bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Orally Administered Particulate β-Glucan Modulates Tumor-Capturing Dendritic Cells and Improves Antitumor T-Cell Responses in Cancer
Authors: Li Bing , Cai Yihua , Qi Chunjian , Hansen Richard , Ding Chuanlin , Mitchell Thomas C. , Yan Jun 
Published: September 2010

AbstractPurpose: The beneficial properties of β-glucans have been recognized for centuries. Their proposed mechanisms of action in cancer therapy occur via stimulation of macrophages and priming of innate neutrophil complement receptor 3 for eliciting complement receptor 3–dependent cellular cytotoxicity of iC3b-opsonized tumor cells. The current study is to investigate whether β-glucan therapy has any effect on antitumor adaptive T-cell responses.Experimental Design: We first examined the trafficking of orally administered particulate yeast-derived β-glucan and its interaction with dendritic cells (DC) that captured tumor materials. Antigen-specific T cells were adoptively transferred into recipient mice to determine whether oral β-glucan therapy induces augmented T-cell responses. Lewis lung carcinoma and RAM-S lymphoma models were used to test oral β-glucan therapeutic effect. Further mechanistic studies including tumor-infiltrating T cells and cytokine profiles within the tumor milieu were determined.Results: Orally administered particulate β-glucan trafficked into spleen and lymph nodes and activated DCs that captured dying tumor cells in vivo, leading to the expansion and activation of antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells. In addition, IFN-γ production of tumor-infiltrating T cells and CTL responses were significantly enhanced on β-glucan treatment, which ultimately resulted in significantly reduced tumor burden. Moreover, β-glucan–treated tumors had significantly more DC infiltration with the activated phenotype and significant levels of Th1-biased cytokines within the tumor microenvironment.Conclusions: These data highlight the ability of yeast-derived β-glucan to bridge innate and adaptive antitumor immunity and suggest that it can be used as an adjuvant for tumor immunotherapy. Clin Cancer Res; 16(21); 5153–64. ©2010 AACR.
Quantification of Diffuse Myocardial Fibrosis and Its Association With Myocardial Dysfunction in Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Broberg Craig S. , Chugh Sumeet S. , Conklin Catherine , Sahn David J. , Jerosch-Herold Michael 
Published: September 2010

Background—
The etiology of ventricular dysfunction in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) is not well understood. Diffuse fibrosis is a likely common final pathway and is quantifiable using MRI.

Methods and Results—

Patients with ACHD (n=50) were studied with cardiac MRI to quantify systemic ventricular volume and function and diffuse fibrosis. The fibrosis index for a single midventricular plane of the systemic ventricle was quantified by measuring T1 values for blood pool and myocardium before and after administration of gadolinium (0.15 mmol/kg) and then adjusted for hematocrit. Results were compared to healthy volunteers (normal controls, n=14) and patients with acquired heart failure (positive controls, n=4). Patients studied (age, 37±12 years; female sex, 40%) included 11 with a systemic right ventricle (RV), 17 with tetralogy of Fallot, 10 with cyanosis, and 12 with other lesions. The fibrosis index was significantly elevated in patients with ACHD compared to normal controls (31.9±4.9% versus 24.8±2.0%;
P
=0.001). Values were highest in patients with a systemic RV (35.0±5.8%;
P
<0.001) and those who were cyanotic (33.7±5.6%;
P
<0.001). The fibrosis index correlated with end-diastolic volume index (
r
=0.60;
P
<0.001) and ventricular ejection fraction (
r
=−0.53;
P
<0.001) but not with age or oxygen saturation in patients who were cyanotic. Late gadolinium enhancement did not account for the differences seen.

Conclusions—
Patients with ACHD have evidence of diffuse, extracellular matrix remodeling similar to patients with acquired heart failure. The fibrosis index may facilitate studies on the mechanisms and treatment of myocardial fibrosis and heart failure in these patients.
Serial Measurement of Growth-Differentiation Factor-15 in Heart Failure
Authors: Anand Inder S. , Kempf Tibor , Rector Thomas S. , Tapken Heike , Allhoff Tim , Jantzen Franziska , Kuskowski Michael , Cohn Jay N. , Drexler Helmut , Wollert Kai C. 
Published: September 2010

Background—
Growth-differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is emerging as a prognostic biomarker in patients with coronary artery disease. Little is known about GDF-15 as a biomarker in patients with heart failure.

