Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Tested
Terms modified by Tested Selected AbstractsStudy on the antinociceptive action of Tyr-K-MIF-1, a peptide from the MIF familyAUTONOMIC & AUTACOID PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 2 2007R. Zamfirova Summary 1 Tyr-K-MIF-1 is a melanocyte inhibiting factor (MIF) neuropeptide, isolated from the brain. Opposite to other MIFs (Tyr-MIF-1, Tyr-W-MIF-1), it has a very low affinity for opiate , -receptors, but interacts with Tyr-MIF-1 specific binding sites. Tyr-MIF-1 and Tyr-W-MIF-1 evoke antinociception mainly by activating opioid receptors. We investigated the possible antinociceptive effect of Tyr-K-MIF-1 and the involvement of histaminergic system in its mechanism of action. 2 Tested on rats by paw-pressure test, Tyr-K-MIF-1 (0.5, 1 and 2 mg kg,1) was associated with short-lasting analgesia, which was abolished by naloxone (1 mg kg,1). 3 Injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) 15 min before Tyr-K-MIF-1, antagonists of H1 (diphenhydramine, 100 mg kg,1) or H2 (famotidine, 0.3 and 0.6 mg kg,1) histamine receptors diminished peptide antinociceptive effect. Simultaneous H1 - and H2 blockade, as well as pretreatment with 5 mg kg,1 dimaprit (H2 agonist) abolished Tyr-K-MIF-1-induced analgesia. Tyr-K-MIF-1-induced analgesia was also abolished by treatment with R-(,)-methylhistamine (10 mg kg,1, i.p.), an H3 histamine receptor agonist that acts to inhibit histamine release. 4 Our results together with data reported in the literature support the conclusion that activation of the histaminergic system is involved in the mechanism of Tyr-K-MIF-1-induced antinociception. [source] Contact allergy to farnesol in 2021 consecutively patch tested patients.CONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 3 2004Results of the IVDK Farnesol is one of the fragrances considered to be a significant contact allergen. Therefore, it was decided by the European Union to label products containing farnesol. Farnesol was tested [5% petrolatum (pet.)] together with the standard series between 1 January 2003 and 30 June 2003 in 2021 consecutive patients, 1243 females and 778 males. Of these, 22 [1.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7,1.6%] had a positive reaction to farnesol. 147 (8.1%) of those 1825 tested to Myroxylon pereirae resin (balsam of Peru, 25% pet.) at the same time reacted positively, 143 (7.8%) of those 1823 tested to the fragrance mix (FM) (8% pet.) and 34 (1.9%) of 1831 tested to propolis (10% pet.). With regard to concomitant reactions in farnesol-positive patients, 5 of 22 reacted additionally to the FM [odds ratio (OR): 4.3; CI: 1.53,12.15] and 2 (of these 5) additionally to M. pereirae resin (OR: 1.27; CI: 0.29,5.54). The strongest association was seen to propolis (OR: 6.2; 95% CI: 1.4,27.7). Compared to those with negative reactions to farnesol, the group of patients allergic to farnesol was characterized by a higher proportion of young females and office workers, and the hand and the face were more often affected. In conclusion, farnesol is an important allergen. We recommend that farnesol should be included in a fragrance patch-test preparation and that its use should be regulated for consumer safety reasons. Furthermore, the extent of exposure to farnesol should be further studied. [source] Identification of novel markers expressed during fin regeneration by microarray analysis in medaka fishDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 9 2007Masanobu Nishidate Abstract Urodeles and fish have a remarkable ability to regenerate lost body parts, whereas many higher vertebrates, including mammals, retain only a limited capacity. It is known that the formation of specialized cell populations such as the wound epidermis or blastema is crucial for regeneration; however, the molecular basis for their formation has not been elucidated. Recently, approaches using differential display and microarray have been done in zebrafish for searching molecules involved in regeneration. Here, we used the medaka fish, a distantly diverged fish species, for microarray screening of transcripts up-regulated during regeneration. By setting criteria for selecting transcripts that are reliably and reproducibly up-regulated during regeneration, we identified 140 transcripts. Of them, localized in situ expression of 12 transcripts of 22 tested was detected either in differentiating cartilage, basal wound epidermis, or blastema. Our results provide useful molecular markers for dissecting the regeneration process at a fine cellular resolution. Developmental Dynamics 236:2685,2693, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The first steps in word learning are easier when the shoes fit: comparing monolingual and bilingual infantsDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Karen Mattock English, French, and bilingual English-French 17-month-old infants were compared for their performance on a word learning task using the Switch task. Object names presented a /b/ vs. /g/ contrast that is phonemic in both English and French, and auditory strings comprised English and French pronunciations by an adult bilingual. Infants were habituated to two novel objects labeled ,bowce' or ,gowce' and were then presented with a switch trial where a familiar word and familiar object were paired in a novel combination, and a same trial with a familiar word,object pairing. Bilingual infants looked significantly longer to switch vs. same trials, but English and French monolinguals did not, suggesting that bilingual infants can learn word,object associations when the phonetic conditions favor their input. Monolingual infants likely failed because the bilingual mode of presentation increased phonetic variability and did not match their real-world input. Experiment 2 tested this hypothesis by presenting monolingual infants with nonce word tokens restricted to native language pronunciations. Monolinguals succeeded in this case. Experiment 3 revealed that the presence of unfamiliar pronunciations in Experiment 2, rather than a reduction in overall phonetic variability was the key factor to success, as French infants failed when tested with English pronunciations of the nonce words. Thus phonetic variability impacts how infants perform in the switch task in ways that contribute to differences in monolingual and bilingual performance. Moreover, both monolinguals and bilinguals are developing adaptive speech processing skills that are specific to the language(s) they are learning. [source] Searching for food in the wild: a nonhuman rimate's expectations about invisible displacementDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2001Marc D. Hauser Five experiments involving invisible displacements were run on a population of semi-free-ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). The goal of these experiments was to assess, without training, the kinds of expectations individuals spontaneously set up when an object has moved out of sight. The first experiment, modeled after studies of human infants and children, involved a table