bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seizures in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome: The Relevance of Smoking to Stroke
Authors: de Carvalho Jozélio Freire , Pasoto Sandra Gofinet , Appenzeller Simone
Published: March 2012

Objectives. To evaluate the frequency of seizures in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) and their possible clinical and laboratory associations.Methods. Eighty-eight PAPS patients (Sydney’s criteria) were analyzed by a standard interview, physical examination and review of medical charts. Risk factors for seizures, clinical manifestations, associated comorbidities, and antiphospholipid antibodies were evaluated.Results. Nine (10.2%) patients with seizures were identified, 77.8% had convulsions onset after PAPS diagnosis. Mean age, gender, and race were comparable in groups with or without seizures. Interestingly, a higher frequency of current smoking (44.4 versus 10.1%, ) was observed in the first group. Stroke, Sneddon’s syndrome, and livedo reticularis were more frequent in PAPS patients with seizures than those without seizures, although not statistically significant (). Comparison between patients with seizures onset after PAPS diagnosis () and those without convulsions () demonstrated a higher frequency of current smoking (42.9 versus 10%, ) and stroke in the first group (71.4 versus 30.4%, ). Regression analysis confirmed that smoking () and stroke () were independently associated to seizures.Conclusion. About 10.2% of PAPS patients had convulsions, predominantly after PAPS diagnosis, and seizures were associated to current smoking and stroke.
Approximately Ternary Homomorphisms and Derivations on C∗‐Ternary Algebras
Authors: Gordji M. Eshaghi , Ebadian A. , Ghobadipour N. , Rassias J. M. , Savadkouhi M. B.
Published: March 2012

We investigate the stability and superstability of ternary homomorphisms between C*‐ternary algebras and derivations on C*‐ternary algebras, associated with the following functional equation f((x2 − x1)/3) + f((x1 − 3x3)/3) + f((3x1 + 3x3 − x2)/3) = f(x1).
Description of Bursaphelenchus arthuroides sp. n. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae), a second parthenogenetic species of Bursaphelenchus Fuchs, 1937
Authors: Gu Jianfeng , Wang Jiangling , Zheng Jingwu
Published: March 2012

Bursaphelenchus arthuroides sp. n. is described and figured from pine packaging wood originating in Brazil, and inspected in Ningbo harbour, P. R. China. The new species clearly belongs to the fungivorus group. It is characterised by four lines in the lateral field; spicules medium sized (15-17 μm), dorsal part distinctly sclerotised, with a high rounded condylus and a blunted pointed rostrum in the middle position, capitulum with a shallow depression, the posterior third of the dorsal limb ventrally bent, distal end broadly rounded without cucullus; the shape of the female tail conical and slim, posterior third distinctly ventrally bent with a finely pointed terminus; vulval lips slightly protruding but not forming a vulval flap and post-uterine sac extending for about half the vulva-anus distance. Species status is supported by ITS-RFLP patterns and molecular phylogenetic analysis based on partial LSU sequences, ITS1/2 and partial LSU sequences, which revealed that B. arthuroides sp. n. is closest to B. arthuri. Propagation tests also confirmed that the new species is parthenogenetic.
Re-description of Oscheius chongmingensis (Zhang et al., 2008) (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) and its entomopathogenicity
Authors: Liu Qi-Zhi , Mráček Zdeněk , Zhang Li-Juan , Půža Vladimír , Dong La-Mei
Published: March 2012

A population of Oscheius chongmingensis was isolated from a soil sample collected from an alfalfa field in the vicinity of Hailar, Inner Mongolia, and was designated as the Tumian strain. This nematode has a facultative entomopathogenic activity and reproduces on the Galleria mellonella larvae. We compared our isolate with the original description of O. chongmingensis, checked several paratype slides of this species and compared it with cultures of the original Shanghai strain. Poor morphology, morphometrics and some errors in the original description of O. chongmingensis encouraged us to re-describe this species. The species is characterised by having five distinct ridges in the lateral field in adults.. The stoma of O. chongmingensis is long and narrow, in adults approximately 3.5-4.5 times as long as wide, whereas in dauer juveniles it may be 6-7 times longer than wide. Males possess a ventral pair of small bristle-like sensilla posterior to the cloacal opening. Both the Tumian and original strain are amphimictic with a higher proportion of females, but males are not rare (ca 2.5:1).
Nonlethal ectoparasitism of the mycophagous nematode Filenchus discrepans (Nematoda: Tylenchidae)
Authors: Sawahata Takuo , Nakamura Hitoshi , Okada Hiroaki , Sasaki Atsuko , Kanematsu Satoko
Published: March 2012

