bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Noneosinophilic asthma in children: relation with airway remodelling
Authors: Baraldo S. , Turato G. , Bazzan E. , Ballarin A. , Damin M. , Balestro E. , Lokar Oliani K. , Calabrese F. , Maestrelli P. , Snijders D. , Barbato A. , Saetta M.
Published: February 2011

Noneosinophilic asthma is increasingly recognised as an important clinical–pathological phenotype in adults. However, this entity has scarcely been investigated in children. In particular, it is unknown whether airway remodelling would develop in children with non-eosinophilic asthma to the same degree as in children with eosinophilic disease.

We analysed bronchial biopsies from 80 children undergoing bronchoscopy for appropriate clinical indications: 21 with noneosinophilic asthma, 34 with eosinophilic asthma and 25 control children. Features of airway remodelling – basement membrane thickening, epithelial loss and angiogenesis – and immune activation – inflammatory infiltrate, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, TGF-β receptor type II – were quantified by histology and immunohistochemistry.

The main components of airway remodelling were present in children with noneosinophilic asthma just as in those with eosinophilic disease. Indeed, compared with control children, both noneosinophilic and eosinophilic asthmatic children had thickened basement membrane, increased epithelial loss and higher number of vessels. Moreover, in both groups of asthmatics, expression of IL-4 and IL-5 was increased, while that of TGF-β receptor type II was reduced, compared with controls.

This study demonstrates that structural changes typical of asthma develop in asthmatic children even in the absence of a prominent eosinophilic infiltrate, indicating that other mechanisms, besides eosinophilic inflammation, may promote airway remodelling early in life.
Auxin-inducible protein depletion system in fission yeast
Authors: Kanke Mai , Nishimura Kohei , Kanemaki Masato , Kakimoto Tatsuo , Takahashi Tatsuro S , Nakagawa Takuro , Masukata Hisao
Published: February 2011

Background

Inducible inactivation of a protein is a powerful approach for analysis of its function within cells. Fission yeast is a useful model for studying the fundamental mechanisms such as chromosome maintenance and cell cycle. However, previously published strategies for protein-depletion are successful only for some proteins in some specific conditions and still do not achieve efficient depletion to cause acute phenotypes such as immediate cell cycle arrest. The aim of this work was to construct a useful and powerful protein-depletion system in Shizosaccaromyces pombe.

Results

We constructed an auxin-inducible degron (AID) system, which utilizes auxin-dependent poly-ubiquitination of Aux/IAA proteins by SCFTIR1 in plants, in fission yeast. Although expression of a plant F-box protein, TIR1, decreased Mcm4-aid, a component of the MCM complex essential for DNA replication tagged with Aux/IAA peptide, depletion did not result in an evident growth defect. We successfully improved degradation efficiency of Mcm4-aid by fusion of TIR1 with fission yeast Skp1, a conserved F-box-interacting component of SCF (i mproved-AID system; i-AID), and the cells showed severe defect in growth. The i-AID system induced degradation of Mcm4-aid in the chromatin-bound MCM complex as well as those in soluble fractions. The i-AID system in conjunction with transcription repression (off-AID system), we achieved more efficient depletion of other proteins including Pol1 and Cdc45, causing early S phase arrest.

Conclusion

Improvement of the AID system allowed us to construct conditional null mutants of S. pombe. We propose that the off-AID system is the powerful method for in vivo protein-depletion in fission yeast.
Repression of btuB gene transcription in Escherichia coliby the GadX protein
Authors: Lei Guang-Sheng , Syu Wan-Jr , Liang Po-Huang , Chak Kin-Fu , Hu Wensi S , Hu Shiau-Ting
Published: February 2011

Background

BtuB (B twelveuptake) is an outer membrane protein ofEscherichia coli, it serves as a receptor for cobalamines uptake or bactericidal toxin entry. A decrease in the production of the BtuB protein would causeE. colito become resistant to colicins. The production of BtuB has been shown to be regulated at the post-transcriptional level. The secondary structure switch of 5' untranslated region ofbutBand the intracellular concentration of adenosylcobalamin (Ado-Cbl) would affect the translation efficiency and RNA stability ofbtuB. The transcriptional regulation ofbtuBexpression is still unclear.

Results

To determine whether thebtuBgene is also transcriptionally controlled by trans-acting factors, a genomic library was screened for clones that enableE. colito grow in the presence of colicin E7, and a plasmid carryinggadXandgadYgenes was isolated. ThelacZreporter gene assay revealed that these two genes decreased thebtuBpromoter activity by approximately 50%, and the production of the BtuB protein was reduced by approximately 90% in the presence of a plasmid carrying bothgadXandgadYgenes inE. colias determined by Western blotting. Results of electrophoretic mobility assay and DNase I footprinting indicated that the GadX protein binds to the 5' untranslated region of thebtuBgene. SincegadXandgadYgenes are more highly expressed under acidic conditions, the transcriptional level ofbtuBin cells cultured in pH 7.4 or pH 5.5 medium was examined by quantitative real-time PCR to investigate the effect of GadX. The results showed the transcription ofgadXwith 1.4-fold increase but the level ofbtuBwas reduced to 57%.

