Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Hammond

Publications and source records attributed to B Hammond.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Results of a 90-day safety assurance study with rats fed grain from corn rootworm-protected corn.

The results of a 90-day rat feeding study with YieldGard (YieldGard Rootworm Corn is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology, LLC.) Rootworm corn (MON 863) grain that is protected against feeding damage caused by corn rootworm larvae are presented. Corn rootworm-protection was accomplished through the introduction of a cry3Bb1 coding sequence into the corn genome for in planta production of a modified Cry3Bb1 protein from Bacillus thuringiensis. Grain from MON 863 and its near isogenic control were separately formulated into rodent diets at levels of 11% and 33% (w/w) by Purina Mills, Inc. Additionally, six groups of rats were fed diets containing grain from different conventional (non-biotechnology-derived) reference varieties. The responses of rats fed diets containing MON 863 were compared to those of rats fed grain from conventional corn varieties. All diets were nutritionally balanced and conformed to Purina Mills, Inc. specifications for Certified LabDiet 5002. There were a total of 400 rats in the study divided into 10 groups of 20 rats/sex/group. Overall health, body weight gain, food consumption, clinical pathology parameters (hematology, blood chemistry, urinalysis), organ weights, gross and microscopic appearance of tissues were comparable between groups fed diets containing MON 863 and conventional corn varieties. This study complements extensive agronomic, compositional and farm animal feeding studies with MON 863 grain, confirming that it is as safe and nutritious as existing conventional corn varieties.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Role of pancreatic duct stenting in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and stent placement are relatively new alternatives to surgery for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of pancreatic duct stent placement for the treatment of chronic pancreatitis. METHODS: This study included 89 patients treated with pancreatic stents between 1993 and 2002. The patients were contacted via telephone for a personal interview with regard to pain, medication usage, weight loss or gain, and eating patterns. Additionally, medication usage before and after treatment was documented from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health Services' electronic reporting system for narcotic use. RESULTS: Of the 89 patients, 9 were deceased, 5 either refused to interview or could not be contacted, and 75 were interviewed. Significant weight gain exceeding 15 lb after treatment was experienced by 22%, whereas only 4% lost weight. A majority of the patients (68%) noted that they had less severe relapses or no relapses after treatment. The patients reported a decrease in pain level on a 10-point scale from 8.7 to 4.1 (53% decrease) after treatment. A decrease in pain medication usage was reported by 47% of the patients, and 83% considered their treatment successful. The Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Report (KASPER) was obtained before and after treatment for 55 patients. According to this statewide electronic reporting system, 63% had a documented decrease in narcotic use. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study support the use of pancreatic duct stenting as an option before surgical intervention for these difficult-to-manage patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Results of a 13 week safety assurance study with rats fed grain from glyphosate tolerant corn.

The current study presents the results of a 13 week feeding study in rats with grain from Roundup Ready corn which is tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate. Herbicide tolerance was accomplished through the introduction of cp4 epsps coding sequences into the corn genome for in planta production of CP4 EPSPS enzymes. Unlike related corn EPSPS enzymes, CP4 EPSPS enzymes are not inhibited by the herbicide glyphosate. Purina TestDiets formulated Roundup Ready corn grain into rodent diets at levels of 11 and 33% (w/w). The responses of rats fed diets containing Roundup Ready corn grain were compared to that of rats fed diets containing non-transgenic grain (controls). All diets were nutritionally balanced and conformed to Purina Mills, Inc. specifications for Certified LabDiet 5002. There were 400 rats in the study divided into 10 groups of 20 rats/sex/group. Overall health, body weight, food consumption, clinical pathology parameters (hematology, blood chemistry, urinalysis), organ weights, gross and microscopic appearance of tissues were comparable between groups fed diets containing Roundup Ready and control corn grain. This study complements extensive agronomic, compositional and farm animal feeding studies with Roundup Ready corn grain, confirming it is as safe and nutritious as existing commercial corn hybrids.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2000

Effect of hand sanitizer use on elementary school absenteeism.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have indicated a connection between handwashing and illness-related absenteeism in school settings. The difficulty of ensuring consistent and effective handwashing among student populations has also been noted. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer in the classroom to help decrease the illness-related absentee rate for elementary school students. METHODS: This study involved 5 individual school districts, 16 individual schools, and more than 6000 students in Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, and California. Individual schools in each district were paired into product and control groups. In the product group schools, an alcohol gel hand sanitizer was used by the students and staff when entering and leaving the classroom. Absenteeism due to infection was recorded, and the data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The overall reduction in absenteeism due to infection in the schools included in this study was 19.8% for schools that used an alcohol gel hand sanitizer compared with the control schools (P <.05). Data from the school system with the largest teacher population (n = 246) showed that teacher absenteeism decreased 10.1% (trend) in the schools where sanitizer was used. CONCLUSION: Elementary school absenteeism due to infection is significantly reduced when an alcohol gel hand sanitizer is used in the classroom as part of a hand hygiene program.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1993

A prospective European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Genitourinary Group randomized trial comparing transurethral resection followed by a single intravesical instillation of epirubicin or water in single stage Ta, T1 papillary carcinoma of the bladder.

A total of 431 eligible patients with solitary, primary or recurrent stages Ta and T1 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder was included in a randomized multicenter trial to compare a single intravesical instillation of 80 mg. epirubicin with water given immediately after resection, with respect to the disease-free interval and recurrence rate. The interval to initial recurrence was significantly better in favor of the epirubicin group. After a mean followup of 2 years it became evident that the recurrence rate after a single epirubicin instillation was decreased by nearly half with the same trend being found in all subgroups examined. Toxicity was mainly restricted to bladder irritation in plus or minus 10% of the cases. Pathology review brought considerable changes in T category from stages T1 to Ta (53%). Changes in grade were less pronounced but nevertheless important.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed1993

Acute effects of ethanol on hepatic endocytosis and processing of insulin in perfused rat liver.

This study utilizes the perfused rat liver combined with subcellular fractionation and compartmental analysis to investigate the effects of ethanol on hepatic uptake, endocytosis, and processing of insulin. At 4 min after the start of a 2-min pulse of radiolabeled insulin, increasing ethanol concentrations progressively inhibited insulin uptake by the liver (57% at 50 mM ethanol). Subcellular fractionation of the perfused livers showed a progressive shift in distribution from a predominantly endosomal location (control) to a bimodal distribution between endosomes and plasma membrane. This could be largely accounted for by a specific reduction in the endosome-associated insulin. Binding studies showed no changes in the binding properties of the plasma membrane insulin receptor. Compartmental analysis of the perfusate efflux curves confirmed the lack of effect of ethanol on the binding constants but showed a significant decrease in the endocytic rate constant (50%) together with an increase in the retroendocytic rate constant (33%). Simulation studies with the compartmental model showed that these changes could account for the observed decrease in uptake by the liver. No changes were found in the subsequent endocytic degradation of insulin.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A plea for cold biopsy, fulguration and immediate bladder instillation with Epirubicin in small superficial bladder tumors. Data from the EORTC GU Group Study 30863.

The sensitivity of cystoscopy to distinguish infiltrating from superficial bladder tumors is very high. Only 28 (5.6%) of 501 single tumors, which were considered to be superficial by the urologist at visual inspection, were found to be infiltrating on pathological examination. If the size of the tumor and/or the cytological grade are considered, one can further reduce the number of infiltrating tumors missed, but it was impossible to identify them all. The recurrence rate of tumors at the resection site 4 weeks after TUR suggests the importance of trauma of the bladder mucosa in promoting recurrence. A single instillation of Epirubicin immediately after TUR prevents implantation of tumor cells and reduces the recurrence rate to nearly 50%. A combination of cold forceps biopsy and fulguration may be the most reasonable treatment for small bladder tumors.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed1992

The use of targeting criteria in hospitalized HMO patients: results from the demonstration phase of the Hospitalized Older Persons Evaluation (HOPE) Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the yield of standardized targeting criteria for identifying hospitalized HMO patients who are at high risk for mortality and nursing home placement and, therefore, may be appropriate for comprehensive geriatric assessment. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Four HMO (Southern California Kaiser-Permanente) hospitals. SUBJECTS: 3,697 patients 65 years of age or older admitted to any inpatient service from July 1 through September 30, 1990. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Screening measures for standardized targeting criteria, administered 24-48 hours after admission. RESULTS: Overall, 35.1% of patients screened met at least one inclusionary criterion, which is considerably higher than other published reports. The most commonly met criteria were incontinence, impairment in performing activities of daily living, malnutrition, and immobility. The percentage of patients meeting at least one criterion and meeting each criterion varied considerably among hospitals. The vast majority of patients (83%) who were judged appropriate for assessment met at least three criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The yield of standardized criteria differs when applied to patients in different health care systems and to patients at different hospitals within a health care system, which may reflect differences in the populations being served and the practice styles of physicians and the delivery system. Because no single criterion identified more than approximately half of patients who were judged appropriate for assessment, it is likely that a battery of criteria will be necessary to identify these patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Urinary excretion of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous compounds in the chronic ethanol-fed rat.

1. The metabolic consequences of chronic ethanol feeding was investigated by assay of urinary metabolites. Male Wistar rats were fed a liquid diet containing 35% of total energy as ethanol or isovolumetric, isocaloric and isonitrogenous amounts of the same diet in which ethanol was substituted by isocaloric glucose (controls). 2. At 6 weeks the entire skeletal muscle mass was reduced by approximately 20%. The urinary excretion of nitrogen, urea and uric acid increased by between 23 and 128%. Urinary creatinine excretion was not significantly altered. 3. Urinary excretion of magnesium was significantly increased by 43%. Urinary excretion of sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphate was increased slightly (i.e. 5-22%), but this change was not statistically significant. 4. Proton n.m.r. spectroscopic analysis showed that ethanol feeding reduced the urinary excretion of citrate and 2-oxoglutarate (by approximately 50%), suggesting decreased citric acid cycle activity. There was an increased excretion of alanine (44%), but excretion of succinate and acetate was not significantly altered. Ethanol in the urine of ethanol-fed rats comprised approximately 2% of total ethanol intake and less than 1% of total energy intake. 5. Lactose was detectable in urine of ethanol-fed rats, but not in control rats, reflecting the reported decreased intestinal lactase activity and increased gut permeability in alcoholics. Urinary galactose excretion decreased by 41%, but relatively large increases in lactate excretion (50%) did not achieve statistical significance. 6. It was concluded that chronic ethanol feeding causes disturbances in whole-body nitrogen homoeostasis and alterations in intermediary metabolism.

