bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
In vivo pre-activation of monocytes in patients with axial spondyloarthritis
Authors: Conrad Kristina , Wu Peihua , Sieper Joachim , Syrbe Uta 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Introduction
Innate immune responses, including monocyte functions, seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Therefore, we characterized the phenotype and functional state of monocytes of patients with axSpA.

Methods
Fifty-seven patients with axSpA, 11 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 29 healthy controls were included in the study. We determined the percentage of classic, intermediate, and non-classic monocytes according to CD14 and CD16 expression and the expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 1, 2, and 4 in whole blood by flow cytometry. The percentage of monocytes producing interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), IL-12/23p40, and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was detected by flow cytometry after stimulation of whole blood without and with different TLR and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain ligands—i.e., lipopolysaccharide (LPS), fibroblast-stimulating lipopeptid-1, PAM3CSK4, and muramyl dipeptide (MDP)—for 5 h. IL-10 production was measured after 18 h of stimulation in supernatants by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results
In patients with axSpA but not patients with RA, we found higher frequencies of classic monocytes than in controls (median of 90.4 % versus 80.4 %, P < 0.05), higher frequencies of monocytes spontaneously producing IL-1beta and IL-1ra (P < 0.05), and a higher percentage of monocytes producing IL-1beta after MDP stimulation (P < 0.05). Elevated cytokine production was confined to axSpA patients under conventional therapy (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and not found in patients under TNFα inhibitor treatment. The LPS-induced production of IL-6 and IL-10 was lower in axSpA patients compared with controls (P < 0.05). Monocytic TLR expression was unaffected in patients with axSpA.

Conclusion
Enhanced spontaneous and MDP-induced cytokine secretion by monocytes suggests in vivo pre-activation of monocytes in axSpA patients under conventional therapy which is reverted under TNF inhibitor treatment.
Increased carotid artery intima-media thickness and myeloperoxidase level in children with newly diagnosed juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Authors: Ilisson Jaanika , Zagura Maksim , Zilmer Kersti , Salum Erik , Heilman Kaire , Piir Anneli , Tillmann Vallo , Kals Jaak , Zilmer Mihkel , Pruunsild Chris 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Introduction
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a frequent childhood rheumatic disease characterized by chronic inflammation. The latter has been related to impairment of arterial functional-structural properties, atherogenesis and later cardiovascular events. The objective of this study was to examine intima-media thickness (IMT) and the parameters of arterial stiffness in children with JIA at diagnosis and their correlation with JIA subtype and markers of inflammation and atherosclerosis.

Methods
Thirty-nine newly diagnosed patients with JIA (26 girls; mean age, 13.2 ± 2.6 years) and 27 healthy controls (9 girls; mean age, 13.6 ± 3.4 years) were included in the study. Twelve patients had oligoarthritis, fifteen had extended oligoarthritis and twelve had rheumatoid factor–negative polyarthritis. IMT of the common carotid artery was determined by ultrasonography, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and augmentation index adjusted to a heart rate of 75 beats/min (AIx@75) were determined by applanation tonometry. The serum levels of atherosclerosis-related biomarkers, such as asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and adiponectin, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results
Mean IMT (0.46 ± 0.04 vs. 0.42 ± 0.04 mm; p = 0.0003) and MPO concentration (115.2 [95 % confidence interval {95 % CI}, 97.4–136.3] vs. 57.6 [95 % CI, 47.1–70.3] ng/ml; p < 0.0001) were higher in the patients with JIA than in the control subjects. The cfPWV, AIx@75 and serum ADMA and adiponectin levels did not significantly differ between the groups and JIA subtypes. Serum adiponectin level correlated negatively with AIx@75 in patients with JIA (r = −0.38; p < 0.05).

