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Biomedical subjects

A Montgomery

Publications and source records attributed to A Montgomery.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Relationship between personal prayer and school-related attitudes among 11-16-year-old girls.

A sample of 392 girls between the ages of 11 and 16 years attending a state-maintained single-sex Catholic secondary school completed six semantic differential scales of attitudes toward school and toward lessons concerned with English, music, religion, mathematics, and sports, together with information about paternal employment and their personal practice of prayer. The relationship between personal prayer and attitude toward school after controlling for age and social class was positive.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Histochemical mapping of NADPH diaphorase in the nervous system of the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum.

NADPH diaphorase has recently been discovered to be responsible for neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase activity in mammals. It thus serves as a histochemical marker for the localization of NO synthase in the nervous system. The histochemical technique was used to map out potential NO-producing neurones in the nervous system of the parasitic nematode, Ascaris suum. Positive staining for NADPH diaphorase was present in various parts of the central nervous system, in particular within selective cell bodies and fibres in the ventral ganglion, the retrovesicular ganglion, ventral and dorsal cords and sublateral lines. Intense staining was also present in the motorneurone commissures, indicating a potential role for NO as a neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction. NADPH disphorase-positive neurones were not confined to the central nervous system. Selective staining was also present in the enteric nervous system, in particular the pharynx and in the peripheral nervous system innervating the sensory organs.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Protease activation in the porcine pancreatic allograft during preservation.

A porcine pancreatic transplantation model was used to investigate possible protease activation in the pancreatic graft during preservation. After perfusion with Perfadex and cold ischemia for 24 h, but prior to reperfusion, activated carboxypeptidase B was demonstrated in tissue samples from the graft parenchyma with a Western blot technique, indicating that graft pancreatitis may already be initiated during the preservation phase. A higher degree of carboxypeptidase B activation was observed in grafts perfused at a pressure of 130 cm H20 than after perfusion at 70 cm H20. During reperfusion, the fraction of activated carboxypeptidase B gradually declined but was still detectable after 2 h. One group of pigs received aprotinin intravenously during reperfusion, but the protease inhibitor did not influence the degree of carboxypeptidase B activation in the biopsy specimen. Immunoblotting against cationic trypsinogen/trypsin was also performed. When activated trypsin was detectable, it never presented more than a few percent of the total amount of uncomplexed immunoreactive trypsinogen/trypsin.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The influence of demographic characteristics, menopausal status, and symptoms on women's attitudes toward menopause.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of demographic characteristics, including ethnicity, socioeconomic status, marital status, and number of children, as well as menopausal status, physical symptoms, and psychological symptoms on midlife women's attitudes toward menopause. A random sample of 149 women, aged 35 to 65 and stratified by occupation, age, and race, was selected from employee lists. A 20-item, 7-point semantic differential Menopause Attitude Scale was administered. Menopausal status was determined by self-report and serum hormone levels of estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Symptoms were assessed by a 28-item Symptom Index, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale. Overall the majority of women, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status, had neutral feelings toward menopause. Postmenopausal women reported the most positive attitudes toward menopause, which may indicate that once women have gone through menopause they find it to be less troubling than they anticipated earlier in life. Negative attitudes toward menopause were related to psychological symptoms with higher scores on the depression scale, suggesting that these women may be at higher risk for a difficult midlife transition.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Laparoscopic creation of loop ileostomy and sigmoid colostomy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the laparoscopic approach in the creation of loop ileostomies and sigmoid colostomies. DESIGN: Prospective open study. SETTING: University hospital, Sweden. SUBJECTS: Eighteen consecutive patients who needed faecal diversion. INTERVENTIONS: Laparoscopic loop ileostomy (n = 6) or sigmoid colostomy (n = 12). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality, morbidity, and duration of operation. RESULTS: There was no 30-day mortality, and no patients developed infections. The operating time (median 47 minutes, range 45-115 for ileostomies and 50, range 42-102 for colostomies) was comparable to open surgery. Two operations had to be converted to open procedures because of dense adhesions. Postoperative paralytic ileus was transient, and all patients started oral intake on the first postoperative day. CONCLUSIONS: The laparoscopic technique is easy to do, it takes no longer than open surgery, and it causes minimal trauma, allowing the patients to recover faster.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

D2 dopamine receptor TaqI A alleles in medically ill alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients.

