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Biomedical subjects

K M Jones

Publications and source records attributed to K M Jones.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Photoassociation of sodium in a Bose-Einstein condensate.

We form ultracold Na2 molecules by single-photon photoassociation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, measuring the photoassociation rate, linewidth, and light shift of the J = 1, v = 135 vibrational level of the A1 Sigma (+)(u) molecular state. The photoassociation rate constant increases linearly with intensity, even where it is predicted that many-body effects might limit the rate. Our observations are in good agreement with a two-body theory having no free parameters.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Evidence of a tissue-restricting DNA regulatory element in the mouse IRBP promoter.

The expression of interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP) is limited to photoreceptor cells of the retina and pinealocytes of the pineal gland. We sought to define cis-elements of the mouse IRBP 5' flanking region that are required for this restricted activity. In vitro transient transfections of retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma cells and in vivo experiments with transgenic Xenopus laevis indicate that -1783/+101 and -156/+101 IRBP gene fragments directed expression predominantly to the retina and pineal, with minor neuronal expression elsewhere. In contrast, a -70/+101 fragment was less restrictive in controlling expression, exhibiting activity not only in retina, but also in forebrain, hindbrain, spinal cord, and motor neurons innervating gills.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Carnitine/acylcarnitine translocase deficiency (neonatal phenotype): successful prenatal and postmortem diagnosis associated with a novel mutation in a single family.

The neonatal phenotype of carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) deficiency is one of the most severe and usually lethal mitochondrial fat oxidation disorders characterized by hypoketotic hypoglycemia, hyperammonemia, cardiac abnormalities, and early death. In this study, the proband was the daughter of consanguineous Hispanic parents. At 36 h of life, she had bradycardia and died at 4 days of age without a specific diagnosis. In a subsequent pregnancy, prenatal counseling and amniocentesis were provided. Incubation of the amniocytes from this pregnancy and fibroblasts (from the dead proband) with [16-(2)H(3)]palmitic acid and analysis by tandem mass spectrometry revealed an increasedconcentration of [16-(2)H(3)]palmitoylcarnitine, suggesting the diagnoses of either CACT or carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT-II) deficiency. CACT enzyme activity was absent in both cell lines. Molecular investigation of cDNA from the dead proband and her affected sibling revealed aberrant CACT cDNA species, including exon 3 skipping, both exon 3 and 4 skipping, and a 13-bp insertion at cDNA position 388. Investigation of these cell lines for mutations affecting CACT RNA processing by analysis of CACT gene sequences, including intron and exon boundaries, revealed a single nucleotide G deletion at the donor site in intron 3 which resulted in exon skipping and a 13-bp insertion. The proband and her affected sibling were homozygous for this deletion.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

STM studies of 1-D noble metal growth on silicon.

Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies show that noble metals (Ag, Au) form a wide variety of 1-D structures on the high-index Si(5 5 12) surface. At coverages below 0.25 monolayer (ML), both metals grow as overlayer rows with an inter-row spacing of approximately 5 nm. At higher coverages and annealing temperatures, the underlying Si reconstruction is removed, but periodic row structures persist. Au can also induce faceting to nearby planes, e.g. (7 7 15) and (2 2 5), at temperatures above 500 degrees C. For all coverages and annealing temperatures studied here (0.02-1 ML, 450-800 degrees C), the Si(5 5 12) template initiates 1-D growth of the deposited noble metals.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Noncontingent peer attention as treatment for disruptive classroom behavior.

A functional analysis isolated peer attention as the primary maintaining variable for disruptive behavior displayed by a student with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Using a brief reversal design, noncontingent reinforcement was then shown to reduce disruptive behavior relative to the peer attention condition. Implications for assessing behavior disorders in mainstream school settings are discussed.

Attention↗
PubMed2000

Filling and voiding symptoms in the American Urological Association symptom index: the value of their distinction in a Veterans Affairs randomized trial of medical therapy in men with a clinical diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia.

PURPOSE: We used data from a large Veterans Affairs trial of medical therapy for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia to evaluate the value of calculating separate filling and voiding subscores of the American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed factor analysis to assess the psychometric validity of separating the 7 items of the AUA symptom index into filling and voiding subsets. To assess the clinical usefulness of calculating these subscores we correlated them against baseline measurements of symptom interference as well as urodynamic and anatomical measures of disease severity, and used them for predicting the response to medical therapy. RESULTS: Factor analysis confirmed the psychometric validity of separating the AUA symptom index into a 3-item filling and a 4-item voiding subscale. However, calculating filling and voiding subscores did not result in differential correlations with measures of disease interference or severity. It also did not enable us to predict a better symptomatic or uroflowmetry response to medical therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Calculating separate filling and voiding subscores of the AUA symptom index is psychometrically valid but not clinically useful.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Histaminergic activation of endogenous angiotensin II fails to inhibit alcohol intake in rats.

