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Biomedical subjects

A Cox

Publications and source records attributed to A Cox.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

A new mucotropic agent--in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 2-alpha-thenoylthiopropionylglycine (bronchoplus).

A new mucotropic agent, 2-alpha-thenoylthiopropionylglycine (TTPG) has been evaluated using two in vitro mucus models (pig gastric mucin and human bronchial mucus) and an in vivo model, the oral administration for a period of 7 days to a mini-pig fitted with a tracheal-pouch. TTPG at 2% concentration caused a 40% reduction in the viscosity of mucus gels in vitro, as compared to a control with water. Tracheal mucus samples collected from the pouch were examined rheologically and biochemically. The amount of glycoprotein secreted increased after administration of TTPG (440 to 616 micrograms/mg dry weight). The glycoproteins also appeared to be more acidic after TTPG. An increase in the sulphydryl concentration of the mucus was observed, suggesting that a hydrolysis product of TTPG had crossed the blood-mucus barrier. An increase in the viscosity and elasticity of the mucus gel occurred during the treatment period.

Acetylcysteine↗

The cyst wall composition of Hartmannella glebae.

In this study cyst walls of Hartmannella glebae were isolated and quantitatively analyzed. They were fractionated into alkali-insoluble and alkali-soluble fractions. The alkali-insoluble fraction appeared to be cellulose which represented 4.2% of the total weight of the wall. The major component of the alkali-soluble fraction consisted of proteins (64.7%). It also contained a glucose polymer (probably a precursor of cellulose) and lipids. The amino acid composition of the wall was also determined.

Amino Acids↗

[Eye movements induced by the parallel-swing method in rabbits].

Eye movements induced by sinusoidal linear accelerations generated by the parallel-sled, have been recorded by means of monocular electronystagmographic recordings in the horizontal and vertical plane. Qualitatively the recorded eye movements are vertical sinusoidal eye movements. When the sled moves to the right, the right eye moves upward, and the left eye downward. When the sled moves to the left, the inverse takes place. This seems to suggerate that the vestibulo-ocular reflex tested here, tries to compensate an imaginary rotation of the laboratory animal in the direction of the resultant acceleration stimulus. The false difference between the two eyes is 180 degrees, independant of the frequency of the sled. The false-difference between the sled and the eye movements increases with the frequency. The natural frequency is 0,6 Hz. The maximal amplitude is reached at the same frequency of 0,6 Hz (resonance frequency). Artefacts are present from the frequency of 0,8 Hz on. These are caused by movements of the needle electrodes on their own, due to the big accelerations on these frequencies. They are clearly distinguishable from the real eye movements. The gain "G" is incomplete, higher for the lower frequencies (0,5 for 0,3 Hz), and lower for the higher frequencies (0,1 for 0,8 Hz).

Animals↗

Early management and decision making for the treatment of myelomeningocele.

A program for early selection and treatment of the infant with myelomeningocele was developed at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1977. Over a 5-year period, 69 babies were evaluated, 36 babies were recommended for early vigorous treatment. Of the 33 babies for whom only supportive care was recommended, five were initially treated at the parents' request, two underwent delayed vigorous treatment, one was subsequently treated by "crisis management," one moved and did not return for follow-up, and 24 received only supportive care. All 24 babies died between 1 to 189 days of age (mean 37 days). The involvement of several physicians and paramedical support personnel is considered essential for this approach of early selection and treatment. Continued support and regular follow-up is necessary for any baby who receives only supportive care. Parents retain legal custody. Although ethical concerns make any approach difficult, the method presented is considered to be the best alternative available at this time.

Child, Preschool↗

Use of the fluorescence-activated cell sorter to quantitate and enrich for subpopulations of human skin cells.

A variety of immunologic staining techniques were compared in a quantitative study of antigen expression by human epidermal cells. Virtually all nucleated epidermal cells express beta 2-microglobulin, which is associated with HLA-A, -B, and -C antigens, whereas only about 4% expressed T6, an antigen expressed by Langerhans cells but not other cells in the skin. With the fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), epidermal cell suspensions were selectively enriched 10- to 15-fold for T6-positive Langerhans cells. An average of 6.5% of cells were specifically stained by anti-HLA-DR antibody. When dispersed cells stained with anti-DR plus peroxidase were examined with the technique of immunoelectron microscopy, only mononuclear leukocytes (probably Langerhans cells) were stained. After separating HLA-DR positive skin cells with the FACS, the DR-positive population but not the DR-negative population stimulated proliferation of allogeneic responder lymphocytes, indicating that sorted cells are metabolically active. We conclude that HLA-DR antigen is not expressed by keratinocytes in normal human skin cell suspensions and that the FACS can be used to selectively enrich or deplete skin cell suspensions of antigenically distinct subpopulations such as Langerhans cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Serum complement activity in pre-term pregnancies: relationship to duration of ruptured membranes and clinical infection.

Physiologic changes occurring during the latent period of prematurely ruptured membranes (PRM) are poorly understood. Indicators predicting maternal and neonatal infectious morbidity do not correlate well with clinical outcomes. A previous report suggested that in vivo complement consumption occurred in response to the event of membrane rupture. In this prospective study, complement activity was measured serially throughout the latent period in cases of preterm PRM. In addition to total hemolytic complement activity (CH50), C4-pro-activator (C3PA), a primary component of the alternate complement pathway, was measured in maternal and cord sera. As with CH50, cord serum C3PA levels are significantly less than those in matched maternal samples. Neither maternal nor cord serum complement activity correlated with either the duration of the latent period or maternal-neonatal infection.

Bacterial Infections↗

Beta-blocker therapy with metoprolol in the hyperventilation syndrome.

