bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serpentinite textural evolution related to tectonically controlled solid‐state intrusion along the Kurosegawa Belt, northwestern Kanto Mountains, central Japan
Authors: Hirauchi Ken‐Ichi
Published: March 2006

Abstract  Serpentinite bodies in the Kurosegawa Belt are mapped along fault boundaries between the Cretaceous Sanchu Group (forearc basin‐fill sediments) and the rocks of the Southern Chichibu Belt (Jurassic to Early Cretaceous accretionary prism) in the northwestern Kanto Mountains, central Japan. The serpentinites were divided into three types based on microtextures and combinations of serpentine minerals: massive, antigorite and chrysotile serpentinites. Massive serpentinite retains initial pseudomorphic textures without any deformation after serpentinization. Antigorite serpentinite exhibits shape‐preferred orientation of antigorite replacing the original lizardite and/or chrysotile to form pseudomorphs. It has porphyroclasts of chromian spinel, and is characterized by ductile deformation under relatively high‐pressure–temperature conditions. Chrysotile serpentinite shows evidence for overprinting of pre‐existing serpentinite features under shallow, low‐temperature conditions. It exhibits unidirectional development of chrysotile fibers. Foliations in antigorite and chrysotile serpentinites strike parallel to the elongate direction of the serpentinite bodies, suggesting a continuous deformation during solid‐state intrusion along the fault zones after undergoing complete serpentinization at deeper levels (lower crust and upper mantle).
Retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measurements in patients using chloroquine
Authors: Bonanomi Maria TBC , Dantas Neuman C , Medeiros Felipe A
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Purpose:  Previous investigations have suggested that initial retinal damage from chloroquine toxicity occurs in ganglion cells, and other ocular tissues are affected only later on. The aim of this study was to evaluate retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness measurements, as assessed by scanning laser polarimetry, in a group of patients under long‐term treatment with chloroquine.

Methods:  This case–control study included 34 patients using chloroquine diphosphate and 34 age‐matched healthy subjects with no previous history of chloroquine intake. All subjects underwent RNFL assessment using the GDx – Nerve Fibre Analyser (software v.2.0.01). One eye of each patient was randomly selected for statistical analysis. Peripapillary RNFL measurements were compared between the two groups. For patients using chloroquine, the correlation between RNFL measurements and chloroquine dosage was assessed.

Results:  Mean ± SD RNFL thickness for patients using chloroquine was 60.6 ± 11.2 µm, 65.6 ± 13.2 µm, 74.8 ± 14.8 µm, 36.2 ± 9.6 µm and 43.8 ± 7.9 µm for global, superior, inferior, temporal and nasal regions, respectively. In the control group, the corresponding values were 72.1 ± 12.7 µm, 79.9 ± 14.8 µm, 88.3 ± 14.0 µm, 44.2 ± 12.8 µm and 49.7 ± 11.9 µm. Mean RNFL thickness measurements from patients using chloroquine were significantly different from those in the control group in all regions (P < 0.05). Thinner RNFL thickness measurements were associated with higher daily dosages of chloroquine.

Conclusion:  Patients under long‐term chloroquine treatment had significantly lower RNFL thickness measurements than healthy subjects, and the RNFL loss was correlated to chloroquine daily dosage.
Conjunctival impression cytology in pseudoexfoliative glaucoma and pseudoexfoliation syndrome
Authors: Erdoğan Haydar , Arıcı D Sema , Toker M İlker , Arıcı M Kemal , Fariz Gönül , Topalkara Ayşen
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Background:  In this study, ocular surface changes and tear film functions in patients with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PEXG) and pseudoexfoliation (PEX) syndrome were evaluated.

Methods:  This study is a randomized, double‐blind and prospective study. Conjunctival impression cytology, tear film break‐up time (TFBUT) test and basal Schirmer test (BST) were performed on 45 eyes of 45 subjects with PEXG (group I), 48 eyes of 48 subjects with PEX syndrome (group 2) and 50 eyes of 50 normal subjects (group 3). Impression cytology was graded 0–III based on the shape, eosinophilic‐staining cytoplasm and nucleocytoplasmic ratio of the epithelial cells, and the shape, quantity and Periodic Acid Schiff‐positive cytoplasm of the goblet cells.

Results:  Impression cytology grading scores were 6.7% grade 0, 15.6% grade I, 37.7% grade II and 40% grade III in group 1, 6.3%, 18.7%, 43.8% and 31.2% in group 2 and 38%, 36.0%, 20% and 6% in group 3, respectively. The scores in groups 1 and 2 were significantly higher than in group 3 (P = 0.001, χ2 = 39.84). The mean values of TFBUT of groups 1, 2 and 3 were 5.91 ± 3.27, 7.39 ± 4.82, 10.96 ± 3.81 s and the mean values of BST were 7.82 ± 3.56, 9.04 ± 4.60 and 12.50 ± 5.25 mm/5 min, respectively. The values of TFBUT and BST were lower in groups 1 and 2 than in group 3 (P = 0.001).

