Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J O Robinson.
Subjects made judgements of the comparative height of the stereokinetic cones seen for pairs of rotating figures with varying eccentricity and ellipticity. For any given eccentricity, ellipticity of the figure reduced the apparent height, with narrow ellipses seeming to be shallower. The effect is attributed to an interaction in constancy scaling.
Two Pulfrich pendulums swinging in opposite phase present impossible twisting effects and also size-constancy effects.
Despite society's increasing awareness of the adverse health consequences of cigarette use, adolescents continue to take up smoking. This study suggests that adolescents may smoke in order to alleviate the stress engendered by the adjustment demands of this period and that adolescents with fewer coping resources should be more likely to use cigarettes. An examination of the relationship between psychological resources and cigarette use indicated that adolescents who smoked had lower self-esteem, a more external locus of control orientation and a higher level of trait anxiety compared with adolescents who did not smoke. The findings suggest that smoking performs a stress management function for those adolescents with a low sense of personal effectiveness.
Cues affecting the apparent height (depth) of a stereokinetic 'core' were investigated by comparing heights for pairs of rotating figures. Apparent height was shown to be independent of the number of bands on the figure and of the geometric perspective by which it was drawn. On the other hand, apparent height was strongly dependent on eccentricity within the figure, with maximum apparent height being achieved at full eccentricity. The reason for the existence of such a definite maximum remains obscure.
Of 69 fecal isolates of Aeromonas spp., 18 had the ability to invade HEp-2 cells. Invasiveness correlated with biotype; of the 18 invasive strains, 16 were A. sobria and 2 were A. hydrophila. No invasive strains were found among the A. caviae. Of the 18 invasive strains, 13 were enterotoxigenic. Of the enterotoxigenic and invasive strains, 12 were A. sobria, but enterotoxicity was also more common among noninvasive strains of A. sobria. Fucose-resistant hemagglutination was also more common in A. sobria, but invasive strains were equally divided between fucose-resistant hemagglutination and other patterns. Detailed clinical information was available for 27 of the 69 strains. All 15 strains of A. sobria or A. hydrophila associated with diarrhea were enterotoxigenic; 6 of the 10 strains of A. sobria were also invasive. Blood was present in the stool samples of five of the six patients with invasive A. sobria and in none of the patients with noninvasive strains. Although limited, these observations suggest that dysenteric symptoms may be produced by invasive Aeromonas spp.
The Company of the Barber-Surgeons of London was formed by the union of the Company of Barbers and the Fellowship of Surgeons in 1540. It marked one of the great milestones in English surgery. The barbers had carried out minor surgery such as bleeding and lancing of abscesses, while the more erudite surgeons attempted to evolve some principles in surgery, and were involved in the mutilating surgery of warfare. The Barber-Surgeons became responsible for instigating teaching programs and the licensing of men to practice the art of surgery; they also appointed surgeons to the armed forces. An inevitable rift between these two different types of people occurred in 1745. The surgeons broke away and formed the Company of Surgeons, which, in 1800, became the Royal College of Surgeons.
Anxiety was assessed in prospective mothers undergoing screening for foetal neural tube defects. Anxiety was found to be extreme and only returned to normal levels when a definitely negative amniocentesis result was communicated to the woman. Anxiety was mitigated by social and family support but other life events had little effect on it.
According to a selective looking paradigm subjects were required to attend to the inward-going or outward-going components of a combined Müller-Lyer figure in which both components were present and distinguishable by colour. The amount of the illusion was found to vary according to which component the subject attended. Subsidiary findings relate the amount of the illusion to fin angle, fin length, and length of shaft.
The readability of two antenatal education books which are widely distributed to expectant mothers was assessed. There were some significant differences, and it was anticipated that this would be reflected in the levels of information imparted to the mothers, particularly when they were analysed by social class. In practice the differences were small, and the only one of significance was that the book which was believed to be more readable and more attractive in format resulted in higher knowledge scores in social classes I and II, but not in social classes III to V. Possible explanations for this are discussed. Clear benefit in terms of knowledge was demonstrated when mothers received a book in advance of their attendance at the antenatal booking clinic. They arrived better prepared and better informed, with knowledge to help the healthy development of the foetus at an early stage in pregnancy. The additional postage costs in sending out booklets is considered justifiable.
It is well-known that patterns of eccentric circles when slowly rotated give rise to compelling three-dimensional impressions of cones or conical holes which can 'wobble' as the pattern rotates. The wobble can be considered as part of the overall phenomenon of depth elicited from a rotating display, the 'stereokinetic' effect (SKE). This paper considers the three-dimensional appearance as being the result of the sliding of contours and thus it imitates the motion parallax found in real three-dimensional objects in motion. New variants of SK figures are used to examine these points. An analogy with computer programs is proposed which questions earlier views on the location of perceptual invariance.
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Anxiety levels were studied in 176 women with raised serum alpha-fetoprotein levels at 16-18 weeks gestation, at the time they attended a central assessment clinic, and again 2-3 weeks later in those not found to have a fetus with a neural-tube defect. Methods of imparting information about the serum screening tests and the manner in which a normal amniotic fluid result was conveyed to the patient were also studied. Overall, women attending the clinic for further assessment were extremely anxious, irrespective of the source of their information. Anxiety scores 2-3 weeks after testing were greatly influenced by whether the patient had been given a definite normal result or whether she was told to assume that the result was normal if she did not hear from the clinic. Patients who, after reassessment, did not require amniocentesis had some residual anxiety in spite of verbal reassurance.
A method is described for improving color discriminations in dichromats by means of glasses with one magenta and one cyan eyepiece. A modest improvement is reported and discussed.
In a randomised controlled trial of mothers in labour intramuscular pethidine 150 mg, repeated if necessary, was compared with self-administered intravenous pethidine (0.25 mg/kg available at 10-min-intervals). Each mother agreed to have either method of pain relief and could opt for epidural block. The intramuscular group had significantly more pethidine than the intravenous group (mean differences, primipara 29 mg; multipara 16 mg). Ratings by mothers of the pain of 1st, 2nd stage and overall (analogue scores and gradings) were consistently better for the intravenous group although not significantly different. There were no differences in mean Apgar scores between the babies in the groups. In mothers who do not choose epidural block, similar pain relief is afforded by adequate intramuscular pethidine or self-demand intravenous pethidine; however, intravenous self-administration is more efficient since the pain relief is achieved with a lower dose of pethidine.
In a randomised controlled trial epidural analgesia with bupivacaine 0.5% (mean dose 112.8 mg) was compared with pethidine (mean dose 200 mg) and inhalational analgesia in primipara (28 and 30 mothers) and multipara (17 and 18 mothers). Mothers who had an uneventful pregnancy and labour and agreed to have either treatment were studied during labour and followed-up at interviews for 5 months after delivery. Epidural block was rated significantly superior in respect of pain relief and comfort, there were no differences between the groups in reports of perineal discomfort. Twice as many primipara required forceps delivery after epidural block. Very few mothers, in each group, reported something missing in their experience of childbirth. Two thirds of each group would use the same method again. Epidural block can therefore be recommended to uncommitted mothers as a satisfying and effective method of pain relief for labour.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.