bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of [15O]H2O positron emission tomography-derived global and regional myocardial perfusion
Authors: Bom Michiel J , van Diemen Pepijn A , Driessen Roel S , Everaars Henk , Schumacher Stefan P , Wijmenga Jan-Thijs , Raijmakers Pieter G , van de Ven Peter M , Lammertsma Adriaan A , van Rossum Albert C , Knuuti Juhani , Danad Ibrahim , Knaapen Paul 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Aims
To evaluate the prognostic value of global and regional quantitative [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) perfusion.

Methods and results
In this retrospective study, 648 patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent [15O]H2O PET were followed for the occurrence of death and myocardial infarction (MI). Global and regional hyperaemic myocardial blood flow (hMBF) and coronary flow reserve (CFR) were obtained from [15O]H2O PET. During median follow-up of 6.9 (5.0–7.9) years, 64 (9.9%) patients experienced the composite of death (36–5.6%) and MI (28–4.3%). Impaired global hMBF (&lt;2.65 mL/min/g) and CFR (&lt;2.88) were both significant prognostic factors for death/MI after adjusting for clinical characteristics (both P &lt; 0.001). However, after adjusting for clinical parameters and the combined use of hMBF and CFR, only hMBF remained an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.04). For regional perfusion, both impaired hMBF (&lt;2.10 mL/min/g) and CFR (&lt;2.07) demonstrated prognostic value for events (both P &lt; 0.001). Similarly, after adjusting for clinical characteristics and combined use of hMBF and CFR, only hMBF had independent prognostic value (P = 0.04). The combination of global and regional perfusion did not improve prognostic performance over either global (P = 0.55) or regional perfusion (P = 0.37) alone.

Conclusion
Global and regional hMBF and CFR were all prognostic factors for death and MI. However, for both global and regional perfusion, hMBF remained the only independent prognostic factor after adjusting for the combined use of hMBF and CFR. Additionally, integrating global and regional perfusion did not increase prognostic performance compared to either regional or global perfusion alone.
Reconstructing William Byrd’s consort songs from the Paston lutebooks: a historically informed and computational approach to comparative analysis and musical idiom
Authors: Sequera Hector 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This article outlines how computational analysis can be applied to the process of making and evaluating idiomatic reconstructions of polyphonic music from lute intabulations. It focuses on some of William Byrd’s consort songs that survive only as intabulations in one of the lute books owned by Edward Paston (1550–1630), London, British Library, Add. Ms. 31992. Fourteen of the consort songs survive as intabulations and full settings, and form the corpus used in this study; 15 survive only as intabulations needing reconstruction to return them to a performable state. After discussing the context of the pieces, the article presents three analyses: (1) to establish the differences between the tablatures and the full settings, (2) to study more closely these differences in order to inform reconstruction work, and (3) to evaluate three separate reconstructions of Byrd’s ‘In tower most high’ using the corpus and the data collected.
The spatial variation of switching rates in large cooperative membership bases: empirical evidence from the dairy sector
Authors: Viergutz Tim , Zubek Nana , Schulze-Ehlers Birgit 
Published: October 2019

AbstractStructural change at both farmer and cooperative levels has significantly altered the vertical relationships between these, with increased switching activities resulting in negative economic impacts on cooperatives. This paper uses spatial panel modelling to identify how prices, cooperative member density and competitors’ processing volume affect member switching rates in a large dairy cooperative. With a unique data set, we find that these local indicators influence local members’ switching decisions. Furthermore, the detected pattern indicates a spatial interdependence of local switching rates, hinting at potential interaction processes among the members, ultimately influencing the occurrence of switching decisions in the membership base. JEL classification: C23, D23, P13, Q13, R32
The Diminishing Power of One? Welfare State Retrenchment and Rising Poverty of Single-Adult Households in Sweden 1988–2011
Authors: Alm Susanne , Nelson Kenneth , Nieuwenhuis Rense 
Published: October 2019

