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Biomedical subjects

S Horn

Publications and source records attributed to S Horn.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

[Investigations into ways of improving the ultimate strength of ceramic dental materials (author's transl)].

Despite major improvements, ceramic dental materials, as albite glasses, still show unsatisfactory strength properties. It has been found that the combination of Keradens type dentinal compounds with aluminum-oxide-containing core materials, because of internal stresses, results in a higher ultimate strength than is suggested by the strength values of the single components. In addition, it has been found that wetting the surface of the ceramic test specimen results in a significant decrease in ultimate strength.

Dental Porcelain↗
PubMed1978

Treatment of agoraphobia by subliminal and supraliminal exposure to phobic cine film.

Three groups of 5 chronically agoraphobic patients were treated by repeated exposure to cine film at weekly intervals for six weeks. A supraliminal group saw an agoraphobic film specially made for the study illustrating a range of phobic situations. A subliminal group viewed the same film at a level of illumination below the threshold of awareness. A control group saw a blank screen with no filmed material for the same length of time. The films were screened five times at each treatment and were alternated with neutral film shown under normal viewing conditions. Ratings of phobic and other symptoms were made by a separate assessor who was unaware of the patient's treatment. The supraliminal and subliminal groups improved significantly more than the control group with regard to phobic fears, avoidance, and overall assessment.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Coordination of care and its relationship to continuity and medical records.

Introduction of a computerized printout ("mini record") containing problems and therapies, and listing visits between regularly scheduled ones to a primary care facility, resulted in improved recognition of problems and therapies. Recognition both of the occurrence of the visits which had been made elsewhere and the content of those visits was not improved, even though the mini record listed the dates and place of visit. Recognition was improved more in situations where the practitioners in the primary care clinic changed than when the practitioner remained the same individual who had seen the patient at the previous visit to the primary care clinic. Coordination of care is an essential ingredient of primary care. Recognition of all information generated by patients in a series of visits is evidence of coordination. Continuity (whether achieved by continuity of practitioner or by medical records) is one means of attaining better coordination. In a previous study we showed that continuity of practitioner improves coordination. This study shows that a technologic innovation consisting of an alteration in medical records facilitates coordination, but only with regard to certain aspects of care. Explanations for this finding are postulated.

Adult↗
PubMed1974

Some psychological factors in Parkinsonism.

Twenty-four Parkinsonism patients were compared with `normal controls' and with another chronically disabled group, matched for age, sex distribution, and socioeconomic background, on measures of depression and some intellectual factors. A tendency to depression in the Parkinsonism sufferers was demonstrated together with an apparent specific intellectual deficit, for which a cause related to the motor disabilities of the disease is postulated.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Storage-induced changes in human newborn red cells.

Fetal red cells are well suited for intrauterine life; however, little is known about their response to postnatal environments. The purpose of this work was to investigate the metabolic and membrane changes affecting newborn red cells during their exposure to storage in citrate-phosphate-dextrose (CPD) and citrate-phosphate-dextrose-adenine (CPDA-1). The findings suggest that newborn red cells are affected more by storage than are adult cells. These accelerated storage changes in the red cells of newborns may be related indirectly to the rapid adenosine triphosphate (ATP) decline. As is the case with adult red cells, fetal cells withstand storage in CPDA-1 better than in CPD. The storage lesion in these cells was partly reversible, as in adult cells, by incubation with adenosine. It was therefore concluded that newborn red cells obtained from placentas and stored for several weeks in CPD or CPDA-1 media or other media that improve the metabolic profile of these cells may be acceptable for transfusion.

Adenosine↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Short-term results of interposition arthroplasty with autologous femur head graft combined with cement-free threaded cups for treatment of dysplastic coxarthrosis].

INTRODUCTION: The operative treatment of arthritis in congenital dysplastic hips (CDH) with an autologous femoral head graft is a well established technique in total joint arthroplasty. This prospective study introduces a new operative technique in which the fixation of the autologous bone graft is achieved through the threaded Zweymueller cup solely. Early results are presented. METHOD: 34 patients, (average age of 53.2 years, 24 to 74 years) with CDH had a total joint arthroplasty in combination with a femoral head autograft between 1995 and 1997 (32 patients in study). The fixation of the bone graft was achieved with screws or with a press-fit technique through the threaded cup. The results are described with an average of 2 years. RESULTS: The patients were followed prospectively for an average of 2 years. The Harris hip score increased from 32 preoperatively (range 14-61) to 82 (range 54 to 91) postoperatively. 30 hips had excellent and good results, one satisfactory and one had an unsatisfactory result. Radiographic evaluation demonstrated no osteolysis, one radiolucency was seen in Zone III of the acetabulum and heterotopic bone formation was observed in 11 of 31 radiographically evaluated hips (Brooker type I: 7, type II: 3 and type III: 1). All bone grafts achieved union, all grafts survived, and all acetabular components survived, but one. There were no complications such as dislocation, infection, nerve palsy, or a thrombo-embolic event observed. CONCLUSION: Fixation of the femoral head autograft in CDH with a threaded cup solely showed no disadvantages over the established fixation technique with screws over a short-term follow-up. A solid stable fixation of the graft with a threaded Zweymueller cup was achieved and resulted in full graft integration without the use of screws.

Acetabulum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Guidelines for the sociomedical assessment of performance in patients suffering from coronary heart disease (CHD)].

