Biomedical subjects

C Harker

Publications and source records attributed to C Harker.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Pre-employment health assessments for food handlers: a survey of occupational physicians in the food industry.

The format of pre-employment health screens within the food industry varies considerably. The aim of this study was to produce a consensus on the content of a screen that will enable employees to handle food with minimum risk to the product and employee. A questionnaire was sent to the 63 members of the Food Industry Medical Association, of whom 45 (71%) responded. As a minimum, a questionnaire completed by the applicant is thought to be sufficient. Applicants reporting health problems need to be assessed by a health professional.

Food Contamination↗

PubMed1999

The development of circadian rhythms in a human infant.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: This study examines the ontogeny and interaction of circadian rhythms of sleep, wake, temperature, melatonin, and feeding in the human newborn, and the influence of photic and non-photic factors on the initiation of entrainment. DESIGN: An infant's sleep-wake state, temperature, and salivary melatonin were monitored from birth to 6 months. Temperature was obtained every hour, and the infant's sleep/eating onset/termination were observed continuously and recorded until day 182. Salivary melatonin was obtained weekly for a 24-hour period, starting at week 3. SETTING: The infant slept in his parents' bedroom. All household members awakened, retired, and ate meals according to a fixed schedule during the study, while the infant ate, slept, and woke on demand. PARTICIPANTS: A healthy male infant was the subject. Biological parents gathered data continuously for six months. INTERVENTIONS: The infant's schedule was on-demand; the household's was fixed. Illumination was restricted to sunlight. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The circadian rhythm of temperature appeared first, soon after birth, and became statistically significant within one week. The wake circadian rhythm appeared second, attaining significance at day 45; approximately the same time that increased melatonin concentration began to occur at sunset. The sleep circadian rhythm appeared last, attaining significance after day 56. Ninety to 120 minute zones of sustained wakefulness first appeared in the second month of life subsequent to awakening and prior to sleep onset. The infant's nocturnal sleep-onset was coupled to sunset before day 60 and subsequently to family bedtime, giving evidence of initial photic entrainment followed by social entrainment. CONCLUSIONS: Circadian rhythms appeared much more rapidly in this infant than previously reported; their rapid appearance was probably facilitated by maximal exposure to sunlight, and regular social cues. These lighting conditions replicate universal infant experience prior to the invention of artificial light.

Brain↗

PubMed1995

Oilseed rape and bronchial reactivity.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate atopy and changes in symptoms, peak flow rate, and bronchial reactivity in people complaining of symptoms during the oilseed rape flowering season. METHODS: 37 people who had given positive answers to questions about the presence of symptoms in relation to the flowering season of oilseed rape and 24 controls with no such symptoms were studied, although not all took part in all parts of the study. All had been previously identified in a cross sectional survey of a random sample of a rural population. Atopy was assessed by means of skin prick tests, total immunoglobulin E (IgE), and radioallergosorbent test (RAST) assays. Bronchial reactivity (PC20) was measured by histamine challenge. Total IgE and bronchial reactivity were measured both before and during the oilseed rape flowering season. Day to day changes were monitored by subjects who kept a record of their symptoms and peak flow morning and evening, starting before the flowering season and continuing during it and into the grass pollen season. RESULTS: Only two cases, of 23 tested, showed evidence of allergy to oilseed rape and only 10 of 23 tested, including these two, were atopic. Eye, nasal, and headache symptoms increased in the season in cases, which validated the questionnaire used in the previous cross sectional survey. 12 of 16 cases tested and seven of 15 controls showed a seasonal fall in PC20; the fall in the cases was significantly greater than in the controls. Peak flow charts showed no evidence of fall or of increased variability during the season. CONCLUSIONS: People who complained of symptoms in relation to the flowering of oilseed rape were rarely allergic to the plant and fewer than half were atopic. Nevertheless, they usually showed increased bronchial reactivity during the season, which may have been due in some cases to other allergens but in others to non-specific irritant effects of the air. Whether these are due to chemicals released by the crop, to rising summer ozone levels, or to other factors remains unclear.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Oilseed rape and seasonal symptoms: epidemiological and environmental studies.

