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Biomedical subjects

A Skinner

Publications and source records attributed to A Skinner.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Scar management of cultured epithelial autograft.

Since the introduction of cultured epithelial autograft (CEA) for the treatment of burns wounds, the resulting scar has caused a great deal of concern. When CEA is applied to a deep wound the resulting scar is subject to breakdown with minimal trauma. It takes a considerable period of time, in some instances years, before the dermal-epidermal junction matures and the skin is able to endure the wear and tear of normal existence. Therefore it is understandable that the introduction of pressure garments for treating into these scars has been somewhat delayed. However, we believe that early aggressive pressure therapy is the treatment of choice in those cases where there is a strong chance of the scar becoming hypertrophic. This paper presents an approach to the problems of scar management with CEA, not only for the case of a major full-thickness burn, but also for a lesser burn injury. The concept of a hydrophobic fabric as a lining garment is introduced. The garment design has been changed, to pay particular attention to reduction of shearing forces and dissipation of pressure. The development of our hydrophobic pressure garment is beneficial as it both reduces surface maceration and shearing injury. Since it protects the fragile CEA, formal pressure management can be instituted early in the treatment programme.

Bandages↗
PubMed1996

Attitudes of consultant anaesthetists to the Calman proposals: a questionnaire survey.

We undertook a postal survey to determine the views of all consultant anaesthetists within the North West (Mersey) Regional Health Authority on the Calman proposals for a consultant-based service; replies were received from 110 (84%). Fifty (45%) indicated that they would not resume emergency residential duties, 32 (29%) indicated that they would withdraw from the emergency duty rota, 12 (11%) said they would withdraw/retire from the NHS and 27 (25%) would change hospital under these circumstances. Most consultants had experience in the major anaesthetic sub-specialties within the preceding 5 years (obstetrics 67%, ITU 81%, major trauma 91%). Consequently the need for retraining amongst consultant anaesthetists prior to resuming residential emergency duties would be low. When questioned about the impact on anaesthetic services, 67 (61%) felt the proposals would be detrimental whilst 23 (21%) felt there would be beneficial effects. Most consultants remain antagonistic toward the Calman proposals, with a reluctance to return to residential duties.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1995

Preoxygenation--the importance of a good face mask seal.

We have studied 16 healthy volunteers whose lungs were preoxygenated six times each in order to assess the amount of room air entrained during tidal volume preoxygenation if a good seal is not maintained between the face mask and the face. With a fresh gas flow of 10 litre min-1, we found that using gravity alone to hold the face mask in position, more than 20% room air was entrained; if the face mask was held adjacent to the face, more than 40% room air was entrained.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The contribution of osteoarthritis to disability: preliminary data from the Women's Health and Aging Study.

Our objective was to examine the relationship of a self-reported physician diagnosis of arthritis with disability in elderly community dwelling women. Data from a representative sample of 1541 women aged 65 and above were analyzed to determine the prevalence and associations of a self-reported physician diagnosis of arthritis with other chronic conditions and difficulty performing physical activities. A history of physician diagnosed arthritis was reported by 902 (58.5%) women. Women with arthritis were significantly more likely to report fair or poor perceived health, as well as a physician diagnosis of angina, myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, lung disease, and hearing and vision problems. After adjustment for age, race, education, marital status, and comorbid/geriatric conditions, arthritis was significantly associated with difficulty in the following 13 activities: raising arms, lifting < or = 10 pounds, walking 2-3 blocks, bathing or showering, climbing 10 steps, grasping, getting in or out of a bed or chair, dressing, using the toilet, preparing meals, doing personal shopping, heavy and light housework. We conclude that physician diagnosed arthritis is a common problem among elderly community dwelling women and is associated with difficulties in physical activity.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Urinary growth hormone measurements in children with renal insufficiency.

It has been reported that intrinsic renal factors could affect urinary growth hormone (UGH) measurements. We compared UGH excretion in 21 children aged 4-16 years, with various degrees of renal insufficiency, with that in 10 control subjects aged 5-13 years. We found 100- to 1000-fold elevations in UGH in children with plasma creatinine concentrations > 120 mumol/L (Group A) compared with patients with plasma creatinine concentrations < 120 mumol/L (Group B) and control subjects. UGH excretion (microU) in the three groups was as follows: group A 804-8556 (median 2649); group B 1.0-85 (median 7.5); and controls 2.6-7.3 (median 4.0). Elevated urinary beta 2-microglobulin levels (microgram) were also observed in group A patients: 875-15,400 (median 11,637) as compared with group B, 1.0-104 (median 32) and controls, 3-18.7 (median 8.0). There was no significant difference in albumin excretion between groups A and B through six patients in group B with nephrotic syndrome (NS) excreted significantly more albumin (P < 0.05) than the other 15 patients investigated. Our data show that abnormalities of renal function have a profound effect on growth hormone excretion and we suggest proximal tubular dysfunction as the causative factor. We conclude that UGH measurements do not provide a reliable means of assessment of hypothalamo-pituitary function in patients with renal insufficiency.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Drug abuse treatment programs as centers for HIV-related research and treatment.

