Alternative Versions Research Articles

Derivation and Validation of the PRECISE-HBR Score to Predict Bleeding After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

Accurate bleeding risk stratification after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is important for treatment individualization. However, there is still an unmet need for a more precise and standardized identification of high bleeding risk patients. We derived and validated a novel bleeding risk score by augmenting the PRECISE-DAPT score with the Academic Research Consortium for High Bleeding Risk (ARC-HBR) criteria. The derivation cohort comprised 29,188 patients undergoing PCI, of whom 1136 (3.9%) had a Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 or 5 bleeding at 1 year, from four contemporary real-world registries and the XIENCE V USA trial. The PRECISE-DAPT score was refitted with a Fine-Gray model in the derivation cohort and extended with the ARC-HBR criteria. The primary outcome was BARC 3 or 5 bleeding within 1 year. Independent predictors of BARC 3 or 5 bleeding were selected at multivariable analysis (p<0.01). The discrimination of the score was internally assessed with apparent validation and cross-validation. The score was externally validated in 4578 patients from the MASTER DAPT trial and 5970 patients from the STOPDAPT-2 total cohort. The PRECISE-HBR score (age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin, white-blood-cell count, previous bleeding, oral anticoagulation, and ARC-HBR criteria) showed an area under the curve (AUC) for 1-year BARC 3 or 5 bleeding of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.71-0.74) at apparent validation, 0.72 (95% CI, 0.70-0.73) at cross-validation, 0.74 (95% CI, 0.68-0.80) in the MASTER DAPT, and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.66-0.79) in the STOPDAPT-2, with superior discrimination than the PRECISE-DAPT (cross-validation: Δ AUC, 0.01; p=0.02; MASTER DAPT: Δ AUC, 0.05; p=0.004; STOPDAPT-2: Δ AUC, 0.02; p=0.20) and other risk scores. In the derivation cohort, a cut-off of 23 points identified 11,414 patients (39.1%) with a 1-year BARC 3 or 5 bleeding risk ≥4%. An alternative version of the score, including acute myocardial infarction on admission instead of white-blood-cell count, showed similar predictive ability. The PRECISE-HBR score is a contemporary, simple 7-item risk score to predict bleeding after PCI, offering a moderate improvement in discrimination over multiple existing scores. Further evaluation is required to assess its impact on clinical practice.

The Past Is Not What It Used to Be: Contemporary Myths, Cold War Nostalgia and Abandoned Soviet Nuclear Bases

This article delves into the contemporary social perception of the three abandoned Soviet Cold War tactical nuclear bases in Poland, focusing on often overlooked phenomena in archaeological studies such as the contemporary myths (folk tales, contemporary legends, modern folklore, etc.) and nostalgia that have emerged around these sites. While contemporary myths and nostalgia are distinct phenomena with different outcomes, they share a common feature: a mythologized approach to the past. Established historical and archaeological narratives, derived from detailed studies, often coexist with alternative versions of the past inspired by folk imagination. This article aims to highlight their cultural value as an integral part of local identity, actively shaping the perception of material heritage. Contemporary myths offer insight into another layer of collective perception of the past, while nostalgia delves into the emotional aspects of human existence, coping with transience and searching for meaning.

Under pressure: Care, capacity and organ donation

In this paper, I seek to theorise the concept of pressure in relation to families’ experiences of organ donation during COVID-19. Drawing on Australia-based fieldwork, I follow circuitries of pressure in and beyond interiorities of bodies, biographies and infrastructures of care to ask what happens when pressure builds to such an extent that there is no capacity left in bodies and in institutions. Pressure concentrates in some spaces and bodies more than others revealing uneven flows and restrictions to care. But how might a theorisation of pressure enable care to be imagined otherwise – to circulate differently? Extending recent care scholarship, I explore alternative versions of care enacted by families and clinicians involved in organ donation. This is an expansive and capacious care, which may offer potential to diffuse the force of pressure through radical interdependence.

