Restraining Influence Research Articles

MiR-760 exerts a critical regulatory role in glioma proliferation, migration, and invasion by modulating MMP2 expression.

Background: Glioma represents the predominant subtype of brain tumor, characterized by an unfavorable prognosis. Current evidence indicates the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the initiation and progression of glioma malignancies. While miR-760 has been recognized in the context of tumorigenesis, its precise role in gliomas remains insufficiently explored. Methods: In this investigation, we harnessed the GSE25631 database to scrutinize the aberrant expression profiles of microRNAs, whereby the diminished expression of miR-760 in glioblastoma was validated. Our aim was to delineate the expression patterns of microRNA-760 (miR-760) and probe its prognostic significance within the realm of glioma. Employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we ascertained the relative expression levels of miR-760 and MMP2 in glioma cell lines. The impact of miR-760 on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion was assessed through Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), and Transwell assays. Bioinformatics analysis corroborated the downstream target gene of miR-760. Furthermore, a luciferase reporter experiment was conducted to pinpoint MMP2 as the direct target gene of miR-760. The assessment of MMP2 protein levels was accomplished through Western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. Result: Our data unequivocally revealed a substantial reduction in miR-760 expression within glioma tissues and cell lines. Heightened miR-760 levels exerted a restraining influence on the proliferation, migration, and invasion capabilities of glioma cell lines. The outcomes of our bioinformatics analysis unveiled the ability of miR-760 to engage with and curtail MMP2 expression. Collectively, these findings posit that miR-760 exerts a restraining influence on glioma growth by orchestrating the upregulation of miR-760 along the miR-760/MMP2 axis. Conclusion: The delineation of the miR-760/MMP2 axis promises to broaden our comprehension of the intricate molecular mechanisms underpinning glioma proliferation and may unveil prospective therapeutic avenues for the management of glioma.

The Role of Boundary-Spanners in the Control of a Chinese Garment Factory in Myanmar

This research examines the role of intraorganisational boundary-spanners, as mechanisms of workplace control, through an ethnographic study of a Chinese-run garment factory in Myanmar. The findings demonstrate how these intermediaries, rather than facilitating open communication, exerted a restraining influence on their cross-cultural workplace by identifying, dissolving and suppressing the expression of grievances. Wielding relationship-based informal power and position-based formal power, these intermediaries employed various means of persuasion and communication manipulation and disciplinary measures to contain dissatisfaction and maintain stability, whereby workers were directed to abandon their demands and align their expectations with management interests. Merging the literature on labour and management control with that on boundary-spanning in cross-cultural contexts, this article challenges the view that boundary-spanners enhance communication and promote consensus across boundaries, spotlighting the need to examine their activities in light of the profound influence of power dynamics in organisations.

Factor Decomposition and Regression Analysis of the Energy Related Carbon Emissions in Shandong, China: A Perspective of Industrial Structure

An in-depth study of the energy related carbon emissions has important practical significance for carbon emissions reduction and structural adjustment in Shandong Province and throughout China. Based on the perspective of industrial structure, the expanded KAYA equation to measure the energy related carbon emissions of the primary industries (Resources and Agriculture) and secondary industries (Manufacturing and Construction) and tertiary industries (Retail and Service) was utilized in Shandong Province from 2011 to 2017. The carbon emissions among industries in Shandong Province were empirically analyzed using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition approach. The results were follows: (1) Under the three industrial dimensions, the energy structure effect and the energy intensity effect have a restraining influence on the carbon emissions of the three industries. (2) The development level effect and the employment scale effect play a pulling role in carbon emissions. (3) From the perspective of the employment structure effect of the primary industry, there is a restraining effect on carbon emissions, while the employment structure effects of the secondary and tertiary industries play a pulling role in carbon emissions, and the employment structure effect of the tertiary industry has a greater pulling effect on carbon emissions than the secondary industry.

