Articles: human.
-
Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Jan 1993
Methodologic issues in neuropsychological research with HIV-spectrum disease.
Conflicting data have emerged from the initial studies of the neuropsychogical sequelae of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This paper reviews key methodologic issues that must be addressed when embarking upon new research on the neuropsychology of HIV spectrum disease. Finally, suggestions are given for methodologic pitfalls to be avoided when conducting or interpreting research in this domain.
-
A spurious category-specific visual agnosia for living things in normal human and nonhuman primates.
Abstract Patients with visual associative agnosia have a particular difficulty in identifying visually presented living things (plants and animals) as opposed to nonliving things. It has been claimed that this effect cannot be explained by differences in the inherent visual discriminability of living and nonliving things. To test this claim further, we performed two experiments with normal subjects. ⋯ They made many more errors in discriminating among living things than nonliving things. Agnosic patients' responses to the same line drawings were made available to us for correlative analysis with the subjects' responses to these drawings in Experiments 1 and 2. We conclude that a category-specific visual agnosia for living things can arise as a consequence of a modality-specific but not category-specific impairment in visual representation, since living things are more similar to each other visually than nonliving things are.
-
The effects of response cost and response restriction on a multiple-response repertoire with humans.
In two experiments a multiple-response repertoire of four free-operant responses was developed with university students as subjects using monetary gain as reinforcement. Following baseline, one of the responses was reduced either by making monetary loss contingent upon it (response cost) or by removing it from the repertoire (response restriction). In Experiment 1 a multielement baseline design was employed in which baseline and restriction or response-cost contingencies alternated semirandomly every 3 minutes. ⋯ Both experiments had the following results: (a) The target response decreased substantially; (b) most nontarget responses increased, and the rest remained near their baseline levels; and (c) no support was found for Dunham's hierarchical, most frequent follower, or greatest temporal similarity rules. For several subjects, the least probable responses during baseline increased most, and the most probable responses increased least. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, responses with the lowest frequency of reinforcement increased most (for all 7 subjects), and those with the greatest frequency of reinforcement increased least (for 5 subjects).
-
Engendering family life is a spiritual process (theosis) based on human ethological constants of gender difference and generational turnover. Recent studies on ethnicity suggest that such a process retrieves a primordial sense of the human species as a whole, "humankind." Families, especially in this broad sense, link together the living and the dead and, at their best, morally empower individuals who link their destinies to such a vision of creation and human health. Reference is made to work on human strengths and speciation by Erik Erikson and to that on maternal thinking by Sara Ruddick. A political program by which an ideology of "familism" can be made is offered.
-
Enoxaparin (PK 10169) belongs to the group of low molecular weight heparins which have a greater bioavailability and longer half-life than unfractionated heparin, permitting less frequent subcutaneous administration. In well controlled trials in surgical venous thrombosis (DVT), enoxaparin has demonstrated prophylactic efficacy against venographically confirmed DVT at least equal to that observed with unfractionated heparin. Efficacy has also been demonstrated in patients at moderate risk and in limited investigations using 125I-fibrinogen scanning in nonsurgical patients at risk of DVT; in addition, enoxaparin appears to provide effective treatment of established DVT. In clinical studies, enoxaparin has also prevented coagulation of extracorporeal circulation, maintaining the patency of the circuit in patients undergoing haemodialysis. Thus, enoxaparin represents an effective alternative in the prophylaxis and treatment of thrombosis, with the convenience of less frequent administration than unfractionated heparin and the possible advantage of a lesser propensity for bleeding complications. ⋯ In prevention of postoperative DVT in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery, subcutaneous enoxaparin doses of 40mg once daily (from 12 hours preoperatively) are employed in Europe, while a dosage of 30mg twice daily (from 12 to 24 hours postoperatively) has been used in North America; in general surgery and in 'moderate risk' patients dosages of 20mg once daily have also been employed. Enoxaparin 2 mg/kg/day is effective in the treatment of established DVT, while 1 mg/kg appears to be effective in preventing coagulation of the extracorporeal circuit in patients undergoing haemodialysis. For daily dosages higher than 60mg, the elimination of enoxaparin may be prolonged in patients with severe renal dysfunction; however, an appropriate nomogram for dosage reduction has not yet been devised.