bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Systematics of thePhialophora verrucosacomplex: new insights from analyses of β-tubulin, large subunit nuclear rDNA and ITS sequencesThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Issue on Systematics Research.
Authors: Untereiner Wendy A. , Angus Andrea , Réblová Martina , Orr Mary-Jane
Published: July 2008

Phialophora Medlar, as defined currently, is a genus encompassing melanized, anamorphic Ascomycota that produce one-celled conidia from phialides with distinct, darkened collarettes. The type species, Phialophora verrucosa Medlar, is closely related to Phialophora americana (Nannf.) S. Hughes, the anamorph of Capronia semiimmersa (Candoussau & Sulmont) Untereiner & Naveau (Herpotrichiellaceae, Chaetothyriales). To confirm that P. americana and P. verrucosa are distinct taxa, and to examine their phylogenetic relationships to species of Capronia and other representatives of the Chaetothyriales, we sequenced portions of the β-tubulin gene and nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron (ITS and LSU rDNA). We also compared isolates of P. americana grown on a number of media. Isolates of C. semiimmersa, Capronia svrcekiana Réblová, and P. americana produced phialides bearing deep, vase-shaped collarettes and formed a strongly supported clade that did not include P. verrucosa in a phylogeny inferred from the combined β-tubulin–ITS–LSU dataset. Capronia svrcekiana was found to be conspecific with C. semiimmersa based on the comparison of cultural, micromorphological, and molecular characters. In the LSU phylogeny, three recently described species of Phialophora ( Phialophora europaea de Hoog et al., Phialophora reptans de Hoog, and Phialophora sessilis de Hoog) were grouped outside of the clade containing sampled members of the Herpotrichiellaceae. While the position of these species in the Chaetothyriales remained unresolved, it was evident that P. europaea, P. reptans, and P. sessilis are not members of the P. verrucosa complex.
Individuality in Bacteria
Authors: Davidson Carla J. , Surette Michael G.
Published: July 2008

While traditionally microbiologists have examined bacterial behavior averaged over large populations, increasingly we are becoming aware that bacterial populations can be composed of phenotypically diverse individuals generated by a variety of mechanisms. Though the results of different mechanisms, the phenomena of bistability, persistence, variation in chemotactic response, and phase and antigenic variation are all strategies to develop population-level diversity. The understanding of individuality in bacteria requires an appreciation of their environmental and ecological context, and thus evolutionary theory regarding adaptations to time-variable environments is becoming more applicable to these problems. In particular, the application of game and information theory to bacterial individuality has addressed some interesting problems of bacterial behavior. In this review we discuss the mechanisms of generating population-level variability, and the application of evolutionary theory to problems of individuality in bacteria.
Mid-Century Controversies in Population Genetics
Authors: Crow James F.
Published: July 2008

Beginning in the 1930s, evolution became an experimental subject. New techniques, especially in Drosophila, made possible quantitative analysis of natural populations. In addition to a large number of studies on many species, there were four major controversies that dominated much of the discussion and experimentation. Some of the arguments were quite heated. These controversies were: Wright vs Fisher on Wright's shifting-balance theory; dominance vs overdominance as an explanation of heterosis; the classical vs balance hypothesis for genetic variability; the neutral theory of molecular evolution. Curiously, most of these issues were not really resolved. Rather they were abandoned in favor of more tractable studies made possible by the new molecular methods.
A gene for speed: contractile properties of isolated whole EDL muscle from an α-actinin-3 knockout mouse
Authors: Chan S. , Seto J. T. , MacArthur D. G. , Yang N. , North K. N. , Head S. I.
Published: July 2008

The actin-binding protein α-actinin-3 is one of the two isoforms of α-actinin that are found in the Z-discs of skeletal muscle. α-Actinin-3 is exclusively expressed in fast glycolytic muscle fibers. Homozygosity for a common polymorphism in the ACTN3 gene results in complete deficiency of α-actinin-3 in about 1 billion individuals worldwide. Recent genetic studies suggest that the absence of α-actinin-3 is detrimental to sprint and power performance in elite athletes and in the general population. In contrast, α-actinin-3 deficiency appears to be beneficial for endurance athletes. To determine the effect of α-actinin-3 deficiency on the contractile properties of skeletal muscle, we studied isolated extensor digitorum longus (fast-twitch) muscles from a specially developed α-actinin-3 knockout (KO) mouse. α-Actinin-3-deficient muscles showed similar levels of damage to wild-type (WT) muscles following lengthening contractions of 20% strain, suggesting that the presence or absence of α-actinin-3 does not significantly influence the mechanical stability of the sarcomere in the mouse. α-Actinin-3 deficiency does not result in any change in myosin heavy chain expression. However, compared with α-actinin-3-positive muscles, α-actinin-3-deficient muscles displayed longer twitch half-relaxation times, better recovery from fatigue, smaller cross-sectional areas, and lower twitch-to-tetanus ratios. We conclude that α-actinin-3 deficiency results in fast-twitch, glycolytic fibers developing slower-twitch, more oxidative properties. These changes in the contractile properties of fast-twitch skeletal muscle from α-actinin-3-deficient individuals would be detrimental to optimal sprint and power performance, but beneficial for endurance performance.
Corticosteroids induce COX-2 expression in cardiomyocytes: role of glucocorticoid receptor and C/EBP-β
Authors: Sun Haipeng , Sheveleva Elena , Xu Beibei , Inoue Hiroyasu , Bowden Tim G. , Chen Qin M.
Published: July 2008

