bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Globalisation in Foreign Language Teaching: Establishing Transatlantic Links in Higher Education
Authors: Cañado María Luisa Pérez 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThis article makes an explicit comparison between the reconfiguration of tertiary language education in Europe, the USA and Canada. It argues that, despite certain minor differences between continents, the same trends are operative across the Atlantic. It then examines each of them, illustrating how similar forces are at work in shaping higher education language teaching, how analogous policy frameworks are being employed to channel them and how parallel challenges and responses can be detected transatlantically. The conclusion is that unifying efforts and connecting initiatives has highly beneficial effects for advancing the application of higher education language policy worldwide.
‘The Indivisible Whole of God's Reality’: On the Agency of Jesus in Bonhoeffer's Ethics
Authors: HOLMES CHRISTOPHER 
Published: March 2010

AbstractIn conversation with Karl Barth, this article explores Bonhoeffer's account in his Ethics of the character of the agency exercised by Jesus Christ in the world today in relation to the principal task of theological ethics: namely, the engendering of the most humane form of existence possible within the mandates of work, family, government and church. The article argues that the theological work undertaken by the command of God ensures that these mandates remain christologically determined spheres in which concrete obedience is enacted, and thus the places in which the reality that Jesus Christ is achieves social and historical form.
A flexible response: person‐centred support and social inclusion for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour
Authors: Carnaby Steven , Roberts Bron , Lang Janet , Nielsen Prue 
Published: March 2010

Accessible summary

Everyone has the right to be in their community, and some people need extra help to make sure this happens.
Services should be based on what people like to do with the support they need to do things safely.
Staff working in services should all work together whatever their role is, to make sure all people with learning disabilities get what they need.

SummarySocial inclusion and citizenship form the key objective of Valuing People Now (2009), but achieving this meaningfully with people whose behaviour can challenge services remains elusive for many services. This article describes the philosophy, development, operationalisation and evaluation of a person‐centred day opportunities and supported lifestyle service which is successfully placing service users at the heart of their local community. Its innovation lies in embedding clinical input directly in the support model, creating interdependent partnership working across agencies and developing frontline staff to become highly skilled practitioners.
Multisensory integration of vision and touch in nonspatial feature discrimination tasks
Authors: WADA YUICHI 
Published: March 2010

AbstractMultisensory integration of nonspatial features between vision and touch was investigated by examining the effects of redundant signals of visual and tactile inputs. In the present experiments, visual letter stimuli and/or tactile letter stimuli were presented, which participants were asked to identify as quickly as possible. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated faster reaction times for bimodal stimuli than for unimodal stimuli (the redundant signals effect (RSE)). The RSE was due to coactivation of figural representations from the visual and tactile modalities. This coactivation did not occur for a simple stimulus detection task (Experiment 2) or for bimodal stimuli with the same semantic information but different physical stimulus features (Experiment 3). The findings suggest that the integration process might occur at a relatively early stage of object‐identification prior to the decision level.
Information processing bias against emotional facial expressions in social anxiety
Authors: KIM SO‐YEON , OH KYUNG JA 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe present study examined whether information processing bias against emotional facial expressions is present among individuals with social anxiety. College students with high (high social anxiety group; n = 26) and low social anxiety (low social anxiety group; n = 26) performed three different types of working memory tasks: (a) ordering positive and negative facial expressions according to the intensity of emotion; (b) ordering pictures of faces according to age; and (c) ordering geometric shapes according to size. The high social anxiety group performed significantly more poorly than the low social anxiety group on the facial expression task, but not on the other two tasks with the nonemotional stimuli. These results suggest that high social anxiety interferes with processing of emotionally charged facial expressions.
