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Biomedical subjects

J Steele

Publications and source records attributed to J Steele.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Comparative genomics of the lactic acid bacteria.

Lactic acid-producing bacteria are associated with various plant and animal niches and play a key role in the production of fermented foods and beverages. We report nine genome sequences representing the phylogenetic and functional diversity of these bacteria. The small genomes of lactic acid bacteria encode a broad repertoire of transporters for efficient carbon and nitrogen acquisition from the nutritionally rich environments they inhabit and reflect a limited range of biosynthetic capabilities that indicate both prototrophic and auxotrophic strains. Phylogenetic analyses, comparison of gene content across the group, and reconstruction of ancestral gene sets indicate a combination of extensive gene loss and key gene acquisitions via horizontal gene transfer during the coevolution of lactic acid bacteria with their habitats.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

An interferon-gamma ELISPOT and immunohistochemical investigation of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated tumour immunity in patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration and anti-Yo antibodies.

Eight patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) and anti-Yo antibodies were investigated to determine whether there is any association between cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses reactive with two previously defined Yo-derived, HLA-A2.1 restricted epitopes (cdr2-1 and cdr2-2) and the presence of tumour-infiltrating CD8+ CTLs. cdr2-1 and cdr2-2-specific CTL responses could not be detected in 5 HLA-A2.1(+) patients in an ex vivo interferon-gamma ELISPOT assay and only 2/9 tumour sections contained CD8(+) intratumoural lymphocytes suggesting a very limited role for CTL-mediated tumour immunity in this patient group, all of whom had evidence of widespread malignancy at the time of diagnosis and/or death.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗
PubMed2004

A randomised controlled trial of paediatric conscious sedation for dental treatment using intravenous midazolam combined with inhaled nitrous oxide or nitrous oxide/sevoflurane.

Failure of dental treatment due to anxiety is a common problem in children. The aim of this study was to establish whether the use of a combination of intravenous midazolam with inhalation agents (nitrous oxide alone or in combination with sevoflurane) was any more likely to result in successful completion of treatment than midazolam alone. A further aim was to evaluate the clinical viability of these techniques as an alternative to general anaesthesia. In total, 697 children too anxious for management with relative analgesia and requiring invasive dental procedure for which a general anaesthetic would usually be required, were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three groups given the following interventions: group 1 - a combination of inhaled medical air and titrated intravenous midazolam, group 2 - a combination of inhaled 40% nitrous oxide in oxygen and titrated intravenous midazolam, and group 3 - a combination of an inhaled mixture of sevoflurane 0.3% and nitrous oxide 40% in oxygen with titrated intravenous midazolam. The primary outcome measure was successful completion of the intended dental treatment with a co-operative child responsive to verbal commands. In group 1, 54% (94/174 children) successfully completed treatment. In group 2, 80% (204/256 children) and in group 3, 93% (249/267 children) completed treatment. This difference was significant at the 1% level. Intravenous midazolam, especially in combination with inhaled nitrous oxide or sevoflurane and nitrous oxide, are effective techniques, with the combination of midazolam and sevoflurane the one most likely to result in successful treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

In vitro antiplasmodial activity of extracts of Argentinian plants.

Fifteen extracts from nine selected Argentine medicinal plants were tested for their antiplasmodial activity in vitro by assessing their ability to inhibit the uptake of [3H]-hypoxanthine into the Plasmodium falciparum K1 pyrimethamine/chloroquine resistant strain. The methanol extract of Satureja parvifolia showed good antiplasmodial activity (IC(50) 3 microg/ml). Inhibition of the growth of P. falciparum was also observed with aqueous extracts of Buddleja globosa and S. parvifolia.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

The oral cleanliness and periodontal health of UK adults in 1998.

