Book Reviews: Behavior Change in the Human Services: An Introduction to Principles and Applications by Martin Sundel and Sandra S. Sundel. Exploring Personality: An Intellectual Odyssey by Russell L. Ackoff. The Ecologist: The Cosmic Covenant.

Systemic Practice and Action Research -     

Community Organizations in Venezuela: Toward the Disintegration of the Modern State and the Emergence of a Community Organized Society?

This paper argues that Venezuelan community organizations (COs) are playing a substantial role in the building of a new social order in which elements such as rights, equity, and justice are being displaced from a universal narrative toward more local narratives. This displacement is enwrapped in a discourse on the political participation of citizens in the running of public affairs, which implies a redefinition of the role of COs and the state beyond the usually accepted sphere of COs. The need to unfold the sense of COs thus becomes paramount for understanding our present and its current manifestations of an epochal change.     

振动环境下直升机座舱显示器周边键的工效学实验

直升机座舱显示器周边键的工效学设计对于改善直升机操控性能有重要作用,在振动环境下其工效学特性的研究是该领域研究的薄弱环节.本研究在研制的直升机座舱实验平台上,设计了振动环境下直升机座舱显示器周边键的工效学实验.通过分析实验数据发现:按键反应时受按键方位和大小影响,无振动时,按键大小为10 mm即可;主振为23 Hz,振幅为人体稍感振动时,按键大小应增加25%以上,即13 mm,按键间隔以10 mm为宜;振动造成错误率上升和反应时延长,应控制在适当范围.     

Development (and Evolution) of the Universe

I distinguish Nature from the World. I also distinguish development from evolution. Development is progressive change and can be modeled as part of Nature, using a specification hierarchy. I have proposed a ‘canonical developmental trajectory’ of dissipative structures with the stages defined thermodynamically and informationally. I consider some thermodynamic aspects of the Big Bang, leading to a proposal for reviving final cause. This model imposes a ‘hylozooic’ kind of interpretation upon Nature, as all emergent features at higher levels would have been vaguely and episodically present primitively in the lower integrative levels, and were stabilized materially with the developmental emergence of new levels. The specification hierarchy’s form is that of a tree, with its trunk in its lowest level, and so this hierarchy is appropriate for modeling an expanding system like the Universe. It is consistent with this model of differentiation during Big Bang development to view emerging branch tips as having been entrained by multiple finalities because of the top-down integration of the various levels of organization by the higher levels.     

三维连通网状SiC陶瓷/Zr基非晶复合材料动态变形特征

利用分离式霍普金森压杆装置,对三维连通网状SiC陶瓷/Zr基非晶复合材料进行不同应变率下的动态压缩实验,采用扫描电子显微镜研究复合材料的动态变形特征和断口形貌.结果表明:复合材料的动态压缩强度随着打击速度的增加而增加;试样发生劈裂和剪切断裂,陶瓷相断口形貌为层片状、台阶式的解理断裂,非晶合金发生粘性流动,断口形貌复杂多样.在应变率＞104 s-1的冲击载荷下,非晶相表现为软化后的多重脊状条带.复合材料断口上大量的非晶球形液滴及非晶软化条带的发现表明,绝热温升在非晶变形与断裂过程中起重要作用.     

Improved hybrid position/force controller design of a flexible robot manipulator using a sliding observer

An improved hybrid position/force controller design of a flexible robot manipulator is presented using a sliding observer. The friction between the end effector and the environment is considered and compensated. For systematic reasons the controller is designed taking into consideration the rigid link subsystems and the flexible joints. The proposed control system satisfies the stability of the two subsystems and copes with the uncertainty of robot dynamics. A sliding observer is designed to estimate the time derivative of the torque applied as input to the rigid part of the robot. For the stability of the observer, it is assumed that the uncertainty of the observed system is bounded. A MRAC algorithm is used for the estimation of the friction forces at the contact point between the end effector and the environment. Finally simulation and experimental results are given, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.     

A relevant in vitro rat model for the evaluation of blood-brain barrier translocation of nanoparticles

Poly(MePEG₂₀₀₀cyanoacrylate-co-hexadecylcyanoacrylate) (PEG-PHDCA) nanoparticles have demonstrated their capacity to reach the rat central nervous system after intravenous injection. For insight into the transport of colloidal systems across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), we developed a relevant in vitro rat BBB model consisting of a coculture of rat brain endothelial cells (RBECs) and rat astrocytes. The RBECs used in our model displayed and retained structural characteristics of brain endothelial cells, such as expression of P-glycoprotein, occludin and ZO-1, and immunofluorescence studies showed the specific localization of occludin and ZO1. The high values of transendothelial electrical resistance and low permeability coefficients of marker molecules demonstrated the functionality of this model. The comparative passage of polyhexadecylcyanoacrylate and PEG-PHDCA nanoparticles through this model was investigated, showing a higher passage of PEGylated nanoparticles, presumably by endocytosis. This result was confirmed by confocal microscopy. Thanks to a good in vitro/in vivo correlation, this rat BBB model will help in understanding the mechanisms of nanoparticle translocation and in designing new types of colloidal carriers as brain delivery systems.Received 4 March 2005; accepted 14 April 2005     

Functional and physical communication between oncoproteins and tumor suppressors

The discovery of oncogenes (c-onc’s) and tumor suppressors (TS’s) has led to the concept that cancer arises from defects in each of these classes of genes or their products. More recently, it has been appreciated that c-onc and TS proteins often affect one another’s functions. Within this context, I review the two classical TS’s, p53 and the retinoblastoma protein, and the consequences of their inactivation. The various forms of genomic instability (GI) that underly the high mutation rates of transformed cells are then discussed. Particular emphasis is placed upon the concept that GI is not only an integral part of the transformed state but is a prerequisite. Increased oxidative DNA damage, and/or an inabiliy to repair it, can lead to GI. The review then discusses recent observations showing that loss of the TS protein peroxiredoxin 1 (prdx1) and increased expression of the c-onc protein c-Myc, each leads to increased oxidative DNA damage. The critical nature of the c-onc-TS interaction is underscored by that occurring between prdx1 and c-Myc, with the former protein regulating the production of DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species by the latter. The intimate association between these proteins and others serves as a paradigm for the exquisite balancing act that c-onc’s and TS’s must maintain in order to properly control normal DNA replication and cellular proliferation while simultaneously minimizing the acquisition of potentially neoplastic mutations. Received 10 May 2005; received after revision 3 July 2005; accepted 19 July 2005     

Mechanisms underlying celiac disease and its neurologic manifestations

The extra-intestinal manifestations of celiac disease (CD), including ataxia and peripheral neuropathy, are increasingly being recognized as the presenting symptoms of this autoimmune disease. Although there is a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of the intestinal lesions in CD the mechanisms behind the neurologic manifestations of CD have not been elucidated. In this article, the authors review the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the histopathologic changes in the intestine, discuss the presentation and characteristics of neurologic manifestations of CD, review the data on the mechanisms behind these manifestations, and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of CD. Molecular mimicry and intermolecular help may play a role in the development of neurologic complications.Received 11 March 2004; received after revision 29 October 2004; accepted 12 November 2004