bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Limón's La Malinche: Negotiating the In-Between
Authors: Berg Shelley C.
Published: February 2017

The artist; disciple, abundant, multiple, restless.

The true artist, capable, practicing, skillful,

Maintains dialogue with his heart, meets things with his mind.

The true artist draws out all from his heart

Náhuatl text quoted in Keen (1971, 23)

Dancer and choreographer José Limón was an artist of epic proportions, both in terms of the scope of his creative energy and the depth of his passionate humanism. Many of his dances speak to his search for the nobility in the human spirit, while others explore darker themes of betrayal, conflict, and despair. Whatever the subject or theme, Limón's dances reveal a consummate craftsman, a devout formalist who sought to reconcile, through his dances, the drama of emotion with the exigencies of choreographic composition and design. As a choreographer, Limón was often most eloquent in creating compact dance-dramas with archetypal, mythic, or literary characters: The Moor's Pavane, The Exiles, The Emperor Jones, and La Malinche.

Limón belongs to the second generation of American modern dancers; in his memoirs, the choreographer metaphorically casts Isadora Duncan and Harald Kreutzberg as his “parents,” Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman as his “foster parents,” and Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn as his “grandparents.” His true origins, while more prosaic, were central to his life as a creative artist. Limón was born in the city of Culiacán, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. His father, Florencio Limón, was a musician, “a pedagogue, conductor and director of the State Academy of Music” (Garafola 1999, 1). His mother, Francisca, came from a good bourgeois family.
The Haunting of Bluebeard—While Listening to a Recording of Béla Bartók's Opera “Duke Bluebeard's Castle”
Authors: Mozingo Karen
Published: February 2017

A tall dark-haired man sits at a black, desklike, rolling cart in the center of a large empty room. Paint chips off the white walls, and dead autumn leaves cover the floor. The man is clean shaven and wears a black overcoat and black pants, but no shoes. Without speaking, he plays a tape recording of the overture to Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle (Herzog Blaubart's Burg). As the music begins, he rises and stands over a small dark-haired woman in a red dress, who lies on her back among the leaves, her arms stretched upward as if simultaneously reaching and waiting for something. The man hurls himself on top of her, and she drags his heavy body across the floor, her effort clearing a path through the leaves. As the overture becomes louder, the man rises and stops the tape player, rewinds it, and begins again, returning to his curled position on top of the woman's body. She drags him toward the chair, and as the music reaches the opening line, the man's efforts to stop, rewind, and fall onto her become more frantic. Suddenly he stands, lifting the tiny woman onto her feet and embraces her. Her hand creeps from under his arms and up his torso, inquisitively searching the surface of his chest, neck, and finally his face.
Performing One's Age: Cultural Constructions of Aging and Embodiment in Western Theatrical Dancers
Authors: Schwaiger Liz
Published: February 2017

These two comments highlight contrasting approaches to aging for Western theatrical dancers. The first, a quote from movement practitioner Elizabeth Cameron-Dalman, reflects the expectation in Western cultures that professional dancers fortunate enough to have escaped major injury will not stay in their careers beyond their early to middle thirties. Consequently, despite some notable exceptions, there are few mature dancers regularly performing in classical and contemporary dance companies throughout these cultures. This expectation is based on a tacit, naturalized belief that beyond this age dancers' bodies become increasingly unable to cope with the physical demands of performing and that therefore they must retire. Furthermore, this is assumed to be a universal effect, rather than one that is relative to the individual dancer's physical capacities. By contrast, the second comment suggests that dancers can negotiate cultural constraints and continue their dance practice and performance in midlife and beyond.

While some social pressures that influence retirement from dancing might have a direct (although not necessarily causal) relationship with chronological age, there are many reasons why dancers might retire from performing in their perceived prime. Comments from the interviews in my study suggest that these reasons can include financial and job instability, difficulty competing with younger dancers for scarce contracts, and increasing problems in maintaining peak physical condition as dancers age (Leach 1997, 47–49). These are complex issues and at present not clearly understood, but they suggest that age as a stand-alone category or as a means of defining a cohort has little meaning and limited utility in accounting for the cessation of dancing.
The Act of Listening to the Art of Giving Voice: Creative Alternative Practices in Writing About Health in Dance
Authors: Fortin Sylvie , Cyr Catherine , Tremblay Martyne
Published: February 2017

Our research team members spent an entire summer interviewing pre-professional contemporary dancers with the aim of understanding their conceptions of health in relationship to their creative projects. At the beginning of autumn we (co-workers Martyne, Catherine, and myself) came together in our comfortable office to begin our data analysis. We had previously planned to use a computer-based, qualitative research analysis program to wade through our sizeable volume of data. We were ready to look systematically for themes emerging from our nine hours of interviews. Unexpectedly, however, things turned out differently, and we found ourselves excitedly reliving the interviews we had had with the interviewees. Through the act of listening and formally recording, we had succeeded in giving rich voice to the participants and the touching stories we were sharing anew were as revealing as when we heard them firsthand. Directing the project, I was pleased to notice how the interviews had found echoes in our own experiences; and, in fact, our discussions were being influenced by and filtered through our own subjective perspectives.
Moving Bodily Fantasies: Medical Performances and Modes of Communication
Authors: Kuppers Petra
Published: February 2017

