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Biomedical subjects

A Hunter

Publications and source records attributed to A Hunter.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Societal risk factors associated with spinal cord injury secondary to gunshot wound.

OBJECTIVES: To determine (1) how many individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) secondary to gunshot wound (GSW) had previous violent injury requiring medical professional intervention or were previously involved in the criminal justice system, and (2) how many had social service intervention initiated before their SCI to deter future injury. DESIGN: Follow-up survey of patients admitted to an inpatient SCI rehabilitation unit between 1990 and 1998. SETTING: An urban rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-six patients with SCI secondary to GSW. INTERVENTION: Survey questions inquired about previous GSW, violent injury, and criminal justice involvement. Subjects were queried about social service intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number and percentage of respondents. RESULTS: Of the 56 respondents, 17 (30%) had a previous GSW; 9 (16%) had another violent injury requiring treatment in the emergency department; and 29 (52%) had prior involvement in the criminal justice system. A total of 55 opportunities for social service intervention were identified. Social service intervention was initiated only once. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents had preinjury involvement in the criminal justice system and/or previous violent injury. In all of these situations except 1, there was failure to initiate social service intervention. These preliminary data suggest that criminal justice system involvement and violent injury are common among patients who have SCI secondary to GSW. More aggressive efforts at social service intervention could be an effective means to deter future disability.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

An advanced practice international health initiative: the Ghana Health Mission.

Nursing faculty members are responsible for meeting service, teaching, scholarship, and developing international relations requirements for tenure and promotion in most universities. The profession of nursing requires that nursing faculty, especially nurse practitioner faculty, maintain clinical excellence and prepare culturally competent graduates. The question remains, how can we do it all? A unique, advanced practice, international health initiative in Ghana West Africa was developed to help provide health promotion to a community in need. It has evolved into a project that has facilitated the achievement of those aforementioned requirements of university faculty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Farm and management variables linked to fecal shedding of Campylobacter and Salmonella in commercial squab production.

A cross-sectional study was performed to determine the relationship of farm variables and management practices to fecal shedding of Campylobacter or Salmonella on commercial squab (young pigeon) farms. A detailed survey provided information on biosecurity, cleaning and disinfection, bird health, vector control, and loft and pen. Twenty pigeons on each of 12 farms were cultured before and after the producers completed a voluntary quality assurance training program (QAP), based on principles of hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP). The prevalence of positive samples for Salmonella and C. jejuni was 1/480 (0.21%) and 19/480 (3.96%), respectively. Campylobacter was present on one farm during both visits; three farms during the first visit, and three farms during the second visit. Analysis by fixed-effects logistic regression showed the probability of having a positive C. jejuni culture was increased by not using dry manure in the nesting material, not cleaning shipping crates, cleaning landing boards, and by increased frequency of chemical disinfection of water. Having a positive parent and higher numbers of squab per pen (density) were also associated with higher odds of being positive for C. jejuni. Factors not associated with a positive C. jejuni culture included, other avian species on the farm, type of shipping crate, covered drinkers, fly problems, bird age, level of nest box within the loft, and QAP training. Prevalence of food safety pathogens was extremely low on the squab facilities tested as compared with reports from commercial broiler or turkey flocks. This observation suggests that one or more farm variables or management practices were effectively reducing infection, or possibly a species-related difference existed in carriage rates and shedding of pathogens. These results emphasize critical control points for food safety pathogens may vary widely, and the formulation of effective QAP programs are dependent on science-based knowledge of diverse animal production systems.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2001

Prevalence of Campylobacter and Salmonella at a squab (young pigeon) processing plant.

