Treatment of pathologic fractures of the humerus with Seidel nailing

A retrospective study is presented of 14 patients with pathologic fractures of the humerus (12 established, two impending) treated with Seidel nailing from 1988 through 1995 in the authors' institution. There were nine women and five men whose average age was 59.5 years. Breast, prostate, and kidney hypernephroma accounted for the majority of the primary lesions. All but one lesion were located in the middle shaft of the humerus. Ten lesions were considered large (> 5 cm long). In five cases an open curettage and allografting were done. Early pain relief was successful in 85% of the patients. The worst complication found was definite nerve palsy in two (14.28%) patients. Ten fractures healed and two failed to heal. Two thirds of the patients had good functional results. The average survival was 12 months. Intramedullary fixation of pathologic fractures improves the quality of life by controlling pain for most patients.     

Quantitative electroencephalographic characteristics of crack cocaine dependence

This study replicates preliminary findings reporting a quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) profile of crack cocaine dependence in abstinence. All subjects (n = 52) met criteria for DMS-III-R cocaine dependence (in the form of crack), and were residing in a drug-free therapeutic community. Baseline QEEG evaluations were conducted at intake (5-10 days after last use of crack, and at follow-up (1 month after last reported use). Previous findings of significant excess of relative alpha power and deficit of absolute and relative delta and theta power were replicated in this expanded group. Abnormalities were greater in anterior than posterior regions, and disturbances in interhemispheric relationships were also observed. Further, QEEG showed little change in the interval between the first and second evaluations. This QEEG profile may reflect persistent alterations in neurotransmission as a possible consequence of chronic cocaine exposure.     

Modified radial head--capitellum projection in elbow trauma

A new technique is described for evaluating trauma to the elbow. The modified radial head--capitellum view is an alternative radiological projection to that described by Greenspan and Norman (the radial head--capitellum view). This new projection is useful in demonstrating minimally displaced or non-displaced fractures of the radial head, capitellum and coronoid process.     

Chromosome 15-linked limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: clinical phenotypes in Reunion Island and French metropolitan communities

Erb's type limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) was identified and clinically studied in detail in a small community living in the Reunion Island (RI). It was linked to chromosome 15q and related to mutations in the muscle specific calpain 3 gene. A series of cases were afterwards clinically and genetically identified in the French metropolitan community. The phenotype was identical to the RI type in the great majority of cases, although clinical differences were noticed in a few cases. Six different mutations were identified in the RI families, whereas a series of 39 mutations were detected in the French metropolitan families, all different from those present in the RI patients. Phenotype-genotype correlations were attempted in both communities.     

A neural computation model with short-term memory

A study of the memory characteristics of the brain and the computer prompts the creation of a new neuron architecture for neural computation. We hypothesize that neural responses resemble hysteresis loops. The upper and lower halves of the hysteresis loop are described by two sigmoids. Generalizing the two sigmoids to two families of curves accommodates loops of various sizes. This model, which we call the ;hystery model', is capable of memorizing the entire history of its bipolar inputs in an adaptive fashion, with larger memory for longer sequences. We theorize and prove that the hystery model's response converges asymptotically to hysteresis-like loops. A simple application to temporal pattern discrimination demonstrates the nonlinear short-term memory characteristics of the hystery model. This model may have important applications for time-based computations such as control, signal processing and spatiotemporal pattern recognition, especially if it can take advantage of existing hysteresis phenomena in semiconductor materials.     

The identification of binding constraints: A directional derivative heuristic approach

A heuristic procedure to identify binding constraints in linear programming (LP) problems is based upon an examination of the orientation of the constraining closed half spaces with respect to the orientation of the objective function. The constraints with the minimum difference will be classified as binding. An experiment to test the usefulness of this procedure in solving LP problems is also developed and discussed.     

The influence of outcomes and procedures on satisfaction with formal leaders.

Tested the hypothesis that the procedures used by leaders to allocate outcomes have an impact on leadership evaluations that is independent of outcome level or outcome fairness. Two studies tested this hypothesis within the context of 132 college students' evaluations of teachers, and two tested it within the context of citizen evaluations of political leaders; Ss in the latter 2 studies were 50 residents of a university town and 156 undergraduates. The procedural justice hypothesis was strongly supported by all 4 studies. In each, strong procedural influences on evaluation were found, influences that were independent of outcome level or outcome fairness. In addition, in both surveys of naturally occurring evaluations, variations in procedural fairness had a much greater impact on leadership endorsement than did variations in outcome level, outcome satisfaction, or outcome fairness. Findings suggest that in experimental settings, Ss can be sensitive to both outcomes and procedures. In natural settings, however, individuals focus on procedures rather than outcomes in forming their evaluations of leaders. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Saturation as a function of test-field size and surround luminance

Direct scaling procedures were used to estimate the apparent saturation (colourfulness) of chromatic test fields as a function of (1) the ratio of the luminance of a test field to that of an achromatic surround, and (2) the test-field subtense. It was found that saturation was maximised when the test field and surround were at an approximate brightness match, and that increasing the test-field size in the range of 10.0'–10.0° caused a monotonic increase in saturation in the presence of relatively dim surrounds, but if the surrounds were brighter than the test field, a peak saturation was found for 1° test fields. These findings are consistent with a model of the visual system in which separate comparisons are made of (a) centre and surround luminance, and (b) centre chromatic and achromatic activity.     

Use of the slave emulator

In-circuit emulation is the ability to imitate electrically a target microprocessor, responding to system inputs or instructions, and producing accurately the expected outputs or responses to the instructions. A modular building block approach to microprocessor-based design is given, the Slave Emulator Control Unit (SECU) is described and its flexibility shown.