Thoughts on the present and future of pediatric neurosurgery. Skull base surgery, spinal instrumentation, and neuroendoscopy

As part of a series of essays about the first 25 years of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery--what we have accomplished and where we have been--I have decided to turn my attention to where we are now and where we are going. A corollary to consider, perhaps, is where we should be going. In other words, what is the appropriate relationship between pediatric neurosurgery and general neurosurgery?     

Building Healthy Workplaces: What We Know So Far.

By way of introduction to this Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, we hope to achieve three interrelated goals. First, we define what we mean by a "healthy workplace," and we delineate the ways in which work is associated with mental health. We argue that work is both a causal factor in mental and physical ill-health as well as a potential health resource that both may protect us and assist in our recovery from psychological ill-health. Second, we review the individual, organizational, and societal costs of unhealthy work and workplaces, and, consequently, of poor mental and physical health. Our argument is simply that we are incurring horrific economic and social costs when we have unhealthy workplaces. Finally, we provide a framework in terms of a healthy workplace model to help summarize this literature, and to present the articles in this Special Issue. Throughout this introduction, we emphasize that these goals are highly compatible with organizations' traditional focus on enhancing productivity and profitability. Put simply, what is good for Canadian workers is good for Canadian industry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

La constitution d’un milieu de travail sain: Ce que nous savons jusqu’à maintenant.

By way of introduction to this Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, we hope to achieve three interrelated goals. First, we define what we mean by a "healthy workplace," and we delineate the ways in which work is associated with mental health. We argue that work is both a causal factor in mental and physical ill-health as well as a potential health resource that both may protect us and assist in our recovery from psychological ill-health. Second, we review the individual, organizational, and societal costs of unhealthy work and workplaces, and, consequently, of poor mental and physical health. Our argument is simply that we are incurring horrific economic and social costs when we have unhealthy workplaces. Finally, we provide a framework in terms of a healthy workplace model to help summarize this literature, and to present the articles in this Special Issue. Throughout this introduction, we emphasize that these goals are highly compatible with organizations' traditional focus on enhancing productivity and profitability. Put simply, what is good for Canadian workers is good for Canadian industry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guest editors’ reflections on a centennial series in process.

The decision to present articles celebrating the centennial of the American Psychological Association (APA) in issues of the Journal of Counseling Psychology throughout the year has had one major unintended, but we hope fortuitous, outcome. This outcome demands a more open exposure of our editorial process of conceptualizing, commissioning, and editing these articles than is typically the case. Had we planned to have all the articles appear in a single issue of the journal, we could have done what most editors probably do, that is, write the introduction after all of the articles had been submitted. Instead, we wrote the introduction at the beginning of the series, informing the reader of what we had planned. Because our original introduction, in retrospect, provides a fairly decontextualized and overly logical frame for the richness of the authors' contributions, we take this opportunity to reflect on contributions to date and to introduce a final article in the series, which we discovered to be missing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Models for psychiatry: icons or effigies?

Toulmin notes that a good model takes us beyond the phenomena from which we began [67]. It also tempts us. Models demand that we attempt to represent the dynamic relationships between variables. When we use them, we risk insulating our findings from empirical disproof [68]. Self-certifying myths, like articles of faith, need to yield to the demands of science. Psychiatric theory and practice need to yield to the demands of experience. We need to move away from ethereal assumptions to tangible mastery of the understanding of behavior. Freud, in The Interpretation of Dreams [69], writes, "Analogies of this kind are only intended to assist us in our attempt to make the complications of mental functioning intelligible. We are justified, in my view, in giving free rein to our speculations so long as we retain the coolness of our judgment and do not mistake the scaffolding for the building. We have been obliged to build. If we are not wholly in error, other lines of approach are bound to lead us into much the same region and the time may come when we shall find ourselves more at home in it!"     

