bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison and combination of “direct” and fragment based local correlation methods: Cluster in molecules and domain based local pair natural orbital perturbation and coupled cluster theories
Authors: Guo Yang , Becker Ute , Neese Frank
Published: March 2018

Local correlation theories have been developed in two main flavors: (1) “direct” local correlation methods apply local approximation to the canonical equations and (2) fragment based methods reconstruct the correlation energy from a series of smaller calculations on subsystems. The present work serves two purposes. First, we investigate the relative efficiencies of the two approaches using the domain-based local pair natural orbital (DLPNO) approach as the “direct” method and the cluster in molecule (CIM) approach as the fragment based approach. Both approaches are applied in conjunction with second-order many-body perturbation theory (MP2) as well as coupled-cluster theory with single-, double- and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. Second, we have investigated the possible merits of combining the two approaches by performing CIM calculations with DLPNO methods serving as the method of choice for performing the subsystem calculations. Our cluster-in-molecule approach is closely related to but slightly deviates from approaches in the literature since we have avoided real space cutoffs. Moreover, the neglected distant pair correlations in the previous CIM approach are considered approximately. Six very large molecules (503-2380 atoms) were studied. At both MP2 and CCSD(T) levels of theory, the CIM and DLPNO methods show similar efficiency. However, DLPNO methods are more accurate for 3-dimensional systems. While we have found only little incentive for the combination of CIM with DLPNO-MP2, the situation is different for CIM-DLPNO-CCSD(T). This combination is attractive because (1) the better parallelization opportunities offered by CIM; (2) the methodology is less memory intensive than the genuine DLPNO-CCSD(T) method and, hence, allows for large calculations on more modest hardware; and (3) the methodology is applicable and efficient in the frequently met cases, where the largest subsystem calculation is too large for the canonical CCSD(T) method.
Hierarchical sinuous-antenna phased array for millimeter wavelengths
Authors: Cukierman Ari , Lee Adrian T. , Raum Christopher , Suzuki Aritoki , Westbrook Benjamin
Published: March 2018

We present the design, fabrication, and measured performance of a hierarchical sinuous-antenna phased array coupled to superconducting transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometers for millimeter wavelengths. The architecture allows for dual-polarization wideband sensitivity with a beam width that is approximately frequency-independent. We report on measurements of a prototype device, which uses three levels of triangular phased arrays to synthesize beams that are approximately constant in width across three frequency bands covering a 3:1 bandwidth. The array element is a lens-coupled sinuous antenna. The device consists of an array of hemispherical lenses coupled to a lithographed wafer, which integrates TESs, planar sinuous antennas, and microwave circuitry including band-defining filters. The approximately frequency-independent beam widths improve coupling to telescope optics and keep the sensitivity of an experiment close to optimal across a broad frequency range. The design can be straightforwardly modified for use with non-TES lithographed cryogenic detectors such as kinetic inductance detectors. Additionally, we report on the design and measurements of a broadband 180° hybrid that can simplify the design of future multichroic focal planes including but not limited to hierarchical phased arrays.
Pure spin current manipulation in antiferromagnetically exchange coupled heterostructures
Authors: Avilés-Félix L. , Butera A. , González-Chávez D. E. , Sommer R. L. , Gómez J. E.
Published: March 2018

We present a model to describe the spin currents generated by ferromagnet/spacer/ferromagnet exchange coupled trilayer systems and heavy metal layers with strong spin-orbit coupling. By exploiting the magnitude of the exchange coupling (oscillatory RKKY-like coupling) and the spin-flop transition in the magnetization process, it has been possible to produce spin currents polarized in arbitrary directions. The spin-flop transition of the trilayer system originates pure spin currents whose polarization vector depends on the exchange field and the magnetization equilibrium angles. We also discuss a protocol to control the polarization sign of the pure spin current injected into the metallic layer by changing the initial conditions of magnetization of the ferromagnetic layers previously to the spin pumping and inverse spin Hall effect experiments. The small differences in the ferromagnetic layers lead to a change in the magnetization vector rotation that permits the control of the sign of the induced voltage components due to the inverse spin Hall effect. Our results can lead to important advances in hybrid spintronic devices with new functionalities, particularly, the ability to control microscopic parameters such as the polarization direction and the sign of the pure spin current through the variation of macroscopic parameters, such as the external magnetic field or the thickness of the spacer in antiferromagnetic exchange coupled systems.
Probability of conductive bond formation in a percolating network of nanowires with fusible tips
Authors: Rykaczewski Konrad , Wang Robert Y.
Published: March 2018

