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Biomedical subjects

C Berry

Publications and source records attributed to C Berry.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Identification, cloning and sequence analysis of the Bacillus sphaericus 1593 41.9 kD larvicidal toxin gene.

A number of strains of the widespread aerobic soil bacterium, Bacillus sphaericus, possess crystalline inclusions of a toxin lethal to a variety of insect (larvae) which are vectors of major tropical diseases. Partial amino acid sequence data from one strain, B. sphaericus 2362 have permitted us to design oligonucleotide probes for identifying the toxin gene in the closely related B. sphaericus 1593. The gene was found to be contained within an EcoRI-HindIII fragment and was cloned in its entirety in the bacterial plasmid pUC12. The DNA sequence was determined together with the upstream and downstream controlling elements, and a sequence of 370 amino acids was deduced for the toxin protein. This is the first reported sequence of a B. sphaericus toxin gene and will facilitate further work in characterizing the genes from other strains of different virulence and host range. The data do not support the suggestion that the toxin is derived by proteolysis of a protoxin precursor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Diminished atherosclerotic arterial calcifications in asthma. A possible role for elevated endogenous heparin-like material.

Twenty-seven patients beyond the age of 50 were radiographically compared with age- and sex-matched controls for the degree of calcified atherosclerotic plaque formation in the aorta and its major pelvic branches. Significantly less calcification was present in the aorta, iliac and hypogastric arteries of the asthmatics (P = 0.01). Previous studies in other asthmatic patients have shown elevated endogenous heparin-like material to be present in their plasma. It is speculated that diminished atherosclerosis in asthmatic patients might be a consequence of elevated circulating endogenous heparin-like material.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Continuous-wave Doppler velocities and gradients across fixed tunnel obstructions: studies in vitro and in vivo.

The simplified Bernoulli relationship appears to be quite accurate for predicting gradients across discrete valvular obstructions. Controversy exists about how accurately it predicts the severity of disease in longer segment obstructions. In this study we constructed a pulsatile model of subvalvular pulmonary stensosis in vitro to study nine custom-made subvalvular tunnels 2, 4, and 7 mm in length with flow cross sections of 0.5 to 1.5 cm2 and with the stenotic segment proximal to a nonstenotic bioprosthetic valve, and a pulsatile model in vitro of a 16 mm long tunnel-like ventricular septal defect (VSD) of varying cross-sectional area (0.20 to 0.64 cm2). We also compared the observations in vitro with those in an open-chest dog preparation with a tunnel-like interventricular communication. In the subpulmonic stenosis model, for each individual tunnel, 10 instantaneous peak gradients between 15 to 105 mm Hg were available. The pressure gradients across the tunnel alone, measured in the subvalvular area, were consistently higher than the measured gradients across the tunnel plus valve, suggesting some relaminarization of flow (i.e., a decrease in velocity) and pressure recovery (i.e., an increase in pressure) distal to the obstruction. Continuous-wave Doppler velocities across the 4 and 7 mm tunnels for the highest gradients were slightly lower than for the 2 mm tunnel at the same gradients, and it was only for the 0.5 cm2 cross section, 4 and 7 mm tunnels that there was a suggestion of minor viscous energy loss. For all the subvalvular tunnels studied, the Bernoulli relationship accurately predicted the results of the pressure drop across the tunnel only, while the gradient across tunnel plus valve was consistently lower. For the VSD tunnel model in vitro, the Doppler-derived gradients were approximately 40% higher than the measured gradients. The findings for the subvalvular and VSD tunnels in vitro and similar findings in the open-chest dogs with VSD suggest that relaminarization of flow and recovery of pressure occurred distal to the tunnel orifice, whereas continuous-wave Doppler findings correlate with the highest instantaneous gradients measured in the lowest pressure areas at the vena contracta of the tunnel.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Prophylactic treatment of very premature infants with human surfactant.

We undertook a randomized, controlled trial to determine whether human surfactant administered endotracheally at birth to very premature infants (gestational age, 24 to 29 weeks) would prevent the respiratory distress syndrome or reduce its severity. Thirty-one treated infants (birth weight, 938 +/- 286 g) were compared in a blinded fashion with 29 control infants (birth weight, 964 +/- 174 g). The lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio was less than 2 in all infants, and phosphatidylglycerol was not present in amniotic fluid or tracheal fluids at birth, indicating a deficiency of surfactant in the lungs. The principal dependent variables were neonatal death, the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and the infant's requirement for respiratory support (and its complications). The surfactant-treated group had significantly fewer deaths than the control group (16 percent vs. 52 percent, P less than 0.001), fewer cases of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (16 percent vs. 31 percent), and significantly fewer cases of pulmonary interstitial emphysema (P less than 0.001) and pneumothorax (P less than 0.02). Prophylactic treatment with human surfactant also substantially reduced the period of neonatal intensive care. We conclude that treatment with human surfactant offers promise for improving the survival of very premature infants with a surfactant deficiency and for reducing the pulmonary sequelae of the respiratory distress syndrome.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1986

What's new in transplacental carcinogenesis?

The discovery that a non-steroidal oestrogen may cause malformations and neoplasia following transplacental administration in man has led to a considerable amount of experimental work on this type of carcinogenesis. In general, there are a number of features which suggest that this is unlikely to be a commonly occurring mode of carcinogenesis in man and the reasons for this are discussed and considered here together with some experimental justification for this position.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Mechanical vascular changes and hypertension: pathological consequences.

