bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phylogeny of major lineages of suboscines (Passeriformes) analysed by nuclear DNA sequence data
Authors: Irestedt Martin , Johansson Ulf S. , Parsons Thomas J. , Ericson Per G. P.
Published: November 2003

Phylogenetic relationships among major groups of passeriform birds were studied by analyses of nucleotide sequence data from two nuclear genes, c‐myc and RAG‐1. The results corroborated both the monophyly of the order Passeriformes, and the major dichotomy into oscine and suboscine passerines previously suggested based on syringeal morphology and DNA‐DNA hybridizations. The representatives of the Old World suboscines (families Eurylaimidae, Philepittidae and Pittidae) formed a monophyletic clade. The New World suboscines clustered into two clades. The first contained Conopophaga (Conopophagidae), Furnarius (Furnariidae), Lepidocolaptes (Dendrocolaptidae), Thamnophilus (Formicariidae), and Rhinocrypta (Rhinocryptidae). Previously, the monophyly of this group has been inferred from their possession of a unique, “tracheophone” syrinx, and from DNA‐DNA hybridisation data. The second clade of New World suboscines includes Gubernetes and Muscivora (Tyrannidae), Phytotoma (Phytotomidae), Tityra (Cotingidae) and Pipra (Pipridae). This group of families have been considered monophyletic based on morphology (although ambiguously) and DNA‐DNA hybridisation. The sister group relationship of Tityra and Phytotoma supports the previously supposed cotingid affinity of Phytotoma. Nuclear DNA data also unambiguously group the lyrebirds Menura with the oscines.

The presented results from the analysis of nuclear DNA agree well with morphology and DNA‐DNA hybridisation data. The precise age of the divergences studied herein are unknown but based on interpretations of the fossil record of passerine birds many of them might date back to the early Tertiary. The agreement between data from the nuclear DNA and other sources, along with the fact that neither of the studied genes showed sign of saturation, indicate the great potential of these two nuclear genes to resolve very old divergences in birds.
Indicators of habitat quality and the reproductive output of a forest songbird in small and large fragments
Authors: Zanette Liana
Published: November 2003

The distribution of individuals among habitats that vary in quality (i.e. resource availability) may affect reproductive output at a population level. I compared indicators of habitat quality including the breeding experience ratios (inexperienced:experienced birds), turnover rates, pairing success, and densities of a forest songbird, the Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis, in two small, food‐poor forest fragments, with those in two large, food‐rich fragments. I then evaluated the likelihood that the breeding experience ratio affected the reproductive output of populations. Inexperienced males occurred in small fragments eight times as often as in large fragments. Male turnover rates were 1.5 times higher in the small than large fragments, and 20% (10/50) of the male population were unpaired in the small fragments compared to 0% (0/25) in the large. None of these measures differed significantly for females. Experienced birds of both sexes produced almost all of the offspring compared with inexperienced birds. Despite these findings, reproductive output did not vary with fragment size for robins. Thus, while breeding experience clearly influenced the reproductive success of individuals, there were no obvious population consequences of having disproportionately more inexperienced males in the small fragments. I conclude that while male traits may be good indicators of resource levels within fragments (specifically, food availability), they may not be adequate predictors of population performance. Thus, the reproductive output of populations must be measured directly before conclusions concerning population performance can be made. Interestingly, breeding densities were not accurate indicators of either resource levels or population performance. Densities were two times higher in the smaller fragments, and I suggest that this result reflects problems with male dispersal among fragments caused by isolation.
Assessing the effects of haematophagous ectoparasites on the health of nestling birds: haematocrit vs haemoglobin levels in House Wrens parasitized by blow fly larvae
Authors: O'Brien Erin L. , Morrison Brian L. , Johnson L. Scott
Published: November 2003

We compared haematocrits and blood haemoglobin concentrations of nestling House Wrens Troglodytes aedon in nests with relatively large numbers of haematophagous larvae of the blow fly Protocalliphora parorum (>6.4 large larvae/nestling) and nests in which exposure to larvae was severely reduced or eliminated (0–2.0 larvae/nestling). Heavily parasitized nestlings showed no reduction in haematocrit levels but a significant 28% reduction in haemoglobin levels. Previous research on avian response to chronic blood loss suggests that parasitized nestlings may show normal volumes of red blood cells as a result of a rapid production of new cells in response to blood loss and, additionally, as a result of swelling of individual cells left in the bloodstream after parasite feeding. Rapid erythropoiesis places high numbers of haemoglobin‐poor, immature cells into the bloodstream which would explain the reduced haemoglobin levels of parasitized nestlings. Our results refute the conclusion that larval feeding has “little direct effect” on nestling wrens in this parasite–host system, drawn earlier by Johnson and Albrecht (1993) based on examination of haematocrits alone. Our results also strongly suggest that researchers wanting to measure effects of blood‐feeding parasites on birds measure haemoglobin levels, not haematocrits.
The cost of egg production: increased egg production reduces future fitness in gulls
Authors: Nager Ruedi G. , Monaghan Pat , Houston David C.
Published: November 2003

