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PubMed1987

Occupational exposure and lung function measurements among workers in swine confinement buildings.

Previous studies have demonstrated that air in swine confinement buildings contains large amounts of dusts, highly contaminated with microorganisms and bacterial endotoxin. A study was undertaken to investigate the respiratory function of workers before and after the work shift in swine confinement buildings. Questionnaires were mailed to workers on swine farms. Dust levels were measured by personal sampling, and the micro-flora in the dust was determined. Work-related symptoms from the lung were frequent. Several workers who were smokers had forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) values lower than expected when they started work. Among a group of life-long nonsmoking workers the baseline forced vital capacity and FEV1 were not decreased. Changes in the FEV1 over the working shift were generally not found. It is suggested that exposure to dust in swine confinement buildings may lead to respiratory impairment but further studies on larger population samples and different exposure conditions are required.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed2006

Development of maximum metabolic rate and pulmonary diffusing capacity in the superprecocial Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami: an allometric and morphometric study.

The Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami is a member of the Megapodiidae, the mound-building birds that produce totally independent, "superprecocial" hatchlings. This study examined the post-hatching development of resting and maximal metabolic rates, and the morphometrically determined changes in pulmonary gas exchange anatomy, in chicks during 3.7 months of growth from hatchlings (122 g) to subadults (1.1 kg). Allometric equations of the form y=aM(b) related gas exchange variables (y) to body mass (M, g). Metabolic rates were measured with open-flow respirometry (mL O2 min(-1)) of chicks resting in the dark and running above the aerobic limit on a treadmill. Resting metabolic rate (RMR=0.02 M(0.99)) and maximal metabolic rate (MMR=0.05 M(1.07)) scaled with exponents significantly above those of interspecific allometries of adult birds. However MMR was below that expected for other species of adult birds in flapping flight, consistent with the Brush Turkey's ground-dwelling habits. Total lung volumes (mL) increased faster than isometrically (V(L)=0.0075 M(1.19)), as did the surface area (cm(2)) of the blood-gas barrier (S(t)=7.80 M(1.23)), but the data overlapped those of adult species. Harmonic mean thickness of the blood-gas barrier was independent of body size (mean tau(ht),=0.39 microm) and was about twice that expected for flying birds. Diffusing capacity (mL O2 min(-1) kPa(-1)) of the blood-gas tissue barrier increased faster than isometrically (Dto2=0.049 M(1.23)); in hatchling Brush Turkeys, it was about 30% expected for adult birds, but this difference disappeared when they became subadults. When compared to altricial Australian pelicans that hatch at similar body masses, superprecocial Brush Turkeys had higher MMR and higher Dto2 at the same body size. A parallel allometry between MMR and Dto2 in Brush Turkeys and pelicans is consistent with the concept of symmorphosis during development.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Coaxial multi-electrode cell ('O-trap') for high-sensitivity detection at a multiple frequency in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry: main design and modeling results.

Separation of the functions of ion excitation and detection between different cell compartments allows for implementation of excitation and detection techniques unattainable in a single compartment of the conventional ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) cell. In particular, multi-electrode detection at a multiple of the main cyclotron frequency can be utilized without the loss of sensitivity and other negative effects. The new O-trap designed exclusively for ion detection adds an additional, internal coaxial cylinder around which ions with excited cyclotron orbits rotate. Comparison of simulated performance characteristics of the new O-trap with those of the same-size conventional cylindrical cell shows that the O-trap can provide higher sensitivity and ion capacity. Multiplexing of the O-traps can further increase the analysis speed. Future efforts will be aimed at building and testing experimentally the coaxial O-trap, including optimization of the method of ion transfer between the compartments of the cell.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed2005

Characterization of sulfate reducing bacteria isolated from cooling towers.

In this study, the occurrence and metabolic capacities of sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were studied in 36 water samples taken from cooling towers of 30 different buildings, such as hotels and business centres in Istanbul. SRB were present in 14 cooling towers out of 30 (46.6%) buildings and while the lowest concentration of SRB was 10 cells/mL, the highest concentration was determined as 10(4) cells/mL. After the distribution of SRB within cooling towers was determined, several strains of SRB were isolated and characterized metabolically. The isolated strains were composed of vibroid cells, growing anaerobically by using sulfate as electron acceptor and lactate or pyruvate as electron donor. They could be related to the genus Desulfovibrio. In addition, the recorded temperature of water samples was between 12 and 33 degrees C and a significant relationship between the number of SRB and the water temperatures was not found.