Conclusion:  The conjunctival changes in PEX and PEXG patients recorded in this study may explain the existence of tear film abnormalities in these patients. It has been shown that PEXG and PEX syndrome cause conjunctival surface changes and reduction of tear film functions.
Causes of blindness among hospital outpatients in Ecuador
Authors: Cass Helene , Landers John , Benitez Paul
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Background:  There is a lack of published information on the causes of blindness in Ecuador and the Latin American region in general. This study is designed to enumerate the proportions of ocular conditions contributing to blindness in an outpatient population of an ophthalmology hospital in the coastal region of Ecuador.

Methods:  All cases presenting to an ophthalmology outpatient clinic over a 3‐week period during September 2004 were reviewed (n = 802). Visual acuity was measured using a Snellen acuity chart and those who met the criteria for blindness were included in the study (n = 118). Blindness was defined under the World Health Organization protocol as visual acuity of <3/60. Both unilateral and bilateral blindness were included in the study. The diagnosis of ocular pathology contributing to blindness was recorded.

Results:  Among those considered to have unilateral blindness (n = 88), cataract was the most common cause (43%). This was followed by corneal pathologies (17%) and glaucoma (15%). Among those considered to have bilateral blindness (n = 30), refraction was the most common cause (37%), followed by cataract (23%) and glaucoma (17%).

Conclusion:  The major causes of blindness found in this study reflected those in estimated data for the region. More studies are needed to improve the quality and quantity of epidemiological data on blindness in Ecuador and Latin America. Many obstacles to successful implementation of prevention of blindness programmes in South America still need to be overcome.
Topical therapy with imiquimod for eyelid lesion
Authors: Tsang Hughie Hc , Huynh Nghi T , Hollenbach Eugene
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Herein a case of clinically diagnosed lower eyelid lesion treated with topical imiquimod is reported. Macroscopic resolution of the lesion occurred 4 weeks after treatment with good cosmetic result. This is the first reported successful case of using this drug in treating eyelid lesion involving the lid margin.
Vitreous and subretinal haemorrhage: an unusual complication of retinal racemose haemangioma
Authors: Papageorgiou Konstantinos I , Ghazi‐Nouri Seyed MS , Andreou Petros S
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Racemose haemangioma of the retina is a rare, usually unilateral developmental abnormality: an arteriovenous communication with variable alterations in capillary and arteriolar networks. Herein a case of a 57‐year‐old man with a vitreous and subretinal haemorrhage in the left eye is described.
Retinopathy associated with photodynamic therapy for treatment of idiopathic choroidal neovascularization
Authors: Sii Freda , Lee Lawrence R
Published: March 2006

Abstract

A case of retinopathy with retinal pigment epithelial alterations due to photodynamic therapy for the treatment of idiopathic choroidal neovascularization is reported. The possible mechanisms are discussed.
Diurnal variation of ocular hysteresis in normal subjects: relevance in clinical context
Authors: Laiquzzaman Mohammad , Bhojwani Rajan , Cunliffe Ian , Shah Sunil
Published: March 2006

Abstract

Background:  This study was conducted to assess the diurnal variation in ocular hysteresis, as measured by the Ocular Response Analyser to establish a relationship between diurnal hysteresis variation and diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP) variation.

Methods:  Forty‐two normal eyes of 21 colleagues and staff in a teaching hospital in Birmingham, UK, were recruited. The IOP and hysteresis were measured by the Ocular Response Analyser. The central corneal thickness (CCT) was measured using a hand‐held ultrasonic pachymeter in the mid‐pupillary axis.

Results:  The mean ocular hysteresis at 8 am was 12.7 ± 2.3 mmHg, at 11 am was 12.2 ± 2.0 mmHg, at 2 pm was 12.7 ± 2.1 mmHg and at 5 pm was 12.7 ± 1.7 mmHg; the difference between the values at any time of measurement was not statistically significant (P > 0.9, repeated measures). IOP as measured by non‐contact tonometry was 18.4 ± 2.8 mmHg, 17.9 ± 3.3 mmHg, 16.9 ± 3.1 mmHg and 16.8 ± 3.2 mmHg, respectively, for the same time period; the difference between the values in the morning and afternoon was statistically significant (P < 0.0001, repeated measures). The CCT was 548.8 ± 29.5 µm, 547.0 ± 31.4 µm, 548.2 ± 29.6 µm and 548.6 ± 29.4 µm, respectively; the difference between the values was not statistically significant at any time points. Multiple regression analysis showed the relationship between IOP and hysteresis was not statistically significant (P = 0.9).

Conclusion:  The ocular hysteresis reading was almost constant throughout the day, whereas the IOP readings showed highest values in the morning with a reducing trend being lowest in the afternoon. The CCT values were almost stable throughout the day. IOP appears to vary independently of a variation in hysteresis or CCT.
GABAA receptor antagonists prevent abnormalities in leptin, insulin and amylin actions on paraventricular hypothalamic neurons of overweight rats
Authors: Davidowa Helga , Ziska Thomas , Plagemann Andreas
Published: March 2006

