bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epigallocatechin gallate induces an up‐regulation of LDL receptor accompanied by a reduction of PCSK9 via the annexin A2‐independent pathway in HepG2 cells
Authors: Kitamura Kohei , Okada Yudai , Okada Kenji , Kawaguchi Yuya , Nagaoka Satoshi
Published: February 2017

Scope

In animal studies, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the dominant catechin in green tea, has been shown to improve cholesterol metabolism. However, the molecular mechanisms of EGCG underlying these functions have not been fully understood. In this study, we aimed to clarify the molecular mechanisms of the effect of EGCG on cholesterol metabolism mainly in HepG2 cells.

Methods and results

We found that EGCG induced a reduction of the extracellular proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) level accompanied by an up‐regulation of the LDL receptor (LDLR) in HepG2 cells. The EGCG‐induced up‐regulation of LDLR occurred via the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Moreover, we showed that EGCG induced a significant early reduction of the extracellular PCSK9 protein level. However, there were no significant changes in the PCSK9 mRNA and the intracellular PCSK9 protein levels induced by EGCG. Annexin A2 knockdown affected the basal LDLR expression and did not affect the EGCG‐induced reduction of the extracellular PCSK9 protein level or the up‐regulation of LDLR.

Conclusion

Annexin A2 possesses an essential function for the basal LDLR expression in HepG2 cells. But, EGCG induces the suppression of PCSK9 accompanied by an up‐regulation of LDLR in an annexin A2‐independent manner. EGCG attenuates the statin‐induced an increase in PCSK9 level.
Analysis of a linearization scheme for an interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin method for two‐phase flow in porous media with dynamic capillarity effects
Authors: Karpinski Stefan , Pop Iuliu Sorin , Radu Florin Adrian
Published: February 2017

We present a linearization scheme for an interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin method for two‐phase porous media flow model, which includes dynamic effects on the capillary pressure. The fluids are assumed immiscible and incompressible, and the solid matrix non‐deformable. The physical laws are approximated in their original form, without using the global or complementary pressures. The linearization scheme does not require any regularization step. Furthermore, in contrast with Newton or Picard methods, there is no computation of derivatives involved. We prove rigourously that the scheme is robust and linearly convergent. We make an extensive parameter study to compare the behaviour of the L‐scheme with the Newton method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pseudo‐Spectral Methods for the Laplace‐Beltrami Equation and the Hodge Decomposition on Surfaces of Genus One
Authors: Imbert‐Gérard Lise‐Marie , Greengard Leslie
Published: February 2017

The inversion of the Laplace‐Beltrami operator and the computation of the Hodge decomposition of a tangential vector field on smooth surfaces arise as computational tasks in many areas of science, from computer graphics to machine learning to computational physics. Here, we present a high‐order accurate pseudo‐spectral approach, applicable to closed surfaces of genus one in three‐dimensional space, with a view toward applications in plasma physics and fluid dynamics. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 33: 941–955, 2017
Morphology development and mechanical properties of unsaturated polyester resin containing nanodiamonds
Authors: Hashemi Mohammadjafar , Shojaei Akbar
Published: February 2017

Unsaturated polyester/styrene (UP) resin was filled with nanodiamonds (NDs) containing carboxyl and methacrylate functionalities using mechanical mixing. Field emission SEM exhibited a uniform dispersion of tightly bound aggregates of nanosized spherical NDs with good interfacial interaction. Rheological measurements exhibited a step increment in the shear viscosity of a UP/ND suspension at 0.6 wt% ND resembling a percolation state at this loading. Shear viscosity data supported by dynamic mechanical analysis results suggested the development of effective ND particles in which ND aggregates were covered by only polyester macromolecules. Accordingly, the morphology of UP/ND composites approached a quasi‐percolation state at 0.6 wt% in which effective ND particles were connected thoroughly, instead of direct ND−ND contact, forming a co‐continuous polyester phase covering the ND particles. Based on such morphology, DSC and Fourier transform infrared analysis suggested the development of heterogeneous microgels in cured UP resin containing NDs which in turn governed the overall mechanical properties of the composites. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
Soybean oil based thermoset networks via photoinduced CuAAC click chemistry
Authors: Uysal Naci , Acik Gokhan , Tasdelen Mehmet Atilla
Published: February 2017

A simple method based on photochemically induced copper(I)‐catalyzed azide − alkyne cycloaddition click reaction (CuAAC) is developed for the preparation of thermoset networks from soybean oils as renewable resources. The incorporation of clickable azide and alkyne functionalities into epoxidized soybean oils is done by simultaneous ring‐opening reactions between the epoxide group of soybean oils and sodium azide and propargyl alcohol, respectively. The obtained azide‐ and alkyne‐functionalized soybean oils are easily transformed crosslinked networks via the photoinduced CuAAC reaction in ambient conditions. The introduction of additional multifunctional monomers in the formulation not only increases the crosslinking density but also improves the mechanical properties of the thermoset material obtained. In a comparison of the two formulations, the sample containing additional multifunctional monomers has a higher glass transition temperature, storage modulus and damping properties. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry
The Effect of a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor (AR‐42) on Canine Prostate Cancer Growth and Metastasis
Authors: Elshafae Said M. , Kohart Nicole A. , Altstadt Lucas A. , Dirksen Wessel P. , Rosol Thomas. J.
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND

Canine prostate cancer (PCa) is an excellent preclinical model for human PCa. AR‐42 is a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) developed at The Ohio State University that inhibits the proliferation of several cancers, including multiple myeloma, lung, and hepatocellular cancer. In this study, we investigated whether AR‐42 would prevent or decrease. The growth and metastasis of a canine PCa (Ace‐1 cells) to bone in vitro and in vivo.