Filenchus discrepans ingested hyphal contents of Botrytis cinerea without killing the hyphal cells that they fed on. Individuals of this nematode penetrated B. cinerea hyphae with their stylets, after which intense pulsation of the median bulb and dorsal gland duct followed (indicating salivation). In addition, light pumping of the median bulb (indicating food ingestion) was also observed. Fungal cells continued to show cytoplasmic streaming while the nematode ingested hyphal contents. Moreover, actively growing tips of the hyphae usually continued their growth during and after cytoplasm ingestion by the nematode. In less active, older hyphae the penetrated tip cells stopped growing during nematode feeding. However, the majority of the tip cells resumed growth after feeding by the nematode. The hyphal tips often exhibited an abnormal shape during nematode feeding and gradually regained normal shape and growth afterwards. The growth rate of hyphal tip cells decreased to less than 10% compared with the growth of intact hyphal tip cells during attack by F. discrepans, which often fed on a hyphal cell for up to 3 h. Filenchus discrepans propagated well in B. cinerea cultures and their population growth rate ranged between six- and 11-fold 1 month after incubation. This is the first report of nonlethal ectoparasitism by a mycophagous nematode, showing that the nematode does not kill fungal cells during and after feeding.
Nematodes of the order Dorylaimida from Andalucía Oriental, Spain. Nevadanema nevadense gen. n., sp. n. (Qudsianematidae) from Sierra Nevada National Park
Authors: Álvarez-Ortega Sergio , Peña-Santiago Reyes
Published: March 2012

Nevadanema nevadense gen. n., sp. n. is described from natural highlands in the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula and is characterised on the basis of morphological, morphometric and molecular (D2/D3-LSU rDNA) data, including SEM study. The new genus is mainly distinguishable by its rounded and offset lip region with amalgamated lips, odontostyle comparatively attenuated, guiding ring double, odontophore rod-like, female genital system amphidelphic, pars refringens vaginae present, and short and rounded tail. It is morphologically close to Labronema, from which it differs in the nature of the lip region and odontostyle. Two species of Labronema, namely L. fimbriatum and L. uniforme, are transferred to the new genus.
Global Modernity and Temporal Multiplicity
Authors: Lee Raymond L.M.
Published: March 2012

Abstract

Global modernity is not only shrinking the world in terms of communication, trade, travel and many forms of social exchange but also implanting the idea that only the present matters. This logic of ‘presentism’ is infused with a growing sense of sameness precipitated by the rapidity of transnational commercialism and the seductive pull of neo-liberal ideologies. In a context marked by a hypermodern inflation of wants and commodities, the notion of globality cannot do without a perspective that emphasizes the spatialization of time where distance becomes almost superfluous. Yet the shrinking of the world is not exclusively space-centered since concurrent exposure to myriad cultures and their histories is producing an alternate sensitivity to time-centered meanings of modernity. By historicizing change, temporal geographies emerge in the form of multiple modernities that makes problematic the idea of spatio-temporal uniformity in a globalized world. Instead, crosscurrents of global interconnectivity are producing varying patterns of spatial and temporal perception to suggest a new sense of co-evalness or an interplay of diachronic, synchronic and desynchronized actions.
CAPE in Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Molinari John , Romps David M. , Vollaro David , Nguyen Leon
Published: March 2012

Convective available potential energy (CAPE) and the vertical distribution of buoyancy were calculated for more than 2000 dropsonde soundings collected by the NOAA Gulfstream-IV aircraft. Calculations were done with and without the effects of condensate loading, entrainment, and the latent heat of fusion. CAPE showed larger values downshear than upshear within 400 km of the center, consistent with the observed variation of convective intensity. The larger downshear CAPE arose from (i) higher surface specific humidity, (ii) lower midtropospheric temperature, and, for entraining CAPE, (iii) larger free-tropospheric relative humidity.

Reversible CAPE had only one-half the magnitude of pseudoadiabatic CAPE. As shown previously, reversible CAPE with fusion closely resembled pseudoadiabatic CAPE without fusion. Entrainment had the most dramatic impact. Entraining CAPE was consistent with the observed radial distribution of convective intensity, displaying the largest values downshear at inner radii. Without entrainment, downshear CAPE was smallest in the core and increased outward to the 600-km radius.

The large number of sondes allowed the examination of soundings at the 90th percentile of conditional instability, which reflect the conditions leading to the most vigorous updrafts. Observations of convection in tropical cyclones prescribe the correct method for calculating this conditional instability. In particular, the abundance and distribution of vigorous deep convection is most accurately reflected by calculating CAPE with condensate retention and a fractional entrainment rate in the range of 5%–10% km−1.
Acatalasemic mice are mildly susceptible to adriamycin nephropathy and exhibit increased albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis
Authors: Takiue Keiichi , Sugiyama Hitoshi , Inoue Tatsuyuki , Morinaga Hiroshi , Kikumoto Yoko , Kitagawa Masashi , Kitamura Shinji , Maeshima Yohei , Wang Da-Hong , Masuoka Noriyoshi , Ogino Keiki , Makino Hirofumi
Published: March 2012

Background

Catalase is an important antioxidant enzyme that regulates the level of intracellular hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. The effects of catalase deficiency on albuminuria and progressive glomerulosclerosis have not yet been fully elucidated. The adriamycin (ADR) nephropathy model is considered to be an experimental model of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. A functional catalase deficiency was hypothesized to exacerbate albuminuria and the progression of glomerulosclerosis in this model.

