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Biomedical subjects

S Donald

Publications and source records attributed to S Donald.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Mechanical closure of the vocal cords with the laryngeal mask airway ProSeal.

We report a case of mechanical closure of the vocal cords with the laryngeal mask airway ProSeal (PLMA) in an anaesthetized, paralysed 59-yr-old, 88 kg female undergoing lower-limb vascular surgery. Near-complete airway obstruction developed after a size-5 PLMA was inserted and the cuff inflated with 20 ml of air. Fibreoptic inspection revealed that the PLMA was correctly positioned, but the vocal cords were closed. Withdrawal of air from the cuff and/or moving the head and neck into the sniffing position resolved this problem.

Airway Obstruction↗
PubMed1993

Prevention in primary care: the annual assessment of elderly people.

The recent reforms of the NHS have clearly emphasised the potential role of prevention in reducing mortality and morbidity. The specific focus of this paper is the preventive aspects of the new GP contract, and in particular the contractual obligation on GPs to offer an annual assessment to all patients within their practice aged 75 years and over. In reviewing the literature for evidence pertaining to the assessment of elderly people, it is argued that there are a number of unresolved issues which raise certain question marks over the Government's decision to include such assessments in the GP contract. The most fundamental of these issues is whether the costs of such screening are justified by the associated benefits. Other issues relate to the organisation of the assessments. In an attempt to cast some light on these unresolved issues, the results from a recent national survey of GPs in Scotland are presented. The results do not allow a categorical statement to be made on whether or not the assessments are worthwhile per se. However, they do help to clarify the current state of screening elderly people in general practice. In the light of this, directions for future research into the screening of elderly people are suggested.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Registered private nursing homes in Scotland: referral and assessment practice.

The results on referral to and assessment for nursing homes, taken from a national survey of all registered private nursing homes in Scotland, are reported in this paper. The findings challenge the view that nursing homes do little by way of assessing potential candidates and that what is done is somehow at variance with the type of assessments carried out in the public long-stay sector. The implications for the future of the traditional view of which professionals should be involved in the assessment of candidates for nursing homes are discussed as are the criteria they might use to make their assessments.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Chemical inactivation of the Kveim reagent.

In an attempt to identify the nature of the active principle, Kveim reagent was exposed to chemical fractionating agents. Thirty-one patients with sarcoidosis underwent simultaneous intradermal injection with fractionated and unfractionated Kveim material. Kveim reagent was stable in the presence of DNAse, RNAse, pronase, 95% phenol, neutral detergent, and to lipid extraction with chloroform-methanol. Kveim reagent was also stable in the presence of both 8 M urea (8MU) and 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) when used alone. When both these agents were used together, Kveim reagent was inactivated. Fourteen patients had a positive test to unfractionated Kveim reagent; of these, only 2 gave a positive response to material fractionated by exposure to 8MU and 2ME. Simultaneous exposure to 8MU and 2ME was more likely to inactivate Kveim reagent (10/10 tests) than sequential exposure to 8MU and 2ME (2/4 tests). Chemical analysis of the fractionated material showed that it retained granuloma-generating activity despite the lack of carbohydrates. Protein loss in terms of total and relative amino acid composition was progressive and non-specific throughout processing. These results are consistent with a protein-active principle which is dependent on three-dimensional structure.

Chemical Fractionation↗
PubMed1986

Complete DNA sequence of the short repeat region in the genome of herpes simplex virus type 1.

We report the complete DNA sequence of the short repeat region in the genome of herpes simplex virus type 1, as 6633 base pairs of composition 79.5% G+C. This contains immediate early gene 3, encoding the IE175 protein, an important transcriptional activator of later virus genes. The IE175 coding region was identified as a 3894 base sequence of 81.5% G+C DNA. The base composition of this gene is thus the most extreme yet determined, and the IE175 predicted amino acid composition is correspondingly biased, most notably with an alanine content of 20.9%. Functionally important regions of the IE175 polypeptide were tentatively identified by comparison with the sequence of the homologous protein from varicella-zoster virus and from locations of ts mutations, and were correlated with properties of the amino acid sequence. Aspects of the evolution of such an extreme composition DNA sequence were discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Sequence determination and genetic content of the short unique region in the genome of herpes simplex virus type 1.

We have determined the complete DNA sequence of the short unique region in the genome of herpes simplex virus type 1, strain 17, and have interpreted it in terms of messenger RNAs and encoded proteins. The sequence contains variable regions whose length differs between DNA clones. The clones used for most of the analysis gave a short unique length of 12,979 base-pairs. We consider that this region contains 12 genes, which are expressed by mRNAs which have separate promoters, but may share 3'-termination sites, so that all but two mRNAs belong to one of four 3'-coterminal "families": 79% of the sequence is considered to be polypeptide coding. One pair of genes has an extensive out-of-frame overlap of coding sequences. The proteins encoded in the short unique region include two immediate-early species, two virion surface glycoproteins, and a DNA-binding species. Six of the genes have little or no previous characterization. From the nature of the amino acid sequences predicted for their encoded proteins, we deduce that several of these proteins may be membrane-associated.

Base Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of juvenile hormone-esterase in mating-stimulated egg development in the moth Heliothis virescens.

Juvenile hormone (JH) titer in virgin females of Heliothis virescens is significantly lower than that in mated females of the same age. The JH titer in virgin females follows a diel pattern in which it begins to increase towards the end of photophase, remains high around the onset of scotophase, and declines during scotophase. The titer reaches its lowest levels at the onset of photophase, and remains low during the first half of photophase. In mated females, the diel pattern of JH titers is not as pronounced. JH-esterase (JHE) activity in mated females is significantly lower than that of virgin females during photophase; JHE levels in the former are similar to levels seen in newly emerged females. JHE activity in mated females also exhibits a diel pattern, in which activity is low during photophase and high at the onset of scotophase. Evidence for the indirect involvement of JHE in the mating-stimulated egg development is provided by the effect of selected JHE inhibitors in inhibiting JHE activity and stimulating egg production in virgin females.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Know how. Wet wraps in atopic eczema.

Wet wraps play an important part in the management of children with eczema that does not respond to first-line treatment. They are used in hospitals and in the community, and provide great relief and comfort, but the procedure requires considerable input from the health team until the parents are confident of their technique.

Administration, Cutaneous↗