Assessment of the functioning of peripheral auditory pathways after cochlear re-implantation in young children using intra-operative objective measures.

The intra-operative electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR), electrical stapedius reflex threshold (ESRT) and the early post-operative behavioural threshold level (T-level) were recorded in five children undergoing cochlear re-implantation. The aim of the study was to assess objectively the effect of re-implantation on intra-operative objective measures and to investigate neuronal function. The children were aged between 2.

Randomized clinical trial of the effectiveness of 3 commonly used mouthwashes to treat chemotherapy-induced mucositis.

Objective: To test the effectiveness of 3 mouthwashes used to treat chemotherapy-induced mucositis. The mouthwashes were as follows: salt and soda, chlorhexidine, and "magic" mouthwash (lidocaine, Benadryl, and Maalox).

Study Design: A randomized, double-blind clinical trial was implemented in 23 outpatient and office settings.

Family caregiving skill: development of the concept.

Families increasingly are expected to provide complex care at home to ill relatives. Such care requires a level of caregiving knowledge and skill unprecedented among lay persons, yet family caregiving skill has never been formally developed as a concept in nursing. The purpose of the study reported here was to develop the concept of family caregiving skill systematically through qualitative analysis of interviews with patients (n = 30) receiving chemotherapy for cancer and their primary family caregivers (n = 29).

Pneumothorax in adults with cystic fibrosis dependent on nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV): a management dilemma.

The management of pneumothorax in three adult patients with cystic fibrosis dependent on nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation is described.

Pulmonary function, serum markers of inflammation, and IgG antibodies to core lipopolysaccharide of Burkholderia cepacia in adults with cystic fibrosis, following colonization with Burkholderia cepacia.

Eight patients with cystic fibrosis [CF] colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) had serial lung function, peripheral blood inflammatory markers, and serum IgG antibodies to Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) lipopolysaccharide measured in the months preceding and following colonisation with B.

Do management algorithms improve chest pain triage?

Objective: To audit the use of management algorithms for chest pain in an emergency department.

Design And Setting: Prospective study of all patients with chest pain presenting to the emergency department of an urban teaching hospital between 12 January and 4 May 1997. Staff were asked to complete a standardised admission form that incorporated the risk stratification algorithms for managing patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome.

Low bone mineral density in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Patients with cystic fibrosis have several risk factors for the development of low bone mineral density (BMD). To identify the prevalence and clinical correlates of low BMD in adult patients with cystic fibrosis, densitometry was performed in 151 patients (83 men) aged 15-52 years.

Methods: BMD was measured in the lumbar spine (L1-4) using dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative computed tomography (QCT).

Hip fracture and bone histomorphometry in a young adult with cystic fibrosis.

A 25-yr-old male with cystic fibrosis sustained a fragility fracture of the left femoral neck, which required surgical correction. He had several risk factors for the development of low bone density and despite treatment with an oral bisphosphonate, his bone mineral density reduced further. The patient died 2 yrs after sustaining the fracture.

The Demographic Cost of Reproduction and Its Consequences in Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea).

It is an axiom of life-history theory that reproduction involves age-specific costs in terms of survival or future reproduction. The measurement of costs of reproduction in plants is difficult, and few field studies have measured these costs in terms of fitness or demographic components, thus creating a hiatus between theory and data. In this article, we describe methods for overcoming the problem, illustrated by a field study of balsam fir.

Amlodipine therapy in congestive heart failure: hemodynamic and neurohormonal effects at rest and after treadmill exercise.

This study examined the acute effects of amlodipine treatment on left ventricular pump function, systemic hemodynamics, neurohormonal status, and regional blood flow distribution in an animal model of congestive heart failure (CHF), both at rest and with treadmill exercise. A total of 14 pigs were studied under control conditions and after the development of pacing-induced CHF (240 beats per minute, 3 weeks, n = 7) or with CHF and acute amlodipine treatment for the last 3 days of pacing (1.5 mg/kg per day, n = 7).

Spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in Canadian Arctic freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems: a review.

The state of knowledge of contaminants in Canadian Arctic biota of the freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems has advanced enormously since the publication of the first major reviews by Lockhart et al. and Thomas et al. in The Science of the Total Environment in 1992.

