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Biomedical subjects

Robin Williams

Publications and source records attributed to Robin Williams.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

'Wonderment and dread': representations of DNA in ethical disputes about forensic DNA databases.

The national DNA Database of England & Wales is the largest forensic DNA database in the world. Since 1995 it has quickly developed to hold the genetic profiles of over two million people. This collection of tissue samples, taken without consent from a sizeable collection of the population, has engendered a number of ethical commentaries on its legitimacy as a proportionate response to crime. This paper examines the ways in which the ethical discourses, which surround the uses of the National DNA Database, drew upon and deployed a number of distinct representations of DNA. It is argued that key ideas about DNA have become central to everyday assertions about the benefits and dangers of this forensic technology.

Biological Specimen Banks↗
PubMed2004

Comparison of a new lateral-flow chromatographic membrane immunoassay to viral culture for rapid detection and differentiation of influenza A and B viruses in respiratory specimens.

The performance of a new rapid lateral-flow chromatographic membrane immunoassay test kit for detection of influenza virus was evaluated and compared to that of viral culture in respiratory secretions collected from 400 adults and children seen at three large university hospitals during the recent 2003 influenza season. The rapid test provided results in 15 min, with excellent overall performance statistics (sensitivity, 94.4%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value, 100%; negative predictive value, 97.5%). Both influenza A and B type viruses were reliably detected, with no significant difference in performance statistics noted by influenza virus type or by the center performing the test.

Chromatography↗
PubMed2004

Circuits of Surveillance.

This paper examines the increasing police use of DNA profiling and databasing as a developing instrumentality of modern state surveillance. It briefly notes previously published work on a variety of surveillance technologies and their role in the governance of social action and social order. It then argues that there are important differences amongst the ways in which several such technologies construct and use identificatory artefacts, their orientations to human subjectivity, and their role in the governmentality of citizens and others. The paper then describes the novel and powerful form of bio-surveillance offered by DNA profiling and illustrates this by reference to an ongoing empirical study of the police uses of the UK National DNA Database for the investigation of crime. It is argued that DNA profiling and databasing enable the construction of a 'closed circuit' of surveillance of a defined population.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

The design and construction of an interactive website concerning biomedical photography.

The purpose of this communication is to make readers aware of what the authors believe is an important online resource about medical and scientific photography for doctors, scientists and students. It is a website freely accessible and its URL is http://msp.rmit.edu.au. The site is designed as a resource base: it is not meant to be a 'course' but the reader will find much practical information about technique and applications of scientific imaging methods. The site is currently a comprehensive collection of resources relating to invisible radiation photography but there are plans to expand the site to a range of clinical recording topics, and other potential contributors are asked to join the project. It contains a vast collection of photographs from many photographers as well as graphs, diagrams, tables and references. This paper also discusses some of the important issues surrounding the 'publication' of such a site such as currency and access versus credibility; technological obsolescence, site design and usage.

Databases, Factual↗
PubMed2003

Genetics and Forensics: Making the National DNA Database.

This paper is based on a current study of the growing police use of the epistemic authority of molecular biology for the identification of criminal suspects in support of crime investigation. It discusses the development of DNA profiling and the establishment and development of the UK National DNA Database (NDNAD) as an instance of the 'scientification of police work' (Ericson and Shearing 1986) in which the police uses of science and technology have a recursive effect on their future development. The NDNAD, owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales, is the first of its kind in the world and currently contains the genetic profiles of more than 2 million people. The paper provides a framework for the examination of this socio-technical innovation, begins to tease out the dense and compact history of the database and accounts for the way in which changes and developments across disparate scientific, governmental and policing contexts, have all contributed to the range of uses to which it is put.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Energy balance in the intubated human airway is an indicator of optimal gas conditioning.

OBJECTIVE: The optimal level of inspired heat and humidity for patients receiving long-term mechanical ventilation is still the subject of debate. Many laboratory studies examining surrogate markers for optimal humidity suggest that inspired gas should be at body temperature and fully saturated. The aim of this study was to determine the inspired gas condition that was thermodynamically neutral to the airway of intubated patients, and also examine the contribution of the endotracheal tube to airway heat and water balance. DESIGN: Prospective, block-randomized, observational study. SETTING: General adult intensive care unit of a metropolitan teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Ten adult patients requiring intermittent positive pressure ventilation for nonpulmonary reasons. INTERVENTIONS: Each patient was given four different gas conditions--30 degrees C, 30 mg/L; 34 degrees C, 38 mg/L; 37 degrees C, 44 mg/L; and 40 degrees C, 50 mg/L--to breathe in random order. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Inspired and expired gas temperature and humidity, and the temperature gradient down the endotracheal tube, were measured and the inspired gas condition that gave thermodynamic neutrality was determined. This was found to be gas at body temperature, saturated. Airway workload and airway water loss increased linearly as the inspired gas departed from this condition, at approximately 1.4 kJ/hr/ degrees C and 0.5 mL/hr/ degrees C, respectively. The endotracheal tube contributed very little to heat and water exchange. CONCLUSIONS: Inspired gas at body temperature and saturated is thermodynamically neutral to the intubated airway, and thus may be considered the optimal condition for ventilation lasting more than a few hours.

Adolescent↗