bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intergroup comparisons of oral lesions in HIV‐positive South Africans
Authors: Arendorf TM , Bredekamp B , Cloete C , Wood R , O'Keefe E
Published: June 2013

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there are any differences in the oral manifestations of sub‐groups of persons with HIV. These data could provide information for planning of oral health promotion and prevention programmes.

DESIGN: A comparative inter‐group cross‐sectional investigation of the oral manifestations of HIV. Ethnic, gender and sexual orientation differences were taken into consideration.

SETTING: Three large general hospitals that offer comprehensive medical investigations and care to persons with HIV.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 485 HIV‐positive adults participated. Clinical examination and, where necessary, swabs or smears of lesions for microbiology, biopsies for histology.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Presence of lesions, associated signs, incidence and type of micro‐organisms. RESULTS: A total of 485 HIV‐positive persons were examined over a period of 3 years consisting of 225 Blacks, 191 Coloureds (persons of ‘mixed’ descent) and 69 Whites. Data were analysed using, where relevant, the X2 test or Fisher's exact test. Heterosexual males revealed a higher prevalence of all oral lesions combined when compared with heterosexual females. A similar finding was evident when HIV‐associated periodontal diseases was compared in these two groups. Homosexual males had a higher prevalence of candidal infections than heterosexual males. Coloured heterosexuals had a higher prevalence of oral lesions combined than black heterosexuals. All these results showed statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: The study tends to show that different patterns of prevalence emerge when inter‐group comparisons are made of oral soft tissue diseases evident in HIV‐infected South Africans.
Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor blocks infectivity of primary monocytes and mononuclear cells with both monocytotropic and lymphocytotropic strains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1
Authors: Shugars DC , Sauls DL , Weinberg JB
Published: June 2013

Saliva contains factors that inhibit infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) in vitro. One of these factors was recently identified as secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), a salivary protein which blocked HIV‐1 infectivity of monocytes and primary T cells at physiologic concentrations (J Clin Invest 1995; 96: 456). Here, we confirm and extend the original report by demonstrating that SLPI protects primary monocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells against infection with HIV‐1 Ba‐L, IIIB and NL4‐3. Thus, SLPI may provide a natural barrier against oral transmission of HIV‐1.
Family Instability and Pathways to Adulthood in Cape Town, South Africa
Authors: Goldberg Rachel E.
Published: June 2013

Social, political, epidemiological, and economic forces have produced family instability during childhood for many young people transitioning to adulthood in South Africa. This study identifies pathways to adulthood for youth in Cape Town that capture the timing and sequencing of role transitions across the life domains of school, work, and family formation. It then uses these pathways to investigate the relationship between childhood family instability and the way young people's lives unfold during the transition to adulthood. Results indicate that changes in co‐residence with parents are associated with following less advantageous pathways into adulthood, independent of particular family structure or orphan status. Overall, the findings suggest that family instability influences not only single transitions for youth, but also combinations of transitions. They also indicate the value of a multi‐dimensional conceptualization of the transition to adulthood in empirical work.
Cohort Abortion Measures for the United States
Authors: Cowan Sarah K.
Published: June 2013

Demographers interested in abortion in the United States have thus far focused on cross‐sectional and synthetic cohort measures, reflecting data availability. We now have cohorts that have completed their entire reproductive years after the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide. For women who are still in their childbearing years at the conclusion of data collection, I apply the Lee‐Carter forecasting technique—its first application in abortion research—to project their completed age‐specific abortion rates. Using true cohort measures reveals markedly different abortion experiences by cohort; in particular, a significant declining trend. I find stability in the distribution of abortion by abortion order and the racial composition of abortion incidences. In addition to the substantive findings, cohort measures shift the focus of quantitative abortion research from incidence rates to women's lives over their reproductive years.
Demographic Changes in Myanmar since 1983: An Examination of Official Data
Authors: Spoorenberg Thomas
Published: June 2013

According to official estimate, the total population of Myanmar reached 59.8 million in 2010. Yet, serious doubt exists on the reliability of these data. From the body of empirical evidence, best estimates of mortality and fertility are derived and serve to reconstruct prospectively the population of the country from 1983 to 2010. Despite the uncertainty regarding the levels and trends in international migration, the results are unequivocal: given the observed development in mortality and fertility, the population of Myanmar could not have reached 59.8 million in 2010. In addition to encouraging reconsideration of current population estimates, this analysis should also prompt the government and the international community to redouble their efforts in preparing for the 2014 census; carrying out a high‐quality count of the entire population, ideally followed by a post‐enumeration survey; conducting a thorough analysis of the census data; and publicly releasing the census results and accompanying analytical volumes in a timely manner.
The relationship between nurse–patient interaction and meaning‐in‐life in cognitively intact nursing home patients
Authors: Haugan Gørill
Published: June 2013

Aim

To investigate the associations between nurse–patient interaction and meaning‐in‐life in a nursing home population.

