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Biomedical subjects

S Cameron

Publications and source records attributed to S Cameron.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

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↗

A review of economic research into determinants of divorce.

"This paper reviews econometric work on the determinants of divorce. There is a fair degree of agreement over some of the key variables. It seems well-established that the effect of male wage rates is negative while the effect of female wage rates is positive. Nonetheless, controversy still rages over the effect of legal changes. Further work is needed on this. Viewed as a scientific research programme, the study of the determinants of divorce needs access to a wider range of populations. The databases at present are primarily U.S. sample surveys."

Americas↗

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↗

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↗

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↗

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↗

Cryptosporidial diarrhoea in South Australia. An exploratory case-control study of risk factors for transmission.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for transmission of cryptosporidiosis in South Australia. DESIGN: Case-control study of 51 cases of laboratory confirmed cryptosporidiosis and 51 age and sex matched controls. SETTING: Subjects from greater Adelaide, with cases notified by local pathology laboratories to the Communicable Disease Control Unit, South Australian Health Commission, during the summer of 1990/1991. PARTICIPANTS: One in 10 cases was selected systematically from 479 laboratory notifications, and permission was obtained from the treating physicians to contact the patients. Subjects nominated age and sex matched controls living in the same area. METHODS: By means of a structured questionnaire, participants were asked by telephone about exposure to possible risk factors in the two weeks preceding the illness/interview. The risk factors included those most commonly cited in the literature as resulting in zoonotic, waterborne and person-to-person infection. The number and percentage of cases and controls exposed was recorded for each risk factor. The probability of having been exposed to selected risk factors was compared between cases and controls by the exact test for matched pairs. RESULTS: The proportion of cases and controls exposed was similar for all risk factors except water sources. Controls were more likely to have consumed only rain water than were cases (P < 0.005). Cases tended more than controls to have consumed only spring water (P = 0.06) or only mains water (P = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of spring water or mains water contaminated with cryptosporidial oocysts may be the mode of transmission of cryptosporidiosis in South Australia. The advent of specific methods for detecting Cryptosporidium sp. in water will allow this hypothesis to be tested.

Adolescent↗

Satisfaction with postnatal care--the choice of home or hospital.

This paper reports the findings of a study of client satisfaction with postnatal midwifery care. Women could choose one of two forms of care; either domiciliary care following early discharge, or hospital care until discharge. Consumers' perceptions of their postnatal care were examined at the end of the period of care. Women assessed the midwives' interest and caring, education and information provided, their own progress with feeding and baby care, and their own physical and emotional health. They were also asked about their expectations of and gains from postnatal care. The findings indicated that women choosing domiciliary care and women choosing hospital care had different expectations of their postnatal care, but were largely satisfied with the quality of the care they chose. The women who chose domiciliary care rated their postnatal care more highly than the women who stayed in hospital. The findings reinforce the importance of providing women with choices for the maternity care which best suits their needs.

Adult↗

Viral infections.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Antiviral Agents↗

Effect of using protocols on medical care: randomised trial of three methods of taking an antenatal history.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of three methods of taking an antenatal history on the quality of obstetric care. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Antenatal clinic of St James's University Hospital, Leeds. SUBJECTS: 2424 women attending the hospital for the first (booking) visit. INTERVENTIONS: Histories were taken by midwives using an unstructured paper questionnaire, a structured paper questionnaire (incorporating a checklist), or an interactive computerised questionnaire (incorporating 101 clinical reminders). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of clinical responses to factors arising from the antenatal booking history according to method of taking the history. Actions were categorised as medical and surgical, obstetric, personal, current symptoms and treatment, related to maternal age, and related to two common actions (cervical smear testing and dental hygiene) and were weighted for clinical importance by 10 obstetricians. RESULTS: Overall the unstructured questionnaire generated 1063 actions, the structured questionnaire 1146, and the computerised questionnaire 1122. The clinical importance of these actions was lowest for the unstructured questionnaire (overall total value score 1987 v 2182 and 2110 for the structured and computerised questionnaires respectively). The structured questionnaire was better than the computerised questionnaire in the medical and surgical (total value score 191 v 184), obstetric (275 v 241), and personal (430 v 360) categories but inferior in the current symptoms category (179 v 191). CONCLUSION: Structured questionnaires (computerised or paper) provide more and better information, and their use improves clinical response to risk factors. Computerised systems offer no further advantage in antenatal clinics.

Clinical Protocols↗

Chemical contrast in X-ray microscopy and spatially resolved XANES spectroscopy of organic specimens.

The scanning transmission x-ray microscope at the National Synchrotron Light Source has been used to record x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra from 0.01-square-micrometer regions of organic specimens. The spectral features observed reflect the molecular structure of the dominant absorbing atoms and provide the contrast mechanism for high-resolution imaging with chemical sensitivity. This technique was used with x-ray energies near the carbon K absorption edge to identify and map separate phases in various polymer blends and to map the DNA distribution in chromosomes with a spatial resolution of 55 nanometers.

Acrylic Resins↗

Games health visitors play: interaction on home visits.

Health visitors routinely use a number of verbal ploys to control and direct interactions with clients. Shona Cameron describes some of the findings of a recent study of conversations between health visitors and clients on home visits.

Community Health Nursing↗

Inhibitory mechanisms of attention in identification and localization tasks: time course and disruption.

It has been proposed that 1 component of the mechanism of visual selective attention is active inhibition of distracting information. A series of studies examines the time course of inhibition and the possible interfering effects of other task demands. Results demonstrate that inhibition can last at least 7 s after selection processes and that it is unaffected by predictable, unrelated intervening events. However, intervening events that are less predictable, or are the same as the inhibited stimulus, disrupt inhibition. Such results motivate a reconsideration of the previous view of distractor inhibition as a transient, fragile phenomenon.

Adolescent↗

Epidemiological characteristics of Legionella infection in South Australia: implications for disease control.

About one third of adults surveyed in South Australia have shown evidence of past silent infection with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. However, the annual notification rate for symptomatic disease is only about 0.5 per 100,000 residents in non-epidemic years. The male to female ratio is 2.5 to one and approximately 50% of the cases are at least 60 years of age. Cases have presented more in summer and in the metropolitan areas. Twenty cases of Legionnaires' disease occurred during the summer of 1985-86. A cooling tower was held to be the principal source with aerosols being dispersed up to three kilometers away during an atmospheric thermal inversion. A subsequent outbreak of 22 L. longbeachae serogroup 1 infections had no marked geographic clustering. The outbreak commenced in spring and cases were distinguished as active gardeners. L. longbeachae was found in garden soil and it is hypothesised that this soil inhabitant can become aerosolised and inhaled during gardening. The potential for primary prevention of Legionnaires' disease is discussed in relation to water-handling equipment and the need for early precautionary treatment of all community-acquired pneumonia as suspect Legionnaires' disease is emphasised.

Case-Control Studies↗