bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A minimal stress model for the assessment of electroacupuncture analgesia in rats under halothane
Authors: Wen Yeong‐Ray , Yeh Geng‐Chang , Shyu Bai‐Chuang , Ling Qing‐Dong , Wang Kuo‐Ching , Chen Ta‐Liang , Sun Wei‐Zen
Published: January 2007

The use of anesthetics in acupuncture analgesia is controversial. We evaluate a steady‐state light anesthesia model to test whether minimal stress manipulation and reliable measurement of analgesia could be simultaneously achieved during electroacupuncture (EA) in animals.

A series of experiments were performed. Firstly, EA compliance and tail‐flick latencies (TFL) were compared in rats under 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.7%, or 1.1% halothane for 120min. Under 0.5% halothane, TFL were then measured in groups receiving EA at intensity of 3, 10 or 20 volt (V), 1 or 2mg/kg morphine, 20V EA plus naloxone, or control. Subsequently, the effect of EA on formalin‐induced hyperalgesia was tested and c‐fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn was analyzed.

Rats exhibited profound irritable behaviors and highly variable TFL under 0.1% or 0.3% halothane, as well as a time‐dependent increase of TFL under 0.7% or 1.1% halothane. TFL remained constant at 0.5% halothane, and needle insertion and electrical stimulation were well tolerated. Under 0.5% halothane, EA increased TFL and suppressed formalin‐induced hyperalgesia in an intensity‐dependent and naloxone‐reversible manner. EA of 20V prolonged TFL by 74%, suppressed formalin‐induced hyperalgesia by 32.6% and decreased c‐fos expression by 29.7% at the superficial and deep dorsal horn with statistically significant difference.

In conclusion, 0.5% halothane provides a steady‐state anesthetic level which enables the humane application of EA stimulus with the least interference on analgesic assessment. This condition serves as a minimal stress EA model in animals devoid of stress‐induced analgesia while maintaining physiological and biochemical response in the experiment.
A complex peptide‐sorting signal, but no mRNA signal, is required for the Sec‐independent transport of Ist2 from the yeast ER to the plasma membrane
Authors: Franz Anna , Maass Kiran , Seedorf Matthias
Published: January 2007

The yeast integral plasma membrane protein Ist2 belongs to a group of membrane proteins which are synthesized from localized mRNAs. The protein reaches the plasma membrane via the ER on a route operating independently of the classical secretory pathway. We have identified a complex peptide‐sorting signal located at the extreme C‐terminus. This sorting signal operates independently of targeting information in IST2 mRNA and sorting to the plasma membrane does not require She‐mediated mRNA transport into daughter cells. Based on these results, we suggest a posttranslational mechanism, which leads to the concentration of Ist2 – via multimerization – at ER sites, followed by direct transport to the plasma membrane. This novel mechanism operates downstream of IST2 mRNA localization.
Effect of total solids content and temperature on the rheological behaviour of reconstituted whole milk concentrates
Authors: Trinh Binh , Trinh Khanh Tuoc , Haisman Derek
Published: January 2007

This work investigated the combined effect of solids content, heating and storage temperatures on the rheological behaviour of reconstituted whole milk concentrates. The powder was reconstituted at 35 °C in a custom built recombination rig to various total solids content (TS) from 10–48% TS. The concentrates were then heated to 45–85 °C and stored at the heating temperature. The rheological behaviour shifter from Newtonian behaviour (below 30% TS) to power law (below 40% TS), with the yield stress observed from 40% TS upwards and time-dependent behaviour was noticed above 44% TS. Higher heating temperatures tend to promote non-Newtonian behaviour at lower solids content. The viscosity-solid content curve showed an exponential relationship, while the viscosity-temperature curve exhibited a minimum at 65–75 °C above 46% TS. During age thickening, the yield stress and the consistency coefficient increased, while the flow behaviour index decreased with storage time. This indicated that the milk concentrates deviated away from Newtonian behaviour during age thickening.
Rheological characterisation of age thickening with special reference to milk concentrates
Authors: Trinh Binh , Haisman Derek , Trinh Khanh Tuoc
Published: January 2007

Age thickening is a well known phenomenon within the dairy industry, where the apparent viscosity of concentrated dairy solutions increases with storage time under low shear. The objective of the paper is to develop new tools to analyse several aspects of age thickening, including the increases in shear thinning, the degree of thixotropy and the rate of structural build up with time, as well as irreversible structural changes and gelation. The build up of the dispersed phase structure during storage, was captured by a snap shot technique, where concentrated milk samples were stored, and aliquots were taken at periodic intervals and subjected to shear sweep tests to collect flow curves. Rheological modelling using the Herschel-Bulkley model showed an increase in yield stress and consistency, indicating a build up in structure during age thickening. The trend in apparent viscosity with storage time showed two-phases, a slow and steady increase followed by a sharp rise, which could be used to identify the onset of firm gelation. The extrapolated viscosity at infinite shear rate increased with storage time, indicating the build up in irreversible structural components during age thickening.
Crafts and Statecraft in Eighteenth Century Jodhpur
Authors: SAHAI NANDITA PRASAD
Published: January 2007

