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Biomedical subjects

J Howard

Publications and source records attributed to J Howard.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

RNA editing (Q/R site) and flop/flip splicing of AMPA receptor transcripts in young and old brains.

The effects of aging on the efficiency of RNA processing of AMPA glutamate receptor (GluR) subunits GluR1, GluR2, and GluR 3 was examined for RNA editing at the Q/R site of GluR2 and for alternative splicing of the flip or flop exons for GluR1-3. RNA isolated from six young (3 months old) and old (22-23 months old) animals was reverse-transcribed for PCR and restriction endonuclease analyses to distinguish between edited forms of GluR2 and flip/flop isoforms of GluR1-3. Unedited transcripts of GluR2 at the Q/R site (which controls calcium permeability) were not detected (at the limit of detection of >/= 2.5%) from the corticies and hippocampi of young and old animals. Distribution of flop/flip isoforms in the cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and striatum varied between GluR subunits and brain region, with GluR2 showing the greatest differences. However, no differences in alternative splicing of GluRs 1-3 were observed between young and old animals, suggesting that the fidelity of GluR transcript processing remains intact in the brains of aged animals.

Aging↗
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Maternal ego development and mother-infant interaction in drug-abusing women.

The purpose of this study was to expand our knowledge about factors in substance-abusing women, other than chronic drug abuse, that may influence maternal caregiving behaviors. Specifically, the study explored relationships between maternal characteristics and mother-infant interaction in a sample of drug-abusing women to determine whether drug-addicted mothers' level of ego development affected mother-infant interaction at 1 month. Data collection occurred during a prenatal lab visit and 1 month postpartum and included a clinical interview, self-report on participants' addiction severity, clinical personality inventory, ego development test, and videotaped observation of mother-infant feeding interactions. Only ego development, and to a lesser degree psychological symptoms associated with substance abuse, were found to be significant predictors of maternal-child interaction at 1 month. This points to the need to focus on building internal resources in providing substance abuse treatment and other services for substance-abusing mothers.

Adult↗
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Scientists' oath?

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗
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Evolution of CT findings in hepatic hematoma.

This report evaluates the CT findings of posttraumatic, intrahepatic lesions in 10 patients. The change in appearance of the lesions on follow-up examinations, in the absence of surgical intervention, is described. Similar lesions were produced in dogs and are compared with the human lesions and with hematomas in nonhepatic tissue.

Animals↗
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The propagation of relativistic heavy ions in multielement beam lines.

We describe calculations of the energy loss, range, stopping power, multiple scattering, and other related properties of a high-energy heavy-ion beam at any one of a set of beam line elements. A beam line element (e.g., any beam modification, detection, or control device) is characterized by its thickness, areal density, aperture, and function. The loss of multiply scattered particles to any finite-aperture detector is calculated in the small-angle approximation, and the position of the Bragg peak, as given by particles stopping in the second of two ionization chambers used for Bragg curve measurements, is estimated. A general purpose computer program, PROPAGATE, has been written to allow addition, deletion, and modification of the beam line elements used in the calculation and to provide a convenient means of repeating such calculations for arbitrary beam lines. Calculations and experimental measurements are compared and found to be in satisfactory agreement.

Computers↗
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Cardiovascular fitness in a selected group of dentists.

Thirty-three dentists were studied as part of an exercise rehabilitation clinic in order to evaluate their cardiovascular capacity and coronary prone risk factors. Measurements were made of their physical work capacity, predicted maximal oxygen uptake, fatness, serum lipids and uric acid levels, pulmonary peak flow rates and personality Type A or B. The group as a whole exhibited a moderately high level of fitness and a very active life style which probably reflected their presence at a clinic of this type. Cardiovascular fitness varibles increased with age. This increase may be due to a need and desire on the part of the dentists to maintain their physical fitness as they become older. This need for improved self image may also be a factor in their joining an exercise rehabilitation clinic.

Adult↗
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Effects of a sun protection program targeting elementary school children and their parents.

BACKGROUND: Excessive sun exposure in childhood is considered a risk factor for later development of skin cancer, so sun awareness programs targeting children have been developed. OBJECTIVE: To assess the benefits of involving parents at home in the sun protection program received by their children at school. METHOD: The existing "Sun and the Skin" program was enhanced in two ways. Parents were educated both about their child's program and with supplemental information. Also, sunscreen was distributed to each child. RESULTS: Certain methods of sun protection, particularly the use of sunscreen, are being practiced by the majority of children, while others, such as protective clothing, have not been readily adopted. The enhanced group of students showed improvement over control and standard groups in their attitude toward tanning. There is a need for teachers to remind their students to practice protective measures. CONCLUSIONS: While a sun-awareness curriculum has been shown to be beneficial for elementary school children, the adjunct of parental and school involvement in this process can improve the results and ultimately decrease the risk of skin cancer in the children.

Adult↗
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Blastomycosis granuloma involving the cranial vena cava associated with chylothorax and cranial vena caval syndrome in a dog.

A four-year-old, sexually intact, male dachshund was diagnosed with pulmonary blastomycosis. Itraconazole was administered for 60 days, and the dog was considered to be disease-free at three- and 12-month reevaluations. Two years following discontinuation of itraconazole, the dog developed a granuloma of the cranial vena cava resulting in chylothorax and cranial vena caval obstruction. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of a blastomycotic granuloma involving the vena cava reported in the dog. Blastomycosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis for both chylothorax and cranial vena caval syndrome in the dog.

Animals↗
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Hospital customer service in a changing healthcare world: does it matter?

