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Biomedical subjects

J Levy

Publications and source records attributed to J Levy.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Perceptual asymmetry for chimeric faces across the life span.

Perceptual asymmetries for processing chimeric faces were investigated in dextral subjects, ranging in age from 5 years to elderly adults. The task involved deciding which member of a pair of face chimeras presented in free vision looks happier, the one with the smile to the left or its mirror image with the smile to the right (Levy, Heller, Banich, & Burton, 1983a, Brain and Cognition, 2, 404-419). A leftward bias was found for all age groups. However, kindergarteners' mean asymmetry score was lower than that of all other groups combined, most likely due to noise in their data. The direction in which subjects drew circles with their left and right hands was also observed as an index of interhemispheric communication. All groups showed a bias toward drawing the circles in concordant directions except the kindergarteners. The relation between subjects' performance on the circle drawing and facebook tasks is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Brain asymmetry: facts and fallacies in statistical inference.

In a recent article, C. M. Clark, R. Kessler, and R. Margolin (1985, Brain and Cognition, 4, 7-12) argue that standard statistical tests should not be applied to measures of regional cerebral metabolism. They offer no evidence that such measures uniquely escape the mathematical foundations of statistical inference but, instead, merely note the definitional relations among various descriptive and inferential statistics. They falsely claim that these relations invalidate conclusions drawn from statistical tests, and in making this claim, they commit several quite serious logical fallacies. These fallacies are examined.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed1986

A link between relative hypoglycemia-hypoinsulinemia during oral glucose tolerance tests and intrauterine growth retardation.

Early identification of the intrauterine growth-retarded fetus is a key factor in improving associated perinatal morbidity and mortality. We investigated, in a prospective study of 43 patients at high risk of intrauterine growth retardation, the predictive value of a derived glucose index and whether hypoglycemia accompanied by hypoinsulinemia in normotensive patients is associated with intrauterine growth retardation. Our findings suggest that the glucose index and 2-hour plasma glucose concentration appear to be useful antepartum predictors of intrauterine growth retardation in normotensive high-risk pregnancies. There is an apparent link between selective maternal hypoglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, and being small for gestational age. A "flat" glucose tolerance test should be regarded as an abnormal pattern in normotensive pregnancies as it was associated with a twentyfold increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation in this study.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1986

Cerebral and sex differences in the categorization of haptic information.

This study investigated the extent to which each cerebral hemisphere categorizes stimuli varying in texture and shape. Eighteen right-handed subjects, nine males and nine females, rated the perceived dissimilarity between pairs of stimuli presented to both hands and to the right or left hand, with haptic noise in the contralateral hand. Results suggest a right hemisphere competence in the categorization of both texture and shape information. Furthermore, males showed better separation of categories for stimuli presented to both hands only.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Antibiotic activity in sputum.

Pulmonary infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) is primarily a purulent tracheobronchitis. Antibiotics are available that are active in vitro against bacteria isolated from sputum from patients with CF. Despite efficacious antibiotic concentrations in serum, however, the results of treatment are frequently suboptimal. A widely accepted explanation for this limited efficacy is poor penetration of orally or intravenously administered antibiotics into respiratory secretions. The bioactivity of antibiotics in respiratory secretions is not identical to that found in vitro. Laboratory conditions are standardized and selected to approximate serum. Deviations from these conditions can markedly influence the results. Differences in composition between sputum and laboratory culture media, as well as variation in growth and metabolism of the pathogen in respiratory secretions, must be considered when predicting in vivo activity in sputum. Thus, when defining criteria for antibiotic susceptibility or resistance in the treatment of pulmonary infection in patients with CF, the concentrations achievable in bronchial secretions as well as the bioactivity in this environment should be considered.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1986

Risk of seroconversion for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in San Francisco health workers.

The occupational risk of acquiring acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus infection in health workers exposed to AIDS patients and specimens was assessed by a serologic study at San Francisco General Hospital and collaborating research laboratories. A total of 101 medical workers without risk factors for AIDS were examined for antibodies to two isolates of the AIDS retrovirus (AIDS-associated retrovirus 2[ARV-2] and human T cell lymphotropic virus III). Most had heavy, long-term exposure to AIDS patients and 29 had been exposed by needlestick or mucocutaneous accident. None of the 101 had antibodies to ARV-2 by immunofluorescence or to HTLV-III by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western Blot.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1986

Effect of tobramycin on protein synthesis in 2-deoxystreptamine aminoglycoside-resistant clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae.

Clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae resistant to a broad range of 2-deoxystreptamine aminoglycosides (2-DAM) were studied. The gene responsible for resistance could be mobilized by transformation into a 2-DAM susceptible laboratory strain of H. influenzae, enabling isogenic comparisons. The transformants had the same resistance phenotype as the parental strains. There was close linkage between 2-DAM resistance and streptomycin resistance, a chromosomal marker, but weak linkage between 2-DAM and erythromycin resistance. Resistant transformants exhibited a decreased accumulation of gentamicin due to the absence of the rapid, energy-dependent phase of uptake. Resistance was not through metabolic inactivation of the antibiotic; no aminoglycoside-acetylating, -adenylylating, or -phosphorylating activity was detected in the wild-type strains or in the 2-DAM-resistant transformants. Protein synthesis in 2-DAM-susceptible H. influenzae strains increased in the presence of low (1 microgram/ml) and moderate (50 micrograms/ml) concentrations of tobramycin. With higher concentrations (100 and 500 micrograms/ml), protein synthesis was progressively inhibited. In contrast, protein synthesis in 2-DAM-resistant clinical isolates and transformants was inhibited by 1 microgram of tobramycin per ml, and inhibition increased with higher drug concentrations. Since the stimulating effect of low concentrations of tobramycin in susceptible H. influenzae strains is probably due to misreading, these findings suggest that 2-DAM-resistant strains of H. influenzae have reduced sensitivity to misreading, indicating that altered ribosomes are responsible for the resistance.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1986

Blood pressure and salt intake in Malawi: an urban rural study.

A significant difference between the blood pressures of rural and urban Malawians was found in both sexes, was present at the age of 15 years, and was associated with obesity but not with smoking, alcohol consumption, occupation or housing. Pulse rate was significantly lower in the urban group. These differences were accompanied by low potassium and sodium intake although the sodium intake in the urban group was double that in the rural group. No direct relation between blood pressure and urinary electrolytes was found.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1986

Hormonal regulation of (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity in canine renal basolateral membrane.

High affinity (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity was demonstrated in proximal tubule basolateral membranes (BLM) obtained from canine kidney. The Km of the enzyme for free Ca2+ was 0.12 +/- 0.02 microM, and at 3 microM free Ca2+, the enzyme reached its maximal velocity. To evaluate hormonal regulation of this enzyme, we studied the in vitro effects of several polypeptide hormones on enzyme activity. We measured the effects of insulin and human (h) PTH-(1-34) and their inactive analogs desoctapeptide insulin, bovine (b) PTH-(3-34), and oxidized hPTH-(1-34); insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) I and II; calcitonin; and the common cellular mediator for PTH and calcitonin, cAMP. At 0.1 microM free Ca2+, insulin (25-100 microU/ml) increased (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity in a dose-dependent manner by 35-52% (P less than 0.01) and by 8-13% (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.01) at a 3-microM free Ca2+ concentration; hPTH-(1-34) PTH (10(-9)-10(-7) M) increased the enzyme activity at a free Ca2+ concentration of 0.1 microM by 13-25% (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.01). IGF-I increased (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity by 40% (P less than 0.05) at 0.1 microM free Ca2+ at high peptide concentrations (10 ng/ml). No effect was obtained at 2 ng/ml IGF-I. cAMP (10(-7)-10(-4) M) stimulated enzyme activity by 18-27% (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.02) at 0.1 microM Ca2+ and by 8-12% (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.01) at 3 microM Ca2+. The effects of insulin and cAMP on (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity were additive. No effect on the enzyme activity was obtained by the inactive analogs desoctapeptide insulin, bPTH-(3-34), and oxidized hPTH-(1-34), or by calcitonin or IGF-II. The data suggest that insulin and PTH have a specific stimulatory effect on (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase activity in canine kidney proximal tubular BLM. While the insulin action is independent of cAMP, a role of cAMP in the regulatory effect of PTH on this enzyme cannot be ruled out. The direct stimulatory effect of insulin and PTH on (Ca2+ + Mg2+)ATPase in canine kidney proximal tubular BLM suggests that these hormones mediate their cellular effects in part by changes in cellular calcium homeostasis.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Electrophysiologic features of abetalipoproteinemia: functional consequences of vitamin E deficiency.