Conclusions
Patients with JIA have increased mean IMT and elevated MPO levels at early stages of the disease. AIx@75 was inversely independently associated with adiponectin level in the patients, suggesting that lower adiponectin levels might influence arterial subclinical stiffening in patients with newly diagnosed JIA.
On the performance of online and offline green path establishment techniques
Authors: Ruiz-Rivera Alejandro , Chin Kwan-Wu , Soh Sieteng , Raad Raad 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
To date, significant effort has gone into designing green traffic engineering (TE) techniques that consolidate traffic onto the minimal number of links/switches/routers during off-peak periods. However, little works exist that aim to green Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) capable networks. Critically, no work has studied the performance of green label switched paths (LSPs) establishment methods in terms of energy savings and acceptance rates. Henceforth, we add to the current state-of-the-art by studying green online and offline (LSP) establishment methods. Online methods rely only on past and current LSP requests while offline ones act as a theoretical benchmark whereby they also have available to them future LSP requests. We introduce a novel metric that takes into account both energy savings and acceptance rates. We also identify a new simpler heuristic that minimizes energy use by routing source–destination demands over paths that contain established links and require the fewest number of new links. Our evaluation of two offline and four online LSP establishment methods over the Abilene and AT&T topologies with random LSP setup requests show that energy savings beyond 20 % are achievable with LSP acceptance rates above 90 %.
Three kinds of new hybrid projection methods for a finite family of quasi-asymptotically pseudocontractive mappings in Hilbert spaces
Authors: Liu Yuanxing , Zheng Liguo , Wang Peiyuan , Zhou Haiyun 
Published: July 2015

AbstractIn the present paper, we propose three kinds of new algorithms for a finite family of quasi-asymptotically pseudocontractive mappings in real Hilbert spaces. By using some new analysis techniques, we prove the strong convergence of the proposed algorithms. Some numerical examples are also included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. The results presented in this paper are interesting extensions of those well-known results.
Relationship building in Vietnamese English written business communication: A systemic functional analysis
Authors: Nguyen Bich H N , Oliver Rhonda 
Published: July 2015

AbstractEnglish has a long history in Vietnam and in the last two decades, particularly for business communication, it has developed with an unprecedented speed. Despite this ascendancy, there is an absence of research regarding English in Vietnamese business correspondence. The current study is an in-depth investigation of this with a particular focus on the written features of English, reflecting the importance of written documents in this context. This research was framed within the theoretical perspectives of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). 303 business texts from various business sectors composed by Vietnamese writers were collected. They were then analysed with regard to four SFL variables:speech functions,mood,modalityandterms of addressto establish the nature of the interpersonal written features developing within Vietnam. The findings of the study indicate that the writers employed several linguistic strategies (e.g., using Vietnamese kinship terms and Vietnamese lexis) and non-linguistic strategies (e.g., using emoticons and written giggling) to establish a close relationship with their interactants. Relationship building was also reflected in the employment of politeness strategies to achieve positive politeness effect. These results suggest that SFL is a useful theoretical framework and analytical tool to uncover how English is employed in different socio-cultural contexts to enact social meaning-making processes.
Graphene Oxide-based Amplified Fluorescence Sensor for Nucleic Acid Detection through Target-catalyzed Hairpin Assembly
Authors: Kitamura Yusuke , Miyahata Takaaki , Matsuura Hirotaka , Hatakeyama Kazuto , Taniguchi Takaaki , Koinuma Michio , Matsumoto Yasumichi , Ihara Toshihiro 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
The fluorescence signal of a DNA sensor based on strand exchange on graphene oxide was amplified using a DNA circuit that consisted of autonomous cyclic reactions catalyzed by the target. Selectivity for the target was retained after signal amplification. The fluorescence signal was enhanced ca. 50–100-fold at sub-nanomolar target concentrations under isothermal conditions at 35 °C.
Case Report: melanoma and melanocytic nevus differentiation with reflectance confocal microscopy.
Authors: Łudzik Joanna , Witkowski Alexander M , Pellacani Giovanni 
Published: July 2015

