bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: Real world experience from six European centers
Authors: Providência Rui , de Asmundis Carlo , Chun Julian , Chierchia Gianbattista , Defaye Pascal , Anselme Frédéric , Creta Antonio , Lambiase Pier D. , Schmidt Boris , Chen Shaojie , Hunter Ross J. , Combes Stephane , Honarbakhsh Shohreh , Combes Nicolas , Sousa Maria Joao , Jebberi Zeynab , Albenque Jean‐Paul , Boveda Serge 
Published: June 2019

AbstractIntroductionCatheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been recently shown to have an impact on the outcome of patients with heart failure and reduced LV ejection fraction (LVEF). We aimed to assess patients with reduced LVEF referred to catheter ablation of AF, and the efficacy and safety of this procedure compared with healthier patients.Methods2083 consecutive procedures of catheter ablation of AF in six centers were divided into two groups on the basis of LVEF (≤ vs >35%) and comparisons were performed regarding procedural safety and efficacy.ResultsOnly 51 (2.4%) of patients had low LVEF. Complication rate was comparable: 8.0% vs 6.9% (P = .760). Low LVEF patients are more frequently in persistent AF at the time of the procedure, have a higher degree of left atrial dilation, and higher CHA2DS2VASc score. The rate of atrial arrhythmia relapse post‐blanking period in the first 12 months was higher in the low LVEF group: 58.0% vs 37.6% (P < .001). During a median follow‐up of 14 months (IQR 5‐24), after adjusting for all baseline differences, AF duration, paroxysmal AF, CHA2DS2VASc score, BMI, and indexed LA volume were independent predictors of relapse. LVEF and LVEF ≤ 35% were not identified as predictors of relapse.ConclusionsPatients with reduced LVEF account for only a minority of patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF. However, ablation appears to be as safe as for the general population, and albeit the efficacy seems lower, this appears to be driven by other comorbidities or features, which are more frequent in this population.
Impact of coronary artery disease and revascularization on recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation: Importance of ischemia in managing atrial fibrillation
Authors: Hiraya Daigo , Sato Akira , Hoshi Tomoya , Watabe Hiroaki , Yoshida Kentaro , Komatsu Yuki , Sekiguchi Yukio , Nogami Akihiko , Ieda Masaki , Aonuma Kazutaka 
Published: June 2019

AbstractIntroductionThere are few studies analyzing the association between the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). This study evaluated the clinical impact of concomitant CAD and coronary revascularization on the recurrence of AF after catheter ablation.Methods and ResultsFrom April 2008 to December 2015, 700 consecutive patients were treated with pulmonary vein isolation for AF as the initial procedure. Of those, 681 patients who simultaneously underwent coronary angiography were investigated. Patients with at least one coronary stenosis (≥70%) were classified as having obstructive CAD. Of 681 patients, 90 patients had CAD and 42 patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for lesions with perfusion abnormalities on single‐photon emission tomography. The recurrence of AF was significantly more frequent in patients with CAD (56%) than in those without CAD (39%) (P = .0011). On multivariable analysis, the predictors of AF recurrence were persistent or long‐standing persistent AF [hazard ratio (HR): 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04‐1.77; P = .023], left atrial diameter (HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02‐1.06; P < .0001), and concomitant CAD (HR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.05‐1.97; P = .024). The recurrence of AF in patients with PCI (38%) was significantly lower than in those without PCI (72%) (P = .0006), and E/E′ significantly improved in patients with PCI (71%) than in those without PCI (42%; P = .001). Performing PCI for concomitant CAD significantly reduced AF recurrence (HR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.20‐0.72; P = .002).ConclusionPatients with CAD had a significantly higher rate of AF recurrence than those without CAD. Coronary revascularization may reduce the recurrence of AF with improvement of left ventricular diastolic function.
Aging three‐spined sticklebacksGasterosteus aculeatus: comparison of estimates from three structures
Authors: Yurtseva Anastasia , Noreikiene Kristina , Lajus Dmitry , Li Zitong , Alapassi Tarja , Ivanova Tatiana , Ivanov Mikhail , Golovin Pavel , Vesala Sami , Merilä Juha 
Published: June 2019

