bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Can electronic textbooks help children to learn?
Authors: Maynard Sally , Cheyne Emily 
Published: March 2005

PurposeThis paper investigates the potential electronic textbooks (e‐textbooks) have to augment the learning and education of children.Design/methodology/approachThe study consisted of a total of 60 pupils, split into five groups of 12 participants (six boys and six girls). Each of the five groups were in turn split into two sub‐groups of six (three boys and three girls): one sub‐group used the printed textbook, while the other used a CD‐ROM on a laptop computer. The pupils completed a group test and an individual multiple choice test on information found in the textbooks.FindingsThe study showed that the e‐textbook was widely accepted by the participants, and motivated group participation. Those using the e‐textbook achieved significantly higher test results on average in the group test. Higher (but not significant) average results were achieved by e‐textbook users in the individual test.Research limitations/implicationsAn acknowledged limitation of the study is that the textbooks used for the study were not identical in content. They were equivalent according to subject and recommended age range, but did not contain specifically the same information. Further studies would benefit from making use of an electronic version which is identical, or more similar, to a printed textbook. It would also be worthwhile to investigate the effects of long‐term use once the novelty value of the electronic book has subsided.Originality/valueThe paper aims to fill the gap in the original literature on the subject of how children relate to and learn from electronic textbooks. The research is of particular interest to teachers, librarians and parents.
The UNLV Libraries: four years after the construction of a new main library
Authors: Eden Brad 
Published: March 2005

PurposeTo provide an introduction to a two‐volume special issue on Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas that focuses on major changes, new services, and technology issues four years after the opening of the new main library.Design/methodology/approachA total of 18 articles are featured, including a graphical time line of events, post‐construction thoughts, web site redesign, organizational change, the automated storage and retrieval system (LASR), and a virtual branch library, among other topics. Nine articles each will be published in Vol. 23, No. 1 and Vol. 23, No. 3 (2005). Readers should also access articles written three years previously in Vol. 20, No. 1 (2002) of Library Hi Tech titled “The New Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas: focus on the planning and implementation of technology and change”.FindingsTechnology and change in the construction of a new main library can assist and guide others contemplating similar library construction, reorganization projects, and technology and digital implementations.Originality/valueAn introduction to the two‐part special issue.
Are American corporate directors still ignoring the signals?
Authors: Fram Eugene H. , Zoffer H.J. 
Published: March 2005

PurposeThis research study focuses on two critical questions. First, to what extent are US corporate directors now taking independent steps to protect stakeholders from future corporate débâcles, such as Enron and Tyco? Second, how have these débâcles personally impacted US corporate directors in other companies?Design/methodology/approachA total of 114 corporate business directors replied to a mail questionnaire.FindingsRespondents reported that: the number of board‐initiated voluntary changes being considered is very modest; managements are not doing a good job communicating changes in internal control procedures to boards; the recent corporate débâcles caused only about 9 percent of director respondents to become uneasy about their directorships; greater “due diligence” is needed currently before accepting a board position (it is still an “honor” to be asked to join a board); some senior managers are not being realistic about the significant time commitment needed to be a director in the twenty‐first century.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the modest sample size, the very broad range of the firms’ sales data suggests that the sample may be somewhat representative of US business boards. Other studies have been based similar size samples.Originality/valueRecent changes in corporate governance have been less rigorous than reported, despite many press reports concluding that corporate America is in a period of accelerating change. Outside directors seem to be unwilling to confront management on critical issues. Consequently, US directors need to be more proactive in making changes, or stakeholders can look forward to continuing débâcless like Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom.
Control of fledging age in Leach's Storm‐Petrel, Oceanodroma leucorhoa: chick development and prefledging mass loss
Authors: MAUCK R. A. , RICKLEFS R. E. 
Published: March 2005

