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P Freeman

Publications and source records attributed to P Freeman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

ITF expression in mouse brain during acquisition of alcohol self-administration.

Expression of inducible transcription factors (ITFs) c-Fos and FosB was investigated during acquisition of alcohol drinking in C57BL/6J mice. A slight but statistically significant increase in c-Fos expression was found in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EW) of animals consuming 2% ethanol/10% sucrose for the first time. Stronger expression of c-Fos in EW was found in animals repeatedly consuming ethanol-containing solutions. These findings underscore the potential importance of EW in alcohol-related behaviors.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2001

The influence of unimanual response on pseudoneglect magnitude.

Various factors influence the degree of leftward error (pseudoneglect) (Bowers & Heilman, 1980) that typifies the performance of normal subjects in line bisection tasks (Jewell & McCourt, 2000). The results of this experiment show that unimanual responding also exerts a subtle but significant modulating influence on spatial attention, as indexed by the differential magnitude of pseudoneglect. Using a forced-choice tachistoscopic line bisection protocol, 184 subjects (92 male and 92 female) bisected horizontally oriented lines (22.3 degrees wide x 0.39 degrees height) presented to central vision in two conditions, in which bisection responses were executed via button presses using the first two fingers of either the left (LH) or right (RH) hand. Perceived line midpoint deviated significantly leftward of veridical (p <.05) in both conditions. There was no significant influence of subject sex (p >.05). A significant influence of unimanual response was revealed (p <.05) where pseudoneglect magnitude was greater in the LH than the RH condition. The results are interpreted within the framework of the activation-orientation theory of attentional asymmetry.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Anxiety sensitivity and major depression: examination of affective state dependence.

An emerging body of research suggests that anxiety sensitivity (AS), and particularly a facet of AS labelled fear of cognitive dyscontrol, is elevated in depressed individuals and is associated with severity of depressed mood. The current prospective study extended previous work by investigating the extent of affective state dependency in the AS-depression relationship in 51 patients who had major depressive episode (MDE) at baseline assessment (Time 1) and did not have MDE 1 year later at follow-up (Time 2). Despite considerable reduction in severity of depressed mood, scores on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (M=27) remained elevated. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for both Time 1 and Time 2 depression severity, Time 1 AS continued to predict residual Time 2 AS and increased prediction of variance from approximately 25% to 50%. Time 1 fear of cognitive dyscontrol AS continued to significantly predict Time 2 fear of cognitive dyscontrol AS when Time 2 fear of physical symptoms AS was statistically controlled. A subsample of recovered patients who displayed only minimal depression symptoms was compared to a matched sample of community controls. While the two groups did not significantly differ on level of depressed mood, the formerly depressed patients had significantly higher levels of AS. Implications for a proposed "depression sensitivity" are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in medical students: a longitudinal investigation.

OBJECTIVES: The personality of medical students may have an important impact on both their academic performance and emotional adjustment during medical school. There has been little systematic study of the impact of perfectionism on medical students. The present study sought to compare the perfectionism profile of medical students with that of a general arts student group and to examine the relationship among perfectionism, distress symptoms and academic expectations and satisfaction. DESIGN: Medical students (n=96) and arts students (n=289) completed a baseline assessment including two multidimensional perfectionism scales. The medical students also completed measures of distress symptoms, personality (neuroticism, conscientiousness) and questions about their perceptions of their academic performance. Of the medical students, 58 completed a second set of questionnaires 6 months later (time 2). SUBJECTS: First-, second- and third year medical students and first-year arts students. RESULTS: In comparison with arts students, the perfectionism profile of medical students showed higher personal standards, lower doubts about actions and lower maladaptive perfectionism scores. In the medical students adaptive perfectionism (achievement striving) was significantly correlated with baseline academic performance expectations and conscientiousness and was predictive of dissatisfaction with academic performance at time 2. Maladaptive perfectionism (excessive evaluative concerns) was significantly correlated with baseline distress symptoms and neuroticism and was predictive of symptoms of depression and hopelessness at time 2. CONCLUSIONS: Perfectionism in medical students differs systematically from perfectionism in general arts students. Distinguishing adaptive and maladaptive aspects of perfectionism is important in understanding the cross-sectional and longitudinal implications of perfectionism for medical students.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The comparative content of the mitochondrial phosphoglyceroyl-ATP-containing polymer, purinogen, in rat tissues.

