bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A survey ofPenicillium brevicompactumandP. bialowiezensefrom indoor environments, with commentary on the taxonomy of theP. brevicompactumgroupThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Systematics Research.
Authors: Scott James A. , Wong Bess , Summerbell Richard C. , Untereiner Wendy A.
Published: July 2008

We investigated the diversity of the Penicillium brevicompactum Dierckx group in dust from 54 houses in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada. Two taxa were predominant, P. brevicompactum and Pencillium bialowiezense Zaleski, accounting for 88.6% and 5.4% of the sample set, respectively. We further characterized multilocus haplotypes of isolates by characterizing three polymorphic genetic loci, β-tubulin (benA), histone 4 (his4A), and the internal transcribed spacer regions of ribosomal DNA (nucITS) amplified by PCR amplification and screened using heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA). Eight unique haplotypes were observed in P. brevicompactum s. str., and two in P. bialowiezense, both with a distribution characteristic of a predominantly clonal reproduction mode. Phylogenetic analysis of the β-tubulin and nucITS loci were carried out for members of the P. brevicompactum group, including ex-type material, that revealed three well-supported lineages corresponding to P. brevicompactum, P. bialowiezense (=Penicillium biourgeianum Zaleski), and Penicillium neocrassum R. Serra & S.W. Peterson. The mycophilic nature of many isolates of P. bialowiezense, and some isolates of P. brevicompactum, suggests that observation of members of the P. brevicompactum group in indoor environments may predict extensive and longterm fungal colonization. We also address some nomenclatural problems in the group and epitypify P. bialowiezense.
Missing Data Analysis: Making It Work in the Real World
Authors: Graham John W.
Published: July 2008

This review presents a practical summary of the missing data literature, including a sketch of missing data theory and descriptions of normal-model multiple imputation (MI) and maximum likelihood methods. Practical missing data analysis issues are discussed, most notably the inclusion of auxiliary variables for improving power and reducing bias. Solutions are given for missing data challenges such as handling longitudinal, categorical, and clustered data with normal-model MI; including interactions in the missing data model; and handling large numbers of variables. The discussion of attrition and nonignorable missingness emphasizes the need for longitudinal diagnostics and for reducing the uncertainty about the missing data mechanism under attrition. Strategies suggested for reducing attrition bias include using auxiliary variables, collecting follow-up data on a sample of those initially missing, and collecting data on intent to drop out. Suggestions are given for moving forward with research on missing data and attrition.
Relations Among Speech, Language, and Reading Disorders
Authors: Pennington Bruce F. , Bishop Dorothy V.M.
Published: July 2008

In this article, we critically review the evidence for overlap among three developmental disorders, namely speech sound disorder (SSD), language impairment (LI), and reading disability (RD), at three levels of analysis: diagnostic, cognitive, and etiological. We find that while overlap exists at all three levels, it varies by comorbidity subtype, and the relations among these three disorders are complex and not fully understood. We evaluate which comorbidity models can be rejected or supported as explanations for why and how these three disorders overlap and what new data are needed to better define their relations.
Chemotoxicity of doxorubicin and surface expression of P-glycoprotein (MDR1) is regulated by thePseudomonas aeruginosatoxin Cif
Authors: Ye Siying , MacEachran Daniel P. , Hamilton Joshua W. , O'Toole George A. , Stanton Bruce A.
Published: July 2008

P-glycoprotein (Pgp), a member of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily, is a major drug efflux pump expressed in normal tissues, and is overexpressed in many human cancers. Overexpression of Pgp results in reduced intracellular drug concentration and cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs and is thought to contribute to multidrug resistance of cancer cells. The involvement of Pgp in clinical drug resistance has led to a search for molecules that block Pgp transporter activity to improve the efficacy and pharmacokinetics of therapeutic agents. We have recently identified and characterized a secreted toxin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, designated cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) inhibitory factor (Cif). Cif reduces the apical membrane abundance of CFTR, also an ABC transporter, and inhibits the CFTR-mediated chloride ion secretion by human airway and kidney epithelial cells. We report presently that Cif also inhibits the apical membrane abundance of Pgp in kidney, airway, and intestinal epithelial cells but has no effect on plasma membrane abundance of multidrug resistance protein 1 or 2. Cif increased the drug sensitivity to doxorubicin in kidney cells expressing Pgp by 10-fold and increased the cellular accumulation of daunorubicin by 2-fold. Thus our studies show that Cif increases the sensitivity of Pgp-overexpressing cells to doxorubicin, consistent with the hypothesis that Cif affects Pgp functional expression. These results suggest that Cif may be useful to develop a new class of specific inhibitors of Pgp aimed at increasing the sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapeutic drugs, and at improving the bioavailability of Pgp transport substrates.
In vitro and in vivo wound healing-promoting activities of β-lapachone
Authors: Kung Hsiu-Ni , Yang Mei-Jun , Chang Chi-Fen , Chau Yat-Pang , Lu Kuo-Shyan
Published: July 2008

