bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combining tractography and cortical measures to test system-specific hypotheses in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Gorgoraptis Nikos , Wheeler-Kingshott Claudia AM , Jenkins Thomas M , Altmann Daniel R , Miller David H , Thompson Alan J , Ciccarelli Olga
Published: March 2010

The objective was to test three motor system-specific hypotheses in multiple sclerosis patients: (i) corticospinal tract and primary motor cortex imaging measures differ between multiple sclerosis patients and controls; (ii) in patients, these measures correlate with disability; (iii) in patients, corticospinal tract measures correlate with measures of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex.

Eleven multiple sclerosis patients with a history of hemiparesis attributable to a lesion within the contralateral corticospinal tract, and 12 controls were studied. We used two advanced imaging techniques: (i) diffusion-based probabilistic tractography, to obtain connectivity and fractional anisotropy of the corticospinal tract; and (ii) FreeSurfer, to measure volume, thickness, surface area, and curvature of precentral and paracentral cortices. Differences in these measures between patients and controls, and relationships between each other and to clinical scores, were investigated.

Patients showed lower corticospinal tract fractional anisotropy and smaller volume and surface area of the precentral gyrus than controls. In patients, corticospinal tract connectivity and paracentral cortical volume, surface area, and curvature were lower with increasing disability; lower connectivity of the affected corticospinal tract was associated with greater surface area of the ipsilateral paracentral cortex.

Corticospinal tract connectivity and new measures of the primary motor cortex, such as surface area and curvature, reflect the underlying white and grey matter damage that contributes to disability. The correlation between lower connectivity of the affected corticospinal tract and greater surface area of the ipsilateral paracentral cortex suggests the possibility of cortical adaptation. Combining tractography and cortical measures is a useful approach in testing hypotheses which are specific to clinically relevant functional systems in multiple sclerosis, and can be applied to other neurological diseases.
Are low Danish fertility rates explained by changes in timing of births?
Authors: Hvidtfeldt Ulla A. , Gerster Mette , Knudsen Lisbeth B. , Keiding Niels
Published: March 2010

Aims: The most commonly used indicator of fertility, the period total fertility rate (TFRp), tends to underestimate actual fertility when women delay childbearing. The objective of this study was to examine to which extent fluctuations in Danish fertility rates result from changes in timing of births and, thus, whether the conventional TFRp is a distorted indicator of fertility quantum. In addition, we investigated whether such changes in timing explained the observed regional differences in the TFRp in Denmark. Methods: The study applied age-, period-, county-, and parity-specific data from the Danish Fertility of Women and Couples Dataset, 1980-2001. We evaluated fluctuations in period fertility rates by the tempo-adjusted TFR′ - a proposed variant of the conventional TFRp taking period changes in timing of births into account. Tempo-effects were given by the difference between TFRp and TFR′ , and these period measures were compared to actual cohort fertility. Results: Mean age at childbearing increased with more than 3 years over the period 1980-2001 leading to considerable differences between TFRp and TFR′ . A tempo-effect of up to 0.347 children per woman was observed. Comparisons with actual cohort fertility showed consistency with the TFR′. However, tempo-adjustment did not attenuate observed regional differences. Conclusion: This study indicates that the conventional TFRp consistently underestimates the fertility quantum in periods characterized by changes in timing of births, and that the TFR′ generally provides good indication of actual cohort quantum for the period in question. Considerable tempo-effects were observed within counties; however, differences between regions were not explained by changes in timing of births.
A Review of parent interventions for preschool children’s language and emergent literacy
Authors: Reese Elaine , Sparks Alison , Leyva Diana
Published: March 2010

It is well known that children’s language development lays the foundation for their literacy development, though it is difficult for preschool teachers alone to consistently engage in the individual interactions necessary to boost children’s language skills. Given that parents are their children’s first teachers, it is imperative to consider how parents can help improve their children’s language and emergent literacy development prior to formal schooling. This article reviews parent-training studies of children’s language and literacy in three contexts: parent—child book-reading; parent—child conversations; and parent—child writing. Parent training in each of these contexts has the capacity to improve children’s language and literacy, with the effects being specific to the targeted skill. All three contexts are potentially valuable sites for training parents to help their children’s language and literacy. In conclusion, parents are an undertapped resource for improving children’s language and literacy.
Three decades in: Priming for meta-analysis in play-literacy research
Authors: Roskos Kathleen A. , Christie James F. , Widman Sarah , Holding Allison
Published: March 2010