with one box on the top surface and a second box lined up below on the ground. An occluder was placed in front of the table, blocking the subject's view. A piece of food was then dropped behind the occluder, above the top box. The presenter then removed the occluder, walked away, and allowed the subject to approach. Consistently, subjects searched in the incorrect bottom box. This error can be interpreted as a failure to understand solidity, containment, or some other factor. It can also be interpreted as an error guided by a gravity bias, i.e. an expectation that all falling objects fall straight down or to the lowest point. Experiments 2,5 tested these alternative hypotheses. Results show that rhesus monkeys do not have an inherent bottom box bias, are not avoiding the top box, and do recognize that in some contexts boxes can contain or hold food. Thus, for example, when the two boxes are placed on the ground, one in front of the other, and occluded, subjects search in the near box after a piece of food has been rolled behind the occluder (horizontal trajectory). This shows that rhesus can solve an invisible displacement problem that involves solid containers, where one container blocks travel to the other container. We conclude that the rhesus monkey's error in Experiment 1 is guided by an expectation that all falling objects fall straight down or, at least, to the lowest point. This expectation represents a limitation of their knowledge of physical objects and events. [source] Testing the intermediate disturbance hypothesis: when will there be two peaks of diversity?DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 1 2005Karin Johst ABSTRACT Succession after disturbances generates a mosaic of patches in different successional stages. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis predicts that intermediate disturbances lead to the highest diversity of these stages on a regional scale resulting in a hump-shaped diversity,disturbance curve. We tested this prediction using field data of forest succession and hypothetical succession scenarios in combination with analytical and simulation models. According to our study the main factors shaping the diversity,disturbance curve and the position of the diversity maximum were the transition times between the successional stages, the transition type, neighbourhood effects and the choice of diversity measure. Although many scenarios confirmed the intermediate disturbance hypothesis we found that deviations in the form of two diversity maximums were possible. Such bimodal diversity,disturbance curves occurred when early and late successional stages were separated by one or more long-lived (compared to the early stages) intermediate successional stages. Although the field data which met these conditions among all those tested were rare (one of six), the consequences of detecting two peaks are fundamental. The impact of disturbances on biodiversity can be complex and deviate from a hump-shaped curve. [source] Chalcones as potent antiplatelet agents and calcium channel blockersDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 1 2001Chun-Nan Lin Abstract In an effort to continually develop potent antiplatelet agents with vasorelaxing and antiinflammatory actions, a novel series of antiinflammatory chalcones was continually screened to evaluate their antiplatelet and vasorelaxing effects. Their structure,activity relationships and mode of action were discussed and characterized. A novel series of antiinflammatory chalcones was studied on antiplatelet effect in rabbit washed platelets and human platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and vasorelaxing effect in rat thoracic aorta. Arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation was potently inhibited by almost all the chalcone derivatives and 13,15 also had a potent inhibitory effect on cyclooxygenase. The selective chalcones 12,16 tested in human PRP significantly inhibited secondary aggregation induced by adrenaline. In rat thoracic aorta, most of chalcones at high concentration significantly depressed the contractions induced by Ca2+ (1.9 mM) in high K+ (80 mM) medium and the phasic and tonic contractions caused by norepinephrine (3 ,M). In the rat thoracic aorta, the phenylephrine- and high K+ -induced 45Ca2+ influx were both inhibited by a selective chalcone derivative, 14. These results indicate that the antiplatelet actions of chalcones are mainly mediated through the suppression of cyclooxygenase activity and reduced thromboxane formation and their inhibitory effects on the contractile response caused by high K+ and norepinephrine in rat thoracic aorta are mainly due to inhibition of Ca2+ influx through both voltage-dependent and receptor-operated Ca2+ channels. Drug Dev. Res. 53:9,14, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Interpretation of urinary concentrations of pseudoephedrine and its metabolite cathine in relation to doping controlDRUG TESTING AND ANALYSIS, Issue 5 2009K. Deventer Abstract Until the end of 2003 a urinary concentration of pseudoephedrine exceeding 25 µg/mL was regarded as a doping violation by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Since its removal from the prohibited list in 2004 the number of urine samples in which pseudoephedrine was detected in our laboratory increased substantially. Analysis of 116 in-competition samples containing pseudoephedrine in 2007 and 2008, revealed that 66% of these samples had a concentration of pseudoephedrine above 25 µg/mL. This corresponded to 1.4% of all tested in competition samples in that period. In the period 2001,2003 only 0.18% of all analysed in competition samples contained more than 25 µg/mL. Statistical comparison of the two periods showed that after the removal of pseudoephedrine from the list its use increased significantly. Of the individual sports compared between the two periods, only cycling is shown to yield a significant increase. Analysis of excretion urine samples after administration of a therapeutic daily dose (240 mg pseudoephedrine) in one administration showed that the threshold of 25 µg/mL can be exceeded. The same samples were also analysed for cathine, which has currently a threshold of 5 µg/mL on the prohibited list. The maximum urinary concentration of cathine also exceeded the threshold for some volunteers. Comparison of the measured cathine and pseudoephedrine concentrations only indicated a poor correlation between them. Hence, cathine is not a good indicator to control pseudopehedrine intake. To control the (ab)use of ephedrines in sports it is recommended that WADA reintroduce a threshold for pseudoephedrine. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Organic litter: dominance over stones as a source of interrill flow roughness on low-gradient desert slopes at Fowlers Gap, arid western NSW, AustraliaEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 1 2003David Dunkerley Abstract Thirty-six runoff plot experiments provide data on flow depths, speeds, and Darcy,Weisbach friction coefficients (f) on bare soil surfaces, and surfaces to which were added sufficient extra plant litter or surface stones to provide projected cover of 5, 10 and 20 per cent. Precision flow depth data were derived with a computer-controlled gantry and needle gauge for two different discharges for each plot treatment. Taking a fixed flow intensity (Reynolds number, Re = 150) for purposes of comparison shows means of f = 17·7 for bare soil surfaces, f = 11·4 for added stone treatments, and f = 23·8 for added litter treatments. Many individual values of f for stone treatments are lower than for the bare soil surface, but all litter treatments show increases in fcompared to bare soil. The lowering of f in stone treatments relates to the submerged volume that the stones occupied, and the associated concentration of flow onto a smaller part of the plot surface. This leads to locally higher flow intensities and lower frictional drag along threads of flow that the obstacles create. Litter causes higher frictional drag because the particles are smaller, and, for the same cover fraction, are 100 times more numerous and provide 20 times the edge or perimeter length. Along these edges, which in total exceed 2·5 m g,1 (equivalent to 500 m m,2 for a loading of 2 t ha,1), surface tension draws up water from between the litter particles. This reduces flow depth there, and as a consequence of the lower flow intensity, frictional drag rises. Furthermore, no clear passage remains for the establishment of flow threads. These findings apply to shallow interrill flows in which litter is largely immobile. The key new result from these experiments is that under these conditions, a 20 per cent cover of organic litter can generate interrill frictional retardation that exceeds by nearly 41 per cent that of a bare soil surface, and twice that contributed by the same cover fraction of surface stones. Even greater dominance by litter can be anticipated at the many dryland sites where litter covers exceed those tested here. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Acute effects of the antibiotic oxytetracycline on the bacterial community of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio,ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 12 2009Miguel Uyaguari Abstract The toxicity of oxytetracycline (OTC) was evaluated in adult grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. Initially, static acute (96 h) toxicity tests were conducted with shrimp exposed from 0 to 1,000 mg/L OTC. A calculated lethal concentration 50% value of 683.30 mg/L OTC (95% confidence interval 610.85,764.40 mg/L) was determined from these tests, along with a lowest-observable-effect concentration of 750 mg/L and no-observable-effect concentration of 500 mg/L. Moreover, chronic sublethal effects of OTC exposure on grass shrimp intestinal bacterial population were assessed using doses from 0 to 32 mg/L OTC. The total viable counts in digestive tract content had levels between 5.2 and 1 × 104 colony-forming units per gram of tissue at times 0 and 96 h, respectively. Aeromonas hydrophila were the most resistant isolates (27.78%) to OTC exposure. Vibrio alginolyticus showed significant positive growth following exposure to OTC, whereas other bacterial species abundance declined over time. A total of 268 bacterial isolates were screened using antibiotic resistance analysis from a library containing 459 isolates. Among the tested isolates from the OTC treatments, 15.4% were resistant to OTC and 84.6% were OTC sensitive. Oxytetracycline was generally not consistently quantifiable with liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy technique in shrimp homogenates. The only peak detected was at the 32 mg/L dose of OTC at 96 h. Nevertheless, OTC had a significant biological effect on the bacterial population. Antibiotic resistance to five other antibiotics (penicillin G, sulfathiazole, trimethoprim, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline) was strongly associated with OTC exposures. The present study indicates that OTC toxicity effects in P. pugio and changes in the shrimp microbial community would only be expected under special circumstances. [source] Oral lichen planus has a high rate of TP53 mutations.EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 3 2002A study of oral mucosa in Iceland Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a world-wide health problem. In addition to external exposure (smoking and alcohol), certain oral lesions may increase the risk of oral cancer (e.g. leukoplakia, erythroplakia, and oral lichen planus). TP53 has been implicated in OSCC, but there are limited studies of mutations in premalignant oral lesions. In this study, 55 samples from OSCC, 47 from hyperkeratotic (HK) oral mucosa, clinically diagnosed as white patches, 48 samples from oral lichen planus (OLP), and 12 biopsies from normal oral mucosa were studied immunohistochemically for expression of TP53 protein. From all the carcinoma samples and selected non-malignant samples showing moderate or strong TP53 protein expression, malignant cells or TP53-positive nuclei were microdissected and screened for mutations in exons 5,8 by constant denaturation gel electrophoresis. Moderate to strong TP53 protein staining was seen in 56% of OSCC, 32% of OLP but only in 13% of HK. All OLP samples showed a characteristic pattern of positive nuclei confined to the basal layer, whereas TP53 staining was seen in suprabasal nuclei in HK. Mutation rate was 11 out of 52 for OSCC, three out of 20 tested for HK and, remarkably, nine out 27 tested for OLP. There was no correlation between TP53 protein staining and TP53 mutations. No associations were found with anatomical sites or disease progression. The unexpectedly high mutation rate of OLP might explain the premalignant potential of this lesion. [source] Evaluative contrast in social comparison: the role of distinct and shared features of the self and comparison othersEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Philip Broemer Self-other comparisons frequently evoke contrastive reactions, especially when the comparison dimension is relevant and when people strive to maintain or preserve a positive self-evaluation. In three studies, normal-weight women were asked to gauge satisfaction with their body weight. In Study 1, self-evaluation was affected by accessible distinctive information either referring to the self or to comparison others. Studies 2 and 3 tested whether the evaluative contrast observed in Study 1 is reduced when shared features receive greater weight. Consistent with the proposition that perceived similarity between self and comparison others renders assimilative reactions more likely, evaluative contrast was markedly reduced when similarities were stressed prior to the comparison process, either by suggesting that one shares certain characteristics with others unrelated to the comparison dimension or by increasing the identification with the comparison other through an intergroup contrast.. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention prideEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2001E. Tory Higgins A new task goal elicits a feeling of pride in individuals with a subjective history of success, and this achievment pride produces anticipatory goal reactions that energize and direct behavior to approach the task goal. By distinguishing between promotion pride and prevention pride, the present paper extends this classic model of achievement motivation. Regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997) distinguishes between a promotion focus on hopes and accomplishments (gains) and a prevention focus on safety and responsibilities (non-losses). We propose that a subjective history of success with promotion-related eagerness (promotion pride) orients individuals toward using eagerness means to approach a new task goal, whereas a subjective history of success with prevention-related vigilance (prevention pride) orients individuals toward using vigilance means to approach a new task goal. Studies 1,3 tested this proposal by examining the relations between a new measure of participants' subjective histories of promotion success and prevention success (the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (RFQ)) and their achievement strategies in different tasks. Study 4 examined the relation between participants' RFQ responses and their reported frequency of feeling eager or vigilant in past task engagements. Study 5 used an experimental priming technique to make participants temporarily experience either a subjective history of promotion success or a subjective history of prevention success. For both chronic and situationally induced achievement pride, these studies found that when approaching task goals individuals with promotion pride use eagerness means whereas individuals with prevention pride use vigilance means. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Characterization of potential stress responses in ancient Siberian permafrost psychroactive bacteriaFEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Monica A. Ponder Abstract Past studies of cold-acclimated bacteria have focused primarily on organisms not capable of sub-zero growth. Siberian permafrost isolates Exiguobacterium sp. 255-15 and Psychrobacter sp. 273-4, which grow at subzero temperatures, were used to study cold-acclimated physiology. Changes in membrane composition and exopolysaccharides were defined as a function of growth at 24, 4 and ,2.5 °C in the presence and absence of 5% NaCl. As expected, there was a decrease in fatty acid saturation and chain length at the colder temperatures and a further decrease in the degree of saturation at higher osmolarity. A shift in carbon source utilization and antibiotic resistance occurred at 4 versus 24 °C growth, perhaps due to changes in the membrane transport. Some carbon substrates were used uniquely at 4 °C and, in general, increased antibiotic sensitivity was observed at 4 °C. All the permafrost strains tested were resistant to long-term freezing (1 year) and were not particularly unique in their UVC tolerance. Most of the tested isolates had moderate ice nucleation activity, and particularly interesting was the fact that the Gram-positive Exiguobacterium showed some soluble ice nucleation activity. In general the features measured suggest that the Siberian organisms have adapted to the conditions of long-term freezing at least for the temperatures of the Kolyma region which are ,10 to ,12 °C where intracellular water is likely not frozen. [source] Biological energy requirements as quantitative boundary conditions for life in the subsurfaceGEOBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2004T. M. HOEHLER ABSTRACT All life requires energy, which must be extracted from the environment. For all known life, free energy must be available at finite minimum levels in order to be usefully harnessed and must be delivered at finite minimum rates in order to support basic biochemical integrity and function. While seldom tested in the high energy light- and oxygen-based metabolisms of the surface biosphere, the magnitude of these requirements , the biological energy quantum (BEQ) and maintenance energy (ME) requirements, respectively , is considerable with respect to the potential metabolisms and energy sources that characterize the deep subsurface realm. As such, they constitute a fundamental constraint on the possible nature, distribution, and activity of microbial life in that environment. Because the energy released in a chemical transformation can be equated to the concentrations of substrates and products, both the BEQ and ME requirements define the minimum substrate concentration and minimum substrate production rate that must be sustained by a given environment for it to be capable of supporting life. The magnitudes of the BEQ and ME requirements are sensitive to a range of environmental parameters that may vary significantly in the subsurface. Temperature exerts a particularly strong control and is among the most important parameters to be considered in evaluating the energetic habitability of subsurface environments. [source] Comparing and evaluating process-based ecosystem model predictions of carbon and water fluxes in major European forest biomesGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 12 2005Pablo Morales Abstract Process-based models can be classified into: (a) terrestrial biogeochemical models (TBMs), which simulate fluxes of carbon, water and nitrogen coupled within terrestrial ecosystems, and (b) dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs), which further couple these processes interactively with changes in slow ecosystem processes depending on resource competition, establishment, growth and mortality of different vegetation types. In this study, four models , RHESSys, GOTILWA+, LPJ-GUESS and ORCHIDEE , representing both modelling approaches were compared and evaluated against benchmarks provided by eddy-covariance measurements of carbon and water fluxes at 15 forest sites within the EUROFLUX project. Overall, model-measurement agreement varied greatly among sites. Both modelling approaches have somewhat different strengths, but there was no model among those tested that universally performed well on the two variables evaluated. Small biases and errors suggest that ORCHIDEE and GOTILWA+ performed better in simulating carbon fluxes while LPJ-GUESS and RHESSys did a better job in simulating water fluxes. In general, the models can be considered as useful tools for studies of climate change impacts on carbon and water cycling in forests. However, the various sources of variation among models simulations and between models simulations and observed data described in this study place some constraints on the results and to some extent reduce their reliability. For example, at most sites in the Mediterranean region all models generally performed poorly most likely because of problems in the representation of water stress effects on both carbon uptake by photosynthesis and carbon release by heterotrophic respiration (Rh). The use of flux data as a means of assessing key processes in models of this type is an important approach to improving model performance. Our