bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cochlear implantation in children: Implications for the primary care provider
Authors: Goller Yael 
Published: August 2006

AbstractPurpose: To define hearing loss (HL), discuss the impact of HL on child development, and review the literature on cochlear implantation in children. The criteria for and the benefits and limitations of cochlear implantation in children, as well as the implications for the primary care provider with regard to children who have cochlear implants, are presented.Data sources: Review of published literature on the topic.Conclusions: A child’s future development depends greatly on speech and language skills. Any type of HL can impact and may even hinder speech and language acquisition. It is therefore crucial to enforce early identification of HL. For severe to profoundly hearing‐impaired children, cochlear implantation serves as an avenue for hearing and language development.Implications for practice: Nurse practitioners ought to be up to date with criteria for and the benefits and risks of cochlear implantation. Health‐related issues, such as vaccination, otitis media, and meningitis, must be assessed for and managed promptly.
SELF-ORGANIZATION AND NONEQUILIBRIUM AGGREGATION PHENOMENA IN COLLOIDAL MATTER: WHY MICROGRAVITY MATTERS
Authors: BASIOS VASILEIOS 
Published: August 2006

The relevance of self-organization, nonlinear phenomena and nonequilibrium behavior in a wide range of problems in space science and microgravity research, calls for a concerted approach using the tools of statistical physics, thermodynamics, nonlinear dynamics, mathematical modeling and numerical simulation, in synergy with experimentally oriented work.The reason behind the ubiquity of such concepts is that in many instances of relevance in space science one witnesses an interplay between molecular and macroscopic-level entities and processes, such as nucleation in phase transitions or aggregation and self-assembly in materials science and biology. These phenomena are fundamentally dynamic in nature. We present two minimal models one dealing with issues of complex behavior at the microscopic level and the second referring to the strong nonlinear nature of macroscopic evolution, relevant to soft-condensed matter under observation both on the ground and in microgravity conditions.These investigations open the way to a whole class of unexpected situations whose proper characterization and control can only be expected in the framework of nonequilibrium physics and complexity theory.
Locally-Adaptive and Memetic Evolutionary Pattern Search Algorithms
Authors: Hart William E. 
Published: August 2006

Abstrac Recent convergence analyses of evolutionary pattern search algorithms (EPSAs) have shown that these methods have a weak stationary point convergence theory for a broad class of unconstrained and linearly constrained problems. This paper describes how the convergence theory for EPSAs can be adapted to allow each individual in a population to have its own mutation step length (similar to the design of evolutionary programing and evolution strategies algorithms). These are called locally-adaptive EPSAs (LA-EPSAs) since each individual's mutation step length is independently adapted in different local neighborhoods. The paper also describes a variety of standard formulations of evolutionary algorithms that can be used for LA-EPSAs. Further, it is shown how this convergence theory can be applied to memetic EPSAs, which use local search to re.ne points within each iteration.
Women’s Choices Within Market Constraints: Re-Visioning Access to and Participation in the Superintendency
Authors: Mahitivanichcha Kanya , Rorrer Andrea K. 
Published: August 2006

Purpose: In this article, the authors highlight three constraints—structural time crisis (Schor, 1991) ideal worker norms (Williams, 2000), and labor and occupational queues (Reskin & Roos, 1990; Strober, 1992)—on the decisions and choices of women seeking to advance to and hold positions in the superintendency. Proposed Conceptual Argument: The authors contribute to and extend the extant body of work by integrating a conceptual framework that emerges from feminist economics theory and feminist organizational theory. The authors use this framework to analyze the current access and representation of women in the superintendency. Conclusions: What exists today is an institutionalized, systemic pattern in the market that is robust and resistant to change. However, this discussion contributes to our understanding of women’s experiences in advancing to administrative positions generally, and the superintendency particularly, and advances the way we organize administration and administrative work to be more representative of women and eliminate constraints on women’s choices.
“A Job Too Big for One”: Multiple Principals and Other Nontraditional Approaches to School Leadership
Authors: Grubb W. Norton , Flessa Joseph J. 
Published: August 2006

