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Biomedical subjects

F Leonard

Publications and source records attributed to F Leonard.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Ambulance use in a military population: epidemiology and implications.

Because no studies have been reported on ambulance use in military populations, a 2-year epidemiologic study of all ambulance responses on Hickam Air Force Base was conducted. Findings included a higher utilization rate and a greater proportion of pediatric patients than might be expected in comparable civilian populations. Serious trauma was uncommon, but a wide spectrum of serious medical emergencies was seen. Advanced life support was indicated in 22% of all responses, and its availability improved patient outcome. Based on these and other findings, recommendations are made for upgrading military prehospital care to meet both base population needs and current civilian community standards.

Ambulances

Psoralen plus ultraviolet A in the prophylactic treatment of benign summer light eruption.

We report the results of a French multicentre study to evaluate the efficiency of psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) therapy in the prophylactic treatment of benign summer light eruption (BSLE) and to establish the optimal protocol of radiation. Nine photobiology centres took part in this study; 83 patients (76 of them women) were evaluated. The radiation protocols were as follows: oral psoralen (8-methoxypsoralen; 0.6 mg/kg) was taken at each session; the starting dose of UVA radiation was determined according to skin type, with increments of 0.5 J/cm2 every 2 sessions. The subjects were randomized to receive 10-20 sessions 3 times per week. PUVA therapy was very effective: 68 patients (82%) reported total protection from BSLE. Four patients (5%) showed progress. Only 13% showed no improvement. The satisfactory results were not correlated with either the number of sessions or the J/cm2 of UVA. The intensity of tanning after the PUVA sessions did not appear to predict cure. Thirty-six percent of the patients had adverse reactions to treatment, including erythema, pruritus and triggering of BSLE. However, these effects only required the treatment to be stopped in 2% of the cases (for severe pruritus). The results in the various centres were similar.

Adolescent

In vivo activity of nifurzide and nifuroxazide in intestinal bacteria in man and gnotobiotic mice.

Although Gram-negative enteropathogenic bacteria are the target strains of nifurzide and nifuroxazide treatments, neither drug affected faecal counts of in vitro-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae in healthy volunteers. This absence of activity was shown to be due to the poor solubility of the drugs tested. Therefore, effect of high doses of nifurzide was investigated in gnotobiotic mice. Activity against in vitro susceptible enteropathogens was then observed. Normal bacterial cells were replaced in the faeces by elongated, nonseptate and unflagellated mutants. Moreover, the resistance to colonization by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Shigella flexeri of an anaerobic flora of human origin was sharply decreased.

Animals

Age related Ca-Mg content and strength in turkey tendon.

The age related variation in magnesium and calcium content and mechanical properties of turkey tendon from ages 9-14 weeks has been studied. The results show that magnesium content decreases with age during this period and calcium content remains essentially constant. This is in accord with a previously proposed mechanism of calcification, namely, that the local concentration of magnesium and calcium may be an important factor relating to the initiation of calcification in a given tissue. The tensile strength of the turkey tendon has been found to decrease with age during the precalcified period of 9-12 weeks, after which there is an increase in tensile strength coincident with the onset of calcification. The ultimate elongation decrease of approximately 4% between 9 and 13 weeks is attributed to the difference in extensibility of the "wavy" collagen fibers observed in uncalcified turkey tendon vis a vis the straight fiber bundles in turkey tendon specimens observed at the onset of calcification.

Animals