Transthoracic three-dimensional echocardiography for the assessment of straddling tricuspid or mitral valves

Background The advent of 3D echocardiography has provided a technique which, potentially, could afford significant additional information over conventional cross-sectional echocardiography in the assessment of patients with straddling atrioventricular valves prior to surgical correction. Methods Eight patients, aged from 1 month to 9˙2 years, were examined with 3D echocardiography. All but three had discordant ventriculoarterial connections or double outlet right ventricle. Data suitable for reconstruction was acquired with transthoracic scanning. Right and left ventricular volumes were calculated in the 3D dataset. Results 3D echocardiography proved capable of defining the exact degree of straddling by imaging theproportion of tension apparatus attached to either side of the ventricular septum. It was able also to display the atrioventricular junction “en face”, thus permitting identification of the precise site of insertion of the muscular ventricular septum relative to the atrioventricular junction. This made it possiblefirst, to calculate the degree of valvar override, and second, to predict the location of the penetrating atrioventricular bundle. End-diastolic volume of the right ventricle in those with straddling tricuspid valves was 73 (61–83)% of normal, and, of the left ventricle in those with mitral valvar straddling 71 (40‐97)% of normal. Conclusions 3D echocardiography can aid in planning the optimal surgical procedure in patients with straddling or overrriding atrioventricular valves, as it provides diagnostic information superiorto standard crosssectional techniques. It also allows for exact measurement of the volumes of the respective ventricles

Discrimination of increases in the brightness of a flashing beacon

Human performance measured as function of reaction time required to discriminate change in beacon brightnes

A(meme)rican Politics: Gender Representation in Political Memes of the 2016 Election

Utilizing the lens of feminist theory, this research examines gender representation in the political memes of the 2016 Presidential election in the United States. Using a mixed-methods approach, I first examine the use of the #election2016 on Twitter (N = 2,108) through a network analysis to understand the driving actors of discourse surrounding the election. A textual analysis was used to examine the views and opinions through the vocabulary and terms utilized within that network. Finally, a content analysis was conducted to interpret the latent messages and representations of gender within the memes (n = 100). Results show that political memes maintain stereotypical gender representation in the discourse and the memes themselves. While a congruency was identified between network’s discourses on Twitter and messages of the memes related to the 2016 presidential election, there was no congruency between the visual and textual messages within the memes

Inetianbor and Green: How Two Payday Loan Disputes Illustrate the Integrality Rule’s Incompatibility with the FAA

The integrality rule is a rule grounded in the analysis of party intent and allows for an arbitration agreement to be vitiated if the selected forum is unavailable and the forum was integral to the agreement. The integrality rule, conceived in 1990, has a short history, and while it is followed by several federal appellate circuits, it is not consistently named or referenced. The Eleventh Circuit applied the rule in Inetianbor v. CashCall, Inc., where the court precluded arbitration due to the integrality rule. This case raises questions of whether the integrality rule contradicts the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), whether it overrides the parties’ decision to arbitrate their disputes, and whether it runs counter to the Supreme Court’s insistence that courts should not add obstructions to arbitration beyond the FAA