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Biomedical subjects

E Reid

Publications and source records attributed to E Reid.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Maturation of functional antibody affinity in animals immunised with synthetic foot-and-mouth disease virus.

A good correlation exists between specific neutralising antibody titre and protection against challenge with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in infected or virus-vaccinated cattle, but not in the case of animals immunised with synthetic FMDV peptides. Therefore, mechanisms other than simple neutralisation are likely to be important in vivo. Antibody affinity may influence the protective capacity of sera from immunised animals and experiments were carried out to measure the functional affinity for synthetic FMDV peptide of sera from guinea pigs and cattle given various synthetic vaccines. In guinea pigs given a single dose of synthetic vaccine, antibody affinity increased with time after immunisation. In cattle, however, administration of a second dose of peptide 21 days after the first markedly retarded the process of affinity maturation. For guinea pig sera of equivalent neutralising activity, those of higher functional affinity had higher protective indices than those of lower functional affinity. Knowledge of the importance of antibody affinity in protection against FMD is important for an improved understanding of the mechanisms of protection and for the design of novel vaccines.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1991

Is neonatal inspired gas humidity accurately controlled by humidifier temperature?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate: a) the relationship between humidifier temperature and inspired gas humidity and b) the effect of insulating the inspiratory tube on "rainout" (condensate). DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Regional neonatal unit in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Forty-eight infants receiving assisted ventilation, of whom 31 infants were nursed in incubators and 17 under radiant heaters. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Despite always maintaining humidifier temperature greater than 34.7 degrees C, inspired gas humidity decreased below the American National Standards Institution minimum of 30 mg H2O/L on 35 of 479 occasions. At a humidifier temperature of 36 degrees C, inspired gas humidity varied between 17 and 43 mg H2O/L. In incubators set at a temperature of 34.1 +/- 1.3 (SD) degrees C, inspired gas humidity was linearly related to humidifier temperature, but with wide scatter (p less than .001, r2 = .28). In cooler incubators set at 32.9 +/- 1.8 degrees C, inspired gas humidity varied inversely with humidifier temperature. This variation was attributed to condensate due to inspired gas cooling within the incubator. Insulation of the inspiratory tubing reduced condensate by only 15%. CONCLUSIONS: Inspired gas humidity cannot be predicted reliably from humidifier temperature. Accurate control will require a new generation of humidifiers that measure inspired gas humidity.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1990

Predicting death from initial disease severity in very low birthweight infants: a method for comparing the performance of neonatal units.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate (a) which clinical variables and physiological measures of disease severity best predict death in very low birthweight infants and (b) their use in comparing mortality between two neonatal units. DESIGN: Retrospective study of two cohorts of very low birthweight infants from overlapping time periods who received mechanical ventilation. SETTING: Two neonatal intensive care units (hospitals A and B). SUBJECTS: 262 Very low birthweight infants, 130 in hospital A, 132 in hospital B. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Death in hospital. RESULTS: In hospital A the mean level of oxygenation in the first 12 hours of life, whether measured as inspired oxygen requirement (FIO2), arterial/alveolar oxygen (a/AO2) ratio, or alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (A-aDO2), was more closely associated with death than any of four "traditional" risk factors: low birth weight, short gestation, the diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome, and male sex. Mean pH in the first 12 hours was as strongly associated with death as birth weight. Multiple logistic regression models were derived in infants from hospital A using the four traditional risk factors with measures of oxygenation and pH. The validity of each model was then tested in infants from hospital B. The model based on the four traditional risk factors alone predicted death in hospital B with only 31% sensitivity. Adding mean a/AO2 ratio and mean pH increased its sensitivity to 75%, and when mean a/AO2 ratio was replaced by mean FIO2 its sensitivity increased further to 81%. Based on crude mortality rates alone, the odds of death in hospital A versus hospital B were 0.67 (95% confidence interval 0.37 to 1.23). After correcting for traditional risk factors and mean FIO2 and mean pH, however, the odds of death in hospital A increased to 3.27 (1.35 to 7.92; p less than 0.01). This increased risk persisted after adjusting for the time difference between each cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Crude comparisons of hospital mortality can be highly misleading. Reliable assessment of neonatal outcome is impossible without correcting for major risk factors, particularly initial disease severity. International agreement on a minimum core dataset of clinical and physiological information could improve neonatal audit and help to identify effective treatments and policies.

Gestational Age↗
PubMed1989

Low inspired gas temperature and respiratory complications in very low birth weight infants.

