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General Review (general + review)
Selected AbstractsTowards a More Rational IMF Quota Structure: Suggestions for the Creation of a New International Financial ArchitectureDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2000Raghbendra Jha The authors of this article argue that, in the absence of a well-founded quota formula, the very basis of the creation of the IMF as an institution at the centre of international financial arrangements was flawed; that there is no clear rationale for the determinants of quota structures and their weighting scheme; and that the quota allocation as an instrument seeks to target too many objectives. As a result, large and arbitrary cross-country variations exist in the relative impact of different determinants on the quota shares of different countries. The quota formulas therefore need to be reviewed and an alternative approach evolved, in which emphasis is placed on the size of the economy rather than its openness, along with efficiency parameters. The authors suggest some principles which might underpin redefined quota structures in support of a new financial architecture. They provide illustrative calculations using India as a case study, and trace the impact of the redefined quota structures against the backdrop of the impact of the Eleventh General Review on India's quota position. [source] Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Assessment and Management of Sleep Disorders in Older PersonsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 5 2009AGSF, Harrison G. Bloom MD Sleep-related disorders are most prevalent in the older adult population. A high prevalence of medical and psychosocial comorbidities and the frequent use of multiple medications, rather than aging per se, are major reasons for this. A major concern, often underappreciated and underaddressed by clinicians, is the strong bidirectional relationship between sleep disorders and serious medical problems in older adults. Hypertension, depression, cardiovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease are examples of diseases that are more likely to develop in individuals with sleep disorders. Conversely, individuals with any of these diseases are at a higher risk of developing sleep disorders. The goals of this article are to help guide clinicians in their general understanding of sleep problems in older persons, examine specific sleep disorders that occur in older persons, and suggest evidence- and expert-based recommendations for the assessment and treatment of sleep disorders in older persons. No such recommendations are available to help clinicians in their daily patient care practices. The four sections in the beginning of the article are titled, Background and Significance, General Review of Sleep, Recommendations Development, and General Approach to Detecting Sleep Disorders in an Ambulatory Setting. These are followed by overviews of specific sleep disorders: Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, Restless Legs Syndrome, Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders, Parasomnias, Hypersomnias, and Sleep Disorders in Long-Term Care Settings. Evidence- and expert-based recommendations, developed by a group of sleep and clinical experts, are presented after each sleep disorder. [source] Editorial: At the Bifurcation of the Last FrontiersJOURNAL OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue 4 2010THACH NGUYEN M.D. The concept of coronary angioplasty percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was pioneered by Andreas Gruntzig. Since then, several modifications, innovative devices, techniques, and advances have revolutionized the practice of interventional cardiology. Coronary bifurcation and chronic total occlusion are the last two frontiers that continue to challenge the skills of the interventional cardiologists. Proceedings of the second Bifurcation Summit held from November 26 to 28, 2009 in Nanjing, China are published in this symposium. In a general review, the state of the art in management of bifurcation lesion is summarized in the statement of the "Bifurcation Club in KOKURA." A new-presented concept was the "extension distance" between the main vessel and the sidebranch ostia and its association with restenosis. The results of two studies on shear stress (SS) after PCI showed that contradictory lower SS after stenting was associated with lower in-stent restenosis. There was better fractional flow reserve after double kissing crush technique than provisional one-stent technique. There was also lower rate of stent thrombosis after bifurcation stenting with excellent final angiographic results. In a negative note, the SYNTAX score had no predictive values on trifurcated left main stenting. In summary, different aspects of percutaneous management for bifurcated lesion are described seen from different perspectives and evidenced by novel techniques and strategies. (J Interven Cardiol 2010;23:293,294) [source] Role of Lung Surfactant in Respiratory Disease: Current Knowledge in Large Animal MedicineJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2009U. Christmann