Demonstrations that alcohol intake can be inhibited by pharmacological activation of the renal renin-angiotensin system (RRA) or injection of angiotensin II (ANG II) in rats led to this study of a role for endogenous ANG II in inhibition of alcohol intake in rats. Relatively small doses of histamine, above threshold for eliciting drinking of water and activation of the RRA, were injected SC in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats with access to 3.0% alcohol in 45-min one-bottle alcohol tests and in two-bottle tests in which alcohol and water were available at the midpoint of the 12-h dark phase. The 0.312 and 1.25 mg/kg doses of SC histamine elevated plasma renin activity to levels similar to those in rats that had just eaten food. Neither dose of histamine affected alcohol intake in one-bottle tests. A relatively large 10 mg/kg dose of histamine increased alcohol intake in a one-bottle test, but decreased alcohol intake and increased water intake in two-bottle tests. The inhibitory effect of the 10 mg/kg dose of histamine on alcohol intake was completely blocked by SC 10 mg/kg losartan, a selective AT1 angiotensin receptor antagonist. This 10 mg/kg dose of losartan given alone, however, failed to increase alcohol intake in one- or two-bottle tests. These results generally do not support a role for endogenous ANG II as an inhibitory physiological signal in the control of alcohol ingestion in rats, because histaminergic activation of RRA, using small but physiologically meaningful doses of histamine, failed to inhibit alcohol intake.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1999

A case study of behavioral assessment and treatment of insect phobia.

We assessed the academic performance of a 14-year-old boy with insect phobia in the context of feared stimuli. The dependent measure was math calculation rate across three conditions that varied therapist statements about the presence of crickets and the actual presence of live crickets. Subsequent treatment consisted of graduated exposure and contingent rewards for math problem completion. Assessment results indicated that the boy's performance was consistently low in the presence of live crickets but not when he was spuriously informed that crickets were present (the primary referral concern). Treatment results indicated no effect from exposure alone and a dramatic effect when exposure was combined with contingent rewards.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Human immunodeficiency virus disease. Managing respiratory complications through the life span.

HIV infection is a chronic illness that affects individuals of all ages. The pulmonary system is the most common body system affected by the disease. Management of these complications has improved over the years and has resulted in a decline in mortality. Critical care nurses should understand the complications that develop and be knowledgeable about the management to improve the patient's clinical outcomes. Assessment for complications must begin once an individual is diagnosed as being infected with HIV and continue throughout the course of the disease. Prevention is the key to limiting respiratory complications and thus improving survival rates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Missense translation errors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We describe the development of a novel plasmid-based assay for measuring the in vivo frequency of misincorporation of amino acids into polypeptide chains in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The assay is based upon the measurement of the catalytic activity of an active site mutant of type III chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CATIII) expressed in S. cerevisiae. A His195(CAC)-->Tyr195(UAC) mutant of CATIII is completely inactive, but catalytic activity can be restored by misincorporation of histidine at the mutant UAC codon. The average error frequency of misincorporation of histidine at this tyrosine UAC codon in wild-type yeast strains was measured as 0. 5x10(-5) and this frequency was increased some 50-fold by growth in the presence of paromomycin, a known translational-error-inducing antibiotic. A detectable frequency of misincorporation of histidine at a mutant Ala195 GCU codon was also measured as 2x10(-5), but in contrast to the Tyr195-->His195 misincorporation event, the frequency of histidine misincorporation at Ala195 GCU was not increased by paromomycin, inferring that this error did not result from miscognate codon-anticodon interaction. The His195 to Tyr195 missense error assay was used to demonstrate increased frequencies of missense error at codon 195 in SUP44 and SUP46 mutants. These two mutants have previously been shown to exhibit a translation termination error phenotype and the sup44+ and sup46+ genes encode the yeast ribosomal proteins S4 and S9, respectively. These data represent the first accurate in vivo measurement of a specific mistranslation event in a eukaryotic cell and directly confirm that the eukaryotic ribosome plays an important role in controlling missense errors arising from non-cognate codon-anticodon interactions.

