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Biomedical subjects

T Miller

Publications and source records attributed to T Miller.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Race/ethnicity and gender differences in the drugs-violence relationship.

This article examines the drug relatedness of violent events reported by White, Black, and Hispanic male and female street drug users from New York City. The primary purpose is to determine if the drugs-violence relationship varies for these different populations of drug abusers. Drug relatedness is assessed according to a tripartite conceptual model of the general relationship between drugs and violence. Significant race/ethnicity and gender differences were found in regard to the number of violent events manifesting specific drug-related dimensions of violence, the drugs associated with these violent events, and the primary reasons for the occurrence of these events. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Emotional and behavioural problems and trauma exposure of school-age Palestinian children in Gaza: some preliminary findings.

An international research team was established to design and implement a community-based, cross-section epidemiological survey of 669 school-age Palestinian children and their families living in the Gaza Strip. Several psychometric instruments were utilized for measuring mental health outcomes, including the Ontario Child Health Scale (OCHS) for measuring childhood emotional and behavioural problems, and the Child Post-traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTSRI) to measure post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Lifetime trauma exposure was assessed by using the Health Reach Modified War Questionnaire. It was found that children and adolescents from age six to 16 have high prevalence rates of conduct, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders and PTSD. These rates are higher than those reported internationally on children in non-conflict areas. A significant correlation was found between higher rates of lifetime trauma exposure, by frequency and type, and higher prevalence rates of mental health problems. The various state and non-governmental organizations involved in health care services are urged to use a community-based approach to alleviate the burden of suffering, including addressing issues of social justice for Palestinians.

Arabs↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Planning proton therapy of the eye.

We describe a program for planning treatments of the eye with charged particle beams. Many of its features apply to treatment planning programs in general. These include the three-dimensional definition of the tumor volume and of normal structures, the possibility of delivering the treatment beam from any direction in space, the provision of arbitrary viewpoints including a "beam's eye" point of view, the design and fabrication of the field shaping aperture, the specification of the necessary beam quality (range and modulation), the calculation and display of isodose contours on any plane in space and on relevant surfaces, the identification of the extent to which normal structures are included or excluded from the beam, and the stimulation of the desired alignment film with which patient alignment can be verified.

Choroid Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of a decision support system on the diagnostic accuracy of users: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of incomplete data upon the output of a computerized diagnostic decision support system (DSS), to assess the effects of using the system upon the diagnostic opinions of users, and to explore if these effects vary as a function of clinical experience. DESIGN: Experimental pilot study. Four clusters of nine cases each were constructed and equated for case difficulty. Definitive findings were omitted from the case abstracts. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four clusters and were trained on the DSS prior to use. SUBJECTS: The study involved 16 physicians at three levels of clinical experience (six general internists, four residents in internal medicine, and six fourth-year medical students), from three academic medical centers. PROCEDURE: Each subject worked up nine cases, first without and then with ILIAD consultation. They were asked to offer up to six potential diagnoses and to list up to three steps that should be the next items in the diagnostic workup. Effects of DSS consultation were measured by changes in the position of the correct diagnosis in the lists of differential diagnoses, pre- and post-consultation. RESULTS: The DSS lists of diagnostic possibilities contained the correct diagnosis in 38% of cases, about midway between the levels of accuracy of residents and attending general internists. In over 70% of cases, the DSS output had no effect on the position of the correct diagnosis in the subjects' lists. The system's diagnostic accuracy was unaffected by the clinical experience of the users.

Decision Making↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ear-cough (Arnold's) reflex.

A clinical survey of 688 patients revealed an incidence of Arnold's reflex in 1.74% of a general otolaryngology clinic population. There was no definite age, sex, or racial correlation found. The reflex was found unilaterally as well as bilaterally and in each canal quadrant, which is contrary to the previously described distribution of the nerve to the posterior and inferior parts of the canal. There was no predilection of a positive reflex with any particular ear disease.

Cough↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neoplasia in zebrafish (Danio rerio) treated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene by two exposure routes at different developmental stages.

Using zebrafish, Danio rerio, initial pioneering work in the 1960s revealed carcinogen responsiveness of fish, yet very few subsequent tumorigenesis investigations have utilized this species. We exposed embryos (60 hours postfertilization) and fry (3 week posthatch) to 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) by immersion in aqueous solutions for 24 hours, at concentrations of 0-1 or 0-5 ppm (mg/L), respectively. Juvenile zebrafish 2 months posthatch were fed a diet containing 0-1,000 ppm DMBA for 4 months. Fish were sampled for histologic evaluation at 7-12 months after the onset of carcinogen treatment. Fry were most responsive to DMBA and showed the widest diversity of target tissues and histologic types of neoplasia, having several types of epithelial, mesenchymal, and neural neoplasia. The principal target tissues for carcinogenic response were liver following embryo or fry exposure, with gill and blood vessel the second and third most responsive tissues in fry. Intestine was the primary target and gill a secondary target in fish that received dietary DMBA as juveniles. These studies indicate that young zebrafish are most responsive to DMBA, showing a greater diversity of neoplasm types than rainbow trout. Thus, zebrafish are a valuable model system in which to study mechanistic aspects of the carcinogenesis process.

