Ensuing Period Research Articles

The Jews of Bohemia & Moravia: Facing the Holocaust (review)

The Jews of Bohemia & Moravia: Facing the Holocaust, by Livia Rothkirchen. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press and Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 2005.447 pp. $39.95. Livia Rothkirchen in the present publication takes up the task of describing the history of the Jewish presence in Bohemia and Moravia. It is, at this juncture, worth recalling the situation prevalent for many years regarding the mapping of Jewish history in the Czech lands. During the years of Communist domination (1948-1989), historians had only very limited possibilities in treating this theme. In the early 1950s, a climate of official antisemitism made it impossible for historians officially to perform research or to publish on Jewish themes. By the 1960s, conditions began to improve. Literary scholars, led by Eduard Goldstucker, began to write about the figure of Franz Kafka, or publish studies of Prague's German-language literature. Hana Volavkova's The Story of the Prague Jewish Museum (Ph'beh 2idovskeho muzea v Praze) finally saw publication, as well as the exceptional work of Karel Lagus and Josef Polik, The City Behind Bars (Mesto za mrizemi), a depiction of the Jewish ghetto of Theresienstadt (Terezin) during the Nazi occupation. After a long silence, writing about the sufferings of the Jewish population during World War Two was finally allowed. In short, it seemed that the time had come that would allow for more extensive research into the history of the Czechoslovak Jews. But after the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968, thePrague Spring came to an end. In the ensuing period of cultural and political repression during the next two decades, the possibilities of conducting historical research in any official framework were again severely restricted. As far as topics in Jewish history were concerned, the maximum possible achievements were the publication of relatively brief studies of earlier Jewish history or significant Czech Jewish individuals in scholarly compendia or professional journals with a limited circulation. All of these limitations came to an end with the political changes of 1989. Czech historians began to publish a wide series of books and articles about the country's Jewish history, with the greatest emphasis devoted to the catastrophe of World War Two. The situation outlined above led to the paradox that the study of Czech Jewish history developed far more extensively abroad, particularly amongjewish emigrants from Czechoslovakia. It was a sovereign interest of the Jewish emigre communities that this history not be forgotten, and it was they who started initiatives to support research in the field. The impressive result of these efforts was the three-volume publication The Jews of Czechoslovakia, a decades-long collaborative effort headed by Czech-born Israeli diplomat and writer Avigdor Dagan. Understandably, the work of the authors was hindered by the fact that they could not work with documents kept in Czechoslovak archives, yet despite this handicap they succeeded in creating a publication that can be regarded as essential for the study of the history of the Jews of Czechoslovakia. One of the members of the team of authors was Livia Rothkirchen, who has been conducting research in this field for many decades. She formerly worked for the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, and has published many studies with a predominant focus on the period of World War Two. In her publication The Jews of Bohemia 6- Moravia, she has taken up the daunting task of capturing the history of the Jewish presence in the broadest sense, drawing on her long years of research. Her introductory chapter outlines the history of the Jews in the Czech lands from the 10th century until the creation of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. She then turns her attention to the position of Jews in Czechoslovak society between the two wars, noting the manifestations of antisemitism in Czechoslovakia at the end of 1938 and the beginning of 1939. …

Cycle-Based Rate Control for One-Way and Interactive Video Communications Over Wireless Channels

We propose a joint source-rate/channel-code control scheme for streaming video over a wireless channel. The scheme is designed to maximize the achievable source rate while guaranteeing an upper bound on the probability of starvation at the playback buffer. It can be applied to both one-way and interactive video communications. Rate control is performed adaptively on a per-cycle basis, where a cycle consists of a channel period and the ensuing period. This cycle-based approach has two advantages. First, it reduces the fluctuations in the source bit rate, ensuring smooth variations in video quality. Second, it makes it possible to derive simple expressions for the starvation probability at the playback buffer, which we use to determine the optimal source rate and channel code for the good and bad periods of the subsequent cycle

Functional expression and refolding of new alkaline esterase, EM2L8 from deep-sea sediment metagenome

