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Biomedical subjects

S M Carr

Publications and source records attributed to S M Carr.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Species-specific oligonucleotides and multiplex PCR for forensic discrimination of two species of scallops, Placopecten magellanicus and Chlamys islandica.

Characterization of DNA that remains in seafood products after skin, scales, and shells are removed is widely used in forensic species identification, however, ordinary methods may be prohibitively expensive or time-consuming if large sample series need to be discriminated. Forensic discrimination of two species of bivalves commercially harvested from the North Atlantic, sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) and Icelandic scallops (Chlamys islandica), was made by means of species-specific oligonucleotides (SSOs) in a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The test is a simultaneous in vitro amplification of a portion of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I locus with a PCR anchor primer for a sequence identical in both species, and two alternative SSOs that selectively amplify either a 619-bp in Placopecten or a 459-bp DNA fragment in Chlamys. Fragment size and thus species identity are determined directly by gel electrophoresis. In the forensic application, analysis of more than 900 scallops from a series of samples seized from two fishing vessels showed significantly variable proportions of the species from the closed and open fisheries (Placopecten versus Chlamys, respectively). The multiplex SSO test provides a direct means of forensic identification of large population sample series, without the necessity of secondary DNA sequencing, RFLP mapping, or fingerprinting, and can be adapted to other loci and species.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

How to tell a sea monster: molecular discrimination of large marine animals of the North Atlantic.

Remains of large marine animals that wash onshore can be difficult to identify due to decomposition and loss of external body parts, and in consequence may be dubbed "sea monsters." DNA that survives in such carcasses can provide a basis of identification. One such creature washed ashore at St. Bernard's, Fortune Bay, Newfoundland, in August 2001. DNA was extracted from the carcass and enzymatically amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR): the mitochondrial NADH2 DNA sequence was identified as that of a sperm whale (Physeter catodon). Amplification and sequencing of cryptozoological DNA with "universal" PCR primers with broad specificity to vertebrate taxa and comparison with species in the GenBank taxonomic database is an effective means of discriminating otherwise unidentifiable large marine creatures.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Nursing in the community--impact of context on the practice agenda.

The agenda for health care detailed in recent policy statements has a strong community and primary health care focus. The impact of the community, and specifically the patient's home, as a location for practising and learning to practise nursing, is an issue which has received limited exploration. Recent research suggests that the context influences the practice agenda in a number of ways. Highlighting the impact of working in the community context is timely in order that education providers, policy makers and managers are fully aware of the impact of moving care 'closer to home'.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Floral homeotic gene expression defines developmental arrest stages in Brassica oleracea L. vars. botrytis and italica.

Brassica oleracea L. vars, italica (broccoli) and botrytis (cauliflower) both undergo developmental arrests which result in heading phenotypes. We characterized these arrested tissues at the morphological and molecular levels, and defined the developmental changes that ensure after arrest has been broken. We found that the order of floral organ initiation and the positions of resulting floral organ primordia in this species in some respects from that of Arabidopsis, which is a member of the same family, Brassicaceae. We also cloned homologs of the Arabidopsis floral homeotic genes APETALA1 (AP1) and APETALA3 (AP3) from B. oleracea and characterized their expression patterns. We found that the AP1 homolog was expressed in some of the meristems of arrest-stage cauliflower, providing evidence that this tissue is florally determined. In broccoli, both the AP1 and AP3 homologs were expressed. However, the spatial pattern of expression of the broccoli AP1 homolog differed from that of Arabidopsis. In addition we identified a homolog of the CAULIFLOWER (CAL) gene, BoiCAL, from broccoli. The predicted amino acid sequence indicated that the BoiCAL gene product does not contain the mutation thought to be responsible for the early arrest exhibited in cauliflower (Kempin et al. 1995), but contains other changes that might play a role in the broccoli heading phenotype.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation and genetic stock structure of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from bay and offshore locations on the Newfoundland continental shelf.

Bay cod, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) that over-winter in the deep-water bays of north-eastern Newfoundland, have historically been regarded as distinct in migration and spawning behaviour from offshore (Grand Bank) cod stocks. To investigate their genetic relationships, we determined the DNA sequence of a 307-base-pair portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene for 236 adult cod taken from the waters off north-eastern Newfoundland, including fish found over-wintering and spawning in Trinity Bay. Although 17 genotypes were found, a single common genotype occurs at a frequency of greater than 80% in all samples, and no alternative genotype occurs at a frequency of greater than 3%. Genotype proportions did not differ significantly among samples. Measures of genetic subdivision among sampling locations are nil. Cod over-wintering in Trinity Bay are not genetically distinct from offshore cod. In combination with tagging and physiological studies, these data suggest that there is sufficient movement of cod between bay and offshore locations to prevent the development or maintenance of independent inshore stocks. Adult cod that over-winter in Trinity Bay appear to represent an assemblage of temporarily nonmigratory fish that have become physiologically acclimated to cold-water inshore environments. The pattern of genetic variation in northern cod suggests a recent population structure characterized by extensive movement of contemporary individuals superimposed on an older structure characterized by a bottleneck in the population size of cod in the north-western Atlantic.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Allozyme and mitochondrial DNA analysis of a hybrid zone between white-tailed deer and mule deer (Odocoileus) in west Texas.

