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Biomedical subjects

M Kilpatrick

Publications and source records attributed to M Kilpatrick.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Occurrence of pesticide residues in mushrooms in Northern Ireland, July 1997-January 1999.

The results of surveillance monitoring for pesticides in mushrooms obtained from wholesale cooperatives in Northern Ireland between 1997 and 1999 are presented. Samples (n = 145) were analysed for up to 11 pesticides, resulting in 1575 pesticide/crop combinations. Fifty-five (38%) samples did not contain detectable residues, with 90 (62%) samples containing residues above their respective detection limits. Residues (carbendazim) above the maximum residue level were found in two (<2%) samples. The most frequently detected residues were diflubenzuron and carbendazim present in 47 (32%) and 38 (26%) samples, respectively. There was no significant seasonality in the distribution of the residues.

Agaricales↗
PubMed2001

Distal limb malformations: underlying mechanisms and clinical associations.

Congenital malformations of the extremities are conspicuous and have been described through the ages. Over the past decade, a wealth of knowledge has been generated regarding the genetic regulation of limb development and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Recent studies have identified several of the signaling molecules, growth factors, and transcriptional regulators involved in the initiation and maintenance of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) as well as the molecular markers defining the three axes of the developing limb. Studies of abnormal murine phenotypes have uncovered the role played by genes such as p63 and Dactylin in the maintenance of AER activity. These phenotypes resemble human malformations and in this review we describe the underlying mechanisms and clinical associations of split hand/foot malformation and ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-cleft lip/palate syndrome, which have both been associated with mutations in the p63 gene.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) compost quality factors for predicting potential yield of fruiting bodies.

A quality model has been developed from parameters determining the interactions of physical, chemical, and biological factors during the preparation of mushroom compost for growing Agaricus bisporus. Our results show that a partial least square model based on the combination of pH, dry matter, ammonia, carbon, hydrogen, ash, Cu, Fe, and Na could explain nearly 90% of the variation in mushroom yield obtained from four compost comparative trials. The yields in the data base for generating the model ranged from 138 to 305 kg per ton of compost. The validity of the yield model has been confirmed in a trial carried out in collaboration with experienced commercial growers. This has significant implications for compost producers, as production efficiencies can be maintained by targeting the important parameters.

Agaricus↗
PubMed1999

Dissociation of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens from intracranial self-stimulation.

Mesolimbic dopamine-releasing neurons appear to be important in the brain reward system. One behavioural paradigm that supports this hypothesis is intracranial self-stimulation (ICS), during which animals repeatedly press a lever to stimulate their own dopamine-releasing neurons electrically. Here we study dopamine release from dopamine terminals in the nucleus accumbens core and shell in the brain by using rapid-responding voltammetric microsensors during electrical stimulation of dopamine cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra brain regions. In rats in which stimulating electrode placement failed to elicit dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, ICS behaviour was not learned. In contrast, ICS was acquired when stimulus trains evoked extracellular dopamine in either the core or the shell of the nucleus accumbens. In animals that could learn ICS, experimenter-delivered stimulation always elicited dopamine release. In contrast, extracellular dopamine was rarely observed during ICS itself. Thus, although activation of mesolimbic dopamine-releasing neurons seems to be a necessary condition for ICS, evoked dopamine release is actually diminished during ICS. Dopamine may therefore be a neural substrate for novelty or reward expectation rather than reward itself.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Marital stability after breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The belief that husbands desert wives who have breast cancer is not uncommon and may be a source of stress for women confronting this disease. To assess the validity of this belief, we examined the role of breast cancer as a determinant of marital breakdown by comparing the frequencies of marital breakdown among women with breast cancer and among control women from Quebec City and surrounding regions. METHODS: Secondary analyses were performed on data collected from women who were newly diagnosed with nonmetastatic breast cancer in 1984 or during the period from 1990 through 1992 and then interviewed 3 months, 18 months, and 8 years after diagnosis (1984 cohort) or interviewed 2 weeks, 3 months, and 12 months after diagnosis (1990-1992 cohort). Population-based control subjects (four groups) were recruited through random-digit dialing and from participants in the Quebec Health Surveys for 1987 and 1992. Eligible subjects were those who were living with a spouse at the time of interview and those who reported divorce or separation in the time periods examined. Marital breakdown in the past 12 months and 5 years and current marital satisfaction and adjustment were assessed. All P values are two-sided. RESULTS: Marital breakdown was never higher in women with breast cancer than in control women. Among women with breast cancer, low marital satisfaction within 3 months of diagnosis predicted further marital difficulties (a breakdown-P = .02 at 12-month interview and P = .01 at 18-month interview; low marital satisfaction- P<.0001 at 12-month interview and P = .005 at 18-month interview). CONCLUSIONS: For the times studied, breast cancer does not appear to be associated with marital breakdown among Quebec women. Marital difficulties occurred mainly among the small proportion of women who probably already had marital difficulties when diagnosed.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Adolescent weight management and perceptions: an analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

