bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anthocyanin Prevents CD40-Activated Proinflammatory Signaling in Endothelial Cells by Regulating Cholesterol Distribution
Authors: Xia Min , Ling Wenhua , Zhu Huilian , Wang Qing , Ma Jing , Hou Mengjun , Tang Zhihong , Li Lan , Ye Qinyuan
Published: December 2006

Objective—Intracellular tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factors (TRAFs) translocation to lipid rafts is a key element in CD40-induced signaling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of anthocyanin on CD40-mediated proinflammatory events in human endothelial cells and the underlying possible molecular mechanism.

Methods and Results—Treatment of endothelial cells with anthocyanin prevented from CD40-induced proinflammatory status, measured by production of IL-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 through inhibiting CD40-induced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. TRAF-2 played pivotal role in CD40–NF-κB pathway as TRAF-2 small interference RNA (siRNA) diminished CD40-induced NF-κB activation and inflammation. TRAF-2 overexpression increased CD40-mediated NF-κB activation. Moreover, TRAF-2 almost totally recruited to lipid rafts after stimulation by CD40 ligand and depletion of cholesterol diminished CD40-mediated NF-κB activation. Exposure to anthocyanin not only interrupted TRAF-2 recruitment to lipid rafts but also decreased cholesterol content in Triton X-100 insoluble lipid rafts. However, anthocyanin did not influence the interaction between CD40 ligand and CD40 receptor.

Conclusions—Our findings suggest that anthocyanin protects from CD40-induced proinflammatory signaling by preventing TRAF-2 translocation to lipid rafts through regulation of cholesterol distribution, which thereby may represent a mechanism that would explain the anti-inflammatory response of anthocyanin.
Key Role of the NO-Pathway and Matrix Metalloprotease-9 in High Blood Flow-Induced Remodeling of Rat Resistance Arteries
Authors: Dumont Odile , Loufrani Laurent , Henrion Daniel
Published: December 2006

Objective—

Blood flow is altered in metabolic and ischemic diseases with dramatic consequences. Resistance arteries structure and function remodel in response to chronic blood flow changes through a mechanism remaining mainly unknown. We hypothesized that the NO pathway and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) activation might play a role in flow (shear stress)-induced microvascular remodeling.

Methods and Results—

Mesenteric resistance arteries were ligated to alter blood flow in vivo for 4 or 14 days: arteries were submitted to high (HF), low (LF), or normal flow (NF). Rats were treated with L-NAME, the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor perindopril or the MMPs inhibitor doxycycline. After 14 days, outward hypertrophic remodeling occurred in HF arteries in association with eNOS overexpression. MMP9 activity increased in the early phase (day 4). HF-remodeling was prevented by L-NAME, eNOS gene knockout, and doxycycline. L-NAME prevented eNOS overexpression and MMPs activation whereas doxycycline only prevented MMPs activation. In LF arteries diameter reduction was associated with a decreased eNOS expression without change in MMPs expression and activation. LF-remodeling was reduced by perindopril.

Conclusions—

In resistance arteries, high flow induced diameter enlargement and wall hypertrophy associated with the sequential activation of eNOS and MMP9.
Oxidative Stress–Dependent Sphingosine Kinase-1 Inhibition Mediates Monoamine Oxidase A–Associated Cardiac Cell Apoptosis
Authors: Pchejetski Dimitri , Kunduzova Oxana , Dayon Audrey , Calise Denis , Seguelas Marie-Hélène , Leducq Nathalie , Seif Isabelle , Parini Angelo , Cuvillier Olivier
Published: December 2006

The mitochondrial enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), its isoform MAO-A, plays a major role in reactive oxygen species–dependent cardiomyocyte apoptosis and postischemic cardiac damage. In the current study, we investigated whether sphingolipid metabolism can account for mediating MAO-A– and reactive oxygen species–dependent cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In H9c2 cardiomyoblasts, MAO-A–dependent reactive oxygen species generation led to mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, along with sphingosine kinase-1 (SphK1) inhibition. These phenomena were associated with generation of proapoptotic ceramide and decrease in prosurvival sphingosine 1-phosphate. These events were mimicked by inhibition of SphK1 with either pharmacological inhibitor or small interfering RNA, as well as by extracellular addition of C
2
-ceramide or H
2
O
2
. In contrast, enforced expression of SphK1 protected H9c2 cells from serotonin- or H
2
O
2
-induced apoptosis. Analysis of cardiac tissues from wild-type mice subjected to ischemia/reperfusion revealed significant upregulation of ceramide and inhibition of SphK1. It is noteworthy that SphK1 inhibition, ceramide accumulation, and concomitantly infarct size and cardiomyocyte apoptosis were significantly decreased in MAO-A–deficient animals. In conclusion, we show for the first time that the upregulation of ceramide/sphingosine 1-phosphate ratio is a critical event in MAO-A–mediated cardiac cell apoptosis. In addition, we provide the first evidence linking generation of reactive oxygen species with SphK1 inhibition. Finally, we propose sphingolipid metabolites as key mediators of postischemic/reperfusion cardiac injury.
Ca
2+
-Dependent Rapid Ca
2+
Sensitization of Contraction in Arterial Smooth Muscle
Authors: Dimopoulos George J. , Semba Shingo , Kitazawa Kazuyo , Eto Masumi , Kitazawa Toshio
Published: December 2006

