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Biomedical subjects

J Foster

Publications and source records attributed to J Foster.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Peroxisome proliferation due to di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate, 2-ethylhexanol and 2-ethylhexanoic acid.

The dose-response relationships for peroxisome proliferation due to Di (2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), 2-ethylhexanol (EH), 2-ethylhexanoic acid (EHA) have been investigated in rats and mice. Linear dose-response relationships were observed for induction of cyanide-insensitive palmitoyl CoA oxidation (PCO), used as a enzyme marker of peroxisome proliferation, by DEHA, EH and EHA in both species. Relative liver weights were also increased in a dose related manner. On a molar basis, DEHA was twice as potent as EH or EHA which were equipotent and PCO was stimulated to a greater extent in male mice than in rats or female mice. At doses above 8 mmol/kg/day, EH was toxic to rats (both sexes) and similarly EHA at 13.5 mmol/kg/day lead to the death of female rats. In a attempt to explain the species difference in carcinogenicity of DEHA previously reported, we also used Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice. DEHA administration (2.5 g/kg/day) to Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice lead to toxicity in female rats. Relative liver weights were increased in a dose related fashion by DEHA administration to both rats and mice, PCO but not catalase was markedly increased (up to 15 fold in male rats). Light microscopy examination indicated some glycogen loss, a dose related hypertrophy and increased eosinophilia in both rats and mice. Electron microscopy confirmed peroxisome proliferation accompanied by a marked reduction of lipid in the centrilobular hepatocytes. These data suggest EHA to be the proximate peroxisome proliferator derived from DEHA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adipates↗
PubMed1992

Stress, alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use amongst nurses: a Scottish study.

This paper examines levels of stress amongst a representative sample of 600 qualified nurses in the Lothian Region of Scotland. The results indicated a number of significant variations in the patterns of stress amongst different subgroups of nurses. The highest stress levels amongst females were evident amongst medical nurses while the lowest levels were reported by those in psychiatry. No comparable differences were evident amongst males in different fields of nursing. Stress was also associated with the use of alcohol, but not with tobacco smoking. Illicit drug use was associated with stress amongst females. Amongst both males and females the variable most predictive of stress was concern about AIDS. Amongst females, administrative workload was an equally important predictor. It is concluded that as the HIV/AIDS epidemic spreads efforts will be needed to support nursing staff and to reduce stress levels.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use amongst nurses: a Scottish study.

This paper examines patterns of self-reported alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use amongst a representative sample of 600 qualified nurses in the Lothian Region of Scotland. General levels of alcohol use were not exceptional. Even so, levels of tobacco smoking and the use of illicit drugs were higher than for the general population. Female psychiatric nurses were significantly more likely than female medical or surgical nurses to smoke tobacco, to drink heavily and to have experienced adverse alcohol-related consequences.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1991

Teenagers and alcohol: results of a Scottish national survey.

During 1990 a survey was conducted of the self-reported drinking habits and alcohol-related knowledge and beliefs of a national sample of 7009 Scottish teenagers. The study group were age 14-16. Results indicated that only 3% of respondents had never consumed alcohol. The great majority of teenagers reported consuming only moderate quantities of alcohol. Even so 18.9% of males and 10.3% of females reported consuming 11 or more units on their last drinking occasion. The proportion of teenagers classified as 'heavy drinkers' increased markedly between the ages of 14 and 16. This study confirmed earlier findings indicating that Scottish teenagers are more likely than those in England to drink heavily and rather less frequently.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The construction and selection of predictive scales, with special reference to parasuicide.

Issues concerning the use of predictive and screening instruments include the difficulties posed by temporal changes in the base rates for the behaviour of interest, the possible advantages of using three rather than the customary two risk categories, and the desirability of specifying in advance the proportional sizes of the risk subgroups. A method is proposed for constructing and assessing tripartite risk scales, and a new scale for predicting the repetition of parasuicide, with the results of a prospective validation study, is reported.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The identification of psychiatric disorders in children who fail to attend school: a cluster analysis of a non-clinical population.

Interviews were conducted with parents of 100 children taken to a 'school attendance committee', because of persistent failure to attend school. Clinical assessment of the attendance problem was carried out so that children were categorized as 'school refusers' (N = 24), 'truants' (N = 53), 'both refusers and truants' (N = 9), or as 'neither' (N = 14). Any ICD-9 psychiatric disorder was separately identified. Cluster analysis of information collected in a standard way indicated that there was a group of children with the features of 'school refusal' who often had generalized neurotic disorders as well and who were mostly girls, another group with the features of 'truancy' all of whom had conduct disorders who were mainly boys, and a third cluster of children who were usually 'truants' but less often psychiatrically disturbed. The study provided evidence for the existence of school refusal with and without generalized neurotic disturbance in a non-clinical population.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1990

Young people and drinking: results of an English national survey.

