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Biomedical subjects

G MacKenzie

Publications and source records attributed to G MacKenzie.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Further correlates of problem drinking in Northern Ireland from a population study.

Information relating to drinking patterns was obtained by interviewing 3755 individuals comprising 85.5% of a stratified random sample of Northern Ireland electors. The prevalence of problem drinking (defined according to pre-determined criteria) was studied in relation to 11 selected socio-demographic factors. Using a multifactor statistical method which differed from that employed in earlier reports it was found that separate prevalence models were required for males and females. Male prevalence was found to depend (in rank order of importance) on age, social class, area of residence and religious denomination. Although very few (0.5%) women were classed as problem drinkers, the evidence available suggests that their prevalence pattern is quantitatively and qualitatively different from that observed in males.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

cDNA cloning of portions of the bacteriophage phi 6 genome.

Phage phi 6 has a genome consisting of three pieces of double-stranded RNA. Single-stranded RNA was prepared from phi 6 nucleocapsids by in vitro transcription with the phage RNA polymerase. These transcripts were polyadenylated and used as templates for the preparation of cDNA copies. The resulting DNA was cloned into the PstI restriction nuclease site of plasmid pBR322. Insert-bearing plasmids were annealed to phi 6 RNA to assign the inserts to their proper segments. In this way we identified inserts corresponding to the large, medium, and small segments. Two large overlapping inserts of the small segment constitute the complete complement of the segment as determined by the sequence analysis of the DNA. In vitro coupled transcription and translation showed that the small segment inserts were able to direct the synthesis of the four known genes in the small segment. Two overlapping inserts in the medium segment constitute the entire segment and were shown to direct the in vitro synthesis of two of the three known proteins of the medium segment. Several inserts bearing about one-third the complement of the large segment were also isolated, and one of these directed the synthesis of a peptide that resembles protein P1. Restriction endonuclease maps were prepared for the inserts, and by in vitro synthesis it was possible to refine the genetic map of phi 6. A chimeric plasmid was constructed that combines plasmids pUC8 and RSF1010. Inserts placed on this plasmid were transformed to Pseudomonas phaseolicola, the natural host of phage phi 6. It was possible to refine further the genetic map by complementation of nonsense mutants of phi 6 with the cDNA.

Acetyltransferases↗
PubMed1984

The effect of transfer factor treatment on two challenge infections of Haemonchus contortus in immuno-competent 7-month-old lambs.

A number of immuno-competent Blackface lambs were infected with 10,000 Haemonchus contortus third stage larvae and were later challenged with a second dose of 10,000 H. contortus third stage larvae. One group of lambs was treated with dialysed transfer factor prior to the second challenge dose. Histological changes in the abomasal wall, reductions in abomasal worm burdens at slaughter and faecal egg counts monitored throughout the experiment suggested the presence in some animals of an innate resistance, a "self curing" effect, an enhancement of this "self curing" effect in the transfer factor treated group and a response in one transfer factor treated animal comparable to "classical self cure".

Abomasum↗
PubMed1984

Myoglobin and creatine kinase in acute myocardial infarction.

Serum myoglobin concentration and creatine kinase activity were measured serially in 70 consecutive patients presenting within four hours of the onset of symptoms of suspected acute myocardial infarction. Of 36 patients with definite or possible myocardial infarction (WHO criteria), the serum myoglobin concentration was raised (greater than 85 micrograms/l) one hour after the onset of symptoms in 25% and at four hours in 89%. Creatine kinase activity was raised (greater than 140 U/l) one hour after the onset in 25% and at four hours in only 56%. Within 12 hours of the onset of symptoms the myoglobin concentration reached a peak in 83% and the creatine kinase a peak in only 14%. Within 36 hours the myoglobin concentration fell to normal values in 67% while creatine kinase activity fell to normal values in only 3%. Four hours after the onset of symptoms the serum myoglobin concentration distinguished easily those patients with myocardial infarction from those without, whereas when creatine kinase values were used the sensitivity was poor but the specificity high. From the combined results of the two studies and using a single measurement of serum myoglobin concentration at six hours from the onset of symptoms to predict the diagnosis in 114 patients with suspected infarction, the sensitivity was 93% and specificity 89%.

Clinical Enzyme Tests↗
PubMed1984

Preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy for patients with cancer of the esophagus: a potentially curative approach.

Twenty-one patients with squamous cell cancer of the esophagus were entered into a pilot clinical trial using preoperative chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil and cis-platinum) and radiation with the intent of improving cure rate and survival. After the preoperative treatment was complete, 15 patients (71%) were resected for cure. Seven (47%) of 15 had no histologic evidence of cancer in the resected esophagus, but two of these had microscopic cancer in resected lymph nodes. The median survival for all patients entered in the trial was 18 months, whereas for those with no cancer in the resected esophagus the median survival was 24 months. The six patients who either refused surgery (two patients) or were unresectable at surgery (four patients) died within nine months. Our conclusion in this trial is that survival and potential cure are clearly linked to successfully clearing the esophagus and nodes of histologic evidence of tumor through preoperative treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

A comparison of the effects of dialysed and non-dialysed transfer factor preparations on Haemonchus contortus infections in young lambs.

