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Biomedical subjects

P Novotny

Publications and source records attributed to P Novotny.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and ABO isohemagglutinins.

Depending on the ABO blood group, gonorrhea may affect the titers of isohemagglutinins compared with those of uninfected controls. The isohemagglutinin titers in group O patients were significantly increased (P less than 0.001) against erythrocytes A, B, and AB. In group A patients, only the titer against AB erythrocytes was significantly increased. In group B patients, the titer against AB erythrocytes was significantly lower (P less than 0.001) as compared with that in sera of healthy persons. In six of eight volunteers, an increase in isohemagglutinin titer was observed after an injection of small doses of killed gonococci. However, guinea pigs, rabbit, or small monkeys, i.e., species for which gonococci are not apthogenic, when immunized with gonococci either did not form ABO hemagglutinins or did so with very low titers. In white gonorrhea patients, there was a significantly higher frequency of group B individuals over those with group A, AB, or O. No such correlation was found in black patients. Isohemagglutinins from human sera could be absorbed by cultured gonococci. The implications of these findings in the pathogenesis of gonococcus infection and the problems associated with vaccine development are briefly discussed.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1975

Immunological heterogeneity of pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Sera of rabbits immunized with pili or formalized cultures of Neisseria gonorrhoeae contained pili antibodies. The reaction between pili and specific gamma globulin was followed by direct visual observation with an electron microscope. Using pili from 31 strains and antisera against three strains, only a few crossreactions between pili were observed. From this it is concluded that gonococcal pili are antigenically heterogeneous. However, serum raised with a T3 culture (with no detectable pili) contained antibodies against pili of the homologous T2 strain. It is proposed that the pilus antigen may exist in a form different from the typical pilus in gonococci.

Agglutination↗
PubMed1975

An electron-microscope study of naturally occurring and cultured cells of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae.

Electron-microscope studies are reported in which gonococci grown in cultures are compared with those present in urethral exudates. Whereas naturally occurring cells presented a smooth appearance with parallel cell layers, cultured cells were rough and their surface layers appeared to be disorganised. Three different types of pili were observed in cultures; the most common type seemed to be a product of unfavourable growth conditions. The number of piliate cells in pus was variable but always much lower than the number of non-piliate cells found. A study of free endotoxin present in cultures was made and its fine structure is described. Further observations suggest that although the majority of gonococci are killed after phagocytosis, others survive and multiply--giving rise to clusters of gonococci within remnants of phagocytes. It is suggested that these coated clusters are infectious units.

Cell Wall↗
PubMed1972

Self-cutting.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Physical, psychological and social well-being of women with breast cancer: the influence of disease phase.

While research exists on the well-being of women during a specific phase of breast cancer, little research exists in which researchers utilized the same instruments to examine differences in women's well-being, based on the phase of their breast cancer. Using a trajectory framework, the purpose of this study is to examine the differences in the physical and social well-being of women during the following breast cancer states: newly diagnosed, adjuvant therapy, stable disease and recurrent disease. The convenience sample consisted of 35 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, 52 women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant therapy, 84 women whose breast cancer was considered stable and 64 women with recurrent breast cancer. Participants completed a packet of questionnaires which contained a demographic questionnaire, Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey, a researcher designed (RD) questionnaire, Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System-Short Form (CARES-SF) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and general linear F-tests were used to analyze the data. Differences were found across phases of disease on various subscales, including those representing perceived health states, overall impact, medical interactions, physical function, role function, fatigue, pain, social function and satisfaction with health. No significant differences were found between groups on the BSI subscales with the exception of somatization, global psychosocial measures, sexual and marital relation subscales. While individuals with recurrent disease often experienced more difficulties with their well-being than women in the other groups, women newly diagnosed and in the adjuvant group experienced more difficulties in select areas of well-being when compared with women in the stable group. Health care professionals need to recognize differences between groups to better meet the needs of patients with a breast cancer diagnosis.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

CT of calcified bladder masses.

Calcifications observed in bladder lesions are seen on plain films with an incidence of 0.5-7.0%. Four cases of calcification were noted on CT in 38 consecutive bladder scans (10.5%). Calcifications were noted both on the surface, and within the lesions. One of the cases with malakoplakia had calcification. This has not been reported to date. With CT, it is expected that calcification in bladder lesions will be found with increasing incidence, and should be looked for.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quality of life and pain in patients with recurrent breast and gynecologic cancer.

Pain is a central factor affecting quality of life for the cancer patient. This descriptive study was designed to explore the relationship between pain and several factors affecting quality of life. The factors explored included physical and social functioning, emotional health, and spiritual commitment in women with recurrent breast or gynecologic cancer. Pain frequency, amount, and interference with activities were found to correlate more strongly with objective measures of quality of life (i.e., physical and social functioning) than subjective measures (i.e., psychological or spiritual dimensions).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An evaluation of postoperative follow-up tests in colon cancer patients treated for cure.

