bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of mineralocorticoid receptor blockade against neuropathy in experimental diabetic rats
Authors: Takata H. , Takeda Y. , Zhu A. , Cheng Y. , Yoneda T. , Demura M. , Yagi K. , Karashima S. , Yamagishi M. 
Published: September 2011

Aims: Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) blockade is an effective treatment for hypertension and diabetic nephropathy. There are no data on the effects of MR blockade on diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). The aim of this study was to determine whether MRs are present in the peripheral nerves and to investigate the effectiveness of MR blockade on DPN in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic rats.Methods: Expression of MR protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) was examined in the peripheral nerves using Western blot analysis and RT‐PCR. We next studied the effects of the selective MR antagonist eplerenone and the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan on motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity (NCV), morphometric changes and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) gene and NF‐κB protein expression in the peripheral nerves of STZ‐induced diabetic rats.Results: Expression of MR protein and mRNA in peripheral nerves was equal to that in the kidney. Motor NCV was significantly improved by 8 weeks of treatment with either eplerenone (39.1 ± 1.2 m/s) or candesartan (46.4 ± 6.8 m/s) compared with control diabetic rats (33.7 ± 2.0 m/s) (p < 0.05). Sensory NCV was also improved by treatment with candesartan or eplerenone in diabetic rats. Eplerenone and candesartan caused significant improvement in mean myelin fibre area and mean myelin area compared with control diabetic rats (p < 0.05). COX‐2 mRNA and NF‐κB protein were significantly elevated in the peripheral nerves of diabetic rats compared with control rats, and treatment with eplerenone or candesartan reduced these changes in gene expression (p < 0.05).Conclusion: MR blockade may have neuroprotective effects on DPN.
Cotton Subsidies, the WTO, and the ‘Cotton Problem’
Authors: Baffes John 
Published: September 2011