METHODS

Proliferation, cell viability, invasion, and metastasis of a canine prostate cancer cell line (Ace‐1) were measured following treatment with AR‐42. Expression of anoikis resistance, epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), and stem cell‐related markers were also evaluated. To assess the efficacy of AR‐42 on prevention of PCa metastasis to bone, Ace‐1 cells were injected in the left cardiac ventricle of nude mice, mice were treated with AR‐42, and the incidence and growth of bone metastasis were measured. Bioluminescence was performed to monitor the bone metastases in nude mice.

RESULTS

AR‐42 inhibited the in vitro proliferation of Ace‐1 cells in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner. The IC50 concentration of AR‐42 for Ace‐1 cells was 0.42 μM after 24 hr of treatment. AR‐42 induced apoptosis, decreased cell migration, and increased the stem cell properties of Ace‐1 cells in vitro. AR‐42 downregulated E‐cadherin, N‐cadherin, TWIST, MYOF, anoikis resistance, and osteomimicry genes, while it upregulated SNAIL, PTEN, FAK, and ZEB1 gene expression in Ace‐1 cells. Importantly, AR‐42 decreased the bioluminescence and incidence of bone metastasis in nude mice. In addition, AR‐42 induced apoptosis and altered the tumor cell morphology to an irregular cell phenotype with condensed chromatin in the bone metastases.

CONCLUSION

AR‐42 decreased PCa growth and bone metastasis, induced apoptosis, and downregulated osteomimicry genes in PCa cells in the bone microenvironment. Prostate 77:776–793, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of Estrogen Receptor β Stimulation in a Rat Model of Non‐Bacterial Prostatic Inflammation
Authors: Mizoguchi Shinsuke , Mori Kenichi , Wang Zhou , Liu Teresa , Funahashi Yasuhito , Sato Fuminori , DeFranco Donald B. , Yoshimura Naoki , Mimata Hiromitsu
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND

There is increasing evidence showing that chronic non‐bacterial prostatic inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). It has also been reported that estrogen receptor β (ERβ) could have an immunoprotective role in prostatic tissue. Therefore, we investigated the effect of ERβ‐activation on not only prostatic inflammation, but also bladder overactive conditions in a rat model with nonbacterial prostatic inflammation.

METHODS

Male Sprague‐Dawley rats (8 weeks, n = 15) were divided into three groups: sham‐saline group (n = 5), formalin‐vehicle group (n = 5), and formalin‐treatment group (n = 5). The sham‐saline group had sham operation and 50 μl normal saline injected into each ventral lobe of the prostate. The formalin‐vehicle group had 50 μl 5% formalin injection into bilateral ventral lobes of the prostate. The formalin‐treatment group was treated with 3α‐Adiol (a selective ERβ agonist precursor) at a dose of 3 mg/kg daily from 2 days before induction of prostatic inflammation, whereas formalin‐vehicle rats received vehicle (olive oil). In each group, conscious cystometry was performed on day 28 after intraprostatic formalin injection or sham treatment. After cystometry, the bladder and prostate were harvested for evaluation of mRNA expression and histological analysis.

RESULTS

In cystometric investigation, the mean number of non‐voiding contractions was significantly greater and voiding intervals were significantly shorter in formalin‐vehicle rats than those in sham‐saline rats (P < 0.05). In RT‐qPCR analysis, mRNA expression of NGF, P2X2, and TRPA1 receptors was significantly increased in the bladder mucosa, and mRNA expression of TNF‐α, iNOS and COX2 in the ventral lobes of prostate was significantly increased in formalin‐vehicle rats compared with sham‐saline rats (P < 0.05). In addition, relative mRNA expression ratio of ERβ to ERα (ERβ/ERα) in the ventral lobes of prostate was significantly decreased in formalin‐vehicle rats compared with sham‐saline rats (P < 0.05). These changes were ameliorated by 3α‐Adiol administration in formalin‐treatment rats.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that ERβ activation by 3α‐Adiol administration, which normalized the ERβ/ERα expression ratio in the prostate, can improve not only prostatic inflammation, but also bladder overactivity. Therefore, ERβ agonists might be useful for treating irritative bladder symptoms in patients with symptomatic BPH associated with prostatic inflammation. Prostate 77:803–811, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
AH4S: an algorithm of text in text steganography using the structure of omega network
Authors: Hamdan Abdullah M. , Hamarsheh Ala
Published: February 2017

This article introduces a new technique to hide text‐in‐text messages. The proposed mechanism uses the structure of omega network to hide and extract secret messages. The generation of secret message is made as follows, take every letter from the original message, use the omega network to generate two related letters from the selected letter, and finally search the dictionary for a suitable English cover word to hide the generated two letters. In order to increase the chance of find a suitable words, the generated two letters need not to be adjacent in the cover word. As a result, the white‐space steganography is used in order to hide the position of the two letters in the selected cover word. The experiments show that the proposed mechanism gives a better execution time and better cover words than the current similar mechanisms especially when we are trying to hide long text messages. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Counter Anion Controlled Reactivity Switch in Transfer Hydrogenation: A Case Study between Ketones and Nitroarenes
Authors: Shee Sujan , Paul Bhaskar , Kundu Sabuj
Published: February 2017

