The rapid FEV(1) decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with predominant emphysema: a longitudinal study.

Early identification of patients with COPD and prone to more rapid decline in lung function is of particular interest from both a prognostic and therapeutic point of view. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical, functional and imaging characteristics associated with the rapid FEV(1) decline in COPD.Between 2001 and 2005, 131 outpatients with moderate COPD in stable condition under maximum inhaled therapy underwent clinical interview, pulmonary function tests and HRCT imaging of the chest and were followed for at least 3 years.Twenty-six percent of patients had emphysema detected visually using HRCT. The FEV(1) decline was 42 ± 66 mL/y in the total sample, 88 ± 76 mL/y among rapid decliners and 6 ± 54 mL/y among the other patients. In the univariable analysis, the decline of FEV(1) was positively associated with pack-years (p0.05), emphysema at HRCT (p0.001), RV (p0.05), FRC (p0.05), FEV(1) (p0.01) at baseline and with number of hospitalizations per year (p0.05) during the follow-up. Using multivariable analysis, the presence of emphysema proved to be an independent prognostic factor of rapid decline (p = 0.001). When emphysema was replaced by RV, the model still remained significant.The rapid decline in lung function may be identified by the presence of emphysema at HRCT or increased RV in patients with a long smoking history

The launch of Seismica: a seismic shift in publishing

Seismica, a community-run Diamond Open Access (OA) journal for seismology and earthquake science, opened for submissions in July 2022. We created Seismica to support a shift to OA publishing while pushing back against the extreme rise in the cost of OA author processing charges, and the inequities this is compounding. Seismica is run by an all-volunteer Board of 47 researchers who fulfil traditional editorial roles as well as forming functional teams to address the needs for technical design and support, copy editing, media and branding that would otherwise be covered by paid staff at a for-profit journal. We are supported by the McGill University Library (Québec, Canada), who host our website and provide several other services, so that Seismica does not have any income or financial expenditures. We report the process of developing the journal and explain how and why we made some of the major policy choices. We describe the organizational structure of the journal, and discuss future plans and challenges for the continued success and longevity of Seismica

Testing seed germination from herbaria: Application of seed quality enhancement techniques and implication for plant resurrection and conservation

Herbaria are an important source of data and material useful in many fields, including plant conservation. Seeds preserved in herbarium specimens may have the potential to germinate, although few studies focused on this topic. Here, the first systematic assessment of six techniques, including priming techniques and melatonin application, aimed at improving the germination of seeds from herbarium specimens is presented. Seed germination of 26 species common in Europe, some of which congeneric to extinct species, collected in herbaria and in the wild (20,549 seeds in total, including 19,509 from 297 herbarium specimens from 8 different herbaria) was tested with the following treatments: exogenous melatonin addition to the germination medium, priming with melatonin, osmopriming, hydropriming for 24 and 48 hours, standard soil, heat sterilization and gibberellins addition. More than 85% of the fresh seeds and 1% of the seeds collected in herbaria germinated, including seeds older than 50 years. Data show that treatment with exogenous melatonin had a positive effect on the germination of fresh seeds, but a negative effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Furthermore, osmopriming treatment had a slightly positive effect on the germination of herbarium-derived seeds. Osmopriming and exogenous melatonin addition seem to be promising techniques that need further investigation and improvement and might be useful for the development of an optimal germination protocol for old and herbarium-derived seeds. The germination of seeds from herbaria could be an important tool in plant conservation, with the aim of reversing the extinction trend of many species through de-extinction, safeguarding biodiversity, and genetic variability. This study provides preliminary data for the development of germination protocols, especially for old seeds of species of conservation interest, to maximise the chance of recovering lost genetic diversity and leading to the first de-extinction ever

Angiographic and clinical outcome of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty: A collaborative, individual patient data meta-analysis of six registry-based studies

The characteristics and outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) are still poorly known

The launch of Seismica: a seismic shift in publishing

Seismica, a community-run Diamond Open Access (OA) journal for seismology and earthquake science, opened for submissions in July 2022. We created Seismica to support a shift to OA publishing while pushing back against the extreme rise in the cost of OA author processing charges, and the inequities this is compounding. Seismica is run by an all-volunteer Board of 47 researchers who fulfil traditional editorial roles as well as forming functional teams to address the needs for technical design and support, copy editing, media and branding that would otherwise be covered by paid staff at a for-profit journal. We are supported by the McGill University Library (Québec, Canada), who host our website and provide several other services, so that Seismica does not have any income or financial expenditures. We report the process of developing the journal and explain how and why we made some of the major policy choices. We describe the organizational structure of the journal, and discuss future plans and challenges for the continued success and longevity of Seismica

