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Biomedical subjects

M D Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to M D Robinson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Process versus content in eyewitness metamemory monitoring.

Three studies (Ns = 200, 135, and 187 college undergraduates) contrasted process versus content accounts of eyewitness metamemory monitoring. Subjective vividness, a cue related to memory content, was a better predictor of confidence and accuracy than were cues related to the retrieval process. Participants who were asked to recall, rather than recognize, event details displayed greater insight into accuracy, primarily because vividness was a more valid accuracy cue under recall conditions. Results reinforce the value of recall-based protocols for eliciting eyewitness testimony and suggest some specific conditions (e.g., yes-no recognition) under which investigators should be especially cautious in relying on confidence to infer accuracy. In addition, results point to a general framework for understanding moderating effects on eyewitness metamemory accuracy.

Crime↗
PubMed2000

Exon deletions and duplications in BRCA1 detected by semiquantitative PCR.

rearrangements have recently been identified in the BRCA1 gene. Inclusion of a method for identifying such rearrangements should now be a prerequisite for providing a comprehensive mutation detection strategy. We have developed a semiquantitative PCR-based fluorescent assay for the detection of previously identified deletions. This method avoids the need for long PCR or Southern blotting and is suitable for large-scale epidemiological studies. The assay was used to screen 44 high-risk families within the U.K. Yorkshire Health Region. No deletions were detected, but five cases (11%) with an apparent duplication of exon 13 in BRCA1 were identified. The presence of this mutation was confirmed by long PCR. Further developments include extending the assay to include all exons of BRCA1.

BRCA1 Protein↗
PubMed2000

Advances in non-nicotine pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation.

Progress in understanding the pharmacological nature of tobacco addiction, along with the modest success rates achieved by the nicotine replacement therapies, has provided the major impetus for the development of non-nicotine drugs as smoking cessation aids. This article reviews evidence from controlled trials of several non-nicotine medications for the treatment of nicotine dependence. Clonidine was the first non-nicotine medication to show efficacy for smoking cessation in multiple studies, but its effect was found to be limited at best. Positive results across several trials have been consistently demonstrated for amfebutamone (bupropion). Encouraging results have also been observed for nortriptyline and moclobemide. Studies of combined treatments using non-nicotine medications (amfebutamone, mecamylamine, oral dextrose) with nicotine replacement therapy suggest increased efficacy relative to treatments using one or the other treatment strategy alone. Thus, available evidence indicates that non-nicotine drug treatments offer a promising panoply of therapeutic strategies for the addicted smoker.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed1999

The educational attainment of young women: role model effects of female high school faculty.

To test for the presence of role model effects of female high school faculty and professional staff on young women in high school, we estimate several models of educational attainment for young women using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Exposure to female high school faculty and professional staff has a positive impact on the educational attainment of young women. This result, combined with our finding that female faculty and professional staff have no significant impact on the educational attainment of young men, supports a female role model hypothesis.

Achievement↗
PubMed1997

Reaction time and assessments of cognitive effort as predictors of eyewitness memory accuracy and confidence.

The authors investigate reaction time, subjective assessments of memory processing, and confidence as predictors of memory for the details of a crime. The authors also examine the mediation of a previously identified difference between recognition tasks and recall tasks in the correlation between confidence and accuracy. College undergraduates (n = 111) answered either recognition or recall questions. Reaction time and subjective assessments of cognitive effort were both negatively related to confidence and accuracy. Subjective assessments, however, were superior predictors of confidence, whereas reaction time was a unique predictor of accuracy. The reaction time-confidence and reaction time-accuracy correlations were stronger under recall conditions than under recognition conditions. Multiple regression results suggested a possible explanation for the superior insight of recall participants into memory accuracy.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Chemical modification of bovine tissues by dye-mediated photooxidation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS OF THE STUDY: Photooxidation of pericardium has been shown chemically to alter and stabilize tissue. The characterization of photooxidatively induced, chemical modifications of bovine pericardial and arterial tissue is reported here. METHODS: Tissues were prepared by various methods of photooxidation and analyzed for thermal denaturation temperature, protein extraction, amino acid content and crosslink content. RESULTS: Photooxidation of tissue resulted in no significant time-dependent changes in thermal denaturation temperature, but did result in a time-dependent alteration and reduction in extracted proteins. This reduction is consistent with chemical alteration and stabilization of the tissue. Photooxidation also resulted in a time-dependent reduction of histidine content in treated tissues by histidine being converted to a non-detectable form. No other amino acid alteration was detected by amino acid analysis. Crosslink analysis of tissue hydrolyzates showed a time-dependent alteration in crosslink content of photooxidized tissue and an apparent addition of several types of new crosslinks. CONCLUSIONS: These chemical modifications are consistent with oxidative modification of amino acids in the tissues, resulting in an alteration of existing crosslinks and possible addition of new crosslinks in the tissues. This treatment process leads to in vivo and in vitro stability of pericardial and arterial tissues with potential use as bioprosthetic materials.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1996

Molecular analysis of HLA-DQB1 alleles in childhood common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Epidemiological studies suggest that childhood common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (c-ALL) may be the rare outcome of early post-natal infection with a common infectious agent. One of the factors that may determine whether a child succumbs to c-ALL is how it responds to the candidate infection. Since immune responses to infection are under the partial control of (human leucocyte antigen) HLA genes, an association between an HLA allele and c-ALL could provide support for an infectious aetiology. To define the limit of c-ALL susceptibility within the HLA region, we have compared HLA-DQB1 allele frequencies in a cohort of 62 children with c-ALL with 76 newborn controls, using group-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. We find that a significant excess of children with c-ALL type for DQB1*05 [relative risk (RR): 2.54, uncorrected P=0.038], and a marginal excess with DQB1*0501 (RR: 2.18; P=0.095). Only 3 of the 62 children with c-ALL have the other susceptibility allele, DPB1*0201 as well as DQB1*0501, whereas 15 had one or the other allele. This suggests that HLA-associated susceptibility may be determined independently by at least two loci, and is not due to linkage disequilibrium. The combined relative risk of the two groups of children with DPB1*0201 and/or DQB1*0501 is 2.76 (P=0.0076). Analysis of amino acids encoded by exon 2 of DQB1 reveal additional complexity, with significant (P<0.05) or borderline-significant increases in Gly26, His30, Val57, Glu66-Val67 encoding motifs in c-ALL compared with controls. Since these amino acids are not restricted to DQB1*0501, our results suggest that, as with DPB1, the increased risk of c-ALL associated with DQB1 is determined by specific amino acid encoding motifs rather than by an individual allele. These results also suggest that HLA-associated susceptibility to c-ALL may not be restricted to the region bounded by DPB1 and DQB1.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Teaching smoking cessation to family practice residents: an experiential approach.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Smoking cessation is a complex process influenced by the smoker's motivation to quit and the effective use of external support measures. Understanding the complexities of smoking cessation can be difficult for physicians, many of whom have never smoked. This paper describes an experiential educational approach that exposes family practice residents to the process of smoking cessation through active participation in an American Lung Association (ALA) Freedom From Smoking group. METHODS: We designed and observed a 1-month educational program in which residents co-led a modified ALA group. Ethnography, a qualitative research technique, was used to discover what residents learned. RESULTS: We identified five themes that describe what residents learned through their experience in the ALA Group: 1) the power of nicotine addiction, 2) the power of the smoking cessation group, 3) skills, tips, tools, and tricks to help the smoker quit, 4) the process of redefining success, and 5) the ability to understand the smoker. Residents' recall of their experience remained vivid, even 9 months after the training concluded. CONCLUSIONS: This experiential approach provided a rich, lasting learning experience for the residents we studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Including smoking status as a new vital sign: it works!

BACKGROUND: Despite the adverse health consequences of smoking, many physicians still neglect to counsel smokers to quit. This study evaluated the effect of including smoking status as a vital sign on the frequency of physician discussions with patients about smoking and physician advice to quit smoking. METHODS: A consecutive sample of adult ambulatory patients in our metropolitan family practice residency program completed exit surveys on physician and nurse counseling about smoking. Control group data were collected for 1 month before the change was made to include smoking status as a vital sign on patient charts. Charts were then marked with a stamp as a chart prompt in the vital signs section. Data were collected for 2 months after smoking status was added to the stamp. RESULTS: There were 637 individuals surveyed, of whom 179 were current smokers; 95 in the "prestamp" group and 84 in the "poststamp" group. The percentage of patient-physician encounters during which smoking was discussed increased from 47% to 86% (P < .001). Physician advice to quit increased from 50% to 80% (P < .001). Physician discussion of smoking with patients increased across all of the five stages of change but most dramatically (53% to 95%) in the "preparation" stage. Physicians were much less likely to counsel patients in the "precontemplation" stage to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Including smoking as a new vital sign significantly increased the likelihood of smoking-related discussions between patients and their physicians. The stamp is inexpensive and easy to use, and because it is a one-time office system change, it is more likely to be implemented and maintained in busy practices.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Preliminary evidence of an association between HLA-DPB1*0201 and childhood common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia supports an infectious aetiology.

It has been suggested that childhood leukaemia may be the abnormal outcome of a common infection. Rare events caused by common environmental events such as infections are likely to be influenced by host genetic susceptibility. We have therefore investigated whether immunogenetic susceptibility contributes to the risk of childhood common ALL (c-ALL). In this preliminary study, we report that children with c-ALL (n = 63) carry the HLA-DPB1 locus allele *0201 twice and nearly three times more frequently than adult (n = 92; relative risk (RR) = 2.9, P < 0.05) or infant controls (n = 82; RR = 2.1). Moreover, children with c-ALL are 3-4 times more likely than controls to be heterozygous for DPB1*0201/*0301, /*0401 and /*0402 (RRadult controls = 3.9; RRinfant controls = 2.8). These results suggest that HLA-DPB1*0201 either alone or with other DPB1 alleles contributes to the risk of childhood c-ALL, possibly by increasing susceptibility to an infectious agent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Surgical decompression of impingement in the weightbearing shoulder.

Shoulder pain is a common affliction, posing particular limitations on the spinal cord injured person. Abnormalities of the rotator cuff mechanism are a common cause of shoulder injury in the general population and it has recently been observed that a large percentage of persons with paraplegia suffer from chronic shoulder pain. This report describes six cases of impingement syndrome in four spinal cord injured persons who depend on upper extremity function for the execution of activities of daily living and mobility. All had failed prolonged trials of conservative therapy and subsequently underwent anterior acromioplasty and when indicated, repair of the supraspinatus tendon. In each case, functional capacity that approached or equalled premorbid levels was achieved. Pain complaints also markedly decreased from preoperative levels. It is suggested that surgical decompression of shoulder impingement and rotator cuff repair may be beneficial in spinal cord injured persons who have failed conservative therapy. Further study is required to determine the long-term efficacy of surgical intervention in this population.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1993

Anxiety disorders in the general practice.

The author reviews the concept of anxiety and the diagnosis and treatment of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The psychiatrist and primary care practitioner can collaborate for the patient's benefit.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1992

A comparison of the gastrointestinal side effects of two forms of erythromycin.

BACKGROUND: The gastrointestinal (GI) side effects of erythromycin frequently limit therapy and compliance. PCE Dispertab, a more expensive brand of erythromycin, has been promoted as a well-tolerated new dosage form; however, no studies compare its GI side effects with those of other forms of erythromycin. We compared erythromycin PCE (particles-in-tablet) with E.E.S. (erythromycin ethylsuccinate) to determine whether there is a difference in the incidence and severity of GI side effects. METHODS: This was a multicenter, prospective, single-blind, randomized trial. Observers, but not participants, were blinded to the brand of erythromycin taken until after data analysis. We enrolled ambulatory patients who were at least 18 years old and weighed at least 90 lb for whom erythromycin had been prescribed at a dosage of 1.0 g/d. Subjects were given either the particles-in-tablet form, 333 mg three times daily, or the ethylsuccinate form, 400 mg four times daily, for 10 days and asked to report efficacy, compliance, and the frequency and severity of four GI symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea) in a daily diary. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the particles-in-tablet and ethylsuccinate forms in incidence of GI side effects (63% and 61%, respectively), average daily GI symptom severity score (0.62 and 0.68, respectively), and GI-related discontinuations (8.5% and 8.2%, respectively). The incidence of moderate or severe nausea was 5% for the particles-in-tablet form and 25% for the ethylsuccinate form (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Although ethylsuccinate caused a higher incidence of moderate to severe nausea, there were no differences in the three main outcome measures: incidence of GI side effects, average daily GI-symptom severity score, and GI-related discontinuations. Therefore, we support prescribing erythromycin ethylsuccinate as a first line of treatment because it costs less.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Cervical spinal canal plasticity in children as determined by the vertebral body ratio technique.

The sagittal cervical canal measurement from a plain spine radiography is easy to obtain and has a smaller range than the interpedicular distance. In an effort to standardize the sagittal measurement, a canal ratio, using the vertebral body diameter, has been formulated. If this method is to be used in the pediatric spine, the effect of the growing neuraxis must be considered. Lateral cervical spine radiographs of 301 normal children and adults were evaluated and grouped according to age. The canal ratio measurement demonstrated a consistent decrease through to the adult groups. Adjacent groups showed statistically significant decreases with age in all groups tested other than the oldest two groups. With the pediatric spinal canal vulnerable to various intracanalicular influences, the canal ratio may reflect early disease processes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Submersion injury in children.

After prevention, of all the elements in the care of the drowned child, none is more important than the early institution of respiration and appropriate resuscitation. Observation of the asymptomatic patient with any history of alteration of consciousness or respiration during a drowning accident for at least 12 to 24 hours is mandatory. Because of uncertainties regarding outcome, particularly in the presence of hypothermia, vigorous emergency department resuscitation of all drowning victims is advisable, regardless of presentation. However, it may prove that emergency department assessment of such patients, following successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a prognostic indicator of great importance in dictating further care. Transfer of these severely injured patients to a pediatric referral center where intracranial pressure monitoring and intensive support are available offers the best hope. Provisions for psychosocial support and follow-up for family members are essential.

Adolescent↗