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Biomedical subjects

W C Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to W C Taylor.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Should young adults with a positive tuberculin test take isoniazid?

We used decision analysis to determine the benefits and risks of preventive therapy with isoniazid for young adults whose only risk factor for the development of active tuberculosis was a positive tuberculin skin test. We assumed that the risk of developing active tuberculosis over the next 20 years ranged from 0.56% to 1.30% for such persons; that isoniazid can reduce this risk by 30% to 70%; and that the risk of developing isoniazid-related hepatitis ranged from 0.3% to 1.1%. Among 100 000 such persons, treatment with isoniazid could prevent from 168 to 910 cases of tuberculosis over 20 years. However, from 300 to 1100 cases of isoniazid-related hepatitis would occur in the year of treatment. The benefits of preventive therapy in this group do not appear clearly to outweigh the risks. We disagree with the recommendation of the American Thoracic Society and the Centers for Disease Control that all such patients take isoniazid.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A preliminary investigation of three types of multiple choice questions.

The present study reports the results of an evaluation of three types of multiple choice questions--the five choice completion, and assertion-reason. Fifty-four questions, eighteen of each type and measuring the candidate on the same scientific principle and classified as either factual or comprehension, were developed and included in the General Surgery certifying examination of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In addition to using descriptive statistics, the multitrait-multimethod technique was used to investigate whether the item types measured different aspects of examinee capabilities. Results indicated that performance on the five choice completion and the multiple completion type questions was roughly the same, whereas performance on the assertion-reason type was lower. The results of the multitrait-multimethod validation revealed that the three item types were unable to discriminate between the two traits of factual and comprehension.

Canada↗
PubMed1978

Multiple, heterogeneous actin genes in Dictyostelium.

We have used an actin gene-containing restriction fragment of plasmid M6 (Kindle and Firtel, 1978) to select a second actin gene-containing plasmid which we have named pDd actin 2. This plasmid has been shown to contain two actin genes separated by 350 bp of nonactin DNA. When heteroduplexes are formed between any two of the three actin genes present in chimeric plasmids, the region of homology is 1100 +/- 100 bp. This is close to the minimum length required to code for actin protein. The 1100 bp region of intergene homology corresponds to the 1100 bp homology observed between M6 and the two actin cDNA plasmids pcDd actin B1 and pcDd actin A1 (Bender et al., 1978). We have no evidence for additional sequences common to either the 3' or 5' ends of the 1100 +/- 100 bp region of intergene homology. Thermal denaturation experiments show that different pairs of actin genes are diverged from each other by as much as 6--8%. There are two size classes of mRNA complementary to the three actin genes. These have lenghts of 1.25 and 1.35 kb as determined on methyl mercuric hydroxide-containing agarose gels. The possible linkage of these three actin genes to other actin genes is discussed.

Actins↗
PubMed1978

Collusion of information on computerized patient management examinations.

In a computer presented examination the ratio of examinees to computer terminals is generally large. This implies that a computer presented test might span an entire day or several days with different groups of examinees taking the examination at different times. In such a situation, examinees who take the examination later on have the opportunity to gather information from their colleagues who took the examination earlier. This report investigates whether information exchanged between groups of examinees taking a computer presented patient management problem test improves the performance of late takers versus early takers. Results indicate that there is no exchange of information between groups of candidates.

Alberta↗
PubMed1977

Sequence arrangement in satellite DNA from the muskmelon.

Two fractions of a satellite DNA from the muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) isolated as a unimodal peak from CsCl gradients, differ in melting properties and complexity as estimated by reassociation kinetics. At 49.8 C, all of the low melting fraction was denatured and all of the high melting fraction was native. There were almost no partially denatured molecules detected in the electron microscope at this temperature. This observation provides direct evidence that the two fractions are not closely linked. We conclude that satellite I, the high t(m), low complexity fraction, exists as a 600-nucleotide sequence in blocks of at least 67 tandem repeats. Since the complexity of the low melting fraction, satellite II, is greater than the size of the molecules in our assay, we can only say that the minimum size of each unit of satellite II is 2.5 x 10(7) daltons. It is unlikely that any spacer sequences are interspersed with either satellite.Sequences homologous to those of satellite I were also shown to be present as a minor fraction on 4900 nucleotide pair fragments with main band DNA density. These long main band fragments probably contain in addition at least two repeated sequence elements unrelated to satellite I since they aggregate (form large network structures) when reassociated. Coaggregation of sheared (3)H-satellite I with long main band DNA could not be attributed to contamination of main band with long satellite DNA. We interpret the results as an observation of a recently created family of tandemly repeating sequences whose members are beginning to be scattered throughout the genome.We discuss how the aggregation technique may be generally useful for assessing linkage between a minor and a major DNA fraction when both fractions may be present in the initial DNA preparation. Applications for the technique include the search for DNA sequences in the nucleus which are homologous with chloroplast DNA and for Agrobacterium tumefaciens DNA in the nuclei of plant cells transformed to the tumor phenotype by the bacterium.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1976

The use of computerized patient management problems in a certifying examination.

The 1974 paediatric certification process of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada included four CPMPs, in addition to the conventional MCQs and orals. The CPMP's were successfully administered to 160 candidates in eight cities across Canada on the same day. The examination was judged by the candidates to be a better test of clinical skill than MCQs. The CPMP examination did not penalize French-speaking candidates, was economically feasible, and a good security risk. Correlations between MCQ, orals and CPMPs, indicated that each examination measured some aspects of paediatric competence not tested by the others.

Canada↗
PubMed1976

Paediatric candidates' attitudes to computerized patient management problems in a certifying examination.

In September 1974 candidates who had taken a computerized patient managment problem examination (CPMP), as part of the certification process in paediatrics required by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, completed a questionnaire designed to elicit their reactions to CPMPs. The results indicated that respondents were favourable to CPMPs, that there was little distraction caused by the equipment, logic or semantics of the problems, and that CPMPs were an acceptable examination technique. It was recommended that, in the future, CPMP examinees be allowed practice time to familiarize themselves with the equipment, that pre-examination instructions should be clarified, and that problems judged inadequate by candidates be revised.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