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Biomedical subjects

D J McKenzie

Publications and source records attributed to D J McKenzie.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Adrenergic receptors, Na+/H+ exchange and volume regulation in lungfish erythrocytes.

Aestivation in African and South American lungfish (Protopterus and Lepidosiren, respectively) is associated with elevations of extracellular osmolarity. Osmotic shrinkage of Protopterus red blood cells (RBCs) caused a small but significant stimulation of the Na influx that was amiloride-sensitive. suggesting involvement of the Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE). The associated in vitro regulatory volume increase was insignificant within a time frame of 120 min, but the shrinkage-activated Na+ influx may be sufficient for slow regulatory volume increase during aestivation in vivo. Osmotic swelling of the RBCs induced an incomplete regulatory volume decrease that was statistically significant after 180 min. The RBCs of Protopterus were very large (mean cellular volume of 6939 +/- 294 microm3) and possessed 23,066 +/- 7,326 beta-adrenoceptors cell(-1) with a Kd value of 6.1 +/- 3.2 nM. The number of receptors per unit surface area of lungfish RBCs was calculated to be twice that of trout RBCs and 70% that of cod RBCs. There was, however, no adrenergic stimulation of the NHE in either Protopterus or Lepidosiren. Acidification of the extracellular medium also failed to activate the NHE.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effects of dietary fatty acids on the respiratory and cardiovascular physiology of fish.

In animals, the composition of fatty acids (FAs) in body pools reflects dietary intake. This paper reviews evidence that the manipulation of tissue lipids of farmed fish, by feeding them different natural oils, can have significant effects on their respiratory and cardiovascular physiology. Sturgeon and eels with tissue lipids rich in highly unsaturated FAs of the n-3 series (n-3HUFAs, accumulated from dietary menhaden oil) had significantly lower metabolic rates than fish with tissues rich in saturated FAs (SFAs, from coconut oil), although they grew equally well. In sturgeon, the difference in metabolism influenced tolerance of hypoxia. Degrees of hypoxia that depressed oxygen uptake and spontaneous activity in fish rich in SFAs had no such effects on fish rich in n-3HUFAs. In the isolated sturgeon heart working in vitro, reduced oxygen supply depressed the performance of hearts with lipids rich in SFAs but not that of hearts rich in n-3HUFAs. In salmon fed diets with graded mixtures of menhaden and canola oils, there was no relationship between tissue n-3HUFA content (from menhaden oil) and any measured aspect of swimming performance, but a linear relationship between maximum sustainable swimming speed and muscle oleic acid levels (from canola oil). Such exploratory studies indicate that an animal's responses to its environment may be profoundly affected by the oils and FAs it consumes in its diet.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Effects of sublethal ammonia exposure on swimming performance in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Adult trout Oncorhynchus mykiss fitted with a dorsal aortic catheter were exposed to 288+/-15 micromol l(-1) (mean +/- S.E.M.) total ammonia for 24h in water at a pH of 8.39+/-0.02, while swimming at a speed equivalent to 0.75 bodylengths s(-1) (BLs(-1)) in a Brett-type tunnel respirometer. The fish were then exposed to stepwise increments in swimming speed (0.25 BLs(-1) every 30 min) until exhaustion. Measurements of oxygen uptake (M(O2)) and plasma total ammonia levels and pH were made at each speed. Control trout were treated identically but without exposure to ammonia. Ammonia exposure caused an increase in plasma total ammonia level to 436+/-34 micromol l(-1), compared to 183+/-30 micromol l(-1)in control animals (N=6). A significant reduction in total plasma ammonia level was found in both groups during exercise, despite a large negative concentration gradient in those exposed to an elevated concentration of ammonia in water, which may indicate an active excretory process. The overall increase in plasma ammonia levels in exposed trout was associated with a significant reduction in critical swimming speed (U(crit)) to 1.61+/-0.17BL s(-1) from 2.23+/-0.15BL s(-1) in control animals. Ammonia-exposed trout had a significantly higher maintenance metabolic rate (MMR) than control fish, when estimated as the y-intercept of the relationship between swimming speed and M(O2). Active metabolic rate (AMR, maximum M(O2) as measured at U(crit)) was significantly lower in ammonia-exposed animals, leading to a profound reduction in factorial aerobic scope (AMR/MMR). Reduced U(crit) was also linked to a reduction in maximum tailbeat frequency. Calculation of membrane potentials (E(M)) in the white muscle of fish swum to U(crit) revealed a significant partial depolarisation of white muscle in ammonia-exposed fish. This may have prevented white muscle recruitment and contributed to the reduced maximum tailbeat frequency and overall impairment of swimming performance in the ammonia-exposed fish.

Ammonia↗
PubMed1997

Legal review: protecting the confidentiality and integrity of patient records.

Computerized patient records, like paper-based records, are subject to a number of security threats. In the context of health care networks, such as integrated delivery networks, special precautions are required to protect both the confidentiality and the integrity of patient records. The article discusses the principle threats to networked patient data and recommends practical steps to reduce the inherent risks.

Computer Security↗
PubMed1996

Cardioventilatory responses to hypoxia and NaCN in the neotenous axolotl.