Periodontal disease continues to be a major concern for dentists and patients. This paper reports the findings of the 1998 UK Adult Dental Health survey in relation to plaque, calculus, periodontal pocketing and loss of attachment. It is apparent from this study that moderate periodontal disease remains commonplace amongst UK adults and that the associated risk factors of plaque and calculus are in abundance, even amongst those who profess to be motivated about their oral health and attend the dentist regularly. The continued high prevalence of disease needs to be seen in the context of the far larger number of people who are now potentially at some risk, particularly in the older age groups, because of improvements in tooth retention. However, the cumulative effect of disease means that control of the periodontal diseases, even mild and slowly progressing disease, will be a key issue if large numbers of teeth are to be retained into old age. If that level of control is to be achieved we need a widespread improvement in our management of the disease, particularly in our ability to improve the oral cleanliness of the UK population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Does the condition of the mouth and teeth affect the ability to eat certain foods, nutrient and dietary intake and nutritional status amongst older people?

OBJECTIVES: To assess how the dental status of older people affected their stated ability to eat common foods, their nutrient intake and some nutrition-related blood analytes. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey part of nation-wide British National Diet and Nutrition Survey: people aged 65 years and older. Data from a questionnaire were linked to clinical data and data from four-day weighed dietary records. Two separate representative samples: a free-living and an institutional sample. Seven-hundred-and-fifty-three free-living and 196 institution subjects had a dental exam and interview. RESULTS: About one in five dentate (with natural teeth) free-living people had difficulty eating raw carrots, apples, well-done steak or nuts. Foods such as nuts, apples and raw carrots could not be eaten easily by over half edentate (without natural teeth but with dentures) people in institutions. In free-living, intakes of most nutrients and fruit and vegetables were significantly lower in edentate than dentate. Perceived chewing ability increased with increasing number of teeth. Daily intake of non-starch polysaccharides, protein, calcium, non-haem iron, niacin, vitamin C and intrinsic and milk sugars were significantly lower in edentate. Plasma ascorbate and retinol were significantly lower in the edentate than dentate. Plasma ascorbate was significantly related to the number of teeth and posterior contacting pairs of teeth. CONCLUSIONS: The presence, number and distribution of natural teeth are related to the ability to eat certain foods, affecting nutrient intakes and two biochemical measures of nutritional status.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Lactococcus lactis LM0230 contains a single aminotransferase involved in aspartate biosynthesis, which is essential for growth in milk.

Amino acid aminotransferases (ATases), which catalyse the last biosynthetic step of many amino acids, may have important physiological functions in Lactococcus lactis during growth in milk. In this study, the aspartate ATase gene (aspC) from L. lactis LM0230 was cloned by complementation into Escherichia coli DL39. One chromosomal fragment putatively encoding aspC was partially sequenced. A 1179 bp ORF was identified which could encode for a 393 aa, 43.2 kDa protein. The deduced amino acid sequence had high identity to other AspC sequences in GenBank and is a member of the Igamma family of ATases. Substrate-specificity studies suggested that the lactococcal AspC has ATase activity only with aspartic acid (Asp). An internal deletion was introduced into the L. lactis chromosomal copy of aspC by homologous recombination. The wild-type and mutant strain grew similarly in defined media containing all 20 amino acids and did not grow in minimal media unless supplemented with asparagine (Asn). The mutant strain was also unable to grow in or significantly acidify milk unless supplemented with Asp or Asn. These results suggest that only one lactococcal ATase is involved in the conversion of oxaloacetate to Asp, and Asp biosynthesis is required for the growth of L. lactis LM0230 in milk.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The condition of teeth in the UK in 1998 and implications for the future.

The latest of the decennial surveys of the United Kingdom was undertaken in 1998 by the Office of National Statistics in collaboration with the dental schools of the Universities of Birmingham, Dundee, Newcastle and Wales. Dentate adults in 1998 have fewer missing teeth and more sound and untreated teeth on average than in 1978. The average number of decayed teeth has dropped significantly from 1.9 in 1978 to 1.1 in 1998. The average number of filled teeth has remained fairly constant over the same time but its distribution has changed quite markedly towards older adults having more filled teeth than people of a similar age in the past whilst the reverse is true for younger adults. The overall trends are encouraging, but there is a need to review the way disease is managed in adults in the United Kingdom.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Antiplasmodial activity of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta alkaloids from leaves and roots.

