bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Future of Feminist Theory and Eighteenth-Century Studies
Authors: Pollak Ellen
Published: March 2010

Originally presented as part of a Women's Caucus Roundtable on the Future of Feminist Theory in Eighteenth-Century Studies at the 39th Annual ASECS Meeting in Portland in 2008, this essay makes the case that feminist theory and eighteenth-century studies have a mutually constitutive relation to one another. You cannot have feminist theory that is nuanced, intersectional, and able to think beyond heteronormative structures of identity without a deep understanding of its Enlightenment legacies—both positive and negative; without, that is, an understanding of feminism's own roots in an emerging modernity shaped by a range of class, national, and imperial projects and the various emancipatory movements that were bound up with them. By the same token, you cannot have a robust and historically responsible eighteenth-century studies without a nuanced understanding of feminist theory, as the wealth of feminist scholarship that has revolutionized the field over the past three decades clearly testifies. The changing face of feminist theory in the future will likely change the face of eighteenth-century studies and vice versa.
From the Female Gothic to a Feminist Theory of History: Ann Radcliffe and the Scottish Enlightenment
Authors: DeLucia JoEllen
Published: March 2010

Instead of reading Ann Radcliffe's "female gothic" as primarily concerned with women's psychological development, this essay argues that novels such as The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) are entangled with Scottish stadial history and the theories of uneven development and non-synchronous time first articulated by Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, John Millar, as well as the poets James Macpherson and James Beattie. By examining Ann Radcliffe's use of Scottish poetry in the epigraphs of her novels, this essay uncovers her debt to the Scottish Enlightenment and its analysis of the relationship between women's social progress and economic and imperial development. Ultimately, Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho can be read as an early and important example of the relationship between feminist interrogations of temporality and progress and the theories of uneven development which would, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, shape post-colonial and Marxist theory.
And What About French Women Writers?
Authors: DeJean Joan
Published: March 2010

Scholars in English may be able to wonder if any significant work on early modern women writers remains to be done. Their counterparts in French studies are in a very different position since, in our case, for the last thirty years progress has been slow. I have written therefore a plea rather than an article – a plea for more work on the still largely undervalued contributions of French women writers to the development of the novel of the long 18th century. We need inexpensive editions of major works by women writers so that they can be included in our courses; we need additional work on their biographies. Only then can the canon of French literature really begin to be opened up to include women writers.
Future Conditional: Feminist Theory, New Historicism, and Eighteenth-Century Studies
Authors: Conway Alison
Published: March 2010

This essay discusses the evolution of new historicism within the field of Restoration and eighteenth-century studies and suggests that feminist theory helps to prevent a critical slide into historical realism. Feminist theory, the essay argues, keeps us alert to history's uncanniness, reminding us of the political dimension of the stories we write and the words we choose, and of the epistemological claims at stake in the arguments we advance.
Making Hero Strong: Teenage Ambition, Story-Paper Fiction, and the Generational Recasting of American Women's Authorship
Authors: Cohen Daniel A.
Published: March 2010

During the early 1850s, Mary Gibson, a teenage orphan from Vermont, moved to Massachusetts and became, under the pseudonym Winnie Woodfern, a frequent contributor to several Boston "story papers" (weekly periodicals that mimicked the format of conventional newspapers but were mostly filled with popular fiction). Amid her varied output, she produced a series of tales depicting teenage girls who display masculine traits, violate conventional gender norms, and struggle to fulfill high literary or artistic ambitions. Gibson's early career, and those stories in particular, shed new light on the transformation of women's authorship in the mid-nineteenth-century United States. During the 1860s and 1870s, other scholars have argued, domestic fiction was eclipsed and a new conception of the American woman author as literary artist emerged under the influence of an elite, male-dominated mode of high-cultural production, centered in such exclusive venues as the Atlantic Monthly. The case of Gibson, however, suggests a different account of the transformation of American women's authorship—pushing the new pattern back into the antebellum period and locating its origins in more popular venues. Far from waiting for the elite imprimatur of the Atlantic, young Yankee women such as Gibson rushed to take advantage of the dramatically expanded publishing opportunities provided by Boston story papers of the early 1850s. In doing so, Gibson and her peers not only abandoned many of the inhibitions of "literary domesticity" but also embraced ambitious new models of women's authorship, artistry, and worldly achievement.
The Proper Female Subject: Poetics and Erotics in Early-Twentieth-Century Hindi
Authors: Ritter Valerie
Published: March 2010

By the time it came under attack in late-nineteenth-century British India, the concept of śṛṅgāra rasa —the Sanskrit aesthetic mode designating the erotic, and the aesthetic experience and representation of the feelings and actions of romantic love—had informed Indian poetry for over a millennium. This article examines the rise of anti- śṛṅgāra rhetoric, and re-purposings of śṛṅgāra in Hindi literary publications of the early twentieth century, preceding and including the full-fledged print culture of the 1920s. Authors modernizing śṛṅgāra incorporated genres of quasi-literary, quasi-science writing from English, in the creation of a new aesthetic basis for śṛṅgāra based on a spiritually-exalted realism in nature. This aesthetic, spawned in a colonial North Indian public sphere of moral panic over sexual propriety, has survived into contemporary times.
Transnational Feminism's Radical Past: Lessons from Italian Immigrant Women Anarchists in Industrializing America
Authors: Guglielmo Jennifer
Published: March 2010

