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Biomedical subjects

B James

Publications and source records attributed to B James.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Seasonal affective disorder: some epidemiological findings from a tropical climate.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a predominantly summer-focussed pattern of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) exists in tropical northern Australia. METHOD: A mail survey containing a modified form of the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was administered to 176 households in the city of Townsville (latitude: 19 degrees south). RESULTS: Using previously reported screening criteria, 9% of respondents reported a degree of summer impairment indicative of SAD, while the incidence rate for winter SAD was 1.7%. This summer-winter ratio is typically reversed in more temperate latitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Excessive heat and humidity were reported to be the two most influential environmental factors affecting mood and behaviour. It is likely that respondents meeting criteria for summer SAD represent the extreme end of a spectrum of summer-related mood and behaviour change that affects many individuals in northern Australia. Strategies for further clinical and epidemiological research on SAD in tropical climates are proposed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Cappuccino, a Drosophila maternal effect gene required for polarity of the egg and embryo, is related to the vertebrate limb deformity locus.

We report the molecular isolation of cappuccino (capu), a gene required for localization of molecular determinants within the developing Drosophila oocyte. The carboxy-terminal half of the capu protein is closely related to that of the vertebrate limb deformity locus, which is known to function in polarity determination in the developing vertebrate limb. In addition, capu shares both a proline-rich region and a 70-amino-acid domain with a number of other genes, two of which also function in pattern formation, the Saccharomyes cerevisiae BNI1 gene and the Aspergillus FigA gene. We also show that capu mutant oocytes have abnormal microtubule distributions and premature microtubule-based cytoplasmic streaming within the oocyte, but that neither the speed nor the timing of the cytoplasmic streaming correlates with the strength of the mutant allele. This suggests that the premature cytoplasmic streaming in capu mutant oocytes does not suffice to explain the patterning defects. By inducing cytoplasmic streaming in wild-type oocytes during mid-oogenesis, we show that premature cytoplasmic streaming can displace staufen protein from the posterior pole, but not gurken mRNA from around the oocyte nucleus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Tourette's syndrome in New Zealand. A postal survey.

It has become increasingly evident that Tourette's syndrome (TS) is not as rare as was once thought and substantial cohorts from various parts of the world have been reported. The clinical characteristics seem independent of culture as they appear to occur with some degree of uniformity irrespective of the country of origin. We investigated the point prevalence and report the clinical characteristics of TS in New Zealand. Forty probable cases were identified and the symptoms were similar to those described in cohorts from other parts of the world.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Training--have your cake and eat it.

Training programmes which take staff away from the workplace for long periods are unpopular with managers. In this special report we look at developments in on-the-job training: how open learning has become the main growth area in staff development; why national vocational qualifications aren't yet living up to the ideal; how Cornwall providers have replaced 'sitting beside Nellie' with more effective IT training.

Inservice Training↗
PubMed1992

The role of electrode size on the incidence of spreading depression and on cortical cerebral blood flow as measured by H2 clearance.

Cerebral blood flow was measured by the H2 clearance method 30 and 60 min after the implantation of 300, 250, 125, or 50 microns diameter platinum-iridium electrodes 2 mm deep into the right parietal cortex of normothermic, normocarbic halothane-anesthetized rats. Another group of animals had 50 microns electrodes inserted 1 mm. In all animals, the presence or absence of a wave of spreading depression (SD) was noted at the time of implantation, with recordings made with glass micropipettes. H2 flow values were compared with those measured in gray matter from the same anatomical region (but from different rats), using [3H]nicotine. The incidence of SD ranged from 60% following insertion of 300 microns electrodes to 0% with 50 microns electrodes. H2 clearance flows also varied with electrode size, from 77 +/- 21 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (mean +/- standard deviation) with 300 microns electrodes to 110 +/- 31 and 111 +/- 16 ml 100 g-1 min-1 with 125 and 50 microns electrodes, respectively (insertion depth of 2 mm). A CBF value of 155 +/- 60 ml 100 g-1 min-1 was obtained with 50 micron electrodes inserted only 1 mm. Cortical gray matter blood flow measured with [3H]nicotine was 154 +/- 35 ml 100 g-1 min-1. When the role of SD in subsequent flow measurements was examined, there was a gradual increase in CBF between 30 and 60 min after electrode insertion in those animals with SD, while no such change was seen in rats without SD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