bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Loss of Apoptosis-Inducing Factor Results in Cell-Type-Specific Neurogenesis Defects
Authors: Ishimura Ryuta , Martin Gail R. , Ackerman Susan L.
Published: May 2008

Mitochondrial dysfunction is commonly associated with neurodegeneration in the aging brain. In addition, the importance of mitochondrial function during brain development is illustrated by the neurological deficits observed in infants with mitochondrial complex deficiencies. However, the extent to which abnormalities in mitochondrial function might impact neurogenesis during brain development is not well understood. Previously, we demonstrated that adult harlequin (Hq) mutant mice, which have an 80% reduction in the mitochondrial protein apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), exhibited signs of oxidative stress and progressive loss of adult cerebellar and retinal neurons. To assess whether in addition to its role in postmitotic neuron survivalAifis also necessary for cerebellar development, we analyzed embryos in whichAifwas deleted in the prospective midbrain and cerebellum at a very early stage of development using anEn1(engrailed 1) promoter-drivencrerecombinase gene. These mutant mice, which died at birth, had midbrain defects and dramatic deficits in cerebellar Purkinje and granule cell precursors. Additional analysis revealed thatAif-null Purkinje cell precursors prematurely entered S-phase, but most failed to undergo mitosis and ultimately died via apoptosis. In contrast, proliferation of mutant granule cell precursors was blocked before S-phase. Mice in whichAifwas deleted later in embryogenesis using a nestin promoter-drivencregene survive for several days after birth, and postnatal granule cell precursors in these mice also failed to enter S-phase. Our results indicate that the loss ofAifresults in cell cycle abnormalities in a neuron-specific manner during cerebellar development.
Protein Kinase A Anchoring via AKAP150 Is Essential for TRPV1 Modulation by Forskolin and Prostaglandin E2in Mouse Sensory Neurons
Authors: Schnizler Katrin , Shutov Leonid P. , Van Kanegan Michael J. , Merrill Michelle A. , Nichols Blake , McKnight G. Stanley , Strack Stefan , Hell Johannes W. , Usachev Yuriy M.
Published: May 2008

Phosphorylation-dependent modulation of the vanilloid receptor TRPV1 is one of the key mechanisms mediating the hyperalgesic effects of inflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandin E2(PGE2). However, little is known about the molecular organization of the TRPV1 phosphorylation complex and specifically about scaffolding proteins that position the protein kinase A (PKA) holoenzyme proximal to TRPV1 for effective and selective regulation of the receptor. Here, we demonstrate the critical role of the A-kinase anchoring protein AKAP150 in PKA-dependent modulation of TRPV1 function in adult mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. We found that AKAP150 is expressed in ∼80% of TRPV1-positive DRG neurons and is coimmunoprecipitated with the capsaicin receptor. In functional studies, PKA stimulation with forskolin markedly reduced desensitization of TRPV1. This effect was blocked by the PKA selective inhibitors KT5720 [(9S,10R,12R)-2,3,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-10-hydroxy-9-methyl-1-oxo-9,12-epoxy-1H-diindolo[1,2,3-fg:3′,2′,1′-kl]pyrrolo[3,4-i][1,6]benzodiazocine-10-carboxylicacid hexyl ester] and H89 (N-[2-(p-bromo-cinnamylamino)-ethyl]-5-isoquinoline-sulfon-amide 2HCl), as well as by the AKAP inhibitory peptide Ht31. Similarly, PGE2decreased TRPV1 desensitization in a manner sensitive to the PKA inhibitor KT5720. Both the forskolin and PGE2effects were strongly impaired in DRG neurons from knock-in mice that express a mutant AKAP150 lacking the PKA-binding domain (Δ36 mice). Protein kinase C-dependent sensitization of TRPV1 remained intact in Δ36 mice. The PGE2/PKA signaling defect in DRG neurons from Δ36 mice was rescued by overexpressing the full-length human ortholog of AKAP150 in these cells. In behavioral testing, PGE2-induced thermal hyperalgesia was significantly diminished in Δ36 mice. Together, these data suggest that PKA anchoring by AKAP150 is essential for the enhancement of TRPV1 function by activation of the PGE2/PKA signaling pathway.
Neural Correlates of Forward and Inverse Models for Eye Movements: Evidence from Three-Dimensional Kinematics
Authors: Ghasia Fatema F. , Meng Hui , Angelaki Dora E.
Published: May 2008

Inverse and forward dynamic models have been conceptually important in computational motor control. In particular, inverse models are thought to convert desired action into appropriate motor commands. In parallel, forward models predict the consequences of the motor command on behavior by constructing an efference copy of the actual movement. Despite theoretical appeal, their neural representation has remained elusive. Here, we provide evidence supporting the notion that a group of premotor neurons called burst-tonic (BT) cells represent the output of the inverse model for eye movements. We show that BT neurons, like extraocular motoneurons but different from the evoked eye movement, do not carry signals appropriate for the half-angle rule of ocular kinematics during smooth-pursuit eye movements from eccentric positions. Along with findings of identical response dynamics as motoneurons, these results strongly suggest that BT cells carry a replica of the motor command. In contrast, eye-head (EH) neurons, a premotor cell type that is the target of Purkinje cell inhibition from the cerebellar flocculus/ventral paraflocculus, exhibit properties that could be consistent with the half-angle rule. Therefore, EH cells may be functionally related to the output of a forward internal model thought to construct an efference copy of the actual eye movement.
Nmnat Delays Axonal Degeneration Caused by Mitochondrial and Oxidative Stress
Authors: Press Craig , Milbrandt Jeffrey
Published: May 2008