results show that the models have value but that further model development is necessary with regard to the representation of the some of the key ecosystem processes. [source] Personalization versus Customization: The Importance of Agency, Privacy, and Power UsageHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 3 2010S. Shyam Sundar What makes customization so appealing? Is it because the content is tailored or because the user feels greater agency? Study 1 tested these propositions with a news-aggregator Website that was either personalized (system-tailored), customized (user-tailored), or neither. Power users rated content quality higher when it had a customizable interface, whereas nonpower users preferred personalized content. In Study 2, half the participants were told that their browsing information may be used for providing requested services while the other half was told that it would not be used. The interaction found in Study 1 was observed only under conditions of low privacy, with the pattern being reversed under high privacy. Significant three-way interactions were found for sense of control and perceived convenience. Personalisierung vs. Kundenorientierung: Die Rolle von Agentschaft, Privatheit und Machtausübung Dieser Artikel dokumentiert zwei Studien. Studie 1 setzte Vielnutzer und Normalnutzer einer Nachrichtenaggregationswebseite aus, welche entweder personalisiert (system-zugeschnitten), kundenorientiert (nutzerzugeschnitten) oder keines von beiden war. Die Ergebnisse zeigen eine Kreuzinteraktion dahingehend, dass Vielnutzer die Qualität des Inhalts höher einstuften, wenn sie die kundenorientierte Oberfläche nutzten, während Normalnutzer den personalisierten Inhalt bevorzugten. In Studie 2 wurde der Hälfte der Teilnehmer erzählt, dass ihre Surfinformationen möglicherweise genutzt werden, um die abgefragten Angebote bereitzustellen. Der anderen Hälfte wurde gesagt, dass dies nicht geschehe. Die Ergebnisse duplizieren das Kreuzmuster der ersten Studie, allerdings nur für die Niedrige-Privatheit-Bedingung. Das Muster kehrt sich für die Hohe-Privatheit-Kondition um. Signifikante 3-Wege-Interaktionen wurden für Wahrnehmung von Kontrolle und wahrgenommene Verbraucherfreundlichkeit gefunden. Schlüsselbegriffe: Kundenorientierung, Personalisierung, Agentschaft, Vielnutzung, Privatheit, wahrgenommene Kontrolle, wahrgenommene Verbraucherfreundlichkeit, Online-Nachrichten, Gatekeeping, Portal Adaptation ou personnalisation : L'importance de l'agentivité, de la confidentialité et de l'intensité de l'utilisation Résumé Cet article fait état de deux études. La première a présentéà de grands utilisateurs et à des utilisateurs réguliers un site web agrégateur de nouvelles qui était adaptéà l'utilisateur (conçu par le système), personnalisé (façonné par l'utilisateur lui-même) ou qui n'était ni l'un ni l'autre. Les résultats révèlent une interaction asymétrique en ce que les grands utilisateurs notaient plus favorablement la qualité du contenu lorsque le site avait une interface personnalisée, alors que les utilisateurs réguliers préféraient le contenu adapté. Dans la seconde étude, la moitié des participants ont été avisés que l'information sur leur navigation pourrait être utilisée afin de leur offrir les services demandés, alors que l'autre moitié a été avisée que cette information ne serait pas utilisée. Les résultats montrent que le modèle asymétrique révélé dans la première étude ne s'observait que sous les conditions de faible confidentialité, alors que le rapport s'inversait dans le contexte de forte confidentialité. Des interactions triangulaires significatives ont été démontrées pour le sentiment de contrôle et pour le sentiment de commodité. Mots clés : adaptation, personnalisation, agentivité, grands utilisateurs, vie privée, sentiment de contrôle, sentiment de commodité, nouvelles en ligne, portail La Personalización versus la Adaptación al Cliente La Importancia de la Agencia, la Privacidad, y el Uso del Poder Resumen Este manuscrito presenta dos estudios. El estudio 1 expuso a los usuarios de poder, así como a los usuarios regulares a una página agregada de noticias de Internet que estuvo ó personalizada (adaptada al sistema), ó adaptada al cliente (adaptada al usuario), ó a ninguna de las dos. Los hallazgos revelaron una interacción de cruce tal que los usuarios con poder estimaron al contenido como de mayor calidad cuando tenían una interfaz adaptada al usuario, mientras que los usuarios sin poder prefirieron el contenido personalizado. En el estudio 2, se les dijo a la mitad de los participantes que la forma en la que buscaban información podría ser usada para proveer los servicios solicitados mientras que a la otra mitad se le dijo que no sería usada. Los resultados revelaron que la pauta de cruzamiento encontrada en el estudio 1 fue observada solo en condiciones de privacidad baja, mientras que la pauta fue reversa bajo las condiciones de privacidad alta. Las interacciones significativas de 3 partes fueron encontradas para el sentido del control y la percepción de la conveniencia. Palabras Claves: Adaptado al cliente, personalización, agencia, poder de uso, privacidad, control percibido, percepción de conveniencia, noticias online, guardián, portal. [source] Learning While Babbling: Prelinguistic Object-Directed Vocalizations Indicate a Readiness to LearnINFANCY, Issue 4 2010Michael H. Goldstein Two studies illustrate the functional significance of a new category of prelinguistic vocalizing,object-directed vocalizations (ODVs),and show that these sounds are connected to learning about words and objects. Experiment 1 tested 12-month-old infants' perceptual learning of objects that elicited ODVs. Fourteen infants' vocalizations were recorded as they explored novel objects. Infants learned visual features of objects that elicited the most ODVs but not of objects that elicited the fewest vocalizations. Experiment 2 assessed the role of ODVs in learning word,object associations. Forty infants aged 11.5 months played with a novel object and received a label either contingently on an ODV or on a look alone. Only infants who received labels in response to an ODV learned the association. Taken together, the findings suggest that infants' ODVs signal a state of attention that facilitates learning. [source] Allergic contact dermatitis in 136 children patch tested between 2000 and 2006INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2009L. Mark Hammonds MD Background, Allergic contact dermatitis is often under-recognized in the pediatric population but it may affect greater than 20% of this age group. Methods, We conducted a retrospective review of the Mayo Rochester, Jacksonville and Arizona patch test database of all children 18 or younger over a 7-year period (January 1, 2000,December 31, 2006). Results, One-hundred thirty-six children were patch tested from age 3 to 18. Females constituted 66% of those tested and males 34%. Eighty percent of the children were equally distributed between age groups 11,15 and 16,18, with the remainder being 10 years or younger. Sixty-one percent of the