Severity of scoliosis was not a key determinant of respiratory dysfunction. Posterior spinal fusion did not reduce the rate of respiratory function decline. These two points suggest that intrinsic respiratory muscle weakness is the main determinant of decline in respiratory function in DMD.

FROM its beginnings, the junior high school has sought to be a transitional or bridge institution between the elementary and the high school. This characteristic has been vigorously questioned both as to its appropriateness and its actual development.As to appropriateness, as long as the program and organization of the elementary schools differed sharply, there was, and is, real need for a bridge between the self-contained classroom of the elementary school with its broad and flexible units of work and the departmentalized program of the high school with its relatively greater emphasis on subjects and specialization. These differences are becoming much less sharp, however, as subjects are once again being pushed downward, as departmentalization of various sorts is again spreading in the elementary grades, and as vertical curriculum planning in the major subjects makes more progress. That is, there are the distinct signs that the differences between the last years of the elementary school and the first ones of the high school-jun'ior, senior, 4-year, or 6-year -are not nearly so severe and distinct as a decade ago, or indeed as many feel they should be.However needed a transition is between the elementary and the high school, there are grave doubts as to the functioning of the junior high school in this regard. It is an interesting commentary on this function of the entire junior high school that at UNSW Library

Although the effect of burns on mental health has been well examined, the aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of pre-existing mental health, drug and alcohol, and forensic problems in an Australian burn patient population; examine differences between these groups in terms of burns characteristics and healing; and also establish any patterns of presentation amongst these groups. Retrospective case notes of all the acute burn admissions, 273 patients, into a busy tertiary adults burn center in a full year were reviewed. Almost half of the patients admitted had underlying complex issues. Those with psychotic, forensic, and/or drug and alcohol problems tended to stay longer in hospital and required more procedures, despite burn sizes comparable with those in the general population. These patients also tended to sustain their burn injuries, and present to hospital, on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, rarely coming later in the week. Those with depression/anxiety had similar lengths of stay, number of procedures and random temporal presentations to the general burns population. Burn centers should be well staffed and educated in how to deal with patients with complex needs; this staffing should be actively structured to deal with a clear pattern of presentation over the weekend and Monday.

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