In this literature review, we examined 30 years of play-literacy inquiry through a quantitative lens in order to identify, assemble and summarize studies of sufficient methodological strength to form a corpus of research that encourages meta-analytic thinking. First, a multi-phase search of the literature was conducting yielding 192 studies that addressed pretend play and early literacy variables. Subsequent screening resulted in a total of 16 studies that met inclusion criteria, constituting a corpus of primary research that quantitatively measured play-literacy relationships in early childhood educational settings serving children ages 3—7. Next, several content analyses were used to describe and organize the corpus as a resource for meta-analytic thinking. The first round of analysis focused on developing a survey matrix that organized the particulars of individual studies into categories of information conducive to a meta-analytic approach. The second round probed for the theory of change used to explain the relations between pretend play interventions and early literacy skills. The third round entailed creating an effect size type matrix. Notably, most of the corpus studies showed modest to large effect sizes on a selected set of dependent variables which points to the potential of meta-analysis for better understanding the practical significance of the play-literacy relationship in promoting the acquisition of early literacy skills.
Differences in cortical and pituitary activity in response to hypoglycaemia and cognitive testing in healthy men with different basal activity of the renin-angiotensin system
Authors: Bie-Olsen Lise G , Pedersen-Bjergaard Ulrik , Kjær Troels W , Lonsdale Markus N , Law Ian , Thorsteinsson Birger
Published: March 2010

Introduction. High renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity has been associated with a high risk of severe hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes and with cognitive deterioration during experimental hypoglycaemia in healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to describe possible differences in cerebral activity during hypoglycaemia and cognitive testing in two groups of healthy men with different basal RAS activity.

Methods. Ten healthy men with high RAS activity and 10 with low activity underwent six oxygen-15-labelled water positron emission tomography scans: twice during normoglycaemia, twice during insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and twice during post-hypoglycaemia. During the scans, the subjects performed a computer-based reaction time test.

Results. Occipital areas were consistently more activated in the low RAS group than in the high RAS group throughout all three conditions. During normoglycaemia, the frontal region was more activated in the low RAS group than in the high RAS group. During hypoglycaemia, the high RAS group was more activated in the pituitary gland than the low RAS group.

Conclusion. Basal RAS activity influenced cerebral activity. Low RAS was associated with more pronounced cortical activation in all glycaemic conditions. High RAS was associated with pituitary activation during hypoglycaemia and post-hypoglycaemia, and this was associated with a greater growth hormone response.
Exploring a Feminist-based Empowerment Model of Community Building
Authors: Wilson R. Jan , Abram Faye Y. , Anderson JoyLynn
Published: March 2010

This article reports on a research study of a feminist grassroots process for empowering women, primarily poor African American women, engaged in community Circles of Hope. These Circles are not locality-based or affinity groupings of neighborhood women, but groups created with intentional diversity to involve women in empowerment work, supportive networks, and social as well as community change efforts. Analysis of qualitative data from six focus groups and quantitative survey data from 33 focus group participants revealed that participation in the Circles is related to empowerment as indicated by women’s increased sense of community, personal/collective efficacy, and citizen participation. An unexpected finding was that the mix in these Circles of African American women with women of other races and of diverse ages, faith traditions and socio-economic backgrounds yielded unique benefits for participants and for community building.
Key Dimensions of Effective Leadership for Change: A Focus on Township and Rural Schools in South Africa
Authors: Ngcobo Thandi , Tikly Leon Paul
Published: March 2010

The article identifies key dimensions of effective leadership for change in historically disadvantaged, township and rural schools in South Africa. It is based on original case study research in 13 schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Although the sample included mainly township and rural primary and secondary schools it also included a smaller sample of historically advantaged formerly White, Indian and ‘Coloured’ schools. All schools were selected on the basis of high academic achievement and success in implementing change. Effective leadership styles were found to be contingent on context. Rather than providing a fixed set of characteristics the dimensions provide a framework against which the nature of effective leadership in the sample schools is analysed and compared. It is argued that although many aspects of effective leadership are similar to those reported in the wider international literature, they assume a specific form and emphasis related to contexts of disadvantage in South Africa.
The LEA’s Role in a Decentralized School System: The School Principals’ View
Authors: Addi-Raccah Audrey , Gavish Yakov
Published: March 2010

Since the wave of school reform decentralization, schools now maintain a more dynamic and diverse relationship with their environment than they did in the past. School principals’ relationships with the local educational authority (LEA) are a prominent example of this change in Israel. LEAs try to gain more pedagogic influence over schools while school principals become dependent on the LEA for financial and educational resources. This study examines school principals’ attitudes toward the proactive role of the LEAs in localities that have adopted the school based management (SBM) reform, in comparison with localities that have not. The sample includes 165 school principals, of which 47.6 per cent adopted the SBM reform. Based on a discriminant analysis, school principals in localities that adopted the SBM reform, reported that LEAs increased their pedagogic influence on schools in return for providing financial resources. In contrast, in localities that have not adopted the SBM reform, schools principals’ reported being empowered at the local level, with the LEA perceived as advising schools. The implications of this study for school—LEA power relations are discussed based on the social exchange theory.
Immune reconstitution after allogeneic transplantation and expanding options for immunomodulation: an update
Authors: Seggewiss Ruth , Einsele Hermann
Published: March 2010

