bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Striatal leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 mRNA is increased in 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine‐lesioned common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) withl‐3, 4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine methyl ester‐induced dyskinesia
Authors: Hurley M. J. , Patel P. H. , Jackson M. J. , Smith L. A. , Rose S. , Jenner P.
Published: July 2007

The level of leucine‐rich repeat kinase 2 (Lrrk2) mRNA expression was measured by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction in anterior striatum from normal and 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)‐treated common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) that hadl‐3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine methyl ester (l‐DOPA)‐induced dyskinesia. The level of striatalLrrk2mRNA was increased in MPTP‐treated common marmosets that hadl‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia compared with normal animals that did not receivel‐DOPA. Marmosets that exhibited higher levels of dyskinesia had the greatest increase in striatalLrrk2mRNA.Lrrk2mRNA expression was also measured in human striatum and substantia nigra from control subjects and patients dying with Parkinson's disease. In contrast to marmoset tissue, no alteration inLrrk2mRNA expression was found in parkinsonian human brain. However, the brain was from patients who had an overall low level of dyskinesia. The correlation between striatalLrrk2mRNA levels in MPTP‐treated common marmoset striatum andl‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia indicates that LRRK2 may have a role in the molecular alterations that causel‐DOPA‐induced dyskinesia.
Board Evaluations: making a fit between the purpose and the system
Authors: Minichilli Alessandro , Gabrielsson Jonas , Huse Morten
Published: July 2007

Board evaluations can contribute to effective boards and improved corporate financial performance. The increasing interest in the practice of board evaluations, however, calls for a more systematic and careful approach than has been employed in the past. While most attention has primarily been focused on the content of board evaluations, this article outlines the features of various possible board evaluation systems. Based on state‐of‐the‐art research on boards and governance, we contend that a comprehensive board evaluation system needs to include decisions about: (a) the agent who evaluates the board; (b) the content, or what the evaluation should deal with; (c) the addressee and other stakeholders for whom the board is evaluated; and (d) how the board is evaluated. These key decisions should not be seen as independent of each other as they have consequences for the kind of system that will be adopted. Following this argument, we present four different board evaluation systems: (i) board‐to‐board, (ii) board‐to‐market, (iii) market‐to‐board and (iv) market‐to‐market. The key message we communicate in this article is that there must be a fit between the purpose and the system of board evaluations. There is no universal or “one best way” to evaluate boards of directors. Board evaluations will not meet their purpose unless there is a fit between the agents, the addressees, the content and the modalities of the evaluation. It is important to know who is doing what for whom and how.
The Effect of Board's Quality on Performance: a study of Canadian firms
Authors: Adjaoud Fodil , Zeghal Daniel , Andaleeb Syed
Published: July 2007

We investigate the impact of board's quality as defined by a Score published in a Canadian National Newspaper on the performance of the firm. Based on the current literature, we ranked the boards of 219 Canadian firms in terms of four board characteristics: composition of the board, compensation of board members, shareholder rights, and disclosure. Then, we defined firm performance by using traditional accounting‐based measures such as ROI, ROE, EPS, and Market‐to‐book ratio and value creation‐based measures such as EVA(R) and MVA. To test the effects of board's quality on firm performance, we adopted different models of univariate and multivariate statistical analysis.

Our results show no significant relationships between corporate governance and performance when using traditional performance measures, such as ROI, ROE, EPS and Market‐to‐book. However, they reveal significant links between board's quality and performance when the latter is captured by value performance measures, such as market value added and economic value added.
Corporate Governance and Equity Liquidity: analysis of S&P transparency and disclosure rankings
Authors: Chen Wei‐Peng , Chung Huimin , Lee Chengfew , Liao Wei‐Li
Published: July 2007

This paper sets out to investigate the effects of disclosure, and other corporate governance mechanisms, on equity liquidity, arguing that those companies adopting poor information transparency and disclosure practices will experience serious information asymmetry. Since poor corporate governance leads to greater information asymmetry, liquidity providers will incur relatively higher adverse information risks and will therefore offer higher information asymmetry components in their effective bid‐ask spreads. The Transparency and Disclosure (T&D) rankings of the individual stocks on the S&P 500 index are employed to examine whether firms with greater T&D rankings have lower information asymmetry components and lower stock spreads. Our results reveal that the economic costs of equity liquidity, i.e. the effective spread and the quoted half‐spread, are greater for those companies with poor information transparency and disclosure practices.
How does ownership structure affect capital structure and firm value? Recent evidence from East Asia1
Authors: Driffield Nigel , Mahambare Vidya , Pal Sarmistha
Published: July 2007

The present paper examines the effects of ownership structures on capital structure and firm valuation. It argues that the effects of separation of control from cash flow rights on capital structure and firm value also depend on the separation of control from management as well as on legal rules and enforcement defining investors’ protection. We obtain firm‐level panel data (three stage least squares, 3SLS) estimates from four of the East Asian countries worst affected by the last crisis. There is evidence that the general wisdom that higher control than cash flow rights may lower firm value may be reversed among owner‐managed family firms in the sample countries.
Chiari‐Like Malformation with Syringomyelia in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Long‐Term Outcome After Surgical Management
Authors: RUSBRIDGE CLARE
Published: July 2007

Objective– To evaluate long‐term success of cranial cervical decompression for management of canine Chiari‐like malformation with syringomyelia (CM/SM).

Study Design– Retrospective clinical study.

Animals– Cavalier King Charles spaniels (n=15).

Methods– After diagnosis by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dogs had cranial cervical decompression with durotomy. Seven dogs had the durotomy patched with biocompatible collagen matrix. Clinical outcome was monitored for >12 months.

Results– All dogs either improved (80%) or were unchanged (20%) postoperatively. Postoperative MRI in 6 dogs revealed persistence of syringomyelia. Seven dogs (47%) subsequently deteriorated, 0.2–2.3 years after surgery (mean, 1.3 years) and 2 dogs were eventually euthanatized as a consequence. Twelve dogs were still alive, 1–6.5 years after surgery (mean, 2.5 years).

Conclusion– Cranial cervical decompression surgery is associated with low mortality and morbidity, and results in clinical improvement in most dogs. The procedure seemingly does not result in syrinx collapse and resolution. Clinical improvement may not be sustained and some dogs can be expected to deteriorate.

Clinical Relevance– Cranial cervical decompression surgery may have a role in management of CM/SM. In dogs with severe pain, it can improve quality of life for several years; however, it does not appear to adequately address the primary cause of syringomyelia. Further prospective study is needed to better understand the pathogenesis and treatment of this disorder. Because this condition causes neuropathic pain but does not necessarily result in euthanasia more information is needed on appropriate pain management for these patients.
Evaluation of the Success of Medical Management for Presumptive Cervical Intervertebral Disk Herniation in Dogs
Authors: LEVINE JONATHAN M. , LEVINE GWENDOLYN J. , JOHNSON SCOTT I. , KERWIN SHARON C. , HETTLICH BIANCA F. , FOSGATE GEOFFREY T.
Published: July 2007

Objective— To determine the success of medical management of presumptive cervical disk herniation in dogs and variables associated with treatment outcome.

Design— Retrospective case series.

Animals— Dogs (n=88) with presumptive cervical disk herniation.

Methods— Dogs with presumptive cervical and thoracolumbar disk herniation were identified from medical records at 2 clinics and clients were mailed a questionnaire related to the success of therapy, clinical recurrence of signs, and quality of life (QOL) as interpreted by the owner. Signalment, duration and degree of neurologic dysfunction, and medication administration were determined from medical records.

Results— Ninety‐seven percent of dogs (84/87) with complete information were described as ambulatory at initial evaluation. Successful treatment was reported for 48.9% of dogs with 33% having recurrence of clinical signs and 18.1% having therapeutic failure. Bivariable logistic regression showed that non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration was associated with success (P=.035; odds ratio [OR]=2.52). Duration of cage rest and glucocorticoid administration were not significantly associated with success or QOL. Dogs with less‐severe neurologic dysfunction were more likely to have a successful outcome (OR=2.56), but this association was not significant (P=.051).

Conclusions— Medical management can lead to an acceptable outcome in many dogs with presumptive cervical disk herniation. Based on these data, NSAIDs should be considered as part of the therapeutic regimen. Cage rest duration and glucocorticoid administration do not appear to benefit these dogs, but this should be interpreted cautiously because of the retrospective data collection and use of client self‐administered questionnaire follow‐up.

Clinical Relevance— These results provide insight into the success of medical management for presumptive cervical disk herniation in dogs and may allow for refinement of treatment protocols.
Fabrication and Measurement of Micro Three‐Dimensional Photonic Crystals of SiO2 Ceramic for Terahertz Wave Applications
Authors: Chen Weiwu , Kirihara Soshu , Miyamoto Yoshinari
Published: July 2007

Three‐dimensional (3D) photonic crystals with a diamond structure made of a dense SiO2 ceramic were successfully fabricated using a CAD/CAM micro‐stereolithography and sintering process. The designed lattice constant of the diamond unit cell was 500 μm and the forming tolerance from 50 vol% SiO2 paste (before sintering) was around 15 μm. After the SiO2‐resin photonic crystals were formed via micro‐stereolithography, they were converted to pure SiO2 ceramic photonic crystals of 99% theoretical density by sintering at 1400°C. The electromagnetic wave propagation in these dense SiO2 photonic crystals was measured by terahertz‐time‐domain spectroscopy. The results showed that the band gap appeared between 470 and 580 GHz in the Γ–X〈100〉 direction, between 490 and 630 GHz in the Γ–K〈110〉 direction, and between 400 and 510 GHz in the Γ–L〈111〉 direction, resulting in the formation of a common band gap in all directions between 490 and 510 GHz. These results agreed well with the band gaps calculated by the plane wave expansion method.
Texture and Anisotropy of Polycrystalline Piezoelectrics
Authors: Jones Jacob L. , Iverson Benjamin J. , Bowman Keith J.
Published: July 2007

