bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improving teaching and learning of computer programming through the use of the Second Life virtual world
Authors: Esteves Micaela , Fonseca Benjamim , Morgado Leonel , Martins Paulo 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe emergence of new technologies such as three‐dimensional virtual worlds brings new opportunities for teaching and learning. We conducted an action research approach to the analysis of how teaching and learning of computer programming at the university level could be developed within the Second Life virtual world. Results support the notion that it is possible to use this environment for better effectiveness in the learning of programming. The main results are the identification of problems hampering the teacher's intervention in this virtual world and the detection of solutions for those problems that were found effective to the success in using this environment for teaching/learning computer programming.
Trigger videos on the Web: Impact of audiovisual design
Authors: Verleur Ria , Heuvelman Ard , Verhagen Pløn W. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAudiovisual design might impact emotional responses, as studies from the 1970s and 1980s on movie and television content show. Given today's abundant presence of web‐based videos, this study investigates whether audiovisual design will impact web‐video content in a similar way. The study is motivated by the potential influence of video‐evoked emotional responses to related activities in a web‐based learning environment. To examine this, a video scene was designed that follows the concept of an educational trigger video. A trigger video aims to evoking affective responses in viewers with respect to a social problem situation. An experiment was conducted that explored whether the manipulation of two audiovisual design variables—shot length and camera height—of a web trigger video affects how the problem situation and the characters are perceived. The results showed that audiovisual design did impact these video‐related tasks.
Public Goods and Tax Competition in a Two‐Sided Market
Authors: KOTSOGIANNIS CHRISTOS , SERFES KONSTANTINOS 
Published: March 2010

AbstractA rather neglected issue in the tax competition literature is the dependence of equilibrium outcomes on the presence of firms and shoppers (two‐sided markets). Making use of a model of vertical and horizontal differentiation, within which jurisdictions compete by providing public goods and levying taxes in order to attract firms and shoppers, this paper characterizes the noncooperative equilibrium. It also evaluates the welfare implications for the jurisdictions of a popular policy of tax coordination: The imposition of a minimum tax. It is shown that the interaction of the two markets affects the intensity of tax competition and the degree of optimal vertical differentiation chosen by the competing jurisdictions. Though the noncooperative equilibrium is, as it is typically the case, inefficient such inefficiency is mitigated by the strength of the interaction in the two markets. A minimum tax policy is shown to be effective when the strength of the interaction is weak and ineffective when it is strong.
Bayesian Equilibrium in a Public Good Economy
Authors: HON‐SNIR SHLOMIT , SHITOVITZ BENYAMIN , SPIEGEL MENAHEM 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThis paper studies the provision of a public good via voluntary contributions in an economy with uncertainty and differential information. Consumers differ in their private information regarding their future endowment as well as in their preferences. Each consumer selects her consumption ex ante, i.e., before knowing the state of nature. Contributions to the provision of the public good are determined ex post, i.e., when the state of nature is realized. Assuming that some normality conditions hold, a Bayesian equilibrium exists. Further, equilibrium is unique, regardless of the number of consumers, when either (1) the information partitions of consumers can be ranked from the finest to the coarsest, or (2) there are only two types of consumers.
Italian validation of INQoL, a quality of life questionnaire for adults with muscle diseases
Authors: Sansone V. A. , Panzeri M. , Montanari M. , Apolone G. , Gandossini S. , Rose M. R. , Politano L. , Solimene C. , Siciliano G. , Volpi L. , Angelini C. , Palmieri A. , Toscano A. , Musumeci O. , Mongini T. , Vercelli L. , Massa R. , Panico M. B. , Grandi M. , Meola G. 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  A quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for neuromuscular diseases was recently constructed and validated in the United Kingdom in a sample of adult patients with a variety of muscle disorders. Preliminary results suggested it could be a more relevant and practical measure of QoL in muscle diseases than generic health measures of QoL. The purpose of our work was: (i) To validate INQoL in Italy on a larger sample of adult patients with muscle diseases (ii) to compare INQoL to SF‐36.Methods:  We have translated into Italian and applied language adaptations to the original UK INQoL version. We studied 1092 patients with different muscle disorders and performed (i) test–retest reliability (n = 80); (ii) psychometric (n = 345), known‐group (n = 1092), external criterion (n = 70), and concurrent validity with SF‐36 (n = 183).Results:  We have translated and formally validated the Italian version of INQoL confirming and extending results obtained in the United Kingdom. In addition to good results in terms of reliability, known‐group and criterion validity, a comparison with the SF‐36 scales showed a stronger association between INQoL total index and SF‐36 physical (r = −0.72) than mental (r = −0.38) summary health indexes. When considering comparable domains of INQoL and SF‐36 with respect to an objective measure of muscle strength assessment (MMRC), regression analysis showed a stronger correlation using INQoL rather than SF‐36 scores.Conclusions:  INQoL is recommended to assess QoL in muscle diseases because of its ability to capture physical limitations that are specifically relevant to the muscle condition.