This article examines the activism of working-class Italian immigrant women anarchists in the United States as a window into the world of early-twentieth-century transnational feminism. Emerging from a diasporic, multiethnic network of labor radicals, the women in this movement did not seek inclusion within the modern nation-state; nor did they rely on established trade unions or cross-class alliances. Instead, they created autonomous spaces for working-class and poor women to articulate their particular struggles and embody l'emancipazione della donna (women's emancipation). Together, they asked a question that formed the heart of their politics: "Why does the pleasure of some have to create misery for many?"
The Cuban Woman's Revolutionary Experience: Patriarchal Culture and the State's Gender Ideology, 1950–1976
Authors: Moya Fábregas Johanna I.
Published: March 2010

Soon after the triumph of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the government led multiple efforts to reconstruct Cuban society. The state's articulation and implementation of new gender politics was central to the massive mobilization of Cubans. During the first twenty-five years of the revolution, politics were constructed through and built upon a familiar and accepted gendered framework in which men held social power. In this process, in which socially reconstructed sexual differences and roles came to serve the needs of the new political agenda, new ideas about womanhood were produced. This article contends that the revolutionary state framed its expectations of Cubans using a familiar gendered language that made possible the popular acceptance of the reconfiguration of traditional gender roles. In order to shed light on the evolution of Cuban women's gender identities under a socialist government, it contrasts Cuban premises of womanhood during the 1950s with postrevolutionary reconfigurations of, sometimes contradictory, notions of womanhood.
Race Ideology Perpetuated: Media Representations of Newly Hired Football Coaches
Authors: Cunningham George B. , Bopp Trevor
Published: March 2010

The purpose of the study was to examine the media coverage of newly hired NCAA Division I-FBS football coaches through the investigation of media releases (n = 191) related to their hires. Results indicate that (a) African Americans were under-represented in the hiring process, when compared to the proportion of African American athletes on the team; (b) African Americans were most likely to be hired to coach positions with a high concentration of African American athletes, while Whites were most likely to be hired as a coordinator; and (c) Whites were more likely than African Americans to be depicted as helping the team through their knowledge and experience, while African Americans were more likely than were Whites to help the team through their recruiting efforts and relationships with the players. Results suggest that the media perpetuate the dominant racial ideology in the U.S. and are discussed accordingly.
Views, Knowledge, and Beliefs about Genetics and Genetic Counseling among Deaf People
Authors: Middleton Anna , Emery Steven D. , Turner Graham H.
Published: March 2010

Genetic counseling is part of the social response to the science of genetics. It is intended to help twenty-first-century societies manage the consequences of our ability to observe and intervene in our genetic makeup. This article explores the views, knowledge, and beliefs of some Deaf and hard of hearing people about genetics and genetic counseling. Deaf adults are often interested in knowing why they are deaf and whether deafness can be passed on to their children. They may also be interested in knowing about other traits in their family (e.g., inherited cancer). These issues are routinely addressed within the health service of genetic counseling as offered by clinical geneticists and genetic counselors. However, in the United Kingdom, very few Deaf and hard of hearing adults either seek out a referral for genetic counseling or utilize this clinical service.

There are many complex reasons for this, within this article we focus on what deaf people think genetic counseling is and how they feel about new discoveries in genetics. The data have been gathered via a structured questionnaire completed by 573 Deaf and hard of hearing people, with additional information gathered via the free-text comments provided in the questionnaires. A Deaf researcher also completed thirty interviews with Deaf participants in British Sign Language. The participants in the study sample were recruited from the readership of two magazines for Deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK.

Our results show that 50 percent of the participants indicated they knew what genetic counseling was before they read the questionnaire, but 80 percent did not know how to get such counseling. We conclude that, in order for Deaf and hard of hearing people to make an informed choice about whether they wish to access genetic counseling services, they need to internalize accurate information about what services are available to them. This article shows that the benefits of genetic technologies are by no means unquestioned in our societies.
The Power of Nuclear Things
Authors: Hecht Gabrielle
Published: March 2010

This essay explores three historical genealogies of U.S. President George W. Bush's infamous 2003 claim that Saddam Hussein sought "uranium from Africa" to fuel nuclear weapons. First, it considers the problem of when uranium counts as a "nuclear" thing, when it doesn't, and what Africa has to do with it. Second, it explores how Niger's politics, priorities, and conflicts have shaped the production and distribution of its uranium. Third, it examines an earlier moment when African provenance of uranium was geopolitically contested-the flow of Namibian uranium to the U.S., Japan, and Europe during the height of international sanctions against apartheid-showing how the entwining of licit trade and black markets made African things invisible. The essay as a whole explores how the distribution of power in material things and symbolic circulations makes some things nuclear, some things commodities, some things African, and some things all three.
War and Peacetime Research on the Road to Crystal Frequency Control
Authors: Katzir Shaul
Published: March 2010

