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Biomedical subjects

Richard J Hamilton

Publications and source records attributed to Richard J Hamilton.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Co-worker fatalities from hydrogen sulfide.

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, odorless gas that may cause rapid loss of consciousness and respiratory depression without warning. It has produced toxicity in workers in numerous industries and occupations. METHODS: A review of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) for occupational deaths related to hydrogen sulfide from 1993 to 1999 was performed. RESULTS: Fifty-two workers died of hydrogen sulfide toxicity in this 7-year period. Deaths were most commonly reported in workers who were white (85%), male (98%), and in their first year of employment with the company (48%). Common industries included waste management, petroleum, and natural gas. In 21% of cases, a co-worker died simultaneously or in the attempt to save the workers. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrogen sulfide toxicity is uncommon, but potentially deadly. Toxicity is predominantly in new workers and co-worker fatalities occur in a significant minority of cases. Proper training and education on the warning signs of hydrogen sulfide toxicity may help reduce worker fatalities.

Adult↗

Material appropriate processing and elaboration: The impact of balanced and complementary types of processing on learning concepts from text.

BACKGROUND: The Material Appropriate Processing (MAP) framework suggests that the influence of a text adjunct on the learning and transfer of textual information will be moderated by the overlap between type of processing induced by the adjunct and by the organisation of the text. The two types of processing are item specific processing and relational processing. Although complementary types of processing have been found to produce superior concept learning effects in previous research, there is some question as to the effects of complementary but unbalanced processing. AIMS: This study examined the effects of different combinations of two types of text adjuncts (i.e., elaborative activities) and two types of text on learning concepts from text. The four combined treatments differed as to the degree to which they were balanced and/or complementary. SAMPLE: Participants were 80 undergraduate students who were enrolled in a Year 3 education paper. METHODS: Students studied a passage that included adjuncts which asked them to either: (a) create personal examples of target concepts, or (b) contrast the target concepts. In addition, two versions of text were paired with these adjuncts: specific-only text and specific/relational text. Subjects took a criterion test that consisted of cued recall of definitions, free recall of text, classification of novel examples, and problem solving. RESULTS: Best performance occurred within the condition that included balanced and complementary processing of text/adjunct information, and worst performance occurred in the condition that included non-complementary processing. CONCLUSION: Although these results are consistent with a MAP perspective, the results are equivocal about the potential interfering effects of complementary and unbalanced processing on learning of concepts from text.

Adult↗

Complications of ultrarapid opioid detoxification with subcutaneous naltrexone pellets.

UNLABELLED: Rapid and ultrarapid opioid detoxification (ROD and UROD) centers promise quick, painless, same-day detoxification treatment for patients with opioid addiction. The goal of ROD and UROD is to provide a rapid transition from opioid dependency to oral naltrexone therapy. The patient is given general anesthesia and high-dose opioid antagonists. This induces a severe withdrawal but spares the patient the experience. In theory, the process is complete within four to five hours. The patient awakens without opioid dependency and is started on oral naltrexone. Any subsequent, persistent withdrawal symptoms are treated symptomatically. A novel, unapproved approach is to compound a pellet of naltrexone and implant it in the subcutaneous tissue. In theory, this should result in continuous therapeutic levels for this drug, and avoid issues with noncompliance. CASE SERIES: This article reports six cases of complications from the same detoxification center that performed UROD with naltrexone pellet implantation, including pulmonary edema, prolonged withdrawal, drug toxicity, withdrawal from cross-addiction to alcohol and benzodiazepines, variceal rupture, aspiration pneumonia, and death. CONCLUSIONS: The risks of this procedure are great and further studies should assess its safety and the novel use of naltrexone.

Administration, Cutaneous↗