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Reliable Guide (reliable + guide)
Selected AbstractsThe Role of Natriuretic Peptides in Patients With Chronic Complex (Mixed or Multiple) Heart Valve DiseaseCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 2 2010FRACP, Naylin Bissessor MBChB N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is an important biomarker of prognosis in heart failure and single valve disease. There are limited studies of complex valve disease. Patients with complex valve disease adopt a sedentary lifestyle, so symptoms may be difficult to detect. The authors aimed to determine whether NT-proBNP correlates with the severity of the valve lesion and underlying cardiac function and whether resting NT-proBNP predicts impaired peak VO2 in patients with complex valve disease. Forty-five patients with complex moderate to severe stenosis or regurgitation of the heart valves underwent a clinical assessment, echocardiography, resting NT-proBNP assessment, and formal cardiopulmonary exercise testing. In a multivariate analysis, the log NT-proBNP (,=,9.3, SE=1.9, P<.0001) and lean body weight (,=0.59, SE=0.22, P=.01) were dominant independent predictors of peak VO2. An NT-proBNP value of 84 pmol/L had 77% sensitivity and 70% specificity to predict impaired functional capacity, peak VO2 <60% (predicted), area under the curve=0.80. Resting NT-proBNP was the best predictor of peak VO2 in patients with complex valve disease, while symptoms and ejection fraction are a less reliable guide. Congest Heart Fail. 2010;16:50,54. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] "A mercer ye wot az we be": The Authorship of the Kenilworth Letter ReconsideredENGLISH LITERARY RENAISSANCE, Issue 2 2008Elizabeth Goldring The authorship of the Kenilworth Letter, an account of the festivities staged at Kenilworth Castle during Queen Elizabeth I's 1575 progress, has long been a matter of debate, with some scholars suggesting that the work was a pseudonymous hoax foisted upon an unwitting Robert Langham. New findings, together with a re-examination of the existing evidence, suggest the following: first, that the Letter began life as a bona fide missive from Langham to his fellow mercer Humphrey Martin, which, though envisioned for circulation in manuscript, was almost certainly not , in the first instance at least , intended for publication; and second, that William Patten, to whom the Letter sometimes has been attributed in the past, may have been instrumental in the initial efforts to print the work, albeit without Langham's knowledge or permission. Also considered is the wider context of Elizabethan mercery, with particular reference to the close (but often overlooked) political, economic, and cultural ties between the court and the City of London. In addition, this article explores the extent to which the Letter offers a reliable guide to the people, places, and events it describes. [source] Interrelation between the Poisoning Severity Score, carboxyhaemoglobin levels and in-hospital clinical course of carbon monoxide poisoningINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 12 2006A. A. CEVIK Summary The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between the Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) and carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) levels in patients with carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) using outcome as the measure. The study was designed as a retrospective chart review of patients with final diagnosis of COP. Correlation of PSS and COHb levels at presentation was evaluated with collected data. Majority of the cases were grade 1 (minor) PSS (134 cases, 73.6%) and 93.4% of these patients made a complete recovery. There were six deaths (mortality 3.3%) and six in-hospital major complications (IHMCs) (3.3%) (please specify whether the complications were in the patients who died). There is moderate correlation between PSS and outcome (p < 0.001, r = 0.493). Grade 3 (severe) PSS was significantly different from other grades for outcome (six mortalities and three IHMCs). Patients classified as grade 3 and patients who died had a significantly higher mean age (p < 0.05, 41.8 ± 23.6 and p < 0.01, 60.1 ± 20.3, respectively). Mean COHb level of grade 3 (33.2 ± 13.9%) was significantly higher than that of other grades (p < 0.05). COHb levels according to outcome were not different (? within the patients in grade 3). Decreased level of consciousness, acidosis, tachycardia, high glucose and leucocyte levels showed significant relation with higher PSS, COHb level and adverse outcome. We conclude that the PSS is a reliable guide in COP. Value of the PSS in COP may be enhanced if additional factors and investigations are included. [source] GLOBAL EVIDENCE ON THE EQUITY RISK PREMIUMJOURNAL OF APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE, Issue 4 2003Elroy Dimson The size of the equity risk premium,the incremental return that shareholders require to hold risky equities rather than risk-free securities,is a key issue in corporate finance. Financial economists generally measure the equity premium over long periods of time in order to obtain reliable estimates. These estimates are widely used by investors, finance professionals, corporate executives, regulators, lawyers, and consultants. But because the 20th century proved to be a period of such remarkable growth in the U.S. economy, estimates of the risk premium that rely on past market performance may be too high to serve as a reliable guide to the future. The authors analyze a 103-year history of risk premiums in 16 countries and conclude that the U.S. risk premium relative to Treasury bills was 5.3% for that period,lower than previous studies suggest,as compared to 4.2% for the U.K. and 4.5% for a world index. But the article goes on to observe that the historical record may still overstate expectations of the future risk premium, partly because market volatility in the future may be lower than in the past, and partly because of a general decline in risk resulting from new technological advances and increased diversification opportunities for investors. After adjusting for the expected impact of these factors, the authors calculate forward-looking equity risk premiums of 4.3% for the U.S., 3.9% for the U.K., and 3.5% for the world index. At the same time, however, they caution that the risk premium can fluctuate over time and that managers should make appropriate adjustments when there are compelling economic reasons to think that expected premiums are unusually high or low. [source] Two contrasted P,T,time paths of coronitic metanorites of the French Massif Central: are reaction textures reliable guides to metamorphic histories?JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2005C. NICOLLET Abstract Metanorites from two eclogitized metagabbros of the Hercynian French Massif Central preserve coronitic textures of hornblende, garnet, quartz and/or kyanite produced at the expense of the primary magmatic assemblage orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Using a petrogenetic grid in the CFMASH system, two possible P,T evolutions for the origin of the coronas are evaluated. The sequence of reactions involving the formation of Hbl (,Ky) ± Grt and Qtz coronitic assemblages is consistent with an isobaric cooling at high pressure (c. 1,2 GPa) under hydrated conditions. However, this P,T path, inferred by using only petrographical observations, is inconsistent with the geochronological constraints: emplacement of the gabbro at 490 Ma and high-pressure metamorphism at 410 Ma. In order to reconcile petrographical observations with geochronological constraints, we propose a discontinuous two-stage evolution involving a change in water activity with time. (1) Emplacement and cooling of the norite at low pressure under anhydrous conditions, at 490 Ma. (2) During the Hercynian orogeny, the norite experienced an increase in pressure and temperature under fluid-present conditions. Adding water to the system implies a dramatic change in the petrogenetic grid topology, restricting the orthopyroxene,plagioclase assemblage only to high temperatures. Therefore, the breakdown of the unstable magmatic assemblage, through apparent retrograde reactions, occurred along the prograde P,T path which never crossed the equilibrium boundaries of these reactions. [source] | ||||||||||