Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to S Tomas.
An excellent starting point for exercising creativity is the area of problem solving. With a bag of creative problem solving tools and techniques, problems will no longer represent setbacks but instead, opportunities to introduce innovations that will support the company's initiative of continuous improvement.
OBJECTIVE: Following a catastrophic natural disaster, the authors evaluated whether brief psychological intervention (debriefing 6 months later) reduced disaster-related psychological distress as measured by the Impact of Event Scale. METHOD: Two groups of subjects who had been exposed to Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii were assessed before and after participating in a multihour debriefing group. The intervention aimed to provide ventilation of feelings, normalization of responses, and education about normal psychological reactions to the disaster in a context of group support. To provide a partial control for the passage of time, the pretreatment assessment of the second group was concurrent with the posttreatment assessment of the first group. RESULTS: A repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that Impact of Event Scale scores were reduced in both groups after the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: There is preliminary empirical support for the effectiveness of postdisaster psychological intervention and for the feasibility of treatment research in postdisaster environments.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia related to Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in asymptomatic patients with diagnosed autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD); and to investigate whether the immunopathologies of sialadenitis observed in AITD associated SS and primary SS are similar. METHODS: One hundred seventy-six patients diagnosed with AITD (88 with Graves' disease, 40 Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 48 primary myxedema) were tested for keratoconjunctivitis sicca (Schirmer's test and rose bengal staining) and for xerostomia (salivary scintigraphy and labial salivary gland biopsy). Immunohistopathological studies were performed on cryostat sections of bucal mucosa biopsies using antibodies to CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD14, CD25, LFA-1, ICAM-3 HLA class II, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 1, and interferon-gamma. RESULTS: Nineteen of 52 (37%) patients with AITD fulfilled the criteria for xerostomia and 39/170 (23%) for keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Features of SS were diagnosed in 43 of 176 (24%) patients with AITD, with similar prevalence in Graves' (20%). Hashimoto's thyroiditis (27%), and primary myxedema (29%). In AITD associated SS, infiltrating lymphocytes were mainly CD3+ T lymphocytes, with a CD4/CD8 ratio of 2:1. In most patients infiltrating lymphocytes expressed activation markers, HLA class II molecules, and interleukin 2 receptor (CD25). In some patients HLA class II was inappropriately expressed in the epithelial gland cells. CONCLUSION: The finding that a third of patients with AITD have SS features confirms that AITD and SS are mutually associated. Together with the similarity of immunopathology of sialadenitis in AITD associated SS in primary SS, this supports the theory that SS and AITD are 2 autoimmune diseases closely related pathogenetically.
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The concept of continuous improvement can be viewed from the perspectives of the elimination of waste or the improvement of quality. The waste elimination approach attacks all forms of waste, whereas quality improvement uses the concept of total customer satisfaction. This article describes an eight-step model for continuous improvement that addresses waste elimination and customer satisfaction.
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The effect of surgical trauma on the regulation of lipolysis was studied in isolated fat cells obtained before and 24 hours after elective cholecystectomy in 12 patients who were not obese and who were healthy otherwise. Surgery was accompanied by a twofold increase of the basal rate of lipolysis and by a significant 50% elevation of the lipolytic effect of catecholamines. The actions of various agents that selectively stimulate lipolysis at different early or late steps in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate system beyond the adrenoreceptors were also increased about 50% after surgery (p less than 0.01). The properties of the beta-adrenoceptors were not altered by surgery, as assessed by radioligand binding and isoprenaline sensitivity. The antilipolytic properties of catecholamines (mediated by alpha 2-adrenoreceptors) were not influenced by cholecystectomy. Lipolysis was not altered in four subjects who had no surgery and who served as control subjects 24 hours after being given the same type of postoperative nutrition as patients who underwent cholecystectomy. We concluded that moderate surgical trauma is associated with increased lipolytic activity of fat cells. This is secondary to an enhanced ability of catecholamines to stimulate lipolysis because of a modification at the most distal steps in the cyclic adenosine monophosphate system, which may involve the protein kinase/hormone sensitive lipase complex.
MRP systems can benefit hospitals in their management of material. Systems provide the means to schedule surgical procedures, calculate material requirements, release orders, plan future capacity requirements, and release and track work orders. MRP can be a powerful tool if properly implemented. All it takes is individuals dedicated to maintaining the discipline and data integrity required to make MRP successful.
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Copper complexes of hydrazones derived from symmetrical triazines inhibit the multiplication of three different types of viruses (Sendai, HSV and VSV) showing as well a scavenger activity on O2- radicals. The results emphasize the antiviral activity of these complexes which have at the same time a O2- radical scavenger activity.
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Studies conducted on asymmetric triazine derivatives synthetized at the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research Institute showed that products S1, S16, S17, S19, S20 and S22 have a remarkable O2- radical scavenger activity. Among these derivatives, the product S1 is the most efficient as an antiviral agent.
The O2- scavenging activity of some ligands of asymmetrical triazine seems to be enhanced when complexed with copper. S1 Cu complex in concentration of 10(-8) M inhibits the multiplication of type 1 (Sendai) parainfluenza virus cultivated on MCA fragments. The possible mechanism of inhibition is discussed.
According to their chemical structure, asymmetric triazine derivatives have an activator or scavenger action in a superoxide radical generating system. Complexation with Cu2+ of one of the derivatives enhanced its scavenger activity.