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Biomedical subjects

M Boyle

Publications and source records attributed to M Boyle.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

HIV prevention: current health promoting behaviour models for understanding psycho-social determinants of condom use.

The application of current health promoting behaviour models for understanding psycho-social determinants of condom use is discussed. It was concluded that their utility is reduced because they are individualistic models and do not take into account interaction between couples, and contextual factors. Systemic AIDS counselling and relapse prevention approaches to invervention may provide a better basis for developing an appropriate methodology for studying condom use because they incorporate contextual factors. Some future directions for research into the determinants of condom use and the implications for health education and counselling are proposed.

Contraceptive Devices, Male↗
PubMed1990

Good and bad clinicians: supervisors' judgements of trainees' competence.

Experienced supervisors of trainee clinical psychologists used 24 scales to rate four concepts: 'your stereotype of a good trainee'; "a good trainee well known to you'; 'a bad trainee well known to you'; and 'your stereotype of a bad trainee'. Similar ratings were given for both the good trainee concepts, which were rated differently from both the bad concepts, which were also rated differently from each other. Factor analysis revealed that the supervisor's judgements fell across two interpretable dimensions.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1990

Evaluation of a self-help manual for young offenders who drink: a pilot study.

Adolescent offenders have been identified as heavy drinkers, in some cases drinking being causally related to offending. Forty-five male young offenders who drink were selected from the population of a Young Offenders Centre. They were matched for age and self-reported alcohol consumption, then allocated to one of three conditions: no intervention; minimal intervention (given a behavioural self-help manual to read alone); and group intervention (manual read aloud in groups). At 15-month follow-up, there were no significant differences in reconviction rates in the three conditions. Information useful in the design of future studies was gained, and recommendations are made.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Isolation of the mouse Hox-2.9 gene; analysis of embryonic expression suggests that positional information along the anterior-posterior axis is specified by mesoderm.

It is rapidly becoming accepted that the vertebrate neural tube, in particular the hindbrain, develops into a segmented structure. After segment formation, cells in the neural tube do not cross segmental boundaries, and segment-specific gene expression is observed. However, it is not known what positional cues instruct the neural tube to express genes in this restricted manner. We have cloned a murine homeobox-containing gene, Hox-2.9, whose expression in the neural tube at E9.5 is restricted to a segment of the hindbrain known as rhombomere 4. A study of its expression pattern earlier in development revealed that prior to the start of neurulation (E7.5) Hox-2.9 is expressed within a posterior to the embryonic mesoderm that will participate in hindbrain formation. With the onset of neurulation, expression then becomes detectable in the neural plate as well, but only in the part that overlies the Hox-2.9-expressing mesoderm; it is not detected in the more anterior neuroectoderm that will form the future midbrain and forebrain. On the basis of these findings, we propose that the mesoderm is providing cues that serve to instruct the overlying neuroectoderm with respect to its position along the anteroposterior axis and that Hox-2.9 participates in or reflects this process. As neurulation continues and individual segments form, a second phase of expression is detected in the neural tube in which high levels of Hox-2.9 transcripts become restricted to rhombomere 4. Hox-2.9 expression is also detected in the developing branchial arch units of the hindbrain region, in a pattern that suggests to us that here, too, mesoderm is providing a localized signal that induces Hox-2.9 expression, in this case in endoderm of the pharynx and in superficial ectoderm. In general, we interpret the expression patterns of Hox-2.9 in the hindbrain region as suggesting that the specific mechanisms of pattern formation in mammals are fundamentally similar to those of amphibians and avians - i.e. anteroposterior positional information is acquired by mesoderm, mesoderm induces positional values within (neuro-) ectoderm and endoderm, and both events occur within a restricted window of time.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Is schizophrenia what it was? A re-analysis of Kraepelin's and Bleuler's population.

It has been noted that the term "schizophrenia" is now applied to a group in many ways dissimilar to Emil Kraepelin's cases of dementia praecox and Eugene Bleuler's of schizophrenia. No detailed explanation has been offered for the difference. This article offers evidence that Kraepelin's and Bleuler's concepts were derived from a population largely suffering from organic disorders including the Parkinsonian sequelae of encephalitis lethargica; it describes the conceptual confusion which followed the introduction of the concept of post-encephalitic Parkinsonism and discusses some implications for the modern concept of schizophrenia. It is suggested that the differences between earlier and later groups of schizophrenics may be accounted for by the decline in prevalence of post-encephalitic Parkinsonism and of the neurological and behavioral sequelae of other diseases, and by the parallel unsystematic development of the concept of schizophrenia.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1989

AIDS training and social services.

To be effective, AIDS training must be based on an understanding of the specific requirements of participants. Knowledge, attitudes and behaviour concerning AIDS have been investigated among the general public and a variety of health care professionals, but the needs of Social Services Department personnel have not been directly addressed. This study looked at the relationships between the information possessed by a sample of social work teams, their attitudes, predicted behaviour and self-rated anxiety concerning AIDS. The purpose was to facilitate the planning of an AIDS training course. Results showed significant associations between the possession of more information, positive attitudes, appropriate predicted behaviour, lower self-rated anxiety and social work qualification. Younger people were more likely to be well informed, hold positive attitudes and display appropriate predicted behaviour. The implications for AIDS training for Social Services Department personnel are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

ADDH and conduct disorder: degree of diagnostic overlap and differences among correlates.

The objective of this paper was to determine the degree of diagnostic overlap between attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) and conduct disorder (CD) and to see whether ADDH children show a different pattern of demographic, familial, and developmental correlates compared to CD children. The sample for this study consisted of 2,697 4- to 16-year-olds who participated in the Ontario Child Health Study. In terms of diagnostic overlap, ADDH and CD occurred together more often than by chance alone, particularly among girls. Pure groups of ADDH and CD children differed in a variety of ways. In general, ADDH children were younger and had experienced more developmental delays and less psychosocial disadvantage than the CD children. No differences were found with respect to associated impairments, a measure of severity. Children with both ADDH and CD (a mixed group) appeared to represent a true hybrid disorder rather than one diagnosis or the other. These findings support the validity of ADDH compared to CD, at least in terms of the pattern of correlates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Interleukin 1 prevents loss of corticotropic responsiveness to beta-adrenergic stimulation in vitro.

Corticotropin (ACTH) secretion by the anterior pituitary is stimulated by catecholamines in vivo and in vitro. The nature of the response in vivo is controversial but appears to be mediated by beta-adrenergic receptors, whereas the response is dependent on alpha-adrenergic receptors in cultured anterior pituitary cells. In the present studies, by using a superfusion technique, we demonstrate that catecholamine stimulation of ACTH release from rat anterior pituitaries changes with time from a predominantly beta-adrenergic-mediated event to a predominantly alpha-adrenergic-mediated event. From 0 to 2 hr after initiating the superfusion, release of ACTH from anterior pituitary glands is stimulated up to 2.4-fold by the beta-adrenergic agonist l-isoproterenol. However, the ACTH secretory response to the alpha-adrenergic agonist l-phenylephrine is less than or equal to 5% of that to l-isoproterenol during the same time period. Beginning 2 hr after the start of the superfusion, the responsiveness to the beta-adrenergic agonist declines, and the response to the alpha-adrenergic agonist increases until, 10 hr after removal, greater than 95% of the catecholamine-inducible ACTH release is mediated by an alpha-adrenergic pathway. The addition of interleukin 1 alone to the medium from the beginning of the superfusion does not modify basal ACTH secretion rates and does not affect the acquisition of the response to phenylephrine. However, the presence of interleukin 1 does allow the maintenance of the full ACTH secretory response to isoproterenol. This effect of interleukin 1 is reversed by an interleukin 1 antagonist. These observations suggest an additional way in which immune regulators might interact with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗
PubMed1988

The Ontario Child Health Study: social adjustment and mental health of siblings of children with chronic health problems.

