Improved ventricular function during inhalation of PGI(2) aerosol partly relies on enhanced myocardial contractility

Inhaled prostacyclin (PGI(2)) aerosol induces selective pulmonary vasodilation. Further, it improves right ventricular ( RV) function, which may largely rely on pulmonary vasodilation, but also on enhanced myocardial contractility. We investigated the effects of the inhaled PGI(2) analogs epoprostenol (EPO) and iloprost (ILO) on RV function and myocardial contractility in 9 anesthetized pigs receiving aerosolized EPO (25 and 50 ng center dot kg(-1) center dot min(-1)) and, consecutively, ILO (60 ng center dot kg(-1) center dot min(-1)) for 20 min each. We measured pulmonary artery pressure ( PAP), RV ejection fraction (RVEF) and RV end-diastolic-volume (RV-EDV), and left ventricular end-systolic pressure-volume-relation (end-systolic elastance, E-es). EPO and ILO reduced PAP, increased RVEF and reduced RVEDV. E-es was enhanced during all doses tested, which reached statistical significance during EPO25ng and ILO, but not during EPO50ng. PGI(2) aerosol enhances myocardial contractility in healthy pigs, contributing to improve RV function. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Draft Final Report

This report contains reviews of various city ordinances, which include plans to improve design regulations along the overlay zone. Also includes a mention of the Waller Creek Citizens' Advisory Committee.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Colorado River corridor from Tom Miller Dam, through Lady Bird Lake and then eastward beyond Longhorn Dam is undoubtedly the most significant community asset in central Austin. This incredibly beautiful stretch of river provides a wide range of benefits to our city including fantastic scenic vistas, wonderful urban recreational opportunities, and serene open spaces that gives our center city a unique character among Texas cities. In addition to providing our drinking water, the river and lake are a major economic asset drawing folks to Austin both to work and play downtown. It is also a fragile beauty that can quickly be overwhelmed if development along its shores is not carefully planned and regulated to provide a balance between accommodating growth in the urban core and preserving the character of the river corridor and the lakefront. Development along the banks of the lake in the 1970’s and early 1980’s drew attention to the need to establish a clear vision of what the community wanted along the lakefront. The 1985 Town Lake Corridor Study and the 1986 Waterfront Overlay ordinance gave the task force the necessary planning guidelines and land development tools to assess what would constitute harmonious development along the lakefront preserving the unique quality of this river corridor. While the original Waterfront Overlay ordinance was largely successful, recent development pressure along the shoreline of Lady Bird Lake has brought into question whether the current Waterfront Overlay ordinance is adequate to protect and enhance the lakefront, especially since the 1986 ordinance underwent a code rewrite in 1999 that made some significant changes. In response to this concern, the City Council charged the Waterfront Overlay Taskforce with reviewing the current situation. The essential finding from the Taskforce’s eight month review is that the current code has been significantly weakened by the changes in the ordinance that have been adopted since 1986 and in particular the 1999 recodification of the ordinance has removed significant protections and incentives to promote community benefits and enhancement of the waterfrontWaller Creek Working Grou

HELIN Consortium OPAC Report

Report of the HELIN OPAC Task Force, a group appointed by the HELIN Directors to review the Innovative Interfaces online public access catalog under 2006 release driven by WebPAC Pro. The task force met during the fall of 2006

HELIN Federated Search Task Force Final Report

Final report of the HELIN Federated Search Task Force, a group appointed by the HELIN Reference Committee at the request of the HELIN Directors to investigate and report on available federated search engines, which allow users simultaneously to search multiple databases. The task force was not asked to recommend a specific one for licensing by HELIN member libraries and did not do so

HELIN Digital Initiatives Task Force Final Report

Final report to the Executive Director of the HELIN Library Consortium. The charges of the Task Force were: 1. Perform an environmental scan of digital initiatives in HELIN institutions, to produce an inventory of such projects. 2. Determine if there is a unique collection of material that qualifies for a HELIN, grant-funded project. 3. Identify the best practices, processes, procedures that would benefit the Consortium in providing access to our digital collections. 4. Advise the Board on the benefits of in-house vs. outsourcing digital projects. The Task Force concluded that there is sufficient material to build a strong digital collection across the participating repositories that encompasses the theme “People, Places and Society in Southern New England.” The theme is broad and allows for future growth. There are a number of proven best practice guidelines from which HELIN may select as its guide and refine as is necessary to conform to the unique needs of the consortium. Whether the collections are digitized in-house or outsourced, central management of the project will be necessary

HELIN Task Force on Licensing Agreements Final Report, 2/28/2010

Final report of the HELIN Task Force on Licensing Agreements to Robert Aspri, Executive Director of the HELIN Library Consortium, a group eminating from the HELIN Reference Committee, to investigate the issue of consortial licensing agreements for electronic books

HELIN Data Analytics Task Force Final Report

The main task undertaken by the HELIN Data Analytics Task Force was to conduct a proof-of-concept usability test of HELIN OneSearch, which is the Consortium’s brand name for the Encore Duet discovery service. After the initial meeting in November 2014, the Task Force met 6 times in 2015 to plan and execute a prototype test. Staff members from EBSCO Information Services’ User Research group acted as usability test advisers and coordinators and attended all meetings, either onsite or via WebEx. Task Force members collaborated to come up with specific scenarios and personas which would best emphasize patron likes, dislikes and general understanding of OneSearch. Using a small sample of volunteer student test subjects from 3 different HELIN institutions, testing took place in mid-April. The results were analyzed by EBSCO and presented at the final meeting of the Task Force on April 28. Based on this limited testing, general findings were as follows: Students who don’t receive prior information instruction are generally not aware of OneSearch. Students who do know about OneSearch do not necessarily understand the difference between OneSearch and the HELIN Catalog. Most students still continue to do their research by searching database lists, LibGuides, the Journal A to Z list, and the HELIN catalog (although not necessarily in that order). When features and operation of OneSearch are explained to students, they recognize its usefulness (especially facets, which many referred to as “filters”). Lack of clarity on how to get directly to full text items causes frustration. A larger and more comprehensive usability test would be needed to draw out more specific conclusions. Secondary tasks undertaken by the Task Force included trials and reviews of 5 data analysis tools, as well as a review of EBSCO User Research, which is quantitative data on the use of OneSearch available directly from EBSCO. The remainder of this document is a detailed account of the proceedings of the HELIN Data Analytics Task Force

HELIN Professional Development Task Force Final Report

Final Report of the Professional Development Task Force of the HELIN Consortium - 201

HELIN Task Force on Electronic Archiving Report

Report of the HELIN Electronic Archiving Task Force, appointed from the HELIN Serials Committee and the HELIN Collection Development Committee

HELIN Approval Plans Task Force Report

Report of the Approval Plan Task Force of the HELIN Consortium for January 201