Mutation and senescence: where genetics and demography meet

Two evolutionary genetic models-mutation accumulation and antagonistic pleiotropy-have been proposed to explain the origin and maintenance of senescence. In this paper, we focus our attention on the mutation accumulation model. We re-examine previous evidence for mutation accumulation in light of new information from large-scale demographic experiments. After discussing evidence for the predictions that have been put forth from models of mutation accumulation, we discuss two critical issues at length. First, we discuss the possibility that classical fruit fly stock maintenance regimes may give rise to spurious results in selection studies of aging. Second, we consider evidence for the assumptions underlying evolutionary models of aging. These models assume that mutations act additively on age-specific survival rate, that there exist mutations whose effects are confined to late age-classes, and that all mutations have equal effects. Recent empirical evidence suggests that each of these three assumptions is unlikely to be true. On the basis of these results, we do not conclude that mutation accumulation is no longer a valid explanation for the evolution of aging. Rather, we suggest that we now need to begin developing more biologically realistic genetic models for the evolution of aging.     

Our challenge in Kagoshima University Hospital--development of more useful clinical laboratory

In 1995, we newly developed a clinical laboratory system equipped with an expert system, which was named HIPOCLATES (Hospital Intelligent POwers of Clinical Laboratory Automation Technology with Expert System). Since this system includes an expert system, we have been able to support diagnostic and therapeutic procedure in clinics and begin developing a "zonal verification method" and "early-stage DIC diagnosis support system". The former is one of the individual quality control methods and we have attempted to develop a test assurance system in HIPOCLATES using this method. The latter system is to diagnosis DIC in the early phase. Here, we introduce the detail of our project using HIPOCLATES. Following the introduction HIPOCLATES, we attempted to develop a highly integrated system in physiological examinations, and succeeded in establishment PLATON (Physiological LAboratory TOtal Network system) in 1997. Thereafter, we planned a graphic reporting system named GALIREO (Graphic Assistant Laboratory Informational REport Operating system). In GALIREO, we attempted to connect the Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ultrasonic waves test room, Fiberscope test room, Department of Pathology and Surgical center by computer network. Developing these computer network system in our clinical laboratory we want to create electronic medical record linking with THINK (HIS in our hospital). We plan to make these expert system and electronic medical record available to clinical staff via a network to realize evidence-based medicine (EBM) and utilize these to support treatment and education.     

Investigating fame judgments: on the generality of hypotheses, conclusions, and measurement models

In this article, we try to clarify some of the issues raised by S.C. Draine, A.G. Greenwald, and M.R. Banaji (1996) concerning our investigation into the gender bias in fame judgments (A. Buchner & W. Wippich, 1996). First, we did not test the general hypothesis and did draw the general conclusion that Drain et al. suggest we did. Second, we did did not reject M.R. Banaji and A.G. Greenwald's (1995) assumptions about the familiarity of male and female names in the fame judgment task, but we showed how one could have come to reject it using a widespread measurement model for the process dissociation procedure. Third, we argue that the processes which Draine et al. suggest should also be included in the measurement model we used are probably negligible, and if they are not, then the validity of the results of a number of fame judgment experiments must be called into question. In general, however, we agree with what seems to be the main message of M.R. Banaji and A.G. Greenwald's (1995) research, namely, that social categories have to be considered whenever priming is investigated within a social domain.     

广钢连轧分厂水冷工艺实践

本文介绍广钢连轧分厂引进的水冷线从调试到大批量生产的过程。通过不断摸索,选择低成本钢坯生产符合英标BS4449-88要求的钢材,对影响钢材性能的有关因素进行分析,并根据生产经验,提出生产中必须注意的问题以及水冷材所存在的问题。     

Commentary: Who measures those who measure? The future of assessing research activity in Canadian psychology.

