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Biomedical subjects

R Morrison

Publications and source records attributed to R Morrison.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

An evaluation of an enzymatic choline determination for the identification of semen in casework samples.

This study compares the detection of choline in seminal stains by both an enzymatic method and by the standard Florence crystal test. The tests were conducted on 293 actual casework samples. In those samples identified as containing semen, choline was detected twice as often by the enzymatic method compared to the Florence method (84.6 versus 40.3%). The choline results were correlated with spermatozoa and acid phosphatase tests. The enzymatic detection of choline in seminal stains was found to be a fast, easy, sensitive, and reliable test.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1986

Spontaneous platelet aggregation in heparinised blood during pregnancy.

A marked increase in spontaneous platelet aggregation in whole blood was found during pregnancy. The increased spontaneous aggregation was most evident in whole blood anticoagulated with heparin; it was less marked in blood that contained citrate as anticoagulant. Studies of blood that contained both anticoagulants indicated that it is heparin that potentiates aggregation in blood taken during pregnancy rather than citrate that inhibits it. Increased spontaneous aggregation was seen in normotensive pregnancy, in pregnancy complicated by essential hypertension and in pregnancy-induced hypertension. In normotensive pregnancy it was evident at 16 weeks gestation but in pregnancy complicated with essential hypertension it was not evident until 24 weeks gestation. For all the women spontaneous aggregation had returned to normal six weeks after delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Structure of the crystalline complex between ribonuclease A and D(pA)4.

Crystals of a complex formed between ribonuclease A and d(pA)4 were grown and their structure determined by a combination of multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR) and molecular replacement techniques. The known structure of ribonuclease A in the correct orientation in the unit cell yielded a conventional crystallographic R factor of 0.32 at 2.8 A resolution when refined as a rigid body. Difference Fourier syntheses permitted determination of the disposition of the DNA in the unit cell. Refinement of both protein and DNA by constrained-restrained least squares procedures resulted in an R factor of 0.22 at 2.5 A resolution. The structure of the crystalline complex is comprised of four ordered oligomers of d(pA)4 associated with each molecule of RNAse. If the sites of interaction between protein and d(pA)4 fragments are mapped on the surface of the protein, they describe an essentially continuous path into and through the active site, across the surface of the enzyme and finally into the basic amino acid cluster on the opposite side of the protein.

Crystallization↗
PubMed1986

A consumer survey of an adolescent unit.

Details are presented of a consumer survey of 60 adolescents and 67 parents, designed to assess attitudes to the treatment components of a regional psychiatric unit for adolescents. Two-thirds of the adolescents and nearly one half of the parents made a positive valuation of the Unit's treatment. The treatment regime with its emphasis on individual responsibility received the most positive ratings. Over half of the parents and one third of the adolescents felt that the Unit had not been helpful. Parents responded negatively to two particular aspects of the Unit: first the treatment regime because of the lack of control and care, and secondly the Unit's high family involvement and its use of family group therapy. Adolescents criticised the Unit's siting in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital for adult patients. Attention is drawn to the difficulties faced by a general purpose unit in meeting the specific needs of adolescents and their families, and the importance of consumer opinion in the provision and planning of services and their delivery is stressed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Abnormalities of peripheral venous tone in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Forearm venous tone was measured in two groups of pregnant women: one group with pregnancy-induced hypertension and the other group with normal blood pressure. The women with pregnancy-induced hypertension were venoconstricted in the forearm (P less than 0.01) compared with the pregnant women with normal blood pressure. However, there was no difference in venous tone between the women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and non-pregnant women. There was an inverse correlation between mean arterial blood pressure and forearm venous tone (r = -0.581, P less than 0.001) for all the pregnant women studied. Further evaluation of peripheral venous tone may provide valuable information about the pathophysiology and treatment of women with pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Psychological factors in hypertension].

