bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PTEN signaling through RAF1 proto-oncogene serine/threonine kinase (RAF1)/ERK in the epididymis is essential for male fertility
Authors: Xu Bingfang , Washington Angela M. , Hinton Barry T.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Without a fully developed and functioning initial segment, the most proximal region of the epididymis, spermatozoa do not undergo maturation, resulting in male infertility. The tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was deleted from the initial segment, which resulted in changes in the activity of downstream signaling components that led to epithelial dedifferentiation and male infertility. Spermatozoa were normal upon leaving the testis, but as they progressed through the duct of the dedifferentiated initial segment, they developed angled flagella and a decrease in motility. These changes prevented spermatozoa from reaching and fertilizing an egg in the female reproductive tract. PTEN plays an essential role in maintaining normal initial-segment differentiation and function and, therefore, male fertility.
Revealing bacterial targets of growth inhibitors encoded by bacteriophage T7
Authors: Molshanski-Mor Shahar , Yosef Ido , Kiro Ruth , Edgar Rotem , Manor Miriam , Gershovits Michael , Laserson Mia , Pupko Tal , Qimron Udi
Published: December 2014

Significance

Antibiotic resistance of pathogens is a growing threat to human health, requiring immediate action. Identifying new gene products of bacterial viruses and their bacterial targets may provide potent tools for fighting antibiotic-resistant strains. We show that a significant number of phage proteins are inhibitory to their bacterial host. DNA sequencing was used to map the targets of these proteins. One particular target was a key cytoskeleton protein whose function is impaired following the phage protein’s expression, resulting in bacterial death. Strikingly, in over 70 y of extensive research into the tested bacteriophage, this inhibition had never been characterized. We believe that the presented approach may be broadened to identify novel, clinically relevant bacteriophage growth inhibitors and to characterize their targets.
Identification of a pheromone that increases anxiety in rats
Authors: Inagaki Hideaki , Kiyokawa Yasushi , Tamogami Shigeyuki , Watanabe Hidenori , Takeuchi Yukari , Mori Yuji
Published: December 2014

Significance

Animals communicate with other members of the same species by using pheromones. Rats release a specific odor into the air when they are stressed. Because this stress-related odor increases anxiety in the other rats, it is likely that there are some anxiogenic molecules in this odor. In this study, we have tried to identify these molecules. We discovered that a combination of two molecules, 4-methylpentanal and hexanal, increased anxiety in rats. We concluded that the mixture is a pheromone in rats that can increase anxiety in conspecifics. Furthermore, we proposed that the neural circuit relating to anxiety was only activated when the two molecules were simultaneously perceived by two separate olfactory systems.
Hedgehog-induced phosphorylation by CK1 sustains the activity of Ci/Gli activator
Authors: Shi Qing , Li Shuang , Li Shuangxi , Jiang Alice , Chen Yongbin , Jiang Jin
Published: December 2014

Significance

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling controls development and tissue homeostasis through the Cubitus interruptus (Ci)/glioma-associated oncogene homolog (Gli) transcription factors, and abnormal Gli activity causes congenital diseases and cancers. Here we show that Ci/Gli phosphorylation by Casein kinase 1 positively regulates Hh pathway activity, providing insights into the regulation of Ci/Gli activity. By showing that phosphorylation protects the Ci/Gli activator from premature degradation, our study not only sheds lights on how the production and degradation of Ci/Gli activator are delicately balanced to achieve optimal pathway activity but also provides the first evidence (to our knowledge) that protein degradation by the Cullin 3 family of E3 ubiquitin ligases is negatively regulated by phosphorylation.
GDM-associated insulin deficiency hinders the dissociation of SERT from ERp44 and down-regulates placental 5-HT uptake
Authors: Li Yicong , Hadden Coedy , Singh Preeti , Mercado Charles P. , Murphy Pamela , Dajani Nafisa K. , Lowery Curtis L. , Roberts Drucilla J. , Maroteaux Luc , Kilic Fusun
Published: December 2014

Significance

Our findings provide insight on the molecular mechanism in which insulin regulates the dissociation of ERp44, an endoplasmic reticulum chaperon, from the serotonin (5-HT) transporter (SERT) following the completion of disulfide bond formation. Furthermore, our data show that gestational diabetes mellitus-associated defects in insulin signaling tethers SERT with ERp44, at the intracellular compartment which down-regulates 5-HT uptake rates of the placental trophoblast. All the trophoblast used in these studies were isolated and purified directly from healthy or GDM placentas in our laboratories.
Soil surface acidity plays a determining role in the atmospheric-terrestrial exchange of nitrous acid
Authors: Donaldson Melissa A. , Bish David L. , Raff Jonathan D.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Nitrous acid (HONO) emitted from soil plays an important role in regulating the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. Unexpectedly high emissions of HONO are observed from soils with close to neutral pH, where aqueous acid–base and Henry’s law equilibria would predict that nitrite is the dominant nitrogen species. We show that surface acidity of soil minerals rather than aqueous acid–base equilibria controls nitrite speciation in soil, implying that up to 70% of global soils are capable of emitting HONO due to their acidic or close to neutral pH; this suggests that soil nitrite, whether microbially derived or otherwise deposited, likely plays a more widespread role in terrestrial–atmospheric cycling of nitrogen affecting air pollution and climate than previously thought.
Structural basis for the auxin-induced transcriptional regulation by Aux/IAA17
Authors: Han Mookyoung , Park Yangshin , Kim Iktae , Kim Eun-Hee , Yu Tae-Kyung , Rhee Sangkee , Suh Jeong-Yong
Published: December 2014

