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Biomedical subjects

C Willis

Publications and source records attributed to C Willis.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Degree of public support for household hazardous waste control alternatives.

This paper reports information from Massachusetts on attitudes of householders toward alternative approaches and economic solutions to household hazardous waste (HHW) generation and disposal. Residents appear to be aware of the nature of the HHW problem and clearly support action to address the problem. The majority support a law fining householders for the improper disposal of HHW, endorse paying a sales tax on domestic hazardous products to finance safe disposal, and appear willing to drive up to five miles to dispose of HHW twice yearly.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Hypotension secondary to balloon inflation of a pulmonary artery catheter.

Inflation of a balloon-tipped catheter for measurement of pulmonary artery wedge pressure caused a decrease in systemic arterial blood pressure in a mechanically ventilated patient after pneumonectomy. Obstruction by the balloon of a significant proportion of the cross-sectional area of the pulmonary circulation results in increased right ventricular afterload with subsequent decreased cardiac output and left atrial pressure. This decreased left atrial pressure can be measured accurately by the inflated balloon-tipped catheter but may be falsely low.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Relationship of gastric mucosal damage induced in pigs by antiinflammatory drugs to their effects on prostaglandin production.

Experiments were performed in pigs to examine the relationship between the effects of various nonsteroid antiinflammatory drugs on gastric (fundic) mucosal content of prostaglandin (PG)E2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, and the development of damage to the fundic mucosa under acute and chronic dosage conditions. Oral administration of a single dose of indomethacin (5 mg/kg) caused an almost immediate reduction in mucosal potential difference, followed at 5-15 min by ultrastructurally observed damage to mucosal capillaries, mucous, and parietal cells; efflux of Na+, K+, and Cl- ions into the gastric lumen with an apparent loss of luminal H+ ions; and a statistically significant reduction (from 10-60 min) in fundic prostaglandin content. Thus, under acute dosage conditions, development of mucosal damage by indomethacin was paralleled by the reduction in prostaglandin production. Repeated oral dosage of aspirin, indomethacin, sulindac, or diclofenac to pigs for 10 days significantly reduced gastric mucosal as well as plasma prostaglandin levels, coincident with the development of severe gastric mucosal damage. The relatively less irritant drugs, flufenamic acid, azapropazone, and fenclofenac, failed to significantly decrease gastric mucosal content of prostaglandins, although these drugs have been reported to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis in vitro and also were found to reduce the prostaglandin plasma levels in animals receiving these drugs. Another drug with low irritancy, meseclazone, markedly decreased both mucosal and plasma levels of prostaglandins. The results show that while ulcerogenic drugs reduce the mucosal and plasma prostaglandins levels in parallel with their ulcerogenicity, this relationship does not always hold for drugs with low ulcerogenic activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Activity of human and nonhuman amylases on different substrates used in enzymatic kinetic assay methods--a pitfall in interlaboratory quality control.

Many commercial kits have been marketed recently for the determination of amylase activity in clinical specimens by enzymatic kinetic methods. Oligosaccharides (e.g., maltotetraose or maltopentaose) or limit dextrin are used as substrates. Hydrolysis of the substrate is coupled through a series of enzymes to convert NAD+ to NADH which is measured at 340 nm. Commercially available controls and standards for the amylase test consist of pooled human sera supplemented with human, porcine, or bovine amylase. The authors tested various control sera and standards by six commercial kits. Sera supplemented with porcine or bovine pancreatic amylase gave significantly lower values when assayed by methods using maltotetraose as substrate than when assayed by methods using maltopentaose or other oligosaccharides as substrate. Sera supplemented with human salivary amylase gave comparable results by five of the six methods. Results were comparable by all six methods for serum specimen supplemented with human pancreatic amylase. These kinetic methods are superior to the older amyloclastic, saccharogenic, or dye-coupled starch methods and are expected to gain popularity among clinical laboratories. The authors recommend that quality control programs designed to evaluate interlaboratory performances consider the use of human pancreatic amylase to supplement their serum specimens.

Amylases↗
PubMed1971

Correlation between the Suppression of Glucose and Phosphate Uptake and the Release of Protein from Viable Carrot Root Cells Treated with Monovalent Cations.

Treating carrot (Daucus carota L.) discs with ice-cold NaCl solutions for 30 minutes caused three effects that appear to be functionally related: the exchange of tissue Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) for Na(+), the release of protein, and the suppression of active uptake of glucose and orthophosphate. Cyclosis continued apparently unabated after treatment with NaCl at concentrations of up to 0.25 m, so the cells remained viable and energetically competent. The correlation between the release of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) and release of protein, and between these effects and the suppression of glucose and orthophosphate uptake, supports the hypothesis that divalent cations maintain, and monovalent cations disrupt, linkages between the outer cell surface and proteins required for active solute uptake. Calcium preserved uptake activity only when it was added in time to prevent the release of protein. Cells gradually recovered some glucose uptake activity after it had been completely inactivated by treatment with 0.25 m NaCl. This recovery occurred in the absence of added Ca(2+). It was inhibited by puromycin and so appears to require some protein synthesis. Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) discs were more resistant than carrot discs to treatment with NaCl solutions, thus reflecting the difference in tolerance of the two species to sodicity.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Household hazardous waste in Massachusetts.

Household wastes, when disposed of improperly, are hazardous to health. This paper reports a random digit dial telephone survey of Massachusetts households concerning household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal with a 54% response. Of the automotive oil disposed of by 33% of survey households, 57% was deposited in the ground, sewer, or landfill. Annually by household oil disposal in Massachusetts is estimated to be 8.8 million quarts. Four percent of hazardous waste generated in Massachusetts is from households. Improper disposal makes it a major environmental contaminant. More households (41.5%) in smaller communities disposed of oil compared with 26% of households in larger communities. Paint and pesticides were disposed of by 10% of the households, but were dumped on the ground sewer or landfills more than 90% of the time.

Household Products↗