Measurements of costs of reproduction are essential for our understanding of the evolution of reproductive effort. While in birds the effects of increased chick‐rearing effort on subsequent survival and fecundity have been relatively well studied experimentally, costs associated with increased egg‐production effort have received relatively little attention. We experimentally increased the egg‐production effort of individually marked Lesser Black‐backed Gulls Larus fuscus and followed their breeding performance in the next year. In the season following increased egg production, females, but not males, were less likely to be resighted in the study plot and those that did return were less likely to produce a clutch compared to control birds. It is unclear whether the observed effect on local return rate represents differential survival, differences in breeding propensity or differences in dispersal between experimental and control females. In any event, all of these would adversely affect the fitness of experimental females. In addition, those experimental females that did breed invested less in egg production the following season, which again is likely to affect breeding performance. Thus, this study provides evidence that there is an inter‐brood trade‐off between current egg‐production effort and future fitness in birds.
Clutch size relative to tree cavity size in Northern Flickers
Authors: Wiebe Karen L. , Swift Trisha L.
Published: November 2003

We analysed clutch size versus nest size in 153 broods of the Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus, a woodpecker using natural cavities in British Columbia, Canada. Larger volume cavities were less susceptible to predation and cavity size was positively associated with the age and body size of males and with the body condition of female parents. Although clutches varied between 4 and 11 eggs, and the floor area of cavities varied about 5‐fold, we found no relationship between clutch size and floor area or cavity volume. To see if there were fitness consequences to clutch size relative to nest size, we examined hatching success and nestling mortality in flicker broods. Hatching success was not related to cavity size, but crowding slightly reduced nestling survival even when clutch size was controlled statistically. However, there was no effect of cavity size on the total number of nestlings fledged. Newly excavated flicker cavities were smaller than reused cavities suggesting a cost to excavation. This cost, coupled with the minimal fitness consequences of overcrowding, may explain why flickers do not adjust clutch size to cavity size.
Do pipits use experimentally supplemented rich sources of calcium more often in an acidified area?
Authors: Bureš S. , Weidinger K.
Published: November 2003

How birds respond to the recent phenomenon of calcium deficiency in acidified areas is still poorly known. This study, carried out in the Jeseníky Mountains (heavily polluted, acidified area in the Czech Republic), in alpine ecosystems of central Norway, and in the limestone part of the Malá Fatra Mountains (Slovak Republic), provides the first experimental evidence that birds select and bring supplemented calcium‐rich items to their nestlings more often in an acidified area. Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis and Water Pipits A. spinoletta selected calcium‐rich items (mainly snail shells) from various materials placed near their nests and this selectivity did not differ between areas or species. Thinning of egg shells (8% at blunt pole, 5% at egg side) suggests that Meadow Pipits in the Jeseníky Mountains were negatively influenced by the low calcium availability, in spite of their ability to adjust foraging behaviour.
Age and gender differences in body composition, energy expenditure, and glucoregulation of adult rhesus monkeys
Authors: Ramsey Jon J. , Laatsch Jennifer L. , Kemnitz Joseph W.
Published: November 2003

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of age to body composition, glucoregulation, activity, and energy expenditure in male and female rhesus monkeys. The animals were studied in three groups, young adults (YA, 7–9 years), middle‐aged adults (MA, 13–17 years), and older adults (OA,>23 years) adults. OA had a lower ( P<0.05) lean body mass than the YA and MA. OA also had the
lowest values (P<0.06) for energy expenditure (kJ/minute).
Age‐related differences (P<0.05) were observed in time spent resting and moving. The OA spent the most time resting and the least time in vertical movement. There was a trend towards an age‐related decrease in acute insulin response to glucose, while other glucoregulatory parameters were not changed with age. These results are similar to findings in humans, providing further evidence that the rhesus monkey is an appropriate model of human aging.
Hematopoietic response to lineage‐non‐specific (rrIL‐3) and lineage‐specific (rhG‐CSF, rhEpo, rhTpo) cytokine administration in SIV‐infected rhesus macaques is related to stage of infection
Authors: Bucur Silvana Z. , Gillespie Theresa W. , Lee Mark E. , Adams Jonathan W. , Bray Robert A. , Villinger Francois , Ansari Aftab A. , Hillyer Christopher D.
Published: November 2003

The present study reports the hematopoietic response to the exogenous administration of recombinant rhesus interleukin‐3 (rrIL‐3) or a combination of recombinant human granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (rhG‐CSF)/erythropoietin (Epo)/thrombopoietin (Tpo) at two different stages of SIV infection: Early‐stage (n=6, CD4+>1000/ μl and mild splenomegaly) and late‐stage (n=6, CD4+<500/μl, progressive hepatosplenomegaly and/or weight loss). SIV‐infected animals exhibited significantly impaired bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) responses to both rrIL‐3 and rhG‐CSF/Epo/Tpo administration, as compared to historic controls. In addition, compared to early‐stage SIV‐infected animals, late‐stage SIV‐infected macaques demonstrated a more marked dysfunction, as assessed by PB and BM CD34+ content and clonogenic progenitors (colony‐forming unit). Neither rrIL‐3 nor rhG‐CSF/Epo/Tpo administration during either early‐stage or late‐stage SIV infection increased the viral load, as assessed by bDNA assay. These data suggest that hematopoietic reserve and the response to various cytokines is decreased even in early‐stage SIV infection, with the hematopoietic dysfunction progressing in parallel to SIV infection.
Expression of β‐defensin‐1 in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) airways
Authors: Duits Louise A. , Langermans Jan A.M. , Paltansing Sunita , Van Der Straaten Tahar , Vervenne Richard A.W. , Frost Patrice A. , Hiemstra Pieter S. , Thomas Alan W. , Nibbering Peter H.
Published: November 2003

