Another case of completely discordant findings at CVS.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
A Rose
Publications and source records attributed to A Rose.
Road to recovery.
The role of the nurse in giving information to patients has grown considerably following the work of researchers such as Hayward (1975), Boore (1978) and Wilson-Barnett (1978). From admission to discharge the nurse has a valuable educational role to play in helping patients come to terms with their present position and preparing them for the future. The questions facing nursing now are not whether nurses should undertake this role, but how well do they provide information? Do patients act on advice? And how far should relatives be included in the process of patient education? These are the questions that prompted the present study, in which 43 people completed questionnaires 6 to 8 weeks following discharge from hospital after cardiac surgery. Eighty-two per cent were completely or 'on the whole' satisfied with the information given, though the perceived adequacy varied between topics; 70% reported some associated behaviour change and in each case their relatives had been involved in receiving pre-discharge advice.
Aged↗
Plasma carotenoids in normal men after a single ingestion of vegetables or purified beta-carotene.
Changes in seven plasma carotenoids were measured in 30 men for 11 d after ingesting a single dose of pure beta-carotene or a high carotenoid vegetable. A controlled, low-carotenoid diet was fed in a crossover design. Maximum plasma concentrations of beta-carotene occurred 24-48 h after dosing with beta-carotene (12 or 30 mg) or carrots (270 g). A large intake of broccoli (600 g) or tomato juice (180 g) did not change any plasma carotenoids. We concluded that 1) normal subjects vary widely, three to fourfold, in efficiency of carotenoid absorption; 2) peak plasma response to beta-carotene in a capsule occurs at 24-48 h; 3) a large single intake of carrots produces a small increase in plasma beta-carotene but single intakes of broccoli or tomato juice do not change plasma carotenoids; and 4) plasma response to pure beta-carotene is greater than the response to a similar amount of beta-carotene in carrots.
Absorption↗
Propagation and expression of genes in yeast using 2-micron circle vectors.
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Genetic Engineering↗
Concentrations of carotenoids, retinol, and tocopherol in plasma, in response to ingestion of a meal.
Field studies and epidemiological surveys may necessitate obtaining a blood sample from a nonfasted subject for nutritional assessments. We measured the effect of a standardized test meal, eaten after an overnight fast, on the concentrations of seven carotenoid fractions, retinol, and tocopherol in plasma of eight healthy adults. The 790-calorie test meal did not alter the measured concentrations. We conclude that blood sampled up to 4 h after breakfast can be validly used for these measurements.
Adult↗
Biologically diverse molecular variants within a single HIV-1 isolate.
AIDS is a disorder characterized by a slow progressive impairment of immune function and by infection of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1, HIV-2). Our knowledge of how these viruses cause disease in man, or how the related lentiviruses (visna and equine infectious anaemia virus) cause disease in animals, is still fragmentary. In particular, the significance of genetic variation in HIV-1, occurring within populations, within individuals and over periods of time, and the mechanisms of viral persistence remain unclear. To address these issues we prepared a series of proviral clones of HIV-1 originating from a single patient and compared their biological properties. Here we show that hybrid genomes (in which the envelope region of six viral clones were separately substituted into a prototype HIV-1 genome) generated viruses with widely differing capacity to grow in human T cells, cell lines and monocytoid cultures. These data suggest that extensive biological variation exists in vivo within an infected individual and is in part determined at the level of the viral envelope.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Histamine-induced airway obstruction in infancy: changes in oxygenation.
In seven recurrently wheezy infants who were found to be histamine-responsive during bronchial challenge, changes in oxygenation (by oximeter and transcutaneous PO2 electrode) and carbon dioxide tension (by transcutaneous PCO2 electrode) were concurrently measured. The histamine challenge consisted of doubling concentrations administered by nebulizer for 1 min at 5-min intervals, up to a maximum concentration of 8 g/L. The response was determined from maximum expiratory flow using a squeeze technique. Significant mean reductions in transcutaneous oxygen tension of 0.9 +/- 0.7 kPa and 1.5 +/- 0.9 kPa were seen respectively at half the provoking concentration and at the provoking concentration of histamine that caused a significant reduction in maximum expiratory flow rates. The reduction in oxygen saturation of 4.8 +/- 3% was also significant at the provoking concentration. No significant change in transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension was seen. These results suggest that acute histamine-induced airway obstruction causes significant ventilation/perfusion disturbance in wheezy infants. Oxygen monitoring should be performed during bronchial challenge tests in infancy.
Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous↗
Lung volume changes during histamine-induced bronchoconstriction in recurrently wheezy infants.
