Rapid stimulatory effects of testosterone upon myotubule metabolism and sugar transport,as assessed by silicon microphysiometry

A considerable number of studies have revealed behavioral circumstances that give rise to small or transient differences in circulating testosterone concentrations; however, careful consideration of androgen physiology leads to the disquieting conclusion that these differences are often unlikely to have much physiologic or behavioral significance. In the present report, we observe that small transients of testosterone secretion could have very rapid anabolic effects on a cultured muscle-derived cell line. Specifically, we have examined the effects of testosterone on metabolism in cultured C2C12 myotubules, using a silicon microphysiometer. The instrument monitors cellular extrusion of protons and acidic metabolites, and such extrusion is directly linked to ATP hydrolysis, thus providing a real-time measure of cellular metabolism. Testosterone caused a small but significant increase in metabolism. The most striking feature of this effect was its rapidity, in that it occurred within 3 hr. This rapid enhancement of metabolism suggested that testosterone might be enhancing substrate uptake even more rapidly. Indeed, we found that testosterone increased 2-deoxyglucose uptake within 1 min. The rapidity of this effect seemed to preclude mediation by classical intracellular steroid receptors. In support of this, we were unable to detect specific intracellular binding of testosterone. These findings show that testosterone can exert rapid anabolic effects on substrate transport and metabolism in myotubules. Should this finding general to muscle in vivo, it suggests that relatively small individual differences in testosterone profiles, in response to various social interactions, may have very real consequence for subsequent muscle physiology. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Juggling Parent Care and Employment Responsibilities: The Dilemmas of Adult Daughter Caregivers in the Workforce

We review findings from our programmatic research on adult daughters who are simultaneously involved in the roles of employee and care provider to an impaired parent. Two opposing theoretical perspectives on the health effects of occupying these two roles are described, and empirical findings that bear on each perspective are presented. Our review reveals that, consistent with the competing demands perspective, parent care and employment often conflict with one another. Consistent with the energy expansion perspective, however, there is evidence that holding these two roles can be beneficial for the health of adult daughters.     

MICHEL DE M'UZAN AND ORIGINS OF IDENTITY

Michel de M'Uzan describes a way to think about identity in which two distinct sources of our sense of identity must be considered. His innovation is the concept of the vital‐identital, which he suggests is equally foundational with the sense of identity derived from the early human environment. The term endogenous identity is used to unify under one heading the ideas that de M'Uzan employs to build his concept of vital‐identital. The author summarizes de M'Uzan's earlier work, elaborates on his more recent ideas, and illustrates the use of de M'Uzan's ideas with a cultural and a clinical example.     

A New Paradigm of Life and Consciousness

The facts of life, like facts of physical nature, are not subject to material premises applicable to physical nature. Like matter, life is a universal field of forces interacting, reacting, and seeking equilibrium, but the forces involved are vital energies of sensation, impulse, feeling, emotion, will, and aspiration characteristic of conscious or subconscious living beings. Universal principles govern the consequences of these interactions, although the appropriate methods for study differ. They explain the correspondence between inner subjective, psychological forces, and external results and are the basis for the capacity of conscious individuals to make life respond by their inner intentions.     

Jung and Pauli

In his early theories of the structure of the psyche, psychic energy and psychodynamics, Jung was influenced by William James's understanding of the complementary insights of depth psychology and the discoveries of subatomic physics, and his concept of field in physics and the study of the subconscious. In his relationship with Freud, Jung initially struggled with a sexually-based drive theory. But he gradually came to conceive libido as a quantitative concept, a psychic analogue of physical energy. In their own languages, both C. G. Jung and Nobel physicist Wolfgang Pauli explored the evolution of scientific thought from the naive insights about process in alchemy through Newtonian causality, space-time theories of relativity to quantum mechanics. Jung had access to thirteen hundred of Pauli's dreams. The first four hundred were basis for his research into alchemical symbolism in a modern psyche. In a later collaboration, Pauli supported Jung's synchronicity principle as scientific, and Jung fostered Pauli's understanding of the archetypal and collective factors in the psyche. They each explored the interconnections between the energies of psyche and matter, and the possibilities of acausal order and synchronicity. Pauli's ground-breaking discoveries gave scientific demonstration of alchemical intuitions. Through him, alchemical and archetypal insights entered the discourse of physics. Through Jung, the apprehensions of microphysics entered our psychological language and thought.     

