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Biomedical subjects

D Miller

Publications and source records attributed to D Miller.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

The accuracy of parental reports of their children's intake of fruits and vegetables: validation of a food frequency questionnaire with serum levels of carotenoids and vitamins C, A, and E.

It has been recommended that U.S. children increase their dietary intake of fruits and vegetables. Measuring diets of children to support and evaluate nutritional interventions can be a difficult task, however. We administered to 97 parents of children age 6-10 years a food frequency questionnaire on their children's usual dietary intake over the previous 3 months. We then compared these reports by parents of their children's intakes of fruits and vegetables, and the derived estimates of intake of carotenoids and vitamins C, A, and E, with the children's serum levels of carotenoids and vitamins C, A, and E. The dietary reports of intakes of 35 fruits and vegetables showed Spearman rank-order correlations of 0.30 with serum carotenoids and 0.34 with serum vitamin C. Children in the highest quartile for intake of fruits and vegetables according to their parents' food frequency reports had 35% higher carotene levels and 31% higher vitamin C levels in their serum than did children in the lowest quartile for intake of fruits and vegetables. We conclude that parental reports of young children's diets using food frequency methods are accurate enough to be useful in nutritional screening and dietary surveillance of fruit and vegetable intake.

Ascorbic Acid↗

Scleral buckle removal following retinal reattachment surgery: clinical and microbiologic aspects.

Scleral buckle infection following retinal reattachment surgery is infrequent but not rare. We identified 45 cases among approximately 3000 scleral buckling procedures performed at our institution between July 1, 1985 and July 1, 1991. The scleral buckle was exposed in all 45, and the subsequent microbiologic culture was positive in 33. The most common causative organism was coagulase negative staphylococci (17 of 33 cases with positive cultures). Risk factors for an adverse outcome included positive culture, preoperative vision < or = 20/200, and preoperative retinal detachment. Broad spectrum antibiotics covered organism sensitivity profiles in 16 of the 18 cases tested. Prompt removal of infected buckles and treatment with broad-spectrum topical antibiotics are important for maintaining vision.

Adult↗

Administration of human recombinant IL-7 to normal and irradiated mice increases the numbers of lymphocytes and some immature cells of the myeloid lineage.

In vitro experiments performed by several investigators have demonstrated that IL-7 is a growth factor for immature B lymphocytes, thymocytes, and mature T lymphocytes. To evaluate the potential therapeutic use for human rIL-7 (rhuIL-7) as a hematopoietin, we have studied the in vivo hematopoietic effects of rhuIL-7 in mice. In these experiments, sublethally irradiated and normal mice were treated with or without rhuIL-7 for up to 26 days. Administration of rhuIL-7 significantly increased the white blood cell count in the peripheral blood and spleen in both normal and irradiated mice. Treatment with rhuIL-7 also accelerated lymphocytic recovery in irradiated mice. Precursor and mature B lymphocytes showed the greatest expansion in response to rhuIL-7 administration, with smaller increases in T lymphocytes being observed. In mice recovering from high dose irradiation, rhuIL-7 treatment resulted in preferential expansion of CD8+ T lymphocytes and more rapid normalization of the CD4/CD8 ratios. Differential analysis of peripheral blood smears demonstrated that rhuIL-7 also increased the numbers of immature granulocytes in both normal and irradiated mice. Moreover, administration of rhuIL-7 to normal, irradiated, cyclophosphamide-pretreated, or 5-fluorouracil-pretreated mice increased the number of acetylcholinesterase-positive megakaryocytes in the spleen, but not the bone marrow. Therefore, although the major in vivo effects of rhuIL-7 were on cells of the lymphocytic lineage, rhuIL-7 also increased the numbers of some immature cells of the myeloid lineage.

Animals↗

Purification and characterization of multiple components of human lymphoblastoid interferon-alpha.

