Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M E O'Connor

Publications and source records attributed to M E O'Connor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

The role of evolutionarily conserved sequences in alternative splicing at the 3' end of Drosophila melanogaster myosin heavy chain RNA.

Exon 18 of the muscle myosin heavy chain gene (Mhc) of Drosophila melanogaster is excluded from larval transcripts but included in most adult transcripts. To identify cis-acting elements regulating this alternative RNA splicing, we sequenced the 3' end of Mhc from the distantly related species D. virilis. Three noncoding regions are conserved: (1) the nonconsensus splice junctions at either end of exon 18; (2) exon 18 itself; and (3) a 30-nucleotide, pyrimidine-rich sequence located about 40 nt upstream of the 3' splice site of exon 18. We generated transgenic flies expressing Mhc mini-genes designed to test the function of these regions. Improvement of both splice sites of adult-specific exon 18 toward the consensus sequence switches the splicing pattern to include exon 18 in all larval transcripts. Thus nonconsensus splice junctions are critical to stage-specific exclusion of this exon. Deletion of nearly all of exon 18 does not affect stage-specific utilization. However, splicing of transcripts lacking the conserved pyrimidine sequence is severely disrupted in adults. Disruption is not rescued by insertion of a different polypyrimidine tract, suggesting that the conserved pyrimidine-rich sequence interacts with tissue-specific splicing factors to activate utilization of the poor splice sites of exon 18 in adult muscle.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed1998

Relaxation training and breast milk secretory IgA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypothesis that breast-feeding women who participate in relaxation training will have increased secretory IgA (sIgA) levels in their breast milk compared with women not receiving training. DESIGN: Nonrandomized control trial of a convenience sample. SETTING: Women were recruited from the postpartum floor of a university teaching hospital. The intervention took place in the women's homes. PARTICIPANTS: Women in the first 48 hours after delivery who were planning to breast-feed their healthy newborn infants for at least 8 weeks were approached for enrollment. Women were excluded if they had previous experience with relaxation training. At 4 to 6 weeks postpartum, we enrolled 38 women still breast-feeding their infants. INTERVENTIONS: Women were allocated into 3 groups. Women in group 1 were taught relaxation and had breast milk samples collected before and after the teaching. Women in group 2 had conversation with similar breast milk sample collection, and women in group 3 had 1 breast milk sample collected. Women in group 1 were encouraged to practice the relaxation once or twice a day for 2 weeks, and a second visit was made to all mothers with repeated breast milk collections. Women who were still breast-feeding at 6 to 8 weeks after study end had a final breast milk sample collected. Breast milk was analyzed for secretory IgA levels. Stress was assayed using the Symptom Checklist-90-R and open-ended questions. RESULTS: There was no difference in sIgA levels among the 3 groups at any time. Women who reported stress present between visit 1 and visit 2 increased their sIgA levels at the final sample collection (+0.16 g/L) compared with women who reported no stress (-0.09 g/L; P= .03). The ratings of success in relaxation in women in group 1 were related to the following sIgA levels in sample 4: poor relaxation, 0.67 g/L; fair relaxation, 0.41 g/L; good relaxation, 0.35 g/L; and very good, 0.30 g/L (P= .006). CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported stress appears to increase breast milk sIgA levels. Success at relaxation was inversely related to sIgA levels in the group learning relaxation.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Parental leave: comparing children's hospitals with Fortune 500 companies.

