bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
History of Deliberate Self Harm May Predict Methods of Fatal Self Harm in the Elderly
Authors: Salib Emad , Tadros George , Cawley Sheila 
Published: January 2017

In this study we examined the association between methods of Deliberate Self Harm (DSH) by the elderly and their subsequent methods of Fatal Self Harm (FSH). Data was collected from the files of inquests into suicide by the elderly in Birmingham and Cheshire Coroner's Courts. All the subjects were above the age of 60, had history of deliberate self harm before the final act of fatal self harm and attracted either suicide or open verdict returned by the Coroners over a period of four years 1995–1998. We compared the methods of Deliberate Self Harm (DSH) to the methods of Fatal Self Harm (FSH) used by all the included elderly. 18 per cent of elderly victims of FSH had a previous history of DSH and in 35 per cent of the sample, the last known attempt of DSH occurred more than one year prior to the FSH. The majority of the methods that had been used in elderly DSH were used again in their final act of FSH. Nearly two thirds of all the elderly who died of an overdose had attempted suicide earlier by an overdose and one in five of those who died by hanging or drowning used the same method in an unsuccessful attempt of FSH within 12 months. A detailed history of DSH can improve the quality of risk assessment of self harm in the elderly. As more than one in three elderly victims of FSH attempted DSH more than a year prior to the final act, it is important when assessing an elderly DSH attempt that we obtain any previous case notes and question informants about the distant as well as the recent past.
Section 136 Use in the London Borough of Haringey
Authors: Simmons Peter , Hoar Amanda 
Published: January 2017

A retrospective one-year study of the use of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act was undertaken in Haringey between 1995 and 1996 to ascertain behaviours resulting in detention, and their admission rate. Data were extracted from police Section 136 forms, Emergency Assessment Centre records and patient notes. Of 90 people assessed under Section 136, the majority were male and lived locally, with the largest ethnic group being Afro-Caribbean. Each category of presenting behaviour recorded by the police was a high predictor of admission, with an overall admission rate of 82%. Behavioural categories with an admission rate of less than 79% were threats or acts of deliberate self-harm and ‘confusion’ or disorientation (57% and 67% admission rates), which both warrant police referral for specialized assessment. The three most common presenting behaviours were violent threats/acts, abnormal form or stream of speech, and walking/lying/running in the road. The police did not appear to over use Section 136. Section 136 data were incomplete, in keeping with previous studies. This should be rectified by the introduction of both a national data collection standard and a requirement for a defined local data collection point for all instances of Section 136.
Poisoning in Northern India: Changing Trends, Causes and Prevention Thereof
Authors: Sharma B R , Harish Dassari , Sharma Vivek , Vij Krishan 
Published: January 2017

A twenty-one years retrospective study (1980–2000) of acute poisoning deaths carried out at the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu and Govt. Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh — the two demographically different zones of Northern India. Union Territory of Chandigarh, which is the capital of Punjab and Haryana states, is one of the most developed parts of India, whereas Jammu primarily represents the rural India. The study is an attempt to analyze the various changing trends in acute poisoning in these zones with the aim that it will help immensely the health policy-makers to equip health care institutions accordingly. The present study reveals a steep increase in the number of acute poisoning cases and a change in the trends of the most commonly used poisons with the passage of time. Males outnumbered females and youth formed the majority of fatalities. The main victims were unemployed youth and students, followed by agricultural and domestic workers. Despite India's predominantly rural character, the urban preponderance of deaths by poisoning may reflect the role of leading a more stressful life in urban areas.
Identification of the Pseudocholinesterase Type in Human Blood Spots
Authors: Lehmann H. , Davies Daphne 
Published: January 2017

This is a test designed to identify different enzymes in blood spots, which may be up to several weeks or months old. The level is estimated by inhibiting the different enzymes by dibucaine and the percentage inhibition is known as the Dibucaine Number. The majority of the population have a DN of 80. 1 in 35 has a DN of 60 and less than 1 in 1,000 has a DN of 20. Suxamethonium is a muscle relaxant widely used in anaesthesia. Its action is brief because it is quickly destroyed by a substance in the blood called pseudocholinesterase. Some people with prolonged paralysis have been shown to have very small amounts of pseudocholinesterase, and therefore when injected with suxamethonium the action of the latter is prolonged. The condition of low blood pseudocholinesterase can be inherited. Kalow and Genest (1957)1 discovered that the pseudocholinesterase deficiency is due to the replacement of the latter by a rare, but similar substance or enzyme of much lower efficiency. These two enzymes may be distinguished by observing their inhibition by a local anaesthetic dibucaine. Experiments show that the usual enzyme is inhibited by about 80 per cent. and the unusual enzyme by about 20 per cent. Mixtures of both enzymes show an intermediate degree of inhibition. There are also other much rarer variants of the enzyme pseudocholinesterase. The two inherited genes responsible for the presence of pseudocholinesterase are the same in the majority of people, and the majority of people have the usual pseudocholinesterase in the blood. Rather less than 1 in 1,000 people has two unusual genes and these have the unusual pseudocholinesterase and about 1 in 35 has one gene for the usual cholinesterase and one for the unusual cholinesterase. The measurement of the DN does not depend on the actual level of enzyme concentration, and can be obtained with very small amounts of serum, plasma or whole blood. Experiments have shown that pseudocholinesterase remains stable in the dried state for weeks or even years; e.g., a nine-month-old spot of blood was examined and found to come from a person having one gene for usual and one gene for unusual pseudocholinesterase. A fresh sample of blood was taken from the person from whom the original spot came and the results were confirmed. It is suggested that the determination of the DN of a human blood spot which can be kept dry is practicable for a long period and may occasionally be found to be of some value in the forensic laboratory.
3. Significant Coincidental Findings at Autopsy in Accidental Childhood Death
Authors: Byard Roger W 
Published: January 2017

Three cases of unexpected childhood death are presented in which significant potentially life-threatening lesions were identified that were considered coincidental to the cause of death. Two children died of accidental asphyxia and one died of potassium fluoride poisoning. Abnormalities identified at autopsy included established myocarditis (two cases) and cardiac rhabdomyomas (one case). In one case a previously unsuspected abnormal familial karyotype was found. These cases emphasize the value of complete autopsy investigations in all types of sudden childhood death, even when the cause of death appears obvious; they also demonstrate that potentially lethal organic disease may be asymptomatic in childhood and unrelated to death.
Psychopathology in Bronchial Asthmatic Patients
Authors: Zealley A. K. , Aitken R. C. B. , Rosenthal S. V. 
Published: January 2017

A tripartite study of randomly selected adult asthmatics is reported, observations being by means of interview and psychometric tests and psychophysiological examination while breathing both freely and against external resistance. Results from normal and neurotic controls are compared. At interview, traits of obsessionality, dependency, sensitivity, anxiety and low self-confidence were commoner in asthmatics than normal controls. In tests of neuroticism, hostility and anxiety, asthmatics consistently lay intermediate between normals and neurotics, though their scores were almost all within the published normal ranges. Breathing against resistance, only the neurotics failed to hyperventilate: episodic asthmatics hyperventilated the most. As the patients with the more severe pulmonary disorder (asthma of continuous type) revealed less evidence of neuroticism, it was concluded that psychopathology need not be implicated as the cause of the asthmatic diathesis; it is as likely that the concomitant psychopathology only determines the clinical presentation.
New Thoughts about the Cause and Treatment of the Severe Ocular Manifestations of Graves' Disease
Authors: McDougall I. R. , Kriss J. P. 
Published: January 2017

The ocular manifestations of Graves' disease are probably due to autoimmunity. Thyroglobulin and complexes of thyroglobulin and antithyroglobulin have a predilection to attach to extraocular muscle membranes in vitro. It is suggested that in vivo these molecules are directed, probably via lymphatics, to the orbit where they attach to the muscle cell membranes. B lymphocytes, which have been shown to be capable of combining with both thyroglobulin and complexes, attach on to these molecules. The tissue damage is probably caused by the complexes, the lymphocytes, or both. Treatment of hyperthyroidism in a patient with ophthalmopathy should be cautious and with antithyroid drugs. This will reduce, though not completely eliminate, the possibility of a post-treatment exacerbation. If for some reason definitive treatment of the hyperthyroidism is essential, worsening of the ophthalmopathy may be prevented by prescribing steroids or immunosuppressive drugs at the time of surgical or radioiodine treatment. When progressive eye disease has arisen, orbital radiotherapy is a safe effective alternative to high dose corticosteroid treatment or surgical decompression.
Activity of Cephazolin and other Cephalosporins against Bacteroides Fragilis
Authors: Leigh D. A. , Simmons Kate 
Published: January 2017

The antibiotic sensitivity of 50 strains of Bacteroides fragilis to four cephalosporin compounds, cephazolin, cephaloridine, cephradine and cephalexin is reported. Cephazolin was found to be the most active, 94 per cent of strains being susceptible to blood concentrations achieved on standard dosage, comparative findings with cephaloridine and cephradine were about 50 per cent, and only 22 per cent of strains were inhibited by cephalexin. The importance of infections due to bacteroides is discussed. Although not the treatment of choice, cephazolin, in view of its bacterial activity may be a useful alternative for bacteroides infections but clinical trials are needed to confirm the laboratory results.
A Comparison of Amitriptyline and a Fluphenazine/Nortriptyline Preparation in Anxiety-Depressive States
Authors: Bennie E. H. , Schiff A. A. 
Published: January 2017

