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Biomedical subjects

S Cameron

Publications and source records attributed to S Cameron.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Concurrent outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium in South Australia.

The Communicable Disease Control Branch of the South Australian Health Commission received 45 laboratory notifications of Salmonella between 23 December 1996 and 17 January 1997. A rapid screening test, undertaken by the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Adelaide, was the first indication that this was more than one outbreak, prompting the establishment of separate investigations. Three Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) phage types were subsequently identified. Investigations are continuing into an outbreak of S. Typhimurium phage type (PT) 64, while investigations failed to identify any association between four cases of PT 44. As of 12 February 1997, 71 notifications had been confirmed as S. Typhimurium PT 135. Epidemiological investigations found this outbreak was associated with consumption of bread rolls with a meat filling distributed through local Asian grocery stores from a home-based manufacturer. The product was voluntarily withdrawn and there have been no new cases of PT 135.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed1997

Oxygen consumption, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion in young adult women during backward walking at different speeds.

Backward walking has gained popularity as an adjunct to treatment for patients undergoing rehabilitation for patellofemoral pain syndrome and anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Researchers have suggested that backward walking decreases the compressive forces at the patellofemoral joint while also preventing overstretching of the anterior cruciate ligament. Prior to this study, precise prescription of backward walking speeds for women was not possible. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between heart rate, oxygen consumption, and backward walking speeds. Twenty-five healthy, adult female volunteers participated in this study. Subjects were tested at speeds of 0.96, 1.20, 1.43, 1.67, and 1.91 m/sec. Subjects also performed a graded exercise stress test. Analysis revealed curvilinear relationships between oxygen consumption and speed as well as between heart rate and speed. With these results, clinicians may now prescribe specific speeds of backward walking for women to elicit a desired cardiopulmonary response.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Iron overload and liver dysfunction after allogeneic or autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Patients who require a bone marrow transplant (BMT) for leukaemia, lymphoma or other haematological disorders receive large quantities of blood products, including red cell concentrates, during the transplant period. Many receive red cell transfusions as part of treatment prior to BMT, adding to the potential iron load. However, organ dysfunction as a consequence of the transfused iron load would be surprising given the amounts of iron transfused. We studied 76 survivors of allogeneic and autologous BMT who were at least 1 year post-transplant and found that the majority (88%) had raised ferritins. Impaired liver function was common in these patients and in half was unexplained by viral hepatitis, veno-occlusive disease or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), suggesting that iron overload may be an important contributing factor to liver disease in the stable post-transplant setting. This view is supported by the observation of improving liver function tests in 10 patients after a trial of venesection therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Povidone-iodine (betadine) in the treatment of experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis.

Topical 5% povidone-iodine for the treatment of corneal ulcers was observed in Sierra Leone, West Africa by one of us (D.J.D.). To test the efficacy of topical 5% povidone-iodine for infectious keratitis, experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis was induced in 12 rabbits by first abrading the central 3 mm of corneal epithelium. Thirty milliliters of broth of P. aeruginosa strain ATCC 27835 (1.8 x 10(7) viable bacteria) was dropped twice on the wounded cornea. After 22 h, all corneas were clinically infected. Eight rabbits were treated with 5% povidone-iodine solution and four with 0.9% NaCl solution. All were given hourly drops. Twenty-four hours after treatment began, the central 8-mm button of the infected cornea was excised, homogenized, and serial dilutions plated onto MacConkey agar. The total number of viable Pseudomonas organisms was calculated. The treatment group had 5.2 +/- 0.4 CFUs (colony-forming units) per cornea. The control group had 4.8 +/- 0.4 CFUs per cornea (p = 0.11). The clinical scores (Hobden grading system) were 6.9 +/- 1.5 for the treated group and 7.3 +/- 2.5 for the control group (p = 0.74). There was no statistical difference between the treated and control groups. Povidone-iodine (5%) is not effective in the acute treatment of P. aeruginosa keratitis in this rabbit model.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

The effect of unit type and gender on Jordanian nurses' job satisfaction: a comparison of operating room, medical-surgical, and critical care nurses.