A metagenomics approach is an efficient method of isolating novel and useful genes from uncultured microorganisms in diverse environments. In this research, a gene encoding a new esterase (EM2L8) was cloned and characterized from the metagenomic DNA library of a deep-sea sediment. The gene consisted of 804 bp encoding a polypeptide of 267 amino acids with a molecular mass of 28,952. The deduced amino acid sequence showed similarities with the BioH of Kurthia, the 3-oxoadipate enol-lactonase of Haloarcula and the acyltransferase of Thermoanaerobacter, which feature identities of 38%, 32%, and 33%, respectively. Residues essential for esterase activity, such as pentapeptide (GXSXG) and catalytic triad sequences, were uncovered. While the protein was overproduced mainly as inclusion body at 37 °C, it was mainly produced as a soluble active enzyme at 18 °C. A zymogram analysis revealed that purified EM2L8 taken from the soluble fraction could hydrolyze tributyrin substrate. Furthermore, the protein from the inclusion body fraction also showed strong activity on gel, thus indicating that the protein was refolded during SDS-gel electrophoresis and the ensuing incubation period. When the inclusion body was mixed with some anionic detergent solutions and diluted with a non-detergent buffer, the insoluble EM2L8 refolded rapidly and recovered its full esterase activity. Although EM2L8 had an optimum temperature of 50–55 °C, its activation energy in the range of 10–40 °C was 8.34 kcal/mol, indicating that it is a cold-adapted enzyme. Moreover, it was found to have an optimum pH of 10–11, thus revealing that it is an alkaline enzyme. In this paper, the new esterase EM2L8 buried in a deep-sea sediment became known on the surface and was characterized biochemically.

A dimensionless vent number characterizing the thermal impact of fluid discharge through planar and cylindrical vents with particular application to seafloor gas vents crystallizing hydrate

A dimensionless vent number is derived that characterizes the axial temperature changes caused by vertical heat advection in vent zones of planar or cylindrical shape and horizontal dimensions of meters to hundreds of meters or more. The vent number, Nv, depends on the depth extent and width of the vent zone and the rate and duration of venting and is applicable to many common geologic situations such as mud and salt diapirism and gas venting. It provides an easy way to estimate the thermal consequences of venting in cases where the geometry of the vent and its rate and duration of discharge can be estimated. Temperature perturbations are minimal for Nv < 0.1. For Nv > 2 the temperature profile along the vent zone axis follows the one‐dimensional steady state advection profile and horizontal heat losses are negligible. Use of vent numbers is illustrated by assessing the thermal impact of gas venting at the Bush Hill hydrate mound offshore Louisiana. The analysis shows that the temperature perturbations expected from the gas venting there are very small and that any subsurface temperature increase in the area was likely caused by the mud diapirism that preceded the gas venting. The subsurface should be cooling and hydrate crystallizing to progressively greater depths during the ensuing period of gas venting. These conclusions are not obvious but are easily reached using vent numbers.

O-186: Dynamic distribution of heterochromatin protein 1β in the preimplantation embryos

Shortly after fertilization, maternal and paternal genomes commence a series of broad and rapid reorganizations during the ensuing period of preimplantation development. These chromatin dynamics are of special interest because chromatin is the principle molecular basis for the regulation of zygotic gene expression. Heterochromatin protein 1β (HP1β), a component of condensed chromatin, was found to play important roles in gene silencing and regulation. Therefore, studies of chromatin proteins, like HP1β, in the preimplantation embryo promise to shed light on processes such as imprinting and reprogramming associated with embryo development.

Expression of glucocorticoid receptors in the hippocampal region of the rat brain during postnatal development

Circulating glucocorticoids, of which their concentration is largely under the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, acting through the glucocorticoid receptors (GR) regulate a large variety of pivotal functions of the organism such as growth, development, immune- and stress-response. The main mechanism of regulation of the HPA axis activity is via negative feedback at all levels of the HPA axis itself as well as at the extra-hypothalamic level, a central part of which is the hippocampus. During neonatal development, the HPA axis of rats undergoes a period of hyporesponsiveness (SHRP)—when most stress stimuli fail to induce stress-response. Here, we describe the pattern of GR proteins expression in the hippocampal area of the rat brain during postnatal development and in adulthood. We demonstrated that the GR protein, of which its expression level is gradually enhanced in the hippocampus during postnatal life, exists in three different molecular sized forms. A larger molecular form was expressed at rather high levels at all studied time periods. A second smaller variant of GR was transiently expressed during the first one and a half weeks that corresponds with SHRP and then appeared again only in the adulthood. By the end of SHRP on PD 13, third smallest protein form of GR started to be detected in the hippocampal area. Thus, it remains to be disclosed in the nearest future, how the hippocampal GR isoforms may be involved in regulation of the neonatal HPA axis hyporesponsiveness as well as in functions of this system during the ensuing period of the brain maturation.

