bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Self-Rated Anosognosia Score May Be a Sensitive and Predictive Indicator for Progressive Brain Atrophy in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An X-Ray Computed Tomographic Study
Authors: Ichikawa Hiroo , Ohno Hideki , Murakami Hidetomo , Ishigaki Seiichiro , Ohnaka Yohei , Kawamura Mitsuru
Published: December 2012

We investigated whether a self-rated anosognosia score can be an indicator for progression of brain atrophy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Scores for 16 patients were compared with the ventricular areas of the bilateral anterior and inferior horns measured on x-ray computed tomography. Longitudinal enlargement was expressed as a monthly increase in size: (ventricular size at the initial scan – ventricular size at the follow-up scan)/scan interval (months). The anosognosia scores ranged from –4 to 3 and 3–18 in patients with and without frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), respectively (p = 0.0011). Anosognosia scores were significantly correlated with sizes of anterior (r = 0.704, p = 0.0016) and inferior (r = 0.898, p < 0.0001) horns. In non-demented patients for whom follow-up CT scans were available (n = 7), the scores were significantly correlated with the longitudinal increase in inferior horn size (r = 0.754, p = 0.0496), but not with that of anterior horn size (r = –0.166, p = 0.7111). In conclusion, anosognosia in ALS is associated with greater anterior and inferior horn sizes, reflecting frontotemporal lobar atrophy. Moreover, mild anosognosia in ALS patients without FTLD may predict impending inferior horn enlargement, reflecting medial temporal atrophy.
Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 Mediates Cardiac Hypertrophy, Apoptosis, and Fibrosis in Experimentally Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy
Authors: Sun Bo , Huo Rong , Sheng Yue , Li Yue , Xie Xin , Chen Chang , Liu Hui-Bin , Li Na , Li Cheng-Bo , Guo Wen-Ting , Zhu Jiu-Xin , Yang Bao-Feng , Dong De-Li
Published: December 2012

Identifying the key factor mediating pathological cardiac hypertrophy is critically important for developing the strategy to protect against heart failure. Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) is a mechanosensitive and proinflammatory gene. In this study, we investigated the role of BMP4 in cardiac hypertrophy, apoptosis, and fibrosis in experimentally pathological cardiac hypertrophy. The in vivo pathological cardiac hypertrophy models were induced by pressure-overload and angiotensin (Ang) II constant infusion in mice, and the in vitro model was induced by Ang II exposure to cultured cardiomyocytes. The expression of BMP4 increased in pressure overload, Ang II constant infusion-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy, but not in swimming exercise-induced physiological cardiac hypertrophy in mice. BMP4 expression also increased in Ang II–induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro. In turn, BMP4 induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis, and cardiac fibrosis, and these pathological consequences were inhibited by the treatment with BMP4 inhibitors noggin and DMH1. Moreover, Ang II–induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was inhibited by BMP4 inhibitors. The underlying mechanism that BMP4-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and apoptosis was through increasing NADPH oxidase 4 expression and reactive oxygen species-dependent pathways. Lentivirus-mediated overexpression of BMP4 recapitulated hypertrophy and apoptosis in cultured cardiomyocytes. BMP4 inhibitor DMH1 inhibited pressure overload–induced cardiac hypertrophy in mice in vivo. The plasma BMP4 level of heart failure patients was increased compared with that of subjects without heart failure. In summary, we conclude that BMP4 is a mediator and novel therapeutic target for pathological cardiac hypertrophy.
Virtual Lesion of Angular Gyrus Disrupts the Relationship between Visuoproprioceptive Weighting and Realignment
Authors: Block Hannah , Bastian Amy , Celnik Pablo
Published: December 2012

Posterior parietal cortex is thought to be involved in multisensory processes such as sensory weighting (how much different modalities are represented in sensory integration) and realignment (recalibrating the estimates given by unisensory inputs relative to each other, e.g., when viewing the hand through prisms). Sensory weighting and realignment are biologically independent but can be correlated such that the lowest-weighted modality realigns most. This is important for movement precision because it results in the brain's estimate of hand position favoring the more reliable (higher-weighted) modality. It is unknown if this interaction is an emergent property of separate neural pathways for weighting and realignment or if it is actively mediated by a common substrate. We applied disruptive TMS to the angular gyrus near the intraparietal sulcus (PGa) before participants performed a task with misaligned visual and proprioceptive information about hand position. Visuoproprioceptive weighting and realignment were unaffected. However, the relationship between weighting and realignment, found in control conditions, was absent after TMS in the angular gyrus location. This suggests that a specific region in the angular gyrus actively mediates the interaction between visuoproprioceptive weighting and realignment and may thus play a role in the decreased movement precision associated with posterior parietal lesions.
Differences in Brain Activity during a Verbal Associative Memory Encoding Task in High- and Low-fit Adolescents
Authors: Herting Megan M. , Nagel Bonnie J.
Published: December 2012

