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Biomedical subjects

B Perry

Publications and source records attributed to B Perry.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Hormonal responses in pubertal males to pulsatile gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) administration.

Twenty-two boys (9 with delayed puberty and 13 with short stature) ages 12.3 - 17.8 yr, and 10 adult males with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (ages 17.3 - 41.1 yr) have been studied following pulsatile, sc GnRH therapy (240 ng/kg/pulse) over 6 days. Mean pre- and post-therapy LH and FSH concentrations were estimated by 15 min blood sampling over 3-h periods immediately before and at the end of the treatment period. There were significant correlations between the mean pre- and posttreatment LH and FSH concentrations (r = 0.82, p less than 0.001 and r = 0.51, p less than 0.02, respectively) for the 2 groups of peripubertal boys when assessed together. Nine of the 10 adults with hypogonadism showed proportionately greater gonadotropin increments following pulsatile therapy when compared with the peripubertal boys. Standard bolus GnRH tests (100 micrograms iv) did not differentiate between the three groups of patients before pulsatile GnRH therapy. Bolus GnRH tests could predict the subsequent response to pulsatile therapy in the peripubertal boys only. There was no significant change in LH increments following the GnRH bolus tests in either group, after pulsatile GnRH administration (p greater than 0.1). Early response to pulsatile GnRH administration is dependent upon the maturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis in males with delayed puberty or short stature. Patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism do not show this relationship.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Evaluation and clinical application of a two-site immunoradiometric assay for alpha-1-foetoprotein using readily available reagents.

The development and evaluation in routine clinical practice of a simple, rapid, high-throughput, immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) for alpha-foetoprotein (AFP) in serum and amniotic fluid is described. The assay uses readily available reagents; a radioiodinated mouse monoclonal antibody produced by the authors and the immunoglobulin G (IgG) fraction of a polyclonal sheep anti-human-AFP serum covalently linked to Sepharose CL-4B. Both antibodies are distributed by the Scottish Antibody Production Unit (Law Hospital, Carluke). The results of an extensive comparative trial between the IRMA and a radioimmunoassay (RIA) are presented. A high-dose 'hook' effect is not a problem in this system. Quantitative recovery was obtained, independent of the assay diluent. The IRMA has high sensitivity and a wide working range. Improved assay precision allowed a clinically significant change in the intervention limits.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1987

Measurement of direct bilirubin by use of bilirubin oxidase.

We developed an enzymatic method for measuring direct-reacting bilirubin (DBIL) in serum. At pH 4.5, bilirubin oxidase (BOX) oxidizes mono-conjugated bilirubin, di-conjugated bilirubin, and most of the delta-bilirubin to biliverdin. The resulting decrease in absorbance at 460 nm is linearly related to the concentration of DBIL in serum. Mean DBIL values in the 51 patients' sera examined by the BOX method and a diazo procedure (Clin Chem 1982;28:2305) were 45.4 and 42.8 mg/L, respectively. For the same samples, mean values for DBIL and conjugated bilirubin by the Kodak "Ektachem" methods were 50.2 and 24.8 mg/L, respectively. Hemoglobin, up to 1.5 g/L, does not interfere. Unconjugated bilirubin reacts negligibly. Day-to-day CVs were 2.2% and 2.4% at DBIL concentrations of 37 and 74 mg/L, respectively.

Bilirubin↗
PubMed1986

Measurement of total bilirubin by use of bilirubin oxidase.

We used an enzymatic method for measuring total bilirubin in serum. Results by this method varied linearly with bilirubin concentrations to at least 300 mg/L. The day-to-day precision (CV) of the method ranged from less than 1% to about 11% at bilirubin concentrations of 183 and 12 mg/L, respectively. Commonly used anticoagulants, serum preparation materials, and selected drugs had no effect on the apparent bilirubin concentration, but turbidity caused a slight increase and hemoglobin concentrations of 2 g/L resulted in lower values, by as much as 17 mg/L at a bilirubin concentration of 95 mg/L. Patients' results obtained with this enzymatic method were slightly lower than those obtained with methods based on the Jendrassik-Grof principle. The largest differences, seen in samples with high "direct" bilirubin concentrations, can be decreased by measuring the absorbance at 425 nm instead of at 465 nm as recommended by the supplier of the bilirubin oxidase method.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Great Falls Corporation, Auburn, Maine.

