bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Power Network in Pheonix
Authors: McLaughlin Edmund M. 
Published: January 2010

Dans l'introduction, l'auteur présente le cadre général de "l'étude de la structure du pouvoir", la population étudiée (la ville de Phoenix dans l'Etat d'Arizona) et la méthode d'analyse des réseaux utilisée. A partir d'une matrice symétrique qui comptabilise les liens entre les differentes institutions de Phoenix, établie par un type classique d'analyse des réseaux, l'auteur a employé une "smallest space analysis" pour obtenir la "meilleure" représentation sur un plan (deux dimensions) de cette matrice et donc de l'articulation des institutions, les unes par rapport aux autres. Les données utilisées étaient de deux types différents : d'abord 125 institutions comprenant des grandes entreprises privées locales, les banques, les compagnies d'assurances, les fondations, les grandes institutions d'éducation, les grands clubs et les institutions du gouvernement local et du gouvernement de l'Etat ; ensuite, les noms des 1.848 individus qui appartenaient soit comme dirigeant, soit comme membres à ces institutions. Cn premier traitement de ces données consistait à établir et à comptabiliser quatre types de liens à l'intérieur de cette population. Chaque type de lien a ainsi donné lieu à une matrice symétrique. Le premier type de lien rend compte de l'appartenance d'un individu à deux institutions distinctes. La liste d'individus dans la "Table 1" présente ceux qui comptablisent le plus de liens de ce type. Le deuxième type de lien est semblable au premier sans distinction ici des individus à l'intérieur d'une même famille. La liste des familles dans la "Table 2" présente les plus importantes. Le troisième type de lien est celui entre deux institutions qui utilisent les services du même avocat ou du même bureau d'avocats. Le quatrième et dernier type de lien est celui entre deux institutions, par exemple deux compagnies, qui ont deux membres de la direction qui sont aussi membres d'un même club social. Les quatre clubs sociaux retenus dans l'enquête pour leur importance sont le "Paradise Valley Country Club", le "Phoenix Country Club", la "Junior League" et le "Arizona Country Club". La représentation plane (Figure 1, "Plot of 107 enter-prises"), obtenue par l'analyse des quatre matrices prises ensemble montre qu'il existe un noyau central de 25 institutions comprenant toutes les banques, tous les cabinets d'avocats, les deux grandes compagnies d'assurance, le gouvernement municipal et l'exécutif du gouvernement de l'Etat. Encore au centre, mais regroupées autour de ce noyau, se trouvent 32 autres institutions ou entreprises. En dehors de ce centre, il y a encore 32 autres institutions ou entreprises qui forment une sorte d'auréole. Il reste 18 entreprises sans lien qui ne sont pas représentées dans cette figure. L'auteur termine en décrivant cette représentation de la structure du pouvoir à Phoenix comme relevant beaucoup plus d'une élite monolithique que d'un pluralisme. Il propose de poursuivre cette analyse en l'appliquant à l'Etat d'Arizona.
Structure des Données et Stabilité des Résultats- La Typologie de Base en Sciences Sociales
Authors: van Meter Karl M. 
Published: January 2010

A fundamental characteristic that every social scientist requires of his statistical results is that they remain "stable". This concept includes various ideas, each of a different nature. Research demonstrates that statistical results are not resistant to data recoding even when it is a question of a simple recoding of the variables by their modes which is often used in social science research. Thus, there is a first criteria for stability: the results must remain independant of a simple recoding of the basic data. A second research shows that there are at least two types of randomness: a first type is the introduction of arbitrary data that is distributed in a homogeneous fashion among the subjects. This type of randomness modifies very little the structure of the results. A second type is the introduction of fictitious subjects with descriptive variables that have arbitrary values. This type of randomness can modify the structure of the results. These two notions can be confounded by reseachers on a conceptual level, even if they do distinguish between them on a pratical level in their reseach activity. Thus there is a second criteria for stability: the structure of the results must resist the progressive introduction of arbitrary information or "noise". A third research, which uses four "classical" methods of multivariate analysis employed in social science (two classificatory types: dynamic clusters and fixed center typology analysis - two factorial types: correspondance analysis and principal component analysis), demonstrates that there exist basic types (which constitute a basic typology) that remain unchanged for these four methods, but they are only revealed by the confrontation and the crossing of the results of several methods. Thus there is a third criteria for stability: the results must not rely on one method or one kind of method. We end with a description of other caracteristics that clearly define a basic typology.
Trade union cooperation in the NAFTA area
Authors: Gagnon Mona-Josée 
Published: January 2010

