Biomedical subjects

S Wagener

Publications and source records attributed to S Wagener.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Colonic transit time--what is normal?

BACKGROUND: Constipation is a common problem in childhood, and various radiologic methods have been advocated for investigation. Colonic transit time (CTT) has been used in adults to investigate colonic motility, but few studies evaluate this method in children. Data on CTT in the normal paediatric population are scarce. METHODS: The colonic transit time was measured in 22 healthy children (median age, 10 years; range, 4 to 15 years) by Abrahamsson's method. Children took bolus ingestions of radiopaque markers on 6 consecutive days, and on day 7 a single abdominal x-ray was performed. This was evaluated for total and segmental colonic transit time. RESULTS: The mean total CTT was 40 hours, and the upper limit of normal (95th percentile) was 84 hours. The upper limit of normal for segmental transit time was as follows: 14 hours for the ascending, 33 hours for the transverse, 21 hours for the descending, and 41 hours for the rectosigmoid colon. CONCLUSIONS: CTT provides an objective measure to assess childhood constipation. To date, 6 studies using 5 different methods have been published reporting values for healthy children. Comparing these, Abrahamson's method has low radiation exposure and is well tolerated. This study contributes additional normal values in children.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Chronic disease self-management: improving health outcomes.

Chronic disease has become pandemic in the United States, and estimates are that it will affect 148 million people by the year 2030. Patients with chronic illnesses cost the health care system over three times more than individuals without chronic conditions. The US Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) Sunshine HealthCare Network, composed of VA health care facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico, recognized that the needs of its increasing number of veterans with chronic diseases were unmet by traditional medical interventions. The Network implemented a chronic disease self-management pilot program to evaluate its value for the veteran population. Results of the pilot indicate that this program will make a positive, lasting change in the health status and quality of life for veterans with chronic disease.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

The U3 promoter and the nef gene of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) smmPBj1.9 do not confer acute pathogenicity upon SIVagm.

Two chimeric proviruses comprising the U3 promoter and the nef gene of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) smmPBj1.9 in addition to other genomic regions of SIVagm3mc from African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) were constructed. The derived chimeric viruses (SIVagm3mc/SIVsmmPBj1.9) were both able to replicate in nonstimulated peripheral blood leukocytes from pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina), a biological property often correlated with acute pathogenicity. However, only one of the chimeric viruses was acutely pathogenic, inducing a rapid depletion of the peripheral CD4+ T cells in two infected pig-tailed macaques within 10 days after infection in a manner similar to infection with SIVsmmPBj1.9 itself. The other chimeric virus actively replicated during the first 8 weeks after experimental infection of two pig-tailed macaques but induced neither acute disease nor CD4+ T-cell depletion for 113 weeks after infection. Thus, the U3 promoter and the nef gene of SIVsmmPBj1.9 alone appear to be insufficient to confer acute pathogenicity to SIVagm3mc.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Induction of antibodies against SIV antigens after intramuscular nucleic acid inoculation using complex expression constructs.

By studying the infection of rhesus macaques with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac) the potential of nucleic acid immunisation against AIDS can be evaluated. As a first step towards the development of suitable expression constructs, the levels and the durations of expression elicited by the house-keeping gene promoters of the murine phospho-glycerate kinase (PGK) gene and rat proto-ras 1Ha, a lentiviral LTR and the CMV-intron A promoter were tested in BALB/c mice intramuscularly inoculated with marker gene constructs encoding luciferase. The expression levels achieved by the CMV-intron A and the lentiviral promoter were comparably high, and also the PGK promoter induced a high level of expression for at least 64 days. Following the inoculation of plasmids comprising single or multiple genes of SIV, the induction of specific antibodies directed against SIV antigens was demonstrated. We previously showed in vitro that int- and nef-defective mutants of SIVmac were able to initiate a limited and self-abortive infection of permissive cells in the absence of chromosomal integration of the viral DNA. Intramuscular inoculations in monkeys using int-defective proviral DNA of SIV will show whether an increased immune response may be induced by expression of viruses undergoing a self-limited replication in vivo.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

An in vitro assay for acute pathogenicity of immunodeficiency viruses.

