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Biomedical subjects

S Squier

Publications and source records attributed to S Squier.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Fetal subjects and maternal objects: reproductive technology and the new fetal/maternal relation.

This essay examines three tendencies nurtured in the practices of reproductive technology - tendencies with profoundly disturbing implications for us as individuals and as social beings. They are: 1) the increasing subjectification of the fetus (that is, the increasing tendency to posit a fetal subject), 2) the increasing objectification of the gestating woman, leading to her representation as interchangeable object rather than unique subject, and 3) the increasing tendency to conceive of the fetus and the mother as social, medical, and legal antagonists. Considering the construction of fetus, mother, and the fetal/maternal relation in earlier (Western) historical periods, a contemporary work of literature, a government report, and the popular press, I argue that as the fetus is increasingly being understood as a subject, the mother is increasingly being reduced to an antagonist, an obstacle to fetal health, and an object. The essay concludes by offering some tentative conclusions about the general process of fetal subjectification in the United States and Europe.

Advisory Committees↗

Translocation of gut bacteria in rats with cirrhosis to mesenteric lymph nodes partially explains the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a common infection of ascitic fluid that develops in cirrhosis. The offending organisms are predominantly of enteric origin. However, the mechanism and route by which bacteria exit from the gut and enter the fluid remain unclear. "Translocation" of bacteria from the gut to extraintestinal sites has been postulated in the pathogenesis of gram-negative sepsis in intensive care unit patients, burn-wound sepsis, and sepsis associated with chemotherapy. Translocation is defined by culture-positivity (with enteric flora) of mesenteric lymph nodes. In this study we assessed the frequency of translocation in a carbon tetrachloride-induced rat model of cirrhosis, ascites, and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. We determined that translocation was more common in rats with cirrhosis (78.1%) than in normal controls (4.3%) (p < 0.001). Escherichia coli and other gram-negative enteric organisms were cultured. Translocation of enteric bacteria in rats with cirrhosis to extraintestinal sites may be an important early step in the pathogenesis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Animals↗

Largomycin: preparation, properties, and structure.

Largomycin has been purified to homogeneity by chromatography on hydroxylapatite whereby carbohydrate and protease impurities were removed. Largomycin is an acidic protein (pI 4.13, molecular weight 29300) which forms a dimer in phosphate buffer. An N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis from the amino-terminal residue gave, for the first 32 residues, Asp-Ile-Leu-Ile-Ala-Gly-Ala-Thr-Gly-Asn-Val-Gly-Lys-Pro-Leu-Val-Glu-Gly-Leu-Leu - Ala-Ala-Gly-Lys-Pro-Val-Arg-Ala-Leu-Thr-Arg-Asn... The sequence from the carboxyl terminus was -Ala-Ala-Leu-Phe-OH with threonine, valine, and glutamic acid being released upon prolonged digestion. The same amino acid sequences were found for largomycin prepared from either the culture broth or the mycelium of Streptomyces pluricolorescens. The similarities extended to the other physical properties, the antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Sarcina lutea, and the antitumor activity against KB cells. Largomycin inhibits the biosynthesis of DNA and RNA. An iodinated derivative did not bind to KB cells. The antimicrobial activity was lost following ultraviolet irradiation, protection against which was not afforded by p-aminobenzoic acid.

Amino Acid Sequence↗