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Biomedical subjects

P A Miller

Publications and source records attributed to P A Miller.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Imaging of abdominal hernias.

Abdominal hernias are a common clinical problem. The main types of abdominal hernias are external or abdominal wall hernias, which involve protrusion of abdominal contents through a defect in the abdominal wall; internal hernias, which involve protrusion of viscera through the peritoneum or mesentery and into a compartment in the abdominal cavity; and diaphragmatic hernias, which involve protrusion of abdominal contents into the chest. Clinical diagnosis of abdominal hernias can be difficult. However, plain radiography, radiography performed after administration of barium, and computed tomography allow evaluation of suspected abdominal hernias and detection of those that are clinically occult. The anatomic location of the hernia, the contents, and complications such as incarceration, bowel obstruction, volvulus, and strangulation can be demonstrated with radiologic examination. Occasionally, complications such as neoplasms or inflammatory conditions can be identified in the hernial contents. With abdominal imaging modalities, a variety of abdominal hernias can be confidently diagnosed.

Child↗
PubMed1995

Status of functional assessment in occupational therapy with the elderly.

The purpose of this article is to describe the status of functional assessment in occupational therapy with older persons and its applications to the health care team. First, the traditional approach to functional assessment of older persons is reviewed, followed by several challenges directed toward this process. Second, a multidimensional assessment appropriate for use by trained allied health professionals is described. Finally, two recent assessments are presented as examples for the future.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

Intraoral pyogenic granuloma after allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Report of three cases.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplant patients commonly have oral complications related to their disease or its treatment. Those reported include: xerostomia, mucositis, caries, infection, gingival hyperplasia, periodontitis, and graft-versus-host disease. These complications may be responsible for significant morbidity. This article reviews commonly reported oral complications of bone marrow transplantation and presents three cases in which intraoral pyogenic granuloma occurred. The cause of these lesions in post-bone marrow transplant patients is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Biostereometric measurement of oral tumour growth. Description of the technique and case report.

Following radiotherapy, it may be difficult to determine clinically whether tumour regression, stabilization or growth has occurred. Traditional diagnostic imaging may not be possible due to the small size of the tumour and the proximity of metallic restorations. A case of squamous cell carcinoma of the mandibular alveolar process in which these problems arose is presented. A computer-assisted biostereometric technique was used to identify volumetric change of the tumour. Polyvinylsiloxane impressions were obtained to record the anatomy of the tumour site. From these, stone models were made at four and eight weeks following radiotherapy. Using optical mapping techniques, tumour growth was demonstrated which was not evident on follow-up examinations. The methodolgy of biostereometry is presented and its advantages and potential applications are discussed.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed1991

Altered performance of white sucker populations in the Manitouwadge chain of lakes is associated with changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities as a result of copper and zinc contamination.

White sucker (Catostomus commersoni) collected from the Manitouwadge chain of lakes show a lower growth rate and fecundity in lakes contaminated with copper and zinc from a mixed metal mine. This study evaluated whether the changes in performance of the fish were related to direct impacts of the metals or indirect impacts associated with changes in food availability. Concentrations of metals in the water and sediment of lakes in the Manitouwadge chain were elevated, relative to reference sites. The concentrations of Cu and Zn in the digesta of white sucker were significantly higher, as were the levels of both Cu and Zn in liver, kidney, and gill tissue. Muscle and spleen levels of Cu and Zn were significantly lower or not different from controls. Tissue levels were within the homeostatic range for Cu and Zn. However, the total density of invertebrates varied from greater than 25,000 m-2 at control sites to less than 13,000 m-2 at contaminated sites, and the number of genera recorded was more than 50% lower in shallow water samples. There was almost a complete absence of several invertebrate taxa at contaminated sites, including Plecoptera, Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Trichoptera, Amphipoda, and Unionidae. Diptera accounted for 78 to 96% of the total numbers of individuals at metal-contaminated sites as compared with 40 to 75% at the control sites. An analysis of white sucker stomach contents showed that the contents closely reflected the benthic composition observed in the natural substrate. Changes in food availability and feeding activity were correlated with previous changes documented in the growth, fecundity, and lipid levels of white sucker.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The relations of parental characteristics and practices to children's vicarious emotional responding.

