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PubMed2003

Medical students' learning needs about setting and maintaining social and sexual boundaries: a report.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing awareness of the potentially harmful consequences of social and sexual relationships between doctors and patients, little assessment has been made of the learning needs of medical students for setting and maintaining social and sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship. AIM: To assess the learning needs of students with regard to issues concerning the setting of professional boundaries. METHODS: The study used a 4-part questionnaire, designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from medical students in all 6 years of the medical curriculum at 1 Australian university. RESULTS: A total of 293 students participated (94.5% response rate). The majority of students were ambivalent about the relationship between social and sexual boundary violations and sexual misconduct. A total of 21% of students said that sexual contact with patients might not be inappropriate. Short answers to a series of vignettes demonstrated conservatism on the part of students when faced with dilemmas. Most (87.4%) of the student population surveyed stated that insufficient teaching time had been given to issues concerning social and sexual boundaries. CONCLUSION: If medical schools shun teaching about the violation of social and sexual boundaries in doctor-patient relationships, sexual predators will continue to graduate.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

[Analysis of the proportion of women at different qualification levels in departments of human medicine in Germany].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In Germany leadership positions in medicine are characterized by an almost complete lack of women. The goal of this study was to determine the representation of women among different career ranks during medical school, residency and academic advancement during the past 20 years. METHODS: The annual reports of the German Federal Statistic Office in Wiesbaden were checked for the numbers of medical students, dissertations, physicians, internists, fellows and trainees at universities, habilitations and professorships. RESULTS: Among medical students, final examination, dissertation, physicians, internists and trainees at universities a proportion of women can be found nowadays which is at a 15% higher percentage level than 20 years ago. Among assistant professors and habilitations at universities there is a very low proportion of women, which did increase only slightly from 5 to 10% during the past 20 years. Within the same period of time the total number of professors and the proportion of female professors were nearly unchanged. Reunification of East and West Germany led to an increase of the representation of women among all levels of qualification which is due to the much higher proportion of female physicians in the former GDR. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of women in leadership positions in medicine in Germany is not due to a general lack of women in medicine. Among all other career ranks the proportion of women increased by 15%. The completely unchanged number and composition of the professors during the past 20 years suggests that the lack of women among this professional group has to do with conservatism which is an inherent trait of university professors in Germany.

Career Mobility↗
PubMed1981

Pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction in children.

Hydronephrosis secondary to pelvi-ureteric obstruction affecting one hundred children and derived from a 13 year period were reviewed. Particular attention was paid to symptomatology in infancy and childhood, pre-operative investigations and postoperative assessment. Following pyeloplasty the late results assessed clinically, radiologically and renographically were entirely satisfactory. The operative technique varied satisfactory. The operative technique varied according to the nature and severity of the abnormality but dismembered pyeloplasty and nephrostomy and splintage was favoured. Twelve patients with aberrant lower pole vessels had simple hitching of vessels alone with good results. Our experience suggests that the recuperative power of the kidney in the infant is unpredictable and surprising. For this reason a plea is made for extreme conservatism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1972

Prokaryotic algae associated with Australian proterozoic stromatolites.

Five instances of association between distinctive stromatolites and blue-green algal nannofossils are recorded from a 100-m sequence of carbonate rocks about 1.6 x 10(9) years old, along the south side of Paradise Creek, northwestern Queensland, Australia. No eukaryotes were identified in any of these systematically limited assemblages, although they are known from rocks as old as 1.3 x 10(9) years in eastern California. Thus, eukaryotes may not have appeared until after 1.6 x 10(9) years ago (but before 1.3 x 10(9) years ago). The associations observed would also be consistent with (but do not prove) a biotic influence on stromatolite morphology. As is usual among prePaleozoic forms described, the morphology of the nannofossils is very similar to living forms, displaying marked evolutionary conservatism. Primary orientation of stromatolitic laminae and columns is not invariably convex upward, as conventionally believed, but convex away from and parallel to the initial point or surface of attachment, which may be horizontal or even downward beneath overhangs.

Australia↗
PubMed1980

Redox conformation changes in refined tuna cytochrome c.

Tuna ferrocytochrome c and ferricytochrome c have been refined independently at high resolution (1.5 A and 1.8 A) to crystallographic residual errors of 17.3% and 20.8%, respectively. Small but significant conformational differences are seen surrounding a buried water molecule that is hydrogen bonded to Asn-52, Tyr-67, and Thr-78. In the oxidized state, this water molecule is 1.0 A closer to the heme and the heme has moved 0.15 A out of its heme crevice; both changes lead to a more polar microenvironment for the heme. Chemical modification studies, patterns of evolutionary conservatism, structural differences in bacterial cytochromes, and x-ray studies all agree that the "active site" for cytochrome c is bounded by lysines 8, 13,27, 72, 79, 86, and 87 (thus containing the evolutionary conservative 72-87 loop) and has the buried water molecule just below its surface and the opening of the heme crevice slightly to one side.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Evolution of immunoglobulin light chains: cDNA clones specifying sandbar shark constant regions.

Sharks are living fossils that are indistinguishable morphologically from their Devonian ancestors of approximately equal to 400 million years ago. If parallel conservatism characterizes their biochemical evolution, characterization of their immunoglobulin chains could provide information regarding the primordial features of these essential defense molecules. Shark immunoglobulins are polydisperse like those of mammals, but these species lack homogeneous myeloma proteins. This heterogeneity has precluded direct determination of the sequence of elasmobranch light-chain proteins. We have sequenced four cDNA clones that contain the constant-region sequence as well as varying degrees of variable- or joining-region segments. The sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) has at least four distinct light-chain constant regions, and these can be considered homologs of mammalian lambda chains. Approximately 40% identity was found in comparison from sharks to mammals. Certain stretches of sequence were remarkably conserved, whereas others varied in a manner consistent with accepted concepts of speciation. One hexapeptide (Ala-Thr-Leu-Val-Cys-Leu) occurred in lambda constant regions of all vertebrate species. There was a universal conservation of certain cysteines, phenylalanines, tryptophans, and glycines and strong identities in the block of residues from Ser-176 to Trp-186. Comparison of the shark sequence with that of the characterized human lambda myeloma protein Mcg indicates a strong conservation of three-dimensional structure in this light-chain domain representing species whose ancestors diverged early in vertebrate evolution. The shark light-chain sequence contains primordial features shared by mammalian kappa and lambda chains and by T-cell receptor beta chains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

The effects of event rate and signal probability on children's vigilance.

Using the study of vigilance in adults as their model, the researchers examined task parameters and their interactions in a study of sustained attention in children from a non-clinical population. Two levels of event rate (low and high) were combined with two levels of signal probability (low and high) in 14-minute vigilance tasks in which children viewed small and large squares presented successively on a computer screen. Seven- and eight-year-old children were instructed to press a button whenever a small square appeared. Signal detection analyses were employed, as well as the traditional measures identifying hits, false alarms, and reaction time. The results support the traditional findings in adult tasks: participants performed most accurately and quickly in the high event rate and high probability condition; low probability elicited a more conservative decision-making criterion, a standard characterized by less willingness to risk false alarms; such conservatism increased over the periods of watch; and the vigilance decrement emerged over time. However, the finding that the high event rate condition improved perceptual sensitivity reversed the event rate effect consistently reported in the adult literature. The above findings are discussed in light of both research and clinical implications.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

Psychological correlates of attitudes toward men.

The relation between attitudes toward men and a number of personality, attitude, and health factors was studied. The 379 respondents (176 men, 203 women) completed the Attitudes Toward Men Scale (A. N. lazzo, 1983) and measures of the Big Five personality factors, conservatism, male bashing, attitudes toward women, sex role, locus of control, and health (including depression, anxiety, and self-esteem). A regression analysis using correlates of attitudes toward men indicated that, among women, femininity and self-esteem were important in predicting attitudes toward men. Among men, masculinity, self-esteem, and age were most important in predicting attitudes toward men.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Heterosexuals attitudes toward bisexual men and women in the United States.

This paper examines heterosexual adults attitudes toward bisexual men and women using data from a 1999 national RDD survey (N = 1,335). Ratings on 101-point feeling thermometers were lower (less favorable) for bisexual men and bisexual women than for all other groups assessed--including religious, racial, ethnic, and political groups--except injecting drug users. More negative attitudes toward bisexuals were associated with higher age, less education, lower annual income, residence in the South and rural areas, higher religiosity, political conservatism, traditional values concerning gender and sexual behavior, authoritarianism, and lack of contact with gay men or lesbians. White heterosexual women expressed significantly more favorable attitudes than other women and all men. A gender difference was observed in attitudes toward bisexuals and homosexuals: Heterosexual women rated bisexuals significantly less favorably than they rated homosexuals, regardless of gender, whereas heterosexual men rated male targets less favorably than female targets, regardless of whether the target was bisexual or homosexual.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward women who engage in premarital sex in Turkey.

