bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oxidative stress and potential interventions to reduce oxidative stress in overweight and obesity
Authors: Vincent Heather K. , Innes Kim E. , Vincent Kevin R.
Published: January 2007

Purpose: Obesity may be a state of chronic oxidative stress. Oxidative stress may be the mechanism underlying the development of co‐morbidities in obesity. This review provides a summary of the available evidence regarding systemic oxidative stress in young, older and clinical obese populations.

Methods: Medline was searched for all available articles published between 1975 and 2006 that evaluated oxidative stress biomarkers in resting conditions or following various interventions in overweight and obese humans.

Results: Obesity elevates oxidative stress in young, old and clinical populations as shown by elevations in lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, hydroperoxides, 4‐hydroxynonenal, isoprostanes, conjugated dienes) or protein oxidation (8‐hydroxy‐deoxyguanosine). Lipid peroxidation is associated with several indices of adiposity and a low systemic antioxidant defence (i.e. antioxidant enzymes, tissue dietary antioxidants, glutathione). Oxidative stress may be exacerbated with acute exercise, advancing age or co‐existing clinical conditions and may be corrected by improving antioxidant defences through fat volume reduction via surgery, pharmacological agents, exercise and/or dietary modification.

Conclusion: Oxidative stress is related to chronic disease in obesity, but is reversible with one or more interventions described above.
International Knowledge Spillovers to Developing Countries: The Case of Indonesia
Authors: Jacob Jojo , Szirmai Adam
Published: January 2007

The successful industrialization and catch up of countries in the East Asian region gave rise to an important debate concerning the role played by technological learning and knowledge creation. This paper seeks to examine this issue for Indonesia, a second‐tier newly industrializing country. It focuses on the relative importance of learning from imported inputs vis‐à‐vis other factors influencing productivity in manufacturing. The concept of learning is operationalized drawing on the literature on technology spillovers on the one hand, and the literature on catch up à la Abramovitz, on the other. Our results indicate that knowledge spillovers have become significant contributors to labor productivity growth after the liberalization of the Indonesian economy.
Haemorrhagic pure motor stroke
Authors: Arboix A. , García‐Eroles L. , Massons J. , Oliveres M. , Balcells M.
Published: January 2007

To describe the clinical characteristics of haemorrhagic pure motor stroke (PMS). Twelve patients with haemorrhagic PMS were identified. Haemorrhagic PMS accounted for 3.2% of all cases of pure motor hemiparesis (n = 380) and 3.3% of intracerebral haemorrhage (n = 364) entered in the database. When compared with PMS of ischaemic origin, patients with haemorrhagic PMS were more likely to be younger (62.2 vs. 75.2 years, P = 0.003) and to have headache (33% vs. 6.3%, P =0.007) and thalamus involvement (25% vs. 2.4%, P = 0.005). Limb weakness (100% vs. 74.1%; P = 0.03), involvement of the internal capsule (50% vs. 17.3%, P = 0.012) and symptom free at discharge (25% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.012) were significantly more frequent in patients with haemorrhagic PMS than in the remaining cases of haemorrhagic stroke, whereas nausea and vomiting (0% vs. 25.9%, P = 0.03), altered consciousness (0% vs. 42.9%, P = 0.001), sensory symptoms (8.3% vs. 46.9%, P =0.007) and ventricular haemorrhage (0% vs. 26.1%, P = 0.028) were significantly less frequent. Haemorrhagic PMS is a very infrequent stroke subtype. Headache at stroke onset may be useful sign for distinguishing haemorrhagic PMS from other causes of lacunar stroke. There are important differences between haemorrhagic PMS and the remaining intracerebral haemorrhages.
An ecological, information‐based approach to the study of expertise: illustrative findings from a study of UK health‐visiting practice
Authors: Bryans Alison N. P. , McIntosh Jean B.
Published: January 2007

This paper is based on a simulation‐based but naturalistic study of domiciliary health‐visiting expertise undertaken in a large conurbation in central Scotland between 2000 and 2002. The research approach enabled direct comparison and systematic examination of multiple data sets about two simulated clients, which identified differences between issues covered and differences between practitioners’ approaches and levels of expertise demonstrated during visits.

 The paper first presents the professional and theoretical background of the study and outlines the study methods before focusing on its main aim. This aim is to provide a detailed account of the informational input used for one of the simulated cases and to present illustrative findings that show the different approaches taken, and levels of expertise demonstrated, by two health visitor participants who visited this particular simulated case. The paper concludes by considering the special relevance and utility of this research approach for professional education and practice development.
Viusid, a nutritional supplement, in combination with interferon α‐2b and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C
Authors: Vilar Gomez Eduardo , Gra Oramas Bienvenido , Arus Soler Enrique , Llanio Navarro Raimundo , Ruenes Domech Caridad
Published: January 2007

Background: The pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is associated to severe oxidative stress that leads to necro‐inflammation and progression of fibrosis. Previous trials suggested that antioxidative therapy may have a beneficial effect. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of Viusid in combination with interferon α‐2b (IFN α‐2b) and ribavirin in patients with CHC.

Methods: We randomly assigned 100 patients, between October 2002 and December 2004, in two arms: IFN α‐2b (5 MU on alternate days), ribavirin at a dose of 13 mg/kg daily and Viusid (three sachets daily) vs. IFN α‐2b (5 MU on alternate days) and ribavirin at a dose of 13 mg/kg daily. Subjects were treated for 48 weeks and then followed for an additional 24 weeks. The primary end point was the histologic response (reduction of at least two points without fibrosis worsening in the total score on the Histological Activity Index).

Results: A significantly high proportion of patients who received combined therapy plus Viusid had a histologic response better than those patients who received IFN α‐2b and ribavirin (57% vs. 37%, P=0.03). The patients with virologic response achieved the highest percentages of histologic response, irrespective of assigned treatment. Among non‐responders, the highest reduction in the mean change from baseline score for necro‐inflammatory activity (NA) and fibrosis (F) was reported in patients treated with Viusid [NA, −1.50 (Viusid), −1.20 (without Viusid); F, −0.31 (Viusid), 0.00 (without Viusid)]. Sustained normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase concentration was highest in the Viusid group compared with standard therapy (67% vs. 41%, P=0.009). The overall safety profile was similar in both groups, but interestingly, the anemia was less intense in the group with Viusid (P=0.04).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that triple therapy with Viusid, IFN α‐2b and ribavirin was well tolerated and may have a beneficial effect on histologic and biochemical variables. The intensity of anemia is reduced in patients treated with Viusid.
Splenic artery ligation improves remnant liver function in partially hepatectomized rats with ischemia/reperfusion injury
Authors: Ito Koji , Ozasa Hisashi , Noda Yumi , Koike Yuichi , Arii Shigeki , Horikawa Saburo
Published: January 2007

Background: In liver resection, the temporary occlusion of the hepatoduodenal ligament (Pringle maneuver) is often used. However, the maneuver causes severe ischemia/reperfusion injury in the remnant liver. Our aim was to investigate the effects of splenic artery ligation on the liver function in partially hepatectomized rat with the Pringle maneuver.

Methods: The Pringle maneuver was conducted for 30 min just before a two‐thirds partial hepatectomy. Splenic artery ligation was performed before the Pringle maneuver. The efficacy of splenic artery ligation was assessed by survival, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), recovery of remnant liver weight, and portal pressure.

Results: On day 3, animal survival was four rats of 12 in partially hepatectomized rats with the Pringle maneuver and 10 rats of 12 in the splenic artery ligation‐treated partially hepatectomized rats with the Pringle maneuver. A two‐thirds partial hepatectomy alone or splenic artery ligation itself did not show any effects on the survival. Compared with partially hepatectomized rats with the Pringle maneuver, splenic artery‐ligated animals had lower serum AST and ALT levels, and higher recovery of remnant liver weight. Splenic artery ligation significantly reduced the portal pressure and also decreased the fatality in excessively hepatectomized rats.

Conclusions: Splenic artery ligation ameliorated the remnant liver function in partially hepatectomized rats with the Pringle maneuver and excessively hepatectomized rats. The amelioration may be mediated at least by decreasing portal pressure.
Bone marrow‐derived myofibroblasts recruited to the upper dermis appear beneath regenerating epidermis after deep dermal burn injury
Authors: Yamaguchi Ryo , Takami Yoshihiro , Yamaguchi Yoshihiro , Shimazaki Syuji
Published: January 2007

Fibroblasts and myofibroblasts migrating to sites of tissue repair after injury may not only be locally recruited but could also be recruited from the bone marrow. However, the characteristics and functional roles, if any, of these cells in wound healing are poorly understood. Here, we show unequivocally that bone marrow‐derived fibroblasts do contribute to deep dermal burn wound healing. Bone‐marrow stromal cells were collected from femurs of male Lewis rats, cultured for a week, and then the adherent cells were labeled with the fluorescent marker PKH‐26. These cells stained positive for α‐smooth muscle actin and prolyl 4‐hydroxylase, but did not express RM‐4 (a macrophage marker), CD34, or cytokeratin, characteristic of myofibroblastic differentiation. When injected intravenously into Lewis rats, they homed to the bone marrow. Five days after transplantation, a deep dermal burn was made on the back of the rat, and biopsies were taken 7, 10, and 14 days later. PKH‐positive cells were not found at day 7, but by day 10, they were easily detected mainly in the upper dermis close beneath the regenerating epidermis. These PKH‐positive cells still stained for α‐SMA and prolyl 4‐hydroxylase, but not RM4. Thus, it is suggested that myofibroblasts originating in the bone marrow contribute not only to promotion of granulation but also enhancement of dermal–epidermal interaction after thermal injury.
Partial melting of metapelites at ultrahigh‐pressure conditions, Greenland Caledonides
Authors: LANG H. M. , GILOTTI J. A.
Published: January 2007