The roots of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta have been investigated for their chemical composition since 1931 but so far no studies on the leaves have been reported although they are used in traditional medicine in Guinea-Bissau. Two new alkaloids identified as cryptolepinoic acid (1) and methyl cryptolepinoate (2) and the known alkaloids cryptolepine (4), hydroxycryptolepine (5/5a) and quindoline (6), were isolated from the ethanolic and chlorophormic leaf extracts. Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaves and roots and seven alkaloids isolated from those extracts were tested in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum K1 (multidrug-resistant strain) and T996 (chloroquine-sensitive clone). All the extracts were shown to give 90% inhibition of P. falciparum K1 growth at concentrations < 23 micrograms/ml. Cryptolepine (4) was the most active alkaloid tested with IC50 values (0.23 microM to K1; 0.059 microM to T996) comparable with chloroquine (0.26 microM to K1; 0.019 microM to T996). The indolobenzazepine alkaloid cryptoheptine (7) was the second most active with IC50 values of 0.8 microM (K1) and 1.2 microM (T996). Cryptolepinoic acid (1) showed no significant activity while its ethyl ester derivative 3 was active against P. falciparum K1 (IC50 = 3.7 microM). All the indoloquinoline alkaloids showed cross-resistance with chloroquine but not the indolobenzazepine alkaloid 7. It was noticed that alkaloids with weakly basic characteristics were active whereas other structurally related alkaloids with different acid-base profiles were inactive. These observations are in agreement with the antimalarial mechanism of action for quinolines.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed2000

Handedness in past human populations: skeletal markers.

Although it is generally believed that right-handedness has predominated in all human populations since at least the appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens, the evidence has rarely been studied in its entirety. This paper contains a review of the principal skeletal indicators of handedness (cranial and post-cranial), and an introduction to their use to estimate the prevalence of left and right handedness in the past. The role of such reviews is to enable us to assess the testability of genetic models of human handedness and of its evolution, using anthropological and archaeological data.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Minimally invasive treatment for localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate: review of 1048 patients treated with ultrasound-guided palladium-103 brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of palladium-103 brachytherapy in stage T1 and T2 adenocarcinoma of the prostate. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The charts of 1048 patients treated between 1991 and 1999 with transperineal realtime ultrasound-guided (103)Pd (Theraseed) implants were reviewed to assess the effects on serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) values and tissue (biopsy). Of the 1048 patients, 780 had sufficient data for this report. Preoperative total androgen blockade (leuprolide and flutamide) was used selectively in patients whose prostate size was >50 cc and those whose tumors had a Gleason score of >7. RESULTS: At 1 year, 86% of the evaluable 766 patients had stable PSA concentration <1.5 ng/mL; at 5 years, 86% of the 166 patients with data available had stable PSA values <1.5 ng/mL. Biopsies were negative in 92% of the patients studied at 2 years. Patients with pretreatment PSA values <10 ng/mL had the best outcomes, and those treated with (103)Pd plus hormone ablation achieved PSA reduction more rapidly than those treated with radioisotope monotherapy. There was one disease-related death; the principal morbidity was short-term bladder and bowel irritation without permanent sequelae. Impotence occurred in approximately 15% of patients, and incontinence occurred in 5% of those who had undergone prior transurethral resection of the prostate. CONCLUSION: The technique used in this study proved effective in reducing PSA concentrations to <1.5 ng/mL and in producing negative biopsies 1 and 2 years postoperatively. These results are comparable to those of external-beam radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy while demonstrating a significant reduction in morbidity.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

Ovarian response to repeated controlled stimulation in in-vitro fertilization cycles in patients with ovarian endometriosis.

