It is unknown whether the reported short-term reduction in cardiac arrests associated with the introduction of the medical emergency team (MET) system can be sustained. We conducted a prospective, controlled before-and-after examination... more
It is unknown whether the reported short-term reduction in cardiac arrests associated with the introduction of the medical emergency team (MET) system can be sustained. We conducted a prospective, controlled before-and-after examination of the effect of a MET system on the long-term incidence of cardiac arrests. We included consecutive patients admitted during three study periods: before the introduction of the MET; during the education phase preceding the implementation of the MET; and a period of four years from the implementation of the MET system. Cardiac arrests were identified from a log book of cardiac arrest calls and cross-referenced with case report forms and the intensive care unit admissions database. We measured the number of hospital admissions and MET reviews during each period, performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of mortality following cardiac arrest and studied the correlation between the rate of MET calls with the rate of card...
Research Interests: Emergency Medicine, Incidence Geometry, Critical, Logistic Regression, Critical Care, and 15 moreCardiac arrest, Case Report, Humans, Female, Incidence, Logistic Regression Analysis, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Intensive Care Unit, Aged, Longitudinal Studies, Logistic Models, Confidence Interval, Hospital Admission, Inservice training, and Heart arrest
The presence of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) and alpha(v) integrin on cell surfaces is required for efficient adenovirus infection. Treatment of cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor FR901228 (depsipeptide) increased CAR... more
The presence of coxsackie and adenovirus receptor (CAR) and alpha(v) integrin on cell surfaces is required for efficient adenovirus infection. Treatment of cells with the histone deacetylase inhibitor FR901228 (depsipeptide) increased CAR and alpha(v) integrin RNA levels in six cancer cell lines. Sodium butyrate and trichostatin A, other histone deacetylase inhibitors, caused similar increases. Cells treated with FR901228 prior to infection had a 4-10-fold increase in transgene expression from a beta-galactosidase-expressing adenoviral vector. These studies suggest that FR901228 increases the efficiency of adenoviral transgene expression and may be useful in cancer gene therapy.
Research Interests: Cancer, Biology, Enzyme Inhibitors, Medicine, Gene expression, and 15 moreCell line, Humans, Pubmed, HIstone Deacetylase, Cyclic peptides, Cancer Gene Therapy, Dep, Anti-Bacterial Agents, HDAC, Neoplasms, Histone deacetylase inhibitor, Transgene Expression, Histone deacetylase inhibitors, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and Sodium Butyrate
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The aim of this report is to describe the intracranial cerebrovascular abnormalities and clinical status of 8 children who had familial lipoprotein disorders and evidence of thromboembolic cerebrovascular disease. Six of the 8 children... more
The aim of this report is to describe the intracranial cerebrovascular abnormalities and clinical status of 8 children who had familial lipoprotein disorders and evidence of thromboembolic cerebrovascular disease. Six of the 8 children had low levels of plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol, two had high triglyceride levels, and all came from kindreds characterized by familial lipoprotein abnormalities and premature cardio- and/or cerebrovascular atherosclerosis. Vascular occlusion, irregularities of the arterial lumen, beading, tortuosity, and evidence of collateralization were consistently noted. We speculate that cerebrovascular arteriosclerosis in pediatric ischemic stroke victims who have familial lipoprotein abnormalities may be related to lipoprotein-mediated endothelial damage and thrombosis formation, or to the failure to restore endothelial cells' integrity following damage. The apparent association of lipoproteins and strokes in children and their families merit...