Methods

ADR was intravenously administered to both homozygous acatalasemic mutant mice (C3H/AnLCsbCsb) and control wild-type mice (C3H/AnLCsaCsa). The functional and morphological alterations of the kidneys, including albuminuria, renal function, podocytic, glomerular and tubulointerstitial injuries, and the activities of catalase were then compared between the two groups up to 8 weeks after disease induction. Moreover, the presence of a mutation of the toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) gene, which was previously reported in the C3H/HeJ strain, was investigated in both groups.

Results

The ADR-treated mice developed significant albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis, and the degree of these conditions in the ADR-treated acatalasemic mice was higher than that in the wild-type mice. ADR induced progressive renal fibrosis, renal atrophy and lipid peroxide accumulation only in the acatalasemic mice. In addition, the level of catalase activity was significantly lower in the kidneys of the acatalasemic mice than in the wild-type mice during the experimental period. The catalase activity increased after ADR injection in wild-type mice, but the acatalasemic mice did not have the ability to increase their catalase activity under oxidative stress. The C3H/AnL strain was found to be negative for the tlr4 gene mutation.

Conclusions

These data indicate that catalase deficiency plays an important role in the progression of renal injury in the ADR nephropathy model.
The tumour metabolism inhibitors GSAO and PENAO react with cysteines 57 and 257 of mitochondrial adenine nucleotide translocase
Authors: Park Danielle , Chiu Joyce , Perrone Gabriel G , Dilda Pierre J , Hogg Philip J
Published: March 2012

Background

GSAO (4-(N-(S-glutathionylacetyl)amino) phenylarsonous acid) and PENAO (4-(N-(S-penicillaminylacetyl)amino) phenylarsonous acid) are tumour metabolism inhibitors that target adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) of the inner-mitochondrial membrane. Both compounds are currently being trialled in patients with solid tumours. The trivalent arsenical moiety of GSAO and PENAO reacts with two matrix facing cysteine residues of ANT, inactivating the transporter. This leads to proliferation arrest and death of tumour and tumour-supporting cells.

Results

The two reactive ANT cysteine residues have been identified in this study by expressing cysteine mutants of human ANT1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and measuring interaction with the arsenical moiety of GSAO and PENAO. The arsenic atom of both compounds cross-links cysteine residues 57 and 257 of human ANT1.

Conclusions

The sulphur atoms of these two cysteines are 20 Å apart in the crystal structures of ANT and the optimal spacing of cysteine thiolates for reaction with As (III) is 3-4 Å. This implies that a significant conformational change in ANT is required for the organoarsenicals to react with cysteines 57 and 257. This conformational change may relate to the selectivity of the compounds for proliferating cells.
RhoA: A therapeutic target for chronic myeloid leukemia
Authors: Molli Poonam R , Pradhan Madhura B , Advani Suresh H , Naik Nishigandha R
Published: March 2012

Background

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a malignant pluripotent stem cells disorder of myeloid cells. In CML patients, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) the terminally differentiated cells of myeloid series exhibit defects in several actin dependent functions such as adhesion, motility, chemotaxis, agglutination, phagocytosis and microbicidal activities. A definite and global abnormality was observed in stimulation of actin polymerization in CML PMNL. Signalling molecules ras and rhoGTPases regulate spatial and temporal polymerization of actin and thus, a broad range of physiological processes. Therefore, status of these GTPases as well as actin was studied in resting and fMLP stimulated normal and CML PMNL.

Methods

To study expression of GTPases and actin, Western blotting and flow cytometry analysis were done, while spatial expression and colocalization of these proteins were studied by using laser confocal microscopy. To study effect of inhibitors on cell proliferation CCK-8 assay was done. Significance of differences in expression of proteins within the samples and between normal and CML was tested by using Wilcoxon signed rank test and Mann-Whitney test, respectively. Bivariate and partial correlation analyses were done to study relationship between all the parameters.

Results

In CML PMNL, actin expression and its architecture were altered and stimulation of actin polymerization was absent. Differences were also observed in expression, organization or stimulation of all the three GTPases in normal and CML PMNL. In normal PMNL, ras was the critical GTPase regulating expression of rhoGTPases and actin and actin polymerization. But in CML PMNL, rhoA took a central place. In accordance with these, treatment with rho/ROCK pathway inhibitors resulted in specific growth inhibition of CML cell lines.

Conclusions

RhoA has emerged as the key molecule responsible for functional defects in CML PMNL and therefore can be used as a therapeutic target in CML.
Harmful effects of carbamazepine on the postnatal development of the rat ventral prostate
Authors: Oliva Samara U , Scarano Wellerson R , Okada Fatima K , Miraglia Sandra M
Published: March 2012

Background

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a first-line antiepileptic drug (AED), although it is also used for the treatments of psychiatric disorders and neuropathic pain. The CBZ utilization has been associated with male reproductive damage, including hormonal alterations, sexual dysfunction and reduction of sperm quality. The wide and long-term use of the CBZ is a common schedule in children and adolescents and alters the testosterone level in adult rats and humans. The objective of this work was to evaluate the CBZ side effects on the ventral prostate of rats from pre-puberty to sexual maturation, since the prostate is an androgen-dependent organ.

