bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Tissue-specific expression and regulation of GSK-3 in human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue
Authors: Ciaraldi Theodore P. , Oh Deborah K. , Christiansen Louis , Nikoulina Svetlana E. , Kong Alice P. S. , Baxi Sunita , Mudaliar Sunder , Henry Robert R.
Published: June 2006

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a ubiquitous kinase implicated in both insulin action and adipogenesis. To determine how these multiple roles may relate to insulin resistance, we studied the regulation of GSK-3 protein expression and phosphorylation in skeletal muscle and isolated adipocytes from nonobese healthy control (HC), obese control (OC), and obese type 2 diabetic (OT2D) subjects. At baseline there were no differences in the GSK-3 protein expression in adipocytes. OC subjects underwent a 6-mo caloric restriction resulting in a 7% decrease in body mass index (BMI) and a 21% improvement in insulin-stimulated whole body glucose disposal rate (GDR). GSK-3α and GSK-3β expression decreased in adipocytes ( P < 0.05), whereas GSK-3α protein expression increased in skeletal muscle ( P < 0.05). OT2D subjects were treated with troglitazone or metformin for 3–4 mo. After troglitazone treatment GDR improved ( P < 0.05) despite an increase in BMI ( P < 0.05), whereas metformin had no significant effect on GDR. There was no significant change in GSK-3 expression in adipocytes following troglitazone, whereas both GSK-3α and -β were decreased in skeletal muscle ( P < 0.05). Metformin treatment had no significant impact on GSK-3 protein expression in either adipocytes or skeletal muscle. Neither treatment influenced GSK-3 serine phosphorylation in skeletal muscle or adipocytes. These results suggest that there is tissue specificity for the regulation of GSK-3 in humans. In skeletal muscle GSK-3 plays a role in control of metabolism and insulin action, whereas the function in adipose tissue is less clear.
Mathematical model for the androgenic regulation of the prostate in intact and castrated adult male rats
Authors: Potter Laura K. , Zager Michael G. , Barton Hugh A.
Published: June 2006

The testicular-hypothalamic-pituitary axis regulates male reproductive system functions. Understanding these regulatory mechanisms is important for assessing the reproductive effects of environmental and pharmaceutical androgenic and antiandrogenic compounds. A mathematical model for the dynamics of androgenic synthesis, transport, metabolism, and regulation of the adult rodent ventral prostate was developed on the basis of a model by Barton and Anderson (1997). The model describes the systemic and local kinetics of testosterone (T), 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and luteinizing hormone (LH), with metabolism of T to DHT by 5α-reductase in liver and prostate. Also included are feedback loops for the positive regulation of T synthesis by LH and negative regulation of LH by T and DHT. The model simulates maintenance of the prostate as a function of hormone concentrations and androgen receptor (AR)-mediated signal transduction. The regulatory processes involved in prostate size and function include cell proliferation, apoptosis, fluid production, and 5α-reductase activity. Each process is controlled through the occupancy of a representative gene by androgen-AR dimers. The model simulates prostate dynamics for intact, castrated, and intravenous T-injected rats. After calibration, the model accurately captures the castration-induced regression of the prostate compared with experimental data that show that the prostate regresses to ∼17 and 5% of its intact weight at 14 and 30 days postcastration, respectively. The model also accurately predicts serum T and AR levels following castration compared with data. This model provides a framework for quantifying the kinetics and effects of environmental and pharmaceutical endocrine active compounds on the prostate.
Time course changes in signaling pathways and protein synthesis in C2C12myotubes following AMPK activation by AICAR
Authors: Williamson David L. , Bolster Douglas R. , Kimball Scot R. , Jefferson Leonard S.
Published: June 2006

The role of the AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) as a metabolic sensor in skeletal muscle has been far better characterized for glucose and fat metabolism than for protein metabolism. Therefore, the studies presented here were designed to examine the effects of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-d-ribonucleoside (AICAR)-induced AMPK signaling on effector mechanisms of mRNA translation and protein synthesis in cultures of C2C12myotubes. The findings show that, following AICAR (2 mM) treatment, AMPK phosphorylation was increased within 15 min and remained elevated throughout a 60-min time course. In association with the increase in AMPK phosphorylation, global rates of protein synthesis declined to 90, 70, and 63% of the control values at the 15-, 30-, and 60-min time points, respectively. By 60 min, polysomes disaggregated into free ribosomal subunits, suggesting an inhibition of initiation of mRNA translation. However, phosphorylation of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 was increased at 15 and 30 min but then declined to control values by 60 min, suggesting a transient inhibition of translation elongation. The decline in protein synthesis and changes in mRNA translation were associated with a repression of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, as indicated by increased association of Hamartin with Tuberin, increased association of regulatory associated protein of mTOR with mTOR, and dephosphorylation of the downstream targets ribosomal protein S6 kinase-1 and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein-1. They were also associated with activation of the MAPK signaling pathway, as indicated by increased phosphorylation of MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 and the downstream target eIF4E. Overall, the data support the conclusion that AICAR-induced AMPK activation suppresses protein synthesis through concurrent repression of mTOR signaling and activation of MAPK signaling, the combination of which modulates transient changes in the initiation and elongation phases of mRNA translation.
Hydraulic conductance of pulmonary microvascular and macrovascular endothelial cell monolayers
Authors: Parker James C. , Stevens Troy , Randall Jason , Weber David S. , King Judy A.
Published: June 2006

