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Biomedical subjects

A Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to A Taylor.

At least 793 records · Page 44Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Motor unit organization of human medial gastrocnemius.

1. The properties of fifty-seven motor units in human medial gastrocnemius have been studied using controlled intramuscular microstimulation, glycogen depletion and muscle biopsy. 2. Motor units could be divided into three classes on the basis of their mechanical properties. Type S units were slow, small and fatigue resistant. Type FR units were fast, intermediate in size, and fatigue resistant. Type FF units were fast, large and fatigable. 3. Glycogen depletion of a number of type S and FF units revealed them to be composed of type 1 and type 2b muscle fibres respectively. 4. The results suggest that during slowly increasing voluntary contractions where units are recruited in order of size, type 1 and 2a muscle fibres would be employed at low force levels followed by type 2b muscle fibres in stronger contractions.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1979

Intoxication of cells from different-aged embryos by diphtheria toxin.

Different methods were used to assay diphtheria toxin sensitivity of fibroblast and heart cell cultures from chicken embryos of various ages. As defined by inhibition of protein synthesis, fibroblasts from 18-day and younger embryos respond more rapidly to toxin than fibroblasts from older embryos. The response of heart cells cultures is independent of the age of the embryos and is similar to the response of fibroblasts from 18-day embryos. Since the EF-2 content is 10-fold less in fibroblasts from 21-day-old embryos, the different responses of protein synthesis to intoxication appear to reside at the membrane level. Cytotoxicity assays in cell culture and in vivo toxin sensitivity assays show that cells from both young and old embryos, as well as whole embryos, are equally sensitive to toxin. Thus, short-term (5-h) measurements of inhibition of protein synthesis are insufficient for determining the relative sensitivity of cells to intoxication as defined by cell death.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

The heterogeneous liver scan: ultrasound correlation.

Fifty-five heterogeneous technetium-99m sulfur colloid liver scans of 48 patients with suspected metastatic disease were compared with gray scale ultrasound results. Of the 52 ultrasound scans corresponding to the nuclear scans with mild to moderate heterogeneity, 35 (67%) were normal, 11 (21%) were consistent with hepatocellular disease, 3 were incomplete because of abdominal gas, and 2 were false positive studies interpreted as suspicious for tumor. Ultrasound is not recommended for searching for space-occupying lesions when the nuclear scan is mild to moderately heterogeneous; it did detect the presence of tumor in 1 of 3 patients with severely "mottled" nuclear scans.

Diagnostic Errors↗
PubMed1979

Possible role of cytosolic calcium and Na-Ca exchange in regulation of transepithelial sodium transport.

Emerging evidence in a number of different epithelia suggests that changes in cytosolic calcium ion levels play a critical role in the regulation of transepithelial sodium transport. Maneuvers believed to raise cytosolic calcium ion activity lead to an inhibition of net sodium transport in toad urinary bladder, frog skin, and isolated perfused proximal renal tubules. Regulation of the level of ionized calcium in the cytosol of the epithelial cells appears to involve a process of coupled Na-Ca exchange across the basolateral plasma membrane, energized, at least in part, by the sodium gradient. It is suggested that changes in cytosolic calcium ion levels, secondary to changes in Na-Ca exchange, in turn dependent in part on the activity of the sodium pump, constitute a link in a negative feedback mechanism. Through such a feedback mechanism, the rate of entry of sodium into the cell across the apical surface may be kept in step with its rate of extrusion across the basolateral surface.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Congeners of etamycin produced by Streptomyces griseoviridus.

Streptomyces griseoviridus produces in addition to etamycin several related compounds which can be separated by partition chromatography. One of these has been characterized by amino acid analysis and mass spectrometry and shown to have the same structure as etamycin except for replacement of the hydroxyproline residue by proline. Evidence was obtained for additional congeners similarly related to etamycin by amino acid exchange. The relative proportions of such congeners produced by S. griseoviridus depends upon the medium in which the culture is grown. Certain amino acids support good yields of the metabolites and the culture appears to be steered towards the synthesis of congeners containing such amino acids.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1979

The identification of depsipeptides by chemical ionisation mass spectroscopy.

