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Biomedical subjects

J Masterson

Publications and source records attributed to J Masterson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Normal bone density in Irish women: is American normative data suitable for use in Ireland?

The objective of the study was to determine whether or not U.S. normal data for female Vertebral Bone Mineral Density is suitable for use in an Irish population. One hundred and fifty-six healthy Caucasian women of permanent Irish domicile had bone densitometry performed using single energy quantitative computed tomography of L2, L3 and L4 vertebrae. We found that comparison of our results to normal American data shows a slight and progressive increase in bone mineral content of postmenopausal American women with age relative to the Irish population. This difference is small and not sufficient to justify development of separate normal values for Irish women. We conclude that this discrepancy may be due to a combination of environmental and racial factors or to the more rigorous exclusion criteria applied in our study.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Nonword naming: further exploration of the pseudohomophone effect in terms of orthographic neighborhood size, graphemic changes, spelling-sound consistency, and reader accuracy.

Five experiments examined nonword pronunciation. As reported by McCann and Besner (1987), accurate, regular pronunciations increased as the number of orthographic neighbors (N) increased. Adults read pseudohomophones (nonwords that sound like a word) more accurately than other nonwords only when the nonwords were low n, shared the consonants with the words on which they were based, and overall accuracy was lower. Children showed a pseudohomophone advantage even when N was high. Adults pronounced nonwords comprised of inconsistent endings (with existing regular and irregular pronunciations) in an irregular fashion when this resulted in a word; this applied to relatively high-N items.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Beginning reading with phonology.

Seymour & Elder (1986) investigated the reading of children in the first year of school and suggested that the first stage of learning to read shows little involvement of assembled phonology. The present study examines processes involved in the reading-aloud and printed-word comprehension of children in the second year of school. Use of assembled phonology was evident in the children's reading-aloud responses, and proficiency in its use was related to reading ability. Printed-word comprehension appeared to involve prior retrieval of a phonological code for less frequent words. Similarities between the processing systems for reading used by these children and by skilled readers were discussed, and related to the computational model of reading development proposed by Seidenberg & McClelland (1989).

Child↗
PubMed1991

A chest radiograph scoring system in adult cystic fibrosis: correlation with pulmonary function.

The Birmingham scoring system for chest radiographs was assessed in 40 adult cystic fibrosis patients, with particular reference to correlation with pulmonary function values. Forty 'initial' and forty 'follow-up' chest radiographs were scored. The mean initial age of the group was 17.5 +/- 5.0 years, and the mean age at follow-up was 23.3 +/- 5.3 years. The cross-sectional radiographic score correlated significantly with the values of three commonly measured, pulmonary function parameters (r = 0.65, 0.67, 0.58, P less than 0.0001). There was a significant correlation (r = 0.64, P less than 0.0001), between the change in radiographic score, and the change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC%). There was a less significant correlation (r = 0.45, P less than 0.006) between the change in radiographic score and the change in per cent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%). We conclude that the Birmingham radiographic scoring system is suitable for quantitative radiological evaluation in adult cystic fibrosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The effects of ioxaglate 320, iohexol 350, and iopamidol 370 on erythrocyte aggregation.

The authors report a randomized, double-blind prospective trial comparing the effects of nonionic with ionic low-osmolar contrast media on erythrocyte aggregation. The study group comprised 40 consecutive patients with pathology necessitating selective angiography. Patients were examined using either ioxaglate 320, iohexol 350, or iopamidol 370. Erythrocyte aggregation was assessed both macroscopically and microscopically. Erythrocyte aggregation occurred more frequently in the iopamidol group (13 of 45 samples examined) than in the iohexol (4 of 46) or ioxaglate (5 of 51) groups (P = .002).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The role of assembled phonology in reading comprehension.

The contribution of assembled phonology to phonological effects in reading comprehension was assessed. In Experiment 1, subjects judged the acceptability of sentences with regular, exception, and nonword homophone substitutions and orthographic controls. Significantly more errors occurred to sentences with regular-word homophones than to exception words, and error rates for nonword homophones were low and not significant. Experiment 2 showed that this was not due to differences in the sentence frames. In Experiment 3, the subjects judged as unacceptable those sentences containing an exception word that sounded correct when read according to spelling-to-sound rules. Significantly higher error rates occurred only for low-frequency exception words. Experiment 4 showed that task conditions affect semantic-categorization error rates for nonword homophones. These results indicate that both assembled and addressed phonology contribute to sentence and word comprehension, but the low error rate for nonwords suggests that an early lexical check may be applied.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Isolated colonic hemangioma in a child.

