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Biomedical subjects

R Ingram

Publications and source records attributed to R Ingram.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Why does nursing need theory?

The last 25 years have witnessed a growing support for and recognition of the importance of nursing theory, both in education and practice. This paper seeks to explore this movement, and also the issues in theory development, study and application. Definitions of theory are reviewed, and linked to the purpose of theory and theory development in nursing. The origins and motivation for developing nursing theory are identified, and arguments for the use of theory in nursing are raised. Further questions from the discussion of these issues are identified, questions likely to provide continued debate and investigation within the profession for decades to come.

Communication

Treatment of fractures of the medial epicondyle of the humerus.

Forty-three children with a fracture of the medial epicondyle were reviewed; 20 had had non-operative treatment and 23 had been treated by operation. Any final disability was slight, irrespective of the treatment used. Although surgery was more likely to restore the fragment to its normal position (P = 0.0001) and achieve bony union (P = 0.04), minor symptoms were less common in the non-operatively treated group (P = 0.02). Instability of the elbow could not be demonstrated in any of the patients. It is recommended that operative treatment is employed only when an intra-articular fragment cannot be removed from the joint by manipulation.

Adolescent

Salmonella virchow osteomyelitis. A case report.

A case of salmonella osteomyelitis of the spine complicated by meningitis after needle biopsy is described. The importance of obtaining definitive bacteriological diagnosis in bone infection is emphasised and the changing pattern of salmonella infection discussed.

Biopsy, Needle

Reviewing RAWP. Variations in admission rates: implications for equitable allocation of resources.

The review of the Resource Allocation Working Party (RAWP) formula by the National Health Service Management Board has considered the method used to account for cross boundary flows between health authorities. There is no consensus on how this should be done subregionally, as it raises the unresolved problem of the best method of estimating the size of catchment populations. Different methods produce different population sizes when the admission rates of individuals living in different districts vary. The National Health Service/Department of Health and Social Security acute services working group on performance indicators recently considered the assumptions made by different methods in terms of admission thresholds set by hospital clinicians. More complicated methods of assessing catchment areas seem to offer little advantage over the simplest method, but none of the methods answer the underlying questions of what truly determines admission rates and whether higher admission rates are better than lower ones. Empirical research into variations in admission rates and their relation to outcomes is important for determining the fair allocation of resources in future.

Catchment Area, Health

Multiple regulatory elements in the intergenic region between the alpha-fetoprotein and albumin genes.

Three enhancer elements spanning a distance of 7 kilobases have been found at the 5' end of the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene. These elements were identified by transient expression assay after the introduction of a modified mouse AFP gene with variable amounts of 5' flanking sequence into a human hepatoma cell line, Hep G2. These regulatory elements function in a position-independent and orientation-independent manner that is typical of enhancers. All three elements will stimulate transcription from the promoter of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene. In Hep G2 cells, transcriptional activation from the heterologous promoter was approximately 25- to 50-fold higher than the basal levels obtained in the absence of AFP enhancer elements. In HeLa cells, the increase in thymidine kinase gene transcription varied from 6- to 14-fold, indicating that the enhancer elements exhibit some cell type specificity. Deletion analysis of the region proximal to the AFP transcription initiation site identified an essential region between 85 and 52 bases upstream of the site of initiation of transcription whose removal resulted in almost complete extinction of transcriptional activity. This region, which has been shown to be dispensable for transcription in HeLa cells, defines a second tissue-specific regulatory region in the gene.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

Changes in hepatic messenger RNA for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) during development.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (GTP) [GTP;oxaloacetate carboxy-lyase(transphosphorylating); EC 4.1.1.32] is absent in rat liver cytosol during fetal life and is synthesized initially at birth. De novo synthesis of the enzyme can be induced prematurely by injection of dibutyryl cyclic AMP or glucagon into fetal animals in utero. In this study a wheat germ translation assay was used to quantitate the level of total functional mRNA for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in the liver of fetal rats at 21 days of pregnancy under different induction situations. The translatable mRNA for the enzyme was marginally detectable in fetal rat liver. Administration of either glucagon or dibutyryl cyclic AMP to fetal rats in utero caused a marked induction of functional mRNA for this enzyme. Three hours after administration of dibutyryl cyclic AMP, the level of translatable mRNA increased almost 23-fold, but by 6 hr the level dropped approximately 60%. Administration of actinomycin D prior to dibutyryl cyclic AMP in 21-day fetal rats prevented the appearance of newly synthesized poly(A)-containing RNA in the cytoplasm as well as the induction of translatable mRNA for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. In animals delivered prematurely and maintained for varying periods, the translatable mRNA for the enzyme accumulated in the liver at a rate comparable to that observed for enzyme synthesis.

Age Factors

Visionary work.

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Aged