This essay argues that too much of scholarship on state formation in late pre-colonial India has displayed an elitist bias and focused exclusively on the activities and concerns of upper-caste ruling groups alone. Building upon recent trends that have brought into view the roles of a greater diversity of groups, this article explores the agentive role of the crafts and artisan communities in the state formation of Jodhpur during the eighteenth century. This was a period when the Rathor rulers of Jodhpur were unable to rely on the external support of the Mughal Empire and felt compelled to forge alliances with new groups who, perhaps, were previously marginal to political processes in the region. This, of course, did not dissolve the difficult and often exploitative conditions under which artisans worked, and though their agency was more reactive than creative, it did serve to define and limit the levels of state appropriations in revenues and labour.
Hindi Dalit Autobiography: an Exploration of Identity
Authors: BETH SARAH
Published: January 2007

Several powerful constructions of Dalit social and political identity are now circulating in very influential ways within the public sphere in North India, as various groups including both the Bahujan Samaj Party as well as Hindutva organisations compete to assert their influence over how these identities are defined, who they include, and what they mean. In this context, the rise of Hindi Dalit autobiographies as a source of Dalit cultural identity becomes especially important in North India, as they contest traditional conceptions of the Dalit community as ‘untouchables’ and attempt to re-inscribe Dalit identity in positive, self-assertive terms. However, Dalit autobiographies retain certain ambivalences, as the authors struggle to reconcile their low-caste identity with their current urban middle-class status, and more recently, as their claims to represent all members of the Dalit community are challenged by Dalits of the younger generation.
The Sinking of the S.S. Kowshing: International Law, Diplomacy, and the Sino-Japanese War
Authors: HOWLAND DOUGLAS
Published: January 2007

In July 1894, the Japanese navy sank the British steamshipKowshing, leased by China to transport troops to Korea. Diplomatic negotiations over compensation for the loss of the ship persisted for the next decade. In insisting upon China's responsibility, the British Foreign Office forsook the judgments of international legal experts and demonstrated that its main goals were to support British commercial interests and to encourage the position of Japan in East Asia. The surprising denoument of theKowshingincident was China's payment of damages for the ship in 1903.
Environmental History of Tamil Nadu State, Law and Decline of Forest and Tribals, 1950–2000
Authors: SARAVANAN VELAYUTHAM
Published: January 2007

Environment and sustainable development have been accorded great emphasis since the last quarter of the twentieth century. In India, the environmental protection is enshrined in the Constitution of India (42nd Amendment) under the Directive Principles of State Policy in 1977. According to Article 48A, ‘State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife in the country’. Article 51A(g) enjoins upon the citizens ‘to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes and rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for the living creatures’.
Race Matters: Orientalism and Religion, India and Beyond c. 1770–1880
Authors: KAPILA SHRUTI
Published: January 2007

In tracing the history of the concept of race, this article revises the conventional view that race acquired significance only after the mid-nineteenth century in colonial India. Instead, it situates the history of race in the connected realms of enlightenment science in both the metropolitan and colonial worlds and in the public sphere of Indian print culture. From the 1770s onwards the emerging ‘science’ of race was intimately related to orientalism and was salient for civilisational concepts, above all, religion. Precisely because it was a capacious concept that encompassed both cultural and biological ideas, race became an inescapable category for world-comparative distinctions between human types and religions, but it also held implications for the role of empire. Phrenology was a popular dimension of this set of ideas and found votaries among both imperial and also Indian literati of radical, conservative and liberal political opinions. The Calcutta Phrenological Society became an active site of debate on these issues. Yet in the popular realm of vernacular print culture analogous notions of physical typology and distinction (particularly samudrikvidya) remained distant from such concerns. As a form of ‘insurgent knowledge’ samudrikvidya was part of the techniques for the reconstitution of an Indian selfhood. Race then was not only a powerful concept, but also one that was remarkably mutable in its meanings and uses from the eighteenth century onwards.
Indian Labour Immigration and British Labour Policy in Nineteenth-Century Ceylon
Authors: WENZLHUEMER ROLAND
Published: January 2007

During most of the nineteenth century, the economy of the British crown colony Ceylon depended almost exclusively on the export of plantation products. After modest beginnings in the 1820s and 1830s, coffee cultivation spread on the island in the 1840s. During the 1880s, the coffee plantations were superseded by plantations of a new crop—tea. Both cultivation systems were almost pure export monocultures, and both relied almost exclusively on imported wage labour from South India. Thus, it is surprising that labour immigration—a process vital to the efficient functioning of the plantation economy—received practically no government attention for the better part of the nineteenth century. Migration between South India and Ceylon was free of government control, support or regulation. Instead, certain functional equivalents—such as the kangany system—organised immigration and coordinated supply and demand. Only very late in the century, when the kangany system had revealed a number of dramatic organisational weaknesses, the Ceylon Government started to get directly involved in labour and immigration policy.

