bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Factor Structure of Trait Emotional Intelligence in Hong Kong Adolescents
Authors: Mavroveli Stella , Siu Angela F. Y.
Published: July 2012

Background

Trait emotional intelligence ( trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) refers to individuals’ emotion-related self-perceptions (Petrides, Furnham, & Mavroveli, 2007). A growing number of studies are looking at cross-cultural differences in the structure of the construct.

Aims

This study investigates the cross-cultural stability of trait EI in a sample of adolescents from Hong Kong.

Sample

The Hong Kong sample comprised 357 secondary school students (199 boys and 158 girls), ranging in age from 13 to 16 yrs ( M = 14.09 yrs; SD = .86).

Method

The participants completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Full Form (TEIQue-AFF). Additional data on demographics were collected.

Results

The Hong Kong data only partially replicated the UK four-factor structure (well-being, emotionality, sociability, and self-control).

Conclusions

There seems to be cross-cultural consistency in the factor structure of trait EI in adolescence with minor variations and a tendency toward a simpler factor structure. The Chinese adaptation of the TEIQue-AFF can be recommended for research applications, but further research is needed to replicate our results.
Cloze Tests May be Quick, But Are They Dirty? Development and Preliminary Validation of a Cloze Test of Reading Comprehension
Authors: Gellert Anna S. , Elbro Carsten
Published: July 2012

A commonly held view is that cloze tests may well provide a quick measure of something reading related, but that they are not suitable for assessments of understanding of ideas beyond the sentence boundary. The present article presents challenges to this view. It is argued that word gaps can be carefully selected so that filling them in requires proper understanding of the ideas of the text. The reliability and validity of such a comprehension-focused cloze test was demonstrated in a study of 204 Danish adults attending reading courses or general education. The quick (10 min) cloze comprehension test correlated strongly ( r = .84) with a standard (30 min) question-answering comprehension test. Only a small part of this correlation was accounted for by decoding ability or vocabulary. The cloze test was somewhat more sensitive to decoding ability than the question-answering comprehension test was, and it provided a better fit to the participants’ self-reported reading difficulties.
The Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI-C)
Authors: Yip Michael C. W.
Published: July 2012

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) is widely used in assessing students’ learning and study strategies at both university and high school levels. The present study developed a Chinese version of LASSI (LASSI-C) and then further investigated the reliability, factor structure, and validity of LASSI-C scores, using a sample of 612 university students from Hong Kong. Results confirm that the scores measured from LASSI-C generally revealed the expected 10 subscales and a 3-factor structure that was originally postulated in LASSI.
A Modified Content Analysis of Existing School Psychology Reports
Authors: Mallin Barry , Schellenberg Miriam E. , Smith Christiane
Published: July 2012

Discrepancies between our university’s training program’s report-writing guidelines and common practice in Manitoba could not be resolved by reference to the literature. To inform the discussion, we collected a sample of local real world school psychology reports and undertook a modified content analysis to operationally define and measure relevant variables. In this article we present our qualitative and quantitative findings on organization, readability, length, and the nature of recommendations in detail with implications to improve the extent to which school psychology reports incorporate an evidence basis and contribute to real, beneficial, and demonstrable change in circumstances for children and families.
Teacher Ratings of Three School Psychology Report Recommendation Styles
Authors: Mallin Barry , Beimcik Jaga , Hopfner Lisa
Published: July 2012

Educators are primary consumers of information provided in school psychology reports. There is disagreement in the literature as to whether teachers prefer briefer recommendations as compared to more detailed and specific recommendations. Specific recommendations can been seen as prescriptive and leading to higher requirements for accountability by educators. This study initially assessed teachers’ opinions concerning the level of detail provided in a model report with recommendation sections presented with low, medium, and high levels of specificity. Participants were 102 certified teachers taking continuing education courses. Each read a fictional report followed by the three recommendation styles presented in varied orders. Teachers rated each style for relevance, individualization, clarity, and likelihood for use. They indicated which style would be preferred for a child in their classroom, in preparing an Individual Education Plan (IEP), and for use with parents. The low specificity recommendations received lower ratings, while the medium and high levels did not differ. Overall, teachers preferred the highest specificity recommendations for a student in their class and for funding applications. For use with parents there was a slight preference for medium specificity recommendations. Teachers also indicated that the inclusion of the specific format elements surveyed is beneficial and that detail is preferred over brevity. In light of these findings, school psychologists should feel comfortable in providing detailed recommendations that mirror a well crafted IEP.
Individual Motivations and Characteristics Associated With Bystander Intervention During Bullying Episodes Among Children and Youth
Authors: Cappadocia M. Catherine , Pepler Debra , Cummings Joanne G. , Craig Wendy
Published: July 2012