Background

Meaning has been found to be a strong individual predictor of successful ageing and life satisfaction as well as an important psychological variable that promotes well‐being. Meaning seems to serve as a mediating variable in both psychological and physical health. Connecting and communicating with others have been seen to facilitate meaning‐in‐life among older individuals.

Design

Cross‐sectional descriptive study.

Methods

The data were collected in 2008–2009 using the Nurse–Patient Interaction Scale and the Purpose‐in‐Life test. A total of 250 cognitively intact nursing home patients met the inclusion criteria and 202 (81%) participated. A structural equation model of the hypothesized relationship between nurse–patient interaction and meaning was tested by means of LISREL 8.8.

Findings

The structural equation model fit well with the data. A significant direct relationship between nurse–patient interaction and meaning‐in‐life in cognitively intact nursing home patients was displayed.

Conclusion

Nurse–patient interaction significantly relates to meaning and purpose‐in‐life among cognitively intact nursing home patients and might be an important resource in relation to the patient's mental health and global well‐being. High‐quality nurse–patient interaction and in‐house activities aiming to increase patients’ meaning might increase psychological and physical health, well‐being and psycho‐spiritual functioning in this vulnerable population.
Beaufort trout MicroPlex: a high‐throughput multiplex platform comprising 38 informative microsatellite loci for use in resident and anadromous (sea trout) brown trout Salmo trutta genetic studies
Authors: Keenan K. , Bradley C. R. , Magee J. J. , Hynes R. A. , Kennedy R. J. , Crozier W. W. , Poole R. , Cross T. F. , McGinnity P. , Prodöhl P. A.
Published: June 2013

A flexible panel consisting of 38 informative microsatellite markers for Salmo trutta is described. These markers were selected from a pool of over 150 candidate loci that can be readily amplified in four multiplex PCR groups but other permutations are also possible. The basic properties of each markers were assessed in six population samples from both the Burrishoole catchment, in the west of Ireland, and Lough Neagh, in Northern Ireland. A method to assess the relative utility of individual markers for the detection of population genetic structuring is also described. Given its flexibility, technical reliability and high degree of informativeness, the use of this panel of markers is advocated as a standard for S. trutta genetic studies.
Natural sex change in the temperate protogynous Ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta
Authors: Muncaster S. , Norberg B. , Andersson E.
Published: June 2013

Wild Ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta were sampled monthly over 2 years in western Norway to identify the natural process of sex change in this species. Light microscopy of standard histological‐stained and immunohistochemistry‐treated gonad tissue showed that spermatogonial germ cells tended to proliferate around the periphery of the lamellae before filling into the slowly receding, apoptotic central areas of the lamellae. Sex change occurred following the breeding season. From July to September, fish were most often in an early state of gonadal transition (ET), characterized by degenerating previtellogenic oocytes and pockets of proliferating spermatogonia in the germinative epithelia. The majority of fish with late transitional gonads, that were typically dominated by spermatogenic cells, developing efferent ducts and the beginning of lobule formation, were found between October and November. Sex steroid profiles of fish representing the different sexual phases showed that breeding females had the highest concentrations of 17β oestradiol (E2) and the lowest concentration of 11 ketotestosterone (11KT). Concentrations of E2 decreased greatly in ET fish at the beginning of sex change and remained low in all subsequent phases. The opposite trend was demonstrated in 11KT profiles. Initial‐phase female fish had minimal concentrations of 11KT, but these increased during subsequent transitions. Sex change occurred most often in fish 34–41 cm total length (LT) and the median of fish in the size‐frequency overlap of female and male fish was 36 cm LT.
Metabolic divergence between sibling species of cichlidsPundamilia nyerereiandPundamilia pundamilia
Authors: Dijkstra P. D. , Seehausen O. , Metcalfe N. B.
Published: June 2013

This study comparedPundamilia nyerereiandPundamilia pundamiliamales in routine metabolic rate (RR) and in the metabolic costs males pay during territorial interactions (active metabolic rate,RA).Pundamilia nyerereiandP. pundamiliamales housed in social isolation did not differ inRR. In contrast to expectation, however,P. nyerereimales used less oxygen thanP. pundamiliamales, for a given mass and level of agonistic activity. This increased metabolic efficiency may be an adaptation to limit the metabolic cost thatP. nyerereimales pay for their higher rate of aggressiveness compared toP. pundamiliamales. Thus, the divergence between the species in agonistic behaviour is correlated with metabolic differentiation. Such concerted divergence in physiology and behaviour might be widespread in the dramatically diverse cichlid radiations in East African lakes and may be an important factor in the remarkably rapid speciation of these fishes. The results did not support the hypothesis that higher metabolic rates caused a physiological cost toP. nyerereimales that would offset their dominance advantage.
Is surgery necessary for patients with hepatic angiomyolipoma? Retrospective analysis from eight Chinese cases
Authors: Yang Litao , Xu Zhiyuan , Dong Ruizeng , Fan Jun , Du Yian , Zhang Yunli , Wang Xinbao , Cheng Xiangdong , Guo Jianmin
Published: June 2013

Background and Aim

Hepatic angiomyolipoma (AML) is a rare, hepatic mesenchymal neoplasm. Its preoperative diagnosis is very difficult, and the treatment is still controversial. The aim is to summarize experience in diagnosis and management of hepatic AML from a cancer center.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical presentation, histopathological, features and treatment of the tumors encountered at our institute from January 2000 to December 2012.

