bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aufbruch in ein neues Kapitel bei der Angleichung der Lebensbedingungen in Europa
Authors: Hoyer Werner , Berndt Markus
Published: April 2016

All in all, EU Cohesion policy has been a success. It has facilitated growth and jobs in less developed areas, contributing to their prosperity. However, convergence has slowed down significantly during the crisis. This puts even more pressure on safeguarding that cohesion policy generates optimal results to ensure lasting economic and social cohesion. Room for improvement has been identified. The delivery mechanisms can be improved; its territorial dimension strengthened; and its focus more firmly directed at supporting a resource-efficient economy, research, development and innovation.

Even more important, the economic crisis in the EU has underscored the need for creating pan-European institutions, like the banking union, to complete the integration of financial markets. The recent substantial reforms of the EU’s economic architecture are aimed at creating an unprecedented level of integration that will allow private capital to flow more easily and more responsibly to the most productive and growth-enhancing investments in convergence regions. The unleashing of these market forces, combined with a reformed cohesion policy to efficiently address market failures where they exist, carries the potential to initiate a new success story in the convergence of living conditions in the EU.

The EIB is committed to play an important role in this effort. It has already integrated the new smart and sustainable orientations of the Structural Funds and will strive to facilitate better alignment between its sector and regional objectives. Expanding and deepening the nature and scope of financial and non-financial instruments developed jointly with the European Commission will further improve the leverage effect of EU funding and help attract private investors.
Demografie und Wachstum: Die gesamtwirtschaftlichen Effekte einer höheren Erwerbstätigkeit Älterer
Authors: Bachmann Ronald , Braun Sebastian , Friedl Andreas , Giesecke Matthias , Groll Dominik , Kramer Anica , Paloyo Alfredo , Sachs Andreas
Published: April 2016

This paper quantifies the effects of increased employment of elderly persons on the growth potential of the German economy until 2030. Starting from an analysis of the labour market situation of elderly persons today, we construct nine scenarios for the future development of the employment level of the elderly. These scenarios differ in participation rates, unemployment rates, and hours worked of the elderly. For each scenario, we then calculate the corresponding production potential of the German economy and percapita income levels. The difference in per-capita income in 2030 between the scenarios with the highest and lowest employment level is 10 %.
Asymmetrien in der Wohnungspolitik reduzieren
Authors: Just Tobias
Published: April 2016

There are four major challenges for housing policy in the near and midterm future: First, rents in many German conurbations have been rising significantly faster than incomes over the last five years. Though it can rightly be argued, that the suggested policies of the new German federal government are less detrimental than often perceived by real estate professionals, it must be feared that policy makers have underestimated indirect negative effects for both housing and labour markets. Still, what is more important, is that the current discussion on housing policies is focused on the short term putative misallocations, and to a significant lesser extent on the other three structural challenges of the German housing markets, i. e. increasing vacancies in outward-migration areas, severe lack of „low-barrier“- housing for seniors and a need to reduce energy emissions in the property stock. This asymmetry is unintelligible, as markets can comparatively easily deal with the first short-term challenge, provided supply-elasticities are increased. However, the other three challenges are to a large extent due to externalities, and this implies that markets cannot easily correct imbalances. It would therefore be important to rebalance the current policy-mix and debate.
Kommunale Konsolidierungshilfen der Länder – Fass ohne Boden oder alternativlose Maßnahmen zur Standortrettung?
Authors: Andrae Kathrin , Kambeck Rainer
Published: April 2016

Municipality budgets in Germany finished the fiscal year 2013 in total with a surplus of 1.7 bn euro. In addition, the current year their overall budget will conclude with a surplus. However, there are huge differences in the situation of local budgets. Numerous local authorities have serious problems to balance their budget due to structurally overburden expenditures and due to outstanding large dept levels, especially in terms of “Cash Credits”. The Länder have started to set up different bail out mechanisms because they are responsible for the financial reliability of their local authorities.

Generally spoken, there are good reasons for such bail out programs. However, they should be organized in such a way, that the tax wedge on trade (Gewerbesteuer) and property (Grundsteuer) does not increase continuously. But also there is already data indicating such as development. A rising tax burden, however, weakens the position of our companies in global competition. Therefore, the programs have to be evaluated on a scientific basis. In some cases, they have to be adapted. Budget authorities should focus more on cutting expenses because it usually is the best way to ease the budgetary situation sustainably. At the same time, it helps to avoid rising multipliers in impersonal taxes.
Reputation, Drohungen und Vergeltung: Wiederholte Spiele als Bezugsrahmen für die Analyse von Markteintritten
Authors: Kohn Karsten
Published: April 2016