The aim of the current study was to explore bystander experiences during bullying episodes among children and youth attending a residential summer camp by investigating rates of witnessing and intervention, as well as individual motivations and characteristics associated with bystander intervention. The majority of children had witnessed bullying at least once in the past 3 weeks and reported intervening in some way. Among children who reported intervening, the strongest motivation appeared to be a sense of social justice. Among children who reported not intervening, the strongest motivation appeared to be the feeling that it was not their place to intervene because the bullying situation did not directly involve them and/or was not extremely severe. The determining factors for bystander intervention during bullying episodes differed between genders. Social self-efficacy predicted bystander intervention among girls, while empathy and attitudes about bullying predicted bystander intervention among boys. Implications for bullying prevention are discussed.
Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse by Adolescents
Authors: Schönbucher Verena , Maier Thomas , Mohler-Kuo Meichun , Schnyder Ulrich , Landolt Markus A.
Published: July 2012

This qualitative study aimed to study the process of disclosure by examining adolescents from the general population who had experienced child sexual abuse (CSA). Twenty-six sexually victimized adolescents (23 girls, 3 boys; age: 15-18 years) participated in a qualitative face-to-face in-depth interview on different aspects of disclosure. A qualitative content analysis was conducted following Mayring and using the qualitative data analysis program Atlas.ti. In addition, quantitative correlation analyses were calculated to identify factors associated with disclosure. Less than one third of participants immediately disclosed CSA to another person. In most cases, recipients of both immediate and delayed disclosure were peers. More than one third of participants had never disclosed the abuse to a parent. Main motives for nondisclosure to parents were lack of trust or not wanting to burden the parents. Factors that correlated positively with disclosure were extrafamilial CSA, single CSA, age of victim at CSA, and having parents who were still living together. Negative associations with disclosure were found for feelings of guilt and shame and the perpetrator’s age. Many adolescent survivors of CSA have serious concerns about disclosure to their parents and consider friends as more reliable confidants. These findings have two main implications for prevention: (1) In order to facilitate disclosure to parents, the strengthening of the child–parent relationship should be given specific attention in prevention programs, and (2) prevention programs should aim at teaching adolescents how they can help a victim if they become a recipient of disclosure.
The Socialist Prefabs after Utopia
Authors: Vassileva-Karagyozova Svetlana , Wood Nathaniel D.
Published: July 2012

This short essay introduces three articles about Socialist prefabricated apartment buildings in the Czech Republic and Poland. The essay begins by noting the impossibility of replacing the apartment blocks of the Communist bloc after 1989, despite their clear connotation with the undesirable gray uniformity of the old regime, and asks what their legacy has been for their inhabitants in the twenty years since. Based on summaries of the three articles by My Svensson, Adrienne Harris, and Kimberly Zarecor that follow, it draws some conclusions about the prefab neighborhoods. While the first two authors, who consider filmic and literary depiction of life in the blocks, tend to focus on the despair and entrapment people feel there, Zarecor, who notes the pre-socialist origins of prefabricated apartment buildings, uses contemporary surveys and other sources to demonstrate ways that they have proven adaptable to post-socialist life. All three articles suggest that the blocks of the former Communist bloc may be more similar to the “projects” of the West than formerly thought. It seems that the buildings’ gray uniformity has meant that they can serve both as the backdrop for slums and degradation, or, if refurbished and repainted, as an adequate post-socialist living space.
Regional Diversity and Divided Memories in Ukraine
Authors: Osipian Ararat L. , Osipian Alexandr L.
Published: July 2012

There appears to be a virtual absence of any serious distinctions in the programs and rhetoric of the three leading political parties in Ukraine: The Party of Regions, Bloc of Yulia Timoshenko, and Our Ukraine. Each party is in support of the market economy, democracy, human rights, and joining the European Union. The major distinction between these parties is in the way they see the country’s past. Such an intensive use of the past reflects the absence of differences in the way they see the future. This article is dedicated to the analysis of how the past has been used in Ukrainian politics during the period of active political and regional confrontation in 2004–2010. In particular, what specific historical stories and topics are in high demand in the political rhetoric and why, and how all of these factors may prevent the process of political consolidation of the nation. The article concludes that major political parties will most likely use the same regional stereotypes of viewing the past in mobilizing their electorate during the coming parliamentary elections of 2012. The technology of confronting the “two Ukraines” will be employed by the competing political camps once again.
The Politics of Catastrophe
Authors: Koczanowicz Leszek
Published: July 2012

The catastrophe of the presidential plane crash in April 2010 was of course a far-reaching event in Polish politics, with consequences still very present. The article describes and interprets various ways of speaking about the catastrophe. I consider this rhetoric in the context of a clash of ideologies: that of modernization and of national-religious values. The conservative camp insists on inscribing the crash into Polish history and claims that it reveals a division into two Polands: one of true patriots and another of collaborators. I analyze this narrative through post-Marxist political theory, particularly Laclau and Mouffe and the concept of ideology developed by Bakhtin/Voloshinov. Ideology is understood as a complicated language phenomenon that permeates all spheres of everyday life as well as generates political programs. I then analyze the political consequences of the catastrophe through the concept of “post-postcommunism” and show how the catastrophe’s complicated symbolic representation has shaped Polish political discourse.
German Anti-Semitism à la Polonaise
Authors: Borzęcki Jerzy
Published: July 2012

