Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Bird

Publications and source records attributed to J Bird.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Teaching psychiatry to non-psychiatrists: I. The application of educational methodology.

It is becoming increasingly clear that psychiatric and psychosocial needs of medical patients are not being adequately met. This need has led to an increasing emphasis on the psychiatric education of nonpsychiatrists, at varying levels of experience. Given the many problems involved in these educational efforts as well as the paucity of evaluation studies and the uncertainty of results, the authors argue that the systematic application of empirically validated educational principles may lead to greatly improved effectiveness. In this first section of a two-part series, the authors review educational methodology as it relates to the development of training objectives, the selection of teaching procedures, and the use of evaluation techniques. Part two presents a detailed "model" curriculum for primary care residents, developed according to the principles of educational methodology.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1983

Leguminous seeds in the dietary management of hyperlipidemia.

Seven male hyperlipidemic patients substituted approximately 140g dried beans daily for other sources of starch in their diet over a 4-month period. After this, mean fasting serum triglyceride levels were reduced by 25 +/- 5% (p less than 0.01) while total serum cholesterol levels were 7 +/- 2% (p less than 0.5) lower than the values measured during the previous five clinic attendances (12 +/- 2.5 months). However, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels remained unaltered. While taking beans a nonsignificant fall (0.7 kg) was seen in body weight. Nevertheless no change was seen in macronutrient intake determined by 1-wk diet histories recorded both before and four times during the study, although cholesterol intake decreased by 80 mg (p less than 0.02). Reintroduction of dried leguminous seeds into a Western diet may be a useful adjunct to the management of hyperlipidemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Acute non-specific inflammation and modification of macrophage and lymphocyte functions.

The acute inflammatory response is a common phenomenon experienced by the physician in a wide variety of clinical situations. One of the major problems facing the investigator in this field of research who wishes to look at the cellular and humoral responses involved, is that in most of the animal models previously used, the inflammatory reaction has been provoked in subcutaneous tissues. Thus, a quantitative assessment of leucocyte emigration and mediator production in the inflamed area is technically difficult without resorting to complicated and artificial methods. Inflammation provoked in the pleural cavity provides a useful tool in the study of these problems since the collection of cells and analysis of humoral factors in exudates is easily accomplished. Among the irritants that may be used, we focused our interest on calcium pyrophosphate (CaPP) crystals, a non-diffusible, non-antigenic and endotoxin-free irritant, because their deposition is implicated in pseudogout and chondrocalcinosis in man (MacCarty, 1973). Calcium pyrophosphate-induced pleurisy is typified by an acute reaction, dominated by polymorphonuclear leucocytes, reaching its maximal intensity at about 5 h and disappearing within 48 h (Willoughby et al., 1975). It was found to be independent of the complement system. Examination of the known mediators of inflammation revealed no significant participation of either histamine or 5-hydroxytryptamine. There was an early rise in PGE2 followed by a greater rise in PGF2 alpha as the reaction diminished (Capasso et al., 1975). More recently, we have demonstrated the presence of a small quantity of thromboxane and a large quantity of prostacyclin during the first 2 hours of this inflammatory process. It was also shown that this type of acute inflammation was accompanied by the very rapid liberation of acute phase proteins both locally, in the exudate, and systemically in the serum (Tissot et al., 1983). Some of these events were also examined during the pleural reaction to other types of irritants (Capasso et al., 1975) and gave similar results (Tissot et al., 1983).

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Events in the cytoplasm during male meiosis in Lilium.

An electron microscopic investigation of the events associated with meiosis in Lilium has revealed a number of changes in both the organellar population and the other cytoplasmic components. Ribosome numbers decrease significantly in early prophase and are later replenished in the tetrads, a process most likely involving the newly arising cytoplasmic nucleoloids. The organelles show a cycle of de- and redifferentiation and later in meiosis unusual internal structures can be seen before these organelles enter a division phase resulting in increased numbers. The localization of acid phosphatase during these changes has also been studied using electron microscopic cytochemical methods. In early prophase, considerable amounts of acid phosphatase are found in vesicles scattered through the cytoplasm; activity is also found in association with most membranous surfaces and often markedly associated with condensing mitochondria. Later in prophase the enzyme activity decreases to normal levels. Electron microscopic autoradiography revealed that DNA is synthesized in both plastids and mitochondria during meiotic prophase with activity reaching a peak during zygotene and ceasing by diakinesis and tetrad formation. These changes point to a certain independence of organelles from nuclear control during meiosis. The events are also evaluated in relation to a cytoplasmic clearing mechanism, which may occur in preparation for the changeover from sporophytic to gametophytic control and the development of gametes.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1982

Low energy hospital.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Conservation of Energy Resources↗
PubMed1982

An oral examination of the psychiatric knowledge of medical housestaff: assessment of needs and evaluation baseline.