Psychiatry Chief Quits After Order To Commit Offender

Psychiatry Chief Quits After Order To Commit Offender

Liberalism and Married Women’s Property Rights in Nineteenth-Century Latin America

Liberalism and Married Women’s Property Rights in Nineteenth-Century Latin America

Antibacterial effects of commercial essential oils over locally prevalent pathogenic strains in Mexico

Locally prevalent pathogenic bacteria 189 Gram (−) and 135 Gram (+) strains, all isolated from pediatric patients severely infected, were tested in vitro against 11 essential oils from commercial origin. All the strains showed resistance to selected antibiotics. Cinnamomum verum, Origanum vulgare and Thymus vulgaris exhibited the highest and broadest antibacterial activity. Emphasis is made in the potential implications of these resources, uncommon at the clinical setting of the study, employed against non-commercial, locally pathogenic strains, being a step to submit in the ensuing period essential oils from plants used in Mexican traditional medicine.

Correspondence

A 59‐year‐old woman was first seen in our department for the evaluation of scleroderma‐like skin changes and trophic ulcers on her legs.Her past medical history was of a long duration. At 18 years of age, the patient noted graying of the scalp hair, skin thinning, and slight hyperpigmentation. Soon after, she developed a high‐pitched, raspy voice. Her growth ceased at about 14 years of age. At the age of 35 years, visual disturbances developed, and she was diagnosed as having bilateral cataracts. Cataract surgery was performed at the age of 40 years. During this time, marked muscular atrophy and joint contractures limited her walking. Around the age of 50 years, she developed leg ulcers unresponsive to treatment. In the ensuing period of approximately 7 years, the cutaneous ulcers worsened, resulting in osteomyelitis.Both her parents were normal and nonconsanguineous. The patient's 50‐year‐old sister and 34‐year‐old daughter have no medical problems.On physical examination, the patient's height was 148.5 cm and weight 47 kg. Her voice was high‐pitched and childish. The entire skin surface, sparing the palms and soles, had a poikilodermic appearance (Fig. 1). Although the skin was not sclerotic, facial involvement produced thinning and sharpening of the nose giving it a beaked appearance (Fig. 2).Premature aged appearance with atrophic, pigmented, and telangiectatic lesionsimageProfile of face to show bird‐like featuresimageSmooth, shiny, scleroderma‐like skin and a marked decrease in the subcutaneous tissue and muscles were noted over the extremities. Her limbs were slim and her hands and feet were small. There were callosity formations on the soles, associated with deep cutaneous ulcers on the right heel and bilaterally around the malleoli. Digital ulcers were not found. The radial and dorsalis pedis arteries were palpable. The scalp hair was thin and sparse. There were only a few axillary and pubic hairs. The nails were dystrophic and the teeth displayed melanodontia, irregular incisors, and periodontosis.Laboratory examination revealed an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of 66 mm/h. The other test results, including SMA‐12 (Simultaneous Multichannel Analysis), liver function test, urinalysis, blood glucose, and insulin in the glucose tolerance test, were in the normal range. The serum levels of thyroid hormones and TSH (thyroid‐stimulating hormone) were within reference limits. Radiologic examination of the right foot revealed osteoporosis and soft‐tissue calcifications (Fig. 3). Chest X‐ray and echocardiogram did not show any cardiopulmonary involvement. Angiography of the right lower limb did not show any anomaly, and there was no finding suggestive of calcification of the vessel walls. There was no involvement of the visceral organs or hypoplastic genitalia.Soft‐tissue calcifications and osteoporosis seen in the right footimageHistologic examination from a scleroderma‐like lesion on the leg showed an atrophic epidermis with moderate hyperkeratosis and a lack of rete ridges. The dermal collagen was thick with mild hyalinization; the pilosebaceous units and sweat glands were absent. There was a replacement of the subcutaneous fat by connective tissue (Fig. 4).Epidermal atrophy with moderate hyperkeratosis; the dermis is thick with hyalinization of the collagen fibers; there is an absence of pilosebaceous structures (hematoxylin and eosin, ×40)image

Adjustment of diurnal starch turnover to short days: depletion of sugar during the night leads to a temporary inhibition of carbohydrate utilization, accumulation of sugars and post-translational activation of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in the following light period.

