Extracting information about the rotator cuff from magnetic resonance images using deterministic and random techniques.

We consider some methods to extract information about the rotator cuff based on magnetic resonance images; the study aims to define an alternative method of display that might facilitate the detection of partial tears in the supraspinatus tendon. Specifically, we are going to use families of ellipsoidal triangular patches to cover the humerus head near the affected area. These patches are going to be textured and displayed with the information of the magnetic resonance images using the trilinear interpolation technique. For the generation of points to texture each patch, we propose a new method that guarantees the uniform distribution of its points using a random statistical method. Its computational cost, defined as the average computing time to generate a fixed number of points, is significantly lower as compared with deterministic and other standard statistical techniques.

Twins in a child psychiatry clinic.

The authors found that 22 of the 2,015 referrals to a children's psychiatric clinic during a six-year period were twins--half the number that would be expected on the basis of the national incidence of twins. Evidence of minimal brain dysfunction was found in a higher percentage of the twins than in a matched nontwin group. The authors suggest that factors often inherent in twins (e.g., prematurity and birth difficulties) may be related to this finding.

A comparison of depression and physical illness in men and women.

A limited self-rating depression scale given to male and female factory workers indicated that subclinical depressive symptoms were correlated with visits to the factory health service for females and with absenteeism from work for males. In general, the females acknowledged more depression symptoms.

Twin relationships and depression.

The authors investigated closeness and other variables measuring depression in 22 identical and 13 fraternal twin pairs. Each twin rated him/herself on a two-part questionnaire; part 1 included questions on demographic characteristics and the twin relationship, and part 2, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, measured depressive symptoms. There was a high degree of agreement across all variables for the total sample, and degrees of depression were comparable to that in the general population. Closeness was found to be inversely correlated with depression. The authors suggest that future studies include other groups (siblings, spouses, etc.) and follow-up data.

Suicide attempts and ideation: adolescents evaluated on a pediatric ward.

This study compared psychological, familial, and demographic data for 42 suicidal, 16 suicide ideation, and 42 control pediatric patients. Chaotic families and behavior problems, as well as depression, constriction, and lack of insight, differentiated the suicide attempt group from the control group. The suicide ideation group was similar to both the control and suicide attempt groups and seen as "intermediate" between these two. In assessing lethality of the attempt, constriction was the only predictor differentiating the serious from less serious suicide attempt.

Gender identity in a group of retarded children.

The Michigan Gender Identity Test (MGIT) was administered to 52 retarded and 36 normal children to assess the acquisition of gender identity. This instrument required the ability to sort and categorize photographs of boys and girls wearing conventional clothing and with conventional hair-styles. As part of the test, each child was expected to recognize a self-photo and to be able to categorize it as a boy or a girl. In general, a significant correlation was found between MGIT performance and mental age for the retarded children. The performance of the normal children correlated significantly with both chronological age and mental age.

Child abuse disposition: concurrences and differences between a hospital team, child protection agency and the court.

Ninety-six children admitted to a pediatric ward for maltreatment are described statistically using variables characterizing the child, the family and the type of abuse. Recommendations of the hospital's child protection team in 81 cases are compared to those of the county childrens Services Board and the court. Multiple regression analysis is used to identify which variables influenced the decisions of these three agencies.