In human airways, β‐defensins function in the elimination of various pathogens. They have been identified in a wide range of species. Here we report the identification and expression of chimpanzee β‐defensin‐1 (cBD1), which is a homolog of human β‐defensin‐1, in chimpanzee airways and skin. The cBD1 cDNA sequence differs by only one synonymous nucleotide substitution compared to the human cDNA sequence. In situ hybridization revealed that in lung tissue beside alveolar macrophages also airway epithelial cells, endothelial cells and type II pneumocytes express cBD1 mRNA. In skin, cBD1 mRNA was expressed in keratinocytes and endothelial cells. Together, these results show similarity in structure and expression pattern and perhaps in function.
The rehabilitation of captive baboons
Authors: Kessel A. , Brent L.
Published: November 2003

Eleven baboons who had been singly housed indoors for an average of 5 years were moved to outdoor social groups in an attempt to provide a more species‐typical environment and reduce high levels of abnormal behavior. Nine of the baboons were observed while in single housing and, over a 6‐month period, while housed outdoors socially to document long‐term changes in behavior. Abnormal behavior decreased significantly from an average of 14% of the observation time in the single cages to 3% in the sixth month of social housing. Cage manipulation and self‐directed behaviors also significantly decreased, while social behavior, enrichment‐directed behavior, and locomotion increased in social housing. Baboons that had been in long‐term indoor single housing were able to reproduce and form stable social groups without injury. This study provides evidence that even behaviorally disturbed nonhuman primates can be successfully rehabilitated to live in social groups.
Immunolocalization of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis) testes during postnatal development
Authors: Liang Ji‐Hong , Sankai Tadashi , Yoshida Takashi , Yoshikawa Yasuhiro
Published: November 2003

The age‐related distribution of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the testes of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during postnatal development was detected using light‐microscopic immunohistochemistry. In neonatal testes, some PCNA‐positive spermatogonia, Sertoli cells, peritubular cells, and Leydig cells were detected. In early infantile testes, only a few of these cell types were positive. In late infantile testes, the numbers of positive cells were greater than in the earlier developmental stages. In pubertal testes, the numbers of positive spermatogonia, spermatocytes, Sertoli cells, peritubular cells, and Leydig cells were considerably higher. In adult testes, a larger percentage of spermatogonia and spermatocytes was positive, and peritubular cells and Leydig cells were occasionally positive; secondary spermatocytes, spermatids, and Sertoli cells were not positive. We concluded that immunolocalization of PCNA can serve as a tool for studying proliferation status in developing testes of cynomolgus monkeys. A relatively low proliferative activity in early infantile testes and a remarkable increase of proliferative activity in pubertal testes correlate with the fluctuations of steroidogenic functions during postnatal development in cynomolgus monkeys.
A spontaneously occurring mammary gland ductal carcinoma in situ in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and a review of spontaneous mammary gland tumors in rhesus monkeys
Authors: Cohen Michele , Saidla John E. , Schlafer Donald H.
Published: November 2003

A spontaneous mammary gland ductal carcinoma in situ was diagnosed in a 6–8‐year‐old female rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). To our knowledge, this is only the tenth case of spontaneous mammary gland tumors to be reported in rhesus monkeys. Despite the paucity of case reports, several theories exist to explain the occurrence of mammary tumors. The Mason–Pfizer monkey virus, a type D retrovirus similar to the virus that causes simian acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, has been implicated as a possible etiologic agent. Because this virus has been isolated from normal primate mammary tissue, it is unlikely to be the sole etiologic agent. Other theories include the tumorogenic effects that androgens, growth hormones, irradiation, and aging have on the mammary gland.
Passive immunization against oral AIDS virus transmission: An approach to prevent mother‐to‐infant HIV‐1 transmission?
Authors: Hofmann‐Lehmann Regina , Rasmussen Robert A , Vlasak Josef , Smith Beverly A. , Baba Timothy W. , Liska Vladimir , Montefiori David C. , McClure Harold M. , Anderson Daniel C. , Bernacky Bruce J. , Rizvi Tahir A. , Schmidt Russell , Hill Lori R. , Keeling Michale E. , Katinger Hermann , Stiegler Gabriela , Posner Marshall R. , Cavacini Lisa A. , Chou Ting‐Chao , Ruprecht Ruth M.
Published: November 2003

To develop immunoprophylaxis regimens against mother‐to‐child human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) transmission, we established a simian–human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) model in neonatal macaques that mimics intrapartum mucosal virus exposure (T.W. Baba, J. Koch, E.S. Mittler et al.: AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 10:351–357, 1994). We protected four neonates from oral SHIV‐vpu+ challenge by ante‐ and postpartum treatment with a synergistic triple combination of immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 human anti‐HIV‐1 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (T.W. Baba, V. Liska, R. Hofmann‐Lehmann et al.: Nature Med 6:200–206, 2000), which recognize the CD4‐binding site of Env, a glycosylation‐dependent gp120, or a linear gp41 epitope. Two neonates that received only postpartum mAbs were also protected from oral SHIV‐vpu+ challenge, indicating that postpartum treatment alone is sufficient. Next, we evaluated a similar mAb combination against SHIV89.6P, which encodes env of primary HIV89.6. One of four mAb‐treated neonates was protected from infection and two maintained normal CD4+ T‐cell counts. We conclude that the epitopes recognized by the three mAbs are important determinants for achieving protection. Combination immunoprophylaxis with synergistic mAbs seems promising to prevent maternal HIV‐1 transmission in humans.
Spontaneous amyloidosis in twelve chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes
Authors: Hubbard Gene B. , Lee D. Rick , Steele Keith E. , Lee Shuko , Binhazim Awadh A. , Brasky Kathleen M.
Published: November 2003

