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Biomedical subjects

S J Sherman

Publications and source records attributed to S J Sherman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Prospective predictors of quit attempts and smoking cessation in young adults.

This study examined prospective predictors of attempts to quit smoking and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit (n = 700), using a long-term longitudinal study of the natural history of cigarette smoking in a midwestern community sample. Participants, originally surveyed in 6th-12th grade (1980-1983), were followed up in 1987 and 1994. Results showed that amount of smoking, gender, education, health beliefs about smoking, value on healthy lifestyle, motives for smoking, reasons for quitting, and occupancy of young adult social roles were significant predictors of cessation. However, there were different predictors of attempts to quit and successful quitting among those who attempted to quit. From a public health perspective, both predictors of quit attempts and predictors of successful quitting among attempters are useful targets for intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The natural history of cigarette smoking from adolescence to adulthood: demographic predictors of continuity and change.

The current study examined the natural history of smoking from adolescence to adulthood in a community sample. Participants were from a longitudinal study (N = 4,035, 51.7% female, average age = 29 years). Group-level analyses showed a significant increase in smoking from adolescence to young adulthood and a nonsignificant decline after the mid-20s. Individual-level analyses showed that there was appreciable cessation and relapse but little new initiation in adulthood. Both adolescent and young adult smoking status were powerful predictors of adult smoking. Moreover, there was less cessation among less educated individuals and those with smoking parents, and more cessation among those who assumed adult social roles. The findings support the importance of prevention campaigns aimed at adolescent smoking and also suggest that those with lower educational attainment or with a family history of smoking are at heightened risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Perceiving persons and groups.

This article analyzes the similarities and differences in forming impressions of individuals and in developing conceptions of groups. In both cases, the perceiver develops a mental conception of the target (individual or group) on the basis of available information and uses that information to make judgments about that person or group. However, a review of existing evidence reveals differences in the outcomes of impressions formed of individual and group targets, even when those impressions are based on the very same behavioral information. A model is proposed to account for these differences. The model emphasizes the role of differing expectancies of unity and coherence in individual and group targets, which in turn engage different mechanisms for processing information and making judgments. Implications of the model are discussed.

Ego↗
PubMed1996

Prenatal diagnosis of left ventricular aneurysm in the late second trimester: a case report.

Fetal echocardiography in a 24-year-old woman at 24 weeks' gestation demonstrated a left ventricular aneurysm and pericardial effusion. The patient was treated with oral digoxin followed by intensive antepartum monitoring. Intrauterine fetal demise occurred at 31 weeks. The autopsy confirmed the presence of an apical left ventricular aneurysm. This is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly, which has been reported in only three prior cases. This represents the earliest prenatal diagnosis of this condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Jelly beans as an alternative to a cola beverage containing fifty grams of glucose.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to test the diagnostic value and patient tolerance of jelly beans as an alternative to a 50 gm glucose solution. STUDY DESIGN: Pregnant women between 26 to 30 weeks of gestation confirmed by early ultrasonography were recruited to participate in the study. Each participant was given a cola beverage containing 50 gm of glucose. The plasma glucose level was determined 1 hour later. Within 2 weeks of the 50 gm glucose test, each patient ate 18 jelly beans and had her plasma glucose levels tested after 1 hour. Finally, within 2 weeks of the jelly bean test a 100 gm, 3-hour glucose tolerance test was performed on each subject. The results of the 3-hour test were used to define the presence or absence of gestational diabetes and carbohydrate intolerance by the criteria of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Patient tolerance was rated by responses to questions regarding side effects. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-seven women completed the study. The mean maternal age, gravidity, parity, and number of abortions were 26.06 years, 2.66, 0.96, and 0.69. By use of a 140 mg/dl threshold, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the cola beverage was 46%, 81%, and 18%. These values at a 120 mg/dl threshold for jelly beans were 54%, 81%, and 20%, respectively. The patient tolerance was greater for the jelly beans compared with the 50 gm cola beverage. CONCLUSION: Jelly beans may serve as an alternative to a cola beverage containing 50 gm of glucose.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Acrania.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1994

On-line and memory-based aspects of individual and group target judgments.

