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Biomedical subjects

E A Rowe

Publications and source records attributed to E A Rowe.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Evaluation of sepramesh biosurgical composite in a rabbit hernia repair model.

BACKGROUND: In cases such as incisional hernia repair, polypropylene mesh (PPM) can be exposed to the underlying viscera and cause adhesions to the mesh. In this study, a composite prosthesis that was designed to be less susceptible to adhesion formation than PPM was evaluated in a rabbit incisional hernia repair model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 5 x 7-cm full-thickness defect was created in the abdominal wall of 30 female New Zealand White rabbits. Ten animals each were repaired with PPM, Bard Composix (PP/ePTFE), or Sepramesh biosurgical composite-a polypropylene mesh coated on one side with chemically modified sodium hyaluronate and carboxymethylcellulose (HA/CMC). The animals were sacrificed after 28 days and the overall performance, including adhesion formation and tissue integration by histology and mechanical testing, was evaluated. RESULTS: In the Sepramesh group, there was a significant reduction in the percentage of surface area covered by adhesions and a significant increase in the percentage of animals with no adhesions compared to standard materials. The tissue integration strength and overall cellular response were similar in all groups. A partially remesothelialized peritoneal surface was often apparent overlying the Sepramesh implant. CONCLUSIONS: Sepramesh biosurgical composite effectively repaired abdominal wall defects in rabbits and reduced adhesion development to the mesh compared to the use of a PPM and a PP/ePTFE composite.

Absorbable Implants↗

Fibrinolysis as a feature of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) after Pseudonaja textilis textilis envenomation.

Blood was obtained from four patients envenomated by the Australian common brown snake, Pseudonaja textilis textilis. This elapid snake has one of the most toxic venoms in the world, containing extremely potent neurotoxic and coagulant components. The latter is a potent complete prothrombinase, converting prothrombin to alpha-thrombin, and comprises more than 30% of the total venom protein. The four envenomated patients developed a typical consumption coagulopathy. Serial serum and plasma samples from patients were studied by immunoaffinity adsorption, 2-alanine precipitation of fibrinogen and fibrinogen-related products and 2-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis, and assayed for crosslinked fibrin degradation products as D dimer, using the monoclonal antibody, DD-3B6/22. These procedures showed the virtually complete disappearance of fibrinogen, accompanied by the appearance of large quantities of fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products consisting of both crosslinked and noncrosslinked species. With recovery, a homogeneous high molecular weight fibrinogen was observed. The data suggest that the prothrombin activator of this venom causes the generation of thrombin which subsequently converts fibrinogen to fibrin and stimulates partial crosslinking of both alpha and gamma-chains. The resultant disseminated intravascular coagulation is accompanied by very active secondary fibrinolysis which apparently limits the extent of any microvascular thrombosis but which may contribute to a bleeding tendency.

Adult↗

Lactation in lean and obese rats: effect of cafeteria feeding and of dietary obesity on milk composition.

Changes in milk composition associated with maternal dietary obesity and cafeteria feeding were investigated. Protein, lactose and fat contents, and the fat composition, were determined for lean and obese rats given a cafeteria diet at different stages of reproduction. Feeding the cafeteria diet during lactation resulted in an increase in long-chain fatty acids and a fall in the characteristic medium-chain fatty acids. This effect was modified by obesity and the diet during pregnancy. Feeding the cafeteria diet in lactation reduced the milk protein and increased the fat. The milk of obese rats contained more energy, with more fat but less protein than that of lean rats. Increases in fat and long-chain fatty acid content, and decreases in protein and medium-chain fatty acid content of the milk were correlated with increased maternal intake of energy, total fat and long-chain fatty acids. Thus, the greatest influence on milk composition is exerted by the maternal diet during lactation. However, these effects are modified by pre-existing maternal obesity and the diet during pregnancy.

Animals↗

Measurement of autoantibodies against fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products by enzyme-linked immunoassay.

