bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IL-2-Induced IL-13 Production by Allergen-Specific Human Helper T Cell Clones
Authors: Hashimoto Tomomi , Kobayashi Noriaki , Kajiyama Yuichiro , Kaminuma Osamu , Suko Matsunobu , Mori Akio
Published: June 2006

Background: Interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13 are important cytokines in allergic diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. We have reported that the production of IL-5 and IL-13 by mite-responsive T helper cells (Th) is controlled under similar signal requirements, but precise mechanisms are not yet well characterized. Methods: Allergen-specific Th clones were established from peripheral blood lymphocytes of atopic asthmatics, and cytokine synthesis in response to various stimuli was determined by specific ELISAs. IL-13 gene expression was enumerated by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: IL-13 production was clearly induced by IL-2. IL-13 mRNA expression was also induced. Conclusion: The IL-2 signal by itself causes IL-13 synthesis independent of T cell receptor stimulation.
Influence of Residency Training on Personal Stress and Impairment in Family Life: Analysis of Related Factors
Authors: Ríos A. , Sánchez Gascón F. , Martínez Lage J.F. , Guerrero M.
Published: June 2006

Objectives:This cross-sectional study was designed to assess the level of stress among residents and stress-related impairment of family life. Subjects and Methods: A 41-item anonymous questionnaire was designed to determine the level of stress and its effects on the residents’ family as well as factors associated with stress during residency training in a tertiary-care hospital accredited with official resident training ‘Medicos Internos Residentes’ in Murcia, Spain. Questionnaires were distributed in sealed nominal envelopes during February and March 2002 to 227 eligible residents. Results: Of the 227 residents, 175 (77%) completed and returned the questionnaires. Forty-two percent of residents recognized that residency training caused an important level of stress and 21% felt that stress interfered with family relationships. Both factors were significantly associated. Feelings of being unsatisfied with supervision of care and achievement of training objectives as well as low satisfaction with residency training and poor assessment of the hospital were significant stressors. Impairment in family life was significantly dependent on degree of satisfaction with residency training and evaluation of the hospital. Conclusion: The data showed that residency training generated stress and impaired family life. These were closely associated with perception of being unsatisfied with the residency training and evaluation.
Hyperhomocysteinaemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency: The Long-Term Effects in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: van Oijen Martijn G.H. , Vlemmix Floor , Laheij Robert J.F. , Paloheimo Lea , Jansen Jan B.M.J. , Verheugt Freek W.A.
Published: June 2006

Background: An elevated plasma homocysteine level is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin B12 plays a key role in homocysteine metabolism and could be the main factor in causing cardiovascular disease as well. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess whether vitamin B12 deficiency or hyperhomocysteinaemia is associated with recurrent cardiovascular events. Methods: Overall, 211 patients discharged alive from our Coronary Care Unit were recruited from February till May 1998. Serum vitamin B12 and plasma homocysteine levels were measured in fasting blood samples. Patient characteristics, medical information and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed from medical files. Patients were followed for 5 years and the prevalence of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was collected. Results: In the follow-up period of 810 person-years, 48 (21%) of the patients experienced a nonfatal recurrent cardiovascular event and another 14 (7%) died of a cardiovascular cause. Among those with ischaemic heart disease at discharge, no difference in survival was found between the patients with a low (<250 pmol/l) or a high vitamin B12 level (p = 0.21). In patients with hyperhomocysteinaemia (>16 µmol/l), an increased risk of a recurrent cardio vascular event (p = 0.05) in comparison to those with normal plasma homocysteine levels was proven (adjusted hazard ratio of 2.22 (95% CI: 1.40–3.04). Conclusions: In conclusion, high plasma homocysteine concentration, but not a low serum vitamin B12 concentration, increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with ischaemic heart disease.
Evaluation of Short Stature, Carbohydrate Metabolism and Other Endocrinopathies in Bloom’s Syndrome
Authors: Diaz Alejandro , Vogiatzi Maria G. , Sanz Maureen M. , German James
Published: June 2006

Aims: To obtain an understanding of the etiology of proportional dwarfism and endocrinopathies of Bloom’s syndrome (BS). Methods: Admission for 5-day periods to an NIH-supported Clinical Research Center of a randomly selected population of persons with BS (n = 11; mean age 11.5 years, range 9 months to 28.5 years) for clinical and genetic history-taking, physical examination, and endocrinological, gastroenterological and immunological testing. Results: An oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all participants. Impaired glucose tolerance was present in 4 individuals, insulin resistance was observed in 6 individuals, and previously unrecognized diabetes was found in 1. Growth hormone provocation was normal in the 10 individuals tested. Overnight frequent GH sampling was suggestive of neurosecretory dysfunction in 3. Compensated hypothyroidism was found in 2 participants. Lipid profile abnormalities were present in 5 of 10 individuals. Low immunoglobulin concentrations (IgG and/or IgM) were seen in all tested. Intestinal absorption by D-xylose and/or fecal fat measurement was normal in all individuals tested as well. Conclusion: Altered carbohydrate metabolism is very common in BS, and is present from childhood. BS dwarfism is not related to growth hormone deficiency or malabsorption. The basis for the growth restriction in BS remains to be elucidated.
NADPH Oxidase Accounts for Enhanced Superoxide Production and Impaired Endothelium-Dependent Smooth Muscle Relaxation in BKβ1
−/−
Mice
Authors: Oelze Matthias , Warnholtz Ascan , Faulhaber Jörg , Wenzel Philip , Kleschyov Andrei L. , Coldewey Meike , Hink Ulrich , Pongs Olaf , Fleming Ingrid , Wassmann Sven , Meinertz Thomas , Ehmke Heimo , Daiber Andreas , Münzel Thomas
Published: June 2006