Background: Current federal, state, and local school accountability measures as well as policy initiatives that call for improved leadership have placed increasing demands on principals. Many districts face shortages of appropriate candidates for the job; popularly, this shortage is explained by the fact that simply too few hero-principals exist for all openings available, particularly in high-needs districts. An alternative to finding the perfect—and rare—candidate for an increasingly untenable position is to restructure the job itself.Purpose: This article examines 10 schools that have adopted alternative structures: schools with two principals, three principals, and rotating principals and a school with the principal’s duties distributed among teachers. These 10 sites provide examples of alternative ways of organizing school leadership with varying benefits and challenges.Research Methods: Data collection at the 10 schools included site visits conducted by a team of researchers, interviews with principals, teacher leaders, and district supervisors. Observational and interview protocols were adapted from the Northwestern University Distributed Leadership Study. These protocols focus on uncovering not only how school site leaders explain their decisions but also on providing evidence of what those decisions are. Interview and observational data were organized into thematic codes to permit cross-case comparison.Findings: We observed the idiosyncratic ways in which schools and districts approached the policy dilemmas associated with attempts to change the default administrative structure of principal and assistant principal. Some schools with coprincipals, for example, thrived; others struggled. Where local school sites participated actively with the policy-making process that produced these arrangements, the alternative seemed viable. Where alternatives were imposed without school input, implementation floundered. The findings analyze the origins of the reforms, school site roles, costs and benefits, the role of the district, and the long-term stability of the approach.Implications: In this article, we describe the experiences of 10 schools that have experimented with alternative arrangements for school site leadership. These experiences offer schools, districts, school boards, and researchers a series of questions to consider as they contemplate reforming the principalship itself rather than (or in addition to) preparing and searching for competent principals.
Researchers at the Gate: Factors Influencing Districts’ Right of Entry Decisions
Authors: Melnick Steven A. , Henk William A. 
Published: August 2006

Background: The No Child Left Behind legislation creates an increased need for new school-based empirical studies whose implementation will depend largely on researchers’ access to various school populations and records. Access decisions are typically made by superintendents, or their designees, functioning as gatekeepers who control right of entry. Understanding the factors driving these decisions could enhance the desirability of proposals and increase access rates for quantitative and qualitative researchers alike. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to query districts about four key access factors including (a) researcher trustworthiness, (b) associated risks, (c) costs and benefits, and (d) potential contribution to the field. Research Method: This study used a series of interviews followed by a systematic survey. Participants: Ten superintendents were interviewed followed by a survey of 310 districts in Connecticut, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Findings: Although trustworthiness was expected to supercede other factors, districts reported greater interest in elements of risk and in research having widespread educational value. Costs and material benefits (e.g., equipment, credit, and compensation) were not highly emphasized nor relatively important. Professional development, planning, and instructional benefits mattered more. Implications for Research and Practice: Given the increasing emphasis on scientifically based research for school decision-making and program reform, the present study is notable for two reasons. First, it provides researchers with insights into the decision-making process involved in granting permission to conduct research in the schools. Second, it can help to improve the quality of proposals received by school districts, thereby increasing the likelihood of positive right-of-entry decisions and resulting in better informed decisions.
Does Recruitment Message Content Normalize the Superintendency as Male?
Authors: Newton Rose Mary 
Published: August 2006

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to use a recent feminist conceptual framework (Tallerico, 2000a) to frame an investigation of whether emphasizing the major roles of the job and district size in recruitment messages for a hypothetical superintendent’s position influenced participant job attraction ratings. Research Methods: This study used a 2 × 3 × 3 analysis of variance (ANOVA) design with each cell containing equal numbers of men and women. The independent variables were gender (male, female), selected major roles associated with the superintendency (instructional leadership, managerial leadership, political leadership), and district size (1,500 students, 3,000 students, and 12,000 students). The dependent variable consisted of an additive composite score of participant responses to three items representing a measure of job attraction. Sampling Procedure and Data Collection: Seventy-six percent of the randomly selected sample of 360 public school principals in Alabama (male = 180, female = 180) completed a consent form, a demographic data form, and rated one of nine recruitment messages for a hypothetical superintendent’s position. Major Finding: ANOVA procedure using a composite rating of three items as the dependent variable revealed that the roles accounted for 14% of the variance in participant attraction for the position with both men and women rating position announcements emphasizing the instructional leadership role significantly more positively than position announcements emphasizing either the managerial leadership role or the political leadership role. Analyses of variance on the single item related to job attractiveness revealed a main effect for superintendent roles and a two-way interaction between superintendent roles and district size. The least positive ratings for both men and women were messages emphasizing the management role in districts with 3,000 students enrolled and the political role in districts with 12,000 students enrolled. Implications and Conclusion: The contents of the recruitment messages influenced participant ratings to a significant degree. From a practical standpoint, the findings encourage careful consideration of the language used in recruitment messages and support the utility of the framework to inform future studies.
Modelling facets of mania – new directions related to the notion of endophenotypes
Authors: Einat Haim 
Published: August 2006