AbstractFollowing an 8‐year‐long dispute over cotton subsidies, Brazil and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 April 2010, effectively paving the way for settling the dispute. This paper argues that cotton subsidies are just the tip of the iceberg while a number of other, perhaps more important, issues require attention and, indeed, political will. Chief among them is the persistent divergence between cotton prices and the prices of other agricultural commodities which reflects, for the most part, the large supply response by China and India, a direct consequence of conversion to biotech cotton varieties in these (and other) countries. Such a response – which kept cotton prices low, compared to other commodities – imposes a competitive disadvantage to nonusers of biotech cotton. The paper also highlights two additional constraints faced by the cotton‐producing countries of West and Central Africa, namely the structural inefficiencies of their primary processing industries (also known as ginning) and the appreciation of the CFAf against the US dollar. Without downplaying the importance of subsidy elimination, this paper concludes that these impediments should receive high priority in the policy agenda.
‘Fort in die Welt!– Nach Konstantinopel!’: Das Orientbild im literarischen Werk E.T.A. Hoffmanns
Authors: Röder Birgit 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTAlthough E.T.A. Hoffmann's works contain a number of fictional encounters between European and Islamic culture, most scholars have ignored this aspect of his writing. This essay analyses three texts – Die Automate (1815), Das Sanctus (1817) and Das steinerne Herz (1817) – and highlights those aspects of Islamic culture that, because of their affinity to Romantic philosophy, appealed to Hoffmann and his contemporaries. In Die Automate Hoffmann offers a literary response to Wolfgang von Kempelen's ‘mechanical Turk’, a phenomenon that fascinated intellectuals all over Europe. The reactions of the two main protagonists show that the attraction of this Other consists precisely in the way it resists categorisation and control – something the allegedly ‘rational’ Europeans find quite unacceptable. In Das Sanctus Hoffmann demonstrates how an encounter between Christian and Muslim cultures also impacts on conceptualisations of gender, and how the attempt to assimilate the (female/Muslim) Other to the dominant culture of Christianity constitutes an act of cultural imperialism. Finally, in Das steinerne Herz we are treated to a series of elaborate performances of oriental culture, the very artificiality of which not only calls such orientalist fictions into question, but also exposes the extent to which they reflect the needs and desires of their (occidental) creators.Obwohl es bei E.T.A. Hoffmann zu einer Reihe von Kontakten zwischen den Kulturen Europas und des Orients kommt, ist dieser Aspekt von der Forschung bisher weitgehend unberücksichtigt geblieben. Im Folgenden werden drei Erzählungen analysiert: Die Automate (1815), Das Sanctus (1817) und Das steinerne Herz (1817). Einführend werden dabei diejenigen islamischen Elemente betont, in denen sich Analogien zur Romantischen Weltauffassung spiegeln und die daher für die Romantik eine besondere Attraktivität ausmachen. Bei der Novelle Die Automate handelt es sich um Hoffmanns fiktionale Antwort auf ein zeitgenössisches Phänomen, welches in ganz Europa Aufsehen erregte: Wolfgang von Kempelens ‘mechanischer Türke’. Die Reaktionen der Protagonisten Ludwig/Ferdinand verdeutlichen, dass der Reiz des Anderen gerade in dessen Verweigerung liegt, es kontrollierbar zu machen, was für den ‘rationalen’ Europäer grundsätzlich unakzeptabel ist. In Das Sanctus werden die Konsequenzen einer interkulturellen Begegnung zwischen christlicher und islamischer Kultur mit Hinblick auf Genderdiskurse entwickelt, wobei der Versuch der dominierenden Kultur, das (die) Andere im Sinne eines westlichen Kulturimperialismus zu homogenisieren, transparent wird. In Das steinerne Herz treten Pseudo‐Orientalen auf, die den Leser aufgrund ihrer ironischen Performativität animieren, klischeehafte Orient‐Konstrukte seitens des Okzidents in Frage zu stellen. Hoffmann gelingt es, in diesen Erzählungen westliche Orientvorstellungen als ein ideologisch motiviertes Postulat zu entlarven.
Translation and the Uses of a Holocaust Testimony: Elie Wiesel's La Nuit in German Translation
Authors: Davies Peter 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTElie Wiesel's La Nuit is one of the iconic Holocaust testimonies, although the text has been most influential in its English translation. Recent work has begun to explore the issues raised by English translation of this text, but the German translation has as yet attracted little commentary. Employing a target‐culture‐focused approach that reads translation as a form of textual commentary, this essay shows how the German translation of La Nuit by Curt‐Mayer‐Clason, which was published in 1962 with a Foreword by Martin Walser, reflects a particular view of the text as literature, rather than memoir or testimony, and aims to make the text usable for the target readership.Obwohl La Nuit von Elie Wiesel als eines der wichtigsten Zeugnisse von Holocaust‐Überlebenden gilt, kam der Text aber erst in englischer Übersetzung zu einer breiten Wirkung. In neueren Studien gibt es Ansätze zu einer übersetzungswissenschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung mit den englischen Übersetzungen, aber bislang wurde die deutsche Übersetzung kaum untersucht. Anhand eines zielkulturorientierten Ansatzes, durch den das Übersetzen als eine Art Kommentar verstanden wird, zeigt der vorliegende Aufsatz, wie die deutsche Übersetzung von La Nuit durch Curt Meyer‐Clason, die 1962 mit einem Vorwort von Martin Walser veröffentlicht wurde, eine betont literarische Auffassung des Textes aufzeigt, die sich nach den Bedürfnissen des Zielpublikums richtet.
Bankgeheimnis und Verrechnungssteuer: Konsequenzen für die Steuerehrlichkeit in den Kantonen der Schweiz
Authors: Gärtner Manfred 
Published: September 2011

AbstractSwiss banking secrecy tempts foreigners to remain silent about capital incomes and, thus, not pay taxes as obliged by law, but residents of Switzerland as well. Therefore, Switzerland introduced a withholding tax on capital income in order to make domestic residents report levels of wealth and capital incomes properly. We ask whether a withholding tax rate of 35 percent achieves this goal. For this purpose, marginal income tax rates are computed and income distributions are estimated for each canton. From these we identify income levels and shares of tax payers for whom the withholding tax does not work as intended.
Kaderschmieden der Wirtschaft und/oder Universitäten? Der Auftrag der Wirtschaftsuniversitäten und –fakultäten im 21. Jahrhundert
Authors: Kirchgässner Gebhard 
Published: September 2011

AbstractAfter a short sketch of the history of modern business schools in the German speaking countries, their four major activity fields are considered: (i) academic teaching, (ii) scientific research, (iii) consulting and (iv) executive education. While teaching was traditionally dominant, research has gained more importance in recent decades, not only in Economics but also in Management departments. With respect to consulting, we have to distinguish between consulting for governments by economists and for private companies by professors of management. Executive education is mainly a domain of management (and law) departments; economists only play a minor role in this area. We conclude with discussing some of the ethical questions with which Economics and Management departments are confronted today.
Working with UK‐based non‐governmental organisations for better reproductive health in Nepal
Authors: Nunns D 
Published: September 2011

