bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biocatalytic synthesis of chiral intermediates for antiviral and antihypertensive drugs
Authors: Patel Ramesh N. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe chiral intermediate (1S,2R) [3‐chloro‐2‐hydroxy‐1‐(phenylmethyl)propyl] carbamic acid, 1,1‐dimethylethyl ester 2a was prepared for the total synthesis of a human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitor, BMS‐186318. The stereoselective reduction of (1S) [3‐chloro‐2‐oxo‐1(phenylmethyl)propyl] carbamic acid, 1,1‐dimethylethyl ester 1 was carried out using microbial cultures, among which Streptomyces nodosus SC 13149 efficiently reduced 1 to 2a. A reaction yield of 80%, enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of 99.8%, and diastereomeric purity of 99% were obtained for chiral alcohol 2a. Chiral l‐6‐hydroxy norleucine 3, an intermediate in the synthesis of antihypertensive drug, was prepared by reductive amination of 2‐keto‐6‐hydroxyhexanoic acid 4 using beef liver glutamate dehydrogenase. The cofactor NADH required for this reaction was regenerated using glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus sp. A reaction yield of 80% and e.e. of 99.5% were obtained for l‐6‐hydroxynorleucine 3. To avoid the lengthy chemical synthesis of the ketoacid, a second route was developed in which racemic 6‐hydroxynorleucine [readily available from hydrolysis of 5‐(4‐hydroxybutyl) hydantoin 5] was treated with d‐amino acid oxidase from Trigonopsis variabilis to selectively convert the d‐isomer of racemic 6‐hydroxynorleucine to 2‐keto‐6‐hydroxyhexanoic acid 4 and l‐6‐hydroxynorleucine 3. Subsequently, the 2‐keto‐6‐hydroxyhexanoic acid 4 was converted to l‐6‐hydroxynorleucine by reductive amination using glutamate dehydrogenase. A reaction yield of 98% and an e.e. of 99.5% were obtained.
Determination of (+)‐, (−)‐, and total gossypol in cottonseed by high‐performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Hron R. J. , Kim H. L. , Calhoun M. C. , Fisher G. S. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractGossypol, a pigment in cottonseed, is a polyphenolic, binaphthyl dialdehyde. Due to steric hindrance between the functional groups of the molecule at the bond connecting the two naphthyl rings, gossypol exists as (+)‐ and (−)‐isomers. Gossypol is physiologically active with the (−)‐isomer appearing to be more active and causing temporary infertility in males. It is thus important to know the amounts of isomers in livestock feeds. A quantitative high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure was developed for the separation of (+)‐ and (−)‐gossypol contained in cottonseed. This method involves derivatization of gossypol with (R)‐(−)‐2‐amino‐1‐propanol followed by HPLC separation employing either a Phenomenex Prodigy (5 µ, ODS‐3, 100 × 3.2 mm) or a MetaChem Inertsil (5 µ, ODS‐3, 100 × 3.0 mm) reversed‐phase column eluted with 80% acetonitrile and 20% 10 mM KH2PO4 adjusted to pH 3.0 with H3PO4 at 1.0 mL/min. The (+)‐ and (−)‐gossypol‐2‐ amino‐1‐propanol complexes eluted at roughly 1.4 and 2.6 min, respectively. It was found that gossypol from Upland (Gossypium hirsutum) seed was rich in the (+)‐enantiomer, with the (+)‐ and (−)‐enantiomers in a ratio of about 65:35, respectively, while gossypol from the seed of a Pima (G. barbadense) cultivar (S‐6) was slightly richer in the (−)‐enantiomer (46.8:53.2).
Formulation of special fats by neural networks: A statistical approach
Authors: Block J. M. , Barrera‐Arellano D. , Figueiredo M. F. , Gomide F. C. , Sauer L. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn the present work, a neural network able to formulate fats with three ingredients derived from soybean (one refined oil and two hydrogenated base stocks) was built and trained. The training of the network was accomplished with data on the solid fat content (SFC) of 112 products, association with the proportions of the raw material used in their formulation. After the training, the network furnished, from the requested solid profiles, the possible formulations for the desired product. According to the statistical analysis applied to the results obtained, larger mean errors were observed in products with very low SFC and the smallest errors were found in products with high SFC. Regarding different temperatures, the network performance was more accurate for 10, 20, and 25°C than for 30, 35, and 37.5°C, where the lower measurements resulted in larger relative errors. According to evaluation by industrial experts, all the responses furnished by the network after its training were considered within the acceptable variation limits. For these experts, the network knowledge generalization (accomplished with products not presented during the training) was considered highly efficient (nearly 100%).
Causative factors of taste disorders in the elderly, and therapeutic effects of zinc
Authors: Ikeda M , Ikui A , Komiyama A , Kobayashi D , Tanaka M 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjectives:To determine the characteristics of causative factors of taste disorders amongst the elderly, and to examine the therapeutic effect of a zinc agent, taking into account age-related factors.Subjects:A total of 408 patients with taste disorders were divided into three groups by age: 49 years or younger, 50 to 64 years old, and 65 years or older.Results:The incidence of taste disorders caused by drug administration and systemic disease were significantly higher in the elderly group. A serum zinc concentration of 69 µg/dl or lower was found in 33 per cent of the elderly group, significantly more (p < 0.001) than the 19 per cent of the 49 years or younger group with such a concentration. Zinc administration was therapeutically effective in 70 per cent of the whole population studied, and in 74 per cent of the elderly population.Conclusions:In the elderly, the incidence of taste disorders caused by drug administration or systemic disease was significantly greater compared with other age groups. The curative effects of zinc administration were not observed to be influenced by age.
State dependent dissociation of HERG channel inhibitors
Authors: Stork D , Timin E N , Berjukow S , Huber C , Hohaus A , Auer M , Hering S 
Published: June 2007

Background and purpose:Inhibition of HERG channels prolongs the ventricular action potential and the QT interval with the risk of torsade de pointes arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Many drugs induce greater inhibition of HERG channels when the cell membrane is depolarized frequently. The dependence of inhibition on the pulsing rate may yield different IC50 values at different frequencies and thus affect the quantification of HERG channel block. We systematically compared the kinetics of HERG channel inhibition and recovery from block by 8 blockers at different frequencies.Experimental approach:HERG channels were expressed heterologously in Xenopus oocytes and currents were measured with the two‐electrode voltage clamp technique.Key results:Frequency‐dependent block was observed for amiodarone, cisapride, droperidol and haloperidol (group 1) whereas bepridil, domperidone, E‐4031 and terfenadine (group 2) induced similar pulse‐dependent block at all frequencies. With the group 1 compounds, HERG channels recovered from block in the presence of drug (recovery being voltage‐dependent). No substantial recovery from block was observed with the second group of compounds. Washing out of bepridil, domperidone, E‐4031 and terfenadine was substantially augmented by frequent pulsing. Mutation D540K in the HERG channel (which exhibits reopening at negative voltages) facilitated recovery from block by these compounds at −140 mV.Conclusion and implications:Drug molecules dissociate at different rates from open and closed HERG channels (‘use‐dependent’ dissociation). Our data suggest that apparently ‘trapped’ drugs (group 2) dissociated from the open channel state whereas group 1 compounds dissociated from open and resting states.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 151, 1368–1376; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707356
Hospital Versus Home Care for the Acutely Mentally Ill? Preferences of Caregivers Who Have Experienced Both Forms of Service
Authors: Fulford Megan , Farhall John 
Published: June 2007

Objective: Demonstration studies of community treatment as an alternative to hospitalization have reported high degrees of satisfaction by family carers. We aimed to determine the extent of carer preference for hospital versus community treatment for acute mental illness in a routine setting where carers had experienced both service types. Method: Patients who had contact with both a hospital inpatient service and a Crisis Assessment and Treatment (CAT) team within the previous 5 years were identified. Seventy-seven family carers of these patients completed a questionnaire which identified their preference for services, and psychological and demographic variables likely to be predictive of their choice. Results: Only half the carers preferred a CAT service to treat their relative in the event of a future relapse. Psychological variables were better predictors of choice than were demographic variables. Conclusions: The proportion of caregivers who prefer community treatment for acute psychosis may be smaller than previously thought. The lower carer satisfaction found here may be associated with the short-term interventions of Victoria's CAT teams, the severity of acute relapses and the duration of the patient's mental health problem.
Child and Young Adolescent Suicide in New Zealand
Authors: Beautrais Annette L 
Published: June 2007

Objective: To describe the epidemiology and characteristics of all suicide deaths among under 15-year-olds in New Zealand over a 10-year period. Method: In a 10-year retrospective study the features of all 61 children and young adolescents aged less than 15 years who died by suicide in New Zealand from 1989 to 1998 were examined by review of coronial files. Results: Suicide among under 15-year-olds is very rare but increasing. Suicide risk increases with age: the majority of those who die are aged 14 years (57.4% of the total) or 13 years (26.2%). Boys (72.1%) and Maori (57.4%) predominate. Most suicides occurred in children not living in intact biological families (67.2%). Hanging was the predominant method (78.7%). One in three children left suicide notes. One in four had a history of contact with social welfare authorities. There was a family history of suicide in 10% of cases. A minority had a documented history of prior suicide attempts (13.1%) or mental health problems (23%). One in four (23%) was reported to have made threats of suicide within the year prior to their death. A majority of deaths appeared to have been precipitated by relatively minor family arguments or disciplinary events, which, however, occurred in the context of actual or anticipated disruptions or transitions in family living arrangements or school circumstances, or severe family problems. Conclusions: In general, the impression of young adolescent suicide was of a disadvantaged, vulnerable and distressed group of adolescents growing up in extremely difficult circumstances. Maori children predominate in this group. There is clearly a need to verify these impressions with an in-depth investigation of the familial and social circumstances of children who die by suicide. Such investigations might best be conducted by annual mortality review and monitoring of all young adolescent suicides.