Despite descriptive empirical evidence on start-up numbers and survival rates of young firms, the interaction of market entry decisions and reactions of incumbent competitors is still insufficiently understood in the entrepreneurship literature. Repeated games offer a suitable theoretical framework. This paper provides a review of the literature on repeated games with focus on market entry and its deterrence. It introduces a consistent analytical framework and summarizes central results on equilibrium outcomes of repeated interaction by means of folk theorems. Variants of Selten’s (1978) chain store paradox illustrate the roles of threats and reputation, cooperation, and retaliation. Dovetailing the theory of repeated games and empirical evidence remains a challenge for future research.
Steigende Inanspruchnahme von Hilfe zur Pflege – Reformbedarf für die Pflegeversicherung?
Authors: Kochskämper Susanna
Published: April 2016

Since the late 1990s, the number of people who are dependent upon welfare due to the need for long-term care is increasing continuously. This development is not only alarming because receiving social assistance is emotionally difficult for every single person who is in need. It also means an increasing challenge for the local authorities which are responsible for financing this social welfare scheme. However, neither enhancing the statutory long-term care insurance system nor subsidizing supplementary private long-term care insurance will resolve this problem satisfactorily. It is necessary to find different political solutions.
Führt Google Shopping zu einer neuen Art von Wettbewerbsproblem?
Authors: Blanckenburg Korbinian von
Published: April 2016

This paper is concerned with the question of how to deal with Google Shopping’s position on online markets in order to prevent harm to public welfare. From the perspective of sellers and buyers of goods and services in Germany, Google can be seen as a gatekeeper to the Internet and thus as an essential facility. It is shown that Google Shopping represents a typical club good. Therefore, welfare-optimal rules must be adhered. In this context, it should be noted that in the current Google Shopping search results, artificial rivalry is created among the sellers to get the maximum willingness to pay for a top listing. The proposed solution in this paper provides a summary score list of all sellers of a particular product for which a quantitative independent contribution should be required instead of a fee.
Adam Smith und die Bankenregulierung Ein Widerspruch zu einer sonst liberalen Wirtschaftspolitik?
Authors: Kremser Christian E. W.
Published: April 2016

Proponents of liberal economic policies in the financial market often refer to the moral and economic authority of Adam Smith, the founder of economics as a science, to add weight to their recommendations. They think, they can do so, because Adam Smith is in these circles considered a prominent representative of an economically unbridled laissez-faire liberalism. The fact that Adam Smith also advocated several measures of economic policies for the regulation of banking, like a limit for interest rates of 5 %, the prohibition of paper money under a nominal value of £ 5 and the use of option clauses on banknotes, is little known to the recipients. For this reason, this paper wants to give an answer to the question, whether Adam Smith’s advocacy of banking regulation is a contradiction to his otherwise liberal economic policy or not.
Werte und Institutionen im Wettbewerb. Wirtschaftspolitik, Moral und Verantwortung unter den Bedingungen des gesellschaftlichen Wandels
Authors: Hecker Christian
Published: April 2016

This paper deals with changes in economic behaviour. It demonstrates how economic decision-making is formed by values and institutions, which provide a framework of economic processes. Changes in this framework appear as a result of human creativity and can be influenced by several kinds of policy measures (economic policy, educational policy, social policy). In a liberal society, such measures should aim at providing opportunities to participate in economic and social life for all citizens and at strengthening the link between liberty and responsibility.
Reform des EU-Emissionshandels: Eine Alternative zu Mindestpreisen für Zertifikate und der Marktstabilitätsreserve
Authors: Andor Mark A. , Frondel Manuel , Sommer Stephan
Published: April 2016

In Europe’s Emission Trading System (ETS), prices for emission permits have remained low for many years now. This fact gave rise to controversies on whether there is a need for fundamentally reforming the ETS. Potential reform proposals include the introduction of a minimum price for certificates and a market stability reserve (MSR). This is a rule-based mechanism to steering the volume of permits in the market. While preparing the introduction of this instrument, the European Commission hopes to be able to increase and stabilize certificate prices in the medium- and long-term. In this article, we recommend retaining the ETS as it is, rather than supplementing it by introducing a minimum price floor or a market stability reserve. Instead, mistakes from the past should be corrected by a single intervention: the final elimination of those 900 million permits that were taken out of the market in 2014, but would again emerge in the market in 2019 and 2020 (backloading).
Der OECD-Aktionsplan gegen die Steuervermeidung multinationaler Unternehmen – eine ordnungsökonomische Analyse der Maßnahmen und Reformoptionen
Authors: Melle Marco C.
Published: April 2016

On July, 19th, 2013 the OECD published an „Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting“, a catalogue of 15 actions against the tax avoidance strategies of multinational companies. The intention of the present paper is to investigate and evaluate if such a coordination of the national policies is necessary from a constitutional economics perspective. The thesis is that the planned actions against the tax avoidance strategies of multinational companies can strengthen the relation of the national corporation tax revenues to the use of public goods. However, the question arises if for interest and royalty payments an international coordinated withholding taxation would not be preferable and if the European Union additionally should not agree on a common assessment base for corporate taxation.
Die Berücksichtigung von Kindern in den Sozialversicherungen: Reformvorschläge auf dem Prüfstand
Authors: Kochskämper Susanna
Published: April 2016

