Looking back at the lawsuit that transformed the chiropractic profession: Overview.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of Looking Back at the Lawsuit That Transformed the Chiropractic Profession, which is a series of 8 research papers that explore the historical events surrounding the Wilk v American Medical Association lawsuit and how these events may have had an influence on the chiropractic profession.

Variability explained by strength, body composition and gait impairment in activity and participation measures for children with cerebral palsy: a multicentre study.

Objective: To determine the amount of variability in scores on activity and participation measures used to assess ambulatory individuals with cerebral palsy explained by strength, body composition, gait impairment and participant characteristics.

Design: Multicentre prospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Seven paediatric-orthopaedic specialty hospitals.

Intergenerational views of hardiness in critical care nurses.

As all nurses are aware, healthcare is experiencing a time of great change. This change can lead to stress, nurse vacancy rates, and burnout. However, the effects of stress can be mitigated by personal hardiness.

Medical futility: a paradigm as old as Hippocrates.

Medical futility is a concept commonly used to describe medical therapy that has no known or anticipated immediate or long-term benefit for a patient. The concept of futility has existed since the time of Hippocrates and has become the predominant dilemma for many end-of-life situations. Today, clinicians grapple with ethical conflicts and concepts in their daily practice.

Pharmacologic effects of grain weevil extract on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.

The grain weevil, an insect (pest) that infects grain, is a frequent contaminant of processed wheat, and its presence may contribute to respiratory abnormalities in grain workers. We studied the in vitro effects of an extract of grain weevil (GWE) on airway smooth muscle. Pharmacologic studies included in vitro challenge of guinea pig trachea with GWE, in parallel organ baths, pretreated with mediator-modifying agents or a control solution.

Innovative solutions: a plurality of vision--integrating the chaplain into the critical care unit.

Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center is a 650-bed quarternary care facility located in the Southwestern United States. It contains 12 intensive care units (ICUs) and experience a high patient acuity as a result of being a referral center for Arizona. The palliative care nurse practitioner and ICU clinical nurse specialist collaborated with the chaplain to entrance his visibility in the ICUs and to incorporate the philosophy of spiritual care assessments in the ICU.

Interlaboratory evaluation of endotoxin analyses in agricultural dusts--comparison of LAL assay and mass spectrometry.

Endotoxin exposure is associated with wheeze and asthma morbidity, while early life exposure may reduce risk of allergy and asthma. Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare endotoxin results from different laboratories and environments. We undertook this study to determine if lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extraction efficiency could account for differences among laboratories.

Airway responses to the inhalation of cotton dust and cotton bract extracts.

Background: Exposure to dust in the cotton industry is associated with respiratory dysfunction. Healthy subjects challenged with cotton bract extract (CBE) develop transient airway hyperresponsiveness. CBE, a major component of cotton dust, is potentially an important agent for studying byssinosis.

Innovative solutions: family conference progress note.

The grief and anxiety of complex medical illness, with a high likelihood of death, strains communication between medical staff and patients' families in the intensive care unit (ICU). For decades, the emphasis has been on curative intent and a paternalistic approach to decision making, which has been fostered by physicians, when patients are unable to communicate for themselves. However, the past 15 to 25 years have seen a paradigm shift in both what families expect from physicians and what physicians see as the goal of medical (especially ICU) care with respect to the patient and family wishes.

Pharmacological study of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) extract on isolated guinea pig trachea smooth muscle.

Mushroom farm workers suffer from respiratory symptoms during the farming of mushrooms. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) extract (OME) on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle in vitro. Isolated guinea pig tracheal tissue from 27 nonsensitized guinea pigs were studied.

Predictors of smoking development in a population-based sample of adolescents: a prospective study.

Purpose: To study the development of smoking behavior in adolescents using a longitudinal, multivariate design.

Methods: Adolescents (n = 14,133, age range 12 to 18 years) took part in the longitudinal Add Health study (two waves, separated by 1 year, 56% smokers and 44% nonsmokers at Wave 1). Eight risk factor domains were established at Wave 1 (daily activities, psychological health, personality, school situation, family functioning, rough living, religion, and neighborhood status), which were further separated into subdomains by factor analysis.

