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Biomedical subjects

S Andrew

Publications and source records attributed to S Andrew.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Indication of a Lombard vocal response in the St. Lawrence River Beluga.

Noise pollution is recognized as a potential danger to marine mammals in general, and to the St. Lawrence beluga in particular. One method of determining the impacts of noise on an animal's communication is to observe a natural and repeatable response of the vocal system to variations in noise level. This is accomplished by observing intensity changes in animal vocalizations in response to environmental noise. One such response observed in humans, songbirds, and some primates is the Lombard vocal response. This response represents a vocal system reaction manifested by changes in vocalization level in direct response to changes in the noise field. In this research, a population of belugas in the St. Lawrence River Estuary was tested to determine whether a Lombard response existed by using hidden Markhov-classified vocalizations as targets for acoustical analyses. Correlation and regression analyses of signals and noise indicated that the phenomenon does exist. Further, results of human subjects experiments [Egan, J. J. (1966), Ph.D. dissertation; Scheifele, P. M. (2003), Ph.D. dissertation], along with previously reported data from other animal species, are similar to those exhibited by the belugas. Overall, findings suggest that typical noise levels in the St. Lawrence River Estuary have a detectable effect on the communication of the beluga.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2004

Isolated vulval splitting--is this normal or pathological?

Vulval splitting may be seen in association with clinically apparent dermatological disease but occasionally occurs in patients presenting with dyspareunia only. These patients usually have normal-looking vulvas on examination, apart from splitting. They are usually diagnosed as vulval vestibulitis. We have biopsied several patients with isolated vulval splitting with surprising results. Between the months of October 2000 and April 2002, 310 new patients were seen in the vulval clinic at Hope Hospital, which is a tertiary referral centre. Among these were nine cases of isolated vulval splitting, eight of which had histological features of dermatological disease on vulval biopsies. There were three cases of lichen planus, three with chronic dermatitis and two with candidiasis.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Papuloerythroderma of Ofuji associated with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Papuloerythroderma of Ofuji (PEO) is an uncommon skin condition most commonly described in Japan. The aetiology of PEO is unknown and treatment may be difficult. There are several reports of an association between PEO and malignancy, most particularly with T-and B-cell lymphomas. We describe PEO complicated by acute myeloid leukaemia occurring in a 62-year-old man. This association has not been reported previously.

Dermatitis, Exfoliative↗
PubMed2002

Effects of maternal tobacco smoking, sleeping position, and sleep state on arousal in healthy term infants.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether a history of maternal tobacco smoking affected the maturation of arousal responses and whether sleeping position and infant age alters these relations. DESIGN: Healthy term infants (13 born to mothers who did not smoke and 11 to mothers who smoked during pregnancy) were studied using daytime polysomnography on three occasions: (a) two to three weeks after birth, (b) two to three months after birth, and (c) five to six months after birth. Multiple measurements of arousal threshold in response to air jet stimulation were made in both active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS) when infants slept both prone and supine. RESULTS: Maternal smoking significantly elevated arousal threshold in QS when infants slept supine at 2-3 months of age (p<0.05). Infants of smoking mothers also had fewer spontaneous arousals from QS at 2-3 months in both prone (p<0.05) and supine (p<0.001) sleeping positions. In infants of non-smoking mothers, arousal thresholds were elevated in the prone position in AS at 2-3 months (p<0.01) and QS at 2-3 weeks (p<0.05) and 2-3 months (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal tobacco smoking significantly impairs both stimulus induced and spontaneous arousal from QS when infants sleep in the supine position, at the age when the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome is highest.

Arousal↗
PubMed2001

De novo deletion of chromosome 18q in a baby with harlequin ichthyosis.

Harlequin ichthyosis, (MIM 242500), is a rare, autosomal recessive skin disorder due to an inborn error of epidermal keratinization. The gene for this condition has not been localized. We present a case of HI in which there was a de novo deletion of chromosome 18q: the karyotype was 46, XY, del(18)(q21.3). We postulate that the gene for HI may lie at, or distal to 18q21.3 and that the deletion observed in this case may have unmasked this autosomal recessive disorder.