Objective—

Nitric oxide (NO)-induced vasorelaxation involves activation of large conductance Ca
2+
-activated K
+
channels (BK). A regulatory BKβ1 subunit confers Ca
2+
, voltage, and NO/cGMP sensitivity to the BK channel. We investigated whether endothelial function and NO/cGMP signaling is affected by a deletion of the β1-subunit.

Methods and Results—

Vascular superoxide in BKβ1
−/−
was measured using the fluorescent dye hydroethidine and lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence. Vascular NO formation was analyzed using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), expression of NADPH oxidase subunits, the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), the soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC), as well as the activity and expression of the cyclic GMP-dependent kinase I (cGK-I) were assessed by Western blotting technique. eNOS, sGC, cGK-I expression and acetylcholine-induced NO production were unaltered in Bkβ1
−/−
animals, whereas endothelial function was impaired and the activity of the cGK-I was reduced. Vascular O
2
−
and expression of the NADPH oxidase subunits p67
phox
and Nox1 were increased. Endothelial dysfunction was normalized by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin. Potassium chloride- and iberiotoxin-induced depolarization mimicked the effect of BKβ1-deletion by increasing vascular O
2
−
in an NADPH-dependent fashion.

Conclusions—

The deletion of BKβ1 causes endothelial dysfunction by increasing O
2
−
formation via increasing activity and expression of the vascular NADPH oxidase.
Complete Prevention of Atherosclerosis in ApoE-Deficient Mice by Hepatic Human ApoE Gene Transfer With Adeno-Associated Virus Serotypes 7 and 8
Authors: Kitajima Ken , Marchadier Dawn H.L. , Miller Gwen C. , Gao Guang-ping , Wilson James M. , Rader Daniel J.
Published: June 2006

Objective—

Using intravenous injection of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors based on novel serotypes 7 and 8, we examined whether liver-specific expression of human apolipoprotein E (apoE) in apoE-deficient mice would completely prevent atherosclerosis after 1 year of sustained expression.

Methods and Results—

Chow-fed apoE
−/−
mice were injected via the tail vein with vectors based on AAV2 or novel serotypes AAV7 and AAV8 encoding human apoE3 driven by a liver-specific promoter. In contrast to the first-generation AAV2 vector, apoE levels of mice injected with chimeric AAV2/7 and AAV2/8 vectors reached ≈2-fold greater than normal human plasma levels by week 4 and maintained therapeutic levels up to 1 year. Cholesterol levels of AAV2/7-apoE and AAV2/8-apoE–treated mice were reduced to normal murine wild-type levels and were maintained for 1 year. At termination after 1 year, extensive atherosclerosis was present in the thoracic aortas and aortic roots of control AAV2/8-lacZ and AAV2-apoE–injected mice, but was completely prevented in both the AAV2/7 and AAV2/8-apoE–treated mice.

Conclusion—

We demonstrate that intravenous administration of AAV2/7- and AAV2/8-apoE vectors effectively mediated robust and sustained hepatic-specific expression of apoE and completely prevented atherosclerosis at 1 year.
Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Antihypertensive Treatment
Authors: Wang Ji-Guang , Staessen Jan A. , Li Yan , Van Bortel Luc M. , Nawrot Tim , Fagard Robert , Messerli Franz H. , Safar Michel
Published: June 2006

Background and Purpose—

Hypertension promotes carotid intima-media thickening. We reviewed the randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effects of an antihypertensive drug versus placebo or another antihypertensive agent of a different class on carotid intima-media thickness.

Methods—

We searched the PubMed and the Web of Science databases for randomized clinical trials, published in English before 2005, and included 22 trials.

Results—

In 8 trials including 3329 patients with diabetes or coronary heart disease, antihypertensive treatment initiated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, a β-blocker, or a calcium-channel blocker (CCB), compared with placebo or no-treatment, reduced the rate of intima-media thickening by 7 μm/year (
P
=0.01). In 9 trials including 4564 hypertensive patients, CCBs, ACE inhibitors, an angiotensin II receptor blocker or an α-blocker, compared with diuretics or β-blockers, in the presence of similar blood pressure reductions, decreased intima-media thickening by 3 μm/year (
P
=0.03). The overall beneficial effect of the newer over older drugs was largely attributable to the decrease of intima-media thickening by 5 μm/year (
P
=0.007) in 4 trials of CCBs involving 3619 patients. In 5 trials including 287 patients with hypertension or diabetes, CCBs compared with ACE inhibitors did not differentially affect blood pressure, but attenuated intima-media thickening by 23 μm/year (
P
=0.02). The treatment induced changes in carotid intima-media thickness correlated with the changes in lumen diameter (
P
=0.02), but not with the differences in achieved blood pressure (
P
>0.53).

