SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Universal”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Effectiveness of a universal drug abuse prevention approach for youth at high risk for substance use initiation.

BACKGROUND: Universal school-based prevention programs for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use are typically designed for all students within a particular school setting. However, it is unclear whether such broad-based programs are effective for youth at high risk for substance use initiation. METHOD: The effectiveness of a universal drug abuse preventive intervention was examined among youth from 29 inner-city middle schools participating in a randomized, controlled prevention trial. A subsample of youth (21% of full sample) was identified as being at high risk for substance use initiation based on exposure to substance-using peers and poor academic performance in school. The prevention program taught drug refusal skills, antidrug norms, personal self-management skills, and general social skills. RESULTS: Findings indicated that youth at high risk who received the program (n = 426) reported less smoking, drinking, inhalant use, and polydrug use at the one-year follow-up assessment compared to youth at high risk in the control condition that did not receive the intervention (n = 332). Results indicate that a universal drug abuse prevention program is effective for minority, economically disadvantaged, inner-city youth who are at higher than average risk for substance use initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that universal prevention programs can be effective for a range of youth along a continuum of risk.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Morphometric study of centrilobular vessels in the rat liver after continuous hypothermic perfusion with Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solution.

Damage to the hepatic microcirculation plays an important part in the preservation-related loss of graft viability. In a study on the isolated, hypothermically preserved rat liver perfused continuously with Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solution (gluconate substituted for lactobionate) at different flow rates we determined changes in diameter of central veins and pericentral sinusoids and related them to weight changes. While post-perfusion liver weight increased with Euro-Collins and decreased with University of Wisconsin solution, weight changes did not vary significantly with different flow rates. Changes in sinusoidal diameter depended on the type of solution as well as on the flow rate. Cell swelling under Euro-Collins perfusion leads to compression of pericentral sinusoids, which varies in degree with different flow rates. Perfusion with University of Wisconsin solution under near-normal flow, due to slight shrinking of parenchymal cells, keeps the sinusoidal lumina wide open. We conclude that there is a causal relationship between perfusion-dependent cell swelling and reduction in sectional area of the hepatic microvasculature. Continuous hypothermic perfusion with University of Wisconsin solution at physiologic flow rates excellently preserves the size and trabecular architecture of hepatocytes and thereby the sinusoidal lumina within the hepatic lobules.

Adenosine↗

PubMed1999

The rooting of the universal tree of life is not reliable.

Several composite universal trees connected by an ancestral gene duplication have been used to root the universal tree of life. In all cases, this root turned out to be in the eubacterial branch. However, the validity of results obtained from comparative sequence analysis has recently been questioned, in particular, in the case of ancient phylogenies. For example, it has been shown that several eukaryotic groups are misplaced in ribosomal RNA or elongation factor trees because of unequal rates of evolution and mutational saturation. Furthermore, the addition of new sequences to data sets has often turned apparently reasonable phylogenies into confused ones. We have thus revisited all composite protein trees that have been used to root the universal tree of life up to now (elongation factors, ATPases, tRNA synthetases, carbamoyl phosphate synthetases, signal recognition particle proteins) with updated data sets. In general, the two prokaryotic domains were not monophyletic with several aberrant groupings at different levels of the tree. Furthermore, the respective phylogenies contradicted each others, so that various ad hoc scenarios (paralogy or lateral gene transfer) must be proposed in order to obtain the traditional Archaebacteria-Eukaryota sisterhood. More importantly, all of the markers are heavily saturated with respect to amino acid substitutions. As phylogenies inferred from saturated data sets are extremely sensitive to differences in evolutionary rates, present phylogenies used to root the universal tree of life could be biased by the phenomenon of long branch attraction. Since the eubacterial branch was always the longest one, the eubacterial rooting could be explained by an attraction between this branch and the long branch of the outgroup. Finally, we suggested that an eukaryotic rooting could be a more fruitful working hypothesis, as it provides, for example, a simple explanation to the high genetic similarity of Archaebacteria and Eubacteria inferred from complete genome analysis.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed2000

Suicide amongst Cambridge University students 1970-1996.

BACKGROUND: Anecdote, media coverage and earlier research suggest that the rate of suicide amongst students at Cambridge and Oxford Universities is unduly high. There is also a popular belief that student suicide is common at examination times. METHOD: Student deaths at the University of Cambridge were identified using the University database. The cause of death was determined by reference to death certificates and coroners' inquest records. RESULTS: We identified 157 student deaths during academic years 1970-1996, of which 36 appeared to be suicides. The overall suicide rate was 11.3/100,000 person years at risk. Suicide rates were similar to those seen amongst 15- to 24-year-olds in the general population. There were non-significant trends for male postgraduates to be over-represented and first-year undergraduates under-represented. Examination times were not associated with excess suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide rates in University of Cambridge students do not appear to be unduly high.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Heart transplantation: the contributions of Christiaan Barnard and the University of Cape Town/Groote Schuur Hospital.