Eclogite, orthogneiss and, by association, metapelite from an island at 78°N in North‐East Greenland experienced ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphism at approximately 970 °C and 3.6 GPa, at the end of the Caledonian collision, 360–350 Ma. Hydrous metapelites contain abundant leucocratic layers and lenses composed of medium‐grained, anhedral, equigranular quartz, antiperthitic plagioclase and K‐feldspar with minor small garnet and kyanite crystals. Leucosomes are generally parallel to the matrix foliation, are interlayered with residual quartz bands, anastomose around residual garnet and commonly cross‐cut micaceous segregations. Textures suggest that the leucosomes crystallized from a syntectonic melt, but crystallized at the end of local high‐grade deformation. The metapelite outcrop is < 1.5 km from kyanite eclogites with confirmed coesite, but the metapelites lack coesite and palisade textures diagnostic of coesite pseudomorphs. They do contain highly fractured garnet megacrysts with polycrystalline quartz inclusions (some surrounded by radial fractures) and Ti‐rich phengite inclusions that suggest the former presence of coesite. Polyphase inclusions in garnet contain reactants and products of the inferred dehydration melting reaction: Phe + Qtz = Ky + Kfs + Rt + melt. The reactants are thought to have been early inclusions of hydrous phases within garnet that melted and then crystallized new phases. Garnet surrounding these inclusions has patchy zoning with elevated Ca, consistent with experiments that produced similar patchy microstructures in garnet around inclusions with an unequivocal melt origin. The peak UHP metamorphic assemblage in these rocks is inferred to have been phengite, coesite, garnet, kyanite, rutile, fluid ± omphacite ± epidote. Phase diagrams indicate that dehydration melting of phengite in this assemblage would have occurred after decompression from peak pressure, but still above the coesite to quartz transition. Unusual crown‐ and moat‐like textures in garnet around some polycrystalline quartz inclusions are also consistent with the inference that melting took place at UHP conditions.
Do Brief Measures of Readiness to Change Predict Alcohol Consumption and Consequences in Primary Care Patients With Unhealthy Alcohol Use?
Authors: Williams Emily C. , Horton Nicholas J. , Samet Jeffrey H. , Saitz Richard
Published: January 2007

Background: Assessing readiness to change is recommended as part of brief interventions for patients with unhealthy alcohol use. However, the utility and predictive validity of readiness measures have not been well established.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study, we assessed primary care patients with unhealthy alcohol use (past‐month drinking of risky amounts, or any amount and an affirmative response to CAGE alcohol screening questionnaire) and reassessed them 6 months later. At study entry, we assessed readiness to change using 1 multi‐item measure of stage of change, and 5 single‐item measures (readiness per se, importance of changing, confidence in ability to change, intention to cut down, intention to abstain). Outcomes included alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related consequences. Multivariable regression models were fit for each measure of readiness and each outcome.

Results: Of 312 patients with unhealthy alcohol use, 228 (73%) were assessed at study entry and 6 months later and had complete data. Among readiness measures, only confidence and intention to abstain (1 point changes on single‐item measures) were associated with consumption 6 months later: less heavy episodic drinking [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.88, 95% CI 0.80–0.98 and AOR 0.79, 0.64–0.98, respectively], and less drinking of risky amounts (AOR 0.89, 0.79–1.00 and AOR 0.78, 0.62–0.98, respectively). Intention to abstain was also associated with more abstinence (AOR 1.43, 1.09–1.88). Single‐item measures of readiness, importance, and intention to cut down were significantly associated with higher odds of alcohol consequences. Greater confidence (single item) was associated with a lower odds of any consequences (AOR 0.88, 0.79–0.98).

Conclusions: Greater readiness, as measured by several brief assessments, was associated with more consequences and was not predictive of consumption. However, assessing confidence in the ability to change one's alcohol use may have a role in predicting subsequent decreases in both consumption and consequences in primary care patients.
Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Counseling for Alcohol Consumption: A Population‐Based, Cross‐Sectional Survey
Authors: Mukamal Kenneth J.
Published: January 2007

Background: Counseling for alcohol use is of proven utility, but whether disparities in provision of counseling exist is uncertain.

Methods: Using the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a population‐based telephone survey, we examined participant‐reported physician counseling for alcohol use among 15,498 adults in 5 U.S. states. Participants reported their usual alcohol intake, risky drinking (intake of 5 or more drinks on occasion, greater than 60 drinks per month, or driving after drinking), and whether a doctor had spoken with them about alcohol use.

Results: Race and ethnicity were strongly associated with reported receipt of alcohol counseling. Compared with whites, black and Hispanic adults had 2‐fold higher odds of reporting receiving counseling among all participants, among problem drinkers, and among abstainers. There were modest differences according to sex, income, self‐reported health, and education, but not body mass index. Multivariable adjustment and restriction to participants who reported a recent checkup did not alter these findings. No such disparity was noted for general diet counseling.

