Field dependence among male and female alcoholics: II. Norms for the rod-and-frame test

402 males and 160 females hospitalized for treatment of alcoholism were tested in a standardized manner on the Rod-and-frame test as a means of supplementing an earlier report of normative data on perceptual style among male alcoholics. When their performance was contrasted with that of normal and psychiatric samples, alcoholics were clearly the most field dependent of all groups studied. Statistically significant sex differences justify the need for separate norms for males and females.     

Immunologic aspects of malignancy. II. Host immunocompetence and relationship to the clinical stage in patients with prostatic cancer

As knowledge of the stage and grade of tumour are essential to the selection of the appropriate therapeutic modality and subsequent management of the patient, the patient's immunological competence is equally significant. In the present communication a broad spectrum of cellular and humorally-mediated parameters of immunologic responsiveness reflecting more or less general immunocompetence rather than tumour-specific immunity were evaluated in 28 patients with the prostatic cancer. The immunocompetence of these patient's was then "immunostaged" independently without prior knowledge of their clinical stage, and the correlation and significance of these determinations evaluated. In this present preliminary report, a statistically significant correlation (P less than 0.05) was observed between the patients' "immunostage" and clinical stage.     

Observability analysis of ins with a GPS multi-antenna system

This paper investigates observability properties of strapdown INS aided by a GPS antenna array. The motivation to consider a GPS antenna array is that the lever-arms between the GPS antennas and IMU play an important role in the estimation of vehicle attitude and biases of IMU. It is shown that time-invariant INS error models are observable with measurements from at least three GPS antennas. It is also shown that time-varying error models are instantaneously observable with measurements from three antennas. Numerical simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of multiple GPS antennas on estimating vehicle attitude and biases of IMU when IMU has considerable magnitude of biases.     

SHORT CRACK FATIGUE BEHAVIOUR IN A MEDIUM CARBON STEEL

The initiation stage and short crack behaviour in torsional fatigue of a 0.4% C steel was investigated by a replication technique. The fatigue cracks initiated and propagated in the ferrite phase which is located at the prior austenite grain boundaries in the form of long allotriomorphs. At this stage of crack development it is proposed that crack growth rate depends on the extent and intensity of plasticity at the tip of the crack. Crack growth per cycle is correspondingly proportional to the strength of the slip band. The ferrite-pearlite boundaries are strong barriers to crack propagation, which is manifested by a deceleration of growth and possible arrest. On raising the stress level the previously non-propagating cracks may continue to grow by branching or joining with other cracks in the ferrite phase. This process is repeated until the stress fields of one or more dominant cracks attain a critical value to sustain continued growth that leads to failure.     

Optimising the crack arrest ability of unidirectional metal matrix composites

Optimisation of the fatigue crack arrest ability of unidirectional continuous fibre reinforced metal matrix composites is investigated by considering the damaging processes of interfacial debonding and fibre bridging. A sensitivity analysis of the parameters affecting these damage mechanisms is presented. It is suggested that fibre interface debonding is the principal controlling factor in determining the crack arrest ability of these materials. The Fatigue Damage Map was used to estimate the values of interfacial shear strength needed to optimise the crack arrest condition.     

Spectroscopic studies of cobalt(II) binding to Escherichia coli bacterioferritin

The iron storage protein bacterioferritin (BFR) consists of 24 identical subunits, each containing a dinuclear metal binding site called the ferroxidase center, which is essential for fast iron core formation. Cobalt(II) binding to wild-type and site-directed variants of Escherichia coli BFR was studied by optical and magnetic techniques. Data from absorption spectroscopy demonstrate the binding of two cobalt(II) ions per subunit of wild-type and heme-free BFR, each with a pseudotetrahedral or pentacoordinate geometry, and EPR studies show that the two cobalt(II) ions are weakly magnetically coupled. Studies of variants of BFR in which a single glutamic acid residue at the ferroxidase center is replaced by alanine confirm that this is the site of cobalt(II) binding, since the altered centers bind only one cobalt(II) ion. This work shows that the electroneutrality of the ferroxidase center is preserved on binding a pair of divalent metal ions. Optical and EPR data show that cobalt(II) binding to BFR exhibits positive cooperativity, with an average Kd of approximately 1 x 10(-5) M. The favored filling of the ferroxidase center with pairs of metal ions may have mechanistic implications for the iron(II) binding process. Discrimination against oxidation of single iron(II) ions avoids odd electron reduction products of oxygen.     

Pancreatoduodenectomy in abdominal trauma: a viable alternative

Accidents are the leading cause of death in children and a major factor in lost productive life. This case-control study investigates childhood accidents in the home by randomly surveying children presenting to a Dublin Accident and Emergency Department. Risk factors for home accidents are examined by comparing cases (those with accidental injuries sustained at home) with controls. Of the 174 accident attenders, 59.2% were boys; 66% of all surveyed were under 5 years. Cases were more likely to belong to Social Class 5-6 (P < 0.01), their fathers were less likely to be employed (p < 0.01) and mothers were less likely to be working outside the home (P < 0.01). Over 50% of injuries were due to falls (50.8%). Blows and cuts accounted for 22.6% of injuries, while 13% were due to burns, 7.9% were due to poisoning, and 5.7% due to foreign bodies. Children under 5 were more likely than older children to have been supervised at the time of the accident. Most of the injuries were minor. However, 34 children (19.5%) required hospital admission. Measures to prevent accidents at home should be targeted towards those at most risk-parents of pre-school children and the lower social class groups. Accident prevention requires a three-pronged approach i.e. environmental change, enforcement of legislation and educational measures.