bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reported condom use and condom use difficulties in street outreach samples of men of four racial and ethnic backgrounds
Authors: Essien E James , Ross Michael W , Fernández-Esquer Maria Eugenia , Williams Mark L
Published: November 2005

The epidemiology of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States has focused research attention on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities as well as on racial and ethnic minorities. Much of that attention has, however, been focused on specific racial and ethnic groups, and specific sexual minorities. We report on the results of a study that examined the association between condom use and partnership types among men from four major racial/ethnic groups.

Self-reported data on sexual identity (homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual) and condom use in the past three months were collected from 806 African Americans, Hispanic, Asian, and white men intercepted in public places in Houston, TX. Data indicated that condom use was lowest in African Americans and Hispanic men, bisexual men reported the highest levels of use, with heterosexual men reporting the lowest use. African Americans and Hispanic men reported generally that it was very difficult to use a condom during sexual contact, although the patterns for self-identified homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual men varied across race/ethnicity. Homosexual African American men reported the least difficulty, and white homosexual men the most difficulty compared with heterosexual and bisexual peers. For homosexually identified men, there were considerable differences across race/ethnicity in the proportion of partners who never or rarely disagreed to use condoms, with Asians disagreeing least, and African Americans most. Within racial/ethnic groups, the levels of condom use and difficulty were similar for male and female partners, suggesting that it is sexual identity, rather than partner gender, that has impacted condom-use messages. These data suggest that racial/ethnic targeting of condom use is likely to be most efficacious in increasing condom use in men.
The three-year positivity rate of sexually transmitted infections among a group of HIV-infected men attending the Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Edinburgh, UK
Authors: Manavi K , Luo P L , McMillan A
Published: November 2005

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among patients at the time of and subsequent to the diagnosis of HIV, and possible immunological or virological features of patients with STI. An observational study was carried out on the results of annual STI screenings conducted on consecutive HIV-infected men in the Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Edinburgh between 1 January 1999 and 1 January 2003. Patients were tested for syphilis, gonococcal, and chlamydial infections.

Among the 79 male patients in the study cohort, the frequencies of all STI rose within the study period. The three-year positivity rates of episodes of gonorrhoea, chlamydia, and syphilis were (42/131) 32%, (21/127) 16%, and (13/150) 9%, respectively. Patients with STI had significantly higher median CD4+ T-cells ( P<0.02) and lower median viral loads ( P<0.0001), and a higher proportion of them were on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) ( P<0.0002) compared with those without an STI. Routine screening for STI and counselling for safe sex should be part of care for all HIV-infected patients.
Biological false-positive tests comprise a high proportion of Venereal Disease Research Laboratory reactions in an analysis of 300,000 sera
Authors: Geusau Alexandra , Kittler Harald , Hein Ulrike , Dangl-Erlach Edda , Stingl Georg , Tschachler Erwin
Published: November 2005

This retrospective study on syphilis screening at the sexually transmitted infection (STI) unit of a University Department emphasizes the necessity of a treponemal-specific test as the appropriate screening test. The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test for syphilis screening may, under certain circumstances, yield positive results in patients not infected with Treponema pallidum, a phenomenon referred to as biological false-positive (BFP) VDRL test. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of BFP tests in a large sample of sera. In this retrospective study, we analysed the results of parallel VDRL and T. pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA) testing of a total of 514,940 blood samples obtained from patients at the Vienna General Hospital between January 1988 and November 1999. Patients' sera with incomplete data on stage and sex and duplicate sera were excluded, leaving 300,000 sera for analysis. The seroprevalence for syphilis was 1.77% ( n = 5320), as determined by a positive TPHA test. It was significantly higher in male than in female patients (2.03% versus 1.58%, P<0.001). Of the patients reactive in the TPHA test, 3257 (61.2%) were negative in the VDRL. With regard to reactivity in VDRL testing, 2799 patients (0.92%) of the study population were positive, of whom 736 (26%) were biological false positive. BFP reactivity was found in 0.24% of all patients and was significantly higher in women than in men (0.27% versus 0.20%, P<0.001) and in patients over 60 years of age (0.34%) as compared with those under 60 (0.25%, P<0.001). This proportion might be even higher, as reactivity in the VDRL at 1:0 and 1:2 dilutions without a positive treponemal test was not reported. The subgroup of HIV-positive patients ( n = 1415) revealed a 10-fold higher rate of BFP tests (2.1% versus 0.24), an effect being statistically significant. In a low syphilis prevalence population, BFP reactions comprise a high proportion of all VDRL reactors. Therefore, the use of the VDRL as a screening procedure is challenged.
Pneumonia complicating Shigella sonnei dysentery in an HIV-infected adult male
Authors: Miller R F , Symeonidou C , Shaw P J
Published: November 2005