The Observational Data Base (ODB) is a multicenter, longitudinal effort of the Community Programs for Clinical Research in AIDS (CPCRA) designed to collect HIV-related data on a large number of HIV-infected patients receiving primary care from community based physicians and health care groups. Over 400 patients from the Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation have enrolled in the ODB. Compared to the remainder of the CPCRA, ARTC ODB enrollees are more likely to be female, African American or Hispanic and to have injectable drug use and heterosexual contact with an injectable drug user as risk factors. The ARTC ODB patient profile closely resembles the fastest growing segments of the AIDS epidemic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Transcriptional regulation of the c-erbB-3 gene in human breast carcinoma cell lines.

The c-erbB-3 gene is a member of the EGF receptor family of membrane tyrosine kinases. Previous work has shown that the expression of this gene is frequently unregulated in human breast carcinoma-derived cell lines and in tumour biopsy material. As there is no evidence of gene amplification, we decided to examine the control of c-erbB-3 transcription in overexpressing cells. In this paper we describe the cloning of the c-erbB-3 promoter and its functional analysis within mammary-derived cell lines. We show that the promoter is more active in overexpressing cells and this is largely due to the action of the OB2-1 transcription factor which we have recently identified as mediating overexpression of the c-erbB-2 promoter in similar cell lines.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Adolescent health status measurement: development of the Child Health and Illness Profile.

This report describes the early stages in the development and testing of an instrument, known as the CHIP (Child Health and Illness Profile), for assessing the health of individuals aged 11 through 17. The purpose of the instrument is to assess health in epidemiologic surveys, to determine the existence of systematic differences in health in subpopulations (including the socioeconomically disadvantaged), and to provide a basis for assessing the impact of changes in health services or health policies. An instrument consisting of six domains with 25 subdomains was developed based on the literature, the involvement of focus groups and expert panels, and pretesting in four groups of teenagers known to differ in their health. The results of work with panels of experts suggest that the instrument has content validity. Most domains and subdomains had acceptable reliability as measured by alpha coefficients. Differences in the scores of individuals in the four groups were in the predicted directions, suggesting that the instrument also has construct validity. Additional research is under way to establish other aspects of validity as well as reliability in school populations of adolescents as well as specific clinical settings.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Transcriptional repression by a novel member of the bZIP family of transcription factors.

We describe here a novel member of the bZIP family of DNA-binding proteins, designated E4BP4, that displays an unusual DNA-binding specificity which overlaps that of the activating transcription factor family of factors. When expressed in a transient transfection assay with a suitable reporter plasmid, E4BP4 strongly repressed transcription in a DNA-binding-site-dependent manner. Examination of a series of deletion mutants revealed that sequences responsible for the repressing potential of E4BP4 lie within the carboxyl-terminal region of the protein. No similarity was found between this region and the repressing domains of other known eukaryotic transcriptional repressors.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Influence of exposure to tobacco smoke on serum alpha fetoprotein levels of women in midtrimester pregnancy.

The influence of exposure to tobacco smoke on maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels at 16 wk gestation was examined. Urinary cotinine levels were used to quantify exposure to tobacco smoke. Significantly higher levels of maternal serum AFP were found in 101 women who had more than 1.0 microgram cotinine/mg urinary creatinine compared with 180 women whose urinary cotinine levels were below this level [(mean +/- SD) 1.23 +/- 0.64 and 1.06 +/- 0.54 respectively; 95 per cent CI of difference of means 0.01-0.31; P < 0.05]. There was a mild albeit statistically significant correlation between urinary cotinine levels and maternal serum AFB (r 0.099; P < 0.05). However, the difference in maternal serum AFP levels between the two groups was not found to be significant, when adjustments for maternal body mass index were made.

