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Biomedical subjects

D L Wilson

Publications and source records attributed to D L Wilson.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Analysis of job functions of top level nurse executives in acute, home, and long-term care: implications for education.

The purpose of this study was to strengthen the empirical base for nursing administration curricula by analyzing the current job functions of top level nurse executives in acute, long-term, and home care settings. The survey of job functions was designed to identify the relative amount of "time spent" and "importance" attributed to the job activities of nurse executives. Course content areas providing preparation for key job responsibilities are identified, and recommendations for curriculum design are discussed.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1993

Database tracking for pediatric home infusion outcomes.

Until now national data-collection efforts for home infusion therapy have focused on adult patients, but as the number of children and infants who receive home infusion increases, so does the need for tracking their outcomes. Several pediatric home care directors met the challenge by creating the National Pediatric Home Care Database.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Compressed radiological images and workstation viewing.

The viewing of radiological images on workstations has peculiarities that must be taken into account in the design of a compression technique. The images may be manipulated on a workstation to change the contrast, to change the center of the brightness levels that are viewed, and even to invert the images. Because of the possible consequences of losing information in a medical application, bit-preserving compression is used for the images used for diagnosis. However, for archiving, the images may be compressed to 10% of their original size. A compression technique based on the discrete cosine transform takes the viewing factors into account by compressing the changes in the local brightness levels. The compression technique is a variation of the Consultive Committee on International Telephony and Telegraphy Joint Photograph Experts Group compression that suppresses the blocking of the discrete cosine transform except in areas of very high contrast.

Artifacts↗
PubMed1992

In vitro assessment of cytotoxicity and biotransformation of propranolol in Cunninghamella echinulata.

1. Biotransformation studies with five concentrations of racemic propranolol were conducted using the filamentous fungus Cunninghamella echinulata ATCC 9244. 2. The rate of formation and subsequent disappearance of a new major metabolite, 8-hydroxypropranolol, was dose-dependent. Desisopropylpropranolol and 4-hydroxypropranolol were also formed. 4-Hydroxypropranolol was the major fungal metabolite in earlier studies. 3. Propranolol exerted a dose-dependent response on biotransformation, fungal growth, dextrose utilization, ammonia formation and incubation broth pH. Determination of dextrose utilization and incubation broth pH would provide reliable, cost-effective and convenient alternative methods for cytotoxicological evaluation.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1992

Biotransformation of tri-substituted methoxyamphetamines by Cunninghamella echinulata.

1. Four trimethoxyamphetamine analogues were incubated with the filamentous fungus Cunninghamella echinulata. 2. 2,4,5-Trimethoxyamphetamine and 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethoxyamphetamine were poorly metabolized by C. echinulata ATCC 9244 and C. echinulata var. elegans ATCC 9245. 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-(n)-propoxyamphetamine was mainly metabolized through N-acetylation and O-dealkylation with minor amounts of several aliphatic hydroxylation metabolites formed. 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylthioamphetamine was extensively metabolized to the corresponding sulphoxide. 3. 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylthioamphetamine metabolism was inhibited by ethanol and quinidine. Sparteine did not inhibit the formation of the sulphoxide and may have shunted the substrate through alternate metabolic pathways. 4. Incubation conditions can affect the rate and extent of fungal biotransformation of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylthioamphetamine, and influence dextrose utilization, ammonia formation and pH.

Amphetamines↗
PubMed1992

In vivo effects of interleukin-1 beta on blood leukocytes in BB rats prone or resistant to diabetes.

Previous studies have determined that daily low dose injections of the potent cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) decreased the frequency of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in diabetes-prone (DP) BB rats. In contrast, high dose injections induced an earlier than normal onset. In this study we tested whether the effects of daily human recombinant IL-1 beta injections on leukocyte subsets were associated with its modulation of IDDM onset in BB rats. Prior to the onset of IDDM in DP BB rats, high dose IL-1 beta induced leukocytosis (P less than 0.05), neutrophilia (P less than 0.01), and monocytosis (P less than 0.001). At the onset of IDDM, lymphocyte (P less than 0.01) and neutrophil (P less than 0.001) numbers were increased in high dose treated DP rats but not in rats given saline or low dose IL-1 beta. In 60-day-old diabetes-resistant (DR) BB rats, neurophilia was induced by both low (P less than 0.05) and high (P less than 0.001) dose IL-1 beta without the development of IDDM. At 130 days of age, when the rats were killed, it was discovered that 14/22 (64%) IL-1 beta injected DR rats developed neutralizing IL-1 beta antibodies. Significantly lower neutrophil numbers were observed in high dose DR rats which developed IL-1 beta antibodies compared with those which did not (P = 0.032). Thus, neutrophilia was dissociated from high IL-1 beta acceleration of IDDM onset.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Summertime elevation of 222Rn levels in Huntsville, Alabama.

Indoor Rn concentrations and Rn in adjacent karst terrains were studied at four houses with crawlspaces in Huntsville, AL. In warm summertime weather, Rn-rich air may vent through limestone solution cavities exposed as holes at the surface of the properties. A probable interrelated-finding is that the indoor levels of 222Rn are distinctly higher in the summer than winter. The karst underlying the homes is structurally faulted and, in all probability, facilitates Rn transport from the solution cavities to the crawlspaces. Abrupt day-to-day changes in indoor Rn concentrations were recorded in addition to large seasonal changes. If the owners or residents of these particular homes had attempted to make, and interpret, short-term screening measurements for Rn during the fall season, problems, including false negatives, could have arisen because of order-of-magnitude changes in Rn concentration occurring over a few days. The best time of year to make screening measurements would be during the summer when indoor Rn concentrations are more likely to reach their maximum values.

