bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Interleukin-6 G(−174)C Promoter Polymorphism Does Not Determine Plasma Interleukin-6 Concentrations in Experimental Endotoxemia in Humans
Authors: Endler Georg , Marsik Claudia , Joukhadar Christian , Marculescu Rodrig , Mayr Florian , Mannhalter Christine , Wagner Oswald F , Jilma Bernd 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Background: Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic infections. As the role of the IL-6 G(−174)C polymorphism in determining serum concentrations of IL-6 is controversial, we studied the genotype-specific IL-6 response in a well-standardized model of systemic inflammation.
Methods: A total of 76 healthy young males (age range, 19–35 years) received a single bolus of 2 ng/kg endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] intravenously. Plasma IL-6 was measured by enzyme immunoassay at 0, 2, 6, and 24 h after LPS infusion, and the IL-6 promoter genotype was analyzed by a mutagenic separated PCR assay.
Results: IL-6 increased 300-fold 2 h after LPS challenge and returned almost to normal within 24 h. Neither basal IL-6 nor the IL-6 response to LPS was significantly affected by the IL-6 promoter genotype.
Conclusions: The IL-6 G(−174)C promoter polymorphism does not significantly influence basal concentrations of IL-6 or peak IL-6 in human endotoxemia.
β-Thalassemia Microelectronic Chip: A Fast and Accurate Method for Mutation Detection
Authors: Foglieni Barbara , Cremonesi Laura , Travi Maurizio , Ravani Anna , Giambona Antonino , Rosatelli Maria Cristina , Perra Chiara , Fortina Paolo , Ferrari Maurizio 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Background: β-Thalassemia is one of the most common genetic diseases in humans. We developed an automated electronic microchip for fast and reliable detection of the nine most frequent mutations accounting for &gt;95% of the β-thalassemia alleles in the Mediterranean area.
Methods: We developed a microchip-based assay to identify the nine most frequent mutations (cd39C&gt;T, IVS1-110G&gt;A, IVS1-1G&gt;A, IVS1-6T&gt;C, IVS2-745C&gt;G, cd6delA, −87C&gt;G, IVS2-1G&gt;A, and cd8delAA) by use of the Nanogen Workstation. The biotinylated amplicon was electronically addressed on the chip to selected pads, where it remained embedded through interaction with streptavidin in the permeation layer. The DNA at each test site was then hybridized to a mixture of fluorescently labeled wild-type or mutant probes.
Results: Assays conditions were established based on the analysis of 700 DNA samples from compound heterozygotes or homozygotes for the nine mutations. The assays were blindly validated on 250 DNA samples previously genotyped by other methods, with complete concordance of results. Alternative multiplexed formats were explored: the combination of multiplex PCR with multiple addressing and/or hybridization allowed analysis of all nine mutations in the same sample on one test site of the chip.
Conclusions: The open flexible platform can be designed by the user according to the local prevalence of mutations in each geographic area and can be rapidly extended to include the remaining mutations causing β-thalassemia in other regions of the world.
Validation of a Rapid and Sensitive Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Free and Total Mycophenolic Acid
Authors: Streit Frank , Shipkova Maria , Armstrong Victor William , Oellerich Michael 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground: Because mycophenolic acid (MPA) is highly protein bound and because the free fraction is the pharmacologically active portion, a rapid, reliable, and sensitive procedure is required to study the relationship between free MPA and treatment efficacy/toxicity. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry is ideally suited for such a method.Methods: Free MPA was isolated from plasma by ultrafiltration. An online extraction cartridge with a column-switching technique, analytical liquid chromatography over an Aqua Perfect C18 column, and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify free and total MPA. To investigate ion suppression, a continuous infusion of MPA was introduced into the effluent from the HPLC column, and different ultrafiltrates and extracted plasma samples were injected on the column.Results: A chromatographic run time of 4 min separated MPA from metabolites and internal standard, thereby avoiding interference from in-source fragmentation. Ion suppression occurred well before elution of MPA and internal standard. The lower limit of quantification for free MPA was 0.5 μg/L, and the method was linear to 1000 μg/L. Interassay imprecision (CV) was &lt;10% for free MPA (0.5–333 μg/L). Agreement was good for free MPA (n = 52) and total MPA (n = 106) between the proposed method and a validated HPLC method with ultraviolet detection. The Passing–Bablok regression line was: y = 0.95x + 0.27 μg/L for free MPA and y = 0.98x + 0.03 mg/L for total MPA.Conclusions: The presented method allows the accurate, precise, and rapid determination of free and total MPA in plasma over a wide analytical range covering the concentrations relevant to pharmacokinetic studies and routine monitoring of this drug.
