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Biomedical subjects

J Horn

Publications and source records attributed to J Horn.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Effectiveness of a sensory integrative therapy program for children with perceptual-motor deficits.

This study was an evaluation of the sensory integrative therapy (SIT) program (Ayres, 1972a) for children at the Christchurch Hospital. Fifty-five children were randomly assigned to the SIT program, a parallel physical education program, or to a no-treatment condition. The children were assessed before and after treatment on measures of perceptual-motor development, language and reading development, self-concept, and handwriting skills. Covariance analysis, with age and pretest scores as covariates, found no significant differences between groups on any of the measures except reading progress among those children who could already read at the beginning of the program. Children who made the least progress during therapy were those who (a) had epilepsy, (b) were from a low-income, single-parent family, or (c) had behavioral problems.

Child↗

Computerised updating of clinical summaries: new opportunities for clinical practice and research?

A new type of clinical summary, produced by copying standard descriptions of diseases on to a computer screen and editing them to match a patient's findings and diagnoses, was updated and reprinted as the patient's condition changed in the ward or as an outpatient. When this method was used to produce typed medical discharge summaries over a three month period, 73 out of 91 (80%) were sent out within a week after discharge compared with five out of 56 (9%) conventionally typed summaries received in a single general practice. Even completely new computerised summaries are quicker for the secretary to produce than conventional summaries, and the computerised summaries are designed to be scanned rapidly for relevant information. They can also be used to collect data automatically for research, clinical audit, and resource management.

Data Collection↗

[Choledochal cyst. The clinical picture, diagnosis and therapy].

A 21-year-old woman who for more than one year had had epigastric pain which was unrelated to food and radiated belt-like, was found to have a marked increase in gamma-GT, slightly elevated phosphatase activity, and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The diagnosis of choledochal cyst, type Ia, was confirmed by sonography, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography and intravenous cholangiography. A choledochocystojejunostomy with a Y-Roux anastomosis was constructed to stop the cholestasis and prevent complications. The patient became symptom-free after the operation.

Adult↗

The effect of oxygen toxicity and cigarette smoking on the binding of heterologous antibodies to alveolar basement membrane in the rat.

It has been suspected that pulmonary lesions of the Goodpasture type may be the result of circulating antibodies to alveolar basement membrane and that environmental factors such as cigarette smoke may influence antibody binding. Carefully designed experiments in this study have shown that exposure to cigarette smoke for 3 weeks or 100% oxygen for 65 h did not influence the binding of heterologous antibodies to alveolar basement membrane in Wistar rats, nor did these regimes increase any pathological changes associated with the antibody binding as detected by light microscopy. The results which are at variance with other reported findings are discussed with reference to reported animal models of antibody mediated pneumonitis and Goodpasture's syndrome in man.

Animals↗

Reproducibility of the diagnosis of cervicitis in pregnancy.

Cervicitis has been associated with several infections of the female genital tract. Criteria have been established for making the diagnosis of cervicitis in gynecologic populations but there are no well-established criteria for diagnosing cervicitis in obstetrical populations. Because of the association of the cervicitis and sexually transmitted diseases, and because of the association of sexually transmitted diseases and adverse pregnancy outcome, the present study was undertaken in an attempt to establish criteria for the diagnosis of cervicitis in pregnancy. We also attempted to determine the reproducibility of that diagnosis with respect to intra- and interobserver variability. We concluded that intraobserver variability is improved after specific training has been completed and that interobserver variability may be reduced to an acceptable level. On a public health scale, this may allow for identification of a population at high risk for adverse pregnancy outcome when sophisticated microbiologic techniques are unavailable.

Adolescent↗

Monoclonal antibodies selectively directed against the cell wall surface of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In the last few years several monoclonal antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been described, but their use as diagnostic tools has been limited. In this study we describe eight monoclonal antibodies against M. tuberculosis for diagnostic purposes. The monoclonal antibodies were selected after enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay screening with whole bacterial suspensions of mycobacteria and other bacterial species. Four monoclonal antibodies (BS100, BS101, BS102, and BS104) reacted with a whole bacterial suspension of M. tuberculosis but not with the other mycobacteria. When tested with a cytoplasmic fraction of mycobacteria the same monoclonal antibodies showed a broad cross-reactivity. Therefore the monoclonal antibodies showed not specific but selective binding to M. tuberculosis. The molecular size of the recognized antigens ranged from 12 to 71 kilodaltons as determined by the immunoblotting technique. The ability to differentiate M. tuberculosis from mycobacteria other than tuberculosis was investigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with 131 freshly cultured strains of M. tuberculosis from patients and 36 strains of mycobacteria other than tuberculosis. The monoclonal antibody BS104 could clearly distinguish between M. tuberculosis and other mycobacterial species.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

The use of immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation of (U) small nuclear ribonucleoproteins in the analysis of sera of patients with mixed connective tissue disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. A cross-sectional, longitudinal study.

