bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A highly conserved segmental duplication in the subtelomeres of Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes varies in copy number
Authors: Mok Bobo W , Ribacke Ulf , Sherwood Ellen , Wahlgren Mats
Published: March 2008

Background

Segmental duplications (SD) have been found in genomes of various organisms, often accumulated at the ends of chromosomes. It has been assumed that the sequence homology in-between the SDs allow for ectopic interactions that may contribute to the emergence of new genes or gene variants through recombinatorial events.

Methods

In silico analysis of the 3D7 Plasmodium falciparum genome, conducted to investigate the subtelomeric compartments, led to the identification of subtelomeric SDs. Sequence variation and copy number polymorphisms of the SDs were studied by DNA sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The levels of transcription and the developmental expression of copy number variant genes were investigated by qPCR.

Results

A block of six genes of >10 kilobases in size, including var, rif, pfmc-2tm and three hypothetical genes (n-, o- and q-gene), was found duplicated in the subtelomeric regions of chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 (SD1). The number of SD1 per genome was found to vary from 4 to 8 copies in between different parasites. The intragenic regions of SD1 were found to be highly conserved across ten distinct fresh and long-term cultivated P. falciparum. Sequence variation was detected in a ≈ 23 amino-acid long hypervariable region of a surface-exposed loop of PFMC-2TM. A hypothetical gene within SD1, the n-gene, encoding a PEXEL/VTS-containing two-transmembrane protein was found expressed in ring stage parasites. The n-gene transcription levels were found to correlate to the number of n-gene copies. Fragments of SD1 harbouring two or three of the SD1-genes (o-gene, pfmc-2tm, q-gene) were also found in the 3D7 genome. In addition a related second SD, SD2, of ≈ 55% sequence identity to SD1 was found duplicated in a fresh clinical isolate but was only present in a single copy in 3D7 and in other P. falciparum lines or clones.

Conclusion

Plasmodium falciparum carries multiple sequence conserved SDs in the otherwise highly variable subtelomeres of its chromosomes. The uniqueness of the SDs amongst plasmodium species, and the conserved nature of the genes within, is intriguing and suggests an important role of the SD to P. falciparum.
Regulation ofDlx5andDlx6gene expression by p63 is involved in EEC and SHFM congenital limb defects
Authors: Lo Iacono Nadia , Mantero Stefano , Chiarelli Anna , Garcia Elvin , Mills Alea A. , Morasso Maria I. , Costanzo Antonio , Levi Giovanni , Guerrini Luisa , Merlo Giorgio R.
Published: March 2008

The congenital malformation Split Hand-Foot Malformation (SHFM, or ectrodactyly) is characterized by a medial cleft of hands and feet, and missing central fingers. Five genetically distinct forms are known in humans;the most common (type-I) is linked to deletions of DSS1 and the distalless-related homeogenes DLX5 and DLX6. As Dlx5;Dlx6 double-knockout mice show a SHFM-like phenotype, the human orthologs are believed to be the disease genes. SHFM-IV and Ectrodactyly-Ectodermal dysplasia-Cleft lip (EEC) are caused by mutations in p63, an ectoderm-specific p53-related transcription factor. The similarity in the limb phenotype of different forms of SHFM may underlie the existence of a regulatory cascade involving the disease genes. Here, we show that p63 and Dlx proteins colocalize in the nuclei of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). In homozygous p63- (null) and p63EEC (R279H) mutant limbs, the AER fails to stratify and the expression of four Dlx genes is strongly reduced; interestingly, the p63+/EEC and p63+/- hindlimbs, which develop normally and have a normally stratified AER, show reduced Dlx gene expression. The p63+/EEC mutation combined with an incomplete loss of Dlx5 and Dlx6 alleles leads to severe limb phenotypes, which are not observed in mice with either mutation alone. In vitro, ΔNp63α induces transcription from the Dlx5 and Dlx6 promoters, an activity abolished by EEC and SHFM-IV mutations,but not by Ankyloblepharon-Ectodermal defects-Cleft lip/palate (AEC)mutations. ChIP analysis shows that p63 is directly associated with the Dlx5 and Dlx6 promoters. Thus, our data strongly implicate p63 and the Dlx5-Dlx6 locus in a pathway relevant in the aetio-pathogenesis of SHFM.
Modelling of friction in a ball joint in mixed lubrication
Authors: Clarke S J , Bell M A
Published: March 2008

This article describes a model used to predict the friction in a ball joint of a hydraulic motor operating under unique conditions. The ball joint transfers very high loads and rotates at very low speeds (including zero speed twice per motor revolution), which means that it operates in the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes. The model includes the influence of a squeeze film. It also shows the dependence of friction on the various surface qualities and is used to predict overall motor performance. The model was validated using hydraulic motors with various surface finishes on the ball joints. Measurements show that the model is a good predictor of mechanical performance and that the key variables highlighted by the model do lead to improved mechanical efficiencies.
Experimental studies of the aerodynamics of spinning and stationary footballs
Authors: Passmore M A , Tuplin S , Spencer A , Jones R
Published: March 2008

The accurate discrimination of the aerodynamic parameters affecting the flight of sports balls is essential in the product development process. Aerodynamic studies reported to date have been limited, primarily because of the inherent difficulty of making accurate measurements on a moving or spinning ball. Manufacturers therefore generally rely on field trials to determine ball performance, but the approach is time-consuming and subject to considerable variability.

