Search

Instrumented helmets have been used to estimate impact acceleration imparted to the head during helmet impacts. These instrumented helmets may not accurately measure the actual amount of acceleration experienced by the head due to factors such as helmet-to-head fit.To determine if an accelerometer attached to a mouthpiece (MP) provides a more accurate representation of headform center of gravity (HFCOG) acceleration during impact than does an accelerometer attached to a helmet fitted on the headform.Single-factor research design in which the independent variable was accelerometer position (HFCOG, helmet, MP) and the dependent variables were g and Severity Index (SI).Independent impact research laboratory.The helmeted headform was dropped (n = 168) using a National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) drop system from the standard heights and impact sites according to NOCSAE test standards. Peak g and SI were measured for each accelerometer position during impact.Upon impact, the peak g and SI were recorded for each accelerometer location.Strong relationships were noted for HFCOG and MP measures, and significant differences were seen between HFCOG and helmet g measures and HFCOG and helmet SI measures. No statistically significant differences were noted between HFCOG and MP g and SI measures. Regression analyses showed a significant relationship between HFCOG and MP measures but not between HFCOG and helmet measures.Upon impact, MP acceleration (g) and SI measurements were closely related to and more accurate in measuring HFCOG g and SI than helmet measurements. The MP accelerometer is a valid method for measuring head acceleration.

Objective: To evaluate function and disability in patients with fibromyalgia before and after participation in a functionally oriented, multidisciplinary, 8-wk treatment program. Design: A total of 23 patients who met American College of Rheumatology criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia were enrolled in the study. Outcome measures included: range of motion, 6-min walk test, a modified Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, a modified SF-36 Physical Functioning Scale, and the Fibromyalgia Health Assessment Questionnaire. Pretreatment and posttreatment scores were analyzed using paired t tests. Results: All subjects completed the program, and there were no reported injuries. Three subjects failed to complete the survey instruments at the conclusion of the study. Intention to treat analysis including these subjects was carried out but did not significantly change results. For the remaining subjects (n = 20), a significant improvement was found on the Physical Functioning Scale (P = 0.01). Trends toward improvement on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (P = 0.40) and Fibromyalgia Health Assessment Questionnaire (P = 0.14) were seen but did not achieve statistical significance. Range of motion testing revealed significant improvements in lumbar spine extension (P < 0.001), straight-leg raise (P < 0.001), cervical spine flexion (P < 0.01), cervical spine rotation (P < 0.05), and cervical spine side bending (P < 0.05). Distance traveled during the 6-min walk test increased significantly (P < 0.01), whereas perceived exertion as measured by the Borg scale did not change. There were no injuries or other adverse consequences of the program. Conclusions: This study utilized multiple functional outcome measures to demonstrate improved function and decreased disability in patients with fibromyalgia. Our patients reported significantly improved physical function after participation in the 8-wk intensive multidisciplinary treatment program. This progressive, functionally based exercise training program was well tolerated by all participants and outlines an effective exercise prescription for patients with fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia patients in this study responded favorably to a treatment program that focused on function instead of pain.

It has been demonstrated that embryo transfer during IVF treatment can be performed competently and successfully by nurses (Barber et al., 1996). The present study has examined the success of nurses in training using the standardized protocol of this Unit. Initially, three nurses (two experienced (training completed) and one inexperienced (training ongoing)) each performed 80 transfers, which were standardized to three embryos replaced per transfer. The study aimed to establish whether a standardized procedure was undertaken by the nurses and to assess the influence of one inexperienced nurse performing the procedure. A further study (study 2) was performed to assess the influence of three inexperienced nurses against three experienced nurses undertaking the same procedures. In study 1, the pregnancy rates were 27.5%, 38.8% and 40.0% and there was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy rates. In study 2, the pregnancy rates were 18.7%, 20.0% and 20.0% for the inexperienced nurses, and 26.3%, 30.0% and 32.5% for the experienced nurses. There was no significant difference in the clinical pregnancy rates within the inexperienced group or the experienced group. When the results of the three inexperienced nurses were grouped and were compared with those of the three experienced nurses, the pregnancy rates were 19.5% and 29.5%, respectively (P0.02). It has been shown that good clinical pregnancy rates can be achieved when nurses perform embryo transfer. There is no significant effect on clinical results when one nurse is in training; however, because of the expected learning curve, when three nurses train together a more significant effect is observed.

