bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Captopril on 24-Hour Balances and the Diurnal Patterns of Urinary Output, Blood Pressure, Aldosterone and Atrial Natriuretic Peptide in Conscious Dogs
Authors: Boemke Willehad , Palm Ülo , Mohnhaupt Rainer , Corea Marcel , Seeliger Erdmann , Reinhardt Wolfgang
Published: November 2008

The diurnal time course of urinary flow rate (UV), urinary sodium (UNaV), and potassium (UKV) excretion, and of hormones such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and aldosterone, was investigated during 5 days of continuous captopril infusion (15 µg · kg body weigth-1 · min-1) in 4 conscious dogs on a high sodium diet (14.5 mmol Na·kg body weigth-1 24 h-1). All food and water was given once daily at 8.30 a.m. On the control day and on days 1, 3, and 5 of·captopril infusion, urine was collected by an automated system at 20-min intervals over 24 h, blood was taken every 4 h. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and heart rate were evaluated as 5-min averages. Time courses of UNaV, UV, and UKV were compared with the individual control day without captopril. With captopril, 24-hour balances for Na and H20 were slightly negative, while the K balance was slightly positive for 2-3 days. Thereafter, all 24-hour balances were restored. MABP continued to decrease even after Na and water intake and output had come into balance again. Captopril treatment changed the diurnal excretion pattern for UNaV and UV characteristically. In the postprandial period until 5 p.m., less Na and urine were excreted than on the control day, whereas during the evening and night more Na and urine were excreted. The changes in the excretion pattern persisted for the entire observation period. The results indicate that disturbances in the regulating systems, induced by converting-enzyme blockade, bring about complex reactions of, e.g., MABP ANP and aldosterone that finally restore Na and water 24-hour input/output balances.
Angiotensin II Induces in vivo c-fos Expression from Rat Renal Cortex and Medulla
Authors: Omiya Teruaki , Yamauchi Takayoshi , Ogura Toshio , Asanuma Masato , Ota Zensuke
Published: November 2008

In order to verify whether angiotensin II (Ang II) induced in vivo protooncogene, c-fos, expression in the rat renal cortex and medulla, we administered various concentrations of Ang II to Wistar rats and measured the c-fos expression from the renal cortex and medulla using the method of Northern hybridization c-fos expression induced by 1 µg (1.6×10-6 M) of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was also examined. The result was that the peak expression of c-fos mRNA was observed at approximately 10 min after Ang II administration in both rat renal cortex and medulla. This expression was reduced to the control level at 30 min. The measurement of the concentration of injected-Ang II and c-fos mRNA expression revealed that the peak expression of c-fos mRNA in the renal cortex and medulla was detected at the concentration of 1.0x10-6 M and 1.0 × 10-6M Ang II, respectively. Nevertheless, ANP had no significant effect on the increase in c-fos mRNA expression. These data revealed that Ang II transiently increases the in vivo c-fos expression in both rat renal cortex and medulla but ANP does not. This protooncogene expression may induce vascular and mesangial proliferation in the kidney.
Nephrotoxicity of Cyclosporin A and FK506: Inhibition of Calcineurin Phosphatase
Authors: Su Qingxiang , Weber Liz , Le Hir Michel , Zenke Gerhard , Ryffel Bernhard
Published: November 2008

Cyclosporin A (CsA; 50 mg/kg) and Fujimycine (FK506; 5 mg/ kg), but not the related macrolide immunosuppressant rapamycin (5 mg/kg), caused a reduction of glomerular filtration rate, degenerative changes of proximal tubular epithelium, and hypertrophy of the juxtaglomerular apparatus in male Wistar rats when given for 10 days. The molecular mechanisms of CsA and FK506 toxicity were investigated. CyclophilinA and FK506-binding protein, the main intracytoplasmatic receptors for CsA and FK506, respectively, were each detected in renal tissue extract. In the kidney, high levels of immunoreactive and enzymatically active calcineurin were found which were inhibited by the immunosuppressants CsA and FK506, but not by rapamycin. Finally, specific immunophilin-drug-calcineurin complexes formed only in the presence of CsA and FK506, but not rapamycin. These results suggest that the nephrotoxic effects of CsA and FK506 is likely mediated through binding to renal immunophilin and inhibiting calcineurin phosphatase.
Effect of Luminal Calcium on Proximal Tubule Bicarbonate Reabsorption in the Rat
Authors: Gil Zaladek , Silva Costa , Malnic G.
Published: November 2008

In previous investigations, it was found that rats depleted in parathyroid hormone (TPTX rats) had reduced rates of proximal bicarbonate reabsorption independent on blood calcium levels. In the present work, the role of calcium (Ca2+) in rat proximal tubule bicarbonate reabsorption was studied by in vivo stationary microperfusion. Tubules were perfused at different lumen Ca2+ concentrations in the presence and absence of the calcium ionophore A23187. Bicarbonate reabsorption was not affected by Ca2+ in the range of 0 to 1 mM, but was significantly reduced when 0.5 mM EGTA was added to the 0 Ca2+ perfusates, indicating that only at very low luminal Ca2+ levels, bicarbonate reabosorption (= H+ secretion) was impaired. These observations indicate that Ca2+ in the tubule lumen is important for the maintenance of normal proximal bicarbonate transport, but the low Ca2+ level necessary to impair this transport mechanism is achieved only in the presence of EGTA, a condition that simulates the absence of parathyroid hormone.
Test and FEM Analysis of Debonding Failure of RC Beam Strengthened with CFRP
Authors: Shiqi Cui  , Jinshan Wang  , Lei Shi  , Yan Liu
Published: November 2008

