146 research outputs found

    Whigs against Whigs against Whigs: The Imperial Debates of 1765–76 Reconsidered

    Get PDF
    In the essay featured here, Eric Nelson argues that in the early 1770s patriots dropped their previous insistence that Parliament was sovereign over the colonies but simply lacked authority to impose internal taxes, and instead adopted the dominion theory, returning to the constitutional position of the Stuart monarchs James I and Charles I. Examining this remarkable turn toward royal power demonstrates the true drama of the republican turn in 1776 and highlights the persistent allure of prerogative powers in the formative period of American constitutionalism. Gordon S. Wood, Pauline Maier, and Daniel J. Hulsebosch assess Nelson’s thesis, and then Nelson replies to their critiques

    Narrative, Interpretation, and the Ratification of the Constitution

    Get PDF
    I am grateful to the participants in this forum for their careful and enthusiastic responses to Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. Some comments usefully extend the discussion beyond what’s in the book . Maeva Marcus pushes the story into the 1790s, when the new Supreme Court took up issues that had played a role in the ratification debates, and demonstrates the continued fluidity of constitutional understandings. For both Marcus and Seth Cornell, the complexity of arguments described in the book weighs powerfully against modern judicial theories of “originalism.” However, as Cornell correctly observes, I deliberately avoided discussing the modern debate over originalism in Ratification, and I intend to do the same thing here. It seems more appropriate to use this opportunity to address the “authorial decisions” that interest Todd Estes and the more general issue of how the book contributes to historical interpretations of ratification, an event that one reviewer described as “one of the greatest political brawls of all time.”

    Not Your Usual “Founders”

    Get PDF
    Revolutionary Founders is, to my mind, one of the best recent books on the American Revolution, and one that, unlike so many others, could actually be of use in the college classroom. It includes an introduction by the editors, an afterword by Eric Foner, and twenty-two essays, each by a different scholar, focused on an individual or group of individuals who played a role in the Revolution and whose story highlights some aspect of the event. The essays are divided into three sections—Revolutions, Wars, and The Promise of the Revolution. That gives the book range: it goes from the organization of resistance to Britain through the war to the impact of the Revolution, particularly of its promise of equality. The essays are, as a whole, historically sophisticated and readable. Most essays are well researched, activate the imagination and, even for this seasoned scholar, deepen knowledge of the time. Moreover, although the book has no overt political agenda, only a peculiarly insensitive reader will miss the similarity between the issues that concerned some of the essays’ protagonists—the maldistribution of wealth, for example—and those of today

    The Strange History of All Men Are Created Equal

    Full text link

    Organization of the Drosophila larval visual circuit

    Get PDF
    Visual systems transduce, process and transmit light-dependent environmental cues. Computation of visual features depends on the types of photoreceptor neurons (PR) present, the organization of the eye and the wiring of the underlying neural circuit. Here, we describe the circuit architecture of the visual system of Drosophila larvae by mapping the synaptic wiring diagram and neurotransmitters. By contacting different targets, the two larval PR-subtypes create parallel circuits potentially underlying the computation of absolute light intensity and temporal light changes already within this first visual processing center. Locally processed visual information then signals via dedicated projection interneurons to higher brain areas including the lateral horn and mushroom body. The stratified structure of the LON suggests common organizational principles with the adult fly and vertebrate visual systems. The complete synaptic wiring diagram of the LON paves the way to understanding how circuits with reduced numerical complexity control wide ranges of behaviors

    Calcium-Mediated Actin Reset (Caar) Mediates Acute Cell Adaptations

    Get PDF
    Actin has well established functions in cellular morphogenesis. However, it is not well understood how the various actin assemblies in a cell are kept in a dynamic equilibrium, in particular when cells have to respond to acute signals. Here, we characterize a rapid and transient actin reset in response to increased intracellular calcium levels. Within seconds of calcium influx, the formin INF2 stimulates filament polymerization at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), while cortical actin is disassembled. The reaction is then reversed within a few minutes. This Calcium-mediated actin reset (CaAR) occurs in a wide range of mammalian cell types and in response to many physiological cues. CaAR leads to transient immobilization of organelles, drives reorganization of actin during cell cortex repair, cell spreading and wound healing, and induces long-lasting changes in gene expression. Our findings suggest that CaAR acts as fundamental facilitator of cellular adaptations in response to acute signals and stress

    Search for copy number variants in chromosomes 15q11-q13 and 22q11.2 in obsessive compulsive disorder

