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Biomedical subjects

S C Anderson

Publications and source records attributed to S C Anderson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

A critical analysis of the concept of codependency.

This article addresses problems associated with conceptualizing interpersonal behaviors as addictions or diseases and pathologizing characteristics associated with women. The failure of the codependency model to focus on the unequal distribution of power and resources and the blurring of responsibility between the actor and audience are also discussed. Individual identity can be lost in the label, and the codependency model encourages separation from rather than connection with the family of origin.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1993

Effect of ambient temperature on SIDS rate.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between ambient temperature and rate of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SUBJECTS AND SETTING: All infants with SIDS occurring during 1980-1989 in the Sydney metropolitan area. RESULTS: The SIDS rate varied more than threefold over the months of the year and peaked at the minimum daily temperature in July. The rate was negatively linearly related to both the monthly mean minimum and maximum daily temperatures. Both relationships were highly significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The significant relationship between daily temperature and SIDS rate means either that daily temperature is an excellent indicator of the cold weather conditions that have a profound effect on the rate of SIDS or that temperature itself plays a direct role in the cause of SIDS.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1993

An epidemiological survey of SIDS in the Sydney metropolitan area.

Records of 1049 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (100%) in the Sydney metropolitan area (SMA) from 1980 to 1989 were analysed in relation to ambient temperature, geographical distribution and socio-economic scale. The SIDS rate varied between eastern and western Sydney and between statistical subdivisions; it peaked sharply in July, coinciding with the monthly mean minimum daily temperature (MMMDT; 6.5 and 5.4 degrees C, respectively). The inverse linear relationship between the SIDS rate and the MMMDT for the regions and the subdivisions was highly significant (P < 0.001). The SIDS rate showed a significant inverse linear relationship to two socio-economic scales (allotment and house value) for 82 of the 87 suburbs (94%) of the SMA. Temperature, indicative of cold weather, was the major factor determining SIDS rates, and this, together with socio-economic factors, largely explains the observed geographical distribution of SIDS rates in the SMA.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1993

Trigeminal ganglion neurons affect corneal epithelial phenotype. Influence on type VII collagen expression in vitro.

PURPOSE: To examine whether trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons in tissue culture influence expression of Type VII collagen (a major component of the anchoring fibrils involved in the attachment of the epithelium to the underlying stroma) by cultured corneal epithelial cells. METHODS: A two-chambered coculture system was used. Fetal rabbit TG neurons were cultured into a central chamber on collagen- or laminin-coated tissue culture dishes. After good neurite outgrowth (average 7 days), rabbit corneal epithelial explants were placed into the outer chamber. Once neurite-epithelial cell interaction occurred, the cultures were immunostained for Type VII collagen. Direct coculture of TG neurons onto confluent passaged rabbit corneal epithelium also was studied. RESULTS: Neurites in contact with the epithelial cells in the outer chamber formed branching complexes, but staining for Type VII collagen was negative. In cocultures of TG neurons onto confluent passaged rabbit corneal epithelium, there was extensive neurite branching on and around the epithelial cells within a week. Scattered epithelial cells, many in clusters, were found to express Type VII collagen, as determined by immunofluorescence staining. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the finding from this study that TG neurons influence production of Type VII collagen by rabbit corneal epithelium in vitro, it is likely that TG neurons influence corneal epithelial phenotypic characteristics that are critical to the maintenance of healthy epithelium in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Expression of vimentin by rabbit corneal epithelial cells during wound repair.

Intermediate filaments of epithelial cells generally consist of specific combinations of keratins. However, cultured epithelial cells from certain tissues and some epithelial tumors have been shown also to express vimentin. In the present study, the expression of vimentin by epithelial cells in healing corneal wounds (partial thickness penetrating wounds) and in tissue culture was analyzed. Both immunohistochemical and immunotransblot analyses indicated that although vimentin was not detected in the normal rabbit corneal epithelium in vivo, cultured rabbit corneal epithelial cells co-express keratins and vimentin. At 1 day post-wounding, vimentin was not detectable in the epithelial cells that had covered the denuded stroma. However, at 2 days postwounding, the epithelium at the base of the epithelial plug immunoreacted with both anti-vimentin and antikeratin monoclonal antibodies. Immunotransblot analyses of the extracts of the epithelial plugs confirmed the presence of vimentin (Mr = 58k). The 58k band was not detected in the extract of normal rabbit corneal epithelium. At day/5, vimentin was no longer detectable in the epithelium. This study demonstrated that corneal epithelial cells transiently co-express vimentin and keratins in vivo during wound healing and in tissue culture. The time-course of the transient expression of vimentin suggests that the vimentin expression in the epithelial cells during healing is not linked to cell proliferation or to the centripetal migration of the epithelium during early stages (first 24 h) of healing, but may be linked to cell-matrix interactions or the migration of basal cells in the upward direction at the following stage of healing.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Healing of excimer laser ablated monkey corneas. An immunohistochemical evaluation.

The healing response of the cornea following excimer laser anterior keratomileusis (a 4-mm-diameter ablation to a depth of 11, 23, or 46 microns) was analyzed immunohistochemically in adult rhesus monkeys. The ablated surface had reepithelialized and the synthesis of type VII collagen (a major component of anchoring fibrils) was evident by 7 days; the reestablishment of a nearly continuous anchoring fibril zone was evident after 12 weeks. Stromal fibroblasts, activated in response to wounding, expressed a fetal antigen for approximately 6 weeks. Although fibronectin and type VII collagen were present only transiently in the regenerating subepithelial stromal matrix in the subepithelial regions, some other alterations, including the presence of type III collagen, increased levels of keratan sulfates, and discontinuities in the anchoring fibril zone were evident even 18 months after wounding. The depths of the regenerated stroma, which were estimated from the depths of remnant staining for type VII collagen in the stromal matrix, generally, but not always, corresponded to the depths of the calculated ablation.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Adolescents and chemical dependency.

