The purpose of the present study is to compare the 1959 revision of the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale (CMMS) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for use as a psychometric instrument for determining the mental ability of mentally retarded male children.

The major physiological function of the carotid body is to respond to a low partial pressure of oxygen in the systemic arterial blood. The structure and functions of the adult carotid body have been extensively investigated over the past fifteen years. However, the carotid body in children has been relatively neglected with only a handful of studies being performed. To date, no study has been undertaken to investigate the effects of intrauterine hypoxia on the carotid body of foetuses. Clinically, intrauterine growth retardation has been ascribed, amongst other causes, to placental insufficiency that results in chronic hypoxia in the fetus. Intrauterine growth retardation can be divided into two types: - Type I (symmetrical) and type II (asymmetrical). In Type II intrauterine growth retardation, growth retardation does not become clinically evident until the third trimester. There is relative brain sparing with a greater deprivation in the size of abdominal organs, such as the liver and the kidneys. Previous studies have shown that there is no correlation between volume of the carotid body and hypoxia in children. However, Heath et al. made the observation that there are three variants of chief cells (progenitor, light and dark) within the carotid body and that an increase in the relative percentage of the dark subtype is an indicator of hypoxia. Using this observation, the present study set out to test two hypotheses: Firstly, whether the carotid body is functional in utero; and secondly whether there are any objective morphological changes in the carotid bodies of fetuses that have been subjected to intrauterine growth retardation. The carotid bodies from 72 fetuses with a gestational age between thirty and forty weeks were removed from the archived autopsy material, and differential cell counts were performed of the various cells present within the carotid bodies, using haematoxylin and eosin stained sections of the carotid bodies. The cases were assigned to three groups: - I) cases that had clinical and pathological evidence of intrauterine growth retardation, 2) negative controls and 3) positive controls. The three main groups were categorised as follows: -: (1) Intrauterine growth retardation (all cases with a weight for gestational age that is below the tenth centile and a brain to liver ratio of greater than four.) (2) Negative controls (all cases in whom there is a normal weight for age, a brain to liver ratio of less than three and no histological evidence of an episode of significant hypoxia before death). (3) Positive controls (all cases in whom there was clinically significant hypoxia present before death). The groups comprised of: 20 hypoxic positive controls, 15 negative controls, and 16 test cases which had suffered from intrauterine growth retardation. The remaining 21 cases were 7 dysmorphic infants, 3 congenital infection cases (congenital syphilis) and 11 cases that fitted the negative control criteria but had suffered significant hypoxia, thus excluding them from that category. The results showed that no significant difference was present in the percentage of sustentacular cells between any of the three groups. The results of the percentage of dark chief cells were as follows: l) mean percentage of dark chief cells in the intrauterine growth retardation group was 21.1 ±10.9%. 2) mean percentage of dark chief cells in the negative controls was 12.3 ±7.3%. 3) mean percentage of dark chief cells in the positive controls was 21.2 ±9.8%. A significant difference was present between the intrauterine growth retardation cases and the negative controls p=0.013, and between the positive and negative controls p=0.006. The dark chief cell count in the intrauterine growth retardation group showed no significant difference from the positive controls. No age-related difference appeared to be present in any of the groups. The conclusions reached are: a) Clinical hypoxia correlates with morphological changes in the carotid body, manifesting as an increase in the percentage of dark chief cells. b) intrauterine growth retardation cases show similar morphological changes in the carotid body to cases that have suffered from clinical hypoxia. c) therefore, by deduction intrauterine growth retardation fetuses have probably also been exposed to significant hypoxia while in utero. d) the fact that morphological changes in response to hypoxia are occurring in the carotid bodies of fetuses is an indication that the carotid body may be functional in utero. The results of the study indicate that a dark chief cell percentage of greater than 20% indicates that the fetus has been subjected to significant hypoxia, while a percentage of less than 10% indicates that it has not. A percentage of between 10 and 20% is unhelpful in determining whether hypoxia has taken place. The results of this study indicate that histological examination of the carotid bodies in neonates suspected of intrauterine growth retardation could be a useful additional means of assessment.

The effects of learning upon the rate of conservation attainment and its transference to other areas of performance were studied using 17 mentally retarded subjects. Subjects found to be non-conservers on pretests were taught conservation and correspondence using a variety of tasks modeled from Piaget's experiments. They were also pretested on the WISC Information and Picture Arrangement Sub-tests and a number concept test. Following the learning experiences, the subjects were posttested using the same measures used for pretesting with the exception of the number test where an alternate form was used. Significant correlations were found between the conservation pretest scores and General Intelligence (r=.72), Chronological Age (r=.66), Mental Age (r=.91), Information sub-test (r=.76), Picture Arrangement sub-test (r=.83), and number concept test scores (r=.64). There were significant posttest gains on conservation (F=79.98, p<.01), Information (F=14.56, p<.01), Picture Arrangement (F=6.62, p<.05), and number concept scores (F=6.99, p<.05), indicating tentatively that conservation attainment can be accelerated by learning with a possible effect on related areas of performance. Scores on an instrument designed to measure internalization of the concepts showed significant gains on posttest (F=15.97, p<.01). However, posttest scores on this measure did not correlate significantly with gains on other measures.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which Melodies to Assist Social Interaction (MASI) would affect the social skills performance of the educable mentally retarded. The study employed a pretest-posttest control group design with an N of 27 mentally-retarded subjects. It also employed a one-group pretest-posttest design with an N of 8 non-mentally retarded subjects. All of the subjects received a pre- and post-score for their social skills performance level. Nineteen of the mentally-retarded subjects and all eight non-mentally retarded subjects received the MASI social skills teaching program as part of their regular curriculum. The pre- and post-treatment performance was analyzed by a correlated means t-test. An analysis of covariance was used in which the posttest means were compared using the pretest means as a covariate. It was concluded that MASI did not have an impact, positive or negative, on the social skills performance level of the subjects.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第21660号 / 医博第4466号 / 新制||医||1035(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 柳田 素子, 教授 滝田 順子, 教授 妻木 範行 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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This study examined the effects and efficacy of two vocational instructional interventions - a Hand-Held Computer intervention versus a Staff Model intervention - as vocational instructional tools for high school students with autism and mental retardation. Specifically, the study analyzed the effects of these two treatments on the completion of authentic novel job tasks within a local department store. This research indicated the provision of specific technology as an instructional model positively influenced participants' ability to: accurately complete tasks, exercise increased independence during task completion, reduce problematic behavior during task completion, and lower necessary staff prompts during task completion. The use of technology to support individuals with severe disabilities has the potential to increase their level of independence and accuracy of job completion within community-based settings. Five high school students with autism and mental retardation participated in this study, which compared the use of a palm-top computer with a traditional staff model during the completion of eighteen novel job tasks within various departments of a large department store. Five of eight variables subjected to ANOVA and independent t-test analyses demonstrated significance.

Fiber analysis using birefringence has been around for years but has only recently been looked at more closely under a microscope. Recent scientists have proposed methods to correct issues found with fiber analysis using birefringence, yet there has not be a defined perfect method. This research will focus on correcting previously found issues with works by Michel-Lévy and Sorensen's, as well as other scientists involved and perfecting the analysis of fiber through birefringence. The goal will be to take this research one step further into the analysis of textile fibers by RGB value analysis and birefringence. The RGB values will be analyzed in a color analysis program to compare HEX values. The cross section of the fiber will be done to receive an accurate diameter measurement of the fiber. Those RGB values and cross section diameter will then be matched to the Michel-Lévy chart and the birefringence will be determined.

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