bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wound healing of degree III furcation involvements following guided tissue regeneration and/or Emdogain®
Authors: Donos N. , Sculean A. , Glavind L. , Reich E. , Karring T.
Published: November 2003

Background: The use of enamel matrix proteins (EMD) has been recently introduced as a new treatment alternative for periodontal regeneration. However, no histological studies are available investigating the effect of EMD in the treatment of degree III furcation involvements.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the healing of mandibular degree III furcation involvements histologically following treatment with guided tissue regeneration (GTR), EMD and a combination of EMD and GTR.

Material and Methods: Degree III furcation involvements were surgically created at the teeth 36, 37, 46, 47 in three monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Spontaneous healing of the defects was prevented by placing impression material into the defects. After 6 weeks, full‐thickness flaps were elevated at the buccal and lingual aspect of the experimental teeth. Following removal of all granulation tissue from the furcation defects, scaling/root planing and conditioning of the root surfaces with 24% EDTA gel, the defects were treated with one of the following treatment modalities: (i) EMD, (ii) GTR or (iii) a combination of EMD and GTR. The defects serving as control did not receive any treatment, except from complete coverage with coronally displaced flaps. After 5 months of healing, the animals were killed and perfused with 10% buffered formalin for fixation. The experimental teeth with surrounding tissues were dissected free, decalcified in EDTA, dehydrated and embedded in paraffin. 8 μm thick histological sections were cut and stained and subsequently examined under the light microscope.

Results: The histological analysis revealed that with GTR or combined EMD and GTR treatment, new attachment formation (new cementum with inserting collagen fibers) had occurred on almost the entire circumference of the furcation and new bone was almost filling the defect in the situations where the membrane was not exposed. The sites treated only with EMD exhibited new attachment and new bone formation to a varying extent, while the control sites presented only limited new attachment and bone formation.

Conclusion: The results provided histological evidence suggesting that both GTR and EMD may result in true periodontal regeneration, and suggest that this type of healing might be favored by such treatments in comparison with flap surgery.
Increased release of IL‐12p70 by monocytes after periodontal therapy
Authors: Fokkema S. J. , Loos B. G. , De slegte C. , Burger W. , Piscaer M. , Ijzerman Y. , Van der velden U.
Published: November 2003

Objectives: It has been suggested that periodontal inflammation may result in an altered immune response. The peripheral immune capacity in periodontitis patients can be investigated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated whole blood cell cultures (WBCC), known to reflect the behavior of monocytes in particular. A previous study in our laboratory revealed that monocytes in the stimulated cultures from periodontitis patients behaved functionally different compared with controls. The present study investigated whether this different response of periodontitis patients' monocytes is intrinsic or acquired.

Material and Methods: The release of inflammatory mediators was measured in Escherichia coli LPS‐stimulated WBCC from 12 periodontitis patients before and after periodontal therapy. In addition, the total leukocyte and leukocyte differentiation counts were also determined in the patients before and after therapy.

Results: The levels of interleukin (IL)‐12p70 in cell culture supernatants increased two times and those of prostaglandin E2 showed a trend towards reduction after therapy, whereas the levels of IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐12p40 and tumor necrosis factor‐α did not change. The total number of white blood cells was decreased after periodontal therapy.

Conclusions: After periodontal therapy, the functional phenotype of the peripheral blood monocytes from patients was reconstituted, resembling that of subjects without periodontitis.
Nursing needs of acutely ill older people
Authors: Hancock Karen , Chang Esther , Chenoweth Lynn , Clarke Marie , Carroll Adrian , Jeon Yun‐Hee
Published: November 2003

Background.  Investigating older acutely ill hospitalized patients’ nursing needs and quality of care is paramount, given the growing pressure on nurses to provide increasingly intensive levels of care to a growing older population while at the same time working with reduced staffing levels.

Aims.  The aims of this study were to determine: (1) important aspects of nursing care as perceived by older patients, their family member/carer who observed care during hospitalization, and nurses; (2) satisfaction levels of patients, family/carers and nurses on nursing care received; and (3) mismatches between nursing care priorities and satisfaction with nursing care.

Methods.  Two hundred and thirty‐two acutely ill patients aged over 65 years, 99 carers/family members and 90 nurses completed the Caregiving Activities Survey, which measures importance of and satisfaction with various aspects of nursing care. Qualitative data, which qualified responses to survey items, were also obtained from participants.

Results.  Patients, carers and nurses perceived that carrying out doctors’ orders was the most important aspect of nursing care, followed by physical care, psychosocial care and discharge planning. Nurses and carers rated physical care, psychosocial care and discharge planning more highly than patients. Physical care was rated highly by patients in terms of importance, but rated moderately in terms of satisfaction. Carers’ and patients’ ratings of satisfaction with physical care were lower than nurses’ ratings of opportunities to provide it. The importance of discharge planning was rated highly by nurses but all groups were only moderately satisfied with this aspect of care.

Study limitations.  The findings do not apply to acutely ill older patients with confusion, mental illness or more than early stage dementia.

