bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Engaging students in environmental research projects: Perceptions of fluency with innovative technologies and levels of scientific inquiry abilities
Authors: Ebenezer Jazlin , Kaya Osman Nafiz , Ebenezer Devairakkam Luke 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe purpose of this mixed‐method study was to investigate the changes in high school students' perceptions of fluency with innovative technologies (IT) and the levels of students' scientific inquiry abilities as a result of engaging students in long‐term scientific research projects focusing on community‐based environmental issues. Over a span of 3 years, a total of 125 ninth‐ through twelfth‐grade students participated in this study. A project‐specific Likert‐scale survey consisting of three parts (fluency with All Technologies, GPS/GIS, and CBL2/EasyData) was administered to all students as a pre‐ and post‐test. At the end of the study, 45 students were randomly interviewed and asked to elaborate on the changes in their perceptions of fluency with IT. The results indicated statistically significant increases (p < 0.001) in students' perceptions of their fluency with IT. Qualitative analysis of students' interview results corroborated the statistical findings of students' changes in perceptions of their fluency with IT. Students' research papers based on the environmental studies conducted at the interface of classroom and community were analyzed using theScientific Inquiry Rubrics, which consist of 11 criteria developed by the researchers. Results indicated the students' abilities to conduct scientific inquiry for 7 out of 11 criteria were at the proficient level. This study clearly points to the correlation between the development of IT fluency and ability levels to engage in scientific inquiry based on respective competencies. Ultimately, this research study recommends that students' IT fluency ought to be developed and assessed concurrently with an emphasis on contemporary higher order scientific inquiry abilities. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 94–116, 2011
Endoscopic, endonasal management of sinonasal haemangiopericytoma: 12-year experience
Authors: Bignami M , Dallan I , Battaglia P , Lenzi R , Pistochini A , Castelnuovo P 
Published: May 2010

AbstractAim:To report our experience with endoscopic, endonasal management of sinonasal haemangiopericytoma.Materials and methods:Retrospective review of the medical records of 10 patients undergoing endoscopic, endonasal surgery for sinonasal haemangiopericytoma of the nose and paranasal sinuses, between 1997 and 2008.Results:Five men and five women were included. Their mean age at surgery was 59 years. All patients underwent endoscopic, endonasal resection of their tumour. Major post-operative complications were encountered in only one patient (stroke). Local recurrence was diagnosed in only one patient (10 per cent), who subsequently underwent a combined resection (endoscopic and external) with orbital exenteration.Conclusions:Sinonasal haemangiopericytomas are rare tumours that are usually benign. The mainstay of treatment is wide surgical excision with free resection margins. Nowadays, the great majority of patients can be treated using a purely endoscopic, endonasal approach.
Family, kinship and welfare provision in Europe, past and present: commonalities and divergences
Authors: VIAZZO PIER PAOLO 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTThe realization that European family forms are failing to converge as predicted by modernization theory has led many scholars to suspect that the broad regional differences detected by historians persist in the present and are likely to influence future developments. This article outlines some relevant hypotheses prompted by historical studies about the role of family and kinship as sources of social security and analyses the results of comparative work on contemporary Europe, paying special attention to the relative weight of cultural and structural factors. Although differences still appear to predominate over commonalities, it is not inconceivable that in certain important respects European countries might paradoxically converge, owing to the generalized decline of the welfare state, towards forms of welfare provision that are closer to the ‘familialistic’ models of southern and eastern Europe than to the ‘modern’ models of Scandinavia and north-western Europe.
Changes in family and kinship networks consequent on the demographic transitions in England and Wales
Authors: MURPHY MICHAEL 
Published: May 2010

ABSTRACTThe SOCSIM micro-simulation model is used to investigate how kinship and family patterns in Britain changed as people passed through the ‘First Demographic Transition’, starting in the late nineteenth century, and the ‘Second Demographic Transition’, from the 1960s. Certain types of kin, such as former partners, became more common, and others, such as ever-born siblings, less so. An ageing of generational relationships is observed: events that formerly occurred early in life, such as the experience of one's parents' deaths, are being postponed. Patterns of re-partnering are leading to more partial relationships involving step- and supplanted parents, half-siblings, former partners and stepchildren.
Two Approaches to Foundations in Greek Mathematics: Apollonius and Geminus
Authors: Acerbi Fabio 
Published: May 2010

