bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased levels of cyclins D1 and D3 after inhibition of gap junctional communication in astrocytes
Authors: Tabernero Arantxa , Sánchez‐Alvarez Rosa , Medina José M. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractWe showed previously that the inhibition of gap junctional communication in astrocytes increased bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and promoted changes in the metabolic phenotype destined to fulfil the requirements of cell proliferation. In the present study we investigated the changes in the cell cycle of astrocytes promoted by the inhibition of intercellular communication through gap junctions. Thus, the presence of endothelin‐1 and carbenoxolone, two gap junction uncouplers, promoted an increase in the percentage of astrocytes found in the S, G2 and M phases of the cell cycle, with a concomitant decrease in G0 and G1 phases. In addition, the levels of Ki‐67, a protein present during all active phases of the cell cycle but absent from resting cells, increased after the inhibition of gap junctional communication. These effects were not observed when the inhibition of gap junctions was prevented with tolbutamide, indicating that the inhibition of gap junctional communication promotes the entry of astrocytes into the cell cycle. The passage of the cells from a quiescent state to the cell cycle is ultimately regulated by the degree of retinoblastoma phosphorylation. Inhibition of gap junctions increased the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma at Ser 780 but not at Ser 795 or Ser 807/811. In addition, the levels of cyclins D1 and D3 increased, whereas those of p21 and p27 were not significantly modified. Because D‐type cyclins are key regulators of retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation, it is suggested that the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein at Ser 780, observed under our experimental conditions, is a consequence of the increase in the levels of cyclins D1 and D3. Our work provides evidence for the involvement of cyclins D1 and D3 as sensors of the inhibition of gap junctional communication in astrocytes.
Identification of amino acid residues important for assembly of GABAAreceptor α1 and γ2 subunits
Authors: Sarto‐Jackson Isabella , Ramerstorfer Joachim , Ernst Margot , Sieghart Werner 
Published: January 2006

AbstractComparative models of GABAAreceptors composed of α1β3γ2 subunits were generated using the acetylcholine‐binding protein (AChBP) as a template and were used for predicting putative engineered cross‐link sites between the α1 and the γ2 subunit. The respective amino acid residues were substituted by cysteines and disulfide bond formation between subunits was investigated on co‐transfection into human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells. Although disulfide bond formation between subunits could not be observed, results indicated that mutations studied influenced assembly of GABAAreceptors. Whereas residue α1A108 was important for the formation of assembly intermediates with β3 and γ2 subunits consistent with its proposed location at the α1(+) side of GABAAreceptors, residues γ2T125 and γ2P127 were important for assembly with β3 subunits. Mutation of each of these residues also caused an impaired expression of receptors at the cell surface. In contrast, mutated residues α1F99C, α1S106C or γ2T126C only impaired the formation of receptors at the cell surface when co‐expressed with subunits in which their predicted interaction partner was also mutated. These data are consistent with the prediction that the mutated residue pairs are located close to each other.
Dynamic regulation of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF‐2) gene expression in the rat brain following single and repeated cocaine administration
Authors: Fumagalli Fabio , Di Pasquale Laura , Racagni Giorgio , Riva Marco Andrea 
Published: January 2006