This article investigates the relationship between movement, communication, and medical presentation in three contemporary dance performances. In particular, I wish to present three instances of collaborative work: of work where boundaries between specialists and “lay people,” between different kinds of expertise, and different kinds of knowledges become questioned, dismantled, and (re)erected through performance. My argument hinges on the ongoing creative work involved in the translations between embodiment, phenomenological experience, narratives of self, medical stories, and cultural context. Living as a body in the world means a constant readjustment of these frames, a productive and often painful emergence of life through tensions. What it means to be a (gendered) specialist or a lay person, a patient, or a spectator, emerges in the call-and-response of everyday life, as roles are taken on, re-created, changed, and discarded.

A celebrated U.K. dance performance (winner of the Critic's Circle National Dance Award 2004), a U.K. exploratory sci-art experiment by medical experts, writers, and performers, and an Australian music theater piece are at the heart of this analysis: the article explores alignments between semiotic and phenomenological knowledges in these performances. In all of these performances, women are center stage, sometimes as informers, sometimes as playwrights and visual artists, sometimes as main performers.
The Borders of Contemporary Israeli Dance: “Invisible Unless in Final Pain”
Authors: Aldor Gaby
Published: February 2017

When Vertigo, an Israeli dance company, performed in collaboration with the English Ricochet dancers, there was one dance on the stage—one choreography—but the audience saw two different modes of movement. The English dancers were learned, elegant, arms and feet drawing long lines in space, the feet articulate. The Israelis danced with a powerful thrust, extremities loose, with total commitment and daring, their movements leaving in space traces of explosions too fast to recollect rather than spirals of continuity. How did this mode of movement develop? What is “Israeli” about Israeli dance?

In this essay I offer a brief history of concert dance in Israel, then a largely descriptive account of choreographic and motional themes that distinguish contemporary Israeli dance. My descriptions of works by contemporary Israeli choreographers Jasmine Goder, Ronit Ziv, Anat Danielli, Shlomi Bitton, and Noa Dar are drawn mostly from observation of performances held during yearly Curtain Up festivals at the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater in Tel Aviv. I also discuss works by Inbal Pinto, Rami Be'er, Nir Ben-Gal and Liât Dror, and finally, Ohad Naharin, artistic director and choreographer of the Batsheva Dance Company.
Preface
Authors: Dils Ann
Published: February 2017

These papers were originally given as a panel entitled What Constitutes a Dance at the 1989 Congress on Research in Dance Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. Panelists selected Antony Tudor's 1937 Dark Elegies as a case study and basis for examining general questions regarding elements to be considered in identifying a dance work. Several issues and occurrences inspired panel members, such as recent interest in revivals of dance works from the beginning of this century and scholarly debate about issues related to directing dance from Labanotation scores. While Nelson Goodman's 1968 book Languages of Art served as a theoretical springboard for discussion, Judy Van Zile's 1985–86 article “What is the Dance? Implications for Dance Notation” proved a thought-provoking precedent for this investigation.
Juana de Laban: A Brief Biography
Authors: Flatt Robyn Baker
Published: February 2017

I knew Juana de Laban for about twenty-three years. She was my mentor and distinctly affected the course of my life. Throughout those years I was thrilled but perplexed as to why this very strong woman with so many prominent associations would choose to befriend me, and why our friendship kept recurring after periods of being apart. When at the end of her life she handed her personal collection to me for deposit in the Dallas Theater Center, I became the link between this dynamic individual and her final effort to remain part of the fabric of life. In retrospect, as her personal and professional history unfolds a clearer picture emerges.

I have constructed this biography from her materials and from correspondence with her family, students, and colleagues. I must stress that Juana was an extremely private person. She almost never spoke of personal things. Many persons still living also wish to respect her privacy. Furthermore, her own notes are often in conflict as to dates and figures. This brief account, therefore, stands to be verified, expanded and perhaps corrected in time.
Juana de Laban Collection
Authors: Shelton Suzanne
Published: February 2017

It is a modest space, an angular, cramped room with exposed pipes overhead, a concrete floor. On all sides sprout wooden shelves laden with three thousand books and journals, photographs, slides, programs, and memorabilia – the Juana de Laban Collection, now housed at the Dallas Theater Center. To find the collection, one must climb narrow stairs and burrow through the Theater's wardrobe area to the tiny room beyond that houses the material lovingly collected by that bright and fiercely proud dance historian and critic who was also, overwhelmingly, the daughter of Rudolf Laban.

Any scholar's library reflects his heart and mind, his interests and aspirations, his education. Juana de Laban's collection reveals an intellect remarkably catholic in its taste, astonishing in its breadth. It is the sort of library that skips across disciplines to include volumes on anthropology, psychology, history, aesthetics and criticism, all related to the study of human movement.
Remembering “Dr. Laban”
Authors: Schneider Gretchen
Published: February 2017

While gathering the articles for this issue of Dance Research Journal with Dianne Woodruff, I often smiled as I recognized “the essential Juana” in the written perceptions of my colleagues. It has been hard to resist adding my own reminiscences, for “Dr. Laban” was a powerful figure in my introduction to dance after I transferred to UCLA's Dance Department in 1963. In fact, it was Dr. Laban who taught me dance history.

