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Gatekeepers
Selected AbstractsQuality of service control in multimedia network clustersINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 8 2003Franco Davoli Abstract We introduce a control architecture in which several (independent) multimedia clusters share the same (local or metropolitan) networking resources in a controlled framework. In particular, a central entity (i.e., the Gatekeeper) harmonizes the transmission rates of the various clusters following a given sharing policy. Each cluster, in turn, adopts its own end-to-end rate control mechanism to meet the Gatekeeper's transmission rate indications. A testbed has been developed and the system has been evaluated with real experiments by using different types of transmission sources. A software architecture is also introduced and described, with particular reference to the middleware framework realized with the Jini system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Old Tools and New Movements in Latin America: Political Science as Gatekeeper or Intellectual Illuminator?LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2009Sara C. Motta ABSTRACT This article argues that social democratic and orthodox Marxist conceptualizations of politics are unable to "engage in solidarity" with many new forms of Latin American popular politics. Such movements challenge the politics of representation, the market economy, and the state form by reinventing territorialized experiments in self-government, which politicize place, subjectivities, and social relations. Developing a critique of these frameworks of political analysis, this article argues that conceptual categories combining the insights of autonomist or open Marxism and poststructuralism and the critical reflections and theorizations by Latin America's newest social movements enable a deeper engagement with such movements. This critique challenges academics committed to progressive social change to reexamine long-held notions about the nature and agents of social transformation and the epistemological categories that orient our research. It argues that if we fail to do this, then we risk becoming gatekeepers of the status quo. [source] The Physician as Gatekeeper to the Use of Genetic Information in the Criminal Justice SystemTHE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS, Issue 1 2002Samuel C. Seiden First page of article [source] Introduction: Opening the Gate to GatekeeperANTIPODE, Issue 1 2004Steve Herbert No abstract is available for this article. [source] Gatekeepers: the professions and corporate governance , Edited by John C. CoffeeCORPORATE GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2007Andrew Chambers No abstract is available for this article. [source] Effect of Ethnicity on Denial of Authorization for Emergency Department Care by Managed Care GatekeepersACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 3 2001Robert A. Lowe MD Abstract. Objective: After a pilot study suggested that African American patients enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs) were more likely than whites to be denied authorization for emergency department (ED) care through gatekeeping, the authors sought to determine the association between ethnicity and denial of authorization in a second, larger study at another hospital. Methods: A retrospective cohort design was used, with adjustment for triage score, age, gender, day and time of arrival at the ED, and type of MCO. Results: African Americans were more likely to be denied authorization for ED visits by the gatekeepers representing their MCOs even after adjusting for confounders, with an odds ratio of 1.52 (95% CI = 1.18 to 1.94). Conclusions: African Americans were more likely than whites to be denied authorization for ED visits. The observational study design raises the possibility that incomplete control of confounding contributed to or accounted for the association between ethnicity and gatekeeping decisions. Nevertheless, the questions that these findings raise about equity of gatekeeping indicate a need for additional research in this area. [source] Gatekeepers in sickness insurance: a systematic review of the literature on practices of social insurance officersHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2005Elsy Söderberg Abstract Decisions concerning entitlement to sickness benefits have a substantial impact on the lives of individuals and on society. In most countries, such decisions are made by staff of private or public insurance organisations. The work performed by these professionals is debated, hence more knowledge is needed on this subject. The aim of the present study was to review scientific studies of the practices of social insurance officers (SIOs) published in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. Studies were searched for in literature databases, in reference lists, and through personal contacts. Analyses were made of type of study, areas investigated, research questions, theories used, and the results. Sixteen studies were included. SIOs and several other actors are responsible for applying measures to minimise sick-leave and promote return to work (RTW). The studies focusing on coordination of such measures revealed that SIOs felt unsure about how to handle their contacts with clients and other actors. One study indicated that the SIOs, partly due to lack of time, accepted the recommendations of physicians instead of making their