bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phylogeny of Calliandra (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) based on nuclear and plastid molecular markers
Authors: de Souza Élvia Rodrigues , Lewis Gwilym P. , Forest Félix , Schnadelbach Alessandra S. , van den Berg Cássio , de Queiroz Luciano Paganucci
Published: January 2014

We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships in Leguminosae subfam. Mimosoideae tribe Ingeae using 135 sequences from the nuclear (ITS) and 119 from the plastid (trnL–F) genome, representing 23 of the 36 currently recognized genera in the tribe with newly generated sequences of Blanchetiodendron, Guinetia, Macrosamanea, Thailentadopsis and Viguieranthus and an extensive sampling of Calliandra. Only two of the five Neotropical generic alliances of Barneby & Grimes (1996) were supported as monophyletic. Calliandra is resolved as monophyletic with the inclusion of Guinetia. The five previously proposed sections within Calliandra were not supported by our study. Nevertheless, based on these results, a new infrageneric classification is proposed for Calliandra, and the African species of the genus are assigned to a new genus, Afrocalliandra. Three new sections are proposed for Calliandra: (1) sect. Tsugoideae based on C. ser. Tsugoideae, with four species from northwestern South America; (2) sect. Septentrionales, with six species distributed in dry areas from the United States to Mexico and (3) sect. Monticola, which consists of species restricted to the Espinhaço range of Brazil; these latter species form a clade with low levels of sequence variation, a potential indicator of the recent diversification of this group.
Gelidiophycus (Rhodophyta: Gelidiales): A new genus of marine algae from East Asia
Authors: Boo Ga Hun , Park Jeong Kwang , Boo Sung Min
Published: January 2014

A new genus of gelidioid red algae, Gelidiophycus, is described. Separated from Gelidium on the basis of a molecular phylogeny and morphological characters, it contains two species, Gelidiophycus freshwateri sp. nov. and G. divaricatus comb. nov., distributed in East Asia. Our rbcL and cox1 phylogenies revealed close relationships of Gelidiophycus with the Capreolia group in Australasia and unidentified taxa in Chile. Gelidiophycus is characterized by repent thalli and lateral branches arising at almost right angles. The occurrence of tetrasporophytes, male and female gametophytes, and carposporophytes in the field indicate that both species have the triphasic type life history, different from Capreolia. Gelidiophycus freshwateri occurs in Korea, China, and Japan, and G. divaricatus is found in Hong Kong. We discuss Gelidiophycus and its two species and provide keys, descriptions, and illustrations.
Drivers of Abundance and Community Composition of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Ottawa River Sediment near Chalk River Laboratories
Authors: Bond M. J. , Rowan D. , Silke R. , Carr J.
Published: January 2014

The Ottawa River has received effluent from Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) for more than 60 years. Some radionuclides and contaminants released in effluents are bound rapidly to particles and deposited in bottom sediments where they may be biologically available to benthic invertebrates and other aquatic biota. As part of a larger ecological assessment, we assess the potential impact of contaminated sediments in the vicinity of CRL on local benthic community structure. Using bivariate and multivariate approaches, we demonstrate that CRL operations have had little impact on the local benthic community. Despite elevated anthropogenic radionuclide activity concentrations in sediment near CRL’s process outfall, the benthic community is no less abundant or diverse than what is observed upstream at background levels. The Ottawa River benthic invertebrate community is structured predominantly by natural physical and biological conditions in the sediment, specifically sediment water content and organic content. These natural habitat conditions have a stronger influence on macroinvertebrate communities than sediment contamination.
Expression of G-Protein Subunit α-14 Is Increased in Human Placentas from Preeclamptic Pregnancies
Authors: Zhao Ying-Jie , Zou Qing-Yun , Li Yan , Li Hui-Hui , Wu Yan-Ming , Li Xing-Fu , Wang Kai , Zheng Jing
Published: January 2014

G-proteins mediate cellular function upon interaction with G-protein coupled receptors. Of the 16 mammalian G-protein α subunits identified, G-protein subunit α-11 (GNA11) and -14 (GNA14) have been implicated in modulating hypertension and endothelial function. However, little is known about their expression and roles in human placentas. Here, we examined GNA11 and GNA14 protein expression in first trimester (FT), normal term (NT), and severe preeclamptic (sPE) human placentas as well as in NT human umbilical cords. We found that GNA11 and GNA14 were immunolocalized primarily in trophoblasts, villous stromal cells, and endothelial cells in placentas as well as in endothelial and/or smooth muscle cells of the umbilical cord artery and vein. Western blotting revealed that the GNA14, but not GNA11, protein levels were increased (2.5-2.9 fold; p<0.01) in sPE vs. NT placentas. GNA11 protein was detected only in NT, but not FT, placentas, whereas GNA14 protein levels were increased (7.7-10.6 fold; p<0.01) in NT vs. FT placentas. Thus, GNA11 and GNA14 may mediate the function of several cell types in placentas. Moreover, the high expression of GNA14 in sPE placentas may also imply its importance in sPE pregnancies as in the other hypertension-related disorders.
Playback Theatre as a response to the impact of political violence in occupied Palestine
Authors: Rivers Ben
Published: January 2014

