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Biomedical subjects

L C Miller

Publications and source records attributed to L C Miller.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Transplantation of the adult kidney into the very small child. Technical considerations.

Transplantation of adult kidneys into very small children is not performed in most centers because of concerns regarding the technical difficulty of the procedure. Advantages of the procedure include the possibility of living related donor transplantation and the increased availability of adult donor kidneys as compared with pediatric cadaver donor kidneys. We have transplanted adult kidneys into 12 children aged 11 months to 3.5 years who weighed 5,400 to 8,800 g. Ten children received living related donor and two cadaver donor grafts. Herein we describe in detail the pretransplant management, surgical strategies, intraoperative management, surgical techniques, and postoperative management which we use for transplantation of adult kidneys into very small children. Intraoperative and postoperative complications have been described to illustrate the evolving clinical principles in this area. Since 10 of the children are presently alive, 8 with their original grafts, 16 months to 9 years after transplantation, we advocate this approach for suitable small children with terminal renal failure.

Adolescent↗

Menstrual cycle patterns of hormones and sexual behavior in gorillas.

Oppositely sexed pairs of gorillas were tested behaviorally during the menstrual cycle to determine the relationship between hormone concentrations of the female and the frequency of sexual activity by the pair. Five females were tested individually during two cycles with each of two males, but serum samples for hormone assay were obtained from each female only during the first cycle of testing. There was no clear relationship between hormones and behavior for the single cycle in which the serum samples were obtained, with the exception that no copulations occurred after the early luteal phase, when progesterone was greater than 5 ng/ml. Normalized behavioral data from all four test cycles for all pairs suggested that female-solicited copulations were restricted primarily to the periovulatory period. Male sexual initiative (by one of the males) accounted for most copulations temporally dissociated from the periovulatory period. Normalized hormone data for all of the females suggested that (1) attractivity was associated with estradiol concentrations during the follicular phase, (2) proceptivity with estradiol and testosterone at midcycle, whereas (3) receptivity was not associated with hormone patterns or cycle phase. The data suggest that hormones are one of several variables that contribute to the regulation of sexual behavior in gorillas.

Animals↗

Transplantation of adult kidney into the very small child: long-term outcome.

Adult kidneys were transplanted into 12 children weighing between 5,400 and 8,800 gm. Ten received parental and two received cadaver grafts. Ten of the 12 children are alive 18 months to 9 years post transplant; eight have their original grafts and two required retransplantation-their original grafts were lost at 4 and 9 years because of chronic rejection. All but these two surviving children had normal or accelerated growth rates despite growth retardation prior to transplant. All children evidenced moderate to severe delay in psychomotor development prior to transplant. Seven of the ten survivors now have normal psychomotor function. Two are behind in school, and one with a degenerative central nervous system disease prior to transplant remains profoundly retarded. We conclude that because of donor availability, capacity for good donor-recipient matching, and minimization of time on dialysis, transplantation of adult kidneys into pediatric patients is preferable to awaiting the relatively uncommon pediatric cadaver donor. We further conclude that the procedure is warranted.

Age Factors↗

Why never forgetting a face matters: visual imagery and social memory.

This research tested the hypothesis that individuals who tend to form vivid visual images of others (vivid imagers) have more accurate social memories than those who form relatively nonvivid visual images of others (nonvivid imagers). In the first investigation, vivid imagers outperformed nonvivid imagers in remembering details concerning the attitudes, activities, and life history of a woman whom they observed being interviewed. Investigation 2 provided more definitive evidence for the link between visual imagery and social memory by demonstrating that vivid imagers had more accurate memories after seeing an interviewee answer questions, whereas seeing the interviewee had no impact on the memories of nonvivid imagers. The discussion considers the impact that imagery processes may have on a variety of social thought processes.

Discrimination Learning↗

Influence of male aggression on mating of gorillas in the laboratory.

The frequency of sexual interactions between oppositely-sexed pairs of gorillas tested in the laboratory was directly related to the frequency of male aggression directed toward the female. The data suggest that male aggression stimulated female presenting and copulation, and accounted for mating temporally dissociated from the periovulatory period. Among the great apes tested in the laboratory, the male primarily accounts for mating that is unlikely to contribute to reproduction.

Aggression↗

Dimensions of adolescent psychopathology.

A factor-analytic study of parent ratings of 253 male and female adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 referred for psychiatric and delinquent problems is reported. Parents rated their children on the Adolescent Form of the Louisville Behavior Checklist. One hundred thirty-seven items were intercorrelated and subjected to a principal component factor analysis and nine factors wre rotated to varimax solution. The nine factors were named: Egocentric-Exploitive, Destructive-Assaultive, Social Delinquency, Academic Disability, Adolescent Turmoil, Apathetic Isolation, Neuroticism, Dependent-Inhibited, and Neurological or Psychotic Abnormality. A second-order analysis revealed two broad-band Internalizing and Externalizing dimensions. The factors were shown to be similar to but different from DSM III categories as well as from other factor-analytic studies of adolescents. This study indicates that much research will be required before a consensus can be reached on the basic dimensions of psychopathology of adolescence.

Adolescent↗

Organization and development of brain stem auditory nuclei of the chicken: ontogeny of n. magnocellularis and n. laminaris.

Nucleus magnocellularis (NM) and nucleus laminaris (NL) are, respectively, second- and third-order auditory nuclei in the chicken brain stem. In this report the morphogenesis of these nuclei is examined. The times of origin of the cells of these nuclei were studied with 3H-thymidine autoradiography. The number of cells in each nucleus and their rostro-caudal distribution within each nucleus was determined in Nissl-stained sections at 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 days of incubation. For the above ages the volumes of NM and NL were also calculated planimetrically and the rostro-caudal distribution of volume within each nucleus was studied.

Animals↗

Method factors associated with assessment of child behavior: fact or artifact?

A sample of 64 phobic children between the ages of 6 and 16, with their general population matched controls, were rated by parents on the Louisville Behavior Check List and Louisville Fear survey and by School Behavior check list. The analysis of ratings by factor analysis revealed three instrument factors while a multiple discriminant analysis elicited a multidimensional phobic trait that crossed observers, situations, and instruments. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for multivariant analysis of behavior change as well as for classification of psychopathological disorders of childhood. The thesis is advanced that instrument factors elicited by factor analysis in psychotherapy change studies are statistical artifacts and that a multiple discriminant analysis is a more appropriate technique for the study of change as well as for classification.

Adolescent↗