OBJECTIVE: To identify parental leave policies and availability of support systems for new parents employed by children's hospitals and compare these benefits with those offered by Fortune 500 companies. DESIGN: Telephone or facsimile survey of all (n=118) children's hospitals and pediatric medical centers in the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions 1995 Directory of Members, and 118 geographically matched Fortune 500 companies. Policies for maternity and paternity leave, adoption benefits, and support services for new parents were compared. RESULTS: Ninety-four children's hospitals (80%) and 82 Fortune 500 companies (69%) responded to the survey. No difference in duration of maternity (P>.30) or paternity (P=.12) leave was found. Sixty-two companies (77%) classified maternity leave as short-term disability while 47 hospitals (50%) classified it as sick time (P<.005). Classifying maternity leave as short-term disability generally gives better benefits to employees with short duration of service, whereas classifying maternity leave as sick time usually favors employees with longer employment. Companies provided more financial support for adoption expenses (P<.05), but there was no difference in duration of paid or unpaid leave for adoption (P=.14). Hospitals provided more on-site day care (69% vs 42%; P<.001) and better support systems for breast-feeding mothers (49% vs 24%; P<.002). CONCLUSIONS: Children's hospitals do not offer better parental leave benefits than Fortune 500 companies; however, they offer better support systems for parents returning to work after the birth of a child.

Commerce↗
PubMed1998

Risk factors for binge eating disorder: a community-based, case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Many risk factors have been implicated for eating disorders, although little is known about those for binge eating disorder. METHODS: A community-based, case-control design was used to compare 52 women with binge eating disorder, 104 without an eating disorder, 102 with other psychiatric disorders, and 102 with bulimia nervosa. RESULTS: The main risk factors identified from the comparison of subjects with binge eating disorder with healthy control subjects were certain adverse childhood experiences, parental depression, vulnerability to obesity, and repeated exposure to negative comments about shape, weight, and eating. Compared with the subjects with other psychiatric disorders, those with binge eating disorder reported more childhood obesity and more exposure to negative comments about shape, weight, and eating. Certain childhood traits and pronounced vulnerability to obesity distinguished the subjects with bulimia nervosa from those with binge eating disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Binge eating disorder appears to be associated with exposure to risk factors for psychiatric disorder and for obesity. When compared with the wide range of risk factors for bulimia nervosa, the risk factors for binge eating disorder are weaker and more circumscribed. Pre-morbid perfectionism, negative self-evaluation, and vulnerability to obesity appear especially to characterize those in whom bulimia nervosa subsequently develops.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Effect of shock waveform on relationship between upper limit of vulnerability and defibrillation threshold.

