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Biomedical subjects

G Ewing

Publications and source records attributed to G Ewing.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1989

Energy expenditure in early infancy.

The measurement of energy expenditure has wide applications in clinical and scientific studies. Ethical and practical problems, however, have limited the acquisition of information on total energy expenditure in infancy. The doubly-labelled-water technique, recently validated for use in infants, has now been used to measure, non-invasively, total energy expenditure in a cohort of forty-one normal, full-term infants at or close to 1.5, 3 and 6 months of age. Mean total energy expenditure was 270, 280 and 330 kJ/kg per d at these ages. Centiles for total energy expenditure in early infancy are presented; it is suggested such data are most appropriately expressed as kJ/square root (kg body-weight per d). These findings will be of importance in the re-evaluation of energy requirements in infancy and in the study of lesions in energy metabolism in disease states at this age.

Aging↗
PubMed1989

The nursing preparation of stoma patients for self-care.

The changes brought about by stoma surgery require that patients re-learn self-care skills with regard to elimination. This is accomplished as an integral part of postoperative nursing care. In this paper, some of the findings of a study are presented on the nursing preparation of stoma patients for self-management of their appliance. The observations made showed that, even at the end of their postoperative period in hospital, the patients in the study was receiving considerable nursing assistance in the management of their appliance and had not demonstrated new self-care skills for all aspects of the physical care of the stoma. It is concluded that these findings highlight a need to examine the methods of preparation for self-care of stoma patients in hospital, as containment rather than control of elimination remains a key issue in their rehabilitation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1988

Effect of weaning on accuracy of doubly labeled water method in infants.

Variations in background 2H and 18O abundances in body water influence the accuracy and precision of the 2H218O method for determination of energy expenditure. To investigate the effect of weaning during infancy on background 2H and 18O abundances, urine samples from 44 breast- or formula-fed infants aged 5-16 wk were analyzed. 2H and 18O abundances were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in breast- than in formula-fed infants. The relationship between 2H and 18O abundances was linear and independent of diet [slope, 4.16 +/- 0.43 (SE)]. By use of this information, the effect of weaning on the accuracy of the 2H218O method was evaluated, taking into account the effect of 2H-18O abundances in the isotope loading dose. In infants weaned completely from breast milk to formula during the measurement, energy expenditure can be overestimated by 18.0%, even if 2H-18O abundances in the isotope dose equal the ratio of naturally occurring background changes. However, this error can be reduced to less than 3.0% by manipulating the study duration and isotope dose. During gradual weaning, the overestimation of energy expenditure is only 0.3-2.0%.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

How much energy does the breast fed infant consume and expend?

Energy intake in breast fed infants is uncertain. The doubly labelled water method was used to measure, simultaneously and non-invasively, energy expenditure, energy intake, milk volume intake, energy deposition, and the energy content of breast milk in 12 "free living" breast fed babies at 5 and 11 weeks of age. The validity of this new approach was assessed in a parallel study in 12 formula fed infants. The babies who were exclusively breast fed expended 1.28 and 1.68 MJ/day at five and 11 weeks and had intakes of 1.81 and 2.22 MJ/day; these intakes were associated with normal growth but were well below those recommended previously. At five and 11 weeks the calculated energy content of breast milk was 0.24 and 0.25 MJ/100 ml, which is substantially lower than that commonly reported in milk obtained unphysiologically by expression of the breast. These data cast doubt on the widely used published standards for infant feeding.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1987

The nutritional role of breast-milk IgA and lactoferrin.

The nutritional enigma concerning the extent to which breast-milk immune proteins are digested has been investigated by measuring the intakes and faecal outputs of IgA and lactoferrin over 7 days in 10 exclusively breast-fed (BF) and 9 formula-fed (FF) fullterm infants at 6 and 12 weeks post-partum. BF outputs (mg/day) greatly exceeded FF values (p less than 0.001): at 6 weeks secretory-IgA BF = 160 +/- 28, FF = 14 +/- 2, lactoferrin BF = 14 +/- 2, FF = 0.9 +/- 0.1; at 12 weeks secretory-IgA BF = 94 +/- 17, FF = 25 +/- 5, lactoferrin BF = 7 +/- 1, FF = 1 +/- 0.3. Secretory-IgA represented 42% and 27% of BF faecal protein at 6 and 12 weeks compared with 6% for FF infants at both ages. BF secretory-IgA outputs were highly correlated with intakes (r = 0.83, p less than 0.001). IgA and lactoferrin outputs and the presence of faecal secretory-IgA fragments in BF and FF infants were influenced by defaecation rate, suggesting that partial degradation occurred in the large intestine. By 6 weeks post-partum only 1% lactoferrin and 17% secretory-IgA intakes appeared in the faeces and 95% breast-milk protein could be regarded as nutritionally available. The elevated BF outputs of IgA and lactoferrin relative to endogenous excretion suggest, however, that breast-milk may still make a considerable contribution to intestinal defence mechanisms after the neonatal period despite the small proportion of daily intake which escapes digestion. The protective action of IgA and lactoferrin may also depend on their site of degradation and the nature of fragments.

