Early childhood teachers' preparation and the quality of program outcomes

The issue of the preparation of effective teachers becomes more critical for teachers of early childhood programs. It has been hypothesized that better program quality depends on better-educated teachers. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the importance of a high level of education for all early childhood education teachers. This issue has intrigued early childhood researchers and has prompted a large amount of research studies over the past decades. In order to assess the status of this line of inquiry and to provide guidance for future research, a critical analysis of 40 studies on the preparation of early childhood education teachers and the quality of their educational programs that were published within a 15-year (1989-2004) period is presented here. The analysis consisted of literal and allegorical critical analysis and interpretative critical analyses, which generated results in three main areas that focused on the professional development of the teachers, including teachers' professional development, the importance of a Bachelor's Degree and educational standards for early childhood education teachers.     

Porphyrins and pentachlorophenol in rat-liver mitochondria in hexachlorobenzene-induced porphyria

This study investigated the extent of impairment in functional parameters of liver mitochondria from rats treated for 60 days with hexachlorobenzene (HCB). A constant amount of mitochondrial uncoupling was found throughout the treatment period. At the same time a nearly constant amount of pentachlorophenol was detected in these mitochondria. In contrast, the level of mitochondrial porphyrins increased progressively. There was good correlation between the concentration of mitochondrial pentachlorophenol and the degree of uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation.     

Prostaglandin E2 correlates with histamine production in human colorectal cancer

Inflammation Research - .     

The future of teacher education in the changing world

Critical issues in the field of teacher education are identified and related to concerns for the preparation of early childhood teachers and the search for professionalism. A concern for quantity and standards and the clarification of professional knowledge are identified as issues of international significance.     

Evaluation and comparison of radioimmunoassay methods using monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies for the assay of cyclosporine in blood samples

Results obtained measuring blood Cyclosporine A (CsA) concentrations in transplanted patients (124 samples of cardiac, 20 samples of liver, and 10 samples of kidney transplanted patients) by the use of two monoclonal radioimmunoassay (RIA) methods have been compared with those found using the HPLC technique (considered as the reference method) and two polyclonal RIAs. In addition, results on quality control samples collected in a multicentre collaborative study for CsA assay from the users of the same monoclonal and polyclonal RIAs were analysed to evaluate the performance of the methods under study. Polyclonal RIAs, which measure both the parent molecule and its metabolites, produced results 1.5-3 times higher than HPLC or monoclonal RIAs. On the contrary the two RIAs, which use monoclonal antibodies specific for CsA, show a better correlation with HPLC; these RIAs, which measure the intact drug molecule only, are recommended when the monitoring of the native molecule of CsA is requested. As far as the reproducibility is concerned, the four RIAs (both polyclonal and monoclonal) exhibit an unsatisfactory degree of between-assay and between-lab precision, since the coefficients of variation (CVs) ranged from 19.4% to 23.1%.     

Immune response to lipopolysaccharide in primary biliary cirrhosis and autoimmune diseases

A bacteriological aetiology is suspected to be the triggering factor in primary biliary cirrhosis. We studied lipid A, the toxic and immunogenic moiety of gram-negative bacteria lipopolysaccharide, which accumulates abnormally in Kupffer cells, hepatocytes, and biliary epithelial cells in primary biliary cirrhosis patients. Anti-lipid A antibody levels from serum samples from 36 primary biliary cirrhosis patients, drawn before and after ursodeoxycholic acid treatment, were compared to those from patients with other liver diseases (n=236), non-hepatic diseases (n=249), and healthy subjects (n=75). In primary biliary cirrhosis patients, the prevalence of IgM anti-lipid A antibodies was higher before than after ursodeoxycholic acid therapy (64% vs 22%, respectively; P<0.001). Patients with anti-lipid A antibodies had significantly higher IgM levels than those without antibodies (8.7+/-1.1 g/l vs 4.4+/-0.8 g/l, P<0.02). Total IgM levels were correlated with anti-lipid A antibody levels (r=0.65, P<0.02). After therapy, the serum IgM levels decreased significantly (P<0.03). These results indicate that bacterial antigens may participate in the observed increase of serum IgM levels, and support an aetiological role of a gut-derived endotoxin antigen in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis.