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Results for “Self-selection”

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PubMed1979

Consumer impact of a Cold Self-Care Center in a prepaid ambulatory care setting.

A Cold Self-Care Center was developed to be an alternative to professional care and to encourage more active involvement of consumers in their own care. A sample of the self-selected user population (n = 74) was studied by comparison with a random sample of plan members (n = 104), and the program was evaluated for cost, consumer satisfaction, and impact on behavior, knowledge and attitudes. Users demonstrated higher levels of knowledge about cold care than non-users, indicated more dependency on professional resources, and differed in health-related attitudes and cold-care behavior. The Cold Self-Care Center appears to have had little impact on self-medication behavior. However, it did affect care-seeking behavior. Knowledge of criteria for seeking professional care was greater than in non-users; 20 per cent sought professional care, and 6 per cent anticipated seeking professional care for future colds. General satisfaction with the program was quite high. Speed and ease of use were cited most often as reasons for satisfaction. The Center also was demonstrated to have a favorable impact on clinic costs. A flexible system which is convenient to use and which retains access to professional care when appropriate both can relieve clinic overload and meet the needs of a large percentage of cold patients.

Common Cold↗

PubMed1978

A program of heart disease intervention for public employees. A five year report.

The five-year experience involving over 800 employees has effected reduced coronary risk factors, improved physical work capacity and maximal oxygen uptake and reduced employee absenteeism from personal sick leave. As in all instances where the self-selection process confounds the nature of the results, the extent of extrapolation from these data must be guarded. Nevertheless, the results support and further extend previous studies suggesting a reduction of CVD following formal behavior and life-style modification. It is the opinion of the authors that similar programs can be implemented where health services, flexible hours, agency cooperation and salaried coordinators can be assembled.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

Sibship asymmetries of rhesus blood groups in the presence of maternal antibodies.

The genotypes of the children of R1r, R2r, and R1R2 fathers, and Rh-immunized rr mothers, were examined. R1r fathers had an excess of R1r over rr children, and R1R2 fathers had an excess of R1 r over R2r children. These asymmetries confirm the findings of a previous study. The possibilities of artefactual self-selection, of genotyping errors, and of errors in assigning paternity, were examined and excluded. Alternative models of genetic transmission and of antigenic structure were studied, but no basis for explaining the findings was found or formulated. Three possible biological explanations were formulated including (a) asymmetric segregation of the rhesus genes, (b) selective early fetal loss, and (c) a selective effect upon the performance of sperms bearing different haplotypes. The first of these three appeared unlikely. The data did not provide a basis for supporting or rejecting or differentiating the other two.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

PubMed1992

Peripheral and central mechanisms of hindfoot equinus in childhood hemiplegia.

A detailed clinical examination of 24 hemiplegic children at a mean age of 9.9 years showed that nine had an obligate toe-strike when walking at a self-selected speed and this was maintained throughout stance. None of the 24 children had a fixed equinus. No association could be found between this pattern of gait equinus and lower-limb atrophy, reduced ankle-joint range, muscle extensibilite, power of dorsiflexors and plantarflexors or actual muscle imbalance at the ankle joint. Gait equinus was independent of reduced compliance of the calf muscles, of a clinical diagnosis of tonic spasticity, of fine-motor dexterity of the toes, and of the side of the hemiplegia. Gait equinus cannot be explained merely in terms of a central paralytic foot-drop. A developmental model of equinus is advanced.

Ankle Joint↗

PubMed1977

Marathon running and immunity to atherosclerosis.

This is an interim report of an on-going study of deaths in 42-km men. The absence of fatal ASCVD in these athletes can not be construed as evidence for the protective role of exercise alone. The ability to run 42 km depends on many factors. Exercise is only one. Avoiding tobacco is another. Dietary factors also play a role. It has not been feasible to remove one of these factors while maintaining the ability to cover the 42 km distance. Some 42-km men claim that megadoses of ascorbic acid protect them from collagen injury. This is supported by animal studies that show increased collagen synthesis proportional to ascorbic acid intake up to dosage levels that would equal 10 grams per day for humans. Their self-selected macrobiotic diet contains a high ratio of peanuts:steak resulting in a high P/S ratio (polyunsaturates/saturates). Dietary manipulation quickly effects their ability to train. Smoking is so rare among these runners that it must be related to specific effects, such as a catalytic agent in tobacco smoke converting linoleic acid into a toxic lipid oxide. Noakes and Opie recently confirmed again (May, 1976) that no cases of "death due to coronary atherosclerosis" have been recorded in marathon finishers. If this holds true for the second 10-year period of this study, then marathon runners will have joined the longshoremen by earning life-long protection against ASCVD. These longshoremen burned 1,876 kcals on the job, equivalent to a 30-km run. Roberts and Straus suggest that many factors can cause atherosclerosis. Only time will tell whether the marathoner is protected from all of them.

Adult↗

PubMed1975

Social modification of alcohol consumption in inbred mice.

The strain-specific "preference" for, or "aversion" to, an alcohol solution in a choice situation on the part of C57BL and DBA mice is believed to be under genetic control. But social rearing conditions are now shown to alter the voluntary consumption of alcohol, so that DBA weanling mice housed for 7 weeks with adult C57BL mice increase--and C57BL weanling mice housed with DBA adults decrease--their alcohol intake. Although substantial and highly significant changes in alcohol self-selection occur, strain-specific phenotypes are not reversed.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1992

Development of Thermus-Escherichia shuttle vectors and their use for expression of the Clostridium thermocellum celA gene in Thermus thermophilus.

We describe the self-selection of replication origins of undescribed cryptic plasmids from Thermus aquaticus Y-VII-51B (ATCC 25105) and a Thermus sp. strain (ATCC 27737) by random insertion of a thermostable kanamycin adenyltransferase cartridge. Once selected, these autonomous replication origins were cloned into the Escherichia coli vector pUC9 or pUC19. The bifunctional plasmids were analyzed for their sizes, relationships, and properties as shuttle vectors for Thermus-Escherichia cloning. Seven different vectors with diverse kanamycin resistance levels, stabilities, transformation efficiencies, and copy numbers were obtained. As a general rule, those from T. aquaticus (pLU1 to pLU4) were more stable than those from the Thermus sp. (pMY1 to pMY3). To probe their usefulness, we used one of the plasmids (pMY1) to clone in E. coli a modified form of the cellulase gene (celA) from Clostridium thermocellum in which the native signal peptide was replaced in vitro by that from the S-layer gene of T. thermophilus HB8. The hybrid product was expressed and exported by E. coli. When the gene was transferred by transformation into T. thermophilus, the cellulase protein was also expressed and secreted at 70 degrees C.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1977

Errors arising through using the Harvard tables and percentage levels of median weight-for-age in assessing nutritional status.

A self-selected sample of 417 urban and 379 rural preschool children attending the under-5s clinics was weighed in Sierra Leone. The individual weights were related to the weight-for-age Harvard 3rd centiles and 80% levels of the Harvard medians. In this analysis there were considerable discrepancies between the sexes. Further investigation showed that the distribution of the weight-for-age Harvard centiles for girls is much wider than the distribution of the Harvard centiles for boys. These distributions appear to be unusual when compared with those from London and Hong Kong studies. Accordingly, use of the weight-for-age Harvard centiles may lead to inaccuracy in the assessment of the nutritional status of preschool children. The "percentage method" as suggested by Jelliffe (1966) and Gomez et al. (1956) does not take account of the normal range of distribution of the standards. This study has shown that the 80% levels of sex-specific median weight-for-age occupy positions as much as 600 g below the sex-specific 3rd centiles for Hong Kong Chinese children, while the 80% levels closely follow the 3rd centiles for London children in the preschool age group. Thus the Hong Kong 80% levels are not comparable with the London 80% levels. Therefore, the "percentage method" appears to be misleading in the assessment of nutritional status using weight measurements.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1992

Practical considerations of melanoma/skin cancer screening clinics.

In 1989 a voluntary melanoma/skin cancer screening clinic was held in Oss, the Netherlands. The campaign was carried out according to the free clinics conducted since 1985 in the USA. Our experiences with the first clinic urged us to improve on the organization of the screen. This produced a better yield of the second screen, conducted in 1990 in Arnhem. In this paper we present the practical and organizational implications of melanoma/skin cancer screening based on both screening exercises. It is emphasized that only dermatologists should screen. Concomitant public education will enhance self-selection of people at risk for melanoma/skin cancer. There should be ample provider time, sufficient auxiliary personnel and abundant examination rooms. Total-body skin examination is optional. Follow-up of positive screenees is mandatory. It is concluded that melanoma/skin cancer screening is feasible, particularly in countries with a high dermatologist-to-patient ratio.

Advertising↗

PubMed1992

Risk factors for increased airway responsiveness to methacholine challenge among laboratory animal workers.

As a first step in a prospective study of the incidence of asthma to laboratory animals, a group of 364 adults 18 to 48 yr of age who were beginning employment with laboratory animals were evaluated in terms of their past history, health status, allergy, and airway responsiveness to methacholine. At entry to the study, 269 had previous occupational contact with animals, 109 had chest symptoms in the previous year, 168 had a history of allergic symptoms to laboratory animals (any with asthmatic responses were systematically excluded), and 118 had positive immediate skin tests (29 had positive skin tests to laboratory animals). When defined as a PD20FEV1 of 80 breath units or less, 18.4% of these young adults had methacholine hyperresponsiveness (HRA). Significant risk factors for HRA were found to be younger age, female sex, lower educational level, a history of allergic symptoms to laboratory animals, and a history of chest symptoms. Positive skin tests to laboratory animals were present in 8% of workers; this was not a significant risk factor for HRA although positive skin tests to pollen and household allergens were. Previous work experience was a risk factor, especially among those with allergic symptoms, and a trend toward self-selection was suggested in that the rate of HRA was lowest in workers with more than 2 yr of experience or with two or more previous jobs with laboratory animals.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1979

Comparison of respiratory variables in grain elevator workers and civic outside workers of Thunder Bay, Canada.