Quantification of Serum and Urinary S-Adenosylmethionine and S-Adenosylhomocysteine by Stable-Isotope-Dilution Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Stabler Sally P , Allen Robert H 
Published: February 2004

AbstractBackground: We have developed an assay that uses stable-isotope-dilution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry to assess S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) in body fluids to investigate the relationship of these metabolites to hyperhomocysteinemia.Methods: Commercially obtained SAM (D3 methyl) and 13C5-SAH uniformly labeled in the adenosyl moiety, which was synthesized using S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, were added to samples followed by perchloric acid protein precipitation, C18 chromatography, and analysis by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry with quantification by comparison of the areas of internal standard and endogenous peaks.Results: Estimates of intraassay imprecision (CV) were 5% and 17% for SAM and SAH, respectively (n = 10). SAM decreased and SAH increased in serum and plasma samples at both 4 °C and room temperature over 80 h. SAM and SAH were unstable in samples stored longer than 2 years at −20 °C. In 48 volunteers, the estimated reference intervals [from mean (2 SD) of log-transformed data] for serum SAM and SAH were 71–168 and 8–26 nmol/L, respectively. Fractional excretion of SAM was higher than that of SAH, and the urinary SAM:SAH ratio was much higher than the serum or erythrocyte SAM:SAH ratios.Conclusions: Stable-isotope-dilution liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry can be used to quantify SAM and SAH in biological fluids and tissues. Sample handling and storage must be stringently controlled for any epidemiologic or clinical use of such assays.
Detection of Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carriers in Human Serum for Doping Analysis: Screening by Electrophoresis
Authors: Lasne Françoise , Crepin Nathalie , Ashenden Michael , Audran Michel , de Ceaurriz Jacques 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Background: Hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) have recently been included in the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency lists of substances and methods prohibited in sports. To enforce this rule and deter abuse of HBOCs in elite sports, it is necessary to develop HBOC-specific screening and confirmation tests that are the usual steps in antidoping control analysis.
Methods: We developed a screening method based on electrophoresis of serum samples cleared of haptoglobin (Hp). Four successive steps (immunoprecipitation of Hp, electrophoresis of the cleared serum, Western blotting of the separated proteins, and detection of hemoglobin-related molecules based on the peroxidase properties of the heme moiety), provided electropherograms that could be easily interpreted in terms of the presence of HBOCs. This method was tested with serum samples enriched with various types of HBOCs: polymerized, conjugated, and cross-linked hemoglobins. It was also applied to blood samples collected from 12 healthy volunteers who had been infused with either 30 or 45 g of Hemopure, a glutaraldehyde-polymerized bovine hemoglobin.
Results: The method clearly detected the presence in serum of the various types of HBOCs tested and demonstrated no possible confusion with endogenous hemoglobin that may be present in cases of hemolysis. The test was able to detect Hemopure for 4–5 days after administration of 45 g to healthy individuals.
Conclusions: The electrophoretic method is a simple, fast, and sensitive procedure that appears to fulfill the criteria of a screening test for the presence of HBOCs in antidoping control samples.