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has advanced to a common procedure for treating also older patients with malignancies and immunodeficiency disorders by redirecting the immune system. Unfortunately, cure is often hampered by relapse of the underlying disease, graft-versus-host disease, or severe opportunistic infections, which account for the majority of deaths after HSCT. Enhancing immune reconstitution is therefore an area of intensive research. An increasing variety of approaches has been explored preclinically and clinically: the application of cytokines, keratinocyte growth factor, growth hormone, cytotoxic lymphocytes, and mesenchymal stem cells or the blockade of sex hormones. New developments of allogeneic HSCT, for example, umbilical cord blood or haploidentical graft preparations leading to prolonged immunodeficiency, have further increased the need to improve immune reconstitution. Although a slow T-cell reconstitution is regarded as primarily responsible for deleterious infections with viruses and fungi, graft-versus-host disease, and relapse, the importance of innate immune cells for disease and infection control is currently being reevaluated. The groundwork has been prepared for the creation of individualized therapy partially based on genetic features of the underlying disease. We provide an update on selected issues of development in this fast evolving field; however, we do not claim completeness.
Detection and quantification of 14 Campylobacter species in pet dogs reveals an increase in species richness in feces of diarrheic animals
Authors: Chaban Bonnie , Ngeleka Musangu , Hill Janet E
Published: March 2010

Background

The genus Campylobacter includes many species, some of which are known human and animal pathogens. Even though studies have repeatedly identified domestic dogs as a risk factor for human campylobacteriosis, our understanding of Campylobacter ecology in this reservoir is limited. Work to date has focused primarily on a limited number of species using culture-based methods. To expand our understanding of Campylobacter ecology in dogs, a collection of fecal samples from 70 healthy and 65 diarrheic pet dogs were examined for the presence and levels of 14 Campylobacter species using quantitative PCR.

Results

It was found that 58% of healthy dogs and 97% of diarrheic dogs shed detectable levels of Campylobacter spp., with C. coli, C. concisus, C. fetus, C. gracilis, C. helveticus, C. jejuni, C. lari, C. mucosalis, C. showae, C. sputorum and C. upsaliensis levels significantly higher in the diarrheic population. Levels of individual Campylobacter species detected ranged from 103 to 108 organisms per gram of feces. In addition, many individual samples contained multiple species of Campylobacter, with healthy dogs carrying from 0-7 detectable species while diarrheic dogs carried from 0-12 detectable species.

Conclusions

These findings represent the largest number of Campylobacter species specifically tested for in animals and is the first report to determine quantifiable levels of Campylobacter being shed from dogs. This study demonstrates that domestic dogs can carry a wide range of Campylobacter species naturally and that there is a notable increase in species richness detectable in the diarrheic population. With several of the detected Campylobacter species known or emerging pathogens, these results are relevant to both ecological and public health discussions.
The effect of age on the response to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine
Authors: Lee Hyunju , Nahm Moon H , Kim Kyung-Hyo
Published: March 2010

Background

Streptococcus pneumoniaeis a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. To prevent invasive pneumococcal diseases, the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) is recommended in subjects over 65 years of age. Although it has been reported to provide approximately 50-80% protection against invasive disease in the general elderly population, there is still controversy as to the effectiveness of the PPV in the elderly.

Methods

To evaluate the immune response to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in the elderly, samples from young adults and elderly were obtained before and one month after vaccination. The quantitative and qualitative response to the vaccine were measured by the ELISA and opsonophagocytic killing assay for eight vaccine type serotypes (4, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F) and one vaccine-related serotype (6A).

Results

The response to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine showed a similar response between adults and elderly when evaluated by the ELISA, however the functional activity of the antibodies elicited after vaccination were lower in the elderly group for more than half of the serotypes evaluated. In comparison of the antibody needed for 1:8 opsonic titer, more antibodies were needed in the elderly for serotypes Pn 4, 19F, 23F and 6A, suggesting the functional activity of antibody detected by the ELISA was lower in the elderly compared with the adult group for these serotypes. As for subjects with an opsonic titer <8 after vaccination, only one subject each for serotypes Pn 4, 9V and 6A were found in the adult group. However, up to 10 (30.3%) of the subjects did not show opsonic activity after vaccination in the elderly group for serotypes Pn 4, 9V, 14, 19A and 6A.

Conclusions

Although the amount of antibodies elicited were similar between the two age groups, distinct differences in function were noted. This report highlights the importance of a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the immunogenic response to the PPV in the elderly age group.

Trial registration

This trial is registered with Clinical trials.gov. Registration number NCT00964769
Comparative detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA in saliva and urine samples from symptomatic malaria patients in a low endemic area
Authors: Buppan Pattakorn , Putaporntip Chaturong , Pattanawong Urassaya , Seethamchai Sunee , Jongwutiwes Somchai
Published: March 2010

Background

Definite diagnosis of malaria relies on microscopy detection of blood stages of parasites in peripheral blood and requires blood sample collection. The nested PCR method has shown to be more sensitive and superior to microscopy in detecting co-infections of Plasmodium species in circulation while Plasmodium falciparum DNA can be identified in urine and saliva specimens of patients, albeit at a lower sensitivity.

Methods

Matched blood, saliva and urine samples were collected from 100 microscopy-positive and 20 microscopy-negative febrile patients who attended a malaria clinic in Tak Province, northwestern Thailand for nested PCR analysis targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene of human malaria. Both P. falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have been known to circulate at a comparable rate in the study area.