Endothelial cells isolated from pulmonary arteries (RPAEC) and microcirculation (RPMVEC) of rat lungs were grown to confluence on porous filters and mounted on an Ussing-type chamber. Transmembrane pressure (ΔP) was controlled by the reservoir height, and the filtration rate corrected for surface area ( Jv/ A) was measured by timing fluid movement in a calibrated micropipette. These parameters were used to calculate hydraulic conductance (Lp) by using linear regression of Jv/ A on ΔP. Mean Lp values for newly confluent RPAEC monolayers were 22 times higher than those for RPMVEC monolayers (28.6 ± 5.6 vs. 1.30 ± 0.50 × 10−7 cm·s−1·cmH2O−1; P ≤ 0.01). After confluence was reached, electrical resistance and Lp remained stable in RPAEC but continued to change in RPMVEC with days in culture. Both phenotypes exhibited an initial time-dependent sealing response, but Lp also had an inverse relationship to ΔP in RPMVEC monolayers ≥4 days postconfluence that was attributed to cell overgrowth rather than junctional length. In a comparison of the cadherin contents, E-cadherin was predominant in RPMVEC, but VE-cadherin was predominant in RPAEC. At a constant ΔP of 40–45 cmH2O for 2 h, Jv/ A increased 225% in RPAEC monolayers but did not change significantly in RPMVEC monolayers. Significant decreases in Lp were obtained after treatment with 5% albumin, GdCl3, or isoproterenol plus rolipram in both phenotypes. Thus lung microvascular endothelial cells exhibited a significantly lower Lp than conduit vessel endothelium, which would limit alveolar flooding relative to perivascular edema cuff formation during increased pulmonary vascular pressures.
The kidney in vitamin B12and folate homeostasis: characterization of receptors for tubular uptake of vitamins and carrier proteins
Authors: Birn Henrik
Published: June 2006

Over the past 10 years, animal studies have uncovered the molecular mechanisms for the renal tubular recovery of filtered vitamin and vitamin carrier proteins. Relatively few endocytic receptors are responsible for the proximal tubule uptake of a number of different vitamins, preventing urinary losses. In addition to vitamin conservation, tubular uptake by endocytosis is important to vitamin metabolism and homeostasis. The present review focuses on the receptors involved in renal tubular recovery of folate, vitamin B12, and their carrier proteins. The multiligand receptor megalin is important for the uptake and tubular accumulation of vitamin B12. During vitamin load, the kidney accumulates large amounts of free vitamin B12, suggesting a possible storage function. In addition, vitamin B12is metabolized in the kidney, suggesting a role in vitamin homeostasis. The folate receptor is important for the conservation of folate, mediating endocytosis of the vitamin. Interaction between the structurally closely related, soluble folate-binding protein and megalin suggests that megalin plays an additional role in the uptake of folate bound to filtered folate-binding protein. A third endocytic receptor, the intrinsic factor-B12receptor cubilin-amnionless complex, is essential to the renal tubular uptake of albumin, a carrier of folate. In conclusion, uptake is mediated by interaction with specific endocytic receptors also involved in the renal uptake of other vitamins and vitamin carriers. Little is known about the mechanisms regulating intracellular transport and release of vitamins, and whereas tubular uptake is a constitutive process, this may be regulated, e.g., by vitamin status.
Role of transcriptional networks in coordinating early events during kidney development
Authors: Boyle Scott , de Caestecker Mark
Published: June 2006

Many of the signaling pathways that regulate tissue specification and coordinate cellular differentiation during embryogenesis have been identified over the last decade. These pathways are integrated at the transcriptional level, enabling activation of specific developmental programs in a temporally and spatially restricted fashion. Such developmental events are usually thought of in terms of hierarchical relationships, in which the expression of upstream factors leads to the sequential activation of a linear cascade of downstream genes. Whereas these models provide a simplistic approach to understand complex cellular events, genetic and biochemical studies in mice and other model organisms provide ample evidence that many of these factors interact at multiple levels in vivo and emphasize the importance of considering these linear events in context. The purpose of this review is to emphasize the complexity of these regulatory networks during the early phases of mammalian kidney development, outlining some of the limitations and alternative approaches that are being used to explore the complex nature of these networks in vivo. Before describing these networks in detail, we will provide a brief overview of the main structural changes and tissue interactions involved in mammalian kidney development, and go on to describe some of the limitations of our current approaches to evaluate the role of these developmental pathways in vivo.
Aldosterone inhibits apical NHE3 and HCO3−absorption via a nongenomic ERK-dependent pathway in medullary thick ascending limb
Authors: Watts Bruns A. , George Thampi , Good David W.
Published: June 2006

