Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Wood

Publications and source records attributed to D Wood.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Determinants of well-being in primary caregivers of spinal cord injured persons.

A study of well-being in middle-aged and elderly spinal cord injured persons (Decker & Schulz, 1985) found that long-term coping was facilitated by the presence of a primary support person or caregiver. The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of life satisfaction and depression in 67 primary caregivers of middle-aged and elderly spinal cord injured persons. The study revealed that the availability of social support and feelings of control over one's life were important determinants of caregivers' well-being. In addition, those caregivers spending more time each day assisting the disabled person and feeling burdened by these responsibilities experienced more depression and less life satisfaction. In working with spinal cord injured persons, rehabilitation nurses must consider the well-being of the spinal cord injured person/primary caregiver dyad as an important focus of nursing assessment and intervention.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Maternal employment and preventive child health practices.

BACKGROUND: The impact of maternal employment on preventive child health practices has not been studied empirically. Using a household production model, we investigated the relationship between level of maternal employment and child immunization status, use of automobile seat belts, and use of bicycle helmets. METHODS: Data from a longitudinal study of public school children in Pinellas County, Florida, were used to draw an analytic sample of 4,153 African American and white non-Hispanic children whose mothers responded to school surveys in 1989, 1991, and 1993. Analyses of the relationship between maternal hours worked per week and preventive child health practices were performed using multiple logistic regression procedures, controlling for maternal age and education, household income, ethnicity and gender of child, and number of siblings living at home. RESULTS: No significant statistical relationships were found between maternal employment and child immunization status or use of automobile seat belts. However, maternal employment was significantly associated with bicycle helmet use, after controlling for confounders. Children of mothers who worked less than 21 h per week were 37% more likely to wear helmets compared with children of mothers who worked 21 h or more per week. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that children of full-time working mothers are not at greater risk for under-immunization or failure to use seat belts regularly, but they may be less likely to use bicycle helmets. These results support the hypothesis that employment does not affect episodic child health practices but may have some negative impact on preventive practices involving daily, repetitive activities. It also suggests that the effects of maternal employment may be greater on preventive practices that are nonnormative and occur in the absence of adult supervision.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Homeless children: their evaluation and treatment.

The number of homeless families in the United States is growing at an alarming rate. More families are becoming homeless primarily because of financial and housing problems, such as loss of job and income, loss of welfare benefits, being victims of robbery, and eviction. Many of the homeless families have complex psychosocial and medical problems. Their children have a higher prevalence than the general population of all categories of illness, including acute illnesses such as colds, fevers, and diarrhea; chronic health problems such as epilepsy and asthma; developmental delay; and behavior and mental health problems. Clinical evaluation of the homeless family and child is presented, incorporating their special needs and considerations.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dental materials: 1995 literature review.

This critical review of the published literature on dental materials for the year 1995 has been compiled by the Dental Materials Panel of the United Kingdom. It continues the series of annual reviews started in 1973 and published in the Journal of Dentistry. Emphasis has been placed upon publications which report upon the materials science or clinical performance of the materials. The review has been divided by accepted materials classifications (fissure sealants, glass polyalkenoate cements, resin composites, dentine bonding, dental amalgam, endodontic materials, casting alloys, investment materials, resin-bonded bridges and ceramo-metallic restorations, all ceramic restorations, denture base and soft lining materials, impression materials, dental implants, orthodontic materials and biomechanics). Three hundred and thirty articles published in 68 titles have been reviewed.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Elemental diets in the repair of small intestinal damage.

We have investigated the possible benefits of elemental diets, especially a diet supplemented with L-glutamine, on maintenance of intestinal absorptive function in rat small intestine damaged by 5-fluorouracil. Although a standard rat diet sustained better body growth in control rats, each of the elemental diets and the diet containing intact casein in place of hydrolyzed casein was beneficial in promoting less body weight loss during the 3 d after 5-fluorouracil injection. The same significant benefit was seen in absorptive activity measured in small intestine in vitro 3 d after the cytotoxic injury. Glutamine supplementation, however, did not confer any significant advantages, although it did cause significant elevation of muscle glutamine pools. This elevation was substantially less than the corresponding increase in muscle glycine content after dietary supplementation with glycine.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A simple method to investigate the inhibitory effects of drugs on gastric emptying in the mouse in vivo.