Crystal frequency control, an essential ingredient in the electronics revolution, was invented in the aftermath of World War I by Walter Cady. Cady exploited his thorough knowledge of a scientific phenomenon called piezoelectricity, on which he gathered expertise during a wartime crash program in submarine detection, the first technological application of the phenomenon. With armistice Cady, a university professor of physics, could change his focus toward open-ended scientific research. He examined results observed earlier in the attempt to utilize piezoelectric crystals, leading him to the discovery of their sharp and steady resonance. Encouraged by professional and personal relationships with corporations and governmental agencies, and by his war experience, Cady followed his findings to design practical devices. Yet he maintained the identity and practices of a physicist, experimentally and theoretically exploring the phenomena further. Like many scientists, he was an occasional rather than professional inventor. This story reveals connections and overlaps but also differences between the kind of research carried out at an industrial research laboratory and at a university.
The Relationship of Low Distress Tolerance to Excessive Worrying and Cognitive Avoidance
Authors: Huang Katherine , Szabó Marianna , Han Jennifer
Published: March 2010

This study explored the relationships between individuals' ability to tolerate emotional distress to their tendency to worry excessively, the amount of imagery they experience during worrying, and the concreteness of their worrisome thought. A group of 119 university students completed a thought-listing task recording their most severe current worry, estimated the amount of imagery and verbal thought during this worry episode, and completed questionnaires assessing their worry proneness, negative effect, and ability to tolerate emotional distress. The concreteness of thought-listed worry episodes was rated by independent judges. Consistent with expectations, lower distress tolerance was associated with more worrying, even when levels of negative affect were statistically controlled for. Excessive worriers also reported lower levels of imagery, but imagery and distress tolerance were unrelated. The findings concerning concreteness were in the opposite direction to those expected: more excessive worrying and lower distress tolerance were associated with more concreteness of worrisome thought. The results are consistent with avoidance theory, but future research is needed to investigate the mechanisms by which low distress tolerance may contribute to excessive worrying.
Online CBT II: A Phase I Trial of a Standalone, Online CBT Treatment Program for Social Anxiety in Stuttering
Authors: Helgadóttir Fjóla Dögg , Menzies Ross G. , Onslow Mark , Packman Ann , O'Brian Sue
Published: March 2010

This paper introduces a novel approach to internet treatment for social anxiety. The goal of this treatment was to address key limitations of current standalone treatments (Helgadottir, Menzies, Onslow, Packman, & O'Brian, 2009). The ‘computer psychologist’ designed for this study used fully automated, prewritten individualised sample answers in order to simulate a human–human interaction through a human–computer interface. Two males who sought treatment for stuttering and met the diagnosis for social phobia according to the DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria were selected for this study. After receiving the treatment, both users no longer met criteria for social phobia. Also, significant improvements were observed on other psychometric tests, including measures of unhelpful cognitions, behavioural avoidance, quality of life, and low mood. The quality of the interaction appeared to be similar to face-to-face therapy, indicating that the ‘computer psychologist’ established an effective therapeutic relationship, and the automated techniques used were sufficiently engaging to prompt users to log on regularly and complete the treatment program.
On the volume of inner parallel bodies
Authors: Cifre M. A. Hernández , Saorín E.
Published: March 2010

Motivated by a conjecture of Matheron, we provide bounds for the volume of the inner parallel body of a convex body K involving the alternating Steiner polynomial of K. As a consequence we get that this conjecture is not true since, in fact, we prove it is not possible to bound the volume of the inner parallel body in terms of just the alternating Steiner polynomial itself.
On the extendability of the Kneser–Poulsen conjecture to Riemannian manifolds
Authors: Csikós Balázs , Kunszenti-Kovács Dávid
Published: March 2010

The Kneser–Poulsen conjecture claims that if some balls of the Euclidean space are rearranged in such a way that the distances between the centers do not increase, then the volume of the union of the balls does not increase. Though the conjecture is still open in dimensions ≥ 3, important special cases of it have been verified not only in the Euclidean space but also in the hyperbolic and spherical spaces, raising the question about the widest class of Riemannian manifolds in which the conjecture can hold. Our main result is that if the conjecture is true for 3 balls in a complete Riemannian manifold, then the manifold must be of constant curvature, and if, furthermore, the manifold is connected, then it must be simply connected.
On the isotropic constant of random polytopes
Authors: Dafnis N. , Giannopoulos A. , Guédon O.
Published: March 2010

Let K be an isotropic 1-unconditional convex body in ℝ
n
. For every N > n consider N independent random points x
1, . . . , x

N
uniformly distributed in K. We prove that, with probability greater than 1 – C
1 exp(–cn) if N ≥ c
1
n and greater than 1 – C
1 exp(–cn/ log n) if n < N < c
1
n, the random polytopes KN
≔ conv{±x
1, . . . , ±x

N
} and SN
≔ conv{x
1, . . . , x

N
} have isotropic constant bounded by an absolute constant C > 0.
Tropical and ordinary convexity combined
Authors: Joswig Michael , Kulas Katja
Published: March 2010

