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Biomedical subjects

C Hicks

Publications and source records attributed to C Hicks.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Research in midwifery: are midwives their own worst enemies?

This study investigated the hypothesis that midwives will undervalue research they believed to have been undertaken by a midwife as compared with that believed to have been undertaken by an obstetrician. Eighteen midwives were asked to assess two comparable research articles on 5 criteria. Half the sample were informed that the first article was written by a midwife and the second by an obstetrician. The order of authorship was reversed for the remainder of the sample. A related t-test was carried out to compare the midwife's paper with the obstetrician's on each of the 5 criteria. These suggested that no difference was perceived between the midwife's and obstetrician's clarity of expression or expertise on the topic in question, but significant differences were found on attributed grasp of research methodology, understanding of statistical analysis and contribution to current understanding, with the midwife emerging worse on all three (t = 1.99, p less than 0.05, t = 2.28, p less than 0.025, t = 1.8, p less than 0.05 respectively). Comparison of the overall scores also revealed that the general quality of the midwife's paper was also perceived to be poorer than the obstetrician's (t = 2.24, p less than 0.025). The findings are partially explained in terms of the gender influences that operate in midwifery.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

Of sex and status: a study of the effects of gender and occupation on nurses' evaluations of nursing research.

Despite wide recognition that nursing must increase its research base, there still appears not only to be a shortfall in published nursing research but also a marked failure to implement research findings into clinical practice. One possible explanation for these problems is that nursing research may not be valued by peer professionals. To investigate this possibility, a study was designed to test the hypothesis that nurses would underrate the quality of papers they believed to have been produced by a nurse as opposed to a doctor, even when the status of the authors was randomly assigned to the papers. Thirty-one nurses were asked to rate two comparable papers on a number of criteria. Half the sample was told that the first paper had been written by a nurse and the second by a doctor; for the remainder of the sample, the order of authorship was reversed. A series of related t-tests was performed on the sample's evaluations in order to ascertain whether the status of the author affected perceptions of quality. No difference was found in the sample's judgement of overall quality, clarity of expression, expertise on the topic in question or contribution to current knowledge. However, significant differences were found in attributed grasp of research design and statistical analysis, with the nurse being judged as inferior on both (t = 1.71, d.f. = 30, P < 0.05; t = 1.72, d.f. = 30, P < 0.05 respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Human arterial endothelial cell detachment in vitro: its promotion by homocysteine and cysteine.

We have explored earlier evidence that premature atherosclerosis in homocystinuria is triggered by homocysteine-induced loss of vascular endothelium. We used a reproducible sluicing assay to test in vitro detachment of human arterial endothelial cells. Cell detachment was induced by exposure of cultured endothelial cells to the sulphydryl-containing amino acids homocysteine and cysteine, whereas methionine, alanine, valine and isoleucine at comparable concentrations were ineffective. This cellular detachment was greatly diminished by growth of the endothelial cells on fibronectin coated- rather than plain tissue culture dishes. Considerably higher concentrations of homocysteine were required for in vitro effects than are associated with atherogenesis in homocystinuria, and despite the cysteine associated changes, cysteine itself is not known to be related to atherogenesis. These data suggested that in vitro detachment of cultured endothelial cells, induced by sulphydryl-containing amino acids, may have marginal relevance to mechanisms of atherogenesis in homocystinuria.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

Investigation of interleukin 2 receptors on human endothelial cells.

We have demonstrated that both recombinant and purified IL-2 exert a direct effect on quiescent human microvascular endothelial cells in vitro, causing the cells to enter the cell cycle and proliferate (Hicks et al., 1989). In this study we have identified IL-2 receptors (R) on both human umbilical vein (HUVEC) and neonatal foreskin (HCEC) endothelial cells. The techniques used to identify the receptors included proliferation studies, flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. Results indicate that both HUVEC and HCEC possess low numbers of receptors since both cell types proliferate in response to IL-2. The number of receptors on the cell surface vary according to passage number and culture conditions. Immunofluorescent studies show discrete areas of staining on the cell membrane. These combined results suggest that human vascular endothelial cells possess IL-2R.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1979

Not to be sneezed at.

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Clinical Trials as Topic↗