Limited Distribution of a Cardiomyopathy‐Associated Variant in India
Authors: Simonson Tatum S. , Zhang Yuhua , Huff Chad D. , Xing Jinchuan , Watkins W. Scott , Witherspoon David J. , Woodward Scott R. , Jorde Lynn B. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryHeart failure is a leading cause of death of people in South Asia, and cardiomyopathy is a major cause of heart failure. Myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) is expressed in the heart muscle, where it regulates the cardiac response to adrenergic stimulation and is important for the structural integrity of the sarcomere. Mutations in the MYBPC3 gene are associated with hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathies. A 25‐base‐pair deletion in intron 32 causes skipping of the downstream exon and is associated with familial cardiomyopathy. To date, this deletion is found primarily in India and South Asia, although it is also found at low frequency in Southeast Asia. In order to better characterise the distribution of this variant, we determined its frequency in 447 individuals from 19 populations, including 10 populations from India and neighbouring populations from Pakistan and Nepal. The deletion frequency is over 8% in some of our Indian samples, and it is not present in any of the populations we sampled outside of India. The differences in the deletion frequencies among populations in India are consistent with patterns of variation previously reported and with patterns we observed among Indian populations based on high‐density SNP chip data. Our results indicate that the MYBPC3 deletion is primarily found among Indian populations and that its distribution is consistent with genome‐wide patterns of variation in India.
GJB2 Mutations in Mongolia: Complex Alleles, Low Frequency, and Reduced Fitness of the Deaf
Authors: Tekin Mustafa , Xia Xia‐Juan , Erdenetungalag Radnaabazar , Cengiz Filiz Basak , White Thomas W. , Radnaabazar Janchiv , Dangaasuren Begzsuren , Tastan Hakki , Nance Walter E. , Pandya Arti 
Published: March 2010

SUMMARYWe screened the GJB2 gene for mutations in 534 (108 multiplex and 426 simplex) probands with non‐syndromic sensorineural deafness, who were ascertained through the only residential school for the deaf in Mongolia, and in 217 hearing controls. Twenty different alleles, including four novel changes, were identified. Biallelic GJB2 mutations were found in 4.5% of the deaf probands (8.3% in multiplex, 3.5% in simplex). The most common mutations were c.IVS1 + 1G > A (c.‐3201G > A) and c.235delC with allele frequencies of 3.5% and 1.5%, respectively. The c.IVS1 + 1G > A mutation appears to have diverse origins based on associated multiple haplotypes. The p.V27I and p.E114G variants were frequently detected in both deaf probands and hearing controls. The p.E114G variant was always in cis with the p.V27I variant. Although in vitro experiments using Xenopus oocytes have suggested that p.[V27I;E114G] disturbs the gap junction function of Cx26, the equal distribution of this complex allele in both deaf probands and hearing controls makes it a less likely cause of profound congenital deafness. We found a lower frequency of assortative mating (37.5%) and decreased genetic fitness (62%) of the deaf in Mongolia as compared to the western populations, which provides an explanation for lower frequency of GJB2 deafness in Mongolia.
Heritability of Obesity‐related Phenotypes and Association with Adiponectin Gene Polymorphisms in the Chinese National Twin Registry
Authors: Lee Juan , Chen Li , Snieder Harold , Chen Da F. , Lee Li M. , Liu Gai F. , Wu Ting , Tang Xun , Zhan Si Y. , Cao Wei H. , Lv Jun , Gao Wen J. , Hu Yong H. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryThe purpose of this study was to estimate the heritability of obesity‐related phenotypes and investigate the association of adiponectin gene polymorphisms +45T>G and +276G>T with these measures in Chinese twins. 1260 twin pairs were recruited from two cities through the Chinese National Twin Registry System from 2001 to 2005. Two SNPs at the adiponectin locus (+45T>G and +276G>T) were genotyped. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to estimate heritability and the best‐fitting variance component model. The regular association among all twins was analysed with generalised estimating equations (GEE). Sib‐transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) within dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs discordant for their genotype was performed using SEM. Additive genetic, common and unique environmental (ACE) model‐based heritability of body mass index (BMI) was 61%, while additive genetic and unique environmental (AE)‐model‐based heritability of waist circumference (WC) and waist‐hip ratio (WHR) were 75% and 61%, respectively. There was no association of adiponectin gene +45T>G and +276G>T genotypes with obesity‐related phenotypes in all twins or discordant DZ twins. Our twins data did not support that there was an association between adiponectin gene polymorphisms +45T>G and +276G>T and the obesity‐related phenotypes. Further studies are required to better understand the role of adiponectin gene polymorphisms in obesity.