Piezoelectricity is manifested in ferroelectric ceramics by inducing a preferred volume fraction of one ferroelectric domain variant orientation at the expense of degenerate orientations. The piezoelectric effect is therefore largely controlled by the effectiveness of the electrical poling in producing a bias in ferroelectric (180°) and ferroelastic (non‐180°) domain orientations. Further enhancement of the piezoelectric effect in bulk ceramics can be accomplished by inducing preferred orientation through grain‐orientation processes such as hot forging or tape casting that precede the electrical‐poling process. Coupled crystal orientation and domain orientation processing yields ceramics with an even greater piezoelectric response. In this paper, preferred orientations of domains and grains in polycrystalline piezoelectric ceramics generated through both domain‐ and grain‐orientation processing are characterized through pole figures and orientation distribution functions obtained using data from a variety of diffraction techniques. The processing methods used to produce these materials and the methods used to evaluate preferred orientation and texture are described and discussed in the context of prior research. Different sample and crystal symmetries are explored across a range of commercial and laboratory‐prepared materials. Some of the variables presented in this work include the effects ofin situthermal depoling and the detailed processing parameters used in tape casting of materials with preferred crystallite orientations. Preferred orientation is also correlated with anisotropic properties, demonstrating a clear influence of both grain and domain orientations on piezoelectricity.
Overview and Status of Mouthguard Bleaching
Authors: Haywood Van Benjamin
Published: July 2007

Since the bleaching of vital teeth using a tray delivery system with a 10 percent carbamide peroxide first became common knowledge in March, 1989, there has been much discussion, improvement, and questions concerning the process and the various products available. This article presents an overview of its history, the variations in techniques, and questions concerning safety, including the impact on tooth structure, the pulp, soft tissue of the mouth, and systemic ingestion. It divides currently available products according to their composition, into either a carbamide peroxide with and without carbopol, a hydrogen peroxide of varying concentrations, a hydrochloric acid, or other categories. It discusses the various delivery mechanisms and comments on their apparent effectiveness, as well as reflecting the current knowledge base of the profession.
Current Issues in Alternative Media Research
Authors: Atton Chris
Published: July 2007

Research in alternative media has burgeoned since the turn of the millennium. The majority of studies has examined the political and social dimensions of alternative media and has focused on the media of social movements. The value of these amateur media projects lies not only in the content they produce, but also in the educational and political empowerment they offer to their participants. Other forms of alternative media, such as blogs and fanzines, present challenges to mainstream journalism; they challenge the exclusive authority and expertise of professional journalists. Recent research has begun to examine the relationship between alternative and mainstream media practices, particularly examining how alternative media offer ways of rebalancing media power and how ‘ordinary’ people are able to represent their own lives and experiences and concerns in ways that are often ignored or marginalised by the dominant media institutions. However, we need to learn more about specific alternative media practices and how audiences use their content.
Study on the Drilling of Titanium/Graphite Hybrid Composites
Authors: Kim D. , Ramulu M.
Published: July 2007

Titanium/graphite hybrid composites (TiGr) are a potentially enabling technology which satisfies the low structural weight fraction and long operational lifetime required for the high-speed civil transport. TiGr composites are made of thermoplastic polymer matrix composite plies with titanium foils as the outer plies. The two materials are assembled by bonding the polymer matrix composite plies and titanium foils to form a hybrid composite laminate. Both experimental and analytical work has been performed to characterize major hole quality parameters and cutting mechanisms encountered in drilling of TiGr composites. The effects of consolidation processing, such as induction heating press and autoclave processes, on drilling characteristics of TiGr composites were examined. The hole quality parameters and hole exit damage was investigated and discussed.
Therapeutic Effect of Nisin Z on Subclinical Mastitis in Lactating Cows
Authors: Wu Junqiang , Hu Songhua , Cao Liting
Published: July 2007