Thirty allozyme loci and 35 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction sites were examined in 24 white-tailed deer and 46 mule deer from a hybrid zone in West Texas. A common mtDNA genotype is shared by all of the mule deer with 67% of the white-tailed deer. At the albumin locus, 13% of the white-tailed deer and 24% of the mule deer are heterozygous, sharing alleles that are otherwise species-specific in allopatric populations; 7% of the mule deer are homozygous for the allele that is characteristic of allopatric white-tailed deer. Gene flow appears to have been bidirectional, with greater genetic introgression into mule deer. The mtDNA data suggest that matings between white-tailed and mule deer have occurred in the past. Despite evidence of genetic introgression, analysis of multilocus genotypes indicates that none of the deer examined is an F1 hybrid. Production of such hybrids appears to be generally uncommon in North American deer; management plans that assume otherwise should be reconsidered.

Alleles↗
PubMed1987

Implications of policy and management decisions on access, quality, and type of services for the elderly in Australia.

There can be little argument that the need for a clearly articulated health care policy for the ageing is a legitimate concern. An optimum health system response will only evolve in a climate of clear definition of responsibilities, in concert with an effective policy-making mechanism. Within the health system there is likely to be a greater consensus concerning the elements of such a policy than would have been possible at any previous time. What is more likely to be debated is the question of what constitutes the legitimate boundaries of health as a concept to be applied to ageing populations and individuals. It is in our view essential that arguments about professional demarcation and alternative paradigms of ageing do not cloud the fundamental health and health care issues; these must be vigorously addressed if the otherwise inevitable burden of age-related illness and disability is to be effectively tackled.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of hybridization between sympatric white-tailed deer and mule deer in west Texas.

Sympatric populations of white-tailed deer and mule deer (Odocoileus virginianus and Odocoileus hemionus, respectively) on a west Texas ranch share a common mitochondrial DNA restriction map genotype. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this genotype is more characteristic of O. virginianus than of O. hemionus. The genotype of west Texas deer differs from that of O. virginianus from South Carolina by five mutational events (1.3% sequence divergence), whereas it differs from that of O. hemionus from California by 17 events (5.5% divergence). We suggest that interspecies hybridization has occurred, primarily between mule deer bucks and white-tailed deer does, with preferential absorption of hybrid offspring into the mule deer gene pool. Introgressive hybridization may be involved in ongoing displacement of mule deer by white-tailed deer in west Texas.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Acute local irritative effect of (2''R)-4'-O-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin, a new antitumor antibiotic.

(2"R)-4'-O-Tetrahydropyranyladriamycin hydrochloride (THP), a new antitumor antibiotic, was administered to rabbits at a concentration from 0.02 to 0.5% by instillation, or by intracutaneous, subcutaneous or intramuscular injection to study its local irritative effect. The irritative effect of THP increased with concentration. At a concentration of 0.5%, THP was irritant to the eye, skin and muscle but at a concentration of 0.1% practically no effect was observed. The effect was equal to or lower than that of doxorubicin. An instillation of 0.5% THP caused reversible irritation effect on the eye. Slight conjunctival responses (redness and chemoisis) were observed. Rinsing reduced the irritative effect. Intracutaneous injection of 0.1 ml of 0.5% THP caused well defined, moderate erythema, surface ulceration and dermal necrosis. Cutaneous muscle necrosis also occurred. At a concentration of 0.02%, dermal necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed. Erythema, as well as muscle necrosis and calcification with giant cell reaction and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed by an intramuscular injection at a concentration of 0.5%. Subcutaneous injection of 0.5% THP showed no irritative effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

The dental health status of children not included by parents in the South Australian School Dental Programme. A pilot study.

About 90 per cent of children have received school dental care at South Australian schools where this care has been available. However, following recent extension of the dental programme to metropolitan schools without clinics located in their grounds, lower participation rates of about 74 per cent have emerged. A pilot study of 161 children not included in the school dental programme at 13 of these metropolitan schools without clinics was conducted to evaluate their dental health status and determine why they were not enrolled for school dental care.

Adolescent↗