Conclusions.  Patients, nurses and family/carers were generally in agreement about the relative importance of particular aspects of nursing care. Nurses may need to communicate more effectively with older patients and their family carers about the particular roles they will play during the patient's hospital episode, the expectations they have of patients in the process of healing and recovery, and the reasons for the actions they take in aiding this process. The findings are useful in making nurses more aware of the expectations and needs of older hospital patients and their carers. They provide evidence for developing both new models of nursing care for this patient group, and nursing education programmes.
Sclerosing Peritoneal Mesothelioma in a Dog – A Case Report
Authors: Geninet C. , Bernex F. , Rakotovao F. , Crespeau F. L. , Parodi A. L. , Fontaine J.‐J.
Published: November 2003

A case of peritoneal sclerosing mesothelioma in a 3‐year‐old German shepherd dog is reported. The dog presented a severe abdominal distension. Cytological examination of the peritoneal fluid revealed anaplastic epithelioid cells. Necropsy findings revealed an irregular‐shaped mass attached to the pancreas and stomach with numerous nodules covering the intestinal and urinary bladder serosa. The diagnosis was made by histology and immunohistochemistry, with cytokeratin, vimentin and calretinin antibodies. Differential diagnosis with chronic peritonitis and spreading of abdominal primary carcinoma is discussed.
Zur artgerechten Haltung von afrikanischen Nacktmullen (Heterocephalus glaber)
Authors: Petry H.
Published: November 2003

It is reported about the keeping of a group of Naked Mole Rats (Heterocephalus glaber; nine males and 13 females), which had been imported from Kenya in 1996. The animals are kept in a small experimental room without windows at permanent darkness, 30 °C environmental temperature and relative humidity above 70%. They live in a glass container, to which a collapsible system of plexiglass tubes is connected. The moles are daily fed ad libitum with different fresh root crops. Until today three adult animals of the colony have died (tooth problems; bite injuries; parturition complication). The first queen of the colony had three litters with altogether 10 puppies, of which four are still alive. It died during its last litter caused by a complicated stillbirth. The female established after that as new queen in the colony had up to now only one litter with two puppies, which did not survive. The evaluation of the motor activity of the naked mole rats – continously recorded by video techniques – showed the period length of their circadian activity rhythm on the average with 24 h 13.5 ± 14.4 min. It is supposed that the activity of the mole rats is regulated by the alteration of the local earth magnet field running in a 24‐h rhythm.
Legal Positivism, Law's Normativity, and the Normative Force of Legal Justification
Authors: Spaak Torben
Published: November 2003

In this article, I distinguish between a moral and a strictly legal conception of legal normativity, and argue that legal positivists can account for law's normativity in the strictly legal but not in the moral sense, while pointing out that normativity in the former sense is of little interest, at least to lawyers. I add, however, that while the moral conception of law's normativity is to be preferred to the strictly legal conception from the rather narrow viewpoint of the study of law's normativity, it is less attractive than the latter from the broader viewpoint of the study of the nature of law. I then distinguish between a moral and a strictly legal conception of the normative force of legal justification, and argue that legal positivists may without contradiction embrace the moral conception, and that therefore the analysis of the normative force of legal justification need not be a problem for legal positivists. I conclude that, on the whole, we have reason to prefer legal positivism to natural law theory. I begin by introducing the subject of jurisprudence (section 1). I then introduce the natural law/legal positivism debate, suggesting that we ought to understand it as a debate about the proper way to explicate the concept of law (section 2). I proceed to argue that legal decision‐making is a matter of applying legal norms to facts, and that syllogistic reasoning plays a prominent role in legal decision‐making thus conceived (section 3). Having done that, I discuss law's normativity (section 4), the normative force of legal justification (section 5), and the relation between the former and the latter (section 6). I conclude with a critical comment on Joseph Raz’ understanding of the question of law's normativity (appendix).
Dynamic Integration
Authors: Labouvie-Vief Gisela
Published: November 2003

Positive self- and emotional development is often measured by optimization of happiness, but a second aspect of positive development—the ability to tolerate tension and negativity in the interest of maintaining objective representations—needs to be integrated with this hedonic emphasis. The integration of these two aspects, optimization and differentiation, reflects a dynamic balance. Such integration is possible when emotional activation or arousal is moderate, but is impaired at very high levels of activation. From youth to middle adulthood, the capacity for integration increases, but later in life, limitations or poor regulation strategies foster compensatory processes that compromise integration.
Family Factors and Adolescent Substance Use
Authors: Ashby Wills Thomas , Yaeger Alison M.
Published: November 2003

