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Biomedical subjects

M Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to M Thomas.

At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Nursing practice. Stress and attitudes towards the work environment.

This paper discusses a survey carried out within four wards in an elderly services' unit. There were two main aims of the study. One was an attempt to determine the degree of burn-out present in the wards, and the second was to ascertain the nursing staff's perceived areas of stress within their work environment. Clarke (1) relies heavily on the transactional view of stress, while Selye (2), suggests that coping with stress involves the individual in direct action in changing the demands put upon him or her. This direct action is aided by information on how to cope with stressors and, therefore, knowledge of stress symptoms are required. She suggests that giving information changes an uncertain situation into one of certainty, and at the very least, will change an individual's view of a new event from something frightening into a more familiar experience.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Memories of pain: comparison of "worst pain ever" experienced by senior citizens and college students.

A total of 124 senior citizens were compared with 99 college students for their memory of worst pain experience and the action they undertook to deal with that experience. Seniors recalled very recent pain experiences, as did the students. There were major differences in their description of the worst pain experience and also how they had their pain problems dealt with. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Positive anatomic orientation of corneal transplant tissue.

Anatomic orientation of corneal donor tissue is consistently possible by cutting a "V"-shaped notch in the scleral rim at 12 o'clock. An obvious marker improves the evaluation of suspicious lesions by other observers, facilitates accurate communication of findings to corneal surgeons, and aids in instructing new eye bank technicians. A further possible benefit is that the marker permits anatomically correct orientation of corneal tissue.

Cornea↗
PubMed1989

[Plasma hemoglobin. Comparison between 2 methods of determination].

The methods used to titrate plasmatic haemoglobin, an analysis which is of great interest to cardiac surgery, must be very accurate because the levels are much lower than those found in whole blood. This work introduces a comparison between two methods: the ammoniacal water method and Cripps's differential method. After studying various criteria (repeatability, limit of detection, accuracy, reference values, stability of the reaction), and after studying the correlation between each method and the benzidin method, used as reference method, as well as the correlation between all of them, Cripp's method turns out to be the closest to the benzidin method, as well as being simpler, more accurate, more specific, and also easier to use than the ammoniacal water method, the only problem occurring at the stage of the preparation of the standard solution.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1989

Vibratory stimulation as a treatment alternative in patients with tinnitus.

We evaluated the effect of vibratory stimulation on 10 patients with tinnitus and controlled it in a double-blind crossover trial against the sound stimulus delivered by the same apparatus. Five patients reported decreased intensity of tinnitus during treatment when vibratory stimulation was used, as opposed to 1 patient who reported decreased intensity of tinnitus when only the sound stimulus was used. There were no significant differences between the groups in the reduction of the unpleasantness associated with tinnitus. No longterm effects of treatment were seen.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Adrenal carcinoma with reactive plasmacytosis.

An 18 year old boy presented with anaemia, congestive cardiac failure and a 'renal mass'. Preoperative and post-operative investigations demonstrated "reactive plasmacytosis" with antibodies directed against a non-functioning adrenal carcinoma. Existing literature on reactive plasmacytosis and anti-tumour antibodies is summarised.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Genetic evidence for progressive selection and overgrowth of primary tumors by metastatic cell subpopulations.

We have exploited random insertions of transfected DNA as unique clonotypic markers to follow cell lineages during primary and metastatic tumor growth of a mouse mammary adenocarcinoma, SP1. Southern analysis was undertaken of primary solid tumors and metastases obtained after injection of a pooled population of individual SP1 transfectants, or reconstituted mixtures of genetically marked metastatic and unmarked nonmetastatic cells. Here we provide evidence for the reproducible selection and eventual overgrowth of primary tumors by genotypically distinct metastatic clones, thereby illustrating that late-state, advanced primary tumors can evolve to become biologically similar, or even identical, to distant metastases. The selective growth advantage of metastatic cells within primary tumors was shown to occur despite the fact that tumors generated by both metastatic and nonmetastatic SP1 cell populations grew at comparable growth rates when injected and analyzed separately. The extent of the local growth advantage manifested by individual metastatic clones varied considerably, from 5- to 50-fold. Clonal overgrowth was also observed whether the tumor cells were injected ectopically, or orthotopically (i.e., into the mammary fat). This type of experimental approach should provide new insights into the dynamics of tumor progression and metastasis, the lineage relationship of primary tumors to metastases, the influence of clonal interactions on tumor behavior, and the physiological changes which are causative of malignant disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1988

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: a tuberculosis threat?

