv and speed its recovery kinetics while decreased NO bioavailability (l‐nitro arginine methyl ester: l‐NAME) would reduce PO2mv and slow its recovery kinetics.

Methods:  PO2mv was measured by phosphorescence quenching during transitions (rest–1 Hz twitch‐contractions for 3 min–recovery) in the spinotrapezius muscle of Sprague–Dawley rats under SNP (300 μm), Krebs‐Henseleit (Control) and l‐NAME (1.5 mm) superfusion conditions.

Results:  Relative to recovery in Control, SNP resulted in greater overall microvascular oxygenation as assessed by the area under the PO2mv curve (PO2 AREA; Control: 3471 ± 292 mmHg s; SNP: 4307 ± 282 mmHg s; P < 0.05) and faster off‐kinetics as evidenced by the mean response time (MRToff; Control: 60.2 ± 6.9 s; SNP: 34.8 ± 5.7 s; P < 0.05), whereas l‐NAME produced lower PO2 AREA (2339 ± 444 mmHg s; P < 0.05) and slower MRToff (86.6 ± 14.5 s; P < 0.05).

Conclusion:  NO bioavailability plays a key role in determining the matching of O2 delivery‐to‐O2 uptake and thus the upstream O2 pressure driving capillary‐myocyte O2 flux (i.e. PO2mv) following cessation of contractions in healthy skeletal muscle. Additionally, these data support a mechanistic link between reduced NO bioavailability and prolonged muscle metabolic recovery commonly observed in ageing and diseased populations.
ISABEL MENZIES LYTH AND ACTION RESEARCH
Authors: Barnett Lynn
Published: April 2010

abstract

A brief history of the author's long contact with Isabel Menzies Lyth leads into a description of the latter's professional training and development and her work with colleagues at the Tavistock Clinic with whom she had first worked during the Second World War when applied social psychology was first developing. The influences of Malinowski and Kurt Lewin are discussed. Then follows a detailed description of Isabel Menzies Lyth's consultation to a day nursery project carried out by Alastair Bain and the author. This spells out how the values and concepts of Isabel Menzies Lyth were applied in this Action Research. The nature of the primary task; the need for a clear organizational structure and roles; a defensive organizational system resulting from anxiety; the need for personal autonomy and individual responsibility; the importance of close attachments between staff and children; reflective practice; management of anxiety and dissemination of findings.
SUPERVISION WITH ISABEL MENZIES LYTH
Authors: Motz Anna
Published: April 2010

abstract

In this paper the author describes two separate experiences of working with Isabel Menzies Lyth, first between 1987–1988 and then from 2002–2005. She recollects Isabel's seminal role as staff group facilitator on a long‐term rehabilitation ward at Littlemore Hospital, the McKnight Unit, where the author worked as a nursing assistant. She describes how Isabel's insights and interpretations in that group introduced the staff to a new way of thinking, and shed light on complex ethical and clinical dilemmas. She discusses the powerful, sometimes surprising, impact of Isabel's psychoanalytic understanding of psychosis, and of the anxieties that the staff team faced in this work. She then describes the experience of fortnightly supervision with Isabel, some 15 years later, when the author had qualified as a clinical psychologist and was working in a forensic unit with mentally ill offender patients. The paper is a personal recollection of Isabel's enduring insights and a description of her keen intellect, sensitivity and compassion in practice.
WORKING WITH GROUPS: THE CONSULTANT STANCE
Authors: Armstrong David
Published: April 2010

abstract

The paper recalls experiences as a member of groups taken by Isabel Menzies Lyth during the 1960s and the significance of matters of ‘presence’ and stance. It sketches out ways in which she was to extend Bion's frame of reference to take account of the institutional contexts in which groups were located and her insistence on the two‐way inter‐relation between individual and group work, psychoanalysis and group relations.
ISABEL MENZIES LYTH – TRADITIONS AND INNOVATIONS
Authors: Aram Eliat , Sher Mannie
Published: April 2010