An HIV-1-infected adult presented with a short history of dyspnoea, productive cough and myalgia with fever. Shortly after presentation, he developed the abrupt onset of high-volume watery diarrhoea: stool culture grew Shigella sonnei. At the same time, he became hypoxaemic, and thoracic imaging showed bilateral lower lobe consolidation/collapse. Culture of sputum and blood was negative. The patient recovered with fluid resuscitation and ciprofloxacin monotherapy. This is the first reported case of pneumonia complicating S. sonnei dysentery in an HIV-infected adult.
Research Commentary: Information Systems and Conceptual Modeling—A Research Agenda
Authors: Wand Yair , Weber Ron
Published: November 2005

Within the information systems field, the task of conceptual modeling involves building a representation of selected phenomena in some domain. High-quality conceptual modeling work is important because it facilitates early detection and correction of system development errors. It also plays an increasingly important role in activities like business process reengineering and documentation of best-practice data and process models in enterprise resource planning systems. Yet little research has been undertaken on many aspects of conceptual modeling. In this paper, we propose a framework to motivate research that addresses the following fundamental question: How can we model the world to better facilitate our developing, implementing, using, and maintaining more valuable information systems? The framework comprises four elements: conceptual-modeling grammars, conceptual-modeling methods, conceptual-modeling scripts, and conceptual-modeling contexts. We provide examples of the types of research that have already been undertaken on each element and illustrate research opportunities that exist.
The Security of Confidential Numerical Data in Databases
Authors: Sarathy Rathindra , Muralidhar Krishnamurty
Published: November 2005

Organizations are storing large amounts of data in databases for data mining and other types of analysis. Some of this data is considered confidential and has to be protected from disclosure. When access to individual values of confidential numerical data in the database is prevented, disclosure may occur when a snooper uses linear models to predict individual values of confidential attributes using nonconfidential numerical and categorical attributes. Hence, it is important for the database administrator to have the ability to evaluate security for snoopers using linear models. In this study we provide a methodology based on Canonical Correlation Analysis that is both appropriate and adequate for evaluating security. The methodology can also be used to evaluate the security provided by different security mechanisms such as query restrictions and data perturbation. In situations where the level of security is inadequate, the methodology provided in this study can also be used to select appropriate inference control mechanisms. The application of the methodology is illustrated using a simulated database.
Assessing Data Quality for Information Products: Impact of Selection, Projection, and Cartesian Product
Authors: Parssian Amir , Sarkar Sumit , Jacob Varghese S.
Published: November 2005

The cost associated with making decisions based on poor-quality data is quite high. Consequently, the management of data quality and the quality of associated data management processes has become critical for organizations. An important first step in managing data quality is the ability to measure the quality of information products (derived data) based on the quality of the source data and associated processes used to produce the information outputs. We present a methodology to determine two data quality characteristics—accuracy and completeness—that are of critical importance to decision makers. We examine how the quality metrics of source data affect the quality for information outputs produced using the relational algebra operations selection, projection, and Cartesian product. Our methodology is general, and can be used to determine how quality characteristics associated with diverse data sources affect the quality of the derived data.
Self-Interested Routing in Queueing Networks
Authors: Parlaktürk Ali K. , Kumar Sunil
Published: November 2005

We study self-interested routing in stochastic networks, taking into account the discrete stochastic dynamics of such networks. We analyze a two-station multiclass queueing network in which the system manager chooses the scheduling rule and individual customers choose routes in a self-interested manner. We show that this network can be unstable in Nash equilibrium under some scheduling rules. We also design a nontrivial scheduling rule that negates the performance degradation resulting from self-interested routing and achieves a Nash equilibrium with performance comparable to the first-best solution.
Pre-IPO Operational and Financial Decisions
Authors: Babich Volodymyr , Sobel Matthew J.
Published: November 2005

Many owners of growing privately held firms make operational and financial decisions in an effort to maximize the expected present value of the proceeds from an initial public offering (IPO). We ask: “What is the right time to make an IPO?” and “How should operational and financial decisions be coordinated to increase the likelihood of a successful IPO?” Financial and operational decisions in this problem are linked because adequate financial capital is crucial for operational decisions to be feasible and operational decisions affect the firm's access to financial resources. The IPO event is treated as a stopping time in an infinite-horizon discounted Markov decision process. Unlike traditional stopping-time models, at every stage the model includes other decisions such as production, sales, and loan size. The results include (1) characterization of an optimal capacity-expansion policy, (2) sufficient conditions for a monotone threshold rule to yield an optimal IPO decision, and (3) algorithmic implications of results in (1) and (2).
Putul Yatra: A Celebration of Indian Puppetry
Authors: Clark Bradford Burton
Published: November 2005

A 2003 festival in New Delhi highlighted the state of contemporary Indian puppetry.
A Developmental Model of Intercultural Maturity
Authors: King Patricia M. , Baxter Magolda Marcia B.
Published: November 2005