Conclusions

Through biological and biochemical analysis, we have demonstrated the GadX can directly interact withbtuBpromoter and affect the expression ofbtuB. In conclusion, this study provides the first evidence that the expression ofbtuBgene is transcriptionally repressed by the acid responsive genesgadXandgadY.
Dietary intakes in people with irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: Williams Elizabeth A , Nai XuiLi , Corfe Bernard M
Published: February 2011

Background

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterised by episodes of abdominal pain associated with altered bowel habits. Many IBS sufferers believe that diet may play a role in triggering these episodes and may avoid certain foods. However relatively few studies have undertaken a dietary assessment in IBS sufferers to examine the wider impact of the condition upon diet.

Methods

104 individuals with IBS were recruited and asked to complete a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The data were analysed against Dietary Reference Values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom and observed intakes for the general population and for differences between IBS subtypes and the UK population.

Results

The data show that the dietary intakes of this population of IBS sufferers met the UK Dietary Reference Values. The average energy intake of the population exceeded the Estimated Average Requirements of the UK population and the balance of macronutrients was favourable. Intakes of selected micronutrients significantly exceeded the reference nutrient intakes. There were no differences between IBS subtypes.

Conclusions

The IBS subpopulation appear to have an adequate and balanced macronutrient intake with no evidence of inadequate micronutrient intake.
Cumulative smoking exposure, duration of smoking cessation, and peripheral arterial disease in middle-aged and older Korean men
Authors: Lee Young-Hoon , Shin Min-Ho , Kweon Sun-Seog , Choi Jin-Su , Rhee Jung-Ae , Ahn Hye-Ran , Yun Woo-Jun , Ryu So-Yeon , Kim Bok-Hee , Nam Hae-Sung , Jeong Seul-Ki , Park Kyeong-Soo
Published: February 2011

Background

We investigated the association of cumulative smoking exposure and duration of smoking cessation with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods

The study population consisted of 2517 community-dwelling Korean men aged 50 years and older. Information on smoking characteristics such as smoking status, pack-years of smoking, and years since quitting smoking was collected using a standardized questionnaire. PAD was defined as an ankle-brachial index (ABI) less than 0.90 in either leg.

Results

The odds ratio (OR, 95% confidence interval) of PAD was 2.31 (1.20-4.42) for former smokers and 4.30 (2.13-8.66) for current smokers, after adjusting for other cardiovascular risk factors. There was a significant dose-response relationship between pack-years of smoking and PAD. Compared with those who had never smoked, the multivariate-adjusted ORs of PAD for smokers of 0.1-20.0, 20.1-40.0, and >40.0 pack-years were 2.15 (1.06-4.38), 2.24 (1.08-4.65), and 2.93 (1.41-6.09), respectively. There was a significant decrease in PAD risk as the years since quitting smoking increased. The multivariate-adjusted ORs of PAD for 11-20 and ≥21 years smoking cessation were 0.41 (0.19-0.86) and 0.49 (0.24-0.98), compared with current smokers.

Conclusions

Cumulative smoking exposure and duration of smoking cessation were significantly associated with PAD in middle aged and older Korean men.
Inositol pentakisphosphate isomers bind PH domains with varying specificity and inhibit phosphoinositide interactions
Authors: Jackson Sean G , Al-Saigh Sarra , Schultz Carsten , Junop Murray S
Published: February 2011

Background

PH domains represent one of the most common domains in the human proteome. These domains are recognized as important mediators of protein-phosphoinositide and protein-protein interactions. Phosphoinositides are lipid components of the membrane that function as signaling molecules by targeting proteins to their sites of action. Phosphoinositide based signaling pathways govern a diverse range of important cellular processes including membrane remodeling, differentiation, proliferation and survival. Myo- Inositol phosphates are soluble signaling molecules that are structurally similar to the head groups of phosphoinositides. These molecules have been proposed to function, at least in part, by regulating PH domain-phosphoinositide interactions. Given the structural similarity of inositol phosphates we were interested in examining the specificity of PH domains towards the family of myo- inositol pentakisphosphate isomers.

Results

In work reported here we demonstrate that the C-terminal PH domain of pleckstrin possesses the specificity required to discriminate between different myo- inositol pentakisphosphate isomers. The structural basis for this specificity was determined using high-resolution crystal structures. Moreover, we show that while the PH domain of Grp1 does not possess this high degree of specificity, the PH domain of protein kinase B does.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that some PH domains possess enough specificity to discriminate between myo-inositol pentakisphosphate isomers allowing for these molecules to differentially regulate interactions with phosphoinositides. Furthermore, this work contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting myo-inositol phosphates as regulators of important PH domain-phosphoinositide interactions. Finally, in addition to expanding our knowledge of cellular signaling, these results provide a basis for developing tools to probe biological pathways.
Cost-effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy versus talking and usual care for depressed older people in primary care
Authors: Holman Amanda J , Serfaty Marc A , Leurent Baptiste E , King Michael B
Published: February 2011

Background

Whilst evidence suggests cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) may be effective for depressed older people in a primary care setting, few studies have examined its cost-effectiveness. The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), a talking control (TC) and treatment as usual (TAU), delivered in a primary care setting, for older people with depression.