Monsters or Victims An Ecocritical Reading of Samson and Sally and Dot and the Whale, Retellings of Moby Dick

The paper aims to explore two animations, Samson and Sally (1984) and Dot and the Whale (1986), through the lens of zoocriticism (Huggan and Tiffin) and ecocinematic analysis to show how the directors have presented the alternative version of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick in order to showcase the crises of cetaceans like whale in the present scenario of the global warming, pollution and various anthropogenic damages. Unlike many popular Hollywood movies, these two animated films do not portray whales as monsters. In many popular Hollywood ventures, we can see the representations of vengeful bloodthirsty sea creatures like sharks and whales causing shipwrecks and killing humans, just like Moby Dick did in Melville. However, Samson and Sally and Dot and the Whale propose a different version of Moby Dick, where Moby Dick is portrayed as a saviour of the whale race under the threats of whaling, oil spills, and rising temperature. Samson and Sally is a bildungsroman as it depicts the journey of a young whale in search of the mythical Moby Dick who can only save his clan from whalers who have killed his mother and other relatives. Dot and the Whale, on the other hand, points such issues like the beaching of whales and their exploitation for oil and other resources. These two animations have presented an accurate picture where animals are not presented as monsters but rather victims of human greed. Although these animations are in the anthropomorphised version, they are created to raise human awareness to protect cetaceans and marine life.

Reimagining National Parks for the Twenty-First Century: Lessons from Yosemite’s Past

Many critics of the global rise in conservation displacements have traced the origins of this trend to nineteenth-century California and the establishment of Yosemite National Park. This historical narrative is often labeled the Yosemite model, which is characterized by the violent eviction of Indigenous peoples to create unoccupied wilderness. I propose that the Yosemite model historical narrative overgeneralizes events and neglects the larger geo-historical context. Through a close reading of archival records, I recover countering voices and alternative versions that complicate the Yosemite model narrative. The central goal of this article is to locate evidence from Yosemite’s past that can aid in imagining a future parks model more inclusive of Indigenous heritage claims and rights. Throughout, I give close attention to decades of changing geo-historical context, which allows a clearer perspective on conservation enclosures while providing hope for a more inclusive future national park model.

Dual structure-aware image filterings for semi-supervised medical image segmentation

Semi-supervised image segmentation has attracted great attention recently. The key is how to leverage unlabeled images in the training process. Most methods maintain consistent predictions of the unlabeled images under variations (e.g., adding noise/perturbations, or creating alternative versions) in the image and/or model level. In most image-level variation, medical images often have prior structure information, which has not been well explored. In this paper, we propose novel dual structure-aware image filterings (DSAIF) as the image-level variations for semi-supervised medical image segmentation. Motivated by connected filtering that simplifies image via filtering in structure-aware tree-based image representation, we resort to the dual contrast invariant Max-tree and Min-tree representation. Specifically, we propose a novel connected filtering that removes topologically equivalent nodes (i.e. connected components) having no siblings in the Max/Min-tree. This results in two filtered images preserving topologically critical structure. Applying the proposed DSAIF to mutually supervised networks decreases the consensus of their erroneous predictions on unlabeled images. This helps to alleviate the confirmation bias issue of overfitting to noisy pseudo labels of unlabeled images, and thus effectively improves the segmentation performance. Extensive experimental results on three benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method significantly/consistently outperforms some state-of-the-art methods. The source codes will be publicly available.

Neither Populist nor Neoclassical: The Classical Roots of the Competition Principle in American Antitrust Law

Contemporary critics of American antitrust law lament a supposed misinterpretation by modern, welfare-driven enforcers of the true meaning of the competition principle. This essay contributes to the debate by reconstructing the principle's historical origin. While it did not feature in the Sherman Act, the competition principle was introduced by the Supreme Court during the early years of antitrust law. The court formulated alternative versions of the principle; the one that eventually prevailed was neither populist nor neoclassical, as it was based on classical political economy and, in particular, on freedom of contract and “natural” values. This historical circumstance may pave the way for a new approach to antitrust law.

Holy transmedia! - the many faces of Batman in 1960s Finland

ABSTRACT Superheroes exist in multiple narratives and storyworlds at the same time. Some of the stories and iterations are part of the character’s canon, while different adaptations and alternative versions inhabit other timelines and fictional worlds. Using the concept of transmedia universe, this article explores how fan-made and corporate-made adaptations of the character of Batman occupied the same universe and expanded the world inhabited by the character. Approaching the historical phenomenon of the 1960s Batmania from the point of view of adaptation studies, the article sheds light on local adaptations in a transmedia context.