This article focuses on the development of intercultural maturity, which is frequently cited as a desired collegiate outcome. We position our work on intercultural maturity in the context of a holistic approach to human development using Kegan's (1994) model as a foundation and relating this outcome to other collegiate learning outcomes. We introduce a multidimensional framework that describes the development of intercultural maturity. We first explicate the three dimensions of the framework, link these to existing theory and research on student development and intercultural competence, and then illustrate the developmental levels of the framework using examples from interviews with college students.
Developing a Leadership Identity: A Grounded Theory
Authors: Komives Susan R. , Owen Julie E , Longerbeam Susan D , Mainella Felicia C , Osteen Laura
Published: November 2005

This grounded theory study on developing a leadership identity revealed a 6-stage developmental process. The thirteen diverse students in this study described their leadership identity as moving from a leader-centric view to one that embraced leadership as a collaborative, relational process. Developing a leadership identity was connected to the categories of developmental influences, developing self, group influences, students' changing view of self with others, and students' broadening view of leadership. A conceptual model illustrating the grounded theory of developing a leadership identity is presented.
Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students
Authors: Lowery Sarah E , Kurpius Sharon E. Robinson , Befort Christie , Blanks Elva Hull , Sollenberger Sonja , Nicpon Megan Foley , Huser Laura
Published: November 2005

This study examined the relationships among self-esteem, body image, and health-related behaviors of 267 female and 156 male first-year college students. Data were collected in 23 classrooms. Instruments included a demographic sheet, the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Weight and Appearance Visual Analogue Scales, the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, and a measure of physical fitness/health-related behaviors. Self-esteem was consistently related to body image dissatisfaction for women, and women consistently exhibited a more negative body image than did men. Even when both men and women were consistent exercisers, the women had poorer body image. Finally, for both men and women, more positive physical fitness/health-related behaviors were positively related to self-esteem and body image.
Writing the Gay '80s with Henry James: David Leavitt's A Place I've Never Been and Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty
Authors: Rivkin Julie
Published: November 2005

What does it mean for the contemporary gay male writer when Henry James is made available as a gay precursor, a literary father, a model for emulation, appropriation, or something else? The versions of gay writing James has enabled take a complex and historically differentiated variety of forms. My project here is to consider two works by contemporary gay male writers who draw on James to write about a watershed decade in gay life, the 1980s. Although these two works—David Leavitt's A Place I've Never Been (1990) and Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty (2004)—paint very different portraits of the decade in question, their common reliance on James and their common attention to specificities of gay life argue for a utility in placing their works in conjunction.
"The Mirror with a Memory": Tracking Consciousness in the Preface to The Golden Bowl
Authors: Ross Melanie H
Published: November 2005

James's preface to The Golden Bowl presents the reader with a mirror of his consciousness. In the preface, James discusses his desire to "track" himself through the revised terms of the New York Edition, what he calls "lights of experience." He also addresses his "hunt" for the photographic frontispieces, omitting their hidden autobiographical meaning. Ultimately, however, it is the preface itself that becomes a "living" photograph of consciousness: striated with quotes and associations for the reader to track, it examines and exemplifies how reading raises ghostly images. The preface enshrines and activates the trace as a way to sustain what James calls "'connexions.'"
Henry James Cartoons
Authors: Zacharias Greg W.
Published: November 2005

An illustrated manuscript held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, misattributed to Henry James, and titled "An Old Type in a New Light," supplements Henry James biography. When read in combination with James's representation of himself to friends, especially Sarah Butler Wister, in letters, the cartoon book provides a reading of Henry James the person that shows him willing to participate in his friends' joking about him and that suggests—through his own participation in the intimate fun about him--his security about his identity as an expatriate, a famous and controversial author, and an "amiable" bachelor.
Inventing Greece
Authors: Bien Peter
Published: November 2005

Nationalism acts as a bulwark against death, fate, and contingency. It replaces religion, claiming qualities for the state that clearly are not true. Indeed, nationalism is an invented fiction. In this, Greece does not differ from other European nations in which nationalism developed in the void left by the breakdown of the Christian world-view. The Neohellenic eighteenth-century Enlightenment invented a glorious past for Greece as well as a glorious future. But the distortions were so gross that they could not continue without revision during the nineteenth century. Then nationalism was reinvented still again in the twentieth century, Greece becoming a metaphor: a subjective value of infinite importance, as expressed for example in Seferis's "The King of Asine." What we need to realize in the twenty-first century is that the world has had quite enough of these inventions. Let us redevelop an all-embracing system of value that goes beyond the nation-state.
"Words that tell and hide": Revisiting C. P. Cavafy's Closets
Authors: Papanikolaou Demetres
Published: November 2005

