Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Wright

Publications and source records attributed to H Wright.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Intestinal transplantation in composite visceral grafts or alone.

Under FK 506-based immunosuppression, the entire cadaver small bowel except for a few proximal and distal centimeters was translated to 17 randomly matched patients, of whom two had antigraft cytotoxic antibodies (positive cross-match). Eight patients received the intestine only, eight had intestine in continuity with the liver, and one received a full multivisceral graft that included the liver, stomach, and pancreas. One liver-intestine recipient died after an intestinal anastomotic leak, sepsis, and graft-versus-host disease. The other 16 patients are alive after 1 to 23 months, in one case after chronic rejection, graft removal, and retransplantation. Twelve of the patients have been liberated from total parenteral nutrition, including all whose transplantation was 2 months or longer ago. The grafts have supported good nutrition, and in children, have allowed growth and weight gain. Management of these patients has been difficult and often complicated, but the end result has been satisfactory in most cases, justifying further clinical trials. The convalescence of the eight patients receiving intestine only has been faster and more trouble free than after liver-intestine or multivisceral transplantation, with no greater difficulty in the control of rejection.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Expression and characterization of ovine major histocompatibility complex class II (OLA-DR) genes.

Previous work made use of nucleic acid probes corresponding to different subtypes of the class II regions of the human and murine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) to isolate seven different alpha and 24 different beta genes of the ovine MHC from two cosmid libraries. In an attempt to identify pairs of alpha and beta genes capable of cell surface expression, all permutations of alpha and beta genes were in turn transfected into mouse L-cells. Two pairs of alpha and beta genes co-expressed and stable ovine MHC class II L-cell lines were developed. The expressed alpha genes had previously been defined as DR-alpha homologues (DRA) by differential Southern hybridization to human subtype specific class II probes. The expressed ovine beta genes were also assigned as ovine DR-beta homologues (DRB) on the basis of their sequence having a higher degree of similarity with human DRB than any other subtype. A total of eight out of 23 anti-sheep class II specific monoclonal antibodies were typed OLA-DR specific by FACScan analysis using the L-cell lines.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Class II major histocompatibility complex genes of the sheep.

The class II genes of the sheep major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have been cloned from two unrelated heterozygous sheep into cosmid vectors. By restriction mapping and hybridization with a number of class II probes of human and mouse origin, the cloned genetic material has been assigned to seven distinct alpha genes, 10 distinct beta genes and 14 beta-related sequences. It was difficult to identify homologues of specific HLA class II genes because of a tendency for the ovine genes to cross-hybridize between HLA probes representing different loci. Such cross-hybridization was especially marked among the beta genes. While DQ and DR homologues have been tentatively identified by several criteria, no genes corresponding to DP have been identified. Cosmids containing class II alpha and beta genes have been transfected into mouse LTK- cells, and surface expression of a sheep class II molecule has been obtained.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Vocal fold contact area patterns in normal speakers: an investigation using the electrolaryngograph interface system.

This study investigates patterns of vocal fold movement in normal speakers. With the use of new computer software, laryngograph (Lx) waveforms from 100 normal speakers were examined. Specifically, four phases of the Lx waveform were observed and measured. These were then compared on both an interpersonal and intrapersonal basis. The results indicated that four phases were clearly identifiable in almost all subjects and that measurements of the closure and closed phases showed a high degree of consistency. The opening and open phases were more variable. In addition the onset and offset patterns of phonation were observed. Clear patterns were identified, consistent between speakers. The results are discussed with reference to the degree of consistency that can be expected in the vocal fold movement of normal speakers.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Deafness and immediate memory for pictures: dissociations between "inner speech" and the "inner ear"?

Born-deaf, orally trained youngsters were examined on two tasks of immediate memory for pictures of objects. The aim was to investigate the extent of speech coding for pictures in immediate memory in a developmental context. The deaf, unlike young hearing children, did not use picture-name rhyme spontaneously as a cue to recall in a paired association task. Nevertheless, they were just as sensitive as reading age-matched hearing controls to spoken word length in recalling pictures by name. This might mean that the deaf use articulatory rehearsal in some immediate memory tasks, but this leads to a paradoxical conclusion. What could "inner speech" in the deaf be for, if it fails to affect their "inner ear" by inducing rhyme sensitivity in the paired associate task? This paradox is discussed in relation to distinctions between covert and overt use of memory cues in the paired recall task and to possible sources of the word length effect in young hearing (8-9 years old) and deaf subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effectiveness of alprazolam in the treatment of chronic pain: results of a preliminary study.

One hundred chronic pain patients were begun on alprazolam, 1.5 mg/day. No other medication changes or therapeutic interventions were made. Sixteen patients were lost to follow-up and 1 oncology patient died. Of the 83 patients who were evaluated at 12 weeks, 61 (73.5%) showed improvement, and only 5 had discontinued the medication because of side effects. The average score of all patients had decreased from 3.6 to 2.2 on a verbal analog scale that rated pain severity from 0 to 5. There was no difference in response among the various diagnostic groups represented in the study population.

Alprazolam↗
PubMed1989

Outpatient treatment of patients with chronic pain: an analysis of cost savings.

To control costs, the University of Tennessee Center for Pain Management added an ambulatory pain rehabilitation program to its existing inpatient hospitalization program. The impact of this program was assessed by comparing the first 25 patients treated in 1985 (prior to the introduction of outpatient management) with the first 25 patients treated in 1987 (after outpatient management was established). Twenty of the 25 patients seen in 1985 required hospitalization, while in 1987 nine patients were hospitalized and 10 patients were placed in outpatient rehabilitation. The total cost for treating 25 patients in 1985 was $571,200 but decreased to $191,000 in 1987. Hospital charges were the greatest single cost factor in 1985 ($321,500) but were only $61,000 in 1987. Success rates as measured by a return to previous employment were not significantly changed (13 of 25 returned to work in 1985, and 11 of 25 returned to work in 1987).