16 patients suffering from a hyperventilation syndrome were treated with metoprolol 2dd 100 mg and an identical placebo in a double-blind, cross-over trial. Before therapy and after metoprolol and placebo therapy a ventilatory response to CO2 was taken, VC and FEV1, a hyperventilation provocation test, blood gas values, and the subjective experiences of the patients were documented. The ventilatory response to CO2 was described in terms of decrease or increase of ventilation: before therapy ventilation decreased in 10 out of 16 patients, after metoprolol ventilation decreased in 3 of 16 patients (p less than 0.01). The end tidal PCO2 increased with a mean of 3.86 mm Hg (p = 0.0005) after metoprolol as compared to placebo. No differences were found in respiratory frequency or depth, base excess, provocation test. It is concluded that the cardioselective beta-blocker metoprolol is a useful drug in the therapy of the hyperventilation syndrome.

Adult↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques: I. Methods and measures.

An account is given of the overall strategy and measures used in a three-phase study of styles and techniques employed in the initial diagnostic interviews with the parents of children referred to a child psychiatric clinic. The measures of interview style included interviewer activity and talkativeness, directiveness, types of questions and statements, interventions designed to elicit or to respond to feelings, and non-verbal qualities. The informant's response and the interview 'outcome' were assessed through measures of the quantity and quality of factual information obtained, and of the extent of expression of emotional feelings by the informant. Good inter-rater reliability was achieved with most measures. Some difficulties were experienced in achieving comparable thresholds for the recognition of expressed emotions.

Adolescent↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques II. Naturalistic study: eliciting factual information.

A naturalistic study was undertaken of 36 video and audio taped interviews made by 7 different psychiatric trainees. The interviews studied were those conducted in the ordinary course of clinic work for diagnostic and therapeutic planning purposes by trainees when first seeing the parent or parents of a child newly referred to a psychiatric clinic. It was found that a directive style with specific probes and requests for detailed descriptions was associated with the obtaining of better-quality factual information than that associated with a more free-style approach. Interviewers who talked less and who made use of open questions and checks tended to have more talkative informants. Double questions were liable to result in ambiguous answers, but multiple-choice questions did not appear to cause distortion and in some circumstances might be helpful.

Adolescent↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques. III. Naturalistic study: eliciting feelings.

A naturalistic study was undertaken of 36 video and audio-taped interviews undertaken by 7 different psychiatric trainees. The interviews studied were those conducted in the ordinary course of clinic work for diagnostic and therapeutic planning purposes by trainees when first seeing the parent or parents of a child newly referred to a psychiatric clinic. It was found that a variety of rather different interview techniques seemed to facilitate emotional expression. These included a low level of interview talk with few interruptions, a high rate of open rather than closed questions, direct requests for feelings, interpretations and expressions of sympathy. The issue of how far these associations reflected causal influences is discussed.

Child↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques. IV. Experimental study: Four contrasting styles.

The development and definition of four contrasting interview styles is described. The four styles were designed using different permutations of techniques which, on the basis of an earlier naturalistic study, appeared to be most effective in eliciting either factual information or feelings. A 'sounding board' style utilized a minimal activity approach; an 'active psychotherapy' style actively sought to explore feelings and to bring out emotional links and meanings; a 'structured' style adopted an active cross-questioning approach, and a 'systematic exploratory' style aimed to combine a high use of both fact-oriented and feeling-oriented techniques. Quantitative measures based on video-tape and audio-tape analysis showed that two experienced interviewers could be trained to adopt these four very different styles and yet remain feeling and appearing natural. An experimental design to compare the four styles is described.

Attitude↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques V. Experimental study: eliciting factual information.

Four experimental interview styles, each recommended by experts in the field, were compared for their efficiency in eliciting factual information during the initial diagnostic interviews with the mothers of children referred to a psychiatric out-patient clinic. If encouraged to talk freely, mothers tended to mention most (but not all) key issues without the need for standardized questioning on a pre-determined range of topics. However, systematic questioning was essential in order to obtain good quality factual data. Better data were obtained when interviewers were sensitive and alert to factual cues and chose their probes with care. Clinically significant factual information, idiosyncratic to the family and outside the range of standard enquiry was common, but was obtained satisfactorily with all four styles. No one style was generally preferred by informants. The advantages of systematic questioning for obtaining factual information were not associated with any disadvantages with respect to the eliciting of emotions and feelings.

Attitude to Health↗

Psychiatric interviewing techniques. VI. Experimental study: eliciting feelings.

Four experimental interview styles, designed to differ in the extent of their use of active fact-oriented and active feeling-oriented techniques, were compared in relation to their use in the initial diagnostic interviews with the mothers of children referred to a psychiatric clinic. All four styles proved to be effective in eliciting emotions and feelings, but the findings suggested that each was effective for different reasons. It appeared that emotional expression could be encouraged by the interviewer's response to emotional cues, by a reflective style with little factual cross-questioning, by the use of direct requests for self-disclosures, by the optimal (but not necessarily maximal) use of interpretations. and expressions of sympathy, and by direct requests for feelings.

Emotions↗

A comparative study of infantile autism and specific developmental receptive language disorders. III. Discriminant function analysis.

A psychometric, observational, and interview study was undertaken with 47 boys, aged 4 1/2 to 10 years, with nonverbal IQs of 70+ and a severe developmental disorder of language comprehension. Separate discriminant function analyses, based on behavioral, language, or cognitive features, showed little overlap between clinically defined autistic and dysphasic subgroups. Moreover, the discrimination could be made as clearly on language or cognitive characteristics as on social or behavioral critera. Language abnormalities and behavioral features also intercorrelated within the autistic subgroup. It is concluded that autism and dysphasia differ in important ways and that a cognitive deficit is an essential part of the syndrome of autism.

Autistic Disorder↗