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Biomedical subjects

M S Scott

Publications and source records attributed to M S Scott.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Predicting the subcellular localization of viral proteins within a mammalian host cell.

BACKGROUND: The bioinformatic prediction of protein subcellular localization has been extensively studied for prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. However, this is not the case for viruses whose proteins are often involved in extensive interactions at various subcellular localizations with host proteins. RESULTS: Here, we investigate the extent of utilization of human cellular localization mechanisms by viral proteins and we demonstrate that appropriate eukaryotic subcellular localization predictors can be used to predict viral protein localization within the host cell. CONCLUSION: Such predictions provide a method to rapidly annotate viral proteomes with subcellular localization information. They are likely to have widespread applications both in the study of the functions of viral proteins in the host cell and in the design of antiviral drugs.

Computational Biology↗

Perceptions and practices of registered nurses regarding pastoral care and the spiritual need of hospital patients.

Reports the findings of a questionnaire survey designed to examine the impact of pastoral care on patient care and job satisfaction of registered nurses (N-280) employed in a metropolitan hospital. Suggests that educational strategies be explored as a way of broadening the perspectives of nurses regarding reasons for consulting pastoral care departments.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

Isometric exercise training lowers resting blood pressure.

Both rhythmic and "resistive" (weight lifting) exercise training can produce modest decreases in resting blood pressure. The next logical point along an exercise continuum consisting of different proportions of rhythmic and isometric efforts is a strictly isometric effort. The purpose of these studies was to assess the effects of isometric, handgrip exercise training on resting blood pressure. To avoid the extreme pressor responses elicited by fatiguing isometric efforts, the isometric exercise training used in this study consisted of brief handgrip contractions separated by rest periods. Modest repeated rises in systolic and diastolic pressures therefore served as the putative stimuli for training adaptations in resting blood pressures. Human subjects in study 1 trained with four, 2-min isometric handgrip contractions with 3-min rests between contractions. The intensity of the contractions was equal to 30% of their maximal effort for each day. The bouts of isometric exercise were performed three times per week for 8 wk. Study 2 training consisted of four contractions of 50% of maximum effort held for a duration of 45 s with 1-min rests. These were performed 5 d.wk-1 for 5 wk. In Study 1, all eight trained subjects had a significant decline in both systolic and diastolic resting blood pressures, with group averages of 12.5 and 14.9 mm Hg, respectively. Seven matched control subjects who did not train had no change in resting pressures. In study 2, subjects were trained in their home or workplace and experienced significant mean declines in resting systolic and diastolic pressures of 9.5 and 8.9 mm Hg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Group differences and individual classification accuracy associated with letter/word oddity problems.

The ability of 27 pairs of mildly mentally retarded and normally achieving 6- through 8-year-old students to apply an oddity rule to an experimental set of letter and word oddity problems was assessed. The mildly retarded group evidenced a markedly lower level of performance on all five experimental oddity problems, but they did evidence successful generalization to oddity arrays that visually were very different from those used in training. High levels (greater than 90%) of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive accuracy, and negative predictive accuracy were observed using only six cards. Only slightly lower (greater than or equal to 85%) values were obtained when using a cut-off score. This subset of six cards is, therefore, an excellent candidate for inclusion in a cognitive preschool screening test being developed for the early detection of children with mild mental retardation.

Achievement↗

Classification of normally achieving and mildly mentally retarded students on the basis of their oddity transfer performance.

Forty mildly retarded, 6- through 9-year-old children selected from educable mentally retarded (EMR) classes and 40 normally achieving students of the same age were pretrained on the oddity solution and then given eight different, six-trial oddity transfer problems. A higher level of transfer was associated with the older (8- and 9-year-olds) and with the normally achieving students. The students' performance on the oddity transfer trials was used to classify them into their two respective groups. High levels of classification accuracy were observed in the discriminant function analyses. On both the group comparison and the individual student classifications, all eight oddity types were sensitive to differences between the normally achieving and mildly retarded grade school students.

Child↗

Perceptual and conceptual variants of the oddity task as a predictor of learning disability.

This paper compares LD and non-LD peers on eight variants of the oddity task. This study is part of a larger programmatic research effort aimed at the development of a screening test to detect preschool children who currently pass existing screening tests but, nonetheless, subsequently experience school failure. The theoretical orientation of this approach is to assess active, ongoing cognitive processing ability. The oddity task, which can be structured to assess such processing ability, was evaluated in the present study as a potential component of this screening test. Consistent with a priori predictions, the data resulted in strong group and developmental differences. Oddity performance increased over age, with the non-LD children performing consistently better than their LD peers at each age. Perceptual and conceptual factors were manipulated across the oddity variations, and both factors contributed to group differences. These results were discussed in relationship to early diagnosis and prognosis for learning disabilities that might result from deficiencies in abstract processing ability.

Age Factors↗