Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Singh.
This article reports the results of photorefractive keratectomy in nine patients between 10 and 15 years of age who were treated for the following refractive errors: unilateral myopia, post intraocular lens myopia, and unequal hypermetropia with amblyopia. Visual acuity improved and spectacle correction decreased in all patients. There was significant visual improvement with pleoptic treatment in one amblyopic hypermetropic patient.
Two studies were conducted to examine the role of male body shape (as defined by waist-to-hip ratio [WHR]) in female mate choice. In Study 1, college-age women judged normal-weight male figures with WHR in the typical male range as most attractive, healthy, and possessing many positive personal qualities. In Study 2, 18-69-year-old women rated normal-weight male figures with differing WHRs and purported income for casual (having coffee) to most-committed (marriage) relationships. All women, regardless of their age, education level, or family income, rated figures with WHRs in the typical male range and higher financial status more favorably. These findings are explained within an evolutionary mate selection context.
Eggs of 11 forensically important calliphorid species belonging to six genera were studied with SEM for useful diagnostic characters. Identification was confounded by the following three factors: (1) variability within and among populations of the same species, (2) similarities among some congeneric species, and (3) similarities between some species of different genera. Reliable separation based on morphology should take into account relevant aspects of blow fly biology as it is affected by locality, climate, season, and weather.
The clinical and microbiological data of 60 neonates, 23 from the Neonatal Unit (Group I) and 37 (Group II) from the General Paediatric Wards with meningitis are presented. The overall prevalence/1000 was significantly lower in Group I (0.36) than in Group II (1.11; P < 0.0001). This low incidence follows the introduction of amikacin for the treatment of the ill neonate in 1986. Streptococcus agalactiae 21 (35 per cent), Klebsiella pneumoniae 17 (28 per cent) and E. coli 10 (17 per cent) were the commonest pathogens accounting for 80 per cent of the cases. Streptococcus agalactiae isolates were uniformly susceptible to penicillin and chloramphenicol. Gram negative isolates showed resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol and sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim. In addition K. pneumoniae isolates showed resistance to gentamycin and amikacin. All isolates were fully susceptible to cefotaxime. Recently, four of six cases of K. pneumoniae in the Neonatal Unit were resistant to amikacin. Low birth weight, additional clinical problems, and ultrasound changes on cranial scanning carried a poor prognosis. Emphasis should be placed on close collaboration between clinicians and microbiologists in the choice of antimicrobial agents and aseptic techniques for the care of neonates.
OBJECTIVE: To apply an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopic technique as a means of determining the oxidising capacity of reactive oxygen species produced during hypoxia and reoxygenation of diseased human synovial tissue. METHODS: Twenty four specimens of fresh synovial tissue were obtained from patients undergoing primary total knee joint replacement and graded according to the degree of inflammation present. Tissue samples were subjected to an ex vivo hypoxia-reoxygenation cycle in the presence of the nitroso based spin trap, 3,5-dibromo-4-nitrosobenzene sulphonate. The degree of oxidation of the spin trap to a stable free radical was determined and followed with time. Control samples were subjected to hypoxia only. RESULTS: The results indicate that the oxidising capacity of reactive oxygen species produced by human synovial tissue varies with the degree of inflammation present. Only the more inflamed specimens, from both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients, demonstrated increased production of reactive oxygen species when subjected to a hypoxia-reoxygenation cycle. This change was reduced by both competitive and non-competitive inhibitors of the endothelial based enzyme xanthine oxidase. The relative concentration of reactive oxygen species generated by the synovial tissue samples correlated with the mean capillary density of the specimens. CONCLUSION: This study supports the hypothesis of movement induced hypoxicreperfusion injury of the chronically inflamed joint by demonstrating the generation of reactive oxygen species within inflamed human synovium following an ex vivo hypoxia-reoxygenation cycle. Evidence is presented that the microvascular endothelial based enzyme xanthine oxidase is the predominant source of ESR detectable oxidising species in inflamed synovial specimens exposed to hypoxia-reoxygenation.
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Oxygen free radical scavenging enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase were heterogeneously distributed in goat ovary. Activities of SOD and catalase were predominantly located in cytosolic fractions compared to mitochondrial and microsomal fractions. Most of the peroxidase activity was observed in microsomal fractions with little activity in cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions. Higher activities of all these enzymes were in luteal phase as compared to follicular phase. Most of the activities of these enzymes in luteal phase were restricted to luteal cells while in follicular phase these were mainly present in the follicles of the ovary.
