bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chromosomes, RAPDs and evolutionary trends of the Neotropical fish Mimagoniates microlepis (Teleostei: Characidae: Glandulocaudinae) from coastal and continental regions of the Atlantic forest, Southern Brazil
Authors: Torres Rodrigo A. , Motta Thalita S. , Nardino Daniele , Adam Mônica L. , Ribeiro Juliano 
Published: November 2007

AbstractChromosome and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers of samples of Mimagoniates microlepis were studied to test the hypothesis that a vicariant event occurred as the result of the orogeny of the coastal mountain range (Serra do Mar; southeastern and southern Brazil). Conventional karyotypes and nucleolar organizer region (Ag‐NOR) phenotypes of two samples of M. microlepis from the headwaters of the Iguaçu River (southern Brazil) were compared both with each other and with other local populations of the species in the coastal drainage of southeastern Brazil. Additional molecular data (RAPD markers and genetic diversity) were obtained from specimens from coastal and continental regions of southern Brazil. The same diploid number (52 chromosomes), karyotypic formula and Ag‐NOR phenotype were found for both analysed samples from the Iguaçu River. A genetic discontinuity was discovered in the comparison of the karyotypical formula of the Iguaçu samples with those from coastal drainages of the region. Polymerase chain reaction‐RAPD markers revealed strikingly different molecular profiles between coastal and continental samples and indications of a high degree of genetic variation. Based on these results, we provide some comments on the biogeographical patterns and evolutionary trends for M. microlepis from coastal and continental regions of southeastern/southern Brazil.
Wider reading at Key Stage 3: happy accidents, bootlegging and serial readers
Authors: Westbrook Jo 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThis paper reports a small‐scale study of wider reading at Key Stage 3 in current English classrooms in secondary schools in the south of England. Six English teachers, three of whom were relatively new to teaching, were interviewed on what they thought about wider reading. The findings indicate that because of a lack of time and absence of demand for such reading in the current English curriculum, the more experienced teachers felt ambivalent about encouraging and assessing wider reading. The less experienced teachers were uncertain about how to encourage it and whether to respond positively to students' preferred reading patterns, such as the serial reading of books by a particular author. In several of the schools concerned, it appeared that school librarians had taken over the role of encouraging wider reading, as the English teachers focused on the technical skills required by the National Literacy Strategy. Where teachers did initiate wider reading, this was sometimes against departmental practice, a semi‐illicit addition to their workload and could thus be seen almost as a form of ‘bootlegging’. In addition to wider educational effects, the lack of support for this practice has implications for students' future success in English at General Certificate of Secondary Education and Key Stage 5 (16–18) as both require students to read whole texts widely and confidently. The paper argues that it might be more productive to prepare students for this than to expect such reading to develop spontaneously as a ‘happy accident’.
Writing the future in the digital age
Authors: Merchant Guy 
Published: November 2007

AbstractMeaning making in new media presents new opportunities and challenges for those working in formal and informal educational contexts. How this impacts on a literacy curriculum that attempts both to deliver ‘the basics’ and to respond to new technology demands careful exploration. This paper examines what we mean by digital literacy and how it differs from traditional print literacy, identifying some key priorities for literacy educators. Drawing on the work of Gee, Kress and Lankshear and Knobel, it maps the field of digital literacy and locates areas for research and development. A discussion of the significant changes in materiality and textual form is followed by an exploration of the concept of critical digital literacy. The paper concludes with an overview of future trends in digital communication, which suggest that written representation will continue to be important and that digital literacy will continue to develop distinct registers.
Professional development for family learning programmes: a rationale and outline curriculum
Authors: Heydon Liz , Reilly Jill 
Published: November 2007