The hypothalamic regulatory system of body weight which develops in rats during critical periods of early postnatal life seems to express plastic changes depending on nutrition at that time. Adult rats previously exposed to early postnatal overnutrition by raising them in small litters become persistently predisposed to overweight, hyperphagia and hyperleptinaemia. The hypothesis was raised that feeding‐related peptides could be involved through altered effects on neuronal activity of the regulatory systems of such rats. This was studied on brain slices of small‐litter rats and normal‐weight controls between days 60 and 120 of life. Neurons of the medial parvocellular part of the paraventricular nucleus were significantly activated by the adiposity signals leptin, insulin and amylin in controls. This is a kind of negative feedback, because activation of these neurons is known to be followed in vivo by increased energy expenditure. GABAergic mechanisms seem to affect these neuronal responses because the activating effects of insulin and amylin were reduced in the presence of a GABAA receptor antagonist. In overweight small‐litter rats, however, the neuronal responses to the adiposity signals were significantly changed; activating effects were reduced and inhibitory effects increased. By means of blockade of GABAA receptors, significant alterations in the neuronal responses to leptin, insulin and amylin in small‐litter rats were prevented. Responses to the peptides were reversed and now resembled those of controls. In conclusion, changes in neuronal wiring with GABAergic interneurons seem to contribute to a persistently reduced negative feedback of adiposity signals in early postnatally overfed rats.
Transmitter modulation of spike‐evoked calcium transients in arousal related neurons: muscarinic inhibition of SNX‐482‐sensitive calcium influx
Authors: Kohlmeier Kristi A. , Leonard Christopher S.
Published: March 2006

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS)‐containing cholinergic neurons in the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) influence behavioral and motivational states through their projections to the thalamus, ventral tegmental area and a brainstem ‘rapid eye movement (REM)‐induction’ site. Action potential‐evoked intracellular calcium transients dampen excitability and stimulate NO production in these neurons. In this study, we investigated the action of several arousal‐related neurotransmitters and the role of specific calcium channels in these LDT Ca2+‐transients by simultaneous whole‐cell recording and calcium imaging in mouse (P14–P30) brain slices. Carbachol, noradrenaline and adenosine inhibited spike‐evoked Ca2+‐transients, while histamine, t‐ACPD, a metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist, and orexin‐A did not. Carbachol inhibition was blocked by atropine, was insensitive to blockade of G‐protein‐coupled inward rectifier (GIRK) channels and was not inhibited by nifedipine, ω‐conotoxin GVIA or ω‐agatoxin IVA, which block L‐, N‐ and P/Q‐type calcium channels, respectively. In contrast, SNX‐482 (100 nm), a selective antagonist of R‐type calcium channels containing the alpha1E (Cav2.3) subunit, attenuated carbachol inhibition of the somatic spike‐evoked calcium transient. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of muscarinic inhibition of native SNX‐482‐sensitive R‐channels. Our findings indicate that muscarinic modulation of these channels plays an important role in the feedback control of cholinergic LDT neurons and that inhibition of spike‐evoked Ca2+‐transients is a common action of neurotransmitters that also activate GIRK channels in these neurons. Because spike‐evoked calcium influx dampens excitability, our findings suggest that these ‘inhibitory’ transmitters could boost firing rate and enhance responsiveness to excitatory inputs during states of high firing, such as waking and REM sleep.
Histone modifications in kainate‐induced status epilepticus
Authors: Sng Judy C. G. , Taniura Hideo , Yoneda Yukio
Published: March 2006

To understand the molecular actions of status epilepticus at the chromatin level, we studied the effects of kainate‐induced status epilepticus on two different histone modifications at amino terminal tails: histone H3 phosphorylation at serine 10 and histone H4 acetylation. In addition to induction of c‐fosand c‐junimmediate early genes (IEGs) expression in mouse hippocampus, we also found the upregulation of acetylation and phosphorylation of histones, coupled with status epilepticus after kainate administration. c‐fosand c‐junmRNA were sequentially induced in response to kainate, in different hippocampal subpopulations, starting from the dentate gyrus (DG) and spreading to the cornus ammonis regions. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the spatio‐temporal distribution of histone H4 hyperacetylation after kainate treatment was well correlated with the expression of c‐fosand c‐jungenes. Additionally, there was a transient appearance of phosphorylated histone H3 specifically in the DG region. CREB‐binding protein or CBP, a well‐known transcriptional co‐activator with histone acetyltransferase (HAT) activity, was also induced by kainate and its expression pattern well correlated with histone H4 hyperacetylation in the hippocampus. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis showed that both histone modifications were associated with c‐fosgene promoter after kainate stimulation, but only histone acetylation with c‐jungene. Pretreatment with curcumin, which has a HAT inhibitory activity specific for CBP/p300, attenuated histone modifications, IEGs expression and also the severity of status epilepticus after kainate treatment. Our findings suggest the involvement of histone modifications induced by kainate not only in IEGs expression but also in the development of epilepsy.
Effect of cortical spreading depression on synaptic transmission of rat hippocampal tissues
Authors: Wernsmann Brigitta , Pape Hans‐Christian , Speckmann Erwin‐Josef , Gorji Ali
Published: March 2006

Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is believed to be a putative neuronal mechanism underlying migraine aura and subsequent pain. In vitro and ex vivo/in vitro brain slice techniques were used to investigate CSD effects on the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSP) and tetanus‐induced long‐term potentiation (LTP) in combined rat hippocampus–cortex slices. Induction of CSD in combined hippocampus–cortex slices in which DC negative deflections did not propagate from neocortex to hippocampus significantly augmented fEPSP amplitude and LTP in the hippocampus. Propagation of CSD to the hippocampus resulted in a transient suppression followed by reinstatement of fEPSP with amplitude of pre‐CSD levels. LTP was inhibited when DC potential shifts were recorded in the hippocampus. Furthermore, CSD was induced in anaesthetized rats and, thereafter, hippocampal tissues were examined in vitro. LTP was significantly enhanced in hippocampal slices obtained from ipsilateral site to the hemisphere in which CSD was evoked. The results indicate the disturbances of hippocampal synaptic transmission triggered by propagation of CSD. This perturbation of hippocampal synaptic transmission induced by CSD may relate to some symptoms occurring during migraine attacks, such as amnesia and hyperactivity.
HIV‐1 gp120 enhances giant depolarizing potentials via chemokine receptor CXCR4 in neonatal rat hippocampus
Authors: Kasyanov Alexander , Tamamura Hirokazu , Fujii Nobutaka , Xiong Huangui
Published: March 2006

In the immature hippocampus, the giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs) are recurrent network‐driven synaptic events generated by γ–aminobutyric acid (GABA), which in neonatal life is depolarizing and excitatory. The GDPs enable a high degree of synchrony in immature neurons and participate in activity‐dependent growth and synapse formation. To understand how human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV‐1) infection in the immature brain impairs brain growth and development, we studied the effects of HIV‐1 envelope glycoprotein, gp120, a viral toxin shed in abundance by infected cells, on spontaneous occurring GDPs recorded in the CA3 pyramidal cells in neonatal (P2–P6) Sprague–Dawley rat hippocampal slices using whole‐cell patch technique. Bath application of gp120 produced a sustained enhancement of GDP frequency in a concentration‐dependent manner without affecting passive membrane properties, suggesting that the site of action is most likely on neural network, other than on the recorded neurons. The gp120‐induced enhancement of GDPs was blocked by T140, a highly specific antagonist for the chemokine receptor, CXCR4, indicating the involvement of CXCR4 in the gp120‐induced increase of GDPs. Bath application of stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α (SDF‐1α), the only CXCR4 ligand, mimicked the effects of gp120 on GDPs, supporting the engagement of CXCR4 receptors in the gp120‐induced increase of GDP occurrence. Further studies revealed the involvement of protein kinase A/C in the gp120‐induced enhancement of GDPs. These results demonstrate that gp120 enhances GDPs in the neonatal rat hippocampus. This enhancement may cause an excessive increase in intracellular calcium and resultant neuronal injury, leading to retardation of the brain and behavioural development as seen in paediatric AIDS patients.
Localization of nyctalopin in the mammalian retina
Authors: Morgans Catherine W. , Ren Gaoying , Akileswaran Lakshmi
Published: March 2006

Complete X‐linked congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1) is a hereditary visual disease characterized by abnormalities in both the dark‐ and light‐adapted electroretinogram, consistent with a defect in synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and ON‐bipolar cells. The gene responsible for CSNB1, NYX, encodes a novel, leucine‐rich repeat protein, nyctalopin. Consistent with its predicted glycosylphosphatidylinositol linkage, we show that recombinant nyctalopin is targeted to the extracellular cell surface in transfected HEK293 cells. Within the retina, strong nyctalopin immunoreactivity is present in the outer plexiform layer, the site of the photoreceptor to bipolar cell synapses. Double labelling of nyctalopin and known synaptic proteins in the outer plexiform layer indicate that nyctalopin is associated with the ribbon synapses of both rod and cone terminals. In the inner plexiform layer, nyctalopin immunoreactivity is associated with rod bipolar cell terminals. Our findings support a role for nyctalopin in synaptic transmission and/or synapse formation at ribbon synapses in the retina.
Cortical reorganization after brain damage: the oculomotor model
Authors: Nyffeler Thomas , Müri René , Pflugshaupt Tobias , von Wartburg Roman , Hess Christian W.
Published: March 2006

Recovery from eye movement deficits after cortical lesions is amazingly rapid and almost complete, which is in sharp contrast to most other neurological deficits of cerebral lesions. The underlying mechanisms of this successful recovery remain uncertain. We had the rare opportunity to examine two patients with recovery from saccade deficits after a lesion restricted to the frontal eye field (FEF) by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). The results provide direct evidence that recovery depended on the integrity of the oculomotor regions of the nonlesioned contralesional hemisphere, and that the compensatory network is task‐specific.
Serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐inducible kinase (SGK) is a target of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway that mediates memory formation in rats
Authors: Lee Ching‐Tien , Tyan Shiaw‐Wei , Ma Yun L. , Tsai Ming‐Chi , Yang Ying C. , Lee Eminy H. Y.
Published: March 2006