Psychological stress increases the level of glucocorticoids in the circulating system. We found that dexamethasone administration in adult mice elevates the expression of COX-2 in the myocardium. With isolated neonatal cardiomyocytes, corticosterone (CT) at physiologically relevant doses (0.01–1 μM) induces the expression of COX-2 gene. The induction first appeared at 4 h and remained for at least 24 h with 1 μM CT treatment. This response is likely cardiomyocyte cell type specific since CT did not induce COX-2 expression in cardiac fibroblasts and glucocorticoids are known to suppress the expression of COX-2 in lymphocytes and several organs. Corticosteroids, but not estrogen or progesterone, induce COX-2 expression. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist mifepristone (MF) prevented CT from inducing COX-2 gene, suggesting a GR-dependent induction in cardiomyocytes. COX-2 gene promoter deletion and mutation studies indicate a role of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-β (C/EBP-β) in CT-induced COX-2 gene expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that CT caused the binding of both GR and C/EBP-β to COX-2 promoter, while MF pretreatment blocked such binding. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that CT treatment induced the interaction of GR with C/EBP-β. Small interfering RNA against C/EBP-β prevented CT from activating COX-2 promoter or elevating COX-2 protein. Our data suggest that the interaction between GR and C/EBP-β contributes to elevated COX-2 gene transcription by CT in cardiomyocytes.
Blockade of NK3R signaling in the PVN decreases vasopressin and oxytocin release and c-Fos expression in the magnocellular neurons in response to hypotension
Authors: Haley Gwendolen E. , Flynn Francis W.
Published: July 2008

Tachykinin neurokinin 3 receptor (NK3R) signaling has a broad role in vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) release. Hydralazine (HDZ)-induced hypotension activates NK3R expressed by magnocellular neurons, increases plasma VP and OT levels, and induces c-Fos expression in VP and OT neurons. Intraventricular pretreatment with the specific NK3R antagonist, SB-222200, eliminates the HDZ-stimulated VP and OT release. NK3R are distributed in the central pathways conveying hypotension information to the magnocellular neurons, and the NK3R antagonist could act anywhere in the pathways. Alternatively, the antagonist could act at the NK3R expressed by the magnocellular neurons. To determine whether blockade of NK3R on magnocellular neurons impairs VP and OT release to HDZ, rats were pretreated with a unilateral PVN injection of 0.15 M NaCl or SB-222200 prior to an intravenous injection of 0.15 M NaCl or HDZ. Blood samples were taken, and brains were processed for VP/c-Fos and OT/c-Fos immunohistochemistry. Intravenous injection of 0.15 M NaCl did not alter plasma hormone levels, and little c-Fos immunoreactivity was present in the PVN. Conversely, intravenous injection of HDZ increased plasma VP and OT levels and c-Fos expression in VP and OT magnocellular neurons. Intra-PVN injection of SB-222200 prior to an intravenous injection of HDZ significantly decreased c-Fos expression in both VP and OT neurons by ∼70% and attenuated plasma VP and OT levels by 33% and 35%, respectively. Therefore, NK3R signaling in magnocellular neurons has a critical role for the release of VP and OT in response to hypotension.
Recovery From Monocular Deprivation Using Binocular Deprivation
Authors: Blais Brian S. , Frenkel Mikhail Y. , Kuindersma Scott R. , Muhammad Rahmat , Shouval Harel Z. , Cooper Leon N , Bear Mark F.
Published: July 2008

Ocular dominance (OD) plasticity is a robust paradigm for examining the functional consequences of synaptic plasticity. Previous experimental and theoretical results have shown that OD plasticity can be accounted for by known synaptic plasticity mechanisms, using the assumption that deprivation by lid suture eliminates spatial structure in the deprived channel. Here we show that in the mouse, recovery from monocular lid suture can be obtained by subsequent binocular lid suture but not by dark rearing. This poses a significant challenge to previous theoretical results. We therefore performed simulations with a natural input environment appropriate for mouse visual cortex. In contrast to previous work, we assume that lid suture causes degradation but not elimination of spatial structure, whereas dark rearing produces elimination of spatial structure. We present experimental evidence that supports this assumption, measuring responses through sutured lids in the mouse. The change in assumptions about the input environment is sufficient to account for new experimental observations, while still accounting for previous experimental results.
Reconfiguration of the Pontomedullary Respiratory Network: A Computational Modeling Study With Coordinated In Vivo Experiments
Authors: Rybak I. A. , O'Connor R. , Ross A. , Shevtsova N. A. , Nuding S. C. , Segers L. S. , Shannon R. , Dick T. E. , Dunin-Barkowski W. L. , Orem J. M. , Solomon I. C. , Morris K. F. , Lindsey B. G.
Published: July 2008

