bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leucocyte antibodies in blood donors and a look back on recipients of their blood components
Authors: Maślanka K. , Michur H. , Żupańska B. , Uhrynowska M. , Nowak J
Published: January 2007

Background and Aim  The role of leucocyte antibodies in donors is poorly understood in pathogenesis of transfusion‐related acute lung injury (TRALI). We examined antibodies in donors and traced recipients transfused with their blood components.

Material and Methods  Antibodies were examined in 1043 donors by five methods, look back performed in 26 recipients.

Results  Anti‐human leucocyte antigen detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay in 9·8% women but none in men. Specificities identified using FlowPRA, antibodies detected after several months. TRALI reported in one recipient from immunized donor. In 11 of 26 recipients without TRALI, cognate antigens were identified.

Conclusion  Detection of antibodies in donors cannot predict TRALI, even in recipients with cognate antigen(s).
Total and Differential Leucocyte Counts and Lymphocyte Subpopulations in Lymph, Afferent and Efferent to the Supramammary Lymph Node, During Endotoxin‐Induced Bovine Mastitis
Authors: Lun S , Åström G , Magnusson U , Östensson K
Published: January 2007

Contents

Leucocyte trafficking in afferent and efferent mammary lymph and the supramammary lymph node in cows was examined during 4 h after intramammary infusion of endotoxin fromEscherichia coli. Total and differential leucocyte counts were measured in milk, blood and lymph. The proportions of CD4+, CD8+, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II+and IgM+lymphocytes were examined in the lymph and lymph node. At post‐infusion hour (PIH) 4, the flow rates of both lymph fluids had increased approximately eightfold. Total leucocyte concentration increased in afferent lymph, but decreased in efferent lymph. Neutrophils increased in afferent lymph at PIH 2 and in efferent lymph and milk at PIH 4. The predominant cell type in afferent lymph shifted from lymphocyte to neutrophil while lymphocyte was still at PIH 4 the predominant type in efferent lymph. Among the lymphocytes, B cells were predominant in afferent lymph and lymph node at PIH 4 while T cells, mainly CD4+cells, were predominant in efferent lymph both at PIH 0 and PIH 4. The CD4 : CD8 ratio was higher in efferent lymph and the challenged lymph node than in afferent lymph and the control node, respectively. There was a significant difference in proportions of each lymphocyte subpopulation except for IgM+cells, between afferent and efferent lymph after infusion. According to the results, there was already during the first hours of the immune response, a non‐random trafficking of neutrophils and lymphocyte subpopulations resulting in a changed distribution of cells in afferent and efferent lymph and a difference in lymphocyte reactivity between the two lymph fluids.
Effect of Sperm Cryopreservation and Supplementing Semen Doses with Seminal Plasma on the Establishment of a Sperm Reservoir in Gilts
Authors: Abad M , Sprecher DJ , Ross P , Friendship RM , Kirkwood RN
Published: January 2007

Contents

Frozen‐thawed (FT) boar sperm have a reduced fertile life, due in part to a capacitation‐like status induced by cooling. Reversal of this cryocapacitation in vitro by exposure to boar seminal plasma (SP) has been demonstrated. The objective of these studies was to determine the effect of SP on the ability of FT sperm to create an oviductal sperm reservoir following artificial insemination (AI). In Experiment one, 35 pre‐pubertal gilts were injected (IM) with 400 IU eCG plus 200 IU hCG to induce oestrus. At detection of oestrus, gilts were inseminated with 3 × 109 live sperm, either fresh (FS; n = 13), FT (n = 10), or FT supplemented with 10% v/v SP (n = 12). Gilts were killed 8 h later, their reproductive tracts recovered and the uterotubal junctions (UTJs) flushed to recover sperm. Fewer (p < 0.01) sperm were recovered following FT, compared to FS, inseminations, and there was no evident effect of SP. In Experiment two, 30 pre‐pubertal gilts received IM injections of 1000 IU eCG followed by 5 mg pLH 80 h later to control time of ovulation. Gilts were inseminated with 3 × 109 live FS sperm (n = 6), FT sperm (n = 15) or FT sperm plus 10% SP (n = 9) at 12 h before ovulation and then sacrificed 8 h later. The UTJs were dissected and flushed for sperm recovery. Fewest (p < 0.001) sperm were recovered following FT insemination and there was no evident effect of SP. These data demonstrate that the size of the sperm reservoir is markedly reduced in gilts inseminated with FT sperm. However, the lack of effect of SP suggested that either it did not reverse cryocapacitation or that such a reversal does not impact the in vivo ability to create a sperm reservoir.
Economic Convergence in Seven Asian Economies
Authors: Li Haizheng , Xu Zhenhui
Published: January 2007

The impressive economic growth in a select group of Asian economies in the last several decades prompts some to argue that authoritarianism helps rapid economic growth while democracy hampers it. In this paper, we used the panel data approach to test this hypothesis for seven Asian economies, including South Korea, Singapore, and China. Our results reject the strong version of this hypothesis but fail to reject the weak version of it. Specifically, we found insignificant impacts of political freedom but significant effects of economic freedom on advancing economic convergence in these economies.
Cerebrospinal fluid tau, phospho‐tau181 and β‐amyloid1−42 in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a discrimination from Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Kapaki E. N. , Paraskevas G. P. , Tzerakis N. G. , Sfagos C. , Seretis A. , Kararizou E. , Vassilopoulos D.
Published: January 2007