Meeting the heat dissipation demands of microelectronic devices requires development of polymeric composites with high thermal conductivity. This property is drastically improved by percolation networks of metallic filler particles that have their particle-to-particle contact resistances reduced through thermal or electromagnetic fusing. However, composites with fused metallic fillers are electrically conductive, which prevents their application within the chip-board and the inter-chip gaps. Here, we propose that electrically insulating composites for these purposes can be achieved by the application of fusible metallic coatings to the tips of nanowires with thermally conductive but electrically insulating cores. We derive analytical models that relate the ratio of the coated and total nanowire lengths to the fraction of fused, and thus conductive, bonds within percolating networks of these structures. We consider two types of materials for these fusible coatings. First, we consider silver-like coatings, which form only conductive bonds when contacting the silver-like coating of another nanowire. Second, we consider liquid metal-like coatings, which form conductive bonds regardless of whether they contact a coated or an uncoated segment of another nanowire. These models were validated using Monte Carlo simulations, which also revealed that electrical short-circuiting is highly unlikely until most of the wire is coated. Furthermore, we demonstrate that switching the tip coating from silver- to liquid metal-like materials can double the fraction of conductive bonds. Consequently, this work provides motivation to develop scalable methods for fabrication of the hybrid liquid-coated nanowires, whose dispersion in a polymer matrix is predicted to yield highly thermally conductive but electrically insulating composites.
Collision properties of overtaking supersolitons with small amplitudes
Authors: Olivier C. P. , Verheest F. , Hereman W. A.
Published: March 2018

The collision properties of overtaking small-amplitude supersolitons are investigated for the fluid model of a plasma consisting of cold ions and two-temperature Boltzmann electrons. A reductive perturbation analysis is performed for compositional parameters near the supercritical composition. A generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation with a quartic nonlinearity is derived, referred to as the modified Gardner equation. Criteria for the existence of small-amplitude supersolitons are derived. The modified Gardner equation is shown to be not completely integrable, implying that supersoliton collisions are inelastic, as confirmed by numerical simulations. These simulations also show that supersolitons may reduce to regular solitons as a result of overtaking collisions.
Compressible fluid simulations get new improvements
Authors: Patrick Chris
Published: March 2018

Applying the mixing volume model to compressible turbulence lowers the cost of numerical simulations of reacting flows.
Characterizing the human hippocampus in aging and Alzheimer’s disease using a computational atlas derived from ex vivo MRI and histology
Authors: Adler Daniel H. , Wisse Laura E. M. , Ittyerah Ranjit , Pluta John B. , Ding Song-Lin , Xie Long , Wang Jiancong , Kadivar Salmon , Robinson John L. , Schuck Theresa , Trojanowski John Q. , Grossman Murray , Detre John A. , Elliott Mark A. , Toledo Jon B. , Liu Weixia , Pickup Stephen , Miller Michael I. , Das Sandhitsu R. , Wolk David A. , Yushkevich Paul A.
Published: March 2018

Significance

There has been increasing interest in hippocampal subfield morphometry in aging and disease using in vivo MRI. However, research on in vivo morphometry is hampered by the lack of a definitive reference model describing regional effects of aging and disease pathology on the hippocampus. To address this limitation, we built a 3D probabilistic atlas of the hippocampus combining postmortem MRI with histology, allowing us to investigate Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-related effects on hippocampal subfield morphometry, derived from histology. Our results support the hypothesis of differential involvement of hippocampal subfields in AD, providing further impetus for more granular study of the hippocampus in aging and disease during life. Furthermore, this atlas provides an important anatomical reference for hippocampal subfield research.
Bartnik’s splitting conjecture and Lorentzian Busemann function
Authors: Amini Roya , Sharifzadeh Mehdi , Bahrampour Yousof
Published: March 2018

In 1988 Bartnik posed the splitting conjecture about the cosmological space-time. This conjecture has been proved by several people, with different approaches and by using some additional assumptions such as ‘S-ray condition’ and ‘level set condition’. It is known that the ‘S-ray condition’ yields the ‘level set condition’. We have proved that the two are indeed equivalent, by giving a different proof under the assumption of the ‘level set condition’. In addition, we have shown several properties of the cosmological space-time, under the presence of the ‘level set condition’. Finally we have provided a proof of the conjecture under a different assumption on the cosmological space-time. But we first prove some results without the timelike convergence condition which help us to state our proofs.
pyNBS: a Python implementation for network-based stratification of tumor mutations
Authors: Huang Justin K , Jia Tongqiu , Carlin Daniel E , Ideker Trey
Published: March 2018

We present pyNBS: a modularized Python 2.7 implementation of the network-based stratification (NBS) algorithm for stratifying tumor somatic mutation profiles into molecularly and clinically relevant subtypes. In addition to release of the software, we benchmark its key parameters and provide a compact cancer reference network that increases the significance of tumor stratification using the NBS algorithm. The structure of the code exposes key steps of the algorithm to foster further collaborative development.