AbstractAdministration of drugs of abuse can produce long‐lasting effects on brain function, which involve modifications at neurotransmitter level as well as changes in proteins important for structural alterations of selected brain regions. The contribution of trophic factors in these events has so far been underestimated. Here, we demonstrate that a single cocaine injection selectively up‐regulated fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF‐2) mRNA levels in the striatum and prefrontal cortex within 2 h, an effect that vanished by 24 h. However, prolonged exposure (5 or 14 days) to cocaine treatment produced an enduring elevation of FGF‐2 mRNA levels that was evident 72 h after the last injection in the prefrontal cortex and could even persist for 14 days in the striatum, raising the possibility that cocaine treatment primes the brain, resulting in longer‐lasting FGF‐2 up‐regulation in regions that are highly innervated by dopaminergic projections. The expression of FGF‐2 was also significantly increased in the midbrain following acute or 5‐day injection, suggesting that modulation of FGF‐2 biosynthesis in dopamine‐producing cells occurs only during early stages of cocaine exposure. Our results point to important mechanistic conclusions as to how cocaine alters FGF‐2 expression. Whereas cocaine‐induced changes in FGF‐2 gene expression following a single injection could be ascribed to increased release of transmitters (mainly dopamine), enhanced FGF‐2 gene expression following repeated administration identifies the trophic factor as part of the adaptive changes set in motion by cocaine.
Alzheimer‐like changes in protein kinase B and glycogen synthase kinase‐3 in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus after damage to the insulin signalling pathway
Authors: Salkovic‐Petrisic Melita , Tribl Florian , Schmidt Manuela , Hoyer Siegfried , Riederer Peter 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe insulin‐resistant brain state is related to late‐onset sporadic Alzheimer's disease, and alterations in the insulin receptor (IR) and its downstream phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase signalling pathway have been found in human brain. These findings have not been confirmed in an experimental model related to sporadic Alzheimer's disease, for example rats showing a neuronal IR deficit subsequent to intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) treatment with streptozotocin (STZ). In this study, western blot analysis performed 1 month after i.c.v. injection of STZ showed an increase of 63% in the level of phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase‐3α/β (pGSK‐3α/β) protein in the rat hippocampus, whereas the levels of the unphosphorylated form (GSK‐3α/β) and protein kinase B (Akt/PKB) remained unchanged. Three months after STZ treatment, pGSK‐3α/β and Akt/PKB levels tended to decrease (by 8 and 9% respectively). The changes were region specific, as a different pattern was found in frontal cortex. Structural alterations were also found, characterized by β‐amyloid peptide‐like aggregates in brain capillaries of rats treated with STZ. Similar neurochemical changes and cognitive deficits were recorded in rats treated with i.c.v. 5‐thio‐d‐glucose, a blocker of glucose transporter (GLUT)2, a transporter that is probably involved in brain glucose sensing. The IR signalling cascade alteration and its consequences in rats treated with STZ are similar to those found in humans with sporadic Alzheimer's disease, and our results suggest a role for GLUT2 in Alzheimer's pathophysiology.
Different apoptotic mechanisms are activated in male and female brains after neonatal hypoxia–ischaemia
Authors: Zhu Changlian , Xu Falin , Wang Xiaoyang , Shibata Masahiro , Uchiyama Yasuo , Blomgren Klas , Hagberg Henrik 
Published: January 2006

AbstractSex‐related brain injury was evaluated after unilateral hypoxia–ischaemia (HI) in C57/BL6 mice on postnatal day (P) 5, 9, 21 or 60, corresponding developmentally to premature, term, juvenile and adult human brains. There was no sex difference in brain injury when the insult was severe, as evaluated by pathological scoring or tissue loss, but when the insult was moderate, adult (P60) females displayed less injury. In the immature (P9) male brains, neurones displayed a more pronounced translocation of apoptosis‐inducing factor (AIF) (loss of AIF from the mitochondrial fraction and increase in nuclear AIF) after HI, whereas the female brain neurones displayed a stronger activation of caspase 3 (more pronounced loss of pro‐caspase 3, increase in cleaved caspase 3 and increase in caspase 3 enzymatic activity). Two other mechanisms of injury, peroxynitrite‐induced formation of nitrotyrosine and autophagy, were no different between males and females at P9. These data show that the CNS is more resistant to HI in adult females compared with males, whereas no sex differences were found in the extent of injury in neonatal mice. However, critical sex‐dependent differences were demonstrated in vivo with regard to cellular, apoptosis‐related mechanisms.
Increases in α4* but not α3*/α6* nicotinic receptor sites and function in the primate striatum following chronic oral nicotine treatment
Authors: McCallum Sarah E. , Parameswaran Neeraja , Bordia Tanuja , Fan Hong , Tyndale Rachel F. , Langston J. William , McIntosh J. Michael , Quik Maryka 
Published: January 2006