Acute anaphylaxis following midline catheterisation in a patient with cystic fibrosis.

A 16 year old male with cystic fibrosis experienced an acute life threatening anaphylactic reaction following the insertion of an Ohmeda Hydrocath(TM) midline peripheral venous catheter. The catheter was immediately withdrawn and treatment with intravenous adrenaline, hydrocortisone, chlorpheniramine, and colloid over a 24 hour period resulted in a gradual resolution of symptoms.

Relationship between fatigue and quality of life in patients with glioblastoma multiformae.

Purpose/objectives: To evaluate changes in fatigue at the time of diagnosis (Time 1) and two weeks after the completion of radiation therapy (Time 2) and to determine the relationship between fatigue and quality of life (QOL) at each time interval in patients with glioblastoma multiformae (GBM).

Design: Descriptive study to evaluate fatigue and QOL.

Setting: Neuro-oncology clinic for accrual.

PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF TRAIT EVOLUTION AND SPECIES DIVERSITY VARIATION AMONG ANGIOSPERM FAMILIES.

Angiosperm families differ greatly from one another in species richness (S). Previous studies have attributed significant components of this variation to the influence of pollination mode (biotic/abiotic) and growth form (herbaceous/woody) on speciation rate, but these results suffer difficulties of interpretation because all the studies ignored the phylogenetic relationships among families. We use a molecular phylogeny of the angiosperm families to reanalyse correlations between S and family-level traits and use reconstructions of trait evolution to interpret the results.

Risk factors for chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis: dental appliances, oral hygiene, previous oral lesions, and history of smoking.

Oral mucositis is one of the dose-limiting toxicities of several chemotherapy (CTX) agents. There are suggested risk factors that could influence the development of mucositis. The presence of dental appliances, history of oral lesions, or smoking have the potential to irritate the oral mucosa and produce breaks in the integrity of the mucosa.

Young dentists--work, wealth, health and happiness.

Objective: To determine the relationships between working conditions for new dental graduates and their mental and physical health.

Design: A cross-sectional postal survey.

Subjects: Graduates from the years 1991 and 1994 were selected to provide cohorts before and after the introduction of mandatory vocational training.

Postgraduate dental education and the 'new' graduate.

It is notoriously difficult to evaluate educational initiatives. Nevertheless, with the introduction of mandatory vocational training, it seems curious that there has been no formal, structured assessment of whether dental vocational training is perceived as having fulfilled its aims. Nor is there information on how participation in continuing dental education relates to feelings of competence or confidence in clinical practice.

A symptom-management program for patients undergoing cancer treatment: the Pro-Self Program.

Objective: To describe the development, implementation, and refinement of the Pro-Self Program, a self-care intervention used in randomized clinical trials. The program is designed to provide adult patients undergoing cancer treatment with the information, skill, and support needed to engage effectively and consistently in prescribed self-care symptom management. The aim of the program is to enhance patients' self-care abilities to prevent symptoms or to reduce symptom severity and duration associated with disease and treatment.

Differential water resource use by herbaceous and woody plant life-forms in a shortgrass steppe community.

We conducted a study to test the predictions of Walter's two-layer model in the shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. The model suggests that grasses and woody plants use water resources from different layers of the soil profile. Four plant removal treatments were applied in the spring of 1996 within a plant community codominated by Atriplex canescens (a C shrub) and Bouteloua gracilis (a C grass).

Careers and patterns of work of Scottish dental graduates: 1991 and 1994.

Objective: To describe current patterns of employment, career intentions and factors that influence career choice in young graduates.

Design: A cross-sectional postal survey.

Subjects: Graduates from the years 1991 and 1994 were selected to provide cohorts before and after the introduction of mandatory vocational training.

Chronic amlodipine treatment during the development of heart failure.

Background: This study examined the effects of chronic amlodipine treatment on left ventricular (LV) pump function, systemic hemodynamics, neurohormonal status, and regional blood flow distribution in an animal model of congestive heart failure (CHF) both at rest and with treadmill exercise. In an additional series of in vitro studies, LV myocyte contractile function was examined.

Methods And Results: Sixteen pigs were studied under normal control conditions and after the development of chronic pacing-induced CHF (240 bpm, 3 weeks, n=8) or chronic pacing and amlodipine (1.