bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nonunion of Olecranon Stress Fractures in Adolescent Baseball Pitchers
Authors: Rettig Arthur C. , Wurth Todd R. , Mieling Paul 
Published: July 2017

Background Adolescent athletes participating in overhead throwing sports suffer a variety of overuse elbow injuries, many of which have been well described in the literature. Nonunion stress fractures of the olecranon across the epiphyseal plate, however, have received little attention. Purpose To describe this unusual clinical entity in the differential diagnosis of the adolescent athlete with elbow pain and to demonstrate that operative treatment is an effective means of quickly and safely returning the patient to sporting activities. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods Five adolescent baseball pitchers (mean age, 15 years) who suffered chronic elbow pain and who were diagnosed with olecranon epiphyseal stress fracture nonunions were treated with open reduction and internal fixation using a 7.0 cancellous screw and washer with or without 18-gauge tension banding. Results Return to preoperative range of motion was achieved at a mean of 8.6 weeks (range, 3.4-16.6 weeks). Patients were clinically asymptomatic at a mean of 11 weeks (range, 7.7-13.6 weeks) after surgery. Radiographic evidence of stress fracture union was achieved at a mean of 15.4 weeks (range, 6.1-33 weeks), including 1 patient with a delayed union according to radiographs, which healed at 33 weeks. Patients were started on a light strengthening program at 5 to 7 weeks and a throwing progression program at 15.6 weeks (range, 6.4-28.1 weeks). All 5 patients were able to return to their previous level of activities, with a mean return time of 29.4 weeks (range, 18.9-40.4 weeks). Conclusion Surgical management of olecranon apophysis stress fractures provided excellent results with minimal complications in this series of 5 consecutive cases.
Effect of the Ace Inhibitor Ceronapril on Cerebral Blood flow in Hypertensive Patients
Authors: Cutler Neal R , Sramek John J , Luna Azucena , Mena Ismael , Brass Eric P , Kurtz Neil M , Brennan John J , Dalmady-Israel Christina , Vanier Marie-Claude 
Published: July 2017

Objective To assess the effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ceronapril on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with moderate hypertension. Design Patients received chlorthalidone 25 mg for 4 weeks, and if diastolic blood pressure remained in the range of 100–115 mm Hg, they were given titrated doses of ceronapril (10–40 mg/d based on blood pressure response) in addition to chlorthalidone for 9 weeks. Setting Outpatient research clinic. Subjects Eligible patients had moderate essential hypertension (diastolic blood pressure 100–115 mm Hg) assessed when the patients were receiving no medications. Thirteen patients were entered into the study; 1 withdrew for reasons unrelated to the study drug. Twelve patients (11 men, 1 woman; mean age 52 y) completed the study. Intervention Ceronapril, given with chlorthalidone. Main Outcome Measures CBF measurements were taken at the start and end of ceronapril therapy using intravenous 133Xe; blood pressures were determined weekly. Results Mean arterial blood pressure decreased from 130 ± 4 to 120 ±7 mm Hg after 4 weeks of chlorthalidone administration, and fell further to 108 ± 8 mm Hg after an additional 9 weeks of combined chlorthalidone-ceronapril therapy (p < 0.05). CBF fell from 44 ± 15 to 34 ± 5 mL/min/100 g during the 9 weeks of combined therapy (p = 0.05). No adverse effects consistent with decreased CBF were observed. The decrease in CBF was not linearly correlated with the change in systemic blood pressure, but was strongly correlated (r = –0.937; p < 0.001) with the initial CBF. Conclusions The decrease in mean arterial blood pressure was not associated with a decrease in CBF. Patients with high CBF may be predisposed to a decrease in CBF when treated with ceronapril and chlorthalidone.
Hypersensitivity Anaphylactoid Reaction to Pefloxacin in a Patient with Aids
Authors: Al-Hedaithy Mogbil A , Noreddin Ayman M , Mena Rafaela , Vanier Mare-Claude 
Published: July 2017

Objective To report a life-threatening anaphylactoid reaction to oral pefloxacin in a patient with AIDS and to review the pertinent literature. Case Summary A 32-year-old woman with AIDS developed an anaphylactoid reaction following a second exposure to oral pefloxacin. This reaction was characterized by severe hypotension, dizziness, itching, and fever. Discussion Fluoroquinolones are broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. They are used frequently in patients with AIDS for numerous indications, including treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex. Pefloxacin, a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone, was introduced in France in 1985. Since then, many patients with AIDS have been treated with this drug. Several cases of anaphylactoid reactions to ciprofloxacin have been documented in patients with HIV infection. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an anaphylactoid reaction to pefloxacin in a patient with AIDS. Conclusions There is a need for continued vigilance in the reporting of adverse drug reactions in patients with AIDS, especially with new drugs. Also, care must be taken in introducing drugs, including fluoroquinolones, to this patient population.
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
Authors: Gin Alfred S , Zhanel George G 
Published: July 2017

