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Biomedical subjects

E Armstrong

Publications and source records attributed to E Armstrong.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Mental capability of children exposed to lead pollution.

'Eleven-plus' school examination scores were obtained for 851 Birmingham children residing since birth in a lead-polluted area and 1642 children residing in two similar but unpolluted areas. It was found that the children in the lead-polluted area actually scored higher on the average than children in the control areas. Within the area of lead contamination, children living closest to the source of pollution did not have significantly lower scores than children living further away. The results indicate that lead pollution of the magnitude reported in this investigation did not have a demonstrable effect on the mental capabilities of children in the affected community.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1975

The influence of the birth of a malformed child on the mother's further reproduction.

Births which occurred in Birmingham in 1964-70 were assembled into fraternities by computer linkage. By calculating the frequency with which one birth was followed by another and the interval between births the reproductive behavior of mothers after the birth of a malformed child was compared with that of all mothers, taking account of differences in maternal age, parity, and period of observation. It was found that malformations which resulted in stillbirth or early death were more frequently followed by another birth and that the interval to the following birth was shorter than usual. In this respect malformations did not differ in their effect from other causes of stillbirth and infant death. The birth of children were severe malformations who survived, however, acted as a slight deterrent to further reproduction. The malformation rate among children born after a malformation was double the usual rate; the recurrence rate was particularly high for neural tube defects, 5% of subsequent children being affected. In spite of this parents of children with central nervous system malformations were not deterred from further reproduction unless the affected child survived.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Faculty development for ambulatory teaching.

This paper deals with helping faculty members and others learn to teach more effectively in ambulatory settings. First it suggests ways to help clinicians expand and update their knowledge and skills in ambulatory medicine as a foundation for teaching. Next it identifies six skills--establishing mutual expectations, setting limited teaching goals, asking questions, stimulating self-directed learning, giving feedback, and capitalizing on role modeling--that are basic to effective ambulatory teaching. Then it presents strategies for developing and maintaining such skills: assessment of teaching, consultation with experts in education, and participation in programs such as workshops. The paper ends by discussing aspects of institutional support and calling for research on the impact of faculty development efforts on teaching and learning in medicine.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Language disorder: a functional linguistic perspective.

This paper explores the issues involved in the linguistic characterisation of disordered discourse and the ways in which a Systemic Functional Linguistic framework addresses these issues. For many years, language disorders were described in terms of formal grammars, with "breakdown" discussed in terms of one or more of the traditional levels of language, i.e., phonology, syntax, and semantics. While it was acknowledged that an individual could have difficulty at one or more of these levels, each was viewed quite separately, with semantics viewed largely from a referential perspective. More recent approaches using functional grammar have broadened this view of language and have provided a model of language that re-conceptualizes the notion of meaning and embraces context as integral to its organisation. Such a model has introduced a different perspective on language into clinical fields, and has enabled researchers and clinicians to explore the skills of speakers with language disorders across a variety of situations and contextual variables, examining the linguistic resources still available to them. This paper introduces principles involved in a functional framework and provides an overview of how these principles have been applied to language disorders to date. In addition, the notion of "disorder" itself is discussed as it is situated in this alternative model.

Aphasia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A multinational comparison of aphasia management practices.

The effect of restructuring of healthcare on the quality, quantity, and nature of aphasia management is largely unknown. The current study is the first to examine access, diagnostic, treatment, and discharge patterns of patients with aphasia in Australia, Canada, the UK, the US private sector (US-Private), and the US Veterans Health Administration in the Department of Veterans Affairs (US-VA). The authors developed a 37-item survey to be completed by clinicians working with aphasic patients. The survey focused on eight areas: access to care, evaluation procedures, group treatment, number and duration of treatment sessions, limitations of the number of sessions, termination of treatment, follow-up practices, and resumption of treatment. 394 surveys were distributed and 175 were returned completed (44% return rate). Respondents represented a range of ages, work experiences, and work settings. There was considerable consistency among respondents from our five healthcare systems. Results suggest that patients may be routinely denied treatment in direct contradiction to the research literature. Just as we carefully monitor the progress of patients receiving our treatment, we are obliged to monitor the effects of managed care on our patients, fellow clinicians, and our profession.

Americas↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cortical gyrification in the rhesus monkey: a test of the mechanical folding hypothesis.

A quantitative measure of the degree of cortical folding was used to test the mechanical hypothesis of cortical folding and to analyze structural properties of the rhesus monkey cortex. The rhesus monkey cortex has both its maximal degree of cortical folding and the largest ratios of supragranular laminae to the lower granular and infragranular layers in the caudal cortex, over the posterior parietal-anterior occipital regions. Low values for cortical folding and for the ratios of inner and outer cortical layers characterize frontal regions. Topographically intermediate regions are intermediate in both sets of values. Ratios of the amounts of white and gray matter have a topographic pattern that differs from those of cortical folding, suggesting that the sizes of subcortical axonal bundles are not directly associated with the degree of cortical folding. Whereas differences in mean degrees of cortical folding are correlated with brain weights among species of primates, the amount of folding is not associated with brain weight within the species.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The ontogeny of human gyrification.

During development the human cortex changes from a smooth lissencephalic structure to one that is highly convoluted. Increases in the degree of cortical folding are associated with brain size only for the first part of brain growth; during the second half, differences in cortical folding match those of brain size, resulting in no change in the degree of folding. When the degree of cortical folding is studied as a function of age, a brief postnatal overshoot, an effect of brain size, is observed. The analysis suggests that the mechanical hypothesis of cortical buckling can best explain the degree of cortical folding, but that other hypotheses, like gyrogenesis, are required to explain the placement and orientation of sulci. The adult asymptote in degree of cortical folding is associated with the onset and disappearance of single subplate lamina, suggesting that subplate:cortical plate associations should be examined as causal for gyrification. Areas whose sulci differ in length between the two hemispheres have similar degrees of convolutedness, supporting interpretations that the sizes of gyri are asymmetric in the two hemispheres. The ontogenetic data support the thesis that human cortical proportions evolved when the brain enlarged in size and that the process was not one of neoteny.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Invisible illnesses.

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Depressive Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Challenging depression.

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Depressive Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of the community nurse in caring for people with depression.

Depression is often seen as a defect of character, rather than a disorder which can be treated. Elizabeth Armstrong outlines how nurses working in primary care can effectively recognise and refer patients or clients with depression.

Community Health Nursing↗