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Biomedical subjects

B Hunter

Publications and source records attributed to B Hunter.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Correlation of body mass index with thoracic and abdominal panniculus.

Obesity can play a significant role in chronic diseases, sudden unexpected death, and morbid obesity may be important as a cause of death for forensic pathologists. Our study attempted to determine if there is a correlation between panniculus measurements and body mass index (BMI) since BMI has been used in most studies to categorize obesity. Using data obtained from a review of 524 adult autopsies conducted at the University of Michigan from 1990 to 1992 we were able to show a correlation between both thoracic and abdominal panniculus and BMI (r2 = 0.335 and 0.296 respectively) which is statistically significant (p = 10(-47) and 10(-41) respectively). A prospective study confirmed the correlation (r2 = 0.552 for thoracic and 0.436 for abdominal panniculus) when the measurements were taken at the xyphoid process and 3 cm below the umbilicus. Using these data we calculated a panniculus index (PI) which is equal to the thoracic + abdominal panniculus in centimeters divided by the square of the height (in meters). The PI strongly correlated with BMI and was able to predict obesity. Using a BMI cutoff of 39 for morbid obesity, a PI value of 4.07 for females and 3.25 for males predicted morbid obesity with the probability of a false positive less than or equal to 2.5%. Mild and severe obesity could also be determined using the PI. Based on these data we've concluded that a concise mathematical relationship does exist between BMI and panniculus measurements. Therefore panniculus measurements can be used either as a surrogate measurement of morbid obesity or to support BMI calculations.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1997

Development of a novel system for assessing tooth and restoration wear.

OBJECTIVES: This investigation sought to develop a mapping apparatus for use in the assessment of both tooth and restoration wear. METHODS: A computer controlled mapping device, capable of scanning a suitably prepared electroconductive tooth replica by means of an electrical feedback mechanism, was constructed and its accuracy assessed by measuring the thicknesses of four engineers' slip gauges 12 times each. The reproducibility of three potential methods of rendering a die stone replica electroconductive was also investigated. Finally, tooth replicas were surface profiled and compared empirically with the originals using a commercial surface mapping program. RESULTS: The overall mean accuracy of the mean thicknesses of the slip gauges was 4.4 (2.8) microns. Surface deposition of either nickel spray or gold leaf, upon a ready formed replica, did not give a reproducible thickness. Precoating silicone impressions with nickel spray prior to replica production overcame this problem. On an empirical basis the instrument yielded accurate digital terrain models of tooth replicas. CONCLUSIONS: A surface mapping device has been developed which is both accurate and reproducible. A satisfactory electroconductive surface may be produced upon a tooth replica by precoating a silicone impression with nickel spray before casting the replica. The technique should prove invaluable for monitoring both tooth and restoration wear but further work is necessary to examine how such an approach will perform clinically.

Dental Impression Materials↗
PubMed1997

Reported infant feeding, oral hygiene and dental attendance patterns in children aged 5 years and under referred for extraction of teeth under general anaesthesia.

This study was designed to examine reported infant feeding, oral hygiene, and dental attendance practices in children who had established dental disease before attaining school age. Data were collected by structured interview from the mothers of 150 children aged 5 years and under who were referred to a hospital Paediatric Dentistry Unit for the extraction of teeth under general anaesthesia. Few children in this study had been exclusively breast-fed, and, although unconfirmed by data derived from matched caries-free controls, the development of dental caries would appear to be related to prolonged bottle-feeding, including the use of a night-time bottle until just before weaning, the early introduction and regular consumption of larger than average amounts of confectionery, coupled with reportedly regular but unsupervised toothbrushing. Although decay was already established in over a third of children before they visited a dentist for the first time, little evidence of restorative care was found. It would appear that the primary care services fail this youngest age-group.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Ecosystem health as a clinical rotation for senior students in Canadian veterinary schools.

