[Hyperextension somersault trauma].

Neurological failure can occur as one feature of hyperextension trauma of the cervical spine. Apart from predisposing factors, such as dorsal osteophytes and congenital spinal stenosis, an acute narrowing of the spinal canal caused by a hyperextension somersault trauma can cause such a trauma. We observed three cases of paraplegic syndrome resulting from hyperextension somersault trauma of the cervical spine.

[Periodic local approximation for the model free description of measurement courses of biorhythmic processes--demonstration example for the selection of smoothness parameters].

Measured time series with known basic periodicity may be modelfreely evaluated by procedures of local adjusted approximation. Examples of motility time series recorded in chronobiological experiments in the seasonal course of a year demonstrate aspects of choosing values of the smoothing parameter and the resulting effects for the quantitative description of the measured variations as well as for their interpretation.

Creatine kinase in hypo- and hyperthyroid rats under consideration of the circadian oscillations.

Thyroxine level (T4) and total creatine kinase-activity (CK) were measured in serum samples from male Wistar-rats to investigate the relationships of serum titers after exposure to cold and thyroidectomy (TX). 72 hours exposure to cold (10 degrees C) produced a statistically significant elevation of T4 and a diminuation of CK-activity. In contrast to this protocol, TX (90 days after operations) reduced the T4 level and enhanced the CK-activity.

[Quantification of environmentally influenced differences in physical and mental development of infants by a phenomenologic-mathematical separation of the body length growth into growth spurts (author's transl)].

Retardation phenomena in the physical development--especially in the increase of body length--of infants taken care of in social institutions (day-nursery, week-nursery, residential nursery) in relation to those growing up in the family will be represented in a quantitative-analytical form on the basis of a phenomenologic-mathematical model. This kind of modelling consists in the separation into 7 successive growth periods (growth spurts) of the whole growth process during the time interval from conception until the age of 3 years. For the time interval from birth until the end of 3 years we have 4 such growth spurts.

[Quantitative mathematical evaluation of growth studies from the viewpoint of exogenously or genetically influenced variability].

Firstly, the ideas are sketched which serve as the basis for the phenomenologic-mathematical kind of modeling of the body length growth process of man. For proving the biological relevance of the spurts analyzed by numerical procedures one has to consider the social and the biological circumstances in which the growth process takes place. An analysis of longitudinal data series of the body length of (monozygotic) twins will give further hints to the possible meaning of the growth spurts by way of separation of exogenous and of genetic determined endogenous agents on the growth process.