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Biomedical subjects

M Abramson

Publications and source records attributed to M Abramson.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

What the reader's eye tells the mind's ear: silent reading activates inner speech.

Although copious research has investigated the role of phonology in reading, little research has investigated the precise nature of the entailed speech representations. The present study examined the similarity of "inner speech" in reading to overt speech. Two lexical decision experiments (in which participants gave speeded word/nonword classifications to letter strings) assessed the effects of implicit variations in vowel and word-initial consonant length. Responses were generally slower for phonetically long stimuli than for phonetically short stimuli, despite equal orthographic lengths. Moreover, the phonetic length effects displayed principled interactions with common factors known to affect lexical decisions, such as word frequency and the similarity of words to nonwords. Both phonetic length effects were stronger among slower readers. The data suggest that acoustic representations activated in silent reading are best characterized as inner speech rather than as abstract phonological codes.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

The effects on asthmatics of exposure to a conventional water-based and a volatile organic compound-free paint.

The water-based paints now frequently used for house painting still contain small amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with the potential to exacerbate symptoms of asthma. Because of these potential problems and environmental concerns, some manufacturers have produced paints with no VOC content. We wished to compare the effects on asthmatics of conventional water-based paint and the new VOC-free paint. Seventeen asthmatics were recruited on the basis of having previously reported exacerbation of symptoms by paint or other odours. Each undertook a standard painting task with identically coloured conventional acrylic and VOC-free paints in a double-blind, crossover study. Respiratory symptoms, lung function, and airway responsiveness were measured at each visit. A significant increase in reported "wheeze" was detected during use of conventional paint (p<0.01), but not with the new paint. There was also a significantly greater increase in reported "breathlessness" whilst using conventional paint than with the new paint (p<0.05). In contrast, lung function measurements showed a small but significant increase during the use of both paints (p<0.05). There was no significant change in airway responsiveness after use of either paint. The new paint appears to be less likely to cause a worsening of respiratory symptoms than conventional acrylic paint, although this difference is not reflected in measurements of lung function or airway responsiveness. Although the benefit conferred in the majority of asthmatics is probably modest, there may be some patients with an increased sensitivity to paint odour, who would derive a useful symptomatic benefit from using the VOC-free paint.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Risk factors for asthma among young adults in Melbourne, Australia.

Asthma is more prevalent in Australia than in Europe or North America. As part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS), we investigated exposure to risk factors for asthma among young adults in Melbourne. During this study, 553 randomly selected and 204 symptomatic participants aged between 20 and 44 years completed a detailed respiratory questionnaire, of whom 675 underwent measurement of bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) by methacholine challenge and 745 had skin prick tests for atopy. Current asthma, defined as BHR and wheeze in the preceding 12 months, was present in 25.5% of those tested. A family history of asthma was a risk factor for current asthma (maternal asthma odds ratio [OR] 2.4, paternal asthma OR 2.1). Current smokers were 1.7 times more likely to have current asthma. A serious respiratory infection before 5 years of age increased the risk of current asthma 2.3-fold. Atopy on skin testing was also strongly associated with current asthma (OR 5.9). The greatest risks were associated with positive skin tests to Cladosporium, house dust mite, cat and rye grass pollen. We conclude that female gender, maternal asthma, smoking, hayfever, early respiratory infection, occupational exposure and atopy are important risk factors for asthma in young adults.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Patients' perceptions of food-induced asthma.

BACKGROUND: The influence of diet in asthma control remains unclear. However, there is likely to be a wide gap between patient perceptions and the probable actual role. Some 20-60% of people with asthma report food as a trigger factor while approximately 2.5% react to double-blind placebo-controlled challenges. The aim of this study was to determine: the frequency, type and sources of dietary advice being offered to patients, the prevalence of dietary modification, whether dietary changes were perceived to be of benefit and the type and sources of food/beverage reactions that people perceive they have experienced. METHOD: A self-administered 'food and asthma' questionnaire was developed and mailed to 156 consecutive Alfred Hospital Asthma and Allergy Clinic patients registered on a computer database. RESULTS: The completed questionnaire response rate was 86.5%. Dietary advice had been offered to 47% of respondents while 61% had tried to modify their diet. Dietary restriction was the most common dietary modification. Where dietary restriction had occurred 79% of respondents perceived that this had improved their asthma control. A doctor was the most common source of dietary advice. Seventy-three per cent reported that food induced asthma. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that patients with asthma perceived diet to be important in their asthma control and that dietary modification is common despite its lack of objective basis. The influence of diet and asthma requires more research, evaluation and clinical attention.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Toward a more holistic understanding of ethics in social work.