Research Interests: Cardiology, Adolescent, Medicine, Lipids, Stroke, and 15 moreHumans, Child, Internal Medicine, Female, Male, Infant, Two Stroke Engine, Clinical Sciences, Lipoproteins, Thrombosis, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Neurosciences, Cerebral Angiography, Child preschool, and Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
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Research Interests: Microbiology, Mass Spectrometry, Biology, Cell Adhesion, Polysaccharides, and 14 moreBiological Chemistry, Medicine, Biological Sciences, Virulence, Methylation, Candida albicans, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Cell Shape, Cell Proliferation, Cell Wall, Virulence Factors, Mannose, Molecular Sequence Data, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests: Biology, Calcium, Biological Chemistry, Manganese, Biological Sciences, and 15 moreAnimals, Biological, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Candida albicans, Glycosylation, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Epithelial cells, Amino Acid Sequence, Cell Wall, Congo Red, Golgi Apparatus, Cheek, Acid Phosphatase, Mannans, and Medical and Health Sciences
The Candida albicans cell wall is the immediate point of contact with the host and is implicated in the host-fungal interaction and virulence. To date, a number of cell wall proteins have been identified and associated with virulence.... more
The Candida albicans cell wall is the immediate point of contact with the host and is implicated in the host-fungal interaction and virulence. To date, a number of cell wall proteins have been identified and associated with virulence. Analysis of the C. albicans genome has identified the IFF gene family as encoding the largest family of cell wall-related proteins. This family is also conserved in a range of other Candida species. Iff11 differs from other family members in lacking a GPI anchor, and we have demonstrated it to be O glycosylated and secreted in C. albicans . A null mutant lacking IFF11 was hypersensitive to cell wall-damaging agents, suggesting a role in cell wall organization. In a murine model of systemic infection the null mutant was highly attenuated in virulence, and survival-standardized infections suggest it is required to establish an infection. This work provides the first evidence of the importance of this gene family in the host-fungal interaction and virulence.
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The loss of p53-mediated apoptosis (programmed cell death) has been implicated as an important event in tumour progression in a number of systems. p53 can induce or potentiate apoptosis through several mechanisms, both by regulating the... more
The loss of p53-mediated apoptosis (programmed cell death) has been implicated as an important event in tumour progression in a number of systems. p53 can induce or potentiate apoptosis through several mechanisms, both by regulating the expression of genes which can participate in the apoptotic response and through transcriptionally independent means. There appears to be cell type variability in both the response to p53 expression and in the requirement for p53 transcriptional transactivation for the induction of apoptosis. It seems clear, however, that the induction of p53 in untransformed cells is more likely to result in cell-cycle arrest, whereas the expression of p53 in their transformed counterparts is more likely to result in the induction of apoptosis, and this may, in part, reflect the deregulated expression of E2F-1 in tumour cells. The synergistic action of p53 and E2F-1 in the induction of apoptosis has raised the possibility that the reactivation of p53 in transformed cells can be an effective tumour therapy.
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The first year at university is a time of significant flux for students, as they adjust to unfamiliar environments, encounter new approaches to teaching and develop fresh learning strategies on the road to becoming self-directed learners.... more
The first year at university is a time of significant flux for students, as they adjust to unfamiliar environments, encounter new approaches to teaching and develop fresh learning strategies on the road to becoming self-directed learners. This sense of uncertainty may be compounded by the need to interact with unfamiliar and frequently complex online systems and technologies, possibly even before arrival. Furthermore, although technology is embedded seamlessly into the personal lives of many of today's students, recent reports ...
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1EPCC, 2School of Education, 3School of Physics, 4School of Divinity, 5School of Veterinary Studies, 6Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, The University of Edinburgh, j.hardy@ed.ac.uk, denise.haywood@ed.ac.uk, spbates@ed.ac.uk,... more
1EPCC, 2School of Education, 3School of Physics, 4School of Divinity, 5School of Veterinary Studies, 6Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, The University of Edinburgh, j.hardy@ed.ac.uk, denise.haywood@ed.ac.uk, spbates@ed.ac.uk, jessie.paterson@ed.ac ...
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Background: Ascending contrast venography is the reference standard for diagnosing DVT. Observational studies suggest that compression ultrasound has 97% sensitivity and 94% specificity for proximal DVT in symptomatic patients. However,... more
Background: Ascending contrast venography is the reference standard for diagnosing DVT. Observational studies suggest that compression ultrasound has 97% sensitivity and 94% specificity for proximal DVT in symptomatic patients. However, in asymptomatic patients, such as those in the medical-surgical ICU, the test properties of ultrasound may be substantially worse. Surveys, observational studies and professional documents show that many intensivists, Research Ethics Boards, and the American College of Radiology have rejected the routine use of venography in the ICU setting. Objective: To compare the results of positive lower limb compression ultrasound with ascending contrast venography in medical-surgical ICU patients. Design: One year longitudinal cohort study. Setting: 15 bed medical-surgical closed ICU in Hamilton, Canada. Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients age >18y with an expected ICU admission >72h. Exclusion criteria were trauma, orthopedic surgery, cardiac surg...
