J.A.L. Sterling, Intellectual Property Rights in Sound Recordings, Film & Video

On the whole, Intellectual Property and its First Supplement are highly valuable, particularly for those who must rely on quick and precise information in respect of a broad range of questions concerning the protection of sound recordings and films. International copyright law has become, during the past ten years, one of the most fascinating areas of international law. Although copyright has been of marginal interest to the general public for a long time, its inclusion in the GATT/TRIPs Agreement as well as the recent dispute between the United States and China has increased the general public awareness of the importance of international copyright

Datenflut und Recht - Informationsrecht als Deich, Kanal, Wasserhahn oder Rettungsring?

Die Menschheit kämpft mit immer größeren Datenmassen, was nicht nur lästig, sondern in der Informationsgesellschaft ein existentielles Problem ist. Bemerkenswerterweise adressiert das Recht diese Problem der informationellen Überforderung bislang kaum. Das vorliegende Essay stellt die punktuell durchaus bestehenden rechtlichen Regelungen zusammen. Es werden rechtliche Lösungsansätze für den informationellen Überfluss formuliert, aber auch vor der damit einhergehenden Freiheitsbeschränkung gewarnt

Datenflut und Recht - Informationsrecht als Deich, Kanal, Wasserhahn oder Rettungsring?

Die Menschheit kämpft mit immer größeren Datenmassen, was nicht nur lästig, sondern in der Informationsgesellschaft ein existentielles Problem ist. Bemerkenswerterweise adressiert das Recht diese Problem der informationellen Überforderung bislang kaum. Das vorliegende Essay stellt die punktuell durchaus bestehenden rechtlichen Regelungen zusammen. Es werden rechtliche Lösungsansätze für den informationellen Überfluss formuliert, aber auch vor der damit einhergehenden Freiheitsbeschränkung gewarnt

Thermic sealing in femoral catheterization: First experience with the Secure Device

Background: Devices currently used to achieve hemostasis of the femoral artery following percutaneous cardiac catheterization are associated with vascular complications and remnants of artificial materials are retained at the puncture site. The Secure arterial closure Device induces hemostasis by utilizing thermal energy, which causes collagen shrinking and swelling. In comparison to established devices, it has the advantage of leaving no foreign material in the body following closing. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Secure Device to close the puncture site following percutaneous cardiac catheterization. Methods: The Secure Device was evaluated in a prospective non-randomized single-center trial with patients undergoing 6 F invasive cardiac procedures. A total of 67 patients were enrolled and the device was utilized in 63 patients. Fifty diagnostic and 13 interventional cases were evaluated. Femoral artery puncture closure was performed immediately after completion of the procedure. Time to hemostasis (TTH), time to ambulation (TTA) and data regarding short-term and 30-day clinical follow-up were recorded. Results: Mean TTH was 4:30 ± 2:15 min in the overall observational group. A subpopulation of patients receiving anticoagulants had a TTH of 4:53 ± 1:43 min. There were two access site complications (hematoma > 5 cm). No major adverse events were identified during hospitalization or at the 30 day follow-up. Conclusions: The new Secure Device demonstrates that it is feasible in diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization. With respect to safety, the Secure Device was non-inferior to other closure devices as tested in the ISAR closure trial

Stretch-elicited Na+/H+ exchanger activation: The autocrine/paracrine loop and its mechanical counterpart

The stretch of the cardiac muscle is immediately followed by an increase in the contraction strength after which occurs a slow force increase (SFR) that takes several minutes to fully develop. The SFR was detected in a wide variety of experimental preparations including isolated myocytes, papillary muscles and/or trabeculae, left ventricle strips of failing human myocardium, in vitro isovolumic and in vivo volume-loaded hearts. It was established that the initial increase in force is due to an increase in myofilament Ca2+ responsiveness, whereas the SFR results from an increase in the Ca2+ transient. However, the mechanism(s) for this increase in the Ca2+ transient has remained undefined until the proposal of Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) activation by stretch. Studies in multicellular cardiac muscle preparations from cat, rabbit, rat and failing human heart have shown evidence that the stretch induces a rise in intracellular Na+ ([Na+]i) through NHE activation, which subsequently leads to an increase in Ca2+ transient via reverse-mode Na+/Ca2+ (NCX) exchange. These experimental data agree with a theoretical ionic model of cardiomyocytes that predicted an increased Na+ influx and a concurrent increase in Ca2+ entry through NCX as the cause of the SFR to muscle stretch. However, there are aspects that await definitive demonstration, and perhaps subjected to species-related differences like the possibility of an autocrine/paracrine loop involving angiotensin II and endothelin as the underlying mechanism for stretch-induced NHE activation leading to the rise in [Na+]i and reverse-mode NCX.Facultad de Ciencias MédicasCentro de Investigaciones Cardiovasculare

Use of levosimendan in acute heart failure

Peer reviewe

Changes in strain patterns after implantation of a short stem with metaphyseal anchorage compared to a standard stem: an experimental study in synthetic bone

Short stem hip arthroplasties with predominantly metaphyseal fixation, such as the METHA® stem (Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany), are recommended because they are presumed to allow a more physiologic load transfer and thus a reduction of stress-shielding. However, the hypothesized metaphyseal anchorage associated with the aforementioned benefits still needs to be verified. Therefore, the METHA short stem and the Bicontact® standard stem (Aesculap, Tuttlingen, Germany) were tested biomechanically in synthetic femora while strain gauges monitored their corresponding strain patterns. For the METHA stem, the strains in all tested locations including the region of the calcar (87% of the non-implanted femur) were similar to conditions of synthetic bone without implanted stem. The Bicontact stem showed approximately the level of strain of the non-implanted femur on the lateral and medial aspect in the proximal diaphysis of the femur. On the anterior and posterior aspect of the proximal metaphysis the strains reached averages of 78% and 87% of the non-implanted femur, respectively. This study revealed primary metaphyseal anchorage of the METHA short stem, as opposed to a metaphyseal-diaphyseal anchorage of the Bicontact stem