We have devised a simple enzyme immunoassay to detect and quantitate autoantibodies against derivatives of fibrinogen. This assay has been applied with a range of antigens including a fibrinogen lysate (containing X, Y, D and E), D dimer, D dimer-E and a preparation of high molecular weight complexes derived from crosslinked fibrin. We have found that autoantibodies interacting with these antigens can be detected in varying concentrations in most sera from both normal subjects and patients with a variety of diseases and are evidently of mixed Ig class. These autoantibodies are directed against at least several cryptic antigens which appear during fibrinogen/fibrin degradation and some appear to be directed specifically against cross-linked fibrin derivatives. No clear disease correlates have yet emerged but a relationship between elevated levels and prior infective, thrombotic, inflammatory or traumatic disorders is likely. It is suggested that these autoantibodies may contribute to the catabolism of fibrinogen derivatives, provide a marker of thrombosis, and sometimes produce pathologic effects.

Autoantibodies↗

Effects of diet and obesity on body weight regulation during pregnancy and lactation in the rat.

The effects of obesity level and cafeteria feeding were studied in rats during pregnancy and lactation. The non-fetal weight gain in pregnancy was three times greater with the cafeteria diet than with chow, indicating that fat deposition is not regulated at an optimal level during pregnancy. There was a strong negative correlation between postpartum weight and weight change during lactation. Obese rats were finicky in that their weight changes in lactation were exaggerated when the diet was changed between pregnancy and lactation. Pup growth rate was proportional to maternal energy intake but in this experiment not related to maternal protein, fat or carbohydrate intake. In obese rats switched to chow, intake was inadequate for normal pup growth. Thus, the weight gains in pregnancy are not regulated at a set level, and the weight change in lactation appears to compensate for the weight gain in pregnancy.

Animals↗

High-energy diets produce different effects on fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and liver in the rat.

The influence of feeding rats a high-energy diet for 7 days on fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue, white adipose tissue and liver of the rat was investigated. The incorporation of 3H2O and [U-14C]glucose into fatty acid was measured in vivo. The rats fed the high-energy diets had higher rates of fatty acid synthesis in white adipose tissue than the controls fed on chow, while fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue and liver was either decreased or unchanged relative to that of controls fed on chow. After an oral load of [U-14C]glucose the incorporation of radioactivity into tissue fatty acid was several-fold higher in brown adipose tissue than in white adipose tissue in rats fed on chow. In rats fed the high-energy diets, incorporation of radioactivity into fatty acid in brown adipose tissue was decreased while that into white adipose tissue was either increased (Wistar rats) or unchanged (Lister rats).

Adipose Tissue↗

Sensory-specific and motivation-specific satiety for the sight and taste of food and water in man.

In normal weight humans it was shown first that the sight of food is pleasant when hungry, and that the pleasantness of the sight of a food which has been eaten to satiety decreases more than the pleasantness of the sight of foods which have not been eaten. Thus the specificity of satiety extends to the visual modality, and this may be an important factor in influencing which foods are selected for ingestion. Second, it was shown that the pleasantness of both the sight and taste of food are modulated in a motivation-specific manner, in that in hungry and thirsty humans the pleasantness of the sight and taste of food but not water is decreased by eating to satiety, and the pleasantness of the sight and taste of water but not food is decreased by drinking water to satiety. Third, it was shown that sensory-specific decreases in the pleasantness of the taste of a particular food produced by its ingestion are associated with only minor changes in the intensity of its taste, which do not account for the changes in pleasantness as shown by an analysis of covariance and by the relation between pleasantness and intensity, so that it is unlikely that sensory adaptation is an important part of the mechanism of sensory-specific satiety.

Adult↗

Variety in the diet enhances intake in a meal and contributes to the development of obesity in the rat.