We compared respiratory variables in 441 grain elevator workers with 180 civic outside laborers in Thunder Bay. The grain handlers had a lower frequency of both positive skin reactions to pollens and molds and a family history of asthma, which suggests that they may have been self-selected for a decreased tendency to develop allergic respiratory disease. There was a higher frequency of cough and rales and a small decrease in forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume in one sec among the grain handlers, as compared to the civic workers matched for smoking. However, these differences between grain and nongrain workers were small in comparison to those between smokers and nonsmokers. There was no clear indication of a worsening of respiratory functions that could be attributed specifically to duration of employment as a grain elevator worker.

Adult↗

PubMed1975

A program of research training in psychiatry: ten-year evaluation and follow-up.

Nineteen psychiatrists who participated in the research training program at Boston University School of Medicine from July 1962 to June 1972 were surveyed by questionnaire to determine how participation in the training program may have affected their subsequent professional careers. Results indicate that-probably via a happy combination of self-selection, screening, and the actual experience of research training-these 19 psychiatrists constitute an impressive group who are active in research, publish extensively, and assume substantial teaching responsibilities at medical schools. The authors suggest tha a postresidency program in research training can be extremely important to the development of careers in psychiatric research and to a more scientifically grounded profession.

Awards and Prizes↗

PubMed1975

Psychiatric new-patient clinic non-attenders.

Non-attenders at a psychiatric new-patient clinic were seen and interviewed six weeks after the missed appointment, as were a group of controls who did attend. The non-attenders were more likely to have had frequent changes of occupation or belong to families where this was the case with the family breadwinner; a history of court conviction; and a history of previous psychiatric treatment. They were less likely to have improved since referral to the clinic; and to have a diagnosis of manic depressive psychosis, depressed type. The findings are discussed. There appears to be some self-selection, the most treatable patients keeping their appointments.

Bipolar Disorder↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of the living environment on activity and use of time.

Exposure to an environment with increased opportunities resulted in increased activity among a group of elderly persons, compared to similar people in unenriched environments. Findings support the hypothesis that unmet need for activity existed among the group, all of whom had been matched to the enriched environment by staff and self-selection, and the hypothesis that environmental intervention is potent in influencing behavior, even in old age. Persistence of the relative elevation in activity over eight years and concomitance with other indexes of well-being suggest that appropriate environment intervention which expands activity opportunities is beneficial. Congruity between the person's needs and the environment's resources is central. Individual differences in need for activity interacted with opportunity in accounting for outcomes.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1977

Analysis of clinically occult and mammographically occult breast tumors.

Findings by xeromammography and clinical examination were compared in 16,000 self-selected women aged 45-64 who participated in a voluntary breast cancer screening program. A total of 138 malignancies were detected: 108 (78%) by mammography and 78 (57%) by clinical examination. Mammography was more effective for large breasts, fatty breasts, and in older women. Conversely, clinical examination was more effective for small breasts, dense breasts, and retroareolar lesions. Clinical detection decreased strikingly for lesions with negative lymph nodes, in situ and microinvasive lesions, deeply situated lesions, and lesions where microcalcifications were the sole mammographic finding.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1977

Neuroticism and proxemic behavior.

The relationship between proxemic behavior and neuroticism was examined. 50 male and 43 female subjects individually self-selected seats in a classroom where they were administered the Eysenck Personality Inventory by one of four experimenters (two male, two female). A significant relationship was found between proxemic distance and both neuroticism and experimenter's sex.

Female↗

PubMed1978

Serological evidence for a high incidence of transmission of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi in two Orang Asli settlements in Peninsular Malaysia.

Two communities of Orang Asli (aborigines) in Peninsular Malaysia were observed for evidence of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi infection over periods of 1-8 mo. Sequential sera were examined for antibody by the indirect immunofluorescence test. The incidence of infection in the two self-selected populations in the two communities was calculated to be 3.9% per month and 3.2% per month.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1975

The public seminar as a nutrition education approach. An evaluation.

A health seminar seemed to modify knowledge, attitudes, and reported behavior of a self-selected audience which was already well informed and motivated to change. Therefore, the health seminar appears to be a useful educational approach in this context. The question remains: How can those who are neither informed nor motivated be reached? This study suggests that the public seminar may not be an efficient vehicle for this purpose.

Attitude to Health↗