DNA profiling is currently the most novel technique utilized in family law and criminal matters where the identity or identification of an individual is in dispute. Its recognized potential, as a tool for identification, is phenomenal. In the light of the overwhelming acceptance of the test and the results yielded by both the popular and professional press, a mantle of almost mystic infallibility fell over the evidence provided by DNA typing in many courtrooms across the world. Fortunately, in certain jurisdictions, the naturally enquiring mind of man reasserted itself and legal brains began to recognize a potential for error in the test procedures and results. Thus emerged the challenge to the notion of absolute reliability and trustworthiness of the test findings. To date, as several cases indicate, these results have already been successfully disputed, ensuring the acquittal of accused who, in the early days, would have had only little hope of success.
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We examined the interrelationships of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body dissatisfaction, gender, and depressed and eating disordered symptoms cross-sectionally among 131 male and female undergraduates. Based on past findings on physical and mental health, attractiveness, and depressive realism, we predicted that the WHR x Depression x Gender interaction would be significantly related to body dissatisfaction, such that the correspondence between WHR and body dissatisfaction would be more pronounced among depressed than among nondepressed women and men. This hypothesis received support. Implications of our results for work on body dissatisfaction were discussed.
Interrelationships of female body fat distribution as measured by the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), overall body size, perceived attractiveness, youthfulness, health, and need to lose weight were investigated. Drawings showing thin females with high WHRs and heavier females with low WHRs were presented to college-age women with low and high scores on the Restrained Eating Scale (Herman & Polivy. [1980]. Obesity [pp. 208-225]. Philadelphia: Saunders) and men who ranked figures for various attributes. Female subjects, regardless of their eating style, as well as male subjects, judged heavier female target figures with low WHRs as more attractive and healthier than thinner figures with higher WHRs. The rankings for youthfulness and need to lose weight were not systematically affected by the size of the WHR. Female subjects perceived heavier female target figures with low WHR to represent ideal female figures. Female subjects with a restrained eating style felt their own body was not similar to idealized female figures and expressed unhappiness with their body shape; this was not true of unrestrained eaters. It is proposed that female attractiveness and ideal female shape may be more influenced by WHR than overall body size.
The relation between body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and perception of desirable female body shape was investigated in college-age black men and women. Subjects judged attractiveness, various personal qualities, and desirability for long-term relationships of 12 line drawings of female figures that represented three body weight categories (normal, underweight, and overweight) and four levels of WHRs (0.7, 0.8, 0.9, and 1.0). Judgments of attractiveness and desirability for long-term relationships were affected by body weight and the size of the WHR. Both male and female subjects ranked normal weight figures with 0.7 and 0.8 WHR as more attractive and desirable for long-term relationships; neither underweight nor overweight figures, irrespective of WHR size, were assigned high ranking for these variables. These findings do not support the notion that black young men and women find overweight female figures as desirable and attractive.
MRI was performed on 26 patients with tuberculous meningitis, with particular reference to document the cranial nerve abnormalities. MR angiography (MRA) was performed in 20 of the patients. Meningeal enhancement in the basal cisterns or over the convexity of brain was seen in all patients; two show ependymal enhancement. Tuberculomas, single (3), multiple (12) or miliary (2) were detected in 17 patients. Of the 9 patients with cranial nerve palsies, 7 showed contrast enhancement with or without thickening of the involved nerve. Abnormality signal intensity of the involved nerve was seen on proton density and T2-weighted images in one of these patients. MRA revealed focal arterial narrowing in 10 patients, the vessels commonly affected being the terminal segment of the internal carotid artery and the proximal segments of the middle and anterior cerebral arteries. One patient also had a small aneurysm of the proximal middle cerebral artery. Infarcts, haemorrhagic (8) or bland (6), were detected in 14 patients; most were the basal ganglia and internal capsules, large middle or anterior cerebral arterial territory infarcts being seen in only two cases.
The effects of exchangeable cations (H+ and Na+), autoclaving, organic matter, cationic and anionic surfactants, and temperature on the adsorption of carbofuran on two different types of soils were studied. The adsorption isotherms for all effects/treatments were in close agreement with the Freundlich equation and yielded S-shaped isotherms. The amount of carbofuran adsorbed in all cases was higher in Jhansi red loam soil than in Pilibhit sandy loam soil and was related to organic matter content, clay content, CaCO3 content, surface area, and cation-exchange capacity of the soils. The adsorption on soils from both sites follows the order H soil-->Na soil-->natural soil at 25 degrees C-->autoclaved soil-->soil from which organic matter had been removed-->cationic surfactant-->anionic surfactant-->natural soil at 50 degrees C and was in accordance with Freundlich constant K values and distribution coefficient Kd values. The adsorptive capacity of carbofuran for organic matter and clay content for both the Jhansi and the Pilibhit soils was also evaluated by calculating Kom and Kc values, and it was found that the carbofuran adsorption was better correlated with clay content than with organic matter content of soils. On the basis of adsorption isotherms, various thermodynamic parameters such as the thermodynamic equilibrium constant Ko, standard free energy (delta G zero) changes standard ethalpy (delta H zero) changes, and standard entropy (delta S zero) changes have been calculated in order to predict the nature of isotherms.
The reliability and validity of the Westminster Substance Use Questionnaire (WASQ) was examined in a pilot study involving a sample of secondary school pupils in Blackburn borough, Lancashire, UK. The questionnaire performed well on all the indices tested and the findings of the exercise facilitated a fairly accurate and meaningful interpretation of the prevalence data obtained in the main study. The instrument is thus recommended for use in adolescent substance use surveys in the UK and elsewhere although further validation or slight modification may be necessary to suit local needs.
The carriage rates of Staphylococcus aureus in the anterior nares of children and women as well as in the vagina of women were determined. The ability of strains of S. aureus to produce toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and their susceptibility to phages of the international phage set (IPS) for human strains were also investigated. Of 200 women studied, the carriage rate of S. aureus in high vaginal swabs and anterior nares swabs was 57 (28.5%) and 73 (36.5%), respectively. Eight (4.0%) and 16 (8.0%) patients were carriers of TSST-1-producing strains in their vaginas and anterior nares, respectively. Amongst the 220 children sampled, 100 (45.5%) were carriers of S. aureus in their anterior nares, with 51 (23.2%) children being positive for TSST-1 producing strains. Overall, of the 233 strains of S. aureus isolated from all sources 176 (75.5%) were typable and 75 (32.2%) were positive for TSST-1 production. For strains from anterior nares, isolates from children were more susceptible (81.2%) to IPS phages than those from women (67.1%) but the difference was not significant (P > or = 0.05; chi 2). Forty-five (76.3%) of 59 strains of vaginal origin were typable. The frequency of production of TSST-1 amongst strains isolated from children, i.e. (50.5% (51 of 101), was significantly higher (P > or = 0.001; chi 2) than that found for isolates from women's anterior nares (21.9%) and vagina (13.6%). S. aureus was recovered from both the anterior nares and vaginal swabs of 11 patients sampled. The phage patterns of 5 of the 6 typable pairs of isolates established their relatedness suggesting that the same strains colonized the anterior nares and vagina of each of these patients. It was concluded that the carriage of TSST-1-producing strains of S. aureus in the anterior nares and vagina of women was much lower than that detected in children's anterior nares and that the risk of vaginal toxic shock syndrome (TSS) in Trinidadian women was relatively low. Susceptibility of strains was high to IPS phages. Epidemiological significance was attributed to the finding that the same strains of S. aureus colonized the anterior nares and vaginas of some women.
Survival of pupae of known ages after 1 to 5 d of submersion under water was assessed by determining the emergence of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy), Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy), Cochliomyia macellaria (F.), Phormia regina (Meigen), and Phaenicia sericata (Meigen). Survival after 1 d of submergence was < 14% in the white puparial stage, 0-100% in pharate adults nearing eclosion, and approximately 100% in pupae between these two stages. This pattern inversely tracks O2 consumption during metamorphosis. Twenty-five percent of the pupae of three species (P. terraenovae, P. regina, and P. sericata) produced normal adults after 4 d of submersion, but none after 5 d. Among survivors, the pupation period was extended by the duration of submersion. Pupae of C. vicina were least able to withstand drowning. These data are potentially useful in estimating duration of submergence of a corpse in forensic investigations where the corpse becomes submerged after the larvae have developed and pupariated.
Sexual dimorphism in body fat distribution as measured by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is unique to humans. The WHR has been shown to be an accurate predictor of risk for various diseases, premature mortality, degree of androgenicity/estrogenicity and fecundity of women, independent of overall body weight. This study investigated whether physicians would be influenced by body size or WHR in assessing health, youthfulness, and reproductive capability of a woman. Line drawings of 12 female figures representing three categories of body weight (normal, underweight and overweight) and four sizes of WHR (0.7, 0.8, 0.9 and 1.0) were ranked by male and female physicians for these qualities as well as for attractiveness and intelligence. Both males and females assigned higher ranking for many of these qualities to normal weight figures with low WHRs (0.7 and 0.8). Overweight figures were assigned low rankings for all these qualities except reproductive capability. Underweight figures, regardless of WHR size, were assigned low ranking for reproductive capability and those underweight figures that had high WHRs (0.9 and 1.0) were assigned low ranking for healthiness. While there were minor sex differences in ranking of some attributes for some figures, generally both male and female physicians utilized the WHR in a similar manner to infer healthiness, reproductive capability and attractiveness.