bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
From Modernized Masculinity to Degendered Lifestyle Projects
Authors: Aarseth Helene
Published: September 2007

This article explores men's motivations for change in the interface of a feminist demand for gender equality and the appeal of new consumerist lifestyles. Drawing on a longitudinal study of egalitarian dual career couples within a Nordic welfare state, the article analyzes the case story of four men interviewed in 1990 and 2005. During this period, the men and their partners challenge a gendered division of work in their families by turning the administrative and emotional cohesion in the family's daily life into a joint lifestyle project. The described trajectories suggest that this transgression is an outcome of a specific interweaving of a feminist discourse on equal responsibility and an aesthetic consumption discourse. The consumerist appeal seems to have offered a vehicle to turn a moral demand into a motivational force in these men's own life projects; consequently, it has facilitated the creation of a degendered commitment toward domestic participation.
Masculinities in Hardcore Bodybuilding
Authors: Denham Bryan E.
Published: September 2007

In his definitive ethnography of hardcore bodybuilding in Southern California, Klein (1993) examined gender construction in a narcissistic subculture characterized by deceit and excess on many levels. In the present article, I compare my own experiences as a strength athlete and bodybuilding author with some of the observations Klein made at Olympic Gym. Like Klein, I address ironies associated with hardcore bodybuilding and discuss the nature of deviance in the bodybuilding subculture.
Manhood Incorporated
Authors: Forth Christopher E.
Published: September 2007

Employing an interdisciplinary framework, this article attempts to “think” the history of men and masculinities in a transnational way by connecting the distinctive experiences of specific national cultures to the broader anxieties about modern civilization that exercised Westerners generally. As a contribution to a more comprehensive analysis of the male body, it argues that the consumption of food and other ingesta was thought to have considerable consequences for the masculinity of Western elites, whether aristocratic or bourgeois, in a manner that promoted the cultural construction (literally, the “incorporation”) of certain forms of manhood both as social representations and embodied experiences. It thus encourages a deeper understanding of how the male body is materially as well as symbolically constructed, and how this construction relates to various masculine norms.
Teaching Public Health Networks: connecting with Shaping the Future
Authors: Sim Fiona M.
Published: September 2007

Teaching Public Health Networks (TPHNs) are nine new entities, established by the Department of Health in late 2006 in the English regions. They are intended to encourage and facilitate enhanced public health teaching, with a view to improving public health capacity and capability across a wide range of disciplines. These include far more than those traditionally viewed as part of the public health workforce. This paper considers, from the viewpoint of the London Teaching Public Health Network, progress so far and the potential involvement of specialized health promotion professionals, both in terms of influencing and benefiting from the activities of the TPHNs.
Hegemony or health promotion? Prospects for reviving England's lost discipline
Authors: Scott-Samuel Alex , Springett Jane
Published: September 2007

Since 1997, health promotion has been steadily disappearing from public health in England. This is not only true of the phrase, but also of the concepts and the discipline it represents. Given the undoubted increase in health-promoting policies and programmes during this period, we consider whether this situation could represent a welcome mainstreaming of health promotion. However, on the basis of a detailed historical and contemporary review of health promotion and public health theory and practice, we conclude that this is not in fact the case. Rather, health promotion in England should be seen as the subject of a hegemonic absorption by an increasingly individualistic public health discourse. The currently increasing focus on well-being could, however, represent an opportunity for health promotion in England to be revived and reinvented.
An unbearable lightness?
Authors: Rigley Steve
Published: September 2007

This article considers various notions of `beauty' and how these have informed the creative and critical processes of graphic design, specifically typography. The author considers how the Renaissance revival of Greek mathematics to support a `universal beauty' was gradually unpicked by Enlightenment thinkers such as Descartes, Kant and Hume, and how this process has subsequently shaped modernist and postmodernist attitudes towards `beauty'. From our current vantage point it could be argued that `beauty' should now be considered a redundant concept; however, design schools and studios continue to make value judgements dividing the `beautiful' from the `ugly'. On what basis are these judgements made and are they still valid in a pluralistic society? Is it possible that we now have a new sensibility, a different notion of beauty? Reflecting upon important questions raised by the American designer and writer Steven Heller in his controversial essay `The Cult of the Ugly' in Eye magazine in 1993, the author proposes that 14 years on from the article, we can indeed witness a new aesthetic sensibility, shared but not universal, rooted in loss yet also `found'.
National pride, global capital: a social semiotic analysis of transnational visual branding in the airline industry
Authors: Thurlow Crispin , Aiello Giorgia
Published: September 2007

In this article we examine 561 different airline tailfin designs as a visual genre, revealing how the global-local binary may be managed and realized semiotically. Our analysis is organized into three strands: (a) a descriptive analysis identifies the strikingly restricted visual lexicon and dominant corporate aesthetic established by tailfin design; (b) an interpretive analysis considers the communicative strategies at play and the meaning potentials which underpin different visual resources; (c) a critical analysis links these decisions of design and branding to the political and cultural economies of globalism and the airline industry. Specifically, we show how airlines are able to service national identity concerns through the use of highly localized visual meanings while also appealing to the meaning systems of the international market in their pursuit of symbolic and economic capital. One key semiotic resource is the balancing of cultural symbolism and perceptual iconicity in the form of abstracted stylizations of kinetic effects. Although positioned unfairly in the global semioscape, airlines may resist straightforward cultural homogenization by strategically reworking existing design structures and exploiting possibly universal semiotic meaning potentials.
The Rights of Others
Authors: Means Angelia
Published: September 2007

