Fracture of the medial tubercle of the posterior process of the talus: a case report and literature review

A 32-year-old man experienced pain behind the medial malleolus and an inability to bear full weight after jumping approximately 3 feet during a basketball game. A diagnosis of fracture of the medial tubercle of the posterior process of the talus was made, and the patient was treated for 7 weeks in a nonweightbearing cast. Twenty-four-month follow-up demonstrated no limitation of activity. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fracture of the posterior process of the talus that was treated nonoperatively with a successful outcome.     

ASTM F739 method for testing the permeation resistance of protective clothing materials: critical analysis with proposed changes in procedure and test-cell design

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) Method F739-96 specifies a test-cell design and procedures for measuring the permeation resistance of chemical protective clothing. Among the specifications are open-loop collection stream flow rates of 0.050 to 0.150 L/min for a gaseous medium. At elevated temperatures the test must be maintained within 1 degree C of the set point. This article presents a critical analysis of the effect of the collection stream flow rate on the measured permeation rate and on the temperature uniformity within the test cell. Permeation tests were conducted on four polymeric glove materials with 44 solvents at 25 degrees C. Flow rates > 0.5 L/min were necessary to obtain accurate steady-state permeation rate (SSPR) values in 25 percent of the tests. At the lower flow rates the true SSPR typically was underestimated by a factor of two or less, but errors of up to 33-fold were observed. No clear relationship could be established between the need for a higher collection stream flow rate and either the vapor pressure or the permeation rate of the solvent, but test results suggest that poor mixing within the collection chamber was a contributing factor. Temperature gradients between the challenge and collection chambers and between the bottom and the top of the collection chamber increased with the water-bath temperature and the collection stream flow rate. Use of a test cell modified to permit deeper submersion reduced the gradients to < or = 0.5 degrees C. It is recommended that all SSPR measurements include verification of the adequacy of the collection stream flow rate. For testing at nonambient temperatures, the modified test cell described here could be used to ensure temperature uniformity throughout the cell.     

The fine structure of conidial development in the genus Torula. IV. T. thermophila Cooney & Emerson

Torula thermophila produced typical chlamydospores either as intercalary chains within prostrate hyphae or as terminal swellings on short, lateral, hyphal branches. Mature chlamydo-spores were spherical, dark brown, smooth-surfaced structured structures with thick, single-layed cell walls (= secondary wall layer) usually differentiated into an outer electron-dense zone and an inner electron-transparent zone. Disarticulation and sport release occurred after the disintegration of the original hyphal wall. The thallospores of T. thermophila arise in a manner different from the blastospores produced by other species of Torula and are structurally more closely related to the spores produced by Humicola insolens. However until further work has been completed on spore development in the Torula-Humicola complex of fungi the name T. thermophila is retained.     

Platelet aggregation as a sign of septicemia in thermal injury. A prospective study

Serial measurements of coagulation activity, platelet counts, and platelet aggregation were done in patients with full-thickness burns involving 25% or more of body surface area to detect specific changes that might correlate with the onset of septicemia. Mean and maximal values for prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, thrombin time, activities of factor V and factor VIII, and concentrations of fibrinogen and fibrinogen-related antigens observed in the presence of bacterial septicemia did not differ significantly from those observed in the absence of septicemia. Mean platelet counts were significantly less with sepsis, but values in individual subjects were not indicative of the presence of septicemia. By contrast, platelet aggregation in response to adenosine diphosphate, epinephrine, and collagen always became severely abnormal with the onset of septicemia but not in the absence of sepsis.