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Biomedical subjects

A Evans

Publications and source records attributed to A Evans.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Relationship of plasma level of vitamin C to mortality from ischemic heart disease.

The present epidemiological data support and extend previous evidence in men and animals. Thus, a poor plasma status of vitamin C (less than 23 microM = 0.4 mg/dl) and/or of cholesterol-standardized vitamin E (less than 20-21.5 microM = 9 mg/l) occurs in westernized countries with an increased risk of IHD. A poor status in the major essential antioxidants may be a hitherto underrated, at least permissive, risk factor of IHD that could, at least in some European countries, substantially complement the previously established risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia.

Adult↗

Brain-stem tumors in childhood: a prospective randomized trial of irradiation with and without adjuvant CCNU, VCR, and prednisone. A report of the Childrens Cancer Study Group.

Seventy-four children with a brain-stem tumor diagnosed between 1977 and 1980 were entered into a prospective study in which exploration and assessment for resection were optional, radiation treatment using standard methods was required, and randomization occurred with regard to the use of adjuvant chemotherapy (1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, vincristine, and prednisone) or no further treatment. The overall 5-year survival rate was 20% and was not improved by the adjuvant chemotherapy program. An increased risk of infection was associated with the adjuvant therapy.

Adolescent↗

Nonsurgical management of children with recurrent or unresectable fibromatosis.

At The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, since 1971, six children 3 months to 17 years of age with fibromatosis have been treated with a combination of vincristine, actinomycin D, and cyclophosphamide (VAC). The first three patients also received radiation therapy (5,500 rads). Locally recurrent tumors developed in four of the children after previous operative removal; the other two had tumors that could not be removed initially. The tumors arose in the neck (three patients), pelvis (two patients), or foot (one patient). In the three patients treated with VAC alone, complete disappearance of tumor was confirmed at second operation in two, and greater than 75% shrinkage on CT scans occurred in the third, all at 4 to 6 months after VAC was started. In two of the three patients who received VAC plus radiation therapy, complete disappearance of tumor occurred at 13 and 16 months; the third had no response. Five of the six patients are free of recurrent fibromatosis at 1, 2, 4, and 11 years after VAC was begun; the sixth has required multiple operations during the last 6 years. We conclude that combination chemotherapy with VAC can produce regression of fibromatosis in some children with recurrent or unresectable lesions. The administration of VAC should be considered for children with fibromatosis in whom operative removal is not feasible, would prove mutilating, or is unlikely to produce long-term control of the disease.

Adolescent↗

Evidence for social referencing in young chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

A captive chimpanzee group was observed in order to determine the extent to which the social interactions of the infants and juveniles (18-50 months) were affected by their mothers' relationships with other adult group members. It was found that the young chimpanzees initiated more interactions with adults who interacted more with their mothers. A vast majority of those interactions occurred at significant distances from the mother. It is argued that these data imply a social-cognitive ability in young chimpanzees closely related to the human infant's ability to use its mother in 'social referencing'.

Animals↗

An interactive computerized protocol for the management of hypertension: effects on the general practitioner's clinical behaviour.

This paper reports an experimental study of general practitioners' use of an interactive computerized protocol for the management of hypertension, focussing particularly on the protocol's effects on doctors' clinical behaviour. Prior to its computerization a paper-based version of the protocol was used enabling a comparison of the alternative forms. Doctors' delivery of care was assessed from video recordings of 89 consultations and from the records made during these consultations. Comparisons were made of consultations conducted under control and experimental conditions. Use of paper and computer protocols resulted in significant improvements in the doctors' delivery of care, in terms of the range of verbal and physical examinations conducted and recorded. The protocol's effects were most marked when the computerized version was used. However, use of the computer protocol resulted in the recording of information on the non-occurrence of certain events which had not been explicitly elicited during the verbal examination; features of the design which were intended to encourage adherence to the protocol may have been inappropriate to the realities of a general practice consultation. The findings provide some useful insights for the design of future computerized protocols for the management of chronic conditions.

Behavior↗

Effect of computer use in the consultation on the delivery of care.

The effects of the use of a computer on the delivery of care in consultations in general practice were examined. In this trial a computer system provided for the review and update of patients' medical histories, notes on doctor-patient contacts, and information on repeat prescribing. Thirty consultations in which the computer system was used and 30 consultations in which no computer was used were matched individually for the doctor consulted, the sex and age of the patient, and the presenting problem(s). Six independent general practitioners blind rated each consultation for the standard of care attained. A minor negative effect of computer use on the doctors' clinical performance was found. We suggest, however, that this small effect would disappear if a computer system was used routinely.

Computers↗

Selection of variant neuroblastoma cell line which has lost cell surface expression of antigen detected by monoclonal antibody PI153/3.