AbstractIn this study, we analyse the sharp rise in poverty among working-age singles and single parents in Sweden. In a dual-earner society like Sweden, we show that the return of mass unemployment in combination with the retreat of a generous and inclusive welfare state have substantially increased the poverty risks of single-adult households, who cannot rely on the income buffering effect of the family. Whereas cutbacks to unemployment benefits have been detrimental for the relative income position of single-adult households, the poverty risks of couples with and without children are much less affected. Individual-level characteristics of the poor persons themselves provide little explanatory leverage for why trends in poverty diverge by family form. Our results raise a number of issues of relevance for the wider academic debate about the capacity of the welfare state to adequately respond to both old and new social risk groups.
Secondary prevention medications after coronary artery bypass grafting and long-term survival: a population-based longitudinal study from the SWEDEHEART registry
Authors: Björklund Erik , Nielsen Susanne J , Hansson Emma C , Karlsson Martin , Wallinder Andreas , Martinsson Andreas , Tygesen Hans , Romlin Birgitta S , Malm Carl Johan , Pivodic Aldina , Jeppsson Anders 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Aims
To evaluate the long-term use of secondary prevention medications [statins, β-blockers, renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors, and platelet inhibitors] after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and the association between medication use and mortality.

Methods and results
All patients who underwent isolated CABG in Sweden from 2006 to 2015 and survived at least 6 months after discharge were included (n = 28 812). Individual patient data from SWEDEHEART and other mandatory nationwide registries were merged. Multivariable Cox regression models using time-updated data on dispensed prescriptions were used to assess associations between medication use and long-term mortality. Statins were dispensed to 93.9% of the patients 6 months after discharge and to 77.3% 8 years later. Corresponding figures for β-blockers were 91.0% and 76.4%, for RAAS inhibitors 72.9% and 65.9%, and for platelet inhibitors 93.0% and 79.8%. All medications were dispensed less often to patients ≥75 years. Treatment with statins [hazard ratio (HR) 0.56, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.52–0.60], RAAS inhibitors (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.73–0.84), and platelet inhibitors (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.69–0.81) were individually associated with lower mortality risk after adjustment for age, gender, comorbidities, and use of other secondary preventive drugs (all P &lt; 0.001). There was no association between β-blockers and mortality risk (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.90–1.06; P = 0.54).

Conclusion
The use of secondary prevention medications after CABG was high early after surgery but decreased significantly over time. The results of this observational study, with inherent risk of selection bias, suggest that treatment with statins, RAAS inhibitors, and platelet inhibitors is essential after CABG whereas the routine use of β-blockers may be questioned.
Quinidine-responsive out-of-hospital polymorphic ventricular tachycardia in patients with coronary heart disease
Authors: Viskin Sami , Hochstadt Aviram , Chorin Ehud , Viskin Dana , Havakuk Ofer , Khoury Shafik , Lee John K , Belhassen Bernard , Rosso Raphael 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Aims
We recently reported that patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who develop polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) during the healing phase of an acute coronary event, generally fail to respond to revascularization or standard antiarrhythmic therapy but respond immediately to quinidine therapy. Here, we describe that CAD patients presenting with out-of-hospital polymorphic VT without a recent coronary event or an obvious precipitating factor, also respond uniquely to quinidine therapy.

Methods and results
Retrospective study of patients with unheralded, mainly out-of-hospital, polymorphic VT related to CAD but without evidence of acute myocardial ischaemia. We identified 20 patients who developed polymorphic VT without precipitating factors. The polymorphic VT events were triggered by extrasystoles with short (376 ± 49 ms) coupling interval. Arrhythmic storms occurred in 70% patients. These arrhythmic storms were generally refractory to conventional antiarrhythmic therapy but invariably responded to quinidine therapy. Revascularization was antiarrhythmic in 3 patients despite the absent clinical or ECG signs of ischaemia. During long-term follow-up (range 2 months to 11 years), 3 (15%) of patients not receiving quinidine developed recurrent polymorphic VT. There were no recurrent arrhythmias during long-term quinidine therapy.

