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Vital Signs, Spring 2001, Boonshoft School Of Medicine

Vital Signs

A twenty-one page newsletter created by the Boonshoft School of Medicine to document the current affairs of the school. This issue includes feature articles, student notes, and more.

“Tears In My Eyes ’Cause Somebody Finally Understood”: Client Perceptions Of Practitioners Following Brain Injury, Amy R. Darragh, Pat L. Sample, Stephanie R. Krieger

Occupational Therapy Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify practitioner qualities and traits that clients with brain injury see as important. Method: An opportunistic sample of 51 participants with brain injury was interviewed about perceptions of service access and effectiveness. An interview guide was used to gather data for this phenomenological qualitative study. Four interviewers individually conducted audiotaped interviews, which were then transcribed. Coding and theme development were completed using HyperRESEARCH™ software. Results: Three themes regarding practitioner qualities emerged from the data: (a) roles of the provider, (b) perceived helpfulness of services, and (c) personal characteristics of the providers. Beneficial …

Association Of Ace Polymorphism And Diabetic Nephropathy In South Indian Patients, Vijay Viswanathan, Yanqing Zhu, Karthik Bala, Stephen Dunn, Chamukuttan Snehalatha, Ambady Ramachandran, Muthu Jayaraman, Kumar Sharma

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Objective: To study the association of ACE gene polymorphism and diabetic nephropathy in South Indian subjects.

Setting: Outpatient clinic of a specialized hospital.

Patients: The study included 109 South Indian type 2 diabetic patients (72 males and 37 females; age 56.7±9.0 years, mean±SD). The patients were subdivided into two groups: nephropathic (n=86) and normoalbuminuric patients (n=23).

Interventions: Genomic DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood leukocytes. To determine the ACE genotype, genomic DNA was amplified by PCR initially using a flanking primer pair and, subsequently when necessary, with a primer pair that recognizes the insertion specific sequence for confirmation of …

Unfinished Business: Inadequate Health Coverage For Privately Insured, Seriously Ill Children, Nancy Swigonski, Eleanor D. Kinney, Deborah A. Freund, Thomas J. Kniesner

Center for Policy Research

During the 1980s and 1990s there were great increases of health insurance coverage for poor children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and extended Medicaid eligibility. Problems remain for the small number of children with serious medical conditions whose care is a high proportion of total health care expenditures on children. We report on the adequacy of health insurance coverage for a sample of children with serious and rare illnesses treated at the single tertiary care pediatric hospital in Indiana. One-third of privately insured children in our data had inadequate insurance. Compared to families with inadequate health insurance families …

Determinants Of Medical Costs Following A Diagnosis Of Depression, Regina H. Powers, Thomas J. Kniesner, Thomas W. Croghan

Center for Policy Research

Objective: Assess the determinants of medical costs for depressed individuals.

Method: Using medical insurance claims for a population of depressed individuals with employer provided insurance, we estimated multivariate models of the costs for general medical care, exclusive of costs for mental health services, following diagnosis. Explanatory variables included provider choice (psychiatrist or non-physician mental health specialist), treatment choice (medication, psychotherapy, or combination treatment); treatment adequacy as defined by APA guidelines; characteristics of depression symptoms and severity; and other demographic characteristics.

Results: On average, there were increases in the costs for general medical services in the year following diagnosis of a …

Walker-Assisted Gait In Rehabilitation: A Study Of Biomechanics And Instrumentation, Rebecca Ann Bachschmidt, Gerald F. Harris, Guy G. Simoneau

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

While walkers are commonly prescribed to improve patient stability and ambulatory ability, quantitative study of the biomechanical and functional requirements for effective walker use is limited. To date no one has addressed the changes in upper extremity kinetics that occur with the use of a standard walker, which was the objective of this study. A strain gauge-based walker instrumentation system was developed for the six degree-of-freedom measurement of resultant subject hand loads. The walker dynamometer was integrated with an upper extremity biomechanical model. Preliminary system data were collected for seven healthy, right-handed young adults following informed consent. Bilateral upper extremity …

Maternal Deaths In A Developing Country: A Study From The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan 1988-1999, R N. Qureshi, S Jaleel, R Hamid, S F. Lakha

