bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Relevance of a Reader's Knowledge within a Perspectival View of Reading
Authors: Norris Stephen P. , Phillips Linda M.
Published: December 2009

The widely endorsed practice of activating relevant knowledge1 prior to reading is challenged in this paper. It is argued that the endorsement is derived from a god's eye point of view that fails to acknowledge that relevance can be determined only by readers with respect to and in the course of making their own interpretations. To sustain this conclusion, the paper first outlines a perspectival (perspective-relative) view of reading that includes theoretical positions on the relation of reading to inferring meaning, on the importance of understanding first-person intentionality, on the intelligibility of the concept of text information, on the distinction between literal and inferential interpretations, on what it means for readers to integrate their knowledge with text information, and on why the concept of interpretation is more suitable than the concept of comprehension for theorizing about reading. This perspectival view of reading provides a means to make coherent sense of interpretations, at one and the same time, being justifiably relative to readers' different beliefs and purposes for reading, and also constrained by universal interpretive standards of adequacy. The paper thence proceeds to show that, as a consequence of the nature of inference, the relevance of a reader's knowledge to a text interpretation is founded on a relation that is created as part of the interpretative act, and is not something to be sought in its own right. The paper concludes by arguing that having specific knowledge is not the main desideratum in interpreting texts. Rather, the main desideratum is using effectively the knowledge one has.
The Reader, the text, the Context: An Exploration of a Choreographed Response to Literature
Authors: Smagorinsky Peter , Coppock John
Published: December 2009

Much current theory about response to literature stresses the reader's active role in constructing meaning, with reader, text, and context affecting the responses of individual readers (Beach, 1993). Response to literature, like most classroom interaction, tends to take a linguistic form. In a supportive classroom environment, however, a range of response media can potentially mediate students' transactions with literature. The present exploratory study used stimulated recall to elicit a retrospective account from two alternative school students who choreographed a dance to depict their understanding of the relationship between the two central characters in a short story. In their account they indicate that in composing their text they (a) initiated their interpretation by empathizing with the characters, (b) represented the characters' relationship through spatial images and configurations, and (c) used the psychological tool of dance to both represent and develop their thinking about the story. Their thought and activity were further mediated by the social context of learning, including the communication genres of the classroom, their own interaction, their teacher's intervention, and the stimulated recall interview itself. Their account illustrates the way in which reader, text, and context participate in a complex transaction when readers construct meaning for literature. Their experience also illustrates the ways in which the values of an instructional setting influence the extent to which learners may take advantage of the psychological tools available to them for growth.
Reading is Seeing: Using Visual Response to Improve the Literary Reading of Reluctant Readers
Authors: Wilhelm Jeffrey D.
Published: December 2009

This study compared the responses of two highly reluctant learning-disabled readers before and after they were helped to visualize story situations and events through visual art. These visual art procedures included the reading of illustrated books, the use of visual protocols, and the creation of symbolic story representations, illustrated books, collages, and picture maps regarding their reading. Data gathered from the students were subjected to ethnographic analysis, including preliminary and systematic domain searches, to reveal codes and themes. Data revealed that the use of visual art helped these two readers to begin enjoying reading, and to begin evoking and manipulating story worlds in their minds. The treatments encouraged the students not only to “see” what they were reading, but also to make other response moves involving emotional affect, connecting their own life to the literary experience, and the consideration of significance. Most importantly, perhaps, these students began to participate in the classroom community through their artwork.
Trying Something New: Meaning-Based Reading Instruction in a Finnish First-Grade Classroom
Authors: Korkeamäki Riitta-Liisa , Dreher Mariam Jean
Published: December 2009

This study investigated children's reading strategies and progress when a meaning-based approach to reading instruction was implemented in a Finnish 1st-grade classroom. A reading program was designed in which the teacher introduced predictable books, literacy-related centers, and minilessons in context on selected letter-sound correspondences. Field notes and videotapes of individual reading sessions were analyzed to describe the strategies the students used while reading both familiar and unfamiliar books. In the fall, in a familiar context, the students read mostly based on their memory. In an unfamiliar context, the students used graphemic information and sounded out and elongated the words and named some letters. Later, they used their phonological recoding skills in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts. All the students progressed toward conventional reading, demonstrating that they had reached at least the alphabetic phase of reading development.
Interactive, Compensatory Reading Strategies
Authors: Schraw Gregory
Published: December 2009

