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Biomedical subjects

B Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to B Thompson.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Congenital anomalies in twins in Aberdeen and Northeast Scotland.

Data with regard to the proportion of congenital malformations found at birth are presented from a survey of 657 pairs of twins of known zygosity and placentation delivered in Aberdeen and Northeast Scotland between 1968 and 1979. There was an excess of malformed individuals from monozygotic (MZ) pairs, but this did not reach statistical significance. The possible effect of monochorionic placentation in the causation of malformations in MZ twins in general is discussed. It seems that this type of placentation may be of less causative importance than has been previously suggested.

Congenital Abnormalities↗
PubMed1983

Use of the Group Embedded Figures Test with children.

Extensive previous research suggests that the cognitive style of field-independence/field-dependence has important implications for teaching and guidance. However, studies of the validity of group-administered measures which can be used with younger children are limited. The present study assessed the feasibility of using a widely recognized style measure, the Group Embedded Figures Test, with 45 fourth-, 42 fifth-, and 42 sixth-graders. The results were generally favorable with respect to the test's applicability to these age groups.

Child↗
PubMed1982

Subclavian vein catheterization during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A prospective comparison of the supraclavicular and infraclavicular percutaneous approaches.

Percutaneous access to the central venous circulation is indicated in the management of some cardiopulmonary arrests. We prospectively studied 89 attempted subclavian vein catheterizations in a total of 76 patients. There were 44 supraclavicular (SC) and 45 infraclavicular (IC) approaches. We found that the percutaneous SC route provides a better technique than the IC approach: it is associated with fewer failures, less difficulty in the mechanics of line insertion, a higher incidence of proper catheter tip location, and much less interference with cardiopulmonary resuscitation in normal, obese, and cachectic patient subgroups. Successful performance occurred despite a documented lack of physician experience with the SC technique, indicating that it should be taught during advanced cardiac life support training courses.

Cardiac Catheterization↗
PubMed1982

Protective role of human milk against sudden death from infant botulism.

We examined the possibility that human milk and formula milk might differentially affect the severity of the infant botulism because they differ in immunologic composition and in influence on the normal intestinal microflora against which Clostridium botulinum must compete. A beneficial effect of human milk was suggested by the different feeding experiences of the moderate, hospitalized patients and the sudden death cases. Of patients hospitalized in California, 66% (33/50) were still being nursed at onset of illness, a percentage significantly greater than that of matched controls (P less than 0.01). In contrast, all ten California cases of sudden infant death attributable to C. botulinum infection were being fed iron-supplemented formula milk at death) unlike their controls, P less than 0.02) and had received no human milk within ten weeks of death. A beneficial effect of human milk was also observed in differences in mean age at onset; hospitalized breast-fed patients were almost twice as old (13.8 +/- 6.7 weeks) as were hospitalized formula-fed patients (7.6 +/- 2.9 weeks) (P less than 0.01). Human milk (or possibly other factors associated with breast-feeding) appeared to have moderated the severity at onset of infant botulism, allowing time for hospital admission, whereas for some infants with this illness, formula milk (or possibly other factors associated with formula feeding) was linked to sudden unexpected death.

Botulism↗
PubMed1982

Preterm deliveries in twin pregnancies in Aberdeen.

The incidence of preterm delivery was 28.2% of all twin deliveries. Preterm delivery was common in monozygotic twins due to a high incidence of spontaneous rupture of the membranes. In addition, preterm delivery was associated more often with boy rather than girl infants.

Female↗
PubMed1981

An apparent increase in the incidence of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in black children.

A community-wide study was conducted to examine time trends in incidence rates of leukemia in children. Cases of acute leukemia, both lymphocytic (ALL) and nonlymphocytic (ANLL), newly diagnosed in children ages 0-19 years in the Baltimore area from 1960 to 1974 were ascertained. Over the 15 years, 286 children with acute leukemia were identified, of whom 77% had ALL. Incidence rates of ALL were two to three times as high in whites as in blacks, and remained virtually unchanged over time. However, the picture was quite different for ANLL. Initially, incidence rates were higher in whites than in blacks, but during the final five years the incidence increased dramatically in blacks so that it actually exceeded the rate among whites. The increase of ANLL in black children occurred primarily in blacks of high socioeconomic status. This suggests that the increase may have resulted from environmental influences associated with upward socioeconomic mobility in the black population in recent years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Dephosphorylation and activation of exogenous glycogen synthase by adipose-tissue phosphatase.