Summary

Leach's Storm‐Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) chicks accumulate fat through most of the nestling period, near the end of which they typically weigh 50–100% more than their parents. Much of this excess mass is lost abruptly prior to leaving the nest and fledging itself marks the termination of parental care.
In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that the onset of the prefledging mass loss period coincides with the end of the development period and the completion of structural growth.
We characterized the pattern of prefledging mass loss and the timing of fledging with respect to a point (T), based on wing growth, at which structural development stops. Variation in T suggested that development rate is partially influenced by parental food provisioning, particularly early in the nestling period (age 16–20 days) just prior to the onset of rapid primary feather growth.
The timing of mass loss and fledging in relation to T suggested that prefledging mass loss begins upon completion of wing growth and that fledging occurs after chicks have reached a mass compatible with sustained flight. Thus, the time to fledging is positively correlated with nestling mass at the end of the development period.
The prefledging period of mass loss is a unique phase of anorexia placed between parental feeding and self‐feeding in the life of the young petrel.
Quantifying spatial classification uncertainties of the historical Wisconsin landscape (USA)
Authors: Bolliger Janine , Mladenoff David J. 
Published: March 2005

Landscape feature can be classified by creating categories based on aggregation of spatially explicit information. However, many landscape features appear continuous rather than discrete. The aggregation process likely involves loss of information and introduces a variety of uncertainties whose degree and extent may differ spatially. Since landscape classifications have found wide application in e.g. natural resource policies or ecological research, assessments of spatial classification uncertainties are required.We present a quantitative framework to identify the degree of landscape continuity (fuzziness) and structure (categorization) based on fuzzy classification and offer measures to quantify uncertainties originating from aggregating features into categories. Fuzzy classification is a non‐hierarchical, quantitative method of assessing class definitions using degrees of association between features and class. This results in classes which are well defined and compositionally distinct, as well as classes which are less clearly defined but which, to various degrees, share characteristics with some or all classes. The spatial variation in the degree of class definition on the landscape is used to assess classification uncertainties. The two aspects of uncertainty investigated are the degree of association of a feature with the overall class definitions (membership diffusion), and the class‐specific degree of association of each pixel on the landscape with each class (membership saturation).Three classification scenarios, one fuzzy and one discrete, of the historical landscape of Wisconsin (USA) were compared for spatial classification uncertainties. Membership diffusion is highest in topographically heterogeneous environments, or areas characterized by many species occupying similar ecological niches. Classification uncertainties for individual classes show that differentiated species distributions can be identified, not only distribution centers.
SARS: coping with the impact at a community hospital
Authors: Tolomiczenko George S. , Kahan Meldon , Ricci Maria , Strathern Lynne , Jeney Christa , Patterson Karen , Wilson Lynn 
Published: March 2005

Aim.  This paper presents the findings of a staff survey conducted at a 350‐bed acute care facility located on the periphery of Toronto, Canada.Background.  Toronto's severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis resulted in trauma‐like effects at hospitals hardest hit by the disease. A systematic examination of the impact on staff working in hospitals that saw relatively few cases, while maintaining the precautions associated with elevated alert levels, has not been undertaken.Methods.  A questionnaire was distributed for 1 month commencing 17 April 2003 and 300 completed responses were obtained (approximately one in six staff members). The data collected included demographic and occupational information, in addition to perceptions of SARS’ impact on patient care, factors contributing to adverse impacts on patient care, working conditions, decision‐making, communication and relations, sources of support, and the impact on workers’ lives outside work. Items for these sections were developed by a multi‐disciplinary team of health care workers and hospital administrators.Results.  In the absence of pre‐SARS normative data for the survey, demographic and occupational variables were used to look for patterns of differences between relevant subgroups of respondents. Statistically significant differences were found for gender (73·9% women), nurses (24·7%) vs. others, doctors (20·3%) vs. others, older (40 years or older, 60·0%) vs. younger persons, emergency or intensive care unit workers (8·0%) vs. others, and those employed fewer years at the hospital (less than 5 years: 46·2%) vs. five or more years. These differences varied across the following domains: factors adversely affecting patients, communications, support, working conditions, decision‐making and, to a lesser extent, impact on life outside work. While all groups found SARS stressful, nurses reported a greater impact on morale and job satisfaction. Nurses relied more on peer support than doctors, felt less informed and less involved in decision‐making than doctors felt, and were more likely to report that infection control procedures were not strict enough.Conclusions.  The between‐group differences and the pattern of these differences clearly illustrate the polarizing and stressful impact SARS had at a hospital with only a small number of probable or suspect cases. The clear differences between groups defined by demographics, professions and clinical roles suggest a subtle and pervasive secondary impact of the SARS outbreak, with repercussions health care facilities must contend with while maintaining increased levels of vigilance in the wake of SARS.
Advancing the clinical perspective: a practice development project to develop the nurse practitioner role in an acute hospital trust
Authors: Walsgrove Hilary , Fulbrook Paul 
Published: March 2005