In the case of RC members strengthened with CFRP, two kinds of failure will occur: a premature failure which is a debonding failure of anchorage zone can be detected in addition to the debonding failure mode which is induced by the crack occurrence of RC beam. The debonding failure of the anchorage zone means the CFRP cannot be used efficiently, and even leads to the inactivation of RC beam strengthened with CFRP. The test and FEM analysis give regularities of distribution of the shear stress of debonding failure of anchorage zone of RC beam strengthened with CFRP. The regularities of distribution of the stress of debonding failure mode, which is induced by the crack occurrence of RC beam, are simulated by FEM analysis. The results will provide scientific laws for the prevention of premature failure of anchorage zone and sufficient utilization of tension strength of CFRP.
Pedagogical Approaches Used by Faculty in Holland's Model Environments
Authors: Smart John C. , Ethington Corinna A. , Umbach Paul D.
Published: November 2008

This study examines the extent to which faculty members in the disparate academic environments of Holland's theory devote different amounts of time in their classes to alternative pedagogical approaches and whether such differences are comparable for those in “consistent” and “inconsistent” environments. The findings show wide variations in the use of alternative pedagogical approaches among faculty members in four of the academic environments of Holland's theory based on the level of consistency or inconsistency in the environmental profiles of these environments. The implications of these findings for future research using Holland's theory to understand longitudinal patterns of change and stability in the attitudes, interests, and abilities of college students as well as variability in the patterns of professional attitudes and behaviors of college faculty are discussed. Attention is also devoted to the policy development and practical implications of these findings for careers counselors and other college and university leaders.
Emotion recognition in faces and the use of visual context Vo in young people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Wright Barry , Clarke Natalie , Jordan JO , Young Andrew W. , Clarke Paula , Miles Jeremy , Nation Kate , Clarke Leesa , Williams Christine
Published: November 2008

We compared young people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) with age, sex and IQ matched controls on emotion recognition of faces and pictorial context. Each participant completed two tests of emotion recognition. The first used Ekman series faces. The second used facial expressions in visual context. A control task involved identifying occupations using visual context. The ability to recognize emotions in faces (with or without context) and the ability to identify occupations from context was positively correlated with both increasing age and IQ score. Neither a diagnosis of ASD nor a measure of severity (Autism Quotient score) affected these abilities, except that the participants with ASD were significantly worse at recognizing angry and happy facial expressions. Unlike the control group, most participants with ASD mirrored the facial expression before interpreting it. Test conditions may lead to results different from everyday life. Alternatively, deficits in emotion recognition in high-functioning ASD may be less marked than previously thought.
Embodied interpretation: a novel way of evocatively re-presenting meanings in phenomenological research
Authors: Todres Les , Galvin Kathleen T.
Published: November 2008

This article contributes to a growing trend in articulating an aesthetic phenomenology that exercises more evocative and poetic forms of writing. Our task is to give ontological weight to our common humanity, thereby facilitating experiences of recognition and `homecoming'. This developing trend could benefit from Gendlin's philosophy of the body and his practice of `focusing', which finds words that carry forward the textural dimensions of experience. We apply this practice of embodied interpretation to research about caring for a lifelong partner with Alzheimer's disease. We conclude that the value of embodied interpretation is that it serves the kind of knowledge that is particularly important in human sciences — it provides understandings that live in ways that touch both `head' and `heart'.
Fear of Crime and Victimization
Authors: Tseloni Andromachi , Zarafonitou Christina
Published: November 2008

This study models simultaneously three commonly used indicators of fear of crime — feeling unsafe alone at home after dark, feeling unsafe walking alone after dark and worry about becoming a victim of crime — against direct (being a victim) and indirect (knowing a victim) victimization, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals via multivariate, i.e. multiple responses, multilevel analysis of data from Athens, Greece. The results show that (a) the association of the three indicators weakens as key explanatory factors of fear of crime are accounted for, (b) crime experiences are related to feeling unsafe at home alone after dark only via its association with feeling unsafe walking alone after dark and worry about becoming a victim of crime and (c) indirect and direct prior victimization and crime exposure predominantly shape perceived future risk.
Crime, Criminology and Criminal Justice in Scotland
Authors: McAra Lesley
Published: November 2008

This survey of Scotland reviews: core Scottish criminal justice institutions; statistical trends in crime and punishment over the past 40 years; the history and politics of Scottish criminal justice; and the emergence of a distinctively Scottish criminology. In particular, it highlights the cross-cutting modalities of power and identity that have shaped both institutional and policy development and made strong linkages between knowledge and politics.
Antithrombotic effects of targeting αIIbβ3 signaling in platelets
Authors: Ablooglu Ararat J. , Kang Jian , Petrich Brian G. , Ginsberg Mark H. , Shattil Sanford J.
Published: November 2008