Arteries are more than simple conduits for blood, they are a functionally active part of the cardiovascular system. Their mechanical performance is preserved at different levels of blood pressure and adapts to progressive increases but this functional change is accompanied by wall changes (e.g. medial thickening, scleroprotein increase) which have pathological effects. The way in which these changes are brought about is discussed.

Aging↗
PubMed1985

Kinetics of oxygen uptake and heart rate at onset of exercise in children.

Requirements for cellular homeostasis appear to be unchanged between childhood and maturity. We hypothesized, therefore, that the kinetics of O2 uptake (VO2) in the transition from rest to exercise would be the same in young children as in teenagers. To test this, VO2 and heart rate kinetics from rest to constant work rate (75% of the subject's anaerobic threshold) in 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls) aged 7-10 yr were compared with values found in 10 teenagers (5 boys and 5 girls) aged 15-18 yr. Gas exchange was measured breath to breath, and phases I and II of the transition and phase III (steady-state exercise) were evaluated from multiple transitions in each child. Phase I (the VO2 at 20 s of exercise expressed as percent rest-to-steady-state exercise VO2) was not significantly correlated with age or weight [mean value 42.5 +/- 8.9% (SD)] nor was the phase II time constant for VO2 [mean 27.3 +/- 4.7 (SD) s]. The older girls had significantly slower kinetics than the other children but were also found to be less fit. When the teenagers exercised at work rates well below 75% of their anaerobic threshold, phase I VO2 represented a higher proportion of the overall response, but the phase II kinetics were unchanged. The temporal coupling between the cellular production of mechanical work at the onset of exercise and the uptake of environmental O2 appears to be controlled throughout growth in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Evidence indicating that UDP-N-acetylglucosamine does not appear to stimulate hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyltransferase by interaction with the catalytic unit of the enzyme.

The binding studies in this paper indicate that the catalytic unit(s) of microsomal UDP glucuronosyltransferase(s) is not accessible to N-ethylmaleimide or UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, when the enzyme is in its membrane environment. Thus a separate regulatory factor may exist within the endoplasmic reticulum membrane that mediates the stimulation of UDPglucuronosyltransferase(s) by UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. The possible role and the mode of interaction of the putative regulatory factor with the multiple forms of UDPglucuronosyltransferase are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Short-term interpersonal therapy (IPT) with the depressed elderly: case reports and discussion.

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), a short-term treatment developed and tested for use with ambulatory depressed patients, has been successfully applied to elderly patients in a recent pilot study. Case reports of treated elderly patients are presented and the specific utility of IPT for this population is described. The potential of short-term psychotherapies for the treatment of the elderly is discussed and research directions are outlined.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Issues in clinical trials with the depressed elderly.

Despite the fact that there is a high prevalence of depression among the elderly, little research on the efficacy of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy with the elderly has been reported in the literature. This paper describes a sample of 18 elderly patients who received both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for the treatment of depression. Psychotherapy involved weekly 30-50 minutes sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy with a treating psychiatrist. The drug treatment consisted of random assignment, double-blind, to either alprazolam, imipramine, or pill-placebo for six weeks. The focus of therapy was on the attendance, compliance, and symptomatic relief in elderly depressed patients, as well as on the major life problems identified by these patients in psychotherapy. Results indicated that elderly patients respond to community publicity regarding a psychotherapy treatment program. However, the majority are inappropriate referrals for diagnostic reasons. If accepted, elderly patients showed good compliance with drugs, and attendance was comparable to that in younger populations. The elderly patients responded well to treatment, with immediate and marked improvement on the Hamilton and Raskin Depression Scales, which was maintained after treatment. Grief and role transitions specific to life changes were frequent antecedents to depression in this elderly population and thus were the major foci in psychotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Mutagens from the cooking of food. I. Improved extraction and characterization of mutagenic fractions from cooked ground beef.

Ground beef was fried at 200 degrees C (392 degrees F) to a well-done, non-charred state, and the extracted organic base fraction was found to be highly mutagenic in Salmonella strain TA1538 (6300 revertants/100 g equivalent, gE, fresh weight). The neutral and acidic extracts showed no mutagenic activity in any of the 5 standard strains of Salmonella. A new procedure based upon extraction and protein precipitation with acetone is described, which is simpler and more efficient than previously described methods. The organic base fraction was mutagenic only in Salmonella strains TA1537, TA1538, and TA98, all sensitive to frameshift mutations. Strains sensitive to base-substitution mutations showed no activity. Metabolic activation was an absolute requirement for mutagenesis; however cell toxicity was decreased by the presence of S9 activation mixture. After normal cooking, more than 20 times as much mutagenic material remained in the meat as was recovered in the pan grease and vapors. The results confirm that mutagens are formed under conventional frying conditions, and show that mutagen can be isolated by an improved extraction method.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Miller moth asthma.

The characteristics of the allergen producing asthma caused by inhaled miller moth particles were investigated by skin testing and by Sephadex fractionation. No major difference in skin test reactivity was found between the wings and the bodies of the moths. Two fractions of the moth extracts were found to contain allergic reactivity. The importance of detailed history-taking in order to discover such causes of asthma is stressed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Aarskog's syndrome.

Six children with Aarskoga's facial-digital-genital syndrome are described, and the genetics of the condition discussed. We suggest that this anomaly may be fairly common and that a syndrome identification centre could lead to earlier diagnosis of children with this and other syndromes.

Child↗