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Biomedical subjects

S Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to S Taylor.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

An ethical dilemma in school nursing.

School nurses must consider the ethical principles that guide everyday practice. Autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence are the ethical principles most often confronted in the school setting. When beneficent care-giving begins to conflict with the family's decision-making autonomy, paternalism, a form of beneficence, affects the family's autonomy. This creates an ethical dilemma for the school nurse who guides his or her practice by ethical principles but who also must decide when it is appropriate to refer a child or family to a medical provider for further evaluation. A case study is presented to illustrate a specific ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemma is described using a model that examines external factors, professional responsibilities, and possible courses of action. The discussion includes cultural considerations and barriers pertinent to the case example.

Arm Injuries↗
PubMed1999

Natural history of pharmacotherapy of older depressed community residents. The MRC-ALPHA Study.

BACKGROUND: Depression in older people is common and has a high mortality, but effective treatments exist. AIMS: To describe drug prescribing in older community residents in relation to depression status. METHOD: The MRC-ALPHA community cohort aged 65 and over were interviewed using the Geriatric Mental State examination drug data collected at index interview and at two and four years. RESULTS: Antidepressants were used by 10.9% of the depressed population. Benzodiazepines were used frequently. Of the antidepressant users, 59.6% took low-dose antidepressants for two years, had a poor outcome and few drug changes. CONCLUSIONS: Trends of increasing antidepressant use have cost implications for primary care groups. Benzodiazepines may be mis-prescribed for treatment of depressive symptoms. Antidepressant users have poor outcome and follow-up.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Socio-economic deprivation and the prevalence and prediction of depression in older community residents. The MRC-ALPHA Study.

BACKGROUND: The Townsend index is a measure of social deprivation. It can be applied to postal districts and has been employed in studies examining the ecological associations of mental illness. AIMS: We examine the utility of the Townsend index in identifying older populations with a high prevalence and risk of developing depression. METHOD: The study was carried out in the context of a cohort study of an age- and gender-stratified sample of 5222 community residents aged 65 years and over. Subjects were interviewed at intervals of two years. The relationships between Townsend score and psychiatric diagnoses (in particular, depression) were examined. RESULTS: High Townsend scores were associated with increased prevalence and incidence of depression and prevalence of organic psychiatric illness. CONCLUSIONS: The Townsend index can be used to prioritize psychiatric and primary care resources so as to cater for older populations likely to suffer from depression and organic psychiatric conditions.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Changes in rectal temperature and hematologic, biochemical, blood gas, and acid-base values in healthy Labrador Retrievers before and after strenuous exercise.

OBJECTIVE: To measure changes in rectal temperature and hematologic, biochemical, blood gas, and acid-base values before and after exercise. ANIMALS: 14 healthy adult Labrador Retrievers. PROCEDURE: Dogs exercised continuously for 10 minutes by repeatedly retrieving a dummy thrown approximately 40 to 50 yards on land. The ambient temperature during each exercise period was recorded. Rectal temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate were measured; CBC and serum biochemical profile were determined; and arterial blood gas tensions, acid-base status, and plasma lactate and pyruvate concentrations were measured at rest and immediately after exercise. Rectal temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, and lactate and pyruvate concentrations were evaluated at intervals up to 120 minutes after exercise. RESULTS: Immediately after exercise, rectal temperature increased markedly; ambient temperature did not affect rectal temperature. Arterial blood pH and PaO2 were significantly increased after exercise, and PaCO2 and bicarbonate concentration were significantly decreased after exercise. Also, statistically, but not clinically, significant increases were observed in RBC, WBC, and segmented neutrophil counts; hemoglobin, total protein, and serum sodium and potassium concentrations; PCV; anion gap; and creatine kinase activity. Plasma lactate and pyruvate concentrations increased significantly after exercise, but there was no change in the lactate-to-pyruvate ratio. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Reference values for healthy Laborador Retrievers during a standardized exercise protocol were established to compare data obtained from Laborador Retrievers with exercise intolerance and collapse. Important characteristics of lactate and pyruvate metabolism were documented that will enable more precise evaluation of exercise intolerance in this breed.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
PubMed1998

A novel MPTP primate model of Parkinson's disease: neurochemical and clinical changes.

