On the status of expansion by regions

We discuss the status of expansion by regions, i.e. a well-known strategy to obtain an expansion of a given multiloop Feynman integral in a given limit where some kinematic invariants and/or masses have certain scaling measured in powers of a given small parameter. Using the Lee-Pomeransky parametric representation, we formulate the corresponding prescriptions in a simple geometrical language and make a conjecture that they hold even in a much more general case. We prove this conjecture in some partial cases and illustrate them in a simple example.Comment: Published version: presentation improved, Section 7 delete

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure &lt; 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Financial instrument of ensuring sustainable social and economic development of municipalities

Research background: This article examines the problems of sustainable social and economic development of municipalities and tackles the issues of strategic planning, assessment of budget support and the economic condition of municipalities. Purpose of the article: When analyzing the existing social and economic processes in the municipalities of the Russian Federation, attention is drawn to the main methods of planning at the local level, an integral part of which is the preparation of forecasts of social and economic development of the municipality. On the basis of forecasts, a draft of local budget is prepared, determined by the revenue and expenditure side of the budget, laid the necessary sources of financing the budget deficit, formed municipal (address) for the implementation of the powers of local authorities. Methods: When budget planning and forecasting the social and economic development of a municipality, it is necessary to take into account many factors that contain input data for calculations. This includes demographic changes, labor resources, social security of the population, transport infrastructure, business activity, and much more. Findings & Value added: In this paper, the priority directions of the development of municipalities in modern conditions are identified and justified on the example of the municipal districts of the Leningrad Region. The methodological tools used can also be recommended to other municipalities of the Russian Federation

Phase relations in the Si–Sn–As system

The goal of this work was to study phase relations in the ternary Si–Sn–As system: to establish cross sections, to construct a scheme of phase equilibria, and to identify the temperature of non-variant transformations. Ternary alloys were obtained through direct synthesis from simple substances and subjected to long-term solid-phase annealing. Alloys of four polythermal sections of the Si–Sn–As system were examined using X-ray phase and differential thermal analysis. The results of X-ray powder diffraction allowed establishing that the phase subsolidus demarcations was performed by the SnAs–SiAs2, SnAs–SiAs, Sn4As3–SiAs, and Sn4As3–Si sections. As a result of the experiment, taking into account the theoretical analysis, we suggested a scheme of phase equilibria in the system that involved the implementation of eutectic and four peritectic invariant equilibria, and we used differential thermal analysis to determine the temperature of these four-phase transformations. It was found that extended solid solutions were not formed in the system, and only a substitutional solid solution at least 3 mol % wide was formed based along the SnAs–SiAs2 section based on tin monoarsenid

Pb6O5(NO3)2: A Nonlinear Optical Oxynitrate Structurally Based on Lead Oxide Framework

Текст статьи не публикуется в открытом доступе в соответствии с политикой журнала.A high second harmonic generation response is demonstrated by a Pb6O5(NO3)2 lead oxynitrate whose identity was verified upon reinvestigation of the PbO–Pb(NO3)2 system. Its crystal structure exhibits a unique cationic [Pb6O5]2+ framework hosting orientationally ordered NO3– triangles in the channels. Easy preparation and high thermal stability (until ∼500 °C in air) suggest it to be a new promising NLO material

Cardiac myosin activation with omecamtiv mecarbil in systolic heart failure

BACKGROUND The selective cardiac myosin activator omecamtiv mecarbil has been shown to improve cardiac function in patients with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction. Its effect on cardiovascular outcomes is unknown. METHODS We randomly assigned 8256 patients (inpatients and outpatients) with symptomatic chronic heart failure and an ejection fraction of 35% or less to receive omecamtiv mecarbil (using pharmacokinetic-guided doses of 25 mg, 37.5 mg, or 50 mg twice daily) or placebo, in addition to standard heart-failure therapy. The primary outcome was a composite of a first heart-failure event (hospitalization or urgent visit for heart failure) or death from cardiovascular causes. RESULTS During a median of 21.8 months, a primary-outcome event occurred in 1523 of 4120 patients (37.0%) in the omecamtiv mecarbil group and in 1607 of 4112 patients (39.1%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86 to 0.99; P = 0.03). A total of 808 patients (19.6%) and 798 patients (19.4%), respectively, died from cardiovascular causes (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.11). There was no significant difference between groups in the change from baseline on the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire total symptom score. At week 24, the change from baseline for the median N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level was 10% lower in the omecamtiv mecarbil group than in the placebo group; the median cardiac troponin I level was 4 ng per liter higher. The frequency of cardiac ischemic and ventricular arrhythmia events was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Among patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection, those who received omecamtiv mecarbil had a lower incidence of a composite of a heart-failure event or death from cardiovascular causes than those who received placebo. (Funded by Amgen and others; GALACTIC-HF ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02929329; EudraCT number, 2016 -002299-28.)