This article considers the relation of family factors to adolescent substance use, with a focus on the specific pathways by which family factors have their effects. We review findings on four types of variables (family substance use, parental support and monitoring, parent-child conflict, and family life events) and discuss theoretical models of how family risk and protective factors are related to adolescents' outcomes. The evidence favors a transactional model in which family factors have largely mediated effects on adolescent substance use through relations to adolescents' self-control, life events, and peer affiliations; interactions between variables are also prominent. We discuss the implications of mediated effects for theoretical models of human development and consider how the transactional approach opens avenues for preventive intervention.
Immunoadsorption for coagulation factor inhibitors: a retrospective critical appraisal of 10 consecutive cases from a single institution
Authors: Rivard G. E. , St Louis J. , Lacroix S. , Champagne M. , Rock G.
Published: November 2003

Summary.  Immunoadsorption is occasionally used as an adjuvant measure in the treatment of subjects with coagulation factor inhibitors. We reviewed our recent 3‐year period experience with this procedure in 10 subjects. Immunoadsorption was used in the context of an immune tolerance protocol for 3 subjects with severe congenital deficiency in factor VIII, IX, and XIII; it was effective in lowering the level of inhibitor but immune tolerance was not achieved. It allowed successful use of porcine factor VIII in 4 cases of acquired hemophilia and in one case of inhibitor in mild hemophilia A. This therapeutic approach seems to be more useful in acquired hemophilia than in severe congenital factor deficiencies with inhibitors.
Renal disease among males with haemophilia
Authors: Kulkarni R. , Soucie J. Michael , Evatt B. ,   the Hemophilia Surveillance System Project Investigators
Published: November 2003

Summary. Haematuria is common among persons with haemophilia (PWH), but its long‐term effects on the kidney and renal function are not well defined. In addition, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis C, or exposure to nephrotoxic agents as therapy for these infections may place PWH at increased risk for renal disease. To examine factors associated with chronic renal disease (CRD) and acute renal disease (ARD) in PWH, we analysed data collected from the medical records of 3422 males with haemophilia living in six US states from 1993 to 1998. Renal disease cases were ascertained from among 2075 persons who were hospitalized at least once over the 6‐year period. Of these, 60 (2.9%) were diagnosed during one or more hospitalizations with either ARD (29/60) or CRD (31/60). In multivariate analyses, we examined associations between renal disease and demographic and clinical factors including age, race, haemophilia type and severity, hypertension, diabetes, history of recent renal bleeds, presence of an inhibitor, and infection with hepatitis C or HIV. HIV infection and hypertension were strongly associated with both ARD and CRD. PWH who had ARD were also more likely to have an inhibitor than those without this diagnosis. PWH who had CRD were more likely to be older and non‐white and to have had a recent admission for a kidney bleed than those without diagnosed CRD. In summary, we found that HIV infection and haemophilia‐related factors including inhibitors and kidney bleeds were associated with renal disease in a cohort of males with haemophilia.
The World Federation of Hemophilia: 40 years of improving haemophilia care worldwide
Authors: Jones Peter , Robillard Line
Published: November 2003

Summary.  In 2003, the World Federation of Hemophilia marks its 40th anniversary. Established in 1963 by Frank Schnabel, a person with hemophilia from Montreal, Canada, the WFH has grown into its role as an independent, not‐for‐profit representative of the global haemophilia community. Since then, its biannual world congresses have provided an opportunity to exchange information on research and treatment. Today, more than 3,000 delegates attend these congresses. Until the early 1990s, the WFH's other major function was the International Hemophilia Training Centre programme, offering training fellowships and workshops to medical and paramedical staff from developing countries. In 1982, AIDS was reported in people with haemophila who had received tainted blood products. The WFH developed task forces and committees to monitor safety and supply issues and set up the Global Forum on the Safety and Supply of Treatment Products. In the mid‐1990s, twinning programmes were established for treatment centres and national haemophila organizations. Twinning facilitates the exchange of training, coaching, and expertise. In the late 1990s, the WFH expanded and began working with local organizations and health authorities in a number of countries to improve the diagnosis and care of persons with hemophilia. The federation currently has ongoing projects in 25 developing countries. On World Hemophilia Day, April 17, 2003, the WFH launched the Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) in haemophilia which aims to double the number of people with haemophilia diagnosed and receiving treatment in up to 40 developing countries over a 10‐year period.
Functional significance of novel neurotrophin‐1/B cell‐stimulating factor‐3 (cardiotrophin‐like cytokine) for human myeloma cell growth and survival
Authors: Burger Renate , Bakker Frank , Guenther Andreas , Baum Wolfgang , Schmidt‐Arras Dirk , Hideshima Teru , Tai Yu‐Tzu , Shringarpure Reshma , Catley Laurence , Senaldi Giorgio , Gramatzki Martin , Anderson Kenneth C.
Published: November 2003