In Playback Theatre, audience members volunteer stories from their own lives, then a team of performers subsequently turns each account into a piece of improvised theatre. The Freedom Theatre’s Freedom Bus troupe uses Playback Theatre for community-building, cultural activism and collective trauma response throughout the West Bank of Occupied Palestine. This article describes the Freedom Bus initiative, reflecting in particular upon the possibilities and limits of Playback Theatre for trauma response in the context of ongoing political violence and structural oppression. It also explores the preparatory and post-performance considerations necessary to ensure the health and effectiveness of the Playback Theatre practitioner.
Experimental Investigation of Dynamic Contact Angles on Horizontal and Inclined Surfaces Part I: Flat Silicon Oxide Surfaces
Authors: Schmitt Michael , Hempelmann Rolf , Heib Florian
Published: January 2014

In the last decades, many attempts have been made to investigate
influence quantities on the formation of contact angles and their
interpretation. The effect of gravitation on the measured contact
angles is a controversially discussed mater. In 1876 J. W. Gibbs
already formulated conditions for equilibrium and therefore even for
the equilibrium contact angle θ

e
which describe the acting
gravitational field on a fluid component. Nevertheless, these
relations often are not considered. The presented study illustrates
differences between the apparent contact angles of sessile drops which
are obtained by dynamical measurements with the inclined-plate and the
needle-in method. This fact demonstrates that the force distibution at
the triple line additionally differs in dependence on the used
measuring method. The force distribution at the triple line depends on
the relative position in the gravitational field (e.g. inclined or
horizontal sample position) and on the curvature of the liquid-vapour
interface (interfacial tension). Hence, theses effects on the apparent
contact angles have to be considered for a reasonable interpretation
of the measurement data. For this purpose, an approach to describe the
effect of forces related to gravity effects on contact angles will be
presented.
An Investigation into the Origin of Anatomical Differences in Dyslexia
Authors: Krafnick Anthony J. , Flowers D. Lynn , Luetje Megan M. , Napoliello Eileen M. , Eden Guinevere F.
Published: January 2014

Studies have converged in their findings of relatively less gray matter volume (GMV) in developmental dyslexia in bilateral temporoparietal and left occipitotemporal cortical regions. However, the interpretation of these results has been difficult. The reported neuroanatomical differences in dyslexia may be causal to the reading problems, following from, for example, neural migration errors that occurred during early human development and before learning to read. Alternatively, less GMV may represent the consequence of an impoverished reading experience, akin to the experience-dependent GMV differences attributed to illiterate compared with literate adults. Most likely, a combination of these factors is driving these observations. Here we attempt to disambiguate these influences by using a reading level-matched design, where dyslexic children were contrasted not only with age-matched controls, but also with younger controls who read at the same level as the dyslexics. Consistent with previous reports, dyslexics showed less GMV in multiple left and right hemisphere regions, including left superior temporal sulcus when compared with age-matched controls. However, not all of these differences emerged when dyslexics were compared with controls matched on reading abilities, with only right precentral gyrus GMV surviving this second analysis. When similar analyses were performed for white matter volume, no regions emerged from both comparisons. These results indicate that the GMV differences in dyslexia reported here and in prior studies are in large part the outcome of experience (e.g., disordered reading experience) compared with controls, with only a fraction of the differences being driven by dyslexia per se.
Intermittency Coding in the Primary Olfactory System: A Neural Substrate for Olfactory Scene Analysis
Authors: Park Il Memming , Bobkov Yuriy V. , Ache Barry W. , Príncipe José C.
Published: January 2014

The spatial and temporal characteristics of the visual and acoustic sensory input are indispensable attributes for animals to perform scene analysis. In contrast, research in olfaction has focused almost exclusively on how the nervous system analyzes the quality and quantity of the sensory signal and largely ignored the spatiotemporal dimension especially in longer time scales. Yet, detailed analyses of the turbulent, intermittent structure of water- and air-borne odor plumes strongly suggest that spatio-temporal information in longer time scales can provide major cues for olfactory scene analysis for animals. We show that a bursting subset of primary olfactory receptor neurons (bORNs) in lobster has the unexpected capacity to encode the temporal properties of intermittent odor signals. Each bORN is tuned to a specific range of stimulus intervals, and collectively bORNs can instantaneously encode a wide spectrum of intermittencies. Our theory argues for the existence of a novel peripheral mechanism for encoding the temporal pattern of odor that potentially serves as a neural substrate for olfactory scene analysis.
Mechanisms of Coordination in Distributed Neural Circuits: Decoding and Integration of Coordinating Information
Authors: Smarandache-Wellmann Carmen , Weller Cynthia , Mulloney Brian
Published: January 2014