A series of phenanthroline based NHC and pyridine containing NNC and NNN pincer Ru(II) complexes were synthesized and fully characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. Comparative studies revealed that Ru(II)‐NHC complexes were much more active than the Ru(II)‐NNN complexes in both transfer hydrogenation (TH) of ketones and nitroarenes. Wingtip groups and counter anions modulated the impact of NHC complexes in both the reactions. The complexes with PF6‐ counter anion were found to be more active in TH of ketones while complexes with Cl‐ counter anion were superior towards the nitroarenes reduction. To the best of our knowledge this is the first example of counter anion controlled reactivity alteration between TH of ketones and nitroarenes.
An Efficient Synthetic Strategy for sp3(C)‐N Amination on 4‐thiazolidinone with Primary Heteroaryl Amines
Authors: Mudaliar Sulochana S. , Shaikh Mohammedumar M. , Chikhalia Kishor H.
Published: February 2017

An efficient sp3(C)‐N amination reaction between 4‐thiazolidinone and primary heteroaryl amine has been developed under C−H functionalization. Cross‐coupling reaction between non‐prefunctionalized slightly more acidic sp3 C−H bond of 4‐thiazolidinone and different heteroaryl amines involving one‐pot synthetic strategy, single step reaction as well as aerial oxidation make this amination more effective than existing methods for the construction of sp3(C)‐N bond.
Total Synthesis of Metagenetriindole A and Deoxytopsentin
Authors: Pon Sathieshkumar P. , Nagarajan Rajagopal
Published: February 2017

Metagenetriindole A and deoxytopsentin are the fascinating bisindole alkaloids due to their potential biological activities viz; cytotoxic, antimicrobial, antiplasmodial, MRSA PK inhibition etc. and they were isolated from deep‐sea sediment metagenomic clone derived Escherichia coli fermentation broth and Mediterranean sponge Topsentia genitrix respectively. The unavailability of large quantity of these alkaloids could restrict their further biological findings. So a short and efficient method to produce these biologically active alkaloids is important. Environmentally benign and metal free syntheses of these alkaloids is reported. The total synthesis involves bisindole formation and self‐condensation‐cyclization strategy without using any protecting group.
Biomechanical Forces Promote Immune Regulatory Function of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
Authors: Diaz Miguel F. , Vaidya Abishek B. , Evans Siobahn M. , Lee Hyun J. , Aertker Benjamin M. , Alexander Alexander J. , Price Katherine M. , Ozuna Joyce A. , Liao George P. , Aroom Kevin R. , Xue Hasen , Gu Liang , Omichi Rui , Bedi Supinder , Olson Scott D. , Cox Charles S. , Wenzel Pamela L.
Published: February 2017

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are believed to mobilize from the bone marrow in response to inflammation and injury, yet the effects of egress into the vasculature on MSC function are largely unknown. Here we show that wall shear stress (WSS) typical of fluid frictional forces present on the vascular lumen stimulates antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mediators, as well as chemokines capable of immune cell recruitment. WSS specifically promotes signaling through NFκB-COX2-prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) to suppress tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production by activated immune cells. Ex vivo conditioning of MSCs by WSS improved therapeutic efficacy in a rat model of traumatic brain injury, as evidenced by decreased apoptotic and M1-type activated microglia in the hippocampus. These results demonstrate that force provides critical cues to MSCs residing at the vascular interface which influence immunomodulatory and paracrine activity, and suggest the potential therapeutic use of force for MSC functional enhancement.
Postembryonic Fish Brain Proliferation Zones Exhibit Neuroepithelial-Type Gene Expression Profile
Authors: Dambroise Emilie , Simion Matthieu , Bourquard Thomas , Bouffard Stéphanie , Rizzi Barbara , Jaszczyszyn Yan , Bourge Mickaël , Affaticati Pierre , Heuzé Aurélie , Jouralet Julia , Edouard Joanne , Brown Spencer , Thermes Claude , Poupon Anne , Reiter Eric , Sohm Frédéric , Bourrat Franck , Joly Jean-Stéphane
Published: February 2017

In mammals, neuroepithelial cells play an essential role in embryonic neurogenesis, whereas glial stem cells are the principal source of neurons at postembryonic stages. By contrast, neuroepithelial-like stem/progenitor (NE) cells have been shown to be present throughout life in teleosts. We used three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of cleared transgenic wdr12:GFP medaka brains to demonstrate that this cell type is widespread in juvenile and to identify new regions containing NE cells. We established the gene expression profile of optic tectum (OT) NE cells by cell sorting followed by RNA-seq. Our results demonstrate that most OT NE cells are indeed active stem cells and that some of them exhibit long G2 phases. We identified several novel pathways (e.g., DNA repair pathways) potentially involved in NE cell homeostasis. In situ hybridization studies showed that all NE populations in the postembryonic medaka brain have a similar molecular signature. Our findings highlight the importance of NE progenitors in medaka and improve our understanding of NE-cell biology. These cells are potentially useful not only for neural stem cell studies but also for improving the characterization of neurodevelopmental diseases, such as microcephaly.
Effects of silver nanoparticles on the interactions of neuron‐ and glia‐like cells: Toxicity, uptake mechanisms, and lysosomal tracking
Authors: Hsiao I‐Lun , Hsieh Yi‐Kong , Chuang Chun‐Yu , Wang Chu‐Fang , Huang Yuh‐Jeen
Published: February 2017