This study examines the quality of nursing work life for men and women in Jordan. Specifically it focuses on similarities and differences across three unit types: operating room, intensive care/critical care, and medical-surgical. Findings suggest that both gender and unit type should be considered when examining nurses' perceptions of the quality of work life.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Murray River water, raised cyanobacterial cell counts, and gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether exposure to Murray River and allied water sources during a period of raised cyanobacterial cell counts was associated with gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms. DESIGN: A case-control study selecting gastrointestinal and dermatological cases and controls from subjects attending 21 general practitioners in eight Murray River towns. The association between the proportion of consultations for such symptoms and mean log cyanobacterial count was also examined. SUBJECTS: 102 gastrointestinal cases, 86 dermatological cases and 132 controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The relative odds of gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms, respectively, as opposed to no such symptoms, according to water-contact history during the week preceding the medical consultation. RESULTS: After adjusting for concurrent risk factors, subjects drinking chlorinated river water rather than rain water had a raised risk of gastrointestinal symptoms (P = 0.008), and those using untreated river water for domestic purposes rather than rain water had a raised risk of gastrointestinal (P = 0.034) and of dermatological (P = 0.048) symptoms. The proportion of consultations for gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms correlated on a weekly basis with the mean log cyanobacterial cell count, although statistical significance was not achieved for the correlation with dermatological consultations or for separate reaches of the river. CONCLUSIONS: The raised risks of gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms in those using Murray River water for drinking and other domestic purposes are consistent with causal relationships. However, the evidence for adverse health effects is, at best, only suggestive. Further research is indicated.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1995

Outbreak of HIV infection in a Scottish prison.

OBJECTIVE--To investigate the possible spread of HIV infection and its route of transmission among prison inmates. DESIGN--In response to an outbreak of acute clinical hepatitis B and two seroconversions to HIV infection, counselling and testing for HIV were offered to all inmates over a two week period in July 1993. Information was sought about drug injecting, sexual behaviour, and previous HIV testing. SETTING--HM Prison Glenochil in Scotland. SUBJECTS--Adult male prisoners. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Uptake of HIV counselling and testing; occurrence and mode of HIV transmission within the prison. RESULTS--Of a total 378 inmates, 227 (60%) were counselled and 162 (43%) tested for HIV. Twelve (7%) of those tested were positive for antibody to HIV. One third (76) of those counselled had injected drugs at some time, of whom 33 (43%) had injected in Glenochil; all 12 seropositive men belonged to this latter group. Thirty two of these 33 had shared needles and syringes in the prison. A further two inmates who injected in the prison were diagnosed as positive for HIV two months previously. Evidence based on sequential results and time of entry into prison indicated that eight transmissions definitely occurred within prison in the first half of 1993. CONCLUSION--This is the first report of an outbreak of HIV infection occurring within a prison. Restricted access to injecting equipment resulted in random sharing and placed injectors at high risk of becoming infected with HIV. Measures to prevent further spread of infection among prison injectors are urgently required.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Basal cell adenocarcinoma of the submandibular gland.

Basal cell adenoma is a well recognized histopathologic variant of monomorphic adenoma of salivary gland, but in recent years there have been occasional reports of malignant basal cell tumors of major salivary glands. We present a case report of one such basal cell adenocarcinoma arising in the submandibular gland and discuss the differential diagnosis and distinction from a basal cell adenoma. We also review the published literature on basal cell adenocarcinoma. This is the first case of basal cell adenocarcinoma to be studied in detail by both immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy. There has been debate in the past as to the cell of origin of salivary gland basal cell tumors and specifically as to whether myoepithelial differentiation occurs in these tumors. The immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features of this case provide evidence for a dual population of ductal and myoepithelial cells. A flow cytometric analysis of nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid content showed the presence of DNA aneuploidy within one tissue block.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1995