A polytrope is a tropical polytope which at the same time is convex in the ordinary sense. Ad-dimensional polytrope turns out to be a tropical simplex, that is, it is the tropical convex hull ofd+ 1 points. This statement is equivalent to the known fact that the Segre product of two full polynomial rings (over some fieldK) has the Gorenstein property if and only if the factors are generated by the same number of indeterminates. The combinatorial types of polytropes up to dimension three are classified.
Begegnung jüdischer Literaturen. Bedingungen der Rezeption deutscher Exilliteratur im niederländischen Polysystem
Authors: Andringa Els
Published: March 2010

What were the conditions and mechanisms that determined the reception of German Jewish exile literature in the Netherlands during the 1930s? Why did neither the Dutch Jewish nor the German Jewish exile literature published in the Netherlands become part of Dutch literary history? The article seeks answers to these questions by means of examining reviews, essays, and letters relating to Dutch Jewish and German Jewish exile literature within polysystem theory and the use of critical discourse theory.
“Vive la France et la Hollande amies!” The Netherlands-France Society between 1916 and 1919. The Construction of a Repertoire
Authors: Sanders Mathijs
Published: March 2010

During the First World War and the interwar period, bilateral societies played an important role in the processes of literary and cultural transfer between the Netherlands and the surrounding countries. This article sets out to explore part of the reception of French literature and culture in the Netherlands by studying the cultural repertoire developed within the “Genootschap Nederland-Frankrijk” (The Netherlands-France Society) between 1916 and 1919. Analysis of the institutional settings and discursive practices concerning this international transfer brings to light how some prominent spokesmen in and around the Society constructed a strategic repertoire in order to (re)define Dutch cultural identity.
Grammatical weight and relative clause extraposition in English
Authors: Francis Elaine J.
Published: March 2010

In relative clause extraposition (RCE) in English, a noun is modified by a non-adjacent RC, resulting in a discontinuous dependency, as in: Three people arrived here yesterday who were from Chicago. Although discourse focus is known to influence the choice of RCE over truth-conditionally equivalent sentences with canonical structure (Rochemont and Culicover, English focus constructions and the theory of grammar, Cambridge University Press, 1990; Takami, A functional constraint on Extraposition from NP, John Benjamins, 1999), Hawkins (Efficiency and complexity in grammars, Oxford University Press, 2004) and Wasow (Postverbal behavior, CSLI Publications, 2002) have proposed in addition that RCE should be preferred when the relative clause is long (or ‘heavy’) relative to the VP because such structures are processed more efficiently in comprehension and production. The current study tested this hypothesis based on Hawkins' (Efficiency and complexity in grammars, Oxford University Press, 2004) domain minimization principles. In an acceptability judgment task, canonical sentences were rated significantly higher than extraposition sentences when the RC was light, but this difference disappeared when the RC was heavy. In a self-paced reading task, extraposition sentences were read significantly faster than canonical sentences when the RC was heavy, but there was no difference when the RC was light. In an analysis of RCE in the ICE-GB corpus, extraposed RCs were significantly longer than the VP on average, whereas canonical RCs were significantly shorter, and the proportion of sentences with extraposition decreased as the ratio of VP-to-RC length increased. These findings support Hawkins' (Efficiency and complexity in grammars, Oxford University Press, 2004) domain minimization principles and help explain why a discontinuous dependency is allowed and sometimes preferred even in a language with relatively fixed word order.
Magari
Authors: Masini Francesca , Pietrandrea Paola
Published: March 2010

We propose a constructionist approach to the polyfunctionality of the Italian focus particle magari (roughly corresponding to ‘maybe’, but also ‘I wish’). The sheer syntactic versatility of this word leads us to detect its formal regularities at the level of discourse configurations. This level of analysis, identified within the French linguistic tradition, is defined by the maintenance of a predicate-argument-adjunct structure in discourse. The salient feature of discourse configurations is their shape, which can be described by referring to a number of topological patterns: lists of elements in the same syntactic position, repetition of syntactic structures, shifting of elements from a post-verbal to a pre-verbal position and so on. These topological patterns are meaningful to an extent and they are eligible to be regarded as constructions. Magari is shown to be regularly associated with a general topological pattern, namely a list of items that occupy the same syntactic position as the item focused by magari. Each semantic function of magari correlates with one particular kind of list. These associations of a form (the different types of lists) and a meaning (the functions of magari) are shown to be related to one another by means of inheritance links.
Bidirectional Regulation of Hippocampal Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity and Its Influence on Opposing Forms of Memory
Authors: Malleret Gaël , Alarcon Juan M. , Martel Guillaume , Takizawa Shuichi , Vronskaya Svetlana , Yin Deqi , Chen Irene Z. , Kandel Eric R. , Shumyatsky Gleb P.
Published: March 2010