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are commonly used nanomaterials in consumer products. Previous studies focused on its effects on neurons; however, little is known about their effects and uptake mechanisms on glial cells under normal or activated states. Here, ALT astrocyte‐like, BV‐2 microglia and differentiated N2a neuroblastoma cells were directly or indirectly exposed to 10 nm AgNPs using mono‐ and co‐culture system. A lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was pretreated to activate glial cells before AgNP treatment for mimicking NP exposure under brain inflammation. From mono‐culture, ALT took up the most AgNPs and had the lowest cell viability within three cells. Moreover, AgNPs induced H2O2 and NO from ALT/activated ALT and BV‐2, respectively. However, AgNPs did not induce cytokines release (IL‐6, TNF‐α, MCP‐1). LPS‐activated BV‐2 took up more AgNPs than normal BV‐2, while the induction of ROS and cytokines from activated cells were diminished. Ca2+‐regulated clathrin‐ and caveolae‐independent endocytosis and phagocytosis were involved in the AgNP uptake in ALT, which caused more rapid NP translocation to lysosome than in macropinocytosis and clathrin‐dependent endocytosis‐involved BV‐2. AgNPs directly caused apoptosis and necrosis in N2a cells, while by indirect NP exposure to bottom chamber ALT or BV‐2 in Transwell, more apoptotic upper chamber N2a cells were observed. Cell viability of BV‐2 also decreased in an ALT–BV‐2 co‐culturing study. The damaged cells correlated to NP‐mediated H2O2 release from ALT or NO from BV‐2, which indicates that toxic response of AgNPs to neurons is not direct, but indirectly arises from AgNP‐induced soluble factors from other glial cells.
Tris (1,3‐dichloro‐2‐propyl) phosphate induces toxicity by stimulating CaMK2 in PC12 cells
Authors: Li Chaonan , Li Li , Lin Bencheng , Fang Yanjun , Yang Honglian , Liu Huanliang , Xi Zhuge
Published: February 2017

Tris (1,3‐dichloro‐2‐propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) is one of the widely used organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), which are regarded as suitable substitutes for brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Previously, we have validated the toxicity of TDCIPP in PC12 cells owing to the induced alterations in GAP43, NF‐H, CaMK2a/2b, and tubulin α/β proteins; however, limited information is currently available on the toxicity and mechanism of TDCIPP. In the present study, cytotoxicity effects were evaluated by exposing PC12 cells to different concentrations of TDCIPP (0–50 μM) for 4 days. To explore the possible mechanisms through which cytotoxicity is induced, changes in intracellular [Ca2+]i levels and the activation of calmodulin dependent protein kinase 2 (CaMK2), c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), and p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways were evaluated. Furthermore, PC12 cells were pretreated with CaMK2 inhibitor KN93 to investigate the relationship between TDCIPP‐induced phosphorylation of CaMK2 and activation of JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK pathways. Our results indicate that TDCIPP‐induced toxicity might be associated with the overload of [Ca2+]i levels, increased phosphorylation of CaMK2, and activation of the JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK pathways, the lattermost of which was further demonstrated to be partially elicited by the CaMK2 phosphorylation.
Public perceptions of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and oil in the United States and Canada
Authors: Thomas Merryn , Pidgeon Nick , Evensen Darrick , Partridge Tristan , Hasell Ariel , Enders Catherine , Herr Harthorn Barbara , Bradshaw Michael
Published: February 2017

The United States and Canada have been at the forefront of shale oil and gas development via hydraulic fracturing. Understanding public perceptions is important given the role that they may play in future policy decisions in both North America and other parts of the world where shale development is at a much earlier stage. We review 58 articles pertaining to perceptions, published between 2009 and 2015. Studies report mixed levels of awareness of shale operations, tending toward higher awareness in areas with existing development. While individuals tend to have negative associations with the term ‘fracking,’ views on shale development are mixed as to whether benefits outweigh risks or vice versa: perceived benefits tend to be economic (e.g., job creation and boosts to local economies) and risks more commonly environmental and/or social (e.g., impacts on water and increased traffic). Some papers point to ethical issues (e.g., inequitable risk/benefit distribution and procedural justice) and widespread distrust of responsible parties, stemming from perceived unfairness, heavy‐handed corporate tactics, and lack of transparency. These findings point to the contested, political character of much of the debate about hydraulic fracturing, and raise questions of what constitutes ‘acceptable’ risk in this context. We compare these results with research emerging in the UK over the same period. Future research should focus on nuanced inquiry, a range of methodologies and explore perceptions in varied social and geographical contexts. Both this and future research hold the potential to enhance public debates and decisions about shale gas and oil development. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e450. doi: 10.1002/wcc.450

This article is categorized under:

Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Perceptions of Climate Change

