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Biomedical subjects

M Fitch

Publications and source records attributed to M Fitch.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Health promotion and early detection of cancer in older adults: a practical approach.

Little is known about the cancer-related knowledge, attitudes and health behaviours of older adults (> 55 years), or about designing health promotion and early detection interventions responsive to their learning needs. A collaborative project was established with the intent of designing an appropriate program for older adults. The initial work included a community needs assessment using focus groups, one-on-one interviews and self-report surveys. The use of key community contacts was effective in locating older adult subjects (> 55 years) through pre-established linkages with agencies. Various ethnocultural groups, low income communities and isolated individuals, as well as other pre-established groups, were included in this study. The needs assessment found that: age is not perceived as a cancer risk factor; transportation is a barrier to screening; fear inhibits people from being screened; physicians are viewed as both the main source of expert cancer knowledge and as the gatekeepers to screening; family and peers are the main source of support, ethnospecific groups have different information needs; and finally, that lifestyle suggestions can reduce the risk of cancer. The findings indicated that community health promotion programs for older adults will require multiple approaches with a combination of strategies in order to meet their learning needs.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

The relationship between perceived social support and mood of testicular cancer patients.

A descriptive correlational study was conducted to investigate the relationship between perceived social support and mood of testicular cancer patients two to three months post-diagnosis. The conceptualization for the study was based on the cognitive-phenomenological theory of psychological stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). A convenience sample of 30 young adult males with testicular cancer was interviewed. Data were collected using the Demographic Data Sheet, MOS Social Support Survey. Importance of Social Support Questionnaire, Profile of Mood States and two open-ended interview questions. Data indicated subjects felt well-supported, especially in areas that they thought were important. No significant relationship was found between perceived social support and mood in this sample. The findings suggest the need for the nurse's individualized assessment regarding the testicular cancer patient's number of close friends/relatives and the importance placed on different types of support.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Interviews with men with prostate cancer about their self-help group experience.

This study reports on the results of semi-structured interviews with 12 men involved in prostate cancer self-help groups in three Canadian cities. Overall, participants reported their group involvement to be helpful, especially in terms of accessing information. Additional benefits included finding commonality with others, being able to talk about difficult issues, being productive and accomplishing tasks, advocating to make a difference, and engaging with family members around health issues. We conclude that the recent growth of self-help groups speaks to the challenge inherent for men in dealing with prostate cancer and counteracts tendencies to minimize the suffering which they experience.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Physician perspectives on unconventional cancer therapies.

The popularity of unconventional therapies has grown dramatically in recent years. This paper reports on the results of a pilot study investigating the perspectives of physicians involved with cancer care regarding their reactions to this trend and their ways of trying to meet associated challenges. Nine oncologists, nine general practitioners, and one surgeon were interviewed over the telephone, employing open-ended questions. The physicians were unanimously interested in having information available about unconventional therapies. They also expressed a desire to be supportive of patient choices in this area, provided conventional therapy was not compromised. However, there was little interest in initiating communication about unconventional therapies, with most seeing such discussions as a poor use of their time. Suggestions for future research, as well as educational and policy strategies, are addressed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1995

Classification and expression of a family of cyclin gene homologues in Brassica napus.

In order to investigate the role of cell division in plant development, we isolated several plant genes which encode homologues of animal and yeast cell cycle regulators known as cyclins. Through the use of degenerate primers and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) we isolated a Brassica sequence which showed homology to the 'cyclin box' functional domain found within cyclin proteins. Southern blot analysis indicated that Brassica napus has a large number of genes containing cyclin box-related sequences. This was further supported by the isolation of cyclin box sequences from six different genomic clones. In addition, we have isolated two different cyclin cDNA clones, BnCYC1 and BnCYC2, from a Brassica napus shoot apical cDNA library. Both of the cDNA clones contain a 'destruction box' regulatory domain similar to animal mitotic cyclins. Northern blot analysis using BnCYC2 shows mRNA levels which correlate well with the level of cell division in various tissues. Messenger RNA abundance was highest in 1-3 mm leaves, root tips and shoot apices. The mRNA detected using BnCYC1 was restricted to young leaves and the shoot apex, suggesting divergent, organ-specific roles for cyclin family members. The results demonstrate that the plant cyclin gene family is more extensive than previously demonstrated and consists of genes expressed in all dividing tissues as well as a subset of developmentally specific members.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Occupational portrayals on television: children's role schemata, career aspirations, and perceptions of reality.

UNLABELLED: Do children's schemata for occupations they observe in real life differ from those they see on TV? 177 second- and fifth-graders were assigned to conditions in a 2 (real-life or on TV) x 2 (police officer or nurse) design. They answered open-ended questions about what police officers or nurses do (in real life or on TV) and rated the typicality of various job activities. Their schematic knowledge about TV and real occupations was clearly differentiated. TV versions entailed more glamour, higher income, more stereotypes, and more dramatic events without negative consequences. Real-life occupations entailed more effort, status, and excitement. Older children differentiated slightly more clearly than younger ones. Children who perceived television as factual and realistic had real-world schemata similar to TV images. Children who were heavy viewers and perceived television as realistic were most likely to aspire to jobs shown on TV. CONCLUSION: children form separate schemata for social information acquired from TV and from real-world experience, but those who perceive television as socially realistic are apt to incorporate TV messages in their schemata and their aspirations.