Conclusions—

CCBs reduce carotid intima-media thickening. This mechanism might contribute to their superior protection against stroke.
Hypertrophy of Cerebral Arterioles in Mice Deficient in Expression of the Gene for CuZn Superoxide Dismutase
Authors: Baumbach Gary L. , Didion Sean P. , Faraci Frank M.
Published: June 2006

Background and Purpose—

Reactive oxygen species are believed to be an important determinant of vascular growth. We examined effects of genetic deficiency of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD; SOD1) on structure and function of cerebral arterioles.

Methods—

Systemic arterial pressure (SAP) and cross-sectional area of the vessel wall (CSA) and superoxide (O

2
−

) levels (relative fluorescence of ethidium [ETH]) were examined in maximally dilated cerebral arterioles in mice with targeted disruption of one (+/−) or both (−/−) genes encoding CuZnSOD. Wild-type littermates served as controls. Vasodilator responses were tested in separate groups of mice.

Results—

CSA and ETH were significantly increased (
P
<0.05) in both CuZnSOD
+/−
and CuZnSOD
−/−
mice (CSA=435±24 and 541±48 μm
2
; ETH=18±1 and 34±2%) compared with wild-type mice (CSA=327±28 μm
2
; ETH=6%). Furthermore, the increases in CSA and ETH relative to wild-type mice were significantly greater (
P
<0.05) in CuZnSOD
−/−
mice than in CuZnSOD
+/−
mice (CSA=108 versus 214 μm
2
; ETH=12 versus 28%). In addition, dilatation of cerebral arterioles in response to acetylcholine, but not nitroprusside, was reduced by ≈25% in CuZnSOD
+/−
(
P
<0.075) and 50% in CuZnSOD
−/−
mice (
P
<0.05) compared with wild-type mice.

Conclusions—

Cerebral arterioles in CuZnSOD
+/−
and CuZnSOD
−/−
mice undergo marked hypertrophy. These findings provide the first direct evidence in any blood vessel that CuZnSOD normally inhibit
s
vascular hypertrophy suggesting that CuZnSOD plays a major role in regulation of cerebral vascular growth. The findings also suggest a gene dosing effect of CuZnSOD for increases in O

2
−

, induction of cerebral vascular hypertrophy and impaired endothelium-dependent dilatation.
Efficacy and Safety of Endovascular Cooling After Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Holzer Michael , Müllner Marcus , Sterz Fritz , Robak Oliver , Kliegel Andreas , Losert Heidrun , Sodeck Gottfried , Uray Thomas , Zeiner Andrea , Laggner Anton N.
Published: June 2006

Background and Purpose—

Recently 2 randomized trials in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest documented that therapeutic hypothermia improved neurological recovery. The narrow inclusion criteria resulted in an international recommendation to cool only a restricted group of primary cardiac arrest survivors. In this retrospective cohort study we investigated the efficacy and safety of endovascular cooling in unselected survivors of cardiac arrest.

Methods—

Consecutive comatose survivors of cardiac arrest, who were either cooled for 24 hours to 33°C with endovascular cooling or treated with standard postresuscitation therapy, were analyzed. Complication data were obtained by retrospective chart review.

Results—

Patients in the endovascular cooling group had 2-fold increased odds of survival (67/97 patients versus 466/941 patients; odds ratio 2.28, 95% CI, 1.45 to 3.57;
P
<0.001). After adjustment for baseline imbalances the odds ratio was 1.96 (95% CI, 1.19 to 3.23;
P
=0.008). When discounting the observational data in a Bayesian analysis by using a sceptical prior the posterior odds ratio was 1.61 (95% credible interval, 1.06 to 2.44). In the endovascular cooling group, 51/97 patients (53%) survived with favorable neurology as compared with 320/941 (34%) in the control group (odds ratio 2.15, 95% CI, 1.38 to 3.35;
P
=0.0003; adjusted odds ratio 2.56, 1.57 to 4.17). There was no difference in the rate of complications except for bradycardia.

Conclusion—

Endovascular cooling improved survival and short-term neurological recovery compared with standard treatment in comatose adult survivors of cardiac arrest. Temperature control was effective and safe with this device.
Local Relationships Between Restricted Water Diffusion and Oxygen Consumption in the Ischemic Human Brain
Authors: Guadagno Joseph V. , Jones P. Simon , Fryer Tim D. , Barret Olivier , Aigbirhio Franklin I. , Carpenter T. Adrian , Price Christopher J. , Gillard Jonathan H. , Warburton Elizabeth A. , Baron Jean-Claude
Published: June 2006

Background and Purpose—

MR is widely used to depict still ischemic but viable tissue in acute stroke. However, the relationship between the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and energy failure from reduced oxygen supply are unknown in man.

Methods—

Acute carotid-territory stroke patients were studied prospectively with both diffusion tensor–imaging and back-to-back steady-state
15
O-PET. Substantial numbers of voxels with oxygen extraction fraction >0.70 (ie, significant ongoing hypoxia) were identified in 3 patients (imaged at 7, 16 and 21 hours after stroke onset). In this voxel population, the quantitative relationships between the ADC and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO
2
), and ADC and cerebral blood flow (CBF), were assessed.