Benhabib recasts the Derridean idea of `iteration' in democratic terms. While adhering to the original idea that both the fundamental terms of political consociation and the identity of the people itself is `radically' open, Benhabib argues that deliberative norms do and should frame the process of reiteration. For the deliberative democrat, the democratic constitution is not a would-be barrier to iterability (which we are told cannot be contained anyway); it is rather a communicative or discursive space in which the hitherto suppressed or not yet present voice of other people finds its way and expands the terms of meaning giving and hence reason giving. The democratic constitution enables iteration; it is one side of a dialectic that relies upon, balances and, in some sense, makes the most of people power. Immigrants, in the final analysis, are the latest group to proclaim their presence in the sphere of constitutional interpretation, and thereby recalibrate the interpretive frame. And when they make their presence known in this way they have truly become a part of the `people'. When, however, they make their presence known in ways that undermine constitutional self-understanding, instead of engaging it, they are `not us'. Benhabib is hesitant to add this last bit, as she is hesitant to admit how much the constitutional identity of a people `rift with otherness' is reliant upon the historical referent and the generative/steering power of the right sort of constitutional court.
Response
Authors: Sassen Saskia
Published: September 2007

The response aims at detecting additional angles in Benhabib's problematic and adding some variables to its potential resolution. I examine two such variables. One concerns the rights-bearing subject. Benhabib addresses the tension between individual universal rights and sovereign self-determination by positing a modified Kantian `cosmopolitan federalism'. While I can support this thesis, I see a whole other reality in the making that offers additional kinds of resolutions as well as a repositioning of cosmopolitan federalism in a different field of forces. Critical here is the incipient denationalizing of citizenship which is taking place inside the nation state, and hence is not predicated on post-national and transnational conditions for citizenship. Such resolutions are precluded in Benhabib's text because of the closure she projects onto the nation state. The second variable I discuss addresses precisely this question of the state today — that is to say, in a context of the ascendance of an international human rights regime and of globalization. Benhabib sees the national and the global as mutually exclusive. In my own research I see a process whereby global logics get partly constituted inside the nation state and the state apparatus itself, producing, again, an incipient denationalizing of what historically was constructed as national. This opens up possibilities for cosmopolitan federalism that Benhabib overlooks given her national—global binary.
Toward a Unified Validation Framework in Mixed Methods Research
Authors: Dellinger Amy B. , Leech Nancy L.
Published: September 2007

The primary purpose of this article is to further discussions of validity in mixed methods research by introducing a validation framework to guide thinking about validity in this area. To justify the use of this framework, the authors discuss traditional terminology and validity criteria for quantitative and qualitative research, as well as present recently published validity terminology for mixed methods research. The authors discuss the rationale for their framework and how it unifies thinking about validity in mixed methods research. Finally, they discuss how the framework can be used.
The Predictive Validity of an ESL Placement Test
Authors: Lee Young-Ju , Greene Jennifer
Published: September 2007

This study investigated the relationships between graduate students' placement test scores for English as a second language (ESL) and three measures of academic performance (grade point average [GPA], faculty evaluations, and student self-assessments). Qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques (archival, questionnaires, and interviews) were used to collect data from 100 students and 55 faculty members. Although nonsignificant correlations were found between test scores and GPA, qualitative findings indicated that English skills are an important factor affecting students' course performance. Additional mixed methods analyses found that variations in students' views of academic success and their relevant background knowledge can help explain the overall insignificant relationship between ESL placement test scores and GPA. This mix of methods thus illuminated particular strands of the complex relationships between English proficiencies and graduate-level academic performance.
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt by up-regulating insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor signaling in acute myeloid leukemia: rationale for therapeutic inhibition of both pathways
Authors: Tamburini Jerome , Chapuis Nicolas , Bardet Valérie , Park Sophie , Sujobert Pierre , Willems Lise , Ifrah Norbert , Dreyfus François , Mayeux Patrick , Lacombe Catherine , Bouscary Didier
Published: September 2007

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and mTORC1 pathways are frequently activated, representing potential therapeutic targets in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In 19 AML samples with constitutive PI3K/Akt activation, the rapamycin derivative inhibitor everolimus (RAD001) increased Akt phosphorylation. This mTOR C1-mediated Akt up-regulation was explained by an insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/IGF-1 receptor autocrine loop: (1) blast cells expressed functional IGF-1 receptors, and IGF-1-induced Akt activation was increased by RAD001, (2) a neutralizing anti-IGF-1R α-IR3 monoclonal antibody reversed the RAD001-induced Akt phosphorylation, and (3) autocrine production of IGF-1 was detected in purified blast cells by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence. This RAD001-induced PI3K/Akt up-regulation was due to an up-regulated expression of the IRS2 adaptor. Finally, we observed that concomitant inhibition of mTORC1 and PI3K/Akt by RAD001 and IC87114 induced additive antiproliferative effects. Our results suggest that dual inhibition of the mTORC1 complex and the IGF-1/IGF-1R/PI3K/Akt pathway in AML may enhance the efficacy of mTOR inhibitors in treatment of this disease.
FcγRIIIa role in rituximab efficacy
Authors: Roda Julie M. , Byrd John C.
Published: September 2007

