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Biomedical subjects

A Mayr

Publications and source records attributed to A Mayr.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Science and society: a confidence crisis?].

Modern technical world is essentially dependent on science and technology. Due to this, more and more potential dangers between science and society build up, leading to a general fear of the threatening progress of science on all sectors, especially in nuclear research and gene technology, thus arousing the question of a crisis of confidence between science and society. It will be proved that this crisis does not exist. The thing to be done is to make science much more transparent than before. "Belief in science and fear of science" are discussed in detail, including the fear of a risk (reckless society). Further paragraphs deal with "limitations of situations of misery" by way of science and the "limits of science and action". The discussion of this matter entails a short comment on the "responsibility of the scientist". The political function of the scientist is underlined in a kind of "outlock". It is concluded that we cannot cope with a crisis of confidence between science and society. The scientification and technification of the biosphere cannot be reversed. Mankind must and will somehow manage the future.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1993

Interleukin-3, interleukin-6, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and erythropoietin cord blood levels of preterm and term neonates.

The cascade of known haematopoietic growth factors controlling granulomonopoiesis and erythropoiesis includes interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-6 (IL-6), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and erythropoietin (EPO). Elevated endogenous IL-3 and IL-6 cord blood levels in infection-free premature and mature neonates may reflect their possible role for expansion of haematopoietic progenitor cells, granulocytes and monocytes. Within the erythroid lineage a synergistic action of IL-3, IL-6 and EPO can be assumed. To identify the regulatory role in fetal haematopoietic expansion cord blood plasma levels of these haematopoietic growth factors were assessed in 19 premature and 20 mature infants using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and enzyme-amplified sensitivity immuno assay test kits. Peripheral blood IL-3, GM-CSF and EPO were studied in 5 and 10 premature infants respectively. Compared with cord blood levels we found a decline in EPO levels but no decrease of IL-3 and GM-CSF during the 1st month of life. We conclude that postnatal decrease in plasma burst-promoting activity levels in preterm infants is mainly explained by low postnatal EPO levels.

Erythropoietin↗
PubMed1993

[The control of bovine salmonellosis under field conditions using herd-specific vaccines].

Data were collected from 39 cattle herds in Northern Bavaria with confirmed outbreaks of salmonellosis and analysed regarding the use of herd-specific Salmonella vaccines in control of this infectious disease. The inactivated vaccine was applied intranasally three times at intervals of 1 week (each dose of 5 ml; concentration of antigen about 10(10) organisms/ml, inactivated by heat at 100 degrees C). Efficacy of vaccine was evaluated by comparing bacteriological examination of fecal shedding of Salmonellae before and after vaccination. The number of Salmonella-positive fecal samples was reduced within one week p. vacc. from 25% to less than 1% of all examined fecal samples. Two thirds (65.7%) of the herds were free of infection within 3 weeks p. vacc. Best results after vaccination were obtained when each animal, including the calves, was vaccinated. Further it could be determined that smaller farms with up to 70 cattle did better than larger farms, where often only a part of the herd was immunized (82.6% and 33.3%).

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1993

[Health and disease in humans and animals over the course of history].

A historical review of the terms health and sickness in human beings and animals. The terms health and sickness have changed from ancient history to the present day and have also been modified. The notions of what life really is, when it starts and when it ends, have contributed to these changes. Historically, health and sickness have generally been interpreted anthropocentrically in the course of time, rarely has the companionship between man and animal been taken into account. A closer look over the past three millennia as to the science of the dynamics of diseases, the humoral pathology and the solidistic pathology, leads to the conclusion that the terms sickness and health have only been understood in general, not in detail. In the last decades of the 19th century and up to the present day an essential change of the notion of sickness was initiated through cellular pathology by R. Virchow (1821-1902). Eventually, bacteriology, virology, molecular biology and gene technology have established new standards with regard to health and sickness and have paved the way to the present holistic medicine, which is based on science. Sickness is defined as a verifiable divergence from the norm of anatomical, physiological, immunological and psychic conditions of an organism and, accordingly, as a pathological form of being, implying a disturbance of homeostasis. The legal issues such as the federal laws on epidemic diseases of human beings and animals and on insurance are dealt with in conclusion.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1993

[Human health risks with regard to persistent infections and permanent excretors].