Axonal degeneration is a prominent feature of many neurological disorders that are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, including Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, and inherited peripheral neuropathies. Studies of theWldsmutant mouse, which undergoes delayed Wallerian degeneration in response to axonal injury, suggest that axonal degeneration is an active process.Wldsmice also have slower axonal degeneration and disease progression in numerous models of neurodegenerative disease. TheWldsmutation results in the production of a chimeric protein that contains the full-length coding sequence of nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase 1 (Nmnat1), which alone is sufficient for axonal protectionin vitro. To test the effects of increased Nmnat expression on axonal degeneration induced by mitochondrial dysfunction, we examined dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons treated with rotenone. Rotenone induced profound axonal degeneration in DRG neurons; however, this degeneration was delayed by expression of Nmnat. Nmnat-mediated protection resulted in decreased axonal accumulation and sensitivity to reactive oxygen species (ROS) but did not affect the change in the rate of rotenone-induced loss in neuronal ATP. Nmnat also prevented axonal degeneration caused by exposure to exogenous oxidants and reduced the level of axonal ROS after treatment with vincristine, further supporting the idea that Nmnat promotes axonal protection by mitigating the effects of ROS.
Enkephalin Elevations Contribute to Neuronal and Behavioral Impairments in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Meilandt William J. , Yu Gui-Qiu , Chin Jeannie , Roberson Erik D. , Palop Jorge J. , Wu Tiffany , Scearce-Levie Kimberly , Mucke Lennart
Published: May 2008

The enkephalin signaling pathway regulates various neural functions and can be altered by neurodegenerative disorders. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), elevated enkephalin levels may reflect compensatory processes or contribute to cognitive impairments. To differentiate between these possibilities, we studied transgenic mice that express human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) and amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in neurons and exhibit key aspects of AD. Met-enkephalin levels in neuronal projections from the entorhinal cortex and dentate gyrus (brain regions important for memory that are affected in early stages of AD) were increased in hAPP mice, as were preproenkephalin mRNA levels. Genetic manipulations that exacerbate or prevent excitotoxicity also exacerbated or prevented the enkephalin alterations. In human AD brains, enkephalin levels in the dentate gyrus were also increased. In hAPP mice, enkephalin elevations correlated with the extent of Aβ-dependent neuronal and behavioral alterations, and memory deficits were reduced by irreversible blockade of μ-opioid receptors with the antagonist β-funaltrexamine. We conclude that enkephalin elevations may contribute to cognitive impairments in hAPP mice and possibly in humans with AD. The therapeutic potential of reducing enkephalin production or signaling merits further exploration.
Neural Correlates of Perceptual Learning in the Auditory Brainstem: Efferent Activity Predicts and Reflects Improvement at a Speech-in-Noise Discrimination Task
Authors: de Boer Jessica , Thornton A. Roger D.
Published: May 2008

An extensive corticofugal system extends from the auditory cortex toward subcortical nuclei along the auditory pathway. Corticofugal influences reach even into the inner ear via the efferents of the olivocochlear bundle, the medial branch of which modulates preneural sound amplification gain. This corticofugal system is thought to contribute to neuroplasticity underlying auditory perceptual learning. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of the medial olivocochlear bundle (MOCB) in perceptual learning as a result of auditory training. MOCB activity was monitored in normal-hearing adult listeners during a 5 d training regimen on a consonant–vowel phoneme-in-noise discrimination task. The results show significant group learning, with great inter-individual variability in initial performance and improvement. As observed in previous auditory training studies, poor initial performers tended to show greater learning. Strikingly, MOCB activity measured on the first training day strongly predicted the subsequent amount of improvement, such that weaker initial MOCB activity was associated with greater improvement. Moreover, in listeners that improved significantly, an increase in MOCB activity was observed after training. Thus, as discrimination thresholds of listeners converged over the course of training, differences in MOCB activity between listeners decreased. Additional analysis showed that MOCB activity did not explain variation in performance between listeners on any training day but rather reflected an individual listener's performance relative to their personal optimal range. The findings suggest an MOCB-mediated listening strategy that facilitates speech-in-noise perception. The operation of this strategy is flexible and susceptible to training, presumably because of task-related adaptation of descending control from the cortex.
Endogenous Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) Requires TNF Receptor Type 2 to Generate Heat Hyperalgesia in a Mouse Cancer Model
Authors: Constantin Cristina E. , Mair Norbert , Sailer Claudia A. , Andratsch Manfred , Xu Zhen-Zhong , Blumer Michael J. F. , Scherbakov Nadja , Davis John B. , Bluethmann Horst , Ji Ru-Rong , Kress Michaela
Published: May 2008

