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Biomedical subjects

J Rush

Publications and source records attributed to J Rush.

63 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of lithium chloride on muricidal behavior in rats.

Lithium chloride at two different doses (1 mEq/kg and 2 mEq/kg) IP BID for 10 days failed to inhibit muricidal behavior in rats. Lithium chloride at the higher dose caused neurotoxicity in 6 of 11 rats as measured by the rotorod. These dosages generated serum levels of 0.70 and 1.00 mEq/L respectively. The same behavior was blocked by imipramine HC1 at an ED50 of 8.5 mg/kg 45 min following a single IP injection without evidence of neurotoxicity by the rotorod method. These results indicate that lithium chloride is unlike the tricyclic agents in the muricide test. Therefore, if its clinical antidepressant activity is substantial, it may be most effective in a neurochemically different class of depressives than the tricyclics.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Care of the abused woman. A hospital's educational program assesses values and beliefs.

To answer questions about staff's ability to identify, assess, and support victims of woman abuse, St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, organized a task group that included a cross section of staff and representatives of a local women's shelter. A comprehensive literature review strongly confirmed the need for a program that would provide staff with relevant information about abused women and challenge them to examine their values and beliefs. The task group constructed a questionnaire that included six different scales measuring various aspects of respondents' beliefs and attitudes about woman assault. The educational program for the pilot units included a training video, in-service workshops, a resource training manual, and an assessment tool to assist staff in screening female patients. The survey identified some key areas of concern, including some widely held misconceptions about the causes of abuse. After the educational program, test scores showed significant changes, particularly on scales that measured belief in popular myths and the degree to which respondents held perpetrators responsible for their actions. Overall, the project demonstrated that values and beliefs related to woman assault can be significantly affected by an educational approach that combines information sharing with the opportunity for dialogue and questions.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The CAREPLAN knowledge base. A prototype expert system for postpartum nursing care.

With the growth of scientific knowledge in the health care disciplines, it has become increasingly difficult for practicing health care professionals to store and manipulate the information required to make clinical decisions. Where the decision making process can be defined and validated, expert systems will be able to assist beginning professionals to learn appropriate patterns of decision making. This article discusses the rationale for utilization of expert systems in a nursing environment. A prototype expert system called CAREPLAN, developed for use in an obstetrical environment, was built using Personal Consultant Plus, a software tool based on the LISP language. The project demonstrates that it is feasible to develop and validate an expert system for a specialized clinical environment in a relatively short period of time in comparison to traditional development methods. Graphics were used to enhance textual information and to increase user appeal. Strategies for future implementation and evaluation are outlined.

Expert Systems↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Solid-phase synthesis of biologically active lipopeptides as analogs for spirochetal lipoproteins.

Bacterial lipoproteins, which are of particular interest because of their immunomodulatory activities, share a common N-terminal structural motif that consists of an N-acyl-S-diacylglyceryl cysteine residue. Synthetic tripalmitoylated analogs of the N-terminal sequences of several bacterial lipopetides have been found to reproduce the immunological activities of the corresponding intact lipoproteins. Methods for the synthesis of lipopeptide analogs of bacterial lipoproteins have hitherto relied upon the coupling of peptide moieties, lacking the N-terminal cystienyl residue, with a tripalmitoylglyceryl cysteine moiety synthesized separately in solution. A method is described here by which rapid and convenient synthesis of the entire lipopeptide is accomplished by solid-phase methods in which the N-terminal cysteinyl derivative is assembled stepwise while attached to the completed peptide moiety prior to cleavage from the resin. The method has been used to synthesize two lipohexapeptides representing the N-terminal sequences of the 47-kDa membrane lipoprotein of the syphilis spirochete, Treponema pallidum, and the outer surface protein A (OspA) of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. These lipopeptides, which were synthesized without detectable endotoxin contamination, exhibit macrophage-stimulating activity that is not expressed by the corresponding non-acylated hexapeptides. The data indicate that synthetic lipopeptides based on spirochetal lipoproteins are appropriate substitutes for the intact lipoproteins in immunological studies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postpartum safety and satisfaction following early discharge.

Two Ontario sites were involved in the evaluation of an obstetrical discharge program. Before program implementation a group of eligible women were enrolled as the preprogram control group (n = 542). During the program, eligible women who agreed to early discharge (ED) became the ED group (n = 319), and those opting not to go home early but consenting to participate in the evaluation became the concurrent group (n = 456). All groups were mailed a self-administered postpartum questionnaire. On demographic characteristics, safety and satisfaction, the ED group was comparable to the concurrent group. Hospital readmission rates did not differ across groups after stratification by site or hospital. Multiple classification analyses revealed a similar pattern for overall satisfaction levels. This unique ED program, which allowed pre- or postnatal enrollment and did not require an initial home assessment, appears to be a safe, effective and flexible approach to obstetrical care.

Adult↗