bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Specificity of the inhibitory effects of Dad on TGF‐β family type I receptors, Thickveins, Saxophone, and Baboon in Drosophila
Authors: Kamiya Yuto , Miyazono Kohei , Miyazawa Keiji
Published: June 2008

MINT‐6596817:

Smad7 (uniprotkb:O35253) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Sax (uniprotkb:Q7JQ39) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)

MINT‐6596699:

Dad (uniprotkb:O15968) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Sax (uniprotkb:Q7JQ39) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)

MINT‐6596805:

Smad7 (uniprotkb:O35253) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Thv (uniprotkb:Q95SI0) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)

MINT‐6596829:

Smad7 (uniprotkb:O35253) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Babo (uniprotkb:A1Z7L9) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)

MINT‐6596719:

Dad (uniprotkb:O15968) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Thv (uniprotkb:Q95SI0) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)
Alteration of p66shc is associated with endothelial dysfunction in the abdominal aortic coarctation of rats
Authors: Lee Sang Ki , Kim Hyo Shin , Song Yun Jeong , Joo Hee Kyoung , Lee Ji Young , Lee Kwon Ho , Cho Eun Jung , Cho Chung-Hyun , Park Jin Bong , Jeon Byeong Hwa
Published: June 2008

To examine the role of p66shc in endothelial dysfunction, we investigated the endothelium‐dependent relaxation, protein expression and superoxide production in abdominal aortic coarctation rats. Endothelium‐dependent relaxation to acetylcholine was impaired only in the aortic segments above the aortic coarctation (35.0±7.1% vs. 86.6 ± 6.0% for sham control at 1 μM Ach). The aortic segments exposed to increased blood pressure showed a decreased phosphorylation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, an increased phosphorylation of p66shc, and an increased superoxide production. Angiotensin II elicited a significantly increased phosphorylation of p66shc in the endothelial cells. Taken together, these findings suggest that the increased phosphorylation of p66shc is one of the important mediators in the impaired endothelium‐dependent relaxation of aortic coarctation rats.
Molecular mechanism of Zn2+agonism in the extracellular domain of GPR39
Authors: Storjohann Laura , Holst Birgitte , Schwartz Thue W.
Published: June 2008

Ala substitution of potential metal‐ion binding residues in the main ligand‐binding pocket of the Zn2+‐activated G protein‐coupled receptor 39 (GPR39) receptor did not decrease Zn2+potency. In contrast, Zn2+stimulation was eliminated by combined substitution of His17and His19, located in the N‐terminal segment. Surprisingly, substitution of Asp313located in extracellular loop 3 greatly increased ligand‐independent signaling and apparently eliminated Zn2+‐induced activation. It is proposed that Zn2+acts as an agonist for GPR39, not in the classical manner by directly stabilizing an active conformation of the transmembrane domain, but instead by binding to His17and His19in the extracellular domain and potentially by diverting Asp313from functioning as a tethered inverse agonist through engaging this residue in a tridentate metal‐ion binding site.
Sirtuin‐mediated deacetylation pathway stabilizes Werner syndrome protein
Authors: Kahyo Tomoaki , Mostoslavsky Raul , Goto Makoto , Setou Mitsutoshi
Published: June 2008

MINT‐6603869:

ubiquitin (uniprotkb:P62988) physically interacts (MI:0218) with WRN (uniprotkb:Q14191) by pull down (MI:0096)
Hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α regulates matrix metalloproteinase‐1 activity in human bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells
Authors: Lin Jiunn-Liang , Wang Ming Jen , Lee Donching , Liang Chun-Chin , Lin Shankung
Published: June 2008

We examined the mRNA levels of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) of eight osteoarthritis patients. BmMSC‐1, expressing higher HIF‐1α mRNA and protein than bmMSC‐5, elicited higher matrix metalloproteinase‐1 (MMP1) activity and stronger invasive capacity. In vitro invasion assays and quantitative PCR analyses showed that targeted inhibition of HIF‐1α in bmMSC‐1 decreased its invasion and expressions of MMP1 and MMP3, whereas overexpression of HIF‐1α in bmMSC‐5 increased its invasion and expressions of MMP1 and MMP3. Therefore, HIF‐1α can regulate MMP1 and MMP3 expressions in human bmMSCs, which might suggest a pathophysiological role of bmMSC expressing high HIF‐1α in bone diseases.
Stathmin/Op18 is a novel mediator of vinblastine activity
Authors: Devred Francois , Tsvetkov Philipp O. , Barbier Pascale , Allegro Diane , Horwitz Susan Band , Makarov Alexander A. , Peyrot Vincent
Published: June 2008

MINT‐6603918:

tubulin beta (uniprotkb:Q9H4B7), tubulin alpha (uniprotkb:Q71U36) and stathmin (uniprotkb:Q71U36) physically interact (MI:0218) by cosedimentation (MI:0027)

MINT‐6603930:

tubulin alpha (uniprotkb:Q71U36) physically interacts (MI:0218) with tubulin beta (uniprotkb:Q9H4B7) and stathmin (uniprotkb:P16949) by isothermal titration calorimetry (MI:0065)
P‐glycoprotein down‐regulates expression of breast cancer resistance protein in a drug‐free state
Authors: Bark Hyun , Xu Hai-Dong , Kim Sang-Hyun , Yun Jisoo , Choi Cheol-Hee
Published: June 2008