Results

Comparing with microscopy results, nested PCR of saliva samples had a sensitivity of 74.1% for P. falciparum detection and 84% for P. vivax detection while 44.4% and 34.0% of the corresponding values were observed for urine samples. Both nested PCR results of saliva and urine samples had a specificity of 100% for identification of P. falciparum and P. vivax when compared with nested PCR results from blood. Co-infections of both species were found in four, 26 and 8 patients by microscopy and nested PCR of blood and saliva samples, respectively. Although the positive rates of nested PCR of saliva samples for P. falciparum increased with parasite density, no tendency occurred in results from nested PCR of saliva samples for P. vivax as well as those of urine samples.

Conclusions

Saliva and urine samples could be alternative noninvasive sources of DNA for molecular detection of both P. falciparum and P. vivax. Further improvement of the detection method will offer an opportunity to use these samples for diagnosis of malaria.
Depression research: where are we now?
Authors: Lee Saebom , Jeong Jaehoon , Kwak Yongdo , Park Sang Ki
Published: March 2010

Extensive studies have led to a variety of hypotheses for the molecular basis of depression and related mood disorders, but a definite pathogenic mechanism has yet to be defined. The monoamine hypothesis, in conjunction with the efficacy of antidepressants targeting monoamine systems, has long been the central topic of depression research. While it is widely embraced that the initiation of antidepressant efficacy may involve acute changes in monoamine systems, apparently, the focus of current research is moving toward molecular mechanisms that underlie long-lasting downstream changes in the brain after chronic antidepressant treatment, thereby reaching for a detailed view of the pathophysiology of depression and related mood disorders. In this minireview, we briefly summarize major themes in current approaches to understanding mood disorders focusing on molecular views of depression and antidepressant action.
Anti-HER-2 engineering antibody ChA21 inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of SK-OV-3 cells
Authors: Zhang AnLi , Xue Hua , Ling XiaoGuang , Gao Yi , Yang Feng , Cheng LianSheng , Liu Jing , Wu Qiang
Published: March 2010

Background and Aims

Anti-HER-2 antibodies targeting distinct epitopes have different biological functions on cancer cells. In a previous study, we demonstrated that anti-HER-2 engineering antibody ChA21 was able to bind to subdomain I of HER-2 extracellular domain. In this study, The effects of ChA21 on growth and apoptosis against ovarian carcinoma cell SK-OV-3 over-expressing HER-2 in vitro and in vivo were investigated.

Methods

Cell growth inhibition was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL stain, transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry on cultured cells and tissue sections from nude mice xenografts. The apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl-2 were assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Results

We found that treatment of ChA21 caused a dose-dependent decrease of cell proliferation in vitro and a significant inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. ChA21 therapy led to a significant increase in the induction of apoptosis, and up-regulated the expression of Bax, while the expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated.

Conclusion

These data suggest that ChA21 inhibits the growth and induces apoptosis of SK-OV-3 via regulating the balance between Bax and Bcl-2.
The International Documentation and Evaluation System IDES: a single center observational case series for development of an ankle prosthesis documentation questionnaire and study of its feasibility and face validity
Authors: Diel Peter , Thier Christoph , Aghayev Emin , Preis Markus , Dudda Marcel , Espinosa Norman , Röder Christoph
Published: March 2010

Background

The number of implanted total ankle replacements is increasing and most articles present short‐ and mid‐term results. Comparison of outcomes is difficult because of inconsistent terminology and different use of parameters.

Materials and methods

We created a module for total ankle prostheses in the framework of the International Documentation and Evaluation System (IDES). Content development was conducted with an iterative process based on a single surgeon series of 74 HINTEGRA©total ankle replacements and expert opinions.

Results

The IDES ankle module comprises three forms A, B and C for recording of primary (A), revision (B) and followup (C) procedures. 74 primary interventions, 28 revisions and 92 followups could be documented in detail with the final version of the questionnaires.

Conclusion

The IDES‐forms facilitate a structured and standardized data collection for total ankle arthroplasties. Implemented on the academic MEMdoc portalhttp://www.memdoc.orgof the University of Bern, all registered users can make use of IDES in its online or paper based versions.
Newborn of mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis: the importance of thyroid function monitoring in the first months of life
Authors: Rovelli Rosanna , Vigone Maria Cristina , Giovanettoni Chiara , Passoni Arianna , Maina Ludovica , Corrias Andrea , Corbetta Carlo , Mosca Fabio , Chiumello Giuseppe , Weber Giovanna
Published: March 2010

Background

evaluation of thyroid function in neonates born from mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis in order to define if a precise follow-up is necessary for these children. The influence of maternal thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and L-thyroxine therapy during pregnancy on neonatal thyroid function was also investigated.

Methods

129 neonates were tested for thyroid function by measurement of free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in 3th day, 15th day and at one month of life. TPOAb were measured in all patients; periodical control of thyroid function were performed until 6 months of life if Ab were positive. Data concerning etiology of maternal hypothyroidism and maternal replacement therapy with L-thyroxine during pregnancy were retrospectively collected.

Results

28% neonates showed at least a mild increase of TSH value at the different determinations. In the majority of them, a spontaneous completely normalisation of TSH value was observed within the first month life. L-thyroxine replacement therapy was started in 3 neonates. TPOAb titer and maternal L-thyroxine replacement therapy were not related to alteration of thyroid hormone function in our study population.

Conclusions

transient mild elevation of serum TSH above the normal reference value for age is frequently observed in the first month of life in infants born from mothers affected by autoimmune thyroiditis. Persistent hyperthyrotropinemia requiring replacement therapy is observed in 2.2% of these neonates. According to our experience, follow-up is recommended in these newborns; the most accurate and not invasive way to carefully monitor these infants after neonatal screening for CH seems to be serum-testing TSH between 2ndand 4th week of life.
The relationship between CD4+CD25+CD127- regulatory T cells and inflammatory response and outcome during shock states
Authors: Hein François , Massin Frédéric , Cravoisy-Popovic Aurélie , Barraud Damien , Levy Bruno , Bollaert Pierre-Edouard , Gibot Sébastien
Published: March 2010

Introduction

Although regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) have a pivotal role in preventing autoimmune diseases and limiting chronic inflammatory conditions, they may also block beneficial immune responses by preventing sterilizing immunity to certain pathogens.

Methods

To determine whether naturally occurring Treg cells have a role in inflammatory response and outcome during shock state we conducted an observational study in two adult ICUs from a university hospital. Within 12 hours of admission, peripheral whole blood was collected for the measurement of cytokines and determination of lymphocyte count. Sampling was repeated at day three, five and seven. Furthermore, an experimental septic shock was induced in adult Balb/c mice through caecal ligation and puncture.

Results

Forty-three patients suffering from shock (26 septic, 17 non septic), and 7 healthy volunteers were included. The percentage of Tregs increased as early as 3 days after the onset of shock, while their absolute number remained lower than in healthy volunteers. A similar pattern of Tregs kinetics was found in infected and non infected patients. Though there was an inverse correlation between severity scores and Tregs percentage, the time course of Tregs was similar between survivors and non survivors. No relation between Tregs and cytokine concentration was found. In septic mice, although there was a rapid increase in Treg cells subset among splenocytes, antibody-induced depletion of Tregs before the onset of sepsis did not alter survival.

Conclusions

These data argue against a determinant role of Tregs in inflammatory response and outcome during shock states.
Detection and correction of false segmental duplications caused by genome mis-assembly
Authors: Kelley David R , Salzberg Steven L
Published: March 2010

Diploid genomes with divergent chromosomes present special problems for assembly software as two copies of especially polymorphic regions may be mistakenly constructed, creating the appearance of a recent segmental duplication. We developed a method for identifying such false duplications and applied it to four vertebrate genomes. For each genome, we corrected mis-assemblies, improved estimates of the amount of duplicated sequence, and recovered polymorphisms between the sequenced chromosomes.
Glucose Intolerance and Impaired Insulin Secretion in Pancreas-Specific Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-3 Knockout Mice Are Associated with Microvascular Alterations in the Pancreas
Authors: Kostromina Elena , Gustavsson Natalia , Wang Xiaorui , Lim Chun-Yan , Radda George K. , Li Cai , Han Weiping
Published: March 2010

Maintenance of glucose homeostasis depends on adequate amount and precise pattern of insulin secretion, which is determined by both β-cell secretory processes and well-developed microvascular network within endocrine pancreas. The development of highly organized microvasculature and high degrees of capillary fenestrations in endocrine pancreas is greatly dependent on vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) from islet cells. However, it is unclear how VEGF-A production is regulated in endocrine pancreas. To understand whether signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3 is involved in VEGF-A regulation and subsequent islet and microvascular network development, we generated a mouse line carrying pancreas-specific deletion of STAT3 (p-KO) and performed physiological analyses both in vivo and using isolated islets, including glucose and insulin tolerance tests, and insulin secretion measurements. We also studied microvascular network and islet development by using immunohistochemical methods. The p-KO mice exhibited glucose intolerance and impaired insulin secretion in vivo but normal insulin secretion in isolated islets. Microvascular density in the pancreas was reduced in p-KO mice, along with decreased expression of VEGF-A, but not other vasotropic factors in islets in the absence of pancreatic STAT3 signaling. Together, our study suggests that pancreatic STAT3 signaling is required for the normal development and maintenance of endocrine pancreas and islet microvascular network, possibly through its regulation of VEGF-A.
The Highly Conserved Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-2 Form Acts as a Melatonin-Releasing Factor in the Pineal of a Teleost Fish, the European Sea Bass Dicentrarchus labrax
Authors: Servili Arianna , Lethimonier Christèle , Lareyre Jean-Jacques , López-Olmeda José Fernando , Sánchez-Vázquez Francisco Javier , Kah Olivier , Muñoz-Cueto José Antonio
Published: March 2010

