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Biomedical subjects

J C Wright

Publications and source records attributed to J C Wright.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Clinical evaluation of computer-assisted self-monitoring of blood glucose system.

The Glucometer M Diabetes Management System includes a glucose-reflectance meter with memory that can interface with a microcomputer for data manipulation and analysis. We evaluated the system in a short-term randomized control trial to determine its impact on metabolic control, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) testing behaviors, regimen self-adjustment, understanding of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) treatment, attitudes about SMBG, and perceived quality of patient-physician interaction. Twenty-nine adolescent subjects (experimental) with IDDM were randomly assigned the Glucometer M system for 4 mo. Twenty-eight control subjects used meters without memory. All subjects returned twice to the clinic at 2-mo intervals during the study. At clinic visits, both groups reviewed their SMBG data with their physician. Reviews on experimental subjects were conducted with computer-generated data formats. Control subject reviews used traditional logbooks. Both groups showed a significant drop in glycosylated hemoglobin during the study period (P less than .001); however, there were no between-group differences. There were also no differences in SMBG testing behavior or self-reported regimen self-adjustment between groups or within groups compared with baseline. Compared with control subjects, experimental subjects indicated a significant increase in self-reported understanding of IDDM treatment (P = .002), perceived importance of testing (P = .006), and the quality of interaction with their physician (P less than .001). These data suggest that use of computer-assisted SMBG systems in the outpatient setting does not improve metabolic control over 4 mo. It may, however, contribute to improving communication between the patient and health-care providers.

Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring↗
PubMed1989

Effects of perinatal high dose dexamethasone on skeletal muscle development in rats.

Five litters of suckling rats were given either dexamethasone (DEX), 1 mg/kg, subcutaneously, three times daily (n = 4/litter) or vehicle control (n = 4/litter) from day 3 through day 7 after birth. Rats were weighed weekly and were weaned on day 30. On day 60, rats were killed and the soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were removed for the following analyses: 1) wet weight, 2) light microscopic examination of hematoxylin and eosin stained transverse sections, 3) quantitative morphometric analysis of myosin ATPase stained transverse sections (fiber numbers, fiber type percentages and mean fiber diameters), and 4) DNA (total and mg/g wet weight). The following parameters were significantly reduced in treated rats: 1) body weight, 2) wet weight of SOL and EDL, and 3) mean diameter of SOL type I fibers. There was a trend for total DNA of SOL and EDL to be decreased in treated rats but this was not statistically significant. In a second experiment, pregnant rats (n = 4) were given DEX, 1 mg/kg, subcutaneously, twice daily, on days 17 and 18 of gestation. Two rats served as vehicle controls. The prenatally DEX-exposed rats weighed significantly less on weeks 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8. There were significant reductions in the following parameters for treated rats: 1) SOL wet weight, and 2) total number of SOL type I fibers. There was a trend for SOL DNA to be reduced but this was not statistically significant.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Vaginal birth after cesarean section. A safe option in carefully selected patients.

The rate of cesarean section has risen steadily in the United States since 1970. During the same period, a trial of labor in patients who have had a cesarean section has also increased somewhat in popularity. Trial of labor has been demonstrated to be a safe and reasonable alternative to repeat cesarean section in carefully selected patients. If such a trial were offered to half of eligible patients and the success rate were only 50%, the cesarean section rate would be reduced to 19%. This reduction would represent 72,000 fewer cesarean births per year. Based on a savings of $3,000 per vaginal delivery, the total cost savings would be more than $200,000,000.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Conditional hedges and the intuitive psychology of traits.

The view that the intuitive psychologist exaggerates the consistency of personality implies that dispositional constructs are condition-free summary statements about generalized behavioral tendencies. This article considers the alternative view that dispositional constructs summarize specific condition-behavior contingencies. Despite their condition-free appearance, the dispositional constructs used by child and adult observers in their personality descriptions were hedged by modifiers that reflected knowledge of the variability of behavior. Children's descriptions of their aggressive and withdrawn peers included probabilistic hedges that indicated uncertainty about the occurrence of behaviors (person sometimes does x). Adults made dispositional attributions with greater certainty, but more often modified them with conditional statements which identified when dispositionally relevant behaviors might be observed (person does x when y). Content analyses of these conditional statements revealed that adults systematically linked specific categories of conditions (e.g., aversive interpersonal events) to specific categories of social behavior (e.g., aggressive acts). The results help to clarify how people may hedge dispositional terms in ways that reflect their sensitivity to covariation between situations and behaviors.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Person perception and the bounded rationality of social judgment.

