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Biomedical subjects

B Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to B Cooper.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Differences in the subcellular localization of tobacco mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus movement proteins in infected and transgenic plants.

Our study reveals differences in the way that tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) movement proteins (MPs) partition with cellular components separated into four fractions from different aged leaves of infected and transgenic plants. Immunoblot analyses showed that TMV and CMV MPs associated predominantly with components in the cell wall fractions from leaves of transgenic plants. In infected tissue, highest levels of TMV MP were found in the organelle fractions from young and middle-aged leaves whereas most of the CMV MP was found in the detergent wash of the cell wall fraction. These results remained consistent even when plants were doubly infected with TMV and CMV. These results imply that MPs of plant viruses from different taxonomic groups differentially associate with subcellular components and that MP produced by a viral infection is targeted to additional subcellular destinations than MP produced in transgenic plants.

Cell Fractionation↗
PubMed1995

Pharmacological properties of 403U76, a new chemical class of 5-hydroxytryptamine- and noradrenaline-reuptake inhibitor.

403U76 (5-chloro-[[2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]phenyl]thio]benzene- methanol hydrochloride) is a potent, competitive, inhibitor of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and noradenaline reuptake into rat brain synaptosomes. Inhibition of 5-HT uptake in-vivo by 403U76 was demonstrated by potentiation of the behavioural effects of 5-hydroxytryptophan in rats and mice and blockade of p-induced depletion of 5-HT in rats. The firing of 5-HT-ergic dorsal raphe neurons in rats was decreased after intravenous administration of low doses of 403U76 as would be predicted for a 5-HT uptake inhibitor. 403U76 antagonized tetrabenazine-induced sedation, an effect associated with inhibitors of noradrenaline uptake, but not with inhibitors of 5-HT uptake. Thus 403U76 affects noradrenergic as well as 5-HT-ergic neurotransmission in-vivo. Potential anxiolytic activity was indicated by reductions in isolation-induced vocalizations in neonates after 403U76 treatment. Low intravenous doses of 403U76 were well tolerated and had no sustained cardiovascular effects. There were no deleterious behavioural side-effects at active doses. Effects observed on isolated tissues or transmitter receptors occurred only at very high concentrations and were pharmacologically unimportant. Thus 403U76 can be considered a potential antidepressant/anxiolytic agent that is a potent, selective inhibitor of 5-HT and noradrenaline reuptake.

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗
PubMed1995

[Utilization of social departments before and after effectiveness of the 'need for disability care' health service reform in Mannheim].

Constituting a part of the new health reform in Germany ("Bundesgesundheitsreformgesetz"), a new arrangement to support home care for the very frail and severely disabled took effect in 1991. Since then the costs of basic nursing care and home-making services are partly covered by health insurance. To examine the impact of the new arrangement on the use of the community nursing services (the so-called "Sozialstationen") we compared two cross-sections of elderly patients under care in the city of Mannheim. The cross-sections encompassed all over 65-year old patients visited during January 1990 (first cross-section) and during May 1993 (second cross-section) by the "Sozialstationen" in Mannheim. The characteristics of the patients (degree of disability in everyday life, level of cognitive functioning etc.), together with the forms of care provided, were recorded by the nurses. The results show that the number of patients cared for by the "Sozialstationen" was smaller in May 1993 (n = 1649) than in January 1990 (n = 1842); especially the number of the severely disabled and demented patients was reduced. Although these findings can be viewed only as preliminary, one can conclude that--contrary to all expectations--there was no run on the "Sozialstationen" in the course of the implementation of the new social code.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

The value of HIDA scans in the initial evaluation of patients for cholecystitis.

One hundred twenty-two consecutive patients who had hepato-iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scans over a 5-month period were reviewed. These scans were found to have 94% sensitivity, but only 36% specificity for correctly diagnosing pathological variants of cholecystitis. Frequently, HIDA scans were misinterpreted to show common bile duct obstruction (CBDO); only 20% of cases of CBDO suggested on HIDA could be confirmed surgically. Sonography gave 88% to 90% sensitivity and 91% specificity in correctly diagnosing pathological variants of cholecystitis and correctly demonstrated CBDO in 80% of the cases. As first-line studies to evaluate biliary tract disease, HIDA scans are costly and should be eliminated.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

Rational vancomycin use recommendations.

