PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Curtis

Publications and source records attributed to N Curtis.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Teacher certification among athletic training students.

Researchers have reported that athletic training students who earn teacher certification enhance their job marketability. The purpose of this study was to determine the number of athletic training students who pursue teacher certification. A survey was mailed to the directors of the 78 NATA undergraduate programs in 1992. Data from the returned surveys showed that 177 of the 703 expected graduates in 1992 and 148 of the 640 graduates in 1991 pursued teacher certification. The most common teacher certification subject area was Physical Education, followed by Health, and Science or Biology. These students should expect to take an additional 1.6 semesters (range 0 to 4) to complete teacher certification requirements. Program directors cited increased job opportunities as the main advantage, and increased time in school and financial burden as the main disadvantages of pursuing teacher certification. Although the potential for high school jobs seems enormous, there is little indication that high schools are increasingly hiring athletic trainers. Formal counseling and advising for athletic training students regarding teacher certification and job opportunities should occur in the first year of study. Additional research should assess the job market.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

3H-n.m.r. studies of multiple conformations and dynamic processes in complexes of folate and methotrexate with Lactobacillus casei dihydrofolate reductase.

[7,3',5'-3H3]- and [7,9-3H3]-folic acid and [7,3',5'-3H3]methotrexate (MTX) have been prepared and 3H-n.m.r. spectra obtained for their complexes with Lactobacillus casei dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR). The 3H results confirm the presence of three pH-dependent different conformational forms in the complex DHFR.NADP+.folate. The folate benzoyl ring could be shown to be in essentially the same environment in the different forms, with the major differences being associated with the pterin ring. The appearance of a single resonance for the 3',5'-tritons showed that the benzoyl ring is flipping rapidly in all three forms. In contrast, the MTX complex was shown to exist as a single conformational state with the benzoyl ring flipping rate being too low to give a single averaged signal for the 3',5'-nuclei over the temperature range 283-313 K.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1993

Anti-TNF therapy inhibits fever in cerebral malaria.

The clinical effects of a murine monoclonal antibody (CB0006) directed against tumour necrosis factor were investigated in an open study of 41 Gambian children receiving otherwise conventional therapy for cerebral malaria. Ten children received a single i.v. dose of CB0006 at 0.1 mg/kg, 10 received 1 mg/kg, 10 received 5 mg/kg, and 11 were randomly selected as controls. CB0006 rapidly formed complexes with tumour necrosis factor, which were cleared from the circulation over several days. This was associated with a dose-dependent increase in total plasma tumour necrosis factor levels and a dose-dependent reduction of fever, implying that CB0006 inhibits tumour necrosis factor by retaining it in the circulation and reducing its availability to tissue receptors. Parasite clearance rates were not impaired. The fatality rate (29% overall) was similar in CB0006-treated patients and controls, but evaluation of possible effects on mortality requires a much larger blinded study. These data show that tumour necrosis factor is involved in the pathogenesis of malaria fever, and are the first direct evidence that inhibition of a specific endogenous pyrogen can attenuate fever in man.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Effects of altered photoperiod or maternal melatonin administration on plasma prolactin concentrations in fetal lambs.

During winter (December to March), when late-pregnant ewes were maintained under an artificial long-day photoperiod (16 h light) for 3 weeks or more before insertion of fetal vascular cannulae between 118 and 120 days of gestation (full term, 147 days), plasma prolactin concentrations in their fetal lambs were significantly increased throughout the last 3 weeks of gestation in comparison with values in similar aged fetuses from ewes experiencing only the natural short-day (less than 9 h light) winter photoperiod. When additional lighting was given only after vascular cannulation, fetal plasma prolactin increased steadily from low values, characteristic of winter pregnancies, to high values, characteristic of long-day (16 h light:8 h darkness) pregnancies. Maternal plasma prolactin concentrations changed in a similar way. During summer pregnancies (greater than 16 h light), plasma prolactin in fetal lambs was significantly reduced within 48 h when ewes were given melatonin by i.v. infusion for 14 h each night to simulate the winter duration of the nocturnal increase in plasma melatonin. Maternal plasma prolactin concentrations also decreased significantly when melatonin was given for 3 weeks, but not in a shorter experiment. Increases in fetal plasma prolactin were proportional to the basal prolactin concentration in fetuses injected i.v. with TRH or a dopaminergic antagonist, metoclopramide, to assess how photoperiod influenced the responsiveness of prolactin secretion to acute stimulation. The results confirm that photoperiod, rather than developmental maturity, is the principal determinant of plasma prolactin in the fetal lamb during the last third of gestation, and provide evidence that photoperiodic information is transmitted to the fetus through the diurnal rhythm of melatonin in the ewe.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Reliability and validity of four anger scales.

To assess the test-retest reliability of four anger scales: the Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), the Reaction Inventory (RI), the Anger Self Report (ASR), and the Anger Inventory (NI), 60 student volunteers were twice administered the four inventories (two weeks apart). They also filled out a Personal Incidents Record of all anger-provoking incidents for two weeks of their daily life, and participated in imaginal and role-play laboratory provocations, after which physiological readings and self-reports of anger arousal were assessed. The BDHI and RI evidenced good test-retest reliability, the ASR fair reliability, and the NI poor reliability. Many ASR subscales demonstrated good predictive validity. The RI and BDHI possessed some ability to predict the experience of anger, but most of the BDHI subscales did not seem to be measuring specific states or behavior. The NI did not correlate with any of the criterion measures.

Anger↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cephalosporin resistant urinary tract infections in young children.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteria causing urinary tract infection (UTI) in a cohort of Australian children under 6 years of age. METHODS: Data were collected over a 12-month period from children under 6 years of age with a provisional diagnosis of UTI made in the Emergency Department of Sunshine Hospital, Victoria. RESULTS: During the study period 100 culture-proven UTI were identified in 97 children. Three children had two episodes. Out of the 100 episodes, 39% were male, 56% were under 12 months of age at presentation and 61% were managed as outpatients. Clinical features were non-specific in the majority of cases. Hydronephrosis and vesicoureteric reflux was detected in 5.5% and 28.6%, respectively, of children with their first investigated UTI. A single bacterial isolate was cultured from 97 urines and two from three samples. Escherichia coli (n = 90) and Proteus mirabilis (n = 5) were the most common isolates. In vitro resistance to ampicillin/amoxycillin was found in 52% of isolates, to trimethoprim in 14% and to cephalothin/cephalexin in 24%. This resistance rate to first generation cephalosporins is the highest reported to date in adult or paediatric UTI in Australia. CONCLUSIONS: Ampicillin/amoxycillin or cephalothin/cephalexin may not be the optimal choice of antibiotic for the empiric treatment of UTI in this and possibly other paediatric populations.

Cephalosporin Resistance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fever in a returned traveller.

An 8-year-old boy, presenting with fever after returning from a visit to Papua New Guinea, was found to have typhoid, despite immunization against this disease prior to travel. This most likely represented vaccine failure, although it is also possible that he acquired the infection from overseas visitors who had stayed with his family prior to his travel, or that he contracted the disease from his father. This case highlights the importance of considering typhoid as a cause of fever in a returned traveller, even if they have been previously immunized against this disease. It also highlights that, in addition to taking the patient's travel history, information should be specifically sought about contact with visitors from overseas and the travel history of other household members.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