Stories matter

Concordia University’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS), http://storytelling.concordia.ca, is currently developing new oral history database software, entitled Stories Matter. As Michael Frisch notes, “[the] Deep Dark Secret of oral history is that nobody spends much time listening to or watching recorded and collected interview documents.”Instead, oral historians tend to privilege transcripts over voices, losing the meanings inherent in their interviews. By returning the orality to oral history, Stories Matter will make it possible for oral historians to engage with their interviews and their collections in a more holistic way

“We Started Over Again, We Were Young”: Postwar Social Worlds of Child Holocaust Survivors in Montreal

Thousands of child Holocaust survivors arrived in Montreal, Quebec, between 1947 and 1952, looking to remake their lives, rebuild their families, and recreate their communities. Integration was not seamless. As survivors struggled to carve spaces for themselves within the established Canadian Jewish community, their difficult wartime stories were neither easily received nor understood. When remembering this period, survivors tend to speak about employment, education, dating, integration into both the pre-war Jewish community and the larger society, and, perhaps most importantly, the creation of their own social worlds within existing and new frameworks. Forged in a transitional and tumultuous period in Quebec’s history, these social worlds, as this article demonstrates, are an important example of survivor agency.Although survivors recall the ways in which Canadian Jews helped them adjust to their new setting, by organizing a number of programs and clubs within various spaces—Jeanne Mance House, the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association, and the Jewish Public Library—they also speak about how they forged their own paths upon arriving in this postwar city. For instance, survivors created the New World Club, an informal and grassroots social organization where they could prioritize their own needs and begin to be understood as people, and not just survivors. Establishing the interconnections between these formal and informal social worlds, and specifically, how survivors navigated them, is central to understanding the process through which they were able to move beyond their traumatic pasts and start over. Nightmares and parties are parts of the same story, and here the focus is on the memories of young survivors who prioritized their social worlds.Anna Sheftel and Stacey Zembrzycki have created a short movie about child Holocaust survivors’ postwar social worlds, using clips from the life story interviews that they conducted with them as part of the Montreal Life Stories project. To view this movie, go to: http://citizenshift.org/we-started-over-again-we-were-young.Des milliers d’enfants survivants de l’Holocauste sont arrivés à Montréal, au Québec, entre 1947 et 1952, cherchant à refaire leurs vies, reconstruire leurs familles et recréer leurs communautés. L’intégration n’était pas sans faille. Non seulement les survivants ont-ils du mal à se tailler une place au sein de la communauté juive canadienne existante, leurs pénibles récits de la guerre ne sont ni facilement reçus, ni facilement compris. Se rappelant cette période, les survivants ont tendance à parler de l’emploi, de l’éducation, de rencontres et d’intégration à la fois dans la communauté juive et la société d’avant-guerre et, plus encore, de la création de leurs propres univers sociaux dans de cadres établis ou récents. Créés dans une période transitoire et tumultueuse de l’histoire du Québec, ces mondes sociaux, comme le montre cet article, sont un exemple important de la volonté d’agir des survivants.Bien que les survivants rappellent comment les Juifs du Canada les ont aidés à s’adapter à leur nouveau contexte, en organisant un certain nombre de programmes et de clubs au sein de différents espaces – Jeanne Mance House, la Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association et la Jewish Public Library – ils racontent aussi comment ils ont forgé leur propre voies en arrivant dans cette ville d’après-guerre. Par exemple, les survivants ont créés le New World Club, un organisme social informel et populaire où ils pouvaient donner priorité à leurs propres besoins et commencer à être compris comme êtres humains et non seulement comme survivants. Démontrer les interconnexions entre ces mondes sociaux formels et informels et, plus particulièrement, comment les survivants y ont navigué, est essentiel à la compréhension du processus par lequel ils ont pu dépasser leurs expériences traumatiques et repartir à zéro. Cauchemars et fêtes sont deux versants d’une même histoire; l’accent ici est mis sur les souvenirs des jeunes survivants qui ont accordé la priorité à leurs mondes sociaux.Anna Sheftel et Stacey Zembrzycki ont crée un court-métrage ayant pour thème les univers sociaux de l’après-guerre des enfants survivants de l’Holocauste. Elles ont utilisé des extraits tirés de leurs entrevues réalisées pour le projet Histoires de vie Montréal. Pour visionner ce film, visiter le lien suivant: http://citizenshift.org/we-started-over-again-we-were-young