Although aldosterone influences a variety of cellular processes through nongenomic mechanisms, the significance of nongenomic pathways for aldosterone-induced regulation of epithelial function is not understood. Recently, we demonstrated that aldosterone inhibits transepithelial HCO3−absorption in the medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) through a nongenomic pathway. This inhibition is mediated through a direct cellular action of aldosterone to inhibit the apical membrane NHE3 Na+/H+exchanger. The present study was designed to identify the intracellular signaling pathway(s) responsible for this aldosterone-induced transport regulation. In rat MTALs perfused in vitro, addition of 1 nM aldosterone to the bath decreased HCO3−absorption by 30%. This inhibition was not mediated by cAMP/PKA and was not prevented by inhibitors of PKC or PI3-K, pertussis toxin, or rapamycin. The inhibition of HCO3−absorption by aldosterone was largely eliminated by the MEK/ERK inhibitors U-0126 and PD-98059. Aldosterone increased ERK activity 1.8-fold in microdissected MTALs. This ERK activation is rapid (≤5 min) and is blocked by U-0126 or PD-98059 but is unaffected by spironolactone or actinomycin D. Pretreatment with U-0126 to block ERK activation prevented the effect of aldosterone to inhibit apical NHE3. These data demonstrate that aldosterone inhibits NHE3 and HCO3−absorption in the MTAL through rapid activation of the ERK signaling pathway. The results identify NHE3 as a target for nongenomic regulation by aldosterone and establish a role for ERK in the acute regulation of NHE3 and its epithelial absorptive functions.
Deficits and Recovery in Visuospatial Memory During Head Motion After Bilateral Labyrinthine Lesion
Authors: Wei Min , Li Nuo , Newlands Shawn D. , Dickman J. David , Angelaki Dora E.
Published: June 2006

To keep a stable internal representation of the environment as we move, extraretinal sensory or motor cues are critical for updating neural maps of visual space. Using a memory-saccade task, we studied whether visuospatial updating uses vestibular information. Specifically, we tested whether trained rhesus monkeys maintain the ability to update the conjugate and vergence components of memory-guided eye movements in response to passive translational or rotational head and body movements after bilateral labyrinthine lesion. We found that lesioned animals were acutely compromised in generating the appropriate horizontal versional responses necessary to update the directional goal of memory-guided eye movements after leftward or rightward rotation/translation. This compromised function recovered in the long term, likely using extravestibular (e.g., somatosensory) signals, such that nearly normal performance was observed 4 mo after the lesion. Animals also lost their ability to adjust memory vergence to account for relative distance changes after motion in depth. Not only were these depth deficits larger than the respective effects on version, but they also showed little recovery. We conclude that intact labyrinthine signals are functionally useful for proper visuospatial memory updating during passive head and body movements.
Product Fragmentation and Trade Patterns in East Asia
Authors: Athukorala Prema-chandra
Published: June 2006

International product fragmentation—the cross-border dispersion of component production/assembly within vertically integrated production processes—is an important feature of the deepening structural interdependence of the world economy. This paper examines the implications of this phenomenon for global and regional trade patterns, with special emphasis on countries in East Asia, using a new data set culled from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database. It is found that, while “fragmentation trade” has generally grown faster than total world trade in manufacturing, the degree of dependence of East Asia on this new form of international specialization is proportionately larger than that of North America and Europe. The upshot is that international product fragmentation has made East Asian growth increasingly reliant on extra-regional trade, strengthening the case for a global, rather than a regional, approach to trade and investment policymaking.
Response of the North Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation and Ventilation to Increasing Carbon Dioxide in CCSM3
Authors: Bryan Frank O. , Danabasoglu Gokhan , Nakashiki Norikazu , Yoshida Yoshikatsu , Kim Dong-Hoon , Tsutsui Junichi , Doney Scott C.
Published: June 2006

