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G Duckworth

Publications and source records attributed to G Duckworth.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Preparation of oligoribonucleotides containing 4-thiouridine using Fpmp chemistry. Photo-crosslinking to RNA binding proteins using 350 nm irradiation.

The preparation of a 4-thiouridine phosphoramidite suitable for RNA synthesis and its subsequent incorporation into oligoribonucleotides is described. The thiol group is protected with a 2-cyanoethyl group and the 2'-OH with a 1-(2-fluorophenyl)-4-methoxypiperidin-4-yl function. Thiouridine-containing oligoribonucleotides were used as 350 nm UV crosslinking probes for the photoaffinity labelling of RNA binding proteins. Specific crosslinking was demonstrated between the Rev protein of HIV-1 (as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein) and its RNA target, the Rev-responsive element. It was not possible to generate crosslinks between the RNA bacteriophage MS2 coat protein and the initiator stem-loop of the replicase gene, to which it binds. These results are consistent with the structural data available on both systems.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1996

Suicide in old age: a tragedy of neglect.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and treatment of depression in geriatric suicide. METHOD: All coroners' records, autopsy and police reports for suicide victims aged 65+ in Ontario (n = 543) over 3 years were examined. RESULTS: Over 80% of the elderly who committed suicide received no psychiatric referral. Of the sample, 87% were untreated while only 13% received antidepressants. Tricyclics, which are lethal in overdose, were the drugs of choice. None of the sample was treated with the safer specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Females were 3 times as likely to be treated as were males, and those seeing psychiatrists were 4 times more likely to be treated with antidepressants than those seeing general practitioners (GPs). The physically ill were rarely treated. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that early geropsychiatric assessment and vigorous treatment could prevent many suicides in old age.

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PubMed1994

Cryptococcal spondylitis: solitary infective bone lesions are not always tuberculous.

Tuberculous spondylitis is a well-recognized cause of back pain and vertebral collapse due to infection and with must not be overlooked even if it is not the most likely diagnosis. If a patient, particularly one of Asian origin, were to present with a solitary destructive bone lesion, without evidence of myeloma or other malignancy, a trial of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy would be one therapeutic approach, even if there was no evidence of tuberculosis elsewhere. However, failure to biopsy the bone lesion and undertake the appropriate microbiology could lead to other important diagnoses being missed. This is illustrated by the case which we report below.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1987

Silicone oil as a reservoir for nosocomial infection.

Two episodes of infection with epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (EMRSA) associated with silicone oil baths are described. In vitro studies indicated that certain organisms, including EMRSA, can survive in silicone oil for several days. We conclude that the oil acted as a reservoir for continuing infection in our patients. We suggest routine care of silicone oil baths in order to prevent cross infection.

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PubMed1987

The international spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

A genetic analysis of representative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being isolated in London and Dublin hospitals has demonstrated that the epidemic strains from two London hospitals are different from the Dublin strains, but indistinguishable from the epidemic strains of eastern Australia. The possibility that some strains of MRSA are more likely than others to spread within hospitals is discussed.

Australia↗
PubMed1980

An enzyme activity in normal and ataxia telangiectasia cell lines which is involved in the repair of gamma-irradiation-induced DNA damage.

An enzyme that enhances the activity of DNA polymerase I (EC 2.7.7.7) for gamma-irradiated calf thymus DNA was demonstrated in cellular extracts of normal human fibroblasts and lymphoid-cell lines. This enzyme was found to be deficient in all cellular extracts of fibroblasts and lymphoid-cell lines examined from patients with the autosomal recessive disease ataxia telangiectasia. The activity in cellular extracts from normal fibroblasts was removed when heated to 100 degrees C for 2 min or when the assay was performed at 4 degrees C. No significant deficiency in primer-activating enzyme activity was observed in cell-free extracts of lymphoid lines from patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, Huntington's chorea or neurofibromatosis, or from an ataxia telangiectasia heterozygote.

Ataxia Telangiectasia↗
PubMed1976

Reliability of psychiatric assessment in older patients.

A number of the causes of psychiatric diagnostic disagreement are discussed in this paper. The use of the Geriatric Mental Status interview to achieve diagnostic reliability is examined in three studies in which U.S.--U.K. Cross-National Project psychiatrists rated and diagnosed thirty-two British and twenty-one American patients. There were no systematic differences between U.S. and U.K. team members in their diagnoses; and agreement on six principal diagnostic categories was achieved in about three-quarters of the cases. The reliability fo the ratings of psychopathology that formed the basis for the diagnoses was satisfactory and is reported in detail.

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