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Biomedical subjects

S Eley

Publications and source records attributed to S Eley.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Eating habits, beliefs, attitudes and knowledge among health professionals regarding the links between obesity, nutrition and health.

OBJECTIVE: To document knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and eating habits of health professionals with respect to obesity, nutrition and weight management. DESIGN: A self-complete questionnaire postal survey. SETTING: Primary care and dietetic practice in Scotland. SUBJECTS: A systematic stratified sample of 2290 subjects incorporated general practitioners (n=1400), practice nurses (n=613) and all practising dietitians (n=360) who were members of the British Dietetic Association. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 65%. All professionals showed a clear understanding of nutrition and health. Understanding of obesity as a disease and of the effectiveness of weight management using low-energy diets was limited. Below 10% had carried out audit to determine the incidence of obesity and overweight, and most were uncertain about their own effectiveness in delivering weight management advice. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that health professionals have some knowledge of nutrition and weight management but are unclear how to deliver effective weight management advice. Further training is justified to ensure the effective provision of nutritional advice to patients.

Adolescent↗

Identification of a mouse orthologue of the CED-6 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The rapid engulfment of apoptotic cells is a specialized innate immune response used by organisms to remove apoptotic cells. In mammals, several receptors that recognize apoptotic cells have been identified. Previous analysis of the engulfment gene ced-6 in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has suggested that CED-6 is an adapter protein that participates in signal transduction pathway that mediates the specific recognition and engulfment of apoptotic cells. Here, we describe our isolation and partial characterization of a mouse cDNA, which is like an orthologue of C. elegans CED-6. PCR screening of mouse cDNA pool with primers designed from the C. elegans CED-6 cDNA sequence resulted in about 300 bp PCR product which was partially sequenced and then screened to a mouse full-length cDNA library. Thus in this study we report the identification of a novel C. elegans CED-6-like orthologue in mouse, which has probable apoptotic like function.

Animals↗

Evaluation of a bar-code system for nutrient analysis in dietary surveys.

OBJECTIVE: A novel system for nutrient analysis has been developed and tested over 5 years. Its key features are a nutrient database of 600 commonly eaten foods (95% of foods eaten in 7-day surveys); a booklet identifying each food with a bar code, bar codes for gram weight and for portion sizes (small, medium, large) and a bar-code reader with dietary analysis software for PCs. In the present study the bar-code system has been evaluated by comparison with a commonly used manual entry nutrient analysis software for dietitians' use. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Glasgow city district. SUBJECTS: One hundred and sixty adults aged 18-65 years old. RESULTS: Comparing mean intakes for macro- and micronutrients, using the Bland and Altman method, the bias between the two methods was small, ranging from 0.93 to 1.03. The bar-code system took significantly less professional time in data entry and nutrient analysis than the widely used manual system (29min per 7-day diary vs. 47 min per 7-day diary, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the bar-code system offers greater speed with a saving of professional time needed for nutrient analysis of dietary surveys. This system is commended for maintaining accuracy while promoting economy.

Adolescent↗

Cell lineage and cell determination in the developing compound eye of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana.

By grafting between eye colour mutants of the cockroach Periplaneta americana we have investigated (i) the hypothesis that cells within an ommatidium of the fused rhabdom type are clonally derived from a single mother cell and (ii) we have tested the suggestion that cells from non-prospective eye epidermis can form ommatidia when grafted next to eye tissue. Mosaic eyes containing cells of the two genotypes contain ommatidia with unpredictable combinations of the two sorts of cells at the host/graft border. This finding is inconsistent with the first hypothesis. Using grafts of prothoracic epidermis and head epidermis from non-prospective eye regions we have shown that only cells from the prospective eye region can form ommatidia. Possible ways that eye cells could be determined are discussed in the light of these findings.

Animals↗

Cell junctions in the developing compound eye of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria.

Intercellular junctions in the developing retina of the locust Schistocerca gregaria have been examined by electron microscopy. Different types of junction appear in a well defined sequence during development. Five stages of ommatidial development are described. Close junctions and punctate junctions are present throughout development. Gap junctions appear transiently amongst the undifferentiated cells, before clearly defined preommatidia can be distinguished. The subsequent disappearance of gap junctions may be correlated with cell determination. Lanthanum studies confirm these findings. The later sequential appearance of adhesive junction types is described. These include septate desmosomes and two types of desmosomes. In the fully differentiated ommatidium only two types of junction remain, these are: desmosomes and rhabdomeric junctions.

Animals↗

Has psychological distress among UK South Asians been under-estimated? A comparison of three measures in the west of Scotland population.

OBJECTIVES: Previous work has shown low levels of psychological distress among UK South Asians, but some argue that the distress is under-reported. The present paper assesses distress on one clinically validated measure (the 12-item General Health Questionnaire), a psychosomatic measure and a self-report measure. METHODS: Interviews of 159 South Asians in Glasgow aged 30-40 years, mean age 35 years and 319 from the general population, all aged 35 years. RESULTS: The three distress measures were moderately correlated and at the thresholds chosen there was no hierarchy of severity between them. Distress on the GHQ12 was at similar levels for all the social groups assessed, but distress on the psychosomatic measure and self-assessment was higher for women, Muslims and limited English speakers. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical measures may have under-estimated distress in several South Asian groups. The results may be due to a preference for a particular language of emotion in the affected groups or to a higher frequency of stressful situations which provoke distinctive reactions.

Adult↗