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C Minder

Publications and source records attributed to C Minder.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

The use of measures of influence in epidemiology.

In epidemiological studies the units of observation often consist of political entities such as countries, each of which has its own specific inner structure. When a multiple regression is performed it is therefore of particular interest to analyse not only the overall behaviour of the dataset, but in addition, to investigate how each individual country contributes to, and deviates from, this overall behaviour. By means of the example 'relation between infant mortality and structural data of countries' several ways are discussed of how each individual country can influence the regression model. Firstly the potential influence which each country might exhibit due to the explanatory variables alone is analysed. Then the actual influence of each country is analysed by taking the explanatory variables and the target variable into account simultaneously. This is done by means of statistical measures not generally familiar to epidemiologists, which have been developed in recent years (leverage values, Cook's distances). These measures also point to deviations of countries from the model, and suggest directions in which to search for explanation. Finally the influence of the 'size' of the countries is investigated.

Epidemiologic Factors↗
PubMed1989

[The development in smoking habits in Canton Bern 1977 to 1987. Survey of smoking habits through regular x-ray screening in industry].

The smoking habits of workers were registered on occasion of chest-x-ray screening over the eleven years period from 1977 to 1987 in Berne, Switzerland. In 1977 about 52% of the males were smoking. During the eleven years a decrease in prevalence of smoking can be observed in the male population. The decrease is more pronounced among older than among younger males. Young women smoke more frequently than older women. The prevalence has remained stable at about 28% in the female population between 1977 and 1987. These findings are in accordance with other Swiss studies and show that in Switzerland the preventive radiodiagnostic institutions are important vehicles for community oriented prevention and prevention research.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A cross-cultural comparison of attitudes toward alcohol among French and United States college students.

The purpose of the present study was to compare attitudes toward alcohol in two Western cultures with traditionally distinct drinking patterns, the United States and France. France is generally considered as the greatest world consumer of alcoholic beverages whereas the United States is ranked lower with a different drinking typology. A 14-scale semantic differential was administered to 295 first-year college students at the University of Lille in France and to 242 freshman and sophomore college students in the United States. Data were analyzed by means of a discriminant analysis. After the final step of a stepwise entry of variables, 11 of the 14 adjective pairs remained in the analysis, producing a highly significant function. This function yielded an overall accuracy of classification of 79%. Results were congruent with previous findings suggesting overpermissive attitudes toward alcohol among the French respondents and more ambivalent attitudes toward alcohol among American subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Engel's "psychogenic pain and the patient susceptible to pain": a retrospective, controlled clinical study].

Engel's hypothesis of pain-prone patients having a distinct pattern of developmental psychosocial experiences was tested in a controlled design including four groups of 20 patients each: a) psychogenic pain, b) organic pain, c) psychogenic bodily symptoms, d) organic disease. On admission an open-ended interview, including childhood experiences was tape-recorded. Measures were taken to minimize observer-bias. Patients in group a) had, compared to the other groups, significantly increased prevalence of: "Parents, verbally and/or physically abusive of each other", "parents, abusive of the child", "child, deflecting aggression from one parent to the other onto himself", "parents, who suffered from illnesses/-pain", "parent of the same gender as the patient suffering from pain", "pain of patient and parent in the same location", "number of operations in adulthood", "disturbance of interpersonal relationships", and "disturbance of work life". Factor analysis produced two factors explaining 73% of the variance in group a): F1 ("Brutality-Overcompensation") was related to "duration of pain", F2 ("Submission-Inhibition") to "number of operations, accidents" in adulthood.

Guilt↗
PubMed1988

Pressure-volume curves, static compliances and gas exchange in hyaline membrane disease during conventional mechanical and high-frequency ventilation.

Eight premature infants with hyaline membrane disease needing artificial ventilation were studied at a mean age of 26.5 h. After a preparative phase they were randomly assigned either first to conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV; delivered by a Siemens Servo 900 C), followed by high-frequency ventilation (HFV; delivered by Percussionaire VDR 1 at 10 Hz) or vice versa, each period lasting 4 h. At the end of each period, arterial blood gases, lung volumes and alveolar pressures (Palv) during CMV or HFV and pressure-volume (P-V) curves of the total respiratory system were determined. Expiratory volumes were measured spirometrically, Palv by the clamping method, and the P-V curve was constructed by the syringe method. Single point static compliance at end-inspiration was higher during HFV (0.40 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.32 +/- 0.08 ml/cmH2O.kg-1; p = 0.02), whereas at end-expiration no difference was noted. Two points static compliances were also better during HFV than during CMV (0.32 +/- 0.08 vs. 0.24 +/- 0.06 ml/cmH2O.kg-1; p = 0.01). Static compliances derived from the steepest part of the inflation limb of the P-V curve were 0.55 +/- 0.12 after CMV and 0.50 +/- 0.12 ml/cmH2O.kg-1 after HFV (n.s.). Compared to CMV, HFV resulted in similar oxygenation and CO2-elimination at equal mean lung volumes, but at significantly lower mean Palv. It is concluded that recruitment of lung volume is achieved with less static recoil pressure by HFV. These findings are explained by differences in inspiration allowing more time for volume recruitment during HFV.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1984

Bufuralol metabolism in human liver: a sensitive probe for the debrisoquine-type polymorphism of drug oxidation.

