bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of aquatic interventions in children with neuromotor impairments: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Getz Miriam , Hutzler Yeshayahu , Vermeer Adri
Published: October 2006

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of aquatic interventions in children with neuromotor impairments.

Design: A search of electronic databases that included MEDLINE, PubMed, ERIC, PsychLit, PEDro, Sport Discus, CINAHL and Cochrane between 1966 and January 2005 was conducted using the following keywords: ‘hydrotherapy’, ‘aquatic therapy’, ‘water exercise’, ‘aquatics’, ‘adapted aquatics’, ‘aquatic exercise’ and ‘swimming’. An additional resource, the Aquatic Therapy Research Bibliography until 1999, was explored manually. Titles and abstracts were assessed manually according to the following inclusion criteria: (1) population (children with neuromotor or neuromuscular impairments), (2) intervention (aquatic programme). Articles were reviewed according to merit of design, population participants and outcome measures with respect to International Classification of Function and Disability terminology (changes in body function, activity level and participation).

Results: Eleven of the 173 articles that were retrieved met the inclusion criteria: one randomized control trial, two quasi-experimental studies, one cohort study, two case control studies and five case reports. Seven articles reported improvement in body functions, and seven articles reported improvement in activity level. Two of the four articles that investigated outcome measures regarding participation described positive effects while the findings of the other two revealed no change. None of the articles reported negative effects due to aquatic interventions.

Conclusion: According to this review, there is a substantial lack of evidence-based research evaluating the specific effects of aquatic interventions in this population.
Patient education to prevent falls in subacute care
Authors: Haines Terry P , Hill Keith D , Bennell Kim L , Osborne Richard H
Published: October 2006

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a patient education programme for preventing falls in the subacute hospital setting.

Design: Randomized controlled trial, subgroup analysis.

Participants: Patients of a metropolitan subacute/aged rehabilitation hospital who were recommended for a patient education intervention for the prevention of falls when enrolled in a larger randomized controlled trial of a falls prevention programme.

Methods: Participants in both the control and intervention groups who were recommended for the education programme intervention were followed for the duration of their hospital stay to determine if falls occurred. Only participants in the intervention group who were recommended for this intervention actually received it. In addition, these participants completed an evaluation survey at the completion of their education programme.

Results: Intervention group participants in this subgroup analysis had a significantly lower incidence of falls than their control group counterparts (control: 16.0 falls/1000 participant-days, intervention: 8.2 falls/1000 participant-days, log-rank test: P = 0.007). However the difference in the proportion of fallers was not significant (relative risk 1.21, 95% confidence interval 0.68 to 2.14).

Conclusion: Patient education is an important part of a multiple intervention falls prevention approach for the subacute hospital setting.
Experience, Attitudes, and Willingness to Pay for Public Safety
Authors: Donahue Amy K. , Miller Joanne M.
Published: October 2006

Conditions of fiscal stress in local governments prompt researchers and public officials to seek to assess citizens’ attitudes about public services and their inclination to fund enhanced service levels and quality. This study explores the questions of how citizens’ attitudes about services influence their willingness to pay for them and how direct and mediated experience with services influence attitudes about them. The authors draw from two broad bodies of work: the public finance literature about demand and the psychology literature about attitudes. The authors propose a conceptual model of the relationships between citizens’ direct and mediated exposure to public services, their attitudes about these services, and their willingness to pay for them. The authors present data from a survey of Connecticut adults and use these data to estimate statistical models of the relationship between media exposure and attitudes with regression analysis. They find evidence that direct experience and media exposure affect attitudes and that attitudes predict willingness to pay.
Watching the Borders of Administrative Evil
Authors: Ghere Richard K.
Published: October 2006

This article assesses the utility of Adams and Balfour’s treatment of administrative evil ( Unmasking Administrative Evil) for diagnosing what Perrow calls the “difficult and messy” cases in mainstream public management. It reexamines the human dimension and public policy context as boundaries of administrative evil, articulating four alternative explanations of evil in public agency settings, one of which aligns closely with Adams and Balfour’s ideas. A subsequent section presents a case study that depicts how the Florida Department of Children and Families weathered its recent difficulties accounting for, and providing for the safety of, foster care children. The Florida case offers points of reference for evaluating the four explanations of evil. Finally, case events invite assessment of how administrative evil can explain the suffering inflicted on children in the Florida foster care system. This discussion also explores the relevance of this analytical approach in studying provocative administrative actions in other global settings.
Key Publications in Library Marketing: a review
Authors: Koontz Christie M. , Gupta Dinesh K. , Webber Sheila
Published: October 2006