Implementing falls prevention patient education in hospitals - older people’s views on barriers and enablers

BackgroundWorld falls guidelines recommend that hospitalised older patients receive individualised falls prevention education, yet no studies have sought older people’s feedback on how best to deliver falls prevention education in hospitals. The objective of the study was to explore the perspectives of older people and their caregivers about barriers and enablers to implementation of a tailored hospital falls education program.MethodsA qualitative descriptive design was used. Three focus groups and 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted. A purposive sample of older people who had previous hospital admissions and caregivers of older people were selected to review a co-designed patient falls education program (the revised Safe Recovery program). They provided feedback on how to implement the program in hospital settings. Data were thematically analysed taking an deductive-inductive approach.ResultsParticipants were 37 older people [female n = 24 (64.9%), age range 64 to 89 years] and nine caregivers (female n = 8). The first theme was that the Safe Recovery Program resources were of high quality, enabling strong patient engagement and increased knowledge and awareness about falls prevention in hospitals. The second theme identified practical strategies to enable program delivery in hospital wards. The key enablers identified were: timing of delivery around wellness and the patient’s mobility; tailoring messages for each older patient; key staff members being assigned to lead program delivery. Participants recommended that staff assist older patients to set appropriate behavioural goals in relation to preventing falls in hospitals. They also recommended that staff raise older patients’ confidence and motivation to take action to reduce the risk of falls. Providing resources in other languages and alternative shorter versions was recommended to enable broad dissemination.ConclusionsOlder people and their caregivers advised that implementing falls education in hospitals can be enabled by using high quality resources, delivering falls education in a timely manner and personalising the education and support to individual needs.

«А нашему-то брату еще лучше, пускай три, пять храмов будет!»: Никольские храмы Медногорска

The article is based on field material collected in Mednogorsk (Orenburg region) in December 2021. It is dedicated to the study of the interactions between the religious and cultural landscapes of the city. A distinctive feature of industrial Mednogorsk, founded during the era of industrialization, is its “church history” of the Soviet era. An constant element of this history was the life of the parish, which since 1943 took place in a prayer house later converted into the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The decades-long existence of the so-called “old St. Nicholas Church” in the city havs led to the enrichment and complication of the religious landscape, which includes hidden public practices of faith protection and places of prayer. The latter include an episode of collective protection of the church from destruction in 1961 and the book by Vera Popova, who became recognized in the city as the “historian of the temple” from among the oldest parishioners. The article provides a comparative analysis of the oral and written versions of the history of St. Nicholas Church. In 2007, the new Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was consecrated in Mednogorsk. The authors analyze the distribution of functions between the two St. Nicholas churches in the small town in the post-Soviet period. The conclusion is drawn about the interpenetration of the historical, cultural and religious heritage of the city, which originated as a settlement near a copper-sulfur plant. Additionally, it is suggested that the church component of Mednogorsk’s history allows for the interpretation of its Soviet period as an alternative version of Soviet industrialization in a small factory town.

A general problem-solving matrix (GPSM): combining crime prevention and public health tools

Crime involves different individuals interacting in complex social and physical settings. Often, crime problem solvers reach for a common generic response, when they need to consider a number of possible solutions. Thinking tools can help. In this article, we show how uniting an injury prevention tool—the Haddon Matrix used widely in public health—and a crime prevention tool—the crime problem triangle used widely in policing—can provide guidance to crime problem solvers. We call our hybrid the General Problem-Solving Matrix (GPSM). We apply GPSM to rape and burglary to illustrates its features. We conclude the article by examining the alternative versions of GPSM in crime prevention.

The Theory of Relativity (K)

The proposed article is a new alternative version of the Theory of Relativity. The version is based on the concepts of classical Newtonian physics and does not deny the existing calculation base. The proposed theory completely denies Einstein's existing Theory of Relativity. The only thing that connects these theories is that the proposed theory is also built on postulates. The proposed theory is intended to establish the foundation of classical Newtonian physics. The proposed theory is intended to establish continuity in the development of the fundamentals of physics and is intended to eliminate all kinds of speculation in explanations of physical phenomena. An example of such speculation is Einstein's Theory of Relativity (E).