In this issue of Blood, Hatjiharissi and colleagues demonstrate that variability in NK-cell activity among individuals expressing different FcγRIIIa polymorphisms may result from variability in levels of receptor expression and not strictly from differences in receptor affinity, as was previously thought. These results have important implications for our ability to predict patient response to antibody-based therapeutics, as well as for our ability to design strategies to improve these drugs.
Trading places: mRNA transfer between cells
Authors: Weyrich Andrew S. , Kraiss Larry W. , Zimmerman Guy A.
Published: September 2007

Cells use receptor-ligand interactions and endocrine, paracrine, and juxtacrine mechanisms to transmit signals to one another. Deregibus and colleagues now report that information transfer between cells also occurs through horizontal transfer of mRNA-rich microvesicles (MVs).
Fingernail transplants?
Authors: Barrett A. John
Published: September 2007

Can cells from allogeneic blood and marrow transplants contribute to the formation of nonhematopoietic tissues? The report by Imanishi and colleagues in this issue of Blood indicates that they do. Using short tandem repeat analysis, these researchers found substantial amounts (9%-72%) of donor DNA occurring in fingernail clippings from 9 of 21 recipients 2 years and more after transplantation.
EPOR signaling: 450 million years' history
Authors: Zhang Ji , Ney Paul A.
Published: September 2007

Erythropoietin and the erythropoietin receptor have been cloned and studied in a lower vertebrate species. Key aspects of their structure and function have been evolutionarily conserved.
Toward distinguishing LSCs from HSCs
Authors: Jiang Xiaoyan
Published: September 2007

LSCs make up a critical, but very rare, population that is very difficult to study in vivo. Neering and colleagues developed a unique mouse model system in which the properties of human LSCs are closely mimicked during CML development.
It's not size, it's substance
Authors: Plow Edward F. , Pluskota Elzbieta
Published: September 2007

Lacroix and colleagues provide the first evidence that endothelium-derived microparticles provide an efficient surface for plasminogen activation in a urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA)–dependent and uPA receptor (uPAR)–dependent manner, and suggest that generated plasmin may influence angiogenesis.
Differential costimulation through CD137 (4–1BB) restores proliferation of human virus-specific “effector memory” (CD28− CD45RAHI) CD8+ T cells
Authors: Waller Edward C. P. , McKinney Nicola , Hicks Ray , Carmichael Andrew J. , Sissons J. G. Patrick , Wills Mark R.
Published: September 2007

In healthy carriers of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), the virus-specific memory CD8+ T-cell population is often dominated by CD28− CD45RAhi cells that exhibit direct ex vivo cytotoxicity but whose capacity for proliferation and generation of further memory cells has been questioned. We show that when highly purified CD28− CD45RAhi CD8+ T cells are stimulated with viral peptide presented by autologous monocytes, the virus-specific T cells show early up-regulation of CD137 (4–1BB) and CD278 (ICOS), re-express CD28, and proliferate with similarly high cloning efficiency in limiting dilution analysis as CD28+ CD45ROhi cells or CD28− CD45ROhi cells. Using peptide-pulsed autologous fibroblasts transfected with individual costimulatory ligands as antigen presenting cells, we showed CD137L to be a key costimulatory ligand for proliferation of CD28− CD45RAhi CD8+ T cells and not CD80, CD86, or CD275 (ICOSL). Therefore, CD28− CD45RAhi CD8+ T cells were not terminally differentiated but required a specific costimulatory signal for proliferation.
A cross-species alignment tool (CAT)
Authors: Li Heng , Guan Liang , Liu Tao , Guo Yiran , Zheng Wei-Mou , Wong Gane Ka-Shu , Wang Jun
Published: September 2007

Background

The main two sorts of automatic gene annotation frameworks are ab initio and alignment-based, the latter splitting into two sub-groups. The first group is used for intra-species alignments, among which are successful ones with high specificity and speed. The other group contains more sensitive methods which are usually applied in aligning inter-species sequences.

Results

Here we present a new algorithm called CAT (for Cross-species Alignment Tool). It is designed to align mRNA sequences to mammalian-sized genomes. CAT is implemented using C scripts and is freely available on the web at http://xat.sourceforge.net/.

