Aristotle and democracy.

The thesis undertakes a reconstruction and critical assessment of Aristotle's theory of democracy. The process of reconstruction requires at first the collection and organisation of the relevant material, since Aristotle's references to democracy, although numerous, are scattered throughout his political and ethical writings. A chapter is devoted to this task. This chapter also seeks to describe the historical and intellectual context in which Aristotle developed his ideas on democracy. The thesis then attempts to identify the fundamental principles which underlie Aristotle's conception of democracy. These are examined both in their relation to one another and also in their relation to the fundamental principles of Aristotle's political philosophy in general. Aristotle's teleological conception of the state and his theory of distributive justice based on proportionate equality are singled out as the salient principles which shape his conception, classification and criticism of democracy. These issues are dealt with in a number of chapters. One of them deals with the questions of equality and justice. Aristotle is described as having developed a theory of distributive justice which differs considerably from the democrats' corresponding conceptions thus giving rise to Aristotle's criticism of the democratic distribution of political power. In another chapter, the evaluative principles which lie behind Aristotle's classification of democracies are identified and their effect on his conception of democracy is discussed. Having identified the structure of Aristotle's ideas, the thesis undertakes an evaluation of his assessment of democracy. Both the arguments which Aristotle employs against democracy and his defence of a moderate and restricted version of democracy are examined in their own terms and also in terms of their place within the Aristotelian political philosophy seen as a whole. Emphasis is given to Aristotle's proposals aiming at reforming democracy by moderating it, since this seems to be the practical aim of his theory of democracy. In short, Aristotle's theory of democracy is shown to be broadly consistent, though not necessarily convincing

Biomarkers Associated with Stroke Risk in Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of cardioembolic stroke. The risk of cardioembolism is not adequately reduced with the administration of oral anticoagulants, since a number of patients continue to experience thromboembolic events despite receiving treatment. Therefore, identification of a circulating biomarker to identify these high-risk patients would be clinically beneficial. Objective: In the present article, we aim to review the available data regarding use of biomarkers to predict cardioembolic stroke in patients with AF. Methods: We performed a thorough search of the literature in order to analyze the biomarkers identified thus far and critically evaluate their clinical significance. Results: A number of biomarkers have been proposed to predict cardioembolic stroke in patients with AF. Some of them are already used in the clinical practice, such as d-dimers, troponins and brain natriuretic peptide. Novel biomarkers, such as the inflammatory growth differentiation factor-15, appear to be promising, while the role of micro-RNAs and genetics appear to be useful as well. Even though these biomarkers are associated with an increased risk for thromboembolism, they cannot accurately predict future events. In light of this, the use of a scoring system, that would incorporate both circulating biomarkers and clinical factors, might be more useful. Conclusions: Recent research has disclosed several biomarkers as potential predictors of cardioembolic stroke in patients with AF. However, further research is required to establish a multifactorial scoring system that will identify patients at high-risk of thromboembolism, who would benefit from more intensive treatment and monitoring