bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Viewpoint: “Underutilisation of novel antiplatelet agents – myths, generics, and economics”
Authors: Fortmann Seth D. , Serebruany Victor L. 
Published: May 2014

SummaryTwo oral antiplatelet agents have been recently introduced for acute coronary syndromes indication providing alternatives for dual therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel. In fact, worldwide prasugrel has been on the market for four years, and ticagrelor for over two years. Despite declared benefits over clopidogrel, including hypothetical cost saving advantages, in real life, the clinical utilisation of both agents is small. Generic clopidogrel, and price differences are claimed as major obstacles to prevent broader prasugrel and ticagrelor use. However, these economic difficulties are barely supported by available evidence, and served mostly to protect questionable management spending, as an exuse to explain why in reality cardiologists are so sceptical about both novel agents, and to convince the sharehoders that their money is not wasted, misleading the owners with regard to future success. Importantly, brand Plavix® is used worldwide 5–10 times more often than new agents, despite heavy generic competition. The future of prasugrel outside Japan, where much lower reasonable dose will be used is not impressive due to lack of further outcome studies, negative results of the latest trials, and less than four years left before patent expiration. The fate of ticagrelor will depend on verification of deaths numbers in the ongoing United States Department of Justice PLATO investigation, and confirmation of the mortality benefit in the PEGASUS TIMI-54 trial.
Apolipoprotein B100 danger-associated signal 1 (ApoBDS-1) triggers platelet activation and boosts platelet-leukocyte proinflammatory responses
Authors: Wang Yajuan , Butler Lynn M. , Hansson Göran K. , Yan Zhong-qun , Söderberg-Nauclér Cecilia , Assinger Alice , Ketelhuth Daniel F. J. 
Published: May 2014

SummaryLow-density lipoproteins (LDL), occurring in vivo in both their native and oxidative form, modulate platelet function and thereby contribute to atherothrombosis. We recently identified and demonstrated that ‘ApoB100 danger-associated signal 1’ (ApoBDS-1), a native peptide derived from Apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB100) of LDL, induces inflammatory responses in innate immune cells. Platelets are critically involved in the development as well as in the lethal consequences of atherothrombotic diseases, but whether ApoBDS-1 has also an impact on platelet function is unknown. In this study we examined the effect of ApoBDS-1 on human platelet function and platelet-leukocyte interactions in vitro. Stimulation with ApoBDS-1 induced platelet activation, degranulation, adhesion and release of proinflammatory cytokines. ApoBDS-1-stimulated platelets triggered innate immune responses by augmenting leukocyte activation, adhesion and transmigration to/through activated HUVEC monolayers, under flow conditions. These platelet-activating effects were sequence-specific, and stimulation of platelets with ApoBDS-1 activated intracellular signalling pathways, including Ca2+, PI3K/Akt, PLC, and p38– and ERKMAPK. Moreover, our data indicates that ApoBDS-1-induced platelet activation is partially dependent of positive feedback from ADP on P2Y1 and P2Y12, and TxA2. In conclusion, we demonstrate that ApoBDS-1 is an effective platelet agonist, boosting platelet-leukocyte’s proinflammatory responses, and potentially contributing to the multifaceted inflammatory-promoting effects of LDL in the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis.
Characterisation of large F9 deletions in seven unrelated patients with severe haemophilia B
Authors: Ding Qiulan , You Guoling , Dai Jing , Xi Xiaodong , Wang Hongli , Wu Xi , Lu Yeling , Wang Xuefeng 
Published: May 2014

SummaryLarge deletions in the F9 gene are detected in approximately 5% of patients with severe haemophilia B, but only a few deletion breakpoints have been characterised precisely until now. In this study we identified a total of seven large F9 deletions in the index patients and nine female carriers by the AccuCopy technique. We also successfully characterised the exact breakpoints for each large deletion including four deletions encompassing the entire F9 gene by the genome walking method combined with primer walking strategy. The extents of deletion regions ranged from 11.1 to 884 kb. Microhomologies ranged from 2 to 6 bp were identified in the breakpoint junctions of six deletions. The other deletion occurred between two highly homologous sequences of the same long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE/L1). Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and microhomology-mediated break-induced replication (MMBIR) may be the main causative mechanisms for the six large deletions with microhomologies. Non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) may mediate the deletion occurred between the two tandem LINEs in the other large deletion. Repetitive elements and non-B DNA forming motifs identified in the junction regions may contribute to DNA breakage leading to large deletions.
Electronic Cigarettes in North America
Authors: Franck Caroline , Budlovsky Talia , Windle Sarah B. , Filion Kristian B. , Eisenberg Mark J. 
Published: May 2014

Background—
Designed to mimic the look and feel of tobacco cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may facilitate smoking cessation. However, the efficacy and safety of e-cigarette use for this purpose remain poorly understood. Our objectives were to review the available data on the efficacy and safety of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and to consider issues relevant to the context in which they are used, including product awareness and regulatory and ethical concerns.