To provide a tool to investigate the mechanisms inducing and maintaining cancer-related pain and hyperalgesia, a soft tissue tumor/metastasis model was developed that is applicable in C57BL/6J wild-type and transgenic mice. We show that the experimental tumor-induced heat hyperalgesia and nociceptor sensitization were prevented by systemic treatment with the tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) antagonist etanercept. In naive mice, exogenous TNFα evoked heat hyperalgesiain vivoand sensitized nociceptive nerve fibers to heatin vitro. TNFα enhanced the expression of the nociceptor-specific heat transducer ion channel transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and increased the amplitudes of capsaicin and heat-activated ionic currents via p38/MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinase and PKC (protein kinase C). Deletion of the tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (TNFR2) gene attenuated heat hyperalgesia and prevented TRPV1 upregulation in tumor-bearing mice, whereas TNFR1 gene deletion played a minor role. We propose endogenous TNFα as a key player in cancer-related heat hyperalgesia and nociceptor sensitization that generates TRPV1 upregulation and sensitization via TNFR2.
The Impact of an LGNd Impulse on the Awake Visual Cortex: Synaptic Dynamics and the Sustained/Transient Distinction
Authors: Stoelzel Carl R. , Bereshpolova Yulia , Gusev Alexander G. , Swadlow Harvey A.
Published: May 2008

We used spike-triggered current source-density analysis to examine axonal and postsynaptic currents generated in the visual cortex of awake rabbits by spontaneous spikes of individual sustained and transient dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) neurons. Using these data, we asked whether sustained/transient sensory responses are related to short-term synaptic dynamics at the thalamocortical synapse. Most sustained (34 of 40) and transient (24 of 25) neurons generated axonal and monosynaptic responses in layer 4 and/or 6 of the aligned cortical domain, with input from transient neurons arriving ∼0.3 ms earlier and 100–200 μm deeper. Postsynaptic cortical responses generated by both thalamic cell classes were reduced in amplitude after a preceding impulse and slowly recovered over a period of >750 ms. We interpret this to reflect interval-dependent recovery from chronic depression at the thalamocortical synapse, caused by significant spontaneous firing of LGNd cells (∼8 Hz). Surprisingly, postsynaptic cortical responses generated by spontaneous spikes of sustained thalamic neurons were more depressed than those of transient neurons. This difference was seen both in layers 4 and 6. The depression saturated rapidly with multiple preceding impulses, and postsynaptic responses generated by sustained neurons during maintained visual stimulation remained sufficiently robust to allow a sustained flow of information to the cortex. Our results indicate a relationship between the sensory response properties of thalamic neurons and the short-term dynamics of their synapses, and suggest that cortical recipients of sustained and transient thalamic inputs will differ considerably in their response modulation by prior impulse activity.
Damage-Induced Activation of ERK1/2 in Cochlear Supporting Cells Is a Hair Cell Death-Promoting Signal That Depends on Extracellular ATP and Calcium
Authors: Lahne Manuela , Gale Jonathan E.
Published: May 2008

Acoustic overstimulation and ototoxic drugs can cause permanent hearing loss as a result of the damage and death of cochlear hair cells. Relatively little is known about the signaling pathways triggered by such trauma, although a significant role has been described for the c-Jun N-terminal kinase [one of the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)] pathway. We investigated the role of another MAPK family, the extracellularly regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) during hair cell damage in neonatal cochlear explants. Within minutes of subjecting explants to mechanical damage, ERK1/2 were transiently activated in Deiters' and phalangeal cells but not in hair cells. The activation of ERK1/2 spread along the length of the cochlea, reaching its peak 5–10 min after damage onset. Release of extracellular ATP and the presence of functional connexin proteins were critical for the activation and spread of ERK1/2. Damage elicited an intercellular Ca2+wave in the hair cell region in the first seconds after damage. In the absence of Ca2+influx, the intercellular Ca2+wave and the magnitude and spread of ERK1/2 activation were reduced. Treatment with the aminoglycoside neomycin produced a similar pattern of ERK1/2 activation in supporting cells surrounding pyknotic hair cells. When ERK1/2 activation was prevented, there was a reduction in the number of pyknotic hair cells. Thus, activation of ERK1/2 in cochlear supporting cellsin vitrois a common damage signaling mechanism that acts to promote hair cell death, indicating a direct role for supporting cells in regulating hair cell death.
The Dystrophin Dp186 Isoform Regulates Neurotransmitter Release at a Central Synapse inDrosophila
Authors: Fradkin Lee G. , Baines Richard A. , van der Plas Mariska C. , Noordermeer Jasprina N.
Published: May 2008

The Dystrophin protein is encoded by a gene that, when mutated in humans, can cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a disease characterized by progressive muscle wasting. A number of Duchenne patients also exhibit poorly understood mental retardation, likely associated with loss of a brain-specific isoform. Furthermore, although Dystrophin isoforms and the related Utrophin protein have long been known to localize at synapses, their functions remain essentially unknown. InDrosophila, we find that the CNS-specific Dp186 isoform localizes to the embryonic and larval neuropiles, regions rich in synaptic contacts. In the absence of Dp186, evoked but not spontaneous presynaptic release is significantly enhanced. Increased presynaptic release can be fully rescued to wild-type levels by expression of a Dp186 transgene in the postsynaptic motoneuron, indicating that Dp186 likely regulates a retrograde signaling pathway. Potentiation of synaptic currents in the mutant also occurs when cholinergic transmission is inhibited or in the absence of Glass Bottom Boat (Gbb) or Wishful Thinking (Wit), a TGF-β ligand and receptor, respectively, both previously implicated in synaptic retrograde signaling. These results are consistent with the possibility that Dp186 modulates other non-Gbb/Wit-dependent retrograde signaling pathways required to maintain normal synaptic physiology.
Presynaptic Melanocortin-4 Receptors on Vagal Afferent Fibers Modulate the Excitability of Rat Nucleus Tractus Solitarius Neurons
Authors: Wan Shuxia , Browning Kirsteen N. , Coleman F. Holly , Sutton Gregory , Zheng Hiyuan , Butler Andrew , Berthoud Hans-Rudolf , Travagli R. Alberto
Published: May 2008

