Laryngeal survey in glyphosate intoxication: a pathophysiological investigation

Respiratory aspiration is a serious potential complication of glyphosate-surfactant herbicide intoxication. From October 1, 1992 to June 30, 1996, we performed laryngeal evaluations in 53 cases to investigate the possible pathophysiological mechanism of glyphosate intoxication. There were 36 cases with significant laryngeal injury. The blood WBC count were significantly higher and the hospital stays were significantly longer in patients with laryngeal injury, when compared with patients with no laryngeal injury (Student t-test, P < 0.005). Laryngeal injury was strongly correlated with aspiration pneumonitis (mean 2 = 4.449, P < 0.05). We concluded that laryngeal injury may be the major cause of aspiration that leads to some degree of morbidity and mortality, following concentrated glyphosate-surfactant herbicide intoxication. Laryngeal survey may be indicated in cases of glyphosate-surfactant intoxication, to evaluate the severity of mucosal injury, and to apply adequate supportive management as early as possible to prevent from aspiration complications and even mortality.     

A Technique for Totally Automated Audiometry

A means of combining two older audiometric techniques to yield a totally automated determination of hearing threshold levels using an integral audiometer?digital microprocessor is discussed. The design of the audiometric computer is briefly outlined.     

The lateral mixing of fluidised solids through meshed and unmeshed apertures

Rates at which solids mix laterally through meshed and unmeshed openings in vertical partitions subdividing a fluidised bed are reported. The effects on mixing of the superficial gas velocity, particle size, and total and fractional free aperture areas are assessed, and bed expansion data reported.

The flux rate of material through the apertures was found to be directly proportional to the difference between the superficial and the minimum fluidising velocities, and inversely proportional to a power function of the mean particle diameter. Reducing the free area available for passage of material across the bed decreased the circulation flux rate: increasing the total aperture area had the same effect.

These influences on mixing are explained, and the mixing rates and bed expansion data correlated against relevant experimental variables.     

Ways of learning in a computer-based environment: some findings of the LOGO Maths Project

Abstract  This paper is derived from the LOGO Maths Project's investigation of the potential of LOGO in the secondary school mathematics classroom (1983–1986). The main focus of the work has been to discover whether and under what conditions the computer language LOGO can be used as an aid to pupils' learning and thinking in mathematics. Longitudinal case studies were undertaken for four pairs of pupils throughout the three years of the project. In addition the research was extended for two years into another eight schools. This paper presents the findings concerned with peer collaboration and the role of the teacher in the LOGO environment. It describes how LOGO work can be used to gain insights into pupils' conceptions of mathematical ideas. It also makes reference to gender issues in the wider context of computer use in the United Kingdom.     

Concurrent primary carcinoma of the gallbladder and acute cholecystitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Primary carcinoma of the gallbladder is rare and associated with a late diagnosis and poor prognosis. Concurrent acute cholecystitis frequently obscures the presence of carcinoma. The information regarding gallbladder carcinoma with acute cholecystitis is limited. In order to better understand the presentation of gallbladder carcinoma with acute cholecystitis, we retrospectively reviewed the data of patients with primary carcinoma of the gallbladder. METHODOLOGY: The data of 86 patients with primary carcinoma of the gallbladder treated between 1979 and 1994 were compiled and reviewed. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (with acute cholecystitis, 21 patients) and Group 2 (without cholecystitis, 65 patients). Clinicopathological comparisons were made and evaluated between these two groups RESULTS: The average age of Group 1 patients was older than that of Group 2 patients (75+/-2 years vs. 63+/-2 years; p<0.05). Three Group 1 patients presented with sepsis. The interval between the onset of symptoms and hospital admission in Group 2 patients was significantly (p<0.05) longer than that in Group 1 patients (243+/-95 days vs. 20+/-11 days). Leukocytosis (>11,000/mm3) was more common in Group 1 patients than in Group 2 patients (47.6% vs. 15.4%). Jaundice was more common in Group 2, and fever was common in Group 1. The majority of Group 2 gallbladder cancers were stage V (75.4%). In contrast, 52.4% of Group 1 gallbladder cancers were stage III and 38.1% were stage V. The 30-day postoperative mortality rate in Group 1 and Group 2 patients was 9.5% and 7.7%, respectively. The cumulative survival of Group 1 patients was not different from that of Group 2 patients (log-rank test, p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Age, the interval of symptoms prior to admission, the location of abdominal pain, fever, leukocytosis, and the absence of jaundice suggested the presence of acute cholecystitis in gallbladder carcinoma. A high index of suspicion of the disease, intraoperative examination of gallbladder specimens, and more aggressive surgical treatment may improve patient survival.     

Priming and aging: an electrophysiological investigation of N400 and recall

Twenty young (20.5 years) and 20 middle-aged academics (57.2 years) performed a priming-recall task which was presented in three blocks. In each block, participants read 40 word pairs after which a recall task had to be carried out. Half of the word pairs were highly associated while the others were low associated. Targets showed the N400 of the middle-aged group to be both delayed and smaller in amplitude for low-associated items. N400 of primes, however, showed no age-related latency difference but was smaller for the middle-aged group due to a positive shift. It is argued that this shift possibly indicates age differences in semantic activation or buildup of context. A reanalysis showed individual differences in word pair processing to depend on recall performance. In general, high recallers were found to show a much larger differentiation between low- and high-associated targets. This resulted from a much larger N400 component elicited by low-associated targets and a more positive ERP in the N400-region for the high-associated targets. It is suggested that the middle-aged subjects activated the expected target word to a level at least equivalent to the younger subjects, but that the activated network itself was larger/less selective particularly in subjects showing a low recall.     

Adaptation effects and reversible figures: a comment on Horlitz and O'Leary

Horlitz and O'Leary have provided further evidence for the important role of such top-down processes as attention and familiarity on reported reversals of ambiguous figures. As such, these results are consistent with the claims of several other investigators who have argued that any theory of phenomenal reversal that is based solely on passive neural processes is likely to be incomplete. However, Horlitz and O'Leary make the additional claims (1) that the several reports of adaptation effects in the literature are readily reinterpreted within an information-access framework and (2) that their own empirical work demonstrates a basic failure of neural-adaptation effects with reversible figures. It is proposed here that these claims must be viewed with caution. First, Horlitz and O'Leary's explanation for the discrepancy of their results from those of ostensibly similar experimental procedures in the reversible-figure literature is not the only, or the most likely, possibility. A plausible alternative model that posits critical procedural differences (specifically, duration of adaptation) across studies has been offered, and supporting empirical work for this latter suggestion has been presented. Second, the empirical efforts of Horlitz and O'Leary, while providing further evidence for top-down processes, do not eliminate the likely role of adaptation effects with reversible figures. There is strong reason to believe that the viewing conditions selected by these researchers may not have been sufficient to produce appreciable adaptation. Moreover, there is excellent reason to believe that both bottom-up and top-down processes moderate reported reversals of these figures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)