Historically, melanoma has been typically diagnosed by naked-eye examination and confirmed with invasive biopsy. However, recently the use of reflectance confocal microscopy enables non-invasive bedside diagnosis of clinically equivocal lesions. We present a case in which reflectance confocal microscopy was used to evaluate two skin lesions in the same patient confirming the diagnosis of a melanoma and potentially avoiding invasive biopsy in the second benign melanocytic lesion. Clinicians should be aware of the availability of new non-invasive technologies that can aid in early diagnosis of malignant skin tumors and potentially reduce the number of benign lesion excisions.
Strategic Waiting for Consumer-Generated Quality Information: Dynamic Pricing of New Experience Goods
Authors: Yu Man , Debo Laurens , Kapuscinski Roman 
Published: July 2015

In this paper, we study the impact of consumer-generated quality information (e.g., consumer reviews) on a firm’s dynamic pricing strategy in the presence of strategic consumers. Such information is useful, not only to the consumers that have not yet purchased the product but also to the firm. The informativeness of the consumer-generated quality information depends, however, on the volume of consumers who share their opinions and, thus, depends on the initial sales volume. Hence, via its initial price, the firm not only influences its revenue but also controls the quality information flow over time. The firm may either enhance or dampen the quality information flow via increasing or decreasing initial sales. The corresponding pricing strategy to steer the quality information flow is not always intuitive. Compared to the case without consumer-generated quality information, the firm may reduce the initial sales and lower the initial price. Interestingly, the firm may get strictly worse off due to the consumer-generated quality information. Even when the firm benefits from consumer-generated quality information, it may prefer less accurate information. Consumer surplus can also decrease due to the consumer-generated quality information, contrary to the conventional wisdom that word of mouth should help consumers. We examine extensions of our model that incorporate capacity investment, firm’s private information about quality, alternative updating mechanisms, as well as multiple sales periods, and show that our insights are robust. This paper was accepted by Yossi Aviv, operations management.
Sell-Side Debt Analysts and Debt Market Efficiency
Authors: Gurun Umit G. , Johnston Rick , Markov Stanimir 
Published: July 2015

We explore sell-side debt analysts’ contributions to the efficiency of securities markets. We document that debt returns lag equity returns less when debt research coverage exists, which is consistent with debt analysts facilitating the process by which available information is impounded in debt prices. The effect of debt research on the debt market’s lag is incremental to, but comparable in magnitude to, hedge fund ownership’s effect. No such effect exists for credit rating agencies. We also find that the dissemination of debt reports has an immediate effect on return volatility in both markets, which is consistent with debt analysts providing new information to securities markets. Increased return covariation suggests that this information impacts the pricing of debt and equity in the same direction. A large percentage of debt reports do not induce any immediate debt market return reaction but do induce an equity return reaction, which is consistent with new information being provided despite the absence of a debt market reaction. Finally, there is a systematic variation in the debt market’s trading and return reactions to debt research. Timely reports and those by high-reputation brokers induce a quicker trading response, thus enhancing liquidity, whereas only timely reports induce a greater return response. This study illuminates the institutional underpinnings of debt market efficiency, and it has important implications for information content tests in the debt market, where trading is limited. This paper was accepted by Mary Barth, accounting.
The collision that changed the world
Authors: Broecker Wally 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
In connection with the Anthropocene, one might ask how climate is likely to evolve in the absence of man’s intervention and whether humans will be able to purposefully alter this course. In this commentary, I deal with the situation for very long time scales. I make a case that fifty million years ago, the collision between the northward drifting Indian land mass and Asia set the Earth’s climate on a new course. Ever since then, it has cooled. In the absence of some other dramatic disruption in the movement of the plates which make up our planet’s crust, on the time scale of tens of millions of years, this drift would cause the Earth to freeze over as it did during the late Precambrian. Evidence for this change in course comes from records of oxygen and lithium isotopic composition of foraminifer shells. It is reinforced by records of Mg to Ca in halite-hosted fluid inclusions and in marine CaCO3. In addition, the collision appears to have created abrupt changes in the sulfur isotope composition of marine barite and the carbon isotope composition of amber. Not only did this collision create the Himalaya, but more important, it led to a reorganization of the crustal plate motions. Through some combination of the building of mountains and lowering of sea level, these changes generated a mismatch between the supply of CO2 by planetary outgassing and that of calcium by the weathering of silicate rock. The tendency toward an oversupply of calcium has been compensated by a drawdown of the atmosphere’s CO2 content. This drawdown cooled the Earth, slowing down the supply of calcium. Although we are currently inadvertently compensating for this cooling by burning fossil fuels, the impacts of this CO2 on Earth climate will last no more than a tenth of a million years. So, if humans succeed in avoiding extinction, there will likely be a long-term effort to warm the planet.
Sobolev-Kantorovich Inequalities
Authors: Ledoux Michel 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
In a recent work, E. Cinti and F. Otto established some new interpolation inequalities in the study
of pattern formation, bounding the Lr(μ)-norm of a probability density with respect to the reference measure
μ by its Sobolev norm and the Kantorovich-Wasserstein distance to μ. This article emphasizes this family of
interpolation inequalities, called Sobolev-Kantorovich inequalities, which may be established in the rather
large setting of non-negatively curved (weighted) Riemannian manifolds by means of heat flows and Harnack
inequalities.
Ritter außer Gefecht. Konzepte passiver Bewährung im Wigalois und im Widuwilt
Authors: Lembke Astrid 
Published: July 2015

