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Biomedical subjects

A Collins

Publications and source records attributed to A Collins.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Family Walk-In Centre--Eaton Socon: evaluation of a project on preventive intervention based in the community.

The Family Walk-In Centre opened November 1978 as a pilot project at Eaton Socon in Cambridgeshire with the aims: to encourage parents to visit the centre on "their terms," including parents who have abused or who fear they will abuse or neglect their child who may be difficult or handicapped, or because of chronic or acute family problems; further to mobilize "Self Help" groups and offer professional support. "Help" offered to the families included informal and formal group work, family casework and education in social and physical skills. Volunteer and professional support was given at the Centre and at home. Close liaison with specialist agencies was maintained to enable families to receive appropriate help. Periodic reviews and visits were made to maintain contact. An analysis of 50 families who attended the Centre between October 1979 and May 1980 was made to assess: the attendance and reattendance rate which indicated their acceptance of help offered and their motivation to use the Centre; the types of problems presented to the Centre, the types of action taken, the progress made when reviewed after three months and the degree of involvement by the volunteers. A final analysis will comprise 100 families. A preliminary summary found: significant reduction in the registration of new cases of child abuse; self-referrals exceeded significantly other modes of referral; loneliness and parenting difficulties formed the major proportion of families seeking help; 48% of families continued to attend for 3 months or more; work done centered upon discussion of parenting problems in 30% of the cases and involvement in activities with other families in 28%; 18% were assessed as showing improved child care after 3 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1982

A survey of DNA repair incision activities after ultraviolet irradiation of a range of human, hamster, and hamster-human hybrid cell lines.

We describe a rapid and simple assay for DNA damage and repair in mammalian cells, based on the partial unwinding of nicked DNA in alkali, and involving transfer of this DNA to nitrocellulose and the digestion of single-stranded DNA with S1 nuclease, all steps taking place on tissue-culture chamber slides. Direct breakage of DNA by ionizing radiation has been examined, and we have developed a standard procedure for measuring enzymic breakage of DNA as an index of excision-repair capacity following ultraviolet irradiation. We report a wide range of repair capacities among various hamster and human cell lines, with considerable overlap between the two species. Hybrids between hamster and human cells tend to display repair activity characteristic of the hamster parent.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Cell-cycle kinetics and ultraviolet light survival in UV-1, a Chinese hamster ovary cell mutant defective in post-replication recovery.

UV-I, an ultraviolet-sensitive mutant of CHO-KI, is abnormally slow to recover from the inhibition of DNA synthesis caused by u.v. irradiation. When synchronized UV-I cells are irradiated in G1, their movement into S phase is unaltered, but thymidine incorporation is depressed (compared with that in the parent cell similarly treated). When irradiated in S phase, again incorporation is more depressed, and S phase suffers a greater delay in UV-I than in the parent cell. UV-I and its parent have similar capacities for excision repair of u.v.-induced damage inflicted in G1, and so enter S phase with similar amounts of unrepaired damage. The single-cell survival was measured after irradiation at different points in the cell cycle. The mutant and parent cells have similar values of D0 (mean lethal dose) except in mitosis, when the parent cell shows markedly greater resistance to u.v. irradiation. Dq (quasi-threshold dose) is fairly constant for the parent cell, but in UV-I it falls to a minimum in S phase. The responses of UV-I to u.v. irradiation are generally consistent with its known defect in the process of post-replication recovery, i.e. the ability to join up the abnormally small DNA fragments synthesized on a u.v.-damaged template.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Ocular immobilization and its role in the management of superior retinal detachment.

Twenty-eight patients with bullous superior half retinal detachments were treated by pre-operative binocular occlusion, retrobulbar Bupivicaine hydrochloride and ocular immobilization using a temporary inferior rectus suture taped to the patient's forehead. Sufficient pre-operative flattening of the retina was achieved in each case to permit successful simple detachment surgery, with release of subretinal fluid in only three eyes. Eye movements were recorded by electro-oculography in five patients during separate periods of binocular occlusion, inferior rectus suture fixation and following a retrobulbar injection of 0.5 per cent Bupivicaine hydrochloride. All three methods of ocular immobilization caused a significant reduction in frequency and amplitude of eye movements compared with periods of unrestricted eye movement.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Psychophysiological stress responses in postmenopausal women before and after hormonal replacement therapy.

