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Biomedical subjects

C Gutierrez

Publications and source records attributed to C Gutierrez.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Bronchial foreign body: should bronchoscopy be performed in all patients with a choking crisis?

The aspiration of a bronchial foreign body (FB) remains a common pediatric problem with serious and sometimes fatal sequelae. The diagnosis is often delayed or overlooked. With the aim of determining a reliable clinical and/or radiologic finding to indicate the requirement for bronchoscopy, 100 patients admitted to our hospital because of FB aspiration who underwent rigid bronchoscopy were retrospectively studied. The clinical and radiologic data were compared with the bronchoscopy findings, which revealed that the history of a choking crisis was the clinical parameter that showed the highest sensitivity (97%) with high specificity (63%), and that other symptoms and radiology, even those with high sensitivity (88% and 85%, respectively), had low specificity (9%). We conclude that bronchoscopy should be performed in all patients with a history of a choking crisis even if they have normal radiologic findings and few symptoms.

Airway Obstruction↗
PubMed1997

Tacrolimus as rescue therapy for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Chronic lung allograft rejection manifested by sustained declines in lung function is the most common cause of late death after lung transplantation. Numerous strategies have shown variable results. We sought to evaluate the effect of FK506 (tacrolimus) on bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) after lung transplantation. METHODS: A single-center open study was conducted of 15 patients whose treatment was converted to tacrolimus from cyclosporine. Of the 15, 12 patients had BOS characterized by sustained loses in lung function while receiving cyclosporine. Rate of decline of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) for the 12 patients was calculated before and after administration of tacrolimus. Biochemical changes before and after conversion were compared for the entire group. RESULTS: Median monthly rate of decline in FEV1 was significantly reduced after administration of tacrolimus (5.3% vs 1.1%; p = 0.002). Forced vital capacity did not change significantly. No subjects experienced at least a 10% improvement in FEV1. At least a 10% further decline in FEV1 was noted in five subjects, and seven subjects had no change (i.e., within 10% of baseline). A minor nonsignificant increase in creatinine occurred after administration of tacrolimus. Blood cell count, electrolytes, and liver enzymes remained unchanged. The median change in fasting blood glucose was +0.7 mmol/L (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Although tacrolimus does not reverse changes in FEV1 with BOS, in this nonrandomized study it seemed to be associated with a decrease in the rate of decline in lung function and no significant sustained toxicity. Further studies are necessary to substantiate this observation.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Overlapping and nonoverlapping cortical projections to cortex of the superior temporal sulcus in the rhesus monkey: double anterograde tracer studies.

To examine how fibers from functionally distinct cortical zones interrelate within their target areas of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) in the rhesus monkey, separate anterograde tracers were injected in two different regions of the same hemisphere known to project to the STS. Paired injections were placed in dorsal prearcuate cortex and the caudal inferior parietal lobule (IPL), interconnected regions that are part of a hypothesized distributed network concerned with visuospatial analysis or directed attention; in a presumed auditory region of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) and in extrastriate visual cortex, the caudal IPL and lower rim of the intraparietal sulcus; and in dorsal prearcuate cortex and the STG. Overlapping and nonoverlapping projections were then examined in STS visual and polysensory areas. Prefrontal and parietal fibers directly overlapped extensively in area MST and all subdivisions of presumed polysensory cortex (areas TPOc, TPOi, and TPOr), although nonoverlapping connections were also found. Although STG and IPL fibers targeted all TPO subdivisions, connections were to nonoverlapping, but often adjacent, columns. Paired prefrontal and STG injections revealed largely nonoverlapping vertical columns of connections but substantial overlap within layers VI and I or areas TPOc and TPOi. The findings suggest that area TPO contains differently connected modules that may maintain at least initial segregation of visual versus auditory inputs. Other modules within area TPO receive directly converging input from the posterior parietal and the prefrontal cortices and may participate in a distributed cortical network concerned with visuospatial functions.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Growth-phase-dependent expression of the osmotically inducible gene osmC of Escherichia coli K-12.

The transcription of the osmotically inducible gene osmC of Escherichia coli is initiated by two overlapping promoters, osmCp1 and osmCp2. The existence of these two promoters was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. osmC transcription is regulated by the growth phase. In a medium of low osmotic pressure, expression of osmC is induced at the onset of decelerating phase and continues during the beginning of stationary phase. At elevated osmotic pressure, the induction occurs somewhat earlier during growth. Both promoters are repressed during early exponential phase. osmCp2 is induced during entry into stationary phase. Transcription from osmCp1, which is approximately 10-fold lower than that of osmCp2 in rich medium, starts during the mid-log phase and stops in early stationary phase. In the absence of sigmaS, the stationary-phase sigma factor encoded by rpoS, osmCp2 expression is much reduced while expression of osmCp1 is unaffected. As a consequence, the regulation of osmC as a function of growth is at least partially independent of sigmaS.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1996

Annexin V autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the occurrence of anti-annexin V autoantibodies in sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis to assess involvement with the disease and any relation to glucocorticoid treatment. METHODS: Anti-annexin V antibodies were measured by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which used the purified human recombinant protein as antigen. RESULTS: Concentrations of anti-annexin V autoantibodies, predominantly of the IgG class, were significantly raised in sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to normal controls. This was not correlated with other indices of disease activity such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C reactive protein and was unrelated to glucocorticoid treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Extracellular annexin V provides an antigenic stimulus for autoantibody production and its in vivo expression is independent of glucocorticoid control. Such autoantibodies may have a detrimental role in the arthritic condition by interfering with putative functions of annexin V, including collagen type II binding, inhibition of phospholipase A2 activity, and Fc receptor activity.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Neurochemical subdivisions of the inferior pulvinar in macaque monkeys.

