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Biomedical subjects

E Gray

Publications and source records attributed to E Gray.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Increased nitric oxide production in acute diarrhoea is associated with abnormal gut permeability, hypokalaemia and malnutrition in tropical Australian aboriginal children.

Australian Aboriginal children hospitalized with diarrhoeal disease have severe manifestations with acidosis, hypokalaemia, osmotic diarrhoea and abnormal small bowel permeability. Nitric oxide (NO) production is increased in diarrhoeal disease, but its relationship to mucosal function and diarrhoeal complications is not known. We examined the relationship between NO production and complications of acute diarrhoea in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children between February 1998 and February 2000. We enrolled 318 children admitted to Royal Darwin Hospital into one of three groups: acute diarrhoea, non-diarrhoeal controls with no inflammatory illness, and non-diarrhoeal controls with inflammatory illness. Nitric oxide production was measured by urine nitrate-creatinine (NOx/Cr) excretion on a low nitrate diet. Small bowel intestinal permeability was measured by the lactulose-rhamnose (L/R) ratio on a timed blood specimen. The NOx/Cr ratios were markedly elevated in Aboriginal diarrhoeal cases (geometric mean [GM] = 1.23, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.07-1.44), lowest in non-Aboriginal non-inflammatory controls (GM = 0.13, 95% CI 0.10-0.16) and intermediate in all other groups (GM = 0.35, 95% CI 0.28-0.43). Convalescent levels (day 5) in the Aboriginal diarrhoeal group (GM = 1.02, 95% CI 0.82-1.28) were slower to fall than L/R ratios. Multivariate analysis in the diarrhoeal group indicated that high NO production was associated with abnormal permeability, hypokalaemia and malnutrition, but not with the severity of diarrhoea, acidosis or osmotic diarrhoea. We concluded that increased NO production may contribute to impaired mucosal barrier function and hypokalaemia in acute gastroenteritis, which may be the cost of the known gut-protective and antimicrobial effects mediated by NO in acute intestinal inflammation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ethanol, errors, and the speed-accuracy trade-off.

Ethanol has been shown to have a relatively greater effect on error rates in speeded tasks than temazepam, and this may be due to a differential effect on the speed-accuracy trade-off (SATO). This study used different instruction sets to influence the SATO. Forty-nine healthy volunteers (24 males, aged 18-41 years) were allocated at random to one of three instruction conditions--emphasising accuracy, neutral, and emphasising speed. After familiarisation, they took part in two sessions spaced at least 4 days apart in which they received either ethanol (0.8 g/kg, max 60 g males, 50 g females) or placebo in randomised order. Tests were administered starting at 30 and 75 min postdrug. Instructions significantly affected performance. In two maze tasks, one on paper, the other on a pen computer, the pattern of instruction effects was as expected. A significant increase in errors with ethanol was seen for both maze tasks, and there was a tendency to speed up with ethanol (significant only for the pen computer task). Responses to fixed stimulus sequences on the Four-Choice Reaction Test also showed a tendency to speed up and an increase in errors with ethanol, while all other tests showed both slowing and increases in errors with ethanol compared to placebo. Error scores are consistently increased by ethanol in all test situations, while the effects of ethanol on speed are variable across tests.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Desired family size and sex of children.

During 1975, data were obtained from 1016 unmarried Caucasian students on their preference for family size, combination of sexes within the desired size, and permutation of sexes within the desired combination. The most desired family size by both female and male respondents was two children, but the average size was more than 2.46 children. Combinations involving both sexes of children were preferred over single sexes in all families of two or more children. The preference for the first-born to be male was consistent in all combinations of male and female children. Considering all desired family sizes and combinations of sexes of children the resulting sex ratio was 137.9 males:100 females.

Birth Order↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Studies of the human sex ratio and factors influencing family size in Botucatu, Brazil.

