Importance Of Various Forms Research Articles

THE IMMUNOPROTEASOME, THE 20S PROTEASOME, AND THE PA28αβ PROTEASOME REGULATOR ARE OXIDATIVE STRESS‐ADAPTIVE PROTEOLYTIC COMPLEXES

We demonstrate the importance of various forms of the proteasome in adaptation to the oxidative stress of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Following an initial direct proteasome activation, 20S proteasome, immunoproteasome, and Pa28αβ regulator, all exhibited de novo synthesis during a 24hour period in murine embryonic fibroblasts. Cellular capacity to degrade oxidatively damaged proteins increased with 20S proteasome, immunoproteasome, and Pa28αβ synthesis. Additionally, a Pa28αβγ knockout mutant achieved only half the H2O2 induced adaptive increase in proteolytic capacity of wild‐type controls. Direct comparison of purified 20S proteasome and immunoproteasome demonstrated, for the first time, that immunoproteasome can selectively degrade oxidized proteins; in fact, immunoproteasome was more selective for oxidized proteins than was 20S proteasome. Importantly, siRNA knock‐down of 20S proteasome, immunoproteasome, or Pa28αβ regulator blocked 50–100% of the increase in cell division and cell survival, when H2O2 adapted cells were exposed to a, normally lethal, challenge concentration of H2O2. Our results reveal the previously unknown ability of immunoproteasome to degrade oxidized proteins, and the ability of Pa28αβ to enhance such degradation. Our results also demonstrate the importance of 20S proteasome, immunoproteasome, and Pa28αβ in overall adaptive responses to oxidative stress.

Enumeration as a Grassroot Tool Towards Securing Tenure in Slums: Insights from Kisumu, Kenya

Community-based slum enumeration was carried out in Kisumu from 2005 to 2008 as part of a city-wide slum-upgrading initiative. This paper analyses this enumeration exercise particularly in relation to land management and tenure security. The paper draws on a peer evaluation that included interviews with slum-upgrading stakeholders as well as community-based focus group discussions, mainly with enumerators. The paper finds that, for a grassroots enumeration exercise to be successful, grassroots trust must be sustained for ongoing verification and updating of the enumeration data and the enumeration must link up effectively with the planning authorities. Broader preconditions are the coordination of the slum-upgrading initiative, and beyond this, of wider and often competing city initiatives. Key findings towards securing tenure include the importance of various forms of mobilisation that accompany enumeration and of the informal and formal knowledge generation that results from the enumeration process.

Statutory Social Workers: Stress, Job Satisfaction, Coping, Social Support and Individual Differences

Summary Many pieces of research have been undertaken in recent years that consider stress in statutory social work. The research has tended, inevitably, to focus on negatives in social workers’ lives, by considering dissatisfaction with the job, absences from work and other physical, psychological and behavioural symptoms of stress. Little attention has been given in the studies of stress and social work to expanding on the positives of social work, the rewards involved, high job satisfaction, the importance of how workers cope with the job, the contribution of supervision, personal and group support at work and home, alongside the positive well-being of many individual social workers. This article highlights the satisfaction social workers feel about their work, considers healthy and unhealthy coping strategies that are, and might be, used, gender differences and the importance of various forms of support from within the work setting, especially mutual group support, accompanied by individual differences linked to good self-esteem, personal hardiness and resilience.

TRAINING IN PAEDIATRIC TRAUMA: THE PROBLEM OF SAFER SOCIETIES

Trauma remains the most common cause of child death worldwide but the incidence of major trauma is declining in many developed countries: this has implications for training. A survey of paediatric surgeons and paediatric surgical trainees was undertaken to evaluate perceptions of the relative importance of various forms of trauma training. A questionnaire was e-mailed to Australasian paediatric surgeons and trainees to determine trauma courses they had undertaken, operative and non-operative paediatric trauma experience and attitudes towards trauma training. The overall response rate was 49% (40 of 83 consultants and 11 of 22 trainees). The Early Management of Severe Trauma course had been undertaken by 82% of consultants and all trainees. The Definitive Surgical Trauma Care course had been undertaken by 22% of consultants and one trainee. The number of trauma laparotomies carried out in the previous year was in the one to five range for 71% of responders. Greater emphasis was placed on the value of adult trauma experience by consultants who had a general surgical fellowship. In societies where major trauma in children is relatively rare (fortunately) and the opportunities for training are limited, it is important to ensure that advanced trainees in paediatric surgery gain sufficient skills from a variety of sources to enable them to treat competently the severely injured child with multiple injuries.