Three experiments examined the trade-off between the text-based and task-based importance. Text-based importance was defined as information in a text that is important due to its structural relation to other text segments. Task-based importance was defined as text information that is important due to external constraints such as instructions. Undergraduates in this study spontaneously adopted an interactive, compensatory strategy in which task-based importance superseded the role of text-based importance. Implications for reading instruction and practice were discussed.
What a Parent Brings to the Table: Young Children Writing with and without Parental Assistance
Authors: DeBaryshe Barbara D. , Buell Martha Jane , Binder Janeen C.
Published: December 2009

Twenty children aged 5 and 6 years were observed attempting to write a letter alone and with their mothers' assistance. Children produced more sophisticated products with adult mediation, using conventional spelling, writing longer messages, and using more mechanical details such as punctuation and salutations. Children's self-talk about the meaning of the message was associated with higher product quality in the solo task. Interactive talk about conventions (spelling, page placement, etc.) was associated with dyadic product quality. Children's rank order for message length and conventional details was maintained across tasks. Evidence of maternal fine-tuning of scaffolding behaviors in response to the child's independent level of print performance was revealed in a qualitative analysis of dyadic interaction. Most mothers appeared to have a sense of the developmental progression of writing skills.
The Nature of Engaged Reading in Classroom Discussions of Literature
Authors: Almasi Janice F. , McKeown Margaret G.
Published: December 2009

The goal of this investigation was to gain an understanding of engagement as fourth graders and their teachers attempted to construct meaningful interpretations during classroom discussions of literature. Data from videotaped discussion, field notes, and interviews with students and teachers were analyzed inductively. Engagement occurred when students and teachers used interpretive tools to select, connect, and organize information in the text to construct meaningful interpretations. The context of the literary act and the culture of the classroom influenced engaged reading. There were cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational components to the engagement observed.
Longitudinal Effects of Early Literacy Concepts on Reading Achievement: A Kindergarten Intervention and Five-Year Follow-up
Authors: Phillips Linda M. , Norris Stephen P. , Mason Jana M.
Published: December 2009

The effects of a literacy intervention in kindergarten were measured using a control-group design. Three treatment groups were taught using beginning-reading booklets to complement the authorized language program. One group used the booklets at home; the second, both in school and at home; and the third, in school only. Data were gathered at the beginning of kindergarten and at the end of kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grades. Results indicated that children's knowledge of early literacy concepts increased during kindergarten, and that this improved students' reading achievement for the next 4 years. Effects were strongest and longest lasting for the in-school group.
Selection of Main Points in Instructional Texts: Influences of Task Demands
Authors: Schellings Gonny L.M. , Van Hout-Wolters Bernadette H.A.M. , Vermunt Jan D.
Published: December 2009

This study examined the degree to which 3 types of tasks affect the selection of main points in instructional texts. 133 10th graders participated. Each participant studied 3 instructional texts, and each text was preceded by 1 task. In the linguistic task, students had to underline text elements considered important by the author of the text. In the educational task, students had to underline text elements considered important by a portrayed teacher. And in the interest task, text fragments considered interesting by the student were to be underlined. On average, the type of task did affect the number and kind of selected text fragments, but the variation between the students was large. In the educational task, students selected the text fragments that corresponded to the task, but many of the author's main points were also selected. In the interest task, all kinds of text fragments were selected instead of only the fragments used to arouse interest. In all, the study provides more insight into 3 ways of identifying main points. These insights should be integrated into instructional programs on selecting main points.
Beyond Storytime: A Sociopsychological Perspective on Young Children's Opportunities for Literacy Development during Story Extension Time
Authors: Labbo Linda D.
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate young children's opportunities to socially construct literacy during story extension time. Viewed from a sociopsychological perspective, findings suggest that story extension time afforded the children with occasions to accomplish key purposes of literacy development and construct concepts about literacy. Children took the following identifiable stances toward the tasks: (a) deliberate observers, peer watchers who contributed little to the group discussions but learned about literacy strategies and forms from observing other children in their group; (b) divergent collaborators, who varied their ways of expressing ideas or socially interacting with peers and explored many forms of meaning-making during story extension sessions; and (c) focused collaborators, who consistently used recurrent topics, themes, or strategies or sought out particular individuals. This repetition allowed them time to explore a topic or strategy until they felt they had some control over the required forms, functions, and processes. Each stance afforded children unique occasions for exploring their concepts about literacy and stories.
Literacy Intervention for a Deaf Child with Severe Reading Disorder
Authors: von Tetzchner Stephen , Rogne Stein Olav , Lilleeng Marion K.
Published: December 2009