This study examined the relationship of ambivalent sexism, political conservatism, demographic variables (age, education, and gender), and prior sexual experience to Turkish men s and women s attitudes toward women who engage in premarital sex. Participants included 124 Turkish undergraduate students and 60 nonstudent Turkish adults. Benevolent but not hostile sexism uniquely predicted more negative views of women who engage in premarital sex once other variables were controlled. Regression analyses demonstrated that for both men and women, older, more politically conservative and less sexually experienced respondents and more educated men (but not women) respondents were more likely to disapprove of women who engage in premarital sex. Similarly, regression analysis revealed that men who were older, politically conservative, and less sexually experienced expressed stronger preferences for marrying a virgin. Both hostile and benevolent sexism predicted men s preference for marrying a virgin after all other variables were controlled.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Psychometric properties of a scale measuring negative attitudes toward overweight individuals.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Anti-fat Attitudes Scale (AFAS), a 5-item instrument developed by the authors to measure negative attitudes toward overweight individuals. A total of 4 studies were conducted among Canadian adolescents (n = 1,452) and university students (n = 424). Results suggested that the AFAS possessed a unidimensional factor structure and satisfactory reliability for both men and women. As predicted, men obtained higher scores than women on the AFAS, and antifat attitudes were positively associated with authoritarianism, homonegativity, and political conservatism. Participants who were overweight had lower scores on the AFAS than participants who were thin or average weight. Responses on the AFAS did not appear to be contaminated by social desirability bias.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Effects of refining predicted chronic dietary intakes of pesticide residues: a case study using glyphosate.

A chronic consumer risk assessment based on a worst-case scenario, conducted as part of the European Union review leading to Annex I inclusion for glyphosate, was evaluated and refined. An extensive database of information on the effects of processing on the levels of glyphosate residues in food is available. This database together with refined consumption data from the UK's surveys of adults and toddlers and extensive monitoring data of glyphosate residues in mainly cereal products conducted in the UK were combined to examine the potential overestimates of dietary intakes that are predicted using the current regulatory methodology developed by the Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization and applied as part of the European Union regulatory process. Analysis focussed on the chronic exposure from treated cereals, the crop group contributing significantly to the dietary intake of glyphosate residues. A steep reduction of predicted intake was seen when progressively realistic measures of residues were incorporated into the models, giving a strong indication of the conservative nature of current regulatory procedures. Calculations using even the most unrefined methodology gave rise to intakes of up to 11% of the acceptable daily intake, this was reduced to 0.6% of the acceptable daily intake when justifiable refinements based on extensive monitoring data collected in the UK were made. Consumption data for processed foods abstracted from the UK Food Standard Agency's database were used to refine further the predicted dietary intakes as a result of residue reductions or concentration from processing. The current regulatory model used in the UK generally only has the potential to use a single value for consumption of a particular food. The Pesticides Safety Directorate model consistently predicted the highest intakes with the exception of intakes by adults using the supervised trials median residue and median monitoring data. This suggests that conservatism in the regulatory model exists particularly where specific processing factors cannot be applied to individual fractions of the diet.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Anthropometric status and resting metabolic rate in users of the areca nut and smokers of tobacco in rural Sarawak.

