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Biomedical subjects

G D Brown

Publications and source records attributed to G D Brown.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Enrolled nurses: where do they go from here?

This paper reviews the circumstances which have affected the development of and change in the role and status of enrolled nurses. Factors which have contributed to the drive to provide conversion pathways for enrolled nurses are examined and current opportunities are described. The paper highlights prospects for newly converted enrolled nurses and for those who do not wish to convert and argues that both groups continue to have educational and professional status needs which must be recognized and taken account of.

Education, Professional, Retraining↗
PubMed1994

Amalgamating colleges of nursing and midwifery: staff perceptions of issues and their importance.

This research aimed to identify the issues considered important by primary stakeholders in the amalgamation of two college of nursing and midwifery and to explore differences in issue perceptions between stakeholder groups. The purpose was to provide data which would facilitate the amalgamation process. The research was carried out in two stages, the first of which was issue identification, whereby a qualitative approach to exploration was employed. This was followed by the stage of issue validation, carried out using a quantitatively oriented questionnaire. Stage 1 identified 38 specific issues relating to 13 separate issue topics. These could be further categorized into structural, teaching/learning/curricular and affective themes. Stage 2 demonstrated that these 38 issues were all considered important by all staff groups, but highlighted important, significant differences in the perceptions of how well these issues were perceived to be addressed.

Attitude↗
PubMed1994

Effects of word frequency and age of acquisition on short-term memory span.

The experiments reported examine the effects of two highly related variables, word frequency and age of acquisition, on short-term memory span. Short-term memory span and speech rate were measured for sets of words which independently manipulated frequency and age of acquisition. It was found that frequency had a considerable effect on short-term memory span, which was not mediated by speech rate differences--although frequency did affect speech rate in one experiment. For age of acquisition, this situation was reversed; there was a small but significant effect of age of acquisition on speech rate, but no effect on memory span. This occurred despite results confirming that the stimuli used in the experiments produce an effect of age of acquisition on word naming. The results are discussed in terms of a two-component view of performance on short-term memory tasks.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Short-term memory impairments in Alzheimer-type dementia: evidence for separable impairments of articulatory rehearsal and long-term memory.

Two experiments are described which investigate the short-term memory deficits found in Alzheimer-type dementia. In the first experiment memory span for words of differing spoken duration is related to speech rate. Memory span was lower in subjects suffering from Alzheimer-type dementia than for normal elderly controls but in both cases a linear function related recall to speech rate for items of differing spoken durations. The function for Alzheimer subjects had an equivalent slope (interpreted as reflecting a contribution from a sub-vocal rehearsal process) but a lower intercept (interpreted as reflecting a contribution from a long-term memory component). The second experiment investigated the effects of repeating supra-span lists of items in a serial recall task. As predicted the control subjects showed substantial increases in recall across trials associated with elevations of the speech rate/recall functions while the Alzheimer subjects showed very little benefit from repetition of the lists. We conclude that the verbal short-term memory deficit found in Alzheimer-type dementia has two components: a deficit in the rate of rehearsal and an impairment in the long-term memory component of short-term recall.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Accounting for power: nurse teachers' and students' perceptions of power in their relationship.

In this paper I examine how nurse teachers and students perceive power to operate within their relationship. Interviews and focus group discussions showed that teachers and their students agreed that power operates within three distinct planes: the educational process, interpersonal relationships and learning outcomes. Common perceptions of power distributions within these planes were also demonstrated. A major difference was found to be in the emphasis accorded to power planes. Teachers related more to educational power while students were more concerned with personal power. I suggest how the findings can be applied to resolve seemingly conflicting teacher/student perceptions of power distribution and discuss how students believe they can best be empowered by teachers.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Quality evaluation of controlled clinical information service trials.