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Immediate memory in the orally trained deaf: effects of 'lipreadability' in the recall of written syllables.

Immediate recall of written lists was compared in strictly orally trained born-deaf teenagers and in hearing controls. The lists were of syllables of CV form (e.g. SHA NA ZA DA). The deaf subjects showed a significant effect of consonant 'lipreadability'. Syllable lists containing consonants like D, SH and Z whose place of articulation is not visibly distinctive and which are therefore hard to lipread are less well recalled than (phonetically and orthographically matched) syllable lists containing consonants like F, TH and B which are produced with the tongue, teeth and lips in visible configuration. We conclude that for these deaf youngsters the phonological representation of written consonants is less secure for speech sounds that are hard, rather than easy, to lipread. The oral training of these youngsters has had an effect on their internal representation of written speech. Hearing subjects showed no 'lipreadability' effect in their recall of these lists. Reading-age matched controls (aged 8-10 years) showed significantly shorter span for both list types than the deaf group. Older hearing controls (14-16 years) matched the deaf group in span and tended to recall most accurately written syllables which are not easily lipread. We discuss these comparisons and conclude that while this group of deaf subjects is using a phonological code in the recall of written syllables, it is qualitatively different from that used by hearing subjects in this task. In particular, not only hard-to-lipread consonants but also vowels may be less strongly represented in these deaf readers' 'inner voice'.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Rickets associated with vitamin D deficiency in young sheep.

An outbreak of rickets in sheep under a year old (hoggs) appeared clinically as stiffness and rotation of the carpal joints. Histological studies confirmed the diagnosis and biochemical analyses of blood demonstrated a primary vitamin D deficiency.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Olfactory deficits in boys with cleft palate.

An odor identification task was used to determine whether individuals with cleft palate (with or without cleft lip) also have an increased prevalence of olfactory deficits. Olfactory responses of 35 affected subjects (7 to 22 years of age) were compared with those of 68 subjects of comparable age without cleft palates. Subjects were requested to identify the smell of ten common household odors. They selected their responses from an alphabetized list of the test odorants. After a practice trial, the set of odorants was presented five times in randomized sequences. The percentage of correct responses increased with age for prepubertal and pubertal subjects without cleft palates. Although the olfactory scores of girls without cleft palates continued to increase after puberty, this trend was absent in boys. On the average, the girls with cleft palates, compared with only three of 34 boys without cleft palates, had olfactory scores less than 60% correct. There was no evidence of heterogeneity in the magnitude or direction of the relationship between any of the subtypes of cleft palate and olfactory dysfunction. In this study, cleft palate is more strongly associated with olfactory deficits in boys than in girls, suggesting the possibility that the deficit may be a sex-influenced trait.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1987

Effect of vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy on the vitamin D status of ewes and their lambs.

Pregnant ewes were injected intramuscularly with 300,000 iu of vitamin D3 in a water miscible vehicle either 10, seven or four weeks before the expected lambing date and the effects on plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were monitored. The concentrations increased quickly and remained high at parturition but at no time were they outside the normal physiological range. The concentrations in the plasma of the newborn lambs were higher than in uninjected controls and were well correlated with the concentrations in their mothers. Dosing pregnant ewes with 300,000 iu of vitamin D3 in a rapidly available form, approximately two months before lambing, provided a safe means of increasing the vitamin D status of the ewe and the newborn lamb by preventing the seasonally low concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effects in sheep of high dietary levels of vitamin D3 as measured by circulating concentrations of some vitamin D metabolites and skeletal examination.

Housed non-pregnant ewes were given diets supplemented with five, 10, 20, 40 and 80 times the Agricultural Research Council's recommended requirement for vitamin D for 16 weeks. The effects on vitamin D status were assessed by measuring 25-hydroxylated vitamin D metabolites (25-OHD) in plasma at intervals. After 16 weeks, animals on the lowest and two highest vitamin D intakes were killed for histological examination of selected soft tissues and bones. Circulating concentrations of 25-OHD increased with intake and time during the experiment. However the increases were not proportional to intake and only when intakes exceeded 20 times the recommended requirement were concentrations greater than those seen in summer in grazing sheep. There was some evidence for the production of an additional vitamin D metabolite in animals on high vitamin D intakes. No abnormalities were detected in any of the tissues examined histologically.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effect of parenteral vitamin D3 on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentration in sheep.

Vitamin D3 ranging in total amount from 10(5) iu (2.5 mg) to 9 X 10(5) iu (22.5 mg) was given intramuscularly either as a single injection or in three aliquots at three-weekly intervals to housed nonpregnant ewes on a vitamin D deficient diet. The effects on plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OHD3), the major metabolite of vitamin D, were monitored. The increase in plasma 25-OHD3 showed a large variation between animals and was related to, but not proportional to, the dose. None of the treatments produced 25-OHD3 concentrations greater than those in grazing sheep in summer. Repeated dosing provided for more efficient use of the injected vitamin D3.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

A cross-national comparison of the institutionalized elderly in the cities of New York and London.

Two random samples, each constituting 0.5% of the institutionalized elderly (over 65) in the cities of New York and London have been compared. This preliminary report of a collaborative study demonstrates the similarity of the 2 samples. Institutions in the 2 cities are shown to differ in size, type of ownership and the frequency that skilled nursing is provided. Some implications of these 2 findings are raised now, and will be discussed later when the full data for the study are presented.

Aged↗