I particularly remember laboring for months on my first dance history term paper. The topic consumed me then and amuses me no end today: Dancing had been born of animals and evolved to great humanistic expressions. How such a daringly broad yet hopelessly unlimited hypothesis got accepted, I will never understand. Part of the explanation may lie in the fact that Curt Sachs's World History of Dance was the uncritically-used text for the class, and part of the explanation may lie with my valiant effort to rationalize two earlier undergraduate years as an analytical biology major. Dr. Laban grasped the opportunity for interdisciplinary education and had me reading many things in science, including Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees and Darwin's Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals. I was fascinated by the worlds of thought opening, but completely at sea in the necessity of bringing ideas together for a term paper.
Twinning Rate in the Muslim Population of West Bengal
Authors: Das Chaudhuri A.B. , Basu S. , Chakraborty S.
Published: February 2017

Total birth records for the Bengalee Muslim population (BMP) and the Bengalee Hindu caste population (BHCP) for the period 1980-1988 were 17,720 and 119,107 respectively. Of these, the number of twin pairs were 363 BMP and 1,229 BHCP. These data were obtained from the registers of the following hospitals: Islamia Hospital, NRS Medical College and Hospitals and RG Kar Medical College and Hospitals, Calcutta and Medinipore Sadar Hospital, West Bengal, India. The twinning rates found were 20.48 and 10.57 per thousand deliveries in the BMP and BHCP respectively. The proportion of twins, 0.02048, in the BMP was significantly higher (Z = 12.38, p ≤ 0.01) than that in the BHCP, 0.01057. This finding of a higher twinning rate in the BMP is corroborated by the fact that available data on the Muslim population of Srinagar in Kammu and Kashmir, and Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh show higher twinning rates than the other populations of India. This increased twinning rate may be due to the greater amount of inbreeding in the BMP.
Granite erratics in Beacon Valley, Antarctica
Authors: Dickinson Warren W. , Williams Grechen , Hill Matt , Cox Simon C. , Baker Joel A.
Published: February 2017

We present the first quantitative attempt at reconciling the source and emplacement of granite erratics in Beacon Valley. The erratics are enigmatic because granite does not crop out in the valley and its nearest subaerial exposure is at least 10 km downstream to the east of the valley. Detailed mapping of the valley shows three types of granite erratics, which are not present in equal amounts and do not show spatial patterns. Pb isotopic and elemental compositions of the erratics eliminate the Metschel Tillite as a source and indicate they derive from the Dry Valley plutons. Our limited study tentatively ties the erratics to suites of plutons, but it does not allow a direct tie of the erratics to specific plutons because of i) the geochemical variability of the plutons and ii) the limited number of erratics that were analysed. Published data suggest the erratics provide evidence of wet-based glaciation, which covered the Dry Valleys and much of Antarctica during the mid-Miocene. Our paper also explains the problems associated with the emplacement of these erratics and the age of the massive ice in Beacon Valley.
Differential Associations Between Problem and Pathological Gambling and Psychiatric Disorders in Individuals With and Without Alcohol Abuse or Dependence
Authors: Brewer Judson A. , Potenza Marc N. , Desai Rani A.
Published: February 2017

Background: Alcohol abuse and/or dependence, alcohol use disorders (AUDs), and problem and/or pathological gambling (PPG) frequently co-occur with each other and other psychiatric disorders. However, prior studies have not investigated the relative influence of AUDs on the associations between PPG and other psychiatric disorders.

Methods: Nationally representative data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (n=43,093; United States residents ≥18 years of age) was used to examine the influence of AUDs on the associations between gambling and other psychiatric disorders and behaviors. The main outcome measures were co-occurrence of past-year AUD and Axis I and II disorders and severity of gambling based on the 10 inclusionary diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling.

Results: Among non-AUD respondents, increasing gambl ing severity was associated with increasingly elevated odds for the majority of Axis I and II disorders. Among AUD respondents, this pattern was typically not observed. Alcohol-by-gambling-group interactions for PPG were also found and the odds of these disorders was significantly increased in non-AUD respondents with PPG, but either unchanged or significantly lower in AUD respondents with PPG.

Conclusions: Gambling-related associations exist with multiple psychiatric disorders, but particularly in those without AUD. These associations have important implications with respect to conceptualization, prevention, and treatment of psychiatric disorders in individuals with gambling and/or AUDs.
Relationship Between Residual Symptoms of Depression and Self-reported Cognitive Impairment
Authors: Pedrelli Paola , Baer Lee , Iosifescu Dan V. , Fava Maurizio
Published: February 2017

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the associations between residual symptoms of depression and specific self-reported symptoms in several cognitive domains.

Methods: The study investigated 117 patients with partially or fully remitted major depressive disorder (MDD) after treatment with antidepressant medications.