Epidemiologic studies link Kaposi's sarcoma with a sexually transmitted agent. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is likely to be that agent, but routes of transmission are poorly described. A seroepidemiologic study was conducted to determine whether HHV-8 is transmitted sexually between heterosexuals. Sera from 2718 patients attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic were tested for antibodies to HHV-8 and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Information on sex partners in the previous 12 months and past STDs were obtained by questionnaire. Relationships between possible risk factors and HHV-8 infection were assessed by logistic regression. Overall, seroprevalence of HHV-8 was 7.3%. Independent risk factors for HHV-8 in the whole group were homo/bisexuality and birth in Africa and, among homo/bisexual men, a history of syphilis and HSV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus seropositivity. Among heterosexuals there was no evidence for sexual transmission; the only independent risk factor for HHV-8 seropositivity was birth in Africa.

The aim of this article is to illustrate how notions of access and participation have been conceived and operationalized in the context of Australia's community broadcasting sector. It is based on a study that identified access and participation as one of a number of key elements of community broadcasting and then explored to what extent and in what form it (and the other key elements) might be evident in contemporary times. Three community radio stations were selected as case studies on the basis of their heterogeneity and a total of 42 interviews were conducted. The article first examines how various stakeholders have understood access and participation in the planning, introduction and development of community broadcasting, before illuminating current conceptions of both concepts by way of a cross-case analysis of the three radio stations. Findings from the cross-case analysis suggest certain pressures are conspiring to undermine the full expression of access and participation. The article confirms varying understandings and differing ways of operationalizing access and participation and, in doing so, suggests some potential concerns for policy makers and the sector's administrators and broadcasters.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of sexual mixing in a sexually transmitted disease clinic population stratified by country of birth. DESIGN: Prospective linked HIV serosurvey incorporating demographic and sexual risk data gathered by a doctor-administered questionnaire. SETTING: The Department of Genitourinary Medicine at St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK. SUBJECTS: Fifteen thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight heterosexuals who attended between April 1992 and February 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The degree of assortative (like-with-like) mixing, after stratification of the population by country of birth, of index patients, their parents and their sexual partners. RESULTS: Sexual mixing in this population of sexually transmitted disease clinic attenders is highly assortative when the CoB of parents (family origin) of index patients is taken into account. CONCLUSION: Our findings help to explain the low spread of heterosexual HIV infection in the UK to date, and may help future projections, and health targeting of those at risk. This model can be applied to other mixed population.

Computer-aided molecular modelling was once viewed as a rather specialised enterprise undertaken predominantly by protein crystallographers, but over the last ten years or so has become a key component in all research concerned with the relationships between molecular structure and function. The computing systems used not only provide the ideal means for storing, visualising and manipulating molecular structures, but also facilitate quantitative analyses and predictions of their properties and interactions. The following sections provide a general overview of the basic requirements and common methodologies involved in molecular modelling, including practical considerations and limitations of the various methods, together with specific illustrations of their utility as research tools. For further information the reader can consult Newman and Sproul for a comprehensive treatise on the principles and practice of interactive computer graphics [1]; Barrat & Mackay [2] for an account of some of the mathematics involved in molecular geometric measurements; and Clark [3] for detailed discussions of the methods employed in computational chemistry.

The study aimed to identify families with endometriosis and to document disease severity within the families and the clinical characteristics of the affected women.Two hundred and thirty women with surgically confirmed endometriosis in 100 families were identified. The families consisted of 19 mother-daughter pairs, 1 set of cousins and 56 sister pairs. There were 5 families with 3 affected sisters, 1 family with 5 affected sisters, and 18 families withor = 3 affected members in more than one generation. The mean age at the onset of symptoms and the mean age at surgical diagnosis was 22.1 +/- 8.8 SD (range 10-46) and 31.8 +/- 7.9 SD (range 15-56) years respectively. Seventy-nine women (34.3%) had revised AFS Stage I-II disease, and 151 (65.7%) had revised AFS Stage III-IV disease.The study confirms a familial tendency for endometriosis and supports the hypothesis that endometriosis has a genetic basis.