BACKGROUND: Currently patients with colon cancer who are potentially cured by surgery are followed periodically with physical examinations, blood tests and imaging studies to detect tumor recurrence early, on the presumption that intervention can effect outcome. There is little information to indicate whether frequent visits to the doctor's office or frequent testing improves survival or quality of life. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients with resected stage B2, B3 or C (modified Astler-Coller) colon cancer who developed recurrent disease while enrolled in prospective adjuvant trials at Mayo Clinic sponsored by the North Central Cancer Treatment Group were studied to evaluate the utility of follow-up tests to detect the first recurrence of colon cancer and the outcome following various interventions for these recurrences. These patients had a history, physical examination, complete blood count, chemistry panel and chest x-ray approximately every 3-4 months in the 1st year and then every 6-12 months thereafter for a total of 5 years. Bowel evaluation was done at 6 months, 12 months and annually thereafter. In addition, a minority of patients had carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) testing, and radioisotope liver scans at various intervals. RESULTS: Symptoms signaled the diagnosis of recurrent disease in 55 patients, physical examination in 4 patients, and abnormalities in chest x-ray in 18 patients. An elevated CEA was the initial abnormal test in 5 patients, abnormal liver scans in 5 patients, elevated liver function tests in 6 patients and laparotomy for other reasons in 2 patients. Hemoglobin, barium enema, and fecal blood testing were useful in 1 patient each. Thirty-one percent of recurrences were diagnosed between scheduled visits. In our series, histories, physical examinations, and chest x-rays led to the detection of 79% of the recurrences while liver function tests, liver scans and CEAs led to the detection of 16% of recurrences. Sixteen patients underwent resection for cure for their first recurrence; the diagnosis of recurrence was signaled by symptoms in 6 patients, chest x-ray in 6 patients and abnormal liver function tests, CEA, hemoglobin, and laparotomy for colostomy closure in 1 patient each. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of tumor recurrences were detected by symptoms, physical examinations and chest x-rays. Testing for asymptomatic tumor recurrences during the 1st follow-up year is likely to be much less fruitful for detecting resectable recurrences than testing patients in the 2nd through 4th follow-up years. Patients who had a disease recurrence in the 1st postoperative year were less likely to be candidates for curative intent surgery. Lower tumor grade at initial diagnosis correlated both with likelihood of undergoing secondary surgical resection and the chance of doing well following this. These data may be helpful for defining more appropriate follow-up test for detection of tumor recurrence in patients with resected colon cancer.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A multidisciplinary healthcare delivery model for women with breast cancer: patient satisfaction and physical and psychosocial adjustment.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To compare satisfaction with health and healthcare and physical and psychosocial adjustment of women who received their medical-oncology consultation in the hospital with that of women who received their consultation as part of a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational. SETTING: A large tertiary medical center in the Midwestern United States. SAMPLE: 55 of 66 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who received their medical-oncology consult in the hospital and 66 of 102 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who received their consult in the multidisciplinary outpatient clinic. Median participant age was 62 years in the hospital consultation group and 61 years in the outpatient group. METHODS: Participants completed the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System-Short Form and a researcher-designed satisfaction questionnaire. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Satisfaction with care and physical and psychosocial adjustment. FINDINGS: Women in the multidisciplinary outpatient clinic group reported significantly higher levels of physical function (p = 0.003) and satisfaction with their health (p < 0.01), physician (p < 0.001), and nursing care (p = 0.004) than women in the hospital group. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the positive benefits of a multidisciplinary team approach in which a concerted effort is placed on providing information and psychosocial support in the outpatient clinic setting. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: These findings point to the benefits of establishing a multidisciplinary clinic in the outpatient setting.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patients with reconstruction of craniofacial or intraoral defects: development of instruments to measure quality of life.

Patients with reconstruction of craniofacial or intraoral defects experience a profound impact on their quality of life (QOL). This impact on QOL is influenced by the patients' medical conditions and the treatment interventions. Instruments to measure general QOL have been available for many years. A major criticism of QOL instruments is that too often the questions are not specific to the particular problems of a disease or condition. A search of the literature regarding QOL measurement for patients with maxillofacial implant-supported prostheses produced a short list of instruments, none of which were sufficiently developed or suited to the patients involved in reconstructive treatment. This study was designed to develop pretreatment and posttreatment questionnaires for measuring QOL for patients with reconstruction of a craniofacial defect and patients with reconstruction of loss of specific intraoral structures utilizing an implant-supported prosthesis (e.g., severe resorption of the maxilla or mandible or both). The goal was to develop brief, targeted instruments for this specific patient population. The produced instruments were sensitive and easy to administer and score, and no disruption of clinical care occurred with the administration of the questionnaires. The instruments were used with equal success both in face-to-face interviews and via mail.

Dental Implantation, Endosseous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The psychological impact of modeling in a cancer survivors' fashion show.

Our objective was to assess whether cancer survivors can serve as models to promote cancer prevention and screening without suffering psychological discomfort themselves. The disease coping literature suggests that if women knew more about what cancer treatment and life after surviving cancer were like, they would be more likely to accept cancer screening tests. Because cancer survivors are living examples showing that people can survive and thrive after cancer, survivors have the potential to promote cancer screening by teaching others in their community. However, if cancer survivors are to be asked to accept this task, it is essential to demonstrate that this activity does not cause psychological suffering for them. Cancer survivors were invited (n = 31) or volunteered (n = 22) to model in a cancer survivors' fashion show. All were asked to complete a brief biographical sketch before the event and a convenience subsample was interviewed by a trained ethnographer. A brief questionnaire was mailed to the models after the event. Individuals who did not return the mailed questionnaire were contacted by telephone. Forty-two of the models completed the mailed questionnaire and 10 were contacted by telephone. The models tended to report that the experience was very positive for themselves (mean = 9.0, standard deviation [SD] = 1.3 on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is extremely negative and 10 is extremely positive) and for their family and friends who attended the fashion show (mean = 9.1, SD = 1.3 on the same scale). Under the proper conditions, modeling survivorship to others can be a rewarding experience for cancer survivors. While the models are easy to recruit, it remains to be demonstrated that cancer survivors are effective lay advocates for cancer prevention and screening. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): mammography, recruitment, cancer survivors, psychological effects.

Adaptation, Psychological↗