Anaesthetists, the discourse on patient fitness and the organisation of surgery

The organization of daily procedures within the operating theatre is considered in terms of rival perspectives on their patient held by surgeon and anaesthetist. The privileging of the surgeon's authority is challenged in anaesthetists' efforts to fabricate a distinctive position on the patient. While surgeons focus on patient as the carrier of disease, for the anaesthetist, the focus is upon the patient's complement of fitness. A postmodern analysis of the organization of surgery reflects the continual struggle between the two specialisms to privilege its particular definition of the surgical patient. In some circumstances, the struggle can have damaging consequences for patient care.     

Event-related potentials elicited during a visual Go-Nogo task in adults with phenylketonuria.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine the nature of previously reported deficits in sustained attention and response inhibition in adults with the developmental disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU). METHODS: This study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the performance of PKU adults (n=9) and a matched control group (n=9) on a visual Go-Nogo task. RESULTS: Comparison of behavioural measures between the PKU and control groups failed to reach statistical significance, yet analysis of the ERPs showed statistically significant amplitude reductions in the P1 and N1 components elicited following presentation of stimuli, and a reduction in the amplitude of the N2 component elicited following presentation of Nogo stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that adults with PKU, despite being continuously treated from birth, manifest subtle impairments in distinct aspects of information processing including early sensory processing of visually presented information, as well as impairments in inhibitory functions. SIGNIFICANCE: The results contribute to an understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms that are implicated in PKU and highlight the sensitivity of ERP techniques for the identification of the loci of information processing deficits in clinical groups.     

Effects of group socialization procedures on the social interactions of preschool children

We investigated the effects of group socialization procedures on the social behavior of preschool children in two studies. Group socialization procedures consisted of teachers using antecedent and consequent events to promote social interaction during children's games. During intervention, teachers discussed friendship with the children and then prompted and praised child-child social responding within the context of games. Children's social behavior was assessed during two sessions, group game periods (i.e., intervention sessions) and nonintervention play periods (i.e., generalization sessions). In both studies, a multiple baseline design across two target children and peers in their respective group was used to evaluate the effects of group socialization procedures. During group game periods, after intervention, target children increased their rates of both prompted and unprompted social interactions with peers. Also, in nonintervention play periods, target children improved both the rate and the duration of their social responding with peers. Results indicated that group socialization procedures were a practical and effective method for improving young children's social interaction during both structured games and unstructured play activities.