αIIbβ3 interaction with fibrinogen promotes Src-dependent platelet spreading in vitro. To determine the consequences of this outside-in signaling pathway in vivo, a “β3(Δ760-762)” knockin mouse was generated that lacked the 3 C-terminal β3 residues (arginine-glycine-threonine [RGT]) necessary for αIIbβ3 interaction with c-Src, but retained β3 residues necessary for talin-dependent fibrinogen binding. β3(Δ760-762) mice were compared with wild-type β3+/+ littermates, β3+/− heterozygotes, and knockin mice where β3 RGT was replaced by β1 C-terminal cysteine-glycine-lysine (EGK) to potentially enable signaling by Src kinases other than c-Src. Whereas β3+/+, β3+/− and β3/β1(EGK) platelets spread and underwent tyrosine phosphorylation normally on fibrinogen, β3(Δ760-762) platelets spread poorly and exhibited reduced tyrosine phosphorylation of c-Src substrates, including β3 (Tyr747). Unlike control mice, β3(Δ760-762) mice were protected from carotid artery thrombosis after vessel injury with FeCl3. Some β3(Δ760-762) mice exhibited prolonged tail bleeding times; however, none demonstrated spontaneous bleeding, excess bleeding after surgery, fecal blood loss, or anemia. Fibrinogen binding to β3(Δ760-762) platelets was normal in response to saturating concentrations of protease-activated receptor 4 or glycoprotein VI agonists, but responses to adenosine diphosphate were impaired. Thus, deletion of β3 RGT disrupts c-Src–mediated αIIbβ3 signaling and confers protection from arterial thrombosis. Consequently, targeting αIIbβ3 signaling may represent a feasible antithrombotic strategy.
Prepubertal Healthy Children’s Urinary Androstenediol Predicts Diaphyseal Bone Strength in Late Puberty
Authors: Remer Thomas , Manz Friedrich , Hartmann Michaela F. , Schoenau Eckhard , Wudy Stefan A.
Published: November 2008

Context: During the physiological process of adrenarche, the adrenal glands of healthy children secrete increasing amounts of weak androgenic steroids partly metabolized to potent sex steroids.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine whether adrenal androgen metabolite excretion rates before the onset of puberty may be prospectively associated with late-pubertal diaphyseal bone strength.

Setting: We conducted the study in an auxological and metabolic child nutrition research facility.

Study Population and Design: The sample included 45 healthy adolescents who underwent proximal forearm bone and muscle area measurements by peripheral quantitative computed tomography at the age of 16 yr (sd 1.5) and who had collected a 24-h urine sample 8 yr earlier, allowing to quantify the prepubertal urine metabolome. Prepubertal hormonal predictors quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were: dehydroepiandrosterone, its 16-hydroxylated downstream metabolites, 5-androstene-3β,17β-diol (androstenediol), sums of total androgen and glucocorticoid metabolites, cortisol, and 6β-hydroxycortisol.

Main Outcomes: Proximal forearm radius was measured.

Results: Of all prepubertal hormones analyzed, only sex- and age-specific androstenediol levels significantly predicted pubertal stage-, height-, and muscularity-adjusted diaphyseal bone modeling (periosteal circumference, β = 0.67, P = 0.002; cortical area, β = 2.15, P = 0.02), bone mineral content (β = 2.2; P = 0.04), and polar strength strain index (β = 12.2; P = 0.002). Androstenediol explained 5–10% of the late-pubertal diaphyseal radius variability.

Conclusions: Our prospective profiling of urinary steroid metabolites in 24-h urine samples collected before puberty suggests that androstenediol is an early predictor of the diaphyseal bone strength in late puberty. This predominantly peripheral conversion product of adrenarchal dehydroepiandrosterone by 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase may hence be involved in a sustained improvement of radial bone accretion during growth.
On the Discrimination of Influences
Authors: Elfenbein Andrew
Published: November 2008

Although influence remains a pervasive term in literary criticism, little has changed in its theoretical framework since the work of Harold Bloom in the early 1970s. This essay argues that adaptations of findings in cognitive and social science open up more finely nuanced means of analyzing literary influence. The Picture of Dorian Gray is the test case for such adaptations. I examine two forms of influence: local allusion and global revision of thematic and narrative structures. The psychology of memory for language provides tools for distinguishing among allusions by stressing the differences between the processes of encoding and retrieval and the consequences of these differences for literary works. To analyze global influence, I return influence to its ordinary meaning of persuasion. The social psychology of persuasion provides an alternative to Bloomian psychoanalysis as a means of describing the factors involved in persuasion and their interactions.
Myc increases self-renewal in neural progenitor cells through Miz-1
Authors: Kerosuo Laura , Piltti Katja , Fox Heli , Angers-Loustau Alexandre , Häyry Valtteri , Eilers Martin , Sariola Hannu , Wartiovaara Kirmo
Published: November 2008

