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Biomedical subjects

N Jacobson

Publications and source records attributed to N Jacobson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Van der Waals density functional for layered structures.

To understand sparse systems, we must account for both strong local atom bonds and weak nonlocal van der Waals forces between atoms separated by empty space. A fully nonlocal functional form [Phys. Rev. B 62, 6997 (2000)]] of density-functional theory (DFT) is applied here to the layered systems graphite, boron nitride, and molybdenum sulfide to compute bond lengths, binding energies, and compressibilities. These key examples show that the DFT with the generalized-gradient approximation does not apply for calculating properties of sparse matter, while use of the fully nonlocal version appears to be one way to proceed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Optimal procedure for extracting RNA from human ocular tissues and expression profiling of the congenital glaucoma gene FOXC1 using quantitative RT-PCR.

PURPOSE: To develop methods for obtaining high quality RNA from human donor eyes and to determine the expression profile of the congenital glaucoma gene FOXC1 in human ocular tissues. METHODS: To obtain high quality RNA from donor eyes, several different preservation methods were tested including storing eyes on ice, freezing eyes, and placing eyes in the commercial fixative RNAlaterTM prior to dissection and RNA extraction. Nine different ocular tissues from human donors were dissected and examined. Pigment-free total RNA was isolated and used for quantitative real-time RT-PCR using FOXC1 and GAPDH (internal standard) primers to assess the quality and expression of FOXC1. RESULTS: An expression profile of FOXC1 in human ocular tissues was determined using quantitative PCR of RNA isolated using a simple and effective procedure for ocular tissue preservation and pigment-free RNA isolation. Higher quality RNA was obtained from human donor eyes preserved in RNAlaterTM compared to RNA extracted from eyes stored on ice or frozen at -80 degrees C. RNA extraction techniques that removed interfering pigment from ocular tissues produced RNA that could be easily amplified by PCR. In the adult human eye, expression of FOXC1 was greatest in the trabecular meshwork (TM) followed by the optic nerve head, choroid/RPE, ciliary body, cornea, and iris. FOXC1 expression levels were much lower in other non-ocular human tissues, such as liver, muscle, lung, heart, and kidney. CONCLUSIONS: Using an optimized donor eye preservation method and tissue RNA isolation procedure, we show that the FOXC1 transcription factor gene, which is known to be associated with developmental glaucoma, also may have an important role in the adult eye.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Non-secretion of mutant proteins of the glaucoma gene myocilin in cultured trabecular meshwork cells and in aqueous humor.

Until recently, very little was known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Mutations in the glaucoma gene myocilin (MYOC, GLC1A) are associated with elevated intraocular pressure and the development of autosomal dominant juvenile glaucoma and a subset of adult-onset glaucoma. MYOC is expressed in the trabecular meshwork (TM), a tissue responsible for drainage of aqueous humor from the eye, and the tissue involved in elevated intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma. To better understand the role of MYOC in glaucoma pathogenesis, we examined the expression of normal and mutant myocilin in cultured ocular (TM) and non-ocular cells as well as in the aqueous humor of patients with and without MYOC glaucoma. Normal myocilin was secreted from cultured cells, but very little to no myocilin was secreted from cells expressing five different mutant forms of MYOC. In addition, no mutant myocilin was detected in the aqueous humor of patients harboring a nonsense MYOC mutation (Q368X). Co-transfection of cultured cells with normal and mutant myocilin led to suppression of normal myocilin secretion. These studies suggest that MYOC glaucoma is due either to insufficient levels of secreted myocilin or to compromised TM cell function caused by congestion of the TM secretory pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Experiencing recovery: a dimensional analysis of recovery narratives.

This paper applies the technique of dimensional analysis to recovery narratives in order to examine the uniqueness of the recovery process. It finds that there are four central dimensions involved in recovery: self, others, the system, and the problem. The recovery process is made up of component processes that correspond to these dimensions: recognizing the problem, transforming the self, reconciling the system, and reaching out to others. The paper concludes by suggesting how understanding these dimensions and processes may aid practice and policy.