The author can be contacted at roland.wenzlhuemer@staff.hu-berlin.de
The Construction of Regionalism in Modern Japan: Kodera Kenkichi and his “Treatise on Greater Asianism” (1916)
Authors: SAALER SVEN
Published: January 2007

Around a century ago, in his “The Ideals of the East”, Okakura Tenshin (Kakuzô) proclaimed that “Asia is one”. This phrase, quoted repeatedly ever since, has been interpreted as representative of the ideology of Pan-Asianism (Han-Ajiashugi) or Asianism (Ajiashugi) in Japan. However, Okakura's writings were not widely read in Japan during the Meiji era and his originally English writings were translated into Japanese only in the 1930s. It must have been other authors that defined Pan-Asianism as a comprehensive ideology and brought this ideology closer to politics, a sphere where pan-Asian approaches were mostly rejected until the 1910s. This paper introduces the writings of Kodera Kenkichi (1877–1949), a politician and long-time member of the Lower House of the Imperial Japanese Diet, and identifies his “Treatise on Greater Asianism” (1916) as a central work in the history of the ideology of Asianism in modern Japan.
The Gift of Money: Rearticulating Tradition and Market Economy in Rural West Bengal
Authors: TENHUNEN SIRPA
Published: January 2007

This article examines the rise of dowry system in Janta, a West Bengali village in the Bankura district, where the dowry payments are a relatively new phenomenon. The oldest generation in Janta had experienced times when no demands for money or other gifts had been made during marriage arrangements, but since the 1950s huge dowry payments have become the central financial transactions in the region. In addition to oral history interviews on dowry practices, I draw from my research on the changes in caste, gender and class relationships in the village. I argue that the dowry payments do not merely represent economic considerations in a class conscious society, but that they reflect a rearticulation of both the tradition and market, of gender, ritual, and class identities, and that paying attention to the multiplicity and local variation of dowry practices provides a key to its understanding.
The ‘Problem of People’: British Colonials, Cold War Powers, and the Chinese Refugees in Hong Kong, 1949–62
Authors: MARK CHI-KWAN
Published: January 2007

From late 1956 onwards, British colonial officials spoke of the postwar influx of Chinese refugees from the mainland to Hong Kong as a ‘problem of people’, with serious consequences on housing, social services and even political relations. The problem was also one of an international concern: both Communist and Nationalist China and the United States saw it in the wider context of their Cold War struggles. At first, the Hong Kong government was ambivalent about providing massive relief for the refugees, either by itself or by the United Nations. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s, the political importance of turning potential rioters into responsible citizens, and the Cold War implications of great powers' involvement convinced British colonials that the only lasting solution to the problem was not overseas emigration (with outside aid) but full local integration (through trade and industrialization). The international history of the Chinese refugee problem epitomizes the local history of the Cold War over Hong Kong.
Cleansing the Nation: Urban Entertainments and Moral Reform in Interwar Japan
Authors: TIPTON ELISE K.
Published: January 2007

This article focuses on Japanese government restrictions and regulation of urban entertainments during the 1920s and 1930s as examples of attempts to rectify what was perceived as the declining morals of a modernizing, industrializing Japanese society. In this respect it adds another dimension to depictions of the Second World War as opposition to the cultural as well as political hegemony of the major Western powers. However, although war no doubt gave added impetus to the state's desire to unify popular support and sense of loyalty to the nation, morality campaigns had been initiated even before war had become an imminent possibility. Restrictions were imposed on cafés, dance halls and other modern entertainments, representing opposition to Westernizing, modernizing trends in social values and behaviour that had become prominent in the cities during the 1920s—individualism, materialism, sexuality, and more particularly, female sexuality. Middle class Protestants played a significant role in promoting and shaping these policies. Although such reformers disagreed with the government on other matters, they actively enlisted governmental support to carry out a moral cleansing of the ‘spiritual pests’ infesting the nation.
ShAR2β, a divergent nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit from the blood fluke Schistosoma
Authors: BENTLEY G. N. , JONES A. K. , AGNEW A.
Published: January 2007

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate the fast actions of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Invertebrate nAChRs are of interest as they are targets of widely-selling insecticides and drugs that control nematode parasites. Here, we report the cloning of ShAR2β, a candidate nAChR subunit from the blood fluke, Schistosoma haematobium, which is the third trematode nAChR subunit to be characterized. While ShAR2β possesses key structural features common to all nAChRs, its amino acid sequence shares considerably low identity with those of insect, nematode and vertebrate nAChR subunits. In particular, the second transmembrane domain of ShAR2β, which lines the ion channel, bears unusual amino acid residues which will likely give rise to a receptor with distinct functional properties. Phylogenetic analysis shows that ShAR2β is a divergent nAChR subunit that may define a clade of trematode-specific subunits. We discuss our findings in the context of potentially exploiting this receptor as a target for controlling schistosome parasites.
Protein kinases and their therapeutic exploitation
Authors: Johnson L.
Published: January 2007

This review focuses on the recognition properties of protein kinases at the molecular level. Phosphorylation of the substrate protein by a protein kinase can result in enzyme activation or inhibition, conformational changes that change recognition properties, or the creation of a surface with distinct binding properties. Protein kinases have become important targets for the development of inhibitors with potential therapeutic application. Various examples are considered in this review, and I discuss our own work on glycogen phosphorylase and phosphorylase kinase, and the structures of proteins involved with the cell cycle, including cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases.
Modelling molecular mechanisms of breast cancer and invasion: lessons from the normal gland
Authors: Bissell M.J.
Published: January 2007

The interplay between genes and environment is complex, particularly when it comes to cancer. Studies on breast cancer cells have shown that environmental influences dominate over genotype in their effect on phenotype, and can cause cancerous cells to revert to a non-malignant phenotype, while remaining genotypically malignant. Using breast tissue in three-dimensional cell culture has proved a better model than traditional two-dimensional cell culture in that different cell types can be seen to behave differently to the same pro­-apoptotic signal, with normal cells surviving.
G-protein-coupled receptor signalling through protein networks
Authors: Strosberg A.D. , Nahmias C.
Published: January 2007