Современный рынок вооружений стран Юго-Восточной Азии: вектор развития и новые возможности для России

The article highlights the main parameters of arms market conditions and development tendencies in Southeast Asia countries, which have traditionally attracted the attention of the world's leading producers and exporters of military products, including Russia. The most important international factor is the US-China competition in the region as well as the policy of the People’s Republic of China. In this context, the strategy of the countries pursues to have a restraining influence, what in military construction matters to take measures to modernize and update their weapons along with developing the national military industry. This creates new prospective opportunities for Russia as one of the leaders of the global arms market.

Between ‘National Community’ and ‘Milieu’: German Catholics at War, 1939–1945

This article examines German Catholics’ sense of community and identity during the Second World War. It analyses how far they were able to reconcile their religious faith with support for Nazism and the German war effort and questions the extent to which Catholicism in the Rhineland and Westphalia represented either a sealed confessional subculture or a homogenising Nazified ‘national community’ (Volksgemeinschaft). The article argues that, in their pure forms, neither of these analytical paradigms accounts for the complexities of German Catholics’ attitudes during this period, which were far more contested and diverse than outlined by much existing historiography. Religious socialisation, Nazi propaganda and older nationalist traditions shaped Catholics’ mentalities during the Third Reich, creating a spectrum of opinion concerning the appropriate relationship between these influences and loyalties. At the level of lived experience, Catholics’ memberships of religious and national communities revealed themselves to be highly compatible, a tendency which in turn exerted a restraining influence on church–state conflict in wartime Germany.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT IN RUSSIA IN THE CONDITIONS OF ECONOMIC CRISIS

The construction industry is one of the key fund-creating industries, the formation of the Russian economy greatly depends on it. The construction sector is cyclic, that’s why it has always been sensitive to the tendencies of the national economy. In the contemporary conditions of weak economical climate the construction industry is in a state of sluggish recession. The key indicators exercising restraining influence on the construction complex are analyzed. The author carried out calculations of the prices for residential real estate in the past years. The author’s view on the near-term prospects on the exit from recession state is formulated. From the view of the today’s state and the nearest development prospects, it can be stated that the construction industry is one of the most problematic among the basic economic sectors. Retrieval of the expansion rate of the construction industry is possible in case of the positive changes of general economic state.

Edwardian Conservatism and the Constitution: The Thought of Lord Hugh Cecil

This article presents an analysis of the political thought of Lord Hugh Cecil. It argues that in order to understand Cecil's thought it is necessary to emphasize the role of the constitution in his thinking. There are three reasons for this. First, his opposition to Chamberlain's tariff reform campaign was rooted in a view of the detrimental effects the policy would have on politics, evidence for which Cecil saw in the tactics used by the tariff reformers. Second, because his opposition to the Parliament Bill and to the home rule proposals, which lay behind the removal of the house of lords' veto, was similarly rooted in what he saw as the unconstitutional nature of these measures. Third, because Cecil was an active proponent of constitutional reforms that were designed to ensure that the second chamber could still exercise a restraining influence on government and so stand up for the interests of what he saw as the moderate majority of the people.

GREAT BRITAIN, THE UNITED STATES, AND CONSULTATION OVER USE OF THE ATOMIC BOMB, 1950–1954

ABSTRACTThe subject of when nuclear weapons might have to be employed by the United States during the early Cold War period was the setting for a prolonged and uneasy dialogue within the Anglo-American relationship. While British governments pressed for a formal agreement that there should be prior consultation before the atomic bomb was ever used, the Americans were determined to retain the freedom to take this crucial decision alone. This article explores the debates that ensued and the tensions that were created by this issue, between the meetings of Attlee and Truman in December 1950 and the Indochina crisis of 1954, and highlights the contrasting geopolitical positions of Britain and the United States as they sought to reconcile their views. For the British, playing host to a clutch of important US airbases, the risk of early nuclear devastation in any outbreak of general war was a paramount consideration. Although impatient with British caution, the Americans recognized an overriding need for allied support in general war giving British views the capacity to exercise a restraining influence.

