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Biomedical subjects

J Martin

Publications and source records attributed to J Martin.

At least 1,261 records · Page 70Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Addressing treatment needs of Southeast Asian Mien opium users in California.

This report describes efforts in progress to meet the needs of opium smoking Mien immigrants in Oakland, California. Translating concepts of addiction and recovery into terms that are culturally relevant constitutes the basis for efforts to assist the Mien to adjust to an opium-free lifestyle. The acceptability and utility of clonidine, acupuncture, methadone, counseling, support groups, and other medical services are discussed.

Adult↗
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Body composition of rural and urban children from the central region of Spain.

Body composition components are considered in a cross-sectional sample of 2564 children (age range 6-14 years) from Central Spain. The sample was divided depending on rural or urban residence. Weight, and skinfold at the triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac site were measured. Body composition was represented by percentage fat (%F), lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM) and sum of skinfolds (SSK). Sex differences were found to be highly significant for all variables and rural-urban differences were small. Rural boys show slightly larger fat content, in %F, FM and SSK, than their urban peers, but significant (p < 0.05) differences appear only for SSK. No statistically significant environmental effect was found for LBM. The improvement of living conditions, the urban influence on the rural area and the degree of urbanization of the urban settlement are suggested as the main determinants influencing obtained results.

Adolescent↗
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CT features of mesenteric panniculitis.

Mesenteric panniculitis (MP) is an inflammatory process of the mesenteric fat associated with a variable amount of fibrosis. We present the CT findings in four patients with MP. In three patients CT showed a fatty mass in the root of the mesentery and surrounding the mesenteric vessels without distorting them. The fourth patient presented an unusual form of MP with radiologically visible calcifications. Diagnosis was suggested preoperatively in two cases.

Calcinosis↗
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Congenital kyphosis in myelomeningocele: results following operative and nonoperative treatment.

We reviewed the cases of 16 patients with myelomeningocele and congenital kyphosis. Ten patients underwent kyphectomy with wire fixation and spinal fusion for severe-curve progression and problems with decubiti ulcers. The average curve magnitude at presentation for these 10 patients was 87 degrees (range 47-146 degrees); at an average follow-up of 5 + 8 years (range 2 + 9 to 9 + 9 years) after surgery, it was 60 degrees (range 15-80 degrees). A stable fusion was achieved in nine patients, and all 10 had improved status of their skin at their last follow-up. Six patients were managed by nonoperative means such as modified wheelchairs and orthoses. The average curve magnitude at the presentation for this group was 70 degrees (range 42 degrees - 93 degrees); at an average follow-up of 19 years (range 5 + 5 to 27 + 3 years), it was 106 degrees (range 65 degrees - 130 degrees). Two of these patients continue to have problems with skin breakdown. Kyphectomy enables patients to sit straighter and is the proper treatment for these patients. If operative treatment is prohibitive or denied for some reason, then suitable wheelchair modifications can enable these patients to function with reasonable comfort.

Activities of Daily Living↗
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Production and characterization of three polyclonal antibodies raised against cyst wall proteins of a hypotrichous ciliate.

Three polyclonal antibodies raised against Paraurostyla sp. cyst wall polypeptides of molecular weight 110,000 (p110), 66,000 (p66) and 52,000 (p52) have been obtained. The specificity of the antisera was tested by immunoblotting. Anti-p110 antibody detected five bands of 300, 170, 135, 110 and 40 kDa, respectively. Antiserum obtained against p66 recognized only this protein. Anti-p52 antiserum showed reaction for two different bands of 52 and 44 kDa, respectively. The precise localization of these proteins in the cyst wall was assessed by light microscope immunocytochemistry. Anti-p110 antiserum produced a strong positive reaction in both the ectocyst and endocyst. Both anti-p66 and anti-p52 antibodies recognized the ectocyst.

Animals↗
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Repression of class I H-2K, H-2D antigens on GR9 methylcholanthrene-induced tumour cell clones is related to the level of DNA methylation.

The correlation between gene expression and DNA methylation is well established. In the present study we examined DNA methylation as a potential regulatory mechanism of class I histocompatibility antigen expression. We selected for study two cell clones from the same mouse tumour (GR9). One of them is H-2 class I-positive (A7) and the other negative (B9). Using five enzymes and three different probes, no rearrangement or deletion was detected in the MHC class I genes of the negative clone compared with the positive one. These results do not provide an explanation for the differences observed in the expression of class I antigens in A7 (Kd, Dd positive) and B9 (Kd, Dd negative). We then studied the DNA methylation status in both clones by Southern blot analysis. Clear differences between the Kd, Dd positive and negative clones were detected. Furthermore, both Kd and Dd were clearly expressed after culturing the H-2 class I negative clone with the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine. These results suggest that the methylation of certain MHC cytosines is a regulatory mechanism of H-2 class I gene expression.