A larger proportion of the fixed carbon is retained as starch in the leaf in short days, providing a larger store to support metabolism and carbon export during the long night. The mechanisms that facilitate this adjustment of the sink-source balance are unknown. Starchless pgm mutants were analysed to discover responses that are triggered when diurnal starch turnover is disturbed. Sugars accumulated to high levels during the day, and fell to very low levels by the middle of the night. Sugars rose rapidly in the roots and rosette after illumination, and decreased later in the light period. Global transcript profiling revealed only small differences between pgm and Col0 at the end of the day but large differences at the end of the night, when pgm resembled Col0 after a 4-6 h prolongation of the night and many genes required for biosynthesis and growth were repressed [Plant J. 37 (2004) 914]. It is concluded that transient sugar depletion at the end of the night inhibits carbon utilization at the start of the ensuing light period. A second set of experiments investigated the stimulation of starch synthesis in response to short days in wild-type Col0. In short days, sugars were very low in the roots and rosette at the end of the dark period, and after illumination accumulated rapidly in both organs to levels that were higher than in long days. The response resembles pgm, except that carbohydrate accumulated in the leaf as starch instead of sugars. A similar response was found after transfer from long to short days. Inclusion of sugar in the rooting medium attenuated the stimulation of starch synthesis. Post-translational activation of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) was increased in pgm, and in Col0 in short days. It is concluded that starch synthesis is stimulated in short day conditions because sugar depletion at the end of the night triggers a temporary inhibition of growth and carbohydrate utilization in the first part of the light period, leading to transient accumulation of sugar and activation of AGPase.

The lecture from hell.

During the last 10 years of full-time CAM research, I have given about 300 lectures. Thus, I have certainly made every mistake there is, and consider myself qualified to write this personal account on how to deliver a truly poor lecture. I do this in the hope that others might learn from my imperfection. In preparing for the big day, it is best to be cool and leave things to the last minute. You are so gifted and competent that a few scribbles made on the way to the venue will easily suffice for fascinating your audience. Don’t bother enquiring who they are; what you have to say will capture the attention of a lay audience as much as that of a highly specialised one. The kind people who have invited you will certainly have suggested a topic. Don’t get irritated by that; you know best what you can and want to talk about and, after all, it is always best to stick to what you know. If your subject is palliative cancer care, for instance, it should not be too difficult, after a few introductory sentences, to shift the attention to the most revealing survey you conducted on 10 back pain patients 25 years agoFcancer patients suffer from back pain too! From the outset, you need to show the audience that you are better than they are. A good way of achieving this aim is to display your knowledge of as many acronyms as possible. Making abundant use of abbreviations has the added advantage that it could hide a few glitches in your arguments. People might even think you are talking about palliative care after all. Another golden rule is never produce evidence for your statements. Some people use visual aids to produce the evidence, but this is both tiring and confusing (and it would, of course, require much more preparation than you allowed for). If you want to use visual aids, use photographs of your kids (pets if you are childless) or your last holiday destination. This will add the personal touch that people crave. Surely, if they had wanted evidence they would have gone to a library, not to your lecture. It is advisable to spend as much time as possible with lengthy preliminaries, particularly if you are not really covering the subject as printed in the programme. Mention that you first met Cathy (who just introduced you) when you were both in nursery and give a full and colourful account of your relationship since then. If you haven’t actually been to nursery with Cathy, perhaps you could talk about the car accident you saw en route and what it made you think of. Or you could take the holistic approach, ask everyone to stand up, do a few relaxation exercises and feel the flow of energy in the body, room or universe. The obvious aim is to leave as little time as possible for the proper lecture. Thus, you can pretend to know much more about your subject than you had time to disclose and you can end your unfinished lecture with the upbeat exclamation ‘‘y.ah! perhaps another timey’’. Most lecturers find the ensuing discussion period the most challenging part of their task. Not you! First, you have wisely ensured that there is no time left. Thus, the discussion slot will either be completely cancelled or it will be refreshingly brief. When the first difficult question comes your way, remember the important principle: you are so much cleverer than anyone else in this roomFand show it! Arrogance has always been a perfect shield for hiding ARTICLE IN PRESS