own judgments about granting sickness benefits. While all SIOs must make decisions concerning entitlement to sickness benefits on a daily basis, few of the reviewed studies scrutinised the actual granting of sickness compensation. The studies were also deficient in that they investigated the decision latitude of the SIOs from a very limited perspective, mainly on an individual level and often primarily in relation to colleagues and/or clients rather than to the laws and regulations of the sickness insurance. The concepts and framework in this area of research need to be developed to facilitate elucidation of the interaction between different actors in local spheres, professionals in different disciplines, and between welfare staff and individual citizens. [source] Glutathione-Induced Intracellular Release of Guests from Mesoporous Silica Nanocontainers with Cyclodextrin GatekeepersADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 38 2010Hyehyeon Kim Cyclodextrins tethered onto a mesoporous silica nanoparticle via disulfide stalking are effective gatekeepers not only to entrap guest molecules in the pore but also to release the guest in response to glutathione (GSH). The PEGylated nanocontainers also exhibit efficient GSH-mediated release of doxorubicin in cancer cells. Our approach offers unique applications for multifunctional delivery systems. [source] KEYNOTE ADDRESS Ku80-deletion causes early ageing and suppresses cancerJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 2 2009P. Hasty Ageing is widespread cellular decline resulting in a loss of fitness that is both pleiotropic and stochastic and influenced by both genetics and environment. As a result the fundamental underling causes of ageing are diverse and controversial. One potential ageing target is nuclear DNA, as it is a permanent blueprint that controls cellular processes. Thus, DNA replication and genome maintenance are highly regulated events that ensure faithful reproduction and maintenance of the blueprint and these pathways assure sufficient longevity for reproduction and survival of the species. As a consequence, imperfections or defects in maintaining the genome may contribute to ageing. Therefore, genome maintenance pathways are longevity-assurance mechanisms that sustain an organism long enough to reproduce and propagate. Chief among these mechanisms are those that respond to damaged DNA. There are two basics responses to genomic damage: DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoints. Both are considered to be tumour suppressors and are categorized as either caretakers or gatekeepers, respectively. Interestingly, observations of human and mouse pre-mature ageing models suggest these anti-tumour pathways impact the ageing process. Caretakers suppress cancer by repairing DNA damage caused by defects in replication or by a variety of agents including endogenously produced reactive by-products of oxygen metabolism and exogenous agents naturally encountered in our environment. As a consequence DNA is subject to a variety of insults that cause a diverse range of lesions and phenotypic outcomes. There are many forms of DNA damage including base lesions and double-strand breaks (DSBs) with the latter being more toxic. Cancer-causing chromosomal rearrangements may result if DSBs are not repaired properly. Additionally, an accumulation of these rearrangements may contribute to ageing since they increase in some cell types as humans and mice age. Furthermore, early ageing models suggest that defects in repairing DSBs lead to early ageing in humans and mice. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is an important pathway for repairing DNA DSBs and is considered a caretaker. The Ku heterodimer (composed of Ku70 and Ku80) binds to DNA ends to initiate NHEJ, and defects in either Ku70 or Ku80 lead to increased levels of DNA DSBs and chromosomal rearrangements, leading many to believe Ku is a caretaker. Ku-mutant mice display increased GCRs, but without increased cancer. Instead, these mice show early ageing and shortened life span. Thus, Ku's role as a caretaker is uncertain as the low cancer levels may be due to Ku80-deletion or, instead, the low cancer levels may simply be a consequence of the shortened life span that prohibits sufficient time for tumours to develop. Gatekeepers respond to DNA damage by halting the cell cycle long enough for the DNA to be repaired. If the damage is irreparable, gatekeepers induce either apoptosis or senescence. These responses are deleterious to the cell but protect the organism from cancer as one potential outcome of genetic mutations is uncontrolled proliferation. p53 is critical for checkpoints and is the best-known gatekeeper because it is mutated in over half of all cancers. In addition, p53 activity influences many aspects of the Ku-mutant phenotype suggesting that Ku-deletion leads to persistent p53-mediated responses and presenting the possibility that low cancer levels and early ageing are caused by elevated gatekeeper responses. Our hypothesis is that Ku-mutant mice exhibit low cancer levels and, perhaps, ageing due to persistent p53-mediated responses to inefficiently repaired DNA. To test this hypothesis, Ku80-mutant mice were crossed to cancer-prone mice with either non-functional or functional gatekeeper responses. Ku80-mutant mice were crossed to p53-mutant mice to determine if Ku80-deletion exacerbates oncogenesis when gatekeeper responses are diminished. Ku80-mutant mice deleted