The genetically controlled polymorphism causing decreased metabolism of debrisoquine is closely related to that of the metabolism of bufuralol and numerous other drugs and has important clinical consequences. A sensitive in vitro assay was developed which quantifies the production of 1'-hydroxy-bufuralol (carbinol) from bufuralol in human liver microsomes. Initial formation rates of carbinol suggested Michaelis-Menten kinetics with an apparent KM of 61 and 171 mumol l-1 and Vmax of 3.2 and 5.8 nmol mg-1 microsomal protein h-1 in two human liver samples. The Vmax in microsomes of thirty-two liver samples was 4.2 +/- 1.0 (SD) nmol carbinol mg-1 protein h-1. Metabolism of debrisoquine in vivo, as expressed by the 'metabolic ratio' of debrisoquine over 4-OH debrisoquine correlated (r = -0.65, P less than 0.01; n = 18) with carbinol production rate in microsomes in vitro. Microsomes of one individual identified as poor metabolizer of debrisoquine in vivo showed reduction of carbinol formation to 1.97 nmol mg-1 h-1. Mixing his microsomes with those of an extensive metabolizer resulted in additive formation of carbinol excluding mediation of the defect by a soluble inhibitor. These data support the concept of a primary defect in microsomal oxidation of bufuralol. The described assay offers a sensitive tool to investigate the molecular mechanism of the 'debrisoquine polymorphism'.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed1982

[Evaluation of the Swiss Hospital Association diagnostic and surgical statistics].

Number of admissions, days of care and the average length of stay are presented by age, sex and other criteria for Swiss short stay hospital. Persons 60 and over consumed more than 50 percent of all days of care. On the average, females of all age groups, except from 5 to 54 years of age, were hospitalized longer than males. Principal factors influencing the length of stay are: age, diagnosis and mode of discharge. The increase in the number of persons 65 and over admitted to medical departments corresponds to the demographic development, while it exceeds the demographic increase for surgical departments.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Changes in the cyclic AMP content during growth and development of Acetabularia.

The 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cyclic-AMP) content of the unicellular alga Acetabularia has been examined at various developmental stages. It has been found that very young algae, less than 10mm in length, have a high cAMP content [more than 7 pmoles per 100 mg wet weight (WW)], but that with the growth of the algae, the cAMP content decreases rapidly, reaching the low level of 0.5--1.0 pmoles per 100mg WW. The cAMP content remains at this level until cap differentiation, after which an increase in cAMP content accompanies cap enlargement. It has been shown that these results are unlikely to be affected by changes in the cAMP content induced by variations in circadian rhythm. Treatment with theophylline (2.10(-3) M), a phosphodieterase inhibitor, results in an increase in the cAMP content and delays growth and cap formation. Experiments on the effects of theophylline upon the circadian rhythm of oxygen evolution have shown that the continuous presence of theophylline in the culture medium does not induce a phase shift in the rhythm. The cAMP content of anucleate Acetabularia shows development stage variations parallel to that of the whole algae.

Acetabularia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mechanism of the excessive sedative response of cirrhotics to benzodiazepines: model experiments with triazolam.

Mechanisms responsible for disproportional sedation resulting from triazolam administration to patients with cirrhosis were investigated. Ordinary sedative doses (0.25 mg) were given p.o. to 8 cirrhotics and 18 controls. Plasma concentrations of unbound drug were assessed by capillary gas chromatography and equilibrium dialysis. Median apparent oral clearances of unbound triazolam were 14.8 ml per min per kg in cirrhotics and 23.9 ml per min per kg in controls (p less than 0.01). Clearances were significantly correlated with severity of liver disease as assessed by the aminopyrine breath test (Rs = 0.77, n = 17, p less than 0.001). At a time when plasma concentrations of unbound triazolam were the same in both groups, i.e., 2.25 hr after dosing, flicker sensitivity at 5 Hz which was used as an index of CNS performance was impaired by a factor of 3.2 in cirrhotics and 1.4 in controls (p less than 0.01 for group difference). Performance was also significantly lower in cirrhotics with the digit symbol substitution test (p less than 0.05). It is concluded that, in patients with cirrhosis, disproportional sedation after benzodiazepine administration may be due not only to impaired drug elimination, but also to hypersensitivity of the brain.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Severity of respiratory syncytial virus infection influenced by clinical risk factors and subtype A and B in hospitalized children].