The mechanisms underlying the decision of a stem or progenitor cell to either self-renew or differentiate are incompletely understood. To address the role of Myc in this process, we expressed different forms of the proto-oncogene Myc in multipotent neural progenitor cells (NPCs) using retroviral transduction. Expression of Myc in neurospheres increased the proportion of self-renewing cells fivefold, and 1% of the Myc-overexpressing cells, but none of the control cells, retained self-renewal capacity even under differentiation-inducing conditions. A Myc mutant (MycV394D) deficient in binding to Miz-1, did not increase the percentage of self-renewing cells but was able to stimulate proliferation of NPCs as efficiently as wild-type Myc, indicating that these two cellular phenomena are regulated by at least partially different pathways. Our results suggest that Myc, through Miz-1, enhances self-renewal of NPCs and influences the way progenitor cells react to the environmental cues that normally dictate the cellular identity of tissues containing self-renewing cells.
Identity, developmental restriction and reactivity of extralaminar cells capping mammalian neuromuscular junctions
Authors: Court Felipe A. , Gillingwater Thomas H. , Melrose Shona , Sherman Diane L. , Greenshields Kay N. , Morton A. Jennifer , Harris John B. , Willison Hugh J. , Ribchester Richard R.
Published: November 2008

Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) are normally thought to comprise three major cell types: skeletal muscle fibres, motor neuron terminals and perisynaptic terminal Schwann cells. Here we studied a fourth population of junctional cells in mice and rats, revealed using a novel cytoskeletal antibody (2166). These cells lie outside the synaptic basal lamina but form caps over NMJs during postnatal development. NMJ-capping cells also bound rPH, HM-24, CD34 antibodies and cholera toxin B subunit. Bromodeoxyuridine incorporation indicated activation, proliferation and spread of NMJ-capping cells following denervation in adults, in advance of terminal Schwann cell sprouting. The NMJ-capping cell reaction coincided with expression of tenascin-C but was independent of this molecule because capping cells also dispersed after denervation in tenascin-C-null mutant mice. NMJ-capping cells also dispersed after local paralysis with botulinum toxin and in atrophic muscles of transgenic R6/2 mice. We conclude that NMJ-capping cells (proposed name `kranocytes') represent a neglected, canonical cellular constituent of neuromuscular junctions where they could play a permissive role in synaptic regeneration.
BMP2 induction of actin cytoskeleton reorganization and cell migration requires PI3-kinase and Cdc42 activity
Authors: Gamell Cristina , Osses Nelson , Bartrons Ramon , Rückle Thomas , Camps Montserrat , Rosa José Luis , Ventura Francesc
Published: November 2008

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are potent regulators of several cellular events. We report that exposure of C2C12 cells to BMP2 leads to an increase in cell migration and a rapid rearrangement of the actin filaments into cortical protrusions. These effects required independent and parallel activation of the Cdc42 small GTPase and the α-isoform of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3Kα), because ectopic expression of a dominant-negative form of Cdc42 or distinct pharmacological PI3K inhibitors abrogated these responses. Furthermore, we demonstrate that BMP2 activates different group I and group II PAK isoforms as well as LIMK1 with similar kinetics to Cdc42 or PI3K activation. BMP2 activation of PAK and LIMK1, measured by either kinase activity or with antibodies raised against phosphorylated residues at their activation loops, were abolished by blocking PI3K-signaling pathways. Together, these findings suggest that Cdc42 and PI3K signals emanating from BMP receptors are involved in specific regulation of actin assembly and cell migration.
TRPC1 regulates skeletal myoblast migration and differentiation
Authors: Louis Magali , Zanou Nadège , Van Schoor Monique , Gailly Philippe
Published: November 2008

Myoblast migration is a key step in myogenesis and regeneration. It allows myoblast alignment and their fusion into myotubes. The process has been shown to involve m-calpain or μ-calpain, two Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases. Here we measure calpain activity in cultured cells and show a peak of activity at the beginning of the differentiation process. We also observed a concomitant and transient increase of the influx of Ca2+ and expression of TRPC1 protein. Calpains are specifically activated by a store-operated entry of Ca2+ in adult skeletal muscle fibres. We therefore repressed the expression of TRPC1 in myoblasts and studied the effects on Ca2+ fluxes and on differentiation. TRPC1-depleted myoblasts presented a largely reduced store-operated entry of Ca2+ and a significantly diminished transient influx of Ca2+ at the beginning of differentiation. The concomitant peak of calpain activity was abolished. TRPC1-knockdown myoblasts also accumulated myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS), an actin-binding protein and substrate of calpain. Their fusion into myotubes was significantly slowed down as a result of the reduced speed of cell migration. Accordingly, migration of control myoblasts was inhibited by 2-5 μM GsMTx4 toxin, an inhibitor of TRP channels or by 50 μM Z-Leu-Leu, an inhibitor of calpain. By contrast, stimulation of control myoblasts with IGF-1 increased the basal influx of Ca2+, activated calpain and accelerated migration. These effects were not observed in TRPC1-knockdown cells. We therefore suggest that entry of Ca2+ through TRPC1 channels induces a transient activation of calpain and subsequent proteolysis of MARCKS, which allows in turn, myoblast migration and fusion.
uPAR-deficient mouse keratinocytes fail to produce EGFR-dependent laminin-5, affecting migration in vivo and in vitro
Authors: D'Alessio Silvia , Gerasi Laura , Blasi Francesco
Published: November 2008