Impaired wound healing is a serious problem for diabetic patients. Wound healing is a complex process that requires the cooperation of many cell types, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages. β-Lapachone, a natural compound extracted from the bark of the lapacho tree ( Tabebuia avellanedae), is well known for its antitumor, antiinflammatory, and antineoplastic effects at different concentrations and conditions, but its effects on wound healing have not been studied. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of β-lapachone on wound healing and its underlying mechanism. In the present study, we demonstrated that a low dose of β-lapachone enhanced the proliferation in several cells, facilitated the migration of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts and human endothelial EAhy926 cells through different MAPK signaling pathways, and accelerated scrape-wound healing in vitro. Application of ointment with or without β-lapachone to a punched wound in normal and diabetic ( db/ db) mice showed that the healing process was faster in β-lapachone-treated animals than in those treated with vehicle only. In addition, β-lapachone induced macrophages to release VEGF and EGF, which are beneficial for growth of many cells. Our results showed that β-lapachone can increase cell proliferation, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, and migration of fibroblasts and endothelial cells and thus accelerate wound healing. Therefore, we suggest that β-lapachone may have potential for therapeutic use for wound healing.
A GSK-3/TSC2/mTOR pathway regulates glucose uptake and GLUT1 glucose transporter expression
Authors: Buller Carolyn L. , Loberg Robert D. , Fan Ming-Hui , Zhu Qihong , Park James L. , Vesely Eileen , Inoki Ken , Guan Kun-Liang , Brosius Frank C.
Published: July 2008

Glucose transport is a highly regulated process and is dependent on a variety of signaling events. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) has been implicated in various aspects of the regulation of glucose transport, but the mechanisms by which GSK-3 activity affects glucose uptake have not been well defined. We report that basal glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) activity regulates glucose transport in several cell types. Chronic inhibition of basal GSK-3 activity (8–24 h) in several cell types, including vascular smooth muscle cells, resulted in an approximately twofold increase in glucose uptake due to a similar increase in protein expression of the facilitative glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). Conversely, expression of a constitutively active form of GSK-3β resulted in at least a twofold decrease in GLUT1 expression and glucose uptake. Since GSK-3 can inhibit mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling via phosphorylation of the tuberous sclerosis complex subunit 2 (TSC2) tumor suppressor, we investigated whether chronic GSK-3 effects on glucose uptake and GLUT1 expression depended on TSC2 phosphorylation and TSC inhibition of mTOR. We found that absence of functional TSC2 resulted in a 1.5-to 3-fold increase in glucose uptake and GLUT1 expression in multiple cell types. These increases in glucose uptake and GLUT1 levels were prevented by inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin. GSK-3 inhibition had no effect on glucose uptake or GLUT1 expression in TSC2 mutant cells, indicating that GSK-3 effects on GLUT1 and glucose uptake were mediated by a TSC2/mTOR-dependent pathway. The effect of GSK-3 inhibition on GLUT1 expression and glucose uptake was restored in TSC2 mutant cells by transfection of a wild-type TSC2 vector, but not by a TSC2 construct with mutated GSK-3 phosphorylation sites. Thus, TSC2 and rapamycin-sensitive mTOR function downstream of GSK-3 to modulate effects of GSK-3 on glucose uptake and GLUT1 expression. GSK-3 therefore suppresses glucose uptake via TSC2 and mTOR and may serve to match energy substrate utilization to cellular growth.
Acetylcholine release by human colon cancer cells mediates autocrine stimulation of cell proliferation
Authors: Cheng Kunrong , Samimi Roxana , Xie Guofeng , Shant Jasleen , Drachenberg Cinthia , Wade Mark , Davis Richard J. , Nomikos George , Raufman Jean-Pierre
Published: July 2008

Most colon cancers overexpress M3 muscarinic receptors (M3R), and post-M3R signaling stimulates human colon cancer cell proliferation. Acetylcholine (ACh), a muscarinic receptor ligand traditionally regarded as a neurotransmitter, may be produced by nonneuronal cells. We hypothesized that ACh release by human colon cancer cells results in autocrine stimulation of proliferation. H508 human colon cancer cells, which have robust M3R expression, were used to examine effects of muscarinic receptor antagonists, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, and choline transport inhibitors on cell proliferation. A nonselective muscarinic receptor antagonist (atropine), a selective M3R antagonist ( p-fluorohexahydro-sila-difenidol hydrochloride), and a choline transport inhibitor (hemicholinum-3) all inhibited unstimulated H508 colon cancer cell proliferation by ∼40% ( P < 0.005). In contrast, two acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (eserine-hemisulfate and bis-9-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridine) increased proliferation by 2.5- and 2-fold, respectively ( P < 0.005). By using quantitative real-time PCR, expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), a critical enzyme for ACh synthesis, was identified in H508, WiDr, and Caco-2 colon cancer cells. By using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection, released ACh was detected in H508 and Caco-2 cell culture media. Immunohistochemistry in surgical specimens revealed weak or no cytoplasmic staining for ChAT in normal colon enterocytes ( n = 25) whereas half of colon cancer specimens ( n = 24) exhibited moderate to strong staining ( P < 0.005). We conclude that ACh is an autocrine growth factor in colon cancer. Mechanisms that regulate colon epithelial cell production and release of ACh warrant further investigation.
ACE2 is expressed in mouse adipocytes and regulated by a high-fat diet
Authors: Gupte Manisha , Boustany-Kari Carine M. , Bharadwaj Kalyani , Police Sara , Thatcher Sean , Gong Ming C. , English Victoria L. , Cassis Lisa A.
Published: July 2008

