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Biomedical subjects

P Berry

Publications and source records attributed to P Berry.

70 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Behavior of Down syndrome infants in a strange situation.

The responses of 18 Down syndrome infants in a modified "strange" situation were recorded. The results indicated that these infants were aware of the exits and entrances of both mother and stranger. They cried and showed non-crying distress significantly more when their mothers were absent and showed awareness of the focal point of the room by looking at the door more in appropriate experimental episodes. They also showed increased looking at mother and physical contact on reunion with her. Concluded that the behavior Down syndrome infants is qualitatively similar to nonretarded children and that they indicate their levels of social awareness in these experimental situations.

Anxiety, Separation↗
PubMed1979

Feingold dier.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Humans↗
PubMed1979

The effects of social reinforcement on dominant and dependent mildly intellectually handicapped school-leavers.

The aim of this study was to replicate Exline & Messick's (1967) study of eye-contact interview behaviour with college students on a group of mildly intellectually handicapped students. Twenty subjects (mean CA 14.02 years, SD 0.45 years, mean IQ 72.0, SD 7.6) attending a metropolitan school for the mildly mentally handicapped were classified as dominant or dependent by teacher ratings and sociogram analysis. They were given large or small amounts of reinforcement for eye-contact when interviewed by their teacher. Although the study failed to replicate some of Exline & Messick's findings, results indicated a feedback rather than reward model in explaining the effects of social reinforcement on eye-contact in interviews. Implications for communication training for such intellectually handicapped students is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Vocalization and looking behaviour of Down's syndrome infants.

The effect of contingent and non-contingent vocal stimulation on vocalization and looking behaviour was investigated for 10 Down's syndrome infants. There were two experimental sessions consisting of four stages, namely 1 min base-line, 1 min experimental condition, a further 1 min base-line and a final 2 min experimental condition. Maternal vocal stimulation was contingent upon infant vocalization for the experimental conditions of one session and was presented every 10 s independent of infant vocalization for the experimental conditions of the other session. Neither condition increased infant vocalization but there was a significant decrease in looking at mother during the base-line stages which followed maternal vocalization (F = 5.07, d.f. = 4, 28, P less than 0.01). It is suggested that looking behaviour may be an important indication of competence in pre-linguistic social communication for developmentally delayed infants.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1978

Salicylate sensitivity in children reported to respond to salicylate exclusion.

Twelve children, aged six to 13 years, whose parents reported an improvement in behavioural problems with use of the Feingold (K-P) diet for an average period of 12 months, were challenge-tested with 40 mg of acetylsalicylic acid in a double-blind, cross-over trial with ascorbic acid as a placebo. The children were tested within three hours of ingestion of either the experimental or placebo tablet with a battery of psychological and neurological tests, and were rated by a parent on an enlarged Conners' Parent-Teacher Questionnaire for four days after the ingestion of the tablet. It was found that significance was reached in tests of general cognitive capacity, line walking and the "finger-to-nose" tests, as well as increased disturbance in sleep patterns in these children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Social interactions and communication patterns in mentally retarded children.

An observational approach and videorecordings were used to investigate a group of four mentally retarded kindergarten children with minimal language development. Results showed that when a facilitator (teacher) was present, there were more social interactions and vocalizations, but there was no significant increase in meaningful verbal content. Nonverbal communication rose sharply in the presence of the facilitator. The findings indicate that an observational analysis of patterns of interaction is useful in planning intervention programs in the area of social and communication development.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mutagenic and toxic activity of environmental effluents from underground coal gasification experiments.

Using bacterial bioassays, we have screened for the presence of mutagens and toxins in extracts from groundwater, and in tar from product gas, at the sites of two Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in situ experiments: Hoe Creek II and Hoe Creek III. The sites exhibited different potential biological hazards, suggesting that different gasification processes may represent different human health concerns. We found that mutagens are present in groundwater, persist for at least 2 yr after gasification has been terminated, and show a change in activity with time-possibly in parallel with changes in chemical composition. Preliminary evidence suggests that the mutagens in groundwater are quinoline and aniline derivatives, while the toxins in groundwater may be phenolic compounds. In tar from the product gas, the organic bases and neutrals were found to be genotoxic in both bacterial and mammalian cells; the neutral compounds appear to be the major mutagenic health hazards. Neutral compounds constitute most of the tar (85-97 wt%) and were mutagenic in both the bacterial and mammalian cell assays. Tar in the gas stream may be a problem for the aboveground environment if gas escapes through fractures in the overburden. Because it is mutagenic and induces chromosomal damage to mammalian cells, the tar may represent a disposal problem as well. However, it is difficult to assess tar quantitatively as a health hazard because its mutagenic activity is low, possibly due to contaminants in the neutral fraction that act to suppress mutagenicity.

Animals↗