The urokinase receptor (uPAR) is involved in a series of pathological processes, from inflammation to cancer. We have analyzed in detail the role of uPAR and the mechanisms involved in keratinocyte behavior during wound healing by exploiting uPAR-knockout (KO) mice. In vivo, uPAR-KO mice showed delayed wound healing, with abnormal keratinocyte migration and proliferation. In vitro, unlike wild-type cells, primary uPAR-KO keratinocytes did not proliferate in response to epidermal growth factor (EGF), their growth and migration were not inhibited by EGF-receptor (EGFR) inhibitors, and they did not adhere to uncoated surfaces. Whereas EGFR levels in uPAR-KO keratinocytes were normal, there was no tyrosine phosphorylation upon addition of EGF, and its downstream targets, extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), were not activated. Re-introduction of mouse uPAR rescued all phenotypes. In vitro adhesion and migration defects were associated with the failure of uPAR-KO keratinocytes to normally produce and secrete laminin-5 (LN5), an event that requires EGFR signaling. These results were confirmed in vivo, with LN5 being upregulated during wound healing in wild-type but not in uPAR-KO epidermis.
Pharmaceutical Care for Migraine and Headache Patients: A Community-Based, Randomized Intervention
Authors: Hoffmann Wolfgang , Herzog Beatrice , Mühlig Stephan , Kayser Hubertus , Fabian Rüdiger , Thomsen Martin , Cramer Michael , Fiß Thomas , Gresselmeyer Doris , Janhsen Katrin
Published: November 2008

Background:

Despite the high prevalence of headache and migraine in the general population, many people do not receive adequate medical attention and treatment.

Objective:

To evaluate the effects of pharmaceutical care (defined as intensified structured counseling between patient and pharmacist, including the use of drug databases), for patients with headache or migraine, on both clinical and psychological endpoints.

Methods:

A prospective, randomized, controlled intervention study was conducted using pharmacies in Northern Germany. A total of 112 pharmacies (26% of all pharmacies in the study region) recruited 410 patients with headaches. Pharmacies were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group. Patients were interviewed by telephone prior to the intervention and again after 4 months. Primary endpoints were number of days with headache, number and severity of headaches, self-efficacy, and the patients' perceptions of their health-related quality of life.

Results:

Each pharmacy treated an average of 4.6 patients (total time effort 9 h). The intervention group consisted of 201 patients who received pharmaceutical care, whereas the control group comprised 209 patients who received standard counseling. In both groups, the number of headache attacks and intensity of pain in treated headache attacks did not change significantly between the first and second interviews. However, a statistically significant improvement in mental health and self-efficacy was shown in the intervention group. Intensity of pain in untreated headache attacks and the number of days with headache decreased in both groups. Most participants described this intervention as helpful and effective and 90% reported that they would recommend pharmaceutical care to other patients with headache.

Conclusions:

A short-term pharmaceutical care intervention improved patients' mental health and self-efficacy, although it did not significantly change the number and severity of headaches. The increase in self-efficacy and mental health associated with pharmaceutical care may be instrumental in improving long-term pharmacotherapy of patients with migraine and headache. To fully assess the effects of pharmaceutical care, a longer study may be required.
Mothers of Children With Down Syndrome: Constructing the Sociocultural Meaning of Disability
Authors: Lalvani Priya
Published: November 2008

A qualitative study explored mothers' experience of the birth of a child with Down syndrome within a sociocultural context. Nine mothers of children with Down syndrome were interviewed. Mothers discussed responses to their child's diagnosis as well as negative attitudes toward disability that were displayed by members of the medical community. The narratives highlight the process of meaning-making that these mothers engaged in, their resistance to the dominant discourse on disability, and their eventual transformations in perceptions of disability and motherhood. The study suggests that the meaning of Down syndrome may be culturally embedded and that mothers of children with Down syndrome locate their child's disability within a social environment.
Expression of H+,K+-ATPase and Glycopattern Analysis in the Gastric Glands of Rana esculenta
Authors: Mastrodonato Maria , Calamita Giuseppe , Rossi Roberta , Scillitani Giovanni , Liquori Giuseppa Esterina , Ferri Domenico
Published: November 2008

A multidisciplinary study involving lectin histochemistry, IHC, immuno-lectin blotting, and immunogold was carried out to determine the distribution of sugar residues in the glycoproteins of Rana esculenta oxynticopeptic cells. We considered animals in two experimental conditions, fasting and fed. It is known that, in mammals, the tubulovesicular membranes are rich in proteins with several functions. The proton pump H+,K+-ATPase, a heterodimeric complex with a catalytic α-subunit and a heavily glycosylated β-subunit, responsible for acid secretion, is the most abundant. No data have been published regarding the localization and the structures of H+,K+-ATPase in amphibians. In the water frog, the luminal membrane and tubulovesicular system of oxynticopeptic cells, which differ in morphology according to their functional stage, reacted with the primary gold-conjugated antibody against the H+,K+-ATPase α-subunit. By lectin histochemistry and immunoblotting, in the oxynticopeptic cells of R. esculenta we detected the presence of N-linked glycans having fucosylated (poly)lactosamine chains, which could correspond to the oligosaccharide chains of the β subunit. The latter are somewhat different from those described in mammals, and this is probably because of an adaptation to the different microenvironmental conditions in which the oxynticopeptic cells find themselves, in terms of their different habits and phylogeny.
Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation Modulates Thalamic Neuronal Activity
Authors: Xu Weidong , Russo Gary S. , Hashimoto Takao , Zhang Jianyu , Vitek Jerrold L.
Published: November 2008

