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Biomedical subjects

J J Sullivan

Publications and source records attributed to J J Sullivan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Anthropometric characteristics and performance related predictors of success in adolescent pole vaulters.

The purpose of this study was to determine the anthropometric characteristics of skilled adolescent pole vaulters and to examine the strength of anthropometric and physical performance variables in predicting vaulting performance (N = 87; age group range 13-18 years). The vaulting height of the subjects ranged from 1.98 to 4.72m (mean 3.58 +/- s.d. 0.536m). The vaulters were classified as ectomorphic mesomorphs with an average somatotype of 1.6-4.2-3.5 (s.d. +/- 0.38-0.94-1.00). One way analysis of variance showed that while measures of stature, physical performance and vault performance significantly increased (p < 0.05) across age groups, somatotype and sum of skinfolds remained stable. Stepwise regression analysis showed the best predictor of vaulting performance was hand grip height (R2 = 0.78, p < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that grip height was strongly correlated to vault height (r = 0.88), age (r = 0.72), body mass (r = 0.71), standing long jump (r = 0.69), running speed (r = 0.69), biceps girth (r = 0.66), standing height (0.65), calf girth (0.61) and pull-ups (r = 0.44). It was concluded that the somatotype of skilled young pole vaulters is similar to that of junior Olympic and adult Olympic vaulters, and that this somatotype is a selective factor for this event as early as thirteen years of age. Proficiency in pole vaulting is best predicted by grip height, which is strongly correlated to stature and simple field measures of leg speed and power, and upper body muscular endurance. These findings may be applied to the selection and training of young pole vaulters.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Peripherally inserted central venous catheters. Low-risk alternatives for ongoing venous access.

We prospectively evaluated the use of peripherally inserted central venous catheters to provide ongoing venous access in general medical and surgical patients in a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center. Between 1985 and 1988 trained nurses successfully inserted 393 catheters in 460 suitable patients (an 85.4% success rate). Correct catheter tip placement in the superior vena cava was documented in 359 of the 393 (91.3%) catheter insertions, but an additional 30 catheters were in a position deemed adequate for the intended use. The mean duration of catheter use was 27.6 +/- 5.2 (1 standard deviation) days (median 20 days, range 1 to 370 days). A total of 65 patients left the hospital with catheters in place, with the mean length of catheter use at home being 36.2 +/- 6.0 days (range 2 to 266). In all, 79% of the catheters were in use until the successful completion of therapy or patient death; catheter-related complications led to premature catheter removal in the remaining 21%. Catheter-related complications included bland phlebitis (8.2%), occlusion (8.2%), local infection (3.6%), bacteremia or fungemia (2.1%), mechanical failure or rupture (2.6%), venous thrombosis (0.7%), and other (3.3%). One patient required vein excision for the management of suppurative phlebitis, but no deaths were attributed to catheter use. This study illustrates the use and safety of peripherally inserted central venous catheters to provide reliable vascular access over prolonged periods in an elderly veteran population. At our facility, percutaneous central venous catheters and surgically implanted (Hickman or Broviac) catheters are now reserved for use in patients in whom peripherally inserted catheters cannot be placed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Differentiation of trypanosomatid species by hybridization to selected rRNA probes.

