bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuropeptide Deficient Mice Have Attenuated Nociceptive, Vascular, and Inflammatory Changes in a Tibia Fracture Model of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Authors: Guo Tian-Zhi , Wei Tzuping , Shi Xiaoyou , Li Wen-Wu , Hou Saiyun , Wang Liping , Tsujikawa Kazutake , Rice Kenner C , Cheng Kejun , Clark David J , Kingery Wade S
Published: November 2012

Background:

Distal limb fracture in man can induce a complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) with pain, warmth, edema, and cutaneous inflammation. In the present study substance P (SP, Tac1−/−) and CGRP receptor (RAMP1−/−) deficient mice were used to investigate the contribution of neuropeptide signaling to CRPS-like changes in a tibia fracture mouse model. Wildtype, Tac1−/−, and RAMP1−/− mice underwent tibia fracture and casting for 3 weeks, then the cast was removed and hindpaw mechanical allodynia, unweighting, warmth, and edema were tested over time. Hindpaw skin was collected at 3 weeks post-fracture for immunoassay and femurs were collected for micro-CT analysis.

Results:

Wildtype mice developed hindpaw allodynia, unweighting, warmth, and edema at 3 weeks post-fracture, but in the Tac1−/− fracture mice allodynia and unweighting were attenuated and there was no warmth and edema. RAMP1−/− fracture mice had a similar presentation, except there was no reduction in hindpaw edema. Hindpaw skin TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and NGF levels were up-regulated in wildtype fracture mice at 3 weeks post-fracture, but in the Tac1−/− and RAMP1−/− fracture mice only IL-6 was increased. The epidermal keratinocytes were the cellular source for these inflammatory mediators. An IL-6 receptor antagonist partially reversed post-fracture pain behaviors in wildtype mice.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, both SP and CGRP are critical neuropeptide mediators for the pain behaviors, vascular abnormalities, and up-regulated innate immune responses observed in the fracture hindlimb. We postulate that the residual pain behaviors observed in the Tac1−/− and RAMP1−/− fracture mice are attributable to the increased IL-6 levels observed in the hindpaw skin after fracture.
Microclimate monitoring of Ariadne’s house (Pompeii, Italy) for preventive conservation of fresco paintings
Authors: Merello Paloma , García-Diego Fernando-Juan , Zarzo Manuel
Published: November 2012

Background

Ariadne’s house, located at the city center of ancient Pompeii, is of great archaeological value due to the fresco paintings decorating several rooms. In order to assess the risks for long-term conservation affecting the valuable mural paintings, 26 temperature data-loggers and 26 relative humidity data-loggers were located in four rooms of the house for the monitoring of ambient conditions.

Results

Data recorded during 372 days were analyzed by means of graphical descriptive methods and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results revealed an effect of the roof type and number of walls of the room. Excessive temperatures were observed during the summer in rooms covered with transparent roofs, and corrective actions were taken. Moreover, higher humidity values were recorded by sensors on the floor level.

Conclusions

The present work provides guidelines about the type, number, calibration and position of thermohygrometric sensors recommended for the microclimate monitoring of mural paintings in outdoor or semi-confined environments.
The impact of parents’ years since migration on children’s academic achievement
Authors: Nielsen Helena Skyt , Rangvid Beatrice Schindler
Published: November 2012

In this paper, we employ register data for eight cohorts of second-generation immigrant pupils to identify the impact of each parent’s years since migration on their children’s school achievements. We exploit variation in years since migration and within-family variation. We find evidence of a positive impact of parents’ years since migration on children’s academic achievement. Mothers’ years of residence tend to be more important for Danish, while fathers’ years of residence tend to be more important for math. The effects vary by gender, and family-specific effects influence girls’ and boys’ educational attainment differently.

JEL codes

I21, J12, J620
The role of inflammation, the autonomic nervous system and classical cardiovascular disease risk factors on subendocardial viability ratio in patients with RA: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Authors: Sandoo Aamer , Protogerou Athanassios D , Hodson James , Smith Jacqueline P , Zampeli Evi , Sfikakis Petros P , Kitas George D
Published: November 2012

Introduction

Evidence indicates that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have increased susceptibility to myocardial ischaemia that contributes to myocardial infarction. The subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR) can be measured using pulse wave analysis and reflects myocardial oxygen supply and demand. The objective of the present study was to examine specific predictors of SEVR in RA patients, with a specific focus on inflammation and classical cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Methods

Two patient cohorts were included in the study; a primary cohort consisting of 220 RA patients and a validation cohort of 127 RA patients. All patients underwent assessment of SEVR using pulse wave analysis. Thirty-one patients from the primary cohort who were about to start anti-inflammatory treatment were prospectively examined for SEVR at pretreatment baseline and 2 weeks, 3 months and 1 year following treatment. Systemic markers of disease activity and classical CVD risk factors were assessed in all patients.

Results

The SEVR (mean ± standard deviation) for RA in the primary cohort was 148 ± 27 and in the validation cohort was 142 ± 25. Regression analyses revealed that all parameters of RA disease activity were associated with SEVR, along with gender, blood pressure and heart rate. These findings were the same in the validation cohort. Analysis of longitudinal data showed that C-reactive protein (P < 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.005), Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (P < 0.001), mean blood pressure (P < 0.005) and augmentation index (P < 0.001) were significantly reduced after commencing anti-TNFα treatment. Increasing C-reactive protein was found to be associated with a reduction in SEVR (P = 0.02) and an increase in augmentation index (P = 0.001).