Ca
2+
ion is a universal intracellular messenger that regulates numerous biological functions. In smooth muscle, Ca
2+
with calmodulin activates myosin light chain (MLC) kinase to initiate a rapid MLC phosphorylation and contraction. To test the hypothesis that regulation of MLC phosphatase is involved in the rapid development of MLC phosphorylation and contraction during Ca
2+
transient, we compared Ca
2+
signal, MLC phosphorylation, and 2 modes of inhibition of MLC phosphatase, phosphorylation of CPI-17 Thr38 and MYPT1 Thr853, during α
1
agonist-induced contraction with/without various inhibitors in intact rabbit femoral artery. Phenylephrine rapidly induced CPI-17 phosphorylation from a negligible amount to a peak value of 0.38±0.04 mol of Pi/mol within 7 seconds following stimulation, similar to the rapid time course of Ca
2+
rise and MLC phosphorylation. This rapid CPI-17 phosphorylation was dramatically inhibited by either blocking Ca
2+
release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum or by pretreatment with protein kinase C inhibitors, suggesting an involvement of Ca
2+
-dependent protein kinase C. This was followed by a slow Ca
2+
-independent and Rho-kinase/protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation of CPI-17. In contrast, MYPT1 phosphorylation had only a slow component that increased from 0.29±0.09 at rest to the peak of 0.68±0.14 mol of Pi/mol at 1 minute, similar to the time course of contraction. Thus, there are 2 components of the Ca
2+
sensitization through inhibition of MLC phosphatase. Our results support the hypothesis that the initial rapid Ca
2+
rise induces a rapid inhibition of MLC phosphatase coincident with the Ca
2+
-induced MLC kinase activation to synergistically initiate a rapid MLC phosphorylation and contraction in arteries with abundant CPI-17 content.
Angiotensin II Induces Soluble fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1 Release via Calcineurin Signaling Pathway in Pregnancy
Authors: Zhou Cissy Chenyi , Ahmad Shakil , Mi TieJuan , Xia Lingwei , Abbasi Shahrzad , Hewett Peter W. , Sun ChunXiao , Ahmed Asif , Kellems Rodney E. , Xia Yang
Published: December 2006

Maternal endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia is associated with increased soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a circulating antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a potent vasoconstrictor that increases concomitant with sFlt-1 during pregnancy. Therefore, we speculated that Ang II may promote the expression of sFlt-1 in pregnancy. Here we report that infusion of Ang II significantly increases circulating levels of sFlt-1 in pregnant mice, thereby demonstrating that Ang II is a regulator of sFlt-1 secretion in vivo. Furthermore, Ang II stimulated sFlt-1 production in a dose- and time-dependent manner from human villous explants and cultured trophoblasts but not from endothelial cells, suggesting that trophoblasts are the primary source of sFlt-1 during pregnancy. As expected, Ang II-induced sFlt-1 secretion resulted in the inhibition of endothelial cell migration and in vitro tube formation. In vitro and in vivo studies with losartan, small interfering RNA specific for calcineurin and FK506 demonstrated that Ang II-mediated sFlt-1 release was via Ang II type 1 receptor activation and calcineurin signaling, respectively. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized regulatory role for Ang II on sFlt-1 expression in murine and human pregnancy and suggest that elevated sFlt-1 levels in preeclampsia may be caused by a dysregulation of the local renin/angiotensin system.
Critical Role for FoxO3a-Dependent Regulation of p21
CIP1/WAF1
in Response to Statin Signaling in Cardiac Myocytes
Authors: Hauck Ludger , Harms Christoph , Grothe Daniela , An Junfeng , Gertz Karen , Kronenberg Golo , Dietz Rainer , Endres Matthias , von Harsdorf Rüdiger
Published: December 2006

Statins are widely used clinical drugs that exert beneficial growth-suppressive effects in patients with cardiac hypertrophy. We investigated the role of the cell cycle inhibitor p21
CIP1/WAF1
(p21) in statin-dependent inhibition of hypertrophic growth in postmitotic cardiomyocytes. We demonstrate that lovastatin fails to inhibit cardiac hypertrophy to angiotensin II in p21
−/−
mice and that reconstitution of p21 function by TAT.p21 protein transduction can rescue statin action in these otherwise normally developed animals. Lovastatin specifically recruits the forkhead box FoxO3a transcription factor to the p21 promoter, mediating transcriptional transactivation of the p21 gene as analyzed in isolated primary cardiomyocytes. Lovastatin also stimulates protein kinase B/Akt kinase activity, and Akt-dependent phosphorylation forces p21 in the cytoplasm, where it inhibits Rho-kinases contributing to the suppression of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Loss of p21 or FoxO3a by RNA interference causes a general inhibition of lovastatin signal transduction. These results suggest that p21 functions as FoxO3a downstream target to mediate an statin-derived anti-hypertrophic response. Taken together, our genetic and biochemical data delineate an essential function of p21 for statin-dependent inhibition of cardiac myocyte hypertrophy.
Multiaxial Mechanical Characteristics of Carotid Plaque
Authors: Paini Anna , Boutouyrie Pierre , Calvet David , Zidi Mustapha , Agabiti-Rosei Enrico , Laurent Stéphane
Published: December 2006

Background and Purpose—

Carotid plaque rupture depends on the various types of mechanical stresses. Our objective was to determine the multiaxial mechanical characteristics of atherosclerotic plaque and adjacent segment of the common carotid artery.

