Analgetics based on the azetidine ring.
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Analgesics↗
Biomedical subjects
M Wright
Publications and source records attributed to M Wright.
Enzymatic DNA degradation in E. coli: its relationship to synthetic processes at the chromosome level.
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Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
Chemical markup, XML and the World-Wide Web. 3. Toward a signed semantic chemical web of trust.
We describe how a collection of documents expressed in XML-conforming languages such as CML and XHTML can be authenticated and validated against digital signatures which make use of established X.509 certificate technology. These can be associated either with specific nodes in the XML document or with the entire document. We illustrate this with two examples. An entire journal article expressed in XML has its individual components digitally signed by separate authors, and the collection is placed in an envelope and again signed. The second example involves using a software robot agent to acquire a collection of documents from a specified URL, to perform various operations and transformations on the content, including expressing molecules in CML, and to automatically sign the various components and deposit the result in a repository. We argue that these operations can used as components for building what we term an authenticated and semantic chemical web of trust.
Journal Article↗
Parents, infants and health care: utilization of health services in the first 12 months of life.
OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of health-service use in the first 12 months of life. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 173 first-born infants and their families living in two middle socio-economic urban areas of Melbourne were enrolled consecutively when presenting for their initial maternal and child health nurse (MCHN) visit (at approximately 4 weeks of age). Families kept a daily "health diary" for the entire 12-month period, recording use of all health services for their infant, and reasons for the contact. RESULTS: There was an 87% completion rate of diaries. The mean number of visits to any health service, including medical, hospitals, MCHN services, pharmacists, allied health services and naturopaths, was 35.7 (95% CI 34.7-36.6) during the 12 months. Of these, 31% (mean 10.9 visits) were visits to a general practitioner (GP) and 41.5% (mean 14.3 visits) were visits to the MCHN. Infants' visits to the MCHN were far more frequent in the first 6 months of life compared with the second 6 months (10.3 vs 3.6, P < 0.001). Rates of GP use were constant over the same periods (5.3 vs 5.7, P = 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: In a universal health-care system, this high rate of health-service use equates to approximately one visit to a health service every 2 weeks in the first year of life. The majority of these visits appeared unrelated to illness. This previously undocumented data has implications for future integrated service delivery, health-professional training and policy development for this age group.
Adult↗
Effects of xylazine and ketamine on epinephrine-induced arrhythmia in the dog.
Ten dogs were studied to determine the effects of xylazine, ketamine, and xylazine combined with ketamine on the dosage of epinephrine required to produce ventricular arrhythmia. Untreated dogs required an arrhythmogenic dose (AD) of 5.88 +/- 2.85 micrograms/kg/min. The AD was 4.28 +/- 3.25 micrograms/kg/min in xylazine-treated dogs, 3.05 +/- 2.3 micrograms/kg/min in ketamine-treated dogs, and 2.96 +/- 1.95 micrograms/kg/min in xylazine/ketamine-treated dogs. The latter two dosages were significantly less than that of the controls (p less than 0.025). The duration of increased arrhythmogenicity was also examined. Four hours after drug administration, the AD for xylazine-treated dogs was decreased further to 3.87 +/- 2.52 micrograms/kg/min (p less than 0.05). Ketamine-treated dogs had returned partially to normal with an AD of 4.09 +/- 3.09 micrograms/kg/min, as had xylazine/ketamine-treated dogs, at 4.22 +/- 2.71 micrograms/kg/min.
Analysis of Variance↗
How competent are you (or your staff) with shoulder dystocia?
Shoulder dystocia-when the fetal head retracts or recoils against the maternal perineum ("turtle sign") and external rotation is not accomplished-occurs in approximately 1 of every 200 deliveries. It's often diagnosed after the emergence of the fetal head when delivery is prevented by impaction of the fetal shoulders within or above the maternal pelvis. When it occurs, shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency.
Clinical Competence↗
Comparative effects of ageing and dementia of the Alzheimer type on orientation of visual attention.
Age-related changes and the effects of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) were investigated during a visual orienting attention task in which attention was pre-cued to one or other hemifields. Central cues were either valid, neutral, invalid or NoGo (inhibitory). The response time cost-benefit analysis showed a decreased benefit after valid cueing in the old compared with the young group with no change in the cost of invalid cueing. The older group were also slower over all cue types. These results suggest there is an age-related reduced ability to covertly orient attention in a visual hemifield before target onset. In contrast, the DAT group showed an increased response time benefit and showed a trend for a decreased cost in response time compared with controls. This was due to slowest response times after neutral cues. They also made significantly more response errors particularly following neutral cueing, and were less able to inhibit responses on NoGo trials than controls. The increased benefit and reduced cost found in the DAT group was interpreted as an impairment in dividing attention between left and right target locations.