Here, we describe an assay for the tissue content of purinogen, a highly phosphorylated labile polymer containing ATP and phosphoglycerate found in the mitochondrial intermembrane space. We report the purinogen content (as adenine nucleotide equivalents) of rat heart and, for the first time, of rat liver, kidney, brain and mixed skeletal muscle. The findings show that purinogen contains very significant proportions of cell adenine nucleotides ranging from 25% of the free pool in brain and skeletal muscle to 135% of it in kidney. The evidence that purinogen may form a controlled intracellular reservoir of inorganic phosphate is briefly discussed.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed2000

An investigation of three-dimensional scanning of human body surfaces and its use in the design and manufacture of prostheses.

The capture of highly accurate data describing the complex surfaces of the human body may prove extremely useful in many medical situations. The data provide a method of measuring and recording changes to the surface of a patient's soft tissue. The data may be applied to computer-controlled manufacturing techniques, such as rapid prototyping (RP). This enables accurate physical replicas of the patient topography to be produced. Such models may be used as an aid in the design and manufacture of prostheses. This paper describes an investigation aimed at identifying problems that may be encountered when scanning patients and describes the application of the resulting data in the design and manufacture of facial prostheses. The results of the experiment are presented together with a discussion of the accuracy and potential advantages afforded by this approach.

Biocompatible Materials↗
PubMed1999

Alcohol drinking produces brain region-selective changes in expression of inducible transcription factors.

Mapping the effects of alcohol consumption on neural activity could provide valuable information on mechanisms of alcohol's effects on behavior. The present study sought to identify effects of alcohol consumption on expression of inducible transcription factors (ITFs) in mouse brain. C57BL/6J mice were trained to consume 10% ethanol/10% sucrose solution during a 30-min limited access period. Control animals were given access to 10% sucrose solution or water. Following the final day of the procedure, animals were sacrificed and immunohistochemical analyses were performed for three ITFs (c-Fos, FosB, and Zif268). Alcohol-consuming animals had increased ITF expression in several brain areas. Specifically, c-Fos was significantly induced in the nucleus accumbens core (AcbC), the medial posteroventral portion of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeMPV), and the Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EW). Expression of c-Fos was significantly lower in the dentate gyrus of alcohol-consuming animals vs. sucrose-consuming animals. However, it was not significantly different from the water controls. Induction of c-Fos in AcbC, CeMPV and EW was significantly related to blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). Furthermore, FosB expression in the CeMPV and the EW was also significantly higher in the alcohol-consuming animals vs. water controls. FosB expression in the EW was significantly related to BAC. The significance of these results is two-fold. First, our experiments demonstrate that ITF mapping is an effective strategy in identifying alcohol-induced changes following voluntary consumption. Second, they suggest a relationship between ITF expression in AcbC, CeMPV and EW and the level of alcohol intoxication.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1999

The first Australian workshop on bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department.

AIMS: Bedside ultrasound is not widely practised by emergency physicians in Australasia despite its use in Europe, Asia and North America, and an extensive medical literature on the subject. A workshop was organised at Auckland Hospital, aiming to introduce emergency physicians to the basics of emergency ultrasound. This article summarises the content of the programme, the responses from the participants and the principles that emerged at this workshop. METHODS: A standardised, 16-hour, emergency ultrasound curriculum was offered to 23 participants. Lectures with syllabus material were used to cover the following topics: basic ultrasound physics, pelvis, right upper quadrant, renal, aorta, trauma and echocardiography. Each participant received eight hours of hands-on ultrasound instruction. On completion of the course participants responded anonymously to a course appraisal questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-one participants responded to the questionnaire (91% response rate). Delegates found the course informative and the material was considered relevant. Workshop objectives were met and the venue was appropriate. Most participants thought the practical sessions could be improved by decreasing the ratio of delegates to human models. CONCLUSIONS: The first Australasian workshop on bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department held in Auckland (February 1998) was successful in achieving its objectives. Focused emergency ultrasound can be taught to detect free intraperitoneal or pericardial fluid in trauma patients. There is a need for appropriate quality assurance and credentialling guidelines as more Australasian emergency departments consider the application of focused ultrasound.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1999

The U.S. health data privacy debate. Will there be comprehension before closure?