Conclusions
Patients with CAD may develop polymorphic VT in the absence of obvious acute ischaemia or apparent precipitating factors, presenting as out-of-hospital polymorphic VT with high risk of arrhythmic storms that respond uniquely to quinidine therapy.
Cost–utility analysis of lifestyle interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes in women with prior gestational diabetes
Authors: Werbrouck Amber , Schmidt Masja , Putman Koen , Annemans Lieven , Benhalima Katrien , Simoens Steven , Verhaeghe Nick 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
To compare estimated costs and health outcomes of lifestyle interventions for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women who had gestational diabetes.

Methods
An age-specific Markov model was applied comparing costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of three alternatives: ‘doing nothing’; an annual reminder system (ARS) with an awareness campaign (‘ARS-awareness’); and an ARS with an intensive lifestyle intervention (‘ARS-ILS’). A healthcare payer perspective was adopted, the time horizon was 30 years and the setting was Flanders (Belgium). Sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results
‘ARS-awareness’ was extendedly dominated. Per 10 000 participants, ‘ARS-ILS’ cost €13 210 256 more and gained 496 QALYs compared with ‘doing nothing’ (26 632 €/QALY), with a 63% probability of being cost effective, given a cost effectiveness threshold of 35 000 €/QALY. A scenario analysis showed that ‘ARS-ILS’ for 15 years only offered to women with prediabetes (compared with ‘doing nothing’) has an 89.5% likelihood of being dominant.

Conclusions
‘ARS-ILS’ may be the preferred intervention. However, the probability of being cost effective was low. Based on further scenario analyses, we recommend healthcare decision makers to consider the application of a more intensive alternative, focused on the highest risk profiles and with a shorter intervention duration.
The inconvincible patient: how clinicians perceive demand for antibiotics in the outpatient setting
Authors: Kohut Mike R , Keller Sara C , Linder Jeffrey A , Tamma Pranita D , Cosgrove Sara E , Speck Kathleen , Ahn Roy , Dullabh Prashila , Miller Melissa A , Szymczak Julia E 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
Perceived patient demand for antibiotics drives unnecessary antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings, but little is known about how clinicians experience this demand or how this perceived demand shapes their decision-making.

Objective
To identify how clinicians perceive patient demand for antibiotics and the way these perceptions stimulate unnecessary prescribing.

Methods
Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with clinicians in outpatient settings who prescribe antibiotics. Interviews were analyzed using conventional and directed content analysis.

Results
Interviews were conducted with 25 clinicians from nine practices across three states. Patient demand was the most common reason respondents provided for why they prescribed non-indicated antibiotics. Three related factors motivated clinically unnecessary antibiotic use in the face of perceived patient demand: (i) clinicians want their patients to regard clinical visits as valuable and believe that an antibiotic prescription demonstrates value; (ii) clinicians want to avoid negative repercussions of denying antibiotics, including reduced income, damage to their reputation, emotional exhaustion, and degraded relationships with patients; (iii) clinicians believed that certain patients are impossible to satisfy without an antibiotic prescription and felt that efforts to refuse antibiotics to such patients wastes time and invites the aforementioned negative repercussions. Clinicians in urgent care settings were especially likely to describe being motivated by these factors.

Conclusion
Interventions to improve antibiotic use in the outpatient setting must address clinicians’ concerns about providing value for their patients, fear of negative repercussions from denying antibiotics, and the approach to inconvincible patients.
Mapping of Shigella flexneri’s tissue distribution and type III secretion apparatus activity during infection of the large intestine of guinea pigs
Authors: Nigro Giulia , Arena Ellen T , Sachse Martin , Moya-Nilges Maryse , Marteyn Benoit S , Sansonetti Philippe J , Campbell-Valois F-X 
Published: October 2019