The areca nut is chewed by many of the world's population, mainly in South and Southeast Asia. Anthropometric data for 458 Sarawaki adults aged over 24 years, measured both in 1990 and in 1996, were examined in relation to use of tobacco and areca nut. Compared to non-smokers, smoking men were significantly taller and slightly (not significantly) thinner in both years, while smoking women were thinner in 1990 and slightly (not significantly) thinner in 1996. In both sexes there was an increase in the mean and range of body mass index (BMI, W/H2) over the 6-year interval. Smoking women showed a significantly smaller increment in BMI after allowing for areca nut use, which was associated with a similar trend, and this finding depended on including areca use in the model. The trend for men was similar. Possible effects of areca use could reflect variation in 'affluence' or conservatism, or appetite suppression. However, resting metabolic rate in 54 men and 70 women aged 24-60 years was associated with areca use. This association appeared to be mediated by the maximum room temperature of the 24 h preceding measurement. In women, a significant curvilinear association of RMR with maximum temperature was found in users of areca nut but not in non-users. In men, RMR was 7% higher (p < 0.05) in users of areca nut than in non-users, after allowing for age, height, weight, the sum of four skinfold thicknesses, and haemoglobin, but the association with maximum temperature was similar in both groups. It is speculated that constituents of areca nut modulate thermoregulatory pathways, resulting in prolonged temperature-dependent and hyperthermic heat production in this population; that males are more responsive to this effect than females; and that by this mechanism, and possibly also through centrally mediated effects on appetite for food, areca use could contribute to long-term variation in energy balance represented by change in BMI.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Dual spatial folds and different local structures of the HIV-1 immunogenic crown in various virus isolates.

Local and global structural properties of the HIV-1 principal neutralizing epitope were studied in terms of NMR spectroscopy data reported in literature for the HIV-Haiti and HIV-RF isolates. To this effect, the NMR-based method comprising a probabilistic model of protein conformation in conjunction with the molecular mechanics and quantum chemical computations was used for determining the ensembles of conformers matching the NMR requirements and energy criteria. As a matter of record, the high resolution 3D structure models were constructed for the HIV-Haiti and HIV-RF immunogenic crowns, and their geometric parameters were collated with the ones of conformers derived previously for describing the conformational features of immunogenic tip of gp120 from Thailand and MN HIV-1 strains. The HIV-1 neutralization site was demonstrated to constitute in water solution highly flexible system sensitive to its environment. This inference is completely valid for the geometric space of dihedral angles where statistically significant differences in local structures of simulated conformers have been found for all virus isolates of interest. In spite of this fact, the stretch analyzed was shown to manifest a certain conservatism in the space of atomic coordinates, building up in four HIV-1 isolates two spatial folds similar to those observed in crystal for the V3 loop peptides bound to different neutralizing Fabs. The results are discussed in the light of literature data on HIV-1 neutralizing epitope structure.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

A power study of a sequential method of p-value adjustment for correlated continuous endpoints.

In the course of clinical (or preclinical) trial studies, it is a common practice to conduct a relatively large number of tests to extract the maximum level of information from the study. It has been known that as the number of tests (or endpoints) increases, the probability of falsely rejecting at least one hypothesis also increases. Single-step methods such as the Bonferroni, Sidák, or James approximation procedure have been used to adjust the p-values for each hypothesis. To reduce the conservatism (i.e., underestimating type I error) possessed by the aforementioned methods, Holm proposed a so-called "free-step-down" procedure. This adjustment can be made even less conservative by incorporating the dependence structure of endpoints at each adjustment step of the procedure. That is done by sequentially applying James's approximation procedure for correlated endpoints at each step, referred to as the Free-James method. This article primarily compares the power of the Free-James method to the power of the Bonferroni and James single-step-down and the Holm free-step-down methods. Two definitions of power are considered: (a) the probability of correctly rejecting at least one hypothesis when it is true, and (b) the probability of correctly rejecting all hypotheses that are true. Monte Carlo simulations show that the Free-James method is as good as other methods under definition (a) and the most powerful under definition (b) for various sample sizes, numbers of endpoints, and correlations.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed2002

Molecular and morphological phylogenetics of weevils (coleoptera, curculionoidea): do niche shifts accompany diversification?

