Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Hollander

Publications and source records attributed to S Hollander.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Dendritic cell deficiencies in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells are particularly poor at generating anti-leukemia immunity, despite residing in lymphoid organs. To assess a potential role of dendritic cells (DC) in poor anti-leukemia immunity, we analyzed peripheral blood DC in 55 pediatric ALL patients at the time of initial diagnosis and 19 age-matched healthy controls. Dendritic cells were identified by their expression of HLA-DR, lack of B, T, NK, and monocyte markers, and expression of CD11c (myeloid DC(mDC)) or BDCA-2 (plasmacytoid DC(pDC)) using flow cytometry. We found that in children with B-lineage ALL, numbers of both mDC and pDC were significantly reduced (P = 0.0001). In contrast, T-lineage ALL patients showed normal pDC and significantly elevated mDC (P = 0.003) levels, with normal expression of HLA-DR and co-stimulatory molecules. A decrease in DC could not be explained by general impairment of myelopoiesis, as we could not demonstrate a correlation of DC numbers with granulocyte/monocyte numbers in patients with B-lineage ALL. However, aberrant expression of myeloid surface markers on leukemic blasts was frequent in patients lacking myeloid DC indicating a potential block of DC differentiation. Thus, depletion of DC in B-lineage ALL patients may contribute to poor anti-leukemia immune responses.

Adolescent↗

Collection development and outsourcing in academic health sciences libraries: a survey of current practices.

Academic health sciences libraries in the United States and Canada were surveyed regarding collection development trends, including their effect on approval plan and blanket order use, and use of outsourcing over the past four years. Results of the survey indicate that serials market forces, budgetary constraints, and growth in electronic resources purchasing have resulted in a decline in the acquisition of print items. As a result, approval plan use is being curtailed in many academic health sciences libraries. Although use of blanket orders is more stable, fewer than one-third of academic health sciences libraries report using them currently. The decline of print collections suggests that libraries should explore cooperative collection development of print materials to ensure access and preservation. The decline of approval plan use and the need for cooperative collection development may require additional effort for sound collection development. Libraries were also surveyed about their use of outsourcing. Some libraries reported outsourcing cataloging and shelf preparation of books, but none reported using outsourcing for resource selection. The reason given most often for outsourcing was that it resulted in cost savings. As expected, economic factors are driving both collection development and outsourcing practices.

Budgets↗

Assessing and enhancing medical students' computer skills: a two-year experience.

In 1984, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) issued recommendations for the reform of medical education. One recommendation was that information sciences be incorporated into the medical curriculum. In fall 1996, a survey was conducted to learn more about computer use by medical students at the Rockford regional site of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The purpose of the survey was to gather information not only about computer skills, but also about overall comfort level in using computers and about expectations for enhancing computer skills while attending medical school. Over a two year period, 208 students representing four classes received this survey in their e-mail. Non-respondents received a follow-up print copy in their student mailboxes. Results, based on a 60% response rate, showed a majority of Rockford students entered medical school with good skills in using e-mail and word processing, but many lacked the skills necessary to search the medical literature or to use computer-assisted instructional programs. Overall, 80% of students expected to learn more about computers while attending medical school. Results contributed to an increased effort to integrate computer applications into the medical curriculum and to use computers as a means of communicating with students.

Computer Communication Networks↗

The impact of consumer health information provided by libraries: the Delaware experience.

In the past two decades, consumer health libraries have proliferated in response to the changing health care environment and consumer demand. While this growth of consumer health resources and services has been extensively described in the literature, there is little documentation about the impact and value of providing consumer health information. This paper explores the issues of impact and value as examined in a retrospective study of consumers who received health information from the Delaware Academy of Medicine's Consumer Health Library during 1995. In this study, 270 adults were mailed a questionnaire that focused on whether the information influenced decisions, actions, anxiety levels, and patient-provider communication. The questionnaire also addressed the value of such library service in terms of likelihood of repeat use, recommendation to others, and willingness to pay. The results, based on a return rate of 86.7%, identified effects of library-supplied consumer health information that extend beyond the anticipated acquisition of knowledge to specific actions and effects on anxiety. The value of consumer health library information service was shown by the extremely high percentage of probable repeat use and recommendation to others, the willingness of 83.8% of the respondents to pay for such service, and the copious comments volunteered by the respondents.

Adult↗

Consumer health information partnerships: the health science library and multitype library system.

The University of Illinois Library of the Health Sciences at Rockford (LHS-Rockford) long has honored a commitment to serving the health information needs of the greater Rockford community. Utilization data collected over the past five years indicate that approximately 50% of reference transactions involve persons not affiliated with the university. In early 1994, LHS-Rockford submitted a proposal to the Northern Illinois Library System (NILS), a multitype system spanning twelve counties in northwestern Illinois, asking to serve as a resource library for improving medical and health information services provided by the 138 NILS member libraries. The NILS funded this pilot project as part of an effort to implement a new strategic plan, which encouraged member libraries to form networks to provide reference back-up service. LHS-Rockford acquired InfoTrac's Health Reference Center, a consumer health information database, and set up a dedicated workstation near the information and circulation desk. Referral guidelines were established and the project was promoted among NILS member libraries. Activities were documented in order to track project success in terms of referrals and outcomes. The demonstration project was very successful, and it proves public consumers seeking health information can benefit greatly from this type of cooperative arrangement.

CD-ROM↗

The plateau in cytotoxic cancer drug discovery.

An examination of the history of cytotoxic cancer drugs development suggests that this activity is now on a plateau. It is striking that there have been no new chemotype cytotoxic anticancer drugs discovered in the past twenty years, despite the massive national effort in this area. It has been estimated that only 40 to 50% of patients currently diagnosed as having cancer will have a five year survival of the disease. This survival rate has been climbing at less than five percent per decade. Our conclusion is that a greater effort in biological response modification is warranted if we are to significantly affect the plateau.

Animals↗

Diminishing returns and Malthus's first essay on population: theory and application.

"This paper argues that Malthus's famous geometrical and arithmetical ratios do not necessarily imply diminishing returns. That average product would not necessarily fall with increased population density is immaterial to the polemical purpose of the Essay on Population which is satisfied by demonstrating the necessity for a reduction of the population growth below its maximum potential. But I do not deny the presence of the diminishing returns principle in the first Essay. Indeed, here is found the origin of Malthus's later land-scarcity based growth model involving a declining path of real wages in consequence of a decelerating rate of growth of labour demand." The author also considers Malthus's analysis of the situation in Britain in 1798. (SUMMARY IN FRE)

Agriculture↗

Recognition memory for typical and unusual faces.

In four studies, recognition memory for faces rated as similar to a prototype was found to be inferior to memory for faces rated as unusual in appearance. This result was obtained under both incidental and intentional learning conditions, at presentation rates ranging from 3 to 15 sec, and with retention intervals from 3 to 24 hr. A fifth experiment established interitem similarity as the structural basis of this typicality effect in recognition memory. Difficulties in interpreting the findings in terms of some current models for classification learning, depth of processing models, or present models of the word frequency effect are discussed.

Attention↗

A comparison of drug literature coverage by Index Medicus and Drug Literature Index.

We compared Index Medicus and Drug Literature Index during a search concerning the toxicity of eight drugs used in treating tropical diseases. Indexes covering the years 1969, 1970, and 1971 were searched. Index Medicus produced 198 citations and Drug Literature Index 309. There were seventy citations that appeared in both indexes, a duplication of 16%. Highest percentage of duplication for any one drug was 38.9%. We concluded that Index Medicus and Drug Literature Index provide complementary coverage in the area of drug toxicity and that, therefore, both tools should be consulted in searches of this nature.

Bibliographies as Topic↗