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Biomedical subjects

B Siegel

Publications and source records attributed to B Siegel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Pervasive developmental disorders: from DSM-III to DSM-III-R.

The present paper provides a brief history of the development of the DSM-III-R (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1987) section on Pervasive Developmental Disorders. It describes the process by which the contents of the text and criteria for Autistic Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified were decided and gives the reasons for the changes from DSM-III (APA, 1980) categories and criteria. The paper concludes with a short discussion of critical diagnostic issues.

Autistic Disorder

Physicians' changing attitudes about striking.

Both interns and residents and practicing physicians express substantial support for physicians' organizing for collective bargaining and striking. These findings, from 1146 respondents to a 1976 survey of the alumni of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, indicate that profound changes have occurred in physicians' views on these issues. Although the greatest support for striking came from interns and residents, with 67 per cent of them indicating they think physicians should be allowed to strike, the survey found an increasing pattern of militancy commencing with 1964 graduates. Physicians in private practice and those who spent two-thirds or more of their time in direct patient care were the most likely to support strikes by physicians (60 per cent), while the least support came from those fulltime on medical school faculties (39 per cent). No differences in support for striking were found in relation to sex, religion or size of community in which physicians practice. A longitudinal examination of the medical school Class of 1975 at matriculation, at graduation and during internship training reveals that a major growth of support for striking occurred between matriculation and graduation.

Attitude of Health Personnel

Localized regressive articular cartilage changes in the hip joint of the rabbit following an induced synovitis.

A talcum induced synovitis in the hip joint of the rabbit, which is known to cause articular cartilage hyperplasia followed by femoral head protrusion and joint incongruency, has in the present experiment also been shown to lead to localized regressive articular cartilage changes. The articular cartilage of the hip joints in 40 rabbits was examined histologically, at intervals, following induction of such a talcum synovitis. Regressive changes in the form of loss of surface chondrocytes and glycosaminoglycans sometimes accompanied by fibrillation, were found in the area of the femoral head articular cartilage which had become flattened following the head protrusion. Chondrocyte cloning facilitated subsequent cartilage repair. The biomechanical disturbance in the joint following the induced synovitis is felt to have caused the regressive changes. The experiment is considered to have some significance in connection with Legg-Calvé-Perthes' Syndrome (L.C.P.S.) in children.

Animals

A racial comparison of cleft patients in a clinic population: associated anomalies and recurrence rates.

Clinical files of 22 black and 88 white cleft palate patients, under 16 years of age, were studied. Data on the distribution of cleft types, associated birth defects and recurrence rates were obtained for the two racial groups and analyzed through the use of the X2 test. It was found that blacks had a significantly higher (p less than .005) rate of associated birth defects when compared to whites. No significant differences were found in recurrence rates between the racial groups.

Abnormalities, Multiple

Medical service plans in academic medical centers.

Medical service plans are of major importance to academic medical centers and are becoming increasingly so each year as evidenced by growing dependence of medical schools on resulting funds. How these funds are generated and used varies among schools. The procedures may affect the governance of the institution, modifying the authority of the central administration or the clinical departments. Recent developments in federal legislation, such as health maintenance organizations and amendments (Section 227) to the Social Security Act, and the future development of national health insurance will certainly have an effect on how academic medical centers organize their clinical activities. How successfully various medical schools deal with the dynamic problem may well determine their future survival.

Faculty, Medical

Toward a rationale for the seclusion process.

The present paper summarizes three studies focusing on different aspects of seclusion room practices. The first study involved chart review to collect empirical data on reasons for seclusion, length of seclusion, and characteristics of secluded patients. The second study focused on staff attitudes toward seclusion; the third dealt with the attitudes of both secluded and nonsecluded patients. The average time of seclusion was approximately 4 hours and in most cases aggressive behaviors of various types were cited as the precipitating event. In addition, patient and staff attitudes implied that a major function of the seclusion process was to isolate patients from disturbing interactions and to maintain the smooth functioning of the ward minisociety. Two models of seclusion, an ethological model and a behavioristic "time out" model, were developed in order to integrate the results of these studies. Implications of the findings and models are presented for changes in seclusion room procedures.

Adult

Enriching personal and professional development: the experience of a support group for interns.

