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Biomedical subjects

S Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to S Taylor.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Exploratory factor analysis of the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale in patients with chronic pain complaints.

The Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale (PASS) is a 40-item self-report measure that consists of four subscales measuring aspects of pain-related anxiety and avoidance. Despite its growing popularity, there have been few studies of its psychometric properties. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure of the PASS in a sample of 259 chronic pain patients. Principal component analysis with oblique (Oblimin) rotation provided partial support for the factorial validity of the PASS. Five factors were extracted: (1) catastrophic thoughts, (2) physiological anxiety symptoms, (3) escape/avoidance behaviours, (4) cognitive interference, and (5) coping strategies. The use of analgesic medication did not influence the factor solution. The factors were characterised by correlating them with pain-related measures, and with measures of mood state. Implications are considered for revising the PASS subscales to provide a more comprehensive and factorially valid assessment of pain-related fear and avoidance.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Expression of the neonatal Fc receptor, FcRn, on human intestinal epithelial cells.

Maternal IgG is transferred to the suckling mouse and rat through a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-related Fc receptor (FcRn) on the brush border of the proximal small intestine. We have previously described a site on the epithelial surface of the human fetal intestine with IgG binding characteristics similar to FcRn. We report here the identification by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of the human orthologue of rat and mouse FcRn in tissue obtained from human fetal and adult intestine. FcRn protein was detected in adult human intestine by western blot. Immunohistochemical studies of sections of human intestine show that the FcRn is localized mostly to the epithelial cells, where it is in the apical region. These data suggest that the binding of IgG previously seen in the fetal intestine is due to the presence of FcRn. Potential roles for this MHC class I-like Fc receptor in the human intestine include the transfer of passive immunity, induction of oral tolerance, and immunosurveillance.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Case mix type as a predictor of nursing workload.

In the current health care service, the need to measure nursing workload has become the subject of major debate. Attempts have been made to relate workload and nurse staffing, however, despite there being systems for this there appears to be no single recognized formula. Case mix groups have been advocated as a useful tool for measuring nursing workload, particularly in Canada where work continues. Case mix groups work on the basis that patients who are clinically similar and use equivalent resources are grouped using procedure and diagnostic codes. The retrospective study examines the relationship between case mix, resource utilization and nursing effort to determine whether future workload could be predicted using these parameters. The sample included 798 patients and 30 nurses over the period 1993-1994 with analysis of data from the Patient Administration System (PAS) and TEAMWORK, which purports to measure nurse workload. Results showed that there was little relationship between nursing workload and case mix grouping and recommendations are made for future research.

Diagnosis-Related Groups↗
PubMed1997

A new dynamic tool to perform assembly of expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

MOTIVATION: Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) are short single-pass DNA sequences obtained from either ends of cDNA clones. To exploit these sequences efficiently, a dynamic Web-tool has been developed which uses these data to perform fast virtual cloning of cDNAs. RESULTS: Starting with a query sequence, the user is able to identify related ESTs and extend the sequence of interest step by step, possibly to a full-length transcript. Graphical views of the clustering are used to monitor the progress of a particular 'cloning' project. Potential open reading frames are detected by positional base preference, and hyperlinks to other Worldwide Web sites allows the user to retrieve information relevant to each EST in a cluster (e.g. sequence traces, clone size, plate position). Apart from cDNA cloning, this tool also provides a mechanism for collating gene families and polymorphism sites.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1997

