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C Chamberlain

Publications and source records attributed to C Chamberlain.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Interventions for promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Smoking remains one of the few potentially preventable factors associated with low birthweight, preterm birth and perinatal death. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of smoking cessation programs implemented during pregnancy on the health of the fetus, infant, mother, and family. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register and the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group trials register (July 2003), MEDLINE (January 2002 to July 2003), EMBASE (January 2002 to July 2003), PsychLIT (January 2002 to July 2003), CINAHL (January 2002 to July 2003), and AUSTHEALTH (January 2002 to 2003). We contacted trial authors to locate additional unpublished data. We handsearched references of identified trials and recent obstetric journals. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised and quasi-randomised trials of smoking cessation programs implemented during pregnancy. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Four reviewers assessed trial quality and extracted data independently. MAIN RESULTS: This review included 64 trials. Fifty-one randomised controlled trials (20,931 women) and six cluster-randomised trials (over 7500 women) provided data on smoking cessation and/or perinatal outcomes. Despite substantial variation in the intensity of the intervention and the extent of reminders and reinforcement through pregnancy, there was an increase in the median intensity of both 'usual care' and interventions over time. There was a significant reduction in smoking in the intervention groups of the 48 trials included: (relative risk (RR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93 to 0.95), an absolute difference of six in 100 women continuing to smoke. The 36 trials with validated smoking cessation had a similar reduction (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.92 to 0.95). Smoking cessation interventions reduced low birthweight (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.94) and preterm birth (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.98), and there was a 33 g (95% CI 11 g to 55 g) increase in mean birthweight. There were no statistically significant differences in very low birthweight, stillbirths, perinatal or neonatal mortality but these analyses had very limited power. One intervention strategy, rewards plus social support (two trials), resulted in a significantly greater smoking reduction than other strategies (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.82). Five trials of smoking relapse prevention (over 800 women) showed no statistically significant reduction in relapse. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: Smoking cessation programs in pregnancy reduce the proportion of women who continue to smoke, and reduce low birthweight and preterm birth. The pooled trials have inadequate power to detect reductions in perinatal mortality or very low birthweight.

Female↗
PubMed2003

A community based, patient-centred, longitudinal medical curriculum.

The School of Rural Health is an initiative of the Australian Commonwealth Government, the University of New South Wales, Australia, and the Greater Murray Area Health Service. The school was established in February 2000 to facilitate the recruitment of doctors to and their retention in rural areas. The school is responsible for providing an education program for half of the three-year clinical component of the six-year undergraduate course. This article outlines the educational philosophies and methodologies employed in the development of a community-based, patient-centred, longitudinal approach to medical education. Although developed for and delivered in a rural setting, the curriculum could easily be adapted for implementation in an urban setting. The article presents a synopsis of experiences during the initial implementation of the curriculum, and it provides recommendations for future developments.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Localized Rac activation dynamics visualized in living cells.

Signaling proteins are thought to be tightly regulated spatially and temporally in order to generate specific and localized effects. For Rac and other small guanosine triphosphatases, binding to guanosine triphosphate leads to interaction with downstream targets and regulates subcellular localization. A method called FLAIR (fluorescence activation indicator for Rho proteins) was developed to quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of the Rac1 nucleotide state in living cells. FLAIR revealed precise spatial control of growth factor-induced Rac activation, in membrane ruffles and in a gradient of activation at the leading edge of motile cells. FLAIR exemplifies a generally applicable approach for examining spatio-temporal control of protein activity.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed2000

Watching proteins in the wild: fluorescence methods to study protein dynamics in living cells.

The advent of GFP imaging has led to a revolution in the study of live cell protein dynamics. Ease of access to fluorescently tagged proteins has led to their widespread application and demonstrated the power of studying protein dynamics in living cells. This has spurred development of next generation approaches enabling not only the visualization of protein movements, but correlation of a protein's dynamics with its changing structural state or ligand binding. Such methods make use of fluorescence resonance energy transfer and dyes that report changes in their environment, and take advantage of new chemistries for site-specific protein labeling.