ArgumentThis article is the sequel to an article published in the previous issue ofScience in Contextthat dealt with homeomeric lines (Acerbi 2010). The present article deals with foundational issues in Greek mathematics. It considers two key characters in the study of mathematical homeomery, namely, Apollonius and Geminus, and analyzes in detail their approaches to foundational themes as they are attested in ancient sources. The main historiographical result of this paper is to show thatthere wasa well-establishedmathematicalfield of discourse in “foundations of mathematics,” a fact that is by no means obvious. The paper argues that the authors involved in this field of discourse set up a variety of philosophical, scholarly, and mathematical tools that they used in developing their investigations.
Assessment of strategic processing during narrative comprehension in individuals with mild cognitive impairment
Authors: SCHMITTER-EDGECOMBE MAUREEN , CREAMER SCOTT 
Published: May 2010

AbstractA think-aloud protocol was used to examine the strategies used by individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) during text comprehension. Twenty-three participants with MCI and 23 cognitively healthy older adults (OA) read narratives, pausing to verbalize their thoughts after each sentence. The verbal protocol analysis developed by Trabasso and Magliano (1996) was then used to code participants’ utterances into inferential and non-inferential statements; inferential statements were further coded to identify the memory operation used in their generation. Compared with OA controls, the MCI participants showed poorer story comprehension and produced fewer inferences. The MCI participants were also less skilled at providing explanations of story events and in using prior text information to support inference generation. Poorer text comprehension was associated with poorer verbal memory abilities and poorer use of prior text events when producing inferential statements. The results suggest that the memory difficulties of the MCI group may be an important cognitive factor interfering with their ability to integrate narrative events through the use of inferences and to form a global coherence to support text comprehension. (JINS, 2010,16, 661–671.)
Dietary habits of Palestinian adolescents and associated sociodemographic characteristics in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates
Authors: Mikki Nahed , Abdul-Rahim Hanan F , Shi Zumin , Holmboe-Ottesen Gerd 
Published: May 2010

AbstractObjectiveTo describe food habits and associated sociodemographic factors.DesignCross-sectional survey in 2005.SettingNinety-six school classes in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron governorates, Occupied Palestinian Territory.SubjectsGrade 8 and 9 students aged 13–15 years (n 2952).MethodsSelf-administered student and parent questionnaires.ResultsHigh standard of living (STL) index and residence in Ramallah were positively associated with intake of animal foods, Western-style foods, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, sweets and salty snacks. Only 26·1 % of the students ate three main meals daily; 26·2 % of the boys and 51·0 % of the girls had breakfast one to two times per week or less often (P < 0·001). Only one-quarter of students drank milk daily (32·9 % of boys and 18·3 % of girls, P < 0·001). The majority of students, boys and girls in similar proportions, consumed vegetables daily (72·8 % v. 73·8 %, respectively). Daily fruit consumption was also equally common among boys and girls (58·9 % v. 55·2 %, respectively), but with clear differences by STL, region and parents’ education. Daily intake of sweets and salty snacks was common among girls, and daily intake of soft drinks was common among boys.ConclusionsIrregular meal patterns were common among Palestinian adolescents. High STL and residence in Ramallah were associated with frequent intake of foods high in sugar and fat, but also with frequent intake of fruits and vegetables. Effective interventions are needed to establish healthy dietary habits.
Recharting Atlantic encounters. Object trajectories and histories of value in the Siin (Senegal) and Senegambia
Authors: Richard François G. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe Atlantic era marks a turbulent period in the history of Senegambia, defined by dramatic reconfigurations in local socio-economic conditions. These ‘global encounters’ have often been equated with the subjection of African societies to the whims of an expanding capitalist economy. While the long-term effects of the Atlantic economy cannot be denied, conventional histories have often prioritized macro-trends and generalized process, thus glossing the complex mosaic of experiences that constituted the African Atlantic. By contrast, a closer look at how different categories of objects were consumed and circulated over time may provide more nuanced assessments of the impact of global forces on coastal societies. This article examines how these material entanglements took place in the Siin (Senegal), by following the social trajectories of several classes of objects in space and time, and charting their enmeshment in regimes of value, patterns of action, forms of power and historical experience. Combining these empirical insights with a broader theoretical reflection, the paper attempts to draw out the implications of rethinking the historical space of the African Atlantic through a more intimate engagement with the historicities, contingencies and materialities that fashioned African historical experiences. While this shift in conceptual priorities inevitably creates new silences, I suggest that it also re-establishes Africans as cultural and historical subjects, firmly grounded in world history, and that this perspective can provide a point of departure for the production of alternative historical imaginations and subjectivities.
Ubiquitin vinyl methyl ester binding orients the misaligned active site of the ubiquitin hydrolase UCHL1 into productive conformation
Authors: Boudreaux David A. , Maiti Tushar K. , Davies Christopher W. , Das Chittaranjan 
Published: May 2010

Ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is a Parkinson disease-associated, putative cysteine protease found abundantly and selectively expressed in neurons. The crystal structure of apo UCHL1 showed that the active-site residues are not aligned in a canonical form, with the nucleophilic cysteine being 7.7 Å from the general base histidine, an arrangement consistent with an inactive form of the enzyme. Here we report the crystal structures of the wild type and two Parkinson disease-associated variants of the enzyme, S18Y and I93M, bound to a ubiquitin-based suicide substrate, ubiquitin vinyl methyl ester. These structures reveal that ubiquitin vinyl methyl ester binds primarily at two sites on the enzyme, with its carboxy terminus at the active site and with its amino-terminal β-hairpin at the distal site—a surface-exposed hydrophobic crevice 17 Å away from the active site. Binding at the distal site initiates a cascade of side-chain movements in the enzyme that starts at a highly conserved, surface-exposed phenylalanine and is relayed to the active site resulting in the reorientation and proximal placement of the general base within 4 Å of the catalytic cysteine, an arrangement found in productive cysteine proteases. Mutation of the distal-site, surface-exposed phenylalanine to alanine reduces ubiquitin binding and severely impairs the catalytic activity of the enzyme. These results suggest that the activity of UCHL1 may be regulated by its own substrate.
Design strategies to minimize the radiative efficiency of global warming molecules
Authors: Bera Partha P. , Francisco Joseph S. , Lee Timothy J. 
Published: May 2010

A strategy is devised to screen molecules based on their radiative efficiency. The methodology should be useful as one additional constraint when determining the best molecule to use for an industrial application. The strategy is based on the results of a recent study where we examined molecular properties of global warming molecules using ab initio electronic structure methods to determine which fundamental molecular properties are important in assessing the radiative efficiency of a molecule. Six classes of perfluorinated compounds are investigated. For similar numbers of fluorine atoms, their absorption of radiation in the IR window decreases according to perfluoroethers > perfluorothioethers ≈ sulfur/carbon compounds > perfluorocarbons > perfluoroolefins > carbon/nitrogen compounds. Perfluoroethers and hydrofluorethers are shown to possess a large absorption in the IR window due to (
i
) the C─O bonds are very polar, (
ii
) the C-O stretches fall within the IR window and have large IR intensity due to their polarity, and (
iii
) the IR intensity for C-F stretches in which the fluorine atom is bonded to the carbon that is bonded to the oxygen atom is enhanced due to a larger C─F bond polarity. Lengthening the carbon chain leads to a larger overall absorption in the IR window, though the IR intensity per bond is smaller. Finally, for a class of partially fluorinated compounds with a set number of electronegative atoms, the overall absorption in the IR window can vary significantly, as much as a factor of 2, depending on how the fluorine atoms are distributed within the molecule.
Real-time multidimensional NMR follows RNA folding with second resolution
Authors: Lee Mi-Kyung , Gal Maayan , Frydman Lucio , Varani Gabriele 
Published: May 2010

