Biomedical subjects

F Rice

Publications and source records attributed to F Rice.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Maternal smoking during pregnancy as an environmental risk factor for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder behaviour. A review.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood psychiatric disorder which affects between 3% and 5% of school aged children. Despite much research, little is known regarding the aetiology of the disorder. Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been linked to a number of negative effects in offspring in infancy, childhood and even into adulthood and has been proposed as a possible risk factor for ADHD. The aim of this review was to discuss the evidence associating maternal smoking during pregnancy and ADHD as well as methodological issues concerning this association. A literature search using PubMed was employed using relevant keywords. The relevant reference sections of articles found were also searched. All English language studies published before June 2005 were assessed. A pooled odds ratio derived from case-control studies was also obtained. Despite methodological limitations, the majority of studies identify maternal smoking during pregnancy as a risk factor for ADHD behaviours. A pooled odds ratio indicates more than a two-fold increase in risk for a diagnosis of ADHD in those individuals whose mothers smoked during pregnancy (odds ratio 2.39, 95% confidence intervals 1.61, 3.52 P<0.001). Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for ADHD behaviour and diagnoses, although the mechanisms through which such risks work is unknown.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

PubMed2002

Exposure to crystalline silica, silicosis, and lung disease other than cancer in diatomaceous earth industry workers: a quantitative risk assessment.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate excess lifetime risk of (a) mortality from lung disease other than cancer (LDOC), and, (b) onset of radiographic silicosis, arising from occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust. METHODS: Data from a cohort of California diatomaceous earth mining and processing workers exposed to crystalline silica dust (mainly as cristobalite) were reanalyzed with Poisson regression methods with internal and external adjustments for potential confounding by calendar time, age, smoking, Hispanic ethnicity, and time since first observation. Model fit was evaluated by comparing deviances and fitting cubic spline models. Lifetime risks of death from LDOC and radiographic silicosis were estimated up to age 85 with an actuarial approach accounting for competing causes of death. RESULTS: For deaths due to LDOC, a linear relative rate model gave the best fit in Poisson regression analyses. At the mean cumulative exposure of LDOC cases to silica, after adjustment for smoking, the estimated rate ratio was 4.2 (p<0.0001); at the maximum cumulative exposure of cases, the rate ratio was 18.4. The excess lifetime risk for white men exposed to respirable cristobalite dust for 45 years at the current permissible exposure limit (PEL; about 0.05 mg/m(3)) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was 54/1000 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 17 to 150). For 70 incident cases of radiographic silicosis largely manifest before the end of employment, the best fit was also the linear relative rate model, predicting a rate ratio of 25.6 for silicosis at the mean cumulative exposure of the cases (p<0.0001). The excess lifetime risk for silicosis at the current PEL was 75/1000. CONCLUSION: Current occupational health standards for crystalline silica permit risks of lung disease other than cancer far in excess of what is usually considered acceptable by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (a lifetime risk of less than one in a thousand deaths).

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Susceptibility locus for Alzheimer's disease on chromosome 10.

The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the only genetic risk factor that has so far been linked to risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). However, 50 percent of Alzheimer's disease cases do not carry an APOE4 allele, suggesting that other risk factors must exist. We performed a two-stage genome-wide screen in sibling pairs with LOAD to detect other susceptibility loci. Here we report evidence for an Alzheimer's disease locus on chromosome 10. Our stage one multipoint lod score (logarithm of the odds ratio for linkage/no linkage) of 2.48 (266 sibling pairs) increased to 3.83 in stage 2 (429 sibling pairs) close to D10S1225 (79 centimorgans). This locus modifies risk for Alzheimer's disease independent of APOE genotype.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed2000

Familial influence on variation in age of onset and behavioural phenotype in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease manifests considerable heterogeneity, the cause of which is unknown. AIMS: To determine the familial (genotypic) influence on phenomenology (phenotype) in Alzheimer's disease. METHOD: Affected sibling pairs with Alzheimer's disease were assessed for a range of cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. Resemblance for phenotypic characteristics was estimated using intraclass correlations for continuous traits and by pairwise concordance for dichotomous traits. The relationship between age of onset and APOE genotype was examined using linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Significant familial effects on age of onset (intraclass correlation 0.41) and mood state (intraclass correlation 0.26), and a relatively high pairwise concordance for agitation (excess concordance 0.1) were found. The APOE locus was found to account for 4% of the variance in age of onset. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial familial influence on age of onset, depression and agitation suggests that genotype does influence phenotype in Alzheimer's disease. Establishing the molecular basis for this phenotypic variation may prove relevant to other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Affect↗

PubMed1999

No association between the alpha-2 macroglobulin I1000V polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease.

