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Biomedical subjects

A Rose

Publications and source records attributed to A Rose.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Effect of high-lipid high-nitrogen intravenous nutrition on total body nitrogen, visceral protein synthesis and nitrogen balance.

The impact of high-lipid intravenous nutrition (IVN) on selected indices of nitrogen retention following major surgical resection was studied. Twenty-two patients, randomly allocated to two equal well matched groups, received either high-lipid IVN (75 per cent non-protein calories supplied as lipid) or isocaloric isonitrogenous glucose IVN (100 per cent non-protein calories supplied as glucose). Total body nitrogen (assessed by in vivo neutron activation analysis), nitrogen balance and levels of circulating proteins were measured. Mean(s.d.) total body nitrogen and fat-free mass decreased (P = 0.04) in patients receiving high-lipid IVN, -109(36) gN and -1.7(0.4) kg respectively, but not in those given glucose-only IVN, 8(43) gN and 0.1(1.0) kg. This small loss of body protein does not appear to be clinically significant because postoperative hospital stay, complication rates and the acute-phase protein response (immunological and visceral) were similar in the two groups.

Body Composition↗

The genetics of meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The many features that have made the hermaphroditic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans a good model system for studying development have also attracted investigators to the study of meiosis. Genetic analysis suggests that in C. elegans there are two types of chromosomal sites required for proper meiotic function. The first is needed early in meiosis for recombination and segregation. The second is involved in the mechanisms that establish the normal frequency and distribution of exchange. Genes whose products may interact with these sites have been identified by mutant analysis. Study of these mutations in the nematode is enhancing our general understanding of meiotic functions.

Animals↗

Teambuilding: a positive force in times of change.

The health care system continues to undergo revolutionary changes in the 90's. Never before in this area have we seen so many changes occur so quickly in such a short period of time. Funding changes and decreases to hospitals are only one of the critical factors ultimately effecting patient care and the direction of health in the future. Staffing changes because of bumping due to seniority and redesign efforts have had an even greater impact on the day to day operation of a hospital unit. This article attempts to address some of these concerns with one practical process that is universally accepted and can be readily implemented. This process which is springing up in the literature and is fast becoming the popular term of this decade is that of "TEAMBUILDING". In the next few pages an interdisciplinary team will describe their successful efforts at teambuilding in one clinical program.

Communication↗

Occlusive microvascular retinopathy with optic disc and retinal neovascularization in acute lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Acute lymphocytic leukemia can be associated with an occlusive microvascular retinopathy. There is a potential for worsening of this occlusive microvascular retinopathy by radiation damage to the retinal vasculature (radiation retinopathy) and by the toxic effects of chemotherapy. METHODS: An 18-year-old woman with T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia received low-dose irradiation to the brain and subsequent chemotherapy, which included cytosine arabinoside. RESULTS: During the chemotherapy, she developed severe bilateral occlusive microvascular retinopathy that progressed despite extensive panretinal photocoagulation to bilateral optic disc and retinal neovascularization and eventual traction retinal detachment involving the macula. CONCLUSION: The toxic effect of a chemotherapeutic agent such as cytosine arabinoside when combined with radiation retinopathy may be additive, leading to a much more severe ischemic retinal vasculopathy than one would encounter with acute lymphocytic leukemia alone. This must be kept in mind when planning combined radiation and chemotherapy for T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Adolescent↗

Development of a health information service using a videotex system.

A number of health databases is now available in Malaysia, but few are accessible to the general public. However, recently a service was launched nationwide via a videotex system to also target the Malaysia public. This service is provided by the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in collaboration with several Malaysian Government ministries and agencies. Access to health information via videotex, be it medical, pharmaceutical or environmental is viewed as an effective means of on-line information dissemination. It provides not only rapid retrieval but is also economical and interactive, particularly suitable for a developing country.

Computer Communication Networks↗

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood: studies of regional cerebral blood flow using 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission computed tomography.