Energy Transfer↗
PubMed1999

Ubiquitin-dependent pathway is up-regulated in differentiating lens cells.

The mammalian eye lens is composed of two distinct types of cells, epithelial cells and fiber cells. The fiber cells are generated throughout life via continuous differentiation of epithelial cells. Differentiation of lens cells involves dramatic changes in cellular components including altered activity of the ubiquitin dependent pathway. The concentration of high mass ubiquitin conjugates in the mitotically active-, differentiating-equatorial epithelial cells was 5-10 fold higher than that observed in mitotically quiescent, non-differentiated, central epithelial cells, even though there was a significant dilution of non-crystallin proteins due to an increase in level of crystallins in the differentiating cells. Similar observations were made when differentiation was modeled by exposure of lens epithelial explants to bFGF in culture. Activities of ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1) and ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) in the differentiating equatorial epithelial cells were also up to 100% higher than those noted in non-differentiated central epithelial cells and E1 appears to be rate controlling for ubiquitinylation. Consistent with the higher concentrations of high mass ubiquitin conjugates, there was a trend of enhanced ability to execute ATP-dependent protein degradation in the differentiating equatorial epithelial cells as compared with degradation in the non-differentiated central epithelial cells. These data indicate that the ubiquitin dependent pathway is up-regulated during differentiation of lens cells. In the differentiated fibers, the concentration of high mass ubiquitin conjugates and relative activities of E1 and E2s were 50% lower than in the non-differentiated central epithelial cells. In comparison, the concentration of the 110 kDa E1 was unchanged in differentiated fibers. However, if the factor of dilution by the significant increase in the level of crystallins was taken into account, the level or activities of the components of ubiquitin pathway in the differentiated cells was higher than the level noted in non-differentiated cells. These data indicate that, as compared with other non-crystallin proteins, there is differential stabilization and/or synthesis of the 110 kDa E1 and some other components of the ubiquitin dependent pathway in differentiated fibers.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A self-assessment tool to measure older adults' perceptions regarding physical fitness and exercise activity.

The purpose of this research was to qualitatively generate and psychometrically assess an instrument which assesses the self-perceived physical fitness and exercise activity levels of community-dwelling older adults and examines perceived factors which enhance or impede their exercise activity level. This research was carried out in two stages: qualitative and quantitative. Items for the instrument were generated through qualitative interviews with 23 community-dwelling older adults, 9 males and 14 females, with an age range of 63 to 82 years. From this qualitative study, 50 items were generated, representing nine categories of elements which enhance or impede physical activity. The 50 items were incorporated into a 4-point, forced-choice, Likert format instrument which was pilot tested for clarity and ease of administration with a convenience sample of community-dwelling older adults. Following the pilot testing, 41 items were retained. The 41-item instrument, entitled Physical Fitness and Exercise Activity Levels of Older Adults Scale, was categorized into the following subscales: Physical Fitness, Barriers, Motivators, and Exercise Frequency. Initial testing of the Physical Fitness and Exercise Activity Levels of Older Adults Scale seems to indicate adequate validity and reliability. Correlation coefficients for the total instrument, as well as the subscales, were significantly positive for both stability and internal consistency. Results with respect to predictive validity were mixed. The Physical Fitness and Motivators subscales were significant predictors of Exercise Frequency. Although the correlation between the Barriers subscale and Exercise Frequency was negative, it was non-significant.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Perceptions of physical fitness and exercise activity among older adults.

The purpose of this research was to examine older adults' perceptions of physical fitness and exercise. This qualitative study was divided into four stages as described by Berg (1989): identification of the concept of the study; development of the interview guide; collection of data; and data analysis. Twenty-three older adults, aged 63-82 years (9 females, 14 males), participated in the interviews. Transcripts were analysed using content analysis. Three major themes emerged as the participants viewed physical fitness in terms of: functional independence ('being able to do'); holism ('mind-body works together'); and age reference (-for people my age'). Nine elements which impeded or enhanced physical activity were identified. Implications for education, research and practice are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Judicial decision-making in contested custody cases: the influence of reported child abuse, spouse abuse, and parental substance abuse.