The City of Poughkeepsie, in southeast New York State, was founded in 1799 and, like many other older cities, it is largely served by a combined sewer system. …

In places where the population has shrunk, the average mortality is high compared with places in which the population has grown. The correlation between population change and all-cause standardised mortality ratios was –0·62 (p

The analysis by Sarah Giles and Sarah Shea of head injuries in nursery rhymes, which appeared in the “Findings” section of the 2003 Holiday Review, caught the attention of not only our regular readers, but also the lay media and general public. Many people, it seems, have an interest in nursery

Photograph by David Barlow This picture was taken in the left ventricle of a human heart, preserved by fixing in formalin under pressure. This …

New orbital elements for the giant primary components of 105 Herculis and Pi Cephei A are derived using radial velocities from Dominion Astrophysical Observatory coude plates. These data are combined with those of Harper (1925) in order to estimate the velocity amplitude of Pi Cephei A in the visual orbit of this triple system. Two models of this system are developed. In the first model, the unseen spectroscopic secondary component is a single main-sequence star, although this seems unlikely, while in the alternative model the unseen secondary component is itself double.

The educational justification for residential periods as part of social work and social service education is explored. The importance of clear acknowledgement and discussion of staff educational values, as an aid to planning and evaluating is emphasised. Suggestions are put forward about what can be achieved, factors influencing this, and the staff skills needed to make effective use of such periods.

The phallometric test, which makes possible measurement of penile responses to various stimulus configurations, was originally devised as a volumetric method (description of details: Freund. 1965: Freund et al. , 1965). However. Bancroft et al. (1966) replaced volume measurement by circumference measurement, using basically a Whitney (1949) type strain gauge. A similar device for circumference measurement had already been used by Fisher et al. (1965) for the assessment of erectile activity cycles during sleep. Other strain gauges for penile circumference measurement have been designed by Jovanovic (1967a, b). Johnson and Kitching (1968) and Barlow et al. (1970) and with the exception of McConaghy (1967) and Barr (1973), apparently all the authors who currently work with the phallometric test of erotic preference use circumference measurement instead of volume measurement. This substitution seems to imply that penile volume changes are closely parallelled by circumference changes, an assumption which may be warranted for gross penile responses but which may not hold at all for responses in the range of mild sexual arousal. Under these circumstances direct comparison of both kinds of measurement appeared to be necessary.

The use of the condom by male patients attending a clinic specialising in sexually transmitted diseases has been assessed over a period of six months. Condom users were divided into those who used them properly and invariably, and those who did not. In the group studied, correct use of the condom was associated with a significantly lower probability of acquiring gonorrhoea (P less than 0-001) and a significantly higher chance of there being no sexually transmitted disease diagnosed (P less than 0-0005). The diagnosis-rate of non-specific urethritis, however, did not differ among the groups.

(1) The cervico-ocular reflex (COR) in humans was measured while the subjects (n = 10) stood on a rotatable platform in a dark room with the head fixed by a stationary biteplate. Eye movements were measured in response to active and passive rotations about a vertical axis. (2) The COR gain (i.e., horizontal eye movement/amplitude of body rotation) was as great as 22% at low frequency of body rotation (0.025 Hz). With increasing frequency (e.g., at 0.4 Hz) the gain decreased to about 2%. (3) The phase angle of the eye movement ranged generally between -80 and -240 degrees with an average response around -180 degrees. (4) During active rotation, the COR response was similar to the responses measured during passive body rotation. (5) The principal conclusion drawn is that in normal adult humans the COR does not aid in stabilization of the image on the retina during passive or active body rotations. A theoretical function for the COR is presented and discussed.