Significance

Auxin is the central hormone that governs diverse developmental processes in plants. Auxin response is regulated by auxin response transcription factor (ARF) and Aux/IAA transcriptional repressor. ARF and Aux/IAA form homo-oligomers and also hetero-oligomers for transcriptional regulation of auxin-response genes. Mechanistic understanding of how ARF and Aux/IAA change their association states is not well established. This work reports, to our knowledge, the first structure of the oligomerization domain of IAA17, and describes the key determinant that dictates the switch between homo- and hetero-oligomers. While Aux/IAA and ARF use a common scaffold and interface for homotypic and heterotypic associations, the charge composition at the interface determines the affinity and the oligomerization states. Based on the results, we propose a refined model of auxin-induced transcriptional regulation.
Wolbachia
small noncoding RNAs and their role in cross-kingdom communications
Authors: Mayoral Jaime G. , Hussain Mazhar , Joubert D. Albert , Iturbe-Ormaetxe Iñaki , O’Neill Scott L. , Asgari Sassan
Published: December 2014

Significance

Small noncoding RNA molecules have been found in eukaryotes and prokaryotes and are also encoded by viruses.
Wolbachia
are endosymbiotic bacteria that are widespread in invertebrate populations. Significantly, certain strains of
Wolbachia
inhibit replication of mosquito-borne pathogens, such as dengue viruses, the malaria parasite, and filarial nematodes. Our results demonstrate that
Wolbachia
encode conserved small RNAs of approximately 30 nt in
Aedes aegypti
mosquito and
Drosophila melanogaster
. We show that the small RNAs may regulate bacterial and host genes, providing a means of communication across two kingdoms.
Thermotropic liquid crystals from biomacromolecules
Authors: Liu Kai , Chen Dong , Marcozzi Alessio , Zheng Lifei , Su Juanjuan , Pesce Diego , Zajaczkowski Wojciech , Kolbe Anke , Pisula Wojciech , Müllen Klaus , Clark Noel A. , Herrmann Andreas
Published: December 2014

Significance

Liquid crystals (LCs) found in biology are usually dispersed in a solvent, typically water, and are therefore classified as lyotropic. However, from a technological perspective, thermotropic LCs (TLCs), typically based on small rod- or disc-shaped organic molecules, have been of much greater importance. In this contribution, we show that thermotropic liquid crystal phases and materials can also be made from biomolecules, demonstrating a simple generic method to form thermotropic phases from biosystems ranging from nucleic acids and proteins to even whole viruses, spanning a size from only a few nanometers to 1 μm.
Glutamatergic regulation prevents hippocampal-dependent age-related cognitive decline through dendritic spine clustering
Authors: Pereira Ana C. , Lambert Hilary K. , Grossman Yael S. , Dumitriu Dani , Waldman Rachel , Jannetty Sophia K. , Calakos Katina , Janssen William G. , McEwen Bruce S. , Morrison John H.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Aging is often accompanied by cognitive decline. It is of critical importance to understand the synaptic susceptibilities of the glutamatergic neural circuits to age-related cognitive decline and to intervene in this process. Maintenance of synaptic health in the face of aging is a crucially important therapeutic goal. We show that the glutamate modulator, riluzole, prevents age-related memory loss and induces clustering of dendritic spines. Clustering is a critical element of synaptic plasticity that has been previously demonstrated to increase synaptic strength. This study further elucidates neuroplastic changes in the neurocircuits vulnerable to aging and advances therapeutic development to prevent and treat age-related cognitive decline.
Hepatocyte circadian clock controls acetaminophen bioactivation through NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase
Authors: Johnson Brian P. , Walisser Jacqueline A. , Liu Yan , Shen Anna L. , McDearmon Erin L. , Moran Susan M. , McIntosh Brian E. , Vollrath Aaron L. , Schook Andrew C. , Takahashi Joseph S. , Bradfield Christopher A.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Acetaminophen toxicity is significantly influenced by the hepatocyte circadian clock through its control of xenobiotic metabolizing systems. We have found that, although the central circadian clock can influence detoxification through glutathione biosynthesis, the autonomous hepatocyte circadian clock also controls major aspects of acetaminophen (APAP) bioactivation. One mechanism by which APAP bioactivation is controlled is through the clock’s regulation of cytochrome P450-dependent activity through NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase.
In silico selection of therapeutic antibodies for development: Viscosity, clearance, and chemical stability
Authors: Sharma Vikas K. , Patapoff Thomas W. , Kabakoff Bruce , Pai Satyan , Hilario Eric , Zhang Boyan , Li Charlene , Borisov Oleg , Kelley Robert F. , Chorny Ilya , Zhou Joe Z. , Dill Ken A. , Swartz Trevor E.
Published: December 2014

