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Biomedical subjects

B Miller

Publications and source records attributed to B Miller.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Diabetic neovascularization: permeability and ultrastructure.

The permeability of newly formed blood vessels in proliferative diabetic retinopathy at different stages of development was correlated with their ultrastructural features. The young proliferating vessels were much more permeable to fluorescein than were the older vessels. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the blood vessels within the young intravitreal proliferating fronds had intermediate interendothelial junctions, whereas the blood vessels within the old neovascular preretinal membranes had tight interendothelial junctions of the macula occludens type. Fenestrations were observed only rarely in the endothelial wall of either the young or the older proliferating vessels. We conclude that the principal route of fluorescein leakage from the newly formed blood vessels in proliferative diabetic retinopathy is via the interendothelial clefts.

Adult↗

[Benign recurring intrahepatic cholestasis--a case report].

The diagnosis of benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis was made in a 40 year old female. Seven episodes of jaundice persisting up to 6 months in lengths lead to 3 laparotomies, numerous peritoneoscopies and needle biopsies of the liver. Elevation of conjugated serum bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels and histopathological confirmation of intrahepatic cholestasis without cholangitis were the main characteristics during the episodes of cholestatic jaundice. However, hepatic histology and liver function were normal in remission periods. Drug induced cholestasis was ruled out by careful history. A sister also suffered from 4 episodes of intrahepatic cholestasis. The etiology of the disease is probably of a genetic origin. The pathogenesis remains unclear. There is no specific treatment to prevent or shorten the occurrence of cholestatic episodes. The patients are advised to avoid pregnancy and oral contraceptives, since both will induce icteric phases.

Adult↗

DL-threo-beta-fluoroasparagine inhibits asparagine-linked glycosylation in cell-free lysates.

The effect of beta-fluoroasparagine on N-linked glycosylation was examined in a cell-free translation system in which glycosylation is coupled to protein synthesis. The threo-isomer markedly inhibited glycosylation at a concentration of 1 mM, and this effect was blocked by L-asparagine, indicating that glycosylation was inhibited secondary to incorporation of the asparagine analog into protein. The erythro-isomer, at similar concentrations, was not incorporated into protein and had no effect on glycosylation. threo-beta-Fluoroasparagine is highly toxic to some mammalian cells in culture. Our observations suggest that its toxicity may be due in part to the failure of the fluoroasparagine-containing protein to become glycosylated. The data suggest that this analog will be useful for examining the structural determinants for glycosylation.

Animals↗

Juvenile progressive bulbar palsy. Clinical and electrodiagnostic findings.

Differentiation of juvenile progressive bulbar palsy from bulbar myasthenia gravis is difficult. Characteristics of both may include ocular involvement, fluctuant course, abnormal fatigability, and normal acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody titers. Electrodiagnostic evaluation may demonstrate moment-to-moment variability in motor unit action potential amplitude, fibrillation potentials, and decremental motor evoked responses. Increased jitter with blocking may be the most prominent electrodiagnostic abnormality in either disorder, even in asymptomatic extremity muscles. Complete paralysis of facial muscles with electrical silence on needle electromyography, low-amplitude facial evoked responses without a decrement to repetitive stimulation, increased jitter and fiber density in asymptomatic extremity muscles, and normal AChR antibody levels suggested juvenile progressive bulbar palsy in two patients initially thought to have bulbar myasthenia. Early differentiation of these disorders is important because of therapeutic, genetic, and prognostic implications.

Adolescent↗

The use of a dynamometer in nutritional assessment.

Standard anthropometric techniques may be unreliable in patients with subcutaneous edema or dehydration. In order to circumvent this dilemma, 98 male subjects were studied utilizing a hand-held dynamometer in conjunction with other nutritional assessment techniques. Following a nutritional assessment using anthropometric measurements, patients were characterized as being well-nourished or malnourished using three definitive measures: percentage of ideal body weight, triceps skinfold, and midarm muscle circumference. Once malnutrition was assessed, no attempt was made to distinguish between marasmus, hypoalbuminemia, or mixed marasmus types of malnutrition. A correlation matrix done between the two groups revealed no statistically significant correlation between any of the measured parameters. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant correlations between patients in both groups (independent variables) with respect to midarm muscle circumference and dynamometer reading in the dominant arm (dependent variables). Further validation of this technique is required before it can become a standard component of nutritional assessment.