abstract

The authors sketch their personal recollections of Isabel Menzies Lyth and the various roles in which they knew her, in particular, as a group relations consultant and as an organizational development consultant. They describe Isabel's contribution to the fields of group relations and consultancy and her critical views of the use of unmodified psychoanalytical models and her innovative ways of working. The authors make the point that Isabel never departed from her scientific research and change‐oriented consultancy roots; they describe how she strove to move people and organizations on; they also describe how her most powerful tool lay in holding the balance between the content of groups and organizations and the processes of researching, listening and consulting and her expert use of the transference and countertransference.
REMEMBERING THE FOUNDATIONS AND BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Authors: Irvine Bruce
Published: April 2010

abstract

The paper draws on the influence of the thinking of Isabel Menzies Lyth on the development of new approaches to events within group relations conferences sponsored by The Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies.
SOCIAL DEFENCES AND TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: Krantz James
Published: April 2010

abstract

The author addresses the concept of social defences as originated by Isabel Menzies Lyth. After reviewing the origin and development of the concept, he discusses some of the challenges encountered in using it in the service of meaningful change, and finally highlights some features of emerging 21st century organizations that are well suited for social defence analysis. Social defences, in Menzies Lyth's sense, are aspects of organizations that: (1) exist independently of their members, such as structures and policies; and (2) come to serve the purpose of reinforcing peoples' defences against the primitive anxieties stimulated in the workplace. The concept illuminates otherwise hidden sources of resistance to change and, as such, provides a valuable perspective on the challenges of continuous change and adaptation required of contemporary organizations.
FROM AUTONOMY TO DEPENDENCY?
Authors: Khaleelee Olya
Published: April 2010

abstract

This paper traces the theme of dependency and autonomy from a historical perspective, showing how individual needs and defence mechanisms link with societal developments. It elaborates on the work of Menzies Lyth and her capacity to bridge the intrapsychic world of the individual with the business world and society at large. The paper analyses current events, commenting on how greed, denial and omnipotence have contributed to the recession of 2008–2010 and how ‘basic assumption’ dependency and hope have been invested in the first black American President of the United States of America.
LEGEND, MYTH AND IDEA: ON THE FATE OF A GREAT PAPER
Authors: Cooper Andrew
Published: April 2010

abstract

Isabel Menzies Lyth's seminal paper on social systems as a defence against anxiety is so well known and frequently cited that it risks acquiring mythic or legendary status. But what explains its phenomenal influence? In this contribution I suggest that it is a model example of the psychoanalytic case study, deriving its power from a deep engagement with organizational particularities as a basis for general theorizing. Its continued influence depends upon the way in which it is used to conceptualize new organizational experiences. An example from an institutional observation undertaken as part of an advanced social work training at the Tavistock illustrates this. Institutional observation is one of a range of non‐clinical psychoanalytically informed methods of training at the Tavistock, and in the final part of the paper I discuss new applications of Menzies Lyth's work that aim to illuminate the irrational forces shaping modern social policy. Death and anxieties about death emerge as a subtext of the present paper, perhaps reflecting the fact that it was prepared as part of a memorial conference to Menzies Lyth herself, and also that the paper taught us to think better about death as an aspect of organizational experience.
Psychosocial Work Characteristics as Predictors of Affective Organisational Commitment: A Longitudinal Multi‐Level Analysis of Occupational Well‐Being
Authors: Clausen Thomas , Borg Vilhelm
Published: April 2010

The purpose of this study was to identify longitudinal associations between psychosocial work characteristics and affective organisational commitment among 6,299 employees in the Danish eldercare services. Individual‐level measures and group‐level measures of psychosocial work characteristics were included in multi‐level analyses. At the workgroup level, quality of leadership, influence at work, emotional demands, and work pace predicted affective organisational commitment at follow‐up. At the individual level, quality of leadership, influence at work, team climate, role ambiguity, and work pace predicted affective organisational commitment at follow‐up. Finally, a multi‐level model including both individual‐ and group‐level measures showed that quality of leadership measured at the group level and influence at work and quality of leadership measured at the individual level contributed to predicting affective organisational commitment at follow‐up, while adjusting for baseline levels of affective organisational commitment. The results thus imply that affective organisational commitment is conditioned by individual and contextual factors in the psychosocial work environment and that multi‐level models add to our understanding of complex organisational phenomena. As affective organisational commitment can be considered an important constituent of occupational well‐being, implications for interventions in the psychosocial work environment to increase affective organisational commitment are also discussed.
Personality and the Happiness of Others: A Study among 13‐ to 15‐Year‐Old Adolescents
Authors: Francis Leslie J. , Rolph Jenny , Rolph Paul W. , Robbins Mandy
Published: April 2010