The architecture of the pulvinar of rhesus monkeys was investigated by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry, and by immunocytochemistry for calbindin-D28k and the SMI-32 antibody. The presence of four inferior subdivisions, comparable to those found in architectonic-connectional studies in squirrel monkeys (C.G. Cusick, J.L. Scripter, J.G. Darensbourg, and J.T. Weber, 1993, J. Comp. Neurol. 336:1-30), provided a basis for a proposed revised terminology for visual sectors of the macaque pulvinar. In the present study, the inferior pulvinar (PI) was identified as a neurochemically distinct region that included the traditional cytoarchitectonic nucleus PI and adjacent portions of the lateral and medial pulvinar nuclei, PL and PM. In calbindin-D28k stains, the lateral subdivision of the inferior pulvinar (PIL) had less intense neuropil staining than the adjacent central division, PIC. The PIL was characterized by large, intensely immunopositive neurons seldom found within PIC. PIL occupied the traditional PL and PI and exhibited a narrow shell zone, PIL-S, restricted to PL. The medial division of the inferior pulvinar (PIM) was in a location previously shown to be strongly connected with the middle temporal visual area (MT) in macaques. PIM was found in the medial one-half of the traditional PI and extended into adjacent portions of the traditional PM and PL. PIM was distinguished by less intense neuropil staining for calbindin and many cells stained with the SMI-32 antibody for neurofilament protein. In AChE stains, PIL was moderately dark, PIC appeared lighter, and PIM was characterized by small, intensely stained patches. The small posterior division (PIP) stained darkly for calbindin, lightly for AChE, and was unstained with the SMI-32 antibody. Thus, neurochemical, and perhaps connectional, subdivisions exist within PI, the region of the pulvinar that relays information to striate, "lower order" extrastriate, and inferotemporal visual cortex.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1995

A tumor necrosis factor-beta polymorphism associated with hypertriglyceridemia in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes mellitus is associated with significant abnormalities of lipoprotein metabolism. Control of glycemia rarely completely corrects the alterations in lipid metabolism, suggesting a participation of environmental and genetic factors. The observation that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) can modulate triglyceride metabolism offers a new genetic candidate to be analyzed. Samples of DNA from 91 control subjects and 61 diet-treated type II diabetic patients were analyzed to determine the lipid profile and a possible association with TNF genetic polymorphisms. For TNF restriction fragment length polymorphisms, we used the Nco I restriction enzyme and a TNF-alpha probe obtaining two allelic bands at 10.5 and 5.5 kb. We found a significant association (P < .01) of the 10.5-kb homozygous genotype in type II diabetic subjects with high triglyceride levels. Furthermore, these patients showed significant differences in triglycerides as compared with matched control subjects with the same genotype (P < .001). This study provides support for considering the TNF locus as a susceptibility genetic region in the hypertriglyceridemia of type II diabetes.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Value of the agar plate method for the diagnosis of intestinal strongyloidiasis.

An agar plate method for the diagnosis of intestinal strongyloidiasis was compared to the standard formalin-ethyl acetate concentration method. A total of 13 of 225 patients with eosinophilia had positive stools for strongyloides larva by agar plate compared to six of 225 by the formalin-ethyl acetate method (P = .0455). Nine positive stool specimens by the agar plate method were tested by the Baermann technique, and five were positive. The agar plate method is a sensitive and efficient technique for the diagnosis of strongyloidiasis.

Acetates↗
PubMed1995

Heterologous mitral valve transplant: the first 50 patients clinical analysis.

From March 1992 to August 1993, 50 patients underwent mitral valve replacement with the new heterologous stentless mitral bioprosthesis in our institution. The development of this heart valve substitute, its technique of implantation and the results observed in the first group of 50 patients have had us to review the initial experience. The surgical protocol included an accurate mitral valve complex analysis, adequate valve size selection, attachment of the papillary muscle to the new chordal origin and approximation of the stentless mitral to the patient's annulus. There was one hospital death (2%), not related to the valve or to the technique and four reoperations: two due to endocarditis, one because of a perivalvular leak and one due to a mismatched stentless valve. The late mortality (4%) was not valve-related. The follow-up has shown excellent valve performance with improved left ventricular function in the great majority of the patients. Based on the current analysis, it can be stated that reproducibility of the surgical technique and the excellence of the clinical follow-up may contribute favorably to a better quality of life and longer valve durability in patients requiring mitral heart valve replacement.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Prevalence of hepatitis A antibody among disadvantaged gypsy children in northern Spain.