Results—

The ADC remained essentially unchanged until CBF reached values ≈20 mls/100g per min, beyond which it declined linearly. In contrast, except when severely reduced, the ADC was a poorer predictor of CMRO
2
. For both CBF and CMRO
2
, however, the relationship with ADC became steeper with longer times since onset, ie, the same ADC reflected lower perfusion and CMRO
2
with elapsed time.

Conclusions—

Despite the small sample and late times from stroke onset, the findings indicate that the degree of restricted water diffusion reliably reflects the severity of oxygen deprivation below the penumbral threshold but is less strongly related to metabolic disruption, which may explain why the ADC does not reliably predict tissue outcome. However, the same degree of diffusion restriction may correspond to greater severity of tissue disruption with elapsing time, which has relevance for stroke therapy. Time elapsed since stroke onset should be taken into account when interpreting ADC declines and in voxel-based infarct prediction models.
Archive
Authors: Featherstone Mike
Published: June 2006

The archive is the place for the storage of documents and records. With the emergence of the modern state, it became the storehouse for the material from which national memories were constructed. Archives also housed the proliferation of files and case histories as populations were subjected to disciplinary power and surveillance. Behind all scholarly research stands the archive. The ultimate plausibility of a piece of research depends on the grounds, the sources, from which the account is extracted and compiled. An expanding and unstable globalizing archive presents particular problems for classifying and legitimating knowledge. Increasingly the boundaries between the archive and everyday life become blurred through digital recording and storage technologies. Not only does the volume of recordable archive material increase dramatically (e.g. the Internet), but the volume of material seen worthy of archiving increases too, as the criteria of what can, or should be, archived expands. Life increasingly becomes lived in the shadow of the archive.
Alternative Science
Authors: Visvanathan Shiv
Published: June 2006

This entry counters the paradigmatic status of modern western science by pointing to the existence of alternative knowledges that precede this hegemonic form, and by showing the fruitfulness of alternative sciences that have emerged in contemporary times. It argues that the idea of an alternative science demonstrates that issues of knowledge determine the possibilities of a politics that connects the question of alternative lifeworlds to alternative livelihoods, lifestyles and life cycles.
Globalizations
Authors: de Sousa Santos Boaventura
Published: June 2006

What is generally called globalization is a vast social field in which hegemonic or dominant social groups, states, interests and ideologies collide with counter-hegemonic or subordinate social groups, states, interests and ideologies on a world scale. Even the hegemonic camp is fraught with conflicts, but over and above them, there is a basic consensus among its most influential members (in political terms, the G-7). It is this consensus that confers on globalization its dominant characteristics. The counter-hegemonic or subordinate production of globalization is what is called insurgent cosmopolitanism. It consists of the transnationally organized resistance against the unequal exchanges produced or intensified by globalized localisms and localized globalisms.
Global Sovereignty
Authors: Malik Suhail
Published: June 2006

Taking globalization to be in large part a consequence of American domination, we follow Derrida's characterization of this domination as being a mode of sovereignty of world-scale institutions and force. Such sovereignty, which is also a roguery, is the primary actual condition for a global knowledge. Bataille's characterization of rogue sovereignty, however, proposes that knowledge is eclipsed under such a condition by an experience that is irreducibly an unknowing. Knowledge is thus corroded by – or, at best, in a critical relation to – the manifestation of a global experience generated by the actual conditions of globalization.
Race
Authors: Ahluwalia Pal
Published: June 2006

The concept of race is traced to the quest for the origins of language and the manner in which that led to the idea that a separate language indicated a separate racial origin. The Orientalist desire to know and dominate the other and to regard him or her as sub-human necessitated the invention of race. The notion of race is further traced through the slave trade and its contemporary usage in ‘race studies’.
Nation
Authors: Visvanathan Shiv
Published: June 2006

The essay traces the definitions of nation through various stages, outlining the consequences of each definition. It emphasizes that the movement to exclusivity has been genocidal and then hints at the possibility of re-reading the idea of nation.
Logic(s)
Authors: Turner Bryan S.
Published: June 2006

Logic is concerned with the design or structure of arguments. It describes the forms of valid argument and is concerned with the public presentation and reception of arguments. Hence it has a close connection with politics and the public sphere, and with rhetoric as the science of persuasion. Philosophers have analysed the objective conditions of validation, that is, the justifiability of assertions about the world. This quest for objective and scientific validity in argumentation about the nature of reality dominated much of the development of logic in the 20th century. Logical arguments are held to be successful as a result of the ‘force of reason’ rather than because one's opponents have been bribed or coerced. Logic involves the study of the abstract, deductive moves in argumentation rather than an empirical study of how actual arguments are conducted. However, there is also a tension between rhetoric and philosophy; Plato drew a clear distinction between knowledge and persuasion. Logic is intended to give security to the former. The historical drift of logic is towards abstraction, especially the use of mathematical forms of representation. The study of logic is an important component of any project on encyclopaedic knowledge, that is, with knowledge that circulates in the public sphere, but the globalization of culture has raised an important problem about the universalistic claims of (western) traditions of logic, namely, are there different forms of logical reasoning?
Assemblage
Authors: Marcus George E. , Saka Erkan
Published: June 2006