This paper reviews key contributions to library marketing literature, from the early 1970s through the present. Many of the bibliographic citations lead to hundreds of publications authored over the last 30 years. As marketing developed in the United States and western culture, the majority of the publications are in English. The authors solicit contributions from non-Western authors and others considered key by readers to be included in a second article. Please send relevant information to Christie Koontz at ckoontz@ci.fsu.edu.
The World Wide Web Enhancing E-government in the Caribbean: an assessment of government portals or gateway websites
Authors: Durrant Fay
Published: October 2006

Governments of the Caribbean Community have established portal or gateway sites on the World Wide Web to facilitate the delivery of e-government information and services. E-government via the Internet is seen as aiming to provide all citizens with an efficient and alternative medium for accessing public services and for interacting with public sector providers. This paper examines the potential of these websites to provide access to information and to contribute to the effectiveness of e-government activities. The research assesses seventeen Caribbean portals or gateway websites which facilitate e-government and identifies roles of librarians and libraries in enhancing citizens’ access to e-government information.
Empowering the “Unfit” Mother
Authors: Smith Nora A.
Published: October 2006

This article presents the results of a qualitative study that examined the experiences of women who were deemed “unfit” to care for their children. The voices of these mothers call attention to the difficult process of recovery from addiction while trying to regain custody of one's children. A strengths-based empowerment approach is emphasized in work with these women, beginning with a redefinition of the label “unfit.”
Women and Men With Mental Illnesses
Authors: Scheyett Anna M. , McCarthy Erin
Published: October 2006

Women with mental illnesses have reported that one painful aspect of living with their diagnosis is the loss of personal identity when they are labeled “mentally ill.” Although a number of studies have focused on services to address issues of relevance to women, few have explored the different ways in which women and men view services within the mental health system. Using a focus-group approach, the authors conducted a study that examined the service needs and views of women and men with mental illnesses. This article reports on this study and identifies the participants' common and unique needs and views and discusses the implications for research and practice.
Virginia
Authors: Barlow Constance A. , Phelan Anne , Hurlock Deborah , Sawa Russell , Rogers Gayla , Myrick Flo
Published: October 2006

This article considers the case of Virginia, a social work practicum student who experienced conflict in her field placement, in light of Heilbrun's notion of liminality—that is, being poised on uncertain ground, leaving one condition or self and entering another. In addition, Virginia's experience is explored within the complex web of power and resistance that characterized her relationship with the field instructor, the agency director, and the school.
The Identification of Sexual and Violent Motivations in Men Who Assault Women: Implication for Treatment
Authors: Beech Anthony R. , Ward Tony , Fisher Dawn
Published: October 2006

A qualitative analysis of interview data with 41 rapists determined that five implicit theories (ITs) underlie rapists’ offense supportive beliefs/feelings/motives: (a) dangerous world (DW)—where men have feelings of generalized anger and/or resentment toward others; (b) women are dangerous—where men hold a set of attitudes that are hostile toward women; (c) women as sexual objects (WSO)—where women are seen as primarily sexual objects; (d) male sex drive is uncontrollable—where sexual urges are seen all consuming; (e) entitlement—where men feel that they can do exactly what they want. Consideration of whether DW or WSO ITs were present or absent indicated that three main groups could be identified: Group 1: violently motivated—presence of DW and/or absence of WSO; Group 2: sexually motivated—presence of WSO and/or absence of DW; Group 3: sadistically motivated—presence of DW and WSO. These results are discussed in terms of treatment needs of rapists.
Treatment of Human-Caused Trauma
Authors: Matthieu Monica , Ivanoff André
Published: October 2006

Attrition or dropout is the failure of a participant to complete, comply, or the prematurely discontinuation or discharge from treatment, resulting in lost data and affecting outcomes. This review of 10 years of adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment outcome literature specific to Criterion A events of human origin examines how attrition is defined and addressed, methodologically and statistically. Of the 13 experimental or quasi-experimental studies, 11 report attrition information. Compared to treatment completers, attriters more often had elevated pretest scores on PTSD and other symptom measures. The characteristics of dropouts given the intentional nature of the traumatic events reviewed in this study are shared to inform clinical practice. Recommendations for consistent methods in examining, analyzing, and interpreting treatment outcome data are also discussed.
Condiciónes, Drogas, y La Cárcel
Authors: Capeheart Loretta J. , Sweet Elizabeth L.
Published: October 2006

This article begins to fill the gap in knowledge concerning Latinos and justice policy and challenges widely held assumptions about assimilation. Specifically examined were drug usage, arrest offense, and life conditions along ethnic lines. The ethnic lines examined here include the three largest U.S. Latino populations (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban). Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring 2000 program data were used in this study. Recommendations are offered to increase the efficacy of drug control and rehabilitation programs for specific Latino populations in the site cities studied and to address other needs within the Latino arrestee populations. The authors also identify the need for additional research that requires greatly improved data collection and reporting by government agencies around issues of ethnicity. These data can then be used to reform the penal, legal, and justice systems to effectively and fairly address the needs, rights, and concerns of different populations, specifically Latinos.
Hermann Broch as a reader of Max Weber: Protestantism, rationalization and the ‘disintegration of values’
Authors: Harrington Austin
Published: October 2006