This short review provides a broad, and therefore necessarily incomplete and personal, overview of G-protein-coupled receptors, which are often targets for a wide range of important drugs: I will discuss successively their structure, function and interactions with associated proteins. Examples will be drawn from work done over the last 30 years by scientists that worked at different times in my laboratories, mainly in the field of β-adrenoceptors, muscarinic acetylcholine, melatonin and angiotensin receptors.
Human obesity and insulin resistance: lessons from experiments of Nature
Authors: O'Rahilly S.
Published: January 2007

Examination of individuals with ‘extreme phenotypes’ has revealed some rare monogenic disorders that were previously unknown. This identification can shed light on physiological pathways that are also important in normal physiology and how their impairment leads to more common, milder, multigenic forms of the disease. Ultimately, this is a potential route to treatment of both disease types. This approach is discussed in relation to Type 2 diabetes, arising from both insufficient insulin production and insulin resistance.
Study on the optical input interface for Nb single-flux-quantum logic circuits
Authors: Inoue Masumi , Nishitani Takashi , Fujimaki Akira , Yamada Takahiro , Sawaki Koji , Kawayama Iwao , Tonouchi Masayoshi
Published: January 2007

The authors have studied the optical input interface for Nb single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits and demonstrated its operation using photomixing technique. Two tunable lasers of C band were used for photomixing. We adopted a multistage toggle flip-flop (TFF) circuit as the main part of the test circuit. As the first trial, we used lasers with wavelength difference of 0.044nm at around 1550nm, which corresponds to the laser beat frequency of 5.5GHz. The output signals from the 13- and 14-stage TFFs were observed and it showed the input SFQ frequency of 5.5GHz. Thus, the authors demonstrated the conversion of the optical signal to SFQ signal and succeeded in driving the SFQ circuit.
Gold nanoclusters on alkali halide surfaces: Charging and tunneling
Authors: Barth Clemens , Henry Claude R.
Published: January 2007

Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements of gold nanoclusters (0.04–1.5 ML) deposited on (001) surfaces of UHV-cleaved NaCl and KCl are presented. Groups of clusters exhibit a uniform bright contrast, which varies, however, from group to group. These phenomena are most likely due to charges in the clusters, which got charged from charges of the clean surface produced by the cleavage. The uniform contrast in cluster groups might be due to tunneling processes of charges between clusters. Measurements after a charge injection into a cluster show indeed a possible exchange of charges in cluster rows, which the authors evaluate with simple calculations.
Depth profiling of dielectric SrTiO3 thin films by angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Authors: Bhaskar S. , Allgeyer Dan , Smythe John A.
Published: January 2007

This letter reports the results from using angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to nondestructively characterize ultrathin high-k SrTiO3 (STO) films. Results indicate that carbon is present in the STO film in the form of SrCO3 which is amorphous. SrCO3 concentration varies as a function of its position in the film as measured by the take-off angle (TOA). For films annealed at 650°C, the C 1s, O 1s, and Sr 3d photoelectron transitions indicate a significant reduction in the carbonate. There is Sr enrichment on the surface, and the composition gradually converges to stoichiometric STO with Sr∕Ti∼1 at higher TOA.
Using atomic steps to induce texture in polycrystalline pentacene films
Authors: Ignatescu Valerian , Hsu Jing-Chih M. , Mayer Alex C. , Blakely Jack M. , Malliaras George G.
Published: January 2007

The authors have studied the effect of substrate atomic steps on the azimuthal alignment of crystals in polycrystalline pentacene films. The substrates used were Si (111) with a low miscut angle and these were annealed at high temperature in ultrahigh vacuum before the pentacene deposition to produce surfaces with atomically flat terraces and arrays of parallel atomic steps. By depositing pentacene on these heated samples, at a low deposition rate, the authors have succeeded in obtaining significant azimuthal alignment of the pentacene crystals relative to the atomic steps.
Dye sensitized solar cells using well-aligned zinc oxide nanotip arrays
Authors: Du Pasquier Aurelien , Chen Hanhong , Lu Yicheng
Published: January 2007

Well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanotip arrays were grown on fluorinated tin oxide coated glass using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Dye (N719) sensitized photoelectrochemical cells comprising of ZnO nanotip arrays were fabricated and characterized. It is found that the power conversion efficiency of the cells increases with the length of the ZnO nanotips. The cells with 3.2μm ZnO nanotip array exhibited an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 21.1% (at 550nm) and a power conversion efficiency of 0.55% under 1 sun irradiance. Light harvesting in ZnO nanotips also contributes to the photocurrent in the UV range.
Cationic effects in polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells
Authors: Hu Yufeng , Gao Jun
Published: January 2007

The authors show that the emission zone position in a polymer light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) can be dramatically shifted by varying the monovalent cations used in the polymer electrolyte. A narrow light-emitting p-n junction very close to the center of the device has been imaged in planar LECs made with rubidium or cesium perchlorate, as compared to a more off-centered emission zone observed in LECs using other alkali perchlorates. In addition, LECs with a more centered emission zone display higher electroluminescence efficiency and better current stability. The authors attribute this effect to that of the cation size and mass, which affects the ionic mobility and doping propagation speed.
Wavy cleavage fracture of bulk metallic glass
Authors: Zhang Z. F. , Wu F. F. , Gao W. , Tan J. , Wang Z. G. , Stoica M. , Das J. , Eckert J. , Shen B. L. , Inoue A.
Published: January 2007