Convalescence↗
PubMed2001

How nurses manage time and work in long-term care.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to better understand the ways in which conditions of work, including staffing, affect how nurses in long-term care (LTC) facilities do their jobs and the quality of care they provide. BACKGROUND: The research reported here was performed in the context of public policy debates about the relationship between staffing levels and quality in LTC. METHODS: In 1995 and 1996, interviews and participant observation were used to examine how 18 licensed nurses employed in two LTC facilities in the midwestern United States experience their day-to-day work. RESULTS: Time was an extremely salient work condition for the nurses interviewed. Under conditions of too little time and many interruptions, nurses compensated by developing strategies to keep up or catch up. These strategies included minimizing the time spent doing required tasks, creating new time and redefining work responsibilities. Although these strategies allowed nurses to complete the tasks for which they were accountable, there were adverse consequences for nurses and residents. Nurses realized that time demands often made it impossible to provide care of high quality. They expressed their ideas about quality care as the notion of 'should do' work. In effect, time pressures forced them to forego the 'should do' work to complete the 'must do' work. CONCLUSION: Increased staffing could improve the quality of care in LTC facilities.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Care-as-service, care-as-relating, care-as-comfort: understanding nursing home residents' definitions of quality.

PURPOSE: This study explored how nursing home residents define quality of care. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and were analyzed using grounded dimensional analysis. RESULTS: Residents defined quality in three ways: (a) Care-as-service residents focused on instrumental aspects of care. They assessed quality using the parameters of efficiency, competence, and value. (b) Care-as-relating residents emphasized the affective aspects of care, defining quality as care that demonstrated friendship and allowed them to show reciprocity with their caregivers. (c) Care-as-comfort residents defined quality as care that allowed them to maintain their physical comfort, a state that required minute and often repetitive adjustments in response to their bodily cues. IMPLICATIONS: Residents' perceptions of care quality have implications for long-term care practice. The integration of these perceptions into quality assurance instruments could improve the usefulness of tools designed to obtain resident input.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

What is recovery? A conceptual model and explication.

This paper describes a conceptual model of recovery from mental illness developed to aid the state of Wisconsin in moving toward its goal of developing a "recovery-oriented" mental health system. In the model, recovery refers to both internal conditions experienced by persons who describe themselves as being in recovery--hope, healing, empowerment, and connection--and external conditions that facilitate recovery--implementation of the principle of human rights, a positive culture of healing, and recovery-oriented services. The aim of the model is to link the abstract concepts that define recovery with specific strategies that systems, agencies, and individuals can use to facilitate it.

Health Promotion↗
PubMed2001

Glucocorticoid induction of the glaucoma gene MYOC in human and monkey trabecular meshwork cells and tissues.