The current paper describes the development of a method for mounting stationary and spinning footballs in a wind tunnel to enable accurate force data to be obtained. The technique is applied to a number of footballs with differing constructions and the results reported. Significant differences in performance are noted for both stationary and spinning balls and the importance of the ball orientation to the flow is highlighted. To put the aerodynamic data into context the results are applied in a flight model to predict the potential differences in the behaviour of each ball in the air. The aerodynamic differences are shown to have a considerable effect on the flight path and the effect of orientation is shown to be particularly significant when a ball is rotating slowly. Though the techniques reported here are applied to a football they are equally applicable to other ball types.
The AU-rich element mRNA decay-promoting activity of BRF1 is regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2
Authors: Maitra Sushmit , Chou Chu-Fang , Luber Christian A. , Lee Kyung-Yeol , Mann Matthias , Chen Ching-Yi
Published: March 2008

Regulated mRNA decay is a highly important process for the tight control of gene expression. Inherently unstable mRNAs contain AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3′ untranslated regions that direct rapid mRNA decay by interaction with decay-promoting ARE-binding proteins (ARE-BPs). The decay of ARE-containing mRNAs is regulated by signaling pathways that are believed to directly target ARE-BPs. Here, we show that BRF1 involved in ARE-mediated mRNA decay (AMD) is phosphorylated by MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2). In vitro kinase assays using different BRF1 fragments suggest that MK2 phosphorylates BRF1 at four distinct sites, S54, S92, S203, and an unidentified site at the C terminus. Coexpression of an active form of MK2 inhibits ARE mRNA decay activity of BRF1. MK2-mediated inhibition of BRF1 requires phosphorylation at S54, S92, and S203. Phosphorylation of BRF1 by MK2 does not appear to alter its ability to interact with AREs or to associate with mRNA decay enzymes. Thus, MK2 inhibits BRF1-dependent AMD through direct phosphorylation. Although the mechanism underlying this inhibition is still unclear, it appears to target BRF1-dependent AMD at a level downstream from RNA binding and the recruitment of mRNA decay enzymes.
The Poetics of Schadenfreude : N. B. Minkov on the Edge of Yiddish Diction
Authors: Finkin Jordan
Published: March 2008

Nokhum Borukh Minkov (1893–1958), best known today as a literary critic and historian, was also a talented poet and co-founder of the Introspectivist movement (Inzikh) in Yiddish poetry in New York. The poetry created under the banner of this movement to whose ideas Minkov remained committed throughout his poetic career was full of complicated rhythmic schemes, kaleidoscopic imagery, and vibrant sound- and wordplay. In keeping with part of the Introspectivist program Minkov's poetry was keenly sensitive to the cultural resonances of Yiddish's linguistic strata and manipulated them to great effect. I will focus my attention on one especially resonant element daytshmerish, or spotlit Germanisms as a point of access to Minkov's poetic project. This essay aims to provide not only an analysis of the permutations of the emblematic use of both the word and the concept of Schadenfreude as the Germanism par excellence in Minkov's poetry, but offers that discussion as a way of understanding the significance of Introspectivist poetry in the interbellum period and the fraught relationship of Yiddish to German after the Holocaust.
“My Adherence to the Creed of Moses Has Not Diminished My Love for Muhammad's Nation”: The Emergence and Demise of Iraqi Jewish Literary Modern Culture
Authors: Snir Reuven
Published: March 2008

In modern times, nowhere were Jews as open to involvement in wider Arab culture or more at home in standard literary Arabic than in Iraq during the first half of the twentieth century. Among the newly emerging Iraqi intelligentsia of the time were young secular Jews who saw themselves as Arab citizens loyal to the country of their birth. The reality in which they lived and worked was one of close symbiotic contact with the wider Arab-Muslim culture. For most of them their Arab identity was uppermost they were Arabs of the Mosaic faith. Their presence was felt in almost all branches of Iraqi culture but especially in the literary domain. From the 1920s, Iraqi-Jewish writers and poets produced works secular in essence that immediately entered the main stream of Arabic literature. However, with a change in the external political circumstances, Arab-Jewish culture underwent a process of marginalization and negligence and gradually dropped into utter oblivion. The Muslim-Arab and the Jewish-Zionist canonical cultural and national systems, each from their own narrowed visions and particularist considerations, have refused to accept the legitimacy of Arab-Jewish cultural hybridity. We are currently witnessing the demise of Arab-Jewish culture. A tradition that started more than fifteen hundred years ago is vanishing before our eyes and Arabic is gradually disappearing as a language mastered by Jews.
Collapsing Structures: Discourse and the Destruction of the Temple in the Babylonian Talmud
Authors: Stein Dina
Published: March 2008