The response of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation to idealized climate forcing of 1% per year compound increase in CO2 is examined in three configurations of the Community Climate System Model version 3 that differ in their component model resolutions. The strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation declines at a rate of 22%–26% of the corresponding control experiment maximum overturning per century in response to the increase in CO2. The mean meridional overturning and its variability on decadal time scales in the control experiments, the rate of decrease in the transient forcing experiments, and the rate of recovery in periods of CO2 stabilization all increase with increasing component model resolution. By examining the changes in ocean surface forcing with increasing CO2 in the framework of the water-mass transformation function, we show that the decline in the overturning is driven by decreasing density of the subpolar North Atlantic due to increasing surface heat fluxes. While there is an intensification of the hydrologic cycle in response to increasing CO2, the net effect of changes in surface freshwater fluxes on those density classes that are involved in deep-water formation is to increase their density; that is, changes in surface freshwater fluxes act to maintain a stronger overturning circulation. The differences in the control experiment overturning strength and the response to increasing CO2 are well predicted by the corresponding differences in the water-mass transformation rate. Reduction of meridional heat transport and enhancement of meridional salt transport from mid- to high latitudes with increasing CO2 also act to strengthen the overturning circulation. Analysis of the trends in an ideal age tracer provides a direct measure of changes in ocean ventilation time scale in response to increasing CO2. In the subpolar North Atlantic south of the Greenland–Scotland ridge system, there is a significant increase in subsurface ages as open-ocean deep convection is diminished and ventilation switches to a predominance of overflow waters. In middle and low latitudes there is a decrease in age within and just below the thermocline in response to a decrease in the upwelling of old deep waters. However, when considering ventilation within isopycnal layers, age increases for layers in and below the thermocline due to the deepening of isopycnals in response to global warming.
Tropical Pacific and Atlantic Climate Variability in CCSM3
Authors: Deser Clara , Capotondi Antonietta , Saravanan R. , Phillips Adam S.
Published: June 2006

Simulations of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and tropical Atlantic climate variability in the newest version of the Community Climate System Model [version 3 (CCSM3)] are examined in comparison with observations and previous versions of the model. The analyses are based upon multicentury control integrations of CCSM3 at two different horizontal resolutions (T42 and T85) under present-day CO2 concentrations. Complementary uncoupled integrations with the atmosphere and ocean component models forced by observed time-varying boundary conditions allow an assessment of the impact of air–sea coupling upon the simulated characteristics of ENSO and tropical Atlantic variability.

The amplitude and zonal extent of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature variability associated with ENSO is well simulated in CCSM3 at both resolutions and represents an improvement relative to previous versions of the model. However, the period of ENSO remains too short (2–2.5 yr in CCSM3 compared to 2.5–8 yr in observations), and the sea surface temperature, wind stress, precipitation, and thermocline depth responses are too narrowly confined about the equator. The latter shortcoming is partially overcome in the atmosphere-only and ocean-only simulations, indicating that coupling between the two model components is a contributing cause. The relationships among sea surface temperature, thermocline depth, and zonal wind stress anomalies are consistent with the delayed/recharge oscillator paradigms for ENSO. We speculate that the overly narrow meridional scale of CCSM3's ENSO simulation may contribute to its excessively high frequency. The amplitude and spatial pattern of the extratropical atmospheric circulation response to ENSO is generally well simulated in the T85 version of CCSM3, with realistic impacts upon surface air temperature and precipitation; the simulation is not as good at T42.

CCSM3's simulation of interannual climate variability in the tropical Atlantic sector, including variability intrinsic to the basin and that associated with the remote influence of ENSO, exhibits similarities and differences with observations. Specifically, the observed counterpart of El Niño in the equatorial Atlantic is absent from the coupled model at both horizontal resolutions (as it was in earlier versions of the coupled model), but there are realistic (although weaker than observed) SST anomalies in the northern and southern tropical Atlantic that affect the position of the local intertropical convergence zone, and the remote influence of ENSO is similar in strength to observations, although the spatial pattern is somewhat different.
Working Successfully with Diverse Studentsand Communities
Authors: Butler-Byrd Nola , Nieto Jesús , Senour Maria Nieto
Published: June 2006

Pressing societal needs and professional guidelines call for multiculturally competent counselors who can successfully work with diverse individuals and communities. Using a mixed-methods case study, this article describes an innovative counselor preparation program that for 33 years has successfully prepared more than 800 counselors to work with diverse individuals and communities by supporting the development of counseling/professional skills, self-awareness, sensitivity to diversity, and social justice agency. This article reviews multicultural counseling literature that highlights the successes and challenges of teaching students about cultural diversity and oppression. It then elaborates on the Community-Based Block Program model and reports findings from three program assessments. It concludes with implications for counselor preparation programs.
Reading The Friendship and Talking About Race
Authors: Smith Sally A. , Singer Judith Y.
Published: June 2006

This study documents literature discussions between groups of teacher education students in two geographically and demographically different universities. Students from an education methods course at each site discussed The Friendship by Mildred Taylor with one another as part of a distance reader response project. The project was designed to promote discussion of multicultural historical fiction among and between urban students of color at one site and mainly White suburban students from the second site. Additional goals include increasing computer literacy as prospective teachers access the WebCT online course management system and have regular conversations in this medium.
Diet rich in α-lactalbumin improves memory in unmedicated recovered depressed patients and matched controls
Authors: Booij Linda , Merens Wendelien , Markus C. Rob , Van der Does A. J. Willem
Published: June 2006

Depression is associated with reduced brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) function and with cognitive dysfunctions. A diet rich in α-lactalbumin protein has been found to increase the ratio tryptophan /large neutral amino acids (Trp/σLNAA), and to improve cognitive functioning in individuals with high neuroticism scores. Since cognitive dysfunctions sometimes persist after remission of depression, the present study investigated the effects of α-lactalbumin-enriched diet on cognition in recovered depressed patients.