Feces↗
PubMed1987

Measurement of milk intake by deuterium dilution.

In 14 studies, each lasting seven days, on eight bottle fed infants milk intake was measured by deuterium dilution and by weighing the formula consumed and oral losses. Mean (SD) milk intake was 829 (108) g/day when measured by isotope dilution and 837 (98) g/day when measured by direct weighing, giving a mean difference between methods of 1.0 (5.0)%. Thus the stable isotope procedure is a potentially useful method for investigating lactation and nutritional problems.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

A non-invasive study of the third heart sound in children by phono and echo-cardiography.

There has been in the past and still is controversy over the genesis of the third heart sound (S3). Recent studies, however, strongly suggest that S3 is a manifestation of a sudden intrinsic limitation in the expansion of the L.V. The present study has aimed to explore that hypothesis further, using a spectral analysis technique. A FFT technique was used to determine the spectral distribution of S3 in 14 child subjects between the ages of 2 and 19 years. Spectral energies in 15 Hz frequency bandwidths were correlated with various 2D-echocardiographically derived parameters. This study has shown that the spectral energy of S3 is distributed in the lower frequency bands. Fifty percent (47 +/- 16%) is distributed in the 0-15 Hz band. Also it was found that: (i) as mitral orifice size increases, energy in the 0-15 Hz band of S3 decreases. (r = -0.53, p less than 0.05), (ii) S3 occurs earlier in the cardiac cycle with increase in age of the subject. (r = -0.76, p less than 0.005), (iii) the energy distribution of S3 tends towards the higher frequencies with increase in age. (r = 0.52, p less than 0.05). Further, the above results support the hypothesis that S3 is the result of an intrinsic limitation to the expansion of the L.V. due to an early diastolic pressure rise caused by an increased viscoelasticity of the myocardium. This, and the relation of the results in certain pathologies are also discussed.

Cardiac Volume↗
PubMedDate not supplied

DNA surveillance: web-based molecular identification of whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

DNA Surveillance is a Web-based application that assists in the identification of the species and population of unknown specimens by aligning user-submitted DNA sequences with a validated and curated data set of reference sequences. Phylogenetic analyses are performed and results are returned in tree and table format summarizing the evolutionary distances between the query and reference sequences. DNA Surveillance is implemented with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences representing the majority of recognized cetacean species. Extensions of the system to include other gene loci and taxa are planned. The service, including instructions and sample data, is available at http://www.dna-surveillance.auckland.ac.nz.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The bowel habit of milk-fed infants.

A prospective study of the bowel habits of 240 infants aged 2-20 weeks was performed. Half of the infants were breast fed and half were fed cow's milk formula (CMF). Breast-fed infants had a higher mean frequency of defaecation than did CMF-fed infants at 2, 4 and 8 weeks (p less than 0.02). By 16 weeks the mean frequency of bowel actions per day of infants of both feeding groups was 2. With increasing age, infants produced fewer stools of greater firmness (p less than 0.05) though the breast fed tended to pass larger, softer stools than did the CMF-fed infants until the introduction of weaning foods (p less than 0.05). Stool colour was uniformly yellow in both feeding groups until the introduction of weaning foods, when it changed to brown. Weaning foods were introduced at an earlier age in the CMF-fed infants (p less than 0.05), though by 20 weeks 93% of all infants had received some. These data define the normal range of the bowel habits of milk-fed infants and may reflect differences in gastrointestinal function between those fed on the breast and with CMF.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of maternal fluid intake on breast milk supply: a pilot study.

To examine the effect of increased and decreased fluids on breast milk supply, a pilot study using a cross-over design with 10 mother-infant pairs was completed. Baseline measures of milk supply were determined over a 3-day period of normal fluid intake based on body weight. Subjects were studied over 3-day periods when fluid intake was alternately 50% more and 50% less than normal level. Milk supply was calculated by averaging breast milk intake, determined by test weighing the infants with electronic scales, and milk yield, measured either by total breast expression with an electric breast pump or a combination of expression and test weighing. Although milk supply decreased with decreased fluids and increased with increased fluids, this change was not statistically significant. Recommendations for further research include replication using subjects' usual fluid intake as a baseline and replication using mothers suspected of insufficient milk syndrome.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Paradoxical priorities in breastfeeding research: challenges for new directions.

In recent years there has been a greater amount of research on infant feeding by medical and nutritional scientists than by behavioural and social scientists. The consequences of this imbalance of research focus is an extensive amount of information about breast milk with a lack of knowledge about breastfeeding. If we wish to increase the rate and duration of breastfeeding, greater attention needs to be paid to the art of nursing by resetting research priorities to take account of the mother's perspective.

Breast Feeding↗