PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B A Reed

Publications and source records attributed to B A Reed.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Controlling on-farm inventories of bulk-tank raw milk--an opportunity to protect public health.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point programs provide a systematic approach for the reduction of food safety problems through preventive measures. On-farm programs similar to Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, which target pathogen reduction and screening can provide assurance to processors and consumers that on-farm food safety is a high priority. Additional voluntary oversight of farm practices, including monitoring of and controlled access to raw milk supplies on the farm could further contribute to public food safety. Off-farm sales of raw milk directly to the public have resulted in foodborne outbreaks of multidrug resistant salmonellosis in California and Washington when raw milk was used for unlicensed cheese production. If dairy producers in those cases had voluntary programs in place to inventory, monitor, and control access to raw milk supplies, the outbreaks probably could have been prevented.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Sales of food aid as sign of distress, not excess.

In 1996 the sale and export of food aid from refugee camps near Uvira, Zaire, prompted a reduction in donated rations. However, research has revealed that the sales did not reflect an excess of food in the camps. They were provoked by the absence of important components of the food basket, by cultural aversion to the staple (maize) and oil provided, by difficulties in food preparation, and by the refugees' limited ability to diversify their diet and cover pressing non-food needs. Food sales improved the micronutrient content of diets but at the expense of energy lost from an already energy-deficient diet. At most 23% of the refugee households were eating sufficient and adequate diets; the poorest one-fifth of households were twice as likely to sell or exchange food as were other households and their diets were the worst. These findings demonstrate the perils of the gap between policy and practice in food-aid distribution.

Burundi↗
PubMed1996

The effects of maternal education on child nutritional status depend on socio-environmental conditions.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown an inconsistency in the association between maternal education and child nutritional status across socioeconomic levels. This may be because the beneficial effects of education are only significant when resources are sufficient but not abundant. METHODS: Associations were examined for differences across socioeconomic levels using data collected from 41 rural communities of Benin for 435 children aged 13-36 months. Village level indicators of household wealth were used together with child z-scores to partition the sample into three levels of socio-environment relative to conditions more or less conducive to child growth. RESULTS: Using an interactive linear regression model it was shown that for the population of children of women who had no more than 4 years of formal schooling, the association of maternal education and child weight differed significantly across the socio-environment. The relationship was flat and non-significant in the lowest socio-environment, positive and significant (P < 0.05) in intermediate conditions, and weakly positive under the best socio-environment conditions. Among children of mothers attaining higher levels of education, an unexpected negative association was found. It could be that maternal education had enabled women to participate in activities outside the home without simultaneously ensuring adequate child care.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Staff nurses' perceptions of barriers to effective pain management.

The purpose of this study was to investigate staff nurses' perceptions of barriers to pain management including lack of educational preparation; inadequacy of clinical practice skills; and certain legal/political, financial, and ethical problems. Staff nurses rated the adequacy of their knowledge and skills in each of these areas as well as how important they believed each area was on a four-point Likert scale (1 = very inadequate or very unimportant to 4 = very adequate or very important). Nurses were also asked to list the most important pain management problems in their institutions. A random sample of 24 hospitals stratified on the basis of size was drawn from four states in the United States. Of 125 nurses contacted, 108 (86%) responded to the questionnaire. Nurses rated their educational preparation (mean, 2.6; SD, 0.05) and knowledge of legal/political issues (mean, 2.3; SD, 0.05) midway between inadequate and adequate. Practice was rated as adequate (mean 3.1; SD, 0.36), and financial issues were rated as inadequate (mean, 1.9; SD, 0.06). Knowledge of ethical issues was adequate (mean, 3.1; SD, 0.03). Implications of these ratings based on the literature in pain management are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

Acoustic probe-based ELISA.

