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Biomedical subjects

A Williams

Publications and source records attributed to A Williams.

At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Applying economics in a hostile environment: the health sector.

In this paper we state that health economics is now amongst the leaders in a «paradigm shift» in economics that needs to spread as quickly as possible into the rest of the subject. This conclusion is obtained from considering that economics can be applied to topics that do not appear superficially to be economic topics such as what is the best treatment for a national health service to offer to a patient with a particular disease.

Accounting↗
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Alcohol consumption in university students: the role of reasons for drinking, coping strategies, expectancies, and personality traits.

Despite the popularity of the social learning perspective of alcohol abuse, there have been limited efforts devoted to developing comprehensive models that delineate the roles of the constituent components of this approach. In the present study, we determined whether reasons for drinking, coping strategies, alcohol expectancies, and personality traits predict binge drinking and alcohol consumption levels in university students. Escape drinking was the sole positive direct predictor of binge drinking. Social drinking predicted alcohol consumption and thereby exerted an indirect influence on binge drinking. Alcohol expectancies played a significant role in the model but only by influencing reasons for drinking. Although the use of alcohol and/or drugs to cope predicted alcohol consumption, none of a variety of other coping strategies exerted a significant influence in the model. Stress responsivity-related personality traits played a significant role, primarily via an influence on alcohol expectancies. These findings provide support for the social learning perspective of alcohol abuse and offer further insight into the factors that contribute to the development of risky alcohol consumption patterns.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
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HIV/AIDS education for nurses in Poland.

Funded by an agreement with the World AIDS Foundation, a team of American and Polish healthcare professional was established to provide expert and timely training on HIV/AIDS course for nurses was conducted in Gdansk, Poland. The course identified significant professionals concerns of Polish nurses, including fear of infection, discomfort with male sexuality, and lack of information about drug users. Precourse and postcourse evaluations demonstrated significant changes in level of comfort during discussions of sensitive topics and improvement in instructional self-confidence.

Curriculum↗
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Modulation of single Ca2+-dependent K+-channel activity by protein phosphorylation.

There is considerable evidence that cyclic AMP can modulate the electrical activity of excitable cells and that protein phosphorylation by the catalytic subunit (CS) of cAMP-dependent protein kinase is a necessary step in these modulatory effects. In analogy to alterations in enzyme activities following phosphorylation, it seems possible that direct phosphorylation of ion-channel proteins may alter their gating properties, giving rise to the observe changes in electrical activity. However, the results obtained so far do not indicate whether it is ion channels themselves that are phosphorylated, or whether phosphorylation is simply an early step in some cascade of events which leads ultimately to modulation of channel activity. The development of single-channel recording techniques has provided a way to investigate this question. Here we describe effects of CS on the activity of individual CA2+-dependent K+ channels from the nervous system of the land snail Helix measured in isolated membrane patches and in artificial phospholipid bilayers. The results demonstrate that cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation produces long-lasting changes in the activity of individual channels, and indicate that the relevant phosphorylation site is closely associated with the channel.

Animals↗
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Efficacy of a replication-competent adenovirus (ONYX-015) following intratumoral injection: intratumoral spread and distribution effects.

ONYX-015 is an E1B-deleted adenovirus that replicates in and causes lysis of p53-deficient cancer cells selectively. To study the efficiency of intratumoral (i.t.) spread by ONYX-015, we infected specific fractions of tumor cells (two p53-deficient tumor lines and one p53 functional line) in vitro before subcutaneous inoculation into nude mice. Infection of as few as 5% of p53- tumor cells prevented tumor development in all cases; infection of 1% of p53- tumor cells resulted in significant growth inhibition but did not prevent tumor formation. In contrast, infection with ONYX-015 had no significant effect on p53+ tumor formation. These data suggested that replication-dependent tumor cell lysis and spread was occurring, but that tumor destruction might be improved by increasing i.t. virus distribution. Two treatment parameters were then varied to determine whether virus distribution, and consequently efficacy, could be improved. Divided i.t. injections of virus were more efficacious than a single injection of the same total dose. Likewise, increasing the volume of the viral suspension for i.t. injection allowed better distribution within the tumor mass and increased efficacy. These results have implications for the treatment of cancer patients with viral agents.

