bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transcriptomic Biomarkers for the Accurate Diagnosis of Myocarditis
Authors: Heidecker Bettina , Kittleson Michelle M. , Kasper Edward K. , Wittstein Ilan S. , Champion Hunter C. , Russell Stuart D. , Hruban Ralph H. , Rodriguez E. Rene , Baughman Kenneth L. , Hare Joshua M. 
Published: March 2011

Background—
Lymphocytic myocarditis is a clinically important condition that is difficult to diagnose and distinguish. We hypothesized that the transcriptome obtained from an endomyocardial biopsy would yield clinically relevant and accurate molecular signatures.

Methods and Results—
Microarray analysis was performed on samples from patients with histologically proven lymphocytic myocarditis (n=16) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (n=32) to develop accurate diagnostic transcriptome-based biomarkers using multiple classification algorithms. We identified 9878 differentially expressed genes in lymphocytic myocarditis versus idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (fold change >1.2; false discovery rate <5%) from which a transcriptome-based biomarker containing 62 genes was identified that distinguished myocarditis with 100% sensitivity (95% confidence interval, 46 to 100) and 100% specificity (95% confidence interval, 66 to 100) and was generalizable to a broad range of secondary cardiomyopathies associated with inflammation (n=27), ischemic cardiomyopathy (n=8), and the normal heart (n=11). Multiple classification algorithms and quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis further reduced this subset to a highly robust molecular signature of 13 genes, which still performed with 100% accuracy.

Conclusions—
Together, these findings demonstrate that transcriptomic biomarkers from a single endomyocardial biopsy can improve the clinical detection of patients with inflammatory diseases of the heart. This approach advances the clinical management and treatment of cardiac disorders with highly variable outcome.
cAMP Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors Increases Nitric Oxide Production by Modulating Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolases
Authors: Pullamsetti Soni Savai , Savai Rajkumar , Schaefer Martina Barbara , Wilhelm Jochen , Ghofrani Hossein Ardeschir , Weissmann Norbert , Schudt Christian , Fleming Ingrid , Mayer Konstantin , Leiper James , Seeger Werner , Grimminger Friedrich , Schermuly Ralph Theo 
Published: March 2011

Background—
Pulmonary arterial hypertension is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance caused by endothelial dysfunction, inward vascular remodeling, and severe loss of precapillary pulmonary vessel cross-sectional area. Asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, and its metabolizing enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) play important roles in endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether combined phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibition ameliorates endothelial function by regulating the ADMA-DDAH axis.

Methods and Results—
We investigated the effects of the PDE3/4 inhibitor tolafentrine in vitro on endothelial cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis. Effects of tolafentrine on the endothelial nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide pathway, DDAH expression, DDAH promoter activity, and cytokine release from endothelial cells and their subsequent influence on DDAH expression were investigated. In monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats, the effects of inhaled tolafentrine on DDAH expression and activity were investigated. Real-time-polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry, and PDE activity assays suggested high expression of PDE3 and PDE4 isoforms in endothelial cells. Treatment of endothelial cells with PDE3/4 inhibitor significantly decreased ADMA-induced apoptosis via a cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway by induction of DDAH2. Chronic nebulization of PDE3/4 inhibitor significantly attenuated monocrotaline-induced hemodynamic, gas exchange abnormalities, vascular remodeling, and right heart hypertrophy. Interestingly, PDE3/4 inhibitor treatment reduced ADMA and elevated nitric oxide/cGMP levels. Mechanistically, this could be attributed to direct modulatory effects of cAMP on the promoter region of DDAH2, which was consequently found to be increased in expression and activity. Furthermore, PDE3/4 inhibitor suppressed apoptosis in endothelial cells and increased vascularization in the lung.

