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Biomedical subjects

R Waldman

Publications and source records attributed to R Waldman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

A population-based assessment of human rights abuses committed against ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed patterns of displacement and human rights abuses among Kosovar refugees in Macedonia and Albania. METHODS: Between April 19 and May 3, 1999, 1180 ethnic Albanian refugees living in 31 refugee camps and collective centers in Macedonia and Albania were interviewed. RESULTS: The majority (68%) of participants reported that their families were directly expelled from their homes by Serb forces. Overall, 50% of participants saw Serb police or soldiers burning the houses of others, 16% saw Serb police or soldiers burn their own home, and 14% witnessed Serb police or soldiers killing someone. Large percentages of participants saw destroyed mosques, schools, or medical facilities. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported human rights abuses committed against their household members, including beatings, killings, torture, forced separation and disappearances, gunshot wounds, and sexual assault. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings confirm that Serb forces engaged in a systematic and brutal campaign to forcibly expel the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo. In the course of these mass deportations, Serb forces committed widespread abuses of human rights against ethnic Albanians.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Public health and complex emergencies: new issues, new conditions.

Public health practice in complex emergencies has become increasingly sophisticated and well informed over the course of the past quarter century. Humanitarian relief organizations have learned many lessons in the areas of food, water and sanitation, shelter, and primary health. However, closer scrutiny from the media and funding agencies, together with changing conditions and an increasingly insecure environment, will require that changes be made. First and foremost, nongovernmental organizations must recognize that an increasing proportion of morbidity and mortality is the consequence of widespread human rights abuses. These organizations should become more familiar with international human rights and humanitarian law, and their personnel should receive clear guidance as to how to recognize and report violations. At the same time, nongovernmental organizations will have to work more closely with military forces that have a very different organizational culture. In addition, as emergencies become more complex, nongovernmental organizations should do more to attract and retain seasoned professionals. Finally, advances in both technical and operational areas will occur only through carefully designed and implemented research.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1994

Increasing the accuracy of the Expanded Programme on Immunization's cluster survey design.

The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) of the World Health Organization developed a cluster survey design for the rapid assessment of children's vaccination coverage in developing countries. Because of its simplicity and familiarity, the EPI methodology has been used for additional purposes, including the detection of relatively small changes in vaccination coverage levels that are already high and the estimation of other population parameters when moderate accuracy is required. This article suggests techniques for improving the accuracy of the EPI cluster survey method, including (a) segmenting sample clusters, if necessary, so that reasonably sized areas can be counted, mapped, and listed; (b) selecting an equal probability sample of housing units within a cluster; (c) selecting a fixed number of housing units per sample cluster; and (d) performing weighted analyses. These procedures will produce accurate estimators and corresponding standard errors in EPI cluster surveys.

Child↗
PubMed1983

A canonical correlation between adaptive and maladaptive aspects of adaptive behavior.

The relationship between the adaptive and the maladaptive aspects of the construct of adaptive behavior was examined by means of a canonical correlation between Part One and Part Two of the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale (ABS). The sample consisted of 439 institutionalized mentally retarded persons. Four significant canonical correlations (.68, .49, .39, .28) were derived, three of which were interpretable. The redundancy index was 30 percent with Part One as the criterion and 14 percent with Part Two as the criterion. A redundancy of about 30 percent was calculated. An analysis of the pattern of canonical components suggested that the three major dimensions responsible for the overlap between ABS Parts One and Two are intellectual ability, sociability, and physical ability. An attempt to cross validate these results was made using another sample of 157 mentally retarded persons. Considerable shrinkage was observed on three of the roots.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

A clinical evaluation of occlusal composite and amalgam restorations: one- and two-year results.

A two-year study was conducted to compare the qualitative advantages, if any, of a conventional, cold-curing composite resin to amalgam in occlusal Class I cavities in posterior teeth. The composite was placed into modified, conservative cavity preparations using the acid etch technique. Sixty-one pairs of contralateral restorations were evaluated. Forty-six percent of the amalgams and 42.6% of the composites were considered sound. The major deficiency of each material was rough or chipped margins of the amalgams (38%) and worn surfaces of the composites (26%). The use of conservative cavity preparations and the acid-etch technique with bonding agent and final glaze improved the longevity of the composite restorations compared to previous studies. However, the improvement does not suggest that this method will have a long-term effect on clinical success nor does it indicate that composite is superior to amalgam other than in marginal integrity and esthetics.

Acid Etching, Dental↗
PubMed1976

Comparative clinical and laboratory evaluation of the prophylactic capacity of ribavirin, amantadine hydrochloride, and placebo in induced human influenza type A.

The comparative prophylactic effectiveness of oral treatment with ribavirin (1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-1,2,4,triazole-3-carboxamide; virazole) and amantadine hydrochloride against artificially induced infection with influenza A virus was evaluated in 29 seronegative men who received ribavirin capsules (200 mg) three times daily, placebo capsules three times daily, or amantadine capsules (100 mg) twice daily. Medication was started two days before the inoculation of 2 X 10(4) 50% tissue culture infective doses of A University of Maryland/2/74 (H3N2) influenza virus and was continued for eight days after challege. Nine of the 10 subjects who received ribavirin, eight of the nine subjects who received placebo, and six of the 10 subjects who received amantadine developed influenzal illness. Significantly less virus was isolated from the amantadine-treated group than from the placebo-treated or the ribavirin-treated group. Antibody responses of the ribavirin-treated and placebo-treated groups were quite similar to each other; however, prophylactic treatment with amantadine significantly reduced titers of serum antibody and febrile responses. In a separate clinical trial involving challenge with A/Dunedin/73 (H3N2) influenza virus, ribavirin also failed to show prophylactic effectiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Immunoglobulin A glomerulonephritis: a clinicopathologic study.

Renal biopsies from 10 patients staining predominantly for immunoglobulin A are reviewed. Historically, nine of 10 patients were less than 32 years of age; they all presented with either microscopic or gross hematuria. The initial creatinine clearances demonstrated good function in all patients; only one patient experienced a progressive decline in the creatinine clearance. Similarly, proteinuria was mild. The light and electron microscopic findings presented a variable pattern, including a group with changes confined to the mesangium, another group also having glomerular basement membrane changes, and one patient with severe, progressive glomerular sclerosis. Immunogluorescence demonstrated large amounts of IgA predominantly within the mesangium but occasionally involving the peripheral capillary loops. Serum IgA levels were elevated in six of eight patients tested, and two of five patients had elevated nasal IgA concentrations. These data suggest that there is an immunologic entity, IgA glomerulonephritis, characterized by the above clincial findings in association with elevated serum and occasionally nasal IgA levels, but that the pathologic findings are highly variable. Neither the mechanism nor the particular pathogenetic significance of the raised IgA levels is presently known. The similarities of this entity to the reported findings in anaphylactoid purpura are mentioned.

Administration, Intranasal↗