NAVIGATION, CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE BODY/MIND »PROBLEM«*)

Exploitation of an unconscious veto mechanism, mediated by a specific cortical circuit, and made possible by an adequate very-short-term memory span, paradoxically requires conscious awareness. Part of the same circuit, interacting with other brain components, permits internal simulations of the body's interactions with the environment, thereby providing the basis of mind. *) Presented on 21 August 1997 at the Brain & Self Workshop, Helsingør, Denmark.Exploitation of an unconscious veto mechanism, mediated by a specific cortical circuit, and made possible by an adequate very-short-term memory span, paradoxically requires conscious awareness. Part of the same circuit, interacting with other brain components, permits internal simulations of the body's interactions with the environment, thereby providing the basis of mind. *) Presented on 21 August 1997 at the Brain & Self Workshop, Helsingør, Denmark

Comparative effectiveness of endovascular versus open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Medicare population

ObjectiveEndovascular aortic repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is increasingly used for emergent treatment of ruptured AAA (rAAA). We sought to compare the perioperative and long-term mortality, procedure-related complications, and rates of reintervention of EVAR vs open aortic repair of rAAA in Medicare beneficiaries.MethodsWe examined perioperative and long-term mortality and complications after EVAR or open aortic repair performed for rAAA in all traditional Medicare beneficiaries discharged from a United States hospital from 2001 to 2008. Patients were matched by propensity score on baseline demographics, coexisting conditions, admission source, and hospital volume of rAAA repair. Sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of bias that might have resulted from unmeasured confounders.ResultsOf 10,998 patients with repaired rAAA, 1126 underwent EVAR and 9872 underwent open repair. Propensity score matching yielded 1099 patient pairs. The average age was 78 years, and 72.4% were male. Perioperative mortality was 33.8% for EVAR and 47.7% for open repair (P < .001), and this difference persisted for >4 years. At 36 months, EVAR patients had higher rates of AAA-related reinterventions than open repair patients (endovascular reintervention, 10.9% vs 1.5%; P < .001), whereas open patients had more laparotomy-related complications (incisional hernia repair, 1.8% vs 6.2%; P < .001; all surgical complications, 4.4% vs 9.1%; P < .001). Use of EVAR for rAAA increased from 6% of cases in 2001 to 31% in 2008, whereas during the same interval, overall 30-day mortality for admission for rAAA, regardless of treatment, decreased from 55.8% to 50.9%.ConclusionsEVAR for rAAA is associated with lower perioperative and long-term mortality in Medicare beneficiaries. Increasing adoption of EVAR for rAAA is associated with an overall decrease in mortality of patients hospitalized for rAAA during the last decade

The Cambridge guide to the materil world

vii, 352 p.; 29 cm

Evolution, cognition, consciousness, intelligence and creativity (James Arthur lecture on the evolution of the human brain, no. 73, 2003).

30 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-30)

Evolution, cognition, consciousness, intelligence and creativity /

no.73, 200

Biophysics - An introduction

Biophysics: An Introduction, is a concise balanced introduction to this subject. Written in an accessible and readable style, the book takes a fresh, modern approach with the author successfully combining key concepts and theory with relevant applications and examples drawn from the field as a whole. Beginning with a brief introduction to the origins of biophysics, the book takes the reader through successive levels of complexity, from atoms to molecules, structures, systems and ultimately to the behaviour of organisms. The book also includes extensive coverage of biopolymers, biomembranes, biological energy, and nervous systems. The text not only explores basic ideas, but also discusses recent developments, such as protein folding, DNA/RNA conformations, molecular motors, optical tweezers and the biological origins of consciousness and intelligence