Biomedical subjects

N Howe

Publications and source records attributed to N Howe.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

The therapeutic power of play: examining the play of young children with leukaemia.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic function of play has been investigated in relation to recognized stressors such as hospitalization, illness and medical treatments for ill children. While medical treatments in the past 30 years have improved survival rates, children's psychological experiences and quality of life during and after their illness have received limited attention. OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the therapeutic effects of play on 3- to 5-year-old children with leukaemia compared with a control group of healthy children. METHOD: The participants with leukaemia (n = 11) were from the external oncology clinic of an urban children's hospital; control children (n = 11) attended a day care centre. Measures included children's experience of stress, social and cognitive play behaviours, and daily mood. RESULTS: A series of manova revealed that the children with leukaemia, compared with the control children, engaged in (a) significantly fewer total play behaviours, and in particular less (b) parallel, (c) group and (d) dramatic play. Pearson correlations revealed significant relationships between reports of 'being happy' and play only for children with leukaemia. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed a pattern of repetitive play activities week after week for children with leukaemia, but not controls. DISCUSSION: Findings are discussed in light of the theoretical and practical implications for children undergoing treatment for leukaemia.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1998

Somatostatin binding to hepatocytes isolated from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is modulated by insulin and glucagon.

Previously we reported somatostatin-14 (SS-14) binding in the liver of rainbow trout and that fasting enhanced SS-14-binding capacity. In this study, we used hepatocytes isolated from rainbow trout to study aspects of SS-14 processing and to evaluate the basis of fasting-associated changes in SS-14 binding. Hepatocytes specifically bound 5-8% of the total 125I-SS-14 added. Scatchard analysis revealed the existence of two classes of binding sites. The high-affinity site had a dissociation constant (Kd) of 23.6 +/- 1.1 nM and a binding capacity (Bmax) of 3459 +/- 134 receptors/cell. The low-affinity site had a Kd of 764 +/- 27 nM and a Bmax of 17,432 +/- 345 receptors/cell. 125I-SS-14 dissociation was hastened by the presence of 10(-6) M SS-14 . The internalization of 125I-SS-14 was time dependent; preincubation of hepatocytes with 10(-6) M SS-14 reduced internalization of 125I-SS-14. The number of high-affinity binding sites was also reduced by 10(-6) M SS-14. Because plasma levels of insulin (INS) decline relative to those of glucagon (GLU) during fasting of trout, we also investigated the effects of these hormones on SS-14 binding. The number of high-affinity SS-14-binding sites was reduced by 10(-6) M INS and was increased by 10(-6) M and 10(-8) M GLU. These results indicated that SS-14 regulates aspects of SS-14 binding and processing and suggests that INS and GLU play a role in fasting-associated changes in SS-14 binding.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

"All the sheeps are dead. He murdered them": sibling pretense, negotiation, internal state language, and relationship quality.

Pretend play enactment, negotiation, internal state language, and sibling relationship quality were examined in 40 kindergarten-aged children with either an older (M age = 7.10 years) or younger (M age = 3.6 years) sibling. Dyads were identified as engaging in frequent (n = 20) or infrequent (n = 20) pretend play. Results indicated that frequent pretend play dyads engaged in more high-level negotiation, whereas infrequent pretend dyads preferred low-level negotiation strategies. Frequent pretend dyads were more likely to use internal state language, especially during high-level negotiation. Friendly sibling relationship quality was negatively related to pretend enactment, whereas conflict was negatively associated with internal state language. Discussion focuses on the sibling relationship as a context in which to investigate the links between aspects of pretend play, sibling relationship quality, and social understanding.

Child↗

PubMed1994

Tufted angioma of the thigh.

Tufted angioma or angioblastoma of Nakagawa is a rare vascular tumor that usually appears in early childhood. It frequently is seen as an erythematous to red-brown, frequently indurated plaque that usually occurs on the trunk or neck. Typically tufted angiomas enlarge for a few years and then cease growing and remain stable. Histopathologic findings are pathognomonic. We describe a patient with a tufted angioma of the thigh who sought treatment for paroxysmal episodes of pain. Treatment with topical clobetasol propionate resulted in a decreased frequency of painful episodes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Evaluate health plans.

For most benefits administrators, this program probably does not automate a function they are now doing manually, but it does bring a consultant/broker function in-house (although this is only one of many such functions). In some organizations, particularly smaller ones that might skimp on analysis of their health plans before negotiating carrier rate changes each year, it might mean that such analysis actually does take place. But it you are a benefits administrator who has been performing yearly, manual evaluations of your plans, be very careful about trying and demonstrating this software. If you think you might not be granted approval by management to purchase it, you may wish you didn't know how well it works.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

PubMed1991

Sibling-directed internal state language, perspective taking, and affective behavior.

This study examined relations among preschoolers' sibling-directed internal state language, perspective-taking abilities, and sibling-directed affective behaviors in 32 sibling dyads (aged 14 months and 3-4 years) during naturalistic home observations. Preschooler references about internal states (emotions, wants, abilities) were significantly more likely to be (a) about the toddler than the self, and (b) made in the mother's absence and during sibling conflict and play. Relative to poor perspective takers, skillful perspective takers (a) engaged in more instances of internal state discourse and (b) talked more frequently about both the toddler and themselves. Preschoolers engaging in high levels of positive affective behavior also spoke more frequently about internal states than children engaging in low levels of positive affective behavior. Discussion of results highlights the notion that internal state language may be one way of regulating sibling interaction and also a potential means for siblings to construct shared meanings about their world.

Affect↗

PubMed1987

A portable system for measuring cutaneous thresholds for warming and cooling.

Measurement of cutaneous thermal thresholds is a valuable technique for detecting small fibre neuropathy. A robust and portable microcomputer controlled system, which separately measures thresholds for warming and cooling, is described. Thresholds at three sites have been measured; the cheek, the dorsum of the hand and the sole of the foot. Regional variability and a correlation with age have been found, indicating the sensitivity of this system.

Computers↗

PubMed1984

Axoplasmic transport of transfer RNA in the chick optic system.

It has previously been shown that 4S RNA is transported in the optic nerve of the chick, but that no movement of rRNA can be detected. The 4S component behaved as though it were composed mainly of transfer RNA (tRNA), but the possibility remained that it could contain significant amounts of material resulting from RNA degradation. The transport of this 4S component has been examined in more detail to determine its nature. In addition, the transported material was examined to establish whether the transport of tRNA is a general phenomenon or that there are only a limited number of species involved. This was done using the same principles applied in the previous study; i.e., the specific activities of separated 4S RNA species appearing in the optic tectum 4 days after intraocular injection of [3H]uridine were compared with that of 5S RNA, a nontransported species. The separation was accomplished using 2.8-5-10-17% slab polyacrylamide gels, and 18 separate regions of 4S species could be identified. The results show that at least most, if not all 4S RNA species are transported. In a separate series of experiments the 4S RNA was aminoacylated and again separated on slab gels. In this instance, the RNA was labelled with [3H]uridine and the aminoacyl component with [14C]amino acids. Gel profiles of these dual-labelled components showed excellent correspondence between the two labels, demonstrating that 4S RNA species could be aminoacylated and were therefore tRNA species.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases↗