Genetic interplay between the transcription factors Sp8 and Emx2 in the patterning of the forebrain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The forebrain consists of multiple structures necessary to achieve elaborate functions. Proper patterning is, therefore, a prerequisite for the generation of optimal functional areas. Only a few factors have been shown to control the genetic networks that establish early forebrain patterning.</p> <p>Results and conclusion</p> <p>Using conditional inactivation, we show that the transcription factor Sp8 has an essential role in the molecular and functional patterning of the developing telencephalon along the anteroposterior axis by modulating the expression gradients of <it>Emx2 </it>and <it>Pax6</it>. Moreover, Sp8 is essential for the maintenance of ventral cell identity in the septum and medial ganglionic eminence (MGE). This is probably mediated through a positive regulatory interaction with Fgf8 in the medial wall, and Nkx2.1 in the rostral MGE anlage, and independent of SHH and WNT signaling. Furthermore, <it>Sp8 </it>is required during corticogenesis to sustain a normal progenitor pool, and to control preplate splitting, as well as the specification of cellular diversity within distinct cortical layers.</p

Analyse der molekularen Funktion des Zinkfinger-Transkriptionsfaktors Sp8 während der Embryonalentwicklung des Vorderhirns und des Olfaktorischen Systems der Maus

The zinc-finger transcription factor Sp8 is expressed in the developing nervous system, limbs and the tail bud. Analysis of Sp8 knockout mice revealed severe truncations of the limbs and tail, while at the midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) a defect of A/P patterning occurred. To gain more insights into the role of Sp8 in the developing telencephalon and to overcome exencephaly, we analyzed Foxg1-Cre-mediated conditional Sp8 mutants. We present evidence that, in the absence of Sp8, the D/V patterning at the medial telencephalic wall is perturbed. Sp8 is essential for maintenance of ventral cell identity in the septum and medial ganglionic eminence. This is probably mediated through a positive regulatory interaction with Fgf8 in the medial wall, and Nkx2.1 in the rostral MGE anlage. Additionally, due to the modulation of the graded expression territories of Emx2 and Pax6 in pallial progenitors, a caudalization of primary cortical areas occurs. Our study indicates that Sp8 function is required to prevent pallial progenitors from apoptosis, and to control the molecular specification of subsets of cortical layer neurons. This is consistent with an essential role for Sp8 in the patterning of the developing forebrain along the A/P and D/V axes. Furthermore, our findings support the idea of a direct interaction between Sp8 and Emx2 proteins. In addition our analysis supports preliminary evidence for an important role of Sp8 during development of the olfactory bulbs and olfactory epithelium.Der Zinkfinger-Transkriptionsfaktor Sp8 ist im sich entwickelnden Nervensystem, in den Gliedern und in der Schwanzknospe expremiert. Die Analyse von Sp8-Knockout-Mäusen deckte starke Verstümmelungen der Glieder und der Schwanzknospe auf und zeigte, daß an der Mittelhirn-Hinterhirngrenze (MHB) die anterior-posterior Musterbildung gestört ist. Um weitere Einblicke in die Rolle von Sp8 im sich entwickelnden Vorderhirn zu gewinnen und um die Exenzephalie von Sp8-Knockout-Mäusen zu überwinden, generierte ich, durch die Kreuzung gefloxter Sp8-Mäuse mit Foxg1-Cre-transgenen Mäusen, konditionelle Sp8-Mutanten. Diese Studie zeigt, daß die dorsal-ventral Musterbildung der kortikalen Mittellinie in konditionellen Mutanten gestört ist. Sp8 ist für die Aufrechterhaltung ventraler Identität von Vorläuferzellenin der kortikalen Mittellinie und der medialen Basalganglien verantwortlich. Dieses wird vermutlich durch einen positiven regulatorischen Mechanismus zwischen Sp8 und Fgf8 in der Mittellinie, sowie zwischen Sp8 und Nkx2.1 in den rostralen Basalganglien vermittelt. Zusätzlich sind in Mutanten die normalen Expressionsgradiente von Emx2 und von Pax6 in kortikalen Vorläuferzellen dereguliert, was schließlich zur Kaudalisierung primärer kortikaler Areale führt. Diese Studie zeigt ferner, daß normale Funktion von Sp8 nötig ist, um die Apoptose von Vorläuferzellen im Vorderhirn zu kontrollieren, und die molekulare Spezifikation spezifischer kortikaler Schichtneurone zu steuern. Diese Ergebnisse stehen mit einer wesentlichen Rolle von Sp8 während der Musterbildung des sich entwickelnden Vordergirns entlang der anterior-posterior-, sowie der dorsal-ventral Achse überein. Außerdem stützen die vorliegenden Untersuchungen ein Modell der direkten Interaktion zwischen Sp8- und Emx2 Proteinen während dieser Prozesse. Zusätzlich bietet diese Studie erste Hinweise für eine wichtige Rolle von Sp8 während der Entwicklung der Riechkolben und des olfaktorischen Epithels