This article shows how, in recent works of cultural analysis, the concept of ‘assemblage’ has been been derived from key sources of theory and put to work to provide a structure-like surrogate to express certain prominent values of a modernist sensibility in the discourse of description and analysis. Assemblage is a sort of anti-structural concept that permits the researcher to speak of emergence, heterogeneity, the decentred and the ephemeral in nonetheless ordered social life. There are other related concepts, like collage, which have been used to give these values substance in research, but currently assemblage is enjoying a popularity perhaps because of the continuing fascination of the work of Deleuze and Guattari.
The Aesthetic
Authors: Shusterman Richard
Published: June 2006

First coined in modernity, the aesthetic is a vague, polysemic and contested concept whose complexities arise from the variety of the ways it has been defined in the history of its theorization, but also in its formative prehistory in theories of art and beauty that preceded its modern coinage. After noting key points of that prehistory, the article traces three major modern tendencies in construing the aesthetic: as a special mode of sensory perception or experience that is relevant to life in general; as a special faculty or exercise of taste focused on judgments of beauty and related qualities such as the sublime; and as a theory (or essential quality) of fine art. The idea of aesthetic disinterestedness is critically examined, and contrasts between the concept of art in Western modernity and in pre-modern and Asian culture are also considered.
Media
Authors: Mulder Arjen
Published: June 2006

All media begin as a potential in our bodies, expand into the public domain, creating a world – and finally end again in the body, as a way of being, a range of feeling, a belief system. Media theory studies this trajectory. For media theory, media have two limits. Media cannot, by definition, make contact with the extramedial (because, if they could, they would become intramedial). And when media are translated into software they lose their identity and become part of something beyond media theory.
Discipline
Authors: Turner Bryan S.
Published: June 2006

There are broadly five interconnected meanings of the noun ‘discipline’. Disciplinawere instructions to disciples, and hence a branch of instruction or department of knowledge. This religious context provided the modern educational notion of a ‘body of knowledge’, or a discipline such as sociology or economics. We can define discipline as a body of knowledge and knowledge for the body, because the training of the mind has inevitably involved a training of the body. Second, it signified a method of training or instruction in a body of knowledge. Discipline had an important military connection involving drill, practice in the use of weapons. Third, there is an ecclesiastical meaning referring to a system of rules by which order is maintained in a church. It included the use of penal methods to achieve obedience. To discipline is to chastise. Fourth, to discipline is to bring about obedience through various forms of punishment; it is a means of correction. Finally there is a rare use of the term to describe a medical regimen in which ‘doctor's orders’ brings about a discipline of the patient. In contemporary society, there is, following the work of Michel Foucault, the notion of increasing personal regulation resulting in a ‘disciplinary society’ or a society based upon carceral institutions.
Civilization
Authors: Robertson Roland
Published: June 2006

It is necessary to distinguish between civilization as a sociocultural complex on the one hand, and civilization as a process, on the other. This is illustrated by invoking the work of Norbert Elias. For Elias, the civilizing process consisted in the way in which what were, historically, constraints on human behaviour became internalized, and is a process that takes different forms in different cultures. On the other hand, at the centre of civilization as sociocultural complex was the question concerning the attributes of a human being, crystallizing as clear-cut criteria for adjudging the degree to which the people occupying a particular territory were or were not civilized. The conception of civilization as a complex has become contemporary via Huntington's ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis, and is indicative of the way in which the very word ‘civilization’ now carries with it a considerable ideological baggage. This article argues that the ideological use of civilization and the wider discourse of the war against terror involves the fusion, or conflation, of civilization as process and civilization as complex.
Reforming Federal Testing Policy to Support Teaching and Learning
Authors: Yeh Stuart S.
Published: June 2006

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) assumes that state-mandated tests provide useful information to school administrators and teachers. However, interviews with administrators and teachers suggest that Minnesota's tests, which are representative of the current generation of state-mandated tests, fail to provide useful information to administrators and teachers about areas that need attention. The use of a single level of difficulty causes harmful stress and provides measurements of poor quality for many students. Computer-adaptive tests are a practical alternative, provide more useful information, reduce stress among students, and address four major concerns that teachers have about testing. This alternative could strengthen the link between testing and improved educational outcomes and improve the chances that NCLB will have a positive impact. However, current federal policy prohibits the use of computer-adaptive tests for accountability purposes. This article provides specific recommendations that potentially could address four critical concerns about current state-mandated tests.
Concerns About Pain Management Among Adolescents With Cancer: Developing the Adolescent Barriers Questionnaire
Authors: Ameringer Suzanne , Serlin Ronald C. , Hughes Susan H. , Frierdich Sharon A. , Ward Sandra
Published: June 2006

Investigators have examined barriers to pain management in adults with cancer, but these patient-related barriers have rarely been studied in adolescents. This article summarizes 2 studies used in the development and initial psychometric testing of the Adolescent Barriers Questionnaire (ABQ). Building on the Barriers Questionnaire-II, the ABQ is designed to measure the extent to which adolescents with cancer have concerns about reporting pain and using analgesics. Study 1 was a qualitative study investigating pain management concerns of 5 adolescents with cancer. Concerns emerged that could potentially impede pain management such as fear of addiction and worry about communicating pain to parents and providers. Each of the adolescents revealed at least 1 concern about pain management or held fatalistic beliefs that cancer pain cannot be relieved. In study 2, content validity of the preliminary ABQ (52 items assessing 13 barrier sub-scales) was assessed by 2 panels, adolescents with cancer and clinicians. Based on results, the ABQ was modified to contain 45 items that assess 11 barriers. Further examination of barriers in adolescents with cancer is warranted.
Changes in Body Image Experienced by Adolescents With Cancer
Authors: Larouche Sandie S. , Chin-Peuckert Lily
Published: June 2006