We describe the synaptic connections through which information required to coordinate limb movements reaches the modular microcircuits that control individual limbs on different abdominal segments of the crayfish,Pacifastacus leniusculus. In each segmental ganglion, a local commissural interneuron, ComInt 1, integrates information about other limbs and transmits it to one microcircuit. Five types of nonspiking local interneurons are components of each microcircuit's pattern-generating kernel (Smarandache-Wellmann et al., 2013). We demonstrate here, using paired microelectrode recordings, that the pathway through which information reaches this kernel is an electrical synapse between ComInt 1 and one of these five types, an IRSh interneuron. Using single-electrode voltage clamp, we show that brief changes of ComInt 1's membrane potential affect the timing of its microcircuit's motor output. Changing ComInt 1's membrane potential also changes the phase, duration, and strengths of bursts of spikes in its microcircuit's motor neurons and corresponding changes in its efferent coordinating neurons that project to other ganglia. These effects on coordinating neurons cause changes in the phases of motor output from other microcircuits in those distant ganglia. ComInt 1s function as hub neurons in the intersegmental circuit that synchronizes distributed microcircuits. The synapse between each ComInt 1 and its microcircuit's IRSh neuron completes a five synapse pathway in which analog information is encoded as a digital signal by efference-copy neurons and decoded from digital to analog form by ComInt 1. The synaptic organization of this pathway provides a cellular explanation of this nervous system's key dynamic properties.
Endogenous Attention Signals Evoked by Threshold Contrast Detection in Human Superior Colliculus
Authors: Katyal Sucharit , Ress David
Published: January 2014

Human superior colliculus (SC) responds in a retinotopically selective manner when attention is deployed on a high-contrast visual stimulus using a discrimination task. To further elucidate the role of SC in endogenous visual attention, high-resolution fMRI was used to demonstrate that SC also exhibits a retinotopically selective response for covert attention in the absence of significant visual stimulation using a threshold–contrast detection task. SC neurons have a laminar organization according to their function, with visually responsive neurons present in the superficial layers and visuomotor neurons in the intermediate layers. The results show that the response evoked by the threshold–contrast detection task is significantly deeper than the response evoked by the high-contrast speed discrimination task, reflecting a functional dissociation of the attentional enhancement of visuomotor and visual neurons, respectively. Such a functional dissociation of attention within SC laminae provides a subcortical basis for the oculomotor theory of attention.
The Neural Dynamics of Face Detection in the Wild Revealed by MVPA
Authors: Cauchoix Maxime , Barragan-Jason Gladys , Serre Thomas , Barbeau Emmanuel J.
Published: January 2014

Previous magnetoencephalography/electroencephalography (M/EEG) studies have suggested that face processing is extremely rapid, indeed faster than any other object category. Most studies, however, have been performed using centered, cropped stimuli presented on a blank background resulting in artificially low interstimulus variability. In contrast, the aim of the present study was to assess the underlying temporal dynamics of face detection presented in complex natural scenes.

We recorded EEG activity while participants performed a rapid go/no-go categorization task in which they had to detect the presence of a human face. Subjects performed at ceiling (94.8% accuracy), and traditional event-related potential analyses revealed only modest modulations of the two main components classically associated with face processing (P100 and N170). A multivariate pattern analysis conducted across all EEG channels revealed that face category could, however, be readout very early, under 100 ms poststimulus onset. Decoding was linked to reaction time as early as 125 ms. Decoding accuracy did not increase monotonically; we report an increase during an initial 95–140 ms period followed by a plateau ∼140–185 ms–perhaps reflecting a transitory stabilization of the face information available–and a strong increase afterward. Further analyses conducted on individual images confirmed these phases, further suggesting that decoding accuracy may be initially driven by low-level stimulus properties. Such latencies appear to be surprisingly short given the complexity of the natural scenes and the large intraclass variability of the face stimuli used, suggesting that the visual system is highly optimized for the processing of natural scenes.
Tonic Inhibition of Accumbal Spiny Neurons by Extrasynaptic α4βδ GABAAReceptors Modulates the Actions of Psychostimulants
Authors: Maguire Edward P. , Macpherson Tom , Swinny Jerome D. , Dixon Claire I. , Herd Murray B. , Belelli Delia , Stephens David N. , King Sarah L. , Lambert Jeremy J.
Published: January 2014

