bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patient Empowerment Programme in primary care reduced all‐cause mortality and cardiovascular diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a population‐based propensity‐matched cohort study
Authors: Wong C. K. H. , Wong W. C. W. , Wan Y. F. , Chan A. K. C. , Chung K. L. , Chan F. W. K. , Lam C. L. K. 
Published: September 2014

AimsTo assess whether a structured diabetes education programme, the Patient Empowerment Programme (PEP), was associated with a lower risk of first cardiovascular disease (CVD) event and all‐cause mortality in a population‐based cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in primary care.MethodsA Chinese cohort of 27 278 patients with T2DM and without previous CVD events on or before the baseline study recruitment date was linked to the Hong Kong administrative database from 2008 to 2013. The PEP was provided to patients with T2DM treated at primary care outpatient clinics through community trained professional educators. PEP non‐participants were matched one‐to‐one with the PEP participants using a propensity score method with respect to their baseline covariates. Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to estimate the associations of the PEP with the occurrence of first CVD event, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and death from any cause, controlling for baseline characteristics.ResultsDuring a median of 21.5 months follow‐up, 795 (352 PEP participants and 443 PEP non‐participants) patients experienced a first CVD event. After adjusting for confounding variables, PEP participants had a lower rate of all‐cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 0.564, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.445–0.715; p < 0.001], first CVD (HR 0.807, 95% CI 0.696–0.935; p = 0.004) and stroke (HR 0.702; 95% CI 0.569–0.867; p = 0.001) than those without PEP.ConclusionsEnrolment in the PEP was associated with lower all‐cause mortality and a lower number of first CVD events among patients with T2DM. The CVD benefit of PEP might be attributable to improving metabolic control through empowerment of self‐care and the enhancement of quality of diabetes care in primary care.
Three‐Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiographic Study of Aortic‐Mitral Valve Coupling after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting
Authors: Qu Shao‐Hui , Hsiung Ming‐Chon , Leng Xiao‐Ping , Wei Jeng , Du Guo‐Qing , Houle Helene , Yin Wei‐Hsian , Tian Jia‐Wei 
Published: September 2014

AimsTo observe the geometric changes in aortic‐mitral valve coupling (AMC) on three‐dimensional transesophageal echocardiography and the factors leading to decreased mitral regurgitation (MR) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Methods and ResultsThis study included 23 patients undergoing CABG for coronary artery disease. Fifteen patients with moderate to severe MR were separately analyzed to determine whether the severity of MR influences the geometric change in AMC. Echocardiographic examinations were performed pre‐ and post‐CABG, and the studied parameters were obtained using Siemens Auto Valve Analysis software. The effective mitral regurgitant orifice area, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), end‐diastolic volume (EDV), and end‐systolic volume (ESV) were measured pre‐ and post‐CABG using Philips QLAB software. Ischemic MR, EDV, and ESV significantly decreased (all P < 0.05) and LVEF significantly improved (P < 0.05) after CABG. There were no significant differences between the pre‐ and post‐CABG mitral valve (MV) parameters, aortic valve parameters, aortic‐mitral annular angle, or centroid distance (all P > 0.05). Patients with moderate to severe MR exhibited the same results.ConclusionThe results of this study show that CABG does not cause an acute change in the geometry of AMC. Improved left ventricular function might increase the closing force of the MV, leading to decreased MR after CABG alone. MR significantly improved after CABG alone without MV treatment in the present study. This result may help to guide surgeons in choosing the optimal surgical methods for individual patients.
The Clinical Dilemma of Quantifying Mechanical Left Ventricular Dyssynchrony for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Segmental or Global?
Authors: Bajraktari Gani , Henein Michael Y. 
Published: September 2014

Heart failure (HF) represents a serious clinical and public cause of mortality, morbidity, as well as healthcare expenditures. Guidelines for treatment of HF join in recommending multimedical regimen at targeted doses as the best medical strategy, despite that a significant percentage of patients remain symptomatic. Studies have shown that these patients might benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), particularly those presenting with broad QRS duration, >135 msec. Trials have already shown that CRT results in improved morbidity and survival of these patients particularly those in New York Heart Association class III–IV HF, but almost 30% do not show any symptomatic or survival benefit, hence are classified as nonresponders. Exhaustive efforts have been made in using noninvasive methods of assessing left ventricle (LV) dyssynchrony in predicting nonresponders to CRT, including Doppler echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and even single photon emission computed tomography analysis, but only with modest success. In this report, we aimed to review the available evidence for assessing markers of mechanical LV dyssynchrony by various echocardiographic modalities and their respective strength in predicting favorable response to CRT treatment, comparing global with segmental ones. While the accuracy of segmental markers of dyssynchrony in predicting satisfactory response to CRT remains controversial because of various technical limitations, global markers seem easier to measure, reproducible, and potentially accurate in reflecting overall cavity response and its clinical implications. More studies are needed to qualify this proposal.
Unusual Myocardial Late Gadolinium Enhancement in Isolated Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Moustafa Sherif , Patton David J. , Al Shanawani Mansour , Connelly Michael S. , Alvarez Nanette , Prieur Timothy , Mookadam Farouk 
Published: September 2014