Oligonucleotides with sequences complementary to selected regions of the Trypanosoma cruzi large sub-unit ribosomal RNA (rRNA) were used to specifically detect and quantify T. cruzi and other kinetoplastids. By selecting sequences with varying homologies with Crithida fasciculata, another kinetoplastid for which this sequence was known, probes which hybridized to T. cruzi alone or T. cruzi and T. rangeli, various Leishmania species or C. fasciculata were identified. This identification was possible even though the sequences of the large sub-unit (LSU) rRNA of T. rangeli and Leishmania are not known. None of the probes hybridized with rRNA from mouse or human cell lines, and all could quantitatively detect T. cruzi in tissue culture cells. Probing of replicate membranes with these different oligonucleotides allowed discrimination between these species. The functional application of rRNA-specific probes in diagnosis was demonstrated by identification of unknown trypanosomatids in hemocultures of wild-captured owl and squirrel monkeys using a combination of oligonucleotides. Therefore, these probes should be useful in diagnosis and identification of T. cruzi and related parasites.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Multiple organ failure in patients with thermal injury.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and significance of multiple organ failure in patients with burn injuries. DESIGN: Retrospective review and prospective assessment of patients with acute burns. SETTING: University hospital burn center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed 529 patients admitted for acute burn treatment whose lengths of stay exceeded 72 hrs. A new scoring system, the Thermal Injury Organ Failure Score, was used to assign scores from 0 (normal) to 6 (severe dysfunction) to each of 6 organ systems, which were then totaled to compile the overall score. This system was also used for prospective assessment of 83 adult burn patients, and compared with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring system during the first week of treatment. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: For 496 survivors, mean organ failure score was 3.28, compared with 23.1 in 33 nonsurvivors (p < .0001). All nonsurvivors but one had scores of > or = 15, indicating dysfunction of at least three organs. Scores and mortality rate increased with age and burn size. Pulmonary dysfunction was the most frequent form of organ failure seen, but correlated less with outcome than did cardiovascular or neurologic scores. Sepsis was present in 22 of 33 patients who died. In the prospective study, organ failure scores correlated with outcome more closely than did APACHE II scores. Weekly evaluation of these patients demonstrated progressive divergence in scores between survivors and nonsurvivors. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple organ failure was almost invariably present in burn patients who died > 72 hrs after injury. Burn victims, who have been excluded from reviews of multiple organ failure, appear to manifest organ failure in a manner similar to that of other surgical populations. The scoring system reported here may prove useful in evaluating organ failure in thermally injured patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Trypanosomes and microfilariae in feral owl and squirrel monkeys maintained in research colonies.

A group of 358 owl and squirrel monkeys imported from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia for the U.S. Agency for International Development Malaria Vaccine Development Program was examined for trypanosomes and microfilariae. Trypanosoma rangeli, isolated by hemoculture from Aotus nancymai, Saimiri b. boliviensis, and S. b. peruviensis, accounted for 76.6% of all trypanosome infections. Trypanosoma cruzi was isolated from 25 of 194 S. b. boliviensis, including two mixed infections with T. rangeli. Identifications of trypanosomes were confirmed by blinded tests with a panel of five rRNA probes on a subsample of cultures identified morphologically. Although no trypanosomes were isolated from Aotus vociferans or A. lemurinus griseimembra, positive serologic responses to T. cruzi were observed by indirect immunofluorescence assay in all species of monkeys examined and ranged from 42.1% among S. b. peruviensis to 92.3% among A. vociferans. Among T. rangeli-infected monkeys, 43.7% were seronegative for T. cruzi. No microfilariae were found in S. b. boliviensis or A. l. griseimembra. Mansonella barbascalensis and Dipetalonema caudispina were observed in A. vociferans, M. panamensis in A. nancymai, and M. saimiri and D. caudispina in S. b. peruviensis. Such naturally occurring infections in imported animal models are potential sources of accidental transmission to animal handlers and uninfected laboratory animals and can introduce confounding variables into otherwise well-planned and well-executed studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Increasing the wearing time of vinyl urinary drainage bags by decontamination with bleach.

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety of 4 week re-use of vinyl urinary leg and bed bags in the acute rehabilitation setting when decontaminated daily with a dilute bleach (sodium hypochlorite) rinse. Patients requiring urinary bags (n = 54) were randomly assigned to Control (C) and Experimental (E) groups. C's bags were replaced weekly; E's only after four weeks. Both groups received identical daily bag decontamination and weekly urine and bag cultures. No significant differences were found between groups with ANCOVA, controlling for baseline urine cultures, age, number of days catheterized, and use of antibiotics. Thirty different organisms were cultured in urine and bags; when the procedure was done daily, all bag cultures showed only minimal contamination (0-100CFU/mL). Bacterial growth (4.4% of leg bags) > 100CFU/mL was found only when the daily decontamination procedure had been omitted. In fact, 57% of leg bags and 76.5% of bed bags returned with no growth. We conclude that it is safe and cost effective to reuse vinyl urinary leg and bed bags for four weeks.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Differences in mortality from thermal injury between pediatric and adult patients.