Christiaan (Chris) Neethling Barnard was born in South Africa and qualified in medicine at the University of Cape Town in 1946. Following surgical training in South Africa and the USA, Barnard established a successful open-heart surgery program at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town in 1958. In 1967, he led the team that performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant. Although the first heart transplant patient survived only 18 days, four of Groote Schuur hospital's first 10 patients survived for more than one year, two living for 13 and 23 years, respectively. This relative success amid many failures worldwide did much to generate guarded optimism that heart transplantation would eventually become a viable therapeutic option, Barnard then developed the operation of heterotopic heart transplantation (the socalled "piggy-back" transplant), which had some advantages in the pre-cyclosporine era when immunosuppressive therapy was limited. His group was the first to successfully transport donor hearts using a hypothermic perfusion storage device in 1981. Several studies on the haemodynamic and metabolic sequelae of brain death were carried out in his Department's cardiovascular research laboratories at the University of Cape Town, and the concept of hormonal replacement therapy in organ donors was developed. An active heart transplant program still continues in the Chris Barnard Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town, but the thrust of clinical activity within the Division and the research within its state-of-the-art cardiovascular research laboratories is now directed towards valvular and ischaemic heart diseases, which are common in the African population.

Academic Medical Centers↗

PubMed2004

[Rheumatology: Integration into student training--the RISA- Study. Results of a survey exploring the scale of education and training in rheumatology at German universities].

During the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010, national and international rheumatological societies campaign for improvements of undergraduate training in the field of musculoskeletal diseases. In 2002, the Committee for Undergraduate Training of the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) performed a survey in order to estimate the extent of rheumatological undergraduate training at German universities. A questionnaire was sent to all university hospitals for internal medicine and for orthopaedics. The items of the survey covered the qualification of the teachers, the number and the time frame of lessons and courses, as well as the items of the curriculum in rheumatology. With 95% of the universities responding, a broad variation of the quality of rheumatological training became obvious, ranging from the absence of competent teaching to a comprehensive curriculum covering theory and practical training. Only a minority of universities fulfilled the recommendations of the DGRh for undergraduate education. The most substantial deficits are found in practical training, caused by insufficiently small numbers of patients seen by the medical students, and by the short duration of the practical courses. The insights described here should lead to the adaptation of the level of education in the field of rheumatology to the demands of a society with growing musculoskeletal problems.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed1991

Centric relation and programming semiadjustable articulators with the universal jig. Part II: Experiments.

The "universal jig" described in a previous article was tested on 10 patients to check for reliability. The recording of centric relation by this method was compared with Lucia's method of recording centric relation. The results of three series of three recordings were analyzed. The influence of the universal jig on rear-determinant movement was measured by two pantographic recordings, one enabling occlusion to take place, the other using the universal jig. The results were analyzed and demonstrated that the universal jig is a reliable means of simplifying the setting up of models and the programming of semiadjustable articulators.

Centric Relation↗

PubMed1990

Noncompliance with Universal Precautions Policy: why do physicians and nurses recap needles?

In 1987 the Centers for Disease Control published a Universal Precautions Policy establishing blood and body fluid procedures to be used consistently with all patients. An important and unequivocal Universal Precautions Policy recommendation with regard to avoidance of needlestick injuries is that needles should never be recapped. We examined the recapping-related attitudes and behaviors of physicians and nurses at four large teaching hospitals with patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and with Universal Precautions Policy in-service training programs. Compliance was found to be considerably less than optimal. According to unannounced needle counts in disposal boxes, the percentage of recapped needles was always greater than 25% and exceeded 50% in four instances. Recapping was related to inadequate knowledge, concerns about personal risk, forgetfulness, being "too busy" to follow the Universal Precautions Policy, and the misperception that recapping is a way to avoid needlestick injury. Strategies are suggested to improve and supplement traditional in-service education.

Communicable Disease Control↗

PubMed1990

Financial arguments and university education for nurses: a Canadian perspective.

Published information concerning costs of the various university disciplines is scanty, and Deans of Nursing have to rely on information that is transmitted to them by their university administrators. This paper provides some hard facts of comparative costs at one university, where, after an examination of the various factors involved, it was found that when judged by a) the cost of producing a section of a course, Nursing ranked 21 out of 28; b) the cost/student/section, regardless of level, Nursing ranked 19 out of 28; and c) the cost/student/section of the highest level undergraduate courses, Nursing ranked one out of 28. It was therefore concluded that financial arguments cannot be used to deprive nurses of the university education received by all other professionals.

Canada↗

PubMed1990

Experiments with a universe for molecular modelling of biological processes.

A computer simulation program and results of preliminary simulations of an abstract two-dimensional universe are presented, in which biological and physical processes can be modelled at the molecular level. Two types of permanent elements (atoms) occupy squares of the universe: called 0 and 1. Atoms sharing a common square form a particle, with properties determined by its component atoms. Atoms, particles, and complexes of particles move and collide according to rules like those of classical mechanics. At a higher level of organization, the string of atoms in a particle is viewed as a program, whose execution can affect the space around the particle. The computer program (written in Turbo-Pascal language) can simulate the evolution of the universe starting from any given initial configuration of the particles. Three examples of simulations, showing the development of ordered spatial structures from initial sets of randomly distributed particles, illustrate the universe's potential in modelling various molecular processes.

Cell Wall↗

PubMed2005

Electrochemical biosensing based on universal affinity biocomposite platforms.

Rigid conducting biocomposites are versatile and effective transducing materials for the construction of a wide range of amperometric biosensors such as immunosensors, genosensors and enzymosensors, particularly if the transducer is bulk-modified with universal affinity biomolecules. The strept(avidin)-graphite-epoxy biocomposite could be considered as an universal immobilization platform whereon biotinylated DNAs, oligonucleotides, enzymes or antibodies can be captured by means of the highly affinity (strept)avidin-biotin reaction. Universal affinity biocomposite-based biosensors offer many potential advantages compared to more traditional electrochemical biosensors commonly based on a biologically surface-modified transducer. The integration of many materials into one matrix is their main advantage. As biological bulk-modified materials, the conducting biocomposites act not only as transducers, but also as reservoir for the biomaterial. After its use, the electrode surface can be renewed by a simple polishing procedure, establishing a clear advantage of these approaches relative to classical biosensors and other common biological assays. Moreover, the same material is useful for the analysis of many molecules whose determinations are based on genetic, enzymatic or immunological reactions. The different strategies for electrochemical genosensing, immunosensing and enzymosensing, all of them being dependent on the presence of a redox enzyme marker for the generation of the electrochemical signal, based on this universal affinity biocomposite platform are all presented and discussed.

Biosensing Techniques↗

PubMed2006

Characterization of nanofilled compared to universal and microfilled composites.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the inorganic fraction and the mechanical properties of three nanofilled composites with four universal hybrid and two microfilled composites. The degrees of conversion of the materials photopolymerized using halogen and LED units were also investigated. METHODS: Three nanofilled (Supreme, Grandio and Grandio Flow), four universal hybrid (Point-4, Tetric Ceram, Venus, Z 100) and two microfilled (A 110, Durafill VS) composites were used in this study. Their filler weight content was measured by thermogravimetric analysis. The morphology of the filler particles was determined using scanning-electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties were measured: dynamic and static elastic moduli, flexural strength and Vickers microhardness. The degree of conversion in relation with the depth of polymerization of every material tested was evaluated using Raman spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Nanofilled resin composites show higher elastic moduli than those of universal and microfilled composites, except for the Z-100. The microfilled composites exhibit by far the lowest mechanical properties. The flexural strength does not appear as a discriminating factor in this study. The degrees of polymerization obtained with the halogen lamp are higher than those obtained with the LED lamp. SIGNIFICANCE: Nanofilled resin composites show mechanical properties at least as good as those of universal hybrids and could thus be used for the same clinical indications as well as for anterior restorations due to their high aesthetic properties.

Composite Resins↗

PubMed2005

Cost-benefit analysis of universal varicella vaccination in the U.S. taking into account the closely related herpes-zoster epidemiology.

