TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2010
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OU doctor performs first implant New treatment of cardiovascular disease reaches U.S. market MATTHEW MOZEK Daily Staff Writer
Sorin Group, a global leader in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, announced the first implant of a new, state-of-the-art battery technology, which was performed by a member of the OU Health Sciences Center medical team earlier this month. Dr. Dwight Reynolds, section chief of cardiology at the OU Health Sciences Center, performed the first implant of Paradym CRT, Sorin Group’s next generation of cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator. “The normal contractions of the heart chambers are precisely synchronized and follow a strictly defined sequence,” Reynolds said. “When this synchronization becomes disrupted, the amount of blood pumped with each beat is reduced, which is a cause of heart failure.” Reynolds said Paradym CRT is an important tool because it paces the heart’s right and left ventricles to resynchronize their contraction and attempt to increase the cardiac output. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Paradym CRT delivers 37 Joules, the highest energy of any implantable cardiac defibrillator currently available, he said. “I’m impressed with the Sorin technology,” Reynolds said. “They have managed to pack a lot of power into a small can without compromising on features, good charge times or longevity.” In addition, Paradym CRT offers consistent charge times throughout the life of the device, improved longevity and a six-month Elective Replacement Indicator to End of Service period, twice as long as any other implantable cardiac defibrillator, he said. Reynolds also said Paradym CRT features the PARAD+ detection algorithm, whose superior specificity in discriminating ventricular arrhythmias has been clinically proven.
House speaker pushes energy stabilization bill Fund would be set aside to use as a ‘mini-Rainy Day Fund,’ speaker says CHARLES WARD Daily Staff Writer
Oklahoma’s most famous roller coaster isn’t at Frontier City or the State Fairgrounds. Instead, it’s the sharp climbs and deep drops in energy prices, particularly the cost of a barrel of oil or a unit of natural gas. The speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives would like to have the Legislature spend some of its time this session discussing whether Oklahoma should keep buying tickets on the energy production thrill ride. HOUSE BILL 3032 House Bill 3032, introduced by Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, would create an energy stabilization fund. He said the goal of the fund would be to set aside some of the money the state collects from energy production during times when the costs of those commodities are high. That money would then go into what Benge called a “mini-Rainy Day Fund” that could be
tapped when revenue from Oklahoma’s gross production taxes on oil and natural gas decreases. Under Benge’s proposal, Oklahoma could have banked some of the windfall energy revenue it enjoyed when oil sold for more than $140 a barrel and natural gas prices went to nearly $11 per thousand cubic feet during the summer of 2008. When oil prices fell to less than $31 a barrel in December 2008 and natural gas sold for less than $3 per thousand cubic feet in September 2009, that reserve could have been used to offset the resulting revenue drops in Oklahoma’s production tax collections. Benge said although Oklahoma’s revenue comes from a “diversified” pool of sources, such as income, sales and motor vehicle taxes, the state’s economy continues to remain focused on energy prices. “I think that we’ve been reminded that we still are dependent on energy, and especially as we’ve seen the growth in natural gas, it has caused our economy to be even more energy-focused, oiland gas-focused,” he said. DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS A past governor (David Boren), the current
governor, and would-be governors Jari Askins, Randy Brogdon and Mary Fallin, all have said they support the theory of setting aside energy revenue in good times to help smooth out the bad. However, the support also was unanimously couched with reservations against endorsing a plan without seeing specifics. One example of such a reservation came in an e-mail from Boren. “While a careful study will have to be made into the legal and constitutional issues raised by this proposal, I feel that the speaker’s proposal definitely merits consideration,” Boren stated. Benge said he introduced his bill because the issue was timely and he wanted to have discussion on the issue. As of now, however, the bill is less than a page long, introduced in shell form to ensure its timeliness for the current legislative session. He also said he wasn’t aware of any legal or constitutional issues of his idea. The potential fund’s details and political viability is scheduled to be taken up at a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, according to the House’s Web site.
