217 research outputs found
Hospital-community relations in rural county, Mississippi
The objective of this study was to describe hospital-community relations in Rural County, Mississippi and to discover those factors which were related to the choice of a hospital by the respondents. Data for the study came largely from personal interviews with 150 rural white housewives. Additional data were obtained from interviews with the physicians, hospital administrator, board or trustees, and hospital auxiliary.
The study began with a description of the hospital situation in the county, this included the acceptance of the county hospital by the community, and the satisfaction expressed concerning the services of the hospital.
The major part of the thesis involved an effort to determine the factors which were related to the choice of one of two hospitals in the community, although persons who would choose a hospital outside the county were given consideration. To discover these factors, both quantitative and nonquantitative variables were tested to discover their relation to the choice made by the respondents.
The findings revealed that those persons who had had contact with the county hospital, either through personal use or through some member of the family, ranked high on the acceptance index. Those persons who had this contact with the county hospital were generally highly satisfied with its services.
It was also found that choice of a hospital could not satisfactorally be accounted for by the objective characteristics of the respondents. It was found that four nonquantitative factors were highly related to the choice of a hospital. These were: (1) loyalty to the physician, (2) past experience with the hospital, (3) the better facilities of a hospital, and (4) the recommendation of a physician.
It was concluded that hospital-community relations between the county hospital and the rural areas of the county were fairly weak. This was due to a later start of the county hospital, and also because of the great amount of loyalty to the physicians of the older hospital
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Major facility overhauls at LAMPF
The Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) is a linear proton accelerator designed to operate at 800 MeV and 1.0 mA. It has been operating at power levels above 200 microamperes since February of 1976 and now routinely operates near the design level. This paper outlines the problems encountered with the original target cell components, the repairs required since 1976, and specifically details the steps involved in the complete replacement of the vital target cell components. These components include target boxes, collimators, main beam line magnets, and the front-end magnets of the secondary beam lines. The A-2 target cell was replaced in the spring of 1983 and the A-1 target cell was replaced in the spring of 1984. Both have operated satisfactorily since their completion, with only minor difficulties. The overhaul and total component replacement in the beam stop area (A-6) was completed in early May 1985 and has just been placed in operation. The upgrade, in addition to the replacement of the beam stop and the vacuum-to-air window with state-of-the-art designs, provides a greatly increased capability of both proton and neutron irradiation of materials
Oxidants, antioxidants, and respiratory tract lining fluids.
Respiratory tract lining fluids (RTLFs) are a heterogeneous group of substances covering the respiratory tract epithelial cells (RTECs) from nasal mucosa to alveoli. Antioxidant contained in the RTLFs can be expected to provide an initial defense against inhaled environmental toxins. The major antioxidants in RTLF include mucin, uric acid, protein (largely albumin), ascorbic acid, and reduced glutathione (GSH). RTLF antioxidants can be augmented by such processes as transudation/exudation of plasma constituents; RTEC secretory processes, including glandular mucus secretion; and cellular antioxidants derived from lysis of RTECs and of inflammatory cells. The antioxidant composition of RTLFs and their role in modulating normal and pathophysiologic RTEC functions under conditions of oxidative stress are yet to be fully characterized
Nitric oxide: a pro-inflammatory mediator in lung disease?
Inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract are commonly associated with elevated production of nitric oxide (NO•) and increased indices of NO• -dependent oxidative stress. Although NO• is known to have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, various lines of evidence support the contribution of NO• to lung injury in several disease models. On the basis of biochemical evidence, it is often presumed that such NO• -dependent oxidations are due to the formation of the oxidant peroxynitrite, although alternative mechanisms involving the phagocyte-derived heme proteins myeloperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase might be operative during conditions of inflammation. Because of the overwhelming literature on NO• generation and activities in the respiratory tract, it would be beyond the scope of this commentary to review this area comprehensively. Instead, it focuses on recent evidence and concepts of the presumed contribution of NO• to inflammatory diseases of the lung
Bioinformatics approaches for cross-species liver cancer analysis based on microarray gene expression profiling
BACKGROUND: The completion of the sequencing of human, mouse and rat genomes and knowledge of cross-species gene homologies enables studies of differential gene expression in animal models. These types of studies have the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of diseases such as liver cancer in humans. Genes co-expressed across multiple species are most likely to have conserved functions. We have used various bioinformatics approaches to examine microarray expression profiles from liver neoplasms that arise in albumin-SV40 transgenic rats to elucidate genes, chromosome aberrations and pathways that might be associated with human liver cancer. RESULTS: In this study, we first identified 2223 differentially expressed genes by comparing gene expression profiles for two control, two adenoma and two carcinoma samples using an F-test. These genes were subsequently mapped to the rat chromosomes using a novel visualization tool, the Chromosome Plot. Using the same plot, we further mapped the significant genes to orthologous chromosomal locations in human and mouse. Many genes expressed in rat 1q that are amplified in rat liver cancer map to the human chromosomes 10, 11 and 19 and to the mouse chromosomes 7, 17 and 19, which have been implicated in studies of human and mouse liver cancer. Using Comparative Genomics Microarray Analysis (CGMA), we identified regions of potential aberrations in human. Lastly, a pathway analysis was conducted to predict altered human pathways based on statistical analysis and extrapolation from the rat data. All of the identified pathways have been known to be important in the etiology of human liver cancer, including cell cycle control, cell growth and differentiation, apoptosis, transcriptional regulation, and protein metabolism. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that the hepatic gene expression profiles from the albumin-SV40 transgenic rat model revealed genes, pathways and chromosome alterations consistent with experimental and clinical research in human liver cancer. The bioinformatics tools presented in this paper are essential for cross species extrapolation and mapping of microarray data, its analysis and interpretation
Autism and ADHD Symptoms in Patients with OCD: Are They Associated with Specific OC Symptom Dimensions or OC Symptom Severity?
