Introduction The post-operative period is characterised by increased IL-6 production and clinical features of immune suppression. In vitro anti-inflammatory actions of IL-6 are mediated through suppression of interferon gamma (IFNg) [1]. The clinical significance of IL-6 in mediating post-operative immune suppression remains unclear. Objectives To evaluate the role of IL-6 pathways in post-oper...

Although dual-task interference is ubiquitous in a variety of task domains, stop-signal studies suggest that response inhibition is not subject to such interference. Nevertheless, no study has directly examined stop-signal performance in a dual-task setting. In two experiments, stop-signal performance was examined in a psychological refractory period task, in which subjects inhibited one respon...

The standard bottleneck model of the psychological refractory period (PRP) assumes that the selection of the second response is postponed until the first response has been selected. Accordingly, dual-task interference is attributed to a single central-processing bottleneck involving decision and response selection, but not the execution of the response itself. In order to critically examine the...

We generalize the classical Cayley-Dickson doubling process starting with a quaternion algebra over a field F by allowing the scalar in the doubling to be an invertible element in the algebra. We investigate the resulting eight-dimensional algebras over F and show that they are division algebras for all scalars chosen in D outside of the base field F , if D is a division algebra.

The hypothesis that episodic memory retrieval can occur in parallel with other cognitive processes was tested in 2 experiments. Participants memorized words and then performed speeded cued recall (Experiment 1) or speeded yes-no recognition (Experiment 2) in a dual-task situation. The psychological refractory period design was used: The participant was presented with a single test item at vario...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate our unit's theatre throughput efficiency, to identify where inefficiencies existed and consequently where the greatest improvement might be made.To identify the causes of day of surgery cancellations and how they might be avoided.  PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective audit of theatre utilisation was undertaken over a 6 month period between 05/02//2013 and 02/08/2013 at Ip...

An increasing number of orthopedic operations are being carried out in an older population in whom the prevalence of diabetes is dramatically increasing. People having surgery with diabetes and hyperglycemia are at increased risk of post-operative complications. The peri-operative risks have been well demonstrated for cardiac surgery and, more recently, for orthopedic surgery. This paper consid...

Peripheral nerve injuries can occur at any time during the peri-operative period. The long-term disability that results may have serious consequences for a patient. The incidence of peri-operative nerve injuries can be reduced by anaesthetists being aware of their causes and pathophysiology. This review article aims to explain the incidence, pathophysiology and medicolegal implications of peri-...

The Dimension Action (DA) model asserts that the visual system is modular, and that each task involves multiple-response mechanisms rather than a unitary-response selection mechanism. The model has been supported by evidence from single-task interference paradigms. We use the psychological refractory period paradigm and show that dual-task performance can also be explained by the DA model. In 6...