A triaxial dynamometer to monitor lateral bending and axial rotation moments during static trunk extension efforts.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to describe a new static triaxial dynamometer designed to monitor the lateral bending and axial rotation moments during trunk extension efforts.

Background: Most studies on back muscle function using electromyographic spectral analysis have not controlled moments produced about the three orthopaedic axes during trunk extension efforts. Criteria to control lateral bending and axial rotation moments during extension efforts have not been proposed in the literature.

An application of pattern recognition for the comparison of trunk muscles EMG waveforms between subjects with and without chronic low back pain during flexion-extension and lateral bending tasks.

The purpose of the study was twofold: (1) to evaluate the reliability of distance measures computed from a principal component analysis (PCA) of electromyographic (EMG) waveforms of trunk muscles recorded during standardized trunk movements and (2) to evaluate their sensitivity to the load lifted, the trunk range of motion (ROM) and to low back status. Thirty-three male subjects (18 normals, 15 suffering from non specific CLBP) aged between 35-45 years participated. The EMG signals from 12 trunk muscles and the kinematics of trunk segments were recorded during 12 tasks.

The role of computational models in neuropsychological investigations of language: reply to Ruml and Caramazza (2000).

W. Ruml and A. Caramazza's (2000) analysis of the model of normal and aphasic lexical access proposed by G.

Dietary vitamin K intakes are associated with hip fracture but not with bone mineral density in elderly men and women.

Background: Vitamin K has been associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and risk of hip fracture. The apolipoprotein (apo) E4 allele (APOE*E4) has been associated with bone fracture through a putative effect on vitamin K transport in blood.

Objective: The objective was to determine the associations between vitamin K intake, apo E genotype, BMD, and hip fracture in a population-based cohort of elderly men and women.

A comparison of visits and practices of nurse-midwives and obstetrician-gynecologists in ambulatory care settings.

With more than 5 million patient visits annually, certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) substantially contribute to women's health care in the United States. The objective of this study was to describe ambulatory visits and practices of CNMs, and compare them with those of obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs). Sources of population-based data used to compare characteristics of provider visits were three national surveys of CNMs and two National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys of physicians.

The effect of load on the coordination of the trunk for subjects with and without chronic low back pain during flexion-extension and lateral bending tasks.

Objective: To evaluate if patients move their trunk sections differently than normal subjects and to determine if these differences increase when lifting a load.

Design: Comparative study using a repeated measures design.

Background: Many studies demonstrate a modification of the lumbar-pelvic rhythm for chronic low back pain patients but the large variability of the results impair the discrimination power.

The comparison of trunk muscles EMG activation between subjects with and without chronic low back pain during flexion-extension and lateral bending tasks.

The purpose of the study was to compare the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trunk muscles between normal subjects and chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients during standardized trunk movements. Thirty-three male subjects (18 normals, 15 suffering from non specific CLBP) aged between 35 and 45 yr participated. A biomechanical analysis involving the recording of EMG signals from 12 trunk muscles, the kinematics of trunk segments and the computation of L5/S1 moments was performed.

The influence of trunk modelling in 3D biomechanical analysis of simple and complex lifting tasks.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate different methods of estimating the body segment parameters and different methods of partitioning the trunk in order to reduce errors in the inverse dynamic analysis of lifting tasks.

Design: The same data set was used to evaluate moment errors associated to five linked models differing by the way the trunk was modelled.

Background: The inverse dynamic analysis of complex lifting tasks involving significant lower limb displacements requires the use of upper body linked models.

Analysis of the dynamic mutation in the SCA7 gene shows marked parental effects on CAG repeat transmission.

The gene for spinocerebellar ataxia 7 (SCA7) includes a transcribed, translated CAG tract that is expanded in SCA7 patients. We have determined expansions in 73 individuals from 17 SCA7 kindreds and compared them with repeat lengths of 180 unaffected individuals. Subjects with abnormal expansions comprise 59 clinically affected individuals and 14 at-risk currently unaffected individuals predicted to carry the mutation by haplotype analysis.

Characteristics of nurse-midwife patients and visits, 1991.

Objectives: This study describes the patient populations served by and visits made to certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) in the United States.

Methods: Prospective data on 16,729 visits were collected from 369 CNMs randomly selected from a 1991 population survey. Population estimates were derived from a multistage survey design with probability sampling.

Administrative data for quality improvement.

This article discusses the use of administrative data for quality improvement in perinatal and neonatal medicine. We review the nature of administrative data and focus on hospital discharge abstract data as the primary source of hospital- and community-based assessments. Although discharge abstract data lack the richness of primary data, these data are the most accessible comparative data source for examining all patients admitted to a hospital.