AbstractPractice in working with parents is changing and communicating with parents is increasingly a part of teachers' responsibilities. Besides focusing on supporting their children's learning, many schools now involve parents in education for themselves. Yet despite the expectation that they will work to engage parents in their children's learning, in England and Wales pre‐16 teachers receive little or no support in understanding the different pedagogical practices for working with adults. This article outlines a curriculum for professional development to support family learning programmes and describes approaches that enable both pre‐ and post‐16 teachers to gain transferable skills for working with adult groups. The main focus is on the needs of pre‐16 teachers who have to meet the challenges of working across sectors. The article highlights the need to include in professional development programmes both content and methods that are most likely to result in reflection and changes in practice.
From ‘bored’ to screen: the use of the interactive whiteboard for literacy in six primary classrooms in England
Authors: Shenton Arthur , Pagett Linda 
Published: November 2007

AbstractIn recent years, interactive white boards (IWBs) have been introduced into many primary classrooms in England. This enquiry examines the ways in which they are being used in the context of literacy teaching, in six primary classrooms in the south‐west. Drawing on the perspectives of teachers and pupils, this report reflects on the impact of IWB use on the teaching and learning of literacy. It concludes that, while IWB use appears to have some general effects, such as supporting a more cross‐curricular approach to literacy and raising the level of student engagement, their use is not identical in all classrooms. In the classrooms studied, IWBs are used in various ways, according to teachers' technical expertise and experience. To help more teachers towards effective use of the IWB, it is suggested that, rather than the ‘top‐down’ commercial or professional models of transmission training, teachers need a ‘bottom‐up’ approach, that is more practitioner focused.
Tail Index Estimation for Heavy-Tailed Models: Accommodation of Bias in Weighted Log-Excesses
Authors: Ivette Gomes M. , De Haan Laurens , Rodrigues Lígia Henriques 
Published: November 2007

SummaryWe are interested in the derivation of the distributional properties of a weighted log-excesses estimator of a positive tail index γ. One of the main objectives of such an estimator is the accommodation of the dominant component of asymptotic bias, together with the maintenance of the asymptotic variance of the maximum likelihood estimator of γ, under a strict Pareto model. We consider the external estimation not only of a second-order shape parameter ρ but also of a second-order scale parameter β. This will enable us to reduce the asymptotic variance of the final estimators under consideration, compared with second-order reduced bias estimators that are already available in the literature. The second-order reduced bias estimators that are considered are also studied for finite samples, through Monte Carlo techniques, as well as applied to real data in the field of finance.
A Two-Stage Procedure for Comparing Hazard Rate Functions
Authors: Qiu Peihua , Sheng Jun 
Published: November 2007

SummaryComparison of two hazard rates is important in applications that are related to times to occurrence of a specific event. Conventional comparison procedures, such as the log-rank, Gehan–Wilcoxon and Peto–Peto tests, are powerful only when the two hazard rates do not cross each other. Because crossing hazard rates are common in practice, several procedures have been proposed in the literature for comparing such rates. However, most of these procedures consider only the alternative hypothesis with crossing hazard rates; many other realistic cases, including those when the two hazard rates run parallel to each other, are excluded from consideration. We propose a two-stage procedure that considers all possible alternatives, including ones with crossing or running parallel hazard rates. To define its significance level and p-value properly, a new procedure for handling the crossing hazard rates problem is suggested, which has the property that its test statistic is asymptotically independent of the test statistic of the log-rank test. We show that the two-stage procedure, with the log-rank test and the suggested procedure for handling the crossing hazard rates problem used in its two stages, performs well in applications in comparing two hazard rates.
Model Selection in High Dimensions: A Quadratic-Risk-Based Approach
Authors: Ray Surajit , Lindsay Bruce G. 
Published: November 2007