Microbiological testing for Campylobacter and Salmonella was performed at a processing plant for squab (young pigeon) in three separate trials. Live birds, carcasses, and equipment were targeted for sampling during the preslaughter, pre-evisceration, and postevisceration stages of processing. The three trials represented 18 farms (1,110 squab), 1 farm (250 squab), and 23 farms (2,900 squab). The overall prevalence of positive samples in Trial 1 was 1.4% for Salmonella spp. and 11.1% for C. jejuni; in Trial 2, 4.3 and 0% for Salmonella spp. and C. jejuni; and in Trial 3, 4.1 and 4.8% for Salmonella spp. and C. jejuni, respectively. These observations represent a significantly greater likelihood of having a positive sample for Campylobacter (twofold) or Salmonella (eightfold) at processing, compared with prevalences observed in our previous on-farm study. This finding suggests an overall increase in the number of carcasses contaminated or in the concentration of contamination during transport and processing. In the multifarm trials, only Trial 3 demonstrated a significant increase in the prevalence of positive samples from the preslaughter to the postevisceration stages of processing (P = 0.02), and only for Campylobacter. The prevalence of positive cultures from equipment surfaces were not different than carcasses during processing, therefore no additional critical control points were identified within this system. When pooled swabs were compared (Trial 1) to individual swabs (Trials 2 and 3), no statistical difference in the prevalence of Salmonella or Campylobacter was observed between trials. Direct plating from a pooled sample onto selective agar media (Trial 1) and single swab culture with enrichment followed by plating on selective agar (Trials 2 and 3) were compared for Campylobacter isolation. No statistical difference in C. jejuni prevalence was observed using either method; however, when the detection limit of each method was determined, single swabs with enrichment had greater sensitivity.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

A survey of attitudes to abortion law in Northern Ireland amongst obstetricians, gynaecologists and family planning doctors.

CONTEXT: The Abortion Law in Northern Ireland - professional attitudes to change. OBJECTIVE: To elicit the attitudes of doctors in Northern Ireland, practicing obstetrics and gynaecology or family planning. METHOD: Questionnaires (n = 155) were sent to all grades of doctors working in obstetrics and gynaecology or family planning in Northern Ireland during 1996. RESULTS: One hundred and two (65.8%) of the questionnaires were returned. The majority of doctors believed that abortion should be legalised and a service provided. There was no consensus on how this should be achieved. Fifty percent of family planning doctors supported importing the British Abortion Law, but the majority of hospital doctors favoured a new law specific to Northern Ireland. Over 90% were in favour of providing medical abortions in certain circumstances. There was no agreement on who should be responsible for the service.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2000

Animal bite epidemiology and surveillance for rabies postexposure prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the epidemiology of animal bites and exposure, evaluate the animal exposure reporting system for surveillance of rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), and identify opportunities to reduce PEP. DESIGN: Period prevalence survey. STUDY POPULATION: Pennsylvania residents in 1995. PROCEDURE: Data from animal bite reports from Pennsylvania county health offices were summarized for 1995. Animal bite incidences for the state, counties, various age groups, and various population densities were calculated. Animal species, treatment, location of wounds, and PEP recommendations were evaluated for exposures. RESULTS: More than 16,000 animal-related potential rabies exposures were reported from 65 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania. The highest incidence was in children less than 5 years old (324/100,000). Of the 75% of victims requiring wound treatment, 50% received antimicrobials, 29% received a tetanus toxoid, and 19% had wounds sutured, were admitted to hospitals, or were referred for plastic surgery. Although 75% of exposures were to dogs, victims exposed to cats were 6 times as likely to receive PEP (relative risk, 6.1; 95% confidence interval, 5.1 to 7.4). Thirty percent of 556 PEP were given for exposures to dogs, 44% for cats, 7% for raccoons, 4% for bats, 2.5% for squirrels, 2.1% for groundhogs, 2% for foxes, and 8% for exposures to other species. Fifty-nine percent of owned dogs were up-to-date on rabies vaccinations compared with 41% of owned cats. CONCLUSION: Interventions, such as dog bite prevention education, vaccination of pets against rabies, appropriate use of PEP, and reduction of feral cat populations, should be instituted, enhanced, or better enforced in communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Application of neural networks and sensitivity analysis to improved prediction of trauma survival.

The performance of trauma departments is widely audited by applying predictive models that assess probability of survival, and examining the rate of unexpected survivals and deaths. Although the TRISS methodology, a logistic regression modelling technique, is still the de facto standard, it is known that neural network models perform better. A key issue when applying neural network models is the selection of input variables. This paper proposes a novel form of sensitivity analysis, which is simpler to apply than existing techniques, and can be used for both numeric and nominal input variables. The technique is applied to the audit survival problem, and used to analyse the TRISS variables. The conclusions discuss the implications for the design of further improved scoring schemes and predictive models.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2000

Patient education literature and help seeking behaviour: perspectives from an evaluation in the United Kingdom.