Methods

Twenty three day-old male albino Wistar rats received CBZ diluted in propylene glycol (20 mg/Kg/i.p via). The treatment lasted 20, 40 and 70 days, according to the different stages of the rat sexual maturation. At the end of each treatment period, ventral prostates were removed and histologically processed. The prostate sections were submitted to the histopathological, morphological and stereological analyses using image analysis system.

Results

Reductions of the glandular epithelium, glandular lumen and fibromuscular stroma volume of the ventral prostate were observed in adult rats treated with CBZ since the weaning. Triggering and degranulation of mast cells were observed in the fibromuscular stroma of prepubertal and pubertal CBZ treated rats.

Conclusions

The results suggest a direct effect of the CBZ on rat ventral prostate, evidenced by increase of mast cell and macrophage populations during pre-puberty and puberty causing a ventral prostate accentuated damage in the adult phase.
Acute Morphine Induces Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Up-Regulation in Primary Sensory Neurons to Mask Opioid-Induced Analgesia in Mice
Authors: Liu Yen-Chin , Berta Temugin , Liu Tong , Tan Ping-Heng , Ji Ru-Rong
Published: March 2012

Background:

Despite decades of intense research efforts, actions of acute opioids are not fully understood. Increasing evidence suggests that in addition to well-documented antinociceptive effects opioids also produce paradoxical hyperalgesic and excitatory effects on neurons. However, most studies focus on the pronociceptive actions of chronic opioid exposure. Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) plays an important role in neuroinflammation and neuropathic pain development. We examined MMP-9 expression and localization in dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) after acute morphine treatment and, furthermore, the role of MMP-9 in modulating acute morphine-induced analgesia and hyperalgesia in mice.

Results:

Subcutaneous morphine induced a marked up-regulation of MMP-9 protein in DRGs but not spinal cords. Morphine also increased MMP-9 activity and mRNA expression in DRGs. MMP-9 up-regulation peaked at 2 h but returned to the baseline after 24 h. In DRG tissue sections, MMP-9 is expressed in small and medium-sized neurons that co-express mu opioid receptors (MOR). In DRG cultures, MOR agonists morphine, DAMGO, and remifentanil each increased MMP-9 expression in neurons, whereas the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and the MOR-selective antagonist D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Arg-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH2 (CTAP) suppressed morphine-induced MMP-9 expression. Notably, subcutaneous morphine-induced analgesia was enhanced and prolonged in Mmp9 knockout mice and also potentiated in wild-type mice receiving intrathecal injection of MMP-9 inhibitors. Consistently, intrathecal injection of specific siRNA targeting MMP-9 reduced MMP-9 expression in DRGs and enhanced and prolonged morphine analgesia. Subcutaneous morphine also produced heat hyperalgesia at 24 h, but this opioid-induced hyperalgesia was not enhanced after MMP-9 deletion or inhibition.

Conclusions:

Transient MMP-9 up-regulation in DRG neurons can mask opioid analgesia, without modulating opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Distinct molecular mechanisms (MMP-9 dependent and independent) control acute opioid-induced pronociceptive actions (anti-analgesia in the first several hours and hyperalgesia after 24 h). Targeting MMP-9 may improve acute opioid analgesia.
Criteria for determining the need for surgical treatment of tricuspid regurgitation during mitral valve replacement
Authors: He Jigang , Shen Zhenya , Yu Yunsheng , Huang Haoyue , Ye Wenxue , Ding Yinglong , Yang Shaolei
Published: March 2012

Background

Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common in patients with mitral valve disease; however, there are no straightforward, rapidly determinably criteria available for deciding whether TR repair should be performed during mitral valve replacement. The aim of our retrospective study was to identify a simple and fast criterion for determining whether TR repair should be performed in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement.

Methods

We reviewed the records of patients who underwent mitral valve replacement with or without (control) TR repair (DeVega or Kay procedure) from January 2005 to December 2008. Preoperative and 2-year postoperative echocardiographic measurements included right ventricular and atrial diameter, interventricular septum size, TR severity, ejection fraction, and pulmonary artery pressure.

Results

A total of 89 patients were included (control, n = 50; DeVega, n = 27; Kay, n = 12). Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between groups. Cardiac variables were similar between the DeVega and Kay groups. Right atrium and ventricular diameter and ejection fraction were significantly decreased postoperatively both in the control and operation (DeVega + Kay) group (P < 0.05). Pulmonary artery pressure was significantly decreased postoperatively in-operation groups (P < 0.05). Our findings indicate that surgical intervention for TR should be considered during mitral valve replacement if any of the following preoperative criteria are met: right atrial transverse diameter > 57 mm; right ventricular end-diastolic diameter > 55 mm; pulmonary artery pressure > 58 mmHg.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest echocardiography may be used as a rapid and simple means of determining which patients require TR repair during mitral valve replacement.
Care relations and public policy: social justice claims and social investment frames
Authors: Williams Fiona
Published: March 2012

