bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The shoulders of our giants: Claude Lévi-Strauss and his legacy in current anthropology
Authors: Doja Albert 
Published: February 2006

EnglishIn the course of anti-structuralist criticism, the main thrust of Lévi-Strauss’s epistemological approach seems to have been lost, to the collective detriment of social sciences and anthropology. By its monumental character, Lévi-Strauss’s work evokes that of the founders of anthropology, whereas, by the way in which it puts in relation the cultural and the mental, it anticipates a theoretical anthropology to come, with the ambition of providing a rigorous method that comes close to scientific knowledge. The fundamental point remains the emancipation of the structural approach from the linguistic model and its orientation toward a new context of science and technology, as exemplified in mathematics, information science, cybernetics and game theory, which made it possible for structural anthropology to innovatively account for the social systems and praxis of competitive and strategic practices.FrenchAu cours du criticisme anti-structuraliste, l'objectif central de l'approche épistémologique de Lévi-Strauss semble avoir été perdue au détriment collectif de l'anthropologie et des sciences sociales. Par son caractère monumental, l'œuvre de Lévi-Strauss évoque celle des fondateurs de l'anthropologie, alors que par la façon dont elle met en rapport le culturel et le mental, elle anticipe sur une anthropologie théorique à venir, avec l'ambition de fournir une méthode rigoureuse d'investigation anthropologique proche du savoir scientifique. Le point fondamental reste l'émancipation de l'approche structurale hors du modèle linguistique, vers un nouveau contexte scientifique et technologique illustré en mathématiques, sciences de l'information, cybernétique et théorie des jeux, qui permet à l'anthropologie structurale de rendre compte de façon innovatrice des systèmes sociaux comme de la praxis des pratiques compétitives et stratégiques.
Self-Organizing Scheduling on the Organic Grid
Authors: Chakravarti Arjav J. , Baumgartner Gerald , Lauria Mario 
Published: February 2006

The Organic Grid is a biologically inspired and fully decentralized approach to the organization of computation that is based on the autonomous scheduling of strongly mobile agents on a peer-to-peer network. Through the careful design of agent behavior, the emerging organization of the computation can be customized for different classes of applications. In this paper, we report on our experience in adapting the general framework to run two representative applications on our Organic Grid prototype: the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) code for sequence alignment, and the Cannon's algorithm for matrix multiplication. The first is an example of independent task application, a type of application commonly used for grid scheduling research because of its easily decomposable nature and absence of intra-node communication. The second is a popular block algorithm for parallel matrix multiplication, and represents a challenging application for grid platforms because of its highly structured and synchronous communication pattern. Agent behavior completely determines the way computation is organized on the Organic Grid. We intentionally chose two applications at opposite ends of the distributed computing spectrum having very different requirements in terms of communication topology, resource use, and response to faults. We detail the design of the agent behavior and show how the different requirements can be satisfied. By encapsulating application code and scheduling functionality into mobile agents, we decouple both computation and scheduling from the underlying grid infrastructure. In the resulting system, every node can inject a computation onto the grid; the computation naturally organizes itself around available resources.
Experiences with Hierarchical Request Flow Management for Network-Enabled Server Environments
Authors: Dail Holly , Desprez Frédéric 
Published: February 2006

