In this work we establish and investigate the connections between causality for query answers in databases, database repairs wrt. denial constraints, and consistency-based diagnosis. The first two are relatively new problems in databases, and the third one is an established subject in knowledge representation. We show how to obtain database repairs from causes and the other way around. The vast...

We study active integrity constraints, a formalism designed to describe integrity constraints on databases and to specify preferred ways to enforce them. The original semantics proposed for active integrity constraints is based on the concept of a founded repair. We point out that groundedness underlying founded repairs does not prevent cyclic justifications and so, may be inappropriate in some...

This paper describes a statistical corpus study of self-repairs in the disfluencyannotated Switchboard corpus which examines the time-linear nature of self-repair processing for annotators and listeners in dialogue. The study suggests a strictly local detection and processing mechanism for self-repairs is sufficient, an advantage currently not used effectively under the bonnet of state-of-the-a...

Background. There is a high incidence of failure after repair of severe perineal lacerations (SPLs). A tertiary referral hospital in the Caribbean introduced guidelines in an attempt to improve outcomes. We performed an audit of SPL repairs at this centre in an attempt to determine the effect on repair failure. Methods. All patients with SPL repairs between November 1, 2007, and December 30, 20...

Hypospadias is one of the most prevalent anomalies of the male genitalia. Contemporary hypospadias repair is very successful, but patients that have the surgery fail often require multiple surgeries throughout their life. Complications from failed hypospadias repairs have a significant impact on patients both psychologically and physically. Failed hypospadias repair encompasses a spectrum of pr...

Minimally invasive surgical technology is changing the management of spigelian hernias. In addition to open repairs, laparoscopic transabdominal repairs as well as laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal repairs are well documented. However, because spigelian hernias are uncommon, few surgeons have a large volume of experience with spigelian hernia repairs. This is particularly true of the repair ...

BACKGROUND The use of prosthetic material for open umbilical hernia repair has been reported to reduce recurrence rates. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes after laparoscopic versus open umbilical hernia repair. METHODS We reviewed all umbilical hernia repairs performed from November 1995 to October 2000. Demographic data, hernia characteristics, and outcomes were compared. RESUL...

Despite appropriate management of distal radius fractures, TFCC tears and DRUJ instability in the acute setting, a subset of patients will have ongoing pain or instability of the DRUJ. Ongoing instability is thought to eventually lead to pain, loss of motion and degenerative changes due to alterations in normal kinematics of the joint, although there is little in the literature to support this ...

BACKGROUND Tears of the superior labrum (superior labrum anterior and posterior [SLAP] lesions) of the shoulder are uncommon injuries; however, the incidence of surgical correction seems to be increasing. PURPOSE To report the findings of a review of a proprietary descriptive database that catalogs cases for the purpose of board certification on the demographics of SLAP lesion repair. It is t...

BACKGROUND Our objective was to investigate the feasibility of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair during its developmental phases in China. STUDY DESIGN The clinical data of 2,056 patients (2,473 hernias) who underwent laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair at Shanghai Minimally Invasive Surgery Center between January 2001 and December 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. The operation priority ...