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Biomedical subjects

C Kaye

Publications and source records attributed to C Kaye.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

[Enterococcal bacteremia at Nîmes university hospital].

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was the description of enterococcal bacteremia and the evaluation of their resistance evolution to antibiotics and the virulence profile of these isolates. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We have studied all the bacteremia caused by Enterococcus spp. from the 1st of July 2003 until the 30th of June 2004 at Nîmes university hospital. For each isolate, population, clinical and microbiological data were collected. Multiplex PCR allowed for the identification of glycoprotein resistant phenotypes and furthermore, to identify the main virulence genes found in the enterococci. RESULTS: Thirty-three strains were identified from 33 patients (60.6% male) with a median age of 68 years (median: 3-96). The vital prognostic was calculated in 63.6% of the cases (MacCabe > or =1); seven patients died during their hospitalization (21.2%). The infections were nosocomial in 60.6% of the cases. No epidemic was observed. The principal comorbidities were cardiovascular and digestive pathologies. In addition, 54.5% of patients had had a surgical intervention. Enterococcus faecalis (87.9%) was the cause of infection in the majority of cases followed by Enterococcus faecium. Most of the infections were monomicrobial (75.8%). E. faecalis was sensitive to amoxicillin and to glycopeptides but was resistant to norfloxacin, erythromycin and pristinamycin. The same observations were made for the E. faecium with the exception of amoxicillin. E. faecalis had the maximum number of virulence genes and E. faecium the least. CONCLUSION: The enterococcal bacteremia had mainly a nosocomial origin. The isolates came from digestive tract flora but also from catheters. The mortality rate was 21.2%. A developing sensitivity to erythromycin and pristinamycin was observed in comparison to the data of the ONERBA (2002-2003). Only one isolate was resistant to glycopeptide. This was the first European E. faecium containing the vanD allele. This isolate proved fatal to the patient. The dark evolution of enterococcal bacteremia and their frequent nosocomial origin induce to promote studies intended for better knowing the risk factors of such infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Targeted mapping of a sugarcane rust resistance gene (Bru1) using bulked segregant analysis and AFLP markers.

The presence of a major resistance gene (Bru1) for brown rust in the sugarcane cultivar R570 (2n about 115) was confirmed by analyzing segregation of rust resistance in a large population of 658 individuals, derived from selfing of clone R570. A subset of this population was analyzed with AFLP and bulked segregant analysis (BSA) to develop a detailed genetic map around the resistance gene. Four hundred and forty three primer pairs were used resulting in the identification of eight AFLP markers surrounding the resistance gene in an interval of 10 cM, with the closest markers located at 1.9 and 2.2 cM on each side of the gene. Efficiency of the AFLP/BSA applied to the complex polyploid genome of sugarcane is discussed, as well as the potential of the newly identified AFLP markers for developing a map-based cloning approach exploiting, synteny conservation with sorghum.

Basidiomycota↗
PubMed1999

Special hospitals. About the size of it.

Special hospitals are facing their third major upheaval in a decade with their proposed assimilation into mental health trusts. Their size is likely to continue to decrease. But the need for them remains. Patients' needs would be best served by smaller hospitals offering more specialised care, closely integrated with other forensic services.

Forensic Psychiatry↗
PubMed1998

Characterization of a gene for spinach CAP160 and expression of two spinach cold-acclimation proteins in tobacco.

The cDNA sequence for CAP160, an acidic protein previously linked with cold acclimation in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), was characterized and found to encode a novel acidic protein of 780 amino acids having very limited homology to a pair of Arabidopsis thaliana stress-regulated proteins, rd29A and rd29B. The lack of similarity in the structural organization of the spinach and Arabidopsis genes highlights the absence of a high degree of conservation of this cold-stress gene across taxonomic boundaries. The protein has several unique motifs that may relate to its function during cold stress. Expression of the CAP160 mRNA was increased by low-temperature exposure and water stress in a manner consistent with a probable function during stresses that involve dehydration. The coding sequences for CAP160 and CAP85, another spinach cold-stress protein, were introduced into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) under the control of the 35S promoter using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-based transformation. Tobacco plants expressing the proteins individually or coexpressing both proteins were evaluated for relative freezing-stress tolerance. The killing temperature for 50% of the cells of the transgenic plants was not different from that of the wild-type plants. As determined by a more sensitive time/temperature kinetic study, plants expressing the spinach proteins had slightly lower levels of electrolyte leakage than wild-type plants, indicative of a small reduction of freezing-stress injury. Clearly, the heterologous expression of two cold-stress proteins had no profound influence on stress tolerance, a result that is consistent with the quantitative nature of cold-stress-tolerance traits.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1997

Constitutive non-inducible expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana Nia 2 gene in two nitrate reductase mutants of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia.