Conclusion

The present findings reveal that the SEVR is associated with markers of disease activity as well as highly prevalent classical CVD risk factors in RA, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Further prospective studies are required to determine whether the SEVR predicts future cardiac events in RA.
Interleukin-32-induced thymic stromal lymphopoietin plays a critical role in macrophage differentiation through the activation of caspase-1 in vitro
Authors: Jeong Hyun-Ja , Nam Sun-Young , Oh Hyun-A , Han Na-Ra , Kim Young-Sick , Moon Phil-Dong , Shin Seung-Youp , Kim Min-Ho , Kim Hyung-Min
Published: November 2012

Introduction

Interleukin (IL)-32 is an inflammatory cytokine induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis in a variety of cell types and discovered in the synovial of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) play several roles in the pathogenesis of RA. However, the role of IL-32 and TSLP in RA has not been elucidated.

Methods

We evaluated the specific mechanism of between IL-32 and TSLP in RA using human monocyte cell line, THP-1 cells.

Results

Here we documented for the first time that IL-32 highly increased TSLP production in THP-1 cells and human blood monocytes. TSLP expression was induced by IL-32 via activation of caspase-1 and nuclear factor-κB. TSLP produced by IL-32 increased differentiation of monocytes but depletion of TSLP prevented differentiation of monocytes into macrophage-like cells. Chondroprotective drugs such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) and the traditional Korean medicine, BaekJeol-Tang (BT) decrease production of TSLP and activation of caspase-1 and nuclear factor-κB. In addition, CS and BT inhibited IL-32-induced monocytes differentiation.

Conclusions

Taken together, IL-32 and TSLP are important cytokines involved in the development of RA. The effects of CS and BT were associated with the downregulation of TSLP and caspase-1 through negative regulation of IL-32 pathways in RA.
Elevated troponin I and its prognostic significance in acute liver failure
Authors: Audimooolam Vinod K , McPhail Mark JW , Sherwood Roy , Willars Chris , Bernal William , Wendon Julia A , Auzinger Georg
Published: November 2012

Introduction

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a life-threatening multisystem illness complicated by multiple organ failure (MOF) and haemodynamic disturbances. Morbidity and mortality remains high and various prognostic and scoring models are in use to predict outcome. A recent observation in a large cohort of ALF patients suggested a prognostic value of troponin I (cTnI) and its role as a marker of subclinical myocardial injury and outcome.

Methods

Data from consecutive ALF patients over a four-year period from January 2007 to March 2011 were included. The aim of this study was to correlate any relationship that may exist between cTnI, mortality, severity of illness and non-hepatic organ failure.

Results

A total of 218 subjects (age 36 (16 to 90) years, M:F 103:115) were studied, of which 136 had an elevated cTnI > 0.05 μg/L. Higher organ failure scores were found with positive cTnI: APACHE II (19.5 (3 to 51) vs 14 (2 to 51), P = 0.001), APACHE III (81 (15 to 148) vs 59 (8 to 172), P = < 0.001) SOFA (15 (4 to 20) vs 13 (2 to 21), P = 0.027) and SAPS (48 (12 to 96) vs 34 (12 to 97), P = 0.001). Patients with positive cTnI had higher serum creatinine (192 μmol/l (38 to 550) vs 117 μmol/l (46 to 929), P < 0.001), arterial lactate (0.25, P < 0.001) and a lower pH (-0.21, P = 0.002). Also a higher proportion required renal replacement therapy (78% vs 60%, P = 0.006). Patients with elevated cTnI more frequently required vasopressors-norepinephrine (73% vs 50%, P = 0.008). Elevated cTnI did not predict outcome as effectively as other models (AUROC 0.61 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.68)).

Conclusions

More than 60% of ALF patients in this study demonstrated elevated cTnI. Despite a close correlation with organ failure severity, cTnI was a poor independent predictor of outcome. cTnI may not represent true myocardial injury and may be better viewed as a marker of metabolic stress.
Ground Motion Selection for Liquefaction Evaluation Analysis of Earthen Levees
Authors: Athanasopoulos-Zekkos Adda , Saadi Mustafa
Published: November 2012

Guidelines for selecting ground motions for liquefaction evaluation analysis of earthen levees are proposed. These guidelines were developed based on results from dynamic analyses of characteristic earthen levee cross sections using a wide range of ground motions (~1,500). The effect of a number of ground motion parameters on the dynamic response of the levees in terms of liquefaction susceptibility was studied, and the parameters that correlated best to the response were identified. For the liquefaction triggering evaluation, the mean period of the ground motion ( Tm) is best correlated to the cyclic stress ratio (CSR). Regression relationships between CSR and Tm are proposed for a series of levee types and shaking intensities.
Challenges of Building Logic Trees for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis
Authors: Bommer Julian J.
Published: November 2012

