Hepatitis A cases in a travelling community in southeast England.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
S Barber
Publications and source records attributed to S Barber.
The comparative serum disposition kinetics of subcutaneous administration of doramectin, ivermectin and moxidectin in the Australian Merino sheep.
This study evaluates the comparative serum disposition kinetics of injectable formulations of doramectin (DRM), ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MXD) in Australian Merino sheep. Thirty-six, 2-year-old sheep were allocated by weight into six groups of six animals. Animals in each group received 200 microg/kg of DRM, MXD, IVM or a combination of two of these drugs by subcutaneous (s.c.) injection. Blood was collected at designated intervals (between 1 h and 40 days after treatment) and the serum analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using fluorescence detection. The results indicated that MXD administration produced a significantly higher maximum serum concentration and a more rapid absorption as compared with DRM and IVM. MXD and DRM had a significantly larger area under the concentration vs. time curve (AUC) than IVM, suggesting a more persistent effect for the former two products in sheep. The AUC for DRM was significantly higher when administered alone as compared with that observed when given in combination with MXD or IVM, suggesting preferential elimination of DRM compared with IVM and MXD from concurrent s.c. administration.
Animals↗
A prospective study of quantitative ultrasound in children and adolescents.
The accrual of optimal bone mass during childhood and adolescence is essential for the formation of a skeleton that will meet structural needs throughout life. Assessing bone health of children is becoming increasingly important in order to identify those who require interventions, and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) has appeal for these assessments. The purpose of this prospective study was to characterize changes in QUS values in 328 healthy children and adolescents over a 3-yr period. Measurements of QUS, height, weight, nutrient intake, fracture history, and Tanner stage were made at baseline and 3 yr later. Both females and males experienced significant increases in QUS values during the study. The rate of change of QUS peaked at an earlier age in females than in males, and maximum accumulation rates in both genders occurred at ages at which highest accumulation rates are seen with densitometry. Females exhibited higher QUS values than males during puberty, also similar to results for dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This is the first report of prospective data of QUS in children and adolescents. Our findings that QUS values change during childhood and adolescence in a manner similar to DXA values, the "gold standard," provide support for the validity of using QUS to assess bone health in children and adolescents.
Adolescent↗
Symmetric tests and confidence intervals for survival probabilities and quantiles of censored survival data.
We describe existing tests and introduce two new tests concerning the value of a survival function. These tests may be used to construct a confidence interval for the survival probability at a given time or for a quantile of the survival distribution. Simulation studies show that error rates can differ substantially from their nominal values, particularly at survival probabilities close to zero or one. We recommend our new constrained bootstrap test for its good overall performance.
Biometry↗
A comparative study of the 1992 and 1997 recovery positions for use in the UK.
In April 1997 the ILCOR Basic Life Support advisory statements were announced in conjunction with changes to the recovery position for use in the UK. This study compared the new and old positions by using a questionnaire to assess how well each position satisfied the ILCOR statements. The study was carried out over six different hospital trusts by eight resuscitation training officers. Each tutor alternately taught the 1992 or 1997 recommended positions. After the practical session each student completed a questionnaire on ease of learning and use of the position, as well as other factors such as spinal stability. They were also asked to score the position when they were placed in recovery by other students. Their competency was assessed using the ALS criteria. Over the duration of the study 687 forms were suitable for analysis. For every question there was a significant trend in favour of the 92 position, with students finding the technique easier to learn and use, simpler for positioning for CPR and with less spinal movement during rolling. Possible sources of bias such as previous training, tutor or staff grade made no statistical difference to the results. When performed competently the 1997 position appears to cause less brachial compression, but other problems with learning or use of the 97 position outweigh this advantage. The 1992 position currently provides the best compromise between ease of use, spinal stability and other factors, and better satisfies the ILCOR advisory statements.
Attitude of Health Personnel↗
Treatment of a young adult paraplegic with multiple stage III and IV pressure ulcers.
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Adult↗
Evaluation of bacteriological transport swabs.
Ten commercial transport swabs were evaluated for their ability to preserve bacteria for 24 and 48 hours. Microorganisms included ATCC strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative aerobes and anaerobes. There was a wide variation in performance. Swabs using Amies plus charcoal medium or Stuart's medium had better recovery rates than those using Amies medium alone. The nature of the tips of the swabs had little influence. Performance was not correlated with cost of the swabs. These data will assist institutions to make cost-effective decisions when purchasing bacteriological transport systems.
Bacteria↗
Patient education for discharge after coronary bypass surgery in the 1990s: are patients adequately prepared?