Methods and Results—

The circulating concentration of GDF-15 was measured at baseline (n=1734) and at 12 months (n=1517) in patients randomized in the Valsartan Heart Failure Trial (Val-HeFT). GDF-15 levels at baseline ranged from 259 to 25 637 ng/L and were abnormally high (>1200 ng/L) in 85% of patients. Higher levels were associated with features of worse heart failure and biomarkers of neurohormonal activation, inflammation, myocyte injury, and renal dysfunction. Baseline GDF-15 levels (per 100 ng/L) were associated with the risks of mortality (hazard ratio, 1.017; 95% confidence interval, 1.014 to 1.019;
P
<0.001) and first morbid event (hazard ratio, 1.020; 95% confidence interval, 1.017 to 1.023;
P
<0.001). In a comprehensive multiple-variable Cox regression model that included clinical prognostic variables, B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and high-sensitivity troponin T, GDF-15 remained independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio, 1.007; 95% confidence interval, 1.001 to 1.014;
P
=0.02) but not first morbid event. At 12 months, the GDF-15 levels had increased by a similar amount in the placebo and valsartan groups (
P
=0.94). Increases in GDF-15 over 12 months were independently associated with the risks of future mortality and first morbid event also after adjustment for clinical prognostic variables, B-type natriuretic peptide, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and high-sensitivity troponin T and their changes.

Conclusions—
GDF-15 reflects information from several pathological pathways and provides independent prognostic information in heart failure. GDF-15 levels increase over time, suggesting that GDF-15 reflects a pathophysiological axis that is not completely addressed by the therapies prescribed in Val-HeFT.
Podoplanin-Expressing Cells Derived From Bone Marrow Play a Crucial Role in Postnatal Lymphatic Neovascularization
Authors: Lee Ji Yoon , Park Changwon , Cho Yong Pil , Lee Eugine , Kim Hyongbum , Kim Pilhan , Yun Seok H. , Yoon Young-sup 
Published: September 2010

Background—
Emerging evidence has suggested a contribution of bone marrow (BM) cells to lymphatic vessel formation; however, the exact phenotype of the cells with lymphatic endothelial progenitor cell function has yet to be identified. Here, we investigate the identity of BM-derived lymphatic endothelial progenitor cells and their role in lymphatic neovascularization.

Methods and Results—

Culture of BM-mononuclear cells in the presence of vascular endothelial growth factors A and C and endothelial growth factor resulted in expression of lymphatic endothelial cell markers. Among these cells, podoplanin
+
cells were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting and characterized by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis and immunocytochemistry. These podoplanin
+
cells highly express markers for lymphatic endothelial cells, hematopoietic lineages, and stem/progenitor cells; on further cultivation, they generate lymphatic endothelial cells. We further confirmed that podoplanin
+
cells exist in small numbers in BM and peripheral blood of normal mice but are significantly (15-fold) augmented on lymphangiogenic stimuli such as tumor implantation. Next, to evaluate the potential of podoplanin
+
cells for the formation of new lymphatic vessels in vivo, we injected culture-isolated or freshly isolated BM-derived podoplanin
+
cells into wound and tumor models. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the injected cells were incorporated into the lymphatic vasculature, displayed lymphatic endothelial cell phenotypes, and increased lymphatic vascular density in tissues, suggesting lymphvasculogenesis. Podoplanin
+
cells also expressed high levels of lymphangiogenic cytokines and increased proliferation of lymphatic endothelial cells during coculture, suggesting a lymphangiogenic or paracrine role.

Conclusions—

Our results provide compelling evidence that BM-derived podoplanin
+
cells, a previously unrecognized cell type, function as lymphatic endothelial progenitor cells and participate in postnatal lymphatic neovascularization through both lymphvasculogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.
Transmural Differences in Myocardial Contraction in Long-QT Syndrome
Authors: Haugaa Kristina Hermann , Amlie Jan P. , Berge Knut Erik , Leren Trond P. , Smiseth Otto A. , Edvardsen Thor 
Published: September 2010

Background—
Long-QT syndrome (LQTS) is characterized by prolonged myocardial action potential duration. The longest action potential duration is reported in the endomyocardium and midmyocardium. Prolonged action potential duration in LQTS may cause prolonged cardiac contraction, which can be assessed by strain echocardiography. We hypothesized that myocardial contraction is most prolonged in subendocardial myofibers in LQTS patients and that inhomogeneous transmural contraction is related to the risk of spontaneous arrhythmia.

Methods and Results—

We included 101 genotyped LQTS mutation carriers and 35 healthy individuals. A history of cardiac arrhythmias was present in 48 mutations carriers, and 53 were asymptomatic. Myocardial contraction duration was assessed by strain echocardiography as time from the ECG Q wave to peak strain in 16 LV segments. Strain was assessed along the longitudinal axis, predominantly representing subendocardial fibers, and along the circumferential axis, representing midmyocardial fibers. Mean contraction duration was longer in LQTS mutation carriers compared with healthy individuals (445±45 versus 390±40 milliseconds;
P
<0.001) and longer in symptomatic compared with asymptomatic LQTS mutation carriers (460±40 versus 425±45 milliseconds;
P
<0.001). Contraction duration by longitudinal strain was longer than by circumferential strain in symptomatic LQTS patients (460±45 versus 445±45 milliseconds;
P
=0.008) but not in asymptomatic patients and healthy individuals, indicating transmural mechanical dispersion. This time difference was present in a majority of LV segments and was most evident in patients with LQT2 and the Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome.

Conclusion—
Contraction duration in symptomatic LQTS mutation carriers was longer in the subendocardium than in the midmyocardium, indicating transmural mechanical dispersion, which was not present in asymptomatic and healthy individuals.
Chinese Ghosts in Mongolia
Authors: Delaplace Gregory 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThis paper explores a rumour that has been circulating lately in Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar. People report encounters with Chinese ghosts, who appear in the form of long-bearded old men dressed in silken clothes. These curious apparitions are recognised by the population as the souls of Chinese merchants, who remained attached to the place where they buried the wealth they accumulated during their life. At a time when Chinese economic expansion raises concerns among the Mongolian population, these ghosts of the colonial era sound like a warning against present-day Chinese migrants. Introducing several of these stories, this paper shows that Chinese people are imagined as essentially parasitic beings, who not only come to Mongolia to trade but stick to the place, even beyond their own death, to suck out its vital resources.
Power, Social Life, and Public Memory in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
Authors: Dadabaev Timur 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThis article attempts to analyse the memory of people through recollections of the everyday life of people in Soviet times in the Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. By using extensive interviews with seventy-five elderly people in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan regarding their Soviet-time experiences, this article argues that the public view of history in post-Soviet Central Asia often falls in between Soviet historiography advocating advances of Soviet past and post-Soviet historical discourses rejecting the Soviet past. Public perceptions of history in Central Asia are mostly shaped by and related to the everyday needs, experiences, identifications and mentality of people as opposed to the ideologies and political doctrines of the time. They often reflect not only the perceptions of people regarding their past but also their perceptions regarding their present.
Understated Legacies: Uses of Oral History and Tibetan Studies
Authors: Barnett Robert 
Published: September 2010

AbstractThis paper aims to stimulate discussion about the complexity of oral history as a practice by recalling its origins and early associations, such as criminal confessions, war-reporting, the novel, exotic art and other early forms of first-person narratives, and by tracing some of their recurrent echoes in contemporary work. It looks at some of the uses to which oral history or related practices have been put in the field of Tibetan studies, ranging from rigorously academic studies through nostalgic political testimonies to wholly invented pseudo-histories. It discusses the importance of silent oral histories, the ones that cannot be recorded, as well as of failed ones, which are recorded but rejected by certain types of researchers because they do not meet their desires for a certain kind of narrative. Commoditisation of the archive is described, not just in the obvious cases where large amounts of money are exchanged, but also an instance in Tibetan studies in which an important archive was stolen, apparently just for the prestige of secretly possessing it. These forms of prototypical oral history and its near relatives still hover on the sidelines of the practice, despite the efforts of scholars to insulate academic practice from them. The widespread circulation of fabricated narratives produced within the contemporary Tibetan exile economy to gain access to western countries underlines the pervasive and under-acknowledged role of the state throughout all these practices, banning, allowing, celebrating, regulating and exploiting all forms of oral history.
Voices of Hunters on Socialist Modernisation: From a Case Study of the Udehe in the Russian Far East
Authors: Sasaki Shiro 
Published: September 2010

