Biomedical subjects

J E Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to J E Schmidt.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

[Psychiatric observations 1986-1993. Sygehus Fyn, Middelfart, the unit of forensic psychiatry].

Two hundred and sixty psychiatric reports for law courts conducted between 1986-1993 at the Unit of Forensic Psychiatry, Middelfart were reviewed. The aim was to record a number of essential characteristics with special focus on the number of reports, demographic data, diagnosis and type of criminal act. All the offenders were inhabitants of the county of Funen, where about 50-60 reports for law courts were carried out each year during the period of investigation. Serious crimes (homicide, attempted suicide, violence, arson and rape), were mainly (74%) committed by offenders with personality disorder, of whom few were sentenced to special measures. However, a higher percentage than expected of individuals charged with arson were psychotic (30%) and mentally retarded (10%). Schizophrenics and individuals with other types of non-affective psychosis covered a higher percentage of persons charged with violence compared to manic-depressive individuals. Fifty percent of the offenders were chronic drug abusers.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Immobilization patterns and dynamics of acetate-utilizing methanogens immobilized in sterile granular sludge in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors.

Sterile granular sludge was inoculated with either Methanosarcina mazeii S-6, Methanosaeta concilii GP-6, or both species in acetate-fed upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors to investigate the immobilization patterns and dynamics of aceticlastic methanogens in granular sludge. After several months of reactor operation, the methanogens were immobilized, either separately or together. The fastest immobilization was observed in the reactor containing M. mazeii S-6. The highest effluent concentration of acetate was observed in the reactor with only M. mazeii S-6 immobilized, while the lowest effluent concentration of acetate was observed in the reactor where both types of methanogens were immobilized together. No changes were observed in the kinetic parameters (Ks and mumax) of immobilized M. concilii GP-6 or M. mazeii S-6 compared with suspended cultures, indicating that immobilization does not affect the growth kinetics of these methanogens. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using polyclonal antibodies against either M. concilii GP-6 or M. mazeii S-6 showed significant variations in the two methanogenic populations in the different reactors. Polyclonal antibodies were further used to study the spatial distribution of the two methanogens. M. concilii GP-6 was immobilized only on existing support material without any specific pattern. M. mazeii S-6, however, showed a different immobilization pattern: large clumps were formed when the concentration of acetate was high, but where the acetate concentration was low this strain was immobilized on support material as single cells or small clumps. The data clearly show that the two aceticlastic methanogens immobilize differently in UASB systems, depending on the conditions found throughout the UASB reactor.

Acetates↗

PubMed1998

Skin breakdown in children and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) to skin breakdown on the scalp and ears in mechanically ventilated children. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of 32 patients supported with HFOV paired with 32 patients supported with conventional mechanical ventilation (CV) in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). RESULTS: By univariate analysis, more HFOV patients had skin breakdown than did the CV patients (53% vs 12.5%, p=.001); HFOV patients also had greater severity of illness (Pediatric Risk of Mortality scores), higher mortality, and longer durations of neuromuscular blockade, low systolic blood pressure, and time exposed to risk. Life table analysis demonstrated no difference in the rate of skin breakdown between HFOV and CV patients. Multifactorial analysis showed that only PICU time at risk was a risk factor for skin breakdown. CONCLUSIONS: HFOV was not an independent risk factor for the development of skin breakdown. PICU time at risk was the sole risk factor for the development of skin breakdown in all mechanically ventilated patients in the PICU.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1997

Pregnancy outcomes in mothers with pregestational diabetes: a population-based study in North Rhine (Germany) from 1988 to 1993.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion of pregnancies with pregestational diabetes in Germany, to compare the outcome of these pregnancies to pregnancies in nondiabetic mothers and to identify risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes in mothers with pregestational diabetes. Data of the "Perinatalerhebung Nordrhine" from 1988-1993 were analysed. The Perinatalerhebung is an ongoing quality assurance programme of prenatal and perinatal care in the region of North Rhine (South Western part of North Rhine-Westphalia). During the observation period a proportion of 93%-100% of the annual births in the region (n = approximately 100000) were included in the study. Their data had been documented by the obstetricians in a standard multiple choice questionnaire. The outcome parameters perinatal mortality, macrosomia, prematurity, and malformations were analysed in relation to several defined explanatory variables. There were 2,402 births in mothers with pregestational diabetes (0.4% of all births). The proportions of poor pregnancy outcomes in women with pregestational diabetes were 2.8% for perinatal mortality, 27.6% for macrosomia, 21.1% for prematurity and 2.1% for malformations . The respective relative risks compared to the non diabetic mothers were 4.3 (95% CI 3.4-5.5) for perinatal mortality, 3.1 (95% CI 2.9-3.3) for macrosomia, 2.7 (95% CI 2.5-2.9) for prematurity and 1.7 (95% CI 1.3-2.3) for malformations . The main risk factor for perinatal mortality in children of diabetic mothers after adjustment for maternal smoking, ethnicity, parents' professional achievement, type of obstetric hospital, and maternal age was substandard use of prenatal care. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of births from mothers with pregestational diabetes and their pregnancy outcomes were similar to those in other Western countries. The standard for non-diabetic mothers has not been reached yet. Further improvements may be achieved if all diabetic women are convinced to use the standard prenatal care facilities throughout pregnancy.

