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Biomedical subjects

C H Brown

Publications and source records attributed to C H Brown.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

An aging society: implications for health care needs and impacts on allied health practice.

The first report of the National Task Force on Gerontology and Geriatric Care Education, excerpted herein, raises many more questions than it answers. Through its broad-brush articulation of the health care needs of older people, the report sets the environment for gauging the impact of these needs on allied health practice. Responses to a number of the implications for health care needs are now underway, yet much remains undone. In the coming year the task force will develop an action plan that addresses directly the many implications for allied health.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

A pilot study of high dose abdominopelvic radiotherapy following surgery and chemotherapy for stage III epithelial carcinoma of the ovary.

Ten patients with FIGO stage III carcinoma of the ovary received abdominopelvic radiotherapy using the abdominal bath technique in combination with surgery and intravenous cyclophosphamide and cis-platinum. The mean midplane dose to the abdominal cavity was 3120 cGy which is significantly higher than other series. Despite this high dose, there was no serious morbidity from radiation hepatitis, enteritis, and nephritis, and the treatment was tolerable. The actuarial survival of the group at 37 months was 30%.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1986

Temporal integration in two species of Old World monkeys: blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis) and grey-cheeked mangabeys (Cercocebus albigena).

Changes in auditory sensitivity as a function of signal duration were studied in two species of Old World monkeys. Testing was conducted under free-field conditions with pure tones 250, 800, 1600, and 4000 Hz in frequency. Test stimuli ranged in duration from 35-2000 ms. The results showed that the temporal integration functions for the blue monkeys were similar to those reported for rhesus monkeys [T. D. Clack, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 40, 1140-1146 (1966)], but differed significantly from those for mangabey monkeys and human subjects tested in the same apparatus, by the same procedure. Integration functions for humans and mangabeys did not differ. It was concluded that some taxonomic groups of primates exhibit temporal integration times that are much longer than those characteristic of humans, while others do not, and that interspecific differences in temporal integration are not readily related to species differences in their vocal repertoires.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The perception of vocal signals by blue monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys.

Old World forest primates may need to signal vocally over long distances in noisy habitats. Perceptual experiments focused on the audibility of signals in noise were conducted in the laboratory using standard psychoacoustical methods. Six human listeners, two blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), and two grey-cheeked mangabeys (Cercocebus albigena) served as subjects. Based upon measurements of East African rain forests (Brown and Waser 1984) testing was conducted in the presence of simulated rain forest noise, or in the quiet. Signals consisted of pure tones 2-seconds in duration ranging in frequency from 63 Hz to 32 kHz, or recordings of vocalizations. Test vocal signals for monkey subjects were the blue monkey chirp, pyow, trill, ka, ka-train, grunt and boom calls; the mangabey chorused grunt, soft grunt, gobble and staccato bark calls. Human listeners were tested with the consonant-vowel stop consonants: ba, pa, da, ta, ga, ka; the two-syllable words: baseball, lifeguard, vessel and leisure; and the sentence "Can you hear me?" The results showed that mangabeys exhibit an audibility function nearly indistinguishable from that for blue monkeys (Brown and Waser 1984). Compared to terrestrial open country monkeys, these arboreal rain forest monkeys possess enhanced low-frequency sensitivity which coupled with mechanisms specialized for low-frequency vocal production may function as a long-distance communication system. Testing with vocalizations in the presence of a masking noise revealed that monkey calls were about 10 dB more audible in noise than were human speech sounds. No differences were found between the audibility of graded or discrete calls. Testing for species-specific abilities was conducted with a subsample of six calls. While differences were not found when testing was conducted in the quiet, in the presence of forest noise, monkeys were about 3.4 dB more sensitive to the calls of conspecifics than to the calls of sympatric species. These findings support the idea that differences in the audibility of the vocalizations of related species is principally due to acoustical differences between signals, yet more subtle receptive specializations may have evolved as well. Hence selection may have acted on both receptive and productive mechanisms to promote vocal communication under adverse environmental conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Comparison of the lay Diagnostic Interview Schedule and a standardized psychiatric diagnosis. Experience in eastern Baltimore.

We studied DSM-III diagnoses made by the lay Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) method in relation to a standardized DSM-III diagnosis by psychiatrists in the two-stage Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area mental morbidity survey. Generally, prevalence estimates based on the DIS one-month diagnoses were significantly different from those based on the psychiatric diagnoses. Subjects identified as cases by each method were often different subjects. Measured in terms of kappa, the chance-corrected degree of agreement between the DIS and psychiatrists' one-month diagnoses was moderate for DSM-III alcohol-use disorder (abuse and dependence combined), and lower for other mental disorder categories. The unreliability of either the DIS or psychiatric diagnoses is one potential explanation for the observed disagreements. Others include the following: insufficient or inadequate information (on which to base a diagnosis); recency of disorder; incomplete criterion coverage; overinclusive DIS questions; and degree of reliance on subject symptom reports. Further study of the nature and sources of these discrepancies is underway. This work should produce a more complete understanding of obstacles to mental disorder case ascertainment by lay interview and clinical examination methods in the context of a field survey.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Rod saturation in b-wave of the rat electroretinogram under two different anesthetics.