AbstractIn this paper I discuss how different the socialist modernisation of the equipment and techniques of indigenous hunters in Siberia and the Russian Far East was from the 'snowmobile revolution' in Finland and Alaska, and what the results of this modernisation were. In this discussion I analyse hunters' performance and narratives observed and collected in my field research on the hunting culture of the Udehe, one of the indigenous minorities in the Primor'e region in Russia. As a result, I conclude that socialist modernisation had delocalised the fundamental materials for hunting activities such as fuel, equipment for transportation and weapons. However, the serious techno-economic differentiation that had been observed in the case of the Saami in Finland seldom occurred among the indigenous hunters, because socialist egalitarian policies and standardisation of products often provided equal access to the modernised equipment. Especially in the case of the Bikin River basin, where I did my field research, differentiation between the Russian and indigenous hunters was not observed. However, the delocalisation of the fundamental equipment and materials thoroughly deprived them of the alternatives that consisted of the more traditional and pre-modern equipment and techniques. This factor seriously influenced their social and economic conditions after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Subjective and Objective Outcome After Revision Arthroscopic Stabilization for Recurrent Anterior Instability Versus Initial Shoulder Stabilization
Authors: Krueger David , Kraus Natascha , Pauly Stephan , Chen Jianhai , Scheibel Markus 
Published: September 2010

Background: The value of arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization after failed instability repair is still a matter of debate. Hypothesis: Arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization using suture anchors provides equivalent subjective and objective results compared with initial arthroscopic instability repair. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Twenty consecutive patients who underwent arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization using suture anchors (group 2) were matched for age, gender, and handedness (dominant or nondominant) with 20 patients who had initial arthroscopic instability repair using the same technique (group 1). At the time of follow-up, a complete physical examination of both shoulders and evaluation with the Rowe score, Walch-Duplay score, Melbourne Instability Shoulder Score, Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index, and the Subjective Shoulder Value were performed. In addition, standard radiographs (true AP and axillary views) were taken to evaluate signs of osteoarthritis. Results: After a minimum follow-up of 24 months, no recurrent dislocations were observed in either group. The apprehension sign was positive in 2 cases of revision surgery (0 vs 2; P > .05). No significant differences in the Rowe score (89 vs 81.8 points) were found between groups 1 and 2 ( P > .05). However, group 2 revealed significantly lower scores in the Walch-Duplay score (85.3 vs 75.5 points), Melbourne Instability Shoulder Score (90.2 vs 73.7 points), Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (89.8% vs 68.9%), and Subjective Shoulder Value (91.8% vs 69.2%) ( P < .05). Signs of instability arthropathy were found more often in patients with arthroscopic revision surgery (2 vs 5; P > .05). Conclusion: Arthroscopic revision shoulder stabilization is associated with a lower subjective outcome compared with initial arthroscopic stabilization. The objective results found in this study may overestimate the clinical outcome in this patient population.
The Profit Rate in Brazil, 1953-2003
Authors: Marquetti Adalmir , Maldonado Filho Eduardo , Lautert Vladimir 
Published: September 2010