Summary.  Cytokines of the gp130 family, particularly interleukin 6 (IL‐6), play a central role in the growth and survival of malignant plasma cells. Recently, novel neurotrophin‐1 (NNT‐1)/B cell‐stimulating factor‐3 (BSF‐3), also reported as cardiotrophin‐like cytokine (CLC), was identified as a cytokine belonging to the gp130 family. BSF‐3, similar to IL‐6, exerts regulatory effects on normal B cell functions, but its functional significance in haematological malignancies has not been defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biological effects and signalling pathways that are induced by BSF‐3 in malignant plasma cells. Recombinant human BSF‐3 was found to have growth stimulatory activity on plasmacytoma cell lines and primary tumour cells. In addition, BSF‐3 was able to protect from Dexamethasone (Dex)‐induced apoptosis. BSF‐3 stimulated cell growth could not be inhibited by neutralizing anti‐IL‐6 or anti‐IL‐6 receptor antibodies, but was abrogated by anti‐gp130 antibodies. In INA‐6.Tu11 cells, a subline of the IL‐6‐dependent human plasma cell line INA‐6 expressing gp130 and the receptor for leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), stimulation with BSF‐3 induced tyrosine phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). AG490, an inhibitor of Janus kinases, decreased BSF‐3 induced cell growth in a dose‐dependent manner. This correlated with a reduction of STAT3 phosphorylation levels, while p44/42 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was not affected. In conclusion, BSF‐3 is a novel myeloma growth and survival factor with a potential role in the pathophysiology of the disease.
Effective treatment of hereditary haemochromatosis with desferrioxamine in selected cases
Authors: Nielsen Peter , Fischer Roland , Buggisch Peter , Janka‐Schaub Gritta
Published: November 2003

Summary.  The treatment of iron overload by s.c. desferrioxamine (DFO) was studied in three patients with hereditary haemochromatosis in which phlebotomy treatment was not, or transiently not, possible because of their serious clinical condition or the lack of appropriate peripheral veins. Repeated non‐invasive liver iron concentration measurements by superconducting quantum interference device biosusceptometry showed that DFO treatment (2 g/d for 9–11 months) was as effective (liver iron elimination rate: 12 mg/d) as normal phlebotomy treatment (5·9 or 14·3 mg/d respectively) with weekly 500‐ml blood removals. This demonstrates that DFO is an effective alternative therapy for haemochromatosis when phlebotomy is not possible.
Changes in the phosphorylation status of the 27 kDa heat shock protein (HSP27) associated with the modulation of growth and/or differentiation in MCF‐7 cells
Authors: Horman S. , Galand P. , Mosselmans R. , Legros N. , Leclercq G. , Mairesse N.
Published: November 2003

We have used human mammary cells of the MCF‐7 strain, which constitutively express high levels of the small heat shock protein HSP27 and we have compared the changes in the phosphorylation status of this protein together with changes in cell growth and/or morphology induced by the action of one of the following agents: (1) TPA (12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate), known as a differentiation inducer in MCF‐7 cells; (2) OH‐TAM (hydroxytamoxifen), which exerts a cytostatic and cytotoxic action; or (3) TNFα (tumour necrosis factor), which induces apoptotic cell death in this cell line. Our data show that TPA and TNF stimulate an immediate and massive phosphorylation of HSP27, whereas OH‐TAM affect the phosphorylation status of the protein only after a 3 day delay. In the case of TPA, high levels of HSP27 phosphorylation were maintained for at least 4 days, along with growth inhibition and acquisition by the cells of a secretory phenotype. TPA and OH‐TAM exerted similar immediated effects on cell growth, despite the different time course of their action on HSP27 phosphorylation. This excludes the possibility that the latter is a necessary consequence of, or an absolute requisite to, growth inhibition. With OH‐TAM and TNF the increase in HSP27 phosphorylation was concomitant with the appearance of apoptosis, not observed with TPA. This indicates that increased phosphorylation of HSP27 is not specifically associated with the triggering or the execution of apoptosis in these cells. Altogether, our data support the concept that phosphorylated HSP27 is involved (and might then be rate limiting in some instances) in the execution of vital cell programmes (including resistance to stress, proliferation and differentiation), as well as in that of cell death. This is consistent with its role in actin polymerization and its position downstream of the p38/RK‐type MAPkinase, itself a point of convergence for diverse signal transduction pathways.
An ecological approach to social work with children and families
Authors: Jack Gordon
Published: November 2003

This paper examines research into the social ecology of parents and children, with particular reference to the effects of social support on family functioning and outcomes for children. The historical failure of social work in the UK to successfully apply the findings from this area of research to mainstream work with children and families is considered in the light of the prevailing child protection discourse. Challenges to this discourse are now beginning to emerge from developments in both research and practice. The implications of these developments for the construction of a new discourse, which recognizes the wider social and political factors that shape the family environment, are discussed. It is argued that there is sufficient research evidence available to demonstrate the potential of community social work strategies, which enhance the social support networks of families, to significantly reduce the incidence of child abuse. A number of successful action‐research projects of this nature are considered.
Fine analysis of the short arm of chromosome 1 in sporadic and familial pheochromocytoma
Authors: Opocher G. , Schiavi F. , Vettori A. , Pampinella F. , Vitiello L. , Calderan A. , Vianello B. , Murgia A. , Martella M. , Taccaliti A. , Mantero F. , Mostacciuolo M. L.
Published: November 2003

objective  Despite the very recent discovery that about 25% of apparently sporadic forms of pheochromocytoma are actually due to germline mutations of RET, VHL, SDHB or SDHD genes, the genetic bases of the tumourigenesis of this type of cancer are still incompletely understood. Recent studies provided evidence that a new tumour suppressor gene, mapping on the short arm of chromosome 1, could be involved in early tumourigenesis of pheochromocytoma.

