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Biomedical subjects

M Grossman

Publications and source records attributed to M Grossman.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Received support and psychological adjustment in critically-injured patients and their family.

A pilot study was conducted to identify support behaviors associated with the psychological adjustment of 39 critically-injured patients and 39 family members. Although the majority of critically-injured patients recover physically, current work shows that psychological difficulties persist. This study hypothesized that the psychological adjustment of critically-injured patients and family members will be a function of the type of support received. The second hypothesis was that support behaviors associated with psychological adjustment will differ between critically-injured patients and family members. Patients and family members completed the following paper and pencil instruments: The Instrument of Socially Supportive Behaviors, the Well-being Scale, State/Trait Anxiety Scale, Life Experience Survey, The Blishen Occupational Index and a demographic questionnaire. Using multiple regression with backward elimination, squared semi-partial correlations and partial F, cross-sectional data showed that the measure of well-being but not anxiety was related to different types of support behaviors in partial support of the first hypothesis. Support for the second hypothesis was provided by the finding that the critically-injured patient's level of well-being was positively associated with nondirect support and instrumental aid, and negatively with direct guidance. In contrast, instrumental aid was found to be associated with poor well-being in family members. The findings offer neuroscience nurses insights into the types of support that may enhance the well-being of critically-injured patients and their family members.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

In vivo confocal scanning laser microscopy of human skin: melanin provides strong contrast.

Confocal scanning laser microscopy of live human skin was performed to investigate the correlation of in vivo cellular and morphologic features to histology, the effect of wavelength on imaging, and the role of melanin as a contrast agent. We built a video-rate confocal scanning laser microscope for in vivo imaging of human skin. Using a 100 x microscope objective, we imaged high-contrast optical "sections" of normal skin, vitiliginous skin, and a compound nevus. In vivo "confocal histology" correlated well with conventional histology. The maximum imaging depth increased with wavelength: the epidermis was imaged with visible 400-700-nm wavelengths; the superficial papillary dermis and blood cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes) in the deeper capillaries were imaged with the near infrared 800-900-nm wavelengths. For confocal reflectance imaging, melanin provided strong contrast by increased backscattering of light such that the cytoplasm in heavily pigmented cells imaged brightly. In vivo confocal microscopy potentially offers dermatologists a diagnostic tool that is instant and entirely non-invasive compared to conventional histopathology.

Contrast Media↗
PubMed1995

Sentence comprehension in multiple sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: Explanations of sentence processing difficulty in aphasia have implicated slowed information processing speed. We tested this hypothesis by evaluating sentence comprehension in multiple sclerosis (MS), and relating comprehension performance to measures of information processing speed. MATERIAL & METHODS: Twenty right-handed, high school-educated, non-demented, native English speakers with clinically definite MS and 16 age- and education-matched control subjects were examined on 3 different sentence comprehension measures that stress grammatical appreciation. Performance was related to quantitative assessments of mental information processing speed. RESULTS: Group-wide analyses demonstrated a trend toward sentence comprehension difficulty in MS. Analyses of individual patient profiles identified a subgroup of MS patients who were consistently impaired to a significant extent across all sentence comprehension tasks. Their sentence comprehension difficulty was associated with selectively compromised mental information processing speed. CONCLUSION: Sentence comprehension difficulty in MS is associated with slowed information processing speed. This finding supports the claim that information processing speed contributes to sentence processing.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The low density lipoprotein receptor is not required for normal catabolism of Lp(a) in humans.