This study was designed to assess the level of concern for the happiness of others among a sample of 13‐ to 15‐year‐old adolescents in England and Wales (N = 3,095) and to test the theory that concern for the happiness of others occupies a different psychological space (within Eysenck's three‐dimensional model of personality) from the space occupied by personal happiness. The data demonstrated a high level of concern for the happiness of others, with 84 per cent of the adolescents saying that, “It is important to me to make other people happy”. While high levels of personal happiness are generally shown to be associated with low neuroticism and high extraversion (stable extraversion), these data demonstrated that high levels of concern for the happiness of others tend to be associated with high neuroticism, high extraversion, high social conformity, and low psychoticism.
β‐Adrenoceptor gene variation and intermediate physiological traits: prediction of distant phenotype
Authors: Eisenach John H. , Wittwer Erica D.
Published: April 2010

Intermediate physiological phenotype is the genetic and environmental influence on functional physiological characteristics with direct prognostic relevance to distant, more complex phenotypes, such as cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Increasingly available and affordable genotyping techniques have created an explosion of information on candidate gene variation and its relationship to intermediate physiological traits. Variation in β‐adrenoceptor genes is an intense focus of investigation because β‐adrenoceptors are: (1) ubiquitous in organ system distribution; (2) integral to a multitude of physiological processes; (3) well described in cardiovascular and metabolic disease; and (4) major pharmacological treatment targets. Furthermore, knowledge of functional gene variants in these receptors predates the description of the human genome. This review highlights the influence of common gene variation in the three β‐adrenoceptor subtypes on intermediate physiological phenotype predictive of cardiovascular disease and obesity. Although further information is needed to replicate this information across populations, this review condenses and summarizes growing trends in specific pleiotropic effects of β‐adrenoceptor polymorphisms and suggests which variants may be predictive of distant phenotype.
Blunting of rapid onset vasodilatation and blood flow restriction in arterioles of exercising skeletal muscle with ageing in male mice
Authors: Jackson Dwayne N. , Moore Alex W. , Segal Steven S.
Published: April 2010

Exercise capacity and skeletal muscle blood flow are diminished with ageing but little is known of underlying changes in microvascular haemodynamics. Further, it is not clear how the sympathetic nervous system affects the microcirculation of skeletal muscle with ageing or whether sex differences prevail in the regulation of arteriolar diameter in response to muscle contractions. In the gluteus maximus muscle of C57BL/6 mice, we tested the hypothesis that ageing would impair ‘rapid onset vasodilatation’ (ROV) in distributing arterioles (second‐order, 2A) of old (20‐month) males (OM) and females (OF) relative to young (3‐month) males (YM) and females (YF). Neither resting (∼17 μm) nor maximum (∼30 μm) 2A diameters differed between groups. In response to single tetanic contractions at 100 Hz (duration, 100–1000 ms), ROV responses were blunted by half in OM relative to OF, YM or YF. With no effect in YM, blockade of α‐adrenoreceptors with phentolamine (1 μm) restored ROV in OM. Topical noradrenaline (1 nm) blunted ROV in YM and YF to levels seen in OM and further suppressed ROV in OM (P < 0.05). To evaluate arteriolar blood flow, red blood cell velocity was measured in 2A of OM and YM; respective heart rates (353 ± 22 vs. 378 ± 15 beats min−1) and carotid arterial blood pressures (76 ± 3 vs. 76 ± 1 mmHg) were not different. Blood flows at rest (0.6 ± 0.1 vs. 1.6 ± 0.2 nl s−1) and during maximum dilatation (2.0 ± 0.8 vs. 5.4 ± 0.8 nl s−1) with sodium nitroprusside (10 μm) were attenuated >60% (P < 0.05) in OM. Blood flow at peak ROV was blunted by 75–80% in OM vs. YM (P < 0.05). In response to 30 s of rhythmic contractions at 2, 4 and 8 Hz, progressive dilatations did not differ with age or sex. Nevertheless, resting and peak blood flows in YM were 2‐ to 3‐fold greater (P < 0.05) than OM. We suggest that ageing blunts ROV and restricts blood flow to skeletal muscle of OM through subtle activation of α‐adrenoreceptors in microvascular resistance networks.
Four-Dimensional Electron Microscopy
Authors: Zewail Ahmed H.
Published: April 2010