Many models concur that universal varicella vaccination of children is beneficial from the perspective of reducing societal costs. Yet, the majority of such cost analyses have been modeled under the assumption that varicella vaccination has no adverse effect on the closely related herpes-zoster (HZ) epidemiology. Historical models have assumed that asymptomatic endogenous reactivation is the chief mechanism of boosting that suppresses the reactivation of HZ and that immunity wanes due to the aging process. Recent studies suggest instead that periodic exogenous exposures to wild-type varicella are the predominant factor influencing the curve of increasing HZ incidence rate with advancing age among individuals <50, after which an age-related decline dominates in the elderly. Based on a realistic age-structured model, we compare differences in outcomes of the number of HZ cases and direct medical costs associated with the population existing in 2000 and as it ages (according to the mortality given in the 2000 U.S. census) during the following 50 years with and without implementation of universal varicella vaccination. Under universal varicella vaccination, we assume that 15 years post-licensure, the boosting mechanism known as asymptomatic endogenous reactivation principally serves to limit HZ incidence to 550 per 100,000 person-years in unvaccinated individuals <50 with a previous history of natural varicella--since there has been a vaccine-induced decline in exogenous boosting. We estimate universal varicella vaccination has the impact of an additional 14.6 million (42%) HZ cases among adults aged <50 years during a 50 year time span at a substantial cost burden of 4.1 billion US dollars or 80 million US dollars annually utilizing an estimated mean healthcare provider cost of 280 US dollars per HZ case.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Assessing the introduction of universal varicella vaccination in the Netherlands.

Although varicella is seen as a benign disease in the Netherlands, about 40,000 visits to a general practitioner (GP) are made, over 200 hospital admission occur, and 2.3 persons die on average each year. Most of this burden of disease can be prevented by universal varicella childhood vaccination. Ten years after the introduction of the single-shot, single-component varicella childhood vaccination in the USA, a major reduction in hospitalization, mortality, and burden of disease has been reported. Using our recently vaccine evaluation model for the introduction of a new vaccine in our national immunization program, we have analyzed the feasibility of universal varicella vaccination by replacing the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine with a measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine. After structuring and reviewing the available data, two major points of uncertainty remain: (1) the influence of universal childhood vaccination on the incidence of zoster later in life; (2) the cost-effectiveness ratio for the Dutch situation. Despite these uncertainties it is clear that universal childhood vaccination will prevent most of the varicella related GP-visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Chickenpox↗

PubMed1997

Effects of lung preservation with Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions on endothelium-dependent relaxations.

BACKGROUND: This study compares the effect of lung preservation using flush perfusion of Euro-Collins or University of Wisconsin solution on the pulmonary vascular function of endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent relaxations. METHODS: Rings of canine intrapulmonary arteries were studied after 6 hours of cold ischemia in Euro-Collins or University of Wisconsin preservation solution. Endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent relaxations were induced in organ chamber experiments. To also study pulmonary resistance vessels, endothelium-dependent relaxations were induced in in vitro perfused intact rabbit lungs. RESULTS: In the organ chamber experiments, a moderate but significant (p < 0.05) reduction in endothelium-dependent relaxations were found in the perfused and stored vessels. In perfused rabbit lungs, a decrease in the endothelial response occurred immediately after perfusion with Euro-Collins solution. However, a recovery and overshooting response was found after preservation with either solution and 6 hours of cold ischemia. A significant increase in the sensitivity of smooth muscle cells to nitric oxide was shown in both preparations. CONCLUSIONS: Both crystalloid perfusion fluids cause a decrease in endothelial function during the perfusion procedure. In contrast, endothelial function is well preserved during the ischemic time. University of Wisconsin solution induced a higher sensitivity of the vascular smooth muscle to the endothelium-derived relaxing factor nitric oxide. A reduction in pulmonary vascular resistance after University of Wisconsin preservation may be of importance in subsequent clinical lung transplantation.

Adenosine↗

PubMed2003

Impaired endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation in porcine pulmonary microarteries after cold storage with Euro-Collins and University of Wisconsin solutions.

BACKGROUND: Endothelium plays an important role in mediating the function of transplanted organs. The widely used University of Wisconsin solution impairs the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation in coronary arteries, but little is known about effects of lung preservation on endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated endothelial function. This study examined the effect of organ preservation solutions on the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation in the pulmonary microarteries (diameter 200 to 450 microm). METHODS: Two segments (1 as control) from the same microartery were allocated in 2 chambers of a myograph. After incubation with hyperkalemia (potassium 115 mmol/L), University of Wisconsin, or Euro-Collins solution (at 4 degrees C for 4 hours), the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation was induced by bradykinin (-10 to -6.5 log M, n = 8) or calcium ionophore (A(23187), -9 to -5.5 log M, n = 7) in U(46619) (-7.5 log M) precontracted rings in the presence of indomethacin (7 micromol/L), N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (300 micromol/L), and oxyhemoglobin (20 micromol/L). RESULTS: Exposure to hyperkalemia and storage with Euro-Collins or University of Wisconsin solution significantly decreased the relaxation to bradykinin (51.9 +/- 8.4% vs 60.3 +/- 6.1%, P =.02 or 49.3 +/- 7.3% vs 65.2 +/- 3.5%, P =.04) or A(23187) (12.5 +/- 0.02% vs 33.8 +/- 0.07%, P =.02 or 13.2 +/- 0.03% vs 31.0 +/- 0.05%, P =.03%). CONCLUSIONS: Endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor plays an important role in porcine pulmonary microarteries, and the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation is impaired when the lung is preserved with University of Wisconsin or Euro-Collins solution. This impairment may affect the lung function during the reperfusion period after lung transplantation.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

