Biomedical subjects
C L Berry
Publications and source records attributed to C L Berry.
Solitary "necrotic nodule" of the liver: a probable pathogenesis.
Examination of two lesions in the anterior margin of the liver suggested that the origin of the so called "solitary necrotic" nodule lies in non-malignant tissue. An origin in sclerosing haemangioma seems probable.
Production of necropsy reports by medical staff using a computer system.
A computer system for reporting necropsies by medical staff is described, which includes diagrams and allows typing to be kept to minimum owing to the format and the development of a lexicon. The system has been in use for a year, during which time it has been modified.
Malformations and tumours in infants.
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Three-dimensional culture of rat exocrine pancreatic cells using collagen gels.
Rat pancreatic cells were dissociated using a combined enzyme and EDTA method, grown on a plastic surface and then overlayed with collagen gel. Our studies have shown that exocrine pancreatic cells grown in this way have the ability to rearrange themselves into a three-dimensional organoid structure in which well defined epithelial lumina have been identified by ultrastructural and light microscopic examination. This in vitro system has advantages in examining the cytodifferentiation of pancreatic cells and may be exploited in studying pancreatic carcinogenesis.
The static elastic properties and chemical composition of the rat aorta in spontaneously occurring and experimentally induced hypertension: the effect of an anti-hypertensive drug.
The static elasticity and scleroprotein content of the aorta have been measured in 24 Okamoto spontaneously hypertensive rats aged 22-25 weeks, and 24 Wistars of the same age in which hypertension had been induced by nephrectomy and treated with a steroid. From the age of 4 weeks half the animals in each group were treated with a diuretic drug. By the age of 15 weeks caudal artery systolic blood pressure was significantly lower than control values in both drug-treated groups and remained so until death. Both types of hypertension were associated with larger diameter, thicker-walled and heavier aortas than those in the drug-treated animals. Vessels from Okamoto animals contained more collagen than those from the Wistars, although the collagen content was unchanged by drug treatment. Neither drug nor strain had any clear-cut affect on elastin content. In spite of these differences in wall thickness and chemical composition, values of the functional stiffness of the aorta measured over a wide range of pressure were similar in all four groups of animals. Using a simple model of the aorta in which elastin and collagen bear stress in parallel we find that the relationship between vessel composition and static incremental elastic modulus (structural stiffness) is similar in both models of hypertension and is not changed by drug treatment in spite of the consequent reduction in blood pressure.
The effects of high dose sporadic (binge) alcohol intake in mice.
BALB/c and CBA/h mice were used to investigate the teratogenic effects of sporadic high doses of ethanol. Two consecutive days between days 8 and 11 of organogenesis were chosen on which to administer 0.5 ml of 20 percent ethanol by gavage. An additional group was similarly dosed for four consecutive days starting on the eighth day. All the mice were killed on day 18 of gestation and evidence of growth retardation and malformation in the offspring was sought by skeletal and soft tissue screening. The basic pharmacokinetics of ethanol intake were also investigated. The most marked effects of ethanol were an increase in resorptions, skeletal growth retardation and skeletal variants, however all appeared to be strain specific. The results confirm that ethanol is embryotoxic and suggest that animal models are appropriate for studying aspects of growth retardation.
Temporal variations in carcinogenic effects.
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Transplacental carcinogenesis with radioactive phosphorus: the effects of promoting agents.
In a previous experiment, using 32P as a potential transplacental carcinogen in rats, we found that the isotope caused life-span shortening, reduced growth and caused ante-dating of the time of the tumour occurrence. Liver cell changes (nuclear atypia, variation in cell size) were noted and suggested liver cell damage, possible 'initiation'. A phorbol ester (TPA) and a high fat/high protein diet were used as promoting agents on further transplacentally irradiated rats. The results were identical to the previous experiment; no evidence of promotion was found.
Histopathology reporting of mastectomy specimens--an assessment of inter-hospital variation.
