bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Le Théâtre comme métaphore dans l'œuvre non-théâtrale de Michel Tremblay
Authors: Proulx Robert
Published: April 2012

C'est le théâtre qui a donné à Michel Tremblay une renommée internationale. Son œuvre théêtrale qui compte plus de vingt-six piàces originales, huit adaptations et un livret d'opéra connaît depuis près de quarante ans un succès considérable au Québec et à l'étranger. L'écriture dramatique, qu'il a découverte en particulier par la lecture des tragédies antiques, a été une telle révélation pour Tremblay qu'elle lui a non seulement inspiré son imposante oeuvre théâtrale, mais a aussi profondément marqué son écriture. À un point tel que même lorsqu'il pratique un autre genre, que ce soit le roman ou le récit autobiographique, des traces flagrantes de théâtralité y subsistent. Ce sont ces marques, qui peuvent prendre des formes diverses (dialogues, monologues, mises en scènes réelles ou imaginaires, métaphores, comparaisons, commentaires ressemblant à des didascalies), que nous ferons ressortir dans l'œuvre non-théâtrale de Tremblay. Si elles relèvent de différents procédés, elles participent toutes d'un large mouvement de mise en abyme du théâtre dans un autre genre littéraire et trahissent, du même coup, la force motrice irrépressible du théâtre dans l'écriture de Tremblay.
Les Femmes traits d'union dans les romans de Gisèle Pineau
Authors: Maisier Véronique
Published: April 2012

Dans le roman L'Espérance macadam (1995), un personnage de Gisèle Pineau distingue trois catégories de femmes existant en Guadeloupe: la "bougresse-vagabonde," la "femme-chiffe" et la "femme sauvée." Les implications contenues dans la présence ou l'absence du trait d'union dans les expressions désignant ces trois types de femmes orientent notre discussion sur les rapports homme/ femme décrits dans les romans de cette auteure. Perçu tantôt comme une cassure identitaire, tantôt comme une chaîne qu'on ne saurait briser, le trait d'union représente typographiquement les diffi cultés d'être femme aujourd'hui en Guadeloupe. L'inventaire et les portraits de femmes qui se dégagent de l' oeuvre de Gisèle Pineau soulignent par ailleurs un travail d'écriture qui cherche à éviter le manichéisme et le défaitisme afi n d'offrir la possibilité d'une reconstruction.
Le Chronotope du seuil dans Albertine, en cinq temps de Michel Tremblay
Authors: Mulczyk-Skarżyński Jacek
Published: April 2012

Albertine, en cinq temps est une des rares pièces de Tremblay où divers tempsespaces s'interpénètrent de façon particulièrement intense. Les territoires ouverts (Duhamel et parc Lafontaine), mi-ouverts (balcon de la rue Fabre), fermés (chambre) et mi-fermés (centre d'accueil pour personnes âgées), constituent des strates de la mémoire d'Albertine. Nous voudrions interroger ce dispositif qui s'incruste dans le monologue du personnage dans sa valeur existentielle et figurative. En nous servant du concept de chronotope de Bakhtine, nous observerons comment se construit la figure du "seuil" qui traverse le discours dramatique de Tremblay. Au lieu de figer le personnage dans un bilan rétrospectif d'une vie, le chronotope du "seuil" rend compte d'une dynamique de la transition. Il semble représenter le passage entre temps et espaces, là où se cristallisent les expériences essentielles d'Albertine, l'éternelle "fugueuse" du Plateau Mont-Royal, clivée entre l'aliénation familiale et le désir de l'émancipation sociale.
Un Blues d'amour: Aime comme musique ou comme mourir d'aimer de Nicole Cage-Florentiny
Authors: Sol Antoinette
Published: April 2012

Le roman de Nicole Cage-Florentiny, Aime comme Musique ou comme mourir d'aimer (2005), transcende les formalités et conventions du roman en puisant dans le répertoire des structures et techniques du jazz. La structure de texte joue sur deux plans: un plan traditionnel de roman mais aussi sur un plan plus ouvert, plus improvisé, où le lecteur et la lectrice peuvent s'insérer, s'imaginer dans cette histoire d'amour et de musique. Cage-Florentiny, comme le fait, mais d'une autre manière, Daniel Maximin et Toni Morrison entre autres, joue de l'écriture, joue de la plume comme instrument pour créer une composition écrite musicale. Dans cet article, on explorera l'art de la composition à l'improvisation sur un thème, le rôle que joue les sens, le langage, le ton et les thématiques qui relèvent du domaine de l'art né de la zone de contact, le creuset des cultures des Amériques, le jazz.
Du Texte à la mise en scène: Présence et prégnance du théâtre tremblayen
Authors: Killick Rachel
Published: April 2012

Les metteurs en scène, réalisateurs chacun à leur façon de la "partition" qu'est le texte de théâtre, occupent, avec leur équipe de praticiens, une place capitale dans la genèse à jamais parachevée des oeuvres théâtrales. Dans cette perspective, et en illustration des riches virtualités du théâtre de Michel Tremblay et ses prolongations variées en représentation, cet article propose une analyse de deux mises en scène majeures d' Albertine, en cinq temps , celle de la création par André Brassard en 1984 et celle de Martine Beaulne, réalisée à Montréal une dizaine d'années plus tard en 1995. Par leurs différences très marquées, ces deux mises en scène permettent d'apprécier les prégnances multiples dont les pièces de Michel Tremblay sont porteuses et la manière fascinante dont leurs potentialités s'éveillent au contact des différences de génération, d'époque, de tempérament et d'expérience des divers artistes, artisans du théâtre et spectateurs.
En aval de Shangri-La: Résurgences himalayennes dans l'espace francophone contemporain
Authors: Thévoz Samuel
Published: April 2012