Aims.  The aims of this project were to investigate awareness and foster understanding of the concept of the nurse practitioner and to facilitate and support the development of nurse practitioner roles within an acute hospital trust.Background.  A limited understanding of and minimal support for the development of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) role were identified within an acute hospital trust in the south of England. This was the impetus for pursuing the project outlined in this paper.Theoretical perspective.  The project used practice development theory synonymously with action research methodology comprising of four action research cycles.Method.  Data were collected in a variety of ways within the four overlapping cycles using formal and informal methods, which were analysed concurrently during the project. Techniques included questionnaires, semi‐structured interviews, meetings, discussions and the project leader's field notes’ diary.Outcomes.  A better understanding of the concept and support for NP posts were enhanced across the trust. A Nurse Practitioner Development Group (NPDG) was established, which helped to facilitate the development of NP posts. An example of such a post was established within a NP‐led gynaecology pre‐operative assessment clinic, which was a pilot project and constituted Action Research cycle 3.Conclusion.  It is concluded that the development of NP roles, with the support of a NPDG, within an agreed strategy offers a robust process for NP development within an acute hospital setting.Relevance to clinical practice.  This project demonstrated how practice development and action research might be used together as a systematic process for developing and supporting professional roles that aim to improve the quality of patient care and the effectiveness of health care services.
Why Has the UK Corporation Tax Raised So Much Revenue?
Authors: DEVEREUX MICHAEL P. , GRIFFITH RACHEL , KLEMM ALEXANDER 
Published: March 2005

AbstractWe analyse a puzzle in the UK corporation tax: by both historic and international standards, corporation tax revenues have been high while the statutory rate has been reduced. We consider explanations based on changes in the tax law and in economic factors. Changes in the tax law, such as base‐broadening measures through reductions in capital allowances, can explain only part of the puzzle. Among the economic explanations, an increase in the size of the corporate sector, mainly caused by expansion of the service sector and improvements in profitability of the financial sector, seems the most likely. To the extent that higher profits, particularly financial sector profits, may have led to high revenues, there are doubts as to whether revenues will continue to be so strong.
Distribution of human chemokine (C‐X3‐C) receptor 1 (CX3CR1) gene polymorphisms and haplotypes of the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) promoter in Chinese people, and the effects of CCR5 haplotypes on CCR5 expression
Authors: Li C. , Lu S. C. , Hsieh P. S. , Huang Y. H. , Huang H. I. , Ying T. H. , Shieh B. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryTwo chemokine (C‐X3‐C) receptor 1 (CX3CR1) gene polymorphisms, V249I and T280M, and 10 CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) promoter haplotypes, P1–P10, have recently been reported to influence the progression of acquired immune‐deficiency syndrome (AIDS). As these studies were performed mainly with Caucasian and African‐American subjects, we determined the distribution of these alleles in Chinese people for the purpose of predicting possible clinical responses to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) epidemics in countries with significant Chinese populations, as well as to establish their effects on the expression of surface CCR5. Ninety‐six HIV‐negative Chinese individuals in Taiwan were subjected to genotyping, and we thus determined that the allelic frequencies of CX3CR1V249I and T280M changes were 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively, which were lower than found in Caucasians (25.5% and 14.0%, respectively). Unlike the previous reports, we only detected CCR5P1 and P4 haplotypes in Taiwanese people, and the P1/P1, P1/P4 and P4/P4 genotype frequencies were 21.0%, 41.1% and 37.9%, respectively. The sequencing data confirmed the results of previous studies, showing that CCR5P1 exhibited a complete linkage disequilibrium with a polymorphic allele 59029A present in the CCR5 promoter. Furthermore, fluorescence‐activated cell sorter analysis revealed that, in the absence of the CCR2–64I mutation, individuals carrying CCR5P1 tended to express more surface CCR5 on monocytes and CD4+ cells. Therefore, this study not only reports the frequencies for the CX3CR1 and CCR5 promoter haplotypes in a Chinese population living in Taiwan, but also identifies a statistical link between the P1/P1 haplotype and the elevated CCR5 expression levels in the study group.
Novel variations in the signal peptide region of transforming growth factor β1 gene in patients with hepatitis: a brief report from India
Authors: Gupta V. , Arora R. , Saha A. , Dhir A. , Kar P. , Bamezai R. 
Published: March 2005