BACKGROUND: Since it is possible to identify the subgroups of RSV, A-subtype and B-subtype, there are findings indicating that the subtype may influence severity of RSV infection. Our study was designed to assess the hypothesis that A-subtype infections were more severe than B-subtype infections among hospitalized children. PATIENTS: All medical records of patients hospitalized with RSV infection between March 1990 and March 1993 were reviewed. A total of 107 children with proven RSV infection were identified. METHODS: Nasal waste specimens for culture were obtained from infants with suspected RSV infection. Subtype determination was done on frozen virus cultures. The following risk factors were defined: age < or = 3 months, weight < 5 kg, prematurity and underlying cardiac or respiratory disease and immune deficiency. To analyse the relationship between risk factors, subtype and severity a multivariate analysis was performed. Severity was measured by clinical observations as following: pH, PCO2, SaO2, oxygen supplementation, history of apnea and length of hospital stay. MAIN RESULTS: Of the enrolled patients 11 had underlying disease and 17 were premature. The age range was 1 week to 4.2 years, median 3.5 months. 46 children were younger than 3 months, 33 had a weight of less than 5 kg. The isolates of 84 children were typeable: 63 isolates were subtype A and 21 subtype B. Underlying disease and prematurity were associated with SaO2 < 87% (p = 0.003) and oxygen supplementation (p = 0.017). A weight of less than 5 kg was correlated with a PCO2 > or = 50 mmHg. The RSV subtype was not significantly correlated with severity. CONCLUSIONS: RSV infection even in very young children is predominantly influenced by underlying disease, prematurity and weight. The RSV subtype was no independent risk factor for an increased morbidity in this retrospective study. Therefore, in our opinion, RSV subtype is less meaningful to predict the severity of RSV infection than known risk factors.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Engel's "Psychogenic Pain and the Pain-Prone Patient:" a retrospective, controlled clinical study.

Engel's hypothesis of pain-prone patients having a distinct pattern of developmental psychosocial experiences was tested in a controlled design including four groups of 20 patients each: A) psychogenic pain, B) organic pain, C) psychogenic bodily symptoms, and D) organic disease. On admission an open-ended interview, including childhood experiences, was tape-recorded. Measures were taken to minimize observer bias. Patients in group A had, compared to the other groups, significantly increased prevalence of: "Parents, verbally and/or physically abusive of each other," "parents, abusive of the child," "child, deflecting aggression from one parent to the other onto himself," "parents, who suffered from illnesses/pain," "parent of the same gender as the patient suffering from pain," "pain of patient and parent in the same location," "number of operations in adulthood," "disturbance of interpersonal relationships," and "disturbance of work life." Factor analysis produced two factors explaining 73% of the variance in group A: F1 ("Brutality-Overcompensation") was related to "duration of pain," and F2 ("Submission-Inhibition") was related to "number of operations, accidents" in adulthood.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical speculation: is specificity back? This time thromboangiitis obliterans.

Do men with thrombangiitis obliterans (TO) show conspicuous personality features and behavior? Twenty-one men with TO were compared with 20 men with coronary artery disease (CAD). All diagnoses were angiographically confirmed. Mean ages were 40.1 (TO) and 43.4 years (CAD). Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted. Interview-behavior: TOs were more hostile, minimizing, evasive, and complicated than CADs (p < .001). The interviewer reacted with more anger, impatience, boredom, astonishment, and less empathy towards TOs (p < .001). Adult behavior: TOs had changed their place of work more often (p < .001), had more absentism from work (p < .001), and had more debts (p = .01) unrelated to the present illness. They smoked more before the illness (p = .01) and continued to smoke more frequently during their illness than CADs (p < .003). They were more often single or divorced (p < .05) and had more conflicts in their relationships (p < .001) than CADs. During conflicts, TOs more often shouted or withdrew and less frequently tried to resolve conflicts with humor and discussions (p < .001) than CADs. TOs were more frequently dissatisfied with their life situation than CADs (p < .001). TOs more often passively submitted to their illness than CADs, who tried to cope by giving up smoking and by exercising (p < .001). Childhood: TOs more often mentioned a bad relationship with their father than CADS (p = .01) and had more disciplinary problems at home and in school (p = .002). TOs show remarkable personality features.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