PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T McGinn

Publications and source records attributed to T McGinn.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Distribution of equine infectious anemia in equids in southeastern United States.

State veterinarians in 11 southeastern states completed a questionnaire designed to determine the proportion of equids in the region that were seropositive for equine infectious anemia (EIA). Cases of EIA were diagnosed in each of the states surveyed. Distinct geographic clusters of cases were apparent in Tennessee and Kentucky adjacent to the Mississippi River, in the Piedmont of North Carolina at the Virginia border, in north central Georgia, and throughout the Florida peninsula. It is suggested that the national EIA program could be improved by standardization and wider application of uniform active surveillance measures, and improved documentation of EIA status of horses on acquisition and transfer records.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Private midwives: a new approach to family planning service delivery in Ghana.

Data on 134 private sector midwives who were educated and trained in family planning service delivery by the Ghana Registered Midwives' Association (GRMA) showed that, for most, the course was the first they had received since qualifying as a midwife. Four out of five of the new family planning clients served by these midwives were first time contraceptive users. Approximately 9% of the clients were men, most of whom requested condoms. While delivering women is still the main function of the maternity homes, it is clear that family planning services have come to represent an important element of the health care the midwives provide. A follow-up study of family planning acceptors found extremely encouraging continuation rates. In addition, a survey of the women that the midwives had delivered showed that the contraceptive prevalence rate among these women was higher than the national rate. Providing family planning services through private sector midwives has been shown to be a very successful approach in Ghana, and one that has the potential to become a pillar of the nation's overall family planning delivery programme. As several other countries in Africa also have active private sector health networks, this approach holds promise far beyond its initial success in Ghana.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Survey of trichinosis in breeding and cull swine, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Serum samples obtained from 40,927 swine at various locations in North Carolina between Aug 1, 1987 and July 31, 1988, were tested for antibodies to Trichinella spiralis, using an ELISA based on a larval T spiralis excretory-secretory antigen. In the ELISA, samples were considered to have positive results if the optical density (OD) reading was equal to or 5 times greater than the mean OD value of 4 negative-control sera from trichina-free swine. Of the 40,927 serum samples tested, 154 (0.38%) were positive by ELISA; the rate for breeding swine was 0.35% (105/30,162), and the rate for cull swine was 0.45% (49/10,765). Of the 49 seropositive samples from cull swine, 11 were from out of the state, 22 had no identification, and 16 were known to originate from North Carolina. Seropositivity had a bimodally seasonal distribution, with peaks in March and September. There was no difference between the mean age of seropositive and seronegative swine, but males were at greater risk for seropositivity than were females. Pigs from lots with less than 100 sera tested were at increased risk for seropositivity, as were pigs from the central coastal region of North Carolina.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Disordered spatiotemporal processing in schizophrenics.

Schizophrenics have been observed to process information slower than normal individuals. The present study evaluated spatiotemporal information processing by schizophrenics and normal controls by means of a contrast sensitivity task. Spatial frequency gratings (0.9, 3.8, 15 cycles/degree), temporally modulated at 0.0 stationary, 0.8, 3.25, 6.5, and 26.0 Hz, were presented to evaluate whether or not schizophrenics are deficient in processing patterns or temporal information. While the patterns were increasing linearly from 0% to 30% contrast, the subjects were required to discern when pattern or temporal changes first occurred. A multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed that schizophrenics were poorer at detecting temporal changes between 3.25 and 6.5 Hz, whereas they were able to detect patterns better on the low and poorer on the high spatial frequencies compared to normals. No differences were obtained for the stationary pattern. These results are discussed in terms of abnormal sensory gating occurring during the critical duration of temporal integration.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The natural history of liver disease in former drug users.

Three hundred and twenty drug-free former narcotic addicts were studied with regard to persistence of abnormalities of liver function and morphology, and their relation to hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B antibody was present in 52.4 per cent, while HBs antigen was detected in only 6 per cent. Transaminase abnormalities, initially present in 39 per cent, were found in 22 per cent six months after cessation of drug abuse. Abnormalities tended to persist thereafter, although there was some continued return to normal levels. Liver biopsy findings of chronic persistent and aggressive hepatitis correlated with persistence of HBs antigenemia and transaminase elevation. Follow-up liver biopsies in seven subjects showed decreased inflammatory reaction in five. None showed progressive liver disease. We conclude that: (1) 15 to 20 per cent of former narcotics addicts have chronic persistent hepatitis or chronic aggressive hepatitis after cessation of drug absuse for six months or more; (2) serologic evidence of exposure to HBs antigen is frequent, and rapidly develops after the start of needle use; (3) although histologic ad chemical abnormalities usually persist, progression did not occur, and some individuals demonstrated spontaneous improvement.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family planning operations research in Africa: reviewing a decade of experience.

Between 1979 and 1990, Columbia University conducted 26 family planning operations research (OR) projects in 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Most of these projects were implemented in settings where family planning service delivery had not yet been initiated or was new and poorly developed. In keeping with program needs in the early stages of development, the majority of the OR projects were based on demonstration or diagnostic designs. Only four of the 23 projects were comparative or quasi-experimental in design. Projects demonstrated the growing demand for family planning, and the feasibility and acceptability of a range of service delivery models. Sixteen of the projects have been sustained or replicated by national or local governments and institutions following the initial OR phase, replication of two others is planned, and another four resulted in policy formulation or improvements in existing national programs. OR in Africa played an important role in generating political and medical support for contraceptive services, and served to improve project management. OR proved more useful in the implementation and strengthening of individual programs than in generating universal lessons regarding service delivery. In order to maximize OR's utility in Africa, simple research designs and methods should be adopted.

Africa↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family planning in Burkina Faso: results of a survey.

A survey of women of reproductive age was undertaken during April and May 1986 as part of an operations research project in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Data were collected on respondents' knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) of contraception. Although the government family planning program had been operating only since February 1985, knowledge of modern methods was surprisingly high, with 64 percent of respondents having ever heard of at least one modern method. Only 4.9 percent, however, were currently using a modern method. Use of traditional methods was high in this traditional society, with 41 percent of women currently practicing abstinence. Both knowledge and current use varied significantly across several background characteristics, the most important of which was education. The respondents were very vocal about their fertility desires regarding both the spacing and limitation of births. Moreover, attitudes toward possible future contraceptive use were extremely positive. These factors may be contributing to the steadily increasing demand for family planning services, which the government program is striving to meet.

Adolescent↗