27 research outputs found
Uptake of the pharmaceutical Fluoxetine Hydrochloride from growth medium by Brassicaceae
No full textpara-Selective C-H Amidation of Simple Arenes with Nitriles
No full textA para-selective C-H amidation of simple arenes with nitriles has been developed. By increasing the amount of arenes, a further meta-selective C-H arylation of the produced amides occurred. Both steric and electronic effects are utilized to control the selectivity, resulting in only para-selective amidation products. The readily available nitriles as amidation reagents instead of amides makes the synthesis of N-arylamides more accessible
Telling Our Stories: Book Two
No full textCollection of stories by forty local writers describing family histories and anecdotes in the Grayson County, Texas area. Each story is preceded by a brief biographical sketch of the author
Physical activity in ankylosing spondylitis: evaluation and analysis of an eHealth tool
No full textArticleBackground Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory condition characterised by spinal arthritis and exercise is often recommended to reduce the symptoms and improve mobility. However, very little evidence exists for the value of exercise in AS.
Objectives Firstly, this pilot study aimed to evaluate an eHealth tool, the AS Observer, specifically designed to monitor symptoms, quality of life and physical activity in AS, in terms of patient experience and suitability in generating data for epidemiological studies. Secondly, it also investigated the collected data to determine if physical activity benefited individuals with AS.
Methods The AS Observer was designed to enable weekly monitoring of AS symptoms and exercise using a web based platform. Participants with AS (n = 223) were recruited to use the AS observer. They provided baseline data and completed online weekly data entry for 12 weeks (e.g. Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI), howRu, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)). Panel data analysis with fixed effects models investigated associations between variables. Activity type data and exit questionnaires were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis.
Results In general, the AS Observer was well received and considered useful by participants, with 66% providing a positive response. The collected data suggested that IPAQ is inversely associated with total BASDAI, stiffness, tenderness and pain, but not fatigue. Stratified analysis demonstrated differential associations between BASDAI, IPAQ and howRU based on sex, HLA-B27 status and disease duration. Approximately half of the participants frequently did therapy and three-quarters undertook at least some vigorous activity ranging from formal exercise to recreation and (house) work. Despite some technical challenges, tool evaluation suggested that the AS Observer was a useful self-monitoring tool for participants.
Conclusions This pilot study demonstrated that increased exercise intensity and duration were associated with an improved BASDAI symptom score in a cohort of participants with AS. Furthermore, it provided further evidence of the value of using eHealth tools for clinical purposes and data collection for research, inclusive of the development of treatment pathways and disease management strategies.The European Centre for Environment and Human Health (part of the University of Exeter Medical School) is partly supported by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013 and the European Social Fund Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Dr Jess Tyrrell is a Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation fellow. We acknowledge the use of howRu, which is a copyright of R-Outcomes Ltd
Toxic alkaloids in Lyngbya majuscula and related tropical marine cyanobacteria
No full textThe cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula is found in the littoral zone and to a depth of 30. m in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions across the globe, as well as being an important contributor to coral reef ecosystems. This cyanobacterium produces a range of chemicals that may contribute to a variety of negative health outcomes including skin, eye and respiratory irritation. The toxic compounds, lyngbyatoxin A and debromoaplysiatoxin, have been implicated in acute dermatologic reactions in human swimmers, and experiments involving these two toxins show the formation of acute dermal lesions. We explore the reported distribution and health implications of L. majuscula, with reference to factors affecting bloom frequency. The likely implications of climate change upon the distribution of the organism, and frequency of blooms are also described
Tracking losses of brevetoxins on exposure to phytoplankton competitors: Mechanistic insights
No full text
Tracking losses of brevetoxins on exposure to phytoplankton competitors: Ecological impacts
No full textBehind the medical mask : medical technology and medical power
No full textThis thesis explores the role of technology as a resource in the
structure of medical domination of birth and death, stressing
technology's pivotal position at the intersection of control and
uncertainty.
Based in Intensive Care and Obstetrics (between which the health status
of patients diverges sharply), it notes the convergence of technology
used and examines the contest for control within the labour process.
This includes using technology to facilitate a 'standardized' birth or
death; a more retrospectively defensible event. In general, the
'burden of proof' is concluded to lie with those wishing not to
intervene rather than the reverse.
Given the (cognitively male) biomedical model, mind-body dualism is an
assumption embedded in medical technology: this is especially
significant in childbirth, where it fractures the woman's ontological
experience of giving birth. Its positivistic and pathological
emphasis is associated with a reification of processes and a
commodification of their 'solution': which becomes located in
technology. It is argued that commodification in health provision will
increase with the further application of market principles to the NHS.
It is concluded that 'uncertainty', endemic to medicine and a possible
challenge to control, is proactively manipulated and pressed into the
service of medical domination. Technology is used to mask uncertainty
and aid the medical profession's control of patients/relatives, and
subordinate work groups.
A technological fix may be viewed as the opposite to re-discovering
societal dreams and myths, however, more paradoxically, it is concluded
that dreams and myths have become attached to technology. Thus, the
symbolic role of technology is: to provide hope of continued survival
(or cure), the veiling of existential uncertainty and the offer of
'absolution' - should all efforts fail (a freedom from guilt in the
assurance that "everything possible was tried"). Its 'heroic' project
is viewed as an existentially 'masculine' health provision and
'feminized' health care is posited as an alternative