Common Susceptibility Variants Examined for Association with Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Rampersaud Evadnie , Kinnamon Daniel D. , Hamilton Kara , Khuri Sawsan , Hershberger Ray E. , Martin Eden R. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryRare mutations in more than 20 genes have been suggested to cause dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), but explain only a small percentage of cases, mainly in familial forms. We hypothesised that more common variants may also play a role in increasing genetic susceptibility to DCM, similar to that observed in other common complex disorders.To test this hypothesis, we performed case‐control analyses on all DNA polymorphic variation identified in a resequencing study of six candidate DCM genes (CSRP3, LDB3, MYH7, SCN5A, TCAP, and TNNT2) conducted in 289 unrelated white probands with DCM of unknown cause and 188 unrelated white controls. In univariate analyses, we identified associated common variants at LDB3 site 10779, LDB3 site 57877, MYH7 sites 16384 and 17404, and TCAP sites 140 and 1735. Multivariate analyses to examine the joint effects of multiple gene variants confirmed univariate results for MYH7 and TCAP and identified a block of nine variants in MYH7 that was strongly associated with DCM.Common variants in genes known to be causative of DCM may play a role in genetic susceptibility to DCM. Our results suggest that examination of common genetic variants may be warranted in future studies of DCM and other Mendelian‐like disorders.
New slavery, old binaries: human trafficking and the borders of ‘freedom’
Authors: DAVIDSON JULIA O'CONNELL 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThis article explores dominant discourse on ‘trafficking as modern slavery’ in relation to the many legal and social fetters that have historically been and are today imposed upon individuals who are socially imagined as ‘free’. It argues that discourse on ‘trafficking as modern slavery’ revitalizes the liberal understandings of freedom and restriction that have historically allowed vigorous moral condemnation of slavery to coexist with the continued imposition of extensive, forcible restrictions on individuals deemed to be ‘free’. In place of efforts to build political alliances between different groups of migrants, as well as between migrants and non‐migrants, who share a common interest in transforming existing social and political relations, ‘trafficking as modern slavery’ discourse inspires and legitimates efforts to divide a small number of ‘deserving victims’ from the masses that remain ‘undeserving’ of rights and freedoms.
Refugees and transnationalism on the Thai–Burmese border
Authors: BREES INGE 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe past decade has seen the rapid development of transnationalism research, but transnationalism from below in situations of mass refugee influx has received little attention. However, the case study of Burmese refugees in Thailand clearly demonstrates that those refugees can maintain economic, social, cultural and political links with co‐nationals in all the domains of the refugee diaspora, even if their capabilities are in principle strained. It is argued here that the legal status of the person or diaspora organization concerned, as well as the country of origin and the host country have a larger influence on the type of transnationalism than the label ‘migrant’ or ‘refugee’. The concept of transnationalism should thus be conceived in a more encompassing sense, both geographically, thematically and including all emigrants regardless of their original motivations for migration. The article is based on fieldwork, including over 150 interviews with Burmese refugees and political activists.
Perceptions of policy choice in contemporary democracies
Authors: HELLWIG TIMOTHY , MIKULSKA ANNA , GEZGOR BURCU 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThough the concept of choice is essential to democracy, little is known about how citizens make sense of the diversity of policies offered by political elites. Research has found that institutional arrangements such as low electoral thresholds and multiple party competitors are associated with greater policy choice. Other work emphasises non‐institutional factors. No research, however, examines what the voters think. In this article these alternative explanations are assessed in terms of whether citizens believe parties to provide choice over policy. Evidence from 25 democracies reveals that electoral and party systems have no direct effect. Choice perceptions are instead affected by non‐policy factors: social heterogeneity and individual political dispositions. This result contrasts with analyses showing a strong connection between electoral rules and the diversity of messages communicated by parties during campaigns. The article also shows how choice perceptions matter for political behaviour. Overall, study findings imply that the promise of institutions for fostering representation is weaker than previously assumed.