Respiratory inductance plethysmography was used to estimate changes in functional residual capacity (FRC) in seven recurrently wheezy infants undergoing histamine challenge. Inhalations of normal saline and doubling concentrations of histamine were given up to and including the provoking concentration (PC) that caused a significant fall in maximum flow at FRC (Vmax FRC) as measured using the inflatable jacket technique. Below the PC histamine in general caused small increases in FRC [9.4 +/- 7.6 ml (mean +/- SD) at half the provoking concentration]. However, larger increases were seen at the provoking concentration (26.6 +/- 15.6 ml). Inspection of flow-volume curves obtained before and after the larger changes in FRC suggested that the reduction in airflow measured by the change in Vmax FRC was underestimated.
Bronchial Provocation Tests↗
Acute weakness and death in a cat.
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Animals↗
Limiting-dilution analysis of T cells extracted from solid human lung tissue: comparison of precursor frequencies for proliferative responses and lymphokine production between lung and blood T cells from individual donors.
This study evaluates the frequency and functions of immunocompetent T cells at the clonal level in solid human lung tissue versus peripheral blood. Enzymatic digestion of slices of histologically normal human lung yielded 18-42 x 10(6) viable mononuclear cells per gram wet weight tissue, of which 60-72% were lymphocytes; based upon these recoveries and the known weight of adult lung, the (median) lung parenchymal lymphocyte population can be estimated as 6 x 10(9), being of the same order as the blood pool and 15-30-fold that recoverable by broncho-alveolar lavage. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that the bulk of these lymphocytes was OKT3+/T11+ (CD3/CD2) T cells. Purified blood and lung T cells from each subject were cultured at limiting dilution in the presence of PHA, irradiated feeder cells and recombinant human IL-2. The mean frequency estimates for PHA-responsive T cells in these populations were 1 in 1.23 (81%) and 1 in 3.22 (31%) for blood and lung, respectively. This difference was seen for T cells from each donor and was highly significant by paired t-test (P less than 0.002). Analysis of surface phenotypes and functions of individual blood and T-cell clones indicated comparable frequencies for OKT4 (CD4) and OKT8 (CD8) expression, TNF production and mitogen-induced cytotoxicity. However, a striking inverse relationship was observed between the overall frequency of IL-2-producing clones (79% for blood versus 47% for lung) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-producing clones (46% versus 87%). These differences were found for each subject, and both were highly significant (P less than 0.001) by paired t-test. The available literature suggests that the majority of these lung T cells represent transient immigrants derived from the blood. Accordingly, the functional differences we have observed suggest either selective trapping within the lung vascular bed of peripheral blood T cells of certain functional phenotypes or alternatively selection/modulation of T cells by lung-derived factors during their transit through the tissue.
Adult↗
Lack of an effect of dietary fructose on severity of zinc deficiency in rats.
Because feeding rats diets containing fructose as the carbohydrate source reduces copper and selenium status, we investigated whether the type of dietary carbohydrate also affected indices of zinc status. The experimental design was a 2 X 2 factorial study with the source of dietary carbohydrate (cornstarch or fructose) and the level of dietary zinc (0.7 or 31 micrograms Zn/g) as the variables. The experiment utilized 76 weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats randomly assigned to one of four dietary groups. Animals fed a zinc-deficient fructose diet were allowed to consume the diet ad libitum; all other groups were pair-fed to that group to ensure equivalent nutrient and energy intake. The results of the 29-d study showed that the most sensitive indices of zinc status measured, including growth, survival and the zinc concentrations of plasma, femur and testes, were not affected by the type of dietary carbohydrate. This lack of an effect of fructose on the zinc status of the experimental animals indicates that the ability of fructose to exacerbate copper and selenium deficiencies is specific, rather than representing a generalized effect of this simple sugar on the requirements and/or metabolism of all essential trace elements.
Animals↗
Functional domains of SIR4, a gene required for position effect regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The product of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SIR4 gene, in conjunction with at least three other gene products, prevents expression of mating-type genes resident at loci at either end of chromosome III, but not of the same genes resident at the MAT locus in the middle of the chromosome. To address the mechanism of this novel position effect regulation, we have conducted a structural and genetic analysis of the SIR4 gene. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the gene and found that it encodes a lysine-rich, serine-rich protein of 152 kilodaltons. Expression of the carboxy half of the protein complements a chromosomal nonsense mutation of sir4 but not a complete deletion of the gene. These results suggest that SIR4 protein activity resides in two portions of the molecule, but that these domains need not be covalently linked to execute their biological function. We also found that high-level expression of the carboxy domain of the protein yields dominant derepression of the silent loci. This anti-Sir activity can be reversed by increased expression of the SIR3 gene, whose product is normally also required for maintaining repression of the silent loci. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that SIR3 and SIR4 proteins physically associate to form a multicomponent complex required for repression of the silent mating-type loci.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Hypoxaemia in wheezy infants after bronchodilator treatment.