The Distributed Interactive Engineering Toolbox (DIET) is a toolbox for the construction of network-enabled server systems. DIET servers provide transparent access to compute resources; resources can be either a single, interactive machine where the DIET server runs each request directly on its host, or batch-managed systems where the DIET server manages request submission and completion notification. A distributed hierarchy of scheduling agents connects the servers and is responsible for selecting servers appropriate to each client request. DIET seeks scalability by distributing the scheduling process and by keeping resource information measurement and performance prediction at the server level. DIET has traditionally offered an on-line scheduling model whereby all requests are scheduled immediately or refused. This approach can overload interactive servers in high-load conditions and does not allow adaptation of the schedule to task or data dependences. In this paper we consider an alternative model based on active management of the flow of requests throughout the system. We have added support for (1) limiting the number of concurrent requests on interactive servers, (2) server and agentlevel queues, and (3) window-based scheduling algorithms whereby the request release rate to servers can be controlled and some rearrangement of request to host mappings is possible. We present experiments demonstrating that these approaches can improve performance and that the overheads introduced are not significantly different from those of the standard DIET approach.
Sorption of iodine on Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide
Authors: Curtius H. , Kattilparampil Z. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractFrom leaching experiments with metallic uranium-aluminium material test reactor fuel elements in repository-relevant MgCl2-rich salt brines, a Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide with chloride as interlayer anion was identified as a crystalline secondary phase component. In the present study, this Mg-Al-Cl-layered double hydroxide (Mg-Al-Cl-LDH) was synthesized and its ability to adsorb iodine was evaluated. The adsorption of I– was rapid, and equilibrium for an initial concentration of 4.25 x 10-5 mole/l was obtained within 48 h. Further results indicated that the adsorption isotherm for I– retention could be fitted to Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations. The values obtained indicate that iodine is adsorbed on Mg-Al-Cl-LDH by an anion- exchange process. The adsorption of I– was also studied as a function of pH. In the pH range between 3.5 and 8.5, the adsorption was independent of the pH. The effects of competiting anions were investigated using an MgCl2-solution instead of water, and indicate that chloride anions have a greater affinity towards the Mg-Al-Cl-layered double hydroxide than iodine.
STAT5-induced self-renewal and impaired myelopoiesis of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells involves down-modulation of C/EBPα
Authors: Wierenga Albertus T. J. , Schepers Hein , Moore Malcolm A. S. , Vellenga Edo , Schuringa Jan Jacob 
Published: February 2006

AbstractPreviously, we demonstrated that enforced activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5A) in human cord blood (CB)–derived stem/progenitor cells results in enhanced self-renewal and impaired myelopoiesis. The present study identifies C/EBPα as a critical component that is down-regulated by STAT5. Microarray and reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis on STAT5A1*6-transduced CD34+ cells identified C/EBPα as the most prominently down-regulated gene. To determine the cell-biological relevance of these observations, a 4-OHT-inducible C/EBPα-ER protein was co-expressed with the STAT5A1*6 mutant in CB CD34+ cells using a retroviral approach. Re-expression of C/EBPα in STAT5A1*6 cells resulted in a marked restoration of myelopoiesis. The proliferative advantage imposed on CD34+ cells by STAT5A1*6 depended on the down-modulation of C/EBPα, as reintroduction of C/EBPα induced a quick cell-cycle arrest and the onset of myeloid differentiation. Long-term culture–initiating cell (LTC-IC) frequencies were elevated from 0.8% ± 0.6% to 7.8% ± 1.9% by STAT5A1*6 as compared with controls, but these elevated LTC-IC frequencies were strongly reduced upon re-introduction of C/EBPα in STAT5A1*6 cells, and no second cobble-stone area–forming cells (CAFCs) could be generated from double-transduced cells. Enumeration of progenitors revealed that the number of colony-forming cells (CFCs) was reduced more than 20-fold when C/EBPα was co-expressed in STAT5A1*6 cells. Our data indicate that down-modulation of C/EBPα is a prerequisite for STAT5-induced effects on self-renewal and myelopoiesis.
hnRNP L regulates differences in expression of mouse integrin α2β1
Authors: Cheli Yann , Kunicki Thomas J. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractThere is a 2-fold variation in platelet integrin α2β1 levels among inbred mouse strains. Decreased α2β1 in 4 strains carrying Itga2 haplotype 2 results from decreased affinity of heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein L (hnRNP L) for a 6 CA repeat sequence (CA6) within intron 1. Seven strains bearing haplotype 1 and a 21 CA repeat sequence at this position (CA21) express twice the level of platelet α2β1 and exhibit an equivalent gain of platelet function in vitro. By UV crosslinking and immunoprecipitation, hnRNP L binds more avidly to CA21, relative to CA6. By cell-free, in vitro mRNA splicing, decreased binding of hnRNP L results in decreased splicing efficiency and an increased proportion of alternatively spliced product. The splicing enhancer activity of CA21 in vivo is abolished by prior treatment with hnRNP L–specific siRNA. Thus, decreased surface α2β1 results from decreased Itga2 pre-mRNA splicing regulated by hnRNP L and depends on CA repeat length at a specific site in intron 1.
Airway inflammation in iron ore miners exposed to dust and diesel exhaust
Authors: Ädelroth E. , Hedlund U. , Blomberg A. , Helleday R. , Ledin M-C. , Levin J. O. , Pourazar J. , Sandström T. , Järvholm B. 
Published: February 2006