Hemangiomas of the large bowel are very rare and usually occur in the rectosigmoid. A large cavernous hemangioma of the colon was demonstrated in a 9-month-old child who presented with recurrent lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Barium examination demonstrated an annular lesion of the hepatic flexure. Computed tomography demonstrated the extent of the lesion, and contrast enhancement suggested the vascular nature of the tumour before a laparotomy was performed to remove the tumour.

Colonic Neoplasms↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of two different T-grain films in rare-earth screens with a standard film-screen combination for intravenous pyelography and bone examinations.

T-grain film is claimed to give significantly improved image quality, allowing the use of faster screens without loss of quality and thus reducing radiation dose. We tested this claim for two systems. In each case comparison was made with our usual screen-film combination, Agfa Curix RP1 film with Kodak Xomatic Regular screens (a nominally 200 speed system). The systems tested were Kodak TMatG in Kodak Lanex Medium screens (300 speed) and Agfa STG in Kodak Lanex Regular screens (400 speed). The Agfa STG-Lanex Regular system performed less well than the standard system for intravenous pyelograms (IVPs), bones and soft-tissue detail. Its speed advantage was not apparent below 70 kV. The Kodak TMatG-Lanex Medium system was better than the standard system for IVPs but not as good for bones. It gave virtually no speed advantage below 90 kV. Kodak T-grain film in a medium-speed, rare-earth screen was found to be better than the standard system for IVPs. Agfa T-grain film in a fast rare-earth screen was unsatisfactory for IVPs. Neither combination was as good as the standard system for bones.

Bone and Bones↗
PubMed1989

Cardiovascular fitness in children with asthma correlates with psychologic functioning of the child.

Abnormalities in fitness in asthmatic children are assumed to derive from illness severity. We studied 90 children with moderately severe to severe but stable asthma for (1) fitness levels using bicycle ergometry, (2) measures of asthma severity, (3) clinician's impression of child (Child Global Assessment Scale), and (4) mother's rating of child's behavior (Child Behavior Checklist). Fitness values ranged from 15% to 120% of normal values for age, sex, and body surface area: 48% were abnormal (less than 2 SD below mean) and 5% were borderline (1 to 2 SD below mean). Associations between levels of fitness and medical and psychologic criteria were tested using regression analyses. Of the 11 medical variables used to define the severity of asthma, recent exacerbation of disease, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and specific airway conductance together accounted for 8.1% of the variability in the workload ratios (ie, R2 = 0.081). The importance of the psychologic factors in determining the variability in the workload ratios was tested after the importance of the medical variables had been considered: Child Global Assessment Scale accounted for a significant amount of variability, improving the R2 to 0.180 (an increase to 0.100, P = .003). These data suggest that, within the spectrum of disease presented by the patients in this study, adjustment to the disease is at least as important as severity of disease in determining fitness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Detection of splenosis: 99Tcm tin colloid scanning and computed transmission tomography compared.

Ten patients who had been splenectomized for trauma between 1 and 11 years previously were studied by computed tomography (CT) and radionuclide scanning with 99Tcm tin colloid on the same day. Computed tomography detected splenic tissue in three patients. Radionuclide scanning detected splenic tissue in eight patients, including two cases of typical splenosis not identified by CT. Radionuclide scanning was found to be more sensitive in the detection of residual splenic tissue than CT.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Energy expenditure, energy balance, and composition of weight gain in low birth weight infants fed diets of different protein and energy content.