Practitioners seeking to develop effective treatment strategies for chemically dependent adolescents confront a literature which is overwhelming in volume and confusing and contradictory in content. The intent of this article is to critically review the literature relevant to this population. Incidence, prevalence, patterns, correlates, and consequences of use are discussed, along with their implications for social work treatment, research, and policy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Alcohol-free living centers: hope for homeless alcoholics.

It is difficult for an alcoholic individual to maintain sobriety without a place to live. Alcohol-free living centers provide a low-rent, alcohol-free environment for homeless people recovering from alcoholism. In this article, the authors describe such a living center in Portland, Oregon and its effectiveness. Two general predictions guided this study: (1) clients would use fewer sobering amd detoxification services after leaving the alcohol-free living center than before entering treatment and (2) clients who left the alcohol-free living center through successful termination would use fewer sobering and detoxification services after leaving than those clients who left the center for reasons other than successful termination. Data were collected on 80 clients whose average length of stay in the living center was 89 days. The results of the study showed that clients who completed the program were admitted less often to both sobering services and short-term detoxification. These reductions occurred whether or not the clients successfully completed a treatment plan while living at the center. By the end of the program, there were also substantial client changes in employment status, income, and perceived employability. The indications of effectiveness and the low cost make the alcohol-free living center a critical component in rehabilitation for homeless people who are alcoholic.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1987

Perceived levels of burnout of Veterans Administration therapeutic recreation personnel.

This study investigated the relationship between work-related variables and perceived levels of burnout of therapeutic recreation personnel who work with long-term psychiatric patients in Veterans Administration hospitals. Subjects completed a three-part instrument composed of a demographic questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Work Environment Scale. Of the 511 subjects surveyed, 287 (56%) responded with usable questionnaires. The demographic, job- and profession-related variables were found to be significantly related to burnout. The eta values were somewhat low. The WES variables accounted for 20.9% of the variance in the burnout measures. The WES variables accounted for 20.9% of the variance in the burnout measures. The most salient relationships emerged between the emotional exhaustion and the depersonalization subscales and clarity, supervisor support, involvement, work pressure, autonomy, innovation, peer cohesion, task orientation and physical comfort. In comparison with other groups of human service professionals, therapeutic recreation personnel experienced low levels of emotional exhaustion, moderate levels of depersonalization, and somewhat lower levels of personal accomplishment.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMed1984

Evaluation of social work practice in health care settings.

The purpose of this article is to encourage social workers in health care settings to evaluate the effectiveness of their practice. Recent studies of intervention outcome in health care settings are reviewed on four dimensions. Because most of these utilize large group designs and social workers in direct practice rarely conduct this type of research, single-system designs are proposed as a complementary and feasible approach to evaluation. Issues in the use of single-system designs within health care settings and a case example will be discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

Homeless alcoholic women on skid row.

Studies of homeless alcoholic women remain rare. Women on Skid Row in New York City were sought out at the Women's Shelter for a study of homeless women alcoholics. The findings in this study of 31 homeless alcoholic women tend to confirm an earlier study by Garrett and Bahr in most respects. A major difference relates to the population's lack of homogeneity. A life-long pattern of marginality does not exist for most of the women. All judged to be alcoholic, some lived with their families, husbands, or a male partner prior to coming to the shelter. Almost a third lived alone. Sometimes the death of someone close or other crisis precipitated homelessness. In many instances there was no apparent crisis. For a substantial group of these women there did seem to be a long-standing pattern of instability and transient living in the two years preceding their move to the shelter. Public resources invested in shelter care are much needed either for individuals whose limited resources run out or where a crisis results in the loss of safe, adequate shelter.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Family therapy in the treatment of alcoholism.

The disease of alcoholism has long been known to significantly affect family relationships. Nevertheless, the characteristics and needs of these families are frequently not well understood, and treatment of the alcoholic in isolation continues to remain the norm. Family systems theory can provide a framework for comprehensive diagnosis and treatment which recognizes and addresses alcoholism as a family disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Characteristics of abusive parents: a look at self-esteem.

Low self-esteem has often been cited in the child abuse literature as a characteristic of abusive parents. However, most of these references have been based on individual case studies and practitioner reports rather than explicitly designed inquiries that attempt to control bias associated with clinical observations. Data for this study were derived from a broader exploratory research project conducted within the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. As part of the project, a total of 111 abusive parents were administered the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS). The TSCS score profiles for this group are examined along with a discussion of the implications of the findings for intervention services. The profiles permit a comparison between abusive parents' self-concepts, a group of normal self-concepts, and a group drawn from a mental hospital population. The departure of the abusive parents' self-concepts from the normal group and the apparent greater similarity to self-concepts of mental patients suggest a lengthier and more involved treatment than may have been formerly thought.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Alcoholic women; personality traits during adolescence.

There have been few attempts to study the relationship between adult drinking patterns and prealcoholic personality traits in women. The present study compares personality traits using adolescence of 30 alcoholic women with those of their nonalcoholic biological sisters. The picture of the prealcoholic adolescent which emerges is one of an insecure, withdrawn, moody, self-indulgent girl who is nonetheless basically competent. She lacks those traits (found in her nonalcoholic sister) which are considered culturally to be stereotypically "feminine." Adolescent personality traits which differentiate between alcoholics and their sisters in the present study merit attention in future studies.

Adolescent↗