L'on pourrait penser que le best-seller de James Hilton, Lost Horizon (1933) et le fi lm du même nom de Frank Capra (1937), qui, à l'aube de la mondialisation accélérée, inventaient la fi gure de Shangri-La, ont scellé par leur succès les modalités de représentation du Tibet et ont transformé durablement le Toit du Monde en un horizon utopique de l'Occident. Mais les représentations du Tibet au 20e siècle présentent-elles véritablement pareille homogénéité ? Ne faut-il pas tracer une histoire globale des représentations du Tibet traversée de phénomènes locaux de discontinuités et d'hétérogénéités ? C'est pour répondre à ce projet que le présent article s'intéresse à la résurgence récente du Tibet au sein de l'espace littéraire francophone, notamment sous la plume des poètes Kenneth White, Maurice Chappaz et André Velter. De par leurs projets esthétiques et leurs situations géolittéraires propres, ces trois auteurs témoignent d'une élaboration nouvelle d'un espace interculturel tibétain en littérature.
Une Américanité québécoise: Le corpus états-unien dans l'œuvre de traduction de Michel Tremblay
Authors: Ladouceur Louise
Published: April 2012

Dramaturge canadien de premier plan, Michel Tremblay est aussi un traducteur qui, depuis 1969, a signé les versions québécoises de 39 pièces dont plus de la moitié sont d'origine américaine. D'abord adaptées au contexte québécois, les pièces américaines vont par la suite être traduites de façon à conserver l'identité américaine des personnages tout en leur attribuant une langue populaire québécoise très accentuée. Cet usage a pour effet d'affi rmer l'américanité d'une langue québécoise, dont l'emploi s'étend maintenant à tout le continent, et la parenté des répeoires dramatiques québécois et américains. Dans un Québec post-référendaire, qui se voit dans l'obligation de repenser sa confi guration identitaire, plusieurs écrivains entreprennent l'exploration d'une extra-territorialité américaine. Chez Tremblay, c'est la traduction d'abord qui ouvre la voie à l'extra-territorialité et met l'accent sur une américanité québécoise véhiculée par la langue vernaculaire.
Les Personnages de Michel Tremblay: Un processus d'identification rétrospectif
Authors: Bergeron Serge
Published: April 2012

Depuis la parution, en 1996, de L'Univers de Michel Tremblay: dictionnaire des personnages de Jean-Marc Barrette, qui met au jour les quelques 2 170 personnages répartis alors dans quarante-quatre textes, il est apparu opportun de le remanier afin de tenir compte des détails que Michel Tremblay a ajoutés à l'ensemble de son œuvre. Celle-ci s'est en effet vue augmentée de vingt et un nouveaux textes et de plus de 1 400 personnages, dont certains se sont précisés et ont même trouvé leur identité, comme c'est le cas de Jean-Marc, Nana, Albertine, Thérèse et Marcel. Or, ces précisions sont éparpillées à un point tel dans l'œuvre de Michel Tremblay qu'il devient peut-être utile de rétablir l'ordre chronologique des actions.
Michel Tremblay: Bio-bibliographie
Authors: Bergeron Serge
Published: April 2012

Figure dominante de la dramaturgie québécoise, Michel Tremblay s'impose aussi comme romancier, traducteur, adaptateur et scénariste depuis la fin des années 1960. Les différents cycles qu'il a élaborés au fil des ans, tant dans ses pièces de théâtre que dans ses romans, présentent une version renouvelée du Plateau Mont-Royal, le quartier d'où il origine, au travers d'un univers peuplé de personnages issus d'un milieu modeste à qui il donne la parole. Michel Tremblay se pose en quelque sorte comme un observateur habile de la société montréalaise du 20e siècle.
La Fusion irréparable de la mère et du fils dans le monde de Michel Tremblay
Authors: Kapolka Karolina
Published: April 2012

Dans le monde vibrant et coloré de Michel Tremblay le puzzle familial est largement développé. Pourtant dans la multitude de relations entre les mères et leur fils occupe une place privilégiée. Aussi bien dans la production romanesque que dans les oeuvres dramatiques, le fils inspire à la mère tremblayenne un amour viscéral et aveugle. Comblée par sa présence, la génitrice forme avec lui un lien inséparable, éliminant le père du système familial. La domination absolue que de violentes Jocastes tremblayennes exercent sur leurs garçons a pour revers l'impuissance de ceux-ci à défaire le noeud oedipien. Ils restent alors des satellites vulnérables de leurs mères (frôlant parfois l'inceste), ou se réfugient dans l'homosexualité qui garantit à la mère une position privilégiée qui fait d'elle l'unique femme dans la vie de son fils.
Les Hiérarchies socio-économiques et ethniques à l'Ile Maurice: Homogénéités et ruptures dans l'identité des Franco-Mauriciens
Authors: Arnold Markus
Published: April 2012