Learning to live in a global commons: socioeconomic challenges for a sustainable environment

AbstractEcologists, economists and other social scientists have much incentive for interaction. First of all, ecological systems and socioeconomic systems are linked in their dynamics, and these linkages are key to coupling environmental protection and economic growth. Beyond this, however, are the obvious similarities in how ecological systems and socioeconomic systems function, and the common theoretical challenges in understanding their dynamics. This should not be surprising. Socioeconomic systems are in fact ecological systems, in which the familiar ecological phenomena of exploitation, cooperation and parasitism all can be identified as key features. Or, viewed from the opposite perspective, ecological systems are economic systems, in which competition for resources is key, and in which an evolutionary process shapes the individual agents to a distribution of specialization of function that leads to the emergence of flows and functionalities at higher levels of organization. Most fundamentally, ecological and socioeconomic systems alike are complex adaptive systems, in which patterns at the macroscopic level emerge from interactions and selection mechanisms mediated at many levels of organization, from individual agents to collectives to whole systems and even above. In such complex adaptive systems, robustness must be understood as emergent from selection processes operating at these many different levels, and the inherent nonlinearities can trigger sudden shifts in regimes that, in the case of the biosphere, can have major consequences for humanity. This lecture will explore the complex adaptive nature of ecosystems, and the implications for the robustness of ecosystem services on which we depend, and in particular examine the conditions under which cooperative behavior emerges. It will then turn attention to the socioeconomic systems in which environmental management is based, and ask what lessons can be learned from our examination of natural systems, and how we can modify social norms to achieve global cooperation in managing our common future. Of special interest will be issues of intragenerational and intergenerational equity, and the importance of various forms of discounting.

Measures of anxiety: is there a difference in their ability to predict functioning at three-month follow-up among pain patients?

Independent investigators have found that pain is related to health anxiety, trait anxiety, pain-related anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity. To date, the relationship among these anxiety-related constructs has not been studied directly and little is known about their relative ability to predict adjustment to pain over time. This paper presents longitudinal data from measures given to 227 musculoskeletal pain patients. Patients were asked at the time of their first visit (T1) to a physiotherapy clinic to complete a questionnaire package including measures of these different forms of anxiety as well as pain severity, disability, negative affect, and perceived control. Approximately 3 months later (T2), 50% of patients responded to these same questionnaires. Results showed that correlations among the anxiety measures at T1 ranged from 0.35 to 0.56. Using multiple regression analyses, measures of T1 anxiety were each examined for their ability to predict unique variance in disability, negative affect, and perceptions of control measured at T1 and T2. At T1, after controlling for pain severity and other measures of anxiety, pain-related anxiety uniquely predicted both disability and negative affect, trait anxiety uniquely predicted negative affect and perceptions of control, and anxiety sensitivity uniquely predicted negative affect. At T2, after controlling for pain severity, other measures of anxiety and each respective measure of functioning at T1, health anxiety uniquely predicted disability and negative affect, although anxiety sensitivity also uniquely contributed to the prediction of negative affect. It is concluded that the importance of various forms of anxiety is dependent on the timeframe and outcome examined. Clinical implications of the findings as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Nitrogen uptake and the importance of internal nitrogen loading in Lake Balaton