AbstractKnowledge of the effects of chronic nicotine is critical considering its widespread use in tobacco products and smoking cessation therapies. Although nicotine is well known to up‐regulate α4* nAChR sites and function in the cortex, its actions in the striatum are uncertain because of the presence of multiple subtypes with potentially opposing effects. We therefore investigated the effect of long‐term nicotine treatment on nAChR sites and function in the primate striatum, which offers the advantage of similar proportions of α3*/α6* and α4* nAChRs. Nicotine was given in drinking water, which resembles smoking in its intermittent but chronic delivery. Plasma nicotine and cotinine levels were similar to smokers. Chronic nicotine treatment (> 6 months) enhanced α4* nAChR‐evoked [3H]dopamine release in striatal subregions, with an overall pattern of increase throughout the striatum when normalized to uptake. This increase correlated with elevated striatal α4* nAChRs. Under the same conditions, striatal α3*/α6* nAChR sites and function were decreased or unchanged. These divergent actions of chronic nicotine treatment on α4* versus α6* nAChRs, as well as effects on dopamine uptake, allow for a complex control of striatal activity to maintain dopaminergic function. Such knowledge is important for understanding nicotine dependence and the consequences of nicotine administration for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Oceans of World History: Delineating Aquacentric Notions in the Global Past1
Authors: Buschmann Rainer F. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis article presents various ocean‐ and sea‐centered approaches to world history. Utilizing European transoceanic empires as a point of departure, the paper scrutinizes the emergence of “aquacentric” notions among selected global societies. The diasporas of African, Greek, and Polynesian peoples offer important pointers to unravel the global past. These pointers provide novel perspectives on the histories of the Atlantic, Indian, and the Pacific oceans. The article concludes with teaching and theoretical suggestions that derive from such aquacentric systems.
Women and the Reformations: Reflections on Recent Research
Authors: Wiesner‐Hanks Merry 
Published: January 2006

AbstractScholarship on women and the Protestant and Catholic Reformations over the last quarter‐century has stressed diversity, difference, and complexity. It has developed new theoretical and methodological directions, and also presented new ways to look at more “old‐fashioned topics,” such as the lives of great women and the ideas of great men. Many studies have explored women's actions in support of or in opposition to the Protestant and Catholic Reformations and women's spirituality more broadly; among these, research on convents and female religious has been especially innovative. Studies of the ideas of the reformers and the effects of the Reformations on women, the family, and notions of gender have focused particularly on the process of social discipline, noting continuities with medieval patterns as well as new emphases. The focus on the “long Reformation” and increased attention to the expansion of Christianity beyond Europe, represent burgeoning areas of current research.
Between Religious Marketplace and Spiritual Wasteland: Religion in the British Atlantic World1
Authors: Pestana Carla Gardina 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe predominant metaphors in use for describing religion in the British Atlantic world are marketplace and wasteland – the first presenting religion as a product to be sold and consumed, the second asserting that religion was not successfully planted in colonies (at least not outside of New England). Both of these constructs for understanding religion's nature and role rely heavily on the perspective of clergymen. Although they left us much that was written on religious belief and practice for the period to 1800, clergy have a particular perspective and the sources they penned skew the presentation of religion toward competition and absence. These two ways of looking at faith are in fact two sides of the same clerical coin, and ought to be accepted only with caution, if at all. This article argues that we must read these denunciations with a critical eye and look beyond them to appreciate the vibrancy of lay religious faith and practice even in those very places that the clergy vociferously criticized.
The Law of the Land or the Law of the Land?: History, Law and Narrative in a Settler Society
Authors: Attwood Bain 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis article considers the influence of a controversial historical work on the law, politics and society of a settler nation. It argues that the impact of Henry Reynolds's 1987 The Law of the Land on legal consideration of indigenous rights to land in Australia can be attributed to the fact that it is best described as juridical history. As such, it told a lego‐historical story that provided the High Court of Australia with a new way of interpreting its own traditional narrative, which had long denied Aboriginal people their rights to land, thus enabling it to make a new determination of those rights as well as resolve a crisis of legitimacy for the law and the nation. This article also contends that this history‐making came to be accepted by many settler Australians because it provided the nation with a newly redemptive, liberal myth narrative. It assesses the cost of a story of this kind, asking whether such simple histories can have an enduring effect, especially where their authors are reluctant to signpost the historical or literary form of their texts. Finally, it suggests that histories truer to the complexities of the past might produce better political and social outcomes.
Liberalism and Its Discontents: Lessons From the Brazilian Past
Authors: Graham Richard 
Published: January 2006