AbstractWirnt von Grafenberg’s Middle High German romance ›Wigalois‹ features a hero who proves his knightly excellence not only actively when fighting male opponents but also passively when threatened by aggressive women. By killing his most dangerous opponent and burying that opponent’s wife, Wigalois overcomes his passivity and turns into an unquestioned sovereign ruler. The protagonist of the romance ›Widuwilt‹, on the other hand, a late medieval anonymous Yiddish adaptation of Wirnt ’s ›Wigalois‹, is characterized as passive and helpless throughout the text. Instead of overcoming his most dangerous opponent, the hero is overcome himself. Until the very end he depends upon the help of others, especially women. This transformation points to a preference for symmetrical relationships between men and women as well as to a concept of heroism that places the hero within his community instead of apart from it.
School climate as the determinant of the relationship between the level of students’ resilience and school satisfaction
Authors: Tamášová Viola , Barnová Silvia 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
Resilience is an individual’s capacity to recover, adapt, and keep mental balance and normal functioning when exposed to significant adversity. This competence plays an important role in one’s life because it increases the probability of achieving success in various spheres of life. Schools can foster students’ resilience by providing a positive school environment and a sufficient number of protective factors, but it is the subjective interpretation of conditions and experiences rather than the exposure to them that is significant. The main objective of this research was to study to what extent school satisfaction, i.e. subjective interpretation of the school climate, influenced the level of students’ resilience. Not all our findings are compatible with the results of other studies. Despite the limits of our research, its results can serve as a basis for further work as not much has been done in the field of resilience research in Slovakia.
Investigating the English Language Needs of Students at the University of Zilina
Authors: Lengyelfalusyová Dana , Bakay Záhorská Michaela 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
This paper focuses on investigating the needs of students of ESP courses at the University of Zilina via needs analysis questionnaire. The results of the research reveal the necessity to reconsider the content of the study material at language courses at the university to satisfy the students’ subject needs as well as the needs of the international job market by implementing activities enhancing the communicative competence in ESP.
The Soterios Project revisited: status quaestionis and the future edition
Authors: De Groote Marc 
Published: July 2015