Bovine subclinical mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland caused by bacterial intramammary infection, accounting for large economic losses. Treatment of subclinical mastitis is not suggested for lactating cows due to the risk of milk contamination. The objectives of this study were to evaluate an antimicrobial peptide, nisin, in the treatment of subclinical mastitis in lactating cows. A total of 90 lactating Holstein cows with subclinical mastitis were randomly divided into nisin-treated (n= 46) and control (n= 44) groups. In the nisin-treated group, cows received an intramammary infusion of nisin at a dose of 2,500,000 IU once daily for 3 days while the control cows received no treatment. Milk samples were collected from the affected mammary quarters before treatment and 1 and 2 weeks after treatment for analyses of bacteria, somatic cells, andN-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAGase). Results indicated that nisin therapy had bacteriological cure rates of 90.1% forStreptococcus agalactiae(10 of 11), 50% forStaphylococcus aureus(7 of 14), 58.8% for coagulase-negative staphylococci (7 of 17), and 65.2% for all cases (30 of 46). Meanwhile, only 15.9% (7 of 44) of untreated cows spontaneously recovered. NAGase activity in milk samples and the number of mammary quarters with a milk somatic cell count of ≥500,000/ml were significantly decreased after nisin treatment while no significant changes took place in the control group. Because of its therapeutic effects on bovine subclinical mastitis, as well as its safety in humans, nisin deserves further study to clarify its effects on mastitis caused by different pathogens.
Chromosome Fragile Sites
Authors: Durkin Sandra G. , Glover Thomas W.
Published: July 2007

Chromosomal fragile sites are specific loci that preferentially exhibit gaps and breaks on metaphase chromosomes following partial inhibition of DNA synthesis. Their discovery has led to novel findings spanning a number of areas of genetics. Rare fragile sites are seen in a small proportion of individuals and are inherited in a Mendelian manner. Some, such as FRAXA in the FMR1 gene, are associated with human genetic disorders, and their study led to the identification of nucleotide-repeat expansion as a frequent mutational mechanism in humans. In contrast, common fragile sites are present in all individuals and represent the largest class of fragile sites. Long considered an intriguing component of chromosome structure, common fragile sites have taken on novel significance as regions of the genome that are particularly sensitive to replication stress and that are frequently rearranged in tumor cells. In recent years, much progress has been made toward understanding the genomic features of common fragile sites and the cellular processes that monitor and influence their stability. Their study has merged with that of cell cycle checkpoints and DNA repair, and common fragile sites have provided insight into understanding the consequences of replication stress on DNA damage and genome instability in cancer cells.
Prognostic Value of Troponins in Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: Becattini Cecilia , Vedovati Maria Cristina , Agnelli Giancarlo
Published: July 2007

Background—

Whether elevated serum troponin levels identify patients with acute pulmonary embolism at high risk of short-term mortality or adverse outcome is undefined.

Methods and Results—

We performed a meta-analysis of studies in patients with acute pulmonary embolism to assess the prognostic value of elevated troponin levels for short-term death and adverse outcome events (composite of death and any of the following: shock, need for thrombolysis, endotracheal intubation, catecholamine infusion, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or recurrent pulmonary embolism). Unrestricted searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE bibliographic databases from January 1998 to November 2006 were performed using the terms “troponin” and “pulmonary embolism.” Additionally, review articles and bibliographies were manually searched. Cohort studies were included if they had used cardiac-specific troponin assays and had reported on short-term death or adverse outcome events. A random-effects model was used to pool study results; funnel-plot inspection was done to evaluate publication bias; and I
2
testing was used to test for heterogeneity. Data from 20 studies (1985 patients) were included in the analysis. Overall, 122 of 618 patients with elevated troponin levels died (19.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 16.6 to 22.8) compared with 51 of 1367 with normal troponin levels (3.7%; 95% CI, 2.7 to 4.7). Elevated troponin levels were significantly associated with short-term mortality (odds ratio [OR], 5.24; 95% CI, 3.28 to 8.38), with death resulting from pulmonary embolism (OR, 9.44; 95% CI, 4.14 to 21.49), and with adverse outcome events (OR, 7.03; 95% CI, 2.42 to 20.43). Elevated troponin levels were associated with a high mortality in the subgroup of hemodynamically stable patients (OR, 5.90; 95% CI, 2.68 to 12.95). Results were consistent for troponin I or T and prospective or retrospective studies.

Conclusions—

Elevated troponin levels identify patients with acute pulmonary embolism at high risk of short-term death and adverse outcome events.
Patterns of Identification and Performance Among Gifted Students Identified Through Performance Tasks
Authors: VanTassel-Baska Joyce , Feng Annie Xuemei , Evans Brandy L.
Published: July 2007

This study tracks the profile data of identification for gifted students in South Carolina, where a new performance-based dimension of identification has been employed, during a 3-year period. Targeted to identify more low-income and minority students, the identification protocol demonstrates efficacy in doing so. The study also tracks comparative data, showing the verbal and nonverbal profiles of students identified using this protocol in comparison to students more traditionally identified. Results suggest that students identified using performance tasks were more likely to be identified through the nonverbal assessment component of the tasks. Performance data are tracked across 2 years, showing that performance task-identified students, in general, perform at levels below traditionally identified students. In their area of strength, however, they tend to approach the mean for the traditionally identified gifted students on that portion of the high-stakes state test.
A Study of Curriculum Effectiveness in Social Studies
Authors: Little Catherine A. , Feng Annie Xuemei , VanTassel-Baska Joyce , Rogers Karen B. , Avery Linda D.
Published: July 2007

