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Biomedical subjects

C Mahoney

Publications and source records attributed to C Mahoney.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Family suite: an innovative method to provide inexpensive postpartum care.

The postpartum hospital stay has been decreasing in the United States in recent decades. Early discharge to achieve cost savings has been criticized by many inside and outside the health care community as sometimes being detrimental to the mother and infant. This article describes the efforts of the administration, nursing staff, and medical staff of a large public urban hospital to develop an alternative to the forced early discharge of mothers and infants.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1999

Smoking history and aging-associated cognitive decline: An event-related brain potential study.

Although cigarette smoking has been associated with reduced risk for dementia of the Alzheimer type, relatively little is known about the central impact of a lengthy smoking history, particularly with respect to the cognitive effects, on the normal aging brain. Given that elderly adults have been reported to exhibit poor short-term memory in conditions requiring divided attention, this study utilized behavioral performance and event-related potential (ERP) measures to compare groups (n = 10/group) of young (18-39 years) and elderly (64-81 years) adult smokers and nonsmokers during a continuous visual word recognition task carried out alone and concurrently with an auditory (oddball) tone discrimination task. Young and elderly adult smokers had average smoking histories of 9.3 and 52.0 years, respectively. Significant aging (young > elderly adults) and task (single-task > dual-task) effects were observed for performance accuracy and speed measures as well as for N400/P600 ERP waveform components elicited by 'old/new' word recognition and P300 ERP indices elicited by auditory target detection. The effects of smoking history were limited to the P600 component, which showed faster latencies in elderly smokers than elderly nonsmokers and young nonsmokers. Young smokers exhibited longer latencies than young nonsmokers. The results were discussed in relation to normal and pathological cognition in the elderly.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

EEG and the passive P300 in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

Quantitatively analyzed resting electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and P300 event-related potentials elicited with a passive tone sequence paradigm were examined in 30 patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and 15 age matched controls. Background electrical rhythms of DAT patients evidenced slowing as shown by increased absolute and relative amplitudes in slow frequency bands and decreased amplitudes in fast frequency bands (relative to controls). Electrical slowing was more evident in patients with higher clinical ratings of global intellectual deterioration. Passive P300 amplitude and latency did not differentiate patients and controls and were not related to severity of dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

The cholinergic basis of the smoking-induced EEG activation profile.

Acute quantitative electroencephalographic effects of cigarette smoking were examined in 15 smokers within a repeated-measures design which assessed changes in power-spectral estimates following acute pre-treatment with placebo, a dose (20 mg) of mecamylamine, a dose (0.6 mg) of scopolamine and a combined dose of mecamylamine and scopolamine. Compared to sham smoking, the smoking of a single cigarette following placebo pre-treatment reduced absolute and relative power in slow (delta, theta) frequency bands, increased absolute and relative power in alpha and beta frequency bands and accelerated mean frequency. These smoking-induced power changes in slow- and fast-frequency bands were differentially affected by the separate and combined actions of the cholinergic antagonists with treatments involving mecamylamine tending to abolish smoking-induced slow-frequency absolute power reductions and fast-frequency relative power increments. Self-ratings of smoking-induced increases in alertness were altered by mecamylamine and combined treatments while sensory aspects of cigarette smoking were only altered with combined mecamylamine and scopolamine pre-treatment. The results are discussed with respect to brain-behaviour relationships and mechanisms maintaining the smoking habit.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Coping and marital equilibrium after stroke.

This study explored the effects of a cerebrovascular accident on seven older couples. The long interview method was used to identify major themes in seven couples' accounts of their post-stroke effects. Four major themes emerged which included experiencing physical changes, feeling down and worrying about the future, being restricted and adjusting to limits and seeking a new balance in the marriage. Stroke survivors and spouses differed in how they described the impact of the stroke for older couples. Support groups and family counseling may be used to facilitate couple adaptation after stroke. Longitudinal research is needed to explore adaptive coping post-stroke in both stroke survivors and stroke spouses.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Validity and reliability of the Cosmed K2 to measure oxygen uptake.

The validity and reliability of the Cosmed K2 was tested in comparison with a Quinton on-line oxygen analysing system. A female subject was monitored on a treadmill using a progressive protocol and was measured on three occasions with each system. It was found at low workloads that the Cosmed K2 and the Quinton gave the same measure of oxygen uptake; at higher workloads the Cosmed K2 gave lower values, and at peak oxygen uptake the Cosmed K2 measured 22.2% less than the Quinton. The difference in the measurement of VE at peak oxygen uptake was 13%. The Cosmed K2's measurement of VO2 showed a greater variability between trials (variation coefficient 3.0-11.4%) than the Quinton (variation coefficient 1.1-3.9%).