Significance

mAbs are increasingly being used for treatment of chronic diseases wherein the subcutaneous delivery route is preferred to enable self-administration and at-home use. To deliver high doses (several hundred milligrams) through a small volume (∼1 mL) into the subcutaneous space, mAb solutions need to have low viscosity. Concomitantly, acceptable chemical stability is required for adequate shelf life, and normal in vivo clearance is needed for less frequent dosing. We propose in silico tools that provide rapid assessment of atypical behavior of mAbs (high viscosity, chemical degradation, and fast plasma clearance), which are simply predicted from sequence and/or structure-derived parameters. Such analysis will greatly improve the probability of success to move mAb-based therapeutics efficiently into clinical development and ultimately benefit patients.
Expression and prognostic impact of lncRNAs in acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Garzon Ramiro , Volinia Stefano , Papaioannou Dimitrios , Nicolet Deedra , Kohlschmidt Jessica , Yan Pearlly S. , Mrózek Krzysztof , Bucci Donna , Carroll Andrew J. , Baer Maria R. , Wetzler Meir , Carter Thomas H. , Powell Bayard L. , Kolitz Jonathan E. , Moore Joseph O. , Eisfeld Ann-Kathrin , Blachly James S. , Blum William , Caligiuri Michael A. , Stone Richard M. , Marcucci Guido , Croce Carlo M. , Byrd John C. , Bloomfield Clara D.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in numerous biological roles including epigenetic regulation, apoptosis, and cell cycle. Whereas lncRNAs contribute to epigenetic gene regulation, metastasis, and prognosis in solid tumors, their role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not been hitherto reported. Here, we show that lncRNA expression profiles are associated with recurrent mutations, clinical features, and outcome in AML. A fraction of these lncRNAs may have a functional role in leukemogenesis. Furthermore, lncRNAs could be used as biomarkers for outcome in AML. The identification of patients likely to achieve complete remission with standard therapy alone, based on lncRNA expression, is a significant advance potentially sparing such patients from other toxicities and focusing investigational approaches on postremission studies.
pH modulates the activity and synergism of the airway surface liquid antimicrobials β-defensin-3 and LL-37
Authors: Abou Alaiwa Mahmoud H. , Reznikov Leah R. , Gansemer Nicholas D. , Sheets Kelsey A. , Horswill Alexander R. , Stoltz David A. , Zabner Joseph , Welsh Michael J.
Published: December 2014

Significance

Although lungs are continuously bombarded by bacteria, pulmonary defense mechanisms normally keep them sterile. Those defenses include a complex mixture of antimicrobial peptides in the thin layer of liquid coating the airway surface. In cystic fibrosis, impaired bicarbonate secretion causes the airway surface liquid to become abnormally acidic. Here we found that an acidic pH impairs the ability of two key airway antimicrobial peptides, β-defensin-3 and LL-37, to kill bacteria. When these peptides were combined, they exhibited synergistic killing of
Staphylococcus aureus
, an organism that infects cystic fibrosis lungs. However, an acidic pH reduced their synergistic effect. Thus, an acidic pH impairs an important respiratory defense mechanism and may predispose the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis to bacterial infection.
Stable, uncleaved HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp140 forms a tightly folded trimer with a native-like structure
Authors: Kovacs James M. , Noeldeke Erik , Ha Heather Jiwon , Peng Hanqin , Rits-Volloch Sophia , Harrison Stephen C. , Chen Bing
Published: December 2014

Significance

Many proposed strategies for HIV-1 vaccine development require use of a recombinant protein that mimics the native, functional HIV-1 envelope spike. The uncleaved ectodomain of trimeric (gp160)
3
, gp140, has been used as a surrogate for the native state of the cleaved, viral spike. Because of recent claims that uncleaved gp140 adopts an irrelevant, nonnative structure, with three gp120s flexibly associated with a postfusion (“triggered”) trimeric gp41, we have inserted a 20-residue, flexible linker between gp120 and gp41 into one of our previously characterized, stable, uncleaved gp140 trimers. We show that these trimers indeed form a compact, native-like structure with many antigenic properties expected for the functional envelope spike. Thus, they are promising envelope immunogens for inducing neutralizing antibody responses.
Perfectionism for children, anti-perfectionism for adults
Authors: Fowler Tim
Published: December 2014

This paper explores the debate between perfectionists and anti-perfectionists in the context of children. It suggests that the most influential and compelling arguments in favour of anti-perfectionism are adult-centric. It does this by considering four leading reasons given in favour of anti-perfectionism and shows that none apply in the case of children. In so doing, the paper defends a perfectionist account of upbringing from the attacks made against perfectionism more generally. Furthermore, because the refutation of the various anti-perfectionist arguments are made exclusively dealing with children, the paper suggests that the perfectionist view of upbringing is compatible with anti-perfectionist restrictions on dealing with adults. This dual view combining perfectionism for children and anti-perfectionism for adults is referred to as restricted perfectionism.
Jihadism in West Africa: Adopting a Three-Dimensional Approach to Counterterrorism
Authors: Maiangwa Benjamin
Published: December 2014

This paper assesses the jihadist threat in Nigeria, Mali, and to a smaller extent in Cameroon, Niger, and Algeria. The paper argues that due to the risk of West Africa being infiltrated by jihadist groups, it is necessary to strengthen the counterterrorism capacity of the major regional players: the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), and enhance their collaboration with their foreign partners and civil society actors to defeat the jihadists' ambition for an Islamic Caliphate and build stability in the region. To the extent possible, the paper will review the counterterrorism policies and strategies employed by the United States, the AU, and ECOWAS, and then advance certain policy prescriptions that entail long-term investments by the international community, and regional and civil society actors in West Africa in the areas of defence, development, and peacebuilding.
Child Recruitment to Illegal Armed Groups in Colombia: Peacebuilding and Development Challenges
Authors: Downing Cristal
Published: December 2014