The routine histopathological reporting of mastectomy specimens at a typical District general hospital and a London teaching hospital have been reviewed. Deficiencies in the assessment of prognostically important variables were revealed. Ways of improving standards are discussed.
Computer programs in cytology reporting and record keeping.
Large numbers of specimens are handled by cytology laboratories. There is great variation in their origin, a need for a name and disease index and for statistical data about the source and nature of the specimens. A computer program was devised to reduce this workload and to improve the accuracy of record keeping. Much of the tedium of this important aspect of laboratory function can thus be removed.
Development, differentiation and degenerative disease.
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Transplacental carcinogenesis with radioactive phosphorus.
1 An attempt was made to produce a model of osteogenic sarcoma using 32P transplacentally. 2 Fetal tissues appeared to be resistant to irradiation as no tumour was induced at an increased frequency in treated animals. 3 Tumours that normally occur in our strain (Sprague-Dawley rats) showed a clear tendancy to occur earlier in post-natal life in treated animals compared with controls.
Morphometric investigation of hypertrophy in the arteries of DOCA-hypertensive rats.
The increase in peripheral resistance of the vascular bed in hypertension has been attributed to adaptive hypertrophy of the media or a so-called contracture of the arterial wall due to altered reactivity of smooth muscle cells. We have measured medial cross-sectional area, numbers of smooth muscle cell nuclei and the relative proportions of scleroproteins present in the media in hypertensive rats. The results show that hyperplasia of smooth muscle cells and an increase in medial area occur in hypertension, a change most marked in the peripheral branches of the renal artery.
Changes in the distensibility of the intrapulmonary arteries in the normal newborn and growing pig.
The static elastic properties and structure of the intra-pulmonary arteries have been studied in pigs from fetal life to 4 months old, by radiographic and histological methods. During this period the average radius of the vessels examined varied from approximately equal to 0.9 mm at birth to 3.3 mm at the age of 4 months. The form of the pressure radius curves was similar to that observed in the systemic circulation and was characteristic of the gradual recruitment of collagen fibres with increasing pressure. In vessels near the hilum, wall thickness decreased from approximately equal to 180 microns to 100 microns during the first 2 weeks and thereafter increased to approximately equal to 250 microns. Throughout the lung and in all age groups there was a linear relationship between the logarithm of pressure strain elastic modulus (used as a measure of functional stiffness) and pressure. In contrast to the systemic arteries there was little change in functional stiffness towards the periphery, although the incremental elastic modulus (structural stiffness) did increase at sites further removed from the heart. During the first two weeks of life there was little change in functional stiffness (Ep approximately equal to 1.1 X 10(4) Nm2) although by 4 months Ep had increased by a factor of three. During this period despite fluctuations with age, an overall increase in structural stiffness was also observed (EINC approximately equal to 1 X 10(5) at 4 to 6 h to 2 X 10(5) Nm-2 at 4 months). The observations suggest that the changes in elasticity observed in early life are a consequence of the adaptation of the circulation to the lower pulmonary arterial pressure of extra-uterine life.
Computer programs in histopathology record keeping.
Increasing work loads, changes in the nature of data obtained from biopsies, and the use of laboratory statistics in determining financial provision for pathological services combine to enhance the value of computer generated results and indexing in histopathology. The system described here depends on an indexed file system using the Basic Plus-2 language with a PDP-11 computer and SNOP. Error traps are included. The system is designed for secretarial use, SNOP coding being carried out by medical staff.
Immunocytochemistry of gastric mucosal blood groups.
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Intraventricular fetus-in-fetu. Case report.
The authors present a case of an intraventricular 14-cm fetus in a 6-week-old infant who presented with enlarging head size. The entire intracranial fetus, with recognizable limbs, trunk, head, and exomphalos, was removed totally from the lateral and third ventricles, with excellent recovery in the patient, who is now 18 months old. The cytogenetical and tissue histological studies are reported. The embryology, operative procedure, and pathology of this condition are discussed and the literature briefly reviewed.