Spontaneous amyloidosis was diagnosed in 11 male and 1 female chimpanzees and confirmed histologically and immunohistochemically. The chimpanzees were ≥15 years of age when first diagnosed and averaged 22.4 years of age. The average survival time after diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis was 1.86 years with a standard deviation of 4.06 years (n=7). The chimpanzees with amyloidosis were asymptomatic except for hepatomegaly, which became more detectable with age. Significant increases in clinical chemistry values, as compared with referenced normals and established normals, of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), asparate aminotransferase (AST), gamma‐glutamyltransferase (GGT), globulin, total protein, creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), sedimentation rate, and triglycerides were found in animals 7 years of age or older with amyloidosis. These serum chemistry values, while increased in chimpanzees with amyloidosis, were generally within normal limits. Immunohistochemistry for both amyloid A protein and amyloid P component‐labeled extracellular amyloid in all chimpanzees with amyloidosis was determined. Amyloid was deposited primarily in the liver. Amyloidosis in the chimpanzee is a chronic, intractable, progressive, fatal disease, and appears to be similar to secondary amyloidosis in other species.
`Bacchen des Euripides zu erneuern': The Pentheus Project of Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Authors: Ward Philip Marshall
Published: November 2003

Hofmannsthal's Nachlaß contains a series of notes for an adaptation or rewriting of Euripides' Bacchae, notes written in three phases (1892–3, 1904, 1905–18). Working from the new standard Hofmannsthal edition, this article seeks to make sense of these fragments by re‐arranging each group into a coherent sequence, based on Hofmannsthal's outline scenario and on the structure of the model, Euripides' play. The result is a skeletal text of a two‐act drama, radically different from previously published versions, which may aid future scholarship in the appreciation of this hitherto confusing material.

The article sets three targets: to assess what attracted Hofmannsthal to the subject, what he attempted to make of it, and why he did not succeed. It begins with an introduction to the main characteristics of Hofmannsthal's Hellenism and its historical‐critical context (Nietzsche, Rohde, etc.) Euripides' Bacchae is briefly interpreted in terms that provide a basis for assessing Hofmannsthal's project. There then follows a summary of each newly constituted scene at the three stages of interest, drawing attention to principal themes and points of congruence with or divergence from Euripides' drama. After sections on the influence of Nietzsche and Pater, the article concludes with reflections on why Hofmannsthal was unable to complete the project.
The Amazing East and the Curious Reader: Twelfth‐Century World Exploration through a Writer's Mind: Lamprecht's Alexander
Authors: Classen Albrecht
Published: November 2003

The late twelfth‐century Middle High German Alexander romance by the Pfaffe Lamprecht, here considered in its Strasbourg manuscript, presents one of the many versions of Alexander the Great's adventures and conquest of the Persian empire. Although the narrator places considerable emphasis on the marvels and miracles characteristic of the mythical East, at least in the eyes of the European audiences, our poem reveals an intriguing novelty in its development of the literary discourse. Most of the events in Alexander's life are reflected through a letter which the Greek king writes back home to his mother Olympia and his teacher, the philosopher Aristotle. A close reading of this letter indicates that Alexander demonstrates a high degree of curiosity, but he never fully reaches any understanding of the phenomena passing in front of his eyes. Only when an old man, guardian of terrestrial Paradise, presents Alexander with a mysterious stone, does he realize that he has to return home. With the help of a wise old Jew the secret messages contained in the stone are finally revealed to the reader. The stone represents a kind of book, a “Fürstenspiegel,” which teaches Alexander the true virtues of a king. Insofar as Alexander immediately changes his attitude and behavior, the poem demonstrates the new significance of ‘written’ documents or books for the human quest of wisdom and truth.
Re‐Circumcising Derrida
Authors: Siegumfeldt I. B.
Published: November 2003

… my own skin thus torn off, in the very place, along the crural artery where my books find their inspiration, they are written first in skin …1

For this wound is also a sign of being chosen, a sign that one must know how to recognize in oneself, the privilege of a destination, an assigned mission: in the night, by the night itself.2
The Renegade in German Exile Literature
Authors: Humble Malcolm
Published: November 2003

The article outlines the process by which several exile writers came to terms with the realisation that the response of the writing community to the Nazi takeover was by no means unanimous. It focuses in particular on the reactions of exiles in criticism, prose fiction and poetry to what was perceived as renegade behaviour by Gottfried Benn and Gerhart Hauptmann, before briefly considering the less well known but equally symptomatic cases of Max Barthel, Ernst Glaeser and Josef Ponten. It then looks at Paul Zech's attempt in his novel Deutschland, dein Tänzer ist der Tod (published 1980, but written during the thirties) to place Ponten and others in the context of a broader view of the literary landscape which included those who remained in Germany and made differing accommodations to the new regime, as well as those emigrants whose work had not (yet) been devoted to the anti‐Fascist cause.
Re‐Reading Rudyard Kipling's ‘English’ Heroism: Narrating Nation in The Jungle Book
Authors: Nyman Jopi
Published: November 2003