We have isolated a haploid cell line of N. plumbaginifolia, hNP 588, that is constitutive and not inducible for nitrate reductase. Nitrate reductase mutants were isolated from hNP 588 protoplasts upon UV irradiation. Two of these nitrate reductase-deficient cell lines, nia 3 and nia 25, neither of which contained any detectable nitrate reductase activity, were selected for complementation studies. A cloned Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate reductase gene Nia 2 was introduced into each of the two mutants resulting in 56 independent kanamycin-resistant cell lines. Thirty of the 56 kanamycin-resistant cell lines were able to grow on nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Eight of these were further analyzed for nitrate reductase enzyme activity and nitrate reductase mRNA production. All eight lines had detectable nitrate reductase activity ranging from 7% to 150% of wild-type hNP 588 callus. The enzyme activity levels were not influenced by the nitrogen source in the medium. The eight lines examined expressed a constitutive, non-inducible 3.2 kb mRNA species that was not present in untransformed controls.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed1995

Perspectives of plant cold tolerance: physiology and molecular responses.

An enormous range in sensitivity to low temperature exists in the plant kingdom from those that show injury beginning at 15 degrees C to those able to withstand freezing to the lowest temperatures attainable in nature. Plants capable of surviving exposure to temperatures below 0 degrees C must be able to endure extreme stresses and strains as liquid water in their tissues undergo the transition to ice. The mechanisms which allow hardy plants to survive freezing, although complex, are becoming better understood. This article briefly describes some of the physiological and molecular aspects associated with plant tolerance to low-temperature stress.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1994

Effect of theophylline on exercise performance in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Theophylline is a well known bronchodilator which has been used for more than 50 years in the treatment of obstructive pulmonary diseases. In patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease whose cardiopulmonary performance is limited by their ventilatory capacity the administration of theophylline may improve exercise performance. METHODS: A randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, crossover trial was conducted in 22 patients with severe but stable disease. The patients (mean age 68 years) were studied before and after one month of placebo and one month of treatment with a sustained release preparation of theophylline administered orally. The theophylline dose was adjusted until a blood level above 55.5 mumol/l was achieved. The two treatments were administered in random order and separated by a two week washout period. After theophylline was administered for one month a mean level of 68.2 mumol/l was achieved. Pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gas measurements, maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), and an incremental exercise test were performed before (baseline) and at the end of the first and second month of treatment. RESULTS: Pulmonary function tests showed no improvement in the flow parameters but showed an improvement in MVV after treatment with theophylline. Pulmonary gas exchange was improved after theophylline (resting arterial PO2 8.91 v 8.59 kPa, PCO2 5.38 v 5.56 kPa). The incremental exercise study showed improvement in maximal work rate (86.5 v 75.0 watts) and maximal ventilation (VEmax) (46.7 v 43.01/min). The dyspnoea index on maximal effort (VEmax/MVV), anaerobic threshold, and oxygen pulse remained unchanged. Resting and exercise heart rate were higher after theophylline. CONCLUSIONS: Theophylline improved cardiorespiratory performance in these patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease mainly by increasing the ventilatory capacity.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Assessment of exercise capacity in asthmatic children with various degrees of activity.

Physical fitness in a group of 49 stable asthmatic children was determined by an incremental exercise test. Thirty-one normal children served as a control group. The asthmatic children were divided into three groups. Group 1 was comprised of 16 children who actively participated in organized sports, Group 2 of 16 children who did not participate in organized sports but who engaged in free-play, and Group 3 of 17 children with a sedentary life-style who avoided even free-play. The results of cardiopulmonary evaluation before and after maximal incremental exercise testing have shown that Groups 1 and 2 behaved like the control group and their physical fitness was similar. Group 3 whose life-style was sedentary had poor physical fitness as compared to the other asthmatics and to the control group. This was the result of poor cardiovascular conditioning and was unrelated to the respiratory limitation. We conclude that poor physical fitness in asthmatic children is the result of a sedentary life-style and can be potentially normalized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in asthmatic patients].