Children differ from adults in their responses to thermal injury, as reflected by higher reported mortality rates for equivalent major injuries. The age at which children's survival rates equal those of young adults has not been well defined, and some investigators have recently claimed that pediatric and adult burn mortality do not differ. We evaluated age-related mortality among 1,443 consecutive patients without inhalation injury treated from 1978 to 1988, inclusively. The sample consisted of 595 children aged 12 years or less, 243 children aged 13 to 20 years, and 605 young adults aged 21 to 40 years who served as a comparison group of patients with the best predicted survival. We separately examined mortality in patients with burns exceeding 30% total body surface area. There were no significant differences in mortality between age groups for the study sample as a whole, but among patients with large burns, children aged 0 to 48 months had higher mortality than comparably injured adults (31% v 12%, P less than .05 by analysis of covariance). Improvements in survival were also demonstrated between the first and second halves of the study period for children aged 25 months to 8 years. These data indicate that children 48 months of age and younger do not tolerate large thermal injuries as well as adults. Improvements in pediatric burn survival are being achieved in most age groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Susceptibility of four species of copepods, from areas of endemic Dracunculus medinensis, to the North American D. insignis.

Studies of the relative importance of different copepod species in areas of endemic dracunculiasis have been restricted, in part, by limited access to Dracunculus medinensis. However, development of the D. insignis-ferret model provides a source of larvae of a species closely related to D. medinensis. Using larvae derived from this model, the susceptibility of four species of copepods from D. medinensis-endemic areas was compared to that of Canadian Acanthocyclops vernalis, which is fully susceptible to D. insignis. Cryptocyclops linjanticus, from Cameroon, was susceptible but highly sensitive to infection, resulting in high mortality. Mesocyclops aequatorialis similis, also from Cameroon, was fully susceptible, but M. leuckarti leuckarti from Pakistan was partially refractory to D. insignis, as was Thermocyclops emini from Cameroon. Comparisons of infection rates and mean and maximum larval recoveries at three to four and 16-20 days after infection indicated that exposure to 15 first-stage larvae exceeded the threshold of tolerance of A. vernalis, C. linjanticus and M. a. similis to infection with D. insignis. This may account for a decreased survival rate in these copepods which is not evident in the partially refractory T. emini and M. l. leuckarti. The patterns of susceptibility of these copepods to D. insignis are the same as those of copepods exposed to D. medinensis, and indicate that D. insignis can be used to examine factors influencing the susceptibility of copepods to dracunculid infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Dietary omega-3 fatty acids decrease mortality and Kupffer cell prostaglandin E2 production in a rat model of chronic sepsis.

We tested the hypothesis that substitution of omega-3 fat for dietary omega-6 fat would reduce mortality and decrease Kupffer cell prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in a rat model of chronic sepsis. Rats were fed via gastrostomy for 12 days with isonitrogenous, isocaloric diets containing 15% of calories as either safflower oil (omega-6) or a 10:1 mixture of menhaden oil (omega-3) and safflower oil. After five days of feeding, animals received an intra-abdominal abscess of defined bacterial content. Survivors were killed on post-laparotomy day 6 in conjunction with liver perfusion and protease liver digestion for Kupffer cell isolation. Kupffer cell PGE2 production was measured by radioimmunoassay after 18 hours of cell culture and again after stimulation with 0 LPS, 10 ng/ml LPS, and 10 micrograms/LPS. Mortality was decreased in menhaden oil-fed animals compared with safflower oil-fed animals (16% vs. 35%). Kupffer cell PGE2 production was decreased in menhaden oil-fed animals at 18 hours (354 +/- 54 vs. 570 +/- 95 pg/0.1 ml; p = 0.09) and after stimulation with 10 micrograms/ml LPS (140 +/- 41 vs. 288 +/- 45 pg/0.1 ml; p = 0.03) compared with safflower oil-fed animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Threshold of detection of Cryptosporidium oocysts in human stool specimens: evidence for low sensitivity of current diagnostic methods.

To determine the minimum number of Cryptosporidium oocysts that can be detected in stool specimens by diagnostic procedures, stool samples seeded with known numbers of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were processed by the modified Formalin-ethyl acetate (FEA) stool concentration method. FEA concentrates were subsequently examined by both the modified cold Kinyoun acid-fast (AF) staining and fluorescein-tagged monoclonal antibody (immunofluorescence [IF]) techniques. Oocysts were more easily detected in watery diarrheal stool specimens than they were in formed stool specimens. For watery stool specimens, a 100% detection rate was accomplished at a concentration of 10,000 oocysts per g of stool by both the AF staining and IF techniques. In formed stool specimens, 100% of specimens seeded with 50,000 oocysts per gram of stool were detected by the IF technique, whereas 500,000 oocysts per g of stool were needed for a 100% detection rate by AF staining. Counting of all oocysts on IF slides indicated a mean oocyst loss ranging from 51.2 to 99.6%, depending on the stool consistency as determined by the FEA concentration procedure. Our findings suggest that the most commonly used coprodiagnostic techniques may fail to detect cryptosporidiosis in many immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Use of pooled formalin-preserved fecal specimens to detect Giardia lamblia.