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is an atherogenic lipoprotein which is similar in structure to low density lipoproteins (LDL). The role of the LDL receptor in the catabolism of Lp(a) has been controversial. We therefore investigated the in vivo catabolism of Lp(a) and LDL in five unrelated patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) who have little or no LDL receptor activity. Purified 125I-Lp(a) and 131I-LDL were simultaneously injected into the homozygous FH patients, their heterozygous FH parents when available, and control subjects. The disappearance of plasma radioactivity was followed over time. As expected, the fractional catabolic rates (FCR) of 131I-LDL were markedly decreased in the homozygous FH patients (mean LDL FCR 0.190 d-1) and somewhat decreased in the heterozygous FH parents (mean LDL FCR 0.294 d-1) compared with controls (mean LDL FCR 0.401 d-1). In contrast, the catabolism of 125I-Lp(a) was not significantly different in the homozygous FH patients (mean FCR 0.251 d-1), heterozygous FH parents (mean FCR 0.254 d-1), and control subjects (mean FCR 0.287 d-1). In summary, absence of a functional LDL receptor does not result in delayed catabolism of Lp(a), indicating that the LDL receptor is not a physiologically important route of Lp(a) catabolism in humans.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

An aspect of sentence processing in Alzheimer's disease: quantifier-noun agreement.

We assessed sentence processing in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with measures of sentence-picture matching, grammaticality judgments of sentences, and sentence completion. The results demonstrated significant and consistent difficulty with a grammatical feature of sentences on all three experiments. This impairment could not be explained by factors such as sentence length, dementia severity, or a short-term memory deficit and was independent of difficulty interpreting the meanings of words. We hypothesize that AD patients are impaired at appreciating the conceptual relations that underlie certain grammatical features of sentences.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Phonologic processing deficits in Alzheimer's disease.

We investigated phonologic production in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) on a repetition task. AD patients produced significantly more speech errors than age-matched controls. AD patients' errors, unlike those of controls, resulted in the transformation of real words into pseudowords, occurred disproportionately in word-initial positions, and were not influenced by the phonologic environment. This pattern of errors suggests a lexical phonologic retrieval deficit in AD.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Aging and sense of control.

Three groups representing different phases of the developmental lifecycle--12 senior citizens, 67 young adults, and 14 healthy middle-aged normal adults--were assessed using a multidimensional control inventory. Senior citizens had a healthy over-all sense of control comparable to those of the other two groups and a significantly lower (healthier) negative sense of control. They also were significantly more likely to endorse acceptance as a way of addressing areas of concern and to complement self as a source of control with a sense of control coming from others (including God, belief in a higher power).

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

A model for reproductive efficiency of dairy bulls.

Reproductive efficiency of bulls is usually measured by nonreturn rate, which is commonly defined as the proportion of cows that were inseminated and did not return for another service within a specified number of days. The AI organizations use nonreturn rate to evaluate fertility of a bull or performance of a technician. Measures derived from nonreturn rate, such as conception rate and calving rate, might be more reliable for evaluation than nonreturn rate itself. Estimated conception rate is a better early measure of efficiency than nonreturn rate, because conception rate depends on the population of spermatozoa at insemination and not on developmental potential of the conceptus after insemination. A mathematical function is presented to model reproductive efficiency of bulls by estimation of the probability of conception at time of insemination (conception rate) and the probability of completing gestation after insemination (calving rate) through the relationship of nonreturn rate to the concentration of spermatozoa at insemination and the time after insemination. The model is illustrated with three bulls, using nonreturn rates by 28, 56, and 84 d after insemination.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Multiphasic analysis of reproductive efficiency of dairy bulls.

Reproductive efficiency of dairy bulls is usually measured by nonreturn rate. Nonreturn is a compound trait that is a result of two events, conception and gestation, that lead to calving. Nonreturn rates can be used to derive more elementary biological measures for reproductive efficiency, such as conception rate and calving rate, which separately might be more reliable than nonreturn rate itself to evaluate the fertility of a bull or the performance of an AI technician. The challenge of this study was to examine the decline in nonreturn rate in light of the theory of multiphasic analysis. A multiphasic logistic function was developed to model decline in nonreturn rate by estimating conception rate, calving rate, and characteristics of the first two estrous cycles. The model is illustrated with data on daily nonreturn rates to 120 d. From the proportion of cows that conceived but failed to complete gestation because postsignal embryonic death, the model estimates conception rate and calving rate. From the proportion of cows that failed to conceive or that conceived but failed to complete gestation because of presignal embryonic death, the model estimates the proportion of returns, or probability of detecting estrus, duration of nonreturns, and time of maximum decline in nonreturn rate for the first two cycles. Using the proposed model, conception rate and calving rate estimated from daily nonreturn rates might be more reliable for evaluation of performance of an AI technician and fertility of a bull than nonreturn rates at arbitrarily chosen days after insemination.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Alcohol-problem prevention research policy: the need for a phases research model.

