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Biomedical subjects

H Casey

Publications and source records attributed to H Casey.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Pressure ulcer prevention and care: a survey of current practice.

The incidence and management of pressure ulcers in hospitalised patients is an ongoing concern for nurses. Efforts to prevent pressure ulcer development are plagued with inconsistencies and a general lack of best practice guidelines. Establishing current practice approaches to the assessment, prevention and management of pressure ulcers is a necessary first step in the implementation of evidence-based/best practice guidelines. Anecdotal evidence suggested a range of different approaches were being used in a Sydney metropolitan area health service (AHS) to assess patients to identify those at risk, to prevent pressure ulcers and to treat existing ulcers. A collaborative research project was undertaken to examine current practice and to explore the apparent clinical variance. It involved the distribution of a questionnaire to registered nurses working within the AHS (n = 2113) and a review of nursing policy documents in the various hospitals in the health service area. While the overall response rate was satisfactory (40%) many of the returned questionnaires were incomplete. Only 21% (n = 444) of the questionnaires were deemed suitable for analysis. The findings highlight a range of inconsistencies within and across nursing practice domains. Nurses generally do not use a tool to assess pressure ulcer risk potential, but rely on a range of practice procedures and risk indicators to determine risk potential of developing pressure ulcers. Repositioning patients is the most common approach used in an attempt to prevent the development of pressure ulcers, but additional measures are diverse. Most nurses seem to be familiar with modern wound dressings such as hydrocolloids, foams and alginates in the treatment of second and third stage ulceration. However, the care provided by some nurses reflects an adherence to outdated practices, including the use of water filled gloves, povidone iodine and gauze packing.

Alginates↗
PubMed1994

The effects of watercress growing on chalk headwater streams in Dorset and Hampshire.

Chalk stream headwaters are of high value for water supply, amenity, game fishing and fish farming. The water quality implications of modern watercress growing watercress beds are reflected in increasing concentrations of phosphorus and potassium downstream of the beds. Zinc concentrations in both suspended solids emanating from the beds and in sediments downstream of the watercress farms reach high levels in some cases. Ranunculus plants downstream of the watercress farms show elevated levels of zinc. Large amounts of suspended solids enter the receiving streams from watercress beds and in many cases the stream bed directly downstream of the farms has a high proportion of fine organic sediments derived from the watercress farms.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1985

Urinary gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity in dogs with gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Serum creatinine concentrations, 24-hour endogenous creatinine clearance, and 24-hour urinary gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (UGGT) activity were measured daily in 6 dogs given nephrotoxic dosages of gentamicin (10 mg/kg of body weight) every 8 hours for 10 days. Mean UGGT activity was significantly increased by day 5 (P less than 0.05) and preceded significant increases in serum creatinine values (greater than 2.0 mg/dl) observed on day 9. Endogenous creatinine clearance remained within normal limits (2.98 +/- 0.96 ml/min/kg) until day 8. Urinalyses performed 8 days after initiation of gentamicin treatment indicated renal tubular damage (granular casts) in 1 of the 6 dogs, and glucosuria in 3 of the 6 dogs. Measurement of UGGT activity was a more sensitive and reliable method of assessing acute renal tubular damage induced by gentamicin than were serum creatinine concentrations or 24-hour endogenous creatinine clearance.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Effect of some alcohols on sorbitol dehydrogenase.

The effect of 1-propanol, 2-propanol, n-butanol, ethanol and methanol an sorbitol dehydrogenase activity was assayed. The inhibition type was also investigated and results obtained are reported.

Alcohols↗
PubMed1980

[Influence of Zn++ and of Mg++ on alkaline phosphatase activity of different origins].

Many researches have shown the role of some bivalent ions on the structure and function of alkaline phosphatase. For this reason we considered interesting to assay the effect of Zn++ and Mg++, at various concentrations, on the activity of alkaline phosphatase (APase) from different sources. The isoenzymes of alkaline phosphatase used for the experiments were from rat kidney and bone, from calf intestinal mucosa and from Escherichia coli. In order to investigate the effect of Zn++ and Mg++ on the enzyme activity, the two ions were removed using EDTA as chelating agent. The residual enzymatic activity was measured after having preincubated for 15 min the enzyme with EDTA at a final concentration of 0.05 mM, 0.1 mM, 0.5 mM, 5 mM, 25 mM. The reactivation of the enzyme was studied using as reference a sample, in which the final concentration of EDTA was 5 mM. In these series of experiments the enzymatic activity was assayed after a preincubation of the reaction mixture with ZnCl2 10 mM, MgCl2 10 mM and ZnCl2 +MgCl2 10 mM. The inactivation in the time of the enzyme by 5 mM EDTA was also studied. The results obtained show that APase from intestinal mucosa maintained, at the lower concentrations of EDTA (0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mM), a residual activity higher than that of the enzymes of other source. Moreover, whilst the activity of the mucosal enzyme was completely restored by the addition of Zn++, the complete reactivation of the other enzyme activities was obtained only by the addition of Zn++ and Mg++ together. Concerning the inactivation by EDTA during the time, it was shown that APase from calf intestinal mucosa was inactivated after 60 min of incubation, while the enzymes from other sources lost completely their activity after 10 min.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1980