AbstractIn order to assess the accuracy and reliability of age estimates from calcified structures in the three‐spined sticklebackGasterosteus aculeatus, we evaluated intra and inter‐reader repeatability from three structures: otoliths, gill covers and pelvic spines). Average age estimates were also compared between the structures. The overall intra‐reader repeatability of age estimates were highest for otoliths (69%), lowest for gill covers (53%) and intermediate for spine cross‐sections (63%). Although four of the seven readers had the highest intra‐reader repeatability score for spine cross‐sections, the inter‐reader variance in this structure was much higher than in others. Otoliths were the easiest in terms of their pre‐analysis treatment and exchange of materials (as digital images) between readers. In addition, otoliths are more well‐studied compared with the other structures with respect to their development through ontogenesis; hence, age estimates based on otoliths should be the most reliable. Therefore, our recommendation is that whenever possible, analysis of otoliths should be the preferred approach for agingG. aculeatus.
Babassu almonds oil extracted with alternative pressurized green solvents, its triacylglycerol prediction and β‐sitosterol composition
Authors: de Oliveira Naila A. , dos Santos Garcia Alessandra B. , Mazalli Mônica R. , Fukumasu Heidge , de Oliveira Alessandra L. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThe behavior of two process variables in the oil extraction from babassu almonds (percentage of solvent volume [SV], and the contact time between solvent and the matrix in each batch [St]) was evaluated. In the statistical evaluation, SV was a significant variable in the process that used ethanol as solvent. Conversely, when the solvent was isopropanol, the significant variable was St. The response surface analysis (RSA) indicated that high St, regardless of the solvent amount, results in high yields. The highest yields were 55.34% when isopropanol was the solvent and 53.12% for ethanol. These values represent 92.4 and 88.7% of the oil content in the seeds, respectively. The fatty acid profile, rich in lauric, myristic, oleic, and palmitic acids, was the same regardless of the solvent and operational conditions used. The extract obtained using pressurized isopropanol presented the highest concentration of β‐sitosterol when 3 min was used as St with 66% of SV. When pressurized ethanol was the solvent, the highest concentration of β‐sitosterol was obtained at 2 min of St and 80% of SV. As a function of fatty acid composition, the main triacylglycerols present in babassu oil were COL, LOL, LOM, LOP, and MOP regardless of solvent.Practical applicationsBabassu almond is rich in potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, and zinc, which are elemental minerals for human health. Being considered oleaginous, it is equally of great importance for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Babassu oil is rich in phytosterols (among them β‐sitosterol) and it is rich in essential fatty acids such as lauric, myristic, oleic, and palmitic acids, which have clinical effects in the treatment of skin ulcers and burns.
Factors influencing the practice of new graduate nurses: A focused ethnography of acute care settings
Authors: Charette Martin , Goudreau Johanne , Bourbonnais Anne 
Published: June 2019

AbstractAimTo explore the influence of an acute care setting on competency deployment of new graduate nurses (NGNs) from a competency‐based undergraduate programme.BackgroundIn the last 15 years, nursing education has shifted to competency‐based education (CBE). Few studies have focused on how NGNs from these reformed programmes use the competencies they have developed. To be paradigmatically coherent with the nature of a competence, studies should also examine how context influences nursing practice and competency deployment.DesignA focused ethnography of three acute care units from one academic hospital in Canada.MethodsPurposive and snowball sampling strategies were used to recruit 19 participants: NGNs (n = 4), nurse preceptors (n = 2), clinical nurse specialists (n = 9) and nurse managers (n = 4). Data were collected through individual interviews, focus groups, observation and documentation. Data were analysed according to Roper and Shapira (Ethnography in nursing research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2000) ethnographic nursing analysis framework.ResultsOrganisational and individual factors were identified as influencing NGNs’ competency deployment. Organisational factors are orientation, stability, workload and the scientific culture of the unit. Personal factors have been linked to groups of professionals: for NGNs, personality and clinical placements during their initial education; for nurses working with NGNs, to be role models, to promote integration and to denounce bullying; and for other health professionals, to recognise nursing expertise.ConclusionOne way to smooth the transition from academic to clinical settings for NGNs is by offering transition or orientation programmes that will provide them with stability and a reduced workload, allowing them to progressively deploy their competencies.Relevance to clinical practiceOrganisational and individual factors influence how new graduate nurses deploy their competencies. Clinical educators and nurse managers can help new nurses by acting on these factors.This study conforms to the COREQ Research Reporting Guidelines for qualitative studies.
Two‐month breathing‐based walking improves anxiety, depression, dyspnoea and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomised controlled study
Authors: Lin Feng‐Lien , Yeh Mei‐Ling , Lai Yeur‐Hur , Lin Kuan‐Chia , Yu Chong‐Jen , Chang Jung‐San 
Published: June 2019

