Poly A RNA status and expression of milli (m) and micro (μ) calpains in skeletal muscle of duchenne muscular dystrophy patients

Poly A RNA status and itsin vitro translation in a rabbit reticulolysate cell free system, were assessed in the skeletal muscle of young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Compared to normals there is a significant 48% increase in poly A RNA content of dystrophic muscle and its translatability was increased by 56% based on³⁵S methionine incorporation into total protein systhesised. Immunoprecipitation of the translated products with monospecific antibodies showed that there is a 2.6 fold and a 2 fold increase in m and μ calpains respectively. This underlines the importance of both synthetic and degenerative activities in the early pathology in DMD muscle.     

Poisson Growth Mixture Modeling of Intensive Longitudinal Data: An Application to Smoking Cessation Behavior

Intensive longitudinal data (ILD) have become increasingly common in the social and behavioral sciences; count variables, such as the number of daily smoked cigarettes, are frequently-used outcomes in many ILD studies. We demonstrate a generalized extension of growth mixture modeling (GMM) to Poisson-distributed ILD for identifying qualitatively distinct trajectories in the context of developmental heterogeneity in count data. Accounting for the Poisson outcome distribution is essential for correct model identification and estimation. In addition, setting up the model in a way that is conducive to ILD measures helps with data complexities - large data volume, missing observations, and differences in sampling frequency across individuals. We present technical details of model fitting, summarize an empirical example of patterns of smoking behavior change, and describe research questions the generalized GMM helps to address.     

Impact of the word “bully” on the reported rate of bullying behavior

This study examined whether the definition and use of the word “bully” would result in lower self‐reports of bullying behavior by providing students with one of three versions of a self‐report measure with: (a) no reference to the word bully or its definition, (b) the definition of the word bully followed by use of the word in each item, or (c) the definition of the word bully and no further mention of the word bully in the item stems. Participants (N = 114) completed surveys, and statistical comparisons examined the impact of the word bully on reports of bullying behavior. Analyses indicated that respondents provided with a definition of and repeated exposure to the word bully reported significantly less bullying behavior than those who were not exposed to the word or its definition. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Analysis of Bcl I and Xba I polymorphism in factor VIII gene to detect carriers of haemophilia a in Andhra Pradesh

The efficacy of two intragenic polymorphic markers of factor VIII gene has been examined in Andhra Pradesh population with a view to confirm/revise the strategy for carrier detection that would be precise and economical. The haemophilia A carrier was detected using Bcl I and Xba I polymorphic sites in intron 18 and 22 respectively. The cumulative efficiency of these two sites for detection of carriers is 100% since all 15 families tested were informative for one of these polymorphisms, thus confirming their usefulness for factor VIII gene mutations found in Andhra Pradesh.     

Institutional repositories: is the open access door half open or half shut?

The response of the UK Government to the Report on science publishing by the Science and Technology Select Committee of the House of Commons is criticized for failing to take the necessary action to research or help catalyse a change in the publishing model. The initiatives of the National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Foundation in setting up central archives are examined and their utility questioned. The evidence base for a change to open access is explored.