Testing the validity of the Norwegian translation of the modified weight bias internalization scale

BackgroundIndividuals with higher weight (overweight or obesity) may experience social stigma due to their weight. Weight stigma can be internalized with adverse health effects. Internalized weight stigma is relevant across different weight categories, but no validated weight-neutral measure of internalized weight bias currently exists in Norway. The current study aimed to examine the validity of a Norwegian translation of the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale.MethodsA Norwegian translation of the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS-M) was administered in an adult Norwegian sample (N = 315, of which 251 women) ranging from self-reported “very underweight” to “very overweight”.ResultsA confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on 11 of the original 11 items in the WBIS-M. Based on previous factor analyses with this scale, we expected a one-factor model. One of the items related to competence showed poor model fit, and concern was raised around possible item ambiguity partway through the study. Two versions of this item were therefore tested, neither of which yielded an acceptable fit. After exclusion of this item, the results showed high loadings for the remaining 10 items on one factor with a high internal consistency (α = 0.94). Convergent validity was approached by looking at the relationship between answers on the WBIS-M, self-perceived weight, and items on overall health and psychological/emotional state.ConclusionThe 10-item Norwegian version of the WBIS-M shows sound psychometric properties and can be used to measure internalized weight bias in a weight-neutral fashion in a Norwegian-speaking population. Internalized weight bias was correlated with psychological/emotional state and overall health, with those reporting more internalized weight bias also reporting that they felt worse. This relationship was stronger for women than men in our sample and was partially dependent on weight. The women also showed higher internalized weight bias than the men. Future studies should include more male participants and explore alternative versions of the missing item related to competence.

Assessing the predictive validity of expectancy theory for academic performance

BackgroundDespite expectancy theory’s widespread appeal and influence as a framework for motivation in organizational and educational settings, studies that have examined the theory’s validity for performance-based outcomes, particularly with academic performance as the criterion, have been characterized by inconsistent results. Given numerous methodological concerns associated with past studies (e.g., prevalence of between-person rather than within-person design), we examined the predictive validity of expectancy theory for academic performance using methods that were consistent with the theory’s original conceptualization. Additionally, we assessed the validity of the theory for students’ study effort.MethodsThe final sample included 123 undergraduate students who reported their final grades in four courses. Study effort and other variables were measured with self-report surveys. Because course grades were nested within each person, multilevel modeling was used to test study hypotheses.ResultsBoth the valence model and the force model predicted a student’s current study effort, but contrary to expectations, neither model predicted a student’s final course grades. In contrast, both valence for academic success and the simplified force model (based only on valence and expectancy) predicted current study effort, final course grades, and explained incremental variance beyond cognitive ability. Furthermore, the predictive validity of this force model was relatively stable across the 11 weeks of the study.ConclusionsBased on methods congruent with expectancy theory’s original framework, we find that the force model does not predict academic performance. An alternative version of the model, however, predicts course grades and has incremental validity over cognitive ability. Our results have several significant theoretical and practical implications.

Model-based comparisons of post-treatment free IgE and FEV1 between omalizumab asthma dosing tables in the United States and European Union.

Omalizumab is an anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) monoclonal antibody that was first approved by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of allergic asthma in 2003. The pivotal trials supporting the initial approval of omalizumab used dosing determined by patient's baseline IgE and body weight, with the goal of reducing the mean free IgE level to approximately 25 ng/mL or less. While the underlying parameters supporting the dosing table remained the same, subsequent studies and analyses have resulted in approved alternative versions of the dosing table, including the European Union (EU) asthma dosing table, which differs in weight bands and maximum allowable baseline IgE and omalizumab dose. In this study, we leveraged modelling and simulation approaches to predict and compare the free IgE reduction and forced expiratory volume in 1second (FEV1) improvement with omalizumab dosing based on the US and EU asthma dosing tables. Previously established population pharmacokinetic-IgE and IgE-FEV1 models were used to predict and compare post-treatment free IgE and FEV1 based on the US and EU dosing tables. Clinical trial simulations (with virtual asthma populations) and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to provide both breadth and depth in the comparisons. The US and EU asthma dosing tables were predicted to result in generally comparable free IgE suppression and FEV1 improvement. Despite the similar free IgE and FEV1 outcomes from simulations, this has not been clinically validated with respect to the registrational endpoint of reduction in annualized asthma exacerbations.

The last illness of I.S. Turgenev

The article discusses the causes and course of the last illness of I.S. Turgenev. The writer was consulted by many famous French and Russian doctors who made various diagnoses and used various methods of treatment. The primary disease that caused Turgenev's death is myxosarcoma (one of the sarcoma variants), involving soft tissues and thoracic vertebrae. The article presents data and discusses alternative diagnostic versions about the nature of the disease and the causes of death of the great Russian writer.