Cancer and its treatments affect adolescents’ body image. However, it is not known what factors impinge on adolescents’ perception of their body image. This multiple case study explored how 5 adolescents with cancer perceived their body image and the impact of this perception on their daily life. Adolescents described their body image as “I don’t look normal,” a theme that comprised 2 dimensions: “I look ugly” and “I look sick.” For the adolescent with cancer, these 2 dimensions evoked feelings of being vulnerably exposed: “People look at me.” Consequently, adolescents adopted a new set of coping strategies to help them manage their physical appearance and social interactions: “avoiding,” “maintaining normality,” “testing the waters,” and “peer-shield” themes. Although the adolescents perceived their body image as altered, coping mechanisms enabled adolescents to think of themselves as normal and re-establish their social lives. The results of this small study suggest 2 potential nursing approaches to facilitate adolescents’ adaptation to their new body image.
Nurse Practice Issues Regarding Sperm Banking in Adolescent Male Cancer Patients
Authors: Reebals Jeri F. , Brown Richard , Buckner Ellen B.
Published: June 2006

The impressive increase in the survival rate of childhood cancer patients has produced increased interest in quality of life issues. This research addresses nurse practice issues in determining whether the newly diagnosed adolescent male patient is offered the option of sperm banking before undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Questionnaires were distributed to nurses and nurse practitioners on 3 inpatient and outpatient units who care for adolescent male cancer patients at the time of diagnosis, during chemotherapy, and during follow-up care. Findings indicate that 96.3% of respondents agreed that all male patients undergoing cancer treatment with infertility as a potential side effect should be offered sperm banking. Respondents viewed oncologists and nurse practitioners as appropriate professionals to discuss the option. Lack of knowledge regarding sperm banking could be limiting nurses’ willingness to introduce the topic, and education regarding cryopreservation may improve their knowledge and practice.
Ontogeny, function, and peripheral homeostasis of regulatory T cells in the absence of interleukin-7
Authors: de Latour Régis Peffault , Dujardin Hélène C. , Mishellany Florence , Burlen-Defranoux Odile , Zuber Julien , Marques Rute , Di Santo James , Cumano Ana , Vieira Paulo , Bandeira Antonio
Published: June 2006

Mice lacking interleukin-7 (IL-7–/– mice) have no signs of autoimmune disease, contrary to other models of lymphopenia. We investigated whether the absence of disease was due to the fact that IL-7 is dispensable for the ontogeny, function, and homeostasis of regulatory CD4+ T cells. We show here that the establishment of the peripheral pool of Foxp3-expressing regulatory cells is IL-7 independent, and the premature involution of the thymus in IL-7–/– mice does not change the representation of the CD4+CD25+ T-cell compartment. In addition, CD4+CD25+ T cells expand in the absence of IL-7, without losing Foxp3 expression. The frequency of activated peripheral CD4+ T cells increases with age in both the CD25– and CD25+ compartments, with the CD4+CD25+ T cells displaying signs of constant activation. IL-7–/– CD4+CD25+ T cells control inflammatory bowel disease induced by IL-7–/– T cells even in hosts lacking IL-7. Depletion of the CD25+ T-cell subset after thymic involution results in a mild form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which resolves concomitantly with the regeneration of this subset. This study shows for the first time that IL-7–/– mice have a robust regulatory Foxp3-expressing CD4+ T-cell compartment that controls T-cell–mediated disease. It also highlights the potential of the regulatory Foxp3-expressing CD4+CD25– T-cell population to restore a functional CD4+CD25+ T-cell compartment through an IL-7–independent pathway.
Molecular profiling of signalling proteins for effects induced by the anti-cancer compound GSAO with 400 antibodies
Authors: Cadd Verity A , Hogg Philip J , Harris Adrian L , Feller Stephan M
Published: June 2006

Background

GSAO (4-[N-[S-glutathionylacetyl]amino] phenylarsenoxide) is a hydrophilic derivative of the protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor phenylarsine oxide (PAO). It inhibits angiogenesis and tumour growth in mouse models and may be evaluated in a phase I clinical trial in the near future. Initial experiments have implicated GSAO in perturbing mitochondrial function. Other molecular effects of GSAO in human cells, for example on the phosphorylation of proteins, are still largely unknown.

Methods

Peripheral white blood cells (PWBC) from healthy volunteers were isolated and used to profile effects of GSAO vs. a control compound, GSCA. Changes in site-specific phosphorylations, other protein modifications and expression levels of many signalling proteins were analysed using more than 400 different antibodies in Western blots.

Results

PWBC were initially cultured in low serum conditions, with the aim to reduce basal protein phosphorylation and to increase detection sensitivity. Under these conditions pleiotropic intracellular signalling protein changes were induced by GSAO. Subsequently, PWBC were cultured in 100% donor serum to reflect more closely in vivo conditions. This eliminated detectable GSAO effects on most, but not all signalling proteins analysed. Activation of the MAP kinase Erk2 was still observed and the paxillin homologue Hic-5 still displayed a major shift in protein mobility upon GSAO-treatment. A GSAO induced change in Hic-5 mobility was also found in endothelial cells, which are thought to be the primary target of GSAO in vivo.