In the current practice of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), logic trees are widely used to represent and capture epistemic uncertainty in each element of the models for seismic sources and ground-motion prediction. Construction of a logic tree involves populating the branches with alternative models or parameter values, and then assigning weights, which together must represent the underlying continuous distribution. The logic tree must capture both the best estimates of what is known and the potential range of alternatives in light of what is currently not known. There are several scientific challenges involved in both populating the logic tree branches (for which new models often need to be developed) and in assigning weights to these branches. The most serious challenge facing this field now, however, may be a shortage of suitably qualified and experienced experts.
Vector-Valued Uniform Hazard Spectra
Authors: Ni Shun-Hao , Zhang De-Yi , Xie Wei-Chau , Pandey Mahesh D.
Published: November 2012

Uniform hazard spectra (UHS) have been used as design earthquakes in several design codes. However, as the results from scalar probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), UHS do not provide knowledge about the simultaneous occurrence of spectral accelerations at multiple vibration periods. The concept of a single “design earthquake” is then lost on a UHS. In this study, a vector-valued PSHA combined with scalar PSHA is applied to establish an alternative design spectrum, named vector-valued UHS (VUHS). Vector-valued seismic hazard deaggregation (SHD) is also performed to determine the design earthquake in terms of magnitude, distance, and occurrence rate for the VUHS. The proposed VUHS preserves the essence of the UHS and can also be interpreted as a single design earthquake. To simplify the procedure for generating the VUHS, so that they can be easily incorporated into performance-based seismic design, an approximate method is also developed.
Probabilistic Earthquake Damage Curves for Low-Rise Buildings Based on Field Data
Authors: Bessason Bjarni , Bjarnason Jón Örvar , Gudmundsson Ari , Sólnes Júlíus , Steedman Scott
Published: November 2012

All buildings in Iceland are registered in an official database that contains detailed information about them, and insurance against natural disasters is obligatory. When a destructive earthquake occurs, all damage is reported, and the repair and replacement cost for every affected building is evaluated. In May 2008, a shallow earthquake of magnitude Mw = 6.3 struck in South Iceland. A great deal of damage occurred, but fortunately, there was no loss of life. The recorded maximum PGA was 0.88 g. Detailed and complete information of all real estate property and the damage incurred, along with recorded strong-motion data and an area-specific attenuation model, have provided an opportunity to create probabilistic damage curves for the building stock in the affected area. The damage model obtained from the 2008 earthquake was tested and verified by using it to back-calculate the damage that occurred in the two South Iceland earthquakes of June 2000 ( Mw = 6.5).
Shaking Table and Numerical Seismic Performance Evaluation of a Fluid Viscous-Dissipative Bracing System
Authors: Sorace Stefano , Terenzi Gloria , Fadi Fabio
Published: November 2012

A shaking table campaign was carried out on a 2:3-scale, two-story steel frame structure retrofitted by a dissipative bracing system incorporating pressurized fluid viscous spring-dampers. Up to 1.16 g peak ground accelerations were imposed in the most severe of the 33 tests developed. The response was always elastic, with maximum interstory drift ratios limited below 0.62%. The protection technology, in fact, features high dissipative capacities and produced equivalent linear viscous damping coefficients up to 37.5%. A numerical enquiry carried out on the test structure in its original unbraced configuration showed interstory drift reductions from about 80% to about 90% when passing to dissipative braced conditions. A final performance-based analysis developed in terms of interstory drifts and beam and column rotations, in compliance with the criteria formulated in ASCE/SEI 41-06 Standard, emphasized three through five enhancements of building performance in retrofitted conditions for the four earthquake levels examined.
Amplification of Rocking Due to Horizontal Ground Motion
Authors: DeJong Matthew J.
Published: November 2012

This paper addresses the fundamental behavior of rocking structures by investigating the rate of energy input due to horizontal ground motion. This perspective indicates that the assumption of initial at-rest conditions may be inappropriate, and identifies ground motions which cause ‘rocking resonance’ for various constraints. Furthermore, the ability of multiple impulses to either reduce or amplify the rocking response is demonstrated, and motivates the use of statistical assessment procedures to predict rocking stability during earthquakes. In this context, past earthquake data is used to generate an array of synthetic earthquakes of a given intensity which are applied to determine the overturning probability of the rocking block. The results emphasize the time dependence of the rocking response. Finally, simulation of the rocking response to real earthquake records confirms that multiple impulse rocking amplification may be significant.
Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of a Multi-Span Continuous Highway Bridge Fitted with Shape Memory Alloy Bars and Laminated Rubber Bearings
Authors: Rahman Bhuiyan M. A. , Alam M. Shahria
Published: November 2012

This study performs seismic vulnerability assessment in the longitudinal direction of a three-span continuous highway bridge, restrained by shape memory alloy (SMA) bars and isolated with laminated rubber bearings. The analytical simulation method based on incremental dynamic analyses is used in evaluating the seismic fragility functions of the bridge components (pier and isolation bearing) and the system. A two-dimensional finite element model scheme with nonlinear force-displacement relationships is used for the bridge piers and bearings. This study shows that the bridge piers with SMA bars have led to relatively higher seismic vulnerability over the bridge piers without SMA bars, which is also reflected in the bridge system. The isolation bearings with SMA bars have revealed comparatively less seismic vulnerability than those without SMA bars. From the numerical results, it is recognized that the failure probability of the bridge system is dictated by the bridge pier over the isolation bearing.
Evaluation of Modal Pushover–Based Scaling of One Component of Ground Motion: Tall Buildings
Authors: Kalkan Erol , Chopra Anil K.
Published: November 2012

Nonlinear response history analysis (RHA) is now increasingly used for performance-based seismic design of tall buildings. Required for nonlinear RHAs is a set of ground motions selected and scaled appropriately so that analysis results would be accurate (unbiased) and efficient (having relatively small dispersion). This paper evaluates accuracy and efficiency of recently developed modal pushover– based scaling (MPS) method to scale ground motions for tall buildings. The procedure presented explicitly considers structural strength and is based on the standard intensity measure (IM) of spectral acceleration in a form convenient for evaluating existing structures or proposed designs for new structures. Based on results presented for two actual buildings (19 and 52 stories, respectively), it is demonstrated that the MPS procedure provided a highly accurate estimate of the engineering demand parameters (EDPs), accompanied by significantly reduced record-to-record variability of the responses. In addition, the MPS procedure is shown to be superior to the scaling procedure specified in the ASCE/SEI 7-05 document.
Probabilistic Seismic Performance of Rocking-Foundation and Hinging-Column Bridges
Authors: Deng Lijun , Kutter Bruce L. , Kunnath Sashi K.
Published: November 2012

Many engineers are hesitant to specify rocking foundations for ordinary bridges because of the unsubstantiated notion that rocking bridges are more susceptible to instability than conventional fixed-base bridges. A parametric study using a finite element model including large deformation effects compares the performance and stability of stiff, flexible, tall, and short hinging-column and rocking-foundation systems. Eighty different ground motions, scaled using incremental dynamic analysis, were considered. Results show that, in a probabilistic sense, bridges with rocking foundations are more stable than bridges with hinging columns if their fundamental periods are the same and if base shear coefficients to initiate hinging or rocking mechanisms are the same. Maximum drifts are not much affected by changing between rocking and hinging mechanisms except near collapse, but residual drifts are smaller for rocking systems. The results also challenge the notion that rocking systems require a different design approach than hinging column systems.
mRNAs containing the histone 3′ stem–loop are degraded primarily by decapping mediated by oligouridylation of the 3′ end
Authors: Su Wei , Slepenkov Sergey V. , Slevin Michael K. , Lyons Shawn M. , Ziemniak Marcin , Kowalska Joanna , Darzynkiewicz Edward , Jemielity Jacek , Marzluff William F. , Rhoads Robert E.
Published: November 2012

Metazoan replication-dependent histone mRNAs are only present in S-phase, due partly to changes in their stability. These mRNAs end in a unique stem–loop (SL) that is required for both translation and cell-cycle regulation. Previous studies showed that histone mRNA degradation occurs through both 5′→3′ and 3′→5′ processes, but the relative contributions are not known. The 3′ end of histone mRNA is oligouridylated during its degradation, although it is not known whether this is an essential step. We introduced firefly luciferase reporter mRNAs containing the histone 3′ UTR SL (Luc-SL) and either a normal or hDcp2-resistant cap into S-phase HeLa cells. Both mRNAs were translated, and translation initially protected the mRNAs from degradation, but there was a lag of ∼40 min with the uncleavable cap compared to ∼8 min for the normal cap before rapid decay. Knockdown of hDcp2 resulted in a similar longer lag for Luc-SL containing a normal cap, indicating that 5′→3′ decay is important in this system. Inhibition of DNA replication with hydroxyurea accelerated the degradation of Luc-SL. Knockdown of terminal uridyltransferase (TUTase) 4 but not TUTase 3 slowed the decay process, but TUTase 4 knockdown had no effect on destabilization of the mRNA by hydroxyurea. Both Luc-SL and its 5′ decay intermediates were oligouridylated. Preventing oligouridylation by 3′-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) addition to the mRNA slowed degradation, in the presence or absence of hydroxyurea, suggesting oligouridylation initiates degradation. The spectrum of oligouridylated fragments suggests the 3′→5′ degradation machinery stalls during initial degradation, whereupon reuridylation occurs.
QuShape: Rapid, accurate, and best-practices quantification of nucleic acid probing information, resolved by capillary electrophoresis
Authors: Karabiber Fethullah , McGinnis Jennifer L. , Favorov Oleg V. , Weeks Kevin M.
Published: November 2012

Chemical probing of RNA and DNA structure is a widely used and highly informative approach for examining nucleic acid structure and for evaluating interactions with protein and small-molecule ligands. Use of capillary electrophoresis to analyze chemical probing experiments yields hundreds of nucleotides of information per experiment and can be performed on automated instruments. Extraction of the information from capillary electrophoresis electropherograms is a computationally intensive multistep analytical process, and no current software provides rapid, automated, and accurate data analysis. To overcome this bottleneck, we developed a platform-independent, user-friendly software package, QuShape, that yields quantitatively accurate nucleotide reactivity information with minimal user supervision. QuShape incorporates newly developed algorithms for signal decay correction, alignment of time-varying signals within and across capillaries and relative to the RNA nucleotide sequence, and signal scaling across channels or experiments. An analysis-by-reference option enables multiple, related experiments to be fully analyzed in minutes. We illustrate the usefulness and robustness of QuShape by analysis of RNA SHAPE (selective 2′-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension) experiments.
Safe Approximations of Ambiguous Chance Constraints Using Historical Data
Authors: Yanıkoğlu İhsan , den Hertog Dick
Published: November 2012

