PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Griffiths

Publications and source records attributed to M Griffiths.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Qualitative and quantitative changes in milk fat during lactation in the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii).

There are major quantitative and qualitative changes in the milk lipids during lactation in the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii. The crude lipid content of the milk is relatively low during the first 10 weeks of lactation; between 10 and 26 weeks post partum the lipid content increases gradually but after that it increases rapidly. The triglyceride fraction of the lipid at early stages of lactation contains a large amount of palmitic acid and relatively little oleic acid whereas mature milk exhibits little palmitic and much oleic acid. In the early stages of lactation fat represents 15% of the total solids and carbohydrate 55%; around 26-30 weeks post partum the carbohydrate moiety falls sharply to a level less than 2% of the solids while lipids increase to c. 60% of the solids. These changes coincide with increases in milk solids, emergence of the young from the pouch, ingestion of herbage, and fermentation of cellulose in the stomach.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Isolation of cellular DNA sequences that allow expression of adjacent genes.

We have employed a strategy for the isolation and identification of cellular control (expression) sequences dependent on their ability to confer expression on a selectable gene devoid of its own expression sequences. The polyoma virus (Py) Hae II-BamHI DNA fragment, which comprises 84% of the intact viral DNA and contains the Py transforming region but lacks Py 5' expression sequences, was decreased markedly in its transformation of rat cells. Hae II-cleaved mouse cellular DNA was ligated to the Py Hae II-BamHI fragment. A transformed colony (H1) isolated after transfection of the ligated DNA onto rat cells was found to contain multiple inserts of Py DNA, most of which were biologically inactive. A transformed colony (H2) isolated after transfection of rat cells with total H1 DNA was found to contain a single insert of Py DNA. The H2 cells are highly tumorigenic and synthesize the three Py tumor antigens. Initiation of transcription of the Py early mRNAs in H2 cells occurs at the same Py nucleotides as in complete Py DNA. The viral and adjacent cellular DNA sequences were cloned from H2 cellular DNA. The transforming efficiency of the cloned Py transforming region and adjacent H2 cellular DNA was 20-40% of that of the viral DNA containing Py expression sequences. By BAL-31 deletion mapping it was observed that the first 58 base pairs of H2 cellular DNA were sufficient for the expression of the Py-transforming region. The sequence of the first 149 base pairs of the H2 cellular DNA was determined and does not show any striking similarities to upstream 5' sequences of a number of viral and host structural genes. Features of the H2 cellular sequence are discussed.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Predictive value of SS-B precipitating antibodies in Sjoögren's syndrome.

As part of a screening programme several patients were identified with antibodies to the nuclear antigen SS-B. Fifteen were examined and 11 found to have Sjögren's syndrome, though this had not been suspected by most of the referring physicians. In contrast, among a group of 17 patients with overt Sjögren's syndrome, most of whom also had rheumatoid arthritis, only one had antibodies to SS-B. Patients presenting with polyarthralgia found to be SS-B positive may be likely to develop Sjögren's syndrome but unlikely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. The detection of SS-B antibodies may antedate clinical evidence of Sjögren's syndrome by months or even years. These results emphasise the clinical heterogeneity of Sjögren's syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Variation in hospital stay after inguinal herniorrhaphy.

A study was carried out of 1086 men aged 16-65 inclusive who were admitted under nine consultants to eight hospitals in Wessex for elective repair of an inguinal hernia. The mean postoperative stay was 5.7 +/- SD 2.7 days. For different consultants operating at any one hospital the mean postoperative stays were similar, whereas for consultants who operated at more than one hospital they were significantly different. The postoperative stay was also significantly related to the size of the hospital, development of postoperative complications, time spent on the waiting list, type of repair used, bilateral herniorrhapy, and the use of convalescent facilities. The hospital therefore appears to exercise a greater influence in determining the mean postoperative stay than does the individual consultant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Estimating fat body mass from antrhopometric data.

Regression equations have been derived for the calculation of fat body mass in boys from 4 to 12 1/2 years old and girls 4 to 19 years old. Height and weight give a good prediction of fat body mass, but the addition of skinfold thicknesses to the regression equations reduces the number of large errors in the estimates. The regression equations and the limits of accuracy are given.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1979

Sickness absence after inguinal herniorrhaphy.

Eight hundred and ninety-nine men were studied, aged 16-65 inclusive, who underwent an elective inguinal herniorrhaphy during 1970 and 1971 in eight hospitals in Wessex, and under nine consultant surgeons. There was a significant variation in postoperative inpatient stay and total sickness absence between hospitals and between consultants. The physical activity involved in the patient's occupation, his age at operation, previous sickness absence, bilateral herniorrhaphy, attendance at follow-up outpatients' clinic, type of repair, and the influence exerted by three hospitals and two consultants accounted for only 21% of the variation in total sickness absence. The general practitioners who had referred patients to the hospitals for herniorrhaphy, and the consultant surgeons who carried out the operations, were sent a questionnaire to ascertain their attitudes towards follow-up outpatient appointments and the various factors identified in the first part of the study as significantly influencing total sickness absence. A higher proportion of GPs who felt that an outpatient appointment was necessary before return to work was found in relation to the patients who had the longest mean total sickness absences than among the GPs who looked after the patients with shorter total sickness absences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

The prevalence of immediate positive skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and grass pollen in schoolchildren.

The prevalence of immediate positive reactions to prick testing with house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) and grass pollen allergens was determined in a random sample of 303 children aged between 8 and 14 years from two Southhampton schools. One hundred and two (33-7%) showed positive reactions, fifty to both D. pteronyssinus and grass pollen, thirty to D. pternyssinus only and twenty-two to pollen only. Allergic symptoms were present in fifty-one of the 102 children with positive skin tests; amongst thirty children with D. pteronyssinus skin sensitivity by itself, only six had sumptoms suggestive of allergic disorder. Significantly more children with positive than with negative tests were reported by their parents to have suffered from recurrent bronchitis during early childhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Glycoproteins secreted by sublingual glands of the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus).

The portion of echnida sublingual glycoproteins which could be solubilized was fractionated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel and by filtration on a column of Sephadex G-100. Analyses for carbohydrate and amino acid are given and are compared with those of the submaxillary mucins of cattle, dog, pig and sheep. The molar ratio of galactosamine to sialic acid was roughly 1:1 in the echidna fractions, the sialic acid was N-acetyl-neuraminic acid, and there was very little neutral sugar. Proline was relatively high in amount, and isoleucine, half-cystine, methionine, leucine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine were absent or present to a very small extent. The material was weakly antigenic in the rabbit.

Amino Acids↗