We examined the relation of parental empathy-related characteristics and emotion-related child-rearing practices to third and sixth graders' vicarious emotional responding. Children's heart rate, skin conductance, facial, and self-reported reactions to a sympathy-inducing film were assessed, as were their dispositional sympathy, empathy, and self-monitoring. Parental sympathy was positively related to low levels of personal distress in same-sex children and, for both parents, with sons' dispositional sympathy or empathy. Parental emphasis on problem-focused coping strategies when their sons were anxious was positively correlated with indexes of sons' situational and dispositional sympathy. Same-sex parental restrictiveness in regard to the control of inappropriate, hurtful emotional displays was associated with sons' and daughters' dispositional and situational sympathy, whereas maternal restrictiveness in regard to emotions that are unlikely to hurt others was correlated with nonverbal indexes of personal distress and self reports of low distress. Parental emphasis on control of the child's own negative emotion was associated with children's self-monitoring.

Arousal↗
PubMed1989

Differential modulation of gene induction by glucocorticoids and antiglucocorticoids in rat hepatoma tissue culture cells.

Studies of glucocorticoid and antiglucocorticoid induction of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) in two rat hepatoma cell lines (Fu5-5 and HTC) are described. These studies revealed several phenomena that are not consistent with the current models of steroid hormone action: (a) TAT induction occurred at glucocorticoid levels below those required for comparable receptor occupancy in Fu5-5, but not in HTC, cells; (b) the ability of antiglucocorticoids to induce TAT is higher in Fu5-5 than in HTC cells; (c) the values of the amount of TAT agonist activity with the antiglucocorticoid dexamethasone 21-mesylate and of log10 of the dexamethasone concentration required for half-maximal induction of TAT were not constant over time but varied in a linear, reciprocal manner. This modulation was seen for several glucocorticoids and antiglucocorticoids at the level of both TAT enzyme and mRNA but not for two other glucocorticoid inducible genes in the same cells. These results, plus the fact that a similar difference in the concentration required for half-maximal TAT induction in Fu5-5 cells was seen for both glucocorticoids and cyclic AMP, argue that the modulation occurs at some point distal to receptor-steroid complex binding to the biologically active nuclear sites but proximal to translation of TAT mRNA. In order to explain these results, it is pointed out that models involving second messengers are entirely appropriate for steroid hormone action. The participation of a modulated trans-acting factor in such a model may explain the above results.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Mothers' emotional arousal as a moderator in the socialization of children's empathy.

Overall, our findings suggest that the moderating effects of maternal affective arousal in the socialization of children's empathic responding are complex. On the one hand, at low levels of mothers' affective intensity, positive relations were found between children's sad facial reactions and mothers' prosocial suggestions. At the highest levels of affective responding, however, mothers' altruistic responding was significantly and positively related to children's sad facial responses, and mothers' altruism and inductive reasoning was negatively related to children's distressed facial reactions (Table 2). The negative relation of mothers' inductions and altruistic responding to children's facial distress reactions at high levels of mothers' affective responding could be interpreted to mean that these practices are associated with decreases in children's personal distress reactions to distressed peers (that is, with decreases in one's focus on one's own negative feelings). However, the positive relations between mothers' inductions and altruistic responding and children's facial distress reactions at low levels of mothers' emotional responding could support the interpretation of facial distress reactions as vicarious emotional responses. The affective response depicted by the children in the empathy films involved physical distress, so a purely vicarious affective (that is, empathic) response might be expected to be expressed facially as a distressed reaction. Thus, the variability in the results regarding children's facial distress reactions suggests that to interpret them as an index of either empathy or personal distress requires considering the nature of the empathy stimulus and may ultimately require assessing additional criterion variables (for example, examining the relation of facial distress reactions to actual prosocial behavior). Results not found in previous research were that high-intensity parental affect combined with negative control practices was associated with a lessening of children's sympathetic orientations, whereas situational definitions were positively associated with children's facial distress reactions to peer distress. The variability in these findings may be explained, in part, by the interpretation that parental affect may potentiate the impact of the semantic content of parental messages to the child. That is, if the content of the message is inductive, the mother's intense affect may heighten the meaningfulness of the relation between the child's behavior and its consequences for the peer's situation or feelings (unless, of course, the parent overwhelms the child with information).

