bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relay of retrograde synaptogenic signals through axonal transport of BMP receptors
Authors: Smith Rebecca B. , Machamer James B. , Kim Nam Chul , Hays Thomas S. , Marqués Guillermo
Published: May 2012

Neuronal function depends on the retrograde relay of growth and survival signals from the synaptic terminal, where the neuron interacts with its targets, to the nucleus, where gene transcription is regulated. Activation of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathway at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction results in nuclear accumulation of the phosphorylated form of the transcription factor Mad in the motoneuron nucleus. This in turn regulates transcription of genes that control synaptic growth. How BMP signaling at the synaptic terminal is relayed to the cell body and nucleus of the motoneuron to regulate transcription is unknown. We show that the BMP receptors are endocytosed at the synaptic terminal and transported retrogradely along the axon. Furthermore, this transport is dependent on BMP pathway activity, as it decreases in the absence of ligand or receptors. We further demonstrate that receptor traffic is severely impaired when Dynein motors are inhibited, a condition that has previously been shown to block BMP pathway activation. In contrast with these results, we find no evidence for transport of phosphorylated Mad along the axons, and axonal traffic of Mad is not affected in mutants defective in BMP signaling or retrograde transport. These data support a model in which complexes of activated BMP receptors are actively transported along the axon towards the cell body to relay the synaptogenic signal, and that phosphorylated Mad at the synaptic terminal and cell body represent two distinct molecular populations.
Regulation of Integrin Endocytic Recycling and Chemotactic Cell Migration by Syntaxin 6 and VAMP3 Interaction
Authors: Riggs Krista A. , Hasan Nazarul , Humphrey David , Raleigh Christy , Nevitt Chris , Corbin Deborah , Hu Chuan
Published: May 2012

Integrins are the primary receptors for cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, and play key roles in various cellular processes including migration, proliferation and survival. The expression and distribution of integrins at the cell surface is controlled by endocytosis and recycling. The present study examines the function of syntaxin 6 (STX6), a t-SNARE localized in the trans-Golgi network (TGN), in integrin trafficking. STX6 is overexpressed in many types of human cancer. We show that depletion of STX6 inhibits chemotactic cell migration and the delivery of the laminin receptor α3β1 integrin to the cell surface, whereas STX6 overexpression stimulates chemotactic cell migration, integrin delivery, and integrin-initiated activation of focal adhesion kinase. These data indicate that STX6 plays a rate-limiting role in cell migration and integrin trafficking. In STX6-depleted cells, α3β1 integrin is accumulated in recycling endosomes that contain the v-SNARE VAMP3. Importantly, we show that STX6 and VAMP3 form a v-/t-SNARE complex, VAMP3 is required in α3β1 delivery to the cell surface, and endocytosed α3β1 traffics to both VAMP3 and STX6 compartments. Collectively, our data suggest a new integrin trafficking pathway in which endocytosed integrins are transported from VAMP3-containing recycling endosomes to STX6-containing TGN before being recycled to the plasma membrane.
The actin family member Arp6 and the histone variant H2A.Z are required for spatial positioning of chromatin in chicken cell nuclei.
Authors: Maruyama Eri Ohfuchi , Hori Tetsuya , Tanabe Hideyuki , Kitamura Hiroshi , Matsuda Ryo , Tone Shigenobu , Hozak Pavel , Habermann Felix A. , von Hase Johann , Cremer Christoph , Fukagawa Tatsuo , Harata Masahiko
Published: May 2012

The spatial organization of chromatin in the nucleus contributes to genome function and is altered during the differentiation of normal and tumorigenic cells. Although nuclear actin-related proteins (Arps) have roles in the local alteration of chromatin structure, it is unclear whether they are involved in the spatial positioning of chromatin. In the interphase nucleus of vertebrate cells, gene-dense and gene-poor chromosome territories (CTs) are located in the center and periphery, respectively. Here we analyzed the chicken DT40 cells in which Arp6 had been knocked out conditionally, and showed that the radial distribution of CTs was impaired in these knockout cells. Arp6 is an essential component of the SRCAP chromatin remodeling complex, which deposits the histone variant H2A.Z into chromatin. The redistribution of CTs was also observed in H2A.Z-deficient cells in gene-rich microchromosomes, but to lesser extent in gene-poor macrochromosomes. These results indicate that Arp6 and H2A.Z contribute to the radial distribution of CTs through different mechanisms. Microarray analysis suggested that the localization of chromatin to the nuclear periphery per se is insufficient for the repression of most genes.
Heterocomplex Formation by Arp4 and β-Actin Involved in Integrity of the Brg1 Chromatin Remodeling Complex
Authors: Nishimoto Naoki , Watanabe Masanori , Watanabe Shinya , Sugimoto Nozomi , Yugawa Takashi , Ikura Tsuyoshi , Koiwai Osamu , Kiyono Tohru , Fujita Masatoshi
Published: May 2012