Results

The patients included six females and two males, with female preponderance. Six patients are asymptomatic. Laboratory tests lack specificity. Combining imaging modality, only one patient obtained the accurate diagnosis of hepatic AML and was confirmed by fine‐needle aspiration biopsy combined with homatropine methylbromide‐45 staining. All other patients received hepatic resection. There was no tumor recurrence or increase of tumor size within the follow‐up period.

Conclusion

We suggest fine‐needle aspiration combined with homatropine methylbromide‐45 staining should be performed in all patients who are asymptomatic and without serological abnormalities. Surgical resection might be considered only if the malignant potential of the lesion cannot be ruled out or the tumor size is increasing during observation.
Epidemiological survey and risk factor analysis of fatty liver disease of adult residents, Beijing, China
Authors: Yan Jie , Xie Wen , Ou Wei‐ni , Zhao Hong , Wang Su‐yun , Wang Jian‐hui , Wang Qi , Yang Yu‐ying , Feng Xin , Cheng Jun
Published: June 2013

Background and Aim

With the changes in diet structure and lifestyle, the incidence of fatty liver disease is increasing in China, especially in cities. The goal of the present study was to accurately determine the prevalence and risk factors of fatty liver disease in Beijing residents, China.

Methods

By using random multistage stratification and cluster sampling, residents aged > 20 years in Dongcheng District and Tongzhou District were recruited, and questionnaire survey, physical examination, detection of fasting glucose, blood lipids and liver biochemistry, and ultrasonography of the liver, gallbladder, and spleen were carried out. Database EpiData 3.0 was employed for data input, followed by statistical analysis with SPSS version 11.0.

Results

A total of 3762 residents were included in the present study including 2328 males and 1434 females with a mean age of 46.37 ± 14.28 years (range 20–92 years). Ultrasonography revealed fatty liver in 1486 residents with a prevalence of 39.5%. Moreover, non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic fatty liver disease were found in 1177 (31.3%) and 309 (8.2%) residents, respectively. After adjustment of prevalence based on the age and gender constituents of Beijing residents, the standardized prevalence of overall fatty liver disease, NAFLD, and alcoholic fatty liver disease was 35.1%, 31.0%, and 4.1%, respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed waist‐to‐hip ratio, diastolic pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were closely related to NAFLD.

Conclusions

The Beijing residents have a high prevalence of fatty liver disease as much as 35.1%, which is characterized by NAFLD. Obesity, and glucose and lipid metabolism disorders are the main risk factors of fatty liver disease.
Traits in Transition: The Structure of Parent‐Reported Personality Traits from Early Childhood to Early Adulthood
Authors: Soto Christopher J. , John Oliver P.
Published: June 2013

The present research was conducted to map the hierarchical structure of youths' personality traits, to identify the foundational level of this structure, and to test whether the meanings of some youth personality dimensions shift with age. We addressed these issues by analyzing personality parent reports describing a cross‐sectional sample of 16,000 children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 3 to 20). These parent reports were made using a broadband measure of youths' personal characteristics, the common‐language California Child Q‐Set. Analyses of the full sample and comparisons of 16 age groups supported three main conclusions. First, the hierarchical structure of youths' personality traits both resembles and differs from the adult personality hierarchy in important ways. Second, a set of six dimensions—Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Activity—may constitute the foundational level of the youth personality hierarchy from middle childhood through adolescence. This “Little Six” structure represents a union of the most prominent personality and temperament dimensions. Third, the meanings of some youth personality dimensions (e.g., Activity, Conscientiousness) shift systematically with age. These findings advance our understanding of when and how personality structure develops during the first two decades of life.
Religion and Medicalization: The Case of ADHD
Authors: Li Kati
Published: June 2013

As a medicalized condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) sparks considerable public controversy. Previous research has highlighted the importance of examining the factors that influence attitudes toward ADHD. This article examines an understudied factor, religion, and its relationship with ADHD attitudes. Using data from the 2002 General Social Survey National Stigma Study‐Children, this research finds that compared to the rest of the population, evangelical Christians are less likely to view ADHD as a real disease and to believe children with ADHD should be treated with medication. Results also demonstrate that evangelicals are more likely to think doctors are overmedicating children with common behavior problems and to think medication prevents families from working out problems themselves. On the other hand, church attendance is unrelated to beliefs about ADHD treatment but is positively associated with thinking ADHD is a real disease. These findings add new insights to the existing literature on religion and medicalization.
A Religious Profile of American Entrepreneurs
Authors: Dougherty Kevin D. , Griebel Jenna , Neubert Mitchell J. , Park Jerry Z.
Published: June 2013