In order to obtain objective information on physical fitness of asthmatic patients, mainly those with severe chronic airway obstruction, an incremental exercise test was carried out in 50 asthmatics. A control group of 48 healthy subjects had similar anthropometric characteristics. The 2 groups achieved similar maximal heart rates: 96.1 +/- 8 of predicted rate in the asthmatics as compared to 98.4 +/- 4 in the controls. Maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), anaerobic threshold and oxygen pulse (VO2/hr) were significantly lower in the asthmatics. While in mild and moderate cases performance was limited by the cardiovascular system, in severe asthmatics the limitation was respiratory. There was no correlation between severity of airway obstruction and cardiac parameters such as oxygen pulse, anaerobic threshold and VO2max. On the other hand, there was good correlation between FEV1% and the dyspnea index (Ve/MVV%). The latter was less than 60% in all asthmatics when measured during exercise testing at 75% of maximal predicted heart rate. It is thus possible for an asthmatic to engage in physical activity of the intensity that can potentially improve his physical fitness. We assume that reduction in cardiac parameters is a result of poor physical fitness related to prolonged inactivity, quite common in asthmatics as a result of inappropriate physical education.

Asthma↗
PubMed1988

Polyamine levels in petunia genotypes with normal and abnormal floral morphologies.

We characterized the polyamine pathway in Petunia hybrida genotypes that were either wild type or that had been identified as having altered floral morphology. Analysis of four normal morphology lines revealed two patterns of endogenous levels of putrescine and arginine decarboxylase: two with higher levels of putrescine, two with lower levels of putrescine. Analysis of F1 and backcross progeny between high putrescine and low putrescine strains is consistent with their differences being due to a dominant allele for low putrescine content and arginine decarboxylase activity. Four Petunia mutants with floral morphology changes were also screened. One of these mutants, alf, showed high levels of putrescine and high levels of arginine decarboxylase late in development; these high levels were found whether the alf line was present in either of the two types of normal morphology genetic backgrounds that had been characterized.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1985

Regulation in the neural plate of Xenopus laevis demonstrated by genetic markers.

To follow the subsequent history of grafted tissue in experiments designed to study regulation and commitment in the amphibian neural plate, previous workers have relied on graft scars, vital dyes applied externally to cells, or xenoplastic grafts. Each of these methods has been criticized on the grounds that they do not indicate unambiguously the origins of individual cells within the operated host. To overcome these difficulties, homoplastic, genetically marked embryonic grafts were taken from the prospective spinal neuroectoderm of triploid and tetraploid Xenopus laevis frogs and transplanted to presumptive eye and prosencephalic regions of the neural plate of diploid X. laevis embryos. Orthotopic presumptive eye grafts also were done. Marked cells were scored in section either by nucleolar number or computerized nuclear size analysis. Of 28 heterotopically grafted embryos that survived to stage 41, when the retina has differentiated, prospective spinal cord neuroectoderm in eight animals gave rise to cell types unique to the eye. The remaining 20 survivors appeared to be mosaic. These results substantiate claims of regulation in the neural plate and extend these observations to the level of individual cell types, a level of resolution not previously obtained in other studies.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

In vitro metabolic response of articular cartilage segments to low levels of hydrostatic pressure.

Bovine and human articular cartilage segments exhibit variable alterations in metabolism following in vitro exposure to hydrostatic pressure. A decrease in incorporation of the labeled substrates 35SO4, 3H-glycine and 3H-uridine to values less than 50% of non-pressurized tissue results from exposure to pressures between 75 and 300 psi. A pressure of 375 psi consistently results in a 10-15% increase in cartilage synthetic activity in the presence or absence of 10% fetal calf serum. Dialyzed fetal calf serum increases the metabolic response at 375 psi from 10% to 55%. The recovery phase following exposure to pressure includes a release (rebound) phenomenon whereby a burst of metabolic activity elevates the metabolic rate to normal levels when the tissues are inhibited (75-300 psi) and accelerates the metabolic rate by 60% in tissues whose metabolism was elevated (375 psi). These data suggest that articular cartilage chondrocytes have the capacity to rapidly and differentially transform mechanical signals derived from application of hydrostatic pressure into metabolic events. The direction of the response is apparently dictated by the magnitude of the applied force and presence of dialyzable components in serum. Although the force applied only partially mimics in vivo forces, the observed responses to pressure support the thesis that pressure modulation of metabolic activity in articular cartilage may be an important factor in its maintenance.

Animals↗