Adrenomedullin 2 attenuates the pressor but not adrenal responses to angiotensin II in conscious sheep

Biological actions attributed to the adrenomedullin (AM) peptides, AM and AM2, include reduction of arterial pressure and peripheral resistance. While AM has been shown to reduce aldosterone secretion from the adrenal, little information is available regarding possible actions of AM2 on aldosterone. Evidence suggests that AM may act as a functional antagonist to angiotensin II (Ang II) but such a role has not been investigated for AM2. Accordingly, we have examined hemodynamic and adrenal responses to stepped Ang II infusions with or without co-infusions of AM2 (33 ng/(kg min)) in conscious sheep under controlled conditions of a low sodium intake. The dose-dependent pressor response (5–50 mmHg) of Ang II was both delayed and attenuated ( p < 0.001) by AM2 which also stimulated heart rate ( p < 0.001) and cardiac output ( p < 0.001). AM2 prevented Ang II-induced increases in peripheral resistance ( p < 0.001). In contrast, plasma aldosterone responses to Ang II were not significantly altered by concomitant AM2 infusion. In conclusion, low dose infusion of AM2 administered to conscious sheep on a low salt diet clearly antagonized the vasopressor action of administered Ang II while stimulating cardiac output and heart rate. In contrast to AM, AM2 had no restraining influence on the aldosterone response to Ang II. The data suggest a possible role for AM2 in cardiovascular homeostasis in part through antagonism of the vasopressor action of Ang II.

Dual Roles for Perivascular Macrophages in Immune-to-Brain Signaling

Cytokines produced during infection/inflammation activate adaptive central nervous system (CNS) responses, including acute stress responses mediated by the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The mechanisms by which cytokines engage HPA control circuitry remain unclear, though stimulated release of prostanoids from neighboring vascular cells has been implicated in this regard. How specific vascular cell types, endothelial cells (ECs) versus perivascular cells (PVCs; a subset of brain-resident macrophages), participate in this response remains unsettled. We exploited the phagocytic activity of PVCs to deplete them in rats by central injection of a liposome-encapsulated proapoptotic drug. This manipulation abrogated CNS and hormonal indices of HPA activation under immune challenge conditions (interleukin-1) that activated prostanoid synthesis only in PVCs, while enhancing these responses to stimuli (lipopolysaccharide) that engaged prostanoid production by ECs as well. Thus, PVCs provide both prostanoid-mediated drive to the HPA axis and an anti-inflammatory action that constrains endothelial and overall CNS responses to inflammatory insults.

Football’s tsars: proprietorship, corporatism and politics in the 2010 FIFA World Cup

This essay explores the political economy of the 2010 World Cup as it is defined by the major commercial, corporate and political forces that have come to be prevalent in the organization of the FIFA finals. It examines the interchange between international and domestic processes of sport corporatization, commercialization and general trends of sport politics, and the resultant current features of tournament preparation. It contends that the wider political economy of global sport will exercise a modulating and a potentially restraining influence on many of the objectives set by South African authorities. Pre‐event preparation is marked by the involvement of large commercial actors that hold proprietorship over the central – and most lucrative – aspects of the tournament, such as its branding, promotion and mediatisation, and the dissemination of tickets. Driven in the main by neomercantilist impulses, and the ambitions of a global class for whom the commercial stakes are very high, the 2010 World Cup is highly unlikely to yield the gains – for South African football and society – that are popularly expected from it.

Use of force and civil–military relations in Russia: an automated content analysis

Russia's intervention in the Georgian–South Ossetian conflict has highlighted the need to rigorously examine trends in the public debate over the use of force in Russia. Approaching this debate through the prism of civil–military relations, we take advantage of recent methodological advances in automated content analysis and generate a new dataset of 8000 public statements made by Russia's political and military leaders during the Putin period. The data show little evidence that military elites exert a restraining influence on Russian foreign and defence policy. Although more hesitant than their political counterparts to embrace an interventionist foreign policy agenda, Russian military elites are considerably more activist in considering the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy.