Adult↗
PubMed1992

20-MST and PWC170 validity in non-Caucasian children in the UK.

The validity was investigated of 20-MST (20 Metre Endurance Shuttle Run Test) and PWC170 (Physical Working Capacity) field tests with laboratory-measured peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in a multiracial UK population of 12-year olds: 103 subjects completed the 20-MST and 96 of these completed the PWC170. To assess validity, a laboratory treadmill test was completed by ten boys and ten girls who had performed both field tests. VO2peak was 43.8 ml kg-1 min-1 for boys and 38.5 ml kg-1 min-1 for girls. Pearson product-moment correlation showed 20-MST to be a reliable measure of cardiorespiratory fitness (r = 0.83, boys; r = 0.76, girls, P less than 0.03), while correlations with PWC170 were lower (r = 0.64, boys; r = 0.54, girls) and not significant. The 20-MST was consistent in retest (n = 20) - reliability coefficients r = 0.73, boys; r = 0.88, girls; P less than 0.01. The results suggest 20-MST is a valid, measure of fitness in this population when compared with VO2peak. PWC170 is less valid, possibly due to cultural and social backgrounds. The cycle test was inappropriate in this population, especially for girls unaccustomed to exercise and cycling. The 20-MST test is recommended for large groups of children when facilities are limited. It requires limited skill or habituation and is relatively non-invasive.

Child↗
PubMed1991

In-home physician visits and large medical groups.

In-home care has grown rapidly in the past decade and has become increasingly complex. Accompanying these changes has been a resurgence of what was once thought to be an endangered if not extinct species, the physician house call. This paper is concerned with the involvement in the provision of physician home visits by large medical groups, and with how this involvement is related to the characteristics of the medical group. In December 1989, telephone interviews were conducted with 174 large medical groups (those with more than 50 physician members), representing a response rate of 73 percent of the universe of (239) groups found to fit study criteria. Of responding groups, 52 percent indicated that they provided physician home visits. Groups in states with higher proportions of population aged 85 years and over and groups that report accepting physician house calls are more likely to provide house calls. It is concluded that the provision of house calls by large medical groups is likely to increase with the greater complexity of in-home care, the shift of acute care into the home, and the rapid growth of the very old population.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Renal metabolism of calcitonin.

The kidneys account for approximately two-thirds of the metabolism of calcitonin, but relatively little is known regarding the details thereof. To further characterize this process, we examined the renal handling and metabolism of human calcitonin (hCT) by the isolated perfused rat kidney. We also studied the degradation of radiolabeled salmon calcitonin (sCT) by subcellular fractions prepared from isolated rabbit proximal tubules. The total renal (organ) clearance of immunoreactive hCT by the isolated kidney was 1.96 +/- 0.18 ml/min. This was independent of the perfusate total calcium concentration from 5.5 to 10.2 mg/dl. Total renal clearance exceeded the glomerular filtration rate (GFR, 0.68 +/- 0.05 ml/min), indicating filtration-independent removal. Urinary calcitonin clearance as a fraction of GFR averaged 2.6%. Gel filtration chromatography of medium from isolated kidneys perfused with 125I-labeled sCT showed the principal degradation products to be low molecular weight forms eluting with monoiodotyrosine. Intermediate size products were not detected. In the subcellular fractionation experiments, when carried out at pH 5.0, calcitonin hydrolysis exclusively followed the activities of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase. Typically, at pH 7.5, 42% of total degradation occurred in the region of the brush-border enzyme alanyl aminopeptidase and 29% occurred in the region of the cytosolic enzyme phosphoglucomutase. Although 9% of the calcitonin-degrading activity was associated with basolateral membrane fractions, most of this activity could be accounted for by the presence of brush-border membranes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1982

Calculator assisted determination of dilutions for continuous infusion ICU medications.

A program has been developed for simplification of initial dilution calculations for several rapidly metabolized, vasoactive drugs that must be administered by continuous infusion. Included in the program is the capability for serial recalculation of drug dosage or iv flow rate is well as a checking routine to reduce errors. This program was developed primarily for the pediatric age group, where dilution of drugs into a small volume of diluent, accurate dosage calculations, and low iv flow rates are frequently necessary.

Computers↗