SummaryGenotypic status of the signal peptide region of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) showed a significant difference in C/C‐genotype frequency at +29 position (codon 10) between a range of viral hepatitis patients and controls (P = 0.009, OR = 3.15, CI = 1.29–7.678), contributed by those who were infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) alone or HBV + hepatitis delta virus (HDV) (P = 0.003, OR = 5.0, CI = 1.78–13.97).
The Protein Encoded by the U
S
3 Orthologue of Marek's Disease Virus Is Required for Efficient De-Envelopment of Perinuclear Virions and Involved in Actin Stress Fiber Breakdown
Authors: Schumacher Daniel , Tischer B. Karsten , Trapp Sascha , Osterrieder Nikolaus 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACT

Marek's disease virus (MDV) encodes a protein exhibiting high amino acid similarity to the U
S
3 protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 and the gene 66 product of varicella-zoster virus. The MDV U
S
3 orthologue was replaced with a kanamycin resistance gene in the infectious bacterial artificial chromosome clone BAC20. After transfection of U
S
3-negative BAC20 DNA (20ΔU
S
3), the resulting recombinant 20ΔU
S
3 virus exhibited markedly reduced growth kinetics. Virus titers on chicken embryo cells were reduced by approximately 10-fold, and plaque sizes were significantly smaller (65% reduction) compared to parental BAC20 virus. The defect of the U
S
3-negative MDV was completely restored in a revertant virus (20U
S
3*) expressing a U
S
3 protein with a carboxy-terminal FLAG tag. Electron microscopical studies revealed that the defect of the 20ΔU
S
3 mutant to efficiently spread from cell to cell was concomitant with an accumulation in the perinuclear space of primarily enveloped virions in characteristic vesicles containing several virus particles, which resulted in reduced numbers of particles in the cytoplasm. The formation of these vesicles was not observed in cells infected with either parental BAC20 virus or the 20U
S
3* revertant virus. The role of the MDV U
S
3 protein in actin stress fiber breakdown was investigated by visualizing actin with phalloidin-Alexa 488 after infection or transfection of a U
S
3 expression plasmid. Addition of the actin-depolymerizing drug cytochalasin D to cells transfected or infected with BAC20 resulted in complete inhibition of plaque formation with as little as 50 nM of the drug, while concentrations of nocodazole as high as 50 μM only had a relatively minor effect on MDV plaque formation. The results indicated that the MDV U
S
3 serine-threonine protein kinase is transiently involved in MDV-mediated stress fiber breakdown and that polymerization of actin, but not microtubules, plays an important role in MDV cell-to-cell spread.
Tetraspanin CD81 Provides a Costimulatory Signal Resulting in Increased Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Gene Expression in Primary CD4+T Lymphocytes through NF-κB, NFAT, and AP-1 Transduction Pathways
Authors: Tardif Mélanie R. , Tremblay Michel J. 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACTThe tetraspanin superfamily member CD81 has been shown to form microdomains in the plasma membrane and to participate in the recruitment of numerous adhesion molecules, receptors, and signaling proteins in the central zone of the immune synapse. Beside its structural role, CD81 also delivers a cosignal for T cells to trigger cytokine production and cellular proliferation, thus suggesting a key role in some fundamental biological functions. It has been shown that signaling events initiated through the T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex and the coactivator CD28 positively affect human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gene expression, but no study had investigated the putative costimulatory activity of CD81 on HIV-1 transcriptional activity. We observed that CD81 engagement potentiates TCR/CD3-mediated signaling, resulting in an enhancement of HIV-1 transcription and de novo virus production in both established Jurkat cells and primary CD4+T lymphocytes at a magnitude that approximates that with CD28. These observations were made by using transiently transfected plasmids (i.e., nonintegrated viral DNA) and fully competent viruses (i.e., stably integrated provirus). Moreover, the CD81-mediated enhancement of HIV-1 gene expression is linked with increased nuclear translocation of transcription factors known to positively regulate virus transcription, i.e., NF-κB, NFAT, and AP-1. These findings suggest that engagement of CD81 decreases the signaling threshold required to initiate TCR/CD3-mediated induction of integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA in primary CD4+T cells.
The Conserved Glycine-Rich Segment Linking the N-Terminal Fusion Peptide to the Coiled Coil of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Transmembrane Glycoprotein gp21 Is a Determinant of Membrane Fusion Function
Authors: Wilson Kirilee A. , Bär Séverine , Maerz Anne L. , Alizon Marc , Poumbourios Pantelis 
Published: March 2005