Methods—

A novel noninvasive echotracking system was used to measure intima-media thickness, diameter, pulsatile strain, and distensibility at 128 sites on a 4-cm long common carotid artery segment. The study included 62 patients with recent cerebrovascular ischemic event and either a plaque on the far wall of common carotid artery (n=25) or no plaque (n=37).

Results—

The mechanical characteristics of the carotid segment devoid of plaque did not differ between the two groups. Among patients with plaque, 16 had a larger radial strain at the level of plaque than at the level of adjacent common carotid artery (pattern A: outward-bending strain). The eight patients who had an opposite pattern (inward-bending strain) were more often dyslipidemic (100% versus 56%
P
=0.03) and type 2 diabetic (63% versus 12%,
P
=0.04) than pattern A patients. Strain gradient significantly decreased in parallel with the presence of dyslipidemia and/or type 2 diabetes. Longitudinal gradients of distensibility and Young’s elastic modulus were consistent with strain gradients.

Conclusions—

Type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia were associated with a stiffer carotid at the level of the plaque than in the adjacent common carotid artery leading to an inward-bending stress. The analysis of plaque mechanics along the longitudinal axis may afford useful information, because repetitive bending strain of an atherosclerotic plaque may fatigue the wall material and result in plaque rupture.
Poststroke Memory Function in Nondemented Patients
Authors: Snaphaan Liselore , de Leeuw Frank-Erik
Published: December 2006

Background and Purpose—

Poststroke memory dysfunction is a prerequisite for the diagnosis of poststroke dementia. This diagnosis is made within months after a stroke, apparently assuming a relatively stable course of the poststroke memory function. Clinical experience added to anecdotal evidence from the literature suggests that poststroke memory function may be reversible. The aim of the present study was to systematically review the available data on the time course of poststroke memory function in nondemented stroke survivors. In addition, we wanted to investigate the role of (pre-)stroke characteristics on poststroke memory function.

Methods—

We performed systematic literature search of PubMed with the following medical subject heading terms: memory and stroke. The search strategy yielded 798 articles of which 65 fulfilled our inclusion criteria and went on to the data extraction stage.

Results—

Five studies reported the prevalence of poststroke memory dysfunction at different poststroke intervals. The prevalence of poststroke memory dysfunction varied from 23% to 55% 3 months poststroke, which declined from 11% to 31% 1 year poststroke. Larger stroke volume, prestroke medial temporal lobe atrophy, and white matter lesions were related with decreased poststroke memory function.

Conclusions—

Not all patients with poststroke memory dysfunction 3 months after a stroke had memory dysfunction 1 year poststroke. Consequently, not all criteria for the dementia diagnosis were fulfilled any more. This may indicate that poststroke dementia may be reversible in a substantial proportion of patients with stroke. Preferably, standardized reassessment of cognitive function should be performed in each patient diagnosed with poststroke dementia.
What Has Sociology to Contribute to the Study of Inequality Trends? A Historical and Comparative Perspective
Authors: DiPrete Thomas A.
Published: December 2006

Most of the empirical and theoretical research on the rising inequality trend in American labor markets has occurred within labor economics despite long-standing sociological interest in the structure of inequality and despite strong evidence that the trend was produced by institutional as well as technological forces. Several reasons for this imbalance are discussed. The fact of differing inequality trends in the United States and Europe offers an additional perspective on the potential explanations for the American trends. This comparative perspective highlights the role of institutions in producing inequality trends and suggests strategies for potentially productive sociological research on these issues.
Sociological Explanations of Changing Income Distributions
Authors: Esping-Andersen Gøsta
Published: December 2006

Most explanations of rising income inequality stress technology and labor market change. Here, the author focuses on marriage behavior and women’s employment. The evidence suggests that assortative mating tends to heighten inequalities when it is accompanied by couple similarities in labor supply and earnings capacity. An equalizing effect of women’s employment will primarily emerge when lower educated women’s labor supply increases rapidly. In the second part of the article, the author adopts a dynamic perspective, focusing on intergenerational mobility. Mothers’ employment is positive for children’s life chances because it minimizes poverty risks. And if external child care is of high quality, maternal employment has no negative effects on child outcomes. The rise in female employment may therefore also help diminish the reproduction of inequalities.
Where Have All the Sociologists Gone? An Economist’s Perspective
Authors: Green David A.
Published: December 2006