The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Policies, Instruments, Lifestyles, Behavior
Cover Image, Volume 9, Issue 2
Authors: Curtis Chad , Zhang Mengying , Liao Rick , Wood Thomas , Nance Elizabeth
Published: February 2017

image

The cover image, by Elizabeth Nance et al., is based on the Advanced Review Systems‐level thinking for nanoparticlemediated therapeutic delivery to neurological diseases, DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1422.
Synergistic Behavior and Microstructure Transition in Mixture of Zwitterionic Surfactant, Anionic Surfactant, and Salts in Sorbitol/H2O Solvent: 1. Effect of Surfactant Compositions
Authors: Fan Yaxun , Tang Haiqiu , Wang Yilin
Published: February 2017

The phase behavior and rheological properties of a multi‐component system, made of a zwitterionic surfactant cocoamidopropyl betaine (CAPB), an anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLSS), and mixed salts (tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sacharrin, and sodium fluoride) in sorbitol/H2O mixed solvent at different mass fraction of SLSS (XSLSS) were systematically investigated by steady and dynamic rheology, dynamic light scattering, and diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY). When fixing the salt concentration and the mass ratio of sorbitol in mixed solvent (R), the zero‐shear viscosity increases first and then decreases showing a maximum with increasing XSLSS, resulting from the formation and entanglement of wormlike micelles. Especially when XSLSS is between 0.33 and 0.80, the mixture is dominated by entangled wormlike micelles coexisting with small micelles and separated wormlike micelles, and shows high viscoelasticity. The maximum of the zero‐shear viscosity is ca. 5 orders of magnitude larger than that of sorbitol/H2O mixed solvent or the CAPB/SLSS aqueous solution. The characteristic structural parameters for the micellar solutions at different XSLSS are also estimated from further analysis of the rheological results, and indicate the stronger network structures of the wormlike micelles are formed in our systems compared with the wormlike micelles formed by a traditional zwitterionic/anionic surfactant aqueous solutions. The great improvements of rheological properties are attributed to the strong screening effects of the mixed salts and the strong solvophobic effect of sorbitol on the electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction between the CAPB and SLSS molecules. The present work has improved our understanding about the aggregation behavior of zwitterionic/anionic mixed surfactants with salts in less polar solvent/H2O mixture, which would be of widely practical importance to optimize the formulation of products for personal care and household cleaning.
It Takes Two: Sexual Communication Patterns and the Sexual and Relational Adjustment of Couples Coping with Provoked Vestibulodynia
Authors: Rancourt Kate M. , Flynn Michelle , Bergeron Sophie , Rosen Natalie O.
Published: February 2017

Introduction

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a prevalent vulvovaginal pain condition that is associated with sexual and relational consequences for women and their partners. Greater perceived quality of sexual communication has been associated with women's lower pain during intercourse and with couples' better sexual and relational well-being. Whether couples' collaborative (eg, expressing feelings or problem solving) and negative (eg, withdrawing or criticizing) sexual communication patterns (SCPs) are differentially associated with couples' adjustment to PVD is unknown.

Aim

To examine associations between collaborative and negative SCPs and women's pain and the sexual and relationship adjustment of women with PVD and their partners.

Methods

Women diagnosed with PVD (N = 87) and their partners completed the Sexual Communication Patterns Questionnaire and measurements of pain (women only), sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, and relationship satisfaction.

Main Outcome Measures

(i) Numerical rating scale of pain during intercourse, (ii) Female Sexual Function Index and International Index of Erectile Function, (iii) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction, (iv) Female Sexual Distress Scale–Revised, and (v) Couple Satisfaction Index.

Results

When women reported greater collaborative SCP, they also reported higher sexual and relationship satisfaction. When women reported greater negative SCP, they reported less relationship satisfaction and had partners who reported greater sexual distress. When partners reported greater collaborative SCP, they also reported higher relationship satisfaction and had female partners who were less sexually distressed. When partners reported higher negative SCP, they also reported less relationship satisfaction. There were no associations between SCP and women's or partners' sexual functioning or women's pain.

Conclusion

Collaborative SCP may benefit couples' sexual and relational well-being, whereas negative SCP may impede sexual and relational adjustment to PVD. Findings provide preliminary support for the need to assess and target collaborative and negative SCPs in psychological interventions for couples affected by PVD.
The prevalence and biomarkers’ characteristic of rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database
Authors: Ba Maowen , Li Xiaofeng , Ng Kok Pin , Pascoal Tharick A. , Mathotaarachchi Sulantha , Rosa‐Neto Pedro , Gauthier Serge ,   Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: February 2017

Introduction

The prevalence and detailed biomarkers’ characteristic of rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease (rpAD) remain incompletely understood.

Methods

A total of 312 mild AD patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database were chosen and dichotomized into rpAD and non‐rpAD groups. We performed the prevalence and comprehensive biomarker evaluation.

Results

The prevalence of rpAD was 17.6% in mild AD. Compared with non‐rpAD, there were no differences in APOE ε4/ε4, APOE ε3/ε4, and APOE ε2/ε4 genotype distribution, cerebrospinal fluid tau, phosphorylated tau (p‐tau), amyloid‐β, hippocampus volume, and amyloid deposition in rpAD. Yet, a lower p‐tau/tau ratio was observed in rpAD (P = .04). rpAD showed region‐specific hypometabolism ([18F]fluorodeoxyglucose‐positron emission tomography [FDG‐PET]) (P = .001). Receiver‐operating characteristic analysis of FDG‐PET demonstrated that left angular and left temporal cortices were the regions with higher area under the curve and predictive value for identifying clinical at‐risk rpAD.