Critics have traditionally viewed C. P. Cavafy's work as moving from erotic secrecy to homosexual self-revelation. However, following Foucault, we should think of sexuality not as something repressed by control, but as a discourse inextricably linked with repression, power and knowledge. Seen in this way, Cavafy's strategies of "telling and hiding" form a constant dialectic running through the whole of his work, producing (not unveiling) the sexuality, identity, and eroticism at its centre. Reviewing the theorized figure of the closet as a central trope of Cavafy's writing, we witness how hiding can create a position from which to speak and a subversive set of discourses for the homosexual self. Cavafy puts desire, "semi-hidden," in the phrases of his poetry, fully exploiting the dissonance of silences and things unsaid. In key poems we can see how he translates the closeting of queer desire into a textual practice that produces identification and eroticism. Furthermore, we can trace the closet leaking across textual and sexual boundaries, defying social control and threatening the reader's certainties.
Cavafy, Sexual Sensibility, and Poetic Practice: Reading Cavafy through Mark Doty and Cathal O Searcaigh
Authors: Robinson Christopher
Published: November 2005

The way in which a poet expresses his world view is formed and colored by his sexual orientation. The critical neglect of Cavafy's eroticism and the sexual sensibility which it engenders therefore needs to be corrected. Recent critics have tried to do this by comparing Cavafy with his fin-de-siècle contemporaries, but a close examination of the poetic practice of homosexual poets on both sides of the English Channel shows that Cavafy's approach is completely different conceptually and stylistically: he does not share their predilection for coding, his poetry is not pederastic, he is not seeking to be provocative. If, on the other hand, we compare him with two late twentieth-century poets influenced by him, Mark Doty and Cathal Ò Searcaigh, his sensibility and his way of rendering it into poetry can be seen as "modern": Cavafy accepts the way in which the fragmentation inherent to gay experience can be reassembled into personal and group meanings, and he develops a mode of poetic composition where the "group meaning" of his poems derives from reading them in different sequences, arriving at different connections.
Contested Mestizos, Alleged Mulattos: Racial Identity and Caste Hierarchy in Eighteenth Century Pátzcuaro, Mexico
Authors: Althouse Aaron P.
Published: November 2005

Late one December afternoon in 1731, Antonio Méndes and his friend Joseph Miguel de Alcaras made their way through the west central Mexican city of Pátzcuaro toward the plaza mayor. Their course took them past the house of the Spaniard don Vacilio Botello Mobellán. There, don Vacilio called out to Antonio and Joseph, inquiring after a harness and several other items he said Alcaras had borrowed from him and not yet returned. According to Don Vacilio, he presented his request jovially, but Alcaras denied still having the goods on loan, the two “mulattos” responded to him discourteously, and Méndes even brandished a knife. In their own defense, both Alcaras and Méndes mentioned don Vacilio’s accusations, insisted that Alcaras had previously returned the materials in question, and emphasized that Méndes did not pull the knife, but rather that it was taken from him by don Vacilio’s two assistants who had intervened in the exchange. Ultimately, don Vacilio leveled criminal charges against Méndes, who he and the criminal authorities labeled a “mulatto,” for threatening him with a knife since “being of inferiorcalidad” he should never have carried the weapon.
The Process of Cultural Change Among Cuban Bozales During the Nineteenth Century
Authors: Van Norman William C.
Published: November 2005

On again reaching Matanzas, I ascertained that a slave-ship had just entered the port from the African coast, with 250 slaves on board. … On preceding to the quarter where these wretched beings were confined, I found them all huddled together in a large room, in which they were all exposed to sale like some drove of pigs, in a complete state of nudity, with the exception of a bandage tied round their loins. They … were seated on the floor in groups of eight and ten, feeding out of a parcel of buckets. … Three of these miserable outcasts were extremely ill, from the effects of close confinement during a long voyage.

Thus began the experience of many nineteenth-century slaves upon their arrival in the New World. Hundreds of thousands of people from West and West Central Africa, bozales as Spaniards called newly arrived slaves, were torn from their own lands and plunged into a system that not only enslaved their bodies but also, through a system of physical violence and social control, re-inscribed personal and group identification.
Touching a Rubber Hand: Feeling of Body Ownership Is Associated with Activity in Multisensory Brain Areas
Authors: Ehrsson H. Henrik , Holmes Nicholas P. , Passingham Richard E.
Published: November 2005

In the “rubber-hand illusion,” the sight of brushing of a rubber hand at the same time as brushing of the person's own hidden hand is sufficient to produce a feeling of ownership of the fake hand. We shown previously that this illusion is associated with activity in the multisensory areas, most notably the ventral premotor cortex (Ehrsson et al., 2004). However, it remains to be demonstrated that this illusion does not simply reflect the dominant role of vision and that the premotor activity does not reflect a visual representation of an object near the hand. To address these issues, we introduce a somatic rubber-hand illusion. The experimenter moved the blindfolded participant's left index finger so that it touched the fake hand, and simultaneously, he touched the participant's real right hand, synchronizing the touches as perfectly as possible. After ∼9.7 s, this stimulation elicited an illusion that one was touching one's own hand. We scanned brain activity during this illusion and two control conditions, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Activity in the ventral premotor cortices, intraparietal cortices, and the cerebellum was associated with the illusion of touching one's own hand. Furthermore, the rated strength of the illusion correlated with the degree of premotor and cerebellar activity. This finding suggests that the activity in these areas reflects the detection of congruent multisensory signals from one's own body, rather than of visual representations. We propose that this could be the mechanism for the feeling of body ownership.
Event-Related Brain Potential Correlates of Human Auditory Sensory Memory-Trace Formation
Authors: Haenschel Corinna , Vernon David J. , Dwivedi Prabuddh , Gruzelier John H. , Baldeweg Torsten
Published: November 2005

