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Biomedical subjects

J Palmer

Publications and source records attributed to J Palmer.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

Adult inpatient alcoholics: physical exercise as a treatment intervention.

This study examined the usefulness of physical exercise as a treatment intervention to decrease depression and anxiety in adult inpatient alcoholics while increasing aerobic capacity and self-concept. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, the Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Astrand-Rhyming bicycle-ergometer were administered to a treatment and a control group on admission to and again at discharge from a 28-day inpatient treatment program. Control group data were gathered prior to initiating the exercise program. The exercise program consisted of walking or jogging 3 days a week and was designed to meet the American College of Sports Medicine's minimum requirements for a graded exercise program. Results indicated that there were significant differences on posttest scores between the control and exercise groups on state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression, but not on self-concept or aerobic capacity. The usefulness of physical exercise as a treatment intervention as well as the implication for research are discussed.

Adult↗

Effect of equine ehrlichial colitis on the hemostatic system in ponies.

Hemostatic function was determined in 10 ponies at various times after inoculation with Ehrlichia risticii to determine whether equine ehrlichial colitis (EEC) caused changes in the hemostatic system and to determine the prognostic value of hemostatic function tests during EEC. Mean platelet count; plasma fibrinogen, fibronectin, factor VIII: coagulant, alpha 2-antiplasmin, and plasminogen values; and serum concentrations of fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products changed significantly (P less than 0.05) from base line (day 0, before inoculation) during 18 days after inoculation with E risticii. Four ponies that died or were euthanatized because of severe clinical signs of EEC had significantly (P less than 0.05) greater mean plasma fibrinogen concentrations plasma factor VIII:coagulant values, and activated partial thromboplastin times immediately before death than did the 6 surviving ponies. Factor V concentrations were significantly (P less than 0.05) lower on postinoculation days 10 and 20 in nonsurvivors. Seemingly, changes in hemostasis took place during EEC. Ponies that did not survive EEC had greater laboratory evidence of coagulopathy.

Animals↗

Characterization of two human cell lines (TK-10, TK-164) of renal cell cancer.

Two previously unreported cell lines of human renal cell carcinoma are presented. TK-10 and TK-164 have each been in culture for over 4 years. The epithelial nature of both cell lines has been documented by light and electron microscopy. The cells in each line contain a Y chromosome, have specific marker chromosomes, and a distinct flow cytometric histogram. Both lines grow in agar, albeit not in athymic mice.

Adult↗

Vesicoureteral reflux and urinary tract infections in renal transplant recipients.

Fifty-six children who received kidney transplants were evaluated for postoperative vesicoureteral reflux and frequency of urinary tract infection. Two methods of ureteral implantation were compared: a nonantireflux extravesicular ureteroneocystostomy and an antireflux intravesicular ureteroneocystostomy. Reflux was found in 79% of children who had the nonantireflux procedure vs 19% of children who had the antireflux procedure. This disparity was present regardless of sex and age. Infections occurred at a rate of one per 11 patient-months after the nonantireflux procedure vs one per 40 patient-months after the antireflux procedure. Regardless of surgical technique, the incidence of infection was higher in children with reflux. The potentially harmful effect of infection with reflux warrants concern. Because of the need to maximize allograft function for a longer time period, an antireflux procedure is recommended in all pediatric kidney transplants.

Adolescent↗

Clinical features, survival rate, and prognostic factors in young adults with cystic fibrosis.

The medical records of 142 patients with cystic fibrosis were reviewed. The patient group included 78 males and 64 females; three patients were black. Periods of observation ranged from two to 25 years (mean, 14.5 years). The analysis focused on clinical evaluation at age 18 years and included information gained at an earlier age. Evaluation at age 18 years was based on Shwachman and Kulczycki's (S-K) scoring system, Brasfield chest roentgenographic scoring system, pulmonary function measurements, height-adjusted weight percentile, sputum bacteriologic results, number of hospitalizations for treatment of pulmonary infections prior to the age of 18 years, time of onset of clubbing, and frequency of complications. There were no significant differences between the sexes in clinical features. Median survival from the time of diagnosis to the conclusion of the study period (1955 to 1984) was 22 years for females and 25 years for males (NS). Median length of survival beyond the age of 18 years was eight years for females and 12 years for males (NS). Stepwise logistic regression and Cox regression analysis applied to 11 variables identified the S-K clinical score at 18 years of age as the best predictor of survival to the age of 23 years. The median durations of survival after the age of 18 years for patients with clinical scores of 30 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 to 75 at age 18 were five, seven and a half, and 12 years, respectively (p less than 0.0001). Low clinical score, low weight percentile, and Pseudomonas cepacia colonization of the lower respiratory tract at the age of 18 years indicated a poor prognosis. On the other hand, high clinical score, good weight percentile, and colonization with Staphylococcus aureus alone were likely to be found in patients with mild disease and an increased likelihood of long-term survival with preserved pancreatic function.

