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Biomedical subjects

L Wright

Publications and source records attributed to L Wright.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Serologic diagnosis of epidemic typhus fever.

Microagglutination (MA), microcomplement-fixation (CF), indirect microimmunofluorescence (micro-IF) and Weil-Felix (WF) tests were compared for sensitivity and specificity in detection of antibodies against Rickettsia prowazekii and for serologic diagnosis of epidemic typhus fever. Paired sera from hospitalized Ethiopian patients suffering from febrile illness were examined. Purified particulate rickettsial antigens used in MA, CF and micro-IF tests were made from infected yolk sacs by differential centrifugation from molar NaCl and from NaCl-sucrose, D20=1.1491, pH 5.5. In sensitivity the tests ranked micro-IF greater than MA greater than CF greater than WF. Use of specific anti-IgG and anti-IgM sera in parallel micro-IF tests made it possible to differentiate cases of recrudescent epidemic typhus (Brill-Zinsser disease) from primary epidemic typhus cases. Antibodies reacting in high titer with R. canada were produced by 86% of patients with rising antibody titers against R. prowazekii.

Agglutination Tests↗

The "sick but slick" syndrome as a personality component of parents of battered children.

Thirteen parents convicted in court of battering their children and 13 matched controls were administered a battery of personality tests, with significant differences obtained on 5 of 21 study variables. Battering parents appeared healthier on those instruments based on content validity, where the social desirability of the items is more obvious. They appeared more disturbed (i.e., psychopathic) on items based on concurrent or statistical validity. It was concluded that battering parents were psychopathically disturbed, but whenever possible presented a distorted picture of themselves as healthy and unlikely to abuse their children. This tendency has been labeled the "sick but slick syndrome."

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗

Diminished reaction to a novel stimulus during amphetamine withdrawal in rats.

This experiment determined whether reaction to a novel stimulus was diminished in a dose-dependent fashion following 8 consecutive days of d-amphetamine administration. Thirty-two male rats were injected with saline, 0.5, 2.5, or 5.0 mg/kg of d-amphetamine (each N = 8). On the ninth day, all animals received saline injections and were tested (a) in the presence of a novel stimulus, or (b) in the absence of a novel stimulus. Reaction to the novel stimulus varied inversely with the dose of d-amphetamine which had been received during the drug administration period. This reduction in reaction to the novel stimulus did not seem to depend on (a) the level of amphetamine-induced sterotypy at the end of the drug administration period (b) general reduction of activity, or (c) interference by drug-conditioned responses.

Animals↗

Telephone assessment of illness by practicing pediatricians.

Telephone assessment of illness by 40 practicing pediatricians was studied using simulated complaints of cough, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Of a possible 370 standardized questions based on the American Academy of Pediatrics "Guidelines for telephone communications," only 194 were used. Crucial questions such as difficulty breathing with cough, the state of hydration in diarrhea, the character of the eruption in rash, or the presence of abdominal pain with vomiting were asked less than 50% of the time. Pediatricians in practice for fewer than five years requested more information and spent more time on the telephone than did those with greater than five years' experience.

Child, Preschool↗

Changed cholinergic receptor characteristics after vagotomy in gastric fistula dogs.

By the use of small doses of atropine (0.2-10 mug/kg-h) the kinetics of atropine antagonism to the gastric stimuli Urecholine and pentagastrin could be defined in intact dogs and in dogs after fundic vagotomy. Though pentagastrin was a much less effective stimulus after vagotomy, atropine had very similar effects on the pentagastrin response before and after vagotomy. Stimulation of both acid and pepsin by Urecholine remained unchanged by vagotomy but was uncompetitively inhibited by atropine in the intact dog, suggesting irreversible binding of atropine to gastric cholinergic receptors. After vagotomy, however, atropine inhibited Urecholine competitively, suggesting that atropine was now bound reversibly to cholinergic receptors. These changes are analogous to those occurring in muscle after denervation and suggest the growth of new cholinergic receptors with changed characteristics after denervation of the stomach.

Animals↗