Conclusions

Examined from different angles, CAT outperforms other extant alignment tools. Tested against all available mouse-human and zebrafish-human orthologs, we demonstrate that CAT combines the specificity and speed of the best intra-species algorithms, like BLAT and sim4, with the sensitivity of the best inter-species tools, like GeneWise.
A rapid and sensitive bioassay to measure bone morphogenetic protein activity
Authors: Zilberberg Lior , ten Dijke Peter , Sakai Lynn Y , Rifkin Daniel B
Published: September 2007

Background

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGF-beta superfamily and were originally identified as proteins that induce ectopic bone formation. BMPs were shown subsequently to be involved in several biological processes during development and in adult tissues through the regulation of the growth, differentiation and apoptosis of various cell types. An alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-based assay is the most widely used assay to evaluate BMP activity. However, the ALP assay is not rapid and not sensitive enough to measure BMP activity at physiological concentrations. In this paper, we describe a highly sensitive, rapid, and specific cell-based assay for the quantification of BMP activity.

Results

Two cells lines, C2C12 and HepG2 were stably transfected with a reporter plasmid consisting of BMP-responsive elements from the Id1 promoter fused to a luciferase reporter gene. Exposure of cells containing this construct to BMPs induces the expression of luciferase, which can be quantified with a luminometer. The bioassay is specific for BMPs and can detect BMP-4 activity at a concentration as low as 3 pM. Related family members, such as TGF-beta1, TGF-beta2 and TGF-beta3, do not induce the reporter gene.

Conclusion

The assay is rapid (less than 24 hours) and can be used, as described in this paper, to measure BMP activity in complex solutions and in cell culture in a simple and efficient way.
Neuregulin3 alters cell fate in the epidermis and mammary gland
Authors: Panchal Heena , Wansbury Olivia , Parry Suzanne , Ashworth Alan , Howard Beatrice
Published: September 2007

Background

The Neuregulin family of ligands and their receptors, the Erbb tyrosine kinases, have important roles in epidermal and mammary gland development as well as during carcinogenesis. Previously, we demonstrated that Neuregulin3 (Nrg3) is a specification signal for mammary placode formation in mice. Nrg3 is a growth factor, which binds and activates Erbb4, a receptor tyrosine kinase that regulates cell proliferation and differentiation. To understand the role of Neuregulin3 in epidermal morphogenesis, we have developed a transgenic mouse model that expresses Nrg3 throughout the basal layer (progenitor/stem cell compartment) of mouse epidermis and the outer root sheath of developing hair follicles.

Results

Transgenic females formed supernumerary nipples and mammary glands along and adjacent to the mammary line providing strong evidence that Nrg3 has a role in the initiation of mammary placodes along the body axis. In addition, alterations in morphogenesis and differentiation of other epidermal appendages were observed, including the hair follicles. The transgenic epidermis is hyperplastic with excessive sebaceous differentiation and shows striking similarities to mouse models in which c-Myc is activated in the basal layer including decreased expression levels of the adhesion receptors, α6-integrin and β1-integrin.

Conclusion

These results indicate that the epidermis is sensitive to Nrg3 signaling, and that this growth factor can regulate cell fate of pluripotent epidermal cell populations including that of the mammary gland. Nrg3 appears to act, in part, by inducing c-Myc, altering the proliferation and adhesion properties of the basal epidermis, and may promote exit from the stem cell compartment. The results we describe provide significant insight into how growth factors, such as Nrg3, regulate epidermal homeostasis by influencing the balance between stem cell renewal, lineage selection and differentiation.
Effect of starvation on global gene expression and proteolysis in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Authors: Salem Mohamed , Silverstein Jeff , Rexroad Caird E , Yao Jianbo
Published: September 2007

Background

Fast, efficiently growing animals have increased protein synthesis and/or reduced protein degradation relative to slow, inefficiently growing animals. Consequently, minimizing the energetic cost of protein turnover is a strategic goal for enhancing animal growth. Characterization of gene expression profiles associated with protein turnover would allow us to identify genes that could potentially be used as molecular biomarkers to select for germplasm with improved protein accretion.

Results

We evaluated changes in hepatic global gene expression in response to 3-week starvation in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Microarray analysis revealed a coordinated, down-regulated expression of protein biosynthesis genes in starved fish. In addition, the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism/transport, aerobic respiration, blood functions and immune response were decreased in response to starvation. However, the microarray approach did not show a significant increase of gene expression in protein catabolic pathways. Further studies, using real-time PCR and enzyme activity assays, were performed to investigate the expression of genes involved in the major proteolytic pathways including calpains, the multi-catalytic proteasome and cathepsins. Starvation reduced mRNA expression of the calpain inhibitor, calpastatin long isoform (CAST-L), with a subsequent increase in the calpain catalytic activity. In addition, starvation caused a slight but significant increase in 20S proteasome activity without affecting mRNA levels of the proteasome genes. Neither the mRNA levels nor the activities of cathepsin D and L were affected by starvation.

Conclusion

These results suggest a significant role of calpain and 20S proteasome pathways in protein mobilization as a source of energy during fasting and a potential association of the CAST-L gene with fish protein accretion.
Differential gene expression in an elite hybrid rice cultivar (Oryza sativa, L) and its parental lines based on SAGE data
Authors: Song Shuhui , Qu Hongzhu , Chen Chen , Hu Songnian , Yu Jun
Published: September 2007

Background

It was proposed that differentially-expressed genes, aside from genetic variations affecting protein processing and functioning, between hybrid and its parents provide essential candidates for studying heterosis or hybrid vigor. Based our serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) data from an elite Chinese super-hybrid rice (LYP9) and its parental cultivars (93-11 and PA64s) in three major tissue types (leaves, roots and panicles) at different developmental stages, we analyzed the transcriptome and looked for candidate genes related to rice heterosis.