The entrepreneur is a celebrated figure in American society. These innovative risk‐takers hold an influential place in the economy and in popular culture. Substantial research has gone into identifying characteristics associated with these individuals, but research on entrepreneurs and religion is surprisingly sparse and inconsistent. Using national survey data, we examine religious affiliation, belief, and behavior for Americans who have started or are trying to start a business. American entrepreneurs appear no different than nonentrepreneurs in religious affiliation, belief in God, or religious service attendance. They do tend to see God as more personal, pray more frequently, and are more likely to attend a place of worship that encourages business activity. A discussion of implications concludes the research note.
Alcohol Reverses Religion's Prosocial Influence on Aggression
Authors: Duke Aaron A. , Giancola Peter R.
Published: June 2013

The relationship between religion and violence is controversial. Discrepant findings exist between survey studies and the limited number of experimental investigations of religiosity's influence on aggressive behavior. We have attempted to resolve this discrepancy by addressing previous limitations in the literature and assessing a heretofore‐untested moderator of religiosity and aggression: alcohol intoxication. This investigation included a community sample of 251 men and 269 women randomly assigned to either an acute alcohol intoxication condition or a placebo condition. Participants completed a series of questions drawn from standardized instruments of religiosity and spirituality prior to competing on an aggression laboratory paradigm in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction‐time task. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant beverage‐by‐religiosity interaction. Religiosity predicted lower levels of aggression for participants in the placebo group and higher levels of aggression for intoxicated participants. Results indicated that high religiosity coupled with alcohol intoxication may be a risk factor for aggression. This novel finding may help to clarify previous discrepancies in studies of religiosity and aggression.
Clinical Characteristics and Outcome in Dogs with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma
Authors: O'Brien D. , Moore P.F. , Vernau W. , Peauroi J.R. , Rebhun R.B. , Rodriguez C.O. , Skorupski K.A.
Published: June 2013

Background

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a form of indolent B‐cell lymphoma that is not well characterized in dogs.

Hypothesis/Objectives

The purpose of this study was to describe clinical characteristics and outcome in dogs with splenic MZL confirmed by histopathology, immunophenotyping, and molecular clonality assessment. We hypothesized that affected dogs would have prolonged survival time with splenectomy alone.

Animals

Thirty‐four dogs were included. Twenty‐nine dogs were diagnosed after splenectomy, and 5 dogs were diagnosed at necropsy.

Methods

Pathology records were searched for dogs with histologically confirmed splenic MZL. Clinical and outcome data were retrospectively collected by medical record review, and prognostic factors were evaluated. Histopathology was reviewed by a board‐certified pathologist, and tissue sections were subjected to immunophenotyping and molecular clonality assessment by PCR.

Results

Immunohistochemistry confirmed a B‐cell phenotype for all dogs. Molecular clonality assessment was performed in 33 of 34 dogs, of which 24 had clonal rearrangement of immunoglobulin (Ig) loci, 3 had pseudoclonal rearrangement, and 6 had polyclonal rearrangement. The overall median survival time (MST) for the 29 dogs that underwent splenectomy was 383 days. The MST for 14 of 29 asymptomatic dogs that underwent splenectomy for MZL was 1,153 days as compared to 309 days for 15/29 dogs with clinical signs referable to splenic MZL (P = .018). Lymph node involvement, hemoabdomen, anemia, chemotherapy, and concurrent malignancy did not affect survival outcome.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Dogs diagnosed with splenic MZL can have prolonged survival with splenectomy alone, without the use of adjuvant chemotherapy. Asymptomatic dogs may have a better survival outcome.
Clinical Findings and Survival in Cats Naturally Infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
Authors: Liem B.P. , Dhand N.K. , Pepper A.E , Barrs V.R. , Beatty J.A.
Published: June 2013

Background

The clinical course and outcome of natural feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection are variable and incompletely understood. Assigning clinical relevance toFIVinfection in individual cats represents a considerable clinical challenge.

Objective

To compare signalment, hematologic and biochemical data, major clinical problem, and survival among client‐owned,FIV‐infected, and uninfected domestic cats.

Animals

Client‐owned, domestic cats tested forFIV(n = 520).

Methods

Retrospective, case control study. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify risk factors forFIVinfection and to compare hematologic and biochemical data between cases and controls, after adjusting for potential confounders. Survival times were compared using Kaplan–Meier curves.

