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Biomedical subjects

D L Gardner

Publications and source records attributed to D L Gardner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Changing prevalence of osteomalacia in hip fractures in southeast Scotland over a 20-year period.

In a randomized study of 81 patients with fresh hip fractures who underwent bone biopsy at the time of surgery there was no histologically detectable osteomalacia. This represented a fall in prevalence since a similar study 20 years previously had shown a 12 per cent incidence in the same population. The implications for routine histological screening and measurement of serum bone biochemistry in patients with hip fractures is discussed. The majority of patients in the study group had histologically detectable osteoporosis suggesting that this was an important factor in the aetiology of femoral neck fractures.

Aged

Improvement in attitudes toward the elderly following traditional and geriatric mock clinics for physical therapy students.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the attitudes of students in a physical therapy education program toward the elderly could be influenced positively by (1) having classroom discussion led by an individual with expertise in geriatrics and (2) having only individuals aged 65 years or older participate in a specially designed geriatric mock clinic (GMC). Subjects were 47 first-year students divided into a control group (n = 24) and an experimental group (n = 23). Students in the control group participated in two 4-week clinical rotations. Students in the experimental group participated in one 5-week clinical rotation and in one 3-week GMC. Students in both groups were given a pretest and a posttest administration of the Kogan Old People Scale to assess their attitudes toward the elderly. No significant difference was found between the two groups' overall attitude scores on the pretest or the posttest results. Overall, positive attitude scores increased significantly for both groups, although the increase was greater for the experimental group than for the control group. Negative attitude scores decreased significantly for the experimental group, but did not change for the control group. We concluded that both traditional clinical rotations and a specially designed GMC influenced the students positively. Suggestions have been made for the Clinical Instructor who wishes to influence physical therapy students' attitudes to meet the increasing needs of the elderly patient population.

Adult

Integrin expression by human articular chondrocytes.

Expression of integrins, a family of cell adhesion proteins, by human articular cartilage chondrocytes in vivo has been studied by immunohistological techniques using cryostat sections and a panel of anti-integrin monoclonal antibodies. Chondrocytes strongly expressed beta 1 and alpha 5 integrin subunits, known to form the classical fibronectin receptor, VLA-5, strongly. alpha 1 was expressed more weakly and variably; alpha 3 was expressed by occasional cells only. Chondrocytes did not express beta 2, beta 3 or other integrin alpha subunits tested.

Antigens, CD

Articular cartilage fibrillation and permeability to Light Green SF dye. A method for the detection of pre-microscopic disease?

We describe a method which may be useful for the selection of samples for the study of early fibrillation in human articular cartilage. Blocks of cartilage and bone were cut post-mortem from the medial tibial condyles of 29 male and 31 female subjects and the grade of fibrillation was assessed from sections. Contiguous, unfixed blocks of cartilage from the same surface were immersed in a solution of the dye Light Green SF. Sections of these blocks were cut and the rate of penetration of the dye measured at 30 equidistant points across the condylar surface. The relationship between the grade of fibrillation and the rate of dye diffusion was then determined. We demonstrated a significant correlation between the two variables. This technique may make it possible to detect a pre-fibrillary state in apparently normal specimens.

Aged

Low temperature scanning electron microscopy of the superficial envelope of canine chondrocytes in culture.

Low temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM) has been employed to examine the surface morphology of chondrocyte cultures on ceramic granules. Well-established cultures on porous hydroxyapatite consist of ceramic cores overlaid and interspersed with a cellular matrix of collagen and proteoglycan (Cheung, 1985); of especial interest is the superficial layer of cells. These cells are believed, on the basis of immuno-light microscopy (Gardner et al., 1987), to be coated by an hydrated porous envelope of collagen/proteoglycan which is likely to obscure cell outlines. This relationship is confirmed by enzymic digestion of the superficial material. Post-digestion LTSEM examination of the fully hydrated preparations establishes the existence of arrays of rounded structures identified as superficial cells.

Animals

Fatigue in postpartum women.

Childbirth and the responsibilities of parenting after birth require a great deal of energy. Fatigue in postpartum women is a concern for maternal-child nurses because of the impact on the health and parenting ability of the mother. To determine fatigue levels and types, 35 women who vaginally delivered were surveyed at 2 days, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks postpartum. This sample was found to be mildly fatigued, with situational and/or psychological fatigue. Nurses can intervene by assessing postpartum fatigue and using teaching/counseling methods for knowledge preparation and for clients at risk.

Adult

Self-ratings of anger and hostility in borderline personality disorder.