This paper explores alternative approaches to ethical understanding in social work by applying them to a story of a young woman with AIDS. After presenting the story, I present four perspectives on ethical discernment: the principles approach, virtue ethics, feminist ethics and Afrocentricity. Each approach raises different questions and issues regarding the situation. Together they provide a more holistic discussion and analysis of social work values, beliefs and ethical positions.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

The prevalence of asthma and respiratory symptoms among young adults: is it increasing in Australia?

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported asthma and respiratory symptoms among young adults and whether there had been any change since a previous survey. A cross-sectional postal community survey was conducted in three parliamentary electorates in the inner South East region of Melbourne, Australia. A total of 4500 individuals aged between 20 and 44 years were randomly selected from the electoral roll. After three mailings and telephone follow-up, an adjusted response rate of 79% was achieved. No intervention was performed. Self-reported asthma and respiratory symptoms were recorded from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey screening questionnaire. Respondents were most likely to report nasal allergies (41%), nocturnal cough (28.6%), and wheeze in the last 12 months (28.1%). Nocturnal cough was more common in females than males. The prevalence of wheeze, nocturnal chest tightness, and use of asthma medications decreased with age. An attack of asthma in the last 12 months was reported by 9.7% of young adults, and this fell to 8.2% after correction for nonresponse bias. The prevalence of current asthma had not increased significantly since a previous postal survey in 1990. However the prevalence of nocturnal chest tightness, nocturnal cough, and use of asthma medications had increased significantly over a 2-year period. Further research is required to investigate why asthma is so prevalent in Australia and why some features are increasing in prevalence.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Hand-genital transmission of genital warts? An analysis of prevalence data.

The role of hand-genital transmission in the aetiology of genital warts is unclear. However this route is suggested by a number of observations including the relatively high proportion of genital warts in children which contain HPV types 1-4 (15% for children and 2% for adults). We compared two transmission models; one which assumes that hand-genital transmission occurs and one that it does not, and determined the conditions in which each model can reflect the available prevalence data. Hand-genital transmission provides a simple explanation of the observed differences in the proportions of genital warts containing HPV types 1-4 and 6/11 in children and adults. If hand-genital transmission does not occur, the observed difference could only be explained by an eightfold greater probability of transmission to children of types 1-4 than types 6/11, or by an eightfold greater duration of infection with types 1-4. Our findings provide support for the view that genital warts may be transmitted by hand-genital contact.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Allergies, upper respiratory tract infections, and asthma.

The aims of this study were (1) to quantify the prevalence of aeroallergen hypersensitivity in presentations for emergency treatment of asthma and (2) to determine the strength of association between viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and admission for treatment of asthma. A series of 209 asthmatic patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of the Alfred Hospital over 6 months underwent skin prick testing and venipuncture for serum IgE and rye grass pollen (RGP) RAST. A case-control study of 38 asthmatic inpatients and 90 controls admitted for road trauma or endoscopy underwent nasopharyngeal aspiration for viral culture and immunofluorescence (IF). Eighty-four percent of ED asthmatic patients had one or more positive skin tests to common aeroallergens, 57% had a positive skin test, and 45% had a positive RAST to RGP. Viral cultures or IF studies were positive in 8 asthmatic patients and 2 controls. Asthmatic inpatients were 6 times more likely to have a viral URTI than were controls. It is concluded that aeroallergen hypersensitivity is present in most asthmatic patients presenting to the ED, and that there is a strong association between viral URTIs and admission for asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Evaluation of a new ambulatory spirometer for measuring forced expiratory volume in one second and peak expiratory flow rate.