We briefly overview behavioral factors of possible relevance to essential hypertension. We examine, in particular, dimensions of individual differences relating to: (a) problems of anger and assertion; and (b) cardiovascular responsivity to behavioral stressors. Hypertensive patients do show larger cardiovascular reactions to common laboratory stressors than normotensive, controls, and similar differences emerge in comparisons of normotensive individuals with and without a family history of hypertension. Concerning the purported dispositional attributes of hypertensives, we also propose re-examining psychodynamic notions regarding the suppression or denial of anger within a more objective, behavioral framework-specifically, as measurable deficits in assertive skill. Preliminary observations point to the presence of lower assertiveness in some hypertensive patients and increased hostility among others. These behavioral characteristics also appear to be associated with different patterns of cardiovascular reactivity, as recorded during interpersonal encounters that call for assertive responding.

Autonomic Nervous System↗
PubMed1985

Platelet behaviour in normal pregnancy, pregnancy complicated by essential hypertension and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Platelet behaviour was studied throughout pregnancy in a group of women who remained normotensive and a group with essential hypertension (EHT). Women who developed pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) were also studied together with a group of non-pregnant female controls. We determined the sensitivity of platelets to arachidonic acid (AA) and determined the effects of dazoxiben, a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor, on AA-induced platelet behaviour. A marked increase in platelet reactivity was evident in all three groups throughout pregnancy; platelets became more sensitive to AA and less sensitive to the inhibitory effects of dazoxiben. The change was apparent as early as 16 weeks gestation. In normotensive pregnancy and in EHT platelet behaviour had returned to normal six weeks after delivery. Platelets from women who developed PIH were more sensitive to AA than those from the other pregnant women and platelet reactivity had not returned to normal six weeks after delivery. The results indicate that alterations in platelet behaviour may contribute to the vascular complications that are known to be associated with pregnancy and with PIH in particular.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1985

A follow-up study of the first 70 admissions to a general purpose adolescent unit.

A follow-up study of the first 70 admissions to a general purpose adolescent unit. The adolescentS and their families were given individual interviews. The outcome, which was assessed on the basis of these interviews, included psychiatric symptomatology and three basic areas of functioning: social, sexual and work adjustments. A global rating of the general level of function, relative to normality, was given for each adolescent. One third of the adolescents were functioning at a high level, one third were functioning at a moderate level and one third were severely handicapped in the most essential areas of functioning. The study group appeared to be disadvantaged socially and in the work situation. Results suggested that the optimum length of stay was 5-25 weeks. The nature of discharge was important: those adolescents who completed treatment were more likely to have a better outcome than those discharged prematurely.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The effect of dietary supplementation with linoleic and gammalinolenic acids on the pressor response to angiotensin II--a possible role in pregnancy-induced hypertension?

Dietary supplementation with 3 g/day linoleic acid, 32 mg/day gammalinolenic acid and co-factors for prostaglandin synthesis was given to 10 pregnant and 10 non-pregnant subjects for a week. Their pressor response to the infusion of three doses of angiotensin II (AII) (pregnant: 4, 8, 16 ng kg-1 min-1: non-pregnant: 1, 2, 4 ng kg-1 min-1) was then compared with that of 40 pregnant and 24 non-pregnant controls who had not been given such supplementation. Dietary supplementation was not associated with changes in basal systolic or diastolic blood pressure or heart rate during the week of treatment in pregnant or non-pregnant subjects. Basal systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate values did not differ between the treated and untreated subjects in each group. The diastolic pressor response to AII was significantly less after treatment at all doses; the effect was more marked in the pregnant subjects. The systolic response to AII, normally less than the diastolic, was somewhat blunted in the treated pregnant patients at the two higher infusion doses. No significant effect was found in the non-pregnant group. Evidence from other studies suggests that increasing plasma linoleic acid concentrations leads to increased plasma concentrations of epoprostenol (prostacyclin, PGI2) while increased availability of gammalinolenic acid is associated with a rise in prostaglandin E1 and E2 production. Pregnancy-induced hypertension is associated with a diminished tissue production of both epoprostenol and E series prostaglandins, and with an enhanced pressor response to AII.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Preovulatory concentrations of progesterone and estradiol in plasma and their relationships with eggshell quality in the laying hen.