This essay explores the construction of colonial English national identity in a text not always read in the context of its author's imperial project. Since Kipling's The Jungle Book has been relegated to the category of children's fiction and is today usually read in its Disneyfied version, its constructions of nation, race and class in colonial space, exposed through its narrations of local inhabitants (both animals and humans), have not attracted the attention that they deserve. I will argue that the stories' racialized and interrelated images of Indian children and animals contribute to an imagining of Englishness as a site of power and racial superiority. While the stories appear to narrate an Indian space, the images and constructions of nation produced stem from an understanding of Englishness as a site of colonial authority. Thus it is argued that Kipling's colonial animals map a racialized contrastive space where national identity is inseparable from racial identity, leading Kipling finally to abandon the colonial animal in order to be able to represent proper Englishness. While Kipling constructs colonial animals as racialized Others by writing monkeys and snakes in his jungle sketches, he also promotes ‘truly English’ identities in the nationalist allegory of “The White Seal”. Indeed, all animals are not equal but they too are represented in racialized and nationed terms, which points to the flexibility of the animal trope in colonial discourse.
Kierkegaard und Goethe
Authors: Leśniak Sławomir
Published: November 2003

Die vorliegende Arbeit will die »geistige Stelle« erfassen, die die Weise bestimmt hat, auf welche Kierkegaard Goethes Werke aufzunehmen bemüht war. Kierkegaards Schwermut wird als der Seelenzustand dargestellt, in dem sich am entschiedensten die Andersartigkeit seiner Geistesanlage zu der Goethes zeigt. So läßt die Schwermut die Phantasie Kierkegaards auf dem Gleise außerhalb der Natur verlaufen, in der Goethe Urbilder der Metamorphosen höherer, sittlicher Art sah. Das Dämonische seiner Schwermut konnte Kierkegaard durch die Kindheit des Christen auflösen, die er noch einmal »leisten« wollte. Das Denken des Dänen wird stets vom Gefühl des Abgrunds begleitet; Goethe war vor der Vorstellung des Abgrunds durch die Idee geschützt. Dieser Unterschied war der Grund, warum Kierkegaard die dichterische Bestimmung Goethes als eine Flucht vor dem christlichen Glauben betrachtete und dadurch die Goethesche Dichterexistenz in gewisser Hinsicht mißverstand. Die psychologische Tiefe der Gedanken Kierkegaards, die sich gerade im Aufspüren der existenziellen Abgründe zeigt, wird durch seinen unbefangenen Humor aufgewogen, der in Leśniaks Arbeit mit dem Humor L. Sternes in Tristram Shandy verglichen und als seelenerlösend bezeichnet wird.
Le mythe de la naissance et de la fin de l’art: convergences Blanchot‐Bataille‐Adorno
Authors: Hurezanu Daniela
Published: November 2003

Cet essai se propose d’aborder la question de l’origine dans l’oeuvre de Maurice Blanchot sous un angle moins étudié dans les études qui lui sont consacrées. Il s’agit de l’origine historique de l’oeuvre d’art, motif que j’analyse – et que Blanchot lui‐même analyse –à la lumière des écrits à caractère quasi‐anthropologique de Georges Bataille. Ainsi, dans le texte principal de Blanchot que j’ai en vue, « Naissance de l’oeuvre d’art » de L’Amitié, il fait un parallèle entre le désir de créer comme désir d’un commencement absolu et le sentiment de présence primordiale que les premières peintures humaines provoquent en nous. Dans la deuxième partie de l’essai, je m’arrête à l’autre versant du mythe de l’origine de l’art chez Blanchot: Le mythe de la fin de l’art, duquel je traite à partir de certains de ses textes qui parlent de la modernité comme de l’époque de l’impersonnel et de la perte de la subjectivité. Pour mieux illustrer l’idée que Blanchot imagine « la mort du dernier écrivain » comme une conséquence de la technicisation du monde contemporain, je recours à la Théorie esthétique d’Adorno.
A Hidden Agenda: Gender in Selected Writings by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
Authors: Schlipphacke Heidi M.
Published: November 2003

In Dialektik der Aufklärung (1944–47), Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno criticize the “bourgeois subject” as a perpetrator of the exploitation and domination of “nature.” Within the parameters of “bourgeois ideology,”“woman” functions as a representative of “nature.” Although Horkheimer and Adorno reflect critically on the utilization and misuse of “woman,” this essay explores the extent to which the concepts “masculine” and “feminine” function as implicit theoretical categories in selected writings by these authors. Indeed, a close reading of selected passages in works by Horkheimer and Adorno reveals that gendered categories in these texts carry with them a value judgment. While Horkheimer and Adorno describe the individual of late capitalism as “emasculated” and feminized (“castrated”), Adorno praises artists such as Arnold Schönberg, who manifests a potent masculinity. In fact, Adorno often writes about individuals and art works in terms which privilege “masculinity” as opposed to an emasculating “femininity.” Value judgments which employ gendered categories, then, stand in contradiction to the explicitly critical project of Dialektik der Aufklärung.
Direct evidence of collagenolysis in chronic periodontitis
Authors: Ma Jian , Sorsa Timo , Billinghurst Clark R. , Poole Robin A. , Kitti Uula , Santavirta Seppo , Konttinen Yrjö T.
Published: November 2003

Background:  There is no previous evidence that collagenases in chronic periodontitis excessively cleave collagen fibrils.