Results: Fatigue was significantly associated with inability to focus, alertness, and feeling “blue”; low interest and difficulty with concentration were associated with apathy. No associations were found between deficits in the cognitive domains considered and residual symptoms such as self-blaming, feeling worthless, feeling hopeless, having suicidal thoughts, difficulty with sleep, and lack of appetite.

Conclusion: Among MDD remitted patients endorsing residual symptoms such as fatigue and feeling “blue”, deficits in a range of cognitive domains should be carefully assessed and treated.
Are There Between-Country Differences in Motor Behavior of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients?
Authors: Zor Rama , Fineberg Naomi , Hermesh Haggai , Asigo Gbenga , Nelson Sanjay , Agha Hena , Eilam David
Published: February 2017

Background: Cross-cultural factors attributed to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that are widely investigated around the world are mostly epidemiological, with no respect to the impact of culture on the structure of OCD behavior itself.

Methods: Nine Israeli and nine British OCD patients with respective non-OCD individuals were compared. To determine whether OCD symptoms are consistent across cultures, similarities in behavior were analyzed, as well as differences due to a country effect. In each country, nine OCD patients and nine non-OCD individuals were videotaped while performing the task that the patients attributed to their behavior.

Results: Except for a significantly higher rate of repetition and higher performance of idiosyncratic acts, patients from both Israel and the United Kingdom showed high levels of similarities in 22 out of 24 parameters. Compared with Israeli subjects, British OCD patients had significantly longer chains of idiosyncratic acts, and a twice-higher prevalence of brief (1–2 second) idiosyncratic acts. Between-country differences were mild, possibly overridden by the conspicuous impact of OCD pathology, resulting in a similar OCD phenotype.

Conclusion: These results qualitatively and quantitatively emphasize the universal appearance of the compulsions in OCD symptoms.
Enhancing Outcomes from Major Depression: Using Antidepressant Combination Therapies with Multifunctional Pharmacologic Mechanisms from the Initiation of Treatment
Authors: Stahl Stephen M.
Published: February 2017

Traditional guidelines call for treatment of major depression with a sequence of single antidepressants. Augmentation with a second agent generally only occurs when the first agent is well tolerated and when it also provides at least some symptomatic improvement on its own. Since this standard approach leads to low rates of attaining and sustaining remission by the first agent, with diminishing returns for each subsequent agent, there is growing dissatisfaction with this approach to the treatment of major depression. One new trend is to attempt to enhance the rates of sustained remission from a major depressive episode by combining two therapeutic agents from the very initiation of treatment of a major depressive episode.

Traditional treatment of major depression begins with a single “first line” antidepressant, and if it does not work or is not tolerated, trying another and then another. Unfortunately, this strategy results in disappointing remission rates for the first antidepressant (Figure 1), and disappointing rates of maintaining any improvement that is attained by this first agent because of high relapse rates over the next year despite continuing treatment with the first antidepressant (Figure 2A). And that is the good news. The bad news is that with each subsequent antidepressant treatment administered remission rates are progressively reduced (Figure 1). For those patients who do improve, they are progressively less likely to sustain their therapeutic gains despite continuing to take the drug that led to their initial improvement (Figure 2).
Mood Stabilizers in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders
Authors: Maremmani Icro , Pacini Matteo , Lamanna Francesco , Pani Pier Paolo , Perugi Giulio , Deltito Joseph , Salloum Ihsan M. , Akiskal Hagop
Published: February 2017

Individuals suffering from drug addiction may also manifest features of bipolar spectrum disorders. Hyperthymic and cyclothymic temperaments may render individuals vulnerable to later development of substance abuse. Bipolar disorders themselves may be altered or precipitated by substance use, most notably by stimulants (amphetamines), alcohol, and cannabinoids.The clinical usefulness of mood stabilizers, particularly antiepileptics, has been established as safe and effective in substance abusers with and without comorbid mood disorders. Most studies on this issue have been of short duration and focused on the resolution of a currently manifest period of illness. Few studies have been conducted on the usefulness of these drugs on the long-term longitudinal course of these diseases, such as frequently encountered recurrent relapses into states of agitation, impulsivity, and/or dissatisfaction. As opposed to the clinical experience with traditional antidepressants and neuroleptics, antiepileptics do not induce counter-polar states (depressed patients abruptly turning manic or hypomanic; nor patients currently hypomanic or manic turning abruptly depressed). Many clinicians consider antiepileptic mood stabilizers to be the preferred category of medications for the treatment of such patients. Valproate appears to be a potentially fruitful medication to study in these dual diagnosis patients due to preliminary evidence demonstrating its anticraving efficacy.
Methylphenidate Effect in Children With ADHD Can Be Measured by an Ecologically Valid Continuous Performance Test Embedded in Virtual Reality
Authors: Pollak Yehuda , Shomaly Hanan Barhoum , Weiss Patrice L. , Rizzo Albert A. , Gross-Tsur Varda
Published: February 2017

Background: Continuous performance tasks (CPTs) embedded in a virtual reality (VR) classroom environment have been shown to be a sensitive and user-friendly assessment tool to detect cognitive deficits related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of the current study was to compare the performance of children with ADHD on a VR-CPT while on and off treatment with methylphenidate (MPH) and to compare the VR-CPT to a cgrrently used CPT, Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA).