Specifically pathogenous germs affect our environment in many different ways, e.g. through food, waste, sewage or living vectors like birds, arthropodes and other pests. Domestic animals and pets as well as human beings are the most dangerous carriers of infectious agents and permanent excretors. Persistent infections form the infectiological basis in this context. They establish the inexhaustible reservoir of the contamination of the environment with epidemic pathogens, thus endangering the health of human beings. By means of molecularbiological research on the functional bases of germ persistence we are able to classify 3 different forms of persistent infections: 1. latent infections. 2. tolerated infections. 3. occult infections. Persistent infections first, harm the infected, second, within generations their offspring through diaplacentar transmission, and third, contaminate the environment through permanent excretors. Most of the problems in infectiology arise through contamination of the environment by permanent excretors together with spread of germs by way of living and non-living vectors. The spread of specifically pathogenous germs through carriers is, however, possible without their being excreted. In these cases the sources of this spread of infection are the blood in the stage of viremia or bacteremia (biological transmission through living vectors), the reproductive organs (copulation, diaplacentar and germinal transmission) or the contaminated organs of slaughtered animals. The risks for the health of human beings due to carriers of infectious agents and permanent excretors has dramatically increased through international tourism, the problems caused by refugees, and the crowding of people in the metropoles. Medicine tries to meet this challenge by applying new methods of diagnosis and prophylaxis.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

[The paraspecific immune defense: possibilities and limits].

The paraspecific defense system is the phylogenetically older part of the complex immune system. It enables the organism to immediately attack various foreign substances, infectious germs and toxins when confronted by them. In order to activate the paraspecific immune system with the help of drugs, so-called "paramunity inducers" are employed. The use of paramunization is a new way of prophylaxis and therapy, not only with regard to infections, but also with regard to different other indications. The limitations of paramunization are to be found in genetic defects of the paraspecific immune system, therefore the success of paramunization is dependent on the functioning of the paraspecific defense system. The possibility of developing paramunity inducers that are pyrogen-free, non-toxic and pleotypically effective in pre-clinical and clinical experiments is illustrated through the use of pox and parapox viruses. Inducers based on different pox virus species were effective and safe when used in humans as well as in animals in the field.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1992

[Infectious causes of pregnancy disorders].

During pregnancy infections can entail disorders in many different ways. Damage through direct transmission of pathogens to the fetus occurs in the first place. The organisms are transmitted transovarially, diaplacentally, via endometrium, before or after implantation, via amnion or by the semen when ascending through the infectious environment. Embryo transfer is a new way of transmission. The respective infective microorganisms either directly colonize in the embryo with the well known consequences (fetotrope pathogens) or they colonize the placenta thus indirectly leading to damages to the embryo (placentotrope pathogens). During the process various overlappings are possible. A second large group of disorders in pregnancy is caused by effects of infections of the mother without pathogens being transmitted to the embryo or the placenta. These diseases are postinfectious allergies, immune complex diseases, damages through microbial toxins or mediators and various other forms of infectious processes found with the mother. The third group of disorders in pregnancy is the result of complications caused by vaccinations of the mother during or shortly before pregnancy: postvaccinal allergies, diseases through vaccinal germs and different other postvaccinal damages or stress because of vaccination.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Investigation of living cells in the nanometer regime with the scanning force microscope.

