bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Krüppel-Like Factor 9 Deficiency in Uterine Endometrial Cells Promotes Ectopic Lesion Establishment Associated With Activated Notch and Hedgehog Signaling in a Mouse Model of Endometriosis
Authors: Heard Melissa E. , Simmons Christian D. , Simmen Frank A. , Simmen Rosalia C. M.
Published: January 2014

Endometriosis, a steroid hormone–dependent disease characterized by aberrant activation of estrogen receptor signaling and progesterone resistance, remains intractable because of the complexity of the pathways underlying its manifestation. We previously showed that eutopic endometria of women with endometriosis exhibit lower expression of Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9), a progesterone receptor coregulator in the uterus, relative to that of women without disease. Here we examined whether loss of endometrial KLF9 expression causes ectopic lesion establishment using syngeneic wild-type (WT) mice as recipients of endometrial fragments from WT and Klf9 null donors. We found significantly higher incidence of ectopic lesions with Klf9 null than WT endometria 8 weeks after tissue injection into the intraperitoneal cavity. The increased incidence of lesion establishment with Klf9 null endometria was associated with a higher expression ratio of estrogen receptor 2 isoform relative to that of estrogen receptor 1 and attenuated progesterone receptor levels in endometriotic stromal cells. PCR array analyses of Notch and Hedgehog signaling components in ectopic lesions demonstrated up-regulated expression of select genes (Jag 2, Shh, Gli1, and Stil 1) in Klf9 null lesions relative to that in WT lesions. Immunohistochemical analyses showed increased levels of Notch intracellular domain and Sonic Hedgehog proteins in Klf9 null lesions relative to that in WT lesions, confirming pathway activation. WT recipients with Klf9 null lesions displayed lower systemic levels of TNFα and IL-6 and higher soluble TNF receptor 1 than corresponding recipients with WT lesions. Our results suggest that endometrial KLF9 deficiency promotes endometriotic lesion establishment by the coincident deregulation of Notch-, Hedgehog-, and steroid receptor–regulated pathways.
Primary Treatment Regimen and Diabetes Insipidus as Predictors of Health Outcomes in Adults With Childhood-Onset Craniopharyngioma
Authors: Yuen Kevin C. J. , Kołtowska-Häggström Maria , Cook David M. , Fox Janet L. , Jönsson Peter J. , Geffner Mitchell E. , Abs Roger
Published: January 2014

Context:

Craniopharyngiomas are often associated with significant morbidity due to their location and treatment effects. Little is known of the effects of primary treatment regimen and diabetes insipidus (DI), a clinical surrogate of hypothalamic obesity, on health outcomes in adults with childhood-onset craniopharyngioma (COCP).

Objective:

The objective of the study was to examine health outcomes of adults with COCP based on primary treatment regimens and the presence of DI.

Design:

This study included a retrospective KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database) data analysis of 180 adults with COCP according to the primary treatment regimen [one surgery (1Surg) vs complex treatment regimen (CTrR) of more than 1Surg and/or radiotherapy] and the presence of DI.

Results:

The majority of COCP patients underwent transcranial surgery (77%) without receiving radiotherapy (84%). Compared with the 1Surg group, more CTrR patients developed visual field defects and ophthalmoplegia (all P < .01). Compared with patients without DI, those with DI had higher rates of anterior pituitary hormone deficits, body mass index, and fat mass (all P < .01). By contrast, fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c, lipid panel, and quality of life were comparable among 1Surg vs CTrR patients, and patients with vs without DI. Regardless of primary treatment received, the presence of DI in either group was associated with higher rates of anterior pituitary hormone deficits and obesity.

Conclusion:

CTrR and DI predicted health outcomes differently. CTrR predisposed to the development of visual dysfunction, whereas DI was associated with higher rates of anterior pituitary dysfunction and weight gain. Higher body mass index and fat mass in patients with DI further implicate the role of hypothalamic damage as an important causal factor of obesity in these patients.
Equal latency contours and auditory weighting functions for the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
Authors: Wensveen Paul J. , Huijser Léonie A. E. , Hoek Lean , Kastelein Ronald A.
Published: January 2014

Loudness perception by human infants and animals can be studied under the assumption that sounds of equal loudness elicit equal reaction times (RTs). Simple RTs of a harbour porpoise to narrowband frequency-modulated signals were measured using a behavioural method and an RT sensor based on infrared light. Equal latency contours, which connect equal RTs across frequencies, for reference values of 150–200 ms (10 ms intervals) were derived from median RTs to 1 s signals with sound pressure levels (SPLs) of 59–168 dB re. 1 μPa and centre frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 16, 31.5, 63, 80 and 125 kHz. The higher the signal level was above the hearing threshold of the harbour porpoise, the quicker the animal responded to the stimulus (median RT 98–522 ms). Equal latency contours roughly paralleled the hearing threshold at relatively low sensation levels (higher RTs). The difference in shape between the hearing threshold and the equal latency contours was more pronounced at higher levels (lower RTs); a flattening of the contours occurred for frequencies below 63 kHz. Relationships of the equal latency contour levels with the hearing threshold were used to create smoothed functions assumed to be representative of equal loudness contours. Auditory weighting functions were derived from these smoothed functions that may be used to predict perceived levels and correlated noise effects in the harbour porpoise, at least until actual equal loudness contours become available.
Unilateral range finding in diving beetle larvae
Authors: Bland Kevin , Revetta Nicholas P. , Stowasser Annette , Buschbeck Elke K.
Published: January 2014