Methods:Twenty-seven children with ADHD underwent the VR-CPT, the same CPT without VR (no VR-CPT), and theTOVA, 1 hour after the. ingestion of either placebo or 0.3 mg/kg MPH, in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Immediately following CPT, subjects described their subjective experiences on the Short Feedback Questionnaire.

Results: MPH reduced omission errors to a greater extent on the VR-CPT compared to the no VR-CPT and the TOVA, and decreased other CPT measures on all types of CPT to a similar degree. Children rated the VR-CPT as more enjoyable compared to the other types of CPT.

Conclusions: It is concluded that the VR-CPT is a sensitive and user-friendly assessment tool in measuring the response to MPH in children with ADHD.
On Categorizing Gestational, Birth, and Neonatal Complications Following Late Pregnancy Exposure to Antidepressants:The Prenatal Antidepressant Exposure Syndrome
Authors: Gentile Salvatore
Published: February 2017

Introduction: Late in utero exposure to antidepressants has been suspected of adversely impacting pregnancy outcome and compromising neonatal adaptation. Hence, the necessity exists to analyze published information on antidepressant use during late pregnancy to individuate potential recurrent patterns of iatrogenic complications.

Methods: Computerized searches on MEDLINE, PsyclNFO, ENBASE, and Cochrane Library through February 10, 2010 were performed for selecting literature information and investigating the safety of antidepressants when used during late pregnancy.

Results: Antidepressant treatment during late pregnancy may increase the rates of poor pregnancy outcome and neonatal withdrawal/ toxic reactions.

Conclusions: Because both gestational complications and neonatal adverse events acknowledge the same etiology, the author suggests including such iatrogenic events under the definition of prenatal antidepressant exposure syndrome, in order to increase clinicians' awareness about the spectrum of risks which may concern the mother-infant pair when antidepressant treatment is deemed indispensable during late pregnancy.
Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Dimensions in Japanese Tourette Syndrome Subjects
Authors: Kano Yukiko , Kono Toshiaki , Shishikura Kurie , Konno Chizue , Kuwabara Hitoshi , Ohta Masataka , do Rosario Maria Conceiçäo
Published: February 2017

Objectives: To investigate the current and lifetime frequency and severity of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions in Tourette syndrome (TS) patients, and how these dimensions affect clinical characteristics.

Methods: Forty TS outpatients (29 males, 11 females) were interviewed with the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), the Shapiro Tourette Syndrome Severity Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF).

Results: OC symptoms were present in 80% of the total sample. The miscellaneous and the symmetry dimensions were the most frequent at the “current” and “lifetime” surveys, respectively. The aggression dimension had the smallest difference between “worst ever” and current ratings among the all OC symptom dimensions. TS patients with the aggression dimension (n=7) had significantly lower scores in the GAF scale and higher frequencies of coprolalia. There were significant correlations between the YGTSS severity scores and specific DY-BOCS dimensions.

Conclusion: OC symptoms are frequent in TS subjects and there were differences in the frequency, severity, and course of the OC symptom dimensions. These results emphasize the need for future longitudinal studies using a dimensional approach for the evaluation of OC symptoms in tic disorders.
Maintenance Strategies in Schizophrenia
Authors: Kane John M.
Published: February 2017

A key consideration in the discussion of maintenance treatment in schizophrenia is how to first help bring patients to the point where acute psychopathology is sufficiently controlled, so that we can focus on consolidating the gains achieved and prevent a recurrence of illness.

The different phases of treatment and response in schizophrenia include the acute phase, wherein we look for response and resolution; remission, where we control symptoms to levels of mild or less and work toward preventing relapse or any exacerbation of psychopathology; and recovery, meaning the ability to function in the community in the workplace, school, family roles, etc.

In preparing patients with schizophrenia for maintenance treatment, clinicians must ensure that they have done everything possible to alleviate the acute signs and symptoms of illness to the extent possible.

There are several questions to consider at this stage: How much improvement is enough? When do we change treatments, and why? What about adverse effects and the locus of care? In the context of this process of deciding how to bring about the best possible treatment response, we must consider that, if a patient is not responding, the diagnosis may need to be reevaluated. Adherence must be assessed and blood levels should be done (if feasible) to ensure that patients have an adequate amount of medication in their system. If blood levels are unavailable and adherence is an issue, the use of long-acting injectable medication should be considered. The clinician might decide to alterthe medication dose—to increase it, or perhaps decrease it if significant side effects are impeding therapeutic response. Adjunct medications or a switching strategy may be employed. Non-pharmacologic therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which can be effective at reducing symptoms of schizophrenia, should also be considered.
White Matter Hyperintensities and Their Association With Suicidally in
Major Affective Disorders: A Meta-Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Studies
Authors: Grangeon Maria Conceição , Seixas Camila , Quarantini Lucas C. , Miranda-Scippa Angela , Pompili Maurizio , Steffens David C. , Wenzel Amy , Lacerda Acioly L. T. , de Oliveira Irismar Reis
Published: February 2017

Introduction: Individuals who have deep and
periventricular white matter hyperintensities may have a higher risk for
suicidal behavior. There are mixed results in the literature regarding
whether unipolar or bipolar patients who have attempted suicide have more
deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) or periventricular
hyperintensities (PVH) relative to those who have no history of suicide
attempts.

