PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Watt

Publications and source records attributed to D Watt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The aesthetic implication of scar position in breast reconstruction.

In these enlightened times of patient involvement in operative planning, the patient has a much greater input into procedure selection, especially where several options are available. Breast reconstruction is a prime example of combined decision making, although options are still limited by pre-existing scars and previous treatment. In this study we eliminated all variables of reconstruction except the resulting scar pattern in an attempt to discover what was most acceptable to the patient. Various postoperative results, such as single scars and flaps, were mimicked unilaterally and bilaterally by drawing them on the same live subject. These photographic images were then formulated into a questionnaire and distributed to various female groups for scoring. Results show a preference for single-line horizontal scars in unilateral and bilateral reconstructions; scars that encroached the upper medial quadrant scored less well. The preferred flap reconstruction is also positioned horizontally, but in the lower pole. Overall, the preferred reconstruction in all groups was a single unilateral horizontal scar.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

An audit of NHS Trust alcohol policy referrals to an occupational health service.

An exploratory review of 33 referrals to an Occupational Health Service of employees with alcohol problems provided information on age and sex, job category, mode of referral, medical and social problems and outcome. Case records were examined providing information on clinical assessment and the treatment options. The high rates of relapse, drop-out and refusal of help, supported the view that this population had serious alcohol problems. Clinical recording by occupational physicians showed a marked variability. No doctors were included in the sample although this group is known to be vulnerable. Blood testing was used infrequently. Occupational health clinical practice could be enhanced by the use of clinical protocols, systems of morbidity recording and co-operative studies with other agencies. Further prospective studies are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

The relationship between selected physiological variables of rowers and rowing performance as determined by a 2000 m ergometer test.

The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between selected physiological variables of rowers and rowing performance as determined by a 2000 m time-trial on a Concept II Model B rowing ergometer. The participants were 13 male club standard oarsmen. Their mean (+/- s) age, body mass and height were 19.9+/-0.6 years, 73.1+/-6.6 kg and 180.5+/-4.6 cm respectively. The participants were tested on the rowing ergometer to determine their maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), rowing economy, predicted velocity at VO2max, velocity and VO2 at the lactate threshold, and their velocity and VO2 at a blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol x l(-1). Percent body fat was estimated using the skinfold method. The velocity for the 2000 m performance test and the predicted velocities at the lactate threshold, at a blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol x l(-1) and at VO2max were 4.7+/-0.2, 3.9+/-0.2, 4.2+/-0.2 and 4.6+/-0.2 m x s(-1) respectively. A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that the three predicted velocities were all significantly different from each other (P<0.05). The VO2max and lean body mass showed the highest correlation with the velocity for the 2000 m time-trial (r = 0.85). A stepwise multiple regression showed that VO2max was the best single predictor of the velocity for the 2000 m time-trial; a model incorporating VO2max explained 72% of the variability in 2000 m rowing performance. Our results suggest that rowers should devote time to the improvement of VO2max and lean body mass.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

A PCR-based field evaluation of Theileria infections in cattle and ticks in Kenya.

Theileria parva is a hemoprotozoan parasite responsible for causing East Coast fever in east and central Africa. The vaccine currently available is an "infection and treatment" procedure which involves the injection of live sporozoites followed by drug therapy to prevent clinical illness. Before introducing potentially new strains of parasite into an area, however, it is crucial to check the disease situation in the field first. We looked at three different areas in Kenya: Limuru in which many cattle have already been vaccinated and Kitale and Kakamega which so far have not been vaccinated. Genus and species specific primers were used to test for the presence of Theileria species in blood and tick samples collected from the three areas. Limuru showed a cattle and tick infection prevalence of 27% and 2.3% respectively with T. parva. Kitale showed a cattle and tick infection prevalence of 100% and 14.2% respectively while Kakamega showed 100% and 0% respectively. Reasons for variations between areas involving vaccination status and epidemiological data are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Wellness programs: a review of the evidence.

OBJECTIVE: To review studies that have examined an association between wellness programs and improvements in quality of life and to assess the strength of the scientific evidence. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was constructed with the following medical subject headings: "psychoneuroimmunology," "chronic disease" and "health promotion," "chronic disease" and "health behaviour," "relaxation techniques," "music therapy," "laughter," "anger," "mediation" and "behavioural medicine." Searches using the text words "wellness" and "wellness program" were also carried out. References from the primary articles identified in the search and contemporary writing on wellness were also considered. STUDY SELECTION: Selection was limited to randomized controlled trials or prospective studies published in English that involved human subjects and that took place between 1980 and 1996. All studies with an intervention aimed at promoting wellness and measuring outcomes were included, except studies of patients with cancer and HIV and studies of health promotion programs in the workplace. Of the 1082 references initially identified, 11 met the criteria for inclusion in the critical appraisal. DATA EXTRACTION: The following information was extracted from the 11 studies: characteristics of the study population, number of participants (and number followed to completion), length of follow-up, type of intervention, outcome measures and results. All 11 studies were assessed for the quality of their evidence. DATA SYNTHESIS: All studies reported some positive outcomes following the intervention in question, although many had limitations precluding applicability of the results to a wider population. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the suggested benefit associated with wellness programs, the evidence was inconclusive. Whether the composition of the target group or the type of intervention has a role in determining outcomes is unknown. Although trends suggest that wellness programs may be cost-effective, further research is needed for confirmation.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed1997

