William Lane and the Minerva Press in the Review Periodical, 1790–1820

As the most infamous novel publisher of the Romantic period, William Lane’s Minerva Press garnered significant attention in the book review periodicals of the day. This article uses the Novels Reviewed Database, 1790–1820 and quantitative methodologies to track the ways that Lane, his press and the novels it published, were presented to England’s reading public while the press flourished. The Reviews critique the novels’ subject matter, originality, the material makeup of the printed books and gendered authorship. Taking up that data, this article provides a qualitative analysis of the long reaching implications of the rhetoric deployed by the Reviews in their scathing criticisms, and traces how it continues to pervade modern scholarship on the press today

Overcoming Barriers: Engaging younger students in an online intercultural exchange

This paper reports findings from a small-scale project involving an online school exchange between two classes of 11/13 year olds located in the North of England and the Ruhr area of Germany. The overarching aim of the project was to develop intercultural understanding (IU) in foreign language learning through communication in an online environment. Analysing data from website posts, lesson observations, student questionnaires and interviews, the study documented emergent practical and pedagogical issues

The place of research in teacher education

Why is teacher education policy significant - politically, sociologically and educationally? While the importance of practice in teacher education has long been recognised, the significance of policy has only been fully appreciated more recently. Teacher education in times of change offers a critical examination of teacher education policy in the UK and Ireland over the past three decades, since the first intervention of government in the curriculum. Written by a research group from five countries, it makes international comparisons, and covers broader developments in professional learning, to place these key issues and lessons in a wider context

Culture Learning in the Language Classroom

Language learning is linked to culture learning through the assumption that language and culture are inseparable and that full understanding of a language is only possible if learners have some knowledge of one or more countries where the language is spoken. For many years, culture learning involved knowing about national cultures; this has often been criticized as leading to stereotyping or essentializing. More recently, however, the emphasis has been on culture as complex and constantly evolving, and thus, culture learning involves knowing about different groups within societies as well as the changes taking place in those societies. In addition to the long-established focus on knowledge of other cultures, the cultural dimension of foreign language teaching is more recently expected to also influence attitudes and build skills, both components of intercultural competence. Language educators design activities to enhance learners’ attitudes toward people speaking the target languages, reduce prejudice, and increase their ability to interact successfully with such people. Thus, intercultural competence is now considered by many to be a central aspect of learning in the language classroom, even though there may not be as much attention paid to it as might be expected, owing to gaps in language teachers’ preparation or lack of teachers’ skills in culture teaching. This entry provides a historical overview of the cultural dimension in the language classroom, demonstrates how various education policies reflect theoretical developments, and outlines some of the pedagogical principles and methods of intercultural language teachin

Specific immunotherapy in Albanian patients with anaphylaxis to hymenoptera venoms

Background: Severe allergic reactions during rush-specific immunotherapy (Rush-SIT) may occur in the treatment of hymenoptera sting allergy. The objective of the present study was to examine the characteristics of allergic reactions during Rush-SIT in a cohort of patients with allergy towards hymenoptera venom in the mediterranean population of Albania. Methods: A retrospective study was performed using the clinical reports of 37 patients with venom of bee (apinae), wasp (vespidae, subfamily vespinae) or paperwasp (vespidae, subfamily polistinae) allergy treated with Rush-SIT between 1987 and 1996. After hymenoptera sting allergy diagnosis according to anamnesis and intracutaneous tests the patient were treated with Rush-SIT. The protocol lasted 3 - 4 d with an increase in the concentration from 0.01 microg/ml to 100 microg/ml. Anaphylactic reactions were classified according to the Mueller-classification. Results: The frequency of reactions during Rush-SIT for bee-venom was 4.7% and for wasp-venom was 1.5% (p < 0.01). The mean frequency of reactions of Mueller grade II for the bee-venom Rush-SIT patients during the first 4 d (= 26 injections) was 0.73 and for the wasp-venom Rush-SIT patients 0.15. No patient experienced a third-degree reaction. 94.6% of the patient supported an end dose of 100 microg. Conclusions: Rush-SIT is a reliable method for the treatment of anaphylactic reactions to hymenoptera venom even in less developed countries. Bee-venom Rush-SIT was found to cause higher numbers allergic reactions than wasp or paperwasp Rush-SIT

Nickel Challenge In Vitro Affects CD38 and HLA-DR Expression in T Cell Subpopulations from the Blood of Patients with Nickel Allergy

Nickel allergy is a major health problem and shows clinical manifestation of contact eczema. The response of specific lymphocyte subpopulations in sensitized patients after new challenge to nickel has until now not been studied in detail. To evaluate if nickel-based elicitation reaction could be objectively identified by multi-parametric flow cytometry, immunophenotyping of specific T cells was applied. White blood cells from 7 patients (4 positive in patch test, 3 negative) were challenged by nickel and in vitro short-term culture. Standardized antibody-dye combinations, specific for T helper(h)1, Th17 and cytotoxic T cell activation, were selected according to the recommendations of Stanford Human Immune Monitoring Center. In cytotoxic CD8+CCR7+CD45RA+ T cells from patients suffering from nickel allergy, CD38 and HLA-DR were elevated comparing to healthy donors. After challenge to nickel in vitro both markers decreased in CD8+CCR7+CD45RA+ T cells but found up-regulated in CD4+CCR7+CD45RA+CCR6−CXCR3+Th1 cells. Intracellular expression of T-bet and RORγt further indicated Th1 and Th17 cells. Finally, CD4+CD25+CCR4− T cells increased after challenge with nickel in PBMCs of patients with nickel allergy. Flow cytometry based quantification of T cell markers might be used as a specific and reliable method to detect chemical induced skin sensitization and confirm diagnostic patch testing in the clinics

Transcriptional down-regulation of suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-3 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Tobacco is a leading environmental factor in the initiation of respiratory diseases and causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family members are involved in the pathogenesis of many inflammatory diseases and SOCS-3 has been shown to play an important role in the regulation, onset and maintenance of airway allergic inflammation indicating that SOCS-3 displays a potential therapeutic target for anti-inflammatory respiratory drugs development. Since chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also characterized by inflammatory changes and airflow limitation, the present study assessed the transcriptional expression of SOCS-3 in COPD. Methods: Real-time PCR was performed to assess quantitative changes in bronchial biopsies of COPD patients in comparison to unaffected controls. Results: SOCS-3 was significantly down-regulated in COPD at the transcriptional level while SOCS-4 and SOCS-5 displayed no change. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the presently observed inhibition of SOCS-3 mRNA expression may be related to the dysbalance of cytokine signaling observed in COPD