tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Methods and theories in the experimental analysis of behavior
Authors: B. F. Skinner
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (1984)

Abstract We owe most scientific knowledge to methods of inquiry that are never formally analyzed. The analysis of behavior does not call for hypothetico-deductive methods. Statistics, taught in lieu of scientific method, is incompatible with major features of much laboratory research. Squeezing significance out of ambiguous data discourages the more promising step of scrapping the experiment and starting again. As a consequence, psychologists have taken flight from the laboratory. They have fled to Real People and the human interest of “real life,” to Mathematical Models and the elegance of symbolic treatments, to the Inner Man and the explanatory preoccupation with inferred internal mechanisms, and to Laymanship and its appeal to “common sense.” An experimental analysis provides an alternative to these divertissements. The “theories” to which objection is raised here are not the basic assumptions essential to any scientific activity or statements that are not yet facts, but rather explanations which appeal to events taking place somewhere else, at some other level of observation, described in different terms, and measured, if at all, in different dimensions. Three types of learning theories satisfy this definition: physiological theories attempting to reduce behavior to events in the nervous system; mentalistic theories appealing to inferred inner events; and theories of the Conceptual Nervous System offered as explanatory models of behavior. It would be foolhardy to deny the achievements of such theories in the history of science. The question of whether they are necessary, however, has other implications. Experimental material in three areas illustrates the function of theory more concretely. Alternatives to behavior ratios, excitatory potentials, and so on demonstrate the utility of rate or probability of response as the basic datum in learning. Functional relations between behavior and environmental variables provide an account of why learning occurs. Activities such as preferring, choosing, discriminating, and matching can be dealt with solely in terms of behavior, without referring to processes in another dimensional system. The experiments are not offered as demonstrating that theories are not necessary but to suggest an alternative. Theory is possible in another sense. Beyond the collection of uniform relationships lies the need for a formal representation of the data reduced to a minimal number of terms. A theoretical construction may yield greater generality than any assemblage of facts; such a construction will not refer to another dimensional system.
Intrathoracic Volume Changes in Relation to the Cardiopneumogram
Authors: W. F. HAMILTON, E. A. LOMBARD
Journal: Circulation Research (1953)

The outflow of blood from the chest during the phases of the cardiac cycle is found to be nearly equaled by a phasic inflow. The net volume change exerts very small pressure changes in the intrathoracic (intrapulmonary) air. This is not due to the distensibility of the chest wall because when allowance is made for this factor and the intrathoracic blood volume change is calculated, it is found to be a very small fraction of the stroke volume.
Diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer: summary of NICE guidance
Authors: N Murray, J Winstanley, A Bennett, K Francis
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the second most common cause of death from cancer in women in the United Kingdom. Each year in the UK more than 12 300 women and 70 men will die from advanced breast cancer having lived with this condition for an average of two to three years before death.1 2 3 4 Management of advanced breast cancer requires the input of a wide range of healthcare professionals, usually in primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare settings. Clinical practice and availability of certain treatments and procedures are known to vary across the UK. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the diagnosis and treatment of advanced breast cancer.5 NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the Guideline Development Group's opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. ### Diagnosis and assessment #### Imaging assessment
Proctosigmoidoscopy: A Medical Diagnostic Procedure*
Authors: MOSES PAULSON
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1930)

