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Biomedical subjects

D Reiss

Publications and source records attributed to D Reiss.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Pragmatics in the measurement of family functioning: an interpretive framework for methodology.

The issue of the cross-method comparison of concepts that describe family functioning is addressed by means of an empirical investigation of two methods of family assessment. The examination focuses on a consideration of the functional, or pragmatic, aspects of subjects' responses through a comparison of a self-report and an observational method whose associated concepts appear to be similar. Little predicted association based on conceptual similarity is noted. An interpretive framework is developed suggesting that the outcomes of empirical method comparisons may be usefully considered in terms of the pragmatic aspects of subjects' responses or the way in which subjects may be using their responses, based on their inferences regarding the interpersonal context associated with each method.

Adolescent↗

Stability/instability in the alcoholic marriage: the interrelationships between course of alcoholism, family process, and marital outcome.

Thirty-one alcoholic families who were originally studied in home, multiple-family group, and laboratory settings were reassessed two years later to determine course of alcoholism and degree of marital stability. This paper presents data comparing baseline alcohol consumption and family interactional behavior at home with subsequent alcoholism and marital stability outcomes. Findings suggest that the relative degree of stability/instability in these marriages is best understood as a function of the "goodness-of-fit" between the relative predictability of drinking on the part of the identified alcoholic and the family's characteristic pattern of interactional behavior at home.

Alcoholism↗

[Value of the assay of urinary neopterin in multiple myeloma. Preliminary study].

Urinary neopterin was assayed by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). 75 assays were performed in a population of 21 patients with multiple myeloma. There was a significant correlation between the urinary neopterin level and the electrophoretic peak, the R beta-2 microglobulinaemia ratio and the calculated tumour mass (Tbmc). This study demonstrates the value of this assay in the monitoring of patients with multiple myeloma.

Aged↗

Evidence for the involvement of (Cu-ATP)2- in the inhibition of human erythrocyte (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase by copper.

The effects of copper on the activity of erythrocyte (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase have been tested on membranes stripped of endogenous calmodulin or recombined with purified calmodulin. The interactions of copper with Ca2+, calmodulin and (Mg-ATP)2- were determined by kinetic studies. The most striking result is the potent competitive inhibition exerted by (Cu-ATP)2- against (Mg-ATP)2- (Ki = 2.8 microM), while free copper gives no characteristic inhibition. Our results also demonstrate that copper does not compete with calcium either on the enzyme or on calmodulin. The fixation of calmodulin on the enzyme is not altered in the presence of copper as shown by the fact that the dissociation constant remains unaffected. It may be speculated that (Cu-ATP)2- is the active form of copper, which could plausibly be at the origin of some of the pathological features of erythrocytes observed in conditions associated with excess copper.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Comparative pharmacokinetics of [65Zn]zinc sulfate and [65Zn]zinc pantothenate injected intravenously in rabbits.

The pharmacokinetics of zinc sulfate were compared with those of a new zinc salt, pantothenate, in rabbits. Each salt was administered at a dosage of 3.3 microCi of zinc-65/kg of body weight. The measured pharmacokinetics of the two compounds responded to a two-compartment open model. The urinary elimination of the two salts was similar, as was their localization in the skin and fur, but zinc pantothenate was fixed by the liver to a lesser extent than was zinc sulfate.

Animals↗

The interpersonal impact approach to patient assessment: specific links between psychotics' symptoms and staff's feelings.

Specific links between the subjective feelings of inpatient staff members and the symptoms of their chronic psychotic patients were explored. The staff's feelings were assessed by a new structured interview. The patients' symptoms were measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Results suggest that differences among staff responses can be adequately described using four dimensions and each of these dimensions has a specific link with patient symptoms on the BPRS.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Family concepts and their measurement: things are seldom what they seem.

An empirical examination of the degree of association of dimensions elicited by two family assessment instruments is presented. There were no associations among dimensions whose descriptors suggested a good amount of similarity. The results strongly suggest additional study of correspondence among assessment methods that appear to tap similar family properties, with particular attention directed to the correspondence between self-report and direct observational procedures.

Adolescent↗

Improved determination of manganese in hair by use of a mini-autoclave and flameless atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman background correction: an evaluation in unexposed subjects.

Motivated by the relatively wide range of values published hitherto, we offer a new, reliable method for determination of manganese in hair from unexposed human subjects. By using a mini-autoclave, we have developed a method that obviates loss of manganese during digestion and, thanks to use of a Teflon receptacle and rigorous methodology, contamination has been minimized. We used Zeeman flameless atomic absorption spectrometry, with the method of standard additions, for quantification. Within-run CVs for concentrations of Mn of 0.26 and 0.28 microgram/g of dry hair were 3.63 and 3.93%; the day-to-day CV for a Mn concentration of 0.29 microgram/g of dry hair was 5.84%. Mean (+/- SD) analytical recovery of Mn added to samples of hair was 104% (+/- 9.2%). The mean concentration of Mn found in the hair of 15 healthy unexposed subjects was 0.26 (+/- 0.05) microgram/g dry weight. This sensitive, reproducible procedure is suitable for use in analysis for traces of Mn in hair.

Adult↗

Sensory extenders versus meters and predictors: clarifying strategies for the use of objective tests in family therapy.

Cromwell and Peterson's goal of introducing quantitative testing into family assessment and therapy is laudable; the system they propose--the Multisystem-Multimethod (MS-MM) approach is not. MS-MM is confusing, deceptive, and misleading for clinicians who want to use tests to sharpen their diagnostic assessments and predictions. What is needed is specific theory linking various family processes and individual behaviors, as well as equally specific information about the reliability and validity of the tests. Likewise, the MS-MM approach is completely inadequate for clinicians seeking to use tests to enlarge their clinical imaginations. What is needed is a more down-to-earth examination of the influence of testing on the family therapy system.