Membrane structures of different types of cells are imaged in the nanometer regime by scanning force microscopy (SFM). The images are compared to those obtained with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SFM imaging can be done on the outer cell membrane under conditions that keep the cells alive in aqueous solutions. This opens up the possibility of observing the kinematics of the structures that determine the interaction of a cell with its environment. Therefore, STM observations, together with information obtained with the electron microscope, open up new ways of studying the development of biological structures. With the currently possible resolution, the SFM gives access to processes such as antibody binding or endo- and exocytosis, including processes correlated to the infection of cells by viruses.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Mapping of deletions in the genome of the highly attenuated vaccinia virus MVA and their influence on virulence.

Different passages of the vaccinia virus strain Ankara (CVA wild-type) during attenuation to MVA (modified vaccinia virus Ankara) have been analysed to detect alterations in the genome. Physical maps for the restriction enzymes HindIII and XhoI have been established. Six major deletions relative to the wild-type strain CVA could be localized. They reduce the size of the entire genome from 208 kb (CVA wild-type) to 177 kb for the MVA strain. Four deletions occurred during the first 382 passages and the resulting variant (CVA 382) displays an attenuated phenotype similar to that of the MVA strain. The deletions are located in both terminal fragments, affect two-thirds of the host range gene K1L and eliminate 3.5 kb of a highly conserved region in the HindIII A fragment. During the next 190 passages leading to MVA two additional deletions appeared. Again, one is located in the left terminal fragment, and the other includes the A-type inclusion body gene. Neither of the deletions appear to participate in further attenuation of the virus. Rescue of the partially deleted host range region with the corresponding wild-type DNA restored the ability of the attenuated strains MVA and CVA 382 to grow in some non-permissive tissue cultures. Nevertheless, the complete host range of the wild-type strain was not recovered. Also, plaque-forming behaviour and reduced virulence were not influenced. From the data presented it may be concluded that the partially deleted host range gene is not solely responsible for attenuation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Animal poxviruses transmitted from cat to man: current event with lethal end.

We report about the infection of an 18-year-old man with an orthopox virus (OPV) which was transmitted by a cat. The infectious route from cat to man could be proved by epidemiological, virological and serological methods. The corresponding techniques are described. The patient had not been vaccinated against smallpox and was intensively immunosuppressed by medication on account of a severe endogeneous eczema combined with an allergic asthma bronchiale. A cyclic poxvirus disease developed with a generalised, partly confluent pox virus exanthema disseminated over the body. The clinical symptoms were similar to a "variola pustulosa haemorrhagica". The young man died of a lung embolism in the course of the intensive medical therapy. The haemorrhagic character of the pox virus pustules with central necrosis (pox navel) could be reproduced in the rabbit skin and on chorioallantois membranes. The pox virus isolated from the patient could be differentiated from variola, vaccinia and monkeypox virus. It is a member of the group of "cowpox-like viruses". The environmental importance of these OPVs is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Lethal animal pox virus infection in an atopic patient simulating variola vera].

An 18-year-old patient requiring steroid treatment for severe bronchial asthma and with atopic dermatitis acquired a cowpox-like virus infection clinically similar to smallpox from a domestic cat as carrier. In spite of intensive care, with controlled pressure breathing and the last available vaccinia hyperimmunoglobulin, the patient died of pulmonary embolism although viral spread had ceased some days before.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

[Recent perceptions on the development, assembly and function of the immune system].

The immune system developed through many stages during evolution. It is fascinating that none of the diverse defense mechanisms vanished in such a long period of nearly 3.5 billion years. They still function in the integrated immune system. The barrier system can be compared to the immune system. The immune system itself is subdivided in antigen-independent, paraspecific (primitive immune system) and antigen specific (specific immune system), restricted immune reactions. The role and use of the phylogenetically older, paraspecific mechanisms, that will react immediately after antigen exposure, are discussed in detail. The immune system is not autonomous. It is closely linked to the hormonal, circulatory, metabolic and nervous systems. Its function is comparable to a sensory organ. Psychoneuroimmunology as a new discipline is mentioned. Immunity and paramunity are not seen as opposing phenomena but are linked in their functions. The terminology of immunology is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Effective methods for the investigation of human tear film proteins and lipids.

