Biomedical subjects
J Ryan
Publications and source records attributed to J Ryan.
Suboptimal ward care of critically ill patients. More intensive care beds are needed.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Hippocampal system and declarative (relational) memory: summarizing the data from functional neuroimaging studies.
In the last several years there have been impressive strides in the ability to explore the nature of hippocampal system functioning in humans by employing functional neuroimaging methods, permitting such methods to be used in conjunction with neuropsychological methods to better understand the role of the hippocampal system in memory. In this paper, we review the literature on functional imaging studies of the hippocampal system, summarizing the data and testing these data against a number of theories or explanatory accounts of hippocampal function. We consider five alternative explanatory accounts of, or ideas about, hippocampal function- some from already existing work, for which the functional imaging data can provide a new test, and others that have emerged directly from the functional imaging work, and that have yet to be tested for their fit of data from neuropsychological methods. We conclude that the relational (declarative) memory account, in which it is proposed that the hippocampal system plays a critical role in binding together multiple inputs to permit representations of the relations among the constituent elements of scenes or events, can better accommodate the full range of imaging (and other existing) data than any other explanatory account of hippocampal function.
Maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy does not affect preimplantation development but delays early postimplantation growth in rat embryos.
Models for studying prenatal drug-induced intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) have, without exception, measured growth-related factors in the postimplantation embryo, fetus or neonate. Therefore, it is not known whether effects of drug exposure on growth and metabolism begin early in the preimplantation embryo, or whether IUGR is exclusively a postimplantation phenomenon. The present study investigates whether caffeine, a drug known to induce a dose-dependent fetal IUGR, affects embryo development before and/or after implantation or is exclusively a fetal phenomenon. Preimplantation embryo assessment (with treatment from Days 2 to 4 of pregnancy) included glucose utilization, cell number evaluation and stage of development (morula to hatched blastocyst); whereas, postimplantation embryo assessment (treatment from Days 2 to 10, 10.5 or 11 of pregnancy) included somite number evaluation and extent of neural tube closure, as seen using scanning electron microscopy. Comparing control preimplantation embryos with those exposed to 30 and 60 mg kg(-1) caffeine did not reveal any effects of caffeine exposure, as assessed on Day 5 of gestation. However, postimplantation embryo development assessed on Day 12 of gestation revealed that caffeine exposure of 15 and 30 mg kg(-1) significantly reduced, at both dosage levels, somite number and the extent of neural tube closure. In addition, comparisons of control and experimental groups revealed that in the high-dose caffeine group the forebrain cavity was significantly enlarged and bounded by a reduced, irregularly aligned neuroepithelium. The findings suggest that IUGR is a phenomenon first identifiable during late postimplantation embryogenesis and continues in fetal life.
Lessons from analysis of World Wide Web server activity data: http://www.swsahs.nsw.gov.au/livtrauma.
OBJECTIVE: To establish visiting patterns and use of resources within an educational world wide web site, to develop strategies for its more effective use as a teaching medium. DESIGN: Prospective descriptive study. SETTING: A web site maintained by a major Australian metropolitan trauma service. SUBJECTS: All visitors to the web site over a 40 day period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of visitors, requests for pages, and transfer of files; timing and duration of visits; first and last pages viewed during visits; pages viewed most often; source of referral and country of origin of visitors. RESULTS: There were 2237 visits, and a mean of 5.8 pages/visit were viewed. Mean duration of each visit was 4 minutes 35 seconds, and only half the visitors entered through the home page. The collection of radiographs was most commonly consulted. Visitors came from 26 different countries, 42% from Australia. CONCLUSIONS: Factors that influenced the use of the site were identified and have altered our plans for development.
Selective anti-inflammatory action of interleukin-11 in murine Lyme disease: arthritis decreases while carditis persists.
The role of interleukin (IL)-11, a cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory properties, in murine Lyme disease was investigated. Borrelia burgdorferi-infected mice treated with IL-11 developed less arthritis than did control animals. In contrast, IL-11 blocking antibodies increased Lyme arthritis. Murine Lyme carditis was not affected by either IL-11 or IL-11 antibodies. Administration of IL-11 was associated with increased production of mRNA for IL-12 and inducible nitric oxide synthase but not interferon-gamma or IL-4 in B. burgdorferi-infected mice, suggesting a predominant effect of IL-11 on the innate immune response. These data show that IL-11 selectively reduced joint but not cardiac inflammation caused by B. burgdorferi in mice.
University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics: outcomes management.
Delivery of quality patient care and management of patient outcomes is critical to the success of academic medical centers in the ever-changing health care market. The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) promotes quality care through the provision of organizational structures and processes that are described in this article. In addition, quality of care and outcomes management are described by members in various roles within the UIHC health care system. It is the authors' belief that understanding quality from these various perspectives helps UIHC work across departments to achieve excellence in patient care.