Reference memory characterizes the long-term storage of information acquired through numerous trials. In contrast, working memory represents the short-term acquisition of trial-unique information. A number of studies in the rodent hippocampus have focused on the contribution of long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) to long-term reference memory. In contrast, little is known about the synaptic plasticity correlates of hippocampal-based components of working memory. Here, we described a mouse with selective expression of a dominant-negative mutant of the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) only in two regions of the hippocampus, the dentate gyrus and area CA1. This mouse showed a deficit in several forms of LTP in both hippocampal subregions and a lowered threshold for the consolidation of long-term synaptic depression (LTD). When trained with one trial per day in a water maze task, mutant mice displayed a deficit in consolidation of long-term memory. In contrast, these mice proved to be more flexible after a transfer test and also showed a delay-dependent increased performance in working memory, when repetitive information (proactive interference) was presented. We suggest that through its bidirectional control over synaptic plasticity PKA can regulate opposing forms of memory. The defect in L-LTP disrupts long-term memory consolidation. The persistence of LTD may allow acquisition of new information by restricting the body of previously stored information and suppressing interference.
P2Y4-Mediated Regulation of Na+Absorption in the Reissner's Membrane of the Cochlea
Authors: Kim Chang-Hee , Kim Hye-Young , Lee Ho Sun , Chang Sun O. , Oh Seung-Ha , Lee Jun Ho
Published: March 2010

The epithelial cells of Reissner's membrane (RM) are capable of transporting Na+out of endolymph via epithelial Na+channel (ENaC). However, much remains to be known as to mechanism of regulation of Na+absorption in RM. We investigated P2Y signaling as a possible regulatory mechanism of ENaC in gerbil RM using voltage-sensitive vibrating probe technique and immunohistochemistry. Results showed that UTP induced partial inhibition of the amiloride-sensitive short-circuit current but did not change short-circuit current when applied in the presence of amiloride. The inhibitory effect of UTP was not completely reversible in minutes. The response to UTP was inhibited by reactive blue-2 and 2′,3′-O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)adenosine 5′-triphosphate but not by suramin or pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2′, 4′-disulfonic acid, which indicates this P2Y receptor as the P2Y4subtype. The phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitors 1-[6[[(17β)-3-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino]hexyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione and 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine markedly inhibited the effect of UTP on ENaC. In contrast, neither modulation of protein kinase C nor application of 2-aminoehoxydiphenyl borate affected P2Y4-mediated inhibition of ENaC. Immunoreactive staining for P2Y4was observed in the RM, apical membrane of stria vascularis, spiral ligament, and organ of Corti, including outer hair cell, inner hair cell, outer pillar cell, Deiters' cell, and Hensen cell. These results suggest that the physiological role of P2Y4receptor in RM is likely to regulate Na+homeostasis in the endolymph. The acute inhibition of ENaC activity by activation of P2Y4receptor is possibly mediated by decrease of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate in the plasma membrane through PLC activation.
Bradykinin and Nerve Growth Factor Play Pivotal Roles in Muscular Mechanical Hyperalgesia after Exercise (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness)
Authors: Murase Shiori , Terazawa Etsuji , Queme Fernando , Ota Hiroki , Matsuda Teru , Hirate Kenji , Kozaki Yasuko , Katanosaka Kimiaki , Taguchi Toru , Urai Hisako , Mizumura Kazue
Published: March 2010

Unaccustomed strenuous exercise that includes lengthening contraction (LC) often causes delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), a kind of muscular mechanical hyperalgesia. The substances that induce this phenomenon are largely unknown. Peculiarly, DOMS is not perceived during and shortly after exercise, but rather is first perceived after ∼1 d. Using B2bradykinin receptor antagonist HOE 140, we show here that bradykinin released during exercise plays a pivotal role in triggering the process that leads to muscular mechanical hyperalgesia. HOE 140 completely suppressed the development of muscular mechanical hyperalgesia when injected before LC, but when injected 2 d after LC failed to reverse mechanical hyperalgesia that had already developed. B1antagonist was ineffective, regardless of the timing of its injection. Upregulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) mRNA and protein occurred in exercised muscle over a comparable time course (12 h to 2 d after LC) for muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. Antibodies to NGF injected intramuscularly 2 d after exercise reversed muscle mechanical hyperalgesia. HOE 140 inhibited the upregulation of NGF. In contrast, shortening contraction or stretching induced neither mechanical hyperalgesia nor NGF upregulation. Bradykinin together with shortening contraction, but not bradykinin alone, reproduced lasting mechanical hyperalgesia. We also showed that rat NGF sensitized thin-fiber afferents to mechanical stimulation in the periphery after 10–20 min. Thus, NGF upregulation through activation of B2bradykinin receptors is essential (though not satisfactory) to mechanical hyperalgesia after exercise. The present observations explain why DOMS occurs with a delay, and why lengthening contraction but not shortening contraction induces DOMS.
Exposure to Cocaine Dynamically Regulates the Intrinsic Membrane Excitability of Nucleus Accumbens Neurons
Authors: Mu Ping , Moyer Jason T. , Ishikawa Masago , Zhang Yonghong , Panksepp Jaak , Sorg Barbara A. , Schlüter Oliver M. , Dong Yan
Published: March 2010

