Electronic Democracy and Environmental Governance: A Survey of the States

Just as information technology is rapidly changing how we work, shop, and play, it is changing how we practice democracy. This paper focuses on one area where the Internet is broadening public participation in governance: the administration of environmental laws and regulations. It describes a survey of how each of the 50 states is using the Internet to provide citizens with environmental information, gather public input on agency decisions, and foster networks of interested citizens. As "laboratories for democracy," the states may be the source of ideas and experience that anticipate how environmental governance at all levels of government will change over the next decade. The survey results suggest that electronic democracy in state-level environmental decisionmaking is in an early and experimental phase. All state environmental agencies have Web sites and most provide substantial amounts of information on-line. However, opportunities for active on-line interaction between citizens and government, as well as among citizens themselves, are quite limited. Relatively few states, for example, allow citizens to comment on proposed rules electronically. Overall, the survey suggests that it is a good time for states to learn from each other as more innovative states push the envelope of what technology allows and more cautious states continue to adopt basic features as decision-makers become convinced of their efficacy.

Failing to Give Enough: When Researcher Ideas About Giving Back Fall Short

This research note is part of the thematic section, Limits to Giving Back, in the special issue titled “Giving Back in Field Research,” published as Volume 10, Issue 2 in the Journal of Research Practice

Spiral antenna with reconfigurable HIS using liquid crystals for monopulse radar application

In this paper, the design of an electronically reconfigurable ground plane composed of a high impedance surface (HIS) based on liquid crystals is presented and used as a backing structure for a two-arm Archimedean spiral antenna. The structure is used to provide electronic switching of two different shaped radiation patterns for monopulse radar application; 1) sum-pattern (Σ-pattern), and 2) difference pattern (Δ-pattern). The antenna arrangement is shown to exhibit either the Σ- or the Δ-beam by changing the permittivity (and hence reflection phase) of the HIS reflector when a bias voltage is applied between the periodic array and ground plane. The HIS is demonstrated to resonate at 6 GHz, and numerical results are employed to investigate the performance of the HIS-backed spiral arrangement, i.e. radiation pattern, impedance match, realized gain (Σ-pattern), and null depth (Δ-pattern)

Managing meaning and belonging: young women’s negotiation of authenticity in body art

It is a common sense ideology that appearance is vertically representative, in that the outer surface reflects the inner self. This paper explores the impact of this ideology on women’s understandings of their Body Art. Meaning and belonging were identified as central themes in accounts produced from two focus groups with young women in Glasgow, Scotland, who had piercings and tattoos. Meaning was constructed through two alternative accounts. First, that Body Art is meaningful because it represents a particular and valued subjectivity (brave, independent, different). Second, that the current popularity in Body Art endangers the vertical representation of the first account, making Body Art meaningless. To claim a meaningful relationship with Body Art our participants drew on discourses of sub-cultural knowledge, ‘Othering’, authenticity and rights. These discourses show that authenticity continues to be an important account in youth cultures. Authenticity both worked to produce a meaningful personal identity, but also a “mythical mainstream” that denied other young women discursive space from which to explore alternative subjectivities through Body Art

Behavioural and morphological evidence for the involvement of glial cell activation in delta opioid receptor function: implications for the development of opioid tolerance

Previous studies have demonstrated that prolonged morphine treatment in vivo induces the translocation of delta opioid receptors (δORs) from intracellular compartments to neuronal plasma membranes and this trafficking event is correlated with an increased functional competence of the receptor. The mechanism underlying this phenomenon is unknown; however chronic morphine treatment has been shown to involve the activation and hypertrophy of spinal glial cells. In the present study we have examined whether activated glia may be associated with the enhanced δOR-mediated antinociception observed following prolonged morphine treatment. Accordingly, animals were treated with morphine with or without concomitant administration of propentofylline, an inhibitor of glial activation that was previously shown to block the development of morphine antinociceptive tolerance. The morphine regimen previously demonstrated to initiate δOR trafficking induced the activation of both astrocytes and microglia in the dorsal spinal cord as indicated by a significant increase in cell volume and cell surface area. Consistent with previous data, morphine-treated rats displayed a significant augmentation in δOR-mediated antinociception. Concomitant spinal administration of propentofylline with morphine significantly attenuated the spinal immune response as well as the morphine-induced enhancement of δOR-mediated effects. These results complement previous reports that glial activation contributes to a state of opioid analgesic tolerance, and also suggest that neuro-glial communication is likely responsible in part for the altered functional competence in δOR-mediated effects following morphine treatment

Aging-associated metabolic disorder induces Nox2 activation and oxidative damage of endothelial function