Methods: A meta-analysis of studies examining
white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in mood disorder patients with and
without a history of suicide attempts was performed.

Results: Four studies, including a total of 173
patients who attempted suicide and 183 who did not attempt suicide, were
included. A significantly higher number of attempters were found to have WMH
than non-attempters. Unipolar depressed patients who had attempted suicide
had 1.9 times more DWMH and 2.1 times more PVH than those who did not.
Bipolar patients who had attempted suicide had 5.4 times more PVH than those
who had not. Taken together, unipolar and bipolar patients who had attempted
suicide had 2.8 times more DWMH and 4.5 times more PVH than those who had
never attempted suicide.
Insomnia in Patients With Depression: A STAR*D Report
Authors: Sunderajan Prabha , Gaynes Bradley N. , Wisniewski Stephen R. , Miyahara Sachiko , Fava Maurizio , Akingbala Felicia , DeVeaugh-Geiss Joanne , Rush A. John , Trivedi Madhukar H.
Published: February 2017

Introduction: Insomnia symptoms, which are common
in depression, have a significant impact on function and quality of life.
However, little is known about the prevalence and associated features of
insomnia symptoms in representative treatment-seeking patients with
depression.

Methods: Data from the Sequenced Treatment
Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) trial were analyzed. STAR*D
recruited 3,743 adult outpatients diagnosed with nonpsychotic major
depressive disorder (MDD) from primary (n=18) and psychiatric care (n=23)
clinics across the United States. Baseline sociodemographic and clinical
features were compared between those with insomnia symptoms (84.7%) and
those without (15.3%).

Results: The most common presentation was the
simultaneous presence of sleep onset, mid-nocturnal, and early morning
insomnia symptoms (27.1%). Of these three types of insomnia symptoms,
mid-nocturnal insomnia symptoms were the most commonly found alone (13.5%)
and in combination with one or more other types (82.3%). Insomnia symptoms
were associated with several indicators of a more severe depressive illness.
Only a small proportion of participants with insomnia symptoms were
receiving treatment for sleep disturbances at study initiation, and the vast
majority of those receiving treatment still reported having insomnia
symptoms.

Conclusion: In outpatients who seek treatment for
nonpsychotic MDD in typical clinical settings, insomnia symptoms are very
common, undertreated, and indicative of a more severe depression.
Interdependence of Russo-Japanese Relations and Mutual Images of Japan and Russia
Authors: CHUGROV SERGEY V. , STRELTSOV DMITRY V.
Published: February 2017

The current efforts of Moscow and Tokyo to unblock the territorial impasse are complicated by some barriers of a socio-psychological character, including mutual mistrust and contradictory images of past events. Public opinion surveys reveal predominant vectors in Russo-Japanese relations, which the authors believe strongly correlate with the evolution of the contradictory images. Apparently, these images surprisingly exhibit interrelated ‘mirror’ dynamics connected with the independent variable – events happening in bilateral relations. Apparently, these images surprisingly exhibit interrelated ‘mirror’ dynamics connected with the independent variable – events happening in bilateral relations. The authors also investigate how public opinion has a real impact on politics and relations between states. In the authors’ opinion, Russia and Japan definitely do not have major unresolved problems in their bilateral relations, with the exception of the territorial problem. However, why is the public so suspicious of Russia? Can the territorial dispute be the only reason? It is far from that. The analyzed arguments give grounds to believe that it is very difficult for Japan and Russia to find a mutually acceptable solution, as their relations are not free from suspicion and mutual mistrust which are deeply rooted in the history of their relations. It will be much easier to overcome the mistrust and, accordingly, to reach agreement on the territorial issue when they manage to calmly analyze the historical grudges, understand their nature and origin, and realize that this is history, which has no contemporary value.
Appraising Myanmar's Democratic Transition and Evolving Challenges
Authors: GANESAN N.
Published: February 2017

Democratic transitions in Asia have received widespread interest in the political science literature since the 1990s. The Thein Sein-led government that came into power in 2010 in Myanmar has undertaken wide ranging reforms that has altered the country's political landscape. They include evolving a working relationship with the political opposition, freeing political prisoners, and the granting of amnesty to political exiles to encourage their return, the negotiation of ceasefire agreements with almost all of the ethnic insurgent armies and the inauguration of the Myanmar Peace Centre. Nonetheless, the county continues to suffer from ongoing developments that retard the process of democratization as well. A confluence of interest between the NLD, ethnic groups, and civil society organizations also prompted attempts to change the 2008 Constitution and its by-laws that prevented Aung San Suu Kyi from running for the country's presidency. That attempt and the potential for reform were scuttled by the August 2015 ‘coup’ against Thura Shwe Mann. The NLD's overwhelming victory in the November elections has significantly strengthened Suu Kyi's position and all major political actors including those from the military have been conciliatory towards the election outcome and there is cause for cautious optimism. After 6 months in power, the policy priorities of the new government are also clearer.
Reforming WTO-Civil Society Engagement
Authors: HANNAH ERIN , SCOTT JAMES , WILKINSON RORDEN
Published: February 2017