We have previously demonstrated that serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐inducible kinase (SGK) plays a causal role in facilitating memory formation of spatial learning in rats, but the SGK signaling pathway involved in spatial memory formation is not known. The mitogen‐activated protein kinase/extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) also plays an important role in memory formation. We therefore examined whether SGK is a downstream target of the MAPK/ERK signaling cascade and whether ERK signaling to SGK mediates spatial memory formation in rats. Results from an in vitro kinase assay revealed that ERK directly phosphorylates SGK at Ser78, but not at Thr256 and Ser422, whereas inhibition of ERK by PD98059 significantly decreased SGK phosphorylation at Ser78, Thr256 and Ser422 following spatial training. Prior administration of PD98059 also antagonized the enhancing effect of 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate (TPA), a protein kinase C activator that also causes ERK activation, on SGK phosphorylation and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) phosphorylation. Moreover, TPA‐induced SGK phosphorylation and CREB phosphorylation was abolished by prior SGKS78A mutant DNA transfection. By contrast, SGKS78A mutant DNA transfection to hippocampal area CA1 did not affect spatial memory formation, whereas SGKT256A mutant DNA transfection to area CA1 significantly impaired spatial memory formation. ERK was known to regulate sgk mRNA expression, but in the present study we have demonstrated that SGK is also a downstream target of the ERK signaling cascade; ERK directly phosphorylates SGK at Ser78 and indirectly activates SGK at Thr256 and Ser422 through unknown intermediate molecules. Furthermore, ERK activation of SGK is involved in spatial memory formation in rats.
Ion currents and spiking properties of identified subtypes of locust octopaminergic dorsal unpaired median neurons
Authors: Heidel E. , Pflüger H.‐J.
Published: March 2006

Efferent dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurons are key elements of an insect neuromodulatory system. In locusts, subpopulations of DUM neurons mediate octopaminergic modulation at specific targets depending on their activity during different behaviours. This study investigates whether in addition to synaptic inputs, activity in DUM neurons depends on intrinsic membrane properties. Intracellular in situ recordings and whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings from freshly isolated somata characterize somatic voltage signals and the underlying ion currents of individual subtypes of DUM neurons identified beforehand by a vital retrograde tracing technique. Na+, Ca2+, K+ currents and a hyperpolarization‐activated (Ih) current are described in detail for their (in‐)activation properties and subtype‐specific current densities. In addition, a Ca2+‐dependent K+ current is demonstrated by its sensitivity to cadmium and charybdotoxin. This complex current composition determines somatic excitability similar in all subtypes of DUM neurons. Both Na+ and Ca2+ currents generate overshooting somatic action potentials. Repolarizing K+ currents, in particular transient, subthreshold‐activating A‐currents, regulate the firing frequency and cause delayed excitation by shunting depolarizing input. An opposing hyperpolarization‐activated (Ih) current contributes to the resting membrane potential and induces rebound activity after prolonged inhibition phases. A quantitative analysis reveals subtype‐specific differences in current densities with more inhibitory IK but less depolarizing INa and Ih − at least in DUM3 neurons promoting a reliable suppression of their activity as observed during behaviour. In contrast, DUM neurons that are easily activated during behaviour (DUM3,4,5 and DUMETi) express less IK and a pronounced depolarizing Ih promoting excitability.
The infralimbic cortical area commands the behavioral and vegetative arousal during appetitive behavior in the rat
Authors: Valdés José Luis , Maldonado Pedro , Recabarren Mónica , Fuentes Rómulo , Torrealba Fernando
Published: March 2006

The infralimbic cortical area is a good candidate to send processed motivational signals to initiate the arousing and autonomic responses that characterize appetitive behaviors. To test this hypothesis we enticed hungry rats with food while assessing locomotion (as an index of arousal level) and temperature responses, and evaluated Fos immunoreactivity (IR) in the infralimbic area and in subcortical nuclei involved in thermoregulation or arousal. We also recorded from single infralimbic neurons in freely moving rats while enticing them with food. We found that 83% of infralimbic neurons were excited or inhibited by feeding and, in particular, that 33% of infralimbic neurons increased their discharge rate during food enticing. Intact rats showed increased Fos IR in the infralimbic area, as well as in many other cortical areas. The excitotoxic lesion of the infralimbic cortex abolished the arousing and hyperthermic responses observed in intact rats, as well as the expression of Fos IR in the ascending arousal system and subcortical thermoregulatory regions. We conclude that the infralimbic area plays a central role in implementing behavioral arousing and thermal responses during an appetitive behavior.
Patterns in potassium dynamics in forest ecosystems
Authors: Tripler Christopher E. , Kaushal Sujay S. , Likens Gene E. , Todd Walter M.
Published: March 2006

The biotic cycling of potassium (K) in forest systems has been relatively understudied in comparison with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) despite its critical roles in maintaining the nutrition of primary production in forests. We investigated the ecological significance of K in forests from a literature review and data synthesis. We focused on (1) describing patterns of the effects of K availability on aboveground growth and change in foliar tissue of tree species from a variety of forests; and (2) documenting previously unreported relationships between hydrologic losses of K and N in forested watersheds from the Americas. In a review of studies examining tree growth under K manipulations/fertilizations, a high percentage (69% of studies) showed a positive response to increases in K availability in forest soils. In addition, 76% of the tree studies reviewed showed a positive and significant increase in K concentrations in plant tissue after soil K manipulation/fertilization. A meta‐analysis on a subset of the reviewed studies was found to provide further evidence that potassium effects tree growth and increased tissue [K] with an effect size of 0.709 for growth and an overall effect size of 0.56. In our review of watershed studies, we observed that concentrations of K typically decreased during growing seasons in streams draining forested areas in the Temperate Zones and were responsive to vegetation disturbance in both temperate and tropical regions. We found a strong relationship (r2 = 0.42–0.99) between concentrations of K and N (another critical plant nutrient) in stream water, suggesting that similar mechanisms of biotic retention may control the flow of these nutrients. Furthermore, K dynamics appear to be unique among the base cations, e.g. calcium, magnesium, and sodium, because the others do not show similar seasonal patterns to K. We suggest that K may be important to the productivity and sustenance of many forests, and its dynamics and ecological significance warrant further study. We suggest that knowledge about the dynamics of this understudied element is imperative for our understanding patterns and processes in forest ecosystems.
Genetic evidence of frequent long‐distance recruitment in a vertebrate‐dispersed tree
Authors: Hardesty Britta Denise , Hubbell Stephen P. , Bermingham Eldredge
Published: March 2006

