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The article discusses the ambiguity of flagrant violations of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006 in the U.S. It states that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has been authorized to penalize companies for mine safety or health standards violations through the act. It argues that MSHA policy provides minimal protection to mine operators and possibly triggered requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act.

The article provides practical solutions to issues in coalbed methane (CBM) lease negotiations in the U.S. According to the authors, the purpose of the granting clause in the CBM lease is to transfer an interest in the subject real property and to define the nature of the interest granted. Meanwhile, to develop the habendum clause, both parties must be mindful with the respective jurisdiction's precedent on implied covenants. He emphasized that parties must set out current addresses for notices and payments and provide a procedure for changing such information.

Societal-level problems often result from many individuals acting in their own self-interest rather than in the interest of the group. This paper describes an experimental game based on continued degradation of the central resource which determines each player's winnings; players elect to allow, to not allow, or to reverse the degradation by spending from their respective scores. The game was begun with either a "pure" or half-degraded central resource and was Played with subjects winning amounts based on their personal scores or on the groups combined score. Results under all conditions are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor reporting three cases of hypermagnesemia, published in the January 27, 1989 issue of the 'Journal of the American Medical Association.'

Objective: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) at 10 kHz (10-kHz SCS) is a safe and effective therapy for treatment of chronic low-back pain. However, it is unclear from existing evidence whether these findings can be generalized to patients with chronic back pain that is refractory to conventional medical management (CMM) and who have no history of spine surgery and are not acceptable candidates for spine surgery. The authors have termed this condition "nonsurgical refractory back pain" (NSRBP) and conducted a multicenter, randomized controlled trial to compare CMM with and without 10-kHz SCS in this population., Methods: Patients with NSRBP, as defined above and with a spine surgeon consultation required for confirmation, were randomized 1:1 to patients undergoing CMM with and without 10-kHz SCS. CMM included nonsurgical treatment for back pain, according to physicians' best practices and clinical guidelines. Primary and secondary endpoints included the responder rate (≥ 50% pain relief), disability (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI]), global impression of change, quality of life (EQ-5D-5L), and change in daily opioid use and were analyzed 3 and 6 months after randomization. The protocol allowed for an optional crossover at 6 months for both arms, with observational follow-up over 12 months., Results: In total, 159 patients were randomized; 76 received CMM, and 69 (83.1%) of the 83 patients who were assigned to the 10-kHz SCS group received a permanent implant. At the 3-month follow-up, 80.9% of patients who received stimulation and 1.3% of those who received CMM were found to be study responders (primary outcome, ≥ 50% pain relief; p < 0.001). There was also a significant difference between the treatment groups in all secondary outcomes at 6 months (p < 0.001). In the 10-kHz SCS arm, outcomes were sustained, including a mean 10-cm visual analog scale score of 2.1 ± 2.3 and 2.1 ± 2.2 and mean ODI score of 24.1 ± 16.1 and 24.0 ± 17.0 at 6 and 12 months, respectively (p = 0.9). In the CMM arm, 74.7% (56/75) of patients met the criteria for crossover and received an implant. The crossover arm obtained a 78.2% responder rate 6 months postimplantation. Five serious adverse events occurred (procedure-related, of 125 total permanent implants), all of which resolved without sequelae., Conclusions: The study results, which included follow-up over 12 months, provide important insights into the durability of 10-kHz SCS therapy with respect to chronic refractory back pain, physical function, quality of life, and opioid use, informing the current clinical practice for pain management in patients with NSRBP.

Background: Previous angiogenesis models use animal tissues such as the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) or the rabbit cornea. These models may not accurately reflect the mechanisms responsible for human angiogenesis., Materials and Methods: We hypothesized that fragments of human myocardial tissue would develop an angiogenic response from the cut edges of vessels contained within the tissue. To test these hypotheses, we obtained human atrial appendage tissue at the time of cardiac bypass. Fragments of atrial tissue were then incorporated into fibrin thrombin clots. Tissue fragments were observed, and the percent of wells that developed neovessel invasion into the clot was calculated (%I). The subsequent growth of cardiac-derived microvessels was rated and scored over time (Angiogenic Index)., Results: There were 20 human atrial appendages plated (n = 24 to 60 wells/specimen) and evaluated in this model. Out of the 20, 16 (80%) atrial appendages developed an angiogenic response in the majority (>50%) of wells plated. Neovessel growth was progressive over 14 to 16 days in culture in all specimens tested. The mean angiogenic index of all specimens was 8.59 +/- 0.91., Conclusions: This human cardiac tissue-based assay might be useful to screen compounds designed for use in human trials or provide highly vascularized cardiac tissue for autotransplantation. Additionally, the assay provides the foundation to study an individual patent's cardiac tissue and its response to angiogenesis stimulators or inhibitors. This may allow the development of patient-specific therapies designed to enhance revascularization or repair of injured cardiac muscle.