International trends in clinical characteristics and oral anticoagulation treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation: Results from the GARFIELD-AF, ORBIT-AF I, and ORBIT-AF II registries.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in the world. We aimed to provide comprehensive data on international patterns of AF stroke prevention treatment. METHODS: Demographics, comorbidities, and stroke risk of the patients in the GARFIELD-AF (n=51,270), ORBIT-AF I (n=10,132), and ORBIT-AF II (n=11,602) registries were compared (overall N=73,004 from 35 countries). Stroke prevention therapies were assessed among patients with new-onset AF (≤6 weeks). RESULTS: Patients from GARFIELD-AF were less likely to be white (63% vs 89% for ORBIT-AF I and 86% for ORBIT-AF II) or have coronary artery disease (19% vs 36% and 27%), but had similar stroke risk (85% CHA2DS2-VASc ≥2 vs 91% and 85%) and lower bleeding risk (11% with HAS-BLED ≥3 vs 24% and 15%). Oral anticoagulant use was 46% and 57% for patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc=0 and 69% and 87% for CHA2DS2-VASc ≥2 in GARFIELD-AF and ORBIT-AF II, respectively, but with substantial geographic heterogeneity in use of oral anticoagulant (range: 31%-93% [GARFIELD-AF] and 66%-100% [ORBIT-AF II]). Among patients with new-onset AF, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant use increased over time to 43% in 2016 for GARFIELD-AF and 71% for ORBIT-AF II, whereas use of antiplatelet monotherapy decreased from 36% to 17% (GARFIELD-AF) and 18% to 8% (ORBIT-AF I and II). CONCLUSIONS: Among new-onset AF patients, non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant use has increased and antiplatelet monotherapy has decreased. However, anticoagulation is used frequently in low-risk patients and inconsistently in those at high risk of stroke. Significant geographic variability in anticoagulation persists and represents an opportunity for improvement

Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster

The ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been largely unpredictable due to the unique setting and magnitude of this spill. We used a five-year (2006–2010) data set within the oil-affected region to explore acute consequences for early-stage survival of fish species inhabiting seagrass nursery habitat. Although many of these species spawned during spring-summer, and produced larvae vulnerable to oil-polluted water, overall and species-by-species catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill (1,989±220 fishes km-towed−1 [μ ± 1SE]) relative to the previous four years (1,080±43 fishes km-towed−1). Also, several exploited species were characterized by notably higher juvenile catch rates during 2010 following large-scale fisheries closures in the northern Gulf, although overall statistical results for the effects of fishery closures on assemblage-wide CPUE data were ambiguous. We conclude that immediate, catastrophic losses of 2010 cohorts were largely avoided, and that no shifts in species composition occurred following the spill. The potential long-term impacts facing fishes as a result of chronic exposure and delayed, indirect effects now require attention

Higher-order multipole amplitudes in charmonium radiative transitions

Using 24 million $\psi' \equiv \psi(2S)$ decays in CLEO-c, we have searched for higher multipole admixtures in electric-dipole-dominated radiative transitions in charmonia. We find good agreement between our data and theoretical predictions for magnetic quadrupole (M2) amplitudes in the transitions $\psi' \to \gamma \chi_{c1,2}$ and $\chi_{c1,2} \to \gamma J/\psi$, in striking contrast to some previous measurements. Let $b_2^J$ and $a_2^J$ denote the normalized M2 amplitudes in the respective aforementioned decays, where the superscript $J$ refers to the angular momentum of the $\chi_{cJ}$. By performing unbinned maximum likelihood fits to full five-parameter angular distributions, we determine the ratios $a_2^{J=1}/a_2^{J=2} = 0.67^{+0.19}_{-0.13}$ and $a_2^{J=1}/b_2^{J=1} = -2.27^{+0.57}_{-0.99}$, where the theoretical predictions are independent of the charmed quark magnetic moment and are $a_2^{J=1}/a_2^{J=2} = 0.676 \pm 0.071$ and $a_2^{J=1}/b_2^{J=1} = -2.27 \pm 0.16$.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, acceptance updat

