Biomedical subjects

A Lawlor

Publications and source records attributed to A Lawlor.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Doctors' views about the importance of shared values in HIV positive patient care: a qualitative study.

Robert Veatch has proposed a model of the doctor-patient relationship that has as its foundation the sharing of values between the doctor and the patient. This paper uses qualitative research conducted with six doctors involved in the long term, specialised care of HIV positive patients in South Australia to explore the practical application of Veatch's value sharing model in that setting. The research found that the doctors in this study linked "values" with sexual identity such that they defined value sharing, in part, as a shared set of values and beliefs about sexual identity and practices. They voluntarily identified themselves as either homosexual or heterosexual and they regarded the relation between their own sexual identity and that of their patients as important for the provision of quality care. None of the doctors thought that value sharing, in the way they defined it, was essential to the clinical relationship, but the homosexual doctors attributed a greater degree of importance to it than their heterosexual colleagues.

Ethics, Clinical↗

PubMed2003

The nature of the colloidal 'glass' transition.

The dynamically arrested state of matter is discussed in the context of athermal systems, such as the hard sphere colloidal arrest. We believe that the singular dynamical behaviour near arrest expressed, for example, in how the diffusion constant vanishes may be 'universal', in a sense to be discussed in the paper. Based on this we argue the merits of studying the problem with simple lattice models. This, by analogy with the the critical point of the Ising model, should lead us to clarify the questions, and begin the program of establishing the degree of universality to be expected. We deal only with 'ideal' athermal dynamical arrest transitions, such as those found for hard sphere systems. However, it is argued that dynamically available volume (DAV) is the relevant order parameter of the transition, and that universal mechanisms may be well expressed in terms of DAV. For simple lattice models we give examples of simple laws that emerge near the dynamical arrest, emphasising the idea of a near-ideal gas of 'holes', interacting to give the power law diffusion constant scaling near the arrest. We also seek to open the discussion of the possibility of an underlying weak coupling theory of the dynamical arrest transition, based on DAV.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

N-terminally modified glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36) amide exhibits resistance to enzymatic degradation while maintaining its antihyperglycaemic activity in vivo.

Glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide (tGLP-1) is inactivated by dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV by removal of the NH(2)-terminal dipeptide His(7)-Ala(8). We examined the degradation of NH(2)-terminally modified His(7)99% of His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 remained intact at 12 h. His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 was similarly resistant to plasma degradation in vitro. His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 showed greater resistance to degradation in vivo (92% intact) compared to tGLP-1 (27% intact) 10 min after i.p. administration to Wistar rats. Glucose homeostasis was examined following i.p. injection of both peptides (12 nmol/kg) together with glucose (18 mmol/kg). Plasma glucose concentrations were significantly reduced and insulin concentrations elevated following peptides administration compared with glucose alone. The area under the curve (AUC) for glucose for controls (AUC 691+/-35 mM/min) was significantly lower after administration of tGLP-1 and His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 (36 and 49% less; AUC 440+/-40 and 353+/-31 mM/min, respectively; P<0.01). This was associated with a significantly higher AUC for insulin (98-99% greater; AUC 834+/-46 and 838+/-39 ng/ml/min, respectively; P<0.01) after tGLP-1 and His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 administration compared to controls (421+/-30 ng/ml/min). In conclusion, His(7)-glucitol tGLP-1 resists plasma DPP IV degradation while retaining potent antihyperglycaemic and insulin-releasing activities in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed1986