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Biomedical subjects

D Latham

Publications and source records attributed to D Latham.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

How the district nurse cares for the terminally ill patient with cachexia.

The aims of this study were to establish how district nurses cared for terminally ill patients with cachexia at home; to establish the priorities in the care given; and to establish the nurses' understanding of the core activities undertaken. The study allowed the views of district nurses to be examined in the context of their understanding of the care they gave. A literature review revealed that the metabolic disorders associated with cachexia mean that the condition is not simply the result of insufficient food intake. However, data from the study suggest that some district nurses have little understanding of the metabolic disorders associated with cachexia and revealed that care centres around advising and encouraging the cachectic patient to increase his/her food intake; such advice and encouragement were seen as the core activities in caring for the cachectic patient at home. This small study of 10 district nurse suggests that cachectic patients are put under unnecessary pressure to eat by both the formal and informal carer, and that as a result the patient may feel unsupported by the carers' lack of knowledge about his/her condition.

Cachexia↗
PubMed1999

Resolution of ephedrine in supercritical CO(2): A novel technique for the separation of chiral drugs.

Racemic ephedrine has been resolved by diastereomeric salt formation with mandelic acid using supercritical CO(2) as precipitating agent. Crystallizations were performed using the Solution Enhanced Dispersion by Supercritical Fluids (SEDS) technique. Temperature was varied between 35 and 75 degrees C, and pressures ranged from 100 to 350 bar. Resolution, determined by chiral capillary electrophoresis, is described as a function of temperature and density of the supercritical fluid. A comparison of SEDS-produced material with a conventional resolution method shows that SEDS-crystallized material exhibits identical properties to conventionally crystallized material.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1998

Self-injurious behaviour in police custody.

A Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in Australia, reported in April 1991, focused attention on the problem of self-injurious behaviour among incarcerated individuals. This paper examines the specific issue of the police custodial setting. A review of the relevant literature has been undertaken to identify risk factors and determine profiles of persons at risk. Preventive approaches are examined and formats for screening questionnaires are advanced.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Cell-specific posttranslational processing of the surfactant-associated protein SP-B.

Pulmonary surfactant-associated protein B (SP-B) is a 9-kDa lung-specific protein expressed in alveolar epithelial type II cells and Clara cells. The protein markedly increases the surface activity of phospholipids and is an active component in some surfactants in clinical use. SP-B is produced from a 43-kDa precursor protein by proteolytic cleavage of flanking regions from both the NH2- and COOH-terminal ends of the active protein. In this study we have compared the nature of the posttranslational processing of the SP-B precursor in type II cells and in a heterologous cell line transfected with the SP-B precursor. We found that isolated type II cells produce the 9-kDa form of SP-B from the precursor through a series of intermediates detectable in the cell lysates. In contrast Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the full-length human SP-B precursor produce the precursor and a 26-kDa intermediate but not the 9-kDa protein. The precursor protein in both cell types is glycosylated with NH2-linked sugars. Our results suggest there is cell specificity in the posttranslational processing of the SP-B precursor.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Case management of the anemic patient. Epoetin alfa: focus on dialysis efficiency.

Dialysis efficiency has traditionally been measured using kinetic modeling (KT/Vurea). However, once anemia is corrected with Epoetin alfa, using urea as the only measure of dialysis effectiveness may not be adequate. Two case studies describe the use of the urea kinetic model and other means of assessing dialysis efficiency in nonanemic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Ignition of global wildfires at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary.

An impressive amount of evidence supports the proposal of Alvarez et al. that the Cretaceous era was ended abruptly by the impact of a comet or asteroid. The recent discovery of an apparently global soot layer at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary indicates that global wildfires were somehow ignited by the impact. Here we show that the thermal radiation produced by the ballistic re-entry of ejecta condensed from the vapour plume of the impact could have increased the global radiation flux by factors of 50 to 150 times the solar input for periods ranging from one to several hours. This great increase in thermal radiation may have been responsible for the ignition of global wildfires, as well as having deleterious effects on unprotected animal life.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed1990

Epoetin alfa: patient management issues and development through recombinant DNA technology. Part 1: Focus on Epoetin alfa patient management and recombinant DNA technology.

The emergence of the Epoetin alfa as an effective therapy in the treatment of the anemia of chronic renal failure has reemphasized the importance of nursing monitoring and intervention in the treatment of these patients. This article examines the role of nurses in monitoring and managing patients receiving Epoetin alfa and the development of medications, such as Epoetin alfa, with recombinant DNA technology.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMed1989

Practical considerations of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy.

The effect of long-term hemodialysis in 58 nonanemic end-stage renal disease patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO; EPOGEN [epoetin alfa], AMGEN Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA) has been examined in detail. Increased dialyzer prescription (Kt/V) was correlated with the need for a lower maintenance dose of r-HuEPO. After 1 year of therapy, stable increases in hemoglobin, hematocrit, and reticulocyte levels were obtained without other clinically significant hematologic changes. In a randomly selected subgroup of 14 patients, 5 developed predialysis increased diastolic pressures. In this group, an early increase in cardiac output and ejection fraction was accompanied by a decrease in total peripheral resistance index (TPRI). Later changes showed a steady increase in TPRI with an associated mild increase in mean arterial pressure. A slight increase in cardiac responsiveness to fistula occlusive maneuvers was also found. Hospital admissions and mortality rates were not significantly different from those of a cohort control population. At a fixed Kt/V there were slight decreases in solute clearances with correction of anemia, with phosphate, urate, and creatinine changing significantly. Corrective measures required simple compensatory adjustments in dialysis blood-flow rates. Intradialytic complications were noticeably improved. Patients receiving long-term r-HuEPO replacement therapy do remarkably well without major complications.

Anemia↗
PubMed1988

The examination of illicit cocaine.

A laboratory system of examination of illicit cocaine exhibits is described. Separation and identification of many of the components in exhibits are achieved by the use of capillary column gas chromatography and a Finnigan ion trap detector. Further examination and quantitation of the components of exhibits is achieved using two high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) systems. Both of these systems use identical reverse phase C8 columns. System 1 employs a solvent composed of 40% acetonitrile, 10% tetrahydrofuran and 50% 0.1% v/v aqueous triethylamine. The eluant is monitored at 280 nm. This system is preferred for routine quantitative analysis of cocaine and related alkaloids in exhibits. System 2 employs a solvent composed of 30% acetonitrile and 70% 0.05M phosphate buffer (pH = 5.0). The eluant from this system is monitored at both 220 and 280 nm. This system offers advantages in sensitivity. The relative retention times of a number of relevant substances as determined with gas chromatography and the two HPLC systems are given. The utility of the methodology for the identification and comparison of exhibits is demonstrated.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Renal transplantation: results in hemodialysis patients previously treated with recombinant human erythropoietin.

The eventual commonplace use of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPo) for the treatment of the anemia associated with chronic renal failure will have definite consequences in the dialysis supported patient. The effect of this nonanemic state on renal transplantation, both in the early posttransplant period as well as the waiting period, was examined in this study. Thirteen of 16 patients who were treated with the hormone and subsequently underwent cadaveric renal transplantation (Tx) were compared to control transplant patients from a typical chronic renal patient population. There seemed to be no difference in the length of hospital stay, need for dialysis support post-Tx, or severity of acute post-Tx renal failure as measured by the days of dialysis support given. Furthermore, there seemed to be no evidence of marrow unresponsiveness to endogenous erythropoietin produced by the functioning allograft, so that after an initial fall in hemoglobin and hematocrit, these parameters returned to normal levels at three to six months. HLA antibody production was also tracked over the course of chronic r-HuEPo therapy, and the response followed one of three patterns: (a) initially very high (100%) or very low (less than 15%) and showed no change; (b) moderate to high reactivity fell to lower levels with time; or (c) some stimulation noted without recent blood transfusions. Thus, patients entering end-stage renal failure without having been exposed to transfusions can be maintained in a low antibody state and perhaps increase the cadaveric kidneys available to them. Therefore, r-HuEPo therapy in patients who will subsequently undergo transplantation seems to have no deleterious effect on patient morbidity, or transplant outcome.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blood Urea Nitrogen↗