Understanding Gay and Lesbian Aging

Studying the aging process of gay men and lesbians is problematic because it assumes that sexual orientation as such is a valid ontological concept and research category. As a master status, sexual orientation by itself is not a particularly useful explanatory variable. Objectivity is further limited by the sexism and homophobia of both the sociological profession and its in-house researchers and theoreticians. Perceptions of gay/lesbian aging are particularly colored by the heterosexist emphasis on family life. Arguments are made that institutionalization of the elderly is really the political manifestation of personal and social values which are insensitive to the needs of minorities in general and same-sexers in particular

Review of \u3ci\u3ePrairie Peddlers: The Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota\u3c/i\u3e By William C. Sherman, Paul Whitney, and John Guerrero

This remarkable ethnographic study of the Syrian-Lebanese in North Dakota is unique. The data and information are original, never mind that the voices heard are nearly those of the early settlers, certainly those of their children. The authors use the records of the late 1930s (early 1940s) Federal Writers Projects and the Works Progress Administration to understand the reasons for Arab migration to North Dakota and the Great Plains, their employment practices, life styles (marriage patterns, culinary habits), and religious traditions, their distribution, settlements, institutions (or lack thereof), and finally their near total assimilation. If it were homesteading that attracted many Syrians to the Midwest, it was peddling that made them successful Homesteading also explains why more Lebanese than Syrians settled there. Syrians from Mt. Lebanon came from smaller, rural communities and farmed. Those from Syria proper were often from Damascus and Aleppo, established cities. An old Arab proverb states Trade takes a man far and if Syrians do anything well it is buying and selling. An entire economic chain developed among them wherein Syrian wholesalers in the Northeast supplied peddlers with goods that they brought to needy customers throughout the West. To facilitate economic success, the community published a Syrian Business Directory (1908), which included the names and addresses of every Syrian enterprise in the United States. Peddling Syrians is not a stereotype. It was their signature occupation. Another distinguishing characteristic of this book is its inclusion and respect for the early, oft-ignored Arab Muslim settlers. If anything, emphasis has always been on the Christian emigrants (of all denominations and rites) who settled in large Northeastern cities. Today\u27s Arab-American scholarship, of course, can\u27t and doesn\u27t overlook Muslims, but to see how the Syrian Muslims at the turn of the century accommodated rural American society (and vice versa) is an eye-opener. Many scholars claim that the first Mosque in the United States was in Ross, North Dakota

Rapid Increases in proBDNF after Pilocarpine-Induced Status Epilepticus in Mice Are Associated with Reduced proBDNF Cleavage Machinery

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels are elevated after status epilepticus (SE), leading to activation of multiple signaling pathways, including the janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription pathway that mediates a decrease in GABA(A) receptor α1 subunits in the hippocampus (Lund et al., 2008). While BDNF can signal via its pro or mature form, the relative contribution of these forms to signaling after SE is not fully known. In the current study, we investigate changes in proBDNF levels acutely after SE in C57BL/6J mice. In contrast to previous reports (Unsain et al., 2008; Volosin et al., 2008; VonDran et al., 2014), our studies found that levels of proBDNF in the hippocampus are markedly elevated as early as 3 h after SE onset and remain elevated for 7 d. Immunohistochemistry studies indicate that seizure-induced BDNF localizes to all hippocampal subfields, predominantly in principal neurons and also in astrocytes. Analysis of the proteolytic machinery that cleaves proBDNF to produce mature BDNF demonstrates that acutely after SE there is a decrease in tissue plasminogen activator and an increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), an inhibitor of extracellular and intracellular cleavage, which normalizes over the first week after SE. In vitro treatment of hippocampal slices from animals 24 h after SE with a PAI-1 inhibitor reduces proBDNF levels. These findings suggest that rapid proBDNF increases following SE are due in part to reduced cleavage, and that proBDNF may be part of the initial neurotrophin response driving intracellular signaling during the acute phase of epileptogenesis