Patients suffering from mixed anxiety/depressive reactions, referred to the out-patient department of a large psychiatric hospital, were treated with either amitriptyline tablets or fluphenazine with nortriptyline (f/n) tablets for a period of four weeks. The study utilized a double-blind, completely randomised design, and patients' progress was assessed by means of the Wing Present State Examination, the Wakefield Self-Assessment Depression Inventory, and a side effects inventory. Both the symptom rating scales showed that purely depressive symptomatology improved significantly in each treatment group, but the patients' self-ratings showed that only f/n produced a significant alleviation of anxiety symptoms and panic attacks. The patients receiving f/n rated themselves as significantly (p >0.05) less irritable, as well as less anxious, after 4 weeks treatment, than those receiving amitriptyline. The PSE schedule did not differentiate between the 2 treatment groups, but self-rating, which is a more sensitive method of eliciting drug effectiveness in patients suffering from mild psychiatric disorders, did demonstrate patient preference for f/n. This should have important implications for compliance with treatment.
Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Cancer
Authors: Roberts J. A. 
Published: January 2017

This article is a review of immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer incorporating the history of immunotherapy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, assessment of the techniques currently in use and of possible future developments. Although immunotherapy is not established as a therapeutic technique, evidence suggests that the immune response does influence the development of neoplastic cells. A better understanding of the immune response and its control may lead to the production of efficacious immunological treatment of certain cancers.
Further Experience with Augmentin in the Treatment of Skin Infections
Authors: Millard G. 
Published: January 2017

Thirty-two patients with skin infections were treated with Augmentin, a combination of amoxycillin with the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid. These infections were primary skin sepsis (7), infected eczema (11), infected trauma (10) and leg ulcers (4). The majority of cases were caused by amoxycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus either alone or in combination with Streptococcus pyogenes. Thirty patients (94%) responded to treatment with only one withdrawal (for side effects). Side effects were limited to nausea (9%) diarrhoea (9%) and rash (3%). No patient with diarrhoea showed evidence of Clostridium difficile toxin production in the stools. Augmentin appears to be a safe, useful, effective antibiotic for the treatment of skin infections in general practice and in hospital. It may prove of particular value when mixed infections of penicillin-resistant staphylococci and Streptococcus pyogenes are present.
Asthma Deaths in Scotland 1965–1980
Authors: Wilson J. M. G. 
Published: January 2017

From 1965 the fall in asthma mortality in Scotland has parallelled that documented for England and Wales. The high proportion of deaths in young people, and deaths at home, is similar to findings elsewhere. Mortality is higher in the more rural health areas, which are characterised by poorer access to general medical services, fewer medical consultants to the population, and lower hospital admission rates for asthma. There is a slightly higher proportion of home deaths in these rural areas, though on the available data not reaching the level of significance. It is suggested that this difference in mortality between the more urban and the more rural areas provides a basis for a case study in detail.
Heart and Arterial Disease Risk Factor Levels in the Scottish Workforce: Cross-Sectional Study of Risk Factor Levels
Authors: McEwan S.R. , Arthur P. , Shamssain M.H. , Scott A , Whitehorn M , Packard C.J. , Ritchie L.D. , Forbes C.D. 
Published: January 2017

**** (for the SHARP Committee) Between 1991–93 a specially trained team of nurses screened 19,435 subjects from various workforces in different regions of Scotland to identify cardiovascular disease risk factor levels in the Scottish working population. The regions visited provided a wide geographical spread. Name, age, occupation, social class, personal and family history of cardiovascular disease were recorded along with consumption of tobacco, alcohol and salt. Height and weight were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated; systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, blood glucose and blood cholesterol were also measured. The proportion of social class I — IV in men studied was 49, 22, 22, and 7% respectively and in women 28, 29, 39 and 5 %. Fifty two per cent of men and 61% of women had never smoked and 24% of men and 17% of women had previously stopped smoking. Twenty one per cent of both sexes were still smoking. Eighteen per cent of men drank more than 21 units of alcohol per week and 3.4% of women drank more than 14 units per week. Mean values of SBP and DBP increased with age and the percentage with hypertension (>148/90 mm Hg) in men and women was 5% and 24% respectively. Mean BMI was slightly higher in men than women (25.3 & 24.5 respectively) and there was a significant (p<0.01) rise in BMI with age in both sexes. Forty six per cent of men and 32% of women were classified as overweight (BMI>25) while 9% of men and 9% of women were classified as obese (BMI>30). Twenty eight per cent of men and 22% of women added salt at table without tasting food. Mean values of total cholesterol in men and women were 5.36 and 5.40 mmol/l respectively increasing with age in both sexes. The percentage of men and women with a random blood sugar level >8 mmol/l (probable diabetics) was 1.9% and 1.2% respectively. Of the three major risk factors (current cigarette smoking, hypertension (>148/90) and hypercholesterolaemia using total cholesterol >6.5 mmol/l) 64% of men and 66% of women revealed none of these risk factors, 34% of men and 32% of women had one, 9% of men and 6% of women had two, and 0.20% of men and 0.14% of women had three risk factors. Using total cholesterol >7.8 mmol/l, 69% of men and 72% of women revealed none of the above risk factors, 30% of men and 27% of women had one, 6% of men and 4% of women had two, and 0.10% of men and 0.02% of women had three risk factors. The present study illustrates that cardiovascular risk factors in this randomly selected Scottish working population were lower than expected.
A Laboratory Study of Flame-Retardant Textiles Produced by an Ionizing Radiation Cure
Authors: Miles T. D. , Delasanta A. C. 
Published: January 2017

