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Biomedical subjects

J Kruse

Publications and source records attributed to J Kruse.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Fever in children.

True fever occurs when there is an upward displacement of the thermostatic mechanism of the anterior hypothalamus in response to exogenous pyrogens. Fever may increase immune system activity, but it also induces an array of discomforts. In children under three months of age, fever is often an indication of serious illness, and aggressive evaluation is indicated. Febrile children aged three months to two years frequently do not manifest the classic signs and symptoms of specific diseases.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1987

Selection of infant feeding method: a population-based study in a rural area.

The selection of infant feeding method was studied in a rural area. At discharge from the hospital, 70 percent of women were breast feeding, with 47 percent still breast feeding at three months. The decision regarding feeding method was made early, with the majority of women deciding before the pregnancy. Multiparous women almost always used the method that was favored by their experience feeding previous children. For primiparous women, the husband and mother were the most important sources of information. Educational efforts designed to increase the use of breast feeding should reach future parents prior to pregnancy, and every effort should be made to ensure that the first experience with breast feeding is successful and rewarding.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Factors influencing women's decision to undergo mammography.

Despite the consensus that mammography is a valuable screening tool for the detection of early breast cancer, it is underused by physicians, and most women remain unconvinced of its efficacy. We studied consecutively 735 women who underwent mammography at two rural midwestern hospitals to determine the factors that influence the decision to undergo mammography. Those who underwent mammography had significantly more education and higher household incomes than the general population. The decision to have mammography was influenced by many factors, the most important of which were encouragement by the doctor, influence of the media, and the cost of the mammogram. Women of higher socioeconomic status were most likely to be influenced by the media, particularly printed material, but were much less likely than women of lower socioeconomic status to report physician influence as an important factor. These data have implications for the methods physicians use in recommending mammography to individual patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Selection of a physician for prenatal care.

The selection of a physician for prenatal care was studied as a model of the generic process of choosing a physician. The results suggest that factors important in this process are similar to those relating to satisfaction with care: physician competence, cost and convenience, and personal qualities. Women selecting obstetricians for prenatal care placed a higher emphasis on physician competence, whereas those selecting family physicians placed a greater emphasis on cost and convenience.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Molecular specialization of astrocyte processes at nodes of Ranvier in rat optic nerve.

The HNK-1 and L2 monoclonal antibodies are thought to recognize identical or closely associated carbohydrate epitopes on a family of neural plasma membrane glycoproteins, including myelin-associated glycoprotein, the neural cell adhesion molecule, and the L1 and J1 glycoproteins, all of which have been postulated to play a part in mediating cell-cell interactions in the nervous system. We have used these two antibodies in immunofluorescence and immunogold-electron microscopic studies of semithin and ultrathin frozen sections of adult rat optic nerve, respectively, and we show that they bind mainly to astrocyte processes around nodes of Ranvier. Most other elements of the nerve, including astrocyte cell bodies and large astrocytic processes, are not labeled by the antibodies. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that perinodal astrocyte processes are biochemically specialized. We provide evidence that one of the HNK-1+/L2+ molecules concentrated around perinodal astrocyte processes is the J1 glycoprotein; our findings, taken together with previously reported observations, suggest that the other known HNK-1+/L2+ molecules are not concentrated on these processes. Since anti-J1 antibodies previously have been shown to inhibit neuron to astrocyte adhesion in vitro, we hypothesize that J1 may play an important part in the axon-glial interactions that presumably are involved in the assembly and/or maintenance of nodes of Ranvier.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Changes in smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy: a population-based study in a rural area.

Changes in smoking and drinking behavior during pregnancy and factors influencing these changes were studied in a typical rural county. Using birth certificates and mailed questionnaires, information was obtained from 255 married women residents of Callaway County, Missouri, who gave birth in a one-year period. The women were much more likely to drink alcohol than to smoke before pregnancy (48.6 versus 28.2%, P less than .01). There was a significant decrease in both smoking and drinking during pregnancy, though the women were much more likely to modify drinking behavior than smoking behavior. Of the women who drank alcohol before pregnancy, 53.2% stopped alcohol consumption completely during pregnancy, while only 16.7% of smokers stopped smoking during pregnancy (P less than .001). Women cited fear for the infant's health as an important factor underlying the decision to decrease these behaviors more often than they did advice from doctor, family, friends, or media, or adverse physical effects of tobacco or alcohol. It was very difficult to predict changes in smoking and drinking behavior during pregnancy on the basis of demographic and behavioral characteristics such as age, income, education, attendance of childbirth classes, desirability of pregnancy, and method of infant feeding.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Oxytocin: pharmacology and clinical application.

