Arantza Gutierrez

Effects of fluoxetine administration on hypothalamic melanocortin system in obese Zucker rats

The aim of the present work was to study the potential involvement of melanocortin system in the anorectic mechanism of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, in obese Zucker rats. Male obese Zucker (fa/fa) rats were administered fluoxetine (10 mg/kg; i.p.) daily for two weeks. The control group was given 0.9% NaCl solution. RT-PCR for pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), Agouti gene related peptide (AgRP) and melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4-R) in the hypothalamus, as well as regional immunostaining for alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and MC4-R were carried out. Fluoxetine administration increased POMC expression and reduced MC4-R expression in the hypothalamus, without changes in AgRP mRNA levels. Moreover, an increase in the numbers of alpha-MSH positively immunostained neural cells in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), as well as a significant decrease in the numbers of neural cells positively immunostained for MC4-R in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), without changes in lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), were observed. These results suggest the involvement of alpha-MSH in central fluoxetine anorectic action.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND USE AMONG JOURNALISTS OF EUROPEAN MINORITY LANGUAGE MEDIA

This article investigates the perception journalists of European minority language media have about personal and colleagues’ knowledge of the minority language, its quantitative use in the newsroom, degree of journalistic development and, likewise, the accomplishments, problems and strategies they observe in the journalism–language nexus. Results are based on a quantitative and qualitative survey administered to a weighted and fairly representative sample of 230 journalists of press, radio and television, from 10 European linguistic communities (Basque, Catalan, Galician, Corsican, Breton, Frisian, Irish, Welsh, Scottish-Gaelic, and Sámi) as defined by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This empirical study takes the linguistic community as reference, rather than a political framework (nation-state).

BETWEEN LANGUAGE SUPPORT AND ACTIVISM

This article outlines the extent to which journalists working in European minority-language media believe that their journalistic role within the community is strictly professional or alternatively should incorporate a complementary function as language supporters or activists. A weighted and reasonably representative survey of 230 journalists from 10 European minority-language communities (Basque, Catalan, Galician, Corsican, Breton, Frisian, Irish, Welsh, Scottish-Gaelic, and Sámi) indicates that journalists favour a journalistic professional activity which incorporates a role as language-backing actors. This may underlie the idea of a contextual approach to the concept of journalism.

European minority language media and journalism: Framing their marginal reality:

This study explores the traditional media systems (press, radio and TV), the distribution and number of full-time journalists and the relative weight of those variables with reference to the speaking population in 10 European minority languages with at least a minimum press and/or broadcasting system, at the end of the first decade of the new millennium. The 10 communities that represent the often invisible reality of minority language Europe are Basque, Catalan, Galician, Corsican, Breton, Frisian, Irish, Welsh, Scottish-Gaelic and Sámi. The unit of analysis is the linguistic community. Presumably, it is the first systematic and comparative analysis focused on European minority language media.

Effects of Fluoxetine Administration on Regional Galanin Expression in Obese Zucker Rat Hypothalamus

Abstract The aim of the present work was to study the potential involvement of hypothalamic galanin system in the anorectic mechanism of fluoxetine in obese Zucker rats. Male obese Zucker ( fa/fa ) rats were administered fluoxetine (10 mg/kg; i.p.) daily for two weeks. The control group was given 0.9% NaCl solution. Significant decreases in food intake, final body weight and total body fat were observed after fluoxetine treatment. Although fluoxetine-treated rats showed a decrease in urine elimination, this effect was not enough to compensate decreased water intake, leading to dehydration, as showed by decreased body water content. Chronic fluoxetine administration increased the numbers of galanin positively immunostained neural cells in medial and lateral preoptic areas, lateral hypothalamic area and paraventricular nucleus (rostral and magnocellular regions), without changes in dorsomedial, ventromedial, supraoptic, suprachiasmatic and arcuate nuclei. Taken into account that galanin stimulates appetite, these results could represent rather a compensatory response against reduced food intake than a direct anorectic mechanism. Changes in the magnocellular region of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus suggest a role for galanin neural circuits at this level in fluoxetine-induced hydro-osmotic impairment.

Future Business Innovation in Minority Language Media

This article investigates innovation in the media business models that some European minority-language news organizations are implementing in these times of economic crisis. It entails a shift in the underlying business and service philosophy which interpellates the community and pleads for a change in their mutual relationship. The research is based on the case studies of two private media companies from the Catalan and Basque language media systems that were experiencing economic and financial difficulties. Conducting inspirational advertising campaigns, the news organizations issued a call for readers and non-readers to make a funding commitment to the project, a pledge to provide new revenues and liaisons, while retaining and enhancing the standard income streams. In brief, it is about going back to the basics of active community projects and involvement.

Facts and transformations in European minority language media systems amid digitalization and economic crisis

This article investigates the reality and variations of the European minority language media systems between 2009 and 2016, a period of serious economic crisis and accelerated digitalization process. To that aim, several parameters were measured: structure of the media systems and changes during that period along the variables of media type, ownership and reach; presence and relevance of major media in each of the communities; number and variation of full-time journalists; and the density or relative weight of the media systems with regard to the speaking population. The 10 minority languages under analysis (Basque, Catalan, Galician, Corsican, Breton, Frisian, Irish, Welsh, Scottish-Gaelic and Sámi) represent a wide range of communities. The relevance of the study lies in its direct comparative nature and in the fact that it thoroughly updates previous scholarly literature, measuring the changes which occurred within the 10 media systems.