The aim of the present study was to investigate if underground miners exposed to dust and diesel exhaust in an iron ore mine would show signs of airway inflammation as reflected in induced sputum.In total, 22 miners were studied, once after a holiday of at least 2 weeks and the second time after 3 months of regular work. Control subjects were 21 “white-collar” workers. All subjects completed a questionnaire regarding medical and occupational history, and underwent lung function testing and induced sputum collection. Total and differential cell counts and analyses of the fluid phase of the induced sputum were performed. Sampling of personal exposure to elemental carbon, nitrogen dioxide and inhalable dust was recorded.The average concentrations of inhalable dust, nitrogen dioxide and elemental carbon were 3.2 mg·m−3, 0.28 mg·m−3and 27 µg·m−3, respectively. Miners had increased numbers of inflammatory cells, mainly alveolar macrophages and neutrophils, and increased concentrations of fibronectin, metalloproteinase-9 and interleukin-10 in induced sputum compared with controls.In conclusion, miners in an underground iron ore mine demonstrated persistent airway inflammation that was as pronounced after a 4-week holiday as after a 3-month period of work underground in the mine.
C-reactive protein levels and clinically important predictive outcomes in stable COPD patients
Authors: de Torres J. P. , Cordoba-Lanus E. , López-Aguilar C. , Muros de Fuentes M. , Montejo de Garcini A. , Aguirre-Jaime A. , Celli B. R. , Casanova C. 
Published: February 2006

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and factors known to predict outcome in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.The following were studied in 130 stable COPD patients: spirometry, lung volume, arterial oxygen tension (Pa,O2), dyspnoea, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), body mass index, fat-free mass index, BODE (body mass index, obstruction, dyspnoea and exercise capacity), health-related quality of life, smoking status, the presence of cardiovascular risk factors or disease, corticosteroid use and number of exacerbations in the previous year. CRP levels were measured in these patients and in 65 controls. Using univariate and multivariate analyses, any possible association with the predictors of outcomes was evaluated.CRP levels were higher in COPD patients than in controls (4.1versus1.8 mg·L−1, respectively). Correlation was found with the following variables: forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1; −0.23), FEV1% (−0.20), forced vital capacity (FVC; −0.24), FVC % (−0.24), Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease stage (0.17), BODE (0.17), inspiratory capacity/total lung capacity (−0.20),Pa,O2(−0.40) and 6MWD (−0.30). Using multivariate analysis,Pa,O2and 6MWD manifested the strongest negative association with CRP levels.C-reactive protein levels in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients are best correlated with arterial oxygen tension and 6-min walk distance. This should be considered when C-reactive protein levels are measured in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use and pneumonia risk in a general population
Authors: van de Garde E. M. W. , Souverein P. C. , van den Bosch J. M. M. , Deneer V. H. M. , Leufkens H. G. M. 
Published: February 2006