Twenty-three recovered depressed patients and 20 healthy matched controls without a history of depression consumed meals rich in α-lactalbumin or casein protein in a double-blind crossover design. Mood, cognitive function and plasma amino acids were assessed at both sessions before and after dietary intake.

Alpha-lactalbumin protein had no effect on mood, but improved abstract visual memory and impaired simple motor performance. These effects were independent of history of depression. Supplements of lactalbumin may be useful for nutrition research in relation to age- or disease-related memory decline. The present findings should be further examined in different (e.g. medicated) samples. The long-term effects of α-lactalbumin should also be investigated.
Alcohol, drugs, and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder: a model for the study of addictions in youth
Authors: Wilens Timothy E. , Biederman Joseph
Published: June 2006

There has been increasing interest in the developmental origins of substance use disorders (SUDs) in children and adolescents. Because of its early onset, high prevalence and known risk for SUD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a model developmental disorder to evaluate in context to SUDs. A selected review of the literature was undertaken examining ADHD as an antecedent disorder to subsequent SUD. ADHD and its co-occurring comorbid psychopathology increase the risk for cigarette smoking and SUD and is associated with greater SUD severity and chronicity. The treatment of ADHD appears to decrease the risk for cigarette smoking and SUD. ADHD is an important antecedent disorder in children and adolescents worthy of further targeted preventive efforts to diminish the risk for cigarette smoking and SUD.
Electrophysiological and neurochemical characterization of the effect of repeated treatment with milnacipran on the rat serotonergic and noradrenergic systems
Authors: Tachibana Kaori , Matsumoto Machiko , Koseki Hiroyo , Togashi Hiroko , Kojima Taku , Morimoto Yuji , Yoshioka Mitsuhiro
Published: June 2006

The present study was undertaken to elucidate the effects of repeated treatment with milnacipran, a serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NA) reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), on the synaptic plasticity in the hippocampal CA1 field, focusing on the interaction between the serotonergic and noradrenergic system. Repeated treatment with milnacipran (30mg/kg, i.p. after 30mg/kg, p.o. 14 days) completely restored the suppression of the long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by single milnacipran treatment (30mg/kg, i.p.). Single and repeated milnacipran increased to a similar extent extracellular NA in the hippocampus. Single milnacipran increased extracellular 5-HT and this effect tended to be enhanced by repeated treatment. The restoration of LTP and facilitation of the 5-HT level were not shown after repeated treatment with a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluvoxamine (30mg/kg, p.o. 14 days). These results suggest that milnacipran-induced restoration of LTP suppression is responsible for the enhancement of 5-HT neurotransmission, which appears to be associated with noradrenergic neuronal activity. In addition, the 5-HT1Areceptor agonist tandospirone-induced suppression of LTP was completely blocked by repeated treatment with milnacipran, indicating the possibility that this reversal effect is due to the functional changes in postsynaptic 5-HT1Areceptors. Taken together, the present data suggest that the interaction between the serotonergic and noradrenergic mechanism play an important role in the modulation of synaptic plasticity caused by repeated treatment with milnacipran, which may be implicated in the therapeutic effects of SNRI on psychiatric disorders.
Sedation and memory: studies with a histamine H-1 receptor antagonist
Authors: Turner Claire , Handford Alison D. F. , Nicholson Anthony N.
Published: June 2006

The influence of sedation on the effect of an H-1 receptor antagonist on various cognitive functions, including memory, were evaluated.

Diphenhydramine (50, 75 and 100mg) and lorazepam (0.5 and 1.5mg) were given on single occasions to 12 healthy volunteers (six males, six females) aged 20–33 (mean 23.4) years. Subjective assessments of sedation, sleep latencies, digit symbol substitution, choice reaction time, sustained attention and memory recall were studied 1.0h before and 0.5, 2.0 and 3.5h after drug ingestion. The study was double blind, placebo controlled and with a crossover design.

With all doses of diphenhydramine there was subjective sedation, reduced sleep latencies and impairments in performance on the digit symbol substitution, choice reaction time and sustained attention tasks. No effects were observed with 0.5mg lorazepam. With 1.5mg lorazepam there was subjective sedation, fewer digit symbol substitutions, slowed choice reaction time, impaired attention and memory, but no effect on sleep latencies. Contrast analysis of data measured at all time points showed that although there was no difference in the effect of diphenhydramine (100mg) and lorazepam (1.5mg) on those tasks without a memory component, response times were slower with lorazepam on those tasks with a memory component. However, both 100mg diphenhydramine and 1.5mg lorazepam impaired prompted recall measured at 2h post-ingestion only.