Aerobic fitness is associated with better memory performance as well as larger volumes in memory-related brain regions in children, adolescents, and elderly. It is unclear if aerobic exercise also influences learning and memory functional neural circuitry. Here, we examine brain activity in 17 high-fit (HF) and 17 low-fit (LF) adolescents during a subsequent memory encoding paradigm using fMRI. Despite similar memory performance, HF and LF youth displayed a number of differences in memory-related and default mode (DMN) brain regions during encoding later remembered versus forgotten word pairs. Specifically, HF youth displayed robust deactivation in DMN areas, including the ventral medial PFC and posterior cingulate cortex, whereas LF youth did not show this pattern. Furthermore, LF youth showed greater bilateral hippocampal and right superior frontal gyrus activation during encoding of later remembered versus forgotten word pairs. Follow-up task-dependent functional correlational analyses showed differences in hippocampus and DMN activity coupling during successful encoding between the groups, suggesting aerobic fitness during adolescents may impact functional connectivity of the hippocampus and DMN during memory encoding. To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the influence of aerobic fitness on hippocampal function and memory-related neural circuitry using fMRI. Taken together with previous research, these findings suggest aerobic fitness can influence not only memory-related brain structure, but also brain function.
Embodied Spirituality
Authors: Ulland Dagfinn
Published: December 2012

The main findings on embodied spirituality within the Toronto Blessing are presented in this article. The aim of this study is to interpret ecstatic religious experiences from a psychological point of view. The theoretical framework is interdisciplinary, using theories from ego-psychology, social psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and ritual theory. Regarding the latter notion, Thomas Csordas has developed cultural phenomenology, which is a culturally constructed way of understanding a situation through using bodily senses in a sort of sensory engagement that is linked with inter-subjectivity. This way of thinking assumes that the body can impart knowledge and help us understand apparently non-rational phenomena. Ecstatic phenomena can be interpreted as bodily knowledge, a habitus, stored or saved in the body to be later activated in a cultural and ritual context.
Why the Poor Play the Lottery: Sociological Approaches to Explaining Class-based Lottery Play
Authors: Beckert Jens , Lutter Mark
Published: December 2012

Why do the poor spend more on lottery tickets than their wealthier and better educated peers? While social scientists generally agree that there is an inverse relationship between socio-economic position and patterns of lottery play, there is debate on what factors cause lottery gambling. Using survey data from a nationwide probability sample, we test three sociological approaches – socio-structural, cultural and social network accounts – to explain why the poor play the lottery. While controlling for cognitive bias theory, we find that peer play, educational attainment and self-perceived social deprivation have strong effects on lottery play. Culture, the study finds, plays a much lesser role. Although lottery players demonstrate fatalistic value orientations, it is not a lack of a ‘Protestant’ work ethic that makes the poor spend proportionally more on lottery tickets. The findings of this study generally point to the importance of social structures in explaining lottery gambling.
Genome characterization and population genetic structure of the zoonotic pathogen, Streptococcus canis
Authors: Richards Vincent P , Zadoks Ruth N , Pavinski Bitar Paulina D , Lefébure Tristan , Lang Ping , Werner Brenda , Tikofsky Linda , Moroni Paolo , Stanhope Michael J
Published: December 2012

Background

Streptococcus canis is an important opportunistic pathogen of dogs and cats that can also infect a wide range of additional mammals including cows where it can cause mastitis. It is also an emerging human pathogen.

Results

Here we provide characterization of the first genome sequence for this species, strain FSL S3-227 (milk isolate from a cow with an intra-mammary infection). A diverse array of putative virulence factors was encoded by the S. canis FSL S3-227 genome. Approximately 75% of these gene sequences were homologous to known Streptococcal virulence factors involved in invasion, evasion, and colonization. Present in the genome are multiple potentially mobile genetic elements (MGEs) [plasmid, phage, integrative conjugative element (ICE)] and comparison to other species provided convincing evidence for lateral gene transfer (LGT) between S. canis and two additional bovine mastitis causing pathogens (Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae), with this transfer possibly contributing to host adaptation. Population structure among isolates obtained from Europe and USA [bovine = 56, canine = 26, and feline = 1] was explored. Ribotyping of all isolates and multi locus sequence typing (MLST) of a subset of the isolates (n = 45) detected significant differentiation between bovine and canine isolates (Fisher exact test: P = 0.0000 [ribotypes], P = 0.0030 [sequence types]), suggesting possible host adaptation of some genotypes. Concurrently, the ancestral clonal complex (54% of isolates) occurred in many tissue types, all hosts, and all geographic locations suggesting the possibility of a wide and diverse niche.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence highlighting the importance of LGT in the evolution of the bacteria S. canis, specifically, its possible role in host adaptation and acquisition of virulence factors. Furthermore, recent LGT detected between S. canis and human bacteria (Streptococcus urinalis) is cause for concern, as it highlights the possibility for continued acquisition of human virulence factors for this emerging zoonotic pathogen.
Determination of the differential expression of mitochondrial long non-coding RNAs as a noninvasive diagnosis of bladder cancer
Authors: Rivas Alexis , Burzio Verónica , Landerer Eduardo , Borgna Vincenzo , Gatica Sebastian , Ávila Rodolfo , López Constanza , Villota Claudio , de la Fuente Rodrigo , Echenique Javiera , Burzio Luis O , Villegas Jaime
Published: December 2012

Background

Bladder cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality with a high recurrence rate. Early detection of bladder cancer is essential in order to remove the tumor, to preserve the organ and to avoid metastasis. The aim of this study was to analyze the differential expression of mitochondrial non-coding RNAs (sense and antisense) in cells isolated from voided urine of patients with bladder cancer as a noninvasive diagnostic assay.