AbstractBrazilian elites during the early nineteenth century pushed for the creation of a free‐market economy, but this made the bulk of the population feel unprotected by the state on which they had come to rely for a minimum of succor. The ensuing violent reaction put a halt to the implementation of such policies. There are lessons here for the present.
Geography, Will it Absolve Cuba?
Authors: Martínez‐Fernández Luis 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis article seeks two primary goals. First, to provide fundamental information about Cuba's geography: physical aspects, location, climate, natural resources, etc. Second, to discuss and analyze the various ways in which Cuba's particular geographic traits, such as insularity, elongated shape, tropical location, and proximity to the United States, have helped shape the course of its history and the culture of its inhabitants. The essay approaches the subject steering clear from both accepting geographic determinism and ignoring the influence of geography, by focusing on the interaction between the forces of physical geography and human responses to them.
The Ideology of Early Modern Colonisation
Authors: Fitzmaurice Andrew 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis article argues that colonial ideologies were the concern of more than a privileged élite in early modern Europe. The article shows that early modern English colonisation was torn between the humanistic pursuit of glory, or greatness, and humanist and scholastic scepticism of empire. The article also addresses the relation between state formation and European expansion, and concludes that these processes were inherently linked rather than merely parallel. Historians have focused on the Machiavellian character of the early modern European ideology of greatness, or grandezza. They have accordingly concluded that where grandezza informed the pursuit of empire, it was driven by the Machiavellian concern with virtue rather than profit. According to such accounts, early modern ideologies of empire were uncomfortable with commerce. It is argued here that these accounts have overlooked the emergence of an alternative account of grandezza in early modern Europe, which presented commerce as the means to greatness.
Making the Americas: U.S. Business People and Latin Americans from the Age of Revolutions to the Era of Globalization
Authors: O'Brien Thomas 
Published: January 2006

AbstractU.S. business people have played a central role in shaping the relationship between the United States and Latin America. Their ambitious transportation, mining, and plantation projects had dramatic economic and political effects on the nations of the Circum‐Caribbean during the nineteenth century. In the course of the past one hundred years, American corporations have extended their activity throughout South America, affecting not only economic development, but attempting to alter the work habits and consciousness of millions of Latin Americans, and providing an important catalyst for both mass political movements in the region and U.S. interventions.
Recent Writing on Early Modern British Urban History (c. 1540‐1720)
Authors: Tittler Robert 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis subject must be approached in the context established by the seminal work of Peter Clark and Paul Slack in the mid‐1970s. In highlighting themes of crisis and order, emphasizing the period c. 1500‐1640, deriving inspiration from the social sciences of the 1960s, and implicitly privileging provincial towns over the London metropolis, Clark and Slack set the agenda for a generation of research. Since then the emphasis has shifted gradually towards the post‐Civil War era, to London as well as provincial towns, to questions raised by the ‘cultural turn’ of historical enquiry generally, and to the British rather than the insularly English scene. Technological advances of the computer age have also greatly facilitated access to primary source material, opening up new opportunities for research and teaching.
The Hittites ‐ Discoveries and Ongoing Research
Authors: Bryce Trevor R. 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThis article focuses on discoveries and advances in Hittite scholarship and archaeology over the past few decades, as the result of ongoing excavations in the Hittite capital and in regional centres of the kingdom. Of particular significance is the information provided by recent text finds, including that contained in clay tablets, seal impressions and monumental inscriptions on stone.
The Other Atlantic World
Authors: Ward Jason 
Published: January 2006