The article explores a range of motifs in the writing of the Austrian émigré novelist and essayist Hermann Broch, that point to themes in the sociological thought of Max Weber. Although explicit citations of Weber’s name appear rarely in Broch’s writings, the thematic and stylistic contents of Broch’s first novel of 1930-1 The Sleepwalkers indicate a plethora of ways in which the Austrian author engages with ideas he can only have first assimilated by means of a more or less conscious programme of reading in texts by Weber and by other thinkers of the same milieu and generation, including Wilhelm Dilthey and Heinrich Rickert. Most notably in the ‘Excursus on the Disintegration of Values’, in Part III of The Sleepwalkers, Broch elaborates what might be seen as a certain poetic extension of the Weberian vision of modernity in terms of rationalization, disenchantment and the fragmentation of value-spheres.
Can evolutionary psychology learn from the instinct debate?
Authors: Hampton Simon J.
Published: October 2006

The concept of instinct espoused in psychology in the early 20th century and the contemporary concept of psychological adaptation invite comparison. Definitions of both employ the notions of inheritance, selection, functional specificity, and species typicality. This article examines how psychologists before the rise of behaviourism sought to establish instinct as a psychological phenomenon. One of the consequences of doing so was a decoupling of psychological and physiological forms of instinct. This led to a failure of constraint in the usage of the term instinct and the abandonment of the project to establish it as foundational. I argue that the notion of psychological adaptations at the heart of contemporary evolutionary psychology as espoused by John Tooby and Leda Cosmides invites similar difficulties and may come to share a similar fate.
Moral Theology on Earth: Learning from Two Thomases
Authors: Cessario Romanus
Published: October 2006

The essay considers the influence of Christian ethics within the political order. It considers first the witness of Thomas More, then developments in Roman Catholic moral theology since the Second Vatican Council, and finally the dispute over the moral evaluation of the use by AIDS-infected spouses of condoms in order to sterilise their procreative acts. The whole discussion proceeds as a commentary on what Thomas Aquinas says about the temporal promulgation of Eternal Law, and also aims to locate moral argument within the macroscopic context of divine revelation on health and salvation, which the Church must proclaim in its fullness.
The Way of Aquinas: Its Importance for Moral Theology
Authors: Long D. Stephen
Published: October 2006

This essay argues that, for Thomas Aquinas, nature always points in the direction of Christ. Therefore, moral theologies that proceed by way of nature in order to move beyond the confines of confessional traditions fail to read Aquinas well. Because Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity, the exemplar in whom all things are made, nature cannot be a more universal category than Christology. Karl Barth critiqued Roman Catholic moral theology for failing to honour this essential theological point, wrongly attributing the error to Aquinas. However, many contemporary Catholic moral theologians have adopted the very understanding of nature Barth critiques, and are using Thomas to do so. This loses the ecumenical character of Aquinas’s work.
A Response to Martin Rhonheimer
Authors: Porter Jean
Published: October 2006

In this response, I address Professor Rhonheimer’s charge that I deny the rational character of the natural law in my recent book. On the contrary, my theory of natural law is developed through an extended analysis of the ways in which reason draws on and informs the intelligibilities inherent in nature, understood in diverse ways. In this response, I focus on two issues to which Professor Rhonheimer gives extended attention, the first interpretative, the second constructive—namely, first, Aquinas’s conception of reason, its scope and limits, and secondly, the prospects for moral universalism.
Intention to Experience Local Cuisine in a Travel Destination: The Modified Theory of Reasoned Action
Authors: Ryu Kisang , Jang SooCheong (Shawn)
Published: October 2006

This article proposes a modified theory of reasoned action model in which past behavior was added to the original theory of reasoned action model. Using the proposed model, this study investigated the interdependence between attitudinal and normative components and also examined the model’s ability to predict tourist behavioral intentions to try local cuisine in a hypothetical situation. A structural equation analysis showed that the model had strong predictive ability for tourist intentions to experience local cuisine. Attitude and past behavior were significant predictors of tourist behavioral intentions. In addition, the interdependence between attitudinal and normative components were partly supported. Implications of the findings are discussed as well.
The Effects of Relationship Marketing Orientation on Business Performance in the Hotel Industry
Authors: Sin Leo Y. M. , Tse Alan C. B. , Chan Haksin , Heung Vincent C. S. , Yim Frederick H. K.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between relationship marketing orientation and business performance in the hotel industry. Data were generated from 63 hotels in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that relationship marketing orientation was positively and significantly associated with marketing performance and financial performance of a hotel. Implications of the findings are discussed, and limitations of the study as well as further research directions are addressed.
A Field Investigation of the Mediating Effects of Perceived Fairness on the Relationship between Perceived Control and Consumer Satisfaction
Authors: Namasivayam Karthik , Mount Daniel J.
Published: October 2006