Objectives:  In this study the eventual presence of neoepitopes produced in such a cleavage were looked for.

Methods:  A polyclonal antibody, which recognizes collagenase‐cleaved collagen type I 3/4 carboxy‐terminal neoepitope (COL1‐3/4C), was used in avidin–biotin–peroxidase complex staining.

Results:  In addition, moderate staining was seen in connective tissue bordering to the sulcular and junctional epithelium, surrounding some of the fibroblasts and in some areas infiltrated by inflammatory mononuclear cells. COL1‐3/4C staining in chronic periodontitis was more extensive (6.3 ± 1.2%, n = 10) and intense than that observed in controls (1.6 ± 0.7%, n = 10, Unpaired Student's t‐test, p < 0.01).

Conclusions:  It is concluded that collagenases produced by host cells contribute to periodontal tissue destruction and attachment loss.
Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha expression and detection of apoptosis at the site of chronic periodontitis in AIDS patients
Authors: Vieira Beatriz Julião , De Souza Andrezza Rodrigues , Aarestrup Fernando Monteiro
Published: November 2003

Background:  Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is associated with the regulation of the life cell cycle of leukocytes in healthy and diseased states.

Objectives:  In the present study, we investigated the presence of apoptosis of mononuclear inflammatory cells in the periodontal lesion from adult periodontitis in healthy control patients and AIDS patients.

Materials and methods:  Tissue samples adjacent to a 5–6 mm gingival sulcus, measured with a periodontal probe, were obtained during routine periodontal surgical procedures. The direct immuno‐peroxidase of digoxigenin‐labeled genomic DNA method was used for in situ detection of apoptosis in gingival tissues.

Results:  Many tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNFα)‐positive cells, detected by immunohistochemistry method, were observed in gingival samples of both groups of patients. In addition, a significant lower number ( p < 0.05) of mononuclear apoptotic cells were observed in AIDS patients when compared with healthy control patients.

Conclusion:  These data suggested an important role of the apoptosis of mononuclear cells in the pathogenesis of chronic adult periodontitis in AIDS patients.
Phase‐shifting effects of light on the circadian rhythms of 5‐methoxytryptophol and melatonin in the chick pineal gland
Authors: Zawilska Jolanta B. , Vivien‐Roels Berthe , Skene Debra J. , Pévet Paul , Nowak Jerzy Z.
Published: November 2003

In the chick pineal gland, 5‐methoxytryptophol and melatonin concentrations fluctuate in a rhythmic manner. These rhythms are circadian in nature persisting in constant darkness and have opposite phases. Acute exposure of chicks to white light (30 lux for 5, 10, 20, and 30 min) at night increased the amount of pineal 5‐methoxytryptophol and decreased pineal melatonin content. A 6 hr pulse of light (100 lux) applied early in the subjective night (CT12–CT18) caused a delay in the phase of the circadian rhythms of 5‐methoxytryptophol and melatonin by 3.7 and 4.5 h, respectively, compared to untreated controls. When the 6 hr light pulse was given during the late subjective night (C18–CT24) it advanced the phase of the 5‐methoxytryptophol and melatonin rhythms by 8.1 and 11.9 h, respectively. In the chick pineal the phase‐advancing effects of light on the circadian rhythms of 5‐methoxytryptophol and melatonin were more pronounced than the phase‐delaying effects. Our results provide the first evidence that light is capable of phase shifting the 5‐methoxytryptophol rhythm in a manner similar to its action on the melatonin rhythm.
PKC activation by melatonin modulates vimentin intermediate filament organization in N1E‐115 cells
Authors: Benítez‐King Gloria
Published: November 2003

Melatonin enters cells and causes cytoskeletal rearrangements in unicellular organisms, plants and vertebrates. This pineal secretory product causes microtubule enlargement and neurite outgrowth by a calmodulin antagonism in N1E‐115 cells. Recently, direct in vitro activation of protein kinase C by melatonin was described. Vimentin intermediate filaments are attached to microtubules and their organization depends on both microtubule distribution and phosphorylation of specific proteins. Protein kinase C is a serine threonine kinase which phosphorylates vimentin and through this mechanism causes intermediate filament disassembly. In this work the effects of melatonin on protein kinase C activation, content, and subcellular distribution were studied in N1E‐115 cells. Also, melatonin effects on vimentin phosphorylation and subcellular distribution were explored. The results show that melatonin both activates and increases protein kinase C content in the membrane–cytoskeletal fraction. Melatonin protein kinase C activation was followed by an increase in both vimentin phosphorylation and by vimentin subcellular redistribution. Moreover, staurosporine, a serine threonine kinase inhibitor, prevented increased vimentin phosphorylation elicited by melatonin. Similar effects to those caused by melatonin were obtained with the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate. Data support the idea that melatonin modulates vimentin organization through protein kinase C activation.
Increased levels of oxidatively damaged DNA induced by chromium(III) and H2O2: protection by melatonin and related molecules
Authors: Qi Wenbo , Reiter Russel J , Tan Dun‐Xian , Manchester Lucien C , Siu Andrew W , Garcia Joaquin J
Published: November 2003