    Get PDF
    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinically and etiologically heterogeneous syndrome. The high frequency of obsessive-compulsive symptoms reported in subjects with the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (DiGeorge/velocardiofacial syndrome) or Prader-Willi syndrome (15q11-13 deletion of the paternally derived chromosome), suggests that gene dosage effects in these chromosomal regions could increase risk for OCD. Therefore, the aim of this study was to search for microrearrangements in these two regions in OCD patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We screened the 15q11-13 and 22q11.2 chromosomal regions for genomic imbalances in 236 patients with OCD using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No deletions or duplications involving 15q11-13 or 22q11.2 were identified in our patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that deletions/duplications of chromosomes 15q11-13 and 22q11.2 are rare in OCD. Despite the negative findings in these two regions, the search for copy number variants in OCD using genome-wide array-based methods is a highly promising approach to identify genes of etiologic importance in the development of OCD.</p

    Chronic Activation of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Type 2 Receptors Reveals a Key Role for 5-HT1A Receptor Responsiveness in Mediating Behavioral and Serotonergic Responses to Stressful Challenge

    Get PDF
    BackgroundThe corticotropin-releasing factor type 2 receptor (CRFR2) is suggested to play an important role in aiding recovery from acute stress, but any chronic effects of CRFR2 activation are unknown. CRFR2 in the midbrain raphé nuclei modulate serotonergic activity of this key source of serotonin (5-HT) forebrain innervation.MethodsTransgenic mice overexpressing the highly specific CRFR2 ligand urocortin 3 (UCN3OE) were analyzed for stress-related behaviors and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses. Responses to 5-HT receptor agonist challenge were assessed by local cerebral glucose utilization, while 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid content were quantified in limbic brain regions.ResultsMice overexpressing urocortin 3 exhibited increased stress-related behaviors under basal conditions and impaired retention of spatial memory compared with control mice. Following acute stress, unlike control mice, they exhibited no further increase in these stress-related behaviors and showed an attenuated adrenocorticotropic hormone response. 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid content of limbic nuclei were differentially regulated by stress in UCN3OE mice as compared with control mice. Responses to 5-HT type 1A receptor challenge were significantly and specifically reduced in UCN3OE mice. The distribution pattern of local cerebral glucose utilization and 5-HT type 1A receptor messenger RNA expression levels suggested this effect was mediated in the raphé nuclei.ConclusionsChronic activation of CRFR2 promotes an anxiety-like state, yet with attenuated behavioral and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress. This is reminiscent of stress-related atypical psychiatric syndromes such as posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain states. This new understanding indicates CRFR2 antagonism as a potential novel therapeutic target for such disorders

    Outcomes of cerebral venous thrombosis due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia after the acute phase

    Get PDF
    © 2022 American Heart Association, Inc.Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) due to vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a severe condition, with high in-hospital mortality rates. Here, we report clinical outcomes of patients with CVT-VITT after SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) vaccination who survived initial hospitalization. Methods: We used data from an international registry of patients who developed CVT within 28 days of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, collected until February 10, 2022. VITT diagnosis was classified based on the Pavord criteria. Outcomes were mortality, functional independence (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2), VITT relapse, new thrombosis, and bleeding events (all after discharge from initial hospitalization). Results: Of 107 CVT-VITT cases, 43 (40%) died during initial hospitalization. Of the remaining 64 patients, follow-up data were available for 60 (94%) patients (37 definite VITT, 9 probable VITT, and 14 possible VITT). Median age was 40 years and 45/60 (75%) patients were women. Median follow-up time was 150 days (interquartile range, 94–194). Two patients died during follow-up (3% [95% CI, 1%–11%). Functional independence was achieved by 53/60 (88% [95% CI, 78%–94%]) patients. No new venous or arterial thrombotic events were reported. One patient developed a major bleeding during follow-up (fatal intracerebral bleed). Conclusions: In contrast to the high mortality of CVT-VITT in the acute phase, mortality among patients who survived the initial hospitalization was low, new thrombotic events did not occur, and bleeding events were rare. Approximately 9 out of 10 CVT-VITT patients who survived the acute phase were functionally independent at follow-up.This study was funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, grant number 10430072110005), the Dr. C.J. Vaillant Foundation, and Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (grant TYH2022223).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Psychology and aggression

    Full text link
    Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68264/2/10.1177_002200275900300301.pd
    • 

    corecore