Methods and Results—
We systematically searched PubMed for randomized controlled trials and uncontrolled, experimental studies involving e-cigarettes. Included studies were limited to English or French language reports. Quality assessment was performed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. We identified 169 publications, of which 7 studies were included. Studies have concluded that e-cigarettes can help reduce the number of cigarettes smoked and may be as effective for smoking cessation as the nicotine patch. Although there is a lack of data concerning the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation therapy, available evidence showed no significant difference in adverse event rates between e-cigarettes and the nicotine patch. E-cigarettes are widely used among smokers attempting to quit. However, significant international variation remains in the regulatory mechanisms governing the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes. Ethical concerns surround the use of e-cigarettes among minors and their potential to undermine efforts to reduce cigarette smoking.

Conclusion—
Given the limited available evidence on the risks and benefits of e-cigarette use, large, randomized, controlled trials are urgently needed to definitively establish their potential for smoking cessation.
Opposition to Enlargement among “New” and “Old” Europeans: The Cases of Post-Communist EU Members and Candidates
Authors: Dixon Jeffrey C. , Fullerton Andrew S. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAs the European Union (eu) continues to expands “eastward,” we know relatively little about enlargement opinion in post-Communist member states and toward post-Communist candidates’ entries. This article develops comparative explanations of enlargement opinion and examines attitudes toward the entries of post-Communist candidates (as of 2006: Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Macedonia). Descriptive and multinomial logit analyses of Eurobarometer data reveal that opposition is less pronounced in post-Communist versus othereumember states and somewhat less pronounced in post-Communist countries that beganeuaccession negotiations earlier. Anti-immigrant sentiment is a consistently weaker predictor of oppositional attitudes in post-Communist versus othereumember states. These and other differences warrant theoretical and empirical attention ineuresearch.
Upgrading Employability of Unemployed as Constructive Individualization
Authors: Genov Nikolai 
Published: May 2014

AbstractUnemployment is the major barrier hindering constructive individualization in European societies. The upgrading of the employability of unemployed is an efficient mechanism for reducing destructive impacts of unemployment on individuals and society. The upgrading can be achieved both on the “supply” and the “demand” side of the labor market. How can the upgrading of employability of unemployed be facilitated in order to increase their chances for constructive individualization in working life? A comprehensive answer requires concept development, operationalization of concepts and testing of results. In the article the process is exemplified by references to active labor market policies in Austria and Slovenia. The analysis of similarities and differences between the cases leads to the identification of promising approaches to upgrading the employability of unemployed.
Modernization and Religious Concord
Authors: Weakliem David 
Published: May 2014

AbstractTocqueville said that Americans combined a general belief in God with a lack of interest in denominational differences. Although this outlook may be particularly prevalent in the United States, it is also visible in other Western societies, although combined with lower levels of religious belief. This paper investigates the possibility of a relationship between a belief that there is truth in many religions and modernization, using data from the Gallup International Millenium Survey. The belief that there is truth in many religions is more prevalent in more affluent nations. Moreover, this belief does not seem to be merely an intermediate stage in a move away from religion. The relationship is about equally strong among people of all religious backgrounds. The tendency for modernization to lead to “religious concord” may help to explain the relationship between modernization and democracy noticed by Lipset.
Calvinist Public Theology in Urban China Today
Authors: Chow Alexander 
Published: May 2014