Positron emission tomography (PET) and the dopamine (DA) metabolism tracer, [18F]6-fluoro-L-m-tyrosine (FMT) were used to evaluate the relationship between DA metabolism and the clinical stage of parkinsonism monkeys following either unilateral ICA MPTP infusion or unilateral ICA MPTP infusion and subsequent varying sequential systemic doses of MPTP. Clinical stage corresponded to PET measures of striatal DA metabolism, showing the usefulness of the overlesioned hemiparkinsonian monkey as a stable model of various stages of Parkinson's disease (PD).

1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine↗
PubMed1998

Apolipoprotein B gene expression in a series of human apolipoprotein B transgenic mice generated with recA-assisted restriction endonuclease cleavage-modified bacterial artificial chromosomes. An intestine-specific enhancer element is located between 54 and 62 kilobases 5' to the structural gene.

Prior studies have established that the expression of the human apolipoprotein B (apoB) gene in the intestine is dependent on DNA sequences located a great distance from the structural gene. To identify the location of those sequences, we used recA-assisted restriction endonuclease (RARE) cleavage to truncate the 5'- or 3'-flanking sequences from a 145-kilobase (kb) bacterial artificial chromosome spanning the entire human apoB gene. Seven RARE cleavage- modified bacterial artificial chromosomes with different lengths of flanking sequences were used to generate transgenic mice. An analysis of those mice revealed that as little as 1.5 kb of 3' sequences or 5 kb of 5' sequences were sufficient to confer apoB expression in the liver. In contrast, apoB gene expression in the intestine required DNA sequences 54-62 kb 5' to the structural gene. Those sequences retained their ability to direct apoB expression in the intestine when they were moved closer to the gene. These studies demonstrate that the intestinal expression of the apoB gene is dependent on DNA sequences located an extraordinary distance from the structural gene and that the RARE cleavage/transgenic expression strategy is a powerful approach for analyzing distant gene-regulatory sequences.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Accretion rate of cosmic spherules measured at the South Pole.

Micrometeorites are terrestrially collected, extraterrestrial particles smaller than about 1 mm, which account for most of the mass being accreted to the Earth. Compared with meteorites, micrometeorites more completely represent the Earth-crossing meteoroid complex and should include fragments of asteroids, comets, Mars and our Moon, as well as pre-solar and interstellar grains. Previous measurements of the flux of micrometeoroids that survive to the Earth's surface have large uncertainties owing to the destruction of particles by weathering, inefficiencies in magnetic collection or separation techniques, low particle counts, poor age constraint or highly variable concentrating processes. Here we describe an attempt to circumvent these problems through the collection of thousands of well preserved and dated micrometeorites from the bottom of the South Pole water well, which supplies drinking water for the Scott-Amundsen station. Using this collection, we have determined precise estimates of the flux and mass distribution for 50-700-microm cosmic spherules (melted micrometeorites). Allowing for the expected abundance of unmelted micrometeorites in the samples, our results indicate that about 90% of the incoming mass of submillimetre particles evaporates during atmospheric entry. Our data indicate the loss of glass-rich and small stony spherules from deep-sea deposits, and they provide constraints for models describing the survival probability of micrometeoroids.

Antarctic Regions↗
PubMed1998

Identification of the low density lipoprotein receptor-binding site in apolipoprotein B100 and the modulation of its binding activity by the carboxyl terminus in familial defective apo-B100.

Familial defective apolipoprotein B100 (FDB) is caused by a mutation of apo-B100 (R3500Q) that disrupts the receptor binding of low density lipoproteins (LDL), which leads to hypercholesterolemia and premature atherosclerosis. In this study, mutant forms of human apo-B were expressed in transgenic mice, and the resulting human recombinant LDL were purified and tested for their receptor-binding activity. Site-directed mutagenesis and other evidence indicated that Site B (amino acids 3,359-3,369) binds to the LDL receptor and that arginine-3,500 is not directly involved in receptor binding. The carboxyl-terminal 20% of apo-B100 is necessary for the R3500Q mutation to disrupt receptor binding, since removal of the carboxyl terminus in FDB LDL results in normal receptor-binding activity. Similarly, removal of the carboxyl terminus of apo-B100 on receptor-inactive VLDL dramatically increases apo-B-mediated receptor-binding activity. We propose that the carboxyl terminus normally functions to inhibit the interaction of apo-B100 VLDL with the LDL receptor, but after the conversion of triglyceride-rich VLDL to smaller cholesterol-rich LDL, arginine-3,500 interacts with the carboxyl terminus, permitting normal interaction between LDL and its receptor. Moreover, the loss of arginine at this site destabilizes this interaction, resulting in receptor-binding defective LDL.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Segmentation, not rhyming, predicts early progress in learning to read.