The aim of the present study was the quantitation of total tau protein (τT), tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (τP‐181) and β‐amyloid1−42 (Aβ42) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and controls. Double sandwich ELISAs (Innogenetics) were used for the measurements. Total tau was significantly increased in iNPH and highly increased in AD as compared with the control group, whilst Aβ42 was decreased in both diseases. CSF τP−181 levels were significantly increased only in AD, but not in iNPH as compared with the controls. A cut‐off level for τT at 300 pg/ml, successfully discriminated AD from normal aging with a 95.8% specificity and 91% sensitivity; whilst the τP‐181/τT ratio (cut‐off value 0.169) was more specific (100%) but less sensitive (92.5%). For the discrimination of iNPH from AD τT achieved low specificity (77.8%) but high sensitivity (92.5%), whilst τP‐181 (cut‐off value 47.4) was both sensitive and specific (88.7% and 86.7% respectively) for the discrimination of these disorders. The present study, despite being clinical, supports the notion that CSF τP‐181 alone or in combination with τT may be a useful marker in the discrimination of iNPH from AD.
Post‐traumatic spontaneous recurrent hypothermia: a variant of Shapiro's syndrome
Authors: Hemelsoet D. M. , De Bleecker J. L.
Published: January 2007

A 49‐year‐old man presented with episodic hypothermia many years after sustaining a contusional brain injury. Brain magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the destruction of the anterior parts of the corpus callosum without hypothalamic lesions. Nevertheless, delayed hypothalamic dysfunction at the neurotransmitter level is the probable pathophysiological key factor. Clomipramine treatment was beneficial. This case expands the spectrum of Shapiro's syndrome.
Astrocytes aged in vitro show a decreased neuroprotective capacity
Authors: Pertusa M. , García‐Matas S. , Rodríguez‐Farré E. , Sanfeliu C. , Cristòfol R.
Published: January 2007

Alterations in astrocyte function that may affect neuronal viability occur with brain aging. In this study, we evaluate the neuroprotective capacity of astrocytes in an experimental model of in vitro aging. Changes in oxidative stress, glutamate uptake and protein expression were evaluated in rat cortical astrocytes cultured for 10 and 90 days in vitro (DIV). Levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100β increased at 90 days when cells were positive for the senescence β‐galactosidase marker. In long‐term astrocyte cultures, the generation of reactive oxygen species was enhanced and mitochondrial activity decreased. Simultaneously, there was an increase in proteins that stained positively for nitrotyrosine. The expression of Cu/Zn‐superoxide dismutase (SOD‐1) and haeme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) proteins and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) increased in aged astrocytes. Glutamate uptake in 90‐DIV astrocytes was higher than in 10 DIV ones, and was more vulnerable to inhibition by H2O2 exposure. Enhanced glutamate uptake was probably because of up‐regulation of the glutamate/aspartate transporter protein. Aged astrocytes had a reduced ability to maintain neuronal survival. These findings indicate that astrocytes may partially loose their neuroprotective ability during aging. The results also suggest that aged astrocytes may contribute to exacerbating neuronal injury in age‐related neurodegenerative processes.
Survival and apoptosis: a dysregulated balance in liver cancer
Authors: Fabregat Isabel , Roncero César , Fernández Margarita
Published: January 2007

Background/Aims: Dysregulation of the balance between proliferation and cell death represents a protumorigenic principle in human hepatocarcinogenesis. This article aims to provide a review of the current findings about how physiological hepatocyte apoptosis is regulated and whether or not its dysregulation might contribute to the progression towards a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) process.

Results: Although some physiological proapoptotic molecules are downregulated or inactivated in HCC, such as Fas, p53, Bax or Bid, dysregulation of the balance between death and survival is mainly due to overactivation of antiapoptotic signals. Thus, some growth factors that mediate cell survival are upregulated in HCC, as well as the molecules involved in the machinery responsible for cleavage of their proforms to an active peptide. The expression of the pten gene is reduced or absent in almost half the HCCs and the Spred family of Ras/ERK inhibitors is also dysregulated in HCC, which consequently lead to the overactivation of relevant survival kinases: AKT and ERKs. Alterations in the expression and/or activity of molecules involved in counteracting apoptosis, such as NF‐κB, Bcl‐XL, Mcl‐1 or c‐IAP1, have also been observed in HCC.

