Test-retest stability of injured workers' MMPI-2 profiles.

94 workers completed the (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) MMPI-2 on 2 separate occasions, with an average lag of 21.3 months (SD?=?14.1, range--2-75), within the context of a psychological assessment after suffering an injury due to crime or accident. MMPI-2 profiles were moderately consistent, with correlation coefficients ranging from .61 to .73 for clinical scales, from .52 to .80 for supplementary scales, from .65 to .78 for content scales, and from .32 to .73 for the Personality Psychopathology Five scales (A. R. Harkness et al, 1995). The results suggest that the MMPI 2 provides consistent and stable results across time in injured workers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Truck Models for Improved Fatigue Life Predictions of Steel Bridges

A new fatigue load model has been developed based on weigh-in-motion (WIM) data collected from three different sites in Indiana. The recorded truck traffic was simulated over analytical bridge models to investigate moment range responses of bridge structures under truck traffic loadings. The bridge models included simple and two?equally continuous spans. Based on Miner’s hypothesis, fatigue damage accumulations were computed for details at various locations on the bridge models and compared with the damage predicted for the 240-kN (54-kip) American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) fatigue truck, a modified AASHTO fatigue truck with an equivalent effective gross weight, and other fatigue truck models. The results indicate that fatigue damage can be notably overestimated in short-span girders. Accordingly, two new fatigue trucks are developed in the present study. A new three-axle fatigue truck can be used to represent truck traffic on typical highways, while a four-axle fatigue truck can better represent truck traffic on heavy duty highways with a significant percentage of the fatigue damage dominated by eight- to 11-axle trucks.     

Comparative Study of Fatigue Provisions for the AASHTO Fatigue Guide Specifications and LRFR Manual for Evaluation

The recently developed Manual for condition evaluation and load and resistance factor rating (LRFR) of highway bridges in 2003 provides an alternative procedure for practicing engineers to evaluate the fatigue life of steel bridge structures. Although the evaluation manual maintains several aspects used in the AASHTO fatigue guide specification in 1990, it also utilizes formulas and values specified in the AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications in 1998. A comparative study of the fatigue lives provided by the procedures in the Evaluation manual and the Guide specifications was performed using a life prediction of 14 steel bridges with different structural configurations and various fatigue details. It has been shown that longer predicted fatigue lives are typically obtained when using the Evaluation manual. The ratio of the finite evaluation fatigue lives for the two procedures was found to be in a range of 0.99–2.14.     

Investigation into the growth and electromechanical properties of Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 thin films

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been used to fabricate relaxor thin films and thin film capacitors based on the Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ system. Best capacitor structures show dielectric constants (_r) of 1000 and losses (tan ) 0.02 at 1 kHz at 300 K. Electromechanical investigations show that tensile longitudinal strains of up to 0.2% can be achieved in these films.     

Snowboarding injuries

Snowboarding is a popular winter sport that involves riding a single board down a ski slope or on a half-pipe snow ramp. Compared with injuries resulting from traditional alpine skiing, snowboarding injuries occur more frequently in the upper extremities and ankles and less frequently in the knees. Different types of snowboard equipment, rider stance and snowboarding activity tend to result in different types of injury. Snowboarder's ankle, a fracture of the lateral talus, must be considered in a snowboarder with a "severe ankle sprain" that has not responded to treatment. Risk of injury may be lowered by using protective equipment, such as a helmet and wrist guards.     

Barley varieties for finishing steers: II. Ruminal characteristics and rate, site, and extent of digestion

Four ruminally and abomasally cannulated steers were used to evaluate the effects of barely variety on rate, site, and extent of digestion of high-concentrate diets. The treatments compared were 1) corn, 2) Gunhilde barley (GUN), Harrington barley (HAR), and 4) Medallion barley (MED). Diets were balanced to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Ruminal OM digestion was greater (P = .04) in steers fed corn than in those fed GUN, HAR, and MED (61.9 vs average 53.7%). No differences (P > .10) were seen in ruminal starch digestion (average 92.8%) or in starch flow to the abomasum (average 199 g/d) between diets. Total tract digestion of starch was greater (P = .09) in steers fed barley than in those fed corn (average 98.6 vs 95.7%). Total and nonammonia N presented to the abomasum were greater (P < .05) for steers fed HAR and GUN than for those fed MED and corn. Microbial N flow was lowest (P = .01) in corn-fed steers, highest in steers fed GUN and HAR, and intermediate in steers fed MED. Microbial efficiency was 59% greater (P = .03) in steers fed barley than in steers consuming corn. Ruminal acetate: propionate was lower (P = .002) in steers fed corn and HAR than in those fed GUN and MED. Compared to GUN, HAR, and MED barleys, corn had a lower (P < .03) rate (-.11 vs average -.47) and extent (15 h; 70.3 vs average 98.1%) of in situ starch disappearance. Differences in digestive characteristics found between barley varieties may contribute to differences in animal performance.     