Mini‐AbstractNoncompaction cardiomyopathy is characterized by prominent ventricular trabeculations and deep intertrabecular recesses with high risk of mortality and morbidity secondary to heart failure, thromboembolic events, and malignant arrhythmias. We herein report a 19‐year‐old man with isolated noncompaction cardiomyopathy in which the echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance were very useful in decision making regarding his optimal management.
Infusing considerations of trophic dependencies into species distribution modelling
Authors: Trainor Anne M. , Schmitz Oswald J. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractCommunity ecology involves studying the interdependence of species with each other and their environment to predict their geographical distribution and abundance. Modern species distribution analyses characterise species‐environment dependency well, but offer only crude approximations of species interdependency. Typically, the dependency between focal species and other species is characterised using other species’ point occurrences as spatial covariates to constrain the focal species’ predicted range. This implicitly assumes that the strength of interdependency is homogeneous across space, which is not generally supported by analyses of species interactions. This discrepancy has an important bearing on the accuracy of inferences about habitat suitability for species. We introduce a framework that integrates principles from consumer–resource analyses, resource selection theory and species distribution modelling to enhance quantitative prediction of species geographical distributions. We show how to apply the framework using a case study of lynx and snowshoe hare interactions with each other and their environment. The analysis shows how the framework offers a spatially refined understanding of species distribution that is sensitive to nuances in biophysical attributes of the environment that determine the location and strength of species interactions.
Balancing health literacy about epilepsy surgery in the community
Authors: Zuccato Jeffrey A. , Milburn Cynthia , Valiante Taufik A. 
Published: September 2014

SummaryObjectiveDespite significant underutilization of surgical treatment for drug‐resistant epilepsy, no studies have quantified patient desire for surgery within a representative population. The main objective was to determine desire for surgery in a sample with a high proportion of potential candidates to characterize patient‐related barriers to the treatment. Secondary objectives included assessing clinical predictors of attitudes toward surgery and evaluating the impact of passive knowledge translation on desire for surgery.MethodsAn online survey was administered to all clients connected with a core epilepsy community access center. It obtained information about demographics, clinical characteristics, knowledge of epilepsy surgery, and interest in receiving surgery before and after receiving risk/benefit information about it.ResultsOf 118 potential respondents, 48 (41%) completed the questionnaire, of which 67% had failed more than two AEDs and 78% experienced seizures in the past year. Eleven ( 26%) were uninterested in receiving surgery at baseline, and this decreased significantly to 7 (16%) following knowledge translation regarding the benefits (p = 0.001). Significance was lost with subsequent complication rate information despite fewer respondents still being uninterested compared to baseline (20% vs. 26%). Having experienced seizures within the past month was correlated with being interested in or undecided regarding surgery at baseline and following all steps of knowledge translation. Subjects had conservative views regarding the benefits of surgery and largely overestimated the risks.SignificanceA significant portion of those with active epilepsy in the community do not desire surgical treatment. Passive knowledge translation regarding the risks and benefits enhanced optimistic attitudes and mobilized interest within a subset of participants. Preexisting views regarding the risks of surgery were exaggerated, and analysis suggests that these views can be modified with information about the benefits of surgery. However, exaggerated risk perceptions return following crude descriptions of the risks, underlying the importance of sensitive counseling from primary care physicians.
Collateral Regulation and IPO‐Specific Liberalisation: the Case of Price Limits in the Athens Stock Exchange
Authors: Thomadakis Stavros , Gounopoulos Dimitrios , Nounis Christos , Merikas Andreas 
Published: September 2014

AbstractThis paper uses a unique testing ground on the effect of price limits upon IPO pricing and initial returns. The Athens Stock Exchange offers the opportunity for this new experiment, as three substantial changes in limit regulations were implemented in a short period of eight years. The results indicate significant differences in initial returns. Effective price limits reduce underpricing in all market segments, without visible diminution of IPO activity. The introduction of mandatory book‐building after price limits were phased out in Athens also led to reduced underpricing in the main market segment. Nevertheless, the existence of an independent effect of price limits explains why some regulators continue to use them to the present day.
Strangulation of the small intestine by an anomalous congenital band in a yearling
Authors: Dearo A. C. O. , de Moraes Marcondes G. , Araújo J. C. O. , Grumadas C. E. S. , Marino P. C. , Teixeira W. T. , de La Penha Chiacchio Fernandes G. 
Published: September 2014