The increasing occurrence of VRE will dramatically affect the management of infections in hospitalized patients, as well as increase morbidity and mortality. Vancomycin is the therapy of choice for certain gram-positive infections in patients with significant allergic histories to beta-lactam antibiotics and for infections with gram-positive microorganisms that are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. Conservative use of vancomycin in the future may help to avoid the further development of resistant organisms.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMed1994

Activation of mechanonociceptors by pro-inflammatory peptides melittin and PLAP peptide.

Studies were conducted to characterize the chemical reactivity of A and C fiber mechanical and mechanoheat nociceptors that innervate the goat palatal mucosa. In mechanical nociceptors, no significant chemical reactivity to either serotonin, bradykinin, prostaglandin E1, or prostaglandin E2 was observed, regardless of whether substances were injected singly or in spaced sequential combinations. Weak reactivity was observed in mechanoheat nociceptors. In contrast, both mechanical and mechanoheat nociceptors were activated by novel proinflammatory peptides. Nineteen of 30 mechanonociceptors and 12 of 13 mechanoheat nociceptors were activated by the insect venom peptide, melittin or its endogenous mammalian homologue PLAP (phospholipase A2 activating protein) peptide. Low threshold mechanoreceptors were never activated by melittin or PLAP peptide.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Incidence and relative risk of dementia in an urban elderly population: findings of a prospective field study.

To ascertain the frequency and distribution of new cases of dementing illness in the elderly population of Mannheim (population 308,000), a survey sample of community residents of > 65 years of age was re-examined after an interval of 7-8 years, and a sample of elderly persons in long-stay care after 5-6 years. The estimated annual incidence rate for all forms of dementia, after correction for ageing of the samples, was 15.4 per 1000 persons aged > 65, made up of dementia of Alzheimer type (8.9 per 1000), vascular dementia (4.4 per 1000) and other forms (2.1 per 1000). Apart from the expected association with age > 65 years, the most powerful predictors of onset of a dementing illness were residence in long-stay care and the presence of minor cognitive deficits at the initial examination, each of which was associated with a highly significant increase in risk. In addition, a number of socio-demographic characteristics (marital status, occupational history and quality of present living accommodation) was found to be predictive, though analysis of larger samples or pooled research data would be necessary to establish their importance in this respect. The findings suggest that identification of mild cognitive impairment on screening could prove helpful in assessing risk for dementia from two to three years before the condition becomes clinically apparent.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Sociology in the context of social psychiatry.

The author addresses various aspects of the interface between sociology and social psychiatry, among them the labelling process related to mental deviance, problems related to diagnosis and social ethology. The need for interdisciplinary work is emphasized, not least in the context of prevention. It is underlined that effective preventive measures can precede the full causal elucidation of a disease.

Community Psychiatry↗
PubMed1994

Folnegović & Folnevogić-Smalc's "Schizophrenia in Croatia: inter-regional differences in prevalence and a comment on constant incidence".

"STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to examine why differences exist in schizophrenia prevalence and risk in some areas of Croatia, when schizophrenia incidence rates do not appear to vary. DESIGN--Areas differing by schizophrenia admission rates in patients born in 1953 and admitted by the age of 31 years are compared using a number of indicators relating both to general population characteristics and to those of schizophrenic cases in these populations. SETTING--The study covers the whole of Croatia (4,601,469 inhabitants, 1981 census). SUBJECTS--By the age of 31 years, out of 80,445 individuals born in Croatia in 1953, 464 were admitted for and diagnosed as having schizophrenia. MAIN RESULTS--Admission risk rates are higher in those parts of Croatia where emigration rates are high and lower where immigration rates are high. There is also a positive correlation with schizophrenia prevalence and manic depressive psychosis rates. There is a negative correlation with age of onset of schizophrenia and with schizophrenic reproduction rates. In the study areas, hospital incidence rates are not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS--Economic migration and negative selection in the domestic population are likely to be the most significant factors leading to differences in schizophrenia prevalence. The approximately equal incidence rates in the population, with different prevalence and admission risks, are linked to differences in the disease onset among schizophrenics with a positive family history for this condition. In other words, these patients, when part of the population with a greater prevalence and a greater hereditary loading, experience the onset more often at an earlier age. Thus they have a lower reproduction rate than in a population with a lower prevalence and a lower hereditary loading. Thus incidence rates in populations with different prevalences and different hereditary loads are maintained roughly equal over generations."

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Person-environment assessments in occupational therapy.