The event-related potential (ERP) component mismatch negativity (MMN) is a neural marker of human echoic memory. MMN is elicited by deviant sounds embedded in a stream of frequent standards, reflecting the deviation from an inferred memory trace of the standard stimulus. The strength of this memory trace is thought to be proportional to the number of repetitions of the standard tone, visible as the progressive enhancement of MMN with number of repetitions (MMN memory-trace effect). However, no direct ERP correlates of the formation of echoic memory traces are currently known. This study set out to investigate changes in ERPs to different numbers of repetitions of standards, delivered in a roving-stimulus paradigm in which the frequency of the standard stimulus changed randomly between stimulus trains. Normal healthy volunteers (n= 40) were engaged in two experimental conditions: during passive listening and while actively discriminating changes in tone frequency. As predicted, MMN increased with increasing number of standards. However, this MMN memory-trace effect was caused mainly by enhancement with stimulus repetition of a slow positive wave from 50 to 250 ms poststimulus in the standard ERP, which is termed here “repetition positivity” (RP). This RP was recorded from frontocentral electrodes when participants were passively listening to or actively discriminating changes in tone frequency. RP may represent a human ERP correlate of rapid and stimulus-specific adaptation, a candidate neuronal mechanism underlying sensory memory formation in the auditory cortex.
Localization and Identification of Concurrent Sounds in the Owl's Auditory Space Map
Authors: Keller Clifford H. , Takahashi Terry T.
Published: November 2005

In nature, sounds from multiple sources sum at the eardrums, generating complex cues for sound localization and identification. In this clutter, the auditory system must determine “what is where.” We examined this process in the auditory space map of the barn owl's (Tyto alba) inferior colliculus using two spatially separated sources simultaneously emitting uncorrelated noise bursts, which were uniquely identified by different frequencies of sinusoidal amplitude modulation. Spatial response profiles of isolated neurons were constructed by testing the source-pair centered at various locations in virtual auditory space. The neurons responded whenever a source was placed within the receptive field, generating two clearly segregated foci of activity at appropriate loci. The spike trains were locked strongly to the amplitude modulation of the source within the receptive field, whereas the other source had minimal influence. Two sources amplitude modulated at the same rate were resolved successfully, suggesting that source separation is based on differences of fine structure. The spike rate and synchrony were stronger for whichever source had the stronger average binaural level. A computational model showed that neuronal activity was primarily proportional to the degree of matching between the momentary binaural cues and the preferred values of the neuron. The model showed that individual neurons respond to and synchronize with sources in their receptive field if there are frequencies having an average binaural-level advantage over a second source. Frequencies with interaural phase differences that are shared by both sources may also evoke activity, which may be synchronized with the amplitude modulations from either source.
Src-Family Kinases Stabilize the Neuromuscular SynapseIn Vivovia Protein Interactions, Phosphorylation, and Cytoskeletal Linkage of Acetylcholine Receptors
Authors: Sadasivam Gayathri , Willmann Raffaella , Lin Shuo , Erb-Vögtli Susanne , Kong Xian Chu , Rüegg Markus A. , Fuhrer Christian
Published: November 2005

Postnatal stabilization and maturation of the postsynaptic membrane are important for development and function of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly characterized. We examined the role of Src-family kinases (SFKs)in vivo. Electroporation of kinase-inactive Src constructs into soleus muscles of adult mice caused NMJ disassembly: acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-rich areas became fragmented; the topology of nerve terminal, AChRs, and synaptic nuclei was disturbed; and occasionally nerves started to sprout. Electroporation of kinase-overactive Src produced similar but milder effects. We studied the mechanism of SFK action using culturedsrc-/-;fyn-/-myotubes, focusing on clustering of postsynaptic proteins, their interaction with AChRs, and AChR phosphorylation. Rapsyn and the utrophin-glycoprotein complex were recruited normally into AChR-containing clusters by agrin insrc-/-;fyn-/-myotubes. But after agrin withdrawal, clusters of these proteins disappeared rapidly in parallel with AChRs, revealing that SFKs are of general importance in postsynaptic stability. At the same time, AChR interaction with rapsyn and dystrobrevin and AChR phosphorylation decreased after agrin withdrawal from mutant myotubes. Unexpectedly, levels of rapsyn protein were increased insrc-/-;fyn-/-myotubes, whereas rapsyn-cytoskeleton interactions were unaffected. The overall cytoskeletal link of AChRs was weak but still strengthened by agrin in mutant cells, consistent with the normal formation but decreased stability of AChR clusters. These data show that correctly balanced activity of SFKs is critical in maintaining adult NMJsin vivo. SFKs hold the postsynaptic apparatus together through stabilization of AChR-rapsyn interaction and AChR phosphorylation. In addition, SFKs control rapsyn levels and AChR-cytoskeletal linkage.
Activation in Visual Cortex Correlates with the Awareness of Stereoscopic Depth
Authors: Brouwer Gijs Joost , van Ee Raymond , Schwarzbach Jens
Published: November 2005

Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we studied the activation correlating with the awareness of stereoscopic depth using a bistable slanted surface (slant rivalry). Bistability resulted from incongruence between two slant-defining cues: binocular disparity and monocular perspective. The stimulus was perceived as alternating between the perspective-dominated percept (monocular depth) and the disparity-dominated percept (stereopsis), while sensory input remained constant, enabling us to study changes in awareness of depth associated with either cue. Transient activation relating to perceptual alternations was found bilaterally in the caudal part of the intraparietal sulcus, in the right-hemispheric anterior intraparietal sulcus, within visual area V4d-topo, and inferior to area MT+. Transient activation correlating specifically with alternations toward the disparity-dominated percept was found in a number of visual areas, including dorsal visual areas V3A, V7, and V4d-topo and visual areas MT+ and lateral occipital complex. No activation was found for alternations toward the perspective-dominated percept. Our results show that of all visual areas responsive to disparity-defined depth, V4d-topo shows the most robust signal changes correlating with the instigation of stereoscopic depth awareness (stereopsis).
Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 8-Expressing Nerve Terminals Target Subsets of GABAergic Neurons in the Hippocampus
Authors: Ferraguti Francesco , Klausberger Thomas , Cobden Philip , Baude Agnes , Roberts J. David B. , Szucs Peter , Kinoshita Ayae , Shigemoto Ryuichi , Somogyi Peter , Dalezios Yannis
Published: November 2005

Presynaptic metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) show a highly selective expression and subcellular location in nerve terminals modulating neurotransmitter release. We have demonstrated that alternatively spliced variants of mGluR8, mGluR8a and mGluR8b, have an overlapping distribution in the hippocampus, and besides perforant path terminals, they are expressed in the presynaptic active zone of boutons making synapses selectively with several types of GABAergic interneurons, primarily in the stratum oriens. Boutons labeled for mGluR8 formed either type I or type II synapses, and the latter were GABAergic. Some mGluR8-positive boutons also expressed mGluR7 or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. Interneurons strongly immunopositive for the muscarinic M2 or the mGlu1 receptors were the primary targets of mGluR8-containing terminals in the stratum oriens, but only neurochemically distinct subsets were innervated by mGluR8-enriched terminals. The majority of M2-positive neurons were mGluR8 innervated, but a minority, which expresses somatostatin, was not. Rare neurons coexpressing calretinin and M2 were consistently targeted by mGluR8-positive boutons.In vivorecording and labeling of an mGluR8-decorated and strongly M2-positive interneuron revealed a trilaminar cell with complex spike bursts during theta oscillations and strong discharge during sharp wave/ripple events. The trilaminar cell had a large projection from the CA1 area to the subiculum and a preferential innervation of interneurons in the CA1 area in addition to pyramidal cell somata and dendrites. The postsynaptic interneuron type-specific expression of the high-efficacy presynaptic mGluR8 in both putative glutamatergic and in identified GABAergic terminals predicts a role in adjusting the activity of interneurons depending on the level of network activity.
Peptide YY3-36Inhibits Both Anorexigenic Proopiomelanocortin and Orexigenic Neuropeptide Y Neurons: Implications for Hypothalamic Regulation of Energy Homeostasis
Authors: Acuna-Goycolea Claudio , van den Pol Anthony N.
Published: November 2005

Peptide YY3-36(PYY3-36) is released by endocrine cells of the gut and may serve as an important long-distance neuropeptide signal relating energy balance information to the brain to depress food intake. The postulated mechanism is the activation of anorexigenic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. In striking contrast, using voltage and current-clamp recording, we found that PYY3-36consistently, dose dependently, and reversibly inhibited POMC cells by reducing action potentials, hyperpolarizing the membrane potential, decreasing input resistance and inward calcium currents, increasing G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying K+channel currents, and presynaptically inhibiting release of excitatory glutamate. Importantly, we found PYY3-36had similar inhibitory effects on identified orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons. In both cell types, these effects were blocked by BIIE0246, a Y2receptor antagonist. Together, these data argue that anorexigenic actions of PYY3-36are mediated more likely by inhibition of NPY neurons. Dual PYY3-36inhibition of both NPY and POMC cells may temporarily reduce the contribution of arcuate cells to feeding circuits, enhancing the role of other CNS loci.
Central and Peripheral Axon Branches from One Neuron Are Guided Differentially by Semaphorin3D and Transient Axonal Glycoprotein-1
Authors: Liu Yan , Halloran Mary C.
Published: November 2005