It is considered that impaired memory is not necessarily associated with sedation, and that impairment of memory with drugs that lead to sedation may be effected through neuronal systems independent of those that affect arousal.
Blurring Boundaries in Qualitative Health Research on Sensitive Topics
Authors: Dickson-Swift Virginia , James Erica L. , Kippen Sandra , Liamputtong Pranee
Published: June 2006

Qualitative health researchers immerse themselves in the settings that they are studying. This immersion involves personal interaction with their participants, with the result that the boundaries between the researcher and the group of people under study can easily become blurred. Although health researchers have been undertaking qualitative research for many years, recognition of boundary issues inherent in this type of research have received little attention. To investigate such issues, the authors conducted interviews with 30 qualitative health researchers. A grounded theory analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that researchers can identify a number of boundaries in their research, including the boundaries between researcher and friend, researcher and counselor or therapist, and professional boundaries. The authors discuss the findings and offer recommendations for qualitative health researchers involved in researching sensitive topics, including the need for researchers to consider the impacts that undertaking research might have on them.
Increasing Our Understanding of Breast Self-Examination: Women Talk About Cancer, the Health Care System, and Being Women
Authors: Kearney Anne J.
Published: June 2006

The author engaged 13 women, aged 30 to 59, in a collaborative research project over several months to explore the meaning of breast self-examination (BSE) to them. Through a series of 11 group discussions, the women developed a critical consciousness of the commonality of their personal experiences in relation to BSE. Although these women valued BSE, their reluctance to perform it was influenced by their perceptions of breast cancer as a lethal disease, the perceived threat it posed to their femininity, and their ability to negotiate an increasingly medical and technological health care system. This study provides insight into the importance of the social environment and shared understandings in influencing women's individual behavioral choices for BSE. It also illustrates the particular value of collaborative health research.
Internet Recruitment and E-Mail Interviews in Qualitative Studies
Authors: Hamilton Rebekah J. , Bowers Barbara J.
Published: June 2006

In 2004, 111 million adults accessed the Internet looking for health and medical information. Qualitative researchers can apply long-standing principles of recruitment and interviewing to the Internet. The purpose of this article is to examine the theoretical and methodological aspects of Internet recruitment and e-mail interviewing. The authors address issues of appropriateness, adequacy, representativeness, sample bias, data fraud, flexibility and consistency in interviewing, timing, elimination of the need for transcription, oral versus written communication, reliability and validity, and ethical concerns. They include some practical suggestions on a research design for a qualitative study employing both Internet recruitment and e-mail interviewing.
Delivering Culturally Sensitive Care: The Perceptions of Older Arabian Gulf Arabs Concerning Religion, Health, and Disease
Authors: Ypinazar Valmae Anne , Margolis Stephen Andrew
Published: June 2006

Health professionals need to be cognizant of the varying perceptions of health shared by people from different religious, sociocultural, and linguistic backgrounds to deliver culturally sensitive health care. In this qualitative study, the authors used semistructured interviews to provide insight into how 10 older Arabian Gulf Muslim persons understand and perceive health and illness with emphasis on the role of Islam in formulating health behaviors. Participants' views were strongly influenced by their religious convictions. Good health was equated with the absence of visible disease, with participants demonstrating limited understanding of silent or insidious disease. They attended doctors for treatment of visible disease rather than seeking preventive health care for diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Building on the results from this study could help inform both health service planners and providers to improve the appropriateness, relevancy, and effectiveness of aged care services for these individuals.
Lived Experience of Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia: Women's Stories From Daily Life
Authors: Råheim Målfrid , Håland Wenche
Published: June 2006

The hermeneutic-phenomenological study presented in this article is grounded in a lifeworld perspective. The authors aimed at rich descriptions of women's lived experience of chronic pain and fibromyalgia. They conducted individual life-form interviews with 12 women with fibromyalgia. On the basis of the women's stories, three typologies were developed: at the will of the treacherous body—powerlessness; struggling to escape the treacherous body— ambivalence; and caring for the treacherous body—coping. The lived experience described in the typologies were further interpreted according to the existentials: lived body, lived time and space, and lived relations. The women's stories point to a world experienced as fundamentally changed by a body in chronic pain, describing a struggle in which they feel that their existence is at stake.
The Quality of Life of Elderly Women Who Underwent Radiofrequency Ablation to Treat Breast Cancer
Authors: Roberts Jillian , Morden Lani , MacMath Sheryl , Massie Kendra , Olivotto Ivo A. , Parker Cathy , Hayashi Allen
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this article is to explore the effects of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), an investigational treatment for breast cancer, on the quality of life of elderly women. For this descriptive phenomenological study, the authors interviewed 12 White women (aged 60-81 years) 4 months to 1 year after treatment and analyzed these interviews for common themes. They asked questions regarding the lived experience of RFA treatment and its effects on quality of life. Analyses focused on the effects of deciding to have the RFA treatment and the treatment itself. They found quality of life improved because the women felt empowered by (a) their decision to have the procedure, (b) knowing that the procedure might kill the tumor, (c) and feeling that they were contributing to cancer research. The level of support received from the medical team, family and friends, and other cancer survivors also improved participant quality of life.
Problems With Item Parceling for Confirmatory Factor Analytic Tests of Measurement Invariance
Authors: Meade Adam W. , Kroustalis Christina M.
Published: June 2006