Short hospitalizations for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) require continuous nursing evaluation of patients' discharge education. Six institutions collaborated in surveying 300 postoperative patients with CABG to identify learning priorities and patients' perceptions of the effectiveness of discharge education. Data analysis from the self-administered questionnaire demonstrated consistent patient priorities across institutions. Differences in teaching methods and content did not affect perceived preparedness or importance scores. Regional experience demonstrates that variable teaching efforts meet patients' priorities and provide high overall patient preparedness for discharge. Patients with the shortest hospitalizations had higher preparedness scores.
Adult↗
Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: implications of herpesvirus screening and diagnosis.
Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is used increasingly as a treatment for haematological diseases. Pre-transplant conditioning is necessary to eradicate the host immune response, and post-transplant immunosuppressive therapy is continued to prevent graft-versus-host disease. Thus, bone marrow transplant recipients are severely immunocompromised for a prolonged period. Herpesvirus infections are a common complication because they are ubiquitous, latent and may be transmitted in donations of bone marrow and blood. Screening for herpesvirus, and subsequent diagnosis, is important because infection or reactivation may be prevented by the prophylactic use of anti-viral agents, the passive transfer of immunoglobulin, vaccination and/or infection control measures, and progression of severe disease may be halted by the therapeutic use of anti-viral agents, especially when intervention is early.
Bone Marrow Transplantation↗
Reversal of human platelet aggregation by low concentrations of nitroglycerin in vitro in normal subjects.
The potential reversal of platelet aggregation in vitro by nitroglycerin in low concentrations was explored using both optical aggregometry and electron microscopy. Venous blood was collected from a cohort of normal volunteers (20 men and 10 women) aged 21 to 65 years. Aggregation in platelet-rich plasma was induced by adenosine diphosphate in concentrations just sufficient to maintain a steady state of aggregation, without a spontaneous disaggregation phase (3.5 to 5 microM). Administration of nitroglycerin after the induction of aggregation caused both inhibition of the primary wave of developing aggregation and marked disaggregation. This combined effect was maximal when nitroglycerin was added at 0.5 minute after the beginning of aggregation. The observed reversal of platelet aggregation by nitroglycerin was concentration-dependent. Significant effects occurred with nitroglycerin concentrations greater than or equal to 10(-8) M. Concentration associated with 50% reversal of aggregation was 1.52 +/- 0.24 (SEM) x 10(-6) M. Electron microscopy revealed that 10(-6) M nitroglycerin induced a significant reduction in both platelet clumping and morphologic changes associated with aggregation. The results of the current study suggest a beneficial antiplatelet effect of nitroglycerin in restoring homeostasis in the face of incipient platelet aggregation. The clinical use of nitroglycerin in patients with acute ischemic syndromes may rest on this action.
Adenosine Diphosphate↗
Integrating the UMLS into VNS Retriever.
We are developing a networked resource for the National Library of Medicine's Unified Medical Language System. We call this resource the UMLS Retriever, which is an instance of our VNS Retriever architecture. Our prototype user interface makes use of the Virtual Notebook System Browser. The development of a networked UMLS service will result in numerous advantages to our user community.
Computer Communication Networks↗
The MEDLINE Retriever.
Baylor College of Medicine has developed the MEDLINE Retriever, a tool to query MEDLINE, the data-base of medical literature at the National Library of Medicine. The MEDLINE Retriever communicates via the Internet to achieve excellent response time for MEDLINE queries. It uses the X Window System and the Motif toolkit, and employs the Knowbot Operating Environment developed by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives. We discuss the architecture of the MEDLINE Retriever, focusing on the graphical user interface that we have developed, as well as our experiences in developing and deploying the MEDLINE Retriever at Baylor. The MEDLINE Retriever is an extension of Baylor's IAIMS design concept that brought forth the Virtual Notebook System, and fits well with Baylor's aims with regard to the High Performance Computing Initiative.
Computer Communication Networks↗
Pathobiology of papillomavirus-related cervical diseases: prospects for immunodiagnosis.
In recent years, the relationship between human papillomaviruses (HPV) and genital neoplasia has been explored intensively, and a molecular basis for the role of HPV in the genesis of these diseases has been convincingly demonstrated. These findings have provided justification for efforts to apply this molecular information to the early detection and possible prevention of HPV-related neoplasia. The technology of detecting viral nucleic acids in genital fluids brought with it initial hopes that it would serve to identify women at risk for having or developing precancers or cancers of the cervix. Subsequent studies, however, have demonstrated limitations of the technology for predicting future disease. Recently, molecular immunology has complemented these prior efforts, with the intent to identify serological indices of exposure to HPV and perhaps delineate individuals at risk. The molecular basis for this approach, its limitations, and future prospects for immunodiagnosis are the subject of this review.