Animals↗
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Differential expression of HLA class I and II antigens in primary and metastatic melanomas.

Class I and II histocompatibility antigen expression was studied in cryostat sections of biopsy tissues from 15 patients diagnosed as suffering from malignant melanoma, using monoclonal antibodies against HLA class I and II monomorphic determinants and an indirect immunofluorescence technique. Class I antigens were detected in three of the four primary melanomas and in five of the eleven metastatic melanomas. Class II antigens were expressed only in metastatic melanomas, in three out of eleven cases. Some tumour cell suspensions were obtained and short-term cultures were established. Radiobinding and immunoprecipitation studies were carried out in two cases, named M6 and M8. The results were comparable to those obtained with direct immunofluorescence. We modulated the expression of class I and II HLA antigens with interferon in M6 when adapted to tissue culture. This melanoma was class I and II negative; after IFN gamma treatment it became strongly positive for class I and II antigens. In addition we have demonstrated, using Southern blot analysis with the restriction enzymes PvuII and EcoRI, that the M6 melanoma does not have any detectable alterations in its class II beta genes.

Adult↗
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Biological significance of beta hCG, HLA and other membrane antigen expression on bladder tumours and their relationship to tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL).

Expression of beta human chorionic gonadotropin (beta hCG) by bladder tumours has been shown to be associated with increased metastases and resistance to treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Preliminary results from typing frozen tumours using monoclonal antibodies against HLA determinants show reduced or lost expression of one or more antigens in two thirds of patients studied with a trend for more malignant behaviour and inability to generate tumour infiltrating lymphocyte expression using Interleukin-2 in those patients whose tumours demonstrate loss. In this series beta hCG expression was only seen in a subgroup of those demonstrating loss of HLA antigen expression. Studies of beta hCG secreting bladder cancer cell lines showed that it was possible to induce class II HLA antigen expression with gamma Interferon, and that this treatment but not alpha Interferon reduced beta hCG production by the cell line.

Antigens, Surface↗
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Expression of I-A alpha k and allelic restriction on A alpha/A beta pairing in transgenic mice.

Cell surface expression of class 11 major histocompatibility complex encoded (1a) molecules depends on association of the component alpha and beta chain into a stable heterodimer. Studies on cell lines transfected with MHC class II genes have revealed important limitations on the assembly of haplotype-mismatched A alpha:A beta complex. In order to study alpha:beta chain pairing restrictions in vivo a number of lines of transgenic mice carrying the A alpha k gene were generated. The transgene was studied in the context of H-2b, H-2s, H-2q, H-2u, H-2f and H-2v haplotypes. Initial FACS analysis of spleen and peripheral blood cells showed no A alpha kappa expression. Spleen cells stimulated with LPS and analysed by FACS showed A alpha k expression in three different H-2b strains as well as H-2u, but not in others. These data indicate that A alpha k can associate with A beta b and A alpha k, but not with A beta s, A beta q, A beta f, A beta v.

Alleles↗
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Acoustic vowel reduction in Creek: effects of distinctive length and position in the word.

