The knowledge economy : increasing human capital on the U.S. I-65 corridor.

In economics, the term growth often refers to the increase in economic activity between two points in time. Within the context of the United States of America, the language of growth has permeated beyond just economics and into other societal institutions due to spillover. As a result, growth is not just an economic term but rather a part of the culture of capitalism which impacts every area of society. The dissertation using growth machine theory and the global cities literature examines how in the knowledge economy, cities play a growing role in mediating the supply and demand for post-secondary attainment. The research recognizes that as the knowledge economy expands, cities, states, and nation states will look for new channels of meeting a precondition for growth: human capital. The study examines 58 cities and finds a great divergence taking place between high and low attainment cities in the United States. Additionally, the dissertation examines three case study cities on the U.S. I-65 interstate corridor: Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville. The case studies examine how and why cities are working to raise the percentage of their populations with a college degree. Findings show that cities are working to raiseattainment for the purposes of: economic development, economic competitiveness, and individual empowerment. To meet attainment goals each city’s human capital system works to develop, retain, and attract individuals with at least a post-secondary degree. Additionally, the research discusses the long-term implications of using growth and competition as a rationale for increased higher educational attainment. In conclusion, the study questions and recommends future research on the changing purpose of higher education in the United States

Decision problems, complexity, traces, and representations

In this article, we study connections between representation theory and efficient solutions to the conjugacy problem on infinitely generated groups. The main focus is on the conjugacy problem in conjugacy separable groups, where we measure efficiency in terms of the size of the quotients required to distinguish a distinct pair of conjugacy classes

The relationship between light, dopamine release and horizontal cell coupling in the mudpuppy retina.

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110002/1/tjp19914401291.pd

Activation of Protein Kinase C Modulates Light Responses in Horizontal Cells of the Turtle Retina

The effect of phorbol esters on the light-evoked responses of horizontal cells were studied in the turtle eyecup preparation. Phorbol esters caused a reduction in receptive field size and a significant decrease in the amplitude of responses to annular and full-field illumination; however, they caused only minor changes in responses to small spots in the receptive field centre. The dark membrane potential was not affected. The results suggest that phorbol esters may affect both coupling resistance and membrane resistance in horizontal cells. The effects of phorbol esters were blocked by the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine, and inactive phorbol ester had no effect, making it very likely that the phorbol ester effects were mediated through activation of protein kinase C. The above effects of the phorbol esters were considerably reduced by the dopamine antagonists haloperidol and fluphenazine, suggesting that they were in part mediated by release of dopamine.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73620/1/j.1460-9568.1992.tb00183.x.pd

Ionic effects on the membrane potential of hyperpolarizing photoreceptor in scallop retina

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109976/1/tjp19782751345.pd

CB1 Receptor Antagonism Blocks Stress-Potentiated Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking in Rats

Rationale Under some conditions, stress, rather than directly triggering cocaine seeking, potentiates reinstatement to other stimuli, including a subthreshold cocaine dose. The mechanisms responsible for stress-potentiated reinstatement are not well defined. Endocannabinoid signaling is increased by stress and regulates synaptic transmission in brain regions implicated in motivated behavior. Objectives The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) signaling is required for stress-potentiated reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats. Methods Following i.v. cocaine self-administration (2 h access/day) and extinction in male rats, footshock stress alone does not reinstate cocaine seeking but reinstatement is observed when footshock is followed by an injection of an otherwise subthreshold dose of cocaine (2.5 mg/kg, i.p.). CB1R involvement was tested by systemic administration of the CB1R antagonist AM251 (0, 1, or 3 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to testing for stress-potentiated reinstatement. Results Stress-potentiated reinstatement was blocked by both 1 and 3 mg/kg AM251. By contrast, AM251 only attenuated food-reinforced lever pressing at the higher dose (i.e., 3 mg/kg) and did not affect locomotor activity at either dose tested. Neither high-dose cocaine-primed reinstatement (10 mg/kg, i.p.) nor footshock stress-triggered reinstatement following long-access cocaine self-administration (6 h access/day) was affected by AM251 pretreatment. Footshock stress increased concentrations of both endocannabinoids, N-arachidonylethanolamine and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, in regions of the prefrontal cortex. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that footshock stress increases prefrontal cortical endocannabinoids and stress-potentiated reinstatement is CB1R-dependent, suggesting that CB1R is a potential therapeutic target for relapse prevention, particularly in individuals whose cocaine use is stress-related