Pax7 is requisite for maintenance of a subpopulation of superior collicular neurons and shows a diverging expression pattern to Pax3 during superior collicular development

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pax7 </it>encodes a transcription factor well-established as an important determinant of mesencephalic identity and superior collicular development. <it>Pax7 </it>mutant mice, however, present with no obvious morphological impairments to the superior colliculus. This finding is paradoxical and has been attributed to functional redundancy afforded by its paralogue <it>Pax3</it>. Here we utilise <it>Pax7 </it>mutant mice to investigate the precise role of this important developmental regulator during superior collicular development and neuronal specification/differentiation. We also assess its spatiotemporal relationship with <it>Pax3 </it>during embryonic development.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analysis of the superior colliculus of <it>Pax7 </it>mutant and wildtype mice at a variety of developmental timepoints revealed that whilst correct initial specification is maintained, a subpopulation of dorsal mesencephalic neurons is lost at early postnatal stages. Moreover, a comparative analysis of embryonic <it>Pax3 </it>and <it>Pax7 </it>expression profiles indicate that <it>Pax3 </it>expression overlaps extensively with that of <it>Pax7 </it>initially, but their expression domains increasingly diverge as development progresses, coinciding spatiotemporally with neuronal differentiation and maturation of the tissue. Furthermore, <it>Pax3 </it>expression is perturbed within the CNS of embryonic <it>Pax7 </it>mutant mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, these results demonstrate that during superior collicular development, <it>Pax7 </it>is required to maintain a subpopulation of dorsal, mesencephalic neurons and partially regulates, spatiotemporally, <it>Pax3 </it>expression within the CNS. The differential nature of <it>Pax7 </it>and <it>Pax3 </it>with respect to neuronal differentiation may have implications for future stem cell therapies aimed at exploiting their developmental capabilities.</p

Telling Our Stories/Animating Our Past: A Status Report on Oral History and New Media

