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Biomedical subjects

A Anderson

Publications and source records attributed to A Anderson.

At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
PubMed1970

Absence of antidiuresis during administration of prostaglandin F2 alpha.

Water diuresis was induced in six patients in mid-pregnancy. Three were then given oxytocin and the remainder prostaglandin F(2)alpha (PGF(2)alpha), both drugs being infused intravenously in doses used to induce labour at term. Pronounced antidiuresis occurred with oxytocin, whereas PGF(2)alpha showed no such effect. The probable absence of any risk of water intoxication when using PGF(2)alpha in inducing labour may be of particular value when maternal pre-eclampsia or renal disease is present.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Determination of plasma total homocysteine and cysteine using HPLC with fluorescence detection and an ammonium 7-fluoro-2, 1, 3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulphonate (SBD-F) derivatization protocol optimized for antioxidant concentration, derivatization reagent concentration, temperature and matrix pH.

A sensitive HPLC-fluorescence method for determining total endogenous plasma homocysteine (Hcy), cysteine (Cys) and cysteinylglycine (Cys-Gly) following derivatization with ammonium 7-fluoro 2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulphonate (SBD-F) is described. Quantitation utilizes an internal standard, 2-mercaptoethylamine. The derivatization procedure has been optimized for concentration of SBD-F, reducing agent (tributylphosphine) and temperature. Findings indicate that values for plasma determinations vary according to the nature of the matrix in which calibration standards are made up. If quantitation is based on a peak height ratio, then standards should be made up in either pH 7.4 phosphate buffered saline or plasma taking into account the endogenous thiol concentration. These findings are based on calibration data, and 30 plasma samples quantified using thiol standards made up in plasma, pH 7.4 and pH 9.5 buffers. By defining how this matrix/pH effect influences thiol quantitation, it should be possible to make a more meaningful comparison of Hcy measurements between laboratories. The chromatographic separation was investigated at several mobile-phase pH values with the following conditions ascertained to be optimal: a mobile phase consisting of 5% (v/v) acetonitrile in 0.1 M KH2PO4, pH 2.15 was run at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. It was used in conjunction with a Supelco LC-18 base deactivated analytical column (150 x 4.6 cm i.d. 3 microM bonded silica). The internal standard and thiols were measured by fluorescence detection at 385 nm excitation and 515 nm emmission. Plasma levels are easily measured in a 100 microL volume. Storage for 2 months at -20 degrees C resulted in no deterioration of thiols. Furthermore, no difference in thiol levels was observed between bloods collected in lithium heparin and EDTA. Collected blood should, however, be separated as soon as possible to avoid red cell metabolism of Hcy which was observed in a case of hyperhomocysteinemia. Once derivatized, thiols are stable for at least one week at +4 degrees C.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Functional status outcomes of patients with a coronary artery bypass graft over time.

OBJECTIVE: To examine functional status outcomes among patients with a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) over time (ie, at baseline; 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery) and the impact of selected patient characteristics (ie, age, sex, comorbidities, and cardiac rehabilitation participation) on functional outcomes. DESIGN: A prospective, repeated-measures design was used to examine functional status in patients with a CABG over time. SETTING: A midwestern community hospital and regional cardiac referral center was the setting for enrolling patients with a CABG. OUTCOME MEASURES: Functional status outcomes were measured by using the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short Form 36 (SF-36) and Modified 7-Day Activity instruments. METHODS: Baseline data were obtained by patient interview in the hospital setting after CABG surgery. At 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery, telephone interviews were conducted to administer research instruments. RESULTS: Baseline scores on 7 of the 8 subscales of the MOS SF-36 were significantly lower than at 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months after surgery. Role-emotional functioning baseline scores were not significantly lower than 3-month scores; however, baseline scores were significantly lower than 6-month and 12-month scores. Three-month subscale scores were also significantly lower than 6-month or 12-month scores except for the subscales measuring social and general health functioning. Functional status as measured by the Modified 7-Day Activity tool did not demonstrate any significant differences between 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month activity levels. There were no significant differences by age group on any of the 8 subscales of the MOS SF-36 instrument. Women and subjects with more than 1 comorbidity had a significantly lower preoperative level of physical functioning. Cardiac rehabilitation participants had lower preoperative scores on role-emotional functioning than subjects who were not in rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study can assist nurses and other health care workers to gain a perspective of the recovery and rehabilitation trajectory of patients with a CABG. The results of the study provide a basis for determining areas of functional limitations during recovery from CABG surgery. Study results can also be the foundation for evaluating outcomes of patients with a CABG when specific interventions (eg, pain management, psychosocial support, physical strengthening, fatigue management) are implemented during hospitalization, home recovery, and rehabilitation to target optimal psychosocial and physiologic functioning of patients with a CABG.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Outcomes and cost benefits associated with the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy in a medicaid population of asthmatic patients.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to assess the clinical and economic impact of the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy in the North Carolina Medicaid population of patients with asthma. The case group consisted of 180 patients who were followed for 1 year before and 1 year after the initiation of inhaled corticosteroid therapy. The control group consisted of 233 patients whose asthma was of similar severity to that of the case group and who remained on any therapy other than corticosteroids for a continuous 2-year period. After the initiation of inhaled corticosteroid therapy, the case group had reductions of 50% in hospitalizations, 26% in outpatient visits, and 15% in physician visits. At the end of the second year, the control group had significant increases of 23% in hospitalizations and 36% in outpatient visits. All of the changes were statistically significant. However, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, there was a nearly 24% decrease in total health care costs per asthmatic patient per month as a result of the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy. Overall, we found that there was a cost benefit to Medicaid in the introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy and that this therapy brought about dramatic decreases in health care utilization and costs.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

VRDD: applying virtual reality visualization to protein docking and design.

We have developed an interactive docking program called VRDD. It offers various modes of displaying molecules in an immersive, three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment. It allows a user to interactively perform molecular docking aided by automatic docking and side chain conformational search. Binding free energies are computed in real time, and the program enables the user to explore only clash-free orientations of a ligand. VRDD also supplies visual and auditory feedback during docking and side chain search, indicating the levels of atomic overlap and interaction energy. The stunning VR graphics immerse users in the scene and can maximally stimulate their design intuition. We have tested VRDD on three cases with increasing complexity: a nine-residue-long peptide bound to a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule, barstar bound to barnase, and an antibody bound to a hemagglutinin. Without prior knowledge, combinations of hand-docking and automatic refinement led to accurate complex structures for the first two complexes. The third case, for which all automatic docking algorithms failed to identify the correct complex in a previous blind test, also failed for VRDD. Our results show that the combination of VR docking and automatic docking can make unique contributions to molecular modeling.

Antibodies↗