The recent article in Canadian Psychology by Carleton, Peluso, and Asmundson (2010) assessing the research activity of Canadian psychology departments with graduate programmes has generated substantial feedback. We are very pleased to have provided not only an initial data set for review by departments and individuals, but also to have prompted what we believe is an important discussion. The current article responds to a thoughtful critique and extension of our initial work (Symons, 2011). Herein we address and expand on each of the comments raised by Symons in an attempt to fully delineate the successes and challenges for our profession as we take the next steps in this area of research. Also, in light of the review and other anecdotal feedback received to date, we make further recommendations for using the data available from the Web of Knowledge, the rankings we provided, and the data provided by Symons. We conclude with directions for future research that we believe will help further the area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

失重秤原理及波动原因分析

为了解决失重秤在运行时波动较大的现状,我们通过深入了解失重秤的原理,找出影响失重秤波动的若干因素。当失重秤波动时,我们逐一检查影响失重秤波动的各个因素,如发现有影响失重秤波动因素存在,就需要寻找合适的方法解决。通过这种方法,我们在失重秤出现波动的状况后,能够及时的查找出造成波动的一些因素,并及时消除这些因素,使失重秤能够保持平稳运行     

A person–process–context–time approach to understanding intellectual development.

We argue that scientific psychology's twin foci on biology (person) and process can benefit from a broadening. Specifically, we show that including two additional foci–context and time–can add explanatory leverage to both the design and interpretation of scientific studies. We focus on research on intellectual development to illustrate our points. First, we briefly describe each of the four factors (person, process, context, and time), and we review studies that focus on each individual factor and its role in intellectual development. Next, we review studies that focus simultaneously on multiple factors. We illustrate how multifactor approaches reveal fine-grained differentiations that are not reducible to single factors. Finally, we describe a study that considers simultaneously all four factors, and we show how omitting any one of these factors from the design and analysis changes the interpretation of the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease: benign cause of fever and lymphadenopathy

The purpose of this study was to determine the advantages and disadvantages of several techniques for performing the pneumoperitoneum. We studied 75 patients divided into three groups of 25 each. In the first group, we used the Veress needle technique in the umbilicus. In the second group, the insertion was in the upper left quadrant, and in the third group the insertion was direct with a disposable trocar in the umbilicus without pneumoperitoneum. In the first group, we made 32 attempts, and the time varied from 8 to 35 min. In the second group we made 28 attempts and the time was from 3 to 6 min. In both we had complications. In the third group, we made 25 direct insertions without complications, and the time was from 45 s to 3 min.     

青海杂多县然者涌铅锌银矿成矿地质条件分析及找矿前景探讨

然者涌铅锌银矿区工作程度低,目前仅进行了地表工作,初步取得了一些找矿成果,但仍处于找矿探索阶段。本文通过对已取得的地物化资料综合分析研究,认为该矿床为密西西比河谷型铅锌银矿床(MVT),找矿潜力巨大,有必要进行进一步工作,有望成为中大型铅锌银矿床。     

Potentialities of contrast angiography and endovascular embolization in ent bleeding

With an ever increasing awareness of the need to deliver a quality of care that is measurable in Nursing, the concept of Standards provides an ideal tool (1). Standards operate outside the boundaries of policies and procedures to provide an audit tool of authenticity and flexibility. Within our five Renal Units, while we felt confident that we were delivering an excellent standard of care to our patients and continually trying to improve upon it, what we really needed was a method of measuring this current level of care and highlighting key areas where we could offer improvement.     

Cardiac transplantation: three decades of experience define our challenge

By defining some issues of controversy surrounding cardiac transplantation in its contemporaneous practice, we can set the stage for clinical trials that explore further these issues and bring reason based on clinical trial evidence to our daily practices. As we enter the twenty-first century we will surely have better insight into patient selection and post heart transplant patient management if we can combine our talents and resources to perform these carefully designed clinical efforts.     