This article reports the results of a field test of the effects of fairness and control on consumer satisfaction. Employing data collected through customer satisfaction surveys at an internationally reputed brand of hotels, strong support was found for the mediating role of fairness in the relationship between perceptions of control and satisfaction. This finding theoretically extends and reinforces previous research conducted using experimental methodology. The results of this study emphasize the need to take into account both perceived fairness and perceived control in explaining consumer satisfaction. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
Feminist and gender perspectives in tourism studies
Authors: Aitchison Cara Carmichael
Published: October 2006

This article calls for a pause for reflection on the theoretical trajectory of feminist and gender research in tourism studies. It offers a critical appraisal of the origins, development and contemporary application of the three epistemological approaches of feminist empiricism, standpoint feminism and poststructural feminism. Although each of these broad perspectives has served to shape our multiple understandings of the relationships between gender and tourism they may also, simultaneously and inadvertently, have served to fracture the coherence of gender and tourism as a sub-discipline within tourism studies. The article suggests that to disembody that which is not yet fully formed runs the risk of aborting rather than nurturing the embryonic project of advancing feminist and gender tourism studies. Thus, while acknowledging the positive influence of the ‘cultural turn’ within feminist and gender studies of tourism, the article cautions against the wholesale adoption of poststructural approaches to the neglect of previous material analyses. Thus, the case is made for developing synergy between these two seemingly oppositional perspectives and the social-cultural nexus is introduced as a conceptual framework within which to explore the mutually informing nature of the social and the cultural in shaping both materialities and relations of gender and tourism.
Sex and shunting
Authors: Worthington Barry
Published: October 2006

This article applies the concept of ‘serious leisure’ to the subject of tourism development. It focuses upon the creation of counter cultures and alternative lifestyles, and the nature of the voluntarism that often is an extension of this. The case studies deal with the tourist railway volunteer and the ‘swinger’ lifestyle. The analysis also considers the creation of ‘an embodied space’ by the participant, since we are not dealing with passive consumption, but a proactive experience. In the case of railway preservation, the ‘embodied lifestyle’ has come to an accommodation with the tourism industry, generating a multi-million pound industry in the process. The embodiment of a ‘swinging lifestyle’ takes the traditional elements of the tourist experience and refashions them into a new formation or packages for their own forms of consumption. In both cases, the industry benefits from the economic results but knows practically nothing of the wellspring of these phenomena.
‘On location’
Authors: Pritchard Annette , Morgan Nigel
Published: October 2006

The interconnected and globalized industries of tourism, fashion and the media are profound and unsuspected agents of cultural pedagogy and investigation of travel-fashion iconographies from a tourism studies perspective is overdue. In this article we explore discourses of tourism, place and gender as articulated in the lifestyle magazine Condé Nast Traveller. Based on a critical textual analysis, the article premises that the fashion features of such magazines form an element in the circle of representation and that their narratives are rooted in heteropatriarchal discourses embedded in imperialist conceptions of desire and the exotic. Analysis of a fashion feature photographed in Hong Kong reveals how the myths and fantasies privileged within the discourses of both the tourism and the fashion industries entwine, so that sexualized and stereotypical representations of women are seen to exoticize and eroticize tourism destinations, particularly Asia.
Juvenile Sex Offenders Compared to Non-Sex Offenders
Authors: van Wijk Anton , Vermeiren Robert , Loeber Rolf , Hart-Kerkhoffs Lisette’t , Doreleijers Theo , Bullens Ruud
Published: October 2006

An unresolved but clinically important issue in the literature on juvenile delinquency is to what extent juvenile sex offenders resemble non-sex offenders with respect to individual, familial, and environmental characteristics. The current article reviewed published studies (1995-2005) comparing sex offenders with non-sex offenders. The 17 articles meeting the inclusion criteria suggest that differences exist between sex offenders and non-sex offenders on personality characteristics, behavioral problems, history of sexual abuse, nonsexual offending, and peer functioning. Inconsistent results were found for demographic factors, family functioning and background, antisocial attitudes, and intellectual and neurological functioning. Although it is likely that sex offenders can be differentiated from nonsex offenders on a number of characteristics, caution is warranted because of methodological differences between studies and small samples size. Also, studies show that sex offenders are a heterogeneous group. Further research should take into account this heterogeneity by including sex offenders from clearly circumscribed groups and investigating characteristics specifically related to sexual behavior.
Beyond the Shadows
Authors: Ammar Nawal H.
Published: October 2006