AbstractAims and objectivesTo examine the effects of the two‐month breathing‐based walking intervention and its follow‐up on anxiety, depression, dyspnoea and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.BackgroundMind–body‐related exercises improve bio‐psychological symptoms and quality of life in chronic diseases, but these improvements are not proven for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.DesignThis was a randomised controlled study and applied the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement.MethodsOutpatients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were recruited from a medical centre in Taiwan and randomly assigned to two groups. The walking group (n = 42) received breathing, meditation and walking for two months, and the control group (n = 42) did not. Data from the outcomes of anxiety, depression, dyspnoea and quality of life were collected at baseline and in Month 1, Month 2 and Month 3. Clinical trial registration was done (ClinicalTrials.gov.: NCT03388489).FindingsThe results showed significant changes in anxiety, depression, dyspnoea and quality of life in the walking group across three months, compared to those in the control group and at baseline.ConclusionThis breathing‐based walking intervention is promising to achieve bio‐psychological well‐being for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Relevance to clinical practiceThis breathing‐based walking, as a mind–body exercise, could serve as an evidence‐based nursing care that contributes to improving anxiety, depression, dyspnoea and quality of life in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease outpatients. The feasibility and acceptability of the breathing‐based walking were met the requirement of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease outpatients, which could be considered as home‐based exercise.
Do Portfolio Manager Contracts Contract Portfolio Management?
Authors: LEE JUNG HOON , TRZCINKA CHARLES , VENKATESAN SHYAM 
Published: June 2019

ABSTRACTMost mutual fund managers have performance‐based contracts. Our theory predicts that mutual fund managers with asymmetric contracts and mid‐year performance close to their announced benchmark increase their portfolio risk in the second part of the year. As predicted by our theory, performance deviation from the benchmark decreases risk‐shifting only for managers with performance contracts. Deviation from the benchmark dominates incentives from the flow‐performance relation, suggesting that risk‐shifting is motivated more by management contracts than by a tournament to capture flows.
Firm networks, borders, and regional economic integration
Authors: Brown W. Mark , Dar‐Brodeur Afshan , Tweedle Jesse 
Published: June 2019

