Folliculostellate cell network: A route for long-distance communication in the anterior pituitary

All higher life forms critically depend on hormones being rhythmically released by the anterior pituitary. The proper functioning of this master gland is dynamically controlled by a complex set of regulatory mechanisms that ultimately determine the fine tuning of the excitable endocrine cells, all of them heterogeneously distributed throughout the gland. Here, we provide evidence for an intrapituitary communication system by which information is transferred via the network of nonendocrine folliculostellate (FS) cells. Local electrical stimulation of FS cells in acute pituitary slices triggered cytosolic calcium waves, which propagated to other FS cells by signaling through gap junctions. Calcium wave initiation was because of the membrane excitability of FS cells, hitherto classified as silent cells. FS cell coupling could relay information between opposite regions of the gland. Because FS cells respond to central and peripheral stimuli and dialogue with endocrine cells, the form of large-scale intrapituitary communication described here may provide an efficient mechanism that orchestrates anterior pituitary functioning in response to physiological needs.

Chemical communication in scarab beetles: reciprocal behavioral agonist-antagonist activities of chiral pheromones.

A novel mechanism of reciprocal behavioral agonist-antagonist activities of enantiomeric pheromones plays a pivotal role in overcoming the signal-to-noise problem derived from the use of a single-constituent pheromone system in scarab beetles. Female Anomala osakana produce (S, Z)-5-(+)-(1-decenyl)oxacyclopentan-2-one, which is highly attractive to males; the response is completely inhibited even by 5% of its antipode. These two enantiomers have reverse roles in the Popillia japonica sex pheromone system. Chiral GC-electroantennographic detector experiments suggest that A. osakana and P. japonica have both R and S receptors that are responsible for behavioral agonist and antagonist responses.

Introduction of asymmetry in the naturally symmetric restriction endonuclease EcoRV to investigate intersubunit communication in the homodimeric protein.

Type II restriction endonucleases are dimers of two identical subunits that together form one binding site for the double-stranded DNA substrate. Cleavage within the palindromic recognition site occurs in the two strands of the duplex in a concerted manner, due to the action of two catalytic centers, one per subunit. To investigate how the two identical subunits of the restriction endonuclease EcoRV cooperate in binding and cleaving their substrate, heterodimeric versions of EcoRV with different amino acid substitutions in the two subunits were constructed. For this purpose, the ecorV gene was fused to the coding region for the glutathione-binding domain of the glutathione S-transferase and a His6-tag, respectively. Upon cotransformation of Escherichia coli cells with both gene fusions stable homo- and heterodimers of the EcoRV variants are produced, which can be separated and purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography over Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid and glutathione columns. A steady-state kinetic analysis shows that the activity of a heterodimeric variant with one inactive catalytic center is decreased by 2-fold, demonstrating that the two catalytic centers operate independently from each other. In contrast, heterodimeric variants with a defect in one DNA-binding site have a 30- to 50-fold lower activity, indicating that the two subunits of EcoRV cooperate in the recognition of the palindromic DNA sequence. By combining a subunit with an inactive catalytic center with a subunit with a defect in the DNA-binding site, EcoRV heterodimers were produced that only nick DNA specifically within the EcoRV recognition sequence.

Communication in Cyberspace

This Article examines a problem in cybercrime law that is both persistent and pervasive. What counts as “communication” on the Internet? Defining the term is particularly important for crimes such as cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and cyberbullying, where most statutes require a showing that the alleged perpetrator “communicated” with the victim or impose a similar requirement through slightly different language. This Article takes up the important task of defining communication. As a foundation to our discussion, we provide the first comprehensive survey of state statutes and case law relating to cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and cyberbullying. We then examine the realities of the way people use the Internet to develop a definition of “communication” that reflects those realities. That is, we aim to provide effective tools by which prosecutors can address wrongful conduct without punishing innocuous behavior or chilling speech. We conclude by proposing a model statute that appropriately defines “communication.” We recommend that state legislatures adopt the statute or modify existing laws to match it in pertinent part and demonstrate how the statute would apply in a range of situations.

History of health, a valuable tool in public health

The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of the history of public health for public health research and practice itself. After summarily reviewing the current great vitality of the history of collective health oriented initiatives, we explain three particular features of the historical vantage point in public health, namely the importance of the context, the relevance of a diachronic attitude and the critical perspective. In order to illustrate those three topics, we bring up examples taken from three centuries of fight against malaria, the so called “re-emerging diseases” and the 1918 influenza epidemic. The historical approach enriches our critical perception of the social effects of initiatives undertaken in the name of public health, shows the shortcomings of public health interventions based on single factors and asks for a wider time scope in the assessment of current problems. The use of a historical perspective to examine the plurality of determinants in any particular health condition will help to solve the longlasting debate on the primacy of individual versus population factors, which has been particularly intense in recent times.

Relationships with citizens in public management: a study at the largest Spanish Town Halls

This paper provides an analysis of the relationships existing between citizen participation and satisfaction levels within the framework of Spanish local administrations, additionally paying attention to the links between organisational size and the said participation and satisfaction levels. The results of a survey questionnaire answered by 388 Human Resources (HR) managers from the largest Spanish Town Halls were examined for these purposes. A claim is made both to increase the degree of citizen participation in public decision-making and to ensure the delivery of efficient and effective public services that can really meet citizens’ needs in Spanish town Halls.

Still the “pivot”: Russia’s self-conception and view of the euro crisis as perceived in public opinion and the Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 2011-12. EU Centre in Singapore Working Paper No. 8, August 2012

In his influential and disputed 1904 lecture, “The Geographical Pivot of History,” Halford Mackinder argued that the Russian heartland was the fulcrum of many historical and geostrategic currents across Eurasian space. While the thesis has been thought surpassed by recent technological advances in transportation, it serves as a useful heuristic device to open certain thematic lines of analysis apparent in the presentation of the ongoing “EUrocrisis” by the country’s newspaper of record, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta.