Biomedical subjects

John D Davis

Publications and source records attributed to John D Davis.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Studying ingestive behavior with Gerry Smith.

During the approximately 15 years that Gerry and I collaborated on studying the ingestive behavior of the rat, we showed (1) using a microstructural analysis of the licking behavior of that animal, that the volume ingested during 30-min intake tests was controlled by an interaction between oropharyngeal and postingestional stimulation; (2) that the inhibiting effect of dopamine blockade on intake acts through sensory rather than motor systems; (3) that CCK-8 acts on licking behavior the same way that gastric filling does. We also discovered (4) that learning altered the effectiveness of oropharyngeal stimulation to control the intake of concentrated carbohydrate and sodium chloride solutions; and (5) that the stomach is remarkably insensitive to the volume of its contents.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Pelvic vein thrombosis as a cause of acute pelvic pain.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic vein thrombosis may occur in nonpuerperal patients with hypercoagulable conditions and have significant sequelae. The purpose of this report is to describe a nonpuerperal woman with factor V Leiden mutation who developed acute pelvic pain secondary to pelvic varix thrombosis. CASE: A multiparous woman, status post-bilateral tubal interruption, presented with acute onset of severe left-sided pelvic pain 5-6 weeks from the onset of her last menstrual period. A pelvic computed tomography scan showed left pelvic varix thrombosis. Hematologic studies were consistent with heterozygous factor V Leiden mutation. The patient was treated with heparin and warfarin, and had complete resolution of her pain. CONCLUSION: Pelvic vein thrombosis may cause acute pelvic pain in nonpuerperal women, especially those with primary hypercoagulopathies. This should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute pelvic pain in reproductive-age women.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Comparison of faculty, peer, self, and nurse assessment of obstetrics and gynecology residents.

This project was undertaken to determine if the addition of peer, self, and nurse evaluators would enhance faculty assessment of resident performance. An evaluation form was developed that contained 16 items under three major headings: clinical competency, interpersonal skills, and overall assessment. These forms were distributed to the 16 residents in our program, and the residents were asked to complete an evaluation form on themselves and their 15 peers. Evaluation forms were also distributed to all 14 clinical faculty members and to six members of the Obstetrics and Gynecology nursing staff. Intraclass correlation coefficients were determined for each rating group, and using the attending ratings as the gold standard, Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to determine correlations between groups of raters. The reliability of faculty ratings was good to excellent, whereas resident ratings showed excellent reliability for all three measured variables. Ratings provided by the nurses were the least reliable of the groups rating the residents. Compared with attending ratings, the peer ratings showed significant positive linear relationships in all categories evaluated. There was a low degree of correlation between attending and self-evaluations and attending and nurse evaluations. This small study supports the use of peer evaluations in addition to attending evaluations for Obstetrics and Gynecology residents in training. It also demonstrates that our residents may benefit from doing self-evaluations to improve their ability to honestly appraise their clinical and interpersonal skills.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The control of water and sodium chloride intake by postingestional and orosensory stimulation in water-deprived rats.

We investigated the role of oropharyngeal and postingestional stimulation in the control of the intake of water and NaCl solutions by testing water-deprived rats under real- and sham-drinking conditions with water, 0.150, 0.225, and 0.300 M NaCl solutions. A series of real-drinking tests was given until intake stabilized followed by a series of sham-drinking tests with the same solution. When sham intake stabilized the concentration was increased and the series of real- followed by sham-drinking tests was repeated. Intake of water and 0.150 M NaCl in the first sham-drinking test was significantly greater than in the preceding real-drinking test and did not change with real- or sham-drinking experience. In contrast, intake of 0.225 and 0.300 M NaCl in the first sham-drinking test was not significantly greater than in the preceding real-drinking test but increased with sham-drinking experience. Real intake of 0.225 and 0.300 M NaCl following sham-drinking experience with a lower concentration declined significantly with real-drinking experience. These results show that postingestional stimulation plays a direct role in the control of the intake of water and isotonic saline with little or no orosensory contribution. In contrast, conditioned orosensory responsiveness played the central role in the control of the intake of the two hypertonic solutions with little or no direct contribution from postingestional stimulation. Postingestional stimulation, however, played an indirect role by serving as the unconditioned stimulus for the conditioned orosensory control.

Animals↗