Stellar coronal astronomy - a review

Coronal astronomy is by now a fairly mature discipline, with a quarter century having gone by since the detection of the first stellar X-ray coronal source (Capella), and having benefitted from a series of major orbiting observing facilities. Several observational characteristics of coronal X-ray and EUV emission have been solidly established through extensive observations, and are by now common, almost text-book, knowledge. At the same time the implications of coronal astronomy for broader astrophysical questions (e.g. Galactic structure, stellar formation, stellar structure, etc.) have become appreciated. The interpretation of stellar coronal properties is however still often open to debate, and will need qualitatively new observational data to book further progress. In the present review we try to recapitulate our view on the status of the field at the beginning of a new era, in which the high sensitivity and the high spectral resolution provided by Chandra and XMM-Newton will address new questions which were not accessible before.Comment: Space Science Reviews, in press, 132 pages (full paper available at ftp://astro.esa.int/pub/ffavata/Papers/ssr-preprint.pdf

Identification of Risk Factors Associated With Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury After Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer

OBJECTIVE: To identify risks factors associated with acute kidney injury (AKI) after esophageal cancer surgery. DESIGN: This was a retrospective study. SETTING: Single academic center. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects with non-metastatic esophageal cancer. Patients were excluded if they were younger than 18 years and had missing data. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcome of the study was AKI according to AKI Network criteria. Demographic and perioperative variables were compared in patients with and without AKI. A multivariate Cox proportional model was used to assess the association between perioperative variables and AKI; p CONCLUSIONS: In support of previous reports in the literature, the authors found that AKI was not an uncommon complication after esophageal surgery. Obesity, cardiovascular comorbidities, and high preoperative concentrations were predictors of AKI. Dexamethasone administration during surgery appeared to have a protective effect. This finding opens an opportunity to further study in a randomized controlled trial the efficacy of dexamethasone in the prevention of AKI

Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, and Growth: Evidence from Transition Economies

Using a fixed effects panel data approach, this paper empirically examines the effects of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) on growth of per capita real GDP in 13 transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe, and the Baltic region from 1991 to 2005. A significant positive effect of trade on growth is a robust result for transition economies of this region. In addition, domestic investment appears to be an important determinant of growth. In general, FDI does not have any significant impact on growth in these transition economies. However, when we control for the effects of domestic investment and trade on FDI, it appears to be a significant determinant of growth for the period after 1995. Comparative Economic Studies (2009) 51, 20–50. doi:10.1057/ces.2008.20