Methods

The differential expression of the sense (SncmtRNA) and the antisense (ASncmtRNAs) transcripts in cells isolated from voided urine was determined by fluorescent in situ hybridization. The test uses a multiprobe mixture labeled with different fluorophores and takes about 1 hour to complete. We examined the expression of these transcripts in cells isolated from urine of 24 patients with bladder cancer and from 15 healthy donors.

Results

This study indicates that the SncmtRNA and the ASncmtRNAs are stable in cells present in urine. The test reveals that the expression pattern of the mitochondrial transcripts can discriminate between normal and tumor cells. The analysis of 24 urine samples from patients with bladder cancer revealed expression of the SncmtRNA and down-regulation of the ASncmtRNAs. Exfoliated cells recovered from the urine of healthy donors do not express these mitochondrial transcripts. This is the first report showing that the differential expression of these mitochondrial transcripts can detect tumor cells in the urine of patients with low and high grade bladder cancer.

Conclusion

This pilot study indicates that fluorescent in situ hybridization of cells from urine of patients with different grades of bladder cancer confirmed the tumor origin of these cells. Samples from the 24 patients with bladder cancer contain cells that express the SncmtRNA and down-regulate the ASncmtRNAs. In contrast, the hybridization of the few exfoliated cells recovered from healthy donors revealed no expression of these mitochondrial transcripts. This assay can be explored as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for bladder cancer.
Clomiphene citrate versus high doses of gonadotropins for in vitrofertilisation in women with compromised ovarian reserve: a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial
Authors: Ragni Guido , Levi-Setti Paolo E , Fadini Rubens , Brigante Claudio , Scarduelli Claudia , Alagna Federica , Arfuso Veronica , Mignini-Renzini Mario , Candiani Massimo , Paffoni Alessio , Somigliana Edgardo
Published: December 2012

Background

The aim of the present randomised controlled non-inferiority trial is to test whether in women with compromised ovarian reserve requiring in vitro fertilisation, a protocol of ovarian stimulation using exclusively clomiphene citrate performs similarly to a regimen with high doses of gonadotropins.

Methods

Women with day 3 serum FSH > 12 IU/ml on at least two occasions or previous poor response to hyper-stimulation were recruited at four Italian infertility units. Selected women were allocated to clomiphene citrate 150 mg/day from day 3 to day 7 of the cycle (n=145) or to a short protocol with GnRH agonist 0.1 mg and recombinant FSH 450 IU daily (n=146). They were randomised by means of a computer-generated list into two groups. The study was not blinded. The main outcome of the study was the delivery rate per started cycle.

Results

The study was interrupted after the scheduled two years of recruitment before reaching the sample size. 148 women were allocated to clomiphene citrate and 156 to the short protocol with high doses of gonadotropins; 124 and 125 participants were analysed in the groups, respectively. Women allocated to high doses of gonadotropins retrieved more oocytes and had a higher probability to perform embryo-transfer. However, the chances of success were similar. The delivery rate per started cycle in women receiving clomiphene citrate and high-dose gonadotropins was 3% (n=5) and 5% (n=7), respectively (p=0.77). The mean estimated cost per delivery in the two groups was 81,294 and 113,107 Euros, respectively. No side-effects or adverse events were observed.

Conclusions

In women with compromised ovarian reserve selected for in vitro fertilisation, ovarian stimulation with clomiphene citrate or high-dose gonadotropins led to similar chances of pregnancy but the former is less expensive.

Trial registration

Trial registered on http://www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01389713)
Coupled fixed point theorems for α-ψ-contractive type mappings in partially ordered metric spaces
Authors: Mursaleen Mohammad , Mohiuddine Syed Abdul , Agarwal Ravi P
Published: December 2012

The object of this paper is to determine some coupled fixed point theorems for nonlinear contractive mappings in the framework of a metric space endowed with partial order. We also prove the uniqueness of a coupled fixed point for such mappings in this setup.

MSC:47H10, 54H25, 34B15.
Early dysregulation of the memory CD8+ T cell repertoire leads to compromised immune responses to secondary viral infection in the aged
Authors: Connor Lisa M , Kohlmeier Jacob E , Ryan Lynn , Roberts Alan D , Cookenham Tres , Blackman Marcia A , Woodland David L
Published: December 2012

Background

Virus-specific memory CD8+T cells persist long after infection is resolved and are important for mediating recall responses to secondary infection. Although the number of memory T cells remains relatively constant over time, little is known about the overall stability of the memory T cell pool, particularly with respect to T cell clonal diversity. In this study we developed a novel assay to measure the composition of the memory T cell pool in large cohorts of mice over time following respiratory virus infection.

Results

We find that the clonal composition of the virus-specific memory CD8+T cell pool begins to change within months of the initial infection. These early clonal perturbations eventually result in large clonal expansions that have been associated with ageing.