Within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), synaptic GABAAreceptors (GABAARs) mediate phasic inhibition of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and influence behavioral responses to cocaine. We demonstrate that both dopamine D1- and D2-receptor-expressing MSNs (D-MSNs) additionally harbor extrasynaptic GABAARs incorporating α4, β, and δ subunits that mediate tonic inhibition, thereby influencing neuronal excitability. Both the selective δ-GABAAR agonist THIP and DS2, a selective positive allosteric modulator, greatly increased the tonic current of all MSNs from wild-type (WT), but not from δ−/−or α4−/−mice. Coupling dopamine and tonic inhibition, the acute activation of D1 receptors (by a selective agonist or indirectly by amphetamine) greatly enhanced tonic inhibition in D1-MSNs but not D2-MSNs. In contrast, prolonged D2 receptor activation modestly reduced the tonic conductance of D2-MSNs. Behaviorally, WT and constitutive α4−/−mice did not differ in their expression of cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP). Importantly, however, mice with the α4 deletion specific to D1-expressing neurons (α4D1−/−) showed increased CPP. Furthermore, THIP administered systemically or directly into the NAc of WT, but not α4−/−or α4D1−/−mice, blocked cocaine enhancement of CPP. In comparison, α4D2−/−mice exhibited normal CPP, but no cocaine enhancement. In conclusion, dopamine modulation of GABAergic tonic inhibition of D1- and D2-MSNs provides an intrinsic mechanism to differentially affect their excitability in response to psychostimulants and thereby influence their ability to potentiate conditioned reward. Therefore, α4βδ GABAARs may represent a viable target for the development of novel therapeutics to better understand and influence addictive behaviors.
Shp2-Dependent ERK Signaling Is Essential for Induction of Bergmann Glia and Foliation of the Cerebellum
Authors: Li Kairong , Leung Alan W. , Guo Qiuxia , Yang Wentian , Li James Y. H.
Published: January 2014

Folding of the cortex and the persistence of radial glia (RG)-like cells called Bergmann glia (BG) are hallmarks of the mammalian cerebellum. Similar to basal RG in the embryonic neocortex, BG maintain only basal processes and continuously express neural stem cell markers. Past studies had focused on the function of BG in granule cell migration and how granule cell progenitors (GCP) regulate cerebellar foliation. The molecular control of BG generation and its role in cerebellar foliation are less understood. Here, we have analyzed the function of the protein tyrosine phosphatase Shp2 in mice by deleting its genePtpn11in the entire cerebellum or selectively in the GCP lineage. DeletingPtpn11in the entire cerebellum byEn1-creblocks transformation of RG into BG but preserves other major cerebellar cell types. In the absence of BG, inward invagination of GCP persists but is uncoupled from the folding of the Purkinje cell layer and the basement membrane, leading to disorganized lamination and an absence of cerebellar folia. In contrast, removingPtpn11in the GCP lineage byAtoh1-crehas no effect on cerebellar development, indicating that Shp2 is not cell autonomously required in GCP. Furthermore, we demonstrate thatPtpn11interacts withFgf8and is essential for ERK activation in RG and nascent BG. Finally, expressing constitutively active MEK1 rescues BG formation and cerebellar foliation in Shp2-deficient cerebella. Our results demonstrate an essential role of Shp2 in BG specification via fibroblast growth factor/extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase signaling, and reveal a crucial function of BG in organizing cerebellar foliation.
Photoinactivation of Glutamate Receptors by Genetically Encoded Unnatural Amino Acids
Authors: Klippenstein Viktoria , Ghisi Valentina , Wietstruk Marcus , Plested Andrew J. R.
Published: January 2014

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are ubiquitous in the mammalian brain, and the AMPA-subtype is essential for fast, glutamate-activated postsynaptic currents. We incorporated photoactive crosslinkers into AMPA receptors using genetically encoded unnatural amino acid mutagenesis in a mammalian cell line. Receptors rescued by incorporation of unnatural amino acids, includingp-benzoyl-l-phenylalanine (BzF, also known as Bpa), had largely similar properties to wild-type channels and were expressed at similar levels. BzF incorporation at subunit interfaces afforded photocrosslinking of subunits, as assessed by biochemical experiments. In electrophysiological recordings, BzF incorporation allowed selective and potent UV-driven photoinactivation of both homomeric (GluA2) and heteromeric (GluA2:GluA1) AMPA receptors. State dependence of trapping at two sites in the lower lobe of the ligand binding domain is consistent with deformation of these domains as well as intersubunit rearrangements during AMPA receptor desensitization.
Neuronal Expression of GalNAc Transferase Is Sufficient to Prevent the Age-Related Neurodegenerative Phenotype of Complex Ganglioside-Deficient Mice
Authors: Yao Denggao , McGonigal Rhona , Barrie Jennifer A. , Cappell Joanna , Cunningham Madeleine E. , Meehan Gavin R. , Fewou Simon N. , Edgar Julia M. , Rowan Edward , Ohmi Yuhsuke , Furukawa Keiko , Furukawa Koichi , Brophy Peter J. , Willison Hugh J.
Published: January 2014