The main goals of this study were to provide a robust phylogeny for the families of the superfamily Curculionoidea, to discover relationships and major natural groups within the family Curculionidae, and to clarify the evolution of larval habits and host-plant associations in weevils to analyze their role in weevil diversification. Phylogenetic relationships among the weevils (Curculionoidea) were inferred from analysis of nucleotide sequences of 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA; approximately 2,000 bases) and 115 morphological characters of larval and adult stages. A worldwide sample of 100 species was compiled to maximize representation of weevil morphological and ecological diversity. All families and the main subfamilies of Curculionoidea were represented. The family Curculionidae sensu lato was represented by about 80 species in 30 "subfamilies" of traditional classifications. Phylogenetic reconstruction was accomplished by parsimony analysis of separate and combined molecular and morphological data matrices and Bayesian analysis of the molecular data; tree topology support was evaluated. Results of the combined analysis of 18S rDNA and morphological data indicate that monophyly of and relationships among each of the weevil families are well supported with the topology ((Nemonychidae, Anthribidae) (Belidae (Attelabidae (Caridae (Brentidae, Curculionidae))))). Within the clade Curculionidae sensu lato, the basal positions are occupied by mostly monocot-associated taxa with the primitive type of male genitalia followed by the Curculionidae sensu stricto, which is made up of groups with the derived type of male genitalia. High support values were found for the monophyly of some distinct curculionid groups such as Dryophthorinae (several tribes represented) and Platypodinae (Tesserocerini plus Platypodini), among others. However, the subfamilial relationships in Curculionidae are unresolved or weakly supported. The phylogeny estimate based on combined 18S rDNA and morphological data suggests that diversification in weevils was accompanied by niche shifts in host-plant associations and larval habits. Pronounced conservatism is evident in larval feeding habits, particularly in the host tissue consumed. Multiple shifts to use of angiosperms in Curculionoidea were identified, each time associated with increases in weevil diversity and subsequent shifts back to gymnosperms, particularly in the Curculionidae.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Can we protect everybody from drinking water contaminants?

Dozens of chemicals, both natural and manmade, are often found in drinking water. Some, such as the natural contaminants uranium and arsenic, are well-known toxicants with a large toxicology database. Other chemicals, such as methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) from leaking fuel tanks, we learn about as we go along. For still others, such as the alkyl benzenes, there are very little available data, and few prospects of obtaining more. In some cases, chemicals are purposely added to drinking water for beneficial purposes (e.g., chlorine, fluoride, alum), which may cause a countervailing hazard. Removing all potentially toxic chemicals from the water is virtually impossible and is precluded for beneficial uses and for economic reasons. Determination of safe levels of chemicals in drinking water merges the available toxicity data with exposure and human effect assumptions into detailed hazard assessments. This process should incorporate as much conservatism as is needed to allow for uncertainty in the toxicity and exposure estimates. Possible sensitive subpopulations such as unborn children, infants, the elderly, and those with common diseases such as impaired kidney function must also be considered. However, the range of sensitivity and the variability of toxicity and exposure parameters can never be fully documented. In addition, the validity of the low-dose extrapolations, and whether the toxic effect found in animals occurs at all in humans, is never clear. This publication discusses how these competing needs and uncertainties intersect in the development of Public Health Goals for uranium, fluoride, arsenic, perchlorate, and other highly debated chemicals.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Verb schema use and input dependence in 5-year-old children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

BACKGROUND: It has been argued that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) use language in a conservative manner. For example, they are reluctant to produce word-plus-frame combinations that they have not heard in the input. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that their utterances replicate lexical and syntactic material from the immediate language environment. AIMS: This study investigated further the linguistic conservatism of children with SLI. It addressed the hypothesis that these children have difficulties using syntactic schemas in a verb-general manner. It employed a technique pioneered by Childers and Tomasello in 2001 that aims to develop verb-general representations through the presentation of appropriate exemplars. In addition, it tested the hypothesis that children with SLI present with input-dependent language use. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Twenty-four children with SLI (mean age 5;6 years) were matched to 23 typically developing children (mean age 3;5 years) on overall language abilities. The children experienced play sessions designed to simulate exemplar-based learning. Facilitative exemplars consisted of sentences that alternated between nouns and pronouns in the argument slots, e.g. 'Pooh's churning the plate. See, he's churning it'. The children were divided evenly into two groups. One group experienced facilitative exemplars, while the other group heard exemplars with no variation in the argument positions. The training effect was assessed with a procedure in which the children heard novel verbs in a non-transitive frame and were required to produce them in a transitive frame. In addition, the argument types of the children's responses (nouns versus pronouns) were analysed to investigate the issue of input dependence. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Few of the children produced novel verbs in the transitive. This result may indicate difficulties using the transitive, although a number of methodological difficulties may be responsible for this finding. As hypothesized, the children with SLI demonstrated greater input dependence in terms of the kind of arguments they used in responses during the training sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Potential reasons for the low response rate of both groups during the testing stage are explored and a number of methodological adjustments proposed. It is argued that the greater input dependence of the children with SLI may reflect a tendency to reduce processing load within a limited capacity system. It is proposed that input dependence could be a fruitful new area for SLI research and an important issue in the design and delivery of therapy programmes.

Child↗