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Biomedical subjects

C R Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to C R Thompson.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Relating posture to discomfort in VDT use.

To identify sources of discomfort in video display terminal (VDT) work stations, the working postures of 100 telephone operators who used VDTs to retrieve directory listings were photographed. Attempts to correlate postural angles and distances derived from the photographs with subjective judgments of physical discomfort reported on a questionnaire were unsuccessful. Possible explanations for the failure of the postural parameters to predict discomfort are discussed, and the absence of other postural data that may be appropriately applied to the specification of VDT work stations is noted. It is concluded that recommendations for VDT work stations that are phrased in terms of static angles and distances are currently unsubstantiated and, thus, are not yet ready to be codified as formal standards.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Smoking patterns of motor vehicle industry workers and their impact on lung cancer mortality rates.

A recent retrospective mortality study, based on proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs), has shown that blue-collar automotive workers have an excess of approximately 30% in lung cancer deaths over a comparable representation of the general population. This study compares the cigarette smoking habits of automotive workers with those of the general population and assesses the extent to which any smoking habit differences might account for the excess in lung cancer deaths among automotive workers. The results show that when smoking differences are considered, the lung cancer PMR for white male automotive workers declines from 1.3 to approximately 1.1. These findings suggest that smoking habits of a studied population can affect mortality ratios for lung cancer when the smoking habits of the studied population differ significantly from those of the general population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

An explanation of the language of a chimpanzee.

The language barrier of the chimpanzee Lana, previously described by Rumbaugh (1977), can be simulated by a computer model in which the animal selects, depending upon context, one of six stock sentences with fixed and variable elements.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed1980

Conditional discrimination learning: a critique and amplification.

Carter and Werner recently reviewed the literature on conditional discrimination learning by pigeons, which consists of studies of matching-to-sample and oddity-from-sample. They also discussed three models of such learning: the "multiple-rule" model (learning of stimulus-specific relations), the "configuration" model, and the "single-rule" model (concept learning). Although their treatment of the multiple-rule model, which seems most applicable to the pigeon data, is generally excellent, their discussion of the other two models is incomplete and sometimes inaccurate. Potential problems of terminology are discussed in the present paper, as are additional lines of research that deserve consideration by those interested in further work in this area. The issue of response versus stimulus selection (configuration versus compound-cue learning) is discussed in connection with the configuration model. Particular attention is given to Carter and Werner's criticism of the application, in studies with other species, of the learning set procedure in testing for single-rule learning. Some of the important related issues are: the bias for improvement on new problems in a series, the adequacy of a multiple-rule model to explain learning set formation, and evidence in favor of the single-rule model, at least in primates. Consideration of these additional contributions to the study of conditional discrimination learning emphasizes the usefulness of this task in the comparative study of cognitive processes.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Nyctohemeral secretion of growth hormone in normal children of short stature and in children with hypopituitarism and intrauterine growth retardation.

A continuous blood sampling technique has been used to monitor human growth hormone (GH) during sleep in fourteen normal short children (age range 6.5-15.0 years), twelve hypopituitary children (2.8-17.3 years), three children with psychosocial GH deficiency (4.0-13.0 years), and three children with intrauterine growth retardation (9.5-11.3 years). The mean GH level of a 5 h sleep period (22.30-03.30 hours) was used to represent the GH response to sleep. The GH response to insulin induced hypoglycaemia (IST) was also determined. In normal short children there was a significant relationship between 5 h mean GH levels and chronological age. The curve defining this relationship was similar to the third centile linear growth velocity curve. The 5 h mean GH levels of the hypopituitary and psychosocial GH deficiency children were more than 2 SD below the age related mean established for normal short children. The children with intrauterine growth retardation demonstrated values which were more than 2 SD above the age related mean.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

6-Thio and -seleno-beTa-D-glucose esters of dimethylarsinous acid.

Syntheses of 2-Se-(1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-3-N,N-dimethylselenopseudourea hydroiodide (3), 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-6-S-dimethylarsino-6-thio-beta-D-glucopyranose (4), 1,2,3,4-tetra-O-acetyl-6-Se-dimethylarsino-6-seleno-beta-D-glucopyranose (7), 6-S-dimethylarsino-6-thio-beta-D-glucopyranose (5), and 6-Se-dimethylarsino-6-seleno-beta-D-glucopyranose (9) are described. Various spectral properties of the compounds are given. The relative rates of alkaline hydrolysis of 5 and 9 are compared.

Arsenicals↗
PubMed1975

Electrodiagnosis and ultrasonography in the assessment of recent major trauma.

This paper reports a prospective study of 47 eyes with opaque media after recent major ocular trauma which were assessed by measurement of visual acuity, electroretinography, visually evoked response, and ultrasonography. The results of each method of assessment were analysed as indiced of prognosis for visual recovery. Each method of examination proved of value for prognosis, and a combined assessment using all the methods together was of special value.

Adult↗