Conclusions

Maintenance of clonal diversity is important for effective long-term memory responses and dysregulation of the memory response begins early after infection.
Anti-rotaviral effects of Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract in piglets with rotavirus diarrhea
Authors: Alfajaro Mia Madel , Kim Hyun-Jeong , Park Jun-Gyu , Ryu Eun-Hye , Kim Ji-Yun , Jeong Young-Ju , Kim Deok-Song , Hosmillo Myra , Son Kyu-Yeol , Lee Ju-Hwan , Kwon Hyung-Jun , Ryu Young Bae , Park Su-Jin , Park Sang-Ik , Lee Woo Song , Cho Kyoung-Oh
Published: December 2012

Background

Since rotavirus is one of the leading pathogens that cause severe gastroenteritis and represents a serious threat to human and animal health, researchers have been searching for cheap, safe, and effective anti-rotaviral drugs. There is a widespread of interest in using natural products as antiviral agents, and among them, licorice derived from Glycyrrhiza spp. has exerted antiviral properties against several viruses. In this study, anti-rotaviral efficacy of Glycyrrhiza uralensis extract (GUE) as an effective and cheaper remedy without side-effects was evaluated in colostrums-deprived piglets after induction of rotavirus diarrhea.

Methods

Colostrums-deprived piglets were inoculated with porcine rotavirus K85 (G5P[7]) strain. On the onset of diarrhea, piglets were treated with different concentration of GUE. To evaluate the antiviral efficacy of GUE, fecal consistency score, fecal virus shedding and histological changes of the small intestine, mRNA expression levels of inflammation-related cytokines (IL8, IL10, IFN-β, IFN-γ and TNF-α), signaling molecules (p38 and JNK), and transcription factor (NFκB) in the small intestine and spleen were determined.

Results

Among the dosages (100-400 mg/ml) administrated to animals, 400 mg/ml of GUE cured diarrhea, and markedly improved small intestinal lesion score and fecal virus shedding. mRNA expression levels of inflammation-related cytokines (IL8, IL10, IFN-β, IFN-γ and TNF-α), signaling molecules (p38 and JNK), and transcription factor (NFκB) in the small intestine and spleen were markedly increased in animals with RVA-induced diarrhea, but dose- dependently decreased in GUE treated animals after RVA-induced diarrhea.

Conclusions

GUE cures rotaviral enteritis by coordinating antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. Therapy of this herbal medicine can be a viable medication for curing rotaviral enteritis in animals and humans.
Mutual information and variants for protein domain-domain contact prediction
Authors: Gomes Mireille , Hamer Rebecca , Reinert Gesine , Deane Charlotte M
Published: December 2012

Background

Predicting protein contacts solely based on sequence information remains a challenging problem, despite the huge amount of sequence data at our disposal. Mutual Information (MI), an information theory measure, has been extensively employed and modified to identify residues within a protein (intra-protein) that are in contact. More recently MI and its variants have also been used in the prediction of contacts between proteins (inter-protein).

Methods

Here we assess the predictive power of MI and variants for domain-domain contact prediction. We test original MI and these variants, which are called MIp, MIc and ZNMI, on 40 domain-domain test cases containing 10,753 sequences. We also propose and evaluate two new versions of MI that consider triangles of residues and the physiochemical properties of the amino acids, respectively.

Results

We found that all versions of MI are skewed towards predicting surface residues. Since domain-domain contacts are on the surface of each domain, we considered only surface residues when attempting to predict contacts. Our analysis shows that MIc is the best current MI domain-domain contact predictor. At 20% recall MIc achieved a precision of 44.9% when only surface residues were considered. Our triangle and reduced alphabet variants of MI highlight the delicate trade-off between signal and noise in the use of MI for domain-domain contact prediction. We also examine a specific “successful” case study and demonstrate that here, when considering surface residues, even the most accurate domain-domain contact predictor, MIc, performs no better than random.

Conclusions

All tested variants of MI are skewed towards predicting surface residues. When considering surface residues only, we find MIc to be the best current MI domain-domain contact predictor. Its performance, however, is not as good as a non-MI based contact predictor, i-Patch. Additionally, the intra-protein contact prediction capabilities of MIc outperform its domain-domain contact prediction abilities.
Heart type fatty acid binding protein response and subsequent development of atherosclerosis in insulin resistant polycystic ovary syndrome patients
Authors: Cakir Evrim , Ozbek Mustafa , Sahin Mustafa , Cakal Erman , Gungunes Askin , Ginis Zeynep , Demirci Taner , Delibasi Tuncay
Published: December 2012

Background

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Heart type fatty acid binding protein (HFABP) has been found to be predictive for myocardial ischemia.Wet ested whether HFABP is the predictor for CVD in PCOS patients, who have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Methods

This was a prospective, cross sectional controlled study conducted in a training and research hospital.The study population consisted of 46 reproductive-age PCOS women and 28 control subjects. We evaluated anthropometric and metabolic parameters, carotid intima media thickness and HFABP levels in both PCOS patients and control group.

Results

Mean fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, free testosterone, total testosterone, carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) levels were significantly higher in PCOS patients. Although HFABP levels were higher in PCOS patients, the difference did not reach statistically significant in early age groups. After adjustment for age and body mass index, HFABP level was positive correlated with hsCRP, free testosterone levels, CIMT and HOMA-IR.