Adipose tissue expresses components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2), a new component of the RAS, catabolizes the vasoconstrictor peptide ANG II to form the vasodilator angiotensin 1-7 [ANG-(1-7)]. We examined whether adipocytes express ACE2 and its regulation by manipulation of the RAS and by high-fat (HF) feeding. ACE2 mRNA expression increased (threefold) during differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and was not regulated by manipulation of the RAS. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed low- (LF) or high-fat (HF) diets for 1 wk or 4 mo. At 1 wk of HF feeding, adipose expression of angiotensinogen (twofold) and ACE2 (threefold) increased, but systemic angiotensin peptide concentrations and blood pressure were not altered. At 4 mo of HF feeding, adipose mRNA expression of angiotensinogen (twofold) and ACE2 (threefold) continued to be elevated, and liver angiotensinogen expression increased (twofold). However, adipose tissue from HF mice did not exhibit elevated ACE2 protein or activity. Increased expression of ADAM17, a protease responsible for ACE2 shedding, coincided with reductions in ACE2 activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and an ADAM17 inhibitor decreased media ACE2 activity. Moreover, ADAM17 mRNA expression was increased in adipose tissue from 4-mo HF-fed mice, and plasma ACE2 activity increased. However, HF mice exhibited marked increases in plasma angiotensin peptide concentrations (LF: 2,141 ± 253; HF: 6,829 ± 1,075 pg/ml) and elevated blood pressure. These results demonstrate that adipocytes express ACE2 that is dysregulated in HF-fed mice with elevated blood pressure compared with LF controls.
Exacerbated fatigue and motor deficits in interleukin-10-deficient mice after peripheral immune stimulation
Authors: Krzyszton C. P. , Sparkman N. L. , Grant R. W. , Buchanan J. B. , Broussard S. R. , Woods J. , Johnson R. W.
Published: July 2008

The anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 is important for regulating inflammation in the periphery and brain, but whether it protects against infection- or age-related psychomotor disturbances and fatigue is unknown. Therefore, the present study evaluated motor coordination, time to fatigue, and several central and peripheral proinflammatory cytokines in male young adult (3-mo-old) and middle-aged (12-mo-old) wild-type (IL-10+/+) and IL-10-deficient (IL-10−/−) mice after intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline. No age-related differences were observed; therefore, data from the two ages were pooled and analyzed to determine effects of genotype and treatment. LPS treatment increased IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα mRNA in all brain areas examined in IL-10+/+and IL-10−/−mice, but to a greater extent and for a longer time in IL-10−/−mice. Plasma IL-1β and IL-6 were increased similarly in IL-10+/+and IL-10−/−mice 4 h after LPS but remained elevated longer in IL-10−/−mice, whereas TNFα was higher in IL-10−/−mice throughout after LPS treatment. Motor performance and motor learning in IL-10+/+mice were not affected by LPS treatment; however, both were reduced in IL-10−/−mice treated with LPS compared with those treated with saline. Furthermore, although LPS reduced the time to fatigue in IL-10+/+and IL-10−/−mice, the effects were exacerbated in IL-10−/−mice. Thus the increased brain and peripheral inflammation induced by LPS in IL-10−/−mice was associated with increased coordination deficits and fatigue. These data suggest that IL-10 may inhibit motor deficits and fatigue associated with peripheral infections via its anti-inflammatory effects.
Texas Red transport across rat and dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias) choroid plexus
Authors: Reichel Valeska , Miller David S. , Fricker Gert
Published: July 2008

Confocal microscopy and image analysis were used to compare driving forces, specificity, and regulation of transport of the fluorescent organic anion, Texas Red (sulforhodamine 101 free acid; TR), in lateral choroid plexus (CP) isolated from rat and an evolutionarily ancient vertebrate, dogfish shark ( Squalus acanthias). CP from both species exhibited concentrative, specific, and metabolism-dependent TR transport from bath to subepithelial/vascular space; at steady state, TR accumulation in vascular/subepithelial space was substantially higher than in epithelial cells. In rat CP, steady-state TR accumulation in subepithelial/vascular spaces was reduced by Na+-replacement, but was not affected by a 10-fold increase in buffer K+. In shark CP, Na+-replacement did not alter TR accumulation in either tissue compartment; subepithelial/vascular space levels of TR were reduced in high-K+medium. In both species, steady-state TR accumulation was not affected by p-aminohippurate or leukotriene C4, suggesting that neither organic anion transporters (SLC22A family) nor multidrug resistance-associated proteins (ABCC family) contributed. In rat CP, digoxin was without effect, indicating that organic anion transporting polypeptide isoform 2 was not involved. Several organic anions reduced cellular and subepithelial/vascular space TR accumulation in both tissues, including estrone sulfate, taurocholate, and the Mrp1 inhibitor MK571. In rat CP, TR accumulation in subepithelial/vascular spaces increased with PKA activation (forskolin), but was not affected by PKC activation (phorbol ester). In shark, neither PKA nor PKC activation specifically affected TR transport. Thus, rat and dogfish shark CP transport TR but do so using different basic mechanisms that respond to different regulatory signals.
Sex-related differences in activity of lower urinary tract in response to intravesical acid irritation in decerebrate unanesthetized mice
Authors: Yoshiyama Mitsuharu , Kobayashi Hideki , Araki Isao , Du Shuqi , Zakoji Hidenori , Takeda Masayuki
Published: July 2008