Ss were given instruction sets to induce either on-line or memory-based processing while reading behavioral statements about individual and group targets. Impression-set instructions induced online judgments, and comprehensibility-set (comp) instructions induced memory-based judgments regardless of target type. More important, with nondirective instructions (memory set), natural differences in processing information about individuals and groups were observed, with more online judgments for individuals. As expected, illusory correlations between minority targets and infrequent behaviors (a memory-based product) emerged with comp instructions (which induced memory-based judgments for both target types) and in the memory-set condition for group targets only. These data provide insights into the differences in impression formation for groups and individuals and furnish direct evidence of the processes responsible for illusory correlations.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1994

Illusory correlation in the perception of groups: an extension of the distinctiveness-based account.

The prevailing explanation for illusory correlation in the stereotyping of groups is that distinctive information (minority groups' infrequent behaviors) is salient, receives enhanced encoding, and becomes highly accessible, thus biasing subsequent judgments. This distinctiveness-based explanation (DBE) depends on information distinctiveness at the time of its encoding. Information distinctiveness at encoding was manipulated, while ultimate distinctiveness was kept constant. Experiment 1, contrary to the DBE, found illusory correlations emerge regardless of distinctiveness at encoding. Experiment 2 collected process data that showed that ultimately distinctive behaviors were highly accessible at the time of judgment even when they were not distinctive at encoding. Experiments 3-5 ruled out an alternative account. A basis for illusory correlation that depends on postpresentation, but prejudgment, encoding of distinctive information is suggested.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Cerebral infarction immediately after ingestion of hydrogen peroxide solution.

BACKGROUND: We report the clinical and neuroimaging findings of a patient who sustained multiple cerebral infarcts after the ingestion of concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution sold as a "health food" product. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 84-year-old man sustained focal neurological deficits immediately after ingesting 30 mL of 35% hydrogen peroxide solution. Physical examination disclosed a left hemiparesis, frontal release signs, and cerebellar dysfunctions. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple cerebral and cerebellar infarctions in the anterior, middle, and posterior vascular territories. CONCLUSIONS: The likely mechanism of pathogenesis involves cerebral oxygen gas embolization. The use of hyperbaric therapy should be considered in treating hydrogen peroxide poisoning.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Obstetric hemorrhage and blood utilization.

Patients on a busy obstetric service were prospectively evaluated to determine which ones required blood transfusion. During the period January-April 1990, 5,528 deliveries were performed. Fifty-five patients (0.99%) received blood transfusions during their pregnancy and puerperium. The most common conditions associated with transfusion were trauma due to instrumental delivery (16), uterine atony (15), placenta previa (12), retained products of conception (4), abruptio placentae (4) and coagulopathy secondary to the HELLP syndrome (1). Platelets, fresh frozen plasma, whole blood and cryoprecipitate were administered to 7, 6, 1 and 1 patients, respectively. The transfusion rates by procedure were emergency cesarean hysterectomy for bleeding placenta previa or atony, 7/7 (100%); vacuum extraction, 7/114 (6.1%); forceps delivery, 12/285 (4.2%); uncomplicated cesarean delivery, 10/704 (1.4%); and spontaneous vaginal birth, 19/4,425 (0.4%). The hemorrhage and subsequent need for a blood transfusion were not necessarily due to the procedure except in the case of trauma due to instrumental vaginal delivery. The rate of transfusion of red blood cells for patients undergoing vaginal instrumental delivery was significantly higher than the rate for those undergoing cesarean delivery (relative risk, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.2). The need for transfusion can be anticipated on the basis of antepartum causes in only 23.7% of patients ultimately receiving blood products.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Transvaginal ultrasound: does it help in the diagnosis of placenta previa?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of transvaginal ultrasound in the diagnosis of placenta previa and to assess the risk of bleeding secondary to the placement of the vaginal transducer. Thirty-eight patients with an estimated gestational age equal to or greater than 26 weeks and the diagnosis of suspected placenta previa gave their consent and were randomized to two groups. Randomization was stratified by patient weight and anterior or posterior placental location. Group 1 (n = 20) had complete obstetric ultrasounds using linear and sector transducers. Group 2 (n = 18) had similar examinations followed by transvaginal ultrasound scans. Patients were rescanned to follow placental location and fetal growth parameters. On abdominal ultrasound, the posterior placenta (n = 17) was often shadowed by fetal parts. The ease of placental visualization was rated on a four-point scale with 1 being the clearest. The mean clarity score for posterior placentas on abdominal ultrasound in Group 2 was 1.6 and on transvaginal ultrasound was 1.0, p < 0.04. The use of transvaginal ultrasound consistently revealed greater clarity of diagnosis in these patients. No patient in either group experienced increased vaginal bleeding following the scanning sessions. Transvaginal ultrasound was most beneficial for those patients with posterior placenta previas because of increased clarity of diagnosis, decreased time of scanning, and no increased incidence of hemorrhage.

