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Biomedical subjects

F Greenwood

Publications and source records attributed to F Greenwood.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Introducing Adelaide dental students to a problem-based learning curriculum.

A course designed to introduce new students to a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum in dentistry at the University of Adelaide is described. Australian students are admitted to the Adelaide dental course either directly from school (SL) or after one or more years of tertiary education (TT). The admissions process is designed to select academically able students who will flourish in a problem-based environment. Some international students (INT) are also selected through a modified admissions process. A 9-item questionnaire derived from frequently-asked questions from previous years was administered to the new students at the beginning and at the end of the introductory course, and each individual's responses before and after the course were compared. There was an increased number of positive responses (significant at P < 0.05 to 7 of the 9 items) after the course. Although the course appeared to be effective in familiarising new students with a PBL curriculum, many students were still uncertain about two items which commonly provoke anxiety, namely how to decide when to stop researching a topic, and how to balance group and solo learning.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

The birth of the RCMI Clinical Research Center is a joint venture of the University of Hawaii and Kapiolani Health.

Hawaii established a Clinical Research Center with collaboration from the University of Hawaii Pacific Biomedical Research Center, the John A. Burns School of Medicine and Kapiolani Health via a five year award from the Research Centers in Minority Institutions of the National Institutes of Health. Support offered includes consultative services for protocol design; epidemiological and biostatistical analysis; design of study forms; and data and specimen collection and analysis.

Academies and Institutes↗

Expression of SQ10 (a preprorelaxin-like gene) in the pregnant rabbit placenta and uterus.

A Northern blot containing poly(A)+ RNA isolated from pregnant rabbit placenta, uterus, ovary, mammary gland, psoas muscle, and intestine was hybridized with an oligonucleotide probe to porcine preprorelaxin. Only the placenta and uterus exhibited high levels of a 1-kb mRNA that hybridized to the probe. Porcine preprorelaxin primers were used to generate and amplify cDNAs from placental and uterine poly(A)+ RNA. Southern blot analysis of the placental and uterine cDNAs each revealed a single PCR product that hybridized with the porcine relaxin probe. The sequence of the cDNAs exhibited 100% identity with SQ10, a preprorelaxin-like gene identified in rabbit tracheobronchial epithelial cells. Identical results were obtained with primers specific for SQ10. SQ10 is expressed in tracheobronchial epithelial cells during abnormal conditions, such as mechanical or toxic injury. The protein is believed to have a role in tracheal epithelial cell differentiation and transformation that occurs under the above conditions. This work shows, for the first time, the presence of high levels of message for SQ10 in normal reproductive tissues. The expression of SQ10 in the uterus and placenta may suggest an important role in cell differentiation and transformation that occurs in these tissues during pregnancy.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The effect of porcine relaxin vaginally applied at human embryo transfer in an in vitro fertilization programme.

It has been suggested that the polypeptide hormone relaxin is an early pregnancy factor which facilitates implantation and pregnancy maintenance. To test this hypothesis a double blind randomized placebo controlled trial was conducted where 2 mg purified porcine relaxin or distilled water was given in a vaginal gel on the day of embryo transfer and again 3 days later in a human in vitro fertilization (IVF) programme. There were 96 patients in the randomized trial and 73 patients who were treated concurrently in the same IVF programme acted as a further control group. Of the 51 patients who received relaxin, 10 pregnancies were confirmed and 8 continued successfully. In the 45 patients treated with placebo 10 pregnancies were also confirmed and 6 continued successfully. Amongst the 73 patients concurrently treated outside the trial 14 achieved a pregnancy and 10 continued to term. Thus, porcine relaxin given in these circumstances in a human IVF programme did not appear to improve or interfere with the pregnancy rate. Possible factors that affected the implantation rates in this trial are discussed.

Animals↗

Combination drug therapy in treatment of Paget's disease of bone: clinical and metabolic response.

Twenty-seven patients with symptomatic Paget's disease of bone were randomly treated with mithramycin, glucagon, and calcitonin given either alone or in combination. Mithramycin, at a dose of fifteen micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day, proved to be a relatively safe drug and elicited a rapid response with only transient side effects. Calcitonin combined with mithramycin was the most effective therapy.

Adult↗