INTRODUCTION: The upper limit of vulnerability (ULV) correlates with the defibrillation threshold (DFT). The ULV can be determined with a single episode of ventricular fibrillation and is more reproducible than the single-point DFT. The critical-point hypothesis of defibrillation predicts that the relation between the ULV and the DFT is independent of shock waveform. The principal goal of this study was to test this prediction. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 45 patients at implants of pectoral cardioverter defibrillators. In the monophasic-biphasic group (n = 15), DFT and ULV were determined for monophasic and biphasic pulses from a 120-microF capacitor. In the 60- to 110-microF group (n = 30), DFT and ULV were compared for a clinically used 110-microF waveform and a novel 60-microF waveform with 70% phase 1 tilt and 7-msec phase 2 duration. In the monophasic-biphasic group, all measures of ULV and DFT were greater for monophasic than biphasic waveforms (P < 0.0001). In the 60- to 110-microF group, the current and voltage at the ULV and DFT were higher for the 60-microF waveform (P < 0.0001), but stored energy was lower (ULV 17%, P < 0.0001; DFT 19%, P = 0.03). There was a close correlation between ULV and DFT for both the monophasic-biphasic group (monophasic r2 = 0.75, P < 0.001; biphasic r2 = 0.82, P < 0.001) and the 60- to 110-microF group (60 microF r2 = 0.81 P < 0.001; 110 microF r2 = 0.75, P < 0.001). The ratio of ULV to DFT was not significantly different for monophasic versus biphasic pulses (1.17 +/- 0.12 vs 1.14 +/- 0.19, P = 0.19) or 60-microF versus 110-microF pulses (1.15 +/- 0.16 vs 1.11 +/- 0.14, P = 0.82). The slopes of the ULV versus DFT regression lines also were not significantly different (monophasic vs biphasic pulses, P = 0.46; 60-microF vs 110-microF pulses, P = 0.99). The sample sizes required to detect the observed differences between experimental conditions (P < 0.05) were 4 for ULV versus 6 for DFT in the monophasic-biphasic group (95% power) and 11 for ULV versus 31 for DFT in the 60- to 110-microF group (75% power). CONCLUSION: The relation between ULV and DFT is independent of shock waveform. Fewer patients are required to detect a moderate difference in efficacy of defibrillation waveforms by ULV than by DFT. A small-capacitor biphasic waveform with a long second phase defibrillates with lower stored energy than a clinically used waveform.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Risk factors for bulimia nervosa. A community-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Many apparently disparate risk factors have been implicated as causes of eating disorders. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that 2 broad classes of risk factors exist for bulimia nervosa: those that increase the risk for development of a psychiatric disorder in general and those that increase the risk of dieting. It was predicted that the latter are especially common among persons with bulimia nervosa. METHODS: A case-control design was used involving 2 integrated comparisons. First, 102 subjects with bulimia nervosa were compared with 204 healthy control subjects without an eating disorder. Second, the same 102 subjects with bulimia nervosa were compared with 102 subjects with other psychiatric disorders. To reduce sampling bias, the subjects were recruited directly from the community. A broad range of putative risk factors was assessed. RESULTS: The subjects with bulimia nervosa and the healthy control subjects differed in their rates of exposure to most of the putative risk factors. Far fewer differences were evident between the subjects with bulimia nervosa and the control subjects with other psychiatric disorders, although exposure to factors that were likely to increase the risk of dieting and to negative self-evaluation and certain parental problems (including alcohol use disorder) were substantially more common among those with bulimia nervosa. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the hypothesis that bulimia nervosa is the result of exposure to general risk factors for psychiatric disorder and risk factors for dieting. An unexpected finding was the particularly high rates of premorbid negative self-evaluation and certain parental problems among those with bulimia nervosa.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Evaluation of the 'Best Start' breast-feeding education program.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of breast-feeding before and after the "Best Start" breast-feeding educational program was implemented. DESIGN: Preintervention-postintervention trial. SETTING: A women's health center and children's hospital serving a low-income population. PATIENTS: Ninety mother-infant pairs of whom the infants were born between January 2 and February 28, 1993, compared with 90 mother-infant pairs of whom the infants were born between January 2 and February 28, 1994. INTERVENTION: Best Start, a breast-feeding education program, was presented to health professionals and clerical staff of the Women's Health Center. At the first prenatal visit, a woman is asked, "What do you know about breast-feeding?" instead of "Are you going to breast-feed or bottle-feed this baby?" The program elicits and acknowledges the mother's concerns and then educates her about the benefits of breast-feeding. This is repeated at each prenatal visit. OUTCOME MEASURES: Sociodemographic data and breast-feeding rates of preintervention groups were compared with those of postintervention groups. Both hospital and out-patient records were reviewed. RESULTS: In 1993, 13 (15%) of 86 mothers breast-fed at hospital discharge compared with 25 (31%) of 81 in 1994 (P < .03). At the 2-week clinic visit, 11 (13%) of 86 were still breast-feeding in 1993 compared with 17 (21%) of 81 in 1994 (P > .20). The impact on mothers aged 19 years or less was particularly marked, with a tripling of the breast-feeding rate at hospital discharge from 11% (2/18) in 1993 to 37% (10/27) in 1994. CONCLUSION: This simple, low-cost educational intervention with a change in the manner of presentation significantly improved the breast-feeding rates of this low-income population.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Bias and bulimia nervosa: how typical are clinic cases?

