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Biomedical subjects

H Meyer

Publications and source records attributed to H Meyer.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Reference values and biological variation for tumor marker CA 19-9 in serum for different Lewis and secretor genotypes and evaluation of secretor and Lewis genotyping in a Caucasian population.

The concentration of the tumor marker CA 19-9 is influenced by the patient's secretor status and Lewis genotype. The aim of this study was to establish novel reference intervals for CA 19-9 in serum based on secretor and Lewis genotypes, to investigate the biological variation of CA 19-9, and to evaluate the utility of Lewis and secretor genotyping on a group of individuals with serologically defined Lewis phenotypes. CA 19-9 was measured in serum of 500 healthy individuals. Secretor and Lewis genotypes were determined by sequencing and PCR-cleavage methods. Significant differences were found between subgroups with different Lewis and secretor genotypes. Genotype-based reference intervals for CA 19-9 are presented. The upper reference limit for all individuals was 28.7 kilounits/L; for secretors and nonsecretors, the upper reference limits were 12.4 and 61.2 kilounits/L, respectively. The analytical imprecision (CVA) was 9.8%, the within-subject variability (CVI) was 15.8%, and the between-subject variability (CVG) was 102.2%. Good agreement was found between Lewis and secretor genotyping and conventional blood grouping. Genotype-based reference intervals may be a way to increase the clinical utility of CA 19-9. On the basis of the calculation of a critical difference for sequential values (significant at P </=0.05) of 51.5%, a 40-50% change in marker concentration is suggested as the limit for significant change when the marker is used for follow up. PCR-based genotyping is a reliable method for secretor and Lewis histo-blood grouping.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Roads to recovery.

Many paths bring a hospital to the crossroads of collapse. But the road to financial recovery has some uniform features: A great leader. A talented staff looking for direction. A focus on mission and customer service. Sure enough, the winners of our eighth annual Great Comebacks contest have these qualities in common.

American Hospital Association↗
PubMed1998

Novel glycine containing glucolipids from the alkane using bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis.

The polar lipids from the hydrocarbon using and biosurfactant-producing bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis were isolated and identified by mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The biosurfactant produced by this species is an anionic glucose lipid with a tetrameric oxyacyl side chain. The glycolipids extracted from the cell wall consist of this biosurfactant N-terminally esterified with glycine. Ten different derivatives of this lipid type were identified and their structures elucidated by MSMS. They vary by the chain length of one or two of the four beta-hydroxy fatty acids (C6, C8 and C10) and by the location of these different fatty acids within the molecule. All compounds are reported here for the first time. In addition to these glycolipids, three different phosphatidylglycerols were identified. While these lipids were found in all strains of A. borkumensis, the relative abundances of the different lipids vary between the strains.

Alkanes↗
PubMed1998

The bottom line on assisted living.

Seniors increasingly shun nursing homes for the homier settings and greater autonomy of assisted living. But the comforts of home don't come cheap. Most seniors opting for assisted living pay out of their own pockets--making their situations only as stable as their bank accounts.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

RUG burn.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Diagnosis-Related Groups↗
PubMed1998

The right to appeal.

When health plans say no, most patients back off. Only a few states guarantee independent reviews for treatment denials, but politicians and activists want to change that. The right to redress is the flash point of a larger movement to mandate consumer rights under managed care.

American Medical Association↗
PubMed1998

Focused factories. Are you ready for the competition?

Dinosaurs--big body, little brain. That's how one entrepreneur sizes up today's general hospitals. Some analysts and investors agree. They're betting on "focused factories," hospitals that specialize in heart care, orthopedics, and other services. But the so-called dinosaurs are fighting back.

Cardiology↗
PubMed1998

The pills that ate your profits.

It pays to pay attention to drug costs, as prescription outlays rise as much as 20 percent a year at many health plans. Despite a wave of direct-to-consumer ads for pricey new meds, HMOs are fighting back by cutting the number of drugs they'll pay for and hiking copays, among other strategies.

Advertising↗
PubMed1998

Specific detection of monkeypox virus by polymerase chain reaction.