L'article propose la mise en parallèle de quatre romans contemporains mauriciens qui thématisent des conflits identitaires socio-économiques et ethniques entre les différentes communautés de l'île. C'est en particulier le statut des Franco-Mauriciens, traditionnellement au faîte des hiérarchies matérielle, idéologique et symbolique de l'île, qui sera au centre de l'analyse. Situant leur intrigue dans l'époque coloniale du 20e siécle, les romans de Marie-Thérèse Humbert et de Renée Asgarally montrent comment les codes et esthétiques des Franco-Mauriciens deviennent normes et exemples à imiter pour d'autres communautés tout en dévoilant les failles du système idéologique. Amal Sewtohul révèlera de son côté une légère subversion de la stabilité des vieux clichés, tout en suggérant leur pertinence jusqu'à nos jours. Avec Bertrand de Robillard finalement, l'équation 'blanc = riche' ainsi que le mimétisme des Franco-Mauriciens commencent à être déconstruits. Pourtant, l'hybridité identitaire mise en scène se révèle toujours conflictuelle suggérant que les solidarités interethniques ne peuvent se défaire des cloisonnements socioculturels.
Échos de Nietzsche dans Le Gay Savoir de Michel Tremblay
Authors: Arino Marc
Published: April 2012

Il s'agit dans cet article de tenter de cerner l'enjeu épistémologique de la suite composée de La Nuit des princes charmants , de Quarante-quatre minutes, quarante-quatre secondes , du Cœur découvert et du Cœur éclaté ainsi que de Hôtel Bristol New-York, N.Y. : il semblerait en effet qu'au-delà de l'allusion intertextuelle au Gai savoir , la réunion de ces oeuvres en un Gay Savoir offre la possibilité d'une nouvelle herméneutique qui, en adoptant une perspective nietzschéenne, révèle un parcours, sinon philosophique, du moins qui traite du rapport de l'individu homosexuel à la souffrance et à la morale, à la sexualité via les pulsions qu'il déchaîne, ainsi qu'au "monde vrai" et à la pratique de l'art.
Du malaise de la "condition noire" dans la société française: Une identité composite en mal d'intégration dans quelques romans africains contemporains
Authors: Brezault Éloïse
Published: April 2012

Edward Said conclut son recueil d'essais, Culture et impérialisme , sur la vérité universelle de l'exil et fait du Migrant et de l'Exilé les figures les plus capables pour comprendre l'identité hybride et décentrée du monde actuel. Cependant, leur créativité et leur dynamisme, nous dit Said, se voient chaque jour, menacés par les méfaits de la globalisation et du repli identitaire. Au regard des réflexions de Said et des idées que Pap Ndiaye développe dans son essai La Condition noire , nous nous attacherons à voir comment se manifeste la perception de l'identité noire dans la société française, au travers de deux romans, Tels des astres éteints de Léonora Miano et Black Bazar d'Alain Mabanckou. Nous centrerons notre analyse sur la représentation de l'immigré africain ou du citoyen afro-français—qui est d'ailleurs rarement désigné en ces termes par les représentants de la République française.
On the Structure of Contemporary Japanese Aesthetics
Authors: Amit Rea
Published: April 2012

The jargon of Japanese art criticism has always had an abundance of unique terms, categories, and concepts. This is not only true when discussing traditional Japan, since there are just as many new terms today as there were in the past. Some of the new terms have developed or evolved from old ones, while others have appeared with no seeming connection to any traditional tendency. Yet, only a few of these terms can be considered for the meta-level discussion of Aesthetics, whether or not they can be linked with a certain historical linage, as they have a simple descriptive function. This article will first try to discern between aesthetic and non-aesthetic terms that are at the core of Japanese discourse today. Second, and accordingly, following the footsteps of the renowned modernist aesthetician Kuki Shūzō, this article will also try to convey a single linguistic map of the distinctive cultural Aesthetic that is in motion in Japan today.
Ch'oe Han-gi's Confucian Philosophy of Experience: New Names for Old Ways of Thinking
Authors: Chang Wonsuk
Published: April 2012

In this article, it is argued that Ch'oe Han-gi (1803-1877), a Korean Confucian scholar from the late Chosŏn, can be credited with finding the full philosophical significance of the notion of experience (kyŏnghŏm) . At the same time, his philosophy of experience can be interpreted adequately in the context of not British empiricist but Confucian philosophical assumptions. There is both continuity and discontinuity in Ch'oe's relation to Confucian tradition. Unlike the Confucian traditionalist, he admitted that inherited knowledge and practice are potentially fallible. Confucian tradition, though still reliable, becomes less important than the process of the world itself, in whose flux all experience must be repeatedly tested. For Ch'oe, humans imbued with configurative energy and with their capability for correlative thinking become skilled in experiencing the world directly without absolute dependence on past Confucian traditions.
On Nishida's Rationality Thesis
Authors: Odagiri Takushi
Published: April 2012