ABSTRACT
Retroviral transmembrane proteins (TMs) contain an N-terminal fusion peptide that initiates virus-cell membrane fusion. The fusion peptide is linked to the coiled-coil core through a conserved sequence that is often rich in glycines. We investigated the functional role of the glycine-rich segment, Met-326 to Ser-337, of the human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) TM, gp21, by alanine and proline scanning mutagenesis. Alanine substitution for the hydrophobic residue Ile-334 caused an ∼90% reduction in cell-cell fusion activity without detectable effects on the lipid-mixing and pore formation phases of fusion. Alanine substitutions at other positions had smaller effects (Gly-329, Val-330, and Gly-332) or no effect on fusion function. Proline substitution for glycine residues inhibited cell-cell fusion function with position-dependent effects on the three phases of fusion. Retroviral glycoprotein fusion function thus appears to require flexibility within the glycine-rich segment and hydrophobic contacts mediated by this segment.
The Role of Non-Arab Converts in the Development of Early Islamic Law
Authors: Motzki Harald 
Published: March 2005

AbstractWestern scholarship has attached considerable importance to the role played by scholars of non-Arab descent in the formative period of Islamic law and jurisprudence. This view can be challenged. In a sample taken from a biographical collection of important legal scholars compiled in the fifth/eleventh century, "true" Arabs constituted the majority; three quarters of the non-Arab scholars had an eastern background and came from the regions of the former Sassanian empire; and only a few scholars had clearly Christian or Jewish roots. This result lends no support to the assumption that jurists of non-Arab descent brought solutions from their natal legal systems — Roman, Roman provincial and Jewish law — to early Islamic law.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea: A Forum for the Development of Principles of International Environmental Law?
Authors: Rashbrooke Gwenaele 
Published: March 2005

AbstractThis article examines the role of the ITLOS established by the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. It considers the extent to which principles of international environmental law are reflected in the 1982 Convention. It then reviews the relevant jurisprudence of the tribunal including the Southern Blue-fin Tuna case between Japan and Australia and New Zealand, the MOX case between Ireland and the UK, and the Land Reclamation case between Malaysia and Singapore to determine the extent that the ITLOS case-law has indeed contributed to the development of certain key principles of international environmental law, including Stockholm Principle 21/Rio Principle 2, the principle of preventative action, cooperation and precaution.