We analyzed 3705 measurements of inspired gas temperature in the first 96 hours of life, with concurrent measurements of ventilator variables and arterial oxygen tension, to determine any relationship to respiratory sequelae in 149 infants assisted by artificial ventilation. All management was with one type of ventilator (model IV100B, Sechrist Industries Inc., Anaheim, Calif.) and one type of humidifier (model MR 500, Fisher and Paykel, Auckland, New Zealand), and infants were placed under radiant heaters. Outcome for infants weighing greater than or equal to 1500 gm at birth was no different at low (less than or equal to 36.5 degrees C) versus high (greater than 36.5 degrees C) values of mean inspired gas temperature during the first 96 hours. However, infants weighing less than 1500 gm at birth had less respiratory morbidity at the higher temperatures; there was a reduction in the incidence of pneumothorax from 43% at low to 13% at high temperatures (p = 0.006) and a reduction in the severity of chronic lung disease, measured as mean Fio2 at 29 days in survivors, from 37.2% at low to 27.5% at high temperatures (p = 0.001). Clinical evaluation of the humidifier, as it was used in this study, suggested that temperature settings less than 36.5 degrees C were associated with inspired gas humidity between 28 and 36 mg H2O/L. For any humidifier, there may be a critical threshold for inspired gas humidity below which the risk of respiratory complications in very low birth weight babies is increased. This hypothesis requires rigorous scrutiny by controlled trial. In future studies, direct measurements of inspired gas humidity are needed to make a precise estimate of the optimal level.

Blood Gas Analysis↗
PubMed1989

Outcome of TIAs of unknown aetiology following non-invasive evaluation.

A proportion of patients with apparently classical transient ischaemic attacks (TIA), will have no cause for their symptoms discovered when investigated. We have reviewed 74 patients with TIA and a further 28 with amaurosis fugax whose symptoms remained unexplained following non-invasive carotid evaluation using pulsed Doppler imaging with spectrum analysis. After a mean follow-up of 31.7 months, 48.6% of TIA patients were symptom free, 36.5% had experienced recurrent symptoms and 8.1% had suffered a stroke. Among the patients with amaurosis fugax the equivalent figures were 32.1% symptom free, 42.7% recurrent symptoms, and 10.7% stroke. These figures suggest that unexplained TIAs do not necessarily have a benign prognosis and more extensive or repeated investigation of these patients is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Dietary deficiency of phylloquinone and reduced serum levels in febrile neutropenic cancer patients.

In 34 cancer patients with 40 neutropenic febrile episodes requiring broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy, detailed dietary assessments revealed that deficient and severely deficient phylloquinone intakes (less than or equal to 70 and less than or equal to 25 micrograms/d) were identified during 88% and 38% of all days recorded, respectively. Serum phylloquinone levels and serial prothrombin times (PT) drawn in a similar group of 32 patients revealed that an elevated PT (greater than or equal to 2 s beyond control) was significantly associated (p less than 0.01) with a serum phylloquinone level of less than 4.4 nmol/L. Patients on antimicrobial regimens that suppressed menaquinone-producing intestinal microflora and that contained an N-methylthiotetrazole (NMTT) moiety had an elevated PT significantly more often than did patients receiving antimicrobial agents that preserved the microflora and contained no NMTT moiety (3 of 10 vs 10 of 11, respectively; p = 0.02 Fisher's exact). These data suggest that these patients have a profound deficiency of oral vitamin K intake that may be further augmented by antimicrobial therapy.

Agranulocytosis↗
PubMed1988

Maintenance of the 2 micron circle plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by sexual transmission: an example of a selfish DNA.

Many eukaryotic mobile elements have been identified, but few have any obvious function. This has led to the proposal that many such elements may be parasitic DNA. We have used the 2 micron circle plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to investigate the maintenance of a cryptic genetic element. We find that under certain conditions this plasmid can spread through experimental populations despite demonstrable selection against it. This spread is dependent upon outbreeding, suggesting that cell to cell transmission of the plasmid during the yeast sexual cycle can counterbalance selection, and maintain the plasmid in populations. This result provides experimental support for the idea that some mobile elements may be parasitic DNA.

Crosses, Genetic↗
PubMed1987

Family planning for inner-city adolescent males: pilot study.

The results of a pilot family planning program (FPP) in a pediatric practice are reported for 66 inner-city male adolescents. The FPP was designed to eliminate registration barriers to the procurement of contraceptives by adolescent males, and to prompt the community neighborhood health center (CNHC) providers to initiate discussion of birth control with their male adolescent patients. Utilization data show that males were more likely to receive contraceptives if the provider first raised the topic of birth control to them. Unstructured follow-up interviews with 27 adolescent male FPP users identified a desire for anonymity/confidentiality and embarrassment or discomfort as the key reasons for not seeking contraceptives from the CNHC. If health care providers are sensitive to male adolescents' feelings about birth control, community health centers potentially could serve as a cost-effective source of contraceptives for sexually active male adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

A novel glycoprotein for detection of herpes simplex virus type 1-specific antibodies.