OBJECTIVE: Since patients being treated for bulimia nervosa constitute only a minority of persons with the disorder, the cases seen in clinics may be subject to sampling bias. The aim of this study was to investigate sampling bias as it affects secondary referrals for bulimia nervosa. METHOD: The personal and family characteristics of a consecutive series of 60 women with secondary referrals for bulimia nervosa (clinic subjects) were compare with those of 83 subjects with bulimia who were recruited directly from the community. Most of the data were collected by interview. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics of the two groups were similar. The clinic subjects had a more severe eating disorder and much greater impairment of social functioning. There was no difference between the groups in duration of the eating disorder or level of general psychiatric disturbance. The community subjects were heavier and had stronger family histories of obesity. CONCLUSIONS: There is sampling bias among secondary referrals for bulimia nervosa. The relative absence of persons prone to obesity among secondary subjects is important, since there is evidence that vulnerability to obesity is a poor prognostic feature as well as being a risk factor for the development of bulimia nervosa. The greater social impairment among the clinic subjects is suggestive of greater personality disturbance in this group. Caution is warranted when generalizing from clinic cases to the disorder as a whole.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Relation of light and exercise to seasonal depressive symptoms: preliminary development of a scale.

The palliative effects of exercise on depression are neither generally accepted nor clearly understood. On the contrary, the efficacy of light exposure in the treatment of seasonal depressive symptoms is widely recognized. It is possible that the contradictory findings in the exercise and depression literatures are due to a failure to consider light exposure as a variable. 32 women who regularly exercised were administered a depression inventory and the Seasonal Light Inventory, a new measure composed of two 10-item subscales, Seasonality and Light Exposure. Seasonality assesses fluctuations of mood, appetite, sleep, and other activities occurring at similar times each year, and the Light Exposure subscale measures respondents' estimated exposure to outdoor and bright indoor light. Indeed, those exercisers whose habits exposed them to a relatively large amount of light reported fewer seasonal depressive symptoms than those whose habits exposed them to a relatively small amount of light. The results suggest that the puzzling relationship between exercise and depression might be delineated more clearly by considering light exposure as a confounding variable.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A prospective study of outcome in bulimia nervosa and the long-term effects of three psychological treatments.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the longer-term outcome of bulimia nervosa and the distal effects of treatment. METHODS: Prospective follow-up of subjects from two randomized controlled trials, involving a comparison of cognitive behavior therapy, behavior therapy, and focal interpersonal therapy. RESULTS: Ninety percent (89/99) underwent reassessment by interview (mean [+/- SD] length of follow-up, 5.8 +/- 2.0 years). Almost half (46%) had a DSM-IV eating disorder; 19%, bulimia nervosa; 3%, anorexia nervosa; and 24%, eating disorder not otherwise specified. There was a low rate of other psychiatric disorders. Premorbid and paternal obesity predicted a poor outcome. While the three treatments did not differ with respect to the proportion of subjects with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa at follow-up, they did differ once all forms of DSM-IV eating disorder were considered together. Those who had received cognitive behavior therapy or focal interpersonal therapy were doing markedly better than those who had received behavior therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The longer-term outcome of bulimia nervosa depends on the nature of the treatment received. Patients who receive a treatment such as behavior therapy, which only has a short-lived effect, tend to do badly, whereas those who receive treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy or focal interpersonal therapy have a better prognosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Psychological studies in nonionizing electromagnetic energy research.

Research on nonionizing electromagnetic (NIEM) energy has focused on potential hazards, and to a lesser degree beneficial applications, of radiofrequency (RF) fields and extremely low frequency (ELF) fields. The history of research on the potential biological effects of NIEM contains many psychological investigations. These psychological investigations were conducted primarily in the discipline of biopsychology and included interdisciplinary cooperation with engineering, physical sciences, and other disciplines not routinely associated with psychology. The current recommended exposure level for RF is based on behavioral observations of laboratory animals. Psychology has been and continues to be in the midst of controversy regarding the ability of low-frequency, low-level electromagnetic energy or electric and magnetic fields to affect living organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

CaEDTA vs CaEDTA plus BAL to treat children with elevated blood lead levels.