Active Support, Participation and Depression
Authors: Stancliffe Roger J. , McVilly Keith R. , Radler Gary , Mountford Louise , Tomaszewski Paul 
Published: March 2010

Background  Staff training in Active Support is designed to enable direct support staff to increase the engagement and participation of people with intellectual disabilities in a range of daily activities.Method  Residents (n = 41) and staff of nine group homes participated. The effectiveness of Active Support was evaluated with a pre‐test:post‐test design, using a number of standardized assessments and other questionnaires, with group home staff as informants. These assessments were conducted before Active Support training and an average of 6.5 months later.Results  Following implementation of Active Support residents experienced significant increases in domestic participation and adaptive behaviour. There were significant decreases in internalized challenging behaviour, overall challenging behaviour and depression. There was no significant pre–post change in other forms of challenging behaviour.Conclusions  Our findings confirm and extend previous Active Support research showing that implementation of Active Support is followed by increased resident participation in activities. The significant improvements in adaptive behaviour, challenging behaviour and depression are of particular interest as the present study is among the first to report such effects. The study’s limitations are discussed.
Positive Experiences of Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism
Authors: Kayfitz Adam D. , Gragg Marcia N. , Robert Orr R. 
Published: March 2010

Background  The present study examined the positive experiences of parents raising school‐aged children with autism within the context of parenting stress.Materials and Methods  Participants included 23 mother/father pairs raising children with autism (ages 5 to 11 years, M = 7.39). Parents completed measures of parenting stress and positive experiences of raising their children.Results  Consistent with previous research in a pre‐school aged population of children with autism, mothers reported significantly more positive experiences than did fathers. Mothers’ and fathers’ reports of their positive experiences were negatively related to their reports of parenting stress. Fathers’, but not mothers’, positive experiences were negatively related to their partners’ reports of parenting stress.Conclusion  Findings are discussed within a positive psychology framework suggesting that a focus on positive experiences may buffer against negative well‐being.
Participation in Sports by People with Intellectual Disabilities in England: A Brief Report
Authors: Robertson Janet , Emerson Eric 
Published: March 2010

Background  Participation in sports has been linked to a range of physical, social and mental health benefits. Little is known about the extent to which people with intellectual disabilities take part in sports. This study looks at participation in sports and factors associated with participation by people with intellectual disabilities in England.Method  Data on participation in sports and measures of personal characteristics, living situation, social participation, and socioeconomic status associated with participation were analysed based on a sample of 2784 people with intellectual disabilities in England.Results  Overall, 41% of participants had taken part in sports in the past month, nearly all of whom had enjoyed it. Of those who did not take part, 34% said they would like to. Participation in sport was associated with some personal characteristics but not with support needs, and was also associated with indicators of socioeconomic status.Conclusions  Targeting interventions to increase participation in sports by people with intellectual disabilities may make a significant contribution to improving their health and well‐being.
Is the human population a large‐scale indicator of the species richness of ground beetles?
Authors: Barbosa A. M. , Fontaneto D. , Marini L. , Pautasso M. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractEmpirical evidence has often shown a large‐scale positive co‐occurrence of biodiversity‐rich and densely populated regions. This biogeographical pattern has important implications for conservation biology. Previous studies have supported two of the potential mechanisms behind this pattern: the distributions of biodiversity and of human beings tend to match climatic patterns, and human beings have settled in regions of higher habitat heterogeneity or they may have increased it. There has been little testing and evidence for an artefactual explanation: more populated regions may show more species only because of a more thorough sampling. Using a new country‐wide dataset, we tested whether the human population density correlates with the species richness of ground beetles in Italy's regions, provinces and 10 × 10 km (UTM) grid cells. As expected, the observed and estimated (Chao index) number of species increases significantly with increasing human population density for regions, while there is no significant variation for provinces. But this is not the case when controlling for sampling effort. Variations in observed and estimated species richness are primarily associated with the available number of records, which is in turn well correlated with human population size. These results were confirmed for endemic and widespread species richness. At the UTM level, when controlling for sampling effort and area, there was a significant positive correlation between the total/widespread species richness and variation in the human population size, while the correlation was negative for endemic species. We found no significant role of habitat heterogeneity in the above relationships. The available distributional data of Carabidae in Italy suggest (1) that the species richness of bio‐indicators may not be a reliable measure for regional biological assessment; (2) that some broad‐scale human population–biodiversity correlations can be artefactual.
