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A NEW BREED OF financial institution is emerging in Syria; one that complies with Islamic law. In the past six months the country's first two Islamic banks opened for business, [...]

Byline: Herbert Vetter, Andreas Nerlich, Ulrich Welsch, Kangxiong Liao, Andreas Dagge, Christine Strenkert, Bruno Reichart Abstract: Mitral valves, including the papillary muscles, were harvested from freshly slaughtered sheep and implanted in 10 recipient growing sheep. A strip of ovine pericardium was used to reinforce the anulus and a patch of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene was used to cover the donor papillary muscle. In four valves the natural chordae tendineae at the anterior cusp were supported by two pairs of 5-0 expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sutures. At the beginning of the experiment two animals died early of valve incompetence. Another animal had to be put to death because of paraplegia after extracorporeal circulation and one died on postoperative day 41 of endocarditis. Six sheep were electively put to death, five after 153 [+ or -] 8 days and one after 43 days. At the time of follow-up, a complete hemodynamic study including echocardiography and stress testing was performed. Heart rate at rest was 91 [+ or -] 14 beats/min, left ventricular systolic pressure 96 [+ or -] 20 mm Hg, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure 11 [+ or -] 5 mm Hg, cardiac output 2.04 [+ or -] 0.40 L/min, and the mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 4.9 [+ or -] 2.8 mm Hg as measured by cardiac catheterization. Echocardiography showed excellent movement of all valve components. However, minor regurgitation was evident in one case. Gross morphologic characteristics showed good healing at the anulus and host papillary muscle; in one case there was a rupture of one small first-order chorda. On radiography no signs of calcification were evident. Light microscopy revealed minor to moderate collagen degeneration in all valve components. However, on electron microscopy the presence of numerous fibroblasts within the long-term implants indicated the biosynthesis of new collagen. In summary, allograft mitral valve replacement seems to be a promising procedure if the chordae tendineae are reinforced by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene sutures. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1996;111:595-604) Article History: Received 28 December 1994; Accepted 31 May 1995 Article Note: (footnote) [star] From the Departments of Cardiac Surgery,a Pathology,b and Anatomy,c Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, and the Cardiothoracic Research Laboratory,d The Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, N.Y., [star][star] Supported by a grant from the Deutsche Stiftung fur Herzforschung, Frankfurt, Germany., a Address for reprints: Herbert Vetter, MD, Department of Cardiac Surgery, University of Munich, Herzklinik Augustinum, Wolkerweg 16, 81375 Munich, Germany., aa 0022-5223/96 $5.00 + 0, acents 12/1/66607

RATCHETING UP THE US economic embargo against Syria has become a cornerstone of George Bush's Middle East policy. Yet despite an ever expanding raft of sanctions intended to put an [...]

IT HAS HAD several fatwas issued against it, been blamed for a spate of divorces throughout the Middle East and been labelled a new cultural invasion of the Arab world. [...]

This article is the first in a series which describes maternity services in Scotland. Although part of the UK, culturally and geographically Scotland is very different and this is reflected in the way health and maternity services are planned, organised and delivered. Scotland has a mainland area of 28,269 square miles (73,217 square kilometres); including inhabited islands, it has an overall area of 30,418 square miles with a population of five million. In contrast the total area of Wales is 20,768 square kilometres (8019 square miles) with a population of 3 million and Northern Ireland is 5,240 square miles in size and has a population of 1.69 million. England meanwhile, is 93,000 square miles in size with a population of 58 million people. So, although Scotland is 25% the size of England it only has 8.5% of the population. Not surprisingly, remote and rural health and maternity care figure greatly on the Scottish Executive Health Department agenda and a Remote and Rural Resource Initiative is in place to address specific remote and rural health care issues.

Compromised organ donors are generally not accepted for heart transplantation (HT) despite the increasing number of critically ill patients on the waiting lists. By extending the donor criteria to include certain cases of intoxication, the organ shortage may be reduced.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the review of the motion picture "Legion," that appeared in the April 2010 issue.

Presents a letter to the editor regarding the review of the film "Secret Things," published in the July 2005 issue of "Sight & Sound."

Presents a letter to the editor in response to the article by Ali Jaffer about the motion picture "Maria Full of Grace," that appeared in the April 2005 issue of the journal "Sight &am; Sound."

Presents a letter to the editor in reference to a premiere release of "City of Ghosts," published in the March 2004 issue of "Sight and Sound."