Organizations, Social Structure, and Historical Change: Toward an Historical Sociology of Organizations

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50955/1/180.pd

A Response

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69076/2/10.1177_009770047700300402.pd

Marxism, Maoism, and Social Change

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68502/2/10.1177_009770047700300201.pd

CaMKK2 as an emerging treatment target for bipolar disorder

Current pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorder are inadequate and based on serendipitously discovered drugs often with limited efficacy, burdensome side-effects, and unclear mechanisms of action. Advances in drug development for the treatment of bipolar disorder remain incremental and have come largely from repurposing drugs used for other psychiatric conditions, a strategy that has failed to find truly revolutionary therapies, as it does not target the mood instability that characterises the condition. The lack of therapeutic innovation in the bipolar disorder field is largely due to a poor understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms and the consequent absence of validated drug targets. A compelling new treatment target is the Ca2+-calmodulin dependent protein kinase kinase-2 (CaMKK2) enzyme. CaMKK2 is highly enriched in brain neurons and regulates energy metabolism and neuronal processes that underpin higher order functions such as long-term memory, mood, and other affective functions. Loss-of-function polymorphisms and a rare missense mutation in human CAMKK2 are associated with bipolar disorder, and genetic deletion of Camkk2 in mice causes bipolar-like behaviours similar to those in patients. Furthermore, these behaviours are ameliorated by lithium, which increases CaMKK2 activity. In this review, we discuss multiple convergent lines of evidence that support targeting of CaMKK2 as a new treatment strategy for bipolar disorder

Determining the surface structure of silicated alumina catalysts via isotopic enrichment and dynamic nuclear polarization surface-enhanced NMR spectroscopy

We would like to thank SASOL and EPSRC (EP/L505079/1) for studentship funding for AGMR. SEA would also like to thank the Royal Society and Wolfson Foundation for a merit award. PBW would like to thank the Royal Society for the award of an Industry Fellowship. The University of Nottingham DNP MAS NMR Facility used in this research was funded by EPSRC and the University of Nottingham, and assistance from the Facility Manager (Subhradip Paul, University of Nottingham) is also acknowledged. This work was also supported by ERC Advanced Grant No. 320860. The research data (and/or materials) supporting this publication can be accessed at DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17630/00533fb3-e938-498d-bfe4-f07d82c309d6.Isotopic enrichment of 29Si and DNP-enhanced NMR spectroscopy are combined to determine the detailed surface structure of a silicated alumina catalyst. The significant sensitivity enhancement provided by DNP is vital to the acquisition of multinuclear and multidimensional experiments that provide information on the atomic-level structure of the species present at the surface. Isotopic enrichment not only facilitates spectral acquisition, particularly given the low (1.5 wt%) Si loading, but also enables spectra with higher resolution than those acquired using DNP to be obtained. The unexpected similarity of conventional, CP and DNP NMR spectra is attributed to the presence of adventitious surface water that forms a sufficiently dense 1H network at the silica surface so as to mediate efficient polarization transfer to all Si species regardless of their chemical nature. Spectra reveal the presence of Si-O-Si linkages at the surface (identified as Q4(3Al)-Q4(3Al)), and confirm that the anchoring of the surface overlayer with the alumina occurs through AlIV and AlV species only. This suggests the presence of Q3/Q4 Si at the surface affects the neighboring Al species, modifying the surface structure and making it less likely AlVI environments are in close spatial proximity. In contrast, Q1/Q2 species, bonded to the surface by fewer covalent bonds, have less of an effect on the surface and more AlVI species are consequently found nearby. The combination of isotropic enrichment and DNP provides a definitive and fully quantitative description of the Si-modified alumina surface, and we demonstrate that almost one-third of the silicon at the surface is connected to another Si species, even at the low level of coverage used, lowering the propensity for the formation of Brønsted acid sites. This suggests that a variation in the synthetic procedure might be required to obtain a more even coverage for optimum performance. The work here will allow for more rigorous future investigations of structure-function relationships in these complex materials.PostprintPeer reviewe

Embracing the Market: Entry into Self-Employment in Transitional China, 1978-1996

This paper introduces labor market transition as an intervening process by which the macro institutional transition to a market economy alters social stratification outcome. Rather than directly addressing income distribution, it examines the pattern of workers’ entry into self-employment in reform-era China (1978-1996), focusing on rural-urban differences and the temporal trend. Analyses of data from a national representative survey in China show that education, party membership and cadre status all deter urban workers’ entry into self-employment, while education promotes rural workers’ entry into self-employment. As marketization proceeds, the rate of entry into self-employment increases in both rural and urban China, but urban workers are increasingly more likely to take advantages of the new market opportunities. In urban China, college graduates and cadres are still less likely to be involved in self-employment, but they are becoming more likely to do so in the later phase of reform. The diversity of transition scenarios is attributed to rural-urban differences in labor market structures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39897/3/wp512.pd

Review Essay : Industrial Organization and Socialist Development in China

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68697/2/10.1177_009770047900500204.pd

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700