1. The importance of various forms of nitrogen to the nitrogen supply of phytoplankton has been investigated in the mesotrophic eastern and eutrophic western basin of Lake Balaton. 2. Uptake rates of ammonium, urea, nitrate and carbon were measured simultaneously. The uptake rates were determined using N and C methodologies, and N2‐fixation was measured using the acetylene‐reduction method. The light dependence of uptake was described with an exponential saturation equation and used to calculate surface‐related (areal) daily uptake. 3. The contribution of ammonium, urea and nitrate to the daily nitrogen supply of phytoplankton varied between 11 and 80%, 17 and 73% and 1 and 15%, respectively. N2‐fixation was negligible in the eastern basin and varied between 5 and 30% in the western region of the lake. The annual external nitrogen load was only 10% of that utilized by algae. 4. The predominant process supplying nitrogen to the phytoplankton in the lake is the rapid recycling of ammonium and urea in the water column. The importance of the internal nutrient loading is emphasized.

Nitrogen uptake and the importance of internal nitrogen loading in Lake Balaton

1. The importance of various forms of nitrogen to the nitrogen supply of phytoplankton has been investigated in the mesotrophic eastern and eutrophic western basin of Lake Balaton. 2. Uptake rates of ammonium, urea, nitrate and carbon were measured simultaneously. The uptake rates were determined using N-15 and C-14 methodologies, and N-2-fixation was measured using the acetylene-reduction method. The light dependence of uptake was described with an exponential saturation equation and used to calculate surface-related (areal) daily uptake. 3. The contribution of ammonium, urea and nitrate to the daily nitrogen supply of phytoplankton varied between 11 and 80%, 17 and 73% and 1 and 15%, respectively. N- 2-fixation was negligible in the eastern basin and varied between 5 and 30% in the western region of the lake. The annual external nitrogen load was only 10% of that utilized by algae. 4. The predominant process supplying nitrogen to the phytoplankton in the lake is the rapid recycling of ammonium and urea in the water column, The importance of the internal nutrient loading is emphasized.

Hostility and Cardiac Rehabilitation: In reply

In our recent publications demonstrating marked benefits on reducing levels of hostility1Lavie CJ Milani RV Effects of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs on coronary patients with high levels of hostility.Mayo Clm Proc. 1999; 74: 959-966PubMed Google Scholar as well as other adverse behavioral characteristics (especially depression and high levels of psychological distress2Milani RV Lavie CJ Cassidy MM Effects of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs on depression in patients after major coronary events.Am Heart J. 1996; 132: 726-732Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (197) Google Scholar, 3Milani RV Lavie CJ Prevalence and effecls of cardiac rehabilitation on depression in the elderly with coronary heart disease.Am J Cardiol. 1998; 81: 1233-1236Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (113) Google Scholar, 4Lavie CJ Milani RV Cassidy MM Gilliland YE Effects of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training programs in women with depression.Am J Cardiol. 1999; 83: 1480-1483Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (100) Google Scholar, 5Milani RV Lavie CJ Behavioral differences and effects of cardiac rehabilitation in diabetic patients following cardiac events.Am J Med. 1996; 100: 517-523Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (88) Google Scholar, 6Lavie CJ Milani RV Cardiac rehabilitation programs markedly improve high-risk profiles in coronary patients with high psychological distress [abstract].Circulation. 1999; 100: I-825Google Scholar we used nonspecific therapy with cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training. We agree with Mr Fogel that more specific psychological treatment aimed directly at reducing high levels of behavioral abnormalities, particularly in patients with more adverse profiles or persistently abnormal profiles after cardiac rehabilitation and exercise training, would likely result in more dramatic improvements than we have noted with our nonspecific and general treatment. Obviously, the benefits of these additional and more costly treatments will need to be proven and shown to be cost-effective before additional therapies become acceptable to clinicians, who have largely been slow to accept the importance of various forms of psychological distress on medical illnesses and, especially, cardiovascular diseases. Lyme Disease and PseudotumorMayo Clinic ProceedingsVol. 75Issue 3PreviewTo the Editor. I was surprised, after reading the November 1999 Residents’ Clinic,1 that Lyme disease was not included in the differential diagnosis of increased intracranial pressure, especially since Minnesota is an endemic area for this tick-borne illness. Lyme disease may have protean neurologic manifestations, including pseudotumor; this association was first described in 1985.2 Since then, I have treated 4 children, between 8 and 14 years old, with increased intracranial pressure secondary to Lyme disease. Full-Text PDF Fibromyalgia and Pain Management: In replyMayo Clinic ProceedingsVol. 75Issue 3PreviewIn reply: I am sure Dr Sartin's letter embodies many of the concerns and prejudices of other physicians involved in treating patients with chronic pain problems. My article does not conclude that all fibromyalgia patients should be treated with narcotics. To quote: “Opiates are seldom the first choice of analgesics in chronic pain states, but they should not be withheld if less powerful analgesics have failed.”1 Full-Text PDF