For multiple axons from one neuron to extend in different directions to unique targets, the growth cones of each axon must have distinct responses to guidance cues. However, the mechanisms by which separate axon branches are guided along different pathways are mainly unknown. Zebrafish Rohon-Beard (R-B) sensory neurons extend central axon branches in the spinal cord and peripheral axons to the epidermis. To investigate the differential guidance mechanisms of the central versus peripheral R-B axon branches, we used live-growth cone imagingin vivocombined with manipulation of individual guidance molecules. We show that a semaphorin expressed at the dorsal spinal cord midline, Semaphorin3D (Sema3D), may act to repel the peripheral axons out of the spinal cord. Sema3D knock-down reduces the number of peripheral axons. Remarkably, Sema3D ectopic expression repels and induces branching of peripheral axonsin vivobut has no effect on central axons from the same neurons. Conversely, central axons require a growth-promoting molecule, transient axonal glycoprotein-1 (TAG-1), to advance, whereas peripheral axons do not. After TAG-1 knock-down, central growth cones display extensive protrusive activity but make little forward advance. TAG-1 knock-down has no effect on the motility or advance of peripheral growth cones. These experiments show how Sema3D and TAG-1 regulate the motility and behavior of growth cones extending in their naturalin vivoenvironment and demonstrate that two different axon branches from one neuron respond differently to guidance cuesin vivo.
The Role of Snapin in Neurosecretion:SnapinKnock-Out Mice Exhibit Impaired Calcium-Dependent Exocytosis of Large Dense-Core Vesicles in Chromaffin Cells
Authors: Tian Jin-Hua , Wu Zheng-Xing , Unzicker Michael , Lu Li , Cai Qian , Li Cuiling , Schirra Claudia , Matti Ulf , Stevens David , Deng Chuxia , Rettig Jens , Sheng Zu-Hang
Published: November 2005

Identification of the molecules that regulate the priming of synaptic vesicles for fusion and the structural coupling of the calcium sensor with the solubleN-ethyl maleimide sensitive factor adaptor protein receptor (SNARE)-based fusion machinery is critical for understanding the mechanisms underlying calcium-dependent neurosecretion. Snapin binds to synaptosomal-associated protein 25 kDa (SNAP-25) and enhances the association of the SNARE complex with synaptotagmin. In the present study, we abolishedsnapinexpression in mice and functionally evaluated the role of Snapin in neuroexocytosis. We found that the association of synaptotagmin-1 with SNAP-25 in brain homogenates ofsnapinmutant mice is impaired. Consequently, the absence of Snapin in embryonic chromaffin cells leads to a significant reduction of calcium-dependent exocytosis resulting from a decreased number of vesicles in releasable pools. Overexpression of Snapin fully rescued this inhibitory effect in the mutant cells. Furthermore, Snapin is relatively enriched in the purified large dense-core vesicles of chromaffin cells and associated with synaptotagmin-1. Thus, our biochemical and electrophysiological studies usingsnapinknock-out mice demonstrate that Snapin plays a critical role in modulating neurosecretion by stabilizing the release-ready vesicles.
Time and the Brain: How Subjective Time Relates to Neural Time
Authors: Eagleman David M. , Tse Peter U. , Buonomano Dean , Janssen Peter , Nobre Anna Christina , Holcombe Alex O.
Published: November 2005

Most of the actions our brains perform on a daily basis, such as perceiving, speaking, and driving a car, require timing on the scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds. New discoveries in psychophysics, electrophysiology, imaging, and computational modeling are contributing to an emerging picture of how the brain processes, learns, and perceives time.
Interactions between Metabotropic Glutamate 5 and Adenosine A2AReceptors in Normal and Parkinsonian Mice
Authors: Kachroo Anil , Orlando Lianna R. , Grandy David K. , Chen Jiang-Fan , Young Anne B. , Schwarzschild Michael A.
Published: November 2005

Evidence for heteromeric receptor complexes comprising adenosine A2Aand metabotropic glutamate 5 (mGlu5) receptors in striatum has raised the possibility of synergistic interactions between striatal A2Aand mGlu5 receptors. We investigated the role of striatal A2Areceptors in the locomotor stimulant and antiparkinsonian properties of mGlu5 antagonists using complementary pharmacologic and genetic approaches. Locomotion acutely stimulated by the mGlu5 antagonist [2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP)] was absent in mGlu5 knock-out (KO) mice and was potentiated by an A2Aantagonist KW-6002 [(E)-1,3-diethyl-8-(3,4-dimethoxystyryl)-7-methylxanthine], both in normal and in dopamine-depleted (reserpinized) mice. Conversely, the MPEP-induced motor response was markedly attenuated in single and double A2Aand D2receptor KO mice. In contrast, motor stimulation by a D1dopamine agonist was not attenuated in the KO mice. The A2Areceptor dependence of MPEP-induced motor stimulation was investigated further using a postnatal forebrain-specific conditional (Cre/loxPsystem) KO of the A2Areceptor. MPEP loses the ability to stimulate locomotion in conditional KO mice, suggesting that this mGlu5 antagonist effect requires the postdevelopmental action of striatal A2Areceptors. The potentiation of mGlu5 antagonist-induced motor stimulation by an A2Aantagonist and its dependence on both D2and forebrain A2Areceptors highlight the functional interdependence of these receptors. These data also strengthen a rationale for pursuing a combinational drug strategy for enhancing the antiparkinsonian effects of A2Aand mGlu5 antagonists.
Effect of T-Bar Anchor Tags on Growth of Black Crappies
Authors: Parsons Bradford G. , Reed Jeffrey R.
Published: November 2005