The lack of appropriate animal models is a major limitation in research of bipolar disorder (BPD): at this time there are very few models for this devastating disease. Whereas limited attempts have been made to develop comprehensive models for BPD, the new notion of endophenotypes encourages us to explore the possibility of developing separate models for separate facets of the disorder. Since more models are available for depression, there is a dire need for models for mania that will be relatively easy and simple to induce and test and will therefore be practical for purposes of screening possible new drugs or mutant mice that are developed based on novel molecular theories. Such models may already be tentatively available as they were developed in the context of other disorders, but there is a need to validate them for mania. The present paper proposes such models for most of the facets of mania including: increased energy, activity or restlessness; extreme irritability; reduced sleep; provocative, intrusive or aggressive behaviour; increased sexual drive; abuse of drugs; distractibility, reduced ability to concentrate; and unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers resulting in poor judgement. Validating these models may demand a major research effort but it may be worthy as validated models for the different facets of mania could then be used efficiently and may be utilized to construct a standard battery of tests that can serve to explore the various components of manic-like behaviour in rodents.
Savings-led Micro-finance to Bank the Unbankables
Authors: Sarkar A.N. , Singh Jagjit 
Published: August 2006

Based on the ‘Grameen Bank Model’ evolved and developed in Bangladesh, several countries in Asia, including India, and elsewhere in the world have emulated, replicated and modified the original model of micro-finance to suit local conditions and enhance mass acceptability. In India, among various models tried and tested, the one evolved and successfully demonstrated by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and some leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs), is based on a ‘linkage programme’ linking self-help groups (SHGs) with banks and other financial institutions through the inter-mediation of NGOs. This article attempts to highlight the genesis and evolution of the micro-finance system, importance of self-help groups as central to micro-finance core activities, the distinctive role of banks (viz. commercial, private and cooperative) in credit mobilization and delivery systems and the role of NGOs intermediaries and facilitators, etc. Global experiences concerning the unique positioning perspective of micro-finance in banking the unbankables—both in the developing and underdeveloped economies in the world, with a focus on Asia, have also been highlighted to provide an insight into the potential of micro-finance in alleviating rural poverty at large and in improving employment opportunities to the non-bankables on a sustainable basis.
HIV/AIDS Treatment Legal and Political Choices for India
Authors: Menghaney Leena 
Published: August 2006

Multinational pharmaceutical companies patent essential drugs routinely in developed countries. Patents grant a monopoly to manufacture and sell a particular drug to one pharmaceutical company. Drugs are therefore very expensive in developed countries as availability and pricing is dependent on one pharmaceutical company. In contrast with the absence of product patents, Indian pharmaceutical companies manufacture and sell generic drugs at a fraction of the price of patented drugs. In developing countries therefore affordable generic drugs from India are imported and used in the treatment of diseases and illnesses which are life threatening and chronic. AIDS, cancer, mental illness, asthma, and tuberculosis are some of the diseases for which generic drugs are sourced from India. All this is now set to change. The ability of generic pharmaceutical companies in India to manufacture and sell essential drugs at affordable prices to patients and governments in developing countries including in India is at risk due to the amendments in the Indian Patent Act. The impact of the legal amendments to the India Patent Act introduced in 2005 under the TRIPS agreement are going to be felt increasingly across the developing world. In the coming decade as product patents on essential drugs are granted in India to multinational pharmaceutical companies, many of these drugs will become either unavailable or very expensive. The article highlights the importance of generic drug manufacturing in India in the context of AIDS treatment. Legal options before the government of India to limit the impact of patents on generic manufacturing of affordable medicines are discussed with an emphasis on the political nature of the decisions involved.
Toll-like receptor mRNA levels in alveolar macrophages after inhalation of endotoxin
Authors: Maris N. A. , Dessing M. C. , de Vos A. F. , Bresser P. , van der Zee J. S. , Jansen H. M. , Spek C. A. , van der Poll T. 
Published: August 2006

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern-recognition receptors that have been implicated in the initiation of innate immune responses upon the first encounter with invading pathogens. The airways are frequently exposed to various types of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from the environment or from pathogens. The current study was designed to determine the effect of LPS on TLR gene expression in human alveolar macrophagesin vivo.In total, 16 healthy subjects were enrolled in a single-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Subjects inhaled 100 μg LPS or normal saline (n = 8 per group). Measurements were performed in alveolar macrophages purified from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained 6 h post-challenge.Inhalation of LPS by healthy human volunteers resulted in enhanced alveolar macrophage expression of mRNAs encoding TLRs 1, 2, 7, 8 and CD14, and reduced expression of mRNAs encoding TLR4 and lymphocyte antigen 96.In conclusion, lipopolysaccharide differentially influences the toll-like receptor mRNA expression profile in human alveolar macrophagesin vivo.
c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent mechanisms in respiratory disease
Authors: Bennett B. L. 
Published: August 2006