Please cite this paper as: Nunns D. Working with UK‐based non‐governmental organisations for better reproductive health in Nepal. BJOG 2011;118 (Suppl. 2):93–95.Over the years, strong health links have developed between Nepal and the UK with the overall aim of helping to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. The nature of such health links is varied and ranges from education and training projects to service work, with a focus on direct medical care. The role of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) in Nepal cannot be underestimated: there are over 5000 NGOs, working in all aspects of Nepali life. Most are not specifically dedicated to maternal, neonatal and reproductive health care, but have developed this area of interest in response to the identified needs in the local communities. The benefits from such health links are immense but, in times of limited funding of projects, it is increasingly important that different agencies work together to maximise the impact of projects.
Autophagosomes accumulation is associated with β‐amyloid deposits and secondary damage in the thalamus after focal cortical infarction in hypertensive rats
Authors: Zhang Jian , Zhang Yusheng , Li Jingjing , Xing Shihui , Li Chuo , Li Yiliang , Dang Chao , Fan Yuhua , Yu Jian , Pei Zhong , Zeng Jinsheng 
Published: September 2011

J. Neurochem. (2012) 120, 564–573.AbstractFocal cerebral cortical infarction after distal middle cerebral artery occlusion causes β‐amyloid deposition and secondary neuronal degeneration in the ipsilateral ventroposterior nucleus of the thalamus. Several studies suggest that autophagy is an active pathway for β‐amyloid peptide generation. This study aimed to investigate the role of autophagy in thalamic β‐amyloid deposition and neuronal degeneration after cerebral cortical infarction in hypertensive rats. At 7 and 14 days after middle cerebral artery occlusion, neuronal death and β‐amyloid deposits were evident in the ipsilateral ventroposterior nucleus, and the activity of β‐site amyloid precursor protein (APP)‐cleaving enzyme 1, required for β‐amyloid peptide generation, was elevated in the thalamus. In correlation, both the number of cells showing punctate microtubule‐associated protein 1A light chain 3 fluorescence and levels of light chain 3‐II protein, an autophagosome marker, were markedly increased. Notably, most of the cells that over‐expressed β‐site APP‐cleaving enzyme 1 displayed punctate light chain 3 staining. Furthermore, the inhibition of autophagy with 3‐methyladenine significantly reduced the thalamic neuronal damage, β‐amyloid deposits, and β‐site APP‐cleaving enzyme 1 activity. These results suggest that autophagosomes accumulate within thalamic cells after cerebral cortical infarction, which is associated with thalamic β‐amyloid deposition and secondary neuronal degeneration via elevation of β‐site APP‐cleaving enzyme 1 level.
α1D‐Adrenoceptor regulates the vasopressor action of α1A‐adrenoceptor in mesenteric vascular bed of α1D‐adrenoceptor knockout mice
Authors: Martínez‐Salas S. G. , Campos‐Peralta J. M. , Pardo J. P. , Hernández‐Muñoz R. , Ibarra M. , Tanoue A. , Tsujimoto G. , Villalobos‐Molina R. 
Published: September 2011