The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) integrates visceral sensory signals with information from the forebrain to control homeostatic functions, including food intake. Melanocortin 3/4 receptor (MC3/4R) ligands administered directly to the caudal brainstem powerfully modulate meal size but not frequency, suggesting the enhancement of visceral satiety signals. Using whole-cell recordings from rat brainstem slices, we examined the effects of melanocortin ligands, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH) and melanotan II (MTII), on EPSC in NTS neurons. Thirty-two percent of NTS neurons responded to perfusion with MTII or αMSH with either an increase (24%) or a decrease (8%) in the frequency, but not amplitude, of spontaneous EPSCs; the effects of MTII were abolished by pretreatment with SHU9119. After surgical vagal deafferentation, only four of 34 (9%) NTS neurons responded to MTII with an increase in EPSC frequency. When EPSCs were evoked by electrical stimulation of the tractus solitarius in Krebs' solution with 2.4 mmCa2+e, αMSH and MTII increased the amplitude in six of the 28 neurons tested, decreased amplitude in 14 with no effect in the remaining eight neurons. In four of six neurons unresponsive to MTII, decreasing Ca2+elevels to 1.5 mmuncovered an excitatory effect of MTII on EPSC amplitude. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed the presence of MC4R, but not MC3R, in nodose ganglia. These results show that MC4R signaling leads mainly to presynaptic modulation of glutamatergic synaptic transmission and suggest that melanocortinergic-induced decrease of food intake may occur via enhancement of vagal afferent satiation signals from the gastrointestinal tract.
Interaural Level Difference Discrimination Thresholds for Single Neurons in the Lateral Superior Olive
Authors: Tollin Daniel J. , Koka Kanthaiah , Tsai Jeffrey J.
Published: May 2008

The lateral superior olive (LSO) is one of the earliest sites in the auditory pathway that is involved in processing acoustical cues to sound location. Here, we tested the hypothesis that LSO neurons can signal small changes in interaural level differences (ILDs), a cue to horizontal sound location, of pure tones based on discharge rate consistent with psychophysical performance in the discrimination of ILDs. Neural thresholds for ILD discrimination were determined from the discharge rates and associated response variability of single units in response to 300 ms tones in the LSO of barbiturate-anesthetized cats using detection theory. Neural response variability was well described by a power function of the mean rate, both in individual neurons and collectively; LSO neurons were less variable than expected from a Poisson process. Compared with psychophysical data, the best-threshold ILDs of single LSO neurons were comparable with or better than behavior over the full range of frequencies (0.3–35 kHz) and pedestal ILDs (±25 dB) explored in this study. With a pedestal ILD of 0 dB, ILD increments of 1 dB could be discriminated by some neurons, with a median of 4.35 dB across neurons. For pedestal ILDs away from 0 dB, the best-threshold ILDs were as low as 0.5 dB, with a median of 2.3 dB. These findings support the hypothesis that the LSO plays a role in the extraction of ILD, and that the representation of ILD by LSO neurons may set a lower bound on the behavioral sensitivity to ILDs.
Inhibition of Monocarboxylate Transporter 2 in the Retrotrapezoid Nucleus in Rats: A Test of the Astrocyte–Neuron Lactate-Shuttle Hypothesis
Authors: Erlichman Joseph S. , Hewitt Amy , Damon Tracey L. , Hart Michael , Kurascz Jennifer , Li Aihua , Leiter James C.
Published: May 2008

The astrocyte-neuronal lactate-shuttle hypothesis posits that lactate released from astrocytes into the extracellular space is metabolized by neurons. The lactate released should alter extracellular pH (pHe), and changes in pH in central chemosensory regions of the brainstem stimulate ventilation. Therefore, we assessed the impact of disrupting the lactate shuttle by administering 100 μmα-cyano-4-hydroxy-cinnamate (4-CIN), a dose that blocks the neuronal monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 2 but not the astrocytic MCTs (MCT1 and MCT4). Administration of 4-CIN focally in the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN), a medullary central chemosensory nucleus, increased ventilation and decreased pHe in intact animals. In medullary brain slices, 4-CIN reduced astrocytic intracellular pH (pHi) slightly but alkalinized neuronal pHi. Nonetheless, pHi fell significantly in both cell types when they were treated with exogenous lactate, although 100 μm4-CIN significantly reduced the magnitude of the acidosis in neurons but not astrocytes. Finally, 4-CIN treatment increased the uptake of a fluorescent 2-deoxy-d-glucose analog in neurons but did not alter the uptake rate of this 2-deoxy-d-glucose analog in astrocytes. These data confirm the existence of an astrocyte to neuron lactate shuttle in intact animals in the RTN, and lactate derived from astrocytes forms part of the central chemosensory stimulus for ventilation in this nucleus. When the lactate shuttle was disrupted by treatment with 4-CIN, neurons increased the uptake of glucose. Therefore, neurons seem to metabolize a combination of glucose and lactate (and other substances such as pyruvate) depending, in part, on the availability of each of these particular substrates.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Delay and Trace Eyeblink Conditioning in the Primary Visual Cortex of the Rabbit
Authors: Miller Michael J. , Weiss Craig , Song Xiaomu , Iordanescu Gheorghe , Disterhoft John F. , Wyrwicz Alice M.
Published: May 2008

