1,784 research outputs found
The outcome of elderly patients following removal of indwelling urinary catheter
The objectives of this study were to examine the documented indications for the insertion of the indwelling urinary catheter in elderly patients before admission to Zammit Clapp Hospital, St. Julians and St Vincent de Paule Residence, Luqa and to study the outcome after attempting removal of the indwelling urinary catheter. 64 patients from Zammit Clapp Hospital and 61 patients from St. Vincent de Paule Residence were studied. In 34 patients (24%), no clear reason for catheterisation prior to admission could be identified. In 46 patients (32 %) catheterisation was performed for severe uncontrollable incontinence. In all, 66 patients had their indwelling urinary catheter removed at some stage. Of these a total of 49 patients were continent 15 days after the removal of the catheter, 33 patients were still continent after 3 months and 29 patients remained continent after one year. With regards’ to continence rate, a poorer outcome was noted in patients with a mental score of less than 5/10, when compared to patients with a mental score of more than 5/10. Continence rates were better in patients from Zammit Clapp Hospital than in patients from St. Vincent de Paule residence. In conclusion, attempts should be made to use long term indwelling urinary catheterisation only if other measures fail. This can be achieved by proper multi-disciplinary team assessment and education of the patient or his carers. Full support from social services and provision and advice about the use of continence aids is necessary.peer-reviewe
The cultivation and cucurbitacin content of Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. rich
Although Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich., is considered as a minor crop in the Cucurbitaceae family. However, its medicinal virtues and its resistance to pests and diseases, have made the plant a suitable candidate to improve crop quality in Cucurbitaceae species. Cultivation studies were aimed at assessing the growth of the plant and the variation of cucurbitacins in the plant tissue with a change in the seasons.peer-reviewe
Habitat studies for the wild stocks of Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich
Ecballium elaterium (L.) A. Rich. (Cucurbitaceae), is a wild Mediterranean medicinal
plant which has been described to thrive in drastic environmental conditions. In one study, it has been described to be frost-tolerant as compared to other wild species of the Cucurbitaceae family. This study was conducted on E. elaterium wild stocks
growing in Malta (Central Mediterranean), on several soil types in order to determine the soil conditions ideal for the growth of this disease-resistant wild species.peer-reviewe
Ordinary Petri Net Matrices
This work presents some ideas and theory on representing ordinary Petri nets using matrices and builds on previous work in [11],[12]. The three main types of matrices used for Petri net representation are the input, output and incidence matrices. The motivation for this work is that matrices can provide an alternative way to describe Petri nets from the conventional graphical representation. As is indicated several properties can be inferred, observed and derived from the matrices. Some definitions and examples are used
Cardiac arrest recognition and telephone CPR by emergency medical dispatchers
Emergency Medical Service
(EMS) systems annually encounters about 275 000
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in
Europe and approximately 420,000 cases in the
United States.1 Survival rates have been reported to
be poor with approximately 10% survival to
hospital discharge.2 The chance of surviving from
an OHCA is highly associated with Emergency
Medical Dispatchers’ (EMD) recognition of cardiac
arrest, early bystander cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR), and early defibrillation.3-6
This study was a simulation based
study. All emergency nurses who were eligible by
training to answer 112 calls and activate the EMS
were included in this study. The simulations were
run by two experienced ED nurses who followed
predefined scripts. The two key questions that the
authors were after included ascertaining patient
responsiveness and breathing status. EMDs who
offered telephone assisted CPR (tCPR) were noted
and observed. The mean percentage recognition of
out of hospital cardiac arrest by the Maltese EMDs
was 67%. 28% of EMDs who recognized cardiac
arrest asked both questions regarding patient’s
responsiveness and breathing whilst only 8% of
EMDs who did not recognize cardiac arrest asked
both questions. The mean percentage of telephone
assisted CPR was 58%.