Body Mass Index↗
PubMed1991

Three-dimensional high-resolution volume rendering (HRVR) of computed tomography data: applications to otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

Conventional computed tomographic display formats are not optimal for demonstrating three-dimensional anatomic relationships. In otolaryngology--head and neck surgery these critical relationships are often highly complex, and their complete understanding is essential to a successful surgical outcome. A new computer-generated image display format, high-resolution volume rendering (HRVR), facilities the understanding of these critical anatomic relationships by transforming conventional imaging data into clinically relevant 3-D images. Unlike many other 3-D reconstruction algorithms, HRVR suffers minimal data loss in the conversion process, which in turn provides for superior image resolution. This better allows the application of 3-D technology to small or complicated anatomic structures such as those frequently encountered in otolaryngology--head and neck surgery. Advances in computer-controlled manipulations that further enhance the evaluation of desired pathologic features have been achieved. This pilot study contains representative clinical cases chosen to illustrate the potential utility of HRVR in otolaryngology--head and neck surgery. The authors believe HRVR images will enhance the surgeon's understanding of the 3-D anatomic relationships that exist between critical pathologic features and surrounding vital structures.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

AIDS-related behavioral research and nursing.

As efforts targeted at producing an effective vaccine or a definitive cure are still in early stages of development, health education and prevention continue to be this country's major line of defense against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This defense is dependent on knowledge of behaviors that place individuals at risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure and disease progression. This article reviews the critical points in our state of knowledge and offers additional areas of need. Research is needed to determine a database of persons who use psychoactive substances and to understand the HIV-associated behaviors linked to drug use. Epidemiologic studies are necessary to appreciate the sexual, contraceptive, and childbearing practices of users of any psychoactive substance. Greater emphasis also is needed to investigate the inherent effects of various psychoactive substances on the immune, neurologic, and endocrine systems. While biomedical research continues, it is apparent that research from behavioral studies are crucial to education and prevention efforts. Nurse investigators are well-positioned to play an important role in accumulating this information. Given the critical role of drug abuse in the HIV epidemic, the public health significance cannot be overestimated.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Maternal smoking, urinary cotinine levels and birth-weight.

The smoking habits of 300 consecutive pregnant women and of other members of their household were obtained by interview at 16 and 32 weeks' gestation and after delivery. Urine samples for estimation of cotinine were collected at the same times during pregnancy and on admission in labour. Both self-reports of active maternal smoking and urinary cotinine levels were significantly associated with lighter babies but urinary cotinine correlated the better. Active maternal smoking was associated with a decrease in birth-weight of 12 g for every cigarette smoked in a day while there was a decrease of 25 g in birth-weight for every microgram of cotinine/mg of urinary creatinine. Passive maternal smoking was associated with a decrease of 66 g in mean birth-weight but this decrease was not statistically significant. Self-reports of active and passive smoking accounted for 43% of the variation in urinary cotinine levels suggesting that urinary cotinine assays can be used to assess and monitor exposure to tobacco smoke in pregnancy.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of the structure and properties of human, rat and rabbit serum transferrin.

1. The chemical and physical properties of human, rat and rabbit serum transferrins were compared. 2. The proteins were found to differ in heat stability, iron release, their behaviour during electrophoresis in SDS polyacrylamide gels, and their sulphur amino acid content. 3. The results are discussed in relation to the possible role of disulphide bridges in maintaining the shape and flexibility of the three transferrins, and in their appearance during the evolution of the transferrin family.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1989

Children's car-restraints: use and parental attitudes.

An analysis of the attitudes of 600 parents towards children's car-restraints together with their use is presented. Only 47% of infants under 9 months of age and 26% of children under 15 years of age were always appropriately restrained. Children under 4 were more likely to be restrained than older children and previous involvement in a road-traffic accident led to increased use of restraint.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Biochemical and ultrastructural investigation of the effect of Stelazine (trifluoperazine) on Hymenolepis diminuta (Cestoda).

The effects of the phenothiazine, Stelazine, on Hymenolepis diminuta were investigated. The cestode was incubated for 10 min at 37 degrees C with 1 mM trifluoperazine, in the presence and absence of Ca2+. Assay of brush border enzymes showed that drug treatment lowered the activities of alkaline phosphatase, Ca2+-ATP'ase, 5'-nucleotidase and type 1 phosphodiesterase. This occurred in parallel with a significant reduction in tegumental protein. Under these conditions gross changes in ultrastructural appearance and cellular organization were observed. There was a lack of ordered microtriches and the distal cytoplasm was absent. Glycogen granules were scattered throughout the cytoplasm within the subtegumental layer. The connective tissue also appeared to be in some disarray. The effects of Stelazine appeared to be dependent on time and were significantly increased when Ca2+ was included in the incubation medium. Incubation with the less hydrophobic phenothiazine trifluoperazine sulphoxide had minimal effect on the integrity of the cestode. The results reported here support the premise that certain phenothiazines may be considered as potential cestocidal agents.

5'-Nucleotidase↗