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Biomedical subjects

A Clegg

Publications and source records attributed to A Clegg.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Ecological and individual effects in childhood immunisation uptake: a multi-level approach.

Analyses of childhood immunisation uptake have traditionally been conducted at either the ecological or the individual scale. In this paper the problems stemming from these distinct strategies are explored and the potential of a multi-level modelling approach taking simultaneous account of processes at both levels is discussed. This discussion is set in the context of a case-study of pertussis immunisation uptake using data gathered from routine child health surveillance and immunisation uptake monitoring. The role of multi-level modelling in medical geographic research is briefly evaluated.

Case-Control Studies

Retrospective study of temperature rhythms of intensive care patients.

The hourly rectal temperature record of 15 patients who spent greater than or equal to 8 days in the ICU were analyzed for circadian rhythmicity. Using cosinor analysis, a statistically significant rhythm in a period of 24 h was present on 80% of the patient days studied. The position of the acrophase, or peak, of the rhythm varied markedly both between patients and within patients, with changes of several hours from day to day. There was a tendency for the amplitude of the rhythm to be greater when the patients were unconscious than when they were conscious and in those patients who died compared with those who survived.

Adult

Suppression of natural and activated human antitumour cytotoxicity by human seminal plasma.

The influence of human seminal plasma (SP) and whole semen (S) on the expression of natural cytotoxicity by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) was examined. Marked suppression of natural cytotoxicity against K562 targets was observed when effectors were pre-treated for 1 h with SP or S diluted up to 1:400. Abrogation of cytolytic activity by SP was not the result of direct lymphotoxicity, although a reduction of approximately 50% in the number of target binding cells was observed. In addition, the cytotoxicity of interferon (alpha-IFN, beta-IFN, gamma-IFN) and interleukin 2 (IL-2) activated human PBMNC was suppressed by components present in human SP, although IL-2 activated human PBMC were relatively resistant to suppression compared with other effector (spontaneous or activated) populations. Following 1 h exposure to SP, PBMNC failed to recover more than 25% of their initial cytotoxic potential upon further in vitro incubation (18 h) in the absence of SP. However, both interferon and IL-2 caused an increase in the cytotoxicity of these populations, in some instances to the level obtained with control, IFN or IL-2 activated PBMNC. The biological significance of SP as an inhibitor of immune function under experimentally defined conditions is discussed in relation to its possible role in vivo.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic

The calmodulin content of normal and leukaemic lymphocytes.

Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and leukaemic cell lines (three of human and one of gibbon origin) were found to contain similar levels of calmodulin (CaM) when expressed relative to the total cell protein. Two of the cell lines examined further were found to contain much higher amounts of CaM per cell (up to 5-fold) than PBMC but this was readily explained by their much greater cell size. Variations in CaM levels were noted during culture of both PBMC and leukaemic cells which were apparently independent of the percentage of cells undergoing active division in these cultures. These results do not support the contention that transformed cells contain a higher proportion of CaM than normal cells.

Calmodulin

Standards of cleansing and sterilization of infant feeding utensils in the home.

Microbiological standards achieved by mothers when sterilizing babies' feeding utensils in the home were studied in the Slough area in England. Results indicated a marked improvement in this aspect of baby hygiene when compared to results of a similar survey conducted in the town of Reading, England, in 1970. Previously, 78% of bottles and 70% of the teats were recorded as being satisfactorily sterilized. During this study the number of sterile bottles had risen to 98.1%, sterile teats to 90-6%. These improved standards may be an indication of better education of mothers.

Bottle Feeding