AbstractChristianity in mainland China has often been characterized as a religion for the marginalized of society. However, since the 1990s, there has been a growing phenomenon within the country’s burgeoning urban metropolises with an increasing number of urban intellectuals converting to Protestantism. This article explores the theology of several representatives of these urban intellectual Christians who make use of the teachings of John Calvin and his followers. This article will show that there is a strong theological interest in engaging in the public sphere around subjects like the rule of law, constitutionalism and a civil society. Although the representatives cited in this article have been described as ‘Chinese New Calvinists’ or ‘Christian public intellectuals’, it is proposed here that a more appropriate understanding of this growing and significant group is as Chinese public theologians.
A Laboratory of Modernity—The Ahmadiyya Mission in Inter-war Europe
Authors: Jonker Gerdien 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
In this paper, I retrace the history of the Ahmadiyya mission in inter-war Europe as part of the globalisation narrative. Once they gained a footing, missionaries responded and adapted to local experiments with modernity as a means to simultaneously win over Europeans and to modernise Islam. The article first considers the mental map with which Ahmadiyya and other Muslim intellectuals approached Europe. It reconstructs the work of the mission organisation, and illustrates the communication difficulties between the Lahore centre and the mission post in Berlin. Making use of fresh sources, I then sketch out the political context in which the missionaries moved about, and trace their perceptions and adaptations of European ideas. In the larger picture of globalisation, the Berlin mission offers a telling example of local religious adaptation, emphasising the important rapport between the newcomers and the local factor.
Muslim Charity in a Non-Muslim Society—the Case of Switzerland
Authors: Martens Silvia 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
This article presents empirical data on trends in charitable giving among Muslims in Switzerland. It provides insight into mechanisms of mutual aid within a relatively young migrant community, looks at how Islamic charity is practiced in a non-Muslim society, and clarifies the importance of Islamic aid agencies. I argue that the charitable behaviour of Muslims in Switzerland is characterized by their migration situation, and by giving preferences and habits of the home country. Traditional Islamic charity, though subject to changes, is widely practiced and actively promoted by Islamic charities and local Muslim associations. It enforces the sense of religious belonging and group identity.
Future Changes in the Brewer–Dobson Circulation under Different Greenhouse Gas Concentrations in WACCM4
Authors: Palmeiro Froila M. , Calvo Natalia , Garcia Rolando R. 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
The climatology and future changes of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) in three climate change scenarios are studied using the latest version of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM4), which is fully coupled to an ocean model. The results show an acceleration in both the shallow and deep branches of circulation in response to increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) together with an upward displacement of the tropical upwelling in the deep branch near the stratopause. The downward control principle reveals that different waves are involved in forcing the acceleration of the upper and lower branches. Climatological-mean tropical upwelling in both the lower and upper stratosphere is dominated by explicitly resolved, planetary-scale waves. Trends in the tropical upwelling in the lower stratosphere are mainly attributed to explicitly resolved, planetary-scale waves. However, in the upper stratosphere, despite the fact that resolved waves control the forcing of the climatological upwelling, their contribution to the long-term trend diminishes with increasing GHGs, while the role of gravity waves associated with fronts increases and becomes dominant in the model scenario with the largest GHG increases. The intensification and upward displacement of the subtropical tropospheric jets due to climate change leads to filtering of the westerly part of the frontal gravity wave spectrum, leaving the easterly components to reach the upper stratosphere and force the changes in the circulation there.
Dual-Doppler-Derived Profiles of the Southwesterly Flow Associated with Southwest and Ordinary Typhoons off the Southwestern Coast of Taiwan
Authors: Yu Cheng-Ku , Cheng Lin-Wen 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
This study used ground-based dual-Doppler observations to explore an understanding of kinematic characteristics of the southwesterly flow associated with the southwest (SW) and ordinary (OR) typhoons immediately off the southwestern coast of Taiwan. The SW (OR) typhoon stated herein is referred to as a typhoon with (without) an obvious combination of its outer circulations and the summer southwesterly monsoon active over the South China Sea. Six typhoon events [Mindulle (2004), Kalmaegi (2008), Morakot (2009), Talim (2005), Jangmi (2008), and Fungwong (2008)] were chosen for analysis; the first (latter) three listed belong to the family of the SW (OR) typhoons. The vertical profiles generated from hourly synthesized winds for these typhoons indicate that intense orographic rainfall tended to occur during the prevalence of the west-southwesterly (WSW) flow that was more perpendicular to the south–north orientation of the topography in southern Taiwan. A unique, consistent feature of the WSW flow associated with the SW typhoon was its persistently increasing intensity with decreasing height in the low to midtroposphere, in contrast to a minor vertical variation in the intensity of the WSW flow for the OR typhoon. A relatively large (small) ratio of the radial and tangential velocities was evident for the SW (OR) typhoon, and the mean inflow angle of the SW typhoon was significantly larger than the typical near-surface inflow angle of previously documented hurricanes over the open ocean. In addition to the typhoon background precipitation, the observed characteristics of the SW- and OR-typhoon-induced WSW flow were shown to be closely related to the degree of orographic enhancement of precipitation.
Long-Memory Effects in Linear Response Models of Earth’s Temperature and Implications for Future Global Warming
Authors: Rypdal Martin , Rypdal Kristoffer 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
A linearized energy-balance model for global temperature is formulated, featuring a scale-invariant long-range memory (LRM) response and stochastic forcing representing the influence on the ocean heat reservoir from atmospheric weather systems. The model is parameterized by an effective response strength, the stochastic forcing strength, and the memory exponent. The instrumental global surface temperature record and the deterministic component of the forcing are used to estimate these parameters by means of the maximum-likelihood method. The residual obtained by subtracting the deterministic solution from the observed record is analyzed as a noise process and shown to be consistent with a long-memory time series model and inconsistent with a short-memory model. By decomposing the forcing record in contributions from solar, volcanic, and anthropogenic activity one can estimate the contribution of each to twentieth-century global warming. The LRM model is applied with a reconstruction of the forcing for the last millennium to predict the large-scale features of Northern Hemisphere temperature reconstructions, and the analysis of the residual also clearly favors the LRM model on millennium time scale. The decomposition of the forcing shows that volcanic aerosols give a considerably greater contribution to the cooling during the Little Ice Age than the reduction in solar irradiance associated with the Maunder Minimum in solar activity. The LRM model implies a transient climate response in agreement with IPCC projections, but the stronger response on longer time scales suggests replacing the notion of equilibrium climate sensitivity by a time scale–dependent sensitivity.
Advances in the Stochastic Modeling of Satellite-Derived Rainfall Estimates Using a Sparse Calibration Dataset
Authors: Greatrex Helen , Grimes David , Wheeler Tim 
Published: May 2014

