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Biomedical subjects

D Gallant

Publications and source records attributed to D Gallant.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Streamlining patient care processes through flexible room and equipment design.

Hospitals are planning and designing new environments to accommodate a greater concentration of critically ill patients and to permit the installation of sophisticated technology required for the care of this high-acuity population. A serious nursing shortage, customer demands for privacy and personal amenities, and cost constraints pose numerous problems in planning and design processes. The flexible, acuity-adaptable room concept has been introduced as a platform for changing care processes to achieve a cost-effective care model that fosters nursing efficiency and increased customer satisfaction.

Equipment Design↗

Genetic and biochemical evidence for the involvement of alpha-1,4 glucanotransferases in amylopectin synthesis

We describe a novel mutation in the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii STA11 gene, which results in significantly reduced granular starch deposition and major modifications in amylopectin structure and granule shape. This defect simultaneously leads to the accumulation of linear malto-oligosaccharides. The sta11-1 mutation causes the absence of an alpha-1,4 glucanotransferase known as disproportionating enzyme (D-enzyme). D-enzyme activity was found to be correlated with the amount of wild-type allele doses in gene dosage experiments. All other enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis, including ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, debranching enzymes, soluble and granule-bound starch synthases, branching enzymes, phosphorylases, alpha-glucosidases (maltases), and amylases, were unaffected by the mutation. These data indicate that the D-enzyme is required for normal starch granule biogenesis in the monocellular alga C. reinhardtii.

Journal Article↗

Contribution of the digestive tract microflora to amylomaize starch degradation in the rat.

To study in vivo the contribution of the bacterial flora to amylomaize starch degradation in the rat, germ-free and conventional rats were fed on a diet containing either a normal maize starch or an amylomaize starch. In germ-free rats maize starch was almost totally digested in the small intestine, whereas 40% of the ingested amylomaize starch reached the caecum and 30% was excreted, despite the very high endogenous amylase activity. Study by transmission electron microscopy of germ-free caecal contents showed an endocorrosion of the starch granule. In conventional rats, as in germ-free rats, digestibility of maize starch reached 98% in the small intestine, whereas that of amylomaize starch was only 60%. In the caecum of these rats amylomaize starch was fermented, and this led to a decrease in caecal pH and to formation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), especially propionate. Comparison between conventional rats fed on maize starch or amylomaize starch showed that caecal SCFA concentrations during a circadian cycle varied in the same way whereas total SCFA and lactic acid concentrations were much higher in rats fed on amylomaize starch. Amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) activity was similar in the caecal contents of conventional rats whatever the ingested starch. It was lower in conventional than in germ-free rats, but no starch granule remained in the caecum of conventional rats. These results showed that bacterial amylase was more efficient at degrading resistant amylomaize starch than endogenous amylase.

Amylases↗

Crack-cocaine.

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Cocaine↗

Children of depressed and schizophrenic mothers.

A sample of psychotic mothers and their children who were five years or younger when first recruited for our study of high risk children was followed up five years later. The current sample, obtained from our previous work, consisted of 18 schizophrenic, 12 depressed and psychotic, and 22 well mothers and their six to 12 year old children. The mothers were equated for education and age, and the children for sex and age. Cognitive style tests and interviews measuring social adjustment and functioning were given to both the parents and the children.

Attention↗

Interpersonal behavior in group discussion during marijuana intoxication.

Four-person groups of moderate and heavy marijuana users were studied in a group discussion situation during marijuana intoxication. Amount of participation and role behavior were compared to nonintoxicated baseline performance and to that of a no-drug control group. During intoxication, moderate users were less task-oriented and participated less in group discussion. These findings were interpreted in terms of cognitive, motivational, and physiological reactions to marijuana. The lack of any social effect on heavy users suggested the existence of behavioral tolerance.

Adult↗

Children of psychotic mothers. Performance of 3-year-old children on tests of attention.

Children of mentally ill mothers (N = 21), believed to be at risk for the subsequent development of psychopathology (high-risk group) were compared with children of well mothers (N = 21)(low-risk group) on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT). Results indicated that children in the high-risk group perform less well than low-risk children on the EFT (particularly on the more difficult stimuli), but do not differ from low-risk children on the PPVT. These results are interpreted as showing greater impairment of attention among children of mentally ill mothers than among children of well mothers.

Attention↗