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Biomedical subjects

J Charles

Publications and source records attributed to J Charles.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Recruiting general practitioners for survey research.

Recruitment is often a lengthy process and sometimes a frustrating one. It is not simply a matter of contacting those selected and asking for this participation. After obtaining a list from which to select a sample, a contact list must be created, initial contact must be made and direct contact initiated, often requiring great powers of persuasion. It is often difficult to convince someone that your project is important. However, the time and energy expended is ultimately worth it. Just one positive enthusiastic response is enough to make you forget all the difficulties. What could be done to make it simpler in the future? Some kind of list, regularly updated, of all general practitioners would make researchers' jobs much easier by providing a reliable and current sampling frame. It would also promote general practice as a specialty. The problem of a definition of general practice is currently being considered. Overall, there needs to be more recognition of the time practitioners put in to such surveys and the additional demands it places on their already busy lives. General practice research has to be designed to fit into the practitioner's schedule. Researchers should co-ordinate their projects so that repeated requests are not made to the same practitioner. To some extent this problem is being tackled in New South Wales at present by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and University researchers. There is also a need for feedback from participating practitioners as to their own thoughts about the direction and design of general practice research. This would help to encourage continued participation and create goodwill for future surveys.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Health Surveys↗
PubMed1992

Isolation and characterization of the initial radical adduct formed from linoleic acid and alpha-(4-pyridyl 1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone in the presence of soybean lipoxygenase.

The spin trapping agent alpha-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN) was used to trap the initial radical formed from [U-14C]linoleic acid in the reaction with soybean lipoxygenase. By using low levels of enzyme and relatively short incubation times it was possible to avoid the formation of secondary oxidation products and polymers. The adduct was extracted after methyl esterification, and isolated by a combination of open column chromatography on silicic acid and high pressure liquid chromatography on Spherisorb S5 CN with non-aqueous solvents. The 1:1 POBN-linoleate adduct was characterized by UV, IR and ESR spectra of the appropriate HPLC column fraction, by the ratio of the UV absorption to 14C content, and by mass spectrometry of the reduced (hydroxylamine) form. The results indicated that POBN trapped a linoleic acid carbon-centered radical such that POBN was attached to the fatty acid chain at C-13 or C-9 (two isomers), the linoleate double bonds having become conjugated in the process. The exact locations of the bridges in the two isomers were only tentatively determined. There was no evidence for the presence of oxygen-bridged adducts. The trapped linoleoyl radical adduct provides evidence for the production of a free radical as part of the enzymatic mechanism of soybean lipoxygenase.

Drug Stability↗
PubMed1992

Acral lentiginous melanoma: case studies from Kauai.

Cutaneous malignant is generally regarded as a skin cancer of Caucasians. However, one subtype, acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM), has an equal distribution among all ethnic groups and is the variant most common in non-Caucasians. In its early stage it is difficult to recognize and, unless diagnosed early, has a very poor prognosis. Herein, we present 3 cases of ALM seen on Kauai in 1990.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Heterotopic bone formation in abdominal incisions.

Heterotopic bone formation in vertical abdominal wounds is a not infrequent and sometimes disabling complication of abdominal surgery, occurring predominantly in males. Excision of the bone is indicated only for marked discomfort or pain, usually produced by an active lifestyle. Under these circumstances, recurrence of bone following excision, would be highly undesirable and the prophylactic use of etidronate disodium may well be indicated to prevent new bone formation, as demonstrated by one of our cases (Case 8).

Abdomen↗
PubMed1991

Sarcoidosis: a Hawaii rarity.

Sarcoidosis is so rarely seen in residents of Hawaii that it may not be considered as a diagnostic possibility. The differential diagnosis is more complex in Hawaii due to the presence of granulomatous diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy. We present the first known case of sarcoidosis in a Hawaii resident together with an overview of the disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Association between keratoconus and atopy.