Results

By using an improved strategy of tag-to-gene mapping and two recently annotated genome assemblies (93-11 and PA64s), we identified 10,268 additional high-quality tags, reaching a grand total of 20,595 together with our previous result. We further detected 8.5% and 5.9% physically-mapped genes that are differentially-expressed among the triad (in at least one of the three stages) with P-values less than 0.05 and 0.01, respectively. These genes distributed in 12 major gene expression patterns; among them, 406 up-regulated and 469 down-regulated genes (P < 0.05) were observed. Functional annotations on the identified genes highlighted the conclusion that up-regulated genes (some of them are known enzymes) in hybrid are mostly related to enhancing carbon assimilation in leaves and roots. In addition, we detected a group of up-regulated genes related to male sterility and 442 down-regulated genes related to signal transduction and protein processing, which may be responsible for rice heterosis.

Conclusion

We improved tag-to-gene mapping strategy by combining information from transcript sequences and rice genome annotation, and obtained a more comprehensive view on genes that related to rice heterosis. The candidates for heterosis-related genes among different genotypes provided new avenue for exploring the molecular mechanism underlying heterosis.
Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes by lifestyle intervention in an Australian primary health care setting: Greater Green Triangle (GGT) Diabetes Prevention Project
Authors: Laatikainen Tiina , Dunbar James A , Chapman Anna , Kilkkinen Annamari , Vartiainen Erkki , Heistaro Sami , Philpot Ben , Absetz Pilvikki , Bunker Stephen , O'Neil Adrienne , Reddy Prasuna , Best James D , Janus Edward D
Published: September 2007

Background

Randomised controlled trials demonstrate a 60% reduction in type 2 diabetes incidence through lifestyle modification programmes. The aim of this study is to determine whether such programmes are feasible in primary health care.

Methods

An intervention study including 237 individuals 40–75 years of age with moderate or high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A structured group programme with six 90 minute sessions delivered during an eight month period by trained nurses in Australian primary health care in 2004–2006. Main outcome measures taken at baseline, three, and 12 months included weight, height, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose and lipids, plasma glucose two hours after oral glucose challenge, blood pressure, measures of psychological distress and general health outcomes. To test differences between baseline and follow-up, paired t-tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed.

Results

At twelve months participants' mean weight reduced by 2.52 kg (95% confidence interval 1.85 to 3.19) and waist circumference by 4.17 cm (3.48 to 4.87). Mean fasting glucose reduced by 0.14 mmol/l (0.07 to 0.20), plasma glucose two hours after oral glucose challenge by 0.58 mmol/l (0.36 to 0.79), total cholesterol by 0.29 mmol/l (0.18 to 0.40), low density lipoprotein cholesterol by 0.25 mmol/l (0.16 to 0.34), triglycerides by 0.15 mmol/l (0.05 to 0.24) and diastolic blood pressure by 2.14 mmHg (0.94 to 3.33). Significant improvements were also found in most psychological measures.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence that a type 2 diabetes prevention programme using lifestyle intervention is feasible in primary health care settings, with reductions in risk factors approaching those observed in clinical trials.

Trial Number

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN38031372
Chiropractic and exercise for seniors with low back pain or neck pain: the design of two randomized clinical trials
Authors: Maiers Michele J , Hartvigsen Jan , Schulz Craig , Schulz Karen , Evans Roni L , Bronfort Gert
Published: September 2007

Background

Low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) are common conditions in old age, leading to impaired functional ability and decreased independence. Manual and exercise therapies are common and effective therapies for the general LBP and NP populations. However, these treatments have not been adequately researched in older LBP and NP sufferers.

The primary aim of these studies is to assess the relative clinical effectiveness of 1) manual treatment plus home exercise, 2) supervised rehabilitative exercise plus home exercise, and 3) home exercise alone, in terms of patient-rated pain, for senior LBP and NP patients. Secondary aims are to compare the three treatment approaches in regards to patient-rated disability, general health status, satisfaction, improvement and medication use, as well as objective outcomes of spinal motion, trunk strength and endurance, and functional ability. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility will also be assessed. Finally, using qualitative methods, older LBP and NP patient's perceptions of treatment will be explored and described.

Methods/Design

This paper describes the design of two multi-methods clinical studies focusing on elderly patients with non-acute LBP and NP. Each study includes a randomized clinical trial (RCT), a cost-effectiveness study alongside the RCT, and a qualitative study. Four hundred and eighty participants (240 per study), ages 65 and older, will be recruited and randomized to one of three, 12-week treatment programs. Patient-rated outcome measures are collected via self-report questionnaires at baseline and at 4, 12, 26, and 52 weeks post-randomization. Objective outcomes are assessed by examiners masked to treatment assignment at baseline and 12 weeks. Health care cost data is collected through standardized clinician forms, monthly phone interviews, and self-report questionnaires throughout the study. Qualitative interviews using a semi-structured format are conducted at the end of the 12 week treatment period.