Civil society organizations are often seen as playing a crucial role in helping to mitigate the exclusion of weaker states, giving voice to marginalized communities, and raising environmental and developmental concerns within the trade system. The politicization and demystification of the global trade agenda by civil society also opens up space for a more diverse set of actors to influence trade negotiations. This article examines the evolution of the WTO secretariat's engagement with civil society within this context and argues that the dominant mode of engagement, as manifest in WTO Public Forums and civil society participation in ministerial conferences, is no longer fit for purpose. Rather it reflects an outmoded strategy that once served to underscore the existence and value of the WTO as an international organization and works to neutralize political contestation and publicly promote the benefits of free trade. It is now in need of reform.
Heritability and GWAS Studies for Monocyte–Lymphocyte Ratio
Authors: Lin Bochao D. , Willemsen Gonneke , Fedko Iryna O. , Jansen Rick , Penninx Brenda , de Geus E. , Kluft C. , Hottenga JoukeJan , Boomsma Dorret I.
Published: February 2017

The monocyte–lymphocyte ratio (MLR) is a useful biomarker for disease development, but little is known about the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence MLR variation. Here, we study the genetic architecture of MLR and determine the influence of demographic and lifestyle factors on MLR in data from a Dutch non-patient twin-family population. Data were obtained in 9,501 individuals from the Netherlands Twin Register. We used regression analyses to determine the effects of age, sex, smoking, and body mass index (BMI) on MLR and its subcomponents. Data on twins, siblings and parents (N = 7,513) were analyzed by genetic structural equation modeling to establish heritability and genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from a genotyped subsample (N = 5,892) and used to estimate heritability explained by SNPs. SNP and phenotype data were also analyzed in a genome-wide association study to identify the genes involved in MLR. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) score regression and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analyses were performed to further explore the genetic findings. Results showed that age, sex, and age × sex interaction effects were present for MLR and its subcomponents. Variation in MLR was not related to BMI, but smoking was positively associated with MLR. Heritability was estimated at 40% for MLR, 58% for monocyte, and 58% for lymphocyte count. The Genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a locus on ITGA4 that was associated with MLR and only marginally significantly associated with monocyte count. For monocyte count, additional genetic variants were identified on ITPR3, LPAP1, and IRF8. For lymphocyte count, GWAS provided no significant findings. Taking all measured SNPs together, their effects accounted for 13% of the heritability of MLR, while all known and identified genetic loci explained 1.3% of variation in MLR. eQTL analyses showed that these genetic variants were unlikely to be eQTLs. In conclusion, variation in MLR level in the general population is heritable and influenced by age, sex, and smoking. We identified gene variants in the ITGA4 gene associated with variation in MLR. The significant SNP-heritability indicates that more genetic variants are likely to be involved.
Necroptotic death signaling: evolution, mechanisms and disease relevance
Authors: Vince James E
Published: February 2017

The February 2017 issue contains a Special Feature on Necroptotic death signalling: evolution, mechanisms and disease relevance. In recent years, research into a genetically encoded cell death program termed necroptosis has accelerated into vogue. Many laboratories are now racing to answer key questions such as: How does it occur? When does it occur? What does it do? What is it good (or not so good) for? Answers to these will ultimately guide efforts aimed at manipulating this new pathway for therapeutic benefit. In the six articles in this ICB Special Feature, the current state of play in necroptotic cell death research is dissected in considerable detail. The articles provide timely updates on what we have learnt so far and, importantly, where we might be going. Immunology & Cell Biology thanks the coordinator of this Special Feature ‐ James Vince ‐ for his planning and input.
Low-frequency theta oscillations in the human hippocampus during real-world and virtual navigation
Authors: Bohbot Véronique D. , Copara Milagros S. , Gotman Jean , Ekstrom Arne D.
Published: February 2017

Low-Frequency Oscillations (LFO) in the range of 7–9 Hz, or theta rhythm, has been recorded in rodents ambulating in the real world. However, intra-hippocampus EEG recordings during virtual navigation in humans have consistently reported LFO that appear to predominate around 3–4 Hz. Here we report clear evidence of 7–9 Hz rhythmicity in raw intra-hippocampus EEG traces during real as well as virtual movement. Oscillations typically occur at a lower frequency in virtual than real world navigation. This study highlights the possibility that human and rodent hippocampal EEG activity are not as different as previously reported and this difference may arise, in part, due to the lack of actual movement in previous human navigation studies, which were virtual.
Foxa2 identifies a cardiac progenitor population with ventricular differentiation potential
Authors: Bardot Evan , Calderon Damelys , Santoriello Francis , Han Songyan , Cheung Kakit , Jadhav Bharati , Burtscher Ingo , Artap Stanley , Jain Rajan , Epstein Jonathan , Lickert Heiko , Gouon-Evans Valerie , Sharp Andrew J. , Dubois Nicole C.
Published: February 2017