Integration of surgery in multimodality therapy for esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: While adding chemotherapy to radiation for the treatment of esophageal cancers has been shown to be beneficial, surgery usually follows treatment or is omitted. In either case, regional control remains problematic. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of using chemotherapy and radiation following surgery in the treatment of of esophageal cancer and to assess the impact of this approach on regional control and survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-five patients with esophageal cancer were treated in a phase I pilot protocol consisting of initial esophagectomy with gastroesophagostomy and subsequent combined chemotherapy and radiation. Chemotherapy consisted of cisplatin given on day 1 and 5-fluorouracil (FU) on days 1-5 by continuous infusion. Radiation therapy was administered in varying fractionation schedules of once or twice daily concomitantly with the chemotherapy. Treatment was repeated every other week for two to four cycles. Median follow-up was 42 months. RESULTS: Acute toxicities (mucositis and cytopenias) were common but not worse than grade 3. Higher doses of 50 Gy with 2 Gy b.i.d. hyperfractionation caused late complications in four of 10 patients, (two lethal). Control of local disease for all patients was excellent with only two known and two possible local recurrences (16%) but distant metastases were common (46%). Disease-free survival was 58 and 30% at 1 and 2 years, respectively. Survival was 58 and 32% at 1 and 2 years, respectively (median survival, 19 months). CONCLUSION: The local control rate and survival were better than those in our historical experience with cisplatin and 5-FU chemotherapy and radiation given prior to surgery. A dose-fractionation schedule of < 2 Gy up to a total of 50 Gy b.i.d. is recommended to avoid late adverse effects. The role of surgery will be defined by randomized studies. Better systemic therapy is needed to impact on systemic failure.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1997

The effects of respiratory alkalosis and acidosis on net bicarbonate flux along the rat loop of Henle in vivo.

We have studied the effects of acute respiratory alkalosis (ARALK, hyperventilation) and acidosis (ARA, 8% CO2), chronic respiratory acidosis (CRA; 10% CO2 for 7-10 days), and subsequent recovery from CRA breathing air on loop of Henle (LOH) net bicarbonate flux (JHCO3) by in vivo tubule microperfusion in anesthetized rats. In ARALK blood, pH increased to 7.6, and blood bicarbonate concentration ([HCO3-]) decreased from 29 to 22 mM. Fractional urinary bicarbonate excretion (FEHCO3) increased threefold, but LOH JHCO3 was unchanged. In ARA, blood pH fell to 7.2, and blood [HCO3-] rose from 28 to 34 mM; FEHCO3 was reduced to < 0.1%, but LOH JHCO3 was unaltered. In CRA, blood pH fell to 7.2, and blood [HCO3-] increased to > 50 mM, whereas FEHCO3 decreased to < 0.1%. JHCO3 was reduced by approximately 30%. Bicarbonaturia occurred when CRA rats breathed air, yet LOH JHCO3 increased (by 30%) to normal. These results suggest that LOH JHCO3 is affected by the blood-to-tubule lumen [HCO3-] gradient and HCO3- backflux. When the usual perfusing solution at 20 nl/min was made HCO3- free, mean JHCO3 was -34.5 +/- 4.4 pmol/min compared with 210 +/- 28.1 pmol/min plus HCO3-. When a low-NaCl perfusate (to minimize net fluid absorption) containing mannitol and acetazolamide (2 x 10(-4) M, to abolish H(+)-dependent JHCO3) was used, JHCO3 was -112.8 +/- 5.6 pmol/min. Comparable values for JHCO3 at 10 nl/min were -35.9 +/- 5.8 and -72.5 +/- 8.8 pmol/min, respectively. These data indicate significant backflux of HCO3-along the LOH, which depends on the blood-to-lumen [HCO3-] gradient; in addition to any underlying changes in active acid-base transport mechanisms, HCO3- permeability and backflux are important determinants of LOH JHCO3 in vivo.

Acidosis, Respiratory↗
PubMed1997

Cognitive restructuring in the treatment of social phobia. Efficacy and mode of action.

Cognitive restructuring (CR) is commonly used to treat social phobia, although its contribution to treatment efficacy has not been established. CR requires the person to think about and discuss feared social events with his or her therapist and thus entails some degree of exposure to social stimuli. CR also is thought to enhance the efficacy of therapeutic exposure exercises (EXP). Four predictions were tested based on this model: Relative to a control intervention matched for the exposure inherent in CR, CR is more effective in (1) reducing social phobia, (2) reducing negative social cognitions, (3) increasing positive cognitions, and (4) enhancing the effects of subsequent EXP. People with generalized social phobia (N = 60) were randomly assigned to CR followed by EXP or to a control intervention followed by EXP. Support was found for predictions 1 to 3, but not 4.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Attitude toward medication and perceived competence among chronically psychotic patients.

