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Biomedical subjects

M Quinlan

Publications and source records attributed to M Quinlan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The global expansion of precarious employment, work disorganization, and consequences for occupational health: placing the debate in a comparative historical context.

Mounting research evidence suggests that the shift to contingent work arrangements in industrialized countries is having serious adverse effects on the health of workers, both directly and indirectly (by undermining regulatory and other protections). The authors place this research, and the issues surrounding it, in a comparative historical context. Extensive use of precarious employment is not essentially new. It was a characteristic feature of most if not all industrialized societies in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though the two phases are not identical, historical comparisons are instructive for understanding recent experiences and ways of addressing them. The authors also make comparisons with the developing world, where the informal sector typically accounts for over half the workforce. Such comparisons are instructive in indicating the consequences of a shift to more precarious patterns of employment and disorganized work settings. There is also good evidence that precarious employment is expanding in the developing world. The growing precarious employment in both industrialized and developing countries is interconnected, and the authors identify a number of the mechanisms affecting workers' health.

Commerce↗
PubMed2001

The global expansion of precarious employment, work disorganization, and consequences for occupational health: a review of recent research.

In this review of a range of studies on the health and safety effects of precarious employment in industrialized societies published since 1984, the authors examine the overall findings and methodological issues and identify areas in need of further research. Of the 93 published journal articles and monographs/book chapters reviewed, 76 studies found precarious employment was associated with a deterioration in occupational health and safety (OHS) in terms of injury rates, disease risk, hazard exposures, or worker (and manager) knowledge of OHS and regulatory responsibilities. Of the more than 25 studies each on outsourcing and organizational restructuring/downsizing, well over 90 percent find a negative association with OHS. The evidence is fairly persuasive for temporary workers, with 14 of 24 studies finding a negative association with OHS. The evidence is less strong for small business, and a handful of studies on part-time workers found no clear association with negative OHS outcomes (in some cases the reverse). Further research is needed to more clearly link health effects to particular business practices and neoliberal policies and to explore the regulatory implications of the growth of precarious employment. The authors suggest some ways to conceptualize the association between precarious employment and occupational health.

Commerce↗
PubMed1999

The effects of outsourcing on occupational health and safety: a comparative study of factory-based workers and outworkers in the Australian clothing industry.

Outsourcing has become increasingly widespread throughout industrialized societies over the past 20 years. Accompanying this has been a renewed growth in home-based work, sometimes using new technologies (telework) but also entailing a re-emergence of old forms, such as clothing outwork, used extensively 100 years ago. A growing body of research indicates that changes to work organization associated with outsourcing adversely affect occupational health and safety (OHS), both for outsourced workers and for those working alongside them. This study assessed the OHS implications of the shift to home-based workers in the Australian clothing industry by systematically comparing the OHS experiences of 100 factory-based workers and 100 outworkers. The level of self-reported injury was over three times higher among outworkers than factory-based workers undertaking similar tasks. The most significant factor explaining this difference was the payment system. All outworkers were paid solely by the piece, whereas factory workers were paid either under a time plus production bonus system or solely on a time basis. While the incidence of injury was far higher among outworkers, factory-based workers paid under an incentive system reported more injuries than those paid solely on a time basis. Increasing injury was correlated with piecework payment systems.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Phacoemulsification versus extracapsular cataract extraction: a comparative study of cell survival and growth on the human capsular bag in vitro.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: Phacoemulsification is rapidly replacing conventional extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) as the method of choice for cataract surgery in the Western world. However, posterior capsule opacification (PCO) still remains the major postoperative complication, affecting 20-50% of patients, and results from persistent cell growth of epithelial cells remaining after surgery. This study aimed to compare cell survival and growth on capsular bags following ECCE and phacoemulsification surgery using an established human capsular bag culture system. METHODS: Sham ECCE and phacoemulsification cataract operations were performed on pairs of human donor eyes. Capsular bags were dissected free, pinned flat on a petri dish, and incubated with Eagle's minimum essential medium (EMEM) alone or EMEM supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). Ongoing observations were made using phase contrast microscopy. RESULTS: Cell growth was observed across the posterior capsule of all preparations studied. It was found that there was no significant difference in the rate of cell growth on the posterior capsule with the two extraction methods, such that 50% confluency was achieved in 7.0 (SD 1.8) (n = 7) days for ECCE and 7.43 (2.1) (n = 7) days for phacoemulsification surgery. The physical changes to the capsule as a result of cell growth, such as wrinkling and capsular tensioning, were also seen in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cell survival and growth is dependent on the donor, rather than the surgical technique performed. There is no significant difference between phacoemulsification and ECCE surgery on the rate and nature of cell growth on the posterior capsule in vitro.