Antibodies to ribonucleoproteins (RNP) and to the Sm antigen in sera from patients with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) and systemic lupus erythematosus were studied using the techniques of immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation of U small nuclear RNPs. A cross-sectional study indicated that antibodies reacting with a 68K protein were associated with anti-RNP specificity in MCTD, but rarely occurred in systemic lupus erythematosus patients' sera. A longitudinal study demonstrated the persistence of MCTD blotting patterns over many years, and the subsequent disappearance of those specificities in sera from patients who were in prolonged remission.

Antibodies↗

Measurement of plasma prokallikrein independent of inhibitors and interfering enzymes.

A new method to determine plasmaprokallikrein independently of its inhibitors is described. By ion exchange chromatography with DEAE-A-50 Sephadex plasmaprokallikrein can be separated from its inhibitors Cl-esterase inhibitor, alpha 2-macroglobulin, alpha 1-antitrypsin (protease inhibitor) and antithrombin III as well as from other enzymes like plasmin, Hagemann factor and glandular kallikrein, which can interfere with the chromogenic substrate of the amidolytic assay (S 2302) used to determine plasmakallikrein activity. Furthermore, this method also allows the measurement of plasmaprokallikrein in heparinized plasma, since heparin was separated by this chromatography technique from plasmaprokallikrein too. The enzymatic activity of activated plasmakallikrein was not changed by the ion exchange chromatography. Normal values of the plasmaprokallikrein content in plasma were in the range of 2.57 +/- 0.12 U/ml of plasma (n:42; X +/- SEM). No influence on plasmaprokallikrein activity of age and sex was found.

Enzyme Activation↗

Response to aluminum in parenteral nutrition during infancy.

The response to aluminum loading from parenteral nutrition (PN) solutions was determined in 20 infants with gestational ages 29 to 41 weeks and birth weights 880 to 3630 gm. Mean duration of PN was 43 days (range 5 to 175 days). Ten infants received a high Al load (from an experimental high calcium- and phosphorus-containing PN solution, with a measured Al content of 306 +/- 26 micrograms/L (mean +/- SE), n = 11), for up to 6 weeks. Ten infants received a lower Al load (from standard Ca-P solutions, measured Al content 144 +/- 16 micrograms/L, n = 11). Five infants received PN with a low Al load for longer than 6 weeks. The mean urine Al/creatinine (Cr) ratio (micrograms/mg) increased threefold, from 0.3 +/- 0.09 to 0.97 +/- 0.17 during PN in the entire group (P less than 0.001), and was significantly higher in infants who received greater Al loading (P less than 0.001). There was no significant difference between preterm and term infants in the rate of change in urine Al/Cr during the study. Urine Al was calculated to account for less than 50% of Al load. During the study, serum Al concentrations ranged from 6 to 318 micrograms/L (median 37 micrograms/L, compared with the median 18 micrograms/L for normal infants and children). Serum Al concentrations were not significantly changed during the study, or between infants in high or lower Al loading groups. Vertebrae from autopsy of two infants who received the lower Al containing PN for 71 and 152 days, respectively, stained positive for Al at the bone mineralization front. Thus, currently used PN solutions are contaminated with Al, urine Al concentration is higher with higher Al loading, and is not different in term and preterm infants. We suggest that renal elimination of Al in infants is incomplete, as assessed by lower urine Al excretion versus load, elevated serum Al concentration, and bone deposition of Al.

Aluminum↗

Continuous wave ultrasound measure of neonatal cerebral blood flow.

We report cerebral blood flow (CBF) values for healthy neonates in five gestational age categories for 9 single and 7 combination measures of continuous wave Doppler ultrasound. Combinations of measures, particularly those from the anterior cerebral artery with a 5.0 MgH probe, increased the reliability and validity. The most reliable and valid single measure was mean flow velocity from the anterior cerebral artery (5.0 MgH probe). CBF values were lower for neonates with respirator support than for neonates without respirator support. No significant differences were found in CBF measures between intubated neonates who developed IVH and intubated neonates who did not develop IVH. Neonates who were intubated and developed intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) were treated more vigorously than those who were intubated and did not develop IVH. By day 6, neonates with IVH had a significantly higher mean pH, mean serum bicarbonate, and mean positive base balance.

Apgar Score↗