Analysis of multicomponent exponential curves by the Post-Widder's equation.
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Computers↗
Biomedical subjects
S Dawson
Publications and source records attributed to S Dawson.
Factors determining outcome of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis C cirrhosis.
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Adult↗
The use of sequence analysis of a feline calicivirus (FCV) hypervariable region in the epidemiological investigation of FCV related disease and vaccine failures.
A reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 235 bp hypervariable region of the feline calicivirus (FCV) genome which encodes part of the capsid protein. Sequence from this region was used to compare viruses used in three attenuated vaccines to viruses isolated from vaccinated cats with clinical signs of FCV-infection (vaccine failures). All three vaccine viruses contained sequence similar to that published for FCV strain F9 (Carter et al. 1992, Virology 190, 443-448). However, two of the three vaccines contained a separate sequence which was 20.67% distant (number of nucleotide substitutions per 100 bases) from F9. The sequences derived from isolates obtained from vaccine failures fell into two categories. Most were distinct (21.33-38.00% distant) from vaccine sequence. However, in some cases, sequences were sufficiently similar to the vaccines' (0.00-5.33% distant) to suggest that the isolate may have originated from the vaccine. In addition, comparison of sequence determined for isolates from the same disease outbreak showed them to be closely related (0.00-1.33% distant), whereas epidemiologically unrelated isolates were 20.67-38.00% distant.
Animals↗
Genetic variation at the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 locus is associated with altered levels of plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a rapid inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator, has been shown to be an independent risk factor for recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) at a young age. To investigate whether genetic variation in the PAI-1 gene is affecting plasma PAI-1 levels, a sample of 145 patients with an MI before the age of 45 years was genotyped for two polymorphisms at the PAI-1 locus, together with a sample of 95 healthy individuals of a similar age. All individuals were measured for plasma PAI-1 levels as well as for other fibrinolytic and metabolic risk indicators. A HindIII restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used in this study in conjunction with a previously unreported eight-allele dinucleotide repeat polymorphism at the PAI-1 locus. The dinucleotide repeat polymorphism and HindIII RFLP were in strong linkage disequilibrium. There was no difference in the frequency of alleles of either polymorphism between patient and control groups. However, the smaller dinucleotide repeat alleles were significantly associated (p = 0.03) with higher plasma PAI-1 levels in the patient sample. This association was also apparent in the control sample but not at significant levels. Differences in regression coefficients for the effect of triglycerides on plasma PAI-1 levels suggest that triglyceride regulation of PAI-1 is genotype specific. Our data suggest that genetic variation at this locus contributes to between-individual differences in the level of plasma PAI-1, which is important in fibrinolysis and the pathogenesis of MI.
Adult↗
The role of occupational therapy groups in an Australian hospice.
The hospice philosophy plays an important role in the delivery of health services that focus on the biopsychological needs of people with a terminal illness and their environment. Occupational therapy in hospice can provide an environment which will enable people to discover and respond to their own inner needs. The occupational therapy setting creates an environment which provides people with the opportunity to carry out activities which they are interested in, to socialize with others, and to experience the philosophy of hospice. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of groups with occupational therapy in hospice. A literature search, participant observation, interviews and discussion indicate that music, massage, and beauty treatment are important aspects of care for the dying person.
Australia↗
Pre-amputation assessment using Roy's Adaptation Model.
This article describes the use of Roy's Adaptation Model as a framework for the assessment of a 69-year-old man undergoing a right below-knee amputation. The model recognizes that individuals are subject to internal and external stressors which can lead to adaptive or ineffective responses. The practitioner can help the patient to make adaptive responses to these stimuli through nursing interventions. The components of the model are illustrated using the patient as a case study. A comprehensive assessment in the four adaptive modes (physiological, self-concept, role function and interdependence) is undertaken and nursing diagnoses are made.
Activities of Daily Living↗
A preoperative protocol for the prevention of infection in children with tunnelled right atrial catheters.
The use of central venous lines has come to be widely accepted by children with cancer and their families. However, attendant infection is a cause of considerable morbidity. Coagulase-negative staphylococci, the predominant aerobic species on the skin, are now the commonest cause of catheter-related bacteremia. We introduced a protocol to reduce the colonization of the skin at the catheter insertion site. Antiseptic skin scrubs, with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate, were performed on the neck and anterior chest the night before and again on the morning of the surgical procedure. A single dose of cephalothin (or vancomycin for penicillin-allergic patients) was administered IV immediately before the operation. Compared to the 12 month period prior to initiation of this protocol, the rate of infections (occurring within 30 days of catheter placement) in the 3.5 year period of intervention dropped from 8 to 4.9 per 1,000 catheter days. The proportion of infections that were staphylococcal was reduced from 93 to 63% and the proportion of non-ports removed within 30 days of placement fell from 45 to 0%. Despite these changes, the major contribution to improved infection control appeared to be the use of an increased proportion of ports (a rise from <10 to almost 60%).
Administration, Topical↗
Circadian distribution of iron and ferritin in serum of healthy and type 2 diabetic males.
AIM: We examined the circulating levels of iron and ferritin in serum of seven healthy and three insulin non-dependent diabetic (Type 2) males in order to compare their circadian characteristics. METHODS: Blood samples were collected every 3h over a 24h period and were analyzed for serum iron and ferritin. RESULTS: The mean Fe level was significantly higher in healthy than in diabetic subjects: 80.0 +/- 3.3 vs. 63.0 +/- 3.7 microg/dL. The ferritin level was significantly lower in healthy than in diabetic men: 79.8 +/- 4.7 vs. 186.3 +/- 110.5 microg/L. A significant (p < 0.001) time-effect was found by ANOVA and circadian rhythm was detected at p < 0.001 in all data sets when a 24h cosine was fitted to the normalized data. Acrophases were located in mid to late morning for Fe (11:30, vs. 09:22h) and for ferritin (11:10 vs. 11:46h). DISCUSSION: We concluded that there is significant circadian variation in both serum Fe and ferritin, with predictable peaks in the mid to late morning.
Aged↗
Circadian distribution of hematology variables in subjects with multiple sclerosis.
Hematology variables were measured in blood samples obtained every 3h (8/24h) from 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 34 healthy subjects and analyzed for circadian characteristics using the population multiple-components method. Red blood cell (RBC) and hemoglobin levels as well as hematocrits exhibited circadian rhythms with minimal amplitudes in healthy individuals and insignificant variability in the smaller group of MS patients. In contrast the total white blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts for MS patients and healthy individuals both showed significant circadian characteristics while the mean 24h WBC and platelet levels did not significantly differ between the two groups. When the different WBC subsets were examined independently, statistically significant circadian rhythms were seen for lymphocytes and eosinophils for both MS patients and healthy individuals and for neutrophils only in the latter. Moreover, the 24h mean levels of lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils were significantly higher for the healthy controls while those of monocytes were higher for the MS patients. However, of all the variables tested with significant circadian rhythms in both groups of individuals, only those of lymphocyte numbers exhibited different patterns with somewhat higher amplitude in healthy individuals and a peak level occurring over an hour after that of MS patients. These changes may be the reflection of a disturbance in the regulation of patterns of lymphocyte activity and migration in MS patients. In addition, the elevation in circulating monocytes in MS patients is consistent with the inflammatory nature of the disease.
Adult↗