UO E-clips, March 13

Researchers make case for standardized analysis of cardiac imaging (Science Daily, HULIQ.com, PhysOrg.com, Genetic Engineering News): For accuracy's sake, medical professionals should use the same software for comparing and analyzing diagnostic heart images taken from different time periods and laboratories, a team of researchers has concluded. The collaborative study, published in the January-February issue of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, involved physicians and researchers at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, the University of Oregon and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The study, which involved images done on 328 heart patients at Sacred Heart, is part of an effort to standardize cardiac-image analyses to improve both diagnostics and patient care.)

Of two minds (Haaretz, Israel): Most of the buildings at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan are no different from those on other local campuses: dusty, peeling, lacking any particular beauty. But five years ago an oasis was created in the wasteland: a spectacular seven-story structure that houses the Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. ... Last June, a group of psychologists and economists from the University of Oregon and from the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, published the results of a study that made use of imaging technology to compare the European economic system - in which services are based on taxation - with the American system, which accords a more central place to voluntary contributions made by owners of capital.

Eugene council prefers UO research park for new hospital (Register-Guard): Eugene officials want to find out quickly exactly how they could help McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center build a new hospital at the University of Oregon’s Riverfront Research Park north of Franklin Boulevard. The City Council on Wednesday voted 8-0 to launch a process designed to let McKenzie-Willamette officials know what to expect from the city, should hospital officials decide the research park is an ideal location for a new medical center. But putting the hospital on the site — which is now heavily developed with buildings that are used by the UO and private businesses — could be very difficult. University officials issued a letter to the city on Wednesday that outlines a string of obstacles that could block any plan to build a hospital at the research park.

Lane County foreclosures continue to rise (Register-Guard): The foreclosure situation in Lane County is mild compared with hot spots in Nevada, California and Florida. However, the rate here, as in many other parts of the country, continues to climb. Lane County had 143 foreclosures in February, up 63 percent from February 2007, according to figures released today by RealtyTrac, an online data company based in Irvine, Calif. There were 125 foreclosures in Lane County in January. ... Tim Duy, an economist and author of the University of Oregon’s Index of Economic Indicators, said he thinks overvaluation in the local housing market has contributed to rising foreclosures.