design  We have performed a fine analysis of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of this region. In particular, we have analysed 31 highly polymorphic microsatellites distributed at 3·8 Mege base (Mb) mean intervals along the short arm of the chromosome 1 in paired samples of DNA extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes and tumour tissues.

patients  The study was carried out on 38 patients with pheochromocytoma that had been grouped, by careful clinical and molecular investigation, in the following classes: 21 sporadic, five multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), two type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1), five von Hippel–Lindau (VHL), one somatic VHL mutated and four nonsyndromic familial cases.

results  In 12/21 sporadic cases (57·1%), in 4/5 MEN2 (80%), 2/4 non‐syndromic familial cases (50%), and in 2/2 NF1 (100%), the entire short arm was deleted, while in 6/21 sporadic (28·6%) and 1/5 MEN2 (20%) cases a partial deletion was detected. On the other hand, none of the five cases due to VHL mutation (either germline or somatic) had LOH at chromosome 1. In total, complete or partial deletion of 1p was detected in 27/38 (71%) of the cases. The most frequently deleted marker was D1S2890, which maps at 1p32.1. This region, which spans from 50 to 62 Mb from telomere, was therefore further investigated with markers located at a mean interval of 1·3 Mb in the subset of cases that showed a partial deletion of 1p. This analysis showed that a small region between 55·1 and 59·0 Mb was most frequently missing, which could therefore contain a novel pheochromocytoma locus.

conclusions  The results presented here confirm that the short arm of chromosome 1 harbours one or more genes responsible for the development of pheochromocytoma and suggest that one of them could map in a 3·9‐Mb fragment between 1p32.3 and 1p32.1.
Thyroid cancer immuno‐therapy with retroviral and adenoviral vectors expressing granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor and interleukin‐12 in a rat model
Authors: Tanaka Kunihiko , Towata Shinichiro , Nakao Kazuhiko , Mizuguchi Hiroyuki , Hayakawa Takao , Niwa Masami , Ishii Nobuko , Nagayama Yuji
Published: November 2003

background  Introduction of genes encoding immuno‐stimulatory cytokine(s) into cancer cells is well known to enhance anti‐tumour immunity.

aim  The present studies were designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of retroviral‐ and adenoviral‐mediated delivery of IL‐12 and/or granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM–CSF) genes for thyroid cancer in an immuno‐competent rat model.

methods  A rat thyroid cancer cell line FRTL‐Tc syngeneic to Fisher rat was used.

results  Expression of these exogenous cytokines did not affect in vitro cell growth. Subcutaneous injection of FRTL‐Tc cells retrovirally transduced with IL‐12 or GM–CSF genes formed significantly smaller tumours than that of the parental cells, but had little effect on growth of distant tumours, suggesting no vaccine effect. Similarly, injection of the cells infected with adenovirus expressing IL‐12 or GM–CSF (AdIL‐12 or AdGM–CSF) almost completely abolished tumourigenicity and injection of AdGM–CSF into pre‐established tumours significantly inhibited growth of the tumours injected; neither, however, showed a systemic vaccine affect. On the other hand, injection of AdIL‐12 into the pre‐established tumours significantly inhibited growth of not only the tumours injected but also distant tumours, indicating induction of systemic anti‐tumour immunity. Serum IL‐12 was detectable only in this approach. There was neither a synergistic or additive effect of these two cytokines.

conclusions  Our data demonstrate in a rat thyroid cancer model that only injection of AdIL‐12 into the pre‐established tumours elicited systemic anti‐tumour immunity, but injection of AdGM–CSF or injection of the cells expressing IL‐12 or GM–CSF elicited only local effect, indicating that in situ delivery of IL‐12 gene with adenovirus appears most efficacious but may still require adjuvant modalities to enhance the anti‐tumour effect.
Modelling interactions of food quality and quantity in homeostatic consumers
Authors: STERNER ROBERT
Published: November 2003

1. Boundaries between growth limitation by carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in homeostatic heterotrophic consumers such as zooplankton will vary as demands on these two elements vary, as they should at different food quantities. At very low food quantity when production is close to zero, metabolic requirements (for carbon) become more important than growth requirements (for carbon and phosphorus in fixed proportion). Thus, the boundary separating C‐and P‐limited growth should be at a higher C : P ratio at low food quantity than at high food quantity.

2. A model including both metabolism and growth indicates that consumer growth should differ between foods of high vs. low phosphorus concentration only when food quantity is above a certain level. Thus, two foods might give identical consumer growth rates at low food quantity but give different consumer growth at higher quantity.

