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Biomedical subjects

A Gibbs

Publications and source records attributed to A Gibbs.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Diarrhoeal disease: knowledge, attitudes and practices in an aboriginal community.

This study was carried out in an Australian Aboriginal community in South Australia on the knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to diarrhoeal disease. Suggestions were sought on appropriate interventions. Dietary causes (including alcohol), factors relating to drinking water, poor environmental hygiene, infective agents and teething were considered by community member to be important in the causation of diarrhoea. Poor personal and domestic hygiene, and the lack of adequate bathing, toilet and laundry facilities were not considered to be important contributory factors. This may reflect the Aboriginal view of hygiene derived from many years of desert living as nomadic hunter-gatherers. The study provides valuable information to enable the selection of appropriate interventions for the control of diarrhoeal disease in this community.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Does isolation of patients with infections induce mental illness?

Forty-one patients admitted into single-bedded isolation cubicles in an infectious diseases unit were assessed for evidence of mental disturbance. By use of the Crown-Crisp Experimental Index as a measure of mental state, the scores for somatic anxiety, free floating anxiety, and the total score were found to be significantly raised on admission, falling towards those found in a control general practice population by the time of discharge from hospital. Higher scores were associated with a past history of mental illness. There was, however, no statistical correlation between the psychological indices and consumption of alcohol, smoking, or patient's sex. Clinically apparent behavioural disturbance, mainly anxiety and agitation, was seen in 12 patients. Overall, patients expressed a preference for single rooms and did not find the isolation rituals disconcerting. The findings indicate that anxiety in patients with acute infections is more related to their illness and referral to hospital than to their imposed isolation. Only those patients with a past psychiatric history are likely to benefit from transfer to an open ward during convalescence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Mechanism of anticoagulant action by protein inhibitors from bovine testes and salmon sperm.

A protein inhibitor was isolated from commercial preparations of salmon sperm and its physical and anticoagulant properties were compared with an inhibitor isolated earlier from commercial preparation of bovine testicular hyaluronidase. The inhibitor from bovine source was heat and acid labile and had a molecular weight of approximately equal to 35000 while the one from salmon sperm had a molecular weight of approximately equal to 5700 and was stable to heat and acid. To determine the mechanism of the inhibitory effect, a system of purified components consisting of isolated prothrombin, Factor Xa, Factor Va, Ca++, and vesicles of phosphatidylcholine (PCPS, 25% PS) was used. Included also was dansylarginine N- (3-ethyl-1,5-pentanedidyl) amide (DAPA) which binds newly formed thrombin and yields the time course of prothrombin conversion by virtue of enhanced fluorescence of the DAPA - thrombin complex. The inhibitor of bovine testes was effective only when PCPS was the limiting component suggesting that its action was directed against the phospholipid component of the prothrombinase complex. The inhibitor from salmon sperm was found to lower the rate of conversion of prothrombin to thrombin in an in vitro system where thrombin generation was measured by its action on the chromogenic substrate H-D-Phe-Pip-Arg-pNa (S-2238). It inhibited the conversion of Factor X to Xa and also the the amidolytic cleavage by Factor Xa of chromogenic substrate N-Benz-Ile-Glu-Gly-Arg-pNa (S-2222).

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Nucleotide sequence comparisons of turnip yellow mosaic virus isolates from Australia and Europe.

The genomic sequences of four isolates of turnip yellow mosaic virus (TYMV-Cd) from Australia, and three TYMV-1 (type) and three TYMV-2 (cauliflower) isolates from Europe were compared by cDNA-RNA hybridization tests, by analysis of the fragments produced from cDNA-RNA hybrids by restriction endonuclease treatment, and by determining the 3' terminal nucleotide sequences of their coat protein mRNAs. All three methods showed only slight differences (ca. 1%) between the mRNA sequences of different TYMV-1 and TYMV-Cd isolates, and did not distinguish between those groups of isolates. By contrast, the nucleotide sequences of TYMV-2 isolates differed from those of the other TYMVs by ca. 5% (sequence analysis) to 11% (restriction fragment analysis). Published biogeographic evidence has indicated that the TYMV-Cd and TYMV-1 populations probably separated more than 12,000 years ago. This implies that these TYMV genomes have changed at a rate of, at most, 1% in 10,000 years.

Australia↗
PubMed1987

The classification of tymoviruses by cDNA-RNA hybridization and other measures of relatedness.

The relationships of twelve tymoviruses have been assessed by cDNA-RNA hybridization. In addition, the percentage molar nucleotide composition of the genome of the PD strain of Kennedya yellow mosaic virus and the percentage molar amino acid composition of the coat proteins of cacao yellow mosaic, Kennedya yellow mosaic and turnip yellow mosaic (Cardamine strain) viruses were estimated. These as well as published serological comparisons and genome and coat protein composition determinations were used to compute classifications of tymoviruses using various "metrics", and simple numerical methods were used to compare the classifications. Measures of relatedness estimated from cDNA-RNA hybridization and base ratio data correlated significantly with each other, but were less closely correlated with those calculated from amino acid data, and did not correlate with those calculated from serological tests. The serological relationships correlated significantly with estimates of relatedness calculated from amino acid data, but not with those based on hybridization or base ratio data. The differences between these classifications mostly resulted from the anomalous behaviour of eggplant mosaic virus, its particles are serologically close to those of other tymoviruses that naturally infect species of the tobacco family, whereas in cDNA-RNA hybridization tests eggplant mosaic virus is closest to the tymoviruses that infect legumes. Similar but smaller anomalies in the characteristics of other tymoviruses were also found.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1987

Molecular evolution of viruses; 'trees', 'clocks' and 'modules'.

