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Biomedical subjects

B L Fisher

Publications and source records attributed to B L Fisher.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

The relationship between anxiety and problem-solving skills in children with and without learning disabilities.

This study compared the effects of low, medium, and high pretest anxiety levels on the social and nonsocial problem-solving performance of 45 boys with learning disabilities (LD) and 45 boys with no learning disabilities (NLD). Participants ranged from 9 to 11 years of age. Boys with LD reported significantly higher pretest trait and state anxiety on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children than did NLD boys, and their perceived state anxiety escalated over the course of the problem-solving session. There were no pervasive effects of LD status on problem solving by itself, boys with LD being as effective in problem solving as NLD boys. However, means for task solution suggest a tendency for an interaction between group and anxiety level, which should be examined using a larger, well-defined sample and an unstructured task.

Achievement

Video-assisted Spigelian hernia repair.

Spigelian hernia is a rare hernia of the lateral abdominal wall. It is rarely incarcerated and sometimes difficult to diagnose because it is so small. This report describes an incarcerated Spigelian hernia that was successfully repaired using video-assisted laparoscopy, concurrent with a cholecystectomy.

Aged

The clinical spectrum of lymphangiomas and lymphangiomatosis of the spleen.

Lymphangiomas of the spleen are infrequent neoplasms of the spleen with clinical manifestations ranging from insignificant incidental findings to large, symptomatic cystic masses requiring surgical intervention. An associated syndrome may be lymphangiomatosis, in which the lymphangiomatous process involves other sites or organs, such as the liver, spleen, axilla, and mediastinum. Vasoformative neoplasms (hemangioma, lymphangioma) are relatively uncommon tumors or hamartomas of the spleen. Although well reported in the literature, their surgical significance is not well recognized. These lesions present a broad spectrum of pathologic findings of varied surgical importance. As incidental findings, they may be mistakenly considered as a valid indication for splenectomy. On the contrary, more extensive involvement of the spleen may cause symptomatic splenomegaly, which is a valid indication for splenectomy. When the spleen is diffusely involved (lymphangiomatosis), it may be part of a syndrome of generalized lymphangiomatosis involving structures and organs other than the spleen. This syndrome should be considered in obscure cases of splenomegaly in which the usual hematologic causes have been ruled out.

Adult

Panretinal photocoagulation and retinal oxygenation in normal and diabetic cats.

We measured preretinal oxygen tension over laser-treated and intact retina in normal and diabetic cats. The oxygen tension was significantly higher over the area given panretinal photocoagulation than over the intact retina when the cats breathed 100% oxygen and the same trend was seen when the cats breathed 21% oxygen. There was no difference in preretinal oxygen tension between the normal and diabetic retinas. Light and electron microscopy showed laser damage to the mitochondria-rich photoreceptors in the outer retina as well as the retinal pigment epithelium. The inner retina showed no photocoagulation damage. Because panretinal photocoagulation destroys parts of the outer retina, thus reducing its oxygen consumption and allowing oxygen to diffuse from the choroid into the inner retina, it improves the oxygen supply to the inner retina.

Animals

Generation of genetic diversity in herpes simplex virus: an antimutator phenotype maps to the DNA polymerase locus.

We have measured the spontaneous production of mutants in derivatives of herpes simplex virus type 1 resistant to phosphonoacetic acid. Six such derivatives produced 9- to 123-fold fewer iododeoxycytidine (ICdR-)-resistant progeny (i.e., thymidine kinase deficient) than their wild-type parents. To locate the mutation which controls mutant production in one of the strains (PAAr-5), we constructed phosphonoacetic acid-resistant, recombinant viruses by marker transfer, using wild-type viral DNA and DNA restriction fragments conferring the resistance phenotype. The resultant recombinants also produced very low levels of ICdR-resistant progeny during growth, indicating a close linkage (within 1.1 kilobase pairs) between the drug resistance locus and the sequences controlling production of mutant progeny. Evidence is presented that the low mutant yield in PAAr-5 is not due to abnormal expression of mutants, hypersensitivity to ICdR, altered thymidine kinase activity, or slow replication rates. Since the locus conferring resistance to phosphonoacetic acid in PAAr-5 has been shown previously to be the DNA polymerase gene, we hypothesize that the reduced yield of mutants results from enhanced replication fidelity by the altered DNA polymerase. The existence of antimutator derivatives of herpes simplex indicates that the observed high mutation rate for wild-type strains is an intrinsic property of the virus and may provide a selective advantage during growth in animal hosts.

Cell Line

Ipratropium bromide and fenoterol by aerosolized solution.

Ipratropium bromide (0.5 mg) and fenoterol (2 mg) produced equivalent peak bronchodilatation between 1 and 2 h after administration to eight patients with chronic partially reversible airways obstruction. The duration of action compared with saline was 6 h for ipratropium and 4 h for fenoterol. Both drugs in combination produced greater bronchodilatation than either drug alone. The increase in FVC was disproportionately greater than FEV1 with both drugs and saline, suggesting relief of obstruction of small airways.

Aerosols

Comparison of ipratropium bromide and salbutamol by aerosolized solution.

Ipratropium bromide (0.125 mg, 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg) and salbutamol (5 mg) by aerosolized solution produced equivalent peak bronchodilatation between one and two hours after administration to ten patients with chronic partially reversible airways obstruction. The duration of action of the two higher doses of ipratropium bromide (0.25 mg--6 hours; 0.5 mg--5 hours) was significantly greater than salbutamol (4 hours). FVC increases with both drugs and saline were greater than FEV1 increases which may indicate dilatation of small peripheral airways or removal of bronchial mucus from these sites after coughing. A dose of 0.25 mg ipratropium bromide as an aerosolised solution is recommended for clinical use.

Aerosols

Development of chronic myelocytic leukemia during the course of acute lymphocytic leukemia in an adult.

A 59-year-old patient is described who presented with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Complete remission was induced rapidly with vincristine and prednisone. Nine months later he acquired the clinical and hematological picture of a myeloproliferative disease, and bone marrow cytogenetic studies demonstrated the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome. Within 4 months he again developed overt acute lymphocytic leukemia and died. Several lines of evidence have recently indicated a relationship between myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative disorders, particularly chronic myelocytic and acute lymphocytic leukemia. This patient's course is another example of that association.

Bone Marrow