This study investigated whether P‐glycoprotein (Pgp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) are linked in terms of expression. RT‐PCR and Western blot analyses showed that the lung cancer cell line SK‐MES‐1/WT expressed BCRP. In a drug‐free state, BCRP expression was significantly down‐regulated in doxorubicin‐resistant SK‐MES‐1/DX1000 cells overexpressing Pgp. Pharmacological inhibitors (PSC833 or verapamil) or siRNA for Pgp inhibited the down‐regulation of BCRP, which was confirmed by confocal microscopy. PSC833 induced the phosphorylation of c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase (JNK) and c‐Jun, while the JNK inhibitor SP600125 inhibited this effect. Dominant negative c‐Jun decreased the expression of BCRP, but increased that of Pgp. These results indicate that Pgp down‐regulates BCRP expression in a drug‐free state in which JNK/c‐Jun is involved.
Flightless‐I, a gelsolin family member and transcriptional regulator, preferentially binds directly to activated cytosolic CaMK‐II
Authors: Seward Matthew E. , Easley Charles A. , McLeod Jamie J. , Myers Alexandra L. , Tombes Robert M.
Published: June 2008

MINT‐6603828:

delta CaMK-II (uniprotkb:Q6PHZ2) binds (MI:0407) to Flightless-I (uniprotkb:Q9JJ28) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)

MINT‐6603847:

delta CaMK-II (uniprotkb:Q6PHZ2) phosphorylates (MI:0217) MAP2 (uniprotkb:P20357) by protein kinase assay (MI:0424)

MINT‐6603768:

beta CaMK-II (uniprotkb:P28652) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Flightless-I (uniprotkb:Q9JJ28) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)

MINT‐6603759, MINT‐6603776, MINT‐6603786:

delta CaMK-II (uniprotkb:Q6PHZ2) physically interacts (MI:0218) with Flightless-I (uniprotkb:Q9JJ28) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)

MINT‐6603724:

CaMK-II delta (uniprotkb:Q6PHZ2) physically interacts (MI:0218) with beta 5tubulin (uniprotkb:P99024), beta 2c tubulin (uniprotkb:P68372), alpha 1a tubulin (uniprotkb:P68369), b-Actin (uniprotkb:P60710), Tropomodulin-3 (uniprotkb:Q9JHJ0), Flightless-I (uniprotkb:Q9JJ28), FLAP1 (uniprotkb:Q3UZ39) and FLAP2 (uniprotkb:Q91WK0) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007).
The effect of MinC on FtsZ polymerization is pH dependent and can be counteracted by ZapA
Authors: Scheffers Dirk-Jan
Published: June 2008

The min system prevents polar cell division in bacteria. Here, the biochemical characterization of the interaction of MinC and FtsZ from a Gram‐positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, is reported. B. subtilis MinC inhibits FtsZ polymerization in a pH‐dependent manner by preventing the formation of lateral associations between filaments. The inhibitory effect of MinC on FtsZ polymerization is counteracted by the presence of ZapA, a protein that promotes FtsZ filament bundling.
The effects of tax policy on financial markets: G3 evidence
Authors: Arin K. Peren , Mamun Abdullah , Purushothman Nanda
Published: June 2008

We investigate the effects of various tax policy innovations on stock market returns. By using a vector autoregressive model that controls for the mutual causality between fiscal policy and financial market performance, we test whether financial markets serve as a transmission mechanism for tax policy innovations. Our findings indicate that indirect taxes have a larger effect on market returns than do labor taxes. Further, corporate tax innovations do not have any statistically significant effect on stock returns. We consider that this finding is a result of a firm's ability to switch between equity financing and bond financing.
Role of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration in assessing the impalpable cervical node with increased18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography scanning: preliminary communication
Authors: Wang C-P , Lee C-Y , Lou P-J , Yen R-F , Hsiao J-K , Ko J-Y
Published: June 2008

Objectives:

18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography can detect cervical metastases before they are palpable. However, false positive results are not uncommon. This paper reports the use of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration to determine the nature of impalpable cervical nodes that are positive on positron emission tomography scanning.

Methods:

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration was performed in 10 cancer patients with suspicious cervical nodes revealed by positron emission tomography scan. Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed.

Results:

The underlying cancers included lung cancer (three patients), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (two), oesophageal cancer (two), buccal cancer (one), bladder cancer (one) and Langerhan's histiocytosis (one). The lymph nodes were located in the supraclavicular region in four patients, the level II region in four, the level IV region in one and the accessory chain in one. Cytological examination was positive for malignant cells in eight patients, all of whom received salvage treatment. Two of these patients died of distant metastases. Cytological examination revealed a benign or reactive lesion in two patients, who at the time of writing were alive and well, 19 and 36 months after examination.

