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Biomedical subjects

I Diamond

Publications and source records attributed to I Diamond.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Safer sex at holiday centres: providing contraceptive services to seasonal workers.

Many seasonal workers experience an increase in sexual activity whilst employed at a holiday centre. Evidence of sexual risk-taking while at a holiday centre has important social and health implications for purchasers and providers of sexual health services in areas which experience an annual influx of seasonal workers. This research investigates the contraceptive behaviour of seasonal workers and focuses on their access to contraception and sexual health services. In-depth interviews were conducted with seasonal workers at holiday centres along the south coast of England. Respondents were, interviewed at the beginning of the season and again, five months later at the end of the season. This longitudinal methodology enabled changes in contraceptive behaviour to be identified as well as the strategies for seeking contraception and sexual health services throughout the season. The results of this study show that there are a range of different motivations which influence seasonal worker' use of contraception and sexual risk-taking while at a holiday centre. Categories of contraceptive protection are developed to assist purchasers and providers to identify the variety of sexual health needs of workers at holiday centres and determine the most effective strategies for delivering contraceptive and sexual health services to these workers. The paper describes the motivations which influence contraceptive use and sexual risk-taking amongst seasonal workers, identifies the contraceptive and sexual health needs of these workers, and discusses the difficulties workers experienced in meeting these needs while at a holiday centre.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Activation of epsilon protein kinase C correlates with a cardioprotective effect of regular ethanol consumption.

In addition to decreasing the incidence of myocardial infarction, recent epidemiological data suggest that regular alcohol consumption improves survival after myocardial infarction. We recently found that chronic ethanol exposure induces long-term protection against cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury, which improves myocardial recovery after infarction. Furthermore, this cardioprotection by ethanol is mediated through myocyte adenosine A1 receptors. We now determine the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in ethanol's protective effect against ischemia-reperfusion injury. Using perfused hearts of ethanol-fed guinea pigs, we find that improved contractile recovery and creatine kinase release after ischemia-reperfusion are abolished by PKC inhibition with chelerythrine. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence localization demonstrate that regular ethanol consumption causes sustained translocation (activation) of epsilonPKC, but not delta or alphaPKC. This same isozyme is directly implicated in ischemic preconditioning's protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury. Our findings suggest (i) that regular ethanol consumption induces long-term cardioprotection through sustained translocation of epsilonPKC and (ii) that PKC activity is necessary at the time of ischemia to mediate ethanol's protective effect against ischemia-reperfusion injury. Studying this selective effect of ethanol on epsilonPKC activation may lead to new therapies to protect against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the heart and other organ systems.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1998

The determinants of infant mortality in Malaysia: a graphical chain modelling approach.

"A graphical chain modelling approach is used to study the determinants of neonatal and post-neonatal mortality in Malaysia. This approach provides an easily interpretable empirical description and illustrates explicitly the conditional independence structure between each pair of variables. The interpretation can be read directly from a mathematical graph. Besides examining the direct association of each determinant on mortality, we also examine the effects of socio-economic determinants on intermediate determinants to understand the pathways through which the socioeconomic determinants affect the chance of mortality. The data anlaysed come from the second Malaysian Family Life Survey, fielded between August 1988 and January 1989. "

Asia↗
PubMed1998

Alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury by species-specific signaling in guinea pigs and rats.

We recently discovered that regular alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury to the same degree as ischemic preconditioning in guinea pig hearts. Ischemic preconditioning, like this cardioprotective effect of alcohol, is mediated by adenosine signaling in guinea pigs. In rats, ischemic preconditioning may be mediated predominantly by alpha1-adrenergic signaling. To be certain that this protective effect of alcohol is a general biological response, we searched for alcohol's cardioprotection in rat and identified a potential signaling mechanism. Hearts isolated from alcohol-fed guinea pigs and rats were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion. Hearts from alcohol-fed animals showed greater recovery of left ventricular developed pressure than controls (guinea pigs, 46 vs. 29%; rats, 50 vs. 31%) and decreased myocyte necrosis assessed by creatine kinase release (guinea pigs, 204 +/- 42 vs. 440 +/- 70 U . ml-1 . g dry wt-1; rats 158 +/- 13 vs. 328 +/- 31 U . ml-1 . g dry wt-1). Adenosine receptor blockade [8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline] abolished alcohol's protection in guinea pig but not rat hearts. By contrast, alpha1-adrenergic blockade (prazosin) abolished alcohol's protection in rat but not guinea pig hearts. We conclude that regular alcohol consumption reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury and is mediated by species-specific signaling mechanisms. A major goal of cardiovascular research is to find a pharmacologically induced chronic state of preconditioning. Understanding the mechanisms of alcohol's cardioprotection against ischemia-reperfusion injury may aid in reaching this goal.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1998

Varying effects of ethanol on transfected cell lines.

The use of transfected cell lines has provided a powerful approach to study the functions of transfected proteins. This approach has also proven useful to determine the effects of acute and chronic ethanol exposure on particular proteins. We show here, however, that the effects of ethanol on transfected proteins vary between transiently transfected cells and stably transfected cell lines. Moreover, we found that the effect of ethanol on a particular protein depends on the plasmid vectors used for the transfection.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Transition to adulthood of female garment-factory workers in Bangladesh.

This article examines data from a study on garment-factory workers in Bangladesh to explore the implications of work for the early socialization of young women. For the first time, large numbers of young Bangladeshi women are being given an alternative to lives in which they move directly from childhood to adulthood through early marriage and childbearing. Employment creates a period of transition in contrast to the abrupt assumption of adult roles at very young ages that marriage and childbearing mandate. This longer transition creates a period of adolescence for young women working in the garment sector that is shown to have strong implications for the women's long-term reproductive health.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Asian women's use of family planning services.

Detailed research on the family planning needs of Asian women is extremely important in informing public policy in the new purchaser-provider environment of the National Health Service (NHS), which was introduced in 1991. In depth interviews were conducted with Asian women of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds in the South and West Regional Health Authority area, to investigate their family planning behaviour and use of family planning services. This research shows significant diversity in the knowledge and use of contraception between married professional women, married non-professional women and unmarried women. This paper examines the different family planning service implications for each group of women. The results show that professional married women and unmarried women are able to meet their family planning needs by utilising existing family planning services. However, married non-professional women experience significant difficulties in using family planning services largely due to communication problems with health professionals and their low levels of personal autonomy. Most Asian women in this study showed a strong preference for a female GP and a non-Asian GP for sexual health and contraceptive services.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Modelling the spatial distribution of teenage conception rates within Wessex.

This study attempts to determine which factors account for the spatial variation in teenage conception rates within the former Wessex Regional Health Authority and what factors account for the eventual outcomes of these conceptions. Postcoded data on all teenage conceptions from 1991 to 1994 were collected and related to census ward level information and indicators of accessibility to family planning services. The results show that the variation in teenage conception rates and conception outcomes is principally determined by the age of the teenager, deprivation levels, the presence of certain homogeneously distinct groups and the distance to the nearest youth-oriented family planning clinic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Regular alcohol consumption mimics cardiac preconditioning by protecting against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Epidemiologic studies indicate that long-term alcohol consumption decreases the incidence of coronary disease and may improve outcome after myocardial infarction. Attenuation of ischemia-reperfusion injury after myocardial infarction improves survival. This study investigates the possibility that alcohol consumption can improve survival after myocardial infarction by reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury. Hearts were isolated from guinea pigs after drinking ethanol for 3-12 weeks and subjected to global ischemia and reperfusion. Hearts from animals drinking ethanol showed improved functional recovery and decreased myocyte damage when compared with controls. Adenosine A1 receptor blockade abolished the protection provided by ethanol consumption. These findings indicate that long-term alcohol consumption reduces myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and that adenosine A1 receptors are required for this protective effect of ethanol. This cardioprotective effect of long-term alcohol consumption mimics preconditioning and may, in part, account for the beneficial effect of moderate drinking on cardiac health.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1997

Small-area population estimates: a review of methods used in Britain in the 1990s.

"Population estimates are usually produced by local government administrations in Britain, for each small area within their authority. Increasing interest has been shown by commerce and by central government. Five main methods are identified: apportionment, ratio change, additive change, cohort survival, and local censuses. Estimation strategies also vary according to available data, the detail in which a population is estimated, and the precise combination of elements chosen from one or more of the main methods. The use of methods at the beginning of the 1990s is surveyed in this paper, and examples given. The accuracy of each main method is quantified from empirical data collated by the Estimating with Confidence project. Likely developments towards the end of the 1990s are reviewed."

Developed Countries↗
PubMed1997

Child immunisation in Ghana: the effects of family, location and social disparity.

The data from the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Ghana in 1988 are used to identify determinants of immunisation uptake for children under 5 years. The logistic binomial analysis shows that socioeconomic factors are significant, especially women's education and region, and that the type of prenatal care received by the mother is also important. There is a strong familial correlation of vaccination behaviours, and there is also clustering of data within enumeration areas.

Child Welfare↗
PubMed1997

Ethanol alters the subcellular localization of delta- and epsilon protein kinase C in NG108-15 cells.