This study provides an exposé of spousal abuse in Egypt in terms of its nature (prevalence, forms, risk factors, reporting), the criminal justice response, available services that deal with it, and its impact on individual women, the family, and the general societal fabric. This study is based on empirical studies, surveys, UN reports, and newspaper articles. Since the beginning of 2000, Egypt has witnessed legal, organizational, and political changes, both generally and concerning women. Some changes address the issue of spousal abuse directly, and others focus on empowering women in family and society. As a result, it is important to develop a baseline profile of spousal abuse for future research on and the evaluation of the effects of such policies and legal changes. This would enable researchers to measure over time strategies that influence change and reduce violence against women. This article provides the first step in the baseline.
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Generalized Anxiety
Authors: Whitton Sarah W. , Luiselli James K. , Donaldson Deidre L.
Published: October 2006

This case report describes cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) with a 7-year-old girl diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and specific phobia (fear of vomiting). Developmental history was significant for excessive worry, pervasive anxiety, and complaints of stomach discomfort. Her fear of vomiting had resulted in eating inhibition and weight loss. Treatment focused on teaching behavioral skills to reduce anxiety (distraction, relaxation), correcting misattributions about physiological sensations, reducing anxiety-inducing self-statements, and eliminating reinforcement of somatic symptoms in the family system. Self-report on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) before and following CBT documented clinically significant changes in anxiety. At termination, the client no longer met diagnostic criteria for GAD or specific phobia. Over the course of treatment, complaints of stomachaches were significantly reduced, and the client demonstrated weight gain. A 5-month posttreatment evaluation revealed that clinical improvement was maintained.
Imatinib combined with induction or consolidation chemotherapy in patients with de novo Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: results of the GRAAPH-2003 study
Authors: de Labarthe Adrienne , Rousselot Philippe , Huguet-Rigal Françoise , Delabesse Eric , Witz Francis , Maury Sébastien , Réa Delphine , Cayuela Jean-Michel , Vekemans Marie-Christine , Reman Oumedaly , Buzyn Agnès , Pigneux Arnaud , Escoffre Martine , Chalandon Yves , MacIntyre Elizabeth , Lhéritier Véronique , Vernant Jean-Paul , Thomas Xavier , Ifrah Norbert , Dombret Hervé ,   for the Group for Research on Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (GRAALL)
Published: October 2006

The combination of imatinib with chemotherapy has been recently reported as very promising in patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). During 2004 and 2005, 45 patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL were treated in the Group for Research on Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (GRAAPH) 2003 study, in which imatinib was started with HAM (mitoxantrone with intermediate-dose cytarabine) consolidation in good early responders (corticosensitive and chemosensitive ALL) or earlier during the induction course in combination with dexamethasone and vincristine in poor early responders (corticoresistant and/or chemoresistant ALL). Imatinib was then continuously administered until stem cell transplantation (SCT). Overall, complete remission (CR) and BCR-ABL real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) negativity rates were 96% and 29%, respectively. All of the 22 CR patients (100%) with a donor actually received allogeneic SCT in first CR. At 18 months, the estimated cumulative incidence of relapse, disease-free survival, and overall survival were 30%, 51%, and 65%, respectively. These 3 end points compared very favorably with results obtained in the pre-imatinib LALA-94 trial. This study confirms the value of the combined approach and encourages prospective trials to define the optimal chemotherapy that has to be combined with imatinib and to carefully reevaluate the place of allogeneic SCT in this new context.
Altered activation of AKT is required for the suppressive function of human CD4+CD25+ T regulatory cells
Authors: Crellin Natasha K. , Garcia Rosa V. , Levings Megan K.
Published: October 2006

Suppression by T regulatory cells (Treg cells) is a major mechanism by which the immune system controls responses to self and nonharmful foreign proteins. Although there are many different types of Treg cells, the best characterized are those that constitutively express cell-surface IL-2Rα (CD25). We investigated whether altered T-cell–receptor (TCR)–mediated signaling in pure populations of ex vivo human CD4+CD25+ Treg cells might underlie their unique phenotype, including hyporesponsiveness to TCR–mediated activation and lack of cytokine production. CD4+CD25+ Treg cells displayed a consistent defect in phosphorylation of AKT at serine 473 and reduced phosphorylation of the AKT substrates FOXO and S6. Restoration of AKT activity via lentiviral-mediated expression of an inducibly active form of the kinase revealed that reduced activity of this pathway was necessary for the suppressive function of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells. These data represent the first demonstration of a causal association between altered signaling and the function of CD4+CD25+ Treg cells. Moreover, we have created the first system allowing inducible abrogation of suppression through manipulation of the suppressor cells. This system will be a powerful tool to further study the mechanism(s) of suppression by CD4+CD25+ Treg cells.
Differential effects of cigarette smoke on oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine release in primary human airway epithelial cells and in a variety of transformed alveolar epithelial cells
Authors: Kode Aruna , Yang Se-Ran , Rahman Irfan
Published: October 2006

Background

Cigarette smoke mediated oxidative stress and inflammatory events in the airway and alveolar epithelium are important processes in the pathogenesis of smoking related pulmonary diseases. Previously, individual cell lines were used to assess the oxidative and proinflammatory effects of cigarette smoke with confounding results. In this study, a panel of human and rodent transformed epithelial cell lines were used to determine the effects of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on oxidative stress markers, cell toxicity and proinflammatory cytokine release and compared the effects with that of primary human small airway epithelial cells (SAEC).