Conclusions:

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration is a minimally invasive procedure which enables cytological examination of suspicious cervical lymph nodes detected by positron emission tomography scanning, allowing further treatment to be planned.
Down syndrome: otolaryngological effects of rapid maxillary expansion
Authors: de Moura C Pinto , Andrade D , Cunha L M , Tavares M J , Cunha M J , Vaz P , Barros H , Pueschel S M , Pais Clemente M
Published: June 2008

Objective:

Phenotypical Down syndrome includes pharyngeal and maxillary hypoplasia and, frequently, constricted maxillary arch with nasal obstruction.

Study design:

This clinical trial assessed the effects of rapid maxillary expansion on ENT disorders in 24 children with Down syndrome randomly allocated to receive either rapid maxillary expansion or not. Each group received ENT and speech therapy assessments before expansion and after the device had been removed.

Results:

In the rapid maxillary expansion group, the yearly ENT infection rate was reduced when assessed after device removal (p < 0.01). The parents of rapid maxillary expansion children reported a reduction in respiratory obstruction symptoms. Audiological assessment revealed improvements in the rapid maxillary expansion group (p < 0.01). Cephalometry showed increased maxillary width in the rapid maxillary expansion group.

Conclusions:

Rapid maxillary expansion resulted in a reduction in hearing loss, yearly rate of ENT infections and parentally assessed symptoms of upper airway obstruction, compared with no treatment. These findings are probably related to expanded oronasal space, due to rapid maxillary expansion.
Analysis of oncological and functional failures following near-total laryngectomy
Authors: Thakar A , Bahadur S , Toran K C , Mohanti B K , Julka P K
Published: June 2008

Objective:

To improve case selection for near-total laryngectomy by identifying the causes of poor oncological and functional outcomes.

Methods:

Analysis of prospectively accrued data for 28 consecutive cases of near-total laryngectomy undertaken between 1996 and 2005 at a tertiary care centre. We analysed the impact of tumour extent and location, patient physiological status, and surgical technique on disease-free survival and on functional outcome.

Results:

Patients' average four-year Kaplan–Meier disease-free survival was 74 per cent (95 per cent confidence intervals, 46–89 per cent). Eighty-two per cent of patients had good to excellent functional outcomes. Pre-operative tumour extension to the ipsilateral arytenoid significantly compromised disease-free survival (patients with this development had a two-year survival of 40 per cent;p = 0.001). Internal communicating fistula formation (i.e. a fistula between the neopharynx and myomucosal shunt lumens) occurred in five of 28 cases and was uniformly associated with a poor functional outcome (i.e. lack of phonation with or without aspiration). Fistula formation was significantly more likely in cases with tumour involving the ipsilateral arytenoid and the ipsilateral subglottis.

Conclusions:

Significant disparity exists for the functional outcome of near-total laryngectomy in patients who develop post-surgical internal fistula, compared with those with uneventful healing. Tumour involvement of the ipsilateral arytenoid compromises the oncological and functional results. Tumour extension to the subglottis may compromise functional outcome. Near-total laryngectomy should be avoided in cases with ipsilateral arytenoid involvement, and undertaken with caution in cases with subglottic extension.
Electron microscopy study of peripheral nerves in the uvulae of snorers and obstructive sleep apnoea patients
Authors: Bassiouny A , Nasr S , Mashaly M , Ayad E , Qotb M , Atef A
Published: June 2008

Hypothesis:

The pathophysiology of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea is still unclear. Two theories are proposed. The first is the obstructive theory, which postulates palatopharyngeal muscle hypertrophy leading to airway narrowing; there is no neural role. The second is the neurogenic theory, which postulates neural degeneration due to vibratory stretch trauma, leading to muscle atrophy and collapse. As identification of nerve fibres in the uvula and palate is difficult and time-consuming, all previous studies aiming to differentiate between these two theories have been based on indirect observation of the muscles, rather than direct study of the nerves.

Methods:

We conducted a prospective study to directly observe and study nerve fibres in uvular specimens from 10 cases of obstructive sleep apnoea, compared with specimens from 10 cases of simple snoring, using transmission electron microscopy. Five autopsy cases served as controls.

Results:

Obstructive sleep apnoea was associated with definite degenerative changes in myelinated and unmyelinated nerve endings. These degenerative changes were present to a lesser degree and in a smaller proportion of cases of simple snoring.

Conclusion:

The events postulated by the neurogenic theory of obstructive sleep apnoea appear to play an important role in the pathophysiology of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea.
Infection rates after tympanostomy tube insertion, comparing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in the Northern Territory, Australia: a retrospective, comparative study
Authors: Jassar P , Sibtain A , Marco D , Jose J , Hunter G
Published: June 2008

Objective:

To determine if there is a difference in infection rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, following tympanostomy and ventilation tube placement, in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Materials and methods:

A cohort of 213 patients aged zero to 10 years who had undergone tympanostomy and ventilation tube placement at the Royal Darwin Hospital between 1996 and 2004 were identified. Patients were divided into Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal groups, from their medical record. Factors such as age, sex, dwelling (remote or urban) and season were compared for each group, in order to ascertain if they contributed to infection rates. A retrospective analysis of cases was conducted for the two-year post-operative period.

Results:

There was no statistically significant difference in infection rates between the two groups (37 vs 35 per cent). There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the two groups for age, sex, season, or remote vs urban dwelling.