Over 12,000 children have disengaged from illegal armed groups in Colombia since 2003, and more will disengage when the conflict ends. The drivers behind child recruitment are complex. Recent literature highlights the need for two areas of peacebuilding and development work to address child recruitment in conflict-affected areas of Colombia: stronger state presence, and development initiatives tackling factors contributing to child recruitment, such as poverty and education. This article aims to answer the following questions: What factors have driven child recruitment in Colombia? How do development issues such as poverty, education, and domestic violence manifest themselves and interact with child recruitment, and how could efforts to resolve them coincide with increased state presence in areas where recruitment frequently occurs? The article uses interviews with ex-combatants to examine factors that have driven child recruitment in Colombia to highlight development and peacebuilding issues that the state should prioritise, and suggests possible solutions.
Reduced set averaging of face identity in children and adolescents with autism
Authors: Rhodes Gillian , Neumann Markus F. , Ewing Louise , Palermo Romina
Published: December 2014

Individuals with autism have difficulty abstracting and updating average representations from their diet of faces. These averages function as perceptual norms for coding faces, and poorly calibrated norms may contribute to face recognition difficulties in autism. Another kind of average, known as an ensemble representation, can be abstracted from briefly glimpsed sets of faces. Here we show for the first time that children and adolescents with autism also have difficulty abstracting ensemble representations from sets of faces. On each trial, participants saw a study set of four identities and then indicated whether a test face was present. The test face could be a set average or a set identity, from either the study set or another set. Recognition of set averages was reduced in participants with autism, relative to age- and ability-matched typically developing participants. This difference, which actually represents more accurate responding, indicates weaker set averaging and thus weaker ensemble representations of face identity in autism. Our finding adds to the growing evidence for atypical abstraction of average face representations from experience in autism. Weak ensemble representations may have negative consequences for face processing in autism, given the importance of ensemble representations in dealing with processing capacity limitations.
Loss of the Notch effector RBPJ promotes tumorigenesis
Authors: Kulic Iva , Robertson Gordon , Chang Linda , Baker Jennifer H.E. , Lockwood William W. , Mok Winnie , Fuller Megan , Fournier Michèle , Wong Nelson , Chou Vennie , Robinson Mark D. , Chun Hye-Jung , Gilks Blake , Kempkes Bettina , Thomson Thomas A. , Hirst Martin , Minchinton Andrew I. , Lam Wan L. , Jones Steven , Marra Marco , Karsan Aly
Published: December 2014

Aberrant Notch activity is oncogenic in several malignancies, but it is unclear how expression or function of downstream elements in the Notch pathway affects tumor growth. Transcriptional regulation by Notch is dependent on interaction with the DNA-binding transcriptional repressor, RBPJ, and consequent derepression or activation of associated gene promoters. We show here that RBPJ is frequently depleted in human tumors. Depletion of RBPJ in human cancer cell lines xenografted into immunodeficient mice resulted in activation of canonical Notch target genes, and accelerated tumor growth secondary to reduced cell death. Global analysis of activated regions of the genome, as defined by differential acetylation of histone H4 (H4ac), revealed that the cell death pathway was significantly dysregulated in RBPJ-depleted tumors. Analysis of transcription factor binding data identified several transcriptional activators that bind promoters with differential H4ac in RBPJ-depleted cells. Functional studies demonstrated that NF-κB and MYC were essential for survival of RBPJ-depleted cells. Thus, loss of RBPJ derepresses target gene promoters, allowing Notch-independent activation by alternate transcription factors that promote tumorigenesis.
A Rapidly Enlarging Recurrent Eyebrow Pilomatrixoma in a Nonagenarian
Authors: Davies Emma C. , Jakobiec Frederick A. , Stagner Anna M. , Iwamoto Mami A.
Published: December 2014

A rapidly growing, large (horizontal diameter of 3.1 cm) eyebrow lesion in a nonagenarian patient was found on pathologic examination to demonstrate an admixture of islands of anucleated, washed out eosinophilic “ghost” cells with surrounding nucleated, small germinal basaloid cells. Further analysis disclosed adipophilin granular positivity in the necrotic zones, negative nuclear staining for androgen receptor and strong nuclear positivity for Ki67 in the basaloid cells (proliferation index of 50%). These findings are consistent with a highly mitotically active pilomatrixoma. The lesion recurred after initial resection but returned the same histopathologic features as the primary. Several clinical features were notably atypical for pilomatrixoma—specifically, the age of the patient, rapid lesion growth and recurrence, and clinical appearance and large size of the mass. The immunohistochemical findings can help to distinguish this tumor from other skin neoplasms, especially sebaceous carcinoma in an older individual.
Discriminant Score for Celiac Disease Based on Immunohistochemical Analysis of Duodenal Biopsies
Authors: Tosco Antonella , Maglio Mariantonia , Paparo Francesco , Greco Luigi , Troncone Riccardo , Auricchio Renata
Published: December 2014

Objectives:

Celiac disease (CD) represents a spectrum, which includes cases with minor histological abnormalities (potential CD). The aim of this work is to evaluate the contribution of immunohistochemical analysis of duodenal biopsies to the diagnosis of gluten‐related minor enteropathy.

