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Biomedical subjects

E Sorensen

Publications and source records attributed to E Sorensen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Regulation of negative affect during mother-child problem-solving interactions: adolescent depressive status and family processes.

Despite recent suggestions that depression can be conceptualized as a disorder of affect regulation, relatively little research has focused on affect regulation skills in depressed individuals. This paper investigated whether depressed adolescents (N = 25) differ from nondepressed adolescents (N = 25) on two indices of affect regulation (i.e., duration of negative affective states and reciprocity of maternal negative affect) as well as whether these indices are related to microsocial family interactional processes. Analyses revealed that depressed teens differed from their nondepressed peers with regard to duration of negative affective states but not in their likelihood of reciprocating negative affect. Additionally, indices of adolescent affect regulation were related to family interactional processes. Duration of depressive affect was positively associated with maternal display of facilitative behavior contingent on adolescent depressive behavior. Duration of aggressive behavior was inversely related to maternal problem-solving responses to aggressive behavior. Finally, adolescent reciprocity of maternal depressive and aggressive behaviors was strongly associated with mothers' reciprocity of adolescents' negative affective behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Family relationships of depressed adolescents: a multimethod assessment.

Conducted a multimethod assessment consisting of behavioral observations as well as mother- and adolescent-report measures to compare the family environments of depressed adolescents to those of healthy, nondistressed adolescents. Each group consisted of 17 girls and 9 boys. Depressed adolescents and their mothers described their families as being less supportive and more conflictual than did their counterparts in comparison families. Depressed adolescents also demonstrated less problem-solving behavior, and both they and their mothers demonstrated less facilitative and more depressive behavior during observed problem-solving interactions. In contrast, neither depressed adolescents nor their mothers demonstrated higher rates of aggressive behavior relative to their counterparts in the families of healthy adolescents. The multimethod assessment allowed us to draw firm conclusions regarding the role of supportive family interactions. Hypotheses regarding the inconsistency between self-report and observational data with regard to family conflict are addressed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Subtypes of incarcerated delinquents constructed via cluster analysis.

The MMPI and Jesness Inventory were used to construct groupings of juvenile delinquents homogeneous with respect to personality characteristics. Subjects were 191 incarcerated juvenile delinquents, aged 12 to 19. All participants had been adjudicated on one or more serious offenses. Five subtypes of delinquents were identified. They included an alienated, unsocialized group, an insecure-anxious group, a group reporting limited difficulties with peers but alienated from adults, a group with no apparent emotional disturbance, and a group with multiple elevations. Significant differences between clusters with regard to self-reported explosiveness, suicidality, gang activities, substance abuse, history of sexual abuse, and delusions and hallucinations were identified. Discriminant function analysis was then used to support the generalizability of the classification system to an independent sample. Eighty per cent of the second sample were accurately classified. The subtypes identified are compared to delinquent classification systems developed previously.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The prevalence and control of soil-transmitted nematode infections among children and women in the plantations in Sri Lanka.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of soil-transmitted nematode infections among children and to assess the magnitude of nematode infections among women in the reproductive age group. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: 14 government owned plantations in the up-country and low-country regions of Sri Lanka. SUBJECTS: 1614 children 3 to 12 years of age and 246 women 18 to 44 years selected using a multi-stage random sampling technique. MEASUREMENTS: Egg count from stool samples collected from subjects using the quantitative Kato-Katz technique; percentage of children and women infected. RESULTS: 89.7% of the children and 86.2% of the women had at least one type of soil-transmitted nematode infection. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most common infection (77.0% of the children and 69.5% of the women). 69.4% of the children and 56.5% of the women had Trichuris trichiura infection and 23.2% of the children and 41.4% of the women had hookworm infection. Hookworm infection was much more common in the low country plantations. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence rates reflect widespread faecal contamination of the environment in the plantations due to poor and congested housing conditions and insufficient sanitary facilities. As the physical environment is not likely to change in the short term, the strategy for control of soil-transmitted nematode infections should focus on regular deworming of children and health education. A control program based on these principles was initiated in the estate sector after this study was completed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The efficacy of three anthelmintic drugs given in a single dose.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of a single dose mebendazole 500 mg from the original manufacturer and a formulation locally produced by State Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Corporation of Sri Lanka and albendazole 400 mg in mass treatment of soil-transmitted nematode infections. DESIGN: Randomised trial. SETTING: Government owned plantations in low-country regions of Sri Lanka with poor sanitary facilities. SUBJECTS: 399 children 3 to 15 years of age infected with at least one type soil-transmitted nematode. INTERVENTION: Mebendazole 500 mg or albendazole 400 mg given as single dose treatment. MEASUREMENTS: Cure rates and egg reduction rates calculated from egg counts of pre- and post-treatment stool samples using the quantitative Kato-Katz technique. RESULTS: All three drugs were effective against Ascaris infection with cure rates above 95%. The efficacy against Trichuris trichuria was uniformly poor. For hookworm infection albendazole appeared to be more effective in a single dose with cure rates of 77.9% compared with 28.7% and 35.8% for the two mebendazole formulations; corresponding egg reduction rates were 95.4% compared with 72.0% and 74.5%. CONCLUSION: Albendazole is the drug of choice for mass deworming where hookworm disease is prominent. There was no statistically significant difference between the original and locally produced mebendazole.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Brief child assessment battery to assist with treatment planning and program evaluation.

