Biomedical subjects

J Sheehan

Publications and source records attributed to J Sheehan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

External examiners: roles and issues.

This paper is based on an analysis of the role of external examiners and a discussion of the various aspects of the role. Fifteen facets of the role have been identified and each facet is discussed with reference to the relevant literature. Among the issues discussed are the powers of external examiners in the decision making process; their role as the custodians of standards; and the significance of their reports. The discussion spans four levels of academic awards including diploma, bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctoral degree and deals with matters of principle as well as the mass of written and other material which external examiners are faced with. Some strengths and weaknesses of the external examining system have been identified and finally a question is raised about its future.

Education, Nursing↗

PubMed1994

A journal club as a teaching and learning strategy in nurse teacher education.

An account of the operation of a journal club in a Postgraduate Certificate in Education course for teachers of nursing is reported here. The paper is based on three issues: the background to journal clubs, the process involved in the operation of the club concerned, and the expected outcomes. The origins of journal clubs and the reading habits of nurses are considered in the background section through a review of some of the relevant literature. The negotiation involved, the frequency of meetings and the ethos in which they were conducted are discussed in the section on the processes involved. In the final section, both the tangible and personal outcomes are discussed and the conclusion reached is that a journal club is a worthwhile educational activity.

Certification↗

PubMed1993

Characterization of two different glycosylated domains from the insoluble mucin complex of rat small intestine.

The highly glycosylated domains of rat small intestinal mucins were isolated after reduction and trypsin digestion and separated into two populations (A and B) by gel chromatography. The molecular mass values were 650 and 335 kDa, respectively, and the relative yields suggest that the two glycopeptides occur in equimolar proportions. Electron microscopy revealed linear structures with weight average lengths of 230 nm (A) and 110 nm (B) corresponding to a mass/unit length of about 3 kDa/nm. The protein cores (17-19%) contain large amounts of threonine (over 40%), serine (17-24%), and proline (18-19%). Carbohydrate and sulfate account for approximately 80 and 0.5%, respectively, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that the patterns of neutral and sialic acid-containing glycans are very similar in the two glycopeptides. Both contain a significant amount (7-10 mol %) of single GalNAc residues, the average oligosaccharide is about 4 sugar residues long, and the largest species observed are heptasaccharides. The major neutral and sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides are Fuc1-2Gal1-3GalNAcol and GlcNAc1-6(NeuGc2-Gal1-3)GalNAcol, respectively. Sialic acid is present as both N-acetyl- and N-glycoloyl-neuraminic acid. Repeated extractions of the tissue with guanidinium chloride left approximately 80% of the mucus glycoproteins as an insoluble glycoprotein complex whereas exposure to dithiothreitol or high speed homogenization accomplished complete solubilization. The "subunits" obtained after reduction with dithiothreitol are larger than glycopeptides A and B, and fragments corresponding in size to the latter are obtained after cleavage with trypsin. Most of the mucins from rat small intestine thus occurs as an insoluble glycoprotein complex composed of subunits joined with disulfide bonds. The subunits contain two highly glycosylated regions with different lengths substituted with very similar oligosaccharides.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1993

Altered glycosylation of the MUC-1 protein core contributes to the colon carcinoma-associated increase of mucin-bound sialyl-Lewis(x) expression.

The mucin carbohydrate epitope sialyl-Le(x), detected with the monoclonal antibody AM-3, is strongly overexpressed in > 90% of human colon carcinomas. We show here that in colon carcinoma one of the mucin cores bearing the sialyl-Le(x) group is MUC-1, whereas sialyl-Le(x) present in normal colon is not detectable on MUC-1. The amounts of MUC-1 core detectable with the monoclonal antibody BC3 in extracts of tumor tissue are 60-180% of those in normal tissue. Two other carbohydrate epitopes located on MUC-1 in mucins from normal and tumor tissue have also been characterized. In contrast to sialyl-Le(x), their expression on MUC-1 is variable and does not correlate with the malignant transformation of colonic mucosa. The transfer of the sialyl-Le(x) group onto the MUC-1 core contributes to the colon carcinoma-associated overexpression of the sialyl-Le(x) epitope.

Antigens↗

PubMed1993

Issues in the supervision of postgraduate research students in nursing.

Some general points are made in this paper about the nature of postgraduate research degrees, and the process which results in a thesis is set out. These are followed by considering the degrees in a nursing context and also in relation to the social sciences. Next the aims of postgraduate research degree programmes are considered. Approaches to the matching of students are set out. Among those discussed are mentoring, collegiality, classification and framing, and the use of workshops. In the conclusion, some desired outcomes of the supervisory process are suggested.

Education, Nursing, Graduate↗

PubMed1991

Increased number of accessible sugar epitopes defined with monoclonal antibody AM-3 on colonic mucins is associated with malignant transformation of colonic mucosa.