A military report of September 1919 singled out Polish troops from the formerly Prussian province of Poznania as particularly abusive of, and prejudiced against, Belarusian Jews. This appears to have been a rather unusual case of German anti-Semitism in its Polish version. The Poznanians’ prejudice against Eastern Jews, so characteristic of German anti-Semitism, was exacerbated by their hostility against Poznanian Jews, with whom they had been in longstanding conflict. Experiencing a culture clash upon entering the settlements of Eastern Jews, they regarded their inhabitants not only as very strange and unfamiliar but also as far less civilized and even more Jewish than their Poznanian coreligionists. This attitude was compounded by the Poznanians’ twofold sense of superiority. First, Poznania was much more developed and contained a much smaller proportion of Jews than did Congress Poland, Galicia, and especially Belarus. Second, the Poznanians considered themselves the best unit of the Polish army and therefore looked down upon units from Congress Poland and Galicia, and especially on their officer corps, which they considered “Jew-ridden.” Many of these prejudices were shared by the Poznanian officer corps whose members, in any event, were reluctant to punish their men for anti-Jewish excesses because of their own sense of insecurity. As a result, the Poznanians were much more likely than any other Polish troops to abuse Belarusian Jews.
A second birth? Cosmopolitan media ethnography and Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology
Authors: Jansson André
Published: July 2012

What does it take to carry out media ethnography in times and spaces of cosmopolitanization? How can ethnography reach beyond nationally or otherwise territorially bounded theories and methodologies, towards a new set of cosmopolitan approaches that manage to account for globalized logics of symbolic power? This article explores whether and how cosmopolitan media ethnography could be built around the epistemology of Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology. This would imply the methodological commitment to Bourdieu’s ideal of conversion of the scientific gaze, as well as the incorporation of his intermediary concepts of habitus and field. It is also argued that cosmopolitan media ethnography should be based on a non-media centric view revolving around the concept of texture – a concept through which it is possible to grasp the socially structured relationship between fields and spaces of flow and the various locations where symbolic power is ultimately played out. The theoretical points are brought into dialogue with recent experiences from media ethnographic fieldwork carried out among expatriate development workers in Nicaragua.
Keepin’ on the Sunny Side
Authors: Ozymy Joshua
Published: July 2012

Political Scientists have widely explored why legislatures pass campaign finance regulations and how these laws condition the influence of organized interests over elected officials. Studies have not explained how state houses can overcome entrenched interests, to pass more restrictive legislative lobbying laws. Interest group pressure can be overcome when routine politics are impacted by agenda-setting environments and broader state political contexts that prompt the passage of legislative lobbying reforms. Findings suggest that although moralistic political culture and political scandals set the agenda for stricter regulation, the prospects for reform are tempered by the power of organized interests in state houses.
Congressional Endorsements in the Presidential Nomination Process
Authors: Hasecke Edward B. , Meinke Scott R. , Scott Kevin M.
Published: July 2012

Examining congressional superdelegate endorsements in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, the authors show that changes in the political context affected the balance of factors in members’ decisions to endorse Clinton or Obama. Specifically, the national standing of the candidates became increasingly important—and local opinion less important—to Obama endorsements even as constituency views became a stronger influence over Clinton endorsements. The findings reveal how constituency considerations affect the elite endorsement choices that shape the presidential nominating process. In addition, the analysis highlights the ways in which members of Congress balance conflicting considerations in a changing political context when an issue plays out over an extended period.
Epinephrine Self-Administration in Anaphylactic Emergencies
Authors: Ram Felix S. F. , Hoare Karen , Arroll Bruce , Hoare Simon
Published: July 2012

Life-threatening anaphylactic emergencies are largely unpredictable. Epinephrine is widely accepted as first-line therapy for anaphylaxis, due to its physiological effects in reversing symptoms of anaphylaxis and with studies showing both reductions in morbidity and mortality associated with its administration. Anaphylaxis can prove fatal; therefore, learning how to use an epinephrine autoinjector is crucial for people with allergies and parents of children who have previously suffered from anaphylaxis. Such people must carry an epinephrine autoinjector with them at all times for administration when required. During an anaphylactic emergency, not only is it important that adrenaline is administered into the correct tissue compartment but also that the correct dose of adrenaline is administered to achieve the desired clinical effect. Studies have shown that on average, on device activation, syringe-based autoinjectors (eg, Anapen, Twinject, and Adrenaclick) are only capable of delivering 25.7% of the total 300 µg (77 µg or 0.08 mL of the 0.3 mL) of the dose contained in the device, whereas the EpiPen autoinjector (a cartridge-based device) delivers 74.3% (223 µg or 0.22 mL of the 0.3 mL) of the dose contained in its device. This is due to key fundamental differences between the 2 autoinjectors with the EpiPen employing a cartridge-based mechanism and having adequate needle length for correct intramuscular compartment delivery of epinephrine compared with syringe-based devices. For patients experiencing an anaphylactic emergency, it is vital that a sufficient amount of the life-saving drug is promptly delivered to the correct tissue compartment in minimal time to ensure maximal clinical benefit. Evidence to date has shown that the cartridge-based autoinjector device (ie, EpiPen) rapidly delivers the greatest amount of epinephrine to the correct tissue compartment for use by patients in anaphylactic emergencies.
Canonical and noncanonical Hedgehog pathway in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma
Authors: Blotta Simona , Jakubikova Jana , Calimeri Teresa , Roccaro Aldo M. , Amodio Nicola , Azab Abdel Kareem , Foresta Umberto , Mitsiades Constantine S. , Rossi Marco , Todoerti Katia , Molica Stefano , Morabito Fortunato , Neri Antonino , Tagliaferri Piersandro , Tassone Pierfrancesco , Anderson Kenneth C. , Munshi Nikhil C.
Published: July 2012