"An Abiding Faith in Cotton": The Merchant Capitalist Community of New Orleans, 1860–1862

"An Abiding Faith in Cotton":The Merchant Capitalist Community of New Orleans, 1860–1862 Scott P. Marler (bio) Although Louisiana was one of the Old South's chief producers of agricultural commodities, its most crucial economic contribution to the region was the commercial traffic steered through the port of New Orleans, a city whose business and financial district constituted one of the most intensely concentrated sites of capital in the mid-nineteenth-century Atlantic World. As plantation development had shifted steadily westward over the antebellum decades, the South's only metropolis had become its premier banking and mercantile center, and by the 1850s half of the region's total cotton production routinely passed through New Orleans. In addition, the city was important for its slave markets, as a source of imported manufactured goods, and as a prominent bulk-break point for Midwestern foodstuffs. Presiding over all of this wide-ranging commerce was New Orleans's large community of merchant capitalists: its banks, factorage houses, commission firms, brokers, wholesalers, and retailers.1 [End Page 247] At the onset of secession winter in 1860, New Orleans's privileged position at the nexus of slave-based plantation agriculture and transatlantic trade networks seemed to herald a leadership role for Louisiana in any new southern nation. But although it would eventually provide the Confederacy with several important statesmen, Louisiana generally suffered from the deep suspicion with which its mercantile and banking elites were widely regarded throughout the South. Its merchants' connections to northern and foreign capital caused contemporaries and historians alike to underestimate the depth of their support for slavery, secession, and the Confederacy. Their commitment to southern goals, born of their long-standing relationship to plantation slavery, has been partly obscured by the independent streak they sometimes displayed toward the Confederate government before the Union occupation of New Orleans in May 1862. Most notably, the New Orleans banks initially resisted aligning their currency policies with those of the Confederate Treasury, and the city's merchants organized a cotton embargo against the Davis administration's wishes during summer 1861. However, such reactions to government policies by the state's commercial and financial community should be understood within the context of the rapid and largely unique economic deterioration that Louisiana experienced as a result of the unprecedented pressures of secession and war. Understanding their reactions will help illuminate the global ramifications of the American Civil War during what historian Eric Hobsbawm called the "Age of Capital." The proud Crescent City business community's failed efforts to assert the primacy of "King Cotton" forced them to confront the dependent nature of southern merchant capitalism in an era of ascendant industrialization elsewhere, and the war's outcome would rapidly seal New Orleans's fate as perhaps the last major urban outpost of an increasingly anachronistic, trade-based Atlantic World economy.2 [End Page 248] In summer 1860, Dr. Joseph Slemmons Copes, a New Orleans commission merchant, took a hiatus from the city's notorious fever season to attend to his firm's interests in the Old Northwest. Referring to the escalating national political crisis in a letter to his business partner, Copes reported that he had found "scarcely any persons who are not sympathizers with the South" in Ohio business circles. Like many merchants, Copes clearly expected that the ties of commerce would provide a restraining influence on disruptive intersectional tensions. The year before, the New Orleans Delta, in an article titled "Commerce as a Peace-Maker," had asserted that the powerful New York City merchant community was "becoming, through the influence of commercial relations . . . essentially Southern in sympathies," and as the crucial elections of 1860 approached, New Orleans merchants appealed to their northern brethren for their help in averting a constitutional crisis. At the same time, some Louisiana businessmen also hoped that interregional ties based on the Mississippi River grain trade would promote similar political cooperation between southern and western states.3 Events had acquired a terrible momentum of their own, however, and uncertainty over the future began to be adversely reflected in the marketplace. In October, Walter Cox, another Crescent City factor, advised an Arkansas planter-client about the "growing distrust in the commercial mind...