Exogenous purified rabbit skeletal-muscle glycogen synthase was used as a substrate for adipose-tissue phosphoprotein phosphatase from fed and starved rats in order to (1) compare the relationship between phosphate released from, and the kinetic changes imparted to, the substrate and (2) ascertain if decreases in adipose-tissue phosphatase activity account for the apparent decreased activation of endogenous glycogen synthase from starved as compared with fed rats. Muscle glycogen synthase was phosphorylated with [gamma-(32)P]ATP and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase alone, or in combination with a cyclic AMP-independent protein kinase, to 1.7 or 3mol of phosphate per subunit. Adipose-tissue phosphatase activity determined with phosphorylated skeletal-muscle glycogen synthase as substrate was decreased by 35-60% as a consequence of starvation. This decrease in phosphatase activity had little effect on the capacity of adipose-tissue extracts to activate exogenous glycogen synthase (i.e. to increase the glucose 6-phosphate-independent enzyme activity), although there were marked differences in the activation profiles for the two exogenous substrates. Glycogen synthase phosphorylated to 1.7mol of phosphate per subunit was activated rapidly by adipose-tissue extracts from either fed or starved rats, and activation paralleled enzyme dephosphorylation. Glycogen synthase phosphorylated to 3mol of phosphate per subunit was activated more slowly and after a lag period, since release of the first mol of phosphate did not increase the glucose 6-phosphate-independent activity of the enzyme. These patterns of enzyme activation were similar to those observed for the endogenous adipose-tissue glycogen synthase(s): the glucose 6-phosphate-independent activity of the endogenous enzyme from fed rats increased rapidly during incubation, whereas that of starved rats, like that of the more highly phosphorylated muscle enzyme, increased only very slowly after a lag period. The observations made here suggest that (1) changes in glucose 6-phosphate-independent glycogen synthase activity are at best only a qualitative measure of phosphoprotein phosphatase activity and (2) the decrease in glycogen synthase phosphatase activity during starvation is not sufficient to explain the differential glycogen synthase activation in adipose tissue from fed and starved rats. However, alterations in the phosphorylation state of glycogen synthase combined with decreased activity of phosphoprotein phosphatase, both as a consequence of starvation, could explain the apparent markedly decreased enzyme activation.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1980

Effect of ATP-MgCl2-glucose administration during hemorrhagic shock on cardiovascular function, metabolism, and survival.

Both exogenous glucose and adenosine triphosphate--magnesium chloride (ATP-MgCl2, used separately, have been reported to prolong survival after hemorrhagic shock. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intravenously administered glucose plus ATP-MgCl2 given together during hemorrhagic shock would improve cardiac function and survival. Further, we investigated whether glucose had any real additive effect when used in conjunction with ATP-MgCl2, by using ATP-MgCl2 alone and with equimolar mannitol. Awake pigs were bled 40% of total blood volume within 10 minutes. Five pigs received no treatment; 4 received lactated Ringer's equivalent to the initial bled volume; 5 received ATP (206 microM/kg), MgCl2 (206 microM/kg) and glucose (0.5 g/kg); 5 received ATP-MgCl2, glucose and lactated Ringer's; 5 received ATP-MgCl2 alone, and 6 received ATP-MgCl2 and mannitol (0.5 g/kg). All treated groups received sodium bicarbonate (2 mEq/kg). Duration of this experiment was 240 minutes. Mean survival of those which received no treatment was 36.8 +/- SE 2.9 minutes; those which received ATP-MgCl2-glucose had a significantly longer survival with a mean of 157.6 +/- 12.0 minutes (p less than 0.05). With Ringers' alone, the mean survival was 92.6 +/- 0.7 minutes and those which received ATP-MgCl2-glucose plus Ringer's had a significantly greater mean survival of 159-0 +/- 2.7 minutes (p less than 0.05). Mean survival of those which received ATP-MgCl2-mannitol was statistically significantly greater at 200.8 +/- 10.3 minutes than ATP-MgCl2-glucose alone with Ringer's (p less than 0.01). Mean survival was greatest in those which received ATP-MgCl2 alone at 201.2 +/- 9.5 minutes (p less than 0.01), and statistically significantly greater than any other treatment group except ATP-MgCl2-mannitol. ATP-MgCl2 alone significantly increased survival compared to those which received ATP-MgCl2-glucose.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1979

Honey and other environmental risk factors for infant botulism.

Infant botulism results from the in vivo production of toxin by Clostridium botulinum after it has colonized the infant's gut. Epidemiologic and laboratory investigations of this recently recognized disease were undertaken to identify risk factors and routes by which C. botulinum spores might reach susceptible infants. Clostridium botulinum organisms, but no preformed toxin, were identified in six different honey specimens fed to three California patients with infant botulism, as well as from 10% (9/90) of honey specimens studied. By food exposure history, honey was significantly associated with type B infant botulism (P = 0.005). In California, 29.2% (12/41) of hospitalized patients had been fed honey prior to onset of constipation; worldwide, honey exposure occurred in 34.7% (28/75) of hospitalized cases. Of all food items tested, only honey contained C. botulinum organisms. On household vacuum cleaner dust specimens and five soil specimens (three from case homes, two from control homes) contained Clostridium botulinum. The known ubiquitous distribution of C. botulinum implies that exposure to its spores is universal and that host factors contribute importantly to the pathogenesis of infant botulism. However, honey is now an identified and avoidable source of C. botulinum spores, and it therefore should not be fed to infants.

Botulism↗
PubMed1979

Salt taste detection: an R-index approach to signal-detection measurements.

The R-index approach to the signal-detection P(A) index of sensitivity was used to measure taste sensitivity to NaCl solutions. The R-index is the predicted probability of the correct choice of a signal, for a given signal-noise pair. For flow-wise and sipwise presentation, R-indices did not fluctuate significantly, provided subjects could not see the stimuli yet to be presented, indicating a lack of systematic sensitivity drift. The simultaneous measurement of more than one signal strength with reference to a common noise stimulus was seen to be a viable and sensitive procedure. Comparison of flow-wise and sipwise presentation of stimuli using R-indices, indicated that the former elicited greater subject sensitivity to NaCl taste.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Maternal height and twinning.

Data on maternal height are presented for 307 pairs of newborn twins of known zygosity from Oxford and 267 pairs from Aberdeen and north-east Scotland. The results support the hypothesis that mothers of DZ twins are taller than those of MZ twins. Mothers of MZ twins resemble mothers of singletons in height, whereas mothers of DZ twins are taller.

Body Height↗