Sex-related differences in lower urinary tract (LUT) activity responding to intravesical infusion of diluted acetic acid (A/A, pH 3.0) were investigated during cystometrograms in decerebrate unanesthetized mice. A/A produced a decrease of intercontraction intervals in both female and male animals, and the extent of the decrease in male mice was much less than in female mice [19 ± 5% ( P = 0.03) vs. 65 ± 5% ( P = 0.03); n = 6 for each], exhibiting a marked difference between the two groups in response to acid irritation of the LUT ( P = 0.002). A/A reduced maximal voiding pressure (MVP) (19 ± 4%, P = 0.03) but had no effect on pressure threshold for inducing voiding contraction (PT) ( P = 0.56) in females, whereas A/A did not change MVP ( P = 1.00) but increased PT (16 ± 4%, P = 0.03) in males. A/A decreased bladder compliances of female and male mice in a similar fashion (44 ± 10% vs. 24 ± 7%, P = 0.03 for each). In male mice, A/A produced persistent dribbling of fluid after voiding contraction phase, which was virtually not seen in females. The present study demonstrates the differences between female and male mice in response to noxious stimulation in the LUT: the female bladder is more sensitive to the acid irritation, while the male urethra is more irritable to the noxious stimulus. Identification of mechanisms underlying sex-specific characteristics might be helpful for elucidating pathogenesis of painful bladder syndrome.
Trypsin can activate the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in microdissected mouse distal nephron
Authors: Nesterov Viatcheslav , Dahlmann Anke , Bertog Marko , Korbmacher Christoph
Published: July 2008

Proteases are involved in the processing and activation of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the prototypical serine protease trypsin can activate ENaC in microdissected, split-open mouse renal distal tubules. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from principal cells of connecting tubules (CNT) or cortical collecting ducts (CCD) demonstrated that addition of trypsin (20 μg/ml) to the bath solution increased the ENaC-mediated amiloride-sensitive whole cell current (Δ IAmi) in the majority of cells. In contrast, trypsin applied in the presence of an excess of soybean trypsin inhibitor had no stimulatory effect. The Δ IAmiresponse to trypsin was variable, ranging from no apparent effect to a twofold increase in Δ IAmiwith an average stimulatory effect of 31 or 37% in mice on low-Na+or standard Na+diet, respectively. In cultured M-1 mouse collecting duct cells, a robust stimulatory effect of trypsin on Δ IAmiwas only observed in cells pretreated with protease inhibitors. This suggests that endogenous proteases contribute to ENaC activation in renal tubular cells and that the degree of ENaC prestimulation by endogenous proteases determines the magnitude of the stimulatory response to exogenous trypsin. In conclusion, we provide electrophysiological evidence that trypsin can stimulate ENaC activity in native renal mouse tubules. Thus, in the kidney, ENaC stimulation by extracellular proteases may be a relevant regulatory mechanism in vivo.
Chromosome substitution reveals the genetic basis of Dahl salt-sensitive hypertension and renal disease
Authors: Mattson David L. , Dwinell Melinda R. , Greene Andrew S. , Kwitek Anne E. , Roman Richard J. , Jacob Howard J. , Cowley Allen W.
Published: July 2008

This study examined the genetic basis of hypertension and renal disease in Dahl SS/Mcwi (Dahl Salt-Sensitive) rats using a complete chromosome substitution panel of consomic rats in which each of the 20 autosomes and the X and Y chromosomes were individually transferred from the Brown Norway (BN) rat onto the Dahl SS/Mcwi genetic background. Male and female rats of each of the two parental and 22 consomic strains (10–12 rats/group) were fed a high-salt (8.0% NaCl) diet for 3 wk. Mean arterial blood pressure rose by 60 mmHg and urinary protein and albumin excretion increased 3- and 20-fold, respectively, in male SS/Mcwi rats compared with BN controls. Substitution of chromosomes 1, 5, 7, 8, 13, or 18 from the BN onto the SS/Mcwi background attenuated the development of hypertension, proteinuria, and albuminuria in male rats. In female rats, substitution of chromosomes 1 and 5 also decreased blood pressure, protein excretion, and albumin excretion. These studies also identified several chromosomes in male (6, 11, Y) and female ( 4 , 6 , 11 , 19 , 20 ) rats that reduced albuminuria without altering blood pressure. These data indicate that genes contributing to salt-sensitive hypertension are found on multiple chromosomes of the Dahl SS/Mcwi rat. Furthermore, this consomic rat panel provides a stable genetic platform that can facilitate further gene mapping by either linkage studies or the breeding of congenic and subcongenic rats.
Altered Gravity Highlights Central Pattern Generator Mechanisms
Authors: White Olivier , Bleyenheuft Yannick , Ronsse Renaud , Smith Allan M. , Thonnard Jean-Louis , Lefèvre Philippe
Published: July 2008