SummaryStrangulating obstruction of the small intestine by anomalous mesenteric bands is an uncommon cause of colic in horses. The most commonly reported bands are mesodiverticular bands that are embryological remnants of the vitelline arteries. Despite the congenital nature of the anomaly, a wide age range of horses can be affected. This report describes a case of small intestinal strangulating obstruction caused by an unusual, anomalous congenital band attached to the ileocaecal fold in a yearling colt. Information including case background, history, clinical, laboratory, surgical and pathological findings is described.
Morphological and trophic specialization in a subterranean amphipod assemblage
Authors: Hutchins Benjamin T. , Schwartz Benjamin F. , Nowlin Weston H. 
Published: September 2014

Summary

Sympatric species are expected to exhibit specialisation that reduces interspecific competition in environments with food resources that exhibit little spatial or temporal variation in availability, while sympatric species in more unpredictable environments should exhibit generalised feeding strategies to exploit a wide range of variable resources.

We combined stable isotopes and quantitative mouthpart morphometric data to investigate trophic structure among sympatric species in a diverse subterranean amphipod assemblage in the Edwards Aquifer, Texas, U.S.A.

Seven amphipod species occupied different regions of isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) space, suggesting the use of different food resources. Trophic position, measured as δ15N, was negatively correlated with planar area of the mandible and number of molar ridges, while it was positively correlated with incisor width. Reduced molar size and robust incisors are generally associated with predatory feeding strategies in non‐subterranean amphipods. δ13C exhibited non‐significant relationships with mouthpart morphology although one species, Texiweckeliopsis insolita, had significantly different mouthpart and δ13C values. Another species, Stygobromus russelli, had more generalised mouthparts, but isotope values indicate that it had a unique and unidentified feeding method and food source, illustrating the obfuscating effect of phylogeny on form–function relationships.

Intraspecific relationships between body size and isotope values indicate that amphipod species showed little to moderate ontogenetic shifts in trophic position. Furthermore, body size did not predict trophic position when data were combined across species, suggesting that larger amphipods do not necessarily feed at higher trophic levels in this community.

Our results indicate that sympatric subterranean amphipod species can exhibit specialised feeding strategies, suggesting that competition among species is driving niche partitioning. These results contradict the assumption that variable resource availability in groundwater habitats selects for trophic generalists among sympatric species.
Using modelled stream temperatures to predict macro‐spatial patterns of stream invertebrate biodiversity
Authors: Hill Ryan A. , Hawkins Charles P. 
Published: September 2014

Summary

Stream temperature is thought to be a primary determinant of the macro‐spatial distribution of stream biota, but we lack temperature data for most streams. Past research often relied on surrogates, such as altitude, latitude, catchment area (ALCA) and air temperature to study biota–temperature relationships. However, temperature surrogates may not accurately represent the thermal environments experienced by the biota and could thus produce misleading inferences regarding such relationships.

In the absence of observations, modelled stream temperature could improve both predictions and interpretations of stream biodiversity patterns. We tested this hypothesis by relating stream benthic invertebrate assemblage structure and composition at 92 reference‐quality streams to ALCA, air temperature, modelled stream temperature and measured stream temperature, that is a progression from a coarse surrogate to directly measured water temperature. Modelled stream temperatures were obtained from a U.S.A.‐wide model developed previously with data from 569 reference‐quality sites. Variation in taxonomic composition, measured with an ordination, was strongly and almost identically associated with both modelled and measured stream temperature, but was less strongly associated with ALCA and air temperature.

We also built predictive niche models to assess how choice of thermal metrics affected model performance. Model performance was measured as the precision with which each model predicted the number of taxa at a site (i.e. observed‐to‐expected taxon ratios). Niche models that contained modelled or measured stream temperature were more precise than those based on air temperature and ALCA. In addition, we compared the predicted probabilities of occurrence using niche models based on both modelled and measured stream temperatures. The two produced predicted probabilities of occurrence that were statistically indistinguishable for most (79%) taxa.

Finally, we calculated thermal optima for each taxon as the abundance‐weighted average of stream temperature at sites where each taxon occurred. Thermal optima produced with modelled and measured stream temperatures were almost identical.

