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Biomedical subjects

J Lawson

Publications and source records attributed to J Lawson.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

The education of future senior health service managers.

Primarily due to economic forces, health services are being forced into a tight organisational framework of hospitals, clinics and services which need to be managed by educated professional managers. These managers need to be competent general and financial managers, competent planners, knowledgeable about health status, health issues, the Australian health care systems and knowledgeable about society, law and ethics. Assumptions that recruitment of people with such a formidable array of talents would be difficult are incorrect as judged by current experiences. Very talented and experienced candidates are being attracted to graduate education programs in health service management in many Australian universities. Accordingly the future management of Australian health services should be in good hands.

Australia↗
PubMed1989

Subarachnoid cyst with hydrocephalus--a complication of mid-trimester amniocentesis.

We report a child with a subarachnoid cyst with hydrocephalus following a mid-trimester amniocentesis. Although fetal trauma is a rare complication, it is important to stress the need to perform amniocentesis under ultrasound control. Children with neurological disease or convulsions of unknown origin in early infancy who are born to mothers who have had mid-trimester amniocentesis should have a CT scan as part of the investigations to exclude this rare but nevertheless important complication.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Use of the Functional Assessment Inventory to distinguish among the rural elderly in five service settings.

This replication study further supports the hypothesis that the Functional Assessment Inventory (FAI) can reliably distinguish between the elderly in different service settings. The five settings studied include a state mental health facility, a nursing home, a visiting nurse service, a senior center, and a control group of well elderly. The inclusion of the home care and control groups in this study provide new tests of the applicability of the FAI. The sample consisted of 125 elderly individuals with 25 subjects in each of the five groups. The FAI questionnaire was administered to the subjects and/or an informant when necessary. Results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that the more functionally impaired individuals were utilizing the more care-intensive settings. The FAI identified three distinct "cluster groups": an institutional cluster (state mental health facility and nursing home), a home care cluster (visiting nurse service), and a community cluster (senior center and control group). Analysis of the subscale scores reveals discrete differences between each of the groups. Implications of the study findings are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

Is padding necessary after cataract extraction?

The results of a prospective study to assess the value of padding eyes following cataract surgery are reported. A group of eyes dressed with a petroleum jelly mesh, gauze pad, and cartella shield were compared with a group dressed only with a cartella shield. Study of the eyes and lids before and after operation, including the taking of lid margin and fornix swabs for culture, suggested that there was no significant difference in the bacterial presence between the two groups. The eyes dressed with a cartella shield alone appeared less prone to discharge. The relative merits of different types of dressing are discussed.

Bandages↗
PubMed1988

Oxidation of 3-amino-1-phenylprop-1-enes by monoamine oxidase and their use in a continuous assay of the enzyme.

3-Amino-1-phenylprop-1-ene (cinnamylamine) and some derivatives were examined as substrates for monoamine oxidases A and B in mitochondria. All of the amines examined were readily oxidized by monoamine oxidase B but much less readily by monoamine oxidase A. E-Cinnamylamine was found to have Km 0.025 mM and Vmax. 3.9 nmol/min per mg of mitochondrial protein. Corresponding values with monoamine oxidase A were 0.026 mM and 0.85 nmol/min per mg respectively. Despite their different stereochemistry, E- and Z-N-methylcinnamylamines were almost equally effective as substrates for monoamine oxidase B. The characteristic u.v. absorbance and high absorption coefficient of cinnamaldehyde, the product produced by enzymic oxidation of cinnamylamine, is utilized in a sensitive continuous spectrophotometric assay for both enzymes in the rat and for the assay of a purified monoamine oxidase B from bovine liver.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effects of low-dose aspirin on endogenous eicosanoid formation in normal and atherosclerotic men.