There has been controversy concerning the type and amount of psychosocial maladjustment among the siblings of children with chronic physical health problems and disabilities. Most previous studies have been conducted in clinical populations, often from tertiary care centers. This paper reports the risks of psychiatric disorders and social adjustment problems of the siblings of chronically ill children found in the Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS). The OCHS was a general population survey of 3,294 children, 4-16 years of age, living in 1,869 randomly selected families in the Province of Ontario, Canada. A 2-fold risk in emotional disorders, including depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and a 1.6-fold increase in risk in poor peer relationships were found. However, risks for conduct disorder, somatization disorder (measured only in 12- to 16-year olds), attention deficit disorder-hyperactivity, and one or more psychiatric disorders were not elevated. Moreover, no increased risks of adjustment problems, including social isolation, low participation in leisure activities, low competence in usual childhood recreational activities or school problems, were observed. Clinicians treating chronically ill children should assess the mental health and adjustment of their siblings without an expectation bias that problems will be found.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Effects of short-term insulin therapy upon therapeutic response to glipizide.

The effect of glipizide alone and glipizide preceded by a short course of insulin therapy (10 weeks) was studied in 69 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in a 10-month study. The patients were obese, had poor glycemic control, and, in all patients, first-generation sulfonylurea therapy had failed. The majority were Mexican-Americans, an ethnic population with a high incidence of NIDDM and insulin resistance. Plasma glucose levels were monitored using the eight-point [Saarstedt] series. In the group receiving glipizide alone, mean fasting plasma glucose levels decreased from 255.9 mg/dl at baseline to 228.7 mg/dl at the end of the study; two-hour postprandial glucose levels decreased from 280.1 to 260.5 mg/dl; glycosylated hemoglobin decreased from 9.1 to 7.4 percent; and post-Sustacal C-peptide levels increased from 0.7 to 1.0 pmol/ml. In the group receiving insulin/glipizide, mean fasting plasma glucose levels decreased from 241.1 mg/dl at baseline to 217.0 mg/dl; two-hour postprandial glucose levels increased from 267.2 to 279.0 mg/dl; glycosylated hemoglobin decreased from 9.1 to 7.5 percent; and post-Sustacal C-peptide levels increased from 0.6 to 1.0 pmol/ml. At the end of 10 weeks, insulin administration was associated with a more rapid decrease in the levels of fasting plasma glucose, two-hour postprandial glucose, and glycosylated hemoglobin, but there was no significant difference between the two therapies by the end of the study. Both regimens had a positive influence on reducing the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein ratio. More patients in the group receiving insulin/glipizide withdrew from the study, which may have been due to difficulties associated with insulin administration. In conclusion, there does not appear to be a prolonged effect of insulin treatment on the post-receptor defect. Some patients in whom first-generation oral agents fail may not have to be given permanent insulin therapy, especially those with fasting plasma glucose levels of less than 200 mg/dl. There was no overall difference between these treatments with respect to glycemic control or lipoprotein profiles. In the interests of simplifying both therapy and monitoring, enhancing patient compliance, and achieving cost reductions, therapy with glipizide alone ultimately may be sufficient for cases in which immediate control is unnecessary (for example, patients with asymptomatic hyperglycemia, and in the absence of hyperlipidemia and vascular disease).

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Neuropsychological analysis of a typewriting disturbance following cerebral damage.

Following a left CVA, a skilled professional typist sustained a disturbance of typing disproportionate to her handwriting disturbance. Typing errors were predominantly of the sequencing type, with spatial errors much less frequent, suggesting that the impairment was based on a relatively early (premotor) stage of processing. Depriving the subject of visual feedback during handwriting greatly increased her error rate. Similarly, interfering with auditory feedback during speech substantially reduced her self-correction of speech errors. These findings suggested that impaired ability to utilize somesthetic information--probably caused by the subject's parietal lobe lesion--may have been the basis of the typing disorder.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1987

Chronic illness, disability, and mental and social well-being: findings of the Ontario Child Health Study.