Three formalin-preserved fecal specimens from the same child attending a child-care center were pooled and compared with the three separate individual specimens by a single microscopic examination of concentration sediment for Giardia lamblia. The sensitivity of the pooled system was 100% when two or more individual specimens were positive and 88% when only one individual specimen was positive. The organism density in a single specimen was not a factor of whether the pool of specimens was positive or negative. Nearly half of the pools that contained positive specimens had only one of three specimens with positive results, reinforcing the need for multiple stool examinations when diagnosing G. lamblia infections.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Isoenzyme profiles of four strains of Giardia lamblia and their infectivity to jirds.

The infectivity to jirds (Meriones unguiculatus) and the cyst excretion pattern of a recently isolated strain of Giardia lamblia from Egypt, Strain CDC:1088:1 (EGY), were compared to those of three well-established strains. All five jirds inoculated orally with strain UNO:0487:1 (UNO) became infected and began excreting cysts 3-6 days post-infection (dpi); no cysts were detected between 8-12 dpi after which time cysts were produced through day 19. Four of the five jirds infected with Strain ATCC:30957 (WB) and three of the five jirds infected with strain CDC:0284:1 (VA) excreted cysts from 6-20 dpi and 6-22 dpi, respectively. One of five jirds inoculated with EGY excreted cysts on 8 dpi only. At necropsy, trophozoites were recovered from only three UNO-infected jirds but from all WB- and VA-infected jirds that excreted cysts. The one jird which excreted cysts of EGY was negative at necropsy, but EGY trophozoites were found in one non-patient jird. Isoelectric focusing indicated that these four strains of G. lamblia represented three zymodemes. WB and VA were assigned to one zymodeme, EGY to a second, and UNO, which shared common bands with both other zymodemes, to the third. Although the similarities and differences in infectivity and cyst excretion patterns appear to coincide with the zymodemes to which the strains can be assigned, further study is needed to examine the parasitologic behavior of these strains in relation to isoenzyme patterns.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effect of caffeine ingestion on alveolar ventilation during moderate exercise.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine ingestion on alveolar ventilation and physiological dead space ventilation during exercise in high and low caffeine users. Eleven males (mean age 26.4 +/- 5.4 years), classified as either high caffeine users (greater than 350 mg/d, n = 6) or low caffeine users (less than 50 mg/d, n = 5) performed two treadmill exercise conditions at a constant work rate (50% VO2max) 45 min after ingestion of 3.3 mg of caffeine/kg body weight or placebo using a double-blind protocol. Open circuit spirometry was used to determine ventilatory and gas exchange variables every 10 min during the 50 min of walking exercise. Analysis of variance showed that caffeine produced significant differences in alveolar ventilation (VA) and the physiological dead space ventilation/tidal volume ratio (VD/VT) with VA increased from 1.36 to 1.54 L/breath and VD/VT decreased from 22.3 to 20.5% between the placebo and caffeine treatments, respectively. Additionally, caffeine ingestion produced a significant increase in tidal volume (VT) and a significant decrease in frequency of breathing (fb). We conclude that caffeine consumed prior to exercise enhances ventilatory dynamics during exercise without regard to prior habitual caffeine consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Postoperative analgesia in children: a prospective study in intermittent intramuscular injection versus continuous intravenous infusion of morphine.