Sixty-seven patients with keratoconus were classified according to atopic status. Keratoconus patients with and without atopy did not differ significantly with regard to sex, age of onset, or rate of keratoplasty, but patients with very high IgE levels were more prone to graft rejection. Atopy was less common in patients with unilateral keratoconus, and keratoconus occurred more frequently on the side of the dominant hand. There was a significantly lower frequency of HLA B7 in the keratoconus group than in the controls. No abnormalities of essential fatty acid metabolism were found in keratoconus patients with or without atopy. There was no social class bias in the group. The study included a brother and sister with keratoconus and atopy, and a non-atopic patient whose identical twin did not have keratoconus.

Asthma↗
PubMed1986

Prevalence rates for alcoholism, associated depression and dementia on the Harlem Hospital Medicine and Surgery Services.

Current prevalence rates for alcoholism, and associated depression and dementia, were determined on random samples of approximately 200 patients admitted to the Medicine Service, and a similar sample to the Surgery Service, of the Harlem Hospital Center. The Medicine patients averaged 51 years of age, significantly older than the Surgery sample's average age of 44 years. Surgery patients also had a significantly greater proportion of patients (46.8 percent) who had achieved at least a high school education compared to Medicine (32.1 percent). The alcohol prevalence rate of 30.2 percent for Medicine was significantly greater than the 18.3 percent Surgery prevalence. Both Medicine and Surgery patients showed that a progressively serious pattern of drinking was associated with progressively serious depression. Progressive dementia was associated with progressive severity of drinking in the Medicine sample, but this finding was not demonstrated in the Surgery patients. Medicine and Surgery patients demonstrated dissimilar profiles of principal admitting diagnoses. Patient management is seriously handicapped by problems of alcoholism and associated problems of depression and dementia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

A long term comparative trial of penfluridol and fluphenazine decanoate in schizophrenic outpatients.

Penfluridol, a diphenylbutylpiperidene derivative, is a new long acting neuroleptic, administered orally, once weekly. It is marketed in several European countries and has been used successfully in the treatment of various acute psychoses, for severely ill chronic schizophrenic patients, and as maintenance therapy for chronic schizophrenic patients. The present study was designed to compare, in a double-blind fashion, the efficacy of penfluridol and fluphenazine decanoate in the maintenance therapy of schizophrenic outpatients.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Copper/zinc ratios in whole blood, plasma, and erythrocytes in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Concentrations of copper and zinc in plasma, whole blood, and erythrocytes were determined in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients and controls by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The plasma and whole blood copper/zinc ratios were markedly higher in the TB patients. Eighty-seven percent of the TB patients had plasma copper/zinc ratios above 2.00, and 94% had whole blood copper/zinc ratios above 0.20. None of the controls had plasma copper/zinc ratios above 2.00, while 24% of the controls had whole blood ratios greater than 0.20. Whole blood and plasma copper/zinc ratios appear to be more sensitive indicators of the presence of pulmonary TB than the individual copper and zinc concentrations. Patients with conditions in which copper and zinc metabolism are altered might benefit from the monitoring of copper/zinc ratios.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Trace metals in a family with sex-linked retinitis pigmentosa.

Lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc levels were examined in RP patients, carriers, and controls in a family with sex-linked RP. The mean plasma copper concentration was significantly higher in the RP patients and carriers than in the controls. The mean plasma zinc concentration was significantly higher in the carriers than in the RP victims or controls. The mean plasma zinc/copper ratio was significantly lower in the RP victims than in the controls or carriers. These findings may help explain the onset of RP in some sex-linked carriers and may be of diagnostic value.

Copper↗
PubMed1977

Effect of pulmonary tuberculosis on blood concentrations of copper and zinc.

An investigation of copper and zinc concentrations in active cases of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was undertaken. Whole-blood, plasma, and erythrocyte concentrations of copper and zinc were determined for TB patients and controls using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Elevated whole-blood and plasma copper concentrations or depressed whole-blood and plasma zinc concentrations, or both, were characteristic of the TB patients. In most cases, however, the high copper concentrations and low zinc concentrations did not occur concurrently. The whole-blood and plasma copper/zinc concentration ratios were also significantly elevated in the TB patients.

Adult↗