In this article, we develop a bounded rationality view of the relation between person perception and social behavior. Two theses of this approach are that behaviors vary in their significance to observers, and that observers pursue bounded rather than global utility in forming personality impressions. Observers are expected to be sensitive to targets' overall behavioral tendencies and to the variability of their behavior across situations, but both sensitivities are bounded, being greater for behaviors that directly affect observers' outcomes. In two investigations involving extensive hourly and 6-s observations, we examined the bounded utility of people's impressions of personality, demonstrating how impression accuracy is linked to the significance of behaviors. Observers were sensitive to the organization of aggressive behaviors, but less sensitive to the organization of withdrawn behaviors, even when the consistency of those behaviors was comparable. The results clarify the relation between people's inferential shortcomings in laboratory paradigms and the bounded utility of person perception in the natural environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Release of prostacyclin from the human aorta.

Prostacyclin (PGI2) release by human aortic tissue obtained at surgery was assessed in patients (n = 23) with ischaemic heart disease undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (group 1) patients (n = 14) undergoing surgery for aortic stenosis (group 2), patients (n = 4) undergoing surgery for aortic regurgitation (group 3), and patients (n = 8) with ischaemic heart disease taking aspirin (group 4). Although there was a highly significant correlation between (a) intimal and medial PGI2 production and (b) medial PGI2 production and aortic diameter, there was no correlation between intimal PGI2 production and aortic diameter. Aspirin intake (75-150 mg daily) was associated with a pronounced inhibition (95%) of aortic PGI2 production. This inhibition of aortic PGI2 secretion by aspirin may account for the variable efficiency of aspirin in altering the natural history of vascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 7: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasms.

Part 7 of an update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapy of the genitourinary tract is directed to the treatment of gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment for gestational trophoblastic neoplasms, as these tumors are generally highly curable with chemotherapy.In early stage disease, 40 percent of cases are cured with hysterectomy. In low-risk cases, single-agent methotrexate or dactinomycin provides cure rates of over 90 percent. In high-risk disease sequential methotrexate/dactinomycin, methotrexate plus dactinomycin plus cyclophosphamide or chlorambucil, or methotrexate plus 6-mercaptopurine, or a combination protocol consisting of cyclophosphamide, hydroxyurea, dactinomycin, methotrexate, vincristine (VCR), folinic acid, and doxorubicin (CHAMOCA) produce complete remission rates in 70 to 80 percent of patients. Newer studies are under way with etoposide (VP16), cisplatin, and investigational agents to determine whether better chemotherapy regimens can be developed.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1988

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 2: Wilms' tumor and bladder cancer.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of genitourinary tract cancer is described in this multi-part series. Included in the review are cancers of the kidney, bladder, prostate, testicle, ovary, uterus, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Part 2 focuses on Wilms' tumor and bladder cancer.Major advances have been made in the control of Wilms' tumor in children. The combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have significantly improved survival rates. Likewise, the early diagnosis and control of bladder cancer has also improved survival. Surgery predominates among the treatment modalities for carcinoma of the bladder. Important progress is being made in the control of these conditions, as well as with other tumors of the genitourinary tract, with the use of cancer chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1988

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 5: Ovarian cancer.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of genitourinary tract cancer is described in this multi-part series: included are cancers of the kidney, bladder, prostate, testicle, ovary, uterus, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Part 5 is a review of treatments for cancer of the ovary.Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer deaths and the fourth most frequent cause of death from cancer in women in the United States. Ovarian carcinoma is a classical "hidden" neoplasm of the abdomen and, as such, is insidious in its onset. Combination chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery, however, have provided improved survival for patients with ovarian cancer. As dosage schedules and other refinements are made, the overall outlook for patients with ovarian cancer is promising.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1988

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 3: Cancer of the prostate.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of genitourinary tract cancer is described in this multi-part series: included are cancers of the kidney, bladder, prostate, testicle, ovary, uterus, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Part 3 is a review of treatments for cancer of the prostate.The role of cancer chemotherapeutics as adjuvant therapy and in combination modalities in the treatment of prostatic carcinoma has yet to be determined. No single agent or combination can be considered standard therapy. The role of chemotherapy in prostatic carcinoma needs further definition. Only through randomized trials will better guides to better treatment be established.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1988

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 4: Testicular cancer.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of genitourinary tract cancer is described in this multi-part series: included are cancers of the kidney, bladder, prostate, testicle, ovary, uterus, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Part 4 is a review of treatments for cancer of the testicles.Testicular cancer is highly curable and responds well to both surgery and chemotherapy. Patients with stage I and stage II nonseminomatous germ-cell tumors may be cured by surgery alone or in combination with chemotherapy. In patients with pathologic stage II disease, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy with two courses of platinum-based combination drugs has been successful in preventing relapse. Further refinements in management and research could banish the problem of testicular cancer.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1987

Preexposure immunization with intradermal human diploid cell rabies vaccine. Risks and benefits of primary and booster vaccination.

