Conradmosley8378

The "call for help" hypothesis proposes that alarm calls produced by a bird can transmit warning information to both conspecific and interspecific neighbors. Neighbors who are attracted by social transmission might benefit from knowing about the presence of danger or by gaining information about the presence of predators or brood parasites nearby. Brood parasite hosts can distinguish threats from different intruders and exhibit varied responses correspondingly. However, most previous studies have conducted sound playback at host nest sites and focused on conspecific individuals attracted by the alarm calls. In this study, we used random location playback to investigate the responses of different host species to alarm signals of oriental reed warblers (Acrocephalus orientalis) toward different intruders (brood parasite, predator, and harmless control) in order to reveal how hosts evaluate different threats from different intruders using vocal information in non-nesting areas during the breeding season. We found that the alarm calls given in response to different intruders incurred similar numbers of approaching species for both conspecific and interspecific birds. However, the number of attracted individuals differed significantly among the various species, with conspecifics and vinous-throated parrotbills (Paradoxornis webbianus) dominating, both of which are major hosts of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus). Nevertheless, interspecific birds did not present any aggressive behavior according to the alarm calls, which implied that visual information may be needed for further confirmation of threats. In addition, determining whether alarm call structure promoted an evolutionary convergence phenomenon still needs further verification.BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Factors associated with low heart failure (HF) awareness have not been well-evaluated. This study was conducted to find out which demographic features would be associated with low HF awareness in the general population of Korea. METHODS A telephone interview was conducted with 1,032 adults (58 years and 50.6% were male) across the country. Based on answer to 15 questions about HF, we scored from 0 to 15 points (mean, 7.53±2.75; median, 8; interquartile range, 6-9). A score of less then 8 was defined as low HF awareness, and a score of ≥8 was defined as high HF awareness. RESULTS A total of 478 subjects (46.3%) had low HF awareness. HF awareness scores were 5.18±1.85 and 9.55±1.50 in subjects of low and high HF awareness groups, respectively. Subjects with low HF awareness were older, more female-dominant, more diabetic, lower educational and house hold income levels, and more frequently living in rural areas, compared to those with high HF awareness (p less then 0.05 for each). In multivariable logistic regression analyses, older age (≥67 years odds ratio [OR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-2.19; p=0.004), female sex (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.02-1.73; p=0.034) and low educational level (high school graduate or less vs. college graduate OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.75-3.22; p less then 0.001) were significantly associated with low HF awareness even after controlling for potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS Older age, female sex, and lower level of education were independently associated with low HF awareness in the general Korean population. More attention and education are needed for these vulnerable groups to improve HF awareness. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study presents an update of the surgical outcomes of congenital heart disease (CHD) according to Korea Heart Foundation (KHF) data. METHODS We investigated the data of the 7,305 patients who were economically supported by KHF in 2000-2014. Of them, we analyzed surgical outcomes of the 6,599 patients who underwent CHD surgery. RESULTS The median patient age was 1.9 years (range, 0-71.5 years). Of the 6,599 patients, 5,616 (85.1%) underwent biventricular repair and 983 (14.9%) underwent palliative procedures. The mean Basic Aristotle Score was 6.6±2.2. A complex procedure (defined as Basic Aristotle Score above 6) was performed in 3,368 patients (51.0%). The early mortality rate was 3.8%, while the late mortality rate was 1.8%. Previous reports of the KHF (1984-1999) showed that the early surgical and late mortality rates were 8.6%, and 5.3%, respectively. There were 491 neonates (7.4%); among them, the early mortality rate was 12.2% and late mortality rate was 3.7%. There were 2,617 infants (40.0%); among them, the early mortality rate was 6.0% and the late mortality rate was 2.3%. A total of 591 patients from 30 countries were helped by the KHF. CONCLUSIONS More neonatal surgeries (491 vs. 74 patients) were performed than those in the past (1984-1999). The surgical outcomes were much better than before. Our surgical outcomes revealed that the Republic of Korea has been transformed from a country receiving help to a country that helps other low socioeconomic status countries. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Little is known about the outcomes of outpatient clinic-based elective external cardioversion (OPC-ECV) for persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF). We investigated the acute, short-term, and long-term elective external cardioversion (ECV) outcomes. METHODS We included 1,718 patients who underwent OPC-ECV (74% male, 61.1±11.0 years old, 90.9% long-standing PeAF, 9.1% after atrial fibrillation [AF] ablation) after excluding patients with atrial tachycardia or inappropriate antiarrhythmic drug medication, and in-patient ECV. Biphasic shocks were delivered sequentially until successful cardioversion was achieved (70-100-150-200-250 J). If ECV failed at 150 J, we administered intravenous amiodarone 150 mg and delivered 200 J. RESULTS ECV failed in 11.4%, and the complication rate was 0.47%. Within 3 months, AF recurred in 55.5% (44.7% as sustaining AF, 10.8% as paroxysmal AF), and the AF duration was independently associated (odds ratio [OR], 1.01 [1.00-1.02]; p=0.006), but amiodarone was independently protective (OR, 0.46 [0.27-0.76]; p=0.002, Log rank p less then 0.001) against an early recurrence. Regarding the long-term recurrence, pre-ECV heart failure was protective against an AF recurrence (hazard ratio, 0.63 [0.41-0.96], p=0.033) over 32 (9-66) months of follow-up. ECV energy (p less then 0.001) and early recurrence rate within 3 months (p=0.007, Log rank p=0.006) were significantly lower in post-ablation patients than in those with long-standing persistent AF. CONCLUSIONS The success rate of OPC-ECV was 88.6%, and the complication rate was low. However, AF recurred in 55.5% within 3 months. Amiodarone was protective against short-term AF recurrences, and long-term AF recurrences were less in patients with baseline heart failure. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study compared the potential impacts of the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and the 2018 Korean Society of Hypertension (KSH) guidelines on prevalence of hypertension, recommended antihypertensive treatment, and achievement of target blood pressure (BP) in Korean population. METHODS We analyzed the 2007-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to calculate guideline-specific hypertension prevalence and treatment implications on 59,767 adults aged 20 years or older by sex and age. RESULTS The prevalence of hypertension was markedly higher 46.3% by the ACC/AHA guideline due to the lowered BP cutoff than 25.9% by the KSH guideline; the increase was most pronounced in young adults. Yet, there was only a marginal 1.6% increase in the percentage of adults suggested pharmacological approach by the ACC/AHA guideline, but selectively in the older subgroups. Overall, 45.6% of Korean adults treated for hypertension failed to meet BP goal according to the KSH guideline; the underachievement extended to 61.7% of participants according to the ACC/AHA guideline. CONCLUSIONS The lowered BP threshold, 130/80 mmHg, by the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline, in conjuncture with 10-year risk calculation largely driven by age, would increase pharmacological treatment preferentially in very old individuals, while increasing prevalence and uncontrolled rate mostly in younger subgroups. Adoption of lower BP cutoff to the KSH guideline would require validated cardiovascular disease risk assessment tools accounting for risk distributions specific to Korean population. BACKGROUND Breathing exercises have been widely used worldwide as a non-pharmacological therapy to treat people with asthma. Breathing exercises aim to control the symptoms of asthma and can be performed as the Papworth Method, the Buteyko breathing technique, yogic breathing, deep diaphragmatic breathing or any other similar intervention that manipulates the breathing pattern. The training of breathing usually focuses on tidal and minute volume and encourages relaxation, exercise at home, the modification of breathing pattern, nasal breathing, holding of breath, lower rib cage and abdominal breathing. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the evidence for the efficacy of breathing exercises in the management of people with asthma. SEARCH METHODS To identify relevant studies we searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and AMED and performed handsearching of respiratory journals and meeting abstracts. We also consulted trials registers and reference lists of included articles. CK666 The most recent literatu5% CI -5.35 to -0.97; 1 study, 183 participants). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Breathing exercises may have some positive effects on quality of life, hyperventilation symptoms, and lung function. Due to some methodological differences among included studies and studies with poor methodology, the quality of evidence for the measured outcomes ranged from moderate to very low certainty according to GRADE criteria. In addition, further studies including full descriptions of treatment methods and outcome measurements are required. Copyright © 2020 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.RATIONALE The aim of this study was to identify temporal readmission patterns according to baseline disease categories to provide opportunities for targeted interventions. METHODS Retrospective analysis of consecutive adult (≥18 years) patients who underwent elective colorectal resections (2011-2017) at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN. A prospective administrative database including patient demographics, procedure characteristics, discharge information and specifics on 30-day readmissions (to index facility) including timing and reasons was utilized. The ICD-9 codes were regrouped into the main pathologies Cancer, Crohn's disease (CD)/chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC), and diverticular disease. RESULTS In total, 521 (7.2%) out of 7245 patients undergoing inpatient colorectal surgery were readmitted. In all increments of time from discharge (0-2 days 31.3% of all readmissions, 3-7 days 32.4% of all readmissions, 8-14 days 18% of all readmissions, and 15-30 days 18.3% of all readmissions), reasons for readmission differed significantly (all P 7 days) were readmitted later (P = 0.080). CONCLUSIONS Reasons for readmission appear to be universal across different disease categories. Targeted educational and collaborative measures may help to mitigate the burden of hospital readmissions to index facilities. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.