The paper suggests that by paying attention to discursive dynamics of word-image play rather than to it to overt thematic appearances in rabbinic texts - the intricate imprints of the destruction of the temple can be better appreciated. The first part of the paper focuses on the analogies of houses and ruined structures as they operate in one given sugya in bKet 61b-63a. Women as houses, houses of study and “the” house constitute a semantic network in the sugya, which is in turn associated with two anecdotes of sages facing collapsing structures (houses). The second part relates these anecdotes to a recognized trope which appears elsewhere (most notably in bTa'an 20b-21a). Finally, the analogy between collapsing structures and the destruction of the temple is shown to appear explicitly in two other narratives in the Babylonian Talmud (bBer 58b, bBer 3a). The paper argues that informed by the destruction of the temple as a paradigmatic discursive event, rabbinic Babylonian discourse, and through that rabbinic identity, embodies that event, reproducing the image of the ruined house as a complex, multi-faceted and generative model in its discursive practices. In the Babylonian rabbinic discourse it serves as a meta-discursive marker that both binds and disrupts an array of analogically constituted cultural domains. The linguistic representation of a ruined structure - the temple - constitutes a discursive evocation of both presence and absence.
Profeminism in Philip Sidney's Apologie for Poetrie
Authors: Lehnhof Kent Russell
Published: March 2008

Considerable evidence suggests that Philip Sidney wrote his Apologie for Poetrie as a reply to The Schoole of Abuse, Stephen Gosson's antipoetic pamphlet of 1579. This essay contends that the Apologie does not contest Gosson's ideas about poetry so much as it does his ideas about women. What Sidney really resists is not the pamphlet's antitheatricalism but its antifeminism.
Recent Studies in the English Renaissance
Authors: Martin Catherine Gimelli
Published: March 2008

An assessment of recent scholarly work treating the literature of the English Renaissance and some general observations on the state of the profession. A full bibliography and price list of the works received by SEL for consideration follow.
Maternal Memory and Murder in Early-Seventeenth-Century England
Authors: Botelho Keith M
Published: March 2008

This article argues that the depiction of murderous mothers in three early-seventeenth-century texts both contests and expands earlier notions of motherhood and female power by highlighting the effects of maternal memory. The pamphlet (1616) and broadside (1624) I examine both stress the disruptive potential of the forgetting of maternal duty, while the play, John Ford's Love's Sacrifice (1633), represents three mothers who remember their maternal duties through murder. All of these texts showcase a "new" mother construct where memory is the centerpiece, emphasizing the power of this ambiguous figure who can both create and destroy.
Cupid, Idolatry, and Iconoclasm in Sidney's Arcadia
Authors: Kingsley-Smith Jane
Published: March 2008

This essay explores how Sidney's romance—particularly the narrative of Plangus and Erona—engages with the Elizabethan debate on idolatry and reflects the facts of Elizabethan iconoclasm to reveal a much more sympathetic attitude toward the relationship between art and religious worship than Sidney's reputation as a Protestant might suggest. Fundamental to this paradox is Cupid. The essay begins by tracing Sidney's encounter with the love god through Italian painting before considering Cupid's notoriety as a figure for pagan and Catholic idolatry and, finally, his spectacular revenge against the iconoclast in the Arcadia.
Utopian Communication
Authors: DeCook Travis
Published: March 2008

The Reformation was in part a conflict about communication: not only about which church had the authority to transmit doctrine or how doctrine should be transmitted, but also, more broadly, about how God communicates with humanity. This paper examines how the complex treatment of rhetoric in Thomas More's Utopia anticipates his concept of God's accommodative shaping of revelation as outlined in his later polemical writings against reformers such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale.
Literacy, Education, and Affect in Astrophil and Stella
Authors: Strycharski Andrew
Published: March 2008

Philip Sidney's Astrophil and Stella presents Astrophil's conflicted emotions for a Stella who is both schoolmistress and text. Such discordant emotions reveal a "literacy affect" that grew from literacy education's changing place in Elizabethan England. This essay traces the literacy affect through a schoolboy letter from Philip's parents and his subsequent correspondence with Hubert Languet. Astrophil and Stella's mixed feelings about writing include a need for human textual presence and a desire for unity with the "alma pater," a schoolmasterly figure who appropriates maternal nurturance. Thus while learning to write promises self-realization, anxieties over meaning and memory threaten self-loss.
Andrew Marvell's Ambivalence toward Adult Sexuality
Authors: DiSanto Michael
Published: March 2008

Some of Andrew Marvell's poems are marked by the presence of powerful and attractive nymphets and threatening adult women. They are the manifestation of a disturbance in Marvell's thought concerning adult sexuality. At times, his speakers read like early versions of Humbert Humbert, the famous narrator of Nabokov's Lolita, whose attraction to young virgins betrays a desire to avoid adult sexuality. Continuities in the use of language and the valuation of women suggest that, despite the change of speakers, several poems can be read as a kind of confession and justification by Marvell, raising some questions about the poet's sexuality.
Allegorical Insubordination and the 1596 Faerie Queene
Authors: Walkden Andrea
Published: March 2008