SummaryWe propose a general class of risk measures which can be used for data-based evaluation of parametric models. The loss function is defined as the generalized quadratic distance between the true density and the model proposed. These distances are characterized by a simple quadratic form structure that is adaptable through the choice of a non-negative definite kernel and a bandwidth parameter. Using asymptotic results for the quadratic distances we build a quick-to-compute approximation for the risk function. Its derivation is analogous to the Akaike information criterion but, unlike the Akaike information criterion, the quadratic risk is a global comparison tool. The method does not require resampling, which is a great advantage when point estimators are expensive to compute. The method is illustrated by using the problem of selecting the number of components in a mixture model, where it is shown that, by using an appropriate kernel, the method is computationally straightforward in arbitrarily high data dimensions. In this same context it is shown that the method has some clear advantages over the Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion.
The Analysis of Randomized Response Sum Score Variables
Authors: Cruyff Maarten J. L. F. , Van Den Hout Ardo , Van Der Heijden Peter G. M. 
Published: November 2007

SummaryRandomized response (RR) is an interview technique that ensures confidentiality when questions are sensitive. In RR the answer to a sensitive question depends to a certain extent on a probability mechanism. As a result the observed data are partially misclassified, and the true status of the respondent is obscured. RR data are commonly analysed in a univariate way, with models that relate the observed responses to the prevalence of the sensitive characteristic, and with the more recent logistic regression models that relate the sensitive characteristic to a set of covariates. In an RR design with multiple sensitive questions, interest is usually not confined to the univariate prevalence and regression parameter estimates. Additional multivariate information may be obtained from an RR sum score variable, assessing the sum of sensitive characteristics that are associated with the respondent. However, the construction of an RR sum score variable is by no means straightforward, which might explain why sum scores have not yet been used within the context of RR. We present two models for RR sum score variables: the RR sum score model that relates the observed sum scores to the true sum scores and the RR proportional odds model that relates the true sum scores to covariates. The models are applied to RR data from a Dutch survey on non-compliance with social security regulations.
A New Reconstruction of Multivariate Normal Orthant Probabilities
Authors: Craig Peter 
Published: November 2007

SummaryA new method is introduced for geometrically reconstructing orthant probabilities for non-singular multivariate normal distributions. Orthant probabilities are expressed in terms of those for auto-regressive sequences and an efficient method is developed for numerical approximation of the latter. The approach allows more efficient accurate evaluation of the multivariate normal cumulative distribution function than previously, for many situations where the original distribution arises from a graphical model. An implementation is available as a package for the statistical software R and an application is given to multivariate probit models.
A quantitative analysis of the Eutherian orbit: correlations with masticatory apparatus
Authors: Cox Philip G. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThe mammalian orbit, or eye‐socket, is a highly plastic region of the skull. It comprises between seven and nine bones, all of which vary widely in their contribution to this region among the different mammalian orders and families. It is hypothesised that the structure of the mammalian orbit is principally influenced by the forces generated by the jaw‐closing musculature. In order to quantify the orbit, fourteen linear, angular and area measurements were taken from 84 species of placental mammals using a Microscribe‐3D digitiser. The results were then analysed using principal components analysis. The results of the multivariate analysis on untransformed data showed a clear division of the mammalian taxa into temporalis‐dominant forms and masseter‐dominant forms. This correlation between orbital structure and masticatory musculature was reinforced by results from the size‐corrected data, which showed a separation of the taxa into the three specialised feeding types proposed byTurnbull (1970): i.e. ‘carnivore‐shear’, ‘ungulate‐grinding’ and ‘rodent‐gnawing’. Moreover, within the rodents there was a clear distinction between species in which the masseter is highly developed and those in which the temporalis has more prominence. These results were reinforced by analysis of variance which showed significant differences in the relative orbital areas of certain bones between temporalis‐dominant and masseter‐dominant taxa. Subsequent cluster analysis suggested that most of the variables could be grouped into three assemblages: those associated with the length of the rostrum; those associated with the width of the skull; and those associated with the relative size of the orbit and the shape of the face. However, the relative area of the palatine bone showed weak correlations with the other variables and did not fit into any group. Overall the relative area of the palatine was most closely correlated with feeding type, and this measure that appeared to be most strongly associated with the arrangement of the masticatory musculature. These results give a strong indication that, although orbital structure is in part determined by the relative size and orientation of the orbits, the forces generated by the muscles of mastication also have a large effect.
Development of an intestinal cell culture model to obtain smooth muscle cells and myenteric neurones
Authors: Batista Lobo S. , Denyer M. , Britland S. , Javid F. A. 
Published: November 2007

