The study of biochemical responses in aquatic animals comprises a vigorous area of inquiry within ecotoxicology for a number of reasons, including the perceived need for basic research in the field, the desire for highly sensitive biomarkers useful for biomonitoring and the particular concern for elevated rates of neoplasia observed in some aquatic systems. In this paper, an approach only recently investigated by aquatic toxicologists will be described and reviewed in detail. This approach is based on theories of oxyradical generation and subsequent oxidative stress in biological systems. Of particular concern to environmental toxicologists with respect to these phenomena are the abilities of a number of common and diverse compounds to undergo enzymatically facilitated redox cycling in cells and thereby generate oxyradicals under aerobic conditions. Mechanisms of oxyradical generation, toxicological consequences of these processes and endogenous antioxidant defense systems are described. In addition, methodologies for studying these phenomena are discussed and recent studies demonstrating their applicability to aquatic toxicology are reviewed.

The study of biochemical responses in aquatic animals comprises a vigorous area of inquiry within ecotoxicology for a number of reasons, including the perceived need for basic research in the field, the desire for highly sensitive biomarkers useful for biomonitoring and the particular concern for elevated rates of neoplasia observed in some aquatic systems. In this paper, an approach only recently investigated by aquatic toxicologists will be described and reviewed in detail. This approach is based on theories of oxyradical generation and subsequent oxidative stress in biological systems. Of particular concern to environmental toxicologists with respect to these phenomena are the abilities of a number of common and diverse compounds to undergo enzymatically facilitated redox cycling in cells and thereby generate oxyradicals under aerobic conditions. Mechanisms of oxyradical generation, toxicological consequences of these processes and endogenous antioxidant defense systems are described. In addition, methodologies for studying these phenomena are discussed and recent studies demonstrating their applicability to aquatic toxicology are reviewed.

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By the end of 1994, 11 states had passed legislation authorizing charter schools. Following the argument that charter schools need to be autonomous, self-governing organizations to enhance their potential for high performance, this study explores legislative conditions that promote charter school autonomy. The study applies a conceptual framework of autonomy to assess variations among state charter school policies. 7he results suggest that state policies offer different levels of autonomy and thus charter schools will vary in their ability to innovate and in their potential for high performance. Differences in autonomy across charter school laws appear to be related to state political cultures and to the state's history of decentralization reform.