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Biomedical subjects

Philip Evans

Publications and source records attributed to Philip Evans.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Can cancer risk information raise awareness without increasing anxiety? A randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Promoting public awareness of cancer risk factors is an important public health goal, but there is concern that it could heighten anxiety. This study examined the impact of mailed information about colorectal cancer on awareness of risk factors, emotional well-being, and interest in attending screening in a population not previously exposed to screening. METHOD: Individuals (3,185) aged 45-66 years registered with general practitioners in South-West England in 2004 were randomized to (1) control group (no information), (2) information on colorectal cancer risk factors, or (3) information on risk factors and colorectal screening. All participants were sent a questionnaire assessing knowledge, anxiety, worry about colorectal cancer, and interest in screening. RESULTS: Questionnaires (1,945; 61%) were returned. As expected, participants receiving information had significantly greater knowledge than the control group. Anxiety scores were in the normal range and neither anxiety nor worry about cancer differed significantly between the groups. Ninety-three percent of respondents indicated they would be interested in screening, with equally high levels across groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that information leaflets can promote knowledge of cancer risk factors without increasing anxiety. Low-cost educational materials have the potential to contribute to public engagement with health promotion and disease prevention.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Scaling and assessment of data quality.

The various physical factors affecting measured diffraction intensities are discussed, as are the scaling models which may be used to put the data on a consistent scale. After scaling, the intensities can be analysed to set the real resolution of the data set, to detect bad regions (e.g. bad images), to analyse radiation damage and to assess the overall quality of the data set. The significance of any anomalous signal may be assessed by probability and correlation analysis. The algorithms used by the CCP4 scaling program SCALA are described. A requirement for the scaling and merging of intensities is knowledge of the Laue group and point-group symmetries: the possible symmetry of the diffraction pattern may be determined from scores such as correlation coefficients between observations which might be symmetry-related. These scoring functions are implemented in a new program POINTLESS.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

A portrait of the discipline of general practice/family medicine.

General practice/family medicine is the essential basis of health systems that are both clinically-effective and cost-effective. This paper describes the nature of General Practice and its role within health systems internationally, providing some comparisons between the UK National Health Service and other health systems worldwide. It has particular regard to current organisation and practice, education and training.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2003

Phasing the AP2 core complex with Xe, Hg and Se.

The 200 kDa core of the heterotetrameric AP2 clathrin adaptor complex was phased with xenon, mercury and selenomethionine derivatives. The phasing has been analysed in retrospect to determine how many of the derivative data sets were necessary for optimum phasing and what features were most useful in deciding which derivatives would make a positive contribution. The relative contributions of the different derivatives indicate that the most important phasing came from the two Xe data sets collected at long wavelengths (1.74 and 1.98 A) to enhance the anomalous signal. The mercury derivatives were less powerful but made a useful contribution, although inclusion of a poor second wavelength set was detrimental, probably because of radiation damage. The SeMet data were less useful for phasing because of incomplete incorporation of selenium owing to the expression conditions needed, but they were useful in chain-tracing.

Adaptor Protein Complex 2↗
PubMed2003

An investigation into asymmetrical cortical regulation of salivary S-IgA in conscious man using transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can activate discrete areas of the cerebral cortex through the intact skull of healthy conscious volunteers. A magnetic coil generates a brief and focused magnetic field that penetrates the skull to activate the specific area of cerebral cortex beneath. This non-invasive procedure is painless, well tolerated by participants and now widely used to explore brain function. We used TMS to investigate asymmetrical cortical regulatory influences on one aspect of immune function: secretion of the antibody immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) into saliva. The right and left temporo-parietal-occipital cortex of 16 healthy, conscious subjects was stimulated on two different occasions, at least 1 week apart. There was an immediate increase in S-IgA concentration following both right and left stimulation. Saliva volume was reduced immediately post-right but not left stimulation. When secretion (microg/min) of S-IgA was calculated (controlling for changing saliva volume) an increase was apparent following left but not right hemisphere stimulation. Furthermore, a significant difference between the relationship between S-IgA concentration and volume of saliva post-left and right stimulation was observed. We conclude that TMS can be used as a tool to investigate cortical regulation of autonomic and immune function in healthy, conscious human subjects and that secretion of saliva and S-IgA is differentially affected by stimulation of the left and right cerebral cortex.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2003

The doctor-patient relationship in US primary care.

Changes in the organization of primary care in the UK are driven by a need to improve access and availability, but doctor-patient relationships may suffer. To investigate the importance of such relationships in a different setting, we analysed focus-group data obtained in a primary care facility in the USA (Rochester, NY). The findings pointed to three key factors in these relationships-namely, an asymmetry of perceptions on the two sides, belying the notion of a meeting of experts; the importance on both sides of 'liking'; and the value set by both parties on development of trust. The last two of these factors are probably related to continuity of care, now under threat.

Continuity of Patient Care↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Collaboration rules.

Corporate leaders seeking to boost growth, learning, and innovation may find the answer in a surprising place: the Linux open-source software community. Linux is developed by an essentially volunteer, self-organizing community of thousands of programmers. Most leaders would sell their grandmothers for workforces that collaborate as efficiently, frictionlessly, and creatively as the self-styled Linux hackers. But Linux is software, and software is hardly a model for mainstream business. The authors have, nonetheless, found surprising parallels between the anarchistic, caffeinated, hirsute world of Linux hackers and the disciplined, tea-sipping, clean-cut world of Toyota engineering. Specifically, Toyota and Linux operate by rules that blend the self-organizing advantages of markets with the low transaction costs of hierarchies. In place of markets' cash and contracts and hierarchies' authority are rules about how individuals and groups work together (with rigorous discipline); how they communicate (widely and with granularity); and how leaders guide them toward a common goal (through example). Those rules, augmented by simple communication technologies and a lack of legal barriers to sharing information, create rich common knowledge, the ability to organize teams modularly, extraordinary motivation, and high levels of trust, which radically lowers transaction costs. Low transaction costs, in turn, make it profitable for organizations to perform more and smaller transactions--and so increase the pace and flexibility typical of high-performance organizations. Once the system achieves critical mass, it feeds on itself. The larger the system, the more broadly shared the knowledge, language, and work style. The greater individuals' reputational capital, the louder the applause and the stronger the motivation. The success of Linux is evidence of the power of that virtuous circle. Toyota's success is evidence that it is also powerful in conventional companies.

Automobiles↗