Age‐based self‐interest, intergenerational solidarity and the welfare state: A comparative analysis of older people's attitudes towards public childcare in 12 OECD countries
Authors: GOERRES ACHIM , TEPE MARKUS 
Published: March 2010

AbstractWhen faced with the necessity of reforming welfare states in ageing societies, politicians tend to demand more solidarity between generations because they assume that reforms require sacrifices from older people. Political economy models, however, do not investigate such a mechanism of intergenerational solidarity, suggesting that only age‐based self‐interest motivates welfare preferences. Against this backdrop, this article asks: Does the experience of intergenerational solidarity within the family matter for older people's attitudes towards public childcare – a policy area of no personal interest to them? The statistical analysis of a sample with individuals aged 55+ from twelve OECD countries indicates that: intergenerational solidarity matters; its effect on policy preferences is context‐dependent; and influential contexts must – according to the evidence from twelve countries – be sought in all societal spheres, including the political (family spending by the state), the economic (female labour market integration) and the cultural (public opinion towards working mothers). Overall, the findings imply that policy makers need to deal with a far more complex picture of preference formation toward the welfare state than popular stereotypes of ‘greedy geezers’ suggest.
Selective α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists worsen disease in experimental colitis
Authors: Snoek Susanne A , Verstege Marleen I , van der Zanden Esmerij P , Deeks Nigel , Bulmer David C , Skynner Michael , Lee Kevin , te Velde Anje A , Boeckxstaens Guy E , de Jonge Wouter J 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  In various models vagus nerve activation has been shown to ameliorate intestinal inflammation, via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed on immune cells. As the α7 nAChR has been put forward to mediate this effect, we studied the effect of nicotine and two selective α7 nAChR agonists (AR‐R17779, (‐)‐spiro[1‐azabicyclo[2.2.2] octane‐3,5′‐oxazolidin‐2′‐one and GSK1345038A) on disease severity in two mouse models of experimental colitis.Experimental approach:  Colitis was induced by administration of 1.5% dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) in drinking water or 2 mg 2,4,6‐trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) intrarectally. Nicotine (0.25 and 2.50 µmol·kg−1), AR‐R17779 (0.6–30 µmol·kg−1) or GSK1345038A (6–120 µmol·kg−1) was administered daily by i.p. injection. After 7 (DSS) or 5 (TNBS) days clinical parameters and colonic inflammation were scored.Key results:  Nicotine and both α7 nAChR agonists reduced the activation of NF‐κB and pro‐inflammatory cytokines in whole blood and macrophage cultures. In DSS colitis, nicotine treatment reduced colonic cytokine production, but failed to reduce disease parameters. Reciprocally, treatment with AR‐R17779 or GSK1345038A worsened disease and led to increased colonic pro‐inflammatory cytokine levels in DSS colitis. The highest doses of GSK1345038A (120 µmol·kg−1) and AR‐R17779 (30 µmol·kg−1) ameliorated clinical parameters, without affecting colonic inflammation. Neither agonist ameliorated TNBS‐induced colitis.Conclusions and implications:  Although nicotine reduced cytokine responses in vitro, both selective α7 nAChR agonists worsened the effects of DSS‐induced colitis or were ineffective in those of TNBS‐induced colitis. Our data indicate the need for caution in evaluating α7 nAChR as a drug target in colitis.