Methods

Cost data generated from a single blind randomised controlled trial of 204 people aged 65 years or more were offered only Treatment as Usual, or TAU plus up to twelve sessions of CBT or a talking control is presented. The Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) was the main outcome measure for depression. Direct treatment costs were compared with reductions in depression scores. Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using non-parametric bootstrapping. The primary analysis focussed on the cost-effectiveness of CBT compared with TAU at 10 months follow up.

Results

Complete cost data were available for 198 patients at 4 and 10 month follow up. There were no significant differences between groups in baseline costs. The majority of health service contacts at follow up were made with general practitioners. Fewer contacts with mental health services were recorded in patients allocated to CBT, though these differences were not significant. Overall total per patient costs (including intervention costs) were significantly higher in the CBT group compared with the TAU group at 10 month follow up (difference £427, 95% CI: £56 - £787, p < 0.001). Reductions in BDI-II scores were significantly greater in the CBT group (difference 3.6 points, 95% CI: 0.7-6.5 points, p = 0.018). CBT is associated with an incremental cost of £120 per additional point reduction in BDI score and a 90% probability of being considered cost-effective if purchasers are willing to pay up to £270 per point reduction in the BDI-II score.

Conclusions

CBT is significantly more costly than TAU alone or TAU plus TC, but more clinically effective. Based on current estimates, CBT is likely to be recommended as a cost-effective treatment option for this patient group if the value placed on a unit reduction in BDI-II is greater than £115.

Trial Registration

isrctn.org Identifier:ISRCTN18271323
Loosenin, a novel protein with cellulose-disrupting activity from Bjerkandera adusta
Authors: Quiroz-Castañeda Rosa E , Martínez-Anaya Claudia , Cuervo-Soto Laura I , Segovia Lorenzo , Folch-Mallol Jorge L
Published: February 2011

Background

Expansins and expansin-like proteins loosen cellulose microfibrils, possibly through the rupture of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Together with the use of lignocellulolytic enzymes, these proteins are potential molecular tools to treat plant biomass to improve saccharification yields.

Results

Here we describe a new type of expansin-related fungal protein that we have called loosenin. Its corresponding gene, loos1, from the basidiomycete Bjerkandera adusta, was cloned and heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. LOOS1 is distantly related to plant expansins through the shared presence of a DPBB domain, however domain II found in plant expansins is absent. LOOS1 binds tightly to cellulose and chitin, and we demonstrate that cotton fibers become susceptible to the action of a commercial cellulase following treatment with LOOS1. Natural fibers of Agave tequilana also become susceptible to hydrolysis by cellulases after loosenin treatment.

Conclusions

LOOS1 is a new type of protein with disrupting activity on cellulose. LOOS1 binds polysaccharides, and given its enhancing properties on the action of hydrolytic enzymes, LOOS1 represents a potential additive in the production of fermentable sugars from lignocellulose.
A dual investigation of the effect of dietary supplementation with licorice flavonoid oil on anthropometric and biochemical markers of health and adiposity
Authors: Bell Zach W , Canale Robert E , Bloomer Richard J
Published: February 2011

Background

Licorice flavonoid oil (LFO) has been reported to minimize visceral adipose tissue gain in obese mice and to result in a decrease in body weight and body fat in humans; the effects of which may be more pronounced when administered in an overfed state.

Methods

We investigated the effects of LFO in two separate studies. Study 1 included a sample of overweight or grade I-II obese men and women (N = 22) who followed their usual dietary and physical activity programs. Study 2 included a sample of athletic men who followed their usual dietary and physical activity programs but consumed a daily supplemental meal (25% above daily energy requirements) in an attempt to induce a state of overfeeding. In both studies, subjects were randomly assigned (double-blind) to either LFO or a placebo for eight weeks, and anthropometric and multiple biochemical outcomes (e.g., markers of oxidative stress, markers of insulin sensitivity, blood lipids, etc.) were obtained before and following the intervention.

Results

No differences of statistical significance were noted between LFO and placebo for any measured variable in Study 1 or Study 2. When investigating the percent change from baseline for data in Study 2, although not of statistical significance, subjects in the LFO condition experienced less overall fat gain, as well as attenuation in the elevation in selected blood lipids (e.g., cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglycerides).

Conclusion

These combined data indicate little effect of LFO supplementation within a sample of overweight/obese men and women or athletic men, with the possible exception of attenuation in body fat gain and selected components of the blood lipid panel in response to an overfeeding condition.
Loss of function mutation in toll-like receptor-4 does not offer protection against obesity and insulin resistance induced by a diet high in trans fat in mice
Authors: Vijay-Kumar Matam , Aitken Jesse D , Carvalho Frederic A , Ziegler Thomas R , Gewirtz Andrew T , Ganji Vijay
Published: February 2011

Background

Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) triggers inflammatory signaling in response to microbial lipoploysaccharide. It has been reported that loss of TLR4 protected against saturated fat-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. It is not known whether loss of TLR4 function offers protection against trans fat (TF) induced obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance. We investigated whether mice with loss of function mutation in TLR4 were resistant to TF-induced pathologies such as obesity, inflammation, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia.