Ultrafast Imaging

Optical microscopy is generally limited in resolution by the wavelength of light incident on the substrate. Because these wavelengths, even in the ultraviolet, are on the order of hundreds of nanometers, electron beams have long been used instead to probe structural detail at the smallest scale. While offering exceptional spatial resolution, electrons repel one another and so cannot be compressed in time as easily as a pulse of light. Electron microscopy has thus traditionally been a comparatively static characterization method.
Zewail
(p.
187
) reviews recent technological developments in stripping down the electron pulses used for imaging that have been able to introduce time resolution of trillionths of a second to this spatially precise technique. Local transformations ranging from graphite film oscillations to iron phase transitions have been tracked in this manner.
Transnuclear Mice with Predefined T Cell Receptor Specificities Against
Toxoplasma gondii
Obtained via SCNT
Authors: Kirak Oktay , Frickel Eva-Maria , Grotenbreg Gijsbert M. , Suh Heikyung , Jaenisch Rudolf , Ploegh Hidde L.
Published: April 2010

Speedy TCR Transgenic Mouse Manufacture

T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice are one of the most useful and ubiquitous tools of the immunologist. This is because the majority of T cells that develop in these mice express T cell receptors with known antigen specificity, and thus the mice can be used to study antigen-specific immune responses. The downside of TCR transgenic mice is that they can be difficult and time-consuming to generate and the antigen specificities of their T cells are often not physiologically relevant.

Kirak
et al.

(p.
243
) now describe the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer to create TCR transgenic mice with specificity for antigens known to be important in the immune response against the parasite
Toxoplasma gondii
. This method generates mice with greater ease and speed than conventional TCR transgenic mice and can be applied to generate mice with T cells specific to antigens from a variety of infectious diseases.
Two-Dimensional Phonon Transport in Supported Graphene
Authors: Seol Jae Hun , Jo Insun , Moore Arden L. , Lindsay Lucas , Aitken Zachary H. , Pettes Michael T. , Li Xuesong , Yao Zhen , Huang Rui , Broido David , Mingo Natalio , Ruoff Rodney S. , Shi Li
Published: April 2010

Heat Flow in Graphene

Unsupported graphene sheets show exceptional thermal transport properties, but are these properties maintained when a graphene sheet is in contact with a substrate?

Seol
et al.

(p.
213
; see the Perspective by

Prasher

) measured the thermal conductivity of graphene supported on silicon dioxide and found that, while the conductivity was considerably lower than that of free-standing graphene, it was still greater than that of metals such as copper. A theoretical model suggested that the out-of-plane flexing vibrations of the graphene play a key role in thermal transport. Thus, graphene may help in applications such as conducting heat away from electronic circuits.
Australopithecus sediba
: A New Species of
Homo
-Like Australopith from South Africa
Authors: Berger Lee R. , de Ruiter Darryl J. , Churchill Steven E. , Schmid Peter , Carlson Kristian J. , Dirks Paul H. G. M. , Kibii Job M.
Published: April 2010

From
Australopithecus
to
Homo

Our genus
Homo
is thought to have evolved a little more than 2 million years ago from the earlier hominid
Australopithecus
. But there are few fossils that provide detailed information on this transition.

Berger
et al.

(p.
195
; see the cover) now describe two partial skeletons, including most of the skull, pelvis, and ankle, of a new species of
Australopithecus
that are informative. The skeletons were found in a cave in South Africa encased in sediments dated by

Dirks
et al.

(p.
205
) to about 1.8 to 1.9 million years ago. The fossils share many derived features with the earliest
Homo
species, including in its pelvis and smaller teeth, and imply that the transition to
Homo
was in stages.
Geological Setting and Age of
Australopithecus sediba
from Southern Africa
Authors: Dirks Paul H. G. M. , Kibii Job M. , Kuhn Brian F. , Steininger Christine , Churchill Steven E. , Kramers Jan D. , Pickering Robyn , Farber Daniel L. , Mériaux Anne-Sophie , Herries Andy I. R. , King Geoffrey C. P. , Berger Lee R.
Published: April 2010

From
Australopithecus
to
Homo

Our genus
Homo
is thought to have evolved a little more than 2 million years ago from the earlier hominid
Australopithecus
. But there are few fossils that provide detailed information on this transition.