One of the biggest challenges that predators, such as the larvae of the diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), are faced with is to accurately assess the distance of their prey. Most animals derive distance information from disparities of images that are viewed from different angles, from information that is obtained from well-controlled translational movements (motion parallax) or from the image size of known objects. Using a behavioral assay we demonstrated that T. marmoratus larvae continue to accurately strike at artificial prey, even if none of these typical distance estimation cues are available to them. Specifically, we excluded bilateral binocular stereopsis by occlusion, confounded possible motion parallax cues with an artificially moving prey, and excluded the possibility that beetle larvae simply approached their targets based on known prey size by presenting different prey sizes. Despite these constraints, larvae consistently struck our artificial targets from a distance of ~4.5 mm. Based on these findings we conclude that T. marmoratus likely employ an unusual mechanism to accurately determine prey distances, possibly mediated by the object–distance-dependent activation of specific subsets of their many-tiered and peculiarly positioned photoreceptors.
From physiology to physics: are we recognizing the flexibility of biologging tools?
Authors: Payne Nicholas L. , Taylor Matthew D. , Watanabe Yuuki Y. , Semmens Jayson M.
Published: January 2014

The remote measurement of data from free-ranging animals has been termed ‘biologging’ and in recent years this relatively small set of tools has been instrumental in addressing remarkably diverse questions – from ‘how will tuna respond to climate change?’ to ‘why are whales big?’. While a single biologging dataset can have the potential to test hypotheses spanning physiology, ecology, evolution and theoretical physics, explicit illustrations of this flexibility are scarce and this has arguably hindered the full realization of the power of biologging tools. Here we present a small set of examples from studies that have collected data on two parameters widespread in biologging research (depth and acceleration), but that have interpreted their data in the context of extremely diverse phenomena: from tests of biomechanical and diving-optimality models to identifications of feeding events, Lévy flight foraging strategies and expanding oxygen minimum zones. We use these examples to highlight the remarkable flexibility of biologging tools, and identify several mechanisms that may enhance the scope and dissemination of future biologging research programs.
Geared up to stretch: pennate muscle behavior during active lengthening
Authors: Azizi Emanuel , Roberts Thomas J.
Published: January 2014

Many locomotor activities require muscles to actively lengthen, dissipate energy and decelerate the body. These eccentric contractions can disrupt cytoskeletal structures within myofibrils and reduce force output. We examined how architectural features of pennate muscles can provide a protective mechanism against eccentric muscle damage by limiting fascicle lengthening. It has been previously shown that the angled fibers of pennate muscles change orientation when shortening. This change in fiber orientation can amplify fascicle shortening, resulting in a velocity advantage at the level of the muscle–tendon unit (MTU) that is characterized by a gear ratio (MTU velocity/fascicle velocity). A muscle's architectural gear ratio (AGR) has been shown to vary as a function of force during shortening, while AGR during lengthening remains largely unknown. We independently measured fascicle length and MTU length in vitro in the bullfrog plantaris. We characterized the muscle's force–velocity curve and AGR during both shortening and lengthening across a broad range of forces (10–190% peak isometric force). AGR was measured during the isotonic portion of each contraction, to eliminate possible contributions of series elasticity to MTU length changes. We found that gear ratio varies with force during both shortening and lengthening contractions. The highest AGR was observed during lengthening contractions, indicating that lengthening of the MTU can occur with relatively little stretch of the fascicle. As fascicle strain is considered an important determinant of muscle damage, a high gear ratio may afford pennate muscles protection against the damaging effects of active lengthening.
A Novel Method to Enhance the Performance of Quasi-solid-state Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Based on Polyacrylonitrile Gel Electrolyte and Nanoparticles of ZnO with Indoline D-358 as the Dye
Authors: Asoka Kumara G R , Kehelpannala Cheka , Ranasinghe C S Kumara , Jayaweera E Nirmada , Rajapakse R M Gamini , Ileperuma Oliver A
Published: January 2014

A novel way to overcome incomplete pore filling when using polymer gel electrolytes for dye-sensitized solar cells is herein described. The pores of the indoline D-358-coated ZnO nanostructure were first filled with the liquid electrolyte, the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) gel electrolyte was subsequently placed on it, and the quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cell was fabricated in the usual manner. In other cells, the PAN film was subjected to hot pressing without the liquid electrolyte filling and pressing (without heating) with the gel electrolyte. Out of several different cell configurations studied, the cell containing hot-pressed polymer film without the liquid electrolyte gave an efficiency of 2.80% with D-358 dye while the introduction of a thin film of the liquid electrolyte followed by pressing the gel polymer film increased the efficiency to 4.31%.
The Incapacitation Effect of Incarceration: Evidence from Several Italian Collective Pardons
Authors: Barbarino Alessandro , Mastrobuoni Giovanni
Published: January 2014