Availability and implementation

The package, along with examples and data, can be downloaded and installed from the URL https://github.com/idekerlab/pyNBS.
BART: a transcription factor prediction tool with query gene sets or epigenomic profiles
Authors: Wang Zhenjia , Civelek Mete , Miller Clint L , Sheffield Nathan C , Guertin Michael J , Zang Chongzhi
Published: March 2018

Identification of functional transcription factors that regulate a given gene set is an important problem in gene regulation studies. Conventional approaches for identifying transcription factors, such as DNA sequence motif analysis, are unable to predict functional binding of specific factors and not sensitive enough to detect factors binding at distal enhancers. Here, we present binding analysis for regulation of transcription (BART), a novel computational method and software package for predicting functional transcription factors that regulate a query gene set or associate with a query genomic profile, based on more than 6000 existing ChIP-seq datasets for over 400 factors in human or mouse. This method demonstrates the advantage of utilizing publicly available data for functional genomics research.

Availability and implementation

BART is implemented in Python and available at http://faculty.virginia.edu/zanglab/bart.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Building online genomics applications using BioPyramid
Authors: Stephenson Liam , Wakeham Yoshua , Seidenman Nick , Choi Jarny
Published: March 2018

BioPyramid is a Python package, which serves as a scaffold for building an online application for the exploration of gene expression data. It is designed for bioinformaticians wishing to quickly share transformed data and interactive analyses with collaborators. Current R-based tools similarly address the need to quickly share ‘omics’-data in an exploratory format, but these are generally small-scale, single-dataset solutions. Biopyramid is written in Python pyramid framework and scalable to address longer-term or more complex projects. It contains a number of components designed to reduce the time and effort in building such an application from scratch, including gene annotation, dataset models and visualization tools.

Availability and implementation

Freely available at http://github.com/jarny/biopyramid. Implemented in python and javascript.
MechRNA: prediction of lncRNA mechanisms from RNA–RNA and RNA–protein interactions
Authors: Gawronski Alexander R , Uhl Michael , Zhang Yajia , Lin Yen-Yi , Niknafs Yashar S , Ramnarine Varune R , Malik Rohit , Feng Felix , Chinnaiyan Arul M , Collins Colin C , Sahinalp S Cenk , Backofen Rolf
Published: March 2018

Motivation

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as transcripts longer than 200 nt that do not get translated into proteins. Often these transcripts are processed (spliced, capped and polyadenylated) and some are known to have important biological functions. However, most lncRNAs have unknown or poorly understood functions. Nevertheless, because of their potential role in cancer, lncRNAs are receiving a lot of attention, and the need for computational tools to predict their possible mechanisms of action is more than ever. Fundamentally, most of the known lncRNA mechanisms involve RNA–RNA and/or RNA–protein interactions. Through accurate predictions of each kind of interaction and integration of these predictions, it is possible to elucidate potential mechanisms for a given lncRNA.

Results

Here, we introduce MechRNA, a pipeline for corroborating RNA–RNA interaction prediction and protein binding prediction for identifying possible lncRNA mechanisms involving specific targets or on a transcriptome-wide scale. The first stage uses a version of IntaRNA2 with added functionality for efficient prediction of RNA–RNA interactions with very long input sequences, allowing for large-scale analysis of lncRNA interactions with little or no loss of optimality. The second stage integrates protein binding information pre-computed by GraphProt, for both the lncRNA and the target. The final stage involves inferring the most likely mechanism for each lncRNA/target pair. This is achieved by generating candidate mechanisms from the predicted interactions, the relative locations of these interactions and correlation data, followed by selection of the most likely mechanistic explanation using a combined P-value. We applied MechRNA on a number of recently identified cancer-related lncRNAs (PCAT1, PCAT29 and ARLnc1) and also on two well-studied lncRNAs (PCA3 and 7SL). This led to the identification of hundreds of high confidence potential targets for each lncRNA and corresponding mechanisms. These predictions include the known competitive mechanism of 7SL with HuR for binding on the tumor suppressor TP53, as well as mechanisms expanding what is known about PCAT1 and ARLn1 and their targets BRCA2 and AR, respectively. For PCAT1-BRCA2, the mechanism involves competitive binding with HuR, which we confirmed using HuR immunoprecipitation assays.

