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Biomedical subjects

M H Burton

Publications and source records attributed to M H Burton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Optimization of catechol production by membrane-immobilized polyphenol oxidase: a modeling approach.

Although previous research has focused on phenol removal efficiencies using polyphenol oxidase in nonimmobilized and immobilized forms, there has been little consideration of the use of polyphenol oxidase in a biotransformation system for the production of catechols. In this study, polyphenol oxidase was successfully immobilized on various synthetic membranes and used to convert phenolic substrates to catechol products. A neural network model was developed and used to model the rates of substrate utilization and catechol production for both nonimmobilized and immobilized polyphenol oxidase. The results indicate that the biotransformation of the phenols to their corresponding catechols was strongly influenced by the immobilization support, resulting in differing yields of catechols. Hydrophilic membranes were found to be the most suitable immobilization supports for catechol production. The successful biocatalytic production of 3-methylcatechol, 4-methylcatechol, catechol, and 4-chlorocatechol is demonstrated.

Catechol Oxidase↗
PubMed1987

Undescended testis and hormone levels in early pregnancy.

A case-control study was carried out on mothers of boys with undescended testis to investigate the hypotheses that raised maternal levels of oestrogen or reduced levels of human chorionic gonadotrophin in early pregnancy might be factors in the environment of the fetus associated with this condition. No significant difference in the levels of either of these hormones was found, though, if anything, levels of oestrogen may have been lower in cases than in controls, and not higher as previously postulated.

Chorionic Gonadotropin↗
PubMed1986

Treatment and follow-up of patients with epilepsy in two general practices.

The continuing care of people with epilepsy in two general practices was investigated by means of case note review and interviews with patients. It was found that 98% (56 out of 57) of patients were receiving anticonvulsant drugs. Despite the prescription of drugs, however, only 64% (25 out of 39) of those patients interviewed were receiving regular follow-up and three of the patients receiving no surveillance had suffered recent fits. Many of the patients had experienced no fits for several years and it was considered that anticonvulsant therapy could have been stopped in some cases. It is recommended that a system be devised to ensure that all epileptic patients on anticonvulsants see their general practitioner at least yearly.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The hearing-impaired child in the hearing society.

This paper sets out to describe a method of educating the hearing-impaired which has been operating successfully for the past 18 years. The underlying tenet of our approach is that considerable communicative skills can be developed with children who have marked hearing loss. Even if the child is profoundly deaf he or she has some sensory input which can be used as the basis for training in language development. The attempt to make the most of the minimal hearing of the hearing-impaired child has proved to be successful in the vast majority of cases. The profoundly hearing-impaired child can learn to listen and to produce the spoken word. This is demonstrated by use of video-tape. The interaction of teacher with child is heard and the regional accent can be identified. The prosodic features of the speech are retained although articulation may be incomplete. Intelligibility of utterance is shown to be a combination of rhythm stress and intonation based on previously heard patterns rather than on perfectly articulated sounds. The social consequence of this approach is that child is not relegated to a minority subculture where only the deaf can communicate with the deaf but is allowed to enter into the world of normal relationships and expectations. Deaf children can be taught to listen and to use imperfectly heard patterns in order to interpret the meaning of language. This input of speech follows the natural language normally used by the child who is not deaf.

Auditory Perception↗