Alanine↗
PubMed1997

A conditional-lethal translation termination defect in a sup45 mutant of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Genetic studies have indicated that the product of the yeast SUP45 gene encodes a component of the translational-termination machinery. In higher eukaryotes, genes similar to SUP45 encode eukaryote release factor 1 (eRF1), which has a stop-codon-dependent peptidyl-release activity. Using a conditional-lethal mutant allele of SUP45 (sup45-2) and a combination of in vivo and in vitro approaches, we demonstrate that the product of the SUP45 gene (Sup45p or eRF1) is a factor required for translation termination in yeast. A homologous in vitro assay based on suppressor-tRNA-mediated readthrough of stop codons is used to show that a translating lysate from a sup45-2 mutant strain exhibits a termination defect when heated for short periods to greater than the non-permissive temperature (37 degrees C). This defect can be complemented with a purified preparation of Sup45p (eRF1) expressed in Eschericha coli. The termination defect in this strain appears to be due to an inability of the Sup45p protein to bind the ribosome, resulting in vivo in a reduced ability of Sup45p to release nascent polypeptides from the ribosome at the non-permissive temperature. Cell-free translation lysates from the sup45-2 strain do not show a defect in sense-codon translation at the non-permissive temperature. These data demonstrate that yeast eRF1 plays a role in translation termination and is functionally equivalent to its higher eukaryotic homologues.

Fungal Proteins↗
PubMed1997

Relax and try this instead: abbreviated habit reversal for maladaptive self-biting.

We evaluated the effectiveness of an abbreviated habit reversal procedure to reduce maladaptive oral self-biting in an adolescent boy in residential care. Treatment involved a combination of relaxation and two competing responses. Results of a withdrawal design and two posttreatment medical evaluations indicated that the intervention eliminated the biting and the tissue damage it caused.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Firearm violence. Impact on the patient and society.

Firearm violence has reached an alarming level. The devastation that results from firearms has severe implications for the individual and society. Interventions for patients suffering firearm injuries must begin at the scene and continue through the many phases of illness including emergency care, critical care, intermediate care, rehabilitation, and home care. Nurses are in the prime position to coordinate the many phases of care, with the outcome being to incorporate the victim back into society. Prevention is the key to reducing firearm violence through awareness, education, and legislation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The products of the SUP45 (eRF1) and SUP35 genes interact to mediate translation termination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The product of the yeast SUP45 gene (Sup45p) is highly homologous to the Xenopus eukaryote release factor 1 (eRF1), which has release factor activity in vitro. We show, using the two-hybrid system, that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sup45p and the product of the SUP35 gene (Sup35p) interact in vivo. The ability of Sup45p C-terminally tagged with (His)6 to specifically precipitate Sup35p from a cell lysate was used to confirm this interaction in vitro. Although overexpression of either the SUP45 or SUP35 genes alone did not reduce the efficiency of codon-specific tRNA nonsense suppression, the simultaneous overexpression of both the SUP35 and SUP45 genes in nonsense suppressor tRNA-containing strains produced an antisuppressor phenotype. These data are consistent with Sup35p and Sup45p forming a complex with release factor properties. Furthermore, overexpression of either Xenopus or human eRF1 (SUP45) genes also resulted in anti-suppression only if that strain was also overexpressing the yeast SUP35 gene. Antisuppression is a characteristic phenotype associated with overexpression of both prokaryote and mitochondrial release factors. We propose that Sup45p and Sup35p interact to form a release factor complex in yeast and that Sup35p, which has GTP binding sequence motifs in its C-terminal domain, provides the GTP hydrolytic activity which is a demonstrated requirement of the eukaryote translation termination reaction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Benign prostatic hyperplasia specific health status measures in clinical research: how much change in the American Urological Association symptom index and the benign prostatic hyperplasia impact index is perceptible to patients?

PURPOSE: We assessed the relationship between changes in scores for the American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) impact index with patient global ratings of improvement in a large Veterans Affairs trial comparing different pharmacological therapies for BPH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The primary analyses compared absolute score changes from baseline with global ratings of improvement at 13 weeks for 1,218 men. RESULTS: Subjects who rated themselves as being slightly improved had a mean decrease in AUA symptom index and BPH impact index scores of 3.1 and 0.4 points, respectively. However, the baseline scores strongly influenced this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide guidance for investigators using the AUA symptom index and BPH impact index as outcome measures.

Health Status↗