In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the relationship between autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom, and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions and severity has scarcely been studied. Therefore, 109 adult outpatients with primary OCD were compared to 87 healthy controls on OC, ADHD and ASD symptoms. OCD patients showed increased ADHD and autism symptom frequencies, OCD + ADHD patients reporting more autism symptoms (particularly attention switching and social skills problems) than OCD − ADHD patients. Attention switching problems were most significant predictors of OC symptom dimensions (except hoarding) and of symptom severity. Hoarding was not associated with elevated autism scale scores, but with inattention. In conclusion, attention switching problems may reflect both symptom overlap and a common etiological factor underlying ASD, ADHD and OCD
Neuropsychological dysfunction in adults with early-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder: the search for a cognitive endophenotype
Which facets of mindfulness protect Individuals from the negative experiences of obsessive intrusive thoughts?
Obsessive intrusive thoughts (OITs) are experienced by the majority of the general population, and in their more extreme forms are characteristic of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). These cognitions are said to exist on a continuum that includes differences in their frequency and associated distress. The key factors that contribute to an increased frequency and distress are how the individual appraises and responds to the OIT. Facets of mindfulness, such as nonjudgment and nonreactivity, offer an alternative approach to OITs than the negative appraisals and commonly utilised control strategies that often contribute to distress. Clarifying the role of facets of mindfulness in relation to these cognitions offers a means to elucidate individual characteristics that may offer protection from distress associated with OITs. A sample of nonclinical individuals (n = 583) completed an online survey that assessed their experiences of OITs, including frequency, emotional reaction and appraisals, and trait mindfulness. The findings from a series of multiple regression analyses confirmed that specific facets of mindfulness relating to acting with awareness and acceptance (nonjudgment and nonreactivity) consistently predicted less frequent and distressing experiences of OITs. In contrast, the observe facet emerged as a consistent predictor of negative experiences of OITs. These findings suggest that acting with awareness and acceptance may confer protective characteristics in relation to OITs, but that the observe facet may reflect a hypervigilance to OITs. Mindfulness-based prevention and intervention for OCD should be tailored to take account of the potential differential effects of increasing specific facets of mindfulness
Transitions at CpG Dinucleotides, Geographic Clustering of TP53 Mutations and Food Availability Patterns in Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is mainly attributed to diet, but the role exerted by foods remains unclear because involved factors are extremely complex. Geography substantially impacts on foods. Correlations between international variation in colorectal cancer-associated mutation patterns and food availabilities could highlight the influence of foods on colorectal mutagenesis. mutations from 12 countries/geographic areas. For food availabilities, we relied on data extracted from the Food Balance Sheets of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Dendrograms for mutation sites, mutation types and food patterns were constructed through Ward's hierarchical clustering algorithm and their stability was assessed evaluating silhouette values. Feature selection used entropy-based measures for similarity between clusterings, combined with principal component analysis by exhaustive and heuristic approaches. hotspots. Pearson's correlation scores, computed between the principal components of the datamatrices for mutation types, food availability and mutation sites, demonstrated statistically significant correlations between transitions at CpGs and both mutation sites and availabilities of meat, milk, sweeteners and animal fats, the energy-dense foods at the basis of “Western” diets. This is best explainable by differential exposure to nitrosative DNA damage due to foods that promote metabolic stress and chronic inflammation
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