We have investigated the effects of a low-dose aspirin regimen (120 mg orally, then 20 mg twice daily) on the in vivo synthesis of prostacyclin, thromboxane and prostaglandin E in man by measurement of their urinary metabolites (PGI2-M, TxB2-M, PGE-M) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A comparison was made between the selectivity of low-dose aspirin for thromboxane vs prostacyclin synthesis in patients with atherosclerosis, age-matched controls without vascular disease, and young healthy volunteers. After one week of treatment, aspirin reduced TxB2-M synthesis to a similar extent in the three groups (mean declines of 86, 84 and 78% respectively), while there was an unexpected difference in effect on PGI2-M, with only a 27% fall in the young volunteers but 53% and 54% declines in the patients with vascular disease and their age-matched controls. Serum TxB2 was reduced greater than 98% in all groups while PGE-M excretion was unchanged. These results indicate that bioselectivity for inhibition of Tx synthesis by aspirin is more difficult to achieve in older subjects than in the young volunteers previously studied and that very low, frequent dosing, or a sustained-release preparation of aspirin would be needed to achieve bioselectivity for Tx inhibition in patients with vascular disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Endotoxins in portal blood.

Endotoxemia may complicate diseases of the bowel and liver, and is associated with the occurrence of renal failure, coagulation disorders and death. The bowel contains a large quantity of endotoxins. According to the classical hypothesis, endotoxins continuously transmigrate through the bowel mucosa, thereby entering the portal circulation. However, previous studies on portal endotoxemia were contradictory. We studied the presence of endotoxins in the portal vein in 21 consecutive patients with no diseases of the liver or the bowel, using a sensitive chromogenic endotoxin assay. In only two patients was low level portal endotoxemia detected after cross-clamping of the aorta, and subsequent reperfusion. We conclude that the normal bowel mucosa is an efficient barrier for endotoxins. Therefore, intestinal endotoxemia complicating liver disease is likely to result from enhanced permeability of the bowel mucosa.

Aorta, Abdominal↗
PubMed1987

Blood types of the native Americans of Oklahoma.

Large numbers of Indians from Oklahoma were screened for a variety of red cell antigens. Sufficient numbers of Cherokees, Creeks, and Choctaws were studied to calculate gene frequencies. These tribes originated in the Southeastern United States and were forcibly moved to Oklahoma. The Creeks and Choctaws have not been studied previously. A small number of Cherokees remained in North Carolina, and their blood types have been reported. The blood types of the Oklahoma Cherokees are quite similar to those observed there but one important difference was discovered. The data previously reported concerning the Eastern Cherokees revealed the absence of the Dia antigen. The present study found that the Oklahoma Cherokees do have the Dia antigen, although in a lower percentage than the other southeastern tribes. The Creeks and Choctaws share a linguistic heritage as well as having similar red cell phenotypes.

Blood Group Antigens↗
PubMed1986

Immunoturbidimetric assay of transferrin: effect of iron and need for serum blanks.

The introduction of specific antisera has led to the replacement of total iron binding capacity assays with direct immunochemical measures of transferrin. However, some controversy exists over the effect of the degree of iron saturation on antigen-antibody interactions in these immunochemical assays. This study describes a simple automated immunoturbidimetric assay of transferrin, and includes a reference range and an evaluation of the effects of common potential interferents, including iron, bilirubin, lipemia, and hemoglobin. The measured and the calculated TIBC are also compared for 78 healthy individuals and 51 patients with anemia.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1986

Structure activity studies of a series of 4-(m-OH phenyl) piperidines.

A series of 4-(m-OH phenyl)-piperidine analogs with R4 = methyl or t-butyl and NR = methyl, allyl and phenethyl have been synthesized; and their receptor affinities, in vivo analgetic agonism and antagonism, and energy-conformational profiles determined. These analogs bind selectively and with moderate to high affinity to opioid mu-receptors. Binding in their preferred phenyl axial conformation appears to lead to meperidine-like agonism. In addition, for some R4 = methyl but not t-butyl compounds, binding of an energy-accessible phenyl equatorial conformation produces antagonism.

Analgesics↗