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood is a rare disorder of unknown cause associated with progressive neurological deterioration. We report the results of regional cerebral blood flow studies using 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission computed tomography in 3 patients. These studies were performed during the hemiplegic attacks (n = 6) and during the symptom-free periods (n = 2). Six single-photon emission computed tomographic studies performed during hemiplegic attacks consistently showed relative hyperperfusion of the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Two single-photon emission computed tomographic studies performed during the asymptomatic phase showed normal and symmetrical cerebral perfusion. This is the first definite demonstration of unilateral increase of cerebral blood flow in alternating hemiplegia. These findings support the possibility of a relationship between the cause of alternating hemiplegia and migraine.

Brain↗

Effects of childhood sexual abuse on childbirth: one woman's story.

Anna Rose is a survivor of childhood emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Much of the abuse was "submerged" until her mid-thirties, when she was pregnant with her second child, and finally began to remember and deal with the realities of what had happened to her. During her second pregnancy, Anna wrote, "It has taken me more than three years to even begin to deal with the rage I feel about my first birth experience, even though I have been in therapy most of that time. Now that I am pregnant again, the unresolved issues are coming to the surface, and intense fears that this birth will be a repeat of the first." Anna's first child, Elliot, was born in 1987 in a hospital birthing room in the northeastern United States. Her husband Paul, a younger sister, and a close friend were present, and she was attended by an obstetrician named Bernie. She describes that birth as "19 hours of hard labor, absolutely exhausting and unmanageable, which required drugs at some point to let me sleep for a few hours." Labor was induced by Pitocin due to premature rupture of membranes and lack of effective contractions after 12 hours. Continuous electronic fetal monitoring was used throughout labor. Anna breastfed Elliot for three years, and found La Leche League "extremely helpful and supportive" during that time. Tom, Anna's second child, was born at home in 1991. Two midwives attended the birth after she changed caregivers during the pregnancy because she "did not feel safe enough" with the obstetrician and nurse-midwife team she had chosen for this birth. She maintained the team as backup, although they did not know of her plans for a home birth. Her second labor lasted under 6 hours, was noninterventive, and "incredibly intense and painful, partly due to the abuse memories that were coming up and getting in the way and partly due to the baby's position." We thank Anna Rose for sharing her story with Birth. Her reason for doing so is, in her words, because, "I feel strongly that it is important to share this information in an effort to educate health care professionals so that other women may be helped."

Adult↗

Evaluation of once-daily levobunolol 0.25% and timolol 0.25% therapy for increased intraocular pressure.

In a three-month, double-masked, randomized clinical trial, we evaluated the once-daily ocular hypotensive efficacy of 0.25% levobunolol and 0.25% timolol in 80 patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Thirty-seven of the 39 patients (95%) in the 0.25% levobunolol group and 35 of the 41 patients (85%) in the 0.25% timolol group successfully completed the three-month study period. The overall mean decrease in intraocular pressure was 5.3 mm Hg (22%) in the 0.25% levobunolol group and 5.4 mm Hg (22%) in the 0.25% timolol group. This difference was not statistically significant. In both treatment groups, effects on mean heart rate and blood pressure were minimal. The data suggest that levobunolol 0.25% and timolol 0.25%, administered once daily, are equally effective in the treatment of open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Adult↗

Two-dimensional gel analysis of complex DNA families: methodology and apparatus.

We describe a reproducible protocol for the analysis of individual members of complex mammalian gene families by gel fractionation in two dimensions within a specially designed, easily built electrophoretic apparatus. We have used this protocol to resolve the family of mouse H-2 class I genes, with approximately 30 members, as well as two different families of endogenous retroviral-like sequences, each of which has approximately 180 members dispersed throughout the genome. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using this protocol for rapid, whole genome analysis of individual animals and cell lines. Two-dimensional DNA analysis of highly repeated retroviral-like DNA families could be applied to genetic mapping and cloning experiments as well as to obtaining whole genome fingerprints in the analysis of somatic cell hybrid lines that contain a subset of chromosomes from the genome of interest.

DNA Restriction Enzymes↗

A total body nitrogen facility for paediatric use.