With the exception of modern mammals, most vertebrate species possess two GnRH genes, GnRH-1 and GnRH-2. In addition, in many teleost fish, there is a third gene called GnRH-3. If the main function of GnRH-1 is unambiguously to stimulate gonadotropin release, the other two GnRH forms still lack clear functions. This is particularly true for the highly conserved GnRH-2 that encodes chicken GnRH-II. This GnRH variant is consistently expressed in neurons of the dorsal synencephalon in most vertebrate groups but still has no clear functions supported by anatomical, pharmacological, and physiological data. In this study performed on a perciform fish, the European sea bass, we show for the first time that the pineal organ receives GnRH-2-immunoreactive fibers originating from the synencephalic GnRH-2 neurons. This was shown through a combination of retrograde tracing and immunohistochemistry, using highly specific antibodies. Supporting the presence of GnRH-2 functional targets, RT-PCR data together with the in situ hybridization studies showed that the sea bass pineal gland strongly expressed a GnRH receptor (dlGnRHR-II-2b) with clear selectivity for GnRH-2 and, to a lesser extent, the dlGnRHR-II-1a subtype. Finally, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate stimulatory effects of GnRH-2 on nocturnal melatonin secretion by the sea bass pineal organ. Altogether, these data provide, for the first time in a vertebrate species, converging evidence supporting a role of GnRH-2 in the modulation of fish pineal functions.
Activity of Retinoic Acid Receptor-alpha Is Directly Regulated at Its Protein Kinase A Sites in Response to Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Signaling
Authors: Santos Nadine C. , Kim Kwan Hee
Published: March 2010

Retinoic acid receptor-α (RARA) is crucial for germ cell development in the testis, as shown by the degenerated testis in Rara gene knockout mice, which are sterile. Similarly, FSH is known to regulate Sertoli cell proliferation and differentiation, indirectly controlling the quantity of the spermatogenic output. Interestingly, FSH inhibited, via activation of FSH receptor, cAMP, and protein kinase A (PKA), the nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of RARA. Given that retinoic acid, the ligand for RARA, is known to regulate cell proliferation and differentiation, we investigated whether FSH regulates RARA by a direct posttranslational phosphorylation mechanism. Mutagenesis of serine 219 (S219) and S369 at the PKA sites on RARA to either double alanines or double glutamic acids showed that both PKA sites are important for RARA activity. The negative charges at the PKA sites, whether they are from glutamic acids or phosphorylation of serines, decreased the nuclear localization of RARA, heterodimerization with retinoid X receptor-α, and the transcriptional activity of the receptor. On the other hand, the double-alanine mutant that cannot be phosphorylated at the 219 and 369 amino acid positions did not respond to cAMP and PKA activation. Wild-type and double-mutant RARA interacted with PKA, but only in the presence of cAMP or FSH. These results together suggest that FSH may regulate cell proliferation and differentiation of Sertoli cells, at least partially, by directly affecting the PKA sites of RARA and controlling the transcriptional function of the receptor.
Amount of Bone Loss in Relation to Time around the Final Menstrual Period and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Staging of the Transmenopause
Authors: Sowers MaryFran R. , Zheng Huiyong , Jannausch Mary L. , McConnell Daniel , Nan Bin , Harlow Sioban , Randolph John F.
Published: March 2010

Background and Objective: The objective of the study was to describe bone loss rates across the transmenopause related to FSH staging and the final menstrual period (FMP).

Design and Setting: This was a population-based cohort of 629 women (baseline age 24–44 yr) with annual data points over 15 yr.

Measurements: Measures were bone mineral density (BMD), FSH to define four FSH stages, and menstrual bleeding cessation to define the FMP. Bone loss rates were reported by obesity status.

Results: Annualized rates of lumbar spine bone loss began in FSH stage 3, which occurs approximately 2 yr prior to the FMP (1.67%/yr); bone loss continued into FSH stage 4 (1.21%/yr). Mean spine BMD in FSH stage 4 was 6.4% less than spine BMD value in FSH stage 1. Annualized rates of femoral neck (FN) bone loss began in FSH stage 3 (0.55%/yr) and continued into FSH stage 4 (0.72%/yr). The FN difference between mean values in FSH stage 1 and FSH stage 4 was 5%. Annualized rates of spine bone loss in the 2 yr prior to the FMP were 1.7%/yr, 3.3%/yr in the 2 yr after the FMP, and 1.1%/yr in the 2- to 7-yr period after the FMP. Nonobese women had lower BMD levels and greater bone loss rates.