The author provides an economist’s perspective on a set of articles examining the role of sociologists in studying recent trends in inequality in the United States. Three themes underlie his comments. First, effective investigations of empirical questions require a combination of statistics and theory. This means the same data can be organized differently according to different theories and doing so leads to greater insight. Second, having more than one discipline work on a problem is helpful not just in providing multiple potential explanations but also in getting researchers to question orthodoxy within their own disciplines; for example, it is important that sociologists not buy into the economics orthodoxy on inequality. Third, many questions related to recent inequality trends are particularly suited to examinations with sociology’s tool kit; evidence from this set of articles is that more sociologists are applying those tools to explaining rising inequality in the United States.
Rent and the Evolution of Inequality in Late Industrial United States
Authors: Morgan Stephen L. , Cha Youngjoo
Published: December 2006

In this article, the authors present the rent destruction explanation for recent increases in inequality, which can be seen as one facet of a broader sociological explanation focused on class-biased structural change. A sociological depiction of the growth of earnings inequality since the early 1980s is presented using alternative partitions of the labor market, including the dominant sociological class schema that (surprisingly) has been used rarely to describe these trends. Thereafter, the authors attempt to strengthen the evidence for the rent destruction explanation by examining the increase in wealth inequality in the 1990s. After presenting these empirical findings, they discuss the extent to which rent destruction can account uniquely for these patterns, as well as other complementary sociological research on the growth of inequality.
Organizational Diversity, Labor Markets, and Wage Inequality
Authors: Sørensen Jesper B.
Published: December 2006

The demand shifts that have played an important role in driving up wage inequality in the United States during the past quarter century are changes in the world of organizations. However, despite great advances in organizational theory during the same time period, there has been little progress in understanding how organizational processes shaped the evolution of inequality. Most theory and research focuses on processes internal to organizations. The author presents theory and evidence suggesting that progress can be made through greater attention to the consequences of organizational diversity for matching and inequality in the labor market.
The Traumatic Journey from Dictatorship to Democracy
Authors: Worboys Katherine J.
Published: December 2006

In 1983, democratic elections ended a seven-year military dictatorship in Argentina, bringing the end of a regime calling itself the “Process of National Reorganization” and, with it, the end of the “Dirty War,” the state's campaign to eliminate what it labeled “subversive elements” within Argentine society. Estimates suggest that the Dirty War claimed as many as 30,000 lives, decimating civilian political activity and civil society in the process. When civilians returned to power, they moved to revoke domestic political authority from the military and to alter military status by shaping the armed forces into something far less threatening. One of Argentina's most prominent goals in restructuring its defense industry in this way was to promote peacekeeping operations. This article argues that Carlos Menem's civilian administration (1989-1999) used peacekeeping missions to create an entirely new identity for the armed forces in Argentina and to direct their attentions away from domestic politics.
The Right to Fight
Authors: Levy Yagil
Published: December 2006

The worldwide demand by gays and lesbians that they be allowed to openly participate in military service and the ways in which this demand have been handled reveal discrepancies between political culture and actual recruitment practices. This article offers a model drawn from a multiple-case study for explaining recruitment policies toward homosexuals. Arguably, to the extent that the military is used to perform civilian-social roles that determine the social hierarchy beyond the purely professional aspects of the military repertoire, the military command is compelled to modify its professional code— a code that is originally and normatively exclusionist in regard to homosexuals. Owing to those societally prescribed modifications, the resulting inclusionist-exclusionist recruitment policies might be at odds with prominent pillars of the host political culture.
India's Nuclear Doctrine and Command Structure
Authors: Pant Harsh V.
Published: December 2006

India finalized its nuclear command structure and formalized its nuclear doctrine in January 2003, nearly five years after coming out of the nuclear closet and openly declaring itself as a nuclear-weapon state. While a clearly enunciated nuclear doctrine and command structure are seen by some as essential in enhancing regional stability and assuaging the concerns of the international community, its implications for the civil-military relations in India remain far from clear. Strategic imperatives and political pressures concerning civil-military relations seem to be pulling Indian nuclear policy in opposite directions. This article examines Indian nuclear doctrine and command structure with an attempt to decipher its implications for the future of civil-military relations in India with respect to the management of its nuclear arsenal.
The Roar of the Lion City
Authors: Walsh Sean P.
Published: December 2006

Although the Singapore Armed Forces is one of the most technologically advanced militaries in Southeast Asia, it suffers from a number of institutional weaknesses. Singapore's multiethnic but Chinese-dominated society and unique geographical and political characteristics result in challenges in both the recruitment and retention of high-quality personnel into the armed forces as well as in developing the proper role in the military for Singapore's Malay minority (whom the government historically has seen as a security risk but who also have a strong cultural inclination toward military service). This article contends that in meeting these challenges, Singapore has reduced the effectiveness and professionalism of its military significantly by unwisely preventing Malay participation systematically in key areas of the armed forces, by limiting the positions women can hold in the military, and by using a promotion system that is based more on education and scholarships than on proven competence.
Ethnic Identity, Cultural Variation, and Processes of Change
Authors: Brown Melissa J.
Published: December 2006

Watson’s view that culture held late imperial China together appears to be problematic with regard to standardization and insightful with regard to social theory. Ethnographic evidence about the assimilation of non-Han minority peoples to Han identity shows that orthopraxy led to many nonstandard cultural practices and beliefs. Theoretical implications include reassessment of the canonical interpretive assumption that cultural ideas are the primary motivations for human actions. Additionally, the concept of a culturally unified China appears to be an ideology that benefits the Chinese state.
Orthopraxy and Heteropraxy beyond the State
Authors: Katz Paul R.
Published: December 2006

This essay assesses James L. Watson’s argument that ritual orthopraxy promoted by the state and local elites played a key role in the formation of cultural unity in late imperial China. After opening with a brief review of Watson’s previous scholarship on standardization and cultural unity, it focuses on two case studies about nonstate processes of standardization that accompanied but did not necessarily mimic those of the state. The first concerns the cult of one of the most popular plague-fighting deities in late imperial China, Marshal Wen (Wen Yuanshuai), whose cult was promoted by Taoists who strove to promote liturgical orthopraxy by insisting that Taoist deities should only receive vegetarian offerings and Taoist titles. The second concerns sacrifices to banners ( jiqi) performed by officials, local militias, bandits, rebels, and members of secret societies. Of particular interest here are the ways in which people belonging to the latter three groups adopted the state’s practice of banner worship while also reformulating its nature and significance.
Ritual, Cultural Standardization, and Orthopraxy in China
Authors: Sutton Donald S.
Published: December 2006

This special issue contains five reassessments of James L. Watson’s influential ideas on the role of ritual in cultural standardization: Kenneth Pomeranz (History, UC Irvine) examines the Bixia yuanjun cult; Michael Szonyi (East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard) analyzes the Five Emperors’ cult and ancestral sacrifices in Fuzhou; Paul Katz (Modern History, Academia Sinica) discusses the cult of Marshal Wen and blood sacrifices to banners; Melissa Brown (Anthropological Sciences, Stanford) takes up the case of frontier acculturation; and Donald Sutton (History, Carnegie Mellon) looks at death rituals. To round out the special issue, Professor Watson adds his own rejoinder. On the basis of these essays and other recent scholarship, the introduction in turn questions the effectiveness of state standardization, outlines the phenomenon of heteroprax standardization, argues that “pseudo-orthoprax” local elites subverted the state’s cultural policies, reconsiders the applicability of the paired terms “ritual” and “belief,” and underlines the subjectivity of the notion of Chineseness.
The Role of the Anteromedial and Posterolateral Bundles of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in Anterior Tibial Translation and Internal Rotation
Authors: Zantop Thore , Herbort Mirko , Raschke Michael J. , Fu Freddie H. , Petersen Wolf
Published: December 2006

Background

A rupture of the entire fibers of the anterior cruciate ligament leads to knee instability due to increased anterior tibial translation and increased internal tibial rotation. The influence of isolated deficiency of the anteromedial or posterolateral bundle of the anterior cruciate ligament on the resulting knee kinematics have not yet been reported.

Hypothesis

Transection of the anteromedial bundle will lead to increased anterior tibial translation at 90°. Transection of the posterolateral bundle will show an increased anterior tibial translation as well as a combined rotatory instability at 30°.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Kinematics of the intact knee were determined in response to a 134-N anterior tibial load and a combined rotatory load of 10 N·m valgus and 4 N·m internal tibial rotation using a robotic/universal force moment sensor testing system. Subsequently, the fibers of the anteromedial and posterolateral bundle were resected in an alternating order and the new translation in response to the same external loading conditions measured. Statistical analysis was performed using a 2-way ANOVA test.

Results

Transection of the anteromedial bundle increased anterior tibial translation at 60° and 90° of knee flexion significantly. Isolated transsection of the posterolateral bundle increased anterior tibial translation in response to 134-N anterior load at 30° of knee flexion significantly and resulted in a significant increase in combined rotation at 0° and 30° in response to a combined rotatory load compared with the intact knee and isolated resection of the anteromedial bundle.

Conclusion

The anteromedial and posterolateral bundles stabilize the knee joint in response to anterior tibial loads and combined rotatory loads in a synergistic way.

Clinical Relevance

The results of the current study suggest that, from a biomechanical point of view, it may be beneficial to reconstruct both bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament to better restore normal anterior tibial translation and combined rotation.
The Achilles Tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS)
Authors: Nilsson-Helander Katarina , Thomeé Roland , Grävare-Silbernagel Karin , Thomeé Pia , Faxén Eva , Eriksson Bengt I. , Karlsson Jon
Published: December 2006

Background

There is a need for a patient-relevant instrument to evaluate outcome after treatment in patients with a total Achilles tendon rupture.

Purpose

To develop and validate a new patient-reported instrument for measuring outcome after treatment for total Achilles tendon rupture.

Study Design

Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 1.

