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Biomedical subjects

M Plaza

Publications and source records attributed to M Plaza.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[The physician and the patient in the decision to quit smoking. Effect of the initiative on the result of the intervention].

INTRODUCTION: The results obtained from treatment of smoking addiction are not all that might be desired, such that continued investigation of the various factors that determine treatment success or failure are necessary. The aim of this study was to know the influence of health care providers in the smoking cessation process. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a prospective, longitudinal study of patients at a primary care facility and a specialized unit. Two types of intervention were performed: minimal intervention with patients with a low level of dependence and nicotine patch substitution treatment (Nicotinell) (NST) in patients with moderate-to-high dependence. RESULTS: The total number of smokers enrolled was 427: 206 at the primary care facility (87 who requested treatment and 119 to whom enrollment was recommended) and 21 at the respiratory medicine unit (79 who requested treatment and 142 to whom enrollment was recommended). One year after minimal intervention, abstinence was 36.8% (27.2%-47.4%) at the primary care center and 41.8% (31.9%-52.2%) at the specialized unit (p > 0.05). Abstinence in the NST group at each center was 35.3% (24.1%-47.8%) and 35.5% (25.8%-46.1%), respectively (p > 0.05). With minimal intervention, 40% (16.3%-67.7%) of those who had requested enrollment had quit smoking one year after starting, versus 36.3% (32.1%-46.9%) of those to whom it had been recommended (p > 0.05); in the NST group, the percentages were 33.3% (24.4%-43.2%) and 39.3% (26.5%-53.2%) (p > 0.05). The percentage of abstinence among smokers in pre-contemplation phase was 28.4% (18.5%-40.1%) one year after starting; among those in the contemplation phase, abstinence at one year was 49.2% (36.6%-61.9%) (p < 0.05). The patients whose enrollment was the result of physician recommendation had better outcomes (odds ratio of 0.244 [95% CI: 0.097-0.616]). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention among smokers should be as strong among those who ask for help as among those who have not yet contemplated quitting; progress to another phase in the abandonment process, so that efforts to achieve total cessation can be approached at a later time, should be considered a therapeutic success.

Administration, Cutaneous↗
PubMed2000

Seroepidemiology of chlamydial infections of wild ruminants in Spain.

Chlamydial infections were determined serologically among wild ruminants in the Nature Park of the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (CNP; Spain). Sampling was done during the period from 1990-95. There were 1,244 blood samples collected, consisting of 490 from fallow deer (Dama dama), 343 from mouflon (Ovis mussimon), 283 from red deer (Cervus elaphus) and 128 from Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica). Specific complement-fixing antibodies of Chlamydia spp. were detected by means of microtechnique, using lipopolysaccharide antigen. The relationship of biological (species, sex, age), temporal (year) and territorial (central and peripheral areas) factors to seropositive prevalence was examined, and preliminary data were collected on whether or not sheep and goat herds grazing in the peripheral areas of the park also were infected with Chlamydia spp. Chlamydiosis was common in the four species of wild ruminants in the CNP in all the years studied. The prevalence of Chlamydia sp. in mouflon (37%) was significantly greater than in fallow deer (30%), and both had a significantly higher prevalence rate than Spanish ibex and red deer (both 24%). The four species of wild ruminants were similar in that they act as reservoirs of Chlamydia spp., although their receptivity may be different, and the infection can certainly be maintained among these animals by intra-group transmission. The differences in prevalences and geometric mean titers (GMT), both between the sexes (male versus female) and between different ages (adult versus juvenile), were insignificant in all four species. For all species of wild ruminants both prevalence rates and GMTs were greater in populations occupying the peripheral areas of the park than in those inhabiting the central area. Herds of sheep and goats had a high prevalence of chlamydiosis. Intertransmission of Chlamydia sp. between wild and domestic ruminants occurred through grazing on the same pastures. The highest mean prevalence (44%) of patent infections (CFT titers of > or =1:80) was detected in red deer, although this frequency was not significantly different from those observed in mouflon (39%), Spanish ibex (38%), and fallow deer (37%). The proportion of patent infection was higher in females than in males, and none of the juveniles (<2-yr-old) showed patent infections. The prevalence of predicted patent chlamydial infections was always higher in the peripheral areas of the park, although only among mouflon and fallow deer were the differences statistically significant.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Phonological impairment in dyslexic children with and without early speech-language disorder.

This study examines phonological awareness in a group of 10 dyslexic children, compared with two groups of children (a reading-equivalent control group and a group of beginning readers). Five of the dyslexic children exhibited an early speech-language impairement, and five others were not language-impaired. The experimental design consisted of a set of 10 tasks involving sensitivity to phonological strings, phonetic identification, and phoneme segmentation and manipulation. The major findings reveal that (a) the two subgroups of dyslexic children exhibit a metalinguistic impairment and (b) dyslexic children with speech-language impairment exhibit (besides metalinguistic impairment) a deficit concerning early precursors of the phonological awareness (rhyme and syllables). These findings provide additional support for including speech-language impairment as an operational criterion within the heterogeneous group of dyslexic children.

Child↗
PubMed1993

[Dysphonetic dyslexia and semantic path].

The author formulates the core question of the research in some severe forms reading disturbances in children. The aim is to develop a model at the interface between the cognitive approach and the affective approach so as to analyze the different elements of the global strategy adopted by some children diagnosed as "dysphonetic dyslexics" when confronted with written material. The author defines the theoretical and methodological prerequisites that are necessary for such a clinical investigation focused on a symptom.

Affect↗
PubMed1987

Characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases in Xenopus laevis ovary.

A cGMP-stimulated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase present in cytosol of Xenopus laevis ovary has been purified and characterized. A cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase which is not activated by either cGMP or calmodulin, has also been characterized. Brief exposure of intact oocytes to 10 micro M progesterone results in an increase in activity of the cAMP-specific enzyme. The cGMP-stimulated and the calmodulin-activated phosphodiesterases are not altered. Changes in cyclic nucleotide levels during progesterone-induced maturation of oocytes may be modulated by these isoenzymes.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Word identification in adults with mild mental retardation: does IQ influence reading achievement?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between word identification and intelligence in adults with mild mental retardation (IQ < 80). METHOD: A standardized evaluation was administered to 67 adults with mild mental retardation. The evaluation included a psychiatric interview, the WAIS-R, and a 2-h interview with a speech therapist and reading tests. RESULTS: Causes of mental retardation were diverse in the sample, and IQ scores ranged from 43 to 79 (mean score = 64). All subjects exhibited reading impairment, including 69% with severe impairment. No subject with an IQ score under 65 was able to perform adequately in the word identification tasks. Word identification was correlated with total and verbal IQ, but not with performance IQ. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that, in contrast to subjects with normal intelligence, IQ score is correlated with reading in subjects with mild mental retardation. Finally, remediation should be preferentially implemented for subjects with IQ score greater than 65.

Achievement↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Short-term memory impairment and unilateral dichotic listening extinction in a child with Landau-Kleffner syndrome: auditory or phonological disorder?

The neuropsychological profile of a child with a Landau-Kleffner syndrome is presented here. The observed cognitive difficulties included verbal short-term memory and seemed partially compensated for when the experimental assessments bypassed the auditory channel. This case study is especially challenging since the child, whose phonological skills were quite efficient and who exhibited a dichotic listening unilateral extinction, had developed average reading and spelling abilities. The fact that B.E.'s performance on memory tasks was quite poor when the stimuli were presented auditorily and more efficient when the stimuli were presented visually, strongly suggests that the observed memory impairment was due to a deficit at the level of cortical auditory processing. B.E.'s phonological skills were efficient, suggesting a neuropsychological dissociation between phonological ability and auditory processing. The fact that B.E. dramatically recovered language and easily acquired reading and spelling accounts for the hypothesis that compensatory strategies allowed him to develop phonological skills from predominantly visual input.

Auditory Perceptual Disorders↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A study on the degree of relationship between two individuals.

The paper studies the likely degree of relationship between two individuals who could possibly be half sibs. The possible common ancestor was dead, which further complicated the problem. The model used was devised by Thompson [in Rao and Chakraborty (eds): Handbook of Statistics, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1991] and establishes a correspondence between the possible degree of relationship and certain feasible probability distributions on the number of identical by descent genes. Two statistical approaches are considered: the classical one, in which the maximum likelihood estimation for the parameters of Thompson's model are obtained, and the Bayesian one, in which the test of the hypothesis of half sibs is accompanied by a robustness study.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Atypical cognitive disorders in a man with developmental surface dyslexia.

The neuropsychological profile of a man with a developmental surface dyslexia is presented here. This case study is of interest because J.C. exhibited a pattern of cognitive disorders rarely documented in previous data. Results showed that JC's difficulties in reading comprehension were closely related to complex memory disorders and were also associated with cognitive slowness. The present observations do not support the visual memory failure hypothesis. The data rather suggest that the core difficulty primarily lies with the nonautomatization of grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules, which in turn dramatically contributed to lexicon weaknesses. The hypothesis of a timing mechanism in reading disorders is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of the BAX system for detection of Listeria monocytogenes in foods: collaborative study.

A multilaboratory study was conducted to compare the automated BAX system and the standard cultural methods for detection of Listeria monocytogenes in foods. Six food types (frankfurters, soft cheese, smoked salmon, raw, ground beef, fresh radishes, and frozen peas) were analyzed by each method. For each food type, 3 inoculation levels were tested: high (average of 2 CFU/g), low (average of 0.2 CFU/g) and uninoculated controls. A total of 25 laboratories representing government and industry participated. Of the 2335 samples analyzed, 1109 were positive by the BAX system and 1115 were positive by the standard method. A Chi square analysis of each of the 6 food types, at the 3 inoculation levels tested, was performed. For all foods, except radishes, the BAX system performed as well as or better than the standard reference methods based on the Chi square results.

Chi-Square Distribution↗