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Biomedical subjects

R L Morgan

Publications and source records attributed to R L Morgan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of video-assisted training on employment-related social skills of adults with severe mental retardation.

Two studies investigated effects of video-assisted training on employment-related social skills of adults with severe mental retardation. In video-assisted training, participants discriminated a model's behavior on videotape and received feedback from the trainer for responses to questions about video scenes. In the first study, 3 adults in an employment program participated in video-assisted training to request their supervisor's assistance when encountering work problems. Results indicated that participants discriminated the target behavior on video but effects did not generalize to the work setting for 2 participants until they rehearsed the behavior. In the second study, 2 participants were taught to fix and report four work problems using video-assisted procedures. Results indicated that after participants rehearsed how to fix and report one or two work problems, they began to fix and report the remaining problems with video-assisted training alone.

Adult

Current transition assessment practices.

Although researchers have called for a movement away from prediction-related assessments to those which identify specific skill deficits, the extent to which professionals responsible for vocational assessment have shifted their focus is uncertain. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the frequency with which specified prediction-related and skill deficit-related vocational assessment procedures were administered by a sample of secondary-level teachers and employment training specialists. Additionally, the frequency with which these professionals used assessment data to aid in decision making was determined. The results revealed that teachers and employment training personnel used a variety of assessment procedures to make transition decisions. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Aptitude Tests

Regulating behavioral procedures for individuals with handicaps: review of state department standards.

We reviewed standards (i.e., mandatory policies or recommended guidelines) from 39 state departments of special education and 41 state departments of developmental disabilities/mental retardation (DD/MR) to determine how they addressed the use of behavioral procedures. Results indicated that many standards described procedures to change behaviors of individuals with handicaps and identified ways to regulate usage. Major findings were that (a) standards from state departments of DD/MR addressed behavioral procedures more frequently than standards from special education departments; (b) many standards addressed procedures to decrease, but not increase, behavior; (c) several standards identified safeguards to clients' rights, such as prior approval requirements and periodic review of behavioral procedures' effects; (d) some standards prohibited and/or restricted the use of specific procedures, such as those judged to be aversive; (e) about one-fifth of special education standards and two-thirds of DD/MR standards described staff training requirements for using some procedures; and (f) relatively few standards used decision models to select behavioral procedures. Implications of these findings for policy makers, service providers, and future research efforts are discussed.

Aversive Therapy

Comparison of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children--revised in rural Native American and white children.

The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised (WISC--R) were administered to 46 Native American and white students who were suspected by their classroom teachers of having learning handicaps. Pearson correlations between these sets of IQs ranged from .42 (TONI and WISC--R Performance) to .89 (WISC--R Verbal and Full Scale).

Adolescent

Serum biochemical and hematologic values of normal and Mycobacterium bovis-infected American bison.

Hematologic and serum biochemical tests were used to monitor the health of 3 groups of bison in an experimental study of tuberculosis. Bison were randomly assigned to Mycobacterium bovis-infected, M. bovis-sensitized, and uninfected control groups. Hematologic measurements included total and differential leukocyte counts, hemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), fibrinogen, and plasma proteins. Biochemical tests included serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, aspartate amino transferase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, serum calcium, and serum phosphorus. There were no significant differences (P = 0.05) in any test values between groups of bison. The bison data were combined and compared to similar data of cattle. The mean values for PCV and Hb were higher than values (PCV 24-46%, Hb 8-15 g/dl) for cattle. Mycobacterium bovis-infected bison had a slight increase in the number of blood monocytes and lymphocytes when compared to the uninfected bison but were within the normal ranges for bison and cattle. Other hematologic parameters were within normal ranges reported for cattle. Creatinine levels in all bison were above the normal range (1.0-1.5 mg/dl) for cattle. Phosphorus levels for M. bovis-infected and M. bovis-sensitized bison exceeded the normal range (5.6-8.0 mg/dl) reported for cattle. The level for uninfected bison was near the upper limit of normal for cattle. Mean values for other serum biochemical tests were within the normal ranges reported for cattle.

Animals

Judgments of restrictiveness, social acceptability, and usage: review of research on procedures to decrease behavior.