The prevalence of antibody to hepatitis A virus (HAV) in a group of socially and economically disadvantaged Spanish gypsy children was compared to that of a group of non-gypsy middle-class children. The study included 438 children, 73 gypsies (38 girls and 35 boys, mean age 8.5 years, age range 2-16 years) and 365 non-gypsy controls, randomly selected by age. The presence of anti-HAV was investigated using ELISA. Among the gypsy children, 82% had antibodies to HAV compared with 9.3% of the children in the control group. The unfavourable living conditions of the gypsy population (e.g. homes with poor sanitary conditions, overcrowding) may explain the high prevalence of HAV infection. These findings underline the need for specific action which targets disadvantaged populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

The role of chromatin-associated protein Hbsu in beta-mediated DNA recombination is to facilitate the joining of distant recombination sites.

The beta recombinase is unable to mediate in vitro DNA recombination between two directly oriented recombination sites unless a bacterial chromatin-associated protein (Bacillus subtilis Hbsu or Escherichia [correction of Eschrichia] coli HU] is provided. By electron microscopy, we show that the role of Hbsu is to help in joining the recombination sites to form a stable synaptic complex. Some evidence supports the fact that Hbsu works by recognizing and stabilizing a DNA structure at the recombination site, rather than by serving as a bridge between beta recombinase dimers through a protein-protein interaction. We show that the mammalian HMG1 protein, which shares neither sequence nor structural homology with Hbsu, can also stimulate beta-mediated recombination. These chromatin-associated proteins share the property of binding to DNA in a relatively non-specific fashion, bending it, and having a marked preference for altered DNA structures. Hbsu, HU or HMG1 proteins probably bind specifically at the crossing-over region, since at limiting protein-DNA molar ratios they could not be outcompeted by an excess of a DNA lacking the crossing over site. Distamycin, a minor groove binder that induces local distortions in DNA, did not affect the binding of beta protein to DNA, but inhibited the formation of the synaptic complex.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1995

Characterization of the osmotically inducible gene osmE of Escherichia coli K-12.

osmE, an osmotically inducible gene of Escherichia coli, was physically mapped on the bacterial chromosome, cloned and sequenced. osmE appeared to encode a 12,021 Da protein of unknown function, with a lipoprotein-type signal sequence at the amino-terminus. The osmE reading frame was confirmed by sequencing the junction of an osmE-phoA gene fusion. osmE was demonstrated to be transcribed as a single cistron. A phi [osmEp-lac] operon fusion was constructed, and analysis of its expression demonstrated that osmE osmotic regulation probably occurs at the transcriptional level. The osmE promoter was identified by both S1 nuclease and primer extension mapping of the 5' end of the osmE mRNA, by deletion analysis and by identification of a point mutation reducing its activity. Sequence information sufficient for expression and osmotic regulation is present on a DNA fragment extending from positions -37 to +52 with respect to the osmE transcription start. Uninduced expression of the osmE-lac fusion was increased in the presence of mutations in the hns and himA genes. The osmE promoter overlaps a promoter for a gene transcribed in the opposite direction, efg. Transcription from the efg promoter is only weakly affected by osmotic pressure and is independent of the presence of an intact OsmE protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Electrocardiographic values in Spanish-bred horses of different ages.

The duration of electrocardiograph wave forms and intervals were determined in 179 Spanish-bred (Andalusian) horses aged from 1 month to 17 years. The values were compared with those of other breeds, and the relationship between electrocardiographic data and age was examined. High correlation coefficients were found between PR, ST and QT intervals and the age of the horses, and an inverted relation between heart rate and age was found. A multiple range analysis was made and the results suggest that significant changes in duration values and heart rate occurred at the age of 6 months and in the second year of life.

Aging↗
PubMed1995

The time-course of global precedence and consistency effects.

The global precedence effect refers to the finding that global aspects of a scene are processed more rapidly than local detail in the scene. In experiments with large Hs and Ss (global stimuli) made up of small Hs and Ss (local stimuli), choice reaction time (RT) to the global letters is shorter than RT to the local letters (global precedence effect). In addition, RT for local letters is shorter when the local letters are the same as the global letter (consistency effect). We sought to determine the time course of the global precedence and consistency effects by delaying the global information relative to the local information. In Experiment I, the middle cross-bar of the global letter (S or H) was presented followed by the rest of the global letter at delays of 0, 48, 80, 160, 320 and 640 ms. The results indicated that the global precedence effect was obtained at delays < 48 ms and local precedence effects are obtained at delays > 80 ms. Consistency effects were found in the absence of global precedence effects, but only at delays of 48 and 80 ms. Experiment II was a replication with delays of 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, and 96 ms. The results of this experiment were in agreement with those of Experiment I. These findings offer support for the notion that the consistency effect is mediated by a higher level process than is the global precedence effect.

Adult↗