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Biomedical subjects

B Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to B Johnson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Extending the pipeline for minority physicians: a comprehensive program for minority faculty development.

Medical schools must become more successful in training minority faculty. Minority faculty development programs at schools of medicine must involve trainees from the undergraduate years (if not before) through junior faculty and must involve MD and combine-degree (MD-PhD) students. The authors describe the comprehensive minority faculty development program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, which involves minority undergraduates, medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty. This program provides the administrative staff and research methodologists to assist trainees at all levels across all departments in the school of medicine. The principal student recruitment program is the undergraduate premedicine enrichment program. The medical student component provides general counseling, research development, and activities to enhance performance in the clinical courses. The components for advanced trainees (residents, fellows, and postdoctoral trainees) and faculty consist of training in research methods, mentoring, teaching skills, and scientific writing skills. Through this program, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has increased the number of under-represented minority faculty by 32% since 1993-94 and created an environment conducive to the professional growth and development of minority faculty.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1998

Assessing individual family members' constructions of family problems.

Much contemporary family therapy theory and practice takes into account clients' cognitive constructions of their family problems. Recent calls for therapists to elicit and work with clients' causal explanations and narratives parallel accumulating evidence in the social-clinical literature about the predictive importance of attributions in family relationships. In this article, we introduce the Constructions of Problems Scale (CPS), provide preliminary evidence of its reliability and validity, and suggest ways in which it can be used clinically to reveal new areas for questioning and to generate new ideas. The CPS is a brief questionnaire that can be used to create a profile of each individual family member's private constructions. To complete the CPS, each family member writes a free-form narrative of the presenting problem and then rates his or her perceptions of the contributing causes. The CPS profiles can be used to compare the perspectives of different family members and to assess cognitive constructions at different points in treatment. We discuss its potential for these and other clinical uses.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Barriers to seeking care following school vision screening in Rochester, Minnesota.

School vision screening provides an effective way to identify children who require vision therapy, usually glasses. To benefit from screening, children with abnormal screening test results must receive follow-up eye care, but care may be delayed for months or years. This project used community focus groups in Rochester, Minn., to identify barriers that may delay seeking professional care following school vision screening. Major barriers identified included lack of community awareness about the frequency and potential effect of refractive errors in children, a parental perception of inadequate communication between schools and the parents and community, high cost of corrective lenses, limited availability of convenient eye care appointments, and adolescents reluctance to wear glasses. Program planners developed a community action plan to address the perceived barriers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Comparison of disease in calves dosed orally with oak or commercial tannic acid.

Commercial tannic acid has been used as a substitute for leaves and acorns in studies of oak toxicosis in some species. The toxicity of a commercial tannic acid given orally to calves was determined, and the clinical signs, laboratory findings, and pyrogallol production were compared with those found in calves dosed orally with oak leaves. The oak-fed calves developed the clinical signs and lesions characteristic of renal failure. Proteinuria developed by 48 hours in 1 calf and by 72 hours in the other calf. Both calves developed hematuria on day 4 and glucosuria on day 5. The blood urea nitrogen and creatinine values increased markedly on day 6. Pyrogallol was detected in the serum only at 3 and 6 hours after the calves began ingesting the oak leaves. Pyrogallol was detected in urine from 1 calf until 60 hours and in the other calf until 48 hours after the beginning of oak intake. The 2 calves that were dosed with tannic acid at the same level as found in the leaves fed to the other calves did not develop clinical signs, abnormal laboratory findings, or pyrogallol production. Calves given high levels of tannic acid at doses of 4.4-5.5 g/kg developed methemoglobinemia rather than renal disease. Therefore, commercial tannic acid given orally cannot be used as a substitute for oak in studies of toxicosis in cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Serum interleukin-6 levels in metastatic renal cell carcinoma before treatment with interleukin-2 correlates with paraneoplastic syndromes but not patient survival.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine the frequency of interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in renal cancer cell lines, the frequency of the detection of IL-6 in the serum of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, whether serum IL-6 level correlates with the development of paraneoplastic syndromes and whether serum IL-6 level in patients with metastatic renal cancer correlates with response to treatment with interleukin-2 (IL-2) or patient survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conditioned media from 21 cell lines from 20 patients were examined for IL-6. We identified 2 matched groups of patients with metastatic renal cancer (30 responders and 29 nonresponders) to IL-2 based immunotherapy. Stored pretreatment serum specimens were evaluated for IL-6. Medical records were reviewed to determine the presence of paraneoplastic syndromes. RESULTS: IL-6 was detected in 19 of 21 renal cancer cell lines (90%) obtained from 20 patients with metastatic renal cancer as well as in the serum of 33 of 59 patients (56%) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. A significant association between serum IL-6 level and anemia (p = 0.0032), elevated platelet count (p = 0.01), decreased albumin (p = 0.034) and elevated alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.04) was found. A trend was noted of the association of increased serum IL-6 level and fever (p = 0.051). No correlation was found between pretreatment serum IL-6 level and survival or response to IL-2. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 was frequently secreted by renal cancer cell lines but it was only present in the serum of approximately half of the patients with metastatic renal cancer. Elevations of serum IL-6 were associated with paraneoplastic manifestations frequently seen in patients with renal cancer, including anemia, thrombocytosis, decreased albumin and elevations of alkaline phosphatase (Stauffer's syndrome). A weak relationship was noted between serum IL-6 level and fever but none was noted between that and survival or response to IL-2.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Spontaneous thoracic spinal cord herniation through an anterior dural defect.