Alanine↗
PubMed1991

An investigation into the effects of aminoguanidine treatment on the plasma and blood of free-fed and dietary-restricted rats.

An investigation has been made into the effect of oral aminoguanidine (50-60 mg kg-1 day-1) on the blood biochemistry of male Wistar rats which either had free access to food or were dietary-restricted (50% of the food consumed by the free access group). In control rats (i.e. without aminoguanidine treatment) three weeks of food restriction caused significant increases in plasma sodium and albumin and the erythrocyte count, haematocrit and haemoglobin. There were reductions in plasma calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase activity, urea, triglycerides, creatinine, glucose and the red cell volume. Similar effects of food restriction were observed in aminoguanidine-treated rats. Aminoguanidine ingestion in free-fed animals caused a reduction in plasma creatinine concentration. In dietary-restricted rats, aminoguanidine ingestion reduced plasma sodium and total plasma proteins (largely as a result of a decline in albumin), and increased plasma urea concentrations. Aminoguanidine was added to plasma of control rats in-vitro to determine whether it interfered with the assay of urea and creatinine. At concentrations of 0.1 to 10 mg mL-1, aminoguanidine had no effect on urea determinations. However, aminoguanidine significantly reduced the apparent concentration of plasma creatinine by between 7 to 81%. The changes in plasma analytes in aminoguanidine-treated rats may be indicative of minor hepatic perturbations or kidney function, but the data also imply that prior nutritional state is a determinant of aminoguanidine effects.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Activity of cardiac enzymes measured in the coronary sinus in acute myocardial infarction.

Three patients with acute infarction of the anterior wall of the heart underwent catheterisation of the coronary sinus. Samples were taken for estimation of activity of cardiac enzymes. A small gradient was demonstrated between the sinus and the venous blood, suggesting that the coronary sinus is the conduit by which these enzymes are liberated into the systemic circulation.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Antimicrobial effect of chlorhexidine in a controlled release delivery system.

Chlorhexidine is widely used as a mouth rinse in the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases and dental caries. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial effect of chlorhexidine in a controlled release delivery system. The controlled release dispenser comprised a polymeric inner core matrix containing the medicament with an outer vinyl membrane controlling the drug release. The effect on the following bacteria was studied: Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Actinomyces viscosus, Streptococcus mutans, Wolinella recta, Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides intermedius, Eikenella corrodens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Enterobacter cloacae. Chlorhexidine-containing vinyl patches with a diameter of 5.5 mm were placed on blood agar plates containing the various bacteria. The plates were incubated aerobically or anaerobically at 37 degrees C for 24 h or longer, when appropriate, and examined for inhibition of bacterial growth. Distinct zones of inhibition were seen surrounding all vinyl patches on all plates with all bacteria. Thus, the vinyl dispenser appeared to be an effective vehicle for releasing chlorhexidine to a localized area such as the surface of a tooth, a periodontal pocket, or a root canal.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1990

Measurement of protein synthesis by the phenylalanine flooding dose technique: effect of phenylalanine and anaesthesia on plasma electrolyte, enzyme and metabolite levels.

Ten minutes after an intravenous flooding dose of phenylalanine to rats, plasma sodium and calcium concentrations were slightly reduced (by 2-7%) but no effects on potassium or phosphate were observed. Creatine kinase activities were significantly increased by phenylalanine injection (by 39%), but alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase activities were unaltered. Plasma concentrations of total proteins, albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, creatinine and glucose were also unaffected. In the presence of anaesthesia, phenylalanine injection had almost identical effects, although the increase in creatine kinase activities did not reach statistical significance. Anaesthesia for 10 min reduced plasma potassium concentrations (by 27%), and calcium (by 5%), though phosphate and sodium were unaltered. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase were reduced by between 36-52%, but alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase activities were unaltered by anaesthesia. Plasma concentrations of total proteins and albumin were also reduced (both by 9%), but glucose concentrations were increased (by 33%). Anaesthesia had no other significant effects on cholesterol, triglycerides, urea or creatinine concentrations. The qualitative effects of anaesthesia in the presence of raised free phenylalanine concentrations were similar. It was concluded that, except for creatine kinase, determinations of plasma constituents in phenylalanine-injected rats could be made without overt interpretational errors. However, caution is required in interpreting data on plasma constituents from anaesthetized rats.

Alanine Transaminase↗