BACKGROUND: There is widespread concern that the cultivation of oilseed rape leads to seasonal epidemics of respiratory symptoms in populations living in the neighbourhood, and it has been suggested that the plant is a potent allergen. A study was therefore undertaken to determine the prevalence of seasonal symptoms in rural populations close to and far from areas of oilseed rape cultivation, and to measure the levels of allergen and other potentially harmful substances released by the crop. METHODS: Random samples of 1000 adults from the general practice populations of two villages surrounded by oilseed rape fields, and 1000 adults from one village far from such cultivation, were taken. The subjects completed a previously validated questionnaire on respiratory and other symptoms, including questions on symptom seasonality, occupation, and smoking habits. Pollen and fungal spore counts were made around fields of oilseed rape and in the villages. The chemicals released by oilseed rape were measured in the field. RESULTS: Overall, 86.8% of the subjects completed the questionnaires and the populations of the two samples were generally comparable. Spring and summer exacerbations of symptoms occurred equally in the two areas in approximately 25% of the population. There were small but significant excesses of cough, wheeze, and headaches in spring in the oilseed rape area (2.3% v 1.1%, 6.8% v 4.6%, and 4.8% v 2.8%, respectively), and cough, wheeze, and itchy skin were more prevalent in smokers. Counts of oilseed rape pollen were generally low except adjacent to fields, and counts of fungal spores were mostly higher in the rape than the non-rape areas. Oilseed rape was shown to give off terpenes and these were detected close to fields. CONCLUSIONS: While it is likely that a proportion of the spring symptoms occurring in people living in close proximity to oilseed rape is caused by the plant, the excess of such symptoms is small. This, together with the low levels of pollen in the area, suggests that allergy to oilseed rape pollen is uncommon. The general prevalence of seasonal symptoms in rural areas is of interest, and a proportion of these cases is likely to be caused by factors other than allergy. Release of chemicals by plants and natural rises in summer ozone levels may be contributors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Occupational accidents presenting to the accident and emergency department.

A prospective survey of patients attending the major Accident and Emergency Department in Aberdeen was undertaken. This department serves a population of 500,000 and sees some 50% of all accidents in the region. All work-related injuries were identified and information relating to the circumstances of the accident, injury sustained, and treatment required was sought. Work-related injuries accounted for 16.5% of new patients attending the department. The commonest injury type was a laceration to a finger. Three hundred and eighty diagnostic X-rays were undertaken and a total of 910 treatments were required over a 27-day period. On an annual basis, it is estimated that some 5100 radiographs and 12,300 medical treatments would be required for work-related accidents. It is estimated that 30% of injuries to the hands and feet would have been prevented by the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment. The majority of workplace accidents were correctly referred to A&E and any efforts to reduce this workload must concentrate on preventive measures in the workplace. This paper suggests that documenting work-related accidents and determining targets for preventive action would reduce the number of attendances at A&E units with a potential significant saving for industry and the National Health Service.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed1991

Accidents in the workplace.

A prospective survey of patients attending the central Accident and Emergency Department and Eye Casualty Department in Aberdeen was made to determine the contribution of accidents at work to the workload of the departments and to estimate risks of injury in different industrial sectors. Work-related injuries accounted for 16.5 per cent of new patients attending the general accident department and 21.7 per cent of those attending eye casualty. Analysis by industrial sector led to estimates that almost one in 10 workers employed in manufacturing industries and in agriculture/forestry/fishing will attend casualty in the course of a year for a work-related injury. The relatively low-risk service sector, because of the large numbers of people employed, contributed the greatest number of individuals with work-related injuries. Two industries had very high rates of specific and preventable injuries--food and fish processing with an estimated 17 knife lacerations per 1000 per annum and mechanical engineering with 60 eye injuries per 1000 per annum. We give reasons for believing that our estimates of risk in the different industrial sectors are conservative.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed1991

Identification of coagulase-negative staphylococci by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and rRNA restriction patterns.

A total of 1,417 staphylococcal and micrococcal strains were collected from the beards and scalps of 10 subjects over a period of 8 months. Sixteen strains identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis with an API system had distinctive yellow colonies on nutrient agar plates and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis whole-cell polypeptide profiles similar to those of Staphylococcus capitis; this identification was confirmed by analysis of rRNA gene restriction patterns.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1991

Lung abscess: CT-guided drainage.