Significant reductions in worm burdens were achieved in lambs treated with dialysed transfer factor and challenged with 10,000 Haemonchus contortus larvae, when compared with challenged control animals. Non-dialysed transfer factor, from the same leucocyte pool, produced no protection, but was successful in reducing worm burdens when given after a primary infection of 1,000 H. contortus larvae with subsequent challenge of 10,000 larvae. While the results confirmed the previously reported inconsistencies of transfer factor activity, the histological abomasal changes in all the dialysed and non-dialysed transfer factor treated groups, irrespective of measurable effects on worm burdens, were consistent and corresponded to immediate type hypersensitivity responses. The similarity of these responses with self cure in haemonchosis and the possibility of genetic factors influencing the quantitative expression of protection to the effects of transfer factor treatments is discussed.

Abomasum↗
PubMed1983

The effects of transfer factor, parasitic antigen and precipitated immunoglobulin treatments in lambs infected with Haemonchus contortus.

Significant reductions in adult worm burdens in lambs less than six months old infected with 5000 third stage Haemonchus contortus larvae were achieved following the combination of a single transfer factor treatment with multiple parenteral treatments of adult parasitic antigen and precipitated immunoglobulin. Specific cellular responses in the abomasa associated with individual treatments were discernible in all the experimental groups and quantitative differences in these responses reflected the varying treatment levels and treatment combinations. The reactions associated with transfer factor were similar to immediate type hypersensitivity responses and their role as possible effector mechanisms in correcting partial immune incompetency in lambs is discussed.

Abomasum↗
PubMed1983

Identification of a protein bound to the termini of bacteriophage PRD1 DNA.

Lipid-containing bacteriophage PRD1 has a double-stranded DNA genome of about 14,500 nucleotide base pairs. The phage can infect Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium as well as other gram-negative bacteria harboring an appropriate plasmid. [35S]methionine label is incorporated into the DNA band early in infection. The label remains associated with DNA through phenol extraction and boiling with sodium dodecyl sulfate. Nuclease treatment of the genome released a protein which migrated as an early phage-specific protein (P8). This protein is also necessary for phage DNA replication. By restriction enzyme analysis it was shown that protein was associated with the terminal restriction fragments. Extracts of infected cells catalyzed the labeling of protein P8 with [alpha-32P]dGTP.

Bacteriophages↗
PubMed1980

A prospective study of the development of coronary heart disease in a group of 1202 middle-aged men.

A prospective study of the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men aged 45--54 was conducted in six group practices in Belfast, Northern Ireland Of the 1343 men examined once by clinical, electrocardiographic, biochemical and anthropometric methods, 1202 free from CHD entered the prospective study. All 1202 men were followed for at least five years and the average annual incidence of CHD during this period was estimated as 1.73% (104 men developed). Of the 28 measurements made at initial examination, four--S-T depression, total lifetime tobacco consumption, diastolic blood pressure, and height (significant on classical linear discriminant function analysis)--were investigated in more detail. Using multidimensional contingency table methods, the probability of developing CHD was found to depend, in rand order of importance, on S-T depression, total lifetime tobacco consumption, and diastolic blood pressure. The risk of development was maximal (0.3732, four times the 'random' risk) in men with S-T depression, greater than average total lifetime tobacco consumption, and a diastolic pressure of 100 mm Hg or more.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1977

An evaluation of chemical restraining agents in the horse.

An evaluation of acepromazine (0.5 mg/kg intramuscularly), azaperone (0.7 and 0.9 mg/kg intramuscularly) and xylazine (2.0 mg/kg intramuscularly) as chemical restraining agents was carried out in seven horses. (Xylazine and azaperone were used at the recommended dose rates; acepromazine at five times the recommended dose rates). Of the three drugs administered only azaperone produced sufficient sedation in all the horses to allow a percutaneous needle muscle biopsy to be taken from six muscles. With acepromazine and xylazine this procedure could be successfully carried out in five and four horses respectively. Both acepromazine and azaperone produced a mild transient tachycardia and a fall in packed cell volume but all three drugs reduced the "stress" of muscle biopsy as measured by increases in heart rate. Azaperone produced an increase in plasma 11-OHCS levels when administered to control animals. The measurement of changes in plasma 11-OHCS levels was not found to be a satisfactory means of assessing any reduction of "stress" with some sedative agents.

11-Hydroxycorticosteroids↗
PubMed1976

The ultrasonic measurement of fetal crown-rump length as a method of assessing gestational age.

The fetal crown-rump length (CRL) was measured by means of pulsed ultrasound, and the normal values between 47 and 101 days from the onset of the last menstrual period were determined from cross-sectional data in 253 patients. For any given CRL, the range was found to be within three days of the menstrual age with a maximum variation for a given occasion of three days. Detailed statistical analysis showed that the acceleration in the rate of change in the CRL was a constant and that the intrapatient variability, where measured, was low. A close correlation between the measurement and the date of ovulation was demonstrated in a further 40 patients.

Body Height↗