Conclusions: Therefore, therapeutic strategies to inhibit selectively antiapoptotic signals in tumour cells have the potential to provide powerful tools to treat liver cancer.
Profiling of genes differentially expressed in a rat of early and later gestational ages with high‐density oligonucleotide DNA array
Authors: Chen Wei , Fu Xiaobing , Ge Shili , Sun Tongzhu , Zhou Gang , Han Bing , Li Haihong , Sheng Zhiyong
Published: January 2007

The early gestational fetus heals dermal wounds rapidly and scarlessly. This phenomenon appears to be intrinsic to fetal skin and is probably modulated by interplay of many genes. We ventured to study differences in gene expression between earlier gestational skin (EGS) and later gestational skin (LGS) with the aid of high‐density oligonucleotide DNA array to explore the molecular mechanism underlying scarless healing. Total RNA was isolated from fetal Wistar rat skin of the scarless (E15) and scar‐forming (E18) periods of gestation (term=21.5 days), and purified to mRNAs. Both the mRNAs from EGS and LGS were reversely transcribed to cDNAs, and were labeled with the incorporation of fluorescent dCTP for preparing the hybridization probes through single primer amplification reaction and Klenow labeling methods. The mixed probes were then hybridized to the oligonucleotide DNA arrays that contained 5,705 DNA fragments representing 5,705 rat genes. After highly stringent washing, the microarray was scanned for fluorescent signals to display the differentially expressed genes between two groups of tissues. Among 5,705 rat genes, there were 53 genes (0.93%) with differentially expressed levels between EGS and LGS; 27 genes, including fibroblast growth factor 8 and follistatin, were up‐regulated (0.47%); and 26 genes, containing lymphoid enhancer binding factor‐1 and β‐catenin, were down‐regulated (0.46%) in fetal skin of scarless period vs. scar‐forming period. Analyses of genes related to ion channels, growth factors, extracellular matrix and cellular skeleton, and movement confirmed that our molecular data obtained by oligonucleotide DNA array were consistent with the published biochemical and clinical findings of fetal scarless healing. Stronger expression of fibroblast growth factor 8, follistatin, and weaker expression of lymphoid enhancer binding factor‐1 and β‐catenin in EGS vs. LGS were also testified with reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting methods. Oligonucleotide DNA array was a powerful tool for investigating different gene expression between scarless and scar‐forming periods of gestation in the rat fetal skin. Many genes were involved in the phenotypic transition from scarless to scar‐forming wound repair during gestation. Further analysis of the obtained genes will help to understand the molecular mechanism of fetal scarless healing.
Effects of Conditioned Reward and Nonreward Cues on the Heart Rate Response to Alcohol Intoxication in Male Social Drinkers
Authors: Brunelle Caroline , Pihl Robert O.
Published: January 2007

Background: An exaggerated heart rate (HR) increase following alcohol intoxication has been suggested to reflect sensitivity to alcohol‐induced reward. The goal of this study is to verify whether pairing alcohol ingestion with conditioned reward and nonreward cues can influence HR responses to alcohol in previously identified individuals with a low and a high HR response.

Methods: Fifty‐six male social drinkers participated in a 2‐day study. On day 1, participants consumed 0.75 g/kg of body weight of pure ethanol. A median split of the alcohol‐induced HR responses identified groups of low and high HR responders. On day 2, both groups participated while sober in a computer task where distinct auditory and visual cues were paired either with monetary reward or no monetary reward. Subsequently, participants were randomly assigned to an alcohol challenge, which occurred while they were exposed to either the conditioned cues of reward or to the nonreward cues.

Results: The physiological response to alcohol intoxication on day 2 was compared with alcohol‐induced HR responses on day 1 (neutral alcohol challenge) for both low and high HR responders. Paired t‐tests showed that high HR responders had significantly decreased alcohol‐induced HR responses on day 2 in the nonreward condition when compared with day 1. No other relationships between cardiac responses to alcohol and cue conditions were obtained.

Conclusions: The rewarding nature of alcohol can be altered by the context in which it is consumed in a subset of individuals who are sensitive to alcohol's stimulating properties.
Effects of Drink‐Stress Sequence and Gender on Alcohol Stress Response Dampening in High and Low Anxiety Sensitive Drinkers
Authors: Zack Martin , Poulos Constantine X. , Aramakis V. Bess , Khamba Baljit K. , MacLeod Colin M.
Published: January 2007

Background: This study tested the appraisal disruption hypothesis of alcohol stress response dampening (SRD) in male and female high or low anxiety sensitive (AS) undergraduates. The hypothesis predicts that alcohol SRD will be greater when drinking occurs before versus after stress exposure. High AS males' predominant social‐evaluative concerns further implied that alcohol SRD to a social stressor (i.e., a speech) would be relatively stronger in high AS males than in high AS females.

Methods: Male and female (n=90/gender) high and low AS participants (≥70th; ≤30th percentile on Anxiety Sensitivity Index‐Revised) were matched on drinking habits and randomly assigned to 1 of 9 experimental cells. Drink type—alcohol (0.7 g/kg males; 0.63 g/kg females), placebo, soda—was fully crossed with stress condition—drink before stress (DBS), drink after stress (DAS), and no stress control (NSC). Stress was induced by telling participants they would be required to make a self‐revealing speech. Stress response dampening was assessed for state anxiety on the Spielberger scale and Stroop interference to threat‐related words. Subjective desire for alcohol was also assessed.

Results: Relative to placebo, alcohol (peak blood alcohol concentration, 0.064%) reliably reduced state anxiety in high AS but not in low AS participants. Alcohol decreased STAI scores and Stroop interference to social threat words significantly more in the DBS than the DAS condition in high AS males; high AS females displayed the exact opposite pattern of effects. In contrast to other participants, high AS males also reported relatively strong desire scores under alcohol.