Conclusion:

Aboriginal children were not prone to more infections following tympanostomy tube placement when compared with non-Aboriginal children.
Maxillary haemangioma successfully resected by endoscopic approach
Authors: Kanazawa T , Inoue R , Ohta Y , Watanabe Y , Iino Y
Published: June 2008

Objective:

We report an extremely rare case of maxillary haemangioma.

Method:

Case report and review of the literature concerning haemangioma arising from the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.

Results:

Maxillary haemangioma is rare and sometimes requires wider resection than nasal haemangioma if a large tumour is found. We present a case of maxillary haemangioma in a 37-year-old Japanese woman, which was completely resected by pre-operative embolisation and endoscopic sinus surgery.

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest that if a large maxillary haemangioma is diagnosed pre-operatively, the treatment of choice is pre-operative embolisation followed by endoscopic sinus surgery, in order to avoid the surgical complications associated with wide resection.
Case of thyroid hemiagenesis and ectopic lingual thyroid presenting as goitre
Authors: Yang Y S , Hong K H
Published: June 2008

Objective:

We report an extremely rare case of thyroid hemiagenesis with ectopic lingual thyroid.

Method:

Case report and review of the world literature concerning thyroid hemiagenesis with ectopic lingual thyroid and heredity.

Results:

Ectopic thyroid is an uncommon embryological aberration characterised by the presence of thyroid tissue in a site other than its usual, pretracheal location. The lingual thyroid is the most common manifestation of benign ectopic thyroid tissue, but is still a rare clinical entity. Thyroid hemiagenesis is also a very rare abnormality, in which one thyroid lobe fails to develop. We report a case of left thyroid hemiagenesis and goitre in the right lobe in a 26-year-old woman with an ectopic lingual thyroid.

Conclusion:

To our knowledge, this is the first report in the world literature of thyroid hemiagenesis with ectopic lingual thyroid.
Paediatric tonsillectomy: parental experience and outcomes
Authors: Robb P J , Gowrinath K , Agyeman K , Joseph J
Published: June 2008

Objective:

To evaluate parental experience, satisfaction and outcomes following their child's tonsillectomy surgery.

Design:

Structured postal questionnaire sent to the parents or guardians of 77 sequential children undergoing elective day-case tonsillectomy.

Subjects:

Seventy-seven children with a mean age of 6.25 years (range three to 17 years) undergoing day-case tonsillectomy predominantly for recurrent acute tonsillitis, upper airway obstruction or a combination of these symptoms; 63.6 per cent of the parents or guardians of these children responded to the questionnaire.

Results:

There was overall satisfaction with the operation, and positive health outcomes.

Conclusions:

Despite the current public health agenda to limit access to routine high volume operations such as childhood tonsillectomy on economic grounds, the users of this service rated the outcomes and benefits of the procedure highly.
Anorexia nervosa trios: behavioral profiles of individuals with anorexia nervosa and their parents
Authors: Jacobs M. J. , Roesch S. , Wonderlich S. A. , Crosby R. , Thornton L. , Wilfley D. E. , Berrettini W. H. , Brandt H. , Crawford S. , Fichter M. M. , Halmi K. A. , Johnson C. , Kaplan A. S. , LaVia M. , Mitchell J. E. , Rotondo A. , Strober M. , Woodside D. B. , Kaye W. H. , Bulik C. M.
Published: June 2008

Background

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with behavioral traits that predate the onset of AN and persist after recovery. We identified patterns of behavioral traits in AN trios (proband plus two biological parents).

Method

A total of 433 complete trios were collected in the Price Foundation Genetic Study of AN using standardized instruments for eating disorder (ED) symptoms, anxiety, perfectionism, and temperament. We used latent profile analysis and ANOVA to identify and validate patterns of behavioral traits.

Results

We distinguished three classes with medium to large effect sizes by mothers' and probands' drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, neuroticism, trait anxiety, and harm avoidance. Fathers did not differ significantly across classes. Classes were distinguished by degree of symptomatology rather than qualitative differences. Class 1 (~33%) comprised low symptom probands and mothers with scores in the healthy range. Class 2 (~43%) included probands with marked elevations in drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, neuroticism, trait anxiety, and harm avoidance and mothers with mild anxious/perfectionistic traits. Class 3 (~24%) included probands and mothers with elevations on ED and anxious/perfectionistic traits. Mother–daughter symptom severity was related in classes 1 and 3 only. Trio profiles did not differ significantly by proband clinical status or subtype.

Conclusions

A key finding is the importance of mother and daughter traits in the identification of temperament and personality patterns in families affected by AN. Mother–daughter pairs with severe ED and anxious/perfectionistic traits may represent a more homogeneous and familial variant of AN that could be of value in genetic studies.
A developmental twin study of symptoms of anxiety and depression: evidence for genetic innovation and attenuation
Authors: Kendler K. S. , Gardner C. O. , Lichtenstein P.
Published: June 2008

Background

Little is known about the pattern of genetic and environmental influences on symptoms of anxiety and depression (SxAnxDep) from childhood to early adulthood.

Method

Parental- and self-reported levels of SxAnxDep were assessed at ages 8–9, 13–14, 16–17 and 19–20 years in 2508 twins from the Swedish Twin Study of Child and Adolescent Development (TCHAD). Analysis conducted using the Mx program included SxAnxDep by parental and self-report.