Article1 November 1930Proctosigmoidoscopy: A Medical Diagnostic ProcedureA Plea for a Wider and More Frequent Use of This Method by the Internist.MOSES PAULSON, B.S., M. D., F.A.C.P.MOSES PAULSON, B.S., M. D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-4-5-498 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe proctosigmoidoscope brought into being the surgical specialty of proctology much the same as the stomach tube gave birth to gastroenterology and the electrocardiograph to cardiology. As a result, sigmoidoscopy became a surgical procedure, an instrument to be used mainly by proctologists and general surgeons. The method, in its earlier days was, and in many places still is, attended by preparation which rivals that of a major surgical procedure. Indeed, even at this late day it is not uncommon to note the posting of proctoscopic examinations upon the operating room schedules of many of our large hospitals. This state of...References1 PAULSON M: Three Methods of Obtaining Intestinal Material Directly for Bacteriologic Examination Without the Possibility of Contamination from Surrounding Sources, Am. J. M. Sc., 1930, vol. clxxix, p. 361. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2 PAULSON M: Chronic Ulceratice Colitis with Reference to a Bacterial Etiology: Experimental Studies, Arch. Int. Med., 1928, 41, 75. CrossrefGoogle Scholar3 PAULSONANDREWS MJM: The Detection and Incidence of Human Intestinal Protozoa by the Sigmoidoscope, J. Am. Med. Assn., 1927, 88, 1876. CrossrefGoogle Scholar4 PAULSON M: The Teaching of Lower Bowel Disorders by Means of Life-like and Life-sized Models: A New Method; J. Am. Med. Assn., 1903, 95:198. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Johns Hopkins University Baltimore*From the Department of Medicine, Gastro-Intestinal Clinic, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and University School of Medicine, Baltimore. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byEarly colorectal cancer detection—Current and evolving challenges in evidence, guidelines, policy, and practicesRoutine sigmoidoscopy 1 November 1930Volume 4, Issue 5Page: 498-500KeywordsBirthDiagnostic medicineElectrocardiographyGastroenterology and hepatologyHospital medicineStomachSurgeons Issue Published: 1 November 1930 PDF downloadLoading ...
Annual Report, 1948, of the Department of Rheumatic Diseases, West London Hospital
Authors: C. W. Buckley
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1949)

has celebrated the completion of ten years of important and valuable work by publishing its annual report for the first time in printed form for general circulation.It differs from the usual form of a hospital report in that it limits the usual statistical details but gives an account of the work of the department since its foundation by Dr. W. S. C. Copeman, with the collaboration of the Empire Rheumatism Council and the financial support of enlightened municipalities, first Kensington, and later Hammersmith and Fulham.The scope and usefulness of the department has grown greatly, especially since the end of the war, and an interesting account of the development and the methods is
23 A MULTICENTER STUDY OF PROTEASE INHIBITOR-TRIPLE THERAPY IN HCV-INFECTED LIVER TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS: REPORT FROM THE CRUSH-C GROUP
Authors: E.C. Verna, J.R. Burton, J.G. O'Leary, J.C. Lai, V. Saxena, J.L. Dodge, G.T. Everson, J.F. Trotter, R.T. Stravitz, R.S. Brown, N.A. Terrault
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2013)
Functional improvement of jeopardized myocardium following intracoronary streptokinase infusion in acute myocardial infarction.
Authors: R S Stack, H R Phillips, D S Grierson, V S Behar, Y Kong, R H Peter, J L Swain, J C Greenfield
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1983)

The effect of reperfusion on regional left ventricular performance following acute myocardial infarction in man was determined. Intracoronary streptokinase was administered in 24 patients within 6 h of the onset of symptoms. 15 patients (62%) were successfully recanalized during the initial study. Mean percent radial shortening (%RS) in both the jeopardized and compensatory regions were determined using 23 radii from the centroid of diastolic and systolic angiographic silhouettes. Sequential measurements were obtained during repeat cardiac catheterization studies at 24 h in 19 patients and before discharge from the hospital (16 +/- 11 d) in 15 patients. At the time of the predischarge study, each acutely reperfused patient showed improvement in %RS in the jeopardized region (P = 0.01) with 56% returning to the normal range. Despite the uniform improvement in the contractile function of the jeopardized region in each reperfused patient, the global ejection fraction showed no improvement or a decrease at the time of the chronic study in 44%. This was due to a decrease in the compensatory wall motion in the uninvolved segments between the acute and chronic study in each case. Neither the %RS nor the ejection fraction changed significantly at the time of the chronic study in the patients who could not be acutely recanalized. These data indicate (a) significant salvage of jeopardized myocardium associated with recovery of contractile function in patients reperfused during the first 6 h of chest pain following acute myocardial infarction; (b) no improvement in regional or global left ventricular performance in patients who could not be reperfused acutely; and (c) the ejection fraction is strongly influenced by changes in the compensatory wall motion of the uninvolved segments and does not accurately reflect changes in the contractile function of the jeopardized myocardium.
Identification and Characterization of ALK Kinase Splicing Isoforms in Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: Lorena Lobo de Figueiredo-Pontes, Daisy Wing-Sze Wong, Vicky Pui-Chi Tin, Lap-Ping Chung, Hiroyuki Yasuda, Norihiro Yamaguchi, Sohei Nakayama, Pasi Antero Jänne, Maria Pik Wong, Susumu Soeda Kobayashi, Daniel Botelho Costa
Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2014)
Dermatology opinions via intranet could reduce waiting times
Authors: M. D'Souza, D. Shah, K. Misch, L. Ostlere
Journal: BMJ (1999)