Oxytocin is a potent uterine stimulant that is used for the induction and augmentation of labor, antenatal fetal assessment, and control of postpartum hemorrhage. If used improperly, oxytocin can lead to such complications as uterine hypercontractility with fetal distress, uterine rupture, maternal hypotension, water intoxication, and iatrogenic prematurity. These complications can almost always be avoided if oxytocin is given in proper dosages and with careful fetal and maternal monitoring. Recent interest in active management of labor policies has resulted in a reexamination of the use of oxytocin in the augmentation of the labors of nulliparous women.

Female↗
PubMed1986

Patient satisfaction with obstetric care.

Patient satisfaction with obstetric care was studied in a cohort of postpartum women from a rural midwestern county. Birth certificate data defined the population, and satisfaction data were acquired through a mailed questionnaire. An indirect measure (satisfaction scale) was derived with acceptable construct validity and internal consistency. A direct measure (open-ended questions) elicited specific comments about each woman's recent experience with obstetric care. Satisfied women, as described by the scale, were more likely to have had good physician continuity and to have attended childbirth classes. The open-ended responses most frequently described problems relating to the physician-patient relationship. In comparing the indirect and direct measures, women with high satisfaction scores were more likely to make no critical comments about their obstetric care (chi 2 = 9.16, P less than .003). The patient's perception of the physician's attitude of concern emerged as an important issue in both measures. The data demonstrate that perceived physician concern is an important component of patient satisfaction with obstetric care.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Genetic heterogeneity in Gaucher disease: physicokinetic and immunologic studies of the residual enzyme in cultured fibroblasts from non-neuronopathic and neuronopathic patients.

To elucidate the genetic heterogeneity in the three major phenotypic subtypes of Gaucher disease, the residual acid beta-glucosidase in fibroblasts from patients with all three subtypes from different ethnic and demographic groups was investigated by comparative kinetic, thermostability, and immunotitration studies. The kinetic studies delineated three distinct groups (designated A, B, and C) of residual activities with characteristic responses to the enzyme modifiers, taurocholate (or phosphatidylserine), and glucosyl sphingosine (or N-hexyl glucosyl sphingosine); Group A residual enzymes responded normally to these modifiers. All neuronopathic patients (types 2 and 3) and most non-Jewish, non-neuronopathic patients (type 1) had group A residual activities and thus could not be distinguished by their kinetic properties. Group B residual enzymes had markedly abnormal responses to these modifiers. All Ashkenazi and only two non-Jewish type 1 patients had group B residual activities. Group C residual activity had an intermediate response to all modifiers and represented a single Afrikaner type 1 patient. Pedigree studies indicated that this patient was a genetic compound for the group A (type 2) and group B (type 1) mutations. Thermostability studies showed additional heterogeneity of the residual activities within the three kinetic groups. Group A (type 2) and group B (type 1) enzymes had similarly decreased thermostabilities. In contrast, group A (type 1) residual activities were heterogeneous; three classes of thermostabilities were found among these enzymes: normal, decreased, and increased. Immunotitration of equal amounts of the normal or Gaucher disease beta-glucosidase activities with monospecific IgG indicated that the enzyme proteins from most Gaucher disease patients were antigenically altered and/or that large amounts of catalytically abnormal or inactive antigen were present. A decreased amount of antigenically and catalytically normal enzyme was present in a group A, type 1 African black patient, suggesting decreased stability or synthesis of his mutant acid beta-glucosidase. These kinetic, immunologic, and thermostability studies indicated that 1) type 1 Gaucher disease is biochemically heterogeneous and results from at least four distinct allelic acid beta-glucosidase mutations that alter enzyme structure and/or function, 2) neuronopathic and non-Jewish non-neuronopathic phenotypes cannot be distinguished reliably by kinetic analyses alone, and 3) the Ashkenazi type 1 Gaucher disease results from a unique mutation that alters a specific active site domain of acid beta-glucosidase.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1984

Human lysosomal beta-glucosidase: kinetic characterization of the catalytic, aglycon, and hydrophobic binding sites.