A novel herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-specific glycoprotein reactive with monoclonal antibody H1379 was purified by affinity chromatography. This glycoprotein, provisionally designated as gG-1, forms two sets of bands with molecular weights of 40-44,000 and 60-88,000. When used in an immunodot enzymatic assay, gG-1 reacted strongly with rabbit antisera to HSV-1, but not with sera hyperimmune to HSV-2. Specificity of the assay was further established by the lack of reactivity of convalescent sera collected from 20 patients with primary genital HSV-2 infections, and from 100 sero-negative individuals. In contrast, antibodies to gG-1 were detected in 9 of 10 patients with primary HSV-1 infection, and in 63/67 patients with culture-positive, recurrent oral or genital HSV-1 infection. Reproducibility of the gG-1 immunodot assay for HSV-1 antibody detection was 96%. Serological assay with purified gG-1, done in parallel with the assay using purified gG-2 described in an earlier report, provides simple and reliable methods to detect type-specific HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies for seroepidemiological studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Movement of ions and small solutes across endothelium and epithelium of perfused rabbit lungs.

In situ and isolated fluid-filled rabbit lungs were used to study the transport of indicators between the air space and vascular compartments. These indicators were placed in either the perfusate or air spaces and samples were collected from the perfusate at intervals during a 1-h perfusion period. At the end of the hour, fluid was pumped out of the air space compartment into serial tubes and indicator concentrations were determined in both the air space and perfusion fluids. One hour after introducing the indicators into the air space, the relative decreases in solute concentration were (arranged from the greatest to the least decline): [14C]urea greater than 36Cl- = 125I- greater than 22Na+ greater than [3H]mannitol. The relative rates at which the indicators appeared in the perfusate were similar. When the indicators were placed in the perfusate, a similar relationship was observed in the increase in air space concentrations, but the loss of 22Na+ from the perfusate was similar to those of 36Cl- and 125I-. Losses of all indicators from the perfusate were two or more times those from the air spaces, and although the loss of [3H]mannitol from the perfusate was similar to that of 22Na+ for about 30 min, subsequent loss was much slower. Very little 125I-albumin traversed the tissue barrier, and the small changes in the concentrations of 125I-albumin in the air spaces suggested that little fluid movement had occurred. These studies suggest that the epithelium is less permeable to solutes than the endothelium and permits passage of anions at a faster rate than 22Na+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Diffusion of labeled water and lipophilic solutes in the lung.

A perfused, in situ rabbit lung preparation was used to study the diffusion of tritiated water and labeled lipophilic solutes from the airways into the pulmonary vasculature. Following instillation into the airways, initial concentrations of labeled ethanol and butanol in the left atrial outflow usually exceeded those of 3H2O when the lungs were perfused at 37 degrees. In contrast, initial concentrations of [14C]acetone equaled 3H2O concentrations, and those of [14C]antipyrine were below 3H2O concentrations. Increasing the rate of perfusion increased concentrations of the labeled butanol and acetone but decreased that of antipyrine relative to 3H2O. This suggests that the tissues separating the gaseous and vascular compartments of the lung are more permeable to 3H2O than to antipyrine but less permeable to 3H2O than to the alcohols and acetone. Cooling slowed permeation of ethanol and antipyrine relative to 3H2O but seemed to slow diffusion of butanol less than that of 3H2O. These differences cannot be related to movement in the aqueous phase and suggest that cooling slows solute diffusion through lipid membranes. This phenomenon appears to be related to the activation energy of each molecule between the aqueous and lipid phases rather than a phase change in the membrane. 3H2O seems to diffuse through aqueous regions of the air-perfusate barrier.

Acetone↗
PubMed1977

Acute fenitrothion poisoning.

A technician was accidentally exposed to the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion and subsequently treated with pralidoxime for the autonomic, somatic and psychiatric manifestations of intoxication. Although long-term therapy with pralidoxime is not recommended, this patient required and obtained symptomatic benefit from its prolonged use. Erythrocytic and plasma cholinesterase activities had been monitored prior to exposure and were monitored throughout treatment and following recovery. Continual monitoring of cholinesterase activities of individuals occupationally exposed to organophosphorus ester insecticides and early diagnosis are essential.

Adult↗
PubMed1974

Heterogeneous distribution of enzymes among plasma-membrane fragments sedimenting with the microsomal fraction of rat liver.

Plasma-membrane fragments recovered in the microsomal fraction of rat liver homogenates were shown to be heterogeneous in density. It was demonstrated that 5'-nucleotidase, the most commonly used plasma-membrane marker, is concentrated in the lightest subfraction. Two of the published procedures for the isolation of plasma-membrane fragments from the microsomal fraction (Touster et al., 1970; Hinton et al., 1971) are shown to give products which are not representative of all the plasma-membrane fragments of microsomal size, and it is argued that a third procedure (House & Weidemann, 1970) is likely to give a similar product.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1974

Centrifugation.

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Animals↗