This quasi-experimental study examines the effects on student performance of a Javits-funded curriculum designed to respond to the needs of high-ability students in elementary and middle school social studies. The curriculum, implemented with all students in heterogeneous classrooms, addresses state standards while integrating advanced content, higher level process emphases, and a conceptual orientation. Data collection focuses on student performance in conceptual reasoning, critical thinking, and content learning and on teacher demonstration of specific desired teaching behaviors. Results demonstrate significant and important differences between treatment and comparison groups in the area of content learning, favoring the treatment group; no significant differences are found for the small subsample of gifted students. Subanalyses yield differential results for specific units and schools, potentially indicating issues of treatment fidelity. Contextual challenges and implications of the study are discussed, including issues related to social studies curriculum implementation and differentiation in the current standards-based environment.
On the Electrical Conductivity of Particulate Composites
Authors: Pal Rajinder
Published: July 2007

Two new equations are developed for effective electrical conductivity of concentrated particulate composites using a differential scheme along with the solution of an infinitely dilute dispersion of particles in a continuous matrix. The proposed equations are evaluated using 16 sets of experimental data on the electrical conductivity of two-phase particulate systems. The following model developed in the paper describes the experimental data very well: (σ/σm)1/3 (σd — σm)/ (σd — σ) = (1 — φ/φm )—αφm ) where σ, σm and σd are electrical conductivities of composite, matrix, and dispersed phase (filler) respectively, φ is volume fraction of filler, φm is the maximum packing volume fraction of filler, and α is a constant of the order of unity. In the special case of α = 1 and φm = 1, this model reduces to the well-known Bruggeman equation for the electrical conductivity of two-phase particulate systems. The predictions of the proposed model are significantly different from the predictions of the existing general effective media (GEM) model.
Improving Foot Self-Care Behaviors With Pies Sanos
Authors: Borges Wanda J. , Ostwald Sharon K.
Published: July 2007

Participants who received Pies Sanos, a 15-min intervention designed to improve diabetes self-efficacy and foot self-care behaviors in adult patients with type 2 diabetes who lived in a predominantly Mexican American community, performed more-complete foot self-care 1 month later in their homes. Recruited when they presented for nonurgent care to the emergency department in two community hospitals near the U.S.—Mexico border, participants were randomized into one of three groups. At follow-up, there was a significant difference in observed foot self-care behaviors between groups, F(2, 135) = 2.99, p < .05, as well as a significant difference within the intervention, t (47) = −4.32, p < .01, and control group, t (46) = −2.06, p < .05, for baseline and follow-up self-reported foot self-care behaviors. Baseline diabetes self-efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with both baseline ( r = .335, p < .001) and follow-up ( r = .174, p < .05) foot self-care behaviors.
Synthesis and Characterization of Soluble Polyimides Derived from the Polycondensation of 2,6-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy-4'-benzoyl)pyridine with Some Aromatic Dianhydrides
Authors: Zhang Shu-Jiang , Li Yan-Feng , Wang Xiao-Long , Zhao Xyn , Shao Yu , Ma Tao
Published: July 2007

A new aromatic diamine monomer containing both pyridine and fluorine, 2,6-bis(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy-4 '-benzoyl)pyridine (BAFP), was successively synthesized by the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 2,6-bis(4,4'-dihydroxybenzoyl)pyridine with 2-chloro-5-nitro-trifluoromethylbenzene in the presence of k2CO 3 in N, N-dimethylacetamide, and followed by reduction with SnCl2 and HCl in ethanol. The polycondensation of BAFP with four aromatic dianhydrides afforded a series of novel aromatic polyimides containing both pyridine and fluorine. The reaction was conducted by the one-step thermal imidization method. The resulting polyimides were characterized for inherent viscosity, solubility, and thermo-oxidative stability. The polyimides exhibited excellent solubility in various solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N, N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and chloroform. The glass-transition temperatures ( Tg) were in the range of 206—227°C. The polyimides displayed good thermal stability, e.g. the temperatures at the 5% weight loss range were at 487—543°C in nitrogen and 463—521°C in air, respectively. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the polyimides were predominantly amorphous.
Who Rules Sport Now?
Authors: White Michelle , Kay Joyce
Published: July 2007

Research over the past 20 years has suggested that the role of women in British sports governance is limited and may even be decreasing. A study by White and Brackenridge, published in this journal in 1985, provided convincing evidence that women had little influence at the top level of sports management and administration and predicted that there was little chance of improvement. That view has been maintained ever since but with little empirical evidence to support it. The present pilot study, based on contact with a range of organizations, suggests that the overall situation is improving, particularly amongst newer authorities and commercial clubs. Preliminary findings indicate that women have in fact been appointed in increasing numbers to senior jobs in sports governance.
Queering Sport
Authors: Travers Ann
Published: July 2007