Conclusions: Spine and FN bone loss accelerates in FSH stage 3. Bone loss also began to accelerate 2 yr before the FMP with the greatest loss occurring in the 2 yr after the FMP. Bone loss rates in both spine and FN BMD were greater in nonobese women than obese women.
Revisiting Bialik: A Radical Mizrahi Reading of the Jewish National Poet
Authors: Chetrit Sami Shalom
Published: March 2010

In this essay I offer a radical Mizrahi reading of the poetry of the Ashkenazi Zionist poet Haim Nahman Bialik—that is, a reading that examines Jewish and Israeli history and culture through the radical Mizrahi discourse that has evolved in Israel during the past generation, as part of Mizrahi resistance to the cultural and social oppression of Mizrahim. Equipped with these critical lenses, I read Bialik's poems both in the context of their own time and in the Israeli context of my own life. I focus on three poems that I believe are central to his national poetry: “To the Bird” (“El Hatzipor”) from 1892, “A Small Missive” (“Igeret Ktana”) from 1893, and “City of the Killings” (“Be'ir Hahareiga”) from 1903. I also examine alongside these poems two of Bialik's lesser known lectures: “The Revival of the Sephardim” (“Tchiyat Hasefaradim”), which he gave to an audience of young Sephardim in Jerusalem in 1926, and “Eretz Yisrael,” (“The Land of Israel”), which he delivered to Jewish youths in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, 1929.

In the course of the essay, I argue that by configuring Arab-Jews (Jews from the Arab world) and, with greater vigor, Palestinians, as those who live outside of history, Zionist historiography has enabled both the economic dispossession and cultural oppression of these groups, including their uprooting and relocation from one region to another. A close and retrospective reading of “poems of diaspora and redemption” written by Bialik and his contemporaries reveals the Orientalist and colonialist world view held by the Ashkenazi-Zionists. By speaking always of Sephardicness but not Jewish-Arabness, Bialik acts as a pioneer of the de-Arabization of Arab Jews and their culture, a trend that grew evermore deeply entrenched in Israel's official policy towards Mizrahi Jews. Indeed, it was Bialik—the institution and the literary symbol—who served three generations of Zionist educators devoted to writing a new Jewish history from which the Jews who lived in Arab and Islamic lands during the last few centuries were erased.
The Art of Revolt: Rebellion in the Works of Bertran de Born and Julia Kristeva
Authors: Sunderland Luke
Published: March 2010

This article proposes a comparison between the ethics of rebellion developed in recent publications by Julia Kristeva and in the medieval poetry of Bertran de Born. Both Kristeva and Bertran see revolt as a continuous and crucial process of transformation and questioning, of renewal and regeneration, rather than mindless, nihilistic rejection and destruction. Neither has a purely political conception of revolt; instead, they define it as an ethical, artistic, and psychic activity that is the ultimate guarantee of man's dignity, integrity, independence, and creative capacities. In both writers' works we see an ambivalent relationship to father figures and a desire to challenge the Oedipal pact demanded by the symbolic by means of a literary act of defiance that involves a move beyond meaning and sense. Moving away from her earlier focus on poetry, Kristeva turns to Louis Aragon, Roland Barthes, and Jean-Paul Sartre for examples of this defiance. Yet Aragon himself looked to Bertran de Born as a poet in revolt, and the poetic form remains a better venue for the expression of what Kristeva terms the semiotic—that is, the rhythmic bodily forces that resist reduction to the symbolic. Bertran envisages a vital and bellicose society in which violent impulses are given free rein. His poems earned him a place in the medieval imagination as a highly dangerous figure bent on provoking uprisings: thus Dante placed him in Hell, carrying his own severed head. Bertran's oeuvre, then, demonstrates the role literature can play within a culture of revolt. Ultimately, the article argues that a politics of resistance to dominant cultural forces transcends differences in time and form and suggests a new “use” for the Middle Ages within modern theory.
The Russian Betrayal of G.k. Chesterton'sThe Man Who Was Thursday
Authors: Harriman Lucas H.
Published: March 2010

A transcultural adaptation of a literary work often reveals aspects of the original that had previously been obscured in its native context. In a similar vein, a creative reading that truly attempts to do justice to its object might be said to betray it, both in the traditional sense of being unfaithful to mainstream interpretations of the text and in the more revelatory sense of the word whereby a reading betrays, or divulges, a previously unacknowledged aspect of the work. This essay considers a particularly provocative “betrayal” of G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday by the Russian director Alexander Tairov. This fantastic novel by Chesterton is itself the site of multiple betrayals, both in the plot-level reversals of its characters and in its use of the oscillating narrative style characteristic of the fantastic literary mode. The resulting undecidability of the work makes it difficult to interpret confidently, although this doesn't stop some readers from assuming such epistemological confidence. I suggest that “faithful” readers of the text, including the retrospective author himself, err when they attribute a fixed meaning to the novel, viewing it as a straightforward, culturally reactionary “anti-anarchist romance,” and thereby precluding other, more politicized, readings. By staging a creative betrayal of the novel in 1920s Moscow, Tairov and Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, who was commissioned to write the script, reactivate certain elements of the work obscured by attempts to firmly establish its interpretation. In the context of the revaluation of fidelity accomplished in recent ethical discourse, I ultimately argue that an appreciation for the revelatory potential of such literary betrayals can foster an openness to the unknown that is vital for meaningful, decisive cooperation in an ethico-political sphere that is incurably undecidable.
Nabokov and Pellico:Invitation to a BeheadingandMy Prisons
Authors: Shapiro Gavriel
Published: March 2010