Few advancements in postoperative pain control in children have been made despite longstanding inadequacies in conventional intramuscular analgesic regimens. While overestimating narcotic complication rates, physicians often underestimate efficacious doses, nurses are reluctant to give injections, and many children in pain shy away from shots. This study prospectively focuses on the safety, efficacy, and complication rate of intermittent intramuscular (IM) versus continuous intravenous infusion (IV) of morphine sulfate (MS) in 46 nonventilated children following major chest, abdominal, or orthopedic surgical procedures. Twenty patients assigned to the IM group had a mean age of 6.17 years and a mean weight of 23.0 kg. Twenty-six patients assigned to the IV group had a mean age of 8.74 years and a mean weight of 27.4 kg. The mean IM MS dose was 12.3 micrograms/kg/h while the mean IV dose was 19.8 micrograms/kg/h (P less than .001). Postoperative pain was assessed with a linear analogue scale from 1 to 10 (1, "doesn't hurt"; 10, "worst hurt possible") for 3 days following operation. Using the analysis of covariance (ANACOVA), nurse, parent, and patient mean pain scores in the IV group were significantly lower than those of the IM group when controlled for age, MS dose, and complications (P less than .007). Nurse assessment of pain correlated well with the patient and parent assessments (Pearson correlation coefficients greater than 0.6). Not only did IV infusion give better pain relief than IM injections, but there were no major complications such as respiratory depression. Minor complications in this study (nausea, urinary retention, drowsiness, vomiting, hallucinations, lightheadedness, and prolonged ileus) were not significantly different between IM and IV groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1990

Toxin composition variations in one isolate of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense.

A commonly accepted paradigm in the study of saxitoxin-producing dinoflagellates is that the total concentration of all toxins (toxin content) in one isolate can vary with growth conditions, but that the relative abundance of each toxin (toxin composition) does not change. We demonstrate here that dramatic changes in toxin composition do occur in one isolate of Alexandrium fundyense. In nitrogen- and phosphorus-limited semi-continuous cultures, toxin composition varied systematically with growth rate. When cells grew slowly under severe nutrient limitation, toxin composition was dominated by one or at most two toxin epimer pairs; as nutrient stresses eased at higher growth rates, the toxin profiles became more heterogeneous. Steady-state, sustained nitrogen limitation favored the production of toxins C 1,2 and GTX I,IV, whereas phosphorus limitation produced cells with high relative abundance of GTX II,III. STX reached its highest relative abundance when growth was most rapid. The lack of observed compositional changes in most past studies is probably not due to inherent differences in toxin biosynthetic pathways between the strains of Alexandrium examined, but rather to differences in the physiology of cells grown under different culturing modes (batch vs semi-continuous), methods of toxin analysis, and dominant toxins in the particular isolates examined.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Monofilament nylon filters for preventing dracunculiasis: Durability and copepod retention after long term field use in Pakistan.

Filtration of drinking water to remove the cyclopoid copepod intermediate hosts of guinea worm. Dracunculus medinensis, is one of the primary intervention strategies for preventing dracunculiasis. In early 1987, monofilament nylon filters with 200 microns pore size were distributed to households in selected guinea worm-infected villages in Pakistan. The filters proved popular with the villagers, although reports of "loss of filters" could diminish the community-wide effectiveness of this control measure. After 12 to 15 months of usage a sample of these filters was collected and examined for damage or impairment which would decrease their use or their capacity to retain potentially infective copepods. Although all naupliar stages and early copepodids (Stages CI-II) passed through these used filters, the larger copepodids including adults (Stages CIII-VI) were retained despite small tears in the fabric. This field trial showed that after 12 to 15 months of regular use, monofilament nylon filters of 200 microns pore size remained effective in removing copepodid stages capable of supporting development of D. medinensis larvae. Considering the ease of use, popularity and effective filtration of potentially infective copepods following prolonged field use, we recommend that monofilament filters be considered in any program of guinea worm elimination.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Marking snails with numbered, colored discs: a technique for identifying individual specimens.

Numbered, colored discs, measuring 2.5 mm in diameter, were evaluated under laboratory conditions as tags for marking and identifying individual snails. Discs were affixed to the shells of specimens of Helisoma duryi (Pulmonata: Planorbidae) with an adhesive supplied with the discs and with waterproof epoxy. All snails survived the initial tagging procedure and showed no observable behavioral responses to the tagging. The supplied adhesive, intended for use with terrestrial insects, was inadequate for securing the tags for prolonged periods under aquatic conditions. Use of waterproof epoxy, however, resulted in 100% tag retention for over 5 months without significant mortality. The permanence of the marks, their coding of individuals, the rapidity and ease with which the tags can be applied without causing behavioral changes or snail mortality suggest that this technique will be useful in studies requiring identification of individual aquatic snails.

Adhesives↗