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Biomedical subjects

R Britt

Publications and source records attributed to R Britt.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Hb Q-India: an uncommon variant diagnosed in three Punjabi patients with diabetes is identified by a novel DNA analysis test.

AIMS: An abnormality in the glycated haemoglobin peak (Hb A1c) on Diastat (Bio-Rad) cation exchange low pressure liquid chromatography (LPLC) was found in three Punjabi patients with diabetes. The aims of this study were to identify the variant by chromatography and electrophoresis and to determine whether a DNA analysis test could be designed for confirmation that could be generally applied for the identification of any unusual abnormal haemoglobin. METHODS: The presence of an Hb variant was confirmed by cellulose acetate electrophoresis at pH 8.6. The variant was characterised further by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC; Bio-Rad Variant) and isolelectric focusing (IEF) electrophoresis. A novel DNA analysis test based on the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to confirm the presence of the mutation for the uncommon variant. RESULTS: Comparison of the HPLC retention time and IEF band position determined the presence of the variant Hb Q-India in all three cases. Hb Q-India is caused by the mutation GAC --> CAC at codon 64 of the alpha-1 globin gene and is clinically silent. ARMS-PCR specific primers were designed and used successfully to confirm the presence of the mutation for Hb Q-India. CONCLUSIONS: The results show that the ARMS-PCR technique, developed previously for the diagnosis of beta thalassaemia mutations, can also be adapted to provide a simple, rapid, and inexpensive approach for the identification of abnormal haemoglobins.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Preliminary study of non-psychotic disorders in people from the Indian subcontinent living in the UK and India.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders in people of South Asian origin in the UK is not accurately known. METHOD: A population-based study of UK residents from the Indian subcontinent was screened for anxiety and depressive disorders with the Self-Rating Questionnaire (SRQ) and for life events using the brief list of threatening life events. Similar measures were administered to siblings in India. RESULTS: The UK sample included 223 Sikhs, 100 Hindus and 49 Muslims. Elevated SRQ scores were recorded in 5%, 13% and 23%, respectively, of men from these groups and in 16%, 27% and 57%, respectively, of females. Subjects reporting one or more threatening life events (most commonly unemployment and financial problems) also had raised SRQ scores. A total of 117 siblings in India reported similar SRQ scores to their index subjects in the UK, but reported more threatening life events, notably deaths and illness in the family and financial problems. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study indicates that psychiatric disorder in ethnic groups varies across religious groups. The prevalence may be high in some religious groups in association with social difficulties. The patterns of stress in India and the UK are different.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Decreased immune reactivity and neuroendocrine alterations related to chronic stress in spinal cord injury and stroke patients.

Both natural and adaptive immune responses were found to be strikingly decreased 2 weeks after injury in 54 spinal cord injury and stroke patients, i.e., 28 quadriplegics, 21 paraplegics and 5 stroke patients, compared with those of age-matched controls. All values are expressed as means. Natural-killer (NK)-cell function decreased to 21.0% 2 weeks after spinal cord injury compared with 48.6% in controls. At 2 weeks, plasma ACTH values increased to 17.0 pg/ml in patients compared with 11.2 pg/ml in controls, and urine free cortisol levels were elevated to 162.4 micrograms/24 h in patients compared with 53.6 micrograms/24 h in controls. T-cell function decreased to 40.2% of normal (lymphocyte transformation) by 3 months after injury. T-cell activation (IL-2R) was diminished, i.e., 183.4 micrograms/ml compared with 328.2 micrograms/ml in controls. With rehabilitation therapy, NK-cell function increased to 41.6% by 7 months after injury. NK-cell-mediated lysis diminished sharply between 7 and 9 months, decreasing to 22.8% at 10 months and ultimately returning to the level seen 2 weeks after injury. Rehabilitation therapy contributed to the restoration of T-cell function to 92.0% of normal by 6 months after injury where it remained for 6+ months. IL-2R values improved in parallel with lymphocyte transformation. Whereas NK-cell-induced lysis remained depressed, i.e., 11.8% at 6 months and 11.4% at 12+ months in patients not receiving therapy, the restoration of NK-cell function at 6 months to 40.6% in rehabilitated patients decreased to 23.0% with cessation of treatment. NK-cell-mediated lysis values in cervical injury patients were significantly less than those in the thoracic injury group. Functional independence measurement (FIM) scores of the two paralleled their NK-cell function. With rehabilitation therapy, NK-cell-mediated lysis in the cervical group increased from 15.2 to 28.4%, whereas it improved in the thoracic group with therapy from 26.8 to 43.7%. With rehabilitation therapy, lymphocyte transformation in the cervical group increased from 37.3 to 85.6% and improved in the thoracic group from 48.4 to 88.9%. With rehabilitation therapy, FIM scores improved from 49.7 to 74.0 in the cervical group and from 79.8 to 97.3 in thoracic patients compared with 126 in controls. NK-cell-mediated lysis was depressed to 28.9% in 5 stroke patients and improved to 38.0% following rehabilitation therapy.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1981

Ossifying fibroma of the head and neck: involvement of the temporal bone- and unusual and challenging site.

Ossifying fibroma of the head and neck is most commonly described in the mandible and maxilla. A few isolated reports in the literature exhibit the rare existence of this lesion in the nasal bones, orbit, ethmoid sinus, sphenoid sinus, occiput, and in only two well-documented cases, the temporal bone. We present the case of an extensive ossifying fibroma of the temporal bone that presented as a suspected case of hyperostosis of the external auditory canal and conductive hearing loss, without any cosmetic deformity. A review of the recent literature concerning the sites, radiologic presentation, difficulty of pathologic differentiation, and modality of therapy is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Synaptic events and discharge patterns of cochlear nucleus cells. I. Steady-frequency tone bursts.