Area-Specific Differences in Transmitter Release in Central Catecholaminergic Neurons of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

The link among blood pressure, sympathetic output, and brain neurons producing catecholamines is well documented. Nevertheless, their intrinsic properties and any alterations in signaling characteristics between normotensive and hypertensive phenotypes remain unknown. Here, we directly compared neurophysiological properties of catecholamine release of C1 and A2 neurons of the spontaneously hypertensive rat and Wistar rat in organotypic slices. C1 and A2 areas were studied because both are widely implicated in the pathophysiology of hypertension. Catecholaminergic neurons were visualized using viral vectors to express green fluorescent protein. Microamperometry revealed that C1 axonal varicosities of spontaneously hypertensive but not normotensive Wistar rats release a transmitter predominantly (approximately 86%) in very large quanta, comparable in catecholamine load to adrenal chromaffin granules. Because quantal size affects the spread of transmitter in the extracellular space, this may enhance the impact of C1 varicosities on their downstream targets and increase sympathetic drive in the hypertensive rat. Electrophysiological properties and Ca2+ handling were studied using patch clamp and confocal imaging. Although overall electrophysiological characteristics of C1 and A2 neurons were comparable between strains, the characteristic angiotensin-II-induced Ca2+ mobilization was reduced in A2 neurons of the spontaneously hypertensive rat. Because A2 neurons are a part of a homeostatic antihypertensive circuit, this could reduce their restraining influence on blood pressure. Thus, we have revealed an increased quantal size in C1 varicosities and a reduced responsiveness of A2 neurons of the spontaneously hypertensive rat to angiotensin II. Both effects could contribute to elevated sympathetic activity and blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Slaapmutsen en ornamenten? Over het bestuur van een universiteit in de negentiende eeuw

Nightcaps and Ornaments. Some remarks on governing a Dutch university in the nineteenth century. It is usually agreed upon that Dutch universities in the nineteenth century were badly governed. The system consisted of a board of governors (‘College van Curatoren’) which was appointed by the minister of education. The idea is generally held that as appointees of the government the board was a mere instrument of the state bureaucracy and the successive ministers. It is also common knowledge that this system of governors had a restraining influence on the development of Dutch universities. But why then was Dutch science so successful at the end of the nineteenth century? The case of the president of the board of Utrecht University W.C. Mees (president from 1869 till his death in 1885) and his secretary J.F.B. Baert (1875-1898) indicates that it was also possible that a board of governors acted efficiently and to the satisfaction of all participants. Since this article treats only one case, it is not meant to be conclusive, but it aims to open the discussion and stimulate further research into the topic of the governing of Dutch universities.

Evaluation of The Existing State of Geothermal Exploration and Development in Nigeria

Relatively little expenditure for hydroelectricity and fossil fuels have had a restraining influence on levels of exploration and development for geothermal energy resources in Nigeria for the past several years. The focus of development has been in the areas of low temperature geothermal energy involving the exploration and assessment of hot spring resources primarily for recreational applications – although possibly for other direct uses depending on local infrastructure and access to appropriate energy markets. The geological structure of Nigeria influences geothermal exploration extent within each geological province. Sedimentary basins in Nigeria have been explored for hydrocarbons for several decades, thus the oil companies collected large subsurface temperature data basis. But not much is known about geothermal conditions within Nigerian Precambrian crystalline province. On the basis of BHT data from oil wells it has been found that geothermal gradient in Niger Delta ranges from 1.5 to 4.9°C/100m and in Anambra Basin (directly to the north) it can reach 5.7°C/100m. Exploration for geothermal energy in northern Nigeria based on shallow water wells (down to 600 m deep) was carried out over 20 years ago. The other aspect of geothermal exploration in Nigeria is investigating of the thermal springs and seepages, which occur mainly within sediments of the Middle and Upper Benue Trough. The water of the warmest springs in that area: Akiri and Ruwan Zafi have the temperature about 56°C and it suggests the occurrence of some geothermal anomalies. So far, there are probably only three (direct) geothermal energy utilisation sites in Nigeria. The Ikogosi warm spring (37°C) located in south-western part of the country, in Ekiti state, the Wikki warm spring (39°C) located in Bauchi (North-eastern) part of Nigeria and the Rafin Rewa spring (42°C) located in Plateau (North-central) state of Nigeria. Hence this paper reviews the current status of the geothermal industry (both high and low temperature) in Nigeria.

