Primary reconstruction of open depressed skull fractures with titanium mesh

Open skull fractures have been traditionally managed in 2 stages: urgent craniotomy and elevation of the fracture with removal of contaminated bone, debridement, and delayed cranioplasty. Primary, single-stage repair of these injures has been said to entail risks such as infections. Recent experience, however, disproved these concerns.We used a primary single-stage reconstruction for patients presenting with open depressed skull fractures. All patients received antibiotic prophylaxis. The patients underwent elevation of the compound fracture and craniotomy if necessary. Debridement was performed, followed by skull reconstruction using a 0.6-mm titanium mesh.We present 5 consecutive male patients (age, 32.2 +/- 15.6 years) who underwent primary reconstruction of open depressed skull fractures. Clinical and radiologic follow-up was performed 2 months after surgery. The duration of the surgery was 2 +/- 1.6 hours. The size of the implanted mesh was 13 +/- 13.1 cm. No infection was detected in our series, with a follow-up period of 22 +/- 6.5 months (range, 16-29 months). The cosmetic result was defined in 4 patients as "excellent" and in 1 patient as "good."Primary reconstruction of open skull fractures with titanium mesh is feasible, safe, and cosmetically preferable than the conventional staged approach. The introduction into clinical practice can be warranted.

ANIMATED TRANSITION IN SIMILARITY-BASED TILED IMAGE LAYOUT

Effective techniques for organizing and visualizing large image collections are in growing demand as visual search gets increasingly popular. iMap is a treemap representation for visualizing and navigating image search and clustering results based on the evaluation of image similarity using both visual and textual information. iMap not only makes effective use of available display area to arrange images but also maintains stable update when images are inserted or removed during the query. A key challenge of using iMap lies in the difficult to follow and track the changes when updating the image arrangement as the query image changes. For many information visualization applications, showing the transition when interacting with the data is critically important as it can help users better perceive the changes and understand the underlying data. This work investigates the effectiveness of animated transition in a tiled image layout where the spiral arrangement of the images is based on their similarity. Three aspects of animated transition are considered, including animation steps, animation actions, and flying paths. Exploring and weighting the advantages and disadvantages of different methods for each aspect and in conjunction with the characteristics of the spiral image layout, we present an integrated solution, called AniMap, for animating the transition from an old layout to a new layout when a different image is selected as the query image. To smooth the animation and reduce the overlap among images during the transition, we explore different factors that might have an impact on the animation and propose our solution accordingly. We show the effectiveness of our animated transition solution by demonstrating experimental results and conducting a comparative user study.

Complete arterial revascularization in multivessel coronary artery disease with 2 conduits (skeletonized grafts and T grafts)

BACKGROUND: Complete arterial CABG is a surgical option to improve long-term results in the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). Harvesting of multiple arterial grafts is commonly associated with prolonged operating times and increased trauma. By use of new operative techniques (skeletonized grafts and the T-graft approach), CABG in multivessel CAD is now possible with only 2 grafts. We present our experience in the use of these techniques on a routine basis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between March 1996 and September 1999, 490 patients (aged 61+/-9 years, 20% female) underwent complete arterial CABG. Left ventricular ejection fraction ranged from 15% to 85% (mean 59+/-15%). Triple-vessel disease was present in 88% of the patients. The incidence of diabetes mellitus was 32% (14% insulin dependent). Either both internal thoracic arteries (ITAs) (23%) or the left ITA and radial artery (77%) were used as conduits. In 85% of the patients, a T graft was created. Mean operating time was 198+/-46 minutes; bypass time, 82+/-25 minutes; and ischemic time, 58+/-22 minutes. Two to 7 (mean 4.1+/-0.9) anastomoses were performed per patient. Perioperative intra-aortic balloon pump was necessary in 12 patients (2.4%). The rate of perioperative myocardial infarction was 1.2%. Sternal complications occurred in 1. 0%, and in-hospital mortality was 2.2%. Postoperative coronary angiography in 172 patients (35%) documented excellent patency rates (left ITA 98.3%, right ITA 96.5%, and radial artery 96.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Complete arterial revascularization in multivessel CAD is possible with the use of only 2 grafts with good perioperative results. This approach allows for complete arterial CABG on a routine basis.

The Deprofessionalisation Thesis, Accountability and Professional Character

It is said that the deprofessionalisation of social work and other welfare occupations reduces workers' professional discretion and autonomy, and thus their capacity to act in the best interests of their client. Without necessarily regarding the deprofessionalisation thesis as conclusive, this paper will ask how the state's control of the role and task of social workers impacts on their role-implicated obligations as professionals. If workers are reduced (as claimed) to the status of mere functionaries in systems they neither approve of nor control, does this exonerate them from bad outcomes or service failures? How should we view the dramatic increase in formal regulation now seen in the UK - as professionalisation or deprofessionalisation? The paper will argue that whatever the drift of policy, workers remain in some measure personally accountable. Service failures imply faults of practical reason that are partly attributable to the moral and intellectual character of professionals as individuals. It is therefore up to professionals, and their organisations, to attend to the improvement of professional character.

Eine neue Schrift für die Wolof-Sprache

Ich möchte mich zuerst bei allen bedanken, die Interesse an Schriften in Afrika entwickelt haben. Aufrichtiger Dank richtet sich daher an Helma Pasch und Anja Kootz für ihre bemerkenswerten Bemühungen. Vielen Dank auch an alle, die zur Verwirklichung der Tagung „5000 Jahre Schrift in Afrika“ beigetragen haben. Insofern geht ein besonderer Dank an die Fritz-Thyssen-Stiftung, den Förderer der Tagung.

Comment to the book review by Amani Lusekelo / Kommentar zur Rezension von Amani Lusekelo / Commentaire à l récension d'Amani Lusekelo 2009

Mpendwa Amani, Nashukuru sana kwa maoni yako juu ya kitabu changu. Nakubaliana sana na wewe juu ya dhamira ya ubepari ndani ya muktadha wa mashindano ya urembo. Lakini sikutafiti mashindano yanayotokea bara -- utafiti huo ni wa Sabrina Billings (sitaki kuonekana kama nilifanya utafiti huo - nimesoma tasnifu yake ambayo ni nzuri sana). Billings amechapisha utafiti wake hivi karibuni katika Language in Society (2009).

The sociolinguistic situation of ǂHoan, a moribund 'Khoisan' language of Botswana

In 2010, we conducted a sociolinguistic survey on the moribund 'Khoisan' language ǂHoan (Ju-ǂHoan), spoken in Botswana at the fringe of the Kalahari Desert. The survey aimed at investigating language use, degrees of multilingualism and language attitude among the ǂHoan speakers. Data collection was done on the basis of a questionnaire. We found that the positive language attitude of individuals towards ǂHoan often conflicts with the community's attitude towards this language, resulting in a split of actual language use between the family and more formal situations. All ǂHoan speakers are at least bilingual speaking the local lingua franca Kgalagadi (Bantu) besides ǂHoan. Most of them are in fact even trilingual, speaking Gǀui (Khoe-Kwadi) in addition to ǂHoan and Kgalagadi. Most of our results stand in line with an earlier sociolinguistic survey on ǂHoan by Batibo (2005a) which was carried out in 2003. In comparing Batibo's results to ours, changes in the sociolinguistic situation of ǂHoan as well as differences between the different villages will be pointed out.