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Biomedical subjects

A Ross

Publications and source records attributed to A Ross.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Melatonin receptors and signal transduction mechanisms.

The ovine pars tuberalis (PT) still offers the best model for the study of signal transduction pathways regulated by the melatonin receptor. From the evidence accumulated so far, it seems likely that the cAMP signal transduction pathway will be a major effector of a stimulatory signal to the PT which can be regulated by melatonin. Thus a principal action of melatonin in the PT may be the repression of biochemical processes driven by cAMP. However, through the phenomenon of sensitization, melatonin may also act to amplify a stimulatory input to the cAMP signal transduction pathway in the PT. These events are mediated via the melatonin receptor, which is itself a target for regulation by the melatonin signal. Studies using the PT have identified several signalling pathways that may serve to positively or negatively regulate the expression of the melatonin receptor. These and other studies in the PT have alluded to cAMP-independent pathways regulated by the melatonin receptor.

Animals↗

Declining asthma severity.

An overview of the factors affecting the declining severity of asthma.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Forecasting.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Delivery of Health Care↗

Creativity and the management team.

What is creativity? Is it an untempered gift found only in a few rare individuals? Or, is it a skill that can be developed in the people who make up your management team? As applied to medical group practice, creativity is a process through which the management team can originate ideas for responding to a complicated environment. To be effective, creativity must be fostered in individuals and in the organization. Drawing from lessons of successful corporations, the author examines the management styles which are conducive to creativity and innovation. Strong team management and proper orientation of new staff members are essential in building a foundation for creativity. To assist medical groups, key elements that are fundamental to fostering creativity in the organization are presented.

Creativity↗

The administrator's quest for quality.

Times are tough and will become even tougher. Retrenchment issues will be foremost in many operational settings. Failure to understand baseline quality standards will make it extremely difficult to know where to cut and how to regroup without adversely affecting patient attitudes and service. Practice patterns are changing rapidly and the astute administrator needs to be prepared to participate freely in decisions affecting quality, service and costs.

Group Practice↗

The effect of a promotion campaign on attitudes of adolescent females towards breastfeeding.

We determined the effect of a breastfeeding promotional campaign on attitudes and knowledge of adolescent females, by use of a pre- and post-campaign survey. The total population surveyed consisted of 463 girls with a mean age of 16 distributed throughout three grades (10 to 12) in two high schools. The campaign ran for five weeks including a television commercial and advertisement in local newspapers. Attitudes towards breastfeeding were positively influenced by the campaign but only the television commercial was found to change attitudes (p less than 0.05). The campaign did not increase knowledge scores. Those completing the pre-test were found to have both a higher knowledge and attitude score on the post-test (P less than 0.05) than those who did not complete the pre-test. We suggest that adolescents will develop a positive attitude to breastfeeding when actively targeted by media and when exposed to breastfeeding information in the classroom.

Adolescent↗

Lymphocyte subpopulations in malignant ascites of serous papillary ovarian adenocarcinoma. An immunocytochemical study.

The aim of this study was to investigate lymphocyte subpopulations in 17 patients with malignant ascites due to serous papillary adenocarcinoma of the ovary. Eight patients had not been treated prior to the study whereas nine patients had been treated by surgery and chemotherapy. A panel of monoclonal antibodies against surface markers that correlate with the immune functions of the lymphocytes was used. The lymphocyte subpopulations were identified by the immunoperoxidase adhesive slide assay, and the results in treated and untreated patients were compared. Both groups of patients showed lymphocytosis (41 +/- 25% and 33 +/- 14% of the total cells, respectively). The untreated patients had a significantly higher proportion of B cells (14 +/- 4% of lymphocytes) than did treated patients (7 +/- 2%). No differences were found between both groups regarding the helper-inducer/suppressor-cytotoxic T lymphocyte ratio. The proportion of lymphocytes expressing interleukin-2-receptors was higher in treated patients (6 +/- 2%) than in untreated patients (1.2 +/- 1%). Both groups showed a high percentage of natural killer/cytotoxic cells (17 +/- 7% and 18 +/- 5%, respectively). In the only chylous effusion in this study, there was an increase in helper-inducer and activated T lymphocytes. Future studies are required to document whether surface marker analysis of lymphocytes in malignant effusions may be useful for assessment of the prognosis and the results of treatment.

Adult↗

Malignant ascites of serous papillary ovarian adenocarcinoma. An immunocytochemical study of the tumor cells.

In 17 malignant peritoneal effusions due to papillary serous adenocarcinoma of the ovary, the reaction patterns of the tumor cells to monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against surface antigens were studied and compared with the reaction patterns of mesothelial cells in the same effusions. The following surface markers were used with the adhesive slide method: epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), human epithelium-specific cell surface antigen (HEA-125), human endothelial antigen (BMA-120), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA 3-13), an antibody against natural killer cells and cytotoxic cells (BMA-070), granulocyte antigen (Leu M1) and leukocyte antigen of class I (HLA-1). In all cases, from 30% to 95% of the tumor cells reacted with EMA and HEA-125. Tumor cells showed a positive staining with CEA 3-13 in only five cases. In all cases, from 75% to 95% of the tumor cells reacted positively with BMA-120. The reactivity of a few mesothelial cells with EMA and of all mesothelial cells with BMA-120 did not interfere with the identification of positive tumor cells since the reaction patterns were different. Interestingly, our study demonstrated that BMA-070, an MAb identifying natural killer cells and cytotoxic cells, is also a most useful tumor marker. The same was found to be true for Leu M1, an MAb originally thought to react only with granulocytes. The tumor cells showed a partial or total loss of the expression of HLA-1 reactivity. Since all cases were immunocytochemically positive for tumor cells while conventional cytology was positive in only 13 of the cases, the immunocytochemical analysis of malignant peritoneal effusions due to papillary serous adenocarcinoma of the ovary seems able to improve the cytologic diagnosis of the fluids.

Adenocarcinoma, Papillary↗