Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L Meltzer.
The Maryland Dental Hygienists' Association Rehabilitation Committee was formed in 1990 and is patterned after the Maryland State Dental Association (MSDA) Dentists' Well-Being Committee. The Rehabilitation Committee serves to assist dental hygienists who may be impaired by alcohol or drug abuse; chemical dependency; or other physical, emotional, or mental conditions.
The primary concerns in the development of a laser catheter for intravascular use are the potential hazards of vessel wall perforation and distal embolization. We present evidence, using technetium 99-labeled thrombi in two rabbit aortas and one human cadaver coronary artery, that distal embolization does not occur after argon laser recanalization. Also, no vessel wall perforation was observed during recanalization of 15 thrombosed rabbit aortas and 1 inferior vena cava, used because of their extremely thin walls. Laser recanalization of three peripheral arteries with atherosclerotic plaque obstruction, in amputated human legs, showed no evidence of vessel wall perforation. The incidence of vessel wall perforation can be minimized by preferential use of the argon laser, strict maintainance of a coaxial relationship between the laser catheter and the vessel, and exercising care during the actual lasing process. Distal embolization does not appear to be an important consideration.
An effective method of cigarette smoking cessation using acupuncture is described. From May 1976 to December 1982, 514 patients were treated. Of 339 evaluable patients, 297 stopped smoking, for a success rate of 88 percent. In a two-year follow-up, the rate of relapse was 31 percent. The possible mechanisms by which this technique works are discussed.
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Children with low academic productivity in late elementary and junior high school present a vexing problem to parents and schools. A subgroup of these youngsters may have underlying subtle handicaps that result in reduced productivity and chronic underachievement. Such children may be clinically characterized as exhibiting "developmental output failure." Using parent and teacher questionnaires, educational achievement tests, and pediatric neurodevelopmental assessments, a group of 26 children was selected according to predetermined criteria from among the clinic population seen in The School Function Program at The Children's Hospital Medical Center. Common findings among the group included problems with expressive language, fine motor tasks, finger agnosia, attention, and retrieval memory. It is suggested that clinicians be aware of the possibility that a child in this age group with low academic work output may have underlying developmental dysfunctions, whose manifestations may not have been evident earlier in life.
A new surgical technique for the excision of intertriginous soft corns with advancement of the floor of toe webs is presented.
Seven patients had a chronic eruption of small vesicles that was initially considered to be atypical dermatitis herpetiformis. Histopathologic studies disclosed a subepidermal bulla that was compatible with either bullous pemphigoid or dermatitis herpetiformis. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated deposition of IgG or C3, Or both, at the basement-membrane zone (BMZ) in six of seven patients. In four patients, circulating BMZ antibodies were detected also. We belive that these cases represent a vesicular form of bullous pemphigoid.
Female Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared with chronic cortical and muscle electrodes and i.v. cannulae. They were administered morphine by i.v. injections, then trained to lever press for i.v. self-injections of morphine (10 mg/kg) to maintain dependence, and subsequently withdrawn for two weeks. At this point, one or two pellets of naloxone base (100 mg) or placebo pellets were implanted subcutaneously. The rats were then returned to the experimental cages and allowed to self-administer morphine or isotonic saline. Rats that were implanted with two 100 mg naloxone pellets did not relapse to morphine self-injections. Although some of the rats implanted with one 100 mg pellet also failed to relapse to morphine, the remainder increased their lever pressing and morphine intake sufficiently to overcome the antagonist effect of naloxone and to reestablish dependence. Rats implanted with placebo pellets and given access to morphine reestablished lever pressing, while those given access to isotonic saline extinguished their lever pressing. These findings demonstrate the ability of the narcotic antagonist, naloxone, to suppress relapse to morphine in post-addict rats.
Female Sprague-Dawley rats were prepared with chronic cortical and temporalis muscle electrodes and i.v. cannulas. They were administered i.v. injections of morphine to produce tolerance and physical dependence, then trained to lever press for i.v. self-injections of morphine (10 mg/kg) to maintain dependence. They were subsequently withdrawn for two weeks, implanted subcutaneously with one or two pellets of naloxone base, 100 mg each, or placebo pellets, returned to the experimental cages and allowed to relapse to self-administration of either saline or morphine. Rats with placebo pellets relapsed to morphine self-administration and reestablished the dependence state. However, rats implanted with naloxone and then permitted to self-administer morphine extinguished their lever pressing ("drug-seeking behavior"). Similar results were obtained with rats implanted with placebo pellets and self-administering saline. The self-injections of morphine by rats implanted with placebo pellets severely suppressed REM sleep and altered its normal distribution. Rats implanted with naloxone pellets and that subsequently extinguished their lever pressing, however, did not exhibit a change in REM sleep distributions. Similarly, self-injections of isotonic saline did not exert an effect on REM sleep distributions. These findings suggest that a correlation between REM sleep distributions, drug-seeking behavior, and morphine-naloxone interaction prevailed.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Research findings regarding general self-concept, academic self-concept, and self-awareness in students with learning disabilities have varied, and results are still inconclusive regarding the consistency between students' and teachers' judgments of academic performance. The current study focuses on students' and teachers perceptions of the students' strategy use and performance in nine different academic and organizational domains. Six hundred sixty-three students and their 57 teachers were involved in the study. Findings indicated that the students with learning disabilities considered themselves appropriately strategic and competent in the five domains of reading, writing, spelling, math, and organization. These students also rated their academic performance and organization as average to above-average in seven of nine domains, with the exception of checking and planning their work. Nevertheless, the self-ratings of the students with learning disabilities were still significantly lower than the self-ratings of average achievers in virtually all domains. The second major set of findings revealed a sharp discrepancy between the self-assessments of the students with learning disabilities and their teachers' judgments. Teachers rated the students with learning disabilities as weak in their strategy use and below-average in their performance in all nine academic and organizational domains. Finally, gender differences were not evident in eight of the nine domains. These results have added to the increasing body of literature indicating that students with learning disabilities frequently perceive themselves as capable and effective and often rate themselves as academically stronger than their teachers judge them to be.
Fifty patients whose surgical approach violated the arterial geniculate circulation to the patella were evaluated to determine the subsequent effect on patella viability. Comparative postoperative radionuclide scans in 100 knees, 50 control and 50 surgical, revealed an avascular insult in only 7 knees (14%). It appears that the intratendinous circulation described by Björkström and Goldie protects the patella from an avascular insult in the presence of geniculate arterial disruption.