children tested positive to at least one allergen. Fifty-three percent of these reactions were deemed to be of current relevance, 31% questionable relevance, 5% past relevance, and 10% not relevant. Males younger than 10 were most likely to have a positive patch test. However, the percent of positive tests in males decreased with increasing age. Females younger than age 10 were less likely to have a positive test than older females. The most common allergens were nickel, cobalt, gold, and thimerosal. Conclusion, In children suspected to have allergic contact dermatitis, 61% were confirmed to have a positive reaction to at least one allergen. The utility of patch testing children whose clinical presentation is suggestive for allergic contact dermatitis is high. [source] Randomization in psychiatric intervention research in the general practice settingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2000CM Van Der Feltz-Cornelis Faculty of Medicine Abstract Most studies of psychiatric interventions in general practice settings conform only in part to the requirements of randomization, placebo control and blinding as formulated by the Cochrane Collaboration. It is possible, nonetheless, to develop experimental research designs that are sufficiently near to this standard. These must deal with certain methodological issues specific to psychiatric research. This article discusses scientific standards of psychiatric research with special consideration of interventions in general practice settings. These issues are accompanied by concrete examples and suggestions on how to confront the problems. In psychiatric intervention research, equivalence studies with single-blind outcome assessment, a tested and ethically justified method, are generally used in place of placebo-controlled studies. The article also examines randomization procedures in greater depth. Randomization can be applied across trial subjects or across doctors' practices. Practical consequences of randomizing across subjects, and specific implementations of it such as crossover and pre-post designs in general practice settings, are clarified. Overall, a research design using randomization across doctors' practices is judged preferable to one that randomizes across trial subjects. One potential problem is that the control group may become too small, especially when considerable effects are expected from the intervention being studied. One might consider making the control condition smaller in the first place, or, if indicated on ethical grounds, performing an intermediate analysis and then breaking off the study as soon as a statistically significant effect has been demonstrated. Multilevel statistical techniques offer new opportunities for analysis within such designs. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Exploring the Biocatalytic Scope of Alditol Oxidase from Streptomyces coelicolorADVANCED SYNTHESIS & CATALYSIS (PREVIOUSLY: JOURNAL FUER PRAKTISCHE CHEMIE), Issue 10 2009W. van Hellemond Abstract The substrate scope of the flavoprotein alditol oxidase (AldO) from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli, was explored. While it has been established that AldO efficiently oxidizes alditols to D -aldoses, this study revealed that the enzyme is also active with a broad range of aliphatic and aromatic alcohols. Alcohols containing hydroxy groups at the C-1 and C-2 positions like 1,2,4-butanetriol (Km=170,mM, kcat=4.4,s,1), 1,2-pentanediol (Km=52,mM, kcat=0.85,s,1) and 1,2-hexanediol (Km=97,mM, kcat=2.0,s,1) were readily accepted by AldO. Furthermore, the enzyme was highly enantioselective for the oxidation of 1,2-diols [e.g., for 1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol the (R)-enantiomer was preferred with an E -value of 74]. For several diols the oxidation products were determined by GC-MS and NMR. Interestingly, for all tested 1,2-diols the products were found to be the ,-hydroxy acids instead of the expected ,-hydroxy aldehydes. Incubation of (R)-1-phenyl-1,2-ethanediol with 18O-labelled water (H218O) revealed that a second enzymatic oxidation step occurs via the hydrate product intermediate. The relaxed substrate specificity, excellent enantioselectivity, and independence of coenzymes make AldO an attractive enzyme for the preparation of optically pure 1,2-diols and ,-hydroxy acids. [source] The Old and the New Politics of International Financial StabilityJCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 5 2009LOUIS W. PAULY The cross-border financial crisis that began in the United States in the summer of 2007 tested a 30-year experiment in international integration. In the background were expanding macroeconomic imbalances that leading states had neglected to address. Spawned by imprudence and regulatory failures, the crisis soon deepened and the collaborative impulse that might have prompted earlier and more fundamental macro-policy action became focused on emergency management. Ad hoc policy co-ordination ensued as liquidity was injected into turbulent markets and troubled financial intermediaries were recapitalized or reorganized. The collective performance was inelegant, not least inside the European Union. The crisis shed a harsh spotlight on the weak fiscal foundations of the Union and on the now-pressing need for collaborative adjustments in national macroeconomic policies. Since overt political innovation on such matters remains difficult, both within Europe and globally, the crisis underlined the crucial importance of much better collaborative instruments for the oversight and stabilization of integrating financial markets. [source] Investigation of critical inter-related factors affecting the efficacy of pulsed light for inactivating clinically relevant bacterial pathogensJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010H.P. Farrell Abstract Aims:, To investigate critical electrical and biological factors governing the efficacy of pulsed light (PL) for the in vitro inactivation of bacteria isolated from the clinical environment. Development of this alternative PL decontamination approach is timely, as the incidence of health care,related infections remains unacceptably high. Methods and Results:, Predetermined cell numbers of clinically relevant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were inoculated separately on agar plates and were flashed with ,60 pulses of broad-spectrum light under varying operating conditions, and their inactivation measured. Significant differences in inactivation largely occurred depending on the level of the applied lamp discharge energy (range 3·2,20 J per pulse), the amount of pulsing applied (range 0,60 pulses) and the distance between light source and treatment surface (range 8,20 cm) used. Greater decontamination levels were achieved using a combination of higher lamp discharge energies, increased number of pulses and shorter distances between treatment surface and the xenon light source. Levels of microbial sensitivity also varied depending on the population type, size and age of cultures treated. Production of pigment pyocynanin and alginate slime