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R Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to R Cooper.

445 records · Page 25Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Wound colonization and infection: the role of topical antimicrobials.

Infection and bacterial colonization are important factors in compromised wound healing, particularly in chronic wounds. The current "best practice" for controlling these factors is still unclear. Systemic antibiotics are generally accepted as being the preferred choice for treating infection, provided that ischaemia does not interfere. However, their widespread systemic and topical use is leading to the emergence of resistant bacterial strains such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Colonization of wounds presents a double problem: possible delayed healing if out of balance with the immune system; and as a source for cross-infection. Managing colonization is not yet defined in best practice. The judicious use of dressings, notably those containing certain antiseptic agents, can be valuable in infection control and in promoting healing. This review states the case for taking the antiseptic route as part of the concerted approach to local wound management and infection control.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in an African, urban inner city community.

With the epidemiological transition phenomenon, more countries are expected to move from a disease pattern dominated by infectious diseases to one characterised by non-communicable diseases. Many developing countries are contending with infectious diseases as well as non-communicable diseases, yet little is known about the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in poor urban communities in developing countries. The objective of this community based study was to determine the prevalence of selected cardiovascular risk factors in an urban inner city community which had been followed up prospectively from 1993 to 1998. Results show that the prevalence of hypertension (Blood Pressure BP > 160/95 mm Hg) was 12.4 percent with an age-adjusted rate of 7.4 percent. This is higher than what is found in the rural parts of the country but much lower than what is generally observed in industrialized countries of the world. Though there was no significant difference in the proportion with hypertension by gender (P > 0.05), the mean systolic BP was significantly higher for men (123.9 +/- 23.9) mm Hg) than for women (120.6 +/- 26.8 mg Hg) t = 2.93, p < 0.01. The mean diastolic BP was similarly higher for men (75.8 +/- 14.9) mm Hg than women (74.0 +/- 14.9) mm Hg t = 2.76 p < 0.01). Eight percent of the study population were obese (BMI > 30), and generally, more women than men were obese. However, at ages 15-19 significantly more males than females were obese (X2 = 73, p < 0.01). Both mean systolic and diastolic BP increased with increasing weight. When adjusting for gender, the association between hypertension and other CVD risk factors remained similar for males and females and gender was not a modifier of the factors. Of the CVD risk factors studied, Age > 40 years and obesity, were significantly associated with the presence of hypertension in this community (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001), smoking, alcohol intake and gender were not (P > 0.05). It is necessary to implement a national plan for the control of cardiovascular diseases in order to reduce and keep to minimum cardiovascular diseases and its complications in the country.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The use of honey in wound management.

Honey has been used as a wound treatment for more than 2,000 years. Greater scientific understanding of how it works, particularly as an antibacterial agent, has led practitioners to reconsider the therapeutic value of honey. Once honey is commercially available as a regulated product in the UK, practitioners will have access to an effective, alternative wound treatment. Specific, sterilised honeys intended for wound care will provide a safe natural product to manage colonised or infected wounds that would otherwise remain unresponsive to treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The promise--and peril--of integrated cost systems.

Recent advances in managerial accounting have helped executives get the information they need to make good strategic decisions. But today's enterprise resource planning systems promise even greater benefits--the chance to integrate activity-based costing, operational-control, and financial reporting systems. But managers need to approach integration very thoughtfully, or they could end up with a system that drives decision making in the wrong direction. Operational-control and ABC systems have fundamentally different purposes. Their requirements for accuracy, timeliness, and aggregation are so different that no single, fully integrated approach can be adequate for both purposes. If an integrated system used real-time cost data instead of standard rates in its ABC subsystem, for example, the result would be dangerously distorted messages about individual product profitability--and that's precisely the problem ABC systems were originally designed to address. Proper linkage and feedback between the two systems is possible, however. Through activity-based budgeting, the ABC system is linked directly to operations control: managers can determine the supply and practical capacity of resources in forthcoming periods. Linking operational control to ABC is also possible. The activity-based portion of an operational control system collects information that, while it mustn't be fed directly into the activity-based strategic cost system, can be extremely useful once it's been properly analyzed. Finally, ABC and operational control can be linked to financial reporting to generate cost of goods sold and inventory valuations--but again, with precautions.

Budgets↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Simvastatin did not prevent nor restore ovariectomy-induced bone loss in adult rats.