Conclusion: When compared to other
European countries, OHCA recognition by Maltese
EMDs needs to improve. However, given that the
local EMDs have no formal guidelines or
algorithms for their use during 112 calls, results are
encouraging to say the least especially in telephone
assisted CPR. With educatiopeer-reviewe
The cytotoxic Activity of Cucurbitacin E and Busulphan on ovarian and stomach cancer cells in vitro : a comparative study
A comparative study of the cytotoxicity of cucurbitacin E, a natural product, and busulphan on human ovarian and stomach cell lines was carried out. The cells were exposed to different concentrations of these two compounds and cell viability was determined from day 0 to day 11. It was observed that cucurbitacin E had a marked effect on the ovarian cancer cell line while busulphan showed a similar effect when exposed to the stomach cancer cell line. The drug-cell combinations showed a pronounced cell kill exponential curve, leading to the conclusion that cucurbitacin E exerts its pinocytic activity on the ovarian cancer cells while busulphan exerts its alkylating effect on the stomach cancer cells.peer-reviewe
Estimating the electrical conductivity of a saturated soil paste extract (ECe) from 1 : 1 (EC1 : 1), 1 : 2 (EC1 : 2) and 1 : 5 (EC1 : 5) soil : water suspension ratios, in calcareous soils from the Mediterranean Islands of Malta
The standard method to determine soil salinity is by measuring the
electrical conductivity (EC) of a saturated soil paste extract (ECe). Models
that convert EC of soil:water suspensions (EC(soil:water)) to ECe are soil
specific and are not universal models. This study aimed to develop models
to convert EC(1:1; 1:2; 1:5) to ECe for the calcareous soil of Malta. Moreover,
the effect that soil texture, carbonate and organic matter content might
have on these models was investigated. Using 114 soil samples with
contrasting textural, carbonate and organic matter characteristics, the
general models followed the equation ECe = 10(a(logEC(soil:water))+b) with
good correlation coefficients (r2 = 0.91–0.93, p < .001). Models specific to
fine and medium textured soil, soils with carbonate content between 35%
and 50%, and soils with organic matter content between 2.5% and 4.2%
showed a higher correlation coefficient (mean r
2 = 0.96). Validation of the
models using 22 independent soil samples showed that the general
models are reliable (RMSE = 0.93, 0.87, 0.97 dS m−1; NSE = 0.96, 0.97 and
0.95 for 1:1, 1:2 and 1:5, respectively). Except for the models developed
from coarse textured soil, all the parameter-specific models were reliable.
This study suggests that the general models could be used for soils of
Malta having contrasting characteristics except for those with high sand
content.peer-reviewe
Simultaneous identification of GSTP1 Ile105→Val105 and Ala114→Val114 substitutions using an amplification refractory mutation systempolymerase chain reactionassay: studies in patients with asthma
BACKGROUND: The glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme GSTP1 utilizes byproducts of oxidative stress. We previously showed that alleles of GSTP1 that encode the Ile105→Val105 substitution are associated with the asthma phenotypes of atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). However, a further polymorphic site (Ala114→Val114) has been identified that results in the following alleles: GSTP1(*)A (wild-type Ile105→Ala114), GSTP1(*)B (Val105→Ala114), GSTP1(*)C (Val105→Val114) and GSTP1(*)D (Ile105→Val114). METHODS: Because full identification of GSTP1 alleles may identify stronger links with asthma phenotypes, we describe an amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) assay that allows identification of all genotypes. We explored whether the GSTP1 substitutions influence susceptibility to asthma, atopy and BHR. RESULTS: Among 191 atopic nonasthmatic, atopic asthmatic and nonatopic nonasthmatic individuals, none had the BD, CD, or DD genotypes. GSTP1 BC was significantly associated with reduced risk for atopy (P = 0.031). Compared with AA, trend test analysis identified a significant decrease in the frequency of GSTP1 BC with increasing severity of BHR (P = 0.031). Similarly, the frequency of GSTP1 AA increased with increasing BHR. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that GSTP1(*)B and possibly GSTP1(*)C are protective against asthma and related phenotypes
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