Methods:

Duodenal biopsies from 56 patients with untreated CD and 56 controls were analyzed for CD3 and γδ intraepithelial lymphocyte number, γδ/CD3 ratio, and density of CD25+ lamina propria cells. A discriminant equation was obtained by which 61 more biopsies with normal villous architecture were blindly evaluated.

Results:

All of the immunohistochemical parameters were significantly different between patients with CD and controls. None of the single parameters showed sufficient specificity for CD. The combination of all of the 4 markers resulted in the following discriminant equation: discriminant score (Dscore) = (CD3 × 0.06) − (γδ × 0.119) + (CD25 × 0.012) + (γδ/CD3 × 0.131) − 4.709. Using this Dscore, patients were correctly classified as celiac or controls in 97.3% of the cases. When this equation was applied to a validation set of 61 patients with normal villous architecture and unknown diagnosis, 92.9% of those with a positive score turned out to be patients with potential CD. A normal score, however, did not exclude this condition.

Conclusions:

Immunohistochemistry represents a specific tool for the diagnosis of CD, but does lack sensitivity in detecting all of the potential CD cases.
Resonance of a tension leg platform exited by third-harmonic force in nonlinear regular waves
Authors: Zhou B. Z. , Wu G. X.
Published: December 2014

The resonance of a floating tension leg platform (TLP) excited by the third-harmonic force of a regular wave is investigated based on fully nonlinear theory with a higher order boundary element method (BEM). The total wave elevation and the total velocity potential are separated into two parts, based on the incoming wave from infinity and the disturbed potential by the body. A numerical radiation condition is then applied at the far field to absorb the disturbed potential without affecting the incident potential. The BEM mesh on the free surface is generated only once at the initial time and the element nodes are rearranged subsequently without changing their connectivity by using a spring analysis method. Through some auxiliary functions, the mutual dependence of fluid/structure motions is decoupled, which allows the body acceleration to be obtained without the knowledge of the pressure distribution. Numerical simulation is carried out for the interaction of a floating TLP with waves. The focus is on the motion principally excited by higher harmonic wave forces. In particular, the resonance of the ISSC TLP generated by the third-order force at the triple wave frequency in regular waves is investigated, together with the tensions of the tendons.
Immediate-early gene transcriptional activation in hippocampus CA1 and CA3 does not accurately reflect rapid, pattern completion-based retrieval of context memory
Authors: Pevzner Aleksandr , Guzowski John F.
Published: December 2014

No studies to date have examined whether immediate-early gene (IEG) activation is driven by context memory recall. To address this question, we utilized the context preexposure facilitation effect (CPFE) paradigm. In CPFE, animals acquire contextual fear conditioning through hippocampus-dependent rapid retrieval of a previously formed contextual representation. Despite differences in behavior, we did not find any difference in CA1 or CA3 IEG activity associated with this rapid recall phase when comparing context preexposed and non-pre-exposed groups. These findings indicate that IEG activation in CA1 and CA3 is not an accurate readout of the neural activity associated with hippocampus-dependent rapid memory retrieval.
Crystal structure of dichlorido{4-[(E)-(methoxyimino-κN)methyl]-1,3-thiazol-2-amine-κN3}palladium(II)
Authors: Dyakonenko Viktorita V. , Zholob Olga O. , Orysyk Svitlana I. , Pekhnyo Vasily I.
Published: December 2014

In the title compound, [PdCl2(C5H7N3OS)], the PdIIatom adopts a distorted square-planar coordination sphere defined by two N atoms of the bidentate ligand and two Cl atoms. The mean deviation from the coordination plane is 0.029 Å. The methyl group is not coplanar with the plane of the metallacycle [torsion angle C—O—N—C = 20.2 (4)°]. Steric repulsion between the methyl group and atoms of the metallacycle is manifested by shortened intramolecular H...C contacts of 2.27, 2.38 and 2.64 Å, as compared with the sum of the van der Waals radii of 2.87 Å. The amino group participatesviaone H atom in the formation of an intramolecular N—H...Cl hydrogen bond. In the crystal, the other H atom of the amino group links moleculesviabifurcated N—H...(Cl,O) hydrogen bonds into chains parallel to [001].
Crystal structure ofcatena-poly[[[aqualithium(I)]-μ-pyrimidine-2-carboxylato-κ4N1,O2:N3,O2′] hemihydrate]
Authors: Starosta Wojciech , Leciejewicz Janusz
Published: December 2014

The title compound, {[Li(C5H3N2O2)(H2O)]·0.5H2O}n, comprises four symmetry-independent Li(C5H3N2O2)(H2O) units which form molecular ribbons running along thec-axis direction. Within each ribbon, the ligand molecule, acting in a μ2-mode, bridges two adjacent Li+cations using both of itsN,O-bonding sites. The coordination environment of each of the four Li+cations can be described alternatively as either slightly distorted trigonal–bipyramidal or slightly distorted square–pyramidal. The ribbons are interconnected by a network of O—H...O hydrogen bonds.
Structure cristalline de type alluaudite KNa5Mn3(MoO4)6
Authors: Bouzidi Chahira , Frigui Wafa , Zid Mohamed Faouzi
Published: December 2014