Chromosome Banding↗
PubMed2001

Apnoea of prematurity and arousal from sleep.

The incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been found to be consistently higher in preterm and low birth weight infants than in infants born at term and this increase is inversely related to gestational age. The incidence and severity of apnoea of prematurity, are also inversely related to gestational age. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a neonatal history of apnoea/bradycardia affected the maturation of arousal responses. Twenty-five premature infants were studied. A perinatal risk score was determined for each infant and infants were divided into those with a neonatal history of apnoea/bradycardia (n=16) and those without (n=9). All infants were studied using daytime polysomnography on three occasions: (a) a preterm study around 36 weeks gestation, (b) within 3 weeks of term, and (c) 2-3 months post-term. Multiple measurements of arousal threshold (cm H2O) in response to air-jet stimulation applied alternately to the nares were made in both active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS). Arousal thresholds were elevated in apnoeic infants compared to control infants in both AS (P<0.05) and QS (P<0.001) at the term study and in QS at 2-3 months post-term (P<0.01). In addition, arousal thresholds were positively correlated with perinatal risk score in both sleep states, in all studies, with the exception of AS at 2-3 months when all infants were readily arouseable. We conclude that a history of prematurity with neonatal apnoea has a persisting effect on decreasing arousabilty from sleep and these infants may be at increased risk for SIDS.

Apnea↗
PubMed2001

Exogenous topical lactoferrin inhibits allergen-induced Langerhans cell migration and cutaneous inflammation in humans.

BACKGROUND: Lactoferrin (LF), an iron-binding protein found in exocrine secretions, is known to possess antibacterial properties. It has recently been proposed that LF may also influence inflammatory reactions. OBJECTIVES: To characterize in humans the ability of recombinant homologous LF to inhibit the induced migration of epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs) from the skin, a process known to be dependent upon the proinflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin 1beta and to influence cutaneous inflammatory reactions. METHODS: We investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of LF in human volunteers. RESULTS: Topical exposure to LF 2 h prior to sensitization caused a significant reduction in contact allergen (diphenylcyclopropenone, DPC)-induced LC migration from the epidermis as judged by the altered frequency of cells expressing either HLA-DR or CD1a determinants. That this reduction was secondary to an inhibition of TNF-alpha production was indicated by the fact that LF failed to influence LC migration induced by intradermal injection of this cytokine. In approximately 50% of those volunteers who displayed local inflammation in response to DPC, LF was found to cause a discernible reduction in the clinical severity of the reaction, associated with reduced infiltration of inflammatory cells. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that LF is able to influence cutaneous immune and inflammatory responses, possibly because of an impaired production of local proinflammatory cytokines.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The prone sleeping position impairs arousability in term infants.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the prone sleeping position impaired arousal from sleep in healthy infants and whether this impairment was related to cardiorespiratory variables, temperature, or age. STUDY DESIGN: Healthy term infants (n = 24) were studied with daytime polysomnography on 3 occasions: 2 to 3 weeks after birth, 2 to 3 months after birth, and 5 to 6 months after birth. Multiple measurements of arousal threshold (cm H(2)O) in response to air-jet stimulation applied alternately to the nares were made in both active sleep and quiet sleep when infants slept both prone and supine. RESULTS: Arousal thresholds were significantly higher in both active sleep and quiet sleep when infants slept prone at 2 to 3 weeks and 2 to 3 months, but not at 5 to 6 months. These increases were independent of any sleep position-related change in either rectal or abdominal skin temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, or heart rate. CONCLUSIONS: The prone position significantly impairs arousal from both active sleep and quiet sleep in healthy term infants. This impairment in arousability occurred with no clinically significant changes in cardiorespiratory variables or body temperature. Decreased arousability from sleep in the prone position provides an important insight into its role as a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome.

Arousal↗
PubMed2001

Use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and flagellin gene typing in identifying clonal groups of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in farm and clinical environments.

