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Biomedical subjects

R Guttman

Publications and source records attributed to R Guttman.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Twins' perception of their environment: a cross-cultural comparison of changes over time.

In a previous Swedish twin project (the SLU-project), approximately 300 MZ and DZ twin pairs and controls were followed through the Swedish compulsory school from grade 3 to grade 9. Results from this study indicated an increase of genetic influences on school achievement over time for children from a permissive home environment and a decrease for children from a restrictive home environment. These types of data have generated a more general model for studying heredity-environment interaction in educational settings. To test this model, a cross-cultural comparison over time of twins and controls in the Israeli kibbutz school and in the Swedish compulsory school has been made. Restrictions on the child were originally assumed to be more apparent in the kibbutz environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Inflammatory cells in bronchial lavage fluid after general anesthesia and artificial respiration].

Bronchial lavage was performed immediately after intubation and artificial respiration (sample A) and one hour later (sample B) in 26 patients who underwent general anesthesia for elective surgery, but were otherwise normal. The number of cells recovered in sample B was significantly greater than that in sample A (5.64 +/- 4.62 x 10(6) vs 1.42 +/- 0.99 x 10(6). This difference was greater in smokers than in nonsmokers. There was also a significantly greater proportion of granulocytes in sample B compared to sample A. The results were similar after inhalation or after intravenous anesthesia. There were dynamic changes in quality as well as quantity of inflammatory cells in the lower respiratory tract following intubation and artificial respiration.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1990

Permissiveness-restrictiveness for twins and controls in two educational settings: The Swedish compulsory school and the Israeli kibbutz.

In a previous longitudinal twin project a model was developed for studying heredity-environment interaction. One important environmental dimension in this model is permissiveness-restrictiveness. The purpose of the present study has therefore been to investigate perceived and imposed restrictiveness at the societal and classroom level and possible interactional effects on pupil behavior. Results are reported from grade 4 to grade 6 in Israeli kibbutzim and Swedish compulsory school. One major finding is that no systematic differences have been found between twins and controls in the two countries. In both Swedish schools and Israeli kibbutzim permissiveness-restrictiveness will vary depending upon perspective (perceived or imposed) and upon content (type of subject or rule-breaking activity). Preliminary within-pair comparisons for the Swedish twins are reported for different types of test results. In agreement with the model, logical abstract thinking as well as reading and mathematics achievement seem to be less influenced by hereditary factors in a restrictive educational setting than in a permissive one.

Child↗
PubMed1990

Typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ear infections related to outcome of treatment.

Of 142 patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PSA) ear infections, 88 (62 per cent) had chronic otitis media and 54 (38 per cent) external otitis. Following serotyping and pyocin typing of their bacteria, and relating the type to outcome, patients could be divided into three groups: (1) 120 patients who had no recurrence with isolation of only one PSA strain, (2) 13 patients who had recurrent infections and in whom the same PSA strain was isolated in repeated cultures, and (3) nine patients who had recurrent disease, but who had a change in their PSA strains. Most of the PSA strains isolated from patients in groups (1) and (2) were stable to pyocin, and resistent to gentamicin. Patients in the first group were all cured initially by medical management. Of the nine patients in group (3) who had a different serotype on repeated cultures, medical treatment was successful in eight (89 per cent), but of the 13 patients in group (2) who had the same Pseudomonas aeruginosa serotype cultured, medical therapy failed in six (46 per cent) and mastoid surgery was required. Serotyping of Pseudomonas aeruginosa otitis may be helpful in predicting the type of management in patients who have recurrent infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Genotype-treatment interaction in response of mice to early barbiturate administration.

Results of this investigation show a differential effect of early barbiturate administration on behaviors of mice of two inbred strains in the open field and in the barrier cage. Pups of the inbred strains DBA/l and C57BL/10 were fostered by HS/Ibg dams and were given a daily injection of 50 mg/kg sodium phenobarbital on postnatal days 2-21 (treated groups); control pups received vehicle injections. At 28 and 30 days the animals were tested in an open field and in a barrier cage. The DBA/l mice responded differently from C57BL/10 to early barbiturate treatment. Treated DBA/l mice showed a marked reduction from control levels in open-field locomotion and grooming but not in defecation. In the barrier test, there were reductions in jumping, peeking and grooming and increase in defecation. The differences between controls and treated in the C57BL/10 strain were small except for barrier jumping and peeking. It is suggested that genotype (strain) - environment (drug) interaction exists for the effect of early phenobarbital administration on behavior: DBA/l was sharply affected by the drug, while the behavior of C57BL/10 was little altered by neonatal phenobarbital administration.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Fathers' and mothers' perceptions of temperament in Israeli neonates: effects of adoption and social class.

