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Biomedical subjects

J Brainard

Publications and source records attributed to J Brainard.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Bivariate distributions for height and weight of men and women in the United States.

For the U.S. population, we fit bivariate distributions to estimated numbers of men and women aged 18-74 years in cells representing 1 in. intervals in height and 10 lb intervals in weight. For each sex separately, the marginal histogram of height is well fit by a normal distribution. For men and women, respectively, the marginal histogram of weight is well fit and satisfactorily fit by a lognormal distribution. For men, the bivariate histogram is satisfactorily fit by a normal distribution between the height and the natural logarithm of weight. For women, the bivariate histogram is satisfactorily fit by two superposed normal distributions between the height and the natural logarithm of weight. The resulting distributions are suitable for use in public health risk assessments.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Changing health beliefs and behaviors of resettled Laotian refugees: ethnic variation in adaptation.

This paper describes traditional and changing health-related beliefs and behaviors of ethnic Lao refugees now resettled in the United States and how these compare with those of other ethnic groups of resettled refugees from Southeast Asia. New data are presented for Southeast Asian refugees resettled in Franklin County, Ohio, including resettlement agency utilization statistics for refugees of each local ethnic group, which reveal that Laotian refugees have the most persistent use of resettlement agency services. The results of in-depth, open ended interviews with members of the Franklin County Lao community are also presented. The interview data pertain to Lao self-perceived health problems and health care options as well as their health beliefs and practices, both traditionally in Laos and as these have changed with refugee flight and resettlement. These data are compared with the results of the limited relevant health-related research on other ethnic groups of Southeast Asian refugees, revealing that Laotian refugees rely to a relatively great extent on the Western biomedical system. It is suggested that the nature of Lao refugee adaptation is due to the continuation of traditional patron-client relationships in the U.S., with Lao patrons referring their refugee clients to the services of agencies and the biomedical establishment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Differential mortality in Turkana agriculturalists and pastoralists.

Nomadic pastoral populations appear to have much lower rates of growth than the otherwise very high growth rates now characteristic of populations in developing nations. Because dramatic declines in infant mortality have been a primary contributor to increased population growth rates in these countries, it has been assumed that nomadic pastoral populations are still characterized by high levels of mortality in the first few years of life. Few studies, however, have been undertaken to estimate demographic parameters for nomadic pastoral populations, and even fewer of a comparative nature have been undertaken to document the impact of subsistence strategy on demographic processes. This study compares indirect childhood mortality estimates for Turkana nomadic pastoralists with childhood mortality in a settled agricultural group within the same population and finds that pastoralists have substantially higher levels of mortality. Based on the childhood mortality estimates, model life tables are selected for pastoral and agricultural groups from which values for mean life expectancy and infant mortality are estimated and compared. Recent improvements in primary health care for the settled agricultural group are ruled out as being an important cause of their lower mortality levels, and some aspects of life-style associated with subsistence strategy are discussed as likely determinants of the mortality differences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Evaluation of superoxide dismutase (orgotein) in medical treatment of canine cataract.

Orgotein (Palosein) is a veterinary product with marked superoxide dismutase activity that has been used intracamerally to treat senile cataracts in the dog. Fourteen old dogs with bilateral senile cataracts were injected twice in one eye with orgotein and twice in the other eye with isotonic saline under masked conditions. Observations were made over an average of a 12-week period. No clearing of lenses could be detected and there was no observed subjective improvement in the dogs' visual behavior.

Animals↗