Dynamic instability is one of the typical cleavage fracture features in brittle materials. The authors find that dynamic instability of metallic glass starts to occur in the mirror region on the fracture surface through a wavy cracking propagation with the formation of periodic nanoscale steps. This kind of dynamic instability is associated with the early crack curving due to the intrinsic isotropic structure of metallic glass. Furthermore, they classify dynamic instabilities of cleavage fracture as crack curving at low velocity and crack branching at high velocity, corresponding to the mirror and hackle regions of metallic glass, respectively.
Strong enhancement of erbium ion emission by a metallic double grating
Authors: Wang Yi , Zhou Zhiping
Published: January 2007

The emission at a wavelength of 1550nm from erbium ions is strongly enhanced by using a silver double grating. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are generated through the relaxing of the excited erbium ions. One component of the double grating couples the SPPs into photons, whereas another provides the band gap for the SPPs. The −π∕2 phase difference between the two grating profiles offers the opportunity for the selection of desired wavelength. Furthermore, the emission efficiency for 1550nm can be increased more than one order of magnitude over other wavelengths in the 1.5μm optical communication windows.
Atomic scale patterns formed during surface scanning by atomic force microscopy tips
Authors: Teschke Omar , Soares David Mendez , Valente Filho Juracyr Ferraz , de Souza Elizabeth Fátima
Published: January 2007

In this work, tip sliding at the water/substrate interfacial region was used to investigate the pattern observed during image acquisition with atomic resolution in atomic force microscopy. The process responsible for the pattern formation is the oscillatory movement of the tip in the direction that is normal to scanning induced by a change in the water interfacial dielectric permittivity from ε≈4 at the interface to ε≈80 (bulk value) that results in a variation of the measured force acting on the tip of ≈30pN.
Optical properties of microstructures for computer screen photoassisted experiments
Authors: Macken Stephen , Lundström Ingemar , Filippini Daniel
Published: January 2007

SU-8 microstructured devices aiding the fluorescence detection in computer screen photoassisted experiments are demonstrated. The structures exploit computer screens as controlled light sources and web cameras as imaging detectors, separating the excitation by total internal reflection and redirecting surface generated fluorescence toward the detector. The devices are essentially disposable and allow the collection of up to five times larger fluorescent signals, while remaining compatible with the formation of complex response patterns and with fluidic functions.
Organic heterostructure field-effect transistors using C60 and amorphous spirolinked compound
Authors: Saragi Tobat P. I. , Salbeck Josef
Published: January 2007

The authors fabricated organic heterostructure field-effect transistors using C60 and amorphous compound 2,2′,7,7′-tetra-(m-tolyl-phenylamino)-9,9′-spirobifluorene. The corresponding transistor characteristics show ambipolar charge transport behaviors. The measured hole and electron mobilities of 5.53×10−4 and 2.23×10−3cm2∕Vs were obtained. Large hysteresis in the transfer curve was observed after the transfer characteristics were measured from the on state to the off-off state and vice versa. In this case, the switch-on voltage shifted by ∼40V.
Neutron scattering reveals extremely slow cell water in a Dead Sea organism
Authors: Tehei Moeava , Franzetti Bruno , Wood Kathleen , Gabel Frank , Fabiani Elisa , Jasnin Marion , Zamponi Michaela , Oesterhelt Dieter , Zaccai Giuseppe , Ginzburg Margaret , Ginzburg Ben-Zion
Published: January 2007

Intracellular water dynamics in
Haloarcula marismortui
, an extremely halophilic organism originally isolated from the Dead Sea, was studied by neutron scattering. The water in centrifuged cell pellets was examined by means of two spectrometers, IN6 and IN16, sensitive to motions with time scales of 10 ps and 1 ns, respectively. From IN6 data, a translational diffusion constant of 1.3 × 10
−5
cm
2
s
−1
was determined at 285 K. This value is close to that found previously for other cells and close to that for bulk water, as well as that of the water in the 3.5 M NaCl solution bathing the cells. A very slow water component was discovered from the IN16 data. At 285 K the water-protons of this component displays a residence time of 411 ps (compared with a few ps in bulk water). At 300 K, the residence time dropped to 243 ps and was associated with a translational diffusion of 9.3 × 10
−8
cm
2
s
−1
, or 250 times lower than that of bulk water. This slow water accounts for ≈76% of cell water in
H. marismortui
. No such water was found in
Escherichia coli
measured on BSS, a neutron spectrometer with properties similar to those of IN16. It is hypothesized that the slow mobility of a large part of
H. marismortui
cell water indicates a specific water structure responsible for the large amounts of K
+
bound within these extremophile cells.
Arabidopsis
systemic immunity uses conserved defense signaling pathways and is mediated by jasmonates
Authors: Truman William , Bennett Mark H. , Kubigsteltig Ines , Turnbull Colin , Grant Murray
Published: January 2007