The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway is required for cell-fate determination during the embryonic life, as well as cell growth and differentiation in the adult organism, where the inappropriate activation has been implicated in several cancers. Here we demonstrate that Hh signaling plays a significant role in growth and survival of multiple myeloma (MM) cells. We observed that CD138+ MM cells express Hh genes and confirmed Smoothened (Smo)–dependent Hh signaling in MM using a novel synthetic Smo inhibitor, NVP-LDE225 (Novartis), which decreased MM cell viability by inducing specific down-regulation of Gli1 and Ptch1, hallmarks of Hh activity. In addition, we detected a nuclear localization of Gli1 in MM cells, which is completely abrogated by Forskolin, a Gli1-modulating compound, confirming Smo-independent mechanisms leading to Hh activation in MM. Finally, we identified that bone marrow stromal cells are a source of the Shh ligand, although they are resistant to the Hh inhibitor because of defective Smo expression and Ptch1 up-regulation. Further in vitro as well as in vivo studies showed antitumor efficacy of NVP-LDE225 in combination with bortezomib. Altogether, our data demonstrate activation of both canonical and noncanonical Hh pathway in MM, thus providing the rationale for testing Hh inhibitors in clinical trials to improve MM patient outcome.
Point/counterpoint: early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma and the role of radiation therapy
Authors: Meyer Ralph M. , Hoppe Richard T.
Published: July 2012

The results of recent clinical trials for the management of limited-stage Hodgkin lymphoma have led to considerable debate, especially regarding the role of radiation therapy. This review highlights those recent trials and provides perspectives regarding their interpretation from a radiation oncologist and a hematologist. The trial protocol is available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa1111961/suppl_file/nejmoa1111961_protocol.pdf.
Comparative metagenomics of three Dehalococcoides-containing enrichment cultures: the role of the non-dechlorinating community
Authors: Hug Laura A , Beiko Robert G , Rowe Annette R , Richardson Ruth E , Edwards Elizabeth A
Published: July 2012

Background

The Dehalococcoides are strictly anaerobic bacteria that gain metabolic energy via the oxidation of H2 coupled to the reduction of halogenated organic compounds. Dehalococcoides spp. grow best in mixed microbial consortia, relying on non-dechlorinating members to provide essential nutrients and maintain anaerobic conditions.

A metagenome sequence was generated for the dechlorinating mixed microbial consortium KB-1. A comparative metagenomic study utilizing two additional metagenome sequences for Dehalococcoides-containing dechlorinating microbial consortia was undertaken to identify common features that are provided by the non-dechlorinating community and are potentially essential to Dehalococcoides growth.

Results

The KB-1 metagenome contained eighteen novel homologs to reductive dehalogenase genes. The metagenomes obtained from the three consortia were automatically annotated using the MG-RAST server, from which statistically significant differences in community composition and metabolic profiles were determined. Examination of specific metabolic pathways, including corrinoid synthesis, methionine synthesis, oxygen scavenging, and electron-donor metabolism identified the Firmicutes, methanogenic Archaea, and the ∂-Proteobacteria as key organisms encoding these pathways, and thus potentially producing metabolites required for Dehalococcoides growth.

Conclusions

Comparative metagenomics of the three Dehalococcoides-containing consortia identified that similarities across the three consortia are more apparent at the functional level than at the taxonomic level, indicating the non-dechlorinating organisms’ identities can vary provided they fill the same niche within a consortium. Functional redundancy was identified in each metabolic pathway of interest, with key processes encoded by multiple taxonomic groups. This redundancy likely contributes to the robust growth and dechlorination rates in dechlorinating enrichment cultures.
Burkholderia pseudomallei transcriptional adaptation in macrophages
Authors: Chieng Sylvia , Carreto Laura , Nathan Sheila
Published: July 2012

Background

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a facultative intracellular pathogen of phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells. How the bacterium interacts with host macrophage cells is still not well understood and is critical to appreciate the strategies used by this bacterium to survive and how intracellular survival leads to disease manifestation.