Discussion

To our knowledge, these are the first randomized clinical trials to comprehensively address clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and patients' perceptions of commonly used treatments for elderly LBP and NP sufferers.

Trial Registration

NCT00269321 and NCT00269308
Understanding the implementation of complex interventions in health care: the normalization process model
Authors: May Carl , Finch Tracy , Mair Frances , Ballini Luciana , Dowrick Christopher , Eccles Martin , Gask Linda , MacFarlane Anne , Murray Elizabeth , Rapley Tim , Rogers Anne , Treweek Shaun , Wallace Paul , Anderson George , Burns Jo , Heaven Ben
Published: September 2007

Background

The Normalization Process Model is a theoretical model that assists in explaining the processes by which complex interventions become routinely embedded in health care practice. It offers a framework for process evaluation and also for comparative studies of complex interventions. It focuses on the factors that promote or inhibit the routine embedding of complex interventions in health care practice.

Methods

A formal theory structure is used to define the model, and its internal causal relations and mechanisms. The model is broken down to show that it is consistent and adequate in generating accurate description, systematic explanation, and the production of rational knowledge claims about the workability and integration of complex interventions.

Results

The model explains the normalization of complex interventions by reference to four factors demonstrated to promote or inhibit the operationalization and embedding of complex interventions (interactional workability, relational integration, skill-set workability, and contextual integration).

Conclusion

The model is consistent and adequate. Repeated calls for theoretically sound process evaluations in randomized controlled trials of complex interventions, and policy-makers who call for a proper understanding of implementation processes, emphasize the value of conceptual tools like the Normalization Process Model.
Metabolic transcription analysis of engineered Escherichia coli strains that overproduce L-phenylalanine
Authors: Báez-Viveros José Luis , Flores Noemí , Juárez Katy , Castillo-España Patricia , Bolivar Francisco , Gosset Guillermo
Published: September 2007

Background

The rational design of L-phenylalanine (L-Phe) overproducing microorganisms has been successfully achieved by combining different genetic strategies such as inactivation of the phosphoenolpyruvate: phosphotransferase transport system (PTS) and overexpression of key genes (DAHP synthase, transketolase and chorismate mutase-prephenate dehydratase), reaching yields of 0.33 (g-Phe/g-Glc), which correspond to 60% of theoretical maximum. Although genetic modifications introduced into the cell for the generation of overproducing organisms are specifically targeted to a particular pathway, these can trigger unexpected transcriptional responses of several genes. In the current work, metabolic transcription analysis (MTA) of both L-Phe overproducing and non-engineered strains using Real-Time PCR was performed, allowing the detection of transcriptional responses to PTS deletion and plasmid presence of genes related to central carbon metabolism. This MTA included 86 genes encoding enzymes of glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, pentoses phosphate, tricarboxylic acid cycle, fermentative and aromatic amino acid pathways. In addition, 30 genes encoding regulatory proteins and transporters for aromatic compounds and carbohydrates were also analyzed.

Results

MTA revealed that a set of genes encoding carbohydrate transporters (galP, mglB), gluconeogenic (ppsA, pckA) and fermentative enzymes (ldhA) were significantly induced, while some others were down-regulated such as ppc, pflB, pta and ackA, as a consequence of PTS inactivation. One of the most relevant findings was the coordinated up-regulation of several genes that are exclusively gluconeogenic (fbp, ppsA, pckA, maeB, sfcA, and glyoxylate shunt) in the best PTS- L-Phe overproducing strain (PB12-ev2). Furthermore, it was noticeable that most of the TCA genes showed a strong up-regulation in the presence of multicopy plasmids by an unknown mechanism. A group of genes exhibited transcriptional responses to both PTS inactivation and the presence of plasmids. For instance, acs-ackA, sucABCD, and sdhABCD operons were up-regulated in PB12 (PTS mutant that carries an arcB
- mutation). The induction of these operons was further increased by the presence of plasmids in PB12-ev2. Some genes involved in the shikimate and specific aromatic amino acid pathways showed down-regulation in the L-Phe overproducing strains, might cause possible metabolic limitations in the shikimate pathway.

Conclusion

The identification of potential rate-limiting steps and the detection of transcriptional responses in overproducing microorganisms may suggest "reverse engineering" strategies for the further improvement of L-Phe production strains.
Maternal vitamin D deficiency associated with neonatal hypocalcaemic convulsions
Authors: Camadoo Laxmi , Tibbott Rebecca , Isaza Fernando
Published: September 2007

Maternal vitamin D insufficiency is not uncommon. Infants born to mothers who are deficient in vitamin D and or calcium, usually due to cultural modifications in their diets or clothing habits, and in addition are breastfed, are at risk of developing vitamin D deficiency and hypocalcaemia. We present a case of neonatal hypocalcaemic seizures secondary to vitamin D deficiency.