Care has become an urgent personal and political issue. This article focuses on the different interpretations of care needs; it examines the dynamic between, on the one side, the claims around care to emerge from different constituencies ‘from below’, that is, from movements and organisations of those with unpaid and paid caring responsibilities and with needs for support, and, on the other side, the framing and implementation of care policies ‘from above’ by European supranational organisations and national governments. The argument developed is that these perspectives represent overlapping but competing frames for interpreting care needs – social justice (from below) and social investment (from above) – and that while the social investment frame provides some opportunities for claims to be met, at the same time it delimits the scope of social justice claims. The conclusion discusses how care as an activity and an ethic might find greater social value.
Recent Sino-Italian collaborative studies on marine organisms from the South China Sea
Authors: Guo Yue-Wei , Gavagnin Margherita , Carbone Marianna , Mollo Ernesto , Cimino Guido
Published: March 2012

In this communication, selected results obtained in the course of a 10-year Sino-Italian collaborative project are presented. During this collaboration, several studies on marine organisms collected in the South China Sea have been conducted, resulting in the characterization of a large number of novel natural products. The main interest has been focused on sponges, cnidarians, and molluscs. Here, the recent research, including some not yet published studies, on cnidarians and molluscs, in particular, opisthobranchs and pulmonates, will be briefly described. The study of cnidarians and pulmonates led to isolate molecules, in particular, biscembranoids and polypropionates, displaying carbon skeletons already described in previous papers. Our studies resulted in their complete structural characterization including the absolute stereochemistry that was clarified by coupling X-ray diffraction to circular dichroism (CD) spectra analysis. Some unique nitrogenous molecules containing either an isonitrile function or an 1,2,4-oxadiazole moiety, this latter found for the first time in a marine organism, as well as known sesterterpenoids and diterpenoids were isolated from opisthobranchs. Owing to their anatomical location, these metabolites should play a relevant role in the protection of the molluscs. Finally, a series of alkaloids structurally related to known anticancer agents were also characterized.
Tetrathiafulvalene vinylogues as versatile building blocks for new organic materials
Authors: Zhao Yuming , Chen Guang , Mulla Karimulla , Mahmud Ilias , Liang Shuai , Dongare Prateek , Thompson David W. , Dawe Louise N. , Bouzan Stephen
Published: March 2012

Although tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and its derivatives have been extensively studied as important organic electronic materials over the past half century, tetrathiafulvalene vinyl-ogues (TTFVs) still remain a relatively underdeveloped branch in the family of TTF derivatives. Our recent work has investigated the synthesis and characterization of a class of diphenyl-substituted TTFVs carrying alkynyl functionality. The unique conformational and redox properties of such TTFV derivatives along with the versatile chemistry enabled by acetylenic groups (e.g., metal-catalyzed coupling and click reactions) have led us to a variety of functional molecular architectures ranging from oligoynes, polymers, and molecular tweezers, to macrocycles. Property studies of these new TTFV-based molecular materials point to appealing applications in molecular electronics and optoelectronics.
An acyl-Claisen approach to the synthesis of lignans and substituted pyrroles
Authors: Barker David , Dickson Benjamin , Dittrich Nora , Rye Claire E.
Published: March 2012

The acyl-Claisen rearrangement, also called a zwitterionic aza-Claisen rearrangement, allows for the synthesis of 2,3-syn-substituted morpholine pent-4-eneamides with high levels of diastereoselectivity. A wide variety of alkyl and aryl substituents can be introduced with yields highly dependent on the stoichiometry of the Lewis acid catalyst. The use of these morpholine amides in the synthesis of the tetrasubstituted tetrahydrofuran lignans fragransin A2, talaumidin, and galbelgin is summarized. The conversion of the Claisen-derived amides into aryl tetraline and 1,1-diarylbutanol lignans via alteration of the protecting groups is also described. Nucleophilic addition of an organometallic reagent to the morpholine amide followed by Wacker oxidation of the alkene gives highly substituted 1,4-diketones, which can be easily converted into fully substituted pyrroles.
Dynamic boronic acid-mediated autoligation of DNA strands
Authors: Smietana Michael , Martin Anthony R. , Vasseur Jean-Jacques
Published: March 2012

The single common feature of all biological systems is the dependence on self-assembly of molecular units to be morphed into well-defined functional architectures. Thanks to a dynamic equilibrium process, incorrect structural units are rejected with high levels of fidelity. The development of synthetic systems displaying similar attributes is an emerging field with wide applications from biotechnology to medicine. In this context, we developed a stimuli-responsive nucleic acid-based system relying on the reversible formation of cyclic boronate internucleosidic linkages. The dynamic assembly of this new borono-based helix has been accomplished through a DNA- and an RNA-templated autoligation process featuring a 5'-ended boronic acid oligonucleotide connecting to a 3'-ended ribonucleosidic oligonucleotide partner.
The Context of Creating Space: Assessing the Likelihood of College LGBT Center Presence
Authors: Fine Leigh E.
Published: March 2012