The chemical ionisation mass spectra of seven naturally occurring depsipeptides and some of their permethylated derivatives have been measured. The primary ionisation process involves an ester group and not an amide or other functionality. It probably occurs randomly when the molecule contains more than one ester link. Unlike electron impact mass spectra, those obtained under chemical ionisation conditions gave sequence information for all of the depsipeptides examined or their permethylated derivatives. A mechanism for the primary fragmentation is proposed.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1978

Cutaneous sporotrichosis in forestry workers. Epidemic due to contaminated Sphagnum moss.

In December 1975 and January and February 1976, an epidemic of cutaneous sporotrichosis occurred in Mississippi among forestry workers and other persons exposed to sphagnum moss used in packing pine seedlings. Seventeen cases were identified, 15 of which were from patients who had been exposed to sphagnum moss from a single source. Attack rates were significantly higher among workers exposed to this moss than among those not exposed. Sporothrix schenckii was cultured from the implicated batch of sphagnum moss but not from other batches. The source of contamination of the sphagnum moss that caused this epidemic and sphagnum moss associated with similar epidemics is unknown. One worker without cutaneous sporotrichosis may have had asymptomatic pulmonary sporotrichosis.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMed1978

Detection of porencephaly by cerebral dynamic scanning.

Routine cerebral dynamic scanning in two patients revealed unilateral focal areas of decreased radionuclide activity between the anterior and middle cerebral arteries; the subsequent brain scans were normal. Both patients were shown to have porencephaly by isotope cisternography and computed tomography (CT) scans. When a focal avascular area is noted on cerebral dynamic scanning in the presence of normal static images, the possibility of a porencephalic cyst should be considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Evidence for involvement of microtubules in the action of vasopressin in toad urinary bladder. I. Functional studies on the effects of antimitotic agents on the response to vasopressin.

The antimitotic agents colchicine, podophyllotoxin, and vinblastine inhibit the action of vasopressin and cyclic AMP on osmotic water movement in the toad urinary bladder. The alkaloids have no effect on either basal or vasopressin-stimulated sodium transport or urea flux across the tissue. Inhibition of vasopressin-induced water movement is half-maximal at the following alkaloid concentrations: colchicine, 1.8 X 10(-6) M; podophyllotoxin, 5 X 10(-7)M; and vinblastine, 1 X 10(-7)M. The characteristics of the specificity, time-dependence and temperature-dependence of the inhibitory effect of colchicine are similar to the characteristics of the interaction of this drug with tubulin in vitro, and they differ from those of its effect on nucleoside transport. Inhibition of the vasopressin response by colchicine, podophyllotoxin, and vinblastine is not readily reversed. The findings support the view that the inhibition of vasopressin-induced water movement by the antimitotic agents is due to the interaction of these agents with tubulin and consequent interference with microtubule integrity and function. Taken together with the results of biochemical and morphological studies, the findings provide evidence that cytoplasmic microtubules play a critical role in the action of vasopressin on transcellular water movement in the toad bladder.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Evidence for involvement of microtubules in the action of vasopressin in toad urinary bladder. II. Colchicine binding properties of toad bladder epithelial cell tubulin.

Colchicine, podophyllotoxin and vinblastine have been found to inhibit the action of vasopressin on water movement in the toad urinary bladder. Tubulin is the major colchicine binding component of toad bladder epithelial cells, accounting for approximately 3.3% of the total cell protein. More than 99% of the tubulin is found in the soluble fraction after sonication, the remainder is in the particulate fraction. Similar to the characteristics of the binding of colchicine to tubulins from other sources, the binding of colchicine to toad bladder tubulin is temperature- and time-dependent, is inhibited competitively by podophyllotoxin (Ki= 5.5 x 10(-7)m), and has a binding constant of 1 X 10(6) liters/mole at 37 degrees. Binding activity decays according to first-order kinetics and is stabilized by vinblastine. The characteristics of the interactions of colchicine and podophyllotoxin with epithelial cell tubulin in vitro closely parallel the ability of these drugs to inhibit the response to vasopressin in vivo. These results, coupled with those of functional and morphological studies, support the view that the ability of these drugs to affect vasopressin-induced water movement across toad bladder epithelial cells is related to the depolymerization of cytoplasmic microtubules.

Animals↗