Biomarkers of aging in Drosophila
Authors: Jacobson Jake , Lambert Adrian J. , Portero‐Otín Manuel , Pamplona Reinald , Magwere Tapiwanashe , Miwa Satomi , Driege Yasmine , Brand Martin D. , Partridge Linda 
Published: March 2010

SummaryLow environmental temperature and dietary restriction (DR) extend lifespan in diverse organisms. In the fruit fly Drosophila, switching flies between temperatures alters the rate at which mortality subsequently increases with age but does not reverse mortality rate. In contrast, DR acts acutely to lower mortality risk; flies switched between control feeding and DR show a rapid reversal of mortality rate. Dietary restriction thus does not slow accumulation of aging‐related damage. Molecular species that track the effects of temperatures on mortality but are unaltered with switches in diet are therefore potential biomarkers of aging‐related damage. However, molecular species that switch upon instigation or withdrawal of DR are thus potential biomarkers of mechanisms underlying risk of mortality, but not of aging‐related damage. Using this approach, we assessed several commonly used biomarkers of aging‐related damage. Accumulation of fluorescent advanced glycation end products (AGEs) correlated strongly with mortality rate of flies at different temperatures but was independent of diet. Hence, fluorescent AGEs are biomarkers of aging‐related damage in flies. In contrast, five oxidized and glycated protein adducts accumulated with age, but were reversible with both temperature and diet, and are therefore not markers either of acute risk of dying or of aging‐related damage. Our approach provides a powerful method for identification of biomarkers of aging.
Upregulation of indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase in hepatocyte during acute hepatitis caused by hepatitis B virus‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in vivo
Authors: Iwamoto Naoki , Ito Hiroyasu , Ando Kazuki , Ishikawa Tetsuya , Hara Akira , Taguchi Ayako , Saito Kuniaki , Takemura Masao , Imawari Michio , Moriwaki Hisataka , Seishima Mitsuru 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground/Aims: Indoleamine‐2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) is a tryptophan‐catabolizing enzyme inducing suppression of T‐cell function and immune tolerance. In hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic (Tg) mice, the adoptive transfer of HBV‐specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) causes a necroinflammatory liver disease that is histologically similar to acute viral hepatitis in man. The present study aimed to determine IDO expression in the liver and hepatocytes during an acute hepatitis model.Methods: Serum l‐kynurenine (l‐Kyn) concentration in HBV Tg mice administered with HBV‐specific CTL was measured over time, together with serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Furthermore, we examined the expression of IDO in the total liver and isolated hepatocytes of HBV Tg mice after CTL injection using immunohistochemical analysis and reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results: In HBV Tg mice, HBV‐specific CTL induced, over the course of several days, a chronic increase in serum l‐Kyn levels, which was associated with a sustained enhancement of liver IDO activity. In particular, IDO expression was enhanced in the liver parenchymal cells (hepatocytes) after HBV‐specific CTL injection both in immunohistochemical analysis and in reverse‐transcription PCR. Moreover, murine recombinant interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) directly increased the IDO expression in primary hepatocytes in vitro.Conclusions: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes transduction results in the upregulation of IDO, which might downregulate T‐cell responsiveness. Our findings provide evidence that hepatocyte itself expresses IDO and increases levels of l‐Kyn in the blood in acute lethal hepatitis of mice. These data indicate that HBV infection facilitates the induction of IDO in response to proinflammatory cytokines, particularly IFN‐γ.
The anti‐inflammatory effect of celecoxib does not prevent liver fibrosis in bile duct‐ligated rats
Authors: Yu Jun , Hui Alex Y. , Chu Eagle S. H. , Go Minnie Y. Y. , Cheung Kin F. , Wu Chung W. , Chan Henry L. Y. , Sung Joseph J. Y. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground/Aims:Celecoxib was used in the treatment of inflammation in patients with cirrhosis. However, data on the progression of liver fibrosis after treatment by celecoxib are not available. This study aims to elucidate the effects of celecoxib on cholestatic liver fibrosis in rats.Methods:Rats underwent bile duct ligation (BDL) for 1 or 2 weeks to induce hepatic fibrosis. Celecoxib was introduced on day 1 after operation. The effects of celecoxib were assessed by comparison of the severity of hepatic fibrosis.Results:Infiltration of inflammatory cells and proliferation of bile ducts was seen after 1 week of BDL and fibrosis was induced after 2 weeks. Reduced alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and blunted expression of inflammatory factors [tumour necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β and IL‐6] were seen in the liver of BDL‐treated rats that received celecoxib at week 1. Although celecoxib was sufficient in suppressing the cyclo‐oxygenase (COX)‐2 expression in the control organ (kidney), it failed to suppress the enhanced hepatic COX‐2 expression. At week 2, celecoxib did not alter the ALT level, the severity of fibrosis and hepatic collagen contents. This was associated with unchanged α‐smooth muscle actin protein expression and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐2 (TIMP‐2), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 and MMP‐9 mRNA expressions in the liver. Celecoxib had no effect on the BDL‐dependent increase in bilirubin levels at any time point.Conclusions:The present study provides morphological and molecular biological evidences for the role of celecoxib in cholestatic liver fibrosis. Celecoxib protects against hepatic inflammation in the early stage of BDL rats, but does not have an effect on liver fibrosis.