The importance of dispersal for the maintenance of biodiversity, while long‐recognized, has remained unresolved. We used molecular markers to measure effective dispersal in a natural population of the vertebrate‐dispersed Neotropical tree, Simarouba amara (Simaroubaceae) by comparing the distances between maternal parents and their offspring and comparing gene movement via seed and pollen in the 50 ha plot of the Barro Colorado Island forest, Central Panama. In all cases (parent‐pair, mother–offspring, father–offspring, sib–sib) distances between related pairs were significantly greater than distances to nearest possible neighbours within each category. Long‐distance seedling establishment was frequent: 74% of assigned seedlings established > 100 m from the maternal parent [mean = 392 ± 234.6 m (SD), range = 9.3–1000.5 m] and pollen‐mediated gene flow was comparable to that of seed [mean = 345.0 ± 157.7 m (SD), range 57.6–739.7 m]. For S. amara we found approximately a 10‐fold difference between distances estimated by inverse modelling and mean seedling recruitment distances (39 m vs. 392 m). Our findings have important implications for future studies in forest demography and regeneration, with most seedlings establishing at distances far exceeding those demonstrated by negative density‐dependent effects.
Genetic richness of vibriophages isolated in a coastal environment
Authors: Comeau André M. , Chan Amy M. , Suttle Curtis A.
Published: March 2006

The purpose of this study was to characterize Vibrio parahaemolyticus viruses (VpVs) isolated from different environments within and adjacent to the Strait of Georgia, and to examine the relative influences of distance and environment on host‐range and genetic richness. Nearly all seawater enrichment cultures (29/31) generated isolates, implying that VpVs were widespread in the virioplankton, yet at low abundances (< 1 l−1). Viruses were not detected in sediments (n = 99). Fourteen of the 16 viruses characterized were siphoviruses, with genome sizes ranging from ∼45–106 kb, and half were capable of infecting other Vibrio species. The VpVs infected bacteria isolated from oysters and sediments fairly well (55% and 46% of the host‐virus combinations, respectively), but were unable to infect many of the bacteria isolated from the water column (< 13% of 112 combinations). When compared with VpVs from oysters, it was clear that the major determinant of phenotypic (host‐range) and genetic richness (by the DP‐RAPD assay) was not geography, but the source environment from which the VpVs originated. Therefore, the VpV population within the Strait of Georgia is a highly diverse mixture of phenotypes and genotypes.
A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri)
Authors: Jønsson Knud A. , Fjeldså Jon
Published: March 2006

Oscine passerine birds make up almost half of all avian diversity. Relationships within the group, and its classification, have long been controversial. Over the last 10 years numerous molecular phylogenies have been published. We compiled source phylogenies from 99 published studies to construct an oscine supertree. We aimed to illustrate weak and strong parts of the phylogeny and set targets for future phylogenetic work and therefore preferred a heuristic approach where we judged the adequacy of taxon sampling and molecular method of each source tree instead of using matrices and automated tree‐building programs. We present an estimate of the phylogenetic relationships of 1723 extant and one extinct species of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri) — more than 37% of the total. We included 34/35 (97%) families, 38/39 (97%) subfamilies and 40/43 (93%) tribes. Overall resolution is 83% of a fully bifurcating tree. The basal lineages are all distributed in the Australo‐Papuan region, but several more distal lineages dispersed out of this region and radiated in other parts of the world. However, taxa of the Australian region suffer from larger evolutionary gaps and the deep branches of the Sylvioidea and nine South American primaried oscines are still poorly resolved.
An in‐built proteinase inhibitor system for the protection of recombinant proteins recovered from transgenic plants
Authors: Rivard Daniel , Anguenot Raphaël , Brunelle France , Le Van Quy , Vézina Louis‐Philippe , Trépanier Sonia , Michaud Dominique
Published: March 2006

Proteolytic degradation represents a significant barrier to the efficient production of several recombinant proteins in plants, bothin vivoduring their expression andin vitroduring their recovery from source tissues. Here, we describe a strategy to protect recombinant proteins during the recovery process, based on the coexpression of a heterologous proteinase inhibitor acting as a ‘mouse trap’ against the host proteases during extraction. After confirming the importance of trypsin‐ and chymotrypsin‐like activities in crude protein extracts of potato (Solanum tuberosumL.) leaves, transgenic lines of potato expressing either tomato cathepsin D inhibitor (CDI) or bovine aprotinin, both active against trypsin and chymotrypsin, were generated byAgrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated genetic transformation. Leaf crude protein extracts from CDI‐expressing lines, showing decreased levels of cathepsin D‐like and ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase hydrolysing activitiesin vitro, conducted decreased turnover rates of the selection marker protein neomycin phosphotransferase II (NPTII) relative to the turnover rates measured for transgenic lines expressing only the marker protein. A similar stabilizing effect on NPTII was observed in leaf protein extracts from plant lines coexpressing bovine aprotinin, confirming the ability of ectopically expressed broad‐spectrum serine proteinase inhibitors to reproduce the protein‐stabilizing effect of low‐molecular‐weight proteinase inhibitors generally added to protein extraction media.
Emphasizing ‘Others’: the emergence of Hindu nationalism in a central Indian tribal community
Authors: Froerer Peggy
Published: March 2006