During 1974--75, data on sex and family size were obtained from approximately 500 Brazilian college students and their parents. Sex ratios for the immediate and parental generations were 107:100 and 106:100, respectively. Correlation coefficients were calculated between sexes of various children in families of the immediate generation. A significant positive relationship was found between sexes of the first two children in families of two or more children. The overall correlation between sexes of successive births was positive but not significant. Correlation coefficients between sexes separated by one or more births were not significant. The observed frequencies of combinations of sexes within the various family sizes did not differ from expected frequencies. Average numbers of children per family were 4.39 and 6.80 for the immediate and parental generations, respectively. Average family sizes decreased as the formal educational level of the parents increased. If the parents' desired both sexes of children, such preferences had no measurable influence on family size.

Brazil↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Desired family size and sex of children in Botucatu, Brazil.

During 1977--78, 715 unmarried college students at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, Botucatu, Brazil, were surveyed for their preferences for family sizes and combinations and permutations of sexes of children. The most preferred family size by both male and female respondents was two children. A slightly lower proportion of respondents preferred a family size of three children. Average size of the desired families was approximately 2.76 children. The most preferred combinations of sexes were one male, one female; one female, two males; and two females, two males, respectively, in families of two, three, and four children. Preferred permutations of sexes were those in which the first child was male and subsequent children resulted in an alternation of sexes.

Brazil↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Distribution of sexes in cattle.

Data were obtained from records of 1,046 Holstein dams included in the dairy herd at Cornell University during the years 1940 through 1977. Sex by order of parity was determined for the offspring of each dam. The overall sex ratio for 4,245 single parities was 52.74 percent males. Sex ratios for different parities were relatively consistent. Within progenies of the dams, there was no consistent evidence of association between the sexes of successive and various nonsuccessive calves. Frequencies of combinations of sexes in the different sizes of offspring occurred as expected.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The human sex ratio and factors influencing family size in Japan.

In 1979 sex data were obtained from 861 Japanese students from three upper secondary school (Katsushikano, Ogikubo, and Kiyose) located in the residential, metropolitan area of Japan. Average numbers of children per family were 5.16 for the parental and 2.43 for the present generation. Secondary sex ratios were 106.9 and 104.9 for the parental and present generation, respectively. Neither the similarity or dissimilarity of sexes nor the proportion of males in existing children was significantly associated with family size in the present generation. A significant positive correlation was found between sexes of child 1 and 2 in families of two or more children. None of the other correlations between successive births or between nonsuccessive births was significant. Observed frequencies of combinations of sexes within families of the parental and present generations did not differ from expected frequencies. The family most preferred by both male and female respondents consisted of two children representing both sexes with the first-born being male. The desired families were characterized by an average of 2.35 children and a resulting sex ratio of 122 males: 100 females.

Biometry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Transgeneration analyses of the human sex ratio: the influence of combinations and permutations of sexes of children on family size.

Transgeneration analyses, involving the parental, present, and projected generations, were made of the human sex ratio and the influence of combinations and permutations of sexes of children on family size in a population of Western Kentucky University students and their families. The investigation included some previously studied characteristics of the population. The general conformity of the results, previous and present, suggests a high degree of repeatability within the findings. Secondary sex ratios (males: 100 females) were 106.4, 101.2, and 133.3, respectively, for the parental, present, and projected generations. Corresponding average family sizes were 4.73, 3.70, and 2.80 children. A higher percentage of one-child families included both sexes with the male being first-born, and more two-child families consisted of two males rather than two females. The two-child (male-female order) family occurred more frequently than any other family regardless of size, combination, or permutation of sexes.

Family Characteristics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of the human sex ratio. Factors influencing family size in Libya.

In 1981, data were obtained on sex of children and family size for 502 University of Garyounis, Benghazi, Libya, students and their parents. Secondary sex ratios (males: 100 females) were 105.1 for the parental and 106.7 for the present generations. Average numbers of children per family were 10.67 (5.48 males, 5.19 females) and 7.77 (4.01 males, 3.76 females) for the parental and present generations, respectively. Average number of children per family was influenced by level of formal education of the parents, especially that of the mother. The percentages of families stopping with three, four, five, and six children were greater when both sexes were present than when existing children were of the same sex; however, these differences associated with combinations of sexes were not significant. The lack of significant correlations between sexes of children within families, the absence of consistent patterns of significant chi-squares in the factorial analysis of associations between sexes of different births, and the agreement between observed and expected frequencies of sexes of children within families indicated a high degree of independence between sexes of children within families of the Libyan population.

