Loss of the thyroid hormone-binding protein Crym renders striatal neurons more vulnerable to mutant huntingtin in Huntington's disease.

The mechanisms underlying preferential atrophy of the striatum in Huntington's disease (HD) are unknown. One hypothesis is that a set of gene products preferentially expressed in the striatum could determine the particular vulnerability of this brain region to mutant huntingtin (mHtt). Here, we studied the striatal protein µ-crystallin (Crym). Crym is the NADPH-dependent p38 cytosolic T3-binding protein (p38CTBP), a key regulator of thyroid hormone (TH) T3 (3,5,3'-triiodo-l-thyronine) transportation. It has been also recently identified as the enzyme that reduces the sulfur-containing cyclic ketimines, which are potential neurotransmitters. Here, we confirm the preferential expression of the Crym protein in the rodent and macaque striatum. Crym expression was found to be higher in the macaque caudate than in the putamen. Expression of Crym was reduced in the BACHD and Knock-in 140CAG mouse models of HD before onset of striatal atrophy. We show that overexpression of Crym in striatal medium-size spiny neurons using a lentiviral-based strategy in mice is neuroprotective against the neurotoxicity of an N-terminal fragment of mHtt in vivo. Thus, reduction of Crym expression in HD could render striatal neurons more susceptible to mHtt suggesting that Crym may be a key determinant of the vulnerability of the striatum. In addition our work points to Crym as a potential molecular link between striatal degeneration and the THs deregulation reported in HD patients

PREPARO QUÍMICO MECÂNICO DOS CONDUTOS RADICULARES: ANÁLISE COMPARATIVA DA FORMAÇÃO DO DESVIO APICAL “ZIP” EM CANAIS CUR- VOS PRODUZIDO “IN VITRO” POR TÉCNICAS DE INSTRUMENTAÇÃO.

Os autores descrevem a instrumentação com instrumentos de níquel - titânio (Pow-R) acionados amotor e instrumentação manual com limas de aço inoxidável. As técnicas foram realizadas emblocos de resina transparente e comparadas entre si em diversas fases, sendo discutidas as suasvantagens e desvantagens. A análise dos resultados permite verificar maior incidência de desvioapical para a técnica de preparo manual (limas de aço inoxidável) do que para o sistema de rotação contínua Pow – R.Palavras chave: Instrumentos endodonticos; Desvio apical; Tratamento dos condutos radiculares; Preparo docanal

Transcriptional correlates of the pathological phenotype in a Huntington’s disease mouse model

Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder without a cure that is caused by an aberrant expansion of CAG repeats in exon 1 of the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Although a negative correlation between the number of CAG repeats and the age of disease onset is established, additional factors may contribute to the high heterogeneity of the complex manifestation of symptoms among patients. This variability is also observed in mouse models, even under controlled genetic and environmental conditions. To better understand this phenomenon, we analysed the R6/1 strain in search of potential correlates between pathological motor/cognitive phenotypical traits and transcriptional alterations. HD-related genes (e.g., Penk, Plk5, Itpka), despite being downregulated across the examined brain areas (the prefrontal cortex, striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum), exhibited tissue-specific correlations with particular phenotypical traits that were attributable to the contribution of the brain region to that trait (e.g., striatum and rotarod performance, cerebellum and feet clasping). Focusing on the striatum, we determined that the transcriptional dysregulation associated with HD was partially exacerbated in mice that showed poor overall phenotypical scores, especially in genes with relevant roles in striatal functioning (e.g., Pde10a, Drd1, Drd2, Ppp1r1b). However, we also observed transcripts associated with relatively better outcomes, such as Nfya (CCAAT-binding transcription factor NF-Y subunit A) plus others related to neuronal development, apoptosis and differentiation. In this study, we demonstrated that altered brain transcription can be related to the manifestation of HD-like symptoms in mouse models and that this can be extrapolated to the highly heterogeneous population of HD patients