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective tool for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease. The mechanism by which STN DBS elicits its beneficial effect, however, remains unclear. We previously reported STN stimulation increased the rate and produced a more regular and periodic pattern of neuronal activity in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi). Here we extend our observations to neurons in the pallidal [ventralis lateralis pars oralis (VLo) and ventralis anterior (VA)] and cerebellar [ventralis lateralis posterior pars oralis (VPLo)] receiving areas of the motor thalamus during STN DBS. Stimulation parameters that produced improvement in rigidity and bradykinesia resulted in changes in the pattern and power of oscillatory activity of neuronal activity that were similar in both regions of the motor thalamus. Neurons in both VA/VLo and VPLo tended to become more periodic and regular with a shift in oscillatory activity from low to high frequencies. Burst activity was reduced in VA/VLo, but was not significantly changed in VPLo. There was also a significant shift in the population of VA/VLo neurons that were inhibited during STN DBS, whereas VPLo neurons tended to be activated. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that STN DBS increases output from the nucleus and produces a change in the pattern and periodicity of neuronal activity in the basal ganglia thalamic network, and that these changes include cerebellar pathways likely via activation of adjacent cerebello-thalamic fiber bundles.
Ambiguous Pitch and the Temporal Representation of Inharmonic Iterated Rippled Noise in the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus
Authors: Sayles Mark , Winter Ian M.
Published: November 2008

Neural coding of the pitch of complex sounds is vital for animals' ability to communicate and to perceptually organize natural acoustic scenes. Harmonic complex sounds typically have a well defined pitch corresponding to their fundamental frequency, whereas inharmonic sounds can exhibit pitch ambiguity: their pitch can have more than one value. Iterated rippled noise (IRN), a common “pitch stimulus,” is generated from broadband noise by a cascade of delay-and-add steps, with the delayed noise phase-shifted by φ degrees. By varying φ, the (in)harmonicity, and therefore the pitch ambiguity, of IRN can be manipulated. Recordings were made from single-units in the ventral cochlear nucleus of anesthetized guinea pigs in response to IRN and complex tones, systematically varying the inharmonicity. In their all-order interspike interval distributions, primary-like and chopper units tuned within the phase-locking range of best frequencies represent the waveform temporal fine structure (which varies with φ). In contrast, those units tuned to higher frequencies represent the temporal-envelope modulation (independent of φ). We show a temporal representation of ambiguous pitch for IRN and complex tones based on responses to the stimulus fine structure. Within the dominance region for pitch this representation follows the predictions of classic human behavioral experiments and provides a unifying contribution to possible neuro-temporal explanations for the pitch shift and pitch ambiguity associated with many inharmonic sounds.
Protein Kinase Cδ Regulates Ethanol Intoxication and Enhancement of GABA-Stimulated Tonic Current
Authors: Choi Doo-Sup , Wei Weizheng , Deitchman J. Kevin , Kharazia Viktor N. , Lesscher Heidi M. B. , McMahon Thomas , Wang Dan , Qi Zhan-Heng , Sieghart Werner , Zhang Chao , Shokat Kevan M. , Mody Istvan , Messing Robert O.
Published: November 2008

Ethanol alters the distribution and abundance of PKCδ in neural cell lines. Here we investigated whether PKCδ also regulates behavioral responses to ethanol. PKCδ−/−mice showed reduced intoxication when administered ethanol and reduced ataxia when administered the nonselective GABAAreceptor agonists pentobarbital and pregnanolone. However, their response to flunitrazepam was not altered, suggesting that PKCδ regulates benzodiazepine-insensitive GABAAreceptors, most of which contain δ subunits and mediate tonic inhibitory currents in neurons. Indeed, the distribution of PKCδ overlapped with GABAAδ subunits in thalamus and hippocampus, and ethanol failed to enhance tonic GABA currents in PKCδ−/−thalamic and hippocampal neurons. Moreover, using an ATP analog-sensitive PKCδ mutant in mouse L(tk−) fibroblasts that express α4β3δ GABAAreceptors, we found that ethanol enhancement of GABA currents was PKCδ-dependent. Thus, PKCδ enhances ethanol intoxication partly through regulation of GABAAreceptors that contain δ subunits and mediate tonic inhibitory currents. These findings indicate that PKCδ contributes to a high level of behavioral response to ethanol, which is negatively associated with risk of developing an alcohol use disorder in humans.
Contrasting the Functional Properties of GABAergic Axon Terminals with Single and Multiple Synapses in the Thalamus
Authors: Wanaverbecq Nicolas , Bodor Ágnes L. , Bokor Hajnalka , Slézia Andrea , Lüthi Anita , Acsády László
Published: November 2008

