The effect of caffeine ingestion on human neutrophil oxidative burst responses following time-trial cycling

Following fixed-duration exercise of submaximal intensity, caffeine ingestion is associated with an attenuation of the exercise-induced decline in N-formyl-methionyl-phenyl-alanine (f-MLP) stimulated neutrophil oxidative burst. However, the response following high-intensity exhaustive exercise is unknown. Nine endurance-trained male cyclists ingested 6 mg caffeine or placebo per kilogram of body mass 60 min before cycling for 90 min at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and then performing a time-trial requiring an energy expenditure equivalent to 30 min cycling at 70% maximum power output. Time-trial performance was 4% faster in the caffeine than in the placebo trial (P = 0.043). Caffeine was associated with an increased plasma adrenaline concentration after 90 min of exercise (P = 0.046) and immediately after the time-trial (P = 0.02). Caffeine was also associated with an increased serum caffeine concentration (P < 0.01) after 90 min of exercise and immediately after the time-trial, as well as 1 h after the time-trial. However, the f-MLP-stimulated neutrophil oxidative burst response fell after exercise in both trials (P = 0.002). There was no effect of caffeine on circulating leukocyte or neutrophil counts, but the lymphocyte count was significantly lower on caffeine (20%) after the time-trial (P = 0.003). Our results suggest that high-intensity exhaustive exercise negates the attenuation of the exercise-induced decrease in neutrophil oxidative burst responses previously observed when caffeine is ingested before exercise of fixed duration and intensity. This may be associated with the greater increase in adrenaline concentration observed in the present study.     

The ecological treatment of hyperkinesis

A model of hyperkinesis is introduced based on an ecological conception. The antecedents of hyperkinetic behavior are provided by a child's family environment, academic environment, and physiologic environment. These factors influence cognitive processes of the child. The consequences of hyperkinetic behavior often are undesirable, and so professional treatment is sought. Based on the ecological approach, effective treatment is multimodal and can involve the child, the family, and the school. No single approach to treatment is effective with all children.     

How Choice Changes the Education System: A Michigan Case Study

In countries around the world policy makers propose that parents should exercise more control over the choice of schools that their children attend. This paper considers the ways in which the introduction of new opportunities for school choice changes the education system. It argues that choice affects the education system as a whole by introducing new actors into the system, by changing the terms of relationships among existing actors, and by creating new pressures within the system that require new responses. The nature, magnitude, and consequences of these effects cannot be predicted in advance, as they depend on a number of factors including the social and economic context. The empirical basis for this paper derives from a case study of the implementation of choice policies in the state of Michigan in the US, but the conceptual issues raised have important implications for the study of school choice wherever such policies are adopted.     

Ethics for the New Surveillance

The Principles of Fair Information Practice are almost three decades old and need to be broadened to take account of new technologies for collecting personal information such as drug testing, video cameras, electronic location monitoring, and the Internet. I argue that the ethics of a surveillance activity must be judged according to the means, the context and conditions of data collection, and the uses/goals, and suggest 29 questions related to this. The more one can answer these questions in a way that affirms the underlying principle (or a condition supportive of it), the more ethical the use of a tactic is likely to be. Four conditions are identified that, when breached, are likely to violate an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy. Respect for the dignity of the person is a central factor and emphasis is put on the avoidance of harm, validity, trust, notice, and permission when crossing personal borders.     

Maternal Literacy Beliefs and the Quality of Mother-Child Book-reading Interactions: Assoications with Children's Early Literacy Development

This study examined the relation among mothers' literacy-related beliefs, the home literacy environment, the quality of mother–child book-reading interactions, and children's development of early literacy skills. The participants of this study were 60 mothers and their 4-year-old children. After controlling for mothers' educational attainment, mothers' literacy beliefs were positively related to the quality of home literacy environments and the instructional and affective quality of joint book-reading interactions. The quality of children's home literacy environments and mother–child joint book-reading interactions was related to children's development of early literacy skills. Findings are discussed in relation to the importance of understanding the connection between parents' literacy beliefs and behaviors in designing effective literacy interventions and creating school and family literacy connections.