A pilot support group for interns was established at Boston City Hospital early in the internship year to deal with the personal and professional issues arising out of the stresses of the internship. This report describes the functioning of this group, including a statement of goals, content of weekly meetings, and evaluation by group members. In general, the interns felt that the experience was positive and especially valuable in terms of providing support for personal/professional role conflict.

Boston

Relaxed circular SV40 DNA as cleavage intermediate of two restriction endonucleases.

We have determined the mode of cleavage of superhelical SV40 DNA (Form I) by restriction endonucleases EcoRI and HpaII at 37 degrees C. By analysis with agarose gel electrophoresis and direct examination with dark field electron microscopy, we found that a large amount of the single-nicked circular DNA (Form II) was produced before the linear SV40 DNA (Form III) appeared. Thus, both restriction enzymes cleave only one strand of the superhelical DNA first. The second cleavage on the complementary strand occurred after a lag period. The first order rate constant for the second cleavage by EcoRI endonuclease was determined and a kinetic reaction scheme for both enzymes is proposed.

DNA Restriction Enzymes

Patterns of psychiatric consultation in a general hospital.

The authors conducted a study of the rate of utilization of psychiatric consultation by various services at two general hospitals. The study found that the rehabilitation and plastic surgery services had the highest ratio of consultations to admissions. Depression was the most frequent reason cited in staff requests for psychiatric consultation. Male patients were overrepresented among the consultees in proportion to their number in the total general hospital census. The authors conclude that appropriate psychiatric consultation can enable the majority of patients with psychiatric problems to be maintained on the wards to which they were admitted, and that psychiatric liaison staff should be trained in a variety of consulting roles.

Adolescent

The therapeutic community in theory and practice.

To obtain an operational description of the therapeutic community, the authors reviewed recent literature and composed a 40-item questionnaire describing aspects of the therapeutic community. The questionnaire was mailed to authors of recently published articles or books on the subject, 27 of whom responded with ratings of the degree to which each item was characteristic of a therapeutic community. The validated questionnaire was then completed by 22 staff members on four psychiatric wards of a university-affiliated municipal hospital, who rated the items in terms of real and ideal conditions on the ward. Comparisons of the real and ideal ratings are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel

Synchronous digestion of SV40 DNA by exonuclease III.

We have established an optimal condition for the synchronous digestion of SV40 DNA with Escherichia coli exonuclease III. Electron microscopy and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were used to obtain accurate measurements on the lengths of DNA before and after exonuclease III digestion. Based on this finding, a new method for determining the sequence of long duplex DNA can be realized. It involves (a) the synchronous digestion of the DNA from the 3' ends with exonuclease III, followed by (b) repair synthesis with labeled nucleotides and DNA polymerase, and (c) sequence analysis of the repaired DNA.

Base Sequence

Aldosterone and insulin effects on driving force of Na+ pump in toad bladder.

Both aldosterone and insulin increase active Na+ transport across the urinary bladder of the toad. Recent data have provided further support to the concept that aldosterone acts primarily to increase Na+ entry from the mucosal medium into the transporting cells, whereas insulin acts to increase active Na+ extrusion into the serosal medium. To examine this concept further, the driving force (E(Na)) of the Na+ pump was measured, by the technique described by Yonath and Civan (48), before and after hormonal administration. Both hormones increased short-circuit current, but only insulin increased E(Na). The validity of the technique was further explored by imposing periods of hypoxia upon a series of experimental hemibladders; as expected, hypoxia reversibly decreased E(Na). The data indicate that insulin stimulates Na+ transport, in part by directly stimulating the Na+ pump. The results are also consistent with the concept that aldosterone stimulates net Na+ movement solely by enhancing Na+ entry into the transporting cells, but are subject to alternative interpretations.

Aldosterone

A Jungian approach to the Rorschach: an exploration of differing patterns of aggression.

Rorschach responses of institutionalized adolescent males exhibiting different patterns of aggressive behavior were analyzed from the perspective of Jung's archetypal psychology. Distinct differences in the individual's relationship to archetypal processes were found and were consistent with the behavioral expression of aggression. The study supports McCully's view that Rorschach plates have a potential capacity to stimulate the archetypal structure of the psyche with the resulting archetypal energies influencing the perceptual experience of the observer in lawful and ordered ways. The relationship to archetypal influence is an important but often neglected factor in the adolescent's task of becoming a separate and individual personality. A rich commentary on each individual's protocol by Professor McCully is included to more fully illustrate the archetypal approach to Rorschach symbolism.

Adolescent