Conclusion

Serum conditions greatly influence the molecular activity profile of GSAO in vitro. Low serum culture, which is typically used in experiments analysing protein phosphorylation, is not suitable to study GSAO activity in cells. The signalling proteins affected by GSAO under high serum conditions are candidate surrogate markers for GSAO bioactivity in vivo and can be analysed in future clinical trials. GSAO effects on Hic-5 in endothelial cells may point to a new intracellular GSAO target.
Shoulder muscle EMG activity during push up variations on and off a Swiss ball
Authors: Lehman Gregory J , MacMillan Brandon , MacIntyre Ian , Chivers Michael , Fluter Mark
Published: June 2006

Background

Surface instability is a common addition to traditional rehabilitation and strength exercises with the aim of increasing muscle activity, increasing exercise difficulty and improving joint proprioception. The aim of the current study was to determine if performing upper body closed kinetic chain exercises on a labile surface (Swiss ball) influences myoelectric amplitude when compared with a stable surface.

Methods

Thirteen males were recruited from a convenience sample of college students. Surface electromyograms were recorded from the triceps, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominis and external oblique while performing push up exercises with the feet or hands placed on a bench and separately on a Swiss ball. A push up plus exercise was also evaluated with hands on the support surface.

Results and discussion

Not all muscles responded with an increase in muscle activity. The pectoralis major muscle was not influenced by surface stability. The triceps and rectus abdominis muscles showed increases in muscle activity only when the hands were on the unstable surface. The external oblique muscle was only influenced by surface stability during the performance of the push up plus exercise. No muscle showed a change in activation level when the legs were supported by the Swiss ball instead of the bench.

Conclusion

Muscle activity can be influenced by the addition of surface instability however an increase in muscle activity does not influence all muscles in all conditions. The relationship between the participant's center of mass, the location of the unstable surface and the body part contacting the Swiss ball may be important factors in determining the muscle activation changes following changes in surface stability.
Induction of the HIV-1 Tat co-factor cyclin T1 during monocyte differentiation is required for the regulated expression of a large portion of cellular mRNAs
Authors: Yu Wendong , Wang Yan , Shaw Chad A , Qin Xiao-Feng , Rice Andrew P
Published: June 2006

Background

P-TEFb, a general RNA polymerase II elongation factor, is composed of CDK9 (cyclin-dependent kinase 9) as a catalytic unit and either cyclin T1, T2 or K as a regulatory subunit. The cyclin T1/P-TEFb complex is targeted by HIV to mediate Tat transactivation. Cyclin T1 protein expression is induced during early macrophage differentiation, suggesting a role in regulation of mRNA expression during the differentiation process. To study the functional significance of cyclin T1 induction during differentiation, we utilized the human Mono Mac 6 (MM6) monocytic cell line.

Results

We found that cyclin T1 protein expression is induced by a post-transcriptional mechanism following PMA treatment of MM6 cells, similar to its induction in primary monocytes and macrophages. Also in agreement with findings in primary cells, cyclin T2a is present at relatively high levels in MM6 cells and is not induced by PMA. Although the knock-down of cyclin T1 in MM6 cells by shRNA inhibited HIV-1 Tat transactivation, MM6 cell growth was not affected by the depletion of cyclin T1. Using DNA microarray technology, we found that more than 20% of genes induced by PMA require cyclin T1 for their normal level of induction, and approximately 15% of genes repressed by PMA require cyclin T1 for their normal level of repression. Gene ontology analysis indicates that many of these cyclin T1-dependent genes are related to immune response and signal transduction.

Conclusion

These results suggest that cyclin T1 serves a critical role in the program of macrophage differentiation, and this raises questions about the feasibility of cyclin T1 serving as an antiviral therapeutic target.
Effects of thoraco-pelvic supports during prone position in patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome: a physiological study
Authors: Chiumello Davide , Cressoni Massimo , Racagni Milena , Landi Laura , Li Bassi Gianluigi , Polli Federico , Carlesso Eleonora , Gattinoni Luciano
Published: June 2006

Introduction

This study sought to assess whether the use of thoraco-pelvic supports during prone positioning in patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) improves, deteriorates or leaves unmodified gas exchange, hemodynamics and respiratory mechanics.

Methods

We studied 11 patients with ALI/ARDS, sedated and paralyzed, mechanically ventilated in volume control ventilation. Prone positioning with or without thoraco-pelvic supports was applied in a random sequence and maintained for a 1-hour period without changing the ventilation setting. In four healthy subjects the pressures between the body and the contact surface were measured with and without thoraco-pelvic supports. Oxygenation variables (arterial and central venous), physiologic dead space, end-expiratory lung volume (helium dilution technique) and respiratory mechanics (partitioned between lung and chest wall) were measured after 60 minutes in each condition.