We performed electrophysiologic testing in 10 patients with abetalipoproteinemia (ABL). Peripheral nerve studies implied an axonal disorder. Visual evoked potentials demonstrated prolonged P100 latency in three patients and abnormal electroretinograms in six. Somatosensory evoked potentials indicated dorsal column dysfunction in eight patients. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials were normal. Findings were consistent with the known neuropathology of ABL and of experimental vitamin E deficiency. Stabilization or improvement in electrophysiologic findings occurred with vitamin E supplementation. Neurophysiologic tests document retinal, central somatosensory and peripheral nerve lesions in vitamin E deficiency and provide an objective indication of response to treatment.

Abetalipoproteinemia↗
PubMed1986

Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity in kidney basolateral membrane in non-insulin-dependent diabetic rats. Effect of insulin.

The direct effect of insulin on the high-affinity Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase was studied in kidney proximal tubular basolateral membranes (BLM) obtained from control and streptozocin-induced non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) rats. Plasma glucose of the diabetic animals was only mildly elevated (217 +/- 9 vs. 138 +/- 3 mg/dl). Both high- and low-affinity calcium-dependent Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activities were identified in the BLM. Enzyme activity in BLM from diabetic rats was higher at all Ca2+ concentrations tested due to a higher maximum velocity of the enzyme from NIDDM rats. The high-affinity Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity was inhibited by trifluoroperazine (TFP) in both membranes. No difference in calmodulin content was found in the membranes from the diabetic and control rats. Insulin (16-200 microU/ml) significantly increased the high-affinity Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity (17-40%) in membranes from control animals but had no effect on the enzyme activity in the membranes from the NIDDM rats. The basal activity of the enzyme at 0.1 microM free Ca2+ was higher in the BLM from the NIDDM animals compared to controls (17.8 +/- 0.5 vs. 14.7 +/- 0.8 nM Pi X mg-1 X min-1; P less than .02). There was no effect of insulin on the Ca2+-independent ATPase activity of BLM preparations. These findings demonstrate a defect in the ability of insulin to regulate the high-affinity Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase activity in BLM from diabetic rats. Such a defect in enzyme activity may play a role in the mechanism of impaired insulin action observed in these NIDDM rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Transient immunoregulatory perturbation during the acute phase of rheumatic fever.

An abnormal immune response directed at streptococcal antigen is currently thought to be involved in the development of autoimmune phenomena in rheumatic fever (RF). We studied T-cell subsets using the OKT monoclonal antibodies in 13 patients with newly-diagnosed RF. No difference was found in the total number of T cells or in the proportion of helper T cells (OKT4+) at the acute phase (56.6 +/- 6.9) as compared to the recovery phase (55.2 +/- 9.2). However, a significantly decreased proportion of suppressor T cells (OKT8+) was observed during the acute phase (17.2 +/- 6) as compared to the recovery phase (26.4 +/- 5.3) (p less than 0.001). The T4/T8 ratio was significantly higher during the initial phase (3.65 +/- 1.04) and returned to normal later (2.12 +/- 0.39) (p less than 0.002). The results of our study indicate that in the acute phase of RF many patients had low levels of suppressor T cells which return to normal after recovery. Thus, reduced proportion of suppressor T cells might be an indicator for the active phase of RF. Decreased suppressor cell activity may also be involved in the development of autoimmune phenomena in RF.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Ventilatory changes during nitrous oxide isoflurane anaesthesia in children.

The changes in ventilatory variables under nitrous oxide isoflurane anaesthesia were studied in 10 children (mean age 46 +/- 13.4 months, mean weight 16.2 +/- 2.1 kg). Measurements of flow and volume were performed by pneumotachography. PE'CO2 was measured by capnography. The following variables (VE, VT, TI/TTOT, VI, PE'CO2) were measured or calculated under three increasing inspired isoflurane concentrations (0.75%, 1.5%, 2.25%). At each level of anaesthesia, ventilatory changes during exposure to an inspired CO2 fraction of 2% were studied. The increase in the inspired concentration of isoflurane was associated with a decrease in alveolar ventilation. PE'CO2 increased significantly with increasing depth of anaesthesia. The respiratory rate was slightly increased under light nitrous oxide isoflurane anaesthesia, but no further changes were observed with increasing depth of anaesthesia, although the children were breathing a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen. The ventilatory response to a raised inspired CO2 is markedly decreased under light nitrous oxide isoflurane anaesthesia, and decreases significantly with increasing depth of anaesthesia. In response to a raised CO2, VE, VT and VI increase, but respiratory rate decreases or remains constant and TI/TTOT is unchanged.

Anesthesia↗