Results

The best-fit model revealed one genetic risk factor for SxAnxDep acting at ages 8–9, 13–14, 16–17 and 19–20, and new sets of genetic risk factors ‘coming on line’ in early adolescence, late adolescence and early adulthood. Together, these genetic factors were very strong influences on the levels of SxAnxDep reported in common by parents and twins with heritability estimates, correcting for rater- and time-specific effects, ranging from 72% to 89%. The first genetic factor, which accounted for 72% of the variance in SxAnxDep at ages 8–9, attenuated sharply in influence, accounting for only 12% of the variance by ages 19–20. No evidence was found for shared environmental influences. Although not statistically significant, the correlation between genetic risk factors for SxAnxDep in males and females declined with advancing age.

Conclusions

Genetic effects on SxAnxDep are developmentally dynamic from middle childhood to young adulthood, demonstrating both genetic innovation and genetic attenuation. The attenuation might explain the low levels of continuity observed for anxiety and depressive disorders from childhood to adulthood. Differences in genetic risk factors for SxAnxDep in males and females may increase during development.
Précis ofNeuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognition
Authors: Sirois Sylvain , Spratling Michael , Thomas Michael S. C. , Westermann Gert , Mareschal Denis , Johnson Mark H.
Published: June 2008

Neuroconstructivism: How the Brain Constructs Cognitionproposes a unifying framework for the study of cognitive development that brings together (1) constructivism (which views development as the progressive elaboration of increasingly complex structures), (2) cognitive neuroscience (which aims to understand the neural mechanisms underlying behavior), and (3) computational modeling (which proposes formal and explicit specifications of information processing). The guiding principle of our approach iscontext dependence, within and (in contrast to Marr [1982]) between levels of organization. We propose that three mechanisms guide the emergence of representations: competition, cooperation, and chronotopy; which themselves allow for two central processes: proactivity and progressive specialization. We suggest that the main outcome of development is partial representations, distributed across distinct functional circuits. This framework is derived by examining development at the level of single neurons, brain systems, and whole organisms. We use the termsencellment,embrainment, andembodimentto describe the higher-level contextual influences that act at each of these levels of organization. To illustrate these mechanisms in operation we provide case studies in early visual perception, infant habituation, phonological development, and object representations in infancy. Three further case studies are concerned with interactions between levels of explanation: social development, atypical development and within that, developmental dyslexia. We conclude that cognitive development arises from a dynamic, contextual change in embodied neural structures leading to partial representations across multiple brain regions and timescales, in response to proactively specified physical and social environment.
Are interactive specialization and massive redeployment compatible?
Authors: Anderson Michael L.
Published: June 2008

I offer a simple method for further investigating the Interactive Specialization framework, and some data that may or may not be compatible with the approach, depending on the precise meaning of “specialization.” Findings from my lab indicate that, while networks of brain areas cooperate in specialized ways to support cognitive functions, individual brain areas participate in many such networks, in different cognitive domains.
Neuroconstructivism: Evidence for later maturation of prefrontally mediated executive functioning
Authors: Foster Jonathan , van Eekelen Anke , Mattes Eugen
Published: June 2008

The authors of this commentary concur with the viewpoint presented by Mareschal et al. (2007a; 2007b) concerning the relevance of neurological data when theorizing about cognitive development. However, we argue here that Mareschal et al. fail to consider adequately the relevance of reorganizational brain events occurring through adolescence and early adulthood, especially regarding the prefrontal cortex and the ontogeny of executive functioning. In addition, evidence from the lifespan neurodevelopmental literature indicates that increased activity of neural networks may signify less efficient processing. This observation is of potential relevance when considering the neurological changes associated with cognitive development during childhood and adolescence.
Beyond mechanism and constructivism
Authors: Kotchoubey Boris
Published: June 2008

Neuroconstructivism is a hybrid of two incompatible philosophical traditions: a radical idealism insisting upon the free activity of the Subject; and a radical materialistic anthropomorphism, which ascribes inherent properties of humans (e.g., the ability to construct) to nonhuman objects or body parts (e.g., the brain). The two traditions can be combined only by obscuring or confusing the basic notions.
Toward automatic constructive learning
Authors: Shultz Thomas R.
Published: June 2008

Neuroconstructivist modeling can be usefully extended with algorithms that build their own topology and recruit existing knowledge, effectively constructing a hierarchy of network modules. Possible benefits include allowing abilities to emerge naturally, in a way that affords objective study, deeper insights, and more rapid progress, and provides more serious consideration of the implications of constructivism.
Studying development in the 21stCentury
Authors: Thomas Michael S. C. , Westermann Gert , Mareschal Denis , Johnson Mark H. , Sirois Sylvain , Spratling Michael
Published: June 2008

In this response, we consider four main issues arising from the commentaries to the target article. These include further details of the theory of interactive specialization, the relationship between neuroconstructivism and selectionism, the implications of neuroconstructivism for the notion of representation, and the role of genetics in theories of development. We conclude by stressing the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in the future study of cognitive development and by identifying the directions in which neuroconstructivism can expand in the Twenty-first Century.
Psychosis and autism as diametrical disorders of the social brain
Authors: Crespi Bernard , Badcock Christopher
Published: June 2008