How to treat families within the German pay-as-you-go financed social insurance systems - this question is repeatedly discussed. A closer look on the statutory pension scheme as well as the statutory health insurance and the care insurance scheme reveals indeed, that people without children are treated to generously within these systems. This will place an additional burden on future generations. Therefore, reforms are necessary. In the statutory pension scheme benefits can be related to the number of children a person raised. In the statutory health and in the statutory care insurance scheme a second, capital funded pillar can be introduced.
Zuwanderung als Chance nutzen
Authors: Wursthorn Jürgen
Published: April 2016

How to integrate asyl-seekers and refugees in labour market? In this article we are talking about strategies of the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) to take advantage of the current immigration. Therefore, we present several examples of best practices and concrete steps, which supports refugees to get a job or a qualification. These examples are either solutions on a federal level or the result of local networking between our jobcenters and other important stakeholders.

Furthermore, we want to provide transparency about all questions to refugees and labour market. We want to give informations to employers how to hire asyl-seekers and refugees and about the opportunities to get a financial benefit for employing these refugees. Finally, we want to show how the German labour market could benefit in general from the current immigration.
Derivatives of the triaminoguanidinium ion, 4. O-Sulfonylation ofN,N′,N″-tris(hydroxybenzylidenamino)guanidinium ions
Authors: Szabo Jan , Maas Gerhard
Published: April 2016

All hydroxy groups of theN,N′,N″-tris(4-hydroxybenzylidenamino)guanidinium andN,N′,N″-tris(2,4-dihydroxybenzylidenamino)guanidinium ions could be sulfonylated in good yields to obtain three-fold or six-fold substituted and functionalized derivatives. The 2,4-dihydroxyphenyl containing precursors have been used to construct branched three-armed guanidinium derivatives bearing six dansyl or anthraquinone moieties.
Evaluating the Anthropocene: is there something useful about a geological epoch of humans?
Authors: Braje Todd J.
Published: April 2016

The concept of the Anthropocene has become increasingly prominent in recent years, but is it best defined as a geological period or as part of a longer-term pattern of human actions? And when did it begin? Todd Braje launches this Debate feature by arguing for a shift away from definitions and toward an emphasis on the human causes and consequences. This piece is followed by a series of reactions from geologists and anthropologists, with a concluding reply from the author.
A mid-twentieth-century Anthropocene makes the Holocene more important than ever
Authors: Braje Todd J.
Published: April 2016

I thank all the authors for their thoughtful responses to my paper. I believe they effectively highlight some of the diverse opinions about the concept of the Anthropocene and underscore the challenges faced by the ICS subcommission.
Replication for Chauvet Cave
Authors: James N.
Published: April 2016

As radiocarbon dates were announced, the wall paintings and engravings in Chauvet Cave, France, were hailed as fine art far earlier than any recognised before: here was the ‘Dawn of art’ (Figure 1; Chauvet et al. 1996). Soon after discovery, in 1994, the cave was closed to protect the images from chemical and microbial damage. In 2014, it was added to the World Heritage List. Then, in April 2015, replicas of the most striking imagery were opened at a purpose-built site, the Caverne du Pont d'Arc.
Extracellular Molecular Markers and Soma Size of Inhibitory Neurons: Evidence for Four Subtypes of GABAergic Cells in the Inferior Colliculus
Authors: Beebe Nichole L. , Young Jesse W. , Mellott Jeffrey G. , Schofield Brett R.
Published: April 2016

Inhibition plays an important role in shaping responses to stimuli throughout the CNS, including in the inferior colliculus (IC), a major hub in both ascending and descending auditory pathways. Subdividing GABAergic cells has furthered the understanding of inhibition in many brain areas, most notably in the cerebral cortex. Here, we seek the same understanding of subcortical inhibitory cell types by combining staining for two types of extracellular markers—perineuronal nets (PNs) and perisomatic rings of terminals expressing vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) —to subdivide IC GABAergic cells in adult guinea pigs. We found four distinct groups of GABAergic cells in the IC: (1) those with both a PN and a VGLUT2 ring; (2) those with only a PN; (3) those with only a VGLUT2 ring; and (4) those with neither marker. In addition, these four GABAergic subtypes differ in their soma size and distribution among IC subdivisions. Functionally, the presence or absence of VGLUT2 rings indicates differences in inputs, whereas the presence or absence of PNs indicates different potential for plasticity and temporal processing. We conclude that these markers distinguish four GABAergic subtypes that almost certainly serve different roles in the processing of auditory stimuli within the IC.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTGABAergic inhibition plays a critical role throughout the brain. Identification of subclasses of GABAergic cells (up to 15 in the cerebral cortex) has furthered the understanding of GABAergic roles in circuit modulation. Inhibition is also prominent in the inferior colliculus, a subcortical hub in auditory pathways. Here, we use two extracellular markers to identify four distinct groups of GABAergic cells. Perineuronal nets and perisomatic rings of glutamatergic boutons are present in many subcortical areas and often are associated with inhibitory cells, but they have rarely been used to identify inhibitory subtypes. Our results further the understanding of inhibition in the inferior colliculus and suggest that these extracellular molecular markers may provide a key to distinguishing inhibitory subtypes in many subcortical areas.
Dopaminergic Neurons Exhibit an Age-Dependent Decline in Electrophysiological Parameters in the MitoPark Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Branch Sarah Y. , Chen Cang , Sharma Ramaswamy , Lechleiter James D. , Li Senlin , Beckstead Michael J.
Published: April 2016

Dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) play a vital role in everyday tasks, such as reward-related behavior and voluntary movement, and excessive loss of these neurons is a primary hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been implicated in PD and many animal models induce parkinsonian features by disrupting mitochondrial function. MitoPark mice are a recently developed genetic model of PD that lacks the gene for mitochondrial transcription factor A specifically in dopaminergic neurons. This model mimics many distinct characteristics of PD including progressive and selective loss of SN dopamine neurons, motor deficits that are improved byl-DOPA, and development of inclusion bodies. Here, we used brain slice electrophysiology to construct a timeline of functional decline in SN dopaminergic neurons from MitoPark mice. Dopaminergic neurons from MitoPark mice exhibited decreased cell capacitance and increased input resistance that became more severe with age. Pacemaker firing regularity was disrupted in MitoPark mice and ion channel conductances associated with firing were decreased. Additionally, dopaminergic neurons from MitoPark mice showed a progressive decrease of endogenous dopamine levels, decreased dopamine release, and smaller D2 dopamine receptor-mediated outward currents. Interestingly, expression of ion channel subunits associated with impulse activity (Cav1.2, Cav1.3, HCN1, Nav1.2, and NavB3) was upregulated in older MitoPark mice. The results describe alterations in intrinsic and synaptic properties of dopaminergic neurons in MitoPark mice occurring at ages both before and concurrent with motor impairment. These findings may help inform future investigations into treatment targets for prodromal PD.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTParkinson's disease (PD) is the second most diagnosed neurodegenerative disorder, and the classic motor symptoms of the disease are attributed to selective loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. The MitoPark mouse is a genetic model of PD that mimics many of the key characteristics of the disease and enables the study of progressive neurodegeneration in parkinsonism. Here we have identified functional deficits in the ion channel physiology of dopaminergic neurons from MitoPark mice that both precede and are concurrent with the time course of behavioral symptomatology. Because PD is a progressive disease with a long asymptomatic phase, identification of early functional adaptations could lay the groundwork to test therapeutic interventions that halt or reverse disease progression.
Dynamics of the Human Structural Connectome Underlying Working Memory Training
Authors: Caeyenberghs Karen , Metzler-Baddeley Claudia , Foley Sonya , Jones Derek K.
Published: April 2016

Brain region-specific changes have been demonstrated with a variety of cognitive training interventions. The effect of cognitive training on brain subnetworks in humans, however, remains largely unknown, with studies limited to functional networks. Here, we used a well-established working memory training program and state-of-the art neuroimaging methods in 40 healthy adults (21 females, mean age 26.5 years). Near and far-transfer training effects were assessed using computerized working memory and executive function tasks. Adaptive working memory training led to improvement on (non)trained working memory tasks and generalization to tasks of reasoning and inhibition. Graph theoretical analysis of the structural (white matter) network connectivity (“connectome”) revealed increased global integration within a frontoparietal attention network following adaptive working memory training compared with the nonadaptive group. Furthermore, the impact on the outcome of graph theoretical analyses of different white matter metrics to infer “connection strength” was evaluated. Increased efficiency of the frontoparietal network was best captured when using connection strengths derived from MR metrics that are thought to be more sensitive to differences in myelination (putatively indexed by the [quantitative] longitudinal relaxation rate, R1) than previously used diffusion MRI metrics (fractional anisotropy or fiber-tracking recovered streamlines). Our findings emphasize the critical role of specific microstructural markers in providing important hints toward the mechanisms underpinning training-induced plasticity that may drive working memory improvement in clinical populations.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThis is the first study to explore training-induced changes in the structural connectome using a well-controlled design to examine cognitive training with up-to-date neuroimaging methods. We found changes in global integration based on white matter connectivity within a frontoparietal attention network following adaptive working memory training compared with a nonadaptive comparison group. Furthermore, the impact of different diffusion MR metrics and more specific markers of white matter on the graph theoretical findings was evaluated. An increase in network global efficiency following working memory training was best captured when connection strengths were weighted by MR relaxation rates (influenced by myelination). These results are important for the optimization of cognitive training programs for healthy individuals and people with brain disease.
Inferring Cortical Variability from Local Field Potentials
Authors: Cui Yuwei , Liu Liu D. , McFarland James M. , Pack Christopher C. , Butts Daniel A.
Published: April 2016

