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Biomedical subjects

P Tobin

Publications and source records attributed to P Tobin.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

An analysis of opinions from veterinarians in South Africa regarding business management skills.

The changing role of veterinarians in the global market is a current topic of debate and discussion. Few countries including South Africa have formally examined the changing dynamics of this profession. Therefore, the present study addressed 2 objectives. The 1st was to examine basic information about veterinarians in South Africa including their age, gender and distribution across provinces, the percentage whose practice was urban, rural or periurban, the numbers working with specific animal species, and the extent of business management and skills previously gained. The 2nd objective was to obtain opinions and insights from veterinarians in South Africa about the challenges and opportunities facing their business practices to better understand what they considered important dynamics to their businesses today. Several areas of business on which they were questioned and which were included in this study were: marketing, vision, human resources, leadership, financial management, ethics, competition, day-to-day operations, interpersonal skills and information management. This is the 1st known survey to employ a questionnaire to gain insights and opinions from veterinarians about business management skills.

Demography↗
PubMed1993

Isolation and characterization of autolysis-defective mutants of Staphylococcus aureus created by Tn917-lacZ mutagenesis.

Two autolysis-defective mutants (Lyt-1 and Lyt-2) of Staphylococcus aureus have been isolated by transposon Tn917-lacZ mutagenesis. The mutants exhibited normal growth rate, cell division, cell size, and adaptive responses to environmental changes. No autolytic activities were detected in a crude autolytic enzyme preparation from the Lyt- mutants. The rate of autolysis of whole cells and cell walls in the mutants were negligible, but mutant cell wall preparations were degraded by crude enzyme preparations from the wild-type strain. Zymographic analyses of enzyme extracts from the mutants showed a single autolytic enzyme band, compared with more than 10 autolytic enzyme bands from the parent strain. Analyses of intracellular and exoprotein fractions gave results similar to those in experiments with total-cell extracts. Southern blot analysis indicated the insertion of a single copy of the transposon into the chromosome of Lyt mutants. Isogenic Lyt mutants constructed by phage phi 11 transduction showed similar phenotypes. Because both Lyt- mutants had Tn917-lacZ inserted in the appropriate orientation, it was possible to determine gene activity under various conditions by measuring beta-galactosidase activity. The gene activity was found to be induced by low pH, low temperature, and high sucrose and high sodium chloride concentrations. From these data, we propose that the mutation lies in either a master regulatory gene or a structural gene which is responsible for the synthesis or processing of a majority of the autolytic enzyme bands.

Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel↗
PubMed1986

Known and potential sources of hexachlorobenzene.

Five active pesticide ingredients and five industrial organic chemicals are known sources of hexachlorobenzene (HCB). However, identification of the reactions and the chemical intermediates that lead to HCB formation, combined with computerized substructure searching of the scientific literature, indicate an additional 135 active pesticide ingredients and 21 industrial chemicals and classes that are suspected of potential for HCB formation. The production of these and many other chlorinated chemicals, together with special chlorination processes such as municipal incineration, wood-pulping and water chlorination, may explain the ubiquitous nature of HCB in the environment.

Chemical Industry↗
PubMed1983

Childhood burns.

A five year retrospective survey of children admitted to Dunedin Hospital for the treatment of burn injuries was undertaken. Fifty-nine percent of the victims were male, 76% were under five years of age, and the most common type of injury was a scald. A significant number of the victims received friction burns from washing machine wringers. This finding contrasts with other burn surveys and a number of possible explanations are advanced. More in depth investigations of specific incidents are required to assist and assess the efficacy of current preventive efforts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A chronic cannula for obtaining CSF from the cisterna magna of awake dogs.

We have designed a cannula system that can be chronically implanted to end above the dura of the cisterna magna of the dog. During experiments in the awake dog, a screw cap with stylet is removed from the cannula and a spinal needle inserted for the withdrawal of samples of cisternal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or for making continuous measurements of pressure. The system can be used for repeated experiments extending over several weeks.

Animals↗