Great Falls Tectonic Zone: A Perspective from Idaho

An overview of geologic constraints on the age and extent of the Great Falls tectonic zone, a northeast-trending set of faults identified in west-central Montana.

Earth Science and Communities: Great Earthquakes to Wild Rice

Connections between earth science and communities are not clear to many communities. This talk explores the geologic setting, the infrastructural damage, and the impact on communities of recent large earthquakes in Taiwan, Turkey, Haiti and Japan. Decisions made about geologic hazards had a profound impact on human life and the built environment. Ridgway shares how Purdue is building connections between the scientific community and Native American communities—especially by engaging Native American students in research on tribal lands.

Ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death in adults after a Mustard operation for transposition of the great arteries

AIMS: To examine the prevalence of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) and sudden death (SD) in adults with atrial repair of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and to determine associated risk factors. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a single-centre review, we studied the outcome of 149 adults (mean age 28 +/- 7 years) who had undergone a Mustard operation for TGA. During a mean follow-up of 9 +/- 6 years, sustained VT and/or SD occurred in 9% (13/149) of the cohort. Sustained VT/SD was more likely to occur in patients with associated anatomic lesions [hazard ratio (HR) 4.9, 95% CI 1.5-16.0], with NYHA class >or=III (HR 9.8, 95% CI 3.0-31.6) and with an impaired subaortic right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction (EF) (HR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2-4.0 per 10% decrease in EF). There was an inverse correlation between the RV-EF and both age and QRS duration. Patients with a QRS duration >or=140 ms were at highest risk of sustained VT/SD (HR 13.6, 95% CI 2.9-63.4). Atrial tachyarrhythmia was detected in 66 (44%) patients, but was not a statistically significant predictor of sustained VT/SD in our adult population (HR 2.7, 95% CI 0.6-13.0). CONCLUSION: Sustained VT/SD in adults after a Mustard operation for TGA are more common than previously described. Age, systemic ventricular function, and QRS duration are interrelated and are associated with VT/SD. A QRS duration >or=140 ms helps to identify the high risk patient.

Interaktive Erinnerungsräume - LambdaMOOs und Lernen im CAVE als Erben des Simonides?

Der Cyberspace - im Sinne sowohl von weltweiter Vernetzung als auch von räumlich simulierten Scheinwelten - bietet nicht nur Künstlern ein neues Betätigungsfeld, sondern eröffnet auch neue Perspektiven für die wissenschaftliche Forschung und Lehre. Schon in der Antike war die Kunst der Memoria eng mit der räumlichen Vorstellungskraft verbunden. Während die antiken, mentalen Erinnerungsräume jedoch nur individuelle Wissenskonstruktionen erlaubten, ermöglicht die digitale Technologie die Schaffung von virtuellen Kommunikationsräumen. Diese können nicht nur eine flexible Strukturierung von Wissen erleichtern, sondern auch zu einer neuen Form des wissenschaftlichen Austauschs führen. Gerade die Kunstgeschichte, die es primär mit visuell wahrnehmbaren Gegenständen zu tun hat, muss sich fragen, inwieweit die Darstellung und Diskussion ihres Forschungsgegenstandes im virtuellen Raum dem Fach neue Perspektiven eröffnet.