This paper proposes a new way to construct uncertainty sets for robust optimization. Our approach uses the available historical data for the uncertain parameters and is based on goodness-of-fit statistics. It guarantees that the probability the uncertain constraint holds is at least the prescribed value. Compared to existing safe approximation methods for chance constraints, our approach directly uses the historical data information and leads to tighter uncertainty sets and therefore to better objective values. This improvement is significant, especially when the number of uncertain parameters is low. Other advantages of our approach are that it can handle joint chance constraints easily, it can deal with uncertain parameters that are dependent, and it can be extended to nonlinear inequalities. Several numerical examples illustrate the validity of our approach.
Backdoor Branching
Authors: Fischetti Matteo , Monaci Michele
Published: November 2012

We present an exact mixed-integer programming (MIP) solution scheme where a set-covering model is used to find a small set of first-choice branching variables. In a preliminary “sampling” phase, our method quickly collects a number of relevant low-cost fractional solutions that qualify as obstacles for the linear programming (LP) relaxation bound improvement. Then a set covering model is solved to detect a small subset of variables (a “backdoor,” in the artificial intelligence jargon) that “cover the fractionality” of the collected fractional solutions. These backdoor variables are put in a priority branching list, and a black-box MIP solver is eventually run—in its default mode—by taking this list into account, thus avoiding any other interference with its highly optimized internal mechanisms. Computational results on a large set of instances from the literature are presented, showing that some speedup can be achieved even with respect to a state-of-the-art solver such as IBM ILOG CPLEX 12.2.
The Early Detection Research Network's Specimen Reference Sets: Paving the Way for Rapid Evaluation of Potential Biomarkers
Authors: Feng Ziding , Kagan Jacob , Pepe Margaret , Thornquist Mark , Ann Rinaudo Jo , Dahlgren Jackie , Krueger Karl , Zheng Yingye , Patriotis Christos , Huang Ying , Sorbara Lynn , Thompson Ian , Srivastava Sudhir
Published: November 2012

BACKGROUND

The mission of the National Cancer Institute's Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) is to identify and validate cancer biomarkers for clinical use. Since its inception, EDRN investigators have learned a great deal about the process of validating biomarkers for clinical use. Translational research requires a broad spectrum of research expertise, and coordinating collaborative activities can be challenging. The EDRN has developed a robust triage and validation system that serves the roles of both “facilitator” and “brake.”

CONTENT

The system consists of (a) establishing a reference set of specimens collected under PRoBE (Prospective Specimen Collection Retrospective Blinded Evaluation) design criteria; (b) using the reference set to prevalidate candidate biomarkers before committing to full-scale validation; (c) performing full-scale validation for those markers that pass prevalidation testing; and (d) ensuring that the reference set is sufficiently large in numbers and volumes of sample that it can also be used to study future candidate biomarkers. This system provides rigorous and efficient evaluation of candidate biomarkers and biomarker panels. Reference sets should also be constructed to enable high-quality biomarker-discovery research.

We describe the process of establishing our system in the hope that it will serve as an example of how to validate biomarkers for clinical application. We also hope that this description of the biospecimen reference sets available from the EDRN will encourage the biomarker research community—from academia or industry—to use this resource to advance biomarkers into clinical use.
Globalization and Cultural Narcissism: Note On Bollywood Cinema
Authors: Dissanayake Wimal
Published: November 2012

To understand the emergence and popularity of Bollywood cinema, one has to situate it in the larger context of Indian social and political developments. Concomitantly, the emergence of Bollywood sheds light on a set of political issues that is vital to contemporary Indian life.
Mission Impossible 2 or “Alice in Cruiseland"
Authors: Williams Tony
Published: November 2012

The present commercial success of Mission Impossible 2 reads more like a triumph of that contemporary manifestation of what Thomas Schatz once referred to as the “genius of the system,” than anything else. Today, this genius loci may be more malignant in terms of the frequent
lack of innovation allowed to directors on the set. The production history of Mission Impossible 2 (or MI-2 as its abbreviation goes) is revealing in this respect.
Japanese Elements in Hong Kong Erotic Films
Authors: Wai-Ming Benjamin
Published: November 2012

The Hong Kong movie industry has been under the spell of Japanese sex culture. In particular, Hong Kong erotic films contain Japanese elements in terms of casting and themes. Unlike kung fu films, gangster films, and comedies, Hong Kong erotic films have received little media and scholarly
attention. This paper is a preliminary study of the history of Japanese erotic films in Hong Kong and their impact on Hong Kong erotic films from historical and cultural perspectives. It aims to deepen understanding of the interplay of Japanization and localization in mapping Asian popular
culture in the age of globalization.
Throne of Blood: Kurosawa's Cinema of Allusion
Authors: Gall John
Published: November 2012