The effects of acoustic microstreaming during incubation steps of a prototypical three-step ELISA were studied. Acoustic microstreaming, an orderly mixing of microwell contents induced by linear oscillation of immersible acoustic probes, was shown to be particularly effective when coupled with locating the solid phase on the surface of the probes. Optical densities achieved for acoustic probe-based assays were equivalent to those for uninsonated microwell-based assays with only 20% of the microwell solid phase surface area. Low-level antibody detection was significantly improved and antibody incubation times significantly shortened without loss of signal. Acoustic probe-based assays can enhance assay and laboratory efficiency through testing for multiple analytes in a single sample or increasing available binding surface area (by using probe and well surfaces simultaneously), and by eliminating quenching. Acoustic probe ELISA methodology has significant implications for cost-effective automation.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1992

Fourteen-day inhalation study in rats, using aged and diluted sidestream smoke from a reference cigarette. II. DNA adducts and alveolar macrophage cytogenetics.

The chemical constituents of cigarette smoke are greatly diluted in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). In the typical indoor environment where cigarettes are smoked, the mean value of respirable suspended particles is approximately 0.1 mg/m3. In this study, we used aged and diluted sidestream smoke (ADSS) of 1R4F University of Kentucky research cigarettes as a surrogate for ETS and exposed Sprague-Dawley rats nose-only to 0, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mg wet total particulate matter (WTPM)/m3 for 6 hr per day for 14 consecutive days. DNA from lung, heart, larynx, and liver was tested for adduct formation after 7 and 14 days of exposure and after 14 days of recovery. In addition, alveolar macrophages from animals exposed for 7 days were examined for chromosomal aberrations. Exposure-related DNA adducts were not observed in any of the animals at 0.1 or 1.0 mg WTPM/m3, which represent ambient and 10-fold exaggerated ETS concentrations, respectively. Slight diagonal radioactive zones, characteristic of adducts observed in human smokers and in animals exposed to mainstream smoke, were observed, but only in lung and heart DNA of animals exposed to the highest concentration of ADSS (10 mg WTPM/m3), a 100-fold exaggeration of typical field measurements of ETS. The mean relative adduct labeling values (+/- SE) were 8.7 (+/- 0.2) adducts per 10(9) nucleotides for lung DNA and 5.7 (+/- 0.7) adducts per 10(9) nucleotides for heart DNA after 14 days of exposure. No elevation in chromosomal aberrations was observed in alveolar macrophages.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed1988

Almond hulls in diets for lactating goats: effects on yield and composition of milk, feed intake, and digestibility.

Four cubed rations of similar chemical composition were fed ad libitum to 16 lactating yearling Alpine goats. The rations contained 0, 15, 25, and 35% almond hulls; 0, .5, 1, and 1% urea; and 58.4, 42.5, 32.0, and 22.0% alfalfa hay (DM basis). Chromic oxide was added as a digestibility marker. Average nutrient composition of diets was 91% DM, 20% CP, 32% NDF, 9% ash, and 4.39 Mcal gross energy/kg. Goats were randomly assigned to one of four diet orders in four replications of a 4 X 4 Latin square, blocked by goat and period. Data were collected in the 3rd wk of each period. Diets containing 25 and 35% almond hulls increased DM intake and reduced milk protein percent and digestibilities of DM, organic matter, ash, and NDF. Dry matter intake and weight gain were highest for the diet containing 35% almond hulls and 1% urea. Results indicate that almond hulls and urea can be fed to lactating goats up to these amounts without adversely affecting lactation.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1982

Costs and benefits associated with treatment for coronary artery disease.

Direct and indirect costs of medical and of surgical treatment are presented for patients entered into the Birmingham portion of the Coronary Artery Surgery Study. For comparison, similar results are shown for the Birmingham portion of the national Cooperative Unstable Angina Study. In the Unstable Angina Study, mean inpatient costs at the end of 1 year in the study were $6867 for medical therapy, $10,574 for surgical therapy and $23,045 for those who failed medical therapy and required late surgery. A stepwise multiple regression analysis shows that the single best predictor of cost was the number of myocardial infarctions that the patient had while in the study. A discriminant-function analysis identified 85% of the medical patients who required late surgery. A significantly lower proportion of surgical than medical patients returned to work. Total inpatient costs for patients in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study (i.e, patients with stable angina) were $3432, $11,100 and $13,554 for medical, surgical and late surgical patients, respectively, for the first year in the study. There was no significant difference in the percentage of medical and surgical patients who were working at the end of 1 year. According to their own perceptions, the surgical group was in the best and the late surgical group in the worst health.

Aged↗