Male and female rats were given three palatable, high energy foods either simultaneously or in succession during three 40 min courses. Both simultaneous and successive variety enhanced energy intake compared to the intake of single palatable foods, which was itself enhanced compared to the intake of chow. Rats deprived of food for 24 hr showed a compensatory increase in chow intake (84%) but only a 20% increase in intake in the single palatable food conditions, and no increase in the variety conditions. Male and female rats showed a similar response to variety and deprivation. The effect of variety on body weight was also examined in rats offered either chow, or chow and one palatable food, or chow and three palatable foods in succession (changed every 12 hr) or simultaneously, for seven weeks. All rats offered the palatable foods were hyperphagic compared to chow-fed controls. Rats given the simultaneous but not the successive variety diet were more hyperphagic than the other palatable food groups and showed significantly greater body weight and fat gains. The availability of a variety of foods is an important factor in the amount eaten in the meal and in the etiology of obesity.

Adipose Tissue↗

The effects of supplementation of the diet with highly palatable foods upon energy balance in the rat.

Full energy balance studies have been performed for 9 weeks on four groups of four adult female rats housed in a continuously running indirect calorimeter; for four weeks two of the groups received highly palatable foods in addition to a standard pelleted diet. A further sixteen groups, of which eight received the palatable foods, provided additional carcass composition data. All practicable precautions were taken to measure energy exchange accurately. Comparison of 'start-to-finish' apparent energy balance with carcass composition changes showed a systematic error of approx. +3% of energy throughput. This was most probably caused by losses of energy in food and excreta, which led to over-estimation of energy intake. Variations among individual balance periods added a standard error of approx. +/- 1%: the source of error here was probably imperfect matching of animals analysed at intermediate stages. The rats offered the palatable foods increased their metabolizable energy (m.e.) intake by 106 kJ/day, 51% of the control groups' intake, in the first week of supplementation. Over the whole 4 weeks of supplementation the increase was 64 kJ/day, or 31%. Withdrawal of the palatable foods led to an immediate fall in intake to about two-thirds of control level, and a return to control level over the next 2-3 weeks. Energy expenditure rose more slowly than intake, reaching a fairly steady level ca. 5 days after introduction of the palatable foods. Expenditure was then ca. 22 kJ/day above control level; an increase of 12% above control expenditure or, allowing for systematic and random errors, 33-37% of the additional m.e. intake. Expenditure returned to control level over the 2 weeks after ceasing supplementation. The experimental groups gained weight at a declining rate throughout the period of supplementation. The gain in live body weight at the end was ca. 32 g, but this comprised a carcass weight gain of 37 g and a loss of 5 g gastrointestinal tract contents. The carcass weight gain comprised 27 g fat (i.e. ca. 70% of the weight gained), 9 g lean tissue and 1 g additional water. The gain of carcass energy was 1100 kJ. There was a small increase in body length, an increase in liver weight, and an increase in the weight of the interscapular brown adipose tissue pad. Regression analysis showed that the increase in the weight of the interscapular brown adipose tissue pad reflected the increase in total body fat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

Obese rats develop hyperketonaemia and a fatty liver during lactation.

Lactating rats made obese before conception by feeding high energy foods show a decreased rate of lipogenesis in vivo in mammary gland, but not in liver. Obese lactating rats have an increased hepatic fat content, together with moderate increase in blood ketone bodies. It is suggested that these changes are due to mobilization during lactation of the expanded adipose tissue lipid pool in the obese rats which results in overloading the liver with fatty acids. The concomitant increase in ketone body concentrations may inhibit glucose utilization and hence lipogenesis in the lactating mammary gland of obese rats.

Animals↗

Effects of environmental temperature on dietary obesity and growth in rats.

We have investigated how differences in environmental temperature interact with diet-content and palatability to affect body weight and energy intake. Adult male hooded Lister rats kept at 18 degrees C or 25 degrees C became obese after over-consumption of palatable, high energy foods. The difference in body weight between the obese rats kept at 18 degrees C and their chow-fed control group was in part attributable to reductions in the growth of the controls kept at 18 degrees C. The obese rats at 18 degrees C had greater body weight gains relative to chow-fed controls than equivalent groups at 25 degrees C. All groups at 18 degrees C had greater energy intakes than equivalent groups at 25 degrees C. Withdrawal of high energy foods led to greater weight loss in rats which had been eating a diet which was varied every day than in rats which had been eating three constantly available high energy foods. Weight losses after diet withdrawal were also greater in obese groups kept at 18 degrees C than in those kept at 25 degrees C. Carcass fat determinations demonstrated that the varied diet-withdrawn rats kept at 18 degrees C did not have persistently elevated body fat stores, but the other diet-withdrawn groups were persistently obese. Therefore lower environmental temperature, and enhanced diet-palatability interact additively to increase energy intakes during cafeteria feeding, and to increase weight losses after withdrawal of palatable foods.