Decisions by patients upon when to use health care services are a major influence on the consumption of health care resources. Patient education--often based upon written information on how to identify symptoms of common illnesses, when to seek help and how to self-treat--is an increasingly popular strategy to rationalise demand. A large body of literature, in evaluating the impact of such written information, has though overlooked the possession or acquisition of comparable publications by respondents in the course of the studies. This study attempted to overcome this limitation in considering the impact of a prominent patient education booklet that makes reference to over 40 common ailments. Questionnaire data from a cohort sample of residents (n = 495) in an area within which the booklet was circulated and that from a comparison area (n = 509) suggests that such literature exerts a modest influence in orienting patients towards "appropriate" self-referral and self-care behaviour. Reasons for this limited impact emerged however in semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of respondents (n = 85). These data show that understanding of the way in which written advice for patients is perceived has to focus upon the ways in which diverse sub-populations process and attribute meaning to "official" and "unofficial" sources of advice. More fundamentally, the increasingly sophisticated and specialised nature of medical and scientific knowledge may be distancing expert knowledge from individuals and society such that "lay" responses to "expert" advice now reflect a continuing process of risk assessment, trust or the withholding of trust.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Implications of delayed diagnosis in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Delayed diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) continues to produce anxiety and is associated with the assumption that disease stage and survival will be worse. The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence and reasons for delay in the diagnosis of CRC, and the effects of delay, gender, age and tumour site on the stage of disease. METHODS: A retrospective study of 100 patients presenting with CRC during a 1-year period was performed. Delay was defined to have occurred if more than a 3-month period had lapsed from the time when initial symptoms were clearly established to the time of operation. Data were collected on principal presenting symptoms, time to first presentation to a doctor, time to diagnosis and treatment, reasons for delay, diagnostic procedures, tumour site, operation, and Australian clinicopathological (ACP) stage of the tumour. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients had a delay in diagnosis of their cancer. In 18 patients (53%) delay was attributable to patient reasons; in 13 patients (38%) delay was attributable to doctor-related delay and in three patients (9%) it was attributable to both. Male patients were more likely to have patient-related delay (31% for male patients vs 10% for female patients; P = 0.011). Patients with delay were less likely to have a stage A tumour (6% for delay group vs 21% for non-delay group; P = 0.04). Male patients were less likely to have a stage A tumour than female patients (8% for male patients vs 25% for female patients; P = 0.018), but the effect of delay on stage disappeared when gender and tumour site were controlled in a logistic regression model. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests some areas where improvements may be made concerning early diagnosis and treatment of patients with CRC.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancy.

The purpose of these studies was first to determine if vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a vascular permeability agent, is increased in the serum of women with preclinical and clinical preclampsia (PE), and second to determine how these levels change after delivery. Twenty preeclamptic and 25 normotensive women at term consented to have blood taken pre- and post-delivery. Ten preeclamptic, 10 gestational hypertensive, and 28 normotensive women had blood collected respectively at 12, 20, and 30 weeks gestation and predelivery. Serum was extracted from all samples, and VEGF concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. Predelivery, the median serum VEGF concentration in the preeclamptic group was 51.7 ng/mL, and in the control group the concentration was 13.9 ng/mL (P<0.0001). Serum VEGF concentrations fell within 24 hours of delivery in both groups, which resulted in median values of 3.8 ng/mL and 3.2 ng/mL respectively (P<0.3). At 12 and 20 weeks, there was no significant difference between the serum VEGF concentrations in the 3 groups (P<0.3, 0.052 respectively). At 30 weeks, prior to the onset of clinical PE, the serum VEGF levels in the eventual preeclamptic group were elevated significantly compared with the gestational hypertensive and normotensive groups (P<0.001). Predelivery serum VEGF concentrations were significantly elevated in the preeclamptic group and were similar to those in the first study (P<0.0001). These findings suggest that VEGF may be important in the pathophysiology of PE and has the potential to act as a preclinical marker for the condition.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Protein and nonprotein cysteinyl thiol modification by N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine via a novel ipso adduct.