Lord Home and Anglo–American Relations, 1961–1963

This article focuses on the role of Lord Home, the British Foreign Secretary, in the conduct of Anglo–American relations between 1961 and 1963. It studies three controversial policy areas: the newly independent states of Laos and the Congo, along with the debate over the decolonization of British Guiana; the key Cold War issues of Berlin and Cuba; and a variety of nuclear weapons–related matters. It is argued that Home, in constantly striving to maintain the alliance, was more pro-American than Macmillan. He exercised an important restraining and calming influence on the Prime Minister, preventing him from pursuing potentially damaging initiatives. However, the relationship between the two men was strong. Home’s diplomacy usually complimented Macmillan’s interventions and they often worked together.

Legalization of illicit drugs: two sides to the coin.

In the drugs debate it has become increasingly commonplace to hear voices calling for the decriminalization of their use, including acquisition and possession for personal use. The majority of the Norwegian Penal Code Commission, who last March issued their final draft for a new penal code, supports so doing. Some would like to go further and see the legalization of the soft drugs market, primarily cannabis. In his article, Robin Room (2003) takes a lengthy stride further yet. He asks if we should not take the bull by the horns and legalize the market for all narcotic substances. I agree with Room insofar as a regulated market would be significantly better on a number of points from the present situation where substances change hands illegally. It would make it easier to check the strength and purity of the drugs, the way they are administered and to whom they are sold. At the same time, the Government would be able to increase revenue by imposing duties, much as it does in the case of alcohol and tobacco, and use the money to prevent and treat the harm caused by psychoactive agents. Further benefits could be cited in addition to those Room mentions in his article. Legalization would need the establishment of an international legal drugs market—over and above the already existing system for medical drugs. The people who produce the raw materials—be they opium growers in south-east Asia, cannabis growers in north Africa or coca growers in the Andes—would be earning legal money for their products, and would become more self-supporting. Even more importantly, the illegal, professional, international drugs market would cease to be viable, as would illegal operations in the domestic, national markets. But if legalization is to make life better from a public health point of view, it must not lead to a significant increase in the overall use—and associated harm—of psychoactive agents in the population. If the legalized substances replace tobacco and alcohol, this may well be beneficial from the public health standpoint. There is little evidence to suggest that they per se do more harm than agents not defined as narcotic substances. But if they supplement rather than supplant alcohol and tobacco, the end result could be more, not fewer problems. This is a key argument against Room's views. Many would say we have more than enough on our hands with the problems caused by alcohol and tobacco, without creating more by legalizing presently illegal psychoactive agents. Legalization would likely cause prices to fall and widen availability. Most importantly, however, moral constraints that today limit use would be undermined completely or at least weakened. Many who are put off using drugs today because they are illegal may, in a new regulatory environment, be tempted to do so. Room might counter by saying that it should be possible to regulate consumption in such a way as to rule out increased use, or at least ensure that increased use did not lead to more harm. He appears to have great faith in the power and ability of local communities to enforce regulatory measures. and he may well be right. But in a globalized world of urbanized nations, the ability of neighbourhoods to exercise a restraining influence seems pretty limited. One needs only to look to developments in the Nordic countries to see how outside pressures have gradually undermined traditional national and local alcohol policies, with their high duties and detailed regulation of the market. I miss a discussion of these and similar issues by Room. He paints a convincing picture of the rewards legalization may bring about, but has little to say on the potentially harmful outcomes or on how the regulatory system should be organized and operated. It seems as if he wants to revive the ‘gentle paternalism’ of yesteryear. But would a vision like that stand a chance in our harsh neo-liberal world? Is it not simply a dream to revert to a social democratic welfare state? That said, however, I want to put on record my satisfaction with the article as such. If anything is obvious in this world, it is that drugs policies have failed; new ideas are the order of the day. and the fact that the author of these ideas is Robin Room—one of our most feted international experts in the field—means they cannot be brushed under the carpet as the opinion of an irresponsible demagogue.