Gangliosides are widely expressed sialylated glycosphingolipids with multifunctional properties in different cell types and organs. In the nervous system, they are highly enriched in both glial and neuronal membranes. Mice lacking complex gangliosides attributable to targeted ablation of the B4galnt1 gene that encodes β-1,4-N-acetylegalactosaminyltransferase 1 (GalNAc–transferase;GalNAcT−/−) develop normally before exhibiting an age-dependent neurodegenerative phenotype characterized by marked behavioral abnormalities, central and peripheral axonal degeneration, reduced myelin volume, and loss of axo-glial junction integrity. The cell biological substrates underlying this neurodegeneration and the relative contribution of either glial or neuronal gangliosides to the process are unknown. To address this, we generated neuron-specific and glial-specific GalNAcT rescue mice crossed on the globalGalNAcT−/−background [GalNAcT−/−-Tg(neuronal) andGalNAcT−/−-Tg(glial)] and analyzed their behavioral, morphological, and electrophysiological phenotype. Complex gangliosides, as assessed by thin-layer chromatography, mass spectrometry, GalNAcT enzyme activity, and anti-ganglioside antibody (AgAb) immunohistology, were restored in both neuronal and glial GalNAcT rescue mice. Behaviorally,GalNAcT−/−-Tg(neuronal) retained a normal “wild-type” (WT) phenotype throughout life, whereasGalNAcT−/−-Tg(glial) resembledGalNAcT−/−mice, exhibiting progressive tremor, weakness, and ataxia with aging. Quantitative electron microscopy demonstrated thatGalNAcT−/−andGalNAcT−/−-Tg(glial)nerves had significantly increased rates of axon degeneration and reduced myelin volume, whereasGalNAcT−/−-Tg(neuronal)and WT appeared normal. The increased invasion of the paranode with juxtaparanodal Kv1.1, characteristically seen inGalNAcT−/−and attributed to a breakdown of the axo-glial junction, was normalized inGalNAcT−/−-Tg(neuronal)but remained present inGalNAcT−/−-Tg(glial)mice. These results indicate that neuronal rather than glial gangliosides are critical to the age-related maintenance of nervous system integrity.
Bifurcation of Axons from Cranial Sensory Neurons Is Disabled in the Absence of Npr2-Induced cGMP Signaling
Authors: Ter-Avetisyan Gohar , Rathjen Fritz G. , Schmidt Hannes
Published: January 2014

Axonal branching is a prerequisite for the establishment of complex neuronal circuits and their capacity for parallel information processing. Previously, we have identified a cGMP signaling pathway composed of the ligand C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), its receptor, the guanylyl cyclase natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (Npr2), and the cGMP-dependent kinase Iα (cGKIα) that regulates axon bifurcation of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in the spinal cord. Now we asked whether this cascade also controls axon bifurcation elsewhere in the nervous system. An Npr2-lacZ reporter mouse line was generated to clarify the pattern of the CNP receptor expression. It was found that during the period of axonal outgrowth, Npr2 and cGKIα were strongly labeled in neurons of all cranial sensory ganglia (gV, gVII, gVIII, gIX, and gX). In addition, strong complementary expression of CNP was detected in the hindbrain at the entry zones of sensory afferents. To analyze axon branching in individual Npr2-positive neurons, we generated a mouse mutant expressing a tamoxifen-inducible variant of Cre recombinase expressed under control of the Npr2-promoter (Npr2-CreERT2). After crossing this strain with conditional reporter mouse lines, we revealed that the complete absence of Npr2 activity indeed prohibited the bifurcation of cranial sensory axons in their entrance region. Consequently, axons only turned in either an ascending or descending direction, while collateral formation and growth of the peripheral arm was not affected. These findings indicate that in neurons of the cranial sensory ganglia, as in DRG neurons, cGMP signals are necessary for the execution of an axonal bifurcation program.
Encoding of Head Direction by Hippocampal Place Cells in Bats
Authors: Rubin Alon , Yartsev Michael M. , Ulanovsky Nachum
Published: January 2014

Most theories of navigation rely on the concept of a mental map and compass. Hippocampal place cells are neurons thought to be important for representing the mental map; these neurons become active when the animal traverses a specific location in the environment (the “place field”). Head-direction cells are found outside the hippocampus, and encode the animal's head orientation, thus implementing a neural compass. The prevailing view is that the activity of head-direction cells is not tuned to a single place, while place cells do not encode head direction. However, little work has been done to investigate in detail the possible head-directional tuning of hippocampal place cells across species. Here we addressed this by recording the activity of single neurons in the hippocampus of two evolutionarily distant bat species, Egyptian fruit bat and big brown bat, which crawled randomly in three different open-field arenas. We found that a large fraction of hippocampal neurons, in both bat species, showed conjunctive sensitivity to the animal's spatial position (place field) and to its head direction. We introduced analytical methods to demonstrate that the head-direction tuning was significant even after controlling for the behavioral coupling between position and head direction. Surprisingly, some hippocampal neurons preserved their head direction tuning even outside the neuron's place field, suggesting that “spontaneous” extra-field spikes are not noise, but in fact carry head-direction information. Overall, these findings suggest that bat hippocampal neurons can convey both map information and compass information.
Zwischen Globalisierung und Protektionismus - Die internationale Versicherungswirtschaft vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg
Authors: Borscheid Peter , Umbach Kai
Published: January 2014

Before World War I the modern insurance industry had spread out across the globe from Europe going hand in hand with the extension of world trade. This expansion was accompanied by the transfer of European institutions as well as the standardization of contract conditions, legal maxims and legal contents.

The rivalry between European and North American enterprises led to a harmonization of insurance technology and insurance products whilst a rise in governmental insurance supervisory offices affected a standardization of corporate management principles.