N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), a reactive metabolite of acetaminophen (APAP), can arylate and oxidize protein and nonprotein thiols in the pathogenesis of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity. We report the first direct evidence for the formation of a labile ipso adduct between glutathione (GSH) and NAPQI using a combination of techniques including liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/NMR spectroscopy. Decomposition kinetics of the GSH-NAPQI ipso adduct and product ratios suggested that the ipso adduct was readily reversible back to NAPQI under neutral and basic conditions. The significance of the ipso adduct is that it may migrate from its site of formation to other cell compartments where it can either oxidize protein thiols or covalently modify them. Ipso adduct formation with protein thiols was demonstrated with a cysteine protease, papain, whose catalytic activity relies on the presence of an active site cysteinyl thiol. The formation and reactions of cysteinyl thiol ipso adducts of NAPQI provides significant new insights into possible reactions of quinone imines with cellular peptides and proteins.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed1999

Non-lethal arthrogryposis multiplex congenita presenting with cystic hygroma at 13 weeks gestational age.

Arthrogryposis is defined as multiple joint contractures, the aetiology of which is variable. Prenatal diagnosis has focused on diminshed fetal movement and detection of joint contractures on ultrasound. These findings usually do not become evident until 16 to 18 weeks of gestation. Although others (Baty, 1989; Hyett et al., 1997) have reported the diagnosis of arthrogryposis in the first and early second trimester by the presence of nuchal oedema, these reports have all focused on lethal conditions. We report on two female siblings with non-lethal arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. The diagnosis was suspected in the second pregnancy at 13.5 weeks when a large cystic hygroma was detected on ultrasound. Multiple joint contractures became evident at 18 weeks. We hypothesize that the aetiology may be secondary to delay in lymphatic maturation with development of a large cystic hygroma resulting in restriction of fetal movement during early joint formation. Further, the fact that the two female siblings had a similar pattern of facial and joint development, and that their parents are second cousins, suggests an autosomal recessive basis for this form of AMC.

Arthrogryposis↗
PubMed1999

Optic nerve regeneration after intravitreal peripheral nerve implants: trajectories of axons regrowing through the optic chiasm into the optic tracts.

We have studied axon regeneration through the optic chiasm of adult rats 30 days after prechiasmatic intracranial optic nerve crush and serial intravitreal sciatic nerve grafting on day 0 and 14 post-lesion. The experiments comprised three groups of treated rats and three groups of controls. All treated animals received intravitreal grafts either into the left eye after both left sided (unilateral) and bilateral optic nerve transection, or into both eyes after bilateral optic nerve transection. Control eyes were all sham grafted on day 0 and 14 post-lesion, and the optic nerves either unlesioned, or crushed unilaterally or bilaterally. No regeneration through the chiasm was seen in any of the lesioned control optic nerves. In all experimental groups, large numbers of axons regenerated across the optic nerve lesions ipsilateral to the grafted eyes, traversed the short distal segment of the optic nerve and invaded the chiasm without deflection. Regeneration was correlated with the absence of the mesodermal components in the scar. In all cases, axon regrowth through the chiasm appeared to establish a major crossed and a minor uncrossed projection into both optic tracts, with some aberrant growth into the contralateral optic nerve. Axons preferentially regenerated within the degenerating trajectories from their own eye, through fragmented myelin and axonal debris, and reactive astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia and macrophages. In bilaterally lesioned animals, no regeneration was detected in the optic nerve of the unimplanted eye. Although astrocytes became reactive and their processes proliferated, the architecture of their intrafascicular processes was little perturbed after optic nerve transection within either the distal optic nerve segment or the chiasm. The re-establishment of a comparatively normal pattern of passage through the chiasm by regenerating axons in the adult might therefore be organised by this relatively immutable scaffold of astrocyte processes. Binocular interactions between regenerating axons from both nerves (after bilateral optic nerve transection and intravitreal grafting), and between regenerating axons and the intact transchiasmatic projections from the unlesioned eye (after unilateral optic nerve lesions and after ipsilateral grafting) may not be important in establishing the divergent trajectories, since regenerating axons behave similarly in the presence and absence of an intact projection from the other eye.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Psychological and social determinants of women's decisions to undergo genetic counseling and testing for breast cancer.