A 44-year-old woman was examined for progressive left lower extremity weakness and spasticity. Thoracic spine MR imaging and CT myelography showed a ventral dural defect at T7-T8 with an extradural subarachnoid fluid collection and extradural herniation of the spinal cord. Intraoperative sonography confirmed the appropriate level for dural entry and the finding of spinal cord herniation. After reduction of the herniated spinal cord, the patient experienced gradual improvement in neurologic function.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Medical reference databases used by Army primary care physicians in field environments.

A cross-sectional survey of U.S. Army primary care physicians was done to answer two questions: (1) which medical reference materials are Army primary care physicians currently using when deployed to a field environment? and (2) what would they like to have for medical reference in a field environment? Of 740 surveys delivered to their intended recipients, 445 (60%) were returned. Currently, 96% of primary care physicians use books, 37% use journals, and 11% use computer software in their medical reference database. Of those now using books, 72% were satisfied with them, compared with 61% of those using journals and 45% of those using software. The most common book used was the Merck Manual. The most important characteristics desired in a field medical database were broad coverage, ease of use, and light weight. The majority of respondents believe that a good medial reference database is important but that current medical databases limit the quality of the medicine they practice in the field.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1997

Improved single-strand DNA sizing accuracy in capillary electrophoresis.

Interpolation algorithms can be developed to size unknown single-stranded (ss) DNA fragments based on their electrophoretic mobilities, when they are compared with the mobilities of standard fragments of known sizes; however, sequence-specific anomalous electrophoretic migration can affect the accuracy and precision of the called sizes of the fragments. We used the anomalous migration of ssDNA fragments to optimize denaturation conditions for capillary electrophoresis. The capillary electrophoretic system uses a refillable polymer that both coats the capillary wall to suppress electro-osmotic flow and acts as the sieving matrix. The addition of 8 M urea to the polymer solution, as in slab gel electrophoresis, is insufficient to fully denature some anomalously migrating ssDNA fragments in this capillary electrophoresis system. The sizing accuracy of these fragments is significantly improved by the addition of 2-pyrrolidinone, or increased capillary temperature (60 degrees C). the effect of these two denaturing strategies is additive, and the best accuracy and precision in sizing results are obtained with a combination of chemical and thermal denaturation.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

How Do Logical Inference Rules Help Construct Social Mental Models?

Starting from recent approaches in mental model research, it is argued that (1) logical inference rules are used in order to construct mental cliques from learned sentiment relations, and (2) social context cues (operationalized as primes) play a crucial role in activating such rules. Transitivity and antitransitivity are taken as examples, and are shown as core constituents of such models. In a first experiment, priming was achieved by announcing the sorting of fictitious persons in either two or three cliques. Thirty-one subjects studied eight sets of sentiment relations among these persons that either did or did not satisfy their primed clique expectations. They showed longer study times and more requests for additional information in the case of inconsistent fits between prime and set. Their sorting solutions also showed clear priming effects. A second experiment (n = 30) showed that when undergoing a recognition test after seeing the relation sets, subjects tended to confuse model-consistent distractors with information they had actually seen. In a third experiment (n = 30) the results from Experiment 1 were replicated using more realistic learning materials.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Thalidomide and thalidomide analogs reduce HIV type 1 replication in human macrophages in vitro.