Pharmacological studies of the effect of wheat grain extract.

Background: Agricultural farm workers exposed to wheat grain dust are at risk of developing respiratory abnormalities. The pathogenesis of this injury is only partially understood.

Objectives: To determine the effect of wheat grainextract on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.

Pharmacologic effects of tobacco dust extract on isolated Guinea pig trachea.

Study Objective: To determine the effects of tobacco dust extract (TDE) on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.

Design: A controlled, in vitro smooth-muscle study of the effect of pharmacologic agents on TDE.

Methods: The effect of TDE on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle was tested using water-soluble extracts of dust obtained from machines in a cigarette manufacturing plant.

Exposure to particulate 1-->3-beta-glucans induces greater pulmonary toxicity than soluble 1-->3-beta-glucans in rats.

1-->3-beta-Glucans, derived from the inner cell wall of yeasts and fungi, are commonly found in indoor air dust samples and have been implicated in organic dust toxic syndrome. In a previous study, it was reported that 1-->3-beta-glucan (zymosan A) induced acute pulmonary inflammation in rats. This study investigates which form of 1-->3-beta-glucans, particulate or soluble, is more potent in inducing pulmonary inflammation.

Palliative care services.

This article presents a program developed at one facility to help provide palliative care services to patients in the intensive care units.

Comparison of endotoxin assays using agricultural dusts.

Endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria pose a significant respiratory hazard. Establishing dose-response relationships is problematic because there are no standard procedures for sampling and analysis. The goal of this study was to compare endotoxin analyses in six laboratories using Limulus-based assays for analysis of organic dusts from three agricultural environments: chicken barns, swine barns, and corn processing facilities.

Pharmacologic properties of brewery dust extracts in vitro.

Study Objectives: To study the effects of extracts of brewery dust on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle in vitro.

Design: Parallel pharmacologic intervention on guinea pig tracheal rings that were obtained from the same animal.

Setting: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Medicine.

Acute inflammatory reaction in rats after intratracheal instillation of material collected from a nylon flocking plant.

Several cases of interstitial lung disease have been diagnosed among workers at a nylon flock plant, but the etiologic agent for the disease outbreak was unknown. The results of a medical survey and industrial hygiene study indicated that the dust present in the plant may be responsible. Thus, airborne dust collected at the plant was examined for its inflammatory potential in rat lungs.

Effects of recycled paper dust extracts on isolated guinea pig trachea.

The effect of paper dust collected at two different locations in a paper recycling plant (PD1 and PD2) on isolated nonsensitized guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle was studied in vitro. Dust extracts were prepared as a 1:10 w/v aqueous solution. Dose-related contractions of guinea pig tracheal rings were elicited with both PD1 and PD2.

Home care of the patient who has pregnancy-induced hypertension.

The home health population is more seriously ill now than in the past. Patients with an illness previously treated in the hospital are being cared for in the home. Pregnancy-induced hypertension is one such process that is being treated by home care nurses.

Polyadenylation of mRNA: minimal substrates and a requirement for the 2' hydroxyl of the U in AAUAAA.

mRNA-specific polyadenylation can be assayed in vitro by using synthetic RNAs that end at or near the natural cleavage site. This reaction requires the highly conserved sequence AAUAAA. At least two distinct nuclear components, an AAUAAA specificity factor and poly(A) polymerase, are required to catalyze the reaction.

Development of improved defined media for Clostridium botulinum serotypes A, B, and E.

The minimal nutritional growth requirements were determined for strains Okra B and Iwanai E, which are representatives of groups I and II, respectively, of Clostridium botulinum. These type B and E strains differed considerably in their nutrient requirements. The organic growth factors required in high concentrations by the Okra B strain (group I) were arginine and phenylalanine.

Effects of mechanical activity and hormones on myocardial glucose and fatty acid utilization.

The effects of increased cardiac work on glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidation of fatty acids were studied in isolated rat hearts. Glycolysis was stimulated by increased work in heart perfused with glucose alone or with glucose, high levels of insulin, and low levels of palmitate. With glucose alone, stimulation was associated with a rapid decrease in phosphate potential and rapid activation of phosphofructokinase, but an apparently slower activation of glucose transport.