Research on professionals', consumers', and others' judgments of the restrictiveness, social acceptability, and estimated frequency of use of procedures to decrease behavior was reviewed. General findings were that (a) respondents generally were consistent in rating procedures from least to most restrictive; (b) most respondents agreed that procedures judged more restrictive should be used as a last resort; (c) more restrictive procedures were not frequently used in practice; (d) respondents generally agreed that less restrictive procedures were more socially acceptable, and vice versa; and (e) the social acceptability of procedures changed as a function of contextual variables Problems related to research methodology were discussed and future research directions suggested.

Adolescent

Pathogenesis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in American bison.

Eighteen 12-month-old bison were randomly placed in each of 3 groups (6 animals/group): group-1 bison were exposed to live Mycobacterium bovis, group-2 bison were inoculated with killed M bovis in oil, and group-3 bison were noninfected controls. Six, 6-month-old, tuberculin test-negative calves were placed (pen contact) with group-1 bison 30 days after exposure to M bovis. Tuberculin skin test responses (caudal fold and/or comparative cervical) were detected in all bison in groups 1 and 2 at 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12 months. Tuberculin skin test responses were observed in 2 of 6 calves at 9 and 11 months after pen contact with M bovis-exposed bison (group 1). Statistically significant lymphocyte blastogenic responses to M bovis purified protein derivative were detected in group-1 bison exposed to live M bovis at 2 months after exposure (P less than 0.025). Significant ELISA reactions were detected in sera of bison at 2 months after exposure to killed M bovis in oil (P less than 0.005) and in bison 2 months after exposure to live M bovis (P less than 0.01). Significant tuberculin skin responses, ELISA reactions, or lymphocyte blastogenic responses to M bovis purified protein derivative were not observed in the 6 control bison. Grossly visible tuberculous lesions were observed in lymph nodes and/or lung collected at necropsy in 4 of 6 bison at 12 months after exposure to live M bovis. Microscopic granulomas compatible with tuberculosis were detected in 5 of 6 bison; M bovis was isolated from tissues of each of the 6 bison.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals

Prediction of ocular irritation by corneal pachymetry.

Corneal pachymetry performed 3 days after application of a variety of test materials to the rabbit eye was found to be predictive of the eye irritation classification determined by observing the ocular response for 21 days. The test materials included NaOH, methanol, isopropanol, acetone, cyclohexanone, hexane and a shampoo. A 0.1-ml sample of the test material was placed in the conjunctival sac in the left eye of each rabbit. Both the left and the right eye of each rabbit were evaluated for irritation and corneal thickness for up to 21 days using a slit-lamp biomicroscope with a pachymeter attachment. On day 3 of observation the mean corneal thickness ratios (treated/control eye) were predictive of the duration of corneal cloudiness (correlation coefficient = 0.86). In addition, these ratios were predictive of the eye irritation classification as determined by a 21-day test (correlation coefficient = 0.98). Corneal pachymetry for determining eye irritation classification is presented as an alternative to the current 21-day test. It is more objective and requires a shorter observation period. Therefore, this method should lessen the cost of eye irritation testing and decrease the duration of discomfort that may occur among the test animals. The greater objectivity may also reduce the intra- and interlaboratory variation and the number of rabbits required for each testing.

Animals

Skin irritation testing in rabbits complicated by dermal mucormycosis.

Two insecticide formulations were evaluated for skin irritation using albino rabbits (Stauffland-White strain). While the active ingredient alone produced only mild skin irritation, corn grit formulation produced severe skin irritation. Corn grit from three sources (A, B, and C) was similarly evaluated for skin irritation and at 24 hr, all samples produced erythema and edema of both the abraded and nonabraded test sites. Eschar was observed in 72 hr in about half of the rabbits and persisted through termination on the 7th day. Histologic examination of skin specimens revealed that all three corn grit samples produced epidermatitis. In addition, rabbits exposed to corn grit from two sources (A and B), developed moderate focal to severe diffuse suppurative necrotizing folliculitis and dermatitis. Large tubular branching nonseptate hyphae compatible with the Mucorales species were seen in hair follicle micropustules of rabbits treated with corn grit from sources A and B. Mycologic culture techniques applied to corn grit from each source revealed a potential pathogen in the genus Rhizopus isolated from samples from sources A and C but not B. The skin irritation test involved application of test material covered with gauze to both abraded and nonabraded skin. Rubber damming was placed over the gauze and secured with tape. After 24-hr exposure all bandaging and visible test material were removed. Skin irritation was evaluated immediately after removal and then periodically until termination at 7 days.