EVALUATING STOCK SELECTION IN THE SAAS INDUSTRY: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE RULE OF 40

The Rule of 40 is a popular financial guideline used by software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry participants to assess the operational health of the companies. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the Rule of 40 as a stock selection criterion. Our study analyses a sample of 1756 SaaS companies worldwide spanning the period 2003-2022. The findings demonstrate that the Rule of 40 adds value and delivers a moderately high Sharpe ratio as a stock selection tool. A modified rule, the SaaS Investing Rule of 65, is proposed and found to outperform the Rule of 40 in identifying relative winners and losers within the SaaS space. The effectiveness of the rules raises practical implications for investors and analysts. Additionally, we explore the effectiveness of alternative versions of the Rule of 40 using different measures of profitability, as well investigate whether the returns are driven by traditional style factors.

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND CAREER LONGEVITY OF ELITE LATVIAN ATHLETES

In recent years, sports psychology researchers have shown a growing interest in exploring various facets of sports careers, career transitions, the personal qualities profile of athletes who achieve peak sports performance, and the existing models and distinctions within career stages. This research aimed to examine the link between the mental qualities and skills and the sports careers of elite Latvian athletes and to seek potential differences dependent on sports career stages, level of qualification, and gender. The research was done among 109 elite athletes from Latvia aged 17 to 40, practicing 19 sports – 71 men and 38 women. For the purposes of the research, the subjects were divided into groups according to two criteria: 1) depending on the different stages of their sports career and 2) depending on the type of development of their sports career. The research methods included: Latvian personality survey (LPA-v3, Perepjolkina et al., 2011); Sports et al. (SMTQ; Sheard et al., 2009), adapted for Latvian conditions by Astaficevs et al. (2020); Psychological Performance Inventory Alternative version (PPI-A; Golby et al., 2007), adapted for Latvian conditions by Astaficevs et al. (2020.); General et al. (GSE; Schwarzer &amp; Jerusalem, 1995), adapted for Latvian conditions by Astaficevs et al. (2020); Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (PSIS-R5), adapted for Latvian conditions by Fernāte Andra, 2008. The obtained results revealed some differences in the personal profiles of the Latvian athletes depending on the stages and type of their sports careers, level of qualification, and gender. We found higher results along the factors conscientiousness, honesty and modesty, and the lowest results along the factor neuroticism among the elite athletes. We found significantly higher values of the mental skills: anxiety control, concentration, mental preparation, motivation, self-confidence, and control among the men.

On the Choice of Parameters for the Lognormal Model for Response Times: Commentary on Becker et al. (2013)

AbstractIn a recently published article in this journal, Becker et al. claim that, because of a missing slope parameter, the lognormal model for response times on test items almost never holds in practice. However, the authors' critique rests on a misrepresentation of the model, which already does have the equivalent of a slope parameter. More importantly, their extra parameter spoils the interpretation of the parameters for the test‐takers' speed and labor intensity of the items necessary for a response‐time model to be empirically meaningful while their proposed interpretation of the extra parameter seems unwarranted. An analysis of the authors' earlier empirical comparison between the original and their alternative version of the model does not seem to support much of a conclusion about the relative fit of the two models. Also, their simulation study conducted to demonstrate the necessity of the extra slope parameter appears to be based on data simulated in favor of their parameter.

Same Same, But Different: Brain Areas Underlying the Learning from Repetitive Episodic Prediction Errors.

Prediction errors (PEs) function as learning signals. It is yet unclear how varying compared to repetitive PEs affect episodic memory in brain and behavior. The current study investigated cerebral and behavioral effects of experiencing either multiple alternative versions ("varying") or one single alternative version ("repetitive") of a previously encoded episode. Participants encoded a set of episodes ("originals") by watching videos showing toy stories. During scanning, participants either experienced originals, one single, or multiple alternative versions of the previously encoded episodes. Participants' memory performance was tested through recall of original objects. Varying and repetitive PEs revealed typical brain responses to the detection of mismatching information including inferior frontal and posterior parietal regions, as well as hippocampus, which is further linked to memory reactivation, and the amygdala, known for modulating memory consolidation. Furthermore, experiencing varying and repetitive PEs triggered distinct brain areas as revealed by direct contrast. Among others, experiencing varying versions triggered activity in the caudate, a region that has been associated with PEs. In contrast, repetitive PEs activated brain areas that resembled more those for retrieval of originally encoded episodes. Thus, ACC and posterior cingulate cortex activation seemed to serve both reactivating old and integrating new but similar information in episodic memory. Consistent with neural findings, participants recalled original objects less accurately when only presented with the same, but not varying, PE during fMRI. The current findings suggest that repeated PEs interact more strongly with a recalled original episodic memory than varying PEs.