We estimate the “incapacitation effect” on crime using variation in Italian prison population driven by eight collective pardons passed between 1962 and 1990. The prison releases are sudden (within one day), very large (up to 35 percent of the entire prison population), and happen nationwide. Exploiting this quasi-natural experiment we break the simultaneity of crime and prisoners and, in addition, use the national character of the pardons to separately identify incapacitation from changes in deterrence. The elasticity of total crime with respect to incapacitation is between −17 and −30 percent. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that Italy's prison population is below its optimal level. (JEL K42)
Stimulating Local Public Employment: Do General Grants Work?
Authors: Lundqvist Heléne , Dahlberg Matz , Mörk Eva
Published: January 2014

We apply the regression kink design to the Swedish grant system and estimate causal effects of intergovernmental grants on local public employment. Our robust conclusion is that grants do not stimulate local public employment. We find no statistically significant effects on total local public employment, and we can exclude even moderate effects. When disaggregating the total effect by sector, we find that personnel in the traditional welfare sectors are unaffected, a conclusion which applies to both publicly and privately employed in these sectors. The only positive and statistically significant effect of grants is that on administrative personnel. (JEL H75, H77, J45)
The Revenue Demands of Public Employee Pension Promises
Authors: Novy-Marx Robert , Rauh Joshua
Published: January 2014

We calculate increases in contributions required to achieve full funding of state and local pension systems in the United States over 30 years. Without policy changes, contributions would have to increase by 2.5 times, reaching 14.1 percent of the total own revenue generated by state and local governments. This represents a tax increase of $1,385 per household per year, around half of which would go to pay down legacy liabilities while half would fund the cost of new promises. We examine sensitivity to asset return assumptions, wage correlations, the treatment of workers not currently in Social Security, and endogenous geographical shifts in the tax base. (JEL H55, H75, J26, J45)
Optimal Taxation of Top Labor Incomes: A Tale of Three Elasticities
Authors: Piketty Thomas , Saez Emmanuel , Stantcheva Stefanie
Published: January 2014

This paper derives optimal top tax rate formulas in a model where top earners respond to taxes through three channels: labor supply, tax avoidance, and compensation bargaining. The optimal top tax rate increases when there are zero-sum compensation-bargaining effects. We present empirical evidence consistent with bargaining effects. Top tax rate cuts are associated with top one percent pretax income shares increases but not higher economic growth. US CEO “pay for luck” is quantitatively more prevalent when top tax rates are low. International CEO pay levels are negatively correlated with top tax rates, even controlling for firms' characteristics and performance. (JEL D31, H21, H24, H26, M12)
Consumer Inertia and Firm Pricing in the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Insurance Exchange
Authors: Ericson Keith M. Marzilli
Published: January 2014

I use the Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance market to examine the dynamics of firm interaction with consumers on an insurance exchange. Enrollment data show that consumers face switching frictions leading to inertia in plan choice, and a regression discontinuity design indicates initial defaults have persistent effects. In the absence of commitment to future prices, theory predicts firms respond to inertia by raising prices on existing enrollees, while introducing cheaper alternative plans. The complete set of enrollment and price data from 2006 through 2010 confirms this prediction: older plans have approximately 10 percent higher premiums than comparable new plans. (JEL G22, I13, I18, L11, L65)
The End of Bank Secrecy? An Evaluation of the G20 Tax Haven Crackdown
Authors: Johannesen Niels , Zucman Gabriel
Published: January 2014

During the financial crisis, G20 countries compelled tax havens to sign bilateral treaties providing for exchange of bank information. Policymakers have celebrated this global initiative as the end of bank secrecy. Exploiting a unique panel dataset, our study is the first attempt to assess how the treaties affected bank deposits in tax havens. Rather than repatriating funds, our results suggest that tax evaders shifted deposits to havens not covered by a treaty with their home country. The crackdown thus caused a relocation of deposits at the benefit of the least compliant havens. We discuss the policy implications of these findings. (JEL G21, G28, H26, H87, K34)
Paging Inspector Sands: The Costs of Public Information
Authors: Kapoor Sacha , Magesan Arvind
Published: January 2014

We exploit the introduction of pedestrian countdown signals—timers that indicate when traffic lights will change—to evaluate a policy that improves the information of all market participants. We find that although countdown signals reduce the number of pedestrians struck by automobiles, they increase the number of collisions between automobiles. They also cause more collisions overall, implying that welfare gains can be attained by hiding the information from drivers. Whereas most empirical studies on the role of information in markets suggest that asymmetric information reduces welfare, we conclude that asymmetric information can, in fact, improve it. (JEL D82, D83, R41)
Findings from a survey of wildlife reintroduction practitioners
Authors: Sutton Alexandra E. , Lopez Roel
Published: January 2014

