The Juridical Status of the Fetus: A Proposal for Legal Protection of the Unborn

What claims to protection can be asserted by a human fetus? That question, familiar to philosophy and religion, has long haunted law as well. While the philosophical and theological issues remain unresolved, and are perhaps unresolvable, I believe that we can no longer avoid some resolution of the legal status of the fetus. The potential benefits of fetal research, the ability to fertilize the human ovum in a laboratory dish, and the increasing awareness that a mother\u27s activities during pregnancy may affect the health of her offspring create pressing policy issues that raise possible conflicts among fetuses, mothers, and researchers. This Article probes the juridical status of the fetus, assessing what it should be in the light of recent developments in case law, legislation, medicine, and technology

Data catalog series for space science and applications flight missions. Volume 6: Master index volume

The main purpose of the data catalog series is to provide descriptive references to data generated by space science flight missions. The data sets described include all of the actual holdings of the Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), all data sets for which direct contact information is available, and some data collections held and serviced by foreign investigators, NASA, and other U.S. government agencies. This volume contains the Master Index. The following spacecraft are included: Mariner, Pioneer, Pioneer Venus, Venera, Viking, Voyager, and Helios. Separate indexes to the planetary and interplanetary missions are also provided

A Dynamic Process Model of Private Politics: Activist Targeting and Corporate Receptivity to Social Challenges

This project explores whether and how corporations become more receptive to social activist challenges over time. Drawing from social movement theory, we suggest a dynamic process through which contentious interactions lead to increased receptivity. We argue that when firms are chronically targeted by social activists, they respond defensively by adopting strategic management devices that help them better manage social issues and demonstrate their normative appropriateness. These defensive devices have the incidental effect of empowering independent monitors and increasing corporate accountability, which in turn increase a firm’s receptivity to future activist challenges. We test our theory using a unique longitudinal dataset that tracks contentious attacks and the adoption of social management devices among a population of 300 large firms from 1993 to 2009

Integrating Diverse Theoretical Perspectives to Evaluate Potential Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences in Perinatal Depression

Perinatal depression is a prominent unwanted outcome associated with childbearing impacting approximately 14.5% of women during pregnancy and the postpartum period (Gaynes et al., 2005). Perinatal depression adversely impacts maternal well-being, mother-infant attachment, and child development (Beck, 1995, 1998; Postmontier, 2008a, 2008b). Despite its prevalence and implications, we know little about its etiology across diverse racial and ethnic groups of women with low socioeconomic status. The absence of a clear theoretical foundation that explicates potential racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic group differences impairs our ability to understand and accurately screen for perinatal depression across diverse women. This article integrates bio-psycho-social theory, the stress and coping model, and the life-course perspective and evaluates how these viewpoints enhance and/or limit our understanding of group differences in the experience of perinatal depression. This integrated theoretical perspective is proposed as a framework for future research to evaluate and improve perinatal depression screening and ultimately treatment across an increasingly diverse population of women at risk

Living and Learning with Technology: Faculty as Reflective Practitioners in the Online Classroom

This qualitative study examined the experiences of 11 faculty members who have been involved in online instruction. The goal was to explore how assuming the role of adult learners in developing online courses contributed to their becoming critically reflective about their instructional practices. Faculty interviews revealed engagement in critical reflection and were used to suggest strategies for faculty development that could further support such perspectives and practice

Expression of Distinct Desmocollin Isoforms in Human Epidermis

Previous evidence suggested the presence of two distinct desmocollin isoforms in human epidermis. These isoforms have now been distinguished at the protein level using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against N-terminal fragments of desmosomal glycoprotein (DG) IV/V isolated from plantar callus and antibodies against a fusion protein containing the extracellular domain of DGII/III. Immune blotting of glycoprotein fractions from whole epidermis, plantar callus, psoriatic scales and cultured keratinocytes showed that intact DGIV/V and its proteolytic fragments consistently migrated faster than DGII/III during SDS-PAGE. The apparent Mr difference between the two isoforms was in the range 2-5 kD. DGIV/V was the predominant species in epidermal tissue but was much less prominent in cultured cells by immune-blotting and immune precipitation. This is consistent with the differentiation-related expression of desmocollins revealed by immunofluorescence. DGIV/V was strongly expressed in the upper spinous/granular layer of the epidermis whereas DGII/III was more prominent in the basal layers of he tissue. The DGIV/V monoclonal (LH50) recognized an N-terminal, Ca++-sensitive epitope, because its staining of unfixed epidermal tissue was makedly influenced by Ca++ levels. Ca++ inhibition was observed at concentrations as low as 50 μM, suggesting its possible physiologic significance. Ca++ inhibition of LH50 binding was also observed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system using denatured glycoproteins although higher concentrations were required. It remains to be seen whether direct effects of Ca++ on desmocollin conformation are involved in the regulations of keratinization by extracellular Ca++