This article discusses Nishida's ideas of self-awareness, knowledge, and rationality, construing them as raising epistemological problems called "self-knowledge." Although the term "self-knowledge" signifies significantly varying problems within different philosophical traditions, the logic and argumentation behind them are often analogous, and it is on this resemblance that this article concentrates. It is argued here that the issues Nishida raises concerning knowledge of oneself as an agent are broader than those discussed in the contemporary Anglophone epistemology, and this broader concept of self-knowledge constitutes one of the central themes in Nishida's philosophy as a whole. Specifically, two versions are examined of the so-called "rationality" thesis with regard to self-knowledge and first-person authority in analytic philosophy (the basic and modified rationality theses), and these are compared with relevant notions in Nishida's theories of knowledge and self-awareness. The theories of Tyler Burge (the rationality thesis) and Richard Moran (the modified rationality thesis) are discussed, and the latter's self-commitment theory is regarded as having some similarity with Nishida's basic position. There are three levels in Nishida's account of self-awareness/self-knowledge: epistemic self-awareness, volitional self-awareness, and the so-called "noumenal self." This last notion, in which Nishida often describes the self as "place," entails his rationality thesis, namely that reason and first-personhood are deeply involved in one another, both postulating the noetic (non-cognitive) noumenal self-awareness.
The Ancients Did Not Fix Their Graves: Failure in Early Confucian Ritual
Authors: Kaulana Ing Michael David
Published: April 2012

The "Tangong Shang" chapter of the Liji provides a brief account of Confucius performing certain burial rites for his deceased parents. After finishing one portion of the rites, something awful occurs-heavy rains fall, causing the grave to collapse. Confucius' demonstration of reverence through the performance of these burial rites is thwarted; but whose fault is it that the grave collapsed? Could Confucius have prevented this failure? In this essay it is argued that contrary to most contemporary interpretations, unpreventable failures in ritual were causes of concern for the authors of early Confucian texts because they believed that meaningful aspects of life were vulnerable to these failures, and because they found themselves occasionally unable to recognize a clear distinction between preventable and unpreventable failures in ritual. This essay provides a persuasive reading of an early Confucian text that preserves rather than resolves the ambiguity between preventable and unpreventable failures in ritual. It argues for an openness to a tragic reading of early Confucian ritual theory. Contemporary interpreters, for the most part, have neglected such a reading; yet in the worldview of the Liji unpreventable failures in ritual were a real, yet uncertain, possibility.
Political Unity in Neo-Confucianism: The Debate between Wang Yangming and Zhan Ruoshui
Authors: Kim Youngmin
Published: April 2012

In the Chinese intellectual tradition, King Wu's military expedition and Bo Yi's (and Shu Qi's) objection to it were well known. King Wu had been admired in that he saved people by dethroning the tyrant King Zhou. At the same time, Bo Yi and Shu Qi also had been praised for their loyalty to that same dynasty. These seemingly contradictory evaluations open a window on how unity can be conceived in Neo-Confucianism, particularly when one is faced with the possibility of colliding values. By examining the debate between Wang Yangming (1472-1529) and Zhan Ruoshui (1466-1560) over such a complex political issue, this article aims to unravel various tensions embedded in Neo-Confucian political philosophy.
The Existential Moment: Rereading Dōgen's Theory of Time
Authors: Raud Rein
Published: April 2012

This article argues for a new way to interpret Dōgen's theory of time, reading the notion of uji as momentary existence, and shows that many notorious difficulties usually associated with the theory can be overcome with this approach, which is also more compatible with some fundamental assumptions of Buddhist philosophy (the non-durational existence of dharmas, the arbitrariness of linguistic designations and the concepts they point to, the absence of self-nature in beings, etc.). It is also shown how this reading leads to an innovative treatment of the concept of selfhood, viewing the self as the active openness of an existent to the surrounding world, with which it is able to identify through a mutual relation with other existents within the existential moment. This argument is supported by an alternative translation in the "momentary mode" of those extracts of the fascicle that introduce or elaborate on Dōgen's key concepts.
The Grimaldi Shakspere
Authors: Schoch Richard
Published: April 2012

The 1850s saw the publication of two fake editions of Shakespeare: John Payne Collier's famous and fraudulent "Perkins Folio," and its little-known satiric counterpart,  The Grimaldi Shakspere . This essay, the first sustained investigation of the latter text, argues that it is far from a harmless parody, instead constituting the first charge of forgery against Collier at a time when public opinion was still in his favour. To this end, the article breaks down the history of the Collier controversy and the composition of  The Grimaldi Shakspere , and undertakes a fresh inquiry into the identity of its author. The processes by which theatrical practice may become literary criticism are brought into focus, both specifically (Collier's false marginalia allegedly interpolated from prompt-books; the comparison of the forger to clown and contortionist Joey Grimaldi) and in the broader sense, as satirists, clowns and charlatans alike mix the grave and the absurd.
Breaking the Sound Barrier: Howie Seago and American Sign Language at Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Authors: Shurgot Michael W.
Published: April 2012

Although we are accustomed to thinking of spoken language as essential for staged productions, in Language at Play in the Theatre Marvin Carlson describes a "heteroglossia of theatrical languages" that encourages a more diverse approach to live theatre. Among these languages is American Sign Language, which Howie Seago, a veteran of the National Theatre for the Deaf, employed brilliantly in two productions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010. Seago played Tubal in The Merchant of Venice and the Ghost in Hamlet , and teamed with Artistic Director Bill Rauch, who directed both plays; Dan Donohue as Hamlet; and Anthony Heald as Shylock to create memorable and precedent-setting heteroglossic theatre in 1.4 and 1.5 of Hamlet and 3.1 of Merchant . In these scenes the dialogues moved at expected theatrical pace because the two speaking/hearing actors had mastered not only their own lines but also the ASL signs for their lines and the ASL signs for the words of Seago's characters. Hence the assumed necessity for oral speaking, for articulate sound, as the singular medium for communicating Shakespeare's language was superseded. Not only had Seago's fellow actors learned ASL for both their own and Seago's characters words, but Seago was able to act out convincingly in gesture and physical movement the emotions inherent in Shakespeare's scripted words for his characters. The four parameters of ASL-hand configuration, movement, location, and orientation-enabled Seago to communicate the complex emotions of his characters via the dynamics of ASL's "visual language."
Exploring the Meaning of Best Practice: A Discussion on the Way Client-Centred Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services Might Address the Needs of Australian Veterans in the Future
Authors: Hanley Francine T. , Matthews Lynda R. , Lewis Virginia J.
Published: May 2012

