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Biomedical subjects

C Bland

Publications and source records attributed to C Bland.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Influenza A vaccine decreases the incidence of otitis media in 6- to 30-month-old children in day care.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the use of influenza vaccine in children in day care decreases the incidence of otitis media during the influenza season. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Eight day-care centers in North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eighty-six children aged 6 to 30 months. INTERVENTION: Half the participants received trivalent subvirion influenza virus vaccine. MEASUREMENTS: Acute otitis media (AOM) and serous otitis media (SOM) were assessed biweekly from mid-November 1993 to mid-March 1994 by visual and tympanometric examinations performed by "blinded" observers. The winter season was divided into three periods-before, during, and after influenza season--and the number of children with AOM or SOM during each period was determined. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were computed, while controlling for race and sex using logistic regression methods. RESULTS: Influenza vaccine was protective against AOM (OR = 0.69, 95% CI, 0.49-0.98) during the influenza season. Although there may have been some protection against SOM (OR = 0.75, 95% CI, 0.54-1.02) statistical significance was not achieved. Myringotomy tubes were also significantly protective against AOM and SOM during all three time periods, with ORs between 0.34 and 0.52, but the greatest protection was seen during the influenza period. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza vaccination of 6- to 30-month-old children in day care was associated with a decreased incidence of otitis media during the influenza season. Myringotomy tubes protected against AOM and SOM during all 16 weeks monitored.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Optimism abounds.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Forecasting↗
PubMed1985

Dimensional accuracy of magnetic resonance in studies of the heart.

Magnetic resonance (MR) can provide high-resolution tomographic images of the heart at any part of the cardiac cycle. Tests on static and dynamic phantoms showed that the technique can give accurate measurements of ventricular wall thickness, cavity volume, and stroke volume. In 20 patients with angina pectoris, electrocardiographically gated MR images of the left ventricle were compared with X-ray contrast ventriculograms. There was good correlation with the anteroposterior ventriculogram, but poorer correlation in the lateral projection because of difficulty in locating the aortic valve precisely on the ventriculogram. In 20 normal subjects, left and right ventricular volumes at end-diastole and end-systole were measured by summing the areas of the cavities in multiple contiguous sections. Stroke volumes and ejection fractions were thus calculated, and the ratio of left to right ventricular stroke volume was very close to the theoretical value of 1, in all cases. In any individual volume measurement, the error was approximately 2%. MR therefore provides an accurate non-invasive method of studying cardiac dimensions and function.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Role of ultrasound in the management of ovarian carcinoma.

The ultrasound findings of the pelvis, upper abdomen and peritoneal cavity were correlated with second-look laparotomy in 85 patients with Stage III or Stage IV ovarian carcinoma. High values of accuracy were obtained for the pelvis (90%) and liver (91%) but ultrasound was insensitive to peritoneal disease unless ascites was present.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Production of split patterns on the articular cartilage surfaces of rats.

A device has been designed to permit reproducible loads to be applied perpendicularly to the acutely curved cartilage surfaces of the diarthrodial joints of small animals. With this apparatus, a sharp, round pin has been used to cause splits in the hyaline articular cartilage of the lower end of the femurs of 37 Wistar rats. In the patellar groove, the splits form a longitudinal pattern. On the condylar surface, the pattern is fantail, radial or non-uniform. It is suggested that cartilage thickness, joint congruence and load per unit area, are variables related to the directional pattern of the splits. These variables, in turn, reflect the gross, microscopic and molecular anatomy of the cartilage. The effects pin-pricks are comples: they disrupt surface collagen bundles and other cartilage components. Experiments made to test the effects of drying, isotonic saline, hyaluronic acid and sodium hydroxide support the view that the state of hydration and fluid flow are important determinants of the shape of cartilage splits. However, sodium hydroxide-induced cartilage disruption, involving glycosaminoglycan loss, did not influence split configuration. Some preliminary evidence suggests that the process of crack propagation, by which splits form, may be related to the position and shape of chondrocyte lacunae. It is concluded that pin-prick testing offers a means by which the structural properties of the cartilage of small diarthrodial joints may be conveniently tested in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Fine structure of artificial splits in femoral condylar cartilage of the rat: a scanning electron microscopic study.

Artificial splits made in rat femoral condylar articular cartilage have been studied by SEM. Three types of split have been described; non-layered, unidirectional layered and multidirectional layered. The frequency of each type of split varies in the different regions of the condyle. Deformation and crack propagation are features of layered splits and the latter are often accompanied by exposure of fibres. The fibre pattern over the articulating surface of the rat femoral condyle, revealed by trypsin or NaOH treatment, has been determined and a correlation found between this pattern and the orientation of splits previously observed by ILM. The influence of fibre arrangement on split production is discussed and consideration given to other factors, such as mechanical stress, chondrocyte distribution or PG concentration gradients, which may determine both characteristic patterns. Further evidence is presented of the value of the pin prick method as a technique for exploring the nature of normal and abnormal articular cartilage.

Animals↗