Conclusions: Clear racial and ethnic differences exist in physician counseling for alcohol use, with higher prevalence estimates among racial and ethnic minority populations. Although the cause of these differences is uncertain, systematic application of preventive medical services such as alcohol screening and counseling is needed for all patients.
Behavioural responses of female Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, to mineral oil deposits
Authors: Nguyen V. L. , Meats A. , Beattie G. A. C. , Spooner‐Hart R. , Liu Z. M. , Jiang L.
Published: January 2007

Behavioural responses of Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), females to fruit dipped in water and fruit dipped in 0.5% (vol/vol) aqueous emulsions of a mineral oil were determined and analysed. The mineral oil was an nC20–22 distillation fraction of the base oil used to produce an nC23 horticultural mineral oil. Females caged with oil‐treated fruit had significantly longer prelanding intervals than females caged with water‐dipped fruit. The latter was attacked immediately or shortly after being caged with flies whereas some oil‐dipped fruit was not attacked within 180 min. The percentage of landings that led to oviposition on water‐ and oil‐treated fruit were 58 and 13%, respectively, and the percentages ovipositing after probing were 74 and 25%, respectively. Likewise, average times spent probing were 7 vs. 31 s whereas average times spent ovipositing were 321 vs. 223 s. Females spent less than half as much time on oil‐treated fruit than on water‐treated fruit. Transition probabilities of rejection, when applied to the behaviour sequence indicated that oil‐treated fruits are about nine times less likely to be infested with B. tryoni.
EFFECT OF ENROBING ON THE QUALITY AND SHELF LIFE OF BUFFALO MEAT CUTLETS UNDER FROZEN STORAGE
Authors: AHAMED M. EYAS , ANJANEYULU A.S.R. , SATHU T. , THOMAS R. , KONDAIAH N.
Published: January 2007

Quality and shelf life of enrobed buffalo meat cutlets packaged in low‐density polyethylene bags were evaluated during 90 days of frozen storage. Enrobed cutlets with edible coating had significantly (P < 0.01) lower shrinkage, moisture and fat contents than uncoated cutlets. The pH of the enrobed cutlets showed a nonsignificant (P > 0.05) increasing trend throughout the storage period, although not consistently, whereas thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values showed a significant (P > 0.05) decline from 60 days of storage in both the control and enrobed cutlets. The enrobed cutlets had slightly lower (P > 0.05) mesophilic bacterial counts than the control, whereas psychrotrophic bacteria and yeast and mold were detected occasionally in both products, but only in insignificant levels. Panelists rated significantly (P > 0.05) higher for various sensory attributes of enrobed cutlets throughout the storage period, but a decline in these attributes was observed at the end of the storage period. Uncoated cutlets were acceptable up to 60 days, and enrobed cutlets were highly acceptable up to 90 days. The study made clear that enrobing further improved the shelf life and acceptability of buffalo meat cutlets, and it had a shelf life of 90 days under frozen storage.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Enrobing/coating of meat products with edible materials improves their cooking yield and provides better protection against oxidative and microbiological deterioration. It can also significantly enhance the sensory qualities of meat products and could be an effective method of value addition with better consumer acceptability. Enrobed cutlets can be successfully added to the list of value‐added convenience meat‐based products.
PORK COLOR MEASUREMENT AS AFFECTED BY BLOOM TIME AND MEASUREMENT LOCATION
Authors: ŠKRLEP MARTIN , ČANDEK‐POTOKAR MARJETA
Published: January 2007

Bloom time and measurement location effects on color changes of pig longissimus dorsi muscle were studied, using CIE L*, a*, b*. The measurements were performed on two locations in the central area of muscle cross‐section repeatedly every 2 min over a 30‐min period. Hue angle (H*) and chroma (C*) were calculated. Bloom time had no significant effect on L* value (P = 0.17), but it affected a*, b*, C* and H* (P < 0.001); a* and C* stabilized after 18 min and b* and H* after 26 min. The measurement location was significant for C* value (P = 0.04), and close to the significance in case of a* and b* (P = 0.06 and 0.09, respectively). L* and a* were more repeatable across bloom time than between measuring locations, whereas for b*, C* and H* we noted similar repeatability across bloom time and measuring location.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Results of this study indicate that a bloom time of 20–30 min should be sufficient for pork before measuring color. If only the luminosity or reflectance measurement is of interest, the blooming of pork is not necessary. Better or similar repeatability of color parameters in the course of blooming as compared to two adjacent locations implies the importance of defined localization of repetitions in meat color assessment.
COOKING EFFECTS ON FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF CULTURED SEA BASS (DICENTRARCHUS LABRAX) FILLETS
Authors: YANAR YASEMEN , KÜÇÜKGÜLMEZ AYGÜL , ERSOY BEYZA , ÇELIK MEHMET
Published: January 2007