Anonymous HIV surveillance with risk factor elicitation at Scotland's largest prison, Barlinnie.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence of HIV infection and risk behaviours among male inmates of Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Barlinnie, Glasgow, Scotland on 8-9 September 1994. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study: voluntary, anonymous HIV surveillance (using saliva samples) of all inmates and linked self-completion risk-factor questionnaire. SUBJECTS: Of 1073 prisoners available to participate, 985 (92%) completed a risk-factor questionnaire and 982 salivettes were received for testing, of which 978 were tested for HIV antibodies (four were dry samples); 928 questionnaires passed logical checks for consistency. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HIV prevalence on saliva testing, related risk behaviours and ratio of overall-to-disclosed HIV prevalence. Proportion of all inmates who have ever injected drugs, ever injected inside prison, started injecting inside, ever had acute hepatitis, had a recent personal HIV test (since January 1993). RESULTS: Nine saliva samples [eight injecting drug users (IDU), one recognized other risk] out of 978 were HIV-antibody-positive (three presumptively from known HIV-infected inmates). Overall HIV prevalence was estimated at 1% compared with a known prevalence of 0.4%, giving an overall-to-disclosed HIV prevalence ratio of 2.6 in HMP Barlinnie in September 1994. A higher proportion of prisoners from Glasgow (48%) than elsewhere (19%) were IDU. Year of first injection was also different by residence with 23% of Glasgow IDU having first injected after 1988 compared with 45% of IDU from elsewhere, mainly West and South Scotland. Half the IDU inmates reported having injected while incarcerated and 6% had started to inject while incarcerated. Ten per cent of all prisoners and 20% of IDU inmates had had a personal HIV test since January 1993. Logistic regression showed that there was a significant deficit of recent HIV test uptake by Glasgow residents (odds ratio, 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.89), that IDU were more likely to have had treatment for a sexually transmitted disease, and that IDU who had injected inside and those whose injecting career began prior to 1989 were more likely to have had acute hepatitis. CONCLUSION: A consistent harm-reduction policy is needed across prisons in the United Kingdom to avoid transmission of blood-borne viral infections. Drug injecting inside prison is common, a proportion of IDU inmates having first injected drugs while in prison, and much higher rates of hepatitis have been reported in association with injecting while incarcerated compared with that for IDU who only injected outside prison.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Preventing admissions of seniors into the emergency department.

1. The Quick Response Program is a nurse-driven, client-centered model of care for seniors providing immediate assessment, counseling, and referral within emergency departments. 2. The major goals of the program are to identify and prevent potential hospital admissions by seniors and provide this population with referrals for professional and support services at home. 3. The demographic data and data regarding health problems reported by clients clearly support the need for a significant level of professional and support services in the community if clients are to be cared for safely and effectively at home.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Identification of a critical regulatory site in the human interleukin-3 promoter by in vivo footprinting.