Researchers investigated contemporary weight management activities and weight perceptions among adolescents and determined the effects of school health education on these perceptions and activities. This national, random sample of more than 6,500 adolescents (grades 7-12) measured perceived weight, weight change efforts, weight change activities, Body Mass Index, and health education for weight management. Results indicate that most adolescents: 1) take part in efforts to manage their weight, although many struggle with perceiving their weight; 2) engage in appropriate weight change efforts; and 3) report receiving school health education that positively effects some aspects of their weight management behavior. Thus, adolescents are concerned about weight and perceptions of weight and are engaging in a variety of weight change activities for weight maintenance and weight change. School health education appears to have some effect in improving adolescent health behavior, and discussion centers on this topic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

In the eye of the beholder: making the most of poster presentations--Part 2.

Poster presentations are an excellent starting point for novice conference presenters and may be less intimidating than oral presentations because the audience is often one-to-one and discussion can flow readily. The poster presenter has worked with the content over a period of time, knows it well and can explain it with knowledge and enthusiasm. Networking with a number of persons in a similar field at the "work in progress" stage benefits the work. Posters may also be displayed in the home agency to facilitate internal communication about a project or study and the accomplishments achieved. Credit may be given to presenters from peers unable to attend the conference and discussion about the project may stimulate internal interest in the process of research (Lynn, 1989). Before developing a poster presentation, adequate consideration must be given to careful planning. Posters can be time-consuming and expensive unless adequate care is taken in the planning stages. With adequate planning and extensive feedback throughout the planning stage, a poster can be a rewarding presentation.

Audiovisual Aids↗
PubMed1995

Human allogeneic stem cell maintenance and differentiation in a long-term multilineage SCID-hu graft.

The ability to determine the functional capacity of putative human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) populations requires in vivo assays in which long-term multilineage differentiation can be assessed. We hypothesized that if human fetal bone was transplanted adjacent to a fetal thymus fragment in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice, a conjoint organ might form in which HSC in the human bone marrow (BM) would mimic human multilineage differentiation into progenitor cells, B cells, and myeloid cells; undergo self-renewal; and migrate to and differentiate into T cells within the thymic microenvironment. To test this possibility, SCID mice were transplanted subcutaneously with HLA class I mismatched fetal bone, thymus, and spleen fragments (SCID-hu BTS). We found that the BM of SCID-hu BTS grafts maintained B cells, myeloid cells, CD34+ cells for at least 36 weeks posttransplant. Assayable hematopoietic progenitors colony-forming units-granulocyte-macrophage were present in 100% (66/66) of grafts over a period of 28 weeks. Cells with a HSC phenotype (CD34+Thy-1+Lin-) were maintained for 20 weeks in SCID-hu BTS grafts. These CD34+Thy-1+Lin- cells had potent secondary multilineage reconstituting potential when isolated and injected into a secondary HLA mismatched SCID-hu bone assay and analyzed 8 weeks later. In addition, early progenitors within the BM of SCID-hu BTS grafts were capable of migrating to the human thymus and undergoing differentiation through immature CD4+CD8+ double-positive T cells and produce mature T cells with a CD4+CD8- or CD8+CD4- phenotype that could be detected for at least 36 weeks. Phenotypically defined human fetal liver (FL) and umbilical cord blood (UCB) hematopoietic stem cell populations were injected into irradiated SCID-hu BTS grafts to assess their multilineage repopulating capacity and to assess the ability of the BTS system to provide an environment where multiple lineages might differentiate from a common stem cell pool. Injection of irradiated grafts with FL HSC or UCB HSC cells resulted in donor-derived B cells, myeloid cells, immature and mature T cells, and CD34+ cells in individual grafts when analyzed 8 weeks postreconstitution, further showing the multipotential nature of these stem cell populations. In addition, a strong correlation was observed between maintenance of host graft-derived CD8+ cells and failure of donor stem cell engraftment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Components acting in localization of bicoid mRNA are conserved among Drosophila species.