Methods

C57BL/6j and C57BL/10 mice were cross bred to generate TLR4 mutant and wild type (WT). TLR4 mutant (n = 12) and WT (n = 12) mice were fed either low fat (LF) (13.5% fat energy) or high TF diets (60% fat energy) for 12 weeks. In vitro experiments were conducted on mouse macrophage cells (RAW 264.7 and J774A.1) to investigate whether elaidic (trans 18:1) or oleic acid (cis 18:1) would upregulate inflammatory markers.

Results

TLR4 mutant mice were ~26.4% heavier than WT mice. In both genotypes, mice that received TF diet were significantly heavier than those mice that received LF diet (P < 0.01). TLR4 mutant mice compared to WT mice had significantly higher fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance, serum leptin, and serum cholesterol when they received TF diet (P < 0.05). No upregulation of iNOS or COX2 in response to either elaidic or oleic acid in macrophage cells was observed.

Conclusions

Loss of function mutation in TLR4 not only did not protect mice from TF-induced obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, and hypercholesterolemia but also exacerbated the above pathologies suggesting that functional TLR4 is necessary in attenuating TF-induced deleterious effects. It is likely that TF induces pathologies through pathways independent of TLR4.
The role of the surfaces in the photon absorption in Ge nanoclusters embedded in silica
Authors: Cosentino Salvatore , Mirabella Salvatore , Miritello Maria , Nicotra Giuseppe , Lo Savio Roberto , Simone Francesca , Spinella Corrado , Terrasi Antonio
Published: February 2011

The usage of semiconductor nanostructures is highly promising for boosting the energy conversion efficiency in photovoltaics technology, but still some of the underlying mechanisms are not well understood at the nanoscale length. Ge quantum dots (QDs) should have a larger absorption and a more efficient quantum confinement effect than Si ones, thus they are good candidate for third-generation solar cells. In this work, Ge QDs embedded in silica matrix have been synthesized through magnetron sputtering deposition and annealing up to 800°C. The thermal evolution of the QD size (2 to 10 nm) has been followed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, evidencing an Ostwald ripening mechanism with a concomitant amorphous-crystalline transition. The optical absorption of Ge nanoclusters has been measured by spectrophotometry analyses, evidencing an optical bandgap of 1.6 eV, unexpectedly independent of the QDs size or of the solid phase (amorphous or crystalline). A simple modeling, based on the Tauc law, shows that the photon absorption has a much larger extent in smaller Ge QDs, being related to the surface extent rather than to the volume. These data are presented and discussed also considering the outcomes for application of Ge nanostructures in photovoltaics.

PACS: 81.07.Ta; 78.67.Hc; 68.65.-k
Carbon nanotubes: are they dispersed or dissolved in liquids?
Authors: Geckeler Kurt Ernst , Premkumar Thathan
Published: February 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) constitute a novel class of nanomaterials with remarkable applications in diverse domains. However, the main intrincsic problem of CNTs is their insolubility or very poor solubility in most of the common solvents. The basic key question here is: are carbon nanotubes dissolved or dispersed in liquids, specifically in water? When analyzing the scientific research articles published in various leading journals, we found that many researchers confused between "dispersion" and "solubilization" and use the terms interchangeably, particularly when stating the interaction of CNTs with liquids. In this article, we address this fundamental issue to give basic insight specifically to the researchers who are working with CNTs as well asgenerally to scientists who deal with nano-related research domains.
Distribution of interleukin-1 receptor complex at the synaptic membrane driven by interleukin-1β and NMDA stimulation
Authors: Gardoni Fabrizio , Boraso Mariaserena , Zianni Elisa , Corsini Emanuela , Galli Corrado L , Cattabeni Flaminio , Marinovich Marina , Di Luca Monica , Viviani Barbara
Published: February 2011

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that contributes to neuronal injury in various degenerative diseases, and is therefore a potential therapeutic target. It exerts its biological effect by activating the interleukin-1 receptor type I (IL-1RI) and recruiting a signalling core complex consisting of the myeloid differentiation primary response protein 88 (MyD88) and the IL-1R accessory protein (IL-1RAcP). This pathway has been clearly described in the peripheral immune system, but only scattered information is available concerning the molecular composition and distribution of its members in neuronal cells. The findings of this study show that IL-1RI and its accessory proteins MyD88 and IL-1RAcP are differently distributed in the hippocampus and in the subcellular compartments of primary hippocampal neurons. In particular, only IL-1RI is enriched at synaptic sites, where it co-localises with, and binds to the GluN2B subunit of NMDA receptors. Furthermore, treatment with NMDA increases IL-1RI interaction with NMDA receptors, as well as the surface expression and localization of IL-1RI at synaptic membranes. IL-1β also increases IL-1RI levels at synaptic sites, without affecting the total amount of the receptor in the plasma membrane. Our results reveal for the first time the existence of a dynamic and functional interaction between NMDA receptor and IL-1RI systems that could provide a molecular basis for IL-1β as a neuromodulator in physiological and pathological events relying on NMDA receptor activation.
Knowledge-to-action processes in SHRTN collaborative communities of practice: A study protocol
Authors: Conklin James , Kothari Anita , Stolee Paul , Chambers Larry , Forbes Dorothy , Le Clair Ken
Published: February 2011

Background

The Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN) Collaborative is a network of networks that work together to improve the health and health care of Ontario seniors. The collaborative facilitates knowledge exchange through a library service, knowledge brokers (KBs), local implementation teams, collaborative technology, and, most importantly, Communities of Practice (CoPs) whose members work together to identify innovations, translate evidence, and help implement changes.