We describe 4 years of an experimental rotation in ecosystem health offered to senior veterinary students in Canada. Faculty from the 4 Canadian veterinary colleges collaborated in offering the rotation once annually at 1 of the colleges. The 1st rotation was held in Guelph in 1993, followed in successive years by rotations at Saskatoon, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Charlottetown. The rotation is a predominantly field-based experience that allows students to work with veterinary and other role models who are actively engaged in clinical research related to ecosystem health. Five specific field studies that worked particularly well during the rotations are presented. These studies involved investigating mortality in wildlife due to botulism, designing an environmental surveillance system around herds of beef cattle, using belugas to evaluate the health of the St. Lawrence River, dealing with competition for water use by aquaculture and agriculture, and exploring the role of veterinarians during major coastal oil spills. The experience has resulted in our developing the subject matter, field examples, teaching approach, and confidence necessary to make ecosystem health the focus of a productive clinical rotation for senior year veterinary students.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1996

A computerised method of monitoring and assessing undergraduate clinical activity.

This article describes the development and use of an electronic data acquisition system for monitoring and assessing the clinical activity of undergraduate dental students. The advantages of such a system over a paper-based one is that it can generate reports quickly and easily, showing the variety of clinical experience gained by the undergraduates and an assessment of the level of skill displayed. It also relieves academic staff of the tedious, repetitive task of collecting and collating data by hand.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1996

A microprocessor-controlled psychomotor tester for minimal access surgery.

BACKGROUND: There is little reported information on psychomotor performance in relation to minimal access surgery (MAS). METHODS: A microprocessor-controlled endoscopic psychomotor tester (the Dundee Endoscopic Psychomotor Tester-DEPT) has been developed to evaluate psychomotor aspects of MAS. Experiments were conducted on 20 medical undergraduates to evaluate accuracy and reliability of the tester. RESULTS: The study demonstrated a significant difference between subjects (p < 0.01). It also identified three individuals who enacted 16, 22, and 40 errors while the majority (85%) sustained less errors with a median of 4.5. CONCLUSIONS: DEPT provides a standard, reproducible, objective real-time scoring system. It identifies individuals who cannot adjust to endoscopic viewing and therefore manipulate from endoscopic images.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1996

The current status of dental health education in the training of midwives and health visitors.

In some areas of the United Kingdom, the dental health of young children is deteriorating, with levels of disease reverting to those of ten years ago. The recent enquiry into the education and training of personnel auxiliary to dentistry recognised that other health care staff working in primary care have an important role to play in the education of parents with young children and should be trained accordingly. This study sought to investigate, by questionnaire survey, the current status of dental health in the education of midwives and health visitors. It was found that the majority of courses in health visiting but only two-thirds of those in midwifery now include dental health in their curricula. The use of inappropriately qualified tutors may place these professionals at a disadvantage in providing advice on the prevention of oral disease to parents and prospective parents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Urinary acidification and rheumatoid arthritis].

The aim of this study was to investigate subclinical abnormalities in renal function suggestive of incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis (DRTA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), using the gradient between PCO2 in urine and blood (U-B PCO2 gradient), which is a simple and sensitive test. We prospectively selected 45 patients in three groups (G). G 1 (n = 15p), with RA, mean age 44 years and mean disease duration 6.5 years. G2 (n = 10 p), with RA and Sjögren's syndrome (SS), mean age 47 years and mean disease duration 6.6 years. G 3 (n = 20) healthy volunteers, no history neither renal nor rheumatic diseases, mean age 37 years. Patients in G1 and G2 had no history of concurrent disease affecting renal parenchyma, their acid-base status and renal function were normal (Creatinine clearance above 70 ml/min/1.73m2). All patients received NSAIDs but none gold salts and/or D-Penicillamine. The ability to acidify the urine was evaluated in all cases by U-B PCO2 gradient, after a 500 ml NaHCO3 continuous infusion 1 molar solution through a peripheral vein. U-B PCO2 lower than 30 was considered pathological and diagnostic for DRTA. The urinary specimen for pH and PCO2 were kept under mineral oil and processed within 5 minutes of excretion. The blood samples for PCO2 were obtained from a peripheral vein and measured after obtaining a urinary pH 7.8 or above, pH and PCO2 were measured with a BMS 3 MK2 Radiometer, Copenhagen Denmark electrode and analizer. The U-BPCO2 results were (mean 2 sd): G1 = 47 +/- 26; G2 = 49.8 +/- 8.4; G3 = 52.5 +/- 12.2. There were no statistical differences among the three groups (F = 1.228727). In the G1, a single patient presented U-B PCO2 lower than 30 (U-B PCO2 = 5), having a long active disease at the evaluation time. In G2 and G3 no gradient alterations were recorded. We conclude, in spite of the fact that U-B PCO2 gradient is a very useful and sensitive tool for detecting dRTA, that there was no correlation between incomplete type dRTA and RA or between incomplete dRTA and RA associated to SS. In addition, no association was found between NSAID intake and dRTA.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗
PubMed1995

Feasibility of school-based smoking cessation programs.

This study obtained input from Australian student smokers approximately 15 years old, which may be useful in designing school-based smoking cessation programs. The sample was analyzed by previous quitting experience and intentions to quit. The order of preference for assistance options and incentives for quitting was similar across all groups; however, those who previously attempted to quit (previous quitters) and those who intended to quit (intenders) in the future were significantly more likely than non-quitters and non-intenders to find assistance options for quitting acceptable. The potential for saving money emerged as an important variable in convincing all groups of smokers not to smoke, and using personal willpower and cutting down slowly were identified as important in actual attempts to quit. The need for programs to be free and for friends to be supportive also was evident across all groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Laband syndrome. Report of two cases, review of the literature, and identification of additional manifestations.

Twenty-six persons with Laband syndrome have been reported in the literature to date. We report two further unrelated cases and suggest that a skeletal anterior open bite and symmetric soft tissue swelling of the vault of the palate be added to the variable features associated with the syndrome. There is clear evidence in the literature of autosomal dominant inheritance but our analysis indicates that in some cases recessive transmission is likely.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1993

The effects of short- and long-term supplementation with fish oil on the incorporation of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids into cells of the immune system in healthy volunteers.

Eight healthy male volunteers supplemented their normal diet with 10-15 g/d of a fish oil supplement (MaxEPA) to provide 1.4-4.2 g/d of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5 n-3) for a period of 12 weeks. Blood samples were taken at weeks 0, 2 and 12 and the fatty acid compositions of the phospholipids of plasma, platelets, neutrophils, monocytes and T- and B-lymphocytes were determined. In all instances the level of EPA increased significantly (P < 0.05) by 2 weeks and remained so without a further increase for the ensuing 10 weeks. Beyond that, few consistent patterns in fatty acid composition were observed. Arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6) fell significantly (P < 0.05) in plasma, platelets, neutrophils and T- and B-lymphocytes, but generally tended to do so only by week 12. Given the wide variability in the half-life of these cells (minutes for neutrophils, months for lymphocytes) it is evident that uptake of plasma EPA occurs by phospholipid exchange into preformed mature cells and does not require incorporation during cell genesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The effects of acute and chronic administration of n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on ethanol-induced gastric haemorrhage in rats.

Female weanling rats in three equal groups (n 12) were given orally by intubation 1 ml micellar solution of taurocholic acid (10 mM) and either arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6), linoleic acid (18:2 n-6) or eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3) at a concentration of 120 mM. After 1 h the rats were given intragastrically 2 ml absolute ethanol and were killed 1 h later. Rats given oral 20:4 n-6 showed a significant reduction (P less than 0.05) in the extent (%) of gastric mucosal haemorrhage compared with either the rats given 20:5 n-3 or 18:2 n-6 (8.3 (SD 7.3), 23.2 (SD 10.4) and 21.4 (SD 10.4) respectively. In a second experiment, four equal groups (n 12) of female Wistar rats were fed for 5 weeks on either a control diet of standard laboratory rat food, or the same diet enriched with either maize oil or fish oil or butterfat at a level of 100 g/kg. Following a 24 h fast the rats received an intragastric dose of 2 ml ethanol and were killed 1 h later. Examination of the extent (%) of gastric lesion showed a significant reduction (P less than 0.05) with the feeding of either maize oil or fish oil compared with the controls (12.2 (SD 8.2), 15.3 (SD 13.2) and 29.3 (SD 14.0) respectively). The butterfat diet was not significantly different from the control diet (23.8 (SD 8.1)).