ABSTRACT
Shigella spp. are bacterial pathogens that invade the human colonic mucosa using a type III secretion apparatus (T3SA), a proteinaceous device activated upon contact with host cells. Active T3SAs translocate proteins that carve the intracellular niche of Shigella spp. Nevertheless, the activation state of the T3SA has not been addressed in vivo. Here, we used a green fluorescent protein transcription-based secretion activity reporter (TSAR) to provide a spatio-temporal description of S. flexneri T3SAs activity in the colon of Guinea pigs. First, we observed that early mucus release is triggered in the vicinity of luminal bacteria with inactive T3SA. Subsequent mucosal invasion showed bacteria with active T3SA associated with the brush border, eventually penetrating into epithelial cells. From 2 to 8 h post-challenge, the infection foci expanded, and these intracellular bacteria displayed homogeneously high-secreting activity, while extracellular foci within the lamina propria featured bacteria with low secretion activity. We also found evidence that within lamina propria macrophages, bacteria reside in vacuoles instead of accessing the cytosol. Finally, bacteria were cleared from tissues between 8 and 24 h post-challenge, highlighting the hit-and-run colonization strategy of Shigella. This study demonstrates how genetically encoded reporters can contribute to deciphering pathogenesis in vivo.
Managing Understory Fagus grandifolia for Promoting Beech Bark Disease Resistance in Northern Hardwood Stands
Authors: Fajvan Mary Ann , Hille Andrea , Turcotte Richard M 
Published: October 2019

AbstractMany Allegheny hardwood stands contain dense understories of very shade-tolerant American beech, resulting from partial disturbances that have accelerated root sucker development. The low-shade produced by these sprouts hampers silvicultural regeneration efforts to maintain species diversity in new cohorts. An increasing proportion of sprouts result from stressed trees infested with beech bark disease. The clonal sprouts also have a genetic affinity for the disease. A mixture of Accord® and Oust® herbicides, applied to understory vegetation after shelterwood establishment cuts, can significantly reduce understory beech density. Yet, retention of some overstory beech, with demonstrated disease resistance, is ecologically desirable. The root sprouts from these parent trees should also have resistance to the disease. We used broadcast herbicide application to kill understory vegetation after shelterwood harvests in three stands, and tested the effect of herbicide on beech sprouts associated with resistant trees. Eight years after treatment, plots that had received herbicide had similar densities of beech to no-herbicide plots. However, there were significant differences in seedling densities among stands (P = .0303) and species (P = .0014). Our results indicate that there is much temporal variability in regeneration dynamics after treatment. Resistant beech sprouts are still competitive in the long term, even after herbicide application.
Branched Chain Amino Acids, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Outcomes in Older Men: The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project
Authors: Le Couteur David G , Ribeiro Rosilene , Senior Alistair , Hsu Benjumin , Hirani Vasant , Blyth Fiona M , Waite Louise M , Simpson Stephen J , Naganathan Vasikaran , Cumming Robert G , Handelsman David J 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Increased blood levels of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) have been associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. Here, we studied 918 community-dwelling older men to determine the relationship between BCAAs and other amino acids with cardiometabolic risk factors, major cardiovascular endpoints (MACE), and mortality. BCAAs had robust associations with many adverse metabolic risk factors (increased glucose, insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides; decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). However, paradoxically, participants with lower levels of BCAAs had greater mortality and MACE possibly because increasing age and frailty, both of which were associated with lower BCAA levels, are powerful risk factors for these outcomes in older people. Overall, amino acids that were lowest in frail subjects (BCAAs, α-aminobutyric acid [AABA], histidine, lysine, methionine, threonine, tyrosine) were inversely associated with mortality and MACE. In conclusion, BCAAs are biomarkers for important outcomes in older people including cardiometabolic risk factors, frailty, and mortality. In old age, frailty becomes a dominant risk factor for MACE and mortality.
Deep neural networks design and analysis for automatic phase pickers from three-component microseismic recordings
Authors: Zheng Jing , Shen Shuaishuai , Jiang Tianqi , Zhu Weiqiang 
Published: October 2019

