bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
First‐trimester ultrasound examination and the outcome of monochorionic twin pregnancies
Authors: El Kateb A. , Nasr B. , Nassar M. , Bernard J. P. , Ville Y. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjectiveTo refine the incidence of abnormal first‐trimester ultrasound measurements and their correlation with the outcome of monochorionic diamniotic pregnancies.MethodsFirst‐trimester crown–rump length (CRL) and nuchal translucency thickness (NT) measurements were studied in three subgroups of a total of 200 monochorionic twin gestations referred to our center between June 2002 and February 2006. Intertwin CRL discordance was defined as > 10% and the 95th percentile of NT thickness for gestational age was used.The first group of 103 consecutive unselected monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies was prospectively followed up from 11–14 weeks onwards, throughout the pregnancy. The second group of 136 nonconsecutive monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies including 64 that developed TTTS was studied retrospectively. The third group of 100 consecutive cases of TTTS studied retrospectively for the correlation between first trimester measurements and staging and timing of occurrence of TTTS.ResultsIn group 1, the incidence of TTTS was 5 in 103 (5%, 95CI [0.7–9]). Large intertwin CRL discordance and increased NT were correlated with perinatal death. In group 2, no significant association was found between first‐trimester parameters and the development of TTTS but discordance in early second trimester biometry and Doppler were. In group three, a positive correlation was found between the intertwin discordance in CRL and early occurrence of TTTS before 20 weeks of gestation (p = 0.02).ConclusionMonochorionic twin gestations who ultimately develop TTTS may exhibit intertwin difference in growth as early as 11–14 weeks of gestation. The earlier the discordance the earlier the development of the disease. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Iodine‐Promoted Synthesis of Structurally Ordered AlPd5
Authors: Wannek C. , Harbrecht B. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe boundary conditions and scope of catalytically stimulated synthesis of ordered intermetallics from solid metals are elucidated. The method is applied to the preparation of AlPd5. Its crystal structure has been determined by means of x‐ray powder diffractometry. AlPd5 forms a structurally unmatched ordered variant of the cubic close‐packing of spheres. Above 900 K AlPd5 is merged in the fcc boundary solid solution AlxPd1−x by a first order phase transition. The particular arrangement of the minority component Al and the associated structural distortions are analysed with regard to chemical bonding against the background of the enthalpy‐driven disorder‐order transition.
Short hairpin ribonucleic acid targeting the telomerase catalytic unit of messenger ribonucleic acid significantly limits the growth of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice
Authors: Zhou Xu-Hong , Chen Shi-Ming , Liu Dan , Wang Yan , Xiao Bo-Kui , Tao Ze-Zhang 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjective:Telomerase is an attractive molecular target because it is active in most malignant cells but undetectable in most normal somatic cells. Small, interfering ribonucleic acid segments have been shown to be effective tools for inhibiting the expression of a given gene within human cells. In the present study, we examined the effects of short hairpin ribonucleic acid expression vectors on the growth of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice, and we assessed potential side effects in these animals.Methods:Short hairpin ribonucleic acid expression vectors targeting the messenger ribonucleic acid of the telomerase catalytic unit were constructed and transfected into Hep-2 human laryngeal squamous cells carcinoma in nude mice. Apoptosis and telomerase catalytic unit expression within tumour cells were evaluated after treating with short hairpin ribonucleic acid. Peripheral blood was collected for haematological and biochemical analysis.Results:The findings demonstrated that short hairpin ribonucleic acid plasmids could inhibit tumour cell growth by 76.5 per cent, and that many tumour cells underwent necrotic or apoptotic cell death. There were no significant side effects of short hairpin ribonucleic acid on the heart, liver, kidney, spleen or blood system in this experimental model.Conclusion:These results indicated that the short hairpin ribonucleic acid expression vector targeted at the telomerase catalytic unit of messenger ribonucleic acid significantly inhibited the growth of laryngeal carcinoma in nude mice, with no significant side effects on the experimental animals.