Results

The prevalence ofFIVinfection was 14.6%. Mixed breed, male sex, and older age were risk factors forFIVinfection. Hematologic abnormalities, biochemical abnormalities or both were common in bothFIV‐infected and uninfected cats. Lymphoid malignancies were slightly more common inFIV‐infected than uninfected cats. Survival ofFIV‐infected cats was not significantly different from that of uninfected cats.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Multiple hematologic and biochemical abnormalities are common in old, sick cats regardless of theirFIVstatus. Their presence should not be assumed to indicate clinical progression ofFIVinfection. A negative effect ofFIVon survival was not apparent in this study.
Independent factors associated with altered plasma active ghrelin levels in HCV‐infected patients
Authors: Kawaguchi Takumi , Nagao Yumiko , Sata Michio
Published: June 2013

Background & Aims

Metabolic disorders are frequently seen in hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected patients. Ghrelin, a gut hormone, regulates hepatic metabolisms, and must be activated to exert its biological effects. The aims of this study were to investigate changes in plasma active ghrelin levels and identify independent factors associated with plasma active ghrelin levels in HCV‐infected patients.

Methods

We enrolled patients with HCV infection (n = 96), hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (n = 49), non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; n = 20) and healthy subjects (CON; n = 16). Plasma active ghrelin levels were measured using ELISA. Factors associated with plasma active ghrelin levels were assessed by multivariate and Spearman's correlation analyses.

Results

Plasma active ghrelin levels were significantly lower in relation to the severity of liver disease in both the HBV and HCV groups. Furthermore, HCV infection was identified as an independent factor associated with decreased plasma active ghrelin levels in the multivariate analysis (OR −3.05; 95% CI −0.93 to −19.51; P = 0.0192). Plasma active ghrelin levels were significantly correlated with serum albumin levels in the HCV group (ρ = 0.497, P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

We demonstrated that liver cirrhosis and HCV infection were independent factors associated plasma active ghrelin levels. Moreover, plasma active ghrelin levels were positively correlated with serum albumin levels among HCV‐infected patients. Therefore, active ghrelin levels may be regulated by both progression of liver disease and HCV infection and could be involved in the regulation of serum albumin levels in HCV‐infected patients.
Uncovering the genetic basis of adaptive change: on the intersection of landscape genomics and theoretical population genetics
Authors: Joost Stéphane , Vuilleumier Séverine , Jensen Jeffrey D. , Schoville Sean , Leempoel Kevin , Stucki Sylvie , Widmer Ivo , Melodelima Christelle , Rolland Jonathan , Manel Stéphanie
Published: June 2013

A workshop recently held at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland) was dedicated to understanding the genetic basis of adaptive change, taking stock of the different approaches developed in theoretical population genetics and landscape genomics and bringing together knowledge accumulated in both research fields. Indeed, an important challenge in theoretical population genetics is to incorporate effects of demographic history and population structure. But important design problems (e.g. focus on populations as units, focus on hard selective sweeps, no hypothesis‐based framework in the design of the statistical tests) reduce their capability of detecting adaptive genetic variation. In parallel, landscape genomics offers a solution to several of these problems and provides a number of advantages (e.g. fast computation, landscape heterogeneity integration). But the approach makes several implicit assumptions that should be carefully considered (e.g. selection has had enough time to create a functional relationship between the allele distribution and the environmental variable, or this functional relationship is assumed to be constant). To address the respective strengths and weaknesses mentioned above, the workshop brought together a panel of experts from both disciplines to present their work and discuss the relevance of combining these approaches, possibly resulting in a joint software solution in the future.
Flavour, Taste and Smell
Authors: RICHARDSON LOUISE
Published: June 2013

I consider the role of psychology and other sciences in telling us about our senses, via the issue of whether empirical findings show us that flavours are perceived partly with the sense of smell. I argue that scientific findings do not establish that we're wrong to think that flavours are just tasted. Non‐naturalism, according to which our everyday conception of the senses does not involve empirical commitments of a kind that could be corrected by empirical findings is, I suggest, a plausible view that is not easy to dismiss.
Auxin‐mediated nitrate signalling by NRT1.1 participates in the adaptive response of Arabidopsis root architecture to the spatial heterogeneity of nitrate availability
Authors: MOUNIER EMMANUELLE , PERVENT MARJORIE , LJUNG KARIN , GOJON ALAIN , NACRY PHILIPPE
Published: June 2013

To optimize their nitrogen nutrition, plants are able to direct root growth in nitrate‐rich patches. This depends in Arabidopsis on the NRT1.1 nitrate transporter/sensor. NRT1.1 was shown to display on homogenous medium, an auxin transport activity that lowers auxin accumulation in lateral roots and inhibits their growth at low nitrate. Using a split‐root system, we explored the hypothesis that preferential lateral root growth in the nitrate‐rich side involves the NRT1.1‐dependent repression of lateral root growth in the low nitrate side. Data show that NRT1.1 acts locally to modulate both auxin levels and meristematic activity in response to the low nitrate concentration directly experienced by lateral roots leading to a repression of their growth. A stimulatory role of NRT1.1 in the high nitrate side, which does not rely on changes in auxin levels, is also observed. Altogether, our data suggest that NRT1.1 allows preferential root colonization of nitrate‐rich patches by both preventing root growth in response to low nitrate, through modulation of auxin traffic, and stimulating root growth in response to high nitrate, through a yet uncharacterized mechanism. In addition, transcriptional regulation of NRT1.1 affects both mechanisms allowing plants to modulate the effect of nitrate on root branching.
The Thermodynamics of Desire in Turgenev's Notes of a Hunter
Authors: NEWLIN THOMAS
Published: June 2013