PubMed1998

Impaired endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated relaxation in coronary arteries by cold storage with University of Wisconsin solution.

OBJECTIVES: University of Wisconsin solution is widely used to preserve organs for transplantation, but its effect on the individual endothelium-derived relaxing factors has not been studied. This study was designed to examine the effect of cold storage of the heart with University of Wisconsin solution on relaxation mediated by the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). METHODS: Porcine coronary artery rings were studied in organ chambers. Relaxation in response to the EDHFs stimuli bradykinin and A23187 in U46619 (30 nmol/L)-induced precontraction after incubation with University of Wisconsin solution (either at 37 degrees C in the oxygenated organ chamber or at 4 degrees C in a refrigerator for 4 hours) was compared with the control. RESULTS: During the incubation, the coronary tone initially increased transiently (4.8 +/- 0.8 gm) and was subsequently reduced by 10.9 +/- 1.2 gm. Under both normothermia and hypothermia, after the incubation, the relaxation mediated by EDHF significantly decreased (under normothermia: from 68.7% +/- 10.2% to 32.1% +/- 8%, n = 7, p = 0.001, for bradykinin and from 79.9% +/- 8.4% to 56.9% +/- 8.5%, n = 7, p = 0.01, for A23187; under hypothermia and hypoxia: to 18.9% +/- 5.6%, n = 9, p = 0.0005, for bradykinin and 52.7% +/- 7.5%, n = 9, p = 0.03, for A23187). The incubation at normothermia also impaired the coronary smooth muscle contractility to U46619, but this contractility was preserved by cold storage. CONCLUSIONS: During cold storage, University of Wisconsin solution impairs the endothelium-dependent relaxation mediated by EDHF in the coronary circulation. This effect exists after the storage for at least 1 hour.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

PubMed1999

Factors influencing the efficacy of universal newborn hearing screening.

The debate surrounding the issue of universal hearing screening is being carried out on several levels. Although little disagreement exists over the educational, vocational, and quality-of-life benefits that would result from early identification and timely intervention of congenital hearing loss, the pragmatic issues, such as the effectiveness and the cost benefits associated with universal screening, cannot be ignored. This means that sensitivity, specificity, prevalence, and predictive value remain important factors. Determining the number of infants born with hearing loss in the United States each year, the prevalence issue is key to calculating the predictive value of newborn hearing screening. Emerging from current studies is that estimates of prevalence in the universal newborn population vary from 0.9 in 1000 for permanent bilateral hearing loss of more than 35 dB, to 3.24 in 1000 for bilateral hearing loss, to 5.95 in 1000 when unilateral and moderate hearing loss infants are counted. By comparison, the incidence of hearing loss in the NICU or at-risk population is accepted as high, somewhere between 2% and 4% or 20 to 40 in 1000. Incidence in the NICU varies depending on admission policies and level of care. In general, however, by screening the NICU and targeted at-risk populations, estimated to make up 10% to 16% of the newborn population, half or more of all newborns with severe to profound educationally disabling hearing loss are identified. Data from several well-conducted clinical studies, dating back to the first studies on the use of ABR to screen in the NICU, provide ample justification for the recommendation that all infants admitted to an NICU for longer than 24 hours should be screened for hearing impairment regardless of whether they have any of the at-risk indicators for hearing loss. In the author's opinion, screening in the NICU should be modeled on the operator-controlled ABR protocol outlined by Galambos and colleagues, with the addition that every ABR fail be screened by OAE before discharge. Unlike the targeted NICU population, the question remains for well infants, is sufficient clinical data or evidence available to justify screening all well newborns, specifically those with none of the at-risk for hearing loss indicators cared for in the well-infant nursery and who are discharged home within 24 or 48 hours? With the steady increase in the number of hospital-based universal newborn hearing screening programs implemented since the NIH Consensus Statement, additional data should become available to help resolve several outstanding issues, including prevalence and the predictive value of the various test protocols currently in use or proposed.

Hearing Disorders↗