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K Cameron

Publications and source records attributed to K Cameron.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Does homosexual activity shorten life?

Previous estimates from obituaries and pre-1994 sex surveys suggested that the median age of death for homosexuals is less than 50 yr. Four contemporary databases were used to test that estimate: (1) obituaries in the homosexual press from 1993 through 1997 reflected treatment success for those with AIDS but suggested a median age of death less than 50 years; (2) two large random sexuality surveys in 1994--one in the USA and the other in Britain--yielded results consistent with a median age of death for homosexuals of less than 50 years; (3) the median age of those ever married in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway was about 50 years, while that of the ever homosexually partnered was about 40 yr; further, the married were about 5 times more apt to be old and 4 times less apt to be widowed young; and (4) intravenous drug abusers and homosexuals taking HIV tests in Colorado had almost identical age distributions. The four lines of evidence were consistent with previous findings suggesting that homosexual activity may be associated with a lifespan shortened by 20 to 30 years.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Did the APA misrepresent the scientific literature to courts in support of homosexual custody?

In 1994, American Psychological Association amicus briefs informed two state Supreme Courts that (a) homosexual parents are not more apt to have homosexual children; (b) lesbians "score significantly higher than heterosexual parents" on a measure of parental effectiveness; and (c) no differences between the children raised by homosexuals and nonhomosexuals had been found "regardless of the geographic region within the United States where the children were raised." In fact, the evidence from these briefs shows to the contrary that (a) homosexual parents are more apt to have homosexual children; (b) the findings on parental effectiveness consisted of 15 fathers being less verbal than 45 mothers; and (c) the finding of no differences between homosexually and heterosexually raised children consisted of investigators visiting 11 states to test 89 offspring of 83 lesbian vs. 81 children of 69 nonlesbian volunteers. The APA's support for gay rights in these briefs may have violated its own ethical principles that "psychologists base their statements on scientifically acceptable psychological findings and techniques with full recognition of the limits and uncertainties of such evidence" and that psychologists must "provide thorough discussion of the limitations of their data, especially where their work touches on social policy" (APA, 1981).

Child Custody↗
PubMed1996

Therapeutic play and bone marrow transplantation.

Constructive, therapeutic play is an essential part of the care of children with long-term hospitalizations. The O'Connor theoretical framework supports the importance of play in ensuring the emotional, developmental, and physical health of children. The negative effects of long-term hospitalization are particularly evident for children who have undergone bone marrow transplants and must be kept in germ-free environment and isolation for extended periods of time. This article describes a successful play therapy program in a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, using a play cabinet designed to provide readily available, sterilized toys that are appropriate for each of four age groups. Two cases are presented that show the efficacy of the use of the play cabinet in play therapy programs.

Bone Marrow Transplantation↗
PubMed1996

Do homosexual teachers pose a risk to pupils?

Questionnaires were completed by 5,182 adults derived from one-wave area cluster samples in 6 metropolitan areas: 56% of homosexuals and 18% of heterosexuals reported having had a homosexual teacher, 12% of the men and 4% of the women said that the teacher made sexual advances toward them. A fifth of those with a homosexual teacher said they were influenced to regard homosexuality as socially acceptable; 4% said that the teacher influenced them to try homosexuality. About 1% of the sample reported that, as pupils, they had sexual relations with at least one of their elementary or secondary teachers. Eight respondents reported their first sexual experience was with an elementary or secondary teacher and that one of these experiences was homosexual. Of 49 other reported sexual experiences with teachers, 12 were homosexual. The findings that homosexuals more frequently claimed to have had homosexual teachers and more frequently reported homosexual sex with teachers tend to fit the contagion model of homosexuality--that homosexuality is taught by or caught by sexual interaction with homosexual practitioners.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Three generations of telecare of the elderly.

The increasing number of elderly and infirm people living alone in their own homes is creating the need for new personal emergency response systems based on public telephone and cable networks. While existing systems enable clients to summon help in the event of illness, future services are likely to make use of evolving technologies to provide automatic sensing of emergencies and to predict long-term deterioration in health, using activity profiles. The characteristics and requirements of these second-generation systems are discussed and predictions are made about the innovative services and facilities that may be available in third-generation systems, when broadband communication is available to the home.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Realtime three-dimensional remote medical skills acquisition.

Three-dimensional techniques are gaining widespread use in a number of disciplines, including medicine, where the visualization of depth information is not only useful but important. Both computer-generated 3-D imaging and 3-D video are set to become increasingly important tools for both diagnosis and teaching. In this paper we will present some of the work that we are currently undertaking using 3-D techniques for remote surgical skills acquisition. This work is based on the use of a small headset with twin miniature video cameras, video codecs, two different 3-D visualization systems and BT's ISDN telecommunications network.

Depth Perception↗
PubMed1996

Errors by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Educational, Association in representing homosexuality in amicus briefs about Amendment 2 to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In October 1995, consortiums of psychiatric and educational profes sional organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association and the National Educational Association, submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court asserting that the scientific literature unequivocally supports the following propositions (a) that homosexuals, including homosexual teachers, do not disproportionately molest children, (b) that children of homosexual patients are not more likely to become homosexuals, (c) that professionals agree that homosexuality is not a pathology, and (d) that homosexual attractions are biologically or genetically predetermined and are therefore beyond the control of the individual. The first two contentions are inconsistent with the scientific literature, and the second two grossly oversimplify a contentious and uncertain literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Homosexual parents.

Does the homosexuality of parents affect the sexual orientation or experiences of their children? Seventeen of 5,182 randomly obtained adults from six U.S. cities answered questionnaires indicating that they had a homosexual parent. Parental homosexuality may be related to findings that: (1) 5 of the 17 reported sexual relations with their parents; (2) a disproportionate fraction reported sexual relations with other caretakers and relatives; and (3) a disproportionate fraction: (a) claimed a less than exclusively heterosexual orientation (47%); (b) indicated gender dissatisfaction; and (c) reported that their first sexual experience was homosexual. Of 1,388 consecutive obituaries in a major homosexual newspaper, 87 of the gays who died had children and registered a median age of death of 47 (the 1,267 without children had a median age of death of 38); 10 lesbians did and 24 did not have children. We estimate that less than 1% of parents are bisexual or homosexual and that < 7% of gays and about a third of lesbians are parents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Fetal telemedicine: interactive transfer of realtime ultrasound and video via ISDN for remote consultation.

Current referral practice for ultrasonically detected fetal abnormalities contributes to parental anxiety, inconvenience to patients, diagnostic inaccuracy, and general service inefficiency. To determine whether telemedicine would reduce these disadvantages, we established a 30-channel ISDN link between a district general hospital on an island and a subspecialty referral centre approximately 120 km away on mainland Britain. Live ultrasound images of the fetus were transmitted in realtime from a commercial scanner in the hospital using a total data transfer rate of 2 Mbit/s. After decompression at the receiving end, there was almost no perceptible loss of picture quality or frame rate. This report describes the technical aspects of the link and our preliminary experience with it. In the first two months of its operation, the link worked well and the consultants who used it found themselves confidently making diagnoses and carrying out counselling over it. If confirmed, the success of this technology has implications for future referral practice in fetal medicine.

Artifacts↗
PubMed1995

Does incest cause homosexuality?

A random sample of 5,182 adults from 6 U.S. metropolitan areas were questioned about incestuous sexual relationships during childhood. Incest was disproportionately reported by both male and female bisexuals and homosexuals. 148 gays (7.7% of the sample) reported 14 (50%) of same-sex, and 7 (22%) of opposite-sex incestuous experiences, and 20 (69%) of same-sex and 2 (3%) of opposite-sex sexual experiences with other relatives. 88 lesbians (3% of the sample) reported 2 (33%) of same-sex incest and 7 (9%) of opposite-sex incest and 1 (17%) of same-sex and 10 (13%) of opposite-sex sexual experiences with other relatives. 12% of 98 male homosexuals vs 0.8% of 1,224 male heterosexuals with a brother reported brother-brother incest. These findings are consonant with those of other studies in which disproportionately more incest by homosexuals was reported. As opposed to an evolutionary genetic hypothesis, these data support the alternative that homosexuality may be learned, since homosexuals do not produce children at sustainable levels and the incidence of homosexuality varies as a function of various social factors. Incest cannot be excluded as a significant basis for homosexuality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Detection of deep venous thrombi and pulmonary embolus with technetium-99m-DD-3B6/22 anti-fibrin monoclonal antibody Fab' fragment.