This article presents a summary of 10 priorities for the delivery of best practices in psychosocial rehabilitation relevant to the Australian veteran population. The first section interrogates the empirical principles characteristically identified with best practices before presenting an alternative, heuristic framework organised by three reference points and informed by principles of efficacy, external validity, and the meaning of efficacy in the context of parity. The article presents the strategy used in reviewing the literature, before presenting the findings according to 10 key priorities. The 10 priorities are described in the context of the literature informing them and are set out with regard to the centrality of the client-centred service model in the design and delivery of pertinent and effective services into the future.
South Brisbane Memorial Park
Authors: Metcalf Bill
Published: May 2012

In the centre of the old city of South Brisbane, at the intersection of its two main streets, Stanley and Vulture, one finds a small, triangular park. Its most obvious feature is the grand set of stairs leading up from Stanley Street, near the Ship Inn Hotel. These stairs have a commanding presence, inviting the walker to ascend to an imposing edifice, but at the top they simply end. Part-way up, a couple of metres above street level, a pedestal, 2 metres high and 2.5 metres across, draws the eye upwards; it should be supporting an iconic statue, perhaps 3 or 4 metres high, but there is nothing. I’ve lived in the South Brisbane area for most of the past 40 years, and the mystery of the grand stairs and empty pedestal of South Brisbane Memorial Park has long puzzled me. What is this park memorialising? If a war, then which war, and why is it not known as South Brisbane War Memorial Park? These are some of the questions my research sought to uncover.
Variable Outcome in Quintuplets Pregnancy Based on Obstetric Care
Authors: Bręborowicz Grzegorz H. , Dera Anna , Szymankiewicz Marta , Ropacka-Lesiak Mariola , Markwitz Wiesław
Published: May 2012

The incidence of multiple pregnancies has increased dramatically over the last few years in developed countries, largely attributed to delayed childbearing and the increasing use of assisted reproduction technologies and ovulation inducing hormones. Relatively few countries have population-based statistics covering birth statistics. Of those that do, the numbers of quintuplet pregnancies rose sharply in the nineties while, at the same time, their delivery rates decreased greatly because of the use of fetal reduction. Fetal reduction is not possible or legal in some countries, Poland being one of them, and therefore obstetricians are faced with the challenges of quintuplet deliveries. Conservative treatment and management is difficult, and outcomes often vary greatly. Despite this, expert care provided at tertiary care centers can positively influence outcomes. The objective of this article is to present different care options and their consequences in two illustrative cases, as well as to establish a set of obstetric care and management goals that would allow prolongation of the gestation time. Quintuplet pregnancy is rare but poses relevant clinical problems to both the obstetrician and the neonatologist. It should be managed with close cooperation between all concerned. Due to the extreme and invariable risk of premature delivery associated with quintuplet pregnancies, we recommend early diagnosis, adequate prenatal care at one tertiary medical center, routine hospitalization and bed rest, repeated ante partum ultrasound surveillance with tests of fetal well-being, tocolytic therapy at first signs of the risk of premature labor, and specialized neonatology care after delivery.
Clinical and Genetic Analysis of a Compound Heterozygous Mutation in the Thyroglobulin Gene in a Chinese Twin Family With Congenital Goiter and Hypothyroidism
Authors: Liu Shiguo , Zhang Shasha , Li Wenjie , Zhang Aiqing , Qi Fengguang , Zheng Guohua , Yan Shengli , Ma Xu
Published: May 2012

Mutations in the thyroglobulin (TG) gene, which has an estimated incidence of approximately 1 in 100,000 new-borns, cause autosomal recessive congenital hypothyroidism. The mutational spectrum of the TG gene and the phenotype–genotype correlations have not yet fully been established. We report a compound heterozygous mutation in the TG gene in a Chinese twin family with congenital goiter and hypothyroidism. We also describe the gene mutation associated with the genotype–phenotype of these children with congenital goiter and hypothyroidism. The whole coding sequence of the TG gene was analyzed by direct sequence, and the identified changes in the sequence were tested for benign polymorphism by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography screening of the mutation and sequencing 200 chromosomes from normal controls. Analysis of the TG gene of the affected twin revealed a compound heterozygous mutation, including a novel missense mutation G2687A, which is predicted to result in a glutamine to arginine substitution at codon 877, and a known nonsense mutation C7006T, predicted to result in an arginine to stop codon at codon 2317. Analysis of 200 normal chromosomes did not identify the same change in healthy subjects. This is the first report of a TG gene mutation in the Chinese Han population. Our study provides further evidence that mutations in the TG gene cause congenital goiter and hypothyroidism, demonstrates genetic heterogeneity of the mutation, and increases our understanding of phenotype–genotype correlations in congenital hypothyroidism.
Dvojcata Asociace: The First International Twins Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. Research Reviews: Twinning trends in East Flanders; Twinning trends around the world. Twins in the News: ‘Mixed race’ twins; Mysterious languages; Piano duo; Happiness and more
Authors: Segal Nancy L.
Published: May 2012