This article is an ethnographic account of the rise of Hindu nationalism in a central Indian ‘tribal’ (adivasi) community. It is a response to the lack of ethnographic attention within wider nationalist discourse to the kinds of social conditions and processes that have contributed to the manifestation of nationalism at the grass‐roots level. It is argued that the successful spread of Hindu nationalism in specifically tribal areas is due to the instrumentalist involvement of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist organization, in local affairs. The outcome of such involvement is the promotion of the threatening ‘Other’ and the attachment of ethnic group loyalties to a wider nationalist agenda.
The potential of analogy in post‐processual archaeologies: a case study from Basimane ward, Serowe, Botswana
Authors: Fewster Kathryn J.
Published: March 2006

This article presents the results of an ethnoarchaeological study of Basimane ward in Serowe, Botswana. It is argued that African archaeology is currently at the forefront of the debate on theory‐building in ethnoarchaeology and that this debate is exemplified in the argument about the use of the Central Cattle Pattern (CCP) model as a direct historical analogy to Iron Age settlement in southern Africa. My case study demonstrates that the continuities of settlement architecture that are evident for the past century in Basimane ward should not be interpreted as the persistence of the cultural forms that are described in the CCP. Rather, the persistence of elements of the physical form of the CCP to post‐colonial settlement is a testimony to the interplay between structure and human agency, to the capacity of people constantly to re‐negotiate the rules – past and present, social and architectural – in order to make sense of the lives they live. The value of ethnoarchaeology to post‐processual archaeology is not to provide a contemporary ‘pattern’ of material culture that may be compared to an ancient one in the form of a uniformitarian analogy, but rather to demonstrate that, according to the discursive nature of Giddens's duality of structure, archaeologists would be wrong to disengage structure and agency in order to ‘find’ them as separate archaeologically identifiable components.
Documented lives: fear and the uncertainties of law during the second Palestinianintifada
Authors: Kelly Tobias
Published: March 2006

This article examines the role of identity documents in producing the particular texture of relationships between persons and states in the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict. For many people in the region the forms of legal identification they hold are central to their life chances. Considerable efforts are therefore made in trying to accumulate and manipulate documents for political and economic advantage. However, the implications of holding identity documents are always partial and unstable. This article argues that identity documents penetrate into the lives of those who hold them, not as reifying abstractions, but as an unpredictable and unstable technique of governance, producing fear and uncertainty for all those subject to their use. Although the production of identity documents creates a separation between the legal and the physical person, these two aspects of personhood are recombined as, through their anxieties, people come to embody the indeterminacies of the documents that they hold. In this way documents produce legibility and illegibility, stability and instability, coherence and incoherence.
‘Common sense’ and ‘governmentality’: local government in southeastern Ireland, 1850‐1922
Authors: Silverman Marilyn , Gulliver P.H.
Published: March 2006

Early paradigms in political anthropology identified formal government councils as a subject for cross‐cultural comparison (structural functionalism) or as a political resource for goal‐orientated actors (transactionalism). Recent concerns with power and regulation can also profit from a focus on local‐level government councils by using them to explore the conceptual and empirical linkages between ‘common sense’ and ‘governmentality’. In this article, as a point of entry, we highlight a key moment in the history of Britain's colonial and hegemonic project in Ireland, namely the orderly administrative transition from colony to state which occurred in Ireland after 1919. By constructing a historical narrative of a local government council in the southeast after 1850, and of its material and discursive bases, we show how the actions and ideologies of elite farmers were implicated in this orderly administrative transition and, therefore, how the concepts of governmentality, hegemony, and common sense might be linked.
Secular morality, village law, and Buddhism in Tibetan societies
Authors: Pirie Fernanda
Published: March 2006

Contrary to assumptions frequently made about Buddhist societies and to models promoted by Tibetan elites, not all Tibetans understand their religion in an ethical way. This article demonstrates that, for a community of villagers in Ladakh, Buddhism is not a source of moral guidance nor is it regarded by them as providing authority for the exercise of political or judicial power. Comparing the findings of ethnographers elsewhere in the Tibetan region, it is apparent that many Tibetans regard the cosmos and its inhabitants as having little relevance for the moral order of their community or its political organization. It is suggested that such understandings have a profound effect on local understandings of the ambit and significance of Buddhism and on the course of its assimilation in the region.
A community of critics? Thoughts on new knowledge*
Authors: Strathern Marilyn
Published: March 2006

Social anthropology is used to terrains shifting under its feet. Things observed from afar suddenly become near, and the knowledge economy is an example. This article considers the place of anthropology as a discipline in a world where creativity becomes an adjunct of productivity, interdisciplinary collaborations become a paradigm for innovation, and everyone is valued for their expertise. How to lead a critical life emerges as a new kind of problem.
Testing the Null of Co‐integration in the Presence of Variance Breaks
Authors: Cavaliere Giuseppe , Robert Taylor A. M.
Published: March 2006

