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Biomedical subjects

G A Harrison

Publications and source records attributed to G A Harrison.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

HLA-G deletion polymorphism and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a HLA-G deletion polymorphism in pre-eclamptic pedigrees and the general population. DESIGN: A population association study of HLA-G genotypes from pre-eclamptic/eclamptic patients and control groups. SETTING: Analyses undertaken in the School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University. Patients were from Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, and controls were from Westmead Hospital and Macquarie University, Sydney. SUBJECTS: One hundred and ninety-six individuals, consisting of 29 pre-eclamptic/eclamptic (PE/E) patients, 13 individuals born of a PE/E pregnancy, 46 blood relatives of PE/E patients, 21 husbands of PE/E patients, 25 women normotensive in first pregnancy, 15 husbands of women normotensive in first pregnancy and 47 staff and students of Macquarie University. RESULTS: Genotypic and gene frequencies were not significantly different in the seven groups examined. CONCLUSION: There is no detectable relationship between susceptibility to pre-eclampsia or being born of a pre-eclamptic pregnancy and HLA-G genotype.

Eclampsia↗
PubMed1995

Catecholamine and cortisol levels in Oxford college rowers.

Urinary catecholamines and cortisol levels in two teams of Oxford college eight oarsmen were compared on three different day types: training days, racing days, and non-rowing days. Adrenaline and cortisol were raised on racing and training days compared to non-racing days. Noradrenaline was raised on training days, reflecting longer periods of physical exercise during training. There was evidence of a progressive lowering of adrenaline output over consecutive race days and that the outcome of the races had an effect on both adrenaline and cortisol. In addition to this there seemed to be differences in cortisol levels between the two teams of rowers on both racing days and non-rowing days.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Home-school differences in stress hormone levels in a group of Oxford primary schoolchildren.

Twenty-three girls and thirteen boys, aged between 4 and 9 years, gave urine samples which were measured by HPLC for adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol and cortisone on a school day and on a home day. Home levels of noradrenaline, cortisol and cortisone were consistently higher than school levels. Cortisol was positively correlated with adrenaline and noradrenaline at home, but not at school. These results may suggest that the school day represents a stimulating but comparatively structured environment with little negative affect, while the home day is characterised by stimulation but relative uncertainty in social interactions.

Arousal↗
PubMed1993

The Training/Examination Programme in Intensive Care, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. 1. Training.

Unlike training for programmes in other countries which have published details of training programmes for Intensive Care Medicine, the training programme of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists does not require certification in a primary specialty, although it is possible to combine training in Intensive Care and Anaesthetics. The lynchpin of the programme is the requirement that training can be undertaken in recognised posts in intensive care units which are approved by the College. Approval of the Unit requires evidence of appropriate supervision and teaching of trainees, sufficient number of admissions with a casemix suitable for the trainees' learning needs and an adequate level of staff and equipment. The Units are assessed by physical inspection by assessors appointed by the College. The programme includes a Final Examination in Intensive Care.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1993

The Training/Examination Programme in Intensive Care, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists: 2. Examination.

The structure of the Final Examination in Intensive Care for the award of Diploma of Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists is based on a model explicated in the College's Objectives of Training in Intensive Care. There are five sections in the examination: short answer questions, essay questions, investigations, orals and a clinical. The first examination was held in October 1979. Up to and including the examination of October 1992, 94 of the 136 attempts by 107 candidates had been successful. Eighty-three per cent of the candidates passed at the first attempt. The failure rate has been highest in the clinical section. The examination is regarded as a hard examination but one which is helpful in training and subsequent practice.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1993

Motherhood and infant health in Khartoum.

The results of an analysis of the growth and illness experience of a group of infants in Khartoum townships illustrate the remarkable benefits of being the infant of a "housewife" rather than the infant of a mother who works. These benefits occurred despite the poorer domestic environments of the housewives.

Body Height↗
PubMed1992

Some determinants of population variation in cortisol levels in a British urban community.

Urinary cortisol excretion rates were determined from three urine samples given over 2 days, a rest day and a working day, by 51 men and 50 women. Each subject also completed a questionnaire relating to life style factors and to perceived levels of stress, busyness and happiness on each day. In men, an association between raised cortisol and high levels of stress was found. In women, high levels of busyness were associated with low cortisol excretion rates. The subjective experiences measured accounted for around 10-20% of cortisol variation in this naturalistic setting.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Inspiratory speech as a management option for spastic dysphonia. Case study.

A case study is reported of a subject who has used inspiratory speech (IS) for 6 years as a means of overcoming the communication problems of long-standing adductor spastic dysphonia (ASD). The subject was studied to confirm his use of IS, determine the mechanisms of its production, investigate its effects on ventilatory gas exchange, and confirm that it was perceptually preferable to ASD expiratory speech (ES). Results showed that the production and control of a high laryngeal resistance to airflow were necessary for usable IS. Voice quality was quantitatively and perceptually poor; however, the improved fluency and absence of phonatory spasm made IS the preferred speaking mode for both the listener and the speaker. Transcutaneous measurements of the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the subject's blood were made during extended speaking periods. These measurements indicated that ventilation was unchanged during IS, and that ventilation during ES was similar to the "hyperventilation" state of normal speakers. The reasons for the absence of phonatory spasm during IS are discussed, and the possibility of its use as a noninvasive management option for other ASD sufferers is addressed.

Airway Resistance↗
PubMed1992

Alveolar oxygenation and mouth-to-mask ventilation: effects of oxygen insufflation.