When the plans for a free trade agreement were first discussed, the North American trade unions were unanimous in their opposition to the idea. However, because of the fragmented nature of their action, they were unable to bring any influence to bear on either government action or public opinion. Yet now that trade in North America is becoming liberalised, it is evident that the outcome for trade unions is not as negative as might have been thought: the trade unions are playing an increasingly important role in the development of discussions on free trade, while their organisations have succeeded in reaching closer agreement with each other on these questions and bridges have been built between the unions and numerous forms of pressure group. The discussions on free trade have shaken up and transformed north-south trade union relations. The one-way cooperation between those who give and those who receive is a thing of the past. The trade union movements of north and south have discovered that their interests may lie together, that their needs can be reciprocal and that it is possible, therefore, for them to develop more egalitarian forms of relationship. This article presents, first of all, a review of trade unionism in North America, followed by a summary of the free trade agreements and a description of their application and of anticipated developments. It will then look at how trade union positions have evolved, moving on to an analysis of the power relationship in which the North American trade union movement, and that of the Americas as a whole, has a part to play.
Trade unionism in the Netherlands: back to the future?
Authors: Valkenburg Ben 
Published: January 2010

The proposition that western industrialised society is subject to fundamental change is hardly controversial. If trade unions are to remain actively involved in the context of this changing society, in the role of an emancipatory social movement, modernisation is imperative. This contribution outlines a number of changes in society and how they affect the position of trade unions. Subsequently, as regards the modernisation of trade unions themselves, the author formulates two priorities: the problem of participation and the concept of labour as used by the trade unions. Finally, he analyses the way in which the trade union movement in the Netherlands has handled these priorities up to now. This analysis will focus primarily on the developments within the federation of Dutch trade unions (Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging, FNV). With a membership of over a million, the FNV is the largest trade union in the Netherlands.1 He also looks at the developments within the Christian federation (Christelijk Nationaal Vakverbond, CNV), which has about 350,000 members. At the outset two things should be stressed. Firstly, the author chose a critical approach, but in the firm conviction that a strong, modernised trade union movement is essential. Secondly, the present discussion is limited to outlining developments, which are dominant in the view of the author. Only brief reference will be made to new approaches that occur in concrete trade union practice.
The prospects of the enactment of directive 94/45/EC in the Member States of the European Union
Authors: Savoini Carlo 
Published: January 2010

The adoption of directive 94/45/EC on procedures for informing and consulting employees in multinational undertakings or groups of undertakings is a decisive stage in the construction of social Europe. It does not seem an exaggeration to say that the impact of the directive goes much further than that of simply creating instruments for informing and consulting employees in the multinational undertakings operating in Europe. By adopting this controversial proposal, the Ministers of Social Affairs of the EU Member States sent the citizens of Europe a clear message regarding their intentions in the field of economic development and social policy. The many years of hesitation on the part of the European decision-making bodies, and the contradictory messages regarding the course to be followed in Community social policy, highlight the importance of the stage that has now been accomplished.
European trade union policy and collective bargaining- mechanisms and levels of labour market regulation in comparison
Authors: Traxler Franz 
Published: January 2010

The trade unions' collective bargaining policy must safeguard the working conditions of all workers who are competing with each other on the labour market. Two basic, alternative mechanisms are available to this end: (1) the collective agreement may be signed at a level which covers all the relevant employees; or (2) several collective agreements may be signed at a lower level and coordinated so as to enable an equivalent settlement of working conditions for all the employees concerned. This analysis examines the prospects for setting up a European collective bargaining system. It considers, first of all, the institutional and organisational factors that will influence the development of such a system. Secondly, it assesses which collective bargaining policy mechanisms and levels would, within the prevailing context, be most appropriate for a Europe-wide regulation of the labour market.
Employment and the environment: some reflections
Authors: Gregory Denis 
Published: January 2010

The debate concerning the impact of growing environmental awareness and the consequences which associated socio-economic change may have on the labour market has developed rapidly in recent years. At one extreme, are those who believe that investments in environmental activities are capable of generating hundreds of thousands of new jobs at the national level. The other end of the scale predicts massive job losses if European industry alone has to bear the burden of enlightened environmental policies. Latterly, the notion of a "double dividend" has emerged partly as an attempt to reconcile these two scenarios. Proponents of the "double dividend" contend that by reducing employment "taxes", such as social insurance contributions, any short run cost implications stemming from more effective environmental control regulations can be wholly offset. Thus, theoretically at least, the "double dividend" offers a constructive way forward for policy makers and social partners to integrate the seemingly divergent pressures for job creation and a healthier and more sustainable environment. This article reflects on the contributions made to a special conference organised by the IRENE network in January 1996. The conference examined theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence concerning the employment and environmental debate.
The financing of social protection in Europe: achieving the impossible?
Authors: Hutsebaut Martin 
Published: January 2010

