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Biomedical subjects

R F Wagner

Publications and source records attributed to R F Wagner.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

A refined neurobehavioral inventory of hemispheric preference.

With the advent and rapid growth of neuropsychology has come the need for reliable and valid measures of neuropsychological behaviors. The inventory described in this article measures neurobehavioral preference based on theoretical assumptions and previous research findings in the field, such as brain localization and cerebral hemispheric dominance. The inventory consists of 12 items, each of which has 4 statements that relate to four different functions of the two hemispheres, namely: (a) Left, logical; (b) Left, verbal; (c) Right, manipulative/spatial; and (d) Right, creative. A separate measure for left and right preference can be obtained by adding (a) and (b) and (c) and (d), respectively. Administration and scoring take only a few minutes. Statistical analysis shows that the results were in the predicted direction when six different criterion groups were used (e.g., artists, nurses, and teachers). The instrument appears suitable for use in personality research, counseling activities, or management techniques.

Creativity↗
PubMed1985

Electrolysis and thermolysis for permanent hair removal.

The historical, legal, and theoretical aspects and clinical technics of both electrolysis and thermolysis are critically reviewed. The pitfalls of electronic tweezers and the dangers of self-electrolysis are discussed. Complications of electrolysis and thermolysis and the pathophysiology of hair regrowth are presented. In the United States, the lack of uniform training requirements and standards for electrologists may pose an unrecognized risk to public health. It is suggested that more responsible state legislation be enacted in order to decrease the present potential threat to the public health and safety.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Decreased risk of subsequent primary noncutaneous malignancies among patients with primary cutaneous malignant melanoma.

It is established in the clinical literature that patients who develop specific types of malignancies are at an increased statistical risk for the development of a second primary malignancy. Previous studies have supported the theory that patients who develop primary cutaneous malignant melanoma (PCMM) have a greater risk for the development of a secondary primary noncutaneous malignancy (SPNM). Taken from the tumor registry of a community hospital, data for 504 consecutive patients (254 men and 250 women) with a diagnosis of PCMM were evaluated for the incidence of subsequent SPNM by comparing this series of patients to the general population of Connecticut. It was demonstrated that patients with PCMM had a significantly reduced incidence of SPNM (p = 0.002). Consideration should be given to possible biological and behavioral mechanisms which could explain the observed deficit.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Diagnoses of skin disease: dermatologists vs. nondermatologists.

Health care professionals (medical students, practicing physician's assistants, and residents in the specialties of internal medicine, surgery, and dermatology) were evaluated for their ability to diagnose malignant and benign skin disease. It was found that dermatology residents did significantly better in the diagnosis of malignant and benign skin disease than all other groups, and there was no significant difference among medical students, physician's assistants, and residents in internal medicine or surgery. Findings suggest that the current ability of nondermatologists to correctly diagnose malignant and benign skin disease is not at a comparable level to that of dermatologists and that a 1-month training period in the specialty of clinical dermatology during the primary care residency training period may be inadequate for training nondermatologists to distinguish malignant from benign skin disease. In some specialty areas, such as dermatology, specialization may be preferable to a primary care approach for initially evaluating skin disease.

Dermatology↗
PubMed1984

Ultrasound speckle size and lesion signal to noise ratio: verification of theory.

We compare predictions from our published theory of speckle cell size with recently published experimental results and a three dimensional computer simulation for the case of Gaussian pulses from spherically focused transducers in random media. The agreement is very good. We also compare our published theoretical predictions of the signal-to-noise ratio for a circular lesion in a speckle background with published "contrast to speckle ratio" data for anechoic cylindrical lesions in tissue mimicking material. Again, agreement is very good. The verification of these theoretical predictions has important implications for the evaluation of B-scan image quality and the study of tissue characterization.

Cysts↗
PubMed1984

Halo nevi and melanoma.

Halo nevi may be associated with occult melanoma or may signify melanoma in a remote location. When a single halo nevus is present, the lesion should be biopsied to exclude melanoma. In addition, the patient's entire skin surface should be examined, and a careful ophthalmologic examination should be performed to exclude intraocular melanoma. Although the pathophysiologic relationship of halo nevus to melanoma is unclear, immunologic mechanisms have been postulated.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Effective exposure level and diagnostic performance in endodontic radiography.

Image quality is limited by the information capacity of the image-forming system and can be computed from three parameters: contrast, resolution, and noise. These parameters can be combined to yield a single measure which determines the maximum amount of information obtainable from any x-ray system and is called the noise-equivalent number of quanta (NEQ) per unit area. The effects of image quality, expressed as noise-equivalent number of quanta (NEQ) per unit area, on the radiographic performance by dentists reading the position of an endodontic file in a root canal were studied. Three different speed films were used in conjunction with a fixed screen. NEQ values ranged between 0.64 x 10(4) and 14.3 x 10(4) per square millimeter. Components of variance associated with the position of the tooth apex and the tip of an endodontic file in a root canal were compared for the effect of different NEQs and observers. Results show that the standard deviation in locating a file tip and tooth apex may be a linear function of log NEQ. The estimated standard deviation associated with changes in NEQ was found to be relatively small compared to that observed among dentists. These findings indicate that a significant reduction in exposure would have a relatively small effect on the precision of endodontic distance measurements.

Dental Pulp Cavity↗
PubMed1983

Polythelia and associated conditions.

Polythelia (congenital supernumerary nipples) is a marker for more serious anomalies of the urinary and cardiovascular systems. It is associated with obstructive abnormalities of the kidney or the renal collecting system, renal agenesis, renal cell carcinoma, supernumerary kidneys, cardiac conduction disturbances and congenital heart disease.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1981

Efficiency of human visual signal discrimination.

We have measured the overall statistical efficiency of human subjects discriminating the amplitude of visual pattern signals added to noisy backgrounds. By changing the noise amplitude, the amount of intrinsic noise can be estimated and allowed for. For a target containing a few cycles of a spatial sinusoid of about 5 cycles per degree, the overall statistical efficiency is as high as 0.7 +/- 0.07, and after correction for intrinsic noise, efficiency reaches 0.83 +/- 0.15. Such a high figure leaves little room for residual inefficiencies in the neural mechanisms that handle these patterns.

Discrimination, Psychological↗