The NISAD Schizophrenia Research Register: why do we need a database of schizophrenia volunteers?
Authors: Loughland Carmel M. , Carr Vaughan J. , Lewin Terry J. 
Published: June 2007

Objective: This paper documents the establishment of the Schizophrenia Research Register of the Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (NISAD). This register aims to provide a volunteer pool of people with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia who are willing to consider participating in research projects. This unique resource is accessible to the general scientific research community. Method: The Register, which operates as a standalone, computerized relational database, maintains demographic and clinical information about individuals with schizophrenia recruited through media campaigns, and general health and non-government support agencies. Preliminary data are reported on the first 400 people with schizophrenia who registered on the database, together with selected comparisons with data from the national Low Prevalence (psychotic) Disorders Study (LPDS). Results: Individuals currently on the Register have a mean age of 38.74 years (SD = 11.41) and are predominantly Australian born (85.1%), which is consistent with data from the LPDS. However, the gender distribution is more balanced compared with the LPDS (53.8% vs 65.4% males) and proportionately more registrants are married or in de facto relationships (18.4% vs 10.8%). Registrants also tend to have lower current symptomatology and higher functioning relative to participants in the LPDS. Conclusions: The Register provides a unique and invaluable educational and research resource, as well as a complementary recruitment source for researchers who would otherwise rely on samples drawn primarily from mental health services.
Cluster Analysis in Educational Research
Authors: Egan Owen 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper examines the use of cluster analysis in educational research. Its first conclusion is that the important issues are not technical but interpretative. While we must, of course, reject clusters which fail to meet minimum technical requirements, it does not follow that those which are technically admissable are therefore meaningful explanatory constructs. In general, I will argue, they are not.The principal difficulty with cluster analysis is that it introduces a concept of ‘type’ which is unscientific. As a result, we become embroiled with character‐sketches and pen‐pictures more appropriate to literature than to research. This point has been touched on by critics who find cluster analysis to be ‘gross' in certain respects: in its “failure to pinpoint significant teaching variables”, in its tendency to “intensify” what are described as “unproductive polarizations” (Elliott, 1978, p. 77), in its propagation of “emotionally laden catch‐all terms” (Wragg, 1976, p. 285). The second conclusion of the paper is that when the ‘grossness' of cluster analysis is understood and accepted, the technique can nonetheless serve an important heuristic function, provided certain conditions are met. The paper refers to the Lancaster and ORACLE studies to illustrate the problems and possibilities for cluster analysis in educational research. It ends with some recommendations.
Some Characteristics of Interaction in Foreign Language Classrooms
Authors: Westgate David , Batey John , Brownlee Jane , Butler Mike 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe authors intend to direct attention, through this report of a collaborative, school‐based study, towards the interactional processes which characterise secondary foreign language (FL) lessons. It is argued that, since these processes have an influential effect upon pupils' learning and attitudes, this kind of research can yield important insights for an area of the curriculum which has many current problems and which is relatively unpopular with pupils. The methodology employed blends discourse analysis with ethnographic procedures and aims to identify patterns of teacher‐pupil interaction. Degrees of teacher‐dominance in FL lessons are related to constraints which derive from the subject‐matter and purposes of language teaching. Teacher‐strategies, and their implications for pupils' viewpoints of the subject, are considered; and fruitful lines of further research are indicated.
Associations between Preschool Reading Related Skills and later Reading Achievement
Authors: Blatchford Peter , Burke Jessica , Farquhar Clare , Plewis Ian , Tizard Barbara 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper is about the extent of children's reading related knowledge and associations with reading achievement at seven years. It presents results, from a major longitudinal study of children's progress in 33 Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) infant schools, on six measures of preschool reading related knowledge—word matching, concepts about print, letter identification, word reading, handwriting, and oral vocabulary—and their associations with Young's Group Reading scores at seven years. The strongest association was between letter identification and reading at seven. Preschool oral vocabulary and handwriting were also significantly and independently related to reading at seven, though concepts about print, in contrast to other recent research, was no more related to later reading than was word matching. Results are set in the context of conflicting theories about the early teaching of reading and, in particular, about conflicting views on the extent of preschool reading related skills and which skills have the most relevance to later reading achievement.
