bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Business Students' Feature Requirements in Educational Web Sites
Authors: Hazari Sunil , Johnson Barbara 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThere is paucity of original research that explains phenomena related to content organization and site design of educational Web sites. Educational Web sites are often used to provide Web‐based instruction, which itself is a relatively recent phenomenon for business schools, and additional research is needed in this area. Educational Web sites are designed with a different set of criteria as compared with other sites, such as those having an e‐commerce or marketing focus. More research is needed to build a theoretical foundation for feature requirements in educational Web sites. As in any new approach to teaching and learning, critical issues need to be examined before Web‐based instruction is fully integrated into teaching processes. When developing educational Web sites, features that support pedagogy should be given primary consideration. It is therefore important to identify key elements that will have maximum impact on learning. Using Q‐sort analysis (a type of Factor Analysis), this study investigated feature requirements of educational Web sites as perceived by business students. Based on the analysis of user requirements in relation to several variables that were identified from a review of literature, group characteristics emerged from students' responses. Similarities and differences between groups were investigated, and implications of these results for development of educational Web sites are presented in this study.
Student/Faculty Connections in the Development of Teaching
Authors: Koppenhaver Gary D. , Blackburn Virginia L. , Palan Kay M. , Ravenscroft Sue , Shrader Charles B. 
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACTThis project directly involved students in two different models of instructional development. The first model was a Student Consultant program in which faculty selected from a menu of instructional services carried out by students. Typical services included attending class as impartial observers, soliciting feedback from other students on their learning experiences, videotaping class sessions, and evaluating course Web sites. The second model of instructional development was a program of student‐assisted teaching seminars for college faculty. Student Associates helped serve as panelists and facilitators. Assessments of attitudes toward teaching indicated that faculty members viewed both professors and students as collaborators in the classroom as a result of the seminar series.
Jumping Into the Future Using Teledermoscopy
Authors: Domenico Piccolo , Ketty Peris , Sergio Chimenti , Giuseppe Argenziano , H. Peter Soyer 
Published: June 2007

Background. Teledermoscopy uses telecommunication technologies to transfer images of pigmented skin lesions via the Internet for teleconsultation.
Design. Clinical and dermoscopic images of 66 and 43 pigmented skin lesions achieved in two consecutive studies were sent by e‐mail to dermatologists with different degrees of experience in dermoscopy for a telediagnosis. All lesions included in these studies were surgically excised and diagnosed histopathologically.
Results. The diagnostic concordance between the face‐to‐face diagnosis and the telediagnosis was 91% in the first study, whereas, in the second study, it varied from 76.7%–95.3%. The accuracy of the diagnoses in both studies was not related to the quality of the images, but did highly depend on the level of diagnostic difficulty of a given pigmented skin tumor and on the level of experience of each observer. ???Conclusions. Teleconsultation of dermoscopic images of pigmented skin lesions via e‐mail provides a similar degree of diagnostic accuracy as “face‐to‐face” diagnosis when the diagnosis is made by a dermatologist confident with dermoscopy.
Honokiol, a Neuroprotectant against Mouse Cerebral Ischaemia, Mediated by Preserving Na+, K+‐ATPase Activity and Mitochondrial Functions
Authors: Chen Chang‐Mu , Liu Shing‐Hwa , Lin‐Shiau Shoei‐Yn 
Published: June 2007