Chronic childhood illness, disability, and psychosocial problems are receiving major attention in current pediatric care. Much of the evidence associating chronic physical problems and mental health and adjustment problems has come from clinic-based studies and is often inconsistent in its conclusions. This paper reports the findings of the Ontario Child Health Study, an epidemiologic survey of 3,294 children 4 to 16 years of age in the general community, concerning the relationship of psychiatric disorders and social adjustment problems among children with chronic illness, medical conditions, and long-term disability in contrast to children free of chronic physical health problems. Age- and sex-adjusted risks for psychiatric disorders and social problems, compared with those for healthy peers, were calculated: children with both chronic illness and associated disability were at greater than threefold risk for psychiatric disorders and considerable risk for social adjustment problems. Children with chronic medical conditions, but no disability, were at considerably less risk: about a twofold increase in psychiatric disorders but little increased risk for social adjustment problems was observed. A relative underuse of specialized mental health services by children who might benefit supports the opinion that all physicians in the community who care for children with chronic health problems should become skilled in the recognition of existing or incipient mental health and social problems and familiar with preventive and treatment approaches that may lessen the excessive burden of psychosocial problems among those with chronic ill-health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Bubbling humidifiers produce microaerosols which can carry bacteria.

It is widely held that bubbling humidifiers do not produce microaerosols, although prior studies have resulted in conflicting evidence. We have studied this phenomenon in a clean room using an airborne particle counter and samplers for airborne bacteria. At gas flow rates between 10 and 80 L/min, a Cascade 1 humidifier produced between 460 and 999 water droplets/L humidified gas. Total water volume aerosolized was approximately 10(-8) ml/L humidified gas. Seventy-three percent of the particles had diameters between 1 and 5 microns. With the reservoir containing 6.4 X 10(6) P. aeruginosa/ml, it produced between 2 and 9 P. aeruginosa/L humidified gas. Most of the bacteria were in particles of a size likely to be deposited in the lung. This bacterial carry-over was between 20 and 150 times the amount predicted by multiplication of the water volume aerosolized times the concentration of bacteria in the humidifier reservoir. An Air Life humidifier produced fewer particles which were also of a size likely to be deposited in the lung and, when the reservoir contained P. aeruginosa, it aerosolized bacteria. Wick-type humidifiers did not produce detectable aerosol or bacterial carry-over. Although the clinical significance of these findings has not been established, they provide a rationale for the CDC recommendations for procedures designed to keep bubbling humidifier reservoir water uncontaminated.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1986

The prevalence and perceived aetiology of male sexual problems in a non-clinical sample.

One hundred and nine men (38 per cent single, 48 per cent married) participated in a survey of the prevalence of erectile and ejaculatory difficulty in a non-clinical sample. Perceived aetiology of erectile difficulty was also investigated. Twenty-three per cent of the sample were currently experiencing sexual problems, with ejaculatory difficulty approximately three times as prevalent as erectile difficulty. Nearly one-quarter had experienced erection difficulties at some time and, of these, 68 per cent had remitted without formal treatment. Most frequently cited 'causes' of erectile difficulty were 'psychological' rather than 'physical', 'practical' or specifically 'sexual,' with relationship factors including communication between partners being perceived as particularly important. The presence of erectile and/or ejaculatory difficulty was related to sexual dissatisfaction but not to ratings of relationship happiness. Men having sexual relationships outside their permanent relationship found their partner less sexually attractive and rated themselves as less happy than those men not having affairs but the two groups did not differ in terms of presence of sexual difficulty or sexual dissatisfaction. The limitations of a sample biased towards younger, more educated men, are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The role of social support systems in adolescent cancer amputees.

Amputation is often a component in the treatment of bone tumors such as osteogenic sarcoma, which is most prevalent in the adolescent age group. Adaptation to cancer and loss of a limb requires a significant multidimensional effort. To examine the role of social support systems, 27 adolescents who had undergone amputations for cancer were interviewed. Inquiries were made regarding patients' perceived social support providers and the impact of amputation upon their lives and independence. Parents, especially mothers, were perceived as realistic and most helpful at the time of surgery (80%), followed by professional hospital staff (59.3%), and siblings (59.3%). Friends of patients were less helpful, as many reported their friends felt sorry for them (65.4%), avoided them (33.3%), or drifted away (40%). Only 7.4% of the patients had a clear preference to be associated with other amputees. This study details other preferences and difficulties encountered by the adolescent amputees and the role of support systems in their adaptation to their disease and amputation.

Adolescent↗