EDITOR—We have just piloted a new telemedicine program called Dermaclinic (from Agora Healthcare) which runs on any computer that can access the internet. It permits doctors to send, via a confidential intranet, digital photographs (figure) and clinical histories for a returnable second opinion via the same medium. Its clinical database is backed up on a server owned by the practice and accessible only through a password held by practising clinicians.



Digital photographs and case histories can be sent …
WHO perspective on preventing avoidable harm from medicines
Authors: Mary R Couper, Shanthi N Pal, Lembit Rägo, Jacqueline Sawyer
Journal: BMJ (2006)

EDITOR—The BMJ news item on adverse drug reactions is important.1 The estimated annual expenditure of $870m towards issues related to such effects would be hard on any economy; such figures could seriously cripple countries with lesser resources.

The cost factor should then be at least one of the reasons for all developing countries to promote pharmacovigilance. Started in 1968, the World Health …
Mutational Analysis in Cytological Specimens of Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Sensitive Method for Molecular Diagnosis
Authors: Laura Boldrini, Silvia Gisfredi, Silvia Ursino, Tiziano Camacci, Editta Baldini, Franca Melfi, Gabriella Fontanini
Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2007)
PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA AND INSULIN
Authors: JOHN A. COLWELL
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1969)

Letters and Comments1 September 1969PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA AND INSULINJOHN A. COLWELL, M.D., PH.D.JOHN A. COLWELL, M.D., PH.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-71-3-668_2 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editor: We have recently had the opportunity to study plasma glucose and insulin levels in a fifth patient with pheochromocytoma and would like to add our findings to those which we reported in the August issue (Inhibition of insulin secretion by catecholamines in pheochromocytoma. Ann. Intern. Med. 71: 251, 1969).A 40-year-old negro woman had a 70-g pheochromocytoma removed from the aortic bifurcation by Dr. George J. Bulkley at Chicago Wesley Memorial Hospital. Preoperatively, urinary total catecholamines were 2.3 mg/24 hr and were > 95% norepinephrine. Tumor catecholamines were 1.1 mg/g, also > 95% norepinephrine. The catecholamine determinations... This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Metabolic Section Veterans Administration Research Hospital 333 E. Huron St. Chicago, Ill. 60611 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 1 September 1969Volume 71, Issue 3Page: 668-669KeywordsBlood plasmaCatecholaminesGlucoseInsulin secretionNorepinephrinePheochromocytoma Issue Published: 1 September 1969 PDF DownloadLoading ...
Caring for the Dying — Congressional Mischief
Authors: Marcia Angell
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1999)

Five years ago, the citizens of Oregon voted by a narrow margin to legalize physician-assisted suicide for certain terminally ill patients. There followed a variety of efforts to nullify the decision, which culminated in a second referendum in 1997. This time Oregonians voted overwhelmingly to affirm their original decision, and Oregon is now the only state in which physician-assisted suicide is practiced legally.1 Surveys indicate that most Americans and their doctors believe it should be available in all states.24 Shortly before the second Oregon vote, the U.S. Supreme Court considered the issue of physician-assisted suicide. The cases before it . . .
A quarter of EU citizens are being treated for chronic disease
Authors: Rory Watson
Journal: BMJ (2007)

One quarter of the European Union's 500 million people are undergoing long term treatment for illnesses ranging from hypertension and arthritis to ulcers and cataracts.