Rates of Positive Cardiac Troponin I and Creatine Kinase MB Mass among Patients Hospitalized for Suspected Acute Coronary Syndromes
Authors: Lin Joseph C , Apple Fred S , Murakami MaryAnn M , Luepker Russell V 
Published: February 2004

Abstract
Background: Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a more specific and sensitive biomarker than creatine kinase MB (CKMB) for detection of myocardial damage. We report the prevalence of positive cTnI and CKMB mass among patients hospitalized with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the potential impact of use of different reference cutoffs, particularly those proposed by European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology (ESC/ACC) consensus guidelines, on rates of diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Methods: We analyzed 1719 consecutive patients with suspected ACS admitted to an urban acute care hospital over a 6-month period. Patients (≥18 years of age) had at least two separate sets of plasma biomarkers (cTnI and CKMB) measured more than 12–24 h after admission to determine the potential rates of AMI based on different biomarker cutoff concentrations.
Results: The prevalence of cTnI-positive cases ranged from 10.6%, based on a cutoff of twice the ROC curve (cTnI ≤1.2 μg/L), to 25.0%, using the ESC/ACC-recommended 99th percentile cutoff (cTnI &lt;0.1 μg/L). The prevalence of CKMB-positive cases ranged from 10.4%, with the cutoff of twice the ROC curve (CKMB ≤10.0 μg/L) to 21.7%, with the 99th percentile cutoff (CKMB &lt;3.9 μg/L). Use of the 10% CV cutoff (cTnI ≤0.3 μg/L and CKMB &lt;3.9 μg/L) instead of the ROC cutoff produced a 26% increase in all cTnI-positive cases. Use of the 99th percentile reference cutoff instead of the ROC curve-derived cutoff produced an 85% increase in all cTnI-positive cases. A substantial proportion of the increase in total cTnI-positive cases was derived from cTnI-positive/CKMB-negative cases: 71 (4.1%), 73 (4.2%), 98 (5.7%), and 209 (12.2%) of cTnI-positive cases were CKMB-negative, as determined by the twice the ROC, ROC, 10% CV, and 99th percentile reference cutoffs, respectively. At the 99th percentile cutoffs, 8.8% of cases were CKMB-positive/cTnI-negative.
Conclusions: Use of lower reference cutoffs for plasma biomarkers, as recommended by ESC/ACC guidelines, markedly increases the rates of cTnI-positive cases overall. A substantial proportion of the increase in total cTnI-positive cases was derived from the creation of additional cTnI-positive/CKMB-negative cases. CKMB-positive/cTnI-negative cases are likely false positive for myocardial injury.
An organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches
Authors: Cunningham James A. , Clinch J. Peter 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThere is a rich terminology associated with environmental voluntary approaches. The richness in terminology is matched by the pervasive nature of the implementation of voluntary approaches into the fabric of European environmental policy and regulation. The lack of a universal definition of what an environmental voluntary approach is has made the implementation task more difficult. The richness in terminology dealing with environmental voluntary approaches is categorized and the characteristics, context and implementation of environmental voluntary approaches are discussed. This paper proposes an organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches, which includes context assessment; instrument rationale; negotiation process; content; implementation; and post‐implementation, enforcement and monitoring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
A holistic approach for construction with respect to environmental law
Authors: Siddiqi Khalid M. , Oberle Rita , Thomas‐Mobley Linda , Kangari Roozbeh 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThe impetus for widespread change within the private‐sector building industry is about no single owner retaining a constructed project during its entire life cycle. This impetus will be difficult to establish as statutory relief because of changes in private‐sector ownership. This is not true in most cases for federal agencies. However, with the advent of sustainability in construction and bioremediation in environmental construction, federal agencies also need to address the problem in an integrated fashion by improving their project management, planning, and implementation strategies. Thus, federal agencies have a responsibility and duty to take the lead in developing processes to ensure environmentally friendly construction. Currently the motivations are only voluntary, not regulatory. The divided nature of the construction industry complicates the problem further. Construction will become substantially more environmentally friendly if private‐sector owners are motivated through rewards and federal agencies through more integrated life‐cycle planning and programming, built within the socioeconomic and regulatory framework. In this article, the building industry, which currently stands fragmented, is analyzed in the context of the incentives and