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Biomedical subjects

G W Stuart

Publications and source records attributed to G W Stuart.

86 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

The effect of blurring on intersecting-line illusions.

It was observed by chance that illusions in patterns consisting of criss-crossing lines, such as the Orbison and Hering illusions, are markedly reduced when the patterns are blurred. In the first of two experiments the reduction with blurring was confirmed for four patterns but failed to occur in patterns lacking criss-crossing lines. In the second experiment the reduction was shown to be due mainly to the reduced luminance contrast in blurred patterns, thus confirming earlier findings on the effect of contrast of this group of illusions. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The development, use, and reliability of the brief psychiatric rating scale (nursing modification)--an assessment procedure for the nursing team in clinical and research settings.

The role of nursing staff in the systematic rating of psychopathology has been explored in a small number of studies in recent years. Nurses are uniquely placed to carry out relatively continuous observations of high validity which are sensitive to change, yet on the basis of the limited data available, some doubts remain concerning the reliability of such ratings, particularly when they extend to nonobservational phenomena. Nevertheless, since in practice nurse ratings form an important part of the psychopathological assessment arm in many research settings, continuing uncertainty about their reliability is clearly undesirable. Following a brief review of nurse rating, this report describes the role of the nursing team in a developing research environment and reports interrater reliability data for randomly selected pairings of nurses drawn from a mainstream clinical team who had been trained in the use of a specially modified version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (Nursing Modification) (BPRS[NM]). The findings indicate that nursing staff can reliably rate this range of psychopathology under ordinary clinical conditions, provided they have been properly trained and that appropriate modifications have been made to the procedure. Although validity was not formally assessed in this study, the extension of the time period covered by the BPRS, combined with the special place of nurses in the ward milieu can also be expected to enhance the validity and sensitivity of the ratings. Other effects of the involvement of therapeutically-oriented nursing staff in research procedures are also discussed.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Construct validation in adolescents of the brief current form of the Parental Bonding Instrument.

We have reported elsewhere the development of a brief version of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), which we have called the Parental Bonding Instrument-Brief Current form (PBI-BC), for use in survey research in adolescent samples. It was shown in that report that PBI-BC retained the factor structure of the original instrument. The structure remained stable in adolescents' ratings of their mothers and their fathers. Given the evidence of a relationship between the dimensions from the original scale and psychopathology, it was expected that the PBI-BC would be similarly related to measures of psychopathology, namely, that there would be a set of positive correlations between the perceived parental bonding styles of high control and low autonomy-giving and measures of pathology, with a negative relationship between pathology and perceived parental styles of high care and low rejection. In addition, the present study explored the relationships between perceived parental styles and bipolar positive and negative self-concept measures, with the expectations that high control and low autonomy would be associated with more negative self-concept and that high care and low rejection would be associated with more positive self-concept. The results generally confirmed these expectations, suggesting that the brief instrument has adequate construct validity and would be particularly useful as a brief index in studies of adolescents.

Acculturation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Positive and negative symptoms in the psychoses: principal components analysis of items from the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.

The present study investigated the factor structure of the items contained in Andreasen's scales for the assessment of positive and negative symptoms (SAPS and SANS) by use of a series of principal components analyses (PCAs) with oblique rotations of the axes. It was found that the structure could be summarized by three major components labeled negative symptoms, thought disorder, and delusions/hallucinations. Dimensionality could meaningfully be increased to five components. Negative symptoms was found to separate into two components that we labeled negative signs and social dysfunctions. The delusions/hallucinations factor could be separated into two components, delusions and hallucinations, with "loss of boundary" delusions being related to both factors. Delusions of persecution were independent of other symptoms. The thought disorder factor did not decompose meaningfully within the investigated dimensionality. A two-factor solution did not explain the correlation between symptoms adequately. The results do not support the simple dichotomy between positive and negative symptoms in psychosis, but suggest that a wider dimensional concept may be more useful in future studies.

Delusions↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Identification of multiple metal regulatory elements in mouse metallothionein-I promoter by assaying synthetic sequences.

Metallothionein genes are transcriptionally regulated by a number of inducers including heavy metals. Previous mutational analyses of the mouse metallothionein-I gene (mMTI) promoter have delineated a heavy-metal regulatory region between -60 and -42 relative to the transcription start site. A synthetic copy of a 12-base-pair (bp) conserved sequence located within this region was subsequently shown to confer heavy-metal regulation on a heterologous gene. However, specific disruption of this metal regulatory element (MRE) within a wild-type mMTI promoter reduced but did not eliminate the heavy-metal response. The additional metal regulatory activity was localized to an upstream region containing four sequences homologous to the identified MRE. Similar sequences were also found in multiple copies in metallothionein genes from other species. Here we test synthetic copies of all five mMTI MRE homologues for metal regulatory activity. At least four of these sequences are able to confer heavy-metal regulation on a heterologous promoter.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bulimia. A review of nutritional and health behaviors.

Nurses working with adolescents need an understanding of the clinical syndrome of bulimia in order to identify individuals at risk for this disorder and implement preventive and therapeutic interventions. The epidemiology, early precipitants, physiology, and biochemistry of bulimia nervosa are reviewed. From this integrated framework, implications for treatment are explored with an emphasis on holistic nursing care including health education.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inpatient management of violent behavior: nursing prevention and intervention.

Psychiatric nurses in inpatient settings play a critical role in the management of potentially violent patients. One of their primary objectives is to ensure the safety of patients and staff 24 hours a day. This requires skillful observation of patients' motor behavior, verbal clues, and change in mental status, which may indicate an increase in agitation or possible aggressive behavior. It requires experience in prevention strategies and skill in acute crisis intervention techniques. To effectively intervene with potentially violent patients, psychiatric nurses must be able to work well under stress and be able to organize and execute a plan of immediate action. After the acute stage of the patient's illness, nurses should focus their work on assisting patients to manage their own behavior and supporting their newly acquired skills.

Hospitals, Psychiatric↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological adaptation of nurses post-disaster.

Disasters have the potential to cause major disruptions in lifeline services and family support systems. As caregivers, nurses are required to make difficult choices during national emergencies and may be at risk for experiencing psychological distress following a disaster. This study describes the responses of a group of nurses following Hurricane Hugo, and makes recommendations to minimize the stress placed on nurses working in a time of disaster.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring nursing outcomes in a psychiatric setting.

Recent developments in health care reform suggest the importance of outcome data regarding the nature, costs, and documented effectiveness of various health care services. While psychiatric nurses believe in the value of the care they provide, the present climate requires that research be conducted to elaborate the outcomes of psychiatric nursing care. This article describes a pilot study conducted on two adult inpatient units of a teaching hospital. On the experimental unit, nurses used North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) nursing process documentation that related to specific patient outcome criteria. On the control unit, nurses used a medical systems approach to documentation. Study results and important unanticipated findings are reported with implications for future nursing research and practice.

Adult↗