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Biomedical subjects

N Cunningham

Publications and source records attributed to N Cunningham.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Developing child abuse prevention, identification, and treatment systems in Eastern Europe.

Although the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989 brought a welcome end to the Cold War, the subsequent reestablishment of independent Eastern European countries revealed a host of problems. Among these was frequent child abuse and neglect, although lack of epidemiological data precluded any accurate estimate of prevalence. In an effort to address the problem of child abuse within this rapidly changing sociopolitical environment, the Children's Mental Health Alliance and the Soros Foundation organized the Eastern European Child Abuse and Child Mental Health Project in 1995. The authors describe the development of this multidisciplinary initiative involving collaboration with professionals from 17 countries in Eastern Europe. They highlight the goals, principles, and major phases of the project, as well as some of the challenges involved in its implementation.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Developmental intervention for preterm infants diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia.

Preterm infants with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) were evaluated to determine whether multi-sensory stimulation is safe and to assess whether it improved neurobehavior and neurodevelopment. Thirty preterm infants with documented PVL were randomly assigned to control (n= 15) or experimental (Group E) (n= 15) groups at 33 weeks post-conceptional age. Group E infants received 15 minutes of auditory, tactile, visual, and vestibular (ATVV) intervention twice a day, five days a week, for four weeks during hospitalization. Repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that Group E infants experienced significant increases in heart and respiratory rate and a 0.72% drop in hemoglobin saturation, coinciding with a significant behavioral state shift from sleep to alertness during intervention. No differences were identified in neurobehavioral function and neurodevelopment, indicating that Group E suffered no injury. Group E had an average hospital stay nine days shorter than that of controls, with the associated cost savings of $213,840. The earlier hospital discharge indicates that ATVV intervention promotes alertness without compromising physiologic status in vulnerable infants.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1994

Differential effects of retinoic acid and growth factors on osteoblastic markers and CD10/NEP activity in stromal-derived osteoblasts.

The effects of retinoic acid (RA) on the expression of osteoblastic-related cell markers was examined. A marrow stromal osteogenic cell line, MBA-15, was analyzed by Northern blotting for the expression of bone matrix proteins. These cells constitutively express mRNA encoding for procollagen alpha 2 (I), osteonectin, osteopontin, biglycan, and alkaline phosphatase (ALK-P). Gene expression was unchanged in response to RA triggering for 24 hr. Furthermore, cell growth and enzymatic activities of ALK-P and neutral endopeptidase (CD10/NEP) were studied. These parameters were examined in MBA-15 and clonal populations representing different stages of differentiation. The cell's growth rate was unchanged, while ALK-P activity was greatly increased during the culture period under RA treatment in MBA-15 and in the clonal cell lines examined while CD10/NEP activity displayed a different pattern. MBA-15.4, a preosteoblast cell line, exhibited an inhibition in CD10/NEP activity at the beginning of the culture period, reaching basal level with time. This activity was greatly increased over control level in MBA-15.6, a mature stage of osteoblasts. Furthermore, the response of cell lines to various growth factors was tested subsequent to priming the cultures with RA. A synergistic effect was monitored for ALK-P activity in MBA-15.4 and MBA-15.6 cells under rh-bone morphogenic protein (BMP-2) and purified osteogenin (BMP-3), and an antagonist effect was measured when cells were exposed to transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta). Contrarily, BMP-2 and BMP-3 inhibited the CD10/NEP activity that had remained unchanged following priming of the cell with RA. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and basic fibroblast growth factors (bFGF) did not affect either ALK-P nor CD10/NEP activities in both cloned cells. Cellular response to bone-seeking hormone, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was monitored by activation of intracellular cAMP. Treatment with RA caused a dramatic decrease in MBA-15.6 cell responses to PTH and PGE2, but no significant effects could be observed in other clonal lines.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1994

Environmental influences on the developing premature infant: theoretical issues and applications to practice.

The neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) environment may interfere with the maturation and organization of premature infants' central nervous systems and may fail to meet these infants' developmental needs. In particular, immature distance receptors (i.e., hearing and vision) may receive overwhelming stimulation, whereas more mature tactile and vestibular pathways receive little stimulation. Furthermore, research on fetal learning suggests that the NICU environment should sensitively address requirements for learning by providing contingent experience. Nurses are ideally suited to reorganize the NICU and intervene to optimize infants' growth and development.

Child Development↗
PubMed1994

Infant stimulation: modification of an intervention based on physiologic and behavioral cues.

Research involving developmental intervention with premature infants in the hospital has traditionally taken two paths: application of a sensory stimulation protocol and individualized assessment and treatment. This article describes a new method that combines some of the philosophical strengths of these two approaches. A decision tree is presented to standardize the modifications of a developmental intervention based on physiologic and behavioral cues.

