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Biomedical subjects

J F Wu

Publications and source records attributed to J F Wu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Taiwan National Poison Center: epidemiologic data 1985-1993.

UNLABELLED: The Taiwan National Poison Center has received more than 30,000 telephone calls since its establishment in July 1985. OBJECTIVE: To obtain more information about poisoning exposures in Taiwan, a retrospective analysis was conducted of all telephone calls to the center concerning human poisoning exposures July 1985 through December 1993. METHODS: The following data were tabulated: age, sex, intent of exposure, route of exposure, substances ingested and clinical severity. RESULTS: During the eight years (1985-1993), 23,436 telephone calls concerning human poisoning exposure were recorded. Adults accounted for most cases (75.2%) and exposures involving males (54.2%) were somewhat more prevalent than female poisoning exposures (44.7%). Intentional poisonings (54.6%) were more common than unintentional poisonings (40.1%), with an inverse relationship in pediatric poisoning exposures. After amphetamines, the most frequently ingested poisons were pesticides, benzodiazepines, and cleaning products. Fatalities occurred most frequently following ingestion of pesticides. The mortality rate was 5.7% for all exposures. CONCLUSIONS: Human poisoning is a serious problem in Taiwan. The reduction of suicide attempts is a major objective. Childhood poisonings are underreported and of high mortality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Multivariate analyses of the relationship between umbilical cord length and obstetric outcome.

To investigate the clinical significance of umbilical cord length in human pregnancies, 1087 deliveries at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from May 1995 to August 1995 were studied. Our data showed that male fetuses had longer cord length than female and vertex presentation had longer cord length than breech presentation. The cord length and placental weight were significantly related to the birth weight. We found that: 1) only intrauterine growth retardation was associated with the increased risk of fetal distress; 2) secondary arrest of labor and advanced gestational age were correlated with meconium stain; and 3) birth weight and presence of meconium stain were correlated with the secondary arrest (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between umbilical cord length and fetal well-being. As a result of multivariate analyses, we conclude that the umbilical cord length does not significantly correlate with either maternal age, gestational age (> or = 28 weeks), parity fetal outcome or intrauterine fetal well-being. Birth weight is the only characteristic that is correlated with cord length.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Absorption, tissue distribution, and excretion of zinc acexamate in rats].

UNLABELLED: beta = 11.6 h. The bioavailability was about 52.8%. After ig [3H]ZA (4.44 MBq.kg-1), higher radioactivities were observed in kidney, liver, and gastrointestinal tract but lower in brain, fat, and femur. CONCLUSION: ZA given i.g. in rats was absorbed rapidly and distributed widely to most of the organs and tissues.

Aminocaproates↗
PubMed1995

Brain regional correspondence between Alzheimer's disease histopathology and biomarkers of protein oxidation.

Four biomarkers of neuronal protein oxidation [W/S ratio of MAL-6 spin-labeled synaptosomes, phenylhydrazine-reactive protein carbonyl content, glutamine synthetase (GS) activity, creatine kinase (CK) activity] in three brain regions [cerebellum, inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and hippocampus (HIP)] of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-demented and age-matched control subjects were assessed. These endpoints indicate that AD brain protein may be more oxidized than that of control subjects. The W/S ratios of AD hippocampal and inferior parietal synaptosomes are 30 and 46% lower, respectively, than corresponding values of tissue isolated from control brain; however, the difference between the W/S ratios of AD and control cerebellar synaptosomes is not significant. Protein carbonyl content is increased 42 and 37% in the Alzheimer's HIP and IPL regions, respectively, relative to AD cerebellum, whereas carbonyl content in control HIP and IPL is similar to that of control cerebellum. GS activity decreases an average of 27% in the AD brain; CK activity declines by 80%. The brain regional variation of these oxidation-sensitive biomarkers corresponds to established histopathological features of AD (senile plaque and neurofibrillary tangle densities) and is paralleled by an increase in immunoreactive microglia. These data indicate that senile plaque-dense regions of the AD brain may represent environments of elevated oxidative stress.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

[Effects of berberine on platelet aggregation and plasma levels of TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in rats with reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion].

Berberine (Ber) 20 mg.kg-1.d-1 for 1, 3, or 5 d inhibited platelet aggregation induced by ADP, arachidonic acid (AA) and collagen (Coll) in rats with 24 h reversible middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and the platelet adhesiveness was inhibited as well. Using radioimmunoassay method, the thromboxane B2(TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha) contents in rat plasma were measured 24 h after MCAO. The results indicate that the TXB2 levels after drug treatment were lower than those in ischemia control rats, but the 6-keto-PGF1 alpha levels showed no obvious difference between the two groups. The same dose of Ber was also shown to inhibit thrombosis formation. This suggests that the decline of platelet aggregation and decrease of TXB2 content may be one of the important factors involved in the anti-cerebral ischemia effect of Ber.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗
PubMed1994