Strategic management in the Japanese context: the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) 1987–2002

Abstract This paper reviews the operation of the Japanese Railway (JR) Companies since the dissolution and privatization of the Japanese National Railways in 1987 and evaluates the changes in the strategic management approach of the JR Companies in the ensuing period. It focuses on JR East, which operates the largest passenger network in Japan and examines both the changes in the company's operating environment since privatization and its strategic management policy in relation to these developments. The key strategic and business environment issues identified in the paper are primarily government regulation of railway operations, social change — particularly in terms of the demographic profile — and a changing competitive environment. The reaction of the company's management to these events may be summarized as little discernible change in the strategic management approach in the first 10 years after privatization, for two principal reasons. During that period Japanese companies continued to observe the strategic targets of revenue growth and market share (rather than profitability) and there continued to be acceptance that the Japanese railway companies were obliged, for social reasons, to run unprofitable services, the closure of which would have boosted the company's profitability. It appears, however, that the company's strategy over the past five years has become clarified and simplified, with a greater emphasis on profitability targets and shareholder value. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Connective tissue growth factor: a novel marker of layer vii neurons in the rat cerebral cortex

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) belongs to a family of secreted, extracellular matrix-associated proteins that are involved in the regulation of cellular functions such as adhesion, migration, mitogenesis, differentiation and survival. Recent studies have also suggested the up-regulation of CTGF in response to trauma, scar formation and excitotoxicity in the CNS. To further elucidate the localization and regulation of this molecule in the rat brain we performed in situ hybridization experiments and found a very strong and selective expression of CTGF messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) on the band of layer VII neurons throughout the adult cerebral cortex. Similarly strong neuronal expression was also present in the dorsal endopiriform nucleus, extending rostrally from the ventrocaudal cortical layer VII, and in the deep layers of the olfactory glomeruli and the accessory olfactory nucleus. Double in situ hybridization confirmed selective CTGF mRNA expression on a subpopulation (approximately 35%) of microtubule-associated protein 2 mRNA-positive neurons in the cortical layer VII and the dorsal endopiriform nucleus. The nucleus of lateral olfactory tract showed moderate signal intensity; other parts of the forebrain, mesencephalon and brain stem only revealed a very weak level of CTGF mRNA expression. Non-neuronal expression was rare, considerably weaker than on cortical layer VII neurons, and normally associated with blood vessels. Developmental analysis of CTGF mRNA expression in embryonic and postnatal mouse also showed a moderately late onset at embryonic day 16–18, and confirmed the presence of CTGF mRNA in cortical layer VII in a second rodent species. Interestingly, injury experiments using direct cerebral trauma or injection of excitotoxic kainic acid into rat brain failed to up-regulate CTGF mRNA after injury and during the ensuing period of neuronal cell death, gliosis and neural scar tissue formation. Altogether, the current data suggest a constitutive role of CTGF, particularly in the adult cerebral cortex. In view of the strong ascending projections of subplate neurons into cortical layer 1, this molecule may be involved in the modulation of synaptic input to apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons.

Justice and law enforcement in Afghanistan under the Taliban

Presents an overview of the justice and law enforcement systems which prevailed in Afghanistan under the Taliban, incorporating personal views of some Afghan intellectuals and Pakistani intelligence officials who had close contact with Taliban personnel. Summarizes the historical background and notes the historic strong, informal social controls with retributive elements of tribal societies; the failed attempt to introduce a Soviet‐style criminal justice system after the Communist coup of 1978; the ensuing period of general chaos and anarchy, brought to an end by the emergence of the Taliban on Afghanistan’s political and military scene by the mid‐1990s, which established some sort of civil order, ruthlessly enforced according to the Taliban’s own interpretation of Islamic justice. Describes the hierarchies within the country’s administrative system and methods of solving civil and criminal disputes. Concludes that it is too early to predict whether a new viable legal order will emerge in the future, particularly when warlords control significant regions beyond the Karzai‐administered city of Kabul.