Senate keeps grocery stores from selling wine, strong beer Resolution to expand alcohol inventory in some stores rejected by Senate committee CASEY WILSON Daily Staff Writer
Wine and high-point beer will remain unavailable at grocery stores in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties after a measure by Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, was rejected by the Senate Committee on Business and Labor. Senate Joint Resolution 62 would have sought final approval from voters statewide before it became a state constitutional amendment. The issue in the proposed measure was one of economic development, Rice said by e-mail. “There are major grocery store chains such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods that are hesitant to put stores in Oklahoma given that they would not be able to sell wine,” Rice said. Wine accounts for a large portion of
these stores’ profits, Rice said. Rice said he intended for this measure to eventually include more than just Oklahoma and Tulsa counties. “I was and still am more than willing to add the other 75 counties to the bill,” he said. “But I just wanted to start with the state’s two largest and see what the reaction to the legislation would be.” Proposing the measure to only include those two counties was an effective way of “taking baby steps” on the issue, he said. Oklahomans for Alcohol Law Reform (OFALR) is a group that intends to change the current Oklahoma alcohol laws, according the group’s Web site. “We feel these laws impede upon our rights as consumers,” the Web site stated. “We seek to revise the current laws to make obtaining fresher and higher quality products easier.” Chris Herford, an official with OFALR, said his group was opposed to Rice’s measure because it only allowed grocery stores to sell cold high-point beer. The bill would have hurt the retail package stores and probably would have
caused half of them to shut down, Herford said. “The local Oklahoma-owned liquor stores cannot compete with Wal-Mart on price or convenience,” he said. “It would have been devastating to them.” Herford said his group supports Oklahoma small business owners. “While we didn’t agree with [Sen. Rice’s] approach to the problem, we are just thankful that there is a senator out there that is supportive of our cause,” the OFALR site stated. Aaron Petrone, owner of Campus Liquors in Norman, said he is opposed to wine and strong beer being sold in grocery stores. “I can’t sell anything other than beer, wine and liquor,” he said. “So if Wal-Mart can sell beer and wine and everything else, they’re at a much greater advantage.” If grocery stores could sell wine and strong beer, many small businesses that sell liquor would have to shut down, he said. Officials with Wal-Mart and Target declined to comment for this story.
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IFC CONCERNED WITH ALCOHOL POLICY ENFORCEMENT Ten-minute warnings before house checks no longer given, raises communication issues, IFC president says CAROLINE PERRYMAN Daily Staff Writer
OU Interfraternity Council is concerned with the new Student Conduct office, formally known as Judicial Affairs, and its policies enforcing OU’s Student Alcohol Policy, the IFC president said. The Student Conduct office now oversees every aspect of compliance checks, investigations and
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punitive judgments, said Daniel Jones, IFC president and communications junior. Until the beginning of the semester, fraternity chapter presidents would receive a call from Student Life 10 minutes before a compliance check was performed. IFC no longer receives the 10-minute warnings. “It’s definitely an issue of concern for my presidents and chapters,” Jones said. “Having a group of individuals brand new to the process perform checks that could potentially damage a house’s reputation is quite stressful, to say the least.”
The procedural changes were created and implemented at the beginning of the semester without notification from the university, Jones said. IFC met with university officials to discuss the changes and make their concerns known Friday. Jones said during this meeting, he was told 10-minute warnings would no longer be given. Though the 10-minute warnings were never officially part of the compliance check policy, the fraternities had grown accustomed to the warnings, Jones said. “The success of the transition process of moving compliance
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check responsibilities from Student Life to Student Conduct will be key in determining how we as the IFC view these changes,” Jones said. “We’ve been assured by the university that there will be no changes in the ways these compliance checks are performed, even though it’s a new university entity’s responsibility. If that is in fact accurate, it will be an easier pill to swallow.” Changes to the alcohol policy have not been made or proposed, Andrea Kulsrud, Student Conduct director, said by e-mail. “The purpose of all aspects of policy is the safety and well-being
of our students,” Kulsrud said. “Our efforts are designed to reduce the illegal and overconsumption of alcohol. With these goals in mind, the compliance check teams will now call as they arrive at a chapter house and receive timely admittance into the house.” The Student Alcohol Policy states fraternities are dry and alcoholic beverages are not allowed inside the houses. Fraternity officers and members sign agreements to abide by this policy. Jones said the IFC is less concerned about the 10-minute warning change and more focused on
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VOL. 95, NO. 103