A large body of data suggests that the pontine respiratory group (PRG) is involved in respiratory phase-switching and the reconfiguration of the brain stem respiratory network. However, connectivity between the PRG and ventral respiratory column (VRC) in computational models has been largely ad hoc. We developed a network model with PRG-VRC connectivity inferred from coordinated in vivo experiments. Neurons were modeled in the “integrate-and-fire” style; some neurons had pacemaker properties derived from the model of Breen et al. We recapitulated earlier modeling results, including reproduction of activity profiles of different respiratory neurons and motor outputs, and their changes under different conditions (vagotomy, pontine lesions, etc.). The model also reproduced characteristic changes in neuronal and motor patterns observed in vivo during fictive cough and during hypoxia in non-rapid eye movement sleep. Our simulations suggested possible mechanisms for respiratory pattern reorganization during these behaviors. The model predicted that network- and pacemaker-generated rhythms could be co-expressed during the transition from gasping to eupnea, producing a combined “burst-ramp” pattern of phrenic discharges. To test this prediction, phrenic activity and multiple single neuron spike trains were monitored in vagotomized, decerebrate, immobilized, thoracotomized, and artificially ventilated cats during hypoxia and recovery. In most experiments, phrenic discharge patterns during recovery from hypoxia were similar to those predicted by the model. We conclude that under certain conditions, e.g., during recovery from severe brain hypoxia, components of a distributed network activity present during eupnea can be co-expressed with gasp patterns generated by a distinct, functionally “simplified” mechanism.
Up and Down the Generational Income Ladder in Britain: Past Changes and Future Prospects
Authors: Blanden Jo , Machin Stephen
Published: July 2008

This article seeks evidence on trends in intergenerational income for cohorts born after 1970. As many of these cohorts have not yet joined the labour market, we must look at relationships between intermediate outcomes (degree attainment, test scores and non-cognitive abilities) and parental income to forecast forward from these to estimates of intergenerational earnings correlations. We find no evidence that the relationship between these intermediate outcomes and parental income have changed for more recent cohorts. Evidence from the earlier 1958 and 1970 cohorts shows that as mobility declined in the past the relationship between intermediate outcomes and parental income strengthened. We therefore conclude that, under realistic assumptions and in the absence of any significant unanticipated changes, the decline in intergenerational mobility that occurred between 1958 and 1970 birth cohorts is unlikely to continue for cohorts born from 1970 to 2000. Mobility is therefore likely to remain at or near the relatively low level observed for the 1970 birth cohort.
Coordinated attention, declarative and imperative pointing in infants with and without Down syndrome: Sharing experiences with adults and peers
Authors: Legerstee Maria , Fisher Tamara
Published: July 2008

The link between coordinated attention, imperative and declarative pointing was assessed in a longitudinal study. Four groups of infants were studied in interaction with their mothers, a same-aged peer and the peer's mother. Two groups of infants had Down syndrome (DS), one ( n = 11) with a mean mental age (MA) of 0;8.6 and the other ( n = 11) with an MA of 1;4.5. These infants were matched on MA with two groups ( n = 10 each) of typically developing (TD) infants. The following hypotheses were confirmed: (a) that infants with DS produce less coordinated attention and declaratives than typically developing infants, but a comparable number of imperatives; (b) that coordinated attention predicts declarative but not imperative pointing; and (c) that coordinated attention, imperative and declarative pointing should be higher with adults than with peers. Discussion centers on the implications of these findings for theories of early communication development and mental state awareness.
Turkish Labour Confederations and Turkey's Membership of the European Union
Authors: Yildirim Engin , Calis Suayyip , Benli Abdurrahman
Published: July 2008

The Turkish labour confederations have oscillated in their approach to the incorporation of their country into the European Union. This article explores the key question of how Turkish labour confederations have adapted to and evaluated the process of EU accession and what factors have affected their different trajectories. The research is guided by the question of how and why labour has either veered towards or away from Euroscepticism. The authors argue that although, to a certain extent, evaluations of economic policy, intra-organizational and ideological struggles and sectoral composition and differences can explain the stances expressed at the level of the confederations, it is ideological configurations, the nature of their relations with the state and the EU's attitudes to Turkish membership that largely influence the Turkish peak organizations' approach to the EU and accounts for the differences between the confederations.
Associations between Temporary Employment, Alcohol Dependence and Cigarette Smoking among Turkish Health Care Workers
Authors: De Cuyper Nele , Kiran Sibel , De Witte Hans , Aygoğlu Ferruh N.
Published: July 2008

