Pediatric Interventional Cardiology: A Specialty Comes of Age

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73435/1/j.1540-8183.1995.tb00574.x.pd

Balloon valvuloplasty for critical aortic stenosis in the newborn: Influence of new catheter technology

AbstractBetween 1986 and July 1990, balloon valvuloplasty was attempted in eight newborns (<28 days of age) with isolated critical aortic valve stenosis. Balloon valvuloplasty could not be successfully accomplished in any of the three infants presenting before 1989. Since March 1989, when improved catheter technology became available, all five neonates presenting with critical aortic stenosis were treated successfully by balloon valvuloplasty. A transumbilical approach was utilized in all four infants in whom umbilical artery access could be obtained. One newborn who was 25 days of age underwent transfemoral balloon valvuloplasty.Balloon valvuloplasty was immediately successful in all five newborns, as evidenced by a decrease in valve gradient and improvement in left ventricular function and cardiac output. Peak systolic gradient was reduced by 64% from 69 ± 8 to 25 ± 3 mm Hg (p = 0.005). Left ventricular systolic pressure decreased from 128 ± 9 to 95 ± 9 mm Hg (p = 0.02) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure decreased from 20 ± 2 to 11 ± 1 mm Hg (p = 0.02). Moderate (2+) aortic regurgitation was documented in two infants after valvuloplasty. The time from first catheter insertion to valve dilation averaged 57 ± 14 min (range 26 to 94) and the median length of the hospital stay was 4 days.With the use of recently available catheters, the transumbilical technique of balloon valvuloplasty can be performed quickly, safely and effectively in the newborn with critical aortic stenosis. It does not require general anesthesia, cardiopulmonary bypass or a left ventricular apical incision and it preserves the femoral arteries for future transcatheter intervention should significant aortic stenosis recur

Dual gauge field theory of quantum liquid crystals in two dimensions

We present a self-contained review of the theory of dislocation-mediated quantum melting at zero temperature in two spatial dimensions. The theory describes the liquid-crystalline phases with spatial symmetries in between a quantum crystalline solid and an isotropic superfluid: quantum nematics and smectics. It is based on an Abelian-Higgs-type duality mapping of phonons onto gauge bosons ("stress photons"), which encode for the capacity of the crystal to propagate stresses. Dislocations and disclinations, the topological defects of the crystal, are sources for the gauge fields and the melting of the crystal can be understood as the proliferation (condensation) of these defects, giving rise to the Anderson-Higgs mechanism on the dual side. For the liquid crystal phases, the shear sector of the gauge bosons becomes massive signaling that shear rigidity is lost. Resting on symmetry principles, we derive the phenomenological imaginary time actions of quantum nematics and smectics and analyze the full spectrum of collective modes. The quantum nematic is a superfluid having a true rotational Goldstone mode due to rotational symmetry breaking, and the origin of this 'deconfined' mode is traced back to the crystalline phase. The two-dimensional quantum smectic turns out to be a dizzyingly anisotropic phase with the collective modes interpolating between the solid and nematic in a non-trivial way. We also consider electrically charged bosonic crystals and liquid crystals, and carefully analyze the electromagnetic response of the quantum liquid crystal phases. In particular, the quantum nematic is a real superconductor and shows the Meissner effect. Their special properties inherited from spatial symmetry breaking show up mostly at finite momentum, and should be accessible by momentum-sensitive spectroscopy.Comment: Review article, 137 pages, 32 figures. Accepted versio

Application of Modern Fortran to Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization

In this paper, applications of the modern Fortran programming language to the field of spacecraft trajectory optimization and design are examined. Modern object-oriented Fortran has many advantages for scientific programming, although many legacy Fortran aerospace codes have not been upgraded to use the newer standards (or have been rewritten in other languages perceived to be more modern). NASA's Copernicus spacecraft trajectory optimization program, originally a combination of Fortran 77 and Fortran 95, has attempted to keep up with modern standards and makes significant use of the new language features. Various algorithms and methods are presented from trajectory tools such as Copernicus, as well as modern Fortran open source libraries and other projects

Transcatheter Atrial Septal Defect Closure: Preliminary Experience with the Rashkind Occluder Device

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72836/1/j.1540-8183.1989.tb00751.x.pd

Moral Attributes In A Dictator Game

This paper investigates whether or not the moral factors captured in an emotional intelligence assessment matter in the economic decisions made by subjects in a dictator game.  We find a statistically significant relationship between the amount of the dictator’s contribution and a few of the factors of the Intrapersonal Dimension of the EQ-i. We also find a significant relationship between dictator contributions and an adjusted EQ-i score, measures of independence, know-my-own and empathy. Our results may be relevant to researchers interested in understanding the preference set of economic decision-makers.  Moreover, for those interested in refining experimental design protocols, we show the EQ-i to be a useful resource to control for a few of the moral attributes Levitt et al. (2006) suggest are so very important in understanding laboratory and field experiments.

Influence of Echocardiographic Guidance on Positioning of the Buttoned Occluder for Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73381/1/j.1540-8175.1996.tb00878.x.pd

Effects of linguistic and extralinguistic context on semantic and syntactic processing in aphasia

TB

Transcatheter treatment of congenital heart disease

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27854/1/0000265.pd