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Biomedical subjects

G E Becker

Publications and source records attributed to G E Becker.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Breastfeeding knowledge of hospital staff in rural maternity units in Ireland.

Knowledge of breastfeeding is necessary for health workers to adequately assist breastfeeding mothers. This paper examines the level of knowledge concerning breastfeeding in three rural maternity units in Ireland. Health workers responding to a self-report questionnaire felt that they had adequate knowledge, but their answers to the questions did not always bear this out. Health workers felt more staff training in breastfeeding would help to improve breastfeeding rates. Thirty-four percent of respondents had never attended continuing education on infant feeding topics. Manufacturers of artificial infant formula were the main source of continuing education information. The knowledge level of obstetricians did not appear to affect breastfeeding rates. Pediatricians' breastfeeding knowledge was good, but they had little input in the care of healthy babies. Rising breastfeeding rates were found in the unit where midwives were more recently qualified and had higher knowledge scores. The need exists for more breastfeeding education in all the units examined, ideally provided by a staff member with current lactation training.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1992

Washer-sterilizers vs. indexed washer-decontaminators: a cost comparison.

Washer-sterilizers are the most common type of automated decontamination equipment in hospitals today, but from a cost standpoint, installing an indexed washer-decontaminator makes more sense for hospitals with active decontamination areas. An indexed washer-decontaminator is a highly productive and efficient machine that results in streamlined workflow in decontamination. Even in hospitals that own washer-sterilizers, the economics can be so compelling that they might want to consider replacing them with indexed washer-decontaminators.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1990

Surgical instruments: the unmanaged asset.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars are invested in surgical instruments in hospitals. Materiel management and central service professionals should focus attention on managing this asset, just as we have done for supply and linen inventories. However, there are no performance standards against which to measure performance in this area; in fact, there are not even any commonly accepted indicators of surgical instrument inventories. The purpose of this article is to stimulate interest in the issue of surgical instrument inventory, so that materiel management and central service professionals will begin collecting data that will eventually allow definition of performance standards. Indicators of performance are suggested, specifically: 1. The number of "pars" of instruments in inventory, where one par equals the average amount of instruments used in one day. 2. The average of the value of instruments used per surgical procedure. Management of surgical instrument inventories could become a new source of both one-time savings (by reducing purchasing as inventories decrease) and ongoing annual savings (by decreasing the size of instrument trays in use).

Central Supply, Hospital↗
PubMed1989

Formal plan for major equipment purchases saves money.

A healthcare organization that uses its purchasing department only to process paperwork overlooks a key area for strategic planning and cost savings. By using a 15-step equipment purchasing process managed by a trained purchasing specialist, organizations can gain control of what can otherwise be an unwieldy process.

Budgets↗
PubMed1982

Computerized house officer schedules at the University of Michigan.

An economical, computerized system was developed for producing the annual schedule of monthly assignments for medical house officers. This program can generate schedules that conform to the individual preferences of the house officers while meeting the requirements of the residency program. As a result, more individual requests of the house officers are granted than under the previous manual system. Besides providing these direct benefits, the system ensures that house officers are assigned to each rotation according to their appropriate level of skill.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed1977

Nitrous oxide as end product of denitrification by strains of fluorescent pseudomonads.

Growing cultures of several strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas chlororaphis produced N2O as the only detectable gaseous product of denitrification, and other strains produced N2 as the gaseous end product of denitrification. All of the nitrogen in NO3- or NO2- added to cell suspensions of the N2O-producing strains P. fluorescens PJ 185 and P. chlororaphis B-560 was recovered as N2O. All of the nitrogen in NO3- or NO2- added to cell suspensions of the N2-producing strain P. fluorescens PJ70 was converted to N2. Cell extracts of P. fluorescens PJ 70, PJ 185, and P. chlororaphis B-560 exhibited NO3- reductase activity when sodium succinate was the electron donor. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and flavine adenine dinucleotide were required to demonstrate NO2- reductase activity in cell extracts.

Anaerobiosis↗
PubMed1970

Production of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide during denitrification by Corynebacterium nephridii.

Resting cells of Corynebacterium nephridii reduce nitrate, nitrite, and nitric oxide to nitrous oxide under anaerobic conditions. Nitrous oxide production from nitrite was optimal from pH 7.0 to 7.4. The stoichiometry of nitrous oxide production from nitrite was 99% of the theoretical-two moles of nitrite was used for each mole of nitrous oxide detected. Hydroxylamine increases gas evolution from nitrite but inhibits the reduction of nitric oxide to nitrous oxide. Hydroxylamine is converted to nitrogenous gas(es) by resting cells only in the presence of nitrite. Under certain conditions nitric oxide, as well as nitrous oxide, was detected.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1967

Effect of glucose on the oxidation of beta-nitropropionic acid by Aspergillus flavus.

The rate of oxidation of beta-nitropropionic acid (BNP) to nitrate by replacement cultures of Aspergillus flavus was linear. For each micromole of BNP assimilated, 1 mumole of nitrate was detected. BNP was readily oxidized at pH 3.8, but not at pH 6.8. In the presence of glucose, nitrate was not detected until after all of the glucose had been utilized. The effect of glucose is attributed to its inhibition of BNP uptake and also to its role as an electron donor for a nitrate reductase.

Aspergillus↗