Analysis, separation, and bioassay of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from comfrey (Symphytum officinale).

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids have been linked to liver and lung cancers and a range of other deleterious effects. As with many natural toxicants, major problems arise in determining the effects of the different members of the class and the importance of various forms of ingestion. In this study we have investigated the levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey (Symphytum officinale), determined the levels in different parts of the plant and in herbal remedies, separated the alkaloids into two main groups--the principal parent alkaloids and the corresponding N-oxides--and, finally, carried out a simple bioassay based upon the mutagenic capability of the separated compounds in a human cell line. We conclude that the part of the plant ingested is important in terms of alkaloid challenge and that the effect of two of the major groups of alkaloids individually is different from that of alkaloids in the whole plant extract.

β3‐Adrenergic activation of adenylyl cyclase in mouse white adipocytes: modulation by GTP and effect of obesity

Lipolysis and adenylyl cyclase (AC) activation in response to beta-adrenergic agents are abnormally low in white epididymal adipose tissue (WAT) of the ob/ob mouse. The abundance of G-proteins (Gs alpha and Gi alpha) linked to AC is also abnormally low. By contrast, beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) levels were previously found to be normal in WAT and elevated in liver. The relative importance of various forms of the beta-AR in mouse WAT was reassessed in view of the discovery of the beta 3-AR. The results show that (1) the beta 3-AR is mainly responsible for AC activation in lean-mouse WAT; (2) the beta 3-AR is only partly responsible for AC activation in obese mouse WAT; and (3) GTP modulates beta 3--but not beta 1--or beta 2-AR activation of AC in a biphasic manner. Therefore, the beta 3-AR appears responsible for the well-known bimodal effect of GTP on beta-adrenergic receptor-mediated AC activity in WAT.

Misunderstood and Undervalued? Personnel Management In Construction

Janet Druker and Geoffrey White, principal lecturer and senior lecturer respectively in the Business School at the University of Greenwich, draw on interviews and on a postal survey of personnel managers in the construction industry, to consider the role and responsibilities of personnel practitioners in construction. They point to the changing balance of employment within the construction firm and the greater involvement of personnel with non‐manual employees. They highlight the importance of various forms of sub‐contracting as a means of strengthening management control at site level. They suggest that the centrally located personnel function may well be close to strategy makers but ultimately the role was found to be advisory with a limited capacity for direct intervention.

Cultural Transmission of a Sign Language When Deafness Is Caused by Recessive Alleles at Two Independent Loci

Two unlinked autosomal loci are assumed to affect the ability to hear in such a way that homozygosity for the recessive allele at either locus causes deafness. The five deaf genotypes are subject to the same negative selection due to a lower likelihood of marriage, but unmarried deaf persons remain socially active and participate in the cultural transmission of sign languages. Marriages are assortative for deafness or for hearing, and mutation occurs irreversibly from the dominant to recessive allele at each locus at the same rate. At mutation-selection balance, the fully polymorphic equilibrium is symmetrical. Based on this genetic model, we consider the relative importance of various forms of cultural transmission as they affect the persistence of sign languages. Horizontal transmission is shown to be effective when deaf children are able to interact with many peers. This observation is especially pertinent if assortative meeting of deaf children occurs, for example, at schools for the deaf. Oblique transmission can also be effective, but the literature suggests that this kind of transmission plays only a minor role. It is necessary, however, that some form of cultural transmission occur between generations. Thus, vertical transmission is a critical factor, despite the fact that parent-child transmission is often interrupted due to the recessive inheritance of deafness. In particular, the contribution of vertical transmission is enhanced by assortative mating for deafness.