First Report of Fusarium solani Canker and Wilt Symptoms on Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in Quebec, Canada.

Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., causing wilt of leaves and twigs in the crown and annual cankers on trunks and branches of red oak (Quercus rubra L.

Comparison of the effects of transfusions of cryopreserved and liquid-preserved platelets on hemostasis and blood loss after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the clinical effects and hemostatic efficiency of transfusions of platelets preserved in the frozen state for as long as 2 years with transfusions of platelets preserved in the conventional manner for as long as 5 days in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Methods: Seventy-three patients were prospectively randomly assigned to receive transfusions of cryopreserved or liquid-preserved platelets. Nonsurgical blood loss was measured during and after the operation.

Demographic Studies from a National Gaucher Disease Screening Program.

In May 1993, the National Gaucher Foundation initiated a nationwide Gaucher disease screening program in an attempt to promote recognition of the disease and to detect previously undiagnosed individuals. The program was based on self-selection by clinical symptoms of individuals who wanted to be tested for Gaucher disease. Information about symptoms, age, ancestry, gender, and family history was obtained via a self-report screening form completed by 700 individuals.

Laminin alpha2 muscular dystrophy: genotype/phenotype studies of 22 patients.

Objective: To determine the number of primary laminin alpha2 gene mutations and to conduct genotype/phenotype correlation in a cohort of laminin alpha2-deficient congenital muscular dystrophy patients.

Background: Congenital muscular dystrophies (CMD) are a heterogeneous group of muscle disorders characterized by early onset muscular dystrophy and a variable involvement of the CNS. Laminin alpha2 deficiency has been reported in about 40 to 50% of cases of the occidental, classic type of CMD.

The relationship between seizure frequency, seizure type and quality of life: findings from three European countries.

Understanding the relationship between seizure frequency, seizure type and scores obtained from quality of life (QOL) measures is important if the incorporation of QOL measures into epilepsy clinical trials is to become standard practice. There is also a need to consider cross-cultural differences obtained from QOL measures, particularly in the context of multicentre international trials. In this study, 300 patients recruited from UK, Germany and France completed the Functional Status Questionnaire (FSQ); information about patients' clinical and demographic status was also collected.

Relationship between seizure frequency and costs and quality of life of outpatients with partial epilepsy in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Purpose: The relationship between seizure frequency and both health care costs and quality of life (QOL) was investigated in a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Methods: Three hundred outpatients with stable partial epilepsy were approximately evenly distributed among five seizure-frequency groups, ranging from seizure-free in the last 3 months (group 1) to daily seizures (group 5). Economic data, obtained through patient interviews and record abstraction, comprised direct medical costs, direct nonmedical costs, and indirect costs for the preceding 3 months.

Pichia ohmeri fungemia.

A patient with a history of diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, previous renal transplantation, and multiple hospital admissions for recurrent pancreatitis was transferred to the hospital from a chronic care facility because of fever and severe epigastric discomfort. At the time of admission, she was receiving hyperalimentation through a central venous TPN catheter. Multiple blood cultures obtained on the first and second hospital days yielded pure cultures of the yeast, Pichia ohmeri.

A novel potassium channel gene, KCNQ2, is mutated in an inherited epilepsy of newborns.

Idiopathic generalized epilepsies account for about 40% of epilepsy up to age 40 and commonly have a genetic basis. One type is benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC), a dominantly inherited disorder of newborns. We have identified a sub-microscopic deletion of chromosome 20q13.

Lexical access in aphasic and nonaphasic speakers.

An interactive 2-step theory of lexical retrieval was applied to the picture-naming error patterns of aphasic and nonaphasic speakers. The theory uses spreading activation in a lexical network to accomplish the mapping between the conceptual representation of an object and the phonological form of the word naming the object. A model developed from the theory was parameterized to fit normal error patterns.

The origins of formal paraphasias in aphasics' picture naming.

Accounts of spoken word production differ on whether aphasics' formal paraphasias derive solely from segmental distortion or whether some derive instead from whole word substitution. Form-related paraphasias produced by nine aphasics during picture naming were examined for evidence of lexical effects (word, frequency, and grammatical class biases) and for the manner in which target phonemes and word shape were preserved. Preservation patterns were consistent with previous descriptions of aphasic and nonaphasic form-related speech errors.

Margarine intake and subsequent coronary heart disease in men.

Margarine is a major source of trans fatty acids, the intake of which has risen since the early 20th century. Some data indicate that consumption of trans fatty acids increases the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). In 1966-1969, 832 men from the Framingham Study, age 45-64 years and free of CHD, were administered a single 24-hour dietary recall, from which we estimated total daily margarine intake.