This study aims to investigate the association between contract type (temporary vs permanent employment) and unhealthy behaviour (alcohol dependence and cigarette smoking) in a sample of Turkish health care workers ( N = 480). The authors hypothesize that temporary compared with permanent workers are more likely to depend on alcohol and to smoke cigarettes owing to increased work-related stress. Conditional logistic regressions were used to estimate the odds ratios of alcohol dependence and smoking status according to contract type. Controlling for gender, occupational position, education, family status, age, tenure and income, temporary workers compared with permanent workers were 5.6 times more likely to be alcohol dependent. However, no significant differences were established for smoking status. The study underlines the association between temporary employment and alcohol dependence, and, in particular, the possibility of reversed causation and possibilities for generalizing results to other populations and to other countries, as an important route for future research.
Variable Pay and Collective Bargaining: A Cross-National Comparison of the Banking Sector
Authors: Traxler Franz , Arrowsmith Jim , Nergaard Kristine , Molins López-Rodó Joaquim M.
Published: July 2008

This article analyses the challenge of variable pay to collective bargaining, based on a cross-national comparison that takes banking organizations in Austria, Norway, Spain and the UK as representatives of Europe's principal bargaining systems. The hypothesis is that the capacity of collective bargaining to govern variable pay varies with the bargaining system. As the findings show, articulated multi-employer bargaining is more able to govern variable pay than its unarticulated counterpart and single-employer bargaining. Within the case of articulated multi-employer bargaining, single-channel systems of employee workplace representation are superior to dual systems, all the more since the former equip the unions with selective incentives for membership.
Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses
Authors: Inbar-Lourie Ofra
Published: July 2008

The competencies required for conducting assessment in the educational context have recently been reformulated in view of social constructivist perspectives and the acknowledgement of the role of classroom assessment in promoting learning. These changes have impacted the knowledge base language assessors need to obtain, and hence the contents of language assessment courses. This paper considers the possible components of a language assessment literacy knowledge base, and proposes the establishment of a core knowledge framework for courses in language assessment.
The Representation of HIV/AIDS in the Media and its Impact among Young People in Namibia: a study of Windhoek and Katima Mulilo
Authors: Chanda Mwansa , Mchombu Kingo , Nengomasha Catherine
Published: July 2008

HIV/AIDS poses a serious challenge to Namibia's socio-economic development. The virus affects the country's most economically active segment: young people between the ages of 15 and 49. A number of communication campaigns have been carried out to mitigate the spread of the virus. This article reports on a study that examined the impact of media representations of HIV/AIDS on behaviour change among young people in Namibia. The study also sought to examine the extent to which the audience's interpretations of these representations influenced their behaviour. The findings demonstrate the effects HIV/AIDS messages had on the participants. These include a process of reinterpretation, negotiation and rejection of some of the media representations of HIV/AIDS. The paper is based on a final year research project carried out at the Department of Information and Communication Studies, University of Namibia, in 2007.
Universal Grammar and the Basic Variety
Authors: Bierwisch Manfred
Published: July 2008

The Basic Variety (BV) as conceived by Klein and Perdue (K&P) is a relatively stable state in the process of spontaneous (adult) second language acquisition, characterized by a small set of phrasal, semantic and pragmatic principles. These principles are derived by inductive generalization from a fairly large body of data. They are considered by K&P as roughly equivalent to those of Universal Grammar (UG) in the sense of Chomsky's Minimalist Program, with the proviso that the BV allows for only weak (or unmarked) formal features. The present article first discusses the viability of the BV principles proposed by K&P, arguing that some of them are in need of clarification with learner varieties, and that they are, in any case, not likely to be part of UG, as they exclude phenomena (e.g., so-called psych verbs) that cannot be ruled out even from the core of natural language. The article also considers the proposal that learner varieties of the BV type are completely unmarked instantiations of UG. Putting aside problems arising from the Minimalist Program, especially the question whether a grammar with only weak features would be a factual possibility and what it would look like, it is argued that the BV as characterized by K&P must be considered as the result of a process that crucially differs from first language acquisition as furnished by UG for a number of reasons, including properties of the BV itself. As a matter of fact, several of the properties claimed for the BV by K&P are more likely the result of general learning strategies than of language-specific principles. If this is correct, the characterization of the BV is a fairly interesting result, albeit of a rather different type than K&P suggest.
A Randomized Controlled Trial to Prevent Noncontact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Female Collegiate Soccer Players
Authors: Gilchrist Julie , Mandelbaum Bert R. , Melancon Heidi , Ryan George W. , Silvers Holly J. , Griffin Letha Y. , Watanabe Diane S. , Dick Randall W. , Dvorak Jiri
Published: July 2008

Background

Neuromuscular and proprioceptive training programs can decrease noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injuries; however, they may be difficult to implement within an entire team or the community at large.

