Many Americans literally fear for their lives on the streets, at home, at work, and at school. This fear is rooted in fact: 24,526 persons were victims of homicide in 1993 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1995); the National Crime Survey found that an estimated 6.5 million violent crimes occurred in 1992, not including homicide (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1994). The United States experiences more violence than any other industrialized nation; homicide rates are far higher in this country than in any other industrialized nation (8.3 per 100,000 versus rates of about 1 to 2 in most European countries, as surveyed by the World Health Organization in the 1980s). Rates of other violent crimes are also substantially higher (more so the more serious the offense; Reiss & Roth, 1993a). There is a common perception that the rate of violent crime is steadily increasing; however, nationally this is not the case-the incidence of homicidewas actually higher in the 1930s and 1970s. But in the largest U.S. cities, total violent crime has almost doubled since 1973 (Reiss & Roth, 1993a).Violence perpetrated by and against youth is a particularly urgent social concern. The risk of victimization by violent crime peaks for both men and women between the ages 16 and 19 (Reiss & Roth, 1993a).Homicide is the leading cause of death for African American youth both male and female (American Psychological Association [APA], 1993). APA also reported that, in a study of first and second grade students in Wash-75

A 74-yr-old woman presented with fever and abdominal discomfort. She was in a septic condition caused by urinary tract infection. Her computed tomogram of the abdomen revealed features of hydronephrosis with ureteral stones in both kidneys. During percutaneous nephrostomies, right pyeloduodenal fistula (PDF) was diagnosed. Elective surgery was originally planned but the patient was in a poor condition to undergo surgery. Instead, 2 times endoscopic clipping and ligation by endoloop were applied with parenteral antibiotics for the fistula lesion. On admission day 30, she was discharged from the hospital after confirmation of no more contrast leakage on fistulography. We reviewed the literature and discuss the etiologies, clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of PDF.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Although many studies have shown a higher prevalence of CAD among these patients, the association between the spectrum of renal dysfunction and severity of CAD remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the association between renal function and the severity of CAD. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 1,192 patients who underwent elective coronary angiography (CAG). The severity of CAD was evaluated by Gensini score according to the degree of luminal narrowing and location(s) of obstruction in the involved main coronary artery. In all patients, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was independently associated with Gensini score (β=-0.27, P < 0.001) in addition to diabetes mellitus (β=0.07, P = 0.02), hypertension (β=0.12, P < 0.001), low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (β=0.08, P = 0.003), and hemoglobin (β=-0.07, P = 0.03) after controlling for other confounding factors. The result of this study demonstrates that decreased renal function is associated not only with the prevalence, but also the severity, of CAD.

Microcellular polymeric foam structures have been generated using a pressure‐induced phase separation in concentrated mixtures of supercritical CO2 and styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile (SAN). The process typically generates a microcellular core structure encased by a non‐porous skin. Pore growth occurs through two mechanisms: diffusion of CO2 from polymer‐rich regions into the pores and also through CO2 gas expansion. The effects of saturation pressure, temperature and swelling time on the cell size, cell density and bulk density of the porous materials have been studied. Higher CO2 pressures (hence, higher fluid density) provided more CO2 molecules for foaming, generated lower interfacial tension and viscosity in the polymer matrix, and thus produced lower cell size but higher cell densities. This trend was similar to what was observed in swelling time series. While the average cell size increased with increasing temperature, the cell density decreased. The trend of bulk density was similar to that of cell size. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry