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Biomedical subjects

J Blackford

Publications and source records attributed to J Blackford.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Communication issues for the interdisciplinary community palliative care team.

This paper discusses the findings of a critical study that examined the communication patterns between nurses and general practitioners (GPs) providing palliative care in Australia. Interviews and focus groups involved 40 palliative care nurses who worked in the three settings of care: community, hospice and hospital. Issues that impeded effective communication strategies between palliative care nurses and GPs were networking, case management, multiple service providers, lack of standardized documentation and formal tracking of clients, along with difficulties in transmission of relevant practice knowledge. Supporting strategies for effective formal modes of communicating and reporting are described.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Nurses' experiences of caring for culturally and linguistically diverse families when their child dies.

Nurses experience the care of a dying child and their family as a challenging but distressing event. In a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), Melbourne, Australia, nurses expressed a concern that they may not be providing the most appropriate care when a cultural disparity exists between nurses and families experiencing the death of their child. A critically informed study was undertaken with six PICU nurses to explore their experiences of caring for a culturally and linguistically diverse family whose child had died. Three consecutive focus group interviews were conducted with the nurses to identify issues in this area of their nursing practice and to contemplate how their practice might be changed. The focus of this paper is on one particular finding of the study about the nurses' use of controlling practices to ensure families conformed to the established routines and values of the PICU staff.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The role of the palliative care nurse consultant in promoting continuity of end-of-life care.

The provision of end-of-life care through a multidisciplinary integrated palliative-care approach is dependent on effective communication between professional groups and services. We did a qualitative study, using semi-structured individual and focus group interviews, in Melbourne, Australia. The research aim was to explore the experiences and strategies used by palliative care nurses to communicate with general practitioners. We found that palliative care nurse consultants in acute hospitals not only provided inpatient consultation, but also played an important part in facilitating continuity of care across healthcare services by improving existing communication strategies and establishing further communication networks. However, there were several issues that had the potential to disrupt communication, and this article reports on the role of the palliative care nurse consultant in addressing these issues.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed2001

Paraduodenal hernia: a report of two cases.

Paraduodenal hernias are uncommon congenital herniations into the mesentery of the colon that present as small bowel obstruction. The diagnosis is elusive but may be made by CT scan or upper gastrointestinal series. There are three types: left, right, and transverse. The repair involves reduction of the hernia and closure of the mesenteric defect in accordance with the anatomy of the hernia. We present two cases of paraduodenal hernia that are representative of this unusual class of internal herniation.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Palaeoclimatic records from peat bogs.

The palaeoclimatic record for the past 6000 years, implemented from peat-bog stratigraphy, has been limited by imprecision in dating and climatic interpretation. Recently, dating problems have been addressed by 'wiggle-matched' radiocarbon dates and by volcanic ash layers, promising much tighter correlation between records from different regions. Recent research shows key dates of significant climatic change and tentative evidence for periodicity. Application of time-series analysis, generalized linear modelling and transfer function models to the proxy climate data show how improved climatic reconstructions can be obtained. Peat-derived palaeoclimatic data might explain, as well as describe, climatic changes over timescales of 102-103 years.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Nurses of NESB working in a multicultural community.

Ensuring that the cultural composition of the nursing population reflects the multicultural mix of the general population assumes that culturally appropriate care will occur when people of non-English background (NESB) are encountered in nursing practice. In a feminist praxis study involving twenty-six nurse participants, seven of whom were of NESB, the nurses discovered that the structure of the health care institution not only overlooked the cultural and linguistic needs of children and NESB families, but also created a dominant Anglo-Australian health culture that taught NESB nurses to ignore the traditions and practices of their NESB culture. This paper will explore the nurses' discovery of their own collusion in sustaining an Anglo-Australian health care culture.

Australia↗
PubMed2000

Iontophoresis of dexamethosone-phosphate into the equine tibiotarsal joint.

In human rehabilitation medicine, dexamethasone-phosphate is theoretically iontophoresed to localized subcutaneous tissue where conversion to dexamethasone occurs. This delivery system has recently been introduced into veterinary medicine for the same purpose. However, the pharmacokinetic justification for parenteral delivery of this prodrug remains undocumented. Utilizing iontophoretic methods that are relevant to both human and veterinary clinical practice, the present investigation compared injection and iontophoresis of dexamethasone-phosphate into the equine tibiotarsal joint, also known as the tarsocrual joint. The tibiotarsal joints of seven horses were injected with 4 mL of 6 mg/mL dexamethasone-phosphate. With a similar drug concentration and over the same application site, six different horses underwent simultaneous cathodic iontophoresis (4 mA, 40 min) or passive application (0 mA, 40 min) on contralateral limbs. Following all applications, tibiotarsal joint synovium was collected. Local venous blood samples were also collected from the iontophoretic and passive application sites for analysis of plasma drug concentrations. Because of the potential for conversion of dexamethasone-phosphate to dexamethasone, an extraction and analysis protocol was developed for both chemicals. The technique demonstrated a linear range of detection (0.39-12 microg/mL) and a capability for measuring both chemicals in plasma and synovium. Conversion of dexamethasone-phosphate to dexamethasone occurred during synovial incubation (37 degrees C) and following freeze-thaw cycles. In contrast to the measurable synovial concentrations of dexamethasone-phosphate (2.3 +/- 0.96 mg/mL) and dexamethasone (0.27 +/- 0.07 mg/mL) following injection, neither drug was detected in the synovium or the local venous blood following iontophoretic or passive applications. In conclusion, these results do not confirm iontophoretic or passive delivery of measurable dexamethasone-phosphate into the tibiotarsal joint using current clinical methods.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Problem-based learning: an educational strategy to support nurses working in a multicultural community.