Berger
et al.

(p.
195
; see the cover) now describe two partial skeletons, including most of the skull, pelvis, and ankle, of a new species of
Australopithecus
that are informative. The skeletons were found in a cave in South Africa encased in sediments dated by

Dirks
et al.

(p.
205
) to about 1.8 to 1.9 million years ago. The fossils share many derived features with the earliest
Homo
species, including in its pelvis and smaller teeth, and imply that the transition to
Homo
was in stages.
Holding On by a Hard-Shell Thread
Authors: Messersmith Phillip B.
Published: April 2010

The byssal threads that secure mussels onto surfaces have a hard coating created by iron cross-links of proteins rich in
l
-dopa.
Steering Clear of State Control
The Art of Not Being Governed
An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia

by James C. Scott

Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2009. 464 pp. $35, £20. ISBN 9780300152289. Agrarian Studies.
Authors: Barth Fredrik
Published: April 2010

Scott uses a close look at the 80 million people who live in stateless societies in Southeast Asia to consider how such societies persist.
The Microbes Made Me Eat It
Authors: Sandoval Darleen A. , Seeley Randy J.
Published: April 2010

Susceptibility to obesity is influenced by the interaction between microbes and immune system function in our digestive system.
Poisonous Contacts
Authors: Kogan Scott C.
Published: April 2010

The therapeutic effect of arsenic on promyelocytic leukemia depends on direct binding of the compound to the causative oncogenic protein.
Scientists Ask Minister to Disavow Predecessor's Book
Authors: Enserink Martin
Published: April 2010

Last week, more than 500 French researchers signed a letter asking French Science Minister Valérie Pécresse to disavow former science minister Claude Allègre's scathing attack on the climate research field by publicly expressing her confidence in French climate science.
Cancer Gene Patents Ruled Invalid
Authors: Marshall Eliot
Published: April 2010

Last week, a federal judge in New York City used sweeping language to invalidate a handful of human gene patents, casting doubt on hundreds more.
Candidate Human Ancestor From South Africa Sparks Praise and Debate
Authors: Balter Michael
Published: April 2010

On pages
195
and
205
of this week's issue of
Science
, researchers describe a group of fossils found since 2008 in Malapa cave north of Johannesburg and dated as early as 2 million years ago, which they say may be the best candidate yet for the immediate ancestor of our genus,
Homo
.
Fresh Signs of Volcanic Stirrings Are Radiating From Venus
Authors: Kerr Richard A.
Published: April 2010

In a
paper
published online this week in
Science
, researchers report new evidence that Venus is still reshaping its surface—as well as cooling its interior—through volcanic outpourings like Hawaii's or Iceland's.
Scientists Count the Costs of Chile's Quake
Authors: Regalado Antonio
Published: April 2010

Chilean scientists have estimated that the magnitude-8.8 earthquake that rocked the country on 27 February caused some $200 million in damage to research facilities and equipment.
Asking the Right Question Requires Right Mix of Science and Politics
Authors: Mervis Jeffrey
Published: April 2010

The social science and survey research communities that rely upon the data are watching anxiously as new procedures are being ironed out for determining which questions get asked on the American Community Survey (ACS), a monthly sampling of 3 million households a year that asks residents 75 questions about everything from their incomes and disabilities to how long it takes them to get to work.
Did Working Memory Spark Creative Culture?
Authors: Balter Michael
Published: April 2010

A provocative model suggests that a shift in what and how we remember may have been key to the evolution of human cognition.
Does 'Working Memory' Still Work?
Authors: Balter Michael
Published: April 2010

The idea that a better working memory made
Homo sapiens
smarter than its ancestors is attracting attention from psychologists, archaeologists, and neuroscientists alike (
see main text
). But now some researchers are challenging some of the basic tenets of the model it's based on.
Construction and Application of Variants of the
Pseudomonas fluorescens
EBC191 Arylacetonitrilase for Increased Production of Acids or Amides
Authors: Sosedov Olga , Baum Stefanie , Bürger Sibylle , Matzer Kathrin , Kiziak Christoph , Stolz Andreas
Published: April 2010

