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Biomedical subjects

G Moeller

Publications and source records attributed to G Moeller.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

A novel 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the fungus Cochliobolus lunatus: new insights into the evolution of steroid-hormone signalling.

17beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17beta-HSD) from the filamentous fungus Cochliobolus lunatus (17beta-HSDcl) catalyses the reduction of steroids and of several o- and p-quinones. After purification of the enzyme, its partial amino acid sequence was determined. A PCR fragment amplified with primers derived from peptide sequences was generated for screening the Coch. lunatus cDNA library. Three independent full-length cDNA clones were isolated and sequenced, revealing an 810-bp open reading frame encoding a 270-amino-acid protein. After expression in Escherichia coli and purification to homogeneity, the enzyme was found to be active towards androstenedione and menadione, and was able to form dimers of Mr 60000. The amino acid sequence of the novel 17beta-HSD demonstrated high homology with fungal carbonyl reductases, such as versicolorin reductase from Emericella nidulans (Aspergillus nidulans; VerA) and Asp. parasiticus (Ver1), polyhydroxynaphthalene reductase from Magnaporthe grisea, the product of the Brn1 gene from Coch. heterostrophus and a reductase from Colletotrichum lagenarium, which are all members of the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily. 17beta-HSDcl is the first discovered fungal 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase belonging to this family. The primary structure of this enzyme may therefore help to elucidate the evolutionary history of steroid dehydrogenases.

17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗
PubMed1992

Comparison of L-hyoscyamine, glucagon, and placebo for air-contrast upper gastrointestinal series.

Previous studies have compared the use of anticholinergic drugs and glucagon for upper gastrointestinal (UGI) radiography. Many radiologists prefer glucagon because these comparisons showed it to have a shorter duration of action with fewer side effects. L-Hyoscyamine is the levo-rotatory form of atropine with minor adverse side effects. This study compared the effects of glucagon (N = 48), L-hyoscyamine (N = 43), and placebo (N = 45) on gastric and duodenal distension, mucosal coating, and patient tolerance. L-Hyoscyamine provided gastric and duodenal images equal in quality to glucagon. Except for the more frequent reporting of dry mouth with L-hyoscyamine, side effects were not different among the groups. L-Hyoscyamine is an economical alternative to glucagon for hypotonic gastrointestinal radiography.

Atropine↗
PubMed1990

Pulmonary masses: contrast enhancement.

Radiographic studies to discriminate benign from malignant pulmonary masses have previously focused on the morphologic and, more recently, the computed tomographic (CT) attenuation characteristics of the lung mass. Experience with the use of an intravenously administered iodinated contrast medium in examining the enhancement properties of lung masses was reviewed. Distinctive differences in the vascularity, pathophysiologic features, and pharmacodynamics of malignant versus benign pulmonary masses were identified. Forty-five patients with peripheral pulmonary masses were examined. Enhancement was evaluated by means of optical density values measured on trispiral tomograms of the lung masses before and after bolus injection of contrast medium. Results suggest that contrast enhancement of pulmonary masses can be measured on sectional images and that this may become a feasible diagnostic method in the detection of lung cancer. CT offers a simplified technique that is now being explored by the authors.

Contrast Media↗
PubMed1989

Effect of brief, repeated hyperbaric exposures on susceptibility to nitrogen narcosis.

We investigated the effect of brief, repetitive exposures to 5.5 ATA (148 fsw) in a hyperbaric chamber on adaptation to nitrogen narcosis. A standing-steadiness task, which measures body sway, was administered to 2 groups of 3 chamber-qualified men at 5.5 ATA and 1.3 ATA [10 fsw (control)] on each of 12 successive days to determine if an initial performance decrement at 5.5 ATA would be ameliorated with time. Standing steadiness was significantly worse at 5.5 ATA than at 1.3 ATA across all 12 exposures. There were also changes in standing steadiness from day to day, but these changes occurred in both the test and control depths. There was no day-x-depth interaction that would have indicated that the initial performance decrement at 5.5 ATA was reduced with repetitive exposures. These results are taken as evidence that there is little or no behavioral adaptation to nitrogen narcosis in response to brief, repetitive exposures to narcosis-inducing hyperbaric air.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1988

Application of sandwich immunoassays for the determination of sample-specific background signals and its use for calibration of immunoassays.

Sample-related background signals in immunoassays can be measured by a variation of the double antibody sandwich principle, in which the unlabelled specific antibody is substituted by a similar unrelated non-specific antibody. This permits differentiation between the analyte-specific and the background signal components for each sample. The method permits selection of sera with no or low analyte content for use as analyte diluent and for defining the zero point of the calibration curve. The method also permits control of analyte content during production processes which may change the background signal as well as identification of samples with atypical background signals. The procedure has been used for the calibration of enzyme immunoassays for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH).

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Computer-aided medical diagnosis: literature review.

The difficulty of the medical diagnostic task and the advantages of the computer as an aid in this task are discussed. The general strategy and structure of any computer-aided system is presented, and the relationship of diagnostic accuracy to key variables involved in the development, test and use of a computer-aided diagnostic system is examined. These variables include: the computer algorithm, the source of the information used to develop the data base, the number and type of diseases under investigation, the number and type of indicants used, the source of the test sample, and the source of the validated diagnosis. A table of 58 empirically tested computer-aided medical diagnostic systems is presented; each system is summarised in relation to the variables mentioned above and diagnostic accuracy.

Clinical Laboratory Techniques↗