Critics have long recognized that Ivan's Turgenev's Notes of a Hunter (Zapiski okhotnika) is only nominally a work about hunting, and that it is concerned, at a deeper level, with much more important issues (serfdom, narrative form, and so on). This essay argues that Turgenev's cycle of stories is indeed about okhota, but not just in the traditional sense of the word: it is centrally (though not exclusively) a book about desire. Turgenev is fascinated by desire and longing (okhota) in its many different manifestations (sexual‐biological, psychic‐emotional, spiritual, aesthetic), by its slow simmer and burn, its cultivation, suppression, release, dissipation. Again and again throughout the cycle his narrator‐okhotnik positions himself, both literally and figuratively, “in cover” (na taige)–a vantage point whence he can study (and vicariously participate in) the romantic longing of his various targets. The essay explores implications of this paradigmatic pattern in a number of the stories (most importantly, and in the most detail, in “Yermolai and the Miller's Wife” and “Living Relic”). It argues, furthermore, that Turgenev's preoccupation in Notes of a Hunter with the nature and dynamics of desire was highly personal in its origins (it reflects his longing for Pauline Viardot), yet also universal in its implications: he drew deeply on his own experience to articulate a model of existential and affective conduct that resonated quietly but profoundly in Russian literature in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Serializing National Cohesion: Channel 1's “Shkola” and the Contradictions of Post‐Soviet “Consensus Management”
Authors: HUTCHINGS STEPHEN
Published: June 2013

Parliaments rarely debate television serials. Such, however, was the controversy surrounding Valeriia Gai‐Germanika's 69‐part “Shkola” (“School”), shown on Russia's Channel 1 in 2010, that several Duma Deputies called for its banning. Filmed with hand‐held cameras and unknown actors, “Shkola” offered an uncompromising insight into problems afflicting Russian schools: racism, corruption, casual sex, suicide, drug‐taking, self‐harming, bullying, bribery, violence, and unremitting disorder in classrooms characterised by unimaginative teaching. “Shkola” posed unprecedented challenges to the boundaries of the permissible. This article, however, evaluates the serial's capacity to foster national cohesion, not in the “top‐down” manner characteristic of state media events such as Victory Day, but through a multi‐levelled dialectic of centre and periphery. Drawing on Jesus Martin‐Barbero's mediation theory, the article traces the dialectic through the serial narrative's split structure: its oscillation between a naturalistic aesthetic based on metonymic displacements from society's centre to specific conflicts at its margins, and a melodramatic sentimentalism suited to the metaphoric modelling of that centre and the articulation of a discourse of universal empathy. The dialectic facilitates a mutual engagement of voices (official patriotic, Soviet nostalgic, nationalist extremist, liberal oppositionalist, vernacular racist) in which each contaminates or revitalises the other and in which Gai‐Germanika's preferred universalist stance fails to prevail. The article includes an assessment of the broader implications of “Shkola” for public discourse in Russia.
Factors influencing patients seeking oral health care in the oncology dental support clinic at an urban university dental school setting
Authors: Corrigan Dale M. , Walker Mary P. , Liu Ying , Mitchell Tanya Villalpando
Published: June 2013

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors and/or factors associated with medically compromised patients seeking dental care in the oncology dental support clinic (ODSC) at the University of Missouri‐Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry. An 18‐item survey was mailed to 2,541 patients who were new patients to the clinic from 2006 to 2011. The response rate was approximately 18% (n = 450). Analyses included descriptive statistics of percentages/frequencies as well as predictors based on correlations. Fifty percent of participants, 100 females and 119 males, identified their primary medical diagnosis as cancer. Total household income (p < .001) and the importance of receiving dental care (p < .001) were significant factors in relation to self‐rated dental health. Perceived overall health (p < .001) also had a significant association with cancer status and the need for organ transplants. This study provided the ODSC at UMKC and other specialty clinics with vital information that can contribute to future planning efforts.
Latino Adolescents' Community Violence Exposure: After‐school Activities and Familismo as Risk and Protective Factors
Authors: Kennedy Traci M. , Ceballo Rosario
Published: June 2013