HISTORY AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENT OF A PARADIGM OF PREDATION IN ROCKY INTERTIDAL COMMUNITIES

A paradigm is a set of mutually supportive hypotheses that provides a frame of reference within a field. In 1962, Kuhn proposed that paradigms form within the dual contexts of empirical evidence and intellectual history. Facts potentially contradictory to a paradigm may not be recognized until they are observed repeatedly and incorporated as supportive evidence into a new theory. Support for this interpretation can be found in the history of a paradigm of predation in rocky intertidal communities. Hypotheses were developed in the contexts of innovative field experiments and historical arguments of competition theory. The resulting paradigm proposed that predators restrict populations of competitively dominant prey to refuges. Different types of refuge, or no refuge, prevail in different areas of the intertidal zone, accounting for patterns of prey distribution, the coexistence of natural enemies, and the local maintenance of diversity. An ensuing period of criticism made reference to potential contradictions. Rather than by predation alone, prey abundances are determined largely by an interplay of varying rates of predation and prey production. Furthermore, prey refuges are neither necessary nor sufficient to explain all observed instances of local coexistence of predators and prey. We present a model in which intertidal boundaries of prey are set by equilibria between predation and prey production. Predation and prey productivity vary with environmental gradients and with explicit spatial configurations of the prey. This synthesis relies on insights of the original paradigm, incorporates the contradictory observations, and depends on novel capabilities afforded by spatially explicit computer simulations. The resulting synthesis provides explanations for distinctive aspects of zonation, including abrupt prey boundaries in continuous gradients of predation, and converging upper and lower prey boundaries in gradients of decreasing wave exposure.

Differential role of KIR channel and Na(+)/K(+)-pump in the regulation of extracellular K(+) in rat hippocampus.

Little information is available on the specific roles of different cellular mechanisms involved in extracellular K(+) homeostasis during neuronal activity in situ. These studies have been hampered by the lack of an adequate experimental paradigm able to separate K(+)-buffering activity from the superimposed extrusion of K(+) from variably active neurons. We have devised a new protocol that allows for such an analysis. We used paired field- and K(+)-selective microelectrode recordings from CA3 stratum pyramidale during maximal Schaffer collateral stimulation in the presence of excitatory synapse blockade to evoke purely antidromic spikes in CA3. Under these conditions of controlled neuronal firing, we studied the [K(+)]o baseline during 0.05 Hz stimulation, and the accumulation and rate of recovery of extracellular K(+) at higher frequency stimulation (1-3 Hz). In the first set of experiments, we showed that neuronal hyperpolarization by extracellular application of ZD7288 (11 microM), a selective blocker of neuronal I(h) currents, does not affect the dynamics of extracellular K(+). This indicates that the K(+) dynamics evoked by controlled pyramidal cell firing do not depend on neuronal membrane potential, but only on the balance between K(+) extruded by firing neurons and K(+) buffered by neuronal and glial mechanisms. In the second set of experiments, we showed that di-hydro-ouabain (5 microM), a selective blocker of the Na(+)/K(+)-pump, yields an elevation of baseline [K(+)]o and abolishes the K(+) recovery during higher frequency stimulation and its undershoot during the ensuing period. In the third set of experiments, we showed that Ba(2+) (200 microM), a selective blocker of inwardly rectifying K(+) channels (KIR), does not affect the posttetanus rate of recovery of [K(+)]o, nor does it affect the rate of K(+) recovery during high-frequency stimulation. It does, however, cause an elevation of baseline [K(+)]o and an increase in the amplitude of the ensuing undershoot. We show for the first time that it is possible to differentiate the specific roles of Na(+)/K(+)-pump and KIR channels in buffering extracellular K(+). Neuronal and glial Na(+)/K(+)-pumps are involved in setting baseline [K(+)]o levels, determining the rate of its recovery during sustained high-frequency firing, and determining its postactivity undershoot. Conversely, glial KIR channels are involved in the regulation of baseline levels of K(+), and in decreasing the amplitude of the postactivity [K(+)]o undershoot, but do not affect the rate of K(+) clearance during neuronal firing. The results presented provide new insights into the specific physiological role of glial KIR channels in extracellular K(+) homeostasis.