Nutrition, information and household behavior: Experimental evidence from Malawi

Incorrect knowledge of the health production function may lead to inefficient household choices and thereby to the production of suboptimal levels of health. This paper studies the effects of a randomized intervention in rural Malawi that, over a six-month period, provided mothers of young infants with information on child nutrition without supplying any monetary or in-kind resources. A simple model first investigates theoretically how nutrition and other household choices including labor supply may change in response to the improved nutrition knowledge observed in the intervention areas. We then show empirically that the intervention improved child nutrition, household food consumption and consequently health. We find evidence that labor supply increased, which might have contributed to partially fund the increase in food consumption. This paper is the first to study whether non-health choices, particularly parental labor supply, might be affected by parents' knowledge of the child health production function

Die schwierige Versöhnung

This volume is the result of collaboration between historians and scientific institutions in Austria and Italy. It covers two major topics: the bilateral contacts in the 20th century between the two neighbouring countries and the role of the South Tyrol question in this relationship. In the Rome-Vienna-Bolzano triangle, the most important intersections of this continuously maintained relationship are illuminated and central questions of recent European history are examined: the treatment of national minorities, the work of authoritarian regimes as well as democratization and the process of European integration. The aim of this volume is to map the current state of research, to open up possible new fields of research and to give new impulses to the historiographical dialogue between Rome and Vienna.; Dieser Band ist das Ergebnis der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Historikern und wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen in Österreich und Italien. Er umfasst zwei große Themenbereiche: die bilateralen Kontakte im 20. Jahrhundert zwischen den beiden Nachbarländern sowie die Rolle der Südtirolfrage in diesem Verhältnis. Im Dreieck Rom-Wien-Bozen werden die wichtigsten Schnittpunkte dieser fortwährend aufrechterhaltenen Beziehung beleuchtet und zentrale Fragen der jüngsten europäischen Geschichte untersucht: der Umgang mit nationalen Minderheiten, das Wirken autoritärer Regimes sowie die Demokratisierung und der Prozess der europäischen Integration. Ziel dieses Bandes ist es, den derzeitigen Forschungsstand abzubilden, mögliche neue Forschungsfelder zu eröffnen und dem historiografischen Dialog zwischen Rom und Wien neue Impulse zu verleihen

The Farm, the city, and the emergence of social security

We study the social, demographic and economic origins of social security. The data for the U.S. and for a cross section of countries suggest that urbanization and industrialization are associated with the rise of social insurance. We describe an OLG model in which demographics, technology, and social security are linked together in a political economy equilibrium. In the model economy, there are two locations (sectors), the farm (agricultural) and the city (industrial) and the decision to migrate from rural to urban locations is endogenous and linked to productivity differences between the two locations and survival probabilities. Farmers rely on land inheritance for their old age and do not support a pay-as-you-go social security system. With structural change, people migrate to the city, the land loses its importance and support for social security arises. We show that a calibrated version of this economy, where social security taxes are determined by majority voting, is consistent with the historical transformation in the United States

The effectiveness of computerized clinical guidelines in the process of care: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Clinical practice guidelines have been developed aiming to improve the quality of care. The implementation of the computerized clinical guidelines (CCG) has been supported by the development of computerized clinical decision support systems.</p> <p>This systematic review assesses the impact of CCG on the process of care compared with non-computerized clinical guidelines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Specific features of CCG were studied through an extensive search of scientific literature, querying electronic databases: Pubmed/Medline, Embase and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. A multivariable logistic regression was carried out to evaluate the association of CCG's features with positive effect on the process of care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-five articles were selected. The logistic model showed that Automatic provision of recommendation in electronic version as part of clinician workflow (Odds Ratio [OR]= 17.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.6-193.7) and Publication Year (OR = 6.7; 95%CI: 1.3-34.3) were statistically significant predictors.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>From the research that has been carried out, we can conclude that after implementation of CCG significant improvements in process of care are shown. Our findings also suggest clinicians, managers and other health care decision makers which features of CCG might improve the structure of computerized system.</p