Clinical Protocols↗
PubMed1994

The effect of osteogenin (a bone morphogenetic protein) on the formation of bone in orthotopic segmental defects in rats.

We studied the effects of partially purified, natural osteogenin, a bone morphogenetic protein, on the formation of bone in rats. An osteoperiosteal segmental defect, eight millimeters wide, in the middle of the femoral diaphysis was created bilaterally in thirty-six adult male Fischer rats and stabilized with a polyacetyl plate and threaded Kirschner wires. One defect was filled with a cylinder of 60 per cent hydroxyapatite and 40 per cent tricalcium phosphate ceramic (pore diameter, 250 to 400 micrometers) containing 100 micrograms of partially purified bovine osteogenin, and the contralateral defect was filled with a hydroxyapatite-tricalcium ceramic cylinder without osteogenin. Eighteen animals (six animals each at one, two, and four months after the operation) were studied histologically and histomorphometrically. The implants from eighteen additional animals (six animals each at one, two, and four months after the operation) were subjected to biomechanical testing. Histomorphometry revealed that the total area of bone, the area of bone outside of the implant, and the amount of bone within the pores of the implant were all significantly (p < or = 0.05) greater in the femora that had an implant with osteogenin than in those that had an implant without osteogenin at most time-periods. The presence of osteogenin had no significant effect on the biomechanical parameters measured in this study.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Osteogenin (bone morphogenic protein 3) inhibits proliferation and stimulates differentiation of osteoprogenitors in human bone marrow.

Treatment of human bone marrow osteoprogenitors with osteogenin (BMP-3; at 1, 2.5 and 10 ng/ml) caused dose- and time-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. Simultaneously, osteogenin stimulated type I collagen synthesis and cAMP production. Addition of osteogenin to the cell culture increased intracellular alkaline phosphatase activity and osteocalcin synthesis, with maximal stimulation at 2.5 ng/ml. Simultaneous addition of 2.5 ng/ml osteogenin and 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3 (10(-8) M) enhanced the stimulation observed in osteocalcin synthesis. The experiments reported here demonstrate the significant "in vitro" influence of osteogenin in the stimulation of osteogenic phenotype in osteoprogenitor cells which have been isolated from human bone marrow and cloned. These results support a reciprocal relationship between cell growth inhibition and expression of osteoblast differentiation.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Identity, metaphors, and power.

Nurses may often evaluate their identities by asking questions such as "Who is the perinatal nurse? Accountable professional or institutional employee?" The author analyzes this effort in terms of the metaphors reflected by these questions as they may or may not accurately describe nurses' circumstances of powerlessness and powerfulness. The author suggests ways nurses may improve their ethical reflection by changing metaphors and assuring continuing sedation in individual, professional, and institutional contexts.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The cellular and molecular regulation of 1,25(OH)2D3 production.

The synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D3 is a critical control point in the regulation of calcium metabolism, and possibly in the growth and differentiation of a number of cell types. This paper reviews our current understanding of the regulation of this process at the cellular and molecular levels, with the emphasis on the mechanisms of feedback control 1,25(OH)2D3 itself, control of parathyroid hormone, the roles of cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase and protein kinase C, and the interaction between the various intracellular regulators of 1,25(OH)2D3 production.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 1-alpha-Hydroxylase↗
PubMed1991

Bone-inducing activity of mature BMP-2b produced from a hybrid BMP-2a/2b precursor.

The human osteoinductive proteins BMP-2a and BMP-2b have been cloned and expressed in mammalian cells. In order to improve expression levels we examined the role of the proregion in assembly and export. Use of the BMP-2a proregion combined with the mature region of BMP-2b leads to dramatically improved expression of mature BMP-2b. Mature BMP-2b has been purified to near homogeneity from the BMP-2a/2b hybrid, and its structural properties and biological activity determined. Recombinant mature BMP-2b homodimer elicits bone formation in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1990

Does infant carrying promote attachment? An experimental study of the effects of increased physical contact on the development of attachment.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that increased physical contact, experimentally induced, would promote greater maternal responsiveness and more secure attachment between infant and mother. Low-SES mothers of newborn infants were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 23) that received soft baby carriers (more physical contact) or to a control group (n = 26) that received infants seats (less contact). Using a transitional probability analysis of a play session at 31/2 months, it was demonstrated that mothers in the experimental group were more contingently responsive than control mothers to their infants' vocalizations. When the infants were 13 months old, the Ainsworth Strange Situation was administered. Significantly more experimental than control infants were securely attached to their mothers. We infer from these results that for low-income, inner-city mothers, there may be a causal relation between increased physical contact, achieved through early carrying in a soft baby carrier, and subsequent security of attachment between infant and mother.

Attention↗