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Arterial media calcification is an active cell process. This encompasses osteochondrogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells followed by the deposition of calcium-phosphate crystals. Increasing evidence suggests a significant role for endothelial cells (ECs) in the development of arterial media calcification. This manuscript explores a role for endothelial dysfunction in the disease progression of arterial media calcification. Male rats were randomly assigned to four different groups. The first group received standard chow. The second group was given L-NAME (≈50 mg kg−1 · d−1), to induce endothelial dysfunction, in addition to standard chow. The third group and fourth group received a warfarin-supplemented diet to induce mild calcification and the latter group was co-administered L-NAME. Prior to sacrifice, non-invasive measurement of aortic distensibility was performed. Animals were sacrificed after 6 weeks. Arterial media calcification was quantified by measuring aortic calcium and visualized on paraffin-embedded slices by the Von Kossa method. Arterial stiffness and aortic reactivity was assessed on isolated carotid segments using specialized organ chamber setups. Warfarin administration induced mineralization. Simultaneous administration of warfarin and L-NAME aggravated the arterial media calcification process. Through organ chamber experiments an increased vessel tonus was found, which could be linked to reduced basal NO availability, in arteries of warfarin-treated animals. Furthermore, increased calcification because of L-NAME administration was related to a further compromised endothelial function (next to deteriorated basal NO release also deteriorated stimulated NO release). Our findings suggest early EC changes to impact the disease progression of arterial media calcification.

BACKGROUND: It is found that assigning students to a lower track during secondary education negatively affects their academic performance. As an explanation, it is often mentioned that an anti-school culture in lower tracks undermines students' effort and involvement. AIMS: This study assessed whether going to a lower track affects student engagement. For if an anti-school culture is to blame for limiting lower track students' performance, lower track assignment should reduce engagement. SAMPLE: A sample of a longitudinal cohort study during secondary education in Flanders (northern Belgium) was used to describe development in engagement with n = 5,417 students in 46 schools. Four tracks were investigated across four school years. METHOD: Two main methodological challenges were present in this study, different student intake in each track and many students changing from a higher to lower track over time. Accordingly, we used inverse probability treatment weights with marginal structural mean models to account for different student intake and track changes. A comparison was made per pair of tracks that are hierarchically consecutive by matching students who were comparable across these tracks. Accordingly, there were three pairwise comparisons. RESULTS: It was never found that being continuously in lower track negatively affects engagement. Only for one pairwise comparison, there was evidence that students who changed from the higher to lower track had lower engagement. CONCLUSIONS: We rejected the hypothesis that lower tracks negatively affect student engagement. This makes the anti-school culture as an explanation for lower track assignment negatively affecting academic performance implausible. ispartof: British Journal Of Educational Psychology vol:90 issue:2 pages:1-30 ispartof: location:England status: Published online

The oral health-related beliefs of parents have an important impact on the oral health status of their children; however, they are not stable over time. This study aimed to assess the changes, over time, in the determinants of parental oral health-related behaviour based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and to investigate socio-economic inequalities. The cohort consisted of the parents - mainly the mothers - of 1,057 children born in 2003 and 2004 in Flanders (Belgium). According to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, validated questionnaires, completed at children's birth and at age 3 and 5 yr, assessed parental attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control, and intention towards three behaviours: dietary habits, oral hygiene habits, and dental attendance. Linear mixed-model analyses were applied. Positive parental attitudes towards oral health-related behaviours increased between birth and 3 yr of age, whereas the scores for subjective norms and intentions decreased. Scores remained stable for children between three and 5 yr of age. Highly educated mothers had significantly higher scores for attitudes, perceived behavioural control, and intentions than less-educated mothers. Health promotion campaigns should take these natural changes and inequalities of dental beliefs into account when developing and evaluating interventions.