Use of the polymerase chain reaction for identification and quantification of Theileria parva protozoa in Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was adapted for detection of Theileria parva sporoblasts in Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks by comparison with staining of histological preparations of ticks with methyl green and pyronin (MGP). Two 32mer primers (IL174 and IL179) were used to amplify Theileria parva (Muguga isolate) DNA from the TPR 1 region of the genome by the PCR. Detection of T. parva was carried out with dissected salivary glands and whole ticks preserved in ethanol. Adult ticks which fed as nymphs on a T. parva infected calf were used in three experiments. Firstly, 70 whole ticks divided into 7 batches representing the rising and falling parasitaemia of the calf were used to show that detection of infection by the PCR was significantly correlated with MGP staining. Secondly, 120 dissected ticks were used from 4 different batches representative of the overall infection profile within the ticks to show a high correlation between PCR quantification within tick salivary glands and MGP count data of the paired gland. Thirdly, 120 ticks were used in batches selected for high and low infections. Bloodmeal contaminants from partially fed adult ticks, present in 60 out of the 120 ticks used, did not inhibit the PCR amplification of T. parva DNA. This experiment also showed a great increase in infection detection in partially fed batches of ticks compared to the untreated batches.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

A lifetime of events: age and gender variations in the life story.

This study adopted a structural perspective in the examination of life events in the context of an individual's life story. Ten men and ten women at each of three age groups (young, middle-aged, and older adulthood) identified, on a time line, personally significant life events from their past and anticipated future. Results indicated that women identified a greater number of life events and reported a younger age corresponding to their first event than did men; this was especially true for older women. Older participants, in general, identified fewer future events than did younger participants and reported an older age for their last event; the corresponding range of time covered from the first to the last event was also longer. Event type also varied by age and gender. Recency played a central role in the allocation of life events, although late adolescence and early adulthood were especially dense event periods for all groups. Discussion focuses on the roles of gender, age, and the life course in the ways in which events are configured in the life story.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Spatial orientation and posture during and following weightlessness: human experiments on Spacelab Life Sciences 1.

The 4 payload crew members of the Spacelab Life Sciences 9-day space flight in 1991 were subjected to limited vestibular testing in flight as well as pre and post flight. Major differences in individual "perceptual style" appeared in their reaction to the visual-vestibular stimuli in the rotating dome experiment, and especially in the extent to which nondirectional tactile cues served to anchor the subjective vertical and body postural reactions. The ability of subjects to point to remembered target positions was degraded in space, which produced a tendency to point low in some subjects in flight. The eye movements and subjective response to sudden stops and head pitching following continuous spinning (dumping) were measured both in space and on the ground. Although subjective duration of inflight rotation for the dumping tests was shorter than that for the preflight tests, the postrotatory nystagmus, with or without head pitch, was lengthened in time constant relative to preflight. Ground tests, in addition to the flight experiments, investigated the changes following weightlessness in subjective and oculomotor reactions to whole body tilt, the ability to balance with eyes open and closed; leg muscles strength and stamina as related to posture; visual field dependence; and the perceptual and oculomotor reactions to horizontal linear acceleration. Several of these tests, as well as post-flight measures of motion sickness susceptibility, revealed subtle evidence of neurovestibular alterations that lasted a week or more following the 10-day orbital exposure.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1992

Evaluation of threshold doses of drug action in the horse using hematocrit values as an indicator.

This study was designed to explore the use of hematocrit values as possible indicators of the threshold doses of adrenergic drugs in the performance horse. Acepromazine, detomidine, and fluphenazine were tested for their effects on hematocrit values, with the threshold dose for these effects investigated. Hematocrit values were shown to be quite sensitive to the administration of acepromazine with doses as low as 50 micrograms/horse producing detectable depressions in hematocrit values for up to 2 hours. Increasing the dose increased the magnitude of the effect, but did not appear to prolong it, while in contrast, reducing the dose to below 25 micrograms/horse totally eliminated the effect. The alpha-2 agonist detomidine produced a similar depression in hematocrit values, although doses of 10 micrograms/kg or approximately 5 mg/horse, were needed to produce a measurable effect. The anti-psychotic fluphenazine, which is believed to be an illegally administered drug in race horses, had no significant effect on hematocrit values when comparable doses were administered. In addition, the results of monitoring the hematocrit values of six horses for 48 hours suggested that the variations seen may be partially related to circadian factors, with peak values occurring in the afternoon hours.

Acepromazine↗
PubMed1991

Malignant melanoma occurring in those aged under 30 in the west of Scotland 1979-1986: a study of incidence, clinical features, pathological features and survival.

The study population consisted of the 95 patients who presented with cutaneous malignant melanoma in the west of Scotland between 1979 and 1986 and who were aged under 30 at the time of diagnosis. Over this 7-year period, 1299 melanomas were diagnosed in all age groups in this geographical area, increasing in incidence by 82% from 135 in 1979 to 246 in 1986. The proportion of melanomas diagnosed before the patients' thirtieth birthday remained constant at 6%. None were diagnosed in the under-15 age-group, and none developed on giant congenital naevi. Forty-two of the 95 melanomas (44%) in the under-30 group developed on a small naevus present either from birth or early childhood. These melanomas were thicker than those apparently developing on normal skin, but once controlled for tumour thickness and sex the presence of a pre-existing naevus did not affect 5-year survival. The overall 5-year survival was 76% with poorer survival associated with thicker tumours and male sex. This study suggests that small early onset naevi may have a higher potential for post-pubertal malignant change than has been previously recognized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

The natural history of schizophrenia: a five-year follow-up study of outcome and prediction in a representative sample of schizophrenics.

Longitudinal studies of schizophrenia based on at least 70 subjects and a minimum five-year follow-up period are reviewed in respect of the requirements of adequate method. A cohort of 121, PSE-diagnosed, schizophrenic admissions from a defined population was identified. The sex-distribution of the subjects was almost equal. Forty per cent were first admissions; 65% of the men and 24% women were unmarried; the mean age of onset for men was 28.6 years, for women 33.2 years. Almost half (48%) were continuously employed (including house and child care) for 2 years prior to admissions. First rank symptoms of schizophrenia were present in 79% of the men and 86% of the women. Comprehensive, standardized assessments of clinical state and social function were made on discharge from hospital and at follow-up by home interview of patient and relative(s). Outcome was also assessed by duration and frequency of readmission and by duration of employment. First admissions were analysed separately from the whole cohort. There were 49 first admissions generating an incidence of 7.4 per 100,000 general population per annum. Sixty-nine per cent of men and 13% of women were unmarried. The mean age of admission for men was 30.8 years, women 40.3 years and the mean age of onset 30.7 and 38.6 respectively. After 5 years first rank symptoms were present in 46% of the males and 35% of the females. The proportion showing depressive symptoms fell from 39% at intake to 22% at five years. In terms of a combination of symptoms and readmissions there was a good outcome in 50% of men and 65% of women, a trend comparable to that found in the whole cohort. For the whole cohort a combination of the number of symptoms and admissions disclosed a good outcome for 48%. The mean total duration of readmissions during the five years for men was 76 weeks and for women 27 weeks. Depressive symptoms were present in 38% at intake and 21% after 5 years. An overall rating of social functioning at 5 years showed no more than mild impairment for 47% of men and 74% of women, although individual items were more impaired. However, 38% of the group showed no more than mild impairment in any aspect of social functioning rated. Clinical and social outcome were, in general, closely correlated. The difference in outcome between men and women and the relations between clinical and social outcome are discussed. By means of an application of measures of association between independent and dependent variables to the onset data the clinical and social categories of pathology and impairment at 5 years were forecast.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Medical management of malignant pericardial effusion by tetracycline sclerosis.

Fifty-eight patients with malignant pericardial effusion were seen from 1979 to 1986. A Kifa catheter was inserted into the pericardial sac and allowed to drain for 12 to 24 hours during electrocardiographic monitoring. Lidocaine hydrochloride, 100 mg, was instilled intrapericardially, followed by tetracycline hydrochloride, 500 to 1,000 mg, in 20 ml of normal saline solution. The catheter was clamped for 1 to 2 hours and then reopened. This procedure was repeated daily until the net drainage was less than 25 ml/24 hours. There were 22 male and 36 female patients (median age 58 years). The primary malignancy included lung (27 patients), breast (16 patients), stomach (3 patients), adenocarcinoma of unknown primary (7 patients), mesothelioma (2 patients) and chronic granulocytic leukemia, ovary and lymphoma (1 patient each). Fifty-six patients received 1 to 5 tetracycline instillations. In 1 patient, the catheter could not be inserted and in another, clotting occurred within the catheter before injection of tetracycline. Complications included transient atrial arrhythmias (5 patients), pain after injection (9 patients) and temperature higher than 37.5 degrees C (5 patients). One patient had a cardiac arrest during pericardiocentesis. Forty-three patients (74%) had control of their effusions for longer than 30 days (median survival 168 days, range 30 to 1,149+), and 5 patients (9%) died before 30 days without effusion. Eight patients (14%) did not achieve control. One declined further therapy after 1 instillation, and 3 died within 6 days with progressive malignancy. One patient had persistent drainage after 3 instillations, and 3 had reaccumulation of fluid 2, 6 and 27 days after catheter removal.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