Wildlife reintroduction programs are a type of conservation initiative that seek to re-establish viable populations of a species in areas from which they have been extirpated or become extinct. Past efforts to improve the outcomes of reintroduction have focused heavily on overcoming ecological challenges, with little attention paid to the potential influence of leadership, management, and other aspects of reintroduction. This 2009 survey of reintroduction practitioners identified several key areas of leadership and management that may deserve further study, including: (i) the potential value of reintroduction partnerships for improving programmatic outcomes; (ii) the potential management value of autonomy vs. hierarchy in organizational structure; (iii) gaps in perceptions of success in reintroduction; and (iv) the need for improved evaluations of reintroduction programs and outcomes.
Post-fire nutrient availability in the sub-tropical forest ecosystem of the Koubru Hills, Manipur
Authors: Sitlhou Alice , Singh Thingbaijam Binoy
Published: January 2014

Forest fires are known to significantly alter soil nutrient availability. The study investigated the post-fire nutrient availability in the sub-tropical forest ecosystem of Koubru Hills, Manipur (North-East India). The forested ecosystem was disturbed by forest wildfire in January 2010.To study the fire effect, collection of burned and unburned soil samples from three soil depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-15 cm) was started approximately three months after the fire event and continued at monthly intervals for a period of one year. The collected soil samples were analyzed for soil organic carbon (SOC), NH4+-N, Bray-extractable phosphorus, available potassium and micronutrients such as Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn. Results of the ANOVA test showed significant reduction in the SOC,  NH4+-N and available K contents of the surface (0-5 cm) and sub-surface (5–10 and 10-15 cm) soil layers of the burned area. However, significant increases in the Bray-extractable phosphorus were observed in all the three soil depths studied. With respect to the effect of forest fire on soil micronutrient availability, results are contradictory. The available Fe depleted in all the three soil depths, whilst the available Cu declined in the 0-5 cm but increased in the 10-15 cm soil layer. The available Cu content of the 5-10 cm soil layer did not vary between the burned and unburned areas. While no significant effect of fire was observed on the available Mn contents of the 0-5 and 10-15 cm soil layers, there was a significant post-fire decrease in the Mn availability of the 5-10 cm soil layer of the burned area compared with the unburned area. Forest fire also resulted in a significant loss of the available Zn from the 0-5 and 5-10 cm soil layers of the burned area but in the 10-15 cm soil layer, no significant variation was observed between the burned and unburned areas.
An investigation of toxic heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn) in Garlic (Allium sativum L.) and soil samples collected from different locations of Punjab, Pakistan using atomic absorption spectrometry
Authors: Ata Sadia , Mukhtar Azam , Tayyab Sidra , Ghafoor Samina
Published: January 2014

The present study is based on the determination of heavy metal contents (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn) in garlic and soil samples collected from ten different locations of Punjab, Pakistan using flame atomic absorption spectrometer. In garlic samples, Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu and Cr ranged from 4.9 to 94.6 mg/kg, 0.625 to 151.4 mg/kg, 3.7 to 56.4 mg/kg, 2.5 to 50.2mg/kg and 56.4 to 111.6 mg/kg respectively, whereas Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn and Cu in investigated soil samples ranged respectively from 57.4 to 99.6 mg/kg, 25.6 to 132.7 mg/kg, 61.7 to 115.1 mg/kg, 9.2 to 324.7 mg/kg and 15.5 to 34.5 mg/kg. Elevated concentration of Pb and Cd was found in garlic samples from Gujranwala, Cr concentration was found to be higher in samples collected from Raiwind while the other metals such as Cu and Zn were predominant in samples from Kasur. Heavy metal content in soil and garlic samples was within the permissible limits proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) except Cd, Cr and Zn which showed elevated levels in almost all soil and garlic samples. Average concentrations determined in all samples represented that metal content in soil samples was in increasing order as Zn<Cu<Pb<Cd<Cr while in garlic samples, this order was as Cu<Cd<Zn<Pb<Cr. In the present study, it was observed that garlic samples from those areas presented relatively higher levels for investigated metals from where the soil samples also showed comparatively elevated levels of these metals.
Are indicators of faculty members’ credibility associated with how often they present research evidence to public or partly government-owned organisations? A cross-sectional survey
Authors: Ouimet Mathieu , Bédard Pierre-Olivier , Léon Grégory , Dagenais Christian
Published: January 2014

This study provides an empirical test of the assumption that the credibility of the messenger is one of the factors that influence knowledge mobilisation among policy makers. This general hypothesis was tested using a database of 321 social scientists from the province of Quebec that combines survey and bibliometric data. A regression model was used to study the association between indicators of faculty members’ credibility and the number of times they have presented research evidence to public or partly government-owned organisations over an 18-month period. Overall, empirical results provide new evidence supporting the credibility hypothesis.
Knowledge mobilisation in education across Canada: a cross-case analysis of 44 research brokering organisations
Authors: Cooper Amanda
Published: January 2014

Knowledge mobilisation (KMb) attempts to address research-policy-practice gaps in education. Research brokering organisations (RBOs) are third party, intermediary organisations whose active role between research producers and users is a catalyst for research use in education. Sample: 44 Canadian RBOs in the education sector. Methodology: employed a new tool to measure KMb efforts of organisations using data from websites. Findings: typology of RBOs (governmental, notfor- profit, for-profit and membership), organisational features of RBOs (mission statements, target audiences, size, scope, operating expenses, KMb efforts), and eight brokering functions (linkage and partnerships, awareness, accessibility, engagement, capacity building, implementation support, organisational development and policy influence).
The impact of Thatcherism in popular culture
Authors: Tinwell Angela
Published: January 2014