This study examined the relationship between allegations of maltreatment and substance abuse, and custody awards in Florida. Information concerning the presence, or absence, of these reports was collected on 60 contested initial disposition, or disposition modification cases, and was used to model judicial decision-making. Substantiated reports of child and spouse abuse occurred very infrequently in our sample. Conversely, substance abuse allegations occurred much more frequently. Judges appeared responsive to allegations of abuse with regard to awards of primary physical residence, despite the lack of substantiated evidence. Maltreatment allegations had no apparent impact, however, on awards of shared, versus sole, custody. Additionally, reports of parental substance abuse also had no apparent impact on judicial decision-making. Implications of these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Resistance to the Bacillus sphaericus toxin in cultured mosquito cells.

Increasing doses of Bacillus sphaericus toxin were used to select a toxin-resistant cell line from the Culex quinquefasciatus line. This resistant cell line was proven to be C. quinquefasciatus in origin by isozyme analysis and karyotype. The resistant line bound fluorescent-labeled toxin as did the unselected susceptible line. A high level of resistance was quickly achieved, and this level was maintained after 4 mo. culture in the absence of toxin.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Molecular studies of Pseudomonas exotoxin A gene.

A 2.7-kilobase DNA fragment carrying the entire exotoxin A (ETA) structural gene was divided into three nonoverlapping probes. Two probes covering the ETA structural gene were used in colony hybridization experiments to determine whether sequences homologous to the ETA gene could be detected in genera other than Pseudomonas or in Pseudomonas species other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The majority of strains examined other than the P. aeruginosa strains failed to react in the colony hybridization assays. Some Pseudomonas spp. other than P. aeruginosa and some Bordetella spp. did react in colony hybridization assays with the probes. However, additional studies in which we used Southern hybridization methods indicated that these reactions were apparently nonspecific and that the ETA gene is limited to P. aeruginosa. Studies in which we used all three ETA-related probes in Southern hybridization experiments to analyze the ETA gene and surrounding sequences in P. aeruginosa strains isolated from diverse sources revealed the following: (i) the incidence of the ETA gene in P. aeruginosa is approximately equal to 95%; (ii) there are strains which have been isolated from human infections that do not carry the ETA structural gene; (iii) there is a maximum of one copy of the ETA gene per genome in any given strain; (iv) sequences within and 4 to 5 kilobases downstream of the ETA structural gene appear to be well conserved in different strains of P. aeruginosa; and (v) in contrast, sequences immediately upstream of the ETA structural gene are considerably rearranged from strain to strain. A multicopy plasmid carrying the entire cloned ETA gene was transferred to a tox- P. aeruginosa strain. This strain synthesized and secreted mature, full-length ETA, but the amount produced was small considering the multicopy nature of the plasmid. Synthesis of toxin in this strain was only minimally affected by iron. Our data suggest that the synthesis of ETA is positively regulated. Finally, we found that the presence of the ETA gene is independent of the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce several other recognized virulence factors, supporting the concept of the multifactorial nature of P. aeruginosa virulence.

ADP Ribose Transferases↗
PubMed1973

Tinned babyfoods.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Self-report of Guardians Ad Litem: provision of information to judges in child abuse and neglect cases.

Reporting patterns of Guardians Ad Litem to judges in cases on child abuse and neglect were studied. Guardians indicated which information they had included in reports to judges in recently adjudicated cases of child abuse and neglect. Information reported in child abuse cases was compared with information reported in neglect cases, and the pattern of reporting was found to be the same in both types of cases. Guardians most frequently included information concerning the child's physical safety, the interaction between the parent(s) and the child, and personality characteristics of the parent(s). Less frequently reported was information regarding conflict in the home and family enmeshment.

Adult↗