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... 4. Schematic of the proton transfer. 64 S. Bates and]. Dwyer J. Mol. Struct. ... References 1 CD Chang, Hydrocarbons from Methanol, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1983. 2 JE Jackson and PM Bertsch, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112 (1990) 9085. 3 CD... more
... 4. Schematic of the proton transfer. 64 S. Bates and]. Dwyer J. Mol. Struct. ... References 1 CD Chang, Hydrocarbons from Methanol, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1983. 2 JE Jackson and PM Bertsch, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 112 (1990) 9085. 3 CD Chang, Catal. Rev., 26(3,4) (1984) 323. ...
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Cyclins D1, D2 and D3 are thought to function in the G1 phase of the cell division cycle by regulating the activity of cyclin-dependent protein kinases. All three D-type cyclins can be shown to associate with two specific kinases, cdk4... more
Cyclins D1, D2 and D3 are thought to function in the G1 phase of the cell division cycle by regulating the activity of cyclin-dependent protein kinases. All three D-type cyclins can be shown to associate with two specific kinases, cdk4 and cdk6, providing at least six possible combinations. To establish whether different cell types require different subsets of these complexes and whether they are altered in tumours where D-cyclin expression is perturbed, we surveyed a series of tumour cell lines and compared them where possible to non-tumorigenic counterparts. Although complexes involving cdk4 or cdk6 were readily observed in many of the cell lines, no complexes were detectable in human cells harbouring DNA tumour virus oncoproteins or in which the retinblastoma gene product (pRb) is mutated or missing. These data suggest that as well as being a potential substrate for D-cyclin-kinases, functional pRb contributes to the formation or stability of the complexes, at least in human cells.
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The mechanisms by which human breast cancers regulate their own growth have been studied by us in an in vitro model system. We showed that specific growth factors (IGF-I, TGF alpha, PDGF) are secreted by human breast cancer cells. A... more
The mechanisms by which human breast cancers regulate their own growth have been studied by us in an in vitro model system. We showed that specific growth factors (IGF-I, TGF alpha, PDGF) are secreted by human breast cancer cells. A variety of experiments suggest that they are involved in tumor growth and progression. These activities are induced by estradiol in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells and secreted constitutively by estrogen-independent cells. Concentrates of conditioned medium derived from breast cancer cells can induce the growth of hormone-dependent cells in vivo in athymic nude mice. Hormone-dependent breast cancer cells also secrete TGF beta. TGF beta is growth inhibitory. Growth inhibitors such as antiestrogens or glucocorticoids increase TGF beta secretion. An antiestrogen-resistant mutant of MCF-7 cells does not secrete TGF beta when treated with antiestrogen, but is growth inhibited when treated with exogenous TGF beta. Thus, TGF beta functions as a negative autocrine growth regulator and is probably responsible for some of the growth inhibitory effects of antiestrogens.
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... Judy Hardy1, Simon Bates2, Jon Hill1, and Mario Antonioletti1 1 EPCC and 2 The School of Physics The University of Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ {j.hardy, spbates, Jon.Hill,... more
... Judy Hardy1, Simon Bates2, Jon Hill1, and Mario Antonioletti1 1 EPCC and 2 The School of Physics The University of Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ {j.hardy, spbates, Jon.Hill, Mario.Antonioletti}@ed.ac.uk Abstract. ...