Conclusions

Heart type free fatty acid binding protein appeared to have an important role in metabolic response and subsequent development of atherosclerosis in insulin resistant, hyperandrogenemic PCOS patients.
Phyllotaxis
Authors: Traas Jan
Published: December 2012

The precise arrangement of plant organs, also called phyllotaxis, has fascinated scientists from multiple disciplines. Whereas early work focused on morphological observations of phyllotaxis, recent findings have started to reveal the mechanisms behind this process, showing how molecular regulation and biochemical gradients interact with physical components to generate such precise patterns of growth. Here, I review new insights into the regulation of phyllotactic patterning and provide an overview of the various factors that can drive these robust growth patterns.
GPI biosynthesis is essential for rhodopsin sorting at the trans-Golgi network in Drosophila photoreceptors
Authors: Satoh Takunori , Inagaki Tsuyoshi , Liu Ziguang , Watanabe Reika , Satoh Akiko K.
Published: December 2012

Sorting of integral membrane proteins plays crucial roles in establishing and maintaining the polarized structures of epithelial cells and neurons. However, little is known about the sorting mechanisms of newly synthesized membrane proteins at the trans-Golgi network (TGN). To identify which genes are essential for these sorting mechanisms, we screened mutants in which the transport of Rhodopsin 1 (Rh1), an apical integral membrane protein in Drosophila photoreceptors, was affected. We found that deficiencies in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) synthesis and attachment processes cause loss of the apical transport of Rh1 from the TGN and mis-sorting to the endolysosomal system. Moreover, Na+K+-ATPase, a basolateral membrane protein, and Crumbs (Crb), a stalk membrane protein, were mistransported to the apical rhabdomeric microvilli in GPI-deficient photoreceptors. These results indicate that polarized sorting of integral membrane proteins at the TGN requires the synthesis and anchoring of GPI-anchored proteins. Little is known about the cellular biological consequences of GPI deficiency in animals in vivo. Our results provide new insights into the importance of GPI synthesis and aid the understanding of pathologies involving GPI deficiency.
Transmembrane/cytoplasmic, rather than catalytic, domains of Mmp14 signal to MAPK activation and mammary branching morphogenesis via binding to integrin β1
Authors: Mori Hidetoshi , Lo Alvin T. , Inman Jamie L. , Alcaraz Jordi , Ghajar Cyrus M. , Mott Joni D. , Nelson Celeste M. , Chen Connie S. , Zhang Hui , Bascom Jamie L. , Seiki Motoharu , Bissell Mina J.
Published: December 2012

Epithelial cell invasion through the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a crucial step in branching morphogenesis. The mechanisms by which the mammary epithelium integrates cues from the ECM with intracellular signaling in order to coordinate invasion through the stroma to make the mammary tree are poorly understood. Because the cell membrane-bound matrix metalloproteinase Mmp14 is known to play a key role in cancer cell invasion, we hypothesized that it could also be centrally involved in integrating signals for mammary epithelial cells (MECs) to navigate the collagen 1 (CL-1)-rich stroma of the mammary gland. Expression studies in nulliparous mice that carry a NLS-lacZ transgene downstream of the Mmp14 promoter revealed that Mmp14 is expressed in MECs at the tips of the branches. Using both mammary organoids and 3D organotypic cultures, we show that MMP activity is necessary for invasion through dense CL-1 (3 mg/ml) gels, but dispensable for MEC branching in sparse CL-1 (1 mg/ml) gels. Surprisingly, however, Mmp14 without its catalytic activity was still necessary for branching. Silencing Mmp14 prevented cell invasion through CL-1 and disrupted branching altogether; it also reduced integrin β1 (Itgb1) levels and attenuated MAPK signaling, disrupting Itgb1-dependent invasion/branching within CL-1 gels. FRET imaging revealed that Mmp14 associates directly with Itgb1. We identified a domain of Mmp14 that is required for modulating the levels of Itgb1, MEC signaling and the rate of invasion within CL-1. These results shed light on hitherto undescribed non-proteolytic activities of Mmp14 that are necessary for the Itgb1-dependent biochemical and mechanical signals that regulate branching in the mammary epithelium.
Developmentally coordinated extrinsic signals drive human pluripotent stem cell differentiation toward authentic DARPP-32+ medium-sized spiny neurons
Authors: Carri Alessia Delli , Onorati Marco , Lelos Mariah J. , Castiglioni Valentina , Faedo Andrea , Menon Ramesh , Camnasio Stefano , Vuono Romina , Spaiardi Paolo , Talpo Francesca , Toselli Mauro , Martino Gianvito , Barker Roger A. , Dunnett Stephen B. , Biella Gerardo , Cattaneo Elena
Published: December 2012

