Debate in science: The case of acculturation

The acculturation paradigm of measuring assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization confuses dimensional and categorical conceptions of its constructs, fails to produce ipsative data from mutually exclusive scales, misoperationalizes marginalization as distress, mismeasures biculturalism using double-barreled questions instead of computing it from unicultural measures, and then tends to misinterpret and miscite this faulty science. Extensive published but widely uncited data cast doubt on claims that integration is preferred by minority groups or is beneficial for them. Such salient but unseen problems suggest that the community of acculturation researchers is biased and blinded by an ideology, probably the commendable ideology of liberalism, which advocates freedom of choice, tolerance, plurality, and redress of harm. Phenomenological observations that challenge the paradigm include the absence of studies of majority group acculturation, the well-replicated fact that minorities never prefer pure uniculturalism, the indistinctiveness of cultures, and the predominance of researchers, theory and data from similar Anglo-Saxon settler societies (USA, Australia, Canada)

Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology-2

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/73</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2007;8():73-73.</p><p>Published online 16 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2048967.</p><p></p>activities were assessed radioenzymatically in A23187-treated cell cultures (*< 0.05 versus control levels). (C) MAO-A protein expression was determined in SDS-PAGE resolved total cell lysates. Levels of β-actin demonstrate equal protein loading. (D) Densitometry graph representing gene expression (as a ratio to expression) determined using semi-quantitative RT-PCR amplification of mRNA extracted from A23187-treated cell cultures. (E) Representative RT-PCR amplification fragments. (F) In similarly-treated cells, the production of ROS was assessed using the HO-binding DCF fluorogen. A parallel series of cell cultures were pre-treated with the specific MAO-A inhibitor, clorgyline (CLG; 100 μM, 1 h). Data represent mean ± SD

Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology-3

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/73</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2007;8():73-73.</p><p>Published online 16 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2048967.</p><p></p>, [Ca], and on ROS production was examined. (, the relative fluorescence intensity used for this set of ROS experiments was increased intentionally so as to avoid a "floor" effect, . so that a in ROS production could be demonstrated in CB-28K-overexpressing cells). (B) MAO-A and MAO-B activities were assessed radioenzymatically in corresponding cell lysates (*< 0.05 versus control levels). (C) SDS-PAGE-resolved total cellular proteins were probed for CB-28K overexpression and for the expression of MAO-A and β-actin (used as a loading control). (D) Densitometry graph representing gene expression (relative to β-actin expression) determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, represented in (E). Data are presented as mean ± SD

Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology-0

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Calcium-sensitive regulation of monoamine oxidase-A contributes to the production of peroxyradicals in hippocampal cultures: implications for Alzheimer disease-related pathology"</p><p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/73</p><p>BMC Neuroscience 2007;8():73-73.</p><p>Published online 16 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2048967.</p><p></p>sates (n = 3) were incubated with either Caor the Caantagonist Mg(1 mM) or co-incubated with Ca(1 mM) and increasing concentrations of Mgto test for the potential of Mgto block Ca(1 mM)-sensitive MAO-A activity. **: < 0.01, ***: < 0.001 vs. control. Data represent mean ± SD