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Biomedical subjects

A Smart

Publications and source records attributed to A Smart.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Eukaryotic DNA methylases and their use for in vitro methylation.

DNA methylases from mouse and pea have been purified and characterized. Both are high molecular mass enzymes that show greater activity with hemimethylated than unmethylated substrate DNA. Both methylate cytosines in CpG preferentially, but not exclusively and show similar kinetics of methylation, which makes it difficult to saturate all possible sites on the DNA, but procedures are described that circumvent this problem.

Animals↗

Public health. Surma: a cause for concern.

Andrew Smart and Nishi Madan describe a campaign in Derby to reduce the use within Asian communities of 'surma', a lead-based eye cosmetic, and to raise awareness among health professionals of the potential hazard this practice presents. A health visitor may bring special insight to questions about traditions and customs pertaining to her client community and about which little may be known by those who do not have a close working relationship with those communities.

Adult↗

Impaired sweating in the diabetic neuropathic foot and its influence on skin flora.

Three groups each of 10 subjects, were defined by clinical and neurophysiological studies: diabetic with neuropathy (Group A), diabetic without neuropathy (Group B) and normal control (Group C). Sweating on the foot was quantified and the bacterial flora on the dorsum of the foot and deltoid area were examined. There were no significant differences in type of density of bacterial species found on either foot or deltoid regions between any of the three groups. Diabetics free of clinical infection have a similar skin microbial flora to non-diabetics even when sweating is seriously impaired. It is therefore unlikely that a change in the resident microbial flora is involved in the propensity of diabetic neuropathic patients to foot ulceration and infection.

Actinomycetales↗

Characteristics and perceptions of after-hours callers.

After-hours care remains an important aspect of community practice although little is known about the views of either physicians or patients. This study presents an analysis of 12 499 after-hours calls made to a family practice centre over a five-year period, and 798 follow-up telephone interviews conducted with people who called for help after hours. Fifty per cent of the callers requested care for themselves while the remainder made the call for another family member, usually a child; most had discussed the problem with family or friends before calling. A majority stated that they would go to a hospital emergency room if they could not use the after-hours service. Physicians tended to perceive the calls as being due primarily to physical problems, while almost one-third of the callers stated that the motive for their call was anxiety or concern rather than physical discomfort. Although there was a lack of agreement between physician and caller on several aspects of the contact, most of the callers were satisfied with the contact.

Adolescent↗

Visual, kinaesthetic and cross-modal development: relationships to motor skill development.

The ability of children between the ages of 5 and 10 years to match the length of lines within and between the modalities of vision and kinaesthesis was studied. No evidence was found for specific increases in cross-modal skill which could not be explained in terms of within-modal development. Performance in the perceptual task was related to measures of developing motor skill in the children. Substantial relationships were found between performance on the within-modal tasks and motor skill, but no significant relationships were found between cross-modal measures and motor skill development. It is concluded that the development of cross-modal integration is not a major determinant of motor skill development.

Child↗

Visual perceptual deficits in clumsy children.

In a previous study clumsy children were found to be impaired in their ability to match the length of successively presented straight lines, and the ability to perform this task correlated with their degree of motor impairment [3]. The present experiments explore two possible explanations for this pattern of results. One possibility is that this earlier result tapped a memory deficit in the clumsy children. The first experiment shows that the clumsy children still experience difficulties in matching the length of a line to a second line which is simultaneously present. This suggests the difficulty is one of perception and not memory. The second experiment explores whether faulty perception of length in the clumsy children is related to eye movement problems. No support for this idea was found; with tachistoscopic presentations at durations which exclude subjects making eye movements the clumsy children are still clearly impaired in judging the length of lines.

Child↗

The telephone survey in family practice.

Patient surveys can be useful methods of obtaining information for the purposes of improving health services, practice management, or research in family medicine. The telephone interview is an effective and economical method of undertaking such a survey. The advantages and disadvantages of the telephone survey method are briefly illustrated by a study conducted in the Family Practice Center at the University of North Carolina concerning patient perspectives on their after-hours medical encounters with physicians.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

Patient participation in a medical education environment.

Family practice residency programs are specifically directed toward training primary care physicians to serve the interests of communities. This paper describes two methods of developing a feedback mechanism to increase the awareness of physicians in training to patients' health needs and desires. One method involves the development of a patient advisory group in the Family Practice Center at The University of North Carolina, and the other an ongoing telephone survey of patients who call after hours.

Family Practice↗

Visual, kinaesthetic and cross-modal judgments of length by clumsy children: a comparison with young normal children.

In a previous study, clumsy children, when compared to normal children of the same age, were found to be impaired in their ability to match the length of successively presented straight lines within and between the modalities of vision and kinaesthesis. The present study explores this finding further by comparing the clumsy children's performance with that of a group of younger normal children whose skills of movement are comparable to those of the clumsy children. It was found that the clumsy children's performance on the perceptual measures was equivalent to that of the younger normal children.

Child↗

Heartwatch: screening employees for heart disease risk factors.

Heartwatch is a project set up to screen workers for risk factors of coronary artery disease, provide practical advice and decrease risk factors in the workplace. It combines clinical measurements using portable equipment with results from a questionnaire. The information is processed by a computer to generate a personalized report.

Coronary Disease↗