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Biomedical subjects

H Jones

Publications and source records attributed to H Jones.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

A 10 year prospective followup of patients with rheumatoid arthritis 1986-96.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the 10 year outcome of hospital patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with disease modifying drugs (DMARD). METHODS: All patients with RA of at least a year duration and attending a single clinician were followed prospectively for 10 years. DMARD treatments changed with time but were continued throughout. Measurements of joint tenderness (Ritchie Index), morning stiffness, grip, and disability (Health Assessment Questionnaire, HAQ) and radiographs of hands and feet were documented. A record of joint surgery was maintained. Patients who stopped attending the clinic were traced and an accurate record of deaths was obtained from the National Registry of Deaths. Paired clinical indices were compared where available between 0, 5, and 10 years. RESULTS: At entry there were 289 patients of variable disease duration. Within 10 years, 71 had died (standardized mortality ratio 1.3) and 92 were alive but unavailable. Median joint tenderness, morning stiffness, grip strength, and hemoglobin were not significantly different at 0, 5, and 10 years. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) declined but not significantly. By contrast, HAQ scores and radiographs worsened between 0 and 10 years (p = 0.0004, p = 0.0001, respectively). There was a trend toward lower ESR values and less disability and the lower radiographic scores in those with 10-15 years' disease duration in 1996 compared with those of similar duration in 1986. However, worsening of radiographs occurred in patients with short, medium, and long histories of RA. Correlations between disability, radiographic scores, and joint tenderness were apparent at the start and conclusion of the study. At 10 years, 54 (19%) of the original cohort had undergone at least one large joint replacement. Significantly more women required joint replacement surgery (chi-square 5.44, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Over a 10 year period patients with RA exhibited an excess of deaths and a deterioration of radiographs and function despite regular DMARD treatment and apparent clinical containment. Worsening of radiographs occurred in both relatively early and late disease. There was a steady requirement for surgical large joint replacement with time. This study suggests that in the long term. the effect of DMARD treatments may be less than the expectations derived from short term studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Enkephalin glycopeptide analogues produce analgesia with reduced dependence liability.

Endogenous peptides (e.g. enkephalins) control many aspects of brain function, cognition, and perception. The use of these neuroactive peptides in diverse studies has led to an increased understanding of brain function. Unfortunately, the use of brain-derived peptides as pharmaceutical agents to alter brain chemistry in vivo has lagged because peptides do not readily penetrate the blood-brain barrier. Attachment of simple sugars to enkephalins increases their penetration of the blood-brain barrier and allows the resulting glycopeptide analogues to function effectively as drugs. The delta-selective glycosylated Leu-enkephalin amide 2, H(2)N-Tyr-D-Thr-Gly-Phe-Leu-Ser(beta-D-Glc)-CONH(2), produces analgesic effects similar to morphine, even when administered peripherally, yet possesses reduced dependence liability as indicated by naloxone-precipitated withdrawal studies. Similar glycopeptide-based pharmaceuticals hold forth the promise of pain relief with improved side-effect profiles over currently available opioid analgesics.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed2000

MR imaging of clear cell sarcoma (malignant melanoma of the soft parts): a multicenter correlative MRI-pathology study of 21 cases and literature review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate MR imaging and pathology findings in order to define the characteristic features of clear cell sarcoma of the soft tissues (malignant melanoma of the soft parts). DESIGN AND PATIENTS: MR examinations of 21 patients with histologically proven clear cell sarcoma of the musculoskeletal system were retrospectively reviewed and assessed for shape, homogeneity, delineation, signal intensities on T1- and T2-weighted images, contrast enhancement, relationship with adjacent fascia or tendon, secondary bone involvement, and intratumoral necrosis. In 19 cases the pathology findings were available for review and for a comparative MR-pathology study. RESULTS: On T1-weighted images, lesions were isointense (n=3), hypointense (n=7) or slightly hyperintense to muscle (n=11). Immunohistochemical examination was performed in 17 patients. All 17 specimens showed positivity for HMB-45 antibody. In nine of 11 lesions with slightly increased signal intensity on T1-weighted images, a correlative MR imaging-pathology study was possible. All nine were positive to HMB-45 antibody. CONCLUSIONS: Clear cell sarcoma of the musculoskeletal system often has a benign-looking appearance on MR images. In up to 52% of patients, this lesion with melanocytic differentiation has slightly increased signal intensity on T1-weighted images compared with muscle. As the presence of this relative higher signal intensity on T1-weighted images is rather specific for tumors displaying melanocytic differentiation, radiologists should familiarize themselves with this rare entity and include it in their differential diagnosis when confronted with a well-defined, homogeneous, strongly enhancing mass with slightly higher signal intensity compared with muscle on native T1-weighted images.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Acoustic energy affects human gingival fibroblast proliferation but leaves protein production unchanged.