Recent reports have suggested that variability in the alpha2-macroglobulin gene is a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Here we have both tested a common polymorphism in the gene (I1000V) for association with the disease in a four-site case control study design, and tested the locus for linkage in a large series of sibpairs afflicted with late onset disease. Our results fail to show an association between this polymorphism and disease.

Age of Onset↗

PubMed1999

Alpha-2 macroglobulin gene and Alzheimer disease.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Sources of uncertainty in dose-response modeling of epidemiological data for cancer risk assessment.

Epidemiologic data is increasingly being used for dose-response analysis in risk assessment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other U.S. agencies have expressed a preference for using epidemiologic data rather than toxicologic data when possible. However, there are a number of important sources of uncertainty in using epidemiologic data for this purpose that need to be clearly recognized and, when possible, quantified. This paper presents a critical review of the major sources of uncertainty in the use of epidemiologic data for cancer risk assessment. These may include: (1) study design issues such as potential confounding and other biases, inadequate sample size, and followup, (2) the choice of the data set, (3) specification of the dose-response model, (4) estimation of exposure and dose, and (5) unrecognized variability in susceptibility. Examples from risk assessments for cadmium, asbestos, and diesel exhaust are used to illustrate the potential magnitude of some of these sources of uncertainty. It is shown that the overall uncertainty from these various sources combined may often result in highly uncertain risk estimates from dose-response modeling of epidemiologic data. For this reason, we believe it is best to present a range of possible risk estimates, which, to the extent possible, reflects the variability and uncertainty inherent in the dose-response evaluation of epidemiologic data.

Asbestos↗

PubMed1996

Approaches for assessing the efficacy of occupational health and safety standards.

The regulation of hazards is one of the most dramatic forms of intervention in occupational safety and health (OSH). Despite their high degree of potential social and economic impact, relatively little research has been conducted to specifically evaluate the effectiveness of OSH standards with regard to preventing occupational diseases and injuries. This paper reviews the basic scientific approaches that may be used to evaluate the efficacy of OSH standards. These approaches encompass the following research areas: (1) exposure surveillance, (2) disease surveillance, and (3) prospective studies following the introduction of the standard. Research on asbestos and asbestosis, respirable crystalline silica (quartz) and silicosis, and respirable coal mine dust and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) are used to illustrate these approaches and the type of information that is currently available. The examples (quartz, coal dust, asbestos) reveal substantial limitations in the types of information currently available for evaluating the efficacy of these OSH standards. Ideally, plans for evaluating the efficacy of OSH standards should be developed for existing and future standards. These plans should include programs for the surveillance of exposures and adverse health effects and, when possible, for prospective studies designed to evaluate how the risk of disease (or injury) is modified by the introduction of the standard.

Forecasting↗

PubMed1995

Biomedical image processing in pathology: a review.

Pathologists make a diagnostic decision by viewing a specimen and measuring various diagnostically important attributes of an isolated object such as size, shape, darkness, colour and texture. This is a complex process. In recent years, computer-aided image processing and analysis systems have played a significant role in quantitative pathology. This paper summarises basic image processing and analysis techniques and reviews related work in pathology and cytology based on computational image processing since 1987. Firstly, we present a general introduction to image enhancement, segmentation, morphometry and visualisation for those medical colleagues who may not have the necessary background in this area. (The mathematical treatment is kept to minimum and appropriate references are cited to satisfy the more mathematically oriented readers. Selected examples are provided to demonstrate the effects of various basic image processing algorithms on a MRI scan. It should be emphasised that the reviewed techniques are generally used as preprocessing steps in analysing microscopic images and powerful algorithms are more sophisticated and problem-specific.) Secondly, we review image cytometric and histometric methods, standards, calibration and applications. Finally, we touch upon three dimensional confocal image processing and analysis, applications of artificial neural networks, and optical disk database management for recording and retrieving a large number of digitised high resolution images. The development of integrated optical microscope and computer, systems is also briefly described.

Artificial Intelligence↗

PubMed1994

Folk medicine: observations and examples.

This article looks at medicine from a historical, culture-specific perspective. Various home remedies are discussed with applications to specific disease conditions. A case study applies the points of discussion to the client's case.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

A retrospective study of patient falls in a psychiatric hospital.

1. While falls on medical-surgical units are the focus of extensive research, falls on inpatient psychiatric units are an understudied critical event. 2. The purposes of this study were to identify the variables associated with psychiatric patient falls and to use that information to assess risk and, therefore, prevent falls in this population. 3. The psychiatric patient at risk for falling is described as a woman with a prior history of falls; less than 65 years of age; experiencing anxiety and agitation; and receiving a sedative, a tranquilizer, and a laxative. Additionally, this patient is more likely to fall in a community area.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed1991