Margaret Thatcher’s (1925–2013) remarkable legacy marks a period of profound change in British history. As the longest serving and only female British prime minister of the twentieth century she held eleven and a half years of continuous power in office. Following her first electoral victory in May 1979, she won a further two elections for the Conservative Party until her deposition in November 1990. The radical social and economic reform that she designed and delivered as prime minister literally turned the Conservative Party and the country on its head. However, many were discontent with the perceived imbalance and wide devastation that her policies impaled on the country; being further aggrieved by her unsympathetic nature towards others. While politicians voiced their protests in parliament, others were left to find alternative ways to communicate their discontent. Professional artists were accompanied by the public in harnessing the power of aesthetic and acoustic media in popular culture to voice their discontent to the masses. This article explores the influence that Thatcher’s policies had in popular culture including British cinema, the arts and music in her time as prime minster and beyond.
James Bond: International man of gastronomy?
Authors: Strong Jeremy
Published: January 2014

This article is concerned with the representation of food and drink in Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. In particular, it examines how the author uses Bond’s culinary knowledge and habits of consumption as an important constituent of his hero’s character. Similarly, the food choices of other characters, notably villains, are shown to be linked, by Fleming, to core aspects of their identity - principally their ethnicity. Bond’s impulse to observe and classify, very much in evidence in the novels’ food sequences, is examined in terms of the texts’ construction of Bond as a skilled identifier of signs.
‘Fatalitas!’ the criminal body in Belle Epoque crime serials: The strange case of Chéri-Bibi
Authors: Bielecki Emma
Published: January 2014

Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century criminology and criminalistics were preoccupied with the criminal body, and Belle Epoque crime fiction refracts this concern through its focus on the body as a site of identity formation. This article examines this problematic through the optic of Gaston Leroux’s Chéri-Bibi serial. It argues that the text engages a number of different discourses of corporeality, reformulating the grotesque body of carnival (as theorized by Bakhtin) in the light of contemporary developments in criminology, where the followers of Lombroso saw criminality as physiologically determined, and surgery, where Alexis Carrel’s experiments in transplantation opened up the possibility of creating hybrid bodies, assembled out of bits and pieces of other bodies, and visceral organisms, bodies without brains. Leroux’s text constellates these different conceptions of corporeality to produce an image of the modern grotesque in the form of a body that is resistant to identification, a resistance that is profoundly ambivalent, for if it provokes anxieties surrounding the loss of identity, it also opens up endless narrative possibilities.
Las plataformas electorales en la Argentina moderna
Authors: D’alessandro Martín
Published: January 2014

En los regímenes democráticos, los partidos políticos son imprescindibles para la relación entre los ciudadanos y las decisiones colectivas. Las teorías más influyentes sobre los partidos han restado importancia a su función mediadora en América Latina, al caracterizarlos como clientelistas, personalistas y/o no programáticos. Sin embargo, en los últimos años varios trabajos han mostrado que aún en la región los partidos políticos son capaces de proveer a la ciudadanía, con matices, vínculos programáticos y hasta congruencia ideológica. Teniendo en cuenta que las plataformas electorales son una dimensión importante de las definiciones programáticas de los partidos, el artículo analiza las plataformas electorales de los partidos más relevantes para las elecciones presidenciales en Argentina entre 1983 y 2011, utilizando la metodología provista por el Comparative Manifestos Project para analizar su contenido temático a través del tiempo.
Cuando los partidos políticos se encuentran con sus votantes: un análisis de los vínculos políticos a través de las redes partidarias y las expectativas distributivas en Argentina y Chile
Authors: Calvo Ernesto , Murillo María Victoria
Published: January 2014

Este artículo propone un nuevo método comparado para el estudio de los vínculos entre los partidos políticos y los electores. Visto desde los electores, la principal distinción entre los partidos clientelares y los programáticos se encuentra en el modo de acceso a los beneficios públicos. En el primer caso, partidos clientelares, las redes partidarias median en el acceso a los beneficios públicos. En el segundo caso, partidos programáticos, los beneficiarios son definidos por el gobierno mediante política pública y el acceso a los mismos es independiente de las redes de distribución partidarias. Por medio de una novedosa metodología para medir redes partidarias, este artículo muestra que diferentes mecanismos de acceso a los beneficios moldean las expectativas distributivas de los votantes y la naturaleza de su vínculo con los partidos políticos. El método utiliza encuestas originales de Argentina y Chile y muestra la variación en los vínculos entre los partidos políticos y los votantes, midiendo la variación al interior de los países así como entre países.
América Latina y el ascenso de China: una perspectiva desde Brasil
Authors: Moreira Cunha André , Bichara Julimar da Silva , Lélis Marcos Tadeu Caputi
Published: January 2014

