bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
I can feel his heart beating through the sole of my foot: Reflections on improvisation from a dancer finding her feet
Authors: Harrop Angharad
Published: December 2014

This article delves into the experiences of a recent graduate exploring improvised dance. By analysing experiences of performing, watching and reflecting, this article questions the role of the dancer within improvised performance, and gives insight into the discovery, self-reflection and development involved in the journey of an improvising performer. The article discusses and reflects upon the practice of British dance artists, including Kirstie Simon, Julyen Hamilton and Rosemary Lee, through the eyes of the enquiring and developing dancer: each of these practitioners has influenced and moulded improvisational practice in the United Kingdom since the 1970s. In addition to this discussion of practice, the article also draws upon the published research of artists including Nina Martin and Susan Sgorbati in order to explore the concerns of improvised performance as negotiated by the performer. From a consideration of the thoughts, reflections and observations that occur in the moment of improvised performance, this article examines how dancers engaging with improvised performance are involved in a journey that provokes, challenges and questions concepts of authenticity, honesty and presence. It questions the processes through which dancers are able to negotiate these concerns to fully engage, with both fellow performer and audience, in improvised performance.
The three-ness of three ones
Authors: Fitzpatrick Marie
Published: December 2014

This article explores processes within a dance practice as research (PaR) case study and draws upon theoretical and philosophical conceptions of the interval and kinaesthetic empathy to discuss relational and emergent processes that have arisen out of three ones (2012). Artistic processes that deal with the embodied experience are prioritized, and commentaries from dancers in the work and from audience members are centralized in a discussion on touch-based, improvisational practice. The subjective perspective and experience of the mover is considered and the discussion further focuses on the between-ness of movement to provoke questions about inter-subjectivity and notions of self and other. I propose that attending to touch-based, improvisational processes elicits a three-ness between the three dancers that offers ways to consider the multiple nature of exchange. I question how gained understandings of relationality through this PaR case study can lead to new understandings of the affective potentiality in our everyday interactions with other bodies and objects and our relationship with environment.
Relative proximity: Reaching towards an ethics of touch in cross-generational dance practice
Authors: Pethybridge Ruth
Published: December 2014

This article addresses the potential for an embodied ethics of touch in the context of cross-generational dance work, in particular through the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas. Focusing on choreographic processes and performances involving parents and children I examine the relationships that are reoriented through the shifting mode of being that is dancing together. This is in part an auto-ethnographic enquiry as I reflect on my own experiences as a new mother dancing with my daughter in Baby Jam1 and relating to her in life. Proximity is used as a way to frame the auto-ethnographic lens and to discuss ethics as a way of relating. This article suggests an ambiguous definition of ‘contact’: conceiving of it as a mode of communication as well as a dance practice The article questions how contact might be defined without the use of touch, by including the potential of touch as well as its actualization. Using Manning’s 2009 notion of relational movement, I refer to the ‘about-to-be’ moment in contact and the ethical relationships that this engenders. This article references three case studies as examples: my own cross-generational duet project with an adult mother and daughter, my experiences as a new mother and the work of Giulio D’Anna and his recent piece choreographed with his father Parkin’son. It discusses the ontological implications of contact across generations as a way of being together, reaching towards an ethics of touch rather than fixing its meaning.
Contact improvisation, the non-eroticized touch in an ‘art-sport’
Authors: Dymoke Katy
Published: December 2014

This article is from the first chapter of a Ph.D. thesis and introduces some pivotal experiences and emerging beliefs that inspired the past two decades of professional practice, incorporating contact improvisation (CI), Body-Mind Centering® (BMC®) and Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP). The purpose of this article is to indicate the epistemology of my professional self, a touch specialist, presented in three emerging roles: the CI practitioner/teacher, the BMC practitioner/teacher and the DMP practitioner/teacher. Through the practice of CI and BMC I learnt essential touch and movement skills, and sharing them with deafblind people had an unexpected outcome – I discovered the effects of touch deprivation. In working with people who experience social exclusion in the context of socially inclusive arts projects I learnt that I too had been deprived of the universal language of touch. My personal and professional paths became intertwined as I undertook to work with touch-based methods in health contexts and encountered the dilemma of working in a non-touch culture and the negative effects on patients. CI and BMC combine as effective methods within DMP practice as they operate within the territory of humanistic and body-oriented psychotherapy and enrich this with specialist skills including reflexivity, hermeneutics and self-enquiry.
Characterization of men with lower urinary tract dysfunction after surgical management of benign prostatic obstruction
Authors: Buck Jessica , Dunphy Claire , Lee Richard , Te Alexis , A. Kaplan Steven , Chughtai Bilal
Published: December 2014