The aim of the present study was to assess whether the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is associated with a decreased risk of hospitalisation for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in a general, essentially white population.Data were obtained from the Dutch PHARMO Record Linkage System. Cases were defined as patients with a first hospital admission for CAP. For each case, up to four population controls were matched by age and sex.The study population comprised 1,108 patients with a first hospital admission for CAP and 3,817 matched controls. After adjusting for several confounders, ACE inhibitor use was not associated with a decreased incidence of pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88–1.43). Additionally, no significant association was observed in patients with diabetes, respiratory diseases, heart failure, or patients with both of the last two conditions. Furthermore, adjustment of treatment effects on pneumonia risk using stratification on balancing score also showed no significant association between ACE inhibitor use and pneumonia risk within the different strata (overall adjusted OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.87–1.36).In contrast with previous findings in Asian populations, the current authors were not able to confirm the beneficial effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors on pneumonia risk in a general, essentially white population.
Effects of macrolides on pneumolysin of macrolide-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Fukuda Y. , Yanagihara K. , Higashiyama Y. , Miyazaki Y. , Hirakata Y. , Mukae H. , Tomono K. , Mizuta Y. , Tsukamoto K. , Kohno S. 
Published: February 2006

To clarify the discrepancy between increasing resistance and conservative clinical effects of macrolides on macrolide-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae, the authors evaluated the effects of sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations of macrolides on pneumolysin.In vitro,S. pneumoniaewas incubated with 1, 2 and 4 µg·mL−1of clarithromycin (CLR) and azithromycin (AZM) for 8 h. Western blot analysis and haemolytic assay were performed to examine the production and activities of pneumolysin.In vivo, mice were infected withS. pneumoniaeintra-nasally and treated with CLR (40 or 200 mg·kg−1twice daily) or AZM (40 or 200 mg·kg−1once daily) orally for 7 days. After 72 h post-infection, western blot analysis was performed to examine pneumolysin production in lungs. Survival rates were observed for 10 days.In vitro, every concentration of macrolide inhibited pneumolysin production more than the control. CLR (2 and 4 µg·mL−1) and AZM (4 µg·mL−1) reduced the pneumolysin activities more than the control.In vivo, macrolides (200 mg·kg−1) reduced pneumolysin in murine lungs more than the control. CLR (40 and 200 mg·kg−1) and AZM (200 mg·kg−1) improved the survival rates more than the control.The study results show that sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations of macrolides reduced pneumolysin. This might be related to the effectiveness of macrolides against pneumonia caused by high-level macrolide-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae. Further investigations are necessary to evaluate the effects of macrolides on macrolide-resistantStreptococcus pneumoniae.
Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure: what is the optimal number of sniffs?
Authors: Lofaso F. , Nicot F. , Lejaille M. , Falaize L. , Louis A. , Clement A. , Raphael J-C. , Orlikowski D. , Fauroux B. 
Published: February 2006

Sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) measurement is a volitional noninvasive assessment of inspiratory muscle strength. A maximum of 10 sniffs is generally used. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the maximum SNIP improved after the tenth sniff.In total, 20 healthy volunteers and 305 patients with various neuromuscular and lung diseases were encouraged to perform 40 and 20 sniffs, respectively.The best SNIP among the first 10 sniffs was lower than the best SNIP among the next 10 sniffs in the healthy volunteers and patients. The SNIP improvement after the twentieth sniff was marginal.In conclusion, a learning effect persists after the tenth sniff. The current authors suggest using 10 additional sniffs when the best result of the first 10 sniffs is slightly below normal, or when sniff nasal inspiratory pressure is used to monitor a progressive decline in inspiratory muscle strength.
Combined transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography for mediastinal staging of NSCLC
Authors: Bernasconi M. , Chhajed P. N. , Gambazzi F. , Bubendorf L. , Rasch H. , Kneifel S. , Tamm M. 
Published: February 2006

