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G J Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to G J Taylor.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Quantitative assessment of the effect of 0.05% chlorhexidine on rat articular cartilage metabolism in vitro and in vivo.

Wound infection remains a problem. Syringe and needle jet lavage of chlorhexidine gluconate 0.05% removed or killed 99.8% of contaminating bacteria within 1 minute in a wound model. In clinical use, however, possible toxicity to articular cartilage is a concern. In an established intact rat patella model in vitro, 1 minute of exposure to chlorhexidine 0.05% and chlorhexidine jet lavage did not significantly alter cartilage metabolism. A 1-hour exposure decreased metabolic activity. In vivo, a 30-minute exposure with or without rinsing produced no impairment of metabolic activity 6 weeks later, suggesting that cartilage has the potential for biological recovery. However, injecting and leaving chlorhexidine 0.05% in the joints was detrimental to the metabolic activity of the articular cartilage as assessed 6 weeks later. Thus, chlorhexidine gluconate 0.05% could be used on normal articular cartilage. Any potential damage from prolonged exposure can be avoided by rinsing after 1 minute.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Clinical versus actual outcome in cardiac surgery: a post-mortem study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical attribution of the cause of death can be misleading, with the only true outcome measure being post-mortem analysis. Despite this there is very little published data on post-mortems following cardiac surgery. METHODS: Prospective consecutive post-mortem data were collected on 167 patients (84.4% of all in-hospital cardiac surgical deaths) in a single institution. Clinical diagnoses were compared with post-mortem findings. RESULTS: The mean age at death was 69.8 with 67.6% male. The proportion undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) alone was 52.1%, valve surgery 18.6%, valve+CABG 19.2% and other procedures 10.1%. The mean time to death was 7.9 days (range 0-87). The causes of death were cardiac 67.7%, gastrointestinal 9.6%, respiratory 8.4%, haemorrhage/technical failure 4.8%, stroke (cerebrovascular accident) 3.6%, multiorgan failure 3.0%, sepsis 1.8%, malignancy 0. 6% and trauma 0.6%. Post-mortem revealed an unsuspected cause of death in 19 (11.4%). These were gastrointestinal (infarction nine, perforation two), cardiac three, adult respiratory distress syndrome two, technical two and pulmonary embolus one. In addition, an unsuspected lung cancer was found in 1 patient who died of cardiac causes. When cardiac deaths were compared with non-cardiac causes the Parsonnet score was higher 20.0 (+/-1.4) vs. 15.3 (+/-1.6), P=0. 07; and a greater proportion tended to have poor ejection fractions (34 vs. 15%), P=0.12. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age, sex, operation, hypertension, diabetes, creatinine and body mass. CONCLUSIONS: Post-mortem can determine unsuspected diagnoses in a significant proportion of cases. Pre-operative risk factors do not correlate with eventual cause of death. Post-mortem still has an important role to play in cardiac surgery.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Inoue balloon mitral valvuloplasty: long-term clinical and echocardiographic follow-up of a predominantly unfavourable population.