The lipoxygenase inhibitor, baicalein, modulates cell adhesion and migration by up‐regulation of integrins and vinculin in rat heart endothelial cells
Authors: Hsieh Y‐C S , Hsieh S‐J , Chang Y‐S , Hsueh C‐M , Hsu S‐L 
Published: June 2007

Background and purpose:Endothelial cell proliferation, migration and adhesion are necessary for the formation of new blood vessels. We reported previously that baicalein strongly inhibited proliferation of rat heart endothelial cells and here we assess effects on migration and adhesion of these cells.Experimental approach:Effects of baicalein on endothelial migration and adhesion were determined by in vitro wound assays and in modified Boyden chambers. Protein expression and subcellular distribution in rat heart endothelial cells were analysed by immunoblots and immunofluorescence staining.Results:Pretreatment with baicalein for 48 h resulted in a concentration‐dependent inhibition of endothelial migration, with an IC50 of approximately 20 μM. Adhesion assays revealed that baicalein stimulated endothelial cell adhesion to fibronectin and vitronectin, effects blocked by the synthetic peptide Arg‐Gly‐Asp (RGD). Moreover, treatment with a blocking antibody against integrin α5β1 drastically attenuated baicalein‐mediated endothelial adhesion to fibronectin, but not to vitronectin. Furthermore, baicalein‐mediated anti‐migration effect and adhesion promotion could be partially reversed by the addition of 12(S)‐hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12(S)‐HETE). Western blot analysis indicated that baicalein increased expression levels of integrin‐α5β1, ‐αvβ3 and vinculin proteins. Immunofluorescence staining showed that baicalein induced a marked reorganization of actin stress fibres and the recruitment of vinculin and integrins to focal adhesion plaques, with consequently increased formation of focal adhesion contacts.Conclusions and implications:Baicalein markedly inhibited the migration and enhanced the adhesion of rat heart endothelial cells, possibly by up‐regulation of the integrins (α5β1 and αvβ3) and vinculin and by promotion of actin reorganization and focal adhesion contact formation.British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 151, 1235–1245; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707345
Major Depression and its Associated Morbidity and Quality of Life in a Random, Representative Australian Community Sample
Authors: Goldney Robert D. , Fisher Laura J. , Wilson David H. , Cheok Frida 
Published: June 2007

Objective: The objective of this study is to describe health services utilisation and morbidity, including health-related quality of life, in those with major depression in a random and representative sample of the population. Method: Data were gathered in a Health Omnibus Survey of the South Australian population. Major depression was delineated on the basis of responses to the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders. Information about use of health services and absence from usual functioning was collated, and two measures of health-related quality of life, the Short-form Health Status Questionnaire and the Assessment of Quality of Life were also administered. Results of those with major depression were compared with those who had other depressive syndromes and those who had no depression. Results: Those with major depression reported significantly greater use of all health services and poorer functioning in terms of carrying out their normal duties. Similarly, their health-related quality of life was significantly poorer than those with other depressive syndromes, which in turn was significantly poorer than those who were not depressed. Only one-fifth of those with major depression were currently taking antidepressants. Conclusions: These results are consistent with international studies. In addition to the potential for alleviating the depressive symptomatology of individuals, it is evident that even a modest improvement in functioning with appropriate treatment would have the potential to benefit the Australian community by one billion dollars a year.
Subject Preferences, Sex Differences and Comparability of Standards
Authors: Newbould Charles A. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper reports research into the relationship between the apparent variety of standards applied to different GCE Ordindary level subjects and school‐children's avowed preferences for subjects. The ordering of subjects by grades awarded agrees closely with those derived in similar research in England and elsewhere and is shown to be comparatively stable across time. This ranking is also shown to agree closely with expressed preferences of subjects by 14‐year‐olds, and reasonably closely with those of 16‐year‐olds.
Full‐time Mature Students in Higher Education: a survey of their characteristics, experiences and expectations
Authors: Phillips C. J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA questionnaire was sent to full‐time mature students studying within higher education so as to identify their characteristics and examine their expectations and experiences. The results showed that sixty‐five per cent of respondents entered higher education for career purposes, although the percentage was lower for females and declined with age. All mature students anticipated encountering more problems adapting to higher education and of an academic nature prior to their studies than were actually experienced whilst females anticipated more problems than males but actually experienced fewer. Further all students received greater benefits than they had anticipated and this was especially true of females. Only seven per cent of respondents indicated that successful completion of their course of study would not lead to employment whilst only fifteen per cent stated that they would definitely not return to undertake further qualifications should they not find employment.
Hearing Beginning Readers Read: problems of relating practice to theory in interpretation and evaluation
Authors: Francis Hazel 
Published: June 2007

AbstractResearch reports of the involvement of parents in hearing children read show equivocal results in terms of improvement in reading scores or progress through school books. Analysing the practices of both parents and teachers as reported in the literature this paper demonstrates that the phenomenon is not a simple, fixed treatment meriting assessment on limited dependent variables. It shows that in current evaluations there is insufficient analysis of the social and intentional nature of the practice, and of associated educational and theoretical rationales, to do justice to possible effects and to help interpret various findings.
