1,447 research outputs found
Research Synthesis of Studies Published Between 1990 and 2012
No full textIn this chapter, the results of a research synthesis of the effects on school size on various outcome variables are presented. The present review built on an earlier “quick scan” on the impact of secondary school size on achievement, social cohesion, school safety, and involvement conducted for the Dutch Ministry of Education and Sciences in 2008 (Hendriks et al. 2008). It focuses on a broader set of outcome variables, and includes studies that investigated the effects of school size in primary education as well. Studies that provided information about economies of school size were included as well
Disruption of the developmental programme of Trypanosoma brucei by genetic ablation of TbZFP1, a differentiation-enriched CCCH protein
No full textThe regulation of differentiation is particularly important in microbial eukaryotes that inhabit multiple environments. The parasite Trypanosoma brucei is an extreme example of this, requiring exquisite gene regulation during transmission from mammals to the tsetse fly vector. Unusually, trypanosomes rely almost exclusively on post-transcriptional mechanisms for regulated gene expression. Hence, RNA binding proteins are potentially of great significance in controlling stage-regulated processes. We have previously identified TbZFP1 as a trypanosome molecule transiently enriched during differentiation to tsetse midgut procyclic forms. This small protein (101 amino acids) contains the unusual CCCH zinc finger, an RNA binding motif. Here, we show that genetic ablation of TbZFP1 compromises repositioning of the mitochondrial genome, a specific event in the strictly regulated differentiation programme. Despite this, other events that occur both before and after this remain intact. Significantly, this phenotype correlates with the TbZFP1 expression profile during differentiation. This is the first genetic disruption of a developmental regulator in T. brucei. It demonstrates that programmed events in parasite development can be uncoupled at the molecular level. It also further supports the importance of CCCH proteins in key aspects of trypanosome cell function
School Size Effects: Review and Conceptual Analysis
No full textIn this chapter, a review of international review studies on school size effects is presented. Next, ingredients of a more contextualized and tentative causal mediation model of school size effects are discussed. The chapter is completed by a short overview of school size effects as found in international comparative assessment studies and by a synthesis of Dutch empirical studies that have addressed school size effects, in terms of achievement and attainment outcomes, costs, social outcomes, and good teaching practice
EMS-embedded green supply chain management practices and corporate financial performance
No full textCorrection to: Assessing the quality of cardiac rehabilitation programs by measuring adherence to the Australian quality indicators
No full textFollowing publication of the original article [1], the authors identified two errors in the author names. Firstly, the two co-authors’ names J Hendriks and C Gallagher were mistakenly merged into one name ‘Hendriks Gallagher JC’. Secondly, the given name and family name were erroneously transposed. The author group has been updated above and the original article [1] has been corrected
Introduction
No full textSize of school organizations is a recurrent theme in Dutch education policy and has shown fluctuations in the past 20 years. From the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s the government policy has been strongly focused on stimulated scaling-up in all sectors of education, see e.g., the report “Scale and quality in primary education” (Ministerie van Onderwijs and Wetenschappen 1990). The expectation was that scaling-up would be both cost-effective and beneficial to the quality of education and the educational career opportunities for pupils (due to e.g., more choice within larger institutions, easier transfer opportunities to other programs, and more opportunities for professionalization and specialization of staff). From the perspective of school boards, school leaders, and government finally, scaling-up was seen as an important precondition for more decentralization and increased autonomy of schools and institutions. One of the assumptions was that by increasing the autonomy of schools and school boards a more differentiated curriculum would emerge (Onderwijsraad 2005; Ministerie van Onderwijs et al. 2008; NWO 2011; Van de Venne 2006)
The Impact of Phytosterols on the Healthy and Diseased Brain
No full textThe central nervous system (CNS) is the most cholesterol-rich organ in mammals. Cholesterol homeostasis is essential for proper brain functioning and dysregulation of cholesterol metabolism can lead to neurological problems. Multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are examples of neurological diseases that are characterized by a disturbed cholesterol metabolism. Phytosterols (PS) are plant-derived components that structurally and functionally resemble cholesterol. PS are known for their cholesterol-lowering properties. Due to their ability to reach the brain, researchers have started to investigate the physiological role of PS in the CNS. In this review, the metabolism and function of PS in the diseased and healthy CNS are discussed.This work was supported by grants of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO; 12J9116N, 12JG119N, and G099618N to Tess Dierckx, Jeroen F.J. Bogie and Jerome J.A. Hendriks).Hendriks, JJA (reprint author), Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Diepenbeek, Hassett, Belgium.