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) resource centers are campus spaces dedicated to the success of sexual minority students. However, only a small handful of American colleges and universities have such spaces. Political opportunity and resource mobilization theory can provide a useful framework for understanding what contextual factors contribute to the presence of these centers. Independent variables’ effects on the likelihood of a campus having an LGBT resource center are measured using logistic regression. Results indicate that public schools with more prestige in liberal political contexts are more likely to have LGBT resource centers, suggesting that both resource mobilization and political opportunity are useful conceptualizations.
Informal Theory: The Ignored Link in Theory-to-Practice
Authors: Love Patrick
Published: March 2012

Applying theory to practice in student affairs is dominated by the assumption that formal theory is directly applied to practice. Among the problems with this assumption is that many practitioners believe they must choose between their lived experiences and formal theory, and that graduate students are taught that their experience “does not count.” What is missing in the discourse on theory-to-practice is the recognition of the role of informal theory that serves as the bridge between formal theory and practice. This article describes the conceptual connections among formal theory, informal theory, and practice, and presents strategies for improving the use of informal theory.

Applying theory to practice in student affairs is dominated by the assumption that formal theory is directly applied to practice. Among the problems with this assumption is that many practitioners believe they must choose between their lived experiences and formal theory, and that graduate students are taught that their experience “does not count.” What is missing in the discourse on theory-to-practice is the recognition of the role of informal theory that serves as the bridge between formal theory and practice. This article describes the conceptual connections among formal theory, informal theory, and practice, and presents strategies for improving the use of informal theory.
The Effects of Work on Leadership Development Among First-Year College Students
Authors: Salisbury Mark H. , Pascarella Ernest T. , Padgett Ryan D. , Blaich Charles
Published: March 2012

A substantial proportion of college students have always worked while pursuing their college degree. However, despite decades of research on working college students, very little consensus has emerged about the effect of work on college student development. This study analyzes Wabash National Study (WNS) data from 2,931 first-year students at 19 institutions to examine the effect of work on leadership skill development. Findings show that, after accounting for the effect of precollege characteristics and college engagement experiences, work can have a substantial positive effect on leadership development. Off-campus employment proved to be particularly influential even though extensive off-campus work simultaneously undercut the effect of peer interaction and cocurricular involvement on leadership.

A substantial proportion of college students have always worked while pursuing their college degree. However, despite decades of research on working college students, very little consensus has emerged about the effect of work on college student development. This study analyzes Wabash National Study (WNS) data from 2,931 first-year students at 19 institutions to examine the effect of work on leadership skill development. Findings show that, after accounting for the effect of pre-college characteristics and college engagement experiences, work can have a substantial positive effect on leadership development. Off-campus employment proved to be particularly influential even though extensive off-campus work simultaneously undercut the effect of peer interaction and cocurricular involvement on leadership.
Response to Patrick Love’s “Informal Theory”: A Rejoinder
Authors: Evans Nancy J. , Guido Florence M.
Published: March 2012

This rejoinder to Patrick Love’s article, “Informal Theory: The Ignored Link in Theory-to-Practice,” which appears earlier in this issue of the Journal of College Student Development , was written at the invitation of the Editor. In the critique, we point out the weaknesses of many of Love’s arguments and propositions. We provide an alternative point of view regarding application of theory in practice and encourage further discourse on the definition and role of informal theory in student affairs practice.
Race, Social Support and College Student Retention: A Case Study
Authors: Baker Christina N. , Robnett Belinda
Published: March 2012

At most colleges and universities, African American and Latino students are less likely than students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds to stay enrolled in college and are, therefore, less likely to earn a college degree. The Digest of Educational Statistics reports the following trends: in 2006 30% of Whites age 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree, while 17% of Blacks and 12% of Hispanics age 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2008). The research presented here is a case study of a cohort of students attending a public research university in California who are exceptional. Unlike the situation at most colleges and universities, African American students in this cohort are significantly less likely to leave college than are other students, whereas Latino students are significantly more likely to leave than are other students. In order to understand why there is a difference in the retention of African American students and Latino students, we examined the extent to which the precollege and college experiences of students in this cohort vary by race/ethnicity. We examined which characteristics affect the retention of Latino students, as well as other racial/ethnic groups.
The Meaning Students Make as Participants in Short-Term Immersion Programs
Authors: Jones Susan R. , Rowan-Kenyon Heather T. , Ireland S. Mei-Yen , Niehaus Elizabeth , Skendall Kristan Cilente
Published: March 2012

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a multi-site case study designed to investigate students’ experiences as participants in four week-long immersion programs (New York City, Peru, the Czech Republic, Chicago). Results highlight the significance of the context of the trips and specific characteristics of the trip (e.g., getting out of the bubble, boundary crossing, and personalizing), which served as the springboard for learning and meaning making. In particular, meaning making focused on developing new understandings of social issues, privilege, and stereotypes, reframing experiences upon participants’ return, and shifting sense of purpose and career planning.
Campus Racial Climate Perceptions and Overall Sense of Belonging Among Racially Diverse Women in STEM Majors
Authors: Johnson Dawn R.
Published: March 2012