3. Solution of the model using parameters based on 2 mm Daphnia compared with a survey of C and P in seston of marine and freshwater sites supports earlier conclusions of the potential importance of food quality constraints on Daphnia growth.
Three regulatory regions of the Aedes aegypti glutamine synthetase gene differentially regulate expression: identification of a crucial regulator in the first exon
Authors: Niu L. L. , Kiley L. M. , Dasgupta R. , Kohler P. , Christensen B. M.
Published: November 2003

Aedes aegypti glutamine synthetase (GS) is expressed constitutively at various developmental stages and its relative mRNA abundance increases in the midgut following blood feeding in support of the biosynthesis of chitin, a component of the peritrophic matrix. To understand the regulation of GS expression better, GS‐luciferase reporter fusion genes were constructed and analysed in transiently transfected C6/36 cells. These studies have identified three GS regions: GS‐A, ‐B and ‐C (C1, C2) that are required for efficient transcription. The crucial regulatory DNA sequence is located within 140 nucleotides of the GS‐C region in the first exon. GS‐B region between −209 and +4 contains a negative modulator that represses transcription of the GS‐C promoter, but the 5′‐GS‐A region, between −476 and −282, can negate the transcription inhibition of GS‐B and promote GS transcription of the GS‐C promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that nuclear proteins for GS‐A, GS‐B and GS‐C1 are present in the C6/36 cells, and therefore that GS‐A, GS‐B and GS‐C1 indeed possess regulatory function. By contrast, nuclear proteins isolated from both cultured cells and midgut tissues bound to GS‐C2, suggesting that GS‐C2 plays an important role in GS transcription and that GS‐C2 is regulated by several different and redundant transcription factors to achieve constitutive expression in a wide variety of tissues.
An immune signalling kinase AaMEK3 from mosquitoes: cDNA cloning and characterization
Authors: Huang S.‐J. , Wu R. C.‐C. , Shaio M.‐F. , Wang P. S. , Cho Wen‐Long
Published: November 2003

In mammals, the mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway is one of the four major signalling systems that respond to stress and inflammatory stimuli. A full‐length cDNA corresponding to Aedes aegypti MAP kinase kinase 3 (AaMEK3) was cloned and sequenced. It is 1.7 kb and contains an open reading frame of 334 amino acids and eleven conserved kinase domains, including signatures of a putative serine/threonine kinase active site and an ATP binding site. The messenger (mRNA) and protein expression levels of AaMEK3 are enhanced post bacterial inoculation. The in vitro kinase activity assay reveals that (1) AaMEK3 is not autophosphorylated but can phosphorylate myelin basic protein successfully, and (2) it is slightly enhanced by lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This suggests that AaMEK3 may be involved in mosquito immune signalling.
Characterization of HCF‐1, a determinant of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus host specificity
Authors: Hefferon K. L.
Published: November 2003

Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) infects a wide variety of insect species. A number of AcMNPV late expression factors that are involved in replication have been identified as playing a role in determining host specificity. Host cell factor‐1, or HCF‐1, was previously demonstrated to be essential for viral replication in Tn‐368 cells. Here we demonstrate that HCF‐1 is an early protein and localizes to the cell nucleus. Coprecipitation experiments revealed that HCF‐1 interacts with itself but none of the other late expression factors required for replication in Tn‐368 cells. HCF‐1 mutants were constructed and utilized to search for the domains involved in HCF‐1 biological function and oligomerization. Possible roles of HCF‐1 in determining host specificity are discussed.
Lay conception of hypertension and its significance to clients and professionals in nutrition and health
Authors: Rueda‐Baclig Ma. J. , Florencio C. A.
Published: November 2003

Background  In line with the Philippines' National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control Programme, a study was conducted among young adults to determine their concepts and conceptualization of hypertension: its causation, prevention and consequences.

Method  Focus group discussions, conducted in the region with the highest prevalence of hypertension in the Philippines, 73 males and females were participated in the age group of 20–39 years, without medical history of the disease and with no training or employment in a health‐related field.

Results  Hypertension was perceived not as a discrete disease but interrelated with diseases having ‘blood‐origin’ and common signs and symptoms. It was conceptualized as having multiple causes, acting singly or in combination, with too little or too much food and physical activity as among the causal factors. Perceived pathways in its development were systematic and included both traditional and scientific biomedical concepts. Hypertension was considered a problem not only in the affected individual but also the family.