Diabetes, Gestational↗

PubMed1996

The Xenopus laevis homeobox gene Xgbx-2 is an early marker of anteroposterior patterning in the ectoderm.

In a search for homeobox genes expressed during early Xenopus development, we have isolated a gene which appears to be the Xenopus cognate of the mouse Gbx-2 gene. Expression of Xgbx-2 is first detectable by in situ hybridization at the midgastrula stage when it is predominantly expressed in the dorsolateral ectoderm, with a gap in expression at the dorsal midline. By the end of gastrulation and during neurulation, Xgbx-2 is expressed dorsolaterally in the neural ectoderm and laterally and ventrally in the epidermis with sharp anterior expression borders in both tissues. The anteriormost expression in the neural ectoderm persists throughout the early stages of development, and was mapped to the region of rhombomere 1, with an anterior expression border in the region of the midbrain-hindbrain boundary. Thus Xgbx-2 is expressed anterior to the Hox genes. Xgbx-2 expression is induced by retinoic acid (RA) in animal caps, and RA treatment of whole embryos expands and enhances Xgbx-2 expression in the ectoderm. We suggest a role for Xgbx-2 in establishing the midbrain-hindbrain boundary, which appears to separate early neurectodermal regions expressing genes that are positively and negatively regulated by RA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Altered skin integrity in children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit.

As part of a quality improvement study, the incidence and severity of altered skin integrity in a tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were investigated in an attempt to identify contributing risk factors. Demographic, severity of illness, and practice variables were collected on 271 of 357 admissions during an 18-week period. Data were analyzed from the date of PICU admission until a change in skin integrity occurred or until PICU discharge. Altered skin integrity occurred in 26 percent of admissions; 7 percent of the cases had skin breakdown. By multivariate analysis, only the Pediatric Risk of Mortality Score and white race were associated with altered skin integrity.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1996

Regulation of dorsal-ventral patterning: the ventralizing effects of the novel Xenopus homeobox gene Vox.

The formation of the dorsal-ventral axis in Xenopus laevis is elicited by a signaling cascade on the dorsal side of the embryo initiated by cortical rotation. These early developmental events impart an initial axial polarity to the embryo. By the time gastrulation occurs, the embryo has established opposing dorsal and ventral regulatory regions. Through a dynamic process, the embryo acquires a definitive pattern that reflects the distribution of future cell fates. Here we present a novel homeobox gene, Vox, whose expression reflects this dynamic process. Vox is first expressed throughout the embryo and subsequently eliminated from the notochord and neural plate. Ectopic expression of Vox demonstrates that the normal function of this gene may be to suppress dorsal genes such as Xnot and chordin, and induce ventral and paraxial genes such as Bmp-4 and MyoD. Ectopic expression of BMP-4 ventralizes embryos and positively regulates the expression of Vox, suggesting that these genes are components of a reciprocal regulatory network.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Localized BMP-4 mediates dorsal/ventral patterning in the early Xenopus embryo.

Mesoderm is initially induced in the amphibian embryo by events that occur in the early cleavage stages prior to the midblastula transition (MBT) and morphogenesis. These inductive interactions establish the mesoderm at the equator and create a distinction between the dorsal and the ventral regions. After the MBT, zygotic factors pattern the mesoderm and induce the neuroectoderm on the dorsal side of the embryo. Most previous studies have focused on the effects of signals originating in the dorsal mesoderm. We show that BMP-4 transcripts are localized to the ventral side of the gastrula embryo and provide evidence that localized expression of BMP-4 is important for regulating the expression of mesodermal and neural genes. We show that ectopic expression of BMP-4 inhibits the formation of dorsal and lateral mesoderm and reduces the size of the neural plate. Elimination of BMP-4 signaling with a dominant-negative BMP receptor expands the lateral mesoderm and neural plate without expanding the expression of genes along the dorsal midline. These results suggest that BMP-4 may act to oppose the action of dorsalizing signals and neural-inducing signals that originate in the dorsal organizer region. We suggest that BMP-4 may have an analogous role to the Drosophila gene, dpp, in dorsal/ventral pattern formation.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Granulation in thermophilic upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors.

