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J Christy

Publications and source records attributed to J Christy.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Molecular phylogeny analysis of fiddler crabs: test of the hypothesis of increasing behavioral complexity in evolution.

The current phylogenetic hypothesis for the evolution and biogeography of fiddler crabs relies on the assumption that complex behavioral traits are assumed to also be evolutionary derived. Indo-west Pacific fiddler crabs have simpler reproductive social behavior and are more marine and were thought to be ancestral to the more behaviorally complex and more terrestrial American species. It was also hypothesized that the evolution of more complex social and reproductive behavior was associated with the colonization of the higher intertidal zones. Our phylogenetic analysis, based upon a set of independent molecular characters, however, demonstrates how widely entrenched ideas about evolution and biogeography led to a reasonable, but apparently incorrect, conclusion about the evolutionary trends within this pantropical group of crustaceans. Species bearing the set of "derived traits" are phylogenetically ancestral, suggesting an alternative evolutionary scenario: the evolution of reproductive behavioral complexity in fiddler crabs may have arisen multiple times during their evolution. The evolution of behavioral complexity may have arisen by coopting of a series of other adaptations for high intertidal living and antipredator escape. A calibration of rates of molecular evolution from populations on either side of the Isthmus of Panama suggest a sequence divergence rate for 16S rRNA of 0.9% per million years. The divergence between the ancestral clade and derived forms is estimated to be approximately 22 million years ago, whereas the divergence between the American and Indo-west Pacific is estimated to be approximately 17 million years ago.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Facilitating parenting skills in vulnerable families.

Parents regularly seek advice from their health visitor about how to cope with their child's difficult behaviour. Often the health visitor feels she has nothing constructive to offer, writes Norma Angeli et al. Here they describe how one team of health visitors introduced the STEP positive parenting programme, devised in the US, successfully to help parents from all cultures, classes and backgrounds achieve a better relationship with their child.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Value of technetium 99m sestamibi iodine 123 imaging in reoperative parathyroid surgery.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of technetium 99m sestamibi iodine 123 (T/S) imaging to preoperative and intraoperative management of patients with persistent hyperparathyroidism. METHODS: During a period of 10 months, all patients being prepared for reoperative parathyroid surgery (n = 10), two patients deemed significant operative risks (one patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and one patient with severe cervical spine ankylosing spondylitis), and two patients who had undergone prior thyroid operation were studied with T/S imaging. Six patients undergoing reoperative surgery had undergone one, three had undergone two, and one had undergone three prior procedures. RESULTS: T/S imaging correctly localized 14 of 16 parathyroid tumors. By comparison, only 1 of 6 thallium technetium and 3 of 12 computed tomography (CT) scans (in seven patients) were positive. T/S imaging guided the reoperative surgical approach accurately in 12 of 14 patients, including one case of an undescended left lower gland at the level of the mandible and identification of a third gland on the left in another case. Sternal split was required to remove three lesions localized by T/S imaging, two beneath the aortic arch and one nestled in the aortopulmonary window in a patient who had undergone two prior procedures including a sternal split. In these three cases T/S imaging was particularly useful, because CT scans, thallium technetium scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and arteriography were not diagnostic. The outcome after operation was favorable in all 14 cases, with correction of hypercalcemia and no permanent laryngeal nerve injuries or hypocalcemia. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that T/S imaging is more accurate than thallium technetium and CT scans in evaluation of patients with persistent hyperparathyroidism.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A comparative curricular review project.

This article describes a curriculum review project at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. The authors used the Core Curriculum in Osteopathic Education as a standard of comparison of the comprehensiveness of the college's instruction in osteopathic philosophy, principles, and practices and to clarify any differences between the Core Curriculum document and the college curriculum. The process involved a course-by-course search by student physicians and was reviewed by course faculty. Results revealed that the college's coverage was very similar to that proffered by the Core Curriculum. However, there were areas of instructional redundancy, questions of sequencing, and a few topics not addressed within the college curriculum. Thereafter, the faculty consolidated several courses, which produced a net savings of weekly contact hours and allowed further curricular change. Particular attention was given to the manner in which the other courses were scheduled, and, in turn, the consistency and stability of the entire first year was improved significantly.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1988

Incorporation and analysis of ultrasonically nebulized distilled water challenges in an epidemiologic study of asthma and bronchial reactivity.

The usefulness of an ultrasonically nebulized distilled water (UNDW) challenge as a screening procedure was tested in an on-going epidemiologic study of asthma and bronchial reactivity. Sixty-six individuals underwent a methacholine challenge, an UNDW challenge, and were administered a standardized respiratory disease questionnaire. To perform the UNDW challenge, subjects inhaled increasing volumes of nebulized distilled water while breathing tidally. Thirty-eight asthmatics, two former asthmatics, 14 normal, and 12 allergic subjects, were included. Sixty-six percent of the asthmatics dropped 20% from their baseline FEV1 during the UNDW challenge. Only one allergic or normal subject had a similar drop. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between methacholine and UNDW challenges was 0.60. If positive, an UNDW seems to be highly specific in supporting a diagnosis of asthma, while methacholine challenges are more useful in verifying the presence of non-specific bronchial reactivity.

Asthma↗
PubMed1986

Consumer information needs in a competitive health care environment.

The role of information in facilitating choice in a competitive health care marketplace is clearly pivotal, but it is also complex and occasionally problematic. Although it is clear that information is critical to the competitive approach, less clear is the relationship between the availability of appropriate information and the exercise of informed choice, a relationship that is obscured in the tangle of influences that affect the use and delivery of medical care. Nonetheless, the centralized and standardized collection, review, and dissemination of relevant health care data remain the keys to predicting--and avoiding--adverse outcomes in the development of health care policy.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗
PubMed1984

The prevalence of sexually stressful events among females in the general population.

Five hundred sixteen adult females were administered a questionnaire inquiring into the nature of sexually stressful events in their lives. There were 500 responses, and, of those, 298 (59.9%) had experienced an event of this type. A total of 416 different incidents were reported. They were categorized by the authors as either noninvasive (harassment, obscene calls, exposures, "peepers") or invasive (fondling, attempted rape, rape). The invasive incidents were most often initiated by a friend, acquaintance, or relative. The noninvasive events were almost always perpetrated by strangers. The subjects were asked to report the emotional impact of the events. All were reported to be stressful, with rape being the most stressful event. Regardless of whether formal therapy was sought, all victims reported lowered stress levels over time. There were 98 incidents reported when the subjects were 13 years of age or younger. There were 45 invasive events, including 9 rapes. All the rapes were committed by acquaintances or relatives. Only one victim of childhood rape received professional attention. Of the 41 women who were raped, nearly 75% were raped by acquaintances or relatives. This does not parallel existing emergency room data, suggesting that the group of patients who report to medical authorities may be a skewed sample of rape victims. Only four victims reported their rapes to either legal or medical authorities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Male rape victims: noninstitutionalized assault.

Fourteen male rape victims treated in a county hospital emergency room over a 30-month period are compared with 100 randomly selected female victims treated over the same period. The male victims as a group sustained more physical trauma, were more likely to have been a victim of multiple assaults from multiple assailants, and were more likely to have been held captive longer. They were more reluctant to reveal initially the genital component of their assault and were more likely to use denial and control their emotions in reaction to the assault. Proper diagnosis and treatment of male rape victims requires a high index of suspicion and sensititivty to the likelihood of major, hidden trauma.

Adolescent↗