In many nonprimate species, rhythmic patterns of activity such as locomotion or respiration are generated by neural networks at the spinal level. These neural networks are called central pattern generators (CPGs). Under normal gravitational conditions, the energy efficiency and the robustness of human rhythmic movements are due to the ability of CPGs to drive the system at a pace close to its resonant frequency. This property can be compared with oscillators running at resonant frequency, for which the energy is optimally exchanged with the environment. However, the ability of the CPG to adapt the frequency of rhythmic movements to new gravitational conditions has never been studied. We show here that the frequency of a rhythmic movement of the upper limb is systematically influenced by the different gravitational conditions created in parabolic flight. The period of the arm movement is shortened with increasing gravity levels. In weightlessness, however, the period is more dependent on instructions given to the participants, suggesting a decreased influence of resonant frequency. Our results are in agreement with a computational model of a CPG coupled to a simple pendulum under the control of gravity. We demonstrate that the innate modulation of rhythmic movements by CPGs is highly flexible across gravitational contexts. This further supports the involvement of CPG mechanisms in the achievement of efficient rhythmic arm movements. Our contribution is of major interest for the study of human rhythmic activities, both in a normal Earth environment and during microgravity conditions in space.
Complex Spike Activity in the Oculomotor Vermis of the Cerebellum: A Vectorial Error Signal for Saccade Motor Learning?
Authors: Soetedjo Robijanto , Kojima Yoshiko , Fuchs Albert F.
Published: July 2008

Brain stem signals that generate saccadic eye movements originate in the superior colliculus. They reach the pontine burst generator for horizontal saccades via short-latency pathways and a longer pathway through the oculomotor vermis (OMV) of the cerebellum. Lesion studies implicate the OMV in the adaptation of saccade amplitude that occurs when saccades become inaccurate because of extraocular muscle weakness or behavioral manipulations. We studied the nature of the possible error signal that might drive adaptation by examining the complex spike (CS) activity of vermis Purkinje (P-) cells in monkeys. We produced a saccade error by displacing the target as a saccade was made toward it; a corrective saccade ∼200 ms later eliminated the resulting error. In most P-cells, the probability of CS firing changed, but only in the error interval between the primary and corrective saccade. For most P-cells, CSs occurred in a tight cluster ∼100 ms after error onset. The probability of CS occurrence depended on both error direction and size. Across our sample, all error directions were represented; most had a horizontal component. In more than one half of our P-cells, the probability of CS occurrence was greatest for error sizes <5° and less for larger errors. In the remaining cells, there was a uniform increased probability of CS occurrence for all errors ≤7–9°. CS responses disappeared when the target was extinguished during a saccade. We discuss the properties of this putative CS error signal in the context of the characteristics of saccade adaptation produced by the target displacement paradigm.
Ebbing and Flowing: Scholarly Developments in Study of the Book of Revelation
Authors: Paul Ian
Published: July 2008

Revelation has always presented major challenges for study, interpretation and application. Over the last twenty years there have been some significant developments in a number of areas, including greater understanding of Revelation's first-century setting, some settling of debate about the nature of its language, engagement with questions of the complexity of its structure, and a growing awareness of the impact of its rhetoric, both in its original contexts and in the history of interpretation. Yet there still remains a substantial gap between much scholarly insight and its appropriation at a more popular level.
'The Angels who Sinned . . . He Cast into Tartarus' (2 Peter 2:4): Its Ancient Meaning and Present Relevance
Authors: Billings Bradly S.
Published: July 2008

Like many formed by the same thought world, the author of 2 Peter is familiar with the extensive mythology generated by Genesis 6:1—4. What has often gone unacknowledged is the manner in which the writer seeks to create a 'linguistic bridge' into the socio-cultural context being addressed, by appropriating (in 2 Peter 2:4) the particular language of Graeco-Roman mythology. In doing so, the writer of 2 Peter provides a ready template for theological and evangelistic communication in the Postmodern milieu.
Origins of Social Immobility and Inequality: Parenting and Early Child Development
Authors: Ermisch John
Published: July 2008