In the absence of adaptive immunity displayed by animals, plants respond locally to biotic challenge via inducible basal defense networks activated through recognition and response to conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns. In addition, immunity can be induced in tissues remote from infection sites by systemic acquired resistance (SAR), initiated after gene-for-gene recognition between plant resistance proteins and microbial effectors. The nature of the mobile signal and remotely activated networks responsible for establishing SAR remain unclear. Salicylic acid (SA) participates in the local and systemic response, but SAR does not require long-distance translocation of SA. Here, we show that, despite the absence of pathogen-associated molecular pattern contact, systemically responding leaves rapidly activate a SAR transcriptional signature with strong similarity to local basal defense. We present several lines of evidence that suggest jasmonates are central to systemic defense, possibly acting as the initiating signal for classic SAR. Jasmonic acid (JA), but not SA, rapidly accumulates in phloem exudates of leaves challenged with an avirulent strain of
Pseudomonas syringae
. In systemically responding leaves, transcripts associated with jasmonate biosynthesis are up-regulated within 4 h, and JA increases transiently. SAR can be mimicked by foliar JA application and is abrogated in mutants impaired in jasmonate synthesis or response. We conclude that jasmonate signaling appears to mediate long-distance information transmission. Moreover, the systemic transcriptional response shares extraordinary overlap with local herbivory and wounding responses, indicating that jasmonates may be pivotal to an evolutionarily conserved signaling network that decodes multiple abiotic and biotic stress signals.
Flat and sigmoidally curved contact zones in vesicle–vesicle adhesion
Authors: Ziherl P. , Svetina S.
Published: January 2007

Using the membrane-bending elasticity theory and a simple effective model of adhesion, we study the morphology of lipid vesicle doublets. In the weak adhesion regime, we find flat-contact axisymmetric doublets, whereas at large adhesion strengths, the vesicle aggregates are nonaxisymmetric and characterized by a sigmoidally curved, S-shaped contact zone with a single invagination and a complementary evagination on each vesicle. The sigmoid-contact doublets agree very well with the experimentally observed shapes of erythrocyte aggregates. Our results show that in identical vesicles with large to moderate surface-to-volume ratio, the sigmoid-contact shape is the only bound morphology. We also discuss the role of sigmoid contacts in the formation of multicellular aggregates such as erythrocyte rouleaux.
Serum response factor and myocardin mediate arterial hypercontractility and cerebral blood flow dysregulation in Alzheimer's phenotype
Authors: Chow Nienwen , Bell Robert D. , Deane Rashid , Streb Jeffrey W. , Chen Jiyuan , Brooks Andrew , Van Nostrand William , Miano Joseph M. , Zlokovic Berislav V.
Published: January 2007

Cerebral angiopathy contributes to cognitive decline and dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) through cerebral blood flow (CBF) reductions and dysregulation. We report vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in small pial and intracerebral arteries, which are critical for CBF regulation, express in AD high levels of serum response factor (SRF) and myocardin (MYOCD), two interacting transcription factors that orchestrate a VSMC-differentiated phenotype. Consistent with this finding, AD VSMC overexpressed several SRF-MYOCD-regulated contractile proteins and exhibited a hypercontractile phenotype.
MYOCD
overexpression in control human cerebral VSMC induced an AD-like hypercontractile phenotype and diminished both endothelial-dependent and -independent relaxation in the mouse aorta
ex vivo
. In contrast, silencing
SRF
normalized contractile protein content and reversed a hypercontractile phenotype in AD VSMC.
MYOCD in vivo
gene transfer to mouse pial arteries increased contractile protein content and diminished CBF responses produced by brain activation in wild-type mice and in two AD models, the Dutch/Iowa/Swedish triple mutant human amyloid β-peptide (Aβ)-precursor protein (
APP
)- expressing mice and
APPsw
+/−
mice. Silencing
Srf
had the opposite effect. Expression of SRF did not change in VSMC subjected to Alzheimer's neurotoxin, Aβ. Thus, SRF-MYOCD overexpression in small cerebral arteries appears to initiate independently of Aβ a pathogenic pathway mediating arterial hypercontractility and CBF dysregulation, which are associated with Alzheimer's dementia.
A critical role for peptidoglycan N-deacetylation in
Listeria
evasion from the host innate immune system
Authors: Boneca Ivo G. , Dussurget Olivier , Cabanes Didier , Nahori Marie-Anne , Sousa Sandra , Lecuit Marc , Psylinakis Emmanuel , Bouriotis Vassilis , Hugot Jean-Pierre , Giovannini Marco , Coyle Anthony , Bertin John , Namane Abdelkader , Rousselle Jean-Claude , Cayet Nadège , Prévost Marie-Christine , Balloy Viviane , Chignard Michel , Philpott Dana J. , Cossart Pascale , Girardin Stephen E.
Published: January 2007

Listeria monocytogenes
is a human intracellular pathogen that is able to survive in the gastrointestinal environment and replicate in macrophages, thus bypassing the early innate immune defenses. Peptidoglycan (PG) is an essential component of the bacterial cell wall readily exposed to the host and, thus, an important target for the innate immune system. Characterization of the PG from
L. monocytogenes
demonstrated deacetylation of
N
-acetylglucosamine residues. We identified a PG N-deacetylase gene,
pgdA
, in
L. monocytogenes
genome sequence. Inactivation of
pgdA
revealed the key role of this PG modification in bacterial virulence because the mutant was extremely sensitive to the bacteriolytic activity of lysozyme, and growth was severely impaired after oral and i.v. inoculations. Within macrophage vacuoles, the mutant was rapidly destroyed and induced a massive IFN-β response in a TLR2 and Nod1-dependent manner. Together, these results reveal that PG N-deacetylation is a highly efficient mechanism used by
Listeria
to evade innate host defenses. The presence of deacetylase genes in other pathogenic bacteria indicates that PG N-deacetylation could be a general mechanism used by bacteria to evade the host innate immune system.
Molecular markers of early Parkinson's disease based on gene expression in blood
Authors: Scherzer Clemens R. , Eklund Aron C. , Morse Lee J. , Liao Zhixiang , Locascio Joseph J. , Fefer Daniel , Schwarzschild Michael A. , Schlossmacher Michael G. , Hauser Michael A. , Vance Jeffery M. , Sudarsky Lewis R. , Standaert David G. , Growdon John H. , Jensen Roderick V. , Gullans Steven R.
Published: January 2007