The case study of a Norwegian deaf boy with severe reading disorder is described. In spite of average and above-average performance on standardized tests, adequate motivation, and the fact that the reading instruction was adapted to the signing environment of the deaf students, on entering the 5th grade at 11 years of age, the boy was functionally illiterate. A holistic approach to writing instruction was initiated, based on process-oriented writing, Norwegian sign language, drawings, and word processing augmented with a word prediction system called PAL. This approach managed to get writing within his zone of proximal development, that is, it made it possible to provide him with writing assignments that he could learn to complete. With appropriate help and guidance from the teachers, the student himself actively acquired reading and writing skills, which he now uses independently for schoolwork and self-initiated writing activities, as well for as reading newspapers and closed-captioned television programs.
Connecting Home and School Literacy Practices in Classrooms with Diverse Populations
Authors: Mccarthey Sarah J.
Published: December 2009

I present the cases of 5 students from diverse backgrounds and conclude that home and school are more connected for some students than for others. Home and school were tightly connected for middle-class European-American students who read at home and school, shared their writing with the class, and brought items from home to show peers. In contrast, students from non-mainstream backgrounds participated in home literacy activities that did not match school experiences. These students were more reticent in the classroom, did not share items from home, and experienced home and school as separate. In the analysis, books, tasks, and participation structures contributed to some students making stronger connections than others. Teachers having more information about some students than others; their own middle-class European-American backgrounds and the need to treat all students “equally”; and their assumptions that students could make the connections between home and school on their own contributed to the curriculum being more congruent with middle-class, home literacy experiences than working-class experiences. Although I suggest that learning about students' cultures and backgrounds is essential, I delineate some of the challenges that accompany learning about students.
Preference as Performance: Doing Social Class and Gender in Three School Libraries
Authors: Dressman Mark
Published: December 2009

This study examines the construct of reader preference along the lines of gender and social class. Data were collected through focused interviews and participant observation from one third-grade class in each of three elementary school libraries that served children from a range of ethnic and social class backgrounds. The study argues that children's expressions of preference are often enactments of what they believe it means to be categorically male or female, whereas their ways of relating to different genres of text, as well as how they choose to read, often enact the “habitus,” or material logic, of their social class. This analysis is complicated by three events in which the doing of gender or class by students is interrupted by stronger desires. The article concludes with a reconsideration of preference as a construct, and questions why educators might want to know what children like to read in the first place.
Readers Becoming Teachers of Literature
Authors: Agee Jane M.
Published: December 2009

This naturalistic case study focuses on 2 preservice students in a secondary language arts program. I wanted to know how their histories as readers and students of literature intersected with their secondary-school literature course and how their developing stances on teaching literature changed as they moved through their preservice teaching. Data collection included fieldnotes; audiotaped interviews; reading protocols; documents such as syllabi, handouts, and assignments; preservice students' portfolios, logs, lesson plans, and tests; and videotapes of the participants teaching literature during their preservice teaching. I made observations of additional classes, and I collected teaching logs, lesson plans, and other relevant artifacts. I used a constant-comparison analysis to produce grounded theory about the preservice experience. The data revealed two broad sources of knowledge that were important to the participants' entering perceptions on teaching literature: prior experiences with literature and preexisting conceptions of the role of a teacher. The ideas they brought with them were often in conflict with what they encountered in the preservice course. Their cases illustrate the impact of a secondary-literature course and preservice teaching on participants' ideas about teaching literature.
Rhyme and Alliteration Sensitivity and Relevant Experiences among Preschoolers from Diverse Backgrounds
Authors: Fernandez-Fein Sylvia , Baker Linda
Published: December 2009

There exists a well-established positive relation between phonological awareness and learning to read. Experiences with linguistic routines like nursery rhymes may provide one route through which children gain phonological awareness. The phonological awareness and home experiences of 59 prekindergartners from different sociocultural groups were examined. Performance differences favoring middle-income children over their low-income counterparts were obtained on tasks assessing rhyme and alliteration sensitivity and nursery-rhyme knowledge. Middle-income children also engaged more frequently than low-income children in word games and book interactions at home. The only significant difference among children of the same income level was that African-American low-income children displayed lower levels of nursery-rhyme knowledge than European-American low-income children. Two demographic variables, maternal education and ethnicity, made significant contributions to rhyme sensitivity. Among the experiential variables, the strongest correlates of rhyme sensitivity were nursery-rhyme knowledge and frequency of engagement in word games and book interactions. The results suggest that children's rhyme sensitivity may be influenced by engagement in word games and book interactions that foster knowledge of linguistic routines containing rhyme.
Princesses Who Commit Suicide: Primary Children Writing within and against Gender Stereotypes
Authors: MacGillivray Laurie , Martinez Ana Maritza
Published: December 2009

