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38670 results in Cambridge Textbooks

Page 1249 of 1934

  • 11 - Microenvironment Controls Life, Death, and Regeneration

  • from Part II - Design and operation of complex functions
  • Michael Sheetz, Columbia University, New York, Hanry Yu, National University of Singapore
  • Book:
    The Cell as a Machine
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 243-264

  • Summary

    In the adult organism, the cellular microenvironment is critical in controlling cell growth, death, or regeneration. Although the fluid microenvironment includes several factors that influence cells, such as nutrients, salts, and hormones, we will focus here on the extracellular matrix and neighboring cells. The cellular microenvironment must support the tissue functions in the organism and should enable cell turnover and repair. Repair necessitates controlled growth to the proper cell density relative to matrix; however, safeguards are then needed to avoid uncontrolled growth, which can result in cancer. In this chapter, we will discuss the organizing principles in (1) cell–matrix interactions, (2) cell–cell interactions, and (3) the interplay between the two. In the case of the extracellular matrix (ECM), the composition of the ECM and its architecture sets the program for the adjacent cells through both the chemical nature of the ECM molecules and the shape of the crosslinked matrices in the adult. The detergent-resistant matrix of a tissue contains a lot of information that can direct the regeneration of stem cells when added to the matrix. In addition, the ECM will direct the cellular repair process following the loss of individual or small numbers of cells and the mechanical characteristics are critical. Matrix provides mechanical support through basement membranes, ECM fibrous networks, or linear fibers. The number of cells in the given matrix will be set by the physical aspects of the cell–cell contacts and the amount of ECM available. In the case of cell–cell junctions, there is a more limited set of components in adhesions, but some of the same cytoskeletal elements are important. Again, mechanical signals derived from the reciprocal communication between neighboring cells as well as the matrix are critical for directing the growth of the organism and controlling repair processes. Most importantly, the cell must only grow in an environment that is defined by a combination of cell neighbors, the matrix as well as nutrients and hormones. If the cell doesn't respond properly to the local cell and matrix cues, then it is likely that dysfunction will result. Major trauma and damage in the adult is usually bandaided with collagen fibers that cover the damage site (scar tissue) but do little to restore normal function in that region.

  • Chapter 11 - Small-N Designs

  • Wendy Heath, Rider University, New Jersey
  • Book:
    Psychology Research Methods
    Published online:
    01 July 2021
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 263-282

  • Summary

    Do you ever have trouble getting to class on time or even at all? Some students certainly do, and, perhaps not surprisingly, they may find this difficulty affects their grade (Friedman, Rodriguez, & McComb, 2001). The reason I bring this up is that a group of researchers, Bicard, Lott, Mills, Bicard, and Baylot-Casey (2012), set out to help four college athletes attend class and get there on time. These particular students were in danger of failing out of school, so there was a real need to curb their problem behavior.

    What did Bicard et al. do to help? Before they could try to fix the problem, they had to find out just how bad it was. They needed to know how often these students were missing class and how often they were late. As we'll discuss below, this is called establishing the baseline. Once the baseline has been established, then it is time to provide an intervention to attempt to change the behavior. Bicard et al. instructed the students to text their academic counselor right before they entered the classroom each day. This requirement improved attendance and punctuality for all the students. In fact, as a test of how well it worked, Bicard et al. stopped requiring the texts at the start of a new semester, and the students tended to revert back to their old ways, missing class or arriving late. Once the texting requirement was put back into place, they once again showed improved behavior.

    What I have just described was the use of a small-N design. In this chapter we explore what small-N designs are, their history, and how they work.

    What Are Small- N Designs?

    Small-N designs, also referred to as single-participant or single-subject designs, are designed to aid participants in changing behavior. We call them small-N designs because they use small sample sizes (N refers to the size of your sample); only one participant or just a few participants are tested. We'll talk about how this works in a moment, but first note that in almost all the research we've discussed thus far in this textbook (except the case study technique), we've compared the performances of groups to each other.

  • Chapter 9 - Factorial Designs: Experiments with More than One Independent Variable

  • Wendy Heath, Rider University, New Jersey
  • Book:
    Psychology Research Methods
    Published online:
    01 July 2021
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 211-240

  • Summary

    Have you ever been bumped from an overbooked flight? Typically, when a flight is overbooked, the airline will offer passengers a monetary incentive and a ticket for a later flight. But what happens when no one volunteers to take the airline up on the offer? United Airlines was recently in the news because of the way their employees handled this circumstance. When no one accepted an offer of a $1,000 voucher and a ticket for a later flight, United Airline representatives selected passengers to remove from the flight (four United employees needed the seats). One of the chosen passengers refused to leave the plane, and thus he was forcibly dragged off, while videotaped by fellow passengers (Victor & Stevens, 2017).