Combining items into parcels in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) can improve model estimation and fit. Because adequate model fit is imperative for CFA tests of measurement invariance, parcels have frequently been used. However, the use of parcels as indicators in a CFA model can have serious detrimental effects on tests of measurement invariance. Using simulated data with a known lack of invariance, the authors illustrate how models using parcels as indicator variables erroneously indicate that measurement invariance exists much more often than do models using items as indicators. Moreover, item-by-item tests of measurement invariance were often more informative than were tests of the entire parameter matrices.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Authors: Sousa Célio A. A. , Hendriks Paul H. J.
Published: June 2006

This article addresses the methodology that can be applied when researching the field of academic research management, in which the adoption of a knowledge-based view (KBV) is especially appropriate. In particular, it discusses whether the adoption of a grounded theory approach (GTA) in this type of research is justifiable, given the contested character of the KBV constituents. GTA, so it is argued, is especially useful for investigating such a field because of three interrelated arguments: (a) that KBV and related debates provide insufficient theoretical guidance, (b) that the research managers' experience and viewpoints should form the basis of theory development and relevancy, and (c) that the concepts of knowledge and management are obscure. Adopting a GTA does not completely remove the KBV perspective from the methodological discussions. Instead, it may be useful for modifying the GTA outcomes, thus engendering theoretical plausibility, applicability, and credibility.
An Examination of Firm, Industry, and Time Effects on Performance Using Random Coefficients Modeling
Authors: Short Jeremy C. , Ketchen David J. , Bennett Nathan , du Toit Mathilda
Published: June 2006

The strategic management literature is unclear about how firm and industry effects influence performance, and the analysis of longitudinal data therein continues to be problematic. The authors analyze longitudinal data using hierarchical linear modeling to illustrate a random coefficients modeling alternative for examining firm performance. This approach allows researchers to explicitly model different conceptual approaches to testing change in performance over time and model predictor variables and cross-level interactions at multiple levels of analysis, and it also allows for investigation of time series errors. The results have implications for the strategic management field's goal of understanding multilevel determinants of firm performance over time.
Introduction
Authors: Boyer Dominic , Hannerz Ulf
Published: June 2006

In this article we briefly review past and present ethnography of journalism in order to explain the timing and significance of this special issue, ‘Worlds of Journalism’. We make the case for the ethnography of journalism as a key lens for better understanding four sets of research problems facing contemporary social science: (1) the involvement of media professions like journalism in processes of social mediation and cultural production more broadly, (2) the opportunity of reflexive social science to ‘study sideways’ other professional groups through ethnography, (3) the contemporary transformation of institutions and practices of political communication, democracy and citizenship, and (4) the emergence of new modes of translocal social experience such as those experienced by mobile, cosmopolitan professional groups
The economy of just-in-time television newscasting
Authors: Baisnée Olivier , Marchetti Dominique
Published: June 2006

Since the 1990s, 24-hour national and especially transnational television news channels (BBC World, CNN International, CNBC, etc.) have imposed themselves as models for nonstop news production in Western Europe and have propagated a new model of professional excellence. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews conducted at the pan-European channel Euronews, this article discusses the characteristics of the concrete organization of the new division of journalistic work such as its designs for processing and producing just-in-time news, and how it tailors its product for a transnational audience. The functioning of Euronews is a living laboratory for studying the constraints that bear on all-news networks, including the relentless reduction in production costs, the effects of temporal compression (spot assignments that are unpredictable, ‘live’ broadcasts, etc.), and the development of sedentary or ‘sit-down journalism’. This article offers a rare ethnographic window into the workaday universe of 24-hour news broadcasting
Local hands, international news
Authors: Bishara Amahl
Published: June 2006

Study of the production process of news about Palestinians rather than simply its final forms reveals the extent to which mainstream news is a cultural product not only of US society and western journalism’s professional norms, but of Palestinian society as well. Palestinian journalists working for international news contribute essential labor to the final product of international news. They serve as cultural and geographical guides for foreign correspondents. They are photojournalists and reporters on the scene covering both everyday political news and dangerous crises. Much of their work demands embodied skills acquired within Palestinian society under occupation. Yet, perhaps because journalism is generally thought of as intellectual work, and also because of the intensely local nature of these journalistic skills, Palestinian journalists’ contributions - which generally relate to the facilitation of knowledge production, rather than to the formulation of editorial positions - are rarely recognized in publication or in discussions of journalism
Expression of LAG-3 by tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes is coincident with the suppression of latent membrane antigen–specific CD8+ T-cell function in Hodgkin lymphoma patients
Authors: Gandhi Maher K. , Lambley Eleanore , Duraiswamy Jaikumar , Dua Ujjwal , Smith Corey , Elliott Suzanne , Gill Devinder , Marlton Paula , Seymour John , Khanna Rajiv
Published: June 2006

In Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), the malignant Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells constitute only 0.5% of 10% of the diseased tissue. The surrounding cellular infiltrate is enriched with T cells that are hypothesized to modulate antitumor immunity. We show that a marker of regulatory T cells, LAG-3, is strongly expressed on infiltrating lymphocytes present in proximity to HRS cells. Circulating regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25hi CD45 ROhi, CD4+ CTLA4hi, and CD4+ LAG-3hi) were elevated in HL patients with active disease when compared with remission. Longitudinal profiling of EBV-specific CD8+ T-cell responses in 94 HL patients revealed a selective loss of interferon-γ expression by CD8+ T cells specific for latent membrane proteins 1 and 2 (LMP1/2), irrespective of EBV tissue status. Intratumoral LAG-3 expression was associated with EBV tissue positivity, whereas FOXP3 was linked with neither LAG-3 nor EBV tissue status. The level of LAG-3 and FOXP3 expression on the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was coincident with impairment of LMP1/2-specific T-cell function. In vitro pre-exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to HRS cell line supernatant significantly increased the expansion of regulatory T cells and suppressed LMP-specific T-cell responses. Deletion of CD4+ LAG-3+ T cells enhanced LMP-specific reactivity. These findings indicate a pivotal role for regulatory T cells and LAG-3 in the suppression of EBV-specific cell-mediated immunity in HL.
BLISS: biding site level identification of shared signal-modules in DNA regulatory sequences
Authors: Meng Hailong , Banerjee Arunava , Zhou Lei
Published: June 2006

Background

Regulatory modules are segments of the DNA that control particular aspects of gene expression. Their identification is therefore of great importance to the field of molecular genetics. Each module is composed of a distinct set of binding sites for specific transcription factors. Since experimental identification of regulatory modules is an arduous process, accurate computational techniques that supplement this process can be very beneficial. Functional modules are under selective pressure to be evolutionarily conserved. Most current approaches therefore attempt to detect conserved regulatory modules through similarity comparisons at the DNA sequence level. However, some regulatory modules, despite the conservation of their responsible binding sites, are embedded in sequences that have little overall similarity.

Results

In this study, we present a novel approach that detects conserved regulatory modules via comparisons at the binding site level. The technique compares the binding site profiles of orthologs and identifies those segments that have similar (not necessarily identical) profiles. The similarity measure is based on the inner product of transformed profiles, which takes into consideration the p values of binding sites as well as the potential shift of binding site positions. We tested this approach on simulated sequence pairs as well as real world examples. In both cases our technique was able to identify regulatory modules which could not to be identified using sequence-similarity based approaches such as rVista 2.0 and Blast.

Conclusion

The results of our experiments demonstrate that, for sequences with little overall similarity at the DNA sequence level, it is still possible to identify conserved regulatory modules based solely on binding site profiles.
Rapid chemokinetic movement and the invasive potential of lung cancer cells; a functional molecular study
Authors: Fok Sandra YY , Rubin Jeffrey S , Pixley Fiona , Condeelis John , Braet Filip , Soon Lilian L
Published: June 2006

Background

Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common cause of early casualty from malignant disease in western countries. The heterogeneous nature of these cells has been identified by histochemical and microarray biomarker analyses. Unfortunately, the morphological, molecular and biological variation within cell lines used as models for invasion and metastasis are not well understood. In this study, we test the hypothesis that heterogeneous cancer cells exhibit variable motility responses such as chemokinesis and chemotaxis that can be characterized molecularly.

Methods

A subpopulation of H460 lung cancer cells called KINE that migrated under chemokinetic (no gradient) conditions was harvested from Boyden chambers and cultured. Time-lapsed microscopy, immunofluorescence microscopy and microarray analyses were then carried out comparing chemokinetic KINE cells with the unselected CON cell population.

Results

Time-lapsed microscopy and analysis showed that KINE cells moved faster but less directionally than the unselected control population (CON), confirming their chemokinetic character. Of note was that chemokinetic KINE cells also chemotaxed efficiently. KINE cells were less adhesive to substrate than CON cells and demonstrated loss of mature focal adhesions at the leading edge and the presence of non-focalized cortical actin. These characteristics are common in highly motile amoeboid cells that may favour faster motility speeds. KINE cells were also significantly more invasive compared to CON. Gene array studies and real-time PCR showed the downregulation of a gene called, ROM, in highly chemokinetic KINE compared to mainly chemotactic CON cells. ROM was also reduced in expression in a panel of lung cancer cell lines compared to normal lung cells.

Conclusion

This study shows that cancer cells that are efficient in both chemokinesis and chemotaxis demonstrate high invasion levels. These cells possess different morphological, cytoskeletal and adhesive properties from another population that are only efficient at chemotaxis, indicating a loss in polarity. Understanding the regulation of polarity in the context of cell motility is important in order to improve control and inhibition of invasion and metastasis.