Hypothesis

A simple on-field alternative warm-up program can reduce noncontact ACL injuries.

Study Design

Randomized controlled trial (clustered); Level of evidence, 1.

Methods

Participating National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's soccer teams were assigned randomly to intervention or control groups. Intervention teams were asked to perform the program 3 times per week during the fall 2002 season. All teams reported athletes’ participation in games and practices and any knee injuries. Injury rates were calculated based on athlete exposures, expressed as rate per 1000 athlete exposures. A z statistic was used for rate ratio comparisons.

Results

Sixty-one teams with 1435 athletes completed the study (852 control athletes; 583 intervention). The overall anterior cruciate ligament injury rate among intervention athletes was 1.7 times less than in control athletes (0.199 vs 0.340; P = .198; 41 % decrease). Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury rate among intervention athletes was 3.3 times less than in control athletes (0.057 vs 0.189; P = .066; 70% decrease). No anterior cruciate ligament injuries occurred among intervention athletes during practice versus 6 among control athletes ( P = .014). Game-related noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury rates in intervention athletes were reduced by more than half (0.233 vs 0.564; P = .218). Intervention athletes with a history of anterior cruciate ligament injury were significantly less likely to suffer another anterior cruciate ligament injury compared with control athletes with a similar history ( P = .046 for noncontact injuries).

Conclusion

This program, which focuses on neuromuscular control, appears to reduce the risk of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in collegiate female soccer players, especially those with a history of anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Juvenile Huntington Disease Exacerbated by Methylphenidate: Case Report
Authors: Waugh Jeff L. , Miller Van S. , Chudnow Robert S. , Dowling Michael Morgan
Published: July 2008

The authors describe the case of an 8-year-old boy, otherwise healthy, who presented with symptoms consistent with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and was started on a trial of methylphenidate. Within 4 weeks, he experienced a rapid decline in fine motor skills, with dysarthria, intention tremor, motor impersistence, and diffusely increased tone. Symptoms persisted despite cessation of methylphenidate. At that time, a paternal history of Huntington disease was disclosed. Molecular analysis revealed an expansion in CAG repeats to 75 copies, within the range characteristic of juvenile Huntington disease. This report raises the possibility that use of dopaminergic agonists in patients with a family history of Huntington disease may lead to clinical exacerbation of motor symptoms and/or unwitting diagnosis in an unprepared family.
Morphometric MRI Findings in the Thalamus and Brainstem in Children After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Fearing Michael A. , Bigler Erin D. , Wilde Elisabeth A. , Johnson Jamie L. , Hunter Jill V. , Xiaoqi Li  , Hanten Gerri , Levin Harvey S.
Published: July 2008

Generalized whole brain volume loss is well documented in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Whether this atrophy occurs in the thalamus and brainstem has not been systematically studied in children. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quantitative analysis was used to investigate brain volume loss in the thalamus and brainstem in 16 traumatic brain injury subjects (age range 9-16 years) compared with 16 age and demo-graphically matched controls. Based on multiple analysis of covariance, controlling for age and head size, reduced volume in the thalamus and the midbrain region of the brainstem were found. General linear model analyses revealed a relation between processing speed on a working memory task and midbrain and brain stem volumes. Reduced volume in thalamic and brainstem structures were associated with traumatic brain injury. Reduction in midbrain and thalamic volume is probably a reflection of the secondary effects of diffuse axonal injury and reduction in cortical volume from brain injury.
Courts and the Puzzle of Institutional Stability and Change
Authors: Barnes Jeb
Published: July 2008

The institutional development literature has begun to move beyond the concept of punctuated equilibrium and consider how the forces of stability and change interact. A central theme involves drift—the shifting of the effect of stable institutions through changing circumstances. This article uses the case of asbestos injury compensation to highlight how the very features of American government that make drift likely also promise to displace it, as courts step in when Congress fails to act. The broader implication is that drift is best understood as a transitional stage of development, not a dominant mode of change, in fragmented policy-making systems with multiple access points.
Desire, delight, regret: discovering Elizabeth Gibson
Authors: Greenway Judy
Published: July 2008

My research into the life of a relative, poet and feminist Elizabeth Gibson, problematizes the boundaries and interrelationships between `academic' and `family' histories, narratives and identities. The desire for, and impossibilities of, control over the components of research and the stories that can be produced from it are discussed. The interrelated narratives of the research into Gibson, my experiences of researching my own family, and the structuring of the material into an academic paper, are analysed and combined to argue that the production and presentation of narratives is itself a form of methodology. The creative juxtaposition of narratives can generate a positive methodological anarchism that relinquishes control and challenges boundaries and hierarchies.
Narrating life stories in between the fictional and the autobiographical
Authors: Leskelä-Kärki Maarit
Published: July 2008

