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E Knox

Publications and source records attributed to E Knox.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Nutritional status and intermediate chain-length fatty acids influence the conservation of essential fatty acids in the milk of northern Nigerian women.

The milk of 89 women in northern Nigeria was analyzed for the fatty acid composition of the total milk lipids, and assessed for the effect nutritional status has on the conservation of essential and non-essential fatty acids when the proportions of C(10)-C(14)fatty acids are increased. The women were stratified on the basis of their body mass index, and calculations were made to estimate the effects of a 3.3-fold increase in the proportion of C(10)-C(14)fatty acids on the proportion of alpha-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, linoleic acid and arachidonic in total milk lipids. In the well-nourished group (group III, body mass index >23 kg/m(2)), the critical n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were not conserved, while in poorly nourished women (group I, body mass index <19 kg/m(2)), marked conservation of alpha-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, and palmitic acid was seen. Poor nutritional status of the mother appears to promote selective retention of critical essential and non-essential fatty acids in the milk lipid fraction.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Childhood cancers, birthplaces, incinerators and landfill sites.

BACKGROUND: In all, 70 municipal incinerators, 307 hospital incinerators and 460 toxic-waste landfill sites in Great Britain were examined for evidence of effluents causing childhood cancers. Municipal incinerators had previously shown significant excesses of adult cancers within 7.5 and 3.0 km. The relative risks for adults had been marginal and an analysis of childhood cancers seemed to offer a more sensitive approach. METHODS: A newly developed technique of analysis compares distances from suspect sources to the birth addresses and to the death addresses of cancer-children who had moved house. A localized hazard, effective at only one of these times, must be preferentially associated with the corresponding address. This creates an asymmetry of migrations towards or away from age-restricted effective sources. RESULTS: The child-cancer/leukaemia data showed no systematic migration-asymmetries around toxic-waste landfill sites; but showed highly significant excesses of migrations away from birthplaces close to municipal incinerators. Relative risks within 5.0 km of these sites were about 2:1. Hospital incinerators gave analogous results. The ratios greatly exceed findings around 'non-combustion' urban sites. CONCLUSIONS: Because of their locations, the specific effects of the municipal incinerators could not be separated clearly from those of adjacent industrial sources of combustion-effluents. Both were probably carcinogenic. Landfill waste sites showed no such effect.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The usefulness of nimodipine, an L-calcium channel antagonist, in the treatment of tinnitus.

Thirty-one patients were drawn from a tinnitus clinic, screened for other medical problems and treated for 4 weeks with 30 mg nimodipine four times daily. Before and after treatment, the intensity of their tinnitus was assessed subjectively on a scale 1-10. Five patients reported to have a great improvement in their tinnitus whilst two claimed a worsening of the condition. Of the five positive responders, four were treated further with 30 mg nimodipine per day for 4 weeks and 60 mg per day for a further 4 weeks. During this treatment they were assessed more objectively by the determination of the minimal masking level using narrow band noise. There was a good correlation between the subjective and objective assessment of their responses.

Audiometry, Pure-Tone↗
PubMed1992

Fungal transmission of a potyvirus: uredospores of Puccinia sorghi transmit maize dwarf mosaic virus.

Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) and maize rust, Puccinia sorghi Schw., occur as natural infections on cultivated maize in South Africa. P. sorghi often occurs as a secondary late infection on maize plants which have already been infected with MDMV earlier in the season, either seed or aphid transmitted. When MDMV isolates from maize plants naturally infected by both virus and fungus were propagated by sap inoculation in plant growth rooms, residual uredospores in the sap gave rise to the development of uredia under conditions of high humidity. When uredospores developing on MDMV-B-infected plants were germinated on virus free maize seedlings, these plants became infected with MDMV-B. Similarly, when uredospores, originating from maize plants infected with MDMV-A, were scattered onto virus free maize seedlings, these plants became infected with MDMV-A. The presence of virus on uredospores in infected plant tissue was visualized by indirect immunofluorescence. Identification of virus infection was by DAS-ELISA and immunoelectro-blotting utilizing strain-specific antisera. Virus transmission occurred between closely situated plants which had no actual contact (unaided transmission). MDMV-B transmission by uredospores, to new maize seedlings, has been maintained for three successive years (1988-1991) in a plant growth room. The MDMV-B isolate remained sap and non-persistently aphid transmissible.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Test-retest variability using the Liverpool screening audiometer in a field environment.

The Liverpool Field Audiometer (LFA) has been developed as a simple, hand-held device for screening audiometry in developing countries. The variability in the outcome of screening using the LFA was studied with 275 primary schoolchildren in five Brisbane schools. A 30 dB HL screening level was used. The device was found to give low test-retest outcome variability at the test frequencies 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz. However, variability was high at 500 Hz and caution should be exercised when data at this frequency are obtained. Possible reasons for this low-frequency variability are suggested.

Audiometry↗
PubMed1975

The relationship of a newly described acute-phase protein to human gestation.

Rho is a newly described acute-phase serum protein which increases in titer in response to a variety of inflammatory and infectious diseases. It is present in 100 per cent of sera from pregnant women by the twentieth week of gestation, rises in titer until term, and then falls slowly during the postpartum period. It was barely detectable in some fetal sera and in some amniotic fluid samples near the end of the first half of gestation, and it could not be demonstrated in fetal tissue obtained at that time. Fetal serum titers increase with gestational age, but fetal levels remain below those of maternal sera. Undifferentiated placental tissue and estrogen/progestin do not appear to evoke rho antigen production. The stimulating mechanism during gestation remains unknown.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Follow-up of children attending infant language units: outcomes at 11 years of age.

A large cohort of 242 children who had been attending infants language units at 7 years of age was followed up when the children were in their final year of primary school. Two hundred (83%) of the children were reassessed at 11 years of age on a wide battery of language and literacy measures, on a test of non-verbal ability, an autism checklist and a communication checklist. In total, 89% of children still scored < 1 SD from the mean on at least one test of language and the majority (63%) scored poorly on three or more assessments demonstrating widespread difficulties. Compared with non-verbal abilities at 7 years of age, a large proportion of the cohort also performed poorly on performance IQ subtests (28%). A further 10 children scored highly on a checklist for autistic spectrum disorder. Thus, only 115 (58%) children could be said to meet criteria for specific language impairment. A small group of 16 children appeared to have entirely resolved their difficulties. These outcomes and their implications for education and long-term impact of the disorder are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical risk modification, quality, and patient safety: interrelationships, problems, and future potential.

Iatrogenic injury, in which patients are unintentionally injured by medical treatment, occurs in 4% of hospital admissions and causes considerable human suffering, financial losses, and waste of healthcare resources. This article discusses why existing quality initiatives have had little impact on iatrogenic injury and suggests an approach to clinical risk modification that may enhance the safety of medical treatment.

Accidents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Changing the records.

The aim of this study was to audit the documentation of pressure sore risk in a group of patients in a teaching hospital. This was done using a retrospective checklist assessment of patients in care of the elderly and orthopaedic wards. The study found there were delays in completing documentation on admission, that risk assessment was absent in 54% of patient documentation and that assessment of pressure areas was inadequate.

Hospitals, Teaching↗