Cataract Extraction↗
PubMed1995

Acid-base status and spiracular control during discontinuous ventilation in grasshoppers

Many insects ventilate discontinuously when quiescent, exhibiting prolonged periods during which little or no gas exchange occurs. We investigated the consequences of discontinuous ventilation (DV) on haemolymph acid­base status and tested whether spiracular opening during DV is due to changes in internal gas tensions in the western lubber grasshopper Taeniopoda eques. At 15 °C, resting T. eques exhibited interburst periods of about 40 min. During the interburst period, haemolymph PCO2 rose from 1.8 to 2.26 kPa, with minimal acidification of haemolymph. Animals in atmospheres in which PCO2 was 2 kPa or below continued to exhibit DV, while atmospheres in which PCO2 was 2.9 kPa or above caused cessation of DV. These data indicate that accumulation of internal CO2 to threshold levels between 2 and 2.9 kPa induces spiracular opening in grasshoppers. In contrast to the situation in lepidopteran pupae, variation in atmospheric PO2 had no effect on interburst duration. Relative to lepidopteran pupae, the internal PCO2 of grasshoppers during DV is threefold lower, the PCO2 required for triggering spiracular opening is also threefold lower, and the open phase spiracular conductance is at least tenfold higher, demonstrating that considerable diversity exists in these aspects of insect respiratory physiology.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

[Immigration and labor: Australia and Canada compared].

"Australia and Canada share...a common colonial history and many similarities in geography, economy, demography, etc., as well as a substantial anti-non anglo-celtic immigrant tradition, in spite of their being immigration countries. Those similarities and differences are analyzed here, as far as labor migration and relationships between immigrant and local labor are concerned. The arrival of European labor first, Asian later, was perceived similarly by both Australia and Canada, combining racial prejudice and unions' hostility towards contract labor migration as well as towards assisted migration. The evolution of those difficult relations through the 19th and 20th centuries is analyzed here." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Americas↗
PubMed1986

Thyroid function and the incidence of breast cancer in Hawaiian, British and Japanese women.

Serum-free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations are lower in Hawaiian and Hawaiian Caucasian women than in Hawaiian Japanese, Hawaiian Filipino, Hawaiian Chinese, and English and Japanese mainland women. There is a high inverse correlation between FT4 and risk of breast cancer in these ethnic groups. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations, which are inversely correlated with FT4, generally show the same relationship.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Major-histocompatibility-complex extended haplotypes in membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis is often associated with evidence of immune derangement, especially hypocomplementemia. We studied genetic markers for membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis within the major histocompatibility complex in 34 patients and their families and in 29 normal families. We examined the frequencies of extended haplotypes (combinations of alleles that tend to occur together) in patients and controls. The extended haplotype HLA-B8,DR3,SC01,GLO2(glyoxalase I 2) was observed in 9 of 68 disease-associated haplotypes (13 percent), but in only 3 of 205 controls (1 percent) (relative risk, 14.79; P less than 0.001). An extended haplotype similar except for a different glyoxalase allotype (B8,DR3,SC01,GLO1) did not occur with increased frequency, nor did any other extended haplotypes. Patients with the extended haplotype B8,DR3,SC01,GLO2 had a higher incidence of renal insufficiency than those without it (P less than 0.01). The data support the hypothesis that a specific extended haplotype of the major histocompatibility complex is associated with susceptibility to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and that patients with glomerulonephritis who have this extended haplotype have a poorer prognosis for kidney survival than those without the haplotype.

Alleles↗
PubMed1986

Microtubule-associated protein tau. A component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments.

