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Biomedical subjects

P Ambrose

Publications and source records attributed to P Ambrose.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Host specificity of Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) species: evidence that bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) carry only one T. (H.) evotomys 18S rRNA genotype but wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) carry at least two polyphyletic parasites.

The strongest evidence for host specificity of mammalian trypanosomes comes from parasites of the subgenus Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma). Laboratory studies have shown that T. (Herpetosoma) species will not infect an alternative host. However, this has not been demonstrated in wild populations. We screened 560 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and 148 wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) for trypanosomes by PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene. In total, 109 (19%) bank voles and 12 (8%) wood mice were infected. A HaeIII restriction site was discovered that could be used to discriminate between T. (H.) evotomys of the bank vole and T. (H.) grosi of the wood mouse. All the parasites in the bank voles were identified as T. (Herpetosoma) evotomys by RFLP-PCR. Out of the 12 wood mouse infections 10 were due to T. grosi. Two of the wood mice were infected with parasites with a novel genotype that was most similar to those of T. evotomys and T. microti of voles. Fifty-six fleas collected from the rodents were also screened for trypanosomes; 9 were infected with T. evotomys and 1 with T. grosi. One of the fleas infected with T. evotomys was collected from a wood mouse.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The effect of adjunct questions on older adults' recall of information from a patient education booklet.

The effect of adjunct questions on the amount of information retained from the reading of a patient education booklet was investigated experimentally. Ninety older adults (mean age 77 years) were assigned randomly to a treatment, treatment control or non-treatment control group, 30 in each. The treatment condition was established by having subjects spend 30 min with a booklet about post-operative eye care. The booklet included four sets of review questions. The treatment control group spent the same period with a booklet which was identical apart from the questions. Knowledge of eye care was measured using a checklist scored on the basis of responses secured in a standardised interview. Although the two treatment groups decisively outperformed the control group on the measure, no effect attributable to the adjunct questions was detected. Factors which might account for this outcome are discussed. Directions for further research and implications for practice are indicated.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Providing eye care education in the clinical setting.

A strategy integrating patient managed learning and nurse directed teaching was developed with the aim of improving eye care education in the clinical setting. The effectiveness of the strategy was assessed in a quasi-experimental study involving 34 older adult patients undergoing cataract surgery. On a measure of eye care knowledge, patients taught using the strategy outperformed patients taught by conventional face-to-face methods. The strategy was found to require substantially less direct teaching time. These results are seen as justifying further clinical application and assessment of the strategy.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Interhemispheric transfer in children with early-treated phenylketonuria.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder of amino acid metabolism that is associated with brain catecholamine depletion and deficient myelination. Although neuropsychological deficits have been documented in children with early-treated PKU (ETPKU), no study to date has examined possible effects of impaired myelination in this population. In the present study, interhemispheric transfer time was assessed for 14 children with ETPKU, 22 children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and 48 normal children, using a manual reaction time paradigm previously validated with callosal agenesis patients (Milner, 1982). Children with ETPKU demonstrated slowed interhemispheric transfer from the left to the right hemisphere as compared with the two other groups. The magnitude of slowing was correlated with age and phenylalanine levels at birth. Results support the hypothesis that abnormal myelination disrupts the development of interhemispheric connections in ETPKU, and suggest that left hemisphere projections may be particularly susceptible to such disruption.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Weight loss in nursing home patients: prognostic implications.

Weight loss is commonly used as a screening tool to assess quality of care and nutritional status in the nursing home setting. To evaluate the prognostic value of weight loss, the charts of 199 nursing home patients (414 nursing home patient years; mean age 87 years) were reviewed over a 3-year period. Weights recorded at nursing home admission and during the study period were compared with weights at the time of acute care hospitalization, transfer between levels of nursing home care, change in level of functional status, and death. There were no significant changes in weight before acute care hospitalizations, although patients who died lost an average of 10% of their body weight from the time of nursing home admission (P less than .001). In addition, weight loss was associated with decreased functional ability and transfer to a higher level of nursing home care. Despite the association of weight loss with subsequent morbidity and mortality, moderate weight loss of up to 20% was a poor predictor of mortality. Although weight loss is routinely used as a screening tool in the nursing home setting, it is not a sensitive marker for underlying disease. The efficacy of active intervention in nursing home patients who lose weight requires further study.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Gentamicin dosing in postpartum women with endometritis.

Postpartum women receiving gentamicin for endometritis were studied to determine if selective determination of gentamicin serum levels was cost-effective in terms of safety and efficacy. The women were randomized into two groups of 30 patients each. In the control group gentamicin serum levels were determined after the third dose. In the study group, levels were determined only if renal dysfunction was evident or if the patient failed to respond to therapy. Determination of serum levels did not assure a better therapeutic outcome in either group, as measured by hospital stay, duration of treatment, total cost of antibiotics, and hospital readmissions. Although pharmacokinetic dosing equations were used, the use of 1.75 mg/kg every 8 hours based on actual body weight in patients with average heights and weights would have produced acceptable results. We conclude that routine monitoring of gentamicin serum levels is not required in otherwise healthy postpartum women with endometritis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cataract patients' post-op eye-care: development and evaluation of a teaching program.

A project was undertaken to develop and trial an eye care education program for use in routine nursing care. It was initiated in response to research findings that suggested patients may have been discharged from a particular hospital inadequately prepared to perform their own eye care following cataract surgery. The trial assessed the program's effectiveness in relation to predetermined standards of eye care behaviour; its practicability and its performance relative to a conventional teaching approach. Outcomes of the trial indicated that neither the program nor the conventional teaching approach provided adequate preparation for the self delivery of eye care. This is believed to relate to the limited time nurses had for face-to-face teaching and, hence, for facilitating the consolidation and application of learning. The study concludes that the provision of effective eye care education in an inpatient context lies in approaches which reduce the amount to be taught in the limited teaching time that is available. It is suggested that the relevance may not be confined to eye care education.

Cataract Extraction↗