AbstractThis paper reports on the development of an entirely new intestinal smooth muscle cell (ISMC) culture model using rat neonates for use in pharmacological research applications. Segments of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were obtained from Sprague‐Dawley rat neonates. The cell extraction technique consisted of ligating both ends of the intestine and incubating (37 ºC) in 0.25% trypsin for periods of 30–90 min. Isolated cells were suspended in DMEM‐HEPES, plated and allowed to proliferate for 7 days. Cell culture quality was assessed via a series of viability tests using the dye exclusion assay. In separate experiments, tissues were exposed to trypsin for varying durations and subsequently histological procedures were applied. Cell purification techniques included differential adhesion technique for minimizing fibroblasts. Selective treatments with neurotoxin scorpion venom (30 µg mL−1) and anti‐mitotic cytosine arabinoside (6 µm) were also applied to purify respectively ISMC and myenteric neurones selectively. The different cell populations were identified in regard to morphology and growth characteristics via immunocytochemistry using antibodies to smooth muscle α‐actin, α‐actinin and serotonin‐5HT3 receptors. Based on both viability and cell confluence experiments, results demonstrated that intestinal cells were best obtained from segments of the ileum dissociated in trypsin for 30 min. This provided the optimum parameters to yield highly viable cells and confluent cultures. The finding was further supported by histological studies demonstrating that an optimum incubation time of 30 min is required to isolate viable cells from the muscularis externae layer. When cell cultures were treated with cytosine arabinoside, the non‐neuronal cells were abolished, resulting in the proliferation of cell bodies and extended neurites. Conversely, cultures treated with scorpion venom resulted in complete abolition of neurones and proliferation of increasing numbers of ISMC, which were spindle‐shaped and uniform throughout the culture. When characterized by immunocytochemistry, neurones were stained with antibody to 5HT3 receptors but not with antibodies to α‐smooth muscle actin and α‐actinin. Conversely, ISMC were stained with antibodies to α‐smooth muscle actin and α‐actinin but not with antibody to 5HT3 receptors. The present study provides evidence that our method of dissociation and selectively purifying different cell populations will allow for pharmacological investigation of each cell type on different or defined mixtures of different cell types.
Distribution of TRPV1‐ and TRPV2‐immunoreactive afferent nerve endings in rat trachea
Authors: Yamamoto Yoshio , Sato Yoshikazu , Taniguchi Kazuyuki 
Published: November 2007

AbstractNociception in the trachea is important for respiratory modulation. We investigated the distribution, neurochemical characteristics, and origin of nerve endings with immunoreactivity for candidate sensor channels, TRPV1 and TRPV2, in rat trachea. In the epithelial layer, the intraepithelial nerve endings and dense subepithelial network of nerve fibers were immunoreactive for TRPV1. In contrast, TRPV2 immunoreactivity was observed mainly in nerve fibers of the tracheal submucosal layer and in several intrinsic ganglion cells in the peritracheal plexus. Double immunostaining revealed that some TRPV1‐immunoreactive nerve fibers were also immunoreactive for substance P or calcitonin gene‐related peptide, but neither neuropeptide colocalized with TRPV2. Injection of the retrograde tracer, fast blue, into the tracheal wall near the thoracic inlet demonstrated labeled neurons in the jugular, nodose, and dorsal root ganglia at segmental levels of C2–C8. In the jugular and nodose ganglia, 59.3% (70/118) and 10.7% (17/159), respectively, of fast blue‐labeled neurons were immunoreactive for TRPV1, compared to 8.8% (8/91) and 2.6% (5/191) for TRPV2‐immunoreactive. Our results indicate that TRPV1‐immunoreactive nerve endings are important for tracheal nociception, and the different expression patterns of TRPV1 and TRPV2 with neuropeptides may reflect different subpopulations of sensory neurons.
Predictive validity of DSM‐IV and ICD‐10 criteria for ADHD and hyperkinetic disorder
Authors: Lee Soyoung I. , Schachar Russell J. , Chen Shirley X. , Ornstein Tisha J. , Charach Alice , Barr Cathy , Ickowicz Abel 
Published: November 2007