The state of the art for thermophilic UASB reactors is discussed focusing on the start-up of UASB reactors, the influence of the waste water composition and temperature on the development and maintenance of thermophilic granules, and the microbial composition and structure of thermophilic granules.

Acetates↗

PubMed1995

Halothane modulates thermosensitive hypothalamic neurons in rat brain slices.

BACKGROUND: In vivo, halothane alters spontaneous firing in and thermosensitivity of neurons in the preoptic region of the anterior hypothalamus. To better understand the mechanisms by which halothane specifically disrupts normal thermoregulation, this investigation examined the effects of halothane on thermosensitive preoptic region neurons in isolated hypothalamic tissue slices. METHODS: Brain slices were obtained and prepared from Sprague-Dawley rats. Preoptic region neurons were characterized by extracellular recording of spontaneous firing rates and thermosensitivity to localized heating and cooling, before, during, and after halothane equilibrated in the perfusate and carrier gas. RESULTS: One hundred sixteen neurons were characterized by their thermosensitivity as: 29% warm-sensitive (> 0.8 spikes.s-1.degrees C-1); 14% cold-sensitive (< 0.6 spikes.s-1.degrees C-1); and 57% temperature-insensitive. Halothane significantly reduced the spontaneous firing rates to 64% of control and the thermosensitivity to 55% of control for warm-sensitive neurons at 1% halothane. Halothane significantly reduced the spontaneous firing rate of cold-sensitive neurons to 24 and 40% of control, and the thermosensitivity to 61 and 36% of control at 0.5, and 1% halothane, respectively. Spontaneous firing rates and thermosensitivity returned toward control values in warm-sensitive neurons (92 and 122% of control, respectively) after discontinuation of halothane, which did not occur in cold-sensitive neurons (49 and 36% of control, respectively). Halothane did not alter the thermosensitive temperature range or the set point temperature at which neurons became most thermosensitive. Halothane also did not affect the firing rates of temperature-insensitive neurons. CONCLUSIONS: Halothane alters the firing rate and thermosensitivity of individual temperature-sensitive neurons in in vitro slices of the preoptic region of the anterior hypothalamus in the absence of afferent modulation. This disruption may result in an imprecision of thermoregulatory responses locally within the preoptic region, to thermal challenges and represents a potential mechanism by which halothane widens the thermoregulatory threshold range.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1995

Interspecies Electron Transfer during Propionate and Butyrate Degradation in Mesophilic, Granular Sludge.

Granules from a mesophilic upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor were disintegrated, and bacteria utilizing only hydrogen or formate or both hydrogen and formate were added to investigate the role of interspecies electron transfer during degradation of propionate and butyrate. The data indicate that the major electron transfer occurred via interspecies hydrogen transfer, while interspecies formate transfer may not be essential for interspecies electron transfer in this system during degradation of propionate and butyrate.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1993

Induction of the Xenopus organizer: expression and regulation of Xnot, a novel FGF and activin-regulated homeo box gene.

We have searched for homeo box-containing genes expressed during gastrulation in Xenopus embryos with the expectation that analysis of the spatial and temporal expression of these genes will lead to greater understanding of the regionalization of the mesoderm. We describe the cloning and expression of Xnot, a novel homeo box-containing gene expressed primarily in the gastrula organizing region. We have studied the regulation of Xnot by signaling molecules involved in mesoderm induction and regionalization. Surprisingly, we found that FGF signaling is required for expression of Xnot in the gastrula organizing region, clearly implicating FGF in the induction of dorsal mesoderm. Furthermore, we found that Xnot is initially expressed throughout the embryo and that progressive translation of an unknown protein restricts expression of Xnot to the organizing region. Our results provide experimental evidence supporting the proposed division of Spemann's organizer into independently regulated organizing centers.

Activins↗

PubMed1993

Effect of medium composition and sludge removal on the production, composition, and architecture of thermophilic (55 degrees C) acetate-utilizing granules from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor.

A thermophilic upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor degrading acetate was started by applying published methods (W. M. Wiegant and A. W. A. de Man, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 28:718-77, 1986) for production of granules dominated by Methanothrix spp. The reactor was inoculated with thermophilic digested sludge. No granules were observed during the first 7 months of start-up of the UASB reactor. However, after the concentrations of potassium, phosphate, ammonium, and magnesium in the medium were gradually increased, granules developed, indicating that there was a critical concentration of one or more of the ions required for production of granules from the starting material. After several years of stable operation, the effect of removing 60% of the granular sludge was investigated. Immunologic qualitative and quantitative studies showed that removal of the granular sludge resulted in an increase in the number of the predominant methanogens, antigenically related to Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1 and Methanosarcina mazeii S-6, and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H and GC1. These changes were accompanied by modifications of the microanatomy of the granules, as demonstrated histochemically and immunohistochemically. The results indicated that different catabolic pathways dominated in different regions of the granules, i.e., acetate oxidation in the middle of the granules, where there is a low acetate concentration, and an aceticlastic reaction in the outer surfaces, with a high acetate concentration. The results also showed that removal of granules from a UASB reactor which has been under steady-state operation for a long period can improve the reactor's performance via formation of denser and larger granules with improved microbial activities.