Low‐income, urban adolescents are exposed to extremely high rates of witnessing and being victimized by community violence. Such violence exposure presents serious implications for youth's development and psychological well‐being. In a sample of 223 ninth‐grade Latino adolescents, we examine: (1) what types of after‐school activity participation increase or reduce adolescents' risk for violence exposure and (2) the role of the cultural value of familismo in moderating the impact of violence exposure on adolescents' psychological well‐being. Our results indicate that spending unstructured leisure time with peers and participating in non‐school sports and non‐school clubs were associated with higher levels of community violence exposure, whereas adhering to the cultural value of familismo was associated with lower levels of violence exposure. Additionally, familismo moderated the positive association between violence exposure and depressive symptoms, but not posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Implications of these results are discussed.
Regional Resilience and Spatial Cycles: Long‐Term Evolution of the Chinese Port System (221bc–2010ad)
Authors: Wang Chengjin , Ducruet César
Published: June 2013

Spatial models of port system evolution often depict linearly the emergence of hierarchy through successive concentration phases of originally scattered ports. The Chinese case provides a fertile ground for complementing existing works by a long‐term perspective, given the early importance of river ports and seaports and the development irregularities caused by periods of closure and openness over time and across such a large land mass. In both qualitative and quantitative ways, this paper describes and analyses the changing spatial pattern of China's port system since the first unified empire (221bc). Main results underline a certain stability of the port system with regard to the location of main sea‐river gateways, notwithstanding important regional shifts from one period to the other.
A local-global question in automorphic forms
Authors: Anandavardhanan U. K. , Prasad Dipendra
Published: June 2013

In this paper, we consider the $\mathrm{SL} (2)$ analogue of two well-known theorems about period integrals of automorphic forms on $\mathrm{GL} (2)$: one due to Harder–Langlands–Rapoport about non-vanishing of period integrals on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{F} )$ of cuspidal automorphic representations on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{E} )$ where $E$ is a quadratic extension of a number field $F$, and the other due to Waldspurger involving toric periods of automorphic forms on ${\mathrm{GL} }_{2} ({ \mathbb{A} }_{F} )$. In both these cases, now involving $\mathrm{SL} (2)$, we analyze period integrals on global$L$-packets; we prove that under certain conditions, a global automorphic $L$-packet which at each place of a number field has a distinguished representation, contains globally distinguished representations, and further, an automorphic representation which is locally distinguished is globally distinguished.
Exercise‐induced heart mitochondrial cholesterol depletion influences the inhibition of mitochondrial swelling
Authors: Ziolkowski Wieslaw , Vadhana MS Dhivya , Kaczor Jan Jacek , Olek Robert Antoni , Flis Damian Jozef , Halon Malgorzata , Wozniak Michal , Fedeli Donatella , Carloni Manuel , Antosiewicz Jedrzej , Gabbianelli Rosita
Published: June 2013

New findings

What is the central question of this study?

The central question was to establish whether decreased cholesterol content in heart mitochondria caused by prolonged swimming may provoke changes in their bioenergetics and affect resistance to CaCl2‐induced mitochondrial swelling.

What is the main finding and its importance?

The main finding is the indication that changes in the cholesterol pool in heart mitochondria induced by swimming exercise are related to an increase in resistance to CaCl2‐induced swelling, probably by remodelling of lipid microdomains, and are not deleterious for mitochondrial bioenergetics. These findings may contribute to a more complete understanding of the defense system that may prevent mitochondrial degradation during exercise and the protective system of cardiac cell defense in stress conditions.

The significance of the reduction of the cholesterol pool in heart mitochondria after exercise is still unknown. Recently, published data have suggested that cholesterol may influence the components of mitochondrial contact site and affect mitochondrial swelling. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether the decreased cholesterol content in heart mitochondria caused by prolonged swimming may provoke changes in their bioenergetics and result in an increased resistance to calcium chloride‐induced mitochondrial swelling. Male Wistar rats were divided into a sedentary control group and an exercise group. The rats exercised for 3 h, burdened with an additional 3% of their body weight. Their hearts were removed immediately after completing the exercise. The left ventricle was divided and used for experiments. Mitochondrial cholesterol content, membrane fluidity and mitochondrial bioenergetics were measured in the control and exercised rat heart mitochondria. To assess whether mitochondrial modifications are linked to disruption of lipid microdomains, methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, a well‐known lipid microdomain‐disrupting agent and cholesterol chelator, was applied to the mitochondria of the control group. Cholesterol depletion, increased membrane fluidity and increased resistance to calcium chloride‐induced swelling were observed in postexercise heart crude mitochondrial fraction. Similar results were achieved in control mitochondria treated with 2% methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin. All of the mitochondrial bioenergetics parameters were similar between the groups. Therefore, the disruption of raft‐like microdomains appears to be an adaptive change in the rat heart following exercise.
The neural interaction between the arterial baroreflex and muscle metaboreflex is preserved in older men
Authors: Greaney Jody L. , Schwartz Christopher E. , Edwards David G. , Fadel Paul J. , Farquhar William B.
Published: June 2013

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

Sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity increases during isolated skeletal muscle metaboreflex activation in young adults, but whether this neural interaction between the arterial baroreflex and the muscle metaboreflex is altered in healthy ageing remains unclear.