Results

Here we report the expression profile of intracellular B. pseudomallei following infection of human macrophage-like U937 cells. During intracellular growth over the 6 h infection period, approximately 22 % of the B. pseudomallei genome showed significant transcriptional adaptation. B. pseudomallei adapted rapidly to the intracellular environment by down-regulating numerous genes involved in metabolism, cell envelope, motility, replication, amino acid and ion transport system and regulatory function pathways. Reduced expression in catabolic and housekeeping genes suggested lower energy requirement and growth arrest during macrophage infection, while expression of genes encoding anaerobic metabolism functions were up regulated. However, whilst the type VI secretion system was up regulated, expression of many known virulence factors was not significantly modulated over the 6hours of infection.

Conclusions

The transcriptome profile described here provides the first comprehensive view of how B. pseudomallei survives within host cells and will help identify potential virulence factors and proteins that are important for the survival and growth of B. pseudomallei within human cells.
Potential novel therapeutic strategies in cystic fibrosis: antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of natural and designed α-helical peptides against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
Authors: Pompilio Arianna , Crocetta Valentina , Scocchi Marco , Pomponio Stefano , Di Vincenzo Valentina , Mardirossian Mario , Gherardi Giovanni , Fiscarelli Ersilia , Dicuonzo Giordano , Gennaro Renato , Di Bonaventura Giovanni
Published: July 2012

Background

Treatment of cystic fibrosis-associated lung infections is hampered by the presence of multi-drug resistant pathogens, many of which are also strong biofilm producers. Antimicrobial peptides, essential components of innate immunity in humans and animals, exhibit relevant in vitro antimicrobial activity although they tend not to select for resistant strains.

Results

Three α-helical antimicrobial peptides, BMAP-27 and BMAP-28 of bovine origin, and the artificial P19(9/B) peptide were tested, comparatively to Tobramycin, for their in vitro antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity against 15 Staphylococcus aureus, 25 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 27 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains from cystic fibrosis patients. All assays were carried out in physical-chemical experimental conditions simulating a cystic fibrosis lung. All peptides showed a potent and rapid bactericidal activity against most P. aeruginosa, S. maltophilia and S. aureus strains tested, at levels generally higher than those exhibited by Tobramycin and significantly reduced biofilm formation of all the bacterial species tested, although less effectively than Tobramycin did. On the contrary, the viability-reducing activity of antimicrobial peptides against preformed P. aeruginosa biofilms was comparable to and, in some cases, higher than that showed by Tobramycin.

Conclusions

The activity shown by α-helical peptides against planktonic and biofilm cells makes them promising “lead compounds” for future development of novel drugs for therapeutic treatment of cystic fibrosis lung disease.
The role of p21-activated kinase in the initiation of atherosclerosis
Authors: Jhaveri K A , Debnath P , Chernoff J , Sanders J , Schwartz M A
Published: July 2012

Background

p21-activated kinase (PAK) has been implicated in the inflammatory activation of endothelial cells by disturbed fluid shear stress, which is the initiating stimulus in atherosclerosis. The study addresses whether PAK1 contributes to inflammatory marker expression in endothelial cells at atherosclerosis-susceptible regions of arteries in vivo.

Method

Aortas from WT and PAK1-/-C57BL/6J mice on a normal chow diet were fixed, dissected and processed for immunohistochemistry using a panel of inflammatory markers. We visualized and quantified staining in the endothelium at the greater and lesser curvatures of the arch of aorta, as atherosclerosis-resistant and susceptible regions, respectively.

Results

Fibronectin, VCAM-1 and the activated RelA NF-κB subunit were localized to the lesser curvature and decreased in PAK1-/- mice. The activated RelB NF-κB subunit was also localized to the lesser curvature but was increased in PAK1-/- mice. Low levels of staining for ICAM-1 and the monocyte/macrophage marker Mac2 indicated that overall inflammation in this tissue was minimal.

Conclusion

These data show that PAK1 has a significant pro-inflammatory function at atherosclerosis-prone sites in vivo. These effects are seen in young mice with very low levels of inflammation, suggesting that inflammatory activation of the endothelium is primarily biomechanical. Activation involves NF-κB, expression of leukocyte recruitment receptors and fibronectin deposition. These results support and extend in vitro studies demonstrating that PAK contributes to activation of inflammatory pathways in endothelial cells by fluid shear stress.
Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulates ABCB1 transcription in chronic myeloid leukemia
Authors: Corrêa Stephany , Binato Renata , Du Rocher Bárbara , Castelo-Branco Morgana TL , Pizzatti Luciana , Abdelhay Eliana
Published: July 2012

Background

The advanced phases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are known to be more resistant to therapy. This resistance has been associated with the overexpression ofABCB1, which gives rise to the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenomenon. MDR is characterized by resistance to nonrelated drugs, and P-glycoprotein (encoded byABCB1) has been implicated as the major cause of its emergence. Wnt signaling has been demonstrated to be important in several aspects of CML. Recently, Wnt signaling was linked toABCB1regulation through its canonical pathway, which is mediated by β-catenin, in other types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the involvement of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the regulation ofABCB1transcription in CML, as the basal promoter ofABCB1has several β-catenin binding sites. β-catenin is the mediator of canonical Wnt signaling, which is important for CML progression.