Este trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar los impactos del ascenso de China como potencia económica en los países latinoamericanos, con especial referencia a Brasil. Los estudios destacan que las relaciones económicas siguen un patrón asimétrico, en donde los países de América Latina podrían verse atrapados en una trayectoria de crecimiento menos dinámica y sostenida a largo plazo. Este artículo se centra en identificar las tendencias que se han originado después de la crisis financiera internacional, proporcionando nuevas evidencias sobre las características de las relaciones económicas sino-latinoamericanas. Nuestros resultados sugieren que, particularmente en el caso de Brasil, existen evidencias de que se está acentuando el patrón de producción y especialización comercial regresiva.
Trayectorias históricas y «responsiveness» del sistema de partidos en siete países de América Latina
Authors: Bornschier Simón
Published: January 2014

El presente artículo se ocupa de los orígenes y los niveles de congruencia en la representación luego de la tercera ola democratizadora en América Latina. Pone a prueba el argumento que sostiene que los sistemas de partidos que han experimentado polarización ideológica a principios del siglo XX y estaban ubicados en el camino programático hoy en día son proclives a exhibir altos niveles de congruencia en la representación de los intereses de los votantes. En otros contextos, donde las élites se apoyan sustancialmente en recursos clientelares para desmovilizar a la ciudadanía, allí donde el sufragio fue extendido en la primera mitad del siglo XX, es probable que la representación programática permanezca débil hasta la década de 1990. Las hipótesis se testean combinando las encuestas a legisladores de América Latina provistas por el Proyecto Élites Parlamentarias de América Latina (PELA) de la Universidad de Salamanca y de los datos provistos por el World Value Survey (WVS). Los resultados no solo revelan importantes contrastes en la congruencia de la representación entre los siete países estudiados, sino que las diferencias pueden ser explicadas por los patrones históricos de formación de los sistemas de partidos.
Effect of plasma treatment on cell-wall adhesion of urea-formaldehyde resin revealed by nanoindentation
Authors: Konnerth Johannes , Weigl Martin , Gindl-Altmutter Wolfgang , Avramidis Georg , Wolkenhauer Arndt , Viöl Wolfgang , Gilge Martin , Obersriebnig Michael
Published: January 2014

Spruce wood surfaces were treated with plasma with the aim of increacing either hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity. The treatments resulted in significant changes in wettability compared to aged and reference samples. Wettability was found to be a very good indicator of macroscopic bond strength. Nanoindentation adhesion measurements identified significant changes in adhesion at the immediate wood surface as a primary source of changes of bond performance, whereas mechanical performance of bulk wood cells was not affected.
The globin superfamily: functions in nitric oxide formation and decay
Authors: Tejero Jesús , Gladwin Mark T.
Published: January 2014

Globin proteins are ubiquitous in living organisms and carry out a variety of functions related to the ability of their prosthetic heme group to bind gaseous ligands, such as oxygen, nitric oxide (NO), and CO. Moreover, they catalyze important reactions with nitrogen oxide species, such as NO dioxygenation and nitrite reduction. The formation of NO from nitrite is a reaction catalyzed by globins that has received increasing attention due to its potential as a hypoxic NO signaling mechanism. In this review, we revisit the current knowledge about the role of globins in NO formation and its physiological implications.
Experiment and Simulation Analysis of Multi-layer Glass/Aluminum Anodic Bonding
Authors: Liu Cuirong , Li Juan , Chen Huiqin , Wu Zhisheng
Published: January 2014

Micro-machined multilayered structure plays a significant role as sensing or actuating components in MEMS. Since different thermal expansion parameters and uneven cooling processes in anodic bonding films, it is important to analyze and measure residual stress of the multi-layer glass/aluminum anodic bonding in the cooling process. In this paper, experiments of three-layer, five-layer glass and aluminum anodic bonding samples were made by the public anode method at 400 °C, 600 V and 0.05∼1 MPa for 15 min. Chemical element analysis of the transition layer formed between glass and aluminum during anodic bonding process was analyzed by Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). Subsequently, residual stresses and strains in cooled three-layer, five-layer and seven-layer anodic bonding samples was analyzed using nonlinear finite element simulation software MARC. Finite element analysis showed that the residual stress and strain distribution in different multi-layer glass and aluminum samples was similar. Simultaneously, finite element analysis indicated that three-layer glass and aluminum anodic bonding samples had smallest residual stress and equivalent strain values in all samples, an important advantage in MEMS fabrication.
Development of Health Care in Lithuania and Estonia: Similar Conditions, Different Results
Authors: Gudžinskas Liutauras
Published: January 2014

The article deals with the health systems of Lithuania and Estonia by evaluating their historical context, describing their development after regaining independence, presenting data on how the health care resources are distributed and what are the results of these systems. Although health care in these countries is financed at a similar level, the Estonian health system exceeds its Lithuanian (and Latvian) counterparts in many important aspects. It is argued that an essential impact on the differences in health care of the Baltic countries has been exerted by decisions regarding the financing and governance of the health system at the early period of the post-communist transformation.
M1-Muscarinic Receptors Promote Fear Memory Consolidation via Phospholipase C and the M-Current
Authors: Young Matthew B. , Thomas Steven A.
Published: January 2014