Chromium (Cr) compounds are known occupational and environmental carcinogens. This trace element is found in the workplace primarily in the valence forms Cr(III) and Cr(VI). Cr(III), which was thought originally to be relatively nontoxic, was recently found to be more reactive toward purified DNA than was chromium(VI). Herein, we examined the ability of Cr(III) to induce oxidative DNA damage by measuring the formation of 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OH‐dG) in purified calf thymus DNA incubated with CrCl3 plus H2O2. In
this system we observed that the Cr(III)‐induced formation of 8‐OH‐dG in
isolated DNA was both dose‐ and time‐dependent. When melatonin and
related molecules, including
6‐methoxy‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐β‐carboline (pinoline),
N‐acetylserotonin, 6‐hydroxymelatonin and indole‐3‐propionic acid, were
co‐incubated with CrCl3 plus H2O2, the
accumulations of 8‐OH‐dG in DNA samples were markedly inhibited in a
concentration‐dependent manner. The concentrations of each indole
required to reduce DNA damage by 50%, i.e. the IC50 values, were 0.48, 0.51, 0.88, 1.00 and 3.08 μM for pinoline, melatonin, N‐acetylserotonin, 6‐hydroxymelatonin and indole‐3‐propionic acid, respectively. These results suggest that one of the mechanisms by which Cr(III) may induce cancer is via Fenton‐type reactions which generate the hydroxyl radical (○OH). The findings also indicate that the protective effects of melatonin and related molecules against Cr(III)‐induced carcinogenesis relate to their direct ○OH scavenging ability which thereby reduces the formation of the damaged DNA product, 8‐OH‐dG.
Effect of melatonin on motility pattern of small intestine in rats and its inhibition by melatonin receptor antagonist S 22153
Authors: Merle A. , Delagrange Ph , Renard P. , Lesieur D. , Cuber J.C. , Roche M. , Pellissier S.
Published: November 2003

Melatonin is synthesized during the night by the pineal gland. Recently, melatonin binding sites have been identified in the gut. Despite few studies, the physiological role of melatonin in gut function remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of melatonin in the regulation of intestinal motility by using the melatonin receptor antagonist S 22153 in rats. Twenty‐four male Wistar rats (400±25 g) were equipped with intraparietal electrodes along the small intestine. Rats were subjected to a 12:12 hr light:dark schedule. During the dark phase, intestinal migrating motor complexes (MMCs) frequency increased (P<0.05) by 20% in the duodenum and in the jejunum compared with daylight. This effect is due to a significant reduction in the irregular spiking activity (ISA) of MMCs. Concurrently, at night, the duration of the postprandial motor response is reduced by 30% in the duodenum and 50% in the jejunum and ileum. The administration of S 22153 (2 mg/kg sc) at night suppressed these nocturnal variations and restored the daylight values. In contrast, S 22153 was ineffective during daylight whatever the digestive state. Administration of melatonin (1 mg/kg iv) during the preprandial state, 3 hr after light onset, decreased (−80%) the duration of the ISA of MMCs at the three intestinal levels. During the satiety phase, melatonin administered 10 min before or 15 min after food onset induced the appearance of a transitory preprandial‐like motor profile in the entire small intestine. In contrast, when administered at the end of the meal it was ineffective. Preprandial and postprandial melatonin effects were prevented by S 22153 pretreatment. In conclusion, these findings reveal, first, that endogenous melatonin is physiologically involved in the pre‐ and postprandial changes of intestinal motility at night. Second, exogenous melatonin produces pharmacological effects on pre‐ and postprandial intestinal motility. In both cases, the action of melatonin corresponds to an inhibition of ISA and a reinforcement of the cyclic MMC pattern.
Hydroxyl radical reaction with melatonin molecule: A computational study
Authors: Stasica P. , Paneth P. , Rosiak J.M.
Published: November 2003

Theoretical calculations of the HO• radical reaction with the melatonin molecule were performed. Reaction pathways with C2, C3, C4, C6 and C7 as the target carbon atoms and corresponding radical adducts were studied. Low activation energies of all adducts suggest that these reactions should occur quite easily and with rather low selectivity. C2 carbon as the most probable site of attack and C3 as the least probable one are proposed.
Low urinary 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin levels in patients with coronary artery disease
Authors: Girotti Luis , Lago Manuel , Ianovsky Oscar , Carbajales Justo , Elizari Marcelo V. , Brusco Luis I. , Cardinali Daniel P.
Published: November 2003