Altruism↗
PubMed1989

Sympathy and personal distress: development, gender differences, and interrelations of indexes.

In summary, in our multimethod research concerning vicariously induced emotion, we have obtained several patterns of importance. First, we have obtained modest differences in facial and self-report indexes of emotion, nearly all indicating greater responsivity by females. Moreover, some of the data suggest that this gender difference increases with age. Second, we have found that facial indexes of negative emotion are stronger for younger than older persons and that older children's self-reports of emotion are somewhat more consistent with the context than are those of young children. Finally, although we have not obtained strong or consistent relations among our physiological, self-report, and facial indexes of emotion, those that have been obtained suggest a positive relation among indexes, one that appears to be stronger for younger than older persons (especially girls). Further research confirming these patterns of findings is needed; nonetheless, the preliminary data can be viewed as indicating that a multimethod approach to studying empathy is useful for increasing our understanding of empathy, sympathy, and personal distress reactions and their development.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1989

Relation of sympathy and personal distress to prosocial behavior: a multimethod study.

Assessed sympathy and personal distress with facial and physiological indexes (heart rate) as well as self-report indexes and examined the relations of these various indexes to prosocial behavior for children and adults in an easy escape condition. Heart rate deceleration during exposure to the needy others was associated with increased willingness to help. In addition, adults' reports of sympathy, as well as facial sadness and concerned attention, were positively related to their intention to assist. For children, there was some indication that report of positive affect and facial distress were negatively related to prosocial intentions and behavior, whereas facial concern was positively related to the indexes of prosocial behavior. These findings are interpreted as providing additional, convergent support for the notion that sympathy and personal distress are differentially related to prosocial behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The role of sympathy and altruistic personality traits in helping: a reexamination.

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine the role of social evaluative concerns in the self-report of sympathy and in the relation of sympathy to helping; and (b) to determine the role of "altruistic personality" traits and situationally induced vicarious emotional responses in the intention to help. Dispositional and situational self-reports of sympathy and other vicarious emotional reactions were obtained for persons who also were given the opportunity to assist a needy other. Moreover, dispositional measures of concern with social evaluation and an altruistic orientation were obtained, and a bogus pipeline manipulation was instituted for half the study participants. Both dispositional and situational self-reported sympathy were positively related to helping, as were other personality indices viewed as reflecting altruistic characteristics. The relations for the dispositional indices of sympathy were not due solely to social evaluative concerns or to other egoistic concerns. The effects on intended helping of dispositional sympathy, perspective taking, and the tendency to ascribe responsibility for others to the self appeared to be both direct and mediated by situational sympathetic responding. Finally, situational sadness did not mediate the effects of sympathetic responsiveness.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Inverse correlation between dexamethasone 21-mesylate agonist activity and sensitivity to dexamethasone for induction of tyrosine aminotransferase in rat hepatoma cells.

Previous results demonstrated that both the level of induction of the liver specific enzyme tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) by the irreversible antiglucocorticoid dexamethasone 21-mesylate (Dex-Mes) and the concentration of the reversible glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) required for 50% of maximal TAT induction (i.e. EC50) were different in HTC and Fu5-5 rat hepatoma culture cells. In the present study, a retrospective analysis of these two parameters over an 8 yr period indicates that the absolute values of both parameters varied within each cell line over time in a reversible manner. The variation of both parameters appears to be causally related since a linear, reciprocal relationship exists between the amount of Dex-Mes agonist activity and log10 (Dex EC50) in both cell lines (correlation coefficient is -0.896 for n = 46). This relationship was independent of changes in basal TAT level, culture medium, and serum lot. Results with cloned HTC cells indicate that these temporal variations are not due to fluctuations in the relative abundance of two cell populations displaying either high or low amounts of agonist activity with Dex-Mes. While these analyses relied on the detection of enzyme levels, the amount of TAT mRNA is shown to parallel the enzyme levels. Thus the variation in parameters of TAT induction by Dex and by Dex-Mes appears to be modulated at a pre-translational step. Such variations have not previously been observed for the control of specific gene transcripts by other steroid hormones and may be related to the known differences in agonist activity seen for most antisteroids in various systems.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of glucocorticoid receptors in two rat hepatoma cell lines with different sensitivities to glucocorticoids and antiglucocorticoids.

