and Symptoms in Patients With Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy To the Editor: With great interest we read the article by Node et al1 concerning short-term statin therapy in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). The demonstrated improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by simvastatin therapy is intriguing. The authors speculated on several possible mechanisms, i...

Marine reserves are increasingly recognized as having linked social and ecological dynamics. This study investigates how the ecological performance of 56 marine reserves throughout the Philippines, Caribbean, and Western Indian Ocean (WIO) is related to both reserve design features and the socioeconomic characteristics in associated coastal communities. Ecological performance was measured as fi...

Postural syncope may be noticed in otherwise normal persons with defective postural reflexes. Vasoconstrictor reserve--the extent to which total peripheral resistance can be increased from baseline condition is an important determinant of orthostatic tolerance. Women showed low autonomic support of blood pressure. The case of neurally mediated syncope is known to be greater in females in compar...

To determine whether coronary vasodilator reserve that persists during myocardial ischemia is present in all left ventricular regions, we measured regional blood flow in 192 left ventricular pieces (mean weight, 201 mg) in each of eight dogs by using radioactive microspheres while perfusing the left main coronary artery at 70, 50, 40, and 30 mm Hg. Flows were measured before and during adenosin...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that coronary blood flow (CBF) reserve could be quantified noninvasively in humans using myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). METHODS AND RESULTS Eleven patients with normal epicardial coronary arteries (group I) and 19 with single-vessel coronary stenosis (group II) underwent quantitative coronary angiography, MCE, and CBF velocity measurements at rest and d...

BACKGROUND In ischaemic cardiomyopathy, raised plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides are associated with a poor long term prognosis, while the presence of contractile reserve is a favourable sign. OBJECTIVE To assess the relation between plasma natriuretic peptides and contractile reserve. DESIGN Prospective observational study. SETTING Tertiary referral centre. PATIENTS 66 cons...

Background: In ischaemic cardiomyopathy, raised plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides are associated with a poor long term prognosis, while the presence of contractile reserve is a favourable sign. Objective: To assess the relation between plasma natriuretic peptides and contractile reserve. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Tertiary referral centre. Patients: 66 consecu...

The female germline comprises a reserve population of primordial (non-growing) follicles containing diplotene oocytes arrested in the first meiotic prophase. By convention, the reserve is established when all individual oocytes are enclosed by granulosa cells. This commonly occurs prior to or around birth, according to species. Histologically, the 'reserve' is the number of primordial follicles...

This paper studies first-price (FPA) and second-price (SPA) sealed-bid auctions with independent private values in a laboratory experiment in the presence human auctioneers (HA) who set reserve prices. When comparing bidder behavior in these auctions with near-zero reserve prices to identical auctions without HA and zero reserve prices, we find that in the presence of HA bidders bid less for a ...

Leading a mentally stimulating life may build up a reserve of neural and mental resources that preserve cognitive abilities in late life. Recent autopsy evidence links neuronal density in the locus coeruleus (LC), the brain's main source of norepinephrine, to slower cognitive decline before death, inspiring the idea that the noradrenergic system is a key component of reserve (Robertson, I. H. 2...