Although nuclear actin and Arps (actin-related proteins) are often identified as components of multi-protein, chromatin-modifying enzyme complexes such as chromatin remodeling and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complexes, their molecular functions still remain largely elusive. We have investigated the role of BAF53/human Arp4 in Brg1 chromatin remodeling complexes. Depletion of Arp4 by RNA interference impaired their integrity and accelerated degradation of Brg1, indicating a crucial role in maintenance, at least in certain human cell lines. We further found that Arp4 can form a heterocomplex with β-actin. Based on structural similarities between conventional actin and Arp4 and the assumption that actin-Arp4 binding might mimic actin-actin binding, we introduced a series of mutations in Arp4 by which interactions with β-actin might be impaired. Some of them indeed caused reduced binding to β-actin. Interestingly, such mutant Arp4 proteins also showed reduced incorporation into Brg1 complexes and interactions with c-myc-associated complexes as well as Tip60 HAT complexes were also impaired. Based on these findings, we propose that β-actin-Arp4 complex formation may be a crucial feature in some chromatin-modifying enzyme complexes like the Brg1 complex.
A FAP46 mutant provides new insights into the function and assembly of the C1d complex of the ciliary central apparatus
Authors: Brown Jason M. , DiPetrillo Christen G. , Smith Elizabeth F. , Witman George B.
Published: May 2012

Virtually all motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella have a “9+2” axoneme in which nine doublet microtubules surround two singlet microtubules. Associated with the central pair of microtubules are protein complexes that form at least seven biochemically and structurally distinct central pair projections. Analysis of mutants lacking specific projections has indicated that each may play a unique role in the control of flagellar motility. One of these is the C1d projection previously shown to contain the proteins FAP54, FAP46, FAP74, and FAP221/Pcdp1, which exhibits Ca2+-sensitive calmodulin binding. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a Chlamydomonas null mutant for FAP46. This mutant, fap46-1, lacks the C1d projection and has impaired motility, confirming the importance of this projection for normal flagellar movement. Those cells that are motile have severe defects in phototaxis and the photoshock response, underscoring a role for the C1d projection in Ca2+-mediated flagellar behavior. The data also reveal for the first time that the C1d projection is involved in the control of interdoublet sliding velocity. Our studies further identify a novel C1d subunit that we term C1d-87, give new insight into relationships between the C1d subunits, and provide evidence for multiple sites of calmodulin interaction within the C1d projection. These results represent significant advances in our understanding of an important but little studied axonemal structure.
Study of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among junior high-school students in Shanghai, China
Authors: Cai Y , Shi R , Li S , Xu G , Huang H
Published: May 2012

The aim of this study was to assess the HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among junior high-school students in Shanghai, China, and the factors influencing this knowledge. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 20 middle schools of two districts by a cluster-stratified selection procedure in Shanghai, China. The 2432 sampled students, aged from 11.1 to 16.7 years, completed a self-administered questionnaire of HIV/AIDS prevention. The results showed that the overall correct rate of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge was 62%. Using multivariable logistic regression analysis, we found that the main factors influencing HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among junior high school students were the type of school (odds ratio [OR] = 1.641), age (OR = 1.727), whether the student was a single child in the family (OR = 1.389), whether the student had previous HIV/AIDS-related education experience (OR = 2.003) and whether the student had ever discussed HIV/AIDS with their parents (OR = 1.282). The results indicate that HIV/AIDS-related knowledge among Shanghai junior high school students is not high enough, and more attention needs to be paid to enhance HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, especially among younger students from common type schools without HIV/AIDS-related education experience. We encourage Chinese parents to get involved in their children's HIV/AIDS prevention education.
Assessment of non-marital sexual behaviours of men in Bangladesh: a methodological experiment using a modified confidential ballot-box method
Authors: Chowdhury M E , Alam N , Anwar I , Ahmed A , Saidel T , Mallick P S , Kelly R , Streatfield P K
Published: May 2012

This study assessed the effectiveness of a modified ballot-box method (MBBM) in eliciting non-marital sexual behaviours compared with face-to-face interview (FTFI). A cross-sectional survey collected data from men aged 18–49 years in Bangladesh using a multistage cluster sampling method. In total, 3499 and 3623 respondents were interviewed by MBBM and FTFI, respectively. In the MBBM, pre-recorded questions were administered using a portable audio-cassette player with two pairs of headphones used concurrently by the respondent and the interviewer. Overall, 18% of the respondents had non-marital sexual exposure in the past year. The MBBM elicited higher responses of non-marital sex (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1, 1.5) compared with FTFI. The interview methods did not, however, revealed significant differences in response to condom-use rates and the number of non-marital sexual partners. The MBBM is more effective than the FTFI method in eliciting higher responses rates of non-marital sexual contacts and may be recommended for reliable estimates of sexual behaviours.
Long-term efficacy and safety of once-daily fosamprenavir 1400 mg boosted by ritonavir 100 mg: the BOLD100 study
Authors: Blick G , Greiger-Zanlungo P , Gretz S , Han J , Dupree D , Garton T , Yau L H , Wine B C , Pakes G E
Published: May 2012