for p53 exhibit early onset and high levels of two forms of cancer: pro-B cell lymphoma and medulloblastoma, thus supporting the hypothesis. Ku80-mutant mice were also crossed to APCMIN mice to determine if Ku80-deletion ameliorates oncogenesis gatekeeper responses are intact. APCMIN mice exhibit high levels of intestinal adenomas and adenocarcinomas but have normal p53-mediated responses to DNA damage. APCMIN mice, deleted for Ku80, exhibit about 67% fewer tumours than APCMIN mice with Ku80. Thus, deletion of Ku80 suppresses tumour formation, again supporting the hypothesis. Ku80-mutant cells and tissues were tested for p53-mediated DNA damage responses, levels of DNA damage, and mutations. Ku80-mutant fibroblasts exhibit elevated levels of p53-mediated DNA damage responses that increase p21-mediated cellular senescence. In addition, there are elevated levels DNA damage as seen by increased 53BP1 foci and elevated levels of chromosomal rearrangements. Thus, these data support the hypothesis that Ku80-deletion reduces tumors by elevating DNA damage gatekeeper responses to inefficiently repaired DNA. These data also support the possibility that the Ku80-mutant ageing phenotype is also due to elevated gatekeeper responses. [source] Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors: Gatekeepers of HomeostasisJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 7 2010J. B. Kuzmiski The capacity to appropriately respond to physiological challenges or perturbations in homeostasis is a requisite for survival. It is becoming increasingly clear that long-lasting alterations in synaptic efficacy are a fundamental mechanism for modifying neuroendocrine and autonomic output. We review recent advances in our understanding of plasticity at glutamate synapses onto magnocellular neurones (MNCs) in the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the hypothalamus, with a focus on the contributions of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) to long-lasting modifications in synaptic efficacy. Special attention is paid to the role of presynaptic mGluRs as gatekeepers for metaplasticity and regulation of body fluid homeostasis. The work highlighted here provides insight into the synaptic mechanisms that couple MNC activity to physiological states. [source] University of life or academia?JOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2008A review of community matrons/case managers continuing professional development; accessing a post-graduate programme without meeting the current academic entry criteria Aims, To inform managers and gatekeepers of the pre-requisites for staff engaging in post-graduate level study. To acknowledge the support students in new roles require in clinical practice and continuing professional development (CPD). Background, A post - graduate course for case managers/community matrons was developed as a rapid response to government policy. As a result, candidates entered this programme with non-traditional requirements. However, this did not appear to hinder their success. Evaluation, Student entry data and their achievements on completion were collected and compared with another post-graduate course that did require standard entry academic requirements. Final results were analysed and a narrative obtained from students and mentors. Key issues, Gatekeepers should recognize the importance of past experience and motivation of candidates in relation to CPD and also the student's insight and self-awareness when accessing courses. Conclusion, Candidates accessing post-graduate courses can achieve learning outcomes at an advanced level when given the right support and are capable of undertaking the role of case manager/community matron . Implications for nursing management, The article is relevant in light of the current financial constraints for Trusts to ration the funding of CPD. Choosing the right person to attend the right course often depends on the manager's discretion and not necessarily the candidates' ability or motivation. It highlights the importance of not only recognizing the candidates' academic level but also their motivation to study, and with careful selection candidates should be allowed the opportunity to access higher levels of CPD. Fitness to practice is also an important aspect to consider on completion of a course and this can be achieved with the mapping of competencies in relation to the post holder's specific job. [source] The role of the translator/interpreter in knowledge transfer environmentsKNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 2 2007Jocelyn Cranefield This paper reports on the results of a larger research project that investigated the factors impacting on inter-organisational transfer in the New Zealand State Sector. Seven gatekeepers (boundary-spanning individuals) from different organisations were interviewed about their experiences in facilitating knowledge transfer between a cross-sector working group and their organisation. The context for the research was the Pathfinder Project, a project based around the development and transfer of an emergent knowledge model for strategic management, Managing for Outcomes (MfO). A range of factors that facilitated knowledge transfer were identified. Among these, translation and interpretation activities were found to be critical to successful knowledge transfer. Gatekeepers reported acting as translator/interpreter, an essential role which demanded specialised skills. The nature of this role is outlined, with reference to a staged model for knowledge transfer that emerged from the research project. The translator/interpreter role required gatekeepers to engage in active and continuous conversion of knowledge to meet the differing needs of a range of recipients. This helped to increase the overall absorptive capacity of participating organisations. Implications of these findings for research and practice are outlined. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Group Leaders as Gatekeepers: Testing Safety Climate Variations across Levels of AnalysisAPPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2010Dov Zohar This paper tests the moderating effect of transformational supervisory leadership on the relationship between organisational and group climates, using safety climate in risky operations as an exemplar. Results indicated that under low or poor organisational climate, indicative of limited organisational commitment to employee safety, transformational leaders promoted a higher group climate as compared to the organisational climate. Similarly, under a weak organisational climate, indicative of limited consensus among company employees regarding the priority of safety, transformational leaders promoted a stronger group climate, reflecting greater consensus among group members. This pattern suggests that supervisory leaders can act as gatekeepers, with transformational leaders offering better protection against potentially harmful organisation-level priorities. Furthermore, transformational supervisors better informed their members of the organisational priorities as they perceived them, resulting in a stronger relationship between individual supervisors' perceptions and members' organisational climate perceptions. Implications for climate and leadership research are discussed. On s'intéresse dans cet article à l'impact régulateur du leadership hiérarchique de transformation sur la relation entre les climats organisationnels et de groupe en utilisant comme exemple la sécurité dans les opérations à risque. Les résultats montrent qu'en cas de climat organisationnel médiocre signifiant une implication organisationnelle minimale à propos de la sécurité du personnel, les leaders de transformation favorisent l'émergence d'un climat de groupe plus satisfaisant que le climat organisationnel. De même, si le climat organisationnel est fragile, traduisant un accord approximatif des salariés sur la prioritéà accorder à la sécurité, les leaders de transformation sont à l'origine d'un climat de groupe renforcé, expression d'un meilleur consensus parmi les membres du groupe. Ce schéma laisse penser que les leaders hiérarchiques peuvent intervenir comme gardiens, les leaders de transformation offrant une meilleure protection contre les priorités organisationnelles potentiellement nocives. De plus, les managers de transformation informent mieux leur équipe des priorités organisationnelles telles qu'ils les perçoivent, ce qui provoque une relation plus étroite entre les perceptions personnelles du manager et celles que son groupe a du climat organisationnel. On réfléchit aux retombées de ce travail sur les recherches portant sur le climat et le leadership. [source] Why do Shareholders Allow Their Managers to be Gatekeepers in Corporate Control Contests?,ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 6 2008Kyung Suh Park Abstract This paper formulates a theoretical model to explain why target shareholders under corporate control contests allow their managers to play the role of a gatekeeper despite the conflicting incentive of the managers to resist takeover attempts that might increase firm value. The paper claims that sometimes the existence of a manager with a conflicting goal can contribute to enhancing the welfare of his shareholders under a corporate control contest where bidders have the choice of takeover methods. We set up a game-theoretical model and derive a separating equilibrium where bidders with higher synergy prefer a tender offer to a merger, and the bidders are forced to pay higher takeover premium in a hostile tender offer due to the existence of informed target managers who can make counteroffers under a merger deal. [source] CFTR , a gatekeeper for duodenal HCO3, secretionACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 4 2008Jens Leipziger No abstract is available for this article. [source] M cells and associated lymphoid tissue of the equine nasopharyngeal tonsilEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 3 2001P. KUMAR Summary The aim of this study was to characterise the morphological and histochemical features of equine nasopharyngeal tonsillar tissue. Nasal and oropharyngeal tonsillar tissue has been described as the gatekeeper to mucosal immunity because of its strategic location at the entrance to the respiratory and alimentary tracts. A combination of light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy has revealed the presence of follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) overlying lymphoid tissue of the equine nasopharyngeal tonsil caudal to the pharyngeal opening of the guttural pouch. Membranous microvillus (M) cells were identified in the FAE on the basis of short microvilli, an intimate association with lymphocytes, cytoplasmic vimentin filaments and epitopes on the apical surface reactive with lectin GS I-B4 specific for ,-linked galactose. CD4-positive lymphocytes were scattered throughout the lamina propria mucosae as well as forming dense aggregates in the subepithelial part. The central follicular area was heavily populated with B lymphocytes and the dome and parafollicular areas contained both CD4- and CD8-positive lymphocytes. CD8-positive lymphocytes were also present in the epithelium and, together with B lymphocytes, in small numbers in the lamina propria mucosae. These observations indicate that the nasopharyngeal tonsil is potentially an important mucosal immune induction site in the horse and an appropriate target forintranasally administered vaccines. [source] Abnormal CTLA-4 function in T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosusEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Elizabeth C. Jury Abstract CTLA-4 is a critical gatekeeper of T-cell activation and immunological tolerance and has been implicated in patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases through genetic association. Since T cells from patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) display a characteristic hyperactive phenotype, we investigated the function of CTLA-4 in SLE. Our results reveal increased CTLA-4 expression in FOXP3, responder T cells from patients with SLE compared with other autoimmune rheumatic diseases and healthy controls. However, CTLA-4 was unable to regulate T-cell proliferation, lipid microdomain formation and phosphorylation of TCR-, following CD3/CD28 co-stimulation, in contrast to healthy T cells. Although lupus T cells responded in vitro to CD3/CD28 co-stimulation, there was no parallel increase in CTLA-4 expression, which would normally provide a break on T-cell proliferation. These defects were associated with exclusion of CTLA-4 from lipid microdomains providing an anatomical basis for its loss of function. Collectively our data identify CTLA-4 dysfunction as a potential cause for abnormal T-cell activation in patients with SLE, which could be targeted for therapy. [source] COLORADO FOURTEENERS AND THE NATURE OF PLACE IDENTITY,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 2 2002KEVIN S. BLAKE ABSTRACT. The fifty-four Colorado Fourteeners,mountains more than 14,000 feet in elevation,were early symbols of westward expansion, mineral wealth, and wondrous scenery, and they are increasingly popular as environmental icons in place attachment at national, regional, state, and local scales. The symbolism of this contrived yet iconic collection of peaks is examined through the evolution of the Fourteener concept, the popularity of peakbagging, and the role of the Sawatch Range Fourteeners in creating a larger community identity. Elevation is the gatekeeper into the Fourteener club, in which a distinctive landscape iconography of shape, accessibility, and aesthetics reflects the role of idealized nature and mountains in place identity. [source] Provider networks and primary-care signups: do they restrict the use of medical services?HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 12 2009Partha Deb Abstract This article analyzes the effect of gatekeeper and network restrictions on use of health-care services using simulation-based estimation methods. Data from the Community Tracking Survey (1996,1997) show significant evidence of selection into plans with gatekeeper and/or network restrictions. Enrollees in plans with networks of physicians have fewer office-based visits to non-physician medical professionals, but more emergency room visits and hospital stays. Individuals in plans that require signups with a primary-care provider have more visits to non-physician providers of care, more surgeries and hospital stays but substantially fewer emergency room visits. Enrollees of plans that do not pay for out-of-network services have more office-based and emergency room visits, but less surgeries and hospitalizations. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice: a meta-ethnographyJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 3 2010Rebecca J. Purc-Stephenson purc-stephenson r.j. & thrasher c. (2010) Nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice: a meta-ethnography. Journal of Advanced Nursing66(3), 482,494. Abstract Aims., This study is a meta-ethnography of nurses' experiences with telephone triage and advice and factors that facilitate or impede their decision-making process. Background., Telephone triage and advice services are a rapidly expanding development in health care. Unlike traditional forms of nursing practice, telenurses offer triage recommendations and advice to the general public without visual cues. Data sources., Published qualitative research on telephone triage and advice were sought from interdisciplinary research databases (1980,2008) and bibliographical reviews of retrieved studies. Review methods., Our systematic search identified 16 relevant studies. Two researchers independently reviewed, critically appraised, and extracted key themes and concepts from each study. We followed techniques of meta-ethnography to synthesize the findings, using both reciprocal and refutational translation to compare similar or contradictory findings, and a line-of-arguments synthesis. Results., We identified five major themes that highlight common issues and concerns experienced by telenurses: gaining and maintaining skills, autonomy, new work environment, holistic assessment, and stress and pressure. A line-of-arguments synthesis produced a three-stage model that describes the decision-making process used by telenurses and highlights how assessments largely depend on the