The effect of energy and protein intakes on energy expenditure, energy balance, and amount and relative rate of both protein and fat deposition in new tissue was investigated in 19 low birth weight infants whose mean protein and energy intakes, respectively, were 2.24 g/kg/d and 113 kcal/kg/d (formula A, n = 8), 3.6 g/kg/d and 115 kcal/kg/d (formula B, n = 5), and 3.5 g/kg/d and 149 kcal/kg/d (formula C, n = 6). The higher energy intake (formula C) but not the higher protein intake (formula B) resulted in greater energy expenditure. Both the higher protein (formula B vs formula A) and higher energy intakes (formula C vs formula B) resulted in greater weight gain secondary, in group B, to a greater absolute rate of protein deposition and, in group C, to a greater absolute rate of fat deposition. The relative composition of the new tissue deposited reflected the proportional intakes of protein and energy. The numerical value of the protein/fat ratio (g/g) of the new tissue deposited by infants fed formulas A and C, the protein contents of which were low relative to energy contents, were similar and significantly lower than the numerical value of the protein/fat ratio of the new tissue deposited by infants fed formula B, which had a higher protein content relative to energy content. These findings suggest that the composition of weight gain is related to both the absolute amounts and the proportions of dietary protein and energy; thus, both must be considered in formulation of nutritional regimens for LBW infants.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1987

Factitious illness in children: the social worker's role in identification and management.

Factitious illness in children is a phenomenon that results in adverse consequences for the child. Munchausen by proxy is a factitious disorder, first described by Meadow (1977), in which a parent induces or creates the appearance of illness in the child. This article highlights the importance of social work skills in the identification and management of this syndrome, and proposes a format for decision making at various points in the process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Prone and supine positioning effects on energy expenditure and behavior of low birth weight neonates.

The effect of body position (supine v prone) on energy expenditure and behavior of 42 healthy low birth weight (920 to 1,760 g) infants was evaluated in 66 studies. Each infant was randomly assigned to the supine or prone position for the first three-hour epoch; the position was reversed for the second three-hour epoch. The difference in energy expenditure and the percentage of time in active sleep, quiet sleep, and wakefulness between the two positions was computed. The median difference (supine minus prone) in overall energy expenditure between positions was +3.1 kcal/kg/d (interquartile range 0.6 to 6.5; P less than .001). When only periods of active sleep were analyzed, the median difference in energy expenditure remained significant, the supine position being higher than prone by +2.6 kcal/kg/d (interquartile range 0.1 to 4.8; P less than .001). In the supine position, the time awake was 5.7% higher (interquartile range 1.8 to 17.4; P less than .001) than in the prone position. The percentage of time in active sleep was not significantly different between the positions, hence quiet sleep decreased in the supine position. In summary, when low birth weight infants are changed from the supine to the prone position, energy expenditure decreases, time spent in quiet sleep increases, and time spent awake decreases. These data suggest that prone is the position of choice for the low birth weight infant.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1986

An analysis of the variability in estimates of bioenergetic variables in preterm infants.

Estimates of average daily energy expenditure and minimal observed oxygen consumption are commonly used to characterize the energy metabolism of neonates. Yet, the errors inherent in these estimates have not been defined. Using measurements of oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production made in healthy growing low birth weight infants during eight consecutive 3-h interfeeding epochs, we have determined the variability in the mean oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, respiratory quotient, total daily energy expenditure, and the minimal observed oxygen consumption among the feeding epochs. The coefficient of variation for oxygen consumption ranged from 3.1 to 9.1%, for minimal observed oxygen consumption from 3.7 to 16.7%, for carbon dioxide production from 3.3 to 7.4%, and for total daily energy expenditure from 2.9 to 7.6%. The SDs for respiratory quotient ranged from 0.008 to 0.066. From these 24-h data we have calculated the error in predicting daily estimates of the mean values for these variables if observations are made for less than 24 h. As expected, this error decreases with increasing duration of observation. These data should prove useful in the design and interpretation of investigations of neonatal energy expenditure.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1985

Family assessment of the child with intractable asthma.

The psychosocial assessment of the child with bronchial asthma is a complex and often confusing process. An indispensable component in this process is the assessment of the child's family; however, without a comprehensive conceptual schema and practical guidelines for conducting the assessment, conclusions are often tentative and lacking in clinical utility. An assessment format is offered to help in addressing these needs. The proposed interview structure includes a progression of stages as well as specific content areas that it is necessary to explore in order for the clinician to thoroughly understand the dynamic relationship between the asthmatic child and his family context.

Adolescent↗