AbstractNot until 2006 could the scholarly community welcome the first critical edition of the 103 Quaestiones et responsiones ascribed to Anastasius of Sinai (CPG 7746; M. Richard / J.A. Munitiz. CCSG, 59). However, this publication did not solve all topics surrounding Anastasius’s work, because 21 Greek manuscripts contain still another florilegium, the so-called Σωτήριος dating from before 900 AD, whose core is formed by 88 ἐρωταποκρίσεις. Between 914 and 927 a Slavonic translation thereof was made which has been preserved in the so-called Изборник, a codex from 1073. The first and sole critical edition of the Slavonic text was made by O.M. Bodjanskij (1845). The 900th anniversary of the Изборник in 1973 incited the interest in the Greek original. Eventually, in 1996 the decision to edit the Greek text was made, mainly under the impetus of Prof. em. Dr F. J. Thomson. This edition, originally started by Dr D.Tj. Sieswerda, will be continued by the author of this article in close cooperation with Dr L. Sels, specialist in Church Slavonic.
The propaganda value of imperial patronage: ecclesiastical foundations and charitable establishments in the late twelfth century
Authors: Simpson Alicia 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe foundation of religious edifices and the establishment of charitable institutions in Constantinople by members of the imperial family during the Komnenian period are subjects that have received extensive scholarly attention. The current paper extends the discussion to the period 1180 -1204, investigating the patronage undertaken by the emperors of this time and in particular by Andronikos I Komnenos (1183-85) and Isaac II Angelos (1185-95). In addition to highlighting the ambitious and extensive patronage of religious edifices and charitable institutions by these emperors, the paper explores the character of the imperial foundations in question and considers the motives of their patrons.
Compact lcK manifolds with parallel vector
fields
Authors: Moroianu Andrei 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
We show that for n > 2 a compact locally conformally Kähler manifold (M2n , g, J) carrying a nontrivial
parallel vector field is either Vaisman, or globally conformally Kähler, determined in an explicit way
by a compact Kähler manifold of dimension 2n − 2 and a real function.
A new locality of expansive moss species Orthodicranum tauricum (Bryophyta, Dicranaceae) in North–Estern Poland
Authors: Chmielewski Jarosław 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
A new locality of expansive moss species Orthodicranum tauricum has been found in the Napiwodzko - Ramucka forest, between villages Zginłocha and Nowa Kaletka, Poland.
Moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) of the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mts and the Podbeskydská pahorkatina Upland, Czech Republic
Authors: Ježek Jan , Kroča Jiří 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
The investigation of Psychodidae is still far from finished in the NW part of the Carpathians of the Czech Republic, only 21 species have been published in scattered papers in the past. Altogether 36 genera of moth flies and 84 species including 20 threatened or rare taxa are recorded in this study from 8 localities: 5 mountainous and 3 submountainous sites. Katamormia niesiolowskii (Wagner, 1985) and Threticus negrobovi Vaillant, 1972 are new for the fauna of the Czech Republic, Katamormia strobli Ježek, 1986 and Philosepedon (Philothreticus) soljani Krek, 1971 are new for Moravia (incl. Silesia); three species are new for the Carpathians Mts generally, and 9 for the Carpathians Mts. of the Czech Republic. The total number of moth flies in CZ is increased to 175 species. The communities of moth flies of the preserved areas and localities studied here (in contrast to Kněhyňka 2.) are among the richest sites in the Czech Republic.
Lessons from the “Constitutional Mythology” or How to Reconcile the Concept of State Sovereignty with European Intagration
Authors: Hamuľák Ondrej 
Published: July 2015

Abstract
This paper analyses the question of how to perceive the traditional theoretical concept of state sovereignty vis-á-vis European integration. Within the European project we face the paradox of having two authorities claiming autonomy and dominance. It is undisputable that the European Union is behaving like an autonomous public power - the new sovereign of its kind. But at the same time the Member States also maintain their sovereign statehood. This duality cannot be comprehended together with the old characteristics of sovereignty, which accepts only one holder of this feature. To reconcile the phenomena of European integration and the concept of sovereignty, we must shift into new definitions of the latter. This paper argues in favour of the acceptation of a shared sovereignty concept.