A Longitudinal Study of Religious‐moral Values in Late Adolescence
Authors: Sutherland Peter 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe same cohort of B.Ed, students were studied during their four years at college by means of value priority and Likert attitude scales and interviews. Personal activities were increasingly more highly rated than religious or moral; only ‘core’ religious activities resisted this trend. Mean religious attitudes were negative only in Year 3. However mean moral attitudes became increasingly more negative in Years 3 and 4 than in previous years. Interview data pointed to the fifth and sixth forms as being more crucial than the college years for value formation, with the peer group as the key influence.
Basic Skills and Macro‐ and Micro‐analysis of Mathematics Achievement of Grade Ten Students as a Function of Gender and Locale
Authors: Randhawa Bikkar S. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractA large and representative 10% sample of classrooms consisting of 1587 students from a mid‐western province in Canada was administered a standardised achievement test battery. This battery consists of four tests, reading, mathematics, written expression, and using sources of information. Gender and rural‐urban differences in achievement and macro‐ and micro‐skills in mathematics were examined. Females, as expected, were superior to males in all except the mathematics test, in which males were better than females. Though Manova results suggested rural‐urban differences in achievement, the corresponding Anovas for the four tests confirmed the null hypothesis.An analysis of the mathematics items when grouped into three mental‐process or macro‐skill categories showed that males were better than females on only the problem solving component. However, males and females from rural classrooms were similar on computation but in the urban classrooms males were better than females. Students from rural classrooms achieved better on concepts than those from urban classrooms. Similarly, an analysis of eight math components, comprising content‐specific mental processes, produced sex differences on three components and locale differences on two. These findings are interpreted in relation to contemporary theory and research.
How do the A‐level Science Grades of Integrated Science Pupils Compare with those of Pupils who take All Three Separate Sciences?
Authors: Skinner R. R. , Fairbrother R. W. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe A‐level science grades of pupils who took the Schools Council Integrated Science Project (SCISP) examination at O‐level are compared with those of pupils who took three separate sciences at O‐level. The main result indicates that only in A‐level chemistry is there any significant differences with the non‐SCISP pupils doing slightly better.However, performance in a subject at A‐level is influenced by more than just the subjects taken at O‐level, and there are strong indications that the right subject combination at A‐level is equally important.
School Climate and the Psychological State of the Individual Teacher as Factors Affecting the Utilisation of Educational Ideas Following an Inservice Course
Authors: Evans Marilyn , Hopkins David 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn the research dealing with innovation, little attention has been given to the social and psychological characteristics of the receiving system and their effect on the process of utilisation. With the factors of school climate and the psychological state of the individual teacher in mind a local authority's inservice aesthetics course was selected as the focus of an investigation of the use made of the ideas introduced by the participating teachers in their schools. The study investigated three main areas: school climate; the psychological state of the individual teachers; and levels of use regarding the individual teacher's utilisation of educational ideas. The results imply that variance in curriculum utilisation can be accounted for by the prevailing school climate and the nature of the individual teacher. It was found that teachers operating in a more open democratic school climate, and at a higher psychological level, utilised the greatest number of educational ideas.
The Effects of Pupil Self‐recording of On‐task Behaviour on Primary School Children
Authors: Wheldall Kevin , Panagopoulou‐Stamatelatou Anthi 
Published: June 2007

AbstractTwo studies are reported on the effects of pupil self‐recording of on‐task behaviour in primary school classes. In the first (pilot) study an ABA design was employed with a third year junior class in self‐recording their on‐task behaviour. In the second study, a multiple baseline design was employed with second, third and fourth year junior classes. In both studies there was clear evidence for the effectiveness of self‐recording in improving on‐task behaviour levels. In the second study positive effects of self‐recording on primary pupils' academic productivity were also demonstrated.
Evaluating Self Reports of Action Research in Changing Educational Institutions: a response to Hugh Busher
Authors: Williams Ralph 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1989 Hugh Busher relates his experience as a low status member of a department successfully operating as a change agent/catalyst in launching a journal. The account gives a rare opportunity for such a piece of research to be tested against the perceptions of participants other than the researcher. The following paper examines Busher's account in the light of these perceptions. Questions are raised about his descriptions of the structure and politics of the department and his analysis of the process of the launch of the journal. A main point of the paper is to raise questions about how the validity of such personal accounts can be assessed by the research community or by those seeking practical guidance for action in educational institutions.
