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Biomedical subjects

R Brown

Publications and source records attributed to R Brown.

At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources

Opportunity and the charge nurse.

Nursing Standard has, over the past six weeks, produced a series of articles dealing with issues in ward management for charge nurses. Series co-ordinator Ros Brown now offers a postscript which acts as a conclusion for the series and reflects on the dilemmas and opportunities which face charge nurses as they enter into the world of purchasers and providers, hospital Trusts and PREPP. It is essential that the role of the charge nurse is not only preserved in this changing climate, she argues, but is cultivated, nurtured and recognised as an indispensable function. The future looks bright for those prepared to discard the habits of the past and grasp the challenges of the present.

Clinical Competence↗

Strategic stories: how 3M is rewriting business planning.

Virtually all business plans are written as a list of bullet points. Despite the skill or knowledge of their authors, these plans usually aren't anything more than lists of "good things to do." For example: Increase sales by 10%. Reduce distribution costs by 5%. Develop a synergistic vision for traditional products. Rarely do these lists reflect deep thought or inspire commitment. Worse, they don't specify critical relationships between the points, and they can't demonstrate how the goals will be achieved. 3M executive Gordon Shaw began looking for a more coherent and compelling way to present business plans. He found it in the form of strategic stories. Telling stories was already a habit of mind at 3M. Stories about the advent of Post-it Notes and the invention of masking tape help define 3M's identity. They're part of the way people at 3M explain themselves to their customers and to one another. Shaw and his coauthors examine how business plans can be transformed into strategic narratives. By painting a picture of the market, the competition, and the strategy needed to beat the competition, these narratives can fill in the spaces around the bullet points for those who will approve and those who will implement the strategy. When people can locate themselves in the story, their sense of commitment and involvement is enhanced. By conveying a powerful impression of the process of winning, narrative plans can mobilize an entire organization.

Commerce↗

Evaluating cost center productivity.

The monthly and yearly productivity summaries were developed and applied to a computer spreadsheet to aid the nurse manager in better understanding and communicating budget issues for diverse ambulatory care departments. A computerized spreadsheet using a commercially available personal computer program, such as Lotus, Quattro Pro, or Excel, can be used to more quickly and accurately track and summarize monthly budget reports. The data can be entered into the spreadsheet either manually or imported by query from the financial mainframe system. Contact your agency's finance or information department for information on how to accomplish this. Periodically acuity and resources should be measured and compared with quality monitors to maintain standards. For the past 10 years, our facility has successfully used this tool to make more informed decisions by identifying trouble spots early, and taking corrective action to avoid crisis management.

Ambulatory Care↗

Perceptions of nursing students on men entering nursing as a career.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of nursing students who were enrolled in an under-graduate nursing programme in a rural university, on men entering nursing as a career. Questionnaires were returned by 38 males (63%) and 117 females (50%). The major findings were that male nursing students intend to work in specialty areas such as emergency nursing, operating room nursing and intensive care. Both male and female nursing students perceived that the public displayed an increasing respect and acceptance of male nurses. Differences between male and female nursing students were evident in demographic characteristics, course interests, career aspirations, motivating factors and barriers associated with males choosing a nursing career.

Adult↗

Carcinogenesis and the response of tumours to anticancer drugs.

Tumour development is the consequence of a multistep process involving the activation of oncogenes and loss of tumour suppressor gene function. The study of molecular alterations which accompany carcinogenesis and distinguish the tumour from its normal cellular counterpart, may provide a basis for the in vivo development of drug resistance and facilitate the rational design of anticancer drugs which exploit these differences. In this review we shal discuss some of the effects of carcinogen exposure in relation to how this may influence the response of a tumour to chemotherapy.

Animals↗

Suppression of immunity to influenza virus infection in the respiratory tract following sleep disturbance.

The extent to which sleep deprivation interferes with immunity in the respiratory tract to influenza virus has been assessed in mice. Mice were orally immunized with influenza virus on two occasions separated by a one week interval and challenged intranasally one week later. Some animals were deprived of sleep for a 7 h period immediately following challenge. Three days after challenge, virus clearance and virus specific antibody were determined in lungs of sleep deprived and normally sleeping mice and the results compared with unimmunized mice subjected to the same protocol. Whereas immunized, normal sleep mice achieved total virus clearance, sleep deprivation in immunized mice completely abrogated this effect such that sleep deprived animals behaved as though they had never been immunized. There was no difference in viral clearance in unimmunized mice whether sleep deprived or not, indicating that sleep deprivation did not itself have a direct effect on viral replication. The data reported here support the concept that sleep is a behavioral state which is essential for optimal immune function in the presence of a respiratory tract pathogen.

Administration, Oral↗

The symptomatic status of patients one year following revascularization by either coronary surgery or angioplasty.

This study consisted of a one year clinical follow-up of 81 patients who had coronary revascularization. In 32 patients, this was accomplished by bypass surgery and in 49, by percutaneous angioplasty. Prior to the procedure the two groups of patients were similar with regard to age, sex, antianginal medication and angina severity with 75% of the surgical patients and 65% of the angioplasty patients in CCS Angina Class III or IV. Although most of the surgical patients had multivessel disease and most of the angioplasty patients had single vessel disease, all had complete revascularization. At one year, 78% of the surgical patients and 84% of the angioplasty patients did not have angina and few patients in either group were taking medication. However, in the intervening year 39% of the angioplasty patients had had a second revascularization procedure, whereas, only 3% of the surgical patients required a second procedure. Extracardiac sequelae were more frequent in the surgical cohort. Therefore, at one year following complete revascularization, bypass surgery and angioplasty result in comparable symptomatic and functional improvement.

Adult↗

N-ras and human cancer.

Activated N-ras genes have been detected in a variety of human tumours and tumour derived cell lines. It has been proposed that mutation or amplification of an N-ras gene represents one of the key steps in the development of some human tumours. Here we discuss the various methods by which activated N-ras genes have been detected, the ways in which they have become activated, and their contributions to the transformed phenotype.

Animals↗

Rapid determination of low pg/mg amounts of N-nitrosodimethylamine in rodent body fluid and tissue samples by low resolution mass spectrometry.

A rapid, sensitive, specific, and cost-effective method for the determination of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in rodent tissue and body fluid samples is reported. The method involves isolation of the NDMA from the samples with subsequent detection and quantitation of observed NDMA against a mass labeled N-[15N]nitrosodimethyl-[15N]amine ([15N]NDMA) internal standard by capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. Validation of the method includes linearity studies of NDMA response, calculation of the relative response factor (RRF) for NDMA vs. [15N]NDMA, and absolute recovery studies. Estimates of precision, detection limit, and minimum quantifiable limit are also reported.

Animals↗

External iliac artery occlusion by bicycle handle injury.

Blunt injury in a youth to the external iliac artery with secondary thrombosis, associated clinically with a seemingly minor blunt injury to the right lower quadrant of the abdomen, is presented. Symptoms were delayed, but eventually became dramatic. The methods of diagnosis and evaluation are discussed and the selection of the operative procedure is outlined. The potential of significant vascular injury should be suspected and followed closely in all blunt injuries in the proximity of major vascular conduits. Early and aggressive treatment in the young is mandatory to prevent not only the usual complications of limb ischemia, but the discrepant limb lengths seen in the growing youth deprived of normal circulation to an extremity.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases↗