Biomedical subjects
A Burd
Publications and source records attributed to A Burd.
Re: "Demonstration of epidermal transfer from a polymer membrane using genetically marked porcine keratinocytes'.
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Chemical assaults in Hong Kong: a 10-year review.
The aim of this study was to assess the patients admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital Burns Unit, Hong Kong between September 1991 and August 2001 following chemical assault. A total of 2319 burns were admitted during the study period of which 19 had been subjected to chemical assault. All victims sustained a burn injury to the head and neck area and 47% of victims' eyes were burnt. A total of 84% required surgical intervention. Where a reason for the attack was admitted most were due to relationship difficulties. This study has defined the victims of chemical assault in Hong Kong. At a time when the overall number of assaults in Hong Kong is at its lowest level for 5 years it is of concern that there appears to have been a recent increase in the number of chemical assaults in Hong Kong.
Outcome analysis of 286 severely burned patients: retrospective study.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcomes of severely burned patients treated at a regional burns unit and to develop a predictive model for survival and length of hospital stay for major burn patients in Hong Kong. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Burns unit of a regional public hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS: Two hundred and eighty-six severely burned patients treated from March 1993 to February 2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Details of demographics, mechanism of burn, extent of burn, incidence of inhalation injury, length of hospital stay, and mortality rate were recorded and entered into a database. Stepwise logistic regression and linear regression were applied to develop a predictive model for mortality and morbidity, respectively. RESULTS: Of 286 major burn patients treated in this 7-year period, 25 patients died from their injuries, yielding a mortality rate of 8.7%. Stepwise logistic regression was applied to develop a predictive model for mortality. We found that inhalation injury, age, and total body surface area involvement were independent significant predictors of death. Accuracy of this predictive model reached 93%. Similarly, stepwise linear regression was used to develop a predictive model for length of hospital stay. Sex, inhalation injury, total body surface area of burn, and total body surface area(2) of burn were significant predictors of length of hospital stay (R(2)=0.2). Only three patients' duration of hospital stay was more than three standard deviations from the predicted length of hospital stay. CONCLUSION: A predictive model for mortality and length of hospital stay has been developed for major burn patients in Hong Kong. This model may help clinicians to counsel patients and relatives at an early stage of care, to provide a basis from which new treatment plans can be compared, and to facilitate efficient allocation of valuable medical resources.
The lateral distally based adipofascial flap of the lower limb.
Several authors have reported the advantages of adipofascial flaps. We describe a series of flaps based exclusively on the perforator of the peroneal artery. This is an axially patterned distally based adipofascial flap useful for small and medium-sized defects over the distal fibula, lateral malleolus, the Achilles region or the dorsum of the foot. It can be an excellent alternative to fasciocutaneous or free flaps, with minimum donor-site morbidity, good cosmesis and an excellent functional result.
Non-melanoma skin cancer in Hong Kong.
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Sub-lethal effects of exposing the human melanoma cell line SKmel-23 to 532 nm laser light.
The human melanoma cell line SKmel-23 has been used to investigate the sub-lethal damage that can occur as a result of exposing melanin containing cells to light (532 nm) from a frequency doubled Q-switched (Nd:YAG) laser. A dose response curve was obtained, which indicates that at energy levels of 0.6 J/cm2 and below no effect on either the viability or growth rate of the cell line was observed. Above this, cells rapidly died and at an energy level of 2.0 J/cm2, only approximately 15% of cells survived. This contrasts with the effects on the G361 melanoma line, which contains far less melanosomes, as an LD50 for this cell line was approximately 5.5 J/cm2. Exposing SKmel-23 cells to 0.4 J/cm2 of 532 nm light results in a diminution of the number of melanosomes within cells as well as a marked decrease in melanin content, as determined by spectrophotometric assay and electron microscopy. Using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction technique, the reduction in melanin content of the cells was accompanied by a selective decrease in mRNA coding for tyrosinase, the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for melanin. No decrease in the mRNA coding for the GAPDH protein was observed. Our finding has implications for understanding the control processes that regulate the melanin content of cells and suggests that the model described can be used to further investigate changes that may occur in cells as a result of their exposure to sub-lethal levels of laser light.
Qualitative analysis of soft inflation.
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Invariant Lyapunov exponents and chaos in cosmology.
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The biophysical and histologic properties of capsules formed by smooth and textured silicone implants in the rabbit.
Capsular contracture remains the major complication of reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a silicone implant with a textured surface will form a capsule of significantly different biophysical and histologic properties than conventional smooth silicone. Thirty smooth and 30 textured silicone tissue expanders were implanted under the panniculus carnosus of rabbits. After 3 months, measurements related to contracture were performed on anesthetized animals in an investigator-blinded, controlled manner. Intraexpander pressures were measured as saline was injected over time. We found a significant correlation between intraexpander pressures, applanation tonometry, and Baker class. Histology revealed a thicker, more adherent, and inflammatory capsule around the textured silicone implants as compared with the smooth silicone implants. Dynamic pressures were plotted against volume of saline within the two types of implants. Statistical analysis revealed that the textured implants form a tighter and thicker capsule than the smooth implants after 3 months of observation (p less than 0.005).
Cortical atrophy and white matter density in the brains of schizophrenics and clinical response to neuroleptics.
The relationship between clinical response to neuroleptics and brain morphology as revealed by CT scans was evaluated in a sample of 39 patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective psychosis. Four measures of brain morphology previously shown to differ between schizophrenics and patients with headaches - white matter density, asymmetry in brain white matter density, sulcal width and global cortical atrophy - did not correlate with clinical improvement after 3 weeks treatment with constant doses of neuroleptics. These brain morphology measures also did not correlate with baseline psychopathology scores. The same results were found with scales or subscales reflecting primarily positive symptoms of schizophrenia as well as those reflecting primarily social withdrawal.
Multiple casualties with burns.
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Lateral ventricular enlargement and clinical response in schizophrenia.
The relationship between enlargement of the lateral ventricles in the brains of schizophrenic patients and clinical response to neuroleptic treatment, as assessed by the ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) and psychopathology scores, was studied in a sample of 39 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective psychosis during a drug-free washout and after 3 1/2 weeks of treatment with either haloperidol or thioridazine. There was a weak, but statistically significant positive relationship between VBR and improvement on BPRS Psychosis factor scores after 3 1/2 weeks of treatment, and a negative correlation between VBR and baseline (washout) scores on the BPRS Anergia factor. Patients with enlarged VBRs, as defined by two criteria, also tended to show a better response to neuroleptics than patients below these criterion values.
Haloperidol and thioridazine drug levels and clinical response in schizophrenia: comparison of gas-liquid chromatography and radioreceptor drug level assays.
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