Targeting vascular endothelial growth factor with the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab inhibits human hepatocellular carcinoma cells growing in an orthotopic mouse model
Authors: Finn Richard S. , Bentley Greg , Britten Carolyn D. , Amado Rafael , Busuttil Ronald W. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related death worldwide. Liver resection or transplantation is curative for a subset of patients with localized disease, but treatments for advanced disease are generally toxic and ineffective. Aberrant expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in the progression of HCC and represents a valid target for anticancer therapy. Bevacizumab, a humanized anti‐VEGF monoclonal antibody, is currently being evaluated in the treatment of HCC. In addition, other novel anti‐angiogenesis agents are being developed in HCC.Aim: This study examines the effect of bevacizumab in a newly characterized orthotopic model of the disease using the human HCC cell line, Hep 3B, and provides preclinical evidence that an anti‐angiogenic approach holds promise in HCC.Results: Administration of bevacizumab 5 mg/kg intraperitoneal twice a week significantly decreased microvessel density in tumours, decreased human serum α‐fetoprotein measurements and prolonged the time to progression for treatment mice compared with control mice.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that targeting VEGF with bevacizumab may be an effective approach to the treatment of HCC and further study of other novel anti‐angiogenic agents in HCC is warranted.
The knockdown of endogenous replication factor C4 decreases the growth and enhances the chemosensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells
Authors: Arai Masaaki , Kondoh Nobuo , Imazeki Nobuo , Hada Akiyuki , Hatsuse Kazuo , Matsubara Osamu , Yamamoto Mikio 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAims:To identify differentially expressed genes and thereby detect potential molecular targets for future therapies directed against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:To isolate differentially expressed genes between HCC and adjacent non‐cancerous liver tissues, cDNA microarray and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analyses were performed. Gene knockdown experiments in HepG2 cells were also performed using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Proteins were detected by immunostaining, and cell proliferation was analysed using the MTT/WST‐8 assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle analyses were performed using flow cytometry.Results:After an intensive screening for differentially expressed genes in HCC tissues, we isolated 23 upregulated genes in these lesions. Among these, we focused on the replication factor C4 (RFC4) gene. The expression of endogenousRFC4proteins in HepG2 cells was found to be significantly reduced byRFC4‐specific siRNA. This inhibition ofRFC4expression correlated with a decrease in cellular proliferation, increased levels of apoptosis and a sensitizing of the cells to the DNA‐damaging chemotherapeutic agents, doxorubicin and camptothecin.Conclusion:The replication factor C4 gene may be a novel target for developing cancer therapeutics, which can enhance the antitumour activity of chemotherapeutic agents that induce DNA damage.
Activated protein C prevents hepatic ischaemia–reperfusion injury in rats
Authors: Kuriyama Naohisa , Isaji Shuji , Hamada Takashi , Kishiwada Masashi , Ohsawa Ichiro , Usui Masanobu , Sakurai Hiroyuki , Tabata Masami , Suzuki Koji , Uemoto Shinji 
Published: March 2010

AbstractBackground: Hepatic ischaemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) is a serious complication of liver surgery, especially extended hepatectomy and liver transplantation. Activated protein C (APC), a potent anticoagulant serine protease, has been shown to have cell‐protective properties by virtue of its anti‐inflammatory and anti‐apoptotic activities.Methods: The present study was designed to examine the cytoprotective effects of APC in a 60‐min warm‐IRI rat model.Results: Following a single intravenous injection of APC before reperfusion, APC exerted cytoprotective effects 4 h after reperfusion, as evidenced by: (i) decreased levels of transaminase and improved histological findings of IRI, (ii) reduced infiltration and activation of neutrophils, macrophages and T cells, (iii) reduced expression of tumour necrosis factor‐α, (iv) reduced expression of P‐selectin and intracellular adhesion molecule‐1, (v) inhibited coagulation and attenuated sinusoidal endothelial cell injury, (vi) improved hepatic microcirculation and (vii) decreased transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end‐labelling‐positive cells. These effects of APC were observed 4 h but not 24 h after reperfusion. However, multiple injections of APC after reperfusion significantly decreased the levels of transaminase and the activity of myeloperoxidase, and improved histological findings of IRI 24 h after reperfusion.Conclusion: These results suggest that APC is a promising therapeutic option for hepatic warm‐IRI; however, multiple injections of APC are necessary to maintain its cell‐protective action over the long term.