There are no data available combining transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) of mediastinal lymph nodes and positron emission tomography (PET) in the staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC).The aim of the current study was to determine if these two methods can enhance the negative predictive value of the individual modality alone, for a specific lymph node station, and if this integrated approach can reduce the number of mediastinoscopies.A total of 113 patients with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (≥1 cm), who underwent both TBNA and PET scanning, were included. In 51 patients, histopathology, confirmed by surgical lymph node dissection, was compared with PET results and TBNA.Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy to detect malignant lymphadenopathy was 68 (13/19), 89 (119/134), 46 (13/28), 95 (119/125) and 86% (132/152) for PET, respectively; 54% (6/11), 100 (53/53), 100 (6/6), 91 (53/58) and 92% (59/64), respectively for TBNA; and 100 (11/11), 94 (50/53), 79 (11/14), 100 (50/50) and 95 (61/64) for combined TBNA and PET, respectively.Combination of transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography has the potential to allow adequate mediastinal staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer with enlarged lymph nodes in most patients without the need for mediastinoscopy.
Impact of initial antibiotic choice on mortality from pneumococcal pneumonia
Authors: Aspa J. , Rajas O. , Rodriguez de Castro F. , Huertas M. C. , Borderías L. , Cabello F. J. , Tábara J. , Hernández-Flix S. , Martinez-Sanchis A. , Torres A. 
Published: February 2006

To determine the impact of initial antimicrobial choice on 30-day mortality rate in patients with community-acquired pneumonia due toStreptococcus pneumoniae(CAP-SP), a prospective, observational study was conducted in 35 Spanish hospitals. A total of 638 patients with CAP-SP were identified. Antimicrobials were chosen by the attending physician. Patients were grouped into the following categories: β-lactam monotherapy (n = 251), macrolide monotherapy (n = 37), β-lactam plus macrolide (n = 198), levofloxacin alone/combination (n = 48), and other combinations (n = 104). The reference category was β-lactam+macrolide.The 30-day survival probability was 84.9%. Using multivariate survival analysis, factors related to mortality in the entire population were: bilateral disease, suspected aspiration, shock, HIV infection, renal failure and pneumonia severity index (PSI) score Class IVversusI–III and categories VversusI–III. The association of β-lactams+macrolides was not better than the use of β-lactams alone. The current authors analysed the different groups of patients with significant mortality/morbidity: intensive care unit, PSI Class >III, renal failure, chronic lung disease and bacteraemia. Only in patients with PSI Class >III, who had undergone initial antimicrobial choice classified as other combinations, were associated with higher mortality.In conclusion, the current authors have not demonstrated an independent association between initial antimicrobial regimen and 30-day mortality in community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia patients, except for those with a higher pneumonia severity index score.
Should forced expiratory volume in six seconds replace forced vital capacity to detect airway obstruction?
Authors: Hansen J. E. , Sun X-G. , Wasserman K. 
Published: February 2006

It has been suggested that forced expiratory volume in six seconds (FEV6) should be substituted for forced vital capacity (FVC) to measure fractions of timed expired volume for airflow obstruction detection. The present authors hypothesised that this recommendation might be questionable because flow after 6 s of forced expiration from more diseased lung units with the longest time constants was most meaningful and should not be ignored. Furthermore, previous studies comparing FEV6and FVC included few subjects with mild or no disease.The present study used spirometric data from the USA Third National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey with prior published ethnicity- and sex-specific equations for FEV1/FEV6, FEV1/FVC and FEV3/FVC, and new equations for FEV3/FEV6, all derived from ∼4,000 adult never-smokers aged 20–80 yrs.At 95% confidence intervals, 21.3% of 3,515 smokers and 41.3% of smokers aged >51 yrs had airway obstruction; when comparing FEV1/FEV6with FEV1/FVC, 13.5% were concurrently abnormal, 1.5% were false positives and 4.1% were false negatives; and when comparing FEV3/FEV6with FEV3/FVC, 11.6% were concurrently abnormal, 3.3% were false positives and 5.7% were false negatives.Substituting forced expiratory volume in six seconds for forced vital capacity to determine the fractional rates of exhaled volumes reduces the sensitivity of spirometry to detect airflow obstruction, especially in older individuals and those with lesser obstruction.