The primary sensory cortices have been shown in recent years to undergo experience- and learning-related plasticity under a variety of experimental circumstances. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in parallel with both delay and trace eyeblink conditioning to image the learning-related functional activation within the primary visual cortex (V1) of awake, behaving rabbits. We expected that the differing level of forebrain dependence between these two conditioning paradigms should produce a differential blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) functional response in V1. Our results showed a significant expansion of activated volume within V1, particularly early in learning, after training with the more cognitively demanding trace paradigm. In contrast, the simpler delay paradigm produced an increase in the magnitude of the BOLD response in activated voxels, but no significant change in activated volume. No accompanying learning-related changes were observed in the primary somatosensory cortex, which mediates the unconditioned stimulus. These results suggest that the recruitment of additional neurons within V1 is necessary to support the more demanding memory imposed by the trace interval. To our knowledge, this work is the first functional imaging study to compare directly trace and delay eyeblink conditioning in an animal model.
Juristische Grundlagen von Biomaterialbanken – Mehr Rechtssicherheit für Betreiber und Spender in Deutschland (The Legal Basis of Biobanks – Improved Juridical Assurance for Operators and Donors in Germany)
Authors: Goebel Jürgen W. , Krawczak Michael
Published: May 2008

Viele Biobanken in Deutschland bewegen sich derzeit in einer juristischen Grauzone. Dieser Umstand veranlasste den TMF e.V. zu einer Bestandsaufnahme der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen für den Aufbau und Betrieb von Biobanken. Das Projekt bestand in der Planung und Durchführung eines Rechtsgutachtens zu persönlichkeits-, eigentums-, standes- und datenschutzrechtlichen Fragen. In unserem Artikel werden die wesentlichen Resultate des Gutachtens summarisch dargestellt.
Patienten-Einwilligung für Biobanken – Investitionen für die Zukunft (Patient Informed Consent for Bio-Banks – Investment for the Future)
Authors: Ihle Peter , Harnischmacher Urs
Published: May 2008

Die langfristige Sammlung von Biomaterialien in Biomaterialbanken für die medizinische Forschung stellt für die Patienteneinwilligung eine besondere Herausforderung dar, da hier die „rechtliche Grundlage” für die zukünftige Nutzung der Biomaterialien geschaffen wird. Spezifische Aspekte wie die Anonymisierbarkeit der Biomaterialien, die Reichweite der Einwilligung (Nutzungszweck, Nutzungsdauer, Nutzerkreis) und das Auskunftsrecht/Mitteilungspflicht werden diskutiert.
Das Datenschutzkonzept der TMF für Biomaterialbanken (The TMF Data Protection Scheme for Biobanks)
Authors: Pommerening Klaus
Published: May 2008

Das Datenschutzkonzept der TMF für Biomaterialbanken beschreibt organisatorische und technische Maßnahmen, die einen rechtlich einwandfreien Umgang mit Biomaterialien und den Aufbau von Biomaterialbanken ermöglichen und die im Sinne der medizinischen Forschung notwendige Abschwächungen der Einwilligung erlauben.
The GEPARD Data Collection Model – Protected Data Collection for the Gene Bank Parkinson's Disease Germany of the Competence Network on Parkinson's Disease (Datenerfassung in GEPARD – Die geschützte Datensammlung der Genbank Parkinson'sche Krankheit Deutschland des Kompetenznetzes Parkinson)
Authors: Eggert Karla , Antony Gisela , Franke Sonja , Oertel Wolfgang H.
Published: May 2008

The analysis of the human genome facilitates the study of the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes. Research on diseases such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), partly determined by mutations and polymorphisms in several genes, requires a large number of DNA samples in conjunction with highly standardised clinical information. To support further discovery of genetic components of PD, the Competence Network on Parkinson's Disease (CNP e.V.) initiated the Gene Bank Parkinson's Disease Germany (GEPARD) and underwent a complex procedure to establish an internet-based data system that fulfils the legal requirements of the German data safety and protection laws.
PopGen – Bevölkerungsbasierte Rekrutierung von Patienten und Kontrollen für die Untersuchung komplexer Genotyp-Phänotyp-Beziehungen (PopGen – Population-based Recruitment of Patients and Controls for the Analysis of Complex Genotype-phenotype Relationships)
Authors: von Eller-Eberstein Huberta , Will Marcus , Krawczak Michael , Schreiber Stefan
Published: May 2008

Die relativen Risiken komplexer genetischer Krankheitsursachen lassen sich effizient durch eine vollständige retrospektive Erfassung von Patienten in einem geographisch begrenzten Gebiet ermitteln. Das BMBF-geförderte Projekt „PopGen” verfolgt diesen Ansatz durch die umfassende Erhebung genetisch-epidemiologischer Daten für kardiovaskuläre, neuropsychiatrische und umweltbedingte Erkrankungen im Norden Schleswig-Holsteins.
Biobanken in der genetisch-epidemiologischen Forschung – Beispiel KORA-gen (Biobanks in Genetic-epidemiological Research such as KORA-gen)
Authors: Gieger Christian , Wichmann H.-Erich
Published: May 2008