This article analyzes 13 “published” stories written by young writers during 1 month in a multicultural, mixed-age primary classroom. The first goal is to examine how primary children constructed gender in their own stories. The second goal is to explore how children, at times, wrote against the traditional gendered positions. The data were gathered as part of a 3-year longitudinal study on children's literacy experiences across home and school environments. Primary data sources utilized include (a) participant-observer fieldnotes; (b) interviews with the classroom teacher, parents, and children; and (c) children's writing. In analyzing students' writing and how they reified or redefined gender expectations, we relied heavily on Foucault's notion of power and how it is related to positioning. Although stereotypical images of dominant males and passive females were numerous, there were also disruptions of gender stereotypes. Implications include the need to help preservice and in-service teachers increase their awareness of how our children take up positions as gendered beings and also ways in which they break out of those traditional frames.

Once upon a time there were princesses everywhere. There were princesses in the cave, in houses and castles too. They were all married except one princess. Her name was Amy. Then one day Amy started walking to the castle where all the princesses were dressing for the ball. They [all] had tickets for the ball except Amy. She was left behind. She was very embarrassed because her dress was so plain and ugly. Amy started crying and crying. She was very, very sad. The princesses were having fun at the ball. They danced and danced. They were very sad and happy because they thought about how Amy always loved them and helped them. When they came back home to the castle, they saw Amy with a knife stuck in her head. She was dead [see Figure 1]. They all cried. They were all sad, so they killed themselves too. Then the room was very sad and spooky. (Second grader Rachel's published book)
Critical Literacy in School-College Collaboration through Computer Networking: A Feminist Research Project
Authors: Fey Marion
Published: December 2009

This project investigated the practice of critical literacy through asynchronous computer networking as students in a school-college collaboration examined assumptions relating to gender issues. The study aimed to understand how a discussion of gender issues through computer networking might affect the development of voice in the 6 college women who organized and participated in the discussion with students from an urban and a suburban high school. A secondary purpose was to understand the features of computer networking that facilitated the practice of critical literacy. The research methodology followed the paradigm of ethnography modified by the goals of feminist research. Findings revealed that the medium proved to be an apt environment for the practice of critical literacy as students named experiences relating to gender issues that touched their lives. Data also suggested that the medium served as an effective environment for the development of voice in the presence of conflict. Students felt free to share ideas and disclose experiences that might have gone unheard in the classroom. Students also benefited from the computer's ability to extend classroom borders. As a result, students were moved to think more deeply as they engaged in critical inquiry with diverse students.
Teaching Children to Learn Word Meanings from Context: A Synthesis and Some Questions
Authors: Kuhn Melanie R. , Stahl Steven A.
Published: December 2009

This article reviews 14 studies investigating approaches that aimed at teaching children to be more efficient at learning words from context. In nearly all of the studies reviewed, treatments were effective at improving children's skill in learning words from context compared to a no-treatment control. However, in the 4 studies that included a practice-only treatment, no significant differences were found between the strategy treatment and practice-only groups. These findings suggest that the effects of the treatments were due to the practice rather than to the specific strategies taught. Suggestions are made for improving research examining the effects of context-clue strategies.
Nourishing Conversations: Urban Adolescents, Literacy, and Democratic Society
Authors: Fairbanks Colleen M.
Published: December 2009

This essay explores the implications of literacy instruction aimed at “nourishing conversations” about life experience in literacy classrooms (Robinson, 1991, p. 264). Drawing on literacy projects conducted in Saginaw, Michigan and Austin, Texas, I examine these projects from three points of view: learning from inquiry, valuing the agency students can manage, and understanding “a mess called democracy” (Fine, 1991, p. 207). In this way, I suggest the nature of the students' experiences in these projects, emphasizing the sense that students made of their lives when they were allowed to raise their voices through literacy and to project images of urban adolescent life. Finally, I explore the relationships between the opportunity to use literacy for these purposes and participation in democratic society, arguing that curriculum in which adolescents are encouraged to investigate their life experiences engages them in democratic life.

