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Biomedical subjects

J Graham

Publications and source records attributed to J Graham.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Postcholecystectomy wound infection. The impact of prophylactic antibiotics on the epidemiology of infections.

The clinical courses of 347 patients undergoing gallbladder surgeries were monitored to study the epidemiology of postcholecystectomy wound infection in a hospital in which high-risk patients received prophylactic antibiotics. Overall, 3.8% of patients had wound infections. Patients who had positive bile cultures taken during surgery or positive intraoperative wound cultures had higher rates of infection than patients with negative cultures. However, there was a poor correlation among the bacterial isolates that were recovered from the bile or the wound surface during surgery and from postoperative infections. Antibiotic-sensitive enteric bacteria were recovered from bile samples at surgery, gram-positive organisms and enteric gram-negative bacteria were isolated from intraoperative cultures of the wound surface, and antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria or enterococci were recovered from wounds that developed postoperative infections. There was a strong association between the prior receipt of prophylactic antibiotics and infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Data suggest that bactibilia is still an important epidemiologic marker that identifies patients at high risk for subsequent wound infection. However, in patients who have received prophylactic antibiotics, intraoperative cultures cannot be relied on to guide the choice of empiric therapeutic antibiotics for postoperative infections. Bacteria responsible for these infections are not identified by cultures taken at the time of surgery and are often resistant to the class of antibiotics used for prophylaxis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Evaluation of patients for cochlear implant by promontory stimulation. Psychophysical responses and electrically evoked brainstem potentials.

The protocol for assessing patients for cochlear implantation at University College Hospital and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, London, includes a session of electrophysiological tests and electrical stimulation of the cochlea. Electrocochleography is performed with the object of excluding non-organic hearing loss and of clarifying the site of deafness. Using the same transtympanic needle, AC and DC electrical stimulation is performed to establish whether patients perceive a sensation of sound, dynamic range and ability to detect frequency shifts. Tinnitus suppression was produced by AC and DC stimulation. It is likely that AC suppression of tinnitus occurs by a masking effect. Electrically evoked auditory brainstem potentials were recorded in one patient.

Brain Stem↗
PubMed1986

Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of LM985 (flavone acetic acid ester).

We have conducted a Phase I and initial clinical pharmacological evaluation of LM985, the first of a series of compounds based on the flavone ring structure to be considered for clinical trial in malignant disease. The drug was administered i.v. to 26 patients with advanced cancer on an every-21-day schedule. Patients were treated at 14 dosage levels ranging from 10 to 1500 mg/m2. Dose limiting toxicity was identified as acute reversible hypotension occurring during drug infusion; no leukopenia, alopecia, hepatic toxicity, or renal toxicity was observed, but at the higher dose range, mild sedation was apparent. Twenty patients had measurable disease and were evaluable for response. One patient with colorectal carcinoma had stable disease after three courses of LM985; however, no other responses were seen. Pharmacokinetic and in vitro drug degradation studies imply that the ester LM985 is hydrolyzed to LM975 (flavone acetic acid) rapidly in vivo. LM975 is active in a variety of animal tumor models, but it does not have the cardiovascular side effects seen with LM985 (hypotension and bradycardia) in pithed or anesthetized rats. We would recommend that LM975 be considered for clinical trial, because it seems likely that substantially higher doses of LM975 than of LM985 can be given without dose limiting cardiovascular toxicity.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Potential human health effects of acid rain: report of a workshop.

This report summarizes the potential impact of the acid precipitation phenomenon on human health. There are two major components to this phenomenon: the predepositional phase, during which there is direct human exposure to acidic substances from ambient air, and the post-depositional phase, in which the deposition of acid materials on water and soil results in the mobilization, transport, and even chemical transformation of toxic metals. Acidification increases bioconversion of mercury to methylmercury, which accumulates in fish, increasing the risk to toxicity in people who eat fish. Increase in water and soil content of lead and cadmium increases human exposure to these metals which become additive to other sources presently under regulatory control. The potential adverse health effects of increased human exposure to aluminum is not known at the present time.

