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Biomedical subjects

L Pearl

Publications and source records attributed to L Pearl.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Knowledge and experience of young people regarding drug abuse between 1969 and 1979.

A trend survey carried out by anonymous questionnaire of the knowledge and experience of drug abuse among fourth-year pupils in three Wolverhampton secondary schools in 1969, 1974, and 1979 showed familiarity with the names of drugs, but that there continues to be considerable ignorance and misunderstanding about how drugs are taken and their dangers. Contact with drugs and drug-taking increased over the first five years, but this trend was not continued through to 1979. Television remained the most important source of information about drugs, while peer group and social pressures remained the most important reason for starting to take drugs. Effective preventive measures must include a health education programme that discusses decision-making processes and a wider view of "drugs in society".

Adolescent↗

Experimental studies of the etiology of genital exhibitionism.

Several studies are reported which examine the critical stimuli and responses as well as personality factors important in genital exhibitionism. Using penile volume measurement, sex history questionnaires, personality tests, and behavioral observations, it was found that (1) exhibitionists responded most to mature females and were comparable to normals in reactions to children and men; (2) while exhibitionists indicated narcissistic desires in exposing, in a laboratory study they did not differ from controls in reactions to exposing with various reactions of the female, from sexual arousal and admiration to fear and anger; (3) the only strong features distinguishing exhibitionists from controls and other sexually anomalous subjects were peeping associated with orgasm and outdoor solitary masturbation; (4) exhibitionists seemed to be less assertive and less feminine than controls, but results were weak and inconsistent; (5) exhibitionists and controls did not differ in separation and divorce or marital satisfaction; (6) blood testosterone and penile reactivity of exhibitionists were within normal limits. Overall, the results suggest that most major theories of genital exhibitionism are wanting. It is suggested that narcissism and pedophilia be examined further in connection with exhibitionism.

Adult↗

Three-dimensional structure, specificity and catalytic mechanism of renin.

Renin is an aspartyl proteinase that catalyses the first, and rate-limiting, step in the conversion of angiotensinogen to the hormone angiotensin II. The catalysis is highly specific, and plays an important physiological part in the regulation of blood pressure. For this reason inhibitors of renin are of potential value in the treatment of certain forms of hypertension. Although progress has been made in the design of inhibitors for clinical use by modification of angiotensinogen sequences, and as pepstatin analogues or with reduced peptide bonds, we have now provided the basis for a more rational approach by the use of interactive computer graphics techniques to build a three-dimensional model of renin. The model is based on the three-dimensional structure of endothia pepsin and the primary structure of mouse renin, which is very similar to that of the human enzyme. We show that renin may have a three-dimensional structure similar to that of other aspartyl proteinases.

Animals↗