The design, calibration and evaluation of a facility for in vivo prompt gamma neutron capture analysis of total body nitrogen in children is described. The patient is scanned in both supine and prone positions, across a vertically collimated beam from a 1 GBq 252Cf fission source. Two NaI(T1) detectors are placed on either side of the patient, perpendicular to both the neutron beam and the scanning direction. The effective dose equivalent delivered to a child during an 840 s scan is approximately 0.14 mSv (QF = 10). Correction factors for nitrogen background (width-dependent), hydrogen background (1-4% of hydrogen gamma ray peak) and the differential attenuation of nitrogen and hydrogen gamma rays (width-dependent) can be applied to the measured nitrogen-to-hydrogen gamma ray counts ratio. By using the mass of hydrogen (based on body mass and fat mass) as an internal standard, the nitrogen mass can then be determined. Measurements with a urea-containing box phantom show that the current precision (CV) of the net nitrogen counts and of the nitrogen-to-hydrogen counts ratio is +/- 2.0% and +/- 1.5%, respectively. Using small anthropomorphic and other phantoms, estimation of the mass of nitrogen has a precision of +/- 1.4 to 5.4% and an accuracy of 97.1 to 101.5%.

Australia↗

Is what you see what you get? Breast specimen handling re-visited.

Specimen radiography is already established as an essential adjunct to excisional biopsy of mammographically detected abnormalities. Two methods of specimen sectioning following the initial specimen radiograph are described. The techniques were devised to identify the lesion accurately in the specimen for subsequent pathological analysis. They have been tailored to suit the differing facilities at two Breast Screening Centres. The methods highlight the desirability of a cooperative multidisciplinary approach to the management of breast disease. They underline the importance of radiological localization of the lesion; not only for the surgeon, but also for the pathologist.

Biopsy↗

The BIMDA shuttle flight mission: a low cost microgravity payload.

This paper presents the design, operation and experiment protocol of the Bioserve sponsored flights of the ITA Materials Dispersion Apparatus Payload (BIMDA) flown on the Space Shuttle on STS-37. The BIMDA payload represents a joint effort between ITA (Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc.) and Bioserve Space Technologies, a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space, to investigate the methods and commercial potential of biomedical and fluid science applications in the microgravity environment of space. The BIMDA payload, flown in a Refrigerator/Incubator Module (R/IM) in the Orbiter middeck, consists of three different devices designed to mix fluids in space; four Materials Dispersion Apparatus (MDA) Minilabs developed by ITA, six Cell Syringes, and six Bioprocessing Modules both developed by NASA JSC and Bioserve. The BIMDA design and operation reflect user needs for late access prior to launch (<24 h) and early access after landing (<2 h). The environment for the payload is temperature controlled by the R/IM. The astronaut crew operates the payload and documents its operation. The temperature of the payload is recorded automatically during flight. The flight of the BIMDA payload is the first of two development flights of the MDA on the Space Shuttle. Future commercial flights of ITA's Materials Dispersion Apparatus on the Shuttle will be sponsored by NASA's Office of Commercial Programs and will take place over the next three years. Experiments for the BIMDA payload include research into the following areas: protein crystal growth, thin film membrane casting, collagen formation, fibrin clot formation, seed germination, enzymatic catalysis, zeolite crystallization, studies of mixing effects of lymphocyte functions, and solute diffusion and transport.

Biotechnology↗

[Comparative clinical studies of oral premedication in childhood with reference to various pharmaceuticals].

In a randomized prospective study of 206 children aged between one and 14, the influence of oral praemedication on the psychic condition and with regard to anaesthesiologic measures was investigated. Heart rate, inhibition of salivation and the kind and frequency of side-effects were also examined. The praemedication was carried out using diazepam (0.3 mg/kg), promazin (1.0 mg/kg), promethazin (1.0 mg/kg) and chlorphenaethazin (1.0 mg/kg). It was not possible to determine statistically relevant differences between the various drugs concerning the fixed criteria. In general, however, diazepam seems to achieve the best results. In the younger children (1 to 6 years) a frequent and insufficient effect of praemedication was noted immediately. Oral praemedication proved to be a valuable and practicable method which was well tolerated by the great majority of the children.

Administration, Oral↗