An assessment of composite measures of hospital performance and associated mortality for patients with acute myocardial infarction. Analysis of individual hospital performance and outcome for the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR).

Aim: To investigate whether a hospital-specific opportunity-based composite score (OBCS) was associated with mortality in 136,392 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using data from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) 2008-2009.

Methods And Results: For 199 hospitals a multidimensional hospital OBCS was calculated on the number of times that aspirin, thienopyridine, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi), statin, β-blocker, and referral for cardiac rehabilitation was given to individual patients, divided by the overall number of opportunities that hospitals had to give that care. OBCS and its six components were compared using funnel plots.

Evaluation of the NICE mini-GRACE risk scores for acute myocardial infarction using the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project (MINAP) 2003-2009: National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (NICOR).

Objective: To evaluate the performance of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) mini-Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) (MG) and adjusted mini-GRACE (AMG) risk scores.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: 215 acute hospitals in England and Wales.

Intravascular ultrasound and angiographic demonstration of left main stem thrombus-high-risk presentation in a young adult with anabolic steroid abuse.

We present a case of acute myocardial infarction in a young adult with a history of anabolic steroid abuse. On diagnostic coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound, he was found to have a distal left main stem thrombus extending into the proximal left anterior descending artery and a large intermediate vessel. As he was hemodynamically stable and pain-free, he was managed conservatively with triple antiplatelet therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel, and abciximab).

The growth of AA graphite on (111) diamond.

Stacked AA graphite has been synthesized using a high-density dc plasma in hydrogen-methane mixtures. Graphene layers have been grown epitaxially with 2-1 registration between the AA graphitic edges and the (111) surface of diamond. In addition, a new graphite crystal structure containing AA(') graphene layers, where alternate planes are translated by half the hexagon width, is formed by 1-1 registry.

Twenty-first century learning for teachers: helping educators bring new skills into the classroom.

The motivation behind every educator's dedication and hard work in the classroom is the knowledge that his or her teaching will result in students' success in life. Educators are committed to implementing twenty-first century skills; they have no question that students need such skills to be equipped for life beyond school. Members of the National Education Association are enthusiastic about the Partnership for 21st Century Skills framework, yet express frustration that many schools do not have adequate resources to make the necessary changes.

The oxidation of diamond: the geometry and stretching frequency of carbonyl on the (100) surface.

Microwave plasma deposited (100) diamond films have been thermally oxidized in dry O2 between 500 and 723 degrees C. The roughness of a single crystalline grain following oxidation is consistent with a layer-by-layer mechanism for the removal of carbon monoxide. The resulting surface exhibits infrared absorption bands at 1731 and 905 cm-1, attributed to the stretching and bending modes of a surface bonded carbonyl group.