ability to ,build a picture' of the patient and the presenting health issue. Conclusion., Telenurses experience a range of common concerns and issues which either impede or facilitate the decision-making process. Although ,building a picture' of the patient is key to making assessments over the telephone, final triage decisions are influenced by balancing the conflicting demands of being both carer and gatekeeper to limited healthcare services. [source] KEYNOTE ADDRESS Ku80-deletion causes early ageing and suppresses cancerJOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND NUTRITION, Issue 2 2009P. Hasty Ageing is widespread cellular decline resulting in a loss of fitness that is both pleiotropic and stochastic and influenced by both genetics and environment. As a result the fundamental underling causes of ageing are diverse and controversial. One potential ageing target is nuclear DNA, as it is a permanent blueprint that controls cellular processes. Thus, DNA replication and genome maintenance are highly regulated events that ensure faithful reproduction and maintenance of the blueprint and these pathways assure sufficient longevity for reproduction and survival of the species. As a consequence, imperfections or defects in maintaining the genome may contribute to ageing. Therefore, genome maintenance pathways are longevity-assurance mechanisms that sustain an organism long enough to reproduce and propagate. Chief among these mechanisms are those that respond to damaged DNA. There are two basics responses to genomic damage: DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoints. Both are considered to be tumour suppressors and are categorized as either caretakers or gatekeepers, respectively. Interestingly, observations of human and mouse pre-mature ageing models suggest these anti-tumour pathways impact the ageing process. Caretakers suppress cancer by repairing DNA damage caused by defects in replication or by a variety of agents including endogenously produced reactive by-products of oxygen metabolism and exogenous agents naturally encountered in our environment. As a consequence DNA is subject to a variety of insults that cause a diverse range of lesions and phenotypic outcomes. There are many forms of DNA damage including base lesions and double-strand breaks (DSBs) with the latter being more toxic. Cancer-causing chromosomal rearrangements may result if DSBs are not repaired properly. Additionally, an accumulation of these rearrangements may contribute to ageing since they increase in some cell types as humans and mice age. Furthermore, early ageing models suggest that defects in repairing DSBs lead to early ageing in humans and mice. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is an important pathway for repairing DNA DSBs and is considered a caretaker. The Ku heterodimer (composed of Ku70 and Ku80) binds to DNA ends to initiate NHEJ, and defects in either Ku70 or Ku80 lead to increased levels of DNA DSBs and chromosomal rearrangements, leading many to believe Ku is a caretaker. Ku-mutant mice display increased GCRs, but without increased cancer. Instead, these mice show early ageing and shortened life span. Thus, Ku's role as a caretaker is uncertain as the low cancer levels may be due to Ku80-deletion or, instead, the low cancer levels may simply be a consequence of the shortened life span that prohibits sufficient time for tumours to develop. Gatekeepers respond to DNA damage by halting the cell cycle long enough for the DNA to be repaired. If the damage is irreparable, gatekeepers induce either apoptosis or senescence. These responses are deleterious to the cell but protect the organism from cancer as one potential outcome of genetic mutations is uncontrolled proliferation. p53 is critical for checkpoints and is the best-known gatekeeper because it is mutated in over half of all cancers. In addition, p53 activity influences many aspects of the Ku-mutant phenotype suggesting that Ku-deletion leads to persistent p53-mediated responses and presenting the possibility that low cancer levels and early ageing are caused by elevated gatekeeper responses. Our hypothesis is that Ku-mutant mice exhibit low cancer levels and, perhaps, ageing due to persistent p53-mediated responses to inefficiently repaired DNA. To test this hypothesis, Ku80-mutant mice were crossed to cancer-prone mice with either non-functional or functional gatekeeper responses. Ku80-mutant mice were crossed to p53-mutant mice to determine if Ku80-deletion exacerbates oncogenesis when gatekeeper responses are diminished. Ku80-mutant mice deleted for p53 exhibit early onset and high levels of two forms of cancer: pro-B cell lymphoma and medulloblastoma, thus supporting the hypothesis. Ku80-mutant mice were also crossed to APCMIN mice to determine if Ku80-deletion ameliorates oncogenesis gatekeeper responses are intact. APCMIN mice exhibit high levels of intestinal adenomas and adenocarcinomas but have normal p53-mediated responses to DNA damage. APCMIN mice, deleted for Ku80, exhibit about 67% fewer tumours than APCMIN mice with Ku80. Thus, deletion of Ku80 suppresses tumour formation, again supporting the hypothesis. Ku80-mutant cells and tissues were tested for p53-mediated DNA damage responses, levels of DNA damage, and mutations. Ku80-mutant fibroblasts exhibit elevated levels of p53-mediated DNA damage responses that increase p21-mediated cellular senescence. In addition, there are elevated levels DNA damage as seen by increased 53BP1 