Methods

Primary human SAEC, transformed human (A549, H1299, H441), and rodent (murine MLE-15, rat L2) alveolar epithelial cells were treated with different concentrations of CSE (0.2–10%) ranging from 20 min to 24 hr. Cytotoxicity was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase release assay, trypan blue exclusion method and double staining with acridine orange and ethidium bromide. Glutathione concentration was measured by enzymatic recycling assay and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal levels by using lipid peroxidation assay kit. The levels of proinflammatory cytokines (e.g. IL-8 and IL-6) were measured by ELISA. Nuclear translocation of the transcription factor, NF-κB was assessed by immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting.

Results

Cigarette smoke extract dose-dependently depleted glutathione concentration, increased 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) levels, and caused necrosis in the transformed cell lines as well as in SAEC. None of the transformed cell lines showed any significant release of cytokines in response to CSE. CSE, however, induced IL-8 and IL-6 release in primary cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, which was associated with the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in SAEC.

Conclusion

This study suggests that primary, but not transformed, lung epithelial cells are an appropriate model to study the inflammatory mechanisms in response to cigarette smoke.
The accuracy of several multiple sequence alignment programs for proteins
Authors: Nuin Paulo AS , Wang Zhouzhi , Tillier Elisabeth RM
Published: October 2006

Background

There have been many algorithms and software programs implemented for the inference of multiple sequence alignments of protein and DNA sequences. The "true" alignment is usually unknown due to the incomplete knowledge of the evolutionary history of the sequences, making it difficult to gauge the relative accuracy of the programs.

Results

We tested nine of the most often used protein alignment programs and compared their results using sequences generated with the simulation software Simprot which creates known alignments under realistic and controlled evolutionary scenarios. We have simulated more than 30000 alignment sets using various evolutionary histories in order to define strengths and weaknesses of each program tested. We found that alignment accuracy is extremely dependent on the number of insertions and deletions in the sequences, and that indel size has a weaker effect. We also considered benchmark alignments from the latest version of BAliBASE and the results relative to BAliBASE- and Simprot-generated data sets were consistent in most cases.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that employing Simprot's simulated sequences allows the creation of a more flexible and broader range of alignment classes than the usual methods for alignment accuracy assessment. Simprot also allows for a quick and efficient analysis of a wider range of possible evolutionary histories that might not be present in currently available alignment sets. Among the nine programs tested, the iterative approach available in Mafft (L-INS-i) and ProbCons were consistently the most accurate, with Mafft being the faster of the two.
Annotation, submission and screening of repetitive elements in Repbase: RepbaseSubmitter and Censor
Authors: Kohany Oleksiy , Gentles Andrew J , Hankus Lukasz , Jurka Jerzy
Published: October 2006

Background

Repbase is a reference database of eukaryotic repetitive DNA, which includes prototypic sequences of repeats and basic information described in annotations. Updating and maintenance of the database requires specialized tools, which we have created and made available for use with Repbase, and which may be useful as a template for other curated databases.

Results

We describe the software tools RepbaseSubmitter and Censor, which are designed to facilitate updating and screening the content of Repbase. RepbaseSubmitter is a java-based interface for formatting and annotating Repbase entries. It eliminates many common formatting errors, and automates actions such as calculation of sequence lengths and composition, thus facilitating curation of Repbase sequences. In addition, it has several features for predicting protein coding regions in sequences; searching and including Pubmed references in Repbase entries; and searching the NCBI taxonomy database for correct inclusion of species information and taxonomic position. Censor is a tool to rapidly identify repetitive elements by comparison to known repeats. It uses WU-BLAST for speed and sensitivity, and can conduct DNA-DNA, DNA-protein, or translated DNA-translated DNA searches of genomic sequence. Defragmented output includes a map of repeats present in the query sequence, with the options to report masked query sequence(s), repeat sequences found in the query, and alignments.

Conclusion

Censor and RepbaseSubmitter are available as both web-based services and downloadable versions. They can be found at http://www.girinst.org/repbase/submission.html (RepbaseSubmitter) and http://www.girinst.org/censor/index.php (Censor).
Genomic sequence and analysis of a vaccinia virus isolate from a patient with a smallpox vaccine-related complication
Authors: Li Guiyun , Chen Nanhai , Feng Zehua , Buller R Mark L , Osborne John , Harms Tiara , Damon Inger , Upton Chris , Esteban David J
Published: October 2006

Background

Vaccinia virus (VACV)-DUKE was isolated from a lesion on a 54 year old female who presented to a doctor at the Duke University Medical Center. She was diagnosed with progressive vaccinia and treated with vaccinia immune globulin. The availability of the VACV-DUKE genome sequence permits a first time genomic comparison of a VACV isolate associated with a smallpox vaccine complication with the sequence of culture-derived clonal isolates of the Dryvax vaccine.

