Language readiness and learning among deaf children.

We applaud Goldin-Meadow & Brentari's (G-M&B's) significant efforts to consider the linkages between sign, gesture, and language. Research on deaf children and sign language acquisition can broaden the G-M&B approach by considering how language readiness is also a social phenomenon and that distinctions between imagistic and categorical formats rely on language practices and contexts.

Iron tris(bipyridine) PEG hydrogels with covalent and metal coordinate cross-links.

Spontaneous gel formation of iron(II) tris(bipyridine)-centered poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate ([Fe{bpy(PEG-MA)2}3]2+) was observed without the addition of a cross-linking agent. BpyPEG2 macroligands were first modified with methacrylate groups using methacrylic anhydride and then combined with FeSO4 to produce [Fe{bpy(PEG-MA)2}3]SO4. End group analysis by 1H NMR spectroscopy verified quantitative methacrylation of the PEG hydroxyl chain ends. A series of experiments and control reactions were performed to investigate the conditions required for gel formation. Hydrogels of [Fe{bpy(PEG-MA)2}3]SO4 were produced both in the presence and in the absence of a photoinitiator. Controls using MA-PEG-MA also formed hydrogels in the presence of [Fe(bpy)3]2+; however, the addition of a radical scavenger, TEMPO, prevented formation of a polymer network, suggesting radical involvement. Treatment of preformed hydrogels of bpy(PEG-MA)2 with aqueous solutions of FeSO4, CuBr2, and CoCl2 also produced materials with color changes indicative of complexation.

Predicament and Pilgrimage: Hearing Families of Deaf Children in Mexico City.

In this article, I trace the most salient features of Mexican families' complex journeys as they coped with the "predicament" of childhood deafness. Framing support seeking through the theoretical lens of pilgrimage brings into focus family introspection and captures their tenacity while facing culture-specific obstacles. Ultimately, families realized their quests were not about "fixing" their children's hearing, but finding more reliable communication in sign language. Pilgrimage, as a metaphor for the journeys described by participants, helps us understand families' realizations that the biomedical options most commonly available in Mexico City were of limited efficacy, and reveals collective desire for alternatives to these options.

[Are we realistic about nursing research in nursing schools?]. / Formons-nous réellement a la recherche, dans les ecoles de soins infirmiers?

Education in nursing research in nursing schools in Switzerland has been in existence for many years but has had little impact on professional practice. This kind of education does not meet the needs of the students and the profession. Education in nursing research must be adapted, must address epistemological questions and must be integrated into the entire training programme and not only be offered at the end of the education. It could be summarised in five dimensions: 1) professional teaching founded on research results; 2) the regular reading of research papers; 3) meetings with researchers; 4) teaching of research methodology adapted to the field; and 5) a dissertation adapted to the field and considering the conditions of students' research.

Boron polylactide nanoparticles exhibiting fluorescence and phosphorescence in aqueous medium.

Difluoroboron dibenzoylmethane-polylactide, BF(2)dbmPLA, a biocompatible polymer-luminophore conjugate was fabricated as nanoparticles. Spherical particles <100 nm in size were generated via nanoprecipitation. Intense blue fluorescence, two-photon absorption, and long-lived room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) are retained in aqueous suspension. The nanoparticles were internalized by cells and visualized by fluorescence microscopy. Luminescent boron biomaterials show potential for imaging and sensing.

Synthesis and unexpected reactivity of iron tris(bipyridine) complexes with poly(ethylene glycol) macroligands.

High molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatized iron tris(bipyridine) complexes, presenting hydroxyl end groups for further modification as bioconjugates, copolymers, or cross-linking agents, were synthesized via ring-opening anionic polymerization of ethylene oxide from hydroxyl-functionalized bipyridine (bpy) initiators and subsequent chelation to iron(II). Bpy-centered PEG macroligands (bpyPEG(2)) with molecular weights ranging from 4,000 to 17,000 and low polydispersity indices (<1.1) were obtained. Chelation of the bpyPEG(2) macroligands to iron(II) sulfate was studied in aqueous solution by titration and kinetics experiments, which revealed unexpected air sensitivity compared to nonpolymeric iron tris(bipyridine) complexes. Red-violet aqueous solutions of [Fe(bpyPEG(2))(3)](2+) begin to bleach within hours when exposed to air. Enhanced polymer degradation and gel formation of acrylate-modified bpyPEG(2) in the presence of Fe(2+) suggest that radicals may be involved. Under argon, the chromophores are stable. Polymeric iron complexes are slower to form and faster to degrade in air with increasing bpyPEG(2) molecular weight. These studies demonstrate the influence of molecular weight in polymeric iron tris(bipyridine) complex coordination chemistry and reactivity.