When marriages fail: Divorce in nineteenth-century Texas

Divorce in nineteenth-century Texas was rooted in social customs as much as law, with class, gender, and race serving as strong influences on marital experiences and decisions to divorce. Legal divorce took place primarily at the local level, with the option of appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Under Mexican rule, Anglo settlers had no option for divorce, and marital status was itself often uncertain, resulting in the practice of bond marriage (marriage by contract). For a short time under the Republic of Texas, a few Texans sought legislative divorce. However, judicial divorce soon became the standard practice and remained so throughout the century. This study is based on a reading of 1,578 local divorce cases from Harrison and Washington Counties. An extensive database including all available information on the litigants of each case provides insight into the influences of class, race, gender, kinship, and community on divorce. Although culturally very southern, Texas was also a western frontier and a community-property state. A combination of property protections based on Spanish law, frontier attitudes, and southern paternalism assured Texas women of a relatively high legal status. The Texas divorce law of 1841 remained intact throughout the nineteenth century with only minor changes. With remarkable legal persistence, social factors were the most evident influences on marital expectations and divorce. Chapters are laid out chronologically. Chapter One examines the statutory context of Texas divorce. Chapter Two addresses marital dissolution in the earliest phase of Anglo settlement and under the Republic of Texas, with an emphasis on frontier circumstances and changing political identities. Chapter Three examines divorce under antebellum statehood with an eye toward social hierarchy. Chapter Four discusses the impact of the Civil War and the actions of divorce seekers in postwar Texas, with emphasis on kinship and community influences as well as changing expectations for marriage. Chapter Five deals with the unique experiences of African American divorce seekers in Texas after 1865

A Case Study of Japanese Language Teaching in a Multicultural Learning Environment

This research sought to determine the level of productive vocabulary knowledge of the students grouped according to type of school and curriculum year level; performance of the students in the vocabulary test categorized according to frequency levels; their breadth of productive vocabulary knowledge related to type of school enrolled in, curriculum year level, and exposure to information media; and the intervention strategies that may be proposed to enhance students’ productive vocabulary knowledge. The Vocabulary Level Test (VLT) designed by Nation (1990) and widely used as a second language diagnostic test in New Zealand and other English-speaking countries, was adopted and used as a tool to measure selected pre-service teachers’ breadth or size of productive vocabulary knowledge against word-frequency lists. The subjects were the pre-service teachers enrolled in state and private colleges. Only the freshmen and seniors taking up Bachelor in Elementary Education and Bachelor in Secondary Education were chosen to participate in the study. Results of the investigation suggest that: (1) Pre-service teachers in both public and private schools still lack the productive vocabulary knowledge in English to make them proficient and effective speakers and writers; (2) Students from state colleges have wider vocabulary knowledge than those from the private colleges. However, the breadth of their vocabulary knowledge is not sufficient to make them effective user of the language; (3) Longer exposure to the English language in the school helps increase vocabulary size; and (4) Exposure to information media helps widens breadth of productive vocabulary. It was recommended that: (1) Productive Vocabulary Levels Test by Nation (1990) should be used, then, in all tertiary institutions as an additional quantitative measure for students’ vocabulary size; (2) Students should be provided adequate access to the computer/internet, cable network, English reading materials, and television in the school; and 3) Teaching time allotted for vocabulary development in all classes where English is used as the medium of instruction should be lengthened

Biological Features of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Latency in Mice According to Experimental Conditions and Type of Neurones

International audienc

A bittersweet treat: Impact of OFW remittances on labor hours worked per week using selected socio-demographic variables of the household head

Remittances play a very important part to the households that receive them. Remittances are money endowed by migrants to their families at their home country. Many consider them as additional or non-labor income, used for consumption and investment purposes. However, it seems that more and more recipients become heavily dependent on these remittances for their households needs. The presence of another source of income would give an individual less incentive to work and may cause him to choose leisure over labor. The aim of this study is to determine if remittances have an impact on the labor participation of households heads. From using the merged FIEs, LFS and SOW dataset of the Philippines and OLS regression models, it was concluded that remittances do impose less number of hours worked last week for the household heads that receive them from those that do not. It was also observed that results vary according to gender and the region where the household head reside