Acetates↗

PubMed1993

Effects of hydrogen and formate on the degradation of propionate and butyrate in thermophilic granules from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor.

Degradation of propionate and butyrate in whole and disintegrated granules from a thermophilic (55 degrees C) upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor fed with acetate, propionate, and butyrate as substrates was examined. The propionate and butyrate degradation rates in whole granules were 1.16 and 4.0 mumol/min/g of volatile solids, respectively, and the rates decreased 35 and 25%, respectively, after disintegration of the granules. The effect of adding different hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria (both sulfate reducers and methanogens), some of which used formate in addition to hydrogen, to disintegrated granules was tested. Addition of either Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H, a hydrogen-utilizing methanogen that does not use formate, or Methanobacterium sp. strain CB12, a hydrogen- and formate-utilizing methanogen, to disintegrated granules increased the degradation rate of both propionate and butyrate. Furthermore, addition of a thermophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium (a Desulfotomaculum sp. isolated in our laboratory) to disintegrated granules improved the degradation of both substrates even more than the addition of methanogens. By monitoring the hydrogen partial pressure in the cultures, a correlation between the hydrogen partial pressure and the degradation rate of propionate and butyrate was observed, showing a decrease in the degradation rate with increased hydrogen partial pressure. No significant differences in the stimulation of the degradation rates were observed when the disintegrated granules were supplied with methanogens that utilized hydrogen only or hydrogen and formate. This indicated that interspecies formate transfer was not important for stimulation of propionate and butyrate degradation.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMed1992

Effect of magnesium on methanogenic subpopulations in a thermophilic acetate-degrading granular consortium.

The effects of Mg2+ on thermophilic (55 degrees C) granules grown on acetate in 0.2-liter upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors were studied. The methanogens in the granules were identified and counted by using antibody probes and the antigenic fingerprinting method. Packets of large coccoidal cells antigenically related to Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1 were scarce in the absence of Mg2+ but increased with increasing Mg2+ concentrations up to 30 mM; Methanosarcina packets immunologically related to Methanosarcina barkeri R1M3 showed a similar trend, and their numbers increased up to 100 mM Mg2+. The number of single cells antigenically related to TM-1, R1M3, and Methanosarcina mazei S-6 were scarce at low Mg2+ concentrations but increased drastically at 30 and 100 mM Mg2+. The number of rod-shaped bacteria antigenically related to Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum GC1 and delta H was highest with no Mg2+ present, and their numbers decreased with increasing concentrations of the cation. These quantitative data, obtained by counting cells in suspensions made from disrupted granules, were confirmed by microscopic observation of the methanogenic subpopulations in thin histologic sections of the granules.

Acetates↗

PubMed1987

Response of the Succulent Leaves of Peperomia magnoliaefolia to Dehydration: Water Relations and Solute Movement in Chlorenchyma and Hydrenchyma.

Relative water content, solute concentrations, and osmolality were determined in the water storage tissue (hydrenchyma) and the assimilatory tissue (chlorenchyma) of the succulent leaves of Peperomia magnoliaefolia (Jac) (Piperaceae) during slow desiccation. Relative water loss was significantly greater for the hydrenchyma than for the chlorenchyma. When whole leaves had lost 50% of their initial water content, the concomitant decrease of the relative water content of the hydrenchyma was 75 to 85%, but of the chlorenchyma only 15 to 25%. In spite of this differential water loss, the osmolality in both tissues increased to the same extent, indicating solute flow from the hydrenchyma to the chlorenchyma during desiccation. Solute translocation appeared to be unspecific, probably reflecting symplastic mass flow from one tissue to the other. The observed volume preservation of the chlorenchyma stabilized photosynthesis of Peperomia magnoliaefolia (Jac) leaves, which was less inhibited by a given decrease of the relative water content of the whole leaves than in nonsucculent leaves.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1975

Chemotherapy of advanced prostatic carcinoma with cyclophosphamide or 5-fluorouracil: results of first national randomized study.

The National Prostatic Cancer Project has randomized this study for endocrine-resistant prostatic cancer patients for treatment with standard hormonal or other therapies compared to 5-fluorouracil and cyclophosphamide. Both agents were found at the probability level of 0.05 to have a significant advantage over standard treatment in terms of objective response, subjective improvement and minimal toxicity. Additional chemotherapy protocols are currently under way. This randomized trial is the first report of such a national study completed to date. We are much encouraged by this program and believe that additional agents now under consideration will provide additionally encouraging results.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