The responses of sensory neurons can be quite different to repeated presentations of the same stimulus. Here, we demonstrate a direct link between the trial-to-trial variability of cortical neuron responses and network activity that is reflected in local field potentials (LFPs). Spikes and LFPs were recorded with a multielectrode array from the middle temporal (MT) area of the visual cortex of macaques during the presentation of continuous optic flow stimuli. A maximum likelihood-based modeling framework was used to predict single-neuron spiking responses using the stimulus, the LFPs, and the activity of other recorded neurons. MT neuron responses were strongly linked to gamma oscillations (maximum at 40 Hz) as well as to lower-frequency delta oscillations (1–4 Hz), with consistent phase preferences across neurons. The predicted modulation associated with the LFP was largely complementary to that driven by visual stimulation, as well as the activity of other neurons, and accounted for nearly half of the trial-to-trial variability in the spiking responses. Moreover, the LFP model predictions accurately captured the temporal structure of noise correlations between pairs of simultaneously recorded neurons, and explained the variation in correlation magnitudes observed across the population. These results therefore identify signatures of network activity related to the variability of cortical neuron responses, and suggest their central role in sensory cortical function.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe function of sensory neurons is nearly always cast in terms of representing sensory stimuli. However, recordings from visual cortex in awake animals show that a large fraction of neural activity is not predictable from the stimulus. We show that this variability is predictable given the simultaneously recorded measures of network activity, local field potentials. A model that combines elements of these signals with the stimulus processing of the neuron can predict neural responses dramatically better than current models, and can predict the structure of correlations across the cortical population. In identifying ways to understand stimulus processing in the context of ongoing network activity, this work thus provides a foundation to understand the role of sensory cortex in combining sensory and cognitive variables.
Brain Signal Variability Differentially Affects Cognitive Flexibility and Cognitive Stability
Authors: Armbruster-Genç Diana J. N. , Ueltzhöffer Kai , Fiebach Christian J.
Published: April 2016

Recent research yielded the intriguing conclusion that, in healthy adults, higher levels of variability in neuronal processes are beneficial for cognitive functioning. Beneficial effects of variability in neuronal processing can also be inferred from neurocomputational theories of working memory, albeit this holds only for tasks requiring cognitive flexibility. However, cognitive stability, i.e., the ability to maintain a task goal in the face of irrelevant distractors, should suffer under high levels of brain signal variability. To directly test this prediction, we studied both behavioral and brain signal variability during cognitive flexibility (i.e., task switching) and cognitive stability (i.e., distractor inhibition) in a sample of healthy human subjects and developed an efficient and easy-to-implement analysis approach to assess BOLD-signal variability in event-related fMRI task paradigms. Results show a general positive effect of neural variability on task performance as assessed by accuracy measures. However, higher levels of BOLD-signal variability in the left inferior frontal junction area result in reduced error rate costs during task switching and thus facilitate cognitive flexibility. In contrast, variability in the same area has a detrimental effect on cognitive stability, as shown in a negative effect of variability on response time costs during distractor inhibition. This pattern was mirrored at the behavioral level, with higher behavioral variability predicting better task switching but worse distractor inhibition performance. Our data extend previous results on brain signal variability by showing a differential effect of brain signal variability that depends on task context, in line with predictions from computational theories.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTRecent neuroscientific research showed that the human brain signal is intrinsically variable and suggested that this variability improves performance. Computational models of prefrontal neural networks predict differential effects of variability for different behavioral situations requiring either cognitive flexibility or stability. However, this hypothesis has so far not been put to an empirical test. In this study, we assessed cognitive flexibility and cognitive stability, and, besides a generally positive effect of neural variability on accuracy measures, we show that neural variability in a prefrontal brain area at the inferior frontal junction is differentially associated with performance: higher levels of variability are beneficial for the effectiveness of task switching (cognitive flexibility) but detrimental for the efficiency of distractor inhibition (cognitive stability).
BAZ1B in Nucleus Accumbens Regulates Reward-Related Behaviors in Response to Distinct Emotional Stimuli
Authors: Sun HaoSheng , Martin Jennifer A. , Werner Craig T. , Wang Zi-Jun , Damez-Werno Diane M. , Scobie Kimberly N. , Shao Ning-Yi , Dias Caroline , Rabkin Jacqui , Koo Ja Wook , Gancarz Amy M. , Mouzon Ezekiell A. , Neve Rachael L. , Shen Li , Dietz David M. , Nestler Eric J.
Published: April 2016

ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling proteins are being implicated increasingly in the regulation of complex behaviors, including models of several psychiatric disorders. Here, we demonstrate thatBaz1b, an accessory subunit of the ISWI family of chromatin remodeling complexes, is upregulated in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain reward region, in both chronic cocaine-treated mice and mice that are resilient to chronic social defeat stress. In contrast, no regulation is seen in mice that are susceptible to this chronic stress. Viral-mediated overexpression ofBaz1b, along with its associated subunitSmarca5, in mouse NAc is sufficient to potentiate both rewarding responses to cocaine, including cocaine self-administration, and resilience to chronic social defeat stress. However, despite these similar, proreward behavioral effects, genome-wide mapping of BAZ1B in NAc revealed mostly distinct subsets of genes regulated by these chromatin remodeling proteins after chronic exposure to either cocaine or social stress. Together, these findings suggest important roles for BAZ1B and its associated chromatin remodeling complexes in NAc in the regulation of reward behaviors to distinct emotional stimuli and highlight the stimulus-specific nature of the actions of these regulatory proteins.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTWe show that BAZ1B, a component of chromatin remodeling complexes, in the nucleus accumbens regulates reward-related behaviors in response to chronic exposure to both rewarding and aversive stimuli by regulating largely distinct subsets of genes.
Monkey Prefrontal Neurons Reflect Logical Operations for Cognitive Control in a Variant of the AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT)
Authors: Blackman Rachael K. , Crowe David A. , DeNicola Adele L. , Sakellaridi Sofia , MacDonald Angus W. , Chafee Matthew V.
Published: April 2016

Cognitive control is the ability to modify the behavioral response to a stimulus based on internal representations of goals or rules. We sought to characterize neural mechanisms in prefrontal cortex associated with cognitive control in a context that would maximize the potential for future translational relevance to human neuropsychiatric disease. To that end, we trained monkeys to perform a dot-pattern variant of the AX continuous performance task that is used to measure cognitive control impairment in patients with schizophrenia (MacDonald, 2008; Jones et al., 2010). Here we describe how information processing for cognitive control in this task is related to neural activity patterns in prefrontal cortex of monkeys, to advance our understanding of how behavioral flexibility is implemented by prefrontal neurons in general, and to model neural signals in the healthy brain that may be disrupted to produce cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia. We found that the neural representation of stimuli in prefrontal cortex is strongly biased toward stimuli that inhibit prepotent or automatic responses. We also found that population signals encoding different stimuli were modulated to overlap in time specifically in the case that information from multiple stimuli had to be integrated to select a conditional response. Finally, population signals relating to the motor response were biased toward less frequent and therefore less automatic actions. These data relate neuronal activity patterns in prefrontal cortex to logical information processing operations required for cognitive control, and they characterize neural events that may be disrupted in schizophrenia.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTFunctional imaging studies have demonstrated that cognitive control deficits in schizophrenia are associated with reduced activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (MacDonald et al., 2005). However, these data do not reveal how the disease has disrupted the function of prefrontal neurons to produce the observed deficits in cognitive control. Relating cognitive control to neurophysiological signals at a cellular level in prefrontal cortex is a necessary first step toward understanding how disruption of these signals could lead to cognitive control failure in neuropsychiatric disease. To that end, we translated a task that measures cognitive control deficits in patients with schizophrenia to monkeys and describe here how neural signals in prefrontal cortex relate to performance.
Compensatory Neural Activity in Response to Cognitive Fatigue
Authors: Wang Chao , Trongnetrpunya Amy , Samuel Immanuel Babu Henry , Ding Mingzhou , Kluger Benzi M.
Published: April 2016

Prolonged continuous performance of a cognitively demanding task induces cognitive fatigue and is associated with a time-related deterioration of objective performance, the degree of which is referred to cognitive fatigability. Although the neural underpinnings of cognitive fatigue are poorly understood, prior studies report changes in neural activity consistent with deterioration of task-related networks over time. While compensatory brain activity is reported to maintain motor task performance in the face of motor fatigue and cognitive performance in the face of other stressors (e.g., aging) and structural changes, there are no studies to date demonstrating compensatory activity for cognitive fatigue. High-density electroencephalography was recorded from human subjects during a 160 min continuous performance of a cognitive control task. While most time-varying neural activity showed a linear decline over time, we identified an evoked potential over the anterior frontal region which demonstrated an inverted U-shaped time-on-task profile. This evoked brain activity peaked between 60 and 100 min into the task and was positively associated with better behavioral performance only during this interval. Following the peak and during subsequent decline of this anterior frontal activity, the rate of performance decline also accelerated. These findings demonstrate that this anterior frontal brain activity, which is not part of the primary task-related activity at baseline, is recruited to compensate for fatigue-induced impairments in the primary task-related network, and that this compensation terminates as cognitive fatigue further progresses. These findings may be relevant to understanding individual differences in cognitive fatigability and developing interventions for clinical conditions afflicted by fatigue.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTFatigue refers to changes in objective performance and subjective effort induced by continuous task performance. We examined the neural underpinnings of cognitive fatigue in humans using a prolonged continuous performance task and high-density electroencephalography with the goal of determining whether compensatory processes exist to maintain performance in the face of fatigue. We identified brain activity demonstrating an inverted U-shaped time-on-task profile. This brain activity showed features consistent with a compensatory role including: peaking between 60 and 100 min into the task, a positive association with behavioral performance only during this interval, and accelerated performance decline following its peak. These findings may be relevant to understanding individual differences in cognitive fatigue and developing interventions for clinical conditions afflicted by fatigue.
Brain-Wide Maps of Synaptic Input to Cortical Interneurons
Authors: Wall Nicholas R. , De La Parra Mauricio , Sorokin Jordan M. , Taniguchi Hiroki , Huang Z. Josh , Callaway Edward M.
Published: April 2016