Adult↗
A comparison of cognitive impairments in dementia of the Alzheimer type and depression in the elderly.
General cognitive function and specific language and memory processing abilities were compared in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), depressed and normal control subjects. Several tests clearly differentiated between DAT and depressed subjects including a verbal fluency task, several components of a word memory test, an IQ deterioration index, and the Mini-Mental State Examination. The inability of DAT subjects to take advantage of semantic cues in both the verbal fluency and in the memory test contrasted with the performance of depressed and normal subjects, who were able to benefit from semantic cues. Depressed patients displayed deficits compared with normal controls on the more effortful verbal fluency task but not on the memory test. Tasks that are least effortful, rely on semantic associations, and require declarative memory are most likely to discriminate between DAT and depression.
Aged↗
Evaluation of a purified enzyme blend for the recovery and function of canine pancreatic islets.
Recently developed technologies enabling the production of a reproducible, purified enzyme blend for optimal human pancreatic islet isolation has renewed interest in clinical islet transplantation. The canine model has been an ideal preclinical model for the development of islet transplantation protocols. As seen in other species, the application of crude collagenase for isolating canine islets resulted in highly variable islet yields, extensive islet fragmentation, and variable islet functionality. We compared the function of commercially available crude collagenases with that of Liberase-CI purified enzyme blend for canine islet isolation. We also compared two manufacturing runs of Liberase-CI enzyme (lots 1 and 2) to demonstrate reproducibility of islet recovery and function. We report on the improved recovery and function of islets isolated using Liberase-CI enzyme. No difference in dog age, mean body weight, or pancreas weight were observed between the experimental groups. We observed a significantly higher postpurification recovery of islet equivalent number (IE) from pancreases processed using two lots of Liberase-CI enzyme (189 +/- 20 x 10(3) IE, n = 4) and lot 2 (234 +/- 39 x 10(3) IE, n = 7) than that obtained from pancreases processed with Sigma Type V (116.8 +/- 27 x 10(3) IE, n = 5), Serva collagenase (49 +/- 11.6 x 10(3) IE, n = 5, p < 0.05) or Boehringer-Mannheim (BM) Type P collagenase (85.4 +/- 25 x 10(3) IE, n = 5, p < 0.05, ANOVA). No significant differences were observed in islet yield recovery from pancreases processed using the two production lots of Liberase-CI enzyme. Islet survival after 48 h in culture at 37 degrees C was significantly higher from islets isolated using Liberase-CI enzyme (88 +/- 3.7% survival) when compared to Sigma Type V (81.8 +/- 3.3%), Serva (71.7 +/- 2.8%), and BM Type P (77 +/- 7.2%) (p < 0.05). Islet functional testing in vitro demonstrated islets isolated using crude collagenase had an increased insulin basal release and a reduced insulin stimulated response when compared with islets isolated using the two lots of Liberase-CI enzyme. The calculated stimulation index was 7.8 +/- 1.7, 3.1 +/- 0.6, and 4.8 +/- 1.1 for Sigma Type V, Serva, and BM Type P isolated islets, respectively, compared to 15.7 +/- 1.6 and 16.2 +/- 1.9 for islets isolated with Liberase-CI enzyme production lots 1 and 2, respectively (p < 0.05). This evaluation demonstrates that a purified enzyme blend can significantly improve islet recovery and function. It also demonstrates the manufacturing reproducibility of Liberase-CI enzyme lots resulting in the isolation of canine islets with the same degree of efficacy. A blend of purified enzymes, specifically formulated for canine islet isolation, can consistently yield large numbers of islets that survive longer in culture and demonstrate an improved insulin response in vitro.
Animals↗
Uniforms. Removing barriers to communication.
Nurses have engaged in debate over the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional uniform for many years, Stephen O'Connor and Martinne Wright describe an imaginative approach to attire which was adopted by nurses in a rehabilitation Results indicate that the particular needs of patients in this unit are better met in the less formal atmosphere which subsequently developed.
Clothing↗
New insights into hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C infection is characterised by three key features, which are the consequence of a complex interaction between genetic determinants of immune and other host factors and viral characteristics: 1. A high rate of viral persistence after acute infection resulting from a combination of weak T cell responsiveness and specific viral mechanisms of immune escape. 2. Marked interindividual variability in end-organ damage (fibrosis and cirrhosis), probably due to host genetic polymorphisms in genes governing the immune response and fibrosis pathways in addition to viral pathogenicity factors. 3. Significant resistance to antiviral therapies. Viral mechanisms of antiviral resistance parallel those of viral persistence, and include the intriguing possibility that hepatitis C may infect immunologically privileged sites such as the central nervous system.