This project aims to increase our understanding of knowledge-to-action (KTA) processes mobilized through SHRTN CoPs that are working to improve the health of Ontario seniors. For this research, KTA refers to the movement of research and experience-based knowledge between social contexts, and the use of that knowledge to improve practice. We will examine the KTA processes themselves, as well as the role of human agents within those processes. The conceptual framework we have adopted to inform our research is the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework.

Methods/design

This study will use a multiple case study design (minimum of nine cases over three years) to investigate how SHRTN CoPs work and pursue knowledge exchange in different situations. Each case will yield a unique narrative, framed around the three PARIHS dimensions: evidence, context, and facilitation. Together, the cases will shed light on how SHRTN CoPs approach their knowledge exchange initiatives, and how they respond to challenges and achieve their objectives. Data will be collected using interviews, document analysis, and ethnographic observation.

Discussion

This research will generate new knowledge about the defining characteristics of CoPs operating in the health system, on leadership roles in CoPs, and on the nature of interaction processes, relationships, and knowledge exchange mechanisms. Our work will yield a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the success or failure of KTA initiatives, and create a better understanding of how local caregiving contexts interact with specific initiatives. Our participatory design will allow stakeholders to influence the practical usefulness of our findings and contribute to improved health services delivery for seniors.
Effectiveness of Chêneau brace treatment for idiopathic scoliosis: prospective study in 79 patients followed to skeletal maturity
Authors: Zaborowska-Sapeta Katarzyna , Kowalski Ireneusz M , Kotwicki Tomasz , Protasiewicz-Fałdowska Halina , Kiebzak Wojciech
Published: February 2011

Background

Progressive idiopathic scoliosis can negatively influence the development and functioning of 2-3% of adolescents, with health consequences and economic costs, placing the disease in the centre of interest of the developmental medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Chêneau brace in the management of idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods

A prospective observational study according to SOSORT and SRS recommendations comprised 79 patients (58 girls and 21 boys) with progressive idiopathic scoliosis, treated with Chêneau brace and physiotherapy, with initial Cobb angle between 20 and 45 degrees, no previous brace treatment, Risser 4 or more at the final evaluation and minimum one year follow-up after weaning the brace. Achieving 50° of Cobb angle was considered surgical recommendation.

Results

At follow-up 20 patients (25.3%) improved, 18 patients (22.8%) were stable, 31 patients (39.2%) progressed below 50 degrees and 10 patients (12.7%) progressed beyond 50 degrees (2 of these 10 patients progressed beyond 60 degrees). Progression concerned the younger and less skeletally mature patients.

Conclusion

Conservative treatment with Chêneau orthosis and physiotherapy was effective in halting scoliosis progression in 48.1% of patients. The results of this study suggest that bracing is effective in reducing the incidence of surgery in comparison with natural history.
Molecular mechanisms for the destabilization and restabilization of reactivated spatial memory in the Morris water maze
Authors: Kim Ryang , Moki Ryouichi , Kida Satoshi
Published: February 2011

Background

Memory retrieval is not a passive process. Recent studies have shown that reactivated memory is destabilized and then restabilized through gene expression-dependent reconsolidation. Molecular studies on the regulation of memory stability after retrieval have focused almost exclusively on fear memory, especially on the restabilization process of the reactivated fear memory. We previously showed that, similarly with fear memories, reactivated spatial memory undergoes reconsolidation in the Morris water maze. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms by which reactivated spatial memory is destabilized and restabilized remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism that regulates the stability of the reactivated spatial memory.

Results

We first showed that pharmacological inactivation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) in the hippocampus or genetic inhibition of cAMP-responsible element binding protein (CREB)-mediated transcription disrupted reactivated spatial memory. Finally, we showed that pharmacological inhibition of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and L-type voltage gated calcium channels (LVGCCs) in the hippocampus blocked the disruption of the reactivated spatial memory by the inhibition of protein synthesis.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that the reactivated spatial memory is destabilized through the activation of CB1 and LVGCCs and then restabilized through the activation of NMDAR- and CREB-mediated transcription. We also suggest that the reactivated spatial memory undergoes destabilization and restabilization in the hippocampus, through similar molecular processes as those for reactivated contextual fear memories, which require CB1 and LVGCCs for destabilization and NMDAR and CREB for restabilization.
Altered dynamics and differential infection profiles of lymphoid and myeloid cell subsets during acute and chronic HIV-1 infection
Authors: Centlivre Mireille , Legrand Nicolas , Steingrover Radjin , van der Sluis Renee , Grijsen Marlous L , Bakker Margreet , Jurriaans Suzanne , Berkhout Ben , Paxton William A , Prins Jan M , Pollakis Georgios
Published: February 2011

The dynamics of immune cell populations during acute HIV-1 infection are not fully deciphered, especially for non-T cells. In this study, we tested whether specific cellular subsets of the innate arm of the immune response are affected early after HIV-1 infection. Using a cohort of HIV-1-infected individuals, we have monitored the relative frequency of blood T lymphocytes, monocytes, and DCs at various infection stages and measured their respective intracellular HIV-1 DNA loads. The HIV-1 DNA load in naive CD4+ T lymphocytes, which are lost very early during acute infection, was ten- to 100-fold lower than in CD57– and CD57+ memory CD4+ T lymphocytes. We observed that despite rapid, persistent loss after HIV-1 infection, pDCs represented a non-negligible HIV-1 DNA reservoir. CD16+ proinflammatory cDCs and monocytes accumulated gradually, and HIV-infected CD16+ monocytes contained higher HIV-1 DNA loads than their CD16– counterpart during acute infection. During chronic infection, CD16+ cDCs exhibited higher HIV-1 DNA loads than the CD16– population. Overall, our results demonstrate that non-T cell compartments are a major HIV-1 DNA reservoir, and CD16+ monocytes and CD16+ cDCs potentially play an important role in HIV-1 dissemination.
Theodor De Bry's Voyages to the New and Old Worlds
Authors: Quilligan Maureen
Published: February 2011

Illustrated by more than six hundred plates and comprising twenty-seven volumes published over a span of nearly half a century by Theodor de Bry and his family from 1590 to 1634, the India Occidentales and India Orientalis series comprise a collection of European travels to the rest of the world that has offered a goldmine to scholars seeking material for the study of Europe's attitudes toward foreign others. Only quite recently, however, has any study been devoted to the compilations' complicated history as a book in and of itself. Yet the India Occidentales or America was probably the single most important influence on European thinking about the Americas at the dawn of the seventeenth century. This special issue explores two fundamental questions about the collection as a very influential whole. First, the essays look at how the volumes on the voyages to the West have influenced European perceptions of the voyages to the East. Secondly, the essays examine the impact that the visualizations for which the collection was so famous had on other texts of the period, specifically on how racial difference was registered in terms of skin color, clothing,and writing itself. The essays keep the focus on De Bry's volumes as they form part of a series that builds a sense of the entire world from the point of view of its northern European readership. In this way, the essays underscore the global effect of the collection, a positioning of northern Europe not merely with respect to the New World but also to the entire globe.
Learning from De Bry: Lessons in Seeing and Writing the Heathen
Authors: Raman Shankar
Published: February 2011

Examining a variety of moments drawn from early volumes in the India Occidentalis and India Orientalis series published by Theodor De Bry and his family, this essay studies the relationship of selected De Bry engravings to the travel narratives they purport to illustrate. It explores how the De Bry compilations both disclose and enclose the pluralities of the worlds their travelers encountered, negotiating through word and image the dialectics of difference and similarity. The complex intertwining of religious, ethnographic, and scientific impulses in this monumental publishing venture reveals the multiple, inconsistent, and often hesitant production of savages and heathens, selves and others, subjects and objects.
“A dish fit for the gods”: Mexica Sacrifice in De Bry, Las Casas, and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Authors: Test Edward M.
Published: February 2011

One of the common denominators in the etchings of De Bry's multivolume America is corporal violence, whether it depicts the Spanish cruelties inflicted upon Native Americans or the cannibalism and sacrifices conducted by Amerindians. This essay examines sacrificial rituals from across the Atlantic as represented by De Bry and the writings of Bartolomé Las Casas, relating these rituals to Catholic ceremonies of the Eucharist, and ultimately considering the role of sacrifice in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Mexica sacrifice, as constructed by the discourses of discovery in De Bry and Las Casas and as assimilated by Shakespeare, is at times defined as a negative difference, ethnocentrically bound to identifying the Mexica as savage devils. But more importantly, the treatment of Mexica sacrifice is also tempered with a positive similarity when imagining Mexican theocracy to be just as civilized as European monarchies in its deployment of a rational mode of social control through violence.
Crossing Gazes and the Silence of the “Indians”: Theodor De Bry and Guaman Poma de Ayala
Authors: Mignolo Walter
Published: February 2011

Theodor De Bry and his family's volumes of the America series, as well as their entire collection of narratives and engravings depicting the newly “discovered” worlds of East and West, illustrate only half of the story: the world as seen by European eyes. This essay focuses on Guaman Poma de Ayala, a citizen of Tawantinsuyu living under Spanish rule in the viceroyalty of Peru, who finished his Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno by 1616 (during the middle years of the De Bry enterprise). This essay considers an important element of the “silenced half” of the story of Spanish-Indian contact in the Andes, to the coexisting Indian version of the same place and the same people. The essay also attempts to redress the historiographical imbalance, while taking into account the power differential between Europeans and Indians. By looking at De Bry from the perspective of what Guaman Poma teaches us, the essay delinks from interpretations grounded in the sources upon which De Bry composed his engravings and narratives.
Control of Crystalline Phases in Four-component Mixtures of 1-Naphthylmethylammonium n-Alkanoates
Authors: Tani Takahiro , Goto Yuta , Nonaka Kyoshiro , Shinkai Seiji , Sada Kazuki
Published: February 2011

