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Biomedical subjects

P M West

Publications and source records attributed to P M West.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Functional protective role for mucin glycosylated repetitive domains.

Mucins carry out a number of protective roles, some of which are more easily studied than others. One mucin function is believed to be the protection of the mucosal epithelium against acidic and proteolytic damage in the stomach and intestines. In the present work, a portion of stomach mucin tandem repeat sequence (Muc6) was joined to the catalytic domain of a reporter enzyme [human milk cholesterol esterase (CE)] to determine whether the former can protect the latter protein from damage. This Muc6 domain replaced a unique series of glycosylated C-terminal repeats normally present in CE. The chimeric protein (CE/Muc6) was expressed in two different cell lines and its properties compared to recombinant full-length CE and a truncated version of CE which contained only the catalytic domain (CE/trunc). Results showed that both CE and CE/Muc6 were resistant to denaturation by acid and to proteolysis by pepsin at low pH values or by pancreatic proteases compared to CE/trunc. Thus, a stomach Muc6 domain is sufficient to confer stability on the CE catalytic domain, demonstrating a protective effect by a glycosylated mucin sequence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Clients speak: participatory evaluation of a nonconfrontational addictions treatment program for older adults.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the important aspects of the Lifestyle Enrichment for Senior Adults (LESA) program from the clients' perspective and why these aspects were important to them. METHODS: The study used a participatory approach. Researchers collaborated with counselors and clients to develop an evaluation that (a) respected the experiences and knowledge of people in the program and (b) provided an accurate assessment of the important aspects of the program from the clients' perspective. One-to-one interviews were conducted with 52 clients. RESULTS: Clients' relationships with counselors, the positive emotions experienced during individual and group counseling, and the program's flexibility were of key importance. Allowing clients to choose their level of involvement and the general acceptance of drinkers also contributed to perceived benefits of the program. DISCUSSION: The benefits of client-centered addictions therapy warrant closer examination. Senior adults' motivation for behavior change may be highly sensitive to the relational aspects of the treatment approach.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Changes in alcohol consumption patterns following the introduction of credit cards in Ontario liquor stores.

OBJECTIVE: In 1994, regulatory changes were introduced in Ontario, Canada, permitting the purchase of alcoholic beverages with credit cards at government-operated liquor stores. Two objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the characteristics of credit card shoppers with non credit card shoppers at liquor stores, and (2) to assess whether changes occurred in alcohol consumption patterns among shoppers following the introduction of credit cards. METHOD: Random digit dialing was used to interview 2,039 telephone participants prior to the introduction of credit cards (Time 1); 1,401 of these subjects were contacted 1 year later (Time 2). Independent sample t tests were used to compare credit card shoppers with shoppers not using credit cards, and paired t tests were performed to assess whether drinking behaviors changed from Time 1 to Time 2. RESULTS: The credit card shoppers were more likely than the non credit card shoppers to be highly educated (p < .001) and to have high incomes (p < .05). Credit card shoppers drank an average of 6.3 drinks over the previous week compared with 4.0 drinks among non credit card shoppers (p < .01). Although the overall amount of alcohol consumed among credit card shoppers dropped from 6.7 drinks at Time 1 to 6.3 at Time 2 (NS), credit card shoppers reported drinking significantly more often after credit cards were introduced (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that credit cards may not present public health problems since significant increases in alcohol consumption among credit card shoppers were not found.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

An improved fully automated continuous-flow system for immunoassays.

A modification to the Southmead continuous-flow automated immunoassay system enables the bound ligand fraction to be quantitated. The bound fraction is sequentially collected, washed, and then eluted from the separating device as a bolus. The misclassification error at separation is of the order of 0.6%, and sample-to-sample interaction is negligible. The application of the modified system to the radioimmunoassay for thyroxine at a rate of 60 samples per hour is described, and satisfactory assay characteristics and performance are documented. The application of the Southmead system to the enzyme immunoassay of thyroxine and to assays for other ligands is discussed.

Humans↗
PubMed1978

The "Southmead System," a simple, fully-automated, continuous-flow system for immunoassays [Appendix: application to serum thyroxine radioimmunoassay].

A simple, fully-automated, continuous-flow system suitable for radioimmunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, and fluoro-immunoassay is described. The system is versatile, inexpensive, and requires only equipment and skills that already are available in most clinical chemistry laboratories. In this system, the antibody is covalently linked to solid-phase, porous particles of agarose (Sepharose, size 40-70 micrometer in the dry form). After sampling and mixing the assay reactants, the assay "cocktail" containing the solid-phase-bound antigen and the unbound fraction is directed to the separation block. Separation is achieved by use of a highly porous membrane (pore size, about 10 micrometer) and by controlling the volume of inflow and outflow a fixed and precise amount of fluid is filtered through the membrane containing only the free (unbound fraction), which can then be quantitated. The percentage of unbound fraction misclassified is negligible (less than 1.0%). Application of these principles to the assay of serum thyroxine is described in an appendix.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1970

An assessment of an automated fluorimetric blood phenylalanine technique for phenylketonuria screening and for accurate estimations.

An assessment of the automated fluorimetric technique for the estimation of phenylalanine, using blood collected and stored on filter paper, indicated that its accuracy and precision compared favourably with those of other methods, including the bacteriological inhibition assay. The method appeared to offer advantages, both in the detection of phenylketonuria and for the more accurate determinations required in the further investigation and control of known cases.

Analysis of Variance↗