In August 1927 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Jiangxi seemed moribund, yet by the end of 1930 the movement was larger and more active than ever before. How did this occur? Past studies have ...especially emphasized Mao Zedong's famous rural guerrilla strategy, but this was only part of the story. Equally significant was the little-studied success of members of the Jiangxi hill-country elite who were also in the CCP in using established schools and educational societies, time-honored traditions of local strongman behavior, and existing bandit–secret society gangs to build many localized base areas. Such techniques were congenial to CCP leaders and essential to the movement's survival in the early days when its prestige and material resources were at a very low ebb, and when radical reforms would almost certainly have failed. Nevertheless, this strategy also fostered parochial attitudes and organizational weaknesses that clashed with the later efforts of Mao and his allies to carry out mass mobilization and fundamental land reform. Only after a prolonged and violent crisis within the base areas did the “Maoist” policies vital for the revolution's long-term growth begin to overcome the policies of elite coalition building that had been necessary for the movement to obtain its initial foothold in the Jiangxi hill country.
The alpha(1) subunit provides both the voltage-sensing mechanism and the ion pore of voltage-dependent calcium channels. Of the six classes of alpha(1) subunit cloned to date, alpha)1A) is the ...subject of debate in terms of its functional correlate, although it is generally thought to encode voltage-dependent calcium channels of the omega-agatoxin IVA-sensitive, P/Q type. In the present study, an alpha(1A)-specific riboprobe and antibody were used with in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemical techniques to localise alpha(1A) messenger ribonucleic acid transcripts and subunit protein throughout the mature rat brain. Dual localisation of alpha(1A) protein and markers for acetylcholine, catecholamines, and 5-hydroxytryptamine have also been performed in a number of discrete areas. Abundant and widespread distribution of alpha(1A) protein was found, with immunoreactivity occurring both in cell bodies and as punctate staining in areas of neuronal processes. Several associations were noted across alpha(1A) localisation, defined neuroanatomical regions, and neurotransmitter systems. However, alpha(1A) expression was not confined to loci corresponding to any one neurotransmitter type, although a high level of expression was observed in cholinergic neurones. The distribution of the alpha(1A) subunit in the rat corresponded well with the limited human mapping data that are available.
Nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells can be divided into three main populations, namely (1) small diameter non-peptide-expressing cells, (2) small-diameter peptide-expressing (calcitonin gene ...related peptide (CGRP), substance P) cells, and (3) medium-diameter peptide-expressing (CGRP) cells. The properties of these cell populations will be reviewed, with a special emphasis on the expression of the vanilloid (capsaicin) receptor VR1 and its regulation by growth factors. Cells in populations 1 and 2 express VR1, a nonselective channel that transduces certain nociceptive stimuli and that is crucial to the functioning of polymodal nociceptors. Cells in population 1 can be regulated by glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and those in populations 2 and 3 by nerve growth factor (NGF). In vivo, DRG cells express a range of levels of VR1 expression and VR1 is downregulated after axotomy. However, treatment with NGF or GDNF can prevent this downregulation. In vitro, DRG cells also show a range of VR1 expression levels that is NGF and (or) GDNF dependent. Functional studies indicate that freshly dissociated cells also show differences in sensitivity to capsaicin. The significance of this is not known but may indicate a difference in the physiological role of cells in populations 1 and 2.
The c‐Jun N‐terminal protein kinase (JNK or SAPK1) signals downstream from the small GTPases Rac/Rho/Cdc42 that are known to regulate neurite outgrowth. JNK may also control alterations in sensory ...neuron phenotype induced by axotomy via activation of transcription factors such as AP‐1 and ATF2. The aim of this study was to use JNK3 knockout mice to determine the role of JNK3 in sensory neuron regeneration. Dissociated adult mouse and rat cultures were used and JNK levels probed by Western blot and immunohistochemistry using antibodies directed against total JNK, phospho‐JNK and JNK3. Total JNK was located in the nucleus, cytoplasm and axons. Phospho‐JNK was located primarily in the nucleus, with some axonal staining, and JNK3 displayed heavy staining in the cytoplasm. In vivo, DRG of adult rats exhibited JNK staining in neuronal soma, however, following axotomy of 2‐3 weeks duration there was enhanced staining for phospho‐JNK in satellite cells. In vitro, neurite outgrowth studies on dissociated DRG cultures from JNK3 knockout mice showed increased outgrowth by 1.75‐2.54‐fold at concentrations <0.1ng/ml of nerve growth factor (NGF) vs wild‐type (C57BL6). Increased neurite outgrowth was also observed in mouse DRG organ cultures of JNK3 knockout mice in the presence of NGF. The results suggest that JNK3 is a negative regulator of axonal outgrowth, possibly as part of the Rho pathway (Funded by a BBSRC PhD Studentship and Pfizer).
We have studied the distribution of the growth-associated protein GAP-43 in the spinal cord of adult rats by light and electron microscopy, using a new antiserum raised against ...GAP-43/beta-galactosidase fusion protein. We show that GAP-43 is present at all vertebral levels but is more concentrated in cervical and thoracic regions. In addition to heavy staining in the corticospinal tracts of the white matter, staining can be seen at the light microscopic level throughout the grey matter and is particularly heavy around the central canal and in the superficial dorsal horn. Electron microscopic examination revealed that GAP-43 immunostaining is confined to a subpopulation of axons and axon terminals. Staining occurs in small myelinated and unmyelinated fibres and in terminals which are mainly small and make single axodendritic or axosomatic synapses. Staining in such terminals occurs in the axoplasm but is heaviest immediately adjoining the axolema. Staining was not observed in dendrites, nor in large myelinated axons or large axon terminals. Our results indicate that GAP-43 is expressed in adult rat spinal cord in a subpopulation of small diameter fibres and axon terminals. The distribution and morphology of these terminals is consistent with several different possible origins including corticospinal projection neurons, small diameter primary afferent neurons, and descending raphe-spinal serotonin containing neurons.
The Chinese revolution's extension from city to countryside was not simply an emergency adaptation to shifting political circumstances that was then exploited by Mao Zedong. Rather, it was a ...multistage sociopolitical process. This was predominately elite-initiated & -centered, & was influenced by the People's Republic of China's new educational system & the dynamics of elite local politics. The development of rural bases after 1927 likewise stemmed not from conscious application of a specifically "Maoist" strategy, but from exigencies common to many local revolutionary movements. Conceptions of how to compete for local power & of the functions & purposes of "bases" drew heavily on existing repertoires of rural elite behavior, & the strategy associated with Mao's name emerged gradually through ad hoc balancing acts among complex alternatives. Mao's ideas were opposed by many experienced local cadres as well as distant central leaders. Local cadres thought of their own personal interests but also recognized the tradeoffs in Mao's tactics. The party's practices thus did not simply oscillate between completely Maoist & completely non-Maoist "lines," but rather developed from dialectical interactions among Mao & many others. Adapted from the source document.