Evidence for the Decay D0→K+π−π+π−D^0\to K^+ \pi^-\pi^+\pi^-

We present a search for the ``wrong-sign'' decay D0 -> K+ pi- pi+ pi- using 9 fb-1 of e+e- collisions on and just below the Upsilon(4S) resonance. This decay can occur either through a doubly Cabibbo-suppressed process or through mixing to a D0bar followed by a Cabibbo-favored process. Our result for the time-integrated wrong-sign rate relative to the decay D0 -> K- pi+ pi- pi+ is (0.0041 +0.0012-0.0011(stat.) +-0.0004(syst.))x(1.07 +-0.10)(phase space), which has a statistical significance of 3.9 standard deviations.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Hadronic Mass Moments in Inclusive Semileptonic B Meson Decays

We have measured the first and second moments of the hadronic mass-squared distribution in B -> X_c l nu, for P(lepton) > 1.5 GeV/c. We find <M_X^2 - M_D[Bar]^2> = 0.251 +- 0.066 GeV^2, )^2 > = 0.576 +- 0.170 GeV^4, where M_D[Bar] is the spin-averaged D meson mass. From that first moment and the first moment of the photon energy spectrum in b -> s gamma, we find the HQET parameter lambda_1 (MS[Bar], to order 1/M^3 and beta_0 alpha_s^2) to be -0.24 +- 0.11 GeV^2. Using these first moments and the B semileptonic width, and assuming parton-hadron duality, we obtain |V_cb| = 0.0404 +- 0.0013.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

Search for D0 to p e- and D0 to pbar e+

Using data recorded by CLEO-c detector at CESR, we search for simultaneous baryon and lepton number violating decays of the D^0 meson, specifically, D^0 --> p-bar e^+, D^0-bar --> p-bar e^+, D^0 --> p e^- and D^0-bar --> p e^-. We set the following branching fraction upper limits: D^0 --> p-bar e^+ (D^0-bar --> p-bar e^+) p e^- (D^0-bar --> p e^-) < 1.2 * 10^{-5}, both at 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, submitted to PRD. Comments: changed abstract, added reference for section 1, vertical axis in Fig.5 changed (starts from 1.5 rather than 2.0), fixed typo

Dalitz Plot Analysis of Ds to K+K-pi+

We perform a Dalitz plot analysis of the decay Ds to K+K-pi+ with the CLEO-c data set of 586/pb of e+e- collisions accumulated at sqrt(s) = 4.17 GeV. This corresponds to about 0.57 million D_s+D_s(*)- pairs from which we select 14400 candidates with a background of roughly 15%. In contrast to previous measurements we find good agreement with our data only by including an additional f_0(1370)pi+ contribution. We measure the magnitude, phase, and fit fraction of K*(892) K+, phi(1020)pi+, K0*(1430)K+, f_0(980)pi+, f_0(1710)pi+, and f_0(1370)pi+ contributions and limit the possible contributions of other KK and Kpi resonances that could appear in this decay.Comment: 21 Pages,available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, submitted to PR

Charmonium decays to gamma pi0, gamma eta, and gamma eta'

Using data acquired with the CLEO-c detector at the CESR e+e- collider, we measure branching fractions for J/psi, psi(2S), and psi(3770) decays to gamma pi0, gamma eta, and gamma eta'. Defining R_n = B[ psi(nS)-->gamma eta ]/B[ psi(nS)-->gamma eta' ], we obtain R_1 = (21.1 +- 0.9)% and, unexpectedly, an order of magnitude smaller limit, R_2 < 1.8% at 90% C.L. We also use J/psi-->gamma eta' events to determine branching fractions of improved precision for the five most copious eta' decay modes.Comment: 14 pages, available through http://www.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, published in Physical Review