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Biomedical subjects

M Bridges

Publications and source records attributed to M Bridges.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Utility of magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating inflatable penile prosthesis malfunction and complaints.

The introduction of oral pharmacotherapy dramatically changed practice patterns in erectile dysfunction. The direct effect was to decrease the numbers of patients seeking penile implants; an indirect effect has been the changing ratio of new, to re-do operations. Patients seeking replacement inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery pose challenges both in diagnosis and management; in very select cases preoperative MRI can be useful in the evaluation of the patient's complaint and in planning operative management. Imaging can supplement the physical exam; in certain cases imaging will reveal: crural herniation, corporal distortion, corporal fibrosis, and hardware migration. Inflatable penile prosthesis has a high rate of satisfaction for patients (89%) and partners (70%). The principal reasons for dissatisfaction are penile shortening, pain and frustration with reoperation. If pain is not due to infection, it may be secondary to malpositioning, improper sizing, cylinder cross-overs, or herniation. After one or more reoperations, penile distortion may occur secondary to tunica albugenia thinning or fibrosis. A series of cases will be presented to highlight the utility of MRI for IPP problems, define normal appearance and abnormal appearance of penile hardware. Careful collaboration between the Urologist and Radiologist in the review and final dictation of these cases is warranted to properly document problems and to plan device replacement/penile reconstruction.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Purification and characterisation of a non-plant myrosinase from the cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae (L.).

Plant myrosinases and glucosinolates constitute a defence system in cruciferous plants towards pests and diseases. We have purified for the first time a non-plant myrosinase from the cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) to homogeneity. The protein was N-terminally blocked and protease (trypsin and lys c) degradation gave peptides of which five were sequenced. The protein is a dimer with subunits of mass 54 kDa+/-500 Da. Western blot analysis with an anti-aphid myrosinase antibody showed a strong cross reaction with a protein extract from the Brassica specialist, B. brassicae. The anti-aphid myrosinase antibody does not cross react with plant myrosinase neither does an anti-plant myrosinase antibody cross react with aphid myrosinase.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Adolescent violence prevention practices among California pediatricians.

OBJECTIVES: To examine pediatricians' provision of violence prevention services to their adolescent patients and to identify factors associated with pediatricians' implementation of these services. DESIGN: A cross-sectional sample of California pediatricians completed a self-report questionnaire. The "Precede/Proceed" theoretical model guided the questionnaire in identification of factors associated with pediatricians' screening and intervening practices in preventing adolescent violence. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty pediatricians (54% female, 66% white, 24% Asian, 5% Latino, and 5% other) participated in the study. On average, participants screened their patients for violence-related risk factors 31% of the time for fighting, 39% of the time for violence in the home, and 29% of the time for weapon carrying. Participants provided their at-risk patients with violence-related interventions less than 50% of the time (on average) implementing the following interventions: written materials, follow-up appointments, discipline counseling, or referral to a community organization, Child Protective Services, or a specialized adolescent clinic. Factors associated with violence prevention screening practices included the following: positive attitudes and beliefs regarding screening for violence, familiarity with violence prevention guidelines, use of prompts in medical records, perceptions of greater skills, and positive reinforcement from patients and colleagues for providing violence prevention services (R(2)=0.44; P<.001). Factors associated with violence prevention intervention practices included: positive attitudes and beliefs in screening for violence, availability of resources, and positive reinforcement from patients and colleagues for providing violence prevention services (R(2)=0.37; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: California pediatricians are not widely screening their adolescent patients for risk factors associated with adolescent violence, nor are they providing interventions to their adolescent patients who may be at risk for violence. The factors associated with pediatricians' implementation of violence prevention services may assist in the development of effective interventions designed to enhance their delivery of these services to their adolescent patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Relationship between dysplasia, p53 protein accumulation, DNA ploidy, and Glut1 overexpression in Barrett metaplasia.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for molecular markers of malignant progression in Barrett metaplasia (BM). The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between dysplasia, p53 protein accumulation, DNA ploidy, and Glut1 in BM. METHODS: Sections of esophageal biopsy specimens from 120 patients with BM were evaluated for dysplasia, p53 protein, and Glut1 expression by immunohistochemistry, and DNA ploidy by Feulgen stain and image analysis. In cases with diploid DNA histograms, the percentage cells in the G0G1 and G2M phases of the cell cycle were determined. RESULTS: Of 108 diploid cases 19 (28%) of 69 cases with G0G1 > or = 90% or G2M > or = 8.33% were p53-positive, in contrast to only 1 (3%) of 39 cases with lower G0G1 or G2M (P = 0.0008). Of 32 p53-positive cases 11 (32%) were aneuploid, in contrast to none (0%) of 88 p53-negative cases (P < 0.0001). Ten (91%) of 11 aneuploid cases were high-grade dysplasial adenocarcinoma (HGD/CA), compared with only 1 (1%) of 109 diploid cases (P < 0.0001). Five (45%) of 11 cases with HGD/CA were Glut1-positive, in contrast to none (0%) of 109 cases without HGD/CA (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data strongly suggest that in BM, after oxidative DNA damage, as a result of gastroesophageal reflux, there is an increase in the percentage of cells in the G0G1 or G2M phases of the cell cycle to enable repair of damaged DNA; in some of these cases this is followed sequentially by p53 gene mutation and protein accumulation, DNA aneuploidy, HGD, and CA with or without Glut1 overexpression. These events can be detected in routinely processed biopsy samples.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

