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Intriguing Finding (intriguing + finding)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences28%
Life Sciences28%

Selected Abstracts

Heterogeneous distribution of AMPA glutamate receptor subunits at the photoreceptor synapses of rodent retina

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 1 2001
Iris Hack
Abstract In the retina the segregation of different aspects of visual information starts at the first synapse in signal transfer from the photoreceptors to the second-order neurons, via the neurotransmitter glutamate. We examined the distribution of the four AMPA glutamate receptor subunits GluR1,GluR4 at the photoreceptor synapses in mouse and rat retinae by light and immunoelectron microscopy and serial section reconstructions. On the dendrites of OFF-cone bipolar cells, which make flat, noninvaginating contacts postsynaptic at cone synaptic terminals, the subunits GluR1 and GluR2 were predominantly found. Horizontal cell processes postsynaptic at both rod and cone synaptic terminals preferentially expressed the subunits GluR2, GluR2/3 and GluR4. An intriguing finding was the presence of GluR2/3 and GluR4 subunits on dendrites of putative rod bipolar cells, which are thought to signal through the sign-inverting metabotropic glutamate receptor 6, mGluR6. Furthermore, at the rod terminals, horizontal cell processes and rod bipolar cell dendrites showed labelling for the AMPA receptor subunits at the ribbon synaptic site or perisynaptically at their site of invagination into the rod terminal. The wide distribution of AMPA receptor subunits at the photoreceptor synapses suggests that AMPA receptors play an important role in visual signal transfer from the photoreceptors to their postsynaptic partners. [source]

Attitudes, Expectations and Sharing

LABOUR, Issue 4 2003
Sarah Brown
Forward Links to Citing Articles Apology. Labour 19:4 801. Online publication date: 16-Dec-2005. Abstract., We explore the relationship between performance-related pay and the attitudes and expectations of a representative sample of British workers. Our results suggest that employees who participate in productivity-linked bonus schemes, discretionary bonus schemes, share ownership or profit sharing are more optimistic about future employment and pay and are generally more satisfied with their work environment. However, employees participating specifically in profit-sharing schemes are less likely to work as hard as they can, ceteris paribus. This is an intriguing finding, insinuating as it does that group-sharing schemes are unable to rout the temptation to free ride and thereby ensure a first best cooperative equilibrium. [source]

A new role for P2 receptors: talking with calcium-activated potassium channels

NEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY & MOTILITY, Issue 11 2007
P. P. Bertrand
Abstract Purinergic fast synaptic transmission may play a very subtle role in regulating the excitability of enteric circuits. That is one of the important findings in a new paper by Ren and Galligan in the current issue of this Journal. They first provide compelling evidence that P2X3 receptors (ionotropic purine receptors) are expressed by guinea-pig motor and interneurons and that these subtypes mediate the purinergic fast excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP). They also found that the P2X3 -mediated depolarization was often followed by a hyperpolarization. This is an intriguing finding because if the purinergic fast EPSPs are also followed by a hyperpolarization, then it could play a role in truncating bursts of synaptic potentials or in shaping periodic synaptic input. The hyperpolarization is caused by calcium entry through the P2X3 receptor which then activates a calcium-activated potassium (KCa) channel. Surprisingly, the hyperpolarization was not affected by any of the standard blockers of calcium- or voltage-activated K+ channels suggesting that a novel KCa channel is present in the enteric neurons. Such a wide-spread channel could well have an important physiological role and could be an important new drug target for regulating reflex activity in the enteric nervous system. [source]

Fiscal Policy and Presidential Elections: Update and Extension

PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2000
ALFRED G. CUZÁN
This article updates, deepens, and extends previous articles published in this journal on the relation between fiscal policy and presidential elections. It presents evidence that is consistent with the view that voters reward fiscal frugality and punish fiscal expansion. The relationship is robust with respect to economic conditions, presidential incumbency, number of consecutive terms in the White House by presidents of the same party, and war. An intriguing finding is that, when fiscal policy is controlled for, incumbency advantage practically disappears. It is hoped that these findings will stimulate more political scientists, especially students of the presidency, to pay more attention to the role of fiscal policy in presidential elections. [source]

The genetics of panic disorder: state of the art

ACTA NEUROPSYCHIATRICA, Issue 2 2004
Dirk Van West
Panic disorder (PD) is a highly prevalent, debilitating disorder. The heritability of the disease has been estimated by twin studies to be between 30 and 60%. The vulnerability for PD overlaps with an increased risk of bipolar disorder in some families. Classical genetic methods such as linkage analysis and association studies have not yet identified genetic risk factors beyond doubt. However, two independent studies confirm linkage of a specific syndrome characterized by PD, bladder problems, severe headaches, mitral valve prolapse and thyroid dysfunction to genetic markers on chromosome 13q. Association studies, although showing divergent results, give some support to a causative role for the genes encoding for monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), cholecystokinin (CCK) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Finally, a somatic duplication of a 19-Mb region on chromosome 15 has been associated with PD, but this intriguing finding awaits confirmation. [source]

Expanding self-help group participation in culturally diverse urban areas: Media approaches to leveraging referent power

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
Keith Humphreys
Accumulating research attests to the benefits of self-help groups for people who have various chronic health problems. Expansion of self-help group participation may enable a broader portion of society to experience these health benefits. The Media and Education for Self-Help (MESH) Project was an effort to increase interest in health-related self-help groups among middle- and lower-income people in two California urban areas with minority,majority populations. A diverse coalition of self-help group leaders designed English- and Spanish-language radio public service announcements and posters that were disseminated in Oakland and Los Angeles. The outcome measures in each urban area were self-help-group-related telephone inquiries to local information and referral agencies (English and Spanish language) and the number of individuals attending self-help groups at agencies hosting many groups. Telephone caller data were also gathered in a nonintervention control urban area (Sacramento). Los Angeles experienced an overall increase in telephone calls about self-help groups during the MESH intervention, whereas the control urban area had no change in the number of telephone calls over the same period. The initial sharp increase in self-help-group-related telephone calls was not sustained in Oakland, however. The number of Spanish-language calls about self-help groups increased 821% in Los Angeles and 149% in Oakland in the period from the 6 months that preceded the project through the first 6 months of the MESH Project. In the MESH Project urban areas, the number of visits to self-help groups was significantly higher in intervention months than in the same calendar months of the preceding year, particularly in Oakland, where the increase exceeded 300 visits to self-help groups per month. These intriguing findings are discussed in terms of their health policy and program evaluation implications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 413,424, 2004. [source]

CD38 regulates oxytocin secretion and complex social behavior

BIOESSAYS, Issue 9 2007
Jennifer A. Bartz
The peptide hormone oxytocin plays a critical role in regulating affiliative behaviors including mating, pair-bond formation, maternal/parenting behavior, social recognition, separation distress and other aspects of attachment. Jin and colleagues1 recently reported intriguing findings that CD38, a transmembrane receptor with ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity, plays a critical role in maternal nurturing behavior and social recognition by regulating oxytocin secretion. This research may have implications for understanding disorders marked by deficits in social cognition and social functioning, including autism, social anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. BioEssays 29:837,841, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]