As the video camera comes into focus, Jason introduces himself as the anchor for the WMS News program he and his classmates are producing, “My issue is life,” he says, “which, as you know, is a pretty big topic.” He continues, “Most people live their lives based upon their goals or their religion. They don't know what life means because they haven't experienced that much.” As anchor, he introduces his classmates and provides a tour of his classroom. The camera follows Jason as he points out the room's setup. “This is where we work together,” he says pointing to the carpeted area where class meetings are held. “This is where we help each other,” showing the round tables that serve as desks. He concludes, gesturing to the whole room, “This is where we conversate.”
“Speaking Up” and “Speaking Out”: Examining “Voice” in a Reading/Writing Program with Adolescent African Caribbean Girls
Authors: Henry Annette
Published: December 2009

This account examines three significant moments in a weekly reading and writing workshop in order to reflect on the problematic notion of “coming to voice” for African Caribbean girls aged 14 to 15. The author discusses the process as both a program and a research inquiry. The aim of the inquiry was to explore some academic, social, and affective concerns for girls of this age. Program objectives included introducing culturally and gender-relevant curricula as well as facilitating critical literacy skills. The research is framed from a critical Black feminist perspective. The design was qualitative. Ethnographic methods were used (audiotaped transcriptions of fieldnotes of workshop activities, formal and informal student interviews, and student journal writings). The author concludes by sharing how the inquiry taught her some salient lessons in listening to research participants' voices and in the politics and ethics of participatory literacy inquiries.
Background Knowledge, Linguistic Complexity, and Second-Language Reading Comprehension
Authors: Droop Mienke , Verhoeven Ludo
Published: December 2009

In the present study, the role of cultural background knowledge on the reading comprehension of third graders acquiring literacy in Dutch as a first and second language is examined while the children read noncontrived texts from the reading curricula. Children were given three types of texts: texts referring to Dutch culture, texts referring to the cultures of immigrants from Near Eastern countries (i.e., Turkey and Morocco), and neutral texts. Within each type of text, a distinction was made between two levels of linguistic complexity. By means of reading-aloud protocols, retelling and questioning the children's reading performance on the distinguished types of texts was analyzed. A facilitating effect of cultural familiarity was found for both reading comprehension and reading efficiency. For the minority children, this effect was restricted to linguistically simple texts, because of their limited knowledge of the target language, Dutch.
Curricular Innovations in Literacy Instruction: How Students Respond to the Change
Authors: Fawcett Gay
Published: December 2009

The purpose of this study was to describe how students respond when in transition from traditional to innovative language arts instruction. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and documents. Analysis was conducted through the constant comparative method. Breadth of description was achieved through case study of the group as a whole. Depth was achieved through case studies of two of the students. Patterns in students' responses resulted in a grounded theory of change for students in such transition. The theory indicates that students progress through three stages. The first stage is one of Comfortable Dependence, when students do what is expected of them because it fits their paradigm of school. The second stage is one of Anxiety, when students resist as they become aware that the rules have changed. The final stage is Comfortable Independence, when students become self-directed learners. Findings were consistent with other change research that indicates that change is a process implemented over time, is individualized, is accompanied by anxiety, and requires personal and technical support.
The National Reading Conference: Presidential Retrospectives
Authors: Hoffman James V. , Duffy Gerald G. , Pearson P. David , Smith-Burke M. Trika
Published: December 2009

As the Journal of Literacy Research (formerly Journal of Reading Behavior) commemorates its 30th anniversary, this article offers a collection of reflective essays written by past presidents of the National Reading Conference, the journal's parent organization. They write with reference to the year they served as president of the organization and consider such issues as the nature and character of the organization at that time and the major research topics under investigation. The compilers of the essays attempt a synthesis of the reports that focuses on recurrent themes and issues as the organization and the field of inquiry have evolved over time.
Preschool Deaf Children's Use of Signed Language during Writing Events
Authors: Williams Cheri Lynn
Published: December 2009

This research examined young deaf children's social interaction during free-choice writing time in their preschool classroom. The study examined the ways in which five deaf children used signed language as they wrote. Results of the study indicated that the children used both signed language and nonverbal expression to engage in representational, directive, interactional, personal, and heuristic use of language to support their writing endeavors. The study raises the question of whether nonverbal expression might also be salient among emergent writers who are not deaf.
Assessing Decoding from an Onset-Rime Perspective
Authors: Cunningham James W. , Erickson Karen A. , Spadorcia Stephanie A. , Koppenhaver David A. , Cunningham Patricia M. , Yoder David E. , McKenna Michael C.
Published: December 2009

This study investigated decoding assessment from an onset-rime perspective, and consistent with an interactive model of cognitive constructs underlying silent reading comprehension. Participants were 128 first and second graders in a public elementary school. Two kinds of decoding items were examined: one-syllable words and nonwords, each comprised of a high- to moderate-utility onset and a high-utility rime. Data were analyzed mainly with stepwise multiple regression and conditional probability analyses. The principal finding was that the construct validity of decoding items varied, depending on whether they were words or nonwords. Tests of knowledge of onsets and rimes accounted for 14% more variance in real-word test than nonword test scores. The superior construct validity of words over nonwords as decoding items seemed to occur because decoding nonwords requires an additional ability that decoding real words does not.
In‐service training for schools on augmentative and alternative communication
Authors: McConachie Helen , Pennington Lindsay
Published: December 2009