This paper describes the need and rationale for developing a phases model for guiding alcohol-problem prevention research. A phased approach to prevention research is consistent with such models developed for other health areas including heart disease, cancer, and drug testing. Such a model in alcohol prevention research can provide a means for (1) locating how far research has progressed along a continuum from basic or pre-intervention research to full implementation of preventive action, (2) identifying gaps in research, and (3) determining the level of empirical proof which exists for one or more prevention strategies prior to widespread dissemination.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1995

Immunization. Past successes, future challenges.

Global eradication of smallpox, elimination of poliomyelitis in the Western Hemisphere, and a 90% decrease in Haemophilus influenzae meningitis in the Western Hemisphere mark some of the achievements of immunization programs around the world. Yet many serious problems continue to exist, particularly in the developing world. Advances in biotechnology and the renewed interest by industry, governments, and the World Health Organization in vaccine development and delivery in the field provide an exciting prospect for major advances in immunization in the next few decades.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Hemiachromatopsia of unilateral occipitotemporal infarcts.

Two patients developed unilateral occipitotemporal infarcts that produced inferior quadrantic achromatopsia and an accompanying superior quadrantanopia. Magnetic resonance imaging and single-photon emission computed tomographic studies of both patients supported the current view that color vision is encoded in the lingual and fusiform gyri. Although the quadrantic defect in color processing was profound, neither patient was aware of it. Simple bedside testing of patients with superior quadrantanopia may disclose an unrecognized quadrantic achromatopsia.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Adverse dermatologic reactions from antiarrhythmic drug therapy.

Undesirable cutaneous reactions to drugs may occur early or late in the course of treatment. The ingestion of drugs may also aggravate existing dermatologic conditions. The adverse dermatologic reactions from antiarrhythmic drug therapy are reviewed. The exact incidence of dermatologic side effects from cardiovascular drugs has been difficult to estimate because of sporadic reporting. In this review, the cutaneous side effects are discussed according to drug class and the type of dermatologic reaction.

Anti-Arrhythmia Agents↗
PubMed1994

Picture comprehension in probable Alzheimer's disease.

Patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD) are frequently said to be compromised at a semantic level of picture comprehension. In order to test this hypothesis, pAD patients were asked to judge whether pictures are instances of a familiar superordinate category ("vegetable"). The targets (e.g., corn) varied in their representativeness, and the foils were either "coherent" items that were not target exemplars (e.g., apple, chair) or "anomalous" items displaying specific features that disqualified the stimuli as target exemplars (e.g., striped carrot). We also asked patients to judge a comparable set of words to determine whether difficulty appreciating pictures is material-specific. pAD patients were impaired at judging target pictures and a subset of picture foils, according to group-wide analyses, although they also encountered some difficulty judging the category membership of words. Individual patient analyses revealed that some patients were equally impaired at judging pictures and words. In particular, one subgroup experienced significant difficulty distinguishing coherent foils related to the target from true exemplars, and this occurred when the foils were presented as either pictures or words. An item-by-item analysis revealed highly concordant difficulty judging the same concepts expressed as either pictures or words in these patients. A material-specific deficit was evident in other pAD patients that resulted in selectively compromised picture judgments, including essentially all types of picture foils. We discuss these profiles of picture comprehension difficulty and conclude that deficits in understanding pictures in pAD may be due to semantic or perceptual types of impairment.

Aged↗