There is growing evidence that differences in children's intellectual, emotional and behavioural development by parents' socio-economic status emerge at early ages and that these differences cast a long shadow over subsequent achievements. This article demonstrates with the Millennium Cohort Study that differences by parents‘ income group in cognitive and behavioural development emerge by the child's third birthday. It shows that an important part of these differences can be accounted for by ‘what parents do’ in terms of educational activities and parenting style.
Early lexical development of Finnish children: A longitudinal study
Authors: Stolt Suvi , Haataja Leena , Lapinleimu Helena , Lehtonen Liisa
Published: July 2008

The growth rate and the development of the composition of the receptive and expressive lexicon were studied in a longitudinal sample of 35 Finnish children. The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory was used to gather data of the receptive lexicon at 0;9, 1;0 and 1;3, and the expressive lexicon at 0;9, 1;0, 1;3, 1;6 and 2;0. The receptive lexicon was acquired earlier, at a faster rate and with higher individual variation than the expressive lexicon. A gender difference was found in expressive vocabulary, but not in receptive vocabulary. The growth trajectories of semantic lexical categories detected in both lexicons resembled each other. Verbs were acquired more readily in receptive lexicons. Results support a universal sequence in the development of the composition of the lexicon.
The use of uh and um by 3- and 4-year-old native English-speaking children: Not quite right but not completely wrong
Authors: Hudson Kam Carla L. , Edwards Nicole A.
Published: July 2008

The delay markers (DMs) uh and um are often used by adult English speakers to indicate that an upcoming pause is due to a speech disruption, not the end of a conversational turn. Moreover, uh and um indicate different degrees of disruption (Clark & Fox Tree, 2002). Thus, it appears that children must learn how to use DMs appropriately. In the current study we examined DM use in elicited speech samples from 24 3- and 4-year-old children. We found that pauses following DMs were longer than those not following a DM, but that there was no difference between the pauses following uh and um. Children at this age, then, appear to understand the basic use of DMs, but do not yet differentiate between them.
Work and Employment in Creative Industries: The Video Games Industry in Germany, Sweden and Poland
Authors: Teipen Christina
Published: July 2008

Do the institutions of labour regulation hamper the development of `new economy' industries in coordinated market economies? The article discusses the specific situation of the video games industry as a `creative industry' and its work and employment model. It examines the development of the value chain structure and its consequences for risk distribution among companies. The results show a very high employment flexibility of video game development companies in Germany, Sweden and Poland. Regulative or institutional constraints on flexibility do not play an important role. The example of Sweden demonstrates that even union representatives are no obstacle to flexibility.
Occupational Health and Safety, Worker Participation and the Mining Industry in a Changing World of Work
Authors: Gunningham Neil
Published: July 2008

Worker participation in occupational health and safety (OHS) generally achieves better outcomes than unilateral management initiatives. But in a `cold' industrial relations climate, meaningful participation is increasingly difficult. This article focuses on the Australian mining industry. It explores how the strength and reach of the unions have been undermined and why OHS law has only limited capacity to mitigate the resulting imbalance of power. It then draws on interview data to provide a profile of the consequences of worker vulnerability. Finally, it examines to what extent other mechanisms can redress the balance or whether, in a changing world of work, increasingly precarious employment and emasculated unions, the prospects for effective worker participation in OHS are bleak.
Abstract Experience
Authors: Goffey Andrew
Published: July 2008

The speculative philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead offers critical social and cultural theory an unusual way of rethinking the place and value of experience in its concerns. This article explores the challenges that Whitehead's approach to experience, deliberately contrasted with the subject-object thinking of modernity, creates. The article seeks to provide an account of the importance of Whitehead's appeal to naïve experience and of how this appeal counters some of the problems of more recent and more familiar accounts of the fate of experience which draw on some of the same historical points of reference — especially Romantic poetry. In particular, the article suggests that Whitehead's broadly impersonal conception of the open structure of experience as constructive process mitigates the `pathos of finitude' attendant upon critical accounts which presume the unity of experience and then ask how this unity is shattered under modernity. Whitehead's work is situated transversally to analysis and phenomenology and is argued to accord a value to and role for abstraction which calls for a more experimental approach to the topic. While `naïve experience' clearly differs from the understanding of experience evident in other accounts, the article also suggests that it is not incompatible with a more Foucauldian kind of singular history.
The Culture of Abstraction
Authors: Toscano Alberto
Published: July 2008

Focusing especially on Science and the Modern World, this article explores Whitehead's understanding of the social contexts and repercussions of mathematical and scientific abstraction. It investigates his remarks on the need to offset pernicious practices of abstraction in the context of a renewed concern with the link between conceptuality and materiality in social theory. Whitehead's inquiry into the problematic legacy of Galileo and scientific materialism is then contrasted with a different diagnosis of the abstractive maladies of modern society, the one put forward under the Marxist rubric of `real abstraction'. While both stances allow us to explore the social repercussions of abstractive practices, it is argued that an understanding of the practically abstract character of capitalism permits us to identify the limits of Whitehead's pedagogical wish to reform our culture of abstraction.
The Need for Metaphysics
Authors: Williams James
Published: July 2008