For children to progress in their use of augmentative communication systems, in‐service training of staff in schools is required. This paper presents preliminary evaluation of a training package entitled ‘My Turn to Speak’. Nineteen participants and 10 comparison staff were filmed before and after a five‐session training workshop, interacting in the classroom in naturally occurring situtations with a non‐speaking physically disabled child. Significant improvements in the quality of adults' facilitation of the children's communication was discernible at follow‐up, four months after completion of the training. However, teachers were found to alter their behaviour more quickly after training than non‐teaching staff. The requirements for setting up successful multidisciplinary training are discussed.
Towards a narrative‐based augmentative communication system
Authors: Waller Annalu , Newell Alan F.
Published: December 2009

Augmentative communication systems enable non‐speaking people to communicate using letters, words, phrases and sentences. Few systems provide support for longer lengths of text despite the fact that most day‐to‐day conversation is characterised by ‘story telling’. This paper discusses the need for communication systems to facilitate this type of interaction, whilst allowing for other modes of communication. A case history detailing the use of a prototype system with an adult with dysphasia illustrates that providing augmentative communication should not be restricted to expression of ‘needs and wants’, but should enable the non‐speaking individual to share past experience and future hopes.
Psychiatric disturbance and personality traits in dysphoric patients
Authors: White Aileen , Deary Ian J. , Wilson Janet A.
Published: December 2009

A study of 68 consecutive attendees at a voice clinic revealed that 51 (75%) were female. Personality characteristics and the incidence of minor psychiatric disturbances were studied in the 51 female patients with dysphonia and in 42 female ENT outpatient control subjects. Personality was assessed by use of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Hysteroid‐Obsessoid Questionnaire (HOQ), and psychiatric disturbance was assessed by use of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), 60‐item version. Whereas the 18 patients who were diagnosed as having psychogenic dysphonia had, overall, a greater degree of mild psychiatric disturbance, the 33 patients whose dysphonia was associated with structural laryngeal abnormality were also significantly more disturbed than control subjects (p<0.01). There were no significant differences in personality traits among the three groups. Ten of the 18 patients with psychogenic dysphonia had evidence of significant psychiatric symptomatology on GHQ testing. More unexpectedly, one in three of the women with structural laryngeal changes showed similar psychiatric disturbance. Such psychological distress cannot therefore be detected solely on laryngeal appearances and voice characteristics. We propose the GHQ to be a quick, simple screening tool to identify those patients who might benefit from a more psychologically based approach to therapy.
Host-dependent Lewis (Le) antigen expression in Helicobacter pylori cells recovered from Leb-transgenic mice
Authors: Pohl Mary Ann , Romero-Gallo Judith , Guruge Janaki L. , Tse Doris B. , Gordon Jeffrey I. , Blaser Martin J.
Published: December 2009

Variation of surface antigen expression is a mechanism used by microbes to adapt to and persist within their host habitats. Helicobacter pylori, a persistent bacterial colonizer of the human stomach, can alter its surface Lewis (Le) antigen expression. We examined H. pylori colonization in mice to test the hypothesis that host phenotype selects for H. pylori (Le) phenotypes. When wild-type and Leb-expressing transgenic FVB/N mice were challenged with H. pylori strain HP1, expressing Lex and Ley, we found that bacterial populations recovered after 8 mo from Leb-transgenic, but not wild-type, mice expressed Leb. Changes in Le phenotype were linked to variation of a putative galactosyltransferase gene (β-(1,3)galT); mutagenesis and complementation revealed its essential role in type I antigen expression. These studies indicate that H. pylori evolves to resemble the host's gastric Le phenotype, and reveal a bacterial genetic locus that is subject to host-driven selection pressure.
HLA-B*35-Px–mediated acceleration of HIV-1 infection by increased inhibitory immunoregulatory impulses
Authors: Huang Jinghe , Goedert James J. , Sundberg Eric J. , Cung Thai Duong Hong , Burke Patrick S. , Martin Maureen P. , Preiss Liliana , Lifson Jeffrey , Lichterfeld Mathias , Carrington Mary , Yu Xu G.
Published: December 2009