Conclusion—
Combined inhibition of PDE3 and 4 regresses development of pulmonary hypertension and promotes endothelial regeneration by modulating the ADMA-DDAH axis.
Molecular Basis of Autosomal Dominant Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: van der Graaf Anouk , Avis Hans J. , Kusters D. Meeike , Vissers Maud N. , Hutten Barbara A. , Defesche Joep C. , Huijgen Roeland , Fouchier Sigrid W. , Wijburg Frits A. , Kastelein John J.P. , Wiegman Albert 
Published: March 2011

Background—

Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH) is characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and premature cardiovascular disease. Mutations in the genes encoding for low-density lipoprotein receptor (
LDLR
), apolipoprotein B (
APOB
), and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (
PCSK9
) underlie ADH. Nevertheless, a proportion of individuals who exhibit the ADH phenotype do not carry mutations in any of these 3 genes. Estimates of the percentage of such cases among the ADH phenotype vary widely. We therefore investigated a large pediatric population with an unequivocal ADH phenotype to assess the molecular basis of hereditary hypercholesterolemia and to define the percentage of individuals with unexplained dyslipidemia.

Methods and Results—

We enrolled individuals with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels above the 95th percentile for age and gender and an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern of hypercholesterolemia from a large referred pediatric cohort of 1430 children. We excluded children with thyroid dysfunction, nephrotic syndrome, autoimmune disease, liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, and obesity (body mass index >75th percentile for age and gender), as well as children referred via a cascade screening program and those from families with a known molecular diagnosis. Of the 269 children who remained after the exclusion criteria were applied, 255 (95%) carried a functional mutation (
LDLR
, 95%;
APOB
, 5%).

Conclusion—
In the vast majority of children with an ADH phenotype, a causative mutation can be identified, strongly suggesting that most of the large-effect genes underlying ADH are known to date.
Impact of Oral Sildenafil on Exercise Performance in Children and Young Adults After the Fontan Operation
Authors: Goldberg David J. , French Benjamin , McBride Michael G. , Marino Bradley S. , Mirarchi Nicole , Hanna Brian D. , Wernovsky Gil , Paridon Stephen M. , Rychik Jack 
Published: March 2011

Background—
Children and young adults with single-ventricle physiology have abnormal exercise capacity after the Fontan operation. A medication capable of decreasing pulmonary vascular resistance should allow improved cardiac filling and improved exercise capacity.

Methods and Results—
This study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial conducted in children and young adults after Fontan. Subjects were randomized to receive placebo or sildenafil (20 mg three times daily) for 6 weeks. After a 6-week washout, subjects crossed over for an additional 6 weeks. Each subject underwent an exercise stress test at the start and finish of each phase. After taking sildenafil, subjects had a significantly decreased respiratory rate and decreased minute ventilation at peak exercise. At the anaerobic threshold, subjects had significantly decreased ventilatory equivalents of carbon dioxide. There was no change in oxygen consumption during peak exercise, although there was a suggestion of improved oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold. Improvement at the anaerobic threshold was limited to the subgroup with single left or mixed ventricular morphology and to the subgroup with baseline serum brain natriuretic peptide levels ≥100 pg/mL.

Conclusions—
In this cohort, sildenafil significantly improved ventilatory efficiency during peak and submaximal exercise. There was also a suggestion of improved oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold in 2 subgroups. These findings suggest that sildenafil may be an important agent for improving exercise performance in children and young adults with single-ventricle physiology after the Fontan operation.