Conformational transitions and structural rearrangements are central to the function of many RNAs yet remain poorly understood. We have used ultrafast multidimensional NMR techniques to monitor the adenine-induced folding of an adenine-sensing riboswitch in real time, with nucleotide-resolved resolution. By following changes in 2D spectra at rates of approximately 0.5 Hz, we identify distinct steps associated with the ligand-induced folding of the riboswitch. Following recognition of the ligand, long range loop-loop interactions form and are then progressively stabilized before the formation of a fully stable complex over approximately 2–3 minutes. The application of these ultrafast multidimensional NMR methods provides the opportunity to determine the structure of RNA folding intermediates and conformational trajectories.
Single residue within the antigen translocation complex TAP controls the epitope repertoire by stabilizing a receptive conformation
Authors: Baldauf Christoph , Schrodt Susanne , Herget Meike , Koch Joachim , Tampé Robert 
Published: May 2010

The recognition of virus infected or malignantly transformed cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes critically depends on the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP), which delivers proteasomal degradation products into the endoplasmic reticulum lumen for subsequent loading of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. Here we have identified a single cysteinyl residue in the TAP complex that modulates peptide binding and translocation, thereby restricting the epitope repertoire. Cysteine 213 in human TAP2 was found to be part of a newly uncovered substrate-binding site crucial for peptide recognition. This residue contacts the peptide in the binding pocket in an orientated manner. The translocation complex can be reversibly inactivated by thiol modification of this cysteinyl residue. As part of an unexpected mechanism, this residue is crucial in complementing the binding pocket for a given subset of epitopes as well as in maintaining a substrate-receptive conformation of the translocation complex.
Deuteration distribution estimation with improved sequence coverage for HX/MS experiments
Authors: Lou Xinghua , Kirchner Marc , Renard Bernhard Y. , Köthe Ullrich , Boppel Sebastian , Graf Christian , Lee Chung-Tien , Steen Judith A. J. , Steen Hanno , Mayer Matthias P. , Hamprecht Fred A. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractMotivation: Time-resolved hydrogen exchange (HX) followed by mass spectrometry (MS) is a key technology for studying protein structure, dynamics and interactions. HX experiments deliver a time-dependent distribution of deuteration levels of peptide sequences of the protein of interest. The robust and complete estimation of this distribution for as many peptide fragments as possible is instrumental to understanding dynamic protein-level HX behavior. Currently, this data interpretation step still is a bottleneck in the overall HX/MS workflow.Results: We propose HeXicon, a novel algorithmic workflow for automatic deuteration distribution estimation at increased sequence coverage. Based on an L1-regularized feature extraction routine, HeXicon extracts the full deuteration distribution, which allows insight into possible bimodal exchange behavior of proteins, rather than just an average deuteration for each time point. Further, it is capable of addressing ill-posed estimation problems, yielding sparse and physically reasonable results. HeXicon makes use of existing peptide sequence information, which is augmented by an inferred list of peptide candidates derived from a known protein sequence. In conjunction with a supervised classification procedure that balances sensitivity and specificity, HeXicon can deliver results with increased sequence coverage.Availability: The entire HeXicon workflow has been implemented in C++ and includes a graphical user interface. It is available at http://hci.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de/software.php.Contact: fred.hamprecht@iwr.uni-heidelberg.deSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Regulation of the Expression of Plant Resistance Gene SNC1 by a Protein with a Conserved BAT2 Domain
Authors: Li Yingzhong , Tessaro Mark J. , Li Xin , Zhang Yuelin 
Published: May 2010

