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Biomedical subjects

L Melin

Publications and source records attributed to L Melin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

A behavioural approach to individually designed hearing tactics training.

In an experimental study involving 20 subjects functional consequences of hearing disability were assessed and counselled in accordance with behavioural principles. The aims were to develop psychological methods for analysing and relieving hearing problems. The results indicated that treated subjects improved significantly in three functional areas as compared to controls. Subjects also developed more knowledge and ability to handle hearing problems than controls. Although these findings suggest that behavioural methods can be beneficial in the understanding and rehabilitation of handicaps related to hearing disability, they must be interpreted with caution given the small sample size.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Biochemical demonstration of complex formation of histone pre-mRNA with U7 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein and hairpin binding factors.

Histone RNA 3' end formation occurs through a specific cleavage reaction that requires, among other things, base-pairing interactions between a conserved spacer element in the pre-mRNA and the minor U7 snRNA present as U7 snRNP. An oligonucleotide complementary to the first 16 nucleotides of U7 RNA can be used to characterize U7 snRNPs from nuclear extracts by native gel electrophoresis. Using similar native gel techniques, we present direct biochemical evidence for a stable association between histone pre-mRNA and U7 snRNPs. Other complexes formed in the nuclear extract are dependent on the 5' cap structure and on the conserved hairpin element of histone pre-mRNA, respectively. However, in contrast to the U7-specific complex, their formation is not required for processing. Comparison of several authentic and mutant histone pre-mRNAs with different spacer sequences demonstrates that the formation and stability of the U7-specific complex closely follows the predicted stability of the potential RNA-RNA hybrid. However, this does not exclude a stabilization of the complex by U7 snRNP structural proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Organization and regulation of the Bacillus subtilis odhAB operon, which encodes two of the subenzymes of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex.

The primary structure of Bacillus subtilis 105 kDa 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase (E10) was deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the odhA gene and confirmed by N-terminal sequence analysis. The protein is highly homologous to E1o of Azotobacter vinelandii and Escherichia coli and of bakers' yeast cells. The 5' end of the odhAB mRNA was determined and the promoter region for the odhAB operon was localized to a 375 bp DNA fragment. The cellular concentration of the 4.5 kb odhAB transcript was found to be growth stage dependent; its concentration during growth in nutrient sporulation medium decreased abruptly at the end of the exponential growth phase and it was not detectable in early stationary phase. This decrease in the cellular concentration of the transcript is not the result of an increased rate of decay of the full-length odhAB mRNA, suggesting that transcription is down-regulated at the end of the exponential growth phase. The cellular concentration of the odhA and odhB gene products, E1o and dihydrolipoamide transsuccinylase (E2o), remains essentially constant throughout the growth curve in nutrient sporulation medium, indicating that both are rather stable proteins. In exponentially growing cells, glucose in nutrient sporulation medium repressed the cellular concentration of the odhAB mRNA, as well as that of E1o and E2o, about four-fold. This effect is most likely the result of a decreased rate of transcription from the odhAB promoter, since neither the stability nor the 5'-end of the transcript were affected by glucose in the medium. It is concluded that the cellular concentration of the 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (E1o and E2o) is regulated mainly at the transcriptional level.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Acquisition, generalization, and spontaneous use of color adjectives: a comparison of incidental teaching and traditional discrete-trial procedures for children with autism.

Incidental teaching and traditional discrete-trial procedures were used to teach two children with autism the expressive use of two color adjectives to describe preferred toys and food items. The two teaching procedures were performed in a classroom setting, and generalization and spontaneous usage were assessed at home with parents. The results demonstrated that traditional discrete-trial teaching was more efficient and produced faster acquisition and, initially, greater generalization. However, by follow-up, the incidental teaching methods resulted in equal retention, greater generalization, and equal or greater spontaneous usage. The findings indicate that although it takes a longer time for children with autism to learn with incidental teaching procedures, once they have acquired an ability, it may be more permanent. It is recommended that incidental teaching procedures be included in future language development programs for children with autism.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1992

Prevalence and short-term stability of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren.

This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms in a sample of 471 Swedish schoolchildren aged 8-13 years from urban and rural areas. Children self-reported their experience of depressive symptoms on a Swedish version of the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Short-term stability of children's depressive symptoms was evaluated for a 6- to 9-week period. In addition, the children's satisfaction with their school, home and leisure time was assessed. The results indicated that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was related to neither location (urban vs rural) nor age. Although girls experienced significantly more depressive symptoms than boys, the clinical importance of this difference is negligible. Approximately 1% of the schoolchildren reported severe suicidal thoughts. As expected, children's depression was negatively associated with their home and school satisfaction and leisure interest. A cut-off score of 13 on the CDI could identify the upper 10% of the children in the school sample as depressed and, at the follow-up, 44% of these children continued to be depressed. Overall, the total CDI mean scores obtained in this study were lower than those reported in comparative surveys in Anglo-Saxon countries.

Child↗
PubMed1991

Short-term stability of depressive symptoms and suicide attempts in Swedish adolescents.

The prevalence of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and their relationship to perceived health problems and social relations were examined in a sample of 605 Swedish adolescents aged 13-18 years. Short-term stability of depressive symptoms and the turnover rate from a nondepressed to a depressed state were examined for subsamples of 36 depressed and 71 nondepressed subjects, respectively, who were retested after 4 to 6 weeks. Using Beck's criteria for clinical depression, 9% of the adolescents experienced moderate to severe depressive symptom levels. However, a more conservative estimate, 4%, was obtained when DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder were applied. Approximately 3% of the adolescents had pronounced suicidal ideation and had made at least one previous suicide attempt. There was a tendency for boys to show more stable depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation than girls. Furthermore, a set of 5 psychosocial variables concerning the students' satisfaction with their school and leisure time, conflictual level at home and number of close friends predicted 31% of the variance of the subjects' total depressive symptom scores. Although a 32% decrease of depressive symptoms was noted for the depressed subsample of adolescents, 44% of these subjects continued to experience moderate to severe depression at follow-up.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Depressive symptoms in Swedish adolescents.

This study examined the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms in a Swedish urban school sample (n = 547) aged 13 to 18 years using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The data obtained were examined with respect to sex and age differences and compared with a clinical sample of adolescents hospitalized because of psychiatric disturbances. The results indicated a strong preponderance of depressive symptoms among girls in the school sample, in particular for the severe symptom level. Eight percent of subjects reported depressive symptoms sufficiently high to be classified as a moderate, and 2% as a severe, level of depression. Factor analysis yielded four factors representing dysphoric mood, social activity, relationship, and food-related dimensions. The BDI showed a high internal consistency, and test-retest reliability calculated for a 2-week and a 2-month interval revealed strong correlations. The means of total scores on the BDI for the clinical sample were significantly higher than for those in the school sample.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The importance of the 5'-region in regulating the stability of sdh mRNA in Bacillus subtilis.

The decay of the polycistronic Bacillus subtilis sdh mRNA was analysed using probes specific for each of the component cistrons, sdhC, sdhA and sdhB. In exponentially growing cells, the entire sdh mRNA seems to decay with an 'all or nothing' mechanism and with a uniform half-life of 2-3 min for all cistrons. In stationary-phase cells, the half-life of the 5'-part had dropped to about 0.6 min whereas that of the 3'-part was about 1.2 min. Decay of sdh mRNA was also measured in exponentially growing cells containing a 'down-mutation' in the ribosomal binding site preceding sdhC which decreases the expression of sdhC by about 90%. The mutation has a moderate effect on expression of the downstream cistron sdhA. In this mutant, the half-life of the 5'-part of sdh mRNA was about 0.5 min (i.e. the same as in stationary phase wild-type cells) and the half-life of the 3'-part about 1.3 min. Also, analysis of the decay of an sdh-cat fusion transcript revealed that the sdh (5') part decayed more rapidly than the cat part and this difference was more pronounced in stationary-phase cells compared to exponentially growing cells. The results of these experiments demonstrate the importance of the 5'-segment of sdh mRNA in controlling the stability of the transcript under different growth conditions.

Bacillus subtilis↗
PubMed1990

The effect of prompting and reinforcement of activity in elderly demented inpatients.

On a ward for 24 psychogeriatric patients, 18 were randomly assigned to three groups with different experimental conditions. The first group was prompted and reinforced for different activities; the second was only prompted; and the third served as a control group. Activities, both the trained ones and others, were continuously monitored throughout the five week study. The results showed a clear increase in the trained activities after training. The prompting condition was effective, and the addition of reinforcement did not add any to the effects. There was no generalization to untrained activities, and the effects did not last at the 1 hr or 21 hr assessments, but was clearly visible at 5 min after training. Time seemed to be more important than place, i.e. the effect ceased with elapsed time, not because of changes in the situation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1990

Recurrent tension headache in adolescents treated with self-help relaxation training and a muscle relaxant drug.

Forty-eight adolescents suffering from recurrent tension headache participated in a controlled trial conducted in a high school setting. During the first treatment phase self-help relaxation training was compared with a waiting-list group. Following this phase a pharmacological regimen consisting of a muscle relaxant (chlormezanone) and placebo was superimposed on relaxation therapy in a double-blind crossover design. Each treatment phase encompassed a 5-week period. In addition to the evaluation of headache complaints, psychological distress among students was measured with respect to their experience of somatic complaints, depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms. Although self-help relaxation training significantly decreased the severity and annoyance of adolescents' headache besides their somatic complaints, the clinical improvement of headache was modest. The addition of chlormezanone did not help those who were nonresponders to self-help relaxation training. Finally, a set of pretreatment variables consisting of baseline headache severity and annoyance, experience of anxiety and daily life stress among adolescents could predict outcome of self-help relaxation therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of a behavioral treatment program on children with asthma.