Twenty-two components of human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) derived from Sendai virus-induced Namalwa cells were purified by sequential immunoadsorbent affinity chromatography using four monoclonal antibody affinity columns followed by ultrafiltration and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The specific activity ranged from 0.2 to 2.6 x 10(8) IU/mg protein on Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells, 0.3 to 4.6 x 10(8) IU/mg protein on human WISH cells, and 10(4) to 7 x 10(5) units/mg protein on mouse L929 cells. The apparent molecular weights of the components ranged from 17,500 to 23,300 using nonreducing sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and 17,500 to 27,600 using reducing sodium dodecyl polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The amino-terminal amino acid sequences were similar among the components as well as to those reported for the cloned human IFN-alpha genes (Pestka, S. (1986) Methods Enzymol. 119, 3-14). However, four components, f, i, l, and m, have amino-terminal amino acid sequences which appear to be unique when compared to those predicted from the cDNA clones. One component, pre-a, has a potential N-linked glycosylation site on the Asn of residues 2 through 4, Asn-Leu-Ser.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The 260-kDa transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta binding protein in rat glomeruli is a complex comprised of 170- and 85-kDa TGF-beta binding proteins.

In a previous study (MacKay, K., Robbins, A. R., Bruce, M. D., and Danielpour, D. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 9351-9356) we showed that rat glomeruli contain transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 binding proteins with apparent molecular masses of 260, 170, and 85 kDa (Gl-260, Gl-170, Gl-85) as determined by electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions. We demonstrate here that Gl-260 is a complex of 170- and 85-kDa TGF-beta binding proteins. Under denaturing conditions the integrity of Gl-260 is maintained through the cross-linking of one monomer of the disulfide-linked TGF-beta 1 homodimer to Gl-85 and of the other monomer to the 100-kDa subunit of Gl-170. In addition, some Gl-260 complexes are maintained by direct cross-linking of Gl-85 to the 100-kDa subunit of Gl-170. One-dimensional peptide maps of Gl-85 and the 100-kDa subunit of Gl-170 indicate that they have distinctly different ligand binding domains. In contrast, peptide maps of Gl-85 and the type II receptor of normal rat kidney fibroblasts are similar. The biological responses of isolated glomeruli to TGF-beta appear to parallel those of cultured glomerular cells which are without detectable Gl-170 and Gl-260 binding proteins.

Affinity Labels↗

Phocine distemper virus outbreak in the Moray Firth common seal population: an estimate of mortality.

Changes in abundance at haul-out sites were followed, and data on the number of deaths collected, to describe the pattern and extent of mortality resulting from the 1988 phocine distemper virus outbreak in the Moray Firth common seal population. Mortality in this population was estimated to be between 10% and 20%, and was low in comparison to some other parts of the North Sea. Most deaths occurred in the 3-month period from 1st August 1988, and there was no sign of a resurgence of the disease during the 1989 breeding season or moult.

Aging↗

Quality of life in multiple sclerosis. Comparison with inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and other chronic illnesses can drastically decrease quality of life (QOL), but there has been little systematic study of QOL in patients with chronic medical diseases. We analyzed QOL in 68 patients with MS, 164 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and 75 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The previously validated test instrument was a standardized interview consisting of 41 questions clustered in four subscales: functional and economic scale, social and recreational scale, affect and life in general scale, and medical problems scale. Patients were included in the study if they had a definite medical diagnosis and disease duration of 10 years or longer. In the patients with MS, Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale correlated strongly only with the medical problems score. Of Kurtzke's Functional System Scales, only the visual Functional System Scores was correlated with total QOL and subscale scores, suggesting that vision is strongly related to QOL. Duration of MS was unrelated to QOL scores. There were significant differences between patients with MS, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatoid arthritis on the subscale and total QOL scores. Results suggested that QOL was best in the inflammatory bowel disease group and worst in the MS group. Numerous statistically significant differences on individual questions were evident, suggesting that unique clinical profiles differentially characterize these diseases. Assessments of QOL are a meaningful addition to impairment scales, such as Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale. Furthermore, QOL scores may meaningfully measure the impact of a chronic medical disease, such as MS, compare the impacts of different diseases, and assess the effects of therapeutic intervention.

Activities of Daily Living↗