Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Moore.
Visual acuity was measured by determining the highest spatial acuity at which chickens aged 1-25 days jumped consistently to a physically supported grating instead of to an unsupported homogeneous field. In contrast to the gradual visual development found for kittens, monkeys, and humans, the chicken exhibits asymptotic sensitivity to spatial detail (with acuity at about 1.5 c/deg) within 48 h of hatching.
We had previously demonstrated that several F specific polypeptide bands could be detected in the membranes of Flac, but not F- strains of Escherichia coli K12, (Moore et al. 1981). One of these polypeptides co-migrated with F-pilin protein on polyacrylamide gels. We have now analyzed 35[S]methionine labelled membrane preparations from a series of strains containing Flac tra mutant plasmids. The F-pilin polypeptide was absent from preparations of strains containing all traA mutants tested, confirming the importance of the traA gene on F-pilin biosynthesis. A polypeptide which migrate in the F-pilin position was still present, however, in membranes prepared from Flac strains carrying mutations in traL, traE, traK, traB, traV, traW, traC, traU, traF, traH or traG despite the inability of these mutants to elaborate F-pili filaments. Thus, all of these gene products may be concerned with F-pilus assembly and outgrowth rather than biosynthesis of the F-pilin subunit. The polar mutation tra-4 did, however, prevent the appearance of pilin polypeptide, indicating that at least one unidentified gene in the region between traE and traG must also be required in F-pilin biosynthesis. Our analysis also permitted the identification of a 100,000 dalton membrane protein as the product of traG. The appearance of an F specific 12,000 dalton protein was prevented by traD amber mutants. As expected, traJ mutants prevented the expression of all the tra operon products detected except the product of traT. The traT product band was reduced only to 50 - 60% of its normal intensity.
Pathologic changes in renal glomeruli of mice with systemic murine lupus erythematosus were quantified using microfluorophotometry. Cryostat sections were taken from kidneys of affected mice, stained with fluorescein-conjugated anti-mouse immunoglobulin, and the extent of immune complex glomerulonephritis was determined. A subjective microscopic examination procedure, which has been used previously, was compared with quantitative microfluorophotometry and a close correlation between the results using each of the two methods was found. Since the microfluorometric procedure measures the total fluorescence per glomerulus, subjective microscopy must estimate that same quantity in a linear fashion. The present advance in measuring capability indicates good potential for rapid, quantitative measurements for further studies on systemic lupus erythematosus, and on other tissue sections stained with fluorescent antibodies.
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Polyacrylamide gel analysis of [35S]methionine-labeled membrane preparations from Escherichia coli has revealed the presence of five polypeptides present only in the membranes of cells containing the conjugative plasmid F. In addition to the previously reported product of traT, polypeptides migrating with apparent molecular weights of 100,000, 23,500, 12,000, and 7,000 were resolved. Membrane preparations from F traJ mutants lacked these polypeptides, indicating that all of these proteins are tra gene products. The 7,000-molecular-weight polypeptide comigrated with unlabeled purified F-pilin protein. About 4 to 5% of the total radioactive label in whole membrane preparations was present in this polypeptide, indicating the existence of a substantial pool of membrane-associated F-pilin. The polypeptide could be extracted from whole membrane preparations with Triton X-100 and was found in the inner membrane fraction of membranes separated by sucrose density centrifugation.
Semen was collected from 50 men occupationally exposed to carbaryl (1-naphthyl methyl carbamate) in a produciton plant for durations of 1 to 18 years and compared to semen from a control group of 34 unexposed, newly-hired workers. Employment, fertility, health, personal data, and blood samples were collected for each individual. Semen samples were analyzed for changes in sperm count, morphology, and frequency of sperm carrying double flourescent bodies (YFF). As a group, the exposed workers showed a significantly higher proportion of sperm with abnormal head shapes than did the control group (p < 0.005). Age, smoking habits, and medical problems did not appear to affect this result. This finding appears to be limited to men working in the carbaryl production area at the time of sampling. Sperm count and YFF did not show similar differences, which may be because they are known to be statistically less sensitive to small changes. Formerly exposed workers (away from carbaryl for an average of 6.3 years) showed a marginally significant elevation in sperm abnormalities compared to controls (p < .05, one-tailed statistical analyses) suggesting that the increase in abnormal morphology may not be reversible. However, the question of reversibility is sensitive to confounding factors and small sample sizes and, therefore, requires further study. With these data a definitive link between carbaryl exposure and human seminal defects cannot be established. Although a distinct effect on sperm morphology was seen in the exposed group, the increases in sperm shape abnormalities were not related to exposure dose (estimated by number of years on the job or job classification during the year prior to semen collection). Inexplicably, the increases in sperm abnormalities were seen primarily in currently exposed men who had worked with carbaryl for less than approximately 6 years. These findings suggest the need for further study since other workplace-related factor(s) may be responsible for the elevated sperm abnormalities seen in this study.