This study examined the contributions of campus racial climate perceptions and other college environments to overall sense of belonging among racially diverse women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The sample included 1,722 women from the 2004 National Study of Living-Learning Programs. Using a conceptual framework that integrated Weidman’s (1989) undergraduate socialization model, Astin’s (1991) I-E-O model, and Mertens’ (2005) transformative research perspective, 29% of the variance in overall sense of belonging was explained. Race/ethnicity, perceptions of the campus racial climate and the residence hall climate, and academic self-confidence emerged as significant predictors. Implications for supporting women in STEM are discussed.
The Relevance of Reflection: An Empirical Examination of the Role of Reflection in Ethic of Caring, Leadership, and Psychological Well-Being
Authors: Park Julie J. , Millora Melissa L.
Published: March 2012

This article is an empirical examination of reflection for first-year and third-year students using data from the College Students’ Beliefs and Values survey. Frequency of self-reflection increased between the first and third years of college. Two self-reported measures of reflection, engaging in self-reflection and having classes that incorporated reflective writing, were among the strongest significant positive predictors of Ethic of Caring and Leadership in the third year of college. Self-reflection was, however, negatively related to Psychological Well-Being. The findings point to the importance of supporting reflection in curricular and cocurricular activities in order to promote learning and self-understanding.
Assessing the Effectiveness of an Adventure-Based First-Year Experience Class
Authors: Bell Brent J.
Published: March 2012

This study compares a first-year experience (FYE) course utilizing outdoor adventure experiences to a more traditional FYE class at a large mid-Atlantic university. This study compares the quantitative differences between responses by participants in the two classes using the First Year Initiative Survey (FYI), a measure of FYE outcomes related to successful first-year student transition (Swing, 2002). Findings indicate that responses by the adventure class participants had significantly higher mean scores (p < .05) on 8 of the 15 FYI variables. The use of an adventure-based program was effective in providing FYE course outcomes as measured by the FYI and was more effective than the more traditional FYE class on some outcome variables such as knowledge of wellness and connection with peers.
First-Generation Undergraduate Students and the Impacts of the First Year of College: Additional Evidence
Authors: Padgett Ryan D. , Johnson Megan P. , Pascarella Ernest T.
Published: March 2012

Using longitudinal data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, our findings suggest that first-generation students are at a significant disadvantage across cognitive and psychosocial outcomes compared to students whose parents have at least some postsecondary education. Furthermore, we tested for the conditional effects of good practices on first-year outcomes and found that effects of good practices on both cognitive and psychosocial outcomes differed in magnitude, and sometimes in direction, for first-generation versus non-first-generation students.
Assessing Individuals’ Global Perspective
Authors: Merrill Kelly Carter , Braskamp David C. , Braskamp Larry A.
Published: March 2012

This article introduces the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), a survey instrument that measures participants’ global perspective in terms of cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal domains—each in terms of both development and acquisition. A summary of the recent research on the GPI is provided along with a discussion of potential uses.
The Influence of Multicultural Learning Communities on the Intrapersonal Development of First-Generation College Students
Authors: Jehangir Rashné , Williams Rhiannon , Jeske Judith
Published: March 2012

This longitudinal study of first-generation, low-income students considers the impact of their participation in a multicultural learning community designed to combat the isolation and marginalization they experience at a large Midwestern research university. The study explores the extent to which multicultural curriculum and critical pedagogy create avenues for intrapersonal self-authorship for historically marginalized students in a TRiO program. Findings indicate that intentionally drawing students’ lived experiences into the learning process and scaffolding opportunities to reflect on one’s multiple identities positively impacts development of the intrapersonal dimension of self-authorship.
Gilded Age India
Authors: Chotiner Isaac
Published: March 2012

In referring to his book as "a portrait of the New India," Siddhartha Deb has opted to engage in a debate about recent Indian history. After more than forty years of protectionism and centralized planning, the country has, in the past two decades, privatized and deregulated large sectors of its economy. International trade has been prioritized, often at the expense of domestic industry. Urban development schemes, frequently the result of partnerships between business and government, have been implemented without much debate.
Utopian Dream: A New Farm Bill
Authors: Nestle Marion
Published: March 2012

In the fall of 2011, I taught a graduate food studies course at New York University devoted to the farm bill, a massive and massively opaque piece of legislation passed most recently in 2008 and up for renewal in 2012. The farm bill supports farmers, of course, but also specifies how the United States deals with such matters as conservation, forestry, energy policy, organic food production, international food aid, and domestic food assistance. My students came from programs in nutrition, food studies, public health, public policy, and law, all united in the belief that a smaller scale, more regionalized, and more sustainable food system would be healthier for people and the planet.
Iran's Cinematic Spring
Authors: Cheshire Godfrey
Published: March 2012