Acids↗
PubMed1985

The effects of motivational interventions upon the exercise adherence of high and low self-motivated adults.

Two studies were carried out to investigate the utility of an interactionist approach to motivating involvement in an exercise program. In both studies the Self-Motivation Scale (Dishman, Ickes and Morgan, 1980) was used to classify program participants according to their level of self-motivation. Participants for each category were then assigned to experimental or control conditions. A decision balance-sheet technique was the treatment intervention in the first study while a structured social support intervention was implemented in the second study. In both cases, the motivational treatment resulted in an improvement in program attendance but there was no effect due to level of self-motivation nor its interaction with the treatment. The results are interpreted as being consistent with a situationist perspective of behavior; however, the need for further research using an interactionist approach is emphasized. Implications for exercise practice are discussed.

Female↗
PubMed1984

Speech ratings by speech clinicians, parents and children.

Ratings of speech samples of children with cleft palate were obtained from speech clinicians in a Cleft Palate Clinic, speech clinicians in the public schools, parents of children with clefts, parents of children without clefts, children with clefts and children without clefts. Analyses of the obtained ratings suggest that nasality and articulation ratings obtained from adult groups do not differ appreciably. Correlations between ratings of nasality and articulation are interpreted as suggesting that speech clinicians are more likely to differentiate between these two variables than other listener groups.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Influence of platelet lysate on colony formation of human breast cancer cells.

The effect of platelet lysate on the growth of human breast cancer cells was studied in the two-layer soft agar culture system. Lysate was prepared from frozen-thawed outdated human platelets. Eighteen to 446 colonies (mean: 85) grew from 50 of 57 tumors plated at a density of 5 X 10(5) cells/plate, yielding control plating efficiencies from 0.004-0.089. The viability of the cells plated ranged from 10-80%. All tumors were also plated with 200 micrograms/ml platelet lysate. Significant enhancement of colony formation (CF) (p less than 0.025) appeared in 26 of the 57 tumors tested. The number of colonies grown from these 26 tumors ranged from 36-580 (mean: 152). The extent of enhancement varied from 1.25-3.19. Significant suppression of CF (p less than 0.025) appeared in 6 of the 57 tumors. The extent of the suppression varied from 0.35-0.67. Platelet lysate induced no change in CF in the 7 tumors that failed to form colonies in control plates. There was no relationship between tumor cell viability and either the number of colonies appearing in control plates or the response of CF to platelet lysate. By contrast, there was a significant correlation (p less than 0.005) between viability and the extent of enhancement of CF by lysate. Concentrations of lysate varying from 50-400 micrograms/ml did not yield a consistent dose-related increase in CF. The results indicate that platelet lysate significantly enhances colony formation from a substantial percentage of human breast tumors.

Agar↗
PubMed1983

Buoyant densities of macromolecules, macromolecular complexes, and cell organelles in Nycodenz gradients.

Nycodenz is a new nonionic iodinated density gradient medium which has several advantages over metrizamide. Although, overall, biological samples band at similar densities in Nycodenz and metrizamide gradients, a number of significant differences were found. As compared with metrizamide, not only does Nycodenz appear to interact less with proteins but also the buoyant density of chromatin is less affected by the amount loaded onto the gradient. A high degree of resolution is obtainable using Nycodenz gradients; thus, it is possible to separate density-labeled DNA and to subfractionate subcellular membrane fractions.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Stimulation of human tumor colony formation by platelet lysate.