    Overbooking a flight is a common phenomenon and you can be removed from a flight without your approval; however airlines set their own policies regarding who gets bumped (for example, some airlines use the order in which the passengers checked in as a guide for who to bump). United Airlines was heavily criticized for the particular way they handled the removal of this passenger. People were upset not only about the physical manner in which this passenger was removed, but also that United chose to bump passengers after they boarded the plane, an unusual occurrence (Horowitz & Ostrower, 2017).

    After videos of this event went viral, some competing airlines put forth ads reminding potential passengers of what happened on this United Airlines flight while promoting their own cause. For example, Emirates Airlines tweeted “Fly the Friendly Skies … THIS TIME FOR REAL.” Royal Jordanian Airlines tweeted “We would like to remind you that drags on our flights are strictly prohibited by passengers and crew” (“drags” here refer to both the Airline's non-smoking policy and what had occurred on that United flight). Spirit Airlines took a different approach with an ad that emphasized how gentle they are with your bags, and then proclaiming, “Here at Spirit, we treat your bags as well as we treat you” (Shropshire & Channick, 2017).

  • 7 - International Court of Justice (II): Law and Procedure of the Court

  • from PART I - FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen
  • Book:
    The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
    Published online:
    21 June 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 175-226

  • Summary

    Main Issues

    Rules of procedure of the ICJ evolve over time. In particular, rules concerning preliminary objections, provisional measures, and third-party intervention have been developed through its jurisprudence. Thus there is a need to review the Court's practice to understand rules of procedure of the Court. As a permanent court having general jurisdiction, the practice of the Court also provides an insight into development of the law of international adjudication. Following Chapter 6, this chapter will seek to address the law and procedure of the ICJ with regard to: the applicable law (section 1), proceedings of the Court (section 2), provisional measures (section 3), preliminary objections (section 4), third-party interventions (sections 5 and 6) and judgment (section 7). Particular focus will be on the following issues:

  • (i) What is the distinction between lex lata and lex ferenda and what is the impact of lex ferenda on the decision of the Court?

  • (ii) What is the process of the proceedings of the Court?

  • (iii) What are the requirements for the Court to indicate provisional measures?

  • (iv) What are the preliminary objections?

  • (v) How is it possible to safeguard legal interests of the third party in judicial process of the Court?

  • (vi) What is the legal effect of the Court's judgments?

    • APPLICABLE LAW

    General Considerations

    It is relevant to commence our examination with the law applied by the Court. The key provision in this matter is Article 38 of the ICJ Statute:

    1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:

    a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;

    b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;

    c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;

    d. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.

    2. This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto.

  • 5 - Electrocardiography

  • Andrew G. Webb
  • Book:
    Principles of Biomedical Instrumentation
    Published online:
    11 August 2019
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 140-168

  • Summary

    Introduction

    An ECG, also sometimes referred to as an EKG from the original German word ‘electrokardiogram’, measures the electrical activity of the heart [1]. This electrical activity produces the contractions and relaxations of the cardiac muscles required to pump blood around the body. An ECG is recorded over a series of cardiac cycles (heartbeats) and shows the different phases of the cardiac cycle. The ECG indirectly measures transmembrane voltages in myocardial cells that depolarize and repolarize within each cardiac cycle. These depolarization and repolarization events produce ionic currents within the body, and these are transduced into voltages by electrodes (described in Chapter 2) placed on the surface of the chest and thorax, as shown in Figures 5.1(a) and (b). Up to twelve different lead voltages are recorded, with the magnitude of the voltages being in the low mV range, Figure 5.1(c), and a frequency spectrum between 0 and 30 Hz, as shown in Figure 5.1(d). The ECG signal has many distinct features, such as the P-wave, QRS-complex and T-wave, illustrated in Figure 5.1(c). The amplitude, shape and relative timing of these features can be used to diagnose different clinical conditions.

    An ECG is an essential part of diagnosing and treating patients with acute coronary syndromes and is the most accurate method of diagnosing ventricular conduction disturbances and cardiac arrhythmias. It is also used to diagnose heart conditions such as myocardial infarcts, atrial enlargements, ventricular hypertrophies and blocks of the various bundle branches. An ECG is universally used to monitor a patient's cardiac activity during surgery.