The financial impact of teaching surgical residents in the operating room.

BACKGROUND: There have been no published data regarding the cost of training surgical residents in the operating room. METHODS: At the University of Tennessee Medical Center-Knoxville, in addition to resident-performed teaching cases, some cases are performed without the assistance of residents by the same faculty. RESULTS: Sixty-two case categories involving 14,452 cases were compared for operative times alone. In 46 case categories (10,787 procedures), resident operative times were longer than faculty alone. In 16 case categories, resident operating times were shorter than faculty times. The net incremental operative time cost was 2,050 hours between July 1993 and March 1997. Assuming 4 years of operative training for 11 graduating chief residents, the cost per graduating resident was $47,970. CONCLUSION: Extrapolated to a national annual cost for the 1,014 general surgery residents who completed training in the 1997 academic year, the annual cost of training residents in the operating room is $53 million. This high monetary cost suggests the need for digital skills, selection criteria, the development of training curriculum and resource facilities, the pre-operating room need for suturing and stapling techniques, and perhaps the acquisition of virtual surgery training modules.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1998

What matters? What does not? Five perspectives on the association between marital transitions and children's adjustment.

This article presents an analysis of 5 views of factors that contribute to the adjustment of children in divorced families or stepfamilies. These perspectives are those that emphasize (a) individual vulnerability and risk; (b) family composition; (c) stress, including socioeconomic disadvantage; (d) parental distress; and (e) disrupted family process. It is concluded that all of these factors contribute to children's adjustment in divorced and remarried families and that a transactional model examining multiple trajectories of interacting risk and protective factors is the most fruitful in predicting the well-being of children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Expression and function of endothelial cell alpha v integrin receptors in wound-induced human angiogenesis in human skin/SCID mice chimeras.

Accumulating evidence indicates that endothelial cell integrins that bind to the matrix proteins associated with inflammation and wound healing are involved in the process of angiogenesis. The integrins containing the alpha v subunit appear to be particularly important. To study the involvement of these receptors in human angiogenesis, a model of wound-associated human angiogenesis was established in human skin transplanted onto severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Using this model, we studied the expression of several alpha v integrins and tested the hypothesis that blockage of the alpha v beta 3 integrin would inhibit human angiogenesis during human wound healing. These studies revealed that the alpha v beta 3, alpha v beta 5, and alpha v beta 6 integrins are up-regulated briefly during wound angiogenesis with different patterns of expression and that inhibition of the alpha v beta 3 integrin blocked new vessel formation during human wound healing.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Complement-independent binding of microorganisms to primate erythrocytes in vitro by cross-linked monoclonal antibodies via complement receptor 1.

