Biomedical subjects

A F Chalmers

Publications and source records attributed to A F Chalmers.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Ultrasonographic assessment of the rate of solid-phase gastric emptying in dogs.

Twelve healthy dogs were used in an ultrasonographic assessment of the effect of the composition of a solid meal on the rate of gastric emptying. The dogs were fasted for nine hours before they were fed either a standard or a high energy density test meal, in a cross-over study design. The gastric antrum was visualised with a 6.5 MHz microconvex transducer, and the area inside the elliptical shape defined by the craniocaudal and ventrodorsal diameters of the stomach was measured. Antral images were acquired at regular intervals for six hours after the ingestion of the test meal. Three indices to describe the rate of gastric emptying were computed: the gastric half-emptying time (t1/2), the time to 50 per cent maximal antral area (t50%), and the time of maximal antral area (tmax). The values of t50% and t1/2 calculated for the high energy density meals were significantly longer than for the standard meals, but there was no significant difference between the tmax values.

Animal Feed↗

PubMed1982

Epidemiology and the scientific method.

This article refutes the claim that the field of epidemiology and community health would benefit from the application of the scientific method. It is argued that the methods of physics are not appropriate for other disciplines. When applied to the social sciences, positivism is a conservatizing force, causing theory to become based on a mere description of social phenomenon. Since it cannot lead to a deep understanding of social phenomena, positivism is incapable of revealing ways in which society could be radically changed. Moreover, such theory is far from neutral. Rather, it is formed and influenced by the forms of life experienced and practiced in the society. This is illustrated by an analysis of the origin of modern physics at the time when society was changing from a feudal to capitalist form of organization. It is concluded that advances will be made in epidemiology and community health when this field breaks from its focus on the individual and incorporates class into its analysis. However, given the interconnection between social structure and social theory, resistance to such a radical change can be expected.

Epidemiologic Methods↗