ANTIGENIC SPECIFICITIES ON MURINE SARCOMA CELLS : RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NORMAL TRANSPLANTATION ANTIGENS (H-2) AND TUMOR-SPECIFIC IMMUNOGENICITY

Five methylcholanthrene-induced sarcomas were compared for their capacity to (a) absorb monospecific H-2 antisera, (b) induce tumor-specific immunity in syngeneic mice, and (c) metastasize early to the lungs. Comparison of the uptakes of monospecific H-2 antisera by the five different tumors showed that each of the tumors had a high, intermediate, or low surface representation of all of the seven specificities tested. No antigenic specificity was completely absent from any tumor, and no tumor had an unusually large or small amount of any individual specificity. The tumors could be placed in the sequence from one to five with respect to their H-2 antigenicity. The same five tumors were also ranked with respect to their capacity to induce a tumor-specific immune response in syngeneic mice. The tumor-specific immunogenicity had an inverse relationship to the H-2 antigenicity in that highly immunogenic tumors were those that had quantitatively less H-2 antigen on their surface and vice versa. Early metastases to the lung was associated with low levels of tumor-specific immunogenicity and high levels of H-2 antigenicity

Modeling focal epileptic activity in the Wilson-Cowan model with depolarization block

Measurements of neuronal signals during human seizure activity and evoked epileptic activity in experimental models suggest that, in these pathological states, the individual nerve cells experience an activity driven depolarization block, i.e. they saturate. We examined the effect of such a saturation in the Wilson–Cowan formalism by adapting the nonlinear activation function; we substituted the commonly applied sigmoid for a Gaussian function. We discuss experimental recordings during a seizure that support this substitution. Next we perform a bifurcation analysis on the Wilson–Cowan model with a Gaussian activation function. The main effect is an additional stable equilibrium with high excitatory and low inhibitory activity. Analysis of coupled local networks then shows that such high activity can stay localized or spread. Specifically, in a spatial continuum we show a wavefront with inhibition leading followed by excitatory activity. We relate our model simulations to observations of spreading activity during seizures

Posterior cortical atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease : a meta-analytic review of neuropsychological and brain morphometry studies

This paper presents the first systematic review and meta-analysis of neuropsychological and brain morphometry studies comparing posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) to typical Alzheimer's disease (tAD). Literature searches were conducted for brain morphometry and neuropsychological studies including a PCA and a tAD group. Compared to healthy controls (HC), PCA patients exhibited significant decreases in temporal, occipital and parietal gray matter (GM) volumes, whereas tAD patients showed extensive left temporal atrophy. Compared to tAD patients, participants with PCA showed greater GM volume reduction in the right occipital gyrus extending to the posterior lobule. In addition, PCA patients showed less GM volume loss in the left parahippocampal gyrus and left hippocampus than tAD patients. PCA patients exhibit significantly greater impairment in Immediate Visuospatial Memory as well as Visuoperceptual and Visuospatial Abilities than patients with tAD. However, tAD patients showed greater impairment in Delayed Auditory/Verbal Memory than patients with PCA. PCA is characterized by significant atrophy of the occipital and parietal regions and severe impairments in visuospatial functioning.JA is funded by a doctoral grant from the Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT (SFRH/BD/64457/2009, co-funded by FSE/POPH). JA and AS are funded by project PIC/IC/83290/2007, which is supported by FEDER (POFC-COMPETE) and FCT. JMS is supported by a fellowship of the project SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2. These organizations had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication

When a Person Wants to Die: Legal Considerations

Individuals throughout the nation are examining their personal options to determine end-of-life decisions. This article examines the medical reasons why people may want to die, the legal background and current status of existing laws, the various options open to the terminally ill person (voluntary dehydration, suicide, assisted dying, euthanasia, and the double effect), and the role of the legal counselor

Tourisme de masse et identité sur les marches sino-tibétaines : Réflexions d’un observateur

Cet article s’intéresse à la croissance spectaculaire du tourisme de masse dans la petite ville de Lijiang sur les marches sino-tibétaines. L’auteur, anthropologue ayant cumulé dix-huit années d’expérience dans la région, présente un essai sous forme de réflexion ethnographique sur les dimensions économiques et culturelles de la rencontre touristique mettant la population locale naxi en présence de l’Autre, qu’il soit han ou étranger à la Chine. En dépit d’un influx massif de richesses liées au commerce touristique, une partie de la population locale n’est guère plus prospère qu’il y a vingt ans, tandis que le tourisme accentue des clivages ethniques et sociaux anciens. On note en particulier un changement dans les images de la « naxi-tude » produites à des fins de consommation touristique, ainsi que dans la manière dont ces images deviennent importantes pour le remodelage des identités locales.This paper is concerned with the spectacular rise of mass tourism in the small town of Lijiang on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. The author is an anthropologist with 18 years experience in the region, and presents the essay as an ethnographic reflection on the economic and cultural dimensions of the tourism encounter between local Naxi natives and Han and non-Chinese “others”. Despite massive infusions of tourist wealth, some locals are little better off than they were 20 years ago, and for others tourism has led to an intensification of social and ethnic cleavages. Of particular interest are the changing images of “Naxiness” produced in the encounter for tourist consumption, and the ways in which the images become important in the refiguring of Naxi identities

Terminal Sedation and Dehydration

This article examines the range of medical intervention at life\u27s end can vary greatly, from sedation to euthanasia

Erik Mueggler, The Paper Road: Archive and Experience in the Botanical Exploration of West China and Tibet, 2011

Mckhann Charles F. Erik Mueggler, The Paper Road: Archive and Experience in the Botanical Exploration of West China and Tibet, 2011. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, vol. 23, 2014. Des mondes en devenir. Interethnicité et production de la différence en Chine du Sud-Ouest. pp. 303-305