Hearing in categories aids speech streaming at the "cocktail party".

Our perceptual system bins elements of the speech signal into categories to make speech perception manageable. Here, we aimed to test whether hearing speech in categories (as opposed to a continuous/gradient fashion) affords yet another benefit to speech recognition: parsing noisy speech at the "cocktail party." We measured speech recognition in a simulated 3D cocktail party environment.

First 100 cases at a low volume prostate brachytherapy institution: learning curve and the importance of continuous quality improvement.

Introduction: We report the first 100 patients who underwent prostate brachytherapy as monotherapy with 125I at an institution with moderate volume radical prostatectomy but low volume brachytherapy (<2 cases per month). Learning curve and quality improvement was assessed by way of achieving prescription dose targets.

Materials And Methods: From May 2002 to August 2006, 100 patients underwent prostate 125I brachytherapy monotherapy via preplanned approach.

The implementation of a pressure ulcer prevention program at St. Joseph's at Fleming.

In the summer of 2007, two fourth year nursing students were hired to implement a pressure ulcer prevention program at St. Joseph's at Fleming, a long term care facility in Peterborough. Under the guidance of the facility's Assistant Director of Resident Care, the nursing students selected the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario' (RNAO) best practice guideline for the Risk Assessment and Prevention of Pressure Ulcers to form the foundation upon which their program was built.

Personality, treatment choice and satisfaction in patients with localized prostate cancer.

Objectives: Radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiation (XRT) and brachytherapy (BTX) are the most commonly used treatments for localized prostate cancer. We studied whether patient personality influences treatment choice and overall treatment satisfaction.

Methods: From 1998 to 2002, 219 consecutive patients treated with RP (n = 74), XRT (n = 73), or BTX (n = 72) at our institution who remained free of biochemical recurrence were sent the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and a satisfaction/treatment participation questionnaire.

Indiana pouch stone formation caused by a long-forgotten metallic ball bearing.

The presence of a foreign body in the urinary tract may serve as a nidus for stone formation. A 40-year-old male was found on CT scan to have a 2.4 cm stone in his Indiana pouch urinary diversion.

Management of obstructing pulmonary broncholithiasis with three-dimensional imaging and holmium laser lithotripsy.

Major airway obstruction due to broncholithiasis produces significant morbidity, and management is difficult. Many of the patients are elderly and are not good candidates for surgical removal. Bronchoscopic removal may be limited due to anatomic considerations, skill of the bronchoscopist, and exposure of the patient to additional procedural risks.

Urodynamic assessment of sphincteric function in the incontinent female: which test, and does it matter anyway?

The overall prevalence of urinary incontinence among women surveyed in the United States is approximately 37%. The lifetime risk of undergoing urinary incontinence surgery for women in the United States is estimated to be 11.1%.

Spontaneous dissolution of a guaifenesin stone.

Guaifenesin is a commonly used expectorant whose use may lead to the occasional formation of guaifenesin urinary stones. We herein describe a patient who was taking 2400 mg Guaifenesin per day as part of his treatment for asthma. He had a past history of a guaifenesin stone removed ureteroscopically.

Hyperbaric oxygen for the treatment of fournier's gangrene.

Purpose: Fournier's gangrene is a necrotizing fasciitis of the genitalia that is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Groups at many institutions have initiated routine adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. We examined whether HBO has made a difference in the morbidity, mortality and costs associated with treating this disease.

Practice patterns in the treatment of large renal stones.

Purpose: To determine the current practice patterns of a large group of urologists in the treatment of large renal stones.

Materials And Methods: A survey was sent to all actively practicing members of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association. The questions pertained to age, time in practice, type of practice, time devoted to treating stones, residency training, case scenarios with treatment options, and whether they or a radiologist performed percutaneous access.