Discussion

We identified that rpAD commonly existed in mild AD. Cerebral hypometabolism could provide potential clinical differential value for rpAD in the short‐term follow‐up period.
Bladder antimuscarinics and cognitive decline in elderly patients
Authors: Moga Daniela Claudia , Abner Erin L. , Wu Qishan , Jicha Gregory A.
Published: February 2017

Introduction

The evidence on the impact of bladder antimuscarinics initiation on cognitive function in older adults is inconsistent.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) on enrollees 65 years and older evaluated the association between antimuscarinic initiation and cognitive decline. We defined decline from baseline (yes/no) for cognitive assessments included in the NACC Uniform Data Set 2.0 battery. New users were matched on year of enrollment and time in the cohort to randomly selected nonusers. Analyses were conducted using inverse probability of treatment weights based on baseline propensity scores.

Results

Our analyses included 698 new users and 7037 nonusers. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval for cognitive decline in users as compared to nonusers was 1.4 (1.19–1.65) for Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE), and 1.21 (1.03–1.42) for Clinical Dementia Rating; in addition, the odds of decline were 20% higher in users compared to nonusers for semantic memory/language and executive function. The effect estimate for MMSE was 1.94 (1.3–2.91) for those with mild cognitive impairment, 1.26 (0.99–1.62) in those with normal cognition, and 1.44 (1.04–1.99) in those with dementia at baseline.

Discussion

Our results show that antimuscarinic initiation is associated with cognitive decline and raise questions about their use, especially in those with impaired cognition.
Producers' Well-Being and Natural Resource Extraction: The Eaglewood Trade in Papua New Guinea
Authors: Gerber Nicolas , Bhaduri Anik
Published: February 2017

We illustrate how natural resource dependent and isolated communities manage their forest stock. Our model is based on field observations of the Eaglewood trade in Papua New Guinea. Using a dynamic model of household utility maximization and simulations, we analyze the impact of variations in the (monopsonistic) resource price on the households’ consumption choices and their allocation of effort across depletive and nondepletive activities. The stock of forest is embedded directly in the households’ utility function (existence value) and in their (nonseparable) production and consumption functions. We show that poverty (in production assets) does not inevitably lead to stock depletion.
Ontogeny of the two co-occurring middle Furongian (late Cambrian) shumardiid trilobites and the protaspid morphology of shumardiids
Authors: PARK TAE-YOON S.
Published: February 2017

Shumardiid trilobites had a small, unique morphology, and formed a key constituent in trilobite faunas during the Cambrian–Ordovician. Because of their unusual morphology, they have been the subject of research s, into various aspects such as their life habit, functional morphology, evolutionary origin and ontogeny. Originally, a flat, adult-like protaspid morphology was suggested for shumardiids, but subsequently a bulbous protaspid morphology interpreted to be associated with metamorphosis was also suggested for this unique trilobite group. This article documents the ontogeny of the two co-occurring shumardiid trilobites, Akoldinioidia latus Park and Kihm and Koldinioidia choii Park and Kihm, from the middle Furongian Hwajeol Formation, Taebaeksan Basin, Korea. Interestingly, protaspides of the two shumardiids have a bulbous morphology. Given the stratigraphic occurrences of the two shumardiids, it can be inferred that commutavi protaspis appeared quite early in the shumardiid evolution. The co-occurrence of the two closely related trilobites is reminiscent of sexual dimorphism, although further evidence is required to prove it. The appearance of metamorphosis-undergoing protaspides in the Furongian shumardiids may have been due to the onset of increasing ecological pressure in the early phase of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.
Everybody’s doing it – the Dictionary of Irish biography and national biography
Authors: Goldman Lawrence
Published: February 2017

Everybody’s doing it. The Americans, the British and the Australians have gone online. The Spanish are planning a blockbuster; the Dutch would like to begin afresh; and the Germans are developing a European portal through which all of these different national projects – and many more – can be accessed. Meanwhile, the Irish have just published their own, in nine volumes of print as well as online. Why should national biographical dictionaries suddenly be in vogue?
John Mitchel and his biographers
Authors: Huggins Michael
Published: February 2017

If, as Thomas Flanagan has asserted, ‘the importance of John Mitchel's Jail journal to the tradition of Irish separatism has been underestimated’, the appearance of James Quinn's recent short biography of Mitchel is to be welcomed. Indeed, the remarkable thing is that Quinn's was the first book-length biography of Mitchel to be published since 1938. The biographical literature on Mitchel has veered between the hagiographic and the critical before settling, ultimately, into an apparent historiographical indifference. This essay examines Mitchel's biographies, his commemoration in periodical and ephemeral sources, and the development of the historiography of this most ardent republican, concluding that a renewed interest in Mitchel is timely.
Challenges to social order and Irish identity? Youth culture in the sixties
Authors: Holohan Carole
Published: February 2017