Abstract
Plant Resistance (R) genes encode immune receptors that recognize pathogens and activate defense responses. Because of fitness costs associated with maintaining R protein-mediated resistance, expression levels of R genes have to be tightly regulated. However, mechanisms on how R-gene expression is regulated are poorly understood. Here we show that MODIFIER OF snc1, 1 (MOS1) regulates the expression of SUPPRESSOR OF npr1-1, CONSTITUTIVE1 (SNC1), which encodes a Toll/interleukin receptor-nucleotide binding site-leucine-rich repeat type of R protein in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). In the mos1 loss-of-function mutant plants, snc1 expression is repressed and constitutive resistance responses mediated by snc1 are lost. The repression of snc1 expression in mos1 is released by knocking out DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION1. In mos1 mutants, DNA methylation in a region upstream of SNC1 is altered. Furthermore, expression of snc1 transgenes using the native promoter does not require MOS1, indicating that regulation of SNC1 expression by MOS1 is at the chromatin level. Map-based cloning of MOS1 revealed that it encodes a novel protein with a HLA-B ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPT2 (BAT2) domain that is conserved in plants and animals. Our study on MOS1 suggests that BAT2 domain-containing proteins may function in regulation of gene expression at chromatin level.
Identification and Application of a Rice Senescence-Associated Promoter
Authors: Liu Li , Zhou Yong , Szczerba Mark W. , Li Xianghua , Lin Yongjun 
Published: May 2010

AbstractSAG39 is a rice (Oryza sativa) gene that encodes a cysteine protease. SAG39 shares 55% homology with the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) senescence-associated protein SAG12. The promoter for SAG39 (PSAG39) was isolated, and SAG39 expression was determined to be relatively low in mature leaves, while not expressed in the endosperm. SAG39 mRNA levels increased as senescence progressed, with maximum accumulation of transcripts at late senescence stages. Gel retardation assays indicated that two cis-acting elements in PSAG39, HBOXCONSENSUSPVCHS and WRKY71OS, responded to leaf senescence. To test if PSAG39 could be useful for increasing rice yields by increasing cytokinin content and delaying senescence, homozygous transgenic plants were obtained by linking PSAG39 to the ipt gene and introducing it into Zhonghua 11. The chlorophyll level of the flag leaf was used to monitor senescence, confirming the stay-green phenotype in PSAG39:ipt transgenic rice versus wild-type plants. Changes in the cytokinin content led to early flowering and a greater number of emerged panicles 70 d after germination in the transgenic rice. Measurements of sugar and nitrogen contents in flag leaves demonstrated a transition in the source-sink relationship in transgenic plants triggered at the onset of leaf senescence, with the nitrogen content decreasing more slowly, while sugars were removed more rapidly than in wild-type plants. The importance of these changes to rice physiology, yield, and early maturation will be discussed.
Staphylococcal enterotoxin A induction of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and lethality in mice is primarily dependent on MyD88
Authors: Kissner Teri L. , Cisney Emily D. , Ulrich Robert G. , Fernandez Stefan , Saikh Kamal U. 
Published: May 2010

SummaryStaphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) ‐induced toxic shock is triggered by inflammatory cytokine signal amplification after SE binding to major histocompatibility complex class II molecules on antigen‐presenting cells and T‐cell receptors. Identifying host cellular elements contributing to this pro‐inflammatory signal amplification is critical for developing a strategy for therapeutic intervention. Myeloid differentiation primary‐response protein 88 (MyD88) is an intracellular signalling adaptor protein primarily known for mediating pro‐inflammatory cytokine responses. We investigated the role of MyD88 in staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) ‐treated cell cultures and mouse models of toxic shock. Our results demonstrated that elevated levels of tumour necrosis factor‐α, interferon‐γ, interleukin‐1α/β (IL‐1α/β), IL‐2 and IL‐6 production correlated with up‐regulation of MyD88 after treatment of spleen cells and mice with SEA alone or in combination with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The SEA‐induced lethality was also observed in (LPS‐independent) d‐galactosamine‐sensitized mice. While LPS potentiated SEA‐induced cytokine responses, d‐galactosamine treatment had no additive effect. Most importantly, our results demonstrated that MyD88−/− mice were resistant to SEA‐induced toxic shock and had reduced pro‐inflammatory cytokine responses. These results suggest that SEA‐induced lethality is primarily dependent on MyD88. Our findings offer an important insight on potential therapeutic treatment of SEA‐induced toxic shock targeting MyD88.