Among the various texts that Nabokov consulted when writing Invitation to a Beheading was his father's Prison Pastimes (Tiuremnye dosugi, 1908), which Nabokov senior wrote after spending three months in St. Petersburg Kresty prison for having been a signatory to the Vyborg Manifesto, a document that the Tsarist government found inflammatory. Prison Pastimes was itself evidently influenced by Silvio Pellico's My Prisons (Le mie prigioni), a French translation of which (Mes prisons) is listed in the catalogue of V. D. Nabokov's voluminous library. Moreover, Nabokov himself had apparently read the French translation of Pellico's memoir in his youth, and his life-long fascination with Pushkin and Gogol, both of whom were attentive readers of Pellico, brought the works of this Italian writer into the orbit of his own literary interests. In this essay, I argue that, in all likelihood, Nabokov made use of Pellico's memoir when composing his own “prison novel,” Invitation to a Beheading. I support this supposition by identifying both a considerable number of significant parallels between My Prisons and Invitation to a Beheading and certain polemics on the part of Nabokov with his Italian predecessor. Whereas Pellico expresses a belief in the general goodness of humanity and advocates forgiveness of his oppressors, Nabokov demonstrates that in the “Communazist” era and its aftermath only an unrelenting and firm resistance to oppressors, not their absolution, will bring down tyrannies and lead to triumph over totalitarianism—an important ethical lesson for our civilization today.
To Be or Not to Be an Israeli Arab: Sayed Kashua and the Prospect of Minority Speech-Acts
Authors: Hochberg Gil
Published: March 2010

This essay is dedicated to the writings of Sayed Kashua, the young Israeli Palestinian novelist, journalist, and screenwriter who has become a central, if controversial, figure within the Israeli public domain: a target of both political and literary praise and blame. Specifically the essay examines Kashua's active participation in the Israeli (Hebrew) public sphere and the way in which his writings take part in the construction of a critical minority discourse. By this I do not simply mean the obvious: that, as a Palestinian citizen of Israel, Kashua occupies a minority position, which is therefore “reflected” in his writing. To the contrary, I argue that what is significant about Kashua's writings is that they seem to engage in the destruction of the very perception of coherent and natural “national affiliations” as they call attention to the discursive processes through which the Israeli Arab/Palestinian is created as a national minority who as such is also (and necessarily so) a traitor, an inauthentic Palestinian, a wannabe Jew, in short, a failed identity. Indeed, Kashua's insistence on his “Israeliness” (by writing in Hebrew, referring to himself as an Israeli Arab, and rejecting the demand that he be more “authentically Arab”), while repeatedly documenting the impossibility of actually being an Israeli-Arab or Israeli-Palestinian, draws attention to the limits of any national discourse as such to successfully account for the question of minorities. Regarding the experience of the Israeli Palestinian as a site of productive ironic performativity, Kashua's texts, I conclude, break open the monolithic image of the nation, exposing the inherent violence and contradictions involved in positioning Israel as a “Jewish State” and in situating Israeli Palestinians as incomplete members of either Israeli or Palestinian (national) collectives.
On Pitch-Class Set Cartography
Authors: Hoffman Justin
Published: March 2010

Recent music-theoretical research has proposed two ways of mapping the pitch-class set universe. Fourier spaces, constructed by Quinn, relate sets to one another based upon their composition from members of interval cycles, reflecting what might be called “harmonic quality.” Voice-leading spaces, generalized by Callender, Quinn, and Tymoczko, illustrate voice-leading relationships between sets. Though many researchers have noted hints of a relationship between these two types of space, their exact relation remains murky.

One way of relating these two spaces involves associating voice leading with motion through Fourier space. Voice-leading displacements of each of the six interval classes can be associated with specific changes of position in each of the six Fourier spaces for twelve-tone equal temperament. Likewise, displacement spaces, showing all of the sets that can be related by voice-leading displacements of a particular interval class, model predictable motion through each of the Fourier spaces.
The Explanation of Amour-Propre
Authors: Kolodny Niko
Published: March 2010

Rousseau's thought is marked by an optimism and a pessimism that each evoke, at least in the right mood, a feeling of recognition difficult to suppress. We have an innate capacity for virtue, and with it freedom and happiness. Yet our present social conditions instill in us a restless craving for superiority, which leads to vice, and with it bondage and misery. Call this the “thesis of possible goodness”: that while human psychology is such that men become wicked under the conditions in which we now find them, nevertheless men would be, or have been, good under other conditions. It is surprisingly difficult, or at least surprisingly complicated, however, to articulate even a possible psychology that would explain the thesis of possible goodness. Interpretations of Rousseau, even several to which the author of this essay is highly indebted, have not fully engaged, I think, with the complications. This essay tries to reconstruct psychological principles that would explain the thesis and that are at least consistent with what Rousseau otherwise says on the subject. Much of the value of this exercise, however, lies not in the particulars of the resulting psychology but rather in the depth of the tension between Rousseau's optimism and his pessimism that it reveals.