In contrast to largely increased cross-border interactions protectionistic counter-forces arose at the end of the 19th century. They caused a temporary setback to globalization in some parts of the world, however, in the long run they laid the cornerstone for an advanced globalization process.
Dimensionen wirtschaftlicher Integrationsprozesse in West- und Osteuropa nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg
Authors: Plumpe Werner , Steiner André
Published: January 2014

Leading motif for the article is the lack of serious historical research regarding the economic integration processes in Europe since the end of World War II. It starts with a closer look at the economic theory to examine its practicability to explain integration. The article continues with an investigation of the various phases of economic integration in the East and in the West after World War II. In addition to that, continuative questions are raised. The paper’s major hypothesis is, that integration in East and West was led by political issues rather than by questions of economic efficiency. In light of this, the limited economic effects are actually not surprising.
What Italian business disliked about a European common market
Authors: Fauri Francesca
Published: January 2014

The possibility of enlarging Italy’s export market was the key factor that made industrialists repeatedly express their consent for a unified market, even in their earliest statements on the matter. The great majority of Italian business declared itself in favour of a united market dependent upon a given set of conditions: gradual abolition of tariffs, leveling of production costs among members, free circulation of workers (as well as of goods and capital) and inclusion in the Treaty of Art.109 on the resumption of tariff controls or measures of safeguard where a sudden crisis in the balance of payments occurs.

The policy of Italian business towards EEC integration in those years was the result of a compromise between protectionist sectors (small-medium firms) on the one hand and, on the other, firms belonging to the so-called automobile cycle (Fiat, Pirelli etc.) and the engineering sector, whose growth had been led by export demand and favoured opening up the Italian economy to international competition.

Once the Treaty of Rome was signed, there were issues that Italian industrialists did not like. However, on the whole, participation was never called into question and, despite a few skeptical voices, Italian business valued European integration as a unique opportunity to enlarge the market, increase foreign demand and improve competitiveness. The Italian economic miracle had begun to take shape.
COMECON integration and the automobile industry: the Czechoslovak case
Authors: Fava Valentina
Published: January 2014

The paper examines the effect of the Comecon negotiation on the development of automobile production in Czechoslovakia between 1949 and 1965. It investigates the reasons that led to the failure of a closer integration of automobile production in the Comecon bloc; it explores which and whose needs oriented the decision-making process and considers what consequences the failure of a more integrative policy had on the Czechoslovak enterprise koda. The paper sheds light on a specific project, elaborated in 1949 by the Czechoslovak specialists and intended to ensure the national producer a leading role in the Comecon international division of labour. The specialists’ effort to protect the national automobile industry was motivated by the strategic importance of the hard currency revenues of the export-led automobile production. The paper argues that the rejection of the Czechoslovak project and the Comecon failure to elaborate a coherent and technically affordable plan to establish a multilateral product specialization within the People′s democracies blocked the modernization of automobile production in Czechoslovakia for almost a decade, determining the decline of competitiveness of koda products on the Capitalist markets and trapping the country’s automobile industry in the Fordism in one country described by Abelshauser when discussing the GDR.
Industrielle Beziehungen und Arbeitsbewertung unter dem „Wirtschaftswunder“ in Deutschland und Japan. Ein Vergleich zweier Gesellschaften
Authors: Yamai Toshiaki
Published: January 2014

In the 1960s the corrective agreement system in West Germany experienced an important change. In place of the traditional system of wage regulation that is based on the classic categories of workers, namely skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers, the system of job evaluation was now introduced into the corrective agreements. In Japan, by contrast, the system of job evaluation was abandoned in the same 1960s after a longtime trial by employers to introduce it. The present article examines this contrasting process in Germany and Japan and sheds light on the different structure of industrial relations in these countries. The historical root of this difference can be found in the 1910s20s as a formation period of modern industrial relations in each country.
Who Destroyed the Marsh? Oil Field Canals, Coastal Ecology, and the Debate over Louisiana’s Shrinking Wetlands
Authors: Priest Tyler , Theriot Jason P.
Published: January 2014

This paper examines the environmental history of petroleum pipeline canals and their impact on wetland loss in Coastal Louisiana, and how politics and wetland science have shaped restoration efforts over time. Since the 1930s, Coastal Louisiana’s wetlands have provided America with abundant oil and gas resources. The expansion of this vital energy production and transportation corridor, however, has come with a huge environmental price tag, one that will persist for generations, long after the hydrocarbons are depleted. Louisiana has the world’s seventh largest wetlands and produces the lion share of America’s domestic oil production. Yet Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing and have been for sometime, along with the habitat, wildlife, culture, and traditional socio-economic activities that is unique to the region. Most of this loss has occurred between the 1950s and late 1970s, the era of intense petroleum production. The reasons for this high loss rate are complex and unique, involving a mixture of both natural and human-induced changes over time. Scientists argue that one of the major causes of this wetland loss has been the long-term direct and indirect impacts of oil-led development, namely the construction of pipeline, access, and navigation canals through the marshes, barrier islands, and bays. The energy and environmental tradeoffs have been particularly challenging given the enormous oil resources produced in the region over the decades and because of the Mississippi Delta’s complex geologic structure. Understanding how the two have interacted over time raises important questions about ecological restoration and the long-term impacts of energy production on fragile landscapes.
Missing Links? Business History and Environmental Change
Authors: Berghoff Hartmut , Mutz Mathias
Published: January 2014

