Biomedical subjects

E Scherzer

Publications and source records attributed to E Scherzer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Physician unions: organizing women in the year 2000.

Interest in physician unions is growing, but surprisingly little has been written about whether union membership addresses the particular needs and interests of women physicians. We begin by looking at the history of physician unions in the United States and then examine physician unions today, and how labor laws influence union membership of physicians. The third section looks at why women join unions, whether these reasons hold true for women physicians, and what role women are playing in physician unions. Finally, we give examples of union responses to gender discrimination and such issues as maternity leave, salary inequities, sexual harassment, and promotions. Since women are prominent as leaders in physician unions, these unions seem to be responsive to the needs of their women members.

Female↗

PubMed1994

[Legal problems in headache].

Problems in expert opinion on headache patients are encountered in particular with cases of so-called posttraumatic headache. Symptoms in the vegetative field due to a head injury are characterized by a close time relationship with the accident or trauma. So is genuine post-traumatic headache. Like the so-called postconcussional syndrome, post-traumatic headache is very vaguely defined. To verify the causal connection between headache and head injury an in-depth neurological analysis is necessary. Lesions of intra- and extra-cranial structures sensitive to pain are apt to bring about subjective complaints in the form of headache. Severe craniocerebral injuries with persisting headache may be suggestive of chronic disturbances in cerebrospinal fluid circulation. On the other hand, extensive compound skull fractures and large cranial trephination defects rarely give rise to headache. Cephalgia occurring after cerebral concussions and minor cerebral contusions subside within a short period of time. The evolution of migraine following a head injury is extremely unusual. However, severe subjective complaints may be caused by traumatic subarachnoidal hemorrhage. An exceptional situation is that of neuralgic pain after an accident with injury to the head, especially in the wake of trigeminal nerve lesions. It seems important to mention the possibility of the combination of organic and psychological factors for cephalgia following craniocerebral trauma. Symptomatic headache generally does not cause special difficulties for expert opinion. However, more problems are encountered in the evaluation and appraisal of persistent headache and other subjective complaints in conversion neurosis and psychogenic disorders. Pensions for headache should only be considered in the most severe cases.

Brain Concussion↗

PubMed1990

[Intracranial pressure and brain death].

Cerebral death occurs during reanimation as an isolated destruction of the entire brain. It is the result of a malignant and irreversible increase of the intracranial pressure. Continuous registration of the intracranial and systemic blood pressures which is done as a routine monitoring procedure in the majority of deep coma patients, allows to identify the moment when cerebral perfusion has come to a complete standstill, and also allows to confirm its irreversibility. At the end of an ischaemic period of 8 to 10 minutes, absolutely lethal to brain tissue, cerebral death is completed. To be on the safe side, the expiration of a 15 to 20 minute period of complete circulatory arrest within the cranial cavity is recommended before further diagnostic measures, especially cerebral arteriography, are undertaken as final proof of dissociated brain death, permitting the explantation of vital organs for grafting. At present, due to possible technical difficulties, reliance upon epidural intracranial pressure measurement alone must still be discouraged. Nevertheless, this investigation method can be most useful in the early timing of the so-called terminal angiography in order not to delay the diagnosis of brain death and its medical consequences.

Blood Pressure↗

PubMed1989

[Monitoring infection at the intensive care unit--a multicenter pilot study].

During a period of 3 months an infection survey was carried out in 4 intensive care units (ICUs), 2 in Vienna, Austria, and one each in Ulm and Münster, Federal Republic of Germany, using a common protocol. A total of 329 patients was monitored prospectively. This pilot study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of parameters included in the monitoring form. It was attempted to characterize the patient populations of the four units. Mean duration of stay (1-12 days), mortality (8-26%), leading diagnosis upon admission, intubation rate (41-91%) and use of pulmonary artery catheter (12-35%) were distinctly different. The rate of patients admitted already with an infection was 9-43%, septicemia was diagnosed in up to 27% of the diseased. The rate of infection acquired in the unit was between 12 and 37%, the most frequent types were bronchopneumonia, septicemia and urinary tract infection. When septicemia patients were compared to non-septicemia patients who had been admitted for more than 3 days, it appeared that the latter stayed significantly shorter at the ICU and showed less frequently bronchopneumonia or urinary tract infection at the time of admission. Septicemia patients acquired more frequently additional infections like broncho-pneumonia or urinary tract infection while staying at the ICU. The median day of onset of septicemia was the fifth day and only in a quarter of cases diagnosis could be supported by a positive blood culture. The use of antibiotics in the 4 ICUs is compared and shows marked differences. Based upon experience with this type of infection survey a new modified protocol is introduced, which displays the time course of documented events.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1987

Identification, purification, and characterization of Escherichia coli virus T1 DNA methyltransferase.

An Escherichia coli virus T1-induced DNA methyltransferase was identified by activity gel analysis in homogenates of infected E. coli DNA-adenine-methylation-deficient strains. Although the Mr of this protein (31,000) is in the same range as that of the E. coli DNA adenine methyltransferase, the two proteins are not closely related; the E. coli dam gene does not hybridize with T1 DNA. Selective conditions for measurement of the T1 activity were developed, and the enzyme was purified to functional homogeneity, as shown by activity analysis in polyacrylamide gels. Requirements for optimal activity of the viral enzyme were determined to be pH 6.9, ionic strengths below 0.1 M KCl, and a temperature between 40 and 43 degrees C. The Km for S-adenosyl-L-methionine is 4.9 microM. The purified T1 DNA methyltransferase is capable of methylating adenine in 5'-GATC-3' sites in vitro.

DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases↗

PubMed1982