This article discusses the processes of identity formation in different textual narratives, particularly in the intersections of fictional and epistolary texts, the in-between spaces where the autobiographical self becomes constituted. An important question concerns how to write about other people's lives and engage with the different textual narratives they have left behind. The Finnish writer Helmi Krohn (1871—1967) and her fictional and particularly epistolary texts offer a case study for exploring these methodological issues. In her letters to her artist colleagues, she constructs a narrative connecting her novels and her own life. I will also explore my narrative role by considering how as a historian I strive to make ethically valid analyses at the intersections of these different types of materials.
Tensions and aporias in the narrative construction of lives
Authors: Watson Cate
Published: July 2008

Narratives teach us how to conceive of ourselves, in two interrelated ways. The way in which we experience narrative becomes an important organizing principle for our understanding of how lives are lived; and the narratives that surround us teach us about our world and how to narrate our place within it. Narratives therefore enable us to make sense of our lives. But narrative is a paradoxical form suspended between the expected and the unexpected, which drives it forward but also constantly threatens to undermine it. This article explores the paradoxical nature of narrative and the tensions that this gives rise to in considering the narrative construction of lives.
Narrative analysis of written texts: reflexivity in cross language research
Authors: Temple Bogusia
Published: July 2008

This article examines how researchers address cross language narratives. Research and writing by migrants suggest that a change of language can lead to changes in both how people perceive themselves and how others perceive them. That is, changing language involves more than a simple change of words. However, researchers rarely consider the consequences of moving between languages in analysing and writing up narratives. This is particularly surprising for those who see narratives as contextually produced by researchers and participants and have an interest in the influence of the research process. Reflexivity is not extended to include the move across languages. I focus on some of the methodological and epistemological issues of analysing written texts produced by researchers in a language that participants did not use.
Analysing narratives as practices
Authors: De Fina Anna , Georgakopoulou Alexandra
Published: July 2008

Departing from a critique of the conventional paradigm of narrative analysis, inspired by Labov and the narrative turn in social sciences, we propose an alternative framework, recommending combining a focus on the local occasioning of narratives in interaction with the analysis of their participation in a variety of macro-processes, through mobilizing the notions of social practice, genre and community of practice.
The narrative potential of the British Birth Cohort Studies
Authors: Elliott Jane
Published: July 2008

This paper draws attention to the narrative potential of longitudinal studies such as the British Birth Cohort Studies (BBCS), and explores the possibility of creating narrative case histories and conducting narrative analysis based on information available from the studies. The BBCS have historically adopted a quantitative research design and used structured interviews and questionnaires to collect data from large samples of individuals born in specific years. However, the longitudinal nature of these studies means that they follow the same sample of individuals from birth through childhood into adult life, and this leads to the creation of data that can be understood as a quantitative auto/biography.
Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics
Authors: Murray Susan
Published: July 2008

In this article, the author argues that the social use of digital photography, as represented on Flickr, signals a shift in the engagement with the everyday image, as it has become less about the special or rarefied moments of domestic living and more about an immediate, rather fleeting, display and collection of one's discovery and framing of the small and mundane. In this way, photography is no longer just the embalmer of time that André Bazin once spoke of, but rather a more alive, immediate, and often transitory practice/form. In addition, the everyday image becomes something that even the amateur can create and comment on with relative authority and ease, which works to break down the traditional bifurcation of amateur versus professional categories in image-making.
Seeing Differently: From Antonioni's Blow Up (1966) to Shezad Dawood's Make It Big (2005)
Authors: Jones Amelia
Published: July 2008

This article makes use of London-based artist Shezad Dawood's 2005 reworking of Antonioni's 1966 Blow Up in his photographic and installation work Make It Big to explore a shifting regime of vision and power in Euro-American culture between the 1960s and the present. Via an analysis and comparison of the terms of vision and knowing in Blow Up and Make It Big, the author argues that Dawood's project articulates a subject that is newly hybrid and networked. Working postcolonial theory against new media theory, the article also puts pressure on the tendency in debates about new media to attribute all shifts in contemporary experience to the advent of the digital, arguing that these debates fail to acknowledge fully the crucial importance of broad social and political shifts since the Second World War, such as the migration of people across borders, transformations in concepts of identity and belonging, and changes in the way intellectual, aesthetic and financial capital circulates.
The “Anxiety Treatment Protocol”
Authors: Norton Peter J. , Hope Debra A.
Published: July 2008

This article describes a group study of clients partaking in the Anxiety Treatment Protocol (ATP), a 12-week transdiagnostic group cognitive—behavioral therapy (CBT) for individuals with any anxiety disorder. The treatment rationale is briefly described, along with a discussion of the accessibility, dissemination, and therapeutic advantages of delivering transdiagnostic anxiety group treatment. The session-by-session protocol is described in detail, and a quantitative case study of one recent group—and two clients in particular—is presented.
Uploading dissonance: YouTube and the US occupation of Iraq
Authors: Christensen Christian
Published: July 2008