Autistic-spectrum conditions and psychotic-spectrum conditions (mainly schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression) represent two major suites of disorders of human cognition, affect, and behavior that involve altered development and function of the social brain. We describe evidence that a large set of phenotypic traits exhibit diametrically opposite phenotypes in autistic-spectrum versus psychotic-spectrum conditions, with a focus on schizophrenia. This suite of traits is inter-correlated, in that autism involves a general pattern of constrained overgrowth, whereas schizophrenia involves undergrowth. These disorders also exhibit diametric patterns for traits related to social brain development, including aspects of gaze, agency, social cognition, local versus global processing, language, and behavior. Social cognition is thus underdeveloped in autistic-spectrum conditions and hyper-developed on the psychotic spectrum.;>We propose and evaluate a novel hypothesis that may help to explain these diametric phenotypes: that the development of these two sets of conditions is mediated in part by alterations of genomic imprinting. Evidence regarding the genetic, physiological, neurological, and psychological underpinnings of psychotic-spectrum conditions supports the hypothesis that the etiologies of these conditions involve biases towards increased relative effects from imprinted genes with maternal expression, which engender a general pattern of undergrowth. By contrast, autistic-spectrum conditions appear to involve increased relative bias towards effects of paternally expressed genes, which mediate overgrowth. This hypothesis provides a simple yet comprehensive theory, grounded in evolutionary biology and genetics, for understanding the causes and phenotypes of autistic-spectrum and psychotic-spectrum conditions.
Theory of mind in autism, schizophrenia, and in-between
Authors: Abu-Akel Ahmad
Published: June 2008

Autism and schizophrenia are presented as the extremes of disorders affecting the social brain. By viewing human cognition impairment in terms of competence and performance, a variety of social brain disorders can be identified along the autistic-psychotic continuum.
The “mechanism” of human cognitive variation
Authors: Belmonte Matthew K.
Published: June 2008

The theory of psychosis and autism as diametrical disorders offers a tractable and testable view of normal and abnormal human cognitive variation as a function of opposing traits grouped by their selection for maternal and paternal reproductive fitness. The theory could be usefully rooted and developed with reference to the lower-level perceptual and attentional phenomena from which social cognitive modules are developmentally refined.
Genomic imprinting and disorders of the social brain; shades of grey rather than black and white
Authors: Davies William , Isles Anthony R.
Published: June 2008

Crespi & Badcock (C&B) provide a novel hypothesis outlining a role for imprinted genes in mediating brain functions underlying social behaviours. The basic premise is that maternally expressed genes are predicted to promote hypermentalistic behaviours, and paternally expressed genes hypomentalistic behaviours. The authors provide a detailed overview of data supporting their ideas, but as we discuss, caution should be applied in interpreting these data.
Is this conjectural phenotypic dichotomy a plausible outcome of genomic imprinting?
Authors: Dickins Benjamin James Alexander , Dickins David William , Dickins Thomas Edmund
Published: June 2008

What is the status of the dichotomy proposed and the nosological validity of the contrasting pathologies described in the target article? How plausibly can dysregulated imprinting explain the array of features described, compared with other genetic models? We believe that considering alternative models is more likely to lead in the long term to the correct classification and explanation of the component behaviours.
Are schizophrenics more religious? Do they have more daughters?
Authors: Kanazawa Satoshi
Published: June 2008

Combined with recent evolutionary psychological theories, Crespi & Badcock's (C&B's) intragenomic conflict theory of the social brain suggests that schizophrenics are more religious, and autistics are less religious, than the normal population. Combined with the generalized Trivers-Willard hypothesis (gTWH), it suggests that schizophrenics have more daughters, and autistics have more sons, than expected.
Why is creativity attractive in a potential mate?
Authors: Nettle Daniel
Published: June 2008

A number of studies suggest that women find artistically creative men attractive, especially in the short-term mating context. Artistic creativity (but not mathematical or technical creativity) is linked to psychosis-proneness. I hypothesise that in preferring artistically creative men, women may be choosing paternal genotypes that make babies that are not excessively somatically demanding on them.
Cortical plasticity: A proposed mechanism by which genomic factors lead to the behavioral and neurological phenotype of autism spectrum and psychotic-spectrum disorders
Authors: Oberman Lindsay M. , Pascual-Leone Alvaro
Published: June 2008

Crespi & Badcock (C&B) hypothesize that biases toward expression of paternally or maternally imprinted genes lead to the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and psychotic-spectrum disorders (PSD), respectively. We suggest that such genetic risk factors may act by inducing abnormalities in developmental and learning-related plasticity. We provide preliminary evidence of abnormal plasticity in ASD and suggest transcranial magnetic stimulation as a useful tool to investigate as well as influence cortical plasticity.
Psychiatric disorders and the social brain: Distinguishing mentalizing and empathizing
Authors: Troisi Alfonso
Published: June 2008