Ethnicity and Conflict in Physical Education
Authors: Carroll Bob , Hollinshead Graeme 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThere has been little research dealing with the issues of teaching ethnic minority groups in physical education (PE), in particular that which takes the perceptions of teachers and their pupils as the focal point to examine the issues and conflicts. This research takes a social action perspective by studying Muslim children in a northern comprehensive school. The areas of conflict are highlighted, such as PE kit, showers, Ramadan and extra‐curricular activities, through the pupils’ perceptions. This leads to a discussion on the clash of values between the PE teachers with their traditional values of PE and the Muslim cultural values. In particular it points out the dilemma of following policies of equality of opportunity at the same time as multicultural and anti‐racist ones in PE, the lack of awareness of Muslim values and feelings on behalf of the PE teachers; and the way the child is caught between the two cultures and values. The research points to the need for better preparation of teachers, in‐service education and training, anti‐racist policies and links with the community at the educationist's level, and the dilemma posed by empowerment at the political level. The discussion locates the issues in PE in the wider education and societal debate of different cultures.
Parental Power and Special Educational Needs: the case of specific learning difficulties
Authors: RIDDELL SHEILA , BROWN SALLY , DUFFIELD JILL 
Published: June 2007

AbstractResearch on parents of children with special educational needs has revealed their lack of power and the difficulty of establishing genuine partnership with professionals. This paper focuses on a predominantly middle‐class group, parents of children with specific learning difficulties. In the light of the Government's recent emphasis on parental rights, the paper explores what educational provision these parents want for their children, the strategies they employ to achieve their goals, the extent of their success and the implications of their actions for other parents of children with special educational needs. It is argued that parents of children with specific learning difficulties, well supported by voluntary organisations, are able to fulfil the role of critical consumer envisaged by government and have enjoyed a measure of success in arguing for improved levels of resourcing. Few would argue that services for children with specific learning difficulties are adequate. However, there are other groups of children with special educational needs, particularly those previously described as having mild/moderate learning difficulties, for whom provision may be worse and who do not have a powerful advocacy group to promote their cause.
The Paradox of Gender: sex stereotyping within statementing procedure
Authors: Hill John 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis paper seeks to document a previously neglected area of study, namely the influence of gender in the process of statementing. It will be the intention of the analysis to show, through a quantitative and qualitative investigation of selected data, how the content of statements differ when examined from a gender perspective. Evidence presented will be in the form of an analysis of 50 statements collected from the local education authorities in Sheffield and Rotherham. Reference will be made to the terminology used both by teachers and psychologists in determining, through statementing advice, those children perceived as having moderate learning difficulties. Conclusions from this analysis will show how the statementing system is not a neutral process, and its institutionalisation within the educational bureaucracy has made it generally reflective of dominant values and beliefs. In this way, it will be argued, gender differentiation has become part of a wider process which separates some children (i.e. to special schools) from others. A further feature of this analysis will be a discussion both of the way in which the data contribute to new understandings in the field of gender and education and some of the policy implications which emerge from it.
The Politics and Ethics of Educational Research in England: contemporary issues
Authors: Simons Helen 
Published: June 2007

AbstractGovernment sponsored educational research is increasingly subject to contractual control over the design of the research, dissemination and publication and even the research process itself. This paper argues that this current policy context poses a threat to the quality of educational research and places severe limitations on the contribution it can make to the generation of public knowledge and the utilisation of research in educational policy‐making and public debate. Focusing upon two contemporary issues—restrictive research contracts and conditions and the changing nature of ethical guidelines—the paper explores how the political context of recent years has led to changes in research contracts and ethical and political responses of formal associations. The paper concludes by examining a number of positions the educational research community can take in such a restrictive political climate, arguing, in particular, that professional organisations need to act both collectively and politically if they are to make any inroads into improving contractual conditions to protect quality research.
Fashioning Post‐modernism, Finishing Modernism: tales from the fitting room
Authors: Stronach Ian 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis article sets out to examine the policing of the so‐called ‘borders’ of ‘modernism’ and ‘post‐modernism’, arguing that such polarising metaphors are distinctions that cannot be made without self‐contradictions that would make even a post‐modernist blush. Instead, we must deconstruct the notion of boundary or border, drawing on Derridean formulations of difference in the fields of literature, feminism and post‐colo‐niality: what new metaphors of difference are possible, and what do they imply for the ‘essentialisms’ of educational ideals, or for notions of sexual, ethnic, or cultural identity? The ambition of the article is to explore a way of deconstructing the unspeakable ‘slash’ between modernism/post‐modernism that can model how similar arguments may be deployed against a wide range of educational topics where questions of identity and difference are brought to the fore, such as equal opportunities, special needs, antiracism, as well as more mundane categories of pupil or teacher — or researcher — identity. It fails, of course, but perhaps interestingly enough to encourage further explorations in such directions.