Laying hens were divided into high and low shell quality groups on the basis of egg specific gravity during the 5th, 7th, and 9th months of egg production. Concentrations of progesterone and estradiol-17 beta in the plasma were determined by radioimmunoassay in blood samples taken by cardiac puncture from hens at either 18, 21, or 24 hr postoviposition. Egg production and egg weight were not significantly different between shell quality groups; however, hens in the low shell quality group were heavier (P less than .05), had longer clutches (P less than .05), and lower egg specific gravity (P less than .0001) than hens in the high shell quality group. Egg production and clutch size declined (P less than .01) in both groups with increased age. Plasma estradiol and progesterone concentrations were not different between shell quality groups or among periods of production, though progesterone and estradiol concentrations were greater (P less than .005) at 21 hr postoviposition than at 18 or 24 hr. The correlation coefficient between plasma concentrations of estradiol and progesterone was significant. There was no significant association between the plasma concentrations of these hormones and egg shell quality. These data suggest that concentrations of estradiol and progesterone in plasma, during the 6 hr before ovulation, are not highly related to shell quality in the laying hen.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Immunofixation of complement component C3 phenotypes in bloodstains after cellulose acetate electrophoresis.

The determination of the polymorphic C3 phenotypes was accomplished by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate followed by immunofixation. The three common phenotypes resulting from the two common codominant alleles C3S and C3F were clearly distinguishable in blood and bloodstain samples. Storage and degradation of C3 in blood samples as well as the stability of C3 in dried bloodstains is discussed.

Blood Stains↗
PubMed1982

Epidermal growth factor binding and mitogenic activity on purified populations of cells from the central nervous system.

Binding of 125I-epidermal growth factor (EGF) to purified populations of rat astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons was measured. Astrocytes bound 40,000-100,000 EGF molecules per cell, while oligodendrocytes bound only 6,000-10,000 EGF molecules per cell. In contrast, neurons had little or no capacity to bind 125I-EGF. EGF alone was able to stimulate incorporation of tritiated thymidine fivefold in purified astrocyte cultures incubated in serum-free medium. When EGF was added to the previously described chemically defined medium for astrocytes, incorporation of tritiated thymidine in purified astrocytes was equivalent to that observed in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. Addition of EGF to this chemically defined medium also doubled the proliferative capability of the medium for cultured astrocytes. EGF was maximally effective in stimulating 3H-thymidine incorporation at concentrations between 1-10 ng/ml.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Evaluation of the Tamari-Kaplitt LVAD.

Experience with a modern inexpensive, unichambered heparinized "left ventricular assist device" in the closed chest unheparinized dog is described. The pumps were driven with EKG activated air drives. These functioned well. The major physiologic problems were absolute limitation of inflow and late mural and valve disk thrombus formation at pump times approaching 5 to 6 hrs, under the limitations of the experiment. The inexpensiveness of this LVAD, its obvious practicality in terms of application as a counter pulsator in human open heart surgery and now in experimental animals, provides some hope that an inexpensive, practical, functional preanticoagulated LVAD of this type may ultimately result in a significant improvement in the utility and cost effectiveness of this approach to left ventricular failure.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Carcinoma of the bladder - radiotherapy.

Differentiated transitional cell carcinoma responded better to radiotherapy than anaplastic or squamous cell carcinoma. Five year survival was higher in low stage than in high stage carcinoma, and higher in papillary than in solid carcinoma. Tumour control, but also complication rate, increased with higher radiation dose. With the introduction of a two volume irradiation technique, a large tumour dose can be given with a minimum of complications.

Carcinoma↗