Physical dislocation of people from their homelands either as refugees, immigrants or exiles has resulted in the creation of multicultural communities which have diverse health needs. Like elsewhere, nurses in Australia have been faced with the challenge of responding to an ever-changing migrant population. A modified problem-based learning project was conducted in Melbourne to assist nurses to enhance their practice of caring for children and families of non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB). Clinical nurses worked with the researchers to develop and trial problem-based educational packages. The packages were designed for use in the clinical areas and graduate nursing programs to assist nurses overcome the cultural and communication difficulties they experienced when caring for people of NESB.

Australia↗
PubMed1997

Breaking down language barriers in clinical practice.

Communication is an essential component of skilled nursing-practice. As 20 per cent of Australians are born overseas and come from a non-English speaking background (NESB), effective communication becomes a challenge for nurses who do not share the same language. Nursing use of an interpreter service is an essential component of practice in a multicultural community. This was one of the findings of a two-year participatory action research study which explored the practice of nurses caring for non-English speaking families. The intention of this paper is to explore this crucial aspect of the findings; nursing use of interpreters and the strategies instigated by the nurses to work more effectively with them.

Australia↗
PubMed1996

A monoclonal antibody, 3/22, to rabbit CD11c which induces homotypic T cell aggregation: evidence that ICAM-1 is a ligand for CD11c/CD18.

The rabbit CD11c molecule has been characterized by use of new monoclonal antibody, mAb 3/22. Expression of the p150,95 integrin (CD11c/CD18) has been shown by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry to be restricted to monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and a small population of lymphocytes in peripheral blood. No expression on neutrophils could be demonstrated. Incubation of the newly derived CD8+ T cell line, BJ/873, with mAb 3/22 causes homotypic aggregation, which has been shown to be cell surface event that is not dependent on intracellular signaling or on receptor cross-linking. Inhibition studies show that the ligands responsible for this aggregation are CD11c/CD18 and ICAM-1, both of which are expressed on BJ/873. One other rabbit T cell line, K34, that also expresses p150,95 and ICAM-1, shows a similar aggregation response when stimulated with 3/22. Cell lines that express p150,95 but not ICAM-1 do not aggregate. These observations suggest that ICAM-1 is a ligand for activated p150,95.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

The in vivo and in vitro effects of antibodies against rabbit beta 2-integrins.

Beta 2-integrins play a crucial role in the development of an inflammatory response. In ours study, Abs have been used to investigate the role of individual members of this family of adhesion molecules in both in vivo and in vitro assays. An Ab against rabbit LFA-1 effectively inhibited the adhesion of rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocytes to rabbit endothelial cells in culture and was also effective in blocking cell recruitment to the peritoneum and vascular leakage at dermal sites of inflammation. An Ab that inhibited rabbit complement receptor type 3 function in vitro failed to inhibit cell recruitment to the peritoneum or vascular leakage in response to intradermal FMLP. Histologic studies suggested that the anti-complement receptor type 3 Ab may have modified the cell migration process.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The expression of CD11/CD18 molecules on rabbit leucocytes: identification of monoclonal antibodies to CD18 and their effect on cellular adhesion processes.

The monoclonal antibodies, L13/64 and RCN1/21, raised against rabbit leucocytes, have been shown, by sequential immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting, to react with the rabbit CD18 molecule. They recognise not only surface-expressed CD18 but also an intracellular form which appears to be partially glycosylated. The expression of the CD11 and CD18 glycoproteins on a wide variety of rabbit leucocyte populations has been investigated by flow cytometry, using these two monoclonal antibodies (Mabs), together with others which recognise human CD11 and CD18 proteins but cross-react with rabbit tissues. The distribution of these leucocyte integrin molecules has been shown to be similar to that observed in humans and determination of the N-terminal sequence of rabbit CD11b shows strong homology with human and mouse sequences. Of four anti-rabbit CD18 Mabs tested, only one, L13/64, has been shown to be capable of inhibiting the adhesion of fMLP-stimulated neutrophils to gelatin coated plastic and the homotypic aggregation of PMA-stimulated T cells, both of which assays have been shown to be CD18-dependent. RCN1/21 causes aggregation of unstimulated neutrophils, but it is not known whether this is due to cellular activation or agglutination.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Late manifestation of hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm: case presentation and review.

Pseudoaneurysms of the hepatic artery are a rare cause for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and usually become clinically evident within 5 months from the inciting traumatic event. We report a case of recurrent massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage from a hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm sustained in an automobile accident 2 yr before the first episode of bleeding. Difficulty in early diagnosis and treatment of hepatic artery aneurysm remain the major reason for the associated high mortality. Angiography has proven to be the most consistent and effective method of diagnosis. Treatment is surgical.

Abdominal Injuries↗