PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P M McDonnell

Publications and source records attributed to P M McDonnell.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Health risk profile of prostitutes in Dublin.

This study examined the health risk profile of prostitutes in Dublin. Clinical records of all 150 new prostitutes who attended a drop-in clinic for prostitutes in Dublin city during the period 1991-1997 were reviewed. Variables examined included: age, use of injectable drugs, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, hepatitis B and C status, presence of sexually transmitted disease (STD), cervical cytology. Results showed the mean age of the women was 32 years. Among those tested, 2.5% were HIV positive, 5% were hepatitis B positive, 8% were hepatitis C positive and 25% had an STD. Almost 8% were injecting drug users (IDU) with higher prevalences of HIV, hepatitis B and C compared with non-IDU (P < 0.001). The clinic has been successful in providing a health-care facility for the specific health needs of this patient cohort.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Mob-1 expression in IL-2-induced ARDS: regulation by TNF-alpha.

We have recently established an animal model of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-like microvascular lung injury elicited by infusion of human interleukin-2 (IL-2). Based on the pronounced, transcriptional upregulation of multiple pro-inflammatory mediators in IL-2-induced ARDS, differential display was applied to search for potentially novel genes in this paradigm of lung injury. Differential display on total lung RNA derived from IL-2-challenged rats presented a highly reproducible 3'-UTR fragment profile in which a band (approximately 250 bp), termed B1, was strongly induced. B1 cDNA sequence exhibited 99.14% homology to the 3'-UTR of mob-1, a recently cloned gene belonging to the C-X-C chemokine superfamily. Furthermore, Northern blot analysis showed that IL-2-induced pulmonary mob-1 mRNA was expressed at time points before the onset of lung injury and suppressed after TNF-alpha inhibition. These data imply that lung mob-1 is a novel, highly inducible gene in a clinically relevant model of ARDS and, based on its identification as a chemokine, could participate in the development of lung injury.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Characteristics of outpatient suicides.

OBJECTIVE: To help identify outpatients who may be at risk for suicide, the authors used data from psychological autopsies of completed suicides to develop a profile of the clinical and demographic characteristics of suicidal patients. METHODS: Ninety-three outpatient suicides committed between April 1, 1988, and August 31, 1991, by patients in programs operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health were analyzed. RESULTS: Persons who committed suicide were younger than other outpatients and more likely to be male, to have a history of drug or alcohol abuse, and to have a primary diagnosis of depression. They were less likely to be African American and to have a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia. Physical health problems were reported for more than half of the persons who committed suicide. Males and females differed in marital status at the time of death and in methods used to commit suicide. According to their therapists, 73 percent of the patients who committed suicide did not express suicidal ideation or intent, and more than 30 percent were reluctant to accept treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In treating outpatients who match the profile of the suicidal patient, clinicians should be alerted that lack of suicidal ideation does not eliminate the risk of suicide, especially among patients who are noncompliant with treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Patterns of movement in the first 6 months of life: new directions.

The field of infant perceptual development has relied heavily on the preferential-looking and habituation paradigms. Despite the obvious advantages of employing standardized methodologies, there is a need to study how perceptual variables give rise to and guide action beginning in the neonatal period. It is argued here that, in the first 5 months of life, it is important to distinguish reflexive patterns of movement from voluntary and cortically controlled patterns. Some criteria are defined. This paper describes three experiments which utilized movement counters to record developmental changes in the frequency and synchrony of limb movements in infants under 5 months. The results show that there is a general increase in frequency of limb movements from 1 to 5 months, but with a plateau or even a decrease in activity from the middle of the third month to the end of the fourth month. It was also demonstrated that synchrony scores (co-activation) for pairs of limbs showed significant increases from 1 month to 5 months. Finally, in all three experiments the presentation of an attractive toy resulted in suppression of activity. The results of the three experiments are interpreted to measure a gradual increase in cortically controlled movement patterns.

Arousal↗
PubMed1989

Do artificial limbs become part of the user? New evidence.

This paper provides evidence that limb-deficient subjects who wear artificial arms tend to overestimate the perceived length of their residual limb. It is proposed that this "perceptual error" may provide a useful and possibly more valid alternative to existing methods of determining prosthetic acceptance. The degree of overestimation is substantial for most subjects with amputations, and typically represents 20 percent of the length of the prosthetic arm. The effect is considerably reduced when the prosthetic limb is removed. Comparisons are made with normal-limbed subjects of various ages. For the most part, their errors are small and typically are underestimates of actual limb length. This research is compared with the work of Fraser (1984), who found similarities in reaching trajectories for normal and artificial arms. Further investigation is required to determine if this effect may serve as an index of adjustment to a prosthesis and, additionally, if prosthetics training programs might benefit from including techniques for enhancing perceptual adaptations to artificial limbs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Infants' acuity at twenty feet.

Measurement of duration of fixation was used to assess the ability of 6-, 12-, 24-, and 36-week-old infants to discriminate black-and-white square-wave gratings from a homogeneous gray field at a distance of 20 ft (6.1 m). Acuity was estimated as the smallest stripe width detectable by at least 18 of the 24 infants in a given age group. The strip width was considered detectable if it was fixated longer than a homogenous gray field. The results are consistent with estimates of infants' threshold acuity obtained at target distances less than 5 feet (1.5 m). Because of the 20-ft viewing distance, these infants' acuity in Snellen notation can be more confidently estimated.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

A longitudinal study of prism adaptation in infants from six to nine months of age.

This study replicated a previous demonstration of prism-induced aftereffects in 5-9-month-old infants. Aftereffects were considered to be changes in direction of reaching for visual targets following prism exposure. The present study employed a longitudinal design. In the experimental group, infants were exposed to 25-diopter lateral displacing prisms once each month from 5 to 9 months. Since many of the subjects were unable to complete testing at 5 months, data for that age level were not included in the main analyses. In a control group, infants were tested each month but were exposed to prisms only at 9 months of age. The magnitude of aftereffects for control subjects at 9 months was not significantly greater than aftereffects obtained for experimentals at 6 months, so there was little evidence of changes in adaptability due to age or repeated exposure to the prisms. The finding of an increase in the frequency of reaching with the left hand during exposure to leftward-deviating prisms was replicated. Such a shift in hand preference probably represents an alternative form of adaptation which for methodological reasons has not been observed in adults. The aftereffect and frequency results were complementary and provide a clear demonstration of adaptation to prismatic displacement between 6 and 9 months.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1979

Adaptation to displacing prisms in human infants.

This research reports a first attempt to study adaptation to laterally displacing prisms in human infants of ages six to ten months. Twenty infants were tested over four days under conditions similar to those used in adult adaptation studies. Evidence was found of vigorous adaptation when infants were exposed to base-right prisms under conditions of active exposure. Detailed consideration is given to the conditions and methods of studying adaptation in infants and implications for adult studies.

Adaptation, Psychological↗