The findings, released last week, are the result of a survey carried out for the European Commission in September and October 2006 into the health of citizens in the 27 EU member states and Croatia.

The commonest long term treatment is for high blood pressure (36% of those being treated), which is particularly prevalent in central and eastern Europe. In Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece it accounts for at least …
Interventional endoscopic ultrasound-guided cholangiography: long-term experience of an emerging alternative to percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography
Authors: J. Maranki, A. Hernandez, B. Arslan, A. Jaffan, J. Angle, V. Shami, M. Kahaleh
Journal: Endoscopy (2009)

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) with stenting is the procedure of choice for biliary decompression in patients with obstructive jaundice. In cases where biliary access cannot be achieved, interventional endoscopic ultrasound-guided cholangiography (IEUC) has become an alternative to percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC).We report on 5 years of experience in patients who underwent IEUC after failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Endoscopic ultrasound-guided access to the targeted biliary duct was attempted with one of two approaches: transgastric-transhepatic (intrahepatic) or transenteric-transcholedochal (extrahepatic). A stent was then advanced over the wire and into the biliary tree.A total of 49 patients underwent IEUC: 35 had biliary obstruction due to malignancy and 14 had a benign etiology. The overall success rate of IEUC was 84% (41/49), with an overall complication rate of 16%. Of the 35 patients who underwent the intrahepatic approach, 23 had a stent placed across the major papilla, one had a stent placed intraductally in the common bile duct, and three patients underwent placement of a gastrohepatic stent. Resolution of obstruction was achieved in 29 patients, with a success rate of 83%. In all, 14 patients underwent an extrahepatic approach. In 8/14 (57%), stent placement across the major papilla was achieved. A transenteric stent was placed in four patients. Biliary decompression was achieved in 12/14 cases (86%). Based on intention-to-treat analysis, the intrahepatic approach achieved success in 29 of 40 cases (73%), and the extrahepatic approach was successful in seven of nine cases (78%). There were no procedure-related deaths.IEUC offers a feasible alternative to PTC in patients with obstructive jaundice in whom ERC has failed.
The Oldest Doctor.
Authors: John McLean
Journal: JAMA (1894)

Pullman, Ill., Sept. 17, 1894.  To the Editor:  —I observe that in theJournalof September 15, Dr. Corson, of Montgomery County, Pa., is declared the oldest physician in the United States, which, if the date of his birth given is correct, is doubtless true.  Dr. Lewis Dyer, residing in Du Quoin, Ill., was born Feb. 24, 1807. He graduated in medicine in 1828, was Surgeon of the Eighty-first Regiment Illinois Volunteers from August, 1862, to the close of the war, and is doubtless the oldest army surgeon living in the United States, unless Dr. Corson was in the army.  Dr. Dyer is in full possession of his mental faculties, does some consultation practice, reads the journals, and takes great interest in the current events of the day.  I called on him a month since, and found him reading the history of the late war, and on his table were
Rapid Diagnosis of Herpesvirus Hominis Infections in Superficial Lesions by Immunofluorescent Antibody Techniques
Authors: P. S. Gardner, J. McQuillin, M. M. Black, J. Richardson
Journal: BMJ (1968)

Scrapings from lesions of the skin and mucous membranes of 14 patients suspected of suffering from suspected Herpesvirus hominis infections were examined by both fluorescent antibody and routine isolation techniques. There was complete correlation between results by both methods in all 14 cases, 12 being positive. No positive fluorescence was obtained from scrapings of seven control patients with a variety of skin diseases. Thirteen patients with corneal lesions were similarly investigated. Of the 10 scrapings which showed positive fluorescence, nine were confirmed by virus isolation. It is suggested that as more antiviral agents become available the application of a fluorescent antibody technique for testing virus sensitivity in tissue culture could become a practical method.
Smoke-Free 2000
Authors: Thomas E. Kottke
Journal: JAMA (1995)