This article explains the importance of the categories of explanation in Process and Reality and sets it in context, in particular in relation to Whitehead's account of misplaced concreteness and his description of the role of metaphysics in terms of common sense. The article then responds to a series of broad criticisms of Whitehead's position, notably in the claim that it is self-contradictory, inconsistent about common sense and mistaken about the nature of explanation in contemporary science. This response comes from a close interpretation of the categories as described in Process and Reality. The article concludes with a critical discussion of an application of the categories of explanation, taken from Process and Reality.
A Constructivist Reading of Process and Reality
Authors: Stengers Isabelle
Published: July 2008

Throughout much of his writing, Whitehead outlines a critique of what he termed the `bifurcation of nature'. This position divides the world into objective causal nature, on the one hand, with the perceptions of subjects on the other. On such a view, truth lies in a reality external to such subjects and it is the task of science to deliver clear and immediate access to this realm. Further, judgments about this external reality are the province of human subjects and it is the task of philosophy to ascertain the validity or otherwise of these. This article outlines Whitehead's attempts to develop a conception of nature (and the social) which avoids this premise; it also explains how he offers a way for contemporary theories to construct or engineer abstractions which go beyond notions of social construction or deconstruction. This article argues that not only does Whitehead offer a coherent alternative to such approaches but that the manner in which his major text ( Process and Reality ) is written reflects his commitment to the inherently constructed and constructing character of all existence.
A Constructivist Flight from `A Constructivist Reading of Process and Reality'
Authors: Alliez Eric
Published: July 2008

Isabelle Stengers anchors the major stake in Whiteheadian philosophy in the notion of constructivism. In doing so, the relation of this philosophy of becoming — the first anti-substantialist principle of which is stated as `principle of process' — to the ideas of vitalist intuition as the self-expression of the world is announced as eminently problematic. This problematizing opening to Whitehead obliges us to think about the constructivist nature of his concepts because of their irreducibility to the expression of facts of experience since they must necessarily function as a machinic articulation of how things become implied in the `ontological principle' of reason; by the same token, it poses at the heart of the analysis the question of the pragmatic-speculative alterity in Whiteheadian constructivism.
Seeing Animals, Speaking of Nature
Authors: Ito Mimei
Published: July 2008

This article analyses the use of images in the discourse of animal ethics in an attempt to see how visual cultural studies can contribute to the debate in environmental philosophy. Drawing on Derrida's critique of the utilitarian theory of animal liberation and Mitchell's analysis of iconoclasm in visual culture theories, the article argues that an iconoclastic strategy of visual representation in the discourse of animal ethics undermines the very objective of such an ethical theory. Two case studies — Peter Singer's animal liberation and J.B. Callicott's land ethic — illustrate an implacable tendency to essentialize the visual and animal identity.
Destroying Duration
Authors: Blencowe Claire
Published: July 2008

The extent to which Walter Benjamin's thought is bound up with the conceptual framework and debates of Bergsonism is overlooked to the detriment of our understanding of both. Benjamin's conception of Erfahrung/ experience is defined in relation to Bergson's conception of experience in the durée/duration. Benjamin implicitly evokes and extends a Bergsonian conception of creativity. This is central to Benjamin's understanding of the political implications of the decay of aura. The enhanced potentiality for creativity constitutes the possibility of new forms of genuine Erfahrung in the scattered debris of the old. This would be based upon an affirmative nihilism, the mobilization of the creative second technology, the loosening of the masses, and the `politicization of art'. Crucially, however, Benjamin rejects Bergson's ahistorical approach to creativity within human experience. Virtual difference, the durée, is not external to human history. Creativity does not `flow into' actual human life but is the actualization of virtual difference that is generated and delimited by given socio-technological conditions. Modern creativity is not the gift of` God but of the capitalist mode of production. Benjamin provides a materialist explanation for the utility of Bergson's conception of creativity in the political critique of the present and a materialist justification for the normative prioritization of openness and qualitative segmentarity. He treats the durée as fully immanent to human experience and affirms a politics that is both more realistic and more committed to the value of difference in itself than is articulated in Bergson's own sociobiology. Benjamin does, as such, make a direct and critical contribution to the contemporary attempt to deploy Bergsonism in political critique and to render vitalism sociological.
Language testing courses: What are they in 2007?
Authors: Brown James Dean , Bailey Kathleen M.
Published: July 2008

In 1996, we published an article that investigated the characteristics of basic language testing courses in terms of the instructors, course characteristics, and students. The present study is designed to describe the same characteristics of basic language testing courses in 2007 and to examine how such courses have changed since 1996. To those ends, we used the same questionnaire that was used in 1996 with 20 new items added. The main topics of the questionnaire included the instructors' background, the topics covered in class, and the instructors' perceptions of students' general attitudes toward language testing at the beginning and end of the course. While most items were of the Likert-scale type, some were open-ended. In the first three months of 2007, email messages were sent out to the ltest-l and ilta-mem lists asking recipients to access a Survey Monkey website that contained our questionnaire and respond to it. A second emailing was sent out several weeks later to involve those who had not responded the first time. A total of 97 participants cooperated with usable data. The results describe the instructors, course characteristics, and students, as well as differences and similarities between the 1996 and 2007 results in quantitative and qualitative terms.
Information and Communication in Bandit Country: an exploratory study of civil conflict in northern Uganda 1986—2007
Authors: Sturges Paul
Published: July 2008