The First International Twins Conference held in the Czech Republic (CR) took place in Prague on October 20–21, 2011. The conference, ‘Life With Twins’, was arranged under the auspices of the Parliament's Commission for Family and Equal Opportunities. The setting was an auditorium in one of the Parliament's magnificent old buildings. Mrs. Klara Vitkova Rulikovà, mother of 18-year-old opposite-sex twins, chairperson of the Czech multiple birth association (CAKDAV) and member of the International Council of Multiple Birth Organizations (ICOMBO), was instrumental in organizing the meeting. Mrs. Vitkova Ruliková has also authored three books on twins and parenting, and was responsible for writing the Epilogue for my 2005 book, Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins (Ned litelnà Dvěma: životy Výjime ných Dvojǎt), which was translated into Czech by Triton Press in 2009. She is currently working in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. She is shown in Figure 1 addressing the conference.
The Roles of Genetic and Environmental Factors on Risk of Cervical Cancer: A Review of Classical Twin Studies
Authors: Moore Elya E. , Wark John D. , Hopper John L. , Erbas Bircan , Garland Suzanne M. ,   CeCaGeEn Study Group
Published: May 2012

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection with an oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) is necessary, but not sufficient, for its development. Over many years, only a small proportion of women with chronic HPV infection progress to develop disease. The role of host genes and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of, or predisposition to, cervical cancer is still unclear. We conducted a systematic review of published literature in MEDLINE–PubMed to identify studies of cervical cancer susceptibility that used a twin study design. We used standard MeSH terms (controlled vocabulary) as well as specific free-text terms and combinations of terms related to cervical cancer, with no restriction on publication date. We performed a full text review to ensure the identified articles met our inclusion criteria and, if so, extracted information on demographics, sample size, study definitions, and key statistical findings. Of the 285 articles identified, three utilized a classical twin design and reported results specific to cervical cancer. The studies were based on cancer registry data from Scandinavia, with sample sizes ranging from 312 to 710 twin pairs. The findings from one study were consistent with a genetic mechanism for the causation of carcinoma in situ. Future research studies using the strength of the classic twin design, together with incorporation of HPV DNA status, are indicated to determine whether there is a potential role for genetic factors in the development of cervical cancer or high-grade cervical dysplasia from chronic oncogenic HPV infection.
Evaluating and regulating the role of public broadcasters in the children’s media ecology: The case of home-grown television content
Authors: Steemers Jeanette , D’Arma Alessandro
Published: May 2012

This article examines the evaluation and regulation of public service broadcasting’s (PSB’s) contribution to home-grown children’s content, a key marker of difference with commercial rivals. UK experience forms the core of the analysis, but throughout we connect findings
to experiences in other European countries. We concentrate on PSB’s interventions in TV, but consider this within the wider scope of multiplatform and online activities that occupy increasing proportions of children’s time. We start by outlining the rationale for children’s
PSB, before briefly unpacking the pressures it faces. Using schedule analysis of children’s channels in five European countries, PSB’s distinctiveness from US transnationals is demonstrated by higher levels of domestic content. This opens up discussion about the value of domestic
content, as well as market failure in children’s broadcasting. We consider different policy tools for ensuring domestic content and public service goals, before considering the effectiveness and evaluation of PSB approaches, which now extend beyond television.
The battle for ‘expansion’ of public service broadcasting on the Internet. The press coverage of the 12th amendment of the Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting and Telemedia in Germany
Authors: Löblich Maria
Published: May 2012

This article studies the press coverage of the 12th amendment of the Interstate Treaty on Broadcasting and Telemedia, which defines to what extent public service broadcasting is allowed to operate on the Internet in Germany. This article seeks to find out whether the German press provided
visibility and diversity or whether it restricted the process of opinion forming on this issue. From a pluralistic democratic perspective, balanced and diverse media coverage is an important precondition for decision-making processes in media and communication policy. By means of qualitative
content analysis the frames used by five national print media were identified and examined for diversity. The findings show that the press has indeed restricted the process of opinion forming. Frames with a negative evaluation of public service online activities prevailed regardless of editorial
positions. Alternative frames only occurred fragmentarily. This study demonstrates the importance of diverse media coverage as the basis for coordination and problem solving in the increasingly complex field of media and communication policy.
Optic Glomeruli and Their Inputs inDrosophilaShare an Organizational Ground Pattern with the Antennal Lobes
Authors: Mu Laiyong , Ito Kei , Bacon Jonathan P. , Strausfeld Nicholas J.
Published: May 2012

Studying the insect visual system provides important data on the basic neural mechanisms underlying visual processing. As in vertebrates, the first step in visual processing in insects is through a series of retinotopic neurons. Recent studies on flies have found that these converge onto assemblies of columnar neurons in the lobula, the axons of which segregate to project to discrete optic glomeruli in the lateral protocerebrum. This arrangement is much like the fly's olfactory system, in which afferents target uniquely identifiable olfactory glomeruli. Here, whole-cell patch recordings show that even though visual primitives are unreliably encoded by single lobula output neurons because of high synaptic noise, they are reliably encoded by the ensemble of outputs. At a glomerulus, local interneurons reliably code visual primitives, as do projection neurons conveying information centrally from the glomerulus. These observations demonstrate that inDrosophila, as in other dipterans, optic glomeruli are involved in further reconstructing the fly's visual world. Optic glomeruli and antennal lobe glomeruli share the same ancestral anatomical and functional ground pattern, enabling reliable responses to be extracted from converging sensory inputs.
Neurotransmitter Release at the Thalamocortical Synapse Instructs Barrel Formation But Not Axon Patterning in the Somatosensory Cortex
Authors: Narboux-Nême Nicolas , Evrard Alexis , Ferezou Isabelle , Erzurumlu Reha S. , Kaeser Pascal S. , Lainé Jeanne , Rossier Jean , Ropert Nicole , Südhof Thomas C. , Gaspar Patricia
Published: May 2012