This study examined the demand for breast cancer genetic testing and counseling among Canadian women diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 50, together with some of the factors predicting both their intentions to be tested and the degree to which they act on their intentions. Participants were 110 women under the age of 50 and comprised of two groups: 1) women diagnosed with breast cancer (BC, n = 60): and 2) an index group of unaffected women from the general population (GP, n = 50). All participants completed a survey that addressed family history of breast and other cancers, demographic variables, knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer, and genetic testing. Members of the BC group were offered genetic counseling and testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 free of charge. Overall, 60% of participants indicated they would like the test, and 40% either did not want it or were uncertain. Seventy-two percent of women in the BC group wanted to be tested. Of these, only 49% had actually contacted the genetic counselor about testing at follow-up 3-15 months later. Intention to be tested was associated with presence of breast cancer, greater perceived benefits of testing, fewer perceived 'costs' of testing, and higher levels of concern about the risk of relatives developing breast cancer. Actual arranging to meet with the genetic counselor among women in the BC group was associated with fewer perceived costs of having the test. Results suggest a moderate level of interest in gene testing, though intention to be tested may not translate into actual uptake. Women who do choose to have the test may believe the potential 'costs' of using this new genetic technology to be relatively few. This has implications for genetic counselors in terms of providing balanced and complete information to women considering genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Inhibition of glial scarring in the injured rat brain by a recombinant human monoclonal antibody to transforming growth factor-beta2.

The transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-betas) are potent fibrogenic factors implicated in numerous central nervous system (CNS) pathologies in which fibrosis and neural dysfunction are causally associated. In this study, we aim to limit the fibrogenic process in a model of CNS scarring using a recombinant human monoclonal antibody, derived from phage display libraries and specific to the active form of the TGF-beta2 isoform. The implicit inference of the work was that, as such antibodies are potential pharmacological agents for the treatment of human CNS fibrotic diseases, validation of efficacy in a mammalian animal model is a first step towards this end. Treatment of cerebral wounds with the anti-TGF-beta2 antibody led to a marked attenuation of all aspects of CNS scarring, including matrix deposition, formation of an accessory glial-limiting membrane, inflammation and angiogenesis. For example, in the wound, levels of: (i) the connective tissue components fibronectin, laminin and chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan; and (ii) wound-responsive cells including astrocytes and macrophages/microglia, were markedly reduced. Our findings suggest that such synthetic anti-fibrotic TGF-beta antibodies are potentially applicable to a number of human CNS fibrotic diseases to arrest the deposition of excessive extracellular matrix components, and maintain and/or restore functional integrity.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

ORBIT: an integrated environment for user-customized bioinformatics tools.

MOTIVATION: There are a large number of computational programs freely available to bioinformaticians via a client/server, web-based environment. However, the client interface to these tools (typically an html form page) cannot be customized from the client side as it is created by the service provider. The form page is usually generic enough to cater for a wide range of users. However, this implies that a user cannot set as 'default' advanced program parameters on the form or even customize the interface to his/her specific requirements or preferences. Currently, there is a lack of end-user interface environments that can be modified by the user when accessing computer programs available on a remote server running on an intranet or over the Internet. RESULTS: We have implemented a client/server system called ORBIT (Online Researcher's Bioinformatics Interface Tools) where individual clients can have interfaces created and customized to command-line-driven, server-side programs. Thus, Internet-based interfaces can be tailored to a user's specific bioinformatic needs. As interfaces are created on the client machine independent of the server, there can be different interfaces to the same server-side program to cater for different parameter settings. The interface customization is relatively quick (between 10 and 60 min) and all client interfaces are integrated into a single modular environment which will run on any computer platform supporting Java. The system has been developed to allow for a number of future enhancements and features. ORBIT represents an important advance in the way researchers gain access to bioinformatics tools on the Internet.

Computational Biology↗