The new phase potassium pentasodium trimanganese hexakis(molybdate), KNa5Mn3Mo6O24, has been synthesized using solid-state methods. The structure is composed ofM2O10(M= Mn, Na) dimers and MoO4tetrahedra (point group symmetry 2) sharing corners and forming layers parallel to (100), which are linkedviacommon corners of another type ofMO4tetrahedra, forming a three-dimensional structure with two types of large channels along [001] in which two types of Na+cations (one with site symmetry 2, one with -1) and K+cations (site symmetry 2, half-occupation) are located. Mn2+and the third type of Na+cations are located at the same siteMwith occupancies of 0.75 and 0.25, respectively. A comparative structural description is provided between the structure of the title compound and those of the related phases Cu1.35Fe3(PO4)3and NaAgFeMn2(PO4)3.
Cerebriform connective tissue nevus of lumbar
Authors: Chen Jinbo , Chen Liuqing , Duan Yiqun , Li Dongsheng , Dong Bilin
Published: December 2014

Connective tissue nevi represents a kind of hamartoma, and coalescence of the lesions in a cerebriform mode in the lumbar region without Proteus syndrome is rarely seen. Here, we report a 26‐year‐old woman presenting with nodules and plaques in her left lumbar region of 26 years in duration. Histopathological examination and Masson‐trichrome stain showed increased dermal collagen bundles in a haphazard array. The diagnosis of connective tissue nevi was made. This is the first case report on cerebriform connective tissue nevi without Proteus syndrome in the lumbar region.
Introduction
Authors: Kilby Jane , Ray Larry
Published: December 2014

After many decades of neglect, sociologists have in recent years been giving renewed attention to violence and the problem of how to develop theoretically informed approaches to questions of definition, understanding and explanation. This volume is part of this ongoing project, which has an urgency generated both by the reality of violence and suffering and the need to address previous lack of sociological engagement. Violence is a complex phenomenon that involves violation, trauma and loss, which requires sociologists to contemplate the antithesis of the social, which is not anything as simple as ‘antisocial behaviour’. While violence is a negative phenomenon that has no obvious antonym, it is clearly part of social life, social structures and institutions. It is at times also an agent of social and political change. In many ways confrontation with violence takes sociology to its limits and as both literary writers and sociologists have claimed, the attempt to understand it will ultimately lead us into the dark. A new sociology is one committed to imaginative, innovative ways of exploring violence, with inspiration sought from cognate disciplines and from art and literature.
The Socioeconomic Function of Evil
Authors: Hall Steve
Published: December 2014

This article challenges various theories that depict the capitalist epoch as a process of civilization to posit a new theoretical framework built around the concept of pseudo-pacification. Principal indicators of civilizing momentum, such as the decline in homicide and brutal punishment, are relocated in a new perspective that juxtaposes them with the concomitant proliferation of non-violent crimes and the types of aggressive sociosymbolic competition that energize and structure consumer culture. What seems to have occurred is not the repression or dissipation of aggressive libidinal energy but its conversion into a dynamic yet largely pacified form that performs the dual function of protecting property and expanding production and trade by intensifying and democratizing sociosymbolic competition. The pseudo-pacification process does not counteract but stimulates and reproduces aggressive drives in sublimated forms to create a fragile social peace whose potential disintegrative forces are manufactured at the very core of its own socioeconomic and cultural systems.
Trauma, Guilt and the Unconscious: Some Theoretical Notes on Violent Subjectivity
Authors: Winlow Simon
Published: December 2014

This paper draws together elements of cultural sociology and theoretical psychoanalysis in order to address the creation and enactment of a particular form of violent subjectivity. Its primary concern is the experience of traumatic events and prolonged periods of insecurity during childhood. The paper argues that the experience of trauma, when set against a particular cultural background, can act to create a subjectivity characterized by a deep commitment to physical violence. The principal original contribution of this paper is to claim that guilt and shame play a crucial role in the creation of this violent subjectivity, and that these affects are, for the most part, unconscious.
Is War Becoming Obsolete? A Sociological Analysis
Authors: Malešević Siniša
Published: December 2014

There is a degree of consensus among scholars that the character of warfare has substantially changed over the past three decades. However, there is no agreement about the direction and causes of this change. Some argue that ‘the new wars’ have become more brutal, more chaotic and decentralized. These wars are linked to the globalization processes emphasizing that as the unrestrained proliferation of globalized economy intensifies so will these new wars. In contrast others insist that all forms of organized violence are on the wane: there are fewer wars, they are less lethal, more localized and shorter than in previous historical periods. Moreover they argue that the very institution of warfare is gradually but definitely becoming obsolete. This paper challenges both of these perspectives and articulates an alternative interpretation. The aim is to develop a longue durée sociological analysis that focuses on the macro-organizational social context and explores the dynamics of the war-state-society nexus over the past centuries. I argue that warfare is not becoming obsolete and that ‘new wars’ are unlikely to completely replace inter-state warfare. Instead my analysis indicates that there is more organizational continuity in the contemporary warfare that either of the two dominant perspectives is willing to acknowledge.
Family Honour and Social Time
Authors: Cooney Mark
Published: December 2014