Animals↗

Pregnancy and lactation in the obese rat: effects on maternal and pup weights.

Lister hooded female rats, fed palatable high energy foods and chow, weighed significantly more than chow-fed control rats before mating. A smaller proportion of the obese rats became pregnant, and they lost more litters in lactation. When litters survived (7 +/- 1 pups), maternal weight changes differed between groups during lactation. The controls gained 6.2 +/- 3.2 g. whereas the obese rats lost variable amounts of weight despite the continued availability of the palatable diet. The rats that were heaviest at mating and parturition and which showed the largest non-fetal weight gains in pregnancy (i.e., the "large weight loss group") lost 60.6 +/- 4.8 g, while less obese rats which showed similar non-fetal gains to controls (i.e., the "small weight loss group") lost 24.6 3.2 g. Thus the weights of all groups converged and were similar after three weeks of lactation, but diverged again after weaning. During lactation the total energy intakes and amounts of protein consumed by the obese rats were significantly below those of controls, and total fat intake was significantly elevated. Although litter size and pup weights did not differ significantly at birth, pups of obese mothers weighed significantly less than those of controls at weaning. Maternal obesity in lactation appears to influence both body weight regulation and lactational performance.

Animals↗

How sensory properties of foods affect human feeding behavior.

The sensory properties of food which can lead to a decrease in the pleasantness of that food after it is eaten, and to enhanced food intake if that property of the food is changed by successive presentation of different foods, were investigated. After eating chocolates of one color the pleasantness of the taste of the eaten color declined more than of the non-eaten colors, although these chocolates differed only in appearance. The presentation of a variety of colors of chocolates, either simultaneously or successively, did not affect food intake compared with consumption of the subject's favorite color. Changes in the shape of food (which affects both appearance and mouth feel) were introduced by offering subjects three successive courses consisting of different shapes of pasta. Changes in shape led to a specific decrease in the pleasantness of the shape eaten and to a significant enhancement (14%) of food intake when three shapes were offered compared with intake of the subject's favorite shape. Changes in just the flavor of food (i.e., cream cheese sandwiches flavored with salt, or with the non-nutritive flavoring agents lemon and saccharin, or curry) led to a significant enhancement (15%) of food intake when all three flavors were presented successively compared with intake of the favorite. The experiments elucidate some of the properties of food which are involved in sensory specific satiety, and which determine the amount of food eaten.

Adolescent↗

The influence of various combinations of plasminogen and streptokinase on fibrinolysis.

The lysis rates of 125I cross-linked plasma fibrin clots have been investigated following immersion in various buffered concentration of streptokinase (SK), prior to (called the SK leads to plgn regimen) and after (called the plgn leads to SK regimen) enrichment with 2.0 U of plasminogen (plgn, lys-type). The SK leads to plgn regimen usually achieved total clot lysis with the most active lysis occurring following enrichment in 125-130 IU SK solutions, while only partial lysis was observed during the plgn leads to SK procedure. The effect of SK concentration was marked during the SK leads to plgn regimen while, during the plgn leads to SK treatment, its lytic rate never exceeded a factor of 2.0 over a wide concentration range of SK (8.0-20,000 IU/ml. The availability of plasminogen to perfuse the activator-rich clot seemed to be the prevailing influence on clot lysis and lysis of clots in plasma was inhibited by serum inhibitors, SK antibodies and plasma fibrinogen.

Binding Sites, Antibody↗