This article introduces a distinction between gender conforming and gender transforming elements in the transgender liberation movement and explores the way in which lesbian softball leagues have responded to these challenges. The transgender inclusive policies of a sample of North American lesbian softball leagues are examined within the context of a queer feminist challenge to the gender binary and the role of sport in normalizing the two sex system. The research reveals the emergence of policy that achieves some transgender inclusion while remaining within the framework of the gender binary. The potential for lesbian softball leagues to model a queering of sport requires that such organizations address the tensions between women-only sporting spaces and a hetero-normative gender binary.
Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water: Raising the Education Threshold Through Teacher Self-Awareness
Authors: Stolder Mary Ellen , Hydo Sharon K. , Zorn Cecelia R. , Bottoms Marjorie S.
Published: July 2007

The ancient Greeks, as well as current writers, prompt us to examine the self as teacher. Seeing the self as a border crosser is used to reveal both the light-side and shadow-side of self, as metaphorically suggested by fire, wind, earth, and water. Only through teacher self-awareness can respect be used to expand our lives as teachers and enrich students' learning and growth.
The Urban Politics of Workfare
Authors: Krinsky John
Published: July 2007

This article casts New York City's large, public-sector workfare program of the mid-1990s against political-economic, institutionalist, and culturalist explanations of welfare reform dynamics. It argues that the form and changes in welfare reform programs must increasingly be understood as intersecting with urban political dynamics. Synthesizing existing literatures on welfare and urban policy, the article urges explanations based on the intersection of urban labor-market and fiscal management, institutional rules, and analyses of multiscalar policy networks and urban regimes that (1) generate ideas about what constitutes policy success; (2) organize coalitions and disorganize potential opposition; and (3) import and export policy reform ideas to and from the local scale to larger scales of governance.
Labor Unions and Affordable Housing
Authors: Botein Hilary
Published: July 2007

Labor unions in the United States were involved in producing and advocating for affordable housing in the period after World War II, when labor wielded legislative, electoral, and economic power both nationally and locally. That involvement now has ceased almost completely. This article uses historical analysis to explore how labor unions influenced national housing policies and programs in the postwar United States, and considers how the labor and housing movements do and could collaborate today to meet the current pressing need for affordable housing, through alliances between organized labor and community groups in support of better housing and more unionized construction jobs.
Practice—research engagement (PRE)
Authors: Khresheh Reham , Barclay Lesley
Published: July 2007

This article describes the practice—research engagement (PRE) that occurred during an action research project conducted in three hospitals in Jordan. The project aimed to develop and test the feasibility of an improved clinical record-keeping system. This article focuses on how relationships were built and evolved over time with national and local leaders and practitioners to facilitate the study, and how this led to a process of health system improvement. The article draws on outcomes and analyses from data collected in field notes, recorded interviews and focus groups. Results showed that the PRE approach assisted people to change as they undertook a process of clinical improvement and health systems development.
Absence for Whom? An Autoethnography of White Subjectivity
Authors: Warren John T.
Published: July 2007

This autoethnography explores the role of absence for the White subject, locating that absence within the perceiving Self. In this article, the author articulates a gradual process of coming to see his own Whiteness through evocative writing to make space for Others to move toward locating their own social position. This article understands the Self not as fixed, but rather as an agent in a constant process of subject formation as narrated by that Self, Others, and the social worldview in which that Self is located.
Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways: C.L.R. James and the Radical Postcolonial Imagination
Authors: McCarthy Cameron
Published: July 2007

What is the nature and role of intellectual work in modern society? How is the role of the intellectual to be defined and discussed? What is the relation ship of the intellectual to popular culture, popular life, and the wish fulfill ment of the masses? These are critical questions that the postcolonial intel lectual, C.L.R. James, addressed in his theoretical writings. This article offers an assessment of James, focusing sharply on his discussion of the intellectual activism and the way in which the intellectual is represented in his work. The author attempts to draw out the insights of James in detail, pointing to their internal tensions and contradictions but also to their value and relevance to issues of intellectual work on the terrain of the contempo rary public sphere, where the discourse on intellectual activism has all but atrophied in recent years.
Blue Is Hot, Red Is Cold: Doing Reverse Cultural Studies in Africa
Authors: Tomaselli Keyan G.
Published: July 2007

