Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J O Olson.
A new antimycotic steroidal saponin named SC-1 has been isolated from the leaves of Solanum chrysotrichum by bioassay-guided fractionation. The structure of SC-1 was characterized as 3-O-[beta-quinovopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta-glucopyranosyl(1-->6)-beta- glucopyranosyl]chlorogenin on the basis of spectral analyses and chemical evidence.
In Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, functional impairment of smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal tract can cause acute gastric dilatation and intestinal pseudo-obstruction that may be fatal. We describe a patient with this syndrome who at autopsy had smooth-muscle degeneration of the stomach. To provide objective evidence of functional smooth-muscle impairment in Duchenne's dystrophy, we performed gastric-emptying studies in 11 patients and 11 normal controls, using technetium-99m radionuclide scintigraphy in a test meal of oatmeal. The patients with Duchenne's dystrophy had delayed gastric-emptying times (118.18 +/- 32.21 minutes [mean +/- SEM]) as compared with controls (42.5 +/- 3.4 minutes, P less than 0.01). The cause of the pathological and functional abnormalities we describe in smooth muscle is unknown but may be a deficiency of dystrophin, the recently identified gene product of the Duchenne's muscular dystrophy locus.
The author visited McMaster Medical School as a fourth-year medical student in 1984 and took part in a 12-week unit 3 course. The present investigation on implementation of the educational principles of the MD programme was performed as an elective. A sample of 30 students out of 100 unit 3 all completed a questionnaire. Only 5 of 18 student groups used the 'cold', i.e. unprepared, approach to problem-solving during tutorials and 15 of 30 practised self-learning related to the last problem. The others spent most time on general reading. From unit 1 to unit 3 a declining number of groups used peer evaluation (less than 50%) and evaluation of groups (greater than 50%). The students felt that the performance of tutors should be improved. Most students attended lectures. It is suggested that tutor and group function may benefit from releasing the tutor from grading students. Despite its implementation problems, the author found the McMaster approach to education more beneficial than that of his own traditional school.