Medium-sized spiny neurons (MSNs) are the only neostriatum projection neurons, and their degeneration underlies some of the clinical features of Huntington’s disease. Using knowledge of human developmental biology and exposure to key neurodevelopmental molecules, human pluripotent stem (hPS) cells were induced to differentiate into MSNs. In a feeder-free adherent culture, ventral telencephalic specification is induced by BMP/TGFβ inhibition and subsequent SHH/DKK1 treatment. The emerging FOXG1+/GSX2+ telencephalic progenitors are then terminally differentiated, resulting in the systematic line-independent generation of FOXP1+/FOXP2+/CTIP2+/calbindin+/DARPP-32+ MSNs. Similar to mature MSNs, these neurons carry dopamine and A2a receptors, elicit a typical firing pattern and show inhibitory postsynaptic currents, as well as dopamine neuromodulation and synaptic integration ability in vivo. When transplanted into the striatum of quinolinic acid-lesioned rats, hPS-derived neurons survive and differentiate into DARPP-32+ neurons, leading to a restoration of apomorphine-induced rotation behavior. In summary, hPS cells can be efficiently driven to acquire a functional striatal fate using an ontogeny-recapitulating stepwise method that represents a platform for in vitro human developmental neurobiology studies and drug screening approaches.
BCAS2 is essential for Drosophila viability and functions in pre-mRNA splicing
Authors: Chen Po-Han , Lee Chia-I , Weng Yu-Tzu , Tarn Woan-Yuh , Tsao Yeou-Ping , Kuo Ping-Chang , Hsu Pang-Hung , Huang Chu-Wei , Huang Chiun-Sheng , Lee Hsiu-Hsiang , Wu June-Tai , Chen Show-Li
Published: December 2012

Here, we show that dBCAS2 (CG4980, human Breast Carcinoma Amplified Sequence 2 ortholog) is essential for the viability of Drosophila melanogaster. We find that ubiquitous or tissue-specific depletion of dBCAS2 leads to larval lethality, wing deformities, impaired splicing, and apoptosis. More importantly, overexpression of hBCAS2 rescues these defects. Furthermore, the C-terminal coiled-coil domain of hBCAS2 binds directly to CDC5L and recruits hPrp19/PLRG1 to form a core complex for splicing in mammalian cells and can partially restore wing damage induced by knocking down dBCAS2 in flies. In summary, Drosophila and human BCAS2 share a similar function in RNA splicing, which affects cell viability.
Exclusive Handset Arrangements in the Wireless Industry: A Competitive Analysis
Authors: Subramanian Upender , Raju Jagmohan S. , Zhang Z. John
Published: December 2012

In many markets, a handset vendor and a service provider may enter into a tie-in for a handset to be available exclusively through the service provider. We examine when and why a service provider and a handset vendor may find this arrangement mutually profitable. We find that an exclusive handset arrangement (EHA) may serve a dual strategic purpose. By restricting its handsets to one service provider, a handset vendor may be able to induce a rival handset vendor to compete less aggressively. At the same time, the service provider may be able to essentially raise a rival service provider's handset costs by limiting the handsets available to the rival. Interestingly, the handset vendor's market share may be higher when its handset is sold exclusively than when it is not. Our results might explain why EHAs seem more attractive in some markets than in others, why some service providers have exclusive arrangements even for handset models that do not seem popular, and how some handset vendors enjoy high market shares despite having many exclusive models. Furthermore, an EHA may lower the handset vendor's incentives to improve handset quality, supporting concerns raised by proponents of wireless network neutrality.
Successive Sample Selection and Its Relevance for Management Decisions
Authors: Wachtel Stephan , Otter Thomas
Published: December 2012

We reanalyze endogenous sample selection in the context of customer scoring, targeting, and influencing decisions. Scoring relies on ordered lists of probabilities that customers act in a way that contributes revenues, e.g., purchase something from the firm. Targeting identifies constrained sets of covariate patterns associated with high probabilities of these acts. Influencing aims at changing the probabilities that individual customers act accordingly through marketing activities. We show that successful targeting and influencing decisions require inference that controls for endogenous selection, whereas scoring can proceed relatively successfully based on simpler models that provide (local) approximations, capitalizing on spurious effects of observed covariates. To facilitate the type of inference required for targeting and influencing, we develop a prior that frees the analyst from having to specify (often arbitrary) exclusion restrictions for model identification a priori or to explicitly compare all possible models. We cover exclusions of observed as well as unobserved covariates that may cause the successive selections to be dependent. We automatically infer the dependence structure among selection stages using Markov chain Monte Carlo-based variable selection, before identifying the scale of latent variables. The adaptive parsimony achieved through our prior is particularly helpful in applications where the number of successive selections exceeds two, a relevant but underresearched situation.
Modeling Consumer Learning from Online Product Reviews
Authors: Zhao Yi , Yang Sha , Narayan Vishal , Zhao Ying
Published: December 2012

We propose a structural model to study the effect of online product reviews on consumer purchases of experiential products. Such purchases are characterized by limited repeat purchase behavior of the same product item (such as a book title) but significant past usage experience with other products of the same type (such as books of the same genre). To cope with the uncertainty in quality of the product item, we posit that consumers may learn from their experience with the same type of product and others' experiences with the product item. We model the review credibility as the precision with which product reviews reflect the consumer's own product evaluation. The higher the precision, the more credible the information obtained from product reviews for the consumer, and the larger the effect of reviews on the consumer's choice probabilities. We extend the Bayesian learning framework to model consumer learning on both product quality and review credibility. We apply the model to a panel data set of 1,919 book purchases by 243 consumers. We find that consumers learn more from online reviews of book titles than from their own experience with other books of the same genre. In the counterfactual analysis, we illustrate the profit impact of product reviews and how it varies with the number of reviews. We also study the phenomenon of fake reviews. We find that fake reviews increase consumer uncertainty. The effects of more positive reviews and more numerous reviews on consumer choice are smaller on online retailing platforms that have fake product reviews.
Cinematic Geography, Martial Arts Fantasy, and Tsui Hark's Wong Fei-hung Series
Authors: Song Weijie
Published: December 2012

