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Biomedical subjects

D M Smith

Publications and source records attributed to D M Smith.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Guided imagination as an intervention in hopelessness.

Individual participants have returned to share the improvements made in scholastic and personal endeavors after continued use of the exercises/methods presented at the workshop. Other students requested repeated workshops/sessions directed toward reducing personal stress of negative expectations and for use with clients. Spreading the exercises over time appears to enhance integration and change. Future research is needed to document the efficacy of using imagery in nursing for students as well as for patients. For some clinical populations immediate results are often needed, for example those presenting with "giving up" behaviors in critical care areas. This concern remains for future research. It is speculated also that in the extreme of the data from this study, as evidenced in the unequal regression slopes, some significance may be hidden or masked. It is recommended that research continue utilizing academic as well as clinical populations identified as experiencing hopelessness. Indicators of short-term change must be developed and tested. It also is recommended that nurses interested in mind/body interaction pursue studies using imagery as a potential nursing intervention and begin the development of tools to document these interventions. Clients, staff, and students who experience hopelessness tend toward "giving up" behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a workshop in guided imagination techniques on the condition of hopelessness. Although no statistically significant results can be reported from this study, nurses need to continue to develop imagery intervention techniques and to investigate, through research, the efficacy of these interventions. It is hoped that nurses in psychiatric and non-psychiatric settings will read the abundant, rich literature on the uses of imagery in the health sciences and will begin to explore the possibilities that exist for its application in nursing.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1982

Montgomery's areolar tubercle. A light microscopic study.

Conflicting impressions regarding the anatomy of Montgomery's areolar tubercle exist. Twelve modified radical mastectomy specimens provided 1,536 serial sections of areolar tubercles. In 34 of 35 tubercles (97%), a mammary lactiferous duct was associated with a sebaceous apparatus. This lactiferous duct ascended from deeper mammary parenchyma and entered the sebaceous gland. Histopathologic changes identified included featured of fibrocystic disease, atypical intraductal hyperplasia, and carcinoma in situ. Because the areolar tubercle has two components, a sebaceous gland and a mammary duct arising from deeper breast parenchyma, diseases of the breast may also involve the areola independent of papilla-nipple involvement. Areolar preservation may best be used with the knowledge that diseases underlying the areola may also involve the areola.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Health care costs of medical patients at an urban care center.

Many cost containment strategies advocate that physicians should use fewer or less costly resources. In order to place these strategies in perspective, components of charges (costs) for medical patients at an urban center were examined to ascertain their contribution to the total health care bill. Contributions to total costs by location of service were: inpatient, 77.9%; outpatient, 17.1%; emergency room, 5.0%. Contributions by cost category were: facility charge, 52.8%; tests, 25.6%; pharmaceuticals, 11.0%. A goal to reduce total costs by 5% would require reducing pharmaceuticals by 45.4% or tests by 19.5%. In contrast, the same goal could be accomplished by reducing hospitalization by only 6.4%. If a strategy increased ambulatory costs by 5%, but resulted in a 7.5% decrease in hospitalization, the total health care costs would still decrease by 5%. Thus, rather than using fewer and less costly resources, physicians are encouraged to use more resources in ambulatory care to prevent morbidity requiring hospitalization.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed1981

Pulmonary tumours in Syrian hamsters following inhalation of 239PuO2.

Syrian hamsters were exposed to various levels of aerosolized 239PuO2 particles to attain a range of initial lung burdens (medians ranged from 40 to 144 nCi). They were allowed to live without sacrifice and had gross and microscopic tissue examinations at death. Over a range of median lung doses from 4-12 000 rad there was an average 2 per cent incidence of malignant tumours (adenocarcinomas) and 9 per cent incidence of total tumours (primarily adenomas). Some of these results are consistent with those from other laboratories using plutonium oxide aerosols but they represent considerably lower lung tumour incidences than previously observed in this laboratory using aerosols of 238PuO2-ZrO2 particles.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Impaired surfactant phospholipid metabolism in hyperoxic mouse lungs.

We studied the effect of 98% O2 on the amounts of and in vivo and in vitro synthesis rates of lung phospholipids in the mouse. The alveolar fluid obtained by multiple endobronchial lavages showed a decline in the amounts of all phospholipids between 48 and 72 h. The proportion of phosphatidylcholine that was disaturated did not change up to 96 h. Smaller decreases in phosphatidylcholine of the lung tissue were found at the same times. Between 48 and 72 h the turnover of total and disaturated phosphatidylcholine was greatly decreased, and transit time for both from lung to alveolar fluid was prolonged. At 60 h in vitro incorporation by lung slices of both glycerol and palmitate into disaturated phospholipids was reduced by approximately half, the distribution of label into various phospholipid classes being unchanged. We interpret these data as supporting the hypothesis that hyperoxia impairs the synthesis of surfactant phospholipids in the lung and their transport to the alveolar surface, and that this results in a decrease in the phospholipid content of the alveolar lining layer. These effects could account for altered pulmonary mechanical properties and contribute to the morbidity and mortality of O2 toxicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Mosquito records from the Republic of Niger, with reference to the construction of the new 'Trans-Sahara Highway'.