Clinical Trial↗
PubMed1992

Parent educational attainment and adolescent cigarette smoking.

In a longitudinal design, this study examined psychosocial mediators of the effects of parental educational attainment on adolescent smoking acquisition and also examined whether smoking transition had different antecedents among adolescents from families of varying educational backgrounds. Parents' low educational attainment acted as a moderate to strong risk factor for the initial onset of smoking among middle school girls. Some of this effect was mediated by the higher smoking prevalence among both parents and friends of these adolescent girls, as well as by their lowered expectations for academic success. However, these variables only partially mediated the effect of parent education. There were few indications of differential antecedents of smoking acquisition among adolescents from less and more highly educated families. Implications for public health antismoking campaigns are discussed.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Information selection and use in hypothesis testing: what is a good question, and what is a good answer?

The process of hypothesis testing entails both information selection (asking questions) and information use (drawing inferences from the answers to those questions). We demonstrate that although subjects may be sensitive to diagnosticity in choosing which questions to ask, they are insufficiently sensitive to the fact that different answers to the same question can have very different diagnosticities. This can lead subjects to overestimate or underestimate the information in the answers they receive. This phenomenon is demonstrated in two experiments using different kinds of inferences (category membership of individuals and composition of sampled populations). In combination with certain information-gathering tendencies, demonstrated in a third experiment, insensitivity to answer diagnosticity can contribute to a tendency toward preservation of the initial hypothesis. Results such as these illustrate the importance of viewing hypothesis-testing behavior as an interactive, multistage process that includes selecting questions, interpreting data, and drawing inferences.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Nonstress test assessment of twins.

Twin pregnancies have higher perinatal morbidity and mortality rates than singleton pregnancies. Researchers have demonstrated that one major benefit of prenatal care in the twin gestation is reduced fetal death rate. This study to determine the relationship of nonstress tests (NSTs) to pregnancy outcome in twin gestations comprised 665 women who delivered at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Women's Hospital from January 1985 to January 1989. These patients, all of whom had prenatal care (PNC), were subdivided into two groups: (1) PNC and NSTs and (2) PNC and no NSTs. The groups did not differ statistically with regard to gravidity, parity and abortions. NSTs were selectively done on twin gestations complicated by discordancy or other fetal/maternal complications. Ten pregnancies were complicated by fetal demise of one or both twins in patients who received prenatal care without NSTs. Among the NST group there was one fetal demise. Although the NST group had fewer fetal deaths, the reduction was not statistically significant (P = .062). Infant birth weight was identified as a confounder because the NST group had a statistically higher mean birth weight. Definitive proof of the ability of NSTs to reduce the fetal death rate in twin gestations complicated by discordancy or other pregnancy complications awaits a large, prospective, randomized trial.

Female↗
PubMed1992

The natural history of cigarette smoking and young adult social roles.

The relation between cigarette smoking (in adolescence and adulthood) and the occupancy of conventional adult social roles was investigated in the current study. Two alternative predictions for this relation were examined--"role incompatibility" (which predicts a negative relation between adolescent smoking and adult role occupancy) and "pseudomaturity" (which predicts a positive relation between adolescent smoking and adult role occupancy). Processes of role selection and role socialization were examined using data from a longitudinal study of smoking from adolescence to young adulthood. Both pseudomaturity and role incompatibility predictions found some support in the data, and the two views could be reconciled by considering the student role as the key transition into other adult statuses. Implications for the study of social roles and substance use are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Identifying the obstetric patient at high risk of multiple-unit blood transfusions.

We sought to characterize the obstetric patient who required more than the 1 or 2 units of blood products typically available by autologous donation. Medical records from 1988 were reviewed retrospectively. During this period, 16,462 deliveries were performed. Twenty-seven patients (0.16%) received more than 2 units of blood products during their pregnancies. The most common diagnoses associated with a transfusion were placenta previa (10), uterine atony (8) and abruption (5). Platelets, fresh frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate were administered to 7, 12 and 4 patients, respectively. An antepartum condition associated with hemorrhage was identified in only 11 of the 27 patients (41%) who received greater than or equal to 3 units of blood products. The remainder of the cases were not diagnosed during the antepartum period, when autologous donation is an option.

Adult↗