This article considers an intriguing case of transnational cinematic geography, cultural translations,and productive appropriations in Hark's martial arts representations and (dis) enchanting "special effects" spectacle. No doubt, we can connect modern martial arts film with
the historical writings on assassins in Sima Qian's The Historical Records. As well as a broad range of martial arts novels published in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China in the 20th Century. This article also touches upon a great range of topics against the national and transnational
backgrounds.
Dark Side of Modernization: Bong Jun Ho's Memories of Murder (2003)
Authors: Noh Kwang Woo
Published: December 2012

In this paper, it will be examined how Bong Jun Ho's Memories of Murder (2003, 2005 U.S. release) deals with the collective memory of modernization in Korea. Being the second top at the box office in 2003 in Korea, the movie is a crime film/detective story based on a true story. It
is helpful to understand the historical background of modern Korea and its recent political and social conjuncture to understand the way Memories of Murder deals with the Korean past.
Nostalgia and Anticipation: A Case Study of Contemporary Japanese Melodrama
Authors: Yau Shuk-ting Kinnia
Published: December 2012

This article traces the economic, social, and cultural development of Japan over the past few decades. The first part of the paper describes and analyzes some of the underlying anxieties and desires of the Japanese that have resulted from their country's historical development, particularly
the burst of the economic bubble. The second part examines selected romantic melodramas that have been produced from the 1990s until recent years. It explores how the characterization and setting of these movies convey the nostalgic feeling of the Japanese towards their past, i.e. the time
before the burst of the bubble economy.
Chinese Cinema in the Global Age: Ashes of Time and the Human Condition
Authors: Sinkwan Cheng
Published: December 2012

This paper will explore human suffering arising from desire through exploring the subjective dimension of time. In the course of this analysis, we will be comparing and contrasting insights from Buddhism, Schopenhauer, and Lacan, three perspectives which demonstrate not only thematic
but also historical continuities and discontinuities
REVIEWS
Authors: Kruse Nathan B. , Jo Elisha , Veblen Kari
Published: December 2012

YOUNG @ HEART, STEPHEN WALKER (2007) Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Los Angeles,108 minutes, rating: PG

MUSICIANS AS LIFELONG LEARNERS: DISCOVERY THROUGH BIOGRAPHY, RINEKE SMILDE (2009) Delft: Eburon, 292 pp., ISBN: (10): 9059723015, ISBN: (13): 978-9059723016, p/bk, $
30.00

COMMUNITY MUSIC IN THEORY AND IN PRACTI CE, LEE HIGGINS (2012) New York: Oxford University Press, 229 pp., ISBN: 9780199777839, h/bk, $99.00, p/bk, $29.95
Facing the music – challenges and changes: Report from the research group Lifelong Learning in Music from the Netherlands
Authors: Smilde Rineke
Published: December 2012

This field report examines initiatives in music lifelong learning through the research network Lifelong Learning in Music (LLM) of the Prince Claus Conservatoire in the Netherlands. LLM collaborates with other schools on various projects. As well, there is an innovative masters programme
'New audiences and innovative practices' with a variety of partners.
Avortements et violences maternelles dans les œuvres de Lorette Nobécourt
Authors: Fréville Carine
Published: December 2012

The female characters in Lorette Nobécourt’s works have to cope with a multitude of types of violence: physical and verbal violence, rapes, miscarriages and abortions. A wide range of maternal relationships within the canon of her work showcase the notion of a repetition
of ambivalent, violent relationships with maternity through a female genealogy, which is characterized by suffering stemming from miscarriages and abortions. Motherhood is in fact at the centre of Nobécourt’s traumatic representations, shown both as a celebration and a desecration
of maternity and maternal violence. She undertakes a re-evaluation of the representations of both femininity and maternity. The aim of this article is to analyze how Nobécourt’s works enable the creation of a space for thought and of re-appropriation of the female body and of
the discourses surrounding it, redefining the subject ‘woman’.
Art photography at the ‘End of Temporality’
Authors: Burbridge Ben
Published: December 2012