Methods

Development of this instrument consisted of item generation and test construction, item reduction, validation, evaluation of structure and internal consistency, test-retest, and test for responsiveness. The final version, the Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS), was tested for validity, structure, and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) on 82 patients and 52 healthy persons. A correlation analysis was performed of the ATRS with the 2 validated foot/ankle/Achilles tendon scores, the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and the Swedish version of the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A-S). Structure was evaluated with factor analysis. Test-retest reliability was evaluated on 43 patients. The ATRS responsiveness was tested on 43 patients by calculating the effect size.

Results

The total score for the patients ranged from 17 to 100 with a mean (median) of 77 (85) and a standard deviation (interquartile range) of 21.4 (23). A significantly (P < .0001) higher total score was found for the healthy subjects, ranging from 94 to 100 with a mean (median) of 99.8 (100) and a standard deviation (interquartile range) of 1.1 (0). The ATRS correlated significantly (P < .01) with all subscales of the FAOS (r = 0.60-0.84) and the VISA-A-S (r = 0.78). The factor analysis gave 1 factor of importance. The internal consistency was 0.96 as measured with Cronbach's alpha. The test-retest produced an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.98. The tests for responsiveness showed an effect size between 0.87 and 2.21.

Conclusion

The ATRS is a patient-reported instrument with high reliability, validity, and sensitivity for measuring outcome after treatment in patients with a total Achilles tendon rupture.

Clinical Relevance

The ATRS is a self-administered instrument with high clinical utility, and we suggest the score for measuring the outcome, related to symptoms and physical activity, after treatment in patients with a total Achilles tendon rupture.
Rotator Cuff Contusions of the Shoulder in Professional Football Players
Authors: Cohen Steven B. , Towers Jeffrey D. , Bradley James P.
Published: December 2006

Background

No published reports have studied the epidemiology and magnetic resonance imaging findings associated with rotator cuff contusions of the shoulder in professional football players.

Purpose

To determine a single professional football team's incidence, treatment, and magnetic resonance imaging appearance of players sustaining rotator cuff contusions of the shoulder.

Study Design

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods

From 1999 to 2005, a North American professional football team's injury records were retrospectively reviewed for athletes who had sustained a rotator cuff contusion of the shoulder during in-season participation. Those patients who had magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder with a 1.5-Tesla magnet were reviewed by a musculoskeletal radiologist and graded according to the appearance and severity of clinical injury.

Results

Twenty-six players had a rotator cuff contusion. There was an average of 5.5 rotator cuff contusions per season (47% of all shoulder injuries). The predominant mechanism of injury was a direct blow in 70.3%. Magnetic resonance imaging findings included peritendon edema at the myotendinous junction, critical zone tendon edema, and subentheseal bone bruises. Treatment consisted of a protocol involving modalities and cuff rehabilitation in all patients. Six patients had persistent pain and weakness for a minimum of 3 days and were given a subacromial corticosteroid injection. Overall, 3 patients (11.4%) required later surgical treatment on the shoulder.

Conclusion

Rotator cuff contusions accounted for nearly half of all shoulder injuries in the football players in this study. Magnetic resonance imaging is an extremely useful tool in determining severity of injury and integrity of the rotator cuff. The majority of athletes are able to return to sports with conservative treatment; a minority of shoulders might progress to more severe injuries such as rotator cuff tears.
Silence Speaks Volumes: Parental Sexual Communication Among Asian American Emerging Adults
Authors: Kim Janna L. , Ward L. Monique
Published: December 2006

Although parents greatly influence children’s early understandings of sexuality, little is known about how sexual communication transpires in Asian American families. Accordingly, the authors examined the amount and type of parental sexual communication recalled by 165 Asian American college students. Parents were perceived as providing very little information about a range of sexual topics. Communication was most minimal from fathers, among sons, and in homes marked with language barriers. At the same time, however, most participants could recall receiving restrictive sexual messages, in particular, daughters and participants having less acculturated parents. Qualitative results shed light on the specific types of sexual messages that parents provided. Together, results suggest that Asian American parents use implicit and nonverbal ways to communicate their sexual values.
“They Might Think I Was Crazy”: Young American Indians’ Reasons for Not Seeking Help When Suicidal
Authors: Freedenthal Stacey , Stiffman Arlene Rubin
Published: December 2006

It is well known that many suicidal young people avoid asking for help; however, the reasons why are less understood. A sample of 101 American Indians (age 15-21 years) who had thought about or attempted suicide was asked open-ended questions about barriers to seeking formal and informal help while suicidal. The 74 participants who avoided at least one type of help most commonly reported internal factors, such as embarrassment, lack of problem recognition, a belief that nobody could help, and self-reliance. Structural barriers, such as lack of money or service availability, were only rarely cited. Findings indicate that efforts to increase help seeking among young, suicidal American Indians should target beliefs about emotional problems and help seeking.
Problem-Based Learning in Social Work: A Study of Student Learning Outcomes
Authors: Wong Donna Kam Pun , Lam Debbie Oi Bing
Published: December 2006