Current published results on whether statins have beneficial effects on bone metabolism have been conflicting so far. In order to further investigate if statins were promising candidates for the treatment for osteoporosis, we conducted a study in which rats were ovariectomized (OVX) at 6 months of age, allowed to lose bone for 60 days and followed by oral administration of simvastatin at the dose levels of 0.3-10 mg/kg/d for 60 days. PGE2 (6 mg/kg) was used as a positive control. Study endpoints included bone histomorphometry on the proximal tibial metaphysis (PTM) and the tibial diaphysis (TX), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry on the right femur and micro computed tomography (ICT) on the 5th lumbar vertebra (LV). After 120 days of OVX, cancellous bone lost by 80% in the PTM and 18% in the LV accompanied by increased bone formation and resorption. Simvastatin at all dose levels did not affect bone volume, bone formation rate and bone erosion surface when compared to 120 day ovariectomized animals at all bone sites studied. By contrast, PGE2 restored cancellous and cortical bone area to sham control levels. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that unlike PGE2, oral administration of simvastatin did not have effects on cancellous or cortical bone formation and resorption; and consequently was not able to prevent further bone loss or restore bone mass in the osteopenic, OVX rats.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The population attributable risk of hypertension from heavy alcohol consumption.

The association between alcohol consumption and hypertension was studied in 11,899 men aged 40-55 years. The prevalence of hypertension among heavy drinkers was significantly higher than among those who did not drink heavily. Heavy drinking was defined as consumption of five or more drinks daily or four or more drinks daily. A total of 136 persons fulfilled the five drinks or more per day definition and 230, the four drinks daily definition. The population-attributable risk of hypertension contributed by heavy drinking, depending on the diagnostic criteria used to define each endpoint, varied from 3 to 12 percent. There is reason to suspect that the contribution of alcohol to hypertension in the general population may be somewhat higher at the present time than in the late 1950s when the study was conducted. Moderation of alcohol consumption, in addition to weight reduction and salt restriction, is another important nonpharmacological means to control hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A blood pressure survey in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

A blood pressure survey was carried out in 1976 in the city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, which involved 6,351 persons 30-69 years old. The study sample was recruited so as to represent an approximation of the overall distribution of occupational classes in the urban population. Members of the population sample were relatively young and of low educational attainment. To the extent that comparisons among surveys are feasible, mean blood pressure levels and hypertension rates were roughly comparable to those found in the white population of the United States. Although no firm conclusions can be drawn from the survey, a trend toward somewhat higher hypertension rates within the professional and managerial class was observed in some age groups in Laredo.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control among African Americans in the 1990s: estimates from the Maywood Cardiovascular Survey.

During the last decade, the decline in cardiovascular disease mortality slowed among African Americans, compared to the general population. Hypertension control is likely to play an important role in determining these trends. The Maywood Cardiovascular Survey provides estimates of the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among African Americans. Between 1991 and 1993, we conducted a cardiovascular disease survey among 1,524 African Americans living in the Chicago suburb of Maywood, Illinois. Estimates of the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension (defined as blood pressure [BP] > or = 140/90 mm Hg or self-reported taking of antihypertensive medications) were calculated and compared to U.S. population estimates for African Americans from NHANES II and III. The prevalence of hypertension in our sample was 32.7% (30.3, 35.1). After age-adjustment to the U.S. population, prevalence was 29.9% (27.9, 31.9), which is nonsignificantly lower than that reported for African Americans in NHANES III (32.4% [30.2, 34.6]). Awareness, pharmacologic treatment, and control on pharmacologic treatment were 81%, 56%, and 55%, respectively. These estimates are, respectively, 15%, 27%, and 42% higher than NHANES II and 7%, 9%, and 11% higher than NHANES III. Nonpharmacologic treatment alone may have accounted for up to 34% of hypertension control overall. Among previously diagnosed hypertensive subjects, risk factors for being untreated were male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3 [1.3, 21.3]) and age < 45 years (OR = 3.8 [1.1, 12.8]), and for being uncontrolled was age > or = 65 years (OR = 1.9 [1.1, 3.0]). Rates of hypertension awareness, pharmacologic treatment, and control on pharmacologic treatment are higher in this sample of African Americans than among African Americans in NHANES II and are comparable to those in NHANES III. The impact of nonpharmacologic treatments on control needs further consideration. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): hypertension, nonpharmacologic treatment, African-American males.

Adult↗