After 25 years of debate about privacy of automated personal health data, the U.S. Congress has set a deadline of August 1999 for enacting health information privacy legislation. The urgency to establish national policy in the United States re-emerges with implementation of a 1996 law mandating a unique identifier for each participant in the U.S. medical care system and the use of a uniform electronic data set for all health information transmitted in financial and administrative transactions. The impact of electronic data storage and transmittal on privacy, health outcomes, and medical care is unclear. A three-step analytic scheme can clarify the issues in the policy debate and for future assessment. The first step is intended to elicit, for the first time, a precise, accurate, and reproducible description of personal health data transactions and chains of transactions, independent of the policy preferences of any interested party. The second step allows the reader to analyze these transactions according to who benefits first and foremost from each. This scrutiny clarifies the reasons why parties to the debate tend to disagree. The third step characterizes how Congress is likely to perceive the policy process and consider its options before enacting any particular set of compromises. Understanding the policy deliberations and potential effects of evolving information technologies and new national privacy rules should aid assessment of results.

Computer Security↗
PubMed1999

The role of ultrasound in the assessment of the trauma patient.

Ultrasound assessment of the patient with blunt abdominal trauma will enhance diagnostic accuracy and facilitate decision making about the need for urgent surgery. Numerous studies have reported the role of ultrasound in the assessment of the trauma patient. Focused ultrasound has been shown to compare in sensitivity to diagnostic peritoneal lavage and is helpful in assessing the need for a laparotomy. Ultrasound is safe, cheap and portable. The investigation is non-invasive and painless. The trauma ultrasound scan can be completed in under 3 minutes and should be performed during the initial trauma assessment. The technique is not difficult to learn. Advances in technology are likely to make portable ultrasound increasingly appropriate to rural clinical practice. Detection of haemoperitoneum will be more accurate when ultrasound is available in the early care of trauma on a 24 hour basis and, to achieve this, clinicians managing trauma will need to become competent in the application of the focused ultrasound exam.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed1999

Integrated drug and alcohol intervention: development of an opportunistic intervention program to reduce alcohol and other substance use among psychiatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the rationale, aims and processes involved in developing and implementing an opportunistic intervention program to reduce substance misuse detected among psychiatric patients. METHOD: In this randomised, opportunistic intervention program, eligible patients recruited from a large psychiatric hospital and its associated community mental health centres are assigned to receive an integrated drug and alcohol intervention (IDAI) or alternatively allocated to a minimal intervention condition (MI). The IDAI is based on motivational enhancement and cognitive-behavioural principles, and incorporates harm-reduction approaches. This clinical program is based on the research findings and recommendations of the mental health and the drug and alcohol literature. RESULTS: A collaborative partnership between the Mental Health Services and the Drug and Alcohol Services was formed. Following a relatively short training period, mental health staff were trained to opportunistically detect drug and alcohol problems among psychiatric patients and offer appropriate integrated clinical care. CONCLUSION: The process of implementing an integrated opportunistic intervention program is achievable and can be readily incorporated in psychiatric hospitals and community mental health clinics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Selective effects of alcohol drinking on restraint-induced expression of immediate early genes in mouse brain.

BACKGROUND: Analysis of immediate early gene expression in brain is a common contemporary method for mapping changes in neuronal activation with cellular resolution. This method has been applied previously in models of involuntary alcohol exposure. In this study, immunohistochemical expression analysis of immediate early genes c-fos, fosB, and zif268 was performed in brain of C57BL/6J mice after voluntary alcohol consumption. METHODS: Mice were trained to consume 10% ethanol/10% sucrose, using a 30-min limited-access paradigm. Animals consumed approximately 1.5 g/kg of ethanol per session. Control animals consumed 10% sucrose solution. Gene expression was determined in half of the animals 1.5 hr after the drinking session. Gene expression in the remaining animals was determined after 0.5 hr of restraint stress, which is known to elevate expression of immediate early genes in many brain regions. Analysis of the stressed animals was also performed 1.5 hr after the drinking session. RESULTS: Blood alcohol concentrations were significantly reduced in animals exposed to restraint stress. However, stressed mice showed the greatest alcohol-induced changes in gene expression. Specifically, animals consuming ethanol/sucrose with subsequent exposure to restraint stress had lower c-Fos expression in the CA3 region of hippocampus, and higher c-Fos expression in nucleus accumbens than mice exposed to restraint stress after drinking the sucrose solution. Consumption of the ethanol/sucrose solution also significantly reduced FosB expression in the basolateral amygdala and lateral hypothalamus, and Zif268 expression in the CA1 region of the hippocampus of stressed animals. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm previous observations showing selective effects of alcohol administration on immediate early gene expression. Furthermore, the effects of voluntary alcohol self-administration on immediate early gene expression differ from involuntary alcohol exposure and suggest several brain regions as substrates for alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