This essay provides a gloss for the film by tracing what is strikingly and ultimately Shakespearean in selected scenes from Throne of Blood. Bernice Kliman and Joan Mellon (1976: 473) exemplify the intended methodology by noting that, "First, at level one, there are visual equivalents
to Shakespeare's words. For example, 'fair is foul and foul is fair' is illustrated [in Throne of Blood] by shafts of sunshine amidst the rain of Labyrinth Forest. Of 'thick as hail came post with post' is represented by the four messengers who come to His Lordship, one after another."
The Marathi Film Kunku and the Social Problems It Portrays
Authors: Pandit Swagata
Published: November 2012

If we reflect on Shantaram's film Kunku on the basis of this background, we will be able to understand why it was considered as "reformist" in nature. This film was based on author Narayan Hari Apte's novel in Marathi Na Patanari Goshta, which literally means "The World
Will Not Accept." The novel was a landmark in Maharashtra's social reform movement denouncing arranged and venal marriages that virtually ignore women's rights. Because of these reformative features, it created a literary stir in the mid 1920s when it was first published.
Between Memory and Forgetting: Clara Law’s Vision of the Transnational Self in Autumn Moon
Authors: Li Dian
Published: November 2012

My reading of the film Autumn Moon will follow Clara Law’s dismantling of these dichotomous categories to her provocative cinematic imagining of a transnational Chinese identity that is the function of both memory and forgetting in-between nostalgia and cosmopolitanism. It is
my contention that the creation of an uncertain, undefined, and often interchangeable interplay between memory and forgetting in the film may be an effective strategy to describe Chinese diaspora in the era of global capitalism
‘A Past That Will Not Pass’: Italian cinema and the return to the 1970s
Authors: O’Rawe Catherine
Published: November 2012

This article examines two films, Pasolini: un delitto italiano/Who Killed Pasolini? (1995) by Marco Tullio Giordana and La prima linea/The Front Line (2009) by Renato De Maria, in relation to their revisiting of traumatic and unresolved events of the 1970s in Italy. Giordana’s
film investigates the 1975 murder of intellectual and director Pier Paolo Pasolini using a variety of media sources, while La prima linea is a fictional reconstruction of particular moments of the terrorist campaign of the group Prima Linea. The article places the films in the context of contemporary
Italian cinema’s obsession with the return to the 1970s, and examines the use of archive footage as part of a strategy by the filmmakers to negotiate the problematic memories of the period. Finally, it considers the consequences of this return to the archive for thinking about historical
memory, postmemory, and the difficult and sometimes tortured dynamic between the present and the past in relation to the 1970s in Italy, and elsewhere
Silence from beyond the Abyss in Manoel de Oliveira’s A Talking Picture
Authors: Owen Hilary
Published: November 2012

This article explores Manoel de Oliveira’s travelogue film Um Filme Falado/A Talking Picture, released in 2003, the year in which Portugal joined the US-led coalition in the Iraq War. Here I discuss the ways in which the film recycles and subverts Portugal’s fifteenth-century
maritime expansionist narrative and Sebastianist mythologies of the Crusade, as a means of exposing and criticizing Portugal’s late twentieth-century global alignment with post-9/11 anti-Islamicism. The result of this is a subtle remapping of the conventional West-to-East voyage of discovery
in terms that actually underscore the origins of what the sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos terms the ‘abyssal lines’ delineating a globalizing North against a globalized South.
The collaborative film work of Greengrass and Damon: A stylistic state of exception
Authors: Peacock Steven
Published: November 2012

This article considers formal negotiations of terrorism in the collaborative film work of one director (Paul Greengrass) and one actor (Matt Damon). In particular, it explores the coupling of stylistic dynamics and sociocultural concerns in the Greengrass/Damon films: The Bourne Supremacy
(2004), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and Green Zone (2010). Placing emphasis on the earlier works, and especially The Bourne Ultimatum, the piece argues that the implicit political orchestrations of the Bourne films achieve more complex expressions of terrorism than their more declamatory sibling
Green Zone. Both Bourne films are ferocious examples of what David Bordwell calls the ‘intensified continuity’ of modern American cinema: a hyper-charged spectacular and affective style of film-making adhering to formal paradigms of classical Hollywood narration, yet playing out
at a more intense rhythm and register. Whilst in accordance with Bordwell’s claim, the article applies the principles of expressive criticism to see more at stake in the pace and surge of these two works. The films use their amplified formal strategies to get close to their thematic
and socio-political concerns, creating a stylistic ‘state of exception’ to tap into contemporary anxieties of terrorism. The use of the term ‘state of exception’ indicates the article’s interest in the works of Giorgio Agamben. It extends the impact of this theoretical
voice to advance thoughts on the marriage of style and content in the Greengrass/Damon projects as mainstream narrative films interested in kindred ideas, such as the liminal qualities of exception, and the effects of accelerated or compressed elements of time and space on the individual’s
identity. Greengrass’ kinetic compositions and the physicality of Damon’s performances combine to create a sophisticated aesthetic of anxiety in the post 9/11 world order.
Landscapes of subjectivity in contemporary Mexican cinema
Authors: Podalsky Laura
Published: November 2012

