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Biomedical subjects

R J Robinson

Publications and source records attributed to R J Robinson.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Causes and associations of severe and persistent specific speech and language disorders in children.

Eighty-two school-age children with severe and persistent specific speech and language disorders were studied. 71 had specific developmental language disorders, three had structural malformations (cleft palate) and eight had disorders acquired after a period of normal language development, including five with Landau-Kleffner syndrome. The sex ratio was 3.8 boys to one girl. Nearly half had a family history of speech-language disorder, with one in 5.2 affected siblings. Aetiological factors were found in 26 per cent: 11 per cent prenatal, 3 per cent perinatal and 12 per cent postnatal. 21 per cent had had a seizure and 7 per cent had had seizures after the age of eight. 29 per cent were left-handed, 90 per cent were clumsy and 22 per cent first walked after 18 months. The complex origins of specific speech and language disorders are discussed.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗
PubMed1987

Effect of stretch exercises on suxamethonium induced fasciculations and myalgia.

Muscle fasciculations and pain following the administration of suxamethonium were assessed in a group of patients who performed a series of stretch exercises approximately 1 h before operation. Comparison was made with a group who received suxamethonium but no pretreatment. Fasciculations were significantly reduced in the exercised group, and the incidence of muscle pain decreased from 52% in the untreated group to 12% in the exercised group. A significant relationship was shown between the severity of visible fasciculations and muscle pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Epidural meperidine analgesia after cardiac surgery.

Epidural meperidine (1 mg X kg-1) was administered for relief of sternal pain to ten patients, at a mean of 24.8 hours after infusion of high dose fentanyl for cardiac surgery. Lung function, cough, pain score, somnolence, respiratory rate, PaCO2, pulse and blood pressure were studied before and for six hours after analgesic administration. Following epidural meperidine, four of ten patients were pain-free, and three had only minimal pain. Duration of analgesia was 8.8 +/- 4.9 hours. Cough score was significantly improved for five hours. Postoperatively vital capacity was approximately 40 per cent, and FEV1 was approximately 55 per cent of the preoperative value. There was no significant change in FEV1 or vital capacity, following analgesia with epidural meperidine. The somnolence score increased in seven patients. In the first two hours after epidural meperidine, three patients exhibited a fall in their respiratory rate, one had a PaCO2 greater than 45, and two of these patients had marked hypotension. These side effects are easily treated without mechanical or pharmacological support, and do not preclude the use of epidural meperidine after a high dose fentanyl anaesthetic.

Blood Pressure↗
PubMed1977

Use of a modified Tenax GC column packing for the direct gas chromatographic analysis of phenols in water at the ppm level.

Dilute solutions of phenols in water at the ppm level may be analysed gas chromatographically by direct injection onto a column with a packing similar to that used in the Viking 1975 spacecraft: Tenax GC (2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide polymer) modified with polymetaphenyl ether liquid phase to eradicate irreversible adsorption. Symmetrical peaks were observed for injections of less than 1 ng of phenol and some of its alkylated derivatives. Chromatographic properties of modified Tenax GC columns are reported along with their application to the analysis of some industrial effluents with previous work-up.

Chromatography, Gas↗
PubMed1975

Clinical evaluation of the effect of a proteolytic enzyme mouthwash on plaque and gingivitis in young adults.

One hundred and thirty-one young adults were used in a controlled study to determine whether a proteolytic mouthwash produced from B. subtilis could help remove existing plaque, decrease the rate of plaque accumulation or reduce the clinical signs of gingivitis. These subjects were stratified by means of the Gingival Index and the Shaver-Schiff Plaque Index into severe or mild groups. These groups were further divided in a random fashion into treatment and placebo groups. The treatment group rinsed with a proteolytic mouthwash consisting mainly of neutral and alkaline proteases and amylase. A placebo mouthwash was used by the control group. The results of this investigation indicate that there is no statistically significant reduction either in existing plaque or in the rate of plaque accumulation when this proteolytic enzyme mouthwash is used. Furthermore, in the treatment group the degree of gingivitis as measured by the GI was not reduced.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucose-sensitive membrane and infrared absorption spectroscopy for potential use as an implantable glucose sensor.

The applicability of using infrared absorption spectroscopy for an implantable glucose sensor was tested by measuring absorbance at 9.66 microns for glucose in aqueous solution at known concentrations. A commercial Fourier transform infrared spectrometer was used with an attenuated total reflection technique (ATR). Absorbance measurements were reproducible and linearity was excellent (coefficient of correlation: 0.996), in spite of pH and temperature changes over values that span the human physiologic ranges (pH 6.8-7.8, temperature, 32-43 degrees C) and 18-34% decreases in incident infrared energy. The minimum detectable concentration of glucose, however, was 31 mmol/L (560 mg/d) and, to use infrared sources and detectors compatible with an implantable device, an absorbance peak between 1 and 3 microns must be used. To solve the detection sensitivity and wavelength problems, the ATR prism was coated with a hydrophobic liquid membrane. The absorbance of water varied at 2.95 microns in inverse linear proportion to glucose concentration between 2-31 mmol/L (35-560 mg/dL, r = -0.992). Estimated incident infrared energy at 2.95 microns (0.2 micron bandwidth) was low enough to theoretically allow the use of a lithium battery small enough for implantation. These findings support the concept of using infrared absorption spectroscopy for an implantable glucose sensor.

Biosensing Techniques↗