We present a longitudinal study of children in the first 2 years of learning to read. A battery of tests of phonological skills administered when the children were prereaders identified two distinct and relatively independent factors, Rhyming (defined by measures of rhyme detection and rhyme production) and Segmentation (defined by measures of phoneme identification and phoneme deletion). Segmentation was strongly correlated with attainment in reading and spelling at the end of the first year at school, while Rhyming was not. In addition, letter name knowledge predicted both reading and spelling skill and showed an interactive effect with children's segmentation skills. By the end of the second year of school, however, rhyming had started to exert a predictive effect on spelling, but not on reading. The results are discussed in the context of current theories of the role of phonological skills in learning to read.

Achievement↗
PubMed1998

Anxiety sensitivity: multiple dimensions and hierarchic structure.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is the fear of anxiety-related sensations, based on beliefs that these sensations have harmful consequences. AS is thought to play an important role as a diathesis for anxiety disorders, particularly panic disorder. Recent evidence suggests that AS has a hierarchical structure, consisting of multiple lower-order factors, which load on a single higher-order factor. If each factor corresponds to a discrete mechanism, then the results suggest that AS arises from a hierarchic arrangement of mechanisms. A problem with previous studies is that they were based on the 16-item Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI), which may not contain enough items to reveal the type and number of lower-order factors. Accordingly, we developed the 60-item Anxiety Sensitivity Profile, which was administered to 349 university students. Factor analyses revealed four lower-order factors: (1) Fear of respiratory symptoms, (2) fear of cognitive dyscontrol, (3) fear of gastrointestinal symptoms, and (4) fear of cardiac symptoms. These loaded on a single higher-order factor. The lower-order factors shared variance with the higher-order factor, but also contained unique variance. Thus, the results suggest that AS is the product of a general factor, with independent contributions from four specific factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The hierarchic structure of fears.

Contemporary theories of fears (and phobias) suggest two kinds of etiologic factors; those common to all fears (factors influencing fear-proneness) and factors specific to particular fears (e.g. specific learning experiences). There also may be etiologic factors of intermediate specificity; factors common to some but not all fears. The present article describes this hierarchic model of fears, which proposes that fears (and phobias) arise from a hierarchy of causal factors, ranging from specific to general. The model is supported by factor-analytic studies of fear inventories and behavioural-genetic studies of twins. However, further research is needed to clarify the number of levels, and to identify environmental, psychobiological, and genetic factors at each level of the causal hierarchy. The hierarchic model of fears represents a call for research. It encourages researchers to take a broad view of etiology by considering factors at various levels of causal specificity.

Arousal↗
PubMed1998

Deaths and injuries due to unexploded ordnance (UXO) in northern Lao PDR (Laos).

Xieng Khousang province in Lao PDR (Laos) is one of the most heavily bombed areas on earth due to the secret bombing during the Vietnam war. This study presents the community-based cumulative incidence of injuries related to unexploded ordnance (UXO) after the war. The data were collected by one of the UK based non-governmental organizations, Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Three districts in the province, reported to have the largest UXO load, were studied. Nearly half of the injuries and deaths involved children below age 15. The case-fatality rate was not different among children and adults. Males were significantly more likely to die of UXO injuries than females. We believe that UXO is an important public health problem in Laos for the following reasons: (1) 22 years after the end of the war, an average of one injury still occurs every other day (2) there is a high incidence among children below age 15 (3) the case-fatality rate is high (4) most injuries involve multiple fragments which usually require complex surgical and medical management skills.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

A silicone-coated nylon dressing reduces healing time in burned paediatric patients in comparison with standard sulfadiazine treatment: a prospective randomized trial.