In this research, the effects of different cooking processes (grilling, baking, frying and microwave cooking) on fatty acid composition of cultured sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fillets were investigated. Fatty acid composition of sea bass fillets was not significantly changed by grilling, baking and microwave cooking. Fried in sunflower oil, the sea bass fillets absorbed C18:1n‐9 and C18:2n‐6 and lost saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The lowest n‐3/n‐6 ratio was found by frying method.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This study investigates which cooking method is best to maintain PUFA composition and includes useful information for nutritional programs and instructional presentations to benefit people of all ages and classes, and with a variety of health conditions. These features make it important for the food industry, academic studies on food composition or nutrition, clinical, community, foodservice and research dieticians, who help promote good health through proper eating. It is also useful for similar academic studies and to prepare tables of compositions of food for clinical use.
Asian Americans in the History of Education: An Historiographical Essay
Authors: Tamura Eileen H.
Published: January 2007

Asian Americans have lived in the United States for over one-and-a-half centuries: Chinese and Asian Indians since the mid-nineteenth century, Japanese since the late nineteenth century, and Koreans and Filipinos since the first decade of the twentieth century (an earlier group of Filipinos had settled near New Orleans in the late eighteenth century). Because of exclusion laws that culminated with the 1924 Immigration Act, however, the Asian American population was relatively miniscule before the mid-twentieth century. As late as 1940, for example, Asian immigrants and their descendants constituted considerably less than 1 percent (0.0019) of the United States population. In contrast, in Hawai'i, which was then a territory and therefore excluded from United States population figures, 58 percent of the people in 1940 were of Asian descent.
The Journalist as Historian: Nicholas Lemann's: The Big Test
Authors: Hampel Robert L.
Published: January 2007

Few books have the scope and sweep of Nicholas Lemann's The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999). In 400 pages the author takes up five large topics. The first third is a history of the rise of standardized testing, especially the origins of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), the largest and best known nonprofit testing corporation in this country. The second part traces the post-World War II expansion of higher education, with detailed case studies of the California system and Yale University. The final third features a series of snapshots and essays on affirmative action. Running throughout the entire book are the interrelated topics of college admissions and economic mobility—(the universities supposedly became a “national personnel department” p. 345, which “grant the high scorers a general, long-duration ticket to high status that can be cashed in anywhere p. 347.”)
From Vacation to Summer School: The Transformation of Summer Education in New York City, 1894–1915
Authors: Gold Kenneth M.
Published: January 2007

A noted but rarely explored axiom of the history of American education is that public school practices often originate in private sector settings. As David B. Tyack suggested in his influential studyThe One Best System, “Many of the innovations designed to offer differentiated schooling in the nineteenth century stemmed not so much from career educators as from wealthy philanthropists, merchants, and industrialists.” Certainly the very organizational structure of many urban school systems grew out of a network of private charity schools formed in the early nineteenth century. After the Civil War, new educational features like kindergartens, manual training, and vocational counseling all began as charitable endeavors but soon worked their way into urban public schools. By the century's end, vacation schools offering summer recreation and industrial education to the children of the urban, immigrant poor became yet another philanthropic program to enter the public school domain. What happened to vacation schools in New York City as a consequence of public administration is the focus of this article.
Choosing the Student Body: Masculinity, Culture, and the Crisis of Medical School Admissions, 1920–1950
Authors: Borst Charlotte G.
Published: January 2007

“Is it possible to select medical students scientifically?” asked Mary D. Salter in a 1942 journal article that examined the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT). Salter, a Lecturer in Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto answered affirmatively, pointing out that “scientific selection of students would greatly reduce the wastage of time, money, and effort involved when students fail.”
When Parallel Paths Cross: Competition and the Elimination of Sex Segregation in the Education Fraternities, 1969–1974
Authors: Hines Laurie Moses
Published: January 2007

In the late 1960s, the all-male Phi Delta Kappa and the parallel all-female organization, Pi Lambda Theta, faced local and national pressures to abandon their single-sex status and become coeducational. Demands for the sex integration of both fraternities from university students, from educational and women's associations, and from universities responding to governmental censures to eliminate sex discrimination forced Pi Lambda Theta (PLT) and Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) to examine the purpose and organization of single-sex associations in American professional and collegiate life. For Phi Delta Kappa and, in particular, Pi Lambda Theta, the advent of coeducational membership led to direct competition between the formerly cooperative men's and women's groups. Thus, the elimination of sex segregation in the education fraternities ended approximately fifty years of cooperation and an alliance that promoted the professional distinctions between all educators and those in the separate but parallel Phi Delta Kappa and Pi Lambda Theta.
The Canonization of Ovide Decroly as a “Saint” of the New Education
Authors: Depaepe Marc , Simon Frank , Van Gorp Angelo
Published: January 2007