As part of a longitudinal follow-up study of the development of adopted and biological children in Israel, 87 couples were administered the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire when their first infants were 21 to 30 days old. Middleclass adoptive parents and a middle-class biological-parent control sample constituted one group. A second group comprised a lower-class sample. Mothers in all groups saw the child as more difficult in terms of strength of cry and reactions to being dressed as compared to fathers. Mothers perceived the child as more predictable for diaper changes and sleep. Adoptive parents saw their child as easier, that is, having more stable and positive mood states. Adoptive mothers saw their neonates as more active than the biological mothers. Middle-class parents saw their children as more soothable and as less disturbing in their emotional behavior than lower-class parents. The results indicate that neonatal temperament can be studied and that parental perception is influenced by sex of parent, biological relationship to the child and environmental factors, such as social class and early intervention.

Adoption↗
PubMed1987

Restrictiveness-permissiveness of their environment as perceived by kibbutz twins and singletons.

This research compares similarities and differences between kibbutz twins and singletons on individual perceptions of extent of restriction imposed by their fathers and mothers, teachers, caretakers and peers with regard to the children's choices, plans, and actual activities. During the past two years, the parents of all kibbutz twins in Israel of age 1 to 18 have been contacted. They provided background information about themselves and their twin children. In each kibbutz, two control singletons were selected of the same sex and age for each twin pair, yielding a "quartet". With the aid of a mapping sentence, questionnaires were constructed to help ascertain the child's role in life areas such as family, friendship, school, hobbies, work, amusement. Questionnaires with the same facet design are being administered to children (twin and singleton), mothers, fathers, teachers, and caretakers. In addition, each child is given a battery of tests--including the verbal WISC, Block Design, Raven Matrices, and Reading Comprehension. The children will be interviewed and tested in three successive years, beginning either in grade 4 or 5. Data will thus be obtained on changes in perception of permissiveness-restrictiveness and their relation to performance at ages 9 to 13. To date 9-year-olds in 14 kibbutzim have been interviewed. Analyses of responses to four questions are presented in this paper. The preliminary analyses indicate that twins and singletons have similar means and distributions with regard to the extent to which the children feel they are told what to do by either parent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Familial correlation of memory function in schizophrenia.

Chronic schizophrenic patients with first- or second-degree schizophrenic relatives were evaluated for memory function. Wechsler memory scale scores were significantly correlated between index cases and relatives (r = 0.56, p less than 0.05), suggesting that poor memory function in schizophrenia may represent a familial subtype.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

A theory of behavioral generality and specificity during mild stress.

A definitional system is given for the concepts of generality and specificity for behavioral variables, relating to signs and sizes of their intercorrelations. In particular, a mapping sentence is provided for defining the universe of observations for emotional behavior of mice under mild stress. Its three content facets are: (a) the temporal features of frequency, latency, and duration, (b) type of control, autonomic or voluntary, and (c) the experimental situation, the apparatus. Data from three studies published previously by other authors are analyzed by Smallest Space Analysis (SSA-I). In each case, the smallest space is found to be partitioned into contiguous regions corresponding to the elements of the three facets.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Familial correlations in the judgment of numerousness.

Results from analyses of 100 families' judgments of 5 to 90 dots suggest that the absolute error in "subtizing" (up to 8 objects) may have a genetic component. "Estimating" larger numbers of items is more complex and, in this study, does not seem to be under genotypic control.

Family↗
PubMed1975

Aggression patterns in three chromosome forms of the mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi.

Three chromosome forms of the mole rat, Spalax ehrenbergi, 2n = 52, 2n = 58 and 2n = 60 were studied in an especially designed apparatus which simulated a natural territorial situation by permitting the animal free movement into and out of its home cage. Observed were variables representing agonistic, conflict and territorial behaviour. The data were analysed by means of a Smallest Space Analysis, SSA-II, which gave a graphic portrayal of the interrelations of behaviour categories where differences between means of single traits had been of no significance. 2n = 52 animals were found to be 'losers' in encounters. 'Lose', 'win' and 'draw' could be characterized by specific behaviour patterns: each outcome of encounter was surrounded by a cluster of behaviour categories consisting of agonistic, conflict and territorial activities that characterized its region of the SSA space.

Aggression↗
PubMed1975

Aggression patterns and speciation.

The evolutionary significance of interspecific aggression as a factor in speciation was tested among three chromosome forms of the actively speciating fossorial rodent Spalax ehrenbergi in Israel. Laboratory experiments testing intra- and interspecific aggression were conducted on 48 adult animals from 10 populations comprising three chromosome forms with 2n = 52, 58, and 60. Twelve agonistic, motivational-conflict, and territorial behavioral variables were recorded during 72 combats involving homo- and heter-ogametic encounters between opponents. Analysis of the data matrix was carried out by the nonmetric multivariate Smallest Space Analysis (SSA-II). The results indicate that (a) aggression patterns, involving agonistic conflict and territorial variables, are higher in heterogametic encounters than in homogametic ones; and (b) aggression is higher between contiguous chromosome forms (2n = 58-60, and 2n = 52-58) than between noncontiguous ones (2n = 52-60). Both a and b suggest that high interspecific aggression appears to be adaptively selected at final stages of speciation in mole rats as a premating isolating mechanism which reinforces species identification and establishes parapatric distributions between the evolving species.

Aggression↗