Abstract:   Honokiol, a component of the herb Magnolia officinalis, exhibits antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory and anxiolytic properties, increases seizure threshold, and promotes neurite outgrowth. Because stroke has become the second leading cause of death in industrialized countries, an effective neuroprotectant is urgently required. In this study, we attempted to elucidate in a mouse cerebral ischaemia model whether honokiol could be a neuroprotectant. Adult male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion for 45 min. Honokiol (10 µg/kg in 0.2 ml of saline) or control vehicle was intraperitoneally administered twice, 15 min. before and 60 min. after the induction of ischaemia. Cerebral ischaemia induced by this method was associated with an increase in synaptosomal production of reactive oxygen species, with decreases in synaptosomal mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and synaptosomal mitochondrial metabolic function, and with reductions in Na+, K+‐ATPase activities of tissues isolated from selected brain regions. Administration of honokiol resulted in significant reductions in brain infarct volume and in synaptosomal production of reactive oxygen species. The decreases in synaptosomal mitochondrial membrane potential, synaptosomal mitochondrial metabolic function and tissue Na+, K+‐ATPase activities observed in the ischaemic brains were also attenuated by honokiol treatments. It is concluded that honokiol can protect brain against ischaemic reperfusion injury and preserve mitochondrial function from oxidative stress. Regarding therapeutic application, further studies are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of honokiol in clinical situations.
Torsion/Detorsion of the Testis Does Not Modify Responses to Nitric Oxide in Rat Isolated Penile Bulb
Authors: Ozkan Melike H. , Vural İ. Mert , Moralioglu Serdar , Uma Serdar , Sarioglu Yusuf 
Published: June 2007

Abstract:  Ischaemia‐reperfusion damage induced by torsion/detorsion of the testicles may be a causative factor leading to erectile dysfunction through oxidative stress‐dependent changes in the responses of the penile bulb, an erectile tissue of the penis. We aimed at investigating the effects of unilateral testicular torsion/detorsion (2 or 24 hr) treatment on relaxations induced by electrical field stimulation and sodium nitroprusside in rat isolated penile bulb. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats used in the study were divided into two groups. The treatment group was subjected to unilateral torsion followed by detorsion for 2 or 24 hr, while the control group underwent only sham operation. For in vitro organ bath experiments, penile bulbs were isolated and responses to relaxant agents and electrical field stimulation (70 V, 1 msec., 0.5–8 Hz, 5 sec.) were recorded on a computer‐based data acquisition system via a force displacement transducer. In tissues precontracted with phenylephrine (3 × 10−6 M), relaxations induced by electrical field stimulation were not significantly different before and after 2 or 24 hr of detorsion. Similarly sodium nitroprusside‐ (10−8–3 × 10−6 M) and papaverine‐induced (10−7–10−4 M) relaxations were also found unchanged in the detorsion group compared to control. In conclusion, spermatic cord torsion did not lead to impairment in nitric oxide‐mediated relaxant responses of the rat isolated penile bulb.
Cipura paludosa Extract Prevents Methyl Mercury‐Induced Neurotoxicity in Mice
Authors: Lucena Greice M. R. de S. , Franco Jeferson Luis , Ribas Camila Mafalda , Azevedo Mariângela S. , Meotti Flávia Carla , Gadotti Vinicius M. , Dafre Alcir Luiz , Santos Adair R. S. , Farina Marcelo 
Published: June 2007