Objective: To characterize the symptoms and urodynamic findings of men with lower urinary tract dysfunction after a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).
Materials and Methods: A total of 123 consecutive men with lower urinary tract dysfunction after surgical treatment for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) were analyzed. Men with prostate cancer, stricture, multiple TURPs, radical prostatectomy or prostate cancer treatment were excluded. Parameters assessed by urodynamics included bladder capacity, detrusor contractibility, pressure flow study, and post void residual. Analysis of the variance was used to compare outcomes of urodynamic parameters between the primary diagnoses.
Results: Mean age at TURP was 68 years (range 39 to 88). Symptoms included frequency (68%), nocturia (53%), urgency (44%), and retention requiring catheterization (17%). A total of 72 men (59%) were diagnosed with bladder outlet obstruction (BOO), 30 (24%) with impaired detrusor contractility (DU), and 21 (17%) with detrusor over activity (DO).  Among these groups, there was no difference in duration of recurrent symptoms, AUA symptom score, Quality of Life score, or prostate size. Maximum flow was significantly less and post-void residual significantly greater in both BOO and DU groups. Bladder capacity was significantly higher in DU.
Conclusions: In the modern era, bladder outlet obstruction was the most common cause of recurrent lower urinary tract dysfunction after surgical management of BPO. 
Bladder preservation in the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer
Authors: Prado Kris , Gollapudi Kiran , King Christopher , Steinberg Michael L. , I. Chin Arnold
Published: December 2014

Organ preserving strategies are being increasingly utilized in the treatment of solid malignancies with the intent of reducing surgical morbidity and maintaining quality of life. Organ preservation becomes a viable approach only when cancer outcomes are not compromised when compared to radical resection. We reviewed the current literature on bladder preservation for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, focusing on trimodality therapy consisting of complete transurethral resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Acknowledging the absence of randomized clinical trials, differences in patient selection, and variation in study protocols, trimodality therapy may yield similar 5- and 10-year overall survival rates compared to radical cystectomy alone. This includes the approximately 30% of patients who enter a bladder preservation protocol and undergo salvage radical cystectomy for failure of local control. Currently, bladder preservation appears to be an alternative to radical cystectomy in select patients who have appropriate rigorous surveillance.
Ergative, antipassive and other verb derivational morphemes in Gaahmg
Authors: Stirtz Timothy M.
Published: December 2014

Gaahmg has ergative traces in a predominately nominative-accusative system. Clauses with object focus demonstrate ergative case marking on postverbal noun and pronoun agents, and an ergative morpheme is also bound to verbs. Other evidence for ergativity is that the ergative morpheme is morphologically and syntactically distinct from the passive morpheme. Ergative morphemes and constructions in Gaahmg are similar to those of other Nilo-Saharan languages, including Luwo, Päri, and Shilluk. The Gaahmg antipassive also resembles that of other Nilo-Saharan languages. Yet, unlike other languages with ergativity and antipassives, Gaahmg readily combines the antipassive with ergative, passive, and causative morphemes in the same verb form. The Gaahmg antipassive occurs in nominative-accusative structures, as well as in object-focus clauses with ergative-absolutive structures. Further, the antipassive co-occurs with the passive, as if both the nominative-accusative and ergative-absolutive structures are simultaneously present in the same clause, and the language is currently shifting from one structure to the other.
Acute high blood glucose level attenuates histamine-stimulated acid secretion in male Wistar rats
Authors: Usman Taofeek O. , Olatunji Lawrence A. , Alada Abdul Rasak A.
Published: December 2014

Background: Studies have shown that the hyperglycemic state induced by intravenous glucagon or glucose infusion may lead to inhibition of gastric acid secretion through the inhibition of gastric vagus activity. Histamine is a well-known mammalian acid secretagogue and it stimulates acid secretion through H2 receptors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine what effect an acute hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic state would have on histamine-stimulated acid secretion.

Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing between 200 and 250 g were divided into three groups that received an intravenous infusion of normal saline (control group), glucose (hyperglycemic group), or insulin (hypoglycemic group) followed by injection of histamine to stimulate acid secretion. The oesophageal and duodenal ends of the rats’ stomach were cannulated with polythene tubing and the stomach was perfused at room temperature using a Langendoff perfusion apparatus. The effluent was collected in aliquots over 10 min per sample and its pH was measured.

Results: There was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in acid secretion following histamine injection in the hyperglycemic rats, while histamine injection led to an increase (p<0.05) in acid secretion in the hypoglycemic rats.

Conclusions: These results show that hyperglycemic state would result in attenuated histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion, while hypoglycemic state would lead to increased histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion.
A live trap and trapping technique for subterranean zokors (Rodentia)
Authors: Limin Hua , Weihong Ji , Jianwei Zhou , Songtao Zuo
Published: December 2014

Ecological and behavioural studies of subterranean animals are challenging because their subterranean lifestyle make direct observations difficult. Effective live trapping without causing injuries to an animal and handling of captured individuals are crucial for ecological and behavioural studies. In this paper, we report the design and structure of a live trap and trapping technique for zokors. The trap is made up of a stainless steel cage with a gate, a trigger and a GSM/GPRS module, and it is installed in the tunnel of a fossorial rodent (
Review of dermatology use of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy in China from 1997 to 2013
Authors: Wang Peiru , Fan Zhixia , Zhang Linglin , Huang Zheng , Wang Xiuli
Published: December 2014

