Auctions are supposed to procure the best deal money can buy. Yet, practitioners who procure complex contracts by auction are well aware of some basic pitfalls. One concern is that winning bids may not reflect the quality of the bidder but strategic behavior like low-balling bids or underestimating costs. Such behavior may then lead to demands for contract renegotiation by the winning bidder th...

Children who are born to or adopted by 1 member of a same-sex couple deserve the security of 2 legally recognized parents. Therefore, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports legislative and legal efforts to provide the possibility of adoption of the child by the second parent or coparent in these families.

People who have experienced a heart attack or stroke and live through it are extremely likely to experience another. The primary prevention of subsequent cardiovascular events is to control the major cardiac risk factors (e.g., elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and physical inactivity. The most popular "secondary" recommendation to reduce the risk of a subs...

Second impact syndrome is believed to be the catastrophic consequence of repeated head injury in sport. The scientific evidence to support this concept is nonexistent, and belief in the syndrome is based upon the interpretation of anecdotal cases more often than not, lacking sufficient clinical detail to make definitive statements. The fear of this condition has driven many of the current retur...

If the concept of mesial movement of molars to reduce the "wedge effect" and decrease facial vertical dimension (FVD) is valid, it is important to investigate the effect of first (P1) and second premolar (P2) extraction on FVD. This study compares the mesial movement of molars and changes in FVD between P1 and P2 extraction groups in Class I malocclusion with a hyperdivergent facial type. We co...

I agree that lignocaine is not a reliable alternative to a beta blocker in the management of adrenergically induced disturbances (Scott, Davie and Stephen, 1971). Lignocaine is a cell membrane stabilizer with a special affinity for neuromuscular tissue and is effective when given intravenously in relatively enormous doses. Like propanidid it may inactivate the baroreceptor mechanism to cause re...

OBJECTIVES To compare the results, complications, and hospital charges associated with laparoscopy versus laparotomy in second-look operations for epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review of 109 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent a second-look operation between July 1, 1992, and June 30, 1995. RESULTS Thirty-one patients (28.4%...

Educational institutions are increasingly exploring the affordances of 3D virtual worlds for instruction and research, but few studies have been done to document current practices and uses of this emerging technology. This observational survey examines the virtual presences of 170 accredited educational institutions found in one such 3D virtual world called Second Life®, created by SanFrancisco...

Considerable research is aimed at determining the mechanism by which tumor cures, or regrows or second cancer develops, to be predictable and controllable. The wide range of doses, from low to very high, estimated statistically is responsible for such risks. A mathematical model is presented that describes both: the growth due to lower or over irradiated doses or the post therapy relapse of hum...

To the Editor: In the open-label uncontrolled trial recently published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, Devauchelle-Pensec et al showed high efficacy of tocilizumab as a first-line treatment for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Twenty patients with PMR were treated with three tocilizumab intravenous infusions at a dose of 8 mg/kg with 4-week intervals followed by oral prednisone. At 12 wee...