Clinical Trial Registration—

URL:
http://clinicaltrials.gov
. Unique identifier: NCT00507819.
An Arcadian Toast (Harmod. FGrH 319 F1)
Authors: Déniz Alcorac Alonso 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis paper deals with the transmitted text εδειπνιαις and εδειπνειας in a fragment of Harmodius of Lepreum (FGrH 319 F1 = Athenaeus 149b and 479c). Modern editors believe both εδειπνιαις and εδειπνειας to be a corruption of the genitive εδειπνας, which is accordingly interpreted as a toast meaning ‘a good appetite’. The author claims that this view must be rejected on several grounds. Other conjectures (ε δειπνεας, ε δεπνειας) are further analyzed and also discarded. Finally, it is shown that the only satisfactory reading is ε δειπνας = Att. ε δειπνσαις, ‘may you have a nice dinner’.
A Critical Analysis of the Formula “Yahweh Strikes and Heals”
Authors: Chalmers Aaron Jonathan 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis paper identifies and analyses thirteen occurrences of the formula “Yahweh strikes and heals” or “Yahweh strikes and has mercy” that are found in the Old Testament, along with a comparative example from Ugarit where Marduk is the subject (R.S. 25.460). The various ways in which the formula could be used are highlighted, including as the basis for praise of the deity, an explanation for why the deity’s discipline should be accepted and patiently endured, as a means of understanding the present condition of the nation and/or predicting its future, and as a way of denoting the supreme power of the deity. Finally, the issue of the formula’s Sitz-im-Leben is addressed, with the author arguing that the formula probably began life within the context of domestic healing rites, and in particular as part of a song/prayer that was offered following recovery from sickness, before moving to prophetic, cultic and wisdom circles.
Beyond the Civilizational Crisis: On Determinism
Authors: Hrubec Marek , Brabec Martin 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis article analyzes crisis as part of deeper trends determined in historical development from the perspective of two important theoretical streams: firstly, Analytical Marxism, and secondly, the Critical Theory of Society (the Frankfurt School). It shows both general determinants of historical development and pathological determinants of historical development. Examining Analytical Marxism and its theory of technological determinism, the article explains crisis in respect of situations of systemic changes mainly from the perspective of the relationship between forces of production and relations of production. Examining the Critical Theory, the article clarifies the role of the pathological determinants of instrumental rationality in human history in relation to efforts at human emancipation. In the article, crisis is seen as the superficial appearance of the historical developmental trends where there are inherent permanent tendencies to crisis. Crisis is a temporary eruption of the deeper contradictory development of the capitalist mode of production and other systems within the history of human civilization. The article discusses an issue of determinism as a necessary framework for the interpretation of crisis, and offers an interpretation of the preconditions of crisis not only from the economic point of view, but also, on a deeper level, in a civilizational sense.
Globalizing East African Culture: From Junk to jua kali Art
Authors: Swigert-Gacheru Margaretta 
Published: March 2011

AbstractDespite Africa’s experience of economic decline, poverty, political instability and disease, keen observers of the cultural landscape have reckoned that cultural productivity in the region is on the rise, leading scholars to refer to the phenomenon as an African Renaissance. This is particularly the case in Kenya where a contemporary art movement is flourishing through both local art worlds and global networks. But the question remains: how in the midst of poverty and political instability can there be so much cultural productivity? Based on field research involving participant observation and interviews with more than 200 artists and cultural workers in Kenya’s capital city, I argue that it is largely due an ‘emergent cultural practice’given the Kiswahili term jua kali. By virtue of jua kali artists ‘making do’ with minimal resources and maximum ingenuity, imagination, originality and entrepreneurial acumen, they are creating art forms or bricolage, which has been largely ignored by art historians, sociologists, and even African scholars. Using jua kali tactics or ‘makeshift creativity,’ artists appropriate art materials, production space, skills training and even marketing sites. The clearest evidence of jua kali ingenuity is what Kenyan artists call ‘junk art’ made from global garbage garnered from local dump sites and junk yards, and then recycled into original works of art, thus reflecting global flows. This genre of contemporary African art has entered what Appadurai calls the mediascape and defies the stereotypical myths of ‘tribal art’ and ‘the primitive other’. These hegemonic myths still pervade most Western art markets, but jua kali artists—members of Kenya’s rising ‘creative class’—are striving to debunk them by their works with increasing success.
Gender and Environmental Concerns in the Middle East
Authors: White Neil R. , Alibeli Madalla A. 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThe effect of gender on environmental concern among samples of college students in the Middle East is examined in this article. The current study investigates gender’s influence on environmental awareness, degree of support for efforts to solve environmental problems, and willingness to make personal contribution to solve environmental problems. Data were obtained from the Unit for Community and Environmental Studies in the SSRC at Mississippi State University. To achieve the objectives of this study, Factor Analysis and multiple regressions were used. In line with the literature, the results indicate inconsistent and unclear effect of gender on levels of concern about the environment in the Middle East.
Economic Policy and World Organization
Authors: Bar-Tura Asaf 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThe global economic crisis and the responses to it have brought to the fore questions of sovereignty and cosmopolitanism. In a world so interlinked, what is the proper way to order the global arena, politically and economically? This essay examines Habermas’ multilayered approach to world organization, as well as Pogge and others. Focusing on the question of trade policies, I argue (contra Habermas) for robust global economic governance policies, but (contra Pogge) that these policies should uphold fair trade instead of free trade. This approach has the advantage of alleviating world poverty while at the same time strengthening local communities in developing countries. To this effect, I show why borders should matter more when it comes to capital, and less when it comes to people.
Brothers in Arms: How Palestinian Maoists Turned Jihadists
Authors: Sing Manfred 
Published: March 2011