Alarming messages are regularly launched into the public arena concerning the financing situation of the European Welfare States, and in particular their capacity to continue financing public pension schemes. Titles like: Sprengen Pensionslasten die Staatskasse? (Are pensions liabilities going to explode the State Treasuries?) are illustrative of the general trend. Depending on the source of such messages, their degree of reliability and credibility varies. Given the tremendous economic and political interests which are at stake, social protection has become a battlefield between different political ideologies and between public and private providers of social protection or private insurance. Financial data are a central element in this debate. All experts involved with social protection issues are bound to recognise that the future financing of social protection gives rise to serious problems, due to factors which include the excessively low level of economic growth, the unfavourable employment situation, the ageing of our society, the fierce international competititon and the budgetary constraints placed on governments in the run-up to EMU. Where divergences arise is in the conclusions drawn from these findings. Those who believe in solidarity will seek ways and means of keeping the public systems on their feet and adequately resourced: those who, on the contrary, favour less collective arrangements will recommend the development of private insurance systems to replace the public systems, thereby lightening the collective burden. A third possible future approach consists in a sort of flexible policy mix whereby people will be offered a choice concerning the level up to which they wish to join the collective insurance schemes. One thing, however, appears clear from the outset: whatever the option may be, the financing of future social or individual protection will require more money, and the option of individual insurance arrangements could well prove the most expensive choice. For this reason, as well as on social and political grounds, the maintenance of a financially-sound collective system of social protection emerges as preferable.
BCR-ABL enhances differentiation of long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells
Authors: Schemionek Mirle , Elling Christian , Steidl Ulrich , Bäumer Nicole , Hamilton Ashley , Spieker Tilmann , Göthert Joachim R. , Stehling Martin , Wagers Amy , Huettner Claudia S. , Tenen Daniel G. , Tickenbrock Lara , Berdel Wolfgang E. , Serve Hubert , Holyoake Tessa L. , Müller-Tidow Carsten , Koschmieder Steffen 
Published: January 2010

Abstract
In a previously developed inducible transgenic mouse model of chronic myeloid leukemia, we now demonstrate that the disease is transplantable using BCR-ABL+ Lin−Sca-1+c-kit+ (LSK) cells. Interestingly, the phenotype is more severe when unfractionated bone marrow cells are transplanted, yet neither progenitor cells (Lin−Sca-1−c-kit+), nor mature granulocytes (CD11b+Gr-1+), nor potential stem cell niche cells (CD45−Ter119−) are able to transmit the disease or alter the phenotype. The phenotype is largely independent of BCR-ABL priming before transplantation. However, prolonged BCR-ABL expression abrogates the potential of LSK cells to induce full-blown disease in secondary recipients and increases the fraction of multipotent progenitor cells at the expense of long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) in the bone marrow. BCR-ABL alters the expression of genes involved in proliferation, survival, and hematopoietic development, probably contributing to the reduced LT-HSC frequency within BCR-ABL+ LSK cells. Reversion of BCR-ABL, or treatment with imatinib, eradicates mature cells, whereas leukemic stem cells persist, giving rise to relapsed chronic myeloid leukemia on reinduction of BCR-ABL, or imatinib withdrawal. Our results suggest that BCR-ABL induces differentiation of LT-HSCs and decreases their self-renewal capacity.
Comparative analysis of missing value imputation methods to improve clustering and interpretation of microarray experiments
Authors: Celton Magalie , Malpertuy Alain , Lelandais Gaëlle , de Brevern Alexandre G 
Published: January 2010

Abstract

Background
Microarray technologies produced large amount of data. In a previous study, we have shown the interest of k-Nearest Neighbour approach for restoring the missing gene expression values, and its positive impact of the gene clustering by hierarchical algorithm. Since, numerous replacement methods have been proposed to impute missing values (MVs) for microarray data. In this study, we have evaluated twelve different usable methods, and their influence on the quality of gene clustering. Interestingly we have used several datasets, both kinetic and non kinetic experiments from yeast and human.

Results
We underline the excellent efficiency of approaches proposed and implemented by Bo and co-workers and especially one based on expected maximization (EM_array). These improvements have been observed also on the imputation of extreme values, the most difficult predictable values. We showed that the imputed MVs have still important effects on the stability of the gene clusters. The improvement on the clustering obtained by hierarchical clustering remains limited and, not sufficient to restore completely the correct gene associations. However, a common tendency can be found between the quality of the imputation method and the gene cluster stability. Even if the comparison between clustering algorithms is a complex task, we observed that k-means approach is more efficient to conserve gene associations.