Methods for polymerizing triallyl phosphate on a cotton fabric were examined under conditions feasible for application in a commercial radiation textile finishing process. Although triallyl phosphate does not polymerize with irradiation at low dose levels at room temperature in air under the specific conditions described, it was found that copolymerization of triallyl phosphate with acrylic acid derivatives can be used to produce flame-resistant cotton fabric. A cotton fabric treated with triallyl phosphate and N-methylol acrylamide and exposed to 2 megarads of radiation from high-energy electrons, in air at room temperature produced a flame-resistant fabric durable to 15 accelerated cotton mobile launderings.
An Economical Durable Flame-Retardant Finish for Cotton
Authors: Beninate John V. , Perkins Rita M. , Drake George L. , Reeves Wilson A. 
Published: January 2017

Selected low-cost N-methylol compounds have been incorporated with tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium hydroxide (THPOH formulations and applied to cotton fabric by a number of different processing techniques. N-methylol compounds evaluated in this study were trimethylolmelamine, dimethylolethyleneurea, and dimethylolmethoxyethyl carbamate. THPOH reacts with ammonia at room temperature and with methylolamides at elevated temperatures. The flame-retardant finish produced by reacting the phosphonium hydroxide with ammonia is very durable and effective at modest add-ons. Even with modest add-ons (12–20% depending on fabric construction and weight), the phosphorus content is rather high (up to 6%). This study has shown that the amount of phosphorus needed in the flame retardant can be reduced to a fraction of that originally required by increasing the nitrogen content. Use of trimethylolmelamine and THPOH with an ammonia cure, followed by a heat cure, produced the most effective flame resistance. Treated fabrics had 100% tensile strength retention and a good hand. This treatment has resulted in the use of lesser quantities of THPOH to produce a lower-cost durable flame-retardant finish for cotton.
The Photolysis of Tyrosine and its Possible Relationship to the Yellowing of Wool
Authors: Asquith R. S. , Rivett D. E. 
Published: January 2017

Tyrosine, in the presence of air is degraded by uv light to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), ammonia and a yellow-brown pigment. The rate of production of the pigment, as measured by the Yellowness Index (YI), is very pH-dependent, production being most rapid in alkaline solution. The degradation of tyrosine is less pH-dependent. When the tyrosine was totally degraded, the pigment could be bleached by further exposure to the irradiation. In an atmosphere of nitrogen, degradation of tyrosine is slower and no pigment is formed. Thus, decomposition may proceed through either of two alternative mechanisms. In that mechanism in which pigment is produced, bleaching simultaneously occurs, but at a slower rate than color production. It is concluded that there is not necessarily a quantitative relationship between amino acid destruction and pigment producion.
An Investigation of the Preparation and Reactions of trans-3, 4-Dihydroxycyclohexyl Carbinol as a Cellulose Model Compound
Authors: Porter John J. , Spanninger Philip A. 
Published: January 2017

The synthesis of the fully equatorial form of trans-3,4-dihydroxycyclohexyl carbinol was achieved and proof of its configuration is presented. The equatorial epimer was prepared from 3-cyclohexcne-1-carboxaldehyde which was oxidized to 3-cyclohexene-11-carboxylic acid, hydroxylated and esterified to give methyl trans-3,4-dihydroxycyclohexyl-1-carboxylate. This compound was converted to the fully equatorial configuration by the use of a base. Reduction of the epimeric ester yielded the desired model compound. Proof of stereochemistry of the model was obtained from infrared spectra, boiling and melting points, and gas chromatography. The boiling points of the epimers were in agreement with the von Auwers-Skita or Conformational Rule. The cellulose model compound was reacted in separate experiments with acetic anhydride, formic acid, and N-(methoxymethylol)acetamide. Gas chromatography was used to observe the rate of reaction and periodate oxidation to determine the amount of secondary hydroxyl reacted. The results indicated extensive participation of the secondary hydroxyls in all cases and correlated with the data reported for cellulose.