BACKGROUND, AIMS: Sonic toothbrushes are well-established in oral home care for plaque removal; however, the effects of low frequency acoustic (sonic) energy released from sonic toothbrushes to the cells of the periodontium have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sonic energy on human gingival fibroblast proliferation and protein production in cell culture. METHODS: Direct and indirect transfer calibration studies found the fundamental frequency of the Sonicare sonic toothbrush to be 261 hertz (Hz) with amplitudes ranging from 70 to 104 decibels (dB) in the human periodontium. Using an in vitro delivery system, which coupled a signal-wave generator with a bone transducer to mimic the energy delivered by the Sonicare toothbrush, the effects of signal, amplitude and duration were evaluated longitudinally using a gingival fibroblast cell culture model. 8 strains of fibroblasts isolated from healthy human gingiva were seeded at 30,000 cells/35 mm culture dish in minimum essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. To ascertain the relationship of the amplitude and the duration of sonic stimulation to cellular proliferation, gingival fibroblasts were subjected 2x daily to 261 Hz sound at various amplitudes (67-97 dB) for 0, 15, 30, 60, and 120 s on days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10. RESULTS: It was found that either 30 or 120 s of sound exposure for 10 days of treatment had significant effects on cell proliferation in comparison to control cultures. Specifically, at day 10, 87 dB at 261 Hz for 30 s 2x daily resulted in a 25.5% increase in cell number (p<0.001), whereas 87 dB at 261 Hz for 120 s twice daily caused a 30.9% decrease in cell number (p<0.001) when compared to control cultures. When cells are stimulated under optimum acoustic conditions for 10 days, there was no difference between the treatment and control groups for collagen (p=0.897) or noncollagen (p=0.697) protein production. CONCLUSIONS: Sonic energy has been shown to both increase and decrease cellular proliferation depending on exposure time; however, during optimum sound-induced conditions for cellular proliferation, sonic energy had no effect on fibroblast protein production. These data suggest that sonic energy can affect the behavior of cells in culture. Further research into the mechanisms of these changes will provide important information for manipulating cellular behavior.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2000

Estrogen effects on triglyceride metabolism in analbuminemic rats.

BACKGROUND: Triglyceride (TG) levels are normally lower in female rats, while the opposite is the case in the Nagase analbuminemic rats (NAR). Increased TG levels in normal males are caused by a testosterone-mediated decrease in postheparin (PH) lipoprotein lipase (LpL). Castration of males reduces TG, while castration of females is without effect. TG levels are reduced by castration of the female NAR, suggesting that estrogen rather than testosterone causes hypertriglyceridemia in this strain. The mechanism for this increase is unknown. METHODS: We measured secretion of very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL) TG using Triton WR 1339 clearance as the disappearance from blood of 3H-trioleate and 14C-cholesterol-labeled chylomicrons (CM), and the activity of the PH lipases: LpL and hepatic lipase (HL). All were determined in Sprague-Dawley (SD) and NAR female, male, and ovariectomized (OVX) rats. RESULTS: TG levels were significantly greater in female NAR in comparison to all other groups. Ovariectomy of NAR significantly ameliorated hypertriglyceridemia. VLDL TG secretion was significantly greater in intact female NAR compared with all other groups. There were no other differences in VLDL TG secretion among the other groups. The clearance of CM was greatest in female SD rats, and OVX had no effect. NAR cleared CM less well than did SD rats (P < 0.001), but among NAR, clearance was greatest in OVX NAR and male NAR (P < 0. 002). Both PH LpL activity and HL activity were lowest in female NAR (P < 0.05). Ovariectomy partially corrected the defect in HL (P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: TG levels in female NAR are in part a result of increased VLDL-TG secretion, an effect mediated by estrogen. The presence of an estrogen-mediated catabolic defect that was alleviated by OVX was also observed. This catabolic defect is likely a result of an estrogen-mediated decrease both in LpL and HL expressed only in the presence of analbuminemia.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Physical, chemical and biological hazards in veterinary practice.

OBJECTIVE: To identify major occupational hazards encountered by veterinarians and their staff in practice in Australia. PROCEDURE: A literature search of Medical (MEDLINE), Occupational Health and Safety (OSHRAM) and Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) electronic data bases plus continual monitoring utilising the Uncover alerting system using the key words, 'occupational injury', 'occupational disease' and 'safety' linked with use of the word 'veterinarians' has found relevant articles. Personal communication with people who have undertaken studies on occupational safety in veterinarians elicited further information. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Veterinarians often sustain animal-related injuries, the most common of which are dog and cat bites, cat scratches and being hit or crushed by large animals. The most costly to treat include strains and back injuries. Most veterinarians treat themselves. There is no single reporting system for injuries or disease in veterinarians and reported cases may greatly underestimate the total. There is a need to assess accurately the occupational hazards in veterinary practice, to determine the actual occurrence of injuries and to develop strategies to prevent them.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Disease and injury among veterinarians.