T-bar anchor tags provide a means for identifying individual fish in tagging experiments. Despite prior use, no information is available regarding the effect of these tags on the growth of black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus. We compared the growth of black crappies larger than 180 mm total length that were tagged with t-bar anchor tags with the growth of untagged members of the same cohort over 1-year periods in four Minnesota lakes. We found no difference in the growth of tagged and untagged black crappies in three of the lakes, but in the fourth lake growth of tagged fish averaged 3.7 mm less than that of untagged fish. While the effect on the growth of individual fish may be substantial, the overall effect on the population of tagged black crappies was minor. Therefore, concerns about effects on growth should not deter the use of t-bar anchor tags for tagging black crappies.
An implicational Hierarchy of Morpheme Acquisition Order in second Language Learning
Authors: Wei Longxin
Published: November 2005

Unlike most early second language morpheme acquisition studies which remained at a surface descriptive level, this paper provides the reasons for the natural morpheme acquisition order by characterizing morphemes based on how they are projected from the mental lexicon. Three types of morphemes are identified based on how they are activated: Morphemes directly elected at the lemma level are content morphemes, morphemes indirectly elected together with content morpheme heads are early system morphemes, and morphemes structurally assigned at the functional level are late system morphemes. It argues that the levels of morpheme activation, whether at the lemma level or at the fimctional level, determines the acquisition order. Based on the characterization of morphemes and the natural second language data, an irnplicational hierarchy of morpheme acquisition order in second language learning is proposed: content morphemes are acquired before system morphemes, and early system morphemes are acquired before late system morphemes. Unlike early second language morpheme acquisition order studies, this study not only identifies or describes the morpheme order itself but also provides some reasons for this order.
Adult immigrant Latinas' Attitudes towards ESL Classes
Authors: Gault Thomas
Published: November 2005

Although the majority of limited English proficient adults in the United States are HIspanic immigrants with 12 years or less of school, few studies have looked at their special needs. This study looks particularly at immigrant Latinas. The most common reason for not attending ESL classes was the lack of childcare. The study also points up the need for
information dissemination, including locations, times, and levels of classes.

Respondents showed a strong preference for various features of a traditional classroom, particularly grammar instruction, error correction, tests and "mak[ing] sure that I understand everything." This explains why in many districts teachers using natural or communicative approaches do not reutain students as well as traditionalists, and why many students fail to achieve, despite the ample research showing the superiority of natural and
communicative methods.

Hence, teachers and programs need to clearly explain why they do what they do, and they may need to carefully frame the natural language lesson so that students feel they are learning something new and tangible in each class.
Translating ambiguous and nonambiguous Words in a foreign Language
Authors: Bogaards Paul , Van Der Linden Elisabeth , Nienhuis Lydius
Published: November 2005

The research to be reported on in this paper was originally motivated by the finding that about 70% of the mistakes made by university students when translating from their mother tongue (Dutch) into their foreign language (French) were lexical in nature (NIENHUIS et al. 1989). This was partially confinned in the investigation described in NIENHUIS et al. (1993). A closer look at the individual errors suggested that many problems were caused by words with more than one meaning which each require different translations in the target language. In the research reported on in this paper, we checked our fmdings in the light of what is known about the structure of the bilingual lexicon and about the ways bilinguals have access to the elements of their two languages. On the basis of the model of the bilingual lexicon presented by KROLL & Sholl (1992) an adapted model is proposed for the processing of lexical ambiguity. This leads to a tentative schema of the mental activities that language learners have to perfonn when they are translating from their mother tongue into a foreign language, The second part of the paper describes two experiments we have carried out in order to find empirical support for such a schema. The last section of the paper contains a discussion of the results obtained as well as the conclusions that can be drawn.
Is ESP a success in the Turkish EFL Context?
Authors: Işik Ali
Published: November 2005

This paper presents a study investigating the effects of an ESP program on the false-beginner Turkish EFL learners' language and vocational knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions:

Will false-beginner level Turkish EFL learners develop/improve their L2 skills through an ESP program of instruction?

Will false-beginner level Turkish EFL learners get basic vocational knowledge and skills as well as L2 skills through an ESP program of instruction?

50 false-beginner Turkish EFL learners, 18 graduates of the program who have already been employed in the tourism sector in Turkey, and 8 employers participated in the study. The results indicated that despite some shortcomings, the program helped the learners develop both their vocational and EFL knowledge and skills.