The purpose of this article is to analyze the use of YouTube by the US military for the spreading of messages and information regarding their presence in Iraq, and, at the same time, to examine the presence on the same YouTube system of a large number of video clips showing members of the US military engaged in violent, anti-social activities. That these juxtaposing images of coalition forces in Iraq exist on the same video-sharing forum forces us to reconsider traditional notions of how `propaganda' is produced, distributed and received. In addition, the presence of dissonant material on video-sharing sites such as YouTube should lead us to consider the multi-faceted nature of such sites. This article is intended as a first step toward reconsidering the nature of propaganda in an era of online media, open-access video-sharing and simplified production and distribution.
Mission statehood: portraits of the second Palestinian intifada in US news media
Authors: Ismail Amani
Published: July 2008

Media play a pivotal role in reporting news of distant conflicts. In doing so, they also construct normal/deviant dichotomies. This study investigates construction of Palestinian political violence in US news media within the second Palestinian intifada. It sheds light on media's role as agents of social control and influence by examining labels on violence committed by various parties and the use of primordial- and instrumental-type explanations of national identity and mobilization, among others. Two key intifada moments were picked: Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's visit to the Jerusalem shrine and the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Ze'evi. Analysis indicated journalist attachment of terrorism exclusively to Palestinians, undermining Palestinian violence as legitimate resistance means. Also, religious and secular identities were conflated in attempting to identify parties of the conflict, thereby mishandling the primordial paradigm. News media's role in social control and influence is thus undeniable, but the adequacy thereof is a separate question.
The Use of Low-Energy Radial Shockwave in the Treatment of Entrapment Neuropathy of the Medial Calcaneal Nerve: A Pilot Study
Authors: Barrett Stephen L. , Reese Matthew M. , Tassone John , Buitrago Maria
Published: July 2008

Medial calcaneal nerve entrapment is a well-recognized cause of heel pain. In addition, the development of an amputation neuroma of the medial calcaneal nerve from prior heel surgery via an open incision on the medial aspect of the heel is a serious common postoperative complication and can be extremely difficult to treat. This preliminary pilot study demonstrates that the use of low-energy extracorporeal shockwave is safe and efficacious in the treatment of this disorder without the morbidity associated with denervation surgery, which would be one of the most common methods to treat this complicated situation. Four patients, 2 with bilateral affectation, for a total of 6 medial calcaneal nerves, had a series of treatments with low-energy radial shockwave with the Swiss DolorClast machine. All 4 patients had improvement in their pain scores, to the point that none elected surgical treatment, and there were no complications.
Expression of spliced oncogenic Ikaros isoforms in Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors: implications for a new mechanism of resistance
Authors: Iacobucci Ilaria , Lonetti Annalisa , Messa Francesca , Cilloni Daniela , Arruga Francesca , Ottaviani Emanuela , Paolini Stefania , Papayannidis Cristina , Piccaluga Pier Paolo , Giannoulia Panagiota , Soverini Simona , Amabile Marilina , Poerio Angela , Saglio Giuseppe , Pane Fabrizio , Berton Giorgio , Baruzzi Anna , Vitale Antonella , Chiaretti Sabina , Perini Giovanni , Foà Robin , Baccarani Michele , Martinelli Giovanni
Published: July 2008

Ikaros plays an important role in the control of differentiation and proliferation of all lymphoid lineages. The expression of short isoforms lacking DNA-binding motifs alters the differentiation capacities of hematopoietic progenitors, arresting lineage commitment. We sought to determine whether molecular abnormalities involving the IKZF1 gene were associated with resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. Using reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction, cloning, and nucleotide sequencing, only the non–DNA-binding Ik6 isoform was detected in 49% of Ph+ ALL patients. Ik6 was predominantly localized to the cytoplasm versus DNA-binding Ik1 or Ik2 isoforms, which showed nuclear localization. There was a strong correlation between nonfunctional Ikaros isoforms and BCR-ABL transcript level. Furthermore, patient-derived leukemia cells expressed oncogenic Ikaros isoforms before TKI treatment, but not during response to TKIs, and predominantly at the time of relapse. In vitro overexpression of Ik6 strongly increased DNA synthesis and inhibited apoptosis in TKI-sensitive cells. Genomic sequence and computational analyses of exon splice junction regions of IKZF1 in Ph+ ALL patients predicted several mutations that may alter alternative splicing. These results establish a previously unknown link between specific molecular defects that involve alternative splicing of the IKZF1 gene and the resistance to TKIs in Ph+ ALL patients.
Modeling cellular deformations using the level set formalism
Authors: Yang Liu , Effler Janet C , Kutscher Brett L , Sullivan Sarah E , Robinson Douglas N , Iglesias Pablo A
Published: July 2008

Background

Many cellular processes involve substantial shape changes. Traditional simulations of these cell shape changes require that grids and boundaries be moved as the cell's shape evolves. Here we demonstrate that accurate cell shape changes can be recreated using level set methods (LSM), in which the cellular shape is defined implicitly, thereby eschewing the need for updating boundaries.