Diverse sources of GABAergic inhibition are a major feature of cortical networks, but distinct inhibitory input systems have not been systematically characterized in the thalamus. Here, we contrasted the properties of two independent GABAergic pathways in the posterior thalamic nucleus of rat, one input from the reticular thalamic nucleus (nRT), and one “extrareticular” input from the anterior pretectal nucleus (APT). The vast majority of nRT-thalamic terminals formed single synapses per postsynaptic target and innervated thin distal dendrites of relay cells. In contrast, single APT-thalamic terminals formed synaptic contacts exclusively via multiple, closely spaced synapses on thick relay cell dendrites. Quantal analysis demonstrated that the two inputs displayed comparable quantal amplitudes, release probabilities, and multiple release sites. The morphological and physiological data together indicated multiple, single-site contacts for nRT and multisite contacts for APT axons. The contrasting synaptic arrangements of the two pathways were paralleled by different short-term plasticities. The multisite APT-thalamic pathway showed larger charge transfer during 50–100 Hz stimulation compared with the nRT pathway and a greater persistent inhibition accruing during stimulation trains. Our results demonstrate that the two inhibitory systems are morpho-functionally distinct and suggest and that multisite GABAergic terminals are tailored for maintained synaptic inhibition even at high presynaptic firing rates. These data explain the efficacy of extrareticular inhibition in timing relay cell activity in sensory and motor thalamic nuclei. Finally, based on the classic nomenclature and the difference between reticular and extrareticular terminals, we define a novel, multisite GABAergic terminal type (F3) in the thalamus.
Induced Autoimmunity to Heat Shock Proteins Elicits Glaucomatous Loss of Retinal Ganglion Cell Neurons via Activated T-Cell-Derived Fas-Ligand
Authors: Wax Martin B. , Tezel Gülgün , Yang Junjie , Peng Guanghua , Patil Rajkumar V. , Agarwal Neeraj , Sappington Rebecca M. , Calkins David J.
Published: November 2008

Glaucomatous optic neuropathy causes blindness through the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons, which comprise the optic nerve. Glaucoma traditionally is associated with elevated intraocular pressure, but often occurs or may progress with intraocular pressure in the normal range. Like other diseases of the CNS, a subset of glaucoma has been proposed to involve an autoimmune component to help explain the loss of RGCs in the absence of elevated intraocular pressure. One hypothesis involves heat shock proteins (HSPs), because increased serum levels of HSP autoantibodies are prominent in some glaucoma patients with normal pressures. In the first direct support of this hypothesis, we found that HSP27 and HSP60 immunization in the Lewis rat induced RGC degeneration and axon loss 1–4 months laterin vivoin a pattern with similarities to human glaucoma, including topographic specificity of cell loss. Infiltration of increased numbers of T-cells in the retina occurred much earlier, 14–21 d after HSP immunization, and appeared to be transient.In vitrostudies found that T-cells activated by HSP immunization induced RGC apoptosis via the release of the inflammatory cytokine FasL, whereas HSP immunization induced activation of microglia cells and upregulation of the FasL receptor in RGCs. In summary, our results suggest that RGC degeneration in glaucoma for selected individuals likely involves failed immunoregulation of the T-cell-RGC axis and is thus a disturbance of both proapoptotic and protective pathways.
State Dependence of Network Output: Modeling and Experiments
Authors: Nadim Farzan , Brezina Vladimir , Destexhe Alain , Linster Christiane
Published: November 2008

Emerging experimental evidence suggests that both networks and their component neurons respond to similar inputs differently, depending on the state of network activity. The network state is determined by the intrinsic dynamical structure of the network and may change as a function of neuromodulation, the balance or stochasticity of synaptic inputs to the network, and the history of network activity. Much of the knowledge on state-dependent effects comes from comparisons of awake and sleep states of the mammalian brain. Yet, the mechanisms underlying these states are difficult to unravel. Several vertebrate and invertebrate studies have elucidated cellular and synaptic mechanisms of state dependence resulting from neuromodulation, sensory input, and experience. Recent studies have combined modeling and experiments to examine the computational principles that emerge when network state is taken into account; these studies are highlighted in this article. We discuss these principles in a variety of systems (mammalian, crustacean, and mollusk) to demonstrate the unifying theme of state dependence of network output.
Adult Neurogenesis, Mental Health, and Mental Illness: Hope or Hype?: Figure 1.
Authors: Eisch Amelia J. , Cameron Heather A. , Encinas Juan M. , Meltzer Leslie A. , Ming Guo-Li , Overstreet-Wadiche Linda S.
Published: November 2008

