No abstract is provided for this article.
Of 1041 patients with consecutive aortocoronary bypass operations, 53 (5.1%) underwent reoperation during a mean follow-up time of three and a half years. The operative mortality of first operations was 1.2%, and of reoperations 3.8%. The anatomical reason for reoperation was failure of the bypass graft in 41 (77%) patients, which in 18 was accompanied by progression of disease. Progression alone was seen in seven (13%). When symptoms occurred within six months after the first operation, failure of the bypass graft(s) was nearly always found--in 32 out of 36 instances. Progression in non-bypassed arteries was seen only when symptoms occurred later. Late results in angina pectoris were less favourable in the group undergoing reoperation: 31 (65%) of the 48 operated on twice and 406 (46%) of the 877 patients operated on once still had angina at late follow-up. The same fraction in both groups was improved by operation: 88% versus 89%.
Acute exacerbations of COPD are the commonest cause of acute medical admissions in the UK, with ∼50% associated with bacterial infection. An acute bacterial insult is usually associated with increased recruitment and activation of neutrophils. COPD is characterized by airway neutrophilia; however, despite increased numbers of these cells, bacterial colonization persists. This study examined whether neutrophil phagocytosis was altered in COPD. Neutrophils were obtained from COPD, smoking and healthy subjects and phagocytosis of fluorescently-labelled polystyrene beads, Haemophilus influenzae (HI) or Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) measured by flow cytometry. Neutrophils from all subjects ingested beads similarly showing that all cells were capable of phagocytosis. Neutrophils from all subjects phagocytosed SP with a maximum response at 5 min, however COPD neutrophils ingested significantly less SP (p
Although the standard model of star formation has served us well for over 20 years, its details are still a matter of debate. In particular, questions related to the effect of environment on star formation efficiency and the relative and absolute lifetimes of the different evolutionary phases are best answered by observations of large samples of cores. Such observations are only now becoming available, thanks to an impressive suite of new instruments that allow mapping studies in a reasonable time. Essential information such as whether cores are gravitationally bound or unbound, whether they are dominated by thermal or turbulent motions, and whether they are contracting or collapsing, or expanding, can only be obtained through molecular line observations. Isolated cores are the best places in which to study the star formation process, due to their simple nature and freedom from the confusing effects of crowded regions. We propose to map in N2H+, CS, and C18O, 40 cores that we have observed in the MIR and mm continuum. When combined with our existing data on 90 cores that probe different evolutionary stages, these data will provide the most complete, unbiased view of core evolution and the initial conditions for star formation.