Randomized controlled clinical trials are increasingly accepted as tools of computer technology assessment and, therefore, quality evaluation of trials has great theoretical and practical significance. The purpose of this study was to assist the design of evaluation studies and synthesis of published results by developing and validating an easy-to-use quality scoring method. The development of the new scoring system was based on the available quality evaluation methods and the analysis of 19 trial reports registered in the Columbia Registry of Controlled Clinical Information Service Trials. First critical aspects and afterwards the levels of quality were defined. In spite of the fact that all quality requirements were met by some trials, the average overall quality score was 52.6 (+/- 8.7) per cent. The minimum score was 37 and the maximum was 72 per cent. Data collection and site/sample definition were better in the good quality trials, but improvement in statistical analysis was erratic. The quality scoring method was validated by using another sample of 20 registered trials. While the number of published controlled clinical trials is increasing in medical informatics, the analysis was unable to demonstrate a significant positive correlation between the quality and year of publication.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
PubMed1992

A novel DNA binding activity is elevated in thymocytes expressing high levels of H-2Dd after radiation leukemia virus infection.

Resistance to radiation leukemia virus-induced leukemia is mediated by gene(s) in the H-2D region of the MHC; a clear correlation exists between disease resistance and increased H-2Dd expression on the thymocyte surface. We have investigated the molecular basis for this stimulation of H-2Dd class I expression. Elevated H-2 mRNA and H-2 transcription are demonstrated in the infected thymocytes as compared to normal thymocytes indicating that the elevation of H-2 surface expression is the result of transcriptional activation. Gel mobility assays performed with nuclear extracts of normal and infected thymocytes and sequences 5' of the H-2Dd gene show that specific binding occurs with both extracts; the binding differs both quantitatively and qualitatively, however. DNase I protection analysis detects a protein binding site that is protected only by extracts from infected cells. The protected region contains a sequence similar to the AP-1 consensus sequence. Gel shift competition assays and UV photo-cross-linking to an oligonucleotide containing this sequence demonstrate that specific binding of an H-2 binding factor 1 occurs and that this factor is not the AP-1 binding complex. This novel binding factor, activated in vivo, might also be involved in the normal regulation of H-2 gene expression by recognizing the highly conserved binding sequence (TGACGCG) found in the 5' flanking region of many MHC class I genes. This is the first demonstration of the parallel stimulation of a DNA binding activity and increased transcription occurring in thymocytes after infection with a leukemogenic retrovirus.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Accountability of certified long-term care administrators.

To whom and in what ways are administrators and their facilities accountable? This profile of administrators who have completed ACHCA's Professional Certification Program explores how certification increases one's social accountability and improves facility performance.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

The Columbia Registry of Controlled Clinical Computer Trials.

Numerous reports on randomized controlled clinical trials of computer-based interventions have been published. These trials provide useful evaluations of the impact of information technology on patient care. Unfortunately, several obstacles make access to the trial reports difficult. Barriers include the large variety of publications in which reports may appear, non-standard descriptors, and incomplete indexing. Some analyzers indicate inadequate testing of computer methods. The purpose of establishing a registry of randomized controlled clinical computer trials was to assist the identification of computer services with demonstrated ability to improve the process or outcome of patient care. A report collection, selection, information extraction, and registration method was developed and implemented. One hundred and six reports on computer trials have been collected. A large variety of computer-assisted interventions have been tested in the registered trials (40% reminder, 15% feedback, 14% dose planning, 14% patient education, 12% medical record). 76% of the registered reports were published in the United States and most of the remainder in various European countries. In reporting computer trial results, 77% of the authors did not use both the "computer" and "trial" keywords in the title or abstract of their papers. We conclude that a major obstacle to adequate computer technology assessment is inadequate access to the published results.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
PubMed1991

Modeling the functional organization of the basal ganglia. A parallel distributed processing approach.

Despite recent advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of movement disorders, little is known about the precise function the basal ganglia play in the control of movement. We review an approach to studying the function of neural systems that is based on the use of a class of computer models known as parallel distributed processors (PDPs) and indicate its potential range of applications to the study of movement disorders. PDPs can be used to construct computational devices that take into account the anatomical and pharmacological properties of real neural systems. They can also provide computational-level insights that can lead to novel hypotheses concerning brain function. We discuss both these approaches and outline a scheme of the functional organization of the basal ganglia, which predicts some of the pathophysiological mechanisms that mediate movement disorders and which can be formally modeled on a computer.