Adolescent↗

Normal pressure hydrocephalus in children and young adults.

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is generally considered to be a disorder of adult and geriatric patients. We report four patients who are children or young adults with chronic neurological disorders, recent deterioration of their levels of function, normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressures, and ventricular enlargement. All four patients improved after the placement or revision of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Frequent symptoms and signs included irritability (three patients), vomiting (three patients), and abnormal limb posturing (two patients). Correct diagnosis was hampered by two factors: (a) Multiple or prolonged recordings of CSF pressures were invariably well within the normal ranges with respect to age, and (b) the patients had chronic neurological deficits. After ventriculoperitoneal shunting, subjective and objective improvement was seen in all cases. Young patients with large ventricles may benefit from shunting procedures despite low CSF pressures. These patients may be clinically identified by symptoms of new neurological dysfunction in cases of previously static neurological disease or acceleration of slowly progressive neurological dysfunction. Some of these underlying neurological disorders may predispose children and young adults to NPH.

Adult↗

Specific genomic markers for the HLA-DQ subregion discriminate between DR4+ insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and DR4+ seropositive juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

HLA-DR4, Dw4-associated haplotypes associated with IDDM and JRA were compared using genomic DNA restriction fragment analysis to distinguish among DQ beta and alpha alleles linked to DR4. DQ beta polymorphisms that subdivide the HLA-DQw3 specificity into DQ3.1 and 3.2 alleles were identified. More than 90% of DR4+ IDDM patients express one of these alleles, DQ3.2; restriction enzyme mapping indicates that the presence of this allele also accounts for the genomic fragment patterns previously reported in IDDM. Furthermore, haplo-identical siblings of DQ3.2 IDDM patients also carry the DQ3.2 allele, regardless of clinical presentation. In contrast, DR4+ JRA patients show no allelic preference at DQ beta, implicating different HLA genetic contributions in these two DR4-associated diseases.

Alleles↗

Diagnosis of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (Potomac horse fever) by indirect immunofluorescence.

The recent establishment of a system for the continuous in vitro propagation of Ehrlichia risticii, the causative agent of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (EME; synonym, Potomac horse fever), has facilitated the development of an indirect fluorescent antibody test for the diagnosis of this disease under laboratory and field conditions. The field diagnostic application of the test has aided in the recognition of the disease in 16 states of the United States and in 1 province of Canada. A limited epidemiologic study conducted between January and September 1985, in an area where the disease is known to be enzootic, revealed that conversion from seronegative to seropositive status is not always accompanied by clinical manifestations of the disease. Confirmatory findings in experimentally inoculated horses suggest the existence of clinically undetectable infections.

Animals↗

Mechanisms of displacement discrimination with a visual reference.

A nearby visual reference point facilitates displacement discrimination. For example, a nearby stationary point of light improves discriminating left or right displacement of a point by several fold. This reference effect interacts with the temporal characteristics of displacement. Discrimination thresholds rise with increases in the delay between the offset of the initial stimulus and the onset of the displaced stimulus. Moreover, the effect of a nearby reference point is larger with a long delay than with a short delay. This interaction was investigated using two nonexclusive hypotheses of the mediating mechanisms. A single-signal hypothesis specifies a single mediating mechanism that aggregates the effect of displacement and delay. A single-noise hypothesis specifies a single mediating mechanism that aggregates the effect of reference and delay. Each of these hypotheses predicts an equivalence property similar to the equivalent background principle of adaptation research. The equivalence required by the single-signal hypothesis was not satisfied, disconfirming the hypothesis. In contrast, the equivalence required by the single-noise hypothesis was satisfied. The equivalence was extended to delays where the reported judgment was of perceived position and not of perceived movement. The second result is compatible with displacement discrimination mechanisms that are the same function of displacement, whatever their other differences.

Discrimination, Psychological↗

Mechanisms of displacement discrimination with and without perceived movement.

A nearby visual reference point improves displacement discrimination. This effect occurs regardless of the delay between successive displays. The delay can be varied from short delays (50 ms), where observers report perceived movement, to long delays (2,000 ms), where observers report no movement. The similarity of reference effects for such different delay conditions was investigated by testing the independence of reference and delay effects. The critical independence property is whether the spatial variables (displacement and separation from the visual reference) combine independently of the temporal variable (delay). This kind of independence did not hold for displacement discrimination at delays of 50 ms and 2,000 ms. A further experiment tested for the independence property at delays of 500 ms and 4,000 ms, where observers reported no perceived movement. For these longer delays, the property was satisfied. These results are discussed using the general concept of a psychophysical mechanism. Such a mechanism combines the effects of several stimulus variables into a single mediating representation. By this analysis, at least two mechanisms must mediate the reference effect on displacement discrimination, one for delays of 200 ms and less and another for delays of 500 ms and more.

Discrimination, Psychological↗