Determining cause of death in 45,564 autopsy reports

It has been demonstrated that death certificates do not accurately record the actual cause of death in up to one-fourth of cases, as determined from subsequent autopsy findings. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of natural language autopsy data bases as an automated quality assurance mechanism. We translated the account of the major process leading to death, or the primary diagnosis, from all 45,564 narrative autopsy reports obtained at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between May 28, 1889, and June 30, 1987, into the hierarchical system of Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) titles. We obtained a total of 125,772 MeSH title translations, 1,563 of them distinct (average 2.8 per case), ranging in frequency from 6,029 occurrences of LUNG to 1 occurrence apiece of 357 MeSH titles. The natural-language-to-MeSH translations showed expected trends over the past century: fewer infectious diseases; more cardiovascular and neoplastic disease among adults; and more respiratory diseases and congenital malformations in the pediatric age group. The greater availability of autopsy documents in electronic form should increase the value of this resource for quality assurance.     

Psychometric evaluation of the dating anxiety survey: A self-report questionnaire for the assessment of dating anxiety in males and females

The Dating Anxiety Survey (DAS) was constructed to assess dating anxiety in males and females. Factor analysis of the survey revealed three factors: passive contact, active intentions for dating, and dating interactions. The reliabilities of the three subscales, as determined by coefficient alpha, were .87, .91, and .93 for males and .90, .90, and .92 for females, respectively. Correlations with dating history and a measure of social anxiety were generally of a low but significant magnitude, providing some support for concurrent validity. The results of the factor analysis lend support to the construct validity of the DAS. These findings suggest that the DAS is a potentially useful instrument in the self-report of dating anxiety.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA, March 1983.     

Compensatory neoplasia: Chronic erythrocytosis and neuroblastic tumors

There are a large number of exogenous biological and chemical substances with known neoplastic or carcinogenic potential. However, it has also been postulated that external stimuli can influence the body's internal milieu, and thereby induce compensatory excessive growth of cells in the form of hyperplasia or neoplasia. In a recent study, we observed a strong association between chronic hypoxic states and the occurrence of peripheral neuroblastic tumors, a relatively uncommon group of neural neoplasms. In this report we review those findings and formulate an hypothesis to explain why conditions which lead to chronic erythrocytosis may also cause compensatory neoplasia of neural tissues.     

Effect of preacquisition UCS exposure on classical conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response

Conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response was found to be inversely related to the number (0, 50, 200, 350) and intensity, (0, 1, 3, 5 mA) of preacquisition UCS exposures and directly related to the interval between preexposure and acquisition (0 or 24 hr). The results were discussed in terms of sensory adaptation, habituation, blocking, and emotional reactivity.     

Infant responses to approaching objects: An indicator of response to distal variables

Infants show an adaptive avoidance response to approaching objects. The response is affected by the closeness and speed of approach. It is mediated by visual variables. Air-pressure changes do not elicit the response. This kind of response implies discrimination and response to distal variables rather than merely to their proximal mediators.     

Latent inhibition and stimulus generalization of the classically conditioned nictitating membrane response in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) following dorsal hippocampal ablation.

Rabbits received 0 to 450 exposures of a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) prior to classical defensive conditioning of the nicitating membrane response based on an infraorbital eye shock unconditioned stimulus. Tone preexposure resulted in retarded conditioning in normal rabbits. This latent inhibition effect was not present in animals with bilateral dorsal hippocampectomy produced by aspiration. Control animals with bilateral neocortical and callosal aspiration lesions demonstrated a latent inhibition effect similar to that shown by normal nonoperated animals. The failure of CS preexposure to retard conditioning in hippocampal rabbits was not due to differences in threshold of the conditioned response to the CS or to differences in response mechanisms as determined by tests of habituation and dishabituation of the unconditioned response. A subsequent experiment employed combined-cue summation tests to confirm the fact that preexposure did not endow the tone with conditioned as well as latent inhibitiory properties. Finally, tests of stimulus generalization along the auditory frequency dimension indicated flatter relative gradients for hippocampals than for nonoperated controls, with cortical controls in between. These findings were discussed in terms of Douglas' model of hippocampal function.