The prodrug 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and its ester derivatives have been used in photodynamic therapy (PDT) in dermatology worldwide. In China, ALA-PDT was first used to treat urethral
α2-Adrenergic Stimulation of the Ventrolateral Preoptic Nucleus Destabilizes the Anesthetic State
Authors: McCarren Hilary S. , Chalifoux Michael R. , Han Bo , Moore Jason T. , Meng Qing Cheng , Baron-Hionis Nina , Sedigh-Sarvestani Madineh , Contreras Diego , Beck Sheryl G. , Kelz Max B.
Published: December 2014

The sleep-promoting ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) shares reciprocal inhibitory inputs with wake–active neuronal nuclei, including the locus ceruleus. Electrophysiologically, sleep-promoting neurons in the VLPO are directly depolarized by the general anesthetic isoflurane and hyperpolarized by norepinephrine, a wake-promoting neurotransmitter. However, the integration of these competing influences on the VLPO, a sleep- and anesthetic-active structure, has yet to be evaluated in either brain slicesin vitroor the intact organism. Single-cell multiplex RT-PCR conducted on both isoflurane-activated, putative sleep-promoting VLPO neurons and neighboring, state-indifferent VLPO neurons in mouse brain slices revealed widespread expression of α2A-, α2B- and α2C-adrenergic receptors in both populations. Indeed, both norepinephrine and the highly selective α2 agonist dexmedetomidine each reversed the VLPO depolarization induced by isoflurane in slicesin vitro. When microinjected directly into the VLPO of a mouse lightly anesthetized with isoflurane, dexmedetomidine increased behavioral arousal and reduced the depressant effects of isoflurane on barrel cortex somatosensory-evoked potentials but failed to elicit spectral changes in spontaneous EEG. Based on these observations, we conclude that local modulation of α-adrenergic activity in the VLPO destabilizes, but does not fully antagonize, the anesthetic state, thus priming the brain for anesthetic emergence.
Entrapment via Synaptic-Like Connections between NG2 Proteoglycan+ Cells and Dystrophic Axons in the Lesion Plays a Role in Regeneration Failure after Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Filous Angela R. , Tran Amanda , Howell C. James , Busch Sarah A. , Evans Teresa A. , Stallcup William B. , Kang Shin H. , Bergles Dwight E. , Lee Seong-il , Levine Joel M. , Silver Jerry
Published: December 2014

NG2 is purportedly one of the most growth-inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) produced after spinal cord injury. Nonetheless, once the severed axon tips dieback from the lesion core into the penumbra they closely associate with NG2+ cells. We asked if proteoglycans play a role in this tight cell—cell interaction and whether overadhesion upon these cells might participate in regeneration failure in rodents. Studies using varying ratios of CSPGs and adhesion molecules along with chondroitinase ABC, as well as purified adult cord-derived NG2 glia, demonstrate that CSPGs are involved in entrapping neurons. Once dystrophic axons become stabilized upon NG2+ cells, they form synaptic-like connections bothin vitroandin vivo. In NG2 knock-out mice, sensory axons in the dorsal columns dieback further than their control counterparts. When axons are double conditioned to enhance their growth potential, some traverse the lesion core and express reduced amounts of synaptic proteins. Our studies suggest that proteoglycan-mediated entrapment upon NG2+ cells is an additional obstacle to CNS axon regeneration.
Metabolism Regulates the Spontaneous Firing of Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Neurons via KATPand Nonselective Cation Channels
Authors: Lutas Andrew , Birnbaumer Lutz , Yellen Gary
Published: December 2014

Neurons use glucose to fuel glycolysis and provide substrates for mitochondrial respiration, but neurons can also use alternative fuels that bypass glycolysis and feed directly into mitochondria. To determine whether neuronal pacemaking depends on active glucose metabolism, we switched the metabolic fuel from glucose to alternative fuels, lactate or β-hydroxybutyrate, while monitoring the spontaneous firing of GABAergic neurons in mouse substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) brain slices. We found that alternative fuels, in the absence of glucose, sustained SNr spontaneous firing at basal rates, but glycolysis may still be supported by glycogen in the absence of glucose. To prevent any glycogen-fueled glycolysis, we directly inhibited glycolysis using either 2-deoxyglucose or iodoacetic acid. Inhibiting glycolysis in the presence of alternative fuels lowered SNr firing to a slower sustained firing rate. Surprisingly, we found that the decrease in SNr firing was not mediated by ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel activity, but if we lowered the perfusion flow rate or omitted the alternative fuel, KATPchannels were activated and could silence SNr firing. The KATP-independent slowing of SNr firing that occurred with glycolytic inhibition in the presence of alternative fuels was consistent with a decrease in a nonselective cationic conductance. Although mitochondrial metabolism alone can prevent severe energy deprivation and KATPchannel activation in SNr neurons, active glucose metabolism appears important for keeping open a class of ion channels that is crucial for the high spontaneous firing rate of SNr neurons.
Upregulation of Parkin in Endophilin Mutant Mice
Authors: Cao Mian , Milosevic Ira , Giovedi Silvia , De Camilli Pietro
Published: December 2014