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Research Interests: Biology, Biological Chemistry, Innate immunity, Medicine, Biological Sciences, and 15 moreHumans, Endoplasmic Reticulum, Candida albicans, Glycosylation, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Growth rate, Host Pathogen Interactions, Cell Wall, Gene Family, Cell Surface Markers, Chitin, Innate Immune System, Mannans, Medical and Health Sciences, and In Vitro Techniques
The numerical scheme upon which this paper is based is the 1D Crank-Nicolson linear finite element scheme. In Part I of this series it was shown that for a certain range of incident wavelengths impinging on the interface of an expansion... more
The numerical scheme upon which this paper is based is the 1D Crank-Nicolson linear finite element scheme. In Part I of this series it was shown that for a certain range of incident wavelengths impinging on the interface of an expansion in nodal spacing, an evanescent (or spatially damped) wave results in the downstream region. Here in Part III an analysis is carried out to predict the wavelength and the spatial rate of damping for this wave. The results of the analysis are verified quantitatively with seven 'hot-start' numerical experiments and qualitatively with seven 'cold-start' experiments. Weare has shown that evanescent waves occur whenever the frequency of a disturbance at a boundary exceeds the maximum frequency given by the dispersion relation. In these circumstances the 'extended dispersion' relation can be used to determine the rate of spatial decay. In the context of a domain consisting of two regions with different nodal spacings, the use of the group velocity concept shows that evanescent waves have no energy flux associated with them when energy is conserved.
Research Interests: Engineering, Mathematics, Finite element method, Finite Element, Fourier Analysis, and 15 moreMathematical Sciences, Computation Fluid Dynamics, Physical sciences, Dispersion Relation, EVANESCENT WAVE, Numerical Model, Internal waves, Computational Grid, Energy Flux, Energy Source, Crank Nicolson, Shallow Water, Crank, Standing Wave, and Group velocity
Medical Emergency Teams (MET) have been developed to identify, review and manage acutely unwell ward patients. Previous studies have suggested that there may be obstacles to the utilization and activation of the MET. To determine the... more
Medical Emergency Teams (MET) have been developed to identify, review and manage acutely unwell ward patients. Previous studies have suggested that there may be obstacles to the utilization and activation of the MET. To determine the effect of a detailed education programme on the rate of utilization of the MET system 3.5 years after its introduction in a University teaching hospital. Prospective interventional study involving a detailed programme of education, feedback and decision support for nursing and medical staff given before, during and after implementation of a MET system. We measured the number of MET calls per month for both medical and surgical patients for 109 250 consecutive admissions to the acute care campus of Austin Health from August 2000 to June 2004. Overall activation of the MET increased from 25 calls per month to a peak of 79 calls per month over the study period (average increase of one MET call/month). After standardization for monthly admissions, the increase in MET utilization for surgical patients (increase by 1.13 MET/1000 admissions/month) was 4.9-fold greater than for medical patients (increase by 0.23 MET/1000 admissions/month; P < 0.0001). At the peak level of activity (April 2004), the MET was called to review 8.4% of surgical and 2.7% of medical admissions (P < 0.0001). There was a progressive increase in the utilization of the MET service in the 3.5 years after implementation, with the rate of uptake 4.9 times greater for surgical than for medical patients. Sustained uptake of the MET system is possible, but increased utilization may take several years to develop. Short-term studies testing the efficacy of the MET system are likely to significantly underestimate its effect on reducing adverse events. Intensive care unit resource adjustments will become necessary to meet increased demand.
Research Interests: Program Evaluation, Emergency Medicine, Health Services Research, Medicine, Prospective studies, and 11 moreHumans, Internal Medicine, Adverse Events, Emergency, Clinical Sciences, Patient Care Team, Public health systems and services research, Teaching Hospitals, Education Continuing, Critical Illness, and Outcome assessment (Health care)
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... of authoring or problems arising out of strict conformance requirements for HTML documents containing mathematical mark-up like ... Technical aspects of developing web-based maths-aware assessment systems Keith Brunton, David McKain,... more
... of authoring or problems arising out of strict conformance requirements for HTML documents containing mathematical mark-up like ... Technical aspects of developing web-based maths-aware assessment systems Keith Brunton, David McKain, Simon Bates and Antony Maciocia ...
We describe the challenges facing higher education in terms of the heterogeneity of the cohort of students that arrive at university. The reasons why such diversity exists are many: students differ widely in terms of their preparedness... more
We describe the challenges facing higher education in terms of the heterogeneity of the cohort of students that arrive at university. The reasons why such diversity exists are many: students differ widely in terms of their preparedness for study at university, their degree choice aspirations and the issue of motivation for study of a particular subject. We illustrate how well-designed e-learning course materials can support many of the particular facets of heterogeneity by offering an inherently non-linear pathway through ...