This article examines the reconfiguration of masculinity in contemporary Mexican cinema, arguing that recent films are less interested in equating man and nation than in exploring male subjectivities. The article focuses on directors such as Carlos Bolado, Carlos Reygadas, Fernando
Eimbcke and Julián Hernández, whose films feature male protagonists in liminal periods of their lives on the cusp of transformative possibilities. Drawing on the work of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze, the analysis suggests how the films chart the becomings of male subjects
through the exploration of rural and urban landscapes. Through formal experimentations with spatial and temporal markers, the films rewire the relationship between the viewer and pro-filmic events and, in the process, position the film-makers themselves as auteurs on the global art scene.
While exploring such engagements with global trends, the article also insists on the films’ connections to larger socio-economic transformations that are reshaping the role of men in Mexican society.
REVIEW
Authors: Ervine Jonathan , Joshi Dr Sarah A. , Morgan Ben , Quinlivan Davina
Published: November 2012

FRENCH MINORITY CINEMA, CRISTINA JOHNSTON (2010) Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 206 pp., ISBN: 978-9042031104, p/bk, £36REFRAMING BOLLYWOOD: THEORIES OF POPULAR HINDI CINEMA, AJAY GEHLAWAT (2010) London: Sage, 165 pp., ISBN: 978-81-321-0472-8, h/bk, £29.99Screening
War: Perspectives on German Suffering, Paul Cooke and Marc Silberman (eds) (2010) Rochester, NY: Camden House, ix+304 pp., ISBN: 978-1-57113-437-0, h/bk, £50JEAN-PIERRE AND LUC DARDENNE, JOSEPH MAI (2010) Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 156 pp., ISBN: 978-0-252-07711-1, p/bk,
£12.99
Repetitive Magnetic Stimulation Induces Functional and Structural Plasticity of Excitatory Postsynapses in Mouse Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures
Authors: Vlachos Andreas , Müller-Dahlhaus Florian , Rosskopp Johannes , Lenz Maximilian , Ziemann Ulf , Deller Thomas
Published: November 2012

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that can alter cortical excitability in human subjects for hours beyond the stimulation period. It thus has potential as a therapeutic tool in neuropsychiatric disorders associated with alterations in cortical excitability. However, rTMS-induced neural plasticity remains insufficiently understood at the cellular level. To learn more about the effects of repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS), we established anin vitromodel of rMS using mouse organotypic entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures. We assessed the outcome of a high-frequency (10 Hz) rMS protocol on functional and structural properties of excitatory synapses in mature hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, immunohistochemistry, and time-lapse imaging techniques revealed that rMS induces a long-lasting increase in glutamatergic synaptic strength, which is accompanied by structural remodeling of dendritic spines. The effects of rMS on spine size were predominantly seen in small spines, suggesting differential effects of rMS on subpopulations of spines. Furthermore, our data indicate that rMS-induced postsynaptic changes depend on the NMDA receptor-mediated accumulation of GluA1-containing AMPA receptors. These results provide first experimental evidence that rMS induces coordinated functional and structural plasticity of excitatory postsynapses, which is consistent with a long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission.
Hierarchical Organization of Cognition Reflected in Distributed Frontoparietal Activity
Authors: Farooqui Ausaf A. , Mitchell Daniel , Thompson Russell , Duncan John
Published: November 2012

Organization of behavior into a nested hierarchy of tasks and subtasks is characteristic of purposive cognition in humans. While frontoparietal regions have been shown to represent many kinds of task events, their representation of task/subtask structure has not been directly investigated. On each trial of the current study, participants carried out a sequence of four visual target detections organized by task context into subtasks of different structure (three and one or two and two). Through extended regions of frontoparietal cortex, activity elicited by target detections depended upon the hierarchical level of the episode completed. Target detections completing the entire trial elicited greatest activity, followed by targets completing a subtask, and finally targets within one subtask. Results depended on task and subtask completion, rather than the complexity of the next task stage to be established. We suggest that, through large regions of frontoparietal cortex, control representations direct each step of a behavioral program. Completion of a subtask revises control representations related just to this subtask, leaving those related to the overarching task episode intact, while completion of the entire task revises the entire assembly of representations.
Opposing Roles forHoxa2andHoxb2in Hindbrain Oligodendrocyte Patterning
Authors: Miguez Andrés , Ducret Sébastien , Di Meglio Thomas , Parras Carlos , Hmidan Hatem , Haton Céline , Sekizar Sowmya , Mannioui Abdelkrim , Vidal Marie , Kerever Aurélien , Nyabi Omar , Haigh Jody , Zalc Bernard , Rijli Filippo M. , Thomas Jean-Léon
Published: November 2012

Oligodendrocytes are the myelin-forming cells of the vertebrate CNS. Little is known about the molecular control of region-specific oligodendrocyte development. Here, we show that oligodendrogenesis in the mouse rostral hindbrain, which is organized in a metameric series of rhombomere-derived (rd) territories, follows a rhombomere-specific pattern, with extensive production of oligodendrocytes in the pontine territory (r4d) and delayed and reduced oligodendrocyte production in the prepontine region (r2d, r3d). We demonstrate that segmental organization of oligodendrocytes is controlled byHoxgenes, namelyHoxa2andHoxb2. Specifically,Hoxa2loss of function induced a dorsoventral enlargement of theOlig2/Nkx2.2-expressing oligodendrocyte progenitor domain, whereas conditionalHoxa2overexpression in theOlig2+domain inhibited oligodendrogenesis throughout the brain. In contrast,Hoxb2deletion resulted in a reduction of the pontine oligodendrogenic domain. CompoundHoxa2−/−/Hoxb2−/−mutant mice displayed the phenotype ofHoxb2−/−mutants in territories coexpressingHoxa2andHoxb2(rd3, rd4), indicating thatHoxb2antagonizesHoxa2during rostral hindbrain oligodendrogenesis. This study provides the firstin vivoevidence thatHoxgenes determine oligodendrocyte regional identity in the mammalian brain.
The Activity of Primary Motor Cortex Corticospinal Neurons during Tool Use by Macaque Monkeys
Authors: Quallo Marsha M. , Kraskov Alexander , Lemon Roger N.
Published: November 2012