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Neoplasia in zebrafish (Danio rerio) treated with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine by three exposure routes at different developmental stages.

We exposed embryos (83 hours postfertilizaton) and fry (3 weeks posthatch) to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) by immersion in aqueous solutions of 0-10 ppm for 1 hour (embryo) or 0-2 ppm for 24 hours (fry). Zebrafish embryos were microinjected with MNNG at levels of 0 or 96 ng/egg. Diets containing 0-2,000 ppm MNNG were fed to juvenile zebrafish for 3 months beginning at 2 months posthatch. Fish were sampled for histopathologic study at 6-12 months after initiation of carcinogen exposure. Embryos and fry were both quite responsive to MNNG; however, juvenile zebrafish were remarkably refractory to MNNG-induced neoplasia. Principal target organs in zebrafish treated as embryos with MNNG were liver and testis, with hepatocellular adenoma the most prevalent hepatic neoplasm. A variety of mesenchymal neoplasms occurred in zebrafish following embryo exposure to MNNG, including chondroma, hemangioma, hemangiosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. Testis and blood vessels were primary target organs for MNNG following fry exposure, with seminoma, hemangioma, hemangiosarcoma, and various other epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms occurring. The zebrafish is a responsive, cost-effective lower vertebrate model system in which to study mechanisms of carcinogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Predictive validity of the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS)].

INTRODUCTION: We conduct an exploratory factor analysis with the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS) items, to determine its psychometric characteristics and construct validity, as well as we analyze criterion or predictive validity of its clinical subscales in the conversion of high mental risk subjects from prodrome to psychosis in a 1 year follow-up period. METHOD: The subjects were 30 patients referred for evaluation with the Structured Interview of Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS), which includes the SOPS, because of a suspected psychosis prodromal syndrome, a factor analysis with varimax rotation was carried out: Cronbach internal coherence indices were obtained, and predictive validity of the subscales comprising this instrument were analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Three first-order factors were found, one of them was a homogeneous component made up of negative symptoms, consistent with previous studies, and higher scores were observed in negative, disorganized and general symptoms in males. Cronbach's alpha indices were 0.880, in the recruitment phase of risk patients, and 0.952 one year later. With an incidence rate of psychosis of 26.67 % in the sample studied, during the 1 year follow-up period, an excellent positive predictive value of the SOPS subscales was found, with negative symptoms having the best specificity (95.5 %) and sensitivity (100 %) indices. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic criteria based on the SIPS/ SOPS make it possible to identify persons at high risk of psychosis, and to make an accurate prediction of medium term psychotic episodes. It is a valid, economical and easy to use instrument in primary health care systems.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Synovial sarcoma of the larynx.

There have been several reports in the literature2-5 of synovial sarcomas of the head and neck. The consensus of these authors is that the tumor is not as aggressive in this localization as in the extremities, where the recurrence rate is 60% to 70%, and the five-year long-term follow-up of such cases should be made available. Thereby, a reasonably clear and effective modality of treatment could be recommoneded.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Munchausen's syndrome. A study of the casualty "Black books" of Melbourne.

Unofficial registers or casualty "Black books" have evolved to assist busy casualty department staff in the identification of patients who are suffering from Munchausen's syndrome, are drug abusers or have other "problem" disorders. Fourteen of Melbourne's 17 general public hospitals have such books which contain information on 835 patients. Amalgamation of information from all of these books reduced this to 713 individual patients, of whom 21 were regarded as cases of Munchausen's syndrome, 20 were probable cases, 652 were classified as drug abusers and 20 were classified as dangerous patients. All four groups shared a similar mean age, between 32 and 37 years. Munchausen's syndrome patients showed greater tendency to use aliases. Men predominated in all four groups, especially among dangerous patients. Conventional records rely upon obtaining an honest and accurate name and information from the patient and are quite inadequate for the identification and treatment of patients with Munchausen's syndrome and drug abusers. When these conditions are suspected, a detailed standard identification form, suitable for computerization, should be used at all hospitals.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytology of well-differentiated and poorly differentiated hemangiosarcoma in fine needle aspirates.

The cytologic descriptions of fine needle aspirates from one well-differentiated and one poorly differentiated hemangiosarcoma are reported and correlated with the histologic findings. Aggregates of two to ten cells predominated in the aspirate from the well-differentiated tumor. In Papanicolaou-stained smears and filter preparations, single nuclei, resembling intravascular nuclear protrusions in a punch biopsy specimen, projected from some of these cell groups. Shallow longitudinal invaginations characterized the hyperchromatic nuclei. Erythrophagocytosis and cytoplasmic vacuoles were evident in Wright's-stained smears. Individual binucleate cells predominated in aspirates from the poorly differentiated tumor. Their nuclei exhibited thicker membranes, more prominent nucleoli and clearer parachromatin than did those of cells from the well-differentiated tumor. Cytoplasmic projections were common and sometimes quite complex. While these cytologic features are not pathognomonic, they are indicative of a malignant neoplasm and can be combined with clinical and other histopathologic data to provide a complete diagnosis.

Adult↗