Several proteins encoded by PD genes are implicated in synaptic vesicle traffic. Endophilin, a key factor in the endocytosis of synaptic vesicles, was shown to bind to, and be ubiquitinated by, the PD-linked E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin. Here we report that Parkin's level is specifically upregulated in brain and fibroblasts of endophilin mutant mice due to increased transcriptional regulation. Studies of transfected HEK293T cells show that Parkin ubiquitinates not only endophilin, but also its major binding partners, dynamin and synaptojanin 1. These results converge with the recently reported functional relationship of endophilin to the PD gene LRRK2 and with the identification of a PD-linked synaptojanin 1 mutation, in providing evidence for a link between PD and endocytosis genes.
Sleep Spindles and Intelligence: Evidence for a Sexual Dimorphism
Authors: Ujma Péter P. , Konrad Boris Nikolai , Genzel Lisa , Bleifuss Annabell , Simor Péter , Pótári Adrián , Körmendi János , Gombos Ferenc , Steiger Axel , Bódizs Róbert , Dresler Martin
Published: December 2014

Sleep spindles are thalamocortical oscillations in nonrapid eye movement sleep, which play an important role in sleep-related neuroplasticity and offline information processing. Sleep spindle features are stable within and vary between individuals, with, for example, females having a higher number of spindles and higher spindle density than males. Sleep spindles have been associated with learning potential and intelligence; however, the details of this relationship have not been fully clarified yet. In a sample of 160 adult human subjects with a broad IQ range, we investigated the relationship between sleep spindle parameters and intelligence. In females, we found a positive age-corrected association between intelligence and fast sleep spindle amplitude in central and frontal derivations and a positive association between intelligence and slow sleep spindle duration in all except one derivation. In males, a negative association between intelligence and fast spindle density in posterior regions was found. Effects were continuous over the entire IQ range. Our results demonstrate that, although there is an association between sleep spindle parameters and intellectual performance, these effects are more modest than previously reported and mainly present in females. This supports the view that intelligence does not rely on a single neural framework, and stronger neural connectivity manifesting in increased thalamocortical oscillations in sleep is one particular mechanism typical for females but not males.
Early Alzheimer's Disease Neuropathology Detected by Proton MR Spectroscopy
Authors: Murray Melissa E. , Przybelski Scott A. , Lesnick Timothy G. , Liesinger Amanda M. , Spychalla Anthony , Zhang Bing , Gunter Jeffrey L. , Parisi Joseph E. , Boeve Bradley F. , Knopman David S. , Petersen Ronald C. , Jack Clifford R. , Dickson Dennis W. , Kantarci Kejal
Published: December 2014

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is sensitive to early neurodegenerative processes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although1H-MRS metabolite ratios ofN-acetyl aspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), NAA/myoinositol (mI), and mI/Cr measured in the posterior cingulate gyrus reveal evidence of disease progression in AD, pathologic underpinnings of the1H-MRS metabolite changes in AD are unknown. Pathologically diagnosed human cases ranging from no likelihood to high likelihood AD (n= 41, 16 females and 25 males) who underwent antemortem1H-MRS of the posterior cingulate gyrus at 3 tesla were included in this study. Immunohistochemical evaluation was performed on the posterior cingulate gyrus using antibodies to synaptic vesicles, hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau), neurofibrillary tangle conformational-epitope (cNFT), amyloid-β, astrocytes, and microglia. The slides were digitally analyzed using Aperio software, which allows neuropathologic quantification in the posterior cingulate gray matter. MRS and pathology associations were adjusted for time from scan to death. Significant associations across AD and control subjects were found between reduced synaptic immunoreactivity and both NAA/Cr and NAA/mI in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Higher pTau burden was associated with lower NAA/Cr and NAA/mI. Higher amyloid-β burden was associated with elevated mI/Cr and lower NAA/mI ratios, but not with NAA/Cr.1H-MRS metabolite levels reveal early neurodegenerative changes associated with AD pathology. Our findings support the hypothesis that a decrease in NAA/Cr is associated with loss of synapses and early pTau pathology, but not with amyloid-β or later accumulation of cNFT pathology in the posterior cingulate gyrus. In addition, elevation of mI/Cr is associated with the occurrence of amyloid-β plaques in AD.
When the Brain Takes a Break: A Model-Based Analysis of Mind Wandering
Authors: Mittner Matthias , Boekel Wouter , Tucker Adrienne M. , Turner Brandon M. , Heathcote Andrew , Forstmann Birte U.
Published: December 2014

Mind wandering is an ubiquitous phenomenon in everyday life. In the cognitive neurosciences, mind wandering has been associated with several distinct neural processes, most notably increased activity in the default mode network (DMN), suppressed activity within the anti-correlated (task-positive) network (ACN), and changes in neuromodulation. By using an integrative multimodal approach combining machine-learning techniques with modeling of latent cognitive processes, we show that mind wandering in humans is characterized by inefficiencies in executive control (task-monitoring) processes. This failure is predicted by a single-trial signature of (co)activations in the DMN, ACN, and neuromodulation, and accompanied by a decreased rate of evidence accumulation and response thresholds in the cognitive model.
Reciprocal Interactions of the SMA and Cingulate Cortex Sustain Premovement Activity for Voluntary Actions
Authors: Nguyen Vinh T. , Breakspear Michael , Cunnington Ross
Published: December 2014