To study the magnitude of land degradation, desertification or resilience in Montenegro throughout the 20th and early-21st centuries, we rephotographed the landscapes recorded on 48 historical photographs dating back to between 1890 and 1985, and analysed in a semi-quantitative way the land use and cover changes that had occurred using an expert rating system (six correspondents). Time-series of hydrology and population density were analysed for the period since 1948 and were compared with the changes observed using repeat photography. Overall, vegetation cover has strongly increased, and barren areas occupy less space. The industrialisation that expanded in the 1950s led to strong urbanisation. Despite steadily increasing population (with the notable exception of the mountain region), the vegetation cover has increased markedly everywhere. This denser vegetation has led to higher infiltration of rainfall. Partitioning of water led, on one hand, to deep infiltration and better low flows and to increased evapo-transpiration at the boundary layer, leading to decreased total runoff coefficients. In the mountain region, runoff coefficients have increased, which may be related to earlier snowmelt. Overall, the findings of this study are in line with observations elsewhere in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and suggest that, as a result of erosion control and significant vegetation regrowth, the changes observed over a century there has been land resilience and not degradation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background: Empirical studies in Muslim communities on organ donation and blood transfusion show that Muslim counsellors play an important role in the decision process. Despite the emerging importance of online English Sunni fatwas, these fatwas on organ donation and blood transfusion have hardly been studied, thus creating a gap in our knowledge of contemporary Islamic views on the subject. Method: We analysed 70 English Sunni e-fatwas and subjected them to an in-depth text analysis in order to reveal the key concepts in the Islamic ethical framework regarding organ donation and blood transfusion. Results: All 70 fatwas allow for organ donation and blood transfusion. Autotransplantation is no problem at all if done for medical reasons. Allotransplantation, both from a living and a dead donor, appears to be possible though only in quite restricted ways. Xenotransplantation is less often mentioned but can be allowed in case of necessity. Transplantation in general is seen as an ongoing form of charity. Nearly half of the fatwas allowing blood transfusion do so without mentioning any restriction or problem whatsoever. The other half of the fatwas on transfusion contain the same conditional approval as found in the arguments pro organ transplantation. Conclusion: Our findings are very much in line with the international literature on the subject. We found two new elements: debates on the definition of the moment of death are hardly mentioned in the English Sunni fatwas and organ donation and blood transfusion are presented as an ongoing form of charity.

Background: The Occlutech Figulla Occluder is a new innovative device for percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and an atrial septum defect (ASD). We describe the safety and efficacy of this new device at 6-month follow-up. Methods: All 82 consecutive patients (51% female, mean age 49.0 ± 13.6 years) who underwent percutaneous PFO (n = 48) or ASD (n = 34) closure between October 2008 and October 2009 were included. Results: Implantation success was 100%. The in-hospital complications were two new onset supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) (2.4%, both ASD patients), nine minimal groin hematoma's (11.0%, 4 PFO and 5 ASD patients), and one transient ST elevation during the procedure (1.2%, ASD patient). During 6 months follow-up (n = 79), no major complications or reoccurrences of cerebral thrombo-embolic events did occur. Seven patients (8.9%, 6 PFO and 1 ASD patient) experienced a new SVT. One patient developed a recurrent cerebral hemorrhage 5 months after ASD closure, which appeared not to be related to the procedure. Using contrast transthoracic echocardiography 6 months after PFO closure (n = 45), a residual shunt was present in 30.2% of the patients (small 25.6%, moderate 4.6%, severe 0%). In the ASD group (n = 34), a residual shunt was observed in 32.5% (small 17.7%, moderate 14.7%, severe 2.9%). Conclusion: The Occlutech Figulla Occluder appears to be easy to use, effective, and safe for percutaneous closure of PFO and ASD. We report a low complication rate but a relative high percentage of small residual shunts 6 months after closure. (J Interven Cardiol 2011;24:264–270)