Oxidative stress attributable to the activation of a Nox2-containing NADPH oxidase is involved in the development of vascular diseases and in aging. However, the mechanism of Nox2 activation in normal aging remains unclear. In this study, we used age-matched wild-type (WT) and Nox2 knockout (KO) mice at 3–4 months (young); 11–12 months (middle-aged) and 21–22 months (aging) to investigate age-related metabolic disorders, Nox2 activation and endothelial dysfunction. Compared to young mice, middle-aged and aging WT mice had significant hyperglycaemia, hyperinsulinaemia, increased systemic oxidative stress and higher blood pressure. Endothelium-dependent vessel relaxation to acetylcholine was significantly impaired in WT aging aortas, and this was accompanied by increased Nox2 and ICAM-1 expressions, MAPK activation and decreased insulin receptor expression and signaling. However, these aging-associated disorders were significantly reduced or absent in Nox2KO aging mice. The effect of metabolic disorder on Nox2 activation and endothelial dysfunction was further confirmed using high-fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in middle-aged WT mice treated with apocynin (a Nox2 inhibitor). In vitro experiments showed that in response to high glucose plus high insulin challenge, WT coronary microvascular endothelial cells increased significantly the levels of Nox2 expression, activation of stress signaling pathways and the cells were senescent, e.g. increased p53 and β–galactosidase activity. However,these changes were absent in Nox2KO cells. In conclusion, Nox2 activation in response to aging-associated hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia plays a key role in the oxidative damage of vascular function. Inhibition or knockout of Nox2 preserves endothelial function and improves global metabolism in old age

Labor induction with oxytocin in pregnant rats is not associated with oxidative stress in the fetal brain

Despite the widespread use of oxytocin for induction of labor, mechanistic insights into fetal/neonatal wellbeing are lacking because of the absence of an animal model that recapitulates modern obstetric practice. Here, we create and validate a hi-fidelity pregnant rat model that mirrors labor induction with oxytocin in laboring women. The model consists of an implantable preprogrammed microprocessor-controlled infusion pump that delivers a gradually escalating dose of intravenous oxytocin to induce birth at term gestation. We validated the model with molecular biological experiments on the uterine myometrium and telemetry-supported assessment of changes in intrauterine pressure. Finally, we applied this model to test the hypothesis that labor induction with oxytocin would be associated with oxidative stress in the newborn brain. Analysis of biomarkers of oxidative stress and changes in the expression of associated genes were no different between oxytocin-exposed and saline-treated pups, suggesting that oxytocin-induced labor was not associated with oxidative stress in the developing brain. Collectively, we provide a viable and realistic animal model for labor induction and augmentation with oxytocin that would enable new lines of investigation related to the impact of perinatal oxytocin exposure on the mother-infant dyad

Effectiveness of an Interprofessional Education Event for Graduate Health Professional Students

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a single, optional, half-day, interprofessional education (IPE) event for a myriad of graduate-level health professional students (n=44) at a university in Illinois, USA. Methods: The researchers in this study examined students’ performance on two out of six of the domains on the Interprofessiomnal Collaborator Assessment Rubric (ICAR): Roles and Responsibilities and Communication Strategies. This study also investigated quantitative and qualitative findings related to student perceptions regarding this IPE opportunity. Results: Results indicated that students met or exceeded the minimum competency for the ranking of “developing” for all 6 of the behaviors evaluated. Results also revealed that this half-day extracurricuricular IPE event was viewed favorably by health-professional students and created a venue whereby students belonging to different health professional programs can enter into discussions and learn about each others’ respective roles and responsibilities in patient care. Conclusion: The creation and implementation of short term extracurricular IPE events may be a valuable alternative for healthcare programs that are unable to implement IPE activities due to some of the common barriers impacting the development, implementation, or continuation of IPE opportunities

ACE-ASIA - Regional climatic and atmospheric chemical effects of Asian dust and pollution

Although continental-scale plumes of Asian dust and pollution reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth's surface and perturb the chemistry of the atmosphere, our ability to quantify these effects has been limited by a lack of critical observations, particularly of layers above the surface. Comprehensive surface, airborne, shipboard, and satellite measurements of Asian aerosol chemical composition, size, optical properties, and radiative impacts were performed during the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia) study. Measurements within a massive Chinese dust storm at numerous widely spaced sampling locations revealed the highly complex structure of the atmosphere, in which layers of dust, urban pollution, and biomass-burning smoke may be transported long distances as distinct entities or mixed together. The data allow a first-time assessment of the regional climatic and atmospheric chemical effects of a continental-scale mixture of dust and pollution. Our results show that radiative flux reductions during such episodes are sufficient to cause regional climate change