PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Wotton

Publications and source records attributed to S Wotton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Killing of animals for disease control purposes.

In emergency disease outbreaks, large numbers of animals may need to be killed for control, containment and/or eradication purposes. Strategies for disease control will usually involve complete depopulation of herds/flocks, and may extend to depopulation across designated areas. Live animals present the major risk of spreading infectious agents so their slaughter should be completed as quickly as possible, with minimal pain and distress to the animals. The method chosen for killing of animals must be humane, efficient and safe for people and the environment. The tasks should be conducted under the supervision of an official veterinarian, supported by a sufficient number of adequately trained and competent personnel. It is essential to ensure all animals are dead, as demonstrated by the cessation of cardiac and respiratory movements. This paper discusses methods by which animals may be killed for disease control purposes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Influence of specialization on the management and outcome of patients with pancreatic cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cancer care is increasingly specialized. Relationships between pancreatic cancer care, mortality and patterns of clinical practice among the full spectrum of patients, including those with irresectable tumours, are not well understood. METHODS: A cohort of 782 patients diagnosed prospectively with pancreatic cancer in 29 acute hospitals in England and Wales over 1 year were followed for 2-3 years. The effects of doctors' and hospitals' specialization, indicated by annual patient volumes, on operative mortality rates, survival times, and test and treatment provision were studied. Multiple logistic and Cox regression models were used to control for prognostic factors and treatments, providing adjusted odds and hazard ratios associated with a higher volume of ten patients annually. RESULTS: Patients managed by higher-volume hospitals survived significantly longer (hazard ratio 0.88 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0.83 to 0.93); P < 0.001). They were more likely to undergo cytological examination (odds ratio (OR) 1.21 (95 per cent c.i. 1.01 to 1.35)), resection (OR 1.44 (1.17 to 1.79)) and biliary stenting (OR 1.17 (1.02 to 1.34)), and were less likely to have bypass surgery (OR 0.66 (0.55 to 0.78)). Patients of higher-volume doctors were more likely to undergo endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (OR 1.59 (1.19 to 2.11)), percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (OR 1.50 (1.12 to 2.00)), laparoscopy (OR 1.81 (1.07 to 3.06)), resection (OR 1.84 (1.29 to 2.61)) and bypass surgery (1.71 (1.25 to 2.33)). CONCLUSION: Specialization appears to improve survival and to promote more thorough investigation.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2002

Cohort study in South and West England of the influence of specialization on the management and outcome of patients with oesophageal and gastric cancers.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate specialization in National Health Service (NHS) cancer care, volume-outcome relationships were examined. METHODS: This was a cohort study of 1512 patients with oesophageal or gastric cancer in 23 acute NHS hospitals. Outcomes were survival time and operative (30 day) mortality. Multiple regression analysis was performed, adjusted for diagnoses, prognoses and treatments. RESULTS: For oesophageal cancer, the operative mortality rate decreased by 40 per cent (odds ratio 0.60 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0.36 to 0.99 per cent); P = 0.047) for each increase of ten patients in doctors' annual surgical caseloads, and the risk of death decreased by 8 per cent (hazard ratio 0.92 (95 per cent c.i. 0.85 to 0.99); P = 0.021) for each increase of ten patients in doctors' annual caseloads. For gastric cancer, the operative mortality rate decreased by 41 per cent (odds ratio 0.59 (95 per cent c.i. 0.32 to 1.07)) for each increase of ten patients in doctors' annual surgical caseloads, and the risk of death decreased by 7 per cent (hazard ratio 0.93 (95 per cent c.i. 0.89 to 0.98); P = 0.009) for each increase of ten patients in hospitals' annual caseloads. Patients of higher-volume doctors were more likely to receive most investigations and treatments, independently of presenting features. CONCLUSION: The study supports concentration of services for oesophageal and gastric cancers. Specialization of doctors and their teams is at least as important as specialization of hospitals.

Cancer Care Facilities↗
PubMed1991

1991 Volvo Award in basic sciences. Collagen types around the cells of the intervertebral disc and cartilage end plate: an immunolocalization study.

Several types of collagen are known to exist in the intervertebral disc in addition to the fibrillar collagens, Types I and II. Although they constitute only a small percentage of the total collagen content, these minor collagens may have important functions. This study was designed to investigate the presence of Types I, II, III, IV, VI, and IX collagens in the intervertebral disc and cartilage end plate by immunohistochemistry, thereby establishing their location within the tissues. Types III and VI collagen have a pericellular distribution in animal and human tissue. No staining for Type IX collagen was present in normal human disc, but in rat and bovine intervertebral disc, it was also located pericellularly. These results show that cells of the intervertebral disc and cartilage end plate sit in fibrous capsules, forming chondrons similar to those described in articular cartilage. In pathologic tissue the amount and distribution of the collagen types, and the organization of the pericellular capsule, differ from that seen in control material.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Indirect method for assessing the penetration of beta-lactamase-nonsusceptible penicillins and cephalosporins in Escherichia coli strains.

Escherichia coli UB1005 and two mutants of this strain (DC2 and DC3) have been used to assess indirectly the relative ability of various beta-lactam antibiotics to penetrate the outer layers of E. coli. Benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, methicillin, cloxacillin, cephaloridine, cephalothin, and cephalexin have been examined. The results confirm those obtained with other methods and show that, among the compounds studied here, cephalosporins seem to penetrate more readily than penicillins.

Cephalosporinase↗
PubMed1976

Comparative study of seven cephalosporins: susceptibility to beta-lactamases and ability to penetrate the surface layers of Escherichia coli.

The properties of cefazolin, cefoxitin, cefamandole, and cefuroxime have been compared with those of cephaloridine, cephalothin, and cephalexin. The properties included for examination are the susceptibility to a range of beta-lactamases commonly encountered in gram-negative species and the ability of a beta-lactam antibiotic to penetrate the outer layers of Escherichia coli. Of the antibiotics tested, cefamandole was the most active in its antibiotic activity but had the disadvantage that it was sensitive to hydrolysis by type IVc beta-lactamase. Cefoxitin and cefuroxime were slightly less active than cefamandole but were effectively resistant to all the beta-lactamases used in the test.

Amidohydrolases↗