Two independently derived rat hepatoma cell lines, HTC and Fu5-5, differ in their sensitivities to both glucocorticoids and antiglucocorticoids, despite virtually identical number and affinity of glucocorticoid receptors. The present study further examined both receptors for differences that could account for the nonidentical responses of the two cell lines. HTC and Fu5-5 cell receptors that were covalently labeled with [3H] dexamethasone 21-mesylate ([3H]DM) had the same mol wt of about 97,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the same isoelectric point of about 6.4 by nonequilibrium pH gradient electrophoresis. Limited proteolysis of receptor-[3H]DM complexes with three different proteases generated identical protease-specific digestion patterns regardless of the cellular origin of the receptors. Receptor-[3H]dexamethasone complexes prepared from either Fu5-5 or HTC cells bound calf thymus DNA with the same affinity in vitro. In intact cells, the intracellular distribution of receptor-dexamethasone or receptor-DM complexes at equilibrium was almost identical in the two cell lines. Thus, we detected no differences in the size, sequence, or net charge of Fu5-5 or HTC cell receptors; additionally, there were no significant differences in steroid uptake, receptor binding, or activation, translocation, and nuclear binding of receptor-steroid complexes. However, the DM labeling efficiency, calculated as the percentage of total receptors covalently labeled by DM, was higher in HTC cells (65.9 +/- 12.9%; n = 5) than in Fu5-5 cells (39.3 +/- 7.7%; n = 5). The labeling efficiency of DM correlated inversely with its ability to induce tyrosine aminotransferase activity, suggesting that DM forms noncovalent, as well as covalent, complexes in vivo which mediate the glucocorticoid and antiglucocorticoid activities of DM, respectively. Further research is required to identify the factor(s) that influences DM labeling efficiency, thereby affecting the amount of DM agonist activity and, possibly, the sensitivity of the cells to glucocorticoids.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1988

The effect of dietary protein level on exercising horses.

Six mature Quarter Horse mares were used in a crossover design to assess the effect of dietary protein level on metabolic response to exercise. After a 2-wk adaptation period to either a 12.9% (control) or an 18.5% CP (high-protein) diet, each mare performed a standard exercise test. The test consisted of a 15-min exercise period at 4.5 m/sec on a 9% grade motorized treadmill. Exercise resulted in an increase in heart rate (P less than .001), but there was no difference (P less than .05) between dietary treatments. In the jugular vein, lactate increased (P less than .01) from 6.3 to 52.0 mg/100 ml in the control group and increased from 6.3 to 45.6 mg/100 ml in the high-protein group. There was an interaction (P less than .05) between diet and exercise for lactate. Plasma NH3 increased (P less than .001) during exercise, but not until the 15th min, at which time NH3 increased over fourfold in both groups. Dietary protein did not affect NH3; however, urea-N was higher (P less than .001) in horses receiving the high-protein diet. Plasma alanine increased from 13.6 to 30.3 mumol/100 ml and glutamine increased from 49.3 to 62.5 mumol/100 ml in the control group. In the high-protein group, alanine increased from 10.2 to 25.8 mumol/100 ml, whereas glutamine increased from 39.3 to 49.2 mumol/100 ml. Our study detected no metabolic evidence for a detrimental effect of excess dietary protein in horses exercising on a graded treadmill at 4.5 m/sec for 15 min.

Alanine↗