Mepitel is a new grid like silicone coated nylon dressing containing no additional biological compounds. We describe a prospective randomized pilot study comparing Mepitel to the standard silver sulfadiazine cream (Flamazine) dressing for the topical treatment of paediatric burns. Seventy-six children presenting within 24 h of injury with a non previously treated burn were randomly assigned to Mepitel treatment (group M) or Flamazine treatment (group F). Age, sex, surface area of burn and causal agent were noted at admission. The depth of the burn, cumulative number of dressings, presence or absence of a complete epithelial cover, infection, bleeding and allergy were noted at each dressing change. There were 41 children in group M and 35 children in group F. Five children were subsequently withdrawn from each group because they required skin grafting. Analysis of the above mentioned criteria showed no statistical difference between the two groups except for the healing time (group M: 7.58+/-3.12, group F: 11.26+/-6.02, p < 0.01) and the number of dressings (group M: 3.64+/-1.5, group F: 5.13+/-2.9, p < 0.05). Mepitel has proved to be an easy-to-remove dressing, adhering only to intact skin. The faster healing time found in the Mepitel group may be related to a direct effect of silicone on epithelial growth or to a decrease in surface-cell damage compared to the silver sulfadiazine group. This attractive product will be further assessed on a larger scale trial to confirm our observations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

The structure of posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. and 4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987, 1994, respectively), is characterized by 17 symptoms, descriptively clustered into 3 groups: (a) intrusions, (b) hyperarousal, and (c) avoidance and numbing. The present study sought to identify the basic dimensions (factors) that underlie these symptoms. Two samples were assessed: 103 victims of motor vehicle accidents and 419 United Nations peacekeepers deployed in Bosnia. A principal axis factor analysis was conducted for each sample. In each sample, 2 correlated factors were obtained, which were very similar across samples. Factor 1 was labeled Intrusions and Avoidance, and Factor 2 represented Hyperarousal and Numbing. These factors loaded on a single higher order factor. The higher order factor accounted for 13% to 38% of variance in symptom severity, and the lower order factors accounted for an additional 8% to 9% of variance. If the authors assume that each factor corresponds to a distinct mechanism (R. B. Cattell, 1978), then the results suggest that posttraumatic stress reactions arise from a general mechanism, with contributions from 2 specific mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Comorbid panic disorder and major depression: implications for cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Panic disorder and major depression frequently coexist, yet the implications of comorbidity for psychological treatments have rarely been studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether pretreatment comorbidity of major depression affects the outcome of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) of panic disorder. Thirty-seven clients who met diagnostic criteria for both panic and major depression participated in 10 sessions of individual CBT for panic. Treatment outcome was contrasted with the outcome of 53 clients having only panic disorder who received the same treatment. The co-occurrence of depression did not adversely affect CBT for panic. These results have implications for clinical practice and theoretical implications for the nature of the relationship between panic and depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

19F-NMR and directly coupled HPLC-NMR-MS investigations into the metabolism of 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylaniline in rat: a urinary excretion balance study without the use of radiolabelling.

1. The metabolic fate and urinary excretion of 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylaniline has been studied in rat using 19F-NMR spectroscopic and directly coupled HPLC-NMR-MS methods. The compound was dosed to Sprague-Dawley rats (50 mg kg-1, i.p.) and urine collected over 0-8, 8-24 and 24-48 h post-dosing. 2. A total urinary recovery of 53.5 +/- 7.0% of the dose was achieved up to 48 h after dosing. The major metabolite in the urine was identified as 2-amino-3-bromo-5-trifluoromethylphenylsulphate accounting for a total of 35.7 +/- 6.2% of the dose. 3. Further metabolites detected were 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylphenylhydroxylamine-1V-glucuronide (9.7 +/- 0.2% of the dose), 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylaniline-N-glucuronide (3.0 +/- 0.3%) and 2-amino-3-bromo-5-trifluoromethylphenylglucuronide (2-St 0-4). Minor metabolites, including 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylphenylhydroxylamine-O-glucuronide, 2-amino-3-bromo-5-trifluoromethylphenol and 2-bromo-4-trifluoromethylphenylsulphamate, in total accounted for 2.3 +/- 0.9% of the dose. 4. Directly coupled HPLC-NMR-MS and 19F-NMR spectroscopy proved to be efficient techniques for the unequivocal and rapid determination of the urinary metabolic fate and excretion balance of fluorinated xenobiotics without the need for radiolabelling.

Aniline Compounds↗
PubMed1998

Automated management of gene discovery projects.

UNLABELLED: The paper reports on programs, organization and Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) presentation provided by the Hierarchical Automated Gene Identification System (HAGIS) designed for managing sequencing projects. AVAILABILITY: On request from the authors. CONTACT: st23646@ggr.co.uk

Computational Biology↗