A variant of the human neuroblastoma cell line, IMR-5, was selected by a series of treatments with the monoclonal antibody PI153/3 and complement. The variant, M-1, was not reactive by either cytotoxicity or binding assays with the PI153/3 antibody or with two other monoclonal antibodies that were selected on the basis of their inhibition of PI153/3 binding. Although no antigen could be detected on the cell surface or in the supernatant of the variant cell line, a reduced level of binding could be detected in M1 cell extracts compared to extracts of IMR5. The variant cell line did not differ from IMR5 in its sensitivity in lysis by other antibodies, in its lack of expression of HLA antigens, or in its capacity to form tumors in nude mice.

Animals↗

Four-year assessment of a day hospital-inn program as an alternative to inpatient hospitalization.

The authors report on a new system of care in which all patients who require psychiatric hospitalization are admitted to a day hospital with an inn and an intensive care unit. Data on use of services, length of stay, recidivism, security, medical emergencies, staff accidents, and seclusion and restraint over a 4-year period suggest that the new delivery system provides care which is at least as effective as the previous system of care. Evidence is presented that the new system offers certain advantages, including less seclusion and restraint, fewer episodes of escape, and substantial cost savings.

Community Mental Health Centers↗

Bisexuality reconsidered: an idea in pursuit of a definition.

This paper examines the confusion and conflict stemming from the inability of sexological research to establish a reliable operational definition of the bisexual condition. An examination of current research assumptions, definitions, and limitations revealed several "errors" which predispose most investigations to controversial or insignificant results. These errors include the researcher's: erotophobia, dualistic thinking, use of "self-labels," and most important, misuse of the Kinsey Scale as a basic definitional assumption. This paper concludes with a description of an alternative research model and methodology for bisexuality research. This new model eschews subject labeling and proposes a two-axis system for operationally defining bisexuality and for generating testable hypotheses.

Extramarital Relations↗

Roles and functions of occupational therapy in mental health.

Within the scope of general psychiatry, occupational therapy personnel work in a broad range of practice areas and settings. Services are provided to children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly of all functional levels and diagnostic categories, in institutional, community-based, partial hospitalization, residential treatment, and forensic psychiatry programs. In all programs, the focus is goal-directed use of time, energy, interest, and attention to foster adaptation and productivity, minimize pathology, and promote the maintenance of health.

Ethics, Professional↗

Evidence for fibroblasts as the major source of prostacyclin and prostaglandin synthesis in dental cyst in man.

Periodontal cysts synthesize large amounts of prostaglandins and collagenase which probably cause the localized bone destruction essential for intraosseous cyst growth. Fragments of cyst wall, and fibroblasts cultured from them, synthesized prostacyclin (PGI2) in addition to prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), PGF2 alpha and collagenase in vitro. Soluble products from cultures of unstimulated and phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated blood mononuclear cells enhanced the synthesis of these prostaglandins in monolayer cultures of cyst-wall fibroblasts. It is therefore proposed that cyst capsule fibroblasts are the major source of these bone-resorbing factors, acting under the stimulus of lymphocytes and monocytes in chronically inflamed cysts. Cysts which were not infiltrated by chronic inflammatory cells (follicular cysts, a keratocyst, an ameloblastoma, and an aneurysmal bone cyst) also produced prostaglandins and collagenase, indicating that the stimulatory mechanism for the production of bone-resorbing factors in these cysts may differ from that in periodontal cysts.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Consultation use of a computer by general practitioners.

Reporting on an experimental field study of computer use by general practitioners during consultations, this paper focuses particularly on the experiences of the doctors in their efforts to communicate concurrently with a patient and a computer. Through the analysis of logs of computer use, video recordings of consultations and interviews with doctors, the authors report on the uptake of the computer facilities, the impact of such use on information handling during the consultation, the doctors' views about using the system, and finally the relationship between doctors' ;natural' consulting styles and their uptake and views of the system.

Computers↗

Inhibition of normal human granulopoiesis by neuroblastoma cells.

In vitro inhibition of marrow granulopoiesis was produced by a well-characterized human neuroblastoma cell line (CHP 134). A standard double layer, semi-solid agar system was employed in the experiments. The inhibition was present whether the neuroblastoma cells were mixed with the marrow cells or whether they were separated in a contiguous agar layer. Irradiation of the neuroblastoma cells lessened the inhibitory effect but did not eradicate it. Medium conditioned by the neuroblastoma cells had a mild, but not statistically significant, suppressive effect upon granulopoiesis. Additional studies to define the precise mechanism of suppression are underway.

Cell Division↗

A further case of hyperrotation of the colon.

The anomalies resulting from abnormal rotation of the midgut loop are briefly reviewed. A case of hyperrotation with cecal ascent is described--only the second such case reported, so far as the authors are aware. The liver in this subject was larger than average, and the suggestion is made that the presence of a large liver combined with exuberant growth of the ascending colon may explain the hyperrotation. Although this anomaly is clearly very rare and not in itself pathological, the highly unusual position of the cecum and much of the ascending colon in these cases may cause problems in the diagnosis of appendicitis or during laparatomy.

Aged↗