Laser therapy of rheumatoid arthritis.

Thirty people with classical or definite rheumatoid arthritis received laser exposure to a Q-switch neodymium laser that operated at 1.06 micrometer with an output of 15 joules/cm2 for 30 nsec. One hand was lased at the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) and metacarpal phalangeal (MCP) joints, whereas the other hand was sham lased. The patient, physician, and occupational therapy evaluators did not know which hand was being lased. Twenty-one patients noted improvement of both their MCP and PIP joints of both hands during laser therapy. Twenty-seven noted improvement of their PIP joints and 26 noted improvement of the MCP joints during therapy. Heat, erythema, pain, swelling, and tenderness all improved with time in both hands, but the lased hand had more significant improvement in erythema and pain. There was also significant improvement in grasp and tip pressure on the lased side. The level of circulating immune complexes as measured by platelet aggregation decreased during lasing. The improvement may be related to laser exposure. The exact role that laser radiation has upon rheumatoid arthritis and its mechanism of action remain to be elucidated.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Purification of phytase from rat intestinal mucosa.

Phytase has been purified from intestinal mucosa of rats fed on a phytic acid-enriched diet. The purification consisted of four steps: homogenate preparation, ultrafiltration procedure, DEAE cellulose chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. The enzyme was purified 828-fold, as can be seen from the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis pattern.

6-Phytase↗
PubMed1980

Effect of some sugars and polyols on the kinetics of sorbitol dehydrogenase.

The activity of sorbitol dehydrogenase purified from sheep liver has been measured in the presence of some sugars and polyols. Of these, xylitol exerts an inhibition on SDH activity about four times greater than the others. Since either sorbitol or xylitol significantly influences carbohydrate interconversion, the inhibition type and the inhibition constant for xylitol were determined.

Alcohols↗
PubMed1979

[Influence in vivo of sorbitol on sorbitol dehydrogenase activity].

Previous researches carried out on the metabolism of sorbitol in the rat showed the influence of this polyalcohol on the activity of some dehydrogenases NAD and NADP-dependent and on lacate/pyruvate, NADH/NAD and NADPH/NADP ratios. Since sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH, EC 1.1.1.14) is an enzyme with a great affinity for sorbitol, it seemed interesting to investigate the effect of a sorbitol-enriched diet on SDH activity in the rat liver after different periods of dietary treatment (20, 40, 60 days). SDH was assayed by a continuous optical test according to Bücher et al. The data obtained show a repressive action on SDH activity by a sorbitol-enriched diet. In fact, whilst after 20 days of treatment SDH activity decreased of about 18% in respect of the controls, after 60 days a decrease of 80% was observed. This result is so interesting to stimulate other investigations in vitro on the kinetics of such metabolic reaction in the attempt to explain the relation between the enzyme and its substrate.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Nodular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL): factors influencing prognosis and indications for aggressive treatment.

In this study we have analyzed a group of 86 consecutive previously untreated patients with nodular lymphoma in order to determine those factors which adversely effect survival. Sixty-two percent of these patients are still living; 23 patients for greater than 36 months. In contrast, 38% have died; 28% of them within 24 months of diagnosis. Striking correlations with short survival were seen with histiocytic cell type, Ann Arbor B symptoms and advanced age. Survival also declined with advanced stage but was A or B symptom dependent. The group was further subdivided into those with exclusively nodular and those with mixed nodular and diffuse histology in order to determine whether the presence of a diffuse component had a negative influence. No significant differences were found in survival patterns between these 2 groups. Our results clearly define a subgroup of nodular lymphoma patients with a poor prognosis which is likely to benefit most from aggressive treatment. The remaining patients are surviving for longer periods of time (albeit many not disease free) and the appropriate treatment for this group remains controversial.

Adult↗