What is the main finding and its importance?

The collective findings indicate that the neural interaction between the arterial baroreflex and the skeletal muscle metaboreflex in the regulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity is preserved in healthy ageing. This has potential implications for the regulation of blood pressure during exercise in older adults.

Sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity is increased during selective activation of the skeletal muscle metaboreflex with postexercise ischaemia (PEI) in young adults. However, to date, there are no data demonstrating this neural interaction between the arterial baroreflex and the muscle metaboreflex in healthy older adults. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine the influence of healthy ageing on the metabolic component of the exercise pressor reflex and its interaction with the arterial baroreflex in the control of sympathetic outflow. Postexercise ischaemia following static hand grip performed at 30% maximal voluntary contraction was used to isolate muscle metaboreflex activation in young [n= 10; 24 ± 1 years old; resting blood pressure (BP) 116 ± 3/64 ± 3 mmHg] and older men (n= 9; 59 ± 2 years old; resting BP 120 ± 2/77 ± 2 mmHg). Arterial BP (Finometer) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) were measured continuously. Weighted linear regression analysis between MSNA and diastolic BP was used to estimate arterial baroreflex MSNA gain. There were no age‐related differences in the increase in mean BP (young, Δ14 ± 3 mmHg versus older, Δ15 ± 2 mmHg; P > 0.05) or MSNA burst frequency (young, Δ11 ± 2 bursts min−1 versus older, Δ9 ± 1 bursts min−1; P > 0.05) during PEI. Likewise, the gain of arterial baroreflex control of total MSNA increased to a similar extent in both groups during PEI (young, −4.2 ± 0.9 baseline versus−6.3 ± 1.1 PEI a.u. beat−1 mmHg−1; and older, −3.7 ± 1.1 baseline versus−6.7 ± 1.4 PEI a.u. beat−1 mmHg−1; P < 0.05 for both). Collectively, these findings indicate that the neural interaction between the arterial baroreflex and the skeletal muscle metaboreflex in the regulation of MSNA is preserved in healthy ageing.
The du2J mouse model of ataxia and absence epilepsy has deficient cannabinoid CB1 receptor‐mediated signalling
Authors: Wang Xiaowei , Whalley Benjamin J. , Stephens Gary J.
Published: June 2013

Key points

Cerebellar ataxias are progressive debilitating diseases with no known treatment and are associated with defective motor function and, in particular, abnormalities to Purkinje cells.

Mutant mice with deficits in Ca2+ channel auxiliary α2δ‐2 subunits are used as models of cerebellar ataxia.

Our data in the du2J mouse model shows an association between the ataxic phenotype exhibited by homozygous du2J/du2J mice and increased irregularity of Purkinje cell firing.

We show that both heterozygous +/du2J and homozygous du2J/du2J mice completely lack the strong presynaptic modulation of neuronal firing by cannabinoid CB1 receptors which is exhibited by litter‐matched control mice.

These results show that the du2J ataxia model is associated with deficits in CB1 receptor signalling in the cerebellar cortex, putatively linked with compromised Ca2+ channel activity due to reduced α2δ‐2 subunit expression. Knowledge of such deficits may help design therapeutic agents to combat ataxias.

Abstract  Cerebellar ataxias are a group of progressive, debilitating diseases often associated with abnormal Purkinje cell (PC) firing and/or degeneration. Many animal models of cerebellar ataxia display abnormalities in Ca2+ channel function. The ‘ducky’du2J mouse model of ataxia and absence epilepsy represents a clean knock‐out of the auxiliary Ca2+ channel subunit α2δ‐2, and has been associated with deficient Ca2+ channel function in the cerebellar cortex. Here, we investigate effects of du2J mutation on PC layer (PCL) and granule cell layer (GCL) neuronal spiking activity and, also, inhibitory neurotransmission at interneurone–Purkinje cell (IN‐PC) synapses. Increased neuronal firing irregularity was seen in the PCL and, to a less marked extent, in the GCL in du2J/du2J, but not +/du2J, mice; these data suggest that the ataxic phenotype is associated with lack of precision of PC firing, that may also impinge on GC activity and requires expression of two du2J alleles to manifest fully. The du2J mutation had no clear effect on spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic current (sIPSC) frequency at IN‐PC synapses, but was associated with increased sIPSC amplitudes. du2J mutation ablated cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R)‐mediated modulation of spontaneous neuronal spike firing and CB1R‐mediated presynaptic inhibition of synaptic transmission at IN‐PC synapses in both +/du2J and du2J/du2J mutants, effects that occurred in the absence of changes in CB1R expression. These results demonstrate that the du2J ataxia model is associated with deficient CB1R signalling in the cerebellar cortex, putatively linked with compromised Ca2+ channel activity and the ataxic phenotype.