A subset of HLA-B*35 alleles, B*35-Px, are strongly associated with accelerated HIV-1 disease progression for reasons that are not understood. Interestingly, the alternative set of B*35 subtypes, B*35-PY, have no detectable impact on HIV-1 disease outcomes, even though they can present identical HIV-1 epitopes as B*35-Px molecules. Thus, the differential impact of these alleles on HIV-1 disease progression may be unrelated to interactions with HIV-1–specific CD8+ T cells. Here, we show that the B*35-Px molecule B*3503 binds with greater affinity to immunoglobulin-like transcript 4 (ILT4), an inhibitory MHC class I receptor expressed on dendritic cells, than does the B*35-PY molecule B*3501, even though these two B*35 molecules differ by only one amino acid and present identical HIV-1 epitopes. The preferential recognition of B*3503 by ILT4 was associated with significantly stronger dendritic cell dysfunction in in vitro functional assays. Moreover, HIV-1–infected carriers of B*3503 had poor dendritic cell functional properties in ex vivo assessments when compared with carriers of the B*3501 allele. Differential interactions between HLA class I allele subtypes and immunoregulatory MHC class I receptors on dendritic cells thus provide a novel perspective for the understanding of MHC class I associations with HIV-1 disease progression and for the manipulation of host immunity against HIV-1.
Direct recognition of the mycobacterial glycolipid, trehalose dimycolate, by C-type lectin Mincle
Authors: Ishikawa Eri , Ishikawa Tetsuaki , Morita Yasu S. , Toyonaga Kenji , Yamada Hisakata , Takeuchi Osamu , Kinoshita Taroh , Akira Shizuo , Yoshikai Yasunobu , Yamasaki Sho
Published: December 2009

Tuberculosis remains a fatal disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which contains various unique components that affect the host immune system. Trehalose-6,6′-dimycolate (TDM; also called cord factor) is a mycobacterial cell wall glycolipid that is the most studied immunostimulatory component of M. tuberculosis. Despite five decades of research on TDM, its host receptor has not been clearly identified. Here, we demonstrate that macrophage inducible C-type lectin (Mincle) is an essential receptor for TDM. Heat-killed mycobacteria activated Mincle-expressing cells, but the activity was lost upon delipidation of the bacteria; analysis of the lipid extracts identified TDM as a Mincle ligand. TDM activated macrophages to produce inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide, which are completely suppressed in Mincle-deficient macrophages. In vivo TDM administration induced a robust elevation of inflammatory cytokines in sera and characteristic lung inflammation, such as granuloma formation. However, no TDM-induced lung granuloma was formed in Mincle-deficient mice. Whole mycobacteria were able to activate macrophages even in MyD88-deficient background, but the activation was significantly diminished in Mincle/MyD88 double-deficient macrophages. These results demonstrate that Mincle is an essential receptor for the mycobacterial glycolipid, TDM.
Extracting groundfish survey indices from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS): an example from Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Authors: Ricard Daniel , Branton Robert M. , Clark Donald W. , Hurley Peter
Published: December 2009

Ricard, D., Branton, R. M., Clark, D. W., and Hurley, P. 2010. Extracting groundfish survey indices from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS): an example from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 638–645. Scientific trawl surveys have been conducted in different regions of the world and by a variety of countries and agencies since the mid-1900s. Although the data are collected in a scientifically and statistically appropriate context and represent an important source of fishery-independent information for agency-specific stock assessments, their use and dissemination has often been limited to the agencies conducting the surveys. In recent years, Internet data portals such as the Ocean Biogeographic Information System have provided an arena for the wider distribution and use of marine fish data. Despite the increased accessibility of such data, their scientific acceptability has been limited by a lack of reproducibility in data analyses. We present a methodology for the computation of time-series of groundfish stock indices using publicly available trawl survey data derived from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Maritimes region. Potential pitfalls associated with the computation of time-series are discussed and proper stratified random estimates of temporal abundance trends are compared with other methods for a selected subset of species. Also, the broader applicability of the methods for datasets collected under similar sampling designs is discussed, along with the reproducibility of the analyses and results.
Terrorism-Related Injuries Versus Road Traffic Accident–Related Trauma: 5 Years of Experience in Israel
Authors: Peleg Kobi , Savitsky Bella ,   Israeli Trauma Group
Published: December 2009

Background: Terrorism victims comprise the minority among trauma injured people, but this small population imposes a burden on the health care system. Thirty percent of the population injured in terrorist activities experienced severe trauma (injury severity score ≥16), more than half of them need a surgical procedure, and 25% of the population affected by terrorism had been admitted to intensive care. Furthermore, compared with patients with non–terrorism-related trauma, victims of terrorism often arrive in bulk, as part of a mass casualty event. This poses a sudden load on hospital resources and requires special organization and preparedness. The present study compared terrorism-related and road accident–related injuries and examined clinical characteristics of both groups of patients.