In 1967 Fr Walter Forde, an activist in the field of youth welfare work, noted ‘signs of unrest’ amongst Irish youths growing up in the sixties. He identified the ways in which they were ‘being influenced by English teenage culture’:

First fashions in clothes and hair-styles increasingly follow the English trends. The amount of money spent by them on records, dances and clothes is a new feature in Irish life. Drinking among them too is becoming more common … Second, the recent popularity of beat clubs in Dublin (where all eleven were opened in the last eighteen months) shows their desire to have a recreation of their own …
‘Lemass's brainchild’: the 1966 Informal Committee on the Constitution and change in Ireland, 1965–73
Authors: Girvin Brian
Published: February 2017

Seán Lemass remains an enigmatic figure in the study of contemporary Ireland. He became taoiseach in 1959, after a long and successful career in the leadership of Fianna Fáil. Notwithstanding this, he is widely associated with the transformation of Irish life that began under his stewardship between 1959 and 1966. In 1966, he convened the Informal Committee on the Constitution, often considered to be the most surprising initiative of his career. While change had not occurred by the time he died in 1971, the constitution had by this time become the focus for discussion, controversy and in some cases vilification. The questions this article seeks to answer are why Lemass promoted constitutional change and what were the consequences of this decision. More generally, it will assess the nature of constitutional change in a stable democratic state that is undergoing modernisation.
‘Ah, Ireland, the caring nation’: foreign aid and Irish state identity in the long 1970s
Authors: O'Sullivan Kevin
Published: February 2017

On a plane leaving Baidoa refugee camp in Somalia in late 1992, an Arab doctor offered John O'Shea, head of the relief agency Goal, a glimpse of how the Irish were viewed in that civil war-ravaged state. ‘Ah, Ireland’, he remarked on learning of O'Shea's country of origin, ‘the caring nation’. He had reason to be complimentary. In addition to the aid agencies and aid workers involved in the ongoing relief effort, Somalia had recently hosted two highprofile visitors from the Irish state. In August 1992 the minister for Foreign Affairs, David Andrews, spent three days in the country to view at first-hand its escalating civil war. He was followed less than two months later by President Mary Robinson, whose arrival at Baidoa on 2 October marked the beginning of a tour – the first by a Western head of state – of the feeding stations and refugee camps that provided succour to those displaced by the conflict.
Select document: a charter of Hugh II de Lacy, earl of Ulster, to Hugh Hose (2 March 1207)
Authors: Brown Daniel
Published: February 2017

In 1206, the year after he was created earl of Ulster by King John, the forces of Hugh II de Lacy (d. 1242) devastated the ecclesiastical civitas of Armagh for ten successive days and nights. Then, turning southwest into Monaghan, de Lacy laid waste ‘Teach Damhnata’ (Tydavnet), ‘Ceall Muragáin’ (Kilmore), and Clones, before striking northwards into Tír Eógain. There, he attacked Tullaghoge, seat of the king of Cenél nEógain, Áed Méith Ua Néill (d. 1230), reaching as far north as Ciannachta (bar. Keenaght, County Londonderry). This campaign, undertaken with the ‘Foreigners of Meath and of Leinster’, was followed up in the beginning of 1207 with another assault on Armagh around St Brigid’s day (1 February), which was severe enough to prompt Eugenius (Echdonn mac Gilla Uidir), archbishop of Armagh (d. 1217), to cross to the court of King John in order to ‘succour the churches of Ireland and to accuse the Foreigners’.
Protestant depopulation and the Irish Revolution
Authors: Fitzpatrick David
Published: February 2017

The late Peter Hart's tentative yet provocative application of the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ to the Irish revolution, especially as practised in Co. Cork, continues to arouse widespread indignation and incredulity. Two associated issues have dominated the debate: the influence of sectarian hatred on the conduct of the I.R.A., and the extent to which Protestants were actually forced out of their homes by intimidation or fear. Though a few historians have endorsed Hart's claim that a substantial number of Protestants were murdered or expelled because of their religion, most argue that such attacks were primarily motivated by political or economic rather than sectarian motives. Similar points have been made, from the revolutionary epoch onwards, by liberal Protestants as well as republican sympathisers, whose rejection of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ hypothesis has sometimes degenerated into viciousad hominemattacks on Hart and his allies. The issue of motivation is notoriously resistant to historical analysis: all motives are mixed, some are deliberately concealed, and others are unconscious. Little would be gained by making yet another attempt to disentangle the often contradictory hopes, fears, resentments, and rationalisations underlying republican conduct in the revolutionary years.
‘This is a case in which Irish national considerations must be taken into account’: the breakdown of the MacBride–Gonne marriage, 1904–8
Authors: Dháibhéid Caoimhe Nic
Published: February 2017

In her vivid account of the Irish theatre movement, Máire Colum described the first evening of Lady Gregory'sGaol Gateat the Abbey Theatre on 20 October 1906. The performance was delayed until Yeats arrived; he was accompanied by a tall woman dressed in black. As soon as they appeared, there was a violent reaction in a section of the audience:
‘A reasonable cause’: the age of consent and the debate on gender and justice in the Irish Free State, 1922–35
Authors: Riordan Susannah
Published: February 2017