A decrease in nocturnal serum melatonin levels was reported in patients with clinically uncharacterized coronary artery disease. To assess whether there was a correlation between melatonin production and disease stage, we measured the nocturnal urinary excretion of 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin (an index of blood melatonin concentration) in patients with chronic stable or unstable coronary disease and in a group of age‐matched controls. Three groups of individuals were studied: a) 24 healthy subjects (mean age: 63±13 yr); b) 32 patients with chronic, stable, coronary disease (62±11 yr); and c) 27 patients with unstable angina (62±12 yr). For 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin measurement, urine was collected from 18:00 to 06:00 hr, within 48 hr of hospitalization in the case of unstable angina. 6‐Sulphatoxymelatonin was measured by a specific radioimmunoassay. Urinary 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin excretion was significantly lower in unstable angina patients than in healthy subjects or in patients with stable angina. 6‐Sulphatoxymelatonin correlated negatively with age in healthy subjects, but not in coronary patients. 6‐Sulphatoxymelatonin excretion in patients treated with β‐adrenoceptor blockers did not differ significantly from coronary patients not receiving β‐blockers. The results indicate that patients with coronary disease have a low melatonin production rate, with greater decreases in those with higher risk of cardiac infarction and/or death.
Potential involvement of mt1 receptor and attenuated sex steroid‐induced calcium influx in the direct anti‐proliferative action of melatonin on androgen‐responsive LNCaP human prostate cancer cells
Authors: Xi Si C. , Tam Po C. , Brown Gregory M. , Pang Shiu F. , Shiu Stephen Y.W.
Published: November 2003

Melatonin, a pineal secretory product, has been shown to exert a direct anti‐proliferative action on the androgen‐sensitive LNCaP prostate cancer cell line through hitherto undefined mechanisms. In this communication, expression of mt1 melatonin receptor protein in
human prostate cancer tissues and LNCaP cells was demonstrated by
immunohisto(cyto)chemistry and western blotting, hence supporting the use
of LNCaP cell line as a model for the study of melatonin signaling in
prostate cancer cell growth. Using

image

H‐thymidine incorporation assay, LNCaP cell proliferation was
inhibited by 2‐iodomelatonin, a high‐affinity melatonin receptor agonist.
Furthermore, melatonin inhibited

image

H‐thymidine incorporation into LNCaP cells and attenuated
5α‐dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or 17β‐estradiol
(E2)‐induced stimulation of LNCaP cell proliferation at
physiological and pharmacological concentrations. Similar
concentration‐dependent inhibition of sex steroid‐induced stimulation of
thymidine incorporation into LNCaP cells by 2‐iodomelatonin was also
observed. Interestingly, attenuation of sex steroid‐stimulated calcium
influx into LNCaP cells by pharmacological concentrations of melatonin
was recorded, whereas 2‐iodomelatonin had no effect on cytosolic calcium
changes induced by sex steroids. In addition, proliferative and cytosolic
calcium changes were associated with inhibition of total
prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) production by LNCaP cells at high
physiological and pharmacological concentrations of melatonin. Our data
suggest that activated mt1 receptor and attenuated sex steroid‐induced calcium influx are two important mechanisms mediating the direct anti‐proliferative action of melatonin on androgen‐responsive human prostate cancer cells.
Emerging roles for endocannabinoids in long‐term synaptic plasticity
Authors: Gerdeman Gregory L , Lovinger David M
Published: October 2003

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 781–789. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705466
Anandamide and vanilloid TRPV1 receptors
Authors: Ross Ruth A
Published: October 2003

A large body of evidence now exists to substantiate that the endocannabinoid, anandamide, activates TRPV1 receptors. It is a low intrinsic efficacy TRPV1 agonist that behaves as a partial agonist in tissues with a low receptor reserve, while in tissues with high receptor reserve and in circumstances associated with certain disease states, it behaves as a full agonist. The efficacy of anandamide as a TRPV1 agonist is influenced by a succession of factors including receptor reserve, phosphorylation, metabolism and uptake, CB1 receptor activation, voltage, temperature, pH and bovine serum albumin. There are indications that the endocannabinoid system may play a role in the modulation of TRPV1 receptor activation. The activation of TRPV1 receptors by anandamide has potential implications in the treatment of inflammatory, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. The relative importance of anandamide as a physiological and/or pathophysiological TRPV1 receptor agonist in comparison to other potential candidates has yet to be revealed.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 790–801. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705467
Cellular accumulation of anandamide: consensus and controversy
Authors: Hillard Cecilia J , Jarrahian Abbas
Published: October 2003

The endocannabinoids N‐arachidonylethanolamine (AEA or anandamide) and 2‐arachidonylglycerol (2‐AG) are hypothesized to function in the brain as interneuronal signaling molecules. Prevailing models of the actions of these molecules require that they traverse cellular plasma membranes twice; first, following cellular synthesis and second, prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The transmembrane movement of AEA has been studied in multiple laboratories with a primary focus on its cellular accumulation following extracellular administration. Although there are areas of consensus among laboratories regarding AEA accumulation, several aspects are very unclear. In particular, there is a lack of consensus in the literature regarding the importance of AEA hydrolysis by fatty acid amide hydrolase in maintaining the driving force for accumulation. Furthermore, evidence for and against a transmembrane carrier protein has been published. We have reviewed the available literature and present a working model of the processes that are involved in the cellular accumulation of AEA. It is our hypothesis that transmembrane movement of AEA is regulated by concentration gradient between extracellular and intracellular free AEA. Furthermore, it is our view that a significant portion of the intracellular AEA in most cells is sequestered either by a protein or lipid compartment and that AEA sequestered in this manner does not equilibrate directly with the extracellular pool. Finally, we discuss the available data that have been presented in support of a transmembrane carrier protein for AEA.

British Journal of Pharmacology (2003) 140, 802–808. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705468