The Temple of Venus episode has become a textual crux for readers of The Faerie Queene because of the way in which it complicates the connection between the poem's two halves. Interpretations have tended to focus on the erotic relation between Scudamore and Amoret; this essay, in contrast, focuses on the structural relation between Scudamore and the poem's allegorical design. It demonstrates how Spenser uses Scudamore to highlight the tension between character and figure, representation and allegorization, at the beginning of the 1596 continuation of The Faerie Queene, and, more broadly, to reflect upon character as system in narrative.
John Denham and Lucy Hutchinson's Commonplace Book
Authors: De Groot Jerome
Published: March 2008

This article considers the manuscript commonplace book of Lucy Hutchinson. The article analyzes her practices of collection and transcription, locating them within wider contexts of midcentury manuscript compilation and transmission. It is clear that the manuscript is the creation of more than one hand, suggesting that Hutchinson was working within a family or intellectual coterie. Furthermore, by considering codicological, dating, stylistic, and poetic issues relating to the largest text in the commonplace book—John Denham's translation of Virgil's Aeneid, printed in various forms during the 1650s—I demonstrate that the manuscript suggests new, complex, and striking relationships during the mid-seventeenth century that challenge our assumptions about poetic, political, and cultural identities.
Framing Wifely Advice in Thomas Heywood's A Curtaine Lecture and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
Authors: Kalpin Kathleen
Published: March 2008

A curtain lecture is an imagined reconstruction of a private exchange between a man and a woman, typically a husband and wife in bed. This essay examines the use of the curtain lecture as a frame for viewing wifely speech in Heywood's A Curtaine Lecture and Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. These texts represent an audience that interprets, or misinterprets, a woman's speech as a curtain lecture and therefore receives the speech negatively. Foregrounding the role of the audience in the interpretation of speech, these texts participate in the process of creating—and debating—the boundaries between women's licit and illicit speech.
Expression and Synthesis of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins by Osteoclasts: A Possible Path to Anabolic Bone Remodeling
Authors: Garimella Rama , Tague Sarah E. , Zhang Jianghong , Belibi Frank , Nahar Niru , Sun Ben Hua , Insogna Karl , Wang Jinxi , Anderson H. Clarke
Published: March 2008

Skeletal remodeling is a finely orchestrated process coupling bone formation to bone resorption. The dynamics of coupling is regulated by the microenvironment at the bone remodeling site, which in turn is influenced by the intercellular communication between cells like osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Understanding the dynamics of coupling is important in devising new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of skeletal diseases characterized by disturbances in the bone remodeling process. In this study, we report the localization of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in osteoclasts generated from primary cocultures of bone marrow cells from mouse femur and tibia with mouse calvarial osteoblasts, using immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. Positive staining was seen in osteoclasts for BMP-2, -4, -6, and -7. Real-time PCR was used to quantitatively confirm the expression of transcripts for BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-6 mRNA in murine osteoclasts. Finally, the presence of BMP-2, -4, -6, and-7 proteins was confirmed in osteoclast lysates by Western blotting. Overall, our data suggest a possible direct role for osteoclasts in promoting bone formation via expression and synthesis of BMPs, which then would play an important role in promoting the recruitment, proliferation, and differentiation of osteoblasts at bone resorption sites.
Glomerular CD34 Expression in Short- and Long-term Diabetes
Authors: Acevedo Luz Marina , Londono Irene , Oubaha Malika , Ghitescu Lucian , Bendayan Moise
Published: March 2008

Aging and diabetes are associated with exacerbated expression of adhesion molecules. Given their importance in endothelial dysfunction and their possible involvement in the alteration of glomerular permeability occurring in diabetes, we have evaluated expression of the sialomucin-type adhesion molecule CD34 in renal glomerular cells of normal and diabetic animals at two different ages by colloidal gold immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting. CD34 labeling was mostly assigned to the plasma membranes of glomerular endothelium and mesangial processes. Podocyte membranes were also labeled, but to a lesser degree. Short- and long-term diabetes triggers a substantial increase in immunogold labeling for CD34 in renal tissues compared with young normoglycemic animals. However, the level of labeling in old diabetic and healthy control rats is similar, suggesting that the effect of diabetes and aging on CD34 expression is similar but not synergistic. Western blotting of isolated glomerular fractions corroborated immunocytochemical results. Increased expression of CD34 may reflect its involvement in the pathogenesis of glomerular alterations related to age and diabetes. Alterations present in early diabetes, resembling those occurring with age, strengthen the concept that diabetes is an accelerated form of aging.
Dopamine Receptor Activation Is Required for Corticostriatal Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity
Authors: Pawlak Verena , Kerr Jason N. D.
Published: March 2008

