A Measurement of Semileptonic B Decays to Narrow Orbitally-Excited Charm Mesons

The decay chain b -> Bbar -> D^{**0} l nu X, D^{**0} -> D^{*+} pi^-, D^{*+} -> D^0 pi^+, D^0 ->(Kpi or K3pi) is identified in a sample of 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The branching ratio BR (b -> Bbar) x BR (Bbar -> D^0_1 l nu X) x BR (D^0_1 -> D^{*+} pi^-) is measured to be (2.64 +- 0.79 (stat) +- 0.39 (syst)) X 10^-3 for the J^P = 1^+ (D^0_1) state. For decays into the J^P = 2^+ (D^{*0}_2) state, an upper limit of 1.4 X 10^-3 is placed on the branching ratio at the 95% confidence level.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

The bombing of Germany: the economic geography of war-induced dislocation in West German industry

This paper reveals the impact of wartime destruction in urban housing on regional economic growth in West Germany between 1939 and 1950. I demonstrate econometrically that the German economy remained severely dislocated as long as the urban housing stock had not been rebuilt. The recovery of urban industry was constrained by a war-induced labour shortage and, therefore, industrial capacities remained underutilized. In contrast, the growth of the rural economy was facilitated by labour expansion, which depressed industrial labour productivity. I apply instrumental variables to account for endogeneity and robust regressions to adjust for the impact of outliers

Transapical Valve Implantation and Resuscitation: Risk of Valve Destruction

In this article we illustrate our experience with the destruction of a transapically implanted aortic valve prosthesis due to postoperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The fact of the existing risk of the valve damage by chest compression during cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be taken into consideration when discussing the potential exposure of this technology to lower the risk for patients. Furthermore, we introduce a technique of less invasive cardiopulmonary resuscitation that offers the possibility of lowering the risk of compressing the valve. (Ann Thorac Surg 2011;92:1909-10) (C) 2011 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeon

Impact of urgent coronary artery bypass grafting on acute kidney injury A matched cohort study

Objectives There is limited knowledge regarding the specific interrelationships between urgent coronary artery bypass graft (U-CABG) surgery and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). We aimed to (1) analyze the impact of urgent CABG (U-CABG) on the incidence and severity of postoperative AKI, (2) estimate the influence of AKI after U-CABG or elective CABG (E-CABG) on mortality and (3) identify risk factors for AKI depending on the urgency of operation. Results U-CABG patients showed a higher incidence of AKI (49.8% vs. E-CABG: 39.7%; p = 0.026), especially for higher AKI stages 2 + 3. In-hospital mortality was higher in U-CABG patients (12.6%) compared to E-CABG patients (2.3%; p < 0.001). The impact of AKI on mortality did not differ, but showed a strong coherency between higher AKI stages (2 + 3) and mortality (stage 1: OR 2.409, 95% CI 1.017-5.706; p = 0.046 vs. stage 2 + 3: OR 5.577; 95% CI 2.033-15.3; p = 0.001). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that preoperative renal impairment, peripheral vascular disease and transfusion of more than two red blood cell concentrates were predictors for postoperative AKI in both groups. Conclusions U-CABG is a risk factor for postoperative AKI and even mild AKI leads to a significantly higher mortality. Hence, the prevention of modifiable risk factors might reduce the incidence of postoperative AKI and thus improve outcome