If any Belgian educator belongs to the canon of the New Education, it is certainly Ovide Decroly (1871–1932). Particularly in southern Europe and in many Latin American countries, the ideas and the work of this French-speaking Brussels doctor have been inspirational for a movement that projected itself worldwide—albeit in different modes—as the “child-oriented,” “progressive” alternative to the rigid, traditional school. As recent research has shown, this movement manifested itself primarily by means of the development of its own language and discourse in which the “new school” was projected into a “new” society. However, ultimately, it turned out that the “new” did not involve a radical break with the modernizing trends from which it emerged and that it wanted to combat. Without going further into the discussion of its success or failure, about continuity and discontinuity of discourse and movement, we want to show that the construction of the self-discourse of the New Education was largely determined by the extolling of its own merits. We will do this via the example of Ovide Decroly. This extolling was generally done by epigones who, from the immediate circle of often charismatic school reformers, gazed in wonder on the work of the Master (or Mistress) and ascribed to his or her “method” an authenticity that it did not actually have.
Educational Television, Fred Rogers, and the History of Education
Authors: Levin Robert A. , Hines Laurie Moses
Published: January 2007

The history of teaching and learning via television has compressed into a half-century many of the same stages and themes of the larger story of common schooling in the United States. Responding to a variety of public, private, and foundation interests in the post-World War II period, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set aside 242 television frequencies for noncommercial educational purposes in 1952. Three decades earlier, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) had asserted a need for broadcasting to serve a common good for the broad public and civic interest. During the 1920s, nonnetworked educational radio stations were formed on various college and university campuses.
Brown-ing the American Textbook: History, Psychology, and the Origins of Modern Multiculturalism
Authors: Zimmerman Jonathan
Published: January 2007

In June 1944, a delegation of African-American leaders met with New York City school officials to discuss a central focus of black concern: history textbooks. That delegation reflected a broad spectrum of metropolitan Black opinion: Chaired by the radical city councilman Benjamin J. Davis, it included the publisher of theAmsterdam News—New York's major Black newspaper—as well as the bishop of the African Orthodox Church. In a joint statement, the delegates praised public schools' recent efforts to promote “intercultural education”—and to reduce “prejudice”—via drama, music, and art. Yet if history texts continued to spread lies about the past, Blacks insisted, all of these other programs would come to naught. One book described slaves as “happy”; another applauded the Ku Klux Klan for keeping “foolish Negroes” out of government. “Such passages… could well have come from the mouths of the fascist enemies of our nation,” the Black delegation warned. Even as America fought “Nazi doctrine” overseas, African Americans maintained, the country needed to purge this philosophy from history books at home.
Development and Clinical Evaluation of A PCR Assay Targeting the Metalloprotease Gene (mprA) of B. pseudomallei
Authors: Neubauer H. , Sprague L. D. , Joseph M. , Tomaso H. , Al Dahouk S. , Witte A. , Kinne J. , Hensel A. , Wernery R. , Wernery U. , Scholz H. C.
Published: January 2007

A PCR assay targeting the metalloprotease gene (mprA) of Burkholderia pseudomallei was developed for the specific detection of this organism in pure cultures and clinical samples. All other closely related organisms including B. mallei the causative agent of glanders, and B. thailandensis tested negative. Burkholderia pseudomallei DNA was successfully amplified from paraffin‐embedded lung tissue of a camel with a generalized B. pseudomallei infection. The developed PCR assay can be used as a simple tool for the specific and sensitive detection of B. pseudomallei.
Assessment Strategies to Guide Instruction
Authors: Blanton Patricia
Published: January 2007

The current emphasis on assessment in education may have you lamenting that you are being required to “teach to the test.” In many schools, the demands of No Child Left Behind and state-mandated testing leave teachers and their students with the impression that testing is a punitive activity designed to reveal inadequate performance by schools and students. Add the fact that school effectiveness is evaluated by student performance on these high-stakes tests, that schools are threatened with closing if performance isn't deemed adequate, that teacher bonuses are often tied to the performance of the entire school, and that students cannot receive course credit unless they pass these tests, and it quickly becomes evident why assessment has become such a “hot button” issue. It's easy for a beginning teacher to lose sight of the fact that assessments should guide instruction and help students become more effective learners.
Providing Support to Inner-city Students and Teachers Through the Physics Van Inservice Institute
Authors: Sabella Mel S.
Published: January 2007

There are many programs for the professional development of high school physics teachers that have proven to be effective in preparing these teachers to conduct inquiry-based activities in the classroom. In this paper, we describe a small-scale professional development program called the Physics Van Inservice Institute. During the program, teachers are engaged in inquiry-based physics modules and are then able to borrow the equipment so that they can conduct the activities in their own classes.
Differences in
Chlamydia trachomatis
Serovar E Growth Rate in Polarized Endometrial and Endocervical Epithelial Cells Grown in Three-Dimensional Culture
Authors: Guseva Natalia V. , Dessus-Babus Sophie , Moore Cheryl G. , Whittimore Judy D. , Wyrick Priscilla B.
Published: January 2007