PURPOSE: To examine the intracellular and extracellular expression of myocilin in the human and primate trabecular meshwork (TM) in the presence and absence of glucocorticoids. METHODS: Myocilin expression was examined in cultured human TM cells by Northern blot analysis and myocilin antibody-mediated immunoprecipitation. Myocilin expression was quantified using high-resolution two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of radiolabeled proteins from human TM cells, TM tissue explants, and perfused human anterior segments cultured with and without dexamethasone (DEX) for 14 to 21 days, as well as TM tissue from pigtailed monkeys treated orally for 1 year with cortisone acetate. Immunofluorescence with anti-myocilin antibodies was used to localize cellular and extracellular expression of myocilin in cultured human TM cells. RESULTS: Glucocorticoid treatment caused a significant induction of myocilin mRNA, a tetrad of cell-associated proteins, and 8 to 20 secreted proteins (molecular mass [M(r)] 56 and 59 kDa and isoelectric point [pI] 5.2 and 5.3) in some, but not all the cultured human TM cells and explanted tissues. Western immunoblot analysis using anti-myocilin peptide antibodies identified these proteins as encoded by the MYOC gene. There was significant induction of the myocilin proteins in three perfusion-cultured human eyes, in which DEX-induced elevated intraocular pressure developed. Monkeys treated 1 year with cortisol acetate showed steroid glaucoma-like morphologic changes in the TM that correlated with the induction of myocilin in the TM. Immunofluorescence analysis of cultured TM cells localized myocilin intracellularly in discrete perinuclear and cytoplasmic vesicular deposits as well as extracellularly on the cell surface associated with the extracellular matrix. In several DEX-treated TM cell lines, there were significant levels of myocilin secreted into the media. Enzymatic deglycosylation of proteins in the TM media converted the higher molecular weight isoforms of myocilin (approximately 57 kDa) to the lower molecular weight isoforms ( approximately 55 kDa). CONCLUSIONS: Although the function of myocilin is unknown, induction of these TM proteins was found in eyes in which glucocorticoid-induced ocular hypertension developed. Therefore, myocilin may play an important pathogenic role in ocular hypertension in addition to its role in certain forms of POAG.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Delayed secondary glucocorticoid responsiveness of MYOC in human trabecular meshwork cells.

PURPOSE: To characterize the glucocorticoid responsiveness of the glaucoma gene MYOC (myocilin/TIGR) in cultured human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells. METHODS: MYOC expression in two independently derived human TM cell lines was quantified by Western immunoblot analysis of protein levels and quantitative PCR analysis of mRNA levels. Promoter activity was measured indirectly with the luciferase reporter gene in a dual luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: Application of the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex) to cultured TM cells at 100 nM resulted in a delayed (8-16 hours) induction of myocilin. The concentration dependence (median effective concentration [EC(50)], approximately 10 nM) and reversal by the glucocorticoid antagonist, RU486, implicates the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). In an interesting observation, RU486 alone acted as a partial agonist to MYOC expression. Treatment of TM cells with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide abolished the Dex induction, suggesting an indirect effect of the GR on MYOC expression. In addition, the RNA synthesis inhibitor actinomycin D also blocked Dex induction, indicating that the Dex effect was due to increased MYOC transcription. Analysis of up to 2700 nucleotides (nt) of the MYOC gene 5'-flanking region in luciferase reporter constructs showed no Dex induction, despite the presence of multiple putative glucocorticoid response element (GRE)-like half-sites in the MYOC promoter and the presence of an intact cellular GR-mediated signaling system. CONCLUSIONS: MYOC is a delayed secondary glucocorticoid-responsive gene. Characterization of the transcription factors that mediate the secondary response will shed new light on the pathophysiology of steroid-induced ocular hypertension and glaucoma.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed2000

The relationship between staffing and quality in long-term care facilities: exploring the views of nurse aides.

Research on staffing and quality of care in long-term care facilities confirms that adequate staffing levels are important to ensuring quality but few studies have examined how the two are linked. The research reported in this article used participant observation and indepth interviewing to explore how nurse aides (NAs) understand the link between staffing and quality. The findings show that NAs deem their relationships with residents to be the central determinant of quality of care as well as an important outcome in itself. Adequate staffing is essential to allowing NAs to nurture these relationships.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1998

The socially constructed breast: breast implants and the medical construction of need.

When silicone gel breast implants became the subject of a public health controversy in the early 1990s, the most pressing concern was safety. This paper looks at another, less publicized issue: the need for implants. Using a symbolic interactionist approach, the author explores the social construction of the need for implants by tracing the history of the 3 surgical procedures for which implants were used. Stakeholders in this history constructed need as legitimized individual desire, the form of which shifted with changes in the technological and social context.

Breast Implants↗
PubMed1996

School leaving: a longitudinal perspective including neighborhood effects.