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Objective: The maternal deaths occurring over a twelve-year period (1988-1999) in a tertiary referral center were reviewed. The purpose of the study was to assess the causes of these maternal deaths.
Setting: The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: The medical records of maternal deaths were reviewed. These were women who had either registered for delivery at the hospital; or were referred from another hospital or from home, when an emergency developed. They were either admitted to the Medicine, Surgery and the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments at the hospital.Results: A total of 81 maternal deaths were identified, of …

Assessment Of Immune System Involvement In Tourette Syndrome, Ashley Dawn Levine

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Tourette syndrome (TS) is currently hypothesized to be the result of genetic and immunological components. This study investigated whether TS subjects produce IgG and IgA antibodies that bind to caudate nucleus, hippocampus, frontal cortex, cerebellum, thalamus, globus pallidus interior, exterior and putamen. Thirty- two children (14 TS, 7 family control, and 11 non-family control) and thirty-nine adults (11 TS, 14 family control, and 14 non-family control) were studied. Immunofluorescent studies were performed on basal ganglia tissue using serum from TS children and their family members. Brain antigens were prepared as two fractions (supernatant and pellet) and used as targets for …

Review Of: Health And Disease In Human History (Robert I. Rotberg Ed.), Terry Cromwell

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of the book: Health and Disease in Human History: A Journal of Interdisciplinary History Reader (Robert I. Rotberg ed., MIT Press 2000). ISBN 0- 262-18207-6 [345 pp. $25.00 Paper, 5 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02142].

Looking Back At Fluoridation, Allan Mazur

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author reviews the 50-year history of the debate over fluoridating drinking water as a public health measure.

Chief Medical Officers' Perceptions Of Disease Management Programs, Gang Xu, Lisa E. Paddock, John P. O'Connor, David B. Nash, Mark Zitter

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

The purpose of this article is to examine chief medical officers' (CMOs) perception of disease management programs. Five open-ended questions, each addressing a major issue in the development of disease management programs, were given to 31 CMOs who attended a series of invitation-only conferences on disease management in the fall of 1999. Qualitative data analysis was conducted using the transcripts on each of the issues. Overall, the CMOs viewed the emergence of capitated disease management programs positively. They considered the population of a program to be the contractual patients and/or those at risk for the target disease. On the issue …

Measurement Of The Impact Of Winona Health Online, David B. Nash, David Shulkin, Florence Comite, Ron Loeppke, Bruce Van Cleave, Robert Kane, Jon Christianson, Douglas Pousma

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

The purpose of this article is to present the methodology to study the clinical and financial outcomes associated with the use of Winona Health Online, a novel community-wide interactive healthcare Website in Winona, Minnesota. Outcome methodology was developed by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the Carlson School of Management in cooperation with nationally recognized outcomes and disease state management experts, healthcare practitioners in Winona, statisticians, and health economists. The main areas of measurement include health status, satisfaction, cost and utilization of services, and clinical quality.

The Human Genome Project And Future Direction Of Medical Genetics At Chulalongkorn University, A. Mutirangura

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Circulating Dna And Cancer Diagnosis In The Future, A. Mutirangura

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Perb11 (Mic) As A Possible Susceptibility Genefor Nasopharyngeal Cancer Development, W. Pornthanakasem, R. Kongruttanachok, S. Sakdikul, C. Leelayuwt, S. Setavarin, V. Kerekhajanarong, P. Supiyaphan, N. Voravud, Y. Poovorawan, A. Mutirangura

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Serum Igf-I And Igfbp-3 Levels By Elisa In Normaland Growth Hormone Deficient Children, S. Aroonparkmongkol, S. Wacharasindhu, S. Srivuthana

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Diagnosis Of Prader-Willi, Angelman And Male Fragile X Syndromes At King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital By Methylation-Specific Pcr., S. Sakdikul, A. Mutirangura

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Chromosome Analysis, M. Tansatit

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

Arsenic Alters The Function Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor As A Transcription Factor, Ronald C. Kaltreider, Alisa M. Davis, Jean P. Lariviere, Joshua W. Hamilton

Dartmouth Scholarship

Chronic human exposure to nonovertly toxic doses of arsenic is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Although its carcinogenic mechanism is still unknown, arsenic does not directly cause DNA damage or mutations and is therefore thought to act principally as a co-mutagen, co-carcinogen, and/or tumor promoter. Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that effects of low-dose arsenic (III) (arsenite) on expression of the hormone-regulated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene were strongly associated with the glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-mediated regulatory pathway. We therefore examined specifically the effects of arsenite on the biochemical function of GR in hormone-responsive H4IIE rat hepatoma cells. Completely …

The Use Of Fresh, Salt-Stored And Frozen, Immature And Mature Oocytes, To Assess The Penetration Ability Of Porcine Spermatozoa, Adisorn Adirekthaworn, Mongkol Techakumphu, Sudson Sirivaidyapong, Saroch Gnamkum

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The objective of this study was to compare the penetration rate of sperm, collected from two Landrace Boars A and B, into fresh, salt-stored and frozen, immature and matured oocytes. The first experiment, performed on immature oocytes, revealed that the penetration rates for the three groups of oocytes was from Boar A 59.6%(59/99), 78.1%(75/96) and 77.8%(77/99) (p<0.05) and the number of sperm penetration each oocyte was 2.79±0.42, 2.97±0.29 and 2.29±0.26 respectively (p>0.05). While for Boar B, the percentages were 65.3%(62/95), 76.8%(73/95) and 77.8%(77/99) with the number of sperm per oocyte being 2.25±0.28, 3.63±0.42 and 2.57±0.36. The highest values were found in the salt-stored group (p<0.05). The second experiment involved sperm penetration into in vitro mature oocytes. No differences were found for the sperm penetration rate and the number of sperm per oocyte using semen from Boar A which were 85.1%(74/87), 86.1%(56/65) and 89.1%(79/88) and 13.87±1.45, 17.69±2.61 and 14.45±1.75. While for Boar B, the lowest penetration rate was found when using fresh oocyte, lower than the two other groups; 52.6%(50/95), 67.3%(64/95) and 69.1%(67/ 97)(p<0.05). The number of sperm entering each oocyte was also inferior in the fresh oocytes than in salt-stored and frozen ones; 1.55±0.31, 2.80±0.35 and 2.87±0.40 (p<0.05) respectively. The conclusion that can be drawn from the experiment is that a) there are significant differences in the sperm penetration ability of different the boars used and b) the type of oocytes; immature vs. mature and fresh vs. salt-stored vs. frozen influenced the results that were obtained. It maybe possible to apply such an in vitro penetration assay to determine boar semen fertility under field conditions.

The Effect Of Methylparathion On Cholinesterase Activity In Cockle (Anadara Granosa L.) Muscle Tissues, Yanin Limpanon, Sukanya Phalitakul, Griangyut Tapcharoen, Janenuj Wongtavatchai, Piyarat Subhachalat

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The effect of methylparathion on cholinesterase activity in foot muscle tissues of cockle were evaluated. Ninety - five healthy cockle were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group was exposed to 10 ppb of methylparathion for 90 hours. Measurements of cholinesterase activity revealed increasing enzyme activity in foot muscle (p < 0.05) in the exposed animals while clinical observations showed no differences between the groups. The results indicate that methylparathion affects the observed activity of cholinesterase in cockle. However, it should be noted that the data do not correlate with those of previous studies reported in other aquatic animal species.

Dietary Intake And Energy Expenditure Of Female Collegiate Swimmers During Decreased Training Prior To Competition, Laura Ousley-Pahnke, David R. Black, Randall J. Gretebeck

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Swimmers, like all athletes, require a well-balanced diet with adequate energy intake for normal daily activities and the demands of training and competition. Investigators have typically studied nutritional status of athletes during heavy or peak training (1), (2). These studies generally show low levels of energy intake relative to expenditure, and carbohydrate intake also well below recommendations. However, several studies of the effects of exercise on energy intake have shown that as exercise energy expenditure increases or decreases, dietary intake tends to remain the same (3), (4), (5). Because training volume varies with the competitive season, it is important to …

Nurse-Midwives’ Knowledge And Promotion Of Lactational Amenorrhea And Other Natural Family-Planning Methods For Child Spacing, Richard J. Fehring, Lisa Hanson, Joseph B. Stanford