In a retrospective database study at two HIV treatment centres, medical records were accessed to evaluate long-term efficacy and safety parameters in all HIV-infected adults who had achieved HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL following the initiation of fosamprenavir (FPV)/ritonavir (RTV) 1400 mg/100 mg once-daily (QD)-containing regimens between January 2004 and January 2006. Data were available for 20 antiretroviral (ARV)-naïve patients (baseline median HIV-1 RNA 5.0 log10 copies/mL; CD4+ cell count 307 cells/mm3), 30 protease inhibitor (PI)-naïve, ARV-experienced patients (HIV-1 RNA 3.6 log10 copies/mL; CD4+ count 348 cells/mm3) and 25 PI-experienced patients switching to FPV/RTV100 for reasons other than virological failure (HIV-1 RNA 2.7 log10 copies/mL; CD4+ count 328 cells/mm3). HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL was achieved in 100% of the ARV-naïve cohort (median monitoring period, 2.4 years; range, 1.4–3.2 years), 87% of the PI-naïve cohort (2.4 years; range, 1.2–3.4 years) and 88% of the PI-experienced cohort (2.2 years; range, 1.0–3.2 years). Virological failure occurred in 0%, 7% and 8% of the cohorts, respectively, and median CD4+ count increased above baseline by 224, 155 and 115 cells/mm3, respectively. Change from baseline in median fasting lipids was: total cholesterol +12, −6, −2 mg/dL; low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol 0, −5, +12 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol +4, +2, +7 mg/dL; triglycerides +9, −21, −65 mg/dL, respectively. In conclusion, FPV/RTV 1400/100 mg QD-containing regimens remained effective long-term in all ARV-naïve and most PI-naïve and PI-experienced HIV-infected patients.
Long-term stabilized immunological–virological parameters of HIV infection in an AIDS presenter followed for 20 years, with irregular or no antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Sabbatani S , Manfredi R , Fulgaro C
Published: May 2012

We report the case of an HIV-infected patient who has been followed for 20 years, and despite presenting with AIDS (due to three episodes of cryptococcosis plus one of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia) who during subsequent years missed, refused or took with limited compliance all recommended medications, including combination antiretroviral therapy, and primary and secondary antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis against opportunistic infections. The unexpected clinical and laboratory stabilization of our patient paralleled a progressive increase in his peripheral CD4+ T-lymphocyte count (range 410–825 cells/mL) and a relatively controlled HIV viraemia (5970–44,000 HIV-RNA copies/mL). Such a recovery of sufficient immune competency after experiencing four episodes of severe AIDS-associated opportunistic infections, without reliable antiretroviral and antimicrobial support raises several questions.
Transient bone marrow oedema syndrome in an HIV-infected patient on highly active antiretroviral therapy
Authors: Vera J H , Walker A E , Kinderlerer A , Cooke G S
Published: May 2012

Bone marrow oedema syndrome (BMES, also known as transient osteoporosis) is an uncommon, self-limiting condition characterized by disabling pain, reversible osteopaenia on X-rays and by bone marrow oedema pattern on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Here we describe the first reported case of BMES in an HIV-positive patient on highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Condom use, intervention service utilization and HIV knowledge among female sex workers in China: results of three consecutive cross-sectional surveys in Shandong Province with historically low HIV prevalence
Authors: Liao M , Bi Z , Liu X , Kang D , Fu J , Song Q , Freeman J , Jiang B , Jia Y
Published: May 2012

Heterosexual transmission of HIV through contact with female sex workers (FSWs) is a growing concern for the HIV/AIDS epidemic in China. Using consecutive cross-sectional surveys, we examined the prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), risk behaviours, HIV knowledge and the utilization of intervention services among FSWs in Shandong Province. Of 3460 participants, half reported ever having STI-related symptoms, 57.8% had ≥7 clients in the last week, half reported inconsistent use of condoms with clients and 11.2% reported ever using illicit drugs. Consistent use of condoms with clients was associated with higher education, being 20–24 years of age, being recruited from hotels, having ever received free condoms and was inversely associated with STI-related symptoms. HIV-related knowledge was associated with higher education, ever testing for HIV and inversely associated with self-reported STI-related symptoms. The low rates of condom use, high number and frequent turnover of clients, high prevalence of self-reported STIs and drug use highlight the urgency for more effective intervention in these FSWs.
The cost of managing genital warts in the UK
Authors: Lanitis T , Carroll S , O'Mahony C , Charman F , Khalid J M , Griffiths V , Brown R E
Published: May 2012

The national cost of managing genital warts (GWs) in the UK has not been fully estimated, yet is required to inform decisions on vaccination against human papillomavirus. This study estimated the 2010 UK costs based on secondary genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and primary care data from the Health Improvement Network database. Extrapolating data to 2010 resulted in 173,077 GU medicine clinic and 16,782 primary care GW episodes. Using treatment patterns obtained from key opinion leaders and tariffs from National Health Service Payment by Results (NHS PbR), the national costs were estimated at £52.4 million: £276 per treated GW episode.
CT and MRI findings of thoracic ganglioneuroma
Authors: Guan Y B , Zhang W D , Zeng Q S , Chen G Q , He J X
Published: May 2012

Objective: Thoracic ganglioneuroma is sporadic and rarely reported. Pre-operative misdiagnosis often occurs in clinical practice. To improve diagnostic accuracy and facilitate differential diagnosis, we summarised the CT and MRI findings of thoracic ganglioneuroma.