The arylacetonitrilase from
Pseudomonas fluorescens
EBC191 differs from previously studied arylacetonitrilases by its low enantiospecificity during the turnover of mandelonitrile and by the large amounts of amides that are formed in the course of this reaction. In the sequence of the nitrilase from
P. fluorescens
, a cysteine residue (Cys163) is present in direct neighborhood (toward the amino terminus) to the catalytic active cysteine residue, which is rather unique among bacterial nitrilases. Therefore, this cysteine residue was exchanged in the nitrilase from
P. fluorescens
EBC191 for various amino acid residues which are present in other nitrilases at the homologous position. The influence of these mutations on the reaction specificity and enantiospecificity was analyzed with (
R
,
S
)-mandelonitrile and (
R
,
S
)-2-phenylpropionitrile as substrates. The mutants obtained demonstrated significant differences in their amide-forming capacities. The exchange of Cys163 for asparagine or glutamine residues resulted in significantly increased amounts of amides formed. In contrast, a substitution for alanine or serine residues decreased the amounts of amides formed. The newly discovered mutation was combined with previously identified mutations which also resulted in increased amide formation. Thus, variants which possessed in addition to the mutation Cys163Asn also a deletion at the C terminus of the enzyme and/or the modification Ala165Arg were constructed. These constructs demonstrated increased amide formation capacity in comparison to the mutants carrying only single mutations. The recombinant plasmids that encoded enzyme variants which formed large amounts of mandeloamide or that formed almost stoichiometric amounts of mandelic acid from mandelonitrile were used to transform
Escherichia coli
strains that expressed a plant-derived (
S
)-hydroxynitrile lyase. The whole-cell biocatalysts obtained in this way converted benzaldehyde plus cyanide either to (
S
)-mandeloamide or (
S
)-mandelic acid with high yields and enantiopurities.
Comprehensive Investigation of Marine
Actinobacteria
Associated with the Sponge
Halichondria panicea
Authors: Schneemann Imke , Nagel Kerstin , Kajahn Inga , Labes Antje , Wiese Jutta , Imhoff Johannes F.
Published: April 2010

Representatives of
Actinobacteria
were isolated from the marine sponge
Halichondria panicea
collected from the Baltic Sea (Germany). For the first time, a comprehensive investigation was performed with regard to phylogenetic strain identification, secondary metabolite profiling, bioactivity determination, and genetic exploration of biosynthetic genes, especially concerning the relationships of the abundance of biosynthesis gene fragments to the number and diversity of produced secondary metabolites. All strains were phylogenetically identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses and were found to belong to the genera
Actinoalloteichus
,
Micrococcus
,
Micromonospora
,
Nocardiopsis
, and
Streptomyces
. Secondary metabolite profiles of 46 actinobacterial strains were evaluated, 122 different substances were identified, and 88 so far unidentified compounds were detected. The extracts from most of the cultures showed biological activities. In addition, the presence of biosynthesis genes encoding polyketide synthases (PKSs) and nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) in 30 strains was established. It was shown that strains in which either PKS or NRPS genes were identified produced a significantly higher number of metabolites and exhibited a larger number of unidentified, possibly new metabolites than other strains. Therefore, the presence of PKS and NRPS genes is a good indicator for the selection of strains to isolate new natural products.
Phylogenetic and Multivariate Analyses To Determine the Effects of Different Tillage and Residue Management Practices on Soil Bacterial Communities
Authors: Ceja-Navarro Javier A. , Rivera-Orduña Flor N. , Patiño-Zúñiga Leonardo , Vila-Sanjurjo Antón , Crossa José , Govaerts Bram , Dendooven Luc
Published: April 2010