Basal Ganglia↗
PubMed1991

Organizational assessment: concept, method and application.

The concept of organizational assessment of health institutions is explored in terms of why it is becoming increasingly popular, alternative approaches, and its potential as a tool for quality assurance or program evaluation. There is an outline of an approach to developing standardized performance criteria and a design for carrying out an assessment through a self-assessment method. Illustrations of the application of the model are included.

Decision Making, Organizational↗
PubMed1990

Increased H-2Dd expression following infection by a molecularly cloned ecotropic MuLV.

The biological consequences of radiation leukemia virus (RadLV) infection include the stimulation of H-2Dd antigen expression in resistant mouse strains and thymoma induction in susceptible strains. In an effort to understand the genetic basis of these phenomena, the integrated ecotropic RadLV genome has been examined in a number of primary RadLV-induced tumors, as well as thymomas adapted to in vitro passage; considerable heterogeneity was observed. Examination of these polymorphic viral sequences should help define the viral gene(s) involved in the biological effects of RadLV infection; toward this end, integrated RadLV genomes were molecularly cloned and examined. The genomes and their flanking sequence were characterized by restriction enzyme analysis. Three unique viral genomes were obtained which represent four integration sites. The three RadLV genomes are shown to carry polymorphisms of the original tumor. Following DNA transfection, one of the three genomes replicated in and reinfected both mouse thymocytes and fibroblasts, but not mink fibroblasts in vitro. Virus encoded by the other two DNA genomes could not be recovered following transfection into any of the three cell types. One of these two apparently defective retroviruses encodes a truncated p15E molecule, while the other has elongated long terminal repeats (LTRs). The non-defective ecotropic isolate was collected from in vitro tissue culture supernatants, concentrated, and used to infect mice. Thymocytes of infected, resistant mice were shown to express elevated levels of H-2Dd antigen as early as 12 days post infection, a hallmark of RadLV infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Extension of the H-2 TLb molecular map. Isolation and characterization of T13, T14, and T15 from the C57BL/6 mouse.

A region of the TLb locus encompassing T11 to T13 contains retroviral sequences TLev1 and TLev2. As part of a study to determine whether the retroviral elements are involved in the expression of TL genes, the genomic organization of this region was reexamined in greater detail. A result of these investigations is the extension of the H-2 TLb molecular map. Two additional TL genes have been isolated from C57BL/6 mice, T14 and T15. The genomic organization of T9 through T15 is presented. The nucleotide sequence has been determined for exons 4, 5, and 6 of T13. As a result of a C to T conversion, a termination codon is introduced into exon 4, indicating that T13 either encodes a secreted protein or is a pseudogene. T13 was found to be more homologous to the H-2 genes outside the TL region. T14 has been physically disrupted by the integration of TLev1, and the H-2 sequences appear to have diverged greatly. The relationship of the TL regions of the b and c haplotypes has been investigated using numerous low copy probes. The genome of BALB/c (TLc) is shown to lack a counterpart of the T13-T15b region. Homologous regions exist in the two haplotypes; yet considerable polymorphism is observed. TLb mice do not express TLa on the cell surface of normal thymocytes while TLc mice do; TLa expression is activated in many TLb leukemias. The diversity seen in the T13-T15 region may provide insights into the phenotypic expression or regulatory mechanisms of TL expression in these two haplotypes.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

The evaluation of the recovery capacity of media for heat-treated Bacillus stearothermophilus spore strips.

Six media were assessed for their capacity to recover spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus from three commercially available types of spore strip heated for up to 5 min at 121 degrees C in steam. All media recovered similar numbers of spores from unheated strips; however, there was considerable difference in survivor counts when the media were used to recover heated spores. Media containing starch consistently recovered the highest number of spores. The greatest difference in recovery capacity between the media was observed when spore strips were heated for 5 min at 121 degrees C.

Colony Count, Microbial↗