The Origins of Life: What One Needs to Know

Many solar systems in the universe may be expected to contain rocky planets that have accreted organic compounds. These compounds are likely to be universally found. In addition, the chemistry of sulfur, phosphorus, and iron is likely to dominate energy transductions and monomer activation, leading to the eventual emergence of polymers. Proteins and polynucleotides provide living matter with function, structure, and information. The conceptual puzzle regarding their emergence is discussed. The fitness of various elements to serve various roles is analyzed from the viewpoint of electron orbitals. Elements with d orbitals are of central importance.     

Bayesian inferences about the self (and others): A review

Viewing the brain as an organ of approximate Bayesian inference can help us understand how it represents the self. We suggest that inferred representations of the self have a normative function: to predict and optimise the likely outcomes of social interactions. Technically, we cast this predict-and-optimise as maximising the chance of favourable outcomes through active inference. Here the utility of outcomes can be conceptualised as prior beliefs about final states. Actions based on interpersonal representations can therefore be understood as minimising surprise – under the prior belief that one will end up in states with high utility. Interpersonal representations thus serve to render interactions more predictable, while the affective valence of interpersonal inference renders self-perception evaluative. Distortions of self-representation contribute to major psychiatric disorders such as depression, personality disorder and paranoia. The approach we review may therefore operationalise the study of interpersonal representations in pathological states.     

Response to ‘Transgender medicalization and the attempt to evade psychological distress’ (Withers 2020) and to Herdzik’s (2021) response to Withers

Psyche is non-binary and multiple and clinical work in the analytic container must be held in the fluidity of multiplicity. Analysts are called to bring Queer energy to analytical attitude. Queer energy is intrinsically non-conforming and desires to confront a priori concepts in service to the unfolding of the Self. A Queer analytic attitude seeks to blur narrative, deconstruct language and listen deeply for what is emergent in the field. Queer energy is also deeply activating and often results in polarizations of attitude and a failure to hold what is emergent. This response to Withers (2020) and to (Herdzik 2021) is an invitation for all of us to engage our activated complexes around work with transgender issues and the fluidity of the Queer experience. The multiplicity of the Self seeks to be known through analytic process. Consciously held authentic experience of what is emergent and thus unknown is at the core of this process. An analysis capable of holding Queer energy offers a theatre for the exploration of gender identity and its expression.     

Presence of ε-martensite as an intermediate phase during the strain-induced transformation of SUS304 stainless steel

We have investigated the formation process of α′-martensite from the γ-phase induced by external strain using in situ synchrotron diffraction experiments, combined with Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM observations. It is clearly demonstrated that ε-martensite with hexagonal symmetry appears as an intermediate structure during the plastic deformation of SUS304 stainless steel. In addition to stacking faults and dislocations, interfaces between the twin structures presumably play a key role in the formation of ε-martensite.     

Sequential and myopic: On the use of feedback to balance cost and utility in a simulated electricity efficiency task

While there is extensive research on feedback, little research is aimed at the use of feedback to optimise conflicting goals. A task modelled after In Home Displays for providing feedback about electricity cost was designed to investigate the effects of feedback frequency, detail, and stability, when participants try to balance cost and utility. Frequent feedback proved to be advantageous in a deterministic system, but feedback aggregated over time was advantageous in a system with noisy feedback. Surprisingly, performance was better with noisy feedback, where the probabilism, in effect, acted as a filter, highlighting the applications that are most important for the cost and the utility. Computational modelling suggested that the best-fitting model assumes that the participants are sequential, considering one goal at a time, first satisfying the cost budget, only thereafter trying to maximise the utility, and reflexive, myopically responding primarily to the feedback explicitly available on a given trial.