To assess the psychiatric knowledge of medical housestaff, the authors devised an oral examination based on two simulated clinical encounters and administered it to 26 medical residents. The case material embodied those psychiatric problems known to be common in medical populations, namely depression, delirium, dementia, and "psychogenic" pain. The standardized simulations were punctuated by standardized "open" questions with followup probes. A panel of experienced clinicians developed rating criteria for each question such that responses could be categorized ad "good," "adequate," "inadequate," or "poor," in terms of "what an internist needs to know." Blind raters of the exam achieved an interrater reliability of 0.08. The results indicate major deficits in the knowledge needed for assessment and treatment of these common problems. Only 16% of answers were "good," where as 42% were "inadequate" or "poor". For example, 88% of the doctors could not name three factors that help distinguish organic from "functional" psychosis, and 88% could not list three side-effects of tricyclic antidepressants. The doctors' level of experience was not correlated with test scores, either overall or question by question. These results, together with measures of attitude and skill, have been used to develop a needs-based liaison psychiatry curriculum and to evaluate the effectiveness of that curriculum.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The enhancement of interleukin 2 like production after in vivo stimulation of rat lymphoid cells by an acute non specific inflammatory process.

Interleukin 2 (IL 2) production was studied in lymphoid cells from rats undergoing an acute non specific inflammatory reaction induced by intrapleural injection of calcium pyrophosphate. Spleen and lymph node cells derived from inflamed animals had an increased level of IL 2 like production compared to cells from normal animals. Thymocytes also showed enhanced IL 2 like production although the absolute levels were lower than spleen or lymph node cells. It has been suggested that the acute non specific inflammatory reaction is able to modify lymphocyte reactivity via IL 2 and interleukin 1 (IL 1). The nature of the humoral factors released by the inflammatory process which are capable of initiating these events is also discussed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1982

Psychiatric education for primary care: a pilot study of needs of residents.

The study reported here documents a variety of psychiatric educational needs of residents in internal medicine. By studying 150 medical outpatients, the authors found that 59 percent of the patients had probable emotional disorders, 48 percent suffered from significant symptoms of depression, negative life events and low social support were significantly associated with both probable emotional disorder and depressive symptoms, only 20 percent of the patient charts contained psychiatric diagnoses, 78 percent of the charts contained no mental status data, patients on the average could report only 56 percent of their diagnoses and 60 percent of their management plans, and 70 percent of the patients reported that they were not asked about personal problems. These results have formed the basis for a psychiatric educational program in internal medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and will serve as pretraining comparison data for the evaluation of outcome.

Female↗
PubMed1981

Dentition of Chilean paleo-Indians and peopling of the Americas.

Teeth of 12 cremated paleo-Indians (11,000 years old) from caves in southern Chile have crown and root morphology like that of recent American Indians and north Asians, but unlike that of Europeans. This finding supports the view that American Indians originated in northeast Asia. This dental series also suggests that paleo-Indians could easily have been ancestral to most living Indians, that very little dental evolution has occurred, and that the founding paleo-Indian population was small, genetically homogeneous, and arrived late in the Pleistocene.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Learning about death: a project report from the Edinburgh University Medical School.

A report of a problem-based learning project on the ethics of terminal care, offered as one of the options available to first year MB ChB students in Edinburgh University Medical School. The project formed part of the 'clinical correlation course' in the new curriculum. Six students took part under the supervision of two clinical tutors and a moral philosopher. The course was case-based and practical with students being given the opportunity over a period of eight weeks to meet patients, relatives and hospital staff at a local geriatrics hospital and terminal care home. The main issue studied was the degree of choice available to patients electing to be treated at home, in hospital or in a hospice. Other issues included: pre-death, disposal of the dead, certification of death, communication with relatives and follow-up bereavement services.

Attitude to Death↗
PubMed1980

Plasma lipoprotein levels and the prevalence of hyperlipoproteinemia in a Canadian working population.

The lipids and lipoproteins - cholesterol (C), triglyceride (TG) and high-density, low-density, very-low-density and sinking pre-beta-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, LDL-C, VLDL-C and SPB-C) - in plasma samples from 1620 fasting white adults and children from the Toronto-Hamilton area were analysed. The mean concentration of HDL-C was about 45 mg/dl in men and about 60 mg/dl in women, and the levels were constant throughout adult life in both sexes. Boys had higher mean HDL-C levels than men, but girls had lower mean HDL-C levels than women. Mean LDL-C levels, like total C levels, increased with age, from about 87 mg/dl in boys to 136 mg/dl in men, and from about 91 mg/dl in girls to 145 mg/dl in women. The mean levels of VLDL-C followed the TG patterns for age and sex, rising from about 7 mg/dl in boys to 26 mg/dl in men, and from about 11 mg/dl in girls to 19 mg/dl in women. SPB-C was detectable visually in 39% of the population and with the aid of densitometry in 54%; the levels were not related to age, sex or oral contraceptive use, and the median level was 3 mg/dl.Prevalence estimates of hyperlipoproteinemia showed that type IV was the most common, and it was found more than three times as often in men as in women. This was in part due to the customary use of plasma TG cut-off points that do not reflect the large difference in TG levels between males and females. Type IIA hyperlipoproteinemia was found in about 2% of the adults and type IIb in a further 1%. Types I, III and V were all rare. The prevalence of types II and IV hyperlipoproteinemia was four times greater in women using oral contraceptives than in nonusers in the same age range.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Anti-inflammatory action following liver damage in the rat.

A high molecular weight protein fraction, obtained by column chromatography of saline extracts of the livers of rats that had previously been treated with dimethylnitrosamine, was found to have anti-inflammatory activity against carrageenin induced inflammation in the rat. Evidence was presented that the anti-inflammatory activity may be due to a protein fragment produced by proteolysis of a larger molecule.

Animals↗