This study evaluated the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) in social work education. The participants were 132 second-year social work students who took the core courses of Social Work Theory and Practice and Skills Laboratory in the PBL mode. A 40-item scale was used to measure the students’ perceptions of their social work knowledge, skills, and values, Biggs’s Study Process Questionnaire and Revised Study Process Questionnaire were employed to examine their learning approaches. The results indicated positive learning outcomes, with the most significant gains occurring in knowledge and lesser gains being made in skills and values. The findings suggest that students with deep learning motives and approaches reap the most benefit from PBL.
Translational Science at the National Institute of Mental Health: Can Social Work Take Its Rightful Place?
Authors: Brekke John S. , Ell Kathleen , Palinkas Lawrence A.
Published: December 2006

Several recent national reports have noted that there is a 20-year gap between knowledge generated from our best clinical research and the utilization of that knowledge in our health and mental health care sectors. One solution to this dilemma has been the emergence of translational science. Translational science has become a top priority of the National Institute of Mental Health. The goal of translational science in mental health is to speed the use of findings from our best science into usual-care settings and to build partnerships between research and practice constituencies. The purpose of this article is to define translational science for social work, to provide a framework for translational research, and to outline an agenda of activity that will allow social work to become a significant driver in the translational research agenda in mental health services.
Applying Research to Making Life-Affecting Judgments and Decisions
Authors: Gibbs Leonard
Published: December 2006

This keynote address argues that in order for baccalaureate and masters degree students to apply research to make better judgments and decisions in their life-affecting practice and in response to the information revolution, the helping professions need to redesign (from the bottom up) not overhaul (make a few changes in) the way research methods classes are taught. An alternative would perhaps be to integrate an entirely new evidence-based practice course into their curricula. Factors include the following: increasing Internet speed and access by practitioners, increasing access to bibliographic databases and full-text documents, organizations that synthesize evidence for practitioners, and new knowledge and skills for accessing and evaluating evidence specific to well-built practice questions.
Measuring Foster Parent Potential: Casey Foster Parent Inventory-Applicant Version
Authors: Orme John G. , Cuddeback Gary S. , Buehler Cheryl , Cox Mary Ellen , Le Prohn Nicole S.
Published: December 2006

Objective: The Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Applicant Version (CFAI-A) is a new standardized self-report measure designed to assess the potential to foster parent successfully. The CFAI-A is described, and results concerning its psychometric properties are presented. Method: Data from a sample of 304 foster mothers from 35 states are analyzed. Results: Six CFAI-A subscales were identified, and internal consistency reliability for these subscales ranged from .64 to .95. The construct validity of all but one of these subscales is promising. Conclusions: The CFAI-A shows promise for use in research and practice, where it might be used to improve decisions about how to support, monitor, and retain foster families and to match, place, and maintain foster children with foster families.
Measuring Foster Parent Potential: Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Worker Version (CFAI-W)
Authors: Cuddeback Gary S. , Buehler Cheryl , Orme John G. , Le Prohn Nicole S.
Published: December 2006

Objective: This article examines the psychometric properties of the Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Worker Version (CFAI-W), a questionnaire designed to assess the potential of foster family care applicants to provide foster care. Method: Retrospective data were collected from 208 foster care workers who completed two copies of the CFAI-W, one for the best foster family and one for the worst foster family they had ever known. Results: The CFAI-W demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability and evidence of predictive and discriminant validity. Conclusions: The CFAI-W can be used in combination with other methods to introduce standardization and accountability to the assessment of foster parent applicants.
Homeownership
Authors: Barreto Matt A. , Marks Mara A. , Woods Nathan D.
Published: December 2006

Homeownership's importance in America's culture and economy raises the possibility that status as a homeowner or renter constitutes a core aspect of personal identity, on par with race and ethnicity. A survey from the socially diverse Los Angeles region provides a unique data set to test the possibility that homeownership exaggerates or mitigates social cleavages, particularly those based on race or ethnicity. The analysis reveals renters as less upbeat than homeowners regarding a variety of opinion measures and distinctly divided in their opinions along racial and ethnic lines. Among homeowners, however, the authors find a confluence of opinion across racial and ethnic lines.
The Road to Homeownership Under Market Transition
Authors: Li Si-ming , Yi Zheng
Published: December 2006

The gradualist housing reform over the past quarter century has produced a highly complex mix of housing tenure forms and consumption patterns in urban China. Using a sample of sixteen hundred residential histories derived from a survey conducted in 2001, this article traces how individuals and households in Beijing responded to the different phases of the urban housing reform and gradually moved from renting work unit housing to owner occupation over the period 1980 to 2001. The proportional hazards model is used to analyze the factors that affected the tenure change at different points in time. The findings show that despite gradual introduction of market mechanisms, established rules that favored seniority in the workplace and people holding redistributive powers continued to be practiced in reform China. Cadres in Party and government organizations and state-owned enterprises and people with many years in the work unit were those who were most likely to experience the ownership switch.
The Theoretical Basis for Addressing Poverty Through Mixed-Income Development
Authors: Joseph Mark L. , Chaskin Robert J. , Webber Henry S.
Published: December 2006