Summary1 The pressor action of the α1A‐adrenoceptor (α1A‐AR) agonist A61603 (N‐[5‐(4,5‐dihydro‐1H‐imidazol‐2‐yl)‐2‐hydroxy‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydronaphthalen‐1‐yl] methanesulfonamide) and the α1‐ARs agonist phenylephrine and their blockade by selective α1‐ARs antagonists in the isolated mesenteric vascular bed of wild‐type (WT) mice and α1D‐AR knockout (KO α1D‐AR) mice were evaluated.2 The apparent potency of A61603 to increase the perfusion pressure in the mesenteric vascular bed of WT and KO α1D‐AR mice is 86 and 138 times the affinity of phenylephrine, respectively.3 A61603 also enhanced the perfusion pressure by ≈1.7 fold in the mesenteric vascular bed of WT mice compared with KO α1D‐AR mice.4 Because of its high affinity, low concentrations of the α1A‐AR selective antagonist RS100329 (5‐methyl‐3‐[3‐[4‐[2‐(2,2,2,‐trifluoroethoxy) phenyl]‐1‐piperazinyl] propyl]‐2,4‐(1H)‐pyrimidinedione) shifted the agonist concentration–response curves to the right in the mesenteric vascular bed of WT and KO α1D‐AR mice.5 The α1D‐AR selective antagonist BMY7378 (8‐[2‐[4‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)‐1‐piperazinyl]ethyl]‐8‐azaspiro[4.5] decane‐7,9‐dione) did not modify the A61603 or the phenylephrine‐induced pressor effect.6 The α1B/D‐ARs alkylating antagonist chloroethylclonidine (CEC) shifted the agonist concentration–response curves to the right and decreased the maximum phenylephrine‐induced vascular contraction in KO α1D‐AR mice when compared to WT mice; however, CEC only slightly modified the contraction induced by A61603.7 The results indicate that the isolated mesenteric vascular bed of WT and KO α1D‐AR mice expresses α1A‐AR, that the pressor action of α1A‐AR is up‐regulated for α1D‐AR in WT mice and suggest an important role of α1B‐AR in the vascular pressure evoked by phenylephrine in KO α1D‐AR mice.
Does Community‐Based Health Insurance Protect Household Assets? Evidence from Rural Africa
Authors: Parmar Divya , Reinhold Steffen , Souares Aurélia , Savadogo Germain , Sauerborn Rainer 
Published: September 2011

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether community‐based health insurance (CBHI) protects household assets in rural Burkina Faso, Africa.Data SourcesData were used from a household panel survey that collected primary data from randomly selected households, covering 41 villages and one town, during 2004–2007(n = 890).Study DesignThe study area was divided into 33 clusters and CBHI was randomly offered to these clusters during 2004–2006. We applied different strategies to control for selection bias—ordinary least squares with covariates, two‐stage least squares with instrumental variable, and fixed‐effects models.Data CollectionHousehold members were interviewed in their local language every year, and information was collected on demographic and socio‐economic indicators including ownership of assets, and on self‐reported morbidity.Principal FindingsFixed‐effects and ordinary least squares models showed that CBHI protected household assets during 2004–2007. The two‐stage least squares with instrumental variable model showed that CBHI increased household assets during 2004–2005.ConclusionsIn this study, we found that CBHI has the potential to not only protect household assets but also increase household assets. However, similar studies from developing countries that evaluate the impact of health insurance on household economic indicators are needed to benchmark these results with other settings.
Ethnic/Race Differences in the Attrition of Older American Survey Respondents: Implications for Health‐Related Research
Authors: Zhivan Natalia A. , Ang Alfonso , Amaro Hortensia , Vega William A. , Markides Kyriakos S. 
Published: September 2011

ObjectiveTo compare models of attrition across race/ethnic groups of aging populations and discuss implications for health‐related research.Data SourcesThe Health and Retirement Study (1992–2008).Study DesignA competing risks model was estimated using a multinomial logit model when respondents faced competing types of risks, such as dying, being lost from the study, and nonresponse in some years for different groups of elderly. Key explanatory variables were foreign birth, health insurance, and health status.Principal FindingsVariables describing foreign birth, health insurance, and health status differed in their prediction of attrition across ethnic groups of aging populations.ConclusionsDifferences in the predictors of attrition across ethnic groups of elderly could potentially lead to biased estimates in health‐related research using longitudinal data sources.
Molecular anatomy of the developing limb in the coquí frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui
Authors: Gross Joshua B. , Kerney Ryan , Hanken James , Tabin Clifford J. 
Published: September 2011