Biochemical and molecular analysis of carboxylesterase‐mediated hydrolysis of cocaine and heroin
Authors: Hatfield MJ , Tsurkan L , Hyatt JL , Yu X , Edwards CC , Hicks LD , Wadkins RM , Potter PM 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose: Carboxylesterases (CEs) metabolize a wide range of xenobiotic substrates including heroin, cocaine, meperidine and the anticancer agent CPT‐11. In this study, we have purified to homogeneity human liver and intestinal CEs and compared their ability with hydrolyse heroin, cocaine and CPT‐11.Experimental approach: The hydrolysis of heroin and cocaine by recombinant human CEs was evaluated and the kinetic parameters determined. In addition, microsomal samples prepared from these tissues were subjected to chromatographic separation, and substrate hydrolysis and amounts of different CEs were determined.Key results: In contrast to previous reports, cocaine was not hydrolysed by the human liver CE, hCE1 (CES1), either as highly active recombinant protein or as CEs isolated from human liver or intestinal extracts. These results correlated well with computer‐assisted molecular modelling studies that suggested that hydrolysis of cocaine by hCE1 (CES1), would be unlikely to occur. However, cocaine, heroin and CPT‐11 were all substrates for the intestinal CE, hiCE (CES2), as determined using both the recombinant protein and the tissue fractions. Again, these data were in agreement with the modelling results.Conclusions and implications: These results indicate that the human liver CE is unlikely to play a role in the metabolism of cocaine and that hydrolysis of this substrate by this class of enzymes is via the human intestinal protein hiCE (CES2). In addition, because no enzyme inhibition is observed at high cocaine concentrations, potentially this route of hydrolysis is important in individuals who overdose on this agent.
Ouabain attenuates cardiotoxicity induced by other cardiac steroids
Authors: Nesher M , Shpolansky U , Viola N , Dvela M , Buzaglo N , Ben‐Ami H Cohen , Rosen H , Lichtstein D 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose: All cardiac steroids have a similar structure, bind to and inhibit the ubiquitous transmembrane protein Na+, K+‐ATPase and increase the force of contraction of heart muscle. However, there are diverse biological responses to different cardiac steroids both at the cellular and at the molecular level. Moreover, we have recently shown that ouabain inhibits digoxin‐ and bufalin‐induced changes in membrane traffic. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that ouabain also has an inhibitory effect on cardiotoxicity induced by other cardiac steroids.Experimental approach: The hypothesis was tested in isolated heart muscle preparations and in anin vivomodel of cardiotoxicity in guinea pigs.Key results: Ouabain at a low dose attenuated the toxicity induced by bufalin and digoxin in heart muscle preparations. In addition, ouabain at the low dose (91 ng·kg−1·h−1), but not at a higher dose (182 ng·kg−1·h−1), delayed the development of digoxin‐induced (500 µg·kg−1·h−1) cardiotoxicity in anaesthetized guinea pigs, as manifested by delayed arrhythmia and terminal ventricular fibrillation, as well as a reduced heart rate. In addition, as observed with ouabain, the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase inhibitor wortmannin (100 µg·kg−1·h−1) delayed the digoxin‐induced arrhythmia in anaesthetized guinea pigs.Conclusions and implications: The present study demonstrates the inhibitory effect, probably through signal transduction pathways, of ouabain on digoxin‐ and bufalin‐induced cardiotoxicity in guinea pigs. Further understanding of this phenomenon could be beneficial for increasing the therapeutic window for cardiac steroids in the treatment of chronic heart failure.
Assessing the Forecasting Performance of a Generic Bio‐Economic Farm Model Calibrated With Two Different PMP Variants
Authors: Kanellopoulos Argyris , Berentsen Paul , Heckelei Thomas , Van Ittersum Martin , Lansink Alfons Oude 
Published: March 2010

Abstract Using linear programming in bio‐economic farm modelling often results in overspecialised model solutions. The positive mathematical programming (PMP) approach guarantees exact calibration to base year data but the forecasting capacity of the model is affected by necessary but arbitrary assumptions imposed during calibration. In this article, a new PMP variant is presented which is based on less arbitrary assumptions that, from a theoretical point of view, are closer to the actual decision making of the farmer. The PMP variant is evaluated according to the predictions of the bio‐economic farm model, developed within the framework for integrated assessment of agricultural systems in Europe (SEAMLESS). The forecasting capacity of the model calibrated with the standard PMP approach and the alternative PMP variant, respectively, is tested in ex‐post experiments for the arable farm types of Flevoland (the Netherlands) and Midi‐Pyrenees (France). The results of the ex‐post experiments, in which we try to simulate farm responses in 2003 using a model calibrated to 1999 data, show that the alternative PMP variant improves the forecasting capacity of the model in all tested cases.