Business and the natural environment, economy and ecology, are commonly perceived as being irreconcilable opposites. This article evaluates the variables of this opposition and asks for differentiated concepts from business and environmental history. In doing so it analyzes the existing literature in both subdisciplines and looks at why they have been relatively isolated from each other. The authors advocate approaches that integrate business and environmental history and take ecological implications of business as serious as the commercial implications of dealing with nature.
Der Durchbruch des PKW zum Massenkonsumgut 1950-1964
Authors: Kopper Christopher
Published: January 2014

Until now, research on the breakthrough of mass motorization has neglected the importance of the used car market. Empirical evidence proves that the used car market had a significant impact on the growth of car ownership and the purchase of cars among white and blue-collar workers. The transparency and flexibility of the used car market, the lack of price regulation and the degressive curve of used car prices facilitated car ownership among medium income Germans as early as the late 1950s. German car manufacturers recognized the potential of the used car market for the promotion of new car sales, but adopted different market strategies. US companies like Opel and Ford changed their models frequently to promote the sale of new cars and to accelerate the obsolescence of older models, whereas Volkswagen followed the strategy of incremental changes in order to create a higher value for used cars and to generate an additional benefit for new car customers.
Questions in Greek Rhetorical Theory and Demosthenes' Philippics
Authors: Wooten Cecil W.
Published: January 2014

Nessuna classificazione, sia antica sia moderna, porta alla luce in modo adeguato la varietà di domande che Demostene utilizza nelle sue Filippiche. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è di esaminare l'analisi dell'utilizzazione delle domande nell'eloquenza greca e di elaborare una nuova classificazione che si basa sul lavoro dei retori antichi e studiosi moderni, ma mette in evidenza la diversità della prassi di Demostene e chiara come i diversi tipi di domande che egli usa nei suoi discorsi spesso riflettono l'approccio di tutto il discorso.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatments in patients with metastatic thyroid carcinomas: a retrospective study of the TUTHYREF network
Authors: Massicotte Marie-Hélène , Brassard Maryse , Claude-Desroches Médéric , Borget Isabelle , Bonichon Françoise , Giraudet Anne-Laure , Do Cao Christine , Chougnet Cécile N , Leboulleux Sophie , Baudin Eric , Schlumberger Martin , de la Fouchardière Christelle
Published: January 2014

Objective

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are used to treat patients with advanced thyroid cancers. We retrospectively investigated the efficacy of TKIs administered outside of clinical trials in metastatic sites or locally advanced thyroid cancer patients from five French oncology centers.

Design and methods

There were 62 patients (37 men, mean age: 61 years) treated with sorafenib (62%), sunitinib (22%), and vandetanib (16%) outside of clinical trials; 22 had papillary, five had follicular, five had Hürthle cell, 13 had poorly differentiated, and 17 had medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). Thirty-three, 25, and four patients were treated with one, two, and three lines of TKIs respectively. Primary endpoints were objective tumor response rate and progression-free survival (PFS). Sequential treatments and tumor response according to metastatic sites were secondary endpoints.

Results

Among the 39 sorafenib and 12 sunitinib treatments in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients, partial response (PR) rate was 15 and 8% respectively. In the 11 MTC patients treated with vandetanib, 36% had PR. Median PFS was similar in second-line compared with first-line sorafenib or sunitinib therapy (6.7 vs 7.0 months) in DTC patients, but there was no PR with second- and third-line treatments. Bone and pleural lesions were the most refractory sites to treatment.

Conclusions

This is the largest retrospective study evaluating TKI therapies outside of clinical trials. DTC patients treated with second-line therapy had stable disease as best response, but had a similar median PFS compared with the first-line treatment.
Androgen receptor roles in hepatocellular carcinoma, fatty liver, cirrhosis and hepatitis
Authors: Ma Wen-Lung , Lai Hsueh-Chou , Yeh Shuyuan , Cai Xiujun , Chang Chawnshang
Published: January 2014

Androgen/androgen receptor (AR) signaling plays important roles in normal liver function and in progression of liver diseases. In studies of noncancerous liver diseases, AR knockout mouse models of liver disease have revealed that androgen/AR signaling suppresses the development of steatosis, virus-related hepatitis, and cirrhosis. In addition, studies have shown that targeting AR in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) improves their self-renewal and migration potentials, thereby increasing the efficacy of BM-MSC transplantation as a way to control the progression of cirrhosis. Androgen/AR signaling is known to be involved in the initiation of carcinogen- or hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, studies have demonstrated that AR, rather than androgen, plays the dominant role in cancer initiation. Therefore, targeting AR might be an appropriate therapy for patients with early-stage HCC. In contrast, androgen/AR signaling has been shown to suppress metastasis of HCC in patients with late-stage disease. In addition, there is evidence that therapy comprising Sorafenib and agents that enhance the functional expression of AR may suppress the progression of late-stage HCC.
Androgen receptor phosphorylation: biological context and functional consequences
Authors: Koryakina Yulia , Ta Huy Q , Gioeli Daniel
Published: January 2014