The effect of platelet lysate on the growth of colonies of human tumor cells was examined in vitro by using the human tumor stem cell assay. Lysates were prepared from freeze-thawed outdated platelets. Eighteen to 446 colonies (mean 85) grew from 211 of 299 tumors plated at a density of 5 X 10(5) cells/plate. The plating efficiency ranged from 0.001% to 0.35%. The viability of the cells plated ranged from 10% to 90%. Platelet lysate significantly enhanced (p less than 0.05) colony formation from cells from 99 (47%) of 211 patients. The number of colonies grown with lysate from these 99 tumors ranged from 36 to 580 (mean 152). The enhancement factor varied from 1.25 to 6.69. Platelet lysate significantly decreased colony formation (p less than 0.05) from cells from 27 (13%) of the 211 tumors and had no effect on 85 (40%). Maximum increases over control occurred after 6 days in 79 (94%) of 84 tumors and after 10 days in 5 (6%). The extent of enhancement by platelet lysate of tumor colony formation correlated with cell viability (r = 0.545, p less than 0.005). The growth-promoting activity for human tumors was nondialyzable, stable with heating at 56 degrees or 70 degrees C for 30 min and at 100 degrees C for 2.5 min, substantially inactivated by heating at 100 degrees C for 5 min, and totally inactivated by heating at 90 degrees C for 30 min. It was partially inactivated by trypsin and abolished by periodate oxidation. The results suggest that a proportion of tumors of epithelial and mesodermal origin are responsive in vitro to growth-promoting factor(s) derived from human platelets.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1983

Scoliosis and growth. An analysis of the literature.

A review of the literature discloses the buckling phenomenon as responsible for the initiation of lateral deformation and the progression of small curves in idiopathic scoliosis. From the point of view of parsimony, buckling explains how ligamentous laxity, increased interdiscal flexibility, muscular asymmetries, neurologic lesions, morphologic, anthropometric, and sexual differences would contribute to development of the deformity. Thus, a buckling theory seems to embody the fragmented character of present information about the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Lead mine waste: hazards to livestock.

Waste from disused lead mines is used for a variety of purposes and has been implicated in outbreaks of lead poisoning in animals. Three outbreaks of lead poisoning, two in cattle and one in farm dogs, occurred in the south of Scotland. In the first outbreak, three housed suckler cows died and two were clinically affected but recovered after treatment. In the second, four heifers died and two recovered after therapy. Blood samples taken from cattle in both outbreaks contained lead in concentrations from 0 . 59 to 2 . 00 ppm (normal blood lead level 0 . 05 to 0 . 25 ppm). Post mortem examinations revealed signs of lead poisoning. Metallic particles in the rumens and abomasums of affected animals suggested mine waste as the source of the lead and subsequently it was found that the material had been used in the construction of a ramp over which silage was pushed (outbreak 1) and to fill potholes on the farm (outbreak 2). Covering the relevant areas with concrete prevented further occurrences. Farm dogs were affected over a period where mine waste was used to resurface a road. Two dogs died, six others showed signs of lead poisoning and others, with no clinical signs, had elevated blood lead levels.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Some topographical connections of the striate cortex with subcortical structures in Macaca fascicularis.

Subcortical connections of the striate cortex with the superior colliculus (SC), the lateral pulvinar (Pl), the inferior pulvinar (Pi) and the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LG) were studied in the macaque monkey, Macaca fascicularis, following cortical injections of tritiated proline and/or horseradish peroxidase. All four structures were shown to receive topographically organized projections from the striate cortex. The exposed surface of the striate cortex was found to be connected to the rostral part of the SC and the caudal part of the LG. Injections of the exposed striate cortex close to its rostral border resulted in label in adjoining parts of the Pl and Pi. The ventral half and dorsal half of the calcarine fissure were connected with the medial and lateral parts of the SC, the ventrolateral and dorsomedial portions of the Pl and Pi and the lateral and medial parts of the LG, respectively. Injections located at the lateral posterior extreme of the calcarine fissure resulted in label at the optic disc representation in the LG. The horseradish peroxidase material demonstrated that LG neurons in all laminae and interlaminar zones project to the striate cortex.

Animals↗