This semi-longitudinal study examined the development of narrative writing quality of young Turkish second language learners in mainstream Dutch-only education, and the impact of student-level and classroom-level predictors of narrative writing quality, using hierarchical linear modelling. Writing samples of 106 third graders and 111 fourth graders of seven Flemish primary schools were collected at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Measures included one holistic primary trait judgement, and six objective indices of text quality. Student-level predictors included age, SES and home language, while the classroom-level predictor focused on the home language pattern of the classroom. There was a significant mean growth for each index in each grade, but effect sizes differed from quite large for content and word level indices over moderate for sentence level indices to small for the text level index. Home language (Turkish) had a significant negative effect on all but one variables, particularly in Grade 4, while the negative effect of low SES was much more limited. A supplementary negative effect was found for homogeneity of classroom population. Implications of the study highlight the importance of student and classroom characteristics in writing achievement as well as the need to consider the poor performance of Turkish children.

Tasks are not blueprints for action. A number of empirical studies carried out in authentic classrooms have shown that teachers and students reinterpret the tasks they are offered by syllabus developers in ways that suit their own purposes, learning needs, and interaction styles. This observation has raised fundamental questions about the degree to which teachers who are working with tasks can make any prediction concerning the learning that will come of out of task-based interactional work. In addition, if learners' reactions to tasks are fairly unpredictable, teachers may be inclined to associate task-based work with organisational chaos and with the seemingly unattainable challenge of having to cater to every individual learner's personal whims. Drawing on classroom-based research carried out in Flanders, and describing two task-based lessons that were observed in authentic Dutch as a second language (DSL) classrooms, this paper shows that between the extremes of deterministic predictability on the one hand and complete chaos on the other lies a rich pedagogical space that teachers and learners who work with tasks can exploit to construct shared projects with clearly determined goals. Taaltaken zijn geen blauwdruk voor activiteit in de klas. Uit heel wat onderzoek naar klasinteractie blijkt dat leerkrachten en leerlingen de taken die ze krijgen voorgeschoteld, herinterpreteren, zodat ze beter aansluiten bij hun leerstijlen, interesses en interactiestijl. Dit roept de vraag op of leerkrachten die met taken werken nog wel enige voorspelling kunnen doen over wat hun leerlingen uit de taakuitvoering zullen leren. Bovendien dreigen heel wat leerkrachten taakgericht onderwijs te associeren met chaos in de klas, en met de schier onhaalbare uitdaging om op alle behoeften en reacties van alle individuele leerlingen te moeten inspelen. Op basis van onderzoek in Vlaamse klassen, en voortbouwend op 2 taakgerichte lessen die werden geobserveerd in Vlaamse NT2-klassen, illustreert dit artikel dat er tussen chaos en complete voorspelbaarheid een rijke pedagogische ruimte ligt. Binnen die pedagogische ruimte gaan leerkrachten en leerlingen samen aan de slag rond een gezamenlijk taakgericht project met duidelijke doeleinden.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical utility of images acquired from rotational coronary angiographic (RA) acquisitions compared to standard “fixed” coronary angiography (SA). Background: RA is a novel angiographic modality that has been enabled by new gantry systems that allow calibrated automatic angiographic rotations and has been shown to reduce radiation and contrast exposure compared to SA. RA provides a dynamic multiple-angle perspective of the coronaries during a single contrast injection. Methods: The screening adequacy, lesion assessment, and a quantitative coronary analysis (QCA) of both SA and RA were compared by independent blinded review in 100 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Results: SA and RA recognize a similar total number of lesions (P = 0.61). The qualitative assessment of lesion characteristics and severity between modalities was comparable and lead to similar clinical decisions. Visualization of several vessel segments (diagonal, distal RCA, postero-lateral branches and posterior-descending) was superior with RA when compared to SA (P < 0.05). A QCA comparison (MLD, MLA, LL, % DS) revealed no difference between SA and RA. The volume of contrast (23.5 ± 3.1 mL vs. 39.4 ± 4.1; P = 0.0001), total radiation exposure (27.1 ± 4 vs. 32.1 ± 3.8 Gycm2; P = 0.002) and image acquisition time (54.3 ± 36.8 vs. 77.67 ± 49.64 sec; P = 0.003) all favored RA. Conclusion: Coronary lesion assessment, coronary screening adequacy, and QCA evaluations are comparable in SA and RA acquisition modalities in the diagnosis of CAD however RA decreases contrast volume, image acquisition time, and radiation exposure. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A study of multilingual primary school classes During the past decade, a body of empirical evidence has become available showing that negotiation of meaning promotes the comprehension of oral input. However, to what extent negotiation of meaning can be useful in reading instruction in order to make written input comprehensible remains an open question. A quasi-experimental study was carried out in 8 multilingual primary schools in Flanders. The participants were confronted with a difficult text in 4 conditions: unmodified written input, premodified written input, unmodified written input + oral negotiation with a peer, and unmodified written input + oral negotiation with the rest of the class. The results of the study show that negotiating the meaning of unmodified written input led to higher comprehension than premodifying the same input. In turn, meaning negotiation in which the teacher was involved was superior to peer negotiation. A further analysis of peer negotiation showed that comprehension scores were higher for students who had cooperated with a peer of a different level of language proficiency than for students who had cooperated with a peer of a similar level of language proficiency. The study also yields useful guidelines as to the role teachers should play and the actions they should take when the meaning of written input is negotiated in the classroom. Durante la decada pasada, se ha proporcionado un cuerpo de evidencia empirica que muestra que la negociacion del significado promueve la comprension del input oral. Sin embargo, hasta que punto la negociacion del significado puede ser util en la ensenanza de la lectura mejorando la comprension del input escrito, es una cuestion que permanece abierta. Se llevo a cabo un estudio cuasi-experimental en 8 escuelas primarias multilingues de Flandes. Se confronto a los participantes con un texto dificil en 4 condiciones: input escrito no modificado, input escrito previamente modificado, input escrito no modificado + negociacion oral con un par e input escrito no modificado + negociacion oral con el resto de la clase. Los resultados del estudio mostraron que la negociacion del significado de un input escrito no modificado resultaba en una mayor comprension que la modificacion previa del mismo input. A su vez, la negociacion del significado en la que estaba involucrado el docente fue superior a la negociacion entre pares. El analisis posterior de la negociacion entre pares mostro que los puntajes en comprension fueron mas altos para los estudiantes que habian cooperado con un par de un nivel diferente de dominio linguistico que para los estudiantes que habian cooperado con un par de un nivel similar de dominio linguistico. El estudio tambien proporciona lineamientos utiles acerca del rol que deben jugar los docentes y las acciones que deben realizar cuando se negocia el significado del input escrito en el aula. Wahrend des vergangenen Jahrzehnts wurde eine Fulle an empirischem Beweismaterial verfugbar gemacht, welches aufzeigt, das die Auseinandersetzung mit Begriffsdeutungen das Verstehen mundlicher Anweisungen fordert. In welchem Ausmase jedoch die Auseinandersetzung mit Begriffsdeutungen beim Lesen von Anweisungen nutzlich sein kann, um schriftliche Anweisungen besser begreiflich zu machen, bleibt eine offene Frage. Eine quasiexperimentelle Studie wurde in 8 mehrsprachigen Grundschulen in Flandern ausgefuhrt. Die Teilnehmer wurden mit einem schwierigen Text unter 4 Bedingungen konfrontiert: unveranderte schriftliche Anweisungen, vorab veranderte Anweisungen, unveranderte Anweisungen + mundliche Auseinandersetzung mit einem Mitschuler, und nicht modifizierte schriftliche Angaben + mundliche Auseinandersetzungen mit dem Rest der Klasse. Die Resultate der Studie zeigen, das die Auseinandersetzung mit der Begriffsdeutung von unveranderten schriftlichen Anweisungen zu hoherem Verstehen fuhrten, als im voraus gemachte auferlegte Veranderungen der gleichen Anweisungen. Andererseits waren die Auseinandersetzungen mit der Begriffsdeutung mit erweiterter Einbeziehung des Lehrers den nur aus Mitschulern bestehenden weit uberlegen. Eine weitere Analyse der Auseinandersetzung unter Mitschulern zeigte, das die Verstandnisbewertung hoher bei Schulern war, die mit einem Schuler differenzierter Stufe im Sprachverstandnis zusammenarbeiteten, als bei jenen Schulern mit Mitschuler auf gleicher Stufe im Sprachverstandnis. Die Studie erbrachte auch nutzliche Richtlinien, welche Rolle die Lehrer dabei spielen sollten und der Masnahmen, die ergriffen werden sollten, wenn die Bedeutung von schriftlichen Eingaben im Klassenzimmer vermittelt werden. Au cours de la derniere decennie, un ensemble de donnees empiriques est apparu qui a montre que la negociation du sens favorise la comprehension de l'input oral. Cependant, la question demeure de savoir dans quelle mesure la negociation du sens peut etre utile dans l'enseignement de la lecture pour rendre comprehensible l'input ecrit. On a entrepris une etude quasi-experimentale dans 8 ecoles primaires multilingues des Flandres. Les participants ont ete confrontes a un texte difficile dans 4 conditions: input ecrit non modifie, input ecrit modifie au prealable, input ecrit non modifie + negociation orale avec un pair, et input ecrit non modifie + negociation orale avec le reste de la classe. Les resultats de l'etude montrent que la negociation du sens de l'input non modifie conduit a une meilleure comprehension que la modification prealable du meme input. Par ailleurs, la negociation du sens dans laquelle le maitre etait implique a ete superieure a la negociation avec un pair. Une analyse ulterieure de la negociation avec les pairs a montre que les scores de comprehension etaient plus eleves pour les eleves qui avaient coopere avec un pair ayant un niveau different de maitrise du langage que pour les eleves ayant coopere avec un pair ayant un niveau de langage equivalent. L'etude fournit egalement des indications utiles quant au role que devraient jouer les enseignants et comment agir quand le sens de l'input ecrit est negocie dans la classe.