Methods: 22 cases of thoracic ganglioneuroma confirmed by surgery and pathology were retrospectively analysed in terms of CT (16 cases) and MRI data (6 cases).

Results: Of 22 lesions, 19 occurred in the posterior mediastinum, 2 in the lateral pleura and 1 in the right chest. The CT value of the plain scans ranged from 20 to 40 HU (mean 29.1 HU) in 16 cases. Punctate calcification was noted in four cases. Patchy fat density shadow was found in one case. Arterial-phase CT found nearly no enhancement (6 cases) or slight enhancement (10 cases) with a CT value of 0–12 HU (mean 5.8 HU). In the delayed phase, enhancement was strengthened progressively, and CT value of 10–20 HU (mean 13.6 HU) was achieved after 120 s. T  1 weighted images showed homogeneous hypointense signals in five cases and hypointense signals mixed with patchy hyperintense signal shadow in one case. T  2 weighted images demonstrated heterogeneous hyperintense signals in all six cases, of which the whorled appearance was noted in one case. Gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA)-enhanced MRI found mildly heterogeneous enhancement in the arterial phase, and progressive mild enhancement in the delayed phase.

Conclusion: Thoracic ganglioneuroma shows hypodensity in plain CT. On CT and MRI, non-enhancement or slight enhancement in artery phase and progressive mild enhancement in delay phase are characteristic manifestations of ganglioneuroma in the thorax.
Modeling State-Dependent Priorities of Malicious Agents
Authors: Sri Bhashyam Sumitra , Montibeller Gilberto
Published: May 2012

With ever-increasing terror threats, governments and security officials would benefit from a better understanding of what motivates terrorists to cause social unrest. A recent research trend is on gaining greater knowledge about the values of malicious agents to help manage the risk of terrorism. As a result, there seems to be the potential to use decision analysis as a means to model what may drive malicious agents to commit harmful actions. So far, research on this topic has assumed static preferences of such agents. In this paper, we present a framework that may be used to infer how terrorists' priorities may change over time and their impact on their choice of a harmful action. We suggest modeling state-dependent priorities of a terrorist group via a multicriteria model that incorporates state-dependent priorities to account for preference change caused by exogenous triggers and representing the environment as a system dynamics model. We describe how terrorists' visceral factors may affect the prioritization of objectives and show how such an analysis may support risk management in this context.
Regulating Autonomous Agents Facing Conflicting Objectives: A Command and Control Example
Authors: Smith Jim Q. , Dodd Lorraine
Published: May 2012

Military commanders in the United Kingdom have a degree of devolved decision authority delegated from command and control (C2) regulators and are trained and expected to act rationally and accountably. Recent experimental results suggest that experienced commanders usually appear to act as if they are subjective expected utility maximizers. The only scenarios where this appears not to be so are when the immediate mission objectives conflict with broader campaign objectives. Then the apparent rationality of even experienced commanders often evaporates. In this paper we show that if the C2 regulator assumes her commander is expected utility maximizing and that he uses a suitable multiattribute utility function, then even when she is remote from the field of action and her information is sparse, this regulator can nevertheless predict when scenarios might lead her commanders into making irrational decisions.
Service-Level Variability of Inbound Call Centers
Authors: Roubos Alex , Koole Ger , Stolletz Raik
Published: May 2012

In practice, call center service levels are reported over periods of finite length that are usually no longer than 24 hours. In such small periods the service level has a large variability. It is therefore not sufficient to base staffing decisions only on the expected service level. In this paper we consider the classical M/M/s queueing model that is often used in call centers. We develop accurate approximations for the service-level distribution based on extensive simulations. This distribution is used for a service-level variability-controlled staffing approach to circumvent the shortcomings of the traditional staffing based on the expected service level.
A Computational Approach to the Real Option Management of Network Contracts for Natural Gas Pipeline Transport Capacity
Authors: Secomandi Nicola , Wang Mulan X.
Published: May 2012

Commodity merchants use real option models to manage their operations. A central element of such a model is its underlying operating policy. We focus on network contracts for the transport capacity of natural gas pipelines, specific energy conversion assets. Practitioners commonly manage these contracts as portfolios of spread options. Although computationally fast, we show that this approach in general is heuristic because of the suboptimality of its operating policy. We propose a different computationally efficient real option approach based on an optimal operating policy, integrating linear optimization and Monte Carlo simulation. We use our approach to benchmark the spread option approach in a numerical study based on market data and realistic instances. We find that our approach can substantially improve on the contract valuations computed by the spread option approach, especially for contracts with flexibility in their allowed capacity usage. We also show that the optimal operating policy of contracts with this flexibility is of the greedy type, whereas the one of contracts without it in general is not. However, we observe that greedy optimization yields a near-optimal operating policy for the latter type of contracts with a substantially reduced computational effort. A version of our model was recently implemented by a major international energy trading company. Our model can also be employed to efficiently estimate the contract value sensitivities (the “Greeks”), which merchants use for financial hedging purposes. Potentially, our work has wider significance for the merchant management of other commodity conversion assets with payoffs determined by solving capacity constrained optimization models.
A Multiordering Newsvendor Model with Dynamic Forecast Evolution
Authors: Wang Tong , Atasu Atalay , Kurtuluş Mümin
Published: May 2012