This article examines the theoretical foundations upon which the rationale for mixed-income development as a strategy to confront urban poverty is built. The authors focus on four propositions that draw from theories on social networks, social control, culture and behavior, and the political economy of place. They assess available evidence about the relative importance of the four theoretical propositions. They conclude that the most compelling propositions are those that suggest that some low-income residents may benefit from a higher quality of life through greater informal social control and access to higher quality services. They find less evidence that socioeconomic outcomes for low-income residents may be improved through social interaction, network building, and role modeling.
Preliminary investigations into the sorption of boron by clay minerals
Authors: Fleet M. E. L.
Published: December 2006

The sorption of boron by clay minerals from natural waters has been studied experimentally. The quantity of boron sorbed per unit weight of clay mineral is dependent on both the salinity and the boron content of the solution. Previous work has shown that illite is the best clay mineral sorbent, though kaolinite and montmorillonite do sorb some boron and this is confirmed by the present work. The new experimental results demonstrate that the amount of boron sorbed by illite is not affected by the original boron content of the mineral and suggest that the process of incorporation of boron into the lattice proceeds in two stages. The bearing of these experimental results on the use of boron as a palaeosalinity indicator in sedimentary rocks is discussed and this leads to the conclusion that the rate of sedimentation may also influence the boron content of such rocks.
Potassium retention in montmorillonites
Authors: Weir A. H.
Published: December 2006

The amounts of potassium retained, after exchange with normal ammonium acetate solution at pH 7, were measured with six montmorillonite-beidellite minerals, whose interlayer charge ranged 0·72-1·00 M+/Si8O22 and where tetrahedral substitution of Al for Si ranged 0·14-0·93 M+/Si8O22. The amount of potassium retained increased with increasing interlayer charge, but there was no correlation between the amount of potassium retained and the tetrahedral charge.
Chemical dissolution techniques in the study of soil clays: Part II
Authors: Follett E. A. C. , McHardy W. J. , Mitchell B. D. , Smith B. F. L.
Published: December 2006

The removal of the alkali-soluble fraction from soil clays has been found to influence markedly the efficiency with which iron oxides can be removed from such clays. In clays pretreated with 5% Na2CO3, up to 40% more iron oxide was extracted by dithionite (Na2S2O4) than from soil clays treated with this reagent alone. Chemical analysis, electron microscopy, X-ray and differential thermal examination, and specific surface area and cation-exchange capacity measurements indicated an improved dispersion brought about by the removal of aluminosilicate binding material by Na2CO3. The electron-optical studies also showed that the dithionite-soluble iron was principally in the form of small granules. These were amorphous to X-rays and electrons and chemical analysis of the dithionite-soluble fraction suggested that they were ferruginous complexes containing considerable quantities of silica and alumina.
Multivariate analysis of montmorillonite
Authors: Rayner J. H.
Published: December 2006

Varty & White's application of multivariate analysis to Grim & Kulbicki's measurements on montmorillonites has been re-examined and extended. Inconsistencies between their table of scored data and derived similarity table, and some unexplained errors in the similarity table, have only a small effect on their results. Similarities calculated from Grim & Kulbicki's data, using a different similarity coefficient, lead to a two dimensional representation which separates the groups of montmorillonites more clearly. The groups can be clearly separated even in a one dimensional representation, by changing the relationship between distance and similarity.
Significance of recent structure determinations of layer silicates for clay studies
Authors: Brown G.
Published: December 2006

In the last 10 years or so much work has been done to determine the crystal structures of layer silicates more precisely than previously and, as a result, ideas about these structures have had to be revised.

Around 1930 the classical studies of Bragg and his collaborators, and of Pauling, established the general geometrical features of layer silicate structures. The basic building units were found to be layers of linked tetrahedra articulated, by sharing oxygens, with layers of octahedra. In the 1 : 1, kaolinite type materials, with layer thicknesses about 7 Å, the composite layer unit was made up of one tetrahedral layer and one octahedral layer; in the mica and chlorite minerals the silicate layer was formed by joining two tetrahedral layers, one on either side, to an octahedral layer.
The measurement of orientation distribution and its application to quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis
Authors: Taylor R.M. , Norrish K.
Published: December 2006

Using X-ray techniques, the orientation distributions of crystal planes in laboratory prepared and naturally occurring aggregates were measured. A small specimen was mounted on the axis of a goniometer and the diffracted intensity measured as the specimen was rotated. Mo radiation was used to reduce the absorption effects. A mathematical relation between the distribution of particles and the distribution of crystal planes was derived for platy and fibrous particles in flake-like and rod-shaped specimens.

When diffracted intensities of the 001 reflection of several different kaolinites were corrected for the degree of orientation in the respective specimens, a constant value was obtained. This would enable quantitative diffraction analyses to be made without the large errors that can be introduced by orientation effects. The degree of particle orientation achieved appeared to be more dependent on particle morphology than on the method of sample preparation or formation.