Conclusion  The concepts of hypertension of young adults are multidimensional, interconnected and linked to their day‐to‐day living. In thus conceptualizing the disease, they are able to make sense of it and, when respected by dietetic practitioners, provide guidance for improved communication. The introduction of scientific concepts of hypertension by nutrition and health professionals should draw from, inform and build on, existing lay perceptions.
Malaria parasites lacking eef1a have a normal S/M phase yet grow more slowly due to a longer G1 phase
Authors: Janse Chris J. , Haghparast Alireza , Sperança Márcia A. , Ramesar Jai , Kroeze Hans , Del Portillo Hernando A. , Waters Andrew P.
Published: November 2003

Eukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) plays a central role in protein synthesis, cell growth and morphology. Malaria parasites possess two identical genes encoding eEF1A (eef1aa and eef1ab). Using pbeef1a–Plasmodium berghei mutants that lack an eEF1a gene, we demonstrate that the level of eEF1A production affects the proliferation of blood stages and parasite fitness. Pbeef1a– parasites can complete the vertebrate and mosquito phases of the life cycle, but the growth phase of the asexual blood stages is extended by up to 20%. Analysis of the cell cycle by flow cytometry as well as transcriptional analyses revealed that the duration of the S and M phases and the number of daughter cells produced were not detectably affected, but that the G1 phase is elongated. Thus, as in budding yeast, a growth threshold must be achieved by blood‐stage Plasmodium parasites to permit transition from G1 into S/M phase. Initial analyses indicate that transcriptional events associated with gametocyte development were not remarkably retarded. Insight into protein synthesis and its influence on cell proliferation might be used to generate slow‐growing (attenuated) parasites.
Real‐time weed detection, decision making and patch spraying in maize, sugarbeet, winter wheat and winter barley
Authors: Gerhards R , Christensen S
Published: November 2003

Information on temporal and spatial variation in weed seedling populations within agricultural fields is very important for weed population assessment and management. Most of all, it allows a potential reduction in herbicide use, when post‐emergence herbicides are only applied to field sections with weed infestation levels higher than the economic weed threshold; a review of such work is provided. This paper presents a system for site‐specific weed control in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.), maize (Zea mays L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), including online weed detection using digital image analysis, computer‐based decision making and global positioning systems (GPS)‐controlled patch spraying. In a 4‐year study, herbicide use with this map‐based approach was reduced in winter cereals by 60% for herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds and 90% for grass weed herbicides. In sugarbeet and maize, average savings for grass weed herbicides were 78% in maize and 36% in sugarbeet. For herbicides against broad‐leaved weeds, 11% were saved in maize and 41% in sugarbeet.
Appropriate cut‐off value of 13C‐urea breath test after eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection in Japan
Authors: KATO CHIEKO , SUGIYAMA TOSHIRO , SATO KUNIO , SAITO SHINJI , KUDARA NORIHIKO , ABIKO YUKITO , SASAKI HIROYUKI , CHIBA TOSHIMI , SATOH KIMIHIKO , AKIHAMA TAKASHI , SUZUKI KAZUYUKI
Published: November 2003

Background and Aim:  A cut‐off value of 2.5‰ for the 13C‐urea breath test (UBT) is recommended in Japanese persons, based on the result of a multicenter trial in patients prior to treatment for eradication of Helicobacter pylori. The cut‐off value of 2.5‰ has also been used in the assessment of eradication after treatment. The 6–8‐week evaluation after treatment is recommended in the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology. The present study aimed to prospectively re‐assess the cut‐off value of the 13C‐UBT at 6 weeks after treatment by using the results obtained at 6 months as an indication of true positive or true negative H. pylori infection status.

Methods:  One hundred and ninety patients who were positive for H. pylori underwent eradication treatment, and 177 patients of these patients who were assessed as having true positive or true negative H. pylori status  at  6 months  after  treatment  were  evaluated  in  this  study.  Eradication  was  assessed  by 13C‐UBT,  culture,  and  histology  at  6 weeks  and  at  6 months  after  treatment,  and  the  cut‐off  value  of 13C‐UBT at 6 weeks was re‐assessed.

Results:  A cut‐off value of 3.5‰. at 6 weeks after treatment showed 97.2% diagnostic accuracy, while a cut‐off value of 2.5‰ at 6 weeks showed 96.0% diagnostic accuracy. For a 3.5‰ cut‐off value, only five patients were positive by 13C‐UBT and were negative by culture and histology at 6 weeks, and three patients were true positive and two were false positive by the 13C‐UBT at 6 months.

Conclusion:  A cut‐off value of 3.5‰ for the 13C‐UBT is recommended at 6 weeks after eradication treatment in Japanese persons.
Effects of CTE‐induced residual stresses around hard alpha particles on fatigue crack growth in Ti–6Al–4V
Authors: LAZ P. J. , CHAN K. S. , McCLUNG R. C. , LEVERANT G. R.
Published: November 2003

The presence of hard alpha (HA) anomalies in titanium alloys represents a significant potential degradation to gas turbine component performance. Although HA defects in titanium alloys are rare, when they are present, they can crack and ultimately result in failure. In static fracture and fatigue test specimens, embedded HA defects had significantly higher fracture strengths than anticipated. The objective of this work was to determine if residual stresses caused by thermal expansion mismatch during material fabrication were the cause of the observed behaviour. The residual stress fields in and around surface and embedded HA particles in Ti–6Al–4V (Ti–6–4) were determined using an elasticity solution and measured coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) data. The calculated stress distributions serve as the foundation for comparisons of the local stress and the fracture strength, the stress intensity factor K and the crack growth threshold ΔKth, with the experimentally determined fatigue lives. The analytical results indicated that CTE‐induced residual stress around HA particles can contribute to the fatigue strength of Ti–6–4 by delaying microcracking of HA anomalies and reducing the driving force (effective ΔK) of the fatigue crack. Based on the analysis results, the differences between the surface and subsurface results as well as the difference between predicted and measured fatigue lives could be largely attributed to the residual stress effects caused by the mismatch of the particle and matrix properties.
Which skills how: options for family therapy training
Authors: Jenkins Hugh
Published: November 2003