Single action potentials (APs) backpropagate into the higher-order dendrites of striatal spiny projection neurons during cortically driven “up” states. The timing of these backpropagating APs relative to the arriving corticostriatal excitatory inputs determines changes in dendritic calcium concentration. The question arises to whether this spike-timing relative to cortical excitatory inputs can also induce synaptic plasticity at corticostriatal synapses. Here we show that timing of single postsynaptic APs relative to the cortically evoked EPSP determines both the direction and the strength of synaptic plasticity in spiny projection neurons. Single APs occurring 30 ms before the cortically evoked EPSP induced long-term depression (LTD), whereas APs occurring 10 ms after the EPSP induced long-term potentiation (LTP). The amount of plasticity decreased as the time between the APs and EPSPs was increased, with the resulting spike-timing window being broader for LTD than for LTP. In addition, we show that dopamine receptor activation is required for this spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). Blocking dopamine D1/D5receptors prevented both LTD and LTP induction. In contrast, blocking dopamine D2receptors delayed, but did not prevent, LTD and sped induction of LTP. We conclude (1) that, in combination with cortical inputs, single APs evoked in spiny projection neurons can induce both LTP and LTD of the corticostriatal pathway; (2) that the strength and direction of these synaptic changes depend deterministically on the AP timing relative to the arriving cortical inputs; (3) that, whereas dopamine D2receptor activation modulates the initial phase of striatal STDP, dopamine D1/D5receptor activation is critically required for striatal STDP. Thus, the timing of APs relative to cortical inputs alone is not enough to induce corticostriatal plasticity, implying that ongoing activity does not affect synaptic strength unless dopamine receptors are activated.
Endless Emergency: The Case of Egypt
Authors: Reza Sadiq
Published: March 2008

The Arab Republic of Egypt has been in a declared state of emergency since 1981 and for all but three of the past fifty years. Emergency powers, military courts, and other "exceptional" powers are governed by longstanding statutes in Egypt and authorized by the constitution, and their use is a prominent feature of everyday rule there today. This essay presents Egypt as a case study in what is essentially permanent governance by emergency rule and other exceptional measures. It summarizes the history and framework of emergency rule in Egypt, discusses the apparent purposes and consequences of that rule, mentions judicial limitations on it, and notes the many targets of its exercise over the years, particularly the government's two most prominent and persistent groups of opponents: Islamists and liberal political activists. It also explains how the country's March 2007 constitutional amendments, much decried by humanrights organizations inside and outside Egypt, further entrench emergency rule there. The thesis of the essay is that the existence and exercise of emergency powers have been far from exceptional in Egypt; instead they have been a vehicle for the creation of the modern Egyptian state and a tool for the consolidation and maintenance of political power by the government.
Charlantry in forensic speech science: A problem to be taken seriously
Authors: Eriksson Anders , Lacerda Francisco
Published: March 2008

NOTE FROM PUBLISHER
December 4 2008

In the December 2007 Edition of the International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, an article was published which made serious allegations concerning Mr Amir Liberman and Nemesysco Limited. We have received complaints from Mr Liberman and Nemesysco Limited about the content of this article and particularly that the allegations made against them in it were highly defamatory, containing many inaccuracies and misleading statements. In addition, they complain that it was prepared without reference to them and without giving them an opportunity to comment upon it. The Journal accepts that Mr Liberman and Nemesysco Limited were not asked to assist in the preparation of the article and further that they were not invited to comment on the content of the article prior to its publication where, in view of the content of the article, it would have been appropriate to invite them to do so. We have agreed to publish a letter from Mr Liberman and Nemesysco Limited setting out their objections to the article in more detail in a future issue of the journal.

The article will no longer be made available in electronic form through the Equinox website.

Janet Joyce
Managing Director

ABSTRACT

A lie detector which can reveal lie and deception in some automatic and perfectly reliable way is an old idea we have often met with in science fiction books and comic strips. This is all very well. It is when machines claimed to be lie detectors appear in the context of criminal investigations or security applications that we need to be concerned. In the present paper we will describe two types of “deception” or “stress detectors" (euphemisms to refer to what quite clearly is known as “lie detectors”). Both types of detection are claimed to be based on voice analysis but we found no scientific evidence to support the manufacturers’ claims. Indeed, our review of scientific studies will show that these machines perform at chance level when tested for reliability. Given such results and the absence of scientific support for the underlying principles it is justified to view the use of these machines as charlatanry and we argue that there are serious ethical and security reasons to demand that responsible authorities and institutions should not get involved in such practices.
Interpretation of Relative Weight in Three Populations of Wild Bluegills: A Cautionary Tale
Authors: Copeland Timothy , Murphy Brian R. , Ney John J.
Published: March 2008

Physiological status of wild fish is inherently variable in time and space, and investigators need to understand how this variation affects the interpretation of condition indices. Our objective was to describe the relationship of relative weight (Wr) to several indicators of nutritional status (lipid, protein, and water content, and weights of internal organs) in two populations of bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and see how well this relationship performed when tested against an independent data set, a third population. We used four samples from the third population to evaluate the relationship of Wr to nutritional status through the annual cycle. The regression model relating Wr to the component variables was highly significant (R2 = 0.573, F = 14.97, P < 0.001). The most influential variables in the model were liver–-somatic index and viscerosomatic index. In the testing data, mean bias was significantly greater than zero in three of four cases, and unexplained variance was much greater than in the model-building data in two of four cases. Most prediction errors were noticeably positive and tended to be greater at lower predicted Wr. The model-testing exercise showed that the relationships of condition indices to nutritional variables in wild fish are imprecise and qualitative. Bluegill Wr should be interpreted cautiously because of its imprecise relationship to compositional variables and the many potentially confounding factors. In this regard, we offer several recommendations for the use and interpretation of Wr in wild fishes.
Orientações para idosas que cuidam de idosos no domicílio
Authors: Diogo Maria José D'Elboux , Ceolim Maria Filomena , Cintra Fernanda Aparecida
Published: March 2008