In December of 2011, I hosted a preview showing in New Jersey of Asghar Farhadi's A Separation for an audience of approximately four hundred film-savvy professionals and retirees, predominantly Jewish. Before the show, I asked how many had ever seen an Iranian film; only a few hands went up. Two hours later, the audience overwhelmingly voted it the best film they'd seen in the season. Their reaction mirrored my own first exposure to Iranian cinema twenty years ago, when an editor asked me to attend the first festival of post-revolutionary Iranian films held in New York. What had I expected? Well, given that Iran was an Islamic theocracy containing at least some citizens who peri-odically rush CNN's cameras with fists brandished as they immolate an effigy of some hapless repre-sentative of the "Great Satan," I thought I would find a cinema both obvious and crude, although perhaps earnest and well-intended. What I found was film after film of astonishing sophistication and ar-tistic originality, with a principled and impassioned humanism that recalled the Italian neorealists and made most Western films seem mechanistic and cynically amoral by comparison.
Workers' Rights and the Distributive Constitution
Authors: Forbath William E.
Published: March 2012

Progressives have forgotten how to think about the constitutional dimensions of economic life. Work, livelihood, and opportunity; material security and insecurity; poverty and dependency; union organizing, collective bargaining, and workplace democracy: for generations of American reformers, the constitutional importance of these subjects was self-evident. Laissez-faire, unchecked corporate power, and the deprivations and inequalities they bred were not just bad public policy—they were constitutional infirmities. Today, with the exception of employment discrimination, such concerns have vanished from progressives' constitutional landscape.
Kinder, Gentler Cuts
Authors: Konczal Mike
Published: March 2012

Arizona has sold its state capitol. Government budgets are contracting, especially when it comes to services and goods essential for the poor. A quarter of a million state and local government workers have been cut in the past year alone. Conservatives look to privatize and voucherize what remains of the Great Society and New Deal.
Hijacked Organic, Limited Local, Faulty Fair Trade: What's a Radical to Eat?
Authors: Engler Mark
Published: March 2012

Organic farming has been hijacked by big business. Local food can have a larger carbon footprint than products shipped in from overseas. Fair trade doesn't address the real concerns of farmers in the global South. As the food movement has moved from the countercultural fringe to become a mainstream phenomenon, organic, local, and fair trade advocates have been beset by criticism from overt foes and erstwhile allies alike. Now that Starbucks advertises fair trade coffee and Kraft owns Boca soy burgers, it's fair to ask, "What's a radical to eat?"
The Madness of Art
Authors: Morton Brian
Published: March 2012

In Henry James's short story "The Middle Years," an ailing writer is troubled by the conviction that only now, after many books, has he begun to find his true voice. All the work he's done so far has been nothing more than a sort of apprenticeship, in preparation for the truly great work that he'll be able to do if only he is granted more time. In the story's last pages, the writer comes to accept the fact that he's dying. He won't get more time. The magnificent works that he might have written will never be written. What he has done already is all he'll ever do. The story isn't depressing, because in his last days, the writer meets an admirer, a young doctor who has read all of his books with an intelligent appreciation. The young man's devotion, a devotion that verges on the idolatrous, helps the writer understand that his life hasn't been in vain. "The thing is to touch someone, to make someone care," the writer says to his admirer. "You happen to be crazy, of course, but that doesn't affect the general law." Near the end of the story, the writer sums up what he's learned: "A second chance! That's the delusion. There never was to be but one. We work in the dark—we do what we can—we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art."
Introduction
Authors: Gerstle Gary
Published: March 2012

On September 24, 2011, Michael Kazin published an important essay in the New York Times, "Whatever Happened to the American Left?" In it he examined the "populist left's" historic role in shap-ing politics and policy discussions in the United States, especially in moments of past capitalist crisis and the relative failure of this Left to gain influence in the current crisis. A week before this essay was published, unremarked by almost everyone in America, several hundred protesters, inspired by devel-opments in Tahrir Square in Cairo, had gathered in lower Manhattan to protest economic inequality and the decline of democracy in America. By the middle of October, Occupy Wall Street had riveted the attention of the nation. Until winter weather and municipal police forces shut down Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park and scores of other encampments that had sprung up around the country, the Occupy movements created a space for left politics that had not existed for a very long time.
Letters
Authors: Miller Mike , Lichtenstein Nelson , Heitner Ethan , Caserto Joseph
Published: March 2012

An exchange between Mike Miller and Nelson Lichtenstein on Saul Alinsky, and one between Ethan Heitne and the Freelancers' Union about the organization..
High-End Food, Low-Wage Labor
Authors: Woolever Laurie
Published: March 2012

Some people work in restaurants as a lifestyle choice: they love the fast pace, the quick jokes, the often easy-flowing booze. At the height of a busy shift, if everything's going right, a team of skilled cooks and waiters can enter a kind of adrenaline-fueled flow state that's hypnotic and addictive. Some people choose it because they got burned out as grad students or software engineers or attorneys. Some people work in restaurants to make money until they graduate or get their big break in show business. It can be lucrative, especially for young, good-looking, and agile waiters, working for a great employer in a big city, where customers practically fight for the chance to buy expensive wines and $50 entrées and truffle supplements from the latest hotspot.