Results

With thoraco-pelvic supports, the contact pressures almost doubled in comparison with those measured without supports (19.1 ± 15.2 versus 10.8 ± 7.0 cmH2O, p ≤ 0.05; means ± SD). The oxygenation-related variables were not different in the prone position, with or without thoraco-pelvic supports; neither were the CO2-related variables. The lung volumes were similar in the prone position with and without thoraco-pelvic supports. The use of thoraco-pelvic supports, however, did lead to a significant decrease in chest wall compliance from 158.1 ± 77.8 to 102.5 ± 38.0 ml/cmH2O and a significantly increased pleural pressure from 4.3 ± 1.9 to 6.1 ± 1.8 cmH2O, in comparison with the prone position without supports. Moreover, when thoraco-pelvic supports were added, heart rate increased significantly from 82.1 ± 17.9 to 86.7 ± 16.7 beats/minute and stroke volume index decreased significantly from 37.8 ± 6.8 to 34.9 ± 5.4 ml/m2. The increase in pleural pressure change was associated with a significant increase in heart rate (p = 0.0003) and decrease in stroke volume index (p = 0.0241).

Conclusion

The application of thoraco-pelvic supports decreases chest wall compliance, increases pleural pressure and slightly deteriorates hemodynamics without any advantage in gas exchange. Consequently, we stopped their use in clinical practice.
Inverse Q -filter for seismic resolution enhancement
Authors: Wang Yanghua
Published: June 2006

A principal limitation on seismic resolution is the earth attenuation, or [Formula: see text]-effect, including the energy dissipation of high-frequency wave components and the velocity dispersion that distorts seismic wavelets. An inverse [Formula: see text]-filtering procedure attempts to remove the [Formula: see text]-effect to produce high-resolution seismic data, but some existing methods either reduce the S/N ratio, which limits spatial resolution, or generate an illusory high-resolution wavelet that contains no more subsurface information than the original low-resolution data. In this paper, seismic inverse [Formula: see text]-filtering is implemented in a stabilized manner to produce high-quality data in terms of resolution and S/N ratio. Stabilization is applied to only the amplitude compensation operator of a full inverse [Formula: see text]-filter because its phase operator is unconditionally stable, but the scheme neither amplifies nor suppresses high frequencies at late times where the data contain mostly ambient noise. The latter property makes the process invertible, differentiating from some conventional stabilized inverse schemes that tend to suppress high frequencies at late times. The stabilized inverse [Formula: see text]-filter works for a general earth [Formula: see text]-model, variable with depth or traveltime, and is more accurate than a layered approach, which involves an approximation to the amplitude operator. Because the earth [Formula: see text]-model can now be defined accurately, instead of a constant-[Formula: see text] layered structure, the accuracy of the inverse [Formula: see text]-filter is much higher than for a layered approach, even when implemented in the Gabor transform domain. For the stabilization factor, an empirical relation is proposed to link it to a user-specified gain limit, as in an explicit gain-controlling scheme. Synthetic and real data exam-ples demonstrate that the stabilized inverse [Formula: see text]-filter corrects the wavelet distortion in terms of shape and timing, compensates for energy loss without boosting ambient noise, and produces desirable seismic images with high resolution and high S/N ratio.
First-break vertical seismic profiling tomography for Vinton Salt Dome
Authors: Zhou Hua-wei
Published: June 2006

Building laterally depth-varying velocity models for vertical seismic profiling (VSP) imaging is challenging because of the narrow ray-angle coverage of VSP data, especially if only first arrivals are used. This study explores the potential of a new deformable-layer tomography (DLT) for building velocity models with a VSP data set acquired over the Vinton salt dome in southwestern Louisiana. The DLT method uses first breaks to constrain the geometry of velocity interfaces from an initial model of flat, constant-velocity layers parameterized using a priori geologic and geophysical information. A progressive multiscale inversion loop gradually updates the interface geometry. The final solution model, containing 3D geometry, is well supported by resolution and reliability tests and closely matches the long-wavelength trends of area sonic logs. The presence of velocity anisotropy is also indicated.
P-wave seismic attenuation by slow-wave diffusion: Effects of inhomogeneous rock properties
Authors: Carcione José M. , Picotti Stefano
Published: June 2006

Recent research has established that the dominant P-wave attenuation mechanism in reservoir rocks at seismic frequencies is because of wave-induced fluid flow (mesoscopic loss). The P-wave induces a fluid-pressure difference at mesoscopic-scale inhomogeneities (larger than the pore size but smaller than the wavelength, typically tens of centimeters) and generates fluid flow and slow (diffusion) Biot waves (continuity of pore pressure is achieved by energy conversion to slow P-waves, which diffuse away from the interfaces). In this context, we consider a periodically stratified medium and investigate the amount of attenuation (and velocity dispersion) caused by different types of heterogeneities in the rock properties, namely, porosity, grain and frame moduli, permeability, and fluid properties. The most effective loss mechanisms result from porosity variations and partial saturation, where one of the fluids is very stiff and the other is very compliant, such as, a highly permeable sandstone at shallow depths, saturated with small amounts of gas (around 10% saturation) and water. Grain- and frame-moduli variations are the next cause of attenuation. The relaxation peak moves towards low frequencies as the (background) permeability decreases and the viscosity and thickness of the layers increase. The analysis indicates in which cases the seismic band is in the relaxed regime, and therefore, when the Gassmann equation can yield a good approximation to the wave velocity.