Eight speakers (4 male and 4 female) of the Muskogee dialect of Creek pronounced a set of words illustrating the vowels and diphthongs of Creek. These recordings were analyzed acoustically and data on vowel duration and vowel formant frequencies are presented in this paper. The ratio of the durations of dictinctively long and short vowels was 1.8. This ratio showed a sex difference, being larger for female speakers than it was for male speakers. Final lengthening was also observed: both distinctively long and short vowels were longer in word-final position than in word-initial position. The vowel formant data showed two additive, orthogonal phonetic vowel reduction processes: short vowel centralization and positional reduction. Short vowel centralization has been found in many languages. Distinctively long vowels in Creek tended to be more peripheral in the acoustic vowel space than were the distinctively short vowels. Positional reduction is also evident in these data: vowels in word-final position were reduced relative to vowels in word-initial position. Short vowel centralization was preserved in both positions in the word. Positional reduction has been documented in several languages, and these results from Creek lend support to the hypothesis that it is a general property of speech production. The results of this acoustic-phonetic study, the first such study of Creek, are discussed in light of cross-linguistic phonetic trends.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Specimen adequacy of ThinPrep sample preparations in a direct-to-vial study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess specimen adequacy of the ThinPrep slide preparation method in routine use. STUDY DESIGN: Two studies, a feasibility study of 299 women and a clinical study of 499 women, were conducted. A broom-type collection device was used and rinsed directly into Pre-servCyt vials. Slides were prepared with the ThinPrep 2000 device, screened and classified according to the Bethesda System. The proportion of ThinPrep slides described as "Satisfactory But Limited By: No Endocervical Component (SBLB:No ECC)" was then compared to the proportion of SBLB: No ECC slides found on conventional smears in a previously conducted clinical trial of over 7,000 patients. RESULTS: For the feasibility study the proportion of ThinPrep slides described as SBLB: No ECC was 9.36% as compared to the clinical trial combined rate of 9.4% for conventional smears. For the clinical study, 4.96% of ThinPrep slides were SBLB:No ECC as compared to the 4.4% SBLB:No ECC rate for conventional smears from the same clinical trial. The proportions were statistically equivalent for both studies. CONCLUSION: It is expected that the rate of representing endocervical component will be maintained when the ThinPrep preparation method is used routinely in place of the conventional cytologic smear method.

Adult↗
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Total parenteral nutrition with fat emulsions during pregnancy--nutritional requirements: a case report.

After a corrosive burn of the upper gastrointestinal tract leading to a severe dysphagia and to a weight loss of 15 kilograms, a 21-year-old female was treated by total parenteral nutrition (TPN) during the last 7 weeks of pregnancy. TPN by complete nutritive mixtures comprised daily crystalline amino acid solutions and as energy sources glucose plus lipids, the latter representing 43% of the nonprotein calories. A term normal 2800 gram female was delivered by cesarian section. This case report demonstrates the absence of any side effects on pregnancy related to fat emulsions used in usual proportions. Among the nutritional parameters studied here, the variations of weight and creatinine height index seem to be the best indicators of the maternal nutritional status in these cases. Approximately 50 kilocalories and 220 milligrams of nitrogen per kilograms body weight daily seem to be sufficient to restore and to maintain the maternal nutritional conditions and fetal growth.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Experimental approach to prevention of catheter-related central venous thrombosis.

The role of catheter material in the formation of deep venous thrombosis during parenteral nutrition has been widely emphasized. Systematic venograms show central venous thrombosis in 20 to 33% of cases with polyethylene catheters and in 4% of cases with silicone catheters. Heparin infusion through the catheter diminishes but does not totally eliminate the risk of thrombosis. The aim of this study was to define the conditions under which the risk of thrombophlebitis was minimal. Four series of experiments were carried out, each on five rabbits. Catheters were inserted into the vena cava and, after 10 days, venograms were performed. The animals were then sacrificed, and the vena cava was macroscopically and microscopically studied. Plastic catheters were used in the first series, heparin-Benzalkonium-bonded plastic catheters in the second, silicone catheters in the third, and heparin-Benzalkonium-bonded silicone catheters in the fourth. The results revealed thrombosis of the vena cava and a fibrin sleeve around the catheters in series 1; thrombosis of the vena cava in series 2; a fibrin sleeve around the catheters in series 3; and neither thrombosis nor a fibrin sleeve in series 4. In conclusion, heparin-Benzalkonium-bonded silicone catheters appear to provide the best protection against thrombophlebitis by reducing the damage caused to the intima by the catheters and by slowing down platelet-aggregation around them.

Animals↗
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Treatment of external gastrointestinal fistulas by a combination of total parenteral nutrition and somatostatin.

Thirty-seven patients with external gastrointestinal fistulas were treated with a combination of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and somatostatin (ST). There was a significant fall in fistula output within the first day of treatment (p less than 0.001). On the first day of combined therapy, the reduction of fistula output was 70%, and in 68% of the cases, the fistula output fell to less than 50% of the initial level. Spontaneous closure was observed in 82% of the cases, and the time taken to close the fistula ranged between 1 and 14 days of starting therapy [5.4 +/- 0.7 days (mean +/- SEM)]. The response to TPN-ST treatment occurred, irrespective of age and sex of patients, duration and daily output of the fistulas before ST use, and their location in the gastrointestinal tract. Infection of fistula output was a factor of adverse prognosis. In all cases, and in the absence of mechanical obstacles, treatment that combines TPN and ST could be tried and continued up to 14 days in cases in which the fistula output falls more than 50% on the first day of treatment.

Adult↗