Air Pollutants, Radioactive↗
PubMed1991

Alterations in cysteine proteinase content of rat lung associated with development of Pneumocystis carinii infection.

The rate of hydrolysis of three cysteine-type proteinase substrates, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Arg-Arg-4-methyl-7-coumarylamide (AMC) (cathepsin B), Arg-AMC (cathepsin H), and N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Arg-AMC (cathepsin L), were determined in rat lung throughout the time course of the induction of Pneumocystis carinii infection by immunosuppression. Cathepsin B-like and cathepsin L-like activities fell below control values initially, but from week 8 of the immunosuppressive treatment significant increases above the control were noted. Cathepsin H-like activity was greater than control levels from week 3, and by week 12 it was 7,600% of the mean control value. When compared with the relative degree of infection, as assessed from the number of cysts present in lung impression smears, cathepsin B-like and cathepsin L-like activities were significantly increased only at heavy parasite burdens while cathepsin H-like activity displayed a close correlation with parasite number (r = 0.884; P less than 0.001). Activity was detected in lysates of purified P. carinii with all three substrates. Treatment of heavily infected animals with co-trimoxazole cleared the lungs of P. carinii, and this was accompanied by a marked reduction in proteinase activity, in particular, cathepsin H-like activity, which fell from 108- to 3-fold the mean control value following drug treatment. Analysis of cathepsin H isozyme patterns by fluorography following isoelectric focusing revealed differences between treated and control lung samples. In the immunosuppressed group, there was a time-dependent increase in the intensity of some of the bands observed in the controls and an appearance of several novel bands which corresponded to bands observed in lysates of P. carinii. It is likely, therefore, that the increased proteinase activity observed in the treated group is due, at least in part, to isozymes from P. carinii; consequently, cathepsin H-like activity might be of use diagnostically in the identification of P. carinii infection and in the estimation of parasite burden.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Future preparation of home health nurse executives.

The responsibilities of home care nurse executives were investigated. A 51 item survey developed by an expert panel was completed by 54 home care nurse executives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Respondents evaluated the importance and time spent on each activity. A second expert panel identified where each activity is usually taught in an interdisciplinary curriculum. Based on the survey results, recommendations for graduate education for home care nurse executives were developed, emphasizing course content in the areas of law and policy, financial management, marketing, quality assurance, and organizational behavior.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Future preparation of occupational health nurse managers.

This article presents the results of a national survey of job activities of corporate level occupational health nurse managers. The survey was designed to identify the relative amount of time spent and importance attributed to specific areas of their current job. In general this sample tended to have more management experience and educational preparation than previously cited studies: over 50% had completed a graduate degree. The scores for importance and time spent were highly correlated. That is, occupational health corporate nurse managers seemed to allocate their time to job responsibilities they considered most important. Management activities related to policy, practice standards, quality assurance, staff development, and systems for client care delivery appear to represent the core responsibilities of occupational health nursing management. Curriculum recommendations for management positions in occupational health include: health policy, program planning, and evaluation; business strategy; applications of management information systems; quality assurance; and marketing.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1990

Impact of heating and air conditioning system operation and leakage on ventilation and intercompartment transport: studies in unoccupied and occupied Tennessee Valley homes.

Forced-air heating and air conditioning (HAC) systems caused an average and maximum increase in air infiltration rates of 1.8- and 4.3-fold, respectively, during brief whole-house studies of tracer gas decay in 39 occupied houses. An average increase in air infiltration rate of 0.33 +/- 0.37 h-1 corresponded to an incremental air leak of 240 m3/h, based on approximate house volume. More detailed tracer gas decay studies were performed in basement, kitchen and bedroom locations of six homes with low air infiltration rates (i.e., less than 0.25 h-1). The HAC mixed the indoor air efficiently between measurement sites. HAC operation also caused 1.1- to 3.6-fold increases in air infiltration rates, corresponding to absolute increases of 0.02 to 0.1 h-1. In an unoccupied research house, three-fold increases in average air infiltration rate with HAC operation (i.e., from 0.13 to 0.36 h-1) were reduced to two-fold (i.e., from 0.10 to 0.18 h-1) by sealing the external HAC unit and crawlspace ductwork system. This sealing also resulted in a 30 percent reduction in crawlspace-to-indoor transport rates with the HAC turned on. Blower door tests indicated a less than 20 percent reduction in house leakage area.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMed1990

Fungal metabolism of 4-substituted amphetamines.

1. rac.-4-Ethoxyamphetamine was incubated with 14 different yeast and fungal microorganisms. 4-Hydroxyamphetamine was the major metabolite; traces of N-acetyl-4-ethoxyamphetamine were also detected. 2. The major fungal (Cunninghamella) metabolite of 4-propoxyamphetamine and 4-benzyloxyamphetamine was 4-hydroxyamphetamine. The major metabolites of 4-methoxyamphetamine were N-acetyl-4-methoxyamphetamine and 4-hydroxyamphetamine. 3. Acetoin derivatives were formed when alkoxyamphetamine substrates were incubated in the presence of various fungi and yeasts. 4. The findings indicate that Cunninghamella echinulata may be a useful microbial model for drug disposition and interaction studies.

Amphetamines↗