foci and elevated levels of chromosomal rearrangements. Thus, these data support the hypothesis that Ku80-deletion reduces tumors by elevating DNA damage gatekeeper responses to inefficiently repaired DNA. These data also support the possibility that the Ku80-mutant ageing phenotype is also due to elevated gatekeeper responses. [source] Using RFPs to manage your bank relationshipJOURNAL OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 1 2006James S. Sagner Who is in charge of your firm's relationship with its bank,your company or the bank? Deregulation of the financial services industries has made access to banking services more difficult. And many companies find they have to award credit and noncredit business to retain their banks' goodwill. What is more, the finance function is often no longer the sole gatekeeper for all banking contact. But companies,and finance,can get back in control by using requests for proposals (RFPs) to manage the bank relationship. This article shows how to do that. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] The advocate as gatekeeper: The limits of politeness in protective order interviews with Latina survivors of domestic abuseJOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 4 2001Shonna L. Trinch Within institutions that provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, professionals and volunteers work as advocates for their clients at the same time that they act as gatekeepers for their agencies. While the labor of advocacy consists of empowering clients and validating their concerns and feelings, the task of gatekeeping entails making judgments about them in order to dole out goods and services. Thirty protective order interviews and their resulting affidavits form the data for this study. These interviews take place in a district attorney's office and in a pro bono law clinic. This micro-level analysis of the verbal interaction between protective order application interviewers (both paid and volunteer) and their Latina clients investigates what positive politeness strategies can reveal about how interviewers construct the conflicting discursive identities of advocate and gatekeeper. I examine what interviewers say to clients as well as how interviewers allow clients to give their accounts of abuse. The study points to specific linguistic techniques that may leave victims feeling unaccompanied in the sociolegal system. I suggest that one consequence of the gatekeeping required of interviewers is that victim-survivors may perceive a ,second assault' by the institutions meant to serve them. Linguistic phenomena particular to Latina women in the United States are also brought to light. [source] The interpreter as institutional gatekeeper: The social-linguistic role of interpreters in Spanish-English medical discourseJOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2000Brad Davidson Increases in immigration have led to an enormous growth in the number of cross-linguistic medical encounters taking place throughout the United States. In this article the role of hospital-based interpreters in cross-linguistic, internal medicine ,medical interviews' is examined. The interpreter's actions are analyzed against the historical and institutional context within which she is working, and also with an eye to the institutional goals that frame the patient-physician discourse. Interpreters are found not to be acting as ,neutral' machines of semantic conversion, but are rather shown to be active participants in the process of diagnosis. Since this process hinges on the evaluation of social and medical relevance of patient contributions to the discourse, the interpreter can be seen as an additional institutional gatekeeper for the recent immigrants for whom she is interpreting. Cross-linguistic medical interviews may also be viewed as a form of cross-cultural interaction; in this light, the larger political ramifications of the interpreters' actions are explored. ,Interpreters are the most powerful people in a medical conversation.' Head of Interpreting Services at a major private U.S. hospital, May 1999. [source] Gender differences in the socialization of preschoolers' emotional competenceNEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 128 2010Susanne A. Denham Preschoolers' socialization of emotion and its contribution to emotional competence is likely to be highly gendered. In their work, the authors have found that mothers often take on the role of emotional gatekeeper in the family, and fathers act as loving playmates, but that parents' styles of socialization of emotion do not usually differ for sons and daughters. They also found several themes in the prediction of preschoolers' emotion knowledge and regulation. For example, sometimes mother,father differences in emotional style actually seem to promote such competence, and girls seem particularly susceptible to parental socialization of emotion. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Social maladjustment and students with behavioral and emotional disorders: Revisiting basic assumptions and assessment issuesPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 8 2004Daniel Olympia While much of the current focus in special education remains on reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997, disparities in the identification of children with serious emotional disorders continue to plague special educators and school psychologists. Several years after the issue of social maladjustment and its relationship to serious emotional disturbance was discussed and debated, little appears to have changed. Children, adolescents, and families are subjected to widely varying philosophies, assessment procedures, and services based on questionable criteria used to determine whether a student "qualifies" for services under the Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) designation. In this paper, we address how this issue has significantly affected access to services for students with serious emotional disturbances. Faulty assumptions regarding the relationship of social maladjustment to emotional disturbance in children/adolescents are identified and the implications of these assumptions for children are described. The lack of research supporting specific tools developed to assess social maladjustment in the context of a serious emotional disorder and the impact of this current practice on children is addressed from a practical and ethical standpoint. The role of the school psychologist as gatekeeper is contrasted to that of the more positive role as facilitator. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 835,847, 2004. [source] A Review of the Federal Guidelines That Inform and Influence Relationships Between Physicians and IndustryACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2009Robert H. Birkhahn MD Abstract The effective delivery and continued advancement of health care is critically dependent on the relationship between physicians and industry. The private sector accounts for 60% of the funding for clinical research and more than 50% of the funding sources for physician education. The nature of the physician,industry relationship and the role of the physician as a gatekeeper for health care make this association vulnerable to abuse if certain safeguards are not observed. This article will review the current federal guidelines that affect the physician,industry relationship and highlight several illustrative cases to show how the potential for abuse can subvert this relationship. The recommendations and "safe harbors" that have been designed to guide business relationships in health care are discussed. [source] Why do Shareholders Allow Their Managers to be Gatekeepers in Corporate Control Contests?,ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 6 2008Kyung Suh Park Abstract This paper formulates a theoretical model to explain why target shareholders under corporate control contests allow their managers to play the role of a gatekeeper despite the conflicting incentive of the managers to resist takeover attempts that might increase firm value. The paper claims that sometimes the existence of a manager with a conflicting goal can contribute to enhancing the welfare of his shareholders under a corporate control contest where bidders have the choice of takeover methods. We set up a game-theoretical model and derive a separating equilibrium where bidders with higher synergy prefer a tender offer to a merger, and the bidders are forced to pay higher takeover premium in a hostile tender offer due to the existence of informed target managers who can make counteroffers under a merger deal. [source] THE THERAPEUTIC EXCEPTION: ABORTION, STERILIZATION AND MEDICAL NECESSITY IN COSTA RICADEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 2 2007MARÍA CARRANZA ABSTRACT Based on the case of Rosa, a nine-year-old girl who was denied a therapeutic abortion, this article analyzes the role played by the social in medical practice. For that purpose, it compares the different application of two similar pieces of legislation in Costa Rica, where both the practice of abortion and sterilization are restricted to the protection of health and life by the Penal Code. As a concept subject to interpretation, a broad conception of medical necessity could enable an ample use of the therapeutic exception and a liberal use of both surgeries. The practice of therapeutic sterilization has been generalized in Costa Rica and has become the legitimate way to distribute contraceptive sterilization. In contrast, therapeutic abortion is very rarely practiced. The analysis carried out proposes that it is the difference in social acceptance of abortion and sterilization that explains the different use that doctors, as gatekeepers of social morality, make of medical necessity. [source] Spaces of Encounter: Public Bureaucracy and the Making of Client IdentitiesETHOS, Issue 3 2010Lauren J. Silver I emphasize the material deficits, spatial barriers, and bureaucratic procedures that restrict the storylines clients and officials use to make sense of one another. This article is drawn from a two-year ethnographic study with African American young mothers (ages 16,20) under the custody of the child welfare system. I focus here on the experiences of one young mother and explore several scenarios in her struggle to obtain public housing. I argue that service deficits can be explained not by the commonly articulated narratives of client "shortcomings" but, rather, by the nature of the organizational and material conditions guiding exchanges between public service gatekeepers and young mothers. I suggest that this work advances narrative approaches to psychological anthropology by attending to the roles of social and material boundaries in framing the stories people can tell each other. [identity, adolescent mothers, public bureaucracy, service negotiation, narrative] [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||