Thalidomide is currently being evaluated for efficacy in alleviating some manifestations of HIV-1 infection. To determine whether thalidomide has any direct effects on HIV-1 infection, we investigated the effect of thalidomide and also of three structural analogs of thalidomide on HIV-1 replication in vitro in human monocyte-derived macrophages. The thalidomide analogs were previously shown to inhibit TNF-alpha production in vitro at much lower concentrations than thalidomide. In HIV-1-infected macrophages treated with thalidomide or thalidomide analogs, viral replication was reduced by 60 to 80% as determined by measuring viral RT activity in the culture supernatants. In all experiments the analogs inhibited HIV-1 replication more efficiently than did thalidomide. The drugs also reduced HIV-1 gag mRNA expression. Furthermore, the drugs caused a decrease in NF-kappaB-binding activity in nuclear extracts of HIV-1-infected macrophages. The role of NF-kappaB in the drug-induced inhibition of HIV-1 replication was confirmed using an NF-kappaB-defective mutant virus to infect macrophages.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed1997

Adult obesity and functioning in the family of origin.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the relationship between eating and weight behaviors and functioning in individuals' families of origin. METHOD: Subjects were 237 women and 242 men enrolled in the RENO (Relationship of Energy, Nutrition, and Obesity) Diet-Heart Study, a prospective 5-year study of the effects of weight fluctuation on cardiovascular disease risk factors in normal weight and obese adults. Variables of primary interest included subjects' body mass index (BMI), age of onset of obesity, eating attitudes, lack of control while eating, and family functioning. RESULTS: In men, higher family cohesion was related to healthier eating attitudes and better control over eating, controlling for age, BMI, and adaptability, whereas higher adaptability (changing rules and poor leadership) was related to earlier onset of obesity and more disturbed eating attitudes. Cohesion and adaptability were not related to body weight or eating variables in women. DISCUSSION: The lower societal pressure on men to be thin may increase the importance of family factors in influencing their shape and weight.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Extending the Benefits of Recategorization: Evaluations, Self-Disclosure, and Helping

The Common Ingroup Identity Model proposes that if members of different groups conceive of themselves more as a single group rather than as two separate groups, intergroup bias will be reduced through processes involving pro-ingroup favoritism. The present research extended work on this model by investigating the effects of recategorization on intergroup behavior, specifically helping and self-disclosure, as well as evaluations. Participants first worked as members of two three-person groups, and then the two groups interacted under conditions designed to enhance a two-group representation or recategorization with an inclusive one-group representation. As expected, the manipulation of the intergroup contact situation that created stronger impressions of one group reduced intergroup bias in evaluations, self-disclosure, and helping. Furthermore, ratings of the extent to which the six participants felt like one group mediated the reduction in bias, particularly for evaluative bias. Conditions facilitating the generalization of the benefits of recategorization to group members not present and to other groups are considered.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Determinants of vaginal-perineal integrity and pelvic floor functioning in childbirth.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to evaluate risk factors for severe vaginal-perineal trauma and to ascertain determinants of pelvic floor strength. STUDY DESIGN: Secondary analysis of 459 nulliparous women enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of episiotomy was carried out. In a multivariate analysis we examined the association between (1) sulcus tears, (2) third- or fourth-degree tears, and (3) pelvic floor strength and selected demographic, physiologic, pregnancy-related, and intrapartum factors. RESULTS: Unemployment and shorter second stage of labor were significant predictors of sulcus tears. Episiotomy, forceps use, and birth weight were important predictors of third- and fourth-degree tears. Whereas perineal intactness (use of episiotomy and spontaneous tears) was not influenced by exercise, a strong exercise profile was associated with fewer third- and fourth-degree tears in the presence of episiotomy. Exercise did not influence the rate of sulcus tears. A total of 35% of the variability in postpartum pelvic floor strength was explained by antepartum strength; however, we were only able to identify 5% of the factors contributing to antepartum pelvic floor strength. CONCLUSIONS: Determinants of sulcus tears appear to be present before pregnancy; third- and fourth-degree tears are related to physician management. Exercise mitigates the potential for severe trauma induced by episiotomy.

Adolescent↗