Drug-induced malfunction of nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons underlies a key pathophysiology of drug addiction. Drug-induced changes in intrinsic membrane excitability of NAc neurons are thought to be critical for producing behavioral alterations. Previous studies demonstrate that, after short-term (2 d) or long-term (21 d) withdrawal from noncontingent cocaine injection, the intrinsic membrane excitability of NAc shell (NAcSh) neurons is decreased, and decreased membrane excitability of NAcSh neurons increases the acute locomotor response to cocaine. However, animals exhibit distinct cellular and behavioral alterations at different stages of cocaine exposure, suggesting that the decreased membrane excitability of NAc neurons may not be a persistent change. Here, we demonstrate that the membrane excitability of NAcSh neurons is differentially regulated depending on whether cocaine is administered contingently or noncontingently. Specifically, the membrane excitability of NAcSh medium spiny neurons (MSNs) was decreased at 2 d after withdrawal from either 5 d intraperitoneal injections (15 mg/kg) or cocaine self-administration (SA). At 21 d of withdrawal, the membrane excitability of NAcSh MSNs, which remained low in intraperitoneally pretreated rats, returned to a normal level in SA-pretreated rats. Furthermore, after a reexposure to cocaine after long-term withdrawal, the membrane excitability of NAcSh MSNs instantly returned to a normal level in intraperitoneally pretreated rats. Conversely, in SA-pretreated rats, the reexposure elevated the membrane excitability of NAcSh MSMs beyond the normal level. These results suggest that the dynamic alterations in membrane excitability of NAcSh MSNs, together with the dynamic changes in synaptic input, contribute differentially to the behavioral consequences of contingent and noncontingent cocaine administration.
Right Hemisphere Dominance during Spatial Selective Attention and Target Detection Occurs Outside the Dorsal Frontoparietal Network
Authors: Shulman Gordon L. , Pope Daniel L. W. , Astafiev Serguei V. , McAvoy Mark P. , Snyder Abraham Z. , Corbetta Maurizio
Published: March 2010

Spatial selective attention is widely considered to be right hemisphere dominant. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, however, have reported bilateral blood-oxygenation-level-dependent responses in dorsal frontoparietal regions during anticipatory shifts of attention to a location (Kastner et al., 1999; Corbetta et al., 2000; Hopfinger et al., 2000). Right-lateralized activity has mainly been reported in ventral frontoparietal regions for shifts of attention to an unattended target stimulus (Arrington et al., 2000; Corbetta et al., 2000). However, clear conclusions cannot be drawn from these studies because hemispheric asymmetries were not assessed using direct voxelwise comparisons of activity in left and right hemispheres. Here, we used this technique to measure hemispheric asymmetries during shifts of spatial attention evoked by a peripheral cue stimulus and during target detection at the cued location. Stimulus-driven shifts of spatial attention in both visual fields evoked right-hemisphere dominant activity in temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Target detection at the attended location produced a more widespread right hemisphere dominance in frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex, including the TPJ region asymmetrically activated during shifts of spatial attention. However, hemispheric asymmetries were not observed during either shifts of attention or target detection in the dorsal frontoparietal regions (anterior precuneus, medial intraparietal sulcus, frontal eye fields) that showed the most robust activations for shifts of attention. Therefore, right hemisphere dominance during stimulus-driven shifts of spatial attention and target detection reflects asymmetries in cortical regions that are largely distinct from the dorsal frontoparietal network involved in the control of selective attention.
Activity-Dependent Regulation of Mitochondrial Motility by Calcium and Na/K-ATPase at Nodes of Ranvier of Myelinated Nerves
Authors: Zhang Chuan Li , Ho Po Lai , Kintner Douglas B. , Sun Dandan , Chiu Shing Yan
Published: March 2010

The node of Ranvier is a tiny segment of a myelinated fiber with various types of specializations adapted for generation of high-speed nerve impulses. It is ionically specialized with respect to ion channel segregation and ionic fluxes, and metabolically specialized in ionic pump expression and mitochondrial density augmentation. This report examines the interplay of three important parameters (calcium fluxes, Na pumps, mitochondrial motility) at nodes of Ranvier in frog during normal nerve activity. First, we used calcium dyes to resolve a highly localized elevation in axonal calcium at a node of Ranvier during action potentials, and showed that this calcium elevation retards mitochondrial motility during nerve impulses. Second, we found, surprisingly, that physiologic activation of the Na pumps retards mitochondrial motility. Blocking Na pumps alone greatly prevents action potentials from retarding mitochondrial motility, which reveals that mitochondrial motility is coupled to Na/K-ATPase. In conclusion, we suggest that during normal nerve activity, Ca elevation and activation of Na/K-ATPase act, possibly in a synergistic manner, to recruit mitochondria to a node of Ranvier to match metabolic needs.
PostnatalSim1Deficiency Causes Hyperphagic Obesity and ReducedMc4randOxytocinExpression
Authors: Tolson Kristen P. , Gemelli Terry , Gautron Laurent , Elmquist Joel K. , Zinn Andrew R. , Kublaoui Bassil M.
Published: March 2010