The recent identification of progenitor populations that contribute to the developing heart in a distinct spatial and temporal manner has fundamentally improved our understanding of cardiac development. However, the mechanisms that direct atrial versus ventricular specification remain largely unknown. Here we report the identification of a progenitor population that gives rise primarily to cardiovascular cells of the ventricles and only to few atrial cells (<5%) of the differentiated heart. These progenitors are specified during gastrulation, when they transiently express Foxa2, a gene not previously implicated in cardiac development. Importantly, Foxa2+ cells contribute to previously identified progenitor populations in a defined pattern and ratio. Lastly, we describe an analogous Foxa2+ population during differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Together, these findings provide insight into the developmental origin of ventricular and atrial cells, and may lead to the establishment of new strategies for generating chamber-specific cell types from pluripotent stem cells.
Integrated genomic analyses of de novo pathways underlying atypical meningiomas
Authors: Harmancı Akdes Serin , Youngblood Mark W. , Clark Victoria E. , Coşkun Süleyman , Henegariu Octavian , Duran Daniel , Erson-Omay E. Zeynep , Kaulen Leon D. , Lee Tong Ihn , Abraham Brian J. , Simon Matthias , Krischek Boris , Timmer Marco , Goldbrunner Roland , Omay S. Bülent , Baranoski Jacob , Baran Burçin , Carrión-Grant Geneive , Bai Hanwen , Mishra-Gorur Ketu , Schramm Johannes , Moliterno Jennifer , Vortmeyer Alexander O. , Bilgüvar Kaya , Yasuno Katsuhito , Young Richard A. , Günel Murat
Published: February 2017

Meningiomas are mostly benign brain tumours, with a potential for becoming atypical or malignant. On the basis of comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses, we compared benign meningiomas to atypical ones. Here, we show that the majority of primary (de novo) atypical meningiomas display loss of NF2, which co-occurs either with genomic instability or recurrent SMARCB1 mutations. These tumours harbour increased H3K27me3 signal and a hypermethylated phenotype, mainly occupying the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) binding sites in human embryonic stem cells, thereby phenocopying a more primitive cellular state. Consistent with this observation, atypical meningiomas exhibit upregulation of EZH2, the catalytic subunit of the PRC2 complex, as well as the E2F2 and FOXM1 transcriptional networks. Importantly, these primary atypical meningiomas do not harbour TERT promoter mutations, which have been reported in atypical tumours that progressed from benign ones. Our results establish the genomic landscape of primary atypical meningiomas and potential therapeutic targets.
Three-dimensional surface topography of graphene by divergent beam electron diffraction
Authors: Latychevskaia Tatiana , Hsu Wei-Hao , Chang Wei-Tse , Lin Chun-Yueh , Hwang Ing-Shouh
Published: February 2017

There are only a handful of scanning techniques that can provide surface topography at nanometre resolution. At the same time, there are no methods that are capable of non-invasive imaging of the three-dimensional surface topography of a thin free-standing crystalline material. Here we propose a new technique—the divergent beam electron diffraction (DBED) and show that it can directly image the inhomogeneity in the atomic positions in a crystal. Such inhomogeneities are directly transformed into the intensity contrast in the first-order diffraction spots of DBED patterns and the intensity contrast linearly depends on the wavelength of the employed probing electrons. Three-dimensional displacement of atoms as small as 1 angstrom can be detected when imaged with low-energy electrons (50–250 eV). The main advantage of DBED is that it allows visualization of the three-dimensional surface topography and strain distribution at the nanometre scale in non-scanning mode, from a single shot diffraction experiment.
Muscle-specific CRISPR/Cas9 dystrophin gene editing ameliorates pathophysiology in a mouse model for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Authors: Bengtsson Niclas E. , Hall John K. , Odom Guy L. , Phelps Michael P. , Andrus Colin R. , Hawkins R. David , Hauschka Stephen D. , Chamberlain Joel R. , Chamberlain Jeffrey S.
Published: February 2017

Gene replacement therapies utilizing adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors hold great promise for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A related approach uses AAV vectors to edit specific regions of the DMD gene using CRISPR/Cas9. Here we develop multiple approaches for editing the mutation in dystrophic mdx4cv mice using single and dual AAV vector delivery of a muscle-specific Cas9 cassette together with single-guide RNA cassettes and, in one approach, a dystrophin homology region to fully correct the mutation. Muscle-restricted Cas9 expression enables direct editing of the mutation, multi-exon deletion or complete gene correction via homologous recombination in myogenic cells. Treated muscles express dystrophin in up to 70% of the myogenic area and increased force generation following intramuscular delivery. Furthermore, systemic administration of the vectors results in widespread expression of dystrophin in both skeletal and cardiac muscles. Our results demonstrate that AAV-mediated muscle-specific gene editing has significant potential for therapy of neuromuscular disorders.