Aspirations, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

YTRF is the conserved internalization signal of the transferrin receptor, and a second YTRF signal at position 31-34 enhances endocytosis.

By functional analysis of mutant human transferrin receptors (TR) expressed in chicken embryo fibroblasts, we previously identified a tetrapeptide sequence, Y20TRF23, within the 61-residue cytoplasmic tail as the signal for high-efficiency endocytosis (Collawn, J. F., Stangel, M., Kuhn, L. A., Esekogwu, V., Jing, S., Trowbridge, I.S., and Tainer, J.A. (1990) Cell 63, 1061-1072). It has been inferred from other studies, however, that the TR internalization signal was localized to a much larger region, residues 7 through 26 (Girones, N., Alvarez, E., Seth, A., Lin, I-M., Latour, D.A., and Davis, R.J. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 19006-19012). Additionally, Tyr20 was reported to not be conserved in the Chinese hamster cytoplasmic tail sequence (Alvarez, E., Girones, N., and Davis, R.J. (1990) Biochem. J. 267, 31-35). In the studies reported here, we examined the effect of insertion of an extra copy of a YTRF sequence at three different locations within the human TR cytoplasmic domain and show that the insertion of another YTRF signal at position 31-34 in the wild-type TR, but not the other two locations, increases the rate of endocytosis 2-fold. Furthermore, introduction of YTRF at position 31-34 in an internalization-defective mutant receptor restores endocytosis to wild-type levels, indicating that YTRF signals at either positions 20-23 or 31-34 are necessary and sufficient to promote TR internalization and function in an independent and additive manner. We also report the complete primary structure of the Chinese hamster TR deduced from its cDNA sequence and show that the Tyr20 as well as the complete YTRF motif is conserved.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Television and families: what do young children watch with their parents?

A sample of 271 3- and 5-year-olds and their families participated in a 2-year longitudinal study of television viewing patterns. 5 1-week diaries for all family members were collected at 6-month intervals. Programs were categorized as: (1) child informative, (2) child entertainment, (3) news and informative, (4) sports, (5) comedy, (6) drama, (7) action-adventure, and (8) variety-game. The majority of child programs were viewed without parents, while the majority of adult programs were watched with parents. Coviewing patterns of adult programs were predicted from parents' individual viewing habits, but not from the child's. Coviewing declined with age. Parental encouragement and regulation of viewing were orthogonal. Children whose parents encouraged viewing watched more child informative programming; children of restrictive parents watched less entertainment programming. Encouraging parents coviewed more than nonencouraging parents. Results support the assertion that parental viewing preferences, habits, and orientations toward television influence children's viewing, both with and without parents.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence and correlates of family dysfunction and poor adjustment to chronic illness in specialty clinics.

This study estimated the prevalence of poor adjustment and family dysfunction among three chronically ill clinic patient populations and assessed the biological, situational, social and psychological variables which most explained poor adjustment. Recently referred subjects were approached and 216 chronically ill subjects (from oncology, rheumatology and gastroenterology clinics) completed a Meaning of Illness Questionnaire, the McMaster Family Assessment Device, and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Self-report Scale. In addition, information describing their biological, disease and socioeconomic status was obtained from the clinic record. Respondents were generally representative of other new referrals to the clinics (ineligible for the subsequent trial) in disease characteristics but uniformly came from a more advantaged socioeconomic situation and were better adjusted to illness. Subjects from the three clinics were comparable on meaning, family function and adjustment variables. The proportion of subjects with family dysfunction was 30% and with poor adjustment to illness was 36%, high by community standards. Nevertheless, healthy family functioning and high levels of positive adjustment to chronic illness prevailed and were remarkably similar across clinic settings. Severity or type of disease was not related to adjustment outcomes nor to the level of observed disability. Rather, as hypothesized, meaning given the illness, followed by family function, and disability variables combined to explain 57% of the variance in adjustment outcomes. An intervention designed to improve family function and the meaning given illness was judged suitable.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Individual correlates of health service utilization and the cost of poor adjustment to chronic illness.