This article is a theorized diary of three field trips to a remote part of South ern Africa. It develops a reflexive argument for a reverse cultural studies in discussing problems in fieldwork, globalization, academic access, and research accountability. Academy-bound scholarship claiming to be study ing the popular is questioned. An argument is made for an empirical space in cultural studies for a greater acknowledgement of fieldwork done in the Third and Fourth Worlds vis-à-vis theory development in the Western metropoles. The narrative aims to forge a space in the global publications industry for kinds of cultural studies done in Africa, in which detail is as important as theory, in which human agency is described and recognized, and in which voices from the field, our subjects of observation, are engaged by researchers as their equals in human dignity and thus as pro ducers of knowledge. Theoreticism is questioned.
“How Could a Mother...?” Matricide and Text-Mediated Relations of Family Discourse
Authors: Cleeton Elaine R.
Published: July 2007

On September 3, 1998, Khoua Her, a 24-year-old Hmong refugee living in St. Paul, Minnesota, killed all six of her young children and attempted suicide. On the surface the worst case of matricide in United States history, a careful reading of the numerous press-generated reports reveals that for years, Her struggled against the ravages of poverty to keep her family together. Referencing the Standard North American Family (SNAF) narrative of mothering, press coverage of this horror story seeks to address the question, “How could a mother do this to her own children when the children are so innocent?” The author argues that a deep reading of the press-generated story surfaces evidence that, having exhausted all resources for keeping her family together, Her gave up. The article concludes that SNAF transforms evidence of Her’s mothering work into proof that she was a “bad mother.”
Connected? On Experience, Economy, Violence, and Care
Authors: Saukko Paula
Published: July 2007

This article aims to enhance a dialogue between new ethnographic writing on experience and political economic analysis. It examines the ways in which recent experimental ethnographies and Manuel Castells's work on information society understand the double-sided, always caring and violent nature of connections. New ethnographies have developed innovative ways of studying and writing that convey how experiences and symbols unite and separate us. Castells's work is a brilliant treatise on the complex ways in which global economy, technology, and politics pull us together and draw us apart. Castells's work on the global could expand new ethnography's focus on the intricacies of intersubjective understanding, whereas new ethnography could enable realist political economy to critically reflect on the constitutive nature of the terms it uses to divide groups of people into proactive or connected and reactive or unconnected. Together the two approaches help us to understand how experiences, language, economy, and politics join and divide us, pointing toward ways of forging scholarly and political alliances sensitive to commonalities and schisms.
Writing Through: The Poetics of Transfiguration
Authors: Gurevitch Zali
Published: July 2007

The poetic moment in social science brings up questions of poetics, such as what makes writing poetic, and what are the critical shifts introduced by poetic writing? In the present article, the idea of poetics is explored through the notion of transfiguration. Transfiguration is a combination of trans and figuration. It holds both an idea of closure, namely, the figurative, the bring ing into form, and an idea of opening, namely, the sense of passage that comes with and through trans/trance. It is argued that the writing of culture, and the idea of poetization, requires a shift from writing that describes, explains, or even expresses to a writing that transfigures.
Katrina and the Banshee's Wail: The Racialization of Class Exploitation
Authors: McLaren Peter , Jaramillo Nathalia E.
Published: July 2007

In this article, the authors examine Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on the people of New Orleans from a historical materialist perspective. In their analysis, the authors discuss Katrina in relation to capitalism's overall devastating consequences for the ecosphere as well as the global division of labor and its racialized social relations. They further suggest that the racialization of Hurricane Katrina needs to be situated within the disciplinary practices of capital and its process of valorization through unsustainable capital-fueled growth and development, overproduction, resource depletion, and ecosystem destabilization and destruction.
Drowning the Crescent City
Authors: Mirón Luis , Ward Robert
Published: July 2007

This article reviews secondary sources on the possible causes of the devastation in New Orleans resulting from Hurricane Katrina. These sources include newspaper accounts, radio and television interviews, government documents, and extensive historical chronicles of the aftermath of Katrina. The authors examine the consequences of policy action (or inaction) at all levels of government with respect to preparedness for evacuation. Using readily available online archival sources, the authors probe the interwoven complexity of the social structures of class, race, and age, together with the everyday lived experience of poor African American and elderly residents, to critically examine the question "what happened and why?" The article concludes with an examination of the legacies of racism and class inequality that are both socially reproduced in Katrina and, if not given keen attention by policy makers and other leaders, may foretell a similar disaster in the future.
TMM@: a web application for the analysis of transmembrane helix mobility
Authors: Skjaerven Lars , Jonassen Inge , Reuter Nathalie
Published: July 2007

Background

To understand the mechanism by which a protein transmits a signal through the cell membrane, an understanding of the flexibility of its transmembrane (TM) region is essential. Normal Mode Analysis (NMA) has become the method of choice to investigate the slowest motions in macromolecular systems. It has been widely used to study transmembrane channels and pumps. It relies on the hypothesis that the vibrational normal modes having the lowest frequencies (also named soft modes) describe the largest movements in a protein and are the ones that are functionally relevant. In particular NMA can be used to study dynamics of TM regions, but no tool making this approach available for non-experts, has been available so far.