Trata-se de um relato de experiência de um programa de orientação para idosas cuidadoras de idosos no domicílio, realizado pelo Grupo de Atenção à Saúde do Idoso (GRASI), do Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Esse programa foi elaborado e desenvolvido para atender uma solicitação de idosas cuidadoras, e participantes do GRASI. Ao final das atividades, as participantes relataram que o programa possibilitou o melhor enfrentamento das dificuldades, a compreensão das distintas alterações presentes na velhice, e o desenvolvimento de procedimentos que facilitam a relação com o idoso no dia-a-dia.
Projeto robusto de parâmetros em sistemas sinal-resposta: comparação de métodos de modelagem e análise
Authors: Freitas Marta Afonso , Faleiro Rosiane Mary Rezende , Borges Marco Fábio
Published: March 2008

A maior parte da literatura relacionada a Projeto Robusto de Parâmetros (RPD), uma metodologia introduzida por Taguchi (1986), envolve situações nas quais a característica de qualidade de interesse (resposta) é uma quantidade única que possui um valor ótimo especificado. Uma tendência recente em aplicações industriais de RPD consiste em considerar sistemas complexos, os quais são chamados de "sistemas com características dinâmicas" ou apenas "sistemas dinâmicos", na terminologia de Taguchi, ou por "sistemas sinal-resposta", neste artigo. Recentemente, métodos de modelagem e análise para o problema de RPD para sistemas sinal-resposta têm sido desenvolvidos. Neste artigo, três abordagens de modelagem são comparadas através de um exemplo real: Modelagem da Medida de Desempenho (PMM), Modelagem da Resposta (RM) e Modelagem da Função Resposta (RFM). Mostra-se que a abordagem RFM permite uma maior flexibilidade para investigar efeitos de fatores para o experimento RPD para sistemas sinal-resposta.
Adsorção de íons fosfato nos compósitos celulose/ZrO2.nH2O preparados pelos métodos da precipitação convencional e em solução homogênea
Authors: Mulinari D. R. , Silva G. L. J. P. da , Rodrigues L. A. , Silva M. L. C. P. da
Published: March 2008

Este trabalho descreve a preparação e a caracterização de compósitos celulose/óxido de zircônio hidratado preparados por precipitação convencional (PC) e em solução homogênea (PSH) a partir do bagaço de cana-de-açúcar e posterior adsorção de íons fosfato. O compósito obtido pelo método PC foi preparado usando uma solução de amônia como agente precipitante, enquanto o compósito obtido pelo método PSH foi preparado usando uréia como agente precipitante. A adsorção de íons fosfato foi feita reagindo uma solução de KH2PO4 com molibdato de amônio sob condições ácidas para formar um complexo fosfomolíbdico de amônio. As análises para determinar a concentração após a adsorção foram feitas em um espectrofotômetro de absorção no UV-Visível, em comprimento de onda de 880 nm. Os resultados foram satisfatórios mostrando que os compósitos Cel/ ZrO2.nH2O obtidos por ambos os métodos apresentaram boa capacidade de adsorção.
Compostos poliméricos como aditivos de argilas bentoníticas
Authors: Barbosa M. I. R. , Amorim L. V. , Ferreira H. C.
Published: March 2008

Este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar o efeito da utilização de compostos poliméricos na aditivação de bentonitas de Boa Vista, PB, consideradas de qualidade inferior, para utilização em fluidos de perfuração à base de água, visando a melhoria das suas propriedades reológicas e de filtração. Foram estudadas uma amostra de argila bentonítica e três amostras de aditivos poliméricos, sendo uma de poliacrilamida parcialmente hidrolisada e duas de carboximetilcelulose de diferentes graus de viscosidade. O dimensionamento das composições do composto polimérico foi obtido por meio da metodologia de delineamento de misturas, sendo definidas dez composições. O composto polimérico foi misturado à argila seca, em diferentes concentrações e, em seguida, preparados os fluidos de perfuração e determinados as viscosidades aparente e plástica, o limite de escoamento e o volume de filtrado segundo normas da Petrobrás. Os resultados mostram que a aditivação da argila bentonítica com o composto polimérico melhora as suas propriedades, adequando-a às especificações da Petrobrás para utilização em fluidos de perfuração à base de água.
Tijolos prensados de solo-cimento confeccionados com resíduos de concreto
Authors: Souza Márcia I. B. , Segantini Antonio A. S. , Pereira Joelma A.
Published: March 2008