Desulfovibrio↗
PubMed2006

Systems approaches to the networks of aging.

The aging of an organism is the result of complex changes in structure and function of molecules, cells, tissues, and whole body systems. To increase our understanding of how aging works, we have to analyze and integrate quantitative evidence from multiple levels of biological organization. Here, we define a broader conceptual framework for a quantitative, computational systems biology approach to aging. Initially, we consider fractal supply networks that give rise to scaling laws relating body mass, metabolism and lifespan. This approach provides a top-down view of constrained cellular processes. Concomitantly, multi-omics data generation build such a framework from the bottom-up, using modeling strategies to identify key pathways and their physiological capacity. Multiscale spatio-temporal representations finally connect molecular processes with structural organization. As aging manifests on a systems level, it emerges as a highly networked process regulated through feedback loops between levels of biological organization.

Aging↗
PubMed2005

Building medical ontologies by terminology extraction from texts: an experiment for the intensive care units.

In many medical fields, maintenance, comparison and aggregation of unambiguous terminologies go through formal specialized clinical terminologies: ontologies. We describe a methodology to build medical ontology from textual reports using a natural language processing tool, the SYNTEX software. The methodology is illustrated in the surgical intensive care medical domain. We have tested the possibility for an expert to build a sizeable ontology in a reasonable time. The quality of the ontology has been evaluated according to its capacity to cover the ICD-10 terminology in the field. Finally, the methodology itself is discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

A rapid screening tool for estimating the potential of 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin complexation for solubilization purposes.

Quantitative structure-property relationships (QSPRs) were developed for predicting the solubility enhancement (expressed as logS/S0) of compounds in 45% (w/v) aqueous solution of HP-beta-CD. A set of 25 structurally different drugs, whose logS/S0 values were taken from literature, was used as a training set for building the computational models. Thirteen molecular descriptors, including parameters for size, lipophilicity, cohesive energy density and hydrogen-bonding capacity, were calculated and together with the experimental melting point (MP), used in multivariate analysis. Eight pertinent variables were detected after looking at the results of principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, and two reliable four-descriptor models generated by multiple linear regression (MLR) and by the partial least squares-projection to latent structures (PLS) methods. In both cases, satisfactory coefficients of determination values were obtained (i.e., R2 equal to 0.793 or 0.763 for MLR and PLS, respectively). The models were validated using a test set of six compounds. The equations generated can predict the aqueous solubility increase of poorly soluble compounds by complexation in 45% (w/v) aqueous solution of HP-beta-CD with a reasonable accuracy. These equations can allow formulation scientists to rapidly estimate, at the early stage of drug development, the potential of HP-beta-CD in increasing solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs.

2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin↗
PubMed2004

New ways of understanding and accomplishing leadership in academic medicine.

Understanding leadership as being about a person in charge is not wrong, but it is no longer adequate. The challenges and problems confronting medicine today are so complex and unpredictable that it is practically impossible for one person to accomplish the work of leadership alone. More leadership requires more shared work, but as hospitals and medical centers begin to break down departmental barriers, people have to learn to work with individuals and groups who may have different work ethics, dissimilar styles of solving problems, or even contrasting values. Successful academic medical centers will make use of a broader repertoire of leadership strategies--besides developing leaders, they will develop leadership as a property of the system, as an organizational capacity. While leader development involves enhancing human (individual) capital, the emphasis in leadership development is on social capital and building more productive relationships that enhance networking, collaboration, and resource exchange. Leadership is created in and emerges from the relational space that connects people--accordingly, leadership development involves building high-quality connections between people. To make leadership happen more effectively, academic medical centers will have to identify and study the ingredients that catalyze and enhance human connectivity, augment social capital and activate leadership. Leadership is a uniquely human activity--studying it and how it works is core to the learning organization.

Conflict, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Living on the margin: a salutogenic model for socio-economic differentials in health.