The Polls—Trends

The passage of welfare reform legislation in 1996 was purported to end welfare as we know it. In this article we ask, What has happened to public opinion over these 5 years of reform? Has welfare reform changed perceptions of poverty and the role of governmeift in providing public assistance in the mind of the American public? Specifically, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (AFDC, which originated as ADC during the New Deal) with a new block grant program for the states, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The PRWORA ended the AFDC benefit entitlements and imposed a strict work requirement and a 5year limit on federal benefits. In addition, the law cut immigrants' access to the program, food stamps, and Medicaid. The states were free to provide additional benefits, which were likely to be influenced by national in addition to state economic conditions, as well as what the states have done historically (Lieberman and Shaw 2000). Did public opinion toward welfare and poverty change during the period of prosperity that ended by 2001, even before the September 11,2001, terrorist attack and the ensuing period of national tension? Updating Weaver, Shapiro, and Jacobs (1995), the data presented here show that public attitudes and perceptions did change somewhat, but the jury is still out on whether welfare reform has fundamentally changed the public's disparaging attitudes and opinions toward some aspects of poverty and the plight of the poor. Overall, we see both striking stability in mass opinion along with changes in opinion that do not look fundamentally different from past patterns and cycles of change (see Mayer 1993; Page and Shapiro 1992;

Reflections on September 11: When Therapist and Client Participate in the Same Trauma

"Editor’s Note: This invited paper is an informative and very moving account of the author’s experience, as a citizen and as a Gestalt psychotherapist, of the tragic events of September 11th, 2001 in New York City, and of the ensuing period. Iris Fodor describes how she continued to practise; how her clients and she used their therapy time together; how she supported herself as a therapist; and how therapists supperted each other. She discusses ways of working through the all-engulfing sense of trauma; raises questions about the efficacy of immediate trauma counselling; and suggests the need to consider other ways of supporting people in the face of devastation. Key words: trauma, Gestalt therapy, terrorism, New York, PTSD, support"

Tempo and Scale of Change

This issue of the Journal marks 2 firsts, which speak to both the quickening pace of change over our lifetimes and the need to slow down to contemplate where we are going. First, as of this issue, the Journal is fully available on-line. The executive board of the American Public Health Association began considering an electronic version of the Journal a mere 2 years ago. In the ensuing period, the world of peer-reviewed scientific publication has experienced rapid and unprecedented change. Timely—if not instantaneous—availability of scientific information is needed to contribute to ongoing health and policy debates. Meeting this challenge, the Journal joins close to 300 quality peer-reviewed scientific publications working with HighWire Press—an advantage of scale given today's aggressive publications market. The second first is the Journal's new look. Each month, a carefully selected image will signal a key issue featured in this new department, Editor's Choice. The inaugural photograph of a body of water where there used to be a highway dramatizes the local effects of global climate change. Wickham & Associates, Inc., of Washington, DC, worked closely with the Journal's editors and staff to create a clean, fresh look that we believe will both enhance the accessibility of the scientific information contained herein and attract new audiences to public health through new editorial features and greater use of images. The flexible design is able to accommodate rapidly evolving needs and outreach on broader scales than was formerly possible. A monthly journal cannot possibly provide fast-breaking news, but it can pose thoughtful questions that require more complete, more complex, more comprehensible, and perhaps more compelling analysis than can be gained from rapid responses given daily or weekly deadlines. In March 2001, the United States summarily rejected the Kyoto Protocol, the hopeful, if flawed, international treaty on global warming. Once again, economic and political interests held sway over ecologic concerns. While certain kinds of environmental problems, such as oil spills and nuclear accidents, garner media attention, the slow-moving yet profoundly threatening changes evidenced by the melting of polar ice caps and soil loss rarely make the nightly news. These long-term crises do make their way into the peer-reviewed literature, however, and increasingly, scientific data are being used to inform health and policy decisions. The tempo and scale of environmental change brought about by human activity are unprecedented in today's world. For public health concerns to help shape the agenda, it is imperative that the Journal continue to publish strong scientific studies that move with the tempo of the present age to meet the scale of challenges involved in creating a sustainable planet.