AbstractAt the beginning of the 1980s, the idea of armed jihād against Israel was not only promoted by renegades from the Muslim Brothers in the Gaza strip, but also by former Maoists of Fatah in Lebanon. After the pull-out of most PLO-fighters from Beirut in 1982, a group around its spokesman Munīr Shafīq formed the Brigades of Islamic Jihad which were subsequently responsible for attacks in Israel. In a posthumously published booklet, two activists explained their reasons for their turn from Maoism to Islamism. The following article exposes the activists' trajectory and the stages of their ideological and religious conversion. According to their own narration, the former Maoists at first came to the conviction that Islam was a factor for mass mobilization and then individually adopted Islam to become practising Muslims.
Unwitting Behavior and Responsibility
Authors: Talbert Matthew 
Published: March 2011

AbstractUnlike much work on responsibility, George Sher's new book, Who Knew?: Responsibility Without Awareness, focuses on the relationship between knowledge and responsibility. Sher argues against the view that responsibility depends on an agent's awareness of the nature and consequences of her action. According to Sher's alternative proposal, even agents who are unaware of important features of their actions may be morally or prudentially responsible for their behavior. While I agree with many of Sher's central conclusions, I explore the worry that, as it stands, his account may only justify ascriptions of a relatively superficial form of responsibility.
Identity in Mahmoud Darwish's Poem 'The dice player'
Authors: Alshaer Atef 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis article focuses on Mahmoud Darwish's long and creative journey in the world of poetry in the context of the Palestinian struggle as represented in his great poem 'The dice player'. The Darwishian world as he portrays it in the 'The dice player' is populated with images of existence, resistance and creativity. Darwish's role in modern Arab poetry and culture is widely acknowledged and celebrated. His voice was unique, authentic and in tune with the music of many souls in Palestine, the Arab world and even worldwide. Indeed, Darwish contributed definitively to the construction of Palestinian identity, and the Palestinian people informed and featured prominently in Darwish's poetry. Darwish's 'dice player' is highly praised in Arabic poetry becaues it embodies emblems of intellectual maturity and identity that are personal and plural, worldly and local. It is crafted with an aesthetic balance that ripples with consciousness, art and humanity.
Transcending the Human Rights Debate: Iranian Intellectuals' Contemporary Discourses and the New Hermeneutics of the Sharia
Authors: Van Engeland Anicée 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThe Iranian discourse on human rights is not well known for a wide range of reasons: there are few translations from Persian; the Iranian human rights' model is often perceived as a threat to universality and Iran has a generally negative image on the international scene. The reality is that the post-Islamic Iranian human rights discourse is rich, varied and intellectually stimulating, the paradoxical outcome of a regime that limits freedom of expression and freedom of thought. Iranian intellectuals have to find strategies to avoid the censorship that threatens anyone who defies Iran's official human rights model. These intellectuals have formulated incredibly compelling theories that can be assimilated to a third voice transcending the permanent opposition between the principle of universality and cultural relativism. This theory is being advocated across the Muslim world and throughout Muslim communities. Iranian intellectuals have shaped their own approach to this third path, thereby creating an Iranian human rights' specificity within the Muslim world.
Contemporary or Specific: The Dichotomous Desires in the Art of Early Twenty-First Century Iran
Authors: Keshmirshekan Hamid 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThis article analyzes the dominant dichotomy in cultural and artistic ideas which Iranian artists—like many non-Euro-American artists—have been forced to confront. These include the idea of 'contemporaneity': being imbued with the 'spirit of the time', particularly dominant in the minds of the so-called 'Third Generation'; 1 and 'specificity', an underlying precept of compelling force. The first involves the idea that 'postmodernist' imagery is one of fragmentation and hybridization—the scattering of traditions and the recombination of their diverse elements (see Campbell 1999: 5). The second refers to the ever-present obsession with cultural and frequently social concerns with which Iranian artists are engaged, both within the country and across the diaspora. Contemporary debate on Iranian art reveals deep-rooted anxieties about national and cultural identity. It raises the important question: Is it possible to open up an art practice and discourse that is both contemporary and global, but also indigenous and specific? While this work reflects my own observations, it also relies heavily on the analysis offered in interviews with artists, philosophers, critics, curators and some former administrators in artistic affairs. It finally focuses on four artists through a study of their works and ideas about the aforementioned issues.
Identification of Icelandic caddis larvae, with descriptions of Limnephilus fenestratus (Zett.) and L. picturatus McL. (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae, Phryganeidae)
Authors: Gíslason Gísli Már 
Published: March 2011