When he was surgeon general, C. Everett Koop challenged the United States to adopt a smoke-free society by the year 2000.<sup>1</sup>The two articles on smoking in hospitals that appear in this issue of<i>JAMA</i>demonstrate that the US health care industry has almost achieved this goal.<sup>2,3</sup>However, both surveys report that smoking in psychiatry and chemical dependency programs remains a problem. Because smoking kills these patients, too,<sup>4</sup>and smoking can be treated in chemical dependency programs without compromising abstinence rates from other addictive substances,<sup>5</sup>smoke-free must become the industry standard for all treatment units. Should it surprise us that three decades have elapsed since the first surgeon general's report on smoking and health,<sup>6</sup>two decades have elapsed since the concept of the smoke-free hospital was advocated in print,<sup>7</sup>and it's been a decade since the surgeon general concluded that environmental tobacco smoke kills?
Letter: Tetracycline-resistant group A streptococci.
Authors: R J Fallon
Journal: BMJ (1974)

sense in 1942.1This was that "a medical practitioner who knows that a death has occurred in circumstances which would put a coroner on inquiry under the Coroners (Amendment) Act, 1926, owes a common- law duty to report the death to the coroner, quite apart from his duty of certifying the death to the registrar under the Registration Acts."In these esoteric matters, in the absence of a judicial decision, there must be room for more than one view.-Iam, etc.,
Clinton acts to reduce medical mistakes
Authors: F. Charatan
Journal: BMJ (2000)

Background: The role of podoplanin (PDPN) and homebox prospero gene 1 (PROX1) in early stages of pancreatic islet changes induced by hypercaloric diet is unclear. The aim of this study was to study PDPN and PROX1 variability in pancreatic islets after a hypercaloric diet in a rat experimental model. Materials and Methods: Pancreatic biopsies harvested from Sprague–Dawley rats at 3, 6, and 9 weeks following hypercaloric diet intake were evaluated for morphological and molecular changes of Langerhans islets based on PDPN and PROX1 expression Results: Six weeks of hypercaloric diet induced hypertrophy of pancreatic islets with focal expression of Pdpn and Prox1 mRNA. At 9 weeks of hypercaloric diet, strong peri-insular inflammation was found around hypertrophic islets highly expressing PDPN, and lacking Prox1 mRNA and protein expression. Conclusion: This is the first report of Pdpn and Prox1 mRNA expression variability and involvement in early steps of pancreatic islet changes following hypercaloric food intake.
Dutch public health experts refute claims that human papillomavirus vaccination has health risks
Authors: T. Sheldon
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Public health experts in the Netherlands have moved to refute “demonstrably incorrect” claims made against the new national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme that threaten to reduce uptake of the vaccine.

The Dutch Institute of Public Health and the Environment, which is responsible for the programme, fears that girls are being deterred by “irresponsible” and “unfounded statements” made through websites, chain letters, and fly posting at vaccination centres, such as that the vaccine itself can cause cancer or infertility.

Vaccination began on 2 March, when the first 70 000 of a total of 380 000 13 to …
The Salt-Secreting Gland of Marine Birds
Authors: KNUT SCHMIDT-NIELSEN
Journal: Circulation (1960)

Marine birds possess salt-secreting nasal glands which produce hypertonic solutions of sodium chloride in response to osmotic loads such as ingestion of sea water. The concentration of the secreted fluid is always high, several times as high as the maximum urine concentration in birds. The presence of this gland must be considered a necessary adaptation to marine life in animals whose kidney cannot excrete high salt concentrations. The structure and blood supply to the gland indicate a countercurrent flow, but at the moment it is not possible to explain the high concentrations of the secreted fluid as the result of a countercurrent multiplier system. The gland is under parasympathetic nerve control; its secretory function is blocked by anesthesia and certain drugs, including carbonic anhydrase inhibitors.