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Biomedical subjects

C Deans

Publications and source records attributed to C Deans.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Prediction of survival from carcinoma of oesophagus and oesophago-gastric junction following surgical resection using an artificial neural network.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the ability of artificial neural network (ANN) in predicting survival in patients undergoing surgical resection for carcinoma of oesophagus and oesophago-gastric junction. METHODS: From January 1995 to August 2004 patients who underwent surgery for oesophageal and gastric carcinoma were identified. Biographical data, body mass index and pathological minimal cancer dataset were used to design an ANN. Post-operative survival was assessed at 1 and 3 years. Sixty percent of data was used to train and validate the ANN and 40% was used to evaluate the accuracy of trained ANN in predicting survival. This was compared with Union Internacional Contra la Cancrum UICC TNM classification system. RESULTS: Two hundred and sixteen patients underwent resectional surgery for oesophageal and OGJ carcinoma. The accuracy of the ANN in predicting survival at 1 and 3 years was 88% (sensitivity: 92.3%, specificity: 84.5%, DP = 2.3) and 91.5% (sensitivity of 94.61%, specificity: 88%, DP = 2.72), respectively. These figures were significantly better than 1- and 3-year survival predictions using the UICC TNM classification system 71.6% (sensitivity of 66.4%, specificity: 75.5%, and DP < 1) and 74.7% (sensitivity of 70.5%, specificity: 74.9%, DP < 1), respectively (P < 0.01) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ANNs are superior to the UICC TNM classification system in correlating with survival following resection of carcinoma of oesophagus and OG junction and can become valuable tools in the management of patients with oesophageal carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Caring for clients with dual diagnosis in rural communities in Australia: the experience of mental health professionals.

This paper identifies and describes the experiences of 13 rural mental health professionals who care for clients diagnosed with a mental illness and a coexisting alcohol and other drug disorder (dual diagnosis). Dual diagnosis is a common problem which is often poorly understood and managed by mental health professionals. The effect of excessive substance use on a person's mental well-being can present as a diagnostic challenge as each condition may mask symptoms of the other. The authors utilized a phenomenological approach to discover the experiences of a group of mental health professionals working in rural communities in Victoria, Australia. Caring for clients diagnosed with dual diagnosis was found to be a complex and stressful role that involved high levels of skill and knowledge. Despite the fact that health professionals in rural areas are expected to deliver the most appropriate care to individuals with a dual diagnosis, a number of these rural health professionals have limited preparation and experience in dealing with arising clinical diagnosis issues. Clinicians experience frustration, resentment and powerlessness in their attempt to understand their clients' drug misuse whilst simultaneously endeavouring to provide a quality mental health service.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Nurse education in Australian universities in a period of change: expectations of nurse academics for the year 2005.

In Australia, the education of nurses in the academic arena now has a decade of history which arguably represents advancement of the nursing discipline. Until the conduct of the study which is the subject of this report, however, expectations for the next decade were unknown. In order to provide information concerning the future of nursing education and related professional and social factors, and entire population of nurse academics in Australia was surveyed. Findings indicate that although advances have been made, there are a number of concerns regarding the rate of disciplinary development. These include parity of status with other academic areas, resource issues, the workload of nurse academics and the perception that there is lack of cohesiveness amongst nurses as a professional group.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Nursing research 'down under'.

1. The major constraints preventing psychiatric nurses from conducting research are lack of time and knowledge. 2. Nurses can be motivated to explore the possibility of conducting research without having necessary skills or knowledge to start. 3. The nursing profession must face its responsibility to support and nurture nurses' interests in conducting and using research.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A phenomenological study of families and psychoeducation support groups.

1. An essential characteristic for nurses is hope, which much be passed on to caregivers of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. 2. The sharing of experiences by families contributes to the development of a common human bond that facilitates understanding and acceptance of mental illness by significant others. 3. Empowerment of family caregivers increases their ability to deal with the illness and enhances the family's chance of living a normal life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

A brief mental fatigue questionnaire.

A brief mental fatigue questionnaire was administered to normal subjects and muscle-diseased, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), recovered CFS and depressed patients. The questionnaire was found to have excellent internal consistency and discriminated effectively between CFS and depressed patients on the one hand and recovered CFS, normal and muscle-diseased patients on the other. However, the scale failed to discriminate between CFS and depressed subjects, who were found to experience qualitatively and quantitatively similar mental fatigue symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

In vivo interactions of NAN-190, a putative selective 5-HT1A antagonist, with ipsapirone.

The actions of NAN-190, a putative 5-HT1A antagonist, were assessed in rats. The selective 5-HT1A agent ipsapirone suppressed operant responding, but this effect was not antagonised by NAN-190, which suppressed responding itself in a dose-related manner, and had additive effects when administered with ipsapirone. These data do not support suggestions that NAN-190 is a 5-HT1A antagonist. NAN-190 may be a 5-HT1A partial agonist which can antagonise effects of full 5-HT1A agonists.

Animals↗