Objective To review vancomycin resistance in enterococci ( Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium) with respect to history, epidemiology, mechanism of resistance, and management. Data Sources A MEDLINE, IDIS, and current journal search of English-language articles on vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) published between 1982 and 1994 was conducted. Study Selection Studies and reports pertaining to vancomycin-resistant E.faecalis and E. faecium were evaluated. Case reports, cohort, epidemiologic, in vitro and in vivo studies were evaluated. Data Extraction Reports in which vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations were 32 μg/mL or more were evaluated. Data Synthesis Large outbreaks of VRE infection have occurred as a result of nosocomial spread. Such outbreaks have required intensive infection control procedures to limit the spread of VRE. Vancomycin resistance in E. faecalis and E. faecium has been subdivided into phenotypes, VanA and VanB. The mechanism of vancomycin resistance is caused by the production of depsipeptide D-Ala-D-Lac, which replaces D-Ala-D-Ala in the peptidoglycan pathway, thereby preventing the binding of vancomycin to D-Ala-D-Ala in the peptidoglycan cell wall. The vanA gene is associated with a transpositional element (Tn1546) that can be transferred via conjugation while most data suggest that vanB has an endogenous origin. Education, aggressive infection control practices, surveillance programs, and appropriate use of vancomycin are necessary to respond to the VRE problem. Conclusions The prevalence of VRE has increased significantly in recent years and has become a worldwide problem. Several factors, such as prior exposure to vancomycin and antibiotics (e.g., cephalosporins, antianaerobic agents), physical location in the hospital, immunosuppression, prolonged hospital stay, and VRE gastrointestinal colonization are associated with VRE infection and colonization. Antibiotic treatment of serious VRE infection depends on the phenotype. Optimal treatment of the VanA phenotype is unknown; the VanB phenotype may be treated with teicoplanin and an aminoglycoside.
Estimating Percentiles of Nonnormal Anthropometric Populations Final Report
Authors: Martz H. F. 
Published: July 2017

The most commonly used method for estimating percentiles of anthropometric populations is based on the assumption that the population is normally distributed. This assumption is approximately true for many such variables, e.g., hip breadth. On the other hand, numerous nonnormally distributed anthropometric populations are known to exist, e.g., grip strength. The question of how to estimate percentiles of nonnormal populations is addressed here. A nonparametric percentile estimation method, based on the use of a kernel-type probability density function estimator, is presented. A “nonparametric” method is defined as a method that does not make or require any assumption about the statistical distribution of the underlying population. Thus, the method can be applied to any population of anthropometric data, regardless of the normality of the data. The method is simple to use; however, a single nonlinear equation must be numerically solved on a computer by any one of numerous well-documented nonlinear root finding methods. Two examples are used to illustrate the method. In the first example, selected samples of size 50 of hip breadth data are randomly drawn from a population of size 2420 observations from the 1967 anthropometric survey of U.S. Air Force flying personnel. The proposed method is compared to the standard gaussian method. Since this population was selected as normally distributed, the standard method outperforms the proposed nonparametric method. In the case of grip-strength data, the proposed method yields more accurate estimates, in a mean squared error sense, of the upper percentiles of this population. For anthropometric distributions known to be nonnormal or where normality cannot be assumed, the proposed nonparametric method appears a method for consideration.
Relationship between Lifting Capacity and Injury in Occupations Requiring Lifting
Authors: Mital A. , Ayoub M. M. , Asfour S. S. , Bethea N. J. 
Published: July 2017

There are several factors which affect the lifting capacity. These factors can be categorized under the following: 1. individual characteristics, 2. task variables, and 3. environmental conditions. This paper presents the methods used to determine the lifting capacity for male and female industrial workers, as well as the models developed to predict this capacity under several conditions of the task variables (height level, frequency, and box size). Since overloading and underloading in manual materials handling is undesirable, field data were collected to investigate the effects of job demands on manual materials handling injuries. As opposed to the physiological approach, no difference was found in the lifting capacity due to age. While both weight and work rate are important, work rate was a more effective and logical single measure of back injuries or stress than weight.
Locating and Reducing Cognitive Load in Paced and Unpaced Tasks
Authors: Knight James L. , Salvendy Gavriel , Endicott Gary , Basila Barbara , Sharit Joseph 
Published: July 2017