An account is presented of a survey of self-reported drinking habits and beliefs about alcohol amongst a national sample of teenagers in England. Fieldwork was conducted during 1988 and 1989 and involved 27 systematically selected state secondary (high) schools. Respondents were virtually all aged 14-16. The majority of teenagers reported drinking only moderate amounts of alcohol. Even so, a third of the males and nearly a fifth of the females reported having at some time consumed the equivalent of five and a half pints of beer on a single occasion. Factual knowledge about alcohol was not high and more than half of the study group supported a reduction in the legal minimum age at which alcohol may be purchased in licensed premises.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Teenage heavy drinkers: alcohol-related knowledge, beliefs, experiences, motivation and the social context of drinking.

During 1988 and 1989 a survey was conducted of the drinking habits and alcohol-related beliefs of a national sample of teenagers in England. Data were obtained from 6,244 respondents virtually all aged 14-16. Heavy drinkers were significantly more likely to report drinking in a mixed sex group than were other teenagers. They were also more likely than others to have drunk illegally in licensed premises, and were distinctive from other teenagers in relation to their self-reported reasons for drinking and their alcohol-related beliefs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Identification of human acrosomal antigen SP-10 in primates and pigs.

The intra-acrosomal human sperm protein SP-10 was previously designated a "primary vaccine candidate" by a World Health Organization Taskforce on Contraceptive Vaccines. In the present study, a monoclonal antibody to SP-10 (MHS-10) was employed on Western blots to identify immunoreactive SP-10 in sperm extracts from baboon (Papio cyanocephalus anubis) and two macaques (Macaca mulatta and Macaca fascicularis). In each of these primates, the MHS-10 monoclonal antibody recognized a polymorphic pattern of immunoreactive peptides similar to that in humans. Immunoreactive SP-10 was also demonstrated in pig sperm. Using purified preparations of the previously described intra-acrosomal molecules acrosin and sperminogen in the pig, we observed that the MHS-10 monoclonal antibody did not react with these proteins, indicating SP-10 is distinct from these known acrosomal components. Sperm from several common species including the rabbit, bull, rat, guinea pig and cat did not immunoreact with the MHS-10 monoclonal antibody. By use of a radioactive probe spanning 628 nucleotides of the open reading frame for SP-10 on Northern blots of poly A + RNA obtained from testes of Macaca fascicularis, Papio papio, and Papio cyanocephalus anubis, a 1.35-kb mRNA of identical size to the mRNA from human testes was identified. These results indicate that baboons, macaques, and pigs may be appropriate models for testing an SP-10-based contraceptive vaccine.

Acrosome↗
PubMed1990

Impact of asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection on size at birth and gestational duration.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common viral agent causing congenital infection in humans, affecting 0.2 to 2.4% of all live births. Symptomatic congenital CMV infection has previously been shown to cause low birth weight and prematurity. Whether or not asymptomatic congenital CMV infection, which represents the majority of cases (90 to 95%), affects intrauterine growth or gestational duration is unknown. Using a population of 146 infants with asymptomatic congenital CMV infection and 1419 controls from two socioeconomically diverse populations (biracial low income and white mid- to upper income), determinants of body size (birth weight and crown-heel length) were investigated using multiple regression techniques. We found that congenital infection following the transmission of maternal primary and "unknown" CMV infection resulted in a significant mean birth weight deficit of 163 g (P less than 0.04) for the low income term infants (blacks and whites), but not in the mid- to upper income white infants. Newborns with congenital infection following the transmission of maternal reactivated (recurrent) CMV infection were significantly shorter by a mean of 1 cm (P less than 0.03) than controls, a finding that was consistent regardless of socioeconomic status or race.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1990

Medical indications and contraindications for eye donation.

Potentially useful and valuable donor-eye tissue is lost because physicians decide erroneously that certain deceased people are not suitable donors. The Indiana Lions Eye Bank Inc. needs and will receive with gratitude any and all donated eyes. Donated ocular tissue can be used for research or teaching, if not for actual transplantation. All deceased people should be regarded as suitable eye donors, except when the cause of death or other factors might pose risks for enucleators themselves.

Contraindications↗
PubMed1989

Cellular mechanisms of toxicity and tolerance in the copper-loaded rat. II. Pathogenesis of copper toxicity in the liver.

The distribution of copper has been studied in the liver of the copper-loaded rat at the ultrastructural level by X-ray electron probe microanalysis in order to clarify the pathogenesis of copper-induced damage. Male rats fed a high copper diet (1500 ppm) for 16 weeks were killed at intervals; their livers were removed and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and 2% glutaraldehyde for electron microscopy and were analyzed for copper by AA spectrophotometry. Three different forms of lysosomes were identified with respect to their morphology and X-ray emission profiles: Type I lysosomes appeared early and contained iron and zinc in addition to markedly elevated copper peaks, whereas later appearing Type II lysosomes included sulfur and phosphorus in addition to copper. Type III lysosomes were associated with the recovery period and contained much reduced elemental residue. Degenerative changes were not observed in any of the three types of lysosomes. Copper and other elemental residues, including sulfur, were also identified within the hepatic parenchymal cell nuclei and by contrast were associated with irreversible nuclear damage. Nuclear copper is directly injurious to this organelle and responsible for the subsequent cell death whereas copper contained within lysosomes is apparently innocuous.

Animals↗