A brief battery of self-report measures was constructed to discriminate effectively 45 matched clinic versus nonclinic subjects, ages 8 to 15. The battery consisted of measures from six domains, including externalizing problems, child and parent report of internalizing problems, peer relations, school functioning, and family relationships. Data on subjects and their families were provided by various sources, including parents, teachers, and the children. In an effort to facilitate interpretation and use of this information by unsophisticated staff, within domain scores were converted to bivariate risk scores. Results indicated effective classification (82%) of groups using the bivariate risk scores alone. This constituted only a small loss of information when the risk scores replaced t-scores. Implications for the use of the risk scores to facilitate treatment planning and program evaluation are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Judicial decision-making in contested custody cases: the influence of reported child abuse, spouse abuse, and parental substance abuse.

This study examined the relationship between allegations of maltreatment and substance abuse, and custody awards in Florida. Information concerning the presence, or absence, of these reports was collected on 60 contested initial disposition, or disposition modification cases, and was used to model judicial decision-making. Substantiated reports of child and spouse abuse occurred very infrequently in our sample. Conversely, substance abuse allegations occurred much more frequently. Judges appeared responsive to allegations of abuse with regard to awards of primary physical residence, despite the lack of substantiated evidence. Maltreatment allegations had no apparent impact, however, on awards of shared, versus sole, custody. Additionally, reports of parental substance abuse also had no apparent impact on judicial decision-making. Implications of these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The effect of the availability of latrines on soil-transmitted nematode infections in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka.

The relationship of soil-transmitted nematode infections to the availability of latrines was studied among 1,614 children 3-12 years of age living on plantations in Sri Lanka. The majority (89.7%) of the children had at least one type of soil-transmitted nematode. There was a significantly lower mean count of hookworm eggs for children coming from plantations with good sanitary facilities. For Ascaris and Trichuris, a similar association was observed between the mean egg count and the availability of latrines for children from the low-country plantations, where people live in more scattered settlements, but not in the up-country area, where worker settlements are larger and more crowded. Congested living conditions in themselves consequently seem to be a major determinant for ascariasis and trichuriasis, and the provision of latrines and safe water does not substantially change that situation. However, improvements of sanitary facilities will probably have a more immediate effect on the prevalence of hookworm infection.

Ascariasis↗
PubMed1990

Expression cloning of a human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor: a structural mosaic of hematopoietin receptor, immunoglobulin, and fibronectin domains.

We report the isolation from a placental library, of two cDNAs that can encode high affinity receptors for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) when expressed in COS-7 cells. The cDNAs are predicted to encode integral membrane proteins of 759 and 812 amino acids in length. The predicted extracellular and membrane spanning sequences of the two clones are identical, as are the first 96 amino acids of their respective cytoplasmic regions. Different COOH termini of 34 or 87 residues are predicted for the two cDNAs, due apparently to alternate splicing. The receptor with the longer cytoplasmic domain is the closest human homologue of the murine G-CSF receptor recently described by Fukunaga et al. (Fukunaga, R., E. Ishizaka-Ikeda, Y. Seto, and S. Nagata. 1990. Cell. 61:341). A hybridization probe derived from the placental G-CSF receptor cDNA detects a approximately 3-kb transcript in RNAs isolated from placenta and a number of lymphoid and myeloid cells. The extracellular region of the G-CSF receptors is composed of four distinct types of structural domains, previously recognized in other cell surface proteins. In addition to the two domains of the HP receptor family-defining region (Patthy, L. 1990. Cell. 61:13) it incorporates one NH2-terminal Ig-like domain, and three additional repeats of fibronectin type III-like domains. The presence of both an NH2-terminal Ig-like domain and multiple membrane-proximal FN3-like domains suggests that the G-CSF receptor may be derived from an ancestral NCAM-like molecule and that the G-CSF receptor may function in some adhesion or recognition events at the cell surface in addition to the binding of G-CSF.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Minor influence of parathyroid hormone on fractional tubular reabsorption of phosphate in chronic renal failure.

In untreated patients with chronic renal failure and glomerular filtration rates (GFR) between 10 and 25 ml/min the decrease in fractional tubular reabsorption of phosphate was correlated to the degree of secondary hyperparathyroidism. This correlation was not found in patients with GFR below 10 ml/min. During treatment with 1alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol for 11 weeks: a) serum parathyroid hormone concentration decreased in all patients on average 60%, and was normal in 5 patients after treatment b) fractional tubular reabsorption of phosphate decreased significantly (on average 0.21) c) glomerular filtration rate decreased significantly (on average 27.5%). Since the reduction (or normalization) of serum parathyroid hormone concentration did not increase the fractional tubular reabsorption of phosphate, other (GFR-related) factors than parathyroid hormone play the major role for renal handling of phosphate in chronic renal failure when GFR is below 25 ml/min.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1977

Bone composition and parathyroid function in chronic renal failure.

