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Biomedical subjects

C Blackburn

Publications and source records attributed to C Blackburn.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Using the Internet? The experiences of parents of disabled children.

BACKGROUND: Research has offered consistent evidence that the provision of crucial information to parents of disabled children, at a time when they need it and in a form that they can use, is an intractable problem. This makes it important to develop new and effective approaches to information presentation, distribution and delivery. The Internet has been put forward as a medium through which families' needs for information and services can be met. This paper looks at parents of disabled children's experience of using it. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 3014 adult carers, of which 788 were carers of disabled children aged 0-17. Data were collected using a postal questionnaire. RESULTS: A high proportion (75%) had previously used the Internet. Of these, 63% were frequent users and 91% were using it at home. Popular uses were emailing, obtaining information about caring, ordering equipment and shopping online. Despite positive benefits, users experienced problems relating to technical issues and equipment and system design. Lack of time owing to caring and other circumstances was an issue for over half of all users. Never users were more likely to be living in rented accommodation, be unemployed and not have a PC at home. Reasons for not using the Internet included lack of access to equipment, cost and lack of skill. CONCLUSIONS: For some parents the Internet is a viable and flexible medium for accessing useful information and services. However, caution about the extent to which it becomes the primary means for delivering information is needed. Technical problems and lack of time can make it difficult to search for complex information. The 'digital divide' between users and non-users makes it crucial that issues of cost, lack of equipment and skill be addressed. Information needs to be made available in other forms to ensure that those who cannot or do not wish to use the Internet are not socially excluded.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Parent reported home smoking bans and toddler (18-30 month) smoke exposure: a cross-sectional survey.

AIMS: To study the relation between the use of parent reported home smoking bans and smoke exposure among children aged 18-30 months. METHODS: A total of 309 smoking households with children aged 18-30 months, who were part of the Coventry Cohort study, consented to participate in this cross-sectional survey. RESULTS: Although parents in almost 88% of smoking households reported using harm reduction strategies to protect their toddlers from smoke exposure, only 13.9% reported smoking bans in the house. Mean log urinary cotinine:creatinine ratio was significantly lower for those children whose parents reported no smoking in the house (1.11, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.49) compared with none/less strict strategies (1.87, 95% CI 1.64 to 2.10). In linear regression models fitted on log cotinine:creatinine ratio, no smoking in the house was independently associated with a significant reduction in cotinine:creatinine ratio (B = -0.55, 95% CI -0.89 to -0.20) after adjusting for mother's and partner's average daily cigarette consumption, housing tenure, and overcrowding. The final model accounted for 44.3% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: Not smoking in the house was associated with a reduction in mean urinary cotinine:creatinine ratio in children aged 18-30 months; the relation persisted after adjustment for levels of mother's and partner's daily cigarette consumption and sociodemographic factors. Results suggest that home smoking bans in this age group have a small but significant effect on smoke exposure independent of levels of parental tobacco consumption.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2003

Patterns of smoking, quit attempts and services for a cohort of 15- to 19-year-olds.

OBJECTIVES: To establish patterns of smoking among 15-to 19-year-olds within mixed urban and suburban area and explore preference for the nature of services to assist quitting. DESIGN: Postal survey and depth interviews with focus group validation. SETTING: People registered with health services in the Borough of Solihull, UK. The borough has a diverse population with areas of high deprivation to the north and a range of prosperity elsewhere. PARTICIPANTS: Questionnaires were sent to 50% of those registered and 20 people interviewed aged from 15 to 19 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The survey contained demographic questions relating to educational attainment and family, smoking status, history and quit attempts, use of facilities for quit attempts. Qualitative themes explored attitudes and experience of quitting, utilization of cessation services, barriers to access and nicotine replacement therapy. RESULTS: Total survey response rate was 32.6%. Three in five reported smoking a cigarette sometime, 17.2% current regular smokers, 7.2% current occasional smokers. Median age of starting smoking was significantly lower (P = 0.004) for current regular smokers, distinguishable in two groups; weekend smokers and all week smokers. More quit attempts had been made or planned by current regular smokers but were often short lived. Weekend smokers had a slightly longer duration of quitting (P = 0.03). Eight-two per cent were optimistic about quitting in the future although the majority (80%) had already made one quit attempt. Knowledge and use of existing services was poor, with concerns about privacy and confidentiality. Models based on autonomy were identified as potentially useful. CONCLUSION: Teenage smoking is characterized by optimism about quitting despite the failure of many quit attempts, lack of regard for existing services and barriers to uptake.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Genetic evidence for male biased dispersal in the red-billed quelea Quelea quelea.

In order to detect sex-biased dispersal in the red-billed quelea Quelea quelea in southern Africa, we used the assignment index technique to determine the probability that individuals originated from the population in which they were sampled. This is the first time that this multilocus genetic test has been used in a bird species and is informative despite evidence that the population under study exhibits little genetic structure. There was a pattern of male-biased dispersal, the first example in a passerine, and the first time that evidence of a sex-biased pattern of dispersal has been shown for queleas.

Animal Migration↗
PubMed2001

Effect of localized cytokine dysregulation: accelerated rejection of IL-2-expressing skin grafts.