Voluntary action is one of the core functions of the human brain, and is accompanied by the well known readiness potential or Bereitschaftspotential. A network of cortical areas is responsible for the motor preparation process, including the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) and the SMA. However, the relationship between activity in these regions during movement preparation and the readiness potential is poorly understood. We examined this relationship by integrating simultaneously acquired EEG and fMRI through computational modeling. We first observed that global field power of premovement neural activity showed a specific correlation with BOLD responses in the aMCC. We then used dynamic causal modeling to infer premovement interactions between these regions and their relationship to the premovement neural activity underlying the readiness potential. These analyses suggest that SMA and aMCC have strong reciprocal connections that act to sustain each other's activity, and that this interaction is mediated during movement preparation according to the readiness potential amplitude, as reflected in global cortical field power. Our study suggests that the reciprocal connections between SMA and aMCC are important to maintain the sustained activity of the readiness potential before movement and lead to a weak system instability at movement onset. We suggest that the effective connectivity of this network underlies its functional role in the preparation of self-generated actions.
Blocking Lymphocyte Trafficking with FTY720 Prevents Inflammation-Sensitized Hypoxic–Ischemic Brain Injury in Newborns
Authors: Yang Dianer , Sun Yu-Yo , Bhaumik Siddhartha Kumar , Li Yikun , Baumann Jessica M. , Lin Xiaoyi , Zhang Yujin , Lin Shang-Hsuan , Dunn R. Scott , Liu Chia-Yang , Shie Feng-Shiun , Lee Yi-Hsuan , Wills-Karp Marsha , Chougnet Claire A. , Kallapur Suhas G. , Lewkowich Ian P. , Lindquist Diana M. , Murali-Krishna Kaja , Kuan Chia-Yi
Published: December 2014

Intrauterine infection (chorioamnionitis) aggravates neonatal hypoxic–ischemic (HI) brain injury, but the mechanisms linking systemic inflammation to the CNS damage remain uncertain. Here we report evidence for brain influx of T-helper 17 (TH17)-like lymphocytes to coordinate neuroinflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-sensitized HI injury in neonates. We found that both infants with histological chorioamnionitis and rat pups challenged by LPS/HI have elevated expression of the interleukin-23 (IL-23) receptor, a marker of early TH17 lymphocytes, in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Post-LPS/HI administration of FTY720 (fingolimod), a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist that blocks lymphocyte trafficking, mitigated the influx of leukocytes through the choroid plexus and acute induction of nuclear factor-κB signaling in the brain. Subsequently, the FTY720 treatment led to attenuated blood–brain barrier damage, fewer cluster of differentiation 4-positive, IL-17A-positive T-cells in the brain, less proinflammatory cytokine, and better preservation of growth and white matter functions. The FTY720 treatment also provided dose-dependent reduction of brain atrophy, rescuing >90% of LPS/HI-induced brain tissue loss. Interestingly, FTY720 neither opposed pure-HI brain injury nor directly inhibited microglia in bothin vivoandin vitromodels, highlighting its unique mechanism against inflammation-sensitized HI injury. Together, these results suggest that the dual hit of systemic inflammation and neonatal HI injury triggers early onset of the TH17/IL-17-mediated immunity, which causes severe brain destruction but responds remarkably to the therapeutic blockade of lymphocyte trafficking.
Excitation and Inhibition Compete to Control Spiking during Hippocampal Ripples: Intracellular Study in Behaving Mice
Authors: English Daniel F. , Peyrache Adrien , Stark Eran , Roux Lisa , Vallentin Daniela , Long Michael A. , Buzsáki György
Published: December 2014

High-frequency ripple oscillations, observed most prominently in the hippocampal CA1 pyramidal layer, are associated with memory consolidation. The cellular and network mechanisms underlying the generation of the rhythm and the recruitment of spikes from pyramidal neurons are still poorly understood. Using intracellular, sharp electrode recordings in freely moving, drug-free mice, we observed consistent large depolarizations in CA1 pyramidal cells during sharp wave ripples, which are associated with ripple frequency fluctuation of the membrane potential (“intracellular ripple”). Despite consistent depolarization, often exceeding pre-ripple spike threshold values, current pulse-induced spikes were strongly suppressed, indicating that spiking was under the control of concurrent shunting inhibition. Ripple events were followed by a prominent afterhyperpolarization and spike suppression. Action potentials during and outside ripples were orthodromic, arguing against ectopic spike generation, which has been postulated by computational models of ripple generation. These findings indicate that dendritic excitation of pyramidal neurons during ripples is countered by shunting of the membrane and postripple silence is mediated by hyperpolarizing inhibition.
Regulation of IL-10 by Chondroitinase ABC Promotes a Distinct Immune Response following Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Didangelos Athanasios , Iberl Michaela , Vinsland Elin , Bartus Katalin , Bradbury Elizabeth J.
Published: December 2014

Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) has striking effects on promoting neuronal plasticity after spinal cord injury (SCI), but little is known about its involvement in other pathological mechanisms. Recent work showed that ChABC might also modulate the immune response by promoting M2 macrophage polarization. Here we investigate in detail the immunoregulatory effects of ChABC after SCI in rats. Initially, we examined the expression profile of 16 M1/M2 macrophage polarization markers at 3 h and 7 d postinjury. ChABC treatment had a clear effect on the immune signature after SCI. More specifically, ChABC increased the expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, accompanied by a reduction in the proinflammatory cytokine IL-12B in injured spinal tissue. These effects were associated with a distinct, IL-10-mediated anti-inflammatory response in ChABC-treated spinal cords. Mechanistically, we show that IL-10 expression is driven by tissue injury and macrophage infiltration, while the p38 MAPK is the central regulator of IL-10 expressionin vivo. These findings provide novel insights into the effects of ChABC in the injured spinal cord and explain its immunoregulatory activity.
Topographic Mapping between Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Mice
Authors: Bloem Bernard , Schoppink Luc , Rotaru Diana C. , Faiz Amu , Hendriks Patrick , Mansvelder Huibert D. , van de Berg Wilma D.J. , Wouterlood Floris G.
Published: December 2014

The basal forebrain cholinergic innervation of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is crucial for cognitive performance. However, little is known about the organization of connectivity between the basal forebrain and the mPFC in the mouse. Using focal virus injections inducing Cre-dependent enhanced yellow fluorescent protein expression in ChAT–IRES–Cre mice, we tested the hypothesis that there is a topographic mapping between the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and their axonal projections to the mPFC. We found that ascending cholinergic fibers to the mPFC follow four pathways and that cholinergic neurons take these routes depending on their location in the basal forebrain. In addition, a general mapping pattern was observed in which the position of cholinergic neurons measured along a rostral to caudal extent in the basal forebrain correlated with a ventral to dorsal and a rostral to caudal shift of cholinergic fiber distribution in mPFC. Finally, we found that neurons in the rostral and caudal parts of the basal forebrain differentially innervate the superficial and deep layers of the ventral regions of the mPFC. Thus, a frontocaudal organization of the cholinergic system exists in which distinct mPFC areas and cortical layers are targeted depending on the location of the cholinergic neuron in the basal forebrain.
GABAergic Transmission to Kisspeptin Neurons Is Differentially Regulated by Time of Day and Estradiol in Female Mice
Authors: DeFazio Richard A. , Elias Carol F. , Moenter Suzanne M.
Published: December 2014

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion is regulated by estradiol feedback. This feedback switches from negative to positive in females; this switch depends on time of day in many species. Estradiol feedback is likely conveyed via afferents. Kisspeptin neurons of the arcuate nucleus and anteroventral–periventricular region (AVPV) may differentially regulate GnRH neurons during negative and positive feedback, respectively. We tested estradiol and time of day regulation of GABAergic transmission and postsynaptic response to GABA in these two populations using transgenic mice with GFP-identified kisspeptin neurons. Ovariectomized (OVX) mice treated or not with estradiol (E) were studied in the AM (negative feedback) or PM (positive feedback). GABAAreceptor reversal potential was unaffected by time of day or estradiol. GABA depolarized the membrane potential of arcuate neurons from OVX+E mice; this response was blunted in cells from OVX mice. GABA hyperpolarized AVPV kisspeptin neurons, except in the OVX PM group in which GABA did not alter membrane potential attributable to a PM hyperpolarization of baseline membrane potential. In both kisspeptin neuron populations from OVX mice, the frequency of GABAergic spontaneous postsynaptic currents was increased in the PM; this increase was blunted by estradiol. In arcuate, but not AVPV, kisspeptin neurons, estradiol reduced miniature postsynaptic current amplitude independent of time of day. Using nonstationary fluctuation analysis and diazepam to manipulate GABAAreceptor apparent affinity, the decrease in arcuate miniature postsynaptic current amplitude was attributed to decreased number of receptors bound by GABA. Time of day and estradiol feedback thus both target presynaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms to differentially regulate kisspeptin neurons via GABAergic transmission.
Brain Structural Substrates of Reward Dependence during Behavioral Performance
Authors: Dayan Eran , Hamann Janne M. , Averbeck Bruno B. , Cohen Leonardo G.
Published: December 2014

Interindividual differences in the effects of reward on performance are prevalent and poorly understood, with some individuals being more dependent than others on the rewarding outcomes of their actions. The origin of this variability in reward dependence is unknown. Here, we tested the relationship between reward dependence and brain structure in healthy humans. Subjects trained on a visuomotor skill-acquisition task and received performance feedback in the presence or absence of reward. Reward dependence was defined as the statistical trial-by-trial relation between reward and subsequent performance. We report a significant relationship between reward dependence and the lateral prefrontal cortex, where regional gray-matter volume predicted reward dependence but not feedback alone. Multivoxel pattern analysis confirmed the anatomical specificity of this relationship. These results identified a likely anatomical marker for the prospective influence of reward on performance, which may be of relevance in neurorehabilitative settings.
Task-Dependent Spatial Selectivity in the Primate Amygdala
Authors: Peck Ellen L. , Peck Christopher J. , Salzman C. Daniel
Published: December 2014

