Analysis of a modified active knee extension test.

When this study was conducted, the authors were pursuing Master of Science degrees in physical therapy, orthopaedic and sports medicine, at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA. Hamstring injuries occur and reoccur at high rates in the athletic population. The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of contralateral hip flexion on pelvic rotation in the sagittal plane and ipsilateral active knee extension during a modified active knee extension test. Twenty-seven normal subjects were tested, yielding 54 sets of data. Active knee extension was performed in five positions of contralateral hip flexion and was videotaped. Measurements of pelvic and knee joint angles were obtained from the film. The results indicated the least amount of pelvic rotation was 5.5 degrees , which occurred at maximum contralateral hip flexion. Analysis of variance revealed a difference between test positions that was statistically significant for pelvic rotation and knee extension (p < .05). Pelvic rotation can be effectively controlled during an active knee extension test by maximally flexing the contralateral hip. The active knee extension test can be used as an accurate assessment tool to evaluate hamstring muscle length. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1992;15(3):141-146.

Contextual quick-learning and generalization by humans and machines.

In a previous study (1994 Network: Comput. Neural Syst. 5 203-27) we compared human quick-learning and generalization (quick modelling) with that of neural nets (feedforward architectures), symbolic algorithms (decision tree procedures), and pattern classifiers (truth-set descriptors). Those studies raised the question of the role of context in the nature and rapidity of human learning. Here we address that issue in the setting of the same basic experiment (Quinlan classification problem) used for the previous studies. A major implication of our findings is that humans overwhelmingly seek, create, or imagine context in order to provide meaning when presented with abstract or apparently incomplete or contradictory or otherwise untenable situations.

The emergency medicine training needs of rural general practitioners.

This study aimed to identify the emergency medicine training needs of rural general practitioners (GPs) in the catchment area of the Hunter Rural Division of General Practice. The GPs were surveyed using a questionnaire in which they were asked about their confidence levels in a number of specific emergency medicine skills, and about the areas of emergency medicine that they saw as priorities for upskilling. More than a third of GPs who were responsible for on-call work at the hospital indicated that they had low levels of confidence in a number of their emergency medicine skills, in particular skills relating to paediatric emergencies, cardiovascular emergencies, and respiratory emergencies. These emergency medicine domains were also seen as high priorities for upskilling by the majority of the respondents. The study shows that rural doctors need the opportunity to access emergency medicine training that provides upskilling not only in the management of clinical problems, but also in practical procedures.