Characterization of a continuous agitated cell reactor for oxygen dependent biocatalysis.

Biocatalytic oxidation reactions employing molecular oxygen as the electron acceptor are difficult to conduct in a continuous flow reactor because of the requirement for high oxygen transfer rates. In this paper, the oxidation of glucose to glucono-1,5-lactone by glucose oxidase was used as a model reaction to study a novel continuous agitated cell reactor (ACR). The ACR consists of ten cells interconnected by small channels.

Molecular characterization of enzalutamide-treated bone metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Background: Enzalutamide is a novel antiandrogen with proven efficacy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Objective: To evaluate enzalutamide's effects on cancer and on androgens in blood and bone marrow, and associate these with clinical observations.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this prospective phase 2 study, 60 patients with bone mCRPC received enzalutamide 160mg orally daily and had transilial bone marrow biopsies before treatment and at 8 wk of treatment.

Prevention of early-onset Group B Streptococcal disease - the Northern Ireland experience.

Objectives: To ascertain guideline adherence for prevention of Group B Streptococcal (GBS) neonatal infection and establish prevalence and outcomes in Northern Ireland (NI).

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Northern Ireland maternity units.

Caesarean section in the second stage of labour: a retrospective review of obstetric setting and morbidity.

Caesarean section in the second stage of labour is a difficult procedure, with little published evidence to guide practice. We investigated the background and morbidity. Case notes of all emergency caesareans at full dilatation over 1 year in two hospitals were studied for demographics, grade of attending doctor, other methods of surgical delivery and morbidity.

Upfront, randomized, phase 2 trial of sorafenib versus sorafenib and low-dose interferon alfa in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma: clinical and biomarker analysis.

Background: The objective of this study was to independently evaluate the objective response rate of sorafenib and sorafenib plus low-dose interferon-alfa 2b (IFN) as frontline therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

Methods: Untreated patients with clear cell mRCC were randomized to receive sorafenib 400 mg orally twice daily or sorafenib 400 mg orally twice daily plus subcutaneous IFN 0.5 million U (MU) twice daily.

Pelvic floor training for lower urinary tract dysfunction in MS.

The aim of this study was to determine if pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) improves lower urinary tract function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The authors found that a nine-week PFMT programme improved the function of the PFM, reduced the symptoms associated with lower urinary tract dysfunction and increased the quality of life in people with MS.

Five year follow-up comparing tension-free vaginal tape and colposuspension.

Burch colposuspension has been the procedure of choice for stress urinary incontinence, more recently the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) has been used. A retrospective study on all TVT's and colposupensions was performed. The present clinical condition was assessed using the Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Short-Form 12 questionnaires.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and the treatment of lower urinary tract dysfunction in multiple sclerosis--a double blind, placebo controlled, randomised clinical trial.

Aims: Lower urinary tract dysfunction affects up to 75% of the multiple sclerosis population. Results from our recent Pilot Study (McClurg et al., 2006) indicated that a combined programme of pelvic floor muscle training, electromyography biofeedback and neuromuscular electrical stimulation modalities may alleviate some of the distressing symptoms within this population.

Substance abuse in pregnancy: opioid substitution in a northern Ireland maternity unit.

An increase in illicit drug use in Northern Ireland may well have links to the resolution of political conflict, which started in the mid 1990s. Social issues, heretofore hidden, have emerged into the limelight and may be worsened by paramilitary involvement. Registered addicts in the four Health Board areas have shown an increase from 1997 with the greatest number resident within the Northern Board Area.

Comparison of pelvic floor muscle training, electromyography biofeedback, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation for bladder dysfunction in people with multiple sclerosis: a randomized pilot study.

Aim: Bladder dysfunction affects up to 90% of the multiple sclerosis (MS) population. Interventions such as Pelvic Floor Training and Advice (PFTA), Electromyography (EMG) Biofeedback, and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) have received limited research attention within this population. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a combined programme of PFTA, EMG Biofeedback, and NMES for bladder dysfunction in MS.

Emergency department post-coital contraception in Northern Ireland.

Background: The granting of a licence to Levonelle as an emergency hormonal contraceptive in the Republic of Ireland may require accident and emergency (A&E) departments to formally provide such a service. This article outlines the experiences of a Northern Ireland A&E unit.

Aims: To examine the pattern of attendance of patients requesting emergency contraception at an A&E department and to assess if adequate standards of care are achieved.

A study of quality of life in primigravidae with urinary incontinence.

This study aimed to establish the prevalence and effect of urinary incontinence on quality of life during pregnancy and after parturition. A prospective cohort of primigravidae was recruited. The Kings Health Questionnaire (KHQ) was self-administered antenatally (34 weeks to term) and postnatally (3 months after delivery).

Urinary incontinence in Northern Ireland: a prevalence study.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in a Northern Ireland community drawn from four neighbouring geographical areas and to assess factors predisposing to the development of urinary incontinence.

Subjects And Methods: A three-page self-administered postal questionnaire was sent to 1050 women (age range 35-74 years), recruited randomly from a target population of 43 829 women. The main survey was preceded by a pilot survey.

Evaluation of routine ultrasound in the prenatal diagnosis of structural anomalies of the fetus.

The objective of this study was to evaluate routine obstetric ultrasound in detecting fetal structural anomalies and the impact of changing clinical practice on success rates. A retrospective study of routine ultrasound in a population of 6,869 pregnancies was performed during 1985-86 (phase 1) to establish efficacy of ultrasound in the detection of fetal anomalies. Changes in ultrasound practice comprised timing, personnel and technique of fetal examination.

Antenatal detection of renal abnormalities.

The aim of this retrospective study is to assess the value of routine ultrasonography in the detection of renal abnormalities. Twenty-nine pregnancies (one set of twins) with suspected renal abnormalities (i.e.

Pituitary function tests in black patients with pseudocyesis.

Pituitary function was evaluated in a group of 10 patients with pseudocyesis. One patient was postmenopausal; the remainder demonstrated normal basal prolactin, luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and also normal pituitary-adrenal, pituitary-thyroid axes. Oestradiol deficiency was present in 6 patients, while 2 patients demonstrated elevated serum progesterone values, suggestive of a luteal phase.

Gynaecological day surgery at an area hospital 1983-1987.

An eight bedded self-contained day unit for minor gynaecological surgery was opened in November 1982 at Craigavon Area Hospital. In the five years from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1987, 2091 minor procedures have been performed in the unit, or 32.85% of the total gynaecological operations.

Comparison of labetalol and dihydralazine in hypertensive emergencies of pregnancy.

Labetalol (Trandate; Allen & Hanburys), a combined alpha- and beta-adrenergic blocking agent, was compared with the more commonly used peripheral vasodilator, dihydrallazine (Nepresol; Ciba), each administered as an infusion, in the treatment of severe hypertension in 20 primigravidas at greater than or equal to 32 weeks' gestation. With the dosage regimen used in this study there was a tendency towards more effective blood pressure control with dihydrallazine. The pulse rate was unaffected by labetalol therapy and there were no harmful effects on the neonate or fetus directly attributable to either drug.

Smoking in the work place: a management perspective.

In the past, smoking in the private work place has been a matter left largely to the discretion of individual employees and employers. A recent poll of the nation's largest service and industrial companies indicates a strong employer preference for this noninterventionist approach by which employees work out smoking-related problems among themselves. Nonetheless, approximately eight states and four dozen localities have passed legislation regulating smoking in the private work place, apparently in response to the courts' reluctance to order such restrictions where the employer has undertaken reasonable efforts to accommodate smokers and nonsmokers.