Humans and other animals routinely encounter visual stimuli that indicate whether future reward delivery depends upon the identity or location of a stimulus, or the performance of a particular action. These reinforcement contingencies can influence how much attention is directed toward a stimulus. Neurons in the primate amygdala encode information about the association between visual stimuli and reinforcement as well as about the location of reward-predictive stimuli. Amygdala neural activity also predicts variability in spatial attention. In principle, the spatial properties of amygdala neurons may be present independent of spatial attention allocation. Alternatively, the encoding of spatial information may require attention. We trained monkeys to perform tasks that engaged spatial attention to varying degrees to understand the genesis of spatial processing in the amygdala. During classical conditioning tasks, conditioned stimuli appeared at different locations; amygdala neurons responded selectively to the location of stimuli. These spatial signals diminished rapidly upon stimulus disappearance and were unrelated to selectivity for expected reward. In contrast, spatial selectivity was sustained in time when monkeys performed a delayed saccade task that required sustained spatial attention. This temporally extended spatial signal was correlated with signals encoding reward expectation. Furthermore, variability in firing rates was correlated with variability in spatial attention, as measured by reaction time. These results reveal two types of spatial signals in the amygdala: one that is tied to initial visual responses and a second that reflects coordination between spatial and reinforcement information and that relates to the engagement of spatial attention.
Endogenous Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Reduces Drinking Behavior and Is Differentially Engaged by Water and Food Intakes in Rats
Authors: McKay Naomi J. , Galante Daniela L. , Daniels Derek
Published: December 2014

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is produced in the ileum and the nucleus of the solitary tract. It is well known that GLP-1 controls food intake, but there is a growing literature indicating that GLP-1 also is involved in fluid intake. It is not known, however, if the observed effects are pharmacological or if endogenous GLP-1 and its receptor contribute to physiological fluid intake control. Accordingly, we blocked endogenous GLP-1 by application of a receptor antagonist and measured subsequent drinking. Furthermore, we measured changes in GLP-1-associated gene expression after water intake, and compared the effects of fluid intake to those caused by food intake. Rats injected with the antagonist exendin-9 (Ex-9) drank more fluid in response to either subcutaneous hypertonic saline or water deprivation with partial rehydration than did vehicle-treated rats. Analysis of licking behavior showed that Ex-9 increased fluid intake by increasing the number of licking bursts, without having an effect on the number of licks per burst, suggesting that endogenous GLP-1 suppresses fluid intake by influencing satiety. Subsequent experiments showed that water intake had a selective effect on central GLP-1-related gene expression, unlike food intake, which affected both central and peripheral GLP-1. Although water and food intakes both affected central GLP-1-relevant gene expression, there were notable differences in the timing of the effect. These results show a novel role of the endogenous GLP-1 system in fluid intake, and indicate that elements of the GLP-1 system can be engaged separately by different forms of ingestive behavior.
Tau-Mediated NMDA Receptor Impairment Underlies Dysfunction of a Selectively Vulnerable Network in a Mouse Model of Frontotemporal Dementia
Authors: Warmus Brian A. , Sekar Dheepa R. , McCutchen Eve , Schellenberg Gerard D. , Roberts Rosalinda C. , McMahon Lori L. , Roberson Erik D.
Published: December 2014

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative behavioral disorder that selectively affects the salience network, including the ventral striatum and insula. Tau mutations cause FTD, but how mutant tau impairs the salience network is unknown. Here, we address this question using a mouse model expressing the entire human tau gene with an FTD-associated mutation (V337M). Mutant, but not wild-type, human tau transgenic mice had aging-dependent repetitive and disinhibited behaviors, with synaptic deficits selectively in the ventral striatum and insula. There, mutant tau depleted PSD-95, resulting in smaller postsynaptic densities and impaired synaptic localization of NMDA receptors (NMDARs). In the ventral striatum, decreased NMDAR-mediated transmission reduced striatal neuron firing. Pharmacologically enhancing NMDAR function with the NMDAR co-agonist cycloserine reversed electrophysiological and behavioral deficits. These results indicate that NMDAR hypofunction critically contributes to FTD-associated behavioral and electrophysiological alterations and that this process can be therapeutically targeted by a Food and Drug Administration–approved drug.
BOLD Subjective Value Signals Exhibit Robust Range Adaptation
Authors: Cox Karin M. , Kable Joseph W.
Published: December 2014

Many theories of decision making assume that choice options are assessed along a common subjective value (SV) scale. The neural correlates of SV are widespread and reliable, despite the wide variation in the range of values over which decisions are made (e.g., between goods worth a few dollars, in some cases, or hundreds of dollars, in others). According to adaptive coding theories (Barlow, 1961), an efficient value signal should exhibit range adaptation, such that neural activity maintains a fixed dynamic range, and the slope of the value response varies inversely with the range of values within the local context. Although monkey data have demonstrated range adaptation in single-unit correlates of value (Padoa-Schioppa, 2009; Kobayashi et al., 2010), whether BOLD value signals exhibit similar range adaptation is unknown. To test for this possibility, we presented human participants with choices between a fixed immediate and variable delayed payment options. Across two conditions, the delayed options' SVs spanned either a narrow or wide range. SV-tracking activity emerged in the posterior cingulate, ventral striatum, anterior cingulate, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Throughout this network, we observed evidence consistent with the predictions of range adaptation: the SV response slope increased in the narrow versus wide range, with statistically significant slope changes confirmed for the posterior cingulate and ventral striatum. No regions exhibited a reliably increased BOLD activity range in the wide versus narrow condition. Our observations of range adaptation present implications for the interpretation of BOLD SV responses that are measured across different contexts or individuals.
A second course of antithyroid drug therapy for recurrent Graves' disease: an experience in endocrine practice
Authors: Liu Xiaomei , Qiang Wei , Liu Xingjun , Liu Lianye , Liu Shu , Gao Aibo , Gao Shan , Shi Bingyin
Published: December 2014

