Predictive Value of Coronary Calcifications for Future Cardiac Events in Asymptomatic Patients with Severe Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: Coronary calcification is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular events. This retrospective study sought to determine the predictive value of coronary calcification in a specific group of patients with chronic kidney disease.

Methods: We included 1094 asymptomatic patients (724 males, 370 females, age 62 ± 9.

Ionic Liquid Catalysis in Cyclic Carbonate Synthesis for the Development of Soybean Oil-Based Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane Foams.

A method for obtaining non-isocyanate polyurethane (NIPU) foams from cyclic carbonate (CC) based on soybean oil was developed. For this purpose, cyclic carbonate was synthesized from epoxidized soybean oil and CO using various ionic liquids (ILs) as catalysts. Among the tested ILs, the highest selectivity (100%) and CC yield (98%) were achieved for 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([emim]Br).

Estimating the completeness of physician billing claims for diabetes case ascertainment: a multiprovince investigation.

Introduction: Previous research has suggested that how physicians are paid may affect the completeness of billing claims for estimating chronic disease. The purpose of this study is to estimate the completeness of physician billings for diabetes case ascertainment.

Methods: We used administrative data from eight Canadian provinces covering the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2016.

Broad snouted cladoselachian with sensory specialization at the base of modern chondrichthyans.

Unlabelled: Throughout the Silurian and Devonian, cartilaginous fish successively evolved their specialized skeletal and dental characteristics, and increasingly refined their sensory systems. The Late Devonian shark taxon gen. et sp.

A new Meckel's cartilage from the Devonian Hangenberg black shale in Morocco and its position in chondrichthyan jaw morphospace.

Fossil chondrichthyan remains are mostly known from their teeth, scales or fin spines only, whereas their cartilaginous endoskeletons require exceptional preservational conditions to become fossilized. While most cartilaginous remains of Famennian (Late Devonian) chondrichthyans were found in older layers of the eastern Anti-Atlas, such fossils were unknown from the Hangenberg black shale (HBS) and only a few chondrichthyan teeth had been found therein previously. Here, we describe a Meckel's cartilage from the Hangenberg black shale in Morocco, which is the first fossil cartilage from these strata.

Metabolic shift towards increased biohydrogen production during dark fermentation in the anaerobic fungus Neocallimastix cameroonii G341.

Background: Anaerobic fungi of the phylum Neocallimastigomycota have a high biotechnological potential due to their robust lignocellulose degrading capabilities and the production of several valuable metabolites like hydrogen, acetate, formate, lactate, and ethanol. The metabolism of these fungi, however, remains poorly understood due to limitations of the current cultivation strategies in still-standing bottles, thereby restricting the comprehensive evaluation of cultivation conditions.

Results: We describe the analysis of growth conditions and their influence on the metabolism of the previously isolated fungus Neocallimastix cameroonii G341.

Nontarget screening of production waste samples from Leuckart amphetamine synthesis using liquid chromatography - high-resolution mass spectrometry as a complementary method to GC-MS impurity profiling.

The established approaches of suspect and nontarget screening (NTS) using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) are usually applied in the field of environmental and bioanalytical analysis. Herein, these approaches were employed on a forensic-toxicological application by analyzing different production waste samples from controlled amphetamine synthesis via Leuckart route to evaluate the suitability of this methodology for identification of route-specific organic substances in such waste samples. For analysis, two complementary LC techniques were used to cover a broad polarity spectrum.

Correction by Focus: Cleft Constructions and the Cross-Linguistic Variation in Phonological Form.

A challenging issue of cross-linguistic variation is that the same syntactic construction may appear in different arrays of contexts depending on language. For instance, cleft constructions appear with contrastive focus in English, but in a larger array of contexts in French. A part of the cross-linguistic variation may be due to prosodic differences, since prosodic possibilities determine the array of focus structures that can be mapped onto one and the same syntactic configuration.

Increased Pericardial Adipose Tissue in Smokers.

Background: Pericardial adipose tissue (PAT), a visceral fat depot directly located to the heart, is associated with atherosclerotic and inflammatory processes. The extent of PAT is related to the prevalence of coronary heart disease and might be used for cardiovascular risk prediction. This study aimed to determine the effect of smoking on the extent of PAT.

gen. nov, sp. nov., the First Cultured Representative of the Uncultured SK4 Clade from Aoudad Sheep and Alpaca.

We report on the isolation of the previously-uncultured SK4 lineage, by two independent research groups, from a wild aoudad sheep rumen sample (Texas, USA) and an alpaca fecal sample (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). Isolates from both locations showed near-identical morphological and microscopic features, forming medium-sized (2-5 mm) white filamentous colonies with a white center of sporangia, on agar roll tubes and a heavy biofilm in liquid media. Microscopic analysis revealed monocentric thalli, and spherical polyflagellated zoospores with 7-20 flagella.

Predictive value of coronary calcifications for future cardiac events in asymptomatic patients: underestimation of risk in asymptomatic smokers.

Coronary calcification (CAC) is an established marker for coronary atherosclerosis and has a highly specific predictive value for cardiovascular events. This study aimed to determine the predictive value in the specific group of asymptomatic smokers in comparison to non-smokers. We included 1432 asymptomatic individuals (575 women, 857 men, age 59.

Aerobic as well as resistance exercises are good for patients with type 1 diabetes.

Aims: To assess whether aerobic or resistance training has greater benefits in non-physically active men with a long lasting type 1 diabetes. The effects of exercise were evaluated in terms of diabetes control and risk factors for cardiovascular complications.

Methods: 21 male participants (mean age: 37 yrs, diabetes duration: 23 yrs, mean HbA1c: 7.