We consider a newsvendor who dynamically updates her forecast of the market demand over a finite planning horizon. The forecast evolves according to the martingale model of forecast evolution (MMFE). The newsvendor can place multiple orders with increasing ordering cost over time to satisfy demand that realizes at the end of the planning horizon. In this context, we explore the trade-off between improving demand forecast and increasing ordering cost. We show that the optimal ordering policy is a state-dependent base-stock policy and analytically characterize that the base-stock level depends on the information state in a linear (log-linear) fashion for additive (multiplicative) MMFE. We also study a benchmark model where the newsvendor is restricted to order only once. By comparing the multiordering and single-ordering models, we quantify the impact of the multiordering strategy on the newsvendor's expected profit and risk exposure.
Apuntes de “La ciudad podrida”: la configuración distópica de La Habana en la poesía de Ángel Escobar
Authors: Puppo María Lucía
Published: May 2012

On a signalé que la poésie d’Angel Escobar (1947–1997) ne garde pas de lien référentiel avec l’espace réel, comme c’est le cas pour la plu-part des écrivains cubains publiant vers 1980 leurs premières œuvres significatives. Il existe pourtant dans les livres d’Escobar des stratégies configurant une image polyvalente et dystopique de La Havane que cet article cherche à déterminer. On analysera la logique qui gouverne la syntaxe spatiale du système poétique de l’auteur, en tenant en compte des répertories rhétoriques et thématiques associés à l’espace urbain, tout comme les contacts avec les arts visuels et les principales isotopies contribuant à la représentation de «la ville sale» et «pourrie» de la fin de siècle.
“Learning to be a Man”: Afro-Caribbean Seamen and Maritime Workers from Curaçao in the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
Authors: Allen Rose Mary
Published: May 2012

L’histoire de la navigation de Curaçao accorde une attention particulière aux questions macroéconomiques et militaires. Jadis, quand presque tous les échanges de denrées alimentaires et d’autres articles se faisaient par voie maritime, la mer des Caraïbes a joué un rôle central dans la vie sociale de la population de Curaçao, y compris l’élite et la classe ouvrière. Le travail en mer constituait une base importante particulièrement pour la subsistance et la mobilité sociale de la classe ouvrière noire. Cet article discute le rôle et l’expérience des marins noirs de Curaçao qui ont navigué les mers entre Curaçao et autres points géographiques. L’article n’est pas limité à New York (USA) comme l’une des destinations des noirs de Curaçao. Il s’appuie sur une base de données relatives aux personnes débarquant dans le port Ellis Island de New York, des documents d’archives, ainsi que l’histoire orale permettant d’écouter la voix de ces hommes. L’étude présente des conclusions ainsi que des réflexions concernant l’histoire maritime des Antilles néerlandaises tandis qu’elle soulève des questions d’importance en vue de futures recherches. De cette manière, elle espère contribuer à combler un vide créé par le manque d’information concernant cette partie du monde afro-néerlandais-caribéen.
No Extended Sphere: The Batavian Understanding of the American Constitution and the Problem of Faction
Authors: Oddens Joris
Published: May 2012

In 1795 the old Republic of the Seven United Provinces collapsed, and Dutch revolutionaries founded a new, “Batavian” Republic. This essay reexamines the Batavian appreciation of the example of the American Revolution by focusing on one specific political phenomenon that troubled both the American and the Batavian minds: the problem of faction in republican states. I will show how the Batavians were introduced to the now famous Madisonian theory of faction by the Dutch federalist Gerhard Dumbar, a supporter of the American Constitution who wrote a Dutch anthology of the Federalist Papers. Subsequently, I will trace the Batavian understanding of factionalism as it was displayed in the parliamentary debates of the Dutch National Assembly and in the political weekly De Democraten. In the last section, I will turn to the Dutch revolutionary events of the year 1798 and their relevance for the Batavian answer to the problem of faction, which will lead me to conclude that the American alternative to an understanding of faction was ultimately rejected by all sides in the Dutch revolutionary debate.
Dickinson’s Lyric Materialism
Authors: Osborne Gillian
Published: May 2012

“Dickinson’s Lyric Materialism” responds to Virginia Jackson’s compelling suggestion that reading practices, rather than compositional intentions, are responsible for the production of what we have come to think of as quintessentially “lyric” poetry. Reading lists and passages from nineteenth-century gardening manuals as potentially lyric, and poems by Dickinson as compressed directives for the identification or contemplation of nature, I argue that the particular lyricism of Dickinson’s work can be located neither purely in the expectations of a reader, nor in formulations of lyric as a hermetic literary form. Rather, Dickinson’s lyric materialism lies in her work’s resistance to predetermined notions of the natural world as legible.
Postal Insurgency: Letter Writing and the Limits of Mexican Nationalism in Gustavo Sainz’s Fiction
Authors: Venegas José Luis
Published: May 2012

