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Biomedical subjects

B Burns

Publications and source records attributed to B Burns.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The Web: friend or foe of the hand surgeon?

Healthcare information contained on the World Wide Web is not screened or regulated and claims may be unsubstantiated and misleading. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nature and quality of information on the Web in relation to hand surgery. Three search engines were assessed for information on three hand operations: carpal tunnel decompression, Dupuytren's release and trigger finger release. Websites were classified and evaluated for completeness, accuracy, accountability and reference to a reliable source of information. A total of 172 websites were examined. Although 85% contained accurate information, in 65% this information was incomplete. Eighty-seven per cent of websites were accountable for the information presented, but only 24% made references to reliable sources. Until an organised approach to website control is established, it is important for hand surgeons to emphasise to their patients that not everything they read is complete or accurate. Publicising sites known to be of high quality will promote safe browsing of the Web.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome↗
PubMed2000

Developmental changes in children's abilities to share and allocate attention in a dual task.

Characterizing developmental changes in children's dual-task performance has been problematic because differences in divided attention abilities are easily confounded with differences in overall capacity. Two experiments showed that after individual differences in children's capacity for single-task performance were controlled for, age differences between second- (M = 8.1 years) and fifth-grade (M = 11.1 years) children did not exist in dual-task performance when tasks were of equal priority. However, when tasks had different priorities, only fifth-grade children could differentially allocate attention in the dual task. Results are discussed within the coordination hypothesis framework (see A. F. Kramer & J. L. Larish, 1996), which suggests that changes in dual-task performance with aging are due to changes in the ability to coordinate and control the allocation of attention. It is argued that linking the investigations of children's attention with research on attention and aging provides both methodological and theoretical benefits.

Attention↗
PubMed2000

The development of children's knowledge of attention and resource allocation in single and dual tasks.

Developmental changes in kindergarten, 1st-, and 4th-grade children's knowledge about the variables that affect attention sharing and resource allocation were examined. Findings from the 2 experiments showed that kindergartners understood that person and strategy variables affect performance in attention-sharing tasks. However, knowledge of how task variables affect performance was not evident to them and was inconsistent for 1st and 4th graders. Children's knowledge about resource allocation revealed a different pattern and varied according to the dissimilarity of task demands in the attention-sharing task. In Experiment 1, in which the dual attention tasks were similar (i.e., visual detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children did not differentiate performance in single and dual tasks. Fourth graders demonstrated knowledge that performance on a single task would be better than performance on the dual tasks for only 2 of the variables examined. In Experiment 2, in which the dual attention tasks were dissimilar (i.e., visual and auditory detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children demonstrated knowledge that performance in the single task would be better than in the dual tasks for 1 of the task variables examined. However, 4th-grade children consistently gave higher ratings for performance on the single than on the dual attention tasks for all variables examined. These findings (a) underscore that children's meta-attention is not unitary and (b) demonstrate that children's knowledge about variables affecting attention sharing and resource allocation have different developmental pathways. Results show that knowledge about attention sharing and about the factors that influence the control of attention develops slowly and undergoes reorganization in middle childhood.

Attention↗
PubMed1999

Individual differences in textural segregation.

Dimensional interactions of width and orientation stimuli in early visual processing were assessed in a texture-segregation paradigm. The basis for detecting a discrepant quadrant in 6 x 6 arrays of objects was varied in accordance with Garner's Control, Correlated, and Orthogonal conditions. Individual differences as measured by Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Task differentiated performance patterns on the texture-segregation task. Individuals with high scores on the Embedded Figures Test, termed Field-independent, exhibited redundancy gains in the Correlated condition and no interference in the Orthogonal condition whereas those scoring low, termed Field-dependent, demonstrated no redundancy gains and no interference effects. Results support recent findings that individual differences in field dependence-independence are associated with differences in low-level visual mechanisms and suggest that individual differences in attentional flexibility exist in early visual processing.

Attention↗
PubMed1995

Novel antiplatelet therapies for treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease: inhibitors of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa integrin receptor.

Blood platelets play essential roles in normal coagulation and in coronary atherosclerotic disease and its complications. Various antiplatelet therapies, including aspirin, ticlopidine, and dipyridamole, have been developed for use in patients with known coronary artery artery disease to prevent ischemic complications. More recently a more complete anti-aggregation effect has been accomplished by the use of monoclonal antibodies and specific peptide and nonpeptide compounds that bind to the platelet GP IIb/IIIa surface receptor. This receptor becomes activated by platelet stimulation and binds fibrinogen molecules between platelets in the aggregation process. These new antiplatelet drugs are now being evaluated in clinical trials in patients undergoing balloon coronary angioplasty, in whom fewer ischemic events occur when the receptor blocker is used intravenously than with standard therapy, and in patients with stable and unstable angina. Excessive bleeding is an important problem with these agents, and efforts must be made to eliminate this side effect.

Abciximab↗
PubMed1994

Hydrolyzed lactalbumin-based oral rehydration solution for acute diarrhoea in infants.