Substantial insights into basic strategies for embryonic body patterning have been obtained from genetic analyses of Drosophila melanogaster. This knowledge has been used in evolutionary comparisons to ask if genes and functions are conserved. To begin to ask how highly conserved are the mechanisms of mRNA localization, a process crucial to Drosophila body patterning, we have focused on the localization of bcd mRNA to the anterior pole of the embryo. Here we consider two components involved in that process: the exuperantia (exu) gene, required for an early step in localization; and the cis-acting signal that directs bcd mRNA localization. First, we use the cloned D. melanogaster exu gene to identify the exu genes from Drosophila virilis and Drosophila pseudoobscura and to isolate them for comparisons at the structural and functional levels. Surprisingly, D. pseudoobscura has two closely related exu genes, while D. melanogaster and D. virilis have only one each. When expressed in D. melanogaster ovaries, the D. virilis exu gene and one of the D. pseudoobscura exu genes can substitute for the endogenous exu gene in supporting localization of bcd mRNA, demonstrating that function is conserved. Second, we reevaluate the ability of the D. pseudoobscura bcd mRNA localization signal to function in D. melanogaster. In contrast to a previous report, we find that function is retained. Thus, among these Drosophila species there is substantial conservation of components acting in mRNA localization, and presumably the mechanisms underlying this process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

A linkage map of 10 loci flanking the Marfan syndrome locus on 15q: results of an International Consortium study.

Members of an International Consortium for Linkage Analysis of the Marfan Syndrome (MFS1) have pooled data for joint analysis in an attempt to determine the precise location of the MFS1 gene and the order of 10 DNA markers on 15q. Five laboratories performed a total of 2111 genotypes in 22 families consisting of 225 affected and 248 normal subjects. For each marker a mean of 98 meioses was informative. D15S48 and D15S1 were identified as the closest linked markers with 99% upper confidence intervals of 12% and 13% respectively. We have used the CRI-MAP program to construct the most likely order as: D15S24-D15S25-D15S1-MFS1-D15S48-D15S49+ ++-(D15S45/S51)-(D15S29/S38). Placement of D15S2 in relation to -D15S1-D15S48- cannot be determined with certainty. The genetic map of these markers extends 53.6 cM in males and 65.0 cM in females with a sex averaged map of 60.7 cM. The sex difference was statistically significant (p = 0.005). Linkage heterogeneity between 22 MFS1 families was documented (p = 0.009) necessitating the exclusion of one family from the analysis. However, comparison of the remaining 21 families for two point and multipoint lod scores showed no evidence for linkage heterogeneity of the MFS1 locus.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed1991

Protein encoded by the exuperantia gene is concentrated at sites of bicoid mRNA accumulation in Drosophila nurse cells but not in oocytes or embryos.

Formation of the anteroposterior gradient of the bicoid (bcd) protein morphogen in Drosophila occurs as a consequence of the prelocalization of bcd mRNA to the anterior pole of the oocyte. bcd mRNA localization requires at least three genes, with the exuperantia (exu) gene acting earliest in the pathway. We have cloned and characterized the exu gene. Notably, we find that exu protein is colocalized with bcd mRNA during the early phase of localization, when bcd mRNA is positioned at the apical regions of the nurse cells. However, there is no colocalization at the later stage when bcd mRNA is transferred from the nurse cells to the anterior pole of the oocyte. There is no detectable exu protein in embryos. Therefore, exu acts only in initiating bcd mRNA localization and does not play a persistent role in that process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Aztreonam for treating meningitis caused by gram-negative rods.

10 patients with meningitis due to unusual gram-negative organisms (Pseudomonas, Proteus, Salmonella and Klebsiella) were effectively treated with aztreonam. A detailed history and a thorough physical examination combined with careful laboratory testing resulted in accurate diagnosis and cure of all patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[The risk factors for hepatitis B virus infection in hospital personnel].

Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of disease around the world. In Latin America is a severe public health problem. We conducted a case-control study in the Cayetano Heredia Hospital, Lima, Perú, seeking for risk factors for hepatitis B infection. We found 0.41% of frequency of HBsAg and 8.13% of anti-HBs in the 492 persons screened. Contact with blood was confirmed as a risk factor for hepatitis B infection; disposable needle-wash was also identified as a major risk factor. The personnel of the Sterilization Room is also in high risk for the infection. The nurse-aid personnel was also identified as a high-risk group. We suggest that the needle wash is a risk factor very easy to remove, and also stopping the rotation of the auxiliary personnel could reduce the incidence of the infection in the personnel at risk.

Age Factors↗