The effectiveness of CaEDTA alone vs CaEDTA plus BAL was compared retrospectively in a group of 72 children with lead levels between 2.41 mumol/L (50 micrograms/dL) and 2.90 mumol/L (60 micrograms/dL). The children who received both drugs had higher median zinc protoporphyrin (ZnP) concentrations at the initiation of therapy than children who received CaEDTA alone (160 micrograms/dL vs 96 micrograms/dL, p less than .01). There was a significantly increased incidence of vomiting and abnormal liver-function test results in the children who received both drugs. The children who received CaEDTA alone had a greater percent mean fall in lead level at one to three weeks postchelation (30.5% vs 18.1%, p less than .05). Children who received both CaEDTA and BAL had a greater percent decrease in ZnP at four to eight months postchelation, but there was no difference in percent decrease in lead levels. Children who received both drugs also had a greater number of repeat courses of chelation by six months. The addition of BAL to CaEDTA for treatment of children with lead levels of 2.41 mumol/L (50 micrograms/dL) to 2.90 mumol/L (60 micrograms/dL) produced greater toxicity and does not seem to prevent repeat chelations within six months.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1991

Three psychological treatments for bulimia nervosa. A comparative trial.

The specificity and magnitude of the effects of cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of bulimia nervosa were evaluated. Seventy-five patients who met strict diagnostic criteria were treated with either cognitive behavior therapy, a simplified behavioral version of this treatment, or interpersonal psychotherapy. Assessment was by interview and self-report questionnaire, and many aspects of functioning were evaluated. All three treatments resulted in an improvement in the measures of the psychopathology. Cognitive behavior therapy was more effective than interpersonal psychotherapy in modifying the disturbed attitudes to shape and weight, extreme attempts to diet, and self-induced vomiting. Cognitive behavior therapy was more effective than behavior therapy in modifying the disturbed attitudes to shape and weight and extreme dieting, but it was equivalent in other respects. The findings suggest that cognitive behavior therapy, when applied to patients with bulimia nervosa, operates through mechanisms specific to this treatment and is more effective than both interpersonal psychotherapy and a simplified behavioral version of cognitive behavior therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Malignant transformation occurring in mature cystic teratomas of the ovary.

Two cases in which tumours of contrasting malignant potential arose in mature cystic teratomas (dermoid cysts) of the ovary are presented: one patient had a spindle-cell sarcoma and the other a trabecular carcinoid. The first patient's clinical course was characterized by rapid recurrence of the tumour and death 3 months after surgery. The second patient is alive and well with no evidence of residual carcinoid, although the follow-up time is short. Since the surgical procedure of choice differs substantially if malignant transformation occurs in an ovarian dermoid cyst, the pathologist should be consulted intraoperatively in selected cases.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Preoperative laboratory testing of children undergoing elective surgery.

The routine preoperative evaluation of pediatric patients often includes a history, physical examination, complete blood count, and urinalysis (UA). We retrospectively reviewed the records of 486 elective surgeries in children to determine the role of abnormal preoperative laboratory test results in perioperative management. Anemia or microcytosis was apparent in 17% of patients, and abnormal UA results were found in 15%. More than 80% of the abnormal UA results were historically known, clinically insignificant, or false-positives. Only five children had surgery canceled owing to abnormal laboratory tests: two owing to anemia, two to an abnormal UA, and one because of a prolonged partial thromboplastin time. Both children with anemia were treated with iron and subsequently underwent surgery without complication. Of the abnormal UAs, one was contaminated, and the cancellation of surgery resulted in a complication requiring emergency surgery. The other abnormal UA was a probable asymptomatic bacteriuria, and the infant later underwent surgery uneventfully. These data suggest that a routine UA adds little to the preoperative evaluation of a healthy child, and should be omitted.

Adolescent↗