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Cytochrome oxidase subunit VI of Trypanosoma brucei is imported without a cleaved presequence and is developmentally regulated at both RNA and protein levels
No full textMitochondrial respiration in the African trypanosome undergoes dramatic developmental stage regulation. This requires co-ordinated control of components encoded by both the nuclear genome and the kinetoplast, the unusual mitochondrial genome of these parasites. As a model for understanding the co-ordination of these genomes, we have examined the regulation and mitochondrial import of a nuclear-encoded component of the cytochrome oxidase complex, cytochrome oxidase subunit VI (COXVI). By generating transgenic trypanosomes expressing intact or mutant forms of this protein, we demonstrate that COXVI is not imported using a conventional cleaved presequence and show that sequences at the N-terminus of the protein are necessary for correct mitochondrial sorting. Analyses of endogenous and transgenic COXVI mRNA and protein expression in parasites undergoing developmental stage differentiation demonstrates a temporal order of control involving regulation in the abundance of, first, mRNA and then protein. This represents the first dissection of the regulation and import of a nuclear-encoded protein into the cytochrome oxidase complex in these organisms, which were among the earliest eukaryotes to possess a mitochondrion
Durability-based design: the European perspective
No full textIn Europe, design for the durability of new reinforced concrete structures is currently based on a prescriptive approach. The design, execution (construction) and planned maintenance of a concrete structure have to lead to the intended level of safety and serviceability throughout its entire service life. This requires numeric models based on a sound scientific background of mechanistic understanding as the basis for design and management tools and for the further development of standards and regulations. Designers must understand the basic deterioration mechanisms and the potential types and rates of damage development. For example, different types of corrosion cause very different damage developments, some of which reduce structural safety. We propose that the next generation of service life models should either explicitly include the propagation period or implicitly include it by selecting an accepted probability of depassivation that reflects the type of corrosion and its structural implications.</p
CNS delivery of anti-CD52 antibodies modestly reduces disease severity in an animal model for multiple sclerosis
No full textBackground and aims: Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that depletes CD52-bearing B and T lymphocytes. Clinical trials defined that systemic administration of alemtuzumab reduces disease severity in the relapsing-remitting phase of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, its efficacy in progressive MS patients is limited, which may reflect the inability of alemtuzumab to cross the reconstituted BBB in these patients. Objective: to study whether central nervous system (CNS) delivery of anti-CD52 antibodies reduces disease severity and the neuroinflammatory burden in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model. Methods: Anti-CD52 antibodies were administered intrathecally during the acute and chronic phases of EAE. Flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry were utilized to define immunological and pathological parameters. Results: We show that subcutaneously administrated anti-CD52 antibodies completely abolish EAE disease severity. CNS delivery of anti-CD52 antibodies during both the acute and chronic phases of EAE moderately reduces disease severity and the neuroinflammatory burden. Our findings further suggest that CNS delivery of anti-CD52 antibodies impacts both the peripheral and CNS immune cell compartments in the EAE model but not in healthy mice. Conclusion: Collectively, our findings highlight the therapeutic potential of CNS delivery of alemtuzumab for the treatment of progressive as well as early MS.The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was funded by Sanofi Genzyme, and grants of the Belgian Charcot Foundation, Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), and European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS).Hendriks, JJA (corresponding author), Hasselt Univ, Biomed Res Inst, Dept Immunol & Infect, Agoralaan Bldg C, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
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