Transgenic mice were created in which a sheep keratin promoter directed the expression of IL-2 into the dermis. These KIL-2 transgenic mice were used to investigate the effects of localized IL-2 dysregulation on immune responses. Peripheral tolerance to skin antigens was not broken by in situ IL-2 expression because syngeneic KIL-2 skin grafts were not rejected. However, MHC Class I-disparate skin grafts from KIL-2 donors were rejected faster (median survival time (MST) 12 days) than grafts of non-transgenic littermate skin (MST 18 days). In contrast, the kinetics of KIL-2 H-Y-disparate skin graft rejection (MST 14 days) did not differ significantly from controls (MST 16 days), suggesting that upregulation of IL-2 at the effector site could affect CD4+ T cell- independent, but not CD4+ T cell-dependent, responses. No effect on rejection kinetics was observed when wild type allogeneic skin was grafted onto transgenic mice that expressed bcl2 constitutively in their lymphocytes (MST of 14 days, both sets), indicating that this was not simply due to increased longevity of T cells within the IL-2 expressing graft. We therefore suggest that aberrant expression of IL-2 can accelerate helper-independent CD8+ T cell responses by increasing proliferation and/or differentiation of cytolytic T cells at the effector site.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Brief residential treatment for nicotine addiction: a five-year follow-up study.

Relapse is a major problem with nicotine addiction. This study investigated the long-term abstinence rate and effectiveness of a five-day residential nicotine treatment program. Questionnaires were mailed to all clients who completed the program between 1991 and 1996. 47% of the questionnaires were returned. Of these, 65% of respondents reported being abstinent from nicotine for an average period of 120 weeks. Of this group, 15% reported at least one relapse before a sustained abstinence. The primary relapse triggers for both the abstinent and nonabstinent groups were coping with "strong emotional feelings". Over 50% of the sample was comorbid for other addictions, depression or anxiety disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Structure and chromosomal mapping of the TNF-alpha inducible endothelial protein 1 (Edp1) gene in the mouse.

EDP1 was identified as a human gene activated transcriptionally by tumour necrosis factor alpha in endothelial cells. Here we have characterised the mouse Edp1 gene. We show that the gene encodes a highly conserved protein and describe its intron/exon structure. The presence of related genes in the sequence databases suggests that Edp1 is part of a gene family. Fine mapping of the gene in the mouse genome indicates that, as expected from its location on human chromosome 17, the mouse Edp1 gene maps to mouse chromosome 11. However, surprisingly, the gene does not map to the expected region of mouse chromosome 11 suggesting that a change in the order of genes has occurred within a conserved linkage group.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1998

"High-load" polyethylene glycol-polystyrene (PEG-PS) graft supports for solid-phase synthesis.

The choice of a polymeric support is a key factor for the success of solid-phase methods for syntheses of organic compounds and biomolecules such as peptides and oligonucleotides. Classical Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), performed on low cross-linked hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) beads, sometimes suffers from sequence-dependent coupling difficulties. The concept of incorporating polyethylene glycol (PEG) into supports for solid-phase synthesis represents a successful approach to alleviating such problems. Previous reports from our laboratories have shown the advantages of "low-load" PEG-PS (0.15-0.25 mmol/g) for SPPS. Herein, we demonstrate that the beneficial aspects of the PEG-PS concept can be extended with resins that have higher loadings (0.3-0.5 mmol/g).

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Madelung's disease: an uncommon disorder of unknown aetiology?

A case of Madelung's disease (benign multiple symmetrical lipomatosis, Launois-Bensaude syndrome) is described. The characteristic clinical features, associations with chronic alcoholism and a review of the current literature is reported.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1993

Wealth and the nation's health.

Social and economic prosperity to a great extent depend on a healthy population; similarly good health depends on adequate income, writes Clare Blackburn. The government strategy for health promotion outlined most recently in The health of the nation, fails to acknowledge this. Nevertheless health visitors and school nurses cannot ignore the links between health and wealth.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1993

Gender, class and smoking cessation work.

Clare Blackburn argues that a understanding how smoking helps working class women to cope is vital to any intervention encouraging them to stop. Health visitors who are developing strategies to lessen the impact of material stresses on women are therefore key workers in smoking cessation programmes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Family poverty: what can health visitors do?

Poverty levels have risen substantially since 1979, particularly among families with dependent children. Between 1979 and 1987 the number of families with children in poverty (with incomes below 50 per cent of average income) increased from 2.8 million to 5.5 million. Families with dependent children are now the largest single group in poverty. Many health visitors see poor families and witness the health effects of poverty on a daily basis. Clare Blackburn attempts to identify what action health visitors can take to make a positive impact on family poverty and draws out some of the key elements of responsive service provision.

Community Health Nursing↗
PubMed1986

Design and evaluation of a nitrous oxide scavenging system for use in nontraditional hospital settings.

Analgesic use of nitrous oxide (N2O) in nontraditional settings requires safe and effective scavenging systems to rid the work area of hazardous waste gas. Significant health risks to health care workers are associated with repetitive exposure to excessive levels of N2O. Regulations limit the exposure level to 25 parts per million and also require the use of effective scavenging systems. We tested the existing room ventilation and a suction-powered scavenging system in our burn unit's hydrotherapy room and found them to be inadequate in maintaining safe room air levels. We therefore developed a fan-powered scavenging system using a ceiling-mounted hood, under which N2O is administered, and found it to maintain safe levels while requiring little patient cooperation and allowing complete access to the patient.

Burn Units↗