This article analyzes the function of letter writing and epistolary correspondence in Gustavo Sainz’s fiction, particularly Obsesivos días circulares (1969) and A la salud de la serpiente (1991). It contends that the personal letter emerges in these novels as a form of expression and communication that breaks with the models of individual and collective identity fostered and consolidated by the Mexican state during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In addition, epistolary writing responds to the political situation in post-Tlatelolco Mexico by contesting the temporal homogeneity needed to imagine the nation as a unitary social body progressing toward modernity. Epistolary writing thus opens the narrative text to competing, unresolved temporalities while at the same time unmooring individual subjectivity from the destinies of a repressive nation–state.
Henry James and the Plunder of Sentiment: Building the House of Modernism from The Spoils of Poynton
Authors: Rhoads Bonita
Published: May 2012

This essay outlines an unorthodox literary genealogy. By examining the vestiges of the sentimental plot in Henry James’s The Spoils of Poynton it demonstrates that domestic fiction, written primarily by a cluster of American women authors in the nineteenth century, played a formative role in the advent of literary modernism. While the novel displays James’s evolving focus on perception, it simultaneously reflects on sentimental ideology as a cultural and literary phenomenon, satirizing the domestic genre even while memorializing it. In James’s generic conversions, the domestic interiors devoutly composed by sentimental authors emerge as models for the ornate psychic interiorities fashioned by modernist investigations of consciousness.
“Call Me Isabel”: Reverberations of James’s Archetypal Plots in the Lives of His Readers
Authors: Lawrence Kathleen
Published: May 2012

Henry James’s archetypal moral structures entangle readers in mise en abyme that parallels Jung’s “collective unconscious.” James’ fiction uses ekphrasis to capture moments of transferable reality, as in Lessing’s Laocoon . My Hollywood childhood, resembling Nathaniel West’s Day of the Locust and Fitzgerald’s The Love of the Last Tycoon , invokes Christina Light from Roderick Hudson , Pansy and Isabel from The Portrait of a Lady , and Maisie from What Maisie Knew . My archival research on William Wetmore Story and His Friends entangled me in plot templates from The Aspern Papers , “The Turn of the Screw,” and “The Jolly Corner.” Rivalry from my discovery of Waldo Story and Bindo Peruzzi de’Medici embroiled me in the moral ambiguity of The Ivory Tower .
Using Mini-Grants and Service-Learning Projects to Prepare Students to Serve Underserved Populations
Authors: McNeal Meryl S. , Buckner Ayanna V.
Published: May 2012

This article discusses a short term service-learning initiative developed by the Center for Community Health and Service Learning (CCHSL) at Morehouse School of Medicine, exploring how extramural mini-grant opportunities can be used to teach students and residents about community health assessment, health communication, and health promotion.
The Southeastern U.S. Collaborative Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities (SUCCEED): Reducing Breast and Cervical Cancer Disparities for African American Women
Authors: Reese Le'Roy E. , Blumenthal Daniel S. , Haynes Venice E.
Published: May 2012

This supplement highlights the efforts of Morehouse School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center and its partners to reduce the disparities experienced by African American women for breast and cervical cancer in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The project (entitled the Southeastern U.S. Collaborative CEED, or SUCCEED ) is supported by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant to establish a Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities (CEED). This introductory paper provides an overview describing the project's goals and core components and closes by introducing the adjoining papers that describe in more detail these components. The program components for SUCCEED include providing training and technical assistance for implementing evidence-based interventions for breast and cervical cancer; supporting capacity-building and sustainability efforts for community-based organizations; promoting the establishment of new empowered community coalitions and providing advocacy training to cancer advocates in order to affect health systems and policies.
Celestial Divination and Arabic Science in Twelfth-Century England: The History of Gerbert of Aurillac’s Talking Head
Authors: Truitt E. R.
Published: May 2012

The legend of Gerbert of Aurillac’s oracular head reveals significant information about contemporary medieval attitudes toward foreign knowledge from outside of the Latin Christian West, and in particular about the quadrivium, astral science, and celestial divination. In particular, William of Malmesbury’s account—the most well-known in the medieval period—demonstrates the extent to which scientific knowledge from the Arabic tradition had penetrated the intellectual climate of England in the early twelfth century.
On the Road to Marcionism: Franz Rosenzweig’s Early Theology
Authors: Pollock Benjamin
Published: May 2012

On the night of July 7, 1913, a twenty-six year-old Franz Rosenzweig engaged in a life-changing conversation with two intimate friends, Eugen Rosenstock and Rudolf Ehrenberg, in Leipzig. This article challenges the conventional scholarly account of the “conversion” Rosenzweig underwent that night. It does so by introducing newly-discovered evidence that shows that the Rosenzweig who entered the Leipziger Nachtgespräch was an advocate not of academic relativism, as scholars since Nahum Glatzer have so often claimed, but rather of a Gnostic theology of world-denial. Rosenzweig was indeed long committed to an extreme theology of revelation before 1913 and thus, this article claims, could not have been converted to revelation during his famed night conversation. The new and unexpected light the evidence sheds on Rosenzweig’s early theological views suggests that a re-evaluation of the standard account of Rosenzweig’s near-conversion to Christianity and return to Judaism is long overdue.
Autonomous Abortions: The Inhibiting of Women's Autonomy through Legal Ultrasound Requirements
Authors: Rocha James
Published: May 2012

