Statistical analysis of gait patterns of persons with cerebral palsy

Patients at Boston's Children's Hospital diagnosed as having cerebral palsy were filmed walking. These films were digitized and translated into measurements associated with leg motion. In this paper we use the gait measurements of 128 such patients to illustrate that the kth nearest neighbour clustering procedure results in a gait typology for patients with cerebral palsy. The procedure identifies four subpopulations from the sample data; the membership of a patient within this typology is mostly determined by the patient's motor control. The developed typology differs from the present diagnostic system which classifies a cerebral palsy patient as either quadriplegic, diaplegic or hemiplegic.     

A comparison of Nd:YAG laser damage thresholds for PMMA and silicone intraocular lenses

Power density producing damage at a probability of 0.5 (ie, damage threshold, DT-50) was determined for PMMA (with/without UV absorber) and Silicone intraocular lenses. Scattered light from a collinear diagnostic He:Ne beam was one of four damage monitors deployed to enhance the sensitivity of the system. In order of increasing laser resistance the following results were obtained: injection molded PMMA (1.9/GW/cm2) Silicone (2.63 GW/cm2) Lathe-cut PMMA (4.47 GW/cm2), Lathe-cut PMMA with UV absorber (8.32 GW/cm2), Cast-molded PMMA (12.30 GW/cm2). An analysis of variance revealed interclass differences significant at the .01 level. Cast-molded PMMA was the most laser-resistant IOL material.     

THE RELEVANCE OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY

ABSTRACT The claims made for the contribution of Evolutionary Psychology to psychotherapy are questioned. The relevance of human evolutionary history is not disputed, but it is argued that insufficient account is taken of the unique features of human beings, that the polemical attacks made on the social and human sciences are irrational, that the hypothetical reconstructions of human evolution are frequently arbitrary and biased, and that the extent to which evolved innate'mentalities'are said to determine social roles ignores the evidence for the plasticity of human brains and for social influences in individual development. In its consistent bias in favour of innate rather than learned and culturally formed processes and in its language and assumptions EP underestimates the inherited and acquired capacities of human societies and individuals to change. It fails to take adequate account of the key evolutionary development whereby humans became symbol-making and symbol-using social animals whose individual psychological development involves processes, the understanding of which requires a new theoretical perspective. These features, combined with the absence of a clear model of practice, seriously limit the contribution of EP to psychotherapy.     

Breast pump adverse events: reports to the food and drug administration.

Breast pumps are medical devices used to express milk and maintain the milk supply. The purpose of this study was to characterize adverse events reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on breast pumps. Thirty-seven adverse event reports on breast pumps were identified from the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database between 1992 and 2003. Four additional reports were found in the Device Experience Network database from 1992 to 1996. The most commonly reported adverse events for electric breast pumps were pain, soreness, or discomfort; the need for medical intervention; and breast tissue damage. Most frequently reported problems for manual breast pumps were breast tissue damage and infection. Contamination of breast milk during pumping was also reported. Breast pump adverse events are likely underreported to the FDA. Reporting adverse events is important for improving the design and manufacture of breast pumps and subsequently decreasing adverse events.     

'THOUGH THIS BE MADNESS YET THERE IS METHOD IN'T'1

ABSTRACT Freud's paper on the Schreber Case is considered from a contemporary perspective drawing on the object relations theorists. Some of Winnicott's ideas are used to illustrate how one might understand Schreber's predicament today. Although Freud's views on the role of repressed homosexual longings in the aetiology of Schreber's illness are not endorsed his prescience in the search for meaning in the patient's discourse is applauded.     

Therapeutic potpourri

Many older treatments should not be discarded because of newer modalities. Various dermatologic disorders may be controlled effectively by prescribing these older topical agents.