Surgery for morbid obesity: The patients' experiences

A survey of 123 adult patients who had undergone surgery for the treatment of morbid obesity was conducted to obtain data on patients' perceptions of preparation for surgery, care received during hospitalization, postoperative physical changes, changes in food tolerance, self-concept before and after surgery, work experience before and after surgery, and the relative importance of various forms of follow-up care. The study has implications for nursing practice in early diagnosis of patient problems, improved anticipatory teaching, and better training of health care professionals to assist the morbidly obese patient. The tolerable and nontolerable food lists generated from the data represent a significant contribution to patient care.

Analysis in Politics: The Regionalization of Swedish Higher Education

Sweden has, since the 1950s, made a fairly consistent effort to spread higher education across the country. What has been the role of policy analysis and research in this effort at regionalization? This article represents an attempt to answer this question. A starting point is the simple distinction between two major forms of social problem solving: analysis and social interaction. Recent writings by Charles Lindblom and Aaron Wildavsky have convincingly shown the fruitfulness of this distinction.' Briefly, both argue that analysis (termed cogitation by Wildavsky) is generally accorded an exaggerated role in studies of social problem solving in general as well as in that particular form, public policymaking. Social scientists tend to underestimate the importance of various forms of social interaction as problem-solving mechanisms, even in contexts where analysis seemingly provides the basic criteria for policy choices. Social interaction-with its two basic forms, politics and markets-is more often than not a major determinant of outcomes. When or intellectual cogitation, appears, it does so normally in the form of partisan analysis, that is, as analysis tailored to fit positions adopted already on the basis of other criteria.2 However, we are obviously dealing with very complex relationships. The literature on knowledge utilization has in recent years taken pains to illustrate the many ways in which policy analysis and social research may enter policy processes.3 A lack of impact in the short run does not preclude considerable effects in the long run. The fact that analysis does not provide the objective criteria sought by policymakers and analysts does not prevent such activities from slowly permeating the definition of problems and the formulation of policy options. In this article I will first provide an overview of the policy of regionalization in Swedish higher education. Three key decision-making processes are identified during the period, and in three separate sections each is

Elements of Intellectual Competence

Australian and Malay University students judged the relative importance of various forms of intellectual competence. The two groups agreed on the importance of four general areas of competence, giving the top two rankings to "mental abilities" (e.g., problem-solving) and "knowledge" (i.e., amount known), and ranking "skills" (e.g., speaking ability) and `arousal" (e.g., keenness) as less important. Disagreement between the groups was more marked in the ranking of specific mental abilities, specific skills, and characteristics of style. Malays, for example, placed more emphasis on social and practical skills, whereas the Australians rated more highly the academic skills, speaking, reading, and writing. Malays also placed greater emphasis on speed and creativity, while Australians stressed ability to adapt to new events. The study suggests some cultural bases for these differences and some implications for psychological testing with Malays.

Factors in visual acuity: I. Neural inhibition and the visual perception of contours

Interpretations of the mechanisms of perception of contours or of Mach bands have stressed either the role of various spatial derivatives of light intensity at the retina or the importance of various forms of inhibitory effects between neighboring retinal elements. Evidence is presented here in support of the latter type of interpretation. It is considered that the brightness contrast and perceived contours arise from neural elements, each of which is stimulated in proportion to the intensity of photo-receptor excitation at a point of the retina and inhibited in proportion to the mean intensity in some neighborhood of that point. The role of the spatial derivatives is best seen as a particular manifestation of the inhibitory mechanism. Predictions based upon this hypothesis appear to be consistent with experimentally observed evidence.