As a model for AIDS, experimental infections of old-world monkeys with various simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) are frequently carried out to study mechanisms of pathogenicity. For example, SIVsmmPBj14 was isolated from a pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) suffering from acute viral disease. The molecular virus clone SIVsmmPBj1.9, which displays close genetic homology to other related SIVs, was shown to induce an acute viral disease in vivo after infection of pig-tailed and rhesus macaques. The acute pathogenicity of SIVsmmPBj1.9 was correlated with its unique ability to replicate in non-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from pig-tailed macaques. We have exploited this in vitro assay to resolve putative pathogenic genetic determinants of another SIV, namelySIVagm3, isolated from African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Hybrid viruses encompassing subgenomic regions of SVsmmPBj1.9 in place of comparable regions of molecular virus clone SIVagm3mc were constructed and tested for their ability to replicate in non-stimulated PBMC from pig-tailed macaques and African green monkeys. Only those hybrid viruses comprising the U3 region of the viral LTR of SIVsmmPBj1.9 replicated in non-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This in vitro assay will be used to determine the potential of SIV and of hybrid viruses between different SIVs to induce acute viral disease in vivo. It will help to avoid excessive experimental infections of monkeys with respective hybrid viruses for determining genetic determinants of acute pathogenicity of immunodeficiency viruses.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1993

Modulation of accessory cell function of immortalized bone marrow-derived macrophages by granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

To generate cloned macrophage populations with sensitivity towards granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMM phi) were immortalized by transformation with SV40. A panel of transformed clones was established. The majority of clones represented independently derived transformants, as evidenced by restriction fragment length polymorphism using genomic DNA digested with EcoRI and TaqI and the 5.2 kb SV40 DNA for hybridization analysis. The cells belong to the macrophage lineage according to several criteria, e.g. the presence of nonspecific esterase, their phagocytic capacity and their morphology. Many clones were potent antigen-presenting cells (APC), without exogenous stimulation. Two clones, which did not act efficiently as APC when used untreated, were positively responsive to GM-CSF. GM-CSF stimulation of both clones resulted in potent APC capacity. I-A alpha, I-A beta and gamma chain-specific transcripts were observed upon stimulation with GM-CSF, corresponding to detectable levels of class II surface display as revealed by cytofluorometric analysis. Thus the macrophage clones established will allow dissection of the differential effects of GM-CSF on the parameters of antigen presentation.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Blastocystis hominis--a potential intestinal pathogen.

The parasite Blastocystis hominis has been found in 10% to 18% of stool specimens submitted to microbiology laboratories. Controversy exists as to whether this organism can cause illness in humans. We have reviewed the records of 65 symptomatic patients with B hominis in their stool. We conclude that B hominis is a potential pathogen that may or may not require drug therapy depending on the overall clinical circumstances, the severity of symptoms, and the presence of other pathogenic organisms.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Fermentative degradation of nonionic surfactants and polyethylene glycol by enrichment cultures and by pure cultures of homoacetogenic and propionate-forming bacteria.

Linear alkyl ethoxylates (polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers) were fermented completely to methane and CO2 in enrichment cultures inoculated with anoxic sewage sludge. Long-chain fatty acids were released as intermediates. No degradation was found with polypropylene glycol and polypropylene glycol-containing surfactants. Two types of primary ethoxylate-degrading bacteria were isolated and characterized. Both degraded polyethylene glycols with molecular weights of 1,000 completely. Strain KoB35 fermented polyethylene glycol, ethoxyethanol, and lactate to acetate and propionate and was assigned to the described species Pelobacter propionicus. Strain KoB58 converted polyethylene glycol and many other substrates to acetate only and was assigned to the genus Acetobacterium. The pathways of anaerobic degradation of nonionic surfactants are discussed with respect to their limitations and the various groups of bacteria involved.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The Ha(La) antibody as a serologic marker of systemic lupus erythematosus].

Ha(La)-antibodies are detected by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) in sera of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, but not in sera of patients with progressive systemic scleroderma (PSS) (n = 38), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 91), ankylosing spondylitis (n = 97), and other rheumatic diseases (n = 452). This antibody specificity was found in 27 out of 103 SLE patients (26%). However, 50% of SLE patients with Sjögren's syndrome (n = 12) showed the Ha(La)-antibody, suggesting a strong association in this clinical subgroup. Thus the Ha(La)-antibody can serve as a serological marker and helpful diagnostic tool for SLE. Additionally, the Ha(La)-antibody reacts with specific puffs in polytene chromosome preparations of Drosophila melanogaster. Therefore, this heterologous antigen system is suitable for the identification of Ha(La) sera.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