The response of the bronchi to nebulised salbutamol was measured in five recurrently wheezy infants. Changes in oxygenation (measured by pulse oximeter and transcutaneous PO2 electrodes) and carbon dioxide (measured by transcutaneous PCO2 electrode) were recorded at the same time. Neither nebulised saline nor salbutamol caused any changes in the measurements of airway function. A significant drop in mean oxygen saturation of 2% and of transcutaneous oxygen tension of 1.3 kPa occurred after nebulised salbutamol. No significant change occurred in measurements of transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension, nor was there any significant change in any of these measurements after 2.5 ml of nebulised saline had been given as a control. These results suggest that nebulised salbutamol may cause significant hypoxaemia, in wheezy infants probably by inducing ventilation/perfusion disturbance.
Albuterol↗
Care of the elderly dying patient.
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Aged↗
Effect of heparin and citrate on measured concentrations of various analytes in plasma.
Frequently it is assumed that concentrations of biochemical analytes are similar for serum and plasma, without regard to the anticoagulant. Recently it has been hypothesized that use of certain anticoagulants results in an osmotic redistribution of fluid between blood cells and plasma, causing some dilution of the plasma. We sought to determine the effect of two commonly used anticoagulants, heparin and citrate, on the measured concentrations of 13 clinical-chemical analytes, including selected trace elements, vitamins, lipids, and proteins. The data demonstrate that hyperosmolar citrate causes a significant dilution of all indices measured. In contrast, heparin had no osmotic effect; concentrations of most of the analytes measured in the heparinized plasma were statistically no different from those measured in the corresponding serum. Therefore, anticoagulants must be chosen carefully, especially if concentrations in plasma and serum are to be compared.
Blood Chemical Analysis↗
Contrasting effects of the stomach and small intestine of rats on copper absorption.
Since the severity of copper deficiency has been shown to be enhanced by feeding diets containing fructose but ameliorated by diets containing starch, we decided to investigate the effect of fructose or starch on copper absorption. As copper transport has been reported to occur also from the stomach, it was possible that copper absorption is inhibited by fructose already from that tissue. Under anesthesia, stomachs of 72 rats fed copper-deficient or supplemented diets containing fructose or starch were ligated prior to the oral administration of 64Cu. Gastric absorption of 64Cu was studied when the isotope was administered by gastric tube either in diet containing fructose or starch or in water. 64Cu was not absorbed from the stomach regardless of the type of dietary treatment, copper status or whether the copper was administered either in diet or in water. In addition, the absorption of 64Cu from a diet containing either fructose or starch or from a saline solution was studied using the isolated ligated duodenal loop. When 64Cu was administered with dietary fructose 64Cu retention and absorption were impaired when compared to starch. When 64Cu was administered in saline solution, differences in retention and absorption between the four dietary groups disappeared. It is suggested that the requirements for copper rather than the decreased absorption of copper are responsible at least in part for the more pronounced severity of copper deficiency in rats fed fructose compared to those fed starch.
Absorption↗
Development of copper deficiency in rats fed fructose or starch: weekly measurements of copper indices in blood.
Copper deficiency was induced in weanling rats fed diets whose sole source of carbohydrates was starch or fructose for 7 weeks. Conventional parameters of copper status, plasma copper concentrations, ceruloplasmin activity, and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were longitudinally monitored weekly to follow the development of the deficiency and to correlate these indices with the degree of severity of the deficiency. Although 30% of the rats fed a copper-deficient fructose diet died and no deaths occurred in rats fed the copper-deficient starch diet, plasma copper, ceruloplasmin, and SOD activities were reduced to a similar extent in all rats fed copper-deficient diets regardless of the type of dietary carbohydrate. Thus, none of the indices used accurately reflected the greater degree of deficiency or mortality in rats fed the fructose diet deficient in copper. The results of the present study underscore the need for more sensitive tests or alternative parameters to assess copper status in living animals.
Animals↗
Extraction of immune and inflammatory cells from human lung parenchyma: evaluation of an enzymatic digestion procedure.
The inflammatory and immune cell populations of the human lung parenchyma have not been characterized in detail. This report describes a novel and efficient procedure for their extraction. Histologically normal human lung tissue samples from pneumonectomy specimens were sliced to 0.5 mm, and digested in collagenase/DNAse. Viable mononuclear cell yields ranged from 15-48 X 10(6)/g, and were markedly in excess of reported methods employing mechanical tissue disruption, which normally yield populations containing almost exclusively macrophages. The lung digest population was examined by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies against cell surface receptors, and found to comprise up to 40% T lymphocytes, 10% B lymphocytes and 30% macrophages, contaminated by less than 1% peripheral blood cells. Based upon these figures, the recoverable lung parenchymal lymphoid cell pool appears considerably larger than previously recognized, being of the same order as the peripheral blood pool. Initial functional studies suggest that such cellular activities as antigen-specific T cell proliferation, antigen-presentation, interleukin 1 production and natural killer cell activity survive the extraction process, and controlled enzymatic digestion experiments with peripheral blood cells indicate that the degree of enzyme-mediated damage to these functions and to cell-surface structures, was minimal. The extraction method thus appears suitable for studying the types and functions of human parenchymal lung cells in health and disease.
Aged↗