Forty-six patients with borderline personality disorder with and without major depression and 27 normal volunteers completed the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, a self-rating scale of anger and hostility. The patients with borderline personality had significantly higher scores than the normal volunteers. The scores of the patients with borderline personality disorders were not related to gender, treatment or research setting, the degree of acute distress, or the presence of major depression. These findings suggest that a proneness to anger and hostility are enduring characteristics of borderline personality disorder and that anger and depression may represent independent clinical conditions with independent biological mechanisms regulating these two affective states.

Adult

Neuropsychological testing of patients with borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: This study examined whether a battery of neuropsychological tests could detect cognitive deficits--particularly in the areas of perception, learning, and memory--in patients with borderline personality disorder. The test battery was completed by 16 research outpatients with borderline personality disorder, typified by behavioral dyscontrol and diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria and the Diagnostic Interview for Borderline Patients. A comparison group of 16 normal volunteers also completed the test battery. RESULTS: The performance of the borderline patients was significantly impaired in comparison with that of the normal group on memory tests requiring uncued recall of complex, recently learned material. Cues given on an auditory memory task partially corrected that deficit. The patients' performance was also significantly impaired on several visual perceptual tests. These deficits do not appear to have been attributable to attentional problems, psychomotor impairment, current major depression, or history of alcohol abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The observed difficulties in separating essential from extraneous visual information and in recalling complex material may be relevant in understanding some of the clinical features of borderline personality disorder. The observed memory improvement resulting from cueing suggests specific strategies that may be used to aid patients' recall of complex material.

Adult

Mood variability: a study of four groups.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether self-rated patterns of mood regulation differed among patients with major depression, patients with borderline personality disorder, patients with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and normal subjects. METHOD: Fourteen days of morning and evening mood self-ratings on a visual analog scale were analyzed for 65 female subjects (10 with major depression, 16 with borderline personality disorder, 15 with PMS, and 24 without psychiatric diagnoses). For each individual, the mean and standard deviation of morning and evening ratings, the mean absolute change in mood from one day to the next, and the change from morning to evening were determined. RESULTS: The four groups differed significantly on every measure of mood and mood variability except diurnal variation. As expected, the group with major depression had the lowest global ratings and a low degree of variability. The group with borderline personality disorder was less depressed than the group with major depression and showed a high degree of mood variability. Autocorrelation analysis suggested that mood ratings in borderline personality disorder vary randomly from one day to the next. The mood variability over the 14 days of the patients with PMS was significantly greater than that of normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The visual analog scale can capture patterns of mood and mood variability thought to be typical of these diagnostic groups. Mood disorders differ not only in the degree of abnormal mood but also in the pattern of mood variability, suggesting that mechanisms regulating mood stability may differ from those regulating overall mood state.

Adolescent

Issues related to the use of nurse extenders.

The nursing shortage has prompted a recurring discussion about the appropriate mix of bedside care givers in nursing that can be constructed to ensure quality patient care. As nursing's role has become more professional, there has arisen a need to differentiate work tasks and develop nurse extenders. The author discusses nursing and non-nursing duties as they relate to a model of nurse extenders and related practice issues.

Delivery of Health Care

Nursing administration model for administrative practice.

The winds of change have swept in a new era for nursing. Complex decisions can be aided by a conceptual model for nursing administration practice. The authors discuss how the Iowa Model of Nursing Administration can be used by nurse administrators to solve administrative problems. Two practical examples are described.

Decision Making, Organizational

CSF metabolites in borderline personality disorder compared with normal controls.

Cerebrospinal metabolites were measured in 17 patients with borderline personality disorder and 17 normal controls. There were no significant differences between the two groups in levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), homovanillic acid (HVA), or 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG). Within the borderline group, lower levels of CSF 5-HIAA were significantly associated with a history of genuine suicide attempts, but were not associated with violence, self-mutilation, or with the presence of major depression. Thus, CSF 5-HIAA levels are not distinctively low in a diagnostic group characterized by impulsivity and suicidal behavior, but within that group may be associated with genuine suicide attempts.

Adult

The effect of borderline personality disorder on the hospital course of affective illness.

Two groups of patients with affective disorders, one group with a coexistent axis II diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and one group without, were compared to determine if the presence of borderline personality disorder affects the hospital course of patients with affective illness. Response to hospital treatment was assessed using standard psychiatric rating scales administered at admission, after one week of hospitalization, and before discharge. Although the patients with borderline personality disorder were more severely impaired than the comparison group, they were as likely as patients without the disorder to improve over the course of hospitalization.

Adult