On November 1, 1984, Androscoggin Home Health Services restructured itself into three separate entities corporately linked via a holding company and with overlapping governance among the parent and its two subsidiaries. AHHS the parent and its two subsidiaries. AHHS remains the Medicare-certified agency with additional grant-funded programs. Great Falls Homecare Corporation is the private-pay personal care services subsidiary. As third subsidiary, Great Falls Management Corporation, has recently been organized for more effective and responsive management services. If asked whether corporate restructuring appears at this time to ensure survival over the long haul, a resounding "yes" would be heard from management and directors alike. Restructuring isn't easy, but it is insurance worth purchasing for the future.

Home Care Services↗
PubMed1985

The corporate reorganization survey: management indicates satisfaction.

Discussion of and literature about corporate restructuring abound, but little data is available. For those currently considering or in the process of restructuring the problems encountered by respondents in this survey can be educational. The purpose of this survey was to provide solid data about corporate restructuring among home health providers. The methodology used was a telephone survey of a random sample of free-standing home health agencies selected from a HCFA listing of more than 5,000 home health agencies. Two hundred and fifty-seven agencies were selected, and information was obtained from 198 such agencies. A total of 108 agencies with complete data were available for analysis. Sixty-four percent of the responding agencies had actually completed or were involved in the process of corporate or were involved in the process of corporate restructuring. The Northeast appeared to have the highest level of restructuring activity, and agencies with annual budgets of $3 million or greater were pursuing corporate restructuring at a high rate. Respondents described the process of restructuring as taking longer than anticipated, with heavy emphasis on board involvement and planning prior to the actual decision to restructure. The benefit of restructuring anticipated and realized most often by respondents was greater flexibility to compete more effectively as well as the opportunity to joint venture. In spite of the complex process of restructuring and difficulties encountered, overall satisfaction with the results of corporate restructuring was high.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1984

Burn depth estimation--man or machine.

A Burn Depth Indicator, utilizing reflectance ratios of red, green, and infrared light, has been devised and clinically tested for 18 months at our Burn Center. Using the endpoint of wound healing in less than or more than 3 weeks, clinical assessment by two experienced surgeons of intermediate depth wounds was compared to readings from the BDI . In about one third of cases the surgeons were unwilling to commit themselves to a prediction. In the cases where the surgeons were willing to make a prediction, they were incorrect about 25% of the time. The BDI was significantly more accurate than the clinical assessment in those predicted not to heal by the surgeons and maintained an accuracy of 79% in the wounds where the surgeons would not make a prediction. The BDI is portable, noninvasive, and provides an immediate reading. It may have utility as a triage tool for emergency rooms or combat situations, and has utility at present in our Burn Center as a more accurate tool than our clinical judgment in predicting which wounds should be excised and grafted during the first few days after injury.

Burns↗
PubMed1979

Effect of light and temperature on the stability of creatine kinase in human sera and controls.

Commercial control preparations were exposed to light at room temperature for as long as 24 h. Decreases in creatine kinase activity in seven of the nine controls ranged from 28.8 to 83.3%. When these controls were protected from light and stored at various temperatures, the decrease in activity was either eliminated or substantially reduced, indicating that the decreased activity in the presence of light was not due entirely to thermal inactivation. In the absence of oxygen, light had little effect on creatine kinase suggesting that light inactivation is a light-catalyzed oxidative process. The decreased activity observed when some of the controls were exposed to light was not completely restored by incubating with dithiothreitol before analysis. However, increases in creatine kinase activity ranging from about 37 to 176% were observed when freshly prepared controls were pre-incubated with dithiothreitol. Neither light nor dithiothreitol had any effect on the creatine kinase activity in two of the nine controls. When human sera were exposed to light for 24 h, the largest decrease in activity was about 15%. Incubation of fresh human sera with dithiothreitol before analysis caused an average increase in activity of approximately 10%.

Creatine Kinase↗