Background:  The goal of this study was to compare the predictive validity of the two main diagnostic schemata for childhood hyperactivity – attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual– IV) and hyperkinetic disorder (HKD; International Classification of Diseases– 10th Edition).Methods:  Diagnostic criteria for ADHD and HKD were used to classify 419 children ages 6 to 16 years referred to a clinic for behavioral problems into one of four groups: HKD, ADHD combined subtype (ADHD‐C), ADHD hyperactive‐impulsive subtype (ADHD‐HI), ADHD inattentive subtype (ADHD‐IA). These groups were compared on clinical characteristics including total symptom severity, overall impairment, exposure to psychosocial and neuro‐developmental risks, family history of ADHD in first‐degree family members, rate and type of comorbidity, intelligence, academic achievement, and on laboratory tests of motor response inhibition and working memory with each other and with normal controls (47).Results:  Of the 419 cases, there were 46 HKD (11.0%), 200 ADHD‐C (47.7%), 60 ADHD‐HI (14.3%) and 113 ADHD‐IA (27.0%) cases. The HKD group had more symptoms and was more impaired on teachers’ ratings than were the other groups. The ADHD‐C and HKD groups had poorer inhibitory control than the ADHD‐IA, ADHD‐HI and control groups, and all four clinic groups showed inhibition deficit compared to controls. Groups did not differ in working memory. Compared to controls, the HKD, ADHD‐C, ADHD‐HI and ADHD‐IA groups had higher familial risk of ADHD, greater psychosocial risk exposure, lower intellectual level and poorer academic attainment. However, we observed no differences among the clinic groups in these characteristics.Conclusions:  Like earlier versions, ICD‐10 and DSM‐IV continue to delineate diagnostic entities with substantially different prevalence in clinic samples. However, HKD, ADHD‐C, ADHD‐IA and ADHD‐HI groups overlap substantially in terms of important clinical characteristics, although HKD and ADHD‐C may be somewhat more severe variants of the condition than ADHD‐IA and ADHD‐HI.
Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder in delinquent female adolescents
Authors: Ariga Michio , Uehara Toru , Takeuchi Kazuo , Ishige Yoko , Nakano Reiko , Mikuni Masahiko 
Published: November 2007

Background:  Although juveniles within the justice system have high psychiatric morbidity, few comprehensive investigations have shown posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in female delinquents. Here, we aim to describe the nature and extent of PTSD and trauma exposure and to clarify the relationships among comorbidity and psychosocial factors in juvenile female offenders.Method:  Sixty‐four girls were randomly interviewed using structured tools. Self‐report measures were used to assess depression, eating behaviour, impulsivity and parental attitude.Results:  The PTSD prevalence was 33%, and 77% of the female juvenile offenders had been exposed to trauma. The offenders with PTSD showed a significantly high psychiatric comorbidity. Depression and adverse parenting were associated with PTSD development, and abnormal eating was also correlated with PTSD symptoms. Marked differences in the frequency and intensity of PTSD evaluation depending on the type of comorbidity and trauma were observed.Conclusions:  Incarcerated young females in Japan have serious trauma‐related problems, and the degree of depression is a strong predictor of PTSD development and symptoms. This study highlights the importance of adequate diagnosis and treatment of PTSD in delinquent female adolescents.