An acutely painful elbow as a first presentation of von Willebrand's disease.
A 26 year old woman presented to the accident and emergency department with a painful right elbow. There had been no history of trauma. Clinical examination suggested an effusion, which was confirmed on radiological examination. Her elbow was aspirated and revealed a haemarthrosis. Subsequent investigations revealed a diagnosis of von Willebrand's disease (vWD). A spontaneously occurring effusion of the elbow may be due to a haemarthrosis. Aspiration of blood in the absence of trauma may lead to a diagnosis of an occult coagulopathy in addition to relieving pain. The diagnosis and treatment of vWD is discussed.
Maternal histone deacetylase is accumulated in the nuclei of Xenopus oocytes as protein complexes with potential enzyme activity.
Reversible acetylation of core histones plays an important regulatory role in transcription and replication of chromatin. The acetylation status of chromatin is determined by the equilibrium between activities of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). The Xenopus protein HDACm shows sequence homology to other putative histone deacetylases, but its mRNA is expressed only during early development. Both HDACm protein and acetylated non-chromosomal histones are accumulated in developing oocytes, indicating that the key components for histone deposition into new chromatin during blastula formation are in place by the end of oogenesis. Here we show that the 57 kDa HDACm protein undergoes steady accumulation in the nucleus, where it is organized in a multiprotein complex of approx. 300 kDa. A second, major component of the nuclear complex is the retinoblastoma-associated protein p48 (RbAp48/46), which may be used as an adaptor to contact acetylated histones in newly assembled chromatin. The nuclear complex has HDAC activity that is sensitive to trichostatin A, zinc ions and phosphatase treatment. The 57 kDa protein serves as a marker for total HDAC activity throughout oogenesis and early embryogenesis. The active HDACm complex and its acetylated histone substrates appear to be kept apart until after chromatin assembly has taken place. However, recombinant HDACm, injected into the cytoplasm of oocytes, not only is translocated to the nucleus, but also is free to interact with the endogenous chromatin.
The diploma of the medical care of catastrophes (DMCC).
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The personal touch. Interview by Lynn Wagner and Kathleen Vickery.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Outpatient PTCA with same day discharge is safe and produces high patient satisfaction level.
Improved technology and enhanced clinical expertise have allowed physicians to become more cost effective and provide better patient care. A prospective, randomized study was done to determine the safety of same day discharge following PTCA. Of 1911 elective PTCA patients, 262 patients (14%) were stratified as low risk and candidates for same day discharge. Of the 262 eligible patients, 90 (34%) were randomized to either an in-patient (n = 47) or outpatient (n = 43) strategy. Similar procedural and clinical outcomes were found between the two groups, with 33 of 43 outpatients (77%) discharged on the same day as the procedure. No late complications (1 and 7 days post procedure) were observed in this outpatient group. Additionally, a satisfaction survey was conducted of all patients and their family members that showed an overwhelming (p < 0.05) preference and comfort with the same day discharge.
Endurance training to be no more effective than physiotherapy or chiropractic treatment in terms of reducing pain and disability or increasing muscle strength.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A survey of tick-borne bacteria and protozoa in naturally exposed dogs from Israel.
Antibody reactivity against seven bacterial or protozoal pathogens was measured in sera derived from 40 dogs suspected of a tick-borne disease. Sera from 73% (29/40) of the dogs reacted with three or more test antigens. Seroreactivity was most prevalent to Babesia canis antigen (90%) followed by Babesia gibsoni (75%), Ehrlichia canis (63%), Rickettsia conorii--Moroccan strain (58%), Rickettsia conorii--Israeli strain no. 2 (28%), Borrelia burgdorferi (10%) or Bartonella vinsonii (berkhoffii) (10%). Seroconversion documented in seven dogs, supported an acute phase diagnosis of ehrlichiosis in four dogs, R. conorii infection in three dogs and babesiosis in one dog. In the remaining dogs, correlation of clinical abnormalities with increased seroreactivity was not established through the design of this study. Although Lyme borreliosis has not been reported in people in Israel, Western blot analysis for antibodies reactive to B. burgdorferi identified genus-specific antiflagellin antibodies indicating that dogs in Israel are exposed to a Borrelia species. Identification of species-specific seroreactivity was not possible and infection with a Borrelia species other than B. burgdorferi is likely. Seroreactivity to B. vinsonii (berkhoffii) in dogs outside the USA is reported here for the first time.
Interleukin-4 receptor signalling mechanisms and their biological significance.
These studies describe key elements of the means through which the IL-4 receptor transduces functions of IL-4 and show relationships between these biochemical events and the major biological consequences of IL-4 action. In large measure, the control of IL-4-mediated growth and gene activation are segregated to different regions of the cytosolic domain of the receptor. These regions function by interacting with specific signaling molecules, leading to the activation of these molecules and the intracellular signaling pathways that result in the observed biological effects of IL-4.