OBJECTIVE: To identify occupational causes of disease and injury in veterinarians and their staff. DESIGN: A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to all of the 160 registered veterinary practices in Western Australia. RESULTS: Injuries accounted for most workers' compensation claims over a 12-month period with 31% of respondents losing a total of 360 work days with a mean of 13.3 days whereas non-occupational diseases such as influenza accounted for 408 work days lost. Over a 10-year period, 71% of respondents had been injured. The major physical injuries were dog and cat bites, cat scratches, scalpel blade cuts and back injuries from lifting heavy animals. Exposure to chemicals such as flea rinses, formalin, glutaraldehyde, x-ray developers and gaseous anaesthetics were reported to cause headache, nausea and allergies. Thirty percent of respondents did not have extractor fans for scavenging waste anaesthetic gases. The study showed high use of radiography (94%) for diagnostic purposes with 24% of respondents believing radiation exposure is a major occupational health and safety issue. Stress, drug abuse, suicide and burglary were also reported. Despite a high awareness of zoonotic diseases, there were very few reports of these. CONCLUSION: Injuries and other occupational hazards reported together with work days lost demonstrate a need for improving the working environment of veterinarians and their staff and the development of comprehensive health and safety programs.

Animal Technicians↗
PubMed2000

Second molar extraction therapy--two case reports.

As in many areas of dentistry, the topic of second molar extraction therapy has its followers and its critics. Besides the problem of accurately predicting the eruption position of the third molars, I have also been concerned about the effect on the cranium and the temporo-mandibular joints. The majority of my patients with mild or moderate crowding are treated without extractions. The third molars, if present, are kept under observation. There is, however, one group of patients that responds well to the loss of second molars and for which, in my opinion, any alternative extraction pattern would compromise the patient with regard to function and facial appearance. This group is the mild Class III skeletal pattern with buccally crowded canines.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Antibodies to hepatitis C virus envelope proteins correlate with hepatitis C viraemia after liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Liver transplant recipients for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis usually remain anti-HCV-seropositive after transplantation. The aim of this study was to characterize, longitudinally, the profile of HCV-specific antibodies and cryoglobulins in liver transplant recipients with recurrent HCV infection. METHODS: Serial serum samples were collected prospectively before, at 1 month after, and at 12 months after transplantation for HCV cirrhosis in 30 patients infected with genotype 1. The antibodies against HCV envelope proteins (E1 and E2) were quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and antibodies against core, E2/hypervariable region I (HVRI), NS3, NS4, and NS5A antigens by a line immunoassay. Sera were also tested for cryoglobulins. RESULTS: The titer of each anti-HCV antibody had fallen at 1 month after transplantation (P<0.05) with the exception of anti-E1 levels, which had risen in 16 patients with acute hepatitis C at that time (P=0.01). Anti-E1 and anti-E2 titers, but not antibodies against other HCV antigens, increased to pre-transplantation levels or higher at 12 months, which correlated with serum HCV RNA levels. Cryoglobulinemia was present in nine patients after transplantation (30%) and was associated with lower anti-E1 levels (P=0.04) and more severe graft damage. CONCLUSIONS: The early increase in antibodies to HCV envelope proteins in correlation with viremia suggests that the envelope-specific humoral immune response may be directly stimulated by HCV replication. Anti-E1 levels may be a useful marker in monitoring patients with recurrent HCV infection.

Cryoglobulins↗
PubMed1999

Dipole Moment Function of LiF and LiCl Obtained from the Herman-Wallis Analysis: A Comparative Study with the MBER Data.

FTIR absorption spectra of the fundamental bands of LiF and LiCl were measured with an apodized resolution of 0.01 cm-1. The Herman-Wallis analysis of these spectra led to the determination of the ratio of the dipole derivative to the permanent dipole moment, [µe/(dµ/dr)ere], for each molecule. The vibrational dependence of the dipole moment for each molecule has been already reported and these data were reanalyzed to determine the dipole moment function independently. The results from the Herman-Wallis analysis were compared with these results, and good agreement was found. This demonstrates that the Herman-Wallis analysis can produce reliable relative values of dipole moment functions. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

The impact of overseas labour migration on rural Thailand: regional, community and individual dimensions.

"This paper provides a case study of the impact at origin of recent labour migration from rural Thailand to East Asian destinations. It does so through survey information on 63 villages and detailed biographic interviews with recently returned workers. It is concluded that work abroad is regarded by migrants as a strategy of life support; it is sometimes life-enhancing, but only rarely life-changing."

Asia↗
PubMed1999

Coordinate augmentation in expression of genes encoding transcription factors and liver secretory proteins in hypo-oncotic states.