Abstract:  Cipura paludosa (Iridaceae), a native plant widely distributed in the north of Brazil, is used in traditional medicine as an anti‐inflammatory and analgesic agent, against tuberculosis and gonorrhoea and for regulation of menstrual flow. However, scientific studies on the pharmacological properties of C. paludosa are scarce. We have examined the potential protective effects of the ethanolic extract of C. paludosa against methyl mercury (MeHg)‐induced neurotoxicity in adult mice. MeHg was diluted in drinking water (40 mg/l, freely available) and the ethanolic C. paludosa extract (CE) was diluted in a 150 mM NaCl solution and administered by gavage (10 and 100 mg/kg body weight, respectively, twice a day). Because treatment lasted for 14 days and each animal weighed around 40 g, the total dosage of plant extract given to each mouse was 5.6 and 56 g, respectively. After the treatment period, MeHg exposure induced a significant deficit in the motor coordination, which was evident by a reduction (90%) in the falling latency in the rotarod apparatus. Interestingly, this phenomenon was completely recovered to control levels by CE co‐administration, independent of dosages. MeHg exposure inhibited cerebellar glutathione peroxidase (mean percentage inhibition of 42%) – an important enzyme involved in the detoxification of endogenous peroxides – and this effect was prevented by co‐administration of CE. Conversely, MeHg exposure increased cerebellar glutathione reductase activity (mean percentage inhibition of 70%), and this phenomenon was not affected by C. paludosa co‐administration. Neither MeHg nor CE changed the cerebellar glutathione levels. This study has shown for the first time, the in vivo protective effects of CE against MeHg‐induced neurotoxicity. In addition, our findings encourage studies concerning the beneficial effects of C. paludosa on neurological conditions related to excitotoxicity and oxidative stress.
Religion and the Aramaic Incantation Bowls
Authors: Morony Michael G. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe corpus of Late Antique Aramaic incantation texts is defined. The issues in this field are identified as explicating the language of the Aramaic dialects used for these texts, correlating the religious identity of their authors with the dialects and the scripts used for them, the level of the authors’ literacy, and explaining the magic praxis of the bowls and their demonology. The pagan, Judaic, Mandaean, Christian, and Zoroastrian content of these texts is surveyed. It is noted that the nature of this content tends to be explained in terms of syncretism and popular religion.
Expression of Rab5a in hepatocellular carcinoma: Possible involvement in epidermal growth factor signaling
Authors: Fukui Koji , Tamura Shinji , Wada Akira , Kamada Yoshihiro , Igura Takumi , Kiso Shinichi , Hayashi Norio 
Published: June 2007

Aim:  The Rab subfamily plays a role in intracellular transport. Rab5a is, in particular, involved in receptor‐mediated endocytosis. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is known to induce cell migration and promote invasion and angiogenesis. The EGF receptor (EGFR) is actively internalized upon the addition of EGF. The aim of the present study was to clarify the expression of Rab5a in hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and to examine its effect on EGF signaling.Methods:  The expression of the Rab5a protein in HCC and corresponding non‐tumorous tissues from 23 patients with HCC who had undergone surgical resection were analyzed by immunoblotting. A stable transfectant of Rab5a dominant negative (S34N) was established in a human hepatoma cell line, PLC/PRF/5 (PLC/PRF/5/Rab5aDN).Results:  High expression (tumor/non‐tumor (T/N) ratios ≥ 1) of Rab5a protein in HCC compared to the paired non‐tumortissues was recognized in 15 patients (65.2%) of 23 samples. The Rab5a antigen was diffusely expressed in the cytoplasm and membranes of the cancer cells. The membrane‐associated Rab5a is also enhanced via overexpression in HCC. The EGF‐induced endocytosis of EGFR and the phosphorylation of MAP kinase were inhibited in PLC/PRF/5/Rab5aDN cells. The migration of PLC/PRF/5/Rab5aDN cells induced by EGF was also significantly attenuated.Conclusions:  These results indicate that the overexpression of Rab5a in HCC may play an important role in EGF signaling.
Optimization based automated curation of metabolic reconstructions
Authors: Satish Kumar Vinay , Dasika Madhukar S , Maranas Costas D 
Published: June 2007

Abstract

Background
Currently, there exists tens of different microbial and eukaryotic metabolic reconstructions (e.g., Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bacillus subtilis) with many more under development. All of these reconstructions are inherently incomplete with some functionalities missing due to the lack of experimental and/or homology information. A key challenge in the automated generation of genome-scale reconstructions is the elucidation of these gaps and the subsequent generation of hypotheses to bridge them.