    Most ECG machines are now digital and automated, meaning that the data is analyzed automatically. Software algorithms measure different aspects (such as delays, durations and slopes) of the ECG waveform and provide a set of keyword interpretations of the scan such as ‘abnormal ECG’ or more specific suggested diagnoses such as ‘possible sinoatrial malfunction’. The most common software package is the University of Glasgow algorithm, which is outlined in detail in section 5.4.1. The major interference signals are caused by electromagnetic coupling from external sources such as power lines, which must be removed by appropriate filtering.

  • Chapter 7 - Minor Bodies of the Solar System

  • Edited by David A. Rothery, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Neil McBride, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Iain Gilmour, The Open University, Milton Keynes
  • Open University
  • Book:
    An Introduction to the Solar System
    Published online:
    11 May 2019
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 251-288

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, you will be taking a closer look at the minor bodies of the Solar System. Although most asteroids and comets may seem tiny compared to the planets, they have an important role to play in shaping the appearance of planetary surfaces. You considered this when looking at impact cratering processes in Chapter 4. Furthermore, the study of fragments of asteroids that land on the Earth as meteorites can give us crucial information on the elemental abundances of the material that formed the solar nebula from which the planets were made. This was discussed in Chapter 2, and will be considered again in Chapter 9. Similarly, the study of comets (remotely using telescopes, via the dust particles that they release, and by space probe encounters) gives us information about the processes involved in the formation of the Solar System. For these reasons, the minor bodies of the Solar System can be of major importance.

    Before we look at the minor bodies themselves, we need to consider the orbits of bodies in the Solar System in more detail than we have so far. Understanding orbits is key to understanding the motion of the planets, their moons, tidal heating process, and even the structure of the ring systems around the giant planets. Subject to minor variations driven by mutual interactions, planetary orbits are stable over hundreds of millions of years. However the gravitational influence of the planets can cause the orbits of minor bodies to change significantly, enabling them to migrate from one region of the Solar System to another, or even to be put on a collision course with the Earth.

    Orbits and Kepler's laws

    The German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) worked at a time when it was generally believed that the orbits of celestial bodies must be based on circles. Complex schemes using smaller circles superimposed on larger ones were devised to try to account for the apparent paths of the planets across the heavens. However, Kepler realized that the motion of Mars could be described simply by an ellipse. From this starting point, Kepler went on to formulate three laws of planetary motion, which remain fundamental to understanding the functioning of the Solar System. They apply not only to the movements of planets around the Sun, but to all bodies orbiting under the influence of gravity.

  • 8 - Signaling and Cell Volume Control through Ion Transport and Volume Regulators

  • from Part II - Design and operation of complex functions
  • Michael Sheetz, Columbia University, New York, Hanry Yu, National University of Singapore
  • Book:
    The Cell as a Machine
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 166-189

  • Summary

    Many cellular functions depend heavily upon the ionic environment within cells and upon the gradients of ions across membranes. In terms of robust devices, the transmembrane potential and ion movements provide a simple means of coordinately regulating multiple functions. Not only are the levels of calcium, magnesium and protons critical, but trace ions like zinc and iron are also needed for many specialized reactions. Gradients of protons and ions across membranes drive neuronal and muscular signaling, ATP production, and even cell death signals. Because ions cannot freely pass through membranes, there are a large number of proteins that have been created with specialized functions to move ions under the right conditions. In general, the cytoplasm of mammalian cells is high in potassium and low in sodium with several millimolar of magnesium, submicromolar of free calcium, and a pH of about 7.0. Outside of the cell, the fluid is high in sodium and low in potassium with several millimolar of both magnesium and calcium (pH 7.4). Total solute concentrations (designated as osmolality or the sum of the concentrations of negative ions, positive ions, proteins and small molecules) are matched inside and out in resting cells. During most cell functions, proteins act as pores, ion-selective channels, or exchangers to control ion movements. Due to the small volume in cells, only a small number of ions need to cross the membrane to produce major changes in concentration, pH, and particularly transmembrane voltage. These parameters control chemical- and electrical-based signal transduction and, therefore, rapid ion movements across membranes must be carefully orchestrated in a robust system. Neuronal signaling and muscle contractility, for example, are controlled by rapid and reliable electrical signaling, which occurs through cell depolarization. Imbalances or mistiming of ion movements in these and other physiological cases are linked to cell damage and disease.

    To respond to changes in ionic strength due to dehydration, or rapid intake of large amounts of water, cells possess intrinsic mechanisms that regulate their volume. These rely heavily upon osmosensing, whereby the movement of water out of or in to the cell changes the cell volume, causing the compression of the membrane onto the cytoskeleton or pulling of the membrane away from the cytoskeleton, respectively. In response, the cell will open channels that will allow the entry of salt or the exit of metabolites like taurine.