Rickets in children resulting from vitamin D deficiency is well documented. It is also becoming clear that there is a positive correlation between maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and lactation and the development of rickets both in infancy and childhood. The correlation between maternal vitamin D, neonatal vitamin D and hypocalcaemia is not well documented.
Daily calcium intake in male children and adolescents obtained from the rapid assessment method and the 24-hour recall method
Authors: Moore Michael , Braid Sarah , Falk Bareket , Klentrou Panagiota
Published: September 2007

Background

In order to rapidly assess nutrient intake, Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) have been developed and proven to be reliable for quick, user friendly analysis in adults. However, the accuracy of these questionnaires in children has been studied to a limited extent. The aim of this study was to compare the daily calcium intake values obtained from the Rapid Assessment Method (RAM), an FFQ, for assessing daily calcium intake in child and adolescent males with the values obtained from the 24-hour recall method.

Methods

Subjects included 162 child and adolescent males, aged 9–16 years, subdivided into elementary school (ES, 9–12 years) and high school (HS, 14–16 years) age groups.

Results

Daily calcium intake was significantly lower in ES compared with HS, using both methods. The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) between RAM values and those obtained using the 24-hour recall questionnaire were significant yet moderate (ICC = 0.46 and 0.43 for ES and HS, respectively). However, daily calcium intake obtained using RAM was significantly higher when compared with the 24-hour recall values in both ES (1576 +/- 1101 vs. 1003 +/- 543 mg, in RAM and 24-hour, respectively) and in HS males (1873 +/- 739 vs. 1159 +/- 515 mg, in RAM and 24-hour, respectively).

Conclusion

RAM overestimates daily calcium intake as compared with the 24-hour recall method in both child and adolescent males.
Sinomenine, a natural dextrorotatory morphinan analog, is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective through inhibition of microglial NADPH oxidase
Authors: Qian Li , Xu Zongli , Zhang Wei , Wilson Belinda , Hong Jau-Shyong , Flood Patrick M
Published: September 2007

Background

The mechanisms involved in the induction and regulation of inflammation resulting in dopaminergic (DA) neurotoxicity in Parkinson's disease (PD) are complex and incompletely understood. Microglia-mediated inflammation has recently been implicated as a critical mechanism responsible for progressive neurodegeneration.

Methods

Mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures and reconstituted cultures were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of sinomenine (SN)-mediated anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in both the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-mediated models of PD.

Results

SN showed equivalent efficacy in protecting against DA neuron death in rat midbrain neuron-glial cultures at both micro- and sub-picomolar concentrations, but no protection was seen at nanomolar concentrations. The neuroprotective effect of SN was attributed to inhibition of microglial activation, since SN significantly decreased tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, prostaglandin E2(PGE2) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by microglia. In addition, from the therapeutic point of view, we focused on sub-picomolar concentration of SN for further mechanistic studies. We found that 10-14M of SN failed to protect DA neurons against MPP+-induced toxicity in the absence of microglia. More importantly, SN failed to show a protective effect in neuron-glia cultures from mice lacking functional NADPH oxidase (PHOX), a key enzyme for extracellular superoxide production in immune cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SN reduced LPS-induced extracellular ROS production through the inhibition of the PHOX cytosolic subunit p47phoxtranslocation to the cell membrane.

Conclusion

Our findings strongly suggest that the protective effects of SN are most likely mediated through the inhibition of microglial PHOX activity. These findings suggest a novel therapy to treat inflammation-mediated neurodegenerative diseases.
Desmoplastic melanoma morphology on Thinprep: a report of two cases
Authors: Van Ells Becky L , Madory James E , Hoda Rana S
Published: September 2007

Background

Desmoplastic melanoma is a variant of malignant melanoma that can range in appearance from sarcomatoid to scar-like. Cytomorphology of desmoplastic melanoma has been previously described on conventional smears; however, to our knowledge, detailed cytomorphology on ThinPrep has so far not been described. Herein, we describe the cytomorphology of two cases of desmoplastic melanoma on fine needle aspiration processed as ThinPrep slides and compare it to that seen on conventional smears. Pertinent immunocytochemical stains, performed on ThinPrep slides are also discussed.

Case presentation

The first case is a woman with a history of desmoplastic melanoma of the scalp with previous local recurrences and lymph node metastasis with a new submandibular mass. The second case is a man with a previously resected desmoplastic melanoma with his first local recurrence. Conventional smears, including air-dried Diff-Quik-stained and alcohol-fixed Papanicolaou-stained smears, demonstrated aggregates of pleomorphic spindle cells admixed with fibrous stroma and single spindle cells. In both cases, nuclei were elongated and plump with irregular nuclear contours, deep grooves, and folds. Chromatin was dark and coarse with either inconspicuous or multiple prominent nucleoli. Cytoplasm was located at the nuclear poles and was fine, wispy, and delicate. The background was clean with no evidence of necrosis or melanin pigment. Papanicolaou-stained ThinPrep slides were prepared from needle rinses and demonstrated excellent correlation of nuclear and cytoplasmic detail of single spindle cells to that seen on conventional smears with the exception of only slight decrease in nuclear size; however, nuclear and cytoplasmic detail of spindle cells embedded in stroma was markedly attenuated. Confirmatory immunostain for S-100 protein in both cases was performed on ThinPrep slides demonstrating crisp cytoplasmic staining in the spindle cells.