Carcinoids of unknown origin: comparative analysis with foregut, midgut, and hindgut carcinoids

The purpose of this study was to analyze our results of surgical treatment of arthrogryposis of the elbow and to compare our tendon transfer results using range of motion (ROM) criteria versus functional use criteria. Eighteen tendon transfers for elbow flexion in 14 children with arthrogryposis with an average follow-up period of 4 years (range, 1-14 years) and 6 elbow capsulotomies with triceps lengthening in 6 children with arthrogryposis with an average follow-up period of 5 years (range, 2-9 years) were evaluated. Each child was assessed by a questionnaire regarding functional use of the upper extremity, physical examination of ROM and strength, and a videotaped activities of daily living evaluation. Tendon transfer results were classified and compared using 2 methods of evaluation: postoperative strength and ROM and effective functional use of the tendon transfer to perform activities of daily living. The 6 elbow capsulotomies improved from an average preoperative arc of 17 degrees of motion (average extension, -2 degrees; average flexion, 19 degrees) to an average final follow-up arc of 67 degrees (average extension, -25 degrees; average flexion, 92 degrees). The 18 tendon transfers evaluated by strength and ROM criteria showed 9 triceps to biceps transfers in 9 arms (7 good, 1 fair, and 1 poor), 5 pectoralis to biceps transfers in 4 arms (1 good, 3 fair, and 1 poor), and 4 latissimus dorsi to biceps transfers in 3 arms (2 good and 2 fair). Evaluation by functional use criteria gave the same result in 13 transfers and downgraded the result in 5; the downgraded results were due to resultant flexion contracture or limited functional use because the transfer was in the nondominant arm. Based on this review, optimal surgical candidates for tendon transfer are children older than 4 years, who have full passive ROM of the elbow in the dominant arm, and at least grade 4 strength of the muscle to be transferred.     

Tuberculosis of the larynx

Laryngeal tuberculosis was diagnosed in two men, a 73-year-old man Dutch by birth and a 40-year-old one Turkish by birth. In the former patient it was probably primary tuberculosis, in the latter secondary (he had lung tuberculosis as well). The clinical picture was highly suggestive of laryngeal carcinoma in both patients. They both recovered with chemotherapy. Laryngeal tuberculosis may mimic laryngeal carcinoma. The diagnosis is based on Ziehl-Neelsen staining, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Because laryngeal tuberculosis is highly infectious, the patient has to be nursed in isolation and people in his or her environment have to be screened. The response of laryngeal tuberculosis to chemotherapy is good.     

A mixed disulfide bond in bacterial glutathione transferase: functional and evolutionary implications

BACKGROUND: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a multifunctional group of enzymes, widely distributed in aerobic organisms, that have a critical role in the cellular detoxification process. Unlike their mammalian counterparts, bacterial GSTs often catalyze quite specific reactions, suggesting that their roles in bacteria might be different. The GST from Proteus mirabilis (PmGST B1-1) is known to bind certain antibiotics tightly and reduce the antimicrobial activity of beta-lactam drugs. Hence, bacterial GSTs may play a part in bacterial resistance towards antibiotics and are the subject of intense interest. RESULTS: Here we present the structure of a bacterial GST, PmGST B1-1, which has been determined from two different crystal forms. The enzyme adopts the canonical GST fold although it shares less than 20% sequence identity with GSTs from higher organisms. The most surprising aspect of the structure is the observation that the substrate, glutathione, is covalently bound to Cys 10 of the enzyme. In addition, the highly structurally conserved N-terminal domain is found to have an additional beta strand. CONCLUSIONS: The crystal structure of PmGST B1-1 has highlighted the importance of a cysteine residue in the catalytic cycle. Sequence analyses suggest that a number of other GSTs share this property, leading us to propose a new class of GSTs - the beta class. The data suggest that the in vivo role of the beta class GSTs could be as metabolic or redox enzymes rather than conjugating enzymes. Compelling evidence is presented that the theta class of GSTs evolved from an ancestral member of the thioredoxin superfamily.