  • 6 - International Court of Justice (I): Organisation and Jurisdiction of the Court

  • from PART I - FOUNDATION OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
  • Yoshifumi Tanaka, University of Copenhagen
  • Book:
    The Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes
    Published online:
    21 June 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 128-174

  • Summary

    Main Issues

    The ICJ is a permanent court which is empowered to exercise contentious jurisdiction to decide inter-State disputes on the basis of the consent of the State Parties to the case and to give advisory opinions to the UN organs and specialised agencies. Decisions of the Court are binding on the parties with regard to the case. The jurisdiction of the ICJ is general in the sense that it can deal with all kinds of legal dispute between States. The ICJ thus provides an important insight into judicial settlement in international law. Chapter 6, along with Chapter 7, will seek to examine principal issues concerning the law and procedure of the ICJ. Following the Introduction (section 1), Chapter 6 will address the issues of the organisation and jurisdiction of the ICJ: parties before the ICJ (section 2), organisation of the ICJ (section 3), contentious jurisdiction of the ICJ (section 4), reservations to the optional clause (section 5), and advisory proceedings (section 6). In particular, the following issues will be discussed:

  • (i) What is the composition of the ICJ?

  • (ii) How is it possible to secure independence and impartiality of judges of the ICJ?

  • (iii) Is the institution of a judge ad hoc contrary to the requirement of independence and impartiality?

  • (iv) What are the modes of giving a State's consent to the jurisdiction of the ICJ?

  • (v) What is the function of reservations to the optional clause?

  • (vi) Are ‘automatic reservations’ (or ‘self-judging reservations’) valid in international law?

  • (vii) What are the problems with ‘instantly changeable reservations’?

  • (viii) What is the function of advisory jurisdiction of the ICJ?

    • INTRODUCTION

    The ICJ as a Principal Judicial Organ of the United Nations

    The ICJ was established by the Charter of the United Nations as the successor to the PCIJ. The ICJ came into existence with the election of its first judges in February 1946. The seat of the Court is established at The Hague, the Netherlands. In contrast to the PCIJ, which was not an organ of the League of Nations, the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. As an organ of the United Nations, the ICJ is supposed to contribute to achieving purposes and principles of the organisation by its strictly judicial activity. The ICJ is closely linked to the United Nations in three respects.

  • 5 - Life at Low Reynolds Number and the Mesoscale Leads to Stochastic Phenomena

  • from Part I - Principles of complex functions in robust machines
  • Michael Sheetz, Columbia University, New York, Hanry Yu, National University of Singapore
  • Book:
    The Cell as a Machine
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    11 January 2018, pp 95-116

  • Summary

    As noted earlier, cellular functions are always driven by the diffusion of molecular components at a basic level. Thus, it is important to understand why the low Reynolds number of cellular systems demands that basic movements of proteins occur by diffusion. We will go through the physical basis of the cellular systems and the implications of diffusion for cellular functions. In addition, cells of all sizes need to concentrate components in subcellular regions and organize their proteins and membranous organelles by transporting them from one place to another in the cytoplasm. Because diffusion basically limits the speed of transport of materials in the absence of energy-dependent active transport, it is important to remember that slow as well as very small life forms can rely upon diffusion for life processes. There is an active debate about when transport is best accomplished by diffusion or by a motor-dependent system. Both diffusive transport and active transport have been observed and we will consider the mechanism of both in this chapter. Physical constraints of diffusion in cell systems limit the size of life forms, but can be circumvented by reducing dimensionality as well as by active transport systems. As cellular dimensions reach beyond 100 μm, diffusive transport times become very long and animal cells typically utilize active transport systems supported by linear filaments to move materials rapidly. Membrane depolarization and pressure waves can move much faster than diffusion and are often used for signaling when actual material transport is not needed.

    Thermal Energy versus Momentum at Low Reynolds Number

    To understand cellular functions, it is necessary to understand the fundamental physics of molecules (proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates) at the nanometer level. As particles get smaller, their mass scales roughly as the cube of their size, and the velocities of particle movement also tend to decrease. Because the energy of a moving particle is one-half of the mass multiplied by the velocity squared, the energy in a moving small particle is much less than the energy of macroscopic particles. At some point, the particle size will be small enough such that the typical kinetic energy of particle movement will be less than its thermal energy or kT. At that point, the dominant factor in particle movements will be diffusive. In water, that point is larger than bacteria and smaller than fleas.

Page 1249 of 1934