Comparisons of the nucleotide sequences of viral genomes, and derived amino acid sequences, mostly confirm the traditional taxonomic groupings of viruses. These comparisons have also shown unexpected homologies between genes of viruses from different groups previously thought to be unrelated, and between some viral and non-viral genes. Comparisons of the three-dimensional structures of the particle proteins of some viruses have also revealed unexpected relationship, and, together with the sequence homologies, suggest that some ancestral viruses had 'modular' origins. Some of the sequence differences have been used to construct phylogenies. However, there is evidence that viral gene 'molecular clocks' do not always keep time consistently over very long or very short evolutionary time periods. Clues on evolution mostly come from comparative studies of living or fossil organisms. Fossils of viruses are not known, and thus clues of the origins and evolution of viruses are obtained by comparing extant forms. For example, by comparing isolates of different viruses, or strains of viruses, one can infer the properties of their ancestors, and by comparing isolates obtained during an epidemic, and sequentially related to one another, one can observe directly the type and timing of evolutionary changes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Dysfunctional attitudes in former psychiatric inpatients.

In order to test the hypothesis that patients who are predisposed to depression have an enduring cognitive style, dysfunctional attitudes (Dysfunctional Attitudes Schedule), neuroticism and extraversion (Maudsley Personality Inventory), and severity of depression (Levine-Pilowsky Depression Questionnaire) were measured in a survey of former patients with previous diagnoses of either depressive or nondepressive psychiatric conditions. We found that there were no significant differences in dysfunctional attitudes between these groups of patients and that their scores were similar to those reported for normal populations. There was, however, a correlation between introversion and high dysfunctional attitude scores. Possible implications regarding interactions between cognitive style, personality, and predisposition toward depression are discussed as well as a suggestion that a history of a suicide attempt may predict a poor response to cognitive psychotherapy.

Attitude↗
PubMed1986

Inhalation of china stone and china clay dusts: relationship between the mineralogy of dust retained in the lungs and pathological changes.

A combined clinical, radiological, pathological, and mineralogical study was undertaken on 62 cases referred to the Medical Research Council Pneumoconiosis Unit by the Cardiff Pneumoconiosis Panel as Cornish china clay workers. Considerable pathological lesions were found in the lungs, both nodular and interstitial fibroses being present. Some men had worked with china stone but others had worked entirely with china clay. Nodular fibrosis appeared to be related to a high quartz content of the dust recovered from the lung, whereas among those with a high content of kaolinite dust in the lungs interstitial fibrosis was observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

An outpatient survey of antidepressant prescription habits.

A review of case notes of patients attending a general hospital psychiatric outpatient clinic revealed that 75% of patients with depressive disorders and 38% of patients with neurotic disorders were prescribed antidepressants. Antidepressants were often prescribed for long periods in low doses and in combination with benzodiazepines. There was less polypharmacy, however, with more sedating antidepressants. The results indicate that clinical prescription habits for antidepressants may still be at some variance with recommendations from the literature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Plasmalogens in the gill lipids of aquatic animals.

Lipids constituted 0.6-2.2% wet wt of the gills of 11 species of aquatic animals (4 bivalves, a crustacean and 6 fishes). Phospholipids, largely phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), are major components of all species. The plasmalogen contents of these lipids were 47-291 mumol/g, with the highest values found for bivalve gill total lipids and the catfish phospholipid fraction.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The response of human tissues to carbon reinforced epoxy resin.

The tissue surrounding carbon fibre reinforced epoxy resin plates applied to forearm and tibial fractures was biopsied in 32 patients at the time the plates were removed. The reaction was minimal and was compared with that in a control group of 16 similar patients in whom stainless steel plates were used. No significant histological differences were found. A series of experiments on rats, in which the histology was studied from 2 to 78 weeks, also showed that there was very little reaction to carbon fibre reinforced plastic.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Methods for comparing sequence data such as restriction endonuclease maps or nucleotide sequences of viral nucleic acid molecules.

Maps of restriction endonuclease sites in the DNA genomes of orthopoxviruses were compared by computer classification methods. Data from such maps were recorded as qualitative binary information, and gave closely similar dendrograms when different dissimilarity measures and sorting strategies were used for the computations. A method for calculating dendrograms from small data sets, by 'hand', is described in detail to assist those who do not have access to suitable computer programs. The same calculation strategy gave useful classifications of partial nucleotide and amino acid sequences of orthomyxovirus haemagglutinins.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Isolation and anticoagulant properties of polysaccharides of Typha Augustata and Daemonorops species.

Polysaccharides were isolated from Dragon's Blood (DB), a red resinous secretion from the fruits of Daemonorops species and from pollens of Typha Augustata (TA) by alcohol precipitation followed by deaminoethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose chromatography. The purified polysaccharides of DB and TA gave specific rotations of [alpha]D20 64 and [alpha]D20 of 80 and their molecular weights by membrane osmometry were approximately 25000 and approximately 30000 respectively. The effect of addition of the polysaccharides on coagulation of pooled normal human plasma was investigated. They were found to accelerate the recalcified plasma times at concentrations below 100 micrograms/ml while inhibiting them at higher concentrations. Their procoagulant properties were due to their effects on the activation of Hageman factor (XII) while the anticoagulant effect was mainly directed towards fibrinogen. Studies of the mechanism of the anticoagulant effect showed that addition of TA polysaccharide inhibited the rate of release of fibrinopeptides by thrombin and also the aggregation of fibrin monomers.

Anticoagulants↗