The addition of different organic substrates to standard glucose oral rehydration solution (G-ORS) has been shown to improve the intestinal absorption of sodium and water, and thereby decrease stool losses. Therefore, we evaluated, in infants with acute diarrhoea, the safety and efficacy of three oral rehydration solutions (ORS) which had the same concentrations of electrolytes (with sodium 60 mmol/l) but different substrates of proteins and carbohydrates. One solution (LAD-ORS) contained hydrolyzed lactalbumin (LAD) with maltodextrin and sucrose, a second (MS-ORS) was identical but without LAD and a third (G-ORS) was standard glucose ORS. The three solutions were compared in a double-blind, randomized trial in 74 hospitalized well-nourished children in Panama and the United States. All three oral rehydration solutions were equally efficacious and safe in these children, 54% of whom were infected with rotavirus. There was no suggestion that hydrolyzed lactalbumin or maltodextrin provided any advantage over glucose-ORS in terms of stool output or in duration of diarrhoea. We conclude that all three solutions are efficacious in the therapy of acute diarrhoea in infants.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the spleen: a case report.

An inflammatory pseudotumour of the spleen mimicking a lymphoma clinically is reported. Immunohistochemical studies and the characteristic polymophous inflammatory and fibroblastic infiltrates confirm the lesion as benign.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Rearrangement of BCR genes in malignant lymphoma.

The Philadelphia chromosome, originally thought to be associated solely with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), has since been identified in acute leukemias and in some cases of lymphoma. The Philadelphia chromosome results from reciprocal translocation of genetic material between chromosome 9 and 22 involving the c-abl and BCR genes respectively. Southern blot analysis of the BCR genes was carried out on biopsy specimens from 49 patients presenting with malignant lymphoma without a previously documented CML phase. In two patients, BCR gene rearrangements were detected in the malignant lymph nodes but not in the bone marrow samples. A third patient showed BCR gene rearrangements in the bone marrow but not in the lymph node. From this limited study, it seems that the overall incidence of BCR gene rearrangement in malignant lymphoma is similar to that observed in adult AML.

Blotting, Southern↗
PubMed1991

Safety and immunogenicity of human rotavirus vaccine strain M37 in adults, children, and infants.

Rotavirus vaccine strain M37 (serotype 1), recovered from the stool of an asymptomatic newborn infant and serially passaged in cell culture, was given orally to adults, children, and infants. Serologic responses were detected by neutralization assay or EIA in 59% of 17 adults (10(5)-pfu dose), 55%-60% of 21 infants and children (10(4)-pfu dose), and 70% of 10 infants (10(5)-pfu dose), vaccine virus was shed by 24%, 20%-36%, and 70%, respectively. In adults, neutralizing antibody rises to strain M37 and the related serotype 1 strain Wa occurred with equal frequency (41% vs. 47%). In pediatric subjects, the former were more frequent (36%-40%) than the latter (10%-18%). This was also true of 8 infants who received two doses of vaccine. Mild gastrointestinal illnesses occurred with equal frequency in pediatric subjects who received vaccine or placebo. Thus, strain M37 was well tolerated and immunogenic in young infants, but elicited primarily vaccine-strain-specific rather than serotype-specific neutralizing antibody responses.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Small-bowel carcinoid presenting in association with a phytobezoar.

An unusual case of a recurrent, postoperative, small-bowel obstruction is presented. The obstruction was due to a phytobezoar proximal to the site of a primary carcinoid of the small bowel. The radiologic findings of a mobile, intraluminal filling defect and a more distal, fixed mural mass are reviewed. The cause of the recurrent obstruction was likely a "ball-valve" effect of the phytobezoar at the site of stenosis caused by the carcinoid. This case emphasizes the value of small-bowel imaging in repeated small-bowel obstruction.

Bezoars↗
PubMed1991

Role of a soy-based lactose-free formula in the outpatient management of diarrhea.

The introduction of a soy-based, lactose-free formula during the acute phase of diarrheal illness in infants has been shown to reduce stool output and duration of diarrhea in hospitalized patients. In the United States, most infants with acute diarrhea are treated as outpatients. In the present study, infants with diarrhea who were treated as outpatients were randomly assigned to receive either a soy-based, lactose-free formula alternating with oral rehydration solution from the beginning of therapy ("early feeding") or oral rehydration solution alone for the first 24 hours of therapy, followed by a soy-based, lactose-free formula alternating with oral rehydration solution (control group). Twenty-nine infants were randomly assigned to the early-feeding group and 27 to the control group. Twenty-one (72%) of 29 in the early-feeding group resolved their diarrhea at the end of 48 hours of therapy compared with 12 (44%) of 27 in the group fed oral rehydration solution only (P = .02). It is concluded that the introduction of a soy-based, lactose-free formula from the beginning of therapy for acute diarrhea in children treated as outpatients is safe and may shorten duration of diarrhea while maintaining adequate caloric intake.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1990

Insulinoma in a patient with annular pancreas.

Intraoperative ultrasonography has facilitated the localization of insulinomas. In this report, we describe a patient who was found to have an insulinoma in association with an annular pancreas. Because such tumors can be in close approximation to major pancreatic ductal structures, intraoperative ultrasonography can be useful for not only localizing the lesion but also delineating the related anatomic features. Although the optimal management of an asymptomatic annular pancreas has not been determined, our patient had no evidence of chronic pancreatitis and no narrowing of the duodenal lumen; therefore, no bowel bypass procedure was done.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