Conclusions
More than 6.000.000 independent simulations have assessed the quality of 12 imputation methods on five very different biological datasets. Important improvements have so been done since our last study. The EM_array approach constitutes one efficient method for restoring the missing expression gene values, with a lower estimation error level. Nonetheless, the presence of MVs even at a low rate is a major factor of gene cluster instability. Our study highlights the need for a systematic assessment of imputation methods and so of dedicated benchmarks. A noticeable point is the specific influence of some biological dataset.
Impact of a synbiotic food on the gut microbial ecology and metabolic profiles
Authors: Vitali Beatrice , Ndagijimana Maurice , Cruciani Federica , Carnevali Paola , Candela Marco , Guerzoni Maria Elisabetta , Brigidi Patrizia 
Published: January 2010

Abstract

Background
The human gut harbors a diverse community of microorganisms which serve numerous important functions for the host wellbeing. Functional foods are commonly used to modulate the composition of the gut microbiota contributing to the maintenance of the host health or prevention of disease. In the present study, we characterized the impact of one month intake of a synbiotic food, containing fructooligosaccharides and the probiotic strains Lactobacillus helveticus Bar13 and Bifidobacterium longum Bar33, on the gut microbiota composition and metabolic profiles of 20 healthy subjects.

Results
The synbiotic food did not modify the overall structure of the gut microbiome, as indicated by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The ability of the probiotic L. helveticus and B. longum strains to pass through the gastrointestinal tract was hypothesized on the basis of real-time PCR data. In spite of a stable microbiota, the intake of the synbiotic food resulted in a shift of the fecal metabolic profiles, highlighted by the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (GC-MS/SPME) analysis. The extent of short chain fatty acids (SCFA), ketones, carbon disulfide and methyl acetate was significantly affected by the synbiotic food consumption. Furthermore, the Canonical discriminant Analysis of Principal coordinates (CAP) of GC-MS/SPME profiles allowed a separation of the stool samples recovered before and after the consumption of the functional food.

Conclusion
In this study we investigated the global impact of a dietary intervention on the gut ecology and metabolism in healthy humans. We demonstrated that the intake of a synbiotic food leads to a modulation of the gut metabolic activities with a maintenance of the gut biostructure. In particular, the significant increase of SCFA, ketones, carbon disulfide and methyl acetate following the feeding period suggests potential health promoting effects of the synbiotic food.
Seroepidemiology of human Toxoplasma gondii infection in China
Authors: Xiao Yue , Yin Jigang , Jiang Ning , Xiang Mei , Hao Lili , Lu Huijun , Sang Hong , Liu Xianying , Xu Huiji , Ankarklev Johan , Lindh Johan , Chen Qijun 
Published: January 2010

Abstract

Background
Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease worldwide. In immune competent individuals, Toxoplasma gondii preferentially infects tissues of central nervous systems, which might be an adding factor of certain psychiatric disorders. Congenital transmission of T. gondii during pregnancy has been regarded as a risk factor for the health of newborn infants. While in immune-compromised individuals, the parasite can cause life-threatening infections. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of T. gondii infection among clinically healthy individuals and patients with psychiatric disorders in China and to identify the potential risk factors related to the vulnerability of infection in the population.

Methods
Serum samples from 2634 healthy individuals and 547 patients with certain psychiatric disorders in Changchun and Daqing in the northeast, and in Shanghai in the south of China were examined respectively for the levels of anti-T. gondii IgG by indirect ELISA and a direct agglutination assay. Prevalence of T. gondii infection in the Chinese population in respect of gender, age, residence and health status was systematically analyzed.

Results
The overall anti-T. gondii IgG prevalence in the study population was 12.3%. In the clinically healthy population 12.5% was sero-positive and in the group with psychiatric disorders 11.3% of these patients were positive with anti-T. gondii IgG. A significant difference (P = 0.004) was found between male and female in the healthy population, the seroprevalence was 10.5% in men versus 14.3% in women. Furthermore, the difference of T. gondii infection rate between male and female in the 20-19 year's group was more obvious, with 6.4% in male population and 14.6% in female population.

Conclusion
A significant higher prevalence of T. gondii infection was observed in female in the clinically healthy population. No correlation was found between T. gondii infection and psychiatric disorders in this study. Results suggest that women are more exposed to T. gondii infection than men in China. The data argue for deeper investigations for the potential risk factors that threat the female populations.