UNLABELLED: Technetium-99m-labeled anti-fibrin DD-3B6/22 Fab' monoclonal antibody fragments, which specifically target human cross-linked fibrin with high affinity, were evaluated in humans for safety and their capacity to detect deep vein thrombi and pulmonary embolism. METHODS: Twenty patients with proven deep-vein thrombosis, documented by contrast venography, or venous duplex scan, were injected with a 600 MBq (0.5 mg) dose of antibody. Planar images of the lower limbs were recorded at 0, 2, 6 and 24 hr and chest scintigrams were recorded at 6 and 24 hr. RESULTS: All venography documented thrombus sites, calves, popliteal and femoral, were detected with the radioimmunoconjugate. For the venous duplex scan-proven thrombus sites, all except two calf thrombi in two patients with bilateral disease and other positive sites were detected. Five patients had bilateral deep-vein thrombosis with multiple sites being visualized with the radioimmunoconjugate in the calf, popliteal and femoral regions. One case of pulmonary embolus was also definitively demonstrated. Documented thrombus sites were detected at 2 and 6 hr postinjection. Nineteen patients were on heparin. No adverse reactions to the injected dose were observed and one low titer human anti-mouse antibody response may have occurred. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that 99mTc-DD-3B6/22 Fab' has potential for noninvasive detection of deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of recurrent spontaneous abortion by immunization with paternal lymphocytes: results of a controlled trial.

PROBLEM: It remains unclear whether maternal immunization with paternal lymphocytes prior to conception improves the reproductive outcome in women with recurrent abortion in whom all secondary causes have been excluded. METHOD: A double-blind placebo controlled trial was instituted in women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion, comparing immunization with 400 million paternal to 400 million maternal (autologous) lymphocytes. The groups were compared in a paired sequential trials chart, by logistic regression, and, in addition, a meta-analysis of this and other published trials was carried out. RESULTS: The live birth rate among pregnancies in paired couples with paternal lymphocyte immunization was 68% compared to 47% in the women who received their own cells. The results bordered on, but did not achieve, statistical significance. The women in each group were thoroughly investigated to exclude known causes of recurrent pregnancy loss and appeared to have been well matched in all variables. Women with lymphocytotoxic antibodies against paternal lymphocytes were excluded. Unlike our previous study there was not association between the time to conception and the chance of a successful outcome. Indeed, the time to conception was relatively short, 12 wk in all groups. The meta-analysis supported an overall modest favorable experience with paternal cells. CONCLUSION: The study is consistent with a general trend favoring paternal over maternal lymphocyte immunization but reinforces the need for larger multicenter controlled trials as well as more detailed biological study in humans to understand the nature of the maternal-fetal interface and its breakdown.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1993

The mechanisms of IgE uptake by human alveolar macrophages and a human B-lymphoblastoid cell line (Wil-2wt).

Human alveolar macrophages (HAM) internalized more IgE (81%) than human Wil-2wt B-lymphoblastoid cells (28%) suggesting a difference in the metabolic processing of the specific IgE receptor (CD23) or, alternatively, the presence of another functionally distinct receptor. The mannose receptor (MR), demonstrated to be present on the AM, may fulfil this role as IgE is heavily mannosylated and binds to a greater extent to concanavalin A (Con A) (which has specificity for oligomannose oligosaccharide chains) than other antibody isotypes. The hypothesis of a second IgE receptor was tested using mannan which is a competitive inhibitor of ligand binding to the MR and mannosylated bovine serum albumin (MBSA) which binds with avidity to the MR. Mannan (0.1 mg/ml) decreased internalized MBSA uptake in the HAM at 37 degrees suggesting the presence of the specific MR. In contrast, Wil-2wt cells did not bind MBSA. Mannan also reduced IgE uptake in the HAM at 37 degrees but had no effect on IgE uptake by Wil-2wt cells. Anti-CD23 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 135 also partially reduced membrane IgE uptake in HAM while completely inhibiting it by Wil-2wt cells. However, there did not appear to be competition for binding sites between IgE and MBSA in HAM. If only CD23 is involved in IgE uptake by HAM its function appears to be different to that in Wil-2wt cells. Definite involvement of the MR in IgE uptake will require further investigation as it may have an important role in allergic states.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed1990

New approaches for biocompatibility testing using cell culture.

We are proposing two modified assays for biocompatibility testing which analyze the effects of cytotoxic substances leached from a biomaterial in cell culture. The biocompatibility of two vascular prostheses made of polytetrafluoroethylene was analyzed using the modified assays. One test, the "fluid medium assay" was modified by using small pieces of graft glued to a screening lid, thereby reducing the possibility of mechanical injury to cultured cells by free fragments of the tested biomaterial. Another test, the "cell inhibition assay" was modified in that the biomaterial to be tested was ground into small pieces while at very low temperature. The measure of cell toxicity used was the effect on DNA replication. Our results suggest that these modified assay methods can be used to evaluate the biocompatibility of biomaterials.

Biocompatible Materials↗