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Biomedical subjects

H Houston

Publications and source records attributed to H Houston.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Colonic response to dietary fibre from carrot, cabbage, apple, bran.

Approximately 20 g/day of concentrated dietary fibre from carrot, cabbage, apple, bran, and guar gum was added to the controlled basal diet of nineteen healthy volunteers. Faecal weight increased by 12% on bran, 69% on cabbage, 59% on carrot, 40% on apple, and 20% on guar gum. These changes in faecal weight were correlated with an increased intake of pentose-containing polysaccharides from the fibre. On the basal diet there were pronounced individual differences in faecal weight, and from these the response of subjects to the fibre preparations could be predicted. Addition of fibre shortened mean transit-time through the gut and significantly diluted an inert marker in the faeces. Diet-induced changes in colonic function may explain international differences in the prevalence of colonic disease, whilst personal variation in the response to dietary fibre may determine individual susceptibility to large-bowel disease within a community.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Influence of diets high and low in animal fat on bowel habit, gastrointestinal transit time, fecal microflora, bile acid, and fat excretion.

Epidemiological observations and animal experiments suggest that large bowel cancer is related to serveral factors. Among them, high dietary intakes of animal fat, the presence in the colon of relatively high levels of bile acids, specific patterns of intestinal microflora, slow transit through the gut, and low stool weights. Under metabolic conditions we have observed the effect on these variables of dietes containing 62 or 152 g/day of fat mainly of animal origin in six healthy young men over 4-wk periods. No change attributable to the diet was observed in the subjects' bowel habit, fecal weight, mean transit time through the gut, or in the excretion of dry matter. Total fecal bile acid excretion was significantly higher on the high fat diet (320 +/- 120 mg/day) than on the low fat diet (139.7) +/- 63 mg/day) t test = 7.78 P less than 0.001 as also was the total fecal fatty acid excretion, 3.1+/-0.71 and 1.14+/-0.35 g/day, respectively t test = 11.4 P less than 0.001). The fecal microflora including the nuclear dehydrogenating clostridia were unaltered by the dietary changes as was fecal beta-glucuronidase activity. Dietary changes which increase animal fat intake clearly influence fecal bile acid excretion in a way that would favor the development of large bowel cancer if current theories prove to be true. Dietary fat however has no effect on overall colonic function so other components of the diet must be responsible for the observed associations of bowel cancer with slow transit and reduced fecal bulk.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Effectiveness of aides in a perceptual motor training program for children with learning disabilities.

A program for children with learning disabilities associated with perceptual deficits was designed that included elements of gross and fine motor coordination, visual and somatosensory perceptual training, dance, art, music and language. The effectiveness of nonprofessional "perceptual-aides," who were trained in this program, was evaluated. Twenty-eight children with learning disabilities associated with perceptual deficits were treated by occupational, physical, recreational and language therapists; and 27 similarly involved children were treated by two aides, under supervision, after training by therapists. Treatment in both groups was for four hours weekly over a four to seven month period. There was significant improvement in motor skills, visual and somatosensory perception, language and educational skills in the two programs. Although there was no significant difference between the two groups, there was a slight advantage to the aide program. The cost of the aide program was 10 percent higher than the therapist program during the first year, but 22 percent lower than the therapist program during the second year.

Allied Health Personnel↗