B-wave increment threshold experiments in the rat show that "rod saturation" occurs at different background levels with different anesthetics. Rod saturation builds up over the first 60 sec of light adaptation in pentobarbital anesthetized but not in urethane anesthetized animals. These and other findings suggest that "rod saturation" can occur when the rod photoreceptors themselves are not saturated.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

A comparison of two doses of tamoxifen (Nolvadex) in postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer: 10 mg bd versus 20 mg bd.

In a comparative double-blind trial involving 263 postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer treated with tamoxifen, the mean objective tumour response rate and duration was 32% and 15 months respectively. No significant difference was found in clinical response and adverse effects between those randomised to 10 mg and those to 20 mg twice daily. Although the mean serum concentration of tamoxifen in the 20 mg bd group was significantly higher no correlation between serum level and clinical benefit was demonstrated.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Directional hearing in aging rats.

The loss of the ability to localize sounds was discovered to occur in rats as a consequence of aging. Subjects were trained in a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm to press the left bar if a sound was presented from the left side and to press the right bar if sound was presented from the right side. Testing was conducted with a brief 200 msec pink noise signal. The accuracy of sound localization was measured in rats from 10 to 21 months of age. By 21 months of age the accuracy of localization had declined from greater than 90% correct to less than 69% correct. The loss of the ability to localize sounds may be involved with the onset of spatial disorientation observed in some subjects at advanced ages.

Aging↗
PubMed1984

PRN drug utilization in Indiana long-term care facilities.

Data collected from a sample of 307 private and Medicaid patients from 20 LTCFs in Indiana showed that patients were prescribed an average of 4.9 PRN medications. Significant differences were found between the types of LTCFs and the average number of PRN medications per patient. In 14 LTCFs classified as both ICF and SNF, patients were prescribed an average of 4.7 PRN medications. In four LTCFs classified ICFs, patients were prescribed an average of 6.2 PRN medications. In two LTCFs classified as SNFs, patients were prescribed an average of 3.9 PRN medications. The average number of PRN medications per Medicaid patient was 5.2 while the average number of PRN medications per private patient was 4.8. Overall, 48.8% of all PRN medication orders were never consumed during the study period. Mean PRN medication utilization per LTCF ranged from 2.5 per cent to 36.4%. It is assumed that if PRN medication not being consumed/used by the patient were to be returned to the pharmacy, a substantial cost savings could be realized by the responsible party.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1984

Heterogeneous growth and mental development of intrauterine growth-retarded infants during the first 3 years of life.

Postnatal growth and development were studied in two groups of term infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and one group of infants with normal birth weight up to 3 years of age (total sample, 205 infants). Infants with IUGR were classified as having low ponderal index (IUGR-LPI) or adequate ponderal index (IUGR-API). At birth, the two groups of infants with IUGR had similar birth weight, but length and head circumference measurements were significantly different. Overall, the IUGR-API infants remained lighter and shorter and had smaller head circumferences up to 30 months of age. The IUGR-LPI infants experienced catch-up growth in weight during the first months, because of greater fat deposition. At 24 months of age, the IUGR-API infants scored below the others on mental items. At 3 years of age the IUGR-API infants had the lowest values on seven of eight developmental measures and on the composite score; at these two time periods, the group with normal birth weight scored the highest, and the IUGR-LPI infants obtained intermediate values. It is concluded that infants with IUGR tend to follow postnatal growth and developmental patterns that are associated with their physical characteristics at birth.

Body Height↗
PubMed1984

Cost of discarded medication in Indiana long-term care facilities.

The cost of discarded medication was studied in 17 Indiana intermediate-care and skilled-nursing facilities with varying bed capacities and drug-distribution systems. During visits to each facility, one or two pharmacists collected data on patients' drug regimens and the quantities of medication dispensed and discarded over periods of one to seven months. A total of $ 5,620 worth of medication ($ 4,472 excluding topical medications) was destroyed in the facilities during the study period. The projected annual cost of discarded medication was approximately $ 15,800 ($ 12,460 excluding topical medications). In the 13 facilities using some type of unit dose drug distribution system, the mean projected annual cost of discarded medication per patient ($ 4.07) was significantly less than for the four facilities using traditional drug-distribution systems ($ 23.54). There was an inverse relationship between bed capacity and mean projected annual cost of discarded medication per patient. The use of unit dose drug distribution systems in all long-term care facilities would be expected to result in substantial savings in the costs of discarded medications.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1982

Early predictors of age at first use of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes.

This paper is a report of the relationships between various measures of social adaptation to the first grade classroom and the age at which alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were first used by teenagers who began elementary school in a poor black urban community on the South Side of Chicago. Prospective longitudinal community epidemiological data were collected periodically in first and third grades from consecutive total cohorts of children in the 1960s. The 1966-67 population (cohort 3) was followed up at age 16 or 17. This population of 705 children is reported on here regarding early predictors of their first use of these substances. There are three main findings: (1) boys tended to use all substances at an earlier age than girls; (2) students who performed better on first grade IQ and Readiness tests tended to initiate substance use at an earlier age; (3) girls (but not boys) who were rated by their first grade teachers as shy or having learning problems tended to initiate use at a later age. The relationships of these findings to our past investigations of paths leading to substance use are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