AbstractDespite the common imagination of the early modern Atlantic World as centered in the British‐dominated North Atlantic, a broader perspective reveals that there is in fact another Atlantic World which is both larger and older than the English version, and whose general history responds to global but not necessarily European currents of history.1 Locating that "other" Atlantic World requires that we rethink its spatial and temporal dimensions.
State Formation and the Historiography of Early Modern England
Authors: Braddick Michael 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe history of the state was once at the core of academic history and university curricula. In English history, the revolution of 1649 was said to be of epochal significance and influential analyses of its causes sought to tie together disparate fields of study in a single explanation. Over the last thirty years, however, such accounts have been heavily criticised and, partly as a consequence, the historiography of Stuart England became much more fragmented. Recent histories of ‘state formation’ however, promise to overcome some of the effects of that fragmentation. They explore the organisation, institutionalisation, representation and expression of political power rather than the more or less conscious efforts of particular individuals or groups to transform the state. This emphasis on the broader social and cultural processes which shaped the state reconnects important elements of recent social, economic, cultural, intellectual and political histories. Moreover, it may help to forge connections between medieval, early modern and later modern histories, and the integration of English experience into wider comparative histories.
Globalizing Chinese History
Authors: Van De Ven Hans 
Published: January 2006

AbstractGlobalization is important as an opportunity to bring back the foreign as a significant factor in modern Chinese history and overcome some of the problems associated with exclusively China‐centered histories. This article focuses on the Chinese Maritime Customs to illustrate this point and to bring out the rich complexity of interactions between China and foreign countries. The century between 1850 and 1950 emerges not as one dominated by stagnation and decline but as one of great historical change and significance.
Ancient Greek Democracy and Its Study1
Authors: Robinson Eric 
Published: January 2006

AbstractDemocracy – ordemokratiaas the Greeks called it – first took shape in a few sixth‐century BC city‐states, arising from attitudes and conditions widespread in the Greek world. In the ensuing two centuries it became more common and continued to develop, especially in the city of Athens, where it attained its definitive and most influential form. (Other systems of rule, such as oligarchy and tyranny, remained common in Greek city‐states, however). Democracy meant that thedemos(the people) governed the state directly, controlling affairs through such institutions as jury courts and mass assembly meetings, in which all citizens were eligible to take part, as well as through numerous elected or allotted posts, each held for a brief term only. The political ideals of freedom and equality animateddemokratia, though they did not extend to women and slaves. Historians and other intellectuals, after many centuries of hostility to the idea of democracy, have more recently embraced it and its study. A survey of publications by classicists of the last twenty years or so reveals a lively diversity of views and trends.
Women's Bodies, Women's Minds: One Way of Rethinking Japanese Women's History
Authors: Walthall Anne 
Published: January 2006

AbstractWe live in a world permeated with violence, yet until recently the field of Japanese studies has not focused on the connection between violence, gender, and modernity. The goal of this article is to suggest ways in which violence and gender figure in conspicuous consumption and the construction of the modern state.
From sub‐Roman Britain to Anglo‐Saxon England: Debating the Insular Dark Ages
Authors: Higham Nick 
Published: January 2006

AbstractThe sub‐Roman/Anglo‐Saxon interface has been hotly debated over the last twenty years, with scholars approaching the subject from several different disciplines and arguing variously for mass migration from Germany and/or elite dominance by a barbarian elite of a British majority. This paper critiques several of the arguments that have recently been offered and suggests that we should prioritise the conquest of eastern England by Anglo‐Saxons at an early date, which left political power in barbarian hands. Both migration and acculturation should be considered integral to the constitution of Anglo‐Saxon England, its people and its culture.