Results

We developed the web-application TMM@ (TransMembrane α-helical Mobility analyzer). It uses NMA to characterize the propensity of transmembrane α-helices to be displaced. Starting from a structure file at the PDB format, the server computes the normal modes of the protein and identifies which helices in the bundle are the most mobile. Each analysis is performed independently from the others and results can be visualized using only a web browser. No additional plug-in or software is required. For users who would like to further analyze the output data with their favourite software, raw results can also be downloaded.

Conclusion

We built a novel and unique tool, TMM@, to study the mobility of transmembrane α-helices. The tool can be applied to for example membrane transporters and provides biologists studying transmembrane proteins with an approach to investigate which α-helices are likely to undergo the largest displacements, and hence which helices are most likely to be involved in the transportation of molecules in and out of the cell.
Gene transfer to pre-hematopoietic and committed hematopoietic precursors in the early mouse Yolk Sac: a comparative study between in situ electroporation and retroviral transduction
Authors: Giroux Sébastien JD , Alves-Leiva Celmar , Lécluse Yann , Martin Patrick , Albagli Olivier , Godin Isabelle
Published: July 2007

Background

Hematopoietic development in vertebrate embryos results from the sequential contribution of two pools of precursors independently generated. While intra-embryonic precursors harbour the features of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), precursors formed earlier in the yolk sac (YS) display limited differentiation and self-renewal potentials. The mechanisms leading to the generation of the precursors in both sites are still largely unknown, as are the molecular basis underlying their different potential. A possible approach to assess the role of candidate genes is to transfer or modulate their expression/activity in both sites. We thus designed and compared transduction protocols to target either native extra-embryonic precursors, or hematopoietic precursors.

Results

One transduction protocol involves transient modification of gene expression through in situ electroporation of the prospective blood islands, which allows the evolution of transfected mesodermal cells in their "normal" environment, upon organ culture. Following in situ electroporation of a GFP reporter construct into the YS cavity of embryos at post-streak (mesodermal/pre-hematopoietic precursors) or early somite (hematopoietic precursors) stages, high GFP expression levels as well as a good preservation of cell viability is observed in YS explants. Moreover, the erythro-myeloid progeny typical of the YS arises from GFP+ mesodermal cells or hematopoietic precursors, even if the number of targeted precursors is low. The second approach, based on retroviral transduction allows a very efficient transduction of large precursor numbers, but may only be used to target 8 dpc YS hematopoietic precursors. Again, transduced cells generate a progeny quantitatively and qualitatively similar to that of control YS.

Conclusion

We thus provide two protocols whose combination may allow a thorough study of both early and late events of hematopoietic development in the murine YS. In situ electroporation constitutes the only possible gene transfer method to transduce mesodermal/pre-hematopoietic precursors and analyze the earliest steps of hematopoietic development. Both in situ electroporation and retroviral transduction may be used to target early hematopoietic precursors, but the latter appears more convenient if a large pool of stably transduced cells is required. We discuss the assets and limitation of both methods, which may be alternatively chosen depending on scientific constraints.
Extra-embryonic endoderm cells derived from ES cells induced by GATA Factors acquire the character of XEN cells
Authors: Shimosato Daisuke , Shiki Makoto , Niwa Hitoshi
Published: July 2007

Background

Three types of cell lines have been established from mouse blastocysts: embryonic stem (ES) cells, trophoblast stem (TS) cells, and extra-embryonic endoderm (XEN) cells, which have the potential to differentiate into their respective cognate lineages. ES cells can differentiate in vitro not only into somatic cell lineages but into extra-embryonic lineages, including trophectoderm and extra-embryonic endoderm (ExEn) as well. TS cells can be established from ES cells by the artificial repression of Oct3/4 or the upregulation of Cdx2 in the presence of FGF4 on feeder cells. The relationship between these embryo-derived XEN cells and ES cell-derived ExEn cell lines remains unclear, although we have previously reported that overexpression of Gata4 or Gata6 induces differentiation of mouse ES cells into extra-embryonic endoderm in vitro.

Results

A system in which GATA factors were conditionally activated revealed that the cells continue to proliferate while expressing a set of extra-embryonic endoderm markers, and, following injection into blastocysts, contribute only to the extra-embryonic endoderm lineage in vivo. Although the in vivo contribution is limited to cells of parietal endoderm lineage, Gata-induced extra-embryonic endoderm cells (gExEn) can be induced to differentiate into visceral endoderm-like cells in vitro by repression of Gata6. During early passage, the propagation of gExEn cells is dependent on the expression of the Gata6 transgene. These cells, however, lose this dependency following establishment of endogenous Gata6 expression.

Conclusion

We show here that Gata-induced extra-embryonic endoderm cells derived from ES cells mimic the character of XEN cells. These findings indicate that Gata transcription factors are sufficient for the derivation and propagation of XEN-like extra-embryonic endoderm cells from ES cells.