Growing convergence research: Coproducing climate projections to inform proactive decisions for managing simultaneous wildfire risk.

We apply a convergence research approach to the urgent need for proactive management of long-term risk associated with wildfire in the United States. In this work we define convergence research in accordance with the US National Science Foundation-as a means of addressing a specific and compelling societal problem for which solutions require deep integration across disciplines and engagement of stakeholders. Our research team brings expertise in climate science, fire science, landscape ecology, and decision science to address the risk from simultaneous and impactful fires that compete for management resources, and leverages climate projections for decision support.

Prehabilitation Coming of Age: IMPLICATIONS FOR CARDIAC AND PULMONARY REHABILITATION.

While cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs traditionally involve exercise therapy and risk management following an event (eg, myocardial infarction and stroke), or an intervention (eg, coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention), prehabilitation involves enhancing functional capacity and optimizing risk profile prior to a scheduled intervention. The concept of prehabilitation is based on the principle that patients with higher functional capabilities will better tolerate an intervention, and will have better pre- and post-surgical outcomes. In addition to improving fitness, prehabilitation has been extended to include multifactorial risk intervention prior to surgery, including psychosocial counseling, smoking cessation, diabetes control, nutrition counseling, and alcohol abstinence.

Benefits and Risks of High-Intensity Interval Training in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation is integral to secondary prevention in patients with coronary artery disease. Recently, the effectiveness and "superiority" of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a purported time-saving alternative to "traditional" moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in cardiac rehabilitation. The rationale for HIIT adoption is, however, not fully substantiated in the scientific literature.

Electrical Myostimulation (EMS) Improves Glucose Metabolism and Oxygen Uptake in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients--Results from the EMS Study.

Aims: In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) exercise training is recommended to improve glycemic control. Electrical myostimulation (EMS) of skeletal muscles is a new method to increase exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of EMS in T2DM on glucose metabolism, body composition, and exercise performance using a newly designed stimulation suit that involves trunk, leg, and arm muscles.

Cardiac rehabilitation in Europe.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the main cause of death for men in most European countries, and in all for women. While mortality rates have been declining in most countries, hospital discharge for CVD has been stable since 2004, increasing the pool of patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The physical rehabilitation of patients with CVD has been practiced in Europe to varying degrees since the early 1970s with most countries now engaged in Phase I through Phase III programs.

Prognostic ability of VE/VCO2 slope calculations using different exercise test time intervals in subjects with heart failure.

Background: The minute ventilation-carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2) slope, obtained during exercise testing, possesses prognostic value in heart failure (HF). The VE-VCO2 relationship is generally linear thereby hypothetically producing similar slope values regardless of the exercise-test time interval used for calculation.

Design: This study assesses the ability of the VE/VCO2 slope, calculated at different time intervals throughout a progressive exercise test, to predict 1-year cardiac-related hospitalization and mortality in subjects with HF.

Predicting peak oxygen consumption during a conservative ramping protocol: implications for the heart failure population.

Purpose: A significant discrepancy between measured oxygen consumption (VO(2)) (via ventilatory expired gas analysis) and estimated VO(2) (via the imposed workload) frequently is reported in the heart failure (HF) population during symptom-limited exercise testing. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the difference between measured and estimated VO(2) (VO(2) discrepancy) during a highly conservative ramping protocol.

Methods: For this study, 28 subjects with compensated HF (20 men and 8 women; age, 51.

Comparison of oxygen uptake on-kinetic calculations in heart failure.

Purpose: The analysis of oxygen (O(2)) uptake on-kinetics during steady-rate is gaining interest in the heart failure (HF) population. The rate change in O(2) at the initiation of exercise can be assessed via nonlinear regression time constant (TC) or an algebraic equation (mean response time [MRT]). These calculations are presumed to be interchangeable, but research supporting this claim is limited.

Relationship between the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire and key ventilatory expired gas measures during exercise testing in patients with heart failure.

Purpose: This study assessed the relationship between the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ) and key ventilatory expired gas measures during a symptom-limited exercise test in the heart failure (HF) population. Specifically, is there evidence to indicate that perceived quality of life (QOL) influences exercise performance independent of physiologic function in the HF population?

Methods: Thirty-one subjects (21 male/10 female), diagnosed with compensated HF, underwent exercise testing and completed the MLWHFQ. Mean age and left ventricular ejection fraction were 52.

Comparison of ventilatory expired gas parameters used to predict hospitalization in patients with heart failure.

Background: Several ventilatory expired gas measures obtained during exercise testing demonstrate prognostic value in the heart failure (HF) population. Comparison of prognostic efficacy between pertinent measures is sparse.

Methods: The ability of various expressions of peak oxygen consumption (VO2), the relationship between minute ventilation (VE) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2), and the partial pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide (P(ET)CO2) were assessed to determine which measure(s) best predicted cardiac-related hospitalization over a 1-year period in subjects diagnosed with HF.