SUMMARYIt is essential to pick P-wave and S-wave arrival times rapidly and accurately for the microseismic monitoring systems. Meanwhile, it is not easy to identify the arrivals at a true phase automatically using traditional picking method. This is one of the reasons that many researchers are trying to introduce deep neural networks to solve these problems. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are very attractive for designing automatic phase pickers especially after introducing the fundamental network structure from semantic segmentation field, which can give the probability outputs for every labelled phase at every sample in the recordings. The typical segmentation architecture consists of two main parts: (1) an encoder part trained to extracting coarse semantic features; (2) a decoder part responsible not only for recovering the input resolution at the output but also for obtaining sparse representation of the objects. The fundamental segmentation structure performs well; however, the influence of the parameters in the structure on the pickers has not been investigated. It means that the structure design just depends on experience and tests. In this paper, we solve two main questions to give some guidance on network design. First, we show what sparse features will learn from the three-component microseismic recordings using CNNs. Second, the influence of two key parameters in the network on pickers, namely, the depth of decoder and activation functions, is analysed. Increasing the number of levels for a certain layer in the decoder will increase the burden of demand on trainable parameters, but it is beneficial to the accuracy of the model. Reasonable depth of the decoder can balance prediction accuracy and the demand of labelled data, which is important for microseismic systems because manual labelling process will decrease the real-time performance in monitoring tasks. Standard rectified linear unit (ReLU) and leaky rectified linear unit (Leaky ReLU) with different negative slopes are compared for the analysis. Leaky ReLU with a small negative slope can improve the performance of a given model than ReLU activation function by keeping some information about the negative parts.
Double-difference measurements in global full-waveform inversions
Authors: Örsvuran Rıdvan , Bozdağ Ebru , Modrak Ryan , Lei Wenjie , Ruan Youyi 
Published: October 2019

SUMMARYWe demonstrate double-difference (DD) tomography, a method involving differential measurements between stations, for 2-D and 3-D adjoint inversions based on realistic source–receiver distributions, with a focus on the global scale. We first present 2-D synthetic inversion results using cross-correlation traveltime and L2 waveform difference objective functions. Introducing a weighting term to DD objective functions based on the number of measurement pairs per station speeds up convergence and reduces bias in the final inverted model due to uneven data coverage. We next demonstrate frequency-dependent multitaper DD measurements in a 3-D experiment with real earthquake data by computing global-scale gradients. At the global scale, careful selection of station pairs is required for differential measurements in terms of geographical distance or geological context. In our technique, if no suitable pairs are found for a particular station, the DD measurement reduces to a classical misfit measurement. Furthermore, we compare 2-D and 3-D DD results with those from corresponding conventional misfits. By exploiting previously unused information in the recorded wavefield, DD tomography shows promise for balancing the gradient and speeding up convergence, especially around dense regional seismic networks.
What are the factors associated with the implementation of a peer-led health promotion program? Insights from a multiple-case study
Authors: Lorthios-Guilledroit A , Filiatrault J , Richard L 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Peer education is widely used as a health promotion strategy. However, few efforts have been undertaken to understand the implementation of peer-led health promotion programs (HPPs). This multiple-case study identifies factors facilitating the implementation of a peer-led HPP for older adults presenting with fear of falling (Vivre en ï¿½quilibre) and their mechanisms of action. It used a conceptual framework postulating factors that may influence peer-led HPPs implementation and mechanisms through which such factors may generate implementation outcomes. Six independent-living residences for older adults in Quebec (Canada) implemented Vivre en ï¿½quilibre as part of a quasi-experimental study. Implementation factors and outcomes were documented through observation diaries, attendance sheets, peers’ logbooks, questionnaires administered to participants and semi-structured interviews conducted among peers, activity coordinators of residences and a subgroup of participants. The analysis revealed three categories of factors facilitating program implementation, related to individuals, to the program and to the organizational context. Three action mechanisms identified in the framework (interaction, self-organization and adaptation) were facilitated by some of these factors. These findings support the application of the peer-led program implementation conceptual framework used in this study and provide insights for practitioners and researchers interested in implementing peer-led HPPs.