The effect on alveolar oxygen fraction (FAO2) of insufflating oxygen under a mask (or through an inflow nipple provided in the mask) during simulated mouth-to-mask ventilation was investigated using a lung model. A variety of commercially produced masks were evaluated. Two patterns of artificial ventilation were applied: 1. 500 ml tidal volume at 20 breaths per minute, and 2. 900 ml tidal volume at 12 breaths per minute. The ventilating gas mixture was oxygen 16% in nitrous oxide, and oxygen was insufflated at flow rates of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 14 litres per minute. The rate of rise of FAO2 and the equilibrium FAO2 attained were greatest at high oxygen inflow rates. The relationship between oxygen flow and FAO2 was not linear however, and an oxygen flow rate of 10 l/min was adequate to generate FAO2's around 50% with either ventilatory pattern. The equilibrium FAO2 achieved was greater with smaller tidal volumes and with larger mask deadspace. We also found that several breaths were required for equilibration of FAO2 during each trial, supporting recommendations that several breaths should be given on commencement of artificial ventilation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1992

A survey of Fellows of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons endorsed in intensive care by examination in the first 10 years of final examinations in intensive care.

Fifty-nine of the 70 Fellows of the Faculty of Anaesthetists who had passed the Final Examination in Intensive Care including that of October 1989, responded to a questionnaire on the pattern of their intensive care and anaesthetic practice and their perception of the training and examination. Responses came predominantly from Fellows who had passed the examination more than two years previously. Forty-eight (81%) were practising intensive care at least 50% of the time and 51% had become Director or Deputy Director of an Intensive Care Unit. However, 51% maintained some anaesthetic practice. Although individuals had changed the intensive care/anaesthetic distribution of their practice, the group overall had not. With one exception all Fellows were practising in public hospitals but 26% in private hospitals also. Only eight had sought intensive care as their first vocational qualification. Training and examination were generally regarded favourably except for training in research methods and experience in internal medicine. The results suggest that the intensive care specialist is not likely to leave such practice in the long term, but there has been a reluctance to abandon altogether training and some subsequent practice in anaesthetics.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed1992

Effects of high iron and sulfate ion concentrations on dry matter digestion and volatile fatty acid production by ruminal microorganisms.

The inhibitory effects of iron- and sulfate-containing compounds on the in vitro digestion of a balanced forage diet by mixed populations of ruminal microorganisms were examined in batch cultures. Compounds containing ferrous and ferric cations consistently inhibited DM digestion by up to 36% when added Fe concentrations in cultures were between 100 and 1,000 mg/L. Increased sulfate concentrations of up to 200 mg/L or chloride concentrations of up to 635 mg/L were not associated with decreased DM digestion. Ammonium sulfate additions that provided 200 mg/L of added sulfur increased (P less than .05) digestibility by 10%. Sulfate-containing iron salts tended to be less inhibitory than chloride salts and were associated with increased gas production during digestion. Ferric chloride inhibited (P less than .05) microbial activities at lower concentrations than ferrous chloride. Data suggest that excessive iron supplementation or contamination of feeds with iron-containing pollutants may decrease microbial activities in the rumen.

Ammonium Sulfate↗
PubMed1992

Interrelations between growth, weaning and disease experience in Khartoum infants.

The monthly measurements of body weight and supine length from birth to 1 year of 203 infants in Khartoum were analysed to see whether growth characteristics affected the timing of weaning and the amount of illness experience. The study clearly shows that neonates who are long for their age tend to be weaned early, and this causes them to experience a greater average monthly 'illness experience' and slower subsequent growth. However, a multivariate analysis indicates that it is correlated environmental variables rather than length growth itself which primarily determines weaning age. Weight growth does not show these relationships but there is strong evidence that late weaning, independently of disease experience, promotes post-natal weight growth.

Body Height↗
PubMed1991

Urinary catecholamines, plasma insulin and environmental factors in relation to body fat distribution.

The relationship of body fat distribution to insulin and the catecholamines, hormones that affect lipolysis differentially by fat site, was examined within an environmental context, including factors of medication use, physical activity, dietary intake, educational attainment, and age. Four cross-sectional body fat areas (cm2) were determined by three computed tomography (CT) scans (subcutaneous chest fat at the level of the nipples, subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat at the level of the umbilicus, and subcutaneous left mid-thigh fat) in 191 second-generation Japanese-American men aged 45-74 years. The site-specific fat measurements were first examined in relation to use of beta-adrenergic antagonists, then to fasting plasma insulin and C-peptide levels and to urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine levels from a 24-h urine collection made during usual daily activities. Greater fat stores in the intra-abdominal area, even after adjustment for body mass index (BMI, weight/height2) and presence of coronary heart disease, were found to be related to use of beta-adrenergic antagonists. In men taking no adrenergic antagonists (n = 157), after adjustment for BMI, truncal fat measurements of the chest (partial r = -0.16, P less than 0.05) and intra-abdominal area (partial r = -0.21, P less than 0.05) were found to be inversely related to epinephrine, and intra-abdominal fat (partial r = 0.25, P less than 0.01) alone was directly related to fasting plasma insulin. With respect to other environmental variables, the significant inverse relationship of intra-abdominal fat (adjusted for BMI) with physical activity (partial r = -0.17, P less than 0.05) and the significant difference in intra-abdominal fat by educational attainment (college 102.3 +/- 5.7 vs no college 115.7 +/- 6.1 cm2, P = 0.03) became non-significant with adjustment, using multiple regression analysis, for insulin in the case of physical activity and epinephrine in the case of educational attainment. Thus, intra-abdominal fat showed a unique set of relationships to metabolic parameters which could be further related to certain environmental variables.

Adipose Tissue↗