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-regulated transcription factor that belongs to the family of nuclear receptors. In addition to regulation by steroid, the AR is also regulated by post-translational modifications generated by signal transduction pathways. Thus, the AR functions not only as a transcription factor but also as a node that integrates multiple extracellular signals. The AR plays an important role in many diseases, including complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, spinal bulbar muscular atrophy, prostate and breast cancer, etc. In the case of prostate cancer, dependence on AR signaling has been exploited for therapeutic intervention for decades. However, the effectiveness of these therapies is limited in advanced disease due to restoration of AR signaling. Greater understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in AR action will enable the development of improved therapeutics to treat the wide range of AR-dependent diseases. The AR is subject to regulation by a number of kinases through post-translational modifications on serine, threonine, and tyrosine residues. In this paper, we review the AR phosphorylation sites, the kinases responsible for these phosphorylations, as well as the biological context and the functional consequences of these phosphorylations. Finally, what is known about the state of AR phosphorylation in clinical samples is discussed.
Loss ofCaenorhabditis elegansBRCA1 Promotes Genome Stability During Replication insmc-5Mutants
Authors: Wolters Stefanie , Ermolaeva Maria A , Bickel Jeremy S , Fingerhut Jaclyn M , Khanikar Jayshree , Chan Raymond C , Schumacher Björn
Published: January 2014

DNA damage by ultraviolet (UV) light poses a risk for mutagenesis and a potential hindrance for cell cycle progression. Cells cope with UV-induced DNA damage through two general strategies to repair the damaged nucleotides and to promote cell cycle progression in the presence of UV-damaged DNA. Defining the genetic pathways and understanding how they function together to enable effective tolerance to UV remains an important area of research. The structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins form distinct complexes that maintain genome stability during chromosome segregation, homologous recombination, and DNA replication. Using a forward genetic screen, we identified two alleles of smc-5 that exacerbate UV sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Germ cells of smc-5-defective animals show reduced proliferation, sensitivity to perturbed replication, chromatin bridge formation, and accumulation of RAD-51 foci that indicate the activation of homologous recombination at DNA double-strand breaks. Mutations in the translesion synthesis polymerase polh-1 act synergistically with smc-5 mutations in provoking genome instability after UV-induced DNA damage. In contrast, the DNA damage accumulation and sensitivity of smc-5 mutant strains to replication impediments are suppressed by mutations in the C. elegans BRCA1/BARD1 homologs, brc-1 and brd-1. We propose that SMC-5/6 promotes replication fork stability and facilitates recombination-dependent repair when the BRC-1/BRD-1 complex initiates homologous recombination at stalled replication forks. Our data suggest that BRC-1/BRD-1 can both promote and antagonize genome stability depending on whether homologous recombination is initiated during DNA double-strand break repair or during replication stalling.
Applicability of Concentrations Obtained by Working Environment Measurement to Assessment of Personal Exposure Concentrations of Chemicals
Authors: Yamamoto Shinobu , Natsumeda Shuichiro , Hara Kunio , Yoshida Satoru , Sakurai Haruhiko , Ichiba Masayoshi
Published: January 2014

Applicability of Concentrations Obtained by Working Environment Measurement to Assessment of Personal Exposure Concentrations of Chemicals: Shinobu YAMAMOTO, et al. Kyushu Regional Safety and Health Service Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association—

Objective

This study determined the applicability of Japanese working environment measurements to assessment of personal exposure concentrations of chemicals by comparing both levels of concentrations.

Methods

The chemicals measured in this study comprised eight kinds of vaporous chemicals as well as two kinds of chemicals in dust. Personal exposure measurements, Japanese working environment measurements and spot sampling measurements were undertaken in 70 companies.

Results

Personal exposure concentrations and the arithmetic mean value (EA2) of the working environment measurement concentrations obtained according to the Japanese working environment control system had statistically positive correlations (r=0.732−0.893, p<0.01) after logarithmic transformation. The 5th to 95th percentile values of personal exposure concentrations divided by EA2 ranged from 0.17 to 7.69 for vaporous chemicals and from 0.27 to 18.06 for dust. There was a relatively large difference between the personal exposure concentrations and the EA2 obtained in weighing, forming and bonding use‐processes. In such cases, the B‐value measured in ten minutes in the Japanese working environment control system, which is almost the same as the spot measurement concentration in this study, is supposed to be substituted for the EA2 value.

Conclusions

Ten times the EA2 of the working environment measurement concentrations, or ten times the B‐value, obtained according to the Japanese working environment control system can be used to conservatively estimate the personal exposure concentrations in EU workplaces as well as in occupational exposure scenarios of the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.