Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Miller.
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FD&C Red No. 3 was mixed with 20 kg pig feed to give a concentration of 0.1%. A mixing time of 30 min was sufficient to achieve homogeneity for this mixture. For larger amounts or more flocculent types of additives, a longer time may be required. Ammoniated glycyrrhizin was mixed with 8 separate batches of pig feed at a concentration of 1%; 1 h was sufficient mixing time.
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A high-voltage electron microscopic study of normal red cells and irreversibly sickled red cells (ISCs) was conducted. Comparison with intact, critical-point dried red cells revealed that the ISC fraction could always be identified because of the presence of numerous echinocytes. Examination of the unsealed ghosts after incubation in 3,3'-diaminobenzidene (DAB) to detect hemoglobin (Hb) bound to the plasma membrane revealed that Hb adhered to the cytoplasmic surface of the ISC membrane. The Hb was concentrated in the surface projections of the echinocytes and also was seen as granules associated with the filamentous substructure of the plasma membrane. The role of this adherent Hb in exerting a transmembrane effect to alter the surface properties of the cell is discussed.
Deliberately added hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) could be removed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography from a concentrate of coagulation factors II, VII, IX and X. Chromatography in high concentrations of salt, preferably on octanoic acid hydrazide-Sepharose 4B, resulted in 104 -105 -fold reduction of HBsAg. The binding properties of HBsAg and HBV to the hydrophobic gels were similar and the chromatographic method seems particularly useful in removing low concentrations of virus-related material from protein solutions. The yield of protein from the coagulation factor concentrate was about 85% and the material showed the same stability and biological activities as before the chromatography.
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Computed tomography (CT) has become the key diagnostic modality in the evaluation of head trauma. Experience with CT in the operative assessment of maxillofacial injuries is limited, however. Plain films and multidirectional tomography have been used until now to define fractures in the facial region. We examined 27 patients sustaining maxillofacial trauma with CT scans. Ten patients were studied in the coronal plane, 12 in the axial plane, and the remaining 5 in both the axial and coronal planes. Polycycloidal tomography in the coronal and/or sagittal plane was obtained in 18 patients for comparison with the CT scan. Fracture lines, bony fragments, and associated skeletal deformities were clearly identified by CT scan in all 27 patients permitting the diagnosis of zygomatic, orbital floor, nasoethmoidal complex, LeFort, temporal bone, frontal sinus, and mandible fractures. More importantly, concomitant intracranial injuries including epidural and intracerebral hematomas, traumatic encephalocoele, and pneumocephalus were readily seen. In addition, facial and orbital soft tissue structures including the globe, optic nerve, orbital fat, and extraocular muscles were easily examined by adjusting the CT level and window settings. Overall, CT yielded additional information not available from polytomography in 15 of 18 cases when both modalities were used. Multidirectional tomography is currently superior to CT scanning if fine, intrinsic bone detail is required. However, we have found that complex fractures with fragmentation are more easily identified on CT scans than conventional tomography because of superior contrast resolution of computed tomography. With improved spatial resolution, CT scanning may totally supplant multidirectional tomography in the evaluation of maxillofacial trauma.
The cardio-pulmonary effects of a rapid infusion of a crystalloid (Ringer's lactate) and a colloid solution (Dextran 40) were compared in healthy dogs. The colloid solution produced a long lasting volume expansion and hemodilution. The improved circulation in this group was reflected in an increased cardiac output and arterial blood pressure. The ventilation/perfusion ratios were reduced and the pulmonary vascular resistance was significantly lower in the colloid group in comparison both to the crystalloid group as well as to the control animals. The total oxygen consumption increased slightly in the colloid group but decreased in the crystalloid group. The postmortem extravascular lung water content did not differ in the groups.
In 72 experiments, durable minerals in the form of particles on respirable size and of wide chemical and structural varieties, were implanted in the pleurae of outbred female Osborne- Mendel rats for periods of more than 1 year. The incidence of induced malignant mesenchymal neoplasms correlated well with the dimensional distribution of the particles. The probability of pleural sarcoma correlated best with a number of fibers that measured 0.25 micro or less in diameter and more than 8 micrometer in length, but relatively high correlations were also noted with fibers in other size categories having diameters up to 1.5 micrometer and lengths greater than 4 micrometer. Morphologic observations indicated that short fibers and large-diameter fibers were inactivated by phagocytosis and that negligible phagocytosis of long, thin fibers occurred. The wide variety of compounds used in these experiments suggested that the carcinogenicity of fibers depended on dimension and durability rather than on physicochemical properties.
Lidocaine, a drug commonly used via intravenous infusion for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, is frequently effective but has the hazard of potential toxicity. Avoidance of toxicity and better control of therapy are shown to be markedly enhanced by a new method of rapidly measuring blood levels of lidocaine by enzyme immunoassay. Examples of the use of this technique, for drug monitoring in the settings of suspected toxicity, prospective therapy, dose response assessment, and the study of pharmacokinetics are presented.
A disturbing characteristic of methylmercury (MeHg) intoxication is the preclinical "silent" stage. This stage is followed by the sometimes rapid onset of clinical signs such as peripheral sensory loss, motor difficulties, and visual and auditory impairment. The objective of this study was to search for "preclinical" changes in the electrophysiological activity of the central nervous system of dogs exposed to methylmercury chloride. Because of the prominence of the visual system in the MeHg literature, the visual evoked response (VER) was selected for evaluation. A dose rate of 500 microgram/kg/day po was expected to cause clinically apparent toxicosis in about 2 mon. After 1 week of exposure, a subtle distortion of the VER occurred. In a parallel group of dogs, blood mercury was 0.74 microgram/ml at this time, and brain mercury content was 1.28 microgram/g at the occipital cortex. Although the dogs continued to receive MeHg, VERs remained remarkably stable for the next 5 to 8 weeks, and then rapidly degraded during the nest few days as the dogs exhibited visual and motor disabilities. In many species, when brain Hg is about 15 microgram/g, clinical and histopathologic changes are usually present, and may even be detected at 8 microgram/g. Distortion of the VER at 1.28 microgram/g Hg at the visual cortex demonstrates that CNS changes exist during the "silent" stage of toxicosis, and at a brain Hg content suggesting physiologic dysfunction of neurons rather than neuronal death.
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The term "hospice" refers not only to certain facilities, but also to a philosophy of comprehensive, humanistic treatment for the patient and his family. Because death will always be a part of the general hospital setting, hospice concepts provide a useful method for improved patient care. This paper describes the development of a multidisciplinary team that provides consultation-liaison services for terminally ill patients and their families, either while in hospital or while being followed in a home-care treatment service. Cases are presented that illustrate the benefits of such an approach to the care of the dying patient and his family.
The effects of dental appliances on speech were studied when subjects wore the appliances, both in quiet and in the presence of an intense noise. A group of 24 normal-speaking subjects read lists of syllables, words, and sentences and spoke spontaneously in each of six appliance and noise conditions. Several acoustic and perceptual measurements were made in each condition. In general, speech deteriorated when appliances were placed and when noise was presented. The type and amount of speech disruption varied as a function of speech task and aspect of speech. There was no evidence that the effects of appliances on speech differed in quiet and noise conditions. Inter-subject variability was large.