The conflict in northern Uganda between government forces and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has created an information seeking environment with deep and unusual problems. This study is based on the literature, enriched by informal interviews in Uganda. Government neglect of the region and the LRA's communication through spirit messages and the symbolic use of violence have exacerbated the conflict by creating an intractable information and communication environment. It is concluded that long term resolution of the conflict can only be achieved through solutions that include the restoration of the institutions and practices of effective communication so as to facilitate information seeking.
Low-Cost Provision of XML Bibliographic Records
Authors: Naicheng Chang
Published: July 2008

Many situations require XML files of bibliographic records to be produced but there is no easy way of producing these files. CDS/ISIS is a MARC-compatible bibliographic database management system provided by UNESCO which has recently implemented a module which converts bibliographic records into XML files. This paper gives a brief description of XML for bibliographic purposes and then illustrates CDS/ISIS XML functionality.
Repair Site Integrity after Arthroscopic Transosseous-Equivalent Suture-Bridge Rotator Cuff Repair
Authors: Frank Joshua B. , ElAttrache Neal S. , Dines Joshua S. , Blackburn Allie , Crues John , Tibone James E.
Published: July 2008

Background

Successful healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair remains a challenge. Earlier studies have shown a relatively high rate of failure. New surgical techniques may improve healing potential. The purpose of this study was to provide an objective evaluation of repair site integrity after arthroscopic transosseous-equivalent suture-bridge rotator cuff repair.

Hypothesis

Rotator cuff tears repaired using the transosseous-equivalent suture-bridge technique will show a higher intact rate on postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation.

Study Design

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods

The first 25 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair using the transosseous-equivalent suture-bridge technique underwent MRI evaluation of the postoperative shoulder. Minimum follow-up was 1 year. Demographic, clinical, and surgical factors, including tear size, were evaluated.

Results

Postoperative MRI demonstrated intact surgical repair sites in 22 of 25 patients (88%). Tears limited to the supraspinatus tendon were intact in 16 of 18 patients (89%). Tears of the supraspinatus involving part or all of the infraspinatus showed an 86% intact rate (6 of 7 patients). Of these tears, 3 were considered massive (complete 2-tendon or greater). These demonstrated an intact cuff on MRI.

Conclusions

The transosseous-equivalent suture-bridge technique demonstrates a high healing rate on imaging studies at 1 year. Of the first 25 patients repaired with the technique, 88% had an intact rotator cuff repair on MRI evaluation. This indicates excellent cuff healing, as judged by the intact repair sites, compared with most standard arthroscopic rotator cuff repair series. In this early report of the technique, a persistent tear could not be correlated with age or initial tear size; however, this may be due to the relatively small sample size.
Transplantation of De Novo Scaffold-Free Cartilage Implants into Sheep Knee Chondral Defects
Authors: Jubel Axel , Andermahr Jonas , Schiffer Gereon , Fischer Jürgen , Rehm Klaus E. , Stoddart Martin J. , Häuselmann Hans J.
Published: July 2008

Background

New cell-based treatments for articular cartilage repair are needed. As the optimal scaffold for cartilage repair has yet to be developed, scaffold-free cartilage implants may remove the complications caused by suboptimal scaffolds.

Hypothesis

The implantation of a scaffold-free, autologous de novo cartilage implant into standardized full-thickness cartilage defects of femoral condyles in sheep leads to a qualitatively better regenerative tissue than does periosteal flap alone or no treatment.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Chondral defects 4 mm in diameter (1 per sheep) were created in the center of 1 medial femoral condyle of 48 sheep. Twelve defects were allowed to heal spontaneously, 16 defects were covered with periosteal flaps alone, and 20 defects were filled with autologous de novo cartilage graft and overlaid with a periosteal flap. Differences were assessed macroscopically using the International Cartilage Repair Society score and microscopically using the International Cartilage Repair Society histological score and Mankin score at 26 and 52 weeks.

Results

The results of the International Cartilage Repair Society Cartilage repair assessment showed that the transplant group was better than was the untreated control at both time periods but not significantly different than was the periosteal flap group. Implanted groups demonstrated a marked improvement in grade of defect filling, cartilage stability, cell distribution, and matrix assessments in each method of assessment. In the transplant group, 2 defects were filled with hyaline cartilage, 5 with mixed hyaline and fibrocartilage, and 2 with fibrocartilage alone.

Conclusion

Chondral defects treated with de novo cartilage transplantation show qualitatively better microscopic and macroscopic regeneration than do those treated with periosteal flaps alone.

Clinical Relevance

Results of the current study show that third-generation autologous chondrocyte transplantation is a promising development in the field of biologic cartilage regeneration. Future studies should compare this technique with the original Brittberg technique.