Single-minded 1 (SIM1) mutations are one of the few known causes of nonsyndromic monogenic obesity in both humans and mice. Although the role ofSim1in the formation of the hypothalamus has been described, its postdevelopmental, physiological functions have not been well established. Here we demonstrate that postnatal CNS deficiency ofSim1is sufficient to cause hyperphagic obesity. We conditionally deletedSim1after birth using CaMKII-Cre (α-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II-Cre) lines to recombine a floxedSim1allele. ConditionalSim1heterozygotes phenocopied germ lineSim1heterozygotes, displaying hyperphagic obesity and increased length. We also generated viable conditionalSim1homozygotes, demonstrating that adultSim1expression is not essential for mouse or neuron survival and revealing a dosage-dependent effect ofSim1on obesity. Using stereological cell counting, we showed that the phenotype of both germ line heterozygotes and conditionalSim1homozygotes was not attributable to global hypocellularity of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. We also used retrograde tract tracing to demonstrate that the PVN of germ line heterozygous mice projects normally to the dorsal vagal complex and the median eminence. Finally, we showed that conditionalSim1homozygotes and germ lineSim1heterozygotes exhibit a remarkable decrease in hypothalamic oxytocin (Oxt) and PVN melanocortin 4 receptor (Mc4r) mRNA. These results demonstrate that the role ofSim1in feeding regulation is not limited to formation of the PVN or its projections and that the hyperphagic obesity inSim1-deficient mice may be attributable to changes in the leptin–melanocortin–oxytocin pathway.
Developmental Tuning and Decay in Senescence of Oscillations Linking the Corticospinal System
Authors: Graziadio Sara , Basu Anna , Tomasevic Leo , Zappasodi Filippo , Tecchio Franca , Eyre Janet A.
Published: March 2010

There is increasing evidence of the importance of synchronous activity within the corticospinal system for motor control. We compared oscillatory activity in the primary sensorimotor cortex [EEG of sensorimotor cortex (SMC-EEG)] and a motor neuronal pool [surface electromyogram of opponens pollicis (OP-EMG)], and their coherence in children (4–12 years of age), young adults (20–35 years of age), and elderly adults (>55 years of age). The ratio between lower (2–13 Hz) and higher (14–32 Hz) frequencies in both SMC-EEG and OP-EMG decreased with age, correlating inversely with motor performance. There was evidence for larger, more distributed cortical networks in the children and elderly compared with young adults. Corticomuscular coherence (CMC) was present in all age groups and shifted between frontal and parietal cortical areas. In children, CMC was smaller and less stationary in amplitude and frequency than in adults. Young adults had single peaks of CMC clustered near the modal frequency (23 Hz); multiple peaks with a broad spread of frequencies occurred in children and the elderly; the further the frequency of the maximum peak CMC was from 23 Hz, the poorer the performance. CMC amplitude was inversely related to performance in young adults but was not modulated in relation to performance in children and the elderly. We propose that progressive fine-tuning of the frequency coding and stabilization of the dynamic properties within and between corticospinal networks occurs during adolescence, refining the capacity for efficient dynamic communication in adulthood. In old age, blurring of the tuning between networks and breakdown in their integration occurs and is likely to contribute to a decrement in motor control.
GABA Concentration Is Reduced in Visual Cortex in Schizophrenia and Correlates with Orientation-Specific Surround Suppression
Authors: Yoon Jong H. , Maddock Richard J. , Rokem Ariel , Silver Michael A. , Minzenberg Michael J. , Ragland J. Daniel , Carter Cameron S.
Published: March 2010

The neural mechanisms underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia remain essentially unknown. The GABA hypothesis proposes that reduced neuronal GABA concentration and neurotransmission results in cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. However, fewin vivostudies have directly examined this hypothesis. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at high field to measure visual cortical GABA levels in 13 subjects with schizophrenia and 13 demographically matched healthy control subjects. We found that the schizophrenia group had an ∼10% reduction in GABA concentration. We further tested the GABA hypothesis by examining the relationship between visual cortical GABA levels and orientation-specific surround suppression (OSSS), a behavioral measure of visual inhibition thought to be dependent on GABAergic synaptic transmission. Previous work has shown that subjects with schizophrenia exhibit reduced OSSS of contrast discrimination (Yoon et al., 2009). For subjects with both MRS and OSSS data (n= 16), we found a highly significant positive correlation (r= 0.76) between these variables. GABA concentration was not correlated with overall contrast discrimination performance for stimuli without a surround (r= −0.10). These results suggest that a neocortical GABA deficit in subjects with schizophrenia leads to impaired cortical inhibition and that GABAergic synaptic transmission in visual cortex plays a critical role in OSSS.
Adam22 Is a Major Neuronal Receptor for Lgi4-Mediated Schwann Cell Signaling
Authors: Özkaynak Ekim , Abello Gina , Jaegle Martine , van Berge Laura , Hamer Diana , Kegel Linde , Driegen Siska , Sagane Koji , Bermingham John R. , Meijer Dies
Published: March 2010

