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Biomedical subjects

B Richards

Publications and source records attributed to B Richards.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Influence of low pH on the development and decay of 42 degrees C thermotolerance in CHO cells.

The development, magnitude and decay of thermotolerance in Chinese hamster ovary cells heated to 42 degrees C at pH 6.7 was examined. The cells were exposed to single or fractionated heat treatments with 0 to 168 hours elapsing between the treatments. Administration of a specified heat treatment in two fractions at low pH substantially reduced the lethal effect of heat. The rate of hyperthermic cell killing was reduced by a factor of approximately 2.5 in preheated cells compared to cells not receiving prior heat treatment. Tolerance to second heat treatments was apparent when 3 hours at 37 degrees C separated the treatments, and was near maximum when 6 hours separated the treatments. Beginning about 96 hours after the initial heat treatment, resistance to second heat treatments began to decline, and was not evident when 168 hours at 37 degrees C separated the treatments. In contrast to these results, a sparing effect as a result of dose fraction was not observed at pH 7.4. At pH 7.4, cells developed thermotolerance during the initial heat treatment and additional culturing at 37 degrees C was without additional effect. Nevertheless, the sensitivity of cells to hyperthermia was greater at pH 6.7 than at pH 7.4. This pH sensitizing effect was more pronounced in cells exposed to single heat treatments than in cells exposed to fractionated treatments at 42 degrees C.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1982

A social and psychological study of 166 spinal cord injured patients from Queensland.

The follow-up of 166 patients discharged from the Brisbane Spinal Injuries Unit has shown that facilities for spinal cord injured patients in Queensland are inadequate. The size of Queensland adds to the problem. There would appear to be a real need for choices in accommodation, together with Care Attendant Schemes available when necessary. Appropriate training facilities and equal job opportunities for both sexes are required together with transport and essential equipment. Discrimination exists but mainly through ignorance or lack of communication. Within the Spinal Injuries Unit patients would like to see a total care plan with better facilities. The majority would also like to see care extended by periodic home visits following discharge. The study highlights the importance of the social and psychological aspects of spinal cord injury and the need for these two factors to be considered from the time of admission if successful resettlement is to be finally achieved.

Australia↗
PubMed1982

Stroke: does side matter?

Of 135 patients seen two weeks following a stroke and followed up for one year, 69 had a right hemiplegia and 66 left-sided weakness. Disturbance of the level of consciousness at the onset and confusion following the stroke were more common in those with right hemiplegia. Confusion, when present, improved more often in those with right hemiplegia. Neither severity nor functional outcome was associated with laterality. Elderly patients with right hemiplegia were more likely to be admitted to hospital, and of those admitted there were significantly more patients with a right hemiplegia admitted to general wards and of those with left hemiplegia to geriatric units. Radios, but not television, were more often used by those patients with left hemiplegia. Most bedside containers were placed on the patients right side irrespective of the side of the lesion.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

The recovery of the severely disable stroke patient.

Fifty-three stroke patients with severe functional loss at two weeks, following the stroke were followed up for one year. No improvement occurred in 47% during this time and this was associated with abnormalities of muscle tone, incontinence of urine or faeces, perceptual disorders and previous disabilities affecting locomotion. Remedial therapy continued for long periods especially in the group who did not improve. It is suggested that rehabilitation resources could have been used more appropriately. Further research is required to determine whether intensive therapy is of value in the severely disabled stroke patient especially those with perceptual and cognitive dysfunction.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1982

Serum protein profiles in carcinoma of the kidney.

The levels of serum acute phase reactant proteins (APRPs) have been examined in untreated kidney carcinoma and during the evolution of metastases. These proteins can provide a warning of the likelihood of extensive local or metastatic spread at first presentation. The levels of APRPs rise with increasing tumour burden but the system is insensitive to small tumour burdens. beta 2-Microglobulin levels do not contribute additional information. Serum phosphohexose isomerase tends to be elevated when there is a large tumour burden but its change does not accurately mirror the rate of expansion of the tumour. The APRPs and phosphohexose isomerase are useful in alerting the clinician to the probability of metastases or large local masses in kidney cancer, but have a limited use in monitoring.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1982

Duration of the premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle estimated by oestrogen and LH urinary excretion and basal body temperature.

Three women recorded their daily basal body temperature and collected 24-h urine specimens for total oestrogens and LH measurement during 12 consecutive cycles and one women did so for six consecutive menstrual cycles. The variability in the time relationship between these indices of ovulatory events in serial cycles is presented. In the pooled data the duration of the premenstrual phase from oestrogen peak, LH peak, and temperature rise, to the end of the cycle is 12.9, 12.1, and 10.8 days, respectively. The time differences between these indices are found to be biological constants.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Smoking in pregnancy: associations with skinfold thickness, maternal weight gain, and fetal size at birth.