Neste trabalho são apresentados resultados de ensaios de laboratório, através dos quais se objetivou avaliar a possibilidade de aproveitamento dos resíduos de concreto na confecção de tijolos prensados de solo-cimento. Foram realizados ensaios de caracterização do solo utilizado, das composições desse solo com resíduos de concreto e das misturas de solo-cimento produzidas com essas composições. Conforme os resultados de ensaios realizados em corpos-de-prova cilíndricos e em tijolos de solo-cimento, verificou-se que a adição dos resíduos proporcionou melhoria nas propriedades mecânicas do solo-cimento, favorecendo a redução do consumo de cimento e a obtenção de tijolos de melhor qualidade.
Induction of Neurogenesis in Nonconventional Neurogenic Regions of the Adult Central Nervous System by Niche Astrocyte-Produced Signals
Authors: Jiao Jianwei , Chen Dong Feng
Published: March 2008

The central nervous system (CNS) of adult mammals regenerates poorly; in vivo, neurogenesis occurs only in two restricted areas, the hippocampal subgranular zone (SGZ) and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Neurogenic potential depends on both the intrinsic properties of neural progenitors and the environment, or niche, in which progenitor cells reside. Isolation of multipotent progenitor cells from broad CNS regions suggests that the neurogenic potential of the adult CNS is dictated by local environmental cues. Here, we report that astrocytes in the neurogenic brain regions, the SGZ and SVZ, of adult mice release molecular signals, such as sonic hedgehog (Shh), that stimulate adult neural progenitors to reenter the cell cycle and generate new neurons in vitro and in vivo. Transplantation of SGZ astrocytes or application of Shh caused de novo neurogenesis from the non-neurogenic neocortex of adult mice. These findings identify a molecular target that can activate the dormant neurogenic potential from nonconventional neurogenic regions of the adult CNS and suggest a novel mechanism of neural replacement therapy for treating neurodegenerative disease and injury without transplanting exogenous cells.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Incorporating Blogs into the Syllabus: Making Their Space a Learning Space
Authors: Glass Richard , Spiegelman Marsha
Published: March 2008

The growth of online resources and the advances Web 2.0 technology are changing the information landscape and impacting teaching and learning. While information literacy has been recognized as a critical component of undergraduate learning, little if any discipline-specific research is done in the lower division mathematics/computer science courses during the first two years of college. The authors of this article collaborated on an instruction project that used course blogs as a new methodology to enhance faculty-student interaction geared to the millennial student. The project, which integrated expository research in core and major mathematics/computer science courses with information literacy learning outcomes, extended the traditional classroom as well as the roles of the participants.
Modeling the Global Workplace Using Emerging Technologies
Authors: Dorazio Patricia , Hickok Corey
Published: March 2008

The Fall 2006 term of COM495, Senior Practicum in Communication, offered communication and information design students the privilege of taking part in a transatlantic intercultural virtual project. To emulate real world experience in today's global workplace, these students researched and completed a business communication project with German students attending Fachhochschule Hannover, Germany. Students had to come to grips with differences in language and culture, but in doing so, they also developed and refined competencies and skills in emerging technologies. This article covers the course's project and its goals, analyzes the students' experiences, and focuses on the technologies students discovered and used to bridge the cultural, virtual, and communication divide.
The Effects of Snoezelen (Multi-Sensory Behavior Therapy) and Psychiatric Care on Agitation, Apathy, and Activities of Daily Living in Dementia Patients on a Short Term Geriatric Psychiatric Inpatient Unit
Authors: Staal Jason A. , Amanda Sacks , Matheis Robert , Collier Lesley , Calia Tina , Hanif Henry , Kofman Eugene S.
Published: March 2008

A randomized, controlled, single-blinded, between group study of 24 participants with moderate to severe dementia was conducted on a geriatric psychiatric unit. All participants received pharmacological therapy, occupational therapy, structured hospital environment, and were randomized to receive multi sensory behavior therapy (MSBT) or a structured activity session. Greater independence in activities of daily living (ADLs) was observed for the group treated with MSBT and standard psychiatric inpatient care on the Katz Index of Activities of Daily Living (KI-ADL; P = 0.05) than standard psychiatric inpatient care alone. The combination treatment of MSBT and standard psychiatric care also reduced agitation and apathy greater than standard psychiatric inpatient care alone as measured with the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms in Alzheimer's Disease ( P = 0.05). Multiple regression analysis predicted that within the multi-sensory group, activities of daily living (KI-ADL) increased as apathy and agitation reduced ( R2 = 0.42; p = 0.03). These data suggest that utilizing MSBT with standard psychiatric inpatient care may reduce apathy and agitation and additionally improve activities of daily living in hospitalized people with moderate to severe dementia more than standard care alone.
Taking Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry into Primary Care
Authors: Kisely Stephen , Campbell Leslie Anne
Published: March 2008