Microtubule-associated protein tau was purified from bovine brain microtubules by either (1) phosphocellulose chromatography, (2) heat treatment at pH 6.4, (3) heat treatment at pH 2.7, (4) heat treatment at pH 2.7 followed by extraction with perchloric acid and precipitation with glycerol, or (5) by precipitation with ammonium sulfate followed by extraction with perchloric acid. All of these tau preparations reacted specifically with antibodies to Alzheimer paired helical filaments. Affinity purified antibodies to tau labeled both Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles and plaque neurites but not amyloid in Alzheimer brain tissue sections and labeled paired helical filament polypeptides on Western blots. Human brain tau and paired helical filament polypeptides co-migrated on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. These results suggest that tau is a major component of Alzheimer paired helical filaments.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1986

Improved growth of three uremic children by nocturnal nasogastric feedings.

Three children with high-output renal insufficiency (estimated creatinine clearance, 20 to 25 mL/min/1.73 sq m) and linear and ponderal growth retardation were administered nocturnal nasogastric (NG) feedings at home by trained parents. The NG feedings were initiated at 50 kcal/kg/night and increased as needed to establish and maintain weight gain. Nocturnal feedings were continued for 13.5, 16, and 11 months, respectively. Improved caloric intake reestablished the velocity of weight gain from less than 5% to greater than 95% in each patient. Linear growth velocity improved from less than 5% in two patients and 40% in one patient to greater than 95% in two patients and 80% in the third patient. No change was observed in serum creatinine, electrolyte, calcium, or phosphorus levels. The serum urea nitrogen level remained below 100 mg/dl. Ensuring adequate caloric intake by nocturnal NG feedings, in addition to standard therapy, improved both ponderal and linear growth velocity.

Enteral Nutrition↗
PubMed1986

Abnormal phosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau (tau) in Alzheimer cytoskeletal pathology.

A monoclonal antibody to the microtubule-associated protein tau (tau) labeled some neurofibrillary tangles and plaque neurites, the two major locations of paired-helical filaments (PHF), in Alzheimer disease brain. The antibody also labeled isolated PHF that had been repeatedly washed with NaDodSO4. Dephosphorylation of the tissue sections with alkaline phosphatase prior to immunolabeling dramatically increased the number of tangles and plaques recognized by the antibody. The plaque core amyloid was not stained in either dephosphorylated or nondephosphorylated tissue sections. On immunoblots PHF polypeptides were labeled readily only when dephosphorylated. In contrast, a commercially available monoclonal antibody to a phosphorylated epitope of neurofilaments that labeled the tangles and the plaque neurites in tissue did not label any PHF polypeptides on immunoblots. The PHF polypeptides, labeled with the monoclonal antibody to tau, electrophoresed with those polypeptides recognized by antibodies to isolated PHF. The antibody to tau-labeled microtubules from normal human brains assembled in vitro but identically treated Alzheimer brain preparations had to be dephosphorylated to be completely recognized by this antibody. These findings suggest that tau in Alzheimer brain is an abnormally phosphorylated protein component of PHF.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1986

Minoxidil for control of acute blood pressure elevation in chronically hypertensive children.

Twenty-three episodes of acute elevation of BP related to renal disease in 13 chronically hypertensive children 2 to 18 years of age were treated with a single oral dose of minoxidil. All except one patient were receiving a diuretic and all but one a beta-blocking agent at the time of minoxidil treatment. The goal of lowering BP to or below the 95th percentile for age within four hours of minoxidil administration was achieved in 14 of 23 treatment episodes. The goal was achieved in nine of 11 (82%) when the dose of minoxidil was greater than or equal to 0.2 mg/kg and in five of 12 (42%) when the dose was less than 0.2 mg/kg (P less than .05). In patients treated with greater than or equal to 0.2 mg/kg of minoxidil, mean systolic and diastolic BP decreased significantly from pretreatment values within one hour. In patients receiving less than 0.2 mg/kg, mean systolic BP was never significantly reduced and mean diastolic BP did not change significantly for two hours. Adverse effects were minimal. The results indicate that minoxidil in a dose of 0.2 mg/kg in combination with a diuretic and beta-blocking agent will lower BP to safe levels in most patients with severe hypertension related to renal disease within four hours with minimal side effects.

Adolescent↗