Protein kinase C (PKC) has been shown to regulate the ethanol sensitivity of membrane-bound receptors and transporters, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this regulation. PKC is a family of isozymes that translocate to new intracellular sites on activation. Here we present immunochemical data showing that ethanol causes translocation of delta- and epsilon-PKC to new intracellular sites. Ethanol causes translocation of delta-PKC from the Golgi to the perinucleus; this translocation is similar to that induced by activation of PKC with phorbol esters. In contrast, epsilon-PKC translocation caused by ethanol is different from that induced by phorbol esters; ethanol causes translocation of epsilon-PKC from the perinucleus to the cytoplasm, whereas phorbol ester activation causes translocation of epsilon-PKC to the nucleus. Because the substrate specificity of these kinases is determined by their site of localization, ethanol-induced translocation of delta- and epsilon-PKC to new intracellular sites may explain some of the pleiotropic effects of ethanol on cellular functions.

Biological Transport↗
PubMed1997

Cellular and molecular neuroscience of alcoholism.

Recent advances in neuroscience have made it possible to investigate the pathophysiology of alcoholism at a cellular and molecular level. Evidence indicates that ethanol affects hormone- and neurotransmitter-activated signal transduction, leading to short-term changes in regulation of cellular functions and long-term changes in gene expression. Such changes in the brain probably underlie many of the acute and chronic neurological events in alcoholism. In addition, genetic vulnerability also plays a role in alcoholism and, perhaps, in alcoholic medical disorders.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1997

The role of the neuromodulator adenosine in alcohol's actions.

The interaction between the neuromodulator adenosine and adenosine receptors on the surface of neurons modifies the neurons' responses to neurotransmitters. The activated adenosine receptors alter the levels of small signaling molecules (i.e., second messengers) in the cells. Depending on the receptors and cells involved, these changes can make it easier or more difficult for neurotransmitters to excite the cell. Adenosine's activity is regulated by proteins called nucleoside transporters, which carry adenosine into and out of the cell. Alcohol interferes with the function of the adenosine system. For example, both acute and chronic alcohol exposure affect the function of the adenosine-carrying nucleoside transporters, thereby indirectly altering the second-messenger levels in the cells. Through this mechanism, adenosine may mediate some of alcohol's effects, such as intoxication, motor incoordination, and sedation.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1997

1991 population estimates for areas smaller than districts.

This article describes the construction of population estimates for mid-1991 for electoral wards in England and Wales and postal sectors in Scotland. It shows how earlier work adjusting 1991 census figures at national and local authority level for undercount and other factors has been extended to smaller areas in a way that produces estimates which are consistent with the estimates for larger areas. Estimates for smaller areas are needed to calculate employment, health and other indices, and as a starting point for population estimates between census years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

The role of protein kinase C in cellular tolerance to ethanol.

We have shown that ethanol inhibits uptake of adenosine by a specific nucleoside transporter in NG108-15 neuroblastoma x glioma cells and that cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity is required for this inhibition. After chronic exposure to ethanol, adenosine uptake is no longer inhibited on rechallenge with ethanol, i.e. transport has become tolerant to ethanol. Here we show that protein kinase C (PKC) contributes to ethanol-induced tolerance of adenosine transport. Activation of PKC by phorbol esters in control cells results in an ethanol-tolerant phenotype, similar to that produced by chronic ethanol exposure. In addition, chronic exposure to ethanol increases the amounts of alpha, delta, and epsilon PKC. However, reducing PKC activity by inhibition with chelerythrine during chronic exposure to ethanol or down-regulation by phorbol esters prevents the development of ethanol-induced tolerance of adenosine transport. By contrast, the inhibition of PKA activity produces tolerance to ethanol inhibition of adenosine uptake. When protein phosphatase inhibitors are present, inhibiting PKA activity has no effect on ethanol sensitivity of adenosine uptake, suggesting a role for protein phosphatases in the regulation of ethanol sensitivity of uptake. Taken together, our results suggest that PKA and PKC have opposing effects on the ethanol sensitivity of adenosine transport; PKA activity is required for ethanol sensitivity, and PKC activation produces tolerance. Based on these data, we propose that chronic ethanol exposure increases PKC activity, leading to the activation of a protein phosphatase (1 or 2A). This phosphatase then dephosphorylates a PKA-phosphorylated site, which is required for ethanol to inhibit adenosine uptake. Therefore, the sensitivity of adenosine transport to ethanol appears to be maintained by a balance of PKA and protein phosphatase activities, and PKC may regulate phosphatase activity.

Adenosine↗