Heart rate variability often decreases with increased cognitive load (Kalsbeek, 1971). Studies (Manenica, 1977) varying task pacing requirements unexpectedly revealed decreased SA in self-pacing (self-controlled intra-task event timing) compared to external-pacing (experimenter- or apparatus-controlled event timing). But why should self-pacing ever involve higher cognitive load? Since Ss must time events and otherwise monitor and structure their own performance in self- but not external-pacing, perhaps these responsibilities lead to higher cognitive load in self-pacing when work-rates are equated between self-and externally-paced conditions. Two experiments were conducted to examine possible sources of cognitive load in self-pacing. In Experiment II, an attempt was made to reduce cognitive load by providing new sources of extrinsic feedback on a visual display. In both studies physical work load was held constant across experimental conditions.
Information Content and Task Performance: A Study of the Older Worker
Authors: Kochhar Dev S. , Ali Hatem M. 
Published: July 2017

A study was conducted to investigate the variation in speed of performance and decision making ability with age. Twenty volunteers from local industry formed the subject group. Ten of these ranged in age from 52 to 63 years. The control group ranged in age from 18 to 29 years. The task performed involved decision making hand movement and positioning elements. Three levels of information load (2, 3 and 4 bits), four distances of move (7“, 10”, 13“ and 16”), and four levels of radial clearance (0.008“, 0.063”, 0.25“ and 0.75”) were taken as independent variables. The dependent variable, performance time, was composed of the decision and movement time components (DT and MT). In addition, heart rate was also monitored. It was found that age was a significant determinant of performance time (p ≤ .01). The components of performance time, i.e., decision and movement times were both significantly higher for the older subjects as compared to the younger ones (p ≤ .01) reflecting the fact that there is some natural slowing of psychomotor function with age in such combined manual and decision tasks. The information load and the distance of move were significant determinants of decision time and also of movement time (p < 0.01). The clearance was a significant determinant of movement time (p < 0.01). The difference between the older subjects and the younger subjects in decision time increased with an increase in the information load. An analysis of the performance errors for the self paced task indicated that the slowing among the older subjects was not observed at the expense of accuracy. The study provided no evidence that age has an effect on heart rate variability under different levels of information load and task difficulty.
Human Factors in the Design of Effective Product Warnings
Authors: Dorris Alan L. , Purswell Jerry L. 
Published: July 2017

Warning messages for product use are important for the safety of the user and to fulfill the legal duty to warn on the part of the manufacturer. A number of issues related to the design of such warnings have been neglected by human factors specialists. The studies that have been done have been primarily for private companies or in conjunction with litigation after an accident has occurred. Thus, little is available in the open literature. This paper points out some related behavioral work which has been published and outlines the problems associated with designing effective product warnings. Suggestions are made for further research.
Environmental Stressors as Causal Factors for Driver Fatigue
Authors: Romansky Michael L. , Plummer Ralph W. , Neumann Edward S. 
Published: July 2017

The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate the relative effects of a moderate or suboptimal level of environmental heat and noise stress on individuals by utilizing performance and nonperformance parameters. Twenty-five male undergraduate and graduate students attending West Virginia University volunteered as subjects for this laboratory study. Each subject was isolated in a specially constructed chamber. Heat and noise were designated as the two independent variables used in the investigation. The effects of both variables on five dependent measures were evaluated for a nonstress condition and for a stress condition. Four physiological variables, which included heart rate, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid level were used to assess the level of psychophysiological arousal or activation attributed to the heat and noise stress. Task performance was measured in the form of reaction time to a visual stimulus. The data analyses revealed the influential effects of the two environmental test conditions. Relative to the nonstress condition, values for heart rate, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroid level were significantly greater for the stress condition. Continuous exposure to the stress condition precipitated an increase in the level of psychophysiological arousal. Reaction times to the visual display were significantly greater for the stress condition than for the nonstress condition. The decrement in task performance occurred cumulatively over the duration of the experiment.
Development and Application of a Task Taxonomy for Tactical Flying
Authors: Meyer Robert P. , Laveson Jack I. , Pape Gary L. , Edwards Bernell J. 
Published: July 2017

The data base for this taxonomy was obtained from the task analysis of sixteen basic fighter maneuvers. The next step was the development of nine classification rules designed to process these analyses into usable data for the taxonomic system. The taxonomic system allowed the task and skill information within the structure to be sorted, organized, and compared in a variety of combinations which can be useful to the training specialist. The taxonomic system thus permitted a number of applications. Basic skill comparisons were made across tasks and permitted the identification of skill criticality for specific training objectives. The frequency, complexity, and sequencing of specific skills required for various selected maneuvers were also compared and common elements identified. The system was also used to analyze the skills within a given group of tasks in order to design a single standard task which would contain a high percentage of skills identical to those of a given task group.
Two-Dimensional Spatial Frequency Content and Confusions among Dot Matrix Characters
Authors: Maddox Michael E. 
Published: July 2017

