A fish bradykinin (Arg0; Trp5; Leu8-bradykinin) from the defensive skin secretion of the European edible frog; Pelophylax kl. esculentus: structural characterization; molecular cloning of skin kininogen cDNA and pharmacological effects on mammalian smooth muscle

Extensive studies on bradykinin-related peptides (BRPs) generated from plasma kininogens in representative species of various vertebrate taxa, have confirmed that many amphibian skin BRPs reflect those present in putative vertebrate predators. For example, the (Val1, Thr6)-bradykinin, present in the defensive skin secretions of many ranids and phyllomedusines, can be generated from plasma kininogens in colubrid snakes - common predators of these frogs. Here, we report the presence of (Arg0, Trp5, Leu8)-bradykinin in the skin secretion of the European edible frog, Pelophylax kl. esculentus, and have found it to be encoded in single copy by a kininogen with an open-reading frame of 68 amino acid residues. This peptide is the archetypal bony fish bradykinin that has been generated from plasma kininogens of the bowfin (Amia calva), the long-nosed gar (Lepisosteus oseus) and the rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss). More recently, this peptide has been shown to be encoded within cloned kininogens of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) spotted wolf-fish (Anarichas minor), zebrafish (Danio rerio), pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis) and Northern pike (Esox lucius). The latter species is regarded as a major predator of P. kl. esculentus. Synthetic (Arg0, Trp5, Leu8)-bradykinin was previously reported as having multiphasic effects on arterial blood pressure in conscious trout and here we have demonstrated that it can antagonize the relaxation in rat arterial smooth muscle induced by canonical mammalian bradykinin. The discovery of (Arg0, Trp5, Leu8)-bradykinin in the defensive skin secretion of this amphibian completes the spectrum of vertebrate taxon-specific BRPs identified from this source.

Social Inclusion or Market Competitiveness? A Comparison of Rural Development Policies in the European Union and the United States

The language of EU rural development policy appears more interested in social inclusion and that of US policy more interested in market competitiveness. We seek to determine why policies directed at rural development in the EU and the USA differ. In both contexts new rural development policies emphasize partnership and participation but we find local participation is used to promote social inclusion in the EU and market competitiveness in the USA. An examination of these dimensions illustrates important transcontinental differences and similarities in rural development policies. We explore the socio-historical reasons for differences in the commitment to social inclusion, while also noting similarities in the priority of market competitiveness.

Local, European and global: An exploration of migration patterns of social workers into Ireland

Whilst the project to increase workforce mobility is part of a common labour force policy across the European Union, for some social workers, it has also been coupled with an aspiration to develop a pan-European identity within the profession (Lorenz, 1994, 2000; Frost, 2008). In this article, taking the island of Ireland as an example, we examine empirical data on the movement of social workers in recent years, both within Ireland and inward from outside the island, and consider the challenges and opportunities this has presented for the profession, also drawing on the British experience. From this analysis, some tentative conclusions are drawn about what is happening, what is possible and what is desirable in balancing aspirations for increased mobility within the European Union and a pan-European social work identity against the needs and interests of local, European and global communities.

"All Have to Live in Me...": A Study of the Use of English Alongside Other African Languages in a Kenyan School

The purpose of this paper, which builds on an earlier paper published in this Journal (Vol. 20, No. 6), is to develop the discussion around how English has been taught, used and perceived in Kenya, using data gathered from a small second-level English-medium school in Kenya. The complex relationships between language and identity are at work in the everyday routines of both staff and pupils within such a context. The paper seeks to set out a clear methodology for gathering data which could help describe these relationships with more clarity while also subjecting the data to analysis informed by the growing body of research and theory that focuses on language policy in post-colonial and neo-colonial settings. Finally, these pieces of data are used as the basis of a further exploration of the implications for classroom practice in teaching English in this environment.

National attachment and patriotism in a European nation: A British study

This study explores identification with one's national group using two distinct but interrelated concepts: identity content and relational orientation. Theoretical distinctions were drawn between two forms of identity content: traditional-cultural and civic, and between two forms of relational orientation: blind and constructive. The multidimensionality of both identity content and relational orientation and the relationships amongst these components were examined in a British sample: positive relationships were hypothesized between blind orientation and traditional-cultural content and between constructive orientation and civic content. Principal components analyses confirmed the hypothesized factor structures, and the resulting scales were highly reliable. Relationships amongst the resulting factors were explored using regression analyses. The overall results indicate support for the orthogonality of both the two orientation dimensions and the two content dimensions. Moreover, the hypothesized relationships between forms of orientation and content were largely supported. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of looking at the relationship between identity content and relational orientation. The implications of these observations for theory and research are discussed with reference to using categories to