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this study was to describe and assess certified nurse-midwives’ (CNMs) knowledge and promotion of two modalities for child spacing, natural family-planning (NFP) and the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). One thousand two hundred CNMs were randomly selected from a national membership list and mailed a 24-item questionnaire on NFP and LAM. Of the 514 respondents (42.8% return rate), 450 (87.5%) were currently practicing as CNMs. Respondents had an average age of 46 years, with an average of 10 years of practice. CNMs ranked NFP as the ninth most used and the eighth most effective family-planning method in their …

Jefferson Alumni Bulletin – Volume 50, Number 2, March 2001

The Bulletin (formerly the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Bulletin)

Jefferson Alumni Bulletin – Volume 50, Number 2, March 2001 Tom Nasca’75 in appointed Dean, page 4 Hospital for neuroscience is created in wills building, page 5 Key molecular pathway in apoptosis, page 8 Swallowing a gene to treat or prevent Cancer? Page 9 “He served Jefferson during difficult times”, page 10 Gardner, Keeley, Slogoff are nominees for trustee, page 21

Comparison Of Spontaneous With Controlled Mode Of Ventilation In Tonsillectomy, F A. Khan, G A. Memon

Department of Anaesthesia

Methods: This randomized study compares spontaneous versus controlled ventilation in 60 ASA I and II patients undergoing tonsillectomy as regards haemodynamic stability, recovery characteristics, intra- and immediate postoperative complications and surgical impressions.Results: The patients in the balanced anaesthesia (B) group showed less haemodynamic variability compared to baseline after tracheal intubation, mouth gag application and removal and incision. Two patients had dysrhythmias in the B group compared to six in the spontaneous breathing (S) group. Six patients in the S group had a rise in endtidal carbon dioxide concentration above 7.8 kPa (60 mmHg). Recovery scores were higher in the B …

The Detection Of Equine Herpesvirus Antigen In An Aborted Foal Using Immunohistochemistry : A Case Report, Nopadon Pirarat, Wijit Kiatipattanasakul, Theerawat Tharasanit, Pattama Ritruechai, Umi Une, Yasuo Nomura

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Formalin fixed tissues from an aborted foal which had been diagnosed as having Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) infection, on histopathological criteria, were examined for EHV antigen using immunohistochemistry. EHV antigen was found in the focal necrotic area of the liver, especially in hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. Intranuclear and intracytoplasmic, immuno-positive labelings were also prominent in bronchiolar epithelial cells. The method allowed the visualization of the antigenic site distribution and their subsequent correlation with histopathological changes.

Review Of Addictions And Native Americans. Lawrence Armand French. Reviewed By Michael Gorman, San Jose State University., Michael Gorman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Lawrence Armand French, Addictions and Native Americans. Westport, CT: Praeger Publications, 2000. $59.95 hardcover.

Ornithobacterium Rhinotracheale Infection In Birds, Niwat Chansiripornchai, Piyarat Subhachalat

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale is a recently discovered bacterium of the rRNA superfamily V, first named in 1994. The first occurence was reported in wild birds and later shown to be widespread worldwide in commercial poultry. It has not been reported in Thailand. The bacterium causes important ecomonic losses in the poultry industry. O. rhinotracheale can affect almost all avian species and is associated with respiratory diseases. Airsacculitis and pneumonia are the most common features of infection. These clinical signs are aggravated by other factors, especially respiratory viruses and bacterial infections. Infection can be transmitted horizontally by aerosol droplets and also vertically …

A Comparison Of Resazurin Test Scores On Milk, After 1 And 3 Hours And Comparing It With Total Bacteria, Coliform And Somatic Cell Counts, Sophat Chawalkul, Witaya Suriyasathaporn

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

The present study was conducted to compare results of a resazurin test on milk, scoring it after 1 hour and 3 hours and relating it to total bacterial count, coliform count and somatic cell counts. Milk samples from the bulk tanks of 337 dairy farms in Amphur Muang and Kumpangsan, Nakhon Pathom Province, were collected during October to December, 1998. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that the resazurin test scored 1 hour later was associated only with the total bacterial count (p < 0.05), but after 3 hours associations with total bacteria, coliform and somatic cell counts were seen (p < 0.05). We conclude that a resazurin test scored after 3 hours gave a better result than the test scored after 1 hour when judging total bacteria, coliform and somatic cell counts

Ecg Quiz, Chollada Buranakarl, Kris Angkanaporn, Phiwipa Kamonrat

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

No abstract provided.