INTRODUCTION: The aim was to develop a simple method to study modification of gastric motility in the mouse in vivo. METHODS: Mice were fed a hydrated diet in which the fluid content of standard laboratory chow was increased by adding water. Gastric emptying was assessed at specified times following a 1-h treatment period with orally administered pharmacological agents. RESULTS: We demonstrated consistent and progressive gastric emptying over a 4-h period, stomach content being decreased from 7.52+/-0.90 at time zero to 2.80+/-0.25 mg/g body weight after 4 h. Results demonstrated typical effects of inhibitory agents (atropine and morphine) and showed inhibitory effects of three potassium channel opening agents, pinacidil, cromakalim, and SDZ PCO400: the residue remaining in the stomach was increased by 3.66+/-0.84, 6.56+/-1.35, and 5.68+/-1.33 mg/g body weight respectively 1 h after treatment with 10 mg/kg of these agents, compared to vehicle controls. DISCUSSION: The inhibitory activity observed correlated well with previous studies on the effects of potassium channel opening agents on mouse gastrointestinal motility in vivo and in vitro. The present model may thus be of value in the pharmacological investigation of gastrointestinal motility owing to cost and convenience advantages, together with the possibility of its application to studies using transgenic animals.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of educational focus on a graduate nurse's initial choice of practice area.

Nursing students have been educated to acquire the skills necessary to practice in different settings. This study examined whether the focus of education (rural or urban) had an effect on the area that the graduate nurse chose to practice in after graduation. To prepare the nursing student for her or his role in rural nursing, one program focused its curriculum on rural health needs. Another nursing program located in an urban area had a traditional educational nursing program with only once community nursing course. A curriculum review was completed to examine whether the curriculum focus of the study programs were consistent with the stated foci. A retrospective study design was used to answer the research questions. Survey instruments were mailed to 379 urban and rural nursing school graduates. The analysis of study results showed that students who attended a nursing program focusing on rural nursing were twice as likely to practice in rural areas than nurses who completed an urban-focused nursing program. Another factor that had an impact on the graduate nurses' choice of practice area was the students' original places of residence.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autologous chondrocyte implantation with collagen bioscaffold for the treatment of osteochondral defects in rabbits.

Osteochondral injury is therapeutically irreversible within current treatment parameters. Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) promises to regenerate hyaline articular cartilage, but conventional ACI is plagued by complications determined by periosteal grafting. Here we propose the utilization of collagen membrane in ACI as an effective bioscaffold for the regeneration of osteochondral lesions. Using a rabbit model of osteochondral injury, we have inoculated autologous chondrocytes onto a type I/III collagen scaffold [so-called matrix-induced ACI (MACI)] and implanted into 3-mm osteochondral knee defects. All untreated defect histology showed inferior fibrocartilage and/or fibrous tissue repair. In our time-course study, ACI with type I/III collagen membrane regenerated cartilage with healthy osteochondral architecture in osteochondral defects at 6 weeks. At 12 weeks, articular cartilage regeneration was maintained, with reduced thickness and proteoglycan compared with the adjacent cartilage. Both 6-week (p < 0.01) and 12-week (p < 0.05) ACI with collagen membrane showed significant improvement as compared with untreated controls. To further examine the efficacy of cartilage regeneration by ACI, we conducted a dose-response study, using chondrocytes at various cell densities between 10(4) and 10(6) cells/cm(2). The results showed that cell density had no effect on outcome histology, but all cell densities were significantly better than untreated controls (p < 0.01) and cell-free collagen membrane treatment (p < 0.05). In short, our data suggest that autologous chondrocyte-seeded type I/III collagen membrane is an effective method for the treatment of focal osteochondral knee injury in rabbits.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

American Burn Association/Shriners Hospitals for Children burn outcomes questionnaire: construction and psychometric properties.

To develop a standardized, practical, self-administered questionnaire to monitor pediatric patients with burns and to evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive pediatric burn management treatments, a group of experts generated a set of items to measure relevant burn outcomes. Children between the ages of 5 and 18 years were assessed in a cross-sectional study. Both parent and adolescent responses were obtained from children 11 to 18 years old. The internal reliability of final scales ranged from 0.82 to 0.93 among parents and from 0.75 to 0.92 among adolescents. Mean differences between parent and adolescent were small; the greatest difference occurred in the appearance subscale. Parental scales showed evidence of validity and potential for sensitivity to change. In an effort to support the construct validity of the new scales, they were compared with the Child Health Questionnaire and related to each other in clinically sensible ways. These burn outcomes scales reliably and validly assess function in patients with burns, and the scales have been developed in such a way that they are likely to be sensitive to change over time.

Activities of Daily Living↗