The following guidelines were developed for the medical assessment services of the German Federal Insurance Institute for Salaried Employees (BfA). Starting from day-to-day practice criteria and attributes to guide decisions for a systemisation of the sociomedical assessment of performance in coronary heart disease (CHD) were compiled. The guidelines aim at standardising the sociomedical assessment of performance and help to make the decision-making process more transparent - e.g. for the assessment of applications for decreased earning capacity benefits. The guidelines summarise typical manifestations of CHD and describe the necessary medical information for the sociomedical assessment of performance. Relevant assessment criteria for the medical history, clinical examination and for diagnostic tests - especially of myocardial functioning - are illustrated. The assessment of the individual's capacity is outlined, taking occupational factors into account. Following the determination of dysfunctions the remaining abilities and disabilities, respectively, are deduced and compared with occupational demands. Finally inferences are drawn regarding the occupational capacity of the individual.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bovine endometrial epithelial cells as a model system to study oxytocin receptor regulation.

Endometrial epithelial cell cultures were established from bovine uterine tissue collected during the oestrous cycle from commercially slaughtered animals. These cells were shown to express moderately high levels of oxytocin receptors (OTR) (up to 30000 per cell) after about one week in culture. These receptors have been characterized at the molecular, pharmacological and functional level and shown to be identical to those expressed in the bovine endometrium in vivo. Preliminary experiments to investigate the regulation of the OTR and its gene using this system, have shown that expression is to a large degree constitutive, the receptors being spontaneously upregulated during culture. Sex steroids at concentrations close to or above the serum limits observed in vivo appeared to have no effect, although the cells were shown to express mRNA for the specific steroid receptors throughout culture. Only the blastocyst product, interferon-tau, showed a significant effect, downregulating both OTR and their gene transcripts in the cultured endometrial epithelial cells. Although more extensive studies are necessary, these results support the view that the OTR gene is controlled in part at least by a combination of constitutive and inhibitory elements.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modeling and reinforcement of the sick role during childhood predicts adult illness behavior.

Previous studies suggest that the ways in which parents respond to children's health complaints (reinforcement) and the ways in which they cope with their own illnesses (modeling) influence the frequency of symptoms, disability days, and health care visits made by these children when they grow up. However, previous studies have not controlled for the mediating influence of stress, neuroticism, and physical examination findings. This study investigated the influence of childhood social learning on adult illness behavior in 383 women aged 20 to 40 years. Illness behavior was measured prospectively for 12 months by the frequency of symptoms, disability days, and physician visits for menstrual, bowel, and cold (upper respiratory) symptoms. Childhood reinforcement and modeling was measured retrospectively by validated questionnaires. Other independent variables were stress, neuroticism, and selected demographic variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relative contribution of each independent variable to each category of illness behavior. The principal findings were as follows. First, childhood reinforcement of menstrual illness behavior significantly predicted adult menstrual symptoms and disability days, and childhood reinforcement of cold illness behavior significantly predicted adult cold symptoms and disability days. These effects were independent of stress and neuroticism. Second, childhood reinforcement scales were useful to predict which functional disorders (dysmenorrhea or irritable bowel syndrome) these subjects had even after we controlled for stress and neuroticism.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

'The ten pound note test': suggestions for eliciting improved responses in the severely brain-injured patient.

The severely brain-injured patient may demonstrate a limited repertoire of responses. Anecdotal accounts suggest that stimuli of personal relevance, or of an unusual or innovatory nature, may sometimes elicit more meaningful responses. Two cases of severe acquired brain injury are described, in whom overall levels of responsiveness had been very low since coma ended. The use of stimuli with personal relevance provoked strong responses and presaged further behavioural change. The implications are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The development of new techniques in the assessment and monitoring of recovery from severe head injury: a preliminary report and case history.

The case of a 19-year-old male who sustained a severe brain injury is described. This patient was initially given a very gloomy prognosis, leading to poor expectations for recovery. Additionally, like many such patients in the United Kingdom, he was cared for by a ward team who were without specialized training in head injury rehabilitation. Despite these factors the patient went on to make a good recovery. The issues of specialized care and the need for more appropriate patient assessment procedures are raised. The MRC Head Injury Assessment Project is described.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rheumatic autoantibodies in the sera of patients with paraproteins.

OBJECTIVE: A high incidence of autoantibody activity has been previously described in the sera of patients with paraproteins. In this study we determined the incidence of autoantibodies of particular interest to rheumatologists (including antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-DNA, rheumatoid factor (RF), anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) and the Sjögren's-related antibodies anti-SS.A/Ro and anti-SS.B/La) in the sera of patients with paraproteins, and the frequency with which the autoantibody activity isotype and the paraprotein isotype were identical. METHODS: ANA was determined by indirect immunofluorescence on HEp2 cells, anti-DNA by the Farr and Crithidia assays, aCL by ELISA, RF by nephelometry, antibodies to the extractable nuclear antigens (anti-ENA) by counter-immunoelectrophoresis (CIE), and anti-SS.B by immunoblot using a recombinant human SS.B antigen source. Incidences of these antibodies was compared in 3 groups of sera: 98 myeloma, 27 monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS), and 24 age matched controls, using confidence interval analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the incidence of ANAs in paraprotein sera (8.8%) and control sera (16%). Neither was there a significant incidence of RF or aCL in the paraprotein sera. No anti-DNA antibodies were found and no anti-SS.B antibodies were found either with CIE or immunoblotting. Of the 11 ANAs detected in the paraprotein sera, isotype specific immunofluorescence suggested that 6 were monoclonal autoantibodies. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the incidence of rheumatic autoantibodies is not raised in paraprotein sera compared to control sera. In particular, we could not confirm previous reports of a high incidence of anti-SS.B antibodies. However, of the ANAs detected half were monoclonal, unlike the polyclonality of the ANAs in the control group. That 4.8% of the paraproteins were monoclonal ANAs suggests that the process leading to paraproteinemia may activate usually silent autoreactive B cells as well as the normal B cell repertoire.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