AbstractAs satellite technology develops, satellite rainfall estimates are likely to become ever more important in the world of food security. It is therefore vital to be able to identify the uncertainty of such estimates and for end users to be able to use this information in a meaningful way. This paper presents new developments in the methodology of simulating satellite rainfall ensembles from thermal infrared satellite data. Although the basic sequential simulation methodology has been developed in previous studies, it was not suitable for use in regions with more complex terrain and limited calibration data. Developments in this work include the creation of a multithreshold, multizone calibration procedure, plus investigations into the causes of an overestimation of low rainfall amounts and the best way to take into account clustered calibration data. A case study of the Ethiopian highlands has been used as an illustration.
Intercomparison and Coupling of Ensemble and Four-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation Methods for the Analysis and Forecasting of Hurricane Karl (2010)
Authors: Poterjoy Jonathan , Zhang Fuqing 
Published: May 2014

AbstractThis study examines the performance of ensemble and variational data assimilation systems for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. These methods include an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), an incremental four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) system, and a hybrid system that uses a two-way coupling between the two approaches (E4DVar). The three methods are applied to assimilate routinely collected data and field observations over a 10-day period that spans the life cycle of Hurricane Karl (2010), including the pregenesis disturbance that preceded its development into a tropical cyclone. In general, forecasts from the E4DVar analyses are found to produce smaller 48–72-h forecast errors than the benchmark EnKF and 4DVar methods for all variables and verification methods tested in this study. The improved representation of low- and midlevel moisture and vorticity in the E4DVar analyses leads to more accurate track and intensity predictions by this system. In particular, E4DVar analyses provide persistently more skillful genesis and rapid intensification forecasts than the EnKF and 4DVar methods during cycling. The data assimilation experiments also expose additional benefits of the hybrid system in terms of physical balance, computational cost, and the treatment of asynoptic observations near the beginning of the assimilation window. These factors make it a practical data assimilation method for mesoscale analysis and forecasting, and for tropical cyclone prediction.
Triple fixed point theorems via α-series in partially ordered metric spaces
Authors: Vats Ramesh Kumar , Tas Kenan , Sihag Vizender , Kumar Amit 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
This manuscript has two aims: first we extend the definitions of compatibility and weakly reciprocally continuity, for a trivariate mapping F and a self-mapping g akin to a compatible mapping as introduced by Choudhary and Kundu (Nonlinear Anal. 73:2524-2531, 2010) for a bivariate mapping F and a self-mapping g. Further, using these definitions we establish tripled coincidence and fixed point results by applying the new concept of an α-series for sequence of mappings, introduced by Sihag et al. (Quaest. Math. 37:1-6, 2014), in the setting of partially ordered metric spaces.

MSC:54H25, 47H10, 54E50.