On 23 May 2006 the Irish Supreme Court declared that the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1935 was inconsistent with the 1937 Constitution. It found that section 1 (1) of the act deprived a man charged with unlawful carnal knowledge of the defence of having made a reasonable mistake as to the age of the girl in question, and therefore of his constitutional right to a trial in due course of law. In his judgment, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman stated that ‘the Section contains no balance: it wholly removes the mental element and expressly criminalises the mentally innocent. It need not necessarily have done so.’
The Crusades to 1291 in the annals of medieval Ireland
Authors: Hurlock Kathryn
Published: February 2017

Since the late 1980s crusade historiography has shown increasing interest in the periphery of Europe and the less ‘traditional’ crusading areas of Scotland, Wales, Poland and Scandinavia. Consideration of Ireland has formed part of this spread of interest, but, like many other areas, it remains comparatively unstudied. In part, the paucity of Irish texts relating to all kinds of crusading discourages research, as does the comparatively low number of known Irishcrucesignati.
Review article: New work on the Irish Revolution
Authors: Augusteijn Joost
Published: February 2017

The centenaries of events around the Irish Revolution are inevitably bringing forth a spate of new publications. What is remarkable about the existing historiography on this period is that detailed studies of various aspects, particularly regional studies, are plentiful but that there are very few synthetic works. The two books under review here are therefore very welcome additions written by two eminently qualified historians. The works indeed do not disappoint: both go much further than simply putting together the fruits of existing works but rely on a substantial amount of original research. The relatively recent opening up of the archives of the Bureau of Military History, which inevitably means the bringing to light of new facts and insights, made this easier for Charles Townshend, who deals with the Irish side, than for Ronan Fanning, who analyses the British government's attitude to the Irish revolution.
Irish clergy and the diocesan church in the ‘four obedient shires’ of Ireland,c.1400–c.1540
Authors: Booker Sparky
Published: February 2017

In 1435 the Irish council complained to Henry VI that there is not left in the nether parts of the counties of Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Kildare, that join together, out of the subjection of the said enemies and rebels scarcely thirty miles in length and twenty miles in breadth, thereas a man may surely ride or go in the said counties to answer to the king’s writs and to his commandments.

The letter was accompanied by a request that the king render payment due to the lord lieutenant Thomas Stanley for his service in Ireland, and also suggested that the king should travel to the colony to help fight off its enemies. Accordingly, the perilous state of English Ireland was almost certainly exaggerated to strengthen the arguments for financial and military support from the crown. Nevertheless this letter demonstrates that in the minds of the settler elite, which staffed the Irish council, the four counties of Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Kildare were the bastion of English rule in Ireland, beset, the council would have us believe, by enemies on all sides. This picture of the ‘four counties’ as the political, and to a certain extent the cultural, stronghold of Englishness in Ireland can be found in other contemporary sources, as the region was perceived as both distinct and distinctly English.
Building opposition: the Mant controversy and the Church of Ireland in early Victorian Belfast
Authors: Farrell Sean
Published: February 2017

In 4 October 1842, Richard Mant, the Church of Ireland bishop of Down and Connor, presided over the first meeting of the Down and Connor Church Architecture Society in the Clerical Rooms in central Belfast. The scholarly Mant doubtless was in his element as he introduced this initiative dedicated to promoting discussion about historical and contemporary aspects of Anglican church architecture. TheUlster Times, the city’s self-proclaimed newspaper of the Church of Ireland, welcomed the new society, arguing that it was good to have ‘correct views’ on these matters and hoping that features like arched roofs, Gothic windows and lengthened aisles could be maintained so that Anglican churches could be distinguished from their Dissenting counterparts.
Probing the boundaries of Irish memory: from postmemory to prememory and back
Authors: Beiner Guy
Published: February 2017

It has long been accepted that memory plays a prominent role in the construction of Irish identities and yet historians of Ireland were relatively late in addressing the vogue for memory studies that emerged in the 1980s. Its arrival as a core theme in Irish historical studies was announced in 2001 with the publication ofHistory and memory in modern Ireland, edited by Ian McBride, whose seminal introduction essay – the essential starting point for all subsequent explorations – issued the promise that ‘a social and cultural history of remembering would unravel the various strands of commemorative tradition which have formed our consciousness of the past’. The volume originated in one of the many academic conferences held in the bicentennial year of the 1798 rebellion, which was part of a decade of commemorations that listed among its highlights the tercentenary of the battle of the Boyne, the sesquicentenary of the Great Famine, and the bicentenaries of the United Irishmen, the Act of Union, and Robert Emmet’s rising. The following years produced a boom of studies on Irish memory, which has anticipated another decade of commemorations. Eyes are now set on the centenaries of the Great War, the Irish Revolution and Partition, all of which will undoubtedly generate further publications on memory. It is therefore timely to take stock of this burgeoning field and consider its future prospects.
Sir George Radcliffe’s ‘Originall of Government’ (1639) f. 366v: Of the originall of Government.
Authors: Radcliffe George
Published: February 2017

All power belongeth unto God: psalm 62. 11. whatsoever power any creatures have, they have it by communication from God: whether it be naturall power, or might, the principle of motion, and of action and passion, given to all creatures by the Law of their creation, and conserved since by Gods providence, and concurrence with them in the execution thereof: or else it be morall power, authoritie or dominion; which is exercised only amongst reasonable creatures; and seemes to be described in those words of God to Cain: Genesis 4. comment 7. Unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.