Three binding sites on highly purified lysosomal beta-glucosidase from human placenta were identified by studies of the effects of interactions of various enzyme modifiers. The negatively charged lipids, taurocholate and phosphatidylserine, were shown to be noncompetitive, nonessential activators of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucoside hydrolysis. Similar results were observed using the natural substrate, glucosyl ceramide, and low concentrations of taurocholate (less than 1.8 mM) or phosphatidylserine (0.5 mM). However, higher concentrations resulted in a complex partial inhibition of glucosyl ceramide hydrolysis. Increasing concentrations of phosphatidylserine obviated the effects of taurocholate, suggesting that these compounds compete for a common binding site on the enzyme. Glucosyl sphingosine and its N-hexyl derivative were potent noncompetitive inhibitors of the enzyme activity using either substrate. Taurocholate (or phosphatidylserine) and glucosyl sphingosine were shown to be mutually exclusive, indicating competition for a common binding site. In contrast, octyl- and dodecyl-beta-glucosides were linear-mixed-type inhibitors of glucosyl ceramide or 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucoside hydrolysis, indicating at least two binding sites on the enzyme. Inhibition by these alkyl beta-glucosides was observed only in the presence of taurocholate or phosphatidylserine. The competitive component [Ki (slope)] for the two alkyl beta-glucosides decreased with increasing alkyl chain length, and was unaffected by increasing taurocholate or phosphatidylserine concentration. The noncompetitive component [Ki (intercept)] was nearly identical for both alkyl beta-glucosides and was decreased by increasing taurocholate or phosphatidylserine concentration. These results indicated that the negatively charged lipids and alkyl beta-glucosides were not mutually exclusive, but interacted with different binding sites on the enzyme. Gluconolactone was shown to protect the enzyme from inhibition by the catalytic site-directed covalent inhibitor, conduritol B indicating an interaction at a common binding site. In the presence of substrate, taurocholate facilitated the inhibition of gluconolactone or conduritol B epoxide. These studies indicated that lysosomal beta-glucosidase had at least three binding sites: (i) a catalytic site which cleaves the beta-glucosidic moiety, (ii) an aglycon site which binds the acyl or alkyl moieties of substrates and some inhibitors, and (iii) a hydrophobic site which interacts with negatively charged lipids and facilitates enzyme catalysis.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1984

The neural cell adhesion molecule L1 is distinct from the N-CAM related group of surface antigens BSP-2 and D2.

The neural cell adhesion molecule L1 and the group of N-CAM related molecules, BSP-2 and D2 antigen, are immunochemically distinct molecular species. The two groups of surface molecules are also functionally distinct entities, since inhibition of Ca2+-independent adhesion among early post-natal mouse cerebellar cells by Fab fragments of both antibodies are at least additive, when compared with equal concentrations of the individual antibodies.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Expression of neural cell adhesion molecule L1 during development, in neurological mutants and in the peripheral nervous system.

Neural cell adhesion molecule L1 consists of two glycoprotein bands of 140 and 200 kdaltons at all developmental stages studied (from birth to adulthood in murine cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres) and in the 4 neurological mouse mutants reeler, weaver, staggerer and Purkinje cell degeneration. In histological sections L1 antigen is detectable at birth in the Purkinje cell layer and fiber tracts in the prospective white matter, but not in the external granular layer. From postnatal day 4 onwards L1 antigen additionally appears in the inner part of the external granular layer, the zone of postmitotic premigratory granule cell neurons. The outer part of the external granular layer remains L1 antigen-negative until it disappears at approximately day 12. From then onwards, the antigen remains prominent in the nascent molecular layer and is less detectable in white matter and internal granular layer, the location of the cell bodies of postmigratory granule cells. The four neurological mouse mutants show development of L1 antigen expression analogous to the normal situation, despite an abnormal cellular architecture. In contrast to the central nervous system. Western blots of adult sciatic nerve show a more complex pattern of L1 immunoreactive bands. L1 antigen is detectable on most, if not all Schwann cells in histological sections of sciatic nerve from 17-day-old embryos. At postnatal day 2, only some Schwann cells appear L1 antigen-positive. From then onwards L1 seems most prominently associated with non-myelinating Schwann cells. In monolayer cultures of neonatal dorsal root ganglia the antigen is observed on the surface of neurons and of some Schwann cells. The mutant, trembler, shows a more immature staining pattern for L1 antigen in adult sciatic nerve.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1984

Long-term reactions of women to electronic fetal monitoring during labor.

The long-term reactions of women to electronic fetal monitoring during labor were studied by mailing a questionnaire to a random sample of 110 women two to five months postpartum. Of the 75 women who responded and in whom the fetal monitor had been used, 74 gave an overall positive response to fetal monitoring. Four important factors underlying the responses of the women were identified. The monitor was remembered as an important provider of information, as an agent of reassurance, and not as an invader of privacy. Most women did not remember the monitor as an uncomfortable or distracting agent, though their responses for this factor were not so strong as for the other factors. No significant associations were found between the four factors and marital status, age, education, parity, specialty of physician, length of monitoring, or amount and adequacy of prenatal information obtained about the monitor. Significant associations were found between three of the factors and race.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Alcohol use during pregnancy.

Heavy alcohol intake during pregnancy is associated with numerous adverse effects on the fetus, including low birth weight, congenital anomalies, mental retardation, and behavioral and learning disabilities. There is increasing evidence that moderate drinking also may cause these problems, but to a lesser degree. Less is known about the effects of a single drink or a single alcoholic binge, but no absolutely safe level of alcohol consumption has been determined for pregnant women.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