Construction of a new, fully-tarred 'Trans-Sahara Highway' from the coast of Algeria to Nigeria is well advanced. Information on the distribution of anopheline and culicine mosquitoes collected in Niger during a survey in August and September, 1979 is presented and discussed. Particular reference is made to the dangers of West African malaria vectors being transported north along the Highway as traffic increases. The vector species, Anopheles arabiensis, was found as far north as Agadez (17 degrees N).

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Steroidogenesis by the human oocyte-cumulus cell complex in vitro.

The ability of the human oocyte-cumulus cell complex to synthesize progesterone, androgens and estrogens and to modify its endocrine environment in vitro was investigated. Germinal-vesicle stage oocytes with adhering layers of cumulus cells were recovered from human ovaries and maintained for 40--50 h in vitro in a culture medium with or without antral fluid. The results show that oocyte-cumulus (O-C) cell complexes were capable of synthesizing progesterone, androgens and estrogens. Oocytes with the capacity of resuming meiosis in vitro were part of an O-C complex producing significantly more progesterone than those O-C complexes containing oocytes incapable of resuming meiosis. Irrespective of the stage of oocyte maturation at the end of culture, testosterone and estrone were respectively the major androgen and estrogen produced. It is concluded that the oocyte-cumulus compartment of the antral follicle is a steroidogenically competent unit and that it has the capacity to modify the endocrine microenvironment of the follicle.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Acute skin phototoxicity in hairless mice following exposure to crude shale oil or natural petroleum oil.

The acute skin phototoxicity in hairless mice resulting from applications of crude shale oil or natural petroleum oil and exposure to near ultraviolet light has been investigated. In addition, the absorption and excitation-emission spectra of these oils have been described. While the application of crude shale oil alone was shown to elicit acute skin damage, the combination of the crude shale oil and near ultraviolet light induced skin damage much more severe than that produced by either agent alone. In contrast, the application of the natural petroleum oil and near ultraviolet light was less toxic than that of the crude shale oil in the absence of light. These results suggest that a potential health hazard exists from contact with shale oil compounds and exposure to near ultraviolet light from either the sun or artificial sources.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

The intraovarian sites of androgen and estrogen formation in women with normal and hyperandrogenic ovaries as judged by in vitro experiments.

The status of oocytes, the follicular fluid concentrations of steroids, and the in vitro steroidogenic capacities of stromal tissue, thecal tissue, and granulosa cells from a 15-yr-old girl with primary amenorrhea, ovarian hyperandrogenism, insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus, and acanthosis nigricans were compared to those from normal adult human ovaries. Most oocytes (95%) in the antral follicles recovered from the hyperandrogenic ovaries were degenerative, and the antral fluid levels of testosterone were 30- to 200-fold higher than those in normal ovaries. Granulosa cells from the hyperandrogenic ovaries produced mainly estradiol as did those from normal healthy follicles. The thecal tissues produced 2- to 6-fold more androgen than similar tissues from normal ovaries. However, the stroma from the hyperandrogenic ovaries produced 49- to 250-fold more testosterone than that generated by normal tissues. These data suggest that the removal of stromal tissue as well as follicular tissue from patients with certain types of hyperandrogenism may sometimes contribute to a reduction in androgen secretion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Effect of steroids on oocyte maturation and atresia in mouse ovarian fragments in vitro.

Ovaries from pubertal mice were dissected into fragments containing 1-4 antral follicles which were cultured on the surface of a chemically defined, modified Eagle's Minimum Essential Medium (MEM). After 17-20 h oocytes were released from the cultured follicles and their meiotic status recorded. In the presence and absence of exogenous gonadotrophins, oocytess in these cultures behaved meiotically as expected if they had been studied in vivo. Medium containing progesterone (10 microM), testosterone (100 microM), or androstenedione (100 microM) increased the incidence of oocytes remaining meiotically inactive compared to follicles cultured in steroid-free medium. Lower concentrations of the above steroids or pregnenolone (1-100 microM) did not affect the meiotic status of cultured follicle-enclosed oocytes. Most (61%) of the dictyate oocytes released from steroid-treated follicles resumed and/or completed the first meiotic division when cultured further in steroid-free medium. Progesterone (100 microM) caused atresia of oocytes and follicle cells which increased as the period of follicular exposure to progesterone was increased.

Androstenedione↗