Conclusions: Overall, the results do not support the appraisal disruption hypothesis as a general mechanism of alcohol SRD in undergraduate drinkers. The findings for high AS males do support the hypothesis, while the opposing profile for high AS females implies that the nature of the stressor (i.e., social challenge) may contribute to gender differences in alcohol SRD in high AS individuals.
A Segmentation/Clustering Model for the Analysis of Array CGH Data
Authors: Picard F. , Robin S. , Lebarbier E. , Daudin J.‐J.
Published: January 2007

SummaryMicroarray‐CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) experiments are used to detect and map chromosomal imbalances. A CGH profile can be viewed as a succession of segments that represent homogeneous regions in the genome whose representative sequences share the same relative copy number on average. Segmentation methods constitute a natural framework for the analysis, but they do not provide a biological status for the detected segments. We propose a new model for this segmentation/clustering problem, combining a segmentation model with a mixture model. We present a new hybrid algorithm called dynamic programming–expectation maximization (DP–EM) to estimate the parameters of the model by maximum likelihood. This algorithm combines DP and the EM algorithm. We also propose a model selection heuristic to select the number of clusters and the number of segments. An example of our procedure is presented, based on publicly available data sets. We compare our method to segmentation methods and to hidden Markov models, and we show that the new segmentation/clustering model is a promising alternative that can be applied in the more general context of signal processing.
Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis mimicking familial hyperkalaemic hypertension: clinical and genetic investigation
Authors: Beaurain Geneviève , Mathieu Flavie , Grootenboer Sabine , Fiquet Béatrice , Cynober Thérèse , Tchernia Gil , Delaunay Jean , Jeunemaitre Xavier
Published: January 2007

Dehydrated hereditary stomatocytosis (DHS) is a rare dominant form of hereditary haemolytic anaemia. In some families, pseudohyperkalaemia accompanies DHS. Familial hyperkalaemic hypertension (FHHt), a rare autosomal dominant form of arterial hypertension, is associated with genuine hyperkalaemia. We present a large French family in which DHS and FHHt were diagnosed independently in two separate branches. In branch A, mild DHS accompanied by pseudohyperkalaemia was found. In branch B, the proband and her daughter were initially diagnosed with FHHt, based on the coincidence of high blood pressure and hyperkalaemia. After finding out that branches A and B were related, reinvestigation of the affected members of branch B lead to the diagnosis of DHS, yielding the largest DHS kindred known in France. This allowed extensive linkage analysis based on 19 microsatellites markers in 12 affected and 10 unaffected members at 16q24.1qter, where one known DHS locus maps to. A maximal two‐point LOD score (4.71 at θ = 0) was obtained for markers D16S3074 and D16S476. Haplotype analysis led to the definition of a new 11.5 cM disease interval with an upper limit at microsatellite D16S3037.
Modulation of osteogenic potential by recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2 in human periodontal ligament cells: effect of serum, culture medium, and osteoinductive medium
Authors: Hou L.‐T. , Li T.‐I. , Liu C.‐M. , Liu B.‐Y. , Liu C.‐L. , Mi H.‐W.
Published: January 2007

Background and Objective:  Bone morphogenic proteins are known, in animal models, to promote many developmental processes, including osteogenesis. Clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the potential of bone morphogenic proteins to promote bone and periodontal regeneration in humans. The aim of this study was to establish an optimal cell culture condition for using to study the biological effects of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2 on periodontal ligament cells.

Material and Methods:  The roles of serum concentration, types of culture medium (α‐modified essential medium or Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium), the presence of osteoinductive medium (including dexamethasone, ascorbic acid and β‐glycerophosphate), and timing of addition of the osteoinductive medium and recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2, on the expression of alkaline phosphatase were investigated in cultured periodontal ligament cells. Cytochemical stainings and biological assay of alkaline phosphatase were also demonstrated.

Results:  Our results suggested that an increased concentration of serum might mask the effect of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2 on the expression of alkaline phosphatase in periodontal ligament cells. α‐Modified essential medium was found to induce a stronger cytochemical staining of the alkaline phosphatase than Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium under similar culture conditions. Pre‐incubation of cells with osteoinductive medium before the addition of various concentrations of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2 enhanced greater alkaline phosphatase expression than the simultaneous presence of both osteoinductive medium and recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2.

Conclusion:  The findings of this study suggest that the effect of recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2 on periodontal ligament cells could be efficiently investigated after the proper selection of culture variables and temporal sequence of adding bioactive factors. The optimal culture condition identified in this study might be useful in further studies to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of periodontal ligament cells in periodontal regeneration after stimulation with recombinant human bone morphogenic protein‐2.
COMBINING ANTIMICROBIALS AND HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURE PROCESSING FOR CONTROL OFLISTERIA MONOCYTOGENESIN FRANKFURTERS*
Authors: PATEL J.R. , SANGLAY G.C. , SHARMA M. , SOLOMON M.B.
Published: January 2007