Condylomata Acuminata↗
Coexpression of the human papillomavirus type 16 E4 and L1 open reading frames in early cervical neoplasia.
Although the E4 open reading frame (ORF) of human papillomaviruses (HPV) encodes an abundant protein in cutaneous warts, the location and extent of HPV E4 expression in genital precancers, specifically those associated with HPV-16, has not been described. Expression plasmids (pATH) containing segments of the HPV-16 E4 (3401-3620) and L1 (6151-6792) open reading frames (ORFs) were induced and expressed in bacteria and the resulting fusion proteins were used to elicit antisera in rabbits. Antisera reacting to the E4 and L1 components of the fusion proteins were used to screen biopsies from 150 cervical precancers (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) and condylomata. Six biopsies exhibiting specific immunostaining with the anti-E4 sera. Staining was cytoplasmic, and occurred virtually always in foci containing immunostaining for L1 proteins. Moreover, analysis of these 6 cases and 22 others for HPV-16 RNA by RNA-RNA in situ hybridization demonstrated a similar correlation between E4 immunostaining and the presence of abundant transcripts specific to HPV-16. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that expression of the HPV-16 E4 ORF is dependent upon viral replication and epithelial differentiation, similar to L1 expression, and that the E4 epitopes identified by the rabbit antisera may be unique to HPV-16 relative to other common cervical papillomaviruses.
Condylomata Acuminata↗
Sensitivity and specificity of endocervical curettage and the endocervical brush for the evaluation of the endocervical canal.
A series of 87 consecutive conization specimens was studied to evaluate the accuracy of endocervical curettage for the detection of dysplasia in the endocervical canal and to investigate the role of the endocervical brush for the outpatient management of patients with atypical Papanicolaou smears. For patients having cervical intraepithelial neoplasia within the endocervical canal in conization specimens, the false-negative rate observed for endocervical curettage was 45% and the false-positive rate for the detection of endocervical involvement was 25%. The false-negative rate for the endocervical brush was only 8.4%, but the false-positive rate for endocervical involvement was 62.5%. The false-negative rate of endocervical curettage could be reduced to 16.7% if an abundant volume of endocervical material (as determined by point counting) was required. The utility of endocervical curettage to detect cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in the endocervical canal appears to be dependent on the adequacy of the specimen. The determination of adequacy is a critical factor for the proper interpretation of specimens obtained by endocervical curettage.
Adult↗
Fitzgerald factor deficiency in an Australian aborigine.
This case reports the first description of Fitzgerald factor (high molecular weight kininogen) deficiency in Australia. Since this homozygous abnormality was found in an Aborigine it is suggested that the defective gene may be prevalent in some tribes and that abnormal results of clotting tests in Aborigines should be investigated carefully.
Blood Coagulation Disorders↗
Hemoglobin Woodville: alpha (2)6(A4) aspartic acid----tyrosine.
Hemoglobin Woodville was detected in a Vietnamese woman during antenatal and cord blood screening programs for families of South East Asian origin. The variant constitutes 9% of total hemoglobin and structural analysis demonstrated the substitution alpha 6 Asp----Tyr. Hematological data on the proposita were normal. No apparent clinical or pathological findings were associated with this abnormal hemoglobin.
Adult↗
Breast cancer markers: comparison between sialyltransferase and human mammary epithelial antigens (HME-Ags) for the detection of human breast tumors grafted in nude mice.
Sialyltransferase (CMP-sialic acid:asialofetuin sialyltransferase) and human mammary epithelial antigens (HME-Ags, cell surface antigens specific to human mammary epithelial cells) were determined in plasma of nude mice grafted with breast and non-breast human tumors to assess their possible usefulness as breast cancer markers. The plasma transferase activity was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in tumor groups relative to the control. However, no significant difference (p less than 0.05) could be found in the transferase level between breast and non-breast tumor groups, showing the enzyme's lack of specificity for breast cancer. Furthermore, the surgical procedure performed on the control normal healthy group (no tumor), resulted in an important increase of the enzyme level, while HME-Ags remained unchanged. HME-Ags were essentially negative in control as well as non-breast tumor groups. After surgical removal of breast tumors, HME-Ags level dropped drastically to the background level (from 122 to less than 30 ng/ml plasma). These data indicate that HME-Ags are more sensitive and specific than sialyltransferase as markers for human breast tumor, and suggest that HME-Ags may be clinically useful in the early detection of breast cancer as well as in the followup of patients with metastatic breast tumor.
Animals↗