Occupational therapists have begun to recognize the importance of considering how the environment influences occupational performance. Models of person-environment fit provide a theoretical context within which occupational therapists can consider the influence of the environment on function. The challenge for occupational therapists is to select assessments that incorporate concepts of person-environment fit. However, limited awareness of appropriate environmental assessments that have undergone psychometric testing has limited their introduction into clinical practice. This paper reviews 41 environmental assessments and considers each in terms of its purpose, environmental attribute, environmental application, clinical utility, instrument development, and psychometric testing. A case example illustrates the applicability to the practice of occupational therapy.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Beam shaping for microwave waveguide hyperthermia applicators.

PURPOSE: Hyperthermia treatments commonly use single element microwave waveguide applicators. The microwave beam patterns produced by these applicators are often non-uniform. As a result, hot spots are formed in the heated tissue and therapeutic temperatures are reached in only small areas of the treatment field. We have constructed new coupling boluses that improve the heating patterns of external microwave applicators. METHODS: The microwave beam transmitted through the bolus is modified by microwave absorbing saline/gelatin pads. The pads can be designed to result in a uniform heating pattern over a large area or alternatively, complex heating patterns can be generated for specific clinical applications. An analysis of the effect of bolus design parameters on microwave absorption patterns is presented. The heating patterns of the MA-100 and MA-120 microwave waveguide applicators have been measured in muscle and fat phantom materials with both the manufacturer's boluses and the new boluses. RESULTS: In the case of the MA-100, the area above the 70% heating level measured in a muscle phantom was increased by a factor of 2.3 by an absorbing pad bolus. Similarly, the heating area of the MA-120 was increased by a factor of 2.6 by an absorbing pad bolus. The boluses were tested in a clinical setting by measuring tissue temperature profiles in patients under different bolus arrangements. The area over which therapeutic temperature was achieved was increased considerably when the absorbing bolus was used. A second bolus was designed for the MA-120 to produce a ring heating pattern for the treatment of a breast cancer patient who had developed recurrences at the periphery of a skin graft. The heating pattern produced in a muscle phantom is compared with tissue temperature profiles measured during the hyperthermia treatment of this patient. CONCLUSIONS: Microwave absorbing filters using saline pads significantly improve the heating patterns of microwave waveguide hyperthermia applicators. This improvement was confirmed in clinical application where much greater areas of homogeneous heating were observed. The technology was extended to produce complex heating patterns for special clinical applications.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1993

Parallels between properties of high-threshold mechanoreceptors of the goat oral mucosa and human pain report.

In the following experiments, we examined parallels between properties of A-delta high-threshold mechanoreceptors (HTMs; mechanonociceptors, MN, and intense pressure receptors, IPR) innervating the goat mucosa and human mucosal pain report. As suggested in previous studies, activation thresholds of afferents which are generally considered to be mechanical nociceptors are far below mechanical pain thresholds. It was determined that classification of nociceptors by frequency thresholds, i.e., the pressure at which HTMs maintained a minimum frequency (97 g/mm2 and 117 g/mm2 for IPRs and MNs respectively) brings afferent reactivity into alignment with perceptual events. The range of reactivity of the nociceptor pool paralleled pain report from "faint-weak" (142 g/mm2) to "strong-intense" (277 g/mm2). It is suggested that coding of intense mechanical pain from compressive forces is likely to arise from both individual afferents, whose reactivity spanned the range, and from recruitment of afferent populations with progressively higher thresholds.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1993

Single spies and battalions: the clinical epidemiology of mental disorders.

Clinical epidemiology, a term that has been variously defined, is used here to refer to a discipline which, commencing with examination and diagnosis of the individual patient who presents in medical practice, proceeds to study the occurrence of similar, possibly connected cases in the local community, and in so doing may provide hypotheses for population-based studies of disease and its risk factors. While the relevance of this discipline to the modern practice of clinical psychiatry remains largely unexplored, its importance in the search for causes of mental disorder is attested by many instances, both historical and more recent, in which the spread or clustering of psychiatric syndromes in populations could be related to nutritional deficiency, infectious disease, the presence of environmental neurotoxins, the social communication of psychopathology or the transmission of abnormal, harmful behaviour patterns within family groups. Observations made in clinical practice have repeatedly served as the starting point for epidemiological investigation of mental disorders, while conversely epidemiological findings have influenced clinical thinking about their classification, diagnosis, prognosis and morbid risk. A review of the relevant literature underlines the need for a keener awareness of environmental risk factors and a fundamentally epidemiological frame of reference in trying to grapple with the aetiological problems of mental disorder.

Disease Outbreaks↗