Violence is a dynamic event, not a static state. The cause of violence, therefore, cannot lie in static variables such as individual propensities (eg self-control) or aggregate properties (eg inequality). But what changes cause violence? A new theory developed by Donald Black traces violent acts to movements of social time. Social time moves when actors' statuses rise or fall (vertical time), when relationships increase or decrease in intimacy (relational time), and when cultural diversity expands or contracts (cultural time). The present paper applies the new theory to one particular type of violence – that committed in the name of family honour. Typically perpetrated by men against their female relatives, family honour violence is triggered by several movements of social time, but particularly vertical time, in the form of challenges from below by women seeking to make independent lifestyle decisions.
Violence before Identity: An Analysis of Identity Politics
Authors: Bowman Glenn
Published: December 2014

Violence is a force for creating integrities as well as one that violates, pollutes and destroys already existing entities. In this paper I address the role of what Ariella Azoulay terms the ‘political imagination’ in constituting social aggregates committed to the defence of a community itself brought into being by the imagining of a force dedicated to its destruction. Such a group's perception of what Laclau and Mouffe call an ‘antagonism’ spurs it to mark out and defend its boundaries with violence – a violence often manifested aggressively (pre-emptively). Collective perceptions of an other's antagonism are often overdetermined, either by historical memory or political manipulation, and it is often the case that an enemy is sited and a programme of ‘defensive’ violence inaugurated without any ‘real’ justification. Here I demonstrate, using events drawn from the formation of the State of Israel and the collapse of what is now ‘Former Yugoslavia’, that it is in designating an other against which destructive violence must be mobilized that an entity realizes – through the negation of that it would negate – what it is it fights to defend.
On Violent Democracy
Authors: von Holdt Karl
Published: December 2014

Violence and democracy are generally treated as antithetical. However, this article argues for the concept of violent democracy using the South African case to explore the ways in which violence and democracy may be mutually constitutive in countries of the global South, with their particular histories of violence, power, inequality and contestation. The article draws on research into intra-elite conflict and violence, as well as subaltern collective violence, to demonstrate the ways in which democratic institutions generate and shape violent practices, while violence in turn limits the access and rights promised by democracy. The article explores violence and elections, violence within organizations, political assassination, and the subversion of the state institutions of the rule of law to show how democratic institutions generate and shape violence, and violence in turn restricts and undermines the workings of democracy – which at the same time provides mechanisms for constraining and challenging violence. It argues that this kind of violent democracy emerges within a glaringly unequal socio-economic order, and that violence provides alternative sources of power through which this order may be preserved or contested. The analysis of violent democracy may reinvigorate our understanding of democracy not only in the global South, but also in the countries of the global North.
Incorporating the King's New Subjects: Accommodation and Anti‐Catholicism in the British Empire, 1763–1815
Authors: Harland‐Jacobs Jessica L.
Published: December 2014

Concerned at its broadest level with the question of how empires manage religious diversity, this article explores the incorporation of Roman Catholics into the British Empire between the 1760s and the 1820s. It examines British attitudes and policies toward Catholics in Minorca, Canada, Grenada, Trinidad, and Malta, demonstrating that while both anti‐Catholicism and accommodation were evident, the trend was toward accepting and even supporting the practice and institutions of Roman Catholicism. Accommodation emerged as an important strategy of imperial governance as the empire underwent expansion and shifted toward forms of direct colonial rule in the early nineteenth century.
When kids act out: a comparison of embodied methods to improve children's memory for a story
Authors: Berenhaus Molly , Oakhill Jane , Rusted Jennifer
Published: December 2014

Over the last decade, embodied cognition, the idea that sensorimotor processes facilitate higher cognitive processes, has proven useful for improving children's memory for a story. In order to compare the benefits of two embodiment techniques, active experiencing (AE) and indexing, for children's memory for a story, we compared the immediate recall of different types of idea units across three conditions. Participants were between the ages of 7 and 11 and were randomly allocated to experimental conditions. The experimental groups were matched on comprehension ability and age. In the indexing condition, children acted out a short story using a playset (i.e., a Playmobil® playset with figurines), in the AE condition, children read the story using enactment, and during the control condition, children simply read the story. We predicted that children in the indexing condition would recall more action‐based idea units, whilst children in the AE condition would recall more descriptive and dialogic idea units. Children in the AE condition recalled more descriptive idea units than in the control condition, whilst in the indexing condition, only poorer comprehenders recalled more descriptive information. Our findings suggest that these two embodiment techniques effect different components of reading comprehension and that future research should investigate these differences more specifically.
Hemodialysis Immediately After Cardiac Catheterization Is a Risk Factor for Intradialytic Hypotension
Authors: Irifuku Taisuke , Naito Takayuki , Ogawa Takahiko , Shimizu Yuka , Maeoka Yujiro , Masaki Takao
Published: December 2014