National Curriculum Assessment: a research agenda*
Authors: Gipps Caroline V. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe National Curriculum development programme has been a major area for research and development funding over the last 3 years. This paper argues that much of the money has been wasted and little has been learnt from the exercise. The paper outlines an agenda for research around the National Curriculum and its assessment focusing on the areas of criterion‐referenced assessment, performance assessment, organisation and pedagogy, learning hierarchies, the use of results and equal opportunities. It urges researchers to reverse the neglect of fundamental research.
Teacher Receptivity to System‐wide Change in the Implementation Stage
Authors: Waugh Russell , Godfrey John 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis study is concerned with the receptivity of Western Australian secondary school teachers towards a system‐wide educational change, the Unit Curriculum system. In any system‐wide educational change that involves the classroom, teachers' receptivity towards the change is an important determinant of its successful implementation. It is important for educational decision‐makers to know what variables affect receptivity so that new proposals can be tailored to achieve the best chance of successful implementation. It is proposed that there are fundamental variables common to all system‐wide changes and these are included in a model of receptivity developed from previous research. This paper reports the results of an empirical study using data from 480 teachers where 56% of the variance in attitudes towards the Unit Curriculum system is predicted from four fundamental variables, when they are adapted to apply to the Unit Curriculum. These variables are non‐monetary cost benefit to the teachers, perceived participation in the change decisions relating to the school and the classroom, perceived support for the change from principals and senior teachers, and feelings towards the previous educational system.
Teaching the Language of Learning: towards a metacognitive approach to pupil empowerment
Authors: Quicke John , Winter Christine 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis is an exploratory study of a metacognitive approach to teaching low achieving pupils in a first year (Year 8) class in a secondary school. In working with a small group both inside and outside the classroom the research team hoped to illuminate the process whereby the social framework for a genuine dialogue about learning processes was established. The method involved the development and evaluation of an aide‐memoire of learning strategies which was used as a starting point for building a vocabulary of learning and highlighting elements of a learning discourse. All the pupils showed that they were able to focus on learning as a topic of conversation and to participate in a ‘good quality’ reflective discussion about their own and their peers' learning.
Five Easy Pieces: the deconstruction of illuminatory data in research writing
Authors: Sanger J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractRecently, the author completed a paper which examined possible creative strategies in the overall activity of data analysis, some of which were suggested by readings in post‐structuralism (1994, British Educational Research Journal,20, pp. 175–185). The present paper focuses on the nature of support material in writing about and reporting qualitative research. The application of techniques of deconstruction to the use of such material are employed to see whether this might produce a useful discourse. To achieve this end, alternative or contradictory interpretations are elicited from the data used by researchers in Journal articles to illustrate their propositions. It is suggested that the examples researchers employ to illustrate the logic within their articles often undermine their basic propositions, owing to their ambiguous nature. The assumption underlying this paper is that by freeing ourselves from trying to achieve unitary and plausible accounts of social interactions, we may thus prevent certain underlying conservative forces from prejudicing the interpretations we made in our research writing.
Helping Children Manage Stress
Authors: Robson Maggie , Cook Peter , Gilliland Jack 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis article describes some of the interventions that are offered to enhance coping and stress management in children and adolescents. It is intended as a sample of interventions, rather than a complete range. It is argued that the model of stress upon which the intervention is based dictates the intervention. The article focuses upon the models of the stress process that underpin some of these interventions and assesses their usefulness in establishing a rationale for intervention. The implications are discussed of the acceptance of an extended Lazarus/Folkman model for interventions in schools.
Prospective Mentors' Views on Partnership in Secondary Teacher Training
Authors: Saunders Sam , Pettinger Kate , Tomlinson Peter 
Published: June 2007

AbstractIn the context of a wholesale shift to a school‐based partnership arrangement for the initial training of teachers in the UK, 32 prospective teacher mentors were interviewed using the technique of hierarchical focusing. Twenty‐nine taped transcripts were codified and analysed to reveal aspects of espoused theory in relation to school teacher involvement in the professional training of student teachers. Four general themes are identified from qualitative analysis: enthusiasm for the change; an assumption of learning by immersion in schools; a concern with the constraint of time; and a tendency to general rather than specific thinking. Cluster analysis of 29 transcript profiles on 27 categories of mentoring functions suggested a loose typology of four potential orientations: the hands‐off facilitator, the progressively collaborative mentor, the professional friend and the classical mentor. Respondents' recognition of these orientations in their own thinking and implications for further research and training applications are discussed.