Methods

In this work we used the K562 cell line and its derived MDR-resistant cell line Lucena (K562/VCR) as CML study models. Real time PCR (RT-qPCR), electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), flow cytometry (FACS), western blot, immunofluorescence, RNA knockdown (siRNA) and Luciferase reporter approaches were used.

Results

β-catenin was present in the protein complex on the basal promoter ofABCB1in both cell linesin vitro, but its binding was more pronounced in the resistant cell linein vivo. Lucena cells also exhibited higher β-catenin levels compared to its parental cell line.Wnt1andβ-catenindepletion and overexpression of nuclear β-catenin, together with TCF binding sites activation demonstrated thatABCB1is positively regulated by the canonical pathway of Wnt signaling.

Conclusions

These results suggest, for the first time, that the Wnt/β-catenin pathway regulatesABCB1in CML.
The implementation of the functional task exercise programme for elderly people living at home
Authors: Fleuren Margot A H , Vrijkotte Susan , Jans Marielle P , Pin Renske , van Hespen Ariette , van Meeteren Nico L U , Siemonsma Petra C
Published: July 2012

Background

The Functional Task Exercise programme is an evidence-based exercise programme for elderly people living at home. It enhances physical capacity with sustainable effects. FTE is provided by physiotherapists and remedial therapists. Although the intervention was found to be effective in a Randomised Controlled Trial, we may not assume that therapists will automatically supply the programme or that elderly people will automatically join the programme. This study protocol focuses on identifying determinants of implementation, developing implementation strategies and studying the effects of the implementation in daily practice.

Methods/Design

Phase 1: The systematic identification of determinants of the implementation of FTE among therapists and the elderly. A questionnaire study was conducted in a random sample of 100 therapists, and interviews took place with 23 therapists and 8 elderly people (aged 66 to 80 years). The determinants were broken down into four categories: the characteristics of the environment, the organisation, the therapists, and the training programme.

Phase 2: Developing and applying strategies adapted to the determinants identified. Fifteen physiotherapists will be trained to provide FTE and to recruit elderly people living at home. The therapists will then deliver the 12-week programme to two groups of elderly, each consisting of six to twelve people aged 70 years or older.

Phase 3: Study of implementation and the impact. To study the actual use of FTE: 1) therapists record information about the selection of participants and how they apply the key features of FTE, 2) the participating elderly will keep an exercise logbook, 3) telephone interviews will take place with the therapists and the elderly and there will be on-site visits. The effects on the elderly people will be studied using: 1) the Patient-Specific Questionnaire, the Timed Up and Go test and a two performance tests. All tests will be performed at the start of the FTE programme, half way through, and at the end of the programme.

Discussion

The number of older people will increase in many countries in the years to come and so the project outcomes will be of interest to policy-makers, insurance companies, health-care professionals and implementation researchers.
‘Information on the fly’: Challenges in professional communication in high technological nursing. A focus group study from a radiotherapy department in Sweden
Authors: Widmark Catarina , Tishelman Carol , Gustafsson Helena , Sharp Lena
Published: July 2012

Background

Radiotherapy (RT) units are high-tech nursing environments. In Sweden, RT registered nurses (RNs) provide and manage RT in close collaboration with other professional groups, as well as providing nursing care for patients with cancer. Communication demands on these RNs are thus particularly complex. In this study, we aimed to better understand problems, strengths and change needs related to professional communication with and within the RT department, as a basis for developing a situation-specific intervention.

Methods

Focus groups discussions (FGDs) were conducted with different professional (RNs, assistant nurses, physicians, engineers and physicists) and user stakeholders. Transcripts of the FGDs were inductively analyzed by a team of researchers, to generate clinically relevant and useful data.

Results

These findings give insight into RT safety climate and are presented under three major headings: Conceptualization of professional domains; Organization and leadership issues; and Communication forms, strategies and processes. The impact of existing hierarchies, including how they are conceptualized and acted out in practice, was noted throughout these data. Despite other differences, participating professionals agreed about communication problems related to RT, i.e. a lack of systems and processes for information transfer, unclear role differentiation, a sense of mutual disrespect, and ad hoc communication taking place ‘on the fly’. While all professional groups recognized extensive communication problems, none acknowledged the potential negative effects on patient safety or care described in the FGD with patient representatives. While RNs often initially denied the existence of a hierarchy, they placed themselves on a hierarchy in their descriptions, describing their own role as passive, with a sense of powerlessness. Potential safety hazards described in the FGDs include not reporting medical errors and silently ignoring or actively opposing new guidelines and regulations.