A new pocket-sized ambulatory spirometer (meter) that measures FEV1 and PEFR was evaluated. The meter determines flow rate (V) from the differential pressure (P1-P2) across a sharp-edged orifice (V alpha square root of[P1-P2]). Ten meters were evaluated for accuracy using a computerized syringe to deliver the 24 ATS-recommended waveforms and nine scaled versions of a single waveform (PW#24). Within-meter reproducibility of FEV1 and PEFR was evaluated in two meters by passing five versions of waveform PW#24 through each meter 10 times. Reliability in the ambulatory setting was assessed in six meters on several occasions over a 10-week period using five versions of waveform PW#24. Results show that the 10 meters conform to the ATS accuracy specifications for PEFR with one or less errors and marginally outside these limits for FEV1 with four errors. For the nine versions of PW#24, the 95% confidence intervals indicate that the meter is accurate to within +/- 5.5% or +/- 15 L/min for PEFR and +/- 3.5% or +/- 0.12 L for FEV1. The mean within-meter coefficient of variation was 1.24% for FEV1 and 0.35% for PEFR. There was no significant change in meter accuracy or performance over the 10-wk reliability study. We conclude that the meter is suitable for use as an ambulatory spirometer for measuring FEV1 and PEFR.

Altitude↗
PubMed1992

Effects of neurotensin on caudate nucleus protein phosphorylation.

The tridecapeptide, neurotensin (NT), is heterogenously distributed in the mammalian central nervous system and exhibits many neurotransmitter-like characteristics. However, the molecular mechanisms of NT signal transduction remain obscure. In this report, we demonstrate NT-induced stimulation of specific protein substrate phosphorylation in the rat caudate nucleus. Rat caudate nucleus was dissected, a P2 fraction prepared and proteins phosphorylated in vitro with [32P]ATP for 1 min. Phosphorylated proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and autoradiograms prepared. NT preincubation in the absence of calcium resulted in markedly increased phosphorylation in vitro of proteins with apparent molecular weights of 80,000 and 50,000. These effects were not observed if calcium was present during the NT preincubation period. Both calcium and cAMP enhanced phosphorylation of the 80 kDa protein, but phosphorylation of the 50 kDa protein was responsive only to calcium.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

The prevalence of asthma in Victorian adults.

To determine the prevalence of asthma in Victorian adults, we carried out a cross-sectional postal survey utilising a new screening questionnaire which gathered data on self reported respiratory symptoms, whether asthma had been diagnosed and, if so, how it had been treated. Questionnaires were returned by 2198 (72%) of 3095 adults selected randomly from the Victorian electoral roll, an adequate response rate. The reported prevalences of individual asthmatic symptoms in the last 12 months ranged from 8% for nocturnal wheeze to 22% for current wheeze. Thirteen per cent of respondents had ever had asthma, 7% had experienced an attack within the last 12 months and 6% were currently taking medication. The high prevalence of asthma revealed by our study has major implications for the planning of health services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Principles behind practice. 5. Clinical disagreement.

With clinical information it is frequently difficult or impossible to make objective measurements to prove that a particular finding is correct. In these circumstances, the agreement of experienced clinicians is the best guide to the accuracy of clinical findings. However, studies of clinical judgement usually show a distressingly high level of disagreement among clinicians. We examine why such disagreement is so common, how clinical disagreement can be measured and how clinicians can be trained so that they are able to agree on important findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Ambient air pollution and respiratory disease.

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on ambient air pollution and respiratory disease, and to consider the criteria for defining causation. DATA SOURCES: Medical and scientific journals indexed by Medline, conferences, proceedings and monographs. STUDY SELECTION: Two kinds of study were selected--(i) controlled clinical trials which have exposed normal or asthmatic subjects and/or patients with chronic obstructive airways disease to sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide or ozone; and (ii) epidemiological studies which have investigated the chronic toxicity of these pollutants, acid aerosols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Experimental studies were tabulated under the headings "Design", "Subjects", "Pollutant concentration", "Duration of exposure", "Outcome measures" and "Conclusions". Epidemiological studies were summarised and compared in an attempt to reconcile conflicting results. (The experimental and epidemiological evidence has been used by regulatory bodies to develop ambient air quality guidelines.) CONCLUSIONS: At the present state of knowledge, it is not possible to conclude that air pollution can cause respiratory disease de novo, but levels marginally above current guidelines certainly have adverse effects on individuals with pre-existing chronic lung disease.

Air Pollutants↗