Recently, we have seen various proposed laws that would require that women considering abortions be given ultrasounds along with explanations of these ultrasounds. Proponents of these laws could argue that they are assisting with autonomous abortion choices by providing needed information, especially about the ontological status of the fetus. Arguing against these proposed laws, I first claim that their supporters fail to appreciate how personalized an abortion choice must be. Second, I argue that these laws would provide the pregnant woman no control over when and to what extent emotion is inserted into her deliberation. This unjustly inhibits her autonomy, making these ultrasound laws unjustified.
The Place of Sentimental Song in Contemporary Korean Musical Life
Authors: Jung Eun-Young
Published: May 2012

Scholarly and official discourses on Korean music have focused almost exclusively on the range of genres that fall under the broad rubric of “ kugak. ” Yet it is well known to Koreans and foreign observers alike that kugak is little known and underappreciated by the majority of Koreans today. While many Koreans study Western classical music and hold it in high regard, the music that is most widely consumed, and can be said to be the most popular and meaningful in the lives of contemporary Koreans, is Korean popular music (taejung kayo), and particularly the genre of sentimental love songs known as palladŭ. Although the Korean government has expressed pride in the international spread of Korean popular culture (the “Korean Wave”), cultural policy mostly sanctions kugak and denigrates popular music. I challenge the notion that Korean popular music should merely be viewed as an economic commodity, somehow not truly representative of Korean culture, lacking “Koreanness.” Focusing on musical style, language, emotion, and visual imagery, I discuss representative palladŭ songs and their recent history, considering the elements that are widely felt to be “Korean.”
Bas-Relief: Footnotes on Statue-Love and Other Queer Couplings in Freud’s Reading of Gradiva
Authors: Hite Christian
Published: May 2012

As the story of a man who falls in love with the gait (“two feet”) of a bas-relief, Jensen’s Gradiva offers material for a critique of the (romantic) “couple,” if we read the queer coupling of the word “bas-relief” as both enacting and annihilating the sublimated/sublated “life” of reproductive copula-tion (Zoë).
Loss in the Mail: Pynchon, Psychoanalysis and the Postal Work of Mourning
Authors: Vanwesenbeeck Birger
Published: May 2012

Like Antigone and Hamlet, Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 is concerned with the vicissitudes of mourning. Oedipa Maas struggles to assume the task of what Pynchon, with Freud, calls the “work” of mourning. Pynchon emphasizes the energy-efficient and non-productive qualities of this work, and takes Freud’s economic model of loss one step further by evoking a direct parallel between Oedipa’s mourning and the postal labor of sorting.
Rethinking Salò After Abu Ghraib
Authors: Ricciardi Alessia
Published: May 2012

Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom customarily has been read as a scandalous artistic exception. In light of the cases of prisoner torture at Abu Ghraib, however, the film can be taken to elaborate a critique of contemporary political conditions that is less than hyperbolic. Indeed, reading the film in contiguity with Giorgio Agamben’s thinking on biopolitics, especially in Homo Sacer , Pasolini’s Salò may be said to unveil its own critical and philosophical seriousness of purpose. Even hostile critics who tend to be dismissive of Pasolini’s rhetoric thus may be forced après-coup to concede that the film paradoxically operates in a quasi-realistic register. Pursuing this line of argument, “Rethinking Salò After Abu Ghraib” examines the overlap between the visual iconography of cruelty in the film and the photographic documentary record of torture at Abu Ghraib, finding a troubling proximity. In particular, the essay dwells on three distinct layers of meaning in the film: 1) the reappropriation of the literary model provided by the Marquis de Sade’s Les 120 journées de Sodome , 2) the film’s ostensive historical background and setting of the Republic of Salò, and 3) the phenomenology of contemporary neofascism that Pasolini considered to be the raison d’etre of the film. “Rethinking Salo” also conducts an investigation of idiotic humor and stupidity as conduits to sadistic violence in both Pasolini’s film and the record of torture at Abu Ghraib, making reference to Adriana Cavarero’s pathbreaking study, Horrorism .
Implementing a Strategy for Economic Reform: An Assessment of Nigeria's Privatization Program
Authors: Adogamhe Paul G.
Published: May 2012

The Nigerian Government re‐launched a program of privatization in 1999 with the aim of reducing government's participation in business management, attracting foreign and local investments, transferring of technology and skills into the public enterprises in order to create more jobs and boost economic growth. This policy thrust was based on the premise that private investment and business initiative would result in improved profitability, greater efficiency, and the promotion of rapid economic expansion. This paper examines the merits of the above hypothesis, noting the unanticipated legal, economic, and political dilemmas that came to be associated with the implementation of the privatization program in Nigeria. The program appears to have been a major failure through the very poor net returns on investments from the sale/concessioning of the enterprises, loss of several jobs, corruption through process default and new economic dangers from its infraction of creating monopolies/oligopolies in sensitive economic sectors. Therefore, the paper recommends that there is urgent need to rethink the process of reforming the public enterprise sector in Nigeria in order to tackle corruption, review the Public Enterprises Act of 1999 and other laws for assuring competitive business environment as well as improve transparency and accountability in public governance.
Does Early Voting Change the Socio‐Economic Composition of the Electorate?
Authors: Kropf Martha E.
Published: May 2012