Availability and implementation

MechRNA is available for download at https://bitbucket.org/compbio/mechrna.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Shadows of a Closed Curve
Authors: Dobbins Michael Gene , Kim Heuna , Montejano Luis , Roldán-Pensado Edgardo
Published: March 2018

A shadow of a geometric object A in a given direction v is the orthogonal projection of A on the hyperplane orthogonal to v. We show that any topological embedding of a circle into Euclidean d-space can have at most two shadows that are simple paths in linearly independent directions. The proof is topological and uses an analog of basic properties of degree of maps on a circle to relations on a circle. This extends a previous result that dealt with the case d = 3.
From heart-forming region to ballooning chambers
Authors: van den Hoff Maurice J. B. , Moorman Antoon F. M.
Published: March 2018

This chapter describes the formation of the adult four-chambered heart from the precardiac mesodermal cells. The precardiac mesoderm develops into a linear heart tube by the process of folding. The subsequent increase in size of the heart by the addition of precursor cells derived from the first and second heart fields is discussed. For the sake of clarity, the chapter describes the addition of precursor cells to the inflow and outflow, separately. Next, the formation of the ventricular chambers with respect to ballooning and differentiation into a compact and trabecular layer is discussed. Finally, the formation of the septa in the heart tube is described, creating the adult four-chambered heart.
Normal atrial and ventricular myocardial structures
Authors: Sánchez-Quintana Damián , Cabrera José Angel
Published: March 2018

The heart functions by means of a three-dimensional arrangement of myofibres supported by an extracellular matrix which plays an important role in maintaining the size and shape of the heart. In both atria, the structure of the walls and the atrial septum confers a three-dimensional arrangement of muscle bundles and myoarchitecture that allows preferential electrical intra- and interatrial conduction which is important for a better understanding of atrial activation and arrhythmias. The myoarchitecture within the ventricular walls has a three-dimensional arrangement of myofibres, within a supporting matrix of fibrous tissue, which changes orientation from being oblique in the subepicardium to circumferential in the middle and to longitudinal in the subendocardium, allowing the chambers to change in shape and size through the cardiac cycle. Within each ventricle, the circumferential portion is the thickest transmurally, with the longitudinal portion the thinnest. The three-dimensional arrangement of the ventricular mesh serves to realign the myocytes during ventricular contraction, accounting for the extent of systolic mural thickening. Abnormal myoarchitecture in combination with alterations in the connective tissue matrix provide the structural basis for abnormalities in myocardial function.
Positive inotropes
Authors: Arrigo Mattia , Mebazaa Alexandre
Published: March 2018

Inotropic agents are substances used to improve cardiac output and end-organ perfusion in severe forms of acute heart failure. However, inappropriate use of inotropic agents may be associated with severe adverse effects and death. Despite clear indications to restrict their use to acute heart failure patients presenting with signs of end-organ hypoperfusion, the current use of inotropes is very frequent and often unnecessary. This chapter reviews mechanisms of action of current and future inotropes (including catecholamines, phosphodiesterase-III inhibitors, calcium sensitizers, cardiac myosin activators, and istaroxime) and discusses their clinical use in acute heart failure.
Cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, and the transplanted heart
Authors: Edvardsen Thor
Published: March 2018

Echocardiography is an excellent tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with cardiomyopathies, myocarditis, and the transplanted heart. It is the preferred method for assessment of ventricular function and valvular dysfunction and is of great value in decision-making in these patients. The different types of cardiomyopathies can usually be differentiated by echocardiography. Speckle tracking echocardiography has increased our awareness on early staging of the disease and the progress of cardiomyopathies. This chapter will explain important features of the most common cardiomyopathies and how echocardiography should be utilized. Echocardiographic findings in myocarditis include non-specific features such as decreased left ventricular function, wall motion abnormalities, and texture changes. These findings will in certain circumstances often prompt the awareness of myocarditis. Echocardiography has an important diagnostic position in patients with end-stage heart failure. The chapter will explain how echocardiography can be used in the screening period of recipients and donors, and how it can be an essential diagnostic tool in the perioperative and postoperative phases of cardiac transplantation.
Coronary artery disease
Authors: Schwitter Juerg
Published: March 2018

In the work-up of suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is an established technique and it is recommended by most recent guidelines. Stress dobutamine and stress perfusion CMR yield sensitivities and specificities to detect anatomically defined CAD (>50% coronary stenoses) ranging from 83% to 91% and from 83% to 86%, respectively, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUCs) of 0.80–0.93. Multicentre trials report AUCs of 0.75–0.91 to detect CAD and showed superiority over scintigraphic techniques. Increasing evidence in thousands of patients demonstrates the highly predictive value of CMR. Exclusion of ischaemia by CMR goes along with excellent event-free survival rates of 0.5–0.9%/year. Cost analyses in large data sets (e.g. in the European CMR registry), suggest considerable cost savings for CMR over first-line invasive strategies in suspected CAD. Tissue characterization by CMR to detect scar, necrosis, oedema, microvascular obstruction, or haemorrhage is of particular importance in the setting of acute coronary syndromes and this application is emerging as the number of centres offering CMR increases.
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance in less common pathologies
Authors: Lombardi Massimo , Camporeale Antonia
Published: March 2018

Contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance plays a pivotal role in diagnostic and prognostic definition of less common pathologies such as Anderson–Fabry disease, cardiac amyloidosis, left ventricular non-compaction, sarcoidosis, and cardiac iron loading.
Basic principles and technological state of the art: SPECT
Authors: Gimelli Alessia , Liga Riccardo
Published: March 2018

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) photons as a medical imaging technique detects the radiation emitted by radioisotopes injected into the body to provide in vivo measurements of regional tissue function. From its introduction in the cardiologic clinical field, nuclear imaging has classically represented the reference technique for the non-invasive evaluation of myocardial perfusion, becoming the most frequently performed imaging modality for the functional assessment of patients with ischaemic heart disease.
Interventions: what works for whom?
Authors: Burg Matt
Published: March 2018

This is a forthcoming chapter in ESC CardioMed. Please check back later for the full chapter.
Erectile dysfunction as a marker and predictor of cardiovascular disease
Authors: Vlachopoulos Charalambos , Ioakeimidis Nikolaos
Published: March 2018

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to obtain or maintain a penile erection to support satisfactory sexual performance. It is considered an early manifestation of generalized vascular disease and recognized as a marker of increased cardiovascular risk both acutely and chronically by predicting all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, coronary events, stroke, and peripheral artery disease in men with and without known coronary artery disease. The link between ED and cardiovascular disease might reside in the interaction between androgen level, chronic inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors that determine endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis both in the penile and coronary circulation. Because penile artery size is smaller compared with coronary arteries, the same degree of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic burden causes a more significant reduction of blood flow in erectile tissues compared with that in coronary circulation. From a clinical standpoint, because ED may precede cardiovascular disease, it can be used as an early marker to identify men at higher risk of cardiovascular events. The average 3-year time period between the onset of ED symptoms and a cardiovascular event offers the opportunity for detailed cardiological assessment and intensive treatment of risk factors.
Beyond positive airway pressure therapy: experimental and non-conventional treatments in sleep apnoea
Authors: Selim Bernardo , Ramar Kannan
Published: March 2018

With decreased adherence to positive airway pressure therapy to treat sleep apnoeas, non-conventional treatments based on new therapeutic targets are emerging. In central sleep apnoea syndrome associated with heart failure, phrenic nerve stimulation and non-conventional pharmacological treatments such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, gas therapies, and cardiac devices are novel alternative therapies. In obstructive sleep apnoea, a better understanding of predominant pathophysiological pathways is characterizing diverse clinical phenotypes. For patients with low arousal threshold, sedatives or hypnotics might be effective, whereas for those with unstable ventilatory control, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors or oxygen might improve obstructive sleep apnoea. For patients with upper airway muscle dysfunction, an increase in pharyngeal tone might be beneficial. This chapter describes ‘experimental’ therapies and novel technologies to treat these disorders.
Mechanisms of inflammation
Authors: Klingenberg Roland , Müller-Ladner Ulf
Published: March 2018

This chapter provides a brief summary of the immune pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, highlighting shared features with inflammatory pathways in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) described in detail in Chapter 25.4. RA constitutes a prototype autoimmune disease primarily affecting the joints but also the heart and vessels associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Recent years have produced a wealth of novel insights into the diversity of immune cell types which either propagate or dampen inflammation in atherogenesis. Expansion of this inherent anti-inflammatory component carried by regulatory T cells may constitute a new therapeutic target to harness the progression of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Among the various inflammatory mediators involved in RA pathology, cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α‎ and interleukin-6) have gained major interest as therapeutic targets with approved therapies available. In light of the many common features in the pathogenesis of RA and atherosclerosis, these biologics are currently being evaluated in cardiovascular patients. The recently published CANTOS trial showed that IL-1 inhibition reduced adverse cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease demonstrating that inflammation is a genuine therapeutic target. The near future will provide more information whether inflammation is a bona fide cardiovascular risk factor based on completion of several clinical trials using anti-inflammatory approaches in patients with both cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity: epidemiology, surveillance, prophylaxis, management, and prognosis
Authors: Cardinale Daniela , Cipolla Carlo Maria
Published: March 2018

Anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is of considerable concern, as it may compromise the clinical effectiveness of treatment, affecting both quality of life and overall survival in cancer patients, independently of the oncological prognosis. It is probable that anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is a unique and continuous phenomenon starting with myocardial cell injury, followed by progressive left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) decline that, if disregarded and not treated progressively leads to overt heart failure. The main strategy for minimizing anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity is early detection of high-risk patients and prompt prophylactic treatment. According to the current standard for monitoring cardiac function, cardiotoxicity is usually detected only when a functional impairment has already occurred, precluding any chance of its prevention. At present, anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity can be detected at a preclinical phase, very much before the occurrence of heart failure symptoms, and before the LVEF drops by measurement of cardiospecific biochemical markers or by Doppler myocardial and deformation imaging. The role of troponins in identifying subclinical cardiotoxicity and treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, in order to prevent LVEF reduction is an effective strategy that has emerged in the last 15 years. If cardiac dysfunction has already occurred, partial or complete LVEF recovery may still be achieved if cardiac dysfunction is detected early after the end of chemotherapy and heart failure treatment is promptly initiated.
Treatment of non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes
Authors: Valgimigli Marco , Angelillis Marco
Published: March 2018

Treatment of patients presenting with a non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) aims at immediate relief of ischaemia and the prevention of serious adverse events, including death, myocardial (re)infarction, and life-threatening arrhythmias. In NSTE-ACS, patient management is guided by risk stratification (troponin, electrocardiogram, risk scores, etc.). Treatment options include anti-ischaemic and antithrombotic drugs and coronary revascularization including percutaneous coronary interventions, or coronary artery bypass grafting. While long-term secondary prevention with aspirin monotherapy is currently the gold standard approach for all NSTE-ACS patients who tolerate the drug, additional medications on top of aspirin such as oral P2Y12 inhibitors or oral anticoagulation have been investigated across clinical trials and their long-term use should be guided by the ischaemic versus bleeding risk status of each single individual patient.
Classification of cardiomyopathies
Authors: Arbustini Eloisa , Favalli Valentina , Toro Alessandro Di , Serio Alessandra , Narula Jagat
Published: March 2018

For over 50 years, the definition and classification of cardiomyopathies have remained anchored in the concept of ventricular dysfunction and myocardial structural remodelling due to unknown cause. The concept of idiopathic was first challenged in 2006, when the American Heart Association classification subordinated the phenotype to the aetiology. Cardiomyopathies were classified as genetic, acquired, and mixed. In 2008, the European Society of Cardiology proposed a phenotype-driven classification that separated familial (genetic) from non-familial (non-genetic) forms of cardiomyopathy. Both classifications led the way to a precise phenotypic and aetiological description of the disease and moved away from the previously held notion of idiopathic disease. In 2013, the World Heart Federation introduced a descriptive and flexible nosology—the MOGE(S) classification—describing the morphofunctional (M) phenotype of cardiomyopathy, the involvement of additional organs (O), the familial/genetic (G) origin, and the precise description of the (a)etiology including genetic mutation, if applicable (E); reporting of functional status such as American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association stage and New York Heart Association classification (S) was left optional. MOGE(S) is a bridge between the past and the future. It allows description of comprehensive phenotypic data, all genetic and non-genetic causes of cardiomyopathy, and incorporates description of familial clustering in a genetic disease. MOGE(S) is the instrument of precision diagnosis for cardiomyopathies. The addition of the early and unaffected phenotypes to the (M) descriptor outlines the clinical profile of an early affected family member; the examples include non-dilated hypokinetic cardiomyopathy in dilated cardiomyopathy and septal thickness (13–14 mm) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy classes.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: prevention of sudden cardiac death
Authors: O’Mahony Constantinos
Published: March 2018

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) secondary to ventricular arrhythmias is the most common mode of death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and can be effectively prevented with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The risk of SCD in HCM relates to the severity of the phenotype and regular risk stratification is an integral part of routine clinical care. For the primary prevention of SCD, risk stratification involves the assessment of seven readily available clinical parameters (age, maximal left ventricular wall thickness, left atrial diameter, left ventricular outflow tract gradient, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, unexplained syncope, and family history of SCD) which are used to estimate the risk of SCD within 5 years of clinical evaluation using a statistical risk prediction model (HCM Risk-SCD). The 2014 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines provide a framework to aid clinical decisions and consider patients with a 5-year risk of SCD of less than 4% as low risk and recommend regular assessment while those with a risk of 6% or higher should be considered for an ICD. In patients with an intermediate risk (4% to <6%) ICD implantation may also be considered after taking into account age, co-morbid conditions, socioeconomic factors, and the psychological impact of therapy. Survivors of ventricular fibrillation arrest should receive an ICD for secondary prevention unless their life expectancy is less than 1 year. Following device implantation, patients should be followed up for device- and disease-related complications, particularly heart failure and cerebrovascular disease.
Dilated cardiomyopathy: clinical diagnosis and medical management
Authors: Sinagra Gianfranco , Merlo Marco , Stolfo Davide
Published: March 2018