Cortical inhibition is mediated by diverse inhibitory neuron types that can each play distinct roles in information processing by virtue of differences in their input sources, intrinsic properties, and innervation targets. Previous studies in brain slices have demonstrated considerable cell-type specificity in laminar sources of local inputs. In contrast, little is known about possible differences in distant inputs to different cortical interneuron types. We used the monosynaptic rabies virus system, in conjunction with mice expressing Cre recombinase in either parvalbumin-positive, somatostatin-positive (SST+), or vasoactive intestinal peptide-positive (VIP+) neurons, to map the brain-wide input to the three major nonoverlapping classes of interneurons in mouse somatosensory cortex. We discovered that all three classes of interneurons received considerable input from known cortical and thalamic input sources, as well as from probable cholinergic cells in the basal nucleus of Meynert. Despite their common input sources, these classes differed in the proportion of long-distance cortical inputs originating from deep versus superficial layers. Similar to their laminar differences in local input, VIP+ neurons received inputs predominantly from deep layers while SST+ neurons received mostly superficial inputs. These classes also differed in the amount of input they received. Cortical and thalamic inputs were greatest onto VIP+ interneurons and smallest onto SST+ neurons.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThese results indicate that all three major interneuron classes in the barrel cortex integrate both feedforward and feedback information from throughout the brain to modulate the activity of the local cortical circuit. However, differences in laminar sources and magnitude of distant cortical input suggest differential contributions from cortical areas. More input to vasoactive intestinal peptide-positive (VIP+) neurons than to somatostatin-positive (SST+) neurons suggests that disinhibition of the cortex via VIP+ cells, which inhibit SST+ cells, might be a general feature of long-distance corticocortical and thalamocortical circuits.
Promotion of Functional Nerve Regeneration by Inhibition of Microtubule Detyrosination
Authors: Gobrecht Philipp , Andreadaki Anastasia , Diekmann Heike , Heskamp Annemarie , Leibinger Marco , Fischer Dietmar
Published: April 2016

Functional recovery of injured peripheral neurons often remains incomplete, but the clinical outcome can be improved by increasing the axonal growth rate. Adult transgenic GSK3αS/A/βS/Aknock-in mice with sustained GSK3 activity show markedly accelerated sciatic nerve regeneration. Here, we unraveled the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon, which led to a novel pharmacological approach for the promotion of functional recovery after nerve injury.In vitroandin vivoanalysis of GSK3 single knock-in mice revealed the unexpected contribution of GSK3α in addition to GSK3β, as both GSK3S/Aknock-ins improved axon regeneration. Moreover, growth stimulation depended on overall GSK3 activity, correlating with increased phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein 1B and reduced microtubule detyrosination in axonal tips. Pharmacological inhibition of detyrosination by parthenolide or cnicin mimicked this axon growth promotion in wild-type animals, although it had no effect in GSK3αS/A/βS/Amice. These results support the conclusion that sustained GSK3 activity primarily targets microtubules in growing axons, maintaining them in a more dynamic state to facilitate growth. Accordingly, further manipulation of microtubule stability using either paclitaxel or nocodazole compromised the effects of parthenolide. Strikingly, either local or systemic application of parthenolide in wild-type mice dose-dependently acceleratedin vivoaxon regeneration and functional recovery similar to GSK3αS/A/βS/Amice. Thus, reducing microtubule detyrosination in axonal tips may be a novel, clinically suitable strategy to treat nerve damage.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTPeripheral nerve regeneration often remains incomplete, due to an insufficient growth rate of injured axons. Transgenic mice with sustained GSK3 activity showed markedly accelerated nerve regeneration upon injury. Here, we identified the molecular mechanism underlying this phenomenon and provide a novel therapeutic principle for promoting nerve repair. Analysis of transgenic mice revealed a dependence on overall GSK3 activity and reduction of microtubule detyrosination in axonal tips. Pharmacological inhibition of detyrosination by parthenolide fully mimicked this axon growth promotion in wild-type mice. Strikingly, local or systemic treatment with parthenolidein vivomarkedly accelerated axon regeneration and functional recovery. Thus, pharmacological inhibition of microtubule detyrosination may be a novel, clinically suitable strategy for nerve repair with potential relevance for human patients.
Estrogens maintain skeletal muscle and satellite cell functions
Authors: Kitajima Yuriko , Ono Yusuke
Published: April 2016