Interleukin-3 (IL-3) is involved in proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Its expression is subject to precise, tissue-specific regulation, and has been studied extensively in the gibbon T-cell line MLA 144 by a combination of functional assays and DNA binding experiments. To extend these studies, the gibbon IL-3 promoter was cloned and in vivo footprinting of the gibbon and human IL-3 proximal promoters was performed. The gibbon IL-3 promoter was found to be highly homologous to its human counterpart and both promoters yielded identical in vivo footprints after induction of IL-3 synthesis. In particular, we observed specific protection of three guanines over a core sequence TGTGGTTT (IF-1IL3) that had not been recognized in previous studies. IF-1IL3 is not found in other cytokine promoters, but it is conserved in the IL-3 promoter of several species and is similar to a recurring motif in viral and T-cell-specific cellular enhancers. IF-1IL3 binds a specific complex in MLA 144 and Jurkat nuclear extracts in vitro, which shares the same specificity as the complex bound by the polyoma virus and T-cell receptor delta enhancers. Mutation of the three guanines in IF-1IL3 core sequence disrupts binding in vitro and abrogates the ability of the IL-3 promoter to mediate inducible expression in T cells. Although IF-1IL3 is necessary for IL-3 expression, it is not sufficient: a truncated IL-3 promoter with an intact IF-1IL3 site but no other activator sites is transcriptionally silent. These studies describe a new regulatory element within the IL-3 promoter that is essential for expression and conserved between species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Human sentinels for arbovirus surveillance and regional risk classification in South Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the use of human sentinels to monitor arbovirus activity in South Australia and to use age-specific seroprevalence data from the same sentinels to classify regions according to risk from Ross River virus (RRV). METHODS: Between 1 January 1992 and 15 August 1992, 4776 serum samples were obtained from Red Cross blood donors in the State. All sera were tested for the presence of total antibody (IgA, IgG and IgM) by indirect enzyme immunoassay. To test for recent infection, positive sera were further tested for IgA and IgM specific antibody to Ross River virus with a view to initiating public health interventions if necessary. The age, sex and postcode of residence of each donor were also recorded for seroepidemiological studies. RESULTS: Of the 4776 sera, 2952 were tested to the end of May (the end of the arbovirus season in South Australia). There was evidence of RRV infection in 248 sera (8.4%) but none had serological markers consistent with recent infection. The arbovirus season was considered non-epidemic, and no reactive public health interventions were introduced. Analysis of age-specific seroprevalence by post-code in the full bank of 4776 sera indicated that the Riverland is endemic for RRV, the Murray Mallee and Upper South East epidemic for RRV, and the remaining regions of the State at variable risk, depending on their proximity to these regions. CONCLUSIONS: The ongoing use of human sentinels is a new public health surveillance system for this disease. In the first year of operation of this surveillance system, a suboptimal number of sera was collected from some areas, and sera were tested only for RRV. However, the number of sera tested could easily be increased, as could the range of arboviruses covered by the testing.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Injection of doxorubicin into rabbit eyelid does not result in loss of facial motor neurons.

In both laboratory and clinical studies, injection of doxorubicin directly into the eyelid results in permanent muscle loss of the majority of fibers within treated eyelids. A first clinical trial of this technique in blepharospasm and hemifacial spasm patients has been performed. All patients who completed a full course of doxorubicin treatment showed a permanent decrease in eyelid strength, with over 50% of these patients requiring no further treatment. Doxorubicin is known to be carried by retrograde axonal transport to the brain and is a known neurotoxin. This raises the question of the effect of these treatments on the facial neurons which innervate the orbicularis oculi muscle in the eyelids. The effect on the number of facial neurons present after injection of doxorubicin into the eyelid of rabbits was determined using both HRP and diI retrograde labeling techniques. Despite the extensive and permanent muscle loss caused by the doxorubicin treatments, there was no measurable loss of facial neurons on the doxorubicin treated sides. DiI was shown to be myotoxic at high concentrations and amplified the myotoxic effect of doxorubicin. Lack of neuronal loss may offer assurance of clinical safety to the facial motor neurons of muscle spasm patients who receive doxorubicin injections into their eyelids.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1994

Relationships between stress, coping resources, and satisfaction with family functioning in families of children with disabilities.

The purpose of the current descriptive correlational study was to examine relations between stress, coping resources, and satisfaction with family functioning in families caring for children with developmental disabilities at home. Fifty families who used the services of a respite care program were surveyed to examine relationships among child characteristics (behavioral problems and handicapping conditions); coping resources including mastery and health, esteem and communication, family hardiness, and social support; and the primary outcome variable of satisfaction with family functioning. Families of children with developmental disabilities experience significant stressors in terms of the severity of their child's handicapping conditions and behaviour problems. However, they reported satisfactory coping resources such as mastery and health, hardiness, and esteem and communication. Although they were lower than normative scores, social support scores for spouses and friends were related to satisfaction with family functioning. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