Biobanken sind ein wichtiges Instrument der Genetischen Epidemiologie, welche die Rolle von genetischen Faktoren und deren Interaktion mit Umweltfaktoren (im weiteren Sinn) für das Auftreten von Krankheiten beim Menschen untersucht. KORA-gen ist eine süddeutsche Biobank, die auf der KORA-Plattform (Kooperative Gesundheitsforschung in der Region Augsburg) basiert. In KORA-gen sind phänotypische und genotypische Informationen, sowie Daten zu Umweltfaktoren und Bioproben von ungefähr 18.000 Erwachsenen im Alter von 25 bis 74 Jahren aus Augsburg und Umgebung vorhanden.
DFG Research Training Group 1387/1: dIEM oSiRiS – Integrative Development of Modelling and Simulation Methods for Regenerative Systems (DFG Graduiertenkolleg 1387/1: dIEM oSiRiS – Die integrative Entwicklung von Modellierungs- und Simulationsmethoden für regenerative Systeme)
Authors: Uhrmacher Adelinde , Rolfs Arndt , Frahm Jana
Published: May 2008

Regenerative systems are able to overcome significant perturbations, and maintain autonomously their functionality in dynamic and uncertain environments. To analyse or develop these types of systems modelling and simulation play a crucial role. However, due to the fact of being large scale and of embracing many heterogeneously acting and interacting sub-systems, they require the development of new methodologies to support a flexible modelling at different levels of organization and abstraction and an efficient execution of experiments. These methodological developments are at the core of the DFG Research Training Group dIEM oSiRiS (The Integrative Development of Modelling and Simulation Methods for Regenerative Systems). Thereby, the analysis of characteristics and requirements of regenerative systems and the evaluation of the developed concepts are based on a concrete biological regenerative system: the exploration of signalling pathways that play a significant role in the differentiation of neural cells.
Abstands- und Formvermessung schnell bewegter Festkörperoberflächen mit dem optischen Doppler-Effekt (Distance and Shape Measurement of Fast Moving Solid-State Surfaces Using the Optical Doppler Effect)
Authors: Günther Philipp , Pfister Thorsten , Büttner Lars , Czarske Jürgen
Published: May 2008

In diesem Beitrag werden auf der Laser-Doppler-Velozimetrie basierende neuartige Sensoren vorgestellt, die eine gleichzeitige Messung von Geschwindigkeit und Position bewegter Festkörper ermöglichen. Dadurch ist es möglich, die absolute Form eines rotierenden Objektes zu berechnen. Da die Messunsicherheit dieser Sensoren unabhängig von der Geschwindigkeit des Messobjektes ist, sind sie besonders für die Vermessung schnell bewegter Objekte geeignet.
Reading around free improvisation
Authors: Stockdale Jonty
Published: May 2008

Freedom in musical performance has come to mean many things. For performers re-enacting the classical score, freedom is expressed through a range of adjustments to musical parameters such as colouration of tone, tempo, timing displacement and emphasis. The composer has laid out in the score a comprehensive set of instructions to be observed, and performers are trained to observe such instructions in the realisation of the work. Clearly, the trained performer is aware of their role as an intermediary for the re-enactment of another’s ideas, and that to deviate from the score to the extent that notes are altered or reordered, or for passages of a work to be omitted or extended, is considered inappropriate. The formal separation of the role of composer from that of the performer, and the status of the score, is challenged through the tendency in jazz and popular music performance, to regard pre-composed elements as starting points for exploration, elaboration and deviation as befits the mood of those involved. This expression of desire for freedom and the will to move beyond convention and constraint is most evident in improvised interactions, where individuals function both as composers and performers-realisers in a process preoccupied with the exploration of spontaneous thought and gesture and subversion of dominant practices and codes. In his article Ephemera Underscored: Writing Around Free Improvisation, John Corbett (1995:217) embarks upon an investigation of the nature of free improvisation through examination of the improviser’s vocabulary, and addresses questions surrounding such matters as freedom, knowledge and risk. He argues that through the absence of a coherent framework for understanding what music might mean, improvised performance gives rise to particularly complex and vague notions of meaning. Through the borrowing of meaning from other semiotic systems, and the construction of an inner language comprising of a shifting syntax of players, techniques and contexts, improvised music may be seen as especially problematic. My study results from the juncture of three strands of inquiry: John Corbett’s investigation, a quest for greater understanding of personal involvement and the contribution of others in freely improvised performance, and the informal study of a group of postgraduate jazz students brought together through a common desire to contest institutional and conventional musical thought and practice through free interaction and improvised group performance.
Checking our balances
Authors: O'Meally Robert G
Published: May 2008