Research into health inequalities shows that socio-economic position (SEP) is strongly associated with differentials in health. Yet at present there is no adequate model to explain the causal link between the social and the biological variables: in particular why the association between SEP and health is found in all societies; and why inequalities are not simply a reflection of poverty causing sickness, but are also seen among the wealthiest classes in the wealthiest societies. In this paper we propose a model which brings together many diverse strands of research, and helps to explain how stratification by socio-economic position may be seen in terms of differentials in the margin of resources. Resource differentials lead to stratified health outcomes owing to the differential capacity of individuals and groups to realise 'universal' psychological aspirations of a broadly 'health promoting' nature. The margin model builds upon a previously described salutogenic theory of health. On average, the relative size of the margin will predict differential health outcome. This prediction is empirically testable and opens up a new agenda for research on health differentials; it also provides a framework for understanding, planning and evaluating health promotion.

Health Policy↗
PubMed1996

Emerging indicators of ego growth and associated resistances.

In this paper the technique of resistance analysis is extended beyond a focus on defenses against aggressive drive derivatives to include a focus on resistances based on libidinal conflicts and resistances which stem from defenses against accessing and using autonomous ego functions. For example, patients may resist progress by forming primary defenses against expression of joyful affects, increased capacity to think, and/or new possibilities for effective action. This expanded focus for analysis of resistance permits us to build a technique bridge between drive-defense perspectives and ego psychology, it highlights the need to analyze the sense of danger involved in autonomous ego functioning, and it points to a way of freeing such functioning from the influences of resistance.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Attacks on science: the risks to evidence-based policy.

As government agencies, academic centers, and researchers affiliated with them provide an increasing share of the science base for policy decisions, they are also subject to efforts to politicize or silence objective scientific research. Such actions increasingly use sophisticated and complex strategies that put evidence-based policy making at risk. To assure the appropriate use of scientific evidence and the protection of the scientists who provide it, institutions and individuals must grow more vigilant against these tactics. Maintaining the capacity for evidence-based policy requires differentiating between honest scientific challenge and evident vested interest and responding accordingly, building and diversifying partnerships, assuring the transparency of funding sources, agreeing on rules for publication, and distinguishing the point where science ends and policy begins.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed1991

Facility issues of the 1990s.

In the 1980s there was overbuilding of facilities of all kinds, including facilities with acute psychiatric beds. A subsequent decrease in patient days in most of these hospitals caused significant excess capacity. With all the problems now confronting mental healthcare facilities, it may be difficult to focus attention on hospital buildings; however, intelligent planning for the use of these large investments may be part of an overall solution. An awareness of problems facing our facility managers should enhance the planning process and minimize unwanted surprises.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2002

Reframing the pharmaceutical manufacturer/health plan relationship in managed care.

Managed care is stuck in a vendor stage of health care industry evolution that is organized, primarily, to beat back costs through contracted discounts and utilization management. At the same time, the potential exists for an altogether different managed care that is based on a more explicit mission of lowering costs through improved quality. The foundation for this alternative approach is evident in current practices involving disease management and clinical-quality improvement. Significantly, while health plans do not have the staff or capital to systematically adopt these practices, pharmaceutical companies are in a unique position to assist. To the degree health plans start building sophisticated, long-term strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers into their business models, managed care will gain the capacity to advance beyond its vendor stage and make good on its original mission of promoting preventive health, improving individual outcomes, and realizing sustainable cost containment. For this to happen, it is suggested that health plans address "total cost-of-care savings" in their budget process, and the pharmaceutical manufacturers establish a "consultative service function" in their managed care divisions.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed2002

Terminology extraction from text to build an ontology in surgical intensive care.

In many medical fields, the maintenance of unabiguous terminologies, the comparison and aggregation of different terminologies go through the building of formal specialized clinical terminologies, the ontologies. In this paper, we describe the building of an ontology in the surgical intensive care medical domain. We considered textual reports as the main source of information and a natural language processing tool, the SYNTEX software, is used to build the ontology. We have tested the possibility for an expert to build a sizeable ontology in a reasonable time. The quality of the ontology has been evaluated according to its capacity to cover the ICD-10 terminology in the field. Examples of coding activity with the ontology are proposed and discussed.

Critical Care↗
PubMed1993

Which way for malaria control and epidemiological services?

Historically epidemiological services were intimately linked with malaria control, and both were conceived as an integral part of local public health services. The strategy of malaria eradication between 1956 and 1969 moved malaria activities away from the health services and led to a weakening of epidemiological capacities. The epidemiological requirements of malaria control are now greater than ever. However, the capacity of health services to fulfil these requirements remains seriously weak. Investment in malaria control could provide an important building block for the much-needed strengthening of national public health.

Developing Countries↗