Lung surfactant is produced by type II alveolar cells as a mixture of phospholipids, surfactant proteins, and neutral lipids. Surfactant lowers alveolar surface tension and is crucial for the prevention of alveolar collapse. In addition, surfactant contributes to smaller airway patency and improves mucociliary clearance. Surfactant-specific proteins are part of the innate immune defense mechanisms of the lung. Lung surfactant alterations have been described in a number of respiratory diseases. Surfactant deficiency (quantitative deficit of surfactant) in premature animals causes neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. Surfactant dysfunction (qualitative changes in surfactant) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of acute respiratory distress syndrome and asthma. Analysis of surfactant from amniotic fluid allows assessment of fetal lung maturity (FLM) in the human fetus and exogenous surfactant replacement therapy is part of the standard care in premature human infants. In contrast to human medicine, use and success of FLM testing or surfactant replacement therapy remain limited in veterinary medicine. Lung surfactant has been studied in large animal models of human disease. However, only a few reports exist on lung surfactant alterations in naturally occurring respiratory disease in large animals. This article gives a general review on the role of lung surfactant in respiratory disease followed by an overview of our current knowledge on surfactant in large animal veterinary medicine. [source] Diode-pumped fiber lasers: A new clinical tool?LASERS IN SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Issue 3 2002Stuart D. Jackson PhD Abstract Background and Objective Diode-pumped fiber lasers are a compact and an efficient source of high power laser radiation. These laser systems have found wide recognition in the area of lasers as a result of these very practical characteristics and are now becoming important tools for a large number of applications. In this review, we outline the basic physics of fiber lasers and illustrate how a number of clinical procedures would benefit from their employment. Study Design/Materials and Methods The pump mechanisms, the relevant pump and laser transitions between the energy levels, and the main properties of the output from fiber lasers will be briefly reviewed. The main types of high power fiber lasers that have been demonstrated will be examined along with some recent medical applications that have used these lasers. We will also provide a general review of some important medical specialties, highlighting why these fields would gain from the introduction of the fiber laser. Results/Conclusion It is established that while the fiber laser is still a new form of laser device and hence not commercially available in a wide sense, a number of important medical procedures will benefit from its general introduction into medicine. With the number of medical and surgical applications requiring high power laser radiation steadily increasing, the demand for more efficient and compact laser systems providing this capacity will grow commensurately. The high power fiber laser is one system that looks like a promising modality to meet this need. Lasers Surg. Med. 30:184-190, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Phototropins and Their LOV Domains: Versatile Plant Blue-Light ReceptorsJOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007Winslow R. Briggs Abstract The phototropins phot1 and phot2 are plant blue-light receptors that mediate phototropism, chloroplast movements, stomatal opening, leaf expansion, the rapid inhibition of hypocotyl growth in etiolated seedlings, and possibly solar tracking by leaves in those species in which it occurs. The phototropins are plasma membrane-associated hydrophilic proteins with two chromophore domains (designated LOV1 and LOV2 for their resemblance to domains in other signaling proteins that detect light, oxygen, or voltage) in their N-terminal half and a classic serine/threonine kinase domain in their C-terminal half. Both chromophore domains bind flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and both undergo light-activated formation of a covalent bond between a nearby cysteine and the C(4a) carbon of the FMN to form the signaling state. LOV2-cysteinyl adduct formation leads to the release downstream of a tightly bound amphipathic ,-helix, a step required for activation of the kinase function. This cysteinyl adduct then slowly decays over a matter of seconds or minutes to return the photoreceptor chromophore modules to their ground state. Functional LOV2 is required for light-activated phosphorylation and for various blue-light responses mediated by the phototropins. The function of LOV1 is still unknown, although it may serve to modulate the signal generated by LOV2. The LOV domain is an ancient chromophore module found in a wide range of otherwise unrelated proteins in fungi and prokaryotes, the latter including cyanobacteria, eubacteria, and archaea. Further general reviews on the phototropins are those by Celaya and Liscum (2005) and Christie and Briggs (2005). [source] | ||||||||||