19 chronically psychotic outpatients who had consistently expressed doubt about their need for psychotropic medication provided significantly more inflated estimates of their performance on a problem-solving task than 18 subjects who had not expressed such skepticism. The findings are consistent with the view that the observed relationship between denial of deficits and noncompliance with treatment among psychotic individuals is a function of a broader pattern of self-deception.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Labor pain is reduced by massage therapy.

Twenty-eight women were recruited from prenatal classes and randomly assigned to receive massage in addition to coaching in breathing from their partners during labor, or to receive coaching in breathing alone (a technique learned during prenatal classes). The massaged mothers reported a decrease in depressed mood, anxiety and pain, and showed less agitated activity and anxiety and more positive affect following the first massage during labor. In addition, the massaged mothers had significantly shorter labors, a shorter hospital stay and less postpartum depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Regrowth resistance as a likely significant contributor to treatment failure in drug-sensitive neoplastic diseases.

Attempts to improve the effectiveness of therapy for neoplastic diseases have largely focused on increasing the cytotoxic efficacy of therapy. While this approach is logical, there is another approach, based on the concept of regrowth resistance, which offers an alternate means of improving treatment outcome. The term "regrowth resistance" refers to the reduction in treatment efficacy resulting from the regrowth of neoplastic cells between courses of therapy or even between doses of radiation therapy. Regrowth resistance is likely to play a significant role in determining the outcome of treatment in rapidly proliferating neoplasms. A reduction in the rate of tumor regrowth would increase the net effectiveness of cytotoxic therapy and would also inhibit the development of resistance to cytotoxic therapies.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1997

Adolescents' perceptions of family responsibility-taking.

A scale was developed to solicit adolescents' perceptions of their family responsibility-taking (defined as helping out and being supportive). Four hundred adolescents were administered this scale together with self-report measures of intimacy with parents and peers as well as other psychological variables (self-esteem, depression, risk-taking, and drug use). The results revealed that adolescents who felt they assumed more family responsibility reported less depression, more intimate relationships with their parents, and higher self-esteem.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

High-performance chromatographic assay for the sulphoxide metabolite of 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine in human urine.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the determination in human urine of GI138870X, the sulphoxide metabolite of a novel dideoxynucleoside analogue, 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine (lamivudine). GI138870X was extracted from human urine using Empore SDB RPS solid-phase extraction disks prior to reversed-phase chromatography with UV detection. The method has shown to be valid over the concentration range 0.5-100 micrograms/ml using a 0.5-ml sample volume.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed1996

Cardiovascular risk factors in British children from towns with widely differing adult cardiovascular mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether cardiovascular risk factors differ in children from towns in England and Wales with widely differing adult cardiovascular death rates. DESIGN: School based survey conducted during 1994 in 10 towns, five with exceptionally high adult cardiovascular mortality (standardised mortality ratio 131-143) and five with exceptionally low adult cardiovascular mortality (64-75). Towns were surveyed in high-low pairs. SUBJECTS: 3415 white children aged 8-11 years with physical measurements (response rate 75%), including 1287 with blood samples (response rate 64%), of whom 515 had blood samples taken 30 minutes after a glucose load. RESULTS: Children in towns with high cardiovascular mortality were on average shorter than those in towns with low mortality (mean difference 1.2 cm; 95% confidence interval 0.3 to 2.1 cm; P = 0.02) and had a higher ponderal index (0.34 kg/m3; 0.16 to 0.52 kg/m3; P = 0.006). Mean systolic pressure was higher in high mortality towns, particularly after adjustment for height (2.0 mm Hg; 0.8 to 3.2 mm Hg; P = 0.009). Mean waist:hip ratio, total cholesterol concentration, and 30 minute post-load glucose measurements were similar in high and low mortality towns. The differences in height and blood pressure between high and low mortality towns were unaffected by standardisation for birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in height, ponderal index, and blood pressure between towns with high and low cardiovascular mortality, if persistent, may have important future public health implications. Their independence of birth weight suggests that the childhood environment rather than the intrauterine environment is involved in their development.

Adult↗