A two-phase study was conducted which related the confusions among dot matrix characters to the two-dimensional spatial frequency similarity of these characters. During the first phase of the study, subjects were shown single alphanumeric characters from four different dot matrix fonts and five matrix size/character sub-tense combinations. Data from this phase of the research were analyzed in terms of both correctness and character confusion frequencies. The second phase of the study consisted of digitizing and analyzing all characters from two of the fonts used in the first phase. The fonts chosen represent the most and least confusable of the four, based on the performance data obtained. These characters were scanned photometrically using a computer-controlled X-Y stage and subjected to a 512 × 512 point fast Fourier transform (FFT). The Fourier coefficients were correlated for all possible character pairs within each font-matrix/character size cell. These correlations provided an objective similarity measure among characters based upon their 2-D spatial frequency spectra. In addition to the spatial frequency similarity measure, a simple digital Phi coefficient was calculated for each character pair. The final analysis performed in this study was the correlation of observed performance (confusions) with objective similarity measures (2-D spectra and Phi coefficients).
Is Image Quality Important?
Authors: Greening Charles P. 
Published: July 2017

The problem addressed by the study was to explore the feasibility of predicting air-to-ground target acquisition performance with electro-optical systems, based on “real world” data, in terms of specifiable, measureable, sensor image quality characteristics. The approach was to review flight test and simulator test results, rejecting those which did not permit comparison of different image qualities under similar conditions. The surviving data sets did not, in general, use comparable measures of either image quality or performance. Consequently, a review of the relevant measures of those variables was also made. To the limited extent permitted by the data, it can be stated that (1) poor image quality sets performance limits, and (2) further improvement of adequate imagery results in rapidly diminishing benefits.
Army Teams: Who are They and How Do They Function?
Authors: Finley Dorothy L. , Dyer Jean L. 
Published: July 2017

The Army Research Institute Field Unit at Fort Benning has initiated a long range research program in the areas of team training and evaluation. The focus is on small (2–11 persons), formally recognized. Army work teams in the combat and combat support branches. The overall research game plan is to concentrate on identifying: (1) What it is that constitutes team, as opposed to individual, performance; (2) Which of these team performance skills can be modified by training and also serve to determine team output; (3) Analytic and assessment techniques for identifying and evaluating these skills; and (4) Team training techniques appropriate for Army conditions. The anticipated final research products include Instructional Systems Development (ISD) techniques and guidance regarding team training program development, team performance assessment techniques, and improvement and/or development of selected team training and assessment programs. The purpose of this presentation is to report on two steps that have been accomplished in this program thus far. The first of these is the development of an inventory of Army teams. The second is a preliminary identification of what constitutes team performance at the functions level.
Evaluation by Mental Stress of Paced and Self-Paced Conditions on Simple Repetitive Tasks in Design of Optimum Working Speed
Authors: Kumashiro Masaharu , Hasegawa Tetsuya , Noro Kageyu 
Published: July 2017

Eight working speeds, conveyor-paced and self-paced, were established for a repetitive task with considerable difficulty in eye-hand coordination. The procedure for calculating pace allowances in this type of repetitive task was experimentally studied from the two angles of physiological and psychological functions of the subjects and quantative and qualitative variations of the task. The results obtained are as follows: (1) The maximum output speed under the self-paced condition was 125% of that when the subjects performed the task at their free pace. The quantative and qualitative performance of the subjects under the self-paced condition was better than that attained under the other conditions, but the physiological and psychological functions of the subjects lowered greatly 90 minutes after the start of the task. (2) When establishing the working speed for conveyor-paced operations, the basic time value calculated by the MTM procedure was satisfactorily used to set the standard speed per cycle. The time value obtained by the WF procedure, on the other hand, was not preferred in terms of both the performance and the physiological and psychological functions of the subjects.
The Human Engineering of Human Factors Procedures: Effective Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Evaluations
Authors: Talley Walter T. , Beith Danna , Haher Jessica , Amerson Thomas 
Published: July 2017

Practical methods and procedures which decrease the amount of time required to conduct an evaluation can be invaluable to human factors specialists as most are usually limited by economic and time constraints. Presented are the hypotheses that 1) the amount of effort required to collect survey data using checklist procedures is related to the quantities of controls and displays and is relatively independent of the system's operational complexities, and 2) the amount of effort required to conduct task analyses is related to the number of operators involved and the number of different ways in which operators interface with equipment, and is relatively independent of control and display quantities once these quantities reach a certain level. Procedures for collecting large quantities of data using checklists are described and the results of applying these procedures in a nuclear power plant control room where control board components exceeded 4000 instruments are discussed. The procedures used involved; 1) the development of a photographic mock-up of the control board, 2) serial numbering all components, 3) preparing component record sheets and discrepancy report forms prior to the evaluation, 4) modifying traditional checklists to a new format, and 5) revising the data collection methods for checklists.