BACKGROUND: In the nephrotic syndrome (NS) proteins of intermediate size (40 to 200 kD) are lost into the urine resulting in a decrease in plasma albumin concentration and as a consequence a reduction in plasma colloid osmotic pressure (pi). Plasma pi has also been reported to be reduced in the condition of hereditary analbuminemia. The liver, in an apparent compensatory response, increases synthesis of a group of secreted proteins defending plasma pi. Regulation of several of these proteins, including both positive and negative acute phase proteins, is at the transcriptional level. This is the only known condition in which transcription of both positive and negative acute phase proteins (APPs) are increased simultaneously. The specific transcription factor(s) that might regulate this cascade is not defined. METHODS: RNA was extracted from livers of 5 rats with hereditary analbuminemia (the Nagase analbuminemic rat, NAR), 5 rats with NS induced by adriamycin (Adria), 5 rats with NS caused by passive Heymann nephritis (NS) and 5 control animals. The concentrations of mRNAs encoding four secreted proteins (albumin, transferrin, fibrinogen, and apo A-1), five transcription factors, early growth response factor 1 (EGRF-1), HNF-4, NGFI-C, EGR-3, and Krox20 relative to two housekeeping genes, beta actin and GAPDH were determined simultaneously using kinetic reverse transcriptase polymerase chain methodology (kRT-PCR). RESULTS: The levels of all mRNAs encoding secreted proteins except for albumin (which was reduced in NAR) were increased in NS and NAR and correlated significantly with one another. mRNA encoding EGRF 1 was increased fivefold in NS and NAR, and correlated significantly with mRNAs encoding Apo A-1, transferrin and albumin in the two NS groups. HNF-4 mRNA was increased approximately twofold in both NS groups and correlated with albumin (R = 0.881, P < 0.001), transferrin (R = 0.563, P = 0.012) and apo A-1 (R = 0.644, P = 0. 003). While fibrinogen mRNA correlated with that of each of the other secreted proteins, it did not correlate with either HNF-4 or EGRF-1 mRNA. Krox20, EGR3 and NGF1C were expressed at nearly undetectable levels. CONCLUSIONS: The hepatic response in conditions characterized by reduced plasma pi include increased levels of mRNAs encoding a group of secreted proteins, including the negative APPs albumin, transferrin and apo A-1, and the positive APP fibrinogen. Levels of mRNAs encoding negative APPs and fibrinogen correlate with one another, suggesting that they are coordinately controlled. Both EGRF-1 and HNF-4 may regulate the expression of the negative APPs, which have increased transcription in hypo-oncotic states.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1999

Transmission/disequilibrium tests for extended marker haplotypes.

A generalization of the transmission/disequilibrium test to detect association between polymorphic markers and discrete or quantitative traits is discussed, with particular emphasis on marker haplotypes formed by several adjacent loci. Furthermore, strategies for testing haplotype association, using methods from spatial statistics, are developed. This approach compares the "similarity" of transmitted and untransmitted haplotypes, with the aim of determining the regions where there is greater similarity within the transmitted set. This arises from the fact that, although the original haplotypes carrying the mutation will be broken down by recombination, there may be a subset of markers near the mutation that are common to many of the recombinant haplotypes. Thus, by examination of each marker in turn and by measurement of the average size of the region shared identically by state in the transmitted and untransmitted haplotypes, it may be possible to detect regions of linkage disequilibrium that encompass the susceptibility gene.

Alleles↗
PubMed1999

The commodification of international migration: findings from Thailand.

"The organisation of international contract-labour migration within Asia has been increasingly dominated by commercial agencies acting as intermediaries between workers and foreign employers. The principles underpinning the gatekeeping role of such agencies in the East Asian migration system are examined. A consideration of the international labour recruitment system in Thailand is based on survey work among agents, community leaders and recently returned migrants."

Asia↗
PubMed1999

Female genital cutting practices in Burkina Faso and Mali and their negative health outcomes.

Observations of the types of female genital cutting and possible associated gynecological and delivery complications were undertaken in 21 clinics in rural Burkina Faso and in four rural and four urban clinics in Mali. Women who came to the clinics for services that included a pelvic exam were included in the study, and trained clinic staff observed the presence and type of cut and any associated complications. Ninety-three percent of the women in the Burkina Faso clinics and 94 percent of the women in the Mali clinics had undergone genital cutting. In Burkina Faso, type 1 (clitoridectomy) was the most prevalent (56 percent), whereas in Mali the more severe type 2 cut (excision) was the most prevalent (74 percent); 5 percent of both samples had undergone type 3 cutting (infibulation). Logistic regression analyses show significant positive relationships between the severity of genital cutting and the probability that a woman would have gynecological and obstetric complications.

Adolescent↗