Asymmetric septal hypertrophy of the heart. New findings concerning the possible etiology of sudden deaths in five males

This report describes certain interesting postmortem findings in the hearts of five subjects who died suddenly, silently, and unexpectedly, and in whom the only significant abnormality at autopsy was asymmetric septal hypertrophy (ASH) of the heart. Deep clefts, cystic faults, and dilated vascular channels were not only seen within the septal myocardium in all the hearts, but also within the left ventricular free walls of two hearts. The septal myocardium and the left ventricular free walls of two hearts and the A-V node and His bundle of one heart demonstrated mural and luminal thrombi of several dilated vascular channels. In another heart, foci of cardiocytic myofibrillar degeneration were seen, especially close to narrowed small coronary vessels. Fetal dispersion and fibrosis of the A-V node and His bundle were evident in one heart. These abnormalities in the conducting system and the ventricular myocardium suggest that the hearts of subjects with ASH are not only excellent anatomic substrates for lethal arrhythmias, but also are bound to be hemodynamically impaired. We believe that conditions such as hypoxia, increased oxygen demand by the heart or abnormal sympathetic stimulus may easily trigger fatal arrhythmias in such individuals, thereby causing sudden death.     

Is the consumer price index a fair measure of inflation?

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is widely used to adjust wages and federal benefits as an offset to inflation, but the index contains substantial sources of bias as used for such purposes. For instance, these sources of bias, such as changes in the real cost of petroleum, the cost of environmental protection, and an inappropriate method for measuring homeownership costs, accounted for nearly half of the CPI increase in the year from November 1978 to November 1979. Because of the nature of the index, such biases will always be present, creating the risk that the CPI may be adding to the inflation that it is only supposed to measure. Therefore, a new index or indexes that are more appropriate for adjusting wages and benefits for inflation should be developed.     

BUREAUCRATIC DECENTRALIZATION AND THE REDISTRIBUTION OF URBAN SERVICES: THE CASE OF TEAM POLICING1

Two extreme positions dominate the decentralization debate in urban politics: one school consistently opposes decentralization, while the other maintains that only complete radical community control can solve the problems of politics and administration in the city. Positions and policies between these two extremes tend to get lost in rhetoric and argument, or receive only passing recognition. This paper is an attempt to carve out, theoretically and empirically, some space for an intermediate position. Following a brief exploration of the decentralization debate, we discuss and present some analysis from a team policing experiment, a type of ecentralization that falls in between the two extremes. The data suggest that this type of decentralization can be successful if the program is designed as a non-zero-sum game, and the paper concludes that intermediate programs represent attractive third choices to discredited or unworkable alternatives.