Political representation should be a key issue for poverty scholars. Schattschneider said more than 30 years ago, “[t]he flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper‐class accent.” How do election reforms affect the composition of the electorate? In 2005, Adam Berinsky made the argument that election reforms such as early voting magnify the existing socioeconomic bias in the electorate. This occurs because early voting may retain those who comprise the highest SES, rather than stimulating the turnout of new voters who may be of lower SES status. This paper advances a test of Berinsky's hypothesis by examining early voting in North Carolina in 2008 using the state's voter registration database. The analysis shows that despite on‐the‐ground mobilization efforts, those who voted early were primarily those of higher income who had been registered a long time, though they were not necessarily those who had voted habitually in the past. Normatively, this work raises questions about who has access to the franchise and who appears to be left behind.
The Affordable Care Act: Dispersing the Fog of Misinformation
Authors: Skidmore Max J.
Published: May 2012

Editor Max J. Skidmore provides a concise history and political analysis of the attacks on American efforts to achieve near universal health care, and also reviews an innovative history of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Maximum a Posteriori Estimation in Dynamical Models of Primary HIV Infection
Authors: Drylewicz Julia , Commenges Daniel , Thiebaut Rodolphe
Published: May 2012

Dynamical models based on ordinary differential equations (ODE) are increasingly used to model viral infections such as HIV. This kind of model is based on biological knowledge and takes into account complex non-linear interactions between markers. The estimation of such models is made difficult by the lack of analytical solutions and several methods based on Bayesian or frequentist approaches have been proposed. However, because of identifiability issues, in a frequentist approach some parameters have to be fixed to values taken from the literature. In this paper we propose a Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) approach to estimate all the parameters of ODE models, allowing prior knowledge on biological parameters to be taken into account. The MAP approach has two main advantages: the computation time can be fast (relative to the full Bayesian approach) and it is straightforward to incorporate complex prior information. We applied this method to an original model of primary HIV infection taking into account several biological hypotheses for the HIV-immune system interaction. Parameters were estimated using HIV RNA load and CD4 count measurements of 710 patients from the Concerted Action on SeroConversion to AIDS and Death in Europe (CASCADE) Collaboration.
The Normative Implications of Political Decision-Making for Benefit-Cost Analysis
Authors: Krutilla Kerry , Alexeev Alexander
Published: May 2012

The Potential Pareto criterion, or Kaldor-Hicks standard, presumes that costs are not fully compensated. Yet, uncompensated costs can incentivize costly political activity and create uncertainty about political outcomes. These consequences are not reckoned in the standard benefit-cost analysis. This study models political costs and uncertainty as a function of project parameters and political-institutional characteristics. The economic consequences of political behavior are then incorporated into an adjusted project evaluation standard. This standard assures that the project’s conventionally measured net benefits are sufficient to cover political costs and uncertainty about the decision-making outcome.
Blood biochemical markers of bone turnover: pre-analytical and technical aspects of sample collection and handling
Authors: Lombardi Giovanni , Lanteri Patrizia , Colombini Alessandra , Banfi Giuseppe
Published: May 2012

Casual or systematic errors occurring in pre-analytical, analytical or post-analytical phases influence laboratory test results. The areas where pre-analytical phase errors most often arise are: timing of specimen collection; selection of specimen type; and time and temperature of storage/transport. Bone turnover markers are clinically useful in evaluating bone metabolism. Although unquestionably valuable tools, little is known about the pre-analytical precautions for their correct use and there is no consensus on kind of sample, or storage time and temperature before analysis. Moreover, biological variability, because of uncontrollable and controllable factors, will affect pre-analytical variability. Serum should be preferred to simplify blood drawing; therefore, only one tube should be used for the analysis of all bone markers. Short-term storage at 4°C may be advisable to preserve stability, immediate storage at –70°C is recommended for longer periods, while avoiding repeated freeze-thawing cycles. Sampling should be performed in the morning in fasting subjects who have abstained from physical exercise for 24 h. This review aimed to give a knowledge update on pre-analytical phase precautions in performing bone turnover marker measurement.
Population-based pediatric reference intervals for general clinical chemistry analytes on the Abbott Architect ci8200 instrument
Authors: Ridefelt Peter , Aldrimer Mattias , Rödöö Per-Olof , Niklasson Frank , Jansson Leif , Gustafsson Jan , Hellberg Dan
Published: May 2012

Reference intervals are crucial decision-making tools aiding clinicians in differentiating between healthy and diseased populations. However, for children such values often are lacking or incomplete.

Blood samples were obtained from 692 healthy children, aged 6 months to 18 years, recruited in daycare centers and schools. Twelve common general clinical chemistry analytes were measured on the Abbott Architect ci8200 platform; sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, albumin-adjusted calcium, phosphate, magnesium, creatinine (Jaffe and enzymatic), cystatin C, urea and uric acid.

Age- and gender specific pediatric reference intervals were defined by calculating the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles.

The data generated is primarily applicable to a Caucasian population when using the Abbott Architect platform, but could be used by any laboratory if validated for the local patient population.