structural changes it needs to implement environmental laws fully. This article presents the motivation for adopting a holistic approach toward environmental compliance by modeling the strategic interventions required. These interventions, within and outside the construction industry, are also used to compare economic parity issues between existing building stock and future environmentally compliant buildings. Fundamental internal and external changes have been identified in the manner business is presently conducted to reward and benefit those who comply with the environmental laws and regulations. The authors further encourage federal agencies to take the lead role, through both voluntary and required processes, in changing the construction industry to be environmentally compliant in an integrated approach. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
How fairness perceptions make innovative behavior more or less stressful
Authors: Janssen Onne 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine how perceptions of distributive and procedural fairness moderate the relationship between innovative behavior and stress. The results of a survey carried out among 118 first‐line managers from six organizations in the public health domain demonstrated that innovative behavior was positively related to the stress reactions of job‐related anxiety and burnout only when levels of both distributive fairness and procedural fairness were low. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The relationship between individual creativity and team creativity: aggregating across people and time
Authors: Pirola‐Merlo Andrew , Mann Leon 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThis paper investigates how the creativity of individual team members is related to team creativity, and the influence of climate for creativity in the workplace on individual and team creativity. A multilevel theoretical model is proposed, and the authors report a study which tests the model using a sample of 54 research and development teams. The results showed that team creativity scores could be explained statistically by aggregation processes across both people and time. Team creativity at a particular point in time could be explained as either the average or a weighted average of team member creativity; the creativity of project outcomes was explained by either the maximum of or average of team creativity across time‐points. According to the model, failure to account for aggregation across time as well as across individuals can result in misleading empirical results, and can result in the erroneous conclusion that team climate influences team creativity directly rather than indirectly via individuals. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intra‐seasonal variability of wintertime temperature over East Asia
Authors: Gong Dao‐Yi , Ho Chang‐Hoi 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThere has been a profound warming over East Asia during the winter months (November through to March) over the past few decades. The goal of this study is to address the question of whether the daily temperature has become more variable in conjunction with this warming by using observed temperature data obtained from 155 Chinese and Korean stations. Prior to the analysis, the annual cycle is removed to obtain daily temperature anomalies for each winter for each station. Results show that the intra‐seasonal variance generally decreases, implying that the daily temperatures are becoming less variable. Considering all stations as a whole, the rate of change is −0.49°C2 per decade (equivalent to −3.59% per decade). The changes are more robust in the northeastern portion of China. In contrast, there are no dominant trends for the skewness coefficients, except for clear negatively skewed trends in northeastern China. These results are consistent with an increase in the number of extremely cold events. Over the region, the frequency of low‐temperature extremes (as low as below minus two standard deviations) increases at a rate of change of 0.26 days per decade, significant at the 95% confidence level. Both the Siberian high and Arctic oscillation (AO) exert a notable influence on the temperature variance. Intra‐seasonal variance of the Siberian high and AO are significantly correlated with the temperature variance, whereas the seasonal mean state of the AO affects the temperature variance by modulating the high‐frequency components of the Siberian high. The intra‐seasonal variance of the Siberian high tends to decline at a rate of change of −10.7% per decade, significant at the 99% level; meanwhile, the mean wintertime AOs have strengthened in the last few decades. These two climate features together make a considerable contribution to the changes in intra‐seasonal temperature variance in East Asia. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society
Impact of sea‐surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Indian Ocean and western Pacific on the Asian summer monsoon in three general circulation models
Authors: Tschuck P. , Chauvin F. , Dong B. , Arpe K. 