Adult↗

Sensory experience and family process: perceptual styles tend to run in but not necessarily run families.

The science of family systems has begun to develop concepts and methods for objectively assessing important characteristics of families. Thus we now have ways of measuring differences among families with respect to cohesiveness, flexibility, clarity of communication, and shared views of social reality. We know practically nothing, however, about the origins of these differences among families. One possibility is that the skills or personal attributes of one or more individual members influences the characteristics of the family as a whole. This paper explores the hypothesis that the perceptual styles of individual members--the ways they organize their experience of their personal stimulus world--influence the shared perceptions the family develops of the social world in which it lives. We explored relationships between nine measures of perceptual style and problem-solving measures of the family's shared perception of its social world. The findings showed many similarities among members of the same family on several measures of perceptual style. However, perceptual style had only a few relationships with family performance in the problem-solving task.

Adolescent↗

Ventricular enlargement in child psychiatric patients: a controlled study with planimetric measurements.

Data from adult schizophrenic patients suggest that patients with enlarged ventricles have a poorer premorbid history and may have an earlier onset of their illness than patients with ventricles of normal size. The authors examined a group of child psychiatric patients to discover whether these children at risk for major psychopathology had enlarged ventricles. Twenty psychiatric patients showed significantly enlarged ventricles compared with 19 control patients. There were no clear relationships between the children's psychiatric diagnosis and ventricular size.

Adolescent↗

[Acute primary ulcer of the small intestine. Present concepts (author's transl)].

Acute primary ulcer of the small intestine is an exceptional occurrence. Diagnosis is established only after a complication occurs. In most instances, this complication is perforation of the gut. Acute primary ulcer of the small intestine is accurately defined by specific histologic criteria. It can be unequivocally distinguished from the many other causes of spontaneous perforation of the small intestine. Experimental studies, although numerous, have not improved understanding of pathophysiology. Nosologic classification remains unclear. Many features are similar to those encountered in acute peptic ulcer but stress is usually absent. Other features resemble those of transient necrotizing enterocolitis ; acute primary ulcer of the small intestine may be a very localized form of this latter condition. Ischemia seems to be the most significant factor. However, for an ulcer and finally perforation to occur, ischemia must probably be associated with a number of other factors.

Acute Disease↗

[Serum beta 2 microglobulin assay in diabetes mellitus (author's transl)].

Beta 2 microglobulin (beta 2m) is continuously produced and subsequently almost exclusively eliminated by glomerular filtration (GRF). There is a strong correlation between serum beta 2m and serum creatinine concentrations. Beta 2m assay however seems to enhance diagnostic accuracy of minor decreases in GRF. Serum beta 2m concentrations were assayed in 193 consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus. They correlated well with serum creatinine. Supranormal serum beta 2m concentrations (greater than 2.4 micrograms/lm) were found in 15.5% of patients with normal serum creatinine. Increase in beta 2 m/was related to poor metabolic control of diabetes and correlated positively with glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations. Serum beta 2m concentrations were also related to the duration of recognized diabetes. Serum beta 2m assay allows early detection of GRF disorders in patients with diabetes mellitus. Such disorders may be partly reversible once metabolic control is improved.

Adolescent↗

The family meets the hospital. Clinical presentation of a laboratory-based family typology.

This report portrays the distinctive clinical features of four groups of families with psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. The classification of families into the four groups was made by objective measures of their performance in a standard problem-solving task. Clinicians, blind to this classification, synthesized and described their clinical impressions of these families. There were clear differences among the four groups in family dynamics and in the adolescents' ward behavior. Furthermore, families who experienced themselves as an integrated group became more effectively engaged in a family-oriented inpatient treatment program. Families with noticeable alienation between members did not become effectively engaged in the family-oriented program and may be better candidates for other approaches to inpatient care.

Adolescent↗

Discussion groups for chronic hemodialysis patients and their families.

The family as well as the patient undergoes many psychological stresses in the adjustment to end stage renal disease and maintenance hemodialysis. Despite the apparent need for psychological support services for families, few are offered. Renal social workers have found it difficult to elicit interest in discussion groups for families dealing with problems associated with dialysis. This report presents two discussion groups that were recruited and conducted for dialysis patients and their families. The process and development of the two groups are described, and recommendations are given for conducting multiple-family groups as an adjunct to the biologic treatment of severe long-term illness.

Attitude to Health↗

Coping with spinal cord injury: the family perspective.

Little attention has been paid in the literature to the special needs of family members in dealing with the sudden trauma of spinal cord injury and the long-term implications of rehabilitation. Families are often encouraged to participate in rehabilitation plans that do not take their own developmental needs into account. As a result, developmental stresses occur, often expressed as a medical crisis for the spinal cord injured patient. Requests for psychiatric consultation are a frequent initial response of the medical staff to such crisis. Two clinical cases are presented to illustrate this process. Emphasis is placed on family aspects of the cases. Data from family interviews and home visits are used to illustrate the central themes that emerged during consultations. In particular, the data illustrate how family efforts to cope with the needs of their spinal cord injured member have caused them to place inappropriate emphasis on short-term stability of family life, sacrificing, in the process, long-term growth. Recommendations are made regarding the role of the consultation-liaison psychiatrist in the use of this family developmental approach.

Adaptation, Psychological↗