In vitro studies of obligate intracellular chlamydia biology and pathogenesis are highly dependent on the use of experimental models and growth conditions that mimic the mucosal architecture and environment these pathogens encounter during natural infections. In this study, the growth of
Chlamydia trachomatis
genital serovar E was monitored in mouse fibroblast McCoy cells and compared to more relevant host human epithelial endometrium-derived HEC-1B and cervix-derived HeLa cells, seeded and polarized on collagen-coated microcarrier beads, using a three-dimensional culture system. Microscopy analysis of these cell lines prior to infection revealed morphological differences reminiscent of their in vivo architecture. Upon infection, early chlamydial inclusion distribution was uniform in McCoy cells but patchy in both epithelial cell lines. Although no difference in chlamydial attachment to or entry into the two genital epithelial cell lines was noted, active bacterial genome replication and transcription, as well as initial transformation of elementary bodies to reticulate bodies, were detected earlier in HEC-1B than in HeLa cells, suggesting a faster growth, which led to higher progeny counts and titers in HEC-1B cells upon completion of the developmental cycle. Chlamydial development in the less relevant McCoy cells was very similar to that in HeLa cells, although higher progeny counts were obtained. In conclusion, this three-dimensional bead culture system represents an improved model for harvesting large quantities of infectious chlamydia progeny from their more natural polarized epithelial host cells.
GENERALIZED HYPERVIRIAL THEOREM FOR THE D DIMENSIONAL SINGLE-PARTICLE SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATIONS
Authors: MA ZHONG-QI , DONG SHI-HAI
Published: January 2007

By using the Hamiltonian identity, we present a generalized hypervirial theorem for the D dimensional single-particle system with arbitrary potential. It is shown that this generalized hypervirial theorem is powerful in deriving the Blanchard's and Kramers' recurrence relations among the matrix elements. We apply those recurrence relations to some physical systems, exactly solvable and unsolvable, such as the pseudoharmonic oscillator, the Morse, the modified Pöschl-Teller, the Lennard-Jones, the Buckingham and the Yukawa potentials. The Blanchard's and Kramers' recurrence relations in two dimensions are also briefly mentioned.
DYNAMIC MODELS FOR TESTING BASED ON TIME SERIES ANALYSIS
Authors: KHOSHGOFTAAR TAGHI M. , SZABO ROBERT M.
Published: January 2007

In this paper, we investigate a dynamic software quality model that incorporates software process and software product measures as covariates. Furthermore, the model is not based on execution time between failures. Instead, the method relies on data commonly available from simple problem tracking and source code control systems. Fault counts, testing effort, and code churn measures are collected from each build during the system test phase of a large telecommunications software system. We use this data to predict the number of faults to expect from one build to the next. The technique we use is called time series analysis and forecasting. The methodology assumes that future predictions are based on the history of past failures and related covariates. We show that the quality model incorporating testing effort as a covariate is better than the quality model derived from fault counts alone.
DEFORMATIONS OF FOUR-DIMENSIONAL LIE ALGEBRAS
Authors: FIALOWSKI ALICE , PENKAVA MICHAEL
Published: January 2007

We study the moduli space of four-dimensional ordinary Lie algebras, and their versal deformations. Their classification is well known; our focus in this paper is on the deformations, which yield a picture of how the moduli space is assembled. Surprisingly, we get a nice geometric description of this moduli space essentially as an orbifold, with just a few exceptional points.
COMBINING FLUX AND ENERGY BALANCE ANALYSIS TO MODEL LARGE-SCALE BIOCHEMICAL NETWORKS
Authors: HEUETT WILLIAM J. , QIAN HONG
Published: January 2007

Stoichiometric Network Theory is a constraints-based, optimization approach for quantitative analysis of the phenotypes of large-scale biochemical networks that avoids the use of detailed kinetics. This approach uses the reaction stoichiometric matrix in conjunction with constraints provided by flux balance and energy balance to guarantee mass conserved and thermodynamically allowable predictions. However, the flux and energy balance constraints have not been effectively applied simultaneously on the genome scale because optimization under the combined constraints is non-linear. In this paper, a sequential quadratic programming algorithm that solves the non-linear optimization problem is introduced. A simple example and the system of fermentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used to illustrate the new method. The algorithm allows the use of non-linear objective functions. As a result, we suggest a novel optimization with respect to the heat dissipation rate of a system. We also emphasize the importance of incorporating interactions between a model network and its surroundings.
Adventures in Hepatocarcinogenesis
Authors: Pitot Henry C.
Published: January 2007

Neoplasia is a heritably altered, relatively autonomous growth of tissue. Hepatocarcinogenesis, the pathogenesis of neoplasia in liver, as modeled in the rat exhibits three distinct, quantifiable stages: initiation, promotion, and progression. Simple mutations and/or epigenetic alterations may result in the irreversible stage of initiation. The stage of promotion results from selective enhancement of cell replication and selective inhibition of cellular apoptosis of initiated cells dependent on the genetic and/or epigenetic alterations of the latter. The irreversible stage of progression results from initial karyotypic alterations that evolve into greater degrees of genomic instability. The initial genomic alteration in the transition from promotion to progression may involve primarily epigenetic mechanisms driven by epigenetic and genetic alterations fixed during the stage of promotion.
Activation of Nuclear Receptor Nur77 by 6-Mercaptopurine Protects Against Neointima Formation
Authors: Pires Nuno M.M. , Pols Thijs W.H. , de Vries Margreet R. , van Tiel Claudia M. , Bonta Peter I. , Vos Mariska , Arkenbout E. Karin , Pannekoek Hans , Jukema J. Wouter , Quax Paul H.A. , de Vries Carlie J.M.
Published: January 2007