Published: February 2004

AbstractThe sensitivities of the Asian summer monsoon to sea‐surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the equatorial Indian Ocean and the western Pacific are compared in three different general circulation models (ARPÈGE, ECHAM, UGAMP). The impacts to idealized anomalies of 1 K show common features, notably a weaker monsoon for warm equatorial Indian Ocean SSTs. For a warm western Pacific, the impact over India shows a dipole structure with increases in the southern part and decreases in the northern part for the ECHAM and UGAMP models, with ARPÈGE showing a different response. The models also disagree on the linearity of the impact. The response to cold anomalies is nearly the same, with opposite sign, as for warm anomalies in the ECHAM model but is non‐linear in the ARPÈGE and UGAMP models. The study underlines the need for accurate measurements of the regional SSTs, which are as equally important for local rainfall as the remote large‐scale impact from the El Niño–Southern Ocean oscillation. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society
Relationships of models of the inner magnetosphere to the Rice Convection Model
Authors: Heinemann M. , Wolf R. A. 
Published: February 2004

Ideal magnetohydrodynamics is known to be inaccurate for the Earth's inner magnetosphere, where transport by gradient‐curvature drift is nonnegligible compared to E × B drift. Most theoretical treatments of the inner plasma sheet and ring current, including the Rice Convection Model (RCM), treat the inner magnetospheric plasma in terms of guiding center drifts. The RCM assumes that the distribution function is isotropic, but particles with different energy invariants are treated as separate guiding center fluids. However, Peymirat and Fontaine [1994] developed a two‐fluid picture of the inner magnetosphere, which utilizes modified forms of the conventional fluid equations, not guiding center drift equations. Heinemann [1999] argued theoretically that for inner magnetospheric conditions the fluid energy equation should include a heat flux term, which, in the case of Maxwellian plasma, was derived by Braginskii [1965]. We have now reconciled the Heinemann [1999] fluid approach with the RCM. The fluid equations, including the Braginskii heat flux, can be derived by taking appropriate moments of the RCM equations for the case of the Maxwellian distribution.The physical difference between the RCM formalism and the Heinemann [1999] fluid approach is that the RCM pretends that particles suffer elastic collisions that maintain the isotropy of the distribution function but do not change particle energies. The Heinemann [1999] fluid treatment makes a different physical approximation, namely that the collisions maintain local thermal equilibrium among the ions and separately among the electrons. For some simple cases, numerical results are presented that illustrate the differences in the predictions of the two formalisms, along with those of MHD, guiding center theory, and Peymirat and Fontaine [1994].
Influence of depth, focal mechanism, and tectonic setting on the shape and duration of earthquake source time functions
Authors: Houston Heidi 
Published: February 2004

Source time functions of 255 moderate to great earthquakes obtained from inversions of teleseismic body waves by Tanioka and Ruff [1997] and coworkers were compared in a systematic way. They were scaled to remove the effect of moment and to allow the direct comparison and averaging of time function shape as well as duration. Time function durations picked by Tanioka and Ruff [1997] are proportional to the cube root of seismic moment if moments from the Harvard centroid moment tensor catalog are used. The average duration of scaled time functions is shorter and the average shape has a more abrupt termination for deeper events than shallower ones, with a distinct change occurring at ∼40 km depth. The complexity of the time functions, as quantified by the number of subevents, appears to decrease below ∼40 km depth. Furthermore, among events shallower than 40 km, the average duration of scaled time functions is shorter, and their average shape has a more abrupt termination (1) for events with strike‐slip focal mechanisms compared to thrust events and (2) for the few thrust events associated with an intraplate setting compared to the majority associated with an interplate (subduction) boundary. In each of these cases, events in more technically and seismically active settings have a longer duration and a more gradual termination. This can be interpreted in terms of lower stress drops and/or slower rupture velocities at active plate boundaries, suggesting that fault rheology depends on slip rate and may evolve as total fault slip accumulates. Furthermore, differences in average time function shape and duration associated with different subduction zones suggest that differences exist in the rheology on the plate boundaries at the various subduction zones.Supporting data table is available via Web browser or via Anonymous FTP from ftp://kosmos.agu.org, directory “append” (Username = “anonymous”, Password = “guest”); subdirectories in the ftp site are arranged by paper number. Information on seraching and submitting electronic supplements is found at http://www.agu.org/pubs/esupp_about. html.