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a relatively rare primary heart muscle disease with genetic or post-inflammatory aetiology that affects relatively young patients with a low-risk co-morbidity profile. Therefore, DCM represents a particular heart failure model with specific characteristics and long-term evolution. The progressively earlier diagnosis derived from systematic familial screening programmes and the current therapeutic strategies have greatly modified the prognosis of DCM with a dramatic reduction of mortality over recent decades. A significant number of DCM patients present an impressive response to pharmacological and non-pharmacological evidence-based therapy in terms of haemodynamic improvement with subsequent left ventricular reverse remodelling, which confer a favourable long-term prognosis. However, in some DCM patients the outcome is still severe. This prognostic heterogeneity is possibly related to the aetiological variety of this disease. Maximal effort towards an early aetiological diagnosis of DCM, by using all diagnostic available tools (including cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, endomyocardial biopsy, and genetic testing when indicated), as well as the individualized long-term follow-up appear crucial in improving the prognostic stratification and the clinical management of these patients.
Peripartum cardiomyopathy
Authors: Sliwa Karen , Hilfiker-Kleiner Denise
Published: March 2018

Pregnancy-related heart disease is increasing worldwide and peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an important contributor to early (<42 days postpartum) and late (up to 1 year postpartum) maternal death. PPCM is an idiopathic form of cardiomyopathy, presenting with heart failure secondary to left ventricular dysfunction towards the end of pregnancy, or in the months following delivery, where no other cause of heart failure is identified. It is a diagnosis of exclusion. Incidence and prognosis varies according to geography and is likely due to multiple factors. The recent specific pathophysiological hypothesis which states that the oxidative stress–cathepsin D-16 kDa prolactin cascade plays a key role in the development of PPCM in experimental models and in humans suggests that a therapeutic approach involving blockade of this pathway with bromocriptine may be a novel disease-specific approach. Despite ongoing research, numerous uncertainties regarding the incidence, pathophysiology, treatment, and prognosis of PPCM patients remain, indicating the need for further investigation. The establishment of the international registry on PPCM, under the umbrella of the EuroObservational research programme, will provide novel information and address many uncertainties.
Differential diagnosis of supraventricular tachycardias
Authors: Burri Haran
Published: March 2018

This chapter overviews the electrocardiographic diagnosis of various aetiologies of narrow complex tachycardia, as well as the criteria for distinguishing aberrant conduction from ventricular tachycardia in cases of wide QRS tachycardia. Clinical investigations for diagnosis of supraventricular tachycardia are also covered.
Rate versus rhythm control therapy for atrial fibrillation
Authors: Waldo Albert L.
Published: March 2018

Based on data from several clinical trials, either rate control or rhythm control is an acceptable primary therapeutic strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation. However, since atrial fibrillation tends to recur no matter the therapy, rate control should almost always be a part of the treatment. If a rhythm control strategy is selected, it is important to recognize that recurrence of atrial fibrillation is common, but not clinical failure per se. Rather, the frequency and duration of episodes, as well as severity of symptoms during atrial fibrillation episodes should guide treatment decisions. Thus, occasional recurrence of atrial fibrillation despite therapy may well be clinically acceptable. However, for some patients, rhythm control may be the only strategy that is acceptable. In short, for most patients, either a rate or rhythm control strategy should be considered. However, for all patients, there are two main goals of therapy. One is to avoid stroke and/or systemic embolism, and the other is to avoid a tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Also, because of the frequency of atrial fibrillation recurrence despite the treatment strategy selected, patients with stroke risks should receive anticoagulation therapy despite seemingly having achieved stable sinus rhythm. For patients in whom a rate control strategy is selected, a lenient approach to the acceptable ventricular response rate is a resting heart rate of 110 bpm, and probably 90 bpm. The importance of achieving and maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure remains to be clearly established.
Christianity and Social Work
Authors: Kelly Michael S.
Published: March 2018