Parkinson's disease (PD) progresses relentlessly and affects five million people worldwide. Laboratory tests for PD are critically needed for developing treatments designed to slow or prevent progression of the disease. We performed a transcriptome-wide scan in 105 individuals to interrogate the molecular processes perturbed in cellular blood of patients with early-stage PD. The molecular multigene marker here identified is associated with risk of PD in 66 samples of the training set comprising healthy and disease controls [third tertile cross-validated odds ratio of 5.7 (
P
for trend 0.005)]. It is further validated in 39 independent test samples [third tertile odds ratio of 5.1 (
P
for trend 0.04)]. Insights into disease-linked processes detectable in peripheral blood are offered by 22 unique genes differentially expressed in patients with PD versus healthy individuals. These include the cochaperone
ST13
, which stabilizes heat-shock protein 70, a modifier of α-synuclein misfolding and toxicity.
ST13
messenger RNA copies are lower in patients with PD (mean ± SE 0.59 ± 0.05) than in controls (0.96 ± 0.09) (
P
= 0.002) in two independent populations. Thus, gene expression signals measured in blood can facilitate the development of biomarkers for PD.
Requirement of the C
3
HC
4
zinc RING finger of the
Arabidopsis PEX10
for photorespiration and leaf peroxisome contact with chloroplasts
Authors: Schumann Uwe , Prestele Jakob , O'Geen Henriette , Brueggeman Robert , Wanner Gerhard , Gietl Christine
Published: January 2007

Plant peroxisomes perform multiple vital metabolic processes including lipid mobilization in oil-storing seeds, photorespiration, and hormone biosynthesis. Peroxisome biogenesis requires the function of peroxin (PEX) proteins, including PEX10, a C
3
HC
4
Zn RING finger peroxisomal membrane protein. Loss of function of
PEX10 causes
embryo lethality at the heart stage. We investigated the function of
PEX10
with conditional sublethal mutants. Four T-DNA insertion lines expressing
pex10
with a dysfunctional RING finger were created in an
Arabidopsis
WT background (ΔZn plants). They could be normalized by growth in an atmosphere of high CO
2
partial pressure, indicating a defect in photorespiration. β-Oxidation in mutant glyoxysomes was not affected. However, an abnormal accumulation of the photorespiratory metabolite glyoxylate, a lowered content of carotenoids and chlorophyll a and b, and a decreased quantum yield of photosystem II were detected under normal atmosphere, suggesting impaired leaf peroxisomes. Light and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated leaf peroxisomes of the ΔZn plants to be more numerous, multilobed, clustered, and not appressed to the chloroplast envelope as in WT. We suggest that inactivation of the RING finger domain in PEX10 has eliminated protein interaction required for attachment of peroxisomes to chloroplasts and movement of metabolites between peroxisomes and chloroplasts.
EphA4 Signaling Regulates Blastomere Adhesion in the Xenopus Embryo by Recruiting Pak1 to Suppress Cdc42 Function
Authors: Bisson Nicolas , Poitras Luc , Mikryukov Alexander , Tremblay Michel , Moss Tom
Published: January 2007

The control of cell adhesion is an important mechanism by which Eph receptors regulate cell sorting during development. Activation of EphA4 in Xenopus blastulae induces a reversible, cell autonomous loss-of-adhesion and disruption of the blastocoel roof. We show this phenotype is rescued by Nckβ (Grb4) dependent on its interaction with EphA4. Xenopus p21Cdc42/Rac-activated kinase xPAK1 interacts with Nck, is activated in embryo by EphA4 in an Nck-dependent manner, and is required for EphA4-induced loss-of-adhesion. Ectopic expression of xPAK1 phenocopies EphA4 activation. This does not require the catalytic activity of xPAK1, but it does require its GTPase binding domain and is enhanced by membrane targeting. Indeed, membrane targeting of the GTPase binding domain (GBD) of xPAK1 alone is sufficient to phenocopy EphA4 loss-of-adhesion. Both EphA4 and the xPAK1-GBD down-regulate RhoA-GTP levels, and consistent with this, loss-of-adhesion can be rescued by activated Cdc42, Rac, and RhoA and can be epistatically induced by dominant-negative RhoA. Despite this, neither Cdc42 nor Rac activities are down-regulated by EphA4 activation or by the xPAK1-GBD. Together, the data suggest that EphA4 activation sequesters active Cdc42 and in this way down-regulates cell–cell adhesion. This novel signaling pathway suggests a mechanism for EphA4-guided migration.
Cell Contact–dependent Regulation of Epithelial–Myofibroblast Transition via the Rho-Rho Kinase-Phospho-Myosin Pathway
Authors: Fan Lingzhi , Sebe Attila , Péterfi Zalán , Masszi András , Thirone Ana C.P. , Rotstein Ori D. , Nakano Hiroyasu , McCulloch Christopher A. , Szászi Katalin , Mucsi István , Kapus András
Published: January 2007