AbstractA key is provided for the eleven species known from Iceland together with figures of larval case, head, prothorax, legs and anal sclerite. The larvae of Limnephilus fenestratus (Zett.) and L. picturatus McL. are described for the first time. Brief notes on the larval habitats are given.
A revision of the beet leaf-miner complex, Pegomya hyoscyami s.lat. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)
Authors: Michelsen Verner 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThe Pegomya hyoscyami species complex, which contains the economically important beet and spinach leaf-miners, is defined and taxonomically revised. Four distinct species are recognized by differences in the adult morphology of both sexes: Pegomya betae (Curtis), P. cunicularia (Rondani), P. exilis (Meigen), and P. hyoscyami (Panzer). A key for identification, diagnoses, figures of the male and female genitalia, and distribution records are provided. The nomenclature adopted here is a result of a critical review of 21 relevant species-group names. Five lectotypes are designated and four new synonymies are established; five names are considered nomina dubia and one is a nomen nudum. All four species occur in Europe, whilst only two are known from North America (betae, hyoscyami) and Japan (cunicularia, exilis).
Pseudoscorpions from the Canary Islands
Authors: Mahnert Volker 
Published: March 2011

AbstractApolpiolum gigas n.sp. is described from Gran Canaria. Diplotemnus beieri Vachon and Rhacochelifer cf. spiniger Mahnert are recorded for the first time from this archipelago. Six species from Gran Canaria, two from Tenerife and one from Gomera are reported for the first time.
Derovatellus nyanzae n.sp., with notes on the genus in Africa (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
Authors: Biström Olof 
Published: March 2011

AbstractDerovatellus (Varodetellus) nyanzae n.sp. is described from Tanzania. The hitherto unknown female of D. (V.) erratus Biström is described. D. (V.). bisignatus Ahlwarth is recorded for the first time from Mozambique and D. (V.) macrocolus Guignot from Chad. Some further notable finds are also reported.
Ethno-Mobilisation and its Consequences in Croatia
Authors: Petričušić Antonija 
Published: March 2011

AbstractThe paper pursues the explanation that political leaders in Croatia and Serbia at the beginning of 1990s used different and sometimes conflicting historical narratives of the two biggest ethnic groups in Croatia (Croats and Serbs), manipulating those conflicting narratives and constructing nationalistic discourse in order to (re)-assure their power position. At the outset, the paper attempts to explain the term 'ethno-mobilisation.' In the following part the paper deals with the actors and means of ethno-mobilisation that was taking place in Croatia. In the third part the paper elaborates on the consequences of such ethno-mobilization policies. The paper finally underlines that in spite of the quite advanced minority legislation that emerged in early 1990s, realization of the rights of minorities, particularly Serbs, was often hindered by unjust bureaucratic processes and the absence of political will.