Conclusions

There is a risk that RNs who view themselves as disenfranchised within an organization will act with passive resistance to change, rather than as change promoters. As interventions to strengthen teams cannot be stronger than the weakest link, RNs may need support in the transition “from silence to voice” in order to take a position of full professional responsibility in a multi-professional health care team.
Selective emitter using a screen printed etch barrier in crystalline silicon solar cell
Authors: Song Kyuwan , Kim Bonggi , Lee Hoongjoo , Lee Youn-Jung , Park Cheolmin , Balaji Nagarajan , Ju Minkyu , Choi Jaewoo , Yi Junsin
Published: July 2012

The low level doping of a selective emitter by etch back is an easy and low cost process to obtain a better blue response from a solar cell. This work suggests that the contact resistance of the selective emitter can be controlled by wet etching with the commercial acid barrier paste that is commonly applied in screen printing. Wet etching conditions such as acid barrier curing time, etchant concentration, and etching time have been optimized for the process, which is controllable as well as fast. The acid barrier formed by screen printing was etched with HF and HNO3 (1:200) solution for 15 s, resulting in high sheet contact resistance of 90 Ω/sq. Doping concentrations of the electrode contact portion were 2 × 1021 cm−3 in the low sheet resistance (Rs) region and 7 × 1019 cm−3 in the high Rs region. Solar cells of 12.5 × 12.5 cm2 in dimensions with a wet etch back selective emitter J
sc of 37 mAcm−2, open circuit voltage (V
oc) of 638.3 mV and efficiency of 18.13% were fabricated. The result showed an improvement of about 13 mV on V
oc compared to those of the reference solar cell fabricated with the reactive-ion etching back selective emitter and with J
sc of 36.90 mAcm−2, V
oc of 625.7 mV, and efficiency of 17.60%.
Photoacoustic effects in nanocomposite structure ‘porous silicon-liquid’
Authors: Andrusenko Dmitriy , Isaiev Mykola , Kuzmich Andrey , Lysenko Vladimir , Burbelo Roman
Published: July 2012

Photoacoustic effect in nanocomposite structure ‘porous silicon-liquid’ has been investigated. Main mechanisms involved in the formation of photoacoustic signal in such structures have been experimentally studied. Liquids with different viscosity (ethanol and acetone) filling the nanopores have been used. A proposed mathematical model describing the photoacoustic signal formation was found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The role of thermally induced pressures provoked by the liquids confined inside the nanopores in the photoacoustic process has been analyzed.
On the solvability of a Neumann boundary value problem for the differential equation "Equation missing"
Authors: Palamides P , Kelevedjiev P , Popivanov N
Published: July 2012

Using barrier strip arguments, we investigate the existence of

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MSC:34B15.
Keratinocyte expression of inflammatory mediators plays a crucial role in substance P-induced acute and chronic pain
Authors: Wei Tzuping , Guo Tian-Zhi , Li Wen-Wu , Hou Saiyun , Kingery Wade S , Clark John David
Published: July 2012

Tibia fracture in rats followed by cast immobilization leads to nociceptive, trophic, vascular and bone-related changes similar to those seen in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Substance P (SP) mediated neurogenic inflammation may be responsible for some of the signs of CRPS in humans. We therefore hypothesized that SP acting through the SP receptor (NK1) leads to the CRPS-like changes found in the rat model. In the present study, we intradermally injected rats with SP and monitored hindpaw mechanical allodynia, temperature, and thickness as well as tissue levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and nerve growth factor-β (NGF) for 72 h. Anti-NGF antibody was utilized to block the effects of SP-induced NGF up-regulation. Fracture rats treated with the selective NK1 receptor antagonist LY303870 prior to cast removal were assessed for BrdU, a DNA synthesis marker, incorporation in skin cells to examine cellular proliferation. Bone microarchitecture was measured using micro computed tomography (μCT). We observed that: (1) SP intraplantar injection induced mechanical allodynia, warmth and edema as well as the expression of nociceptive mediators in the hindpaw skin of normal rats, (2) LY303870 administered intraperitoneally after fracture attenuated allodynia, hindpaw unweighting, warmth, and edema, as well as cytokine and NGF expression, (3) LY303870 blocked fracture-induced epidermal thickening and BrdU incorporation after fracture, (4) anti-NGF antibody blocked SP-induced allodynia but not warmth or edema, and (5) LY303870 had no effect on bone microarchitecture. Collectively our data indicate that SP acting through NK1 receptors supports the nociceptive and vascular components of CRPS, but not the bone-related changes.
Sets2Networks: network inference from repeated observations of sets
Authors: Clark Neil R , Dannenfelser Ruth , Tan Christopher M , Komosinski Michael E , Ma'ayan Avi
Published: July 2012

Background

The skeleton of complex systems can be represented as networks where vertices represent entities, and edges represent the relations between these entities. Often it is impossible, or expensive, to determine the network structure by experimental validation of the binary interactions between every vertex pair. It is usually more practical to infer the network from surrogate observations. Network inference is the process by which an underlying network of relations between entities is determined from indirect evidence. While many algorithms have been developed to infer networks from quantitative data, less attention has been paid to methods which infer networks from repeated co-occurrence of entities in related sets. This type of data is ubiquitous in the field of systems biology and in other areas of complex systems research. Hence, such methods would be of great utility and value.