Diffusion of Conserved Charges in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions.

We demonstrate that the diffusion currents do not depend only on gradients of their corresponding charge density, but that the different diffusion charge currents are coupled. This happens in such a way that it is possible for density gradients of a given charge to generate dissipative currents of another charge. Within this scheme, the charge diffusion coefficient is best viewed as a matrix, in which the diagonal terms correspond to the usual charge diffusion coefficients, while the off-diagonal terms describe the coupling between the different currents.

Using citizen science to bridge taxonomic discovery with education and outreach.

Premise Of The Study: Biological collections are uniquely poised to inform the stewardship of life on Earth in a time of cataclysmic biodiversity loss. Efforts to fully leverage collections are impeded by a lack of trained taxonomists and a lack of interest and engagement by the public. We provide a model of a crowd-sourced data collection project that produces quality taxonomic data sets and empowers citizen scientists through real contributions to science.

Emergency treatment of decompensated aortic stenosis.

Objective: The optimal treatment of patients with acute and severe decompensation of aortic stenosis is unclear due to recent advances in transcatheter interventions and supportive therapies. Our aim was to assess the early outcome of emergency transcatheter aortic valve implantation (eTAVI) versus emergency balloon aortic valvuloplasty (eBAV) followed by TAVI under elective circumstances.

Methods: Emergency conditions were defined as: cardiogenic shock with requirement of catecholamine therapy, severe acute dyspnoea (NYHA IV), cardiac resuscitation or mechanic respiratory support.

Sensitivity of photoelectron diffraction to conformational changes of adsorbed molecules: Tetra-tert-butyl-azobenzene/Au(111).

Electron diffraction is a standard tool to investigate the atomic structure of surfaces, interfaces, and adsorbate systems. In particular, photoelectron diffraction is a promising candidate for real-time studies of structural dynamics combining the ultimate time resolution of optical pulses and the high scattering cross-sections for electrons. In view of future time-resolved experiments from molecular layers, we studied the sensitivity of photoelectron diffraction to conformational changes of only a small fraction of molecules in a monolayer adsorbed on a metallic substrate.

A Left-to-Right Shunt After Transfemoral TAVR Using Edwards SAPIEN 3.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is used for the treatment of aortic stenosis (AS). Besides major bleeding, conduction blocks, stroke or atrial fibrillation, complications include cardiac perforation with possible left-to-right-shunts. Herein is reported the sixth case of a left-to-right shunt in an 87-year-old man who underwent TAVR using a 29 mm Edwards SAPIEN S3 prosthesis to treat AS.

One-year outcomes with two suture-mediated closure devices to achieve access-site haemostasis following transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Aims: In the current study we assess the impact of two different access-site suture-mediated closure devices (SMCD), ProGlide and Prostar, on vascular and bleeding complications after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), as well as on long-term mortality.

Methods And Results: From 2008 to 2013, 1,022 patients underwent transfemoral TAVI in two German centres using ProGlide (n=506) and Prostar (n=516) SMCD to close the access site. The primary outcome was the incidence of peri-TAVI major vascular complications according to Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) definitions.

Erratum: "Following the molecular motion of near-resonant excited CO on Pt(111): A simulated x-ray photoelectron diffraction study based on molecular dynamics calculations" [Struct. Dyn. 2, 035102 (2015)].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1063/1.4922611.

Infants' observation of tool-use events over the first year of life.

How infants observe a goal-directed instrumental action provides a unique window into their understanding of others' behavior. In this study, we investigated eye-gaze patterns while infants observed events in which an actor used a tool on an object. Comparisons among 4-, 7-, 10-, and 12-month-old infants and adults reveal changes in infants' looking patterns with age; following an initial face bias, infants' scan path eventually shows a dynamic integration of both the actor's face and the objects on which they act.

Two N-terminally truncated variants of human β-galactoside α2,6 sialyltransferase I with distinct properties for in vitro protein glycosylation.

Sialic acid groups of protein N-glycans are important determinants of biological activity. Exposed at the end of the glycan chain, they are potential targets for glycan remodeling. Sialyltransferases (STs; EC 2.

Following the molecular motion of near-resonant excited CO on Pt(111): A simulated x-ray photoelectron diffraction study based on molecular dynamics calculations.

A THz-pump and x-ray-probe experiment is simulated where x-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) patterns record the coherent vibrational motion of carbon monoxide molecules adsorbed on a Pt(111) surface. Using molecular dynamics simulations, the excitation of frustrated wagging-type motion of the CO molecules by a few-cycle pulse of 2 THz radiation is calculated. From the atomic coordinates, the time-resolved XPD patterns of the C 1s core level photoelectrons are generated.

Light-Matter Interaction at Surfaces in the Spatiotemporal Limit of Macroscopic Models.

What is the spatiotemporal limit of a macroscopic model that describes the optoelectronic interaction at the interface between different media? This fundamental question has become relevant for time-dependent photoemission from solid surfaces using probes that resolve attosecond electron dynamics on an atomic length scale. We address this fundamental question by investigating how ultrafast electron screening affects the infrared field distribution for a noble metal such as Cu(111) at the solid-vacuum interface. Attosecond photoemission delay measurements performed at different angles of incidence of the light allow us to study the detailed spatiotemporal dependence of the electromagnetic field distribution.

Bivalirudin vs Heparin in Patients Who Undergo Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

Background: We aimed to compare safety and efficacy of the direct thrombin inhibitor bivalirudin with unfractionated heparin (UFH) during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: In this retrospective analysis, 461 patients underwent TAVI between 2007 and 2012; 339 patients received bivalirudin, and 122 patients received UFH. In the bivalirudin group, the Sapien XT valve was implanted in 159 (46.