Epithelial-mesenchymal-myofibroblast transition (EMT), a key feature in organ fibrosis, is regulated by the state of intercellular contacts. Our recent studies have shown that an initial injury of cell–cell junctions is a prerequisite for transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced transdifferentiation of kidney tubular cells into α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)–expressing myofibroblasts. Here we analyzed the underlying contact-dependent mechanisms. Ca2+ removal–induced disruption of intercellular junctions provoked Rho/Rho kinase (ROK)-mediated myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation and Rho/ROK-dependent SMA promoter activation. Importantly, myosin-based contractility itself played a causal role, because the myosin ATPase inhibitor blebbistatin or a nonphosphorylatable, dominant negative MLC (DN-MLC) abolished the contact disruption-triggered SMA promoter activation, eliminated the synergy between contact injury and TGF-β1, and suppressed SMA expression. To explore the responsible mechanisms, we investigated the localization of the main SMA-inducing transcription factors, serum response factor (SRF), and its coactivator myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF). Contact injury enhanced nuclear accumulation of SRF and MRTF. These processes were inhibited by DN-Rho or DN-MLC. TGF-β1 strongly facilitated nuclear accumulation of MRTF in cells with reduced contacts but not in intact epithelia. DN-myocardin abrogated the Ca2+-removal– ± TGF-β1–induced promoter activation. These studies define a new mechanism whereby cell contacts regulate epithelial-myofibroblast transition via Rho-ROK-phospho-MLC–dependent nuclear accumulation of MRTF.
Role of the Sec61 Translocon in EGF Receptor Trafficking to the Nucleus and Gene Expression
Authors: Liao Hong-Jun , Carpenter Graham
Published: January 2007

The epidermal growth factor (EGF)-dependent trafficking of the intact EGF receptor to the nucleus and its requirement for growth factor induction of cyclin D and other genes has been reported. Unresolved is the mechanism by which this or other transmembrane proteins are excised from a lipid bilayer before nuclear translocalization. We report that, after the addition of EGF, the cell surface EGF receptor is trafficked to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where it associates with Sec61β, a component of the Sec61 translocon, and is retrotranslocated from the ER to the cytoplasm. Abrogation of Sec61β expression prevents EGF-dependent localization of EGF receptors to the nucleus and expression of cyclin D. This indicates that EGF receptors are trafficked from the ER to the nucleus by a novel pathway that involves the Sec61 translocon.
The Anaphase-promoting Complex Coordinates Initiation of Lens Differentiation
Authors: Wu George , Glickstein Sara , Liu Weijun , Fujita Takeo , Li Wenqi , Yang Qi , Duvoisin Robert , Wan Yong
Published: January 2007

Lens development requires the precise coordination of cell division and differentiation. The mechanisms by which the differentiation program is initiated after cell cycle arrest remains not well understood. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs), such as p15 and p21, have been suggested to be critical components that inhibit G1 progression and therefore, their activation is necessary for quiescence and important for the onset of differentiation. Regulation of p15 and p21 is principally governed by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β–signaling pathway. We have identified that Cdh1/APC, a critical ubiquitin protein ligase, plays an important role in regulating lens differentiation by facilitating TGF-β–induced degradation of SnoN, a transcriptional corepressor that needs to be removed for transcriptional activation of p15 and p21. The depletion of Cdh1 by RNA interference attenuates the TGF-β–mediated induction of p15 and p21 and significantly blocks lens differentiation. Expression of nondegradable SnoN also noticeably attenuates lens induction. Furthermore, we have shown that Cdh1 and SnoN form a complex at the onset of lens differentiation. In vivo histological analysis confirms our biochemical and genetic results. Thus, Cdh1/APC is crucial to the coordination of cell cycle progression and the initiation of lens differentiation through mediating TGF-β–signaling-induced destruction of SnoN.
Aurora-B Regulates RNA Methyltransferase NSUN2
Authors: Sakita-Suto Shiho , Kanda Akifumi , Suzuki Fumio , Sato Sunao , Takata Takashi , Tatsuka Masaaki
Published: January 2007

Disassembly of the nucleolus during mitosis is driven by phosphorylation of nucleolar proteins. RNA processing stops until completion of nucleolar reformation in G1phase. Here, we describe the RNA methyltransferase NSUN2, a novel substrate of Aurora-B that contains an NOL1/NOP2/sun domain. NSUN2 was concentrated in the nucleolus during interphase and was distributed in the perichromosome and cytoplasm during mitosis. Aurora-B phosphorylated NSUN2 at Ser139. Nucleolar proteins NPM1/nucleophosmin/B23 and nucleolin/C23 were associated with NSUN2 during interphase. In mitotic cells, association between NPM1 and NSUN2 was inhibited, but NSUN2-S139A was constitutively associated with NPM1. The Aurora inhibitor Hesperadin induced association of NSUN2 with NPM1 even in mitosis, despite the silver staining nucleolar organizer region disassembly. In vitro methylation experiments revealed that the Aurora-B-phosphorylation and the phosphorylation-mimic mutation (S139E) suppressed methyltransferase activities of NSUN2. These results indicate that Aurora-B participates to regulate the assembly of nucleolar RNA-processing machinery and the RNA methyltransferase activity of NSUN2 via phosphorylation at Ser139 during mitosis.