Social cognition is a broad term, incorporating all aspects of social functioning from perceiving emotional stimuli to attributional style and theory of mind. Not distinguishing between these different capacities may confound the interpretation of the data deriving from studies of the relationship between psychiatric disorders and the social brain. The distinction between cognitive and affective components of social cognition is clearly exemplified by the abnormalities observed in psychopathy and Williams syndrome.
Towards a computational neuroscience of autism-psychosis spectrum disorders
Authors: Vladusich Tony
Published: June 2008

Crespi & Badcock (C&B) hypothesize that psychosis and autism represent opposite poles of human social cognition. I briefly outline how computational models of cognitive brain function may be used as a resource to further develop and experimentally test hypotheses concerning “autism-psychosis spectrum disorders.”1
Digit ratio (2D:4D) as a marker for mental disorders: Low (masculinized) 2D:4D in autism-spectrum disorders, high (feminized) 2D:4D in schizophrenic-spectrum disorders
Authors: Voracek Martin
Published: June 2008

Augmenting and supplementing the arguments of Crespi & Badcock (C&B), I show that digit ratio (2D:4D), a putative marker of prenatal androgen action, indeed appears differentially altered in autism-spectrum disorders (lower/masculinized) versus schizophrenic-spectrum disorders (higher/feminized). Consistent with C&B's framework, some evidence (substantial heritability, assortative mating, sex-specific familial transmission) points to possible sex chromosome and imprinted genes effects on 2D:4D expression.
The evolutionary social brain: From genes to psychiatric conditions
Authors: Crespi Bernard , Badcock Christopher
Published: June 2008

The commentaries on our target article, “Psychosis and Autism as Diametrical Disorders of the Social Brain,” reflect the multidisciplinary yet highly fragmented state of current studies of human social cognition. Progress in our understanding of the human social brain must come from studies that integrate across diverse analytic levels, using conceptual frameworks grounded in evolutionary biology.
Optimal Hatch Filter with an Adaptive Smoothing Window Width
Authors: Park Byungwoon , Sohn Kyoungho , Kee Changdon
Published: June 2008

The Hatch filter is a code-smoothing technique using integrated carrier phase observations. It is an easy technique that non-experts can use to reduce receiver noise on the pseudorange. This paper suggests a new algorithm for the optimal Hatch filter whose smoothing window width varies adaptively depending on the regional, diurnal and seasonal ionospheric variation and satellite elevation angle. We consider both quiet and storm conditions of the ionosphere. Using the well-known quiet ionospheric model, a conservative boundary value for ionospheric storm and the receiver noise statistics function of the satellite elevation angle, this algorithm can mathematically solve the optimal averaging constant for each satellite in every epoch. From a 24 hr data process result and real-time experiment, we found that the position accuracy of the optimal Hatch filter is better and more robust than that of the traditional Hatch filter. The optimal Hatch filter algorithm and its results are expected to provide a new solution for a single-frequency DGPS receiver and a thorough understanding of the relationship between the position error and the averaging constant. Furthermore, a DGPS user who applies this algorithm to a low-cost single-frequency receiver can obtain a more accurate and robust position result than via the classical Hatch filter.
Vector Solutions for Azimuth
Authors: Earle Michael A.
Published: June 2008

Vector based methods applied to navigational problems offer some advantages in the calculation of distance and azimuth. In this paper, the methods of vector analysis are used to develop a variety of expressions for azimuth that are suited to both the syntax of computer algorithms and commercial mathematical software. The solutions presented here do not require recourse to the rules of spherical trigonometry - a distinct advantage when dealing with the spheroid. In the process of preparing this paper, an error of principle that occurred in a previous work was revealed and is repaired here.
UWB and MEMS Based Indoor Navigation
Authors: Pittet Sylvain , Renaudin Valérie , Merminod Bertrand , Kasser Michel
Published: June 2008

Thanks to its physical characteristics, Ultra-wideband (UWB) is one of the most promising technologies for indoor pedestrian navigation. UWB radio localisation systems however experience multipath phenomena that decrease the precision and the reliability of the user's location. To cope with complex indoor environments, UWB radio signals are coupled with inertial measurements from Micro Electro Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) in an extended Kalman filter. Improved performances of the filter are presented and compared with reference trajectories and with pure inertial solutions. Only specific selection methods enable this improvement by detecting and removing outliers in the raw localisation data.
Multipath Mitigation by Global Robust Estimation
Authors: Baselga Sergio , García-Asenjo Luis
Published: June 2008

In the last decades, robust estimation has been widely applied to overcome the presence of gross errors in observations. Recently it has been shown that robust estimation, if computed appropriately, is able to cope with a larger amount of gross errors and also capable of providing reliable estimations in situations where systematic errors are present. It is the purpose of this paper to propose the use of global robust estimation for computing baselines strongly affected by multipath effects.
Cultural Property, Museums, and the Pacific: Reframing the Debates
Authors: Geismar Haidy
Published: June 2008