Conclusion

The cytomorphology of desmoplastic melanoma shows excellent correlation between cytomorphology of single spindle cells on conventional smears and on ThinPrep slides. The major difference noted on ThinPrep slides was attenuated nuclear and cytoplasmic detail of spindle cells embedded in fibrous stoma.
Reduced expression of Jak-1 and Tyk-2 proteins leads to interferon resistance in Hepatitis C virus replicon
Authors: Hazari Sidhartha , Taylor Lizeth , Haque Salima , Garry Robert F , Florman Sander , Luftig Ronald , Regenstein Frederic , Dash Srikanta
Published: September 2007

Background

Alpha interferon in combination with ribavirin is the standard therapy for hepatitis C virus infection. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients fail to eradicate their infection with this regimen. The mechanisms of IFN-resistance are unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of host cell factors to the mechanisms of interferon resistance using replicon cell lines.

Results

HCV replicons with high and low activation of the IFN-promoter were cultured for a prolonged period of time in the presence of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha2b). Stable replicon cell lines with resistant phenotype were isolated and characterized by their ability to continue viral replication in the presence of IFN-alpha. Interferon resistant cell colonies developed only in replicons having lower activation of the IFN promoter and no resistant colonies arose from replicons that exhibit higher activation of the IFN promoter. Individual cell clones were isolated and nine IFN resistant cell lines were established. HCV RNA and protein levels in these cells were not altered by IFN- alpha2b. Reduced signaling and IFN-resistant phenotype was found in all Huh-7 cell lines even after eliminating HCV, suggesting that cellular factors are involved. Resistant phenotype in the replicons is not due to lack of interferon receptor expression. All the cell lines show defect in the JAK-STAT signaling and phosphorylation of STAT 1 and STAT 2 proteins were strongly inhibited due to reduced expression of Tyk2 and Jak-1 protein.

Conclusion

This in vitro study provides evidence that altered expression of the Jak-Stat signaling proteins can cause IFN resistance using HCV replicon cell clones.
47,XXY/48,XXXY/49,XXXXY mosaic with hydrocephaly: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Dueñas-Arias Jesús E. , Aguilar-Medina Maribel , Arámbula-Meraz Eliakym , Valenzuela-Camacho Juliana B. , Vega-Solano Angelina , Granados Julio , Ramos-Payán Rosalío
Published: September 2007

Klinefelter's syndrome is a frequent genetic sexual alteration in males, associated with the 47,XXY aneuploidy. Several syndrome variants are caused by different X and Y polysomy and mosaicisms, including the 49,XXXXY condition described by some authors as Fraccaro's syndrome. Mosaics with three or more different chromosomal lines are very rare. Here, we describe a case with XXY/XXXY/XXXXY mosaic in a newborn with clinical features of Fraccaro's syndrome, but also with obstructive hydrocephaly which has not been reported previously.
Validation of a continuous, arterial pressure-based cardiac output measurement: a multicenter, prospective clinical trial
Authors: McGee William T , Horswell Jeffrey L , Calderon Joachim , Janvier Gerard , Van Severen Tom , Van den Berghe Greet , Kozikowski Lori
Published: September 2007

Introduction

The present study compared measurements of cardiac output by an arterial pressure-based cardiac output (APCO) analysis method with measurement by intermittent thermodilution cardiac output (ICO) via pulmonary artery catheter in a clinical setting.

Methods

The multicenter, prospective clinical investigation enrolled patients with a clinical indication for cardiac output monitoring requiring pulmonary artery and radial artery catheters at two hospitals in the United States, one hospital in France, and one hospital in Belgium. In 84 patients (69 surgical patients), the cardiac output was measured by analysis of the arterial pulse using APCO and was measured via pulmonary artery catheter by ICO; to establish a reference comparison, the cardiac output was measured by continuous cardiac output (CCO). Data were collected continuously by the APCO and CCO technologies, and at least every 4 hours by ICO. No clinical interventions were made as part of the study.

Results

For APCO compared with ICO, the bias was 0.20 l/min, the precision was ± 1.28 l/min, and the limits of agreement were -2.36 l/m to 2.75 l/m. For CCO compared with ICO, the bias was 0.66 l/min, the precision was ± 1.05 l/min, and the limits of agreement were -1.43 l/m to 2.76 l/m. The ability of APCO and CCO to assess changes in cardiac output was compared with that of ICO. In 96% of comparisons, APCO tracked the change in cardiac output in the same direction as ICO. The magnitude of change was comparable 59% of the time. For CCO, 95% of comparisons were in the same direction, with 58% of those changes being of similar magnitude.

Conclusion

In critically ill patients in the intensive care unit, continuous measurement of cardiac output using either APCO or CCO is comparable with ICO. Further study in more homogeneous populations may refine specific situations where APCO reliability is strongest.