Ventilatory and cardiac responses to hypoxia, sodium cyanide (NaCN), and intra-arterial injection of atropine, noradrenaline and DL-propranolol were investigated in the neotenous axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). Hypoxia elicited increased gill and lung ventilation and a tachycardia. Gill ventilation and air-breathing were stimulated by NaCN infused either into the ventilatory water stream or into the bloodstream. Cardiac responses to NaCN were complex, with an initial bradycardia followed by a tachycardia. In all animals, the tachycardia developed subsequent to lung ventilation. Atropine raised resting heart rate and abolished the bradycardia elicited by NaCN. Noradrenaline stimulated gill ventilation and heart rate but not air-breathing. These responses were not abolished by DL-propranolol, and propranolol had no effect on responses to NaCN. The results indicate that the axolotl possesses O2 chemo-sensitivity to both external and internal milieu, shows similar O2 chemo-reflexes to those of larval anurans and air-breathing fish, but does not exhibit the beta-adrenergic effects on ventilation observed in water-breathing fish.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1996

Cardiac performance in relation to oxygen supply varies with dietary lipid composition in sturgeon.

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of the n-3 series that have beneficial effects on mammalian heart function are typically found at high levels in fish tissues. The effects of dietary fatty acid composition on cardiac function were investigated in the sturgeon. When compared with sturgeon maintained for 1 yr on a diet enriched with saturated fatty acids (SFA) (the coconut oil-supplemented diet, COD), sturgeon maintained on a diet enriched with n-3 PUFA (the fish oil-supplemented diet, FOD) had higher myocardial 20:5(n-3) and lower 20:4(n-6) content with a consequent decrease in the n-6-to-n-3 ratio (from 0.86 to 0.25) and a lower intrinsic in vitro heart rate (22.0 +/- 1.5 vs. 29.9 +/- 1.0 beats/min) and cardiac power output (PO) (0.33 +/- 0.08 vs. 0.48 +/- 0.03 mW/g), but had a greater in vitro scope for cardiac work (almost twice the maximal-to-basal PO ratio). Reducing the oxygen supply to the hearts significantly decreased, by approximately 40%, the maximal in vitro PO in the COD group of animals but had no effect in the FOD group. These differences in performance were not reflected in heart rate or blood pressure in vivo, either in normoxia or hypoxia. Addition of vitamin E as an antioxidant to the diets reduced intrinsic heart rate by approximately 25% but did not influence the effects (dietary fatty acid composition on in vitro cardiac performance. The results indicate that dietary n-3 PUFA can have beneficial effects on the resistance of the fish heart to environmental stressors such as hypoxia.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Aspects of cardioventilatory control in the adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii).

Cardioventilatory responses to hypoxia, the O2 chemoreceptor stimulant sodium cyanide (NaCN), and intra-arterial injection of atropine, noradrenaline and DL-propranolol were investigated in the adriatic sturgeon. Hypoxia elicited a bradycardia and hyperventilation. 1 mg NaCN added to water entering the buccal cavity stimulated a transient bradycardia but intra-arterial infusion of 150 micrograms NaCN did not, indicating that hypoxic bradycardia is controlled by chemoreceptors sensitive only to water O2 levels. NaCN stimulated hyperventilation both when added to the water and when infused intra-arterially, indicating that hypoxic hyperventilation is controlled by chemoreceptors sensitive to both internal and external milieux. Atropine abolished the hypoxic bradycardia and returned heart rate to normoxic values indicating that this species has no inhibitory vagal tone in normoxia. Noradrenaline stimulated ventilation, an effect abolished by DL-propranolol. Propranolol blocked ventilatory responses to intra-arterial infusion of NaCN whereas responses to NaCN added to the water remained unaffected, indicating that propranolol may inhibit internally-oriented O2-chemoreceptor activity or that ventilatory responses to intra-arterial NaCN are stimulated by a release of circulating catecholamines. Cardioventilatory control systems in sturgeon are similar to those of other actinopterygians but also show some characteristics of the system described for elasmobranchs.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of plasma total ammonia content and pH on urea excretion in Nile tilapia.

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were infused with ammonium salts, acid, and base to investigate the effects of changes in arterial plasma total ammonia content (Tamm) and pH (pHa) on plasma urea-nitrogen (urea-N) levels and urea-N excretory fluxes (Jurea-N). The tilapia did not possess a functional hepatic ornithine urea-cycle (no significant carbamyl phosphate synthetase III activity). Infused substances were dissolved in a saline vehicle and injected twice (5 mL kg-1), the first infusion to "prime" the animal and promote a more marked response to the second infusion, given 2.5 h later. The results reported are those of the second infusion. Infusion of 200 mM NH4Cl increased Tamm, reduced pHa, and increased plasma urea-N and Jurea-N. Two hundred mM NH4HCO3 increased Tamm and arterial plasma total CO2 content (TaCO2), reduced pHa, and increased Jurea-N. Fifty mM HCl reduced pHa but had no effects on urea dynamics. Fifty mM NaOH increased pHa, plasma urea-N levels, and Jurea-N. Two hundred mM NaHCO3 increased pHa, TaCO2, plasma urea-N levels, and Jurea-N. Infusion of the saline vehicle was without effect. The results indicate that ammonia loading and plasma alkalosis both stimulate urea excretion in uricolytic fish. The responses to hyperammonemia or alkalosis were not modified when combined with elevated plasma bicarbonate levels.

Alkalosis↗