AbstractBorders reduce interprovincial trade relative to intraprovincial trade. Using trade and firm ownership microdata over a 9‐year period (2004–2012), we show firm ownership networks, like trade flows, diminish with distance and borders and that the estimated effect of provincial borders on trade may fall by almost 75% after accounting for firm networks. This suggests the weaker presence of firm networks across borders has a significant, although statistically imprecise, effect on interprovincial trade. These findings reinforce the view that understanding border effects require not only the identification of barriers to trade but also barriers to investment across borders.
Validation of a recommended practice for assessing “characterizing flavor” to meet requirements of the EU Tobacco Product Directive (2014/40/EU)
Authors: Chambers Edgar , Paschke Thilo 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThis publication describes a sensory assessment recommended to fulfill the regulatory requirement for Article 6(2) of the EU Tobacco Products Directive 2014/40/EU, related to whether specific cigarettes have “characterizing flavor,” which is no longer allowed in the European Union (EU) when that “characterizing flavor” results from the use of an additive or combination of additives. It describes (a) background and protocol development, (b) a proposed protocol, (c) studies to evaluate the protocol, (d) the final recommended protocol, and (e) testing results for eight priority additives that the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental, and Emerging Risks deemed likely to provide nontobacco characterizing flavor in tobacco products. The final protocol screens assessors for sensory acuity, trains them to understand products with/without characterizing flavor, screens out assessors unable to perform the task successfully, determines which cigarette products may have a characterizing flavor, and then what, if any, characterizing flavor is present. The methodology using smell tests as suggested by regulatory staff and other authors was able to identify the positive controls included in the test and a test product containing menthol as having “characterizing flavor.”Practical Application“Characterizing flavor” in cigarettes is a sensory phenomenon. Implementation of the recommended protocol for determining “characterizing flavor” in cigarettes, whether premade or “roll your own” is needed to make an objective determination for regulatory needs. This recommended protocol is reliable as determined by various studies and can meet the needs in a reliable manner by various groups.
The influence of high‐dose systemic zoledronate administration on osseointegration of implants with different surface topography
Authors: Hou Michaela , Lee Ryan S. B. , Du Zhibin , Hamlet Stephen M. , Vaquette Cedryck , Ivanovski Sašo 
Published: June 2019

AbstractAimTo evaluate the influence of systemic zoledronate administration on the osseointegration of titanium implants with different surface topography in rat maxillae.MethodsTwenty Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided into two groups—test (bisphosphonate) and control (healthy). Bisphosphonate administration began three weeks prior to implant placement, and the animals received zoledronate (66 μg/kg) three times per week. Forty endosseous implants with a moderately rough (20 implants) or a turned surface (20 implants) were immediately placed bilaterally into extraction sockets of maxillary first molars. Animals were sacrificed after 14 and 28 days of healing, and en bloc specimens were harvested for histological and histomorphometric analysis. Osseointegration was quantified by measuring the percentage of bone‐to‐implant contact.ResultsBone‐to‐implant contact (BIC) (mean ± SD) values of moderately rough and turned implants at day 14 in test group were 17.62 ± 6.68 and 10.69 ± 1.48, respectively, while in the control group, they were 46.36 ± 5.08 and 33.29 ± 8.89, respectively. At day 28, BIC values of moderately rough and turned implants in the test group were 25.94 ± 7.87 and 7.83 ± 4.30, respectively, while in the control group, they were 72.99 ± 6.60 and 47.62 ± 18.19, respectively. Statistically significant higher BIC values were measured on moderately rough implants compared to turned implants at 28 days, and the control group compared to the test group for both implant surfaces. Histological observations for the control and the test groups demonstrated initial bone formation around moderately rough implants not only on the surface of the parent bone, as was the case with the turned surfaced implants, but also along the implant surface itself.ConclusionsSystemic zoledronate administration negatively influences osseointegration. Osseointegration was enhanced adjacent to moderately rough compared to turned implants in both the presence and absence of systemic zoledronate administration. Therefore, topographical surface modification may partially offset the negative impact of zoledronate administration.
Hepatitis E virus prevalence in Flemish blood donors
Authors: Vercouter Ann‐Sofie , Van Houtte Freya , Verhoye Lieven , González Fraile Isabel , Blanco Lydia , Compernolle Veerle , Meuleman Philip 
Published: June 2019