Education↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Desired family size and sex of children in Nigeria.

During 1981, sex ratio data and preferences for family size and for combinations and permutations of children were provided by 333 Nigerian students at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. For the present and parental generations combined, the secondary sex ratio was estimated to be 95.8 males:100 females. In the projected families, preferences for family sizes resulted in an average of 4.88 children per family. The most preferred family consisted of four children--a 2m2f combination in a mfmf order, whereas the second most preferred family consisted of five children--3m2f combination in a mfmfm order. Also expressed was a strong preference for permutations of sexes, resulting in a male child as first-born followed by an alternation of sexes. A greater preference for male children was indicated by the combined sex ratio of 167 males:100 females for the preferred families.

Family Characteristics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Desired family size and sex of children in Libya.

During 1982, 600 Arabian students (300 females, 300 males) at the University of Garyounis (Benghazi, Libya) were surveyed to determine their preferences for family size and for combination and permutation of sexes of children. For families of the projected generation, the average number of children was 4.4, the sex ratio was 143.5 males: 100 females, the most preferred combination of sexes was 2m2f, and the most preferred permutation of sexes was mfmf. Strong preferences were indicated for the first-born to be male followed by an alternation of sexes.

Family Characteristics↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Inheritance of brachydactyly type D.

Inheritance of brachydactyly type D (BD-D) was studied in two unreported Caucasian family pedigrees and in 36 previously reported family pedigrees. The inheritance pattern was characteristic of a single autosomal dominant gene with incomplete penetrance. Using the proportion of individuals exhibiting the trait as the index, penetrance was sex influenced, being complete in females and approximately 62 percent in males. Expression of BD-D in both females and males was bilateral (both thumbs) for approximately three-fourths and unilateral (either right or left thumb) for approximately one-fourth of the individuals.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Postoperative chemotherapy in children less than 4 years of age with malignant brain tumors: promising initial response to a VETOPEC-based regimen. A Study of the Australian and New Zealand Children's Cancer Study Group (ANZCCSG).

PURPOSE: Postoperative chemotherapy with indefinite postponement of radiation therapy in children < 4 years old with brain tumors was investigated in a multi-institutional study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 1991 to 1995, 42 patients aged 3 to 47 months (median 20) with brain tumors were enrolled in a 2-phase chemotherapy protocol: 16 patients had medulloblastoma (MB); 8 had supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET); 14 had ependymoma; and 4 had other tumors. The initial phase was comprised of 4 courses of the 3-drug regimen: vincristine (VCR), etoposide (VP-16), and intensive cyclophosphamide (CPA) in a previously reported schedule (VETOPEC). The continuation phase was comprised of 2-drug courses: A, CPA + VCR; B, cisplatin + VP-16; and C, carboplatin + VP-16, for a total duration of 64 weeks. RESULTS: Response to VETOPEC was evaluable in 28 patients with postresection residual (25) and/or metastatic (1 M2, 6 M3) tumor. There were 9 complete responses (CR) and 9 partial responses (PR) with a combined CR + PR of 64% (95% confidence interval [CI] 44 to 81). In 12 evaluable patients with MB, CR + PR was 82% (48 to 98); in 6 patients with PNET, 50% (12 to 88); and, in 8 patients with ependymoma, 86% (42 to 99). Of 40 patients eligible for further analysis, 6 remain progression-free at a median of 30 months, 14 are alive at a median of 38 months, 29 have progressed at a median of 7 months (range, 2 to 37 months), and 26 have died. The progression-free and overall survival rates at 36 months are estimated to be 11% (95% CI 1 to 22) and 34% (18 to 50), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The initial response to the VETOPEC regimen is encouraging and warrants study of further dose escalation. Survival remains poor with current strategies in this high-risk population.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Do respiratory patients receive adequate analgesia?

This literature review demonstrates that hospitalised patients may not be receiving adequate pain relief due to health professionals' belief that optimum doses of analgesia may affect patients' respiratory capability.

Analgesics↗