The safety of ready‐to‐eat meat products such as frankfurters can be enhanced by antimicrobials and postpackaging treatment to control the growth ofListeria monocytogenes.We evaluated the effectiveness of dipping frankfurters in sodium lactate (SL), sodium diacetate (SD) and nisin (N) solutions, followed by hydrodynamic pressure processing (HDP), to controlL. monocytogenesduring storage at 4C for 28 days. Frankfurters were surface inoculated with a five‐strain mixture ofL. monocytogenesafter dipping in (1) control (sterile water), (2) 10% SL, (3) 5% SD, (4) SL + SD, (5) N (5000 IU/mL), (6) N + SL, (7) N + SD and (8) N + SL + SD for 5 min. The frankfurters were vacuum packed and were either treated with or without hydrodynamic pressure. The frankfurters were periodically analyzed for populations ofL. monocytogeneson modified Oxford agar, aerobic cell populations on tryptic soy agar with 0.6% yeast extract and pH on days 0, 7, 14 and 28. HDP treatment significantly reducedL. monocytogenespopulations in frankfurters. Dipping treatments containing N showed greaterL. monocytogenesreduction than that with SL and/or SD treatment; however, the difference was not significant. The combination of N and HDP treatment resulted in more than 2 log cfu/g reduction inL. monocytogenespopulations after 28‐days storage. A synergistic effect between N and HDP was observed for inhibition ofL. monocytogenes.The reduction in aerobic cell populations during storage of antimicrobials and HDP‐treated frankfurters was similar to that ofL. monocytogenes.These results indicate that using N as a dipping treatment followed by HDP treatment is more effective for inhibition of the pathogen during storage at 4C.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Hydrodynamic pressure processing, an innovative post‐harvest technology for meat tenderization, uses a high‐energy explosive to generate a supersonic shock wave in a liquid medium. HDP treatment, primarily studied for tenderness improvement in muscle food products, has been effective in reducing bacterial populations in meats. Nisin has greater antilisterial activity than sodium lactate or sodium diacetate. Dipping frankfurters in nisin followed by the hydrodynamic pressure treatment could be used to reduce 2 logL. monocytogenespopulations in frankfurters during storage at 4C.
EFFECTS OF HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURE PROCESSING AND BLADE TENDERIZATION ON INTRAMUSCULAR COLLAGEN AND TENDERNESS‐RELATED PROTEIN CHARACTERISTICS OF TOP ROUNDS FROM BRAHMAN CATTLE*
Authors: BOWKER B.C. , LIU M.N. , SOLOMON M.B. , EASTRIDGE J.S. , FAHRENHOLZ T.M. , VINYARD B.
Published: January 2007

This study evaluated the effects of blade tenderization (BT), hydrodynamic pressure processing (HDP) and BT followed by HDP (BT + HDP) on collagen solubility and tenderness‐related protein characteristics in top rounds from Brahman cattle. Top rounds (n = 12) were divided in half and randomly assigned to HDP, BT or BT + HDP with each treatment sample having a paired control. HDP and BT + HDP increased (P < 0.0001) collagen solubility, but the correlation between percent soluble collagen and tenderness was low (r = –0.41). All three treatments increased (P < 0.01) fragmentation of myofibrils 35% compared with controls. HDP and BT + HDP treatments increased (P < 0.05) the content of a 100 to 110‐kDa protein observed in myofibrillar protein fractions by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). Minimal treatment differences were observed in sarcoplasmic proteins using SDS‐PAGE. Results suggest BT physically disrupts the muscle structure to improve tenderness while HDP tenderization potentially results from both physical disruption of the muscle structure and some form of direct alterations to muscle proteins.
Schwann cell and olfactory ensheathing cell implantation for repair of the contused spinal cord
Authors: Oudega M.
Published: January 2007

A contusion injury to the spinal cord results in impaired neurological functions due to neuronal death, and axonal damage and demyelination. In time, a fluid‐filled cyst forms at the site of the initial impact. There are no effective endogenous repair mechanisms and, consequently, injury‐induced functional deficits are permanent. One aspect of spinal cord repair is that severed descending and ascending axons need to regenerate beyond the site of injury towards the denervated spinal regions where they can become part of axonal circuits involved in motor and sensory function. Implantation of cells into the injured cord has been studied extensively as a means to promote axonal regeneration in the injured spinal cord. Depending on the overall damage, different cell types may be appropriate in different types of injury. To accomplish axonal regeneration in the contused spinal cord, the strengths and limitations of two glial cell types in particular will be discussed; Schwann cells and olfactory ensheathing cells. It is known that with these implants, axonal regeneration is frustrated by the presence of a glial scar surrounding the contused area. I will review current approaches aimed at overcoming this axonal growth inhibitory scar. Future studies need to focus on identifying interventions that, in combination with cellular implants, will elicit substantial axonal growth beyond the contusion injury, which may then be the basis for biologically significant functional recovery.
Disciplining the Student Body: Schooling and the Construction of Canadian Children's Bodies, 1930–1960
Authors: Gleason Mona
Published: January 2007

In the spring of 1957, journalist Sidney Katz wrote a story forMaclean's Magazineentitled “The Lost Children of British Columbia” which detailed the disturbing events leading up to the forcible removal of 100 Doukhobor children from their New Denver homes by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers. The children, all between the ages of seven and fourteen, were taken to the New Denver Dormitory, located approximately 260 miles northeast of Vancouver, British Columbia, where they remained until they reached the age of fifteen. They were not permitted to speak their native Russian, visit home (although parents were allowed brief, supervised visits to the dormitory), take holidays, or visit friends and relatives in the nearby town of New Denver.
Public-Private Symbiosis in Nashville Special Education
Authors: Dorn Sherman
Published: January 2007