Unitary discharge patterns (peristimulus time histograms or PSTH) and synaptic events were studies with intracellular recording techniques in 164 cat cochlear nucleus cells to steady-frequency tone bursts 250 ms in duration. There were four response types defined on the basis of the shape of the discharge patterns to tones at the characteristic or best frequency. Primarylike units resemble eighth nerve fibres and have a maximum discharge at tone onset, followed by a smooth decline to a steady level of activity. Buildup units have a transient response at tone onset, followed a period of little or not activity before gradually increasing their discharge rate for the remainder of the tone burst. Onset units have an initial burst of spikes at the onset, with little or no activity for the remainder of the tone burst. Pause units have a long latency (10-30 ms) between tone onset and the appearance of low levels of unit activity, which then gradually increase in rate for the remainder of the tone burst. Changes in signal frequency or intensity within the excitatory response area did not modify response patterns of primarylike and onset units, but could evoke primarylike patterns in buildup and pause units. Inhibition manifested by suppression of spontaneous activity and membrane hyperpolarization were of three kinds: 1) in response to signals at the edges of the excitatory response area (i.e., the inhibitory surround) and detected in onset buildup, and pause units but not in primarylike units; 2) occurring at the offset of tones in the excitatory response area and detected in all four types of cochlear nucleus cells; 3) during excitatory tone bursts in onset and buildup units associated with the periods of suppressed unit activity. Membrane hyperpolarization did not accompany the delay in unit activity after tone onset in pause units. Inhibitory events in cochlear nucleus cells provide mechanisms for producing diversity in the temporal pattern of discharges to acoustic signals which may underly the encoding of complex features of sounds.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1976

Synaptic events and discharge patterns of cochlear nucleus cells. II. Frequency-modulated tones.

Responses of 99 cochlear nucleus cells and 24 cochlear nerve fibers were studied with FM signals; 14 cochlear nerve fibers and 57 cochlear nucleus cells were studied at four rates of modulation and several signal intensities. Classification of FM response patterns as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or unidirectional was based on the calculation of a symmetry factor (S), which compared the number of discharges evoked by the ascending and by the descending phases of the FM sweep. Certain FM response patterns could not adequately be described by the symmetry factor along and variables of modulation rate and signal intensity had significant influence. A correspondence was found between the four response classes evoked by a steady-frequency tone burst (primarylike, buildup, onset, and pause) and the FM response pattern. Cochlear nerve fibers showed symmetrical response patterns to FM stimulation. Primarylike units were similar to eighth nerve fibers and generally showed symmetrical FM responses. Occasional eighth nerve fibers and primarylike cells developed asymmetry at the fastest rate of modulation (50 sps). Buildup units showed a variety of response patterns to FM signals. Onset units generally showed asymmetrical response patterns with the greater response occurring to the ascending than to the descending phase of the FM sweep. Pause units showed a characteristic inhibition of activity at 5 sps (rate-dependent inhibition). Of the 57 cochlear nuclear cells studied in response to FM signals, 16 were symmetrical, another 16 were symmetrical except at the fastest modulation rate, 12 were asymmetrical, 3 were unidirectional, and 10 showed complex responses to certain signal rates or intensities. It is clear the the cat cochlear with its complex cytoarchitecture is involved in the recoding of acoustic information. Some units in cochlear nucleus demonstrate differential responses to the direction and to the rate of frequency movement. Other cochlear nucleus cells respond as eighth nerve fibers and may serve as simple "relays" in transmitting information from the cochlea to higher auditory centers.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bacterial vaginosis and Chlamydia trachomatis among pregnant abused and nonabused Hispanic women.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) among abused and nonabused pregnant Hispanic women. DESIGN: Retrospective audit of charts of 233 pregnant, abused Hispanic women and 468 pregnant, nonabused Hispanic women. SETTING: Three urban prenatal clinics of a public health department in the southwestern United States. SAMPLE: The medical records of 701 pregnant Hispanic women. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Diagnosis of BV and/or CT among abused and nonabused pregnant women. RESULTS: Combined prevalence of BV and CT was significantly higher for abused women (z score = 2.55; df = 138; p < .05). There was no significant difference between abused and nonabused women for CT alone (z score = .96; df = 33; p < .05); however, prevalence of BV was significantly higher for abused women (z score = 1.99; df = 104; p < .05). CONCLUSION: In this sample of pregnant Hispanic women prevalence of BV was significantly higher in those who had been abused, indicating the need for targeted screening of all abused pregnant women for BV.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pediatric registered nurse usage and perception of EMLA.

ISSUES AND PURPOSE: Pediatric nurses do not consistently use the anesthetic cream for children. This study examined availability, use, and perception of driving and restraining forces for use of EMLA cream for venipuncture and i.v. catheter insertion. DESIGN AND METHODS: In this descriptive study, surveys were sent to 400 randomly selected pediatric RNs. Surveys were returned by 211 nurses from 36 states. RESULTS: Driving forces for EMLA usage included ease of use and increased patient rapport. Restraining forces were focused on barriers to accessing EMLA. Positive perceptions of EMLA were affected by ease of accessibility. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Use of EMLA may be enhanced by standard orders, inservice instruction, and stocking EMLA on the patient care unit.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Vaccination of ring-necked pheasant for marble spleen disease.

Laboratory evidence indicates that a safe and effective procedure was developed for vaccinating pheasants against marble spleen disease. Field trials confirm the safety of the vaccine and suggest that vaccination will prevent marble spleen disease. Vaccination is by drinking-water administration of turkey-spleen-propagated turkey-origin live avirulent virus to pheasants 4 1/2 weeks old or older. The effect of field vaccination was studied in 39,000 pheasants in pens where recurrent annual mortality had been 5-15%.

Animals↗