Psychiatric and neurologic disorders take an enormous toll on society. Alleviating the devastating symptoms and consequences of neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction, depression, epilepsy, and schizophrenia is a main force driving clinical and basic researchers alike. By elucidating these disease neuromechanisms, researchers hope to better define treatments and preventive therapies. Research suggests that regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis represents a promising approach to treating and perhaps preventing mental illness. Here we appraise the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in major psychiatric and neurologic disorders within the essential framework of recent progress made in understanding “normal” adult neurogenesis. Topics addressed include the following: the life cycle of an adult hippocampal stem cell and the implications for aging; links between learning and hippocampal neurogenesis; the reciprocal relationship between cocaine self-administration and adult hippocampal neurogenesis; the role of adult neurogenesis in an animal model of depression and response to antidepressant exposure; the impact of neonatal seizures on dentate gyrus neurogenesis; and the contribution of a schizophrenia-susceptibility gene to adult hippocampal neurogenesis. These topics are discussed in light of the regulation of adult neurogenesis, the relationship to normal neurogenesis in adulthood and aging, and, importantly, the manipulation of neurogenesis to promote mental health and treat mental illness.
Calcium-Sensing Receptor Activation Depresses Synaptic Transmission
Authors: Phillips Cecilia G. , Harnett Mark T. , Chen Wenyan , Smith Stephen M.
Published: November 2008

At excitatory synapses, decreases in cleft [Ca] arising from activity-dependent transmembrane Ca flux reduce the probability of subsequent transmitter release. Intense neural activity, induced by physiological and pathological stimuli, disturb the external microenvironment reducing extracellular [Ca] ([Ca]o) and thus may impair neurotransmission. Increases in [Ca]oactivate the extracellular calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) which in turn inhibits nonselective cation channels at the majority of cortical nerve terminals. This pathway may modulate synaptic transmission by attenuating the impact of decreases in [Ca]oon synaptic transmission. Using patch-clamp recording from isolated cortical terminals, cortical neuronal pairs and isolated neuronal soma we examined the modulation of synaptic transmission by CaSR. EPSCs were increased on average by 88% in reduced affinity CaSR-mutant (CaSR−/−) neurons compared with wild-type. Variance-mean analysis indicates that the enhanced synaptic transmission was due largely to an increase in average probability of release (0.27 vs 0.46 for wild-type vs CaSR−/−pairs) with little change in quantal size (23 ± 4 pA vs 22 ± 4 pA) or number of release sites (11 vs 13). In addition, the CaSR agonist spermidine reduced synaptic transmission and increased paired-pulse depression at physiological [Ca]o. Spermidine did not affect quantal size, consistent with a presynaptic mechanism of action, nor did it affect voltage-activated Ca channel currents. In summary, reduced CaSR function enhanced synaptic transmission and CaSR stimulation had the opposite effect. Thus CaSR provides a mechanism that may compensate for the fall in release probability that accompanies decreases in [Ca]o.
Muslims in America
Authors: Read Jen'nan Ghazal
Published: November 2008

Seven years after the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil catapulted Muslims into the American spotlight, concerns and fears over their presence and assimilation remain at an all-time high.

Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. And yet Americans rankMuslims second only to atheists as a group that doesn't share their vision of American society.
The Queen and the Flirt
Authors: Smart Mary Ann
Published: November 2008

The field of musicology has had a love/hate relationship with formalism and close reading. Using a single miniature case study, a well-known cabaletta from Rossini's The Barber of Seville, this article explores the ways attention to musical detail can illuminate both the historical situation of Rossini's operas in the post-Napoleonic period and their currency today, as animated through performance.
The Formalism of Military History
Authors: Gallagher Catherine
Published: November 2008

This essay analyzes attempts to find form in history not by seeking general patterns or universal dynamics but by examining apparently contingent particulars.
More Theses on Feuerbach
Authors: Clark T. J.
Published: November 2008

Seven brief proposals on form, matter, and meaning.
Racial Form
Authors: Lye Colleen
Published: November 2008

This essay takes account of the formalist desires of recent Asian American literary criticism. It argues that a focus on form may discover firmer ground for the future of Asian American studies, but only if that focus remains cognizant of the interdisciplinary origins of Asian American studies.
Qualidade de película de famílias clonais de batata
Authors: Silva Giovani Olegario da , Pereira Arione da Silva , Souza Velci Queiroz de , Carvalho Fernando Irajá Félix de , Vieira Eduardo Alano
Published: November 2008

Aparência geral dos tubérculos é um caráter importante para o melhoramento genético da batata, por afetar consideravelmente na aceitação do produto in natura pelos consumidores. Dentre seus caracteres componentes, destacam-se a coloração e a lisura da película dos tubérculos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a resposta de seleção esperada para caracteres de qualidade de película (lisura e coloração) e aparência de tubérculo em três famílias de batata. Os experimentos foram realizados no campo experimental da sede da Embrapa Clima Temperado, na primavera de 2004 e 2005, utilizando três famílias em segunda e terceira gerações clonais respectivamente. Nos tubérculos, foram avaliados os caracteres lisura e coloração de película e aparência geral de tubérculo. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente segundo modelo REML/BLUP, de modo que distinguissem os efeitos fixos e os aleatórios, realizando-se ainda comparação de médias entre as famílias, correlação entre os caracteres, cálculo de herdabilidade e resposta à seleção. Pode-se verificar que, na geração de populações superiores em qualidade de película, é necessária a inclusão de genitores de película lisa e clara. Lisura de película e coloração de tubérculo são correlacionados com o caráter aparência geral de tubérculo, mas com menor herdabilidade que seus componentes.