Using 1970 and 1980 census data from 202 tracts in the Chicago metropolitan region, we examine whether neighborhoods influence the likelihood of high school graduation for a cohort of African-American children followed from 1966 to 1993. Neighborhood-level variables included percent living below poverty and percent in white collar occupations. We test for the possible direct, indirect, and interactive effects of these neighborhood indicators on the likelihood of school dropout. Our examination found the advantage of living in a neighborhood characterized by a high percentage of residents who work in white-collar occupations. Male adolescents who lived in a middle-class neighborhood were more likely to graduate from high school, even with family background, early school performance, adolescent family supervision, and adolescent marijuana use controlled. These findings are consistent with findings from three other studies. However, living in a poverty census tract did not seem to influence the likelihood of high school graduation or school leaving over and above the impact of family and individual characteristics. There also were no neighborhood effects for females.

Achievement↗
PubMed1991

Effects of long-term vasodilator therapy on electrocardiographic abnormalities in chronic aortic regurgitation.

Electrocardiographic abnormalities develop in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR). Although vasodilator drugs may reduce left ventricular (LV) volume overload, the effects of such therapy on electrocardiographic abnormalities have not been previously evaluated. Accordingly, electrocardiograms were analyzed before and after double-blind, randomized administration of either hydralazine or placebo in 54 patients with chronic AR. These patients were without limiting symptoms and had preserved ejection fraction on entry in the study. The magnitude of ST-segment depression and Romhilt-Estes point score for LV hypertrophy were assessed. Baseline ST depression and LV hypertrophy scores in the placebo and hydralazine groups were not significantly different. At follow-up, after a mean of 19 +/- 6 months, there was a significant reduction in ST depression in patients taking hydralazine (n = 28) compared with patients given placebo (n = 26): -0.023 +/- 0.044 vs 0.029 +/- 0.055 mV, respectively (p = 0.0001); and in the LV hypertrophy score (-1.1 +/- 2.2 vs 0.9 +/- 2.3 points, respectively; p = 0.002). Hydralazine-treated patients also had significant decreases in LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume indexes, and a significant increase in ejection fraction. These results suggest that such vasodilator therapy may be beneficial in patients with chronic AR.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Lysophosphatidylcholine-induced gastric injury and ulceration in the guinea pig.

The effect of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) on the guinea pig stomach was studied. At concentrations observed in gastric secretions of gastric ulcer patients (1 to 2 mM), lysoPC induced both functional and morphologic changes in the gastric mucosa. Two millimolar lysoPC caused back diffusion of H+ and forward diffusion of Na+, indicating impairment of the gastric mucosal barrier. In the lysoPC-treated stomachs, an increase was observed in 1) the number of mucosal erosions, 2) the intensity of inflammation, and 3) the degree of vascular congestion. Microvascular plugging by platelets, vascular stasis, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte margination were dose-responsive to lysoPC. Pretreatment of animals with aspirin (20 mg/kg) did not alter injury. These results indicate a role of lysoPC reflux in gastric mucosal injury, including mucosal erosions and ulcerations.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Behavioral marriage therapy. III. The contents of Gurman et al. may be hazardous to our health.

This paper was written as a reply to a critique of behavioral marital therapy (BMT) by Gurman, Kniskern, and Knudson (6, 7). The reply is divided into four sections. First, the paper addresses the critics' comments on the conceptual model put forth by BMT, correcting and clarifying various misconceptions, and restating some of the basic ideological principles in the behavioral model. Second, the paper discusses behavioral change techniques and technology, along with extratechnological treatment considerations. Again, misrepresentations of BMT are corrected. Third, an analysis of the literature investigating the therapeutic efficacy of BMT is reviewed, and the conclusion is reached that BMT is demonstrably effective, at least for a substantial number of mildly to moderately distressed couples. Criticisms are made of the analysis of the same literature conducted by Gurman et al. We conclude that, contrary to the spirit of the paper by Gurman et al., BMT is a viable framework for conceptualizing and treating relationship problems and that the commitment of its adherents to experimental investigation promises continued evolution, refinement, and improvement.

Behavior Therapy↗