Results
In this work, an optimization based procedure is proposed to identify and eliminate network gaps in these reconstructions. First we identify the metabolites in the metabolic network reconstruction which cannot be produced under any uptake conditions and subsequently we identify the reactions from a customized multi-organism database that restores the connectivity of these metabolites to the parent network using four mechanisms. This connectivity restoration is hypothesized to take place through four mechanisms: a) reversing the directionality of one or more reactions in the existing model, b) adding reaction from another organism to provide functionality absent in the existing model, c) adding external transport mechanisms to allow for importation of metabolites in the existing model and d) restore flow by adding intracellular transport reactions in multi-compartment models. We demonstrate this procedure for the genome- scale reconstruction of Escherichia coli and also Saccharomyces cerevisiae wherein compartmentalization of intra-cellular reactions results in a more complex topology of the metabolic network. We determine that about 10% of metabolites in E. coli and 30% of metabolites in S. cerevisiae cannot carry any flux. Interestingly, the dominant flow restoration mechanism is directionality reversals of existing reactions in the respective models.

Conclusion
We have proposed systematic methods to identify and fill gaps in genome-scale metabolic reconstructions. The identified gaps can be filled both by making modifications in the existing model and by adding missing reactions by reconciling multi-organism databases of reactions with existing genome-scale models. Computational results provide a list of hypotheses to be queried further and tested experimentally.
GxcDD, a putative RacGEF, is involved in Dictyostelium development
Authors: Mondal Subhanjan , Neelamegan Dhamodharan , Rivero Francisco , Noegel Angelika A 
Published: June 2007

Abstract

Background
Rho subfamily GTPases are implicated in a large number of actin-related processes. They shuttle from an inactive GDP-bound form to an active GTP-bound form. This reaction is catalysed by Guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEFs). GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) help the GTPase return to the inactive GDP-bound form. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum lacks a Rho or Cdc42 ortholog but has several Rac related GTPases. Compared to our understanding of the downstream effects of Racs our understanding of upstream mechanisms that activate Rac GTPases is relatively poor.

Results
We report on GxcDD (G uanine ex change factor for Rac GTPases), a Dictyostelium RacGEF. GxcDD is a 180-kDa multidomain protein containing a type 3 CH domain, two IQ motifs, three PH domains, a RhoGEF domain and an ArfGAP domain. Inactivation of the gene results in defective streaming during development under different conditions and a delay in developmental timing. The characterization of single domains revealed that the CH domain of GxcDD functions as a membrane association domain, the RhoGEF domain can physically interact with a subset of Rac GTPases, and the ArfGAP-PH tandem accumulates in cortical regions of the cell and on phagosomes. Our results also suggest that a conformational change may be required for activation of GxcDD, which would be important for its downstream signaling.

Conclusion
The data indicate that GxcDD is involved in proper streaming and development. We propose that GxcDD is not only a component of the Rac signaling pathway in Dictyostelium, but is also involved in integrating different signals. We provide evidence for a Calponin Homology domain acting as a membrane association domain. GxcDD can bind to several Rac GTPases, but its function as a nucleotide exchange factor needs to be studied further.
Factors associated with quality of life of outpatients with breast cancer and gynecologic cancers and their family caregivers: a controlled study
Authors: Awadalla Abdel W , Ohaeri Jude U , Gholoum Abdullah , Khalid Ahmed OA , Hamad Hussein MA , Jacob Anila 
Published: June 2007

Abstract

Background
Quality of life (QOL) issues are of interest in cancer because effective methods of treatment and detection have led to an increase in the number of long-term survivors. The objectives of the study were: to assess the subjective QOL of stable Sudanese women cancer outpatients and their family caregivers, using the WHO 26-item QOL Instrument; compare with matched general population groups, as well as diabetic and psychiatric patient groups; examine patient-caregiver concordance in ratings; and assess the variables associated with their QOL, with a view to identifying factors that can enhance quality of care.

Methods
Responses of oncology outpatients with breast cancer (117), cervical cancer (46) and ovarian cancer (18) (aged 44.6, SD 11.5) were compared with those of their family caregivers and matched general population groups. Data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate statistics.

Results
The cancer groups had similar QOL domain scores, which were significantly lower than those of their caregivers, but higher than the control group as well as those of psychiatric and diabetic patients studied previously. Patients who were married, with higher education, better employment, and with longer duration of illness had higher QOL. Patients on radiotherapy and their caregivers had higher QOL scores. Correlations between patient's ratings and caregiver impression of patient's QOL were high. Caregiver impression was a significant predictor of patient's and caregiver's QOL. Other predictors for the patient were: currently feeling sick and duration of illness; for the caregiver: feeling sick, relationship to patient, and age.