In the United States there has been an increase in mycobacterial infections that is attributable to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since 1983, when the first case of AIDS was reported in Australia, there have been 523 patients (to June 30, 1987) notified with group-IV AIDS and, of these, 361 (69%) cases have been in New South Wales. Of these 361 notifications, 59 (16%) patients have had concurrent mycobacterial infection. Seven of these patients had Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and five of these infections occurred in 1986. This means that, in 1986, patients with group-IV AIDS had a rate of infection with Myco. tuberculosis of 3000 per 100,000 population, compared with 5.2 cases per 100,000 population for New South Wales. We sought to determine whether or not there was any unexplained increase in notifications which might be attributable to AIDS. This paper reports cases that were notified to the AIDS and tuberculosis registers, finds that atypical mycobacterial infections are underreported by at least 19.5%, and examines trends in notifications for mycobacterial disease since the onset of the AIDS epidemic. It also raises the importance of appropriate measures to protect health workers from tuberculosis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Absorption characteristics of human fetal hemoglobin at wavelengths used in pulse oximetry.

The absorption characteristics of fetal and adult human hemoglobin samples were determined for the range of 600 to 1,050 nm. Over this range, fetal hemoglobin absorption is nearly identical to that of adult hemoglobin. Since currently available two-wavelength pulse oximeters base their calculations of arterial oxyhemoglobin saturation on absorption at the wavelengths of 660 and 920 nm, we conclude that the accuracy of two-wavelength pulse oximetry previously demonstrated in adults can be extrapolated to infants with high concentrations of fetal hemoglobin.

Fetal Hemoglobin↗
PubMed1988

Cervical encerclage--a stitch in time: analysis of 23 cases.

Cervical incompetency has been recognized as a cause of repeated reproductive loss. Currently many surgeons cast doubt on the existence of cervical insufficiency and the efficiency of encerclage to salvage the situation. Over a period of 3 years we did cervical encerclage for 23 patients with recurrent pregnancy loss in whom all other causes were ruled out. Twenty-one patients benefitted by the procedure, only one ended in missed abortion and one patient had preterm delivery with early neonatal loss. We had a fetal salvage of 91.3%. Birth weights of the babies were above 2500 g in 65.2%. In our experience, with proper selection, patients benefitted from encerclage performed at the appropriate time.

Abortion, Habitual↗
PubMed1988

In vivo phosphorylation of sorghum leaf phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase.

The use of immunological techniques allowed us to purify close to homogeneity phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPc, EC 4.1.1.31) from sorghum leaf. It was thus established that: 1) this protein is phosphorylated in vivo on seryl residues; 2) in C4-type photosynthesis, the phosphorylation process mainly concerns the PEPC isozyme form G; 3) enzyme phosphorylation displays significant variations through a day-night alternation which therefore suggests light control of the process.

Carboxy-Lyases↗
PubMed1988

Sodium fluoride stimulates osteocalcin in normal subjects.

To test whether the administration of sodium fluoride in vivo results in an increase in osteocalcin concentration, we administered sodium fluoride to seven healthy male subjects for a period of 3 weeks. Fasting calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone and osteocalcin were measured prior to, during and 6 weeks after fluoride administration. Plasma calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone concentrations did not alter. Serum osteocalcin concentrations increased following fluoride administration, and the mean osteocalcin concentration at 3 weeks was significantly higher than the pretreatment mean. Plasma urea and creatinine concentrations did not alter. Six weeks after the cessation of fluoride treatment, the mean serum osteocalcin concentration had returned to the pretreatment baseline. We conclude that fluoride administration in normal subjects over a short period increases serum osteocalcin concentration and probably stimulates osteoblastic activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Suppression of puerperal lactation using jasmine flowers (Jasminum sambac).

The efficacy of jasmine flowers (Jasminum Sambac) applied to the breasts to suppress puerperal lactation was compared that of Bromocriptine. Effectiveness of both regimens was monitored by serum prolactin levels, clinical evaluation of the degree of breast engorgement and milk production and the analgesic intake. While both bromocriptine and jasmine flowers brought about a significant reduction in serum prolactin, the decrease was significantly greater with bromocriptine. However, clinical parameters such as breast engorgement, milk production and analgesic intake showed the 2 modes of therapy to be equally effective. The failure rates of the 2 regimens to suppress lactation were similar; however, rebound lactation occurred in a small proportion of women treated with bromocriptine. Jasmine flowers seem to be an effective and inexpensive method of suppressing puerperal lactation and can be used as an alternative in situations where cost and nonavailability restrict the use of bromocriptine.

Bromocriptine↗