Bacterial communities are important not only in the cycling of organic compounds but also in maintaining ecosystems. Specific bacterial groups can be affected as a result of changes in environmental conditions caused by human activities, such as agricultural practices. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of different forms of tillage and residue management on soil bacterial communities by using phylogenetic and multivariate analyses. Treatments involving zero tillage (ZT) and conventional tillage (CT) with their respective combinations of residue management, i.e., removed residue (−R) and kept residue (+R), and maize/wheat rotation, were selected from a long-term field trial started in 1991. Analysis of bacterial diversity showed that soils under zero tillage and crop residue retention (ZT/+R) had the highest levels of diversity and richness. Multivariate analysis showed that beneficial bacterial groups such as fluorescentPseudomonasspp. andBurkholderialeswere favored by residue retention (ZT/+R and CT/+R) and negatively affected by residue removal (ZT/−R). Zero-tillage treatments (ZT/+R and ZT/−R) had a positive effect on theRhizobialesgroup, with its main representatives related toMethylosinusspp. known as methane-oxidizing bacteria. It can be concluded that practices that include reduced tillage and crop residue retention can be adopted as safer agricultural practices to preserve and improve the diversity of soil bacterial communities.
Kinetics of a Tuberculosis-Specific Gamma Interferon Release Assay in Military Personnel with a Positive Tuberculin Skin Test
Authors: van Brummelen Sigrid E. , Bauwens Anja M. , Schlösser Noël J. , Arend Sandra M.
Published: April 2010

Treatment of latent
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
infection on the basis of the tuberculin skin test (TST) result is inaccurate due to the false-positive TST results that occur after
Mycobacterium bovis
BCG vaccination or exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Gamma interferon release assays (IGRAs) are based on
M. tuberculosis
-specific antigens. In a previous study among BCG-naïve military employees, a positive TST result after deployment was mostly associated with a negative IGRA result, suggesting exposure to NTM. Data regarding the kinetics of IGRAs are limited and controversial. The present study aimed to reassess the rate of false-positive TST results and to evaluate the kinetics of the Quantiferon TB Gold In-Tube assay (QFT-Git) in military personnel with a positive TST result. QFT-Git was performed at the time of inclusion in the study and was repeated after 2, 6, 12, and 18 or 24 months. Of 192 participants, 17 were recruits and 175 were screened after deployment (
n
= 169) or because of travel or health care work. Baseline positive QFT-Git results were observed in 7/17 (41.2%) and 12/174 (6.9%) participants, respectively. During follow-up, a negative QFT-Git result remained negative in 163/165 (98.8%) participants. Of 18 subjects with an initial positive QFT-Git result, reversion to a negative result occurred in 1/6 (16%) recruits, whereas it occurred in 8/12 (66%) subjects after deployment or with other risk factors (
P
= 0.046). The quantitative result was significantly lower in subjects with reversion than in those with consistent positive results (
P
= 0.017). This study confirmed a low rate of positive QFT-Git results among military personnel with a positive TST result after deployment, supporting the hypothesis of exposure to NTM. Reversion of the majority of initially low-positive QFT-Git results indicates that QFT-Git may be useful for the diagnosis of later reinfections.
Oral Vaccination with AttenuatedSalmonella entericaStrains Encoding T-Cell Epitopes from Tumor Antigen NY-ESO-1 Induces Specific Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses
Authors: Meng Jia-Zi , Dong Yu-Jun , Huang He , Li Shuang , Zhong Yi , Liu Shu-Lin , Wang Yue-Dan
Published: April 2010

Bacterial fimbriae can accept foreign peptides and display them on the cell surface. A highly efficient gene replacement method was used to generate peptide vaccines based onSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium SL3261. The T-cell epitopes (NY-ESO-1 p157-165 and p157-167) from NY-ESO-1, which is a promising target antigen in patients for the specific immune recognition of cancer, were incorporated into the gene encoding AgfA (the major subunit protein of thin aggregative fimbriae ofSalmonella) by replacing an equal length of the DNA segment. To improve cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition, both termini of the peptide were flanked by double alanine (AA) residues. Immunofluorescence microscopy with AgfA-specific antiserum verified the expression of chimeric AgfA, which was also proved by a Congo red binding assay. Oral immunizations of HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice with recombinant SL3261 strains encoding NY-ESO-1 p157-165 or p157-167 induced NY-ESO-1 p157-165-specific CD8+T cells, detected by an HLA-A*0201 pentamer, and induced a T-cell response detected by an enzyme-linked immunospot assay. TheSalmonellafimbrial display system was efficient at the induction of an antitumor cellular immune responsein vivo, providing a new strategy for the development of efficient cancer vaccinations.