The key figure in the invention of the instrumental jazz solo, of the quality of inevitable-seeming momentum that the world calls swing, and of the relaxed, playful impulse to reinvent a song that is called jazz singing, Louis Armstrong is one of the inventors of jazz, a true revolutionary in art. Harder to evaluate with certainty are Armstrong's cultural politics, the varied offerings and takings of his image and music, his significances as an American icon. Here I refer to “Ambassador Satch,” the tireless worker for the State Department and the one who stood up to Dwight Eisenhower at Little Rock; the man who surprised his white agent by saying angrily that Eisenhower, waffling in sync with Governor Faubus, had two faces and no heart. At the same time, I refer to the familiar comic image Armstrong began to offer the public, as early as the 1930s. What do we make of Armstrong's semi-circular, shining smile? His signature flourish of a blazing white handkerchief? If in these familiar scenes what he wears is a comic mask, then what does it conceal? And how do we understand the meaning of the mask (or as Constance Rourke might say, the "double-mask") itself? What can Louis's smiling face tell us about the man who took his stand against a U.S. president? How, if at all, does this complexly evocative face affect the way we hear his music? Is the comic act something he transcends in his creation of high art music—as the received wisdom would insist--or is the comedy part and parcel of an evidently contradictory artistic whole?
The popularity of jazz—an unpopular problem
Authors: Parsonage Catherine
Published: May 2008

Jazz has entered the academy through the efforts of its supporters to establish it as an important art form in its own right, and as a result, jazz has received academic attention as a field of study largely separate from both contemporary musicology or popular music studies. Interestingly, just as in the classical sphere, the history of jazz has been written, its ‘great’ performers and composers documented and its ‘works’ canonised, and recently these processes have been subject to criticism in a similar way to work undertaken by ‘new’ musicologists. Whilst this ‘high art’ reading of the music is more compatible with conventional scholarly activity and has ensured that jazz has become a valid subject for study at educational institutions, such activity has not always emphasised its popular origins that might undermine its status as an academic discipline. Jazz has remained a specific and marginalized area within contemporary music scholarship, although with a history that spans the period, it has played an integral and influential part in the evolution of music in the modern world,particularly multifarious popular forms. With this in mind, it is ironic that jazz has been largely excluded from serious consideration in popular music studies, a situation due in part to the current trends in research in this field. The focus on recent popular music has led to the approach to research where one work, be it a song or an album, is analysed in detail in terms of its musical structure and within its sociological context, but where consideration of its musical-historical context is often lacking, or is at best perfunctory. The incorporation of a range of popular musics, including pre-rock forms such as jazz, into the popular music studies arena can provide valuable historical and evolutionary perspectives on other more recent developments. In addition, the musical material that is the subject of academic discussion and debate in jazz and popular music studies is often not actually very popular. This neglect of the popular was addressed by Robert Walser, who, at the Leeds International Jazz Education Conference in 2002, argued convincingly for the study of Kenny G alongside Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and other well-known jazz musicians. Walser explained that although Kenny G would be seen as abhorrent to many jazz fans due to his technical style of playing, his race and his financial gains from music, the undoubted fact of his massive success means that the academic establishment should not merely ignore him. Rather, there is an argument that Kenny G’s popularity should be examined as a priority.
Core and Boundaries
Authors: Deveaux Scott
Published: May 2008

Why not start with Ken Burns? If you watched Ken Burns Jazz on television, you didn’t get to see this particular excerpt on screen. But if you read the transcripts of interviews on the PBS web site, you might encounter the following quotation fromJames Maher, in which he describes what was involved in becoming a jazz aficionado in the 1930s: “One of the very peculiar things about falling in love with jazz is that you accidentally joined a cult, whether you liked it or not. And sooner or later you became acquainted with other zealots who I call ‘jazzniks,’ for want of a better word. And they of course are instantly telling you that all the people you like and admire, they all stink. They don’t play jazz. So you have this cult problem to deal with. And it went on and on and on and still goes on through the history of jazz that ‘I know what jazz is, you don’t know what jazz is’” There’s probably no better way to sum up my feelings in thinking about the history of jazz history. Right from the beginning, from the French superciliousness of Hugues Panassié to the aristocratic bluntness of John Hammond, there was theunmistakable sense: “I know what jazz is. You don’t know what jazz is.” Its corollary, inevitably, was: “And I’m going to tell you.”
Deconstructing the Jazz Tradition
Authors: Tucker Sherrie
Published: May 2008

From its first publication in Black Literature Forum in 1991, through and beyond its reprinting in Robert O’Meally’s edited volume The Jazz Cadence of American Culture in 1998, Scott DeVeaux’s ‘Constructing the Jazz Tradition’ remains one of the most influential essays in academic jazz studies. So frequently do jazz studies scholars jumpstart their journal articles, book introductions, and dissertations with gestures toward DeVeaux’s analysis of the ‘Jazz Tradition’ as an interested narrative - rather than an objective account of a linear jazz past - that one could characterize much current work in New Jazz Studies under the rubric: ‘Deconstructing the Jazz Tradition’.
The Jazz Community as an Art World
Authors: Martin Peter
Published: May 2008

Just over forty years ago, the American anthropologists Alan Merriam and Raymond Mack published a paper in which they aimed to present ‘…a factual description of what we shall call the jazz community’ (1960: 211). As they recognised, the term ‘community’ is problematic in various ways, but what Merriam and Mack had in mind was that group of people who not only have an interest in jazz, but who display an ‘…extreme identification with and participation in the occupational role and ideology of the professional jazz musician’ (ibid.) They noted the relatively large proportion of the jazz community who were themselves musicians of some kind, ranging from former professionals to occasional amateurs, and, in part because of this, emphasised the extent to which, from a sociological point of view, professional players and their public could be regarded as members of a single group, sharing a particular ideology (ibid: 217). As more recent research has shown (e.g. DeVeaux, 1995), the high proportion of performers within the jazz public has remained a significant characteristic of the jazz scene generally. For the moment however, I want to focus on the central idea developed by Merriam and Mack. In their words: While the jazz community is characterised by a number of distinctive behavior patterns, almost without exception these tend to cluster around one central theme – the isolation of the group from society at large, an isolation which is at once psychological, social, and physical (ibid).
Strictly on the Record
Authors: Cuscuna Michael
Published: May 2008

