Tufts University

About: Tufts University is a education organization based out in Medford, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 32800 authors who have published 66881 publications receiving 3451152 citations. The organization is also known as: Tufts College & Universitatis Tuftensis.

Classroom Belonging among Early Adolescent Students: Relationships to Motivation and Achievement

Abstract: Early adolescents'sense of classroom belonging and support-of being liked, respected, and valued by fellow students and by the teacher-was investigated among 353 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade middle school students. Focusing on one academic class, students completed scales of classroom belonging and support, expectancies for success, and intrinsic interest and value; course grades and effort ratings were obtained from English teachers. Each of three belonging/support factors identified by principal components analysis contributed significantly to explaining variance in expectancies and value, with teacher support having the most consistently substantial influence across student subgroups. The strength of association between support and motivation dropped significantly from sixth to eighth grade. Teacher support was more closely related to motivation for girls than for boys. Expectancy was the primary predictor of class effort and grades. These findings underscore the importance of belonging and inter...

Periodontal Disease and Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract: It is our central hypothesis that periodontal diseases, which are chronic Gramnegative infections, represent a previously unrecognized risk factor for atherosclerosis and thromboembolic events. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between periodontal disease severity and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. We hypothesize that this association may be due to an underlying inflammatory response trait, which places an individual at high risk for developing both periodontal disease and atherosclerosis. We further suggest that periodontal disease, once established, provides a biological burden of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide) and inflammatory cytokines (especially TxA2 , IL-1β, PGE2 , and TNF-α) which serve to initiate and exacerbate atherogenesis' and thromboembolic events. A cohort study was conducted using combined data from the Normative Aging Study and the Dental Longitudinal Study sponsored by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Mean bone loss scores and worst probing pocket depth scores per tooth were measured on 1,147 men during 1968 to 1971. Information gathered during follow-up examinations showed that 207 men developed coronary heart disease (CHD), 59 died of CHD, and 40 had strokes. Incidence odds ratios adjusted for established cardiovascular risk factors were 1.5, 1.9, and 2.8 for bone loss and total CHD, fatal CHD, and stroke, respectively. Levels of bone loss and cumulative incidence of total CHD and fatal CHD indicated a biologic gradient between severity of exposure and occurrence of disease. J Periodontol 1996;67:1123-1137.

Recognition of unique carboxyl-terminal motifs by distinct PDZ domains

Abstract: The oriented peptide library technique was used to investigate the peptide-binding specificities of nine PDZ domains. Each PDZ domain selected peptides with hydrophobic residues at the carboxyl terminus. Individual PDZ domains selected unique optimal motifs defined primarily by the carboxyl terminal three to seven residues of the peptides. One family of PDZ domains, including those of the Discs Large protein, selected peptides with the consensus motif Glu-(Ser/Thr)-Xxx-(Val/Ile) (where Xxx represents any amino acid) at the carboxyl terminus. In contrast, another family of PDZ domains, including those of LIN-2, p55, and Tiam-1, selected peptides with hydrophobic or aromatic side chains at the carboxyl terminal three residues. On the basis of crystal structures of the PSD-95-3 PDZ domain, the specificities observed with the peptide library can be rationalized.