PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Holman

Publications and source records attributed to J Holman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

One-year results with extended-release tacrolimus/MMF, tacrolimus/MMF and cyclosporine/MMF in de novo kidney transplant recipients.

Once-daily tacrolimus extended-release formulation (Prograf XL, formerly referred to as MR or MR4) was compared with the twice-a-day tacrolimus formulation (TAC) and cyclosporine microemulsion (CsA), all administered in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), corticosteroids and basiliximab induction, in a phase 3, randomized (1:1:1), open-label trial in 638 de novo kidney transplant recipients. In combination with MMF and corticosteroids, XL had an efficacy profile comparable to TAC and CsA. XL/MMF and TAC/MMF were statistically noninferior at 1-year posttransplantation to CsA/MMF for the primary efficacy endpoint, efficacy failure (death, graft loss, biopsy-confirmed acute rejection (BCAR) or lost to follow-up). One-year patient and graft survival were 98.6% and 96.7% in the XL/MMF group, 95.7% and 92.9% in TAC/MMF group and 97.6% and 95.7% in CsA/MMF group. The safety profile of XL in comparison with CsA was similar to that observed with TAC in this study and consistent with previously published reports of TAC in comparison with CsA. The results support the safety and efficacy of tacrolimus in combination with MMF, corticosteroids and basiliximab induction, as well as XL as a safe and effective once-daily dosing alternative.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The influence of attractiveness factors and distance to general practice surgeries by level of social disadvantage and global access in Perth, Western Australia.

The impact on attendance of the distance to general practice surgeries, and the attributes offered by those surgeries, was investigated. One thousand and forty four subjects, selected at random from the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia, responded to a household interview survey concerning which attributes of general practice (GP) surgeries they found attractive and the identity of the surgery they preferred to attend. The sample was stratified by different levels of social disadvantage and by good and poor global levels of spatial accessibility of GP surgeries. In separate fieldwork, interviewers collected detailed environmental data from practice staff at 466 GP surgeries available to the community survey respondents within metropolitan Perth. Respondents living in areas of poor global access were more likely to attend their nearest surgery (25% vs. 6%) and to bypass fewer surgeries to attend a preferred surgery (median 2 vs. 20). Those who were most socially disadvantaged were less likely than those who were better off to bypass surgeries where global access was poor, but more likely to bypass nearby surgeries and to seek out a surgery that bulk billed in areas where global access was good. A number of attractiveness factors had an important influence on choice of surgery, including: 'easy to make an appointment'; 'generally sees patients on time'; 'pharmacy nearby'; 'bulk bills' and 'open at all on Sundays'. Respondents attending their nearest surgery were more likely to have all of their nominated 'very important' attributes satisfied at that surgery than non-attenders (40% vs. 16%). A logistic regression model, adjusting for distance effects and size of surgery, showed within each level of global access and social disadvantage a consistent increase in the odds of attending a surgery that satisfied the attributes desired by respondents.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed2000

Completed suicides and emergency psychiatric evaluations: the Louisville experience.

Suicide is one of the most serious outcomes of psychiatric illness, and the most extreme intervention (involuntary hospitalization) can be exercised if this event is likely. Despite this, the rate of suicide has remained fairly consistent at 1.1-1.4%. In an ongoing effort of identifying factors that can predict subsequent suicides, we retrospectively examined the records of individuals who completed suicides in Jefferson County, January 1997 through September 1998, and who were evaluated at the Emergency Psychiatric Service (EPS) at University of Louisville Hospital. Fifteen of the 132 (11.4%) subjects who completed suicide were evaluated at some point in time at EPS. Only 8 (6.1%) were seen within 60 days of the fatal event. This represents less than 0.1% of the total 9,469 patients seen at the EPS during this time period. No specific factors could be identified that predicted imminent suicide. Given the inaccuracy in being able to predict suicide, clinicians need to continue to be vigilant when assessing acutely distressed substance abusing or psychiatric patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Antibiotic resistance in staphylococci adherent to cortical bone.

The surface-adherent mode of bacterial growth has been shown to play a pivotal role in the persistent nature of infections involving retained foreign bodies, biomaterials, or dead bone (e.g., osteomyelitis). The hypothesis tested herein is that bone and implant materials--polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)--provide a surface environment that promotes a type of bacterial growth characterized by an enhanced antibiotic resistance. The antibiotic resistance estimates of three staphylococcal subtypes were determined for organisms grown in an adherent state on the aforementioned surfaces as well as in their nonadherent or suspended state. Antibiotic resistance was found to vary with mode of bacterial growth. Secondly, for the staphylococcal subtypes, antibiotics and modes of growth studied herein, adherent growth on bone was associated with the most antibiotic resistance.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1993

Accurate measurement of surface areas of anatomical structures by computer-assisted triangulation of computed tomography images.

There is a need for accurate surface area measurement of internal irregular anatomical structures in order to define light dosimetry in adjunctive intraoperative photodynamic therapy (AIOPDT). No satisfactory preoperative method exists of measuring this parameter. We have investigated whether computer-assisted triangulation of serial sections generated by computed tomography (CT) scanning can give an accurate assessment of the surface area of the walls of the true pelvis after anterior resection and before colorectal anastomosis. We have shown that the technique of paper density tessellation is an acceptable method of measuring the surface areas of phantom objects, with a maximum error of 0.5%, and is used as the gold standard. Computer-assisted triangulation of CT images of standard geometric objects and accurately-constructed pelvic phantoms gives a surface area assessment with a maximum error of 2.5% compared with the gold standard. The CT images of 20 patients' pelves have been analysed by computer-assisted triangulation and this shows that the surface area of the walls varies from 143 cm2 to 392 cm2. Simple step-like analysis of images and approximation to geometric shapes with subsequent calculation give unacceptably high errors. The surface area of an internal, rigid, irregular surface area for illumination in AIOPDT can be accurately measured preoperatively by computer-assisted triangulation of CT images.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1989

Emergence of drawing devices for total and partial occlusion: a longitudinal study.

The developmental emergence of two drawing devices was investigated in young children: the use of omission (ie not drawing any of a hidden object) to depict total occlusion and the use of hidden line elimination (HLE, ie deleting only that part of an object that is hidden from view) to depict partial occlusion in a three-dimensional scene. Three groups of school children (5, 6, and 7 years old) were tested individually with two tasks four times over a 2-year period. One task called for the omission device (to draw a cup with its handle not in view) and the other for the HLE device (to draw one ball behind and partially occluded by another). The stimuli in each task were presented in pairs, with one member of the pair showing the occluded scene and the other a canonical or not-occluded scene. Changes in the strategies used by the children to indicate the visual differences within the pairs were recorded over the four testing sessions. Children were found to use the omission device more readily with the cup task than the HLE device with the ball task. There was an age-related trend in every task in the use of the drawing device appropriate to that task. For those who did not use the drawing device appropriate for a perspective drawing, there was a tendency for each age group to favour a particular strategy for representation. The advantage of using a longitudinal design to chart the developmental trend of the emergence of these two drawing devices is discussed.

Art↗
PubMed1989

Determination of avian leucosis virus in chicken pancreas.

30 one-day-old chickens of the commercial HX-SL hybrid from the incubator house at Premyslovice were infected with tissue culture supernatant of clone LSCC-H32. This tissue culture produced the virus of avian lymphoid leucosis of subgroups A and B. After killing at the age of 21-37 weeks, samples of chick pancreas were examined histopathologically and by electron microscopy. Serological examination of serum and feather pulp for presence of avian sarcoma-leucosis gs antigen was simultaneously performed, using the ELISA test. In the pancreas of the experimental chickens both complete and incomplete viral particles of avian leucosis were found. Most frequently, they were localised in the electron-dense secretions of the lumen of pancreatic acini at apical plasma membranes of acinar cells but also in zymogenic granules and in intercellular spaces. The significance of these findings to possible horizontal transmission is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

[Morphogenesis of nuclear pockets in tumor cells in bovine leukosis].

In cases of lymphatic bovine leukemia, the nuclear pockets of the tumour cells in the lymph nodes contain part of cytoplasm and usually protrude above nucleus surface. A wall 60 to 90 nm thick forms the boundary between the nuclear pockets and cytoplasm. The wall consists of two complete nuclear membranes 25 nm thick with a 30-40 nm layer of heavily condensed heterochromatin in between. The nuclear membranes of the walls of the pockets have no nuclear pores. Extensive fusions, built from all the three layers, occur in the walls of the nuclear pockets. These pockets appear on nucleus surface when the plicae of the nuclear membrane are closed or when the apex of the plica merges with nucleus surface. Centriol is involved in the rise of the plicae of the nuclear membrane. The microtubuli inserted in the centriolar satellites on the one side merge with nucleus surface on the other side.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effect of pupillary dilatation in flash VER testing.

Light flash transient visual evoked response (VER) testing is often a part of the perioperative evaluation of eyes with opaque media, and pupillary size in these patients may not be knowable or may be inadvisable to alter. We therefore evaluated transient light flash VER responses before and after pupillary dilation in normal controls and in patients with media opacities to evaluate the effects of pupil size on the amplitude and latency of the recorded VER. Monocular testing was performed bilaterally with a Grass PS-22 photostimulator at the S1 and S16 settings, with monopolar recordings 1 cm above the inion. One hundred twenty-eight 200-msec samplings were recorded and averaged on a Nicolet CA-1000 clinical averager. Latencies were often shorter with the stronger light stimulus, but pupillary dilation did not produce a clear trend toward shorter latencies. Overall, pupillary dilatation did not significantly increase recorded amplitudes, nor did iris color appear to be a factor. These results suggest that, under our testing conditions, pupillary dilatation is not necessary for obtaining reliable transient flash VER recordings.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Effects of ethyl alcohol on VECP.

Previous studies have demonstrated that ethyl alcohol ingestion affects the clinically recorded visually evoked cortical potential (VECP). However these studies have not related the possible relevance of such alcohol-induced VECP changes to visual performance. We studied the flash and pattern-reversal monopolar VECP recorded at the occiput before and after alcohol ingestion and compared the recordings with psychophysical parameters (e.g. contrast sensitivity) also measured before and after alcohol intake. Results are presented, and the potential usefulness of VECP alterations in predicting alcohol-induced effects on visual performance is evaluated. We found no clear, consistent effect of blood alcohol levels ranging from 0.05% to 0.15% on the parameters tested.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Lung vascular permeability after reversal of fibronectin deficiency in septic sheep. Correlation with patient studies.

Plasma fibronectin deficiency and opsonic dysfunction exist in critically ill septic surgical, trauma, and burn patients with multiple organ failure. Fibronectin deficiency can be reversed by infusion of fresh plasma cryoprecipitate. The influence of therapy with human cryoprecipitate on lung vascular permeability in septic sheep with plasma fibronectin deficiency following surgery was evaluated. Additionally, selected studies on pulmonary function in septic surgical and trauma patients after infusion of plasma cryoprecipitate were completed. In patients, ventilation-perfusion balance appeared to improve as measured by the multiple inert gas elimination technique. With the lung lymph fistula preparation in fibronectin deficient sheep, infusion of human plasma cryoprecipitate (10 units; 250 ml) delayed the onset and minimized the increase in lung vascular permeability during postoperative Pseudomonas sepsis (5 X 10(9) bacteria, I.V.; 5 X 10(10) bacteria, I.P.). For example, in a first group of sheep, the transvascular protein clearance (TPC) at 2 hrs in septic sheep (n = 4) treated with only saline (volume control) was 20.1 +/- 3.1 ml/hr, compared to 11.23 +/- 0.83 ml/hr in the sheep (n =a 4) treated with fibronectin-rich cryoprecipitate (p less than 0.05). In a second group of sheep, cryoprecipitate depleted of fibronectin by affinity chromatography was used as the control solution. It also did not manifest this protective effect with respect to lung vascular permeability. Thus, at 2 hrs the lymph flow (Qlym) was 30.2 ml/hr and the transvascular protein clearance (TPC) was 18.0 ml/hr in septic sheep given fibronectin-deficient cryoprecipitate. In contrast, in the fibronectin-rich cryoprecipitate treated sheep, the Qlym was 14.8 ml/hr and the TPC was 8.12 ml/hr. It is suggested that fibronectin may influence lung vascular integrity during sepsis following surgery and trauma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

[Ultrastructure of nuclear membrane pockets in lymphoid cells in cattle].

In comparison with the cells of lymphoreticular tissue in a normal lymph node, the lymphoid cells of a tumorous lymph node in cattle suffering from lymphatic leucaemia show a high occurrence of nuclear pockets. The pockets protrude above the nucleus surface and contain cytoplasmic particles. The wall of a nuclear pocket on the outer side of the nucleus consists of two complete nuclear membranes with an inter-layer of highly condensed heterochromatin. The structure of the nuclear pocket wall documents the origin of the pockets from secondary connection of the plicae of the nuclear membrane and enclosing of part of cytoplasm in the pocket.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

[The origin and transport of chylomicrons in enterocytes in chickens].

After peroral administration of sunflower oil to chick old 14 to 23 days, the rise and passage of chylomicrons were studied electronoptically in the enterocytes of the small intestine. Enterocytes resynthetize the absorbed monoglycerides and fatty acids into neutral fat in the profiles of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and in multivesicular corpuscles in the form of chylomicrons and loose cytoplasmic fat drops in their apical part. The finishing and transport of chylomicrons in the enterocyte are the result of the activity of granular endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. Exocytose carries chylomicrons from enterocytes to intercellular space of the epithelium from where they pass the basal membrane of the epithelium and then, carried by pinocytose, they pass into the lumen of the blood and chyle capillaries. No morphological manifestations of fat absorption in the other cell types of intestinal epithelium (goblet cells, argyrophil cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes) were demonstrated.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Facilitating generalization of on-task behavior through self-monitoring of academic tasks.

This study (1) examined whether a self-monitoring procedure taught in a laboratory setting would increase independent on-task behavior there and would generalize without further teaching to a classroom setting, and (2) analyzed the durability of the training effects over the course of 5 months for one subject and 10 months for two other subjects. Two multiple-baseline designs, one across three normal and the other across three deviant children, showed that self-monitoring of academic task-completions facilitated on-task responding for all subjects in the generalization (classroom) setting. A subsequent reversal design showed that these effects were durable, in two of the three subjects still available, at least as much as 1 year after commencement of training. This latter design also suggested that one subject who was not maintained by self-monitoring could be supported in on-task behavior by a peer who was maintained by self-monitoring.

Behavior Therapy↗