Neural pathways subserving negative lens-induced emmetropization in chicks – Insights from selective lesions of the optic nerve and ciliary nerve

Purpose. Active emmetropization describes the process by which young eyes regulate their growth to eliminate refractive errors. The purpose of this study was to re-investigate the role of the brain in compensation to imposed hyperopic defocus (negative lenses), specifically, to assess whether a retina-brain link and/or an intact ciliary nerve are required for this emmetropizing response. Data from previous related studies are equivocal. Methods. Unilateral lesion surgery involving either or both optic nerve section (ONS) and ciliary nerve section (CNS), was performed on 2–3 day old White-Leghorn chicks to interrupt communication between the eye (retina in the case of ONS) and brain. After a recovery period of 4 days, lesioned eyes were fitted with either –5 or –15 D lenses or diffusers (6–9 per group). An additional lesion group underwent unilateral CNS and was fitted with –5D lenses bilaterally. Finally 3 groups that underwent the same unilateral optical treatments but no surgery were included as controls for analyzing lesion-induced changes. Complete sets of measurements, involving retinoscopy for refractive errors, and high frequency A-scan ultrasonography for axial ocular dimensions, were made at the beginning (baseline), and end of a 4 day treatment period. Additional ultrasonography data were collected after 1 and 2 days of treatment. Optical treatment effects were expressed as changes in interocular differences from baseline values. Results. All three lesions produced hyperopic shifts in refraction (evident in baseline values), although this effect was minimal for the ONS+CNS group. Choroidal thickening as well as increased anterior chamber depth and lens thinning were observed in all cases but vitreous chamber depth was reduced in only the ONS group. In response to the –5D lens, the control (nonlesioned) group showed nearly complete compensation, while full compensation was not achieved to the –15 D lens over this short treatment period. The diffuser group showed the largest change, which was also in the direction of myopia. Both the ONS and CNS groups showed near normal compensation, as indexed by the changes in refractive errors relative to their respective baseline values. In contrast, the ONS+CNS lens groups overcompensated, by 130% and 54% for the –5D and the –15 D lens groups respectively. Form deprivation responses were slightly exaggerated in both ONS and ONS+CNS groups, the latter group again showing the largest response. Enhanced vitreous chamber growth was evident under all conditions and correlated well with the refractive changes across the groups. Discussion. The data imply that an intact retina-brain link is not required for compensation to hyperopic defocus and thus emmetropization. However, the data also imply interactions between higher centers and the eye. The emmetropization set-point appears to be recalibrated after ONS surgery. The data also indicate a role of the ciliary nerve as an important conduit for signals that exercise a restraining influence on eye growth.

CHRONIC BLOCKADE OF HIPPOCAMPAL KAPPA RECEPTORS INCREASES ARTERIAL PRESSURE IN CONSCIOUS SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS BUT NOT IN NORMOTENSIVE WISTAR KYOTO RATS

Previous studies in this laboratory have shown that dynorphins acting on hippocampal kappa opioid receptors in rat brain exert a restraining influence on arterial blood pressure and that a relative deficiency of their production in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) may be involved in SHR hypertension. Kappa receptor blockade should therefore exacerbate hypertension in SHR. We explored the latter possibility by chronic unilateral infusion of nor-binaltorphimine dihydrochloride (nor-BNI), a selective kappa receptor antagonist, into the right dorsal hippocampus of conscious SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls over a 14 day period. Additional controls consisted of similar hippocampal infusions of equivalent volumes of drug vehicle in both rat strains. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rates (HR) were determined in each animal once daily by the tail cuff method during this period. Nor-BNI induced a sustained increase in the basal high level of MAP in SHR from 132 ± 8 to 150 ± 10 mmHg throughout the 14 days and an increased HR from 427 ± 17 to 477 ± 30 on day 3 to 5 following the drug. By contrast, nor-BNI had no significant effects on either MAP or HR in WKY rats and control infusions of drug vehicle were similarly without effect in both strains. The results support our previous suggestion that the kappa opioid system of the hippocampus ordinarily restrains arterial blood pressure in SHR since prolonged hippocampal kappa receptor blockade results in augmented hypertension in this strain.