Acute angiographic and clinical results of long balloon percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and adjuvant stenting for long narrowings

Historically, long coronary artery stenoses undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) are reported to have reduced procedural and clinical success in comparison with shorter lesions. The efficacy of long balloons (30 or 40 mm) in long lesions was evaluated. Eighty-two patients had 84 PTCA procedures with a primary long balloon. In all, 86 lesions were available for analysis. Data were collected prospectively on standard PTCA procedure forms. Coronary angiograms were reviewed and measured with digital calipers. Hospital charts were examined for complications. PTCA was performed in the left anterior descending artery in 44 cases (51%), the right coronary artery in 29 (34%) and the circumflex artery in 13 (15%). With the use of a modified classification system, 47 lesions (55%) were class C, 24 (28%) were class B2 and 15 (17%) were class B1. Mean lesion length was 22 +/- 11 mm (range 10 to 72), and 38 lesions (44%) were > or = 20 mm. Twelve patients received an intracoronary stent. The long balloon alone produced angiographic success (< 50% residual stenosis) in 77 lesions (90%). Angiographic success was achieved ultimately in all stenoses, using a stent in 7 patients and a short balloon in 2. There were 2 deaths (2%) and 1 Q-wave myocardial infarction (1%). One patient needed coronary artery bypass surgery. Clinical success without death, Q-wave infarction or bypass surgery was achieved in 83 of 86 procedures (97%). In conclusion, the use of long PTCA balloons with adjuvant stenting produced excellent results in these long stenoses. Lesion length was not a precursor of poor angiographic or clinical outcome.     

Creative life cycles in literature: Poets versus novelists or conceptualists versus experimentalists?

The economist Galenson (2005) proposed a theory of creative life cycles that distinguishes between early-peaking conceptual creators (finders) and late-peaking experimental creators (seekers). This contrast is claimed to invalidate previous research findings that poets tend to peak earlier than novelists. However, a multiple regression analysis of his published data on 23 creative writers shows that the poetry-novel genre contrast makes a contribution to the prediction of the career trajectory that is orthogonal to the conceptual-experimental contrast. The result is a fourfold typology of creative life cycles: conceptual poets, conceptual novelists, experimental poets, and experimental novelists who do their best work at ages 28, 34, 38, and 44, respectively. The article closes with a discussion of additional empirical and theoretical issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence of genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity in the Romano-Ward syndrome

We report two families with phenotypically different forms of Romano-Ward syndrome. In one family, only five of 18 affected subjects are symptomatic, whereas in the other the proportion is three out of five. The families show distinct ECG morphologies, in addition to QT prolongation. Previous reports have shown genetic linkage either to the HLA locus on chromosome 6 or the Harvey-ras oncogene on chromosome 11. No linkage was found to either locus in the families reported here. The implications of phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity in Romano-Ward syndrome are discussed in relation to the neurogenic and intrinsic models of pathogenesis.     

Preclinical cognitive markers of dementia of the Alzheimer type.

56 nondemented elderly normal control (NC) Ss were studied at 3 consecutive annual administrations of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). NC Ss with a positive family history for progressive dementia performed significantly worse than individuals with a negative family history for progressive dementia on several quantitative and qualitative indices of the CVLT and were more likely to undergo changes in diagnostic status over time (i.e., develop dementia of the Alzheimer type [DAT]). Stepwise discriminant function analyses of critical CVLT indices of the NC Ss and of 25 patients with mild DAT classified 5 NC Ss as DAT patients 1–2 yrs prior to their eventual changes in diagnostic status. Results suggest that specific memory deficits may serve as preclinical cognitive markers for DAT, especially in individuals with risk factors for DAT such as a positive family history. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A branch-and-bound method for optimal atom-type assignment in de novo ligand design

This paper investigates a computational procedure for the determination of the atom types on the vertices of a molecular skeleton to optimize interaction with the receptor site whilst maintaining a synthetically reasonable structure. The connectivity of the skeleton is analysed and appropriate atom types are compiled for each vertex. Receptor ionization and conformational states are generated by varying the positions of hydrogen atoms and electron lone pairs in the carboxyl, rotatable hydroxyl and amino groups. The structure is divided into small non-overlapping substructures. Atom types are assigned exhaustively onto each of the substructures using a depth-first search method; chemical rules are applied to reject unacceptable atom combinations early on. An empirical interaction score is calculated and the representatives of each partial structure are stored in ascending order according to their scores. The branch-and-bound procedure is then used to find the structures with the lowest scores. The method is illustrated using five protein-ligand complexes.     

Dwindling supplies of anti-D

We report on two patients with truncal rigidity and agoraphobia. The fear of crossing open places had been judged as psychogenic in both cases. The detection of positive GAD-antibodies led to our final diagnosis. Treatment with liquorphoresis and clonazepam or diazepam alone resulted in a prompt amelioration of the rigidity and, to a lesser extent, of the agoraphobia as well. The stiff-man syndrome has neurological and psychological aspects and shows one more facet of the syndrome of agoraphobia first described by Westphal.     

微型扭杆小滞后角精密测量技术的研究

在微型扭杆刚度及小滞后角测量仪的研制过程中，成功地解决了微型扭杆小滞后角的精密测量问题，测量精确精度达0．1“。本文着重介绍该仪器关于小滞后角测量的结构原理，实现小滞后角的精密测量的关键技术。实验证明,所设计的小滞后角的测量仪器能满足设计要求。     

Population features of gene mutation frequency of the CKR-5 receptor, determining sensitivity to the AIDS virus

Recently, it was shown that a 32-bp deletion in the CKR5 macrophage chemokine receptor gene produced resistance to HIV infection. Frequencies of the CKR5 mutant allele in Russians, Tatars, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Azerbaijanis, Uigurts, Tuvinians, and Georgians estimated by means of the PCR technique were equal to 0.13, 0.12, 0.85, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.03, and 0.00, respectively. While the theoretically expected frequency of deletion homozygotes in Russians and Tatars was 1.7%, none of such homozygotes were detected among the 90 persons examined. The data suggested that about 25% of the population in northwestern Russia is highly resistant to HIV infection.     

Thermogravimetric analysis of cotton fibers: Relationships with maturity and fineness

In this study, we investigated the relationships between the thermal properties versus maturity and fineness (H) of 80 selected cotton fiber samples. The instrument measurements for maturity and H were (1) micronaire as determined with a high‐volume instrument, (2) maturity ratio and H as determined with an advanced fiber information system, and (3) gravimetric H as determined by the cut‐and‐weigh method. Three regions of thermal decomposition were observed between 37 and 150°C for region I, between 225 and 425°C for region II, and between 425 and 600°C for region III. Complete decomposition of the fiber occurred at 600°C. The results showed significant effects of the H/maturity indicators on the weight loss and the peak temperatures in regions II and III. High micronaires (coarse or very mature fibers), high maturity ratios, and low standard H values were associated with low weight losses. However, high weight losses were associated with high primary cell wall areas per unit mass. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3476–3482, 2007