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Biomedical subjects

M J Ashley

Publications and source records attributed to M J Ashley.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Embryological considerations of distinctive feature theory.

The role of the physiology is emphasized here, perhaps to the eventual denial of the importance of the acoustic cues involved at these stages. The acoustic cues are the result of the physiology and are a further development of the features of speech. The selection of the sounds of babbling is a function of the physiological readiness and is an internal function [Locke, 1983]. Sounds are produced that are not used in final adult speech [Locke, 1983]. It is the acoustic cues of the environment that perhaps cause the 'babbling drift' toward adult speech of the environment [Brown, 1958]. In line with the above-mentioned ideas regarding branchial arch development, most of the components of the outer and middle ear are derivatives of the first branchial arch, which though limited musculature is involved, especially for sound perception, might downplay the role of acoustics at these earliest stages even further. If it can be said that cortical organization and representation development follow a similar sequence as is evidenced from the branchial arches and their derivatives, the importance of acoustic stimuli, at this point, would be even further questioned for these early stages. The assumption should be made that a muscle or muscle group does not function prior to this established branchial arch pair sequence. The major distinction here has been utilization of the structures in a 'conscious', deliberate, voluntary manner with a specific goal in mind. The babbling and even feeding that children undergo provides evidence that these structures function perhaps long before any sequence of branchial arch pair developmental sequence can be applied.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Branchial Region↗
PubMed1990

Preventing alcohol problems: survey of Canadian medical schools.

In preparation for a national conference on medical education in the prevention of alcohol problems, a survey of conference participants was conducted. Participants were undergraduate and postgraduate representatives from each Canadian medical school and representatives from 11 provincial and territorial alcohol and other drug agencies. There was agreement that physicians and medical schools have important roles in prevention and treatment of alcohol problems, with "traditional" medical roles seen as the most important. Current training is variable and was seen as inadequate, with more time devoted to treatment than prevention. To correct this situation, renewed priorities and faculty leadership are needed. Respondents felt that there should be uniform standards for assessing undergraduate students' skills in dealing with alcohol problems. Provincial alcohol and other drug agencies are underused in medical education in the prevention and treatment of alcohol problems.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1988

Intensity of follow-up. Effects on estimates in a population telephone survey with an extension of Kish's (1965) approach.

Information from a population telephone survey of attitudes of residents of the Province of Ontario, Canada, toward legislation to restrict smoking was used to examine the effects of intensity of follow-up on population estimates. It was found that the bias introduced to the attitude estimates by less intensive follow-up was smaller than the bias introduced to estimates of sociodemographic characteristics and smoking status. An algebraic determination of the components contributing to the bias in the attitude estimates was used to investigate how the relation between smoking status and certain attitudes influenced the relation between attitude and intensity of follow-up. This required an extension of the approach described by Kish (Survey Sampling. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1965.)

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Smoking, alpha 1-antitrypsin and decreased fertility in women.

There is epidemiologic evidence that smoking by women is associated with decreased fertility. Little is known about the biological mechanism(s) that might underlie a direct association. The effect of smoking on genital secretions, including levels of alpha 1-antitrypsin (AlAT), has not been studied. Low midcycle levels of AlAT appear to favour fertility by facilitating sperm migration and/or penetration. Smoking increases serum levels of functional AlAT. Since AlAT is produced only in the liver, levels in other tissues may reflect serum levels. It is postulated that smoking-induced increases in serum AlAT result in higher levels of AlAT in genital secretions, including those at midcycle, thereby impeding fertility. Support of an effect of serum AlAT levels on fertility is provided by studies of AlAT deficient persons, in whom fertility seems to be enhanced. An adverse effect of smoking on fertility through an increase in genital tract AlAT levels would be reversible.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed1987

A population survey in Ontario regarding restrictive measures on smoking: relationship of smoking status to knowledge, attitudes and predicted behaviour.

A population survey of Ontario residents regarding knowledge of the health effects of smoking, attitudes towards restrictive measures, and predicted behaviour was carried out. Telephone responses of 490 current, 290 former, and 581 never smokers were compared. For both active and passive smoking, never smokers were most knowledgeable about health effects, former smokers being less knowledgeable, and current smokers least so. While a majority of each smoking status group supported some restriction on smoking in all 13 settings examined, there were consistent differences among the groups as to degree. Never and former smokers were in close agreement and were more restrictive in their attitudes than current smokers. Prohibition was more strongly favoured by all groups for health and day care facilities, schools, stores, and local transit systems than for other settings. While a majority of smokers thought there would be compliance with restrictions, non-smokers were less optimistic. Smokers were less likely than non-smokers to see a role for governments in enactment; municipal involvement was favoured over other levels by all groups. No group indicated much support for enforcement by police. These findings remained when multivariate analyses controlling for inter-group differences in sociodemographic characteristics were carried out.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The significance of a dual skin test with PPD and PPD-B in humans after BCG vaccination.

Dual skin tests with tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) and with one of the following antigens prepared from mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis, such as PPD-Y, PPD-G, PPD-B, PPD-F, etc., are performed to establish the frequency of "atypical" mycobacterial infection in a given population. However, most of this work has been done in areas where BCG vaccination was rarely implemented, if at all. The purpose of this study was to assess the significance of a dual skin test using PPD and PPD-B in a population which had been vaccinated with BCG. It was found that in a population with a high level of sensitivity to PPD, median skin reaction 12 mm, only 7% of the subjects tested gave a greater response to PPD-B than to PPD, whereas in a population with a low level of sensitivity to PPD, median skin reactions 3 mm, 36% of the subjects gave a greater response to PPD-B than to PPD. It would appear, therefore, that in a population vaccinated with BCG and with a low level of sensitivity to PPD, a relatively high percentage of positive reactors, those with an induration of 5 mm or more to either PPD or PPD-B, gave a larger skin reaction to PPD-B than to PPD. To avoid erroneous conclusions as to whether or not there is a high frequency of atypical infection in a given population, the authors suggest that the BCG status of those tested with PPD and PPD-B be taken into consideration when interpreting the results of an epidemiological survey that includes an atypical antigen such as PPD-B.

BCG Vaccine↗
PubMed1985

Does a family history of allergy predict immediate skin test reactivity?

The value of a family history of allergy in predicting atopy was assessed in men employed in lumber mills, grain handling and railway industries in British Columbia. Detailed family and personal histories of allergy were available for 1434 men, 1426 of whom underwent prick skin testing with two common environmental allergens and one control solution. Those with a family history of allergy had 2.06 times the odds of immediate skin test reactivity as those without a family history and 1.65 (p less than 0.01) times the odds after adjustment for personal history and age. The odds of skin test reactivity in workers with a personal history of allergy were 4.76 times those of workers without such a history and 4.34 after adjustment for family history and age. Almost half (47%) of the workers with both a family and a personal history of allergy had positive results of skin testing, compared with only 10% of the workers without either history. It was therefore concluded that a family history of allergy is an independent predictor of atopy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Survey of the clinical use of pressurized aerosol inhalers.

Questions as to the use of pressurized aerosol inhalers were asked of 130 persons presenting for routine pulmonary function studies who had used such a device in the previous year. After spirometry was conducted the subjects used the inhaler; they were unaware that their technique of use was being observed. Only 10.8% performed correctly all 11 maneuvers suggested for the proper use of the inhalers, and 24.7% failed to perform more than 5 satisfactorily. There were significant differences in performance according to referral diagnosis (chronic obstructive lung disease v. asthma) and regularity of use of inhalers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Attitudes of health science students towards teaching practices, examinations, and other related issues.

A brief multiple choice questionnaire explored the attitudes of students enrolled in several health science faculties (medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and physical and health education). A substantial proportion indicated a wish for more challenging lectures. On the other hand, the majority of students devoted less than one hour of personal study per week to required 'courses', interest in health-related 'courses' being particularly weak. Small textbooks with minimal references were desired, and relatively little use was made of free lecture handouts. Financial constraints had little influence on personal study, but affected textbook purchase. The demand for 'handouts' would have been reduced by a charge. Frequent term examinations as a stimulus to learning were favoured by all groups, as were full or challenging presentations by instructors. Team teaching, although favoured generally, was not equally appealing to all groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Alcohol consumption and hypertension--the evidence from hazardous drinking and alcoholic populations.

To provide an enhanced perspective to observations of an association between moderate alcohol consumption and hypertension, information on the frequency of hypertension in heavy drinking and alcoholic populations was reviewed. Hypertension was found more often in ambulatory heavy drinkers and alcoholics than in more moderate drinkers and abstainers. This hypertensive state appeared to be at least partially reversible upon cessation of drinking. Additional investigation is needed to define the level of consumption associated with an increased risk of hypertension, the dose response pattern, and the determinants of irreversibility. Alcohol-related hypertension may constitute a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, thus contributing to the excess mortality experienced by heavy drinking populations. In view of the steady increase in per capita alcohol consumption which characterizes many affluent societies further clarification of this relationship is an urgent public health research priority.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Tuberculosis in immigrants to Canada. A study of present-day patterns in relation to immigration trends and birthplace.

The influences of immigration on tuberculosis morbidity in Canada were examined. The pattern of immigration has changed markedly in recent years, increasing proportions of immigrants being from areas other than Europe. Morbidity rates varied widely according to country of birth and were highest among persons born in Asia and lowest among those born in northwestern Europe and the United States. These rates were generally parallel to those reported in the countries of birth, although somewhat lower. Differences in patterns of disease by birthplace were noted, particularly the preponderance of lymphadenitis in Asians and genitourinary tuberculosis in Italians. Although the frequency of drug-resistant bacilli was higher in Asians than in other groups, the vast majority of bacilli in all groups were drug-sensitive. For purposes of tuberculosis control, immigrants from high-incidence countries constitute a high-risk group, and physicians should be aware of this when dealing with patients from these countries.

Asia↗
PubMed1979

Racial differences in lung function: search for proportional relationships.

A comparison of lung function in Caucasian and East Indian woodworkers revealed marked differences in FEV, FVC, AND MMF in relation to predicted age- and height-specific values of these variables reported in the literature. These findings were not attributable to differences in smoking habits, frequency of respiratory disease, or employment characteristics. Rather, they suggested that the standard values employed were inappropriate for East Indians. An attempt was made to confirm previously reported suggestions of consistent proportional differences in lung function between racial groups which would permit the calculation of a single correction factor. Evidence of a consistent proportional relationship was found for FEV over a wide range of heights and for FVC over a limited range of heights. However, no such relationship was found for MMF.

Adolescent↗