Adenoviridae↗
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The effect of alginate on the invasion of cystic fibrosis respiratory epithelial cells by clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Chronic infection in the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung is characterized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains that overproduce the mucoid exopolysaccharide, alginate. Previous experiments have shown that long-term survival of P. aeruginosa in the CF lung may be facilitated by increased adherence and decreased invasion of respiratory epithelial cells. Therefore, mucoid and nonmucoid clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa were assayed for their ability to associate with and invade the CF respiratory epithelial cell line, CF/T43. Association assays and gentamicin exclusion assays demonstrated that mucoid P. aeruginosa associates with and invades CF/T43 cell monolayers significantly less than nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains (P = .004, .02). Fluorescence microscopy invasion assays confirmed these results. The differences in association and invasion by the P. aeruginosa strains were not due to differences in lipopolysaccharide phenotype or cytotoxicity for CF/T43 respiratory epithelial cells. Exogenous bacterial alginate had no effect on the invasion of CF respiratory epithelia by a nonmucoid strain. Invasion assays with the wild-type P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 and isogenic algU and mucA mutant strains failed to show differences in invasion (P = .25). We conclude that (i) mucoid P. aeruginosa isolates associate with and invade CF/T43 respiratory epithelial cells with less efficiency than nonmucoid P. aeruginosa, (ii) these differences are not due to variations in lipopolysaccharide phenotype between strains, (iii) neither exogenous nor endogenous alginate affects the ability of P. aeruginosa to invade CF/T43 respiratory epithelial cells, and (iv) invasion of CF/T43 respiratory epithelial cells by a laboratory reference strain of P. aeruginosa does not appear to be regulated by AlgU.

Alginates↗
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Serotypes of hepatitis B antigen (HBs Ag): the problem of "new" determinants, as exemplified by "t".

The principal antigenic determinants of hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBs Ag) are specified by distinct genotypes of hepatitis-B virus (HBV). This hypothesis still stands undisproven. These specificities include the common antigen(s), called a, and two pairs of subdeterminants, d/y and w/r. The members of each pair are in general mutually exclusive, resulting in four "primary" phentoypes of HBs Ag: adw, adr, ayw, and ayr. The newer "a(w) subcategories" probably also reflect differences in viral genotype; if so, the number of "subtypes" rises to eight. Further subdivision into independent strains of HBV may eventually become feasible on the basis of one or more of the following "new" HBs Ag reactivities, once these have been shown to be virus-coded: g, n, q, x, and t. The requirements for accepting new reactivities as HBV-specific, and for comparing them among themselves, are discussed, using t as an example. A peculiar feature of t is its variable physical behaviour: "overt" t reactivity is correlated with the adw phenotype; "cryptic" [t], with ayw; while adr and ayr have so far been t-negative. Pending the indispensable tests of experimental transmission, this uneven distribution would seem to suggest that expression of t is regulated by the HBV genome.

Cell Membrane↗
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Healthcare for the future: caring for populations in alternative settings.

The healthcare environment integrates rapid changes in healthcare delivery, educational approaches to professional role preparation, and professional relationships with others. To meet these challenges, faculty members developed a new course for baccalaureate students. Students are exposed to innovative strategies and models for healthcare delivery with an emphasis on critical thinking related to their experiences in alternative healthcare settings.

Community Health Nursing↗
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The three-in-one proximal and distal soft tissue patellar realignment procedure. Results, and its place in the management of patellofemoral instability.

The three-in-one procedure for extensor mechanism realignment of the knee combines lateral release, vastus medialis obliquus muscle advancement, and transfer of the medial one-third of the patellar tendon to the tibial collateral ligament. We observed 37 patients (42 knees) receiving this treatment at a minimum 25-month follow-up (range, 25 to 85 months; mean, 44). Thirty-two of 42 knees (76%) with recurrent patellar dislocation had good or excellent results after surgery. Redislocation occurred in four knees (9.5%). Skeletal immaturity, chondral damage, and generalized ligament laxity did not seem to affect outcome. Thirty patients (37 knees) were studied 2 years earlier as well (mean follow-up, 29 months). When comparing the results 2 years later, there was a significant deterioration in outcome over time. These results are comparable with the published results for other techniques of patellar stabilization. We describe the place of the three-in-one operation in our surgical protocol for patellofemoral instability, which is based on the principle that a procedure should be selected to address the underlying pathologic features in an individual case rather than always using one operation for all cases.

Adolescent↗
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Management of lymphoedema: a community-based approach.

The community-based Enfield Lymphoedema Service received over 100 referrals in its first year, which suggests that it is suitably sited in the community. Patients have been offered previously unavailable information and treatment, while health care professionals have gained an improved awareness of and insight into lymphoedema and its treatment.

Community Health Nursing↗
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Testis unis, testis nullas: one witness is no witness. Criticisms of the use of oral history in nursing research.

In research, there is no perfection: no perfect method, no perfect sample, and no perfect data analyses tool. Coming to this understanding helps the researcher identify the inadequacies of their preferred method. This paper discusses the criticisms of the oral history method, drawing reference to its challenges and difficulties in relation to its use in nursing research. Oral history has the advantage over more traditional historical approaches in that the narrators can interpret events, personalities and relationships within the interview that are not accessible from written sources. The oral history interview may also provide a forum for unveiling documents and photographs, which might not have been otherwise discovered. Nonetheless, oral history, like most methodologies, is not flawless. This paper discusses the limitations of oral history and suggests ways in which a nurse can use oral history to provide an account of aspects of nursing history.

Autobiographies as Topic↗
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Dependency scoring in palliative care.

This article describes the development and implementation of a dependency rating tool for a palliative care unit. The author details how dependency scores were used to match the needs of patients and those close to them with staffing levels on the unit.

Dependency, Psychological↗
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Room for expansion.

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Humans↗