To assess the impact of synaptic neurotransmitter release on neural circuit development, we analyzed barrel cortex formation after thalamic or cortical ablation of RIM1 and RIM2 proteins, which control synaptic vesicle fusion. Thalamus-specific deletion of RIMs reduced neurotransmission efficacy by 67%. A barrelless phenotype was found with a dissociation of effects on the presynaptic and postsynaptic cellular elements of the barrel. Presynaptically, thalamocortical axons formed a normal whisker map, whereas postsynaptically the cytoarchitecture of layer IV neurons was altered as spiny stellate neurons were evenly distributed and their dendritic trees were symmetric. Strikingly, cortex-specific deletion of the RIM genes did not modify barrel development. Adult mice with thalamic-specific RIM deletion showed a lack of activity-triggered immediate early gene expression and altered sensory-related behaviors. Thus, efficient synaptic release is required at thalamocortical but not at corticocortical synapses for building the whisker to barrel map and for efficient sensory function.
N-Cadherin Prodomain Processing Regulates Synaptogenesis
Authors: Reinés Analía , Bernier Louis-Philippe , McAdam Robyn , Belkaid Wiam , Shan Weisong , Koch Alexander W. , Séguéla Philippe , Colman David R. , Dhaunchak Ajit S.
Published: May 2012

Classical cadherins, which are adhesion molecules functioning at the CNS synapse, are synthesized as adhesively inactive precursor proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Signal sequence and prodomain cleavage in the ER and Golgi apparatus, respectively, activates their adhesive properties. Here, we provide the first evidence for sorting of nonadhesive precursor N-cadherin (ProN) to the neuronal surface, where it coexists with adhesively competent mature N-cadherin (N-cad), generating a spectrum of adhesive strengths. In cultured hippocampal neurons, a high ProN/N-cad ratio downregulates synapse formation. Neurons expressing genetically engineered uncleavable ProN make markedly fewer synapses. The synapse number can be rescued to normality by depleting surface ProN levels through prodomain cleavage by an exogenous protease. Finally, prodomain processing is developmentally regulated in the rat hippocampus. We conclude that it is the ProN/N-cad ratio and not mature N-cad alone that is critical for regulation of adhesion during synaptogenesis.
A Corticostriatal Neural System Enhances Auditory Perception through Temporal Context Processing
Authors: Geiser Eveline , Notter Michael , Gabrieli John D. E.
Published: May 2012

The temporal context of an acoustic signal can greatly influence its perception. The present study investigated the neural correlates underlying perceptual facilitation by regular temporal contexts in humans. Participants listened to temporally regular (periodic) or temporally irregular (nonperiodic) sequences of tones while performing an intensity discrimination task. Participants performed significantly better on intensity discrimination during periodic than nonperiodic tone sequences. There was greater activation in the putamen for periodic than nonperiodic sequences. Conversely, there was greater activation in bilateral primary and secondary auditory cortices (planum polare and planum temporale) for nonperiodic than periodic sequences. Across individuals, greater putamen activation correlated with lesser auditory cortical activation in both right and left hemispheres. These findings suggest that temporal regularity is detected in the putamen, and that such detection facilitates temporal-lobe cortical processing associated with superior auditory perception. Thus, this study reveals a corticostriatal system associated with contextual facilitation for auditory perception through temporal regularity processing.
Neural Correlates of a Decision Variable Before Learning to Perform a Match/Non-Match Task
Authors: Qi Xue-Lian , Meyer Travis , Stanford Terrence R. , Constantinidis Christos
Published: May 2012

The lateral prefrontal cortex plays an important role in working memory and decision-making, although little is known about how neural correlates of these functions are shaped by learning. To understand the effect of learning on the neuronal representation of decision-making, we recorded single neurons from the lateral prefrontal cortex of monkeys before and after they were trained to judge whether two stimuli appeared at matching spatial locations. After training, and in agreement with previous studies, a population of neurons exhibited activity that was modulated depending on whether the second stimulus constituted a match or not, which had predictive ability for the monkey's choice. However, even before training, prefrontal neurons displayed modulation depending on the match or non-match status of a stimulus, with approximately equal percentages of neurons preferring a match or a non-match. The difference in firing rate and discriminability for match and non-match stimuli before training was of comparable magnitude as that after training. Changes observed after training involved an increase in the percentage of neurons exhibiting this effect, a greater proportion of neurons preferring non-match stimuli, and a greater percentage of neurons representing information about the first stimulus during the presentation of the second stimulus. Our results suggest that the neuronal activity representing some match/non-match judgments is present in the lateral prefrontal cortex even when subjects are not required to perform a comparison and before any training.
Perspectives for metabolomics in testosterone replacement therapy
Authors: Haring Robin
Published: May 2012

