Newly recognized causes of acute lung injury: transfusion of blood products, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and avian influenza.

Acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) is a clinical syndrome that has an ever-growing list of potential causes. The transfusion of blood products is often a life-saving therapy, but it can be associated with the development of ALI/ARDS. Transfusion-related ALI is now the leading cause of transfusion-associated fatalities in the United States. Two infectious causes of ALI/ARDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome and H5N1 influenza, have recently emerged and have the potential for pandemic spread. This article discusses the clinical importance, pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, and prevention of these newly recognized causes of respiratory failure

Bench-to-bedside review: the role of activated protein C in maintaining endothelial tight junction function and its relationship to organ injury.

Activated protein C (APC) has emerged as a novel therapeutic agent for use in selected patients with severe sepsis, even though the mechanism of its benefit is not well established. APC has anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and profibrinolytic properties, but it is not clear through which of these mechanisms APC exerts its benefit in severe sepsis. Focus has recently turned to the role of APC in maintaining endothelial barrier function, and in vitro and in vivo studies have examined this relationship. This article critically reviews these studies, with a focus on potential mechanisms of action

Reforming the Rentier State: The Imperatives for Change in the Gulf

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Futuristic Application of New Reproductive Technologies

Animal reproduction has enjoyed the most impact and progress of all the animal sciences in the development of new options for cattle producers. With the development of embryo transfer (ET) in the mid-1970\u27s, animal reproduction has entered a new era of technical achievement. During this time a strong embryo transfer industry has enjoyed new advanced techniques of estrous cycle regulation, follicular growth dynamics and improved procedures in embryology. These and other advances in molecular biology will likely lead to changes in the traditional approaches to livestock breeding and further stimulate researcher\u27s interest in areas of genetic engineering. The objectives of this paper is to provide information to the cattle breeder of the history of reproduction and embryo transfer, an update of the embryo transfer industry and a review of some futuristic technologies that could soon impact the cattle breeder

Two Bipolar Outflows and Magnetic Fields in a Multiple Protostar System, L1448 IRS 3

We performed spectral line observations of CO J=2-1, 13CO J=1-0, and C18O J=1-0 and polarimetric observations in the 1.3 mm continuum and CO J=2-1 toward a multiple protostar system, L1448 IRS 3, in the Perseus molecular complex at a distance of ~250 pc, using the BIMA array. In the 1.3 mm continuum, two sources (IRS 3A and 3B) were clearly detected with estimated envelope masses of 0.21 and 1.15 solar masses, and one source (IRS 3C) was marginally detected with an upper mass limit of 0.03 solar masses. In CO J=2-1, we revealed two outflows originating from IRS 3A and 3B. The masses, mean number densities, momentums, and kinetic energies of outflow lobes were estimated. Based on those estimates and outflow features, we concluded that the two outflows are interacting and that the IRS 3A outflow is nearly perpendicular to the line of sight. In addition, we estimated the velocity, inclination, and opening of the IRS 3B outflow using Bayesian statistics. When the opening angle is ~20 arcdeg, we constrain the velocity to ~45 km/s and the inclination angle to ~57 arcdeg. Linear polarization was detected in both the 1.3 mm continuum and CO J=2-1. The linear polarization in the continuum shows a magnetic field at the central source (IRS 3B) perpendicular to the outflow direction, and the linear polarization in the CO J=2-1 was detected in the outflow regions, parallel or perpendicular to the outflow direction. Moreover, we comprehensively discuss whether the binary system of IRS 3A and 3B is gravitationally bound, based on the velocity differences detected in 13CO J=1-0 and C18O J=1-0 observations and on the outflow features. The specific angular momentum of the system was estimated as ~3e20 cm^2/s, comparable to the values obtained from previous studies on binaries and molecular clouds in Taurus.Comment: ApJ accepted, 20 pages, 2 tables, 10 figure

Prerequisites for Successful Fiscal Reform: Some Preliminary Results

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, Winter 1998.Refereed Journal ArticleThis paper examines whether any relationship exists between success or failure of policy reform on the one hand, and various political/economic conditions in place at the time of reform on the other. Nineteen countries were scored using three financial variables to measure the degree of success or failure of the reform. The independent variables were country scores for ten different economic and political conditions. The independent variables were used to try and predict a priori which of the nineteen countries would succeed and which would fail. Eighteen of the nineteen countries were correctly placed into their respective success group. However only three of the ten conditions appeared important in predicting success: a visionary leader, a crisis, and a comprehensive program. Other writers have suggested different sets of predicting variables