The conventional historiography describing a strict public-private divide in United States schooling is misleading. The standard story claims that public schooling was a fuzzy concept 200 years ago; the division between public and private education for children thus developed largely over the nineteenth century. In the early nineteenth century, public funds went to many private schools and even large private systems, such as the New York Public School Society. In some instances, public funds went to parochial education, either explicitly or as part of an arrangement to allow for diverse religious instruction using public funds. However, the nineteenth century witnessed growing division between public and private, largely excluding religious education (or at least non-Protestant religious education). By the end of the nineteenth century, the standard educational historiography suggests, public schools meant public in several senses: funded from the public coffers, open to the public in general, and controlled by a public, democratically controlled process. Tacit in that definition was a relatively rigid dividing line between public and private school organizations. Historians know that this implicit definition of “public” omits key facts. First, the governance of public schools became less tied to electoral politics during the Progressive Era. Public schooling in nineteenth-century cities generally meant large school boards, intimately connected with urban political machines. By the 1920s, many city school systems had smaller boards in a more corporate-like structure. The consolidation of small rural school districts in the first half of the twentieth century completed this removal of school governance from more local politics. A second problem with the definition above is unequal access to quality education (however defined). Historically, the acceptance of all students was true only in a limited sense, either in access to schools at all (with the exclusion of many children with disabilities) or, more generally, to the resources and curriculum involved in the best public schooling of the early twentieth century (as with racial segregation).
W.E.B. Du Bois and Charles S. Johnson: Differing Views on the Role of Philanthropy in Higher Education
Authors: Gasman Marybeth
Published: January 2007

Philanthropy is typically defined as a charitable act, a gift, or an organization that dispenses such gifts. Rarely do we think negatively about gifts. However, as the literature in this area tells us, there is much mistrust of philanthropy and those behind it. Some critics have pointed toward the ulterior motives underlying the gifts of philanthropists. Is it really a gift or does it serve the philanthropist more than the recipient? Others have drawn attention to the unethical business practices of the corporations behind the philanthropies. How can “tainted” money promote good? Still others have questioned the amount of control that many philanthropists gain once their benefactors become dependent on them. Are philanthropists giving money just to extend the reach of their power? Despite these criticisms, philanthropy, in the words of Robert Bremner, “has been one of the principal methods of social advance.”
Mandating Americanization: Japanese Language Schools and the Federal Survey of Education in Hawai'i, 1916–1920
Authors: Asato Noriko
Published: January 2007

Under the policies of the United States, it will be very difficult to prohibit schools of this kind unless it were definitely proven that they were teaching treasonable things.

—P. P. Claxton, U. S. Commissioner of Education

This article critically examines how the 1919 Federal Survey of Education in Hawai'i, under the guise of a scientific study to guide educational reform, was used as the means to implement colonial policies over the territory's largest ethnic group, the Nikkei, people of Japanese ancestry. Furthermore, the survey was also used by various other political and religious parties and individuals to further their own objectives. Although there were many facets to the federal survey, this study focuses only on the debate surrounding Japanese language schools, the most sensational issue of the survey. The battle over the control of Japanese language schools among the white ruling class, educational authorities, and the Nikkei community in Hawai'i created the foundation for an anti-Japanese language school movement that spread to the West Coast of the United States. The survey was also a catalyst for Nikkei in redefining their Japanese language schools and a battleground concerning their future and identity. Despite numerous studies on Japanese Americans in Hawai'i, and studies of the Japanese language schools, neither the process, results, nor effects of the survey have been critically examined to date. This paper analyzes the process of how the federal survey evolved and how it arrived at its conclusions through an examination of the Education Bureau's files in order to illuminate the origins of the Japanese language school control movement and its chapter of ethnic American educational history.
The Challenge of Teaching Brown
Authors: Waite Cally L.
Published: January 2007

“Did Brown really desegregate schools?” This is the question that inevitably is asked when we begin our study of Brown v. Board in my graduate level class, “The History of Education in the United States.” Certainly, it is a valid question, but one that is problematic when one tries to reconcile the goals of the landmark case with the large number of segregated schools that exist today. When students compare how many segregated schools exist today with those of 1954, the simple answer, according to them, appears to be that Brown did not desegregate schools. It is the complexity of addressing this issue that makes teaching Brown a challenge. Pedagogically I should welcome the opportunity to teach such an issue that has no easy conclusion. As a result, it has the power to engage and challenge students in complex ways. Yet, there is a part of me that dreads teaching Brown because I fear that I cannot do justice to the enormity of that decision for the United States in 1954, nor to the significance that it has taken on in the ensuing decades. However, even with these challenges, how could I not teach Brown? From the outset I want to make clear that this is a reflective as opposed to directive piece. I certainly do not believe that I have a lock on the best way to teach Brown. Instead, I would like this essay to reflect my own uncertainty about what is pedagogically most effective.
Building Partnerships to Hear Freedom's Heroes Within Our Community
Authors: Anand Bernadette , Fine Michelle , Perkins Tiffany , Surrey David
Published: January 2007