Neuromodulators released during and after a fearful experience promote the consolidation of long-term memory for that experience. Because overconsolidation may contribute to the recurrent and intrusive memories of post-traumatic stress disorder, neuromodulatory receptors provide a potential pharmacological target for prevention. Stimulation of muscarinic receptors promotes memory consolidation in several conditioning paradigms, an effect primarily associated with the M1receptor (M1R). However, neither inhibiting nor genetically disrupting M1R impairs the consolidation of cued fear memory. Using the M1R agonist cevimeline and antagonist telenzepine, as well as M1R knock-out mice, we show here that M1R, along with β2-adrenergic (β2AR) and D5-dopaminergic (D5R) receptors, regulates the consolidation of cued fear memory by redundantly activating phospholipase C (PLC) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). We also demonstrate that fear memory consolidation in the BLA is mediated in part by neuromodulatory inhibition of the M-current, which is conducted by KCNQ channels and is known to be inhibited by muscarinic receptors. Manipulating the M-current by administering the KCNQ channel blocker XE991 or the KCNQ channel opener retigabine reverses the effects on consolidation caused by manipulating β2AR, D5R, M1R, and PLC. Finally, we show that cAMP and protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) signaling relevant to this stage of consolidation is upstream of these neuromodulators and PLC, suggesting an important presynaptic role for cAMP/PKA in consolidation. These results support the idea that neuromodulatory regulation of ion channel activity and neuronal excitability is a critical mechanism for promoting consolidation well after acquisition has occurred.
Chronic Sleep Restriction Disrupts Sleep Homeostasis and Behavioral Sensitivity to Alcohol by Reducing the Extracellular Accumulation of Adenosine
Authors: Clasadonte Jerome , McIver Sally R. , Schmitt Luke I. , Halassa Michael M. , Haydon Philip G.
Published: January 2014

Sleep impairments are comorbid with a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders including depression, epilepsy, and alcohol abuse. Despite the prevalence of these disorders, the cellular mechanisms underlying the interaction between sleep disruption and behavior remain poorly understood. In this study, the impact of chronic sleep loss on sleep homeostasis was examined in C57BL/6J mice following 3 d of sleep restriction. The electroencephalographic power of slow-wave activity (SWA; 0.5–4 Hz) in nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and adenosine tone were measured during and after sleep restriction, and following subsequent acute sleep deprivation. During the first day of sleep restriction, SWA and adenosine tone increased, indicating a homeostatic response to sleep loss. On subsequent days, SWA declined, and this was accompanied by a corresponding reduction in adenosine tone caused by a loss of one source of extracellular adenosine. Furthermore, the response to acute sleep deprivation (6 h) was significantly attenuated in sleep-restricted mice. These effects were long-lasting with reduced SWA and adenosine tone persisting for at least 2 weeks. To investigate the behavioral consequences of chronic sleep restriction, sensitivity to the motor-impairing effects of alcohol was also examined. Sleep-restricted mice were significantly less sensitive to alcohol when tested 24 h after sleep restriction, an effect that persisted for 4 weeks. Intracerebroventricular infusion of an adenosine A1 receptor antagonist produced a similar decrease in sensitivity to alcohol. These results suggest that chronic sleep restriction induces a sustained impairment in adenosine-regulated sleep homeostasis and consequentially impacts the response to alcohol.
Bidirectional Plasticity of Purkinje Cells Matches Temporal Features of Learning
Authors: Wetmore Daniel Z. , Jirenhed Dan-Anders , Rasmussen Anders , Johansson Fredrik , Schnitzer Mark J. , Hesslow Germund
Published: January 2014

Many forms of learning require temporally ordered stimuli. In Pavlovian eyeblink conditioning, a conditioned stimulus (CS) must precede the unconditioned stimulus (US) by at least about 100 ms for learning to occur. Conditioned responses are learned and generated by the cerebellum. Recordings from the cerebellar cortex during conditioning have revealed CS-triggered pauses in the firing of Purkinje cells that likely drive the conditioned blinks. The predominant view of the learning mechanism in conditioning is that long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber (PF)–Purkinje cell synapses underlies the Purkinje cell pauses. This raises a serious conceptual challenge because LTD is most effectively induced at short CS–US intervals, which do not support acquisition of eyeblinks. To resolve this discrepancy, we recorded Purkinje cells during conditioning with short or long CS–US intervals. Decerebrated ferrets trained with CS–US intervals ≥150 ms reliably developed Purkinje cell pauses, but training with an interval of 50 ms unexpectedly induced increases in CS-evoked spiking. This bidirectional modulation of Purkinje cell activity offers a basis for the requirement of a minimum CS–US interval for conditioning, but we argue that it cannot be fully explained by LTD, even when previousin vitrostudies of stimulus-timing-dependent LTD are taken into account.
Cerebellar Potentiation and Learning a Whisker-Based Object Localization Task with a Time Response Window
Authors: Rahmati Negah , Owens Cullen B. , Bosman Laurens W. J. , Spanke Jochen K. , Lindeman Sander , Gong Wei , Potters Jan-Willem , Romano Vincenzo , Voges Kai , Moscato Letizia , Koekkoek Sebastiaan K. E. , Negrello Mario , De Zeeuw Chris I.
Published: January 2014