The development of bone abnormalities has been studied in 24 patients with severe chronic renal failure. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was between 5 and 25 ml/min. The mean values of plasma calcium, degree of bone mineralization (P/Hypro) and bone mineral content (BMC) were subnormal, whereas the mean values of plasma phosphorus and serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) were elevated. Analysis of the data revealed that the various parameters became increasingly pathological with decreasing renal function. Serum PTH correlated inversely with both GFR and plasma calcium. The decrease in bone P/Hypro with decreasing renal function could be explained by an inverse correlation to serum PTH. Plasma alkaline phosphatase correlated inversely to both bone P/Hypro and BMC. The present study on individual patients with varying degrees of renal insufficiency shows that the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism correlates with a reduction in the degree of bone P/Hypro and suggests that significant bone changes appear when the GFR falls below 15 ml/min.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Controlled trial of 1apha-hydroxycholecalciferol in chronic renal failure.

24 patients with chronic renal failure (glomerular filtration-rate (G.F.R.) 5-25 ml/min) participated in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of the effects of 1 alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol (1alpha-H.C.C.) 1 mug daily for eleven weeks. This treatment induced significant increases in the intestinal absorption of calcium and in plasma-calcium which reached normal levels within two weeks. It also induced a significant reduction of the raised serum levels of parathyroid hormone. No significant changes were induced in plasma-phosphorus, plasma-alkaline-phosphatase, or in the degree of bone mineralisation as measured by the phosphorus/hydroxyproline ratio in bone. The bone mineral content in the forearm measured by photon absorptiometry decreased to the same extent in the 1alpha-H.C.C. groups and in the placebo group. The fall in G.F.R. over eleven weeks was 2-5 times greater in the 1alpha-H.C.C. group than in the placebo group, but this difference was not significant. It is concluded that 1alpha-H.C.C. treatment in chronic renal failure does not affect the progressive loss of calcium from bone despite normalisation of plasma-calcium.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Toxicological problems with the REDY system.

Dialysate from the REDY dialysis system was examined for toxic elements, special attention being paid to the content of zirconium and aluminium. Also investigated was the concentration of formaldehyde in the rinsing fluid of three consecutive washings. The amount of zirconium and aluminium found in the dialysate was negligible. The concentration of formaldehyde was alarmingly high after two consecutive washings, a considerable amount (less than 50 mg) still remaining after three washings. It is recommended that at least three consecutive washings be performed, and that, if possible, formaldehyde be substituted by another antiseptic. Of special interest was the finding of a very high concentration of boron in the dialysate. It is suggested that this metal, which is a potentially toxic substance, may emanate from the patient. It is concluded that use of the REDY system carries no obvious toxicological risk.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1975

Granule containing cells and fibres in the sinus venosus of elasmobranchs.

The concentrations of catecholamines in the heart chambers of elasmobranchs were measured by the fluorimetric method of Bertler et al. (1958). Noradrenaline (NA) can be detected in all the chambers, but the sinus venosus is by far the richest in NA. This can either be due to the presence of storage sites for this amine in the sinus wall, or to a transport of amine to the sinus venosus from the anterior chromaffin bodies. The sinus wall contains large numbers of "granule containing cells" and axon-like processes, both with numerous dense-core vesicles of about 1800 A diameter. The dense-core vesicles contain a uranophilic matrix indicating the presence of protein, phospholipids and/or nucleic acid. The reactions failed to demonstrate amine, which may be due to a loss of amine by diffusion, to a relatively low intravesicular amine concentration, or, to the absence of amines in these granule-containing cells and processes. Heavy accumulations of granule-containing processes occur in the subendothelial area. The endothelium contains fenestrae and pores through which granule-containing fibres protrude into the venous cavity. Granule-containing cells are innervated by presumed cholinergic nerve endings. It is suggested that the granule-containing cells and fibres belong to the neurosecretory system with a cholinergic input, releasing the contents of the dense-core vesicles into the blood stream at the level of the venous cavity.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1975

Adult hypophosphatasia.

A case of adult hypophosphatasia under treatment with a high orthophosphate (P1) intake is described. The patient is a 53-year-old woman. Her symptoms have progressed for seven years, and it has been necessary to perform osteosynthesis of both crura. The diagnosis rests upon a characteristic clinical picture, low serum alkaline phosphatase activity, high urinary excretion of phosphoethanolamine, and an invariably elevated concentration of inorganic pyrophosphate (PP1) in plasma accompanied by a very high excretion of this compound in the urine. An improved technique allowed specific determinations of microquantities of PP1 in biologic materials. The concentrations of PP1 in the plasma and urine remained unchanged when the patient's intake of phosphorus was increased to 1.98 g/day. The PP1/P1 ratio in the urine was 10-20 before treatment. During treatment P1 excretion increased. PP1 excretion did not change, and the ratio decreased to around 7. The renal tubular transport of PP1 probably was saturated, and therefore PP1, which was circulating in abnormally high concentrations in the patient's fluids, could not be removed by loading with P1. Four months of treatment did not benefit the patient.

Diphosphates↗