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Biomedical subjects

D W Duncan

Publications and source records attributed to D W Duncan.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Hydrops foetalis in sheep.

Hydrops foetalis was observed in foetuses from a sheep flock in southern New South Wales over 4 years. Ewes showed marked abdominal distension and most died at parturition, being unable to deliver large affected foetuses. These had birth weights up to 18 kg and exhibited severe generalised oedema of subcutaneous tissues, fluid accumulation in the serous cavities and oedema of the placenta. Microscopically, there was a generalised extramedullary haemopoiesis and massive oedema, consistent with a chronic foetal anaemia. No infectious or environmental factors could be incriminated in the outbreak. The clinical and pathological findings resemble those of the homozygous alpha-thalassaemia in infants associated with haemoglobin Bart's.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Cerebellar abiotrophy and segmental axonopathy: two syndromes of progressive ataxia of Merino sheep.

Findings of a study of 39 sheep with progressive ataxia from 14 farms in the Yass district of New South Wales are described. Microscopic lesions in 25 sheep, 3.5 to 6 years of age, diagnosed as having clinical cerebellar disease, consisted of an apparent primary loss of cerebellar Purkinje neurons, and glial cell accumulation. It is suggested that this previously unreported disorder may be an hereditary cerebellar abiotrophy of Merino sheep. A further 14 sheep, 1 to 4 years of age, had distinguishable clinical signs referable to a spinal cord lesion with widespread segmental axonal ballooning, or "spheroids", in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. It is suggested that these sheep have a unique form of neuroaxonal dystrophy, described here as segmental axonopathy, and that this is likely to be the same condition described previously as Murrurindi disease (Hartley and Loomis 1981).

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Fifty opiate addicts treated with methadone blockade. Eight-year follow up.

An extended follow up of the first 50 opiate addicts in Australasia to be treated with methadone blockade is described. At follow up, 43 patients were traced and assessed. Results show that 65% of the 43 patients completed the recommended three years of blockade therapy, with an identical proportion of patients recording no new criminal convictions; and 53.5% were reported as being drug-free, with the exception of prescribed methadone. The therapy in 28% of patients was judged as being completely successful, while 70% of patients complied with criteria of leading reasonably happy and productive lives. Methadone blockade (over 100 mg a day) offers the opiate addict an excellent opportunity for recovery and rehabilitation, provided that the treatment is properly understood, administered, and followed up.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Physician heal thyself?

Eighteen drug-dependent medical practitioners were studied, and the results of their treatment were compared with the results of the treatment of non-doctor patients of similar age. The result of this comparison lent support to the suggestion that doctors who develop a dependence on drugs tend either to become abstainers or to die.

Adult↗
PubMed1972

Klebsiella biotypes among coliforms isolated from forest environments and farm produce.

Samples of water, soil, needles, and bark were collected from three different forest environments and from a pulp and paper mill. In addition, samples of fresh produce were obtained from a local supermarket. All samples were examined for total and fecal coliforms. The counts obtained from the forestrelated samples did not correlate with sample type or location. When 123 isolates were identified biochemically, 71% were Klebsiella, 19% Enterobacter, 8% Citrobacter, and 2% Escherichia. All the Citrobacter, 75% of the Enterobacter, and 65% of the Klebsiella were negative for growth in elevated coliform (EC) broth. All the Escherichia were EC positive. The counts obtained from the fresh produce were generally higher than the forest counts, but the distribution of biotypes was similar. Of the 146 isolates examined 64% were Klebsiella, 14% were Escherichia, 14% were Enterobacter, and 8% were Citrobacter. All the Enterobacter and Citrobacter were EC negative, whereas 25% of the Klebesiella and 80% of the Escherichia were EC positive.

Bacteriological Techniques↗
PubMed1963

Effect of Environmental and Physiological Conditions on the Phase of Adjustment of Pseudomonas fragi.

The duration of the phase of adjustment of Pseudomonas fragi was affected by the physiological age and growth temperature of the inoculum, as well as by the temperature at which the growth curve was determined. Cultures in the exponential phase of growth gave shorter lags than stationary-phase and resting-phase inocula. Inocula from the latter phase gave the longest lags. Inocula grown at the temperature at which the growth curve was determined usually gave the shortest lags: the greater the difference between the incubation temperature of the inoculum and the incubation temperature of the growth curve, the longer the lag. Inocula grown at temperatures below the incubation temperature of the culture tended to produce longer lags than inocula grown at temperatures above the incubation temperature. The combined effect of physiological age and incubation temperature of the inoculum was additive. The effect of the incubation temperature of the culture upon the duration of the lag depended upon the method used to determine this phase. Lags that were measured in physical time (i.e., Lockhart's lag) decreased as the incubation temperature of the culture was increased, within the temperatures used. But Monod's lag, which measures physiological time, did not decrease as the temperature of growth increased but rather appeared to vary around some constant value dependent upon the physiological condition of the culture.

Journal Article↗