Fuzzy Representation of Principal's Preferences in Inspire Negotiation Support System.

We consider the negotiation problem, in which an agent negotiates on behalf of a principal. Our considerations are focused on the Inspire negotiation support system in which the principal's preferences are visualised by circles. In this way, the principal describes the importance of each negotiation issue and the relative utility of each considered option. The paper proposes how this preference information may be implemented by the agent for determining a scoring function used to support decisions throughout the negotiation process. The starting point of our considerations is a discussion regarding the visualisation of the principal's preferences. We assume here that the importance of each issue and the utility of each option increases with the size of the circle representing them. The imprecise meaning of the notion of "circle size" implies that in a considered case, the utility of an option should be evaluated by a fuzzy number. The proposed utility fuzzification is justified by a simple analysis of results obtained from the empirical prenegotiation experiment. A novel method is proposed to determine trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, which evaluates an option's utility using a series of answers given by the participants of the experiment. The utilities obtained this way are applied to determine the fuzzy scoring function for an agent. By determining such a common generalised fuzzy scoring system, our approach helps agents handle the differences in human cognitive processes associated with understanding the principal's preferences. This work is the first approach to fuzzification of the preferences in the Inspire negotiation support system.

Agenesis of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon: ignored variations of the anatomy and the next tendon to disappear?

Bilateral agenesis of the long head of the biceps brachial tendon (LHB) is a very rare variation of the anatomy. We report a case of an 18-year-old man with bilateral agenesis of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon. We present initial findings, radiographical examinations and the follow-up of an unusual entity. Diagnosis of agenesis of the LHB can be challenging especially in cases of traumatic shoulder pain. It is not a very known entity because of its rareness. However, it could be associated with other congenital anomalies. The absence of the LHB is easily ignored in the diagnostic process. Clinical examination should be a pitfall, radiological examination is helpful to confirm the suspicion of LHB absence. MRI is often the first choice, although ultrasonography is cheaper and much easier to access and it is an excellent tool to visualise this anatomic variation with empty or shallow intertubercular groove.

Do intra-operative neurophysiological changes predict functional outcome following decompressive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis? A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: To analyse the relation between immediate intraoperative neurophysiological changes during decompression and clinical outcome in a series of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) undergoing surgery. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with neurogenic intermittent claudication (NIC) due to LSS undergoing decompressive surgery were prospectively studied. Intra operative trans-cranial motor evoked potentials (tcMEPs) were recorded before and immediately after surgical decompression. Lower limb normalised tcMEP improvement was used as primary neurophysiological outcome. Clinical outcome was assessed using the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ) self-assessment score, before surgery (baseline) and at an average of 8 and 29 months post-operatively. RESULTS: We found a moderate positive correlation between tcMEP changes and ZCQ at early follow-up (R=0.36). At late follow-up no correlation was found between intra-operative tcMEP and ZCQ changes. Dichotomizing the data showed a statistically significant relationship between tcMEP improvement and better functional outcome at early follow-up (P=0.013) but not at later follow-up (P=1). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that intra-operative neurophysiological improvement during decompressive surgery may predict a better clinical outcome at early follow-up although this is not applicable to late follow-up possibly due to the observed erosion of functional improvement with time.