Up to 50% of patients seen in primary care have mental health problems, the severity and duration of their problems often being similar to those of individuals seen in the specialized sector. This article describes the reasons, advantages, and challenges of collaborative or shared care between primary and mental health teams, which are similar to those of consultation-liaison psychiatry. In both settings, clinicians deal with the complex interrelationships between medical and psychiatric disorders. Although initial models emphasized collaboration between family physicians, psychiatrists, and nurses, collaborative care has expanded to involve patients, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and other providers. Several factors are associated with favorable patient outcomes. These include delivery of interventions in primary care settings by providers who have met face-to-face and/or have pre-existing clinical relationships. In the case of depression, good outcomes are particularly associated with approaches that combined collaborative care with treatment guidelines and systematic follow-up, especially for those with more severe illness. Family physicians with access to collaborative care also report greater knowledge, skills, and comfort in managing psychiatric disorders, even after controlling for possible confounders such as demographics and interest in psychiatry. Perceived medico-legal barriers to collaborative care can be addressed by adequate personal professional liability protection on the part of each practitioner, and ensuring that other health care professionals with whom they work collaboratively are similarly covered.
Patient Compliance to Psychiatric Interventions and Course of Postpartum Mood Disorders
Authors: Orhon Filiz Simsek , Soykan Atilla , Ulukol Betul
Published: March 2008

Objective:

Patient compliance to the psychiatric interventions may affect the outcomes of the mothers with postpartum mood disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the course of depressive symptoms of compliant and noncompliant mothers with postpartum mood disorders.

Method:

One hundred-three mothers were followed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during 12-month follow-up period. Mothers with an EPDS score of 12 or higher were consulted with a psychiatrist. “Noncompliant patient” term was defined in this study for the patients who refused psychiatric consultation or treatment suggestions. Outcomes of the depressive symptoms were followed up according to the EPDS scores. Response rate based EPDS scoring was defined.

Results:

A total of 35 (34%) mothers received a higher EPDS score;28 (27.2%), who accepted the consultation, were diagnosed with postpartum mood disorder. Twenty-three mothers (10 mothers with major depressive disorder and 13 mothers with adjustment disorder) complied with treatment suggestions, and all of them responded to the treatment. EPDS scores was more likely to decrease in these compliant mothers ( p = 0.010). However, of the noncompliant mothers (n=12), only 50% responded to treatment; moreover, the drop out rate was quite high (58.3%).

Conclusions:

This study reveals that noncompliance to psychiatric interventions may lead to a much less favorable course in depressive symptoms, and to a tendency in drop-outs from visits. Health professionals can give advice to the mothers about postpartum mood disorders and could assist them in getting better outcome.
Disease Management for Depression in an Ms Clinic
Authors: Patten Scott B. , Newman Stephen , Becker Melodie , Riddell Catherine , Metz Luanne
Published: March 2008

Objective:

Evidence-based treatments for depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) are available, but their implementation can be challenging. We explored the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a disease management program for depression in an MS clinic.

Methods:

A non-randomized “before-after” design was used. The University of Calgary MS Clinic performs routine screening for depression using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Rating Scale (CES-D). During a six month baseline period, the screen results were not systematically acted upon. During a subsequent nine-month study period, a case manager was routinely notified of positive screens. These patients were offered disease management. Major depression was assessed six months later with a blind administration of the Mini Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Quality of life (EQ-5D) and functional status (WHO DAS II) were also measured.

Results:

Eighty-three patients were enrolled in the study; 54 were in the disease management group and 29 received treatment as usual. There was a lower frequency of major depression in the intervention group six months post-screening. No differences in quality of life or functional status were seen.

Conclusions:

Disease management approaches for depression were developed in primary care environments and have been adapted for geriatric and diabetic populations. These strategies may require modification for application in MS clinics. While an intervention for depression was effective in those who received it, its impact on the targeted clinical population was reduced by lower than expected rates of participation and higher than expected rates of treatment at baseline.
The major clinical outcomes of diabetic foot infections: One center experience
Authors: Ozkara Adem , Delibası Tuncay , Selcoki Yusuf , Fettah Arikan Mehmet
Published: March 2008

Diabetes mellitus with its limb and life-threatening complications such as diabetic foot infection and amputation are increasing at epidemic rates all over the world. The objective of this study was to determine the rate of lower extremity amputation, the risk factors and the bacteriologic profile for diabetic foot lesions. The records of all 84 patients with diabetic foot infections of a large general hospital over a 4-year period were retrospectively included. The most commonly isolated pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus (39%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (14%), Proteus mirabilis (14%), Escherichia coli (14%), Group B streptococci (12%), and Klebsiella pneumonia (8%). The variables, independently associated with higher foot infections, were inadequate diabetic regulation (93%), peripheral neuropathy (88.1%), peripheral vascular disease (73.8%), smoking (56%), past history of ulcer (28.5%), penetrating injury (20.3%), inadequate foot wear (15%) and Charcot osteoartropathy (10.7%). The general amputation rate was 38.1%. Diabetic foot ulcers and its complication rates including infection, gangrene and lower extremity amputation in Turkey are still high. Preventive care of the foot in patients with diabetes mellitus is extremly important. Therefore early diagnosing of risk factors for diabetic foot infections in the primary care setting and their adequate therapy under multidisciplinary approach should not be neglected.