The healthcare industry is undergoing a rapid transformation to meet the ever-increasing needs and demands of the patient population. Employers and health plans such as HMOs are demanding better service and higher quality care, and hospitals are trying to tackle reimbursement cutbacks, streamline services, and serve a diverse population. Hospitals have begun to realize that to overcome these obstacles and meet the needs of the health care plans and consumers, they must focus on the demands of the customer. Customer service initiatives increase patient satisfaction and loyalty and overall hospital quality, and many hospitals have found that consumer demands can be met through initiating and maintaining a customer service program. This article describes how the administrator can create, implement, and manage customer service initiatives within the hospital.

California↗
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Hormones in mammalian evolution.

Animals that produced increased levels of prolactin and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) survived the period of mass extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous period. DHEA increases thermogenesis and supported existence through the extended episode of cold and dark. Further increases in DHEA and prolactin produced continual physiological and anatomical changes which eventually produced all of the characteristics of mammals.

Animals↗
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Androgens in human evolution. A new explanation of human evolution.

Human evolution consists of chronological changes in gene regulation of a continuous and relatively stable genome, activated by hormones, the production of which is intermittently affected by endogenous and exogenous forces. Periodic variations in the gonadal androgen, testosterone, and the adrenal androgen, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), significantly participated in all hominid transformations. The hominid characteristics of early Australopithecines are primarily a result of increased testosterone. The first significant cold of the early Pleistocene resulted in an increase in DHEA that simultaneously produced Homo and the robust Australopithecines. Subsequent Pleistocene climatic changes and differential reproduction produced changes in DHEA and testosterone ratios that caused extinction of the robust Australopithecines and further changes and continuation of Homo. Changes in testosterone and DHEA produce allometric and behavioral changes that are identifiable and vigorous in modern populations.

Adolescent↗
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Restriction fragment length polymorphism at the CALCA locus identified by the probe pEMBL36 in immigrant populations of Australia.

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms detected by the cDNA probe, pEMBL36, at the CALCA locus (calcitonin gene and calcitonin gene related peptide) on TaqI blots were examined in samples from Italian, Greek and Vietnamese migrants to Melbourne, Australia and in a sample of residents from the island of Tasmania, Australia. The frequency of the rarer of the two alleles of this polymorphism, A2 (8.0kb) varied between a low of 6% in Vietnamese to a maximum of 38% in Tasmanians. The frequency range of the A2 allele in European populations, however, was considerably less. Analysis revealed no significant heterogeneity for this polymorphism among either the European or European derived populations, and these combined data exhibited a frequency of 33% for the A2 allele. Though based on a very small Vietnamese sample this study suggests that the A2 allele is less frequent in those of Asian ancestry.

Adult↗
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Teratospermia in domestic cats compromises penetration of zona-free hamster ova and cat zonae pellucidae.

The ability of spermatozoa to bind and penetrate zona-free hamster ova and the zonae pellucidae of domestic cat oocytes in vitro was compared between normospermic (greater than 60% structurally normal spermatozoa per ejaculate) and teratospermic (less than 40% normal spermatozoa per ejaculate) domestic cats. The effects of culture media (Biggers, Whitten, Whittingham [BWW] versus modified Krebs Ringer bicarbonate [mKRB]) and simple dilution (DR), ejaculate centrifugation, and either resuspension (NS) or swim-up processing (SU) on penetration also were examined. High percentages of structurally normal spermatozoa were bound to zona-pellucida-free hamster ova regardless of the morphological forms in the inseminant. Mean percent normal spermatozoa bound to ova in DR, NS, and SU sperm aliquots from teratospermic male cats were not different (P greater than 0.05) from similarly treated normospermic aliquots. However, the percent penetration of hamster ova by normospermic ejaculates (10.5%) was superior (P less than 0.05) to that of teratospermic ejaculates (2.8%). Although swim-up processing improved percent sperm motility, progressive motility, and normal morphology in teratospermic ejaculates (P less than 0.05), no difference was observed in ovum penetration among the DR-treated, NS-treated, and SU-treated spermatozoa (P greater than 0.05). Culture medium had no effect on sperm binding in the hamster assay, but ovum penetration rate by spermatozoa in the normospermic ejaculates was enhanced (P less than 0.05) using mKRB (13.5%) when compared with BWW (7.6%) medium. Spermatozoa from teratospermic cats were capable of binding and penetrating cat zonae; however, sperm-zona interaction (defined as percent of oocytes with spermatozoa binding to or penetrating into the zona) was different (P less than 0.05) between normospermic (65.3%) and teratospermic (24.2%) cats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
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An overview of prevention research: issues, answers, and new agendas.

Efforts to curtail alcohol abuse and alcoholism can be divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention attempts to stop a problem or illness from occurring in the first place. Secondary prevention identifies persons in the early stages of problematic or illness behavior and refers them for counseling or treatment, which is considered tertiary prevention. Five research areas concerned with primary and secondary prevention are selected for discussion: youth, the mass media, the worksite, blacks and Hispanics, and alcohol-related behavior that increases the risk of AIDS. Several of these themes have been in the forefront of alcohol prevention research; others such as AIDS are emergent areas of injury. The discussion to follow briefly summarizes research approaches, key findings, methodological shortcomings, and suggested issues for future investigation. Although scientifically solid prevention studies have been conducted, more rigorous, more comprehensive, and more innovative research is needed. Given the dynamic sociocultural and economic systems in which prevention occurs, research techniques that can address this complexity are required. A range of appropriate methodologies is described.

Adolescent↗