Results

This study showed that VACV-DUKE is most similar to VACV-ACAM2000 and CLONE3, two VACV clones isolated from the Dryvax® vaccine stock confirming VACV-DUKE as an isolate from Dryvax®. However, VACV-DUKE is unique because it is, to date, the only Dryvax® clone isolated from a patient experiencing a vaccine-associated complication. The 199,960 bp VACV-DUKE genome encodes 225 open reading frames, including 178 intact genes and 47 gene fragments. Between VACV-DUKE and the other Dryvax® isolates, the major genomic differences are in fragmentation of the ankyrin-like, and kelch-like genes, presence of a full-length Interferon-α/β receptor gene, and the absence of a duplication of 12 ORFs in the inverted terminal repeat. Excluding this region, the DNA sequence of VACV-DUKE differs from the other two Dryvax® isolates by less than 0.4%. DNA sequencing also indicated that there was little heterogeneity in the sample, supporting the hypothesis that virus from an individual lesion is clonal in origin despite the fact that the vaccine is a mixed population.

Conclusion

Virus in lesions that result from progressive vaccinia following vaccination with Dryvax are likely clonal in origin. The genomic sequence of VACV-DUKE is overall very similar to that of Dryvax® cell culture-derived clonal isolates. Furthermore, with the sequences of multiple clones from Dryvax® we can begin to appreciate the diversity of the viral population in the smallpox vaccine.
The immune-body cytokine network defines a social architecture of cell interactions
Authors: Frankenstein Ziv , Alon Uri , Cohen Irun R
Published: October 2006

Background

Three networks of intercellular communication can be associated with cytokine secretion; one limited to cells of the immune system (immune cells), one limited to parenchymal cells of organs and tissues (body cells), and one involving interactions between immune and body cells (immune-body interface). These cytokine connections determine the inflammatory response to injury and subsequent healing as well as the biologic consequences of the adaptive immune response to antigens. We informatically probed the cytokine database to uncover the underlying network architecture of the three networks.

Results

We now report that the three cytokine networks are among the densest of complex networks yet studied, and each features a characteristic profile of specific three-cell motifs. Some legitimate cytokine connections are shunned (anti-motifs). Certain immune cells can be paired by their input-output positions in a cytokine architecture tree of five tiers: macrophages (MΦ) and B cells (BC) comprise the first tier; the second tier is formed by T helper 1 (Th1) and T helper 2 (Th2) cells; the third tier includes dendritic cells (DC), mast cells (MAST), Natural Killer T cells (NK-T) and others; the fourth tier is formed by neutrophils (NEUT) and Natural Killer cells (NK); and the Cytotoxic T cell (CTL) stand alone as a fifth tier. The three-cell cytokine motif architecture of immune system cells places the immune system in a super-family that includes social networks and the World Wide Web. Body cells are less clearly stratified, although cells involved in wound healing and angiogenesis are most highly interconnected with immune cells.

Conclusion

Cytokine network architecture creates an innate cell-communication platform that organizes the biologic outcome of antigen recognition and inflammation. Informatics sheds new light on immune-body systems organization.

Reviewers

This article was reviewed by Neil Greenspan, Matthias von Herrath and Anne Cooke.
An improved method for preparing Agrobacterium cells that simplifies the Arabidopsis transformation protocol
Authors: Logemann Elke , Birkenbihl Rainer P , Ülker Bekir , Somssich Imre E
Published: October 2006

Background

The Agrobacterium vacuum (Bechtold et al 1993) and floral-dip (Clough and Bent 1998) are very efficient methods for generating transgenic Arabidopsis plants. These methods allow plant transformation without the need for tissue culture. Large volumes of bacterial cultures grown in liquid media are necessary for both of these transformation methods. This limits the number of transformations that can be done at a given time due to the need for expensive large shakers and limited space on them. Additionally, the bacterial colonies derived from solid media necessary for starting these liquid cultures often fail to grow in such large volumes. Therefore the optimum stage of plant material for transformation is often missed and new plant material needs to be grown.

Results

To avoid problems associated with large bacterial liquid cultures, we investigated whether bacteria grown on plates are also suitable for plant transformation. We demonstrate here that bacteria grown on plates can be used with similar efficiency for transforming plants even after one week of storage at 4°C. This makes it much easier to synchronize Agrobacterium and plants for transformation. DNA gel blot analysis was carried out on the T1 plants surviving the herbicide selection and demonstrated that the surviving plants are indeed transgenic.