Results

We obtain a viscoelastic model of Dictyostelium cells using micropipette aspiration and show how this viscoelastic model can be incorporated into LSM simulations to recreate the observed protrusion of cells into the micropipette faithfully. We also demonstrate the use of our techniques by simulating the cell shape changes elicited by the chemotactic response to an external chemoattractant gradient.

Conclusion

Our results provide a simple but effective means of incorporating cellular deformations into mathematical simulations of cell signaling. Such methods will be useful for simulating important cellular events such as chemotaxis and cytokinesis.
Recurrent prurigo nodularis related to infected tonsils: a case report
Authors: Katotomichelakis Michael , Balatsouras Dimitrios G , Bassioukas Konstantinos , Kontogiannis Nikolaos , Simopoulos Konstantinos , Danielides Vassilios
Published: July 2008

Introduction

Prurigo nodularis is an unusual disorder of unknown aetiology, which is notoriously resistant to therapy, and is characterized by extremely pruritic nodules with well-defined clinical symptoms and histopathological findings.

Case presentation

We report the case of a patient presenting with pruritic papules and nodules on his legs, arms and trunk over the past 4 years, recurring after episodes of acute tonsillitis. Although oral and topical corticosteroids, oral antibiotics and emollients were used in his therapy, only tonsillectomy finally proved the definitive treatment.

Conclusion

We discuss the aetiopathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of prurigo nodularis associated with chronic tonsillitis, and we further review the literature on this rare condition.
Disclosure of an unknown portrait of the Hungarian conjoined twin sisters Helen and Judith (1701–23)
Authors: Van Der Weiden R M F
Published: July 2008

Recently an anonymous and unknown portrait of two renowned conjoined twins, the Hungarian sisters Helen & Judith (1701–23), was discovered. The portrait shows striking similarities with the representation of the twins in a popular work on cultural anthropology and medicine printed in Augsburg, Germany, in 1805.
Helena Kagan (1889–1978): the first paediatrician in Israel
Authors: Rubin Zipora
Published: July 2008

In the Spring of 1914 Helena Kagan, a young 25-year-old physician, settled in Jerusalem. She opened a clinic at her home and became the first paediatrician in the country. She founded institutions to improve the health of Jerusalem children and engaged in extensive public activity on behalf of the Jerusalem community.
Robust ANCOVA using a smoother with bootstrap bagging
Authors: Wilcox Rand R.
Published: July 2008

Many robust analogs of the classic analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) method have been proposed, some of which are based on some type of regression smoother. A method that first appeared in this journal, which is relatively simple and performs well in simulations, is based on a running interval smoother combined with comparing medians or 20% trimmed means. It makes no parametric assumption about the regression lines and does not assume that the regression lines are parallel. A possible way of improving the efficiency of the running interval smoother is to use bootstrap bagging and a minor goal here is to report some results supporting this approach. The major goal is to consider how ANCOVA might be performed when bootstrap bagging is used. Simple extensions of extant approaches that use some type of bootstrap method were found to be unsatisfactory. However, a basic percentile bootstrap method was found to perform well in simulations. And a reanalysis of data dealing with teachers' expectations about the cognitive ability of students illustrates that bootstrap bagging can make a practical difference.
Covariances between regression coefficient estimates in a single mediator model
Authors: Tofighi Davood , MacKinnon David P. , Yoon Myeongsun
Published: July 2008

This study presents formulae for the covariances between parameter estimates in a single mediator model. These covariances are necessary to build confidence intervals (CI) for effect size measures in mediation studies. We first analytically derived the covariances between the parameter estimates in a single mediator model. Using the derived covariances, we computed the multivariate‐delta standard errors, and built the 95% CIs for the effect size measures. A simulation study evaluated the accuracy of the standard errors as well as the Type I error, power, and coverage of the CIs using various parameter values and sample sizes. Finally, we presented a numerical example and a SAS MACRO that calculates the CIs for the effect size measures.
Interpersonal patterns in close relationships: The role of sociotropy–autonomy
Authors: Sato Toru , Gonzalez Melissa A.
Published: July 2008

Sociotropy and autonomy are conceptualized as two personality dimensions that relate to an individual's vulnerability to depression. Sociotropy is characterized as an excessive investment in interpersonal relationships and autonomy is characterized as an excessive concern with personal achievement and control over the environment. The present research project consisted of two studies examining the relationships between sociotropy–autonomy and interpersonal patterns in close relationships. Data collected via self‐report and behavioural observations suggested that highly sociotropic individuals have a tendency to be high in control and low in affiliation towards individuals who are close to them. In contrast, the data suggested that highly autonomous individuals may be low in both control and affiliation towards people who are close to them. These findings are discussed in the context of the literature regarding the interpersonal characteristics of sociotropic and autonomous individuals.