Abstract. We show that changes in the innovation covariance matrix of a vector of series can generate spurious rejections of the null hypothesis of co‐integration when applying standard residual‐based co‐integration tests. A bootstrap solution to the inference problem is suggested which is shown to perform well in practice, redressing the size problems associated with the standard test but not losing power relative to the standard test under the alternative.
Divorce Israeli Style: Professional Perceptions of Gender and Power in Mediated and Lawyer‐Negotiated Divorces
Authors: BOGOCH BRYNA , HALPERIN‐KADDARI RUTH
Published: March 2006

This study examines how the power of women is constructed by divorce professionals in a divorce process that is governed by rabbinical family law, the egalitarian ideology of the recently established family courts, and the growing use of mediation in divorce disputes. It is based on 254 questionnaires and 57 interviews with lawyers, mediators, and lawyer‐mediators. We found that except for a minority of women lawyers, practitioners claimed that women were not disadvantaged by family law, and that mediation does not adversely affect weaker parties. However, their reactions to hypothetical situations indicated that rabbinical law does matter for women's bargaining power, and for lawyers’ recommendations for mediation. This study reveals the complexities of the social construction of gender and power in divorce negotiations and the role of women professionals in empowering divorcing women.
The Courtroom of the Future is Here: Introduction to Emerging Technologies in the Legal System
Authors: WIGGINS ELIZABETH C.
Published: March 2006

This introductory article overviews the articles in this special issue on emerging technologies in the legal system. The articles concern videotaped confessions, videoconferencing in criminal proceedings, animations and simulations, and immersive virtual environment technology. The article then highlights issues raised by the articles related to important policy and legal principles underlying our system of justice.
Courtroom Applications of Virtual Environments, Immersive Virtual Environments, and Collaborative Virtual Environments
Authors: BAILENSON JEREMY N. , BLASCOVICH JIM , BEALL ANDREW C. , NOVECK BETH
Published: March 2006

This article examines the possibilities and implications of employing virtual environments (VEs), immersive virtual environments (IVEs), and collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) in the courtroom. We argue that the immersive and interactive reality created by these tools adds significant value as a simulation of experience to enhance courtroom practice. The obvious boundaries between real and virtual enhance the attractiveness of these tools as technologies of rhetorical persuasion that can be used to demonstrate subjective perspective, strengthen or impeach the credibility of witnesses, and provide the trier of fact with a better understanding of each side's perception of the facts at issue. The article introduces the concepts of VEs, IVEs, and CVEs, describes the manners in which these technologies have been applied to settings other than the courts system, and review the relevant psychological and legal literature. It discusses specific applications of the technology to the court system and suggests how it could improve upon current procedures. Finally, it discusses some of the limitations and problems, and suggests legal reforms necessary to the adoption of these technologies, specifically rules of procedure that provide for all parties to be able to access, manipulate and inspect any virtual environment, the trier of fact to be able to interact with, rather than just accept the lawyer's rendition, and rules that provide for the parties to introduce at trial an inventory of all digital assets contained in the virtual environment, making those that are stipulated to and those that are in controversy.
Too Real? The Future of Virtual Reality Evidence
Authors: FEIGENSON NEAL
Published: March 2006

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs), or virtual reality, could soon follow other visual technologies from the culture at large to the courtroom. The unprecedented realism of IVEs may be thought to pose peculiar risks of prejudice and confusion that would militate against their use as demonstrative evidence. In particular, some believe that jurors will be unable to distinguish IVEs from reality, and that IVEs are so involving that they will transform jurors from disinterested judges of, into witnesses to, or even participants in, litigated events, impairing their objectivity. This article analyzes these concerns and shows them to be overstated. The article also discusses other judgmental risks and benefits presented by the use of IVEs in court, and concludes that the admissibility of IVE evidence should be determined on a case‐by‐case basis.
Evaluatingthe Legacyof Nonviolencein South Africa
Authors: Presbey Gail M.
Published: March 2006

Nelson Mandela departed from Gandhian nonviolence when he asserted that apartheid rule made resort to violence by the African National Congress necessary. Mandela claimed that the anti‐apartheid movement in South Africa was strengthened by including both violence and nonviolence. This paper investigates the claims of several authors who claim that South Africa would have gained freedom from apartheid more quickly if it had remained purely nonviolent. It finds the claims plausible, when argued carefully. But some historians and nonviolence advocates have oversimplified the story of the anti‐apartheid struggle and give the impression that the struggle was more nonviolent than it was.
Velvet Revolution: An Actor‐based Model
Authors: Van Inwegen Patrick
Published: March 2006

Using a process‐oriented theoretical model I explain why some revolutions are violent while others are velvet. Velvet revolutions (those with little or no violence) occur because of a peculiar interaction between dissidents and the state. A dynamic model illustrates how dissidents, the state, and the mass public interact in revolution, emphasizing each group's decisions and the impact this has on the other groups. Successful velvet revolutions occur when (1) dissidents committed to nonviolence are (2) sufficiently organized to successfully provoke the state into (3) ineffectively repressing dissidents or inadequately implementing reform. I utilize the 1986 Philippines revolution to test this model and hypothesis.