Respiratory diseases pose a multifaceted dilemma. Although the symptoms and pathology are obvious and provide multiple opportunities for therapeutic investigation, at the same time, the molecular complexities and prioritisation are overwhelming.Even within a disease such as asthma, the number of inducers, cell types, secondary mediators, chemical changes, immune responses and tissue modifications is remarkable. One means of therapeutically targeting this complexity is to identify individual factors responsible for regulating multiple disease processes.The mitogen-activated protein kinase family integrates multiple diverse stimuli, and, in turn, initiates a cell response by phosphorylating and thereby modulating the activity of many target proteins. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase is a critical regulator of pro-inflammatory genes, tissue remodelling and apoptosis, and, therefore, represents an attractive target for novel therapies.Pre-clinical and clinical investigation into the efficacy of c-Jun N-terminal kinase inhibitors has been ongoing since the late 1990s. Over the course of this work, hypotheses have shifted as to the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in the many processes that promote allergic, inflammatory, obstructive and fibrotic diseases of the lung. Inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal kinase may indeed provide a means of suppressing more pathological mechanisms in respiratory disease than first suspected.
Corticosteroid treatment in sarcoidosis
Authors: Grutters J. C. , van den Bosch J. M. M. 
Published: August 2006

At present there is no curative treatment for sarcoidosis. Immunosuppressive and/or immunomodulatory drugs can, however, be used for controlling the disease.Corticosteroids remain the mainstay of therapy. They function by suppressing the pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that are involved in cell-mediated immune responses and granuloma formation. Only in a select group of patients is it justifiable to use these drugs, after careful evaluation of the pros and cons. Importantly, disease severity,e.g.threatened organ functions, and not disease activity itself should be the deciding factor in this process.In the case of parenchymal involvement, there is substantial evidence that corticosteroids can improve respiratory symptoms and chest radiography and lung function parameters over 6–24 months. Other generally acknowledged (empirical) criteria for systemic treatment include neurological, cardiac and sight-threatening ocular involvement and hypercalcaemia. Remarkably, despite >50 yrs of use, there is no proof of long-term (survival) benefit from corticosteroid treatment. In addition, there are still no data regarding the optimal dose and duration of corticosteroid or other immunosuppressive therapy.One of the weightiest questions remaining is whether or not these drugs can prevent scarring in patients with a fibrogenic phenotype. As new agents, including infliximab and thalidomide, enter the stage and new diagnostic tools are now available, there is clearly a momentum to design multicentric randomised controlled trials with long enough follow-up (>5 yrs) to answer this pivotal question.
Complete plastid genome sequence of Daucus carota: Implications for biotechnology and phylogeny of angiosperms
Authors: Ruhlman Tracey , Lee Seung-Bum , Jansen Robert K , Hostetler Jessica B , Tallon Luke J , Town Christopher D , Daniell Henry 
Published: August 2006

AbstractBackgroundCarrot (Daucus carota) is a major food crop in the US and worldwide. Its capacity for storage and its lifecycle as a biennial make it an attractive species for the introduction of foreign genes, especially for oral delivery of vaccines and other therapeutic proteins. Until recently efforts to express recombinant proteins in carrot have had limited success in terms of protein accumulation in the edible tap roots. Plastid genetic engineering offers the potential to overcome this limitation, as demonstrated by the accumulation of BADH in chromoplasts of carrot taproots to confer exceedingly high levels of salt resistance. The complete plastid genome of carrot provides essential information required for genetic engineering. Additionally, the sequence data add to the rapidly growing database of plastid genomes for assessing phylogenetic relationships among angiosperms.ResultsThe complete carrot plastid genome is 155,911 bp in length, with 115 unique genes and 21 duplicated genes within the IR. There are four ribosomal RNAs, 30 distinct tRNA genes and 18 intron-containing genes. Repeat analysis reveals 12 direct and 2 inverted repeats ≥ 30 bp with a sequence identity ≥ 90%. Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences for 61 protein-coding genes using both maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) were performed for 29 angiosperms. Phylogenies from both methods provide strong support for the monophyly of several major angiosperm clades, including monocots, eudicots, rosids, asterids, eurosids II, euasterids I, and euasterids II.ConclusionThe carrot plastid genome contains a number of dispersed direct and inverted repeats scattered throughout coding and non-coding regions. This is the first sequenced plastid genome of the family Apiaceae and only the second published genome sequence of the species-rich euasterid II clade. Both MP and ML trees provide very strong support (100% bootstrap) for the sister relationship ofDaucuswithPanaxin the euasterid II clade. These results provide the best taxon sampling of complete chloroplast genomes and the strongest support yet for the sister relationship of Caryophyllales to the asterids. The availability of the complete plastid genome sequence should facilitate improved transformation efficiency and foreign gene expression in carrot through utilization of endogenous flanking sequences and regulatory elements.