Results

Here we present a general method for network inference from repeated observations of sets of related entities. Given experimental observations of such sets, we infer the underlying network connecting these entities by generating an ensemble of networks consistent with the data. The frequency of occurrence of a given link throughout this ensemble is interpreted as the probability that the link is present in the underlying real network conditioned on the data. Exponential random graphs are used to generate and sample the ensemble of consistent networks, and we take an algorithmic approach to numerically execute the inference method. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated on synthetic data before employing this inference approach to problems in systems biology and systems pharmacology, as well as to construct a co-authorship collaboration network. We predict direct protein-protein interactions from high-throughput mass-spectrometry proteomics, integrate data from Chip-seq and loss-of-function/gain-of-function followed by expression data to infer a network of associations between pluripotency regulators, extract a network that connects 53 cancer drugs to each other and to 34 severe adverse events by mining the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting Systems (AERS), and construct a co-authorship network that connects Mount Sinai School of Medicine investigators. The predicted networks and online software to create networks from entity-set libraries are provided online at http://www.maayanlab.net/S2N.

Conclusions

The network inference method presented here can be applied to resolve different types of networks in current systems biology and systems pharmacology as well as in other fields of research.
Colovesical fistula causing an uncommon reason for failure of computed tomography colonography: a case report
Authors: Neroladaki Angeliki , Breguet Romain , Botsikas Diomidis , Terraz Sylvain , Becker Christoph D , Montet Xavier
Published: July 2012

Introduction

Computed tomography colonography, or virtual colonoscopy, is a good alternative to optical colonoscopy. However, suboptimal patient preparation or colon distension may reduce the diagnostic accuracy of this imaging technique.

Case presentation

We report the case of an 83-year-old Caucasian woman who presented with a five-month history of pneumaturia and fecaluria and an acute episode of macrohematuria, leading to a high clinical suspicion of a colovesical fistula. The fistula was confirmed by standard contrast-enhanced computed tomography. Optical colonoscopy was performed to exclude the presence of an underlying colonic neoplasm. Since optical colonoscopy was incomplete, computed tomography colonography was performed, but also failed due to inadequate colon distension. The insufflated air directly accumulated within the bladder via the large fistula.

Conclusions

Clinicians should consider colovesical fistula as a potential reason for computed tomography colonography failure.
Severe intellectual disability, omphalocele, hypospadia and high blood pressure associated to a deletion at 2q22.1q22.3: case report
Authors: Mulatinho Milene Vianna , de Carvalho Serao Cassio Luiz , Scalco Fernanda , Hardekopf David , Pekova Sona , Mrasek Kristin , Liehr Thomas , Weise Anja , Rao Nagesh , Llerena Juan Clinton
Published: July 2012

Background

Recently, array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) platforms have significantly improved the resolution of chromosomal analysis allowing the identification of genomic copy number gains and losses smaller than 5 Mb. Here we report on a young man with unexplained severe mental retardation, autism spectrum disorder, congenital malformations comprising hypospadia and omphalocele, and episodes of high blood pressure. An ~ 6 Mb interstitial deletion that includes the causative genes is identified by oligonucleotide-based aCGH.

Results

Our index case exhibited a de novo chromosomal abnormality at 2q22 [del(2)(q22.1q22.3)dn] which was not visible at the 550 haploid band level. The deleted region includes eight genes: HNMT, SPOPL, NXPH2, LOC64702, LRP1B, KYNU, ARHGAP15 and GTDC1.

Discussion

aCGH revealed an ~ 6 Mb deletion in 2q22.1 to 2q22.3 in an as-yet unique clinical case associated with intellectual disability, congenital malformations and autism spectrum disorder. Interestingly, the deletion is co-localized with a fragile site (FRA2K), which could be involved in the formation of this chromosomal aberration. Further studies are needed to determine if deletions of 2q22.1 to 2q22.3 define a new microdeletion syndrome.
Deconvolving gamma-ray logs by adaptive zone refinement
Authors: Dickson B. , Craig M.
Published: July 2012

Uranium exploration and mining make widespread use of gamma-ray logs to determine ore-grade distribution in situ. Attenuation, scattering, and uncollimated detectors all degrade the signal, hampering accuracy. We deconvolve their effects from the measured logs by space-domain processing with the aid of a function that takes account of detector length and uranium ore-zone thickness. The output quantifies uranium grade by zones of specified location and thickness. With this method, thin zones of very high grade can be used for calibration. Illustrative data come from model pits in Australia, Canada, and the USA.