Role of Opioid Receptors in Bombesin-induced Grooming a

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73648/1/j.1749-6632.1988.tb38614.x.pd

Recombination in polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

Recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in polymer bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells reduces the short circuit current (Jsc) and the fill factor (FF). Identifying the mechanism of recombination is, therefore, fundamentally important for increasing the power conversion efficiency. Light intensity and temperature dependent current-voltage measurements on polymer BHJ cells made from a variety of different semiconducting polymers and fullerenes show that the recombination kinetics are voltage dependent and evolve from first order recombination at short circuit to bimolecular recombination at open circuit as a result of increasing the voltage-dependent charge carrier density in the cell. The "missing 0.3V" inferred from comparison of the band gaps of the bulk heterojunction materials and the measured open circuit voltage at room temperature results from the temperature dependence of the quasi-Fermi-levels in the polymer and fullerene domains - a conclusion based upon the fundamental statistics of Fermions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review B. http://prb.aps.org/accepted/B/6b07cO3aHe71bd1b149e1425e58bf2868cda2384d?ajax=1&height=500&width=50

In-vivo studies on kappa opioid receptors

The actions of opioids are mediated by multiple types of opioid receptor. As a result, `obtaining the right balance' is the catchphrase most frequently heard these days in analgesic research laboratories throughout the pharmaceutical industry. Tomorrow's analgesics will feature a prominent [kappa] component, a touch of [delta], a tickle of [mu], but not even a wisp of [sigma]. New compounds are fashioned largely from structure-activity relationships involving bioassays and radioligand receptor binding. These in-vitro approaches have become well established over the past decade since they help to link receptor type to the analgesic under investigation. What about the complementary preclinical tests in-vivo? Specifically, how can the animal pharmacologist assist in characterizing [kappa] opioid activity? In this article, Alan Cowan and Debra E. Gmerek present a survey of tests that are being used to detect and define [kappa] activity in-vivo. Special emphasis is placed on the rat bombesin-scratch test, a new procedure in which several [kappa]-preferring agents are selectively active.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26337/1/0000424.pd

Pituitary-adrenal mediation of bombesin-induced inhibition of gastrointestinal transit in rats

Centrally administered bombesin (0.1-3.5 [mu]g, i.c.v.) inhibits gastrointestinal transit of a charcoal meal in a dose-related manner in rats. The roles of pituitary and adrenal glands in the mediation of this effect were assessed. The inhibition of gastrointestinal transit associated with bombesin (0.5 [mu]g, i.c.v.) was prevented by either hypophysectomy or adrenalectomy. Bombesin-induced inhibition of gastrointestinal transit is therefore mediated through the pituitary-adrenal axis. This is in contrast to bombesin-induced scratching and inhibition of gastric acid secretion which are not markedly influenced by either hypophysectomy or adrenalectomy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24651/1/0000064.pd

Can they row alone? practices that grow and support beginning principals

Beginning principals struggle with the complexity of the job, the limits of theirinstructional impact, the loneliness of leadership, and the existing culture’s resistance tochange. This is a problem in Henderson County Public Schools, in school systems acrossthe state of North Carolina, and nationwide. This problem negatively impacts beginningprincipals and their respective school communities because they struggle to navigateschool leadership transitions, to sustain district initiatives, and to experience consistentindividual growth. Students and parents have a right to expect competency from a schoolprincipal regardless of their lack of tenure, and districts must decide to be proactive inaccelerating the skills on new administrators. Effective mentoring programs can hastenthe competency of new school leaders.Given the absence of legislation, policy, and funding for beginning principal support inNorth Carolina, Henderson County Public Schools implemented a model designed togrow the leadership capacity of beginning principals in order that the impact of their service is maximized. The design of this purposeful intervention strategically matchesbeginning principals with mentors, while providing opportunities for professional growththrough self-assessment, reflection, and group learning.Using a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle of improvement science, the scholarpractitionerscreated a scalable model for the mentoring of beginning principals.Experiencing the hire of six new principals in one school year, which markedapproximately 25% of the district’s school leadership, scholar-practitioners partneredwith the district to implement a structured support plan for these new administrators.Rather than leave their success to chance, Henderson County Public Schools recognizedand valued the importance of investing time and resources into leadership development.It is noteworthy that, following the period of initial research, the district has continuedwith and expanded the model of support. The results of this research inform not only thework of the partner school district, but also the practices of the current and futureleadership teams of North Carolina’s 115 systems, who guide over 2,400 principals asthey support more than 1.4 million students