The segregation and myelination of axons in the developing PNS, results from a complex series of cellular and molecular interactions between Schwann cells and axons. Previously we identified theLgi4gene (leucine-rich glioma-inactivated4) as an important regulator of myelination in the PNS, and its dysfunction results in arthrogryposis as observed in claw paw mice. Lgi4 is a secreted protein and a member of a small family of proteins that are predominantly expressed in the nervous system. Their mechanism of action is unknown but may involve binding to members of the Adam (A disintegrin and metalloprotease) family of transmembrane proteins, in particular Adam22. We found that Lgi4 and Adam22 are both expressed in Schwann cells as well as in sensory neurons and that Lgi4 binds directly to Adam22 without a requirement for additional membrane associated factors. To determine whether Lgi4-Adam22 function involves a paracrine and/or an autocrine mechanism of action we performed heterotypic Schwann cell sensory neuron cultures and cell type-specific ablation of Lgi4 and Adam22 in mice. We show that Schwann cells are the principal cellular source of Lgi4 in the developing nerve and that Adam22 is required on axons. Our results thus reveal a novel paracrine signaling axis in peripheral nerve myelination in which Schwann cell secreted Lgi4 functions through binding of axonal Adam22 to drive the differentiation of Schwann cells.
Obesity, pregnancy, inflammation, and vascular function
Authors: Denison F C , Roberts K A , Barr S M , Norman J E
Published: March 2010

Maternal obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality for both mother and offspring. The mechanisms underlying the increased risk associated with maternal obesity are not well understood. In non-pregnant populations, many of the complications of obesity are thought to be mediated in part by inflammation and its sequelae. Recent studies suggest that a heightened inflammatory response may also be involved in mediating adverse clinical outcomes during pregnancy. This review summarizes our current knowledge about adipose tissue biology, and its role as an endocrine and inflammatory organ. The evidence for inflammation as a key mediator of adverse pregnancy outcome is also presented, focusing on the role of inflammation in adipose tissue, systemic inflammation, the placenta, and vascular endothelium.
A Comparison of 2-part and 3-part Nanoparticle-Based Sensors
Authors: Chavez Jorge , Lyon Wanda J. , Kelley-Loughnane Nancy , Chushak Yaroslav G. , Stone Morley O.
Published: March 2010

There has long been a drive to produce sensors with ever-increasing sensitivity and selectivity, while also achieving robustness and ease of use. Nanoparticle-based sensing approaches have generated a great deal of attention and excitement, because they possess such qualities. For these assays to function properly, it requires the integration of molecular recognition motifs and materials with outstanding optical properties. Aptamers are DNA or RNA sequences that bind analytes with high specificity, which makes them a suitable choice as recognition elements. Changes in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of gold nanoparticles (AuNPS) as a function of interparticle distance, has been used as an optical signal to detect the presence of different species in solution by the naked eye. In this work, we coated gold nanoparticles with short oligonucleotides and aptamers for the design of sensors that can be used under different conditions, including salt concentration, pH and temperatures. Three aptamer sensors were developed using this approach 1) riboflavin, as a general indicator of biological activity, 2) ricin, a toxin that is of broad interest, and 3) theophylline, an adenosine antagonist. Our designs are based on two approaches, the first method consisted of the use of two sets of AuNPs, each coated with a short oligonucleotide complementary to a different part of the sequence of the aptamer of interest. Hybridization of the DNA-coated particles (DNA-AuNPs) with the free aptamer produced aggregates, i.e. 3-part design. The second approach consisted of the use of only two sets of DNA-AuNPs, one coated with an aptamer that contains a thiol group in its 5′ end, and the second set of AuNPs coated with a sequence complementary to part of the aptamer. Hybridization of these two sets of particles produced aggregates, i.e. 2-part design. In both cases, the presence of the analyte promoted a change in the conformation of the aptamer, which caused the dehybridization of the complementary sequences. This conformational change of the aptamer upon binding of the analyte produced the dissociation of the nanoparticle aggregates, which is translated into a change in the color of the suspensions from blue to red. In this presentation, we will compare the advantages and disadvantages associated with a 3-part versus a 2-part nanoparticle-oligonucleotide reporting assay.
Microelectrodes-Assisted Micropatterning on Nanofiber
Authors: Zeng Hansong , Wang Feng , Guan Jianjun , Zhao Yi
Published: March 2010

This paper reports a novel and cost-effective approach which enables the integration of nanostructures and micropatterns. In this work nanofibers are selectively patterned in defined micropatterns via a collector chip. The driving momentum of the micropattern formation, namely the non-uniform electrical field, is studied by finite element method. Micropatterned nanofiber mats are successfully fabricated. The SEM characterization demonstrates that the microstructures are manifested by distinct porosities and thicknesses. This work opens a door for a broad array of applications such as nanoelectronics and tissue engineering, where the fibrous materials with the characteristic features sizes over several order of magnitudes are required.
CeO2 thin film for mediator-less glucose biosensors
Authors: Saha Shibu , Arya S. K. , Singh S. P. , Malhotra B. D. , Sreenivas K. , Gupta Vinay
Published: March 2010

Pulsed laser deposited cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoporous thin film on platinum (Pt) coated glass has been used for immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) by electrostatic interaction. Atomic force microscopy studies reveal the formation of nanoporous surface morphology of CeO2 thin film. Differential pulse voltammetric and optical measurements show that the GOx/CeO2/Pt bioelectrode is sensitive to the detection of glucose over the concentration upto 300 mg/dl. A low value of enzyme's kinetic parameter (Michaelis-Menten constant∼1.01 mM) indicates enhanced enzyme affinity of GOx to glucose.