Animals

Small cell carcinoma: combined approach to treatment.

Fifty-six patients with untreated small cell carcinoma of the bronchus were treated with three courses of chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and procarbazine and methotrexate) and assessed for response. Thirty-one patients (55.4%) were classified as responders; they were given a course of radiotherapy and were then randomly allocated to continued cyclical chemotherapy or not further chemotherapy until relapse. Non-responders to chemotherapy were treated with radiotherapy or palliatively. The median survival was 10.5 months in responders and 6 months in non-responders (P less than 0.01). The one-year survival in responders was 42%. There was no statistical difference in survival between patients treated with continued chemotherapy and those treated at relapse. Sixty-nine per cent of patients experienced no side effects from chemotherapy. Three indicators of non-response to chemotherapy were identified--exercise tolerance at diagnosis, macroscopic liver metastases, and inappropriate ADH secretion.

Adult

Immunization of suckling pigs against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-induced diarrheal disease by vaccinating dams with purified 987 or K99 pili: protection correlates with pilus homology of vaccine and challenge.

Pregnant gilts were vaccinated with purified strain 987 pili (987P), strain K99 pili, or a saline-formaldehyde control. Suckling pigs born to vaccinated gilts were allowed to consume colostrum and were then challenged intragastrically with one of three enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli strains: 987 (O9:K103, 987P:NM), 74-5208 (02O:K101, 987P:NM) or 431 (O101:K30, 99:NM). In litters where the dam was vaccinated with the same pilus as that possessed by the challenge organism, the incidence and duration of diarrhea and the degree of intestinal colonization (either duration or extent) were less than those of the other vaccine groups. Surviving pigs in the homologous vaccine groups also had better weight gains than pigs in the other vaccine groups. The experiments extend and confirm previous reports that vaccination of the dam with purified pili confers protection to neonatal suckling pigs against diarrheal disease caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli strains that possess the same pili. Protection did not extend to enterotoxigenic strains possessing different pili.

Animals

Results of treating primary tumours of the trachea by irradiation.

Forty-four patients presented with primary tumours of the trachea over a 25-year period. Thirty-nine of them were treated by irradiation. Of these, 24 (61.5%) died as a result of their disease while 30% are either alive and well (4.4-11 years) or have died of intercurrent disease (average four years). Recurrences or metastases when they occurred were in the first two years after diagnosis in all but one patient, who developed local recurrence 3.25 years later. Three patients died of unknown cause (average 5.6 years) after irradiation. Two factors seem to determine the prognosis: the histology and the extent of disease on presentation. Dysphagia without oesophageal involvement carried a grave prognosis.

Adult

Combination chemotherapy for small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Sixty-one patients with proven small cell carcinoma of the bronchus were treated by a five-drug pulsed chemotherapy schedule involving cyclophosphamide, vincristine, Adriamycin, methotrexate and prednisolone, given at four-week intervals. The response rate was 60%. All patients also received radiotherapy (4000-5000 rad) to the primary lesion. Survival was identical whether radiotherapy was given first or between the second and third courses of chemotherapy. The survival of responding patients was significantly prolonged as compared both with the non-responders in this series and with a similar group of patients treated only by radiotherapy in this hospital in 1970. The poor results in patients resistant to chemotherapy reflect the fact that 88% of the patients had disseminated disease at the time of diagnosis. The survival of responding patients was not improved over that reported by others as a result of incorporating Adriamycin and prednisolone into the schedule, so there seems no justification for using them in future treatments based on this pattern of chemotherapy. It was possible to identify all responding patients within six weeks of initiating chemotherapy, and a delay of this duration did not affect the efficacy of radiotherapy. Radiotherapy, however, frequently interfered with the subsequent assessment of response to chemotherapy. It therefore seems obligatory to give chemotherapy before radiotherapy in order to determine which patients will benefit from subsequent drug treatment.

Adult

Secondary liposarcoma of the ovary.

This report is the first description of a secondary ovarian liposarcoma. The primary growth was in the mediastinum. The growth rate of the ovarian tumor was very rapid, but the patient died of cardiopulmonary causes. The mode of spread is discussed, and it probably occurred by transcelomic migration and surface implantation.

Adult