A model for beta-amyloid aggregation and neurotoxicity based on free radical generation by the peptide: relevance to Alzheimer disease.

beta-Amyloid is a 39- to 43-amino-acid neurotoxic peptide that aggregates to form the core of Alzheimer disease-associated senile (amyloid) plaques. No satisfactory hypothesis has yet been proposed to explain the mechanism of beta-amyloid aggregation and toxicity. We present mass spectrometric and electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping evidence that beta-amyloid, in aqueous solution, fragments and generates free radical peptides. beta-Amyloid fragments, at concentrations that previously have been shown to be neurotoxic to cultured neurons, can inactivate oxidation-sensitive glutamine synthetase and creatine kinase enzymes. Also, salicylate hydroxylation assays indicate that reactive oxygen species are generated by the beta-amyloid-(25-35) fragment during cell-free incubation. These results are formulated into a free radical-based unifying hypothesis for neurotoxicity of beta-amyloid and are discussed with reference to membrane molecular alterations in Alzheimer disease.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1992

[The relationship between carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) expression and histogenesis of gastric cancer (application of immunohistochemical and mucin histochemical techniques)].

The distribution of CEA and mucin in gastric specimens of 134 cases was examined by immunohistochemical and mucin histochemical techniques. The results showed that in 85.58% of the gastric cancers CEA was positive, including all mucinous adenocarcinomas, signet-ring cell carcinomas and papillary adenocarcinomas. In tubular adenocarcinoma, there was a tendency of increased expression of CEA with the degree of cell differentiation. The positive rate of CEA in intestinal type of gastric cancer was higher than that in gastric type and stem cell type. Intestinal metaplasia with colonic type sulphomucin had a higher positive rate than that without sulphomucin. The positive rate of CEA in cancers secreting sulfomucin was higher than that in cancers without sulfomucin. It suggested that gastric cancers expressing CEA was histogenetically related to colonic type intestinal metaplasia and cancers without CEA expression might be evolved from gastric proper epithelium.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Reversal of age-related increase in brain protein oxidation, decrease in enzyme activity, and loss in temporal and spatial memory by chronic administration of the spin-trapping compound N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone.

Oxygen free radicals and oxidative events have been implicated as playing a role in bringing about the changes in cellular function that occur during aging. Brain readily undergoes oxidative damage, so it is important to determine if aging-induced changes in brain may be associated with oxidative events. Previously we demonstrated that brain damage caused by an ischemia/reperfusion insult involved oxidative events. In addition, pretreatment with the spin-trapping compound N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone (PBN) diminished the increase in oxidized protein and the loss of glutamine synthetase (GS) activity that accompanied ischemia/reperfusion injury in brain. We report here that aged gerbils had a significantly higher level of oxidized protein as assessed by carbonyl residues and decreased GS and neutral protease activities as compared to young adult gerbils. We also found that chronic treatment with the spin-trapping compound PBN caused a decrease in the level of oxidized protein and an increase in both GS and neutral protease activity in aged Mongolian gerbil brain. In contrast to aged gerbils, PBN treatment of young adult gerbils had no significant effect on brain oxidized protein content or GS activity. Male gerbils, young adults (3 months of age) and retired breeders (15-18 months of age), were treated with PBN for 14 days with twice daily dosages of 32 mg/kg. If PBN administration was ceased after 2 weeks, the significantly decreased level of oxidized protein and increased GS and neutral protease activities in old gerbils changed in a monotonic fashion back to the levels observed in aged gerbils prior to PBN administration. We also report that old gerbils make more errors than young animals and that older gerbils treated with PBN made fewer errors in a radial arm maze test for temporal and spatial memory than the untreated aged controls. These data can be interpreted to indicate that oxidation of cellular proteins may be a critical determinant of brain function. Moreover, it also implies that there is an age-related increase in vulnerability of tissue to oxidation that can be modified by free radical trapping compounds.

Aging↗
PubMed1991

Energy value of cassava for young swine.

A comparative slaughter experiment was conducted to determine the energy values of cassava chips for weanling pigs. A basal, highly fortified diet was fed to all pigs at 3% body weight daily. Treatments consisted of the addition of cassava chips at 0, 1, and 2% of body weight daily. The apparent digestion coefficients (ADC) for dry matter and energy increased but the ADC for nitrogen decreased with the addition of cassava chips to the basal diet. Digestible energy per gram decreased linearly and quadratically (P less than .01), but metabolizable energy and net energy per gram remained constant with the addition of cassava chips. Metabolizable energy as a percentage of digestible energy increased linearly and quadratically (P less than .01) with the addition of cassava chips to the basal diet. Daily gain of nitrogen, ether extract, and energy increased linearly (P less than .01) as cassava chips were added to the basal diet, but daily gain of ash remained relatively constant. Pooled energy values determined for cassava chips in kcal/g of dry matter were: gross energy, 4.04; digestible energy, 3.58; metabolizable energy, 3.48; nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy, 3.22; and net energy, 2.57. Net energy of cassava chips for weanling pigs is close to that of corn.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1989

[Therapeutic effect of defibrase in chronic glomerulonephritis with chronic renal failure].

When chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) proceeds to chronic renal failure (CRF), there are decline of fibrinolytic activity and deposition of fibrin in glomeruli with resulting thromboembolic lesions. 46 CGN patients with complicating CRF were thus treated with defibrase made from viper venom. Defibrase in a dose of 0.025 unit/kg dissolved in 250 ml 10% glucose was infused slowly once every 3 days in a total of 6 times. After the treatment, BUN and serum creatinine levels decreased, creatinine cleance improved and the clinical manifestations of uremia alleviated or disappeared. In some patients there were increase of hemoglobin concentration and decrease of urinary protein excretion. Hypertension was controlled in 17 out of 20 patients treated in combination with captopril. Level of plasma fibrinogen was significantly reduced after defibrase administration, but the reduction was not related to the therapeutic effect. Urinary output was increased in most of the patients, being related to the therapeutic effect. The authors are of the opinion that renal function may be improved in CGN patients after defibrase treatment due probably to elimination of fibrin deposition and resolution of thromboembolic lesions in glomeruli. However, a suitable dose has to be determined as there is no effective way to monitor the most dreaded complication of defibrase therapy bleeding.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Plasma alkaline phosphatase as a criterion for determining biological availability of phosphorus for swine.

One hundred thirty-nine pigs, with an average initial weight of 15.9 kg, were used in three trials to evaluate plasma alkaline phosphatase (AP) as a criterion for estimating available P in feedstuffs for swine. The first two trials were designed to determine the effect of adding graded levels of P (as KH2PO4) to a basal diet on the AP response pattern and degree of linear fit with time. Plasma AP increased (P less than .05) with time and, when regressed on the concentration of total P (.26 to .50%), provided the best linear fit by d 14 (r = -.996). This high degree of fit was maintained through d 21 (r = -.983). The poor correlation observed at 7 d (r = -.828) indicated that the AP pattern was not fully established, whereas departure from the close association by 28 d (r = -.913) may be related to a decline in the magnitude of P deficiency with increasing weight. In a third trial, available P was determined in high moisture corn (HMC, 24.6% moisture) using both AP and bone breaking strength (BKS) as response criteria. A standard curve was established by supplementing the basal diet (.26% P, .65% Ca) with graded levels of KH2PO4. High moisture corn was substituted for dextrose on an equal dry matter basis. Blood samples were acquired on d 14 and 21 for AP analysis and pigs were killed on d 28 for determination of metatarsal BKS. Phosphorus from HMC was determined (slope-ratio technique) to be 41.3% available using BKS as the criterion (KH2PO4, r = .961; HMC, r = .994) and 43.8% when AP at 14 d was used (KH2PO4, r = -.988; HMC, r = -.999). The data indicate that AP is a sensitive index potentially useful in P availability studies.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1981

Mature body weight and life span of male and female progeny of primiparous rats fed a low protein or adequate diet throughout pregnancy.

Sixty-one primiparous Sprague-Dawley female rats were fed an adequate diet containing 5% protein (experiment 1) or 8% protein (experiment 2) throughout gestation. Low dietary protein reduced individual pup birth weight in both experiments (P less than .01 in experiment 1 and P less than .10 in experiment 2) and drastically decreased early postnatal survival in experiment 1. Weaning weight of survivors was reduced by gestation protein deprivation in experiment 1 but no in experiment 2. Male and female progeny surviving to weaning in experiment 1 and randomly selected progeny from each maternal treatment in experiment 2 were caged individually and fed ad libitum and nutritionally adequate corn-soybean meal-type diet throughout the entire life span. Body weight were recorded monthly beginning in young adulthood and continuing until death. Life span (in days) was recorded for each rat. Mature body weight of male and female progeny of dams fed restricted protein during gestation was less in both experiments than that of offspring from dams fed an adequate diet (P less than .01). There was no effect of prenatal nutrition on life span in either experiment, but females lived significantly longer than males in both experiments (p less than .05). It is concluded that maternal protein restriction during gestation of a magnitude large enough to reduce pup birth weight causes a significant reduction in mature body size of the progeny without affecting longevity in the rat.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Mechanism of lethal action of 2,450-MHz radiation on microorganisms.

Various bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and bacteriophages were exposed to microwaves of 2,450 +/- 20 MHz in the presence and in the absence of water. It was found that microorganisms were inactivated only when in the presence of water and that dry or lyophilized organisms were not affected even by extended exposures. The data presented here prove that microorganisms are killed by "thermal effect" only and that, most likely, there is no "nonthermal effect"; cell constituents other than water do not absorb sufficient energy to kill microbial cells.

Bacteria↗