Analysis of Variance↗

Estrogen-stimulated neurophysin in chronic renal failure.

Estrogen-stimulated neurophysin (ESN) was determined by radioimmunoassay in three groups of patients with chronic renal failure: predialysis patients, patients on hemodialysis and patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. ESN levels were significantly elevated in all patients. ESN of these patients is undistinguishable from highly purified pituitary ESN. Immunological and physicochemical analyses of ESN in patients with renal failure suggest that the elevated plasma level is due to a failure of renal clearance. In addition, heterogeneity of urinary ESN, revealed by multiple immunoreactive peaks after gel filtration, indicates altered renal metabolism.

Adolescent↗

Time estimation of a secondary event.

This study explored time estimation for a secondary event while the subjects were attentively engaged in a primary one. It also examined whether the perception of time is hemispherically lateralized as estimated by the dichotic listening technique. A tone of 500 Hz was delivered to either ear equally often while the subject was shadowing a recorded passage also presented to either ear. At the end of the tone, the subject estimated the tone's duration. There were three levels of shadowing demands, i.e., control, slow and fast, and four tonal durations, i.e., 6, 14, 27, 63 sec. Subjects tended to underestimate more the tonal duration when the primary task, i.e., shadowing the passage, was more demanding. No clearcut indication of hemispheric lateralization of temporal duration was found.

Adult↗

The role of dietary antigen in the aetiology of post weaning diarrhoea.

Experiments were undertaken to investigate whether a hypersensitivity response to dietary antigen might be a predisposing factor in the aetiology of post weaning diarrhoea. The results indicated that: 1. very small amounts of food given to baby pigs before weaning significantly increased the severity and accelerated the onset of the disease; 2. post weaning diarrhoea was dependent upon the presence within the diet of antigenic material; 3. weaning diets containing little antigenic material had less effect upon sucrase levels in the brush borders than did diets rich in antigens. These results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that immune mediated intestinal damage may predispose to post weaning diarrhoea.

Animal Feed↗

Asteroid bodies--an ultrastructural study.

An ultrastructural study of asteroid bodies in a vitreous aspirate from a patient suffering visual loss as a result of asteroid hyalosis is presented. Under appropriate conditions of fixation and high resolution transmission electron microscopy, a lamellar arrangement with a periodicity of 4.6 nm was observed. This lamellar arrangement is typical of liquid crystalline phases of lipids in water. X-ray micro-analysis confirmed the presence of calcium and phosphorus in the asteroid bodies. We propose that the asteroid bodies are not true crystals but rather liquid crystals of phospholipids in the vitreous humor.

Aged↗

[Criteria for choice of an anesthetic technic for laryngeal laser microsurgery using the laser in adults].

Laryngeal microsurgery by means of the laser involves anesthetic constraints regarding mainly the mode of ventilation during operation. The principal techniques and different anesthetic protocols are discussed. The two main criteria for the choice of method appear to be the permeability of the laryngeal passage and the patient's general condition and history. The two principal methods proposed are high frequency jet ventilation and ventilation controlled by a protected intubation tube.

Adult↗

Bacterial flora of the external canal in diabetics and non-diabetics.

Diabetics are prone to severe Pseudomonas otitis externa, but it is unknown if this is due to abnormal colonization of the external auditory canal. The bacterial and fungal flora of 26 diabetics and 29 age-matched controls was studied and found to be similar. Subjects with diabetes had more cerumen and a past history of more frequent external otitis than non-diabetics. It is concluded that diabetics probably have more frequent and severe external otitis because of undefined abnormal host defense mechanisms and not because of enhanced colonization by pathogens.

Bacteria↗

Identification of eleven human hemoglobin variants by high-performance liquid chromatography: additional data on functional properties and clinical expression.

Eleven abnormal hemoglobins were detected in the course of cord blood screening or in the evaluation of evident hematological problems in individual cases. Identification of the variant in each case was done by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); HPLC provides a rapid, sensitive means for the examination of abnormal hemoglobins. Some of the 11 variants that were identified have been described repeatedly and are included to provide information on the HPLC behavior of tryptic peptides. Others are much rarer. Additional information is provided about the hematological and clinical expression as well as ethnic and geographical distribution of the abnormal hemoglobin.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