PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J G Anderson

Publications and source records attributed to J G Anderson.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Cytotoxic fungal spores in the indoor atmosphere of the damp domestic environment.

Eight-three fungal isolates collected and cultured from the air spora of damp public sector Scottish housing have been screened for cytotoxic properties. A bioassay procedure has been utilised for this purpose involving cytotoxic effects on human embryonic diploid fibroblast lung cells grown as monolayer cultures within the wells of microtitre plates. The MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] biochemical assay system employed has revealed that 39 (47%) of the moulds investigated possessed spore-associated cytotoxic properties; a value which emphasises the potential health hazards of the continual inhalation of toxigenic fungal propagules by occupants of mouldy houses. Penicillia, the most prevalent fungi found in the internal atmosphere of the domestic environment, accounted for the great majority of cytotoxic strains identified.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed1992

Arterial blood gas tensions in healthy aged dogs.

Twenty-four healthy dogs > 8 years old were recruited. In each instance, arterial blood gas tensions were analyzed. The alveolar-to-arterial oxygen gradient (P[A-a]O2) was calculated to assess adequacy of pulmonary gas exchange. Thoracic radiographs were evaluated to ensure lack of visible signs of pulmonary disease and that lung features were similar to those in aged dogs of previous reports. Unlike findings in aged human beings, arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) was not decreased in this group of aged dogs (mean +/- SD, 102.9 +/- 7.8 mm of Hg). Similarly, P(A-a)O2 also was not increased. The thoracic radiographic findings were consistent with those of previous reports of pulmonary changes in aged dogs. The extent of radiographic abnormalities and the PaO2 were not correlated.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

Communication skills training with alcoholics for improving performance of two of the alcoholics anonymous recovery steps.

Thousands of men and women have begun their recovery from alcoholism through the support of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA recognizes its social support role in defining itself as a "fellowship," but it also sees itself as offering a program of recovery. This program is comprised of the well-known "12-Step" method, which has been adapted by a variety of self-help groups. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether performance of two of these steps, Steps 4 and 5, could be facilitated by teaching communication skills specifically designed to improve their performance. Hospitalized alcoholics were assigned to communication-skills training, discussion and assessment-only groups, and their pre- and posttreatment performance on videotaped role-plays of Steps 4 and 5 was assessed. Subjects in the communication-skills training group were found to improve significantly on internal versus external focus, personal responsibility taking, congruent affect and composite skill variables compared to the discussion and assessment-only groups. These results suggest that, among treatment programs that utilize AA's recovery program, the behavioral skills inherent in completing Steps 4 and 5 need to be taught. Merely discussing or alluding to the steps, as is often-times done in group therapy of "step-study" sessions, is unlikely to have any effect on alcoholics' abilities to "work the steps."

Adult↗
PubMed1976

A social systems model of hospital utilization.

A social systems model for the health services system serving the state of New Mexico is presented. Utilization of short-term general hospitals is viewed as a function of sociodemographic characteristics of the population and of the supply of health manpower and facilities available to that population. The model includes a network specifying the causal relationships hypothesized as existing among a set of social, demographic, and economic variables known to be related to the supply of health manpower and facilities and to their utilization. Inclusion of feedback into the model as well as lagged values of physician supply variables permits examination of the dynamic behavior of the social system over time. A method for deriving the reduced form of the structural model is presented along with the reduced-form equations. These equations provide valuable information for policy decisions regarding the likely consequences of changes in the structure of the population and in the supply of health manpower and facilities. The structural and reduced-form equations have been used to predict the consequences for one New Mexico county of state and federal policies that would affect the organization and delivery of health services.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

An adaptive social systems model of a prepaid group practice plan.

In the present study, an adaptive social systems model is developed and utilized to examine the dynamic properties of a health services delivery system. The model employs a Markov chain as a structure for analyzing the utilization of physician services both inside and outside of a prepaid plan. Four system states are defined, namely, no use, inside use, outside use, and both inside and outside use of physician services. Subscribers are considered to be in one of these states on each episode of illness. Transition probabilities are estimated from data collected from a sample of subscribers to a university health plan using a regression approach that permits a heterogeneous population to be examined within a Markovian framework. This framework is used to examine factors that account for differences in utilization patterns among individual subscribers and to examine overtime changes in the transition probabilities resulting from population shifts on specific demographic and health-related attributes. Based on the assumption that individual subscribers rather than the population as a whole follow a Markov process, the k-step transition matrix is constructed for the heterogeneous subscriber population and is used to examine the long-run effects of particular utilization patterns on the functioning of the prepaid plan.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Pattern of physiologic effects of adrenalectomy in the dog.

Adrenalectomized dogs were observed in order to identify the patterns of physiologic changes occurring during development of adrenocortical insufficiency. Daily measurements included plasma concentrations of sodium and potassium, arterial blood pH, packed cell volume, heart rate, and selected components of the electrocardiogram (ECG). The pattern in which these measurements changed indicated that alterations in plasma concentrations of sodium and potassium, T-wave configuration, and QRS interval were more consistent, whereas alterations in P-wave configuration were not evident until approach of terminal stages.

Adrenal Glands↗