Seventeen females with a history of hot flushes, perspiration, and amenorrhea of at least 6 months' duration, and a serum FSH level exceeding 40 IU/l entered a cyclic treatment with 17 beta-estradiol and estriol combined with norethsterone (Trisekvens, Novo). Each patient took part in three experimental sessions, six weeks apart, in which stress was induced by mental performance tests. To permit separation of treatment and habituation effects the patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups, Group 1 starting therapy after the first, Group 2 after the second session. Treatment eliminated hot flushes and perspiration and reduced serum FSH levels without causing changes in blood pressure or heart rate. There was no correlation between hormonal treatment and excretion of catecholamines during stress. Testosterone and androstenedione serum levels remained unchanged during therapy. Self-reports showed that tiredness, headache, tension and anxiety were significantly reduced following treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Immunoblasts in synovial fluid and blood in the rheumatic diseases.

Synovial fluid studies have been made on 43 patients with rheumatic disease. Lymphocytes separated by a 2-stage procedure were examined for the presence of activated large lymphoid cells or immunoblasts. Such immunoblasts were found in 19 of 21 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis and 7 of 10 patients with seronegative polyarthritis, including patients with Still's disease, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. No immunoblasts were seen in synovial fluid from osteoarthrosis or in the inflammatory but nonimmune synovial fluid from crystal-induced arthritis. The presence of immunoblasts showed a correlation with the lymphocyte count in the synovial fluid but not with the total white cell count. Preliminary studies confirm the spontaneous metabolic activity of these cells by autoradiography and show them by scanning electron microscopy to have a villous surface membrane. Simultaneous peripheral blood studies showed a lower incidence of immunoblasts than in the synovial fluid. It is suggested that these cells originate in the synovial membrane. In view of the known migration characteristic of immunoblasts these cells may be important in the spread of immune arthritis as well as being markers of disease activity.

Humans↗
PubMed1979

Novobiocin; an inhibitor of the repair of UV-induced but not X-ray-induced damage in mammalian cells.

In addition to inhibiting replicative DNA synthesis in HeLa cells, novobiocin has a severe effect on the cellular response to UV irradiation, reducing the number of breaks made in pre-existing DNA by the excision repair process. The inhibition of UV repair by novobiocin is reflected in enhanced UV-killing of these cells. Rejoining of DNA after X irradiation is not impaired by novobiocin. The recognition and removal of UV damage may require unwinding of the DNA by gyrase, which--in bacteria--is the target for novobiocin.

DNA Repair↗
PubMed1978

Stress responses in male and female engineering students.

Male and female engineering students were studies under stress induced by a congnitive-conflict task and in a control condition spent in inactivity. The results showed that (a) in the control condition the sexes did not differ in adrenaline, noradrenaline or cortisol excretion, whereas heart rate was significantly higher in the females; (b) adrenaline excretion and heart rate increased significantly in both sexes during stress; (c) the rise in adrenaline excretion was more pronounced in the males, whereas the rise in heart rate was significantly greater in the females; (d) cortisol excretion increased significantly during stress in the male group only; and (e) self-estimates of effort and performance were consistently higher and increased more over time in the males than in the females, bu these sex differences on the subjective level were not reflected in actual performance. The interaction of biological and social factors in the development of sex differences in stress reactions is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Sex differences in psychoneuroendocrine reactions to examination stress.

Sex differences in adaptation and coping were studied by comparing neuroendocrine and psychological functions in male and female high-school students during 2--3 hr of routine school work (control condition) and a 6-hr matriculation examination (stress condition). In the control condition sex differences were slight and nonsignificant. During examination stress, the urinary excretion of cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol (MOPEG or MHPG) increased in both sexes, but to a consistently greater extent in the male group, significantly so for adrenaline and MOPEG. Both sexes performed equally well in the examination, but self-reports showed that feelings of success and confidence were common among males, whereas feelings of discomfort and failure dominated in the female group. High discomfort correlated with poor performance in the males but with good performance in the females.

Achievement↗
PubMed1971

Repression of the overproduction of porphyrin precursors in acute intermittent porphyria by intravenous infusions of hematin.

In a patient with a severe attack of acute intermittent porphyria, hematin given intravenously caused marked diminution of serum delta-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen. The decline of aminolevulinate was more rapid than that of porphobilinoge. After 2 days of hematin administration, about 5 days were required for delta-aminolevulinic acid, and 11 days for porphobilinogen to return to the concentrations that were detected before treatment. Urinary excretion of both compounds also decreased after hematin administration. Considerable amounts of porphobilinogen were also found in the cerebrospinal fluid of the patient.

Adult↗