This study investigated whether the associations between (a) the quality of the parent-child relationship and peer acceptance and (b) early adolescents' life satisfaction differed depending on the importance of family values in the respective culture. As part of the Value of Children Study, data from a subsample of N = 1,034 adolescents (58% female, M age = 13.62 years, SD = 0.60 years) from 11 cultures was analyzed. Multilevel analyses revealed a positive relation between parental admiration and adolescents' life satisfaction independent of cultural membership. Further, the higher the importance at UNIV OF ILLINOIS URBANA on March 15, 2015 jea.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Family change theory suggests three ideal-typical family models characterized by different combinations of emotional and material interdependencies in the family. Its major proposition is that in economically developing countries with a colIectivistic background afamity model of emotional interdependence emerges from a family model of complete interdependence. The current study aims to identifY and compare patterns of family-related value orientations related to family change theory across three cultures and two generations. Overall, N = 919 dyads of mothers and their adolescent children from Germany, Turkey, and India participatcd in the study. Threc clusters were identified representing the family models of independence, interdependence, and emotional interdependence, respectively. Especially the identification of an emotionally interdependent value pattern using a person-oriented approach is an important step in the empirical validation offamily change theory. The preference for the three family models differed across as well as within cultures and generations according to theoretical predictions. Dyadic analyses pointed to substantial intergenerational similarities and also to differences in family models, reilecting both cultural continuity as well as change in family-related value orientations.

Endothelial KCa2.3 and KCa3.1 channels contribute to the regulation of myogenic tone in resistance arteries by Ca2+-mobilizing, vasodilatory hormones. To define further the functional role of these channels in distinct vascular beds, we have examined the vasodilatory actions of the KCa channel activator SKA-31 in myogenically active, rat cremaster and middle cerebral arteries. Vessels pressurized to 70 mmHg constricted by 80–100 microns (i.e. 25–45% of maximal diameter). SKA-31 (10 μM) inhibited myogenic tone by 80% in cremaster and ~65% in middle cerebral arteries, with IC50 values of ~2 μM in both vessels. These vasodilatory effects were largely prevented by the KCa2.3 blocker UCL1684 and the KCa3.1 blocker TRAM-34 and abolished by endothelial denudation. Pre-incubation with NG nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 0.1 mM) did not affect the inhibitory response to SKA-31, but attenuated the ACh-evoked dilation by ~45%. Penitrem-A, a blocker of BKCa channels, did not alter SKA-31 evoked vasodilation, but did reduce the inhibition of myogenic tone by ACh, the BKCa channel activator NS1619 and sodium nitroprusside. Collectively, these data demonstrate that SKA-31 produces robust inhibition of myogenic tone in resistance arteries isolated from distinct vascular beds in an endothelium-dependent manner.

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Abstract-L-serine is a precursor of central neurotransmitters. Its cardiovascular effects are largely unstudied. We compared the in vitro effects of L-serine and acetylcholine in phenylephrine-constricted third-order branches of mesenteric arterioles in the NO synthase inhibitor N G -nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), pretreated hypertensive rats, and a control group of normotensive male Sprague-Dawley rats. The changes in mean arterial pressure and heart rate evoked by acute intravenous infusion of either L-serine (0.1 to 3.0 mmol/kg) or acetylcholine (0.1 to 10.0 nmol/kg) were determined in anesthetized rats. L-serine evoked concentration-dependent (10 to 200 mol/L) vasodilatation in endothelium-intact but not in endotheliumdenuded vessels. It was abolished by the inclusion of a combination of apamin (SK Ca channel inhibitor) and TRAM-34 (IK Ca channel inhibitor) or ouabain (Na ϩ pump inhibitor) and Ba 2ϩ (K ir channel inhibitor) or when the vessels were constricted by potassium chloride. The maximal response to L-serine was higher in the L-NAME treatment group (control 20% versus L-NAME 40%) in relation to the maximal response to acetylcholine (control 93% versus L-NAME 79%). L-serine evoked a rapid, reversible, dose-dependent fall in mean arterial pressure without increasing heart rate and was more pronounced in L-NAME-treated rats (maximal response: Ͼ60 mm Hg) than in the control rats (maximal response: 25 mm Hg). This was inhibited (PϽ0.01) by apaminϩcharybdotoxin pretreatment. The in vitro and in vivo data confirm that L-serine promotes vasodilatation in resistance arterioles and evokes a greater fall in mean arterial pressure in NO synthase-inhibited hypertensive rats via activation of apamin and charybdotoxin/TRAM-34-sensitive K Ca channels present on the endothelium. Key Words: amino acids Ⅲ blood pressure Ⅲ endothelium Ⅲ hypertension Ⅲ vasodilation T he nonessential amino acid L-serine biosynthesized from glycine or threonine and the metabolism of glucose, other than being a neurotrophic factor, is a precursor for nucleotides, phospholipids, and central neurotransmitters such as glycine, serotonin, and D-serine. 1-3 L-Serine treatment has been attempted in the management of schizophrenia, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome and for preventing microcephaly, psychomotor retardation, and seizures encountered in rare inborn errors of L-serine biosynthesis. 2,3 Recently, N-arachidonoyl L-serine was shown to promote endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in isolated rat arteries. 4 This study failed to address whether L-serine itself would promote vasodilatation or regulate blood pressure (BP). Previous studies have shown that the amino acid taurine reduces BP by reducing sympathetic discharge, oxidative stress, and increased salt excretion in hypertensive animals and patients. [5][6][7][8][9] There are no reports on the direct cardiovascular effects of L-serine. Therefore, we investigated the in vitro effect of L-serine using third-order branches of rat mesenteric arterioles constricted with phenyl...