This paper looks at some of the issues associated with attempting to provide training in family therapy on a low budget of time and money. It also considers some more general points to do with providing training. The more extensive programmes referred to which take place in the U.S.A. are not yet viable in the U.K. It is not suggested that they should be copied, since professional cultures differ, but some learning can usefully take place. The aims and methods of teaching on introductory and intermediate low budget short courses are described and compared, and some vignettes given in order to propose ways of making such training effective. Course outlines and trainee evaluation of such training are given in the appendices.
A strategic assessment of deliberate self‐harm
Authors: Aldridge David , Rossiter Jacqueline
Published: November 2003

This paper describes how patients are interviewed in the context of a general hospital after they have been involved in an episode of self‐harm. The interview schedule is structured upon the principles of brief therapy, and uses the ‘neutral’ approach of the Milan Team (Weakland 1974; Palazzoli et al. 1980). The schedule provides information for referring on and has proved to be ‘therapeutic’ in itself. The method of interviewing has been used in other hospital contexts with families where a member has been referred ‘in a crisis’ threatening, or indicating suicidal behaviour. It is suggested that the identification of who is involved systemically is of paramount importance, and that this may not involve ‘the family’ but significant others in the social network. The important systemic involvement of the general practitioner is recognized.
Frost Prevention and Prediction of Temperatures and Cooling Rates using GIS
Authors: Halley V. , Eriksson M. , Nunez M.
Published: November 2003

Radiation frosts during clear and calm weather can damage crops in the growing season. In complex topography, large spatial variations in near surface temperatures occur, which makes it more difficult to predict frost events and plan preventive actions. One approach followed in this study is to embark on detailed measurements of temperatures at high spatial and temporal resolution. Data were collected in a small vineyard (0.5 km2) in north‐eastern Tasmania, Australia. Mobile measurements were used to register temperatures five times each night at two levels. A digital elevation model and a GIS (geographical information system) were used to create descriptive landscape parameters. Multiple linear regression was used to model temperatures and cooling rates as a function of topography. Between 50% and 60% of the variation in temperature was explained by the model. Variability in cooling rates was more difficult to describe. The efficiency of using wind machines for frost prevention was studied during one night. Due to topography, they were only efficient in parts of the property that were higher than the fans. At lower elevations, ground frost was not prevented. Proper location of wind machines is therefore important.
Of What Use is It? Multiple Conceptualizations of Service Learning within Education
Authors: Butin Dan W.
Published: November 2003

Service learning has become a prominent feature of the K-16 educational landscape. Service learning is seen to enhance student outcomes, foster a more active citizenry, promote a “scholarship of engagement” among teachers and institutions, support a more equitable society, and reconnect K-16 schools with their local communities. Yet despite (or perhaps because of) the recent proliferation and expansion of service-learning theory and practice, there is a troubling ambiguity concerning even basic principles and goals in the service-learning literature. This article attempts to clarify service-learning practice and theory by offering four distinct conceptualizations of service learning: technical, cultural, political, and poststructuralist. In so doing, it hopes to accomplish two goals: first, to clarify the assumptions of and implications for service learning within each perspective; second, to suggest that the dissonance and synthesis across multiple perspectives offers a means of reframing some of the most vexing problems within service-learning theory and practice. Specifically, this article focuses on the limited community impact of service learning, the limited empirical evidence for defining and articulating best practices that lead to meaningful and sustained student outcomes, and the difficulty of rigorous and authentic assessment of service-learning outcomes. The article offers a means, through multiple perspectives, of reframing and dealing with such issues.
Education for Global Understanding: Learning from Dewey's Visit to Japan
Authors: Saito Naoko
Published: November 2003

This article examines the implications of John Dewey's democratic philosophy for contemporary education for global understanding. Its special focus is on his idea of mutual learning through difference—a democratic principle that was put to the test in his own cross-cultural encounter with Japan in 1919. Using Dewey's difficult experience in Japan as a context, I then consider how contemporary Japanese education can best engage with a philosophical question he left, a question involving the difficulty of understanding the different in the absence of common ground. I present various examples that show Japan must face anew the challenge of Deweyan democracy. In exploring certain educational implications, I argue that the age of value diversity and globalization calls for the wisdom of Deweyan pragmatism—a philosophy for a middle way of living, somewhere between resignation to the absence of common ground and belief in an absolute common ground. Dewey's idea of mutual learning based on friendship invites teachers and students to be engaged in translating different ways of language and thinking in the classroom in search of common ground. This approach to education struggles to cultivate open-mindedness toward radical otherness.