SUMMARYThe vertebrate limb demonstrates remarkable similarity in basic organization across phylogenetically disparate groups. To gain further insight into how this morphological similarity is maintained in different developmental contexts, we explored the molecular anatomy of size‐reduced embryos of the Puerto Rican coquí frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui. This animal demonstrates direct development, a life‐history strategy marked by rapid progression from egg to adult and absence of a free‐living, aquatic larva. Nonetheless, coquí exhibits a basal anuran limb structure, with four toes on the forelimb and five toes on the hind limb. We investigated the extent to which coquí limb bud development conforms to the model of limb development derived from amniote studies. Toward this end, we characterized dynamic patterns of expression for 13 critical patterning genes across three principle stages of limb development. As expected, most genes demonstrate expression patterns that are essentially unchanged compared to amniote species. For example, we identified an EcFgf8‐expression domain within the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). This expression pattern defines a putatively functional AER signaling domain, despite the absence of a morphological ridge in coquí embryos. However, two genes, EcMeis2 and EcAlx4, demonstrate altered domains of expression, which imply a potential shift in gene function between coquí frogs and amniote model systems. Unexpectedly, several genes thought to be critical for limb patterning in other systems, including EcFgf4, EcWnt3a, EcWnt7a, and EcGremlin, demonstrated no evident expression pattern in the limb at the three stages we analyzed. The absence of EcFgf4 and EcWnt3a expression during limb patterning is perhaps not surprising, given that neither gene is critical for proper limb development in the mouse, based on knockout and expression analyses. In contrast, absence of EcWnt7a and EcGremlin is surprising, given that expression of these molecules appears to be absolutely essential in all other model systems so far examined. Although this analysis substantiates the existence of a core set of ancient limb‐patterning molecules, which likely mediate identical functions across highly diverse vertebrate forms, it also reveals remarkable evolutionary flexibility in the genetic control of a conserved morphological pattern across evolutionary time.
Tail regression induced by elevated retinoic acid signaling in amphioxus larvae occurs by tissue remodeling, not cell death
Authors: Koop Demian , Holland Linda Z. , Setiamarga Davin , Schubert Michael , Holland Nicholas D. 
Published: September 2011

SUMMARYThe vitamin A derived morphogen retinoic acid (RA) is known to function in the regulation of tissue proliferation and differentiation. Here, we show that exogenous RA applied to late larvae of the invertebrate chordate amphioxus can reverse some differentiated states. Although treatment with the RA antagonist BMS009 has no obvious effect on late larvae of amphioxus, administration of excess RA alters the morphology of the posterior end of the body. The anus closes over, and gut contents accumulate in the hindgut. In addition, the larval tail fin regresses, although little apoptosis takes place. This fin normally consists of columnar epidermal cells, each characterized by a ciliary rootlet running all the way from an apical centriole to the base of the cell and likely contributing substantial cytoskeletal support. After a few days of RA treatment, the rootlet becomes disrupted, and the cell shape changes from columnar to cuboidal. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows fragments of the rootlet in the basal cytoplasm of the cuboidal cell. A major component of the ciliary rootlet in amphioxus is the protein Rootletin, which is encoded by a single AmphiRootletin gene. This gene is highly expressed in the tail epithelial cells of control larvae, but becomes downregulated after about a day of RA treatment, and the breakup of the ciliary rootlet soon follows. The effect of excess RA on these epidermal cells of the larval tail in amphioxus is unlike posterior regression in developing zebrafish, where elevated RA signaling alters connective tissues of mesodermal origin. In contrast, however, the RA‐induced closure of the amphioxus anus has parallels in the RA‐induced caudal regression syndrome of mammals.
Co‐orthology ofPax4andPax6to the flyeyelessgene: molecular phylogenetic, comparative genomic, and embryological analyses
Authors: Manousaki Tereza , Feiner Nathalie , Begemann Gerrit , Meyer Axel , Kuraku Shigehiro 
Published: September 2011

SUMMARYThe functional equivalence ofPax6/eyelessgenes across distantly related animal phyla has been one of central findings on which evo‐devo studies is based. In this study, we show thatPax4, in addition toPax6, is a vertebrate ortholog of the flyeyelessgene (and its duplicate,twin of eyeless[toy] gene, unique toInsecta). Molecular phylogenetic trees published to date placed thePax4gene outside thePax6/eyelesssubgroup as if thePax4gene originated from a gene duplication before the origin of bilaterians. However,Pax4genes had only been reported for mammals. Our molecular phylogenetic analysis, including previously unidentified teleost fishpax4genes, equally supported two scenarios: one with thePax4–Pax6duplication early in vertebrate evolution and the other with this duplication before the bilaterian radiation. We then investigated gene compositions in the genomic regions containingPax4andPax6, and identified (1) conserved synteny between these two regions, suggesting that thePax4–Pax6split was caused by a large‐scale duplication and (2) its timing within early vertebrate evolution based on the duplication timing of the members of neighboring gene families. Our results are consistent with the so‐called two‐round genome duplications in early vertebrates. Overall, thePax6/eyelessortholog is merely part of a 2:2 orthology relationship between vertebrates (withPax4andPax6) and the fly (witheyelessandtoy). In this context, evolution of transcriptional regulation associated with thePax4–Pax6split is also discussed in light of the zebrafishpax4expression pattern that is analyzed here for the first time.