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Biomedical subjects

D Miles

Publications and source records attributed to D Miles.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Loss of visual function associated with microalbuminuria in diabetes mellitus: a pilot study.

Visual function loss has been documented in diabetes mellitus in relation to flicker and contrast. However, no direct correlation between the degree of loss in sensitivity and the level of retinopathy has been established. It has been suggested that such non-invasive psychophysical procedures actually reflect metabolic disturbances within the diabetic retina. This study investigates the possibility of whether early nephropathy demonstrated by microalbuminuria, is an indicator of microangiopathy which may be a cause of retinal disturbance leading to a loss of visual function. The visual function of a group of diabetics showing microalbuminuria was studied. Contrast and flicker threshold were measured and the results compared with those obtained with an age-matched control diabetic group. The procedures used effectively separated the two groups and raises the issue of incorporating psychophysics in retinal screening programmes.

Albuminuria↗
PubMed1986

Chloroplast gene expression in nuclear, photosynthetic mutants of maize.

To assess possible roles of nuclear genes in chloroplast biogenesis, five photosynthetic mutants of maize with nuclear lesions were characterized with respect to their chloroplast proteins and chloroplast RNAs. Each mutant is deficient in a characteristic set of polypeptides. The high sensitivity and resolution of immunoblot analysis revealed that in no case are polypeptides completely missing. Mutants deficient in the cytochrome f/b6 or photosystem I complex show a coordinate reduction of all of the core subunits of these complexes such that the correct stoichiometries are maintained. RNA transcripts encoding most of the affected plastid-encoded proteins were analyzed on Northern blots. In general, chloroplast RNAs in mutant seedlings were not altered in size or abundance, even when the corresponding protein was barely detectable. Therefore, in most cases the nuclear lesions act within the chloroplast at a post-transcriptional level to prevent expression of chloroplast-encoded polypeptides. One mutant, hcf-38, does show striking alterations in the abundance and size of many chloroplast transcripts. The hcf-38 locus might therefore encode a product that functions in chloroplast transcription or RNA processing.

Cell Nucleus↗