Application of Otolith Chemical Signatures to Estimate Population Connectivity of Red Snapper In the Western Gulf of Mexico

Otolith chemical signatures of Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus from six nursery regions were used to estimate the sources of recruits to four sampling regions in the western Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and to estimate whether postsettlement mixing of Red Snapper occurs between the U.S. and Mexican portions of the western Gulf. In a previous study, region-specific otolith signatures (element : Ca ratios: Ba:Ca, Mg:Ca, Mn:Ca, Sr:Ca, and Li:Ca; stable isotope delta values: δ13C and δ18O) were developed based on age-0 Red Snapper (2005–2007 year-classes) sampled from the six nursery areas. In the present study, subadult and adult Red Snapper (ages 1–3) belonging to those same year-classes were collected from four sampling regions within the western Gulf (two regions in U.S. waters; two regions along the Mexican continental shelf) during summer in 2006–2008. Left sagittal otoliths were used to age subadults and adults to the corresponding nursery year-classes, and right sagittal otoliths were cored for chemical analysis. Off the southwestern U.S. coast, the sampled age-1–3 Red Snapper included locally derived recruits as well as recruits from the northwestern Gulf nursery region. However, analytical results were inconclusive with respect to estimating the connectivity between Red Snapper populations in U.S. and Mexican waters of the western Gulf

All-optical retrieval of the global phase for two-dimensional Fourier-transform spectroscopy

A combination of spatial interference patterns and spectral interferometry are used to find the global phase for non-collinear two-dimensional Fourier-transform (2DFT) spectra. Results are compared with those using the spectrally resolved transient absorption (STRA) method to find the global phase when excitation is with co-linear polarization. Additionally cross-linear polarized 2DFT spectra are correctly phased using the all-optical technique, where the SRTA is not applicable.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, journal publicatio

Including excluded groups: The slow racial transformation of the South African university system

This paper looks at the inclusion of excluded groups, notably the racial transformation of the South African university system. Both demand-side factors | are qualified black people hired as faculty? | and supply-side factors | are there enough qualified black people who can be hired as faculty? | need to be aligned. Prior evidence suggests that demand and supply both have both a psychological and a structural dimension. Affirmative action-type regulations address the structural dimension of demand, but homophily (a "love for the own") can nonetheless limit the hiring of faculty in white-dominated hiring committees. On the supply side, the weak education system limits the structural supply of quality black potential academics. But the limited hiring of black academics and resulting limited role models mean that few black people even consider an academic career. This paper presents a model of hiring (either randomly or on a homophilic basis), calibrated with data from the South African university system from the end of Apartheid. Our evidence suggests that even a relatively small reduction of homophily increases the rate at which the excluded group enters the workforce, and also that the effects of homophily and feedback from previous hires are of a similar magnitude. Nonetheless, the conclusions from the model suggest that the relatively long duration of a research career and slow growth of the national university system will result in a slow process of racial transformation

Orthogonal Decomposition of Left Ventricular Remodeling in Myocardial Infarction

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular size and shape are important for quantifying cardiac remodeling in response to cardiovascular disease. Geometric remodeling indices have been shown to have prognostic value in predicting adverse events in the clinical literature, but these often describe interrelated shape changes. We developed a novel method for deriving orthogonal remodeling components directly from any (moderately independent) set of clinical remodeling indices. RESULTS: Six clinical remodeling indices (end-diastolic volume index, sphericity, relative wall thickness, ejection fraction, apical conicity, and longitudinal shortening) were evaluated using cardiac magnetic resonance images of 300 patients with myocardial infarction, and 1991 asymptomatic subjects, obtained from the Cardiac Atlas Project. Partial least squares (PLS) regression of left ventricular shape models resulted in remodeling components that were optimally associated with each remodeling index. A Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization process, by which remodeling components were successively removed from the shape space in the order of shape variance explained, resulted in a set of orthonormal remodeling components. Remodeling scores could then be calculated that quantify the amount of each remodeling component present in each case. A one-factor PLS regression led to more decoupling between scores from the different remodeling components across the entire cohort, and zero correlation between clinical indices and subsequent scores. CONCLUSIONS: The PLS orthogonal remodeling components had similar power to describe differences between myocardial infarction patients and asymptomatic subjects as principal component analysis, but were better associated with well-understood clinical indices of cardiac remodeling. The data and analyses are available from www.cardiacatlas.org