The prevalence of TaqI A alleles of the D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene was examined in two subgroups of medically ill nonalcoholics (more prevalent and less prevalent substance users, MPSU and LPSU, respectively) and in two subgroups of medically ill alcoholics (more severe and less severe alcoholics, MSA and LSA, respectively). The prevalence of the A1 allele in the 80 nonalcoholic and 73 alcoholic patients was 30.0% and 52.1%, respectively (P = 0.009). In the four subgroups of these patients, the prevalence of this allele was: LPSU = 18.2%, MPSU = 34.5%, LSA = 44.4% and MSA = 58.3%. Linear trend analysis showed that as the use of substances and severity of alcoholism increase, so does A1 prevalence (P = 0.001). Specific, subgroup comparisons showed A1 prevalence in MSA to be about 3-fold (P = 0.007) and 1.5-fold (P = 0.04) higher than in LPSU and MPSU subgroups, respectively. Similarly, in a combined analysis of independent studies, A1 prevalence in MSA was higher when compared to LSA (P < 5 x 10(-3), MPSU (P < 10(-4) and LPSU (P < 10(-8) subgroups. There was virtually no difference in the prevalence of the A1 allele between LSA and MPSU subgroups. None of the specific medical or neuropsychiatric complications of alcoholism was associated with the A1 allele. In conclusion, the severity of alcohol dependence in alcoholics and of substance use behaviors in controls are important variables in DRD2 allelic association. The present report and converging lines of evidence suggest that the DRD2 locus could represent a prominent gene risk factor for susceptibility to severe alcoholism. However, other genes and environmental factors, when combined, still play the larger role.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Reperfusion of duodenum and pancreas following 24 hr of cold storage in Perfadex or UW solution.

We have studied the immediate reperfusion and the graft outcome of the duodenum and pancreas separately in a porcine whole-organ pancreaticoduodenal allograft transplantation model using 24 hr of cold storage. Of 19 transplantations, 12 grafts were perfused and stored in Perfadex and 7 in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. The organ weights before and after storage were determined in 6 grafts stored in Perfadex and 6 grafts stored in UW solution in order to quantify the degree of dehydration of the graft during storage. In 6 of the grafts perfused with Perfadex, a hyperosmotic salt dextran-containing solution (HSD) was perfused into the graft aorta at reperfusion. Duodenal reperfusion and reperfusion injury were studied by measuring mucosal pH (pHi) and by microscopic examination, respectively. Pancreatic reperfusion was studied by scoring the macroscopic appearance and microscopic examination. Daily blood glucose was used to determine the endocrine function and a secretin-cholecystokinin stimulation test was performed on the second postoperative day to evaluate the exocrine function. All duodenal grafts except 1 in the UW group showed a sufficient reperfusion according to pHi and all had microscopic changes suggesting a moderate reperfusion injury. The macroscopic appearance of pancreas was significantly worse in the UW group than in the two Perfadex groups. Only 1 of 7 grafts in the UW group showed signs of endocrine function on the first postoperative day compared with 11 of 12 in the Perfadex groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenosine↗
PubMed1993

Allelic association of the D2 dopamine receptor gene with cocaine dependence.

