Enzymic synthesis and reduction of malonyl semialdehyde-coenzyme A

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32442/1/0000524.pd

Dyssynchrony Assessment with Tissue Doppler Imaging and Regional Volumetric Analysis by 3D Echocardiography Do Not Predict Long-Term Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Background. Currently there are no reliable predictors of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) before implantation. We compared pre-CRT left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and regional volumetric analysis by 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3DTTE) in predicting response to CRT. Methods. Thirty-eight patients (79% nonischemic cardiomyopathy) with symptomatic heart failure who underwent CRT were enrolled. Clinical and echocardiographic responses were defined as improvement in one NYHA class and reduction in LV end-systolic volume by ≥15% respectively. Functional status was assessed by Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire and 6-minute walk distance. Results. In 33 patients, after CRT for 7.86 ± 2.27 months, there were 24 (73%) clinical and 19 (58%) echocardiographic responders. Functional parameters, LV dimensions, volumes and synchrony by TDI and 3DTTE improved significantly in responders. There was no difference in the number of responders and nonresponders when cut-off values for dyssynchrony by different measurements validated in other trials were applied. Area under receiver-operating-characteristic curve ranged from 0.4 to 0.6. Conclusion. CRT improves clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with systolic heart failure. The dyssynchrony measurements by TDI and 3DTTE are not comparable and are unable to predict response to CRT

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Background. Currently there are no reliable predictors of response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) before implantation. We compared pre-CRT left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and regional volumetric analysis by 3-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3DTTE) in predicting response to CRT. Methods. Thirty-eight patients (79% nonischemic cardiomyopathy) with symptomatic heart failure who underwent CRT were enrolled. Clinical and echocardiographic responses were defined as improvement in one NYHA class and reduction in LV end-systolic volume by ≥15% respectively. Functional status was assessed by Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire and 6-minute walk distance. Results. In 33 patients, after CRT for 7.86 ± 2.27 months, there were 24 (73%) clinical and 19 (58%) echocardiographic responders. Functional parameters, LV dimensions, volumes and synchrony by TDI and 3DTTE improved significantly in responders. There was no difference in the number of responders and nonresponders when cut-off values for dyssynchrony by different measurements validated in other trials were applied. Area under receiver-operating-characteristic curve ranged from 0.4 to 0.6. Conclusion. CRT improves clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with systolic heart failure. The dyssynchrony measurements by TDI and 3DTTE are not comparable and are unable to predict response to CRT

The Social Group That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Should Homosexuals Constitute a Particular Social Group for Purposes of Obtaining Refugee Status? Comment on Re: Inaudi

Recently, a Canadian administrative tribunal recognized homosexuals as a particular social group. In April 1992, the Convention Refugee Determination Division (the “CRDD”) of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (the “Canadian IRB”) granted refugee status to an Argentine man who was persecuted in Argentina because of his homosexuality.The Canadian IRB held in Re: Inaudi that homosexuals constitute a particular social group for the purpose of satisfying the definition of “refugee.” Re: Inaudi is similar to the two U.S. administrative decisions in that Re: Inaudi does not have precedential value. This Comment argues that U.S. courts and administrative agencies should rely on Re: Inaudi to hold that homosexuals constitute a particular social group. Part I sets forth the origin of the social group category in U.S. and Canadian immigration law. Part I also examines how the phrase “membership in a particular social group” has been interpreted and applied in Canada and the United States. Furthermore, Part I discusses the U.S. government\u27s treatment of homosexuals. Part II sets forth the facts and holding of the Canadian IRB\u27s decision in Re: Inaudi. Part III argues that Re: Inaudi provides a thorough analysis of why homosexuals constitute a particular social group, integrating into its decision the various factors that the U.S. has applied in determining what constitutes a particular social group in general. Because Re: Inaudi provides a thorough, detailed and sound analysis of what constitutes a particular social group in general, and why homosexuals, in particular, form a particular social group, U.S. courts and administrative agencies should rely on Re: Inaudi to extend their definition of a particular social group to include homosexuals. This Comment concludes that, in the future, the U.S. BIA and the U.S. federal courts should recognize homosexuals as a particular social group for the purposes of satisfying the definition of “refugee.

Predicting long-term outcomes from early elementary classroom measures in a sample of high-risk black children.

This study examines the typologies, stability, and predictiveness of early elementary classroom behaviors in a sample of low-SES black children who were at high risk for school failure. It uses the data of the Perry Preschool Project (Berrueta-Clement et al., 1984) to trace patterns and trends among the entire sample of 123 children, in contrast to all of the previous reports on the Perry study, which have concentrated on the differences between the children who participated in a preschool/home-visit program and those in a matched control group. Despite the homogeneity of the sample, the children exhibited considerable diversity of classroom skills and behaviors in first grade, a critical year of transition to the academic classroom. The study showed that Grade 1 standardized achievement and intelligence measures, and teacher ratings of academic, classroom, and personal behaviors, as well as the multivariate profiles of those measures and ratings, showed remarkable stability through the subsequent elementary years. Moreover, classroom measures and profiles in Grades 1 through 3 significantly predicted young adult behaviors. In the study, 80% of a subgroup of approximately 30 children who had low multivariate profiles in Grade 1, and were at significant risk for retention and special education through fourth grade, were also in the Grade 3 subgroup that was at significant risk for dropout, criminal behaviors, and unemployment at age 19. The study also confirmed that mother's education level, child IQ at age 3, preschool attendance, and gender had a significant relationship to early elementary behaviors and to outcomes at age 19. The findings of this study are particularly timely given the escalating problems of academic failure and negative social behaviors among low-SES urban black populations. They provide additional evidence of the importance of intervention programs that can positively affect the abilities and behaviors of children in the critical early transition to the academic classroom. The study indicates that the academic problems of low-SES black urban children, especially boys, are evident in first grade, and that those early problems significantly predict negative young adult behaviors. Prevention of early school failure, and identification and intervention for high-risk children in the early elementary years, are imperative to prevent continuing academic problems and poor adult outcomes.Ph.D.Education and PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/105341/1/9123975.pdfDescription of 9123975.pdf : Restricted to UM users only