Unsupervised connectivity-based thresholding segmentation of midsagittal brain MR images

In this paper, we propose an algorithm for automated segmentation of midsagittal brain MR images. First, we apply thresholding to obtain binary images. From the binary images, we locate some landmarks. Based on the landmarks and anatomical information, we preprocess the binary images, which substantially simplifies the subsequent operations. To separate regions what are incorrectly merged after this initial segmentation, a new connectivity-based threshold algorithm is proposed. Assuming that some prior information about the general shape and location of objects is available, the algorithm finds a boundary between two regions using the path connection algorithm and changing the threshold adaptively. In order to test the robustness of the proposed algorithm we applied the algorithm to 120 midsagittal brain images and obtained satisfactory results.     

Successful weaning from mechanical ventilation in an aged subject with severe apneas due to brain damage

A 73-year-old male was admitted to Tokyo University Hospital due to cardiac arrest secondary to ventricular arrhythmias. Although the patient survived after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, he needed mechanical ventilation. When we tried to wean the patient from mechanical ventilation, we found that he suffered from frequent sleep apneas of over 40 times/hour. To evaluate the severity and frequency of the apneas, we performed polysomnographic study on the patient under assist ventilation. The polysomnographic study revealed that frequency of apneas was very high but the magnitude of desaturation was not so severe during the night. Since we confirmed the lowest SaO2 in this patients was over 90% during day and night, we tried to wean from the patient from the ventilator again and succeeded. The clinical application and usefulness of nocturnal ventilatory monitoring for patients with mechanical ventilation was discussed.     

On the ambiguity of concept use in commentaries.

In this article, we respond in general and specific terms to the commentaries written on our target article (Slaney & Racine, 2011). In so doing, we revisit the motivation for our initial article and attempt to clarify certain aspects of our argument. Given that we were taken by some to be trying to undermine the Representational Theory of Mind (RTM), we discuss RTM in some detail. We also discuss Wittgenstein's methods and their relevance to the issues raised in our article and in the commentaries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The lack of NK cytotoxicity associated with fresh HUCB may be due to the presence of soluble HLA in the serum

Human bone marrow transplantation is becoming more common in the treatment of certain forms of cancer despite the scarcity of HLA matched donors. Because human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) has been used as a source for stem cells in bone marrow transplantation, and because NK cells appear to be important in graft versus leukemia response, we investigated the lytic activity of freshly isolated HUCB NK cells (HUCB-NK) against tumor targets and their ability to differentiate into LAK cells following stimulation with various cytokines. Although cytotoxicity mediated by fresh HUCB-NK was low compared to that of adult peripheral blood lymphocyte-derived NK cells (PBL-NK), the ability of HUCB-NK to bind to K562 target cells (TC) was similar to PBL-NK. In addition, the PBL-NK cytotoxicity of postpartum mothers was also low compared to that of normal adult PBL-NK. When we incubated HUCB for 18 hr in either IL-2 or IL-12, we boosted the level of HUCB-NK cytotoxicity to approximately the level observed in PBL-NK and increased the level of perforin, granzyme A, and granzyme B mRNA expression. In addition, when we incubated HUCB in IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-12, TNF-alpha, IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, or TGF-beta for 5 days, we observed that HUCB was capable of generating LAK cells only when incubated with either IL-2 or IL-12. In contrast, IL-2, IL-7, IL-12, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma all generated LAK cells from adult PBL. When we added to the medium low-dose IL-2 and irradiated K562 as feeder cells (mini-LAK), we were unable to generate LAK activity from HUCB-NK, whereas we could generate it with PBL-NK cells under the same conditions. Addition of serum derived from HUCB in a 4-hr 51Cr release assay with PBL-NK as the effector cells (EC) and K562 as the TC resulted in a 42% decrease in PBL-NK-mediated cytotoxicity. Although we detected no TGF-beta in HUCB serum, we did detect high concentrations of soluble class I MHC (sHLA). To our knowledge, sHLA has not previously been shown to inhibit NK cytotoxicity, although the expression of class I HLA on the surface of TC has been shown to inhibit NK cytotoxicity. To study further the effect of sHLA on cell-mediated cytotoxicity, we added various concentrations of sHLA to EC mediating NK, ADCC, and CTL activities. All were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)