Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F Wilson.
A clinically realistic in vitro study was performed to determine the best method for smoothing trimmed surfaces of seven composite restorative materials. Soflex discs produced the smoothest surface, and little advantage appeared to be gained by prior smoothing of the surface with stones or points. A polishing paste, even when used with intermediate finishing agents, produced a rougher surface than that left by the discs.
A cosmid vector carrying the Epstein-Barr virus origin of replication, the EBNA-1 gene, the hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) gene and pBR322 sequences has been constructed. This cosmid can replicate autonomously in the nucleus of human tissue culture cells, even when it carries a 35-kb long insert. The cosmid can be rescued from the transfected cells by cloning it directly into ampicillin-sensitive Escherichia coli. A gene for human tumour necrosis factor (TNF) cloned into this cosmid vector was introduced in tissue culture cells, where it was transcribed into mature mRNA.
We quantified the respiratory activity of 9 fetal lambs using computer-analysis of the diaphragmatic electromyogram (EMG) obtained during 2 h recording sessions interspersed over the last 13 days of gestation. The fetuses delivered unassisted at an average gestational age of 145 days (term = 147 days). During the last 2 h of labour the number of phasic EMG bursts (breaths) averaged 3% of the peak recorded earlier in the study. This decline in breathing began at least 2 days before labour and resulted predominantly from the fetus spending an increasing proportion of time in apnoea. Respiratory rate within epochs of breathing also fell significantly 1 day before labour, and the proportion of time spent in the low voltage electrocortical state declined once labour commenced. No significant change occurred in arterial PO2, PCO2 or pH over the study period. We conclude that fetal respiratory activity falls well before the onset of labour, largely as a result of increased apnoea, and that the decline does not result from the development of a progressive hypoxaemia associated with labour.
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Our previous cerebral ultrasound study of antecedents of periventricular haemorrhage in infants weighing 1250 g or less at birth suggested that neonatal events that caused increased or fluctuating cerebral blood flow lead to periventricular haemorrhage. As the risk period for this type of haemorrhage was the first four days of life strict guidelines were introduced to avoid the previously identified neonatal risk factors. No attempt was made to modify obstetric practice. Over the next two years, although the obstetric risk profile, the frequency and severity of hyaline membrane disease, and the gestation, birth weight, and sex distributions of a similar cohort of infants did not change, the incidence of periventricular haemorrhage decreased significantly from 60% to 36%. Significant antecedents of haemorrhage similar to those found in the previous study included severe bruising, low arterial:fractional inspiratory oxygen ratio and low packed cell volume on admission, hyaline membrane disease, hypercarbia, and hypoxaemia. Assisted ventilation, pneumothorax, treatment with tubocurarine, and hypotension were no longer significant risk factors for periventricular haemorrhage. A multivariate discriminant analysis correctly predicted haemorrhage in 86% of the study group when bruising, hypercarbia, hypoxaemia, hyaline membrane disease, and low gestation were considered. These results suggest that changes in neonatal practices can reduce the incidence of periventricular haemorrhage and that drug studies indicating similar reduction in haemorrhage need to be evaluated carefully to ensure that placebo and treated groups are in fact comparable.
We have constructed a series of hybrid globin genes between the 5' half of the human epsilon-, gamma- and beta-globin genes, and the 3' half of the rabbit beta-globin gene. These hybrid genes were introduced into the cell line K562. Analysis of the hybrid mRNA populations show that only the hybrid epsilon- and gamma-globin genes are expressed in these cells in concordance with the endogenous K562 globin gene expression. It is therefore likely that these cells contain transcriptional factors which allow the specific expression of introduced epsilon- and gamma-, but not beta-globin genes, irrespective of their chromosomal localization.
Between January, 1971 and August, 1978, 410 patients with histologically or cytologically confirmed inoperable or unresectable carcinoma of the lung of all cell types were treated with curative intent. Forty-five patients lived a minimum of 3 years and 32 patients lived 5 or more years. The 3-year survival rate increased from 7.6% (15/197) between January, 1971 and June, 1975 to 14.1% (30/213) for the interval from July, 1975 to August, 1978 (p less than 0.01). Factors associated with long-term survival were performance status (p less than 0.01), early stage (p less than 0.001), high total dose of radiation (p less than 0.02), large cell carcinoma (p less than 0.01), inoperable for medical reasons (p less than 0.001), and thoracotomy to determine unresectability (p less than 0.04). The difference in survival rates between the two time periods was not related to different patient factors. Survival rates were most improved in the second time period for patients with Stage II or Stage III carcinoma of the lung. Eight patients died from cancer between 36 and 54 months of initial treatment. Five patients died of intercurrent disease without evidence of cancer of the lung after 3 years. An increasing proportion of long-term survivors of inoperable carcinoma of the lung can be expected to result from a better understanding of these diseases, more technically sophisticated external irradiation, and the use of combination chemotherapy for small cell carcinoma.
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Five patients who presented with symptoms of tension and anxiety were subsequently referred to a physiotherapist and treated with Connective Tissue Massage. Psychophysiological recordings of heart rate, frontalis EMG, skin resistance and forearm extensor EMG were taken before and after treatment. All patients showed a significant response to treatment in one or more of the psychophysiological parameters. Results are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that each individual has a unique stress response pattern. Preliminary findings proved interesting and supported clinical findings with regard to the effectiveness of this treatment for some patients suffering from Anxiety States.
Nineteen spontaneous pancreatic islet cell tumors were studied in 26-month-old control Fischer 344 rats. Seventeen of 19 (89%) tumors demonstrated insulin reactivity using peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunocytochemistry. None of ten tumors had positive glucagon immunoreactivity. Immunocytochemical and ultrastructural observations suggested that spontaneous occurring islet cell tumors of F344 rats were composed exclusively of beta cells.
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A guanosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase was purified from bovine lung using 8-(6-aminohexylamino)-cAMP-Sepharose. The activity of the purified enzyme was highly dependent on cGMP using histone f2b as a substrate. The self-phosphorylation of the purified enzyme was strongly inhibited by cGMP and not significantly affected by cAMP. A precipitating antiserum prepared in rabbits against the cGMP-dependent protein kinase specifically inhibited the histone kinase activity and the self-phosphorylation of the purified cGMP-dependent protein kinase without affecting the cGMP binding site. This antiserum also specifically inhibited the phosphorylation of the endogenous substrate proteins by endogenous cGMP-dependent protein kinase in smooth muscle membranes, but did not cross-react detectably with catalytic subunit or regulatory subunit of type I or type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Conversely, anti-sera against the regulatory subunit of type I or type II cAMP-dependent protein kinase did not cross-react detectably with cGMP-dependent protein kinase. The substantial differences between the immunological properties of the cGMP-dependent and cAMP-dependent protein kinases suggest that these two enzymes have distinct physiological roles.
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A whole blood lectin-induced lymphocyte stimulation test, using Con A and PHA, was used to assess the cell mediated immune status of 52 beagle dogs over a period of 16 months. The data indicated the presence of a seasonal variation in immune response with the peak estimated to be in July and an estimated trough in January. The relative amplitudes around the mean, for the two mitogens, were about 50%, so that the responses on lymphocyte division ranged from 50 to 150% of the mean during the course of the year. The possible implications of this finding for human health are discussed.