Tens of thousands of oral history interviews sitting in archival drawers, on computer hard drives, or on library bookshelves have never been listened to. Thousands of new interviews are being added each year by the many large testimony projects now underway, including Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Historica–Dominion Institute’s Memory Project. Although the existence of these immense collections is widely known, the interviews are difficult to access. How can we combine oral history and new media to insure that the potential of such important projects is fully realized? Emergent and digital technologies are opening up new possibilities for accessing Canadian memories and transmitting them to various audiences. New forms of media are changing the ways we think about and do oral and public history. Des milliers d’entrevues d’histoire orale oubliées dans des tiroirs d’archives, sur des disques durs et sur des étagères de bibliothèque n’ont jamais été écoutées. En même temps, chaque année, de nouvelles entrevues viennent s’ajouter par milliers dans le cadre de grands projets de témoignage, y compris la Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada et le Projet Mémoire de l’Institut Historica Dominion. Bien que l’existence de ces collections immenses ne soit guère un secret, les entretiens sont difficiles d’accès. Comment peut-on combiner l’histoire orale et les nouveaux médias afin de réaliser pleinement le potentiel de projets si importants? Des technologies numériques récentes présentent de nouvelles possibilités pour accéder aux souvenirs canadiens et les transmettre à divers publics. En effet, de nouvelles formes de média sont en train de changer les manières de penser et de pratiquer l’histoire orale et publique

Multifunctional platform based on electrospun nanofibers and plasmonic hydrogel. A smart nanostructured pillow for near-infrared light-driven biomedical applications

Multifunctional nanomaterials with the ability to respond to near-infrared (NIR) light stimulation are vital for the development of highly efficient biomedical nanoplatforms with a polytherapeutic approach. Inspired by the mesoglea structure of jellyfish bells, a biomimetic multifunctional nanostructured pillow with fast photothermal responsiveness for NIR light-controlled on-demand drug delivery is developed. We fabricate a nanoplatform with several hierarchical levels designed to generate a series of controlled, rapid, and reversible cascade-like structural changes upon NIR light irradiation. The mechanical contraction of the nanostructured platform, resulting from the increase of temperature to 42 °C due to plasmonic hydrogel-light interaction, causes a rapid expulsion of water from the inner structure, passing through an electrospun membrane anchored onto the hydrogel core. The mutual effects of the rise in temperature and water flow stimulate the release of molecules from the nanofibers. To expand the potential applications of the biomimetic platform, the photothermal responsiveness to reach the typical temperature level for performing photothermal therapy (PTT) is designed. The on-demand drug model penetration into pig tissue demonstrates the efficiency of the nanostructured platform in the rapid and controlled release of molecules, while the high biocompatibility confirms the pillow potential for biomedical applications based on the NIR light-driven multitherapy strategy

The Corticofugal Neuron-Associated Genes ROBO1, SRGAP1, and CTIP2 Exhibit an Anterior to Posterior Gradient of Expression in Early Fetal Human Neocortex Development

Developing neocortical progenitors express transcription factors in gradients that induce programs of region-specific gene expression. Our previous work identified anteriorly upregulated expression gradients of a number of corticofugal neuron-associated gene probe sets along the anterior–posterior axis of the human neocortex (8-12 postconceptional weeks [PCW]). Here, we demonstrate by real-time polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry that 3 such genes, ROBO1, SRGAP1, and CTIP2 are highly expressed anteriorly between 8-12 PCW, in comparison with other genes (FEZF2, SOX5) expressed by Layer V, VI, and subplate neurons. All 3 were prominently expressed by early postmitotic neurons in the subventricular zone, intermediate zone, and cortical plate (CP) from 8 to 10 PCW. Between 12 and 15 PCW expression patterns for ER81 and SATB2 (Layer V), TBR1 (Layer V/VI) and NURR1 (Layer VI) revealed Layer V forming. By 15 PCW, ROBO1 and SRGAP1 expression was confined to Layer V, whereas CTIP2 was expressed throughout the CP anteriorly. We observed ROBO1 and SRGAP1 immunoreactivity in medullary corticospinal axons from 11 PCW onward. Thus, we propose that the coexpression of these 3 markers in the anterior neocortex may mark the early location of the human motor cortex, including its corticospinal projection neurons, allowing further study of their early differentiation