The EACVI/ASE/Industry Task Force to standardize deformation imaging prepared this consensus document to standardize definitions and techniques for using two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) to assess left atrial, right ventricular, and right atrial myocardial deformation. This document is intended for both the technical engineering community and the clinical community at large to provide guidance on selecting the functional parameters to measure and how to measure them using 2D STE.This document aims to represent a significant step forward in the collaboration between the scientific societies and the industry since technical specifications of the software packages designed to post-process echocardiographic datasets have been agreed and shared before their actual development. Hopefully, this will lead to more clinically oriented software packages which will be better tailored to clinical needs and will allow industry to save time and resources in their development.

Background Guidelines for the management of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) rely on the age, sex, and angina typicality-based pre-test probabilities of angiographically significant CAD derived from invasive coronary angiography (“Guideline Probabilities”). Reliability of Guideline Probabilities has not been investigated in patients referred to noninvasive CAD testing. Methods and Results We identified 14048 consecutive patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) Angina typicality was recorded using accepted criteria. Pre-test likelihoods of CAD with ≥50% diameter stenosis (CAD50) and ≥70% diameter stenosis (CAD70) were calculated using Guideline Probabilities. CTA images were evaluated by ≥1 expert reader to determine presence of CAD50 and CAD70. Typical angina was associated with the highest prevalence of CAD50 (40% in men, 19% in women) and CAD70 (27% men, 11% women) when compared to other symptom categories (p<0.001 for all). Observed CAD50 and CAD70 prevalence were substantially lower than that predicted by Guideline Probabilities in the overall population (18% vs. 51% for CAD50, 10% vs. 42% for CAD70, p<0.001), driven by pronounced differences in patients with atypical angina (15% vs. 47% for CAD50, 7% vs. 37% for CAD70) and typical angina (29% vs. 86% for CAD50, 19% vs. 71% for CAD70). Marked overestimation of disease prevalence by Guideline Probabilities was found at all participating centers and across all sex and age subgroups. Conclusion In this multinational study of patients referred for coronary CTA, determination of pre-test likelihood of angiographically significant CAD by the invasive angiography-based Guideline Probabilities greatly overestimates the actual prevalence of disease.

This is the accepted version of a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. This paper has been peer-reviewed but does not include the final publisher proof-corrections or journal pagination.

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Stocks of German renewable energy companies have commonly been regarded as lucrative investment opportunities. Their innovative line of business initially seemed to promise considerable future earnings. As shown by two powerful bubble tests, the positive sentiment for renewable energy stocks even led to explosive price behavior in the mid-2000s. However, intense sector competition and the economic downturn following the global financial crisis erased profit margins to a large extent. As a result, the former fad stocks have recently turned into losers, loading negatively on price momentum and delivering significantly negative Carhart (1997) four-factor alphas. The radical shift in Germany's energy policy following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan could thus only temporarily halt the continuing decline in alternative energy stock prices.

Stocks of German renewable energy companies have commonly been regarded as lucrative investment opportunities. Their innovative line of business initially seemed to promise considerable future earnings. As shown by two powerful bubble tests, the positive sentiment for renewable energy stocks even led to explosive price behavior in the mid-2000s. However, intense sector competition and the economic downturn following the global financial crisis erased profit margins to a large extent. As a result, the former fad stocks have recently turned into losers, loading negatively on price momentum and delivering significantly negative Carhart (1997) four-factor alphas. The radical shift in Germany's energy policy following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan could thus only temporarily halt the continuing decline in alternative energy stock prices.

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