Under certain circumstances, soluble antigens, particulate antigens, and/or microorganisms have been shown to bind to primate erythrocytes via complement receptor 1 (CR1) in the presence of specific antibodies and complement. This immune adherence reaction, specific for CR1, can lead to neutralization of antigens in the circulation and their subsequent clearance from the blood. The present experiments utilized cross-linked monoclonal antibody complexes (heteropolymers) with specificity for both CR1 and either 35S-labeled herpes simplex virus capsid or Haemophilus influenzae as prototype viral and bacterial particulate antigens, respectively. In each case, the respective specific heteropolymers facilitated binding of the target antigens (> or = 70 to 90%) in vitro to erythrocytes in the absence of complement. Several experimental protocols were employed to demonstrate that heteropolymers mediate specific, rapid (> or = 30 s), and quantitative binding of prototypical particulate pathogens to human and monkey erythrocytes but not to sheep erythrocytes, which lack CR1. These results extend the potential use of the erythrocyte-heteropolymer system to the neutralization and clearance of particulate viral and bacterial pathogens from the blood.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The residual central venous catheter track--an occult source of lethal air embolism: case report.

Air embolization through a residual track after removal of a central venous catheter is an elusive mechanism of a treacherous problem. Prompt diagnosis is necessary for successful application of established therapy, as demonstrated by this case report. Awareness of this unusual mechanism of air embolism with utilization of simple prophylactic measures, however, remains the best treatment.

Catheterization, Central Venous↗
PubMed1987

Plasma MHPG levels in lactate and isoproterenol anxiety states.

It has been claimed that an increase in brain noradrenergic activity plays a role in panic disorder and that enhanced noradrenergic activity may be reflected by plasma levels of MHPG. We investigated plasma MHPG levels in panic disorder patients at baseline and during lactate- and isoproterenol-induced anxiety states. These infusions and 5% dextrose infusions were given to 10 panic disorder patients and 9 healthy control subjects. Each subject received all three infusions, double-blind, in random order, and at 1-week intervals. When compared to controls, plasma free MHPG levels in panic patients were not elevated at baseline, during lactate or isoproterenol infusions, at the point of panic, or up to 20 min after the onset of panic. MHPG values were also not elevated in subjects who panicked compared to those who did not. MHPG values were significantly lower in three patients who failed to panic with isoproterenol, but the patient panickers had MHPG values similar to those of controls. Significant correlations between MHPG levels and anxiety ratings were infrequent and could be accounted for by chance alone. These results did not support the noradrenergic model for panic anxiety states induced by lactate or isoproterenol.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effects of wound exudates on in vitro immune parameters.

Although local failure of antibacterial host defenses in the surgical wound may contribute to the development of wound infections, little attention has been focused on this problem. The goals of the current study were to determine the biological activity of postsurgical wound exudates (seroma fluids) on normal neutrophil and lymphocyte function and to quantitate the levels of complement and plasma fibronectin in these wound exudates. The wound exudates did not support the opsonophagocytosis and killing of Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa by control neutrophils as well as serum (P less than 0.01) and was inferior to serum as a neutrophil chemoattractant (P less than 0.01). Similarly, the wound exudates did not support mitogen-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis as well as normal serum (P less than 0.01). The impaired function of both neutrophils and lymphocytes incubated in the wound exudates appeared to be due to a lack of normal humoral factors, rather than to the presence of inhibitory factors, since the addition of normal serum to the wound exudates restored cellular activity to normal. The findings of decreased levels of plasma fibronectin and decreased complement hemolytic activity in the wound exudates were consistent with the concept of a local deficiency of immune-related humoral factors. Thus, this study supports the clinical concept that local collections of wound fluids may predispose to wound infections by hampering effective local host defenses.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Investigation of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase phosphoprotein formation in erythrocyte membranes of patients with cystic fibrosis.

The (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase present per mg of protein in erythrocyte membranes of controls and patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) was determined by estimation of the levels of its phosphoprotein. In the presence of 10 mM free Ca2+, which inhibits phosphoprotein decomposition, significantly less phosphoprotein intermediate, ECaP, was found in erythrocyte membranes from CF patients than in age- and sex-matched controls; this correlated with a significant decrease in (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity. These observations indicate a decrease in the number of functional (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase molecules in erythrocyte membranes from CF patients or an alteration in either the structure of the pump protein or the composition of its environment.

Ca(2+) Mg(2+)-ATPase↗