The following short articles were presented at a special session of the Pacific Arts Association, held at the College Arts Association annual meeting in New York in February 2007. Entitled “Cultural Properties—Reconnecting Pacific Arts,” the panel brought together curators and anthropologists working in the Pacific, and with Pacific collections elsewhere, with the intention of presenting a series of case studies evoking the discourse around cultural property that has emerged within this institutional, social, and material framework. The panel was conceived in direct response to the ways thatcultural property, specifically in relation to museum collections, has been discussed recently in major metropolitan art museums such as the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met). This prevailing cultural property discourse tends to useantiquities—that most ancient, valuable, and malleable of material culture, defined categorically by the very distancing of time that in turn becomes a primary justification for their circulation on the market or the covetous evocation of national identity—as a baseline for discussion of broader issues around national patrimony and ownership.
Relational Objects: Connecting People and Things Through Pasifika Styles
Authors: Herle Anita
Published: June 2008

Debates around cultural properties tend to focus on law and ethics, on appropriation and ownership, with media representations often producing stereotypes that reinforce and polarize the terms of the debate. The common, typically polemical, notion is that rapacious museums are merely a final resting point for captive static objects, with repatriation viewed as simply restorative compensation. A robust challenge to this view was developed in the Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums signed in 2002 by the directors of 19 leading museums in Europe and North America. The concept of theuniversal museumasserts that objects are cared for and held in trust for the world, overriding shifting political and ethnic boundaries and enabling the visitor to see “different parts of the world as indissolubly linked.” Although many would be in sympathy with the rhetorical position asserted, critics have argued that the declaration is a thinly veiled attempt to bolster immunity to repatriation claims. On both sides of the debate, the hegemonic position of many museums remains unsettling.
Promiscuous Things: Perspectives on Cultural Property Through Photographs in the Purari Delta of Papua New Guinea
Authors: Bell Joshua A.
Published: June 2008

Within this article I discuss the productive potentials of looking at historic photographs of the Purari Delta with indigenous communities today. A particular type of artifact, the meanings of photographs are promiscuous. Thinking about the shape of cultural property relations that are manifest photographs, I show how engagements with indigenous communities unsettles European preconceptions about what photographs are as well as how doing so raises issues about what cultural property is, and perhaps can be. Instead of being a discreet entity, cultural property for the I'ai emerges as a network of relationships that envelopes people, environment, and ancestors. This expansive notion of cultural property can help us rethink how we treat and handle objects within museums and archives.
Te Pahitauā: Border Negotiators
Authors: Baker Jade Tangiāhua
Published: June 2008

Objects were and still are pivotal in configuring intertribal relationships; and equally, they played a crucial role in negotiating the borders between early colonial situations and Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. This article explores the notion of object efficacy through discussing further relational values such as place, oral and written histories, visionary leadership, and political and culturally defined imperatives, particularly as they contribute to reviving an object's embedded knowledge, in this case the entangled agencies of taonga.
Museums and the Things in Them Should Be Alive
Authors: Busse Mark
Published: June 2008

Over the last 20 years, museums have attracted unprecedented academic attention. For the first time in their history, museums as institutions have been the subject of theorizing as well as intense academic and public debates about their place in the contemporary world. Much of the theoretical work has taken place in the context of the New Museology, a critical goal of which has been to rethink the manifold and complex relationships between museums and the societies in which they exist. Advocates of the New Museology have prominently sought ways to make museums less elitist but more inclusive, that is more directly and democratically involved with their various constituencies such as the people who create and use the objects that museums collect or the audiences who visit museum exhibitions and participate in museum programs. Unfortunately, the New Museology has been rather long on theory and rather short on detailed explorations or accounts of the implications of its theoretical formulations for museum practice, that is for the day-to-day activities and interactions comprising the work that goes on in and around museums.
Alteration in ultrastructural morphology of bovine embryos following subzonal microinjection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV)
Authors: Kubovičová E. , Makarevich A. V. , Pivko J. , Chrenek P. , Grafenau P. , Ríha L'. , Sirotkin A. V. , Louda F.
Published: June 2008

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the development and ultrastructure of preimplantation bovine embryos that were exposed to bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in vitro.

The embryos were recovered from superovulated and fertilized Holstein-Friesian donor cows on day 6 of the estrous cycle. Compact morulae were microinjected with 20 pl of BVDV suspension (105.16 TCID50/ml viral stock diluted 1:4) under the zona pellucida (ZP), then washed in SOF medium and cultured for 24–48 h. Embryos were evaluated for developmental stages and then processed immunocytochemically for the presence of viral particles, using fluorescent anti-BVDV–FITC conjugate. Ultrastructure of cellular organelles was analysed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

After microinjection of BVDV under the ZP, significantly more (p < 0.001) embryos (83.33%) were arrested at the morula stage compared with the intact control (30.33%). Immunocytochemical analysis localized the BVDV–FITC signal inside the microinjected embryos. TEM revealed: (i) the presence of virus-like particles in the dilated endoplasmic reticulum and in cytoplasmic vacuoles of the trophoblast and embryoblast cells; (ii) the loss of microarchitecture: and (iii) abnormal disintegrated nuclei, which lacked reticular structure and the heterochromatin area. In all, the embryo nuclear structure was altered and the microarchitecture of the nucleolus had disappeared when compared with the nuclei from control embryos. Dilatation of the intercellular space and the loss of the intercellular gap junctions were often observed in bovine BVDV-exposed embryos.

These findings provide evidence for the adverse effect of BVDV virus on the development of bovine embryos, which is related to irreversible changes in the ultrastructure of cell organelles.