This paper investigates the profit rate in Brazil between 1953 and 2003. There was a tendency for the profit rate to fall during the period under study determined mainly by the declining productivity of capital. There were three phases in the behavior of the profit rate. In the first phase, between 1953 and 1973, it slowly declined; in the second, from 1973 to late 1980s, it fell sharply; in the third, from late 1989 to 2003, it increased moderately. These phases correspond to the institutional arrangements of the Brazilian economy, respectively, to the import substitution industrialization (ISI) during the golden age of capitalism, to the crisis and rupture of ISI, and to neoliberalism. JEL classification: E25, N16, O30
Aberrant DNA hypermethylation signature in acute myeloid leukemia directed by EVI1
Authors: Lugthart Sanne , Figueroa Maria E. , Bindels Eric , Skrabanek Lucy , Valk Peter J. M. , Li Yushan , Meyer Stefan , Erpelinck-Verschueren Claudia , Greally John , Löwenberg Bob , Melnick Ari , Delwel Ruud 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
DNA methylation patterns are frequently dysregulated in cancer, although little is known of the mechanisms through which specific gene sets become aberrantly methylated. The ecotropic viral integration site 1 (EVI1) locus encodes a DNA binding zinc-finger transcription factor that is aberrantly expressed in a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with poor outcome. We find that the promoter DNA methylation signature of EVI1 AML blast cells differs from those of normal CD34+ bone marrow cells and other AMLs. This signature contained 294 differentially methylated genes, of which 238 (81%) were coordinately hypermethylated. An unbiased motif analysis revealed an overrepresentation of EVI1 binding sites among these aberrantly hypermethylated loci. EVI1 was capable of binding to these promoters in 2 different EVI1-expressing cell lines, whereas no binding was observed in an EVI1-negative cell line. Furthermore, EVI1 was observed to interact with DNA methyl transferases 3A and 3B. Among the EVI1 AML cases, 2 subgroups were recognized, of which 1 contained AMLs with many more methylated genes, which was associated with significantly higher levels of EVI1 than in the cases of the other subgroup. Our data point to a role for EVI1 in directing aberrant promoter DNA methylation patterning in EVI1 AMLs.
Inherited genetic susceptibility to monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis
Authors: Crowther-Swanepoel Dalemari , Corre Tanguy , Lloyd Amy , Gaidano Gianluca , Olver Bianca , Bennett Fiona L. , Doughty Chi , Toniolo Daniela , Caligaris-Cappio Federico , Ghia Paolo , Rossi Davide , Rawstron Andy C. , Catovsky Daniel , Houlston Richard S. 
Published: September 2010

AbstractMonoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) is detectable in &gt; 3% of the general population. Recent data are compatible, at least in a proportion of cases, with MBL being a progenitor lesion for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and a surrogate for inherited predisposition. Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 2q13 (rs17483466), 2q37.1 (rs13397985), 2q37.3 (rs757978), 6p25.3 (rs872071), 8q24.21 (rs2456449), 11q24.1 (rs735665), 15q21.3 (rs7169431), 15q23 (rs7176508), 16q24.1 (rs305061), and 19q13.32 (rs11083846) have been shown to confer a modest but significant increase in CLL risk. To examine the impact of these 10 SNPs on MBL, we analyzed 3 case-control series totaling 419 cases and 1753 controls. An association between genotype and MBL risk was seen for 9 SNPs, 6 of which were statistically significant: rs17483466 (odds ratio [OR] =1.27; P = .02), rs13397985 (OR = 1.40; P = 1.72 × 10−3), rs757978 (OR = 1.38; P = .02), rs872071 (OR = 1.27; P = 7.75 × 10−3), rs2456449 (OR = 1.31; P = 3.14 × 10−3), and rs735665 (OR = 1.63; P = 6.86 × 10−6). Collectively, these data provide support for genetic variation influencing CLL risk through predisposition to MBL.
How I treat patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis
Authors: Valent Peter , Sperr Wolfgang R. , Akin Cem 
Published: September 2010

Abstract
Advanced systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a rare myeloid neoplasm characterized by uncontrolled accumulation of neoplastic mast cells (MCs) in various organs with consecutive impairment of organ function, drug resistance, and a poor prognosis. Advanced SM may present as smoldering or slowly progressing neoplasm but may also present as rapidly progressing aggressive SM or even as MC leukemia. Approximately half of the patients have an associated hematologic non–MC-lineage disease (SM-AHNMD) or develop an AHNMD over time. Drug resistance may not only result from the KIT mutant D816V that is found in most patients, but also from KIT-independent pro-oncogenic signaling pathways that play a role in disease evolution. In patients with slow progression, advanced SM can often be kept under control for months with interferon-α or 2CdA. By contrast, in rapidly progressing aggressive SM and MC leukemia, even polychemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may fail, which points to the need to develop new drugs and treatment concepts for these patients. In SM-AHNMD, separate treatment plans should be established for the SM component and the AHNMD component of the disease, with recognition that the AHNMD often has to be managed and treated as a secondary and thus a high-risk neoplasm.