Although campylobacters have been isolated from a wide range of animal hosts, the association between campylobacters isolated from humans and animals in the farm environment is unclear. We used flagellin gene typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to investigate the genetic diversity among isolates from animals (cattle, sheep, and turkey) in farm environments and sporadic cases of campylobacteriosis in the same geographical area. Forty-eight combined fla types were seen among the 315 Campylobacter isolates studied. Six were found in isolates from all four hosts and represented 50% of the total number of isolates. Seventy-one different SmaI PFGE macrorestriction profiles (mrps) were observed, with 86% of isolates assigned to one of 29 different mrps. Fifty-seven isolates from diverse hosts, times, and sources had an identical SmaI mrp and combined fla type. Conversely, a number of genotypes were unique to a particular host. We provide molecular evidence which suggests a link between campylobacters in the farm environment with those causing disease in the community.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Murine monoclonal antibodies reactive with a human monoclonal anti-RhD antibody (BRAD-5).

BRAD-3 and BRAD-5 are human monoclonal antibodies that recognize the RhD antigen on red blood cells. Both antibodies are currently in clinical trials for use as a replacement for polyclonal anti-RhD in the prophylactic treatment of haemolytic disease of the newborn. We have produced three murine IgG1 antibodies that cause agglutination of cells sensitized with BRAD-5 and also block binding of BRAD-5 to its target antigen. Using a haemagglutination assay, these antibodies, 1D7, 2E6 and 3B1, have shown specificity for BRAD-5 as they did not bind to other monoclonal anti-RhD antibodies of differing specificity or derived from other donors. This assay has also been used to show a lack of reactivity with anti-RhD antibodies present in 198 human serum samples from 44 anti-RhD immune individuals. The three anti-BRAD-5 antibodies have been shown to recognize different epitopes on the BRAD-5 molecule using a blocking ELISA. These antibodies appear to recognize private idiotopes on BRAD-5 that were not detectable in RhD immune sera, and therefore they will be of use for monitoring BRAD-5 in clinical trials.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance in science.

Nursing students have traditionally experienced difficulties with the science subjects in nursing curricula, and irrespective of the institution conducting a nursing programme, this trend appears to be continuing. A satisfactory means of predicting academic performance in these subjects will facilitate the development of educational strategies designed to assist students overcome their difficulties. In this study, an instrument called the Self-Efficacy for Science (SEFS) was developed and tested. The SEFS was designed to predict academic performance in the science areas of a first-year undergraduate nursing course. A cohort of first-year students enrolled in a bachelor of nursing course were surveyed by questionnaire. Students' academic scores for two first-year science subjects were obtained and used as the criterion measure for the study. Principal component factor analysis revealed the SEFS contained six instead of the hypothesized four factors. These six factors could explain 70% of students' self-efficacy for science. Cronbach alpha of the SEFS was 0.9. The SEFS could predict 24% of the cohort's academic performance in a physical science subject and 18.5% for a bioscience subject. Studying science in the final year at high school was not statistically significantly related to the SEFS. Implications for students and future research are discussed.

Australia↗
PubMed1997

Trusts. Larger than strife.

Effective working in a large trust depends on devolving responsibility. The model adopted at United Leeds Teaching Hospitals trust has saved 650,000 pounds on management costs. Management innovation is far more critical in organisational effectiveness than the question of size.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed1994

A rapid screening method for the detection of mutations in the RET proto-oncogene in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma families.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC) are autosomal dominant inherited cancer syndromes with incomplete penetrance. Following the identification of mutations in the RET proto-oncogene that segregate with the disease phenotype in MEN2A, MEN2B, and FMTC, genetic screening of individuals with mutations in RET may be performed. We have employed restriction endonuclease digestion of polymerase chain reaction products as an alternative to sequence analysis for rapid identification of mutant gene carriers in families in which MEN2A and FMTC are segregating. Twenty-one Australasian MEN2A and FMTC families have been screened for mutations in a cysteine-rich region of the RET proto-oncogene. Seven independent mutations were identified in key individuals in 16 of these families. We have identified a mutation in codon 620, 2053 T-->C (Cys620Arg), and two mutations in codon 634 of exon 11 of RET, 2095 T-->C (Cys634Arg) and 2096 G-->A (Cys634Tyr), all three of which were present in both MEN2A and FMTC families.

Australia↗