Background—

Restenosis is a common complication after percutaneous coronary interventions and is characterized by excessive proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). We have shown that the nuclear receptor Nur77 protects against SMC-rich lesion formation, and it has been demonstrated that 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) enhances Nur77 activity. We hypothesized that 6-MP inhibits neointima formation through activation of Nur77.

Methods and Results—

It is demonstrated that 6-MP increases Nur77 activity in cultured SMCs, which results in reduced [
3
H]thymidine incorporation, whereas Nur77 small interfering RNA knockdown partially restores DNA synthesis. Furthermore, we studied the effect of 6-MP in a murine model of cuff-induced neointima formation. Nur77 mRNA is upregulated in cuffed arteries, with optimal expression after 6 hours and elevated expression up to 7 days after vascular injury. Local perivascular delivery of 6-MP with a drug-eluting cuff significantly inhibits neointima formation in wild-type mice. Locally applied 6-MP does not affect inflammatory responses or apoptosis but inhibits expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and enhances protein levels of the cell-cycle inhibitor p27
Kip1
in the vessel wall. An even stronger inhibition of neointima formation in response to local 6-MP delivery was observed in transgenic mice that overexpressed Nur77. In contrast, 6-MP does not alter lesion formation in transgenic mice that overexpress a dominant-negative variant of Nur77 in arterial SMCs, which provides evidence for the involvement of Nur77-like factors.

Conclusions—

Enhancement of the activity of Nur77 by 6-MP protects against excessive SMC proliferation and SMC-rich neointima formation. We propose that activation of the nuclear receptor Nur77 is a rational approach to treating in-stent restenosis.
Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase Signaling in the Heart Is Regulated by the Sarcolemmal Calcium Pump 4b
Authors: Oceandy Delvac , Cartwright Elizabeth J. , Emerson Michael , Prehar Sukhpal , Baudoin Florence M. , Zi Min , Alatwi Nasser , Venetucci Luigi , Schuh Kai , Williams Judith C. , Armesilla Angel L. , Neyses Ludwig
Published: January 2007

Background—

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has recently been shown to be a major regulator of cardiac contractility. In a cellular system, we have previously shown that nNOS is regulated by the isoform 4b of plasma membrane calcium/calmodulin-dependent ATPase (PMCA4b) through direct interaction mediated by a PDZ domain (PSD 95, Drosophilia Discs large protein and Zona occludens-1) on nNOS and a cognate ligand on PMCA4b. It remains unknown, however, whether this interaction has physiological relevance in the heart in vivo.

Methods and Results—

We generated 2 strains of transgenic mice overexpressing either human PMCA4b or PMCA ct120 in the heart. PMCA ct120 is a highly active mutant form of the pump that does not interact with or modulate nNOS function. Calcium was extruded normally from PMCA4b-overexpressing cardiomyocytes, but in vivo, overexpression of PMCA4b reduced the β-adrenergic contractile response. This attenuated response was not observed in ct120 transgenic mice. Treatment with a specific nNOS inhibitor (
N
ω-propyl-
l
-arginine) reduced the β-adrenergic response in wild-type and ct120 transgenic mice to levels comparable to those of PMCA4b transgenic animals. No differences in lusitropic response were observed in either transgenic strain compared with wild-type littermates.

Conclusions—

These data demonstrate the physiological relevance of the interaction between PMCA4b and nNOS and suggests its signaling role in the heart.
Potential Interactions Between Pharmaceuticals and Natural Health Products in Canada
Authors: Singh Sumeet R. , Levine Mitchell A. H.
Published: January 2007

This study sought to measure the extent to which potentially interacting combinations of natural health products (NHPs) and drugs are used in the Canadian adult population. Data were obtained from the Statistics Canada 2000–2001 National Population Health Survey. A total of 11 424 adults completed the survey. Of the survey participants, 9.3% reported the use of at least 1 natural health product in the prior 2 days. Among natural health product users, 57% also used a conventional medicine with systemic exposure in the same time period. A minimum of 1 potential drug‐NHP interaction was identified in 28.4% of such combination users. Most interactions (90%) were of unknown clinical significance. Female gender, older age, lower education, and the presence of diabetes and high blood pressure were associated with a higher risk of having at least 1 potential interaction. Health professionals need to maintain a working knowledge of common potential drug‐NHP interactions, to dialogue with all patients regarding the use of natural health products, and to remain vigilant in reporting all suspected interactions and adverse events involving natural health products. Regulatory agencies should also capture and assess reports of drug‐NHP interactions more effectively.