Various eutectic mixtures and organic alloys have been prepared by changing combination of four-component mixtures of 1-naphthylmethylammonium n-alkanoates, which implies high-fidelity control of molecular recognition in the solid state.
A Remarkable Enantioselectivity of Diastereomers of an l-Cysteinato CoIII3 Complex-anion toward a Racemic 2-Aminoethanethiolato CoIII2AgI3 Complex-cation
Authors: Yuan Hou Qun , Igashira-Kamiyama Asako , Konno Takumi
Published: February 2011

The (ΛLLL)2 isomer of a CoIII3 trinuclear complex anion, [Co3(l-cys)6]3−, selected exclusively the (Λ)2 isomer of a CoIII2AgI3 pentanuclear complex cation, [Ag3Co2(aet)6]3+, from its racemic (Δ)2/(Λ)2 isomer, giving only the (Λ)2(ΛLLL)2 isomer of a 1:1 complex salt, [Ag3Co2(aet)6][Co3(l-cys)6]. Notably, the (Λ)2 isomer of [Ag3Co2(aet)6]3+ was also selected, but preferentially, by the (ΔLLL)2 isomer of [Co3(l-cys)6]3− in the course of the formation of [Ag3Co2(aet)6][Co3(l-cys)6].
Preparation and Characterization of Ca4Bi6O13 Complex Oxide
Authors: Obata Kenji , Matsumoto Kensuke , Uehara Takuya , Doi Akane , Obukuro Yuki , Matsushima Shigenori
Published: February 2011

A single phase of Ca4Bi6O13 crystal was obtained at lower calcination temperature in a citric acid complex method than in a solid-state reaction. From the diffuse reflection spectra, it was found that Ca4Bi6O13 is direct-gap material and that the optical band gap is 2.92 eV. After heating at 600 °C or above, the specific surface area of Ca4Bi6O13 powder was ca. three times larger when prepared by a citric acid complex method than by solid-state reaction. Further, it was confirmed that the photocatalytic activity of Ca4Bi6O13 for the degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) was higher in a citric acid complex method than in a solid-state reaction under visible-light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm).
Do new concepts for deriving permissible limits for analytical imprecision and bias have any advantages over existing consensus?
Authors: Petersen Per Hyltoft , Sandberg Sverre , Fraser Callum G.
Published: February 2011

The Stockholm conference held in 1999 on “Strategies to set global analytical quality specifications (AQS) in laboratory medicine” reached a consensus and advocated the ubiquitous application of a hierarchical structure of approaches to setting AQS. This approach has been widely used over the last decade, although several issues remain unanswered. A number of new suggestions have been recently proposed for setting AQS. One of these recommendations is described by Haeckel and Wosniok in this issue ofClinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Their concept is to estimate the increase in false-positive results using conventional population-based reference intervals, the delta false-positive rate due to analytical imprecision and bias, and relate the results directly to the current analytical quality attained. Thus, the actual estimates in the laboratory for imprecision and bias are compared to the AQS. These values are classified in a ranking system according to the closeness to the AQS, and this combination is the new idea of the proposal. Other new ideas have been proposed recently. We wait, with great interest, as should others, to see if these newer approaches become widely used and worthy of incorporation into the hierarchy.
Identification of Bcl-2/IgH fusion sequences using real-time PCR and chip-based microcapillary electrophoresis
Authors: Tabe Yoko , Kawase Yukiko , Miyake Kazunori , Satoh Naotake , Aritaka Nanae , Isobe Yasushi , Oshimi Kazuo , Komatsu Norio , Miida Takashi , Ohsaka Akimichi
Published: February 2011

Background: The determination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification product sizes of the Bcl-2/IgH fusion gene from follicular lymphoma (FL) provides evidence of clonal identity.

Methods: The present study describes detection of Bcl-2/IgH fusion gene clonality utilizing a small, simple microcapillary electrophoretic chip combined with a real-time PCR method.

Results: The microcapillary electrophoretic chip system effectively detects size differences among the Bcl-2/IgH fusion gene amplification products of FL from patient samples; something that is not possible using traditional gel electrophoresis. We also describe the potential of this system to utilize formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples sectioned on charged slides.