It has been suggested that the distinctive capacity of some nonhuman primates to use tools may reflect a well-developed corticospinal system and, in particular, direct cortico-motoneuronal (CM) connections to hand muscles. We investigated the activity of corticospinal neurons in the primary motor cortex hand area during the use of a tool by two adult macaque monkeys. They used a light rake to retrieve food rewards placed in their extrapersonal space. An analysis of EMG activity showed that the rake task involved a complex interaction of muscles acting on the digits, hand, and arm. Sixty-nine corticospinal neurons were identified antidromically as pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs). When tested on the rake task, most (64 of 69; 93%) showed a significant modulation of their discharge during at least one of three task periods: grasping the rake, projecting it beyond the food reward, and then pulling it back to retrieve the reward. Discharge patterns were heterogeneous, and many PTNs showed significant suppression of discharge during raking. Seventeen of the 69 PTNs recorded during the rake task were further identified as CM cells, exerting clear postspike facilitation on digit muscles, demonstrating that the CM system contributes to the skilled use of tools. We compared the activity of each PTN on the rake task with that during precision grip. Most PTNs (90%) modulated their activity significantly for both tasks, demonstrating that PTNs activated by a task involving fractionated movements of the digits are also recruited during rake use, although there were often contrasting patterns of PTN recruitment and muscle activity for the two tasks.
Anxiety-Like Behavior of Prenatally Stressed Rats Is Associated with a Selective Reduction of Glutamate Release in the Ventral Hippocampus
Authors: Marrocco Jordan , Mairesse Jérôme , Ngomba Richard Teke , Silletti Viviana , Van Camp Gilles , Bouwalerh Hammou , Summa Maria , Pittaluga Anna , Nicoletti Ferdinando , Maccari Stefania , Morley-Fletcher Sara
Published: November 2012

Abnormalities of synaptic transmission and plasticity in the hippocampus represent an integral part of the altered programming triggered by early life stress. Prenatally restraint stressed (PRS) rats develop long-lasting biochemical and behavioral changes, which are the expression of an anxious/depressive-like phenotype. We report here that PRS rats showed a selective impairment of depolarization- or kainate-stimulated glutamate and [3H]d-aspartate release in the ventral hippocampus, a region encoding memories related to stress and emotions. GABA release was unaffected in PRS rats. As a consequence of reduced glutamate release, PRS rats were also highly resistant to kainate-induced seizures. Abnormalities of glutamate release were associated with large reductions in the levels of synaptic vesicle-related proteins, such as VAMP (synaptobrevin), syntaxin-1, synaptophysin, synapsin Ia/b and IIa, munc-18, and Rab3A in the ventral hippocampus of PRS rats. Anxiety-like behavior in male PRS (and control) rats was inversely related to the extent of depolarization-evoked glutamate release in the ventral hippocampus. A causal relationship between anxiety-like behavior and reduction in glutamate release was demonstrated using a mixture of the mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist, LY341495, and the GABABreceptor antagonist, CGP52432, which was shown to amplify depolarization-evoked [3H]d-aspartate release in the ventral hippocampus. Bilateral microinfusion of CGP52432plusLY341495 in the ventral hippocampus abolished anxiety-like behavior in PRS rats. These findings indicate that an impairment of glutamate release in the ventral hippocampus is a key component of the neuroplastic program induced by PRS, and that strategies aimed at enhancing glutamate release in the ventral hippocampus correct the “anxious phenotype” caused by early life stress.
An Interaction Screen Identifiesheadcaseas a Regulator of Large-Scale Pruning
Authors: Loncle Nicolas , Williams Darren W.
Published: November 2012

Large-scale pruning, the removal of long neuronal processes, is deployed widely within the developing nervous system and is essential for proper circuit formation. InDrosophilathe dendrites of the class IV dendritic arborization sensory neuron ddaC undergo large-scale pruning by local degeneration controlled by the steroid hormone ecdysone. The molecular mechanisms that control such events are largely unknown.

To identify new molecules that orchestrate this developmental degeneration, we performed a genetic interaction screen. Our approach combines the strength ofDrosophilaforward genetics with detailedin vivoimaging of ddaC neurons. This screen allowed us to identifyheadcase(hdc) as a new gene involved in dendrite pruning.hdcis evolutionarily conserved, but the protein's function is unknown. Here we show thathdcis expressed just before metamorphosis in sensory neurons that undergo remodeling.hdcis required in a cell-autonomous manner to control dendrite severing, the first phase of pruning. Our epistasis experiments with known regulators of dendrite pruning revealhdcas a founding member of a new pathway downstream of ecdysone signaling.