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) is much more than a didactic or technological issue. On the basis of contemporary approaches to culture, it is both an agent and a barometer of culture: culture influences the appearances, models and contents of ODL, but is influenced itself as well by the ODL phenomenon. Illustration of the point is made through an analysis of the historic roots of ODL in comparison with Europe's contemporary transnational and technology based ODL. The analysis results in an agenda for important cultural issues, such as the institutional character of ODL, its contribution to Europe's competitiveness, the shaping of a European citizenship, and the nature of European ODL in terms of its cultural barriers and cultural assets. The ambiguity of culture typically emerges when looking at language. European transnational, and especially technology based ODL, may be hindered by the multilingual societies of Europe, and remain so as long as language policies are imposed. It is advocated that language policies be replaced with language management, applied in a creative way (eg, by implementing appropriate technical solutions). The final question examined here, is whether these problems and solutions are particular to Europe, or whether there are good reasons for acknowledging the cultural origins, barriers and assets of a wider ODL model.

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of various types of negotiation on learners' output. Three groups of 16 child learners of Dutch (NSs and NNSs) participated in the study, which asked them to orally describe a series of pictures to a partner in a communicative context. The results showed that the extent to which, and the ways in which, the participants interactionally modified their output during negotiations were determined by the type of negative feedback they received. The negotiations also had significant delayed effects: Performing the same communicative task with another partner in a posttest, the language learners who had been pushed in preceding negotiations produced a significantly greater quantity of output, provided more essential information, and displayed a greater range of vocabulary than language learners in a comparison group who had not been pushed. On the other hand, the negotiations had no significant effects on the syntactic complexity nor on the grammatical correctness of the learners' output during the posttest.