AIMS: To assess long-term outcome in a typical Western population of predominantly unfavourable patients undergoing Inoue balloon mitral valvuloplasty. Outcome amongst patients has only been undertaken in the medium term. Long-term echocardiographic data in particular are scarce. METHODS: Inoue mitral valvuloplasty was attempted in 106 patients. There were six technical failures; the procedure was therefore completed in 100 patients, who underwent annual clinical and echocardiographic follow-up. RESULTS: Patients were aged 63.5+/-10. 3 years. 82% were female. Unfavourable characteristics included age >65 (52%), NYHA class III or IV (87%), >/=1 significant co-morbidity (63%), atrial fibrillation (82%), previous surgical commissurotomy (25%) and echocardiographic score >8 (59%, mean 8.9+/-2.1). Mitral valve area increased from 0.98+/-0.23 to 1.54+/-0.31 cm(2). There were three major complications. Post-procedure, symptoms improved in 88% of patients. Haemodynamic success (mitral valve area increase >50%, final mitral valve area >1.5 cm(2), mitral regurgitation </=grade 2) was achieved in 61% of cases. Mean follow-up was 4.3+/-1. 4 years. Survival was 97%, 88% and 82% at 1, 3 and 6 years. Event-free survival (freedom from death, mitral valve replacement or repeat valvuloplasty) was 96%, 82% and 56% at 1, 3 and 6 years. Freedom from restenosis (loss of >50% gain in mitral valve area, mitral valve area <1.5cm (2)) was 98%, 92% and 75% at 1, 3 and 6 years. Pre-procedural predictors of event-free survival were male sex, absence of co-morbidities, lower echocardiographic score and smaller left atrial diameter. CONCLUSIONS: In a Western population with predominantly unfavourable characteristics for mitral valvuloplasty, long-term outcome post-procedure is reasonable. A moderate increase in mitral valve area can be achieved at low procedural risk, and the subsequent rate of restenosis is low. Nonetheless, 6 years after the procedure, half of the patients will have required further intervention or died. For fitter patients willing to accept significant operative risk, mitral valve replacement remains a valuable alternative.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Direct measurement of aluminum uptake and distribution in single cells of Chara corallina.

Quantitative information on the uptake and distribution of Al at the cellular level is required to understand mechanisms of Al toxicity, but direct measurement of uptake across the plasma membrane has remained elusive. We measured rates of Al transport across membranes in single cells of Chara corallina using the rare (26)Al isotope, an emerging technology (accelerator mass spectrometry), and a surgical technique for isolating subcellular compartments. Accumulation of Al in the cell wall dominated total uptake (71-318 microgram m(-2) min(-1)), although transport across the plasma membrane was detectable (71-540 ng m(-2) min(-1)) within 30 min of exposure. Transport across the tonoplast was initially negligible, but accelerated to rates approximating uptake across the plasma membrane. The avacuolate protoplasm showed signs of saturation after 60 min, but continued movement across the plasma membrane was supported by sequestration in the vacuole. Saturation of all compartments was observed after 12 to 24 h. Accumulation of Al in the cell wall reflected variation in [Al(3+)] induced by changes in Al supply or complexing ligands, but was unaffected by pH. In contrast, transport across the plasma membrane peaked at pH 4.3 and increased when [Al(3+)] was reduced by complexing ligands. Cold temperature (4 degrees C) reduced accumulation in the cell wall and protoplasm, whereas 2,4-dinitrophenol and m-chlorocarbonylcyanidephenyl hydrazone increased membrane transport by 12- to 13-fold. Our data suggest that the cell wall is the major site of Al accumulation. Nonetheless, membrane transport occurs within minutes of exposure and is supported by subsequent sequestration in the vacuole. The rapid delivery of Al to the protoplasm suggests that intracellular lesions may be possible.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗
PubMed2000

A Swedish translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: cross-validation of the factor structure.

The purpose of this study was to develop a new Swedish translation of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and to examine if the theoretical structure that underlies the factor structure of the English version of the TAS-20 could be recovered in this Swedish translation of the instrument. A sample of 157 undergraduate students of psychology was tested. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the previously established three-factor TAS-20 model was found to be replicable in this sample. In addition, the Swedish translation of the TAS-20 showed adequate internal reliability. The present study also illustrates the importance of using back translation methodology when transposing psychometric instruments from one language to another.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Recent developments in alexithymia theory and research.

OBJECTIVE: To review recent developments in alexithymia theory and research that are relevant to the field of psychosomatic medicine. METHOD: Articles were selected from the alexithymia literature published over the past decade that describe advances in the theoretical understanding of alexithymia or report empirical investigations of the relationships of the construct with emotion regulation and with somatic illness and disease. Empirical investigations of the neural correlates of alexithymia were reviewed also, as were studies that explore therapeutic attempts to modify alexithymic characteristics. RESULTS: The salient features of the alexithymia construct are now thought to reflect deficits in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions. This is supported by studies showing that alexithymia is associated with maladaptive styles of emotion regulation, low emotional intelligence, a bidirectional interhemispheric transfer deficit, and reduced rapid eye movement (REM) density (number of eye movements divided by number of REM periods). Although empirical evidence demonstrates that alexithymia is associated with several somatic disorders, more prospective studies are required to establish the direction of causality. Preliminary data suggest that psychotherapies involving specific techniques to enhance emotional awareness and integrate symbolic and subsymbolic elements of emotion schemas may be effective in reducing alexithymic characteristics. CONCLUSION: Alexithymia is proving to be a heuristically useful construct for exploring the role of personality and emotions in the pathogenesis of certain somatic illnesses and diseases.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1999