The investigation of human tear film proteins and lipids is of value for the elucidation of contact lens incompatibilities, tear film instabilities, dry eye syndrome and various other eye diseases. Improved efficient methods for the investigation of human tear film proteins and lipids are presented in this paper. Tear proteins were examined by ultrathin sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, celluloacetate gel, isoelectric focusing, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The methods differ in sensitivity, resolution, convenience and reproducibility. Tear lipids were examined by high-performance thin-layer chromatography, and good separation into the major lipid classes was achieved. With this method it is possible to examine the lipids present in tears of an individual subject and not just in pools made up from the tears of several persons.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
PubMed1990

[The use of genetic engineering in veterinary medicine with examples from epidemiology, diagnosis and drug production].

The results of genetic engineering have reached practical veterinary medicine already. Nevertheless there is a great lack of knowledge among those veterinarians who usually do not work with these methods. Therefore we want to give an introduction into the advantages and dangers of this technology concerning veterinary medicine. Some important analytical methods are explained. Related viruses such as WEE and EEE or canine parvovirus, feline parvovirus and mink enteritis virus, or the related coronaviruses FIPV and TGEV serve as examples for the possibilities in molecular diagnosis and epidemic monitoring. The history of the gl- mutants of PRV, now prescribed as vaccine strains in the FRG, is an example of the development of genetic engineered vaccines. A new generation of vaccines based on recombinant vaccinia viruses is imminent. Thus we have to be aware of the high risks and responsibility of everybody who is involved in these new systems, especially the scientist who produces genetically altered organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Environment and occurrence of epidemics].

Epidemic diseases are defined as the temporary accumulation of dangerous infections diseases in certain areas. They are based on the principles of monocausality of Henle and Koch and represent the most important group of monocausal infectious diseases. Tight ecological relations exist between epidemic diseases and environment. The ecosystem encloses all living organisms as well as the inanimate environment (e.g. soil, water, air, waste). Some chains of infections are demonstrated with American equine encephalitis, rabies, Aujeszky's disease, salmonellosis and so-called soil-born epidemic diseases as examples. Any change of the environment causes enduring effects on the development and progression of epidemic diseases. Many epidemic diseases correlate with certain geographical zones. The variation of climate for instance led to an alteration of the occurrence of epidemic diseases caused by streptococci and staphylococci. A further evidence for the relation of environment and occurrence of epidemic diseases are the seasonal and secular rhythmics in the progress of epidemic diseases. On the basic of new techniques (finger-printing, hybridisation, sequence analysis) the origin of new types of infectious diseases such as American equine encephalitis and infections with Parvo- and Corona viruses can be explained. Finally medicine has to face this thesis: In contrast to the Darwinian theory the recombination of two different infectious agents in a common host may cause evolutionary jumps.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Recent information about the orf virus of small ruminants].

New scientific findings in the field of immunobiology and diagnosis of parapoxvirus ovis (Orf-virus) as the causal agent of a zoonosis are presented. The adaptation of Orf-virus to cell lines and its in vitro multiplication without difficulties offer the possibility for extensive studies into the biology of parapoxviruses. The development of monoclonal antibodies (MAB) against an attenuated Orf-virus strain (D-1701) led to the elaboration of a simplified, cheap and highly sensitive "antigen detection ELISA" as a diagnostic tool. Moreover the MAB's can be used to identify parapoxvirus in cells of infected tissues (indirect immuno-peroxidase technique) which is an important precondition for more detailed surveillance of the pathogenesis of parapoxvirus infections. The immunobiological behavior of the Orf-virus in its natural hosts (small ruminants) as well as in non-susceptible species (e.g. laboratory animals) is explained by the course of cellular and humoral immune reactions following infection or vaccination. The problems of combat measures against contagious ecthyma (scabby mouth) of sheep and the human Orf-virus infections are discussed.

Animals↗