Antiviral Agents↗
Employee satisfaction: creating a positive work force.
In the early 1990s, El Camino Hospital (ECH) streamlined its operations in order to remain competitive. In 1992, the hospital's District Board voted to turn the hospital's management over to a nonprofit company and it became an integrated delivery system (IDS). Hospital employees continued to suffer as their work and work schedules changed in ongoing efforts by the new administration to streamline. Finally, in early 1997, the IDS, Camino Healthcare, was dissolved. The director of radiology and radiation oncology services became aware of increasing employee problems, from high turnover rates and increased absenteeism, to morale and productivity issues. Employees also worried about job redesign, re-engineering and a lack of clear direction and expectations from department leadership. The director of the department created a task force to respond to the needs of staff members. With so much anger directed at department leadership, supervisory staff were not included in the task force. The task force worked first to identify rumors and innuendos and followed with a plan to resolve such issues. The second step was to agree to focus on issues that they could change and to let go of those they couldn't. They selected five priority issues or concerns. The group met weekly and made progress by replacing negative talk and attitudes with positive ones. Meanwhile, the director researched employee satisfaction issues so she would be prepared to discuss such issues and concerns with employees. She focused on a common theme, of having a personal mission or goal for one's self. She encouraged staff members to be aware of their own behavior when communicating with others. Although several informal surveys proved there was still much work to be done, there was positive response--a light at the end of the long tunnel.
California↗
Condensation-decondensation of the gamma-tubulin containing material in the absence of a structurally visible organelle during the cell cycle of Physarum plasmodia.
Genetic evidence has shown the presence of a common spindle pole organiser in Physarum amoebae and plasmodia. But the typical centrosome and mitosis observed in amoebae are replaced in plasmodia by an intranuclear mitosis devoid of any structurally defined organelle. The fate of gamma-tubulin and of another component (TPH17) of the centrosome of Physarum amoebae was investigated in the nuclei of synchronous plasmodia. These two amoebal centrosomal elements were present in the nuclear compartment during the entire cell cycle and exhibited similar relocalisation from metaphase to telophase. Three preparation methods showed that gamma-tubulin containing material was dispersed in the nucleoplasm during interphase. It constituted an intranuclear thread-like structure. In contrast, the TPH17 epitope exhibited a localisation close to the nucleolus. In late G2-phase, the gamma-tubulin containing elements condensed in a single organelle which further divided. Intranuclear microtubules appeared before the condensation of the gamma-tubulin material and treatment with microtubule poisons suggested that microtubules were required in this process. The TPH17 epitope relocalised in the intranuclear spindle later than the gamma-tubulin containing material suggesting a maturation process of the mitotic poles. The decondensation of the gamma-tubulin material and of the material containing the TPH17 epitope occurred immediately after telophase. Hence in the absence of a structurally defined centrosome homologue, the microtubule nucleating material undergoes a cycle of condensation and decondensation during the cell cycle.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The games nurses play.
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Defense Mechanisms↗
Taxol metabolism. Isolation and identification of three major metabolites of taxol in rat bile.
The elimination of nonradioactive taxol in bile and urine was investigated in the rat after administration via the caudal vein (10 mg/kg). As in humans, no metabolites of taxol were detected by HPLC in rat urine, and only 10% of the injected taxol was recovered in urine over a 24-hr period. In contrast, 11.5% and 29% of the injected taxol was recovered in rat bile as unchanged taxol and metabolites, respectively. Among the nine taxol metabolites detected by HPLC, the side chain at C13, which is required for pharmacological activity, had been removed in only one minor metabolite, baccatin III. The chemical structures of the two major hydroxylated metabolites were determined by mass spectrometry (fast atom bombardment and desorption chemical ionization) and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. One was a taxol derivative hydroxylated on the phenyl group at C3' of the side chain at C13, while the other corresponded to a taxol derivative hydroxylated in the m-position on the benzoate of the side chain at C2. Although these two major taxol metabolites were as active as taxol in preventing cold microtubule disassembly, they were, respectively, 9 and 39 times less cytotoxic as taxol on in vitro L1210 leukemia growth. These results show for the first time that there is a significant hepatic metabolism of taxol.
Alkaloids↗
Care about food. We're getting there.
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Demography↗
Influenza vaccine programme using the hypospray jet injector method.
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Influenza Vaccines↗