It was conjectured that a small group of chronically ill in tertiary ambulatory clinics consume a large amount of health resources and that, from the perspective of the patient, psychosocial rather than disease variables would most explain their health service utilization and subsequent cost. New referrals with a chronic illness (N = 215) to one of three clinics (oncology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology) consented to participate in a subsequent trial of a psychosocial intervention designed to promote their adjustment to illness and, conceivably, to reduce their health service utilization. At baseline an inventory to describe the disease, treatment, functional capacity, prognosis, and socioeconomic situation of consenting subjects was completed. In addition, subjects completed the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Inventory (PAIS-SR), the Family Assessment Device (FAD), the Meaning of Illness Questionnaire (MIQ), and a Health Service Utilization Inventory designed to assess direct and indirect costs of health resources. These data were entered into a concurrent analytic survey design. Participating subjects represented a more socioeconomically advantaged and better-adjusted group of chronically ill patients compared with others referred to the tertiary clinics. They were representative of all new referrals in their use of the majority of health services. However, once hospitalized, participating subjects stayed longer and used specialists less. There was no important relationship between disease severity or prognosis and any type of service utilization, including hospitalization. Because the strongest correlate of all types of health services consumed was psychosocial adjustment to illness (r = 0.28 to 0.33), patients were partitioned into one of three categories of adjustment to illness: good, fair, and poor. The total annual cost per patient was $23,883, if poorly adjusted, compared with $9,791 if well adjusted. If cash transfers (benefits paid by different types of insurance) are added, the average 1987 annual cost per poorly adjusted subject was $31,291 per patient, compared with $13,771 for a patient well adjusted to the illness. There was a statistically significant and economically important linear gradient in 1987 treatment costs per category of adjustment. The possible economic implications for psychosocial intervention are highlighted.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Abnormal fatty acid composition of biotin-responsive multiple carboxylase deficiency fibroblasts.

Clinical and biochemical correlations in the biotin-responsive multiple carboxylase deficiencies have suggested that disordered lipogenesis plays a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. In particular, the activity of biotin-dependent acetyl CoA carboxylase and the de novo synthesis of fatty acids are reduced in mutant fibroblasts. In the present work, we examine the biochemical consequences of these deficiencies, and document and characterize an abnormal fatty acid composition in holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency fibroblasts. Following growth in biotin-restricted medium, the total fatty acid content of mutant cells is reduced. There were significant reductions in the percentage as 16:0, 18:0 and 20:3N9 fatty acids, with the proportion of longer-chain fatty acids either increased or maintained at control levels. The cellular content of 16:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1 and 20:3N9 fatty acids was reduced, while that of the longer-chain fatty acids was preserved at control levels in mutant cells deprived of biotin. We speculate that the components of the altered fatty acid pools may be disproportionately incorporated into complex lipids in mutant cells, with pathologic effects on the multiple carboxylase deficiency phenotype.

Biotin↗
PubMed1986

Perception of risk in motor-cyclists.

In a survey of 72 motor-cyclists, their experience of motor-cycle accidents and their perception of future risk were assessed. The results show that they underestimate the chance of having an accident and that their perception of the risks increases following personal contact with the victims of such accidents.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1984

Depressed natural killer and lectin-induced cell-mediated cytotoxicity in cholesterol-fed guinea pigs.

Dunkin-Hartley and Hartley guinea pigs were fed a diet containing 1% cholesterol (C+) or a control diet (C-). The C+-fed guinea pigs showed a decrease in antitumor effector cell levels as measured by an in vitro 18-hour 51Cr release assay. Natural killer (NK) activity fell rapidly after initiation of cholesterol feeding, decreasing to 25.6% of control levels by 2 weeks. While the interferon inducer polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid increased NK activity as much as 3.6-fold in controls, the NK levels in C+-fed animals were not increased. NK activity was lower in both spleen and peripheral blood of C+-fed animals and against K562, MOLT-3, HL-60, and Raji target cells. Lectin-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity was increased in the C+-fed group over, the first 1-2 weeks on the diet, but it dropped to low levels by 6 weeks. Lipoprotein preparations from plasmas of both C+- and C--fed animals inhibited NK cell activity, but suppression was not due to lipoprotein cholesterol content. On the basis of lipoprotein protein, lipoproteins from C--fed animals were more suppressive. The results suggest that the decrease in cytotoxicity induced by dietary cholesterol is due to more than the high levels of plasma and lipoprotein cholesterol.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Effects of dietary cholesterol on antibody-dependent phagocytosis and cell-mediated lysis in guinea pigs.

The effect of dietary cholesterol on antibody-dependent phagocytosis and cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) by peritoneal cells and on the susceptibility to lysis of erythrocytes was studied in the guinea pig. We found that peritoneal cells from cholesterol-fed animals (CHOL PEC) demonstrated a decreased ability to both phagocytose and lyse antibody-coated (Ab) guinea pig erythrocytes than did those from control guinea pigs (CONT PEC). This decrease was equal in groups fed cholesterol for 5 1/2-13 weeks, preanemic or anemic, and with normal or enlarged spleens. Dose response curves varying Ab concentration showed that CHOL PEC required higher concentrations of Ab to effect phagocytosis and lysis than did CONT PEC. Dietary cholesterol, while rapidly inducing morphological changes such as spurring in guinea pig erythrocytes, was found not to affect the susceptibility of the cells to lysis or phagocytosis in this assay system. These findings suggest that the increased incidence of infection in cholesterol-fed guinea pigs may be due to impaired phagocytic function and that the anemia observed in guinea pigs after 8-10 weeks of feeding cholesterol is not due to increased antibody-dependent removal of spurred erythrocytes by the phagocytic system.

Anemia↗