Twenty children with severe asthma using continual oral beta 2 agonists were randomized equally into either a behavioral intervention group or a control group. The behavioral intervention consisted of: symptom discrimination of asthma signals, self-management techniques of breathlessness, and contingency management of asthma-related behavior. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of the behavioral treatment when superimposed on a regular medical treatment. The design consisted of a four-week baseline period, a four-week intervention period, and a four-week follow-up period. Results showed that the group receiving the behavioral intervention significantly reduced their use of beta 2 agonist spray doses and days of school absenteeism without increasing the number of asthma symptoms compared with the control group. It was concluded that children with severe asthma may benefit substantially from a behavioral program in addition to their regular medical treatment.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1990

Predictors of tinnitus discomfort, adaptation and subjective loudness.

In a nation-wide investigation, covering all the hearing centres in Sweden, a study was made of adaptation processes, subjective discomfort from tinnitus, subjective loudness of tinnitus and psychological complaints in 3372 subjects by means of a questionnaire. The most important predictors of discomfort from and adaptation to tinnitus were found to be the controllability and the degree of maskability by external sounds, i.e. the subject's coping abilities or internal-external locus of control. Increased control and masking effects from the environment imply a decrease in discomfort and better adaptation. The most important predictor of worsened subjective loudness of tinnitus was the duration of the tinnitus. That is, subjects who had had tinnitus for a longer time perceived the loudness as more intense. The psychosomatic factors which most strongly predicted increased discomfort from and decreased tolerance to tinnitus were depression and insomnia. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the management and treatment of tinnitus.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

The psychological treatment of tinnitus: an experimental evaluation.

Disabling tinnitus in 27 patients was treated in an experimental setting with two different type of therapy aiming at the development of coping behaviour. One was focused on behavioural control procedures, while the other aimed at more cognitive control methods such as distraction. The results of the two forms of therapy were compared with each other and with observations of the untreated control subjects. Assessments of subjective loudness, discomfort from tinnitus and controllability were made on analogue scales and at a questionnaire follow-up. Psychoacoustic measures such as personal loudness units (PLU) were used in connection with these self-recordings and for evaluation of treatment effects. The results confirmed favourable reports on behavioural methods in tinnitus. However, no differences were found between therapies. The results are discussed in the light of the coping and adaptation theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The effect of combined topical steroids and habit-reversal treatment in patients with atopic dermatitis.

A modified behavioural method called habit-reversal, in combination with potent and weak corticosteroid cream, was compared with the use of the creams alone in the treatment of 45 patients with atopic dermatitis. The patients were randomly assigned to four groups, which received two different cream regimes in combination with the habit-reversal treatment. The patients' skin was assessed before, during and after treatment, and they recorded the amount of scratching during the study. The skin condition improved in all groups, but to a significantly greater degree in the habit-reversal groups. A strong correlation was found between the reduction in scratching and the improvement in skin status.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1989

Follow-up on behavioral treatment of recurrent headache in adolescents.

A sample of 108 adolescent students suffering from migraine and tension headaches, treated with relaxation training and attention-control approaches, were evaluated at 5-6 month and 3-4 year follow-ups. Data were obtained for 69% (75) of the original subjects at the second follow-up. The treatments administered within a school setting were contrasted with students' self-monitoring of headache. The results indicated that students treated with relaxation training showed a good maintenance of posttreatment headache reduction at the two follow-up evaluations, 80% and 85%, respectively. Although treatment condition and level of pretreatment headache were associated with a favorable outcome at the 5-6 month follow-up, only baseline headache severity emerged as a significant predictor at the final follow-up. Several variables from the psychological functioning and health behavioral domains found to predict posttreatment outcome for the adolescent headache sufferers in previous research, did not contribute significantly to outcome at the follow-ups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Transcriptional and posttranscriptional control of the Bacillus subtilis succinate dehydrogenase operon.

The amount of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) in Bacillus subtilis varies with growth conditions. In this work we studied the steady-state level and the rate of decay of B. subtilis sdh mRNA under different growth conditions. In exponentially growing cells, the steady-state level of sdh mRNA was severalfold lower when glucose was present compared with growth without glucose, whereas the rate of decay of sdh mRNA was the same with and without glucose. Thus, glucose repression seems to act by decreasing sdh mRNA synthesis. When the bacteria entered the stationary phase, the steady-state level of sdh mRNA dropped about sixfold. At the same time, sdh mRNA half-life decreased from 2.6 to 0.4 min. This result indicates that transcription of the sdh operon is initiated at the same rate in exponentially growing and in stationary-phase cells. The start point of the sdh transcripts, as measured by primer extension, was the same under all conditions studied, suggesting that the sdh operon is solely controlled by the previously identified sigma 43-like promoter. The increase of SDH activity in stationary phase may be explained by reduced dilution of the SDH proteins as a result of the retarded growth rate. We suggest that enhanced degradation of the sdh transcript is a means by which the bacteria adjust expression to the demands of stationary phase.

Bacillus subtilis↗