Large‐scale models of stream temperature can be sufficiently accurate and precise to detect temperature‐driven patterns in stream biodiversity and should be useful in predicting the effects of climate change and other human‐caused thermal alterations on stream biodiversity.
Effects of longitudinal and lateral stream channel complexity on native and non‐native fishes in an invaded desert stream
Authors: Franssen Nathan R. , Gilbert Eliza I. , Propst David L. 
Published: September 2014

Summary

Understanding how habitat heterogeneity influences the structure of communities has been a longstanding goal of ecologists. Identifying how stream channel complexity affects fishes will be particularly important in systems simplified by anthropogenic activities and encroachment of non‐native riparian vegetation.

Here, we assessed how large‐scale longitudinal distribution of lateral stream channel complexity from anthropogenically channelised, naturally braided and canyon‐bound reaches of the San Juan River in New Mexico and Utah, U.S.A., correlated with species richness, evenness and the relative abundance of small‐bodied native and non‐native fishes. We also contrasted fish assemblages at a smaller scale, in the most laterally complex reach of the river, by comparing fish assemblages between primary channel and secondary channel habitats as well as in newly restored secondary channels.

Rarefied fish species richness was generally highest in the braided reach of the river and the longitudinal distribution of total fish densities varied temporally. Contrary to our predictions, native fish densities were highest in the most upstream and anthropogenically channelised reach of the river. Non‐native fish densities tended to be highest in the downstream braided reach, and all fishes were sparse in the least complex canyon‐bound reach. Total fish densities were higher in secondary channels compared with primary channels, and non‐native fishes were responsible for this difference. Fish assemblages in recently restored secondary channels were generally similar to those in naturally occurring ones.

Our results suggest that lateral channel complexity can facilitate greater species richness at larger scales and is likely to provide habitats for fishes that are rare or not found in larger primary channels. These findings also suggest reduced channel complexity may lower the ability of riverine systems to support diverse fish assemblages.
A genetic interaction network model of a complex neurological disease
Authors: Tyler A. L. , McGarr T. C. , Beyer B. J. , Frankel W. N. , Carter G. W. 
Published: September 2014

Absence epilepsy (AE) is a complex, heritable disease characterized by a brief disruption of normal behavior and accompanying spike‐wave discharges (SWD) on the electroencephalogram. Only a handful of genes has been definitively associated with AE in humans and rodent models. Most studies suggest that genetic interactions play a large role in the etiology and severity of AE, but mapping and understanding their architecture remains a challenge, requiring new computational approaches. Here we use combined analysis of pleiotropy and epistasis (CAPE) to detect and interpret genetic interactions in a meta‐population derived from three C3H × B6J strain crosses, each of which is fixed for a different SWD‐causing mutation. Although each mutation causes SWD through a different molecular mechanism, the phenotypes caused by each mutation are exacerbated on the C3H genetic background compared with B6J, suggesting common modifiers. By combining information across two phenotypic measures – SWD duration and frequency – CAPE showed a large, directed genetic network consisting of suppressive and enhancing interactions between loci on 10 chromosomes. These results illustrate the power of CAPE in identifying novel modifier loci and interactions in a complex neurological disease, toward a more comprehensive view of its underlying genetic architecture.
Low‐Resolution Modeling of Dense Drainage Networks in Confining Layers
Authors: Pauw P.S. , Van der Zee S.E.A.T.M. , Leijnse A. , Delsman J.R. , De Louw P.G.B. , De Lange W.J. , Oude Essink G.H.P. 
Published: September 2014

AbstractGroundwater‐surface water (GW‐SW) interaction in numerical groundwater flow models is generally simulated using a Cauchy boundary condition, which relates the flow between the surface water and the groundwater to the product of the head difference between the node and the surface water level, and a coefficient, often referred to as the “conductance.” Previous studies have shown that in models with a low grid resolution, the resistance to GW‐SW interaction below the surface water bed should often be accounted for in the parameterization of the conductance, in addition to the resistance across the surface water bed. Three conductance expressions that take this resistance into account were investigated: two that were presented by Mehl and Hill (2010) and the one that was presented by De Lange (1999). Their accuracy in low‐resolution models regarding salt and water fluxes to a dense drainage network in a confined aquifer system was determined. For a wide range of hydrogeological conditions, the influence of (1) variable groundwater density; (2) vertical grid discretization; and (3) simulation of both ditches and tile drains in a single model cell was investigated. The results indicate that the conductance expression of De Lange (1999) should be used in similar hydrogeological conditions as considered in this paper, as it is better taking into account the resistance to flow below the surface water bed. For the cases that were considered, the influence of variable groundwater density and vertical grid discretization on the accuracy of the conductance expression of De Lange (1999) is small.