Each morning, 10 yellow school buses end their circuit through Montclair, New Jersey, to drop off 149 of Renaissance Middle School's 225 students. Ali, grandson of Charles and Marjorie Baskerville, is among the group of students who arrive by bus. Ali's grandparents with other community activists, almost forty years ago, began the long and hard fight for school integration in this northern town. After court battles, parent meetings, community resistance, and ultimate victory, the struggle resulted in a public school system dedicated to both “choice” and integration. To those who retain the memory of struggle, Montclair's school buses and their routes, almost thirty years old, are a regular reminder of the magnet school plan implemented during the 1977–1978 school year.
Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Anaplasma marginale Strains in Cattle in South Africa
Authors: Mtshali M. S. , De La Fuente J. , Ruybal P. , Kocan K. M. , Vicente J. , Mbati P. A. , Shkap V. , Blouin E. F. , Mohale N. E. , Moloi T. P. , Spickett A. M. , Latif A. A.
Published: January 2007

Bovine anaplasmosis, caused by the tick‐borne rickettsia Anaplasma marginale, is endemic in South Africa and results in considerable economic loss to the cattle industry. This study was designed to characterize strains of A. marginale at the molecular level from cattle raised in communal and commercial farms in the north‐eastern and south‐western regions of the Free State Province, South Africa, that varied in rainfall and vegetation. Seroprevalence to A. marginale was determined in 755 cattle by an Anaplasma spp. competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and ranged from 44% to 98% and was similar in both regions. While Anaplasma centrale was not targeted in this study, A. marginale infections were identified by species‐specific msp1α polymerase chain reaction in 129 of 215 of the samples studied. Similar genetic diversity of A. marginale strains was found in both the north‐eastern and south‐western regions. The sequences of 29 A. marginalemsp1α amplicons from South African strains revealed considerable genetic diversity providing 14 new repeat sequences. However, 42% of MSP1a repeat sequences were not unique to this region. These results indicated the presence of common genotypes between South African, American and European strains of A. marginale. Cattle movement between different parts of South Africa was suggested by the presence of identical A. marginale MSP1a genotypes in north‐eastern and south‐western regions of the Free State Province. Control strategies for anaplasmosis in South Africa should therefore be designed to be protective against genetically heterogeneous strains of A. marginale.
Rapid and Simultaneous Detection of Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease Viruses by Duplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay
Authors: Farkas T. , Antal M. , Sámi L. , Germán P. , Kecskeméti S. , Kardos G. , Belák S. , Kiss I.
Published: January 2007

A duplex reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (dRT‐PCR) assay has been developed for the simultaneous, rapid and specific detection/discrimination of avian influenza virus (AIV) and Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Primers targeting the matrix protein gene (M) of AIV and the fusion protein gene (F) of NDV were evaluated experimentally with 13 AIV and 19 NDV strains. PCR products of the expected size of 144 bp and 316 bp were amplified from AIV/NDV samples, respectively, while no cross‐reaction was observed with negative controls or with 16 other avian pathogens. The endpoint of detection was defined as approximately 10+0.5 50% egg infectious dose (EID50)/0.2 ml for AIV and 10+2.2 EID50/0.2 ml for NDV. The assay was able to detect AIV/NDV with similar sensitivity in spiked stool samples and in specimens from vaccinated birds. The developed dRT‐PCR assay is a rapid, cost‐effective tool, which provides powerful novel means for the early diagnosis of avian influenza and Newcastle disease.
Prevalence of Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance Determinants QnrA, QnrB, and QnrS among Clinical Isolates of
Enterobacter cloacae
in a Taiwanese Hospital
Authors: Wu Jiunn-Jong , Ko Wen-Chien , Tsai Shu-Huei , Yan Jing-Jou
Published: January 2007

The prevalence of three plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants, QnrA, QnrB, and QnrS, among 526 nonreplicate clinical isolates of
Enterobacter cloacae
collected at a Taiwanese university hospital in 2004 was determined by PCR and colony hybridization, and the association of Qnr with the IMP-8 metallo-β-lactamase was investigated. Eighty-six (16.3%) of all isolates were
qnr
positive, and the
qnrA1
-like,
qnrB2
-like, and
qnrS1
-like genes were detected alone or in combination in 3 (0.6%), 53 (10.1%), and 34 (6.5%) isolates, respectively. Among 149 putative extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing isolates, 59 (39.6%) isolates, all of which were SHV-12 producers, harbored
qnrA
(0.7%; 1 isolate),
qnrB
(28.9%; 43 isolates), or
qnrS
(12.1%; 18 isolates). Forty-four (78.6%) of 56 IMP-8 producers carried
qnrB
(58.9%; 33 isolates),
qnrS
(25.0%; 14 isolates), or both. PCR and sequence analysis revealed that
qnrA1
was located in a complex
sul1
-type integron that contains
dhr15
,
aadA2
,
qacE
Δ
1
,
sul1
,
orf513
,
qnrA1
,
ampR
, and
qacE
Δ
1
. Conjugation experiments revealed the coexistence of
qnrB
and
bla
IMP-8
on the transferred plasmids and the absence of β-lactamase content on the transferred
qnrS
-positive plasmids. The transferred
bla
IMP-8
-positive plasmids with and without
qnrB
had very similar restriction patterns, suggesting the horizontal mobility of
qnrB
. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed six major patterns among the 44
qnr
-positive IMP-8-producing isolates. Thus, the extremely high prevalence of
qnr
among the metallo-β-lactamase-producing
E. cloacae
isolates in the hospital may be due mainly to the intrahospital spread of a few clones and the dissemination of plasmids containing both
qnrB
and
bla
IMP-8
.
Drug Therapy of Experimental Tuberculosis (TB): Improved Outcome by Combining SQ109, a New Diamine Antibiotic, with Existing TB Drugs
Authors: Nikonenko Boris V. , Protopopova Marina , Samala Rowena , Einck Leo , Nacy Carol A.
Published: January 2007