The objective of the present study was to examine allelic prevalence of the D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene in male cocaine-dependent (CD) Caucasian (non-Hispanic) subjects and to determine the relationship of DRD2 alleles to family history and selected behavioral measures. The prevalence of the A1 allele in CD subjects (n = 53) was 50.9%. It was significantly higher than either the 16.0% prevalence (P < 10(-4)) in non-substance abusing controls (n = 100) or the 30.9% prevalence (P < 10(-2)) in population controls (n = 265) wherein substance abusers were not excluded. Similarly, a significantly higher prevalence (P < 10(-2)) of the B1 allele was found in CD subjects (n = 52) compared with non-substance abusing controls (n = 53); 38.5% vs. 13.2%. Logistic regression analysis of CD subjects identified potent routes of cocaine use and the interaction of early deviant behaviors and parental alcoholism as significant risk factors associated with the A1 allele. The cumulative number of these three risk factors in CD subjects was positively and significantly (P < 10(-3)) related to A1 allelic prevalence. The data showing a strong association of the minor alleles (A1 and B1) of the DRD2 with cocaine dependence suggest that a gene, located on the q22-q23 region of chromosome 11, confers susceptibility to this drug disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The postconcussional syndrome: social antecedents and psychological sequelae.

The study consisted of a prospective investigation of 45 consecutively admitted patients who had sustained a mild head injury. In all cases the duration of post-traumatic amnesia was less than 24 hours. Head injury patients had an average of three adverse life events in the year preceding injury compared with 1.5 for controls. Using the PSE, 39% of the group were diagnosed psychiatric cases at six weeks after the injury. For cases the mean level of chronic social difficulties (3.3) was four times that for non-cases (0.8). Six months after injury, 28% of the head injury group had three or more symptoms. These chronic cases were on average ten years older than those whose symptoms had remitted. Chronic cases had, on average, three social difficulties, twice as many as found among those whose symptoms had remitted. The emergence and persistence of the postconcussional syndrome are associated with social adversity before the accident. While young men are most at risk of minor head injury, older women are most at risk of chronic sequelae.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Laparoscope-guided enterolithotomy for gallstone ileus.

Two women, both aged 76 years, with several days of clinical symptoms of mechanical intestinal obstruction were diagnosed laparoscopically and found to have gallstone ileus. In one patient, pneumobilia was demonstrated preoperatively on plain abdominal radiography. Neither patient had had previous abdominal surgery. After searching through the small intestine laparoscopically, the stones were found. The site of obstruction was in both cases the ileum. The nondistended small intestine was visualized in the videoendoscope and lifted toward the anterior wall. Through very small lower midline and right lower quadrant muscle-splitting incisions, respectively, the ileum, including the gallstone, was brought out extracorporally, and the stone was removed by a simple enterolithotomy. Both patients recovered rapidly and returned to their homes on the fourth and fifth postoperative days, respectively. One patient returned after 3 weeks and was successfully treated for a wound infection. Four months after surgery, neither patient had any abdominal complaints. Laparoscopic diagnosis, and if possible treatment for mechanical intestinal obstruction, especially in elderly nonoperated patients, is suggested to minimize operative trauma, facilitate postoperative mobilization and hopefully reduce the high operative morbidity and mortality in this group of patients.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Factors associated with male workers' engagement in physical activity: white collar vs. blue collar workers.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with male workers' participation in different kinds of physical activity, noting differences between white collar and blue collar workers. This study examined the variables, perceived health status, self efficacy, perceived barriers, age, education, income, and job category (Pender, 1987) for their association with physical activity. Self efficacy and perceived health status were the cognitive-perceptual factors that predicted physical activity. Job category (e.g., blue collar vs. white collar) was found to be a highly significant predictor of physical activity. Comparing physical job requirements with the individual worker capacity can suggest to the occupational health nurse physical fitness programs that are most appropriate for individual workers.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The time course of thyroid-hormone-induced changes in the isotonic and isometric properties of rat soleus muscle.