AbstractTransmission of hepatitis E virus (HEV) through transfusion of blood components has already been reported in several European countries. Here, we assessed the HEV prevalence in Flemish blood donors. This study is of importance in order to assess the risk of HEV transmission through blood transfusion. We analysed 38 137 blood donation samples that were collected by the Red Cross Flanders during the period May‐June 2015. All samples were screened for the presence of HEV RNA and a selection for HEV‐specific IgM/IgG. After pooling per 6, 11 pools reacted positive during RNA screening. Reactive pools were deconstructed, and individual samples were retested. After deconstruction, seven samples were confirmed as HEV RNA positive. Serological screening of the confirmed RNA‐positive samples showed that six out of these seven samples were HEV IgM positive, of which three donors were also IgG positive. Serological screening was also performed on the samples that constituted the four initially HEV RNA reactive pools where RNA positivity was not confirmed on the individual level. In three pools, we found indirect evidence of recent HEV exposure. Within 356 randomly selected samples, 31 donations were HEV IgG positive. Here we show that at least 1:5448 of blood donations in Flanders may originate from donors that are actively infected with HEV. Upon transfusion, these donations may pose a major threat towards patients at risk. Finally, a serological analysis showed that the anti‐HEV IgG prevalence in Flemish blood donors is 8.71%.
A Parsimonious Model of Divine Simplicity
Authors: Crisp Oliver D. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractMany recent treatments of divine simplicity have been highly critical of traditional accounts of the doctrine. Critics have challenged whether the doctrine is coherent and whether it can be squared with a robust theology of the triune God. Yet the theological tradition is largely persuaded that the doctrine of divine simplicity is not only coherent and true, but also that the doctrine of divine simplicity is needed for an account of the Trinity that does not fall into the trap of tritheism. In addition, both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions include conciliar and confessional support for the doctrine, and allow for more than one way of accounting for the doctrine. This essay offers a constructive account that seeks to avoid some of the most significant concerns raised in the recent theological and philosophical literature. It depends in important respects upon work being done in analytic theology on the use of models in theology, adopted (with suitable amendments) from the philosophy of science. After giving some dogmatic context, three versions of divine simplicity are laid out. Then, a parsimonious version of the doctrine is set forth and considered as a potentially fruitful model, which may have theological utility. The essay ends with some remarks about the way in which this new model of the doctrine may have value in ecumenical theology.
Detecting Financial Collapse and Ballooning Sovereign Risk
Authors: Phillips Peter C. B. , Shi Shuping 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThis paper proposes a new model for capturing discontinuities in the underlying financial environment that can lead to abrupt falls, but not necessarily sustained monotonic falls, in asset prices. This notion of price dynamics is consistent with existing understanding of market crashes, which allows for a mix of market responses that are not universally negative. The model may be interpreted as a martingale composed with a randomized drift process that is designed to capture various asymmetric drivers of market sentiment. In particular, the model is capable of generating realistic patterns of price meltdowns and bond yield inflations that constitute major market reversals while not necessarily being always monotonic in form. The recursive and moving window methods developed in Phillips, Shi and Yu (2015a,b; PSY), which were designed to detect exuberance in financial and economic data, are shown to have detective capacity for such meltdowns and expansions. This characteristic of the PSY tests has been noted in earlier empirical studies by the present authors and other researchers but no analytic reasoning has yet been given to explain why methods intended to capture the expansionary phase of a bubble may also detect abrupt and broadly sustained collapses. The model and asymptotic theory developed in the present paper together explain this property of the PSY procedures. The methods are applied to analyse S&P 500 stock prices and sovereign risk in European Union countries over 2001–16 using government bond yields and credit default swap (CDS) premia. A pseudo real‐time empirical analysis of these data shows the effectiveness of the monitoring strategy in capturing key events and turning points in market risk assessment.
Trichodysplasia spinulosa in a child: Identification of trichodysplasia spinulosa‐associated polyomavirus in skin, serum, and urine
Authors: Chamseddin Bahir H. , Tran Bao Anh Patrick D. , Lee Eunice E. , Pastrana Diana V. , Buck Christopher B. , Wang Richard C. , Kirkorian Anna Yasmine 
Published: June 2019

AbstractA 6‐year‐old girl with a history of chronic immunosuppression following small bowel and colon transplantation for tufting enteropathy presented with a diffuse, facial‐predominant eruption composed of pink‐to‐skin‐colored papules with central white dystrophic spicules. Histology from a punch biopsy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from plucked spicules confirmed a diagnosis of trichodysplasia spinulosa (TS). Additional molecular studies identified several strains of the trichodysplasia spinulosa–associated polyomavirus infecting multiple tissues of the patient, confirming the systemic nature of trichodysplasia spinulosa infections.