Relation between alexithymia and the five-factor model of personality: a facet-level analysis.

The relation between alexithymia and both the domain and the facet level of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality was examined in a sample of 101 university students by using the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby, Taylor, & Parker, 1994) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992c). Consistent with the alexithymia construct, the TAS-20 was positively correlated with Neuroticism (N) and negatively correlated with Extraversion (E) and Openness (O), whereas no significant relations were found with Agreeableness (A) and Conscientiousness (C). Analysis of the lower order traits (i.e., facets) of the FFM revealed that depression for N; positive emotions and assertiveness for E; feelings and actions for O; altruism, tender-mindedness, and modesty for A; and competence for C predicted alexithymia. These results support the uniqueness of the alexithymia construct, which is represented by a cluster of traits across the dimensions and facets of the FFM.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Oxygen free radicals and contrast nephropathy.

Ionic, high-osmolality contrast medium causes nephrotoxicity associated with increased intrarenal adenosine production. To test the hypothesis that oxygen free radicals (produced during intrarenal adenosine catabolism to xanthine) should be implicated in the pathogenesis of ionic, high-osmolality contrast medium nephrotoxicity in humans and to determine whether magnesium protects the kidney from oxygen free radical injury following contrast, 39 patients with mild renal dysfunction were divided into low (LoMg++) and normal (NlMg++) magnesium states and randomized to precoronary angiography oral allopurinol (a xanthine oxidase inhibitor) or placebo. Creatinine clearance and urinary xanthine excretion were measured before and after angiography. Forty-eight hours after contrast medium exposure, placebo-treated LoMg++ and NlMg++ patients had 61%+/-5% and 67%+/-6% increases in urinary xanthine excretion, respectively; however, placebo-treated LoMg++ patients had a greater (79%+/-9% v 35%+/-6%; P < 0.01) decrease in creatinine clearance than placebo-treated NlMg++ patients. Allopurinol-treated LoMg++ and NlMg++ patients had no significant change in urinary xanthine excretion, but did have 40%+/-7% and 33%+/-5% decreases, respectively, in creatinine clearance 48 hours after contrast medium exposure. There was no difference in renal dysfunctional response among placebo-treated NlMg++ patients or allopurinol-treated LoMg++ or NlMg++ patients. These data suggest (1) that oxygen free radicals contribute to ionic, high-osmolality contrast medium nephrotoxicity in hypomagnesemic patients with mild renal disease and (2) that magnesium attenuates the nephrotoxicity mediated by oxygen free radicals.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1997

Ultraviolet light in the orthopaedic operating theatre.

This article looks at the physical aspects of Ultraviolet C light and the practical aspects encountered when setting up a UVC system in Winford Orthopaedic Hospital, Bristol for the purposes of a clinical trial to study the effect of UVC on bacterial load in the theatre air and in the wounds of patients undergoing total joint replacement. The results of that clinical trial will then be described followed by an outline of the problems encountered with using UVC.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed1996

Cross-cultural alexithymia: development and validation of a Hindi translation of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

The possibility that alexithymia may be a culture-bound construct was evaluated by developing a Hindi version of the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and assessing its psychometric properties in a sample of 285 normal young adults in India. The Hindi version of the scale (TAS-20-H) showed excellent cross-language equivalence with the English version. In addition, the TAS-20-H demonstrated adequate internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and a three-factor structure consistent with the three-factor model of the original scale.

Adult↗