In a controlled, randomized trial in 45 cataract operations a new synthetic absorbable suture (8-0 monofilament Vicryl, made by Ethicon), was compared with monofilament nylon or virgin silk normally used. There was a higher incidence of early complications-hyphaema, shallow anterior chamber, and choroidal detachment (15-4 per cent v. 0 per cent)-with the absorbable suture. But these differences...

This paper provides a new explanation for tying that is not based on any of the standard explanations – efficiency, price discrimination, and exclusion. Our analysis shows how a monopolist sometimes has an incentive to tie a complementary good to its monopolized good in order to transfer profits from a rival producer of the complementary product to the monopolist. This occurs even when consumer...

A multivariate-state HMM | an HMM with a vector state variable | can be used to nd jointly optimal phonetic and formant transcriptions of an utterance. The complexity of searching a multivariate state space using the BaumWelch algorithm is substantial, but may be signi cantly reduced if the formant frequencies are assumed to be conditionally independent given knowledge of the phone. Operating w...

A multivariat,e-state HMM an HMM with a vector state variable can be used to find jointly optimal phonetic and formant transcriptions of an utterance. The complexity of searching a multivariate state space using the BaumWelch algorithm is substantial, but may be significantly reduced if the formant frequencies are assumed to be conditionally independent given knowledge of the phone. Operating w...

OBJECTIVE The use of stereoscopic imaging can provide additional depth cues that may increase trainee performance on surgical tasks, but it has yet to be evaluated using a validated surgical skill system. This study examines the influence of monoscopic vs stereoscopic visualization in novice trainees performing the McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skill (MISTE...

BACKGROUND Laparoscopic appendectomy is a well-described surgical technique. However, concerns still exist regarding whether the closure of the appendiceal stump should be done with a clip, an endoloop, staples, or other techniques. Therefore, several modifications to the original technique with new materials have been introduced for appendiceal stump closure. The aim of this study was to compa...

In the finite element method, a standard approach to mesh tying is to apply Lagrange multipliers. If the interface is curved, however, discretization generally leads to adjoining surfaces that do not coincide spatially. Straightforward Lagrange multiplier methods lead to discrete formulations failing a first-order patch test [12]. A least-squares method is presented here for mesh tying in the p...