The invention of recorded sound has revolutionized all forms of music and the way music is used. A little more than century ago, people bought sheet music and made their own music. Today, recorded music is digital, portable and serves as the soundtrack to every aspect of a person’s life. Jazz was fortunate enough to evolve into existence during roughly the same period as Emile Berliner’s and Thomas Edison’s first attempts at capturing actual sound. The art of jazz and the craft of recording have had a long and sometimes rocky relationship. If a Tree Falls in the Forest … But documenting sound is essential to jazz. Without it, jazz history would exist only as scraps of evidence and hearsay. The first chapter of jazz development in New Orleans went unrecorded. Decades later, scholars scrambled to capture oral histories by witnesses to reconstruct the sound, style and content of Buddy Bolden’s music. The accounts by fellow musicians do little to bring this music to life; it is unrecorded and therefore lost forever.
The History, Myths, Values and Practices of Jazz Journalists
Authors: Mandel Howard
Published: May 2008

A personal view of the role of jazz journalism.
Water deficiency at different developmental stages of Glycine max can improve drought tolerance
Authors: Kron Alan Panaia , Souza Gustavo Maia , Ribeiro Rafael Vasconcelos
Published: May 2008

Developmental windows are specific periods of sensitivity during normal plant development in which a perturbation may be adaptively integrated. In these periods, sub-lethal environmental perturbations may improve the capacity to grow at lethal conditions. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that previous non-lethal water deficit applied in different developmental stages in soybean plants could enables them to improve the tolerance to environmental perturbations. In order to test this hypothesis we carried out an experiment with soybean plants submitted to water deficit in different stages of plant development, evaluating yield and physiological aspects. Our results indicated that water deficit experienced on V4 stage (vegetative) induces more suitable response, enabling plants to develop a process of tolerance improvement to a further water shortage period, probably through a reduction of growth, which maintains a conservative strategy of energy use. On the other hand, water deficit in R1 stage (reproductive), increased the plant susceptibility to posterior water withholding. This " strategy" was the opposite of the one employed by plants on V4 stage, i.e., to maintain growth rate probably at the expense of a higher energetic cost.
Marcha de absorção dos micronutrientes para mudas de goiabeiras cultivares Paluma e Século XXI
Authors: Franco Claudenir Facincani , Prado Renato de Mello , Braghirolli Luiz Fernando , Rozane Danilo Eduardo
Published: May 2008

O conhecimento da marcha de absorção dos micronutrientes em mudas de goiabeira garante melhor eficiência da adubação. O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a marcha de absorção de micronutrientes em mudas de duas cultivares de goiabeira. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em parcelas subdivididas com três repetições. Assim, foram utilizadas como tratamentos principais duas cultivares de goiabeira (Paluma e Século XXI) obtidas por estacas herbáceas e como subparcelas, sete coletas de plantas, ao longo do período experimental (120 dias). Nos diferentes órgãos das mudas (folhas, caule e raízes), avaliou-se o acúmulo de micronutrientes, a cada quinze dias. A muda de goiabeira da cultivar Século XXI é mais exigente em micronutrientes do que as mudas da cultivar Paluma. O acúmulo médio de micronutrientes pelas mudas de goiabeira obedeceu à seguinte seqüência: Fe>Mn>Zn>B>Cu, sendo maior nas folhas para B, Cu, Mn e Zn, e nas raízes para Fe. O acúmulo de micronutrientes para as cultivares Paluma e Século XXI em µg por planta foi de: B (632 e 783), Cu (134 e 158), Fe (8103 e 5534), Mn (3052 e 3709) e Zn (760 e 997) respectivamente.
Interação genótipo x ambiente e estabilidade fenotípica de cana-de-açúcar em ciclo de cana de ano
Authors: Silva Marcelo de Almeida
Published: May 2008

A recomendação de variedades de cana-de-açúcar com desempenho superior em diversos ambientes é um desafio para melhoristas e fitotecnistas devido à presença de interação genótipo x ambiente. Pesquisas sobre estabilidade de genótipos de cana-de-açúcar no ciclo de cana de ano são escassas. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a magnitude da interação genótipo x ambiente e determinar os genótipos estáveis no sistema de plantio cana de ano. Estabilidade fenotípica foi avaliada por meio de dois métodos, coeficiente de regressão linear e coeficiente de variação. Dez genótipos e duas variedades-padrão foram avaliados para altura de colmos, diâmetro de colmos, número de colmos por metro, pol% cana e produtividade de cana e de açúcar em três locais em 2004 e 2005. Houve interação genótipo x ambiente para diâmetro de colmos, número de colmos por metro, produtividade de colmos e de açúcar, observando-se nos genótipos comportamento diferente em cada local. Número de colmos por metro foi o atributo biométrico mais afetado pela interação genótipo x ambiente. Os genótipos IAC87-3396, IAC91-1099 e IACSP94-4004 podem ser recomendados para plantio sob o sistema cana de ano nas regiões de Jaú, Piracicaba e São João da Boa Vista.