Estrogens have crucial roles in an extensive range of physiological functions regulating cellular proliferation and differentiation, development, homeostasis, and metabolism. Therefore, prolonged estrogen insufficiency influences various types of tissues expressing estrogen receptors (ERs). Although ERs are expressed in skeletal muscle and its stem cells, called satellite cells, how prolonged estrogen insufficiency affects their function remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of estrogen reduction on muscle in young ovariectomized (OVX) female mice. We found that reduced estrogens resulted in muscle atrophy in a time-dependent manner. Muscle force generation was reduced in OVX mice. Interestingly, prolonged estrogen insufficiency shifted fiber types toward faster myosin heavy chain isoforms. The number of satellite cells per isolated myofiber was unchanged, while satellite cell expansion, differentiation, and self-renewal were all markedly impaired in OVX mice. Indeed, muscle regeneration was significantly compromised in OVX mice. Taken together, our results demonstrate that estrogens are essential for comprehensively maintaining muscle function with its insufficiency affecting muscle strength and regeneration in young female mice.
Food studies scholars can no longer ignore the rise of big data
Authors: Bronson Kelly , Knezevic Irena
Published: April 2016

Our essay invites food scholars to consider how the recent technological developments are making ‘big data’ increasingly relevant to our field. We offer an overview of the how big data and related crowdsourcing of information are penetrating the production and marketing of food, and reflect on what are potentially key ethical and epistemological questions that link big data with issues of sustainability and social justice in food systems. Our aim is to initiate a more deliberate dialogue between data scholars and food scholars to more comprehensively assess contemporary agri-food environments.
Constituting community through food charters: A rhetorical-genre analysis
Authors: Spoel Philippa , Derkatch Colleen
Published: April 2016

Communities across Canada are increasingly developing food charters, with at least 22 regional charters published in Ontario alone. As a rhetorical genre, food charters are persuasive actions that articulate not only the kind of food system to which a community aspires, but also the kind of community that it aspires to be. We argue that Ontario’s food charters play an important role in constituting a sense of community identity and values through the rhetorical action of the genre itself. We analyze how this is accomplished through two rhetorical features, the naming of community and the listing of community priorities, showing how these features simultaneously obscure and reveal ideological tensions and logical incongruities within each community’s vision for its food system. Our analysis illustrates how the genre of the food charter both responds to and shapes the diverse, possibly conflicting values that inform food policy and food security initiatives in Ontario, and it offers insight into how the genre itself may inadvertently constrain the action it is intended to perform.
Is it hot in here, or is it just me? On being an emotional academic
Authors: Szanto David Andrew
Published: April 2016

In writing this, I feel as if I am somehow coming out as an “emotional academic.” As if it were a thing I have been trying to keep hidden (not very successfully, probably) over the years. Yet I also suspect this label is one with which many of us might self-identify. Moreover, I believe that we need to own our emotionality when it comes to food scholarship, and to find ways to incorporate it actively into our work. Certainly, food is an emotional, personal, and intersubjective topic, and so perhaps these qualities should be woven into the theoretical foundations and methodological practices of the field.
Challenges to acquiring and utilizing food literacy: Perceptions of young Canadian adults
Authors: Colatruglio Sarah , Slater Joyce
Published: April 2016

The purpose of this qualitative, grounded theory study was to explore the concept of food literacy from the perspective of young Canadian adults who recently transitioned to independent living. Seventeen individual, in-depth interviews were conducted with Canadian university students who recently transitioned to independent living. Results suggest that young adults face significant challenges with regard to healthy eating and acquiring and utilizing food literacy. The main reasons for these challenges were due to a lack of food and nutrition education prior to independent living through home and school environments, time-constraints, and complex food relationships. This study will add to the existing body of literature by exploring the food experiences of young adults and the concept of food literacy from their perceptions, thereby strengthening theoretical foundations and developing practical recommendations moving forward.
The Scapegoat: Impotence and Witchcraft in the Middle Ages
Authors: Carter Jessica
Published: April 2016

This essay investigates the question of how women were used as scapegoats for male impotence during the Witch Craze. It analyzes the two medical treatises Trotula and the Secrets of Woman comparing and contrasting how each text prescribe treatments towards the female sex. The perceptions and ideals conveyed in these medical treatises provide an explanation as to why women were placed in a vulnerable position and targeted for threatening male masculinity.
The Plurinational State in Ecuador
Authors: Dreyer Brittany
Published: April 2016

The Plurinational State in Ecuador was a paper written for HIST 271, Global Indigenous Studies, at the University of Waterloo. This paper presented an opportunity for me to learn about a country and concept that I did not have prior knowledge about, and to try to link the concept of a plurinational state to the wider global context in our modernized world.