Skinfold thickness is an index of subcutaneous fat, and certain maternal conditions during pregnancy affect the skinfold thicknesses of the baby. A study was performed to investigate the effect of smoking on skinfold thickness, maternal weight gain, and fetal size at birth. A total of 452 mothers with normal singleton pregnancies were groups as: non-smokers, light-to-moderate smokers, or heavy smokers. Maternal age, height, parity, and duration of pregnancy were similar in the three groups. Heavy smokers gained significantly less weight than non-smokers, but there was no significant difference in skinfold thickness. Babies born to smokers had lower birth weights and smaller head circumferences and were shorter than those born to non-smokers, but skinfold thicknesses were similar. The presence of a normal layer of subcutaneous fat in babies whose mothers smoked suggests that fetal growth retardation is not caused by nutritional deficiencies.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Haematological values in cord blood in relation to fetal hypoxia.

Haematological values in cord venous blood were studied in 458 newborn infants born at term. The severity of hypoxia in these babies was determined by measuring the pH in cord venous blood, and in cord arterial blood. Hypoxia was associated with increases in haemoglobin, in the red cell count, in the white cell count and in the haematocrit. Furthermore, the increase in the mean corpuscular volume, and decrease in mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration could have been due to a net influx of less mature red cells into the circulation. It is suggested that fetal erythropoiesis is stimulated by intrapartum hypoxia.

Erythrocyte Count↗
PubMed1981

The rate of recovery from stroke - and its measurement.

A battery of tests to measure improvement over time in physical recovery of stroke patients - and to compare this with varying levels of disability at onset, is described. Recovery in a series of 135 patients with fresh stroke treated by traditional methods of rehabilitation is principally in the first 3 months - but also continues in the second 3 months, except for muscle power. Recovery after 6 months is least in muscle power and is limited mainly to walking and mobility (e.g. getting out of the house) which in some cases may be due to altered environmental factors. At onset only 62 per cent showed moderate or severe impairment of muscle power compared to 88 per cent with similar impairment in mobility and dependency. By 1 year 30 per cent of survivors remained dependent.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1981

Developing bilingual patient education materials. Problems and solutions.

The bilingual format presents a challenging set of problems for media producers. Four factors seem to be of primary importance to the success of bilingual materials: 1. Identifying the unique educational and cultural characteristics of the target audience. 2. Developing strategies to establish credibility with the target audience. 3. Determining the most appropriate dialect for non-English scripts. 4. Designing a 'tri-script' to allow all project planners to easily follow the script in both languages. The article describes the development of a series of bilingual patient education materials on Renal Transplantation, particularly focussing on the efforts of the development team in regard to each of the four factors listed above.

Audiovisual Aids↗
PubMed1981

Influence of pH on the thermal sensitivity of cultured human glioblastoma cells.

The hyperthermic sensitivity of cultured human glioblastoma cells was determined in 1 degree increments from 42 through 46 degrees over the pH range of 6.1 to 7.4. These cells were 5 to 10 times less heat sensitive than were Chinese hamster ovary cells and are among the most resistant cells examined in cell culture. At pH 7.4, the rate of cell killing doubles with each 1 degree increase in temperature above 44 degrees, a phenomenon previously observed in other cell lines heated above 43 degrees. It is speculated that thermotolerance develops during heat treatment and accounts for this apparent resistance to heat below 44 degrees. Reduction in medium pH from 7.4 to 7.0 during heat treatment did not significantly influence thermal sensitivity; however, below pH 7.0 a pH-sensitizing effect was increasingly evident. The magnitude of this sensitizing effect, determined from survival curve slope ratios, was temperature dependent and was most pronounced at temperatures which were moderately lethal at pH 7.4. At pH 6.7, heat sensitivity was increased from a factor of congruent to 1.25 at 46-44 degrees to 2 at 43 degrees compared to treatment at pH 7.4. This pH-sensitizing effect and its temperature dependency was more pronounced at pH 6.1.

Cell Survival↗
PubMed1980

A retrospective study of the relationship between birth history and handedness at six years.

Bakan's hypothesis that sinistrality is caused by perinatal insult was investigated by attempting to relate the handedness of 1094 six-year-old children to many aspects of their birth history ascertained from hospital records. Handedness of the children and their families was obtained by questionnaire. A secular increase in the frequency of sinistrality was noted, from 6.2% among grandparents to 17.5% among the children. Most boys were left-handed than girls. Only two aspects of birth history predisposed to sinistrality: boys born by breech delivery and children born to primiparous mothers over 38 years old were more likely to be left-handed.

Child↗