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Biomedical subjects

S Findlay

Publications and source records attributed to S Findlay.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Once daily triamcinolone acetonide nasal spray is effective for the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study was conducted in 11 centers to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a once-a-day regimen of 110 micrograms, 220 micrograms; and 440 micrograms of triamcinolone acetonide intranasal aerosol versus placebo in relieving the symptoms of rhinitis in 305 adult and older pediatric patients with perennial allergic rhinitis. Nasal stuffiness, nasal discharge, sneezing, nasal itching and the nasal index (the sum of the mean scores of the first three symptoms) averaged over the first 6 weeks and second 6 weeks of the study were significantly reduced in patients who received the 220 micrograms/day and the 440 micrograms/day dosages. The 110 micrograms/day group had a reduction in these nasal symptoms, but only the sneezing and nasal index were significantly (P less than .05) better than placebo. During the last 6 weeks of the study, patients were allowed to take oral back-up medication for their nasal symptoms; all three groups receiving triamcinolone nasal aerosol took less back-up medication than did the placebo group. There were no significant adverse effects or laboratory abnormalities noted during this study. Intranasal triamcinolone acetonide 220 micrograms and 440 micrograms, used once-a-day for 12 weeks is clinically and statistically superior to placebo for the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1990

Computer experiments on the evolution of sex: the haploid case.

We have conducted a set of computer experiments that investigate the conditions under which sexual reproduction can evolve. In these experiments, haploid genomes are treated as integer strings able to undergo mutation and, in the case of sexual strings, recombination, with string sequence (the genotype) determining fitness. Our results indicate that the likelihood of a rare sexual mutant spreading through an otherwise asexual population is small when sexual reproduction entails the classical two-fold cost of males. However, our results indicate that when mutation rates are not excessively high, sexual reproduction constitutes a more efficient fitness optimization algorithm, allowing a sexual population to adapt more quickly to its environment than an asexual population.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

America's best hospitals. Exclusive survey.

To identify the nation's best hospitals, U.S. news surveyed in 12 specialties from aids to urology. The survey yielded 57 different hospitals, many of which appear on more than one of the 12 specialty lists. The following hospitals, all of which found their way onto at least four of the lists, represent the cream of America's medical institutions.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1990

Fundamental theorem of natural selection in biocultural populations.

I derive a general equation for the evolution of mean biological fitness in large, randomly mating populations in which the phenotype is subject to both biological and cultural transmission and in which fitness and the effects of cultural transmission are genotype-dependent. The equation is dm/dt = 2 Cov(m,m'), where dm/dt is the instantaneous rate of change in the mean biological fitness of the population and Cov(m, m') is the covariance between offspring and parental fitnesses. This formulation differs from Fisher's fundamental theorem in at least two important respects. First, because covariances can be either positive or negative, mean fitness can decline over evolutionary time, in contrast to Fisher's result that fitness always increases. Second, since Cov(m, m') is a phenotypic rather than a genotypic covariance, natural selection can bring about changes in mean fitness even in the absence of additive genetic variance for fitness. Comparison of simple models of vertical (from parents to offspring) and oblique (from members of the parental generation to offspring) cultural transmission indicates that in the former case, mean fitness can evolve in the absence of genotypic variation for both fitness and the effects of cultural transmission, while in the latter case, both are required for evolution to occur.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1984

Anaphylaxis in mast cell-deficient mice.

Evidence of a functional deficit in mast cell-deficient mice was sought by testing for the development of systemic anaphylaxis. W/Wv mast cell-deficient mice and wild type control animals were sensitized by injection of bovine serum albumin and subsequently challenged. Nine of ten W/Wv mast cell-deficient mice and 10/10 control mice demonstrated signs of anaphylaxis, including death. Although histamine levels were higher in control animals, no differences were noted before and after antigen challenge. The numbers of peripheral blood basophils were the same in W/Wv and wild type mice. These studies suggest that caution is necessary in the use of these animals to study disease.

Anaphylaxis↗