Rat thyroidectomy resulted in changes in a number of parameters used to characterise the mechanical and histochemical status of skeletal muscle. Thus thyroidectomy resulted in a prolongation of soleus slow-twitch muscle isometric contraction time and half-relaxation time with a reduced maximum velocity of shortening and maximum rate of development of tetanic tension but no significant change in twitch: tetanus ratio i.e. the ratio of twitch force/unit area to tetanic force/unit area. In addition the percentage of IIA fibres was reduced and the percentage of type I fibres increased. Triiodothyronine, administered to hypothyroid rats, brought about a speeding of these parameters again with no change in twitch: tetanus ratio. There was an increase in the percentage of IIA fibres with a concomitant reduction in the percentage of type I fibres. These changes were induced over 18 days and resulted in isotonic and isometric properties almost identical to those of soleus muscles from chronically hyperthyroid rats; speeding could be detected as early as 2 days after triiodothyronine had been given. Consideration is given to the possibility that changes in myosin isoforms and/or the kinetics of changes in intracellular calcium concentration in activation and relaxation could account for the time course of the observed changes.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Pancreatic proteases and intestinal mucosal injury after ischemia and reperfusion in the pig.

Intraluminal pancreatic proteases have been proposed to play a pathogenic role in the injury seen after ischemia and reperfusion of the small intestinal mucosa. Intestinal ischemia can be detected by indirect intramucosal pH measurements using tonometry. In this study, pigs were subjected to laparotomy and ligation of the pancreatic duct (n = 10) or a sham procedure (n = 10). Three weeks later, a standardized hemorrhagic shock was induced followed by retransfusion. Central hemodynamics, portal venous flow, and duodenal and small intestinal mucosal intramucosal pH were monitored. Samples were obtained from the small intestine for microscopic examination. A typical superficial mucosal injury developed in both groups of animals after reperfusion. However, the injury developed significantly later in the duct-ligated animals. No major differences in survival, splanchnic hemodynamics, or intramucosal pH between the groups were seen during hemorrhagic hypotension or after reperfusion. These data favor the concept that intraluminal pancreatic proteases are important for the rapid development of the mucosal reperfusion injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Protease activation following reperfusion of porcine pancreatic allografts.

To study the degree of protease activation at reperfusion of a pancreatic allograft after cold storage for 24 hr, 18 porcine whole-organ pancreaticoduodenal allograft transplantations were performed. Twelve grafts were flushed with and stored in Perfadex. In six of these, a hyperosmotic salt solution was injected into the graft aorta at reperfusion. Six grafts were flushed and stored in UW solution. Eleven of twelve grafts in the Perfadex groups were functioning on the first postoperative day, compared with one of six in the UW solution group. There was a significantly more pronounced protease activation among grafts stored in UW solution than in the other groups, with a subsequent breakthrough of the local protease protection barrier made up of protease inhibitors. In surviving pigs (n = 14), biochemical signs of protease activation evolved in plasma, including formation of trypsin-protease inhibitor complexes, a decline in C3 and kininogen levels, and a decline in functionally active alpha 2-macroglobulin, functionally active antithrombin III, and plasma kallikrein inhibitory activity. These biochemical signs of pancreatitis correlated with a deteriorated graft function on the second postoperative day, indicating that graft tissue damage occurred due to protease activation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Duodenal mucosal pH as a reperfusion indicator in pancreatic-duodenal transplantation in the pig.

We have studied differences in reperfusion between the pancreas and the duodenum after 6 hr of cold storage in a porcine whole-organ pancreaticoduodenal allograft transplantation model. Two different flush-out and storage solutions, Perfadex and EuroCollins, were compared. Graft duodenal mucosal pH (pHi) was measured as an indicator of duodenal mucosal reperfusion. Pancreatic reperfusion was estimated indirectly using a ratio between the release of immunoreactive cationic trypsin (irCT) to serum 10 and 60 min following reperfusion. Twelve pigs (Perfadex n = 6, EuroCollins n = 6) were transplanted and all showed preserved endocrine and exocrine function postoperatively. Our data support the concept that reperfusion of a pancreaticoduodenal graft can be estimated using duodenal pHi and that the ratio of irCT at 10 and 60 min gives an indirect estimate of pancreatic reperfusion. The results also show that grafts stored in EuroCollins reperfuse more slowly than grafts stored in Perfadex.

Animals↗