NMRI mice were fed diets supplemented with 0.05, 0.2, or 2% (w/w) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid present in fish oil, for 3 d, 3 wk, or 3 mon. The doses of DHA were chosen to supply the mice with concentrations of DHA which approximate those that have been reported to be beneficial to patients with peroxisomal disease. Diets containing 0.05 or 0.2% DHA did not change hepatic, myocardial, and renal catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) activity except for a slight but significant increase (to 120%) in myocardial catalase activity in mice treated with the 0.05% DHA diet for 3 mon. A diet with 2% DHA induced myocardial catalase activity to 150% after both 3 d and 3 wk of administration. In the liver of mice fed this diet for 3 wk, hepatic catalase activity was increased to 140% while no induction of palmitoyl-CoA oxidase (EC 1.3.99.3), urate oxidase (EC 1.7.3.3), and L-alpha-hydroxyisovalerate oxidase (EC 1.1.3.a) was observed. With the light microscope, no changes in peroxisomal morphology were visually evaluated in catalase stained sections of liver, myocardium, and kidney of mice fed either diet. Our results show that in healthy mice a low dietary DHA dose (0.2%; this corresponds to a dose prescribed to peroxisomal patients) has no effect on several hepatic peroxisomal H2O2-producing enzymes, including the rate-limiting enzyme of the peroxisomal fatty acid beta-oxidation. This may indicate that such a DHA dose will not add a strong load on the often disturbed fatty acid metabolism in the liver of patients with peroxisomal disorders.

We present a 72-year-old man with long-standing moderate hypertension, due to an aortic coarctation, who presented with a myocardial infarction. In view of his advanced age the aortic coarctation was treated conservatively.

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for man and animal. Supplementation of Se has been done with Se-enriched yeast and inorganic Se compounds. In the present study a quantitative and qualitative evaluation was made of whether lactobacilli are able to concentrate Se. A high correlation was found between the bacterial Se concentration and the concentration of Se in the medium. The Se concentration in biomass was respectively 253 ± 50, 375 ± 33 and 407 ± 108 μg g -1 dry weight for Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lact. plantarum and Lact. casei subsp. casei when 1 mg l -1 Se 4+ was present in the medium. Manganese (Mn) was concentrated in Lact. plantarum and Lact. casei subsp. casei but not in Lact. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. The Mn concentration in biomass was higher compared to the Se concentration but this difference decreased when the concentration of Mn/Se increased in the culture medium. Copper, zinc and iron were also concentrated in biomass of Lact. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. Characterization of the bacterial selenocompound revealed that 75 Se was generally incorporated, as selenocysteine, into protein of Lact. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. Addition of L-cysteine to the medium decreased the bacterial Se content. It was concluded that Lact. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus incorporated Se non-specifically into bacterial protein. The application of Se-enriched lactobacilli (Se-Lb) in Se supplementation would be an interesting approach since selenomethionine, which is the major selenocompound in commercialized Se-yeast, was not detected in Se-Lb and because lactobacilli are already widely used in human nutrition.

Bronchopulmonary sequestrations are malformations that are often congenital; they consist of isolated nonfunctioning lung segments having no communication with functional tracheobronchial elements of the surrounding lung. They are supplied by single or multiple branches from the distal thoracic or proximal abdominal aorta, or from the celiac, splenic, intercostal, subclavian, or pulmonary artery. Due to the absence of ventilation, the lung tissue can become chronically infected. We describe an intralobar pulmonary sequestration with arterial supply from the right coronary artery. Cathet. Cardiovasc. Intervent. 47:218–220, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We present a 58-yr-old woman with unstable angina due to a coronary steal phenomenon down a bronchial side branch draining into the pulmonary circulation, 1 yr after coronary bypass grafting. The patient was cured of angina pectoris after microcoil embolization of the bronchial side branch.