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Patients with tardive dyskinesia showed no significant difference in CSF HVA when compared with groups of schizophrenic or depressives. CSF cAMP in the tardive dyskinesia group was significantly lower when compared to schizophrenics but not depressives. These results do not support a dopamine-receptor supersensitivity hypothesis in permanent tardive dyskinesia.
Two transport systems for glucose were detected: a high affinity system with a Km of 27 muM, and a low affinity system with a Km of 3.3 mM. The high affinity system transported glucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (Km = 26 muM), 3-O-methylglucose (Km = 19 muM), D-glucosamine (Km = 652 muM), D-fructose (Km = 2.3 mM) and L-sorbose (Km = 2.2 mM). All sugars were accumulated against concentration gradients. The high affinity system was strongly or completely inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, quercetin, 2,4-dinitrophenol and sodium azide. The system had a distinct pH optimum (7.4) and optimum temperature (45 degrees C). The low affinity system transported glucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (Km = 7.5 mM), and 3-O-methylglucose (Km = 1.5 mM). Accumulation again occurred against a concentration gradient. The low affinity system was inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, quercetin and 2,4-dinitrophenol, but not by sodium azide. The rate of uptake by the low affinity system was constant over a wide temperature range (30--50 degrees C) and was not much affected by pH; but as the pH of the medium was altered from 4.5 to 8.9 a co-ordinated increase in affinity for 2-deoxy-D-glucose (from 52.1 mM to 0.3 mM) and decrease in maximum velocity (by a factor of five) occurred. Both uptake systems were present insporelings germinated in media containing sodium acetate as sole carbon source. Only the low affinity system could initially be demonstrated in glucose-grown tissue, although the high affinity system was restored by starvation inglucose-free medium. The half-ti me for restoration of high affinity activity was 3.5 min and the process was unaffected by cycloheximide. Addition of glucose to an acetate-grown culture inactivated the high affinity system with a half-life of 5--7.5 s. Addition of cycloheximide to an acetate-grown culture caused decay of the high affinity system with a half-life of 80 min. Regulation is thus thought to depend on modulation of protein activity rather than synthesis, and the kinetics of glucose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose and 3-O-methylglucose uptake would be consistent with there being a single carrier showing negative co-operativity. Analysis of transport defective mutants revealed defects in both transport systems although the mutants used were alleles of a single gene. It is concluded that this gene (the ftr cistron) is the structural gene for an allosteric molecule which serves both transport systems.
We describe a FORTRAN computer program for fitting the logistic distribution function: (formula: see text) Where x represents dose or time, to dose-response data. The program determines both weighted least squares and maximum likelihood estimates for the parameters alpha and beta. It also calculates the standard errors of alpha and beta under both estimation methods, as well as the median lethal dose (LD50) and its standard error. Dose--response curves found by both fitting methods can be plotted as well as the 95% confidence bands for these lines.
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The syndrome of massive and sometimes fatal epistaxis from an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery is reviewed. Two cases are reported in which exsanguination occurred with anterior and posterior gauze packing in place. The use of standard methods for controlling severe epistaxis in this syndrome was a futile exercise. This distressing and frustrating experience prompted the development of an emergency method to prevent exsanguination pending definitive surgical treatment. A description of this technique is presented and a proposal made for its use.
Tilt aftereffects induced by line gratings are maximal when the test and inducing stimuli have an angular separation of 10 degrees-15 degrees. Similar effects induced by prismatically tilted real-object scenes have been found to increase monotonically with scene tilt. The difference between these two angular functions of aftereffect (that induced by gratings and that induced by real objects) has been attributed to the 'meaning' inherent in the real-object scenes. The preliminary experiments described here suggest that tilt aftereffects and illusions induced by projected slides of tilted real-object scenes have angular functions similar to that induced by a line grating. Hence, the monotonically increasing angular function obtained in the prism studies is not necessarily determined by the use of real-object scenes.
58 patients, whose convulsions and behavioral disorders did not respond to nonsurgical therapy, were treated with stereotactic amygdalotomy between 1963 and 1973. A retrospective study was carried out by a psychiatric research team 1--11 years postoperatively. Using reliable objective methods of assessment they found that 50% operated primarily for seizures, 33% for uncontrolled conduct disorders and 50% with both conditions seemed improved after surgery.