Intradermal human diploid cell rabies vaccine (ID HDCV) was licensed for preexposure use in the United States on May 30, 1986. We studied the safety and efficacy of this newly approved route and dose of administration. Serologic results were available from 112 (90%) of the 124 persons who participated in an HDCV low-dose preexposure study in which five different ID, intramuscular (IM), and subcutaneous primary immunization regimens were administered. Three 1.0-mL IM doses of vaccine resulted in titers similar to those from three 0.1-mL ID doses when compared 49 days, one year, and two years after primary immunization. Uniformly high postbooster titers occurred in all five groups when ID boosters were administered at one year or two years. Adverse reactions were similar following both ID and IM vaccination. Although ID HDCV can be a cost-effective substitute for IM vaccine, excessive use of unnecessary preexposure booster doses by any route may be inadvisable because of systemic allergic reactions. In addition, poor immune responses to HDCV have been documented in persons vaccinated in some developing countries. This may limit the use of low-dose regimens in some places.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1987

Form cues and content difficulty as determinants of children's cognitive processing of televised educational messages.

An experiment was designed to assess the effects of formal production features and content difficulty on children's processing of televised messages about nutrition. Messages with identical content (the same script and visual shot sequence) were made in two forms: child program forms (animated film, second-person address, and character voice narration with sprightly music) and adult program forms (live photography, third-person address, and adult male narration with sedate background music). For each form, messages were made at three levels of content difficulty. Easier versions were longer, more redundant, and used simpler language; difficult versions presented information more quickly with less redundancy and more abstract language. Regardless of form or difficulty level, each set of bits presented the same basic information. Kindergarten children (N = 120) were assigned to view three different bits of the same form type and difficulty embedded in a miniprogram. Visual attention to child forms was significantly greater than to adult forms; free and cued recall scores were also higher for child than for adult forms. Although all recall and recognition scores were best for easy versions and worst for difficult versions, attention showed only minor variation as a function of content difficulty. Results are interpreted to indicate that formal production features, independently of content, influence the effort and level of processing that children use to understand televised educational messages.

Attention↗
PubMed1987

A conditional approach to dispositional constructs: the local predictability of social behavior.

A conditional approach to dispositions is developed in which dispositional constructs are viewed as clusters of if-then propositions. These propositions summarize contingencies between categories of conditions and categories of behavior rather than generalized response tendencies. A fundamental unit for investigating dispositions is therefore the conditional frequency of acts that are central to a given behavior category in circumscribed situations, not the overall frequency of behaviors. In an empirical application of the model, we examine how people's dispositional judgments are linked to extensive observations of targets' behavior in a range of natural social situations. We identify categories of these social situations in which targets' behavior may be best predicted from observers' dispositional judgements, focusing on the domains of aggression and withdrawal. One such category consists of subjectively demanding or stressful situations that tax people's performance competencies. As expected, children judged to be aggressive or withdrawn were variable across situations in dispositionally relevant behaviors, but they diverged into relatively predictable aggressive and withdrawn actions in situations that required the social, self-regulatory, and cognitive competencies they lacked. Implications of the conditional approach for personality assessment and person perception research are considered.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Update in cancer chemotherapy: genitourinary tract cancer, Part 1.

An update of the state of the art of cancer chemotherapeutic treatment of genitourinary tract cancer is described in this multi-part series. Included in the review are cancers of the kidney, bladder, prostate, testicle, ovary, uterus, vulva, and gestational trophoblastic neoplasms. Part 1 focuses on the kidney.In this heterogeneous group of tumors, the major triumphs of cancer chemotherapy are in the control of the less common of these tumors, namely, gestational trophoblastic neoplasms in women, in combination with surgery in the control of the embryonal cell cancer of the testis in men, and in combination with surgery and radiation therapy in the control of the Wilms' tumor in children. Important progress is being made in the control of the other tumors of the genitourinary tract with the use of cancer chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1986

The effects of television form and violent content on boys' attention and social behavior.

An experiment is reported that examined the independent effects of television content (violence) and television formal features (action level) on children's attention to programs and their postviewing social behavior. Pairs of preschool boys participated in two experimental sessions in which they saw animated and live television programs that varied in violent content (high or low) and formal features (high or low action level). They then played with toys that contained cues for either aggressive or prosocial interaction. Rapid character action facilitated visual attention to the programs; violent tv content did not facilitate attention. On measures of social behavior, strong effects of toy cues were found independently of television treatment effects. Aggressive toys produced aggressive behavior, and prosocial toys produced prosocial behavior; these patterns included some nonspecific, generalized influences in addition to direct demands of the play materials. Violent tv content led to changes in subjects' style of interaction and was also associated with increases in some prosocial behaviors. Television action level had no systematic effects on subjects' behavior. Results are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of observational learning and general arousal. Implications for children's television programming are also discussed.

Aggression↗