Conclusion

The simplified method works as efficiently as the previously reported protocols and significantly reduces the workload, cost and time. Additionally, the protocol reduces the risk of large scale contaminations involving GMOs. Most importantly, many more independent transformations per day can be performed using this modified protocol.
Presence of apoptotic and nonapoptotic disseminated tumor cells reflects the response to neoadjuvant systemic therapy in breast cancer
Authors: Fehm Tanja , Becker Sven , Becker-Pergola Graziella , Sotlar Karl , Gebauer Gerhard , Dürr-Störzer Silke , Neubauer Hans , Wallwiener Diethelm , Solomayer Erich-Franz
Published: October 2006

Introduction

Neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) is an established strategy to reduce tumor size in breast cancer patients prior to breast-conserving therapy. The effect of NST on tumor cell dissemination in these patients is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of disseminated tumor cells (DTC), including apoptotic DTC, in breast cancer patients after NST, and to investigate the correlation of DTC status with therapy response.

Methods

Bone marrow aspiration was performed in 157 patients after NST. DTC were detected by immunocytochemistry using the A45–B/B3 anticytokeratin antibody. To detect apoptotic DTC the antibody M30 (Roche Diagnostics, Germany) was used, which detects a neo-epitope expressed only after caspase cleavage of cytokeratin 18 during early apoptosis.

Results

The incidence of DTC in breast cancer patients was 53% after completion of NST. Tumor dissemination was observed more frequently in patients with no change/progressive disease (69%) than in patients with partial remission or complete remission of the primary tumor (46%) (P < 0.05). Ten out of 24 patients with complete remission, however, were still bone marrow positive. Apoptotic DTC were present in 36 of 157 (23%) breast cancer patients. Apoptotic cells only were detected in 14% of the patients with partial remission or complete remission, but were detected in just 5% of the patients with stable disease. Apoptotic DTC were detectable in none of the patients with tumor progression.

Conclusion

The pathological therapy response in breast cancer patients is reflected by the presence of apoptotic DTC. Patients with complete remission, however, may still have nonapoptotic DTC. These patients may also benefit from secondary adjuvant therapy.
Adrenal function testing in patients with septic shock
Authors: Salgado Diamantino Ribeiro , Verdeal Juan Carlos Rosso , Rocco José Rodolfo
Published: October 2006

Introduction

Adrenal failure (AF) is associated with increased mortality in septic patients. Nonetheless, there is no agreement regarding the best diagnostic criteria for AF. We compared the diagnosis of AF considering different baseline total cortisol cutoff values and Δmax values after low (1 μg) and high (249 μg) doses of corticotropin, we analyzed the impact of serum albumin on AF identification and we correlated laboratorial AF with norepinephrine removal.

Methods

A prospective noninterventional study was performed in an intensive care unit from May 2002 to May 2005, including septic shock patients over 18 years old without previous steroid usage. After measurement of serum albumin and baseline total cortisol, the patients were sequentially submitted to 1 μg and 249 μg corticotropin tests with a 60-minute interval between doses. Post-stimuli cortisol levels were drawn 60 minutes after each test (cortisol 60 and cortisol 120). The cortisol 60 and cortisol 120 values minus baseline were called Δmax1 and Δmax249, respectively. Adrenal failure was defined as Δmax249 ≤ 9 μg/dl or baseline cortisol ≤ 10 μg/dl. Other baseline cortisol cutoff values referred to as AF in other studies (≤15, ≤20, ≤25 and ≤34 μg/dl) were compared with Δmax249 ≤ 9 μg/dl and serum albumin influence. Norepinephrine removal was compared with the baseline cortisol values and Δmax249 values.

Results

We enrolled 102 patients (43 male). AF was diagnosed in 22.5% (23/102). Patients with albumin ≤2.5 g/dl presented a lower baseline total cortisol level (15.5 μg/dl vs 22.4 μg/dl, P = 0.04) and a higher frequency of baseline cortisol ≤25 μg/dl (84% vs 58.3%, P = 0.05) than those with albumin > 2.5 g/dl. The Δmax249 levels and Δmax249 ≤ 9, however, were not affected by serum albumin (14.5 μg/dl vs 18.8 μg/dl, P = 0.48 and 24% vs 25%, P = 1.0). Baseline cortisol ≤ 23.6 μg/dl was the most accurate diagnostic threshold to determine norepinephrine removal according to the receiver operating characteristic curve.

Conclusion

AF was identified in 22.5% of the studied population. Since Δmax249 ≤ 9 μg/dl results were not affected by serum albumin and since the baseline serum total cortisol varied directly with albumin levels, we propose that Δmax249 ≤ 9 μg/dl, which means Δmax after high corticotropin dose may be a better option for AF diagnosis whenever measurement of free cortisol is not available. Baseline cortisol ≤23.6 μg/dl was the best value for predicting norepinephrine removal in patients without corticosteroid treatment.