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The accuracy of clinical findings and laparoscopy in pelvic inflammatory disease.

The accuracy of clinical diagnosis for pelvic inflammatory disease was determined in 95 women who presented with pelvic pain to primary care physicians and then were referred to gynecologists. Laparoscopy or laparotomy with endometrial biopsy and fimbrial minibiopsy revealed that prevalence of pelvic inflammatory was 46% (44/95) and positive and negative predictive values of gynecologists were 74% (23/31) and 67% (43/64) (p = 0.0002). If histopathologic diagnosis was the standard, clinical accuracies of the gynecologists were no better than chance (p = 0.43), suggesting an expectation bias for visual diagnosis. Laparoscopy had a sensitivity of 50% (12/24) and a specificity of 80% (40/50) for salpingitis if the standard was fimbrial histopathologic diagnosis (p = 0.01). These results support the routine use of laparoscopy, supplemented when negative by endometrial and fimbrial minibiopsy, to accurately diagnose pelvic inflammatory disease.

Cervix Uteri↗
PubMed1991

Effect of exposure to operant-controlled microwaves on certain blood and immunological parameters in the young chick.

Twenty-two 1-wk-old broiler chicks (Gallus domesticus) were housed at 16 C and operantly conditioned to activate either a 250-W infrared bulb (control) or a microwave generator delivering 13 mW/cm2 (treated). Plasma corticosterone concentration did not differ between groups (P greater than .05) at 4 wk of age. At that time the birds were killed, and post-mortem examination revealed no treatment differences in gross morphology of the chicks or in weights of spleen and bursa of Fabricius (P greater than .05). Histological study of comparable segments of spleen, bursa, adrenal, and thyroid tissue did not show differences in any of the chosen parameters (P greater than .05). Heterophil:lymphocyte ratios, packed cell volume, and total plasma protein content were similar between groups (P greater than .05). These results suggest that operant exposure to low density microwave radiation did not result in stress or immunological disturbances.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1991

Locomotor-respiratory coupling develops in novice female rowers with training.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that locomotor-respiratory coupling (LRC), or entrainment of breathing, develops in the sport of rowing as a result of training. We prospectively evaluated exercise responses over an 8 month training session (October to May) in 12 female subjects who were members of the Dartmouth College novice rowing team. Progressive, incremental exercise testing was performed on the variable-resistance rowing ergometer (Concept II, Morrisville, VT). To relate the pattern of breathing to the mechanics of rowing, the catch and finish of each rowing stroke during the last 30 s of each minute of exercise were marked on the strip chart paper that recorded inspiratory flow measured by using a heated pneumotachograph. Age was 18 +/- 1 yr (mean +/- SE); weight was 67.5 +/- 2.1 kg. Peak oxygen consumption (VO2) increased by 10% from October (40.8 +/- 0.6 ml.kg.min-1) to May (P less than 0.001). Chi-square goodness-of-fit analysis was used to assess whether the proportion of inspirations occurring in each of four quadrants of circle plots representing repetitive rowing strokes exercise intensities of 100 watts (W) and peak VO2 were random or corresponded to a regular pattern of breathing. Although 5 of 12 subjects demonstrated LRC at exercise of 100 W in October, there was no significant change at this submaximal intensity over the training season. Only 2 of 12 subjects showed LRC at peak exercise in October, but there was a significant increase (P = 0.003) in the number of subjects who entrained breathing in Jan (10/12) and May (8/12).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