Substitution of the new diamine antibiotic SQ109 for ethambutol in a mouse model of chronic tuberculosis (TB) improved efficacy of combination drug therapy with first-line TB drugs rifampin and isoniazid, with or without pyrazinamide: at 8 weeks, lung bacteria were 1.5 log
10
lower in SQ109-containing regimens.
PRICING PATH-DEPENDENT OPTIONS ON STATE DEPENDENT VOLATILITY MODELS WITH A BESSEL BRIDGE
Authors: CAMPOLIETI GIUSEPPE , MAKAROV ROMAN
Published: January 2007

This paper develops bridge sampling path integral algorithms for pricing path-dependent options under a new class of nonlinear state dependent volatility models. Path-dependent option pricing is considered within a new (dual) Bessel family of semimartingale diffusion models, as well as the constant elasticity of variance (CEV) diffusion model, arising as a particular case of these models. The transition p.d.f.s or pricing kernels are mapped onto an underlying simpler squared Bessel process and are expressed analytically in terms of modified Bessel functions. We establish precise links between pricing kernels of such models and the randomized gamma distributions, and thereby demonstrate how a squared Bessel bridge process can be used for exact sampling of the Bessel family of paths. A Bessel bridge algorithm is presented which is based on explicit conditional distributions for the Bessel family of volatility models and is similar in spirit to the Brownian bridge algorithm. A special rearrangement and splitting of the path integral variables allows us to combine the Bessel bridge sampling algorithm with either adaptive Monte Carlo algorithms, or quasi-Monte Carlo techniques for significant numerical efficiency improvement. The algorithms are illustrated by pricing Asian-style and lookback options under the Bessel family of volatility models as well as the CEV diffusion model.
MODERN LOGARITHMS FOR THE HESTON MODEL
Authors: FAHRNER INGO
Published: January 2007

We give a simple proof that in applications there is no need to track the branch-cut of the complex logarithm in the Heston model when using the Lewis-Lipton formula in the right way.
A MARKOVIAN DEFAULTABLE TERM STRUCTURE MODEL WITH STATE DEPENDENT VOLATILITIES
Authors: CHIARELLA CARL , NIKITOPOULOS SKLIBOSIOS CHRISTINA , SCHLÖGL ERIK
Published: January 2007

The defaultable forward rate is modelled as a jump diffusion process within the Schönbucher [26,27] general Heath, Jarrow and Morton [20] framework where jumps in the defaultable term structure fd(t,T) cause jumps and defaults to the defaultable bond prices Pd(t,T). Within this framework, we investigate an appropriate forward rate volatility structure that results in Markovian defaultable spot rate dynamics. In particular, we consider state dependent Wiener volatility functions and time dependent Poisson volatility functions. The corresponding term structures of interest rates are expressed as finite dimensional affine realizations in terms of benchmark defaultable forward rates. In addition, we extend this model to incorporate stochastic spreads by allowing jump intensities to follow a square-root diffusion process. In that case the dynamics become non-Markovian and to restore path independence we propose either an approximate Markovian scheme or, alternatively, constant Poisson volatility functions. We also conduct some numerical simulations to gauge the effect of the stochastic intensity and the distributional implications of various volatility specifications.
PROTEIN SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION BASED ON PSI-BLAST AND MACHINE LEARNING
Authors: GUO JIAN , PU XIAN , LIN YUANLIE , LEUNG HOWARD
Published: January 2007

Subcellular location is an important functional annotation of proteins. An automatic, reliable and efficient prediction system for protein subcellular localization is necessary for large-scale genome analysis. This paper describes a protein subcellular localization method which extracts features from protein profiles rather than from amino acid sequences. The protein profile represents a protein family, discards part of the sequence information that is not conserved throughout the family and therefore is more sensitive than the amino acid sequence. The amino acid compositions of whole profile and the N-terminus of the profile are extracted, respectively, to train and test the probabilistic neural network classifiers. On two benchmark datasets, the overall accuracies of the proposed method reach 89.1% and 68.9%, respectively. The prediction results show that the proposed method perform better than those methods based on amino acid sequences. The prediction results of the proposed method are also compared with Subloc on two redundance-reduced datasets.
ENTROPY-BASED MOMENT CLOSURE FOR KINETIC EQUATIONS: RIEMANN PROBLEM AND INVARIANT REGIONS
Authors: COULOMBEL JEAN-FRANÇOIS , GOUDON THIERRY
Published: January 2007

We study a nonlinear hyperbolic system of balance laws that arises from an entropy-based moment closure of a kinetic equation. We show that the corresponding homogeneous Riemann problem can be solved without smallness assumption, and we exhibit invariant regions.