Lung abscesses were drained by means of catheters guided by computed tomography (CT) in 19 patients who still had sepsis despite standard medical therapy; all patients had received antibiotics for at least 5 days, and 11 of the 19 patients had undergone bronchoscopy. The abscess was cured (by clinical and radiographic criteria) in all 19 patients (100%), and surgery was avoided in 16 of the 19 patients (84%). Three patients underwent surgery for removal of organized tissue or decortication after the lung abscess was evacuated. Complications included a hemothorax that required a chest tube in one patient and three minor complications (a clogged catheter in two patients and transient elevation of intracerebral pressure in one patient). The hemothorax occurred in one of two patients in whom the catheter traversed normal lung. The percutaneous drainage catheters traversed juxtaposed abnormal pleura on route to the abscess in 17 of the patients. CT-guided drainage of lung abscess is an effective method to treat lung abscesses that are refractory to conventional therapy; the procedure should obviate major operation in most patients. A catheter route through abscess-pleural syndesis is preferable, and CT is useful for planning this route.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Bacteriological examination of the water supply on an Antarctic base.

Faraday Base represents a small isolated community producing its own domestic water by desalination of sea water. During the Antarctic winter of 1986 (April to October), regular bacteriological examination of the water supply and surrounding sea took place. Samples were collected and examined every 2 weeks by the methods described in the Department of Health and Social Security Report No. 71, on the Bacteriological Examination of Drinking Water Supplies (DHSS, 1982), for membrane filtration and colony counting. The results of these examinations are presented in this paper. The results obtained suggest that water of good bacteriological quality was produced by the desalination plant, but some samples from the distribution system contained coliforms or presumptive Escherichia coli in small numbers. The possible reasons for this low-level contamination are discussed. No cases of gastroenteritis occurred on the base during this time.

Antarctic Regions↗

PubMed1985

Plasma concentrations of the natural anticoagulants protein C and protein S in patients with proteinuria.

We measured the plasma concentrations of the natural anticoagulant protein C and its cofactor protein S in 17 patients with severe proteinuria. In addition, prothrombin and antithrombin III levels were measured in the same group of patients. These results were compared with results obtained in 26 healthy controls and a group of 14 patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) but minimal proteinuria. Protein C, protein S, and prothrombin levels were not significantly different between healthy controls and patients with CRI. However, protein C, protein S, and prothrombin levels were significantly elevated in 71%, 82%, and 76%, respectively, of patients with proteinuria. Antithrombin III levels were decreased in three of these 17 patients with proteinuria. Plasma concentrations of protein C, protein S, and prothrombin correlated significantly with each other and were inversely correlated with serum albumin concentrations. In three patients, high protein C, protein S, and prothrombin levels returned to normal during remission of the proteinuric state. Proteins C and S were not detectable in the urine of two patients with high-grade proteinuria. Thus, the plasma levels of the vitamin K-dependent, natural anticoagulant protein C and its cofactor protein S are increased in patients with proteinuria. The elevated plasma levels of other vitamin K-dependent proteins, such as prothrombin, suggest a generalized elevation in vitamin K-dependent protein synthesis in patients with proteinuria.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Response of plasma beta-endorphins to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in healthy subjects.

A study of 31 healthy volunteers was done to test the hypothesis that analgesia produced by low frequency/high intensity (LoF/Hil) transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is mediated by release of beta-endorphin (beta-E). After randomization, Group 1 (n = 10) received no stimulation (placebo); Group 2 (n = 9) received 30 minutes of high frequency/low intensity (HiF/Lol) TENS; and Group 3 (n = 12) received 30 minutes of low frequency/high density (LoF/Hil) TENS. Blood pressure, pulse, plasma beta-E levels, and evoked potential response were measured before and after treatment. Mean plasma beta-E increased with treatment in Groups 2 and 3 and fell in Group 1, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. Sixty-seven percent of Groups 2 and 3 showed an increase in plasma beta-E levels compared with 30 percent in Group 1 (two-sample test of proportions, p less than .05). Evoked potential response, a measure of pain threshold, varied directly with plasma beta-E level independent of the type of treatment applied. This study did not demonstrate a difference between the effects of HiF/Lol versus Lof/Hil TENS on plasma beta-E in healthy subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

Cafeteria plans.

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Deductibles and Coinsurance↗