Methods: This study is a retrospective study of all patients injured through terrorist acts and road traffic accidents from September 29, 2000 to December 31, 2005, and recorded in the Israel Trauma Registry. Data on the nature of injuries, treatment, and outcome were obtained from the registry. Medical diagnoses were extracted from the registry and classified based on International Classification of Diseases coding. Diagnoses were grouped to body regions, based on the Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix.

Results: The study includes 2197 patients with terrorism-related injuries and 30,176 patients injured in road traffic accidents. All in all, 27% of terrorism-related casualties suffered severe to critical injuries, comparing to 17% among road traffic accident–related victims. Glasgow Coma Scale scores ≤8, measured in the emergency department, were among 12.3% of terrorism victims, in contrast with 7.4% among people injured on the roads. The terrorism victims had a significantly higher rate of use of intensive care facilities (24.2% vs 12.4%). The overall inpatient death rate was 6.0% among terrorism victims and 2.4% among those injured in road traffic accidents.

Conclusions: Casualties from terrorist events are more severely injured and require more resources relative to casualties from road traffic accidents. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3:196–200)
Transcriptional competence and the active marking of tissue-specific enhancers by defined transcription factors in embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Xu Jian , Watts Jason A. , Pope Scott D. , Gadue Paul , Kamps Mark , Plath Kathrin , Zaret Kenneth S. , Smale Stephen T.
Published: December 2009

We reported previously that well-characterized enhancers but not promoters for typical tissue-specific genes, including the classic Alb1 gene, contain unmethylated CpG dinucleotides and evidence of pioneer factor interactions in embryonic stem (ES) cells. These properties, which are distinct from the bivalent histone modification domains that characterize the promoters of genes involved in developmental decisions, raise the possibility that genes expressed only in differentiated cells may need to be marked at the pluripotent stage. Here, we demonstrate that the forkhead family member FoxD3 is essential for the unmethylated mark observed at the Alb1 enhancer in ES cells, with FoxA1 replacing FoxD3 following differentiation into endoderm. Up-regulation of FoxD3 and loss of CpG methylation at the Alb1 enhancer accompanied the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Studies of two genes expressed in specific hematopoietic lineages revealed that the establishment of enhancer marks in ES cells and iPS cells can be regulated both positively and negatively. Furthermore, the absence of a pre-established mark consistently resulted in resistance to transcriptional activation in the repressive chromatin environment that characterizes differentiated cells. These results support the hypothesis that pluripotency and successful reprogramming may be critically dependent on the marking of enhancers for many or all tissue-specific genes.
Transcriptional competence in pluripotency: Figure 1.
Authors: Raghu Ram Edupuganti V.S. , Meshorer Eran
Published: December 2009

Embryonic stem (ES) cells possess a globally open, decondensed chromatin structure that, together with trans-acting factors, supports transcriptional competence of developmentally regulated genes. However, our understanding of the mechanisms that establish transcriptional competence of specific genes is limited. In this issue of Genes & Development, Xu and colleagues (pp. 2824–2838) show that tissue-specific enhancers are actively marked by an unmethylated window in ES cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. They propose a model and present supporting evidence to demonstrate the active involvement of pioneer transcription factors in this process. This work marks an important step toward the understanding of the mechanisms that define and maintain pluripotency, and calls for the identification of the factors that participate in the establishment of transcriptional competence in pluripotent cells.
Human POT1 is required for efficient telomere C-rich strand replication in the absence of WRN
Authors: Arnoult Nausica , Saintome Carole , Ourliac-Garnier Isabelle , Riou Jean-François , Londoño-Vallejo Arturo
Published: December 2009

Mechanisms of telomere replication remain poorly defined. It has been suggested that G-rich telomeric strand replication by lagging mechanisms requires, in a stochastic way, the WRN protein. Here we show that this requirement is more systematic than previously thought. Our data are compatible with a situation in which, in the absence of WRN, DNA synthesis at replication forks is uncoupled, thus allowing replication to continue on the C strand, while single G strands accumulate. We also show that in cells in which both WRN and POT1 are limiting, both G- and C-rich telomeric strands shorten, suggesting a complete replication block. Under this particular condition, expression of a fragment spanning the two POT1-OB (oligonucleotide-binding) fold domains is able to restore C (but not G) strand replication, suggesting that binding of POT1 to the lagging strand allows DNA synthesis uncoupling in the absence of WRN. Furthermore, in vitro experiments indicate that purified POT1 has a higher affinity for the telomeric G-rich strand than purified RPA. We propose a model in which the relative enrichments of POT1 versus RPA on the telomeric lagging strand allows or does not allow uncoupling of DNA synthesis at the replication fork. Our study reveals an unanticipated role for hPOT1 during telomere replication.