This article examines a strain of contemporary art photography marked by its resemblance to earlier scientific motion studies as indicative of a wider ‘scientific turn’ in recent photographic art. Focusing on Sarah Pickering’s series Explosions (2008), Denis Darzacq’s
The Fall (2006), Ori Gersht’s Blow Up (2007) and Martin Klimas’ Flower Vases (2008), it addresses the conditions that have allowed for forms and methodologies associable with earlier scientific imagery to be reshaped as contemporary art, particularly the large-scale of recent ‘museum
photography’ and its self-conscious indeterminacy of meaning. Adopting a schematic approach based on the identification of similarity, I examine the implications of ambiguity and scale as inherent qualities of the work, along with the interpretations that the projects examined share.
Noting a potential formalism in artists’ repeated isolation of frozen motion, I anchor this interest in the medium-specific qualities of photography in two changes associated with digitization. Where digital post-production has placed pressure on traditional ontological understandings
of the medium, the projects are shown to offer a nostalgic return to ‘purer’ forms of photographic production. Drawing on Fredric Jameson’s 2003 essay, ‘The end of temporality’, I conclude by considering how the photographs may be implicated in wider transformations
to the construction and experience of time under late-capitalism.
REVIEWS
Authors: Gerber Marina , Smith Olga , Lafuente Pablo , Guglielmetti Mark , Plummer Sandra , Martinez Mark
Published: December 2012

PRODUKTIONSÄSTHETIK, SEBASTIAN EGENHOFER (2010) Zurich: Diaphanes, 229 pp., ISBN: 9783037341032, p/bk, €26.90

DENKEN GEGEN DAS DENKEN. PRODUKTION, TECHNOLOGIE, SUBJEKTIVITÄT BEI SOL LEWITT, YVONNE RAINER UND HELIO OITICICA, SABETH BUCHMANN (2007) Berlin: b_books, 309
pp., ISBN: 3933557607, p/bk, €32.00

MARTHA ROSLER: THE BOWERY IN TWO INADEQUATE DESCRIPTIVE SYSTEMS, STEVE EDWARDS (2012) Afterall Books, London, 112 pp., ISBN: -10: 1846380847, ISBN: -13: 978-1846380846, p/bk, £9.95

THE REBIRTH OF HISTORY: TIMES OF RIOTS AND UPRISINGS, ALAIN
BADIOU (2012) London and New York: Verso, pp. 120, ISBN: 1844678792, h/bk, £17.99

GENEALOGY AND ONTOLOGY OF THE WESTERN IMAGE AND ITS DIGITAL FUTURE, JOHN LECHTE (2012) London: Routledge, 216 pp., ISBN: 0415887151, p/bk, £80.75.

Touching Photographs, Margaret Olin (2012)
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, v + 273 pp., ISBN: 978-0-226-62646-8, p/bk, £22.50.

Alien Phenomenology, or What its like to Be a Thing, Ian Bogost (2012) Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 166 pp., ISBN: 9780816678983, p/bk, £13.50
Artificial life, André Bazin and Disney nature
Authors: Guglielmetti Mark
Published: December 2012

This article investigates artificial life image-making in relation to and as constituent of the moving image, specifically artificial life visualized in three-dimensional computer-generated space (3D space). Of particular interest in this examination is the view or ‘window’,
from the virtual camera, into the artificial life computational model or ‘world’ (which is better described by Flusser’s expression technical image), and how it organizes a dense field of expectations. Analogous to looking through a telescope or microscope, the view into
the artificial life world is monocular and often fixed in the world; in this regime we look ‘at’ computer models, which are often referred to as agents, ‘creatures’, ‘organisms’ or ‘cyberbeasts’. This tactic of looking through the instrumentality
of science, the arts of reality, is parallel to looking through André Bazin’s ‘long take’ in cinema and documentary film-making in which we look ‘at’ an unmediated view of reality; in other words, in looking ‘at’ an image of artificial life
we look ‘through’ a non-intrinsic regime of seeing. This investigation into the interpretative regime provides only a partial account of the intercultural traffic between artificial life and the moving image. I further this discussion by arguing that artificial life screen-based
works are a contemporary extension and reworking of the nature film in that they provide accounts of the ‘natural’ world that are familiar and similar to those of their filmic and cinematic predecessors. I contend that artificial life visualizations and the stories that often accompany
the images are the latest manifestation of this photographic and filmic tradition. To illustrate my point I discuss the scientific project Daisyworld, the associated narrative that frames the research, and the researchers’ attempt to mathematically model an ‘imaginary planet [with]
a very simple biosphere’. This sets the scene to explore artificial life in relation to Disney wilderness and nature films.
Comparison of 24-h and overnight samples of urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in patients with intestinal neuroendocrine tumors
Authors: Gedde-Dahl Merete , Thiis-Evensen Espen , Tjølsen Andreas Myklebust , Mordal Kjerstin Skrede , Vatn Morten , Bergestuen Deidi S
Published: December 2012

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) arising in the small intestine are known to produce vasoactive substances, including serotonin, that may result in the carcinoid syndrome (flushing, diarrhea, bronchoconstriction, and carcinoid heart disease). Measurement of the serotonin breakdown product 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in urine is important in diagnosing and monitoring of patients with intestinal NETs. Our aim was to compare 5-HIAA measurement in 24-h urine sampling with overnight (∼8-h) sampling in patients with known NETs, or at follow-up of patients potentially cured for their NETs. Twenty-four-hour and overnight urine samples were collected from 34 patients and analyzed for urinary 5-HIAA (U5-HIAA) using HPLC. Comparison of the overnight sampling values with the 24-h values showed no difference, P=0.45, and there was a significant direct correlation between the two samples using linear regression (R=0.97, P<0.001). U5-HIAA sample collection during a nightly interval of ∼8 h appears to have the same accuracy as the 24-h collection in this group of patients.