Monoclonal antibody AM-3 detects a mucin sugar epitope (AM-3 epitope) the expression of which increases in the course of human colon carcinogenesis parallel to the gradual morphological alterations (so called adenoma-carcinoma sequence). In the present report the AM-3-positive mucin has been purified from human normal and carcinomatous colonic tissue. About 300-fold enrichment of the epitope per protein from both sources was achieved after ultracentrifugation, gel filtration on Sepharose CL-6B and isopyknic gradient centrifugation. Slot-blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of the purified preparation indicated not only different amounts of the mucins but also a consistent qualitative difference between the molecules from both sources. The qualitative difference could be obliterated by a partial removal of the AM-3 epitope from the tumor-derived mucin with neuraminidase. The visualization of the molecules by rotary shadowing indicated that the mucins from both sources have similar length distribution, 80% of the molecules being 100-600 nm long. The reaction with AM-3 antibody followed by rotary shadowing showed that in the purified preparations more than 95% of the tumor-derived molecules and 74% of the normal colon tissue-derived molecules carried the epitope. The tumor-derived mucins bound, on the average, 34 +/- 15 (SD) antibodies/1000 nm of the protein core while the mucin from normal colon tissue carried 12 +/- 11 antibodies/1000 nm of the protein core. These data indicate that the increased expression of AM-3 epitopes during malignant transformation of the human colon is due to accumulation of AM-3-positive mucin as well as a higher number of accessible AM-3 epitopes on this mucin.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1991

Conceptions of the nursing process amongst nurse teachers and clinical nurses.

This is a report of an empirical study whose aim was to investigate the conceptual nature of the nursing-process approach to the delivery of nursing care. The report includes a selective review of the literature on the subject to determine how the nursing-process approach is characterized by people who write about it. Details of the grounded theory research methodology used are outlined. So are the hierarchically focused interviews used to collect the data. Details of the data analysis are also given, including the use of a cluster analysis technique. In the results section, areas of concordance between conceptions of the nursing-process approach as they appear in the literature and those held by the interviews have been identified. Areas where conceptions are at variance with those in the literature have also been identified.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

The use of cyclosporin A in adult nephrotic syndrome: nine cases and literature review.

Nine adult patients with resistant nephrotic syndrome were treated with cyclosporin A (CyA). All had failed to respond to high dose corticosteroids with or without cyclophosphamide. Three patients had minimal change disease, 3 had focal sclerosing glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), 2 had mesangiocapillary GN, and one had membranous nephropathy. The mean age of the patients was 26.4 years (range 16 to 39 years). CyA was given orally twice daily at a mean dose of 6.7 mg/kg/24 hours (range 6-10 mg/kg/24 hours). Four patients achieved full remission, two patients went into partial remission and three failed to respond. Two patients developed clinical nephrotoxicity, which reversed on dose reduction or cessation of CyA. All 3 patients with minimal change disease who responded subsequently relapsed after stopping CyA, but remitted rapidly on reintroduction of the drug. We suggest that the mode of action of CyA in nephrotic syndrome may be related to intra-renal vasoconstriction in addition to its direct immunosuppressive effect. In this limited series, we found that CyA can be an effective therapy for otherwise refractory nephrotic syndrome, although relapse on withdrawal of CyA may well be a significant clinical problem.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Investigating change in a nursing context.

This paper focuses on 'why', 'what' and 'how' issues as they relate to the investigation of change in a nursing context. The why issues revolve around the need for change, and evolutionary and revolutionary change are discussed. Next the what issues are discussed and some variables involved in the change process are identified, and the role of change agents is outlined. Change strategies such as the power-coercive, the rational-empirical and the normative-re-education are discussed. Finally, the potential of action research in the context of bringing about change is advanced.

Delivery of Health Care↗

PubMed1989

Importance of magnesium chloride repletion after myocardial infarction.

Data pertinent to the role of magnesium deficits in coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction are reviewed. Results of clinical, laboratory and epidemiologic studies indicate an association between magnesium deficiency and a poor prognostic outcome in patients who have had myocardial infarction. It therefore appears to be a reasonable prophylactic measure to monitor closely magnesium status in patients with coronary heart disease and other patients at risk of acute myocardial infarction, and to supplement with magnesium chloride when clinically necessary. In addition, recent studies provide supportive evidence that supplementation of magnesium chloride may reduce the incidence of fatal and nonfatal arrhythmias after an infarct.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

PubMed1989

Progression from enrolled to registered general nurse (1): Charting the conversion.

This is a report of part of an empirical evaluation of a conversion course for Enrolled Nurses. The focus of the study was the changes, if any, which might take place in the students. A five faceted approach was used to collect data including three value exercises designed to identify those characteristics and values deemed by the Nurse to be important elements of his/her self image, diary keeping and meetings with the students. This part of the paper deals with the methodological aspects of the study and reports on the diary keeping and the meetings with the students. Part two will relate to the value exercises used. The study provides evidence of some of the difficulties experienced by students in the transition from Enrolled Nurse to Registered General Nurse status. It also provides evidence of 'desirable' changes in the students which occurred during the course.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗

PubMed1989

Progression from enrolled to registered nurse (2): Charting the conversion.

Part 2 of the study focuses on the three value instruments mentioned in part 1 (Hembrough & Sheehan 1989). The students were asked to complete the three value-oriented tasks on seven occasions throughout the duration of the course. The data obtained provided some evidence regarding the stability of the students' values. The study also identifies and comments upon the most persistently and popularly chosen value descriptors. Cameos relating to the professional and personal self-perceptions of each student are also presented.

Career Mobility↗

PubMed1989

Reinforcement of bone cement using metal meshes.

Following on from previous work reported in this journal, a practical system has been developed for in situ fibre reinforcement of bone cement in the hip joint prosthesis. A fibre preform is inserted during the operation, surrounding the metal stem of the prosthesis, forming a composite with the cement. Tests performed on full-scale models of the joint show improvements in fatigue life by more than an order of magnitude when a preform of metal fibres is used; this significantly delays the onset of cement cracking and stem loosening. Initial results reported previously suggest that other fibre materials such as carbon may give even greater improvements. Clinical trials have begun, using a form of the metal mesh.

Bone Cements↗

PubMed1988