Conclusion
Cancer patients in stable condition and with psychosocial support can hope to enjoy good QOL with treatment. The findings constitute an evidence base for the country's cancer care program, to boost national health education about prognosis in cancer. Families living with women cancer patients are vulnerable and need support if the patient is recently diagnosed, less educated, single, not formally employed; and the caregiver is female, parent, younger, less educated, unemployed and feels sick. Clinicians need to invest in the education and support of family caregivers. The patient-caregiver dyad should be regarded as a unit for treatment in cancer care.
Simultaneous determination of multiple marker constituents in concentrated Gegen Tang granule by high performance liquid chromatography
Authors: Song Jingzheng , Han Quanbin , Qiao Chunfeng , Yip Yuekeung , Xu Hongxi 
Published: June 2007

Abstract

Background
Concentrated Gegen Tang (GT) granule is a widely available traditional Chinese medicinal product for the treatment of cold and flu. There was no reliable analytical method available for the quality assessment of GT granules.

Methods
An HPLC method with an Agilent Zorbax SB-Phenyl Stablebond column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was developed and validated. The mobile phase gradient was a mixture of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in acetonitrile (ACN) and 0.1% TFA in water. The detection with a diode-array detector was set at 207, 230, 250 and 275 nm. Seven components, namely puerarin, daidzein, paeoniflorin, cinnamic acid, glycyrrhizin, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were selected as marker compounds for the evaluation.

Results
The regression equations revealed good linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9994–0.9998) between the peak areas and concentrations. The recovery was between 98.8% and 101.7% with good precision and accuracy. The quality of GT granule from four different manufacturers was evaluated with this newly developed method. Samples from four manufacturers showed similar profiles but contents of the detected markers varied significantly among manufacturers and batches.

Conclusion
A new method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been developed for simple and reliable quality control of commercial concentrated GT granules. Sensitivity was increased by multi-wavelength detection. The contents of selected marker components in GT granules varied significantly among manufacturers and batches, making it necessary to evaluate the quality of concentrated GT granules in the market.
The Sas3p and Gcn5p histone acetyltransferases are recruited to similar genes
Authors: Rosaleny Lorena E , Ruiz-García Ana B , García-Martínez José , Pérez-Ortín José E , Tordera Vicente 
Published: June 2007

Abstract
Background
Specific histone modifications can perform several cellular functions, for example, as signals to recruit trans-acting factors and as modulators of chromatin structure. Acetylation of Lys14 of histone H3 is the main target of many histone acetyltransferases in vitro and may play a central role in the stability of the nucleosome. This study is focused on the genome-wide binding of Saccharomyces cerevisiae histone acetyltransferases that are specific for Lys14 of histone H3.

Results
We have used a variation of the genome-wide location analysis method, based on a macroarray platform, to identify binding sites of yeast histone acetyltransferase catalytic subunits and to correlate their positions with acetylation of Lys14 of histone H3. Our results revealed that the histone acetyltransferases Sas3p and Gcn5p are recruited to a pool of intensely transcribed genes and that there is considerable overlap between the two cohorts of Sas3p and Gcn5p bound gene pools. We also demonstrate a positive correlation between binding sites of both proteins and the acetylation state of Lys14 of histone H3. Finally, a positive correlation between the decrease of H3 Lys14 acetylation in a GCN5 deleted strain and the Gcn5p genome occupancy is shown.

Conclusion
Our data support a model in which both Gcn5p and Sas3p act as general activators of an overlapping pool of intensely transcribed genes. Since both proteins preferentially acetylate Lys14 of histone H3, our data support the hypothesis that acetylation of this specific residue facilitates the action of the transcriptional apparatus.