Objective

There are scarce reports regarding the prognosis of a second course of antithyroid drug (ATD) therapy on recurrent Graves' disease (GD). The aim of this study was to assess the long-term remission rate after a second ATD therapy and verify significant clinical predictors of a remission.

Design

A prospective randomized clinical trial with long-term follow-up was conducted to evaluate the effects of a second course of ATD therapy.

Methods

A total of 128 recurrent GD patients who had finished a first regular ATD therapy were enrolled in this study, and prescribed methimazole (MMI) treatment with titration regimen. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups when the drug doses were reduced to 2.5 mg daily (qd). Group 1 was discontinued with 2.5 mg qd after about 5 months. Group 2 was continuously reduced to 2.5 mg every other day (qod) after 5 months and then discontinued with 2.5 mg qod after about a further 5 months. The patients were followed for 48 months after drug withdrawal.

Results

Of the total number of patients, 97 cases (75.78%) achieved permanent remission at the end of follow-up, with the recurrence of 31 cases (24.22%). The remission rate of group 2 (84.62%) was significantly higher than that of group 1 (66.67%) (P=0.024). Cox regression showed that the hazard ratio for recurrence decreased under a high or high normal TSH level at drug withdrawal.

Conclusion

A second course of ATD therapy can bring about a satisfying long-term remission on recurrent GD. The drug dose of 2.5 mg qod and a high or high normal TSH level at drug withdrawal may increase the likelihood of permanent remission.
Pelota mediates gonocyte maturation and maintenance of spermatogonial stem cells in mouse testes
Authors: Raju Priyadharsini , Nyamsuren Gunsmaa , Elkenani Manar , Kata Aleksandra , Tsagaan Erdenechimeg , Engel Wolfgang , Adham Ibrahim M
Published: December 2014

Pelota (Pelo) is an evolutionarily conserved gene, and its deficiency inDrosophilaaffects both male and female fertility. In mice, genetic ablation ofPeloleads to embryonic lethality at the early implantation stage as a result of the impaired development of extra-embryonic endoderm (ExEn). To define the consequences ofPelodeletion on male germ cells, we temporally induced deletion of the gene at both embryonic and postnatal stages. Deletion ofPeloin adult mice resulted in a complete loss of whole-germ cell lineages after 45 days of deletion. The absence of newly emerging spermatogenic cycles in mutants confirmed that spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) were unable to maintain spermatogenesis in the absence of PELO protein. However, germ cells beyond the undifferentiated SSC stage were capable of completing spermatogenesis and producing spermatozoa, even in the absence of PELO. Following the deletion ofPeloduring embryonic development, we found that although PELO is dispensable for maintaining gonocytes, it is necessary for the transition of gonocytes to SSCs. Immunohistological and protein analyses revealed the attenuation of FOXO1 transcriptional activity, which induces the expression of many SSC self-renewal genes. The decreased transcriptional activity of FOXO1 in mutant testes was due to enhanced activity of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which led to phosphorylation and cytoplasmic sequestration of FOXO1. These results suggest that PELO negatively regulates the PI3K/AKT pathway and that the enhanced activity of PI3K/AKT and subsequent FOXO1 inhibition are responsible for the impaired development of SSCs in mutant testes.
Numerical Pattern of 3D Tornado Rise with Account for Mirror Asymmetry
Authors: Alexander Yu. Gubar  , Victor N. Nikolaevskiy
Published: December 2014

Authors are returning to the basic concepts of turbulence – homogeneity and symmetry principles. It is shown that the homogeneity in the sense of constant mean velocity gradient (instead of constant velocity) permits to introduce mirror asymmetry. This way is corresponding to stratified atmosphere and to differential volume in any continuum model. The basic ideas of A. N. Kolmogorov do not contradict to such an approach. Moreover, the use of the intrinsic eddy angular velocity (so-called spin or mesovorticity) as the internal thermodynamic parameter becomes necessary for adequate description of tornado (and intensive atmospheric vortices, in general) dynamics. The continuum description is formulated with standard introducing of stresses averaged over a cross-section, and now motivated asymmetry leads to the vortices moment of momentum balance. The set of nonlinear 3D partial differential equations is suggested for the problem of tornado generation from a cloud of initial vortices. The dependence of turbulent rotation viscosity on the spin permits to localize the tornado body due to the nonlinear diffusion effect. Numerical calculations are performed at two different clusters using Parjava program environment. The growth of typical tornado structure is shown by a sequence of pictures. A visual comparison with the Hurricane Isabel, 2003, is represented.