Hearth and Home

February is the month that brings with it dreams of Hearth and Home. The home may be a shack on a North Dakota homestead, a large house on an Iowa farm, or the city mansion of the multi-millionaire. The fireside may be the traditional homestead laundry stove, a hard coal heater, or the most elaborate marble or carved wood fireplace and mantle. In each home we find the same love, the same dreams, and the same hopes

Lights, Camera, Vote: An Agenda-Setting Analysis of Celebrity Endorsements and News Correlation during the 2012 Presidential Election

Many studies have been done in order to prove the idea that celebrity endorsements can affect elections; however little research has exposed the ongoing correlation between entertainment and news media in America. This research investigates the strong correlation between entertainment websites and mainstream news websites during the 2012 United States presidential election by way of celebrity endorsements. The sources examined included celebrity, entertainment journalism sites such as The Huffington Post, People and E! as compared to networks; ABC News, NBC News, Fox News, CNN and CBS News. Twelve celebrities were chosen by means of their given Q Score. Their announced endorsement for a particular candidate was examined in each entertainment publication. By using a qualitative content analysis, the researcher was able to draw conclusions, record trends and make observations based on each endorsement. This paper gives insight to the reader on how entertainment culture influences our daily news and ultimately our elections

SAF-A/hnRNP U binds polyphosphoinositides via a lysine rich polybasic motif located in the SAP domain

Polyphosphoinositides (PPIn) play essential functions as lipid signalling molecules and many of their functions have been elucidated in the cytoplasm. However, PPIn are also intranuclear where they contribute to chromatin remodelling, transcription and mRNA splicing. Using quantitative interactomics, we have previously identified PPIn-interacting proteins with roles in RNA processing/splicing including the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (hnRNPU/SAF-A). In this study, hnRNPU was validated as a direct PPIn-interacting protein via 2 regions located in the N and C termini. Furthermore, deletion of the polybasic motif region located at aa 9-24 in its DNA binding SAP domain prevented PPIn interaction. In conclusion, these results are consistent with hnRNPU harbouring a polybasic region with dual functions in DNA and PPIn interaction.publishedVersio

Aversive Stimuli Drive Drug Seeking in a State of Low Dopamine Tone

Background Stressors negatively impact emotional state and drive drug seeking, in part, by modulating the activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Unfortunately, the rapid regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimuli that cause drug seeking is not well characterized. In a series of experiments, we scrutinized the subsecond regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimulus, quinine, and tested its ability to cause cocaine seeking. Additionally, we examined the midbrain regulation of both dopamine signaling and cocaine seeking by the stress-sensitive peptide, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). Methods Combining fast-scan cyclic voltammetry with behavioral pharmacology, we examined the effect of intraoral quinine administration on nucleus accumbens dopamine signaling and hedonic expression in 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats. We tested the role of CRF in modulating aversion-induced changes in dopamine concentration and cocaine seeking by bilaterally infusing the CRF antagonist, CP-376395, into the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Results We found that quinine rapidly reduced dopamine signaling on two distinct time scales. We determined that CRF acted in the VTA to mediate this reduction on only one of these time scales. Further, we found that the reduction of dopamine tone and quinine-induced cocaine seeking were eliminated by blocking the actions of CRF in the VTA during the experience of the aversive stimulus. Conclusions These data demonstrate that stress-induced drug seeking can occur in a terminal environment of low dopamine tone that is dependent on a CRF-induced decrease in midbrain dopamine activity

Vagus nerve stimulation as a novel treatment for systemic lupus erythematous:study protocol for a randomised, parallel-group, sham-controlled investigator-initiated clinical trial, the SLE-VNS study

INTRODUCTION: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease. SLE is treated with immunosuppressants with suboptimal efficacy and high risk of serious side effects. Patients with SLE have increased risk of mortality, organ damage and debilitating treatment-resistant fatigue. Autonomic nervous system dysfunction (AD) is present in approximately half of the patients and may promote autoimmunity by weakening the vagally mediated anti-inflammatory reflex. Recent studies suggest that transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) has few side effects and beneficial effects on fatigue, pain, disease activity and organ function. This study investigates whether adjuvant tVNS improves measures of fatigue (primary end point), AD, clinical disease activity, inflammation, pain, organ function and quality of life. Hence, this study will contribute to the understanding of AD as a potentially important precursor of fatigue, disease activity, progression and complications in SLE, and how tVNS mechanistically may attenuate this. As adjuvant tVNS use may reduce the need for traditional immunosuppressive therapy, this trial may prompt a shift in the treatment of SLE and potentially other autoimmune disorders. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Eighty-four patients with SLE with fatigue and AD will be randomised 1:1 to active or sham tVNS in this double-blinded parallel-group study. In period 1 (1 week), participants will receive a 4 min tVNS 4 times daily and report on fatigue daily. After a 2-week pause, period 2 (8 weeks) will entail tVNS twice daily and participants will report on fatigue, pain and disease activity weekly. Secondary end points will be assessed before and after each period and after 1 week in period 2. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is approved by the Danish Medical Research Ethical Committees (case no: 2120231) and results will be published in international peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05315739

ENSAIO DA REFLEXÃO NO ESPELHO DE BRANCURA SÓLIDA: FICÇÃO NA CEGUEIRA IDENTITÁRIA DE JOSÉ SARAMAGO

Este trabalho visa analisar o romance do escritor português José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a cegueira (1995) sob o viés da construção da identidade humana. Desse modo, intentamos investigar a sua constituição a partir das relações estabelecidas através das simbologias e imagens. Para isso, usar-se-á do viés teórico que leva em conta, principalmente, as relações de literatura e sociedade, considerando os temas referentes à identidade, às personagens, e, consequentemente, à presença da representação; tendo em conta, então, as leituras de Landowski, Antonio Candido, Mitchel, entre outros. Ademais, estudar-se-á a construção dos personagens, pois isto nos levará precisamente à discussão sobre a identidade humana.Na problematizaçãoda caracterização dos personagens, adentramos ao romance como representativo da análise da identidade human