Testosterone is the major circulating androgen in men but exhibits an age-related decline in the ageing male. Late-onset hypogonadism or androgen deficiency syndrome (ADS) is a ‘syndromic’ disorder including both a persistent low testosterone serum concentration and major clinical symptoms, including erectile dysfunction, low libido, decreased muscle mass and strength, increased body fat, decreased vitality or depressed mood. Given its unspecific symptoms, treatment goals and monitoring parameters, this review will outline the various uncertainties concerning the diagnosis, therapy and monitoring of ADS to date. Literature was identified primarily through searches for specific investigators in the PubMed database. No date or language limits were applied in the literature search for the present review. The current state of research, showing that metabolomics is starting to have an impact not only on disease diagnosis and prognosis but also on drug treatment efficacy and safety monitoring, will be presented, and the application of metabolomics to improve the clinical management of ADS will be discussed. Finally, the scientific opportunities presented by metabolomics and other -omics as novel and promising tools for biomarker discovery and individualised testosterone replacement therapy in men will be explored.
The Limits to Parapatric Speciation: Dobzhansky–Muller Incompatibilities in a Continent–Island Model
Authors: Bank Claudia , Bürger Reinhard , Hermisson Joachim
Published: April 2012

How much gene flow is needed to inhibit speciation by the accumulation of Dobzhansky–Muller incompatibilities (DMIs) in a structured population? Here, we derive these limits in a classical migration–selection model with two haploid or diploid loci and unidirectional gene flow from a continent to an island. We discuss the dependence of the maximum gene-flow rate on ecological factors (exogeneous selection), genetic factors (epistasis, recombination), and the evolutionary history. Extensive analytical and numerical results show the following: (1) The maximum rate of gene flow is limited by exogeneous selection. In particular, maintenance of neutral DMIs is impossible with gene flow. (2) There are two distinct mechanisms that drive DMI evolution in parapatry, selection against immigrants in a heterogeneous environment and selection against hybrids due to the incompatibility. (3) Depending on the mechanism, opposite predictions result concerning the genetic architecture that maximizes the rate of gene flow a DMI can sustain. Selection against immigrants favors evolution of tightly linked DMIs of arbitrary strength, whereas selection against hybrids promotes the evolution of strong unlinked DMIs. In diploids, the fitness of the double heterozygotes is the decisive factor to predict the pattern of DMI stability.
Megabase-Scale Inversion Polymorphism in the Wild Ancestor of Maize
Authors: Fang Zhou , Pyhäjärvi Tanja , Weber Allison L , Dawe R Kelly , Glaubitz Jeffrey C , González José de Jesus Sánchez , Ross-Ibarra Claudia , Doebley John , Morrell Peter L , Ross-Ibarra Jeffrey
Published: April 2012

Chromosomal inversions are thought to play a special role in local adaptation, through dramatic suppression of recombination, which favors the maintenance of locally adapted alleles. However, relatively few inversions have been characterized in population genomic data. On the basis of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping across a large panel of Zea mays, we have identified an ∼50-Mb region on the short arm of chromosome 1 where patterns of polymorphism are highly consistent with a polymorphic paracentric inversion that captures >700 genes. Comparison to other taxa in Zea and Tripsacum suggests that the derived, inverted state is present only in the wild Z. mays subspecies parviglumis and mexicana and is completely absent in domesticated maize. Patterns of polymorphism suggest that the inversion is ancient and geographically widespread in parviglumis. Cytological screens find little evidence for inversion loops, suggesting that inversion heterozygotes may suffer few crossover-induced fitness consequences. The inversion polymorphism shows evidence of adaptive evolution, including a strong altitudinal cline, a statistical association with environmental variables and phenotypic traits, and a skewed haplotype frequency spectrum for inverted alleles.
A Network of Genes Antagonistic to the LIN-35 Retinoblastoma Protein ofCaenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Polley Stanley R G , Fay David S
Published: April 2012

The Caenorhabditis elegans pRb ortholog, LIN-35, functions in a wide range of cellular and developmental processes. This includes a role of LIN-35 in nutrient utilization by the intestine, which it carries out redundantly with SLR-2, a zinc-finger protein. This and other redundant functions of LIN-35 were identified in genetic screens for mutations that display synthetic phenotypes in conjunction with loss of lin-35. To explore the intestinal role of LIN-35, we conducted a genome-wide RNA-interference-feeding screen for suppressors of lin-35; slr-2 early larval arrest. Of the 26 suppressors identified, 17 fall into three functional classes: (1) ribosome biogenesis genes, (2) mitochondrial prohibitins, and (3) chromatin regulators. Further characterization indicates that different categories of suppressors act through distinct molecular mechanisms. We also tested lin-35; slr-2 suppressors, as well as suppressors of the synthetic multivulval phenotype, to determine the spectrum of lin-35-synthetic phenotypes that could be suppressed following inhibition of these genes. We identified 19 genes, most of which are evolutionarily conserved, that can suppress multiple unrelated lin-35-synthetic phenotypes. Our study reveals a network of genes broadly antagonistic to LIN-35 as well as genes specific to the role of LIN-35 in intestinal and vulval development. Suppressors of multiple lin-35 phenotypes may be candidate targets for anticancer therapies. Moreover, screening for suppressors of phenotypically distinct synthetic interactions, which share a common altered gene, may prove to be a novel and effective approach for identifying genes whose activities are most directly relevant to the core functions of the shared gene.