This bibliographic treatment of Christianity and social work is necessarily incomplete, reflecting the fragmented and somewhat contested nature of the topic itself. On one level, there have always been Christians practicing social work, and identifying themselves as Christian social workers, back to the earliest 19th-century roots of the profession. While it would follow from such a historical fact that there would be a well-developed and widely accepted set of ideas, frameworks, and interventions that Christian social workers could be implementing in the early 21st century, this is far from the case. In actuality, the idea that there is even a “Christian” way to do social work is extremely unsettling for some in our field, who see the negative impact of organized Christianity on many of the vulnerable populations that social work seeks to empower. Additionally, the field itself has a somewhat ahistorical reaction to the whole topic, treating it as somehow taboo to discuss the faith life of our clients, and certainly to somehow integrate our own faith experience (or lack thereof) into effective social work practice. This article seeks to correct this parochial view of Christianity and social work practice and to replace it with a more ecumenical and expansive one, albeit one that is still at an early stage in terms of its scholarly formation. The references noted here are almost all ones that were produced since the late 1990s, and that is no accident: despite being as old as social work itself, the study of Christianity and social work in academic circles is only starting to come into its own. Christianity and social work has a long and complicated history. From the early development of social work in the West, it was clear that many (though not all) social work practitioners were called to become social workers because of their faith, and many of those early social workers were Christians from a variety of Christian denominations. The Charity Organization Societies (COS) that formed first in Europe and then in the United States in the late 19th century were led and staffed by Christians who saw their mission as employing a scientific approach to solve the problems of urban poverty. The Settlement House movement, though at times explicitly secular (e.g., Jane Addams and Hull House), and focused on different approaches to help the poor than the COS, was nonetheless also heavily informed by Christian ideas of ministry and social justice. These two strands of social work practice—the COS and Settlement House movements—helped to set the framework for social work practice well into the 20th century, even as tensions persist today about what the appropriate role for religious institutions and faith-based practitioners should be in social work. It is important for social work to consider in the early 21st century how much of its early history of Christians in social work practice is still informing what social workers do today to assist their clients, and how much of it has been simply minimized or erased from social work education, practice, and policy.
Particularism in Ethics
Authors: Tsu Peter Shiu-Hwa
Published: March 2018

Particularism has certainly cut much ice with the development of analytical ethics since the late 20th century. Its proto-idea goes back at least to Aristotle, who maintains that the major function of practical wisdom is to discern the moral truth via a close examination of the situational particulars. Particularism’s contemporary prominence, on the other hand, is largely due to Jonathan Dancy, who endows the doctrine with much of its flesh and bones. Yet, in spite of this, no consensus has been reached on what exactly particularism amounts to. There are many versions of it. Roughly, they all take the basic line that moral principles of one sort or another play no essential role in the key areas of ethics. As a view about moral metaphysics, particularists maintain that the distinction between rightness and wrongness does not depend upon the existence of universal moral principles; instead, what is right or wrong is determined by the morally relevant particulars of the case before us. As a view about action guidance, particularists argue that the moral principles are, at best, nothing more than rules of thumb and, at worst, may lead us seriously astray. The key to making sound moral judgments lies in the exercise of moral sensitivity rather than in rule following. As a view about moral explanations and justifications, particularists contend that their ultimate sources lie in the particulars of the situations rather than in any universal moral principles. As a view about moral education, particularists oppose the idea that it consists essentially in the teaching of moral principles; rather, what really matters is the cultivation of moral vision. As a view about moral reason, particularists subscribe to ‘reason holism,’ the view that what is a reason for in one context may not be so in another, or may even turn out to be a reason against. Particularists reject the contrary doctrine of ‘reason atomism,’ the idea that each reason behaves in the same principled way on any occasion. In each of these key areas in ethics, there can be a version of particularism in support of the view that moral principles do not play an essential role. And there can be a version of ‘principlism,’ or what is sometimes called ‘generalism,’ that denies it. This article provides a survey of the major issues involved in the debate between the particularists and the so-called generalists or principlists.
Infotainment
Authors: Boukes Mark
Published: March 2018

Infotainment has increasingly become pervasive in the triangle of relationships between politics, citizens, and the media. While the consumption of traditional news formats has declined, the popularity and importance of entertaining news genres have rapidly grown. Several types of media formats fall under the umbrella term of infotainment; for example and most prominently, Soft News, Political Satire, Political Fiction, and Entertainment Talk Shows. What these genres have in common is that they simultaneously provide entertainment and political information; yet, the balance between the two may differ substantially. Since infotainment is a multifaceted concept, numerous articles and books have been published about the conceptualization of infotainment (sometimes also coined “soft news”), and the question frequently pops up whether infotainment is a threat or blessing for democracy. Individual studies and scholars strongly differ on the answer; it very much depends on the infotainment genre that one focuses on—or whether infotainment is investigated in terms of its content features, media effects, or audience characteristics. Also the methodological approach may play a role: the topic of infotainment has increasingly gained academic attention of scholars employing both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The text proceeds with, first, (a) an overview of texts that help conceptualizing (trends in) infotainment, (b) getting to know its audience, and (c) learning about the consequences that infotainment may have for democracy. Thereafter, it continues with an overview of the literature on four of the most prominent infotainment genres: soft news, political satire, talk shows, and political fiction. Because the literature on the topic of infotainment is very much divided into studies that investigate the content of infotainment programs and studies that investigate the effects of such outlets, separate sections are devoted to this for every infotainment genre. The study of infotainment—just as perhaps almost any topic within communication science—is dominated by work from the United States, which is also reflected in the balance of studies that are included in this article.