OBJECTIVE: To identify geriatricians' attitudes toward assisting suicide of dementia patients, with particular reference to the case of Janet Adkins/Dr. Kevorkian. DESIGN: Mailed questionnaire survey. SETTING: Four distinct geographical regions of the US: Far West, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. PARTICIPANTS: All 1,381 ABIM-certified internist geriatricians in the four regions; 727 ...

Many, though certainly not all, breeders are becoming fairly knowledgeable about CHD and other joint problems. The veterinarian should encourage prevention through selective breeding and lead the client to further understanding of the disorders. Breeders need help in separating scientific evidence from insufficiently tested hypotheses based on testimonials. "Quick-and-easy" cures ...

There is renewed professional and popular interest in the questions surrounding the legality of assisted suicide. With the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Cruzan case, the legal questions will be determined by state courts and legislatures. This article examines the arguments underlying the claim for legalization of assisted suicide. ...

The orthopaedic scooter is an alternative to crutches. It gives the patient greater freedom on level smooth surfaces and uses less energy.

Physician assistants are required to take the clinical skills problems (CSP) portion of the National Certifying Examination administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician's Assistants (NCCPA). No comparable section exists in entry-level physician certification examinations because studies have shown that this type of examination is neither a valid ...

Persons afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or its preceding medical conditions face a potential problem with assured access to basic threshold medical care. Subject to certain limitations, there is no guarantee that a physician will fulfill the health care needs of any population of patients. Individuals with AIDS, ...

Recognition that malnutrition can be rooted in the social system was a key to success for the Iringa's Nutrition Programme (INP) assisted by Unicef and WHO. And this perception was in turn made possible by the development of a conceptual framework and problem-solving methodologies that promise to be valuable in ...

The genetic problems raised by assisted reproduction using donor gametes (AID) are numerous and often complex. They concern the legitimacy and the appropriate forms of genetic screening for both gamete donors and recipients; the identification of genetic indications justifying the use of this method of reproduction; and ascertainment of the ...

A fundamental issue in perception and communication is how continuously varying stimuli are partitioned into discrete categories. In swamp sparrow songs, note duration is a critical feature distinguishing two note categories with different roles in song construction. Pairs of songs with initial notes from different categories contrast more in their ...

Emergency department personnel are frequently asked to give advice to members of the community who telephone for advice or information about a wide variety of medical problems. A study was designed to determine the consistency and accuracy of directions given to adults who call EDs seeking advice about a problem. ...

Assistive devices, such as assistive listening devices, assistive alerting devices, and assistive signaling devices, play an ever-increasing role in the rehabilitation of hearing-impaired persons. These devices serve to alert a hearing-impaired person to changes in his or her environment that cannot be perceived auditorially, maximizing the person's hearing efficiency, enhancing ...

The ErecAid System is based on the simple concept of entrapment of blood in the penis following vacuum-assisted penile engorgement by proximally placed elastic constriction bands. The SYNERGIST Erection System is a semirigid external appliance shaped like a condom that is left on the penis after vacuum tumescence has been ...

Isasbest Ltd., an asbestos-cement factory in Israel, has established dust-preventive measures, maintained high ecological and medical standards, and assisted afflicted workers suffering from asbestos-related diseases. The problems of the handling of asbestos and its relationship to health should be approached according to the conditions in each specific workplace so that ...

An engineering approach to functional assessment has been utilized to assist the moderate-to-severely physically handicapped. These computer-aided assessments are directed at work, keyboard operation and driving. In order to improve the quality of life for this population, independent living systems, recreational and mobility aids, and automated retrieval systems for information ...

For two years we have made pronation splints to assist quadriplegic patients who lack adequate forearm pronation but who have enough upper extremity strength to feed themselves and perform other self-care or functional activities. We have found the splints to be an appropriate alternative to the MAS. The first pronation ...

The Inhal-Aid is a device that combines a reservoir aerosol delivery system, two one-way valves, and an incentive spirometer to assist in the delivery of medication from metered-dose inhalers. It appears to result in bronchodilatory effect that is similar to that obtained from (9) compressed air driven nebulizer. Further data ...

Ah Yuk Je is a successful Hakka Chinese spirit medium practicing in a small Chinese community in Malaysia. Her clientele consists largely of young children suffering from a culturally specific condition called haak geng or 'soul loss' and women concerned about infertility, prenatal problems and errant spouses. While in a ...

A commercially available caulking gun has been simply modified to accept a plastic syringe filled exactly to 50 ml, and this device acts as an aid to inflate temporary tissue-expander prostheses.

Individuals without extremity function and rectus abdominis control are at increased risk for respiratory obstruction, arrest and loss of ability to call for assistance. To assist distressed patients, a simple and reliable head controlled signaling mechanism was designed for electric wheelchair use. Components are available in most communities. By using ...

As the number of commercially available communication aids increases, determining an appropriate device for a particular client becomes more difficult. The development of systematic assessment procedures on which to base device recommendations has therefore become an important research problem. This report presents a set of assessment procedures developed by the ...

Intravas devices designed to reverse a vasectomy or to occlude the vasa instead of transecting them were evaluated in guinea pigs. Absorbable intravas devices (AID) were inserted into the vasa at the time of vasovasostomy and produced a return of normal semen quality in 73% of the experimental animals as ...

A multiplicative and additive formula has been developed for assisting in the development of schedules for airline pilots and flight engineers. The formula is based on freshness/tiredness data derived from aircrews on world flights. It should materially assist those who develop the schedules to avoid, where possible, finalizing those crew ...

With increasing frequency, state legislators have been proposing legislation which would permit euthanasia--the allowance of "death with dignity" --under certain circumstances. These proposals indicate varying degrees of awareness of the issues and problems involved in drafting euthanasia legislation. The Article focuses on such issues and problems, studies the methods proposed ...

The vacuum splint has been shown to be a simple, safe and effective method of emergency splinting of fractured extremities. The splint is simply constructed from clear vinyl sheeting and contains 2-mm. expanded polystyrene balls. Evacuation of air causes the splint to become rigid, thereby providing stability and immobilization of ...

Summary (En)

The importance of the stability problem for matrices of the special form called mammillary matrices has been noted by Hearon (1). The stability problem may be formulated in terms of the Liapounov matrix equation. A constructive procedure, dependent upon the particular structure of mammillary matrices, for the solution of the ...