in mucoid strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa afforded some protection against lethal action of PL; however, this was evident only by using a combination of reduced amount of pulsing at the lower lamp discharge energies tested. A clear pattern was observed where Gram-positive bacterial pathogens were more resistant to cidal effects of PL compared to Gram negatives. While negligible photoreactivation of PL-treated bacterial strains occurred after full pulsing regimes at the different lamp discharge energies tested, some repair was evident when using a combination of reduced pulsing at the lower lamp discharge energies. Strains harbouring genes for multiple resistances to antibiotics were not significantly more resistant to PL treatments. Slight temperature rises (,4·2°C) were measured on agar surfaces after extended pulsing at higher lamp discharge energies. Presence of organic matter on treatment surface did not significantly affect PL decontamination efficacy, nor did growth of PL-treated bacteria on selective agar diminish survival compared to similarly treated bacteria inoculated and enumerated on nonselective agar plates. Conclusions:, Critical inter-related factors affecting the effective and repeatable in vitro decontamination performance of PL were identified during this study that will aid further development of this athermal process technology for applications in health care and in industry. Very rapid reductions (c. 7 log10 CFU cm,2 within ,10 pulses) occurred using discharge energy of 20 J for all tested clinically relevant bacteria under study when treated at 8 cm distance from xenon light source. While no resistant flora is expected to develop for treatment of microbial pathogens on two-dimensional surfaces, careful consideration of scale up factors such as design and operational usage of this PL technique will be required to assure operator safety. Significance and Impact of the Study:, Findings and conclusions derived from this study will enable further development and optimization of this decontamination technique in health care and in food preparation settings, and will advance the field of nonthermal processing technologies. [source] Entomopathogenic potential of Metarhizium anisopliae isolated from engorged females and tested in eggs and larvae of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae)JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2004Éverton Kort Kamp Fernandes The purpose of this work was to evaluate the in vitro virulence of three isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae to eggs and larvae of the tick Boophilus microplus. The fungus tested was isolated from engorged females of B. microplus collected in the field, and identified as Ma01, Ma02 e Ma04. These isolates were evaluated by immersion of eggs and larvae in suspension with different conidial concentrations: 105, 106, 107 e 108 conidia/ml. In each isolate there was a treatment group for each spore concentration and a control group with 10 repetitions. It was observed in the treated egg groups that there was a hatching percentage that was much less than that observed in the control groups. This was in inverse proportion to the conidia concentration/ml. Larval bioassays of all the tested isolates resulted in a high mortality of larvae in direct proportion to the spore concentration/ml, 10 days after the conidia suspensions were inoculated. To consolidate the infection, the fungus used in bioassays was re-isolated. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of antibiotic-producing soil Streptomyces investigated by RAPD-PCRJOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Raad Gharaibeh Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis has been used to determine the relatedness of 73 antibiotic-producing soil Streptomyces isolates that were recovered from different soil habitats in Jordan based on their RAPD-PCR fingerprints. Genetic polymorphisms between these isolates showed three common bands of 2777, 800 and 250 bp shared by approximately (95%) of them. Some specific bands were also observed. Further analysis of RAPD patterns with the UPGMA resulted in clustering the tested isolates into two main super clusters. Super cluster I was more homogenous than super cluster II and contained all the reference strains. However, super cluster II consists of unrelated isolates within five small groups. As RAPD fingerprints of the tested isolates linked to their phenotypes, differentiation between isolates with different cultural properties was observed. [source] Assessing the merits and faults of holistic and disaggregated judgmentsJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 3 2010Hal R. Arkes Abstract Three studies explored both the advantages of and subjects' preferences for a disaggregated judgment procedure and a holistic one. The task in our first two studies consisted of evaluating colleges; the third study asked participants to evaluate job applicants. Holistic ratings consisted of providing an overall evaluation while considering all of the characteristics of the evaluation objects; disaggregated ratings consisted of evaluating each cue independently. Participants also made paired comparisons of the evaluation objects. We constructed preference orders for the disaggregated method by aggregating these ratings (unweighted or weighted characteristics). To compare the holistic, disaggregated, and weighted-disaggregated method we regressed the four cues on the participant's holistic rating, on the linearly aggregated disaggregated ratings, and on the average weighted disaggregated rating, using the participant's "importance points" for each cue as weights. Both types of combined disaggregated ratings related more closely to the cues in terms of proportion of variance accounted for in Experiments 1 and 2. In addition, the disaggregated ratings were more closely related to the paired-comparison orderings, but Experiment 2 showed that this was true for a small set (10) but not a large set (60) of evaluation objects. Experiment 3 tested the "gamesmanship" hypothesis: People prefer holistic ratings because it is easier to incorporate illegitimate but appealing criteria into one's judgment. The results suggested that the disaggregated procedure generally produced sharper distinctions between the most relevant and least relevant cues. Participants in all three of these studies preferred the holistic ratings despite their statistical inferiority. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A new spin on losses looming larger than gains: asymmetric implicit associations from slot machine experienceJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 4 2008Scott A. Akalis Abstract Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory states, among other things, that losses loom larger than gains. As much research as this simple idea has generated, key questions remain. How fundamental is the losses-looming-larger effect: will it emerge under more minimal circumstances than previously tested and will it manifest in implicit associations? And how does the actual experience of predominant losses or gains affect the losses-looming-larger effect? In two experiments employing non-traditional methods, participants experienced slot machine spins in which symbols were paired with gain, loss, and neutral outcomes. After experiencing these pairings, participants took Implicit Association Tests (IATs). In Experiment 1, implicit associations formed by the minimal experience of the slot machine were lopsided: negative associations with the loss symbol were stronger than positive associations with the gain symbol. In addition, it was found that the extent to which losses loomed larger depended on the context of the slot machine experience, with losses looming implicitly larger than gains most when they were fewer in number (participants experienced a net-gain) and least when they were the predominant outcome (participants experienced a net-loss). Finally, in Experiment 2, a potential artifact was ruled out and a replication obtained by showing that slot machine losses implicitly loom larger whether conceptualized from the perspective of a casino player or a casino owner. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The influence of reasons on interpretations of probability forecastsJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 2 2003Annette R. Flugstad Abstract When providing a probability estimate for an event, experts often supply reasons that they expect will clarify and support that estimate. We investigated the possible unintended influence that these reasons might have on a listener's intuitive interpretation of the event's likelihood. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that people who read positive reasons for a doctor's probability estimate regarding a hypothetical surgery were more optimistic than those who read negative reasons for the identical estimate. Experiment 3 tested whether a doctor's failure forecast for a surgery would result in differing levels of pessimism when the potential risk was attributed to one complication that had a probability of 0.30 versus three complications that had a disjunctive probability of 0.30. Overall, the findings are consistent with the argument that a probability estimate, albeit numerically precise, can be flexibly interpreted at an intuitive level depending on the reasons that the forecaster provides as the basis for the estimate. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Sorption and solubility testing of orthodontic bonding cements in different solutionsJOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006Manuel Toledano Abstract To evaluate and compare the solubility and sorption of orthodontic bonding cements after immersion in different solutions, five different cements were used: a fluoride-containing resin composite, a light-cured glass ionomer cement, a light-cured resin composite, a paste,paste chemically cured resin composite, and a liquid,paste chemically cured resin composite. Five different solutions were employed: distilled water, artificial saliva, an alcohol-free mouthrinse solution (Orthokin), a 5% alcohol mouthrinse solution (Perioaid), and a 75% ethanol/water solution. Five disc specimens (15 mm × 0.85 mm) were used for each experimental condition. Materials were handled following manufacturers' instructions and were ground wet with silicon carbide paper. Solubility and sorption of the materials were calculated by means of weighing the samples before and after immersion and desiccation. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Student,Newman,Keuls test (p < 0.05). The light-cured glass ionomer cement showed the lowest solubility and the highest sorption values. When using alcohol-containing solutions as storage media, solubility of the paste,paste chemically cured resin composite increased, and sorption values for the tested chemically cured resin composites were also increased. The use of alcohol-free mouthrinses does not affect sorption and solubility of orthodontic cements. The chemically cured (paste,paste) composite resin cement, requiring a mixing procedure, was the most affected by immersion in alcohol-containing solutions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2006 [source] PROTECTIVE CULTURES USED FOR THE BIOPRESERVATION OF HORSE MEAT FERMENTED SAUSAGE: MICROBIAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATIONJOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 3 2008JAZILA EL MALTI ABSTRACT In this paper, 150 isolates, originating from horse meat, were subjected to step-by-step screening and characterization to search for potential protective cultures to be used in the meat industry. Isolates were first tested on their homofermentative and salt tolerance. Second, the antibacterial capacities toward Listeria monocytogenes were determined in an agar spot test. In total, 50% of the tested isolates were inhibitory toward Listeria monocytogenes. However, only 12 isolates produced a bacteriocin. Finally, three isolates with the strong bacteriocin activity were evaluated on their competitive nature by comparing their growth rate, acidifying character and lactic acid production at 15C under anaerobic conditions in a liquid broth. All three isolates combined a fast growth rate with a deep and rapid acidification caused by the production of high levels of lactic acid. Lactobacillus sakei was used as starter culture for producing sausage horse meat. In this study, fermentations were followed analyzing the microbiological and physicochemical aspects of this product. The sausages were characterized by an important microbial activity of lactic acid bacteria that resulted in a product with a final pH of about 4.56. No Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. or sulfite reducing clostridia were ever isolated from the raw materials or the fermented sausages during the maturation, underlining the microbial safety of this product. The final water activity of the product was 0.85. Starter cultures showed that Lactobacillus sakei was really efficient in reducing the amine production since this strain caused a quick pH drop during sausage fermentation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS A starter culture can be defined as a microbial preparation of large numbers of cells of at least one microorganism to be added to a raw material to produce a fermented food by accelerating and steering its fermentation process. The group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) occupies a central role in these processes, and has a long and safe history of application and consumption in the production of fermented foods and beverages. They cause rapid acidification of the raw material through the production of organic acids, mainly lactic acid. Also, their production of acetic acid, ethanol, aroma compounds, bacteriocins, exopolysaccharides and several enzymes is of importance. The main reason for suitability of LAB is their natural origin, and they can contribute to food safety and/or offer one or more organoleptic, technological, nutritional or health advantages. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||