Many hemodialysis clinicians have noticed that patients frequently develop intradialytic hypotension (IDH) immediately after cardiac catheterization (CC). However, precise data about the incidence of IDH immediately after CC are scarce. This study involved a single‐center, retrospective, cross‐sectional design. We reviewed the medical records of all HD patients who underwent CC between January 2009 and March 2012 at Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital. IDH was defined as a fall of systolic blood pressure of more than 20 mm Hg or a fall of mean blood pressure of more than 10 mm Hg, with symptoms according to the K/DOQI criteria. Data on a total of 112 patients were obtained: 64 patients commenced HD immediately after CC (IA group) and 48 patients underwent HD on the day after CC (ND group). The overall incidence of IDH was 34% (38/112). The incidence of IDH was significantly higher in the IA group than in the ND group (27/64, 42% vs. 11/48, 23%; P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that IA (odds ratio, 5.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.76 to 16.49; P < 0.01), coronary stenosis (odds ratio, 4.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.49 to 11.64; P < 0.05) were independently associated with IDH. This study revealed that HD immediately after CC is associated with a higher incidence of IDH. Clinicians should consider that HD following CC be scheduled for the next day, especially in patients with coronary stenosis.
Proteins in aggregates functionally impact multiple neurodegenerative disease models by forming proteasome‐blocking complexes
Authors: Ayyadevara Srinivas , Balasubramaniam Meenakshisundaram , Gao Yuan , Yu Li‐Rong , Alla Ramani , Shmookler Reis Robert
Published: December 2014

Age‐dependent neurodegenerative diseases progressively form aggregates containing both shared components (e.g., TDP‐43, phosphorylated tau) and proteins specific to each disease. We investigated whether diverse neuropathies might have additional aggregation‐prone proteins in common, discoverable by proteomics. Caenorhabditis elegans expressing unc‐54p/Q40::YFP, a model of polyglutamine array diseases such as Huntington's, accrues aggregates in muscle 2–6 days posthatch. These foci, isolated on antibody‐coupled magnetic beads, were characterized by high‐resolution mass spectrometry. Three Q40::YFP‐associated proteins were inferred to promote aggregation and cytotoxicity, traits reduced or delayed by their RNA interference knockdown. These RNAi treatments also retarded aggregation/cytotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease models, nematodes with muscle or pan‐neuronal Aβ1–42 expression and behavioral phenotypes. The most abundant aggregated proteins are glutamine/asparagine‐rich, favoring hydrophobic interactions with other random‐coil domains. A particularly potent modulator of aggregation, CRAM‐1/HYPK, contributed < 1% of protein aggregate peptides, yet its knockdown reduced Q40::YFP aggregates 72‒86% (P < 10−6). In worms expressing Aβ1–42, knockdown of cram‐1 reduced β‐amyloid 60% (P < 0.002) and slowed age‐dependent paralysis > 30% (P < 10−6). In wild‐type worms, cram‐1 knockdown reduced aggregation and extended lifespan, but impaired early reproduction. Protection against seeded aggregates requires proteasome function, implying that normal CRAM‐1 levels promote aggregation by interfering with proteasomal degradation of misfolded proteins. Molecular dynamic modeling predicts spontaneous and stable interactions of CRAM‐1 (or human orthologs) with ubiquitin, and we verified that CRAM‐1 reduces degradation of a tagged‐ubiquitin reporter. We propose that CRAM‐1 exemplifies a class of primitive chaperones that are initially protective and highly beneficial for early reproduction, but ultimately impair aggregate clearance and limit longevity.
Peroxisome Proliferator‐Activated Receptors α and γ are Linked with Alcohol Consumption in Mice and Withdrawal and Dependence in Humans
Authors: Blednov Yuri A. , Benavidez Jillian M. , Black Mendy , Ferguson Laura B. , Schoenhard Grant L. , Goate Alison M. , Edenberg Howard J. , Wetherill Leah , Hesselbrock Victor , Foroud Tatiana , Adron Harris R.
Published: December 2014

Background

Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor (PPAR) agonists reduce voluntary ethanol (EtOH) consumption in rat models and are promising therapeutics in the treatment for drug addictions. We studied the effects of different classes of PPAR agonists on chronic EtOH intake and preference in mice with a genetic predisposition for high alcohol consumption and then examined human genomewide association data for polymorphisms in PPAR genes in alcohol‐dependent subjects.

Methods

Two different behavioral tests were used to measure intake of 15% EtOH in C57BL/6J male mice: 24‐hour 2‐bottle choice and limited access (3‐hour) 2‐bottle choice, drinking in the dark. We measured the effects of pioglitazone (10 and 30 mg/kg), fenofibrate (50 and 150 mg/kg), GW0742 (10 mg/kg), tesaglitazar (1.5 mg/kg), and bezafibrate (25 and 75 mg/kg) on EtOH intake and preference. Fenofibric acid, the active metabolite of fenofibrate, was quantified in mouse plasma, liver, and brain by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Data from a human genome‐wide association study (GWAS) completed in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) were then used to analyze the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in different PPAR genes (PPARA, PPARD, PPARG, and PPARGC1A) with 2 phenotypes: DSM‐IV alcohol dependence (AD) and the DSM‐IV criterion of withdrawal.

Results

Activation of 2 isoforms of PPARs, α and γ, reduced EtOH intake and preference in the 2 different consumption tests in mice. However, a selective PPARδ agonist or a pan agonist for all 3 PPAR isoforms did not decrease EtOH consumption. Fenofibric acid, the active metabolite of the PPARα agonist fenofibrate, was detected in liver, plasma, and brain after 1 or 8 days of oral treatment. The GWAS from COGA supported an association of SNPs in PPARA and PPARG with alcohol withdrawal and PPARGC1A with AD but found no association for PPARD with either phenotype.

Conclusions

We provide convergent evidence using both mouse and human data for specific PPARs in alcohol action. Reduced EtOH intake in mice and the genetic association between AD or withdrawal in humans highlight the potential for repurposing FDA‐approved PPARα or PPARγ agonists for the treatment of AD.