Whisker-based object localization requires activation and plasticity of somatosensory and motor cortex. These parts of the cerebral cortex receive strong projections from the cerebellum via the thalamus, but it is unclear whether and to what extent cerebellar processing may contribute to such a sensorimotor task. Here, we subjected knock-out mice, which suffer from impaired intrinsic plasticity in their Purkinje cells and long-term potentiation at their parallel fiber-to-Purkinje cell synapses (L7-PP2B), to an object localization task with a time response window (RW). Water-deprived animals had to learn to localize an object with their whiskers, and based upon this location they were trained to lick within a particular period (“go” trial) or refrain from licking (“no-go” trial). L7-PP2B mice were not ataxic and showed proper basic motor performance during whisking and licking, but were severely impaired in learning this task compared with wild-type littermates. Significantly fewer L7-PP2B mice were able to learn the task at long RWs. Those L7-PP2B mice that eventually learned the task made unstable progress, were significantly slower in learning, and showed deficiencies in temporal tuning. These differences became greater as the RW became narrower. Trained wild-type mice, but not L7-PP2B mice, showed a net increase in simple spikes and complex spikes of their Purkinje cells during the task. We conclude that cerebellar processing, and potentiation in particular, can contribute to learning a whisker-based object localization task when timing is relevant. This study points toward a relevant role of cerebellum–cerebrum interaction in a sophisticated cognitive task requiring strict temporal processing.
HSF1 Protects Neurons through a Novel Trimerization- and HSP-Independent Mechanism
Authors: Verma Pragya , Pfister Jason A. , Mallick Sathi , D'Mello Santosh R.
Published: January 2014

Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) protects neurons from death caused by the accumulation of misfolded proteins. It is believed that this protective effect is mediated by the transcriptional stimulation of genes encoding heat shock proteins (HSPs), a family of chaperones that refold or degrade misfolded proteins. Whether HSF1 is protective when neuronal death is not caused by protein misfolding has not been studied. Here, we report that HSF1 expression is necessary for the survival of rat neurons and that HSF1 mRNA and protein expression is reduced in neurons primed to die. Knock-down of HSF1 induces death of otherwise healthy neurons, whereas reestablishment of elevated levels of HSF1 protects neurons even when death is not due to accumulation of misfolded proteins. Neuroprotection by HSF1 does not require its trimerization, an event obligatory for the binding of HSF1 to heat shock elements within HSP gene promoters. Moreover, knock-down of HSP70 or blockade of HSP90 signaling does not reduce neuroprotection by HSF1. Although several neuroprotective molecules and signaling pathways, including CaMK, PKA, Casein kinase-II, and the Raf-MEK-ERK and PI-3K-Akt pathways, are not required for HSF1-mediated neuroprotection, protection is abrogated by inhibition of classical histone deacetylases (HDACs). We report that the novel mechanism of neuroprotection by HSF1 involves cooperation with SIRT1, an HDAC with well documented neuroprotective effects. Using a cell culture model of Huntington's disease, we show that HSF1 trimerization is not required for protection against mutant huntingtin-induced neurotoxicity, suggesting that HSF1 can protect neurons against both proteinopathic and nonproteinopathic death through a noncanonical pathway.
Local Pruning of Dendrites and Spines by Caspase-3-Dependent and Proteasome-Limited Mechanisms
Authors: Ertürk Ali , Wang Yuanyuan , Sheng Morgan
Published: January 2014

Synapse loss occurs normally during development and pathologically during neurodegenerative disease. Long-term depression, a proposed physiological correlate of synapse elimination, requires caspase-3 and the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Here, we show that caspase-3 activity is essential—and can act locally within neurons—for regulation of spine density and dendrite morphology. By photostimulation of Mito-KillerRed, we induced caspase-3 activity in defined dendritic regions of cultured neurons. Within the photostimulated region, local elimination of dendritic spines and dendrite retraction occurred in a caspase-3-dependent manner without inducing cell death. However, pharmacological inhibition of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins or proteasome function led to neuronal death, suggesting that caspase activation is spatially restricted by these “molecular brakes” on apoptosis. Caspase-3 knock-out mice have increased spine density and altered miniature EPSCs, confirming a physiological involvement of caspase-3 in the regulation of spinesin vivo.
Autonomous Encoding of Irrelevant Goals and Outcomes by Prefrontal Cortex Neurons
Authors: Genovesio Aldo , Tsujimoto Satoshi , Navarra Giulia , Falcone Rossella , Wise Steven P.
Published: January 2014

Two rhesus monkeys performed a distance discrimination task in which they reported whether a red square or a blue circle had appeared farther from a fixed reference point. Because a new pair of distances was chosen randomly on each trial, and because the monkeys had no opportunity to correct errors, no information from the previous trial was relevant to a current one. Nevertheless, many prefrontal cortex neurons encoded the outcome of the previous trial on current trials. A smaller, intermingled population of cells encoded the spatial goal on the previous trial or the features of the chosen stimuli, such as color or shape. The coding of previous outcomes and goals began at various times during a current trial, and it was selective in that prefrontal cells did not encode other information from the previous trial. The monitoring of previous goals and outcomes often contributes to problem solving, and it can support exploratory behavior. The present results show that such monitoring occurs autonomously and selectively, even when irrelevant to the task at hand.