Conclusions: The simple detection of Bcl-2/IgH fusion gene clonality using a microcapillary electrophoretic chip provides reliable information for monitoring minimal residual disease of FL, and can be an effective tool for use in clinical laboratories.
Wear of a Mobile Bearing Uni-Compartmental Knee Replacement Prosthesis: A Comparison of In Vitro and In Vivo Wear Rates
Authors: Ellison P. J. , Traynor A. , Casey B. P. , Collins S. N.
Published: February 2011

Wear induced osteolysis is cited as the primary cause of aseptic loosening in knee replacements. It has been postulated that mobile bearing (MB) knee prostheses reduce wear as they allow lower contact stress through high congruency between components while maintaining a wide range of joint motion. In vitro wear simulations are preclinical tests for predicting the performance of new designs of partial and total knee replacements. This study investigates the wear of a leading design of MB uni-compartmental knee replacement (UKR) by quantifying the in vitro wear rate and linear penetration of the polyethylene meniscal bearing. Three medial and three lateral MB UKRs (Uniglide, Corin, Ltd., U.K.) were tested in a three station wear simulator using force control as defined in ISO 14243-1. Volumetric wear was determined gravimetrically every half million cycles (MC) up to 10 MC. Maximum linear penetration wear was measured after 10 MC. Volumetric wear rates of 1.65±0.28 mm3/MC (mean±SD) and 1.66±0.31 mm3/MC were recorded for the medial and lateral bearings, respectively, and the wear of all bearings was linear. Previous simulator studies have reported mean wear rates of 3.8 to 10.4 mm3/MC for MB UKRs. Maximum linear penetration wear rates of 0.013±0.001 mm/MC and 0.012±0.001 mm/MC were recorded for the medial and lateral bearings, respectively, after 10 MC. This was in agreement with that reported for well functioning MB UKRs through in vivo measurement (0.01 mm/year) and compared favourably to that reported for fixed bearing designs (0.15 mm/year). The results of this study show that in vitro measurements correlate well to in vivo measurements of wear. This indicates that the current in vitro methodology for the simulation of wear in MB UKRs is a valid tool for preclinical assessment of MB UKR prostheses.
Modeling and Simulation of the Heat and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Binary Mixtures for Boiling Flow Applications
Authors: Srinivasan Vedanth , Wang De Ming
Published: February 2011

In this paper, we discuss the development of a new mass transfer model to simulate the thermal and phase change characteristics encountered by binary mixtures during a flow boiling process. The constructed boiling mass transfer model, based on detailed empirical analysis of the heat transfer coefficients pertinent to binary systems and fully implemented within the commercial computational fluid dynamics code AVL FIRE®, is exercised within a multi-fluid framework along with an interfacial area transport modeling procedure to study the heat and mass transfer characteristics of boiling flows inside a rectangular duct. Turbulence in the fluidic system and those generated by the bubbly flow are treated using an advanced k-ζ-f model. The simulation results, comprising of flow variables such as volume fraction, fluidic velocities, temperature and the resultant heat flux generated on the heated wall section, clearly monitors the suppression in heat transfer coefficients with enhancement in flow convection. Competing mechanisms such as phase change process and turbulent convection are identified to influence the heat transfer characteristics. In particular, the varying influence of the mass transfer effects on the heat flux characteristics with alteration in wall temperature is well demonstrated. For example, under low convection velocities, phase change dominates the heat removal from the wall with distinct bubbly flow activity in the boiling regions, while a considerable reduction in bubble dynamics and the phase change contribution towards heat removal with an increase in convection velocities can be clearly extracted. Comparisons of the predicted heat transfer coefficients for varying wall superheat and varying fluidic velocity indicate a very good agreement with experimental data wherever available. A description of the flow field inclusive of interfacial area and number density distribution is provided. The current model can be easily extended to simulate multi-phase flow in complex systems such as a cooling water jacket for automotive applications.
Perpetual Returns: New World Slavery and the Matter of the Visual
Authors: Copeland Huey , Thompson Krista
Published: February 2011

In this introduction to the special issue New World Slavery and the Matter of the Visual, Huey Copeland and Krista Thompson not only frame the scholarly essays and artists' portfolios collected in the volume but also argue for a reorientation of both art history and black studies in light of the ongoing specular effects of racial bondage. In so doing, they underline the importance of the visual to the rewiring of slavery's imaginary by examining the ways in which black subjects have appropriated widely available representational means only to undo their formal contours, break apart their significatory logic, or reduce them to their very substance.
Negative-Positive Truths
Authors: Grigsby Darcy Grimaldo
Published: February 2011

Opening with a consideration of the role played by Richard Avedon's photograph of William Casby in Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida, this essay examines Sojourner Truth's precocious and knowing use of the technology of photography. Inscribed with the caption "I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance," Truth's inexpensive cartes-de-visite functioned as a form of paper currency during the years immediately following the Civil War. As a chemical process, photography transformed precious metals into paper images; as an optical registration of light and shadow, photographic negatives turned white into black and black into white, a reversal noted by Oliver Wendell Holmes in an essay that suggests that racial difference informed understandings of the new medium.
The Evidence of Things Not Photographed: Slavery and Historical Memory in the British West Indies
Authors: Thompson Krista
Published: February 2011

Slavery and apprenticeship came to an end in the British West Indies in 1838, the year photography was developed as a fixed representational process. No photographs of slavery in the region exist or have been found. Despite this visual lacuna, some recent historical accounts of slavery reproduce photographs that seem to present the period in photographic form. Typically these images date to the late nineteenth century. Rather than see such uses of photography as flawed, or the absence of a photographic archive as prohibitive to the historical construction of slavery, both circumstances generate new understandings of slavery and its connection to post-emancipation economies, of history and its relationship to photography, and of archival absence and its representational possibilities.