The open reading frame coding for the A-type inclusion body protein (ATI) of monkeypox virus (MPV) was identified and sequenced for two strains. Nucleotide sequence comparison revealed 72-95.3% homology with the reported open reading frame sequences of the ATIs of other orthopoxvirus species, such as variola, vaccinia, cowpox, ectromelia, and camelpox viruses. Each MPV strain contained an 8-bp deletion, which caused a frameshift that introduced a premature stop in the open reading frame at base 2091 relative to the ATI open reading frame of cowpox virus strain Brighton. The sequences enabled a primer pair to be designed that flanked the deletion and specifically amplified a 601-bp fragment that identified and differentiated 19 MPV strains examined from five other Old World orthopoxvirus species examined. The specificity was confirmed by cleavage of the 19 MPV strain amplicons with BglII, which produced three subfragments of expected sized, based on the determined MPV sequences.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Growth factors and components for extracellular proteolysis are differentially expressed during in vitro maturation of bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes.

In the present study, the time-dependent collagenolytic potential and mRNA transcription of extracellular matrix (ECM)-degrading components, transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1), and both basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and FGF receptors (FGFR) in bovine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were investigated during 24 h of in vitro maturation (IVM). COCs were collected from 2- to 6-mm follicles, cultured in maturation medium, and sequentially removed at 3-h intervals for analysis. From 285 oocytes matured under these conditions, 114 (40.0%) developed to blastocysts on Day 9 after fertilization. Gelatin zymograms revealed protease activity at about 55 kDa for COCs matured for at least 3 h and two additional proteolytic zones at about 70 kDa after at least 9 h of IVM. The mRNAs of ECM-degrading components urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1), matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1), as well as TGFbeta1, bFGF, and FGFR, were detected during IVM in a factor-specific pattern: all transcript levels found at COC 0 generally increased after 3 h of maturation and either remained high or decreased thereafter. On the basis of the chosen reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique, one could suggest relative higher mRNA concentrations for TIMP1, PAI1, and both growth factors compared to uPA, MMP1, and FGFR. Our results suggest a finely tuned extracellular proteolysis during IVM of bovine COCs, for which the concerted action of modulating growth factors like bFGF and TGFbeta1 may be essential.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Structure and specific activity of macrophage-stimulating lipopeptides from Mycoplasma hyorhinis.

Mycoplasmas are potent macrophage stimulators. We describe the isolation of macrophage-stimulatory lipopeptides S-[2, 3-bisacyl(C16:0/C18:0)oxypropyl]cysteinyl-GQTDNNSSQSQQPGS GTTNT and S-[2,3-bisacyl(C16:0/C18:0)oxypropyl]cysteinyl-GQTN derived from the Mycoplasma hyorhinis variable lipoproteins VlpA and VlpC, respectively. These lipopeptides were characterized by amino acid sequence and composition analysis and by mass spectrometry. The lipopeptides S-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]cysteinyl-GQTNT and S-[2, 3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]cysteinyl-SKKKK and the N-palmitoylated derivative of the latter were synthesized, and their macrophage-stimulatory activities were compared in a nitric oxide release assay with peritoneal macrophages from C3H/HeJ mice. The lipopeptides with the free amino terminus showed half-maximal activity at 3 pM regardless of their amino acid sequence; i.e., they were as active as the previously isolated M. fermentans-derived lipopeptide MALP-2. The macrophage-stimulatory activity of the additionally N-palmitoylated lipopeptide or of the murein lipoprotein from Escherichia coli, however, was lower by orders of magnitude. It is concluded that the lack of N-acyl groups in mycoplasmal lipoproteins explains their exceptionally high in vitro macrophage-stimulatory capacity. Certain features that lipopolysaccharide endotoxin and mycoplasmal lipopeptides have in common are discussed. Lipoproteins and lipopeptides are likely to be the main causative agents of inflammatory reactions to mycoplasmas. This may be relevant in the context of mycoplasmas as arthritogenic pathogens and their association with AIDS.

Amino Acid Sequence↗