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is an effective infertility treatment for women with endometriosis, but most women need to undergo several cycles of treatment to become pregnant. This case-control study was designed to assess how consistently women with ovarian endometriosis respond to ovarian stimulation in consecutive treatment cycles compared to women with tubal infertility. We compared outcome measures in 40 women with a history of surgically confirmed ovarian endometriosis and 80 women with tubal infertility, all of whom had at least three IVF treatment cycles. The groups were matched for age and early follicular follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration at their first IVF cycle. Outcome measures included number of follicles, number of oocytes, peak oestradiol concentration and number of FSH ampoules required per follicle. Cumulative pregnancy and live birth rates were calculated in both groups. The ovarian endometriosis group had a significantly poorer ovarian response and required significantly more ampoules of FSH per cycle, a difference that became greater with each subsequent cycle. However, cumulative pregnancy (63.3 versus 62.6% by fifth cycle) and live birth (46.8 versus 50.9% by fifth cycle) rates were similar in both groups. In conclusion, despite decreased ovarian response to FSH, ovarian endometriosis does not decrease the chances of successful IVF treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Evolution of techniques for ultrasound-guided palladium 103 brachytherapy in 950 patients with prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Brachytherapy is an effective, low-morbidity, cost-effective treatment for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Although both iodine 125 and palladium 103 have been used extensively over the last 14 years, 103Pd (Theraseed) provides a more rapid initial dose and therefore better control of higher Gleason grade tumors. We assessed a highly refined methodology for 103Pd brachytherapy in patients with prostate cancer and compared outcomes before and after making adjustments in technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Standard brachytherapy techniques were modified to include combination of preplanning with real-time adjustment, placing all needles at once to minimize prostate movement, using monitored anesthesia control sedation during preoperative volume study and cystoscopy, and several other small but important changes. Charts were reviewed from 950 patients treated with 103Pd implants from 1991 through 1999. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and biopsy data before and after 1993 were compared for 733 patients whose data qualified for analysis. RESULTS: At 1 and 5 years after treatment, 85-88% of patients had stable PSA <1.5 ng/mL. Biopsies were negative in 90-94% at 2 years. CONCLUSION: The modification in techniques provides positive results that remain stable over time.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Barriers to improving endodontic care: the views of NHS practitioners.

AIMS: Concerns have been expressed about the technical quality of NHS endodontic treatment. Bringing performance into line with guidelines for good practice needs to be underpinned by an understanding of barriers to compliance. To this end, our research involved an exploratory investigation of the factors influencing the behaviour of general dental practitioners in their practice of endodontics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects 12 dental practitioners, representative of varying levels of professional experience and status, and of compliance with good practice guidelines. Data collection In-depth interviews, following a topic guide. Analysis Identification, abstraction and charting of major themes. FINDINGS: Informants' responses suggested that general dental practitioners' endodontic practice is influenced by a complex web of factors. A key barrier to high quality treatment is the NHS remuneration scheme. Undergraduate and postgraduate education and training are also highly influential on practice. Dentists reported employing a range of strategies to manage the time-cost tensions imposed by the remuneration system. Perceived deficiencies in the content and delivery of postgraduate training were highlighted by our informants. CONCLUSIONS: There was a perception among our informants that the NHS fee structure needs to be revised. Their views suggest that a system which rewards quality rather than volume may be more appropriate, but, we believe, such a system would need to take into account efficiency as well as effectiveness. Modification of the current system of postgraduate training in endodontics is also indicated by the views expressed in the interviews. From the diversity of views and from a critical review of the literature, we conclude that flexibility is the key note in changing practice, with no single strategy likely to be universally appropriate.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1999

Recurrent bacteremia caused by a "Flexispira"-like organism in a patient with X-linked (Bruton's) agammaglobulinemia.

Helicobacter spp., except for Helicobacter cinaedi, have only rarely been reported in cases of septicemia. A patient with X-linked (Bruton's) agammaglobulinemia was found to have persistent sepsis with a Helicobacter-like organism despite multiple courses of antibiotics. His periods of sepsis were associated with leg swelling thought to be consistent with cellulitis. The organism was fastidious and required a microaerophilic environment containing H(2) for growth. Optimal growth was observed at 35 to 37 degrees C on sheep